So Glee's been renewed for two more seasons. Yay! Here's my wishlist for the next two seasons: Finchel gets back together in the first episode of Season 5, gets married near the end of Season 5 and has a baby in Season 6. Plus lots of cute Finchel scenes and Finchel duets, Finchel led group numbers, Finn solos and Rachel solos. And the other couples I like being together too :)

As always, thanks for all your support of this story. I hope you enjoy this chapter and review if you want me to continue :)

Chapter 19: Years in the Making

Finn felt his phone vibrate. He opened it and saw a text from Rachel. "I'm so nervous!"

Finn smiled to himself and texted back. "Don't be! You'll be amazing!" Tonight, Rachel would be singing on a Broadway stage for the first time. Finn knew that Rachel was nervous, but he himself was so excited. Rachel had spent the last few weeks working so hard, and Finn and Allie had really missed her, but he knew it would all be worth it tonight.

Finn heard a knock on the apartment door and opened it. He saw Allie with Brittany and Santana.

"Hi, Daddy," Allie said.

"Hi, Allie," Finn said. "Were you good for your aunts?"

"She was," Santana said. "We had a great time at the playground."

"Thanks so much for taking her," Finn said.

"You know we love being with our niece," Brittany said.

"So, we'll leave at about six, right?" Santana asked.

Finn nodded. "Yeah, that sounds good."

"Okay, see you then," Finn said, giving Santana and Brittany a hug.

"Daddy, guess what!" Allie said.

"Tell me," Finn said to his daughter.

"Aunt Santana and Aunt Brittany got me an ice cream cone with three scoops of ice cream!" Allie announced proudly.

Finn rolled his eyes. "Of course they did." He and Rachel were careful to limit how much sugar Allie got, but he knew that Brittany and Santana could spoil Allie more easily, since she wasn't their daughter.

"Are you mad, Daddy?" Allie asked.

Finn looked at his daughter. "I'm not mad, but I do think three scoops of ice cream is too much."

"But I love ice cream!" Allie protested.

"I know you do. I love ice cream too. But it's not very good for you."

"Okay Daddy," Allie sighed.

"Are you excited to see Mommy sing on stage tonight?" Finn asked.

"Yes!" Allie said.

"So am I," Finn said. "Mommy's such a good singer."

"You and Mommy are the best," Allie said.

Finn did love singing with Rachel. "I love singing with your mommy."

"Tonight after the show, can you guys sing to me?" Allie asked.

"Of course we will," Finn said.

x

"Daddy, I need help with my dress," Allie said, coming into Finn and Rachel's room, holding the dress she'd picked out to wear to Rachel's debut. (Finn actually had a feeling that Rachel, Kurt, Santana and Brittany had picked it out, but Allie said she picked it out.

Finn finished tying his tie. "Okay." He helped Allie out of her shorts and t-shirt and into the dress. "There we go. You look really pretty."

"Daddy?" Allie asked.

"Yes?" Finn replied.

"We're still going with Aunt Santana and Aunt Brittany and Uncle Blaine and Uncle Kurt, right?" Allie asked.

"Of course we are!" Finn said. "Your grandparents are coming to see the show, too."

"Yay!" Allie said.

Finn heard another knock on the door. He and Allie went to the door and saw Kurt, Blaine, Brittany and Santana.

"Are you ready?" Blaine asked Finn.

"It's like I said, I think I'm more excited than anyone," Finn said.

"Isn't Allie's dress pretty?" Kurt asked.

"It is," Finn said as Kurt gave him a wink to let him know he'd picked it up.

"We should get going soon," Blaine said, holding up the tickets.

"Don't forget - " Brittany began as Santana nudged her.

"What?" Finn asked. Before anyone had a chance to answer, Santana looked at her phone, then went to the buzzer to unlock the door. A few minutes later, Puck and Quinn came in with Daniel.

"What are you guys doing here?" Finn asked. Rachel would be so surprised.

"Brittany and Santana got tickets for us," Puck said.

"This will mean so much to Rachel!" Finn said.

"Can I hold Daniel?" Allie asked.

"I'm sure he'd love his big cousin to hold him," Quinn said. "Just sit down."

"He's gotten bigger!" Allie said as Quinn put Daniel in her arms.

"He has," Quinn said.

"I bet his sister's excited to see him tonight," Blaine said.

"Oh, she is," Puck said. "I think she's more excited to see him than see us!"

"Oh, you know she loves you guys," Finn assured his friends."

x

Rachel was nervously pacing backstage in her costume. Well, her first costume. As an ensemble, she'd be a citizen of the streets of New York in the first act, then a servant in the Warbucks mansion. The curtain would be going up soon, and she was feeling so nervous. She'd spent her whole life preparing for tonight, and even though she was just an ensemble member, this was still big. So many people were going to be here tonight to see her. Finn, Allie, her dads, her mom, Finn's parents, her friends...

She felt her phone vibrate and took a look at it. It was Finn. She opened the phone and read Finn's text. "We're here and in our seats! Good luck tonight, baby! You'll be amazing! I love you!"

Rachel sent a reply back to Finn. "Thanks so much! I love you, too!" She took her place in the wings and watched the first few scenes before it was time for her to go on stage. When she looked into the stands, she spotted her family and friends. She was surprised to see Quinn, Puck and Mr. and Mrs. Schuester in the stands, but she couldn't get distracted. She also couldn't get distracted by how exciting it was to finally be performing on a Broadway stage. It didn't matter that she was only in the chorus, the mere fact that she'd made it here meant so much to her.

