Chapter 47

A/N True Heartache continued

I know that was a hard chapter to read. It took me 3 weeks and 2 complete rewrites to get it done. Sorry but there is more heartache to come. I had to continue it since the last chapter was getting out of control length wise.

Joan landed in Charlottesville and Brian Sims was waiting on her. He drove her to the wreck site. Will saw her and as best he could with his hurt leg walked over to her.

"Aunt Joan, no one will tell me what is going on. What is going on with Mom and Dad?" he asked.

Joan dropped her head and with tears in her eyes, looked up at him. "

They are gone Will. They told me they died on impact. I am so sorry," she told him as she held him tightly. He cried for a while. Once his tears subsided, she pushed him back.

"You need to go to the hospital and get checked out and I need to go talk to Lizzy. I am going to let them take you and I am going to go get her," she said as she looked at him.

Joan rode to the farm with Brian and he told her all the rest of the details of the wreck. No one had witnessed the accident and there was no evidence of another vehicle.

They pulled up to Ben and Suzanne's home. After the Barnes moved out, they had moved back to their house and she had moved into Suzanne's parents house.

She slowly walked into the house and called out for Lizzy. She didn't get a response so she walked up the stairs to her room. This was a conversation she was not looking forward to.

She knocked on her bedroom door and waited for a response.

"Come in," Lizzy was shocked to see her Aunt at her door.

"Aunt Joan, what are you doing here?" she asked.

Joan reached down and took her hand walking her over to the bed. "Lizzy, I have to tell you something. Your parents were involved in an accident on their way to town. The car rolled several times and they died instantly. I am so sorry."

Lizzy looked at her with shock on her face and denial. What did she just tell me? My parents are dead. No, that can not be what she just said.

Joan looked at her to see if she was understanding what she had told her. She seemed to be in shock. She needed to get them to the hospital to check on Will and then try and start notifying everyone that needed to be told.

Lizzy suddenly launched herself into her arms and broke down. Her tears were coming in droves and she was crying uncontrollably. There was no calming her down. Her heart was breaking for her and Will and how was she going to help these kids get through this. Hell, how was she going to get through this.

Lizzy's tears finally slowed down and Joan took her by the hand and led her downstairs. She called Billy to bring her car from her house. They drove to the hospital and found Will. Once he saw Lizzy, he launched off the bed and ran to her. They held each other and cried.

Joan went to find a doctor to find out about her nephew's condition.

"He has a sprained ankle and 4 stitches in his head. We put it in a splint for his ankle. It will recover and he will be fine," the doctor said.

Now she had to tackle the hard part. "What do I need to do about my brother and sister in law? Do I need to identify their bodies or something?" she asked as she leaned her head back trying to fight back her tears.

"Their bodies are downstairs in the morgue. Do you want me to get someone to stay with the kids while you take care of that?" he asked.

She stood at the door marked Morgue and wasn't sure she would be able to do this. She knew since there was no one else to do it, it was up to her.

She walked in and saw 2 sheet covered bodies on the table. Tears were threatening and she had to do her best to keep them at bay and get through this task.

The attendant pulled back the first sheet and there was her Ben. Her precious baby brother. How can this be real? She nodded at the attendant and he laid the sheet back over him. He walked over and raised the next sheet and there was Suzanne. She nodded at him and he covered her back up.

Joan walked out and sat down on the bench outside the door. Oh God that was really Ben and Suzanne's lifeless bodies laying in there under sheets. They were really gone, how can that be? She finally let her tears fall and cried for them and the pain that was going to be coming in the future. How was she going to take care of their kids?

Ben and Suzanne had sat down with her when she moved onto the farm. They wanted her to take care of their kids, if anything ever happened to them. She was surprised at the time. She assumed with her job and always traveling, that Eric would take the kids if the unthinkable happened. They explained to her that Eric and Evelyn had 3 kids and Eric's heart issue was affecting him more and they didn't want to put more pressure on him. She told them that she needed to think about it.

She had spent a restless night thinking about it. She wasn't sure what there was to think about. Their grandparents were all gone and she and Eric were the only real family they had left. It was a no-brainer that she would take them. She never imagined that she would actually have to raise them. Ben and Suzanne would live long enough for the kids to grow up and they would be around to see their grandkids. That would now not be the case.

How the hell was she supposed to raise these kids and do her job. She pulled out her agency phone and called the Director. She would need to take a leave of absence to figure out the next steps. He agreed and told her not to hesitate if there was anything else she needed. She gathered herself together and went to get the kids.

Once Will was released, they drove back to their home. She decided that letting them stay in their home for the time being was the best. Lizzy ran up the stairs straight to her room. Will hobbled into the house and with some maneuvering managed the stairs and went to his.

Joan walked into Ben and Suzanne's shared office and sat down on the couch. She looked over at his desk and a picture came to her mind of him sitting there deep in thought with his head down working. She had seen that picture a few times when she was there when she was home. She realized that would never happen again. She rose and walked over to make a call she was very much dreading.

A very cheerful Evelyn answered the other end of the line. Joan took a breath, "Evelyn it is Joan, Ben's sister. I am afraid I am calling with some really bad news. Ben and Suzanne were killed in a car accident earlier today. Will was with them, but he is okay. Lizzy was at home. I am here with them now."

Joan heard the phone fall and a scream. She wasn't sure what was going on on the other end of the line. She then heard Eric ask Evelyn what was wrong and she told him with her obvious tear filled voice.

Eric picked up the phone and asked her what was going on, was what Evelyn just told him really the truth. She told him yes. He said he would call her back in a little bit. Joan hung up and went to check on the kids.

Joan found them both in Lizzy's room hugging each other in the middle of her bed. "Hey guys, do you need anything? Are you hungry? Is there anything I can do for you?"

Both shook their heads and continued to try and give each other some comfort.

Joan guessed that word had spread around town, because the phone started ringing. She spent the next two hours fielding phone calls from concerned friends and neighbors. Between calls, neighbor ladies started dropping off food. It was a little overwhelming. She still had not slowed down properly to grieve.

Eric called back to let her know that they were catching a flight in the morning. His oldest Joshua was in college and would fly in as soon as he could get a flight.

Joan wanted to wait on Eric to start making arrangements. She knew that Ben and Suzanne had a will and had made arrangements for their burials. They didn't want anyone else to have to go through what they had gone through with both of their parents' sudden deaths. Ben was always the one to be prepared for anything. She knew that there were trust funds for both kids. There would be a lot to handle in the coming weeks.