Author's Note: Last chapter! I'm feeling a little bit sick right now. Both Jackie and I wanted to say a HUGE thank you to everyone who's been reading and encouraging us with this fanfiction. To everyone who's been reading it, quoting it, referencing it, recommending it, etc, we love you all so much.


"I haven't felt this way before a concert in years," Josh said, laughing nervously. I noticed he was fiddling with his tie, and Alexa reached over to take his hand.

"It'll be fine," she said encouragingly.

"You don't have to tell them anything you don't want to," I reminded him. Josh looked better than he had in weeks, but his bout in rehab had left him too thin, and there were still dark circles under his eyes.

He waved away my words. "No, they deserve to know."

"If you're sure." I appreciated what Josh was trying to do, reaching out to the fans after we had abandoned them for so long, but I also knew how difficult it was for him to talk about his past. If Josh got so emotional talking about something that had happened ten years ago, how much worse would it be when little more than a month had passed?

"I am." Josh had that determined look in his eyes, and I knew there was no point in arguing with him further.

"Hi." The voice came from the doorway, and I turned to see a tall boy with blonde hair and a girl with her dark hair tied back in a ponytail standing there.

"Lucas!" Josh exclaimed, getting to his feet. "Glad you could make it!" On Josh's last night in rehab he had paid a visit to Lucas, promising him free VIP passes to our next concert in town if he cleaned up his act. Less than a week later we had been offered the show we were playing tonight.

"You didn't sneak out, did you?" Ian added, and Mike and I smirked at each other. The plan to return Josh to rehab after his successful rendezvous with Alexa hadn't gone as well as we'd hoped; the receptionist and doctor had been waiting impatiently for us to arrive, despite Mike and Ian's attempts to distract them. After that, we hadn't been allowed to visit Josh without someone keeping a strict eye on us.

"I didn't have to," Lucas said, grinning hugely. "They released me a week and a half ago."

"Awesome!" Josh said, giving him a high five. "How are you feeling?"

"Terrible," Lucas admitted. "But I wasn't going to miss this concert for anything."

"The first couple of weeks fucking suck," Josh agreed. "But we're all glad you could make it."

"Me too," Lucas said, and next to him Candace was nodding her head fervently.

Just then, the curtain blocking us from the stage parted, and Brett slipped through. "Everything's all set up," he said. "Are you ready to go?"

We all nodded, and Josh said, "More ready than ever."

Brett looked at him appraisingly before saying, "Good luck, man." Brett had spent most of our two months off from touring visiting family in Saskatchewan, and had been a little upset when Mike finally contacted him and told him Josh was back in rehab. But he had forgiven him easily enough, and been a major help when we convinced the people at the rehab center to release Josh a little earlier than they had wanted to.

"Are you guys cool with hanging back here with the ladies while we perform?" Ian asked, gesturing at Alexa and Lily and Amanda—Leilani had stayed home with Tristan.

"Y-yeah, that'd be cool," Candace stammered, immediately turning bright red as Amanda smiled warmly at her.

"Okay, you guys have one minute," Brett said. "The crowd's getting restless out there."

Josh drew in a shaky breath. "I hope my voice is ready for this."

"You'll be fine," Alexa said, wrapping her arms around him, correctly interpreting that he meant he hoped he was ready for this.

"Are you looking forward to performing again?" Amanda asked me.

"Definitely," I said, smiling down at her. "Especially knowing that for once you'll be watching me instead of him." I still found it hard to believe that things had worked out so perfectly after they had been so fucked up; that I had ended up with Amanda and Josh was okay with it. And just a few weeks ago Jess had finally contacted me again, and we were slowly working our way towards friendship.

"I feel so left out," Mike complained jokingly, looking around at the couples surrounding him. "Are you guys ready to rock, or what?"

"I'm super ready to rock," I said with a grin.

"Good," Brett called from where he was standing by the console. "Because you're on...now."

The opening words of Masterpiece Theatre I began to play, accompanied by the screams of the crowd. We shared one last look with each other before making our way onto the stage, the crowd growing louder as we took our places.

There was something about the thrill of being on stage, the way the crowd and the lyrics and the drum and bass and guitar all merged together that made the last piece click into place. This was where we belonged, together, and how could any of us have thought any differently?