At the end of the show, Rachel found her family and friends again and smiled at them. After the final bow, she went to her dressing room to wait for them. She was happy when she heard a knock on the door and saw Finn and Allie.

"You were so good, Mommy!" Allie said, handing Rachel flowers.

"Thank you, Allie," Rachel said, hugging her daughter and then her husband.

"You really were," Finn said as he gently kissed Rachel.

"Guess what!" Allie said.

"What?" Rachel asked.

"Uncle Puck, Aunt Quinn and Daniel came!" Allie said.

"So did Mr. and Mrs. Schue," Finn added.

"I wasn't expecting that!" Rachel said.

"Let's go see everyone," Finn said, taking Rachel's hand. They made their way outside the theatre, where Hiram, LeRoy, Shelby, Beth, Burt, Carole, Kurt, Blaine, Santana, Brittany, Puck, Quinn, Daniel, Will and Emma were waiting. Rachel was immediately overwhelmed by how many people were there. "Thank you all so much for coming."

"We couldn't miss our little girl's Broadway debut," Hiram said, handing flowers to Rachel.

"Thank you, Dad," Rachel said. "Thank you, Daddy." She hugged both her dads.

"I knew from that time I saw you at Sectionals your sophomore year that you were going to be on Broadway," Shelby told her daughter.

"Thanks, Mom," Rachel said.

"That was the year I began working with her," Mr. Schue said.

"I wasn't expecting you two," Rachel said, looking at her former teacher and his wife.

"We had to come," Mrs. Schue said. "Besides, his parents were happy to take the boys."

"Glee was where it all truly began for her," LeRoy told Mr. Schue.

"It's where our friendships with her began, that's for sure," Quinn said.

"It means a lot that you two came, too," Rachel said.

"Glee is our family," Finn said.

"Plus, who could miss an opportunity to see Rachel on Broadway?" Hiram said.

"That's true," Finn said. "Ryder, Marley, Jake and Harmony are coming tomorrow to see her, and next weekend, Mike and Tina are coming in from Chicago, and Sam, Mercedes, Artie and Betty are coming in from LA."

Rachel couldn't believe it. "Finn, really?"

Finn nodded. "Yes really! Let's get to the apartment to celebrate."

x

The celebration at the apartment was nice. Finn had ordered takeout. Soon, everyone had left and only Finn, Rachel and Allie were still home. As Finn and Rachel got Allie ready for bed, Allie nudged Finn. "Daddy?"

"What is it, princess?" Finn asked.

"You said you and Mommy would sing to me after the show tonight," Allie said.

Rachel looked at Finn. "You told her that?"

Finn blushed. "Yeah, I did."

"Well, what should we sing?" Rachel asked. "You are my favorite person to sing with."

"How about our duet from Nationals our junior year?" Finn asked.

Rachel remembered that day, the day she and Finn reunited. "I'd love that."

Finn and Rachel: Face to face, and heart to heart
We're so close, yet so far apart.
I close my eyes, I look away
That's just because I'm not okay.
Rachel: But I hold on, I stay strong
Wondering if we still belong.
Finn and Rachel: Will we ever say the words we're feeling,
Reach out underneath and tear down all the walls?
Will we ever have a happy ending
Or will we forever only be pretending?
Will we a-ah, a-ah-lways, a-ah, a-ah-lways,
a-ah, a-ah-lways be pretending?
How long do I fantasize?
Make believe that it's still alive?
Imagine that I am good enough
And we can choose the ones we love?
Finn: But I hold on, I stay strong
Finn and Rachel: Wondering if we still belong.
Will we ever say the words we're feeling,
Reach out underneath and tear down all the walls?
Will we ever have a happy ending
Or will we forever only be pretending?
Will we a-ah, a-ah-lways, a-ah, a-ah-lways,
a-ah, a-ah-lways be...
Keeping secrets safe
Every move we make;
Seems like no one's left to know
And it's such a shame
Cause if you feel the same
How am I supposed to know?
Will we ever say the words we're feeling,
Reach out underneath and tear down all the walls?
Will we ever have a happy ending
Or will we forever only be pretending?
Will we a-ah, a-ah-lways, a-ah, a-ah-lways,
a-ah, a-ah-lways be...
Will we a-ah, a-ah-lways, a-ah, a-ah-lways,
a-ah, a-ah-lways be...
Will we a-ah, a-ah-lways, a-ah, a-ah-lways,
a-ah, a-ah-lways be pretending?

"I like that song," Allie giggled.

"I like it too," Rachel said, giving Finn a kiss. "Want to know something about it?"

"Yeah!" Allie said.

"Your daddy wrote that song," Rachel said. "And he wrote it for me!"

"It's really good," Allie said.

"I'm glad you and your mommy think so," Finn said, hugging his daughter. "Let's get to bed, it's late."

"I am kind of tired," Allie said. "Good night, Mommy. Good night, Daddy."

Finn and Rachel both gave their daughter a hug, helped her into her pajamas and into bed, and then went to their own room. Rachel was thrilled that she'd gotten to be on Broadway, but the fact that she had Finn and Allie meant even more to her.

"You were incredible tonight," Finn whispered as he and Rachel snuggled into each other in bed. "I'm so proud of you."

"Thanks, Finn," Rachel said. "I'm so glad we don't have to pretend anymore."

"So am I," Finn said, pulling Rachel close to him. Rachel smiled to herself as she and Finn fell asleep in each other's arms. This had really been one of the best nights of her life.

SONG: Pretending by the Glee cast (performed by Finn and Rachel Hudson)

Chapter 20 preview: Finn starts his new job and Allie starts her second year of preschool. Finn and Rachel also consider trying to have another baby.