Hi Guys! Merry Christmas. I hope you enjoy this. It's dedicated to Lauren and all of my twitter friends! I apologize if it seems rushed, but I wanted it to be quick and to the point (something different for me I know!). As well, I have limited knowledge of the American Army as I am Canadian, so any and all mistakes are mine. I have taken some artistic liberties, so please remember that this is in fact...fan fiction.I as always don't own Finn, Rachel or anyone else from glee. Just the kids and the idea :)

So enjoy, and Merry Christmas everyone!

Christmas Miracle

"Christmas makes you want to be with people you love,". - Derek Shepherd, Grey's Anatomy

December 2022

Rachel crossed her arms over her chest as she leaned against the doorway leading to her spacious living room. She watched while biting her lip as her 8 year old son Jax delicately and patiently helped his younger sisters hang ornaments on the tree.

"Jax, whats this one says?" came the squeaky voice of her 3 year old, Ollie. She held up a delicate silver key ornament by its red ribbon. She waited with baited breath for Jax to read the inscription on the ornament. She watched Jax sigh before bending down to her level and taking it from her hand.

"It says Our First Home - Fort Benning, Georgia."

"Oh," came the response from Ollie as she looked at the ornament in Jax's hand. "I put it on now?"

Jax nodded slowly and passed the ornament back to Ollie before turning to the box to get one for himself.

She watched for a few more minutes, sighing softly as she watched her three children work together to decorate the tree. She could sense a quiet disappointment in the air as they did so, most of all from Jax and Ellie. And she had an inkling that she knew the cause. They were looking ahead to another Christmas without Finn, and her heart ached as she thought about her children being disappointed at this time of year. Christmas was Finn's holiday, he loved it more than anything else and he had passed that love on to their three children. But being that Finn was deployed with his company over in Afghanistan it wasn't looking that good that he would be stateside for their shared favourite holiday.

When she heard Jax sigh once more as Ollie asked him to read another ornament, she decided leave her post at the door and help them.

"Can Mommy join this party?" She asked softly as she walked over to the group. Jax turned to look at her, a small smile on his face. At 8, almost 9 years old he was growing up to look more and more like Finn every day; right down to the freckles sprinkling his nose.

"Of course Mommy," he answered quietly as he picked up another ornament to hang on the tree.

"That one's yours, you know," she winked as she looked at the tree.

"I know," he said softly. "You tell me that every year. Daddy bought it for me when I was still in your belly."

She nodded, taking note of the sad tone of his voice and forcing herself to remember to have a quiet minute with him tonight. As the oldest and only boy in their brood, Jaxon Christopher Hudson took a lot of responsibility on his small shoulders, taking care of his sisters and promising Finn he would look after the 'manly' things of the house. He was a lot like Finn in that way, a leader and caretaker and she often laid awake at night wondering if her little boy would take after his father and follow him into the Army. Whenever those thoughts crossed her mind she tried to will them away, reminding herself that he was still way too young to make life altering decisions like that.

The army had been a means to an end for them in the beginning. Fresh out of high school with very little to their names and freshly laid rings on their fingers Finn had enlisted as a way to provide for his family. Him and Rachel had been married the day after they graduated high school. While it hadn't been ideal and not necessarily the direction either of them had thought their lives would go, it worked. She followed him to Fort Benning, Georgia much to her father's chagrin and they hadn't been back to Lima for more than a weekend since little Ollie's birth three years ago. They had been lucky, and hadn't had to relocate very often in Finn's career with the army. After welcoming Jax into their family a short year after being married, they had relocated to Fort Bliss in Texas and had been there ever since. Their marriage had seen three one year long deployments for Finn, the third being the current one Finn was involved in. He was good at what he did, moving up the ranks in the army as the years rolled on, but that didn't mean it got any easier. The first deployment had come just after they had relocated to Fort Bliss, taking Finn from Rachel and a newborn Jax during a huge transition. Rachel had never felt so alone in her entire life, but at the same time it had forced her to forge friendships in her fellow military wives that had come to be very valuable. She knew the guilt of missing much of their sons first year killed Finn and she had yet to figure out how to ease that. It got harder as the years went by, the kids getting older and able to understand more. But it still broke her heart when she saw the sadness in their eyes, much like it was tonight. She knew Finn wanted out, wanted a more stable life for their kids but the army provided them with a necessary security they didn't get elsewhere. It was through the army that Finn had gotten his education, he was certified to teach in the elementary school system as a result and had been doing some supply teaching both short and long term while not deployed on assignment.

But it wasn't easy. And as she watched her kids decorate the Christmas tree, Jax especially gazing wistfully at the drum set ornament he had picked up this year she could feel her eyes water and sent up a silent prayer to keep her husband safe.

