This is it, folks. The last chapter. It's an epilogue, I guess.

Thanks for sticking with me through it. I know there were times when we all thought nothing else was going to come from my writings.

I want to give a special thank you and send my love to two of the most supportive women I've ever had the pleasure of getting to know: tjcrowfoot & egyouppt. Ladies … seriously. You're awesome and supportive and I owe this story (and many others) to you. Also, Amy Rochelle, blondezilla90, skyedrgn, gleekedout & peryneb … you guys ROCK! Thanks for all the support and positive feedback (even if you hated it).

And to all of my other readers and reviewers:

Thank you.

.xo.

[two years later]

"Babe? I think San and Puck are going to be here soon!" Finn called as he walked into the backyard with a plate full of steaks, hamburgers and (yuck!) vegan hotdogs.

"Quinn, Sam and Daisey just pulled in," she said with a smile as she indicated the small family climbing from their car. She tossed the salad lightly, one eye on what she was doing and one eye on her six year old and two year old sitting with her brother-in-law across the yard. "No shop talk," she told her husband sternly. "I don't care how much you and Noah feel the urge to pull Sam into a conversation about the new landscaping contract for McKinley."

"You go it, babe," he said as he pressed a kiss against the side of her head and trotted off to meet the newest partner at HP Landscaping. "No shop talk. Promise!" he called over his shoulder. When he reached the Evans family, he quickly liberated Daisey from her mother's grip. "Hello," he said with a smile as he pressed a kiss to Quinn's cheek. "Sam," he nodded. "And little Miss Daisey May!" he said in a goofy voice. "Where have you been all my life?"

The little girl giggled and squealed, her tiny hands gripping at the collar of Finn's shirt. At sixteen months, she looked so much like her mother it was amazing.

"Her middle name isn't May," Quinn grumbled as she pushed her way past Finn and into the back yard. "And it sickens me the love my daughter has for you."

"Runs in the family," he called after her with a wide grin. He shifted Daisey so he was holding her in his left arm and he leaned towards Sam. "Rachel said we can't talk business today."

"Okay," Sam said with a furrowed brow. "And this is a secret because …?"

"Just warning you. You know how she gets sometimes. It can be scary."

"Right," Sam laughed as he patted Finn on the shoulder. "You Grill Master today or you want me to do it?"

Finn glanced over his shoulder to see his daughter screech and jump up from her seat. A second later his step brother did the same. And then Christopher started giggling.

With a sigh, he let his chin drop to his chest before passing Daisey over to her father. "Looks like it's you today, man. But Puck may want it when he and San get here."

"Too bad," Sam said as he bounced his daughter in his arms. "I was here first."

Finn grinned before shaking his head slightly and heading over to his children and brother. "What's going on over here?" he ask as he watched Hadley hide herself behind a slightly-shaking Kurt.

"Chris has a bug!" she screamed before burying her face in his brother's backside.

Finn arched a brow before turning to his two year old. "Chris?"

"Huh?" the little boy asked, his attention still on the cricket he held between his chubby fingers.

"Christopher?" Finn asked again.

This time the little boy's head shot up and his eyes met his father's. "Daddy!" he screamed happily before climbing to his feet. "Bug!" he added with a broad smile as he offered the poor creature to his slightly-bemused father.

"Thanks, buddy," Finn said with a slight grimace as he took the (now crushed) bug from his son's hands. "We need to wash your hands now."

"No," the little boy said defiantly as he crossed his arms.

Finn couldn't help but think that his son got his obstinacy from his wife.

"Don't make me tell Mommy," the older Hudson said with his brows raised.

"Tell her!" Hadley said, still hiding behind Kurt.

Finn looked to his brother for support. He knew he wouldn't find it; Kurt always took the side of the kids, no matter what the issue, because he was determined to stay in their good graces. He had once told Hadley she couldn't have something and the girl freaked out on him.

Since that day, Hadley knew that if Mommy and Daddy said no about something all she had to do was wait until it was Uncle Kurt's turn to babysit and then ask him. Worked like a charm.

"Hey, Princess," Kurt said as he turned to bend down by his niece. "Why don't you go help Daddy clean up Chris and I'll go tell Mommy for you?"

"Deal," she said solemnly before gripping he little brother's hand (noticeably not the on the had the bug in) and pulled him towards the house. "C'mon, Bug. We gotta clean you up!"

"Had! Slow down. Don't pull his arm out. He has little legs," Finn called as he followed his children to the house, pressing a quick kiss to his wife's lips as he passed her.

-x-

"They're going to know," Santana told Puck shortly as they drove to their best friends' house for Christopher's birthday party.

"They won't know anything if you keep your mouth shut," Puck refuted, eyes on the license plate of the car in front of him. He wondered if he could get someone arrested for driving below the speed limit. Grated, he was only, like, three miles per hour slower, but still. He needed to get to him namesake's party.

Well, his middle-namesakes' party.

The sprained fingers were totally worth it when Rachel had look up with tears in her eyes to proudly introduce those in the delivery room to Christopher Noah Hudson.

He didn't cry.

