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(EXT: Cruz & Eden's Beach House)

---Julia finishes putting on her earrings as Eden comes down the spiraled staircase. Her hair is pulled back tightly, her makeup and her dress subdued. The only jewelery she wears is her wedding ring.

"Thanks for staying with me last night. I don't know what I would have done without you the last few weeks, Julia," Eden says.

"Don't think anything of it- I wouldn't have been anywhere else. And it's been nice to not have to focus on my own problems for a while..."

"Mason's still staying at the hotel...."

"Yes, by my choice. He needs to sort some things out and until he does that, we can't go on pretending as if his feelings for Mary don't exist."

"He loves you Julia."

"Let's not talk about Mason- there's enough going on today as it is without worrying about your brother's state of mind....." Eden's face grows long. "Oh Eden, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to...."

Eden tells her that it's quite alright, there's no need to walk on eggshells around her. She looks at her watch and says they should be heading to the church so she can be there to greet people as they arrive. The doorbell rings and Eden is pleased to see Chip standing on the other side of it, dressed in his suit. Her eyes well with tears at the site of him.

"You remind so much of your father standing there.... I'm so proud of you."

She takes him in her arms and hugs him tight. He asks where Adriana is and she tells him she stayed with Samantha and is heading to the church with her. Chip asks who she was going to ride with and she says she was planning on driving herself or going with Julia. He insists that they allow him to drive them both. She nods in agreement and the three of them take off for the church.

(EXT: Gina's Condominium)

---Gina is impressed with how chipper Lily seems to be. She asks what it is that has her daughter so happy, but Lily is vague, only saying that karma has a funny way of repaying people. Gina gives her a half-confused look as the doorbell rings.

"After seeing you in action the other night, I'm not sure I want to know what you mean by that..." Gina says as she's walking to the door.

Gina stops dead in her tracks when she sees who's standing on the other side.

"BRANDON!"

Gina raps her arms around the boy she raised as her own, now very much a grown man. She brings him in and tells him how handsome he looks in his suit. She realizes that he knows about Cruz and is going to the funeral. He asks why she isn't dressed to go, but she claims she won't be attending.

"Why not mom? I was hoping you'd be there with me.....I could barely stomach CC yesterday and when they're all together like that as a group....Mason is the only sane one in the bunch!"

"You really are my son, aren't you? I would do anything for you Brandon, you know that, but I don't think I ought to be there- we all know how the Capwells feel about me- and if it happened to any one of them but Cruz I wouldn't care......but I wouldn't to do anything to disrupt his service."

"What about Channing? Shouldn't he be there? He's Eden's brother...."

Gina explains that Channing spent the night with CC and is attending with his father. Brandon is impressed with his mother's newfound maturity.

"Don't be fooled," Lily interjects "She's just taking the day off...."

Brandon asks why Lily isn't going, since she used to have a thing with Rafe. She explains that is exactly why she doesn't want to be there, reminding him about their encounter at the Lair.

"What encounter?" Gina interrupts.

"UH-Oh" Brandon says

"How long have you been in town Brandon? And YOU!" she motions to Lily "Why didn't you tell me your brother was here?"

Brandon explains that he's actually been in town on business and informs her that he actually bought the Lair and has been working on the remodel and the opening. Gina laments that it's been going on for months and Brandon explains that he didn't want anyone to know he was in town or that he bought the Lair until he got things rolling. Gina is disappointed that he hasn't called and he promises he'll make up for it. Brandon checks his watch.

"You should get going, the service is starting soon, I don't want to keep you. Give Eden, Adriana and the Castillos my best."

"Are you sure you don't want to come with me mom? Victoria Lane will be there."

"That's quite alright, Brandon- I had a lifetime's worth of Victoria Lane when she lived in Santa Barbara when you were little. Keep an eye on your brother for me. I love you."

"I love you too."

He kisses his mother and sister good-bye and heads for the church.

(EXT- Chapel)

---Eden, Julia, and Chip arrive at the church and are surprised to see that Adriana and Samantha are already there. Adriana explains that she wanted to get there early and be sure everything was set up and ready to go. She apologizes to her mother for not staying the night before, but says it was just too painful to be there another day. Eden nods silently and walks into the church. She sees Cruz's casket with his picture above it and loses it.

"Oh Cruz." she sniffles "It wasn't supposed to be this way, Julia. We were supposed to grow old and grey together. I was supposed to take up knitting, he fishing.....We were going to spoil our grandchilden rotten, take them for ice cream, buy them Christmas gifts and sing Happy Birthday on their first birthday.......How can I do any of that without you darlin?"

She begins to sob and Chip takes her in his arms and tries to comfort her. He takes her and sits her down while Adriana greets the Castillos. Carm looks into the church and sees Cruz's casket and his picture, decorated with white Lilies. She removes her glasses and wipes away a tear. She looks over and sees Eden sobbing in the front row and immediately walks toward her. She motions for Chip to let her be alone with Eden. She takes her seat next to her and takes Eden's hand in hers.

"He loved you with all his heart Eden- he told me so every chance I got, not that I needed to. I could see it, the way you made his eyes light up. The way he smiled at you, a way that I'd never seen him smile before. It was the exact same way that his father used to smile at me."

"I know I wasn't the daughter-in-law you envisioned..."

"Nonsense. My son loved you- you made him the happiest he'd ever been, which made me love you. You're like a daughter to me, Eden. You're everything I could want in a daughter-in-law and more."

