Disclaimer: I don't own anything. This chapter title comes from the song "Just Watch the Fireworks" by Jimmy Eat World.

"Austin Leroy Hudson! What do you think you're doing?"

The six year old little boy immediately stopped what he was doing and looked up. "Hi, Momma," he said slowly. "What's up?"

Rachel Hudson crossed her arms over her chest and tapped her foot. "I believe that I just asked you that question, Austin."

Austin set down the spatula that he had been holding and stepped away from the stove that he had been attempting to turn on. "Well, Dad said I could make breakfast for everyone, so I…" He trailed off and gave his mother a sheepish look that was identical to Finn's.

Finn always seemed to know when one of his kids was in trouble. He appeared in the kitchen wearing a mildly amused look. "What's going on in here?"

"Apparently, you told our son that he could cook breakfast for us," Rachel said with narrowed eyes.

Finn looked at Austin and Austin looked at Finn. The little boy shrugged his shoulders and Finn couldn't help the chuckle that escaped him. Rachel raised an eyebrow at him and Finn attempted to stifle his laughter, but it didn't really work.

"I said he could help me get breakfast ready," Finn told his wife. "I think Austin tried to get a head start on it, though."

Austin looked up towards his mother with eyes identical to his father's. "I was just trying to help, Momma."

"Thank you," Rachel said. She reached over and ruffled her son's hair. "But why don't you go and sit down while Daddy and I start on breakfast?"

"Kay!" Austin ran off (more than likely to wake up his little brother Logan), and Rachel laughed. Austin really was something else, that was for sure. He had Finn's positivity and Rachel's enthusiasm, so he was full of boundless energy.

Rachel picked up the spatula and used it to playfully swat at Finn. "It seems like Austin wants to take after his Daddy and become a chef."

Finn chuckled and grabbed at the spatula, using it to pull Rachel close. "What can I say? The kid is brilliant." He wrapped his arms around his wife's waist and bent to press a kiss to her lips. Just as Finn went to make the kiss deeper, they heard a cry come from the baby monitor on the counter. Rachel moved to head up the stairs, but Finn stopped her and pressed a kiss to her forehead. "Don't worry, I'll get her."

Rachel nodded her head and busied herself with getting breakfast ready. It wasn't long before Finn returned to the kitchen with their sleepy daughter in his arms. Her mass of curly brown hair was messy as she rubbed at her eyes. She brightened slightly when she caught sight of her mother, reaching her little hand out.

"Momma," she mumbled tiredly.

Rachel smiled and smoothed the year old little girl's hair back. "Are you sleepy, Kimmy?"

Kimberly Hudson nodded her head and pouted in a look that was patently Rachel, causing Finn to chuckle. Kim certainly was her mother's daughter. Little Kimmy rested her head on Finn's shoulder, snuggling into her father's arms. Finn made a face when he received a mouthful of curly hair as a result, and Rachel giggled.

Pushing his daughter's hair away from his face, Finn adjusted her so that he was holding her with one arm and made his way over to the stove. He had become pretty adept at making a meal while holding one of his children with one arm. Rachel watched him with a smile playing on her lips as she sipped at her coffee. She absolutely adored watching Finn interact with their children—and just as she had predicted years before, Finn was an amazing father.

"I guess I should get breakfast started before Kurt shows up and ruins our peaceful morning," Finn stated, only half-serious.

Rachel let out a long-suffering sigh and combed her fingers through her hair. She just knew that Kurt was going to go way overboard—since he was in charge of dressing the models in Vogue for magazine shoots, he had taken it upon himself to be Rachel's stylist.

"Could you imagine what he would do if I said I wanted to wear the blue dress with the ruffle down the front?" Rachel laughed and shook her head. Kurt absolutely despised her favorite dress, so of course Finn encouraged her to wear it as much as he could—and Rachel did. "His head would probably explode."

"And then he wouldn't be able to ruin my restaurant opening by commenting on people's outfits," Finn said. He expertly flipped a pancake in the pain, and Kim let out an excited squeal. Finn smiled down at the little girl in his arms and flipped the pancake again just to hear her giggle.

Logan came running into the kitchen then, stretching up onto his tiptoes so he could see over the edge of the stove. "Again, Daddy!" he yelled.

Finn began to flip each pancake he made, much to the delight of his kids. Just as they were getting ready to sit down and eat, their front door swung open and Kurt came bustling in, holding several garment bags in his hand.

Rachel may have been thirty years old, but she very nearly stomped her foot when she saw the look in Kurt's eyes. She knew that look; that look meant she was about to become Kurt's new dress up doll.

Without looking up from his breakfast, Finn ordered, "Kurt, don't even start."

