A/N: I hope you like this story. Reviews are love! :)

Disclaimer: I don't own glee.

"Mama,"

Rachel feels her daughter tugging on her dress, trying to get her attention. She's in the kitchen, chopping up some tofu for dinner. She's pretty adamant in ensuring that her daughter receives proper nutrition. She doesn't have to be a vegan like her, but she definitely sets the limit on junk food. Little Lily gets only one ice cream per day.

"Yes, baby girl?"

"When is Daddy coming home?"

She feels her heart stop beating for a moment. Her eyes linger onto the silver band and diamond ring on her fourth finger. She nervously plays with it while searching for an answer for her daughter. How was she to explain this to a 2 year old who's barely seen the outside world?

Slowly but surely, she bends down to pick her daughter up and sets her on the kitchen counter.

"Daddy's… Daddy is in a country called Afghanistan. Which is very, very far away. He needs to…uhm… work there." She says, tears threatening to fall. "I don't know when he's going to come back, baby girl. But I know it'll be soon okay?"

Lily nods her little head. She's actually quite intelligent for a two year old. She started talking at 8 months old and Rachel's sure she'd gotten that from her.

"Do you want to help Mummy with dinner?"

Lily beams and claps her hands in excitement. "Yes! Mummy! Sure! What do I do?"

Rachel giggles and hands her teaspoon of pepper, instructing her to season the tofu.

Later that night, Rachel tucks Lily into bed. Before that, Lily throws a fit, demanding that she reads Sesame Street instead of Berenstain Bears because, according to Lily, Elmo is the greatest monster alive. Rachel laughs at how she's so much like Finn. She kisses her goodnight before whispering I love you and closes her door behind her.

She makes a mad dash for her room and plumps herself onto her desk and retrieves a pen and paper.

Dear Finn, She begins.

I miss you so much. Words can't even begin to describe how I feel. How's life treating you? I hope all is well.

Lily asked me something today. She asked, "When will Daddy be home?"

I couldn't answer. The words were stuck in my throat and I could barely reply her without breaking down into a million pieces.

Please tell me you'll be home soon.

I miss you so, so much. I love you.

Love, Rachel

P.S. Lily thinks Elmo is the greatest monster of them all.

She seals the envelope and mails it the next day. That's how they communicate now. Often, it takes months before a reply from Finn arrives. She can't blame him though. She just wishes that she didn't have to do this alone.

Rachel and Lily decide to go shopping for dresses, as Lily needed one for Mike and Tina's wedding. They go to the gap for kids and rummage through the clothing aisles. Lily finds a pink, fluffy dress and Rachel suggests that she try it on. They head to the fitting room and she helps Lily into the dress.

"Do you like it?" Rachel asks.

Lily smiles and nods, "But will Daddy like it?"

She feels her heart swell as she answers, "Yes, I'm sure he would honey."

Lily then beams at her. "Then I must get this one."

Rachel shakes her head and laughs at her daughter's antics. Lily definitely got that from her.

They pay for the dress and walk hand in hand down the streets of New York. Eventually, Lily gets tired and Rachel has to carry her the rest of the way home. She then starts to wonder what it'll be like if Finn was here.

A month later, while returning from grocery shopping, Rachel finds an envelope addressed to her in suspiciously familiar handwriting. She couldn't stop herself from smiling so wide. Shutting the door, she rips the envelope apart.

Hey Rachel.

Everything's good. Don't worry about me.

I miss you too. I think about you every day, every hour, and every second.

You're my soul, Rachel. How can I not miss you?

I don't know when I'll be home. I'm so sorry. I really wish I could be there right now.

Please tell Lily that I love her.

And most importantly, I love you.

Love, Finn

P.S Lily is right.

She reads the letter to Lily that night before bed, and Lily decides that it's way better then any of her other boring storybooks. Lily was ecstatic, especially when her Dad said that she was right about Elmo. She knew her father and her thought alike. Again, Rachel kisses her goodnight and whispers I love you, before shutting the door behind her.

Rachel has to go to rehearsal for her new show and Santana comes over to help babysit Lily. Lily never understood how her mother and Santana came to be friends, but nevertheless, she liked her.

While Santana was sitting on the couch, next to her while watching Finding Nemo, Lily asks, out of the blue, "How do I make my Mummy feel better?"

Santana looks at her in confusion. "What do you mean, Lil?"

Lily shakes her head. Clearly no one knew her mother better than her. She sighs at how adults can be so unobservant.

"I can tell she thinks about Daddy a lot. Sometimes I see her looking at old photo albums. Or sometimes she just stares out at the window. She cries too. I never know what to say so I just go back to my room and play with my Barbie's."

Santana thinks about it for a while and tells her "I'm going to teach you some magic words. Say these words to your mother tonight and I promise you, she'll feel much better."

Lily gets excited at the promise of a solution.

"Papá" Santana starts and gets Lily to repeat.

"Papá" Lily replies.

"te ama." Santana says and tells her to say the words together.

"Papá te ama?" Lily asks. "What does that mean?"

"It's magic words, remember? Trust me on this. Say this to your Mum when she gets back okay?"

Lily doesn't understand but promises anyway.

Her mother comes back in the evening and Santana leaves. Lily sits next to her mother, in front of her dresser and watches her remove her makeup.

"Mummy," She starts "Papá te ama."

And leaves immediately.

Thank God Rachel took Spanish back in high school.

She cries, and cries and cries that night. She clings onto her heart as if it's going to shatter and break apart.

Those three words, at the same time, gave her strength to carry on.

Lily usually takes her afternoon naps at three o'clock. If not, she'll get all cranky and the Hudson-Berry household does not do well with two girls who are in a bad mood.

Rachel was about to make a snack when she hears the doorbell ring.

The moment she turns the knob, she thought she stopped breathing.

"Hi." He sheepishly says.

She stares at him, unsure whether he is real or just a figment of her imagination. Maybe she was going crazy.

"I'm home." He tries again.

"Of course you are." She starts to cry and she jumps onto him, burying her face into his neck.

He can feel her tears trickling down his back.

He softens at her touch and rubs calming circles against her back. Yes, he's finally home.

She turns his head and smashes her lips against his, smiling at the familiarity of everything. She tries to run her fingers through his hair before realising his hair is too short. They both laugh and she shrugs, "They'll grow back."

She jumps down and intertwines their fingers together. She leads him to Lily's room without saying a word. Quietly, she opens the door and nudges Lily awake. "Lily" She whispers. "Daddy's home." Lily's eyes shot open and she leapt into her father's arms.

"I miss you Daddy! I'm so glad you're home!"

"Me too, baby girl, me too."

Rachel was in awe of the sight before her. Tears started to fill her eyes, as they were finally a family. Lily turns around and asks, "Mummy, why are you crying? Daddy's home. It's happy thing, not a sad one."

Rachel chuckles, and strokes her daughter's hair, "I am happy, Lily."

She turns to her husband and her hand lands on his cheek. "I am happy."