Hello, Faberry fans!

I know this chap has been a bit delayed, but I hope you'll all find it worth the wait. I think part of me has been putting it off because I didn't want the story to be over! But, like with graduation itself, every ending is just a new beginning. I have several writing projects planned for the summer, none of which I am prepared to comment on at the moment; so for now, please enjoy this final chapter of the Faberry high school years. A big, fat, shiny gold star to all of you for being the best readers ever!

Xoxo,

—JW

…

Take Me As I Am

Season 3

Chapter 26: Commencement

…

The Glee kids were huddled around the warm glow of a campfire, fireflies blinking dreamily off and on in the cool midnight air. They weren't doing anything in particular; toasting marshmallows, drinking beer, singing along with Puck as he strummed a meandering tune on his guitar. The school year was over; they'd won their national championship, they'd proven themselves once and for all—to their school, the world, but mostly to themselves. Classes were finished, and in the morning, nine of them would be graduating, passing on the mantle of top show choir in the country to the underclassmen, to guard and uphold their legacy.

But tonight, they weren't thinking about national championships, or awards, or their dazzling futures. Tonight, they were only thinking about each other, as the reality that they'd soon be going their separate ways finally forced them all to acknowledge that things were about to change forever.

"I feel like we should make a pact, or something," Kurt grinned sadly, leaning back against Blaine's shoulder as he looked wistfully around at all his friends, their faces soft and delicate in the fire's warm glow. "To meet back at this spot once a year, or…I don't know, some kind of epic promise that we won't lose touch with each other's lives."

"But we will lose touch, Kurt," Mercedes said gently, squeezing Sam's hand as he looked at her sadly. "Not all of us, I know, and not right away—but it's part of growing up and starting our lives out there in the world, isn't it? We can't hold onto this moment forever…that doesn't make it less special. It makes it more special."

"Truth," Santana agreed quietly, nestled snugly between Brittany and Quinn, who was leaning back against Rachel, who was in turn leaning against Blaine. They'd always been an affectionate group, but never more so than now; it was a manic, unsettling sort of feeling, the fear of missing even a single moment of their precious time together, as a team that felt more like a family.

"Three years ago when we got started with glee, I pretty much hated all of you," the Latina admitted with a wry smile, looking around the campfire at all her friends. "Well, except for my blondies, here," she nuzzled Brittany's shoulder, and poked Quinn playfully in the stomach, making her giggle. "We only joined glee 'cuz Coach Sue made us…so we could spy on Mr. Schue for her, and make sure the Cheerios stayed on top. When I think back on the girl I was then, so confident that I knew everything about everything, and that nothing outside Cheerios could be worthwhile…it's like I'm looking back on this whole other person, like a little sister I took care of a long time ago."

"I know what you mean," Quinn agreed softly, smiling sadly as she laced her fingers together with Rachel's over her stomach. "When I joined glee, I was still trying so hard to be the daughter my parents wanted…I'd never even attempted to be myself, and I honestly didn't even know how. But you guys were always there for me, even when I made such a huge mess of things…and you each taught me something precious about living for myself, instead of for some script of what I thought the world expected of me. God only knows who I'd be right now without all of you." There was a soft chorus of agreement following Quinn's words, and Rachel hugged her close and planted a few soft kisses on her girlfriend's rosy cheek.

"Heck, I wouldn't even be graduating if it weren't for all you freakshows," Puck chuckled good-naturedly, giving them all a small nod of appreciation as his fingers plucked absently on the guitar strings. "And I definitely wouldn't be heading off to LA to start my own business…never thought I'd amount to much of anything, before this. But being part of this group, learning that I can be awesome at something…that's what gave me the confidence to think I could do something real with my life."

"You can do anything you want with your life, Noah," Rachel smiled quietly; and though it may have been a trick of the firelight, she could've sworn she saw him blush. "And I know we'll all be leaving soon, and things will never be the same again, but…I want to make a promise to all of you, right now, that I have absolutely no qualms about keeping." She smiled serenely around at all her friends, soaking up their love and acceptance, and knowing that it wouldn't change even if she never saw them again after tomorrow. It was sad, but somehow it felt like the good kind of sad.

"I promise," Rachel pronounced as she looked across the campfire, "that when I make it big, and Quinn and I are rolling in cash and success, the very first frivolous purchase we'll make will be a fabulous vacation house somewhere, where we'll throw a big, enormous glee reunion party every summer, and you're all invited forever." Amidst the playful cheering from the group, Quinn sat up a little against Rachel's warm body, turning and raising her eyebrows playfully at her girlfriend's wistful expression.

