So this story was "Worth the Wait" but I decided to change a few things and had a seen with a bit more closure. The stuff I added was inspired by someone on tumblr so if they read it I hope they know I didn't steal anything from them, at least not on purpose haha. I hope you all enjoy this. Please read and review!
Sam was sitting at his work desk finishing some paperwork when his secretary came in.
"Mr. Evans?"
"Yes Angela?" he asked, looking up from his papers at his redheaded employee.
"Line one is asking for you." She said.
"Oh thank you." He said
"You're welcome Mr. Evans." she said
"Angela please call me Sam. Mr. Evans makes me feel like my father." He replied.
"Of course, Mr.- I mean Sam." She said with a quick smile and walked out of the office.
"Sam Evans speaking." He said as he answered the phone.
"Oh my god. I'm so sorry. I'll be right over." He said into the phone and quickly hung up. Sam grabbed his brief case and ran out of the office.
He reached Payton Elementary School with a screeching halt. Mrs. Baker was standing outside of the school holding hands with his 7-year-old daughter Colette.
"Colette baby girl, I'm so sorry I'm late." Said Sam as he approached his daughter.
"It's okay Daddy. Mrs. Baker let me play with the class bunny. His name is cotton ball." The little girl said.
Sam smiled at her "That sounds like a lot of fun honey. Once again Mrs. Baker I'm so sorry."
"Mr. Evans may I please talk to you in private for a moment." The older women asked.
"Yes, of course. Baby girl why don't you go play on the swing set over there for a little while. Mrs. Baker and I are going to have a little chat." He said.
"Okay Daddy." she said and ran towards the playground, her light brown curls bouncing all the way there.
"So what did you want to talk about?" he asked.
Sam, can I be frank with you?" she asked
"Of course."
"This has been the third time this month that you have been late picking Colette up. I don't mean to be harsh but this isn't a day care." She said.
"I know it isn't. It's just that work has been crazy lately. We're trying to add another music company to the agency and it requires so much time and paper work-"
"Mr. Evans I understand that work is hectic and what happened a while ago was horrible but we still have responsibilities. Maybe you should hire a nanny since you work all the time."
Sam immediately shook his head. "No. I don't want a stranger raising my daughter. I'll work something out. Please just give me one more chance."
"I think you're a great Dad. Colette adores you but if this happens one more time then I may have to bring in the principal." She warned
"It won't. I promise." He replied.
"Okay Mr. Evans"
"Goodbye Mrs. Baker."
"Goodbye Mr. Evans."
"So how was school honey?" Sam asked his daughter as they entered their house.
"It was good. Mrs. Baker let us have private reading time and I read Junie B. Jones." Said Colette.
"I know how much you love those books." He replied.
"Yep. And then we had snack time and it was Marley's birthday so she brought in cupcakes. But she let me have two because we are best friends." The girl said.
"That's very nice of her."
"Daddy can I bring in cupcakes for my birthday?" she asked.
"Of course you can! We can make them if you want." Sam exclaimed.
She crinkled her nose. "Daddy, do you even know how to make cupcakes?" she asked.
'Of course I can make cupcakes. I'm pretty but I'm not dumb. Now what do want for dinner?" He said.
"Um I don't know."
" I can try making that Mac and cheese that you like." He suggested
Colette shook her head.
"Why not? I thought you loved that stuff?" he said.
"I only like the way mommy made it." She whispered. Sam frowned and sat next to his daughter.
"I know. I'm trying to do my best but it's hard." He explained.
"Do you miss her?" Colette asked.
"Of course I do. Everyday and that's why we need to make this work. You and I are a team. I may not be able to cook or clean like Mommy but I promise to love you twice as much as I already do." He said
"I love you too daddy." She said. Sam smiled and wrapped his arms around his baby girl.
"Now why don't you go take a little nap while I work on making the Mac and cheese."
"Okay Dad. Call me if you need my help." She said.
Sam laughed "Don't worry I will."
