Chapter Text
Much to the Belcher's dismay, the world around them kept moving.
Though for them, the world had ended the moment Bob left it.
Linda kept herself together, only letting herself fall apart in the bed in the late hours of the night. She was still shocked when she got out of bed every day.
She let the kids take a few weeks off school, she had contacted the school days after the funeral, informing them of what happened.
Mr. Frond offered to help the children in any way possible.
She knew the kids were beyond heartbroken, they were so young, and as much as it broke her heart to see them suffer, she knew they had to go back to school. Maybe...the distraction would help.
The kids were confused and scared, and...it was too many emotions to handle at once.
Tina spent all her time writing. Spending almost all day with a pencil in her hand.
Gene turned to his music, expressing his emotions through lyrics.
And Louise just ignored that it ever happened. Her dad was just...on vacation, and anyone who said otherwise was a stupid...lying liar.
Nothing seemed right anymore.
"Kids?" Linda called, hoping her voice didn't sound too hoarse. There was nothing wrong with crying, especially after a loss like the one they all just endured, but she knew she needed to stay strong, at least until the kids were able to handle their own grief.
Tina poked her head out of her room, "Yeah, mom?" she mumbled, voice far too quiet.
"I think it's time you guys went back to school."
Louise barged out of her room, "What!? No! We...we gotta wait till dad gets back."
Linda squeezed her eyes shut. Denial...that was the first stage of grief.
She didn't know what to do...she needed them to grieve...she didn't want them to suffer.
She couldn't stand to see her babies in pain.
"It's what's best, Louise."
Gene opened his door, slowly walking into the kitchen, he hadn't smiled since his father died.
"But-...I don't want to."
Linda squeezed her eyes shut again, "It's what's best for you guys." She repeated.
They needed something to take their mind off it. They needed some sense of normalcy.
Not the mention...Linda needed to work in the restaurant. The leeway on the rent would help of course, but they really could use the extra money.
Maybe...she could afford to send the kids to therapy. She had a feeling school counseling with Mr. Frond wouldn't help...at all.
She sighed, "You don't have to go this week, it's Wednesday so maybe...you go back next Monday...?"
Tina hung her head, "I don't want to face Jimmy Jr. or anyone..."
"Me neither...I mean...it wouldn't matter since dad's not dead...but..." Louise trailed off.
Linda sighed, "No one's going to say anything...and wouldn't seeing your friends again be...nice?"
The kids all shared a look, before shrugging in sync.
"I just want dad to come back," Gene mumbled.
Linda reached out, pulling her kids into a hug, mostly to hide her tears from her babies, "So do I, baby. More than anything."
The week slowly dragged on; the weekend was even slower.
She'd been able to get the kids to agree to go to school for the day just to see how it goes.
While they were away, she forced herself down into the restaurant.
The restaurant where she learned the news.
The restaurant was Bob's.
A wave of grief hit her as she flipped that sign, she fell to her knees in front of the stools, not hearing the bell ring as Teddy entered,
"Lin!"
She knew Teddy meant well, but the nickname broke something else deep inside her.
Bob called her that.
Bob called her that.
She simply sobbed harder, "I miss him, Teddy." She cried, "I miss him so much."
He hugged her softly, "I know, Linda. I miss him, too."
She knew Bob wouldn't want this, she could picture him and what he would say.
He'd probably say something like, "Lin... don't cry..." or "It's okay. You don't have to be sad."
She could see him so clearly in her mind, with that nervous smile and soft, hesitant voice.
She missed him, more than she thought was physically possible.
And for the first time since he was on his death bed, she let herself fall apart. Lost in the grief as Teddy held her tight.
She missed him, more than anything.
Luckily, their mom had been right, no one said anything about their father's passing when the kids went to school.
Although, that didn't stop the looks, the stares, the whispers.
They were the kids with the dead dad.
Yay.
Tina reached for her sibling's hands. It was a new habit she fell into; they'd come up with a secret language of sorts.
