Author's Notes: The original plan was for this story to end with a post-Thanksgiving party at Santana's, so as to begin and end with an upbeat holiday party with the kids comparing notes, etc, sort of like bookends. With the untimely death of Mr. Monteith, I decided to forgo that, replacing it with a chapter where Finn has passed away and his friends gather together to help each other heal.

We will all grieve for the loss of loved ones at some point in our lives. It is different for each of us, both in duration and how we cope with the situation. Although we never truly get over someone's death, we do get through it. We go back to school or to work. Initially, it's very hard, because while life has gone on for everybody else, our life has been irreparably changed, and there is a huge hole that a person used to fill. Somebody tells a joke and people laugh; we want to scream at them, "Nothing is funny, assholes, my (fill-in-the-blank) has died, how can you laugh?" Of course, we don't say that, but maybe find a secluded spot and have a good cry. Time passes, and things begin to feel more normal. Eventually, when we hear a joke, we laugh, too, and we can listen to music again. Spouses remarry; boyfriends and girlfriends left behind fall in love again.

Ultimately, "Glee" is a TV show, and it is a job to the actors, writers, directors, technical people, etc. They will go back to work, and they will mourn the loss of their friend and cast mate, but life will go on, and they will laugh again, and sing again, and love again. It is human nature, and it is a reality of life.

Following please find the final chapter.

Chapter 42

The close-knit group of college and high school students sat around in Rachel's basement, traces of disbelief and sadness still etched in their faces. It was New Year's Eve, a time of celebration, but nobody was in a party mood. The day before, their friend and teammate, Finn Hudson, had been killed in an accident.

Finn and three of his friends from OSU had driven down to Florida for a few days to stay at one of the boys' grandparents' condo. According to his Facebook page, they had a great time. On the ride back, there had been a sudden snowstorm, resulting in whiteout conditions. Per one of the survivors, it happened so quickly that there was no time to react and get off the road. Two of the boys had been killed, while the other two sustained broken bones and contusions, heartbroken over the loss of their friends. The funeral was to be held on January 2nd. Burt had made the arrangements since Carole, Finn's mom, was too bereft to do so.

Many tears had been shed, but, for the present, although their hearts were heavy, their eyes were dry. For many of them, it was the first time that someone close to them had passed away, and it would be the first funeral they would attend.

"I still can't believe it," Quinn's soft voice punctuated the heavy silence.

"Yeah, I know," Santana agreed. "He was a big dork, but he was our big dork."

"Santana," Rachel chided, "don't speak ill of the dead."

Noah, who had barely left Rachel's side since receiving the news, comfortingly pulled her a bit closer.

"I'm not, Rach," Santana explained, "just tellin' it like it is…er, was," she sadly corrected herself.

"Mr. Schue's been a wreck," Mercedes confided. "I stopped over this afternoon to see how he was doing. He and Ms. P. were gonna have a big wedding in a couple of months, but their hearts aren't in it, now." Mercedes sighed heavily before continuing. "Ms. P. told me they cancelled those plans, and they're getting married in her church, and only having their immediate families and a couple of close friends."

"Yeah," Blaine agreed, "he'd asked Finn to stand up for him, but that's not happening any more," he observed despondently.

"I've never been to a funeral, before," Marley said, her voice barely above a whisper.

"That's OK, Mar," Jake reassured her, "we'll get through it together."

"Is there gonna be a viewing?" Sam asked, brokenly.

"No," Mike replied, "Carole didn't want it. She said her goodbyes, and the casket will be closed."

Rachel shuddered inwardly; she had been to a funeral for her great-aunt, a woman she barely knew, but Jewish tradition doesn't incorporate an extended viewing and visitation at a funeral home, or an open casket at the service. She was relieved that she would not have to experience that, because she didn't know how she would have been able to handle it.

"I, for one, am grateful for that," Kurt admitted, Blaine's arm wrapped around his shoulders. "I want to remember Finn the way he was when he left for Florida, not laid out in a coffin."

The thought of that somber image set Brittany, seated between Sam and Santana, crying again, both of her friends doing their best to console her. "It's OK, Brit," Santana said, "we'll be OK."

"Yeah, we'll be OK, but we'll never be the same, again," Brittany tearfully replied. "I've been friends with Finn since I was a kid; I'll really miss him."

"Yeah, I remember when it was the five of us…" Noah reminded Brittany, "…you and Rach, Mike, Finn, and me.

Rachel smiled wistfully, and began: "I remember one time; it was raining, and we were about five years old…"

"Nana Connie was baby sitting and sat us down in front of the TV with a VHS tape of 'Peter Pan' with Mary Martin. After it was over, Brittany decided that we should play 'Peter Pan'. First I wanted to be 'Peter', but Finn told me that I couldn't because I was a girl. I was about to tell him that Mary Martin was a girl, but Nana Connie caught me and gave me the eye to stop talking."