He didn't.

He had allergies, okay?

It was very different when he had this baby placed in his arms. Obviously because it was a boy. But also, this wasn't his child.

He'd held Hadley when she was born but Finn had quickly removed the baby from his arms that time, swearing no man but him and a doctor would ever lay hands on his little girl. Puck refrained from stating that, if this little girl grew up with her mother's looks, there would be no way in hell that horny teenage boys would keep their hands off of her. He figured he would let his best friend find that one out on his own.

But holding Christopher? It was amazing. The little boy stared up at him with bright blue eyes and a calm face (Hadley had been screaming when he held her) and he knew, in that instant, that he was going to be the coolest honorary uncle in the world. He was going to spoil the shit out of that kid.

He wasn't sure life, in that moment, could possible get any better.

He was wrong.

"Noah?" Rachel called sleepily from her spot on the bed.

"Yeah, Rach?" he whispered, his eyes never leaving the little boy he was cradling in his arms.

"Finn and I would like you to be the sandek for Christopher. If you're," she yawned, "willing, of course."

He'd sniffled once, blamed it on his allergies, and agreed.

That ceremony was one of the most moving experiences he'd had in his life.

"Puck!" Santana shouted as she punched him in the arm. "Pay attention! You almost missed the house," she bitched as she crossed her arms.

"You know what? I think I need to take you back home and fuck some niceness into you," he groused as he pulled the car into the driveway.

"And for that? Hope you and Mr. Right Hand and Mr. Couch made up, because that's all you're getting tonight."

"We'll see how long that lasts, babe," he smirked as he pressed a quick kiss to her neck and jumped out of the truck.

"Keep digging, Puckerman. You're bound to hit China some time!" she called back as she marched up to the house.

He chuckled loudly. "I already got my happy ending this morning!"

"That's Thai, fucktard!"

"God, I love her," he murmured before heading for the gate instead of the house. He'd give her time to cool down.

"Puckasaurus is here!" he shouted as he threw the back gate open with a flourish.

"Uncle Puck!" two little voices screamed before he saw the Hudson children tearing towards him as fast as their little legs could carry them.

"Noah, must you always rile Santana up before you get here?" Rachel asked as she stepped onto the deck after meeting her best friend in the house.

"More fun that way, Berry!" he said with a grin as he knelt down and let Hadley tackle him like a linebacker. About twenty seconds later he felt Christopher land on his lower stomach.

Extreme lower stomach.

He was so proud of himself for not cursing.

"Uncle Puck! Uncle Puck! Chris had a bug this morning. He was playing with it and then he squished it and then he gave it to Daddy. It was gross!" she said as she gripped his cheeks (a little too tightly) in her small hands.

Chris, not even a little contrite, giggle and shouted, "Yay bug!"

When Hadley rolled her eyes Puck had to stop himself from calling her Little Rachel.

"What did you do to her this time?" Rachel asked Puck as she joined him on the grass and lifted the birthday boy from his lower extremities.

"Nothing she didn't want me to do," he responded as he stood up, lifting Hadley into his arms. "So, whaddaya think, Kiddo? You, me and some My Little Pony later?"

The little girl smiled bright and kissed him on the cheek. "Yes!" she cried out before wiggling from his grip and taking off, no doubt to tell her father that she has Uncle Puck's balls in a vice and he's going to play My Little Pony with her later.

In a six year old way, of course.

Puck then reached out and took Christopher from Rachel's arms. "Happy Birthday, Little Dude," Puck said softly as he held the little boy close. "Did you get to open any of your presents yet?"

"No," Chris pouted. Then he turned to him mother with a pleading face so reminiscent of Finn that Puck almost choked on his own spit. "Now?"

Rachel sighed and shook her head. "Don't you want to wait until after we eat, baby?" she asked him.

"No," he son said flatly before turning to Puck. "Presents?"

Without bothering to look to Rachel for approval, he grinned widely at the little boy. "You bet, Little Dude. Let's go make a mess."

"Yay!"

Rachel pinched the bridge of her nose and wondered if the name alone was a cause of her son's behavior.

-x-

Jesse swallowed tightly as he pulled his car up to the curb in front of Finn and Rachel's house. To be honest, he was quite sure his invitation had been silently revoked.

He and Kurt had started dating shortly after their meeting at the Holiday Inn.

He fancied it a whirlwind romance. He took Kurt out to dinner, took him dancing, took him to the movies …

He thought they were falling in love.

They spent months together. Nineteen, to be exact. It felt like a long honeymoon.

But then he decided it was time to try New York. He wanted the Great White Way. He wanted traffic jams and pollution and eighth-storey walk-ups.

Apparently, Kurt didn't want that at all.

So Jesse packed his things and moved to New York. Alone. Without any hope of a long distance relationship.

So when he met Tara, he was certain that he'd put the whole Kurt fiasco behind him. He could go back to dating women (and, okay, maybe the occasional man) and forget all about the small blonde that made his heart beat out of his chest and his pulse race.

So imagine his surprise when he opened the door to his apartment one day and saw Kurt standing on the other side of it, a suitcase in one hand, some flowers in the other, and a sheepish smile on his face.

