So it's been three quarters of a year since I updated this. I can't offer you anything other than sincere apologies. I've had a crazy time. I sat all my exams, I left school, I've been on holiday twice, I went to glee live, I met Cory Monteith, Ashley Fink, Harry Shum... But I am sorry that this final chapter has taken so long. To be quite honest, I'm also sorry at how poor this epilogue is as well. It's not beta'd, it's not checked over, it's just a final to a story that should have been finished a long time ago.

Thank you so much for the reviews and alerts, they've meant the world to me. It still made my day to get a review or an alert even when this story was on an unplanned hiatus.

I hope you enjoy the epilogue of Down Goes Another One.

It had been a full year since the fire. 365 days. 52 weeks. 8765 hours (according to Finn's Google search anyway). Finn couldn't believe that much time had passed already. It felt like only yesterday he'd ran back into the burning school and woken up in hospital.

It hadn't been an easy year though. He could smell the smoke at night and feel the flicker of the flames eat at his skin. Finn thought that the nightmares were sometimes the hardest part. They reminded him of how much people had lost that day, although there wasn't a day gone by where he didn't think of Matt.

So much had happened in the aftermath of the fire and funerals. Finn and Rachel began attending therapy sessions together so they could come to terms with the tragedy of the fire and the injuries they had suffered. Mike had asked if he could join them, still struggling to cope with the death of his best friend and the near death of his girlfriend. Of course, Finn had said yes and after her recovery, Brittany and Santana had asked if they could join, believing it would help them get through the next year. Soon after, the entire glee club had joined the therapy sessions. Quinn opened up about her self harm, Mike revealed how he had intended to commit suicide and Puck even joined in, explaining how he felt guilty over Matt's death and to some extent blamed Quinn for the terrible events. They talked through their problems and even though no-one was over what had happened, everyone felt better.

They were all sat together in their makeshift choir room. New Directions hadn't disbanded, and even though they hadn't qualified for Nationals this year, they felt that under the circumstances they'd been very successful, placing second at Regionals. They hadn't looked for new members to replace Matt as they felt it too soon, but the Show Choir Committee had made an exception for them to enter the competition. Rehearsals had been difficult as Mr Schuester couldn't afford to replace the piano or sheet music they'd lost, but Quinn's mom had donated a keyboard and a guitar so they could get by. Rachel's dads copied all the sheet music their daughter had bought over the years and given them to the glee club. It had been a difficult struggle for them, but they had made it.

There was a quiet silence in the room as they remembered last year's glee club meeting and how it had ended very differently to this year. Mr Schue opened a drawer and pulled out twelve glasses, lining them up on the top of the desk. He reached further into the drawer and pulled out a carton of lukewarm orange juice. When the club realised what he was doing, they stood up slowly and walked over, each taking a glass as their teacher poured it. Finn was the last to get to the desk and grabbed the remaining two glasses, passing one to Rachel. She softly smiled at him and took his hand.

They all looked at Mr Schue with understanding eyes. After a moments silence, he raised the glass and closed his eyes.

"To Matt and the other students we lost on this tragic day last year."

Everyone else raised their glasses and repeated Mr Schue's sentiment – "To Matt."

After finishing their drinks, Mr Schue collected them and simply dismissed them. Quinn and Puck left together, Puck's strong arm wrapped tightly around her. Kurt, Mercedes, Tina and Artie walked off in a solemn silence towards the car park. Brittany and Mike also left together, with Santana holding pinkies with her best friend. Finn and Rachel left last, holding hands tightly as they had been before.

"Are you okay, Rach?" Finn asked his girlfriend quietly.

Her eyes flickered to the ground before she looked up and left her gaze lingering on him. She took a moment to gather her thoughts before replying.

"Surprisingly, Finn, I am okay. The events that happened on this day last year were tragic – horrific – and will stay with me for the rest of my life. I'll always miss Matt; he was talented and kind and was taken from us too soon. But it brought me closer to you, and even though I'll always wish it hadn't taken an event as heart-breaking as the fire, I'll be grateful that I got you in return. Maybe Matt's looking out for us up there, I don't know…"

Finn wrapped his arms around the tiny brunette, holding her tightly.

"I know babe, I know. I miss him too. But… I love you. And I'm happy that I have you," Finn smiled.

"I love you too, Finn!" Rachel stood on her tiptoes, leaning in to press her lips to his.

The events of last year weren't behind them, but they had each other and that was enough.

Apologies for the cheesy ending, but I love me some cheesy finchel and I'm so glad they're back together in the show, yay! Okay, thank you for reading, thank you for the alerts and reviews! I'll return to fanfiction sometime in the near future with a one-shot I've been planning for nearly a year! & yeah wow, thank you for reading my story :)