a/n: I want to thank everyone who left me encouragement throughout the duration of my little story. I have appreciated every follower, read every review, and been humbled by those who have marked 'Once' as a favorite. You have continued to inspire me and I hope you'll all keep a lookout for my next fic, which should be ready to be published soon.

Thank you again. I really hope you enjoy the conclusion.

And, for a final time, I don't own 'Once' or 'Glee'. This is just for entertainment.

Chapter 10 - Falling Slowly (Reprise)

Rachel sat alone in the dark living room of her apartment. Her dad's had been home and asleep for hours but she still sat frozen on their tattered couch. She had shed so many tears that she was all cried out and she sat there with a pit the size of Texas in her stomach. She was so sad and if she had any tears left she would have surely cried them.

She really had wanted to go to Finn's…to see him one last time before their happy bubble burst and they finally had to face reality. She'd known from the very start that there wasn't any way things could have ended differently than they were. The whole thing had begun with one goal in mind and she'd accomplished what she'd set out to do, but that didn't erase the way her heart ached.

She wasn't supposed to fall in-love with him…that had never been part of the plan. She had seen something in him the night he'd performed at Lima's seediest bar and all she'd wanted to do was convince him that he didn't need to give up music to solve his problems. She figured she'd been right on some level…Finn was happier now than he'd been when they'd met…but at the same time she realized that she had been a large part of his happiness. But he would be in New York soon and he was going to be so successful and soon he would forget all about her. Maybe he would even reconnect with the girl who'd left him so heartbroken in the first place.

But there was no way she would forget about him. Not easily at least. She was looking forward to her husband's impending visit because she wanted to know if there was anything left…anything at all that they could salvage. She wondered if there was any way at all that she could look at her husband and not think of Finn.

She shuffled down the hallway towards her room. She hoped that Rowena's presence would remind her why she was listening to her head and not her heart.

Finn packed as many as his belongings into his two large suitcases as they would hold. The words Rachel had spoken to him the night prior had stuck with him.

He wasn't coming back.

He didn't feel great about leaving Burt and the tire shop so high and dry but he couldn't continue to waste his time at the shop because he felt obligated. Burt had been generous enough to offer him a job and a place to stay when everything else in his life had fallen apart and he guessed that just leaving was sort of a shitty thing to do but what were his alternatives? Sam said this guy needed him in New York now. If he waited any longer then maybe that offer wouldn't still be on the table.

His flight wasn't until seven o'clock that night. He figured that gave him enough time to discuss his situation with Burt and make an attempt to see Rachel one final time before he needed to leave. It would take him a little over an hour to drive to Dayton which meant he had to be on the road by five at the absolute latest. As he ran through the laundry list of things he wanted to accomplish before he left he couldn't help but feel like it actually wasn't that much time at all. Other than seeing Rachel nothing else seemed to matter. Perhaps his nerves were getting the best of him but he suddenly felt flustered.

If only Rachel had come over the night before then maybe he would feel like he had a little more closure. She'd told him countless times that she couldn't go with him and that her husband was coming home and she had to try and figure things out. But when he really thought about it he couldn't even figure out exactly what that meant. He'd told her repeatedly that he had feelings for her and she'd even admitted that she had them back, but did she love him?

In hindsight she'd been right. If she had shown up when he'd asked her to he would have wanted to show he how much he loved her and he couldn't do that…he wouldn't…not as long as she was married. But he couldn't wait around to see what she was going to do. For all he knew she would look at her husband and all their memories would bring their relationship back to life. He would be even more devastated than he already was if he waited around for her only for it to end in disappointment.

He zipped up his navy blue suitcase and stood it at the end of his bed. That was it. Whatever he wasn't able to stuff in the suitcases he would have to buy or learn how to live without. Deciding to leave his apartment for the time being, he checked the clock and headed downstairs to the shop. It was nearly eight and Burt would be arriving shortly to begin his day.

Finn jogged down the stairs into the garage. Burt was already dressed in his coveralls and a worn baseball cap. He was leaned over the hood of their Chrysler and tinkered with something, his hands and arms covered in grease. There was an instantaneous sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach. Lately he'd been so focused on Rachel and their music that he'd lost sight of a lot of the other things that had occupied time. He was really going to miss restoring the old car with Burt. It had been a bonding activity for them and he was sorry that he would be there to hear the engine the first time they start it up.

