Chapter Three: WTF Recovery and New Friends?

WARNING: This story is Rated "M". This story is SLASH, this story has an EthanxBenny pairing. Don't like? Well too damn bad, sweethearts, there is no talking me out of the plot.

AN: OMGEEE guys, I really am sorry Dx I haven't updated in over a year! So long, I had to go back and re-read the story myself! That was bad…..but no, I haven't forgotten about any of my stories, and yes, I'm here now. I really love this story and plot I've created, and I WILL try to update more. Again, I really am sorry! I hate when authors do this to me and I hate myself for doing this to you. Ok, ok, I'll stop rambling now…on with the chapter!

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO

"As I was saying, before I was so rudely interrupted-" Senna said with a small, playful smile, "-the fur…." She studied it again. "..doesn't really look like bear fur….or any sort of cat fur. If I didn't know any better, I'd say it was some type of dog fur."

"How do you know it isn't?" Benny asked from his spot on the couch next to Ethan. The young spellmaster's entire frame seemed to vibrate, his movements stiff and jerky and jittery. Yet, a strong arm remained around Ethan as they sat side-by-side on Grandma's couch.

"It was nine feet up an oak." Cody said, getting up and placing the fur into a clear plastic bag. Ethan's eyebrows frowned, Benny's eyes widened, and Grandma's eyebrows shot up.

"It was..nine feet up an oak tree." Ethan said slowly. "And you found it?"

Cody winked. "I'm gifted." Senna rolled her eyes, turning to Ethan with a slight, confused smile. It had been ten minutes since they'd 'found' him in Evelyn's living room (rather he found them) but the sight of him still stunned her. He was so different from the way he had been only hours before.

"So, are you ever going to tell us how you…" She trailed off, seemingly at a loss for words. "-recovered so quickly?" She finished. "Just three days ago, you were-" she cut off again, and let out a puff of air, speechless again.

"You were pretty banged up, kid." Cody finished, and frowned. "Benny said you were freezing when he first found you." He fiddled around with a button on his shirt. "You're lucky Grandma has connections at the hospital. You needed a lot of blood transfusions."

"I did?" Ethan asked.

"You lost over fifty percent of your blood." He continued.

"I did?"

"Up until this morning you had a fever of 103.8."

"I did?" Ethan was becoming more confused, more frightened with each new piece of information he received.

"Was someone in the house other than you two?" Senna suddenly asked. Grandma looked startled for a moment as she thought over it.

"No…but what would that have to do with anything?" Cody asked another question, ignoring Grandma's.

"There are no other magical families around? None that you know of..? No…sorcerers, witches or succubi? Nothing besides your little fanged friends?" Cody asked.

"No, no and no. Once again, I ask, why is this important?" Grandma asked. "No one has tried to directly hurt my boys. Well….they've never been personally targeted by anyone but Jesse." Ethan didn't understand how these people seemed to know all about their lives. But they didn't seem surprised by anything, seemed to know what everything was and who everyone is.

"You never know." He shrugged. "Anyone, even people who look regular could be a threat." At the slightly amused look Grandma gave him he laughed. "I'm not asking you to become paranoid. That wouldn't help anything would it? All I'm saying is…you know, keep on your toes. Be safe and take extra precautions."

"I have to agree with him on that." Senna said. "It's best to keep safe, in places like these especially. For centuries this town's sheltered vampires, werewolves, witches, sorcerers and other monstrosities I don't wish to name." she surveyed Ethan's physical state. "I don't know what it was that attacked Ethan, but it had to be something very strong and very magically powerful." She looked at first Grandma, then Cody for a second opinion. His eyes were blank and had a sort of sadness to them.

"To me, it seems that there's no question. Something strong and powerful did this to him….something very strong and especially powerful." He grimaced. "When I first saw Ethan, my initial thought was 'bear attack'. But I noticed something else." He turned to Grandma. "Did you also notice something wrong besides his physical injuries?"

Grandma hesitated.

"Did you notice something of about the woods that night?" he continued and Grandma looked at him, studying his face.

"How did you know about that?" she asked. "It was gone the next day…" she trailed off, and Cody gave her a slight, reassuring smile to calm her. Senna, who had disappeared for part of the conversation, came from the kitchen with a cup of steaming green liquid.

"The power would've been gone the next day." He agreed. "But as you well know, evil magic leaves traces. I'm not a priest or spell master or seer or warlock, but I am psychic, which is evidently different from a seer. " He glanced over at Ethan. "One of the traits I've inherited… I've made it my business to know when evil crosses my path." He looked kind of angry.

"Cody! You never told me you were psychic!" Grandma was smiling now. "Your mother never told me! I don't think she knew. We were afraid you'd grow up normal!" She laughed, and the sound soothed the nerves of everyone in the room. Cody rearranged his features into a smile, and forced a laugh.

"I don't think she knew either. She wasn't there when I first discovered it, and I just never got around to telling her." He rubbed the back of his neck. "Anyway, that's how I knew about that." Senna handed the steaming cup to Grandma, who murmured a 'thank you' and sipped it. Cody turned to Ethan.

