A/N: The response to this story has been incredible! From your comments in the reviews to those I received on Twitter, I have been blushing like crazy! You are all very kind and sweet. Here's the epilogue to our beloved story. I hope it's everything you've hoped for :)
Helping the Helpless: Epilogue
"Rach!" Finn yelled while holding his nose, making the nickname come out distorted. "Rach, come here!"
Rachel walked quickly to the bedroom to see Finn leaning over the bed, holding his nose while changing Chris's diaper. Their son was only one week old, but Rachel and Finn already had an agreement when it came to changing diapers. Rachel changed the diapers when Finn was working. When he came home, it was his turn.
"Finn, diapers are going to stink. You don't have to call me in here to smell it," Rachel said, rolling her eyes.
"That's not it!" Finn protested, still holding his nose. "It's a funky color."
"Let me see," Rachel huffed, stepping closer. Finn pulled open the diaper, holding back a gag.
"God, my eyes are watering," Finn moaned.
"Finn, he's fine. The nurse said that his bowel movements would look like that for a while," Rachel said, holding in a laugh to his reaction.
"Are you sure?" Finn asked, folding the diaper back and cutting off the smell. Chris just laid there, moving his arms around.
"Yes, I'm sure," Rachel replied. She placed a hand on his shoulder before standing on her tiptoes and kissing him on the cheek. "But thank you for being such a concerned father."
"I'm about to be a dead dad. This stuff's freaking toxic," he moaned. Rachel laughed before walking out of the room. She turned the corner and went into the kitchen to continue the dishes that she had been doing.
"Chris, I swear I love you, but I do not love the stuff that comes out of you," Rachel heard Finn coo to their son. It brought a smile to her face.
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"Finn! You do not give a drumstick to a four month old! He could hurt himself!" Rachel said from the couch. Finn was sitting with Chris at his drums, holding him tightly as he waved a drumstick in the air.
"Babe, he loves it! Look at him!" Finn laughed. Chris was waving the drumstick around in the air. "He wants to be like daddy," Finn said fondly.
"I doubt he even knows what he's holding right now, Finn," Rachel said with a smile.
"Yeah, right," Finn replied. "Chris is smart. He almost said 'dada' yesterday."
"He did not!" Rachel replied. "He's just cooing, Finn."
Finn ignored Rachel and leaned in to Chris. "Can you say 'mommy's a buzzkill'?" he whispered. Instead of replying, Christ swung the drumstick, cracking Finn in the forehead. Rachel's laugh reverberated through the whole apartment.
"And that's his way of saying be nice to mommy," Rachel laughed. Finn rubbed his forehead and scowled at Rachel.
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Five and a half month old Christopher Hudson laid on his parents bed. Finn and Rachel stood on either side of him, making funny faces.
"Say mama, Chris! Mama!" Rachel said with a smile.
"No, Chris, say dada! Dada!" Finn said over and over again.
"Finn, he's going to say mama," Rachel said, turning to Finn. "Most babies say mama for their first word."
"You totally just made that up," Finn accused. "And he's daddy's little man, so he's going to say 'dada' first."
"He's a mama's boy, Finn," Rachel insisted.
Finn huffed. "We'll finish this in a minute. I'm gonna get his bottle," Finn said, turning to leave the room.
"Baba," a tiny voice said. Finn whipped back around and stared at Chris. Rachel stood there with her mouth open. "Baba," Chris said again, reaching his hands out and grasping the air.
"Good job, Chris!" Rachel said, leaning closer to him. "Did you hear that, Finn?" she asked excitedly.
"I did," Finn said with a smile, walking back over to the bed. "Good job, buddy! I'm gonna get your baba!"
"Baba," Chris said again. Rachel smiled down at her son proudly.
Later that night, when Chris was sleeping soundly in his crib, Rachel and Finn snuggled together closely.
"Today was a big day," Rachel said with a smile. "He said his first word and almost held his bottle by himself."
Finn rubbed his hand up and down her back. "I know," Finn said. "I am a little bummed though."
"Why?" Rachel asked, craning her head to look up at Finn.
"Well, his first word… We totally got beat out by food, babe," Finn huffed. Rachel giggled quietly.
"Well, when he could still say 'mama' before 'dada,'" Rachel replied.
