Here is Chapter 2! Once again thank you to Erica for proofing my stuff and giving me advice! Enjoy!

April 2026

Rachel walked in from work as she felt the weight of the day on her shoulders. She can hear Finn in the distance on the phone in the office. There is just something comforting about hearing his voice that makes her feel secure. As she set her bag down on the counter, she sees a large envelope in the pile of mail that had been scattered by Finn.

State of Ohio Foster and Adoption Agency.

"Oh" she said quietly to herself. She remembered requesting information online a few weeks ago but didn't expect it to get to her this quickly. She and Finn really had not discussed the next step of their parenthood plans in depth. They decided to take some time to focus on their marriage and gain back some of their emotional stability before moving on. Both of them had done some light research on various avenues, but no decisions had been made. Every time one of them brought it up, it was like an awkward conversation they couldn't wait to finish. Rachel was hoping they could change that soon.

Just then Rachel heard Finn emerge from the office and head into the kitchen. "Hey there! Didn't hear you come in!" he said as he leaned in for a kiss.

"Yeah you were on the phone and I didn't want to disturb you. How was your day?" Rachel nervously asked, hoping Finn wouldn't notice the large envelope she held in her hand.

"Not too bad, normal stuff. Glad it's Friday though. You want to go out tonight? We're both actually free until noon tomorrow until the open house."

Finn hoped he and Rachel could have a nice night out. They had slowly worked their way back to normalcy and their sex life no longer revolved around cycles and schedules, and medicine. He started to see glimpses of Rachel when they were newlyweds and carefree. She seemed almost happy these days.

"Actually," Rachel said, "I was hoping we could sit down and talk about this". Rachel reluctantly held out the large envelope from the state and handed it to Finn.

"Oh? Okay," he started, as he took the large folder from Rachel. He had been wondering when they would both feel ready to talk more freely about this. "I actually collected some info on private and international adoption too that we can look at. Let's order pizza and we can talk all night. Wine too?" he winked.

Rachel blew out a sigh. "Yes wine too. I think I'm ready to really dive into this. Are you?"

"Yeah I think we are in a good place now. We didn't rush into things and took our time to sort ourselves out. I feel good about moving forward. It's sort of exciting to know that in some way we will have a little one running around here soon. Well not soon but you know what I mean," he smiled.

Rachel smiled. "I have finally let myself feel sort of excited about the future for once. Yes a lot of it is unknown, but that sort of adds to the drama of it right?" Rachel laughed and Finn rolled his eyes.

"You would enjoy the drama of it. I'm going to order the pizza. Go get changed and we can sit ourselves down for the night."

Rachel headed upstairs to their room. On the way she passed the spare bedroom that was deemed "the nursery" from the day they moved in. All that's in there is her full sized bed from college and some random boxes of holiday decorations that haven't made it down to the basement. As she got changed, she let her mind wander to the possibility that one day someone will occupy that room that will call her mom. She felt her heart flutter a bit. Rachel had avoided any type of thought that would let her mind go to that place for a very long time. She tried to guard her heart from the eventual heartbreak that would come. Now though, she felt a sense of renewal. Hope, even in the tiniest form.

When she returned downstairs, she found Finn had already set up the table and wine had been poured. He had a stack of papers in front of him.

"I went ahead and got all of the information I had read and printed it out. Thought we could use it to reference. Want to open that envelope and read through that until the pizza arrives? I just have to make one more work call and I'm done for the night".

"Sure" she replied. She sat down and took a big sip of wine before tearing open the envelope. With her highlighters and notepad handy, she began to read. There was so much information. Pages and pages and pages of information. That's the thing about adoption in any form. It was and is a lot of work. Paperwork, waiting, paperwork, more waiting. They are used to waiting by now though. It's all they've done for six years. What's a few more months at this point?

Rachel began to read through some of the basics of what would need to be done if they went this route. Classes, home inspections, evaluations, and interviews to name a few. By the time Finn was done and the pizza arrived, Rachel had skimmed through almost all of it.

Finn joined Rachel at the table as they began to make a hefty list of all of their options with pros and cons. "Rachel, I just want to ask again if you even wanted to look into a surrogate. I know in the past you said no, but since we are laying it all out there…. We really can consider everything at this point. What are you feelings?" he asked as he tossed his pen on the table.

