It was unusually cool despite the bright Albuquerque sun shining down as the crowds starting to pour in for the funeral. Marie had almost overslept, almost decided to skip the event, but in the end she knew she owed it to Hank to go.

As if on cue, the morning sickness was unusually severe, probably a combination of stress and the pregnancy itself. No amount of blush could cover for her pale complexion, but there was not much she could do about it. Pressed for time, she slipped on a simple black dress and matching flats, without a trace of jewelry to decorate her appearance. This was Hank's moment, his final moment, and as such she didn't feel as if any attention should be drawn to her.

Three funerals, three days. Of course she would skip Walt's, but after Hank's the next one coming up would be Steve Gomez's. There was not much hiding Marie's pregnancy at that point, so she seriously considered not attending that funeral. But she couldn't do that, not to Amy, not to Steve. If anything, Marie knew that Hank would want her there to show her support. But for now, it was all she could do to make it through this morning's event.

Marie had expected a crowd, but never before had she seen so many people gathered in one place. Due to the nature of Hank's funeral- he'd died a hero trying to bring down public enemy number one- people gathered by the hundreds to pay their respects. For a minute, Marie smiled briefly to herself: Hank would have loved the attention. He had worked very, very hard because he believed in keeping the streets safe, but he also enjoyed a little recolonization now and then. But this went beyond and above recognition- this was bordering on worship.

It was almost too much for her to take in. Mindful of her condition and state of mind, some police officers escorted her to her seat in the front row. There in front of her was her husband's picture, a stern image as it was of his DEA official photo. Beside that were a few photos that Marie had herself chosen: their wedding picture, them on vacation in the Bahamas, Hank gladly mugging for the camera with his first batch of Shraederbrew. He'd been so proud of that, even if the first bottle hadn't turned out the way he wanted it too. But she had gladly drank one down, pretending not to mind the bitter aftertaste it had left in her mouth. What she wouldn't give for one of those brews right now.

Skylar and Flynn arrived soon, with Marie's nephew wisely sitting between the sisters. As much as Marie wanted to sympathize with her sister, she just couldn't. What had happened to Walt was his own doing; Hank was just doing his job, not only protecting the public but his family as well. What his last thoughts were, she didn't know. She only prayed that he hadn't suffered, if that were possible. How could he have not suffered knowing the man that he'd welcomed into his home, his family so many times was responsible for his impending demise?

Pretty soon the crowds had arrived, with officers and strangers passing by to offer their condolences. Hiding behind the biggest pair of sunglasses she could find, she would attempt a smile and nod, and then prayed they would all move along. Everyone meant well; but right now she just couldn't bring herself to appreciate the efforts.

The ceremony went along about as well as Marie supposed it could have. It was hard to pay attention with the rows and rows of graves surrounding them. As long as his coffin was there, in front of her, as long as he was above ground, then maybe, just maybe, Marie could handle this. It wasn't until a Marine presented her with the neatly folded flag that had just minutes before been draped on her husband's coffin that she started to break down.

Flynn put his arm around her, but there was no comforting her. This flag would be the last reminder of her husband, at least for the next few months. As she began to sob, her nephew began to attempt to comfort her, but not even Flynn could provide the solace she was so desperately seeking.

It hurt Skylar to see her sister hurting so, but she knew that nothing she could say would ease Marie's pain. Out of the corner of her eye she couldn't help but notice the baby bump that couldn't be concealed by the placement of the flag on Marie's stomach. If only Marie could hold on a few more months...if she could just hang on...

Many people got up to speak. They were all basically saying the same thing: how brave Hank had been, what a devoted family man he'd been, that his death would not be in vain. Some tried to say that in death, he'd prevented many young people from dying from the blue formula that he'd sought to remove from the streets. He was a man to be admired, and the community would be a little worse off without him there to protect him.

Finally, Marie could not handle any more strangers pretending that they knew Hank, that they'd loved him as much as she had. Still clutching the flag in her right hand, she stood up and walked carefully but without looking back to where his coffin was, in preparation of its being lowered into the cold, hard ground.

The crowds grew silent as everyone anxiously awaited what she had to say. To most, Marie had seemed closed off, not returning calls, not appearing at any functions, not going to work any more. She didn't care what anyone thought. She had to do this, she had to let the world know who the real Hank Schraeder was, no matter how difficult it was for her to do.

After taking a few deep breaths, she slowly removed the sunglasses and studied the audience carefully. She purposely avoided looking at her sister, instead choosing to remember Hank as only she could.

It had been obvious that the sunglasses were meant to keep people from seeing her tears. She wasn't crying as she spoke, but her tear-stained face spoke volumes about the pain she was in.

"I know..." Marie started, but then looked up in the sky in order to compose herself. "I know..."

Flynn looked helplessly at his mom, not knowing what he could or should do to help his beloved aunt.

"I know that most of you came here to pay your respects to my husband, to share your thoughts and prayers and feelings about him. From what I've heard today, most of you think he was a hero, a strong and brave man who lost his life just doing what only a superhero would do."

"But the truth is..." Marie struggled to continue. "The truth is, Hank wasn't trying to be a hero. He wasn't trying to make the ultimate sacrifice for his community. He had a life to live, a family whom he loved and now," she patted her stomach." A child who he will never know about. As much as it's nice to hear how wonderful my husband is, the truth is, he wasn't always that wonderful."

Flynn looked at his mom, who just patted his hand then turned her attention back to her sister.

"Hank could be stubborn, demanding, obsessive; sometimes he knew which battles to fight and other times he didn't know when to back down. He was strong, most of the time, but only I got to see him when he wasn't feeling so strong, so brave.

"When he was hurt on the job in pursuit of this 'Heisenberg', he didn't think he could go on. He stayed in the hospital a little longer than he should have. He pushed me away at times, not wanting me to see him at his weakest.

"But what I wish he could know...what I wish he could have heard from me...was that even at his lowest he was still the man I fell in love with. He was just hard-headed enough to know that he had to get on his feet, even if it wasn't easy for him. He wasn't a man who admitted defeat easily. But the times in his life when he felt like giving up- well, somehow, eventually, he turned things around and went back to being the man you all saw."

Marie took another deep breath. "He wasn't perfect. He was quick-tempered at times, wasn't the perfect husband, but he was the best friend in the world a man could have. Sure, there were things about him that I would have liked for him to have changed, but now...now...now...I would give anything in the world just to see him one last time, to thank him for saving my life, for being my friend, the man who made me laugh the most, and most of all, for loving me.

"He may not have always showed it, but I always knew that he loved me. He worked hard to give me a good life, a good home, anything I could have wanted. But right now, I would trade all the paychecks, the home, the cars..."

"Anyways," Marie continued. "He was more than just a hero. He was my husband. And I don't have all the words in the world to explain just how much he meant to me. My sister was always the writer in the family. But I just...I don't know. I really don't know."

Skylar walked up to Marie, wrapped her arm around her, then helped her back to her seat.

After a short prayer, the moment that Marie had been dreading had arrived. It was time to lower the coffin into the ground, and she stared helplessly as she knew there was nothing more she could do for her husband, not now anyways.

And just like that, Hank Shraeder was gone, leaving a very broken-hearted widow and unborn child behind. She walked away, not bothering to look back. Quite fittingly, the weather had changed and a light sprinkle started to fall from the sky.

Flynn tried to approach her, but Skylar held him back. She knew Marie well enough to know that she needed to be left alone. When the time was right, she would reach out to them. But for now, even though her heart broke for her sister, Skylar helped Flynn up and they walked to their car, just praying for this day to end.

But for Marie, it would never be over. Never.

TBC