Prologue

Mercedes Jones had put just gotten ready to take a photograph, of Sam Evans, as he sat on his Thoroughbred, Rustic Overtone. She smiled, as she had changed her mind, and decided to take a picture of Sam instead, in which, Sam must have been thinking of wanting to asking him, because as if he had read her mind, Sam had looked at her, and then flashed that flirtatious smile he would flash, when it came to her.

"Damn it Sam Evans, why must you do that, when I have to get these photo's done?" Mercedes protests, as she tries not to laugh and smile, as she places her hands on her hips. Secretly, she liked it when he did. She just hated it, that Quinn Fabray, who was sleeping with Noah Puckerman, had wanted him as well.

"Do what?" Sam asks, pretending to play innocent, as he jumped off from Rustic Overtone, and then took off his shirt, and placed it on Rustic's saddle. It had to have been about seventy with the settling sun, and with Sam doing that, it had just gotten hotter.

"Sam, you know what I mean. Stop messing around, I have homework to finish, and you're a trainer," Mercedes tries again, as she was now finding it harder to fight temptation of wanting to kiss him, now that he was shirtless.

"So what does that have to do with anything? You're eighteen," Sam tells her happily, as he was getting closer to her, and looks into her deep brown eyes.

"Come on, lets get back to this homework assignment of yours, I think, a silhouette shot would be great, since the sun is going down," Sam suggests, as he smiles at her again, and this time, stands just about right beside her, and grabs her hand, in which, Mercedes, quickly pulls her hand away.

"Sorry," Sam whispers, as he turns back towards Rustic Overtune, as the breeze picks up.

Mercedes whispers something that Sam couldn't hear, but in the distance, she watches as Sam gets back on the horse, and grabs a hold of the reins, as though, he were going to ride away. Then she lifts her camera and makes the shot. The beautiful Sepia shot, she had just shot, little did she know that this may just be the last day with him.

As they finished, Sam, had rode down on the horse to Mercedes, knowing, that he would have to tell her what she wouldn't want to hear.

[-x-]

"You're what?" Mercedes yells at Sam, as she tries to fight back the tears that were clawing at her eyes, as s he looked looked into his blue eyes, and blond hair, as it blew in the breeze.

"I'm leaving tomorrow. I might not come back," Sam tells her, as she falls into his arms, and begins to punch his arms, and finally lets the tears go.

"Sam, I haven't said it. I haven't said 'I love you'," Mercedes tells him.

"You haven't needed to, I figured it out," Sam tells her, as he leans forward, and kisses her passionately, showing her, that he wanted to remember her, besides as the Mercedes Jones.

"You'll come back, Sam Evans, and we'll start over," Mercedes, protests, as she finally places her head on his shoulders, and decides to cry some more. The person, she had fallen for, would be leaving, and probably wouldn't be back.

"Sam," Mercedes requests, as he plays with her hair, and lays down on the grass.

"Yes?" Sam answers, as he thinks, he smiles at her, and sees that she's now laying down on the grass.

"Never mind. Forget it," Mercedes says, as she starts to head back towards the house, and Sam catches up with her, and grabs something from his pocket.

"Mercedes Jones, you're beautiful, and I couldn't live without you, and since, I have no idea, if I'll return from this war, or not, I want you to wear this," Sam tells her, holding out a ring, as again, their eyes meet, and they smile.

"Sam Evans, I would be happy to," Mercedes announces, as she places the ring on her ring finger, and kisses him again, as she immediately goes to thinking about the future, and what it would mean, even though, she wasn't going to tell him.

"Sam, would you stay the night?" Mercedes asks desperately.

"I can't, Mercy, I have to get up for Uncle Sam tomorrow," he says, as he walks away, and hoping that it wouldn't the last time, as he walks away, he's already thinking about coming home to her.