Disclaimer: I do not own Glee or its characters. If I did, the Samcedes relationship wouldn't have existed, Jesse St. James wouldn't have returned, Rachel would have married Sam, and she'd have thanked Finn in her Tony Award acceptance speech.

This is the first fan fiction I've ever posted; it just popped into my head one day and I needed to get it out. I'd like to dedicate this story to my fellow Finchel and Samchel shippers. Enjoy!

Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star

December 24, 2028

As the snow fell heavily from the night sky, two figures passed through the entrance gate of the Lima graveyard and weaved their way between its many headstones. The snow completely covered their tracks as they made their way through the deserted graveyard. Most people were spending the night indoors, warm and cozy in their homes, celebrating Christmas Eve with their families and friends. At the moment, the same could not be said for the two figures desperately searching in the night.

The male figure seemed to be holding something in his arms that he was trying very hard to shield from the winter elements of snow and frosty air. After a few minutes of searching, they finally came to a stop in front of the headstone they had been determinedly trying to find.

The headstone was covered in a thick blanket of snow obscuring the name engraved on it. The female figure squatted down directly in front of it and reached out her red-gloved right hand to wipe some of the snow from the headstone to reveal the name that was hidden below. She placed the wreath she'd been carrying around her left arm on the snow-covered ground in front of the headstone so it leaned against it.

She slowly stood up and took a couple of steps back from the headstone to read the three-line inscription engraved on it that was now being illuminated by the light from the moon and the stars above. She had read the inscription of this particular headstone probably more than a hundred times over the past decade and a half.

The inscription read: Finn Hudson. 1994 – 2013. Loving son, brother, & devoted friend.

"Merry Christmas, Finn," Rachel whispered with a sad smile on her face.

"Yeah, Merry Christmas, buddy," Sam said with a smile that didn't quite reach his eyes before adding much more excitedly, "We brought you a gift!" He nodded at Rachel to continue and reached out for her right hand. Rachel took Sam's left hand and entwined their gloved fingers together. She swallowed and smiled softly at her husband before she started the introduction they came here to make.

"Finn, we want you to meet Finn William Evans!" As she spoke, Rachel used her free hand to remove part of the blanket covering the head of the two-week-old baby who was sleeping peacefully in the crook of her husband's right arm to reveal the adorable face of their newborn son.

"We named him after you. And, if you ask me, he couldn't have been given a better name! He's named after one of the greatest people that ever lived after all," Rachel said with a genuine smile adorning her features.

"I'm so thankful that Sam and I were lucky enough to get to know the wonderful person that you are; I just wish we were given more time together." A frown started to form on Rachel's face as she continued to speak. "I guess we weren't meant to spend forever together in this life anyway…But, just know, you have forever made an impact on us and will forever live in our hearts…in my heart." A tear fell from Rachel's right eye and rolled down her cheek.

This did not go unnoticed by Sam who then gave Rachel's hand a gentle squeeze as he leaned over to place a light kiss upon her temple. Rachel gave Sam a warm smile in return before turning her attention back to Finn's snow-covered headstone.

Right when Rachel was about to open her mouth to speak again, Sam spoke up and added, "Finn, I want you to know that your memory and legacy has lived on and will continue to live on for years to come. I made sure of it! And, we'll continue to make sure of it." He gestured his head between himself and Rachel. "You'll never be forgotten. I promise."

Rachel turned her head towards her husband and stared at him in awe. Hearing Sam make such a promise to Finn, Rachel couldn't stop the wide grin that spread across her face and proceeded to reach her eyes, lighting up her features beautifully. In that moment, she was filled with so much pride and love for the man standing next to her.

After Finn died, Rachel believed she would never find love again. Finn was her person. She didn't think there could be anyone else she would want to spend the rest of her life with like she had dreamed she would with Finn. She's so happy she was proven wrong by finding love with the man she has now called her husband for four years. Unfortunately, she first made the mistake of marrying Jesse St. James, a completely egotistical and narcissistic creep whom Finn never trusted.

Luckily, Rachel's terribly unhealthy marriage to Jesse lasted only two short years before she caught him cheating on her. Turns out Jesse was also interested in men and had been engaged in an affair for over seven months with a male producer of the Broadway musical he was directing and acting in at the time. Rachel's marriage was on the brink of destruction long before she discovered Jesse's unfaithfulness, however. Only a matter of time would have passed before they'd have called it quits anyway.

