A/N: Thank you all so much for your kind words! I hope that this ending makes all of you happy, as I tried my hardest to make sure it was at least a tad bit realistic, but naturally it wasn't in the least. This has been so much fun for me to write, and I'm really sad to see it all end :[ This shit is long, which is why it took forever to get out. I ended this with a quote from one of the best authors of all time, and one of the best stories that Disney ever retold.

bold- all boys; italics- all girls; bolded italics-everyone; underlined- individuals (I'll specify)

–

'so, this is love'

epilogue

"Promise me you'll always remember: You're braver than you believe, and stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think."

--Christopher Robin

–

Will Schuester had watched all six pairs go in front of the large room and sing from their hearts. He was beyond proud of them; they had all come together to make this special, even if they might not all always get along. He didn't know how he was going to choose a winner, as the competition was clearly neck and neck for every group.

He walked back to the doors that led to where the group of students sat, quietly enjoying the moments they had shared together. He observed Quinn resting her head on Artie's shoulders, his arms wrapped around her. Mercedes was holding Matt's large hand in her own. Kurt and Finn were leaning on each other, talking about something or another. Tina and Santana were giggling in a corner with Mike and Brittany who were holding hands. The only two not near each other were Puck and Rachel, and the latter seemed to be avoiding Puck as much as she could.

"You guys were phenomenal today, I am so proud of you! Now we have our finale, and then I'll tell you the winners!" He grinned, clapping his hands together and motioning for all of them to get ready.

Each of the twelve members stood, quickly reciting their lines in their minds. They quickly followed Mr. Schue out to where he was standing on the stage, a mic in his hand, smiling at all of the children sitting in front of him.

"I hope you all have enjoyed today, because we were all more than happy to come and perform for you guys. Now, I present our final song, and McKinley High School's New Directions!" He said, motioning for all of them to come forward.

Everyone had lost all of their nervousness, and were smiling at each other, as the group all linked arms and the girls began to sing.

"A dream is a wish your heart makes

When you're fast asleep"

Mercedes unlinked hands with Matt and Artie; Quinn unlinked her fingers from Artie and Mike; Brittany pulled away from Mike and Kurt; Rachel released Kurt's hand, and dropped Finn's rough fingers; Tina moved away from Finn and let go of Puck's hand. All the girls moved forward, linking hands with each other, raising their mics once again.

"In dreams you will lose your heartaches

Whatever you wish for you keep"

The girls all moved back behind the row of boys, as the males stepped, (and rolled), forward swaying back and forth with each other.

"A base in your dreams and someday

Your rainbow will come smiling through

No matter how your heart is grieving

If you keep on believing

The dream that you wish will come true"

They all grinned and began dancing, as the melody picked up and became up tempo. Mercedes leaned into Matt, and he took a hand and twirled her. Mike and Brittany began pop and locking to much applause. Finn and Rachel were spinning, while Puck picked Santana up quickly. Tina and Kurt were laughing, while moving with the song. Artie had Quinn in front of him, leaning over, humming with him. Mercedes raised her mic while dancing with Matt.

"A dream is a wish your heart makes

When you're feeling small

Alone in the night you whisper

Thinking no one can hear you at all"

Artie rolled himself forward, winking at the crowd of kids swaying in front of him.

"You wait for the morning sunlight

To find fortune that is smiling on you

Don't let your heart be full of sorrow

For all you know tomorrow

The dream that you wish will come true"

They all came together again, turning slowly before taking each other's hands. Quinn smiled at Mike, who grinned to Tina, who offered a small smile to Kurt, which caused him to smile brightly at Mercedes, who laughed looking at Puck, who offered Brittany a smile, who flashed a smile to Matt, who smiled softly at Rachel, and she grinned brightly towards Finn.

"When you can dream, then you can start

A dream is a wish you make with your heart

When you can dream, then you can start

A dream is a wish you make with your heart"

Their voices melded together, and soon the kids were swaying with the beat, some even standing to dance along with the gleeks. Rachel grinned and propelled herself forward.

"A dream is a wish your heart makes

When your fast asleep

In dreams you will lose your heartaches

Whatever you wish for you keep"

Finn smiled at the petite brunette as he came forward, twirling her, causing Noah Puckerman to grit his teeth and keep swaying, flashing a huge smile at his cancer stricken sister sitting in the very front singing along with the song.

"You wait for the morning sunlight

To find fortune that is smiling on you

Don't let your heart be full of sorrow

For all you know tomorrow

The dream that you wish will come true"

They all smiled at each other as Mike took to break dancing again, Matt releasing Mercedes to join in, and Brittany and Santana taking to dancing as well, while Quinn moved forward, hand on her stomach to sing the next verse.

