Epilogue

Finn POV

9 years later

Finn was getting ready in the mirror, adjusting his tie. He looked much older than he last remembered. Finn looked over at the photo sitting on his nightstand of him and Rachel and smiled. He examined the lines in his face in the mirror that were not there in the photo, not with despair of growing older but with gratitude. He knew that the lines had been formed through many years of laughter, anger, worry, and tears. And he knew it was all worth it.

Nothing ever stays the same. He often thinks about what his high school self would have thought of his life. Would he have been disappointed? He likes to think that he would be proud of all the choices and decisions that shaped his life. He didn't always make the right ones, but he always learned from his mistakes.

He's pretty sure that high school Finn never would have imaged he would have married that annoying Rachel Berry. The girl who terrified yet excited him.

Finn pulled his coat jacket on and sat down on the bed to lace up his shoes. He thought often lately about the past and what he had been through. He still had pain when he bent over now and then from the attack years ago. And while not as often as he used to, he would still dream about April. She had been transferred two years ago to a facility for the mentality insane after she wrote letters to Rachel about wanting to meet her and murder Finn in front of her. But Finn had put April behind him. Because what would be, would be.

"Daddy, can you put on my chews. Mommy is in the bafroom." Finn heard the tiny voice from the corner of the room.

"I sure can, Monkey." He swept his daughter into his arms and tossed her into the air as she broke into a fit of giggles.

Finn sat her down on the edge of the bed and took the tiny shoes from her hand as he placed them on her feet. Finn had never felt so blessed in his life. Rachel and he did not immediately have children. And when they decided the time was right, it didn't come easily. Perhaps Finn didn't practice as well as he should have because it took them a year for Rachel to get pregnant. However just as everything else in Finn's life, it wasn't up to him when things were to happen. They just did.

And so seven years ago, they were blessed with a son. Christopher Leroy came into this world with a scream as loud as his mother's and a stubbornness that rivaled even the greatest Broadway Star.

Kurt and Blaine kept the apartment and Rachel and Finn moved three blocks away so that Uncle Kurt could keep an eye on his beloved nephew. Or as Finn thought, so that Kurt could shower him with toys and tiny designer clothing.

Two years later, the band stopped touring. They had a good run. One Night Stand completed 6 albums, three of which Finn had writing and production credit for. And while Finn missed the band, he wouldn't trade his life as a father for the world. They all talked about doing a reunion tour when they were old and grey.

Blaine stayed in the music business, going back to school to finish his law degree. He went on to become a successful music producer and used his law degree to make sure that none of his artists were screwed over by the industry.

Kurt stayed home and watched Christopher until the band finished touring. But he never gave up designing and eventually created his own fashion line from the comfort of his own living room. Kurt's Menagerie was a top seller of fashion clothing with a zoological flair.

Blaine and Kurt remained in New York City and Kurt's office is located in the Garment District on Fashion Avenue and he dreams of being a feature during the Met Gala in the years to come. Finn doesn't doubt that Kurt will reach that dream.

Sam moved west about a year ago. They hear from him every month. He always sends them some stupid snap chat of the mountains or of a goat on his farm. He sings country music at a bar in South Dakota and Finn is sure he's never seen him so happy.

Puck and Quinn didn't stop having babies. By the time they settled down into a house in New Jersey, they had 3 boys and 1 girl. They stayed close so that they could still see Beth and attend her recitals in New York. Quinn was still a teacher. She opted out of teaching children and instead focused her teaching on young, pregnant girls so that they were able to finish high school. Puck quit the band a year after his son was born to become a stay at home dad. He devoted every single moment to his wife and kids.

"Can I go work with you an mommy today?" Finn's attention was brought back to his daughter.

"And miss playing with your Grandpa Burt?" Finn ruffled her hair.

"I wanna stay with you." She whined.

"Mommy and Daddy have a lot of work to get done today." Finn lectured. "Besides, I thought you were going to make me a picture with Grandma today?"

"Okay." She frowned.

"I promise, we will play as soon as we get home today." He kissed her on the cheek and she bobbled out the door with a squeal.

"Finn, have you seen my sweater?" Rachel walked into the bedroom, her hair still wet from her shower.

