The world was different now.

Milton Mamet had become an orphan seemingly out of the blue. Everything seemed completely upside down. Every taste and smell.. it wasn't the same as what he had known in his house. He was confident that Mr. Jubbs had fallen into a deep depression, and he turned his attention to the small bug in an attempt to forget about his own.
It was just the two of them now against such a vast world.

Milton was just a little boy; what chance did he stand in such a world that even his parents could not survive?

He had been placed in Philip's room, because Philip's parents fully believed that if he didn't feel alone, he would heal somehow. As if it could be that easy.. as if he could so quickly forget the warm embrace of his mother.
Bed time was when things were truly difficult.

The sheets were scratchy against him, and he would never get used to his new pyjamas. He would fluff his pillow, but it never suited him. It was too.. much. Yes, it was exactly too much. He glanced up at Mr. Jubbs on the nightstand by his glasses, and he felt a small twinge of happiness as he saw the blurry blue shape moving along the branch in the carrier.

"Goodnight, Mr. Jubbs." he whispered.

Philip ran into the room screaming, and Milton felt his heart skip a beat. He shoved the covers back and threw a leg out of bed until he saw Philip's father turn the corner with a grin on his face. Philip shrieked and jumped onto the bed, his father dove on top of him and tickled his stomach as he kicked and giggled. Milton saw a tear fall from his eyes, but it was a different kind of tear. A happy tear. Milton got back into bed and turned to face the wall; his back to Philip and his father. He closed his eyes and listened to the loving sounds of a father and son playing happily.

Suddenly the sounds stopped, and Milton felt a heavy hand on his arm, he turned his head to see Philip's father, Ed.
"Y'alright there, Milt?" he smiled and rubbed his thumb against the fabric of the boy's shirt, Milton sighed but forced a smile. A smile that Ed did not buy. The boy had just lost his parents and all of his earthly possessions. He knew he was most certainly not alright. He gripped Milton's arms lightly and turned the boy over to face him; he would have had to be blind to miss the pain in his eyes.

"You'll be okay, Milton. Just... have to have some time to put things into perspective."
Milton nodded and was suddenly irritated at the way the pillow felt against his hair.

The house was lovely, and so was Philip's parents. They had done more for him than he would ever be able to thank them for. It was all quite perfect.. but it just didn't feel right.

A familiar face peeked around the corner with a warm smile. Philip's mother, Rose, was an absolute dream. She had been so much like his own mother, that he looked forward to seeing her each morning. She had noticed his style, and bought clothes that he wholeheartedly approved of. He didn't have to wear Philip's old clothes.. she made sure that he had his own. She knew it meant a lot to slowly rebuild. In Milton's eyes, she was nothing short of an angel.

"Milton, dear.." she was a soft spoken woman, and every word she said had such depth and meaning to it.. no matter how trivial it might have seemed to most. "I have something for you." she had her hands behind her back, and Milton suddenly noticed Philip smiling.
Milton reached over for his glasses, and the world came into clearer focus. He tilted his head in an effort to see what she had behind her back, but she shifted and giggled. She walked over closer to the bed and pulled an over-sized stuffed bunny out from behind her.
She shook the bunny slightly so that it's ears flopped up and down a few times.

"When I was your age," she started, and sat down on the bed beside him, laying the bunny in his lap. Milton looked at it with curiosity, "this was the only thing that helped me sleep through the night. I would have terrible nightmares.. sometimes, it just made all the difference to have a buddy by my side." she folded her hands on her lap, and smiled when Milton took the bunny into his arms. He was reluctant at first, but within a few moments, he buried his head into the bunny's and nuzzled it lovingly.

Rose ruffled the boy's hair lovingly and patted at the bed twice before standing to her feet. The scene before her was an overwhelming relief. She had watched the child mourn and suffer for days now, but now he was snuggled against the big brown bunny with his eyes closed. Ed helped Philip into bed and pulled the covers up around him, placing a kiss on his forehead. "Night kiddo." he smiled and walked over to the door to wait for Rose.

Rose eased the glasses off of Milton's head and put them back on the table, she pulled the covers up to his shoulders and placed a kiss on his cheek, as she was bent down, she whispered
"Goodnight Milton, everything will be better in the morning."
For once, Milton took these words as truth. He sighed happily and snuggled closer to the bunny.
Rose kissed her own son goodnight and turned the light off.

While she usually missed it.. she didn't that night.
She heard him gasp.

She immediately turned on the light, only to see Milton sitting up in the bed with a death grip on the stuffed bunny. Of course. It made perfect sense. He wasn't able to sleep at night because he was afraid of the dark.
Rose left the room and returned a few moments later with a small light which she plugged into the outlet just below Milton's bedside table. She flipped a small switch on it and smiled at him.
"I'm sorry Milton. I didn't know."
Milton stared at the small light, but nodded lightly.
She walked over to the door and flipped the switch on the wall once more, and Milton's face lit up as the small light came to life below his table.

"Goodnight boys. We love you so much." she said before leaving the room.

Philip turned over to face Milton and giggled,
"Told ya! It's just like being brothers, 'innit?"
Milton nodded, only his eyes were visible over the head of the bunny.

Milton sank into a rare feeling of peace for the first time in a long time, and he looked up to the ceiling before drifting off to sleep.
As Philip turned his back to Milton and snuggled into his bed, he heard Milton whisper softly to the heavens..
"Goodnight mommy."

Our lives are made
In these small hours
These little wonders,
These twists and turns of fate
Time falls away,
But these small hours,
These little wonders still remain

I actually hadn't planned to continue any of this, but, I had a few people request that I do, so.. here ya go. :)

I'll be doing a few others leading up to the apocalypse. We need more Pre-ZA fics on here!