*Author's Note*

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Tension & Sadness

Nova POV:

It's been a couple of days since the deadly accident between Moses and Billy occurred and so far, my brother's been holed up in his room, only shuffling out and about for food and to go to the bathroom. Today both me and Cap had the day off cause of our appointment. Well, Wall had put the trial on recess until tomorrow, using my appointment as an excuse. I think he just needed an excuse to take a break from the shit show.

Cap had dropped me off at the house before taking off to his parents' house to meet up with his siblings. On our way home he got a call from Robert E. telling him he needed to come over. I think Robert E. wanted to talk about the accident, but I wasn't too sure. After slipping my shoes off by the entrance way I made my way upstairs and down the hall to my brother's room. I wanted to check up on him cause I was worried about him. Coming to a stop in front of the guestroom, I let out a breath I didn't even know I was holding.

I knocked twice before opening the door. "Hey, Mo, how ya doin?" I asked my brother as I walked into his room.

"How'd ya think?" He sarcastically told me, his voice low and void of life. "How was your appointment?" Moses asked, sounding a bit concerned 'bout my pregnancy, as I took a seat next to him on his bed.

"It was okay. Got some bloodwork done and had another ultrasound done."

"Your husband here or back at work?" Moses asked, most likely cause he didn't hear or sense any signs of Cap being home.

"He actually just left to meet up with Robert E., Mariah, and Betty." I told my brother, causing him to nod.

My brother pulled his hair down from it's bun and put it back up again, fixing it, while coming to the conclusion of, "Prolly to tell them to keep up with their cover story."

"Yea." I nodded. I let out a heavy breath before revealing, "Cap got a call last night from his boss; the DA says that Uncle Perry and Randall McCoy are pushin' for Billy's accidental death to be tried as a negligent vehicular homicide."

My brother's cerulean eyes widened to the size of half-dollars. "What? But it was an accident."

I gave my brother a sympathetic look before sighing, "I know, but it's election year and the DA feels backed into a corner 'bout this."

"Shit, so you're tellin' me that my own brother-in-law's gonna prosecute me?" Moses bit out, his voice a bit high pitched and panicked.

"No." I shook my head. Family was important to Cap, so much so that he cussed out his boss and told him to shove the job up his ass. Yea, well, let's say I'm sugarcoating that fact for my brother. "Cap told his boss that as soon as your accident becomes a case he's quittin'. He won't work the case."

"Oh, that's good to know." My brother sighed in relief, his shoulders relaxing as much as they could given his stressed state.

Before I could say anything, my phone started to ring. I grabbed it from my pocket and looked at the caller id only to see Tolbert flashing on my screen. Gesturing to my phone, I stood up and told my brother, "I'm gonna take this in another room."

"Go 'head." Moses nodded, givin' me his permission, before floppin' back onto his bed to lay down like a dead fish.

I walked out of my brother's room, which was really a guestroom, and shut the door while answering my phone with a simple, "Hello."

"Hey, Ella, uh, I'm wonderin' how yer brother's doin'?" Tolbert asked me as I walked down the hall to my bedroom.

"How'd ya think he's doin', Tolbert? He's depressed and blamin' himself for your brother's death." I snapped, walking into my bedroom and sitting down on the edge of my bed.

"I know you're pissed at me 'bout that, but Ella how was I s'posed t'know Billy wanted me t'find out where'd they'd be at t'challenge them to Foggy Mountain? Huh? Y'don't think I ain't blamin' myself neither?" Tolbert gruffly yelled at me, his voice so loud that I had to hold the phone away from my ear.

I rolled my eyes in disgust before putting the phone back to the side of my head and spitting out, "Tolbert, don't act like you didn't know Billy wasn't gonna confront them, cause ya did. Billy was so much like you temper wise, it was a no brainer that he'd go after them."

"Can I come by, talk to him?" Is he for real? He's got no reason to see Moses. It'd only make things worse.

"No." I quickly answered, my flowin' tone a bit clipped and cold.

"Uh, why not?" Tolbert can't be that stupid, can he? Lord, if so he better lay off the shine.

"Cause Moses is hurtin' right now and I don't need ya makin' him feel worse by seein' your ugly mug."

"Ouch, never thought I'd hear ya call me ugly." Tolbert joked, most likely trying to lighten the dire and heavy mood. Yea, it ain't working since I'm not laughing. "Funeral's set for Saturday. Viewin's at noon, graveside service right after 'round 3'clock or so."

"I'll let my brother know."

"Tell Johnse he's welcomed t'bring Sarah Elizabeth. She should be able t'say goodbye t'her Uncle Billy." Since when is Tolbert the type to extend an olive branch? Funeral or not, he's not the type to make a truce with enemies.

"I'll pass it along." I told Tolbert, hoping the answer would get him off the phone.