"Well I guess that's that, then," Quinn murmured, her fingers trailing absently over Rachel's knee.

"That okay with you, angelcake?" The little starlet asked, grinning shyly as she leaned in and tucked a lock of sleek blonde hair back behind her girlfriend's ear.

"A fabulous vacation house filled with all our best friends, forever? Yeah, I think I can handle that," Quinn nodded, beaming as she leaned in and gave Rachel a soft, unhurried kiss. Then Puck wolf-whistled, and the two girls broke apart, smiling shyly at each other. "Just remember, you asked for it," Quinn murmured, wiggling her eyebrows suggestively at her blushing girlfriend. "Now pass me another marshmallow."

…

It was past 3am when Quinn and Rachel slipped in the back door of the Berry house, and tiptoed upstairs to bed. Exhaustion warred with nervous excitement as they stripped off their clothes and crawled into bed together, kissing and cuddling and crying a little at the idea of saying goodbye to almost everyone and everything familiar in the morning, to begin a brand new adventure in their next phase of life together.

"Rach?" Quinn murmured softly, her fingers trailing lazily through her girlfriend's dark hair in the moonlight.

"Mm-hmm," Rachel murmured, too close to sleep to bother opening her eyes.

"Tonight, when you told everyone we'd buy them a vacation house…you really meant it, didn't you?"

"Mm-hmm," the little starlet agreed, yawning softly against Quinn's shoulder as she snuggled down more deeply into the blankets.

"Do you think that'll happen before we have kids…or after?"

"Why…do you always want to talk about these things…when I'm sleeping?" Rachel sighed, rubbing her thumb absently across her girlfriend's smooth stomach under the blankets.

"You're not sleeping," Quinn teased softly, the smile evident in her voice even through the darkness. "You're still talking to me."

"Mm…sleep-talking," Rachel mumbled, nuzzling her face drowsily into Quinn's shoulder. "Go to sleep, baby…we're graduating tomorrow…"

"Gee, now why would that make it hard for me to sleep?" Quinn asked pointedly, a slight pouty edge creeping into her voice. Rachel sighed, and propped her head up in one hand, finally giving in and opening her eyes as she smiled sleepily at her girlfriend's anxious face in the moonlight.

"Do you want to practice your Valedictorian speech one more time, sunshine?"

"No," Quinn shook her head, returning the starlet's sleepy smile and reaching out a hand to stroke her hair. "I'm not nervous about that…"

"Then what are you nervous about, hmm baby?" Rachel asked patiently, half-stifling a yawn.

"Just…everything," Quinn sighed quietly, shaking her head. "Or maybe I'm not nervous, it's something different…like the feeling I get in my stomach when we're about to go on stage, but times, like, a thousand. Like my whole body knows that something huge is about to happen, and life will never be the same again. It's not like I want to stay in high school forever, it's just…"

"Hard to say goodbye," Rachel finished for her, with a sad little smile.

"Have you ever felt really, really happy and really, really sad at the same time?" The blonde girl asked in a small voice, twirling a lock of Rachel's long hair around her finger.

"Yeah," Rachel nodded, lacing her fingers together with her girlfriend's and pressing them to her cheek. "That's how I felt when you first woke up after the accident." Quinn nodded, her eyes filling up with exhausted, bittersweet tears that spilled over and ran down her cheeks. "Aw, sweet girl…I understand," Rachel murmured, leaning in and pressing a gentle, reassuring kiss to the blonde girl's warm lips. "Saying goodbye is hard…we've built an amazing life here together. But we're not leaving it all behind…Kurt and Brittany and Santana will be in New York with us next fall, and in another year Blaine will come, and we'll be a big family, just like we are now."

"Yeah," Quinn agreed, sniffling softly. Rachel sighed, a sleepy smile stealing across her face as she smoothed a few locks of messy blonde hair back from her girlfriend's face.

"You want me to tell you another story about our future, hmm baby?"

"Yeah," Quinn agreed, smiling weakly through her tears. "Just a short one, and then I promise I'll go to sleep, Rach."

"Okay," Rachel yawned, settling back down snugly against the pillows. "Well...after I win my first Tony, that's when we'll really start becoming upwardly mobile. I'll get a movie deal that will allow us to buy our first place in the city, and then you'll start your own private practice on the Upper West Side, which will more than take care of all our college savings for our future children."