And that's when Tara, clad only in a sheet, decided to join him at the door and ask in a sleepy-sexy voice, "Who is it, baby? Come back to bed. I'm not through with you yet."

Kurt had dropped the flowers and walked off without a word.

That was three months ago.

And here he was, proverbial hat in his hands, ready to beg for Kurt's forgiveness.

He really hoped it worked.

-x-

The group of family and friends gathered around Chris as he sat on his father's lap and tore into the elaborate wrapping on each of his gifts.

Kurt wrapped his in paper with glitter on it. That would show Finn.

He heard the doorbell and scrunched his brow together. "I'll get it," he said as Carole was about to stand up.

"Thanks, honey," Carole said with a smile as she leaned back into Burt.

He smiled and made his way through the house. When he opened the door, his smile quickly faded into a frown. "What do you want?"

"To talk to you," Jesse said softly as he reached a hand out to Kurt.

"There's nothing to talk about," the smaller man replied as he took a step back. "We're through. Now, if you'll excuse me, it's my nephew's birthday and he's opening his gifts. And mine is going to shoot glitter when it opens and I want to see the look on Finn's face when it happens."

"Kurt, please. Just … just let me explain."

"No need," Kurt replied. "We broke up, you moved on. Pretty simple."

"I didn't!" Jesse said frantically. "I didn't move on. I swear. I – I tried to. I didn't. But it didn't work."

"Yeah? I can't imagine there was any way you were thinking of me when you were having sex with that woman in New York." He shut his eyes and took a deep breath. "Listen. You don't owe me anything, okay? We tried and it didn't work. It's over now."

"Kurt?" Rachel called from out on the back deck. "Yours is next."

"Excuse me," Kurt said with a slight nod before shutting the door in Jesse's face.

The older man stood there for a moment, eyes unfocused, before nodding once and heading back to his car.

Kurt could think it was over all he wanted. But it wasn't; not by a long shot.

Jesse St. James would not give up that easily. Not on something as important as his true future.

-x-

After the exploding box of glitter (which the children and women – minus Santana and plus Burt – loved and everyone else hated), Kurt presented Christopher with a vintage set of toy soldiers.

Everyone politely ignored they way Finn & Carole's eyes misted over.

"Here. Ours next," Puck said roughly as he handed a square box over to Finn and Chris.

Chris giggled happily as he saw the brightly colored paper.

He ripped into it with gusto and then Finn helped him open the box.

"You got him a pillow?" Hadley asked incredulously as she reached into the box to pull out a small, silky white pillow. "It's girly. Is it really for me?" she asked as she turned her wide brown eyes on him.

"Well, this is only one of his presents, Princess. He's going to get his real present in a few minutes. But, no. This isn't for you."

Rachel and Quinn's eyes were wide as they stared at the pillow that Hadley held. The men, it seemed, had no idea what kind of pillow the little girl was holding.

"Are you serious?" Quinn asked, her eyes searching those of her friend.

"Yep," Santana responded with an eye roll. "I swear he's more of a chick than I am with this."

"He really …?" Rachel asked as a broad smile crossed her lips.

"Last weekend," Santana replied with a nod.

"And you didn't tell me?" the brunette pouted.

"You love surprises, Berry," Puck responded with an eye roll of his own.

"But … this is … you guys …"

"Can someone please explain what the hell is happening right now?" Sam asked with a frown.

"Swear jar," Hadley said quickly before adding, "Yeah, Aunt Ana. What the hell is happening right now?"

"Hadley Maria!" Rachel gasped. "That was very bad!"

"I'm sorry, Momma," Hadley said sadly. "I sometimes forget I can't copy Uncle Sam or Uncle Puck or Aunt Ana or Daddy!"

Rachel sighed and pulled her daughter into her lap. "You can only read one book at bedtime tonight. If it happens again, there's going to be a bigger punishment. Understand?"

"Yes, Momma," the little girl said as she snuggled into her mother's embrace.

"Touching family moment aside," Sam said as he adjusted his daughter in his lap. "Please, someone, explain to me what's going on."

Santana and Puck turned to look at each other. A silent no, you tell them conversation running between them.

Santana narrowed her eyes slightly and Puck threw up his hands in exasperation. "Fine. Pansy. I'll tell 'em."

"Tell us what?" Finn asked as he liberated the pillow from his daughter and placed it back in the box.

"We're getting married," Puck said. "In three weeks. And we want the little ones," he said as he pulled a small basket from behind his back and held it out to Hadley, "to be our ring bearer," he nodded to the pillow, "and flower girl," he concluded as he sway the basket a little before she grabbed it.

There was silence for a moment before the women (and Kurt) all burst into instant wedding plans.

"Ohh! Colors, Kurt. What do you think? Late spring wedding. Yellow?"

"I know a great caterer. And Sam can use his contacts to find a good florist."

"I'll prepare the music!"

"Oh, Santana, we should all take you shopping for a dress!"

Santana turned to her fiancé and sighed. "Told you we should have just gone to Vegas."