From Masterpiece Theatre I we went into Celebrity Status, and then All To Myself, and then Say Anything and Shake Tramp and Decided To Break It. It was one of our best concerts; Josh, although still recovering, sounded better than ever. We all did.

After Decided To Break It, Mike and Ian and I walked off the stage, leaving Josh alone in the spotlight. The first words of the next song could be heard wavering back towards us:

"Everyone's around, no words are coming now and I can't find my breath, can we just say the rest with no sound?"

Alexa was standing just behind the curtain, looking faintly nervous. "Good luck," I told her as we passed by, and she shot me a small smile.

Onstage, Josh was just finishing the chorus. Alexa took a deep breath before stepping out onto the stage, her voice rising to meet Josh's.

"I thought I saw a sign, somewhere between the lines. But maybe it's me, maybe I only see what I want..."

They sounded good together, I had to admit. And Alexa sounded amazing, considering this was her first time on stage, and she was singing in front of some ten thousand people.

The rest of us waited until they had finished the second chorus before striding back out to take our places. Ian's drums and Mike's bass and finally my guitar joined in with their voices, rising up into the crescendo that I loved so much. Josh and Alexa were staring at each other like there was no one else there, throwing words at each other, until at last everything faded out except for Josh's voice, singing the last line.

"I'd be so good to you."

The crowd screamed, and Alexa, a huge grin on her face, flung her arms around Josh's neck and kissed him full on the lips. The crowd screamed even louder and when she attempted to move away, Josh pulled her closer. He whispered something in her ear, and Alexa nodded, a flush creeping up her cheeks.

With one arm wrapped tightly around Alexa's shoulders, Josh leaned into the mic and said, "This girl has helped me through so much over the past months."

The crowd shrieked; there were a few cat calls and a few whistles. "No, seriously," Josh insisted, "if it wasn't for her, I don't know where I'd be right now. And I guess it's time you guys learn the truth about where we've been lately, what's been going on and why you haven't heard from us in so long." Josh turned to look at me, and I nodded at him encouragingly. The sound of his exhaled breath echoed throughout the theatre.

"I went back to rehab." Josh paused, letting his statement hang there, and for once the crowd was silent. "Last summer, I found myself falling back into habits I thought I had broken when I was a teenager. And eventually, that path led me back to heroin. I didn't tell anyone because I thought I could handle it myself and...that was the stupidest thing I've ever done, actually." Josh laughed hollowly.

"I overdosed one night, and I probably would have died if Matt hadn't found me." I shuddered, remembering the horribleness of that moment. "After that, I was comatose in the hospital for two weeks, and they thought I wasn't going to survive. For awhile, I thought that maybe it'd be best if I didn't."

The theatre was still silent, and Josh's voice was much stronger when he next spoke. "But that's never the answer—there's always something to live for. Keeping secrets never helps anyone, and hurting yourself only ends up hurting those who love you. I think...we've all learned that.

"They put me back in rehab and I didn't want to go, but with the help of everyone you see on stage with me, I got better. And I just want you all to know that if you ever need help with something, or if you ever end up going down the wrong path, we're here for you. And it's never too late to turn your life around."

Now the crowd started to applaud and scream again, and there were even a few shouts of, "We love you, Josh!" Josh smiled.

"Anyway," he said, "I wrote a song during my last week at rehab, and we'd like to perform it for you now. We haven't had much time to put it together, so...go easy on us, please. It's called Desperate Measures." He released Alexa, giving her a gentle push towards the back of the stage, watching her until she disappeared from sight.

The dark beat of Ian's drums started up, followed by Mike's bass before I joined in with guitar. When Josh started to sing, it was the first time in years that the crowd was completely silent at a concert. Josh hadn't been exaggerating when he said we hadn't had much time to put this song together; we had actually practiced for the first time only a week ago. But the song flowed smoothly, about as perfect as I could have imagined. Josh's voice rose, overpowering everything else, as he sang the last line:

"And I went to desperate measures just to find my way."

Screams echoed off the rafters and Josh grinned, looking pleased. "Thanks," he said, his voice a little hoarse. "Thanks." He glanced back at me, and I flashed him a thumbs up.

Masterpiece Theatre II followed; then Cross My Heart and Acadia and Sing Sing and Perfect. I lost myself in the music after awhile, in the joy of being on stage with my band members when things were finally okay again.

