AU Finchel. She heard it like they all had. They boys were coming home, within the next few hours she'd be able to hold Finn again. Or so she thought. After a mission goes terribly wrong, Rachel is left wondering if she'll ever see him again. And then the she sees the white car approaching. Her heart shattering into a million pieces.

A/N: Hi guys! I hope you are well! This story is been spinning in my head for a while and I finally decided to give it a try. A few notes on this one. Finn's dad is alive, he and Carole moved to New York to be closer to the kids. I will be using all of the kids from my previous stories all wrapped up in one. I don't know a lot about the army except from movies but this is character driven so I won't elaborate on it much but if there are mistakes, they are all mine. Finn and Rachel live in New York but like in the show, moved there after high school from Lima.

I don't own Glee! Just a bunch of Finchel babies!

Kids:

Cory Jonathan Hudson. 16

Matthew "Matt" Noah Hudson. 13

Jackson "Jack" Asher Hudson. 8

Hannah Barbara Hudson. 6

Michael Perry Hudson. 3

Wyatt James Hudson 15 months

Micah Samuel Hudson 2 months old

Chapter 1:

Rachael slammed the alarm off for the third time that morning. It was the first day of school and she couldn't possibly be running late. Still she couldn't get herself to wake up, as the coldness on the other side hit her.

"Mom?" She heard a soft knock on the door. "Are you up? We're going to be late."

She didn't answer right away. "Yes, yes, I'm up." She groaned as she heard something crashing. With all the will power she had, she checked on her babies. Wyatt was no longer in his crib.

Her small battalion as she liked to call them was trying to make breakfast, she was thankful they had let her sleep for a while longer, but it all shattered when she saw the mess in the kitchen. A mess she'd have to clean.

Wyatt sat happily on his high chair as Cory placed a bowl of cereal in front of him. "Good morning mom, I made you some coffee." Thank goodness for Cory. She was her hero.

"Mommy! Mommy!" Perry called her attention by pulling on her leg.

"Mom did you pick up my uniform?" Matt called as he drank from the milk cart.

"Dude, that's gross!" Jack mused in. Matt made a face but was quickly told off. "Mom!"

"Matt, please don't do that." Rachel said calmly picking up Perry "Where you raised by monkeys?"

"Dad does it." Matt let out. Rachel felt herself tense at the mention of Finn.

"And I tell him the same thing over and over again." Matt could see the sadness in his mothers eyes so he took a glass out and put the cart away.

"Sorry. So did you?"

" what? Yes, it's..." Crap. She'd totally forgotten about Matt's uniform. That kid grew at an alarming rate. "Can you use your old one, just for today?" Matt eyed her for a moment, sighing.

"Fine. Will you come to the game?"

"Of course baby, I wouldn't miss it." Matt gave her the trademark Hudson smile.

"Mamma! I need help! Can't tie it!" Hannah came bouncing up and down with one bare foot. Her screams were muffled by that of the youngest of the brood.

"It's fine mom, I got it." Cory made his way back down the hall. A moment later he came carrying baby Micah. Rachel who had put Perry on a chair at the table took the baby.

"Hey mom? I think we are out of food. Again." Jack informed much to her dismay. Her head was about to explode.

Yes it was the first day of school but it seemed just as chaotic as any other day. Ever since he'd left.

Cory, who had recently received his driver's license offered to take the eldest kids to school on Finn's truck as she took the van. "Mommy?" Hannah asked as they walked hand in hand to the school gate.

"Yes Han?"

"Will daddy call today?" Rachel sighed. She honestly didn't know. It was so hard for Finn to get in touch once he was transferred. Her little girl, surrounded by her brothers was Finn's little princess, And she had him wrapped around her finger.

"I don't know baby, I really hope so." It wasn't Hannah's first day at elementary school thank goodness. she was going off to 2nd grade, and that was definitely a good thing because she wasn't sure how much drama she could handle in a day.

"Me too." Hannah admitted shyly. Rachel pushed the stroller alongside Hannah as they reached the door.

"Have a great first day baby, I love you."

"I love you too mommy."

Next she made her way over to her mother's daycare where she'd drop off Perry.

"Good morning Rachel." Jane, one of the girls who worked with Shelby said.

"Hey." She greeted with a big smile. "How are you today?"

"Great!" The younger woman smiled. "And how's that beautiful baby of yours? Still growing?"

"Yes, he definitely takes after the Hudson genes."

Perry was easily left off. He said goodbye to his mom and Rachel got ready to get back home.

She then dedicated her day to clean up and take care of her two babies. With Micah's birth only 3 months ago, she had been on maternity leave for a while, but she still tried her best to work from home, with Finn gone, they needed the money.

