Skyler was pulled from a dark and tortured sleep by the sound of her phone ringing. It was plugged into the charger next to her bed. She didn't remember putting it there. "Kim Wexler," said the flashing screen. She hastily unplugged the phone and answered it, in doing so moving her legs and feeling first a sharp pain in her left thigh where it came into contact with her right, and second her left foot touching something in the bed next to her. Turning as she answered the phone, she saw her sister lying beside her. She was facing away, so all Skyler could see was her tousled hair.
"Hi Skyler," said Kim. "How are you feeling?"
"Not sure yet."
"Fair enough. The court case has been adjourned for today at least. The DEA understandably wanna talk to you quite urgently, but last night Heather said that you can get a medical certificate to delay that. She said she would've written one if she could but she's not a doctor. I think you should see a doctor either way today, so please forgive me for stepping out of my job title, but I've booked you an appointment. I have your doctor's details from your previous medical certificate. They have a cancellation at 10:30."
Kim stopped talking, and realised that Skyler had been silent for some time. "I'm sorry, I'm not... I don't mean to intrude, and obviously it's your choice. I called them just because I wanted to help you out. Obviously it's up to you."
"I wanna talk to the DEA."
"Do you mean today, or...?"
"Yeah."
"Because the thing is that... you… you need to be of sound mind when you do that. It's in your interests that you can speak clearly and coherently and as much as possible without emotion, because emotion can lead you to say things you'll regret."
"Do I sound coherent now?"
"I don't mean to say that you're not, it's just that… Look, how about you and I meet up first - we need to do that anyway, I need to give you legal advice on this. So perhaps you can tell me what exactly it is that you wanna confess to, just tell me the whole story, and see how you feel when you do that."
Skyler lay back down and looked at the ceiling with vacant eyes.
"Is… is that ok? Either way I need to give you legal advice on this pretty soon. I could drive you to the doctor's if that helps, and then we could... talk about it."
"Ok."
On the other side of the bed, Marie's phone rang. There was no bedside table on that side, so she reached her arm out of the covers and picked it up off the floor. It was Flynn.
"Hi," she said.
"Hi. Are-are you gonna talk to me this morning?"
"I can't right now, but yes. I will."
"Ok. When are you coming back? I-I have to be in class at 11."
"What's the time now?"
"8:45."
"Oh, sorry, I only just woke up. Did Holly get up ok?"
"Yeah. At 6:30 in the morning. Don't-don't worry, I'm used to it."
"Thanks, honey. Is she ok?"
"Yeah. She m-misses Mom."
"Yeah. Ok. Well I'm not sure what time I'll be there exactly, but we'll have you in class by 11, don't worry."
"Ok. S-see you soon."
"Thanks, honey. Bye."
Marie hung up the phone and dropped it back on the floor. She looked back at Skyler, who was lying on her back watching Marie with longing in her eyes.
"Sorry, did you wanna talk to him?" Marie said.
Skyler slowly shook her head. "I don't know what I would say."
Marie nodded and rubbed her eyes.
"What are you doing here?"
"Nurse said you're a suicide risk."
Silence.
"No reply. Ok."
"No I don't, I don't... last night as well, it's not... It's not like I want to, it's just... just sometimes I lose control."
Marie grunted.
They both lay watching the ceiling for three full minutes.
"You said you talked to Walt about it and then... and then what happened? Did he tell you?"
"No. I never heard anything more about it. Until Agent Martinez started asking me about Walt's relationship with Pinkman and why it might have deteriorated, and whether he might have wanted to have him killed."
"You told Walt that you wanted him to kill Pinkman, and then you didn't hear anything more about it?"
"No."
"You didn't ask him?"
"I learnt not to ask Walt things."
"Well it's a bit of a stretch, then, isn't it? To assume that that's the reason Walt called those guys to To'hajiilee? To assume he even hired them for that in the first place?"
"Why else would he have called them there?"
"I don't know, backup?"
"You can't explain it away, Marie. Believe me, I've tried."
...
Marie could hear the child's excited squeals before she'd even put the key in the lock. Her heart lifted, until she heard Holly yell, "Mommy!"
She held the door for a moment and braced herself for the look of disappointment that would inevitably appear on the child's face when she realised Marie wasn't who she was looking for.
She opened the door, and there it was. Holly strained her neck a little to look behind Marie to see if Skyler was there, and, seeing that she wasn't, her face fell.
"I'm not that bad, am I, Holly?" she said, putting on a fake smile.
"Where's Mommy?"
"She's gone to see the doctor. You can see her later."
"Oh, ok." Holly raised her arms in anticipation of a hug.
"Oh, thank you, darling, I would love a hug." Marie picked the child up and held her tight.
Flynn appeared in the hallway, a serious look on his face.
"Thank you so much, honey," said Marie, stepping forward and kissing him on the cheek. "I'll get you to college very soon - I just wanna have a shower and get out of these clothes."
Flynn stayed where he was as Marie placed Holly down next to him and walked to her bedroom. "You're gonna talk to me, right?" he called after her.
