Thanks to everyone who's read, reviewed, favorited or alerted this story! I seriously can't believe I'm almost done! One more chapter is left! Enjoy the penultimate chapter and don't forget to read and review! Watch for Chapter 13 within the next few days! Finishing the story is sad - I've loved working on it so much!

Chapter 12: New Beginnings

"Is this place beautiful or what?" Rachel asked. She and Finn were sitting on the balcony of their hotel in St. Lucia as the sun set. The balcony provided a perfect view of the beach and the ocean and it was such a peaceful setting.
"It's lovely," Finn said, putting his arm around Rachel. "I love you."
"I love you too," Rachel said as the newlyweds shared a kiss. "Are you tired yet?"
"I am getting a little tired," Finn said.
They went into their hotel room, changed clothes and climbed into bed.
"You know Finn, now that we're married, there are no boundaries," Rachel said.
"Are you saying you want to - " Finn began.
"Yes," Rachel said. "I am."
"Are you sure you're ready for this?"
"Let's do it."
x
"You're sure you're ready to go back to school?" Hiram asked Rachel.
"I need to get an education. I can't just drop out," Rachel said.
It was Ohio State's Fall 2013 move-in day. Rachel and Finn were going to live in an apartment a few blocks from campus. This was a fresh start for them. Rachel had missed practically an entire year because of her attack and Finn had struggled academically last year because he was so preoccupied by Rachel's injury.
The summer had been amazing. The wedding had been the highlight and they had an amazing honeymoon in St. Lucia, swimming in the ocean, lying on the beach, scuba diving, sightseeing, watching fireworks and exploring the island.
They got back to Lima only to find out that Sam had proposed to Quinn on the way home from Finn and Rachel's wedding. They were already in the process of planning their wedding, where Finn would be the best man and Rachel would be the maid of honor.
Today, though, school was starting up again. The car was loaded and it was time to head down to Columbus. They said their goodbyes to their parents and began the drive.
About an hour into the drive, Rachel started crying. "What's wrong?" Finn asked, pulling the car aside and hugging and kissing his wife.
"Finn, I'm just so scared!" Rachel sobbed. "The last time I was on a college campus, I practically died."
"Rach, you're going to be fine," Finn said. "You know how I know that?"
"How?"
"Because we're together. I'm not going to let anything happen to you, Rach."
"I'm feeling sick to my stomach. That's how nervous I am."
"I'd be nervous about going back to school if that had happened to me. You'll be fine at Ohio State. We'll be together."
"Are you sure?"
"I'm absolutely positively sure."
"I love you."
"I love you, too."
The rest of the drive went fine. They arrived in Columbus, checked into the apartment and began unpacking. Suddenly, Rachel collapsed on the couch.
"Are you okay?" Finn asked, running over.
"My back's sore," Rachel said. "And I'm feeling really tired."
"Rachel, I'm getting really worried," Finn said. "So far today you've had a stomachache, a sore back and been really tired. Should I take you to the doctor?"
"They said my back's going to bother me for a while, Finn," Rachel said. "I'm walking on my own again. That's something."
"I know, but what about you feeling sick and tired?"
"It's probably post traumatic stress disorder. I'm honestly not surprised it's kicking in. It would probably wait until I went back to school to kick in. Let's finish unpacking."
"No, Rach, I'll finish unpacking. You go lie down in our room."
"Okay." Rachel smiled. "I love the sound of that. OUR room."
"Me too."
The next morning, Rachel woke up in time for her first class and was so scared about going back on a college campus, she could hardly contain it. She ran to the bathroom and vomited.
"Finn, I just threw up," Rachel gagged.
Finn ran to the bathroom. "Oh my God Rachel! Are you sure you want to go to classes today?"
"I'll have to start at some point. Might as well get it out of the way."
"Okay, well if you feel sick during the day, just come back here."
"Vomiting happens with PTSD a lot."
Classes weren't as hard as Rachel had dreaded, although she was being forced to start all over. She was mildly scared walking around campus and was relieved to get back to the apartment that night.
"How are you feeling?" Finn asked as soon as Rachel walked in.
"Tired, but I doubt I'll throw up again."
"Do you still feel nauseous?"
"Well, not like I did this morning. I did some research on PTSD, and you feel fine after your vomiting episodes typically, but I'm tired and achy."
"Rachel - you remember what happened the first night of our honeymoon, right?"
"How could I forget?"
"Do you think - "
"I doubt it. We only did it once."
"Have you missed your period?"
"I don't know, it's supposed to come this week. Come on Finn, we did it once. Do you seriously think I'm pregnant?"
"Whatever."
x
Two weeks later, Finn and Rachel were in the stands at the Ohio State vs. Miami football game. Sam and Quinn had taken the bus to Columbus with other Miami students and were sitting with Finn and Rachel in the stands. They were asking for all sorts of advice for their wedding, which they had scheduled during Miami's spring break.
About halfway through the second quarter, Rachel began feeling sick and ran to the bathroom. She made it just in time and threw up in the toilet as soon as she was in a stall.
"Rachel?" Rachel unlocked the stall and saw Quinn standing by the sink.
"Quinn, I just threw up."
"Seriously?"
"Yeah, you know I've had a bad bout with PTSD. This is the fifth time I've thrown up since I got here. I'm tired and sore all the time. I've gained four pounds and my eating habits haven't even changed. And I missed my period."
"Are you sure you aren't pregnant? That's almost exactly what happened when I first got pregnant."
"I don't know. Let's just get back to the boys."
Rachel held back sobs on the way back to Finn and Sam in the stands. Quinn put her arm around Rachel as they walked.
"What happened?" Sam asked as soon as the girls got back.
"I threw up. Again," Rachel blurted out.
