Disclaimer: I don't own anything. This story title comes from the song "Magic" by Coldplay.

The sound of his crying daughter pulled Finn from his sleep. With a groan, he climbed out of bed and managed not to disturb his wife. Finn wasn't even surprised when Rachel didn't move an inch, and continued to sleep. She had been dead to the world ever since she had crawled into bed, and Finn certainly wasn't going to be the one to wake her. She deserved a full night of uninterrupted sleep.

Finn shuffled down the hallway and pushed open the door to his daughter's nursery. The room was cast in a golden glow thanks to the star-shaped nightlight that was plugged in. The light pink walls and gold glitter border running around the top of the wall might have been a bit much for other people, but it was perfect for their little princess.

Five-month old Hadley Hudson had been crying only a second ago, but she was now cooing in her crib as she reached her hands towards the mobile hanging over her head. Despite the exhaustion seeping into his bones, Finn couldn't help but chuckle as he watched his little girl amuse herself.

"Weren't you just crying, baby girl?" Finn leaned over the edge of the white crib. When Hadley's amber eyes—identical to his—settled on her father, she let out a little squeal and kicked her legs in excitement.

"You know, princess, it's three o'clock in the morning. You're going to have to get on a normal sleep schedule at some point." Even as he spoke, he lifted the baby out of the crib and cradled her against his chest. She smacked her rosy lips and nuzzled her little face against Finn's bare chest.

Another laugh escaped from Finn. It seemed that all Hadley had really wanted was some attention—she was certainly like her mother in that respect. Her fussing had stopped now, and her eyes drooped sleepily as Finn bounced her gently in his arms.

Ten minutes later, the baby was once again fast asleep. Just to be on the safe side, Finn paced around the nursery for a few extra minutes, ensuring that Hadley was deep asleep. He set the little girl in her crib and made sure that she was settled. Hadley turned her head to the side and stretched her little legs out, but she remained deep in slumber.

Finn took a long moment to marvel over the little human that he and Rachel had created. She was beautiful and perfect and probably the best thing that he and Rachel had ever done. Finn was constantly amazed by every single thing that Hadley did. He had spent hours watching her sleep, and Rachel had teased him more than once for it.

He knew that he needed to go to bed and get some actual sleep before Hadley woke up once again. When Finn turned around, though, he saw Rachel standing in the doorway of the nursery. Judging from the look in her eyes, Finn suddenly knew that he wasn't going to be getting sleep any time soon.

Not that he minded.

"Hey babe." Finn grinned at his wife and she crooked her finger, gesturing for him to follow her out of the nursery.

As soon as he had shut the door behind him, Rachel pounced on him. Her arms and leg wrapped around his body, and it only took seconds for her lips to find his. Turning, Finn pressed her against the wall in the hallway.

When Rachel finally let him up for air, she ran a hand down his chest and in between their bodies until she was cupping him. "Do you have any idea how hot you looked when you were holding our baby?"

Finn grunted as her small fingers stroked him through his pajama pants. "I have a few guesses."

He didn't get to say much else, because Rachel's lips were on his once again. Making an executive decision, Finn lifted Rachel back into his arms and carried her to their bedroom.

They definitely wouldn't be getting any sleep tonight.

After climbing out of the bed and pulling her pajamas back on, Rachel made her way into the nursery. She crept towards the crib as quietly as possible, but it turned out that she didn't need to be that careful. Hadley was already wide awake and cooing away in her crib.

"Hey, baby girl," Rachel said. She leaned against the crib and peered down at her little girl. "How long have you been awake?"

Hadley's eyes landed on her mother and she squealed. Rachel's smile was so wide that she thought her face might actually split in half, but she didn't care. Despite the late nights and the crying and the endless feedings, Rachel was absolutely in love with her little girl.

Reaching into the crib, Rachel lifted the infant out and tucked her against her chest. Hadley made another noise and snuggled against Rachel's chest. Grinning, Rachel smoothed her free hand over the thick hair on Hadley's head. That was another thing she had inherited from Finn—the thick, wavy head of hair. With those eyes, that hair, and Rachel's complexion, Hadley Hudson had to have been the most beautiful baby in the world.

Then again, Rachel was pretty biased.

"Why don't we go and cook Daddy some breakfast?" Rachel suggested. Since Finn had gotten up in the middle of the night to check on Hadley, she figured the least she could do was make him breakfast. So Rachel made her way down the stairs with Hadley in her arms as she mulled over what to make for breakfast.

Of course, she hadn't expected her kitchen to be full of people.