Burt looked up from the car and made a face in Finn's direction. He can tell he's wondering why he's wearing jeans, a thermal, and sneakers and not his usual work pants and jacket. "Have a doctor's appointment or something today?"

Finn scuffed his shoe against the concrete floor. "I…um…I made a decision last night."

Burt loudly chewed on his gum and leaned against the car. "Oh yeah? What about."

He found that the story of how he met Rachel poured out as he told his stepfather the basics of what his past week had consisted of. He left out the parts about how he had fallen in-love with her but made sure to emphasize how much potential both Sam and his contact in New York thought he possessed. He figured if he could make Burt see that this was an actual, legitimate shot that maybe he would be more understanding of the fact that Finn was basically just walking out on him.

"You really made a CD? Like a real CD not just something you recorded in your closet?" Burt wiped his hands on a rag and placed them on his hips.

Finn pulled a copy of the demo out of his back pocket. "It's a real CD. Rachel helped me get a loan from the bank and then we rented studio time to record it. We had a real sound engineer help us and everything. I mean, it's not something you're going to go to the store and buy but it's about as legit as you can get at this stage…especially by Lima standards."

Burt accepted the CD and bobbed his head. "So what happens if you get to New York and this guy doesn't like it at all?"

"He's already heard it."

"What if you run out of money? I know what I pay you to work here and while it's acceptable in Lima it's not going to last you very long in Manhattan."

"Then I'll find a job. I'll find another garage to work in or I'll wait tables if I have to. This is going to work, Burt. I don't have any other options. I have to do this for me so she can see that she didn't waste her time on me. She believed in me more than anyone else ever has and while things aren't really working out the way I'd hoped they would I can't let her down. I won't let her down."

"Rachel's not going with you?"

Finn shook his head and tried his hardest not to let Burt see the sadness in his eyes. "No."

They were both silent for a long moment. Neither one of them was really sure how to proceed and the prolonged silence was growing awkward.

"I'm really sorry to just leave like this, Burt, but I can't do this anymore. I've sat around and watched everyone I grew up with go off and live their lives while I just never seemed to figure out what it was that I actually wanted. Then I met Rachel and she heard my music and she convinced me that I was actually good and then everything just sort of fell into place. This is my chance. I can feel it."

Burt placed his hand against Finn's shoulder. "You should always follow your dreams, Finn. What kind of father would I be if I tried to hold you back just because you're a decent, reliable worker in my garage? It's winter and things are slow. I should be able to get by ok by myself for now and when the weather begins to thaw I'm sure I'll find someone to take your place." He pulled his stepson in for a hug. "There will always be a place here for you, Finn. I hope you know that."

Finn nodded against Burt's shoulder. He didn't know what he'd done to deserve just decent, caring people in his life but he promised himself that he would never take it for granted.

"I have a couple things I need to do before I leave for the airport," Finn said quickly. He needed to get out of there before Burt noticed the tears in his eyes.

"Oh…sure. Of course you do. Tell you what…I'm going to play this CD over the speakers while I work so I can see if you're as good as you think you are. Because you know I'll tell you if I think you suck."

Finn grimaced and smoothed his hand against his hair. "Yeah I know."

"Get out of here. We'll see you before you leave."

Finn hurried back up the stairs to his apartment and grabbed his jacket before he hurried off towards Ravine Street. It was time to see Rachel one last time before his whole life would change forever.

Finn ran the distance to Rachel's street in record time. His feet carried him on his own accord. He didn't feel the wicked January wind against his face or feel the slippery sidewalks underneath his shoes. All he could think about was that his time with Rachel had a ticking time bomb over it and there was such a short amount of time left before everything he'd grown accustomed to would simply end. He had to see her…just one last time. He wanted to memorize her face so that when he closed his eyes in New York he could still imagine her sparkling eyes and contagious smile. He didn't want to forget the way she looked at him or the way she made him feel. He realized that time would make him forget a lot of those things but he wanted to hold on for as long as possible.

Once inside her building he climbed the stairs two at a time. The higher he climbed the greater the ache in his heart grew. Even though he was curious about going to New York and discovering whatever was in store for him, he didn't want to leave the world he'd created with Rachel. He was so much happier now than he'd been in a long time and on some level he wished he could've bottled the feeling he'd had when they'd put Rowena to bed the night prior. His heart had felt so full…so happy…and now that he was leaving them behind he noticed that he had begun to feel empty.