"I'm not gonna be a doctor, Rachel," Quinn mumbled sleepily against the pillow; but Rachel blithely ignored her and continued on with her story.

"Once those things are taken care of, we'll be ready to buy our beach house on Fire Island. We'll argue a bit about the design, because I love that sleek modern minimalist look, but you'll want something with some history and character…and in the end we'll find an amazing old Victorian with six bedrooms, plus an annex, and that will be that."

"Mm…it's pretty," Quinn murmured, eyes closed as she snuggled closer to Rachel and snaked an arm around her hips.

"Mm-hmm," Rachel agreed with a yawn, her own eyes growing very heavy. "The first summer we spend there will be after we have our first baby…"

"Zoe," Quinn sighed, a soft smile creeping across her face.

"That's right, angel," Rachel crooned, finally letting her eyes fall shut, too. "And that'll be the first summer of our glee reunion parties, too. Brittany and Santana and Kurt and Blaine will come up almost every weekend anyway, since it's so close to the city; but everyone else will arrive for the 4th of July, and stay for two weeks after that. Noah will spend all day trying to teach us all to surf, and Mike and Tina will bring their kids to play with Zoe…"

"Like a family," Quinn murmured, her voice growing faint and heavy with sleep now.

"Mm-hmm," Rachel agreed, with a final soft yawn as her consciousness began to slip away. "Just…like a family."

…

"Ladies and gentlemen, the graduates!" Jacob proclaimed ceremoniously as Quinn and Rachel stumbled into the kitchen in their pajamas, to find a full-on celebratory breakfast spread across the table, with chocolate chip pancakes, scrambled tofu (for Rachel) and eggs (for everyone else), a mountain of fresh strawberries, and a platter of crisp bacon that made Quinn's eyes light up like Christmas morning.

"Good morning," she smiled shyly, rubbing her eyes and going to hug her two surrogate dads, along with her mom, who must've arrived before they'd even woken up.

"We're so proud of you girls," Judy squealed breathlessly, hugging Quinn and then Rachel, and then Quinn again.

"Mom, you're squishing me," Quinn whined, still eyeing the bacon over her mother's shoulder.

"I'm sorry, baby, go ahead and get some breakfast. This is your day, I want you to have everything exactly as you want it," Judy beamed, taking her seat beside Michael, the two of them practically radiating pride and excitement as Jacob bustled around filling everyone's cups with mimosas.

"Are you really giving us booze? At eight in the morning?" Rachel asked, taking an experimental sip from her fluted glass. "Oh, yummm."

"You're adults now, you've earned it," Jacob winked, ruffling his daughter's long hair and kissing her on the cheek. "Just one glass, though, to keep your wits about you. We can't have our Valedictorian falling off the stage." Quinn snorted with laughter, and Jacob gave her a little wink.

"Yeah, I think I've given this town more than enough embarrassing stories already, thanks," she chuckled, but she took the flute Jacob offered her and kissed his cheek. "To our first day of adulthood," she said with a smile, raising her glass to Rachel's with a little clink.

"To the graduates!" Michael beamed, raising his own glass as Jacob and Judy followed suit.

"Thanks for making this awesome breakfast," Quinn added as she sat down, grabbing a plate and helping herself to all her favorite things, including an extra-large pile of bacon.

"Yes, thank you," Rachel agreed cheerfully, taking the seat beside her girlfriend and accepting a stack of pancakes.

"If I thought it would keep you at home forever, I'd feed you pancakes and mimosas every day for the rest of your life, pumpkin," Jacob winked, with a sad little smile.

"Cue the violins," Rachel sighed dramatically, rolling her eyes.

"Aww, c'mon Rach, you can't blame them for missing us when we're gone," Quinn shrugged, a mischievous glint in her bright hazel eyes as she sipped her mimosa. "I mean, we fill their lives with meaning and purpose. Now they'll have to take up gardening or join the 4-H club."

"Actually, Tom and I are planning to do some traveling next year," Judy remarked in a would-be casual voice as she poured a dainty dollop of maple syrup on her pancakes. "Neither of us has ever been abroad, can you imagine? We're doing one of those house-swaps with a couple in the south of France for a few months, and then we'll travel all around Europe with those all-access rail passes. It's so exciting!" Jacob and Michael squealed with delight, but Quinn gave a little squawk of outrage.

"So strangers from another country are going to be living in our house?" She whined despondently. "What about Thanksgiving, and Christmas vacation?"