Puck and Quinn were there, while Beth was running around with a little chef's hat perched on her head. Santana was at the stove, arguing with Kurt over the best way to make French toast. Blaine was standing at the kitchen island, mixing mimosas as he tried not to laugh at Santana and Kurt's bickering.

"Hadley!" Quinn said brightly. She rushed forward and took the baby from Rachel's arms. Rachel frowned at her best friend. Ever since Hadley had been born, Quinn had baby fever and was attached to Hadley every chance she got. There was no doubt that baby number two would be on the way soon for the Puckermans.

"Um, hello to you too, Quinn," Rachel said. She walked further into the kitchen and accepted the mug of coffee from her cousin. To Puck, she said, "You really need to do something about your wife and the habit she has of stealing my child."

"Bethy, come here!" Puck waved his daughter over, and the little blonde came toddling towards her father. Cuddling his daughter close, he said, "Go tell Mommy that you want a little brother or sister."

Of course, Beth loved the idea. She shot across the kitchen as soon as Puck let her go and began asking her mother about having a little brother or sister. That distracted Quinn long enough for Blaine to swoop in and steal Hadley away.

"That's evil," Rachel stated. She settled back in her chair, comfortable in the knowledge that Uncle Blaine had Hadley for the moment.

Puck smirked at her. "Well, we have been trying for another baby. It won't be long before the little Puck get's one in—"

"Oh my god!" Rachel slapped her hands over her ears and shook her head. "Stop it! Stop it right now! I can't listen to this, Noah!"

Puck let out an evil laugh. He had spent years being a victim of Rachel and Finn's public displays of affection; he was practically like Rachel's older brother, and he didn't really want to see that. It was always fun when he could get back at her.

Rachel wrinkled her nose at him. "I guess congratulations are in order, but I'm still too grossed out to really say anything to you."

Shrugging his shoulders, Puck leaned back in his chair. "I still pretend that you had Hadley by immaculate conception, you know."

Finally giving in, Rachel leaned over and wrapped her arms around Puck's shoulders. Puck chuckled and patted her hand before he handed her a mimosa.

With the mimosa in one hand, Rachel went over to the fridge and pulled a bottle out for Hadley. After preparing it, she handed it to Blaine and watched as her friend fed her little girl. Hadley had a full head of hair that was as dark as Rachel's and as wavy as Finn's. Reaching over, she ran her hand through the baby-soft curls.

Hearing the stairs creak, Rachel turned to find her husband descending the stairs. He still looked half-asleep, and he glanced around the kitchen in confusion. It was clear that he hadn't expected his home to be packed with all of his friends and family.

Laughing, Rachel crossed the kitchen and slipped her arms around her husband's waist. Stretching up onto her tiptoes, she pressed a kiss to his confused mouth. "Good morning, baby," she greeted.

Finn rubbed a hand over his messy hair. It was endearing how it stuck up in a million different directions. "Did I miss something?" he asked.

Passing by, Santana smacked Finn on the ass. "We're here to make you breakfast, asshole. You have an infant child, after all. We're spending time together."

That was good enough answer for Finn. He made a beeline for the stove and accepted the plate of French toast Kurt offered him. Once he took a seat at the table, he pulled Rachel into his lap and pressed another kiss to her lips.

She stared at her reflection in the mirror for a long moment. Shaking her head, Rachel pulled her jacket on and turned to her husband. He was sitting on the couch, watching a football game with Hadley perched on his chest.

"Do you see that, baby girl?" Finn asked as he pointed to the television. "That's a touchdown, and that's six points."

For a moment, the anxiety left where it had parked itself in Rachel's chest. "I don't think she's quite old enough to understand the finer points of football, Finn."

"She'll learn." Finn made sure that Hadley was positioned towards the TV properly. "Look at those little arms. Hadley will definitely be able to launch a football clear across the field."

Rachel leaned over and brushed her lips over Hadley's forehead. She looked down at her little miracle and then back at Finn. "Are you sure you don't want to come with me?" she asked for the final time.

Finn smiled sadly at his wife. "I know that you want to go, and I understand that. But Rach… I just can't go. I know you need to do this, so go."

Rachel ran a hand through his hair soothingly. "I understand."

"After everything that happened… I don't like thinking about it." Finn held their daughter tighter to his chest, spreading one hand over her little back protectively.

"Shh. I understand," Rachel repeated. Leaning over the back of the couch, Rachel pressed her lips to Finn's in a tender kiss. He slipped his free hand behind the back of her head and held her there, and Rachel's heart ached for him. She had had a feeling that Finn wasn't going to handle this day very well.