"Like that ever worked," Noah interjected. Rachel slapped him playfully on the arm, straightened up, and continued:"

"Anyway, I didn't say anything about that, and Finn decided that he would be 'Peter'. I wanted to be 'Wendy', but you" she turned to Noah, "told me I was too little."

"Well, you always were pint-sized," he commented with a chuckle.

Rachel rolled her eyes and carried on with the story:

"So, Brittany handed out the remaining roles; she would be 'Wendy', Noah would be 'Captain Hook', Mike would be 'Mr. Smee', and I would be 'Tinkerbell'."

"Always a badass, even at five," Noah cockily commented.

"We ad-libbed and role-played as five-year-olds do. Apparently, 'Tinkerbell' is pretty snarky, and she is quoted as using the expression 'silly ass' (Rachel air-quoted). The boys, of course, thought this was hilarious and made sure that I said it as often as possible. Mike and Noah kept straight faces (pretty much), but Finn snickered every time. When Dad picked me up after work, he asked me what we did that afternoon, and I told him how we had watched the movie, role-played, and so on. Then Finn piped up, 'Ray-chel, tell your Dad what 'Tinkerbell' says' with a big, dopey grin plastered on his face. Dad said, 'What does she say, Pumpkin?' and naïve little me, I said 'Silly Ass', very pleased with myself. The four of them started convulsing with laughter, and my Dad said, sternly, 'Rachel, I don't think that's what she says.' 'Yes she does, Dad,' I explained. 'Well, if that's the case, whether she says it or not, you will not, or we'll be forced to wash your mouth out with soap.' I took my play-acting very seriously, and I stamped my foot and glared at Finn, who by now was laughing so hard that he couldn't even speak."

Brittany smiled through her tears, fondly remembering the incident.

"That's OK, Rachel, we got him back for you," Mike assured her, beginning his anecdote:

"When we were in seventh grade, Finn, Puck, Matt Rutherford and I had a sleep-over at Puck's house. We were playing video games in the family room and Finn fell asleep on the couch. Matt had the brilliant idea of trying to convince Finn that he'd lost his hearing. We turned the sound effects off and Puck nudged Finn to wake him up. We moved our lips, but didn't say anything, and acted as if nothing was different; you know, playing the game, arguing, and so on, but silently. Finn was like 'guys, what's going on', and we looked at him innocently, mouthing 'nothing, why, what's wrong…' ya' know, stuff like that. We kept him going for about five minutes and he was really panicking, thinking that he had been struck deaf, when Puck's mom apparently had to use the bathroom. He heard the toilet flush, and the game was over. He was really pissed, and we laughed so hard that Ms. P. had to come down and take the game controller away so we would quiet down and go to sleep."

"That was epic," Puck admitted, if a bit ruefully. "I still can't watch 'Night of the Living Dead' without thinking about the time Finn decided to plan for the 'zombie apocalypse'."

Mike chuckled, interjecting, "Yeah, I remember that, too. What was on that list…guns, blowtorches…beer…cheese puffs, beef jerky…toilet paper?"

Noah recalled: "We had just started ninth grade, and I was fresh off my first summer of pool cleaning." (Rachel rolled her eyes, realizing that he primarily meant being seduced by Lima's coterie of sexually frustrated housewives.) "Mike and I were at Finn's house watchin' TV when the movie came on, and we started discussing what would happen if that was true. Finn got inspired and began writing a list while we debated what should go on it. After we started running out of ideas, I told him that we needed girls if we wanted to re-populate the world once the zombies were defeated. Finn and Mike were pretty embarrassed, 'cause neither of them had been with a girl, yet. Mike decided he'd take Brittany…"

"Thanks, Mikey," Brittany piped up, smiling, while Sam glared in Mike's direction, tightening his arm around Brittany in the process, and Tina sighed in frustration.

"Tina, I didn't even know you then," Mike explained, attempting damage control. Noah continued:

"Finn was kinda reluctant and said he didn't know; Quinn had just moved here and he hadn't met her, yet, but he thought she was pretty; I told him she was probably a bitch."

"Thanks loads, Puckerman," Quinn wryly interjected.

"Any time, Fabray," he retorted with a smirk.

"Why don't you tell them who you chose, Puck?" Mike challenged.

"I really don't think that's necessary; this is about Finn, not me," he deflected, attempting to dodge the question.

"Well, then, I'll tell," Mike said, smiling slyly as he took over the narrative:

"Finn said 'Who would you take, Puck?' Puck thought about it for a minute before he replied that it would be important to keep the Jewish religion alive, so he would have to take Rachel. Finn was dumbfounded: 'What the fuck? You can't stand Rachel,' he said, 'she never shuts up. You said she makes you wanna light yourself on fire!'"

