Disclaimer: I do not own Glee or any of the lyrics, brands, popular names used in this story.

"You said those three words, I been waiting for, you became a part of me. You're mine for life, and I'll be by your side, we are entwined. You're mine for life, hold me until we die. I'm yours and you are mine."

-from 'You're Mine'

Epilogue

3 years later

"Rachel Barbara Berry."

Rachel shot forward from her place in the front of the line, a beaming smile glued to her face as she strutted across the stage in her new ridiculous high heels. They were gorgeous of course, and perfectly showed off the new gold star tattoo on her foot, but they were high enough to give her a nose bleed. Only Kurt would pick out heels like that to force her to wear on her graduation day, when her walk was one of the most important things. Luckily, she had been wearing them around at home the few days they were in her custody, preparing herself.

She fought to hide her frown when Kurt crossed her mind, her thoughts immediately flitting to his brother. Though she kept the smile in place as she accepted the diploma from the kind red-haired woman, she couldn't help but scan the audience once again for Finn's handsome face. The disappointment didn't quite pierce her heart, she knew beforehand that he wasn't going to be able to make it.

Finn's interview for the assistant football coach position at the local high school had unfortunately fallen on the day and time of her graduation. He had been working as a personal trainer at the nicest gym in town since his graduation last year, and made good money doing so; so she was slightly surprised when he started looking into other possible jobs as well. Though she was excited for him possibly heading over to the high school, she couldn't deny that her enthusiasm had been just a little forced. She wasn't quite sure if he had picked up on that though.

Rachel was graduating with a Theater degree, and she wanted to use it somewhere she could flourish. The idea of being tied down to Ohio seemed like the opposite of helping to spur her career along. Finn possibly working for the high school seemed like just another weed grabbing a hold of them and keeping them here. Not that she had a problem with commitment, and Ohio really was a great place, she just wanted to see more of the world, be completely sure of where she settled down. She had stalked New York, California, Chicago and all of the other big cities on Google Earth enough of times to know that she was mesmerized by the rest of the world. Finn knew it as well seeing as he stayed up many a night with her looking at the cities and what they had to offer, playfully making plans for their lives in the different places.

It really was no secret that she wanted out, she wanted to be somebody. But even more than her vigor to be successful, was her desire to be with Finn. The past three years had been amazing, and happy, and full of more love than she even thought was possible. He had embodied every description of the perfect boyfriend, and managed to remain her best friend as well. He was loving, and loyal, and considerate, and clapping for her as he side waddled his way into the row of seats to sit beside her Daddy.

Her heart jumped into her throat, her smile taking over her face for the first time as she did a double take to look at him. He was dressed casually, and she had to stifle a giggle at the way her daddy was eying his clothing. He looked perfect to Rachel though. His hair was tousled perfectly, his brown eyes shining up at her with pride, and she giggled even more when he wrapped the arm closest to her Daddy, squeezing him. She loved the relationship between Finn and her fathers. It hadn't taken him long to win them over, especially when they realized how much he meant to Rachel, and how much he loved her in return. They made a point of driving to her home every other weekend to spend some quality time with her Dads.

Her daddy resisted at first, then squeezed Finn back, sobbing into his shoulder as he pointed up towards the stage. She was nowhere near close enough to hear, but she was pretty sure her daddy was saying something along the lines of 'that's my baby girl' into Finn's collarbone. At one point in his life, you would have never convinced Finn to be in the same room with her dads, let alone consoling one of them playfully. Her heart squeezed as she watched Finn patting his shoulder, rolling his eyes dramatically at her as if to say 'this is where you get it from'.

Rachel stuck her tongue out at him half heartedly, much too excited that he was actually here to be upset. Was it supposed to be this way, was she still supposed to be so affected by just his presence? Her feelings hadn't changed since the beginning of their relationship; the intense love, the deep understanding, the discovering new things about one another on a daily basis. One thing she was sure of was that she needed Finn, she was going nowhere without him.

"Congratulations Rachel!"

"We're so proud of you!"

"You looked great up there!"

Rachel smiled and nodded at the greetings she was met with from her family and friends as she made her way through the spacious backyard of Carol and Burt Hummel. They had been kind enough to hold Rachel's graduation party at their home, given they had such a lovely and accommodating yard. Kurt of course had been the one in charge, as was obvious by the tiki torches hanging everywhere, the styled lawn furniture, and the way he was walking around with his sash on bossing people around. Blaine stood on the sidelines, safely away from the group being scolded as he nibbled from his plate, shaking his head at his boyfriend with a small smile. The food seemed like a good idea to Rachel, her stomach giving a small rumble as she eyed it. Quickly she walked over to the food tables, grinning when she found Puck and Quinn facing off, as was usual for the couple.

