Epilogue

Happily Ever After

Three years didn't seem like a long time. In that time, Rachel had done the almost impossible and made a name of herself. Since arriving in New York in early December three years ago, Rachel had been on Broadway and hadn't done much else. She sang and danced and acted her heart out up on the big name stages of New York. She had done a year of 'Les Miserables' and it had been one of the best experiences of her life. Up there with marrying Will and giving birth to Erin. She swore that for the rest of her life, she would never forget the moment she stepped out onto the stage dressed as Éponine and about to sing, looking down on the front row of the opening night, in summer and seeing her husband with their almost year old daughter sat on his knee. Her fathers were there and so were Quinn, Santana and Brittany. That night when she sang, she sang for them and couldn't believe that she had achieved both of her dreams: staring in a Broadway show and being a mother. Once her contract ended with 'Les Miserables' she was almost immediately snapped up to be in another production. Once one show ended, another began and Rachel still had to ask Will to pinch her just to make sure it wasn't a dream. Instead of pinching her, however, he simply kissed her and whispered; "Your dreams came true, Rachel. Now believe it!"

Now, three years later, at the tender age of twenty one, she sat in the late July sun with her husband in Erin's favourite park. Well, the park her parents had deemed to be her favourite, considering it was the closest to their home. Will had been busy with his new teaching position and was thankful for the weekend. Moving to New York meant looking for a new job, as well as looking after baby Erin. It was tough for them, what with Rachel's relentless rehearsals and then performing. Financially they struggled a little: Will had sold their apartment back in Ohio and used the money to rent one in New York. It was smaller and darker than the one in Lima, and this was particularly difficult for Will to deal with. Since he looked after Erin during the day and then worked teaching Spanish and a little English in the evenings. Christmas was difficult, as neither had envisaged having a small tree with recycled decorations and barely any presents. But they had made the most of it by saying it was like they were living 'The Gift of the Magi'. But once Rachel got her first big pay check at some point during February and then again in March, they were able to really start living the New York dream.

They began living like 'real' New Yorkers with a nice mix of stereotype: eating bagels and drinking coffee regularly, taking strolls in Central Park at the weekends and of course seeing all the sights. However, where it was perfect for them, Will and Rachel talked about how it wasn't perfect for Erin. Yes, they loved living in New York and with their jobs (especially Rachel's) it was great, but it wasn't what they wanted for their family. Where they knew people were raising their families in New York apartments or houses in places like the Bronx and Queens, the two parents knew it wasn't what they wanted. They were, after all, still small town people. So, once Erin turned one, they decided to move out of the city and into a cute little suburb in New Jersey. It was cheaper and better for them to live there. Will got a job at the local high school and was even able to co-direct the school's Glee Club – with Rachel making specialist appearances.

Today, the warm sun was beating down on Will and Rachel. Will was lying on a blanket, with food and toys scattered around him, and Rachel was lying across him. Rachel was dressed in a like peach floating dress and dark shades and Will was wearing his favourite pair of light blue chinos and white shirt with just enough buttons undone so his wife could stroke her cool fingers on his warm chest. Where Rachel was catching some rays, her husband was keeping a close eye on their twirling daughter. Her red summer dress and flowing brown hair fluttered around her with each whirl she made and her happy laughs were echoed around them whenever a butterfly came near her or a gush of wind tickled her. Even though she was barely a foot away from them, Will still couldn't help but call out to her; "Erin! Be careful sweetheart!" His bubbly daughter stopped her movements and looked over at her father. Hearing her husband, Rachel sat up beamed at her little girl. "She's okay Will," she laughed, seeing that she wasn't hurt and was in fact just enjoying herself. "Let her toddle around," the young mother suggested, reaching over to her bag and taking out the sunscreen. Where their little girl had inherited her brown hair and eyes (and adorable height) she had also gotten Will's slightly paler skin. As Rachel called over their toddling toddler, Will took his water bottle and sighed; "I know, I know. I just worry." He took a swig of his water before placing the little girl on his lap, holding her in place whilst his wife slathered her arms, face and legs in more sunscreen. "Well don't; she's an adventurous little girl," Rachel chuckled, kissing her daughter's head and standing her up, "Let her explore." She told her husband, not before placing a big kiss on her daughter's head and giving her a swift tap on her bottom, pushing her slightly so she could go and play again.

