Well hello! I bet you thought you'd never see the likes of me again, would you? Well if you thought that, you thought wrong. I know I've been gone for awhile but a lot of exciting things have happened around here in the mean time. For starters, I took an amazing trip to the Dominican with my family (yay!) and yesterday I started a sort of new job. It's new because it's at a different store, in a higher position. But the same company. But while that has been happening, I've also been plotting out this story and coming up with a million other ideas that I hope I'll be able to get to. I'm going to try to write Finchel as long as I can and as long as you want me to (meaning as long as I get reviews ;)).

Fun fact: A year and a day ago (haha) I published Just Give Me A Reason. Who knew, right?

I also have to warn you. This story involves character death. I'm not going to say who because that would give it away entirely. This story takes its name, and partial inspiration from Kenny Chesney's "Who You'd Be Today,"

Special thanks to Sara and lauren for all of their help. I don't think I would've finished the outline without them.

I don't own Finn, Rachel or anyone from glee. I do, however own any original characters and most of the plot. There is a news article that I can't link here at the moment, that subtly influenced the plot. If I linked it, it would give EVERYTHING away.

On that note, ON WITH THE SHOW!

Chapter One

Finn Hudson often wondered how his life had come to this. As he sat on the park bench, the spring Ohio sun beating down on the top of his head, he contemplated the very thought. Sure, he knew exactly when and where things had changed in his life - most of them circled back to the fateful day in the 7th grade when he met one Rachel Berry. She had been the new kid, moving to his side of town when her parents brought her in from Cleveland. He could also pinpoint the day he fell in love with her - the day she grabbed him the last chocolate pudding cup in the cafeteria line - the same day Ms. Peters held him back for making fart noises in class with Puck. One date that didn't come to mind, mainly because it didn't exist, was the day he fell out of love with her.

Because he never had. He still loved her and he was confident that he always would. His mom used to always tell him when he was growing up that everyone had one true love, one perfect match. He was sure, no he knew, that Rachel was his one true love. He'd known that ever since she'd offered up that small cup of pudding with a grin on her face.

But they didn't work. It wasn't because they didn't love each other. It wasn't because they didn't try. They had tried, valiantly so, to keep it together. The last thing they had wanted was to check another box in the statistic column. It was hard enough fighting against the stigma of being teen parents. Neither of them had wanted to admit defeat. But they were better parents to their precious Savannah, if they parted before things got worse.

There had never been a question whether they loved each other, whether they loved Savannah. At the end of the day the pressures mounted. He didn't spend a lot of time at home, she spent too much time at home, neither of them tried hard enough at their relationship because at the end of the day there was nothing left to try with. Being young parents trying to navigate lives with a toddler with mounting school pressures eventually got the best of them both. So they got out. Broke up and called it off before they could hate each other. They were better people for it. Savannah had better parents because of it. Neither of them blamed the other, it just is what it is. It didn't mean he had to like it in the end.

"Daddy!"

His thoughts were broken the moment he heard her voice, a slow grin coming across his tired features as her voice hit his ears. He stood up from the park bench just in time to bend down as Savannah came racing towards him with her french braid racing behind her.

"Hey there jellybean!" he smiled as he scooped her up in his arms. He placed a kiss on her cheek as she wrapped her arms around his neck.

She giggled madly as he tickled her side, causing her to squeal in his ear.

"She's getting faster every day," Rachel laughed as she caught up to them. "Hi Finn."

"Hey Rach," he smiled. "She get away from you again, short stuff?" He laughed as he stared at his ex-girlfriend. She huffed playfully as Savannah laughed again. It was the same thing every second weekend. When they got close enough, Rachel would let the four year old run to him when they got within a reasonable distance. Savannah loved the element of "surprise". It allowed Finn to enjoy a comfortable, playful banner with Rachel. Everyone won.

They met at the park every other Saturday for what Finn had dubbed 'the hand off'. It was just something that had stuck from the beginning. It had been hard, at first, to pick up Savannah at the apartment where they had lived as a family for just over a year. But over time the pain had dulled but the routine had stuck. Savannah was a child of habit, and neither Finn or Rachel wanted to change that.

"Daddy, I got a sticker today!"

"You did?" he smiled as he bounced her on his hip. "What for?"

"I didn't pick my nose in ballerina class," she giggled.

"Well now, that's cause for a celebration!" he declared.

Savannah giggled as she clapped her hands. "Can we have ice cream?"

"Oh but of course, but first we need to give Mommy a kiss bye. Can we do that?"

