I truly thought the last chapter I posted would be the last that I would be able to write. I hate that Finn and Rachel will not get the type of ending that I created here. Just as Rachel said, Finn was her person. Their love had the unique ability to transcend of all of the difficulties that they faced.

I hope that all of your hearts feel light as you read this- because this brought me some solace after I watched 'The Quarterback'.

I do not own Glee.

Epilogue

Four Years Later

Finn groaned, his hand rubbing over his tired face as he let out a pathetic cough. He hated being sick. The only thing he hated more than feeling like he was coughing up his lungs was the fact that his beautiful, paranoid, slightly neurotic wife would avoid sleeping with him in bed. Sliding his hands through the soft sheets, he stretched and sat up slowly. His head throbbed with the intensity of a thousand pounding hammers and his side of the bed was littered with tissues. The only evidence that someone had recently been in the room was the up of warm Peppermint-Ginseng tea cooling on the nightstand.

As he inched his long legs to the ground, his tried to clear his head. The flu had to be the worst thing known to mankind. He couldn't go to the bar, sleep in his bed, or do anything fun. Pursing his lips, he lumbered towards the door, rubbing his hands up and down his arms. It was so cold in the apartment. He trained his ears toward the hallway, hoping to hear the sounds of silence, because he knew he would get hell if she caught him out of bed.

'Just gotta turn up the heat, that's all,' he thought groggily.

Cracking the door to the hallway, he poked his head out stealthily. Edging his body out, he quietly moved towards the thermostat, hoping no one would see him.

"Finn Hudson! What are you doing out of bed! The doctor said that you need fluids and rest if you hope to recover from this devastating bout of flu. Get back to bed this instant!"

Rachel stepped towards him anxiously, noticed how off-kilter his step had become but then immediately stepped backwards, "Finn, you know I can't afford to get sick right now."

Finn nodded simply, the motion causing his throbbing head to ache even more, and cast his eyes towards his frazzled wife.

"I brought you tea! Go back to bed, drink it, and I'll come throw another blanket on your bed. Please Finn," her cognac colored eyes were pleading with him so intensely that he turned back around and stumbled into his sick bed. His bed felt empty without Rachel in it and he was sure that no amount of vitamin C would be able to cure that. Closing his eyes, he sighed slightly and cuddled into his comforter.

"Finn? Finn, honey? I brought you another box of tissues, my Ya-Ya's famous chicken noodle soup, another round of medicine, and a treat from Brittany and Santana. Do you want me to leave it on the nightstand or can you sit up for me?"

Finn's eyes slid open slowly, feeling rough like sandpaper, as he struggled to look at Rachel. Placing herself delicately on the bed, she adjusted her hospital mask. Finn attempted a cheeky grin but deflated when Rachel ran her hand soothingly over his forehead.

"Your fever is still pretty high. Hopefully we caught your flu in time for the medicine to start working. I can't wait for you to get better- I really miss sleeping in here with you," sighing, she ran a hand over her swollen belly, "I think he does too. He's been kicking up a storm for the last week. He won't let Mommy get any rest."

"I bet he thinks that Mommy is working too hard," Finn extended his hand to dance over Rachel's gently rounded bump and grinned weakly. When they had first found out she was expecting, they had both been taken by complete surprise. Rachel had just finished her second major tour of Wicked and they hadn't planned on starting a family so soon. In fact, Finn had been worried about how well Rachel would take the detour to her career, but she had smiled brightly at him and stated that if Idina Menzel could have a baby and sing Elphaba or star as Maureen in Rent, then she could too.

"I'm sorry that I've been avoiding sleeping in here- I just can't afford to catch the flu right now. I don't want to get sick and hurt this little guy," Rachel looked morosely at Finn's tired face and fingered the edges of her hospital mask. Her bright yellow sundress hurt Finn's eyes but he felt a stirring of contentment as she stroked his head. Placing the tray down next to him, she swirled his spoon around the bowl of soup. Feeding him a spoonful of soup, Finn watched her wedding ring glint in the soft lamplight.

