Chapter 2

His heart heavier than the earth, moon, and sun all put together, Bob awoke and dressed silently. As he pulled his shirt on, Linda stirred, Bakeneko clutched to her chest.

"I'm going to see Mort in a few minutes. Do you wanna come?"

"Okay, fine I'll go. Then you'll see; you'll see Louise isn't dead," she said, getting out of bed. She'd not bothered to undress last night, and now she didn't bother to change her clothes or brush her hair.

Neither had Bob; he didn't see the point. Nothing mattered any more.

The walk next door seemed to be never-ending this time; they were finally going to learn the reason why their baby died. Bob wanted to know but at the same time, he didn't want to know. What if she'd had internal injuries and that was the cause? What if it had been something preventable, like the diggers reaching her sooner? If Louise could have been saved... Bob didn't know what he would do.

They found Mort, along with Dr Cabell, and were invited to sit in his office.

"How are you doing?" Mort asked kindly, and they only shrugged. "We've got the results from Louise's autopsy. Are you okay to hear it?" Bob was struggling internally. He already felt guilty beyond belief for sending her out that day. He would never forgive himself. For that reason, he wasn't sure whether he wanted to know the result; he didn't know how he would live with himself if Louise could have been saved. On the other hand, he would get closure once he knew the results, and the only thing worse than knowing was not knowing.

After what seemed like an eternity, he nodded. "It has been ruled that the cause of death was dehydration and hypothermia," Mort read the results as delicately as he could.

"You're sure it's Louise?" asked Linda. "It's definitely her, and not some other kid?"

"It's definitely her," Mort said, and Linda's jaw dropped slightly. It really had happened. Her baby girl was – she put a trembling hand over her mouth, shaking her head. Her little girl couldn't be dead, not her baby. How was she supposed to carry on? All she wanted to do was lie face-first on the floor, and drink until she passed out. Her whole body felt weighted, but that was okay, because she didn't want to move. She wanted to go back to Louise's room and stay in there forever and ever.

"But.. they were giving her stuff for that," said Bob, his exhausted eyes focused on the wall next to Mort.

"She lost more fluids that we could replace," said Cabell. "Through tears, urination, and she'd become unable to sustain her body temperature." He paused. "She had something called septicaemia; blood poisoning, which more than likely contributed to her death." He looked over at the devastated parents. "She wouldn't have felt anything. She would have just gone to sleep," he added, hoping it would bring some comfort to them. Bob nodded robotically.

"What other injuries did she have?" he asked.

"She had a broken ankle, and a fractured tail bone," Cabell began. "She had pressure sores on her back, and her kidneys were shutting down. It also looked like gangrene on her arms and legs, where they were under the bricks."

"Could – could she have been -" Bob didn't finish the question, but Cabell knew what he meant.

"It was just one of those things. Perhaps, if they had gotten to her in time, we might have been able to do something," he said gently, and Bob nodded. He wasn't sure if that was supposed to make him feel better.

"Thanks," he muttered as he and Linda stood.

"Give my love to the family," Mort added as they left the room. He'd known them for years; since before they had Tina. The only thing keeping him from breaking down was the fact that he was a professional. The least he could do was wait for them to leave the building.

When Bob and Linda returned, they joined their family in getting ready to go to the chapel of rest. It would have been easier for them to just wait at Mort's, rather than going back home, but naturally, they weren't thinking properly. Linda refused to loosen her hold on Bakeneko. As soon as they saw Bob and Linda, silence descended upon the room.

"Well?" said Al. "What did they say?"

Heads turned to look at him before swivelling back to Bob, who was looking at Tina and Gene.

"Uh, kids, would you mind stepping outside for a minute?"

"No, Dad, we have to know," Tina insisted bravely, and Bob nodded.

"Mort and the doctor said the reason Louise died was -" Bob took a deep breath and continued. "Louise died because of de-dehydration and hypothermia."

"How?" asked Gayle through her tears. "I thought she had heat and water!"

"She did," said Linda, clutching Bakeneko to her chest. "She just – they said that she just lost more than they could give her, and they said she had... blood poisoning."

"Poison?" Tina whispered, but no one seemed to hear her. Did they give Louise bad water? She didn't understand.