One squeeze meant "Thank you."
Two squeezes meant "Get me out of here."
They used that one a lot.
Things were...overwhelming. Everything was overwhelming.
Life must go on.
Tina kept repeating that in her head all day. That's what her dad would say.
She needed to be strong, he...he wouldn't want any of them to be sad.
The Belcher children had pull permission to leave class anytime they wanted, Mr. Frond's door was always open for them.
Louise hadn't said a word since breakfast, though her eyes got a little bit brighter when she saw Rudy.
He rushed over the moment he saw her, stopping a few feet in front of her.
Louise let go of Tina's hand, going to practically jump into Rudy's arms.
Tina looked away as they hugged. Distantly hearing Rudy agree to walk her to class.
It was only a matter of minutes before Gene ran off with Alex, the two shared a long hug before they walked to class.
Tina realized with a start that...she didn't have anyone she could do that with. She didn't have a friend willing to let her cry on their shoulder.
Halfway through class everything just became too much, she excused herself from class, rushing to the bathroom.
And that's where she sat, pathetically on the bathroom floor, face buried in her knees as she sobbed.
Daddy was dead.
Why?
That was the question that raked through her head.
Daddy wasn't supposed to die.
Daddy was supposed to be there to teach her to cook.
Daddy was supposed to be there when she graduated.
Daddy was supposed to walk her down the aisle when she got married.
Daddy was supposed to be there.
And he wasn't.
Daddy wasn't coming back.
Nothing made sense. Her dad was...everything. She's 13...she needs her dad.
She sobbed mindlessly. Not caring who heard.
Suddenly, the door flew open, only to reveal Tammy.
"Tina?" She asked voice laced with actual concern.
Tina shook her head, "Not now, Tammy...please." she cried, voice borderline pleading.
Tammy crouched down in front of the distraught girl, "Look...I'm...really sorry about...y'know."
Tina just sobbed harder; Tammy meant well but the reminder hurt.
Tammy sighed, looking around the empty bathroom before wrapping her arms around the raven-haired girl.
Tina returned the hug, not caring about how Tammy could easily use this moment of vulnerability against her in the future.
Even Tammy wouldn't go that low.
The hug lasted several moments, much longer than Tina expected, eventually, Tina pulled herself together, pulling away from the blonde girl.
"Thank you..." She mumbled quietly.
"Yeah...it's like...whatever." Tammy brushed off, "You would...do the same."
Tina nodded, taking off her glasses to wipe her wet eyes.
Tammy stood, "C'mon, we should head back to class if you're ready."
Tina nodded, slowly following Tammy as they walked back to class.
The oldest Belcher tried to ignore the smile that overtook her teacher's face when she saw her come back.
Gene stared blankly at the wall for the whole entire class. His brain couldn't register anything, nothing made any real sense.
He didn't understand how his dad could die...his dad.
His dad was supposed to get better, he wasn't supposed to just...give up and die.
Alex was able to convince the teacher to change the seating plan so that the two boys were next to each other.
It helped, but Gene still didn't want to be there.
He wanted to go home, or better, he wanted to wake up and have this all been a bad dream.
Yeah, that was it.
It was all a dream...a really long... really bad dream.
And he would wake up, and his dad would still be there, and everything would be fine. Then he could run to him, hug him and never let him go.
Yeah...that must be what was happening.
He pinched his arm, trying desperately to wake up from this nightmare.
He couldn't wake up.
This was real.
He laid his head down on his desk and wept.
Louise glared angrily at the chalkboard. She hated how kids randomly kept looking back at her.
She didn't need their sympathy.
She didn't need anything.
Except...
She redirected her gaze out the window.
She didn't understand why everyone was so sad.
Daddy was...fine. He was just...away. For now. But he'd be back, right?
He wasn't coming back.
Logically, she knew that. Of course, he wasn't coming back. That's not how death works. But...maybe if she believed it enough, then maybe it would be true.
