Disclaimer: I do not have any relation to Glee or any of the writers on Fox. Purely fictional.

I checked myself in the mirror for the final time before leaving the house. Finn had arrived 5 minutes ago but I was paranoid about the way I looked. Not only was Finn going to be there, his entire family was too. We weren't a couple or anything, but meeting the parents of the man I've been crushing on was overwhelming.

Finn Hudson was leaning on his car and whistling in the wind. His hands tucked in the comfort of his pockets as he stared at the entrance door of the building. He contemplated hiding out in the lobby but she reassured him that she would be down in a second.

He saw the doors of the lift open. Gulping at the sight, he started to stand upright.

"So you're the famous Rachel Berry!" Carole Hudson-Hummel exclaimed when the pair walked into the Klaine apartment.

Presenting the tiny girl with a hug, Rachel started to ease into relaxation, calmed by the fact that Carole treated her like an old family friend.

"Hey Mom." Finn greeted from the back of the girl.

"And here's my baby. Come here and give Mom a hug."

"Mom..." He whined, embarrassed that his mother was treating him like a child in front of his 'girl'. "Rachel's here."

"Well look who thinks he's all too grown up to give his mother a hug now." Carole commented and winked at Rachel in the process. She giggled from the older woman's tease.

Finn grumbled as his mother embraced him, knowing that this was just the beginning of his long night to come.

"Hey Burt." He greeted the man on the couch, trying to push past the shame his mother brought to him.

The older man in the room stood up and shook hands with the giant. Finn brought Rachel in front of him and Burt studied the girl. Rachel looked up to Finn who had his hands on her shoulders. He gave her a reassuring smile and she extended her hand.

"You should have seen the pictures, he never let the drum sticks leave his hands. In fact, I think in his transition from a toddler to a young child, the drum sticks became his best friend instead of Mr. Snowball. You remember him Finny?"

"Aw, Finny! Mr. Snowball!" achel clapped her hands in excitement.

Finn shrunk into his seat further and covered his face with his palms while Kurt roared with laughter. He heard this story a million times but Mr. Snowball always cracked him up.

This holiday, the Finn stories were particularly entertaining because Rachel took part in the fun. Quinn sat in a corner and smiled politely whenever Carole shared the tales. It puzzled Kurt, making him wonder if Quinn was even listening. Rachel was a different case. It delighted Kurt that Rachel was joining Operation-humiliate-Finn.

Carole took a breather while Kurt joked about the pictures he'd seen. Watching the way Rachel laughed along, she took pride that her son was capable of finding such an extraordinary girl. Quinn was special, but she was no Rachel. There was this sense of familiarity she had with the tiny girl.

After they were done with dinner, Burt Hummel excused himself into the kitchen. As he loaded the dishes into the dishwasher, Finn walked in.

"She's one special little girl."

The older man was wiping his hands on the dishcloth so Finn waited until Burt was looking at him.

"Yeah?" He inquired. Of course he knew that Rachel was special, but it didn't hurt to hear his stepfather's reasons why he thought so too.

Burt Hummel nodded. "You remember what I said on the day I married your mom?"

Finn nodded and the man continued softly. "There she is. Go get her."

He cleared his throat and his voice returned to the original volume. "Your mom is everything. Words can't describe her, she's everything. And I will love her until the day I die."

Finn still didn't get it.

"You know how Kurt's mom passed away and we were managing right? Well, life was hard on us. What we were living, wasn't really living. Happiness was forced, and we got by. Until I met your mom. That idea where one person, one girl, is capable of consuming your whole life, that's the key to knowing that she's something. I saw the way you look at her Finn. You can deny all you want, but you'll never be able to get away with it when you know in your heart, who's the right one for you."

Finn bowed his head. "And you didn't feel that I was happy with Quinn?"

"Hey, your love life is your business. I don't meddle. I just wanted you to know that Rachel's a keeper. Think about it. She could have refused this invitation. But she didn't. Instead, she chose to spend the entire dinner, exchanging childhood stories with your family. She wants to understand you Finn."

He laid his hand on Finn's shoulder before exiting into the living room.

When Finn finally returned to his family, he saw that Rachel had settled herself on the carpet with Kurt and Blaine on her left. Carole was smiling down at the kids and Burt had his arm around his wife. And suddenly, he started to make sense of it all.

Carole motioned for Finn to join them. Thereafter, she nudged Kurt's shoulder, hinting for him to take the spot at the armchair. She pointed to the empty patch below her, which was also coincidentally located beside Rachel.

The brunette looked up at the man and smiled, patting the carpet and beckoned for him. After settling himself beside her, Burt cleared his throat for attention.

"Rachel, since this is your first Christmas with us, it's customary that you follow our traditions."

She nodded politely, and focused on the man of the household. In the midst of this, Finn's arm circled around her shoulders and his fingers twirled the ends of her hair as he too, listened intently.

"Every year at Christmas, we tell each other about our previous Christmas wish and compare it with what we have this year. Even if your wish hasn't been fulfilled, you'll need to list out something that has changed in your life. And then, you'll end of with a new Christmas wish. So, you're our guest. You can go first."