Just as they were about to leave, there came a knock at the door, and Gayle answered it.

"Hi," said Teddy quietly. He was holding something small and green in his hands. "I've been knocking and calling, but... Anyway, I just wanted to bring this back," he held up Kuchi Kopi. "They gave it to me to give to you."

"Thank you." Gayle took the treasured little night light. She knew how much Louise adored this thing, and she held it tightly to stop her hands from shaking as she went back upstairs.

"Who was it?" asked Tina.

"It was your friend, Teddy. He – he brought this," she held up the toy, and Tina gasped quietly.

"Kuchi Kopi." She wanted to reach out for it, but it felt wrong. It belonged to Louise.

"Put it on the table," Bob choked, unable to even look at it. Gayle nodded and quickly did so, before they made the short walk next door.

Once inside, they were met by Mort and Samantha, both of them looking weary, and then they were led down a few halls until they reached a door, which they went through. They were in a small room with a curtain hanging down at one end. The morticians' had done their best to make the room look cosy; there was a table with flowers on it, framed posters of scenic views on the walls and several comfortable chairs.

Mort pulled back the curtain to reveal Louise lying in a satin-lined oak coffin. Al and Gloria gasped, Tina grabbed her father's hand, Big Bob, Bob, and Linda covered their mouths with their hands and Gene and Gayle's eyes widened.

Bob's breath caught in his throat and he fought back tears. Louise's skin was waxy and a just a few shades paler than it used to be, her hands were folded neatly across her chest, but she looked so peaceful, just as if she were sleeping.

She was wearing the clothes that Bob had picked out, along with her white dress shoes, and white socks, and her hair had been brushed and washed. She was wearing her bunny ears, which had been cleaned.

Mort had done a fantastic job on her; he'd used a lot of makeup to conceal her blackened limbs, and to make her grey face look more natural, along with covering the bruises. Now that the rigor mortis had dissipated, he had been able to make her look comfortable. She looked so... normal. They would never have guessed that her lips had been sewn shut, or that cotton was filling her cheeks to make them look less hollow or that her eyes had been glued shut. It was so hard to believe that she was.. That she wasn't just sleeping.

Bob reached down and gently stroked her forehead; she was so cold, he noted, biting back more tears.

Linda stood near her youngest's head, her hand pressed over her mouth. She shook her head a few times, her eyes brimming with tears.

"It's really her," she whispered. "She really is -"

Tina stepped forward, staring at her motionless sister, and took her hand. Gene hung back for a moment, before slowly stepping up beside Tina. He laid a hand on Louise's arm, his face crumpling.

Al and Gloria were quietly sobbing behind her, and Big Bob and Gayle were staring silently. Nobody said a word. Instead, they continued to stare at Louise, waiting. Surely it would be like in the movies, and she would give a great cough, and sit up? It was the only thing that made sense; there was no other alternative to consider. Tina concentrated on Louise's chest, looking intently for the faintest movement, the tiniest sign that she was still breathing.

But nothing happened, and they remained staring at the youngest Belcher.

At Wagstaff Elementary School, the student body filed into the auditorium for their mandatory daily assembly. This one was unusual because Principal Spoors himself was standing in front of the microphone, but Mr Frond was next to him. Not only that, all of the teachers' were there, as well.

Of course, many of them knew why. A large number of the students were looking sombre.

Principal Spoors eyed the teachers sat at the side of the auditorium as he waited for silence. The rowdy chattering of the students continued as it did every assembly as Spoors waited patiently on the stage, and ordinarily he would have hushed them, but today he just stood there silently.
Row by row, the students began to quieten and the whole auditorium soon sat quietly, waiting for Spoors to begin.

"Good morning, children," Spoors began, scanning the rows of pupils. "I'm afraid I have some bad news."