"Like that'll happen," Finn replied, rolling his eyes. Rachel slapped his chest playfully.
"You'll see," she replied with a smile.
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"Please tell me you're recording this!" Rachel said as she walked while leaning over, making sure the crawling baby wouldn't fall.
"I'm getting it!" Finn said excitedly. "Crawl to daddy, Chris," Finn said, holding one of his arms out.
Chris stopped for a second, looked up at the camera, and started crawling again. Before he could reach Finn, he fell on his stomach.
Finn switched off his camera and set the phone down before reaching forward and scooping up his son. "Good job, buddy!" he said, smiling down at Chris.
Rachel crouched down and clapped her hands. "Yay! You're such a big boy!" Finn grabbed Chris's tiny, chubby hands and clapped them together.
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Finn was working, so Rachel and Chris were alone in the apartment. Chris was sitting in his highchair, eating some cut up bananas.
Rachel was singing along with the radio while spreading icing on the cake she baked for Finn for Valentine's Day.
"Mama," Rachel heard from behind her.
"Yes, sweetie?" Rachel replied nonchalantly.
Then, she dropped the butter knife, causing icing to fly everywhere.
She turned to Chris, who, with a mouthful of squashed banana, murmured "mama" again.
Rachel squealed loudly and clapped her hands together while jumping up and down. Chris smiled widely at Rachel with banana covering his face. She jogged forward, bending down in front of his highchair.
"Can you say it again?" asked. "Say 'mama,' Chris. Mama!"
Chris made some nonsense noises before saying "mama" again. Rachel smiled and kissed Chris on the forehead before turning and grabbing her phone off of the counter. She quickly dialed Finn's number and held the phone to her ear, smiling widely. She frowned a little when it went to voicemail.
"Finn, I know you're busy but Chris just said 'mama'! Here, listen," she walked back over to Chris. "Tell daddy. Say 'mama.' Mama." Chris mumbled again. "You can do it, Chris. Say mama."
Chris opened his mouth and closed it again. "Mama," he eventually said. Rachel squealed and put the phone back up to her ear.
"I told you he said it!" she said excitedly. "We'll see you when you get home! Love you!"
Finn raced home that night and scooped Chris up as soon as he entered the house. "There's my little man," Finn said with a smile before kissing Chris's forehead.
"Did you get my message?" Rachel said excitedly, stretching up for Finn to plant a kiss on her lips.
"Sure did," Finn said. He then turned his attention to Chris. "But you were supposed to say 'dada' first, buddy! Can you say 'dada'?"
"Who is this, Chris?" Rachel asked, pointing to Finn's chest. "Who is this?"
"Mama," Chris said clearly, making Rachel laugh.
Finn chuckled. "We've got some work to do," he said with a smile.
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It was a lazy Sunday afternoon. Finn and Rachel sat on the couch together while Chris crawled around the baby-proof apartment. Rachel read her magazine while turning to see what Chris was doing every couple of seconds. Finn was completely engrossed in the football game he was watching.
Rachel watched as Chris came back around the couch and toward her. He stopped crawling by the table and looked up at Rachel. She smiled at him and waved, fluttering her fingers playfully.
She returned her gaze to her magazine and didn't see Chris reach for the leg of the table. He grabbed onto it and started pulling himself upwards. Rachel's head snapped back to him. She then elbowed Finn in the side.
"Finn, he's standing," she said. Chris held onto the edge of the table and settled himself in a standing position.
"What?" Finn said, his eyes still on the TV.
"He's standing!" Rachel said, throwing her magazine to the side. Finn looked away from the TV and smiled widely when he saw Chris standing at the table. "Get your phone!" Rachel demanded. She scooted to the end of the couch and held her arms out in case Chris fell backward.
"Chris!" Finn called with his phone pointed at the ten month old. "Look at daddy, Chris," he said. Chris looked over at Finn just as Finn snapped a picture.
"Good job, baby!" Rachel cooed with a smile. Chris then surprised them by turning away from the table and taking a single step before he was leaning against the couch. "Look at you!" Rachel said excitedly. She heard Finn snap another picture. With his belly resting against the couch, Chris reached his hands up, opening and closing his fists.
"What do you want, baby?" Rachel asked, trying to get him to talk. "Tell mommy what you want." Chris shifted slightly so that he was facing Finn, still with his arms held out.