"No matter how your heart is grieving

If you keep on believing

The dream that you wish will come true"

They all linked hands again in order of Kurt, Quinn, Artie, Santana, Puck, Rachel, Finn, Mercedes, Matt, Brittany, and Mike. Rachel almost swore at her luck of holding both Finn's rough hand, and Noah's warm fingertips in her own. They all leaned against each other, feeling as if everything would be alright for the first time in months.

"When you can dream, then you can start

A dream is a wish you make with your heart

When you can dream, then you can start

A dream is a wish you make with your heart"

At the end of the song every one in the room was clapping and cheering, all the glee kids beaming at each other, and Mr. Schue had huge tears welling up in his eyes. His sense of pride in his kids was never defeated, they were truly the most talented bunch he had ever seen. He quickly jumped to the front of the room and lifted his mic.

"I hope you all enjoyed our performance, because I know we all enjoyed doing it! I'm sorry that it has to end, but before it does I promised to pick a winning pair." He surveyed the nervous contestants before him and smiled kindly. "Every one of you were amazing; you all went above and beyond anything I imagined. It was hard to pick a winning pair, but I finally decided." He paused to add to the anticipation. "For overcoming a stereotype, and giving a truly enjoyable performance, and also for conveying love in such a strong way, when no one would have thought it possible, the winners are..."

"...Finn Hudson and Kurt Hummel!" He said, smiling at the two shell shocked boys. All the kids clapped, and the glee kids laughed when Finn grabbed a stunned Kurt by the hand to collect their small crowns that Mr. Schue had for prizes.

Finn placed the crown on the Kurt's head slightly crooked, and smiled down at him, knowing that Kurt deserved this, and so did he.

–

Finn was standing outside of the high school after they had all arrived back after being at the children's hospital. The gold crown was on his head, and he was leaning heavily on the doorframe to the south entrance trying to wrap his head around all the emotions that he was feeling at the moment. He felt happiness for the first time in a while, but he felt confused that all that happiness revolved around Kurt Hummel.

"Hello, Finn." He jumped a little to see the smaller aforementioned boy standing in front of him, crown still crooked, and changed into a plain red shirt again that always gave Finn butterflies.

"Hey, Kurt. Great job today, man. I think we made an awesome team." He said, trying to ignore staring at Kurt's soft lips, and how they would feel.

Kurt was surveying Finn because something about the taller boy had changed after their performance. He was jumpy, and nervous now, and was doing that thing where his eye twitched when he was trying to avoid something. He always used to do that when Quinn brought up Rachel in front of him. Kurt began to feel himself hoping, and he simply didn't want to have to stop it again.

"Yes, we did. I'm going to miss hanging out with you though." Kurt said softly, pouting slightly, which drove Finn to a whole new level of crazy.

"We could still hang out, you know." Finn said in what he hoped was a casual voice. Kurt's eyes hesitantly flicked up towards Finn's dark eyes.

"Really?" He asked suddenly, and Finn grinned at him and nodded. The petite boy flung both arms around Finn and hugged him fiercely. Finn opened his arms with a laugh and held Kurt close in an intimate way. He pulled back to look down at Kurt before brushing a stray piece of bang out of the shorter boy's face.

"I...I don't know what this means, but I like really want to kiss you, and-" His voice died as Kurt quickly placed his lips over Finn's, melting against the bigger boy. Finn relaxed into Kurt's lips, feeling like everything was the way it should be.

He figured anything high school through his way; pregnant girls, lying best friends, crazy Rachel Berrys, homosexual jokes, football practice-- as long as he had Kurt Hummel there to hold his hand and make him feel stronger.

–

Brittany stood watching Finn and Kurt embrace each other with a silly smile on her pretty face. She was happy that Kurt had finally gotten what he wanted. She liked Kurt a lot, he always helped her make sure she spelled her last name right. She was happy they had won too, it was enough just to sing with Mike. She really liked Mike, and wished that she knew if he felt the same.

"Hey, Britt." She turned and smiled brightly at the Chinese boy standing behind her, holding a single pink rose.

"Hey, Mike." She said, looking at the rose and he grinned at her.

"I've had a lot of fun over the past week." He said carefully, walking closer towards her, taking her expression in as he came closer to her.

"Me too." She said, smiling at how silly he looked.

"I want you to be my princess, Brittany," He said, moving barely six inches away from her, and lifted the rose, "So, will you be my girlfriend?"

Brittany gasped a little and watched Mike fidget nervously before she leaned over and plucked the beautiful flower out of his hand and smelled it's wonderful fragrance. She held it close to her heart, barely believing that this could be happening to her.

