Chapter 21.

Two weeks passed quickly as preparations were made for the funeral of Sarah Branning. Max and Jack took Joey to get an outfit to wear to the funeral. He'd asked them what little boys like him wore to funerals and they'd explained that little boys didn't normally go to funerals. After some talk between the three Brannings, they agreed what Joey should wear and had brought the clothes for him.

A week before the funeral they were allowed to go back into number 23 Albert Square and Max and Jack found some things from the house that they could use for Joey. Carol and Tanya had then joined them while Jim and Dot looked after Joey and they started the slow process of boxing up the rest of the house. It was a heartbreaking job for all involved but it needed to be done and they wanted to get it done as soon as possible. There were some things they were putting to one side for Joey to look at at a later date as they thought they might be things he would want as reminders of his mummy.

Two days before the funeral Tanya took Joey to the salon and gave him a haircut. His hair had grown a lot in the last month and she wanted it to be neat and tidy for the funeral. He wasn't that keen however and it took a little bribery from her before he would sit in the chair. In the end his hair was short at the back and sides and the top was a little longer and she gelled it so it was all spiky on top. She turned the chair and showed him in the mirror and the smile she saw in the reflection was reward enough.

*JL*JL*

The morning of the funeral dawned with Joey still sleeping in the bed with his mummy Tan and daddy Maxy. Tanya bathed him and did his hair, then took him down to the kitchen to have his breakfast, a dressing gown around his body so he didn't get it down himself and ruin what he was going to wear.

Once he was done Max, who had showered while they were having breakfast took him upstairs and the two of them got dressed. By the time Tanya was ready she walked down to the lounge and Max and Joey were waiting for her. "Well don't my two men look smart...?" she said as she looked at them both. Max was wearing a white shirt, black tie and a black suit. She had to bite her lip as her eyes drifted to Joey and saw him wearing a mirror image of Max, complete with a black tie. She walked over to him and crouched before him and her hands cupped his face. "You look so lovely, Joey... your mummy would so very proud of you now."

"Fank you, mummy Tan." He whispered.

"Do you think Bear should come with us today?" she asked him gently.

"Bear's too upset..." he breathed, his bottom lip quivering.

"Maybe he can go in my handbag and then if you need him, he can come out and you'd be there for each other."

"Okay..." he said.

Tanya reached for one of his hands, squeezing it gently as Max left the room and ran upstairs to get Bear from their bed, "If it gets too much for you today, you just let me or daddy know, okay?" she told him softly. "You don't have to do this..."

"I want my mummy to know I love her..." he whispered.

"She will always know that, Joey... she knew that from the day you were born..." she told him. She hugged him against her body, feeling him start to shake slightly. When they pulled apart there were tears on his face and Tanya wiped them away. Max reappeared in the room and he put Bear in Tanya's bag.

"The cars are here..." he told them softly.

*JL*JL*

Joey sat between Max and Tanya in the back of the funeral car that followed behind the hearse. Grandma Dot and Granddad were also in the car with them. Joey was very quiet during the journey, his hands clutching those of both his parents. He was a little apprehensive about what was about to happen.

*JL*JL*

The funeral had barely started and Joey was crying. He'd become distressed as soon as he'd seen the coffin with all the flowers on top of it. Mummy Tan picked him up and tried to comfort him but it wasn't working and he was just getting more and more upset as the minutes passed.

Tanya turned when she felt someone touch her arm. "I'll take him..."

"Are you sure?" she asked.

He nodded, "We'll go for a walk and have a little man to man chat..." he said.

Tanya passed Joey over to him, "Thanks Grant..." Just as he was about to walk away, Tanya reached into her bag and pulled out Bear. "You might need this..." she told him softly.

"We'll be round the front of the church." Grant said, walking away with the crying toddler and Bear.

*JL*JL*

Grant was sitting on a bench at the front of the church, Joey on his lap. He was crying intensely and Grant let him, brushing his hand up and down his back. Bear was gripped within Joey's arms, Grant having passed the toy to Joey as soon as they were seated. After five minutes Joey had calmed slightly. "Will mummy Tan and daddy Maxy be koss with me for not being there?" he asked in a broken voice.

"No, Joey... you're three years old and you're at the funeral for your mummy..." he said softly, "A lot of people get upset at funerals. Your granddad will be upset and he's much older than you are. Your aunties and uncles will all be upset... so they can't say anything about the fact you were too."

"But they all stayed there..." he whispered, "No one else left..."