"Oh hey Kurt." She reached for her phone as she fed Micah. "Are you busy?"

"For you? Never! What's up?" Kurt had been her best friend for years now. He had moved just a few blocks from them when he and Blaine had decided to adopt.

"Ummm.. I'm actually embarrassed to Ask you this, but would it be much trouble if you came over? I really need some grown up talk."

"What in the world happened here? Are we around tornado season?" Kurt joked at the mess. "And I complain on how much of a mess two kids make. I'm helping you clean this up now!"

"You really don't have to. I'll get to it, eventually." The frustration in her voice made Kurt so sad. It had been nearly four months since she had seen Finn. He didn't even know Micah yet.

"So, has he called?"

"No, not since last week."

"Did he tell you when he'd be able to?" Rachel waved her head.

They made it back from Matt's game just in time for dinner. She'd cook but she was beyond exhausted so instead, they ordered a pizza.

"So what should we watch today?" Rachel waved the movies in front of her. Then the phone rang. Jack was the fastest to answer it.

It was Finn. Her heart jumped a beat at the sound of his voice. Just like it had when she was fifteen.

"Hey guys!" Finn's face came on the screen. The excitement in her children's eyes was too much for her to bear.

"Dad I totally crushed on my game tonight!" Matt gave him a few Pointers on the game as Cory said he'd been mastering the art of driving more each day. Jack and Hannah told him about their first day with less excitement when it came to the homework they already had to do. And this made him laugh.

"Dad, are you coming home soon?" Jack asked. Finn locked eyes with Rachel.

"I'm hopping buddy. Maybe in the next couple weeks."

"Are you? That's awesome!"

"So you'll make it for my birthday?" Cory asked. He didn't want to get his hopes up too soon. Finn had said he wasn't sure. And it broke Rachel's heart. When Finn didn't have much time left of his call, he asked the kids if he could have a little bit of time alone with mom and of course they agreed. Taking their turns to tell him how much he was loved. He was finally left alone with his wife.

"Hey beautiful."

"Hi." She was drained and could barely contain her excitement. "how is going? It's been pretty chaotic around here"

"Busy. Sorry I couldn't call sooner babe, it's been pretty crazy around here. But then how am I to talk crazy huh? You got it down there too. I take it first day of school went well?"

"It was fine. Cory and Matt helped me the most, but I missed you helping me get out of bed." Rachel smiled playfully. "I just really miss you."

"I know Rach, you have no idea. How's Micah?"

"Getting so big, you should see him Finn."

"I will, soon."

"Come on Hud! We got to go!" She heard a familiar voice call. Then Sam's face came on screen. "Hey Rachel."

"Sam."

"Sorry to steal the LT Hudson here but we've got to get going"

Finn sighed. "You heard the man babe, duty calls." He sighed into the screen but a crooked smile formed on his face.

"Finn. Be careful okay?"

"Always am beautiful. I love you."

"I love you too." Then the screen went black.

She was making her final round of the night when she found Cory was still awake. "Hey baby."

"Hey." Cory was an exact replica of Finn, her sweet boy was sometimes too strong for his own good. Rachel sat by the foot of the bed as Cory looked up from his notebook. "So..."

"So... I was wondering if tomorrow you would help me out by buying some groceries and stuff for your party." Cory eyed her closely.

"I don't need a party mom, I'm fine."

"Everyone needs a party Cory. That's not up for discussion. 16 is big!"

"No it's not. " she knew he was hurting because they all knew Finn wouldn't make it back in time. He'd already missed a few birthdays along the way, including his own. Cory's voice softened. "It's fine mom, really I don't need a party, maybe we could just go to grandpa's restaurant?" Rachel smiled. "And when dad gets back we'll all celebrate together?"

"Sounds like a plan." She said holding back the tears as Cory looks up at her with a smile. His smile.

"You do know he's coming home, right?"

"I do." She cleaned the tears from her eyes. "Did you take your pills?" He nodded.

"I really should finish this." Cory said a moment of silence later.

"of course baby...Good night Cory."

"Goodnight mom. I love you."

She got ready for bed putting on one of Finn's shirts. The smell of them, helped her to sleep. She rolled on to her side to look at the picture at the bedside table. It was a picture taken in April, just before Finn was deployed. She was pregnant with Micah at the time, she held baby Wyatt in her arms while Perry rested on Finn's shoulders. His free hand wrapped around her. Cory and Matt stood besides Finn. While Jack and Hannah sat on the ground.

Her eyes closed of exhaustion as she got ready for the next day of being without him.

So what did you guys think? Thanks for reading! Answers will be given next chapter! Thanks for reading! Please review if you can :)