Ok so i know i shouldn't be starting a new fic but i just had to get this down. i've already posted it on tumblr and since you guys liked it, i decided to post it here for those that dont have tumblr. i originally wanted to upload this last thursday but unfortunately i couldn't come up with a good enough title and i finally settled on this one. bare with me, its my first try at angst so im not so sure how good i am.

thank you to my beta rose - love you much girl.

Disclaimer: i STILL own nothing.

without further interruption this is Annabelle

As she sat on the bed staring at the beautiful wooden antique picture frame, she sighed a heavy sigh. Six months. It had been six very long months since the incident. She couldn't bring herself to say it. The words her brain was spewing wouldn't dare come out of her mouth. She sat there and stared hard at the picture of her daughter. Beautiful ebony skin, with the biggest brightest green eyes and her adorable button nose topped with her wild mess of honey blond curly hair and pink full lips; she was vision. Not a day went by that she didn't think about her or what happened. She wished she could go back and change it but she knew she couldn't and that hurt her the most. She reached out and gingerly touched the photo, a lone tear sliding down her face.

"I miss you so much Annabelle." She said as she held back a sob making sure that she would not wake up her husband. She had to be strong for him because she knew that he was hurting just as much, he had been her rock. Her knight in shining armor. He had been everything she could have asked for and if it wasn't for him, she would have definitely crumbled under pressure.

"Baby?" He asked her with sleepy voice

"Six months Sam…Six months today…" Her voice trailed her, trying to control her sobs. "I don't know if I can hold on for much longer Sam. I've become a shadow of my former self. Do you know I weighed myself this morning and I've lost 40 pounds? 40 pounds Sam!"

"Mercy, please calm down, I know this is hard but please try and relax before you give yourself another panic attack. Try and breath." Sam tried to be strong for her but she wasn't alone in her struggle. Every day without Annabelle had made his heart shrink piece by piece. He didn't even know how they made it six months but they did.

Six months and their entire world had come crashing down. Married right out of high school, Sam and Mercedes planned had their entire future planned out. They would move out of their small town Lima, and make it big in California, but that was quickly sidetracked when Mercedes became pregnant with their daughter Annabelle. She became their entire world. Everything they did was for her. Long gone were the dreams of yesteryear. They now had a family to raise. Mercedes settled for a life as a dental hygienist at her father's dental practice and Sam scored a job working the comic section of the Sunday paper while also maintaining a job at Burt's auto shop. It wasn't much but they were happy and Annabelle always had a smile on her face. Her little feet could be heard running around the halls of their home. Her infectious giggle that she most certainly inherited from her mother rang loud and high. She was their everything and there wasn't anything they would not do for her. They were the perfect little small town family; that is until the incident.

The day had been a normal day for them. It was Saturday and Sam had to be at the shop early because Burt had hurt his back and Finn was on his honeymoon. Mercedes had the day off so she decided to have a girl's day with her princess. He gave Mercedes a loving kiss goodbye, bid them a farewell, and went to work with not a care in the world. Earlier that week, they had discussed getting Annabelle a puppy. That had been all she talked about for weeks after their friends Tina and Mike had gotten one. The little girl had been so smitten with the little puppy that she begged her parents and now they were finally relenting. After work he would go and pick up the puppy and surprise his angel with her early birthday present. Never did he think he wouldn't ever get that opportunity. Buckling Annabelle into her car seat, the two girls set off for their journey; happily singing along to nursery rhymes in the car.

"Mama! I'm Hungwy!" Annabelle exclaimed from the backseat. That child was a bottomless pit. For a three year old, she could out eat anyone; even Puck.

"You are? Well alright, let's stop somewhere and get you some ice-cream or something ok?" She asked her daughter.

"Ok Mama." Mercedes drove around looking for a place to eat, but couldn't find anything but a gas station with a Dunkin Donuts attached to it. "Well I guess this will do for now, at least we can get food and I can add some gas to this car." Pulling into the parking lot, Mercedes parked as close to the entrance as she could. Walking hand in hand with her daughter to the Dunkin Donuts, they continued to sing nursery rhymes together, getting fond looks from the other customers. She only let go of her hand for split second, all she did was hand over her debit card to the cashier and just like that, Annabelle was gone. It was almost as if she vanished into thin air. Panicking she ran around the area shouting her name, asking people if they had seen her but every person gave her the same answer. No one had seen her. And just like that Annabelle Evans was gone.

