A/N: Another chapter! And we have drama! Thanks for sticking around, and for the reviews (they really mean a lot) No more waiting here's the next chapter.

Benny's Baby

Chapter 4: Sticks and Stones May Break My Bones

Am I a bad parent?

Benny rubbed his eyes, and turned over for the umpteenth time that night. Despite his exhaustion, and the fact he had school in a few hours, he was wide awake and far too nervous to fall asleep. It was going to be his first day back since Eric's 'birth', and it made him uneasy.

Maybe I wasn't meant to do this….

He turned over again; Eric was going to be fine while he was at school, right? What could go wrong? Well… a lot of things could go wrong… but his Grandma would be here, right? What if something happened to his Grandma? He tried to shake the thoughts from his head and sat up. He looked up at his alarm clock and immediately regretted it. The numbers were too bright to look at and he turned away.

Maybe Erica was right….

Benny caught movement out of the corner of his eye, and in one fluid motion stood threw the covers off. He peered into the bassinet, and found himself rewarded with a smile from his son. Eric looked up at him and giggled with delight.

"Why are up so late?" asked the Spellmaster as he rubbed his son's stomach. The infant looked at him and then went back to staring at the ceiling. "I guess it doesn't matter much because you don't have anything to do tomorrow. Or maybe you knew Daddy couldn't sleep. Is that why you're still awake?"

Eric waved his arms began and forth, his fingers grabbing at the empty air. The small hand closed around Benny's finger, and the strange knot in his stomach began to fade. He hummed, and as he did he felt himself relax. Once Eric was fast asleep Benny felt his own exhaustion take over. He leaned back on his bed and very carefully removed his finger from his son's grip. He continued to hum as he lay down,a nd a few moments later he was sound asleep.

Benny paced back and forth in his room, he wasn't ready for this. Whatever had come over him last night had long since faded; his stomach was in knots again. What if his Grandma had some kind of accident or she tripped down the stairs while holding Eric? What if Eric got sick? The door to his room opened and Evelyn walked in.

"Are you sure it's ok for me to go back to school?" whispered Benny as he placed a hand on the bassinet. "What if-"

"You can ask as many what if questions as you like and never be satisfied. Believe it or not I have raised a few kids over the years. Now go, you already missed a day and a half of school and I won't let you miss another."

"Ok, fine. Just make sure you feed him the formula from the fridge, and don't heat it up. It gives him a stomachache. And if anything happens at all call me."

"My Grandson is giving me a speech on how to take care of a baby," said Evelyn as she rubbed the bridge of her nose. "I never thought I see the day."

Benny looked once more over his shoulder at Eric, and then quickly placed a kiss on the infant's forehead before running down the stairs. He felt slightly nauseas as he grabbed an apple on the way out. He took a bite of it and ran faster, no sense in being late.

"Are you ok?" whispered Ethan as he looked across the desk at Benny, who appeared both agitated and exhausted. "You look worse than when your Gamestation broke."

"I couldn't sleep last night," said Benny as if it was the most obvious answer in the world. "And for once it wasn't Eric's fault. Normally he keeps me up all night crying, but I just couldn't sleep."

"Why?"

"I'll tell you at lunch."

Ethan gave his friend a concerned look and nodded. When lunch finally began Benny was nowhere to be found, Ethan took a seat at their regular lunch table feeling oddly alone. Halfway through his meal Benny showed up looking more at ease than before.

"Where were you? I thought you have ditched me."

"Sorry," said Benny with a lopsided smile. "I was calling home to check in on Eric, I was worried something might have happened to him while I was in school."

"If anything happens it normally happens to us, while we're at school. He's probably safer at home with your Grandma."

"I never thought of it like that," They shared and look and began to laugh. "And I was up all night worrying about it. It's so weird being a parent."

"I can honestly say I have no idea what you mean," said Ethan with a smile. "So that's why you couldn't sleep? "

"Yup, normally it's Eric's fault when I can't sleep. Last night it was all me."

"Doesn't your Grandma help you with him?"

"Yeah, but she says she's earned her right to a good night's sleep," said Benny while he shrugged his shoulders. "I guess I can understand where she's coming form, and it's hard to ignore the crying baby when it's sleeping right next to your bed."

"He sleeps in your room?"

"Until we can clear out the guest room yeah, we need to finish moving the baby stuff from the attic into the guest room, and the stuff from the guest room into the attic. Normally I would use magic, but Grandma locked my powers while I'm in the house. She wants me to experience being a dad without the shortcuts."

"Harsh, let me know when you're going to move stuff around and I'll come over and help."

"Me too!" said Rory as he suddenly appeared next to Benny. "I want to see Eric again, he's so cute. And I'm pretty good when it comes to this babysitting stuff."

"I thought we agreed no more vampire ninja entrances," said Benny. "And what is it with all these vampires being good at babysitting?"

"What do you mean?" asked Ethan as he waved Sarah and Erica over.

"Well Erica used to babysit; Sara does now, and apparently so can Rory."

"It's an undead thing," said Rory. "You mere mortals wouldn't understand."

"What's an undead thing?" asked Sarah as approached their table.

"Babysitting."

"You?" said Erica as she looked at the blonde vampire. "I guess you couldn't do a worse job that him."

"Me?" asked Benny as he looked at her confused.

"Yeah," She turned to Sarah. "I was in the neighborhood yesterday and I heard crying. When I stopped by I found him with this baby, poor thing couldn't have been left in worse hands."

"So I forgot to burp him it was mistake. Sorry I'm not perfect like you."

"You met Eric?" asked Ethan.

"Who forgets to burp a baby after you feed them? Only an idiot forgets that, oh wait I forgot who I was talking to."

"At least I don't have to scare people into being my friends. It must be so lonely being 'popular'."

"It doesn't bother you?"Asked Rory nonchalantly. "I thought for sure it would."

"What are you talking about?" said Erica never taking her eyes off Benny.

"You're getting mad at him because he forgot to burp the baby? Normally you'd be arguing with him because he made the baby."

"You made….," Erica looked at Benny and then at the others who all nodded. "And you're all ok with this?"

Silence.

"He has a son now, and your all ok with it? What is wrong with you? What kind of friends are you? Don't you have any idea what this means?"

She turned to look at Benny. "You're a teenage parent now, any chance you had a normal life is gone. You've ruined your life! How can you be ok with that? You have a baby now, how can you just sit there and say nothing? Do you realize what you've done? Are you stupid or something?"

When no one responded she stormed off leaving them in uncomfortable silence. Benny looked at his friends and then tried his best to laugh the whole situation off.

"That was dramatic."

"I better go after her," said Sarah as they heard the sound of metal being destroyed. "Don't want her doing something stupid."

"I kind of want a baby," said Rory as he peered aimlessly around. "I bet I'd make a great dad."

Ethan tried to gauge his friend's expression. "You ok?"

"I'm fine," said Benny as he smiled. "Why would anything Erica says bother me?"

When Benny got home from school he immediately took Eric from his Grandma's arms.

You're a teenage parent now.

"I told you everything would be fine," said Evelyn with a smile as she watched her Grandson. "Did you miss him?"

You've ruined your life!

"Of course I did!" said Benny as he lifted him into the air. When Eric began to giggle he brought him back down. "He's my little peanut, and I love him."

Do you realize what you've done?

Then silently he asked himself again: "Why would anything Erica says bother me?"