She helped Jax pull his blankets back on his bed, revealing the Cincinnati Bengals sheets underneath. When he slid into bed and got comfortable, Rachel pulled his comforter over his small body before smiling down at his little face.

"Mommy?" he whispered as she reached over and grabbed the book they had been reading the last few nights.

"Hmm?" she whispered as she slid onto the bed beside him, leaning up against the headboard.

"Can we send those pictures we took in front of the tree to Daddy tomorrow?" he asked quietly as he looked down at his comforter.

"Of course baby," she smiled. But it faltered when she noticed her answer didn't bring an immediate smile to his face. "You okay sweetheart?"

He shrugged as he took the Harry Potter book from her hands. "Jax?"

"I really miss Daddy Mommy," he mumbled.

"Oh Jax, I know you do baby. But he's doing his job and..."

"I know baby," she whispered wrapping her arm around him and tugging him closer to her. "I miss him too. Every day. But he'll be home before we know it and everything will be okay again."

"But I want him home for Christmas Mommy. It's not the same without him."

Rachel chewed her lip as she looked down at him."I know baby. But hey, Nanny and Poppy are coming in for Christmas this year, isn't that exciting?"

When that failed to pick up his mood, Rachel sighed. "Yeah. I know Mommy. But..."

"It's not Daddy. You know he'd be here if he could, right?"

Jax nodded before turning to open the book, finding the page they had left off on last night. He was so much like Finn it was scary, shutting down when he didn't want to talk anymore. She pressed a kiss to the top of his head as he started to read from the top of the page.

When she closed his door almost all the way behind her as she left, she rubbed her eyes before walking across the hall to check on the girls. She smiled when she found Ellie fast asleep on her bed, her little hands tucked under her chin as she slept on her side. She pulled her covers up to her chin and smoothed back her hair before pressing a kiss on her head. She turned to Ollie on the other side of the room and laughed when she saw the position the little girl was in. She gently moved her so she was right side up on the bed and covered her with her blanket once more. The three year old huffed in her sleep as she curled onto her side much like Ellie, but never woke. She kissed her head too before leaving the bedroom and heading back downstairs to clean up. She busied herself as she tidied up the main floor, playing music softly on her laptop as she cleaned. But when the music stopped abruptly and the sound of Skype chimed she dropped what she was doing and ran over to where the laptop was sitting on the couch.

Her heart thundered when she saw it was Finn and she hastily pressed accept on the call.

The picture was fuzzy for a moment before it cleared and she sighed when she saw his face.

"Finn..." she breathed.

"Hi babe," he chuckled, his voice laced with exhaustion. He looked tired, the stress lines in his forehead had deepened and his hair was longer. But he was still Finn.

Her Finn.

"I didn't know you were going to call tonight or I would have kept the kids up," she sighed as she ran her finger through her hair.

"It's okay babe. I didn't know I was going to be able to until a few minutes ago," the smile he gave her made her heart beat faster. "How are they?"

She sighed, thinking about her non-talk with Jax. "They're okay. We decorated the tree tonight..."

"Oh," he sighed as he ran his hand over his face. "How did that go?"

"It was cute. Ollie kept getting him to read the ornaments to her..." She gave him a small smile. "But Jax's had a hard time the last few days and I think doing the tree made it worse." She bit her lip.

"Poor buddy," Finn sighed. "I wish I could do more..."

"You're doing your best. You need to be there, you'll be back with us soon enough." She tried to sound upbeat and positive, but every time she talked to him it made her miss him that much more. She missed his hugs, the smell of his aftershave, the way he would pull her flush against his own body even in sleep. She missed just having him around, to talk to and to love on.

Her face must have faltered because his own fell a bit as he leaned in closer to the screen. "I miss you so much babe."

She chewed her lip as she looked at him, leaning closer to the screen as well. "I miss you too. Your being safe though, right? Taking care of yourself?"

"As much as I can over here babe," he sighed.

"You need a haircut," she mumbled seriously for a moment as Finn pulled back and let out a belly laugh.

"I love you,"

"I love you more," she whispered seriously.

"If you say so," he grinned, blowing her a kiss.

She pulled the bow tighter in Ellie's long brown hair, pulling the long ends tighter before letting them go. She pulled at the ends, straightening them out as she looked at her 5 year old in the mirror.

"There, all pretty," she smiled as she met Ellie's amber eyes in the mirror. "You're all set for you Christmas concert." Ellie turned around and smiled at Rachel.

"We're going to sing Rudolph, Mommy..." the little girl giggled as she wrapped her arms around her.