It hadn't been an easy path to get here.

When they had first made the decision to life part time in New York and part time in Vegas, there had been a lot of struggles. Finn hated how noisy the city was and detested the cold winter weather. He had never lived anywhere without Puck and Sam and had missed them horribly. Life without Mercy and Evie had been difficult for him and he had suffered from terrible loneliness.

Not that he would have ever admitted it to Rachel.

But she had noticed. Like she always did and encouraged him to expand Journey's.

After drawing up plans with Puck and Sam, he had decided to go for it. Last year the New York branch of Journey's had opened and it had been an incredible success. Smiling wryly, he thought of all of the help Santana and Brittany had given him when he had decided a new bar might be worth the risk. It was only fair that they now helped him manage the bar. In a weird way, his New York family fit him almost as well as his Las Vegas one.

Pouting, he rasped, "I can't wait to be better."

Rachel's cool hands immediately fluttered to his head and laughed throatily, "I know! I can't either. I've been incredibly turned on all week and my poor husband has been too incapacitated to help me out."

Despite Finn's fever, he felt himself harden in anticipation, "I'm not that…" Just as he was about to make a desperate plea for sex, he was cut off by a terrible hacking cough.

Winking, Rachel rubbed his back and said, "Just think of it as an incentive to get better. I promise my pregnancy hormones will still have me spontaneously orgasming next week too."

Groaning at the thought of Rachel's tight pussy convulsing around his cock, he shut his eyes and said, "I'm going to hold you to that promise."

Rachel nodded and ran a finger down his cheek, "Good. Baby misses you reading to him every night but Mommy misses you another way."

Finn grinned as he opened his eyes and stared into Rachel's. Her warm chocolate eyes shone down at him with such love and compassion that his heart squeezed in his chest. He had to be the luckiest bastard on the face of the Earth.

Three Months Later

"Rachel, you have to stop putting up the Christmas decorations by yourself. You're going to fall and scramble our son!" Finn sighed as he looked at his very pregnant wife who was guiltily avoiding his gaze.

"I just wanted to make our house feel like your home did during Christmas when you were growing up," her voice was so miserable sounding that Finn crouched in front of her with a sigh.

"Babe, I don't want you to feel bad and you know that I appreciate the half-Hannukah, half-Christmas thing you do every year but this year I was hoping you'd let me do more of the decorating this time," Finn chanced a sympathetic glance at Rachel before gulping and saying his last statement carefully, "Rachel, you've got to slow down."

Almost immediately, Rachel burst into tears, "I just…I just…Finn, I'm so tired of being preg-preg-pregnant."

Struggling to keep the smile off of his face, Finn stood up and pulled Rachel up with him. Pulling her sobbing form tightly against his chest, he whispered soft words of comfort into her ear. Truthfully, he was a little tired of Rachel being pregnant (except for the fact that she was perpetually horny, that he could totally handle for the rest of their lives). Between her strange cravings for kosher and vegan delicacies and her erratic mood swings, Finn felt like he couldn't keep up.

"Baby, I love all of the things you do for our family. I just want to make sure that you and our little guy stay safe and sound. I don't want to worry that I'll come home from the bar and find you unconscious on the floor with Christmas ornaments everywhere."

Sniffling, Rachel nodded weakly, "I was only trying to make it a special Christmas."

Kissing her soft lips with a smile, Finn laughed, "I know. Let's invite Mercy and Sam over. We can see if they'll bring Evie and we can get them to decorate the house."

Rachel immediately straightened and wiped her eyes, "We can invite Evie over? You know Kurt sent over those dresses from Tori Spelling's shop in LA! I can get her into them and take pictures! Call now! Stop waiting!"

Rolling his eyes, Finn pulled out his phone and called Sam. Watching as Rachel's petite frame waddled into the kitchen of their Vegas apartment, he smiled as a childish voice answered the phone, "'Edo?"

