Author's Note: Thank you, as always, for all of the amazing reviews. The really mean a lot to me! The flashback is in italics. This chapter title comes from "Light Outside" by Wakey!Wakey!

Disclaimer: I don't own anything.

Rachel pulled the hairbrush away from her mouth when she heard a knock on her bedroom door. She had been using it as a microphone as she sang in front of her mirror. Her hairbrush even had special gold stars on it—they were her favorite. Singing in front of her mirror was one of her favorite things to do.

Her mother opened the door and smiled as she stepped in. "Practicing again, sweetie?" she asked.

Rachel nodded her head eagerly. "Yes, I have been practicing! Daddy and Papa say that I have the voice of an angle."

Shelby laughed a little at that. Both Hiram and Leroy had certainly made Rachel into their little princess over the past couple of years. She smoothed her daughter's hair back and then turned to invite two other people into the bedroom. Rachel watched with interest a blonde man and a blonde girl only a couple of years older than her entered.

"Rachel, this is Mr. Fabray and his daughter, Quinn. Russell, Quinn, this is Rachel." She smiled brightly at the two girls before she took Russell's hand. "We'll just be downstairs." They adults left the room, leaving Rachel and Quinn standing there.

"You were singing before," Quinn stated after a moment.

Rachel nodded her head and held up her hairbrush again. "I was."

"You sounded really nice," Quinn said. "I sing too."

"Really?" Rachel beamed and decided that she had just made a new friend. "We should do a duet together, then. I already have several songs prepared."

Quinn laughed before she looked out the door. Laughter from Shelby and Russell drifted up the stairs, and Quinn turned back to Rachel. "My dad is dating your mom, you know."

"I thought so," Rachel said. She may have only been eight years old, but her daddy and her papa told her that she was so smart and perceptive all the time. She had figured out long ago that her mother was dating.

"I think they're going to get married," Quinn declared.

Rachel clapped her hands together. "That would be so exciting!" She loved weddings. She had already planned hers, and she updated her plans whenever she could. She was too old to be a flower girl now, but Rachel knew that her mother would want her in the wedding.

"And that would make us sisters," Quinn pointed out.

"I've always wanted a sister," Rachel said. She liked being an only child, but there were times when she wanted a sibling.

Quinn smiled. "Me too!" she exclaimed. Taking Rachel's hand, she said, "We're going to be great friends, and we're going to be sisters! I'm the big sister and you're the little sister. I'm going to help you school and I'm going to teach you how to talk to boys."

"We're always going to be there for each other," Rachel added.

"And we're never going to let anyone bully us, because we're always going to have each other's backs."

"And I can help you with your music!" Rachel exclaimed.

Quinn nodded her head enthusiastically. "This is so cool. We're going to be sisters forever."

"Sisters forever," Rachel agreed. They smiled at each other, and both she and Quinn went downstairs. She couldn't wait until the day Quinn became her sister.

Rachel sniffled once again and tried her best to wipe the tears from her eyes. She followed Quinn into an empty room and wrapped her arms around herself. Leaning against the wall, Rachel watched her sister as she sat on the bed.

Quinn picked at the edge of the sheet, and the two sisters sat in silence for several long moments. The longer the silence stretched on, the more Rachel remembered everything she had wanted to say to Quinn. If she wanted to talk, now was Rachel's chance to say everything.

Taking a shaky breath, Rachel said, "I'm not sorry, you know."

Quinn finally glanced up, but she didn't look angry. There wasn't the slightest bit of resentment in her eyes. "What?"

"I'm not sorry that Finn and I are in love with each other," Rachel said. "I am sorry that you felt as if I had betrayed you, because that was never my intention. But I'm not going to apologize for being happy with Finn. I'm not going to feel bad about it, because I shouldn't."

Quinn stared at Rachel for several long moments. Rachel couldn't help but wonder if she had made her sister even angrier. Rachel hadn't meant to sound so blunt, but she was tired of hiding her relationship. However, the next words out of Quinn's mouth surprised her.

"You're right."

Rachel blinked in surprise. "Excuse me?" She certainly hadn't expected to hear that.

Quinn sighed. "You're right," she repeated. "You shouldn't have to feel bad for being happy. And I shouldn't have tried to make you feel that way. I guess your little surprise revelation caught me off guard and I reacted badly."

"Quinn…"

Quinn let out a dry laugh. "Oh come on, Rachel. You know what I'm trying to say. Are you really going to make me keep repeating myself?"

Rachel smiled at her sister's words. Quinn hated admitting that she was wrong, and she hated apologizing. Rachel knew that this was really big if Quinn was stepping up like this. She walked across the room until she was sitting on the hospital bed next to Quinn.

"We should have told you. I should have told you, and I'm sorry that I didn't," Rachel said. "I guess that I was just a little scared."