"Are you?" Rachel's eyes widened as she looked at the little girl. She knew they were singing Rudolph, it had been all she had been singing the last few days as they practiced at school. Ellie nodded enthusiastically as she stared at Rachel.

"And we have horns and everything..." she squealed. Rachel laughed and bopped her on the nose before helping her down from the step stool she had been standing on so Rachel could do her hair.

"Do you mean antlers princess?"

"Yea Mommy. Antlers," she nodded again before running out of the room to go and find Ollie.

Rachel laughed as she followed her out to the living room where she found Jax sitting on the couch with his red sweater and black dress pants on and Ollie dancing around the living room excitedly in her deep red dress. Ellie ran over to join her just as Rachel made her way to the kitchen.

"Ellie, all ready Rachel?" Carole asked as she stirred the pot of sauce .

"She wouldn't sit still enough to french braid her hair but I did get a ribbon in it," she laughed.

"So much like her father," Carole laughed. Rachel chuckled as she walked over to the fridge and grabbed a water bottle.

"I'm just lucky she put on a dress," Rachel commented. "So it's a win in the end."

Carole nodded. "I fed Jax and Ollie a grilled cheese while you were fixing her hair. Ellie had a bagel. Can I fix you something?"

Rachel took a swig of the water and shook her head. "I ate lunch late. I'll eat when we come back." Carole smiled at her and nodded.

"What time does the show start?" Burt asked as he walked into the room, his blackberry in his hand.

Rachel took another swig of the water before turning to him. "It starts at 6:30, but the kids have to be there for 5:45. So we have to leave in the next few minutes. We'll meet you guys over there? You can drive Finn's truck..."

When Burt nodded and then went back to answering emails on his Blackberry Rachel took it as her chance to escape to the living room to see what her kids were up to. She smiled when she saw the girls surrounding Jax on the couch as he read them the book Ellie had brought home from school.

She walked over to the couch and gently picked up Ollie and sat her on her lap as Jax continued to read the story of Frosty the Snowman.

"So Ellie's class is on second, but Jax is the first one after the intermission. Then they're going to have refreshments and things with a special visitor for the kids to enjoy," Rachel read off as Ollie wiggled in her lap. She didn't want to sit in her seat between Rachel and Carole, but didn't seem to be getting comfortable on

Rachel's lap either. "Ollie, come on sweetheart. If you're not going to sit still you're going to have to sit by yourself."

"Noooo I don't want to sit by myself Mommy..." she whined as she wiggled around once more.

"Hey squirt, you want to go for a walk with Papa?" Burt asked as he stuffed his phone back in his shirt pocket. "I'm going to go see what kind of snacks they're selling..."

Carole chuckled as Rachel gave Burt a warning glance. They may be in town for the holidays, but it was still her who had to deal with the sugar explosion while trying to put the kids to bed.

"Me go Papa!" Ollie wiggled off of Rachel's lap and immediately lifted her hands up for Burt to scoop her up.

"Just try and get something salty...instead of sugary please!" Rachel called as Burt waved her off and headed out of the gymnasium where the concert was being held.

"You know he's going to come back with three of the most sugar filled treats they have there, right?" Carole laughed.

"I know. But if I say it out loud I can at least say I tried, right?" Rachel laughed.

"That is true," Carole agreed. "Did you get all of your shopping done?"

Rachel let out a long breath. "I have a few more things to get. Do you think you and Burt can watch them tomorrow so I can drive out to Target without one of them? I still have to get stuff for their stockings. And one more thing for Jax. I haven't been able to find that jersey he wants and we all know he wants that more than anything."

Carole nodded with a smile on her face. "I know Kurt was looking for it in New York. There were some sports stores he was going to try before he headed out here for Christmas..."

Rachel pursed her lips before she blew out a breath.

Attention Spectators! Our show will begin in fifteen minutes...

Carole turned to Rachel and smiled gently. "I'm going to go to the washroom before the show starts. Be back in a few minutes..." She patted Rachel's knee before standing up and heading down the row and out of the gym.

Rachel sighed as she pulled her own cell phone out of her purse and smiled when she saw Kurt had sent her a message relaying that he had located the jersey for Jax and would bring it up when they arrived for Christmas in a few short days. His text also included a polite yet demanding request to take lots of pictures of Jax and Ellie in their concert, to which she replied absolutely. She instantly felt relief that the jersey had been taken care of. She was just putting the phone back in her purse and trying to get comfortable in her seat when she felt a presence behind her.

"Is this seat taken Miss?"

The hair on the back of her neck stood up as the hot breath of the person behind her tickled her skin. She knew that voice.

