The sun never sets

4: A good change

(by the way, the eulogy you hear Ebony speaking is not mine I did take it from a website as I couldn't think of any ideas)

A  few days past before Joe was faced with one of the hardest moments of his life. today was Thea's funeral. It had been a little over 3 months since Theas passing. But due to Joe never wanting to leave his daughters side, they decided to leave the funeral until Ava was in good enough health to be let out of hospital in order to go to her funeral..
"Joe you don't have to do this you know that right? no one would blame you if you didn't go. you could just stay in with Ava today?" Zoe comforted her younger brother while gazing over at her still young niece who was sitting in her feeding chair giggling over at them. Since she was barely even a year old when Thea died, Ava was none the wiser.

"No! I need to do this. not just for my sake but for Ava's sake as well. she didn't get to say goodbye to her and neither did I. no one can stop me from going" Joe exclaimed as he picked Ava out of her feeding chair holding her close to his heart and kiss her head before exiting the room to sit down. Joe was ready in his suit even before the clock stricken 6 o'clock. This was Joe's normal now so he had to be strong.

Ava snuggled into her father chest pulling herself even closer into the fabric of his blazer, not that that was even possible. Her tiny body was no match for Joe's arms as they wrapped carefully around her as they quickly, with no struggle at all,fell asleep. Only to be awakened just 10 minutes later by Ava crying once again. This was normal of a child Ava's age but not this time. "hey baby its ok daddy's here. Its all gonna be ok." joe hummed as he rocked his still crying daughter back and forth. Ever since Joe had brought Ava home from the hospital this had become a daily part of their routine. she would cry almost constantly even when she wasn't hungry or need changing. It was strange but he understood why this was happing, well at least he thought he did. Ava missed her mum. It was obvious that she did. But Ava didn't even get to open her eyes and see her mother staring right back at her. that thought instantly made Joe's heart shatter into tiny little pieces. Ava would never get to see her mother again. And the thing that seemed to hurt the most for Joe was that Thea would never get to see her little girl grow into the strong women that he knew she was bound to become.

"Joe.....she's here...." David spoke in a softer tone to his usually one as to not awaken the now sleeping child who lay calmly in Joe's arms, not knowing that today was going to be the hardest day of all. Sometimes Joe wished that he could just be like Ava, not a care in the world, where his only fear was being dropped. But deep down Joe knew that that was impossible. He had to be strong, not for himself but for Ava.

Joe's heart suddenly began beating out of his chest at the words that his brother in-law had just spoke. Thea was here... well at least her body was here. Knowing he wasn't going to be able to say goodbye at the funeral, Joe had requested that Thea was brought to the house first so that he could have a proper goodbye in his own way. standing up from the sofa, Joe ran his free hand through his hair in an attempt to calm his nerves down. But, in true Joe fashion, his nerves just spiralled into anxiety and his anxiety spiralled back around his body making everything disappear and become total utter fear. Without even uttering a word, Joe handed Ava to David. "I don't want her here when they open her coffin. I know she's only a child but..." Joe was instantly cut off by David smiling half heartedly up at him and just nodding. of course he knew what Joe was going through, Ebony was going through it too. she had just lost her sister and Joe had just lost the love of his life.

As the Two men holding her coffin approached the door Joes heart sank so far down that he didn't think it possible for him to retrieve it. This was it. Thea's coffin was placed down where they though it suitable and with that everybody exited the room to give Joe some privacy.