"Of course I will, Mike." She said, leaning over to kiss him on the cheek, happy to finally find someone who liked her just as she was.

–

Santana sat watching Brittany take the flower from Mike, feeling more alone than she could remember. She knew that she and Puck were done, and it wasn't that upsetting, she just wished she had someone to keep her in one piece. She didn't like being vulnerable, it was not part of her personality, and she didn't want to let it become part.

"Makes you sick, doesn't it?" Tina's voice said, as she sat next to the Latina on the small bench inside the school. Santana flashed Tina a smiled.

"Kind of, but Brittany really deserves a guy like Mike." She said, looking at the two. "He's the only one that doesn't mind how stupid she can be." She tacked on as an afterthought, causing Tina to laugh a little at the truth behind the statement.

"I don't want to go home." Tina said, her voice low as she looked at the clouds swirling outside. Her frown was prominent as Santana glanced over to her.

"Why?" She asked, knowing that Tina didn't have a bad family situation or anything like that. The Asian girl sighed.

"It means that this is over; this whole week. It was really nice to have a best friend again." She said slowly, in a sad tone that made Santana's cold heart warm for a moment before reaching out and grabbing the other girl's hand.

"Tina, do you want to hang out later, maybe get some pizza?" Santana asked, smiling at Tina's brightened expression. Tina nodded quickly, laughing a little.

"For the record," Santana began in a bitchy tone, "I liked having a best friend too." She said, ending in a soft tone, squeezing Tina's fingers, happiness settling on the two girls.

–

Matt smiled at Tina, knowing that the Chinese girl would be good for Santana, who definitely needed some chilling out. He felt a little annoyed that they hadn't won, but that paled when he remembered how it felt to have Mercedes with him when they sang. He didn't want it to end, to go back to pretending that he felt nothing at all for her.

"Sup, homie?" Mercedes asked, causing him to smile down at her.

"Hey, Mercedes. How're you?" He asked, just like always when he saw her, swallowing all the words he wished he could say to her.

"I'm pretty good. How're you?" She asked with a grin, mocking him slightly just like she always did. He lifted an eyebrow causing her to laughed a little.

"I'm kind of disappointed." He said, honestly, causing her to scrunch her face up in confusion over his statement.

"Why?" She inquired.

"I just wanted you to win." He said honestly again, hoping that he didn't sound like a complete fool. He relaxed a bit when she threw her head back and laughed, taking one of his hands into her own smaller hand.

"Oh, Matt, I didn't give a damn about winning. It was enough to get to sing with you." She said, her eyes sparkling with amusement, and his heart fluttering with hope.

"Yeah, same here." He said simply, not releasing her hand and taking a step towards her. "You're beautiful, you know." He said gently, and her eyes got wide. "No, I'm not. I'm no Santana or Tina." She said sadly, looking away.

"No. You're much better. You're everything, 'Cedes, especially to me." He said, lifting her face to look at him, his eyes full of honesty. "You've been my best friend for five years, and I've come to love you in many ways, and somewhere that included falling in love with you." He said, brushing his fingers against her cheek. She grinned at him.

"Me too, Matt." With that he smiled and leaned down to kiss her mouth once softly, feeling as if his heart might explode. The warmth that spread throughout them both was nothing compared to how grateful they were to have known each other.

–

Quinn observed Matt kiss Mercedes with a sharp pang of jealousy attacking at her insides. She would give anything to feel that wanted again. Or just to feel like she deserved to be that wanted again. Her blue eyes were filled with silent tears again, watching all the couples in front of her express their love, which was something she had obviously missed out. She was happy that Finn had won, given all the stuff that she had put him through, and felt sadden by the fact that she wouldn't see Artie anymore. He had become such a big part of her life over the past week she wasn't sure what normal was anymore.

Artie watched Quinn's expression go from wistful to pained, and wondered what she could possibly be thinking about. He would miss her more than he had realized, as he had gotten used to her. He was use to how she'd just get up to pee all the time, and wheeling her from room to room so she didn't have to walk. He was used to her staying late, and eating dinner with his family. He liked all those things, and he would miss this week for the rest of his life; of that he was certain.

"What're you thinking about, Quinn?" He asked, scaring the blond girl out of her deep thoughts, and causing her to look down at him, a smile showing up on her face when she saw who was speaking to her.

"You, actually." She said, smoothing her red dress out, which he had noticed was nervous habit of hers, but why on earth was she nervous? She was beyond perfect in his eyes, and he wished that he could tell her that somehow.

