Pulling into the crowded parking lot, Mattie suddenly realized how much of a place in the world Chris must have made for himself. So many people were there, everyone one of them missing him. Had he have passed away in high school…she knew that not many people would have wanted to show up.

As she was walking across the asphalt towards St. Thomas Catholic Church, Mattie checked her purse to make sure she had tucked some Kleenex in it. She looked down at her conservative black dress, and discovered that Riley had been telling the truth when he'd said she looked like a vampire.

Suddenly, she spotted her brother walking alone about twenty feet away. She called out his name, and then jogged as gracefully as she could in high heels to him.

"Mattie!" Sam exclaimed, and hugged her. It had been ages since they'd seen each other. Not twenty years, but quite awhile just the same. "What are you doing going blond?"

She laughed. "It's not that bad."

"Nah." He grinned at her, releasing her from the brotherly embrace. "You look good."

"Thanks, so do you. I hate you for not gaining weight in your old age."

Approaching the propped-open church doors, they waited for a man to go inside first, and then Sam leaned down and asked her quietly, "Have you seen Toby or Gordie?"

She nodded, then blessed herself with the holy water. "Gordie. And his family. Have you seen either of them?"

"Nope."

They took a seat in a middle pew. "So, uh, did you talk to Chris much before…um, yeah?" she asked uncomfortably. She tried not to glance to the front of the church, which was moderately decorated with lilies. It was an open-casket funeral.

"Kind of." Sam was also carefully avoiding looking towards the altar. "I mean, we lived in the same city and everything, but it's not like we got together to go bowling every Thursday or anything."

"He and Toby were pretty happy together in the end?"

"They always were," he replied, looking sad. "They had five kids, you know."

"Five?"

"The youngest is just about two and the oldest is fourteen."

"Oh, God, poor Toby," she murmured.

"I think, after the funeral and stuff, Gordie's going to stay with her for awhile."

Feeling the heartbreak of Chris really being gone, Mattie just nodded in response. She was sorry she'd lost contact with him, and she was just as sorry for his wife. She could remember how much love Toby used to look at Chris with when they were still only teenagers; she couldn't even imagine how lonely Toby must have been feeling now that he was gone.

Noticing Sam waving at someone, Mattie looked up to see who. She saw Gordie holding the hand of a small woman and leading her up to the front pew. A girl probably in her early teens, and a boy a little younger than the girl, were trailing behind, walking with her head down. It took Mattie a moment to register that the woman Gordie was with was Toby. She had always remembered Toby as being pretty. At first glance, she was just average --a few nice features and all, but if you didn't know her, she wasn't all that memorable looking. Once you started to talk to her, and she smiled or looked at you in this certain way she had, you would think she was beautiful. But now, she reminded Mattie of a doll. She looked presentable enough, but made up. She looked fragile. She just didn't look real.

Once Gordie, Toby, the girl and the boy had sat down, Mattie said, "Pardon me if I sound rude, but is it just me or does Toby look--"

Sam looked over at his sister and shook his head. "Mattie, a part of her is gone now."

She looked down at her hands, and didn't say anything for awhile. Finally, she asked, "Are those her kids?"

"Yeah. I guess she didn't think the others were old enough to come to their father's funeral."

"Good," she said. "I always thought that it was awful that Dad made Will and Nick to come to Mom's funeral. They were too young."

"You have to be a certain age to come to your parent's funeral?" Sam said sarcastically. "Chris is as gone to Kate and Graham as he is to the other three younger ones so why shelter them from it?"

Mattie peered up at him. "Can we stop talking about Chris' kids now?"

Gordie did the eulogy. There weren't very many people not crying when he stepped down from the podium, and walked back to sit with Toby. The words he could come up with had always found a way of wrenching people's emotions. The way he held his cousin protectively while she cried showed that he felt his words too.

"I've never told anyone this before. The summer I was twelve years old, Chris, me, and two of our friends set out into the woods At the end of the two-day trek, we found what we had been searching for: the body of a lost boy our age. By this point, so much had happened that we didn't even want the fame or glory or reward for finding the boy anymore. We'd grown up.

"The summer I was twelve years old, Chris, me, and two of our friends set out to be heroes in each other's eyes, and also in the eyes of everyone who thought that we were just kids that either didn't count for anything or kids that didn't even deserve a chance in life. It was just a weekend, but it changed me. I felt important for once, like I mattered and I was strong. That weekend, Chris really showed me who he was. I found out that he wasn't as tough as he wanted everyone to believe, but that he was stronger than anyone could have begun to imagine. He knew when to listen, and he knew the words that needed to be said. He was brave when it mattered, and he knew when to back down. He knew when he should act like my friend, and when he should act like a protector. I owe him a lot.

"Of course, no one ever found out that we had recovered the body of Ray Brower, and we were not heroes in anyone's eyes now. But seeing Chris the way he was that weekend--seeing him put his arm over my shoulders as I cried and then looking away to let me know that he didn't think of me any differently, and seeing him as he cried about being hated and cheated…Seeing Chris that way showed me how much of a hero he was to begin with.

"Chris Chambers was my best friend. I never told him that I loved him, but I did love him a lot. I never thanked him, but I should have. Even when life chewed him up and spat him out, he found a way to get up without any help and then turn around and be there for anyone who needed someone. He cared when no one else cared. He was always there for me when I felt like I didn't have a place anywhere. Chris never stopped believing in me even when I tried to convince everyone that I was a waste of time. Chris was one of those kids that no one cared about in our little town. No one held any high hopes for him, and they tried to trample his dreams when he tried to set them high for himself. They never succeeded though, because you can't break a hero. He went far in life, no matter how short his life was. Going from an abused child that no one really believed in to the successful man that he eventually showed us he could be wasn't easy for him. But he did it. You know he did it. Chris once thought that no one believed in him and no one cared what happened to him. You believe in him and care about him, don't you? All through his childhood, people tried to tell him that he didn't matter and that he didn't deserve a chance in life. But you miss him now and you think he got cheated out of life, don't you? Chris worked hard to show everyone the amazing person he was, and he did, didn't he? Because he was a hero, and he had more strength than I will ever know. Don't be sad that he's gone. Be grateful that you had the chance for him to touch your life."

[Author's note: Holy crap, that chapter took me *forever.* The eulogy alone took me over two hours. I listened to the Walk to Remember and Hope Floats soundtracks twice each while I was writing. Now my wrists are sore from typing so damn much. I just thought I'd share that with you :) Maybe I will get sympathy reviews? Nudge nudge wink wink ;) Thanks for reading if you did!]