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"Daddy, why are you bringing the guitar?" Ella wanted to know, as Puck laid it gently in the trunk of the car.
"I need it for Aunt Rachel, baby", Puck said gently, helping the girl into the car and closing the door. "Mum and I don't like Aunt Rachel and Uncle Finn being sad, so we're trying to help them".
Beth wiped her eyes- she couldn't believe it. It was Boxing Day- the day after they had unwrapped all their presents. Wrapping paper had littered the floor of their house, but their hearts weren't in it. Because there was a pile of presents that should have been unwrapped, squeals of joy that should have been heard. There should have been tiny hugs exchanged, as five year old Hannah stood on the coffee table, belting out the lyrics to Christmas carols, as she had done for the past three Christmases.
There was none of that.
Boxing Day, 2024.
The day Hannah Elyse, Isaac Nathaniel and Ava Jean were buried.
No one wanted to attend a funeral- especially not one of a child.
"Hey honey", Finn said gently, as Beth wrapped her arms around him. He was red eyed and puffy faced, as his goddaughter hugged him tightly.
"Uncle Finn, I don't think I can do this", she whimpered.
"Yeah you can, Bethy", he said gently, rubbing her back, as he had done to her so many times. When she had come to him with a scraped knee, he had stuck a Barbie Band-Aid down with a kiss. When she had had bad dreams while he and Rachel were babysitting, he had tucked her into bed with a kiss to her forehead. "Yeah you can, you're my brave munchkin".
"I can't do this, Uncle Finn, I can't say goodbye".
"I don't want to either, Beth. You're braver than me", he admitted, kissing the top of her blonde curls.
"Hey Beth", Rachel said quietly, and Beth flung her arms around her aunt.
They were all there. Mercedes, Artie, Tina and Mike Chang. Brittany and Santana, Blaine and Kurt, Carole and Burt and Hiram and Leroy. Shelby had Ella sitting in her lap, as she held her gently, the minister speaking about the three children he really didn't know at all.
But tears were falling hard and fast, as memories of the three Hudson kids flowed.
"Bethy, this is your turn", Hiram said gently to the teenager and Beth stood up bravely, clutching the speech she had stayed up half the night to write.
But it was generic. It wasn't what she wanted to say. So, wiping her eyes, she turned to her family and friends who had gathered to say goodbye.
So she went with her heart.
"None of us ever thought we would be here today. No one imagines they will be saying goodbye forever to a child, much less to their own child. Nothing could be crueler or more unfair- aside from saying goodbye to three. Hannah Elyse, Isaac Nathaniel and Ava Jean. Three angels that God called home", she began, locking eyes with her teary Aunt Rachel.
"Many of you will have your own special memories of the three of them- Hannah's little performances on the coffee table, Isaac's rough and tumble nature, Ava's sweet giggle. The cuddles that Hannah would give spontaneously, the jokes that Isaac would tell and get the punch line wrong, snuggles with the ever loveable Ava".
Finn smiled for the first time since the accident- Ava was his little daddy's girl, always one for a cuddle. Isaac was the little prince, always in trouble, but one grin with his white baby teeth could melt their hearts. And Hannah was their performer, in every way.
"I held all three of them the day they were born- Hannah in the morning, Isaac in the middle of the afternoon and Ava late at night. Uncle Finn's smile had never been brighter, as he held his newborn baby in his arms, and Aunt Rachel, while she had been exhausted, looked overjoyed. We all were- each baby was just another member to our mishmash family".
Quinn squeezed Rachel's shoulders, as she looked on proudly at her daughter. It seemed like only yesterday that they were at regionals- that first year in glee- rushing to the hospital. She had been passed around from arm to arm, that night, and had made an appearance at almost every rehearsal until they graduated. Beth was their good luck mascot- how did she grow up so fast?
"Aunt Rachel, Uncle Finn, we will be forever proud of your three kids. Because they weren't just yours. They were grandchildren, nieces and nephew, cousins and friends as well as your children. They were all a part of our lives, all three impacting our lives to some extent".
Hiram, Leroy and Shelby and Burt and Carol's grandchildren. Will and Emma's, Santana and Brittany's, Mercedes and Shane's, Tina and Mike Chang's, Artie and Lilly's, Blaine and Kurt's nieces and nephew. Puck and Quinn's godchildren. Beth and Ella and the rest of the gang's cousins.
"Whenever we lose someone we love suddenly, we are left distraught, grief stricken and angry. Why? That' always the question asked. Why was it them? Out of all the children on earth, they are the three that deserved it the least. Why? I'm so sorry, but there just isn't an answer. God knows we have all cried so many tears for the three children that we will never get to see grow up".
I know it doesn't seem possible, but, in time the edge will be taken off. We will come to realise that Hannah, Isaac and Ava are safe and loved where they are, even if they aren't with us. As it is with all loved ones, we wish we could talk to them once more. To hear their voices once more- if only heaven had a telephone. I will think of Hannah, Isaac and Ava every single day, never to be forgotten. Tears will still come, as time goes on, the pain will subside. We have always have memories. Memories of three beautiful angels that God called home".
Rachel wrapped the girl in her arms, Beth putting her head on the brunette's shoulder.
"Bethy, thank you", she whispered, choking out a sob.
As Beth stepped down, Puck stepped up, his guitar looking every bit out of place against his black suit. Strumming and plucking gently, he pressed a kiss to Rachel's temple.
"Would you know my name, if I saw you in heaven? Would it be the same, if I saw you in heaven? I must be strong, and carry on, 'cause I know, I don't belong, here in heaven..."
There wasn't a dry eye in the room.