"No, it's not..." she moved her hand to take the jacket she had placed on the free seat as the stranger placed a hand on her shoulder. She turned around immediately while shrugging against the touch and her eyes widened when she saw who was standing behind her.

"Finn," she breathed as she stood up. The grin he gave her caused her heart to flutter as she threw her arms around him, not caring about the attention that she was attracting to herself. His strong arms wrapped around her waist, hauling her up into his embrace. She buried her head in the crook of his neck, breathing in the smell of her husband for the first time in six months. He smelled much like she remembered, of sweat and musk and a hint of spice from the body wash he usually used. But another smell, the smell of travel and stale air also invaded her nostrils. He easily pulled her over the seats so he could fully embrace her as he leaned his face down to capture her lips with his. Rachel whimpered into his mouth quietly as she tried hard to meld herself to him, wrapping her arms around his neck. When they finally pulled away, his arms didn't leave her waist and hers didn't move from where they had threaded in his hair.

"Finn," she whispered as tears rose in her eyes and proceeded to fall down her cheeks.

"Hi," he whispered back.

"What are you..." he silenced her with another kiss as the lights flickered overhead, signalling it was less than five minutes for the show to start. He pulled away, leaving his thumb to play with her lip for a moment.

"We'll talk about it after. I believe we have a show to watch..."

A distinct squeal came from behind them as Ollie returned with Burt.

"Daddy?" she asked with a slight air of uncertainty. Finn dropped his hand from Rachel's face and turned around to face Ollie and his step-father. "DADDY!" She immediately threw herself from Burt's arms toward Finn, who caught her easily in his arms. Rachel bit her lip as she watched Ollie wrap her arms and legs around Finn's neck and waist as she herself held on tightly to the back of his fatigues. "Mommy, Daddy's here!"

"I see Ollie, I see..." she whispered as she leaned her head on his shoulder as Ollie.

When the lights finally went down, they each took their seats in the row that Rachel had abandoned when he had shown up. Ollie had refused to move from his lap while Rachel had maintained a firm grip on his hand from the moment they sat down. Both Carole and Burt looked on with smiles on their faces, and Rachel somehow knew that they had known about this. She would have to ask either of them about that later.

"When is Ellie on?" he whispered into her ear.

"She's the second group," she answered softly. "With a big red bow in her hair."

"I would expect nothing less," he smiled as he turned his attention back to the kindergarten class that was on stage now. She heard Ollie giggling, and knew Finn was making a joke that only she could hear. She had missed this.

Both Finn and Rachel's attention was locked on the stage when the opening strings of Rudolph came on, both of them trying to find Ellie in the mass of students. Rachel spotted her immediately, pointing her out to Finn who beamed with pride the moment he saw her. She was dead center, the only child wearing a blinking red nose. It was obvious that she had been chosen to portray the song's namesake. It might have had something to do with how uncoordinated she was, even at 5. Rachel took several pictures to send to Kurt as they watched the kids sing and do the actions they had been working on for weeks. When the song was over, Finn bent his head to come in contact with the top of Ollie's head in a kiss. Ollie looked up at him with a cheesy grin on face, one that matched Finn's. Rachel's heart swelled as she watched the interaction. Ollie leaned her head back on his chest as the show continued. Rachel leaned over and pressed a kiss to his cheek.
Finn turned to her with a content smile on his face. "She was amazing," he whispered when the next act came on.

"Best Rudolph I ever saw," she grinned before placing another kiss on his lips as she turned to the show in front of her, leaning her head on his shoulder. She didn't want to let him go.

When intermission came, Ollie refused to leave Finn's lap. Rachel attempted to lure her out with the promise of getting a treat but she didn't want to get up.

"No Mommy," she pouted. "I stay with Daddy."

She sighed as she ran her fingers through her hair. She wanted to go get Ellie so she could see the rest of the show.

"Babe, just go get her. We'll be fine here for five minutes. Right peanut?"

Ollie nodded as she leaned against Finn.

She was reluctant herself to leave Finn, but knew that she had to go and collect Ellie from her class so she wasn't left there on her own.

She wanted to tell Ellie the moment her little Rudolph came bounding up to her in the classroom, but she didn't want to ruin the surprise either.

"Mommy, can we get a drink before we got sit? My throat is all scratchy," she stated seriously.

"Of course we can princess."

Once the water was bought, she tugged Ellie's hand to follow her into the gym. She led her over to their seats and she felt Ellie grab her hand tighter when she saw the back of Finn's head.

"Mommy..." she whispered, tugging her hand again. "Mommy, who's that with Ollie? Is that..."

Rachel turned around and crouched in front of her. "Ellie.."