"Hi Evie, it's Uncle Finn! Is your Daddy there?"

"Unk Finn! Unk Finn! I has five fingas and eated pasta."

Laughing lightly, Finn opened his mouth to answer but a sudden rustling cut him off.

"Hello? I apologize if my daughter called you on accident."

"Mercy, it's Finn. I was actually calling Sam and Evie answered. She still loves hiding Sam's phone in her fake purses, huh?"

"Honey, with the way your wife and Kurt spoil my child there is nothing fake about any of her purses. When she gets older, she'll have legitimate vintage Chanel to carry around. It's a little disturbing. But enough about my crazy daughter, what did you need?"

"Well, I was hoping I could con you guys into coming over. I caught Rachel trying to put out the Christmas ornaments again and she almost fell off the step ladder. I made the mistake of telling her to slow down and-"

"She cried uncontrollably until you pacified her with promises of playing dress up with my daughter?" Finn felt a rush of relief flow through his body at Mercedes' teasing tone.

"Basically."

"We'll be over in twenty minutes. You know who we have to bring, right?"

Groaning, Finn nodded before realizing Mercedes couldn't see him, "Yes. Is he still calling himself the Puckasoarus?"

Grouchily, Mercedes answered, "Unfortunately."

"Tell him that if he makes Rachel cry again, I will let her call his mother." Finn could hear Mercedes' raucous laughter as a loud rustling introduced a new voice.

"Dude, I only made one comment about Jew-Ma looking a little bit plump. It's not my fault she went all 'Silence of the Lambs' on me. She knows the Puckasoarus is a word smith."

"Puck, you called her ankles, cankles. You're lucky she didn't smother you while you slept on the couch that night. There have been some nights where I've slept with one eye open after Rachel took something I said the wrong way. Watch yourself and you won't have the wrath of two Jewish women on you."

"Fine. But if Rachel drops calf on my new pants, I'm sending you the bill."

Just as Finn opened his mouth to respond, he was cut off by a loud click. He palmed his phone and nervously ran a hand through his hair. He was going to have to tell Rachel that Puck was coming to decorate.

Two Hours Later

"Absolutely NOT! Puck, you can't have the baby Jesus that close to the cow in the Nativity scene. And STOP making them do perverted things." Rachel's nostrils flared as she pressed a protective hand to the swell of her stomach.

"You never let me do anything," Puck grouched as he laid the Jesus figurine into the manager.

Finn dragged his attention away from Evie, who was scribbling all over his coffee table cheerfully, and studied Rachel. She looked absolutely beautiful. Her body and eyes glowed with contentment (even if he was slightly concerned with Rachel's proximity to silverware and Puck). Watching her interact with his best friend while caressing her baby bump made him fall in love with her all over again.

"Noah Puckerman, your mother told me what happened to you at your Bat Mitzvah. Don't make me share that with everything. I can't imagine what Lauren would think," Rachel tossed her chestnut locks over her shoulders and winked at Finn. Finn shook his head before diving back into his game of Memory with Mercy.

Rachel and Puck had developed a type of sibling rivalry relationship that drove each of them insane. Rachel was fiercely protective of Puck, not that she would ever admit it- and Puck secretly loved Rachel's attention. Struggling to concentrate over the sounds of the two of them arguing, Finn struggled to pick out the twin to his 'Pretty Pony' card. Mercy snickered as he selected the incorrect pair and smoothed Evie's hair gently.

"They might kill each other, you know."

"I figure Sam and I could take them," Finn grinned as Evie blew him a kiss before going back to her drawing of what appeared to be a giant scribbled squirrel.

"How is it that I am the only one actually decorating this apartment?" Sam blew out a frustrated breath as he tossed himself over the edge of the couch and scooped up his giggling daughter. Blowing a raspberry onto her belly, Sam arched an eyebrow at Finn.