Rachel began to tear up as she fiddled with the strings of her sweatpants. Surrogacy was a wonderful thing. Kurt and Blaine had used it two years ago to have their son, Warner. It was so exciting to watch it all happening but at the same time hard. However, deep inside she didn't want to watch someone else have her baby. She wanted to do it herself and wasn't sure if she could handle it. Surrogacy never felt right for her.

"Finn, my feelings haven't changed about this. I know your brother used it with Warner but I just can't do it. I don't want another woman getting to experience what I so desperately tried to do for all of those years. I know this must make me look like such a selfish person because that's probably the only way we will ever have a biological child," her lip trembled a she looked down.

Finn watched as a tear fell down Rachel's face as she stared down at the papers on the table. "Hey. Look at me. You aren't selfish. Your feelings are what they are. I love you no matter what. That's why we are talking this all out right? To make the best decision for us. I think the main goal is that we become parents. How that happens sometimes isn't the point anymore."

"Okay. I just don't want you to resent me for not wanting that Finn. Please don't." Rachel looked up at Finn with a pleading look in her eyes.

"Rachel, stop," he paused. "I could never resent you. I'm fine. We are FINE. Let's put surrogacy off the table for now. Nothing is forever. We both have to feel comfortable with our next step and doing this logically and out in the open will get us there. Now, what do you have next on the list?" Finn continued, ready to move on.

Rachel took a deep breath, "Well I think International Adoption is out right now. Some of the wait times are years long and I just have a feeling that route is not it for us right now. Maybe down the line." Rachel looked up at Finn. He was just stared at her blankly as she waited for him to answer. "Finn? Thoughts?" she asked him.

Finn broke into a smile. "I feel the exact same way. I've done more research on this topic than you have and I agree. It's just not right for us at this time. Maybe we can revisit this in a year or so. I mean I do want 12 kids so we might have to use all of our options at some point," Finn laughed.

Rachel laughed in return and was relieved. At least they were making some actual progress.

"Okay well that leaves us with private adoption or foster to adopt as the other two we agreed to research," Rachel said as she reached for her packet from the state of Ohio and began reading some of it to Finn. She gave her best summary of what it would involve. "Okay first we would have to sign up with the state to be Foster parents. We would then go through an orientation process to decide if we want to proceed. If we do, then we have to take about 30 hours of classes, as well as pass a home study. Once parental rights are terminated and the court process is completed, the children can be adopted. This takes anywhere from 6-18 months."

When she finished she looked up to find Finn looking overwhelmed. Her stomach dropped "What are you thinking? You are giving me such strange looks tonight. Normally I can read you better."

Finn reached across the table and grabbed her hand. "Rach, this is just a lot. It was overwhelming researching it and now even more so that we are trying to make decisions. That just seems like a lot of work. A lot. I wanted to lean more towards private adoption because it seems faster and less messy. I just want us to be careful."

"Finn I know you are cautious and I know we've been through a lot. Just because the adoption would be private doesn't mean it wouldn't be messy. What if the birth mother changes her mind? What if we get picked and take the baby home and she wants it back? I think there are messy situations all around, but won't it be worth it? I need to believe it will be, "Rachel said with tears in her eyes. She tried not to get emotional about this but she couldn't help it. These last few years have felt like they've aged her immensely.

"I know Rachel. I know. This has been hard already and I am just trying to protect us from further heartbreak. I guess it's so unpredictable though. You're right, there is some drama involved isn't there?" he chuckled.

"Finn I just want this so badly. I know you do too. However, I'm glad we are sitting here and starting to sort it all out. Progress is progress you know? We need to be logical even though it's such an emotional thing. There are just so many kids out there without families just being shuffled around from one home to another. Imagine what a difference we can make," Rachel pleaded.

Rachel did feel some relief from this conversation. They both had done research on their own time and had differing opinions on it all. They needed to be on the same page if they were going to go through with this. Now they have it narrowed down to two options.