"But Finn!" Kurt shook the garment bags, rustling the material of the plastic. "The new addition to your restaurant is opening up tonight. Rachel wouldn't wear what I had originally picked out for her—"

Rachel crossed her arms and rolled her eyes. "Please, Kurt. I'm not going to wear couture tonight. I want to relax and have fun and not worry about some frock you'll spend all night fussing over."

Kurt ignored her with a dismissive wave of his hand. "—even though that Elie Saab dress was absolutely gorgeous."

Finn shook his head and gave his wife an apologetic look before he turned back towards his brother. "Kurt, it's a restaurant opening, not a red carpet event. Why are you being such a pain in the ass right now?"

Finn knew that he had made a mistake as soon as the words left his mouth and Logan's eyes went wide. At three years old, he was at that time where he repeated everything that an adult said—especially if it was a bad word. He started banging his fork on the table and yelling, "Ass! Ass! Ass! Ass!"

"Logan Christopher!" Rachel said sternly. Logan immediately stopped yelling and looked down at his hands, his little face puckering into a pout. His brow furrowed, Logan tossed his brother a look that clearly stated he was blaming Finn for this.

Finn chuckled and reached over, ruffling Logan's hair. "Sorry, buddy," he apologized.

Rachel turned the full force of her scolding glare on her husband. "Don't think that you're off the hook, Finn Hudson."

Finn turned up the half smile, knowing that Rachel could never resist. "I love you," he said. Finn knew it worked when Rachel dissolved into giggles and bent to press a kiss to his lips. Kurt rolled his eyes and shook his head. He set the garment bag aside and took a seat at the table as well.

"You two disgust me," he stated. But there was a smile playing on his lips, so he wasn't that serious. Everyone was used to Finn and Rachel being extremely affectionate with one another. It was actually pretty sweet.

Rachel kissed Finn again and then settled Kim into her high chair. She poured some cheerios onto the tray attached to the chair and then took the seat between Finn and Kim, ready to supervise her daughter's eating. Finn slid a hand over her knee and Rachel turned to smile at him.

Kurt, of course, had a one-track mind. "This dress is perfect," he declared. "Absolutely perfect. And Finn, I don't care what you say. You're going to wear that suit tonight and you're going to like it."

Finn waved his fork in the air as a way of acknowledging his brother, but Rachel couldn't help but laugh at the look of absolute distaste on his face. Finn didn't mind dressing up every now and then, but he hated when Kurt made a big deal out of it. He was just glad that Kurt had shut up for a while after Finn had let him create a custom-made suit for him. And Rachel was thankful for that, because Finn looked absolutely fantastic in it.

"Do I get to wear a suit?" Austin asked excitedly. Austin absolutely adored Finn and was always trying to do things exactly like him. That meant that Austin's wardrobe consisted of miniature versions of Finn's plaid shirts and jeans. It was the cutest thing ever, honestly.

Kurt looked absolutely thrilled by his nephew's question. "Of course you get to wear a suit! I picked one up especially for you, Austin." He tossed a glare Finn's way, his nose turned up in the air. "At least someone doesn't mind dressing up every now and then."

"You can dress the kids first, then," Rachel said. She just wanted some time alone with her husband, but Kurt knew exactly what she was getting at.

He held his hands up and shook his head. "Oh no you don't. There is no way that I'm playing babysitter while you and Finn go gallivanting off somewhere."

Rachel gave Kurt the pout that Kim had given just half an hour ago. "Kurt, the kids adore you, you know that! They would love to spend some time with you before the opening tonight. Please?"

Kurt let out a long-suffering sigh, but both Finn and Rachel knew that he loved his nephews and niece and enjoyed spending time with them. "Fine," he relented. "At least this will give me time to dress them up without either of you interrupting."

Rachel kissed Kurt's cheek in thanks and then the family finished their breakfast. Finn and Rachel cleaned the kitchen and washed the dishes before they made sure that their kids were settled. Finn and Rachel quickly got dressed and said goodbye to Austin, Logan, and Kim along with Kurt. Hand in hand, they left the apartment and headed towards Central Park.

There was one part in the park that was their absolute favorite. When Finn had first moved to New York with Rachel, they had spent their first night by the Rainbow Bridge. It was also where Finn had proposed to her, and it was a place that they loved to visit.

Finn wrapped his arm around Rachel's waist and pulled her against him. Her hand slid up his chest and she snuggled against his side, letting out a happy little sigh.

"How are you feeling, baby?" Finn asked. He dropped a kiss to Rachel's forehead, and she closed her eyes and pressed her head briefly to Finn's chest.