Shaking the feeling, he jogged the last couple stairs to the apartment and rapped his fist against the door. He shifted his weight back and forth while he waited for Rachel to answer the door. As disappointed as he was that she hadn't come over last night he didn't want to argue with her. This was the last time he was going to see her for probably a pretty long time and he didn't want to spend what little time they had fighting. He wanted to hold her one last time and tell her thank you. It was so important to him that she understood just how much she meant to him.

After a few more seconds the door swung open. The smile he'd plastered across his face disappeared when he came face to face with Rachel's father, LeRoy.

"Finn," he said curtly. "What are you doing here."

"Is Rachel home?"

LeRoy shook his head. "I'm sorry, son, but she's not. Can I take a message?"

Finn rubbed a hand over his eyes. "Will she be home soon? Can I come in and wait for her?"

Her father stepped into the hallway and shut the apartment door behind him. "I don't know when she's going to be back. She left early this morning and didn't give me many details." LeRoy looked Finn directly in the eye. "I know the two of you have something between you but you know it's not a good idea to act on whatever that is."

Finn nodded in agreement. Sure, he thought Rachel's dad was acting a little out of line by being so vocal in regard to his daughter's personal life, but at that same time he was right. "I'm leaving this afternoon for New York City and I just wanted to tell her goodbye before I left."

LeRoy patted Finn on the shoulder. "I'm sorry she's not here. I'm sure she would have wanted to say goodbye."

His heart burned in his chest. She obviously didn't want to say goodbye to him. She'd purposely not come to his apartment when she'd said she would and then she'd made herself scarce when she knew he'd tried to see her again. He wanted to sink down onto the ground and just disappear. He'd accepted the fact that she wasn't going to come with him and that this was pretty much going to be it, but he had wanted to say goodbye.

He wanted to be mad at her even more so than he'd wanted to be on his way over to her apartment. She'd vanished from his life as quickly as she'd entered it and he wished he could go back and do it all over again…slow time down somehow. He hung his head and accepted what he'd once thought was impossible. Rachel was gone… in every way possible.

He turned away and began to walk back down the stairs.

Finn paused on the stairwell and turned back around to face LeRoy.

"Mr. Berry, when Rachel comes home could you please just tell her that I'm so grateful that she came into my life. I don't think there is anything I could ever do to repay her for what she's given to me. Please tell her I'll miss her." He wanted to tell him to tell Rachel that he loved her but for some reason he didn't think that message would be properly passed.

LeRoy nodded curtly. "I'll pass the message."

"Goodbye, sir."

Mustering every ounce of strength he had left he jogged down the stairs and back onto Ravine Street. He hurried down the street as fast as he could. At that moment he wanted to put as much space between himself and Rachel Berry as possible.

Inside the apartment Rachel sat, curled into a ball, on the couch. She had her fist jammed into her mouth to keep her from calling out to him. She hated that she could hear the longing in Finn's voice and she wanted to go to him, just one last time, but she knew she couldn't. If she did that it would help anything. It would only make things twenty times harder than they were already.

Her father opened the door to the apartment and stepped back inside. She dropped her hand from her mouth and let her anguish come out in audible sobs.

"You did the right thing, Cupcake," her daddy placed his hand against her shoulder.

Rachel scowled at him. At that moment she didn't want to be praised for her behavior. She knew she'd made the correct decision but that didn't mean it hurt any less.

She'd let Finn go. She had a lot of things she needed to figure out and only time would tell if she would ever see him again.

Finn sat at the kitchen table in his parents' house. Burt and Carole were on one side of the table and he sat across from them, his hands folded against the hardwood tabletop. There was an old boom box on the table in-between them and his CD played through the kitchen. He thought it was odd to hear his recorded voice bouncing around in the same room where he'd eaten cereal as a teenager.

They all sat in relative silence. Finn attempted to focus on the sound of his guitar and vocals and tried his hardest not to notice the way the sound of Rachel's voice tugged at his heart or how her piano perfectly accompanied his own instrument. He was going to have to get over the affect she had on him. She featured prominently in his demo (obviously) so that was going to have to be something he got used to since he would most likely be hearing a lot of the demo in the near future. Until he found someone who wanted to record a solo demo of him then this was the only demo he had to work with.

The song ended and he reached over and pushed the button to pause the CD. He looked over at his mother to discover she had tears in her eyes. "Oh, Finn…"

He didn't like when she cried. For some reason it always made him feel guilty, like he'd done something wrong or something.