"Are you retiring?" heckled one of the older kids and a few giggles broke out. Spoors waited for the laughter to subside before calmly continuing. "No. First off, I want to thank you for coming in these past few days; I understand how hard it must be for you. I'm afraid this bad news is about one of our pupils." He paused as the children started murmuring to each other. "As you may be aware, one of our students, Louise Belcher has... has tragically died." Spoors paused again as more murmurs arose from the room. "Her family ask that you please respect their privacy at this time," well, they hadn't explicitly said that, or anything, but they didn't have to, and Spoors had correctly guessed that the family wouldn't want to be disturbed. "We will find out from them when the funeral is going to be held, and whether you will able to attend. If any of you need someone to talk to, you are always welcome to stop by mine or Mr Frond's office. Again, I ask that you do not disturb the family during this time."
Noting that assembly was almost over, Spoors decided to let the students go out to break ten minutes early, unusual for him.

The children filed out of the room to the playground, most of them chattering about what they had just heard, however, most of Louise's class were silent. Regular-sized Rudy still looked shell shocked. His best friend was dead; he still couldn't believe it

As he had done the previous day, he slumped against the wall, sliding down to the floor.

"Can ya believe it?" Zeke's voice pulled Rudy out of his thoughts. The older boy sat down next to him. They were soon joined by most of the fourth-grade class, plus Jimmy Junior.

"They were so close," said Rudy quietly.

"I know," said Zeke, looking at the ground. "I can't believe she's gone."

"Me, too," whispered Rudy.

"This is so weird; I mean, it doesn't seem real," said Abby. "We're never going to see her again."

"I'm gon' miss that crazy l'il angel," Zeke looked forlorn.

"I wonder how Tina and Gene are doing," said Wayne.

"Listen, when they come back, don't no-one be makin' them upset," said Zeke, lifting his gaze to look sternly at the group. "They got enough to deal with; don't bother them."

"We wouldn't bother them," said Harley.

"I know ya wouldn't mean to," Zeke elaborated, "but they won't be wantin' to talk, or play, or nothin', so we gotta give 'em space."

"God, I can't even imagine what it's like for them," muttered Wayne. "This whole thing is crazy insane."

"We can't be sayin' that stuff to 'em, though," said Zeke. "They know how it feels, it ain't like we need to remind them."

"It's so weird that Louise isn't here," said Harley, pulling her knees up to her chest. "Like, I don't hear her yelling, and it's weird."

"She'd probably be planning something," Rudy rested his chin in his hand, "a scheme, or a prank; something that would make half of us laugh, and the other half scream."

"Yep, that's Louise, all right," Ollie nodded. "She always had the best ideas for pranks."

"She used her powers for good, sometimes," Zeke allowed a small smile to cross his face. "Y'all, I was so close to bein' sent away, and she used one of her big pranks to help me out. She didn't have to do that, and she did. Makes me tear up just thinkin' about it." He wiped his eye.

"I never knew that," said Rudy, "but it doesn't surprise me; Louise was always so much softer than she let on. Like, when it was my birthday party, and she got everyone to steal the bounce house so we could play in it."

Like when she had panicked over his (fake) allergic reaction to chocolate. Like when she had kissed him, so he could have his first Valentine's kiss (and his first real kiss ever.) Rudy would never tell anyone about that; it felt like it should always be kept between the two of them. Besides, he knew Louise wouldn't want him to tell anyone about it, and she did threaten to end him if he ever did. Rudy had a sudden vision of Louise coming down from heaven to slap him across the face, and yell at him to keep it on the down low. It seemed like such a Louise thing to do that he looked up, almost expecting to see her.

"I think she was a little bit sad when Jessica moved away," Harley revealed. "They became friends after the slumber party, you know, and they would kinda hang out together. When Jessica moved away, Louise got mean to us."

"Oh, yeah." Zeke chuckled slightly. "I remember them two with their heads together, and wonderin' whether we should be worried about what they were plannin'!"

"Yeah," Rudy nodded. "You had to be careful when those two were about; talk about double trouble!"

The little group laughed and continued talking about Louise, about how she would do everything possible to drive Miss LaBonz crazy, about how she schemed to get out of pop quizzes. They remembered how she defended Mr Frond in court, despite hating his guts, and they spoke of her victory in the Freezer Dome.

It actually felt a little bit good to reminisce, about both the good times and the bad times.

The Belcher family were still at the chapel of rest. Bob had broken down in tears and had had to leave the room. When he re-entered, the rest of the family were still gathered around Louise. Gene kept touching Louise's hand.