Just as she predicted, Erin caught sight of a fluttery butterfly and squealed after it – not before yelling "Bye-bye Mommy! Bye-bye Daddy!" behind her – and tried to catch it, leaping and jumping; practicing her baby ballet movements. Will watched with a quiet smile as he wrapped his arm around his now sitting up wife. "I just don't want her to get hurt." Rachel pressed a kiss to his slightly stubbly cheek and whispered in his ear; "You're such a protective father." She snuggled slightly into him – now both their eyes watching every movement of their wonderful child. Just as Erin thought she had caught the butterfly, she opened her hands and saw that it wasn't in fact in her hands. She pouted and stomped her foot, but then she saw it and chased after it again. Will chuckled, "Just wait until she's old enough to start dating!" Rachel then pushed away from Will and lightly tapped his chest with her hand. "Please let our daughter have boyfriends Will!" Her husband then laughed again and lightly ruffled Rachel's wind swept hair. "I will, I will. Just…when she's thirty."

"Oh be quiet!" Rachel laughed and tickled her husband until he surrendered and allowed their daughter to date boys when she reached the ripe old age of twenty one. Rachel shook her head and then wrapped her arm around Will's waist, with her husband resting his head on top of hers and sighing; "She's beautiful and wonderful, she'll be a heartbreaker." Against his chest, Rachel then giggled; "And you'll be a jaw breaker if some boy ever comes near her!"

"Exactly!" Will agreed and pressed a light kiss on his wife's head; knowing that Erin would be just as headstrong as himself but as romantic as his wife. He knew that she would be a heartbreaker: there was no doubt of it.

Listening to their little girl munch on more of her lunch a little while later, Will contemplated asking his wife a question. He watched as Rachel bushed back Erin's hair and put it up in a little pony tail so she wouldn't get peanut butter or jelly in it. "Have some mommy," Erin ordered lightly as she held up her sandwich to her mother. Rachel then giggled and shook her head, "Mommy has her own sandwich, Petal," She then took the sandwich and broke it in half; "Eat this little bit and then you can have some yoghurt and a cake, okay?" Erin then eagerly snatched the sandwich half and chewed as fast as she could. Will chuckled at his little girl and then put his arm on Rachel's. Lightly, his fingers began to stroke the warm, soft skin of his wife and then began to ask her his question: "Say Rach…have you ever…I don't know…Do you ever think about giving her a little brother? Or a little sister? I mean I was an only child and you're an only child. I'd kind of really like her to have someone to play with. Only if you want." Rachel always found her husband's nervous stuttering adorable. He only ever did it when he wanted something but didn't want to sound forceful. Once she handed Erin her strawberry flavoured yoghurt and little pink spoon, Rachel shuffled herself slightly closer to her husband. One hand cupped the back of his neck and the other rested on his knee. "In answer your first question," she began, tilting her head up so she could look up at Will directly. "Yes. I have thought about having another baby. As for your second question, it's pretty much the same answer." She quickly looked back at Erin, who had managed to get more yoghurt down the front of her dress and on her face than in her mouth. The two parents giggled at their daughter. At the sound of their laughter, Erin pouted once again but then picked herself up and went to sit in her mother's lap. She fully welcomed the one armed embrace given to her by her mom and the one handed tickle give to her by her dad. Looking back up at her husband, Rachel beamed quietly; "I would love to have another baby with you," and with that said she brought his face down to hers so she could kiss him.

For the rest of the afternoon, Rachel and Will wandered around the park; feeding ducks, pushing Erin on the swings and generally having fun with their current little girl. That night, once they had tucked her into her big girl princess bed together, Will and Rachel held each other and kissed each other. Every day with Erin was exhausting and challenging. She would soon be four years old and starting school and before they would know it she would be graduating from high school and leaving for college. But right now, all she was interested in was singing and dancing – like her mom – and learning new things about the world – like her dad – as well as concentrating on being a little girl. For Rachel and Will, their lives had changed dramatically in the last few years, but as they held each other and had morning snuggles with their beautiful daughter they knew they would never regret anything. Yes, their relationship may have been a difficult one at first, but at the end of the day; that was life! They had their dreams and their lives and they were going to live them absolutely to the fullest they could. And, who knows, maybe Erin would get a little brother and little sister to play with and maybe Will and Rachel would get a son or another daughter to further enrich their lives together.

One thing was for sure, they would always look back on their time together and remember how they crossed their boundaries and made their lives the best they could by taking that life changing risk. That would be the moral they would take away from themselves. Would it have been better if they were the same age? Maybe, but really, for Rachel and Will Schuster they wouldn't regret a single thing.

There you have it everybody! Thank you for reading and reviewing, I hope you've enjoyed it :)