a/n: This is the final part. Thank you for reviewing and favoriting.

June

They won Nationals. Even Quinn had to admit that Rachel and Blaine's duet was a showstopper. Combine that with two well-rehearsed group numbers, one with a dance solo for Mike and the other an original song and they were unstoppable. He had even managed to take Mercedes back to Central Park to celebrate what was technically their anniversary. It would be kind of neat to do that every year, at least take her to a park with a fountain if they couldn't go to New York. Maybe one time he'd even have a ring.

On the morning of graduation he smiled to himself as he waited in line with everyone else, turning around to mess with the honor cords his brother was wearing behind him. It was actually pretty neat that there was nobody in their class alphabetically between Hudson and Hummel. Kurt swatted his hand away with a laugh, "Are you ready?"

"To get out of here? Absolutely!" He leaned out of line to look down to the J's and tried to catch Mercedes' attention. When he caught her eye he put a hand over his heart and winked at her and she did the same. Kurt was leaning around him trying to see the front of the line where Blaine would be getting ready to help Artie push his wheelchair up the ramp, ignoring Azimio Adams who was standing between them. He figured he have spent just a little too long staring into Mercedes' eyes when Kurt had to give him a shove because the line started moving.

There were a bunch of boring speeches first, but Kurt only had to elbow him once when he started to bounce his knee up and down from boredom. Finally they started calling names. Finn watched, with a heavy feeling as first Artie, then Blaine, and then Rachel walked across the stage and received their diplomas from Principal Figgins. They were just able to watch Mike and Tina before their row was told to stand up. They walked slowly to the front of the stage, careful not to get out of order. It seemed like they had to stand there a long time as Sam and Quinn had their turns before finally they were at the stage.

"Finn Christopher Hummel Hudson," read the school board member at the microphone. As Finn crossed the stage, trying to look dignified for his mother's sake, he was surprised to see Coach Bieste switch places with Figgins so she would be the one to hand him his diploma. He took the folder from her, before pulling her into a quick hug. "You did it kid, congratulations," she said, sounding a little choked up. Finn swallowed and glanced at the ring on her finger, the Hummel men moved quickly when it came to this stuff. He fought down his emotions and managed a quiet "See you at dinner, coach" before moving to the end of the stage and motioning for the photographer to wait.

He watched Kurt move across the stage and share an eye roll with Sue Sylvester who had somehow managed to replace Coach Bieste with his diploma. When Kurt reached him Finn slung an arm around his shoulders and nodded to the photographer who snapped their picture together, both holding up their diplomas. If Finn held up progress a little on the way back to their seats when the board member called Mercedes Marie Jones to receive her diploma nobody said a word about it.

When Lauren Zizes finally moved across the stage and accepted her diploma the members of the glee club took their places at the front of the stage. There had been a lot of discussion as to what song they would perform. Puck had lobbied for "Kodachrome", based solely on the first two lines and the fact that Paul Simon is Jewish. He lost when he couldn't tell Ms. Riordan what Kodachrome actually referred to. Apparently it had something to do with when cameras still used film.

Both Rachel and Quinn had tried for a solo with Sarah McLachlan's "I Will Remember You", but the rest of the club had voted it down as too sad. Green Day's Time of Your Life had been under consideration until Santana pointed out that despite them what they'd accomplished if this was the "time of her life" she might as well give up now. Nobody could argue with that.

Honestly, Finn kind of liked "For Good" but he was not up for the solo drama that would result from doing something from Wicked. Finally after he spent an entire evening with Mercedes, Sam, Kurt and Blaine playing songs from their respective iPods they found one. Kurt often teased Blaine about being so Top 40, but in this case it was a good thing. They knew it would leave them wrecks, but "Long Live" by Taylor Swift was the song they had to sing.

Principal Figgins stood in front of the class and their families, "Ladies and Gentleman, your National Champions: The McKinley High School New Directions."

Rachel started with a solo, but the song was long enough that everybody got a solo or duet with the entire group coming together on the refrain about crashing through walls. Puck and Quinn sang about wearing crowns, and Artie had the lines about sitting on the sidelines. Finn sang with Sam when the lyrics talked about winning trophies and Mercedes on the first repeat about fighting dragons. By the time Tina had sung about cynics and ripped up jeans and Santana and Brittany about pointing to pictures the entire club had formed one tight group, hands joined and shoulders touching. By the end when Kurt and Blaine finished with

"Singing, long live all the mountains we moved
I had the time of my life fighting dragons with you
And long, long live the look on your face
And bring on all the pretenders, one day we will be remembered"

not even Puck was trying to hide his tears. As the group ran off the stage to a standing ovation they pulled each other into a massive group hug. They'd made it. Finn knew that none of them would ever be the same; they would all be better for what they'd been through and learned from each other. He could only hope that maybe they made McKinley a little better place for the next group of misfits as well.

From the Metro Section of the Columbus Dispatch, September 12, 2020:

Local Heroes: Off-Duty Firefighter Saves Life of Girl on Bridge

It was just another day off for firefighter Finn Hudson, 28 of the Columbus Fire Department's Buckeye Fire Station when he was driving home from the grocery store and spotted a teenage girl standing on the edge of the Dawson Street bridge. Hudson pulled over and approached the girl who seemed distressed. The sixteen year old girl, whose name is being withheld, told Hudson that she was planning to jump. After calling for help Hudson convinced the girl to sit down and talked to her for nearly an hour while authorities secured the girl's safety.

The girl later told police, "He saved my life. My parents threw me out and I didn't have anywhere to go. I still can't believe somebody stopped. He told me he knew how bad things could seem, but there was always something better waiting when it was over. He told me stuff that made me believe him, and he told me where I can stay and get help. Everything will be okay."

Hudson lives in the North Campus area of Columbus with his wife, Mercedes and two children Christopher, 4 and Shannon, 2. In his spare time he volunteers at a shelter for LGBTQ youth in crisis. Finn Hudson's brother is designer Kurt Hummel-Anderson who recently took New York's Fashion Week by storm.

When the Dispatch asked Hudson why he stopped he said, "She needed help. What kind of person wouldn't stop?"

Columbus could use more people like Finn Hudson.