"Um, I was trying out Evie's new Memory game with Mercy. Besides, you did such a good job with the garland I thought you had it handled," Finn trailed off pathetically before shooting a cautious gaze at Rachel and Puck bickering.

"You mean you were getting your booty handed to you in a wild game of My Little Pony Memory," Mercy hooted before getting off the floor and snuggling into Sam's other shoulder. Sam laughed and pressed a kiss onto Mercedes' forehead.

Shrugging his shoulders noncommittally, Finn felt a sense of serenity wash over him. Everything was perfect right now. He had two wonderful families, a perfect (if dramatic) wife, and a beautiful son on the way (who may or may not be betrothed to Evie after he and Sam had indulged in too many shots last week). His world was pretty set.

Suddenly Puck bounded into the room and skidded to a hault, panting, and looking more than a little bit panicked, he said, "First, I just want to say…I am in no way responsible for what just happened. Second, I think your wife needs to go to a hospital."

Every muscle in Finn's body tightened with anxiety, "What do you mean she needs to go to the hospital? Where is Rachel, Puck?"

"Well, first she pees on the kitchen floor then she starts mumbling about filling up the bathtub for a more homeopathic birthing experience," running a hand through his hair, Puck's worried eyes looked at Finn dazedly.

Finn, on the other hand, shot up from the couch and darted towards his bathroom, "Rachel? Rachel?"

Hitting his broad shoulders on the doorway to their bathroom, Finn stopped short as he took in the sight of his wife calmly submerged into their bathtub.

"Finn, I think it's time for you to call the midwife. Remember our plan. Be calm."

Finn felt his eyes go wide with panic as he struggled to remember the details of Rachel's intricately crafted birthing plan.

"First thing I need to do is…Um…Call…Kurt?" Immediately his hands began to start twisting his wedding band on his finger. Anxiety began swirling around in his stomach as he watched his beautiful wife cringe in pain. Rachel was having a baby. Their baby. As in, she would be pushing a (probably massive) baby out in a few hours. Nausea crept up his spine as dizziness began to set in.

"No, the first thing you need to do is call the Midwife. Then call Kurt. C'mon Finn. We practiced this. Remember the surprise drills we had every day last week? You aced them!"

Rolling his eyes slightly, he laughed slightly. For the last two weeks, Rachel had been staging fake births so that Finn, Mercedes, Sam, and Puck would know how to handle the impending birth of their son.

"The difference? Those were drills. You're like actually having a baby right now," he could hear the hysteria creeping into his voice as Mercedes and Sam burst into the tiny bathroom space. Finn immediately covered Sam's eyes whose mouth had dropped open in horror.

"Dude, you're having a baby not a dolphin. Tell her to get in the car and let's get her to the hospital just like we practiced." Choking out a nervous laugh, Sam spun on his heel and turned his back to the bathroom. Slightly irrirated that Sam had seen his wife naked, Finn shot a bewildered look at Mercedes.

Mercedes, however was too busy staring at Rachel with amused astonishment, "Honey, hell to the no are you having my Godson in a bathtub. Get out of that water and let's go! I've already called your midwife and Kurt."

Rachel's cinnamon eyes slid over to Finn, who was turning a particularly nasty shade of chartreuse and smiled comfortingly.

"Mercedes, Finn and I have elected to have a more natural birth plan. We want our son to come into the world gently and free of stress. Water births are becoming more and more commonplace," Rachel's voice trembled slightly as she clenched her jaw with pain.

"Honey, speaking as someone who has been there firsthand, the only reason you're saying that is because you haven't experienced a real contraction yet. Believe me when I say this, you're gonna want the drugs. In fact, even when you have the drugs, you want more drugs. Please trust me and get your crazy vegan ass out of the bathtub and let's get you to the hospital. And Puck too. Because his pansy ass passed out about fifteen minutes ago."

Rachel cocked her head, considering Mercy's words, and nodded consentingly. Finn rushed to envelope her petite frame in a bath towel before gently picking her up. Pressing a kiss to her forehead, Finn smiled at Rachel widely.

