Started my daily ficlets to make the hiatus pass, then decided to keep going with a 2nd cycle, and then a 3rd, 4th, etc through 66th cycle. Now cycle 67!

"This Is Us"
Sam & Nell, Samchel, New Directions, etc
Sam & Nell, Samchel series
(all series now listed under the communities tab in my profile)

The past few months, since the engagement had been made 'official' with Sam coming and presenting her with the ring, they had still kept the whole thing quiet. It wasn't so hard on the surface. Everyone they might have been trying to keep from knowing was back in Lima, where they wouldn't be seeing the ring on her finger if she talked with them over the phone. The only one she'd really had to worry about was Kurt. He'd been impossible to keep it from, but in return he had kept her secret like it was a matter of life or death. It wasn't going to ruin anything for people to find out, but they did it anyway.

That all was about to change. Rachel, along with Kurt, was on her way back to Lima, where they would attend McKinley High's graduation ceremony, seeing a few more of their friends get their diplomas, including one Samuel Evans. Graduation had been their chosen day, the one where they would announce their engagement to their friends and, most importantly, to Nell. She knew they were moving to New York very soon, and she'd been counting down the days with her father, checking them off before going to bed. She couldn't wait to be with her mother again, in the magic place they'd spent their last summer.

When they arrived and got off the train, she needed to wait no more than a few seconds before she heard that little voice calling for her. Sam put the girl on the ground once he was sure that she wouldn't get hurt on the way. Rachel crouched down, letting her run the rest of the way into her arms.

"Oh, look at you," Rachel closed her arms around her. To think it wouldn't be long now that she didn't have to spend a single day away from this little one, she broke her vow not to cry, right there in the train station. After Kurt had gone on his way to go visit his father and Carole, Rachel, Sam, and Nell went on their way, too. They were going to have lunch before they headed to McKinley. Rachel had not been able to get her ticket any earlier, so she had arrived on graduation day itself. They had an hour for lunch and then they needed to get moving.

"Nell, there's something we need to tell you about," Sam had started as they waited for their food. They weren't sure how much of this she would get, but so long as she got the big parts, then the rest didn't matter.

"Do I get a baby sister?" she asked, and Rachel snorted.

"Where'd you get that idea?"

"Sarah got a baby sister," Nell shrugged.

"Sarah, that's the girl next door, right?" Rachel asked, and Nell nodded.

"She's small and she smells nice. Can I have one?"

"Well, not right now, unfortunately, but… maybe later?" he threw a look to Rachel, who smiled. "The thing is, after we move to New York…"

"Thirty-three days," Nell called.

"Yes, thirty-three," Sam nodded. "After that, your mother and I, we're going to get married."

"You're not already?" Nell looked to them both, confused.

"No, not yet, but we will be," Rachel told her, and Nell smiled.

"Can I come?"

"We wouldn't have it without you," Sam tried not to laugh, while Rachel reached over, tickling the side of Nell's face with a smirk. "Can you keep it a secret until later?" he asked, holding a finger in front of his lips. She gasped, imitating him with a serious nod. Nell knew what a secret was. Whether or not she could hold one, that was left to be seen.

So after their lunch was done, they'd made their way to McKinley. It was still so strange for Rachel to come back here. It had been all of a year since she'd been a student here and it felt like an eternity ago. She was happy to see her friends again, to see Mr. Schue and Miss Pillsbury, all of them. And she was anxious to tell them 'the big news.'

The news was not nearly as big as she'd expected it to be. They all sort of knew already. No one had told them specifically, but they had worked it out on their own. They hadn't told them that they knew, because they wanted to leave them the chance to say it. Despite everything else, they were happy for the pair of them and for Nell, too. Soon they would start their lives the way they'd been waiting to.

When Sam had to go and put his cap and gown on, this left Rachel alone with Nell. Rachel walked her around the school, showed her where her locker used to be, showed her the choir room. She'd been here before, and she stood right on the spot where she knew the others would stand when they got to sing. She sang a rousing duet of 'twinkle twinkle little star' right there with her mother, who picked her up in the end, pressing 'squishy kisses' on her cheeks.

Their excursion done, they hurried to the auditorium. Rachel sat Nell on her knees, so she could see better. She was restless, waiting for it to start, but when it did, she waited excitedly to cheer on her father. When she would hear a name and see the person that she knew, she would clap for them, like the others did. She cheered for no one as loud as she did when her father came along, and both she and Rachel gave Sam a proud walk across the stage.

Nell had demanded to wear his cap after they were done, and she spent the entire time she wore it holding on to the sides so it wouldn't slide off her head.

"Thirty-three days, think you can make it?" Sam asked Rachel, watching the small blonde.

"We've made it this far, right?" she sighed.

"It won't be long for much longer."

THE END

A/N: This is a one-shot ficlet, which means that signing up for story alert will not bring you any alerts.
In the event of a sequel, the story will be separate from this one. And as chapter stories go, they are
always clearly indicated as such [ex: "Days 204-210" in the summary] Thank you!