"I don't want to rush you," Mort began, "and I don't mean to put you on the spot, but have you ever considered... organ donation?"

"Oh, God," Bob covered his mouth, looking like he was about to vomit. "Please, don't say that."

"We haven't thought about it," said Big Bob.

"We can't," Bob shook his head. "We can't.. cut her up." The thought of his baby not being buried whole was just unthinkable. He couldn't bear the thought of them taking things, things which belonged to her; her heart, her lungs, her kidneys. They belonged to Louise; she should keep them. She had to stay in one piece. "No, we can't do it," he shook his head again, and Mort nodded.

"Do you know when the funeral's going to be held?" Mort asked gently, and the family turned to look at him.

"We – we hadn't even..." Bob began.

"Next Saturday," said Tina. Everyone stared at her.

"But that's just over a week," said Big Bob. "I'm not sure we can do that..."

"A little over a week is a little longer than we usually give, but we can pull some strings," Mort said comfortingly. "Visiting hours will be over at five," and then he left the room.

"I keep forgetting we have to plan a… funeral," said Big Bob slowly.

"And in a weeks' time," added Gayle.

Bob was just staring at Louise. He took his daughter's cold, lifeless hand. He was still holding it when five o'clock came and it was time for them to leave. The rest of the family walked to the doorway when they realised that Bob was still with Louise.

"Come on, son," Big Bob went over to his son and placed his hand on his shoulders. Bob leant forward and kissed Louise on the forehead, squeezed her hand one final time and left the room.

"We're going back tomorrow, right?" asked Tina.

"We're going back every day," was all Bob said.

When they arrived back at the apartment, the family silently sat together on the sofa None of them knew what to say.

"I – I can't..." Linda muttered, heading into the kitchen, where they heard the sound of a cork popping. She re-entered the living-room with a bottle of wine. Bob stared at the bottle. He could drown his sorrows with alcohol; forgetting everything seemed like a good idea. He would forget the everlasting pain that Louise's death had left him with and finally get some relief. But that fuzzy voice said no, and he thought about Gene and Tina; him getting drunk out of his mind every night, tempting though it was, it wouldn't be a good idea. They needed him. He couldn't be so selfish when they needed each other now more than ever.

There was a knock at the door, and Gayle went to answer it. She came back into the living-room with Nadia.

"Evening, Mr and Mrs Belcher," she began kindly. "I'm here to talk to you if that's okay?"

"What about?" asked Bob.

"About your daughter; I want to help you and your wife."

"Don't need help," Linda muttered, still holding the wine bottle.

"I can understand that it's easy to fall into denial," she began gently, "but -"

"I'm not in denial no more," said Linda. "I saw her. Today, I saw her. I saw my baby lying in a coffin. I know she's gone!"

Nadia moved forward, but Gayle got there first, and wrapped her arms around her sister.

"It's good that you've accepted it," said Nadia. "But I want to let you know that I'm still here, whenever you want to talk."

"Don't wanna talk."

"Are you sure? Because -"

"Please, we just wanna be alone," Linda buried her head in Gayle's shoulder, and Nadia looked around at the rest of her family.

"We just visited Louise for the first time today. It's been difficult," said Big Bob quietly. "Could you maybe come back later?"

"Of course; it's fine," Nadia rummaged around in her handbag. "This is my card," she produced a small, laminated card, and quickly wrote something on the back. "And here's my number, so if any of you want to talk, at any time, just give me a call."

"Okay, thanks," nodded Big Bob.

"Has anyone recommended counselling yet?" she asked, and they shook their heads.

"Counselling?"

"It can be very beneficial for grieving families. I wouldn't force you, but I ask that you think about it," she finished.

"Okay, we will," said Bob, just wanting the woman to leave.

"Goodbye. I'll see myself out, don't worry. Call if you need to," she said, before descending the stairs, and letting herself out.

"I – I guess we should start with the funeral plans," said Tina bravely, not long after Nadia had left. Her parents would never do it. Her brother was.. still not talking, and the rest of the adults were too busy grieving, so she knew it was up to her to get things started.

"All right. What should we do?" asked Al. Bob only shook his head, while Linda gulped from the bottle.

"Well," began Gloria, "we could..." but she didn't finish her sentence.

