It was time for me to get up and get ready to attend the funeral. About the time I was dressed, Bret knocked on the bedroom door. When he walked in, I could tell by the look on his face that he had definitely had a long night.

"Hey sweetie."

"Hey there yourself. How are you?"

"Definitely could be better, given the task at hand today."

"I know. I wish that I had some ultimate words of wisdom, or something I could say to make you feel better, but I don't."

"You being here is enough. I meant what I said last night, you have helped here more than you know, just by being here this week."

"I am glad that I could help at least someone when I couldn't help your brother."

"You knew my brother as well as I did. He had it set in his head to do that stunt so he could get his early retirement, and nothing or no one was going to stop him from being able to leave early."

"I know, but there will always be the thought what if I could have stopped him? All of this would have never happened."

"Hopefully, one day, you can realize that there is nothing you could have done. Were you expecting someone to escort you to the funeral this morning?"

"Not that I know of, why?"

"It's just that you have a visitor in the living room. I thought that maybe Scott was going to stay, but when he left here last night, he told me to make sure I took care of you."

"Man. That boy, I don't know what I am going to do about him. Who's in the living room?"

"Why don't you go and see for yourself?"

With that, Bret and I left the room, and there sitting on the living room sofa, was Shane McMahon. When he saw me enter the room, he immediately stood up and took me into his arms.

"Hey there beautiful."

"What are you doing here, Shay?"

"I thought that you may need a ride over to the church today. Things are going to be hectic, considering that there is already a crowd forming outside the building. Everyone wants to say their goodbyes, and word got out about the speakers broadcasting the service."

"Thank you Shane. I just need to grab a few things, and I will be ready to leave."

"McMahon, I am entrusting her into your hands today. You take care of her."

"If she'll let me, I plan on it. I definitely plan on taking care of her for a long time."

Shane was right. The closer we got to the church, the more the crowd grew. People were obviously distraught given that one of the country's heroes was no longer here. As the limo pulled up in front of the church, I immediately recognized faces. Some of who I hadn't seen in years, some of whom I had left in St. Louis a week earlier. As we walked into the building, I headed towards the front where the family was sitting. I hugged everyone except Diana. I never liked that woman. I was civil around her for Owen's sake, but he knew that I didn't care for her at all. Especially with the way she treated the family. Then I went and paid my respects, placing the peach red veined rose on top of the casket. I then kissed my hand and placed it on top of the casket. I turned to head to my seat, and I see all of my guys standing at the back of the church coming in. I headed back that way, and then I finally get to see who is standing behind Kevin. I understood he would be here, but it still felt odd considering the previous evening's events. I proceeded to greet and hug all of them. When I went to hug Scott, he held me for a minute, and he whispered in my ear something I'll always remember.

"You make sure he takes care of you. I love you Squirt. That's why I have to let you go."

With that, I nod my head, and proceed to walk back towards where Shane was sitting, along with the rest of the family, and the service began. When Martha began the eulogy, I felt Shane grab me a little bit tighter and form a death grip on my hand. I turned to him, kissing him on the cheek. I tasted the salt from the obvious tears he had been silently crying during the service. He looked at me, leaning down to kiss me on my forehead.

"I love you."

"I know."

Hey, what was I supposed to say? I definitely couldn't tell him that I loved him too, because then I didn't. I wasn't going to lie to him. Once the service was over, we proceeded to get back into the limo, and follow the family to the burial site. Shane was allowed to come with me seeing as that he was my escort for the day. Bret, Martha, myself, and Shane stayed at the grave until all of the dirt was placed over the casket. Before the numerous arrangements were to be placed, those who wanted to took a minute to say their own personal goodbyes. First, Shane went over, bent down, and said a small prayer, kissed his lips, then placed them on the spot of Owen's grave where his head would be.

"You make them laugh up there like you did us down here, okay? I'll miss you my friend."

With that, he got up, dried his tears, and took his place beside me. Next, it was Bret's turn. He walked over, and knelt down. He placed his hand over his heart, and then placed his hand on the grave.

"You'll always have a special place in my heart little brother. I'll take care of your family for you, so you don't need to worry about them."

He then proceeded to walk back our direction. I had pretty much decided that I wasn't going to say anything, but then, Martha grabbed my hand, taking me with her when she proceeded to walk towards her husband's final resting place. I made a quick glance back at Bret, and he nodded ever so slightly basically saying go along with it. She took a seat on the ground, as did I. She began talking to Owen. To be honest, I was oblivious to half of what she was saying because believe it or not, I was still wallowing in my own grief. If I could have talked him out of it, if only I could have done this, if only I could have done that. I guess Martha noticed something was wrong, because the next thing I knew was that she was calling for Shane.