Finn chose that moment to turn his head towards them. "DADDY!" She yelled, moving around Rachel and running for the row in which Finn sat. She clamoured over Burt and Carole to get to him, launching herself at him just as Ollie had done half an hour earlier.

"Daddy, you came! You came back Daddy!" she squealed as Finn easily lifted her onto the opposite knee that Ollie was perched on.

Rachel felt tears rise in her eyes as she watched Ellie curl into Finn's chest as well. He kissed the top of her head too, smiling when her red bow tickled his nose. But as happy as it made her to see him with their daughters, her mind immediately went to the fact that he probably wasn't going to be home for very long. It was something they were going to have to talk about when they got back home. She tried to push those thoughts away as she sat down in her seat once more. Before she could say anything to anyone, Carole touched her leg to get her attention. Rachel leaned in to her to hear what she had to say.

"Do you want us to take the kids tonight?" she whispered.

Rachel chewed her lip as she looked back at Finn with the girls before turning to Carole. "I don't think I'll be able to keep them apart if I tried," she grinned. "Maybe another night..." Carole seemed to understand this, and nodded as the show got underway again.

"This is Jax' class," she whispered as she turned to Finn, kissing his shoulder as she did so. He nodded as the sounds of Santa Clause is Coming To Town rocked through the gym.

She knew immediately that Jax had spotted them. The little boy had stopped singing abruptly, had stopped the choreographed movements and just stood on the bench he had been assigned to as the song played on. His eyes were entirely focused on them, and Rachel bit her lip as the song ended. Finn moved Ollie and Ellie gently off his lap much to their disappointment and quickly moved out of their row before Rachel could realize what was happening.

Jax had broken away from his class and had run down the stairs of the stage and was making his way up the center of the gym at full speed. Finn, sensing that his son needed him moved towards him from the other direction and caught Jax in his arms half way down just as the little boy burst into tears. Rachel felt tears burn in her own eyes as she watched the interaction. She knew how much Jax had been missing Finn, especially the last week or so with the onset of the Christmas season. But seeing the way he reacted when he saw him broke her heart completely. Finn scooped him up in his arms as the little boy cried and began to make his way out of the gym. He eyed Rachel, using his eyes to tell her that he was going to take Jax out into the hall.

Rachel gave them a minute before going out to check on them. She found the sitting on the bench just a few feet away from the door. She hung back and observed them as they looked like they were having an intense conversation. Finn had Jax' complete attention as he spoke, but his hiccups were still unmistakable.

"I missed you so much Dad," he hiccupped as she walked closer, sliding onto the bench on the opposite side of Jax. "Hi Mommy."
She ran her hand up and down his back as he tried to calm himself down from his breakdown. It was a lot for a little boy, to be surprised and confronted by the father he had been missing for 6 months. Finn was his hero, he had told her that every night. She knew this visit would do wonder for his spirit, bringing back the childlike wonder and excitement that a child of 8 should have at Christmas time. She knew his Christmas was now made. Nothing, not even the jersey would top it.

"I was just telling Jax that I was going to be home until New Years Eve and we were going to get up to some fun stuff while I'm here..." he smiled, giving her the lopsided grin she loved so much.

"New Years Eve," she whispered as her hand moved from Jax' back to his hair.

"New Years Eve," he whispered back, holding her gaze as he gave her a soft smile.

His parents left them, taking Finn's truck to the hotel they were staying in while Rachel took her family home in their minivan. She kept looking over at Finn as she made the short drive from the school to the home they lived in just off base.

"You can stop checking on me babe, I'm not going anywhere just yet," he grinned.

"Yeah Mommy," Ellie piped up from her seat in the back. "Daddy's going to be here until New Years Eve!"

Both Finn and Rachel laughed as they turned into their subdivision and Rachel pulled in their driveway.

She didn't enforce the bedtime routine; she couldn't even if she tried. She did however, manage to make the kids take off their Christmas clothes and put on pajamas while she sent Finn into the bedroom to change out of his fatigues.

Jax was the first one to appear in the kitchen where she was busy making popcorn so they could all sit in the living room and watch a movie. She didn't know he was there until he wrapped his arms around her leg. She sighed when she looked down at him, pushing his hair back from his face with her fingers. When he looked up at her, tears were glittering in his eyes. Rachel sighed and crouched in front of him in time for him to wrap his arms around her.

Jax had always been emotional. A product of his environment, through and through. He had the heart of his father and the emotions of his mother. A complete mix.

"Hey, hey. What's wrong Jax?" Rachel asked as she kissed his head and pulled away from her.

He shrugged and wiped his tears. "I'm just really happy right now Mommy."

