Author's note: Hello anyone, it has been a long time but I thought about maybe writing another Samcedes AU kind of story with some foundational canon elements. You know me I still can't tell you anything about this story or where it is going except to say that this one will be more spiritual in nature; but it is a continuation to "I Knew You Were Waiting for Me." Remember anything good I write all praise and glory goes to God the Father through my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ; anything bad about my writing is just me-all me.

Needless to say season 6 of Glee only yielded one good episode in my book (2009) and a few good moments and I am using the term few very loosely. (Jagged Little Tapestry – Mason and Jane singing, Child Star –Only Mason and Jane; The Wedding when Mercedes sang "At Last" with Artie; What the World Needs Now – Sam sung for and to Mercedes- "Close to you" and of course Mercedes singing "Someday we'll be together" with her leaving the building and being completely over it!

I hope to continue all my other stories as well, but I just have to find the time. Thanks for all your patience with me though; I am so grateful for it. If anyone is willing to go with me on this journey I will truly be blessed-I hope to see you in my imagination and please take time to review. Thanks, Anna

I Knew You Were Waiting For Me – Part II

Chapter 1

Sam went home to his apartment that night after the game and prayed for God to make a way for him to be with the one woman that he loved more than anyone else in this world. "I am putting my trust in you Lord, in Jesus name, Amen" was the last word that he spoke before he got up from off of his knees by his bedside and climbed into bed. Sam's sleep was more peaceful that night than he had ever experienced before.

XXXXX

Five months later...

A tall, thin black boy with black and blond hair walks forcefully into the locker room. "I am the one that you've been waiting for; I am going to lead this team to victory." He said to some moans, groans and skeptical laughter of some of the more seasoned players who had already quickly dismissed him out of hand. "Today is your lucky day fella's..." He still spoke confidently not letting the tense ridicule of the other players deter him. "Observe how the Raven Soars!" He then threw wide open his arms and flapped them up and down three times before extending them until they were taught and implied a gliding motion.

He was immediately laughed at and shouted down, towels and jock straps were thrown at him and the ruckus was so bad that Sam came rushing out of his office to see what the disturbance was all about. "What's going on in here?" Sam said. "This wannabe is a loser, Coach!" One player commented. "Kick him out on his a**, Coach!" Another player chimed in.

"Coach, Coach?" The unwelcomed intruder questioned while staring at Sam. "Coach, I am so glad to meet you. My name is Rick, Ricky, Raven...Rick Raven your new starting quarterback." "Awwwww, C'mon" More shouts came from the direction of the lockers and more towels where thrown his way until Sam blew on the whistle hanging around his neck. "QUIET!" He shouted. "Look, coach Bieste just let me have a moment of your time, that's all." Rick said. The room full of disgruntled players laughed at him again. "You idiot!" one more player called out. "I am not Coach Bieste; Coach Bieste took another offer and moved away. I am Coach Evans, Sam Evans. Now look kid you are going to have to try out like everyone else there are no guaranteed spots on my team and especially not for starter positions." "I'll prove to be the exception." He slowly nodded while sporting a knowing glance, and a toothy grin "Nice to meet you 'Esse.'" Rick took Sam's hand and gave his most powerful handshake. "What?" Sam said. "Coach 'Esse', you know, 'S.E. -Sam Evans-S. E. -Esse.'" Sam just stared at him then he took his whistle which was around his neck and blew it one more time; right in the face of his new wannabe quarterback "Everyone on the field- NOW!" Sam said. The locker room quickly emptied out. "This is going to be a long practice." Sam thought to himself, while shaking his head from side to side, as he followed the last boy out of the locker room and onto the football field.

XXXXX

Esse found that he was awestruck at the mercy and grace that God had on his life. He had been standing on this field for two hours, easily, simply speechless. When he thought back over the last twelve years of his life, the hard work, getting his Associates Degree and then his Bachelor's Degree, the challenging of himself to live a godly life, the prayers and the tears when he felt that he let God down; while still always yearning for another chance with Mercedes, and despite all of that- yet here he was standing- in the Georgia Dome home of the Atlanta Falcons; awaiting the start of this new season as their new Assistant Defensive Line Coach.

Esse slowly dropped to his knees and began laughing out loud, to think that when that kid, Rick Raven, had entered into his life all he ever wanted to do was punch him-hard. He was like a little pest -always underfoot, but he was fast, tough, and he was willing to learn; that kid's drive was unbelievable.

Esse laid himself down on the ground on his stomach to smell the turf and then he immediately started rolling his whole body over and over again on the ground along the length of the empty field like a big kid while laughing a hearty laugh. "Who would have thought that Ricky would be scouted from McKinley for Ohio State? Or, that he would refuse to go unless his favorite coach could go with him? It was unreal. I received an unbelievable contract with Ohio State, and just when I thought that my blessing was as big as it could get; the young wonder is scouted by the NFL too; three years later. Specifically, the Atlanta Falcons, and the kid again won't make a move; not without me his coach; he was very stubborn about it too! He actually had it written into his contract along with a tremendous salary for himself and for me. I will finally be able to take care of Mercedes in the way that she deserves. He quickly thought. And now here I am, because Rick Raven demands too much and feels that he deserves it-all. I really need to thank that kid one day; but I am thanking you God, right now, because I know you had your hand in all of this." Sam thought as he lay on his back staring up at the big sky above him just being grateful until he heard someone calling him and boy did he know that sound. "Coach Esse, Esse, you need to come see the apartment complex, it is sick!" Rick said as he came running toward Sam flapping his arms three times and then spreading them wide in a soaring pose-laughing all the way.