Savannah nodded her head excitedly before turning in Rachel's direction, where she had been watching them intently.

"Kiss Mommy!" Savannah exclaimed as she uncurled her arm from around Finn's neck and outstretched them to Rachel. "Mwah!"

Rachel laughed as she placed a kiss on Savannah's nose. "You be a good girl for Daddy, alright?"

"'Course!" she grinned. "Bye Mommy!"

"Bye Princess," she chuckled. "Don't let her eat too much junk, Finn..."

"Yeah, yeah. So, two scoops, right jellybean?" He tickled Savannah's belly once more as she squealed. He smiled at Rachel, giving her a small wave behind Savannah's back.

Once Rachel left, Finn plopped a kiss on Savannah's cheek before putting her feet back on the ground. She blinked up at him as she pushed her hair from her forehead and grinned up at him.

"Can we go swing Daddy?"

He smiled as she grinned up at him, and he pretended to think about it for a second. "Okay. But only for a little. We're going to Nana's for dinner!"

"Yay!" she squealed as she dashed towards the playground. Finn laughed as he jogged to catch up to her as she screamed in happiness.

Finn smiled as he stood behind the swing, gently pushing her forward every time she came swinging back to him. She giggled as she pumped her legs, going higher and higher into the air. His weekends with Savannah were the highlight of his week. He dropped everything imaginable and had somehow managed to work his schedule enough so that for the most part he had the weekends he had her, free. He worked double time the weekends he didn't have her, so he could spend all of his free time with her. She was his world, and he wanted to make sure she knew it. He went without so she could have dance classes and pretty shoes. He funneled everything extra he could to Rachel, going sometimes above and beyond the child support they had agreed on. Their separation had been mutual, almost too easy by others standards. He often thought it was the mutual love and respect they had for each other that made it so easy. It was never messy, they hadn't needed to involve court orders and visitation agreements. They just sat down once they had called it quits and drew up a schedule. It worked best this way for everyone and he was most grateful that it had worked out for the best.

"I'm done Daddy," she announced after a few minutes. He grabbed the chains of the swing and brought it to a stop. When it was finished, she hopped off the swing and took off for the structure. He stuck his hands in his pocket as he watched her scamper up the stairs. He allowed her to play on the structure for a few minutes before pulling her off. She pouted for a moment before he reminded her about the ice cream he had promised her. She perked up immediately, and as he swung her onto his back before jogging towards the truck he couldn't help but think that life didn't get much better than this.

Rachel walked back to the nurse's station and blew out a breath as she rounded the corner.

"Rough morning?" her shift mate Emily raised an eyebrow as she filled in a chart. Rachel plopped down in the chair beside her, the clipboard she had been holding clamouring to the surface in front of her.

"Rough week. But, we can finally admit Mrs. Wilson. I've only seen her all week," she chuckled. "Thank God."

"The screamer?"

Rachel nodded. "The screamer. Finally in active labour. Mr. Wilson looks like he's going to pass out. So I might need your help later on."

"You got it babe," she winked.

Rachel reached for the clipboard to fill in some information about her patient.

She'd only been here for three hours and she was exhausted. She rubbed her face as she filled in the information about her patient before placing it in front of her.

"You okay?"

Rachel placed a smile on her face and turned towards Emily, swinging around on her chair. "Yeah, I'm fine."

"You're quiet."

Rachel raised her eyebrows as she looked at her friend. "Didn't know I had to be singing at the top of my lungs."

Emily chuckled. "You're always singing. Or talking. Savannah do nothing cute this morning?"

Rachel was always telling stories about Savannah. It was hard not to. She was her world. Ever since she had come screaming into the world four years ago, everything had changed for Rachel. Everything had become about Savannah. Every dream she had had all but disappeared. At 16 years old, she knew then that she would never experience a love like the one she had seen blinking back at her in those slate blue eyes. Both her and Finn collectively had faced a lot of flack, mostly from peers and other town people when they had chosen to keep the little girl neither of them had known they wanted. But such was life. It had shown them who was really important to them and worthy of being in Savannah's life. She couldn't imagine her life without the little girl. Even if everything else wasn't turning out the way she wanted it to.

"Rachel?"

She shook her head at the sound of her friends voice. "Sorry, what?"

Emily laughed. "Hot date last night?"

Rachel merely gave her a look. "Not even close. Savannah and I had girls night in since she was going to Finn's this morning. You know, Frozen and cupcakes. Our usual Friday night date,"

"I get it now."