"Me too baby. Me too," she gave him a watery smile just as the timer on the microwave went off for the popcorn. She set about making four bowls of popcorn, handing the first one to Jax and sending him out into the living room just as Finn entered the room.

She busied herself getting it all set, pulling out some glasses to pour water into for their movie. She jumped when Finn placed his arms around her waist, pulling her into him as he buried his face in her hair. She placed the glass she was holding down on the counter and allowed herself to fall back into his embrace as he just held her to him.

"I've missed you so much," he mumbled as his face moved from her hair to her neck. He placed a few feather light kisses on her neck. She turned around in his embrace in time to tangle her arms around his neck.

"I missed you too,"

"Mommy...Daddy we're ready for our moviiiiiiieeeeee," Ellie called from the living room. Finn pulled away from Rachel as both of them chuckled.

"You take the popcorn and I'll grab the drinks...Mommy," he winked

Finn walked out to the living room after carrying Jax to bed. He dropped onto the couch beside her and instantly pulled her into his side.

"He's down. They're all finally asleep," he whispered as his fingers ran up and down her arm.

"I thought Ollie was never going to fall asleep," she yawned. "She's usually the easiest to put down."

"I'm sorry. It's probably my fault," he whispered as he played with her hair.

She laughed. "Yeah, thanks for that."

He smiled at her as silence over took them for a few minutes.

"I'm glad you're here though. You took me completely by surprise," she sighed as she looked up at him.

"That was the plan," he smiled.

"Who knew?" She leaned into him more and began to draw patterns on his chest.

"My mom. And Burt. And of course my company."

"When?" He raised an eyebrow at her, signalling her to continue. "When did you know you were coming home to us for Christmas?"

"You know when we skyped the other day?" She nodded. "I had just finished talking to my CO and he let me know that I had won the vacation lottery. There were six of us that were up to take the time off, and my name was one of two pulled. I was going to tell you, but then when you were telling me about how upset Jax was, I thought it would be neat to surprise you guys."

"You nearly gave me a heart attack," she admitted. "But the look on all of the kids faces was enough to make me feel better."

"The look on your face was pretty priceless too," he added."Worth the long flights,"

"You must be beat babe," she chewed her lip as she moved off his chest. "We should..."

He shook his head before tugging her back. "I'm fine babe. Really. I can sleep in the morning."

She moved off his chest and raised her eyebrow at him. "Do you really think you're going to get any sleep tomorrow?"

He chuckled and pulled her back against him before tilting her chin and placing a soft kiss on her lips. Instantly he pulled her closer to him, forcing the kiss to become deeper. Their lips mashed together until neither of them could breathe and they forced themselves apart for air.

Rachel stared deeply into Finn's eyes and without saying anything more, gently took his hand and tugged him up off the couch and towards their bedroom.

Rachel woke up the next morning just as the sun was beginning to stream through the blinds of her bedroom. When she rolled over her arm met the hard contours of Finn's chest, something she had thought she had only been dreaming of. Instead, laying beside her she found her strong and well built 6'3 soldier husband sleeping peacefully and looking a lot younger than his 28 years. Gone were the hard lines in his forehead, and he looked at peace. She'd seen him take a sleeping pill last night, and she bit her lip at the thought. Every deployment was different, and the fact that he was having to take medication to help him sleep scared her a little. She tried not to think about it, knowing Finn would tell her not to worry about it. She could still remember very distinctly the nightmares he suffered from each time he came back home after being away, and she wondered if the medication was to help stop that. He sniffled in his sleep, moving his arm that had been draped over her to the side, causing him to roll unconsciously onto his back. Rachel took a moment to appreciate him while she could. She knew the kids would be all over him the moment they woke up, and it was in this quiet that she wanted to keep her husband all to herself. She studied the hard planes of his chest, fingering the small words that were scrawled across the left side of his chest, all three of their children's names, Jaxon, Elliot and Olivia spelled out for the whole world to see. Hers was there too, of course, but she chose not to focus on that. It had started with hers though, for obvious reasons. They had gotten matching ones when they first moved to Georgia, her name over his heart and his name on her hip. They had followed it up after each child was born. Finn said it was so he always had them with him wherever he went. She ran her fingers over the defined muscles of his chest, before tracing his shoulders and going down his arms before going over his chest again.

"You're really here," she whispered. "Even if it's just for a little bit you're really here." He grunted in his sleep again and Rachel took this as a sign to stop touching him. She laid her head on his chest and she sighed happily when his arms enveloped her. She had missed this, most of all.