He kissed Colette's forehead and let her run to her room with her Barbie in hand. He walked into the kitchen and on the counter was a framed picture of the love of his life. He picked it up and kissed it. The picture was of her on their wedding day. That was the happiest day of his life besides the day Colette was born. He remembered being so nervous but as soon as he saw Mercedes in that dress all of his nerves went away. And then three years later they had Colette who he deemed the apple of his eye. She had his green eyes but looked exactly like a mini Mercedes except with lighter skin and just like Mercedes; Colette had him wrapped around her chocolate finger. They were the perfect little family; well at least until 6 months ago. Sam had come home from a long day of work and all he wanted to do was lay on the couch and sleep. Mercedes said she was going to the grocery store to pick up a few things for dinner. So He and Colette gave her a quick kiss goodbye and that was the last time they saw her alive. Apparently there was drunk driver on the rode and hit her on the way back from the store. She was killed instantly.
When Sam heard the news everything felt like it was falling apart. He just held his daughter as she cried. Once he put her to bed he fell to his knees and sobbed so violently that he threw up. They had the funeral a few days later. All the members of glee club came, including Mr. Shue, and "You'll be in my heart" by Phil Collins in honor of her. The whole day was a blur of hugs and kisses but Sam could barely remember anything else.
He soon grew depressed. He never went out and he barely talked even to Colette. He just took her to school and fed her and made sure that she bathed regularly. It wasn't until Santana came over to his house, uninvited, and practically bitched him out.
Flashback
"Santana, what are you doing here?" he asked from his position on the couch.
"Who cares about that? Sam, you need to clean up your act." She said.
"Can you just go away? I don't really want to be around anyone." He said.
"Sam look at yourself. You look like you haven't showered properly in weeks."
"I'm sorry if I'm not in the mood to present myself to anyone." He snapped.
"Don't you snap at me. Mercedes wasn't just your wife she was my best friend. She helped me through so much shit and I don't think she would want you moping on the couch."
"I don't know what to do anymore Santana."
"What you need to do is get up from the couch, clean yourself up, and take care of your daughter. You seem to forget that she lost her mother and the last thing she needs is her father abandoning her too." She said. That hit him like a punch in the stomach.
"You're right." He finally said.
"Of course I'm right. I'm always right." She said, smirking a bit.
End of flashback
Now six months later he stood with the picture over his heart.
That night after finishing the dishes and putting Collette to bed, Sam decided he should go to sleep early as well. He climbed into his lonely king size bed and grabbed the book sitting on the nightstand. The book was called "The Imperial Affliction" It had been the last book Mercedes had been reading before she passed. Sam ignored it for the most part but one day when he couldn't sleep he decided to read it and he had read it at least ten times since then, he could practically recite passages. He was in the middle of reading he was having trouble keeping his eyes open, normally he'd try to fight back and stay awake but he felt like he just needed to go to sleep. He closed his eyes and was soon taken over by sleep.
It felt as if a gust of air going a100 miles per hour ran through him causing his eyes to shoot open. He was no longer in the comfort of his own bed but was now lying in what appeared to be a grassy field. Confused, he slowly sat up and his jaw dropped when his eyes finally adjusted to what he was seeing. The love of his life was standing but a mere 10 feet away from him wearing only a sheer white night gown and her hair was down in soft, relaxed curls.
"Mercedes?" he asked, in barely a whisper but she smiled and nodded. He stood up to find himself in a similar outfit but with pants and a shirt. He wanted to run to her but something stopped him, forcing her to walk over to him. He focused completely on her walk, the way her hips swayed with every single gentle step she took. She stopped walking as soon as they were only inches apart and she took his hands in hers. God how he missed holding her hands.
"Is it really you?" He asked, tears threatening to spill out of his eyes.
"It is Sam." She replied.
"Am I dead?" he asked suddenly, worried that something had happened in his sleep. To his surprise she giggled.
"No Sam, you're not dead. You just looked like you needed to see me."
"Mercedes, I've missed you so much. Can I kiss you?" he asked nervously.
"Of course you can." She replied. Sam placed a hand on her cheek while the other remained intertwined with hers. He looked into her chocolate brown eyes one more time before leaning in and pressing their lips together. It felt like the day of their wedding when they could officially say they belonged to each other. The softness of her skin reminded him of the late nights they had together on their honeymoon. To his displeasure Mercedes was the one to break the kiss. She looked up at him and smiled.