"This was all my fault, if I had been watching her better. Or if I hadn't stopped at that gas station, she would be here! How can you even look at me, knowing what I let happen to our daughter? I wouldn't be surprised if you left me." She couldn't even look at Sam without feeling ashamed. She had let him down. It was her job as a mother to protect Annabelle and she didn't. She was truly disgusted with herself.

"Hey. Listen to me. This isn't your fault. What happened was out of your control. Hey! Mercedes! Look at me baby! This wasn't and isn't your fault. I love you ok and I won't have you talk that way." Sam said with anger in his voice. How could she say things like that? She was the love of his life. He would crumble without Mercedes. When she called him hysterically crying about Annabelle he immediately dropped everything and went to her. He couldn't believe his princess was gone. His mini me, his Sci Fi movie partner was gone. Vanished. Disappeared.

He pulled her into bed with him and wrapped his strong arms around her and when he did, he felt her relax. He kissed her lips and whispered that he loved her, and that he loved Annabelle and he would do absolutely anything to make her happy.

"I just wish it didn't hurt so much." The brunette said, her voice heavy with sadness and stress

"I know baby… I know. But we'll get through this. I promise you. I love you Mercedes Patrice Evans." He leaned down and gave her another lingering kiss. He wished like hell he could take this pain away but only one person could that. And that was a three year old ebony skinned green eyed little girl.

One month later

"Jesus Guppy! Could this place be any further?" Santana exclaimed from the backseat. Sam and Mercedes decided that they needed some sort of cleansing so they decided to take a day trip with all their friends.

"Satan, chill out alright it isn't that far. Just a few more miles and then you can stretch your legs as far as you stretch that mouth of yours." Sam said from behind the wheel.

Finally arriving at their destination, they all parked and headed out for the day. Their friends had been more than supportive; they created a protective cocoon around Sam and Mercedes. Mike was the first friend to get the phone call about Annabelle's disappearance and he and Tina immediately raced to be with their friends. News spread out fast and before they knew it; their home was filled to the brim with police officers, friends, families, and neighbors and pretty soon reporters started coming around too. Annabelle meant as much to them as she did to her parents. Mercedes and Sam were the first to have a kid, quickly followed by Tina and Mike who had 2 boys and Puck and Quinn who were due any day. The only ones without kids were Finn and Rachel, Santana and Brittany and Artie. Santana and Brittany along with Blaine and Kurt had been fighting the state of Ohio to legally be able to adopt a baby as a same-sex couple and Artie chose to live life fast, so kids were out of the question. They had all immediately dropped everything for the pair and hadn't left their side since.

Settling into the park, the group found a spot big enough to host all of them. The day was filled with laughs and music, thoughts of Annabelle were pushed to the side with Sam and Mercedes sitting around enjoying the day. Night quickly took over and they decided to make a camp fire and roast marshmallows.

"Oh my god! Finn! Finn! My marshmallow is on fire! Put it out! Put it out!" Rachel, ever the dramatic, screamed as she waved her burning marshmallow around, trying to put out the fire. Rolling his eyes, Finn reached over and stomped on it to put it out and gave her another one. Mercedes looked fondly at her friends. She was so glad to have an amazing support system like them. Sure they drove each other crazy most of the time but they were a family and families took care of each other. As much as she tried, she would never be able to get Annabelle out of her head or out of her thoughts. She wanted to have a good time but she felt guilty for enjoying life while her daughter was out somewhere in the world, cold, hungry, and scared. Waiting for the day her mommy and daddy would get her. Sam, noticing her somber mood wrapped his arms around her.

"You alright baby?" He asked her. Nodding her head and giving him a smile that didn't reach her eyes, he knew she was bullshitting but he didn't want to cause a fight on such a perfect day. Reaching down he picked up a S'more and tried to feed it to her but she clamped her mouth shut and it took everything in him not to burst out laughing because Annabelle used to do the same thing. He knew she wouldn't want to talk about it. They had stopped talking to each other. They used to be able to carry on conversations for hours about anything. Even their lovemaking felt different. She was physically present but he knew her heart and mind were on something else and just like everything else since Annabelle went missing, it faded away. He was losing her every day and it scared him.