We closed with Masterpiece Theatre III, or at least Josh thought we did; as the voices of the crowd replaced that of the music he started to walk off stage, turning around when he noticed we weren't following.

"We have one song left to perform," Mike said, motioning for him to rejoin us as I went to stand behind the keyboard again.

"This one's for Josh," I said into my mic. "And for Ian and Mike and all our friends...and for all of you guys, too. Our fans."

Josh was clearly confused—none of us had mentioned this to him beforehand—and when I started to sing, it was by myself.

"When your tears are spent on your last pretence..."

It didn't take Josh long to catch on, and by the second line he was singing with me. "When it's in your spine like you've walked for miles, and the only thing you want is just to be still for a while."

By the second verse, Mike and Ian were singing along, along with the entire crowd. It was one of those incredible moments I never wanted to forget.

We stopped singing to allow Josh to have the last line for himself, and his voice was shaking slightly as he sang, "Nobody will break you."

"Fuck, guys," he said over the sound of cheering, wiping at his eyes. "You weren't supposed to make me cry."

Everyone was awaiting us eagerly backstage after the concert. "What'd you guys think?" Josh asked Lucas and Candace after taking a long swallow of water.

"It was awesome," Lucas said.

"Totally," Candace agreed. "It was really...awesome and...stuff." She trailed off, looking at a loss for words.

"Glad you liked it," Mike said, smiling at her, causing her to blush.

"Can I have a hug?" she blurted suddenly. "From all of you, I mean? And pictures, maybe?"

"Of course!" Josh exclaimed, laughing.

"You look like you're about to faint," Lucas observed afterwards, and Candace stuck her tongue out at him.

"Thanks so much," she said a little breathlessly, clutching her camera tightly. "For everything."

"No problem," Josh said. "You guys earned it, after helping me break out of rehab and everything."

"We should probably get going," Lucas said, a little reluctantly. "My mom's set a pretty strict curfew on me since I got out. She allowed me break it for tonight, but I still shouldn't get home too late..."

"Keep in touch, alright?" Josh told him. "Let me know if you need help going through withdrawal or anything. It's kinda the shittiest thing in the world."

They left not long after, Candace looking a little shocked after Josh gave them his cell number, telling them jokingly not to misuse it.

"They're nice kids," Alexa mused after they had gone.

"They're the reason I have you," Josh said, reaching out for her hand.

"How come you never talked to me like that?" Amanda asked him lightly.

"How come you never talked to me like that?" Josh shot back at her, grinning. Things between them had finally settled down to a slightly awkward, teasing friendship, which I was glad for.

"Fair enough," Amanda said, laughing. "Maybe that's why things never worked out."

"Is sweet talk all it takes, then?" Ian wondered. "Wish I'd known that sooner."

"I don't," Lily murmured, pulling herself closer to him.

"And here I thought I was supposed to be the cheesy one," Mike said. "What's happened to everyone?"

"I don't know, man," Josh said with a chuckle. "All I know is that I feel awesome. Well, no, I feel shitty at the moment. It's more like I'm..."

"At peace," Mike suggested helpfully. "It's been too long since things have been peaceful around here."

"I knew we would walk through a war for some peace of mind," I mumbled under my breath with a smile, remembering the song I had written before Christmas while dreaming of this moment.

"What?" Josh asked, looking at me with a slightly confused expression on his face.

"Nothing," I said hastily. I looked around at all of us, at Ian with his arm around Lily's waist, at Josh and Alexa's clasped hands, at Amanda by my side and at Mike, who was alone but had a wife and an almost-healthy son to go home to. The adrenaline from the concert was still rushing through my veins, and I couldn't remember being happier. "What do you say to going out and celebrating?"

This time, no one disagreed.


A/N: And...it's done.

For those of you who are as sad as we are to see this story come to an end, Jackie and I are planning on collabing on a second fanfiction together. As of right now, the working title is The Softer Side of Unbearable, although I'm not telling you anything else about it. For those of you who are eager and awesome, the trending tag for it on twitter will be #TSSOU. I don't know how long we'll be in planning/writing that one, because school for both of us is crazy busy right now.

If you want to hear from us or hear little sneak peeks of chapters before they're put up follow us on twitter (SamMasterpiece and jackienaccache).

As always, leave reviews or tweet us with your opinions, on this chapter or on the story as a whole! We love you all, and hopefully it won't be too long before the next story is up :)