"Who wants pancakes, huh?" Finn asked hours later as he stood in front of the stove. He had each of the kids in stitches with him imitations and jokes. Rachel herself couldn't keep herself from laughing out loud as she watched him flip pancakes humorously, pretending to drop them or hit the ceiling with them. She wanted to chastise him about not wasting food, but just seeing the joy on her children's faces as their father put on a show for them was enough for her to forget about the rules and manners for a moment.

"I do Daddy!" Ollie squealed.

"Alright Princess Ollie, coming up..." he grinned, turning back to the griddle and scooping up a pancake before sliding it onto a plate complete with Cinderella's face on it. He turned around and passed the plate to the smiling little girl.

"Thank you Daddy!" she grinned.

"No problem princess," he smiled back. He made the rest of the pancakes for the family before moving to make a coffee for him and Rachel.

"It's nice not to make coffee for myself this morning," she smiled when he handed it to her. The smile he gave her made her heart flip over.

Christmas Eve crept up on them. Finn had arrived a few days before, and their days had been filled with different activities. He caught up on things he had missed in the last six months, down to the simple things of just giving Ollie a bath first thing in the morning. Finn had taken the kids out shopping while Rachel spent that day wrapping the gifts she had already bought. She ventured out herself after they left in the van, to go in search of one more special gift for Finn for Christmas.

Usually, she would buy him a few small gifts that she could send over, mostly practical things he could use over there. She had already done so, sending him a care package with his favourite things but being that he was home she wanted to get him something special and meaningful to open tomorrow morning. It didn't take her long to find exactly what she needed.

Traditionally, Finn and Rachel kept their family together and to themselves on Christmas Eve. They had a tradition of ordering in pizza from a parlor around the corner from the house and spent the evening in their pajamas as a family watching movies and decorating cookies.

She smiled as she heard the door open downstairs as she put the finishing touches on the gift she had found for Finn, placing a silver bow on top just above where she had written his name in neat cursive. The kids giggling and chattering happily made her heart sing, and she tried not to think about how Finn was going to be boarding a plane in a few short days to head back to his station in Afghanistan. She left the room and was met with a chorus of Mommy! when she approached the dining room where they were all sitting around the table. Finn was in the kitchen with the pizzas, distributing them among the plates he had set out.

"Something smells great in here," she smiled as she walked into the kitchen.

Finn grinned as he turned to look at her. "I got your favourite.,"

"Veggie deluxe?" she grinned.

"That's your favourite? I thought it was meat lovers extravaganza..." he winked. She walked closer to him and shoved him in the side a little before leaning over to open the second box of pizza to find a veggie one.

"You're bad," she laughed.

"But you love me, so it all works out in the end,"

"You're lucky I do," she whispered before surging up on to her tips toes to place a kiss on his lips before grabbing some of the plates and bringing them out to the kids.

Finn laid in the middle of their king sized bed, surrounded by their children. Ollie was cuddled up in front of him, helping him hold the book in front of him as he read.

"He spoke not a word, but went straight to his work, and filled all the stockings, then turned with a jerk. And laying his finger aside of his nose, and giving a nod, up the chimney he rose! He sprang to his sleigh, to his team gave a whistle, and away they all flew like the down of a thistle. But I heard him exclaim, 'ere he drove out of sight, "Happy Christmas to all, and to all a good-night!" Ellie was cuddled into Rachel's chest as she ran her fingers through her hair as they listened to Finn speak.

"I like that story Daddy," Ellie whispered as her eyes started to droop. She yawned to further prove her point that sleep was coming soon. "But how is Santa going to drop the presents off if we don't have a chimney? "

"We don't has a chimney?" Ollie's tired and squeaky voice piped up. "Daddy, we need a chimney!"

"Santa doesn't need a chimney to bring the presents. He can..."

"He can come through the window. Daddy made sure the front window was unlocked, right Daddy?" Rachel gave him a meaningful look over Ellie's head.

"I did. I also sent him an email to tell him which one is open. He'll bring the presents. I promise,"

"See, Daddy knows how to fix everything," Jax smiled sleepily. Both Rachel and Finn looked over their children's heads and chuckled.

"This one's for you Ellie!" Jax smiled as he handed a neatly wrapped package to Ellie before turning back to the pile.

"Thanks Jax!" she grinned before tearing into the paper to reveal a Barbie she had been wanting. The squeal she emitted was enough to bring a smile to Rachel's face. She clutched her cup of coffee in her hands as she watched Ollie tear into a package Jax had found for her.

"Jax, why don't you open that one there..." Rachel called pointing to a neatly wrapped box in red paper.

"Okay Mommy!" he scrambled to pick up the medium sized package, tearing it open to reveal the clue board game he had been wanting. "Thank you Mommy! Thank you Daddy!"

Finn grinned as he looked over at Rachel.

