A/N: Part Three of the Four Part Finale! The fallout of what's been happening beings to make itself apparent. The question isn't how will things work out, but rather can what they have really survive the oncoming storm? The wind is beginning the blow, and it's only a matter of time before the cradle will fall.

Sorry it took so long to update but this chapter was the hardest one to write. I honestly thought about giving up and just ending the story on some poorly written ending because I didn't want to finish this chapter. The ending for this chapter, it took me days to put down lets leave it at that. But here it is, drop a review if you like what you read (or even if you didn't let me know), and I'll see you next time for the fourth and final part 'The Parting Of Ways'.

(And just so you know there is an epilogue chapter following the finale one I promise you'll all enjoy)

So enjoy! Catch you later!

Benny's Baby

Chapter 17: And Down Will Come Baby Cradle And All

Everything had an end. There was no denying that at one point everything that ever was, or would be needed to end. As these thoughts floated through Benny's head he paced around the nursery in the dim light, trying his best not to wake Eric up. He looked at his son and then quickly turned, right now he couldn't do it; he couldn't look at him. Looking at him meant facing the truth, but more than that it meant loss.

He closed his eyes and listened to the fall of the rain against the window. The spell on the nursery had long since broken providing them with the calming rhythmic patter of the storm. He noticed the curtains were open and quickly pulled them shut. Before he did he saw Erica vanish down the street with a jacket pulled tight around her. He felt tears burn at the corners of his eyes and quickly blinked them away he needed to stay strong. He picked up Benny-Rabbit, and took a seat on the ground in front of the crib. He closed his eyes against and listened to the sounds of the rain and his son breathing.

"Your mom stopped by earlier," said Benny as he turned the toy around in his hands. "She was worried about you, about us both actually. And she helped me see that not everything is my fault, and that all you needed was me."

Before all of this had happened, he would've considered the world to be quiet, clam, almost boring. When his Grandma and Ethan had revealed what was happening, everything suddenly became so much livelier, there was so much noise and things suddenly seemed there. Could he really sacrifice his own life to save Eric's? But if he didn't, his son would die….

Benny shivered at the thought. The rain fell against his window, the wind shook the trees, the house creaked in the storm, so much noise. He paced through his room hoping to escape from the sounds, and perhaps more importantly his thoughts. He bit his lip; he just wanted silence, quiet, and peace. Then he heard Eric cry, and he felt a icy chill run through his body. He placed his hands against his ears and tried to block out his son, to make it stop.

And it did. He collapsed onto his bed feeling physically exhausted, how much more of this could he take? There was a single knock before the door slowly opened. His Grandma walked in with a worried look on her face, and in her arms Eric looked at him with his bright blue eyes

"You've been in here since yesterday," whispered Evelyn as she looked at him sadly. "We're worried about you."

"About me?" asked Benny hoarsely. "Why are you worried about me? You shouldn't be, I'm the reason for this mess. This is what I deserve."

"Don't talk like that," said Erica as she suddenly appeared behind them. From the looks of it, she had been crying. "Your Grandma told me everything, I know how hard this is, but you don't have to make this decision alone. I'm here; please just talk to me let me know what you're thinking. I-"

"Da-da," said Eric as tried to reach out for him. A huge smile crossed the infants face as he waved his arms back and forth. "Da-da!"

"Get him away from me!" yelled Benny suddenly as he scrambled to the far end of the room. His entire body shook, and he felt nauseas. He couldn't do it he couldn't look at his son. "He's killing me, get him away from me!"

"Da?" asked Eric one last time. When Benny made no attempt to reach out for him he began to cry again. Evelyn bounced the infant in her arms and quickly backed out of the room. Erica was at his side in a moment, he looked at her and felt more tears well up in his eyes. It was the first time he had vocalized these and it hurt so much more to say than he thought it would. He wanted to hold Eric, to love but he couldn't. Now he was just a thing, a thing that was killing him.

"Benny look at me," whispered Erica as she took his face in her hands. He flinched at her touch and watched as she sadly backed away from him. "I know how you feel, I-I just wanted to tell you that you aren't alone in this. We're a family remember?"