"Dada!" he shouted. Finn suddenly felt like crying like a girl. Sure, Chris had wanted him before, but that was the first time that Chris went to all that trouble just to get Finn's attention.
"Come here, buddy," Finn said, reaching over Rachel with his arms out. He grabbed Chris before pulling him into his chest in a hug. "I love you, little man."
Rachel leaned forward and kissed the back of Chris's head before running her hand through his dark brown hair.
"Jealous?" Finn said with a smirk, still hugging Chris.
"I'm too proud to be jealous," Rachel replied, trying her hardest not to cry.
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"I can't believe he's already one," Rachel said, shaking her head. Her and Finn were standing in the kitchen while the rest of Chris's birthday party guests were watching Chris crawl around the living room and stand on his own.
"Me neither," Finn agreed as he dried the dishes that Rachel was washing. "But watching him grow up's kinda cool, you know… I mean, watching him bang on those pots and pans earlier was awesome."
"He's just like his daddy," Rachel said, looking up at Finn with a smile, making Finn chuckle.
"It's awesome when he tries to sing with you, too," Finn said. "He doesn't know what he's trying to say, but he's got lungs."
"He does remind me of a younger me when he yells 'clap' at people after he does something," Rachel laughed.
"He's getting better with saying 'please' though," Finn added.
"We need to work on 'thank you' next. I didn't learn that one for a while," Rachel said with a smile. Finn chuckled again.
They both then turned their heads when they heard Chris shout "Mama!" and "Dada!"
"I think the dishes can wait," Rachel said, shutting off the sink.
"Totally," Finn replied. They both then raced one another into the living room, trying to be the first one to get to Chris.
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"Daddy?" five year old Chris said from the backseat.
"Yeah, bud?" Finn replied, keeping his eyes on the road.
"Why didn't mommy come?" Chris asked, sounding a little sad.
"Mommy's sick, Chris. She had to go to the doctor," Finn replied. "She'll pick you up though."
"Promise?"
"I promise," Finn chuckled. "But are you excited to start school?"
"Kinda," Chris replied. "Mommy said that I'm really smart and will make lots of friends."
"I'm sure she's right," Finn said with a smile. "And you can play drums, too. That's the coolest thing ever."
"Yeah. Drums are cool," Chris agreed, making Finn smile more widely.
All too soon, Finn pulled up to the school to take Chris to his first day of Kindergarten. Chris hopped out of the car with his Superman backpack over his shoulders. Finn had convinced him that Superman could beat all of the other superheroes in everything, so Chris just had to have a Superman backpack.
Finn held his son's hand as they walked into the building.
"Do you want me to walk you into the room?" Finn asked when they stopped outside of Chris's classroom.
"I'm five now, dad. I can do it," Chris said.
"Alright, buddy," Finn replied. "I love you."
"Love you, too, dad," Chris said. He walked through the door of the room before turning back around. "Hey, dad?"
"What's up?"
"Can you call mommy? I think she is crying. She was crying when we got my Superman bag ready," Chris said.
Finn smiled. "I'll call her," Finn said.
"Cool. Bye, dad," Chris called. Before Finn could respond, he was inside of the classroom. Finn then felt like crying, too. It was so hard to believe that Chris was already in school. Sometimes he wished that they could go back do the day he was born again.
Rachel walked down the hallway of Chris's new school with a smile on her face. She was feeling so much better after her visit from the doctor. In fact, she was sure that nothing could bring her down.
She waited in the hallway, where all the other parents of the new kindergarteners were waiting. She stood there anxiously, waiting to see how Chris's first day went. She was a little nervous that he would have a childhood like her and end up not having very many friends. She feared that he would be teased like she was. Well, that was always the normal concern of a mother. But then she remembered that Chris acted more like Finn when it came to social situations. Where she was snobby as a kid, Finn was kind and gentle.
Rachel told Finn while she was still pregnant that she hoped her child would be just like him. Thankfully, Chris was just as sweet and goofy as his dad.
He was also quite skilled at drumming for a five year old.
And he had a very sweet singing voice.
Even if he didn't posses all of these traits, Rachel would still love him with every fiber of her being.
The kids started walking out of the room and Rachel kept an eye out for her son. Soon, she spotted the dark brown hair that was cut similarly to Finn's.