"Scared of what?" Quinn asked. She laughed a little. "Of me?"

Rachel laughed as well. "Maybe a little bit," she admitted. "But also because… I love Finn more than I ever thought it was possible to love someone. And I love him even more every day. I think that I was just scared that it was too good to be true. That it was going to taken away from me somehow."

Quinn shook her head. "Rachel, that's ridiculous. Have you seen the way Finn looks at you? Because I have. He loves you, Rachel. He loves you so much that it's obvious to everyone that walks into the room. And it's even more obvious that you love him just as much. Now that I've had a chance to think about it… It was always there. I was trying to control things that I had no business getting into."

"It's my fault, you know," Rachel said after a moment. "I wanted to keep it quiet. Finn just wanted me to be happy."

"I think that was why I was so angry, you know," Quinn revealed. "Not because you're going out with Finn. I think it was more because you felt as if you couldn't trust me. You kept something from me because you were worried about how I was going to react. More than anything, I think that I was just so upset because you didn't think you could tell me this. So I was looking for an outlet and I said some things that I didn't mean at all."

Rachel sighed. "Quinn, I never meant to make you feel that way. I'm sorry."

"I know. It's just… we're sisters, Rachel. You can tell me anything at any time. Even if you think it will make me angry, I want you to tell me everything."

Rachel nodded her head. They sat there together for a few moments, just glad that everything was back to normal between them once again. "Do you remember when we first met?"

Quinn laughed. "I was just thinking about that, actually. I was on the phone with Shelby last night and she was talking to me about it."

Rachel smiled. "We said that we were going to be sisters forever."

Quinn hugged Rachel. "And we will be. No matter what happens."

Just then, Sam came into the room. "There you two are!" he exclaimed. "We've been looking everywhere for you."

"What happened?" Rachel demanded. "Is Finn okay?"

Sam's face broke out into a smile. "Finn's fine. He just woke up."

Rachel stood in the doorway of Finn's hospital room. She saw him resting peacefully in bed, and a smile came onto her lips when she saw him reaching over for the glass of water on the table next to his bed. The relief flooding through her at seeing his beautiful amber eyes was almost overwhelming, but she held back her tears as best she could.

"Here." Rachel walked across the room and picked up the cup, handing it to him. Finn smiled up at her and took the cup, taking a small sip from it. Rachel put it back on the table and carefully sat on the edge of Finn's bed, reaching for his hand.

"Hey, baby," Finn murmured. His fingers tightened around hers, just as they always did when she held his hand. She smiled and tears came to her eyes. Leaning over, she kissed his cheek and then pressed her forehead to his.

"Hey." Finn brought his free hand up to cup her cheek. He swiped his thumb gently under her eyes, wiping away her tears. "What's wrong? Why are you crying?"

"I just…" Rachel held Finn's hand just a little tighter, and she kissed his cheek again. "I'm so glad that you're okay, Finn. I was so scared when Kurt and Santana told me what had happened…"

"It's okay. It's okay, baby. I'm fine." Finn moved his free hand so that it was tangled in her hair and he gently stroked it back.

"I love you," Rachel whispered.

Finn smiled and guided Rachel's mouth towards his. He kissed her softly before he murmured, "I love you, too." He kissed her again, harder this time. When they broke apart, Finn gently tugged Rachel onto the bed and pulled her into his side.

"Are you sure that this is okay, Finn?" Rachel asked worriedly. "I don't want to hurt you—"

"Stop it," Finn interrupted. He kissed her forehead. "I'm fine." Rachel carefully shifted so that her head was resting on his chest. She was small enough that she didn't have a problem fitting on the bed next to him. Finn wrapped his arm around her and played with the ends of her hair. "How are you doing?"

Rachel glanced up at Finn with an incredulous look on her face. "Are you kidding me right now? You're the one lying in the hospital and you're asking me if I'm okay?"

"Sam was here when I woke up," Finn explained. "He told me that Quinn was here. I don't know if you've seen her yet, but I don't want you to have to face her alone."

"Finn—"

"I know that you can handle yourself," Finn continued. He believed in her and knew that she could take on the world if she wanted to. But he wanted her to know that she would never be alone. "But you shouldn't have to, you know? I love you, Rachel. We made those decisions together. I'll support you in whatever you decide to do, no matter what."

"You're sweet." Rachel smiled and pressed a kiss to Finn's chest. Rachel knew that she couldn't put into words how much she loved him. "Everything is fine," she revealed. "Quinn and I talked and we settled everything." She beamed and snuggled closer to him. "Everyone knows and no one is angry anymore. Everything is perfect."

Finn chuckled. "And I had to ruin it by landing in the hospital. I'm sorry, baby."