Rachel's just thankful that awful period of her life is over and she was lucky enough to find her way back to Sam, the man who, unlike Jesse, always made her feel so loved, supported, and safe. She truly loves him and the family they've created together, a family that now includes baby Finn. Growing up, Rachel always thought of home as a place, like New York City or Lima. Then one day she realized that home can refer to a person too. And, for her, home is Sam.

Rachel snapped out of her thoughts suddenly when she heard Sam exclaim, "Oh my god, I almost forgot to tell you that New Directions won Sectionals this year!"

"Oh, yeah!" Rachel interrupted excitedly. "In true Mr. Schue fashion, Sam suggested they sing a medley of classic Journey hits: "Faithfully," "Open Arms," and, of course, "Don't Stop Believin'."

"What Journey medley is complete without "Don't Stop Believin'?" Sam asked jokingly. "It's like the Glee club's signature song!"

"I thought their performance was reminiscent of the glory days of Mr. Schue's original New Directions," Rachel observed. "Their rendition of "Faithfully"wasn't as good as ours though," she teased critically. "That was probably one of our best duets ever! I'll always remember how I felt in that moment with you; it felt magical…That's the only way I know how to describe it." Rachel's eyes seemed to cloud over as the memory of that night from long ago played in her mind.

"I wish I'd been there to see it," Sam offered quietly, breaking Rachel from the spell of her cherished recollection.

Rachel smiled at her husband before addressing her next statement to Finn's headstone. "Sam really succeeded at turning this new group of New Directions into something special too." She turned her face to grin proudly at Sam as she finished this compliment.

"Thanks, Rachel!" Sam said flattered. "I couldn't be prouder of my kids! They worked so hard and put so much effort into all of their practices. I'm just glad it paid off."

"I think you would have been proud of them too, Finn," Rachel said, once again addressing his headstone. "And of Sam as well. You were always a great leader so you know how difficult it is to take on that responsibility and do it well. You would have made a great teacher, Finn." As she said this, a wistful expression took up residence on her face. "Sam has done a great job in picking up where you left off by encouraging these misfit youths not to give up on their dreams no matter how big or small they may be."

Appreciative of the praise she had voiced to Finn about him, Sam smiled crookedly at his wife before letting go of her hand to carefully pass their sleeping son into her arms. He then removed the satchel that was slung over his shoulder and across his chest, sat it on the ground, and began to rummage through it. He retrieved a small telescope he had packed inside and a paper certificate containing constellation coordinates. Despite his dyslexia, Sam quickly read the coordinates printed on the paper, stood up, and pointed his telescope towards the night sky to locate the particular star he wished to find.

After a minute, Sam declared, "There it is; the star named Finn Hudson!"

Sam lowered the telescope from his right eye before gently placing it in front of Rachel's own right eye. He held it there for her so she wouldn't need to use her hands to hold it in place since her arms were currently occupied by baby Finn. Sam helped Rachel locate the star by pointing it out above them and then readjusting the telescope a bit for her vantage point. Finally, Rachel found the correct star.

"Wow! You're so beautiful, Finn," Rachel said in awe to the bright star named Finn Hudson shining above her in the dark night sky. "Thank you for always looking after me no matter where you are," she added sincerely. She couldn't stop the tears from falling rapidly down her face as she peered through the telescope.

Sam removed the telescope from Rachel's eye and with the thumb of his gray-gloved left hand he wiped away the tears that now stained her cheeks. Rachel leaned towards her husband to place a small peck on his lips and then looked down at their small son in her arms. After a few seconds of watching her son twitch in his sleep, Rachel looked back up at the star that Finn had given her for a Christmas present all those many years ago. She smiled up at it and began to softly sing the lullaby "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star" to the baby content in her warm arms.

Twinkle, twinkle, little star
How I wonder what you are
Up above the world so high
Like a diamond in the sky
Twinkle, twinkle, little star
How I wonder what you are

When the blazing sun is gone
When he nothing shines upon
Then you show your little light
Twinkle, twinkle, all the night
Twinkle, twinkle, little star
How I wonder what you are

Rachel finished the lullaby and smiled sadly at the star above her before placing a soft kiss on her son's forehead. She looked up to meet Sam's eyes and saw he had unshed tears twinkling in them. He then wiped his eyes and cleared his throat as he started to speak.