"That's something to consider. I need a few more days to read stuff over ok?" Finn explained. He can see Rachel leaning towards this and wanted to really be informed if she was pushing for it. "Hey, it's going to happen. One way or another we will have some rug rats destroying our house. I can't wait!" Finn pulled her up from her chair and pulled Rachel in for a hug. As she sat on his lap in his embrace, she nuzzled into his neck.

"I don't think we need to make any decisions tonight, but we did make some headway on things we need to consider. Why don't we clean up and head up to bed?" Rachel asked.

"Hey its early! I'm not ready for sleep. Maybe I'll just hang around down here and get ahead on the open house tomorrow."

Rachel kissed Finn on the lips. "Who said we'll be sleeping?" Rachel winked at Finn and then he understood. He raced to clean up and chased her up the stairs. Neither of them thought about the empty room next door.

Rachel woke up around 2 am hearing some sounds downstairs. She turned towards Finn who was fast asleep. Once she realized it wasn't Finn, her heart started to race. What are those sounds? It almost sounded like kids laughing. Finn must have gotten up to watch TV at some point and forgotten to shut it off. Rachel threw the covers off of her body and began to head downstairs. The wooden stairs creaked as she slowly crept down one by one. She could see that the TV was off as she approached the family room. "Hmmm" she thought. Just then she heard shuffling behind her. A chill ran up her spine. Rachel screamed as she turned around to find two small children standing before her.

Two children, a boy and a girl, around age 5, were staring back at her but she couldn't quite make out their faces. "Mama," the boy said, "why are you screaming? Come play!" Rachel was floored. Do I have kids? What the hell is going on? She thought about screaming for Finn but she didn't want to scare them. They seemed to know her in some way.

"Come on mama! Come!" the little girl shouted and they both started running towards the front door. Rachel rubbed her eyes because she still couldn't see their faces clearly but began running after them.

"Kids wait! It's the middle of the night you can't go outside!" Rachel shouted as the two opened the front door and ran down the front steps. She could hear their feet hit the pavement as they landed at the bottom. A sudden urge to protect them washed over her. It's like her body kicked into autopilot.

Rachel picked up her pace as she reached the front porch and began to scan the yard for the children. She became frantic screaming "Kids! Where are you?" and she realized she doesn't even know their names. In the distance Rachel heard their cries.

"Mama help us! Come get us! HELP!" Their cries were so familiar but so far away now.

Rachel could not see them at all and tried to run into the yard but her legs would not move. She began screaming at the top of her lungs "HELP ME! SOMEONE HELP ME AND FIND MY KIDS!" No one came. There was no movement anywhere. Her heart raced faster as she flailed on the front porch unable to move forward.

"FINN! HELP ME! OUR BABIES!" "FINNNNNNNN!

Just then her body began to shake. "Rachel! Rachel wake up!"

Rachel sat up in bed, covered in sweat and began to sob. "Finn our babies. Where are they? Why did they go outside?" she said through her sobs.

"Rachel were you having a bad dream? Honey we don't have any kids. You've been in bed with me the entire time." Finn said as he wiped Rachel's hair out of her face. He hated seeing her like this. She hadn't had a nightmare in a while.

"No! They were so real. They were downstairs and asked me to play and- oh God," Rachel stopped short realizing it was a dream. "I just want it so badly Finn. So badly." Her tears continued to fall. Suddenly she was having trouble breathing and panic spread over her face.

Finn took over. "Rachel you are having a panic attack. Look at me. Deep breaths. Deep breaths. In….out….." he instructed.

Rachel looked him in the eyes as she tried to slow her breathing and calm down. She felt so out of control at this moment. After 30 seconds she was able to start snapping out of her half awake panic attack and was slapped back into reality.

"Oh no Finn. I'm so sorry." Rachel apologized for having woken him up and freaking him out. She used to have dreams like this a lot while they were trying to conceive. Usually those involved a crying infant and an empty crib. Those subsided a few months back once that part of their life came to a close.

Finn laid back down and patted the space next to him. "Come here. Let's just get you to calm down and see if we can't get some sleep".

Rachel complied and snuggled into Finn as she faced him nose to nose. "I love you. I'm sorry I woke you up."