It had been a year since Rachel's abduction. The trial had only taken six months for the Howard brothers—with Tanner's inside info, there had been more than enough evidence to lock them up for many years.

Tanner Howard, on the other hand, was given a lighter sentence due to pleading guilty and providing the DA with the information needed to put the brothers away. He was serving five to ten years.

Rachel had visited him in jail after the sentence had first been given. Finn had come with her, but at the last second he had decided that he couldn't face Tanner. It had been a short visit, where Rachel had thanked Tanner for giving the tip to her location when she had been abducted. There hadn't been much to say after that, so Rachel had left and had tried not to think about it too often.

There had been therapy, of course, for both her and Finn. The visits had dwindled down to once every two weeks for Rachel, now, and Finn came with her once a month. It had taken them both a long time to admit that the kidnapping had changed them and had been terrifying. Once the nightmares had started at the end of their beach trip last year, Rachel had known that she was going to be in therapy for a long time.

"I love you, Rachel Hudson," Finn murmured.

Rachel smiled and kissed him again. "I love you, too, Finn Hudson."

"Hi."

Rachel sat down on the opposite side of the table from Tanner Howard and managed a small smile. "Hi."

Despite the fact that he was in jail, Tanner was missing the pinched look that had perpetually been on his face while he had been working for his brothers. He seemed more relaxed and at peace with himself. The story of the Howard brothers was a sad one, and it was certainly one that Rachel had never wanted to be a part of. Now that the cards had been dealt, however, Rachel felt that she owed it to Tanner to at least check in with him.

"How are you?" Rachel asked. She figured that was as good a place to start as any.

"Good. I'm good. Well…" He gestured to the prison-issued jumpsuit. "As good as I can be, anyway."

Rachel nodded her head slowly. Tanner gave her a sheepish look and shrugged his shoulders, and it made Rachel relax a little more. In a roundabout way, this was the man who had saved her life and the life of her baby. She felt like she needed to at least talk to him on this particular day of the year.

"How's that baby of yours?" Tanner asked.

Rachel instantly brightened. Any mention of her daughter immediately put her at ease. She pulled her phone from her pocket and pulled up the most recent picture of Hadley. Rachel had snapped it mid baby laugh, so Hadley was smiling broadly at the camera.

"She's perfect," Rachel told him. "She still doesn't sleep through the night, but Finn and I are trying to figure it out."

Tanner shifted in his chair. "And how's Finn?"

"Good. He's good." Rachel pushed her hair back from her face. "He and Noah have settled into their new positions at the department. He likes it." After the bust on the Howard brothers, Finn and Puck received a whole team to head up within the narcotics department. There had even been an awards ceremony (which both of the boys had acted embarrassed by, but they secretly loved it).

"That's good." Tanner nodded his head and leaned back in his chair, pushing away from the table. They had both stated that things were good multiple times—and the truth was, things were good. That was as deep as it would ever get with the two of them, and that was just fine.

It wasn't long after that Rachel said goodbye to Tanner and left the prison. She was busy digging around in her purse for her car keys, so she didn't notice the person leaning against her car. She stopped in her tracks when she saw who it was, however.

There Finn Hudson stood, with Hadley strapped to his chest in a baby carrier. They made the cutest little pictures, and Rachel wasn't even embarrassed when she ran across the parking lot and into her husband's arms. He caught her against his side, holding her tightly.

Hadley's little face peered at her over the side of the carrier, and she could hear Finn's heart beating under her ear. It was so comforting, and it just felt like home.

"You're here," Rachel whispered.

She felt Finn chuckle. "You needed me. I couldn't stay away."

Stretching up onto her tiptoes, Rachel pressed her lips to Finn's. "Finn Hudson, have I ever told you that I love you?"

"You're about to love me even more." Finn grinned at her and took her hand in his. "I have a surprise for you."

"A surprise?" Rachel beamed at Finn and tried to stop herself from jumping up and down. "Finn, you know how I feel about surprises."

"You love them," Finn said. He strapped Hadley into her car seat with practiced ease, and Rachel wondered if it was kind of weird that she was turned on by how sure and confident Finn's hands were. "Don't even pretend like you don't."

He came around to the passenger side of the car, where Rachel was still standing. He pressed her against the car door and put his hands on her hips, holding her in place. Leaning down, he brushed his lips against hers once, slowly. Rachel melted into his embrace, and she strained against him in an effort to get closer.

Finally, Finn kissed her properly. Rachel's teeth nipped at Finn's bottom lip. He groaned and pulled her closer as his tongue slipped into her mouth. This moment, with Finn's body against hers and his mouth on hers, anchored Rachel back to earth. She was fine, their baby was happy and healthy, and Finn was alive. What happened a year ago was in the past.

