Chapter 16-Moe Along: The Funeral

Jeremiah shifted slightly in bed, only to kick Cody on accident. He was sandwiched in between Zack and Cody and he felt secure. Ever since the car accident Jeremiah doesn't feel safe sleeping alone, so he's now rooming with Zack and Cody. They moved his stuff into their room and redecorated, so now Zack's and Cody's bed are on either side of Jeremiah's.

"Are you ok, Jer? What's wrong?" Cody asked as she sat up and rubbed his eye. He still had a tried look on his face and he yawned as he looked at his little brother.

"I was just thinking. I mean, Kurt didn't want me in the first place, but he saved me from Sarah. I don't understand why he did," Jeremiah responded in a small voice.

"It's because you remind him of us," Cody said thoughtfully as he pulled Jeremiah into his lap and rested his chin on his head as Jeremiah leaned back against him. "Our dad has never had the chance to get to know you until tonight so he thought he wouldn't like you. But, once you did spend time with him, he realized you were like us. His fatherly instincts kicked in so he had no choice to save you."

Cody rocked back and forth slowly as he tried to lull Jeremiah into slumber. He felt tears come to his eyes but effused to let them fall. He had to be strong for his family. He knew they expected for him to break easily, but, if they saw him being strong, they can be too. He lowered his head and rested his cheek on Jeremiah's head and closed his eyes a little bit as he listened to Zack's snores and Jeremiah's deep breathing, which told him that he was starting to fall asleep.

'The funeral is tomorrow. And we have to speak. I have to work on what I'm going to say.' Gently lifting Jeremiah off of his lap, Cody placed him in the bed and he latched onto Zack's arm in his sleep. Cody went to his desk and got a piece of paper. He held the pencil above the paper and stared at it. There were a lot of things he wanted to say, but he had to keep it short.

-Flashback-

"Pass it to me, daddy! Pass it to me!" six-year-old Zack Martin said as he waved his arms in the air to get his dad's attention. Kurt held the football in his hand and brought it back. He threw it forward and watched as Zack ran after it. He got it off of the ground and tried to throw it back…but it hit Cody in the back of the head as he walked by.

Cody fell over and started to bawl. Zack sighed and walked over to his brother as Kurt lifted him to his feet. He kissed Cody on the cheek and wiped away his tears.

"Gosh Code, you should've watched where you were going!" Zack scolded, causing Cody's face to fall.

"Daddy!" Cody cried.

"Zack! Don't bother your brother. Come here you two," he said as he took both of their hands. "I know a way to cheer you both up." He set them down on the porch and disappeared into the house then came back out with his guitar. He sat in between his sons and tuned his guitar slightly. Then he started to play a song and Zack and Cody watched with grins.

"You're awesome dad!" Zack exclaimed.

"Can you show us how to play?" Cody asked hopefully.

"I'll teach you when you're older."

"Promise?"

"Promise!"

-End Flashback-

"Let me help you," Zack said the next morning. Funeral day. He stood behind Jeremiah who was infront of the mirror and helped him tie his bow tie. Jeremiah, Zack, and Cody all were wearing dressy white shirts, black pants, black shoes, black ties, and black coats. Carey wore a black dress with a black shawl. For the past couple of days she was distant so Maddie had to come by and make sure they were ok and helped them with homework.

"C'mon boys," Carey said softly as she ushered them out of the suite. Quietly they left the hotel and rode to the church in a black Tipton limo. Maddie, London, Mr. Moseby, Esteban, and Arwin were with them. They were silent the whole ride there and the boys quietly entered the church and walked up to the open casket. Zack made a coughing noise and doubled over in sobs. Cody and Jeremiah hugged him as he continued to cry, that was the only sound in the whole church, until the service started.

Zack and Cody cried at every memory they remembered as people got up and spoke about Kurt. Carey cried in the middle of her speech, which got Jeremiah to start crying too. He has a bond with Carey now and whenever she's sad, he's sad too. Max, Tapeworm, Chris, and Crystal, who were sitting behind the Martins, were also crying. Chris let Crystal cry into his shoulder and he was stroking her hair and muttering soothing words to her as tears fell silently down his cheeks. He didn't know Kurt that well, but he didn't meet him once and had a blast with him and his sons.

"Cody."

"Cody."

"CODY!"

Cody blinked and turned his head to see that Zack and Jeremiah were at the podium. He stood up slowly and took shaky steps towards it. He closed his eyes once he passed his father's casket and stood on the other side of Jeremiah. He cleared his throat, and began his speech.

"My father…was an honest man. He was a rocker, but that's what we loved about him. We never cared that he wasn't home a lot because whenever her was we would have good times together. He would always make sure we did everything right. He made sure we had our homework done; we did our chores, and made sure we had a good balance of nutrition. But, he did let us have a lot of fun. Going to the movies, skateboarding, going to baseball games, watching his band play. He was a loose person, but he remembered that he had to be serious and that's what helped him raise us right." Cody paused and took a shaky breath before continuing. "He was an excellent father figure. If he wasn't worried about Jeremiah being out missing, we wouldn't have our little brother here with us. Our dad saved Jeremiah from being killed in a car crash, but he sacrificed his life in the process. We're thankful for Jeremiah being alive, but we also wish that he was still here. We know that God is watching over him and he was the one who decided when he should take dad back to heaven. Right now, he is looking down on us with a proud smile and that's all we can ask of him."

Zack nudged Cody and whispered something into his ear as Cody stared out at the crying audience. Cody nodded and Zack went to talk to his friends as a voice entered Cody's head. "You're celebrating my life. I don't want to see you all sad. They need to lighten up. And you, my son, is the only one who can do that." 'Dad?' Cody thought as he took in his father's words. He took off his jacket and laid it on the stage. He took the microphone and said hesitantly, "Not to be rude, but you all need to lighten up." Ignoring the gasps, he continued. "My father wouldn't want to see you guys sad. He'd want to see you happy as you celebrate his life. And there's only one way we can do that." He gave Jeremiah the mic as he looked at him with questioning eyes. Cody just gave him a look and he nodded full of understanding as Cody picked up an electric guitar, Zack picked up another while Max and Crystal picked up the base ones. Chris and Tapeworm picked up their drumsticks and sat down. They started to play and Jeremiah started to sing Hannah Montana's "I Learned From You".

Cody looked at the people in the audience and noticed that, as they applauded, were watching them with sadness leftover in their eyes. Sighing, Cody said, "Look, I know it's hard for you guys to get over his death. But he wants you to be happy. He…he told me so in a dream last night….My dad's favorite song was one by one of our favorite bands. It talks about how you have to go through the bad times and eventually you'll move along I life." He signaled for the group to start playing All American Reject's Move Along.

-Cody's POV-

"Cody, that was a wonderful thing you did. I'm proud of you," Carey said as she hugged me and kissed me on the cheek as we rode in the car back to the Tipton.

"Thanks mom. I needed to do something that dad would've liked. That just came to my mind," I said as I smiled.

Zack gave my hand a squeeze. I smiled at him and rested my head on his shoulder. Jeremiah was on our laps, asleep. The funeral must've taken a lot out of him. He had a peaceful look on his face and I was glad that he was finally happy and he finally felt like he fit in.

But, little did we know, our problems were just beginning...

A/N: I don't own the two songs in this chapter. They are I Learned From You by Miley and Billy Ray Cyrus and the other is Move Along by All-American Rejects.

Next Chapter: Chapter Seventeen: Peace?