Rachel frowned at him and pressed up on her hands. "That's not funny, Finn. I was so afraid. I wasn't there to answer my phone and what if it had been worse and I—"

"Rachel." Finn reached up and cupped her cheek with his hand. "I know that you worry about me, but you'll never know how much it means to me that you support me anyway."

"Of course I do." Rachel slid her hand over Finn's and leaned into his touch. "Finn, you love your job. And you're so good at it, you know." She finally smiled. "You're my hero, Finn."

Finn's eyes softened and he took her hand, kissing her palm. "You're mine."

Rachel kissed Finn again, slowly and tenderly. When they broke apart she rested her head on his chest and closed her eyes. She was just so happy that Finn was safe and she was in his arms again.

Finn stretched and shifted in the bed. His ribs ached and his shoulder hurt, but from what he understood he was lucky to escape with what injuries he had. He glanced towards the door and wondered when his mom and Rachel were going to get back. Carole had insisted on taking Rachel to get something to eat, and after an hour, Rachel had finally relented.

There was a knock on his door. Finn sat up a little bit as the door opened, and he was surprised to see Quinn peeking into the room. She remained half-hidden behind the door as she watched him.

"Is it okay if I come in?" Quinn finally asked.

Finn nodded his head. "Sure." Quinn slowly walked into the room and took a seat in the chair beside Finn's bed. Folding her hands together, she looked down at them. Finn just remained quiet as he waited for her to say something.

He didn't have to wait long. "If you had feelings for Rachel, why didn't you just break up with me?"

Finn gave Quinn a pointed look. "If you were in love with Puck, why did you even date me in the first place?"

Quinn winced. "I'm sorry. You're right." She gave him a sheepish look before she said, "You know that Puck and I never meant to hurt you, right? We just… it kind of got out of hand. I lied and then he lied and you had feelings for Rachel… Once we were in the situation that we were in, it seemed like it was easier to stay there. That was stupid, wasn't it?"

"It was," Finn agreed. He wasn't going to pretend to be the victim when he could have easily broken up with Quinn as well. Like she had, he had just grown used to the routine. "And I know. I never hated you guys. It was more that I was just so pissed that you two had lied to me for over a year. But I was happy that you two were happy."

Quinn rolled her eyes. She didn't miss what Finn was trying to get at. "I get it, alright? I'm assuming that Rachel talked to you already?"

"She did," Finn confirmed. After the nap that he and Rachel had taken together, they had talked some more. Rachel had explained all of her and Quinn's talk. Finn was glad that everything had worked out. And he had always known that no one would actually be mad at him and Rachel for being in a relationship together. It was only because they had tried to hide it.

"Then you know that I'm not actually mad at the two of you. I just wish that you had told me sooner." She poked Finn carefully on his uninjured arm. "Now will you tell me why you didn't own up to your feelings and date Rachel sooner?" It was nice to see that Quinn really was okay with the two of them dating. She really was happy for them.

Finn chuckled and shook his head. "Honestly? I think I was just afraid that she would never like me like that, let alone fall in love with me."

"That is the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard."

"Come on, think about it. I wasn't anything like all of the other guys Rachel had dated."

"Thank God for that. That's a good thing, Finn."

Finn laughed again. "I guess I was just afraid that she wouldn't want to be with me."

"Finn, I wasn't lying when I said that I had noticed Rachel's crush on you all those years ago. I just didn't think much of it because I was too busy sneaking around with Puck. And come to think of it, you always did have a soft spot for her." Quinn patted Finn's hand. "I really am happy for the two of you, though. I can see how much you love Rachel… and I can see how much she loves you."

Finn smiled. He was beyond relieved that finally, after all these years of hiding their true feelings and months of secret relationships, everything was out on the table and everyone was finally, truly happy. They were with the people they loved and they didn't have to hide anything anymore.

"Oh, by the way. Puck and I had a question to ask you that's almost three years overdue," Quinn said.

"What's up?"

"We want you to be Beth's godfather."

"Really?" When Quinn nodded her head, Finn grinned. "Yeah! Definitely!"

Quinn patted Finn's hand again before she stood up. "You know what this means now, right?"

"No. But since you've been hanging out with Puck a lot, I'm sure that you're going to tell me anyway," Finn quipped.

Quinn chose to ignore Finn's little jab and said, "Now that you're Beth's godfather, you're going to be Uncle Finn. And since Rachel is Aunt Rachel, that means Beth is going to be a little confused. So you and Rachel should just get married now."

Finn blinked in surprise at Quinn. The blonde simply smiled before she left the room, shutting the door behind her.

Finn leaned back against his pillows and looked up at the ceiling. A smile spread across his lips as he thought it about it. He and Rachel may have only really been together for four months, but he knew that he wanted to spend the rest of his life with her.

Really, they still had some time to go. But Finn knew that one day, he was going to marry Rachel Berry.

Author's Note: So we have one more chapter and then the epilogue after this. Thanks for reading!