"Can we play today? Please?"

"We'll see Pal. Maybe Nana and Papa will want to play too." The smile on his face was priceless.

Rachel and Finn exchanged gifts last, as the kids attention was focused mainly on the many new toys they had received. Finn pulled out a small box from behind the tree and handed it to her.

"Finn Hudson..."

"Just open it babe,"

She pouted as she tore at the silver paper he had delicately wrapped box. It was obvious he had gotten it professionally wrapped. Inside was a delicate bracelet made of stars. It was gorgeous.

"Finn, it's beautiful," she sighed as she admired it. "Put it on me?" He gently leaned over and took it from her hands, taking it out before wrapping it around her wrist.

"Just like you," he whispered. "It was the first thing I saw. I knew immediately it was what I had to get for you."

"I love you," she whispered as she leaned over and pressed a kiss to his lips.

"I love you too," he grinned as he pulled away.

"Now you...open that present!" she smiled as she pointed at the box wrapped with snowmen covered paper. He grinned at her before tearing into it, to find a new iPod. During some of their more recent conversations he had been mentioning that his iPod hadn't been holding as long of a charge.

"Babe, this is amazing. And too much..."

She shook her head. "No it's not. It's not enough. I already loaded it with a playlist of our songs, some of the ones that remind me of us and other ones that the kids like and such. So you can remember us when you're over there defending our country."

"I always remember you guys. You're the first things on my mind when I wake up and the last thing I think about before I go to bed. Everything I'm doing is for you guys. I hope you know that,"

"I do," she whispered.

"But this is great babe. Thank you," he smiled as he leaned over to press another kiss to her lips just as the kids burst out into laughter from where they were playing one of Ellie's games that she had gotten for Christmas at the table.

She stood back as she watched Finn and the kids setting up the mouse trap game that Ellie had received from her father's for Christmas. She didn't hear what he had said, but the reaction Ellie gave him by throwing her head back and laughing much like Finn told her she did. Seeing her little girl so happy and excited on Christmas warmed her heart.

They had had a great day with both of their sets of parents who had come up to visit them for Christmas. They had enjoyed a big dinner that with all the fixings, turkey and stuffing with plenty of vegetables. The kids had been spoiled rotten, and seeing all of their faces light up when they opened all of the gifts from Santa and the family made the early morning wake-up call worth it. The kids had been so excited and had piled into their room just after 5am. It had been funny, Jax had followed behind both Ellie and Ollie with blurry eyes, their excitement contagious as they piled onto the bed. It had taken them a few minutes to get Finn going, but the moment he opened his eyes the kids had squealed in delight. Rachel was pretty sure that moment was going to be committed to memory.

"Babe, you going to join us?" Finn called as he placed four little mice down on the start.

"Yeah Mommy, are you coming?" Ollie piped up from where she sat on Finn's lap.

"Of course. Of course."

"Me and Daddy are going to be the green mousey!" she giggled as Rachel pulled out her chair across from them.

"Are you now?"

Ollie nodded enthusiastically. "You can be the yellow one Mommy. Jax wanna be the blue one. Ellie is going to be the red one."

"I guess I will be the yellow one then," she smiled.

The game got started with Jax going first, Ellie had insisted, since it was her game. She could see the touched look on Jax' face as he picked up the dice to roll.

As they played the game, Rachel sat back and watched them play together when it wasn't her turn. It warmed her heart when she saw Finn and Ollie working together to make their moves, building the selected portions of the trap. Watching Ollie giggle as Finn whispered in her ear, sneaking glances at her brother and sister as Finn surely fed her some ridiculous idea. A sense of pride encased her being as she watched them; her family always just fell back into step when they were together. She tried not to let the thoughts of Finn's imminent departure that was coming in a few short days overwhelm her thoughts. This was the first time he had been afforded a leave during his deployment so she was trying to keep positive and count herself lucky that they had gotten to spend Christmas together as a family. But it was these moments where they spent good, quality time as a family that made every sacrifice worthwhile.

She knew she would miss him. She was used to missing him. But deep down she knew she would get used to it, she had done it before and she would do it again. It was her kids she was worried about, she was unsure how they were going to recover once Finn left in a few days. She was sure there was going to be a few rough days, it was bound to happen especially after all the fun they had had and would have in the next few days.

"Mommy, it's your turn!" Ellie called, breaking her thoughts.

Rachel shook her head gently and caught Finn's eye across the table as she reached for the dice. She gave him a soft smile and blushed when he blew her a kiss.

"Maybe Christmas," he thought, "doesn't come from a store. Maybe Christmas...perhaps, means a little more" - The Grinch

Once again, Merry Christmas!