"No one else is three years old... and it wasn't anyone else's mummy either, Joey." Grant said softly. "Shall I tell you something, Joey?" Joey looked up at him, tears still pooled in his eyes and nodded. "Do you remember me saying that my daddy was the same as yours?" Joey nodded again. "Your daddy stopped because he did a very bad thing and the police arrested him..." he said, "My daddy stopped because he died. He was poorly, with a sickness and in the end he died from it." Grant said, trapped in his own memories for a few seconds, "Now I wasn't as young as you are when he died but when I went to the funeral, I cried my eyes out. And he wasn't even a very nice man. Your mummy was a lovely lady and she deserves to have everyone crying at her funeral. It's the right thing to do."

"Do you fink she's in heben?" he whispered.

"I have no doubt she is, Joey. All the best people go to heaven."

"So there won't be anybody to hurt her no more?" he asked.

"No, Joey. She's going to be at peace now."

"With Nana Julie and the baby... and Hammy..." Joey stated.

"Who's Hammy?"

"He was my hamster..." Joey explained. "He died earlier last year. We had a funral for him in the garden."

"We had a funeral for Roly a couple of months ago. We were very sad when he died too." Grant said, "Do you remember Roly?"

Joey nodded, "He was a pitty doggy..."

"He died in an accident and Sharon and I were upset so we had a funeral for him too. He was cremated..."

"What's kemated?" Joey asked.

"Instead of being buried, a person or animal can be burnt and the ashes can then be scattered or buried in a place that's special to them. So we had Roly cremated and then we buried his ashes in the gardens in the square."

"I din't know that..."

"I think you were on holiday when it happened."

"So Roly is up in heben with mummy?"

"I'm sure he is... she might be taking him for walks."

"What's it like in heben, Unca Gant?"

"It's a busy place, Joey. There are a lot of good people in the world and they all go to heaven when they die."

"How do you know that? If you haven't been there...?"

"My granddad once told me about it... Have you ever looked up at the sky at night, Joey?" he asked him. Joey nodded his head, "My granddad told me that all the stars in the sky are the angels in heaven looking down at us and making sure we're okay."

"There are loads of stars in the sky..." Joey whispered in wonder.

"I know... so there must be loads of angels too..." Grant said.

"I'm glad mummy won't be lonely..." Joey said.

"She won't be, Joey. And she'll be looking down on you and making sure you're okay as well. You're her special little boy and always will be. She'll be watching you closely."

"And she won't mind if I'm happy living with mummy Tan and daddy Maxy?" he asked.

"No. She's going to want you to be happy, Joey. That's all she's ever wanted."

"Where do all the bad people go, Unca Gant... if the good people go to heben?"

"They go to hell, Joey... and it's not a very nice place down there because they're bad people and they're all nasty to each other." Grant said.

"How bad do you haf to be to go to hell?" Joey asked, looking a little worried.

"What's wrong, Joey?" Grant asked.

"Daddy told me I was a bad boy... does that mean I's going to go to hell? I want to go to heben and be wif mummy and all the good people..." he whispered.

"I think that when a person dies, all of the things they've done are measured and if you've done mostly bad things in your life, then you're a bad person... and if you've been mostly good, you'd go to heaven. Even if you had been a bad boy, Joey... which I don't think you had been, all the good things you've done would more than balance it out." Grant reassured him.

Joey thought about what he'd said to him and seemed to be happy with his answer. "Fank you, Unca Gant." He said softly. "Fank you for looking afer me today."

"It's what friend's do for each other, Joey." Grant said.

*JL*JL*

Max and Tanya reappeared at the front of the church as soon as the service was over and walked over to where Joey and Grant were sitting. "Hey Joey," Max said softly, sitting on the bench. Joey held his arms out towards him. Max lifted him up and hugged him tightly. "Are you okay, little man?" he asked softly. Joey nodded but the tears had returned. "It's okay, Joey... you cry as long as you want to..."

"I'll leave the two of you to it," Grant said to Max and Tanya as he saw Sharon, Phil and Kathy walk around the front of the church. "You know where I am, little guy..." Grant said softly.

"Fank you, Unca Gant..." Joey hiccupped. Grant stood and passed Bear to Joey, his hand brushing the back of his head before he walked away.

A/N: More Joey cuteness... His worrying that he might end up in hell because Derek told him he was a bad boy. And more Unca Gant... he'll be back again, don't worry. Send me a review. Back tomorrow...