"Get what now?"

"Your mood."

Rachel blew out a breath. "My mood?"

"You always get, like, sad when you drop Savannah off to the hunky firefighter."

"I don't get sad. I just miss her when she's gone. And don't call my ex-boyfriend hunky," she laughed.

"What? A girl can appreciate a good looking guy," Emily laughed. "How long has it been since you guys broke up?"

Rachel sighed. Here it came.

People had many opinions about the end of their relationship. Just after Savannah's third birthday, her relationship with Finn had collapsed. They had both been struggling, learning the ropes of a new career for him, classes and practicums for her The one thing they had done right through that time had been raising Savannah. She had been their number one priority, and their relationship had been the one thing to collapse under the weight of all other external pressure. And that was really something she had never gotten over. She had lost her relationship with Finn on a romantic level because they just couldn't balance it all. They had tried, but there just wasn't enough energy or time to go around to give it the care it deserved. And that's what hurt the most. Because at the root of all of it, she still loved Finn. She would always love him. Aside from being the father of her bright, precocious preschooler, he was the love of her life. He just got her on levels that others didn't. He still did. He'd helped her immensely in the final days of her schooling, taking over a lot of the main care of Savannah while she crammed for finals and her nursing exams. They had made it and overcome the odds because they had each other.
She tried to forget that she missed that.

"It's been a year," she whispered.

"We need to get you back out on the dating scene then girl. Drinks tonight? Since the little pipsqueak is with Captain America..."

Rachel laughed. "I don't know Em, I have so much laundry and..."

Emily gave her a bored look. "Rachel Berry. We are having drinks tonight, whether you like it or not. Maybe I'll even let Santana join us."

Rachel smirked at the mention of her best friend from high school's name. Santana also doubled as Emily's live in girlfriend. Funny how world's collided.

"You need to get back in the game Rachel. You said it yourself, tt's been a year. I'm sure he's..."

"He's not," she cut her off. "He would tell me if he was seeing someone..."

"Right. Because you guys have that whole functional dysfunction down pat"

"It's called respectful co-parenting."

"Whatever, you sound like your 80,"

"And you sound like Santana," she laughed as the station call button rang. "I'll go tonight. But no pressuring me to do anything I don't want to..."

"Deal," Emily laughed. "Now get to work,"

Rachel tossed her pen at her friend as she walked away.

Finn laughed as he watched Savannah show her Papa the twirl she had learned in dance class this morning. He leaned against the door frame with his arms crossed as Savannah forced Burt into the same position, giggling as Burt intentionally messed up the simple move. She stomped her foot as she climbed on top of the coffee table, using her tiptoes and height she had inherited from him to attempt to put his arms right.

"There Papa!" she squealed.

"You'd make a pretty ballerina Papa," Finn laughed as he made his presence known.

"Daddy's turn!" she squealed as she jumped off the table, much to the chagrin of Finn and Burt. He eyed Burt who chuckled. Savannah had a way of making people let her break the rules. "Watch me firsts!" When he nodded, she went into a spin, holding her arms above her head in perfect position.

"Now you!" she squealed. Burt chuckled as he watched Finn let Savannah put his hands in position. She clapped when Finn successfully followed her directions. "Yay Daddy!"

He couldn't help but laugh at himself as they twirled together while Burt escaped to go and help Carole with dinner.

When they arrived back at his apartment after dinner, Finn was surprised Savannah still had energy. She had danced and sang with Burt and his mom the entire time, bouncing off the walls from the double chocolate chip cookies his mother had made. She ran into the living room like a shot of lightening and he smiled as she ran immediately for the toy box he kept in there. She was rooting around in the small box as he plopped down on the couch. He closed his eyes for a moment, the energy of the day catching up with him for a second when something plastic hit him in the stomach. He found Savannah staring up at him with her wide eyes and a Barbie in her hand, another in his lap.

"Dolls, Daddy?" she asked innocently.

"Of course jellybean," he grabbed the Barbie she had thrown in his lap. "Hey, shouldn't Daddy be Ken?"

Savannah shook her head confidently. "No Daddy! Boys can play with girls toys. Just like I..." she twirled before she plopped down on the floor. "Can play with boy toys!"

He grinned as he slipped off his second hand couch and sat beside her on the black carpet. His girl was anything but ordinary.

