So, the final chapter! and yes, I do feel amazing...I got this story done in record timing.

The day of the funeral, it was sunny, the sky a brilliantly clear blue. It had snowed the night before, so a thick layer of sparkling, crystalline flakes coated the ground of the cemetery. It would have been beautiful, if not for the mound of dirt that bordered a freshly dug grave. Clustered around it was a pathetically small group of people. The entire William McKinley Glee Club huddled together, hands intertwined, each of them sensing the other's pain and sorrow. Mr. Schue stood on one side of the group of kids, Sue on the other side. She had even, for once, changed from her normal track suit into a black suit. Burt and Carole stood together at the head of the grave, gazing solemnly at the scene before their eyes. Two teenagers nobody seemed to know other than Burt stood on the opposite side of the grave, both in navy blue and red school uniforms. There was a strange lack of family members, no cousins, no uncles, no grandparents. It was just the small, rag-tag group, a group that, while they still argued and quarreled and had their issues and didn't all know each other, where bonded by the memory of the small brunette singer.

The coffin was elegant, morbidly representing Kurt in every way. Finn held one corner of it, lower down so that the smaller boy on the other side could rest it easily on his shoulder. The other boy wore a black jacket, but the blue and red striped tie that poked out from underneath identified him as going to the same school as the other two boys barely anyone seemed to know. But despite this, they all felt sorry for him, seeing the tears slide down his cheeks. Finn was looking straight ahead, not acknowledging any of those whose gazes drifted towards him. They placed the coffin on the ground, both full-out crying by this time, and returned to their respective groups of friends. The shorter boy made his way over to the two others in uniform, and they enveloped him in hugs, whispering words of reassurance. Finn let Rachel wrap her arms around his waist, but then turned over to look at the three boys off to their selves, and beckoned them over with a small hand gesture. They positioned themselves several feet from the McKinley Glee Club. All attention went back to Burt, at the head of the grave.

"I'm not going to make a big speech," he said, his voice husky and hoarse, "because there's really no way I can say how amazing my son was. There's no way I can say how much I regret all the times I wasn't good enough for him. There's no way I can say just how I much I miss you right now. All I can say is that the past sixteen years were the best sixteen years I could hope for." He bent his head slightly, nodding to Finn and the rest of the Glee Club.

"Kurt..." Finn began, quietly. "Kurt, you where the best almost-stepbrother I could have ever asked for." His speech only consisted of one sentence, and his voice began to break as tears threatened to overwhelm him.

Rachel stepped forward. "I was so self-absorbed, Kurt. I see that now..." Her voice shook slightly. "I really wished I could go back in time, and see you on the stage singing Defying Gravity like I knew you wanted to. I just want you to know, it was such an honor singing a duet with you. I may never have told you, but I learned so much from you."

"Stay fly, man," was all Artie offered up, but so heartfelt that it seemed as if it had been a long, soul-bearing speech.

"You had sweet baby hands-" Brittany stopped mid sentence and burst into tears. Santana pulled her into a tight hug, and took over with their speech. Slowly, the entire glee club was done, some speeches only a sentence long, others much longer. Sue turned down the offer to speak, instead focusing her attention on the coffin that held the once-Cheerio. Then it was Mr. Schue's turn.

"I can't say everything. I know you didn't really like me, Kurt, and I know its probably too late to admit it now, but you were seriously one of the best ones in Glee. I'm sorry for not acknowledging it sooner."

All eyes turned to the other boy who had been shouldering the coffin. Burt gave him a small, sad smile. "Blaine?" He asked.

The boy, Blaine, wiped away the tears that coated his face, and took a shaky breath. "I know I don't know many of you," he began, "but we're all here now, together, missing one of the most amazing guys I ever knew." He paused. "My name's Blaine. I am-I was-Kurt's boyfriend. Kurt was..." Blaine looked up, trying to think of a way to describe him. "...he was the strongest person I've ever known. Every time I was with him, I felt so cowardly and pathetic, because he could overcome what I never could. Kurt was brave, he was talented, he was sweet, and he was..." He tilted his head and smiled slightly. "...cute. You know what he looked like when he was sleeping? A puppy. I know its a strange thing to say, but it was one of the things I loved most about him." Blaine gestured to the boys behind him. "This is Wes and David. We all met Kurt when he came to spy on our Glee Club, so I figured I'd give him one last performance."Blaine stepped forward and closed his eyes.

I've heard it said
That people come into our lives for a reason
Bringing something we must learn
And we are led
To those who help us most to grow
If we let them
And we help them in return
Well, I don't know if I believe that's true
But I know I'm who I am today
Because I knew you... His clear vocals sailed over the quiet cemetery, freezing the moment in time.

Like a comet pulled from orbit
As it passes a sun
Like a stream that meets a boulder
Halfway through the wood
Who can say if I've been changed for the better?
But because I knew you
I have been changed for good

Rachel stepped up, and effortlessly took over the next part, smiling sadly at Blaine when he gave her a nod of thanks.

It well may be
That we will never meet again
In this lifetime
So let me say before we part
So much of me
Is made of what I learned from you
You'll be with me
Like a handprint on my heart
And now whatever way our stories end
I know you have re-written mine
By being my friend...

Like a ship blown from its mooring
By a wind off the sea
Like a seed dropped by a skybird
In a distant wood
Who can say if I've been changed for the better?
But because I knew you

It seemed almost natural for everybody else to join in, voices blending effortly, twining together, sending the melody spiraling through the early winter air, rising up in the wind.
Because I knew you

I have been changed for good

And just to clear the air
I ask forgiveness
For the things I've done you blame me for

But then, I guess we know
There's blame to share

And none of it seems to matter anymore

Like a comet pulled from orbit
As it passes a sun
Like a stream that meets a boulder
Halfway through the wood

Like a ship blown from its mooring
By a wind off the sea
Like a seed dropped by a bird in the wood

Who can say if I've been
Changed for the better?
I do believe I have been
Changed for the better

And because I knew you...

Because I knew you...
Because I knew you...
I have been changed for good...

Tears streaming down their faces, they let the last note linger and fade. And as the dirt fell down on their friend, they all pulled each other into a tight hug, not a single person left out, arms intertwining, tears mingling, boots and pants getting cold and wet from melting snow. Time remained frozen as they stood together, each and every person so different, but joined together by one boy, who had tragically left so early, leaving behind friends, who now lay scattered and lost, like the last leaves of November when wind blew them down the streets and into gutters.

As the first load of dirt rained down on the coffin and buried their friend forever, they turned their back on the grave. They turned their back, but they would never forget him, never forget the friendships he forged, the songs he sang, the clothes he wore. They would never forget Kurt Hummel, buried in a small cemetery in Lima, Ohio, under the cold and frozen earth, so heartbreakingly far from his dream.

Authors Note: Please forgive me for killing Kurt...i just HAD TO! So...review please?