"Ow! I was just saying, they should make it a rule or something for girls to wear a lengthy dress under your gown. It's not my fault I could see all of that chicks goodies when she walked across that stage" Puck said, rubbing his arm where Quinn had smacked him. That was one relationship that deeply amused Rachel, while warming her heart at the same time. They were total and complete opposites, but somehow they fit together, not without some work. He was still the Puck she knew and loved, but he had made a lot of changes as well, good changes. "I meant, not her goodies, like her...nastiness" he corrected with a scrunched up face and shuddered, making Quinn relent with a giggle.

"Nice save" she smirked, pouring a cup of punch for the both of them. Puck smiled over at her, wrapping his arm around her slender waist before pressing a smacking kiss to her temple.

"I feel the love" Rachel cooed placing a hand over her heart. She grabbed a cup from the stack and poured herself a liberal amount of the delicious smelling punch first.

"This is a lovely party Rachel, and you look beautiful" Quinn smiled, clinking cups with her. "Seriously, that dress is gorgeous. It's nice to know some people know how to dress appropriately beneath their gowns" she added with a grin as Puck groaned.

"Thank you" Rachel smiled, looking down at the modest length of the fitted grey and yellow dress Kurt had picked out for her. It was a little elegant for an outdoor graduation party, especially with the sky high heels, but Kurt had forced her into it and there was no fighting with him. "All credit, and more importantly judgment, goes to Kurt of course."

"I heard that" he piped in, walking up beside her. He immediately reached up to adjust the dress, dusting off random sections and pushing her breasts up the slightest bit higher. She might have freaked had she not been use to it by now, they might as well be siblings. "Thank goodness it's still clean. You haven't eaten yet have you" he asked in a slight panic over what the food would do to the precious dress. Rachel frowned and shook her head quickly as Puck and Quinn shared a small laugh at her expense. At the same time, Kurt took the small cup from her hands, instead placing it to his own lips. "Good, let's keep it that way."

"Ugh, Kurt-"

"Ah ah- don't fight me on this Rachel" he warned, taking another sip of the stolen punch before taking to adjusting the dress that she was pretty sure hadn't been ruined in the last ten seconds, again. "You can thank me later, you look like a model."

"While that's very flattering, if you don't stop coddling me-"

"Not so much you, more the dress."

"Either way, if you don't calm down I"m going to yank it off and toss it in the punch bowl myself" she fumed quietly as she threw the empty threat at her friend.

"I sure wouldn't be opposed to that" a soft, familiar voice spoke from behind her. Rachel spun immediately, coming face to face with her boyfriend which was weird; she was used to craning her neck to look up at him. He smiled warmly at her as he reached out to entwine his free hand with hers, squeezing lightly.

"I bet you would perv" she shot him a wicked smile as she gave his new, much nicer clothing an appreciative once over. "Where have you been?"

"Being one of Kurt's minions" he sighed sending a playful glare in the direction Kurt had flitted off towards her fathers, watching them closely, an open bottle of champagne between them. "You wouldn't believe how heavy some of your gifts are" he said exaggeratedly, nodding back towards the large gift table.

Rachel followed his gaze, smiling widely at the heavily stocked present table before meeting the excited eyes of his mother. Carol beamed before turning her head quickly, leaning into Burt. He offered a small, slightly awkward wave as well before turning back to flipping more burgers. Confused, Rachel shook her head of the strange behavior before turning back to Finn.

"Well it's a good thing I have such a big strong guy for all that heavy lifting" she teased, squeezing his flexed forearm.

"Eh, Your Papa and Burt did most of the work, I pretty much supervised."

"You're terrible" she scolded, lightly swatting at his shoulder.

"Hey, you think Kurt would let me risk messing up these precious clothes" he asked incredulously, playfully lifting an eyebrow. "Besides, I needed to save my strength for other things" he said, wriggling his eyebrows at her.

"Oh really, and what would those other things be" she flirted, taking a step closer to lessen the gap between them.

"My gift for you of course." She was surprised when he took a step back from her advance, squeezing her hand before releasing it as well.

"Well I can't say that I'm enjoying it so far" she pouted, jutting her lip out at the small distance. His bright smile lifted her spirits however, giving her a strange sense of deja vu.

"Well if you don't want it..."

"No, I do! Gimme" she squealed, intrigued by the whole spectacle, the strange way he was acting. In spite of his cool facade she could see the ever so slight flush to his cheeks, the extra twinkle in his brown eyes, and the fact that he was rubbing his palms against his pant-clad thighs. Rachel bounced slightly on her toes when he nodded. She released a squeal and did a tiny version of her excited dance, drawing an amused smile from Finn as she waited. Suddenly she could feel all of the stares from their family and friends on her. Even Puck and Quinn who she'd completely forgotten were standing so close by, completely silent.

"I umm, I'm actually re-gifting you something" he mumbled, wiping his palms yet again on his pant-clad thighs.

"Hmm, how very cheap of you" she said coyly, giving him a smirk.

"Yes and no actually" he grinned, his hands returning to his thighs once again. Instead of wiping nervously this time however, his hand brushed all the way back to his pocket, coming back out to reveal a small velvet box.