"Hey now, just remember that one day it won't be a dream ok? Just take some deep breaths and close your eyes". Finn reached around Rachel to pull her closer and draped the covers back over her body. He closed his eyes as she kept hers solely focused on him. As he drifted back to sleep she remained awake.

Her thoughts wandered to the room next door. After an hour or so she had wandered to the other bedroom. She laid herself on the spare bed, feeling the cool untouched blanket underneath her body, and let her thoughts wander to the children in her dream. Rachel felt a sense of peace wash over her as she envisioned those same children sitting in this room with her and reading a book before bed. Maybe this nightmare is just what she needed to help guide them to their destiny.

Rachel awoke the next morning to the sun peeking through the sheer drapes over their bedroom window. She rolled over to find the bed empty. The clock read 8 am. Rachel rolled back over. After returning to her room around 5 am, she still had trouble falling back asleep. Mostly she had just laid next to Finn watching him sleep, wondering how he can be so calm through all of this. He was just always able to handle things so well. Always the one with the pep talks instead of freak outs. Rachel closed her eyes and took a deep breath, gearing up for their busy Saturday.

As she walked to the bathroom, she could hear Finn downstairs on the phone. He has worked so hard to provide for them. He takes pride in the fact that they built their Real Estate business from the ground up and its really taken off. The beauty of it was that it was supposed to allow Rachel to stay home for a while once they had kids. Hopefully that's still the case.

Rachel turned on the shower and stepped in, letting the warm water hit her face. She heard Finn come into the bathroom and peek behind the curtain.

"Hey sleepy! You are looking mighty fine this morning," he said as he looks her up and down.

"Hi," Rachel replies with her eyes half open.

"Are you okay? You never sleep this late but I figured you needed it." Finn knows something is up. There is hardly ever a reason that Rachel sleeps past 6 am.

Rachel turned to face him, continuing her shower routine. "I just didn't sleep much last night. After you fell asleep I just couldn't shake my dream. I was up for a while before going back to sleep."

Finn listened intently. He knew something was bothering her. "Okay so what were you thinking about? And you know it's killing me not to jump in that shower with you but we have to be on time today."

"Well how nice of you Finn," Rachel smiled sarcastically. "I was just thinking about how I felt in that dream. It's how I used to feel when I would dream about us having a baby, but this time I can't shake it. I'm starting to see the bigger picture in all of this now."

Rachel finished up in the shower as the conversation continued. Finn having showered earlier began to get dressed.

"So tell me what you are thinking. I can tell you are in hyper Rachel mode where you will obsess over this until it's settled. Let me have it." Finn sat on the bed to give Rachel his full attention.

Rachel walked over, dress on but wet hair wrapped up in a towel on her head, and looked Finn in the eye. "Finn, I somehow feel a connection to our kids. Like the kids that are supposed to be ours. They are out there. I KNOW them somehow. Does that make sense?"

"I can't say I understand that feeling Rachel because I've never felt that way. I think about our future kids but not on a deeper level I guess," he shrugged before continuing. "It makes sense though if that's how you feel. I don't think it's strange if that's what you are afraid of." Finn knew this could be a rocky conversation, especially since as of yesterday he wasn't fully on board with fostering children.

"Okay. I mean, do you think it's possible to love someone before you have ever even met? That's how I feel. That dream shook me to my core. I love these children. These children that will one day sleep in this very house with us and depend on us. I feel it. I know you aren't fully on board, but I think this is what we are meant to do. Ever since we started researching this, foster care always seemed like the most appealing thing to me. The thought of little kids who have had to leave their home and stay with someone else is just heartbreaking. We have so much love to give. So much that it hurts." Rachel looked to Finn for guidance. Acceptance. Anything.

Finn was hesitant. He always thought they would lean towards private adoption. Pick up the baby and leave and never have a second thought about it. He never really thought they would end up with anything but a newborn. Finn wasn't against it, but really didn't think this is what Rachel would lean towards. He was learning a lot about his wife right now.

"You're right. I mean it's not like either of us have a conventional family and we all love and respect each other completely. I hadn't really thought of this being what we would end up doing, but you are right. We will be awesome parents to whomever ends up finding us. I mean I did say 12 kids so maybe we can tell the state we will take some twins and triplets?" Finn had to crack a joke. He had to break the tension he felt pulsating from Rachel's eyes into his.