"I hope t'see ya there. Even tho yer married t'Cap, ya knew Billy an' he did think of ya as an older sister; not just his best friend's older sister."

"I'll go if Moses wants to, okay."

"Kay." Tolbert quickly replied. Instead of saying goodbye and hanging up, Tolbert asked me in a soft smooth tone, "Uh, how was yer 'pointment wit' Doc? Everythin' go a'ight?"

"It was fine, had a scan and some bloodwork done." I recited, sounding a bit monotoned and informational instead of lively.

"Bloodwork, for what?" He asked with concern dripping off his velvet rough words.

"To find out the baby's gender. Doc can do it sooner thru a blood test." I half lied thru my teeth. I wasn't going to tell him the true reason why I had bloodwork done. He wasn't my husband, the reality that there might be something abnormal with my baby wasn't any of his business.

"Oh. So, ya gonna be in court 'morraw?"

"Yea." I told Tolbert before quickly adding in with a flat tone, "Look, I gotta go. See ya in court."

"Bye, Ella." I heard Tolbert tell me right before I pressed the red button to end the call.

Dear lord, now I gotta tell both Moses and Johnse about Billy's funeral. Lucky me, nothing in my life can be simple now can it?

Cap POV:

I walked onto the front porch of my folks' house and took a seat on one of the rockin' chairs. Robert E. was in the chair next to me wit Mariah perched on his lap. They were a sickenin' cute couple. Betty was sittin' on the porch swing, her legs curled up underneath her. With a heavy sigh I looked at them and asked, "Okay, what do ya'll want to talk to me about?"

Slightly nudgin' his head towards our little sister, Robert E. said, "She wants to make a new statement and tell the Kentucky law what really happened the other night."

I snapped my head to look at my lil sister while growling, "What? Betty, are ya nuts?"

"No, I just want to help Moses. Me tellin' the truth can do that."

"No, sis, it won't." I shook my head. I let out a frusterated breath before bluntly telling Betty, "It'd just get ya an accomplice to negligent vehicular homicide charge."

"What?" Mariah gasped out while at the same time Betty asked in a near startled cry, "Moses is bein' charged?"

"But it was an accident." Robert E. piped up, a shocked look all over his face.

I ran a hand thru my hair while sighing, "McCoy and Cline are pressurin' my boss. Since it's election year, DA Shep feels obligated to turn it into a case."

Betty narrowed her eyes at me hatefully as she seethed, "So, you're gonna prosecute him? Mo, your own brother-in-law? He's a part of our family!"

"No, once this McCoy boys' case is over, I'm quittin' my job. I'll defend Moses, not condemn him." I told my sister, well actually everyone out on the porch, in a deep-toned snap. Lookin' at everyone and pointin' at them, I ordered, "Now the best way to stay safe and to help Moses is to keep ya'll's mouths shut. The less ya say the better."

Nova POV:

After getting off the phone with Tolbert I told Moses about Billy's funeral. Of course, my brother wanted to go. Being the protective and kind-hearted sister, I was, I agreed to take him even tho I didn't really want to go. I wasn't really close to Billy even tho Tolbert claimed his brother viewed me as an older sister. I also called up Johnse and told him about Tolbert's odd olive branch of an invite for him to bring Sarah Elizabeth to the funeral. I really thought that Johnse would tell me something like okay, but he didn't. Well, the decision he made to not take Sarah Elizabeth was the best, but Tolbert was pissed 'bout it when I called to relay my brother-in-law's message.

After gettin' off the phone with Tolbert I went to the kitchen to start prepping for dinner. I decided to make a tomato, cucumber, and pepper salad as a side for dinner. Since it needed to be chilled and dressed with a vinaigrette, I was makin' it first before I even started on cookin' the chicken breast or the rice. I had just my vegetables on the counter, rinsed and ready to cut, whenever I heard the front door open and shut. Aha, so my husband was home.

"How's Moses doin'?" Cap asked me as he walked into the kitchen while I began to cut up a red bell pepper.

Not taking my attention off of the pepper I was cutting, I answered Cap with a sigh of, "Not good. He's depressed and blamin' himself."

"Has he left his room at all today?" My husband asked while taking a seat at the kitchen island.

"No, he's been in bed all day." I shook my head, scooping up the sliced pepper and placing it into the salad bowl.

"Is he gonna be okay to be by himself tomorrow while we're in court?"

"I dunno." I honestly sighed, shruggin' my shoulders. Grabbing another bell pepper to cut, I told my husband, "Tolbert called with details on Billy's funeral. I told Mo 'bout it and he wants to go."

"Great…" Cap's deep voice trailed off. "So, when do we gotta take him?"

"Saturday. The viewing starts at noon followed by the graveside service." Was my answer as I sliced up the pepper.

"It at Goodpasture's Funeral Home?" Cap asked, watchin' me toss the pepper pieces into the bowl with the others.