She gave Finn a side look before taking a deep breath. "Sounds easy enough."

"So uhm, last year for Christmas, I wished for him."

"So you've got yourself someone special honey?" Carole asked with a small smile. Rachel looked the older woman and it made her smile too. Finn had the same smile as his mom did, and she took comfort in it. She nodded and continued.

"This year, I didn't get him. But I guess, if I do have to list out a change, it's the fact that for a brief moment, what we had was..." She paused to look at him. Finn was drawing imaginary circles on the floor, but even then, she could see the dash of red overtaking his face. The memory of their night out at the beach flashed through her mind.

"Magical."

Hearing the word she quoted from that night made the man realize that she was referring to him. He sneaked a glance at her and saw that she was looking around the room. His hand, the one that had been resting on her shoulder dropped to her waist. He pulled her in a little closer, hoping that none of his family members would realize.

"Do you love him dear?" Carole pursued.

Rachel smiled and looked at the woman's kind face. "Yes, I do."

"And does he love you back?"

He does, he thought to himself. Finn looked at Rachel and anticipated her reply.

She chuckled lightly and said, "What's not to love?"

A gentle wave of laughter sounded across the room while Finn rubbed her sides for her attention. She looked at him and he whispered into her ear,

"You've got nothing to worry about. He adores you."

"Okay Finn. Stop stalling. Everyone's had their turn. You're up next big guy." Burt commented as he leaned back into the cushions of the couch. Carole sighed with contentment as she fell into her husband's shoulders.

Every year, she wished for the same thing, for her son to be happy. Somehow, for this particular year, she didn't worry too much into the matter. Call it a mother's instinct or something, but she felt that he was on his way to finding just that.

Finn cleared his throat and looked at his mom. She was looking up at Burt with admiration. When he looked towards the other couple, he saw that Blaine had his shoulder around Kurt, and his stepbrother was nestled neatly into the crook of his arm. He marveled the sight of his family.

"Last year, I wished for a lot of things. And well, this year hasn't been going that awesome. I broke up with Quinn, so I guess you could say that things hadn't been good at all. I guess, karma can be quite the bitch sometimes. But instead of telling what had changed, I want to say something that hasn't. And it's this beautiful lady beside me."

He looked down at Rachel and she was smiling at the floor. His arm had never left her waist, so he pulled her in closer.

"This young lady has always been so strong for me. She deserves everything." At the last sentence, Finn looked at his stepfather and the old man nodded slightly.

"So for Christmas this year, I wish for Rachel to be happy because she is everything."

Kurt popped the tape into its player and switched the television on. Rachel snuggled closer to Finn, now that the chilly night was breaking into the apartment. The Hudson-Hummel Christmas tradition continues; now ending off their celebration with a movie marathon of all of their favorite Christmas films.

Finn draped the blanket over her tiny body and he recollected the night when they were in the same position as the present.

He let out a sigh of relief, receiving a puzzled look from the tiny girl.

"Is anything wrong Finny?" She asked softly.

"I'm good. I'm just glad that the movie we're about to watch isn't a scary one. Blanket hogger." He whispered as the opening credits of Home Alone started to blink on the screen.

She pouted willfully, earning a soft chuckle from the man. She waited a couple of seconds before pinching his elbow.

Grimacing from the pain, he rubbed the sore spot. What is it with films with Rachel and pain? It's like it was mandatory for it to happen. She stuck out her tongue at him and folded her arms across her chest.

Instead of getting back at her, he wrapped his arms around the tiny body beside him. She brought her knees up so that it could support him. And when the first scene of the film flashed before them, she sniffed his arm and smiled against his limb. Resting her face on it, Finn relished her small body being so close to him.

The lights of the living room were turned down. Burt and Carole had retreated to the guest room of the Klaine apartment while the owners of the house was sound asleep in their own room.

Finn and Rachel had just sat through four hours of films, and finally switched off the television when everyone else had gone to bed.

He stood up and cleared the dishes on the table while Rachel stayed at her spot on the floor.

When he returned, he saw that her head was leaning against the seat of the sofa. Assuming that she had fallen asleep, he gently grazed her arm and pushed her hair away from her neck before taking a whiff of the vanilla essence he missed so much.

As his nose made contact with her, she savored his touch. When she fidgeted, he retreated quickly, leading her to rotate herself so that her vision would be focused on him.

Finn leaned against the seat too, but as his legs stretched out front, she slid a cushion on the giant's lap. Dropping down into the nest, she looked up for his approval. He pulled his legs in, trapping her head between his stomach and thighs. Caressing the cheek of Rachel Berry's Finn Hudson looked down at his Christmas blessing of the year.

"Finny?"

"Yes baby?"

"Thank you for inviting me over to spend Christmas with your family."

"Kurt invited you baby."

"Well then thanks for being okay with it."

"I'll always be okay with you hanging out."

She sighed and turned towards him. Kissing his dress shirt softly, she whispered,

"I'm glad to spend Christmas with you this year."