"We're having a baby."

"Yeah. We are. I'm kind of scared."

"My brave Rachel Berry, scared? No way. This isn't anything."

"You won't leave, right?"

"Definitely not. I might pass out like I did when we watched that video but I'm with you until the end, babe."

Tears welling in her eyes, Rachel stared up at Finn with complete adoration. Finn's heart swelled as he marveled at the courage he saw in his wife's eyes. Despite being in pain, she was trying to keep a calm face for him. Gripping her hand tightly and listening to the sounds of his best friends frantically readying Rachel's overnight bag, he felt all of his panic melt away. Together, they could do anything.

Eight hours later

"You did so good, baby. So good."

Rachel grinned as Finn's eyes stared in astonishment at the tiny bundle he held in his arms. Despite his best efforts to look completely calm, his face had a bewildered expression as his fingers brushed their son's fingers and toes.

"Rachel, he's perfect. I mean, look at him. He's got all of his parts and he's so strong! See, look at how his fingers grab my fingers. He's practically an Olympian!" Finn's smile stretched wildly across his face as he paced back and forth across the hospital room with a gobsmacked expression.

Covered in sweat and completely exhausted, Rachel leaned her head back against her pillow and watched the two of them of them together with a swelling of pride. After eight hours of intense pain where she had indeed requested 'the drugs' (as Mercedes had so bluntly had put it), she now had a beautiful son to show for it. Watching her husband awkwardly cradle their newborn son made her feel complete in a way that she hadn't thought she was capable of.

Staring up at the ceiling, she winked towards heaven, certain that her Dads were watching over her in that particular moment. Closing her eyes, she thought of how blessed she had been to have them in her life- even if she had lost them so suddenly.

"Rachel, honey, you were the best swaying tree on the stage tonight! I literally could not rip my eyes off of you!"

"Babycakes, what your father is trying to say is…even the Snow Princess did not shine as brightly as you. You were robbed of the part! Your sway to the left was exquiste!"

Rachel nodded glumly as she slumped lower in the backseat. She knew her dads were just trying to make her feel better. Jessica McAllen had gotten the part of Snow Princess because she was blonde and didn't have such a big nose (which the other little girls had kept taunting her about in the dressing room).

"LeRoy, look at her, I think she's crying," her father whispered quietly, "We need to step up our game."

"Hiram, I do believe you're right. Perhaps we can stop for some ice cream and…sing the song."

"THE song? Do you really think this situation calls for…THE song?"

"Oh, I think THE song might be just the ticket."

Rachel could feel her lips curling into a smile despite her sadness at being mocked by Jessica and her Petal Court all night. Her daddies always knew the exact thing she needed to hear to make her smile.

Her father fiddled with the knob on the CD player and turned the volume up before turning in his seat excitedly, "Honey, we need the best singer we know to start us off."

"Daddy…I don't know, what if my nose messes it up?"

Suddenly, the car pulled onto the shoulder of the road and stopped abruptly. Both of her dads craned their bodies to face her, eyes serious.

"Is that what this is about?"

Embarrassed and blushing, Rachel could only nod.

"Baby girl, your nose is what makes you Rachel Barbara Berry. Just like Barbara Streisand's nose makes her the amazing Babs."

"Besides, honey, one day when you find your Prince Charming…he won't care about anything you think he will. He'll care about your heart. And I think your father and I both know that you have the biggest one of those around."

Tears welling up in her eyes, she nodded and said, "Daddy, why don't you turn up our song so we can sing it?"

Rachel smiled as the bed sagged next to her and Finn's warm fingers stroked her face comfortingly. She could hear him whispering endearments to her as she drifted off to sleep- only to be interrupted the sound of rapid-fire Spanish filling the air. Biting back a bubble of exhausted laughter her eyes flew open as she heard Kurt's excited voice coming towards her.