Whenever she closed her eyes, she saw his face, wherever she saw someone cooking, she thought of him, whenever she saw a little kid running up to their dad, she would imagine it was her, and she was running to her dad.
But dad was dead.
It wasn't fair. Louise knew that.
She didn't know how to live in a world without her father. Even the thought made her feel sick to her stomach.
And yet, it was the reality she had to endure.
She continued to stare out the window for the remainder of the lesson.
Soon it was lunchtime, and the Belcher children immediately found each other, sitting down at a table near the back of the cafeteria.
Everyone was staring at them, word traveled around school fast, anyone who hadn't heard about their dad's passing knew now.
Louise normally loved attention, but she couldn't stand this.
"What the hell is your problem!" She screamed, standing up on the table, "Stop staring at us!"
Gene and Tina stayed silent but didn't make any move to stop their sister. She was right.
Mr. Frond rushed over, "Louise, let's sit down, now." He spoke calmly.
Louise clenched her fists together, her face turning into a deep scowl before she turned and punched Mr. Frond, straight in the face.
The whole cafeteria went silent, Mr. Frond only sighed, the second stage of grief...anger.
He turned to the three children, "My office. You're not in trouble, I just want to talk."
The three nodded, Philip took note of the surprised expression present on Louise's face. Almost as though she hadn't meant to hurt him.
Tina grabbed her sibling's hands, and they walked out of the cafeteria, head hung low.
They ignored the looks, the whispers. None of them understood.
Philip led them to his office. He softly closed the door behind the children.
"Belchers-"
"Don't say you're sorry, or that you know what we're going through." Louise muttered voice uncharacteristic quiet, "I will punch you again."
Philip nodded, "Do you want them to call your mother?"
Louise scoffed, 'What else would you do, call our father?' She thought bitterly.
Tina sighed, nodding in answer to Mr. Frond's question.
Mr. Frond sighed, "Okay. And... I know you don't want to hear this, but if you need someone to talk to, I'm here."
He expected some quip, but they all simply nodded.
God, he couldn't even imagine losing a parent at their age.
He called Linda, who agreed to come to pick them up right away.
He wished he could do more.
Linda hadn't been surprised when she got the call from Mr. Frond. She just sighed and closed up, before getting into Teddy's truck to pick up her babies.
The car was still in repair, they'd probably be better off getting a new one, but...Linda couldn't afford that.
She didn't question why the kids were going home early, she really didn't have the energy to care.
"How would you kids feel about going to therapy?" She asked on the drive home.
The three shared a look.
Maybe it would help.
"Okay," Gene mumbled.
Linda cheered in her head, "Okay. I found a good one, he specializes in... children in grief. You can probably go tomorrow."
They all nodded, wanting nothing more than to be home.
Linda kept the restaurant closed for the rest of the afternoon. She somehow convinced the kids to all join her in the living room, all piling onto the couch as they watched Tv.
No one dared to sit in Bob's spot.
Linda had gotten lucky and was able to schedule a therapy session for the following day. The kids didn't seem thrilled, but they also didn't seem overly opposed to the idea, so Linda took it as a mini win.
As soon as she entered a kind-looking man shook her hand, he was young-looking, he was maybe in his early 20s.
"Hi! I'm Doctor Williams. And you must be the Belchers?"
The kids all nodded, the younger two practically cowering behind Tina.
The doctor smiled softly at Linda, "You can wait out here, ma'am."
The widow nodded, taking a seat in one of the strangely comfortable chairs.
The session went pretty okay. The kids didn't talk much but... it was enough of a start that they agreed to go.
The kids went back to school the next day, and they made it all the way through without any problems.
Linda couldn't be prouder.
Bob would be so, so proud of his babies. That much, Linda knew.
The kids were still deep in grief, they were confused. Linda hated watching them slowly go through the 5 stages of grief.
Losing Bob broke her heart, and watching her kids suffer was practically shredding her heart into pieces.
But she knew they'd get through this. Bob would need them to get through this.
They'd get through this.