"I guess we should get going. Burt and Carole wanted us at their house by eight." Sam quickly glanced at his wrist watch and added, "It's 7:45 now. We have 15 minutes to make it there on time." He put the telescope he was holding back in the satchel and slung the satchel over his head so it now hung over his right shoulder and across his chest. "Blaine and Kurt should've arrived from New York by now with Tracy and Hepburn. I know they were all excited to see little Finn for the first time. And, Puck said he and Quinn might stop by later with little Lucy too." He eyed Rachel anxiously as he finished speaking.

"Yeah, you're right. We should get going," Rachel agreed. "We don't want to keep everyone waiting on us. Here, why don't you take little Finn to the car and get him buckled in and ready to go?" She passed their son over to Sam, being extremely careful not to wake the sleeping baby. "I'll just be a couple more minutes," Rachel said to her husband with a reassuring smile.

"Okay," Sam said. He leaned towards his wife who stood up on her tiptoes to receive a chaste, but loving kiss from him. Rachel placed both her hands on Sam's face as she deepened the kiss. After a couple of seconds, they heard a whimper coming from the space between them. They quickly pulled apart from one another afraid they may have woken their sleeping son. Luckily, they hadn't. He was still sleeping soundly.

"Well, I'll see you in a few minutes at the car then," Sam said to Rachel who nodded and waved silently at him as he backed away from her. Before he turned to walk away, Sam looked fondly between Finn's headstone and his star one last time and said, "Goodnight, Finn, and Merry Christmas." He then turned his body around and slowly started making his way in the direction of their car with baby Finn bundled up protectively in his arms so as to not catch cold. The snow was no longer falling as heavily from the sky as it was when they first arrived.

Rachel watched her family as they made their way out of the graveyard and towards their parked car outside the entrance. After almost a minute, she turned her attention back to the brightly shining star in the night sky.

"I hope you'll watch over little Finn as well. He needs a guardian angel to look after him and I think you could be a really good one," Rachel proposed to the star known as Finn Hudson. "You've always been a great one to me! Remember you once promised me that whenever I felt lonely I could look up in the sky and you would always be there looking down on me no matter where you were? I know you have because Finn Hudson never breaks his promises," Rachel said warmly, flashing a fond smile to the star above her.

"Look where I ended up! I think I have you to partly thank for that. I'm so sorry I didn't include you in my Tony acceptance speech; I should have," Rachel said with regret and a tinge of guilt in her voice. "You always supported my dreams and knew I would make it someday even when I doubted it myself. This is me saying thank you for believing in me, Finn, and I really mean it. I really do," Rachel said sincerely while nodding her head insistently as she spoke those words to Finn.

Changing gears, Rachel added, "I felt so alone and broken for a really long time after you were gone. I missed you so much! I still do." The words almost caught in her throat out of sadness. "I know all you ever wanted was for me to be happy; it just took me a while to realize that. But, once I figured that out, I finally allowed myself to be happy too. Now I truly am, Finn. I don't feel alone anymore."

"My heart has healed thanks to Sam and baby Finn, but it still has the scars left over from you. Those will never go away. You have been permanently etched into my heart forever," Rachel said as tears once again formed in her eyes.

"You know, you never forget your first love and that's what you are to me. I'll never forget you. I love you, Finn. Always." As Rachel spoke those final words in farewell to Finn, the tears that had formed in her eyes began to stream steadily down her face.

She took something out of her left coat pocket and stepped closer to Finn's headstone so she could bend down in front of it. She kissed the tiny object that she now held between her fingers and then reached out to stick it onto the headstone. She stood up and looked down at the headstone to admire what she had done before she turned to walk away humming the tune to "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star" under her breath as she went.

As Rachel followed Sam's snowy footprints out of the graveyard and to the car where her family waited patiently, the light from the moon and stars reflected on the gift she had left behind for Finn. Right behind the first line of the headstone's inscription that read Finn Hudson, there was now a bright gold star. Back in high school Rachel would always place a bright gold star sticker directly after her signature. It implied she was something special. And, to her, Finn was something special too.

Like the star Finn gifted to Rachel, the star Rachel gifted to Finn seemed to twinkle and shine more brightly than any of those stars up there...

December 2011

Finn: "It's your own star."
Rachel: "You named a star after me?"
Finn: "No, I thought about that but then I named it Finn Hudson because there is already a star called Rachel Berry and she's right here on earth and she's brighter than any of those stars up there. So I wanted to make sure that whenever she feels lonely, she can look up at the sky and no matter where I am, she can know that I'm looking down on her."