"Baby, I had no idea you were so talented! This song is gorgeous."

He let the fact that she'd called him 'baby' slide and instead shot a smile in her direction. His mother had always known he sang but he'd never really allowed her to see just how much music was a part of him. He was certain she had no idea that he wrote music or played the guitar as well as he did. He beamed with pride at his mother's praise.

"I can't say I'm thrilled that you're leaving. I've always had you around and not being able to see you all the time is going to take some getting used to. But you have so much talent, Finn, and it would be a shame to not let the world hear what you have to offer. It's worth a shot, right? You're never going to know unless you try and you know you'll always have a place here to come home to."

His heart squeezed. For the very first time someone other than Rachel seemingly believed in him and what he was doing. It gave him a newfound sense of confidence to know he had at least some sort of support system. He had prepared to go to New York and carry the burden of starting over on his own shoulders. It was reassuring to know that he had his parents behind him.

"I'm impressed with your dedication, son," Burt said with a small smile. "I'm going to miss you around the shop and just in general, but we support what you're doing."

He slid an envelope across the table in Finn's direction. He picked it up and peeked inside. It was a check. "I…I can't accept this."

His mother covered his hand with her own. "You can and you will. We believe in you, Finn. This is just to help you get started."

As he held that envelope in his hands something changed. At that moment, once he realized that his parents were fully backing what he was about to do, he let Rachel go. He wasn't going to miss her. He wasn't going to sit around and wonder if she had broken things off with her husband. He would care for her always, but he wasn't going to spend his future focusing so much on his past.

For a moment his ex-girlfriend crossed his mind…the person who had the power to turn his whole world upside down when she'd cheated on him and then just up and left. He remembered how he'd only been like a shell of himself until he'd met Rachel. She'd changed him…made him stronger…and he wasn't going to go back to how things were before. He wouldn't. He'd said from the beginning that this was as much Rachel's dream as it was his. He realized now that Rachel's dream had been for him to succeed and there was no way he was going to let her down.

He looked down at the envelope and then back up at his parents. His mother had tears in her eyes and even Burt looked slightly emotional. "Well I guess this is it. It's time to go."

As he stood and hugged them both goodbye Rachel's face flashed in his memory. It really was true what they said about people coming into your life for a reason. He usually hated clichés, but as he reflected on his time with Rachel he couldn't think of anything more truthful. She had changed him forever, made him better than he was before, and for that he would be forever grateful.

(6 months later)

Rachel struggled to climb the stairs to her apartment. She was holding three bags of groceries and balanced her cell phone between her shoulder and ear. Rowena's seventh birthday was only a week away and preparations were well under way. After a long day of lessons she was ready to just relax on the couch and listen to her daughter's detailed plans for her birthday cake. The closer they got to her little girl's birthday the more ridiculous her requests had grown.

As she neared the apartment the stairwell was flooded with the tinkling sound that undeniably came from a piano. She still spent countless hours behind Will's trusty old spinet and she would recognize that sound anywhere. Curious, she walked the steps a little quicker. She excused herself from her phone call with Santana and when she reached the landing outside her apartment she pressed her cheek against the door. It was coming from inside.

She dropped her groceries on the floor and fumbled with her keys. She swung open the door to reveal a spinet piano in her living room, not that much unlike the one she played at Schuester Music, albeit this piano was brand new (and shiny). She left her groceries in the hallway and walked into the room. A piano. In her house. It was like the one thing she'd wanted most had come to fruition. But how? She'd asked her dad's for a piano since she was old enough to speak and they'd always told her it was too expensive and much too difficult to get up the stairs. But nonetheless there it stood.

But if her dad's hadn't bought the piano then…

Rachel walked towards the tinkling and watched as Rowena sat delicately perched on the equally shiny piano bench. She pressed her tiny fingers against the keys as her legs swung back and forth, not yet long enough to reach the pedal. The familiar strands of 'Heart and Soul' filled the living room and she smiled at the familiarity. There was only one other person in the world who knew her love of the piano and how badly she'd always wanted to own one.

"Rowena, where did the piano come from?"

Her little girl shrugged and continued to pluck out the song. "I don't know. I came home from school and it was just here. There was a note and I wanted to open it but Pappy said no…you were the only one allowed to do it."

There was a large, red ribbon that sat on top of the piano and to the right was a small envelope. She pulled out a CD and a card and a big smile spread across her face as she read.

We did it, Rach
- Finn