She clutches Eden's hand and kisses it, looking her in the eye. She sees some more people arriving and looks back at her daughter-in-law. The two of them get up together and greet the arrivals- first CC, Channing IV, Ted, and Angela. Warren shows up next to give his condolences, offering the same from his family. Kelly and Ashton come in around the same time as Mason, along with Mary and Brandon. Mason tells Mary that he's glad she decided to come, while Julia looks on from a distance. Then Pearl shows up, which causes Eden to lose it all over again. Pearl takes her in his arms.

"Oh Edie..." he chokes back her name "I know- I'm gonna miss him too, I know..." he says, trying to soothe her.

Vic shows up with the guys from the police force, all of whom wanted to pay their respects to their superior, co-worker, and friend. Chip greets Victoria and takes her to her place in the church. Eden is shocked when Brick Wallace shows up and remarks she hasn't seen him in ages. She gives him a huge hug. CC isn't as warm, commenting that he had hoped that Brick would have been at Sophia's funeral. Kelly hushes her father up, saying that it isn't the time and takes Brick inside. Rosa arrives with Santana and Danny. Eden marvels at how grown up Danny is and remembers when Cruz helped him kick his addiction to drugs and helped him with Angel. Eden chokes on the name and begins crying again, with Danny taking her in his arms. Cain surprises Eden and is able to calm her down. Everyone begins taking their seats and the priest begins the service. As he speaks, each attendee is shown individually- Eden, Adriana, Chip, Victoria, Mason, Julia, Mary, Kelly, Ashton, Ted, Angela, Warren, CC, Channing IV, Vic, the force, Pearl, Carm, Carmen, Rafael, et all.

The time comes for the eulogy and Eden gets up to do it. As she takes her spot, the Ramirezes arrive and quietly sit down in the back as Eden begins to speak.

"I never really imagined I would have to do this.....Thank you all for coming, though it doesn't surprise me so many showed up. Cruz was a man who was loved and admired by every person he ever touched.......(her voice starts to crack, but she regains control)......You know, years ago, when I was presumed dead in a plane crash, Cruz stood up here and did this and I honestly don't know how he.....(she begins choking up) got through it...........I'm up here trying to talk about him, trying to remember him but words just won't do him justice. Nothing I can say can adequately describe the kind of man that Cruz Castillo was. I could stand here, using all kinds of adjectives. Loyal. Honest. Dependable. Caring. Noble. Heroic. Strong. Handsome. Loving. None of these words begin to do him justice. He's the best person I've ever known (she says through sobs)- the best friend I've ever had, the best husband I could imagine.....And his death is needless.....It serves no higher purpose......When a person dies of natural causes, one can look to God for answers. You can say to yourself- it was their time.....but Cruz (she chokes)- It wasn't his time, you know- He was just taken- ripped away from all of us, all those who loved him and who need him here with us right now......I need him......And I wish I could accept it...God, I wish I could accept it, but I can't. I can't accept that this was supposed to happen, that his was how he was supposed to die (flash to Santana)........I'm so sorry, to all of you, that I didn't stop this from happening, that I couldn't prevent it somehow....Our love has seen us through all kinds of things...At times, it was the only thing that did get me through......And though I could say that I'll hold that in my heart forever and treasure every memory.....Most of you know me, I'm too (she chokes up again) selfish for that...I want him here, I want him with me and his family who love him so much. It shouldn't be this.....(she chokes the word "way" out before falling into a complete sob)

Adriana and Chip get up and go to their mother. The two of them escort her down the stairway as everyone in the church sobs watching the horrific site. Chip remains strong, but Adriana is a mess. As they lead Eden to her seat, Kirk Cranston arrives and takes a seat at the back of the church. His presence immediately catches Eden's eye. Her tears suddenly stop and her face fills with rage.

"NO! OH No, GET OUT OF HERE!!!" she says as she's charging down the aisle at Kirk. "I said GET OUT OF HERE you bastard, you don't belong here..."

She looks next to him where Marta, Angel, and Carla are seated.

"NONE OF YOU DO!!! You KILLED Him!!! All of you MURDERED MY HUSBAND, each and every one of you and you have the nerve to show up at his FUNERAL?"

"Eden, I'm sorry, we were just.." Carla says before being cut off.

"I DON'T WANT TO HEAR IT! Your husband......he could have prevented all of this but he didn't did he? No, no, not Angel Ramirez. He hasn't had an honest day in his life. And YOU!" she says, looking at Kirk. "I know you DID THIS! I KNOW YOU HAD SOMETHING TO DO WITH THIS! And you're going to pay when I find out.....I'll kill you Kirk, I'll KILL YOU!"

"Eden, really, you should calm down.. I didn't have anything to.." Kirk says

Eden closes her fist and punches Kirk in the face.

"I SAID GET OUT OF HERE!! TED! MASON! GET HIM OUT OF HERE!!! ALL OF YOU GET OUT!!! NOne of you care about him....none of you loved him....get out!! GET OUT!!!"

Carla tells Angel they should leave and they take Marta and begin to walk out. Mason and Ted help Kirk up and take him on his way.

"GET OUT! gET OUT! You don't care....YOu killed him! MURDERERS!! !MURDERERS!!!" she shouts through sobs.

Eden collapses into sobs onto the floor and CC rushes to her and raps his arms around her, comforting a very broken Eden.

THE END.........for TODAY