Rachel elbowed Noah in the ribs, and he reacted "Ow, woman, watch it!"

"Light yourself on fire? Thanks, Noah!" she retorted.

Mike continued: "I realized that Puck actually liked Rachel, and we both started teasing him. He got really defensive, and he was bigger than both of us at that time, so we backed off, but he never denied it. The movie had gotten pretty exciting by that point…maybe the zombies had gotten into the house or something, and we went back to watching it."

"And look at them, now," Santana commented teasingly, "The couple most likely to…have a baby before our five-year reunion."

Their friends laughed; although Rachel's expression registered her opposition to the idea, Noah smiled, saying nothing, gently drawing Rachel closer again.

"I only met Finn this year," Marley admitted, "but the glee club really looked up to him. He took the bus in from Columbus to help Ms. Holliday with the club, and the play, too."

"That's true," Jake agreed. "He made each of us feel important. I didn't know him very well, but he seemed like a great guy."

"He was," Quinn concurred. "He had his flaws; we all do, but he always tried to do the right thing."

"Look, nobody's gonna say this, so I'm puttin' it out there," Santana began. "Finn was a 'popularity whore'; face it, we all were. That's high school." She looked around at the others, a variety of shocked expressions on their faces. "Remember when he picked football over glee club? Rachel, you chased after Finn because he was popular; Quinn, that's why you dated him in the first place. Puck, you threw kids in dumpsters, and I slept around. Mercedes, you joined the Cheerios and, Mike, you played football when you'd rather have danced."

She paused, exhaled, and continued, "In some way, each of us made choices that weren't always the best ones, all for the sake of being popular. And in the 'real world', it doesn't amount to a hill 'a shit…and no matter how popular Finn was," Santana began to cry, "it won't bring him back, and that just fuckin' sucks."

Santana, who seldom cried, finally broke down, sobbing uncontrollably. Mercedes, who was sitting next to Santana, wrapped her arms around her, rocking her gently and rubbing her back, comforting her as one would do with a small child.

Tina, who had been sitting quietly, lost in her thoughts, finally spoke up. "Things like this happen every day, and you feel badly, but when it happens to somebody you care about, it's hard to wrap your head around it."

"I know, Tina; I still can't believe that he's gone," Kurt admitted, still choked up. "We weren't brothers by blood, but we became brothers in spirit."

They spent the evening reminiscing about the times they shared with Finn, both recently and long ago. They laughed and cried, bonding over their common experiences. As they talked, the TV had been on, playing softly in the background. Suddenly, there was the cacophony of sound that initiates the New Year, and it was 2013.

"Happy New Year, Baby," Noah wished Rachel, and they kissed chastely.

At the same time, Sam and Brittany shared a kiss, as did Mike and Tina, Jake and Marley, Kurt and Blaine, and, surprisingly, Quinn and Artie, who were seated next to each other (Artie in his wheelchair and Quinn on an upholstered chair). Santana and Mercedes hugged, then Santana and Brittany; then everybody got up and began hugging and kissing everybody else, wishing each other a "Happy New Year".

"We should sing something in Finn's honor," Tina suggested. "After all, that's what we usually do when we get together…sing."

"'Auld Lang Syne' seems old-fashioned," Quinn observed, and Artie, still holding her hand, nodded in agreement, commenting, "Besides, I don't think I know the words."

"I know just the one, Santana advised, "'Imagine'."

"That's perfect, Santana," Rachel agreed, "Finn would have loved it."

Santana began, the rest soon joining in, their voices blending harmoniously even as tears rolled down their faces.

Noah held onto Rachel tightly, her back pressed against him; each had been the other's lifeline during this unfathomable event.

Moving to New York and attending NYU had proven to be the right road for Rachel and Noah to take, and even after one semester, they had matured as a result of their experiences. They had grown both scholastically and personally, and taken important steps as individuals and as a couple. Noah embraced his academic side, and Rachel relinquished her self-serving diva mindset. She had stood up to Shelby, no longer needing her approval or acceptance, and he had become a mentor and friend to a brother he only recently discovered. They had cared for and supported each other, and had declared their love both publicly and in private. Regardless of what the future held, they would face it together with grace, determination, humor, a little chutzpa, and a lot of love.

Author's Notes: "Imagine" was written (words and music) by John Lennon.

"Chutzpa" (guttural "ch") means nerve, courage, determination, or daring (i.e. "balls").

The title of this story was taken (paraphrased) from a line in a poem, "The Road Not Taken". It was written by Robert Frost in 1920 and is as relevant today as it was almost 100 years ago:

TWO roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,

And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.

Thanks to everyone who stayed with me on this journey. Comments are always welcome and appreciated.