"Well I just assumed you'd stay here with the Berrys, sweetheart," Judy shrugged, nudging her daughter's foot under the table. "And besides, it's only for a few months. Is it possible that you'll actually miss your old mother after all?" Quinn huffed and stuck out her lower lip in a pout; Rachel giggled and kissed her cheek.

"Aww, honey. It's okay, don't be embarrassed. Grown-ups are allowed to miss their moms, too."

"Ugh, fine," Quinn sighed, smirking at the three giggling Berrys. "I admit it—I'll miss you when you're on the other side of the ocean, Mom. But it really does sound amazing, and I'm glad you and Tom can see Europe together. But you better bring me back some cool presents, okay?"

"I think I can manage that," Judy smiled. "Now eat your pancakes, girls. We have a graduation ceremony to get to!"

…

Finn and Puck were whaling out Springsteen's "Glory Days" with the school band as all the seniors took the stage in their caps and gowns, hooting and high-fiving each other as their families cheered ecstatically in the audience. Figgins called them to order, and then Brittany took the podium to welcome everyone in her final act as senior class president. She was followed by Ms. Pillsbury, who approached the podium with a huge, beaming smile at the graduates, and a little wink for Quinn, who grinned nervously.

"The first time our valedictorian ever stepped into my office, it was to get advice about how to be cool again," the redheaded teacher began with a smile, making all the graduates chuckle with the long-ago memory of how different they'd all been four years ago, as freshmen. "I'm happy to say that her interests and dedication to academic excellence have grown in leaps and bounds since then. She's helped bring three consecutive national championships to the Cheerios…" a huge outburst of applause made the teacher pause momentarily, beaming out at the exuberant crowd. "And a first-ever national show choir championship for the New Directions, just weeks after stepping out of her wheelchair." The audience, and the senior class, went crazy with applause again, forcing Ms. Pillsbury to pause while Quinn blushed and hid her face behind her hands, everyone reaching out to pat her on the back at once.

"But that's just the beginning of our valedictorian's accomplishments in her four years at McKinley," Ms. Pillsbury went on. "She's a National Merit Scholar, a volunteer at the Lima Community Food Bank, and in the fall she'll be attending Columbia University on a full academic scholarship. All this while overcoming everything from teen pregnancy, to the terrible car crash this year that left her in a wheelchair until only a few weeks ago. I know I speak for the entire faculty and staff of McKinley High when I say we couldn't be more proud of this young lady, and everything we know she'll go on to do in her life. Ladies and gentlemen, your valedictorian, Quinn Fabray."

The auditorium erupted in frenzied applause as Quinn rose from her seat, pausing to hug Ms. Pillsbury fiercely before taking the podium, and waiting for the applause to die down. When they didn't, she laughed and raised her hands like a conductor, then slowly lowered them, palms down, silently asking the room for quiet.

"Wow, thank you so much, everyone," she shook her head, grinning shyly out at the beaming faces in the crowd. "I remember that first meeting I had with Ms. Pillsbury, too—and when I think back on the girl I was then, it's like remembering a completely different person. If I could sit fourteen-year-old Quinn down today and tell her she'd be graduating as Valedictorian, she'd be absolutely horrified." That made everyone chuckle a little, but they were past the point of hooting and hollering now; they wanted to hear her speak, and the ripple of laughter passed quickly.

"Fourteen-year-old Quinn only cared about how things looked on the outside; having the right clothes and the right boyfriend and the right extracurricular activities to be at the top of the popularity food chain. She didn't even know herself well enough to know if those were things she really cared about, because no one had ever asked her what she really cared about." She paused, glancing over at her fellow graduates, her eyes locking on her girlfriend's dark chocolate gaze, full of love and pride for her; then she took a deep breath and looked back out at the audience.

"And then, thank God, something happened that threw that shallow little girl's life completely for a loop: she joined the glee club." Another ripple of laughter passed through the audience, but Quinn was hitting her stride now, and she didn't pause. "We didn't all get along at first. We were all so different, and we were trying so hard to be the people we thought we were supposed to be; but somewhere along the line, we became the people we wanted to be instead. And I don't think any of us ended up exactly where we expected. I certainly never expected to get pregnant at fifteen, or become our school's first openly gay prom queen…" A cheer floated up into the air, and Quinn's face blushed a little redder as she continued. "And I definitely never intended for anyone to find out I actually liked school. I can tell you today that I wouldn't have gotten through any of those things, let alone the car accident that nearly cost me my legs, if it weren't for the unfailing love and support of my friends and teachers in glee club, my mom and my two honorary dads…and my amazing, incredible girlfriend, Rachel Berry."