"Come on baby, just one please?" He pleaded with her.

"Alright Sam, but just one, I ain't tryna let this go to my hips." She cracked a smile and it made his heart jump with joy.

"Mercy me! Darling you are too skinny! I demand that you eat something of the S'mores!" Kurt said across from her, wrapped in the blanket with his fiancée Blaine who gave him a loving look. They looked so carefree and Mercedes longed for that. She longed for the days where all she did was laugh and live life. Everything had been going great and then the bubble burst.

"Mercedes, darling I have been meaning to ask you, where did you get Annabelle's dress from? I think it looked so cute and I want something similar for my flower girl." Quinn said without thinking, earning a hard nudge from Puck. Sam felt Mercedes immediately tense up and he knew it was coming. Once Quinn realized she had opened up a huge can of worms it was too late.

"Mercy honey, I'm so sorry-"

"It's alright, I'll email you the address to the store." The brunette replied in a shaky voice. She couldn't avoid the subject forever, she knew she needed to talk about it and she had been prepared for a situation like this, what she wasn't prepared for was all the emotions passing through her. Standing up, she took in a shaky breath and told everyone she was taking a walk

"Mercedes! It's the middle of the night and we're in the woods!" Rachel exclaimed. Sam immediately stood up and ran after her. Jogging next to her, he tried to talk to her but all he got in response were sobs.

"Hey! Come on baby! Come back! Mercedes!" He yelled out. He had been running after her and almost collided with her with she abruptly stopped.

"How could she do that? How could she bring her up like that? Does that bitch have no compassion?"

"Baby no. Don't do that ok? Quinn didn't mean it. Can we please go back to camp and just enjoy the rest of the night? Please?"

"Sam I can't do this! My life is a mess! I can't eat! I can't sleep! I don't know where the fuck I'm going anymore. I…just…cant…" Mercedes crumbled to the ground and cried her eyes out. She needed her baby. She needed her Annabelle and her life wouldn't be complete without her. Kneeling down beside her; Sam wrapped his arms around her trying to sooth her but he couldn't stop the tears from flowing. He missed his daughter, she was his pride and joy, and for her not to be around and them not knowing what happened to her was killing him.

"Baby, maybe we should get some therapy? Try and talk to a professional? Someone to give us a different opinion." Sam was up for anything at that point. He just wanted his wife back. His spunky vivacious wife who light up an entire room with her smile and presence; he needed to feel normal, he needed to feel whole again and that needed to start with getting professional help.

"I don't know Sam. But let me think about it ok?"

"Alright baby." He leaned down and gave her a soft kiss.

"Sam I wanna go home. I can't be around this right now. I just wanna go home and have you hold me." She said in a pleading tone

"Of course babe, whatever you want"

They walked back to camp and bid everyone a farewell and a good night, their friends were sad to see them go but they all understood the pressure they were under. They all hoped that somehow someway, god would shine a light into their lives and give them peace and serenity.

Arriving at their home, the immediately retreated to their bedroom, a room that held many secrets and wishes, a room that they spent hours talking in, hours spent making love. They had such a bright future but now it seems obsolete with Annabelle missing. They refused to believe their daughter was dead. They knew that one day they would find her and bring her home and she would never be out of their site again. They wanted to continue to hold on to her memory and so they left her room as it was. The door remained locked at all times at Mercedes urging. No one was allowed to touch anything because Annabelle was very meticulous about her things and Mercedes didn't want to interrupt her flow.

After undressing and showering, they both climbed into bed where he immediately wrapped his arms around her. The air was uncomfortable and tense and Mercedes wanted nothing more than to go back to how they were. He didn't laugh the same way, he would spend hours sketching her and Annabelle and she would proudly hang them around their home but since the disappearance of their daughter, he only sketched for his job. For him it was a constant reminder of what was a happier time. Leaning up, she gave him a chaste kiss and turned off her light. Biding each other a good night, they both fell asleep with heavy minds and even heavier hearts. They hoped that whatever was planned for tomorrow brought them a sense of clarity and understanding because god knows they needed it.