"Yea." I nodded, grabbing a cucumber. "I told Johnse 'bout it cause Tolbert wants Sarah Elizabeth to go say her goodbyes to her Uncle Billy." I revealed to Cap, while placing the cucumber on the cutting board and slicing it.

"What'd Johnse say? He takin' her?"

I placed the cucumber slices into the bowl and grabbed another one and cut it up while lengthily telling Cap his brother's reaction. "No, he told me to tell Tolbert that he doesn't feel a funeral filled with people that want him dead's a good place to take his young daughter. He also told me that when the time's right he'll take her to Billy's grave, let her say goodbye to his tombstone."

"Hmm, I'm shocked that my brother actually made a smart choice for once in his life." My husband nodded his head, his mustache slightly hitchin' up as he made a little impressed face.

"I think it'd be smart for you not to go to the funeral considering the McCoys hate you." I bluntly told Cap, my voice firm, as I grabbed a tomato and started to cut it.

"So, you wanna take Moses by yourself?" Cap asked, not stated, as his mismatched eyes narrowed curiously at me as I cut up the tomato.

"Yea." I nodded before setting the knife down on the cutting boards and adding in, "It'll be less drama that way."

"Fine by me, but if something goes down ya better call me." Cap told me with a firmness to his deep rollin' timbre, as I scooped up the tomatoes and placed them into the salad bowl.

I just silently nodded at my husband before grabbing another tomato and slicing it up. Cap didn't say a word, just sat quietly at the kitchen island; watching me make dinner. That's one thing I appreciated about Cap, silence moments with him always seemed normal and calming instead of heavy and awkward. Just having him in the room with me was comforting, especially after what we've been thru today considering my blood's being sent to a lab for testing on abnormalities in our unborn child.

The last couple of court days seemed to fly by. I didn't deal with cross examining all of the witnesses that claimed to have seen Tolbert and Pharmer stab and shoot, mortally wounding and killing, Ellison. I let my Uncle Perry deal with them since I wanted to be the one to cross examine the star witness, Bud. Bud wouldn't be on the stand til court resumed after the weekend.

Talk about the weekend, today was Saturday and also the day of Billy McCoy's funeral. I was taking my brother to the sad event while my husband stayed home. Betty wanted to come along with us to support Moses, but he convinced her not to. Not that I blame him, a McCoy funeral wasn't a place for a Hatfield no matter who they were.

Whenever I pulled into the parking lot the atmosphere was very heavy. Looking at my brother after turning the truck's engine off, I asked, "You sure you're up to this? If not, we can just go back to the house."

"I'll be fine, sissy." Mo assured me, his lips a thin line. I just nodded, even tho I didn't believe him. I knew today was eating him up. His best friend was dead and being laid to rest today, a fact that my brother blamed himself for.

Silently, we got out of the truck and made our way across the parking lot and over to the funeral home. I opened the door and let my brother shuffle in ahead of me. As soon as he stepped over the threshold, his shoulders slumped and a wave of sadness washed over him. I just took a deep breath before walking into Goodpasture's Funeral Home. The lobby of the place was cold and spacious with only a few chairs. A large sign reading William 'Billy' McCoy was pointing to a large double doored room.

Quietly I placed a hand on my brother's shoulder and led him over to the viewing room. I could fell Moses shaking as I opened the door. The room was full of family and friends of Billy McCoy, all of whom turned their heads to watch me and my brother enter the room. I felt like we were in a fish bowl as we walked up the aisle to the front of the room where the casket was up on display. Since Billy got burnt up in a car fire/explosion, it was a closed casket. I personally think he should've just been cremated, but the McCoys didn't believe in it.

Seeing the brown casket draped in a large spray of fall wild flowers was depressing. There was no call for this sight. Billy should've never known where to find Moses, Robert E. and the girls. This, sad to say, was in a way Tolbert's fault. Billy should be alive, not burnt up to bits in a closed casket at 21-years old.

I stood a little ways behind my brother as he stood at the casket, saying his goodbyes to his childhood best friend. I was startled a bit whenever I felt a hand rest on my shoulder. Turning my head slightly, I saw that Tolbert was next to me. "How's he doin'?" Tolbert asked, slightly tiltin' his head towards my brother.

How the hell does he think Moses is doin'? That's a dumbass question. "He's sad and blamin' himself." I told him, my flowin' voice a bit tight and edgy.

"Yea…" He sighed, his hand sliding down and off my shoulder. "I'm glad ya'll came. Billy would've wanted ya'll to say goodbye to him."

"Tolbert, this is a funeral not a social call. Don't try to make this sound better then what it is." I snapped before walking up to the casket, standing by my brother's side. I placed a hand on Billy's casket before whispering out softly, "Rest in peace, Billy." Pulling my hand away from the casket and placing it gently on Moses' shoulder, I suggested, "Let's go sit down."