"Hey mom!" she heard her son shout as he came to a stop in front of her. She reached down and kissed him on the top of the head.
"How was school?" she asked with a smile.
"It was awesome!" he gushed. "I have tons of friends already and we have music class tomorrow and they might let me play drums and stuff!"
"That's so great," Rachel replied. She stood up and held out her hand, which Chris grabbed.
"Are you feeling better? Dad said you went to the doctor," Chris said.
"I'm feeling so much better," Rachel said. "And your dad called me earlier and said you were worried about me crying."
"Yeah. I don't like seeing you sad," Chris replied. "Dad makes fun of you when your movies and stuff make you cry, but I feel sad when you cry, too."
"Have I ever told you that you are the sweetest little boy in the world?" Rachel asked, looking down at her son.
"Yeah. You say that all the time, mom," Chris said nonchalantly. Rachel smiled.
"Are you ready to go home?" she asked. "I need your help getting a surprise ready for your dad."
"Really? What is it?" Chris asked excitedly.
"I'll show you when we get home," Rachel said with a smile.
Finn arrived at the house around the same time as usual. He realized that the grass already needed to be cut again. It was a pain in the ass to cut the grass all the time, but he really did like owning his own house.
They had moved there a few months after Chris's first birthday after realizing that he needed a room of his own. It was a three bedroom house with a huge backyard. The kitchen was also pretty big, which was Rachel's favorite room in the house.
Finn walked through the front door with a smile, looking forward to hear about Chris's first day of school.
"Dad's home!" he heard Chris shout. Finn then listened as footsteps came running toward him. Chris rounded the corner and practically tackled Finn's legs.
"Hey, buddy! How was school?" Finn asked, reaching down to hug his son.
"It was cool but I gotta tell you later. Mom has a surprise," Chris gushed.
"Are you gonna tell me?" Finn asked in a whisper.
"Nope!" Chris said with a smile. "Mom said I can have ice cream if I don't tell you."
"Fine," Finn huffed. Chris reached up and grabbed Finn's hand, pulling him forward.
"Let's go!" he said excitedly.
"I'm coming. Jeez," Finn said with a smile. Finn walked into the kitchen, both nervous and excited. Rachel stood by the kitchen counter with a smile on her face.
"Hey, baby," Finn said, walking up to her and kissing her quickly on the lips.
"Welcome home," Rachel said warmly.
"What's this surprise Chris is all excited about?" Finn asked. Rachel smiled before stepping away from the counter. Finn then saw a strawberry cake sitting on the counter with the word "Congrats" on it.
"I helped mom make it!" Chris yelled.
"It looks awesome, buddy!" Finn said, holding his hand up for a high five. He then looked up to Rachel. "But what's it for?" he asked.
Rachel looked down at Chris. "You can give him the present now," she said with a smile. Chris smiled before running into the dining room. "He insisted on hiding it," Rachel said to Finn, making him laugh.
Chris ran back in with a present in his hands. "I wrapped it!" he said, holding it up to Finn. It was wrapped in old Christmas wrapping paper and was completely covered in tape.
"I can tell," Finn chuckled.
"Open it," Rachel said, getting excited. Finn smirked before attempting to tear the tape off of the package.
"Jeez, Chris," Finn complained with a smile.
"The tape makes a really cool noise if you pull it out really fast and then I had to use it all 'cause mom said I can't put it back on the roll thing," Chris explained.
Rachel laughed while Finn smiled.
Finally, after what felt like an eternity of pulling tape off, Finn came to a box. He lifted the lid. Facing upwards was something that looked a lot like…
A sonogram.
"Wait," Finn said, looking from the picture to Rachel's smiling face. "Are you… are we…"
"I'm gonna be a big brother!" Chris yelled, beaming up at Finn.
"Seriously?" Finn asked, looking from Chris to Rachel.
"Yeah," Rachel said. She smiled before resting her hands on her stomach. "Are you ready to be a dad again?"
Instead of answering, he set the box on the counter and pulled Rachel into a searing kiss.
"Dad!" Chris complained. "Kiss mom later! I wanna eat the cake!"
THE END
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A/N: Thanks to everyone for reading! I know this ending could have been predicted, but I'm a sucker for fluff. Please leave some reviews with your thoughts. I appreciate every word you guys write! And I love the silent readers, too :)