...
Skyler sat next to Kim in the DEA interview room, her back straight, her heart hammering, her face plastered on and looking just slightly not right. Perhaps the lipstick was a little wonky, or perhaps there was some missing mascara. It wasn't clear what it was, but something didn't look right.
Agent Martinez stepped into the room, followed by ASAC Hoffman. Great, Skyler thought. My least favourite one.
The two agents sat down in the chairs opposite and Agent Martinez pressed record on the video camera.
ASAC Hoffman spoke. "What do you have to tell us, Mrs White?"
...
"Oh Jesus, what a damn let down!" exclaimed Hoffman, loosening his tie as he stepped into the DEA open office.
"No," said Martinez. "We can run with this."
"Attorney's office won't buy it. Hell, the DEA won't buy it!" Hoffman turned to the collection of agents who had been watching the interview from the other side of the glass. "What was that?"
"God dammit," said Agent Thompson, collapsing into his desk.
"There's always APD," said Martinez.
"What about APD? This is a federal case."
"File a separate state case against her."
"For Pinkman, you mean?"
"Yeah."
"What proof do we have of that?"
"The signed confession we just took from a known felon!"
Hoffman shrugged. "We'll see what Viney says." He sighed and disappeared into his office.
"Alright, everybody stop what you're doing!" said Martinez to the office at large. "I want you all to exercise your brains as hard as possible on the following three things: 1, where the hell is Pinkman? 2, what other state or city laws might Skyler White be guilty of breaking? 3, how can we prove the theory that Walter White hired Jack Welker and his band of merry men to murder Pinkman OR any connection between them and Skyler or Skyler and Pinkman, or any proof of the conversation between Walter and Skyler, or… oh Jesus, he's right, isn't he? Ah…. Number 2, go with number 2, everyone! What other state crimes might Skyler White be guilty of? Go!" He waved an encouraging hand at the gathered agents and disappeared into his own office, frowning.
...
"You know what I think you should see this as?" said Kim, handing Skyler a take-out coffee as she sat down next to her on a park bench opposite Kim's motel.
Skyler blew out some smoke and turned to face her.
"A chance to spend more time with your family. I know it sounds insensitive, but hear me out."
"You are anything but insensitive, Kim. The only lawyer I have ever met who isn't insensitive."
Kim laughed. "There are a few of us who aren't. Granted, not many, but. I think I used the wrong word there, I meant misunderstanding, like I say spend more time with your family and you say what are you kidding me, my brain is exploding with worries about my future and guilt about my past, how can I possibly interact with my family when I feel like absolute shit inside?"
Skyler nodded.
"Well, I think you should give it a try. You just got an extra day off the court case, and a weekend attached to it. Perhaps one day in court next week and then let's face it, the jury is gonna take at least four days, which means you get another weekend. Spend it with your kids. Relax. Do fun things together. Distract yourself. You deserve it, but more than that, you really need it. You're falling apart because the last three weeks have been hell. It's a perfectly natural reaction. Your doctor said that, right?"
"Yeah."
"You've been through hell the last three weeks. And before. The body's way of recovering from hell is to take a damn break. You've got the better part of a week - more than a week - to do that. First couple days, you lie in your bed or on the sofa watching chick flicks and eating chocolate. Then once you feel like you brain can function again and your eyes will actually stay open if you go out into the world, go and do something fun with the kids. Fun Park. Tramway. Family holiday in a cabin in the woods within the bounds of Bernalillo County?"
Skyler gave a sad smile.
"Do it. I'm serious. For now, you have your freedom. You probably have to be in court on Monday, but I doubt that will be for very long. Then the jury will retire, and as long as you can be called back within two hours when they reach a verdict, you can go wherever you want. Take your family with you and enjoy yourself."
"What if they wanna add the new evidence on? Won't that take longer?"
Kim shook her head. "They won't. The judge won't agree to it."
"Are you sure?"
"Well like I said before, the only evidence is your word, and all you did was have one conversation with Walt about it. You didn't talk about how he would do it or who he would get to do it or if he would even involve a third party. He did not report back to you at all. So the only proof that you told him to kill Pinkman is in your evidence that you've given, but there is no proof that he hired that gang to do it or that that's the reason he called them to To'hajiilee because you're only guessing that. At the same time, there is evidence that Pinkman is still alive, or at least that he was six months after that; seven months if you believe that guy who said he saw him in Mexico. Your own personal feelings of guilt are very strong, I know, and as a result, you are already punishing yourself severely. But legally, any judge worth their salt is gonna throw this straight out. Stephens definitely will. The DEA or APD may wish to pursue a separate case, but they would require more evidence to do so."
Skyler frowned and fiddled with her coffee cup.
"Your own sense of guilt is very strong, I know. On this and many other things. But you might wanna consider what you have actually been charged with and what evidence has been presented against you, and what hasn't. And the reason that it hasn't. And just consider that the reason that it hasn't is that it's not your fault."