"Can I talk to you for a moment…outside?" he glanced at Grandma. "Don't worry Granny, we'll be safe enough with Skeeter out there." She nodded and smiled tiredly. Cody glanced at Benny. "We'll be right back superstar. Give us five minutes." Benny looked as if he was about to protest when Cody helped Ethan out of Benny's protective grasp and to the door.

"Just don't be too long, Cody!" Grandma called after them. "I want to check Ethan over one last time before we head to the bank."

"You got it!" Cody called back, opening and holding the door open for Ethan.

"Who's Skeeter?" Ethan blurted out, and jumped when he heard the booming sound of a dogs barking. They stepped onto the porch, and looking to his left, he saw a four foot, pure black dog rounding the corner of Grandma Weir's house.

"That's Skeeter." Cody said fondly. "My Great Dane."

"Oh." Ethan turned pale. "Okay."

"Ah, don't worry, he's a big sweetheart aren't you Skeeter?" He asked, and Skeeter barked again, making a big circle around them, sniffing the ground, seemingly randomly. They started to walk to the back of the house, Ethan following Cody, who stopped them when they reached where the backyard met the woods. It was sunny out, and Ethan could see clearly through the trees for a long distance.

"So, Ethan, your physical well-being seems fine, though you mentioned some soreness in your abdomen….nonetheless, can you guess what I saw in you when I first saw you? I'll tell ya, you were pretty painful to look at, what with all your casts and bandages and bruises and all that blood." Ethan blinked, surprised, and rather fearful.

"I was sure that was a joke…" Ethan forced out, eyes wide. "When I took all the bandages off…there was nothing, only the stains. There was nothing at all." His voice started to fail him.

"We'll get answers for you, Ethan." Cody reassured, placing a hand on the teen's shoulder and giving a gentle squeeze. "You're definitely not the only one who's confused about all of this. We didn't know what to think when you were found in the state you were…" He trailed off, seeming far away for a second before continuing. "Yet, that wasn't what scared me." Ethan glanced at the tall man beside him.

"Uuuumm."Cody didn't seem to mind the dumb answer Ethan gave.

"Tell me, what does your cellphone do, when the battery is running low?" Cody asked as he sat on the dry grass, and invited Ethan to sit across from him. Ethan sat rather stiffly, picking at the grass in front of him for a moment, before jumping slightly as the large dog a few feet away lurched forward. Ethan was pleasantly surprised when he felt the dog's warm, strong body almost wrap around him from his back to the sides of his waist. Skeeter's large head was in his lap, his feet touching his leg on the other side.

"It starts giving me warnings, and the lights go dimmer." He said, and stroked the large head of the bloodhound in his lap.

"And what does it do after about ten or fifteen minutes of a low battery?" Ethan frowned, not seeing where the random talk about cellphones had come from. He answered anyway.

"It dies."

"Okay. So where does a cellphone's power come from?" Cody asked, pulling pieces of grass apart.

"That battery, of course. You need to charge the battery."

"Of course, and what happens to the screen and keys and color eventually, after using it for a long period of time?" he asked, yet another cellphone question.

"The buttons numbers rub off a little, and the color of it fades….and the screen gets scratched up, I guess." That's what had happened to his other flip phone after years of usage.

"But it still worked?"

"Yeah."

"Okay. So, when I first saw you…besides the injuries and things…..to me, it seemed like you were an old cell phone running on a low battery." He said, and picked up a rock, turning it over and over with long fingers. Ethan processed what he' just heard, and realized what the senseless talk of technology was for.

"Okay…." Ethan turned towards Cody, giving the older male his full attention. "I get it…..but I don't get it." He said helplessly, and the corners of Cody's mouth lifted in a smile.

"Well…you were wounded and scratched and bruised. Those would be the scratches and faded buttons on a cell phone. As for the low battery…well, at certain times, I can see more than just the physical state of people." He said. "Tell me, what would be your battery Ethan? And it's more than your internal organs." He grinned, flashing a set of white teeth.

"My soul." Ethan answered instantly, and surprised even himself.

"That's right. Your spiritual energy was running low. I think, just like a cell phone, the energy ran low because someone used it up, took it." He looked at Ethan intently. "I have no doubt in my mind that no just animal could've done that to you. It wasn't just your exterior that was marred Ethan." He said, and absently grasped the younger boy's shoulder comfortingly. "But you're healing. Your healing rate, and spiritual energy strength has gone up…way up. In fact, shockingly, I'd say you've been healed by god himself."

"I don't get it." Was he only way Ethan could respond and Cody just smiled, shaking his head. He stood up and offered Ethan a hand.

"I don't really get it either, E."

AN: Okay, so maybe this chapter wasn't too long, and maybe there wasn't enough Benny, but Chapter Four is already in progress! How was it? Not too bad, hopefully. Sorry for the short-ness of this…the next one will be longer! Also, the next one will have more Benny! Yaayyy! Drop me a review!

BTW: It's 3:19am on a school night and I'm uploading this. FEEL THE LOVE.