"Hmm, and what about me has you so entranced?" He asked, a note of teasing plain in his voice that she smiled at.

"I'm really going to miss hanging out with you." She said sadly, trying to keep her hormonal tears at bay. He looked at her helplessly, wanting to make her feel better somehow, so he reached out and wrapped his hand around her slender fingers.

"I'm not going anywhere, Quinn." He said firmly and her eyes flashed to his, doubt written in them. Seeing this he tugged on her hand and she landed effortlessly in his motionless lap. He smoothed a piece of hair from her face.

"I care about you, Quinn." He said seriously. "I care about you too, Artie." She said, holding onto his hand tighter, her smiled being replaced by a look of longing, as he held her close to him, and she placed her beautiful head on his shoulder.

"In one week you've become everything to me." She whispered softly into his warm neck, not daring to look at him. "And, I don't even deserve you." He snorted a little at the ridiculous connotation of that sentence. "I know you think that you are a horrible person, Quinn, but you aren't. I wouldn't ever trade you for the world. You've taken over my entire world, and I don't care one bit." He said gently, kissing her golden head.

She leaned forward to observe the truth his eyes conveyed to her, and leaned in close to him, her breath tickling his lips before glancing at him to reassure herself that this was an okay thing to be doing, the proceeding to place her lips against him causing him to pull her closer.

Both of them allowed themselves to drop all their insecurities and trusted the other to not let them fall apart ever again.

–

Rachel supposed that she should have felt happy as she watched Quinn kiss Artie, because that meant Finn was truly free and without strings, but at some point Rachel had just stopped caring. She had become attached to other and now had strings laced closely with her heart. Noah had kissed her, and she almost let herself believe that could happen, and that he wasn't in love with Quinn. She was foolish for allowing herself to feel anything, but something within her had always been pulled towards him.

Puck watched Rachel with a careful expression, as she looked torn between hurt and hopefulness. He watched Quinn lace herself around Artie, and found himself smiling at the fact that she had let someone close enough to help her, and to love her. He knew Artie was a good guy, and most definitely deserved a girl like Quinn, minus the pregnant part. Puck had never deserved a girl like her, so he definitely didn't deserve a Rachel Berry.

"I noticed that you didn't mind losing, Berry." He said softly, causing her to nearly jump out of her skin before turning to stare at him for a moment.

"Well, after all the pain and trauma that you and I have both put Finn throughout the course of the year, it did not seem fitting to cause a scene over a tiny plastic crown, did it?" She asked, using too many words as usual, but Puck ignored that.

"Whatever, I totally saw him macking on Hummel in the parking lot, I don't think he's in any damn pain." Puck said rolling his eyes at Rachel's shocked expression.

"In any case, it was just nice to do something for your sister. I think she'd enjoyed the show." Rachel said, ignoring Noah's last comment, and noticing the softening of his expression whenever she would mention his sister.

"She loved it, Berry. Thanks to you. She thinks you're a real life Disney princess." He laughed lightly, causing Rachel to smile from him being so relaxed around her. She wasn't used to this side of Noah, and wished that she could see it more often.

It was then that she realized with a pang that she wouldn't have an excuse to spend time at his house anymore. She wouldn't get to see him or Sarah anymore. He could go back to hating her, and she would go back to being crazy Rachel Berry. It just didn't seem fair to her. As if he could just forget she had ever touched his life.

"You'll have to come around so that she doesn't nag me about where you are." He said, casually, hoping that he could see her more often, knowing that there was honestly no way in hell that he could ever forget her at this point. Rachel grinned brightly at him.

"I will, although I am no princess." She laughed, her dark eyes sparkling slightly, causing him to simply stare at her for a while.

"I think you're a princess too, Berry." He said simply, and she raised an eye brow. "How on earth do exhibit princess like qualities?" She asked incredulously and he stepped toward her.

"Let's see, you're smart, and you smile all the time." He said slowly, "And you're beautiful, which is a big factor." He grinned, as she went from confused to beaming at him.

"Do you really think I'm attractive?" She asked quietly and he grinned. "Of course I do, why the hell else would I kiss you?" He smirked, causing her to blush.

"Would you mind doing it again?" She asked, looking hopefully up to him. He smirked back down to her, heart swelling. "Not a problem, babe." He said before dropping his face to meet her eager lips with his own.

She melted into the kiss, and he pulled her closer to him, both of them losing all of their worries for that moment, just so they could get lost in each other.

–

Will Schuester watched his glee students all embrace and find each other. This had been the best week for them. Better than winning Sectionals, and better than Sue being fired. He watched as each of his kids discovered themselves and their happily ever afters along the way, just as he had hoped.