But she was nothing short of exhausting. After dolls, they had moved on to playing with the few fire trucks he kept stashed in her toy box. They had actually been his as a child, and the moment Rachel had told him she was pregnant he had dug them out in hopes of passing them on to their child. Rachel had been touched, and Savannah being well, Savannah hadn't stopped them from including the small trucks in her toys. After trucks he had convinced her to change into some cute footie pajamas he had found at Target and curl up with a book. This was what he loved most. She curled into his side, resting her cheek on her hand much like Rachel used to, as he read her the timeless story of Sleeping Beauty. They were deep into the princess faze now. He enjoyed this time the most, the uninterrupted quality time he got to spend with her.

He put her to bed when the story was finished and smiled as she sunk into the blankets. He kissed her forehead before leaving the room. He grabbed a beer from the fridge and sunk into the couch in search of something to occupy his time. The quiet of the apartment enveloped him as he caught up on scores and highlights from the weeks games. He took a pull of his beer and got comfortable on the couch. Nights, even when he had Savannah, were the worst. A constant reminder of everything that had gone wrong in his life. Something he would probably never get used to.

Rachel took a sip of her drink, making a face when she realized just how strong it was.

"I saw that Berry. Drink up," Santana chuckled from across the table. As soon as her powerful best friend had gotten word of the drinks situation she had put plans in motion to meet up at a pub around the corner from Rachel's apartment. She supposed that it was better than sitting at home by herself. Even if she had tons of laundry to do (she had a really bad habit of letting it all pile up, even if Savannah did have enough clothes to last her all season), the last thing she had wanted to do was go home to an empty apartment. The nights when Savannah was with Finn were the worst. It was too quiet, and she often found herself travelling down the nostalgia highway. Even a year later it still burned, thinking of what they could have been.

So this night was perfect. She should've taken Santana up on it a lot earlier.

"It's just strong..." she grimaced as she put it down on the table. "Sorry."

"When is the last time you really got out, Berry?" Santana questioned. "You and Captain Squarepants have been over for a year. We need to get you out of this funk..."

"I'm not in a funk."

"You've spent the last ten minutes staring at your phone, looking at every single picture you have of Savannah on there which oddly enough, half of them include your ex-boyfriend. You cannot tell me you are not in a funk. We're getting you out of this. Enough moping. We're too young for this shit. Drink up. Bartender, another round!"

She knew Santana was right. A year was a long time to be hung up on a person. But was it really impossible to comprehend? He had been her world since they were 12 years old and he was the father of her child. She took a swig of her drink again, frowning at the taste. Maybe Santana was right. She just needed to get out of her head for awhile. Even though she wasn't sure she wanted to.

Finn hated Sunday afternoons. He kept Savannah until after lunch, enough time for Rachel to participate in a early morning yoga class she wouldn't otherwise be able to without childcare. So after feeding her macaroni and cheese (another part of the routine), he bundled her up and packed her in the truck to take her back to Rachel. He hated Sundays. Mainly because it meant that he would spend another two weeks missing his girl. Rachel was good about updating him when things came up, with texts and pictures but it wasn't the same. And as she warbled in the backseat to her own version of Shake It Off he smiled. The weekends always flew by. But Sunday afternoons when she went back to Rachel were the worst.

He chuckled as he watched her run towards Rachel much in the same fashion that she had run to him yesterday. Rachel crouched to catch the flying little girl, a grin covering her face. The bond they had was amazing to him and seeing them both light up when they were reunited made the fact that they couldn't be a family together sting a little more. He caught up with them in time to hear her chattering about how they had chocolate chip pancakes for breakfast and how they watched Toopy and Binoo before having a bath. He stuck his hands in his pockets as Rachel lifted the little girl onto her hip as her chattering slowed down.

"Sounds like you guys had a good time," Rachel smiled.

He smiled at her, looking at his feet. "We always have a good time. Burt and my mom say hello, by the way."

She nodded. "You can tell them I say hi too."

"I will," she nodded. "Well, see you in two weeks?"

It was his turn to nod. "Sounds great. Just text me if..."

"We need you. I always do," she whispered. "Have a good week Finn. Say bye to Daddy?"

Savannah grinned and extended her arm to grab his bicep. "Bye Daddy!"

"Bye sweetheart. See you later alligator,"

"In awhile crocodile!" she giggled as he pressed a kiss to her cheek.

He watched as Rachel carried her off after they said goodbye. Savannah smiled at him from where she laid her head on Rachel's shoulder and he smiled back, trying not to think about the fact that his entire world was once again walking away from him. Even a year later this wasn't getting any easier.

And we're off!