Quinn's eyes filled with tears as she turned and smiled at Rachel again, this time addressing her directly in front of all their classmates and families. "Rachel, you took me in when the entire world came crashing down around me, even though I'd never given you so much as a kind word since grade school. You made the world a safe place for the first time in my life, and you let me learn how to be myself without any pressure or expectations. Without you, I wouldn't be me—I can never find the words to tell you how amazing you are." Rachel's eyes were full of tears now, too—Quinn hadn't rehearsed this part in front of her—and the entire class stood up and cheered while the blonde girl took a moment to wipe her eyes and calm her breathing.

"There's no question that every one of us is a different person now than we were four years ago," Quinn smiled, turning back to the audience as the graduates settled down. "But I think we might've changed more than just ourselves—I think we really changed this place, too. By choosing to view our differences as strengths, rather than weaknesses, glee club taught us how much bigger and more amazing and exciting the world can be. And maybe because of that, next year's freshmen won't have to turn themselves inside out before they realize it's okay to just be yourself, do what you love, and that your real friends won't want it any other way."

"My prayer for all of us is that we'll keep the lessons we learned together close in our hearts when we leave here, and find our way in the world…because I promise you, McKinley class of 2012, we are leaving here with all the tools and all the knowledge we need to have amazing, brilliant and beautiful lives. Whether we're bound for college next year, or the Peace Corps, the army, or a thousand other new adventures, we are going to make this world a better place. So when you're out there, and you're feeling sad or scared or lonely because things aren't going according to plan, just remember—sometimes plans are made to be broken. Don't be afraid to color outside the lines. And always, always dance like nobody's watching. Thank you, McKinley class of 2012!"

The auditorium erupted with cheers again as Quinn waved and exited the podium, going straight to Rachel, who was seated in the front row of the graduates, and kissing her right there in front of everyone. (They hadn't rehearsed that part, either.) It was several minutes before Figgins managed to restore order and begin actually handing out diplomas; but then the rest of the ceremony passed quickly, and before they knew it, the seniors were no longer seniors—they were high school graduates.

"Nice speech, Corny McSappypants," Santana said with a broad smile, nudging Quinn 's elbow as they all crowded together to get off the stage and out into the sunshine to celebrate. "You guys want a ride to Finn and Kurt's party? I heard there's gonna be a champagne fountain and live band karaoke."

"Yeah, I heard that too," Quinn smiled dazedly, her whole body still trembling with the adrenalin rush of her valedictorian speech. "But I think we need to make a little detour to Rachel's house before the party."

"A big detour," Rachel corrected, coming up behind them and snaking her arm possessively around Quinn's waist, grinning like the cat that ate the canary. "We'll get there eventually, plenty of time for champagne fountains and celebratory karaoke. We just have some private celebrating to do first." Quinn was already blushing bright red and beaming shyly at her girlfriend's wanton expression; Santana rolled her eyes to Brittany.

"Good to know some things never change, huh B?"

"Yeah. I think I'd be crying right now if we weren't all gonna be together in New York next year," Brittany replied with a bright smile of her own. "C'mon Santi, I wanna dance!" Laughing, Santana trailed after her girlfriend, leaving Quinn and Rachel to wade through the throng of classmates and well-wishers. Too overwhelmed to deal with fighting their way out of the crowd just yet, the little starlet wrapped her arms around her girlfriend's neck and pulled her close for another tender, adoring kiss.

"I am so proud of you," Rachel whispered, her breath warm and sweet on Quinn's face.

"I'm so proud of us," Quinn murmured back, dipping her head to steal another kiss, a little deeper and a little longer than the last. Rachel whimpered softly into her mouth, pulling her closer and raking a hand through her girlfriend's soft blonde hair, knocking off her graduation cap. A hoot of encouragement arose behind them, and they broke apart giggling.

"Aww, c'mon Quinn! You ruined my shot," Puck complained, holding out his phone as he attempted to snap a picture of his two friends making out. "Pretend I'm not even here, okay? Do the whole, 'dance like nobody's watching' thing, but with some extra tongue this time." Too buzzed with giddy adrenalin to really be annoyed, they both just patted him on the head and kissed him on the cheek.

"See you at the party, Noah. Right now, we have our own private party to get to." Lost in their own little world, Quinn and Rachel shared a shy smile, linking their hands together as they slipped out of the crowded auditorium, and walked out into the bright sunlight that awaited them.