A/N: Fill for the brbakinkmeme.

"Things are gonna be rough for the next couple of weeks but they'll get better."

Six months ago and Marie never would have suspected she'd be where she was today, her arms hugged around herself as though trying to keep the cold at bay. But there was no "keeping the cold at bay"—not when it was metaphorical.

She was standing alone outside of an interrogation room watching as two officers questioned the younger man she had as a house guest those six months ago. Only that younger man had changed so much, she wasn't sure if she would have recognized him. He was thought to be dead, killed along with… with Hank and Steve Gomez.

There was a news broadcast stating that some sort of tape had been found at an empty hangar where a meth lab had been set up, where dead bodies littered the ground, and among them was none other than Walt. But the officers on the scene suspected that Jesse Pinkman, the very man in front of Marie in that interrogation room, was thought to still be alive. He had escaped. Someone had found him just wandering aimlessly down the street and called the cops to report his location. And he still appeared to have had the life sucked out of him.

Marie had stood there watching through the glass pane unbeknownst to the younger man in question for nearly twenty minutes before the two officers stepped out of the room. His lips had only moved once in all that time, right before the officers left.

"What did he say?" Marie inquired. She lowered her hands down to her sides as she tore her stare away from Jesse.

"Just asked if he was under arrest." The first officer shrugged.

Marie found herself slightly fidgeting. "Is he?"

There was a part of Marie that screamed it would only be justice if this Jesse Pinkman was at least behind bars. He was involved in all the crimes Walt was. It was one in the same. Maybe it was some sort of motherly instinct kicking in but seeing him in the condition that he was currently in—bruised and scarred, dirty—she didn't want him to be locked up. She didn't know the entire truth and what had happened to him over the past months but it certainly didn't look good.

The officers exchanged glances. "Well, not exactly. There's no hard evidence that proves he had anything to do with this Heisenberg other than word of mouth. We want to keep a close eye on him though. Keep him around."

Marie vaguely nodded and slowly turned back to take in the image of Jesse sitting at the interrogation table. He hadn't moved since, his stare seemingly locked onto the wall in front of him.

"What's the story? I mean, what's going to happen to him then?"

The first officer rested his hands on his hips and let out an exaggerated sigh. "Kid's gonna need a lot of therapy after what he's been through."

"His parents have been contacted and they're on their way to come get him," the second officer chimed in without missing a beat. "You gonna be alright, Marie?"

Marie just nodded again, her stare remaining. She listened to the officers walk off down the hall and before she even knew it, they were gone. Completely out of sight.

She found herself inching closer to the door. Her hand brushed over the door knob and her grip tightened as she slowly turned it, allowing the door to open a crack before she pushed it open the remainder of the way and stepped through.

Jesse's stare immediately fixated on her and he took on the look of a deer caught in the headlights. Spooked, that was the word. He grabbed at the chair arms and pushed himself up into more of a sitting position so that he wasn't as slouched.

"It's okay." Marie put her hands in the air as if to show she meant no harm. She frowned at the revelation, wondering what on earth would cause him to be frightened of her. Maybe he feared she was going to hurt him because of Hank. But she already understood that what happened to her late husband wasn't anyone's fault but Walt's.

She stood still while keeping a distance, just barely inside the room with her back practically against the door. Now that she was looking at Jesse straight on, she could see the scars on his face more prominently. That motherly instinct in her kicked in again and all she wanted to do was pull him into her arms and take care of him, get him some clean clothes and a shower. He looked worse than he did the last time she had seen him. A lot worse.

Marie took a cautious step forward and pointed back at the door. "Come with me."

"…What?" Jesse was staring at her like she was crazy now, his brow furrowed and his once wide eyes narrowing.

"Come with me," Marie repeated. "I'll get you out of here. You can come back home with me. Get cleaned up… Food."

"I can't just… leave."

"Sure you can. Come on." Marie waved her hand toward the door.

"But—"

"Don't worry about the agents. I'll talk to them later." Marie shrugged. "They said you were released anyway."

It took a lot more coaxing than Marie would have ever guessed to get Jesse out of that room and out to her car. She figured he would have been at least a little exuberant getting out of there but he hardly showed any form of emotion. If anything, he just looked… depressed.

Marie parked in the driveway and had to partially usher Jesse into the house as though he was waiting for a command, like he didn't know what to do otherwise. She couldn't blame him because it had to be weird. All of it, really.

She set her purse down on the kitchen counter before she noticed Jesse wasn't right beside her. She stepped around the corner to find him standing in the middle of the living room rubbing his arm. He definitely looked out of place in the large, open room.

"I was thinking, maybe, you could take a shower and get cleaned up." Marie placed her index finger to her lips as she looked him over. He was so skinny… "I'm sure I can try and find you something to wear in the meantime. At least for tonight. Then, well…"

She stopped, not quite sure where she was going with all of this. How long was she planning on keeping him? Apparently his parents had already been contacted and she was surprised she hadn't already received a phone call asking what she did with Pinkman and why he's missing.

Jesse rubbed at the back of his neck and slightly sniffed, slowly nodding his head. Marie couldn't get the image of a wounded animal out of her head. She wanted to help him. Maybe she could set him up with Dave. In time, though. She felt like she needed to gain his trust a little first before whisking him off to therapy.

"Great." Marie forced a smile. "I'll go find you some clothes."

And five minutes later, the best she could come up with was a pair of her sweatpants (a little loose on her so they'd probably fit Jesse—not to mention they were purple) and one of Hank's old shirts. She explained it was the best she could do without him completely swimming in a pair of Hank's old sweatpants but Jesse just took the clothing without a protest.

"Bathroom's down the hall and—well, you know…" Marie let her voice trail off as Jesse kind of nodded, walking around the corner. She heard the door click shut and she sighed. It felt weird, knowing that he had been here before and yet she really didn't even know him.

Marie had just stepped past the kitchen when she heard her cell phone ringing from within her purse. She backtracked until she reached the bag and dug the cellular device out. The DEA's office.

"Marie… Where is Jesse Pinkman?"

"Hi, George," she started in with a smile, though he obviously couldn't see it. He could probably hear it though. "He's with me. Is there a problem?"

"A problem? The problem is that we had him in custody and you just took him without any consent."

"I had his consent." Marie shrugged, leaning against the counter as she switched her cell phone to her other hand.

"Marie," George's tone changed into a warning. "His parents are here."

"Look, George. Your officers said it themselves: Jesse needs help. Let me be the one to help him. I can do it. After Hank, I—I just feel like I need this." Marie shut her eyes and willed the thoughts that filled her head to leave as she held back the tears that started to prick at her eyes. "Let me get through to him and I'll take him to see Dave. Tell his parents whatever you want to but please, George, I need this."

There was a slight sigh over the receiver followed by a moment of silence before George spoke up. "You are not by any means Jesse Pinkman's guardian, nor do you have any affiliation with this man, Marie."

"He stays with me. He's safe here. And if you need him, you know where to find him." Marie hung up and set her phone on the counter. No affiliation? Jesse's the last and only man still standing and alive to have seen Hank and Steve Gomez up until the moment they were both killed. Jesse had been the one to help Hank and Gomez go after Walt. Jesse had been in her house before. And maybe Marie needed Jesse just as much as he needed someone like her to get through all of this; closure.

In time, though. Everything would have to work out in time.