"But you're not the one," managed Benny through his sobs. "You didn't have to make the decision."

"You don't have to deal with this alone. I'm here, and I always will be. You should know that by now, and whatever happens you know that I'love you."

"It's not like that. It's… it's this is my entire fault. Is this what I get for trying to do the right thing?"

"Benny you've done everything in your power to keep Eric safe," said Erica as she tried placed her hand on top of his. This time instead of flinching away he took it gratefully. "I know if there was a way to save him, you would've found it. You've done everything you can to try and keep our family together."

"Then why does it have to be this way? Why can't there be a way for both of us to survive? Why can't I save my son? Why am I so afraid of him?"

"I don't know…. But you said it yourself; we're the impossible family, maybe… maybe it's time to let it go."

"But he's my son! How could I do this to him? Am I being punished for creating Eric, for making a mistake?" asked Benny as tears of frustration rolled down his cheek. "Is it because Eric-"

Erica slapped as hard as her vampire strength would allow. He stumbled backwards a hand on his now reddening cheek and a shocked expression on across his face. "W-What was that for?"

"Don't you dare call him a mistake," said Erica as she stood up and glared at him. "A few moments ago Eric was in here, asking for you, asking for his dad, and you backed away in fear. This isn't the Benny I know, the Benny I know would've help his son, would've rocked him in his arms and told him everything was going to be all right, even when he knew it wasn't. I know you're afraid but so is he. Imagine how confused he is right now, he doesn't understand what's going on. All he wants is you, and you can't even look at him. He needs you now more than ever."

Benny said nothing and took on a seat on the bed facing the window; he was afraid to meet her eyes, afraid he would see nothing but pain in them. She was right and the fact that he hadn't seen it earlier…. He felt her take a seat behind him, her back to his. They were always so close, and yet there would always be something between them.

"I'm so afraid of him…."

"You're afraid for him," whispered Erica as she leaned against his back. "I know you still love him, you always will. When I tried to run away I saw it in your eyes, the fear of failing him as a father because you had to do it alone. Deep down you know you're scared of what's happening, not of Eric."

"I can't even look at him."

"When your grandma told me what was happening, I honestly thought I was going to lose you again. I love Eric, but without you I don't think I'd be able to do it. Having to look at our son every day, and seeing him in you, it would kill me. And for a second I couldn't stand the idea I might have to look at him."

Benny felt her tense up. "I know what you're feeling, but it's not your fault. Think about him; think about how much you love him. Then tell me your afraid of him still."

Benny smiled as he touched his bruised cheek. "I was afraid of you, and I hated it, but your mom she has a special way of making me see things. I was afraid of disappointing you, and as stupid as it may sound I thought if I looked at you, I would see nothing but betrayal in your eyes. And I was afraid I would never be able to get it out of my head that I would have to live with it…."

The house creaked as the wind began to howl outside. He was grateful that the silence spell had faded; it was the little things that made life worth living. How could he deny his son something as beautiful as the rain falling, or the sound of leaves as they rustled in the afternoon breeze? Benny leaned his head against the crib, and peeked over his shoulder. Eric's chest rose and fell as he slept soundly.

"I love your mom, but I've done so many things wrong, that when I look at her all I can see is a lot of sadness and pain. I'm afraid I might've hurt her so much that she can't love me. That when she looks at me, all she'll see is you. All she'll see is loss."

"How did you know?" asked Benny as he noticed his own reflection, and her lack of one. "That I… you know…."

She placed a hand on her stomach and looked down sadly. "I felt different, and those feelings I was experiencing before the ones that let me know I was pregnant, they were suddenly gone. I felt empty."

"Were you ever going to tell me? About being pregnant?"

"No, I wasn't. I thought maybe if I left then I wouldn't have to tell you, that you wouldn't have to find out. I was afraid to tell you, after everything that happened. I-I didn't know how you would react. As stupid as it sounds, I thought maybe you might hate me… We were fighting over one child; imagine if there was another one."

