The next 13 months passed by quickly. Blaine graduated with a masters, a giant grin on his face as he picked Rachel up and twirled her around in his enthusiasm, Rachel snabbed a role on an actual Broadway show-not the lead, not yet, but she would get there soon.

The wedding planning was stressful, though they managed to plow through with Kurt's help. The location was the trickiest, but they ultimately decided on having it in Ohio where all their family was. Rachel could feel nerves settling in the closer it got, as July grew to a close and August 17th loomed ever nearer. But Blaine always seemed to sense when she started panicking, and he always soothed her.

A week before the wedding they started packing for Ohio and their honeymoon shortly following, and when they finally left a few days later, Rachel kissed Blaine hard on the lips, whispering that it was their last kiss as two single people in their apartment before they returned as a married couple.

"We have a problem," Quinn said seriously as she walked into the room where Rachel was getting ready. She glanced wearily at her, the day had been one disaster after another, and Mercedes swatted her hand so she'd look back and Mercedes could finish her make up.

"What went wrong now?" Rachel asked, and Quinn sighed deeply, crossing the room in her sky blue dress.

"Well," Quinn started, sounding far more dramatic than Rachel had ever heard just as Finn ran into the room, looking alarmed. Rachel turned around, Mercedes smearing her make up in the process and letting out a frustrated noise as she grabbed make up remover to fix the error.

"Rachel, don't do this!" Finn yelled, though the room was only so big and there was no need to.

"Excuse me?" Rachel asked blankly, Quinn rolling her eyes from the corner she had moved to as Alissa walked in and joined the group, a look of confusion at Finn's appearance.

"Listen, Rachel, it's supposed to be you and I up there! We're supposed to be getting married; we're supposed to live happily ever after!" Rachel stared at him blankly, trying to remember the last time she even talked to Finn. She remembered Kurt telling her how his life was starting to take a turn for the worse, losing his job and his serious girlfriend of almost three years all in a months' time, but for actual conversation between the two she couldn't remember anything since her freshman year of college.

"I-Finn, what on earth are you talking about? I haven't seen or talked to you in years," she told him, and he shook his head, almost tripping over Alissa's dress on his way across the room to Rachel.

"No, I saw you like, a year ago or something at Christmas-you were with that guy-"

"Blaine, my fiancé."

"Right, well I saw you two and I tried to say 'hi' but you weren't paying any attention-"

"Which should tell you how in love the two of them are," Quinn quipped from her place against the wall, but Finn ignored her too.

"Rachel, please, just come back to me." Rachel almost wanted to laugh with the ease in which she felt compelled to reject him, how simple the words 'Sorry, but I love Blaine. He's the one I want to spend forever with,' fell from her lips. Finn looked heart broken, and any other day she might have felt bad, but looking back in the mirror and at Mercedes impeccable job with her make up, all she could feel was giddiness because in a matter of minutes, she was marrying Blaine Anderson.

The ceremony went off without a hitch, Rachel's tears didn't even mess up her make up, and when Blaine was told to kiss the bride he did so with a flourish, grabbing her and dipping her low to the applause of everyone in attendance. The reception went just as well, Rachel smiling as she watched all of her friends and Blaine's friends, both of their families, and several members of their old Glee clubs all dancing and drinking and laughing. They slipped away at one point, just to kiss and murmur about how they were officially husband and wife.

Their first year of marriage was not anything spectacular to the average person, nothing of extraordinary events occurred. But it was magical and perfect and even their arguments and disagreements seemed wonderful to them. It was real and that was all that mattered to them.

About a year and a half after their wedding, Blaine brought up the subject of kids. Rachel was hesitant, her career blossoming and promising and-as she pointed out any time the discussion popped up-they were still so young. "I want kids one day," she promised him one night when the subject came up again, "but we're still only 24. We have plenty of time to spend our lives dedicated to children, but I want to enjoy a few years of just you and I. To focus on our careers, to plan and save and make sure we're really ready for it before we rush into anything."

Blaine agreed, because both came to the conclusion that they wanted a house with a yard and the whole nine yards when it came to settling down, and that wasn't exactly something they could get in Manhattan. Instead, they spent the next seven years saving, planning, and traveling, enjoying their youth as long as they could while still being responsible enough for their future.

The news came in winter, a few days after Rachel's final lead role for a show. She had seen signs for a couple weeks, and on her way back to their apartment from a lunch with Blaine, she picked up a pregnancy test, hoping to have the answer by the time he got home. When he did walk in the door, she was sitting on the bathroom floor, staring at a stick with a little pink plus sign. "Rachel?" he questioned his voice hesitant as she held it up for him to see, a smile growing on her face.

"I'm pregnant," she shrugged, kind of in a daze. His smile was barely contained on his face as he scooped her up, his laughter and happiness seeping through to her as they celebrated.

"And that is how you came along," Rachel shrugged as she finished her story, wiping down the kitchen counter as her 12 year old daughter sat at the kitchen table, Blaine playing catch outside with their 9 year old son in the backyard.

"Wow," Ella breathed, completely enraptured. "You and dad were like, made for each other."

Rachel grinned, pouring herself a glass of water and nodding. "We really were," she agreed, waving out the window as Blaine winked at her from the outside. It had been almost 22 years and they were still crazy in love, and few people could say that. "We really, truly are."