Rachel's breath caught in her throat as she stared at the tiny life changing box. The implications were heavy in the air as her eyes stayed glued to it. She finally pulled them away to meet Finn's shining eyes boring into her own.

"I had the right idea the first time, I thought it was about time to step my game up" he whispered, opening the box to reveal the ring inside.

It was the exact picture of the ring, their ring, but much shinier than she remembered. Staring at its luster, and slightly larger shape, she realized that it was indeed an exact replica of their original 'wedding ring', a much more expensive version obviously.

"I had it made special. I thought it would mean more you know, it symbolizes so much" he shrugged as she ran a finger over the beautiful piece of jewelry. "I love you so much, more than anything in this world, I always have. You're everything I was too stubborn to realize I needed and more. Things have been kind of...complicated lately, thinking about our futures and our careers and all, I know" he continued, reaching out a hand to delicately cup her cheek. "But, I wanted to let you know that I'm here, I'm with you all the way. The idea of not spending the rest of my life with you, doesn't even seem real, it makes me kind of sick."

Rachel gasped as she absorbed his words, her eyes starting to glisten with moisture as she stared at him, dumbfounded. The heavy stares around her melted, they were the only ones in the yard for all she knew when he smiled at her, his heart on his sleeve.

"My interview today wasn't so much an interview as it was checking my credentials, and it went really well Rach. I can be a personal trainer, or a coach, or whatever I want anywhere...as long as I'm with you. You make me feel like I could do anything, like, I could take on the world, as long as I have you by my side. So if you really want to travel to the big cities and find where it is you feel is home, then that's exactly what we should do. Your dreams are so big, and awesome, and I know you're capable of reaching all of them. I just wanna be there to help lift you up, and watch you shine. That's my dream" he whispered, finally pulling the ring out of it's box and passing the empty box to the air, which was probably Puck or someone.

Rachel blinked repeatedly, thankful that Kurt had taken the cup from her hands because it certainly would have either fallen to the ground, or all over her dress by now. Hmm, that must have been what he meant when he took it from her, urging that she trust him. That sneaky little...

The breath lodged in her throat when he dropped to one knee before her, his face much too far down for her liking. Without even realizing she was doing it she quickly toed off the nosebleed heels to be closer to him. "Rachel Berry, will you marry me?"

She was sure she hadn't been breathing for about a minute straight as she looked down at him, the shining ring in his hands. Some part of her mind registered that the people around her were waiting for her response, but it was made even more relevant when she felt a sharp poke to her back. Shaking her head to gain her composure, she brought a hand up to wipe the tears at her eyes.

"Yes, yes of course I'll marry you" she cried, the words barely escaping her lips before Finn rose and swept her up into his arms, twirling her around. She faintly heard Kurt in the background, crying for him not to ruin her dress, but she didn't care, and neither did her fiancee.

Her fiancee.

Their friends and family cheered and murmured in the background as Finn finally released her, hurriedly slipping the ring onto her finger. As soon as it was in place, he brought her hand to his lips, placing a scorching, intimate kiss over it as if to seal the promise.

"You're mine" he whispered, keeping his fingers linked with hers as he gazed down at her, the love seeping into her bones.

"I'm yours" she agreed, squeezing his hand before stretching up to kiss him. "Hold on" she paused, never breaking their entwined hands as she bend down to put her shoes back on. Finn chuckled, bringing his hand back up to cup her cheek once she was finally at almost the same level as him. He pressed his lips to hers, gently, but passionately, stealing her already shallow breath right from her again. He was going to have a lot of medical bills to deal with if this was going to be their future.

"I love you" he whispered against her lips, leaning his forehead against hers.

"I love you."

"Stop hogging the girl, you're going to have her forever" Carol cried from over Finn's shoulder, pulling him back so that she could pull Rachel into her own embrace. Kurt stood to the side of them with tissues, trying to keep his stepmothers tears from seeping into the fabric of Rachel's dress. It was only about five seconds however before he caved himself, flinging his scrawny arms around the two women joining in. When he backed away, falling into Blaine's arms, her fathers swarmed her as well, caging her in a giant hug. Even Burt had made his way over, draping an arm around Carol, and placing a strong hand on Rachel's shoulder with a warm smile.

When she was finally released, she found herself at Finn's side, her hand automatically entwining with his again. She smiled when she felt him stroking her ring finger as the guests started to crowd around to congratulate them.

"I really do like the sound of that" he whispered down to her.

"Of what" she questioned, looking over at the beautiful face of the man she would soon be able to officially call hers.

"Forever" he smiled, holding up a finger to silence Puck's sure to be crude comment, before pressing his lips to hers again.

Thank you guys so much for being patient with me, and for all of your support on this little fanfic of mine. I really can't thank you enough or put into words how much it has meant to me that you've enjoyed taking this ride with me.

As far as my next story goes, I can't tell you when that will be. I need to take at least a little break from writing for a while, and get myself caught up in real life, but I will be back, that's for sure! In the meantime, if you haven't already, please feel free to check out all of my other stories as well! Thank you all again, so much! :)