"Okay, we're going to the hospital," Finn said.
"I'll drive you guys," Sam said.
"Isn't that unnecessary, Finn?" Rachel protested.
"I don't think throwing up five times over the course of less than two weeks is common," Finn said.
"Rachel, you need to get to the hospital," Quinn said.
Sam drove the car to the hospital with Rachel lying on the back seat, with her head in Finn's lap. Rachel and Finn were called in minutes after arriving at the hospital, with Sam and Quinn waiting for them in the waiting room.
After talking with the doctor and taking a pregnancy test, it turned out Finn and Quinn's theory was correct: it wasn't post traumatic stress disorder. Rachel was pregnant.
"Well, now you don't have to worry about me having PTSD!" Rachel said as she and Finn headed back to the waiting room.
"I know!" Finn said. "I'm so excited! Aren't you?"
"We're already starting our family! Good thing we have a two-bedroom apartment, because we'll be needing that extra bedroom in nine months!"
"Who should we tell first? Just to warn you, my mom is going to want to start shopping for baby stuff with you right away."
"We can call our parents tonight, but let's tell Sam and Quinn first. After all, they were nice enough to bring us here."
"Sounds good!"
"I'm pregnant!" Rachel declared to Sam and Quinn as they went into the waiting room.
"So, I guess I'll have to get your Maid of Honor dress resized?" Quinn said, hugging Rachel. "You'll be pregnant for my wedding."
"Sorry," Rachel laughed.
"Just kidding!" Quinn said. "I'm so happy for you."
"A baby, huh?" Sam said. "Watching you two together and how much you care for each other, you guys are going to be great parents."
The four exchanged a group hug.
That evening, Finn and Rachel called their parents who were almost as excited as they were. As Finn had predicted, his mother was overjoyed and wanted to take Rachel shopping for maternity clothes and clothes for the baby right away.
The baby may have held back others from college careers, but not Finn and Rachel. Rather, their unborn child was their motivation. They studied as hard as they could, and by mid-terms, they both had straight A's, a first for Finn. Rachel was still going to biweekly physical therapy, but was getting her strength back and was in pain less often. In their apartment at night, when they weren't studying, they would lie on their bed, resting their hands on Rachel's stomach, feeling the baby kicking.
They both finished the first semester with straight A's. Rachel kept talking about how proud she was of Finn ("Just look at how far you've come!") but Finn was sure he was more proud of Rachel.
By winter break, they had reached the sixteen-week mark, and while getting the baby's gender checked, a surprising discovery was made: the baby was twins. A boy and a girl.
So now came the challenge of getting two of everything. Two high chairs, two car seats, two cribs.
That spring, Rachel was a month from her due date and the Maid of Honor in Sam and Quinn's wedding, praying the babies wouldn't make an appearance until after the wedding. It was bad enough that her baby bump would probably be the first thing she noticed when she looked at pictures, but Quinn was adamant that Rachel be the Maid of Honor. The ceremony went fine, but the babies were kicking more than usual. During the speech, Rachel felt lots of pain in her stomach - could she be going into labor?
She had to wait until after the reception. It was Sam and Quinn's special day. She wasn't going to steal the spotlight.
As Rachel and Finn left the wedding reception, Rachel grabbed Finn's hand. "Finn, my water broke."
"When?"
"Just now. I felt like labor was starting a few hours ago, but I didn't want to ruin Sam and Quinn's wedding."
"Avoiding the spotlight now, huh? Okay, let's go to the hospital."
Finn drove Rachel to the hospital as fast as he could, still in their dress and tux, and two hours later, their babies had been delivered. Ryan Nicholas Hudson was born at 12:01 a.m. and weighed 8 pounds, 4 ounces. Emma Grace Hudson was born at 12:08 a.m., weighing 7 pounds, 13 ounces.
"She stayed so calm throughout the whole process," the doctor said, putting Emma in Rachel's arms, while Ryan was in Finn's arms. "She was just squeezing your hand the whole time. We rarely have people that calm, especially young people."
"Please," Rachel said. "After nearly dying last year and then having major spine surgery, I can handle delivering babies."
"Well, you two made two beautiful babies," the doctor said. "Of course, looking at you two, that's not a surprise."
"Thank you," Rachel said. Then Ryan let out a cry.
"Hey, honey," Finn gooed to Ryan. "It's your daddy."
"I'll let the four of you have some family time," the doctor said, stepping out of the room."
"Family time," Rachel said. "I like the sound of that. The four of us are a family."
"We are," Finn said. "They're just as beautiful as you are."
"Please," Rachel said. "They got your genes, because they're so beautiful."
"Should we call our parents?" Finn said. "They're probably freaking out at this point."
"Yeah," Rachel said. "Can I hold Ryan while you call your parents?"
"Only if I can hold Emma!" Finn said.
"Deal," Rachel said. She took her son and handed Finn their daughter. She cradled her son as she heard Finn on the phone.
"Hi Mom! Yes, Mom, don't freak out. They're both beautiful and perfect. Ryan Nicholas Hudson and Emma Grace Hudson. Yes, they're doing fine, Rachel's doing fine, too. We're both pretty tired. You can come see us tomorrow."
"How's your mom?" Rachel asked when Finn hung up the phone.
"A little too excited!"
"I bet. Would you mind calling my parents, too? I'm just - too wiped out from giving birth."
"Of course I will." Finn began dialing Rachel's dads' phone number as Rachel looked into her son's face. Then she looked at her daughter in her husband's arms. Emma let out a cry.
"Want to be with Mommy?" Finn asked his daughter. "Let's go be with Mommy and your brother."
"I love them," Rachel said with a smile. "Don't you?"
"I do," Finn said. "I really do. We did it. We're parents."