"Of course we're family! She's my fashion soul sister. We went to the Prada sample sale together in 2014. We wrestled sorority sisters for my leather clutch. What deeper bond could there be?" Kurt came bursting through the door in a flurry of flowers and shopping bags.

"Hi honey! You look beautiful! I'm so glad you went with the lilac dressing gown I sent, it does wonders for your skin. Blaine and I hopped the first plane we could when Mercedes called. Santana and Brittany are outside. The She-Hulk nurse you have wouldn't let all of us in at one time so Santana distracted her so I could come in!"

Grinning weakly, Rachel shot Finn a nervous look and he squeezed her hand supportively. He smoothly moved his tall frame off of her bed and into the rocking chair with their son. Kurt handed her a bottle of Fiji and perched himself on top of their bed, chattering happily. Finn observed her with a sappy smile before moving his attention back to their son who was sleeping peacefully in his arms. Kurt opened up his shopping back and rubbed his hands together eagerly.

"Okay, first things first. I bought you what appears to be an S&M bonding harness that all of the chic boutiques in LA say will have your six-pack yoga abs back in no time. I also bought you a 'sexy' nursing bra, Ew, but only the finest for my lady soulmate. I also bought you some Evion spray and dry shampoo so we can fix that bird's next that you currently have on your head and, finally, I brought you every girl's best friend. The full Clinque cosmetic line for all of your 'happy mommy' Facebook photos."

"Bless you, Kurt. You are the best gay best friend that a girl could ever have."

"Oh honey, I know. Blaine said you didn't need the facial scrub but honestly, you've just been through a traumatic body experience, you needed the works," Kurt cupped her cheek and grinned at her before saying quietly, "Your dads would be so proud of you today. I know they're watching over you right now and high-fiving each other."

Rachel's eyes misted and she nodded, tears clogging her throat.

Kurt whirled around and sauntered towards Finn, a gigantic smile on his face, "Is this him? Is this my Godson? Oh my God, Rachel! He has Finn's nose! I know you're thrilled especially after that nightmare you had where your son was nicknamed 'bird beak'."

Grimacing slightly, Rachel said, "Kurt! That was supposed to go into the Vault! You know I had weird dreams while I was pregnant. I'm going to have to tell Blaine about your Chanel closet."

Paling, Kurt shook his head vigorously, "It just slipped out, I swear. He's handsome and perfect and for something that previously inhabited your body only hours ago, surprisingly huggable looking."

Finn choked out a laugh but had the decency to look embarrassed before saying, "Rachel…the only one who cares about your nose is you! You're sexy in a potato sack."

Before she could praise him for his sweetness, the door to their private room swung open and their entire chosen family (and Finn's mother) milled into the room. Each of them swarmed her hospital bed and Finn, craning their heads for a look at the newest Hudson.

Rachel watched as Sam and Mercedes brought Evie up closer to Finn's arms and murmured their collective coos of appreciation. Puck and Carole edged closer, Puck feigning indifference while Carole wiped away her happy tears with the vintage handkerchief Rachel had gifted her with at their vow renewal. Santana and Brittany piled themselves at the end of her bed and kissed each other before winking at Rachel. Blaine ruffled her hair affectionately before squeezing himself into the inch of space Kurt had so graciously left for him on her bed. Truly, Rachel's life was overflowing with people who cared about her and her tiny family. Some of them had found her during the darkest period in her life and some of them had come when she had taken a chance on love. Either way, she was incredibly blessed to have.

She looked up to find Finn watching her carefully and she felt a smile light up her entire face.

Finn's hazel eyes were warm with tender emotion as he handed their son to her and cleared his throat, "Ladies and Gentlemen, please welcome Christopher Kurtis Hudson. Our son."

After watching 'The Quarterback' and subsequently crying my eyes out, I felt that I owed it to myself to reimagine a world where Rachel and Finn got the happily ever they deserved. This niggled around in my brain until I just hand to get it out. I hope you enjoyed it. Now I will mark complete on this story.

Don't stop believin'.