Moses didn't say a word, just nodded and let me guide him to an open seat. I picked some seats closer to the back since I didn't feel like being on display or the topic of funeral gossip. Nancy kept glancing at us; giving us the stick eye while her husband Bad Frank would occasionally shoot us sympathetic looks. Apparently, that mean man had a soft spot for my brother and his situation. Ransom and his wife were givin' us sad and sympathetic looks too. Uncle Perry wouldn't look at us and Roseanna was too busy holding Sally Elle to pay us any mind. Hell, all of the McCoys, expect for Tolbert, were giving us nasty looks as they randomly looked at us. Tolbert genuinely seemed a bit guilty as his stormy eyes landed on us the view times, he looked at me and Mo.

After sitting in the viewing room for a couple of hours, the funeral director escorted all of us to the graveyard that was behind the funeral parlor. It was quite a walk, more like a hike, across the large property that Goodpasture's Funeral Home & Memorial Hills was on. Why the cemetery was named Memorial Hills beats me, I always felt the name was odd. Eh, whatever. Whenever we reached the grave, that was freshly dug for Billy, Reverend Garrett was there dressed in a fine black suit and hat clutching his bible. Chairs were set up graveside for immediate family; the rest of us had to stand. Jim, Calvin, Bud, Pharmer, Tolbert, Jefferson, Squirrel, and Parris were the pallbearers. The sight of them carrying the casket out of the hearse, that only drove maybe a couple minutes to the yard from the building, was very depressing and ominous. Tolbert's daughter, Sally Elle, was with Roseanna and Perry. They made sure to keep their distance from me and Mo too. It was like we were lepers, unclean and had to be stayed away from.

Once the casket was placed on the stand by Reverend Garrett the McCoy pallbearers took their places either sitting or standing. Me and Moses were standing in the far back, away from everyone since we were being snubbed. Tension and sadness hung heavily in the air, covering everyone like a thick blanket, as the preacher cleared his throat and spoke the loud deep words of, "We're here today to say goodbye to a man whose life was lost too soon." Reverend Garret's head shook and his voice boomed with the lengthy sermon of, "The evils and temptations of the world snagged up Billy McCoy in a time of lapsed judgement, but the lord knows the ways of his heart and has forgiven him of his sins. God will take him up into his loving embrace and welcome him into the promise land." Oh my god, his sendoff sermon's a bit much. Dear lordy, I hope he doesn't drag this on and on. My brother's getting all angsty and shaky next to me, the self-blame's hitting him hard. "Billy McCoy was a beloved son and friend. He was a good God-fearing boy who, in a time of weakness, let himself get drawn into a challenge that cost him his life." As the funeral workers lowered the casket into the ground, the preacher finished his sermon with, "Accidents happen to the least expected, but our savior the might Lord God has his son Billy with him for all eternity now to forever rest in a peaceful paradise."

Reverend Garret looked at the McCoy family, silently signaling that it was time for them to toss dirt onto the coffin. Jim held his mother, Sally, and ushered her to Billy's coffin to toss the dirt into it. Sally, with a sould shattering wail, picked up some dirt and tossed it into the 6-foot hole her son was now in. Calvin placed a hand on Randall's shoulder, ready to guide him over to Billy's coffin, but was roughly pushed off by his dad. Randall, with a hateful scowl on his bearded face, walked away from his son's graveside.

Randall stopped right next to my brother and spat, "Yer fault my son's dead." Glaring daggers at us, he spat hatefully, "Ya shouldn't even be here, none of ya."

My eyes went into narrow slits as I growled at the McCoy patriarch, "Don't blame my brother for this. Blame your son, Tolbert, since he's the one that told Billy where Moses was gonna be at that night."

Randall just let out a disgusted grunt and walked away. Bastard, seem he doesn't like hearing the truth. I let out a frustrated breath before looking at my brother and asking him, "You ready to go, Mo?"

"Yea." He nodded, his voice flat and void of life.

I just nodded, placed a hand on his shoulder, and led him away from the graveside funeral. We were almost to the edge of the road whenever I heard loud footsteps coming up behind us. "Are ya'll comin' to the house for the after gatherin'?" Tolbert's voice sounded out from right next to me.

Not even looking at him, I answered his question with, "No. We're going home." Before Tolbert could protest, I quickened my pace and pushed my brother to walk faster. Today, considerin' the event, wasn't the time to be socializing with the McCoys. Hell, I needed to get my brother home and try to calm him now; convince him that Billy's tragic death isn't his fault. Also, I needed to clear my head and prepare myself for Monday's court day, which would be having Bud star as Cap's witness.

AN:

Yea, this was a heavy chapter. Poor Moses. Nova's got a lot on her plate too. Yikes, Cap might be unemployed soon too…