Rachel cracked a small smile which provided some relief. "Okay. Okay. I don't want to proceed unless you are fully with me on this. I can't have you resenting me down the line if it gets hard. Finn? You need to be honest with me."

Finn looked at Rachel who was staring at him with such worry but determination on her face. "Rach, like I said last night, I could never resent you. This is a journey we never saw ourselves going on, but the fun part is we never know where we will end up in all of this. It's scary but exciting. We can proceed and take it from there. From what we reviewed last night, this is a long process and we can back out if we feel it isn't right for us. We have to start somewhere, so let's get started."

Rachel leaned over and gave Finn the biggest bear hug. She whispered in his ear "I love you so much. So so much." When she pulled away Finn was grinning from ear to ear.

"So we are really doing this huh?" Finn raised his eyebrows looking for some final confirmation from Rachel.

"I would say yes. If you wouldn't mind though, can we keep this between us until we decide if this is truly how we are going to proceed. Our parents don't need more broken dreams of grandkids from us right now. I'd rather it be our little secret." Rachel just really didn't want another reason for people to constantly ask her about children. It's been nice the past few months with conversations that revolved around other things besides their fertility and offspring.

"I think that's a great idea actually. Plus my mom has let up ever since our last failed attempt. She knows not to push it with us right now." Carole was sometimes too invested in their fertility issues. She meant well, but sometimes Finn felt smothered by her constant need for answers where there weren't any available.

"Well this morning has taken a turn that's for sure! Let's get ready for work. We have some houses to sell today!" Rachel felt like she was on cloud 9 right now. Things were going to happen, she was sure of it.

The next morning they hopped in the car to drive two hours to Lima for Warner's second birthday party. Finn and Rachel adored Warner. He had Kurt's DNA but acted completely like Finn as a young boy. Carole constantly commented on how much Warner loved to do everything Finn used to do. It drove Kurt nuts but Blaine found it amusing that Warner loved sports and trucks and everything boy related even at the age of 2.

"Can you believe Warner is two already? I remember the day he was born and we drove to the hospital to see him! Time flies right?" Rachel said, reflecting back on that day. She remembered how she and Finn were in the middle of one of their fertility cycles when he was born. They excitedly had driven to the hospital to see Warner, of course their own situation looming in the back of their minds. Kurt and Blaine were beside themselves with happiness, holding their newborn son in their arms. Finn and Rachel spent a few hours there with them, each holding Warner and wondering if this would be them soon. Two years later they still haven't had the chance to be parents yet, but their perspective on the situation has shifted.

Pretty soon they were pulling up to Kurt and Blaine's in Lima. The driveway was full of cars from their family members and it looked like the party was in full swing. Rachel and Finn walked up to the door and opened it wide.

"Hello!" Finn shouted as he entered the house. Upon seeing Finn, Warner rushed up to him screaming "Uncle Finn up!". Finn reacted by scooping Warner up and throwing him above his head.

"Hey buddy! Happy Birthday!" Finn hugged Warner but soon Rachel is grabbing for him and has him in her arms.

"Happy Birthday Warner! How old are you now?" Rachel asked.

"I two!" Warner replied, desperately trying to hold just two of his little fingers up. Warner was the spitting image of Kurt with just a hint of curl to his hair. He was spoiled rotten as the only grandchild and received 100% of everyone's attention whenever they were around him.

As Rachel put Warner down, Carole and Burt appeared into the foyer. "Hey you two! We didn't hear you come in!" Carole explained as she opened her arms pulling Finn in for a hug.

"How could you not hear the screaming from these boys?" Rachel laughed as she gave Burt a squeeze. "So should we head into the living room and see what the birthday boy is up to?"

The party was just family and was perfect. Warner absolutely loved the football jersey Finn and Rachel bought him and insisted on putting it on over his nice khaki's and button down shirt. Kurt was not pleased but he can't say no to his little boy. Once dressed he immediately found his new football Burt and Carole bought him and ran up to Finn. "Finn play! Please!" as he held up the football in the air.