"Maybe a -" but Gayle drifted off. They sat in silence for a rather long amount of time.

"We don't know what she would have wanted," Big Bob realised, causing the rest of the family to look at him. Of course, how could they have known? They'd never expected this, and Louise had naturally never mentioned anything.

"How about... balloons? Kuchi Kopi ones, and heart balloons?" suggested Tina, and they nodded in approval.

"Yeah, giant ones," said Gayle.

"And flowers," said Gloria. "We must have flowers."

"And Louise's favourite songs being played."

"Yeah, and a church service."

"What about hymns?" asked Gloria.

"Louise doesn't like hymns," Tina told her.

"But you have to have a hymn at a church service."

"I don't think the priest would mind," Tina reasoned, and Gloria fell quiet. Tina was writing everything down.

"What should the headstone say?" Gayle asked and the family fell quiet again.

"I don't know," said Big Bob. "What do you think?" he turned to Bob, who looked exhausted and shrugged. He truthfully didn't know what his daughter's headstone ought to say. He wasn't prepared for this; how was he supposed to know? This shouldn't be happening; he should not be organising his child's funeral. "Why don't we sleep on it, and discuss it tomorrow, when we've had a chance to think?" Big Bob suggested.

"Good idea," said Gayle.

"Listen, son," Big Bob put his hand on his son's shoulder. "I know this is hard, but I have to leave, but I'll be back tomorrow." Unfortunately, he needed to go back to his restaurant. He embraced his son, as well as Linda and the kids, before leaving.

"We have to go, too," Gloria looked as though she didn't want to. "But we'll be back in the morning; we're staying with Gayle."

"Bye," said Bob monotonously, as the three of them rose and left, as well.

It now seemed even quieter, and the four Belchers remained in their seats, avoiding eye contact. Tina gripped her pen and notepad to keep her hands from shaking. Linda was slouching in the chair, her eyes unfocused and glassy, the wine bottle in her slack hand. Bob was staring at a photo of the kids, taken when they went to a classic car exhibition last summer. Linda had corralled the kids together for a picture in front of the DeLorean. They had all looked so happy.

"I think I'll go to bed now, Dad," said Tina, after a while, and Bob nodded absent-mindedly. "Love you," she said, planting a kiss on his cheek.

"Love you too," said Bob.

"Love you, Mom," said Tina, and she kissed Linda, as well.

"Love you, sweetie," Linda didn't lift her head, and her voice was slightly slurred.

Tina left the room, with Gene at her heels. As they walked down the hallway, Tina thought about how rarely she told her parents that she loved them. She did, of course, and she knew that they knew, she just seldom said it out loud. They were a very loving family, they just didn't announce it every moment of the day.

Tina decided that she was going to change that, she was going to make sure that the last thing she would say to her parents before leaving the house or going to bed would be 'I love you.' Even though they had exchanged their 'I love you's' with Louise, it felt to Tina as though they hadn't. To her, it sometimes didn't feel as though it counted, as it hadn't been the very last thing they had said to Louise. She felt like she had missed her final chance to tell Louise she loved her.

She did not immediately climb into bed. She pulled the notepad out of her pocket and carried it over to her desk. Gene sat down next to her. Did Louise know how much they loved her, Tina wondered as she sat at her desk. She sincerely hoped so, because, in spite of Louise's teasing and general craziness, she was a great sister and Tina had always adored her.

Finding the funeral plans, she turned to the next page and started to expand upon them.

'Date: Saturday,' she wrote neatly, remembering the date she'd decided.

'Time:,' she paused, not knowing what time the funeral should be held. Tina looked down at her paper and fully realised what she was doing; she was making funeral plans for her baby sister, and once it was over, she would never see her again. She quickly opened the laptop and changed the background picture to a photo of her, Louise, and Gene together. Feeling.. not better at all, she turned her attention back to the funeral plans. Tina knew that it was up to her. 'Time: 11:00am,' she wrote. 'I'm writing a story; that's all I'm doing. Just writing a story,' she told herself.

'Location: St. Peter's Cathedral, Seymour's Bay. She remembered going there once on a school trip when she was little. She couldn't remember the reason, but she remembered the church vividly. It looked just like pictures she had seen in a book once. It was a nice place.