Finn stood up from the bed and looked around the room. "The last I saw it, it was on your chair in the office. Want me to get it?"

Rachel smiled, "Yes please sweetie, it's always cold in the room."

Finn walked down the stairs toward the office and immediately saw the sweater on her chair across from the desk. He reached over and scooped it up as a baseball rolled into the room and slammed into the bookcase, causing books to fall. Finn lunged for the case on top of the shelf and grabbed it just in time before it crashed to the ground.

"Crap. Sorry dad." His son came running into the room.

"What have I told you about playing ball in the house? Do you know how upset your mom would have been if you had broken these?"

Christopher bowed his head as his sister stumbled in behind him.

"Uh oh. Cwiss almost boke tony." She cooed.

Finn laughed as he pushed the box back onto the shelf, making sure the awards were sitting securely back in their place.

"Yes, I would not have been able to protect you if you broke your mother's Tony awards."

Finn smiled as he thought back on the night she won her first award. He beamed with pride as his son sat on his lap. He was only two years old, the same age as his daughter was now. Finn remembered how nervous Rachel was as they were reading out the nominees. He leaned against her and whispered into her ear, "This is your dream. Take it."

When they said her name, he didn't think she would make it down the aisle. And she stumbled through her speech, almost forgetting her own name. But he clearly remembered how she found him in the audience and he felt like she was speaking only to him.

I want to thank the most important person in my life. My husband, Finn. He always told me I would be a star, but he's my shining star and he never gave up on me. You're my hero, baby. I love you for believing in me.

"Thanks for the save, Dad!" Chris grabbed his ball and ran from the room as his sister, Shelby ran after him. "I wanna pway ball, Cwiss."

"There you are!" Finn looked up as Rachel entered the room. He passed the sweater to her.

"Found it right where I thought it was." He beamed.

"We're going to be late." She said in a hurry. "We still need to get the kids to your mom's and I hate being late on the first day."

Finn laughed. She was always a mess of nerves on the first day of school.

He rounded up the kids and buckled everyone into the car. After a lot of hugging and kissing, Finn was able to drop the kids to his mother's so that he and Rachel could get to work.

"I wonder how it's going to be today?" Rachel said nervously.

"You do this every year." He laughed. "And every year it's the same."

He squeezed Rachel's hand as he drove through the snow covered streets. "There's going to be some punk you won't like right away but eventually you will find has a heart of gold. Someone will be too talented for their own good and demand that everyone listen to them. There will be the handsome guy with hidden talent, and their own misfit crew that doesn't get along and everything will look hopeless but then surprisingly everything turns out all right in the end."

"Oh Finn, you act like this is a television show or something!" Rachel laughed.

"I'm just saying, ever since we took over the Glee Club three years ago when Mr. Schue retired, you say the same thing on the first day of school. And it always turns out pretty good."

Rachel laughed. "I guess it does." He watched her smile grow as they reached McKinley and parked the car.

"Are you happy?" He asked her quietly as he turned off the car.

"Of course I am, I love the first day."

"No, I mean, are you happy. Do you regret leaving Broadway and coming here?"

Rachel touched his cheek. "Finn, my dreams came true. I did everything I wanted to on Broadway. I won not one, but two Tony awards. I married the man of my dreams. I have two beautiful children. There isn't anything else I need from this world."

"I love you. I just always worry that you moved back to Ohio for me." Finn stared intently into her eyes. His thumb caressing her hand.

Rachel smiled and kissed his cheek. "Finn, no matter how hard and how much we followed our hearts, THIS is where our dreams lead us and I wouldn't have it any other way."

The End

I want to thank everyone who read my stories over the years and for your patience and willingness to come back and finish the book with me. I quit watching Glee after Season 3 and after Cory died my heart was unable to finish the story. I began writing years ago when I was in an unhappy place. However, I have since found a wonderful man who made me feel whole again and I left behind my life online. It was only years later that I realized that leaving this story unfinished unsettled me. I tried more than once to write a chapter just to end it, but I knew it needed more. This was my way of tying a bow on the end of my story. It was my way of giving Finn, Rachel, and to an extent, Cory a happy ending. I lived and loved these characters to my core and the stories that I wrote will always have a special place in my heart. This is my closure for these characters and this chapter of my life.

Don't Stop Believing!