"Sure thing Warner! Are you ready? Hike!" Finn called out to Warner. Warner threw the ball to Finn and then ran over to tackle him. Finn faked his fall to the ground and dropped the ball so Warner could pick it up. Warner screamed "FUMBLE! FUMBLE FINN!" Warner ran around the room as everyone clapped for him. As he neared Finn again, Finn picked him up and gave him a huge hug. "Happy Birthday buddy!"

Rachel watched all of this from afar and her heart swelled. Finn was so good with Warner and she could finally see a glimpse of their future without feeling sad. Maybe Finn will have the chance to teach their own son how to play sports or coach their daughter's soccer team.

"Okay everyone! Time to sing Happy Birthday!" Blaine said. Everyone gathered around as Kurt placed Warner into his high chair. After Warner blew out the candles, Kurt asked that he be changed into a different shirt so he didn't get cake on his new Jersey. Blaine quickly left the room and returned to change Warner into his new shirt. Carole was the first to notice the writing.

"Oh my god! Does his shirt say big brother?" Carole screamed as she ran over to hug Kurt and Blaine.

"Yes it does", Kurt chuckled, "Our surrogate is pregnant again and is due in October. Warner is going to be a big brother!"

Finn stood next to Rachel and reached down for her hand. He took her hand in his and gave it a big squeeze, all while smiling at Kurt and Blaine. Rachel did the same, with a slight tear in her eye. Partially from happiness, and partially from jealousy. It still hurts sometimes, seeing others rejoicing while you are still in pain.

The room then got quiet as people started to glance at Finn and Rachel. Somehow their situation was forgotten in the excitement. Now there was awkward silence. Finn decided to break the tension. "Congratulations you two. Warner is going to be such a great big brother right buddy?" Finn reached down to pick Warner up and give him a high five. Warner held up his small hand to smack Finn's, oblivious to what was really going on.

Rachel walked over to Kurt and Blaine and reached out to pull them in for a hug. "Congratulations you two. I hope it's a girl this time for me to spoil," she said as she smiled. As she pulled away she felt the emotions overcome her and knew she needed to get out of there right away. She hated that this still happened, hated that it still affected her so much. She thought she was moving on but I guess the emotions are just always lingering just beneath the surface of her tough exterior.

Rachel quickly snuck upstairs to the nearest bathroom and shut the door behind her. She didn't want anyone to see her upset. She can't ruin the moment for Kurt and Blaine. It's not their fault she was infertile. She leaned against the door and tilted her head into the air as she took a deep breathe. "Pull it together Rachel" she thought to herself. She was thrilled to have a new niece or nephew. Why can't she just be fully happy for them?

Rachel jumped as she heard a light knock at the door. "Rach? You in there? Are you ok?" It was Finn. Thank god. Rachel opened the door quickly to usher him in and closed the door behind him pushing the lock.

"Hey, what's going on? Are you upset about the baby?" he asked as he brushed a tear from her cheek.

"Yes. I mean no. I don't know. I just can't control myself sometimes. I'm selfish. I hope no one saw me rush up here. I just felt myself losing it and didn't want to take away from their moment." Rachel looked up at Finn searching for some comfort.

"It's okay to feel that way Rachel. They know you are happy for them. They know how much we adore Warner like he was our own. Even though we are moving on it's still going to sting sometimes. Healing takes a while. All of those years were traumatic in a way you know?" Finn tried to calm Rachel down and watched as her cries slowed.

Rachel wiped her eyes carefully as to not mess up her make up. "Okay. Thank You. I just wish I was just fine with everything. I still feel so lost at times."

"Hey you never know. By the time their baby is born we could be parents too." Finn looked down at her and smiled, gaining a similar smirk from Rachel.

"Well when you put it that way it doesn't seem so far away anymore."

Finn and Rachel both went back downstairs. No one seemed to notice they were missing as they were now watching Warner attempt to eat his cake on his own using a fork and failing miserably at times. Carole was snapping pictures and Burt was videoing as Kurt and Blaine watched him from either side. Finn and Rachel joined the crowd and Finn pulled Rachel into his side and kissed the top of her head. Things were looking up.

Reviews are welcome! Thanks for reading!