'Reverend:'. Tina left that blank for the moment; she would have to speak with the priest, or whoever did.. funerals.

'Service: inside the church.'

'Open casket or closed: Open,' Tina eventually decided, sure that her family would want to see Louise one last time.

'Eulogy,' she paused again. Who was going to deliver the eulogy? It would have to be a family member; she knew that much. Again, she left it blank, the teen deciding to focus on what she could arrange right now.

'Pallbearer(s): Dad? Pop-pop?' How would Bob and Pop-pop be able to carry Louise's coffin, she pondered, leading her to make another note.

'Coffin: we will pick one out together.' Tina paused to wait for her hands to stop shaking.

'Burial:' she paused again. Where would Louise be buried? Apart from her paternal grandmother, she couldn't think of anybody in her family that had died. But Grandma Belcher died years and years before Tina was born, so it didn't really count.

She would come back to the location of the burial later, and moved on to the next item.

'Clothing: all in black or bright colours?' she thought, her pencil hovering over the paper. "What do you think, Gene? Black clothes, or bright clothes?" As she expected, Gene didn't answer, or even look at her. Eventually, she decided on everyone wearing black as she couldn't imagine anything else for a funeral service. Tina knew that some people preferred to wear the deceased's favourite colours or wear bright clothing as a celebration of their life, but as funerals were usually a sombre affair and a time to mourn, Tina felt that black clothing was more appropriate.

'Flowers: roses? Probably; they are a symbol of love. Or perhaps her name spelt out in flowers. Both.'

'Balloons: giant Kuchi Kopi ones. Heart-shaped balloons. Party shop in OMG Mall? Or perhaps e-Buy?"

'Music:' again, she hesitated. Boyz 4 Now didn't have any appropriate songs for this type of event. Tina looked over at Gene, wondering... No. She couldn't ask him to do that; she couldn't ask him to compose a song about the loss of their baby sister. "Right, songs," she muttered, opening up YouTube.

Tina soon found that she couldn't even bear to listen to any of the songs she found, and so focused on reading the lyrics. None of them seemed right. She couldn't find any that were good enough. Things like "I Will Always Love You", and "My Heart Will Go On", just didn't have the message she was looking for. Nor did "Angel", or "Wind Beneath My Wings". Tina shook her head. Just a couple of songs; that was all she needed. Just a few decent songs that could sum up how they were feeling.

She needed to keep busy. "What songs do you think we should have for the – for that day?" she asked. Gene stared blankly ahead. "Gene? Gene, please talk to me." Tina took a deep breath. She couldn't fall apart, not now. If she did, then nothing would get done, and she couldn't do that to Louise. "So, I think we should have a few songs playing while everyone is walking into the church. I don't know how many, though; it depends on how many people come." A new thought occurred to her. "How many people should come?" Again, Gene didn't answer. "I guess we can make it so whoever wants to, can go." She nodded to herself and continued writing.

'Reception: right here.

'Food/drinks: sandwiches, cheese and crackers, cocktail sausages, potato wedges with dip, pizza fingers, and cake,' Tinawrote after checking the laptop for typical funeral reception food, picking the ones that Louise would have liked. She added, 'coffee, juice and soda,' for the drinks.

Reading through her list, she appeared to be almost done. Her eyes caught the word 'reception' and she stopped to think; how should it go? Should everyone get up and say something nice about Louise? Should there be photos? Videos? How many people should she invite?

Tina quickly jotted these thoughts down at the bottom of the page before turning off the light and climbing into bed, with Gene following her.

Once again, she did not immediately drop off; the events from the day were racing around in her head, not to mention all the planning that she had to do. Gene's hand found hers in the dark, and she squeezed it.

She eventually fell asleep, her photo album lying next to her once again.

~ X ~

And done.
So, Tina's undertaking this huge task, poor girl.
I have spent way too much time researching morgues and funeral homes, and now I'm probably on a list.
What did you think? I'd love to know. If anyone is confused about Jessica, I began writing this in 2019/2020, before I saw the Wharfy episode. I didn't think we were ever going to see Jessica again, so I made it so she had moved away.
I hope everyone has fun over the holidays. Stay safe.