"I miss doing that every day." He said.
"I know Sammy. I'm so sorry I can't be there with you or Collette."
"I should be the one who's sorry. Mercy, I'm a horrible dad. I thought I could handle this without you but I can't." he admitted but Mercedes gave him a stern look.
"Samuel Ethan Evans you are not a bad father. You're trying and that is what matters. She needs you in her life Sam and you can't stop trying." She replied.
"She needs a Mom. I can't be both." He pleaded. She sighed and placed a hand on his cheek.
"Well Sam, as of right now you have to be. She'll love you no matter what as long as you don't give up. You have to promise me you will always be there for her okay?" she asked.
Sam nodded. "I promise."
"Good." She replied.
"Cedes can I ask you something?"
"Anything."
"What was it like to die? Did it hurt?" he asked curiously.
She shook her head. "No, it felt like the biggest release of a life time, as if all the pains and stresses of my life flew out of my body at once."
Sam smiled. "That sounds nice. So is this heaven?" he asked, gesturing to the field around them.
"In a way it is. Everyone's heavens look different." She replied.
"This all looks so familiar. Why is this your heaven?" He asked.
"Let me show you." She said and took his hand. They walked in silence for a while until they reached a lake.
"This is the lake that we always used to go to during the summers." She said and Sam nodded. Of course he remembered, they were the best summers of his life. Mercedes led them forward until they reached what looked like a park with a playground.
"This is the park near the motel isn't it?" Sam asked.
Mercedes nodded. "We used to come here to babysit Stacy and Stevie."
"And it is where we had our first date and first kiss."
"I knew you'd remember."
"How could I possibly forget?" he asked with a smirk.
"There is one more area I want to show you." She said and they walked to the other side of the park. There waiting for them was beautiful white gazebo with twinkling white lights hanging on it.
"This is where we got married." He said fondly and followed her to the inside of the gazebo.
"The wedding was wonderful." Said Mercedes.
"I remember being so nervous, waiting for you to walk down the aisle." He said.
"You were?" she questioned.
"I felt like I was going to pass out but when you did finally walk out and our eyes met, the nervousness completely went away. In that moment everything was perfect. You looked so beautiful and I felt like the luckiest man in the entire world." He said.
"And I felt like the luckiest woman in the world." She replied.
"I wish I could stay here with you forever." He said.
She shook her head. "You can't Sam, our time together is almost done as we speak. Collette needs you and one day you might find someone else that you love." She said.
"I could never love someone as much as I love you, it's impossible."
"Nothing is impossible Sammy. You always used to say that. Also, you may not love her as much but you may love her differently."
"I wouldn't feel right being with anyone else."
"I don't want you to be lonely. It's okay with me if you find someone else. I'll be waiting for you here when it's your time and then we can have eternity together." She said. Sam looked like he was going to protest but Mercedes placed a finger on his lips, silencing him.
"Don't say anything, I don't want to fight. Can we just lay together for a while?" she asked. Sam nodded and she brought him over to a large bed with fluffy white blankets and pillows that was positioned underneath a cherry blossom tree. They got into the bed together and Sam held her close, never breaking eye contact once. Sam didn't know how long they were like that until Mercedes placed a tender kiss on his lips.
"It's time Sammy."
He frowned. "I don't want it to be." He replied.
She gave him a sad smile. "It has to be. I love you Sam Evans and tell Collette I love her too." She said.
"I will. I love you too Mercedes Evans." He said and gave her one final long kiss before drifting off into a dreamless sleep.
Sam woke up early the next morning feeling more refreshed than he had for a long time. He sat up in his bed and noticed the window was open. He remembered closing it the night before but as a warm breeze blew across his face, somehow he knew it was Mercedes smiling down at him and Collette from heaven.
"Mercedes I miss you so much everyday. But don't worry about Colette and Me. You have convinced me that we'll be fine. I love you Mercy but I think it will be a while until we see each other again. Like you said, our daughter is going to need me for a while. But trust me it will be worth the wait."