"I wouldn't have been mad," said Benny as finally turned to face her. He saw the pain in her eyes, the regret, and perhaps more. "I thought you were just trying to get away from me, because of everything that I did."

Erica let out a pent up sigh and shook her head. "We try and protect each other, try and stop these bad things from happening and we make it so much worse. We're destroying what we have trying to keep it alive."

Benny said nothing, what was there to even say? Erica seemed to pick up on his thoughts and quickly added: "There's so much more to worry about now, is this really the right time to be talking about us?"

Erica walked along the street feeling a mix of emotions she would've never thought possible. Love, hate, anger, sadness and perhaps most surprising of all- fear. She wanted Benny to tell her that everything was going to be ok, that everything between them would be ok. But he couldn't, how could he when everything that had brought them together was suddenly falling apart?

Everything they had been through together, their best moments had been thanks to their son. How much were they going to lose, could they really make it through this? She thought about the times she herself had casted Eric and Benny aside like it had all been some kind of mistake.

She hated him for it, for giving her a family and then having it ripped from her hands. For showing her how much she could really care for another, for showing her that maybe love wasn't impossible for her. How could he do something like this to her?

Then she stopped. What was she doing? Everything he had ever done had been for her, everything. How could she hate him when he was the one who had to make the impossible choice? She took in a deep breath and tried to banish the unhealthy thoughts from her mind. When she couldn't she looked up at the falling rain and closed her eyes. No one could tell she was crying, and no one could tell how alone she really was.

She needed to get away from everything. From the pain, from the loss, from Whitechapel, and most importantly from Benny.

"I love Erica but I can see she wants to get away from me, from all of this. The only thing I can do is give her space, right?"

Eric let out a little groan as he stretched in his crib, and Benny felt the familiar warmth of pride in the pit of his stomach. He got up and placed the stuffed rabbit next to the sleeping infant.

"The rain is nice isn't it? There's nothing better than walking through the rain, it's really fun. Ethan and I used to go out and explore around Whitechapel during the heavier storms. We got into so much trouble, but it was worth it. One time we even tried to sneak into the zoo. You would love the zoo there's all these animals there, all kinds of them. The komodo dragons are the coolest though, you'll love them, we should go over the weekend-" His voice suddenly caught in his throat. "... so… you…."

Benny said nothing and felt his heart sink. He could no longer fight back the tears as they rolled down his cheek.

"It's not fair there's so much you'll never get to experience. So many things out there, an entire world you don't get to see."

Eric stirred in his crib, and slowly opened his eyes. He noticed Benny and let out a squeal of delight.

"How am I supposed to tell you about the world if there isn't enough time?"

Eric looked up at him with his bright blue eyes and suddenly smiled. He reached up with his hands and grabbed at the empty air. Benny couldn't take it anymore; he picked up his son one last time and held him tightly in his arms. He noticed the look of discontent on his Eric's face.

"Shh, shhh, it's going to be ok," whispered Benny as he gently rocked him back and forth. "Rock a bye baby on the tree top, when the wind blows the cradle will rock."

"Da-da," whispered Erica tiredly as he smiled up at him. Benny looked down and noticed for the dark circles under his son's eyes. "Da… da…"

He felt his voice catch and did his best not to sob. "When the bough breaks the cradle will fall."

Eric laid his head against his chest and let out a sigh of content. Benny looked down and took in the bright blue eyes one final time as they began to close. "And down will come bay cradle and all."

He rubbed his son's back as he continued to gently rock him. "Your mom loves you, but she couldn't be here. She couldn't do it, and I couldn't force her to say goodbye. She loves you, and I love you too. I love you so much more than you'll ever know."

"Da…"

"I'm sorry I couldn't be braver," whispered Benny as he rubbed his son's back. "I'm so sorry I couldn't be the dad you deserved. I'm so sorry, this is my entire fault."

"Da…" whispered Eric as he drifted off to sleep in his father's arms. Benny leaned forward to place a kiss on his forehead and fell to his knees with nothing but empty air in his hands. He lay on the ground sobbing, time was up.

He was alone. Eric was gone, his son was gone.