"I'm fine," Rachel promised. Just last weekend, it had been seven years since Leroy had passed away. As they had every year, they took the kids down to Lima and spent the weekend there with Hiram, Carole, and Burt. It was always a quiet weekend that tended to be a little somber. But each year, it got a little easier to breathe. They would never stop missing Leroy, and it would probably always hurt, but they tried to remember the good things rather than the pain.

Finn tightened his arms around Rachel, and her arms slipped around his waist. Ever since she had first met him, Finn had become her rock. She had never been so thankful for someone in her entire life, and she loved him even more each day. Because of Finn, she had an amazing man and three beautiful children.

"Thank you, Finn," Rachel said against his chest. She pulled back to look up at him with a bright smile on her lips. Finn reached up to cup her cheek, his long fingers tangling in her hair.

"What for?"

"Just for being you." She stretched up onto her tiptoes, offering her lips for a kiss. Finn's lips quirked up and he pressed his lips against hers. Rachel curled her fingers into the collar of Finn's shirt, pulling him even closer and causing the kiss to escalate.

Finn ended the passionate kiss with another quick peck against Rachel's lips. Rachel took Finn's hand, twining their fingers together. She tugged him away from the bridge and down another path in the park.

"We should probably get going," Rachel said. "We have your restaurant opening to get to, and I want to get some coffee before then. And we have to make sure that Kurt isn't corrupting our children, either."

Finn groaned and shook his head. "You do realize we gave him free license to make them his dress up dolls, right?"

"Well look who it is! It's about time you finally showed up to your own restaurant opening!"

Finn laughed and hugged Shannon Beiste, his partner at the restaurant for the past seven years. "You make it sound like it's a whole new restaurant, Beiste. It's just an expansion."

Beiste shrugged her shoulders. "It might as well be a whole new restaurant since I'm retiring and leaving this place to you."

"Don't act like you won't be here every other day making sure I won't screw it up," Finn joked. Beiste had been the chef at the football camp he had gone to in high school, and she had been more than happy to help him open the restaurant. She was more of a supervisor than anything else, and she had let Finn have most of the control to begin with. Retiring was just a formality now. Beiste had been one of his biggest supporters and his mentor, and Finn would always been thankful for that.

Beiste put an encouraging hand on Finn's shoulder. "I know that you'll be fine, Finn," she said firmly. Putting an end to the conversation, Beiste patted Finn's shoulder. "Now where are those kids of yours? You know I like them better than I like you."

Finn chuckled and pointed Beiste towards where Rachel and the kids were. With the kids preoccupied with Beiste, Rachel went over to Finn and wrapped her hand around his tie, tugging him down towards her for a kiss. "I'm so proud of you, Finn," she murmured against his lips.

Finn wrapped his arms around Rachel's waist and pulled her closer, deepening the kiss. His restaurant had been called Hudson's, and they had just opened a full bar. Finn had come up with many popular dishes for the Hudson's, but now he did more of the stuff at the front of the restaurant. Rachel had given him never ending support in his endeavor.

"I couldn't have done this without you," Finn said once the kiss broke. Finn had no doubt that he would have figured out his life and would have gotten himself out of Lima. But with Rachel's support and love, Finn took the steps that he had been afraid to take before.

Rachel smiled brightly at him. "You're amazing, Finn Hudson," she told him. She was always saying something like that to him at completely random times, because Rachel never wanted him to forget it.

Finn bent until his lips were next to Rachel's ear. His hands slid up her back, toying with the straps that bared the skin of her shoulders. "I love you, Rachel Hudson."

"Momma!" Logan shouted. "Momma, come look!"

Rachel laughed and kissed Finn quickly. "I love you too, Finn Hudson." She extracted herself from Finn's arms and went over to their kids, who were demanding her attention. Finn watched her for a long moment; it never failed to warm his heart to watch Rachel with their kids. It wasn't long before Finn joined them, and he lifted Kim up onto his shoulders while Logan attached himself to his pant leg. Austin grabbed onto Rachel's hand and grinned up at Finn, and he ruffled his hair.

Losing loved ones is hard, and it was a pain that would probably never fully go away. But both Rachel and Finn knew that the only thing Leroy ever wanted for them was to be happy. The saying was true: life really was too short not to go for the things that they wanted. Despite the tragedy, Leroy had encouraged Rachel to go for the love of her life. Now she had Finn and three beautiful children. It was something that Rachel and Finn would always be thankful for, and it was the lesson that they would carry with them for the rest of their lives.

Author's Note: This story has been particularly difficult to write, because it was supposed to be about different kinds of losses and coping with them through love and the support of other people. That concept became all too real over the past couple of months, and that made this hard to complete. Thank you for sticking with this story, and I hope I managed to do it justice.