"Me too baby."

She giggled and drew circles on him. "Why do you keep adding baby after the end of every sentence?"

"Because you're my baby."

"Finn!"

He smiled and fingered around her ear. "I just like calling you baby. Makes it seem as though you're mine to keep."

"And am I? Am I yours to keep?"

"Of course you are. You're my Rachel Berry."

She blushed from his confession and pulled his hands towards her. Bringing it up to her lips, she pecked at every protruding knuckle. Finally, she held his fingers in hers and squeezed them before resting them on her waist.

"Rach."

"Hmm?"

"You didn't say what you wanted this Christmas."

"Sure I did."

"No you didn't."

She looked into his eyes. "Can't fool you now, can I?"

He shook his head. Biting her lip, she closed her eyes and let her confession slip from her.

"I had a Christmas wish this year. But it was already fulfilled last week; at the very minute when Kurt invited me over, and that you were okay with it. My Christmas wish was that I didn't want to be alone this year."

His heart shattered that she was this close to loneliness and he couldn't do anything about it.

He nudged her nose, causing her to stare into his eyes. "Rachel, you'll never be alone on Christmas. I'll never let it happen. Not when I'm around."

A small smile appeared on her face and she softly asked, "You promise?"

He nodded with assurance. She curled up her legs towards him and he continued exploring her face.

"It's also because of the fact that Christmas is suppose to be about family and joy. You're not family, but you're definitely joy. With that, it qualifies for your presence in my Christmas celebration."

"Yeah?"

"Of course. You're the illumination. You're the one that provides joy. Or at least, you provide joy in my life."

"Finn, you're embarrassing me."

"Not as though anyone else is around." He teased matter-of-factly.

"Your family has been wonderful to me Finn. Look at how happy everyone was."

He rubbed the back of his neck. "Yeah, it can get disgustingly happy in my opinion but I love each and every one of them."

"Of course you would. Anybody would. I get why you've been so wonderful too. Now that I've met them."

He chuckled at her reasoning. "That's where you got it all wrong Rach, trust me. The reason why I seem amazing is because I have you in my life."

"Finn..."

"It's true. You being here with me on Christmas just made me understand what everyone has always been talking about."

"What do they talk about?"

"You know how every Christmas movie, it'll always have families rushing back for the festive season?"

"Uh huh."

"Because Christmas is home. Christmas is the day where everyone fights to be as close to their loved ones as possible. Because nothing bad can ever happen during Christmas. At least, nothing too terrible. Unless your mom starts retelling horrible childhood stories from your past."

She giggled before he continued on.

"It's the second day in the entire year, coming right up after Thanksgiving and before New Year's Eve, that you'll realize how blessed you are to be surrounded by people who love you. In my opinion, Christmas still wins because you get presents." He winked at her, causing her heartbeat to increase.

"You have made this an unforgettable Christmas for me Rachel. Because to finally have my best friend with me on this day makes it complete."

A peaceful silence surrounded them. Finally when he thought that she was too worn out to talk, her whisper into the dark room made him smile.

"You're not the only one who finally understands what people talk about when they talk about Christmas."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah. Because being with you, I finally get why they say that Christmas is the most wonderful time of the year."

He made it wonderful for me this year. The night was good, but this moment. Right here, being with him, so comfortable with him on this festive night made everything seem mundane. For two years, I could only hope what it might have been like if we ever got the chance to spend this day together. And tonight, being here with him, it was nothing compared to my imaginations. What's that Christmas song lyrics? 'It's who I'm with. It's an extraordinary merry Christmas, even better than the one before.' Being with Finn has made 2011 my best Christmas ever.

HAPPY FINCHEL CHRSITMAS with ch. 36! And it's definitely the longest one I've ever written for NY's Sweethearts! This story is easily becoming my favorite among the rest I've done! I hope all you readers out there adore this just as much as I did, because well, the Finchel bubble is here! So for anyone following me on twitter, you guys get why I was so excited for Xmas now? :) When I was reading your reviews in the midst of completing this chapter, I was thinking, you guys haven't read anything yet. So I certainly hope that this doesn't disappoint anyone of you!

Regrettably though, this would be my last update for the week :'( I've got a church camp coming up and back to work this Sunday, so my next update would probably be next week! (Which is why I wanted this chapter to be really enjoyable for you) Crossing my fingers that I wouldn't lose any readers along the way! Glee reference to S02E08, and the lyrics are from Lea Michele's duet with Darren Criss "Extraordinary Merry Christmas".

Finchel21, Melly233, JulGleek, finchel-frankenberry-gleek, PerfectFinchel, FinchelFan728, bananappancakes, Apple, PaochiCute and laylita83, when I was writing this out, the thing on my mind had been all of you. You guys have been so amazing it's literally breathtaking. This chapter is for each and every one of you. The support you've blessed me with is astounding. I'm really truly honored to have people like yourselves support me on this. Like I've said before, my Christmas this year will be extraordinary because of your existence. I hope this wouldn't disappoint any of you!