"Get in the car," Finn said once their lips parted.

Rachel smiled at him and climbed into the car.

They arrived back at the house, and Rachel was curious as to what kind of surprise Finn had for her there. He pulled Hadley out of the car and carried her in one arm while he took Rachel's hand in his free one.

Together, they walked towards the door. Finn nodded his head, and Rachel pushed their front door open.

"SURPRISE!"

Standing in their front hall, and overflowing into the living room, was every member of Finn's police department, along with all of their friends and family. In the front, of course, were the ones she loved the most—Puck and Quinn and Beth, Kurt and Blaine, Santana and Brittany, Tina and Mike and their newborn little boy, and Artie and his fiancé Sugar. Will and Beiste were there too, their smiles just as big as anyone else's.

Tears burned in Rachel's eyes, and she bit her lip before she looked over at her husband. He adjusted Hadley in his arms (she was looking around at everyone with wide eyes, soaking up the attention just as her mother would), and leaned down to kiss the top of Rachel's head.

"What is this, Finn?" Rachel asked.

Finn shrugged his shoulders, and he suddenly looked a little choked up. "It's been a year since… since the kidnapping happened. We just thought that we should celebrate."

Rachel kissed her husband and then moved forward so that she could hug all of her friends and family. Her fathers were there, and so were Carole and Burt, and both sets of parents were in tears. Clearly, this was an emotional moment for everyone, but Rachel didn't mind.

Horus later, the party was in full swing. Carole had taken Hadley and Beth upstairs a while ago, and her fathers had taken it upon themselves to be the official bartenders of the party. All of the furniture in the living had been pushed up against the wall to create a makeshift dance floor. Puck, Kurt, and Santana had been busting a move for the last hour. They kept pulling Rachel onto the dance floor, and every time Rachel would drag Finn with her. Even though he didn't dance, he did anyway because this was her day and she loved to dance.

Finally, they managed to escape. They darted into the side hallway between the dining room and the kitchen. Before Rachel could properly catch her breath, Finn was kissing her. She practically climbed up his body until her legs were wrapped around his waist, and his hands were under her bottom, supporting her.

"Thank you, Finn," Rachel whispered against his lips.

"For what?" Finn pushed the hem up on Rachel's dressed before he moved his hand to the inside of her thigh. He stroked the soft skin there, and Rachel bit back a moan as she tried to focus on talking to her husband.

Rachel cupped her hand against Finn's cheek. "For the party. For saving my life. For keeping me and Hadley safe. For everything."

Finn stopped trying to get between her legs long enough to look in her eyes. "I should be thanking you," he said seriously.

"Why?"

"For doing what you had to do to keep yourself safe." Still keeping one hand under Rachel's behind, he started stroking her leg again. "I don't think you understand, Rach—this party isn't just because we rescued you. We couldn't have done it without Tanner telling us where your location was. And the only reason we got that information is because you got through to him. You saved the day, Rach."

Rachel looked very proud of herself as she wrapped her arms around Finn's shoulders and pressed herself closer to him. "I did, didn't I?"

Finn chuckled and slipped his hand behind Rachel's neck, pulling her lips back down to his for another kiss. Rachel melted against him, kissing him back deeply before she pushed on his shoulders and shimmied back down Finn's body until her feet touched the floor.

"I want to go see our daughter," Rachel said in response to Finn's questioning look.

Grinning at her, Finn took Rachel's hand and laced their fingers together. They walked up the stairs, sneaking past the party and down to the nursery at the end of the upstairs hall. Carole was occupying the rocking chair in the nursery, but she smiled at the new parents and vacated the room.

Hadley was fast asleep with her little arms stretched above her head—exactly the way Finn slept when he was in the bed alone. Rachel's heart swelled as she looked upon her little girl. Years from now, she could imagine Hadley running around with a few more brothers and sisters—boys with Rachel's eyes and Finn's height, and another little girl that was the perfect mixture of Rachel and Finn.

"We did a pretty good job, didn't we?" Finn murmured as he watched his daughter sleep.

"We did," Rachel agreed. "She's amazing."

Finn leaned down and brushed a kiss against Hadley's forehead before he grabbed Rachel by the waist and pulled her from the nursery. "Why don't we start practicing for the next one?"

Rachel laughed while Finn guided them into their bedroom. She shut the door behind them before she climbed on the bed with Finn and straddled his hips. As Finn's lips descended upon her neck, Rachel wondered if things could get any better than this.

As long as she was with Finn, she knew they would.

The final chapter!