Yeah, Sam knew that Rick wouldn't leave him alone, for long... he never did.

XXXXXX

Rick was right again. When "Esse" used the key to his newly furnished apartment only twenty minutes away from the sports complex, he believed that he was going to appreciate this even more then he did his "second time around college experience" (being a coach at Ohio State and he loved that-especially since he didn't have to go to classes himself anymore).

Sam eyes first caught sight of the round coffee table, the lighting, the pictures on the walls, and the cream and beige coloring mixed with small wood brown accents. The living room and its coffee table and sectional were the first thing that you saw upon entering. The bedroom was behind it toward the right hand side and had the closet and bathroom in the far wall. It also had a sliding wall which opened for extra space but you could slide the wall and close off the square room for bedroom privacy. On the back left hand side was the kitchen and pantry. The guest bathroom was near the front entrance right past the guest closet before entering the living room.

Sam closed the door behind him and walked deeper into his bedroom and dropped his duffle bag on the floor (he planned on bringing in the rest of his bags up from his car later). This moment was so surreal and he imagined that he was having the same type of experience that Mercedes had had once she began touring with Beyoncé. "What do you do when all your dreams are coming true...even the dreams that you didn't dare dream for yourself; because they just seemed too big to be realistic?"

Sam walked back over to his sofa and sat down after pulling out his cellphone. He looked for an old text that Mercedes had sent him which had the tour's itinerary. He so wanted to talk to her right now, to see how she was, and to tell her of his good fortune but he found the text and she was performing tonight in Germany; checking his watch and recognizing the time difference-it was already too late to call she was in the middle of performing. He knew that he could not stay up late to talk to her because he had to be on the field by 5:45am; "it just wasn't going to happen tonight." He thought. He sent her a text just to say "Hi and that I hope you are doing well; and that you are happy. Text me, or call when you can, 'I'll love you always', Sam. P.S. You know that when I say 'I'll love you always' I still mean it right?"

Sam showered and got ready for bed but he started wondering "If having both their dreams come true was really worth them not having each other." Sam prayed that they would not be apart like this forever and then he went to sleep still "hopefully" in love with Mercedes.

XXXXX

Rick had been sitting in on his coaching session, learning the new offensive plays, when he noticed two women- they were working in the office, which was separated from the room he was sitting in by a big glass wall. "One was... kind of a girl...cute." he thought. She always seemed to have a serious face on her; she was a little shorter than him and kind of thick, which he knew had its own merits but...she needed to step up her hotness factor.

The second woman had no problem in that department; he could have sworn that the glass near her was pulsating from the heat she was giving off. She had her stuff on lock, "the things I would do to that woman- I would never want my mama to know about!" he inwardly mused and chuckled to himself as he reached down his right hand and adjusted himself within his pants. Rick Raven just decided what he wanted next and he was going to get it.

XXXXX

Mercedes finally got back to her hotel room invigorated and exhausted all at the same time. She quickly showered and got into bed. She only had four hours in which to sleep tonight before she had to catch her flight to Prague. She pulled the covers up over her body and reached for her cellphone which had been sitting on the nightstand. She looked at the messages from her mother and brothers but it was the message from Sam that made her smile the most. She loved the fact that he still would reach out to her, even after it had been so long. This was her fourth world tour and in all these years he was still such a quiet moral support and as he always reminded her, "Her biggest fan."

"Hi Sam," She wrote "I am well and heading to Prague in the morning. Maybe we can really have a good chat once I finish my concert in South Korea next month. I hope you are well too, and happy. Take care, 'I'll love you always'-Mercedes. P.S. Yes, I know...I still mean it too."

Mercedes put her phone back on the table and thought about how she felt about their messages. She remembered that they had this conversation soon after she had left for her first world tour opening for Beyoncé. He had called her and they had spoken on the phone for at least an hour, or an hour and a half and they were laughing wholeheartedly about Jay Z being jealous of one of the dancers who he felt "enjoyed" touching his wife a little too much and had the guy replaced. Mercedes thought that he was overreacting, but Sam could totally get it. "Don't be hard on him I would do that too- especially over you." He said while they were both laughing but then her laughter slowly subsided. "Sam, it has been nearly a year and a half since we've broken up." She said slightly astonished. There was no sound coming from the other end of the phone, Mercedes had almost thought that she had lost the connection when Sam finally spoke. "Why do you sound so surprised all the time? My love for you Mercedes doesn't just disappear because we are not in the same city. Think about it... haven't we proven that already? When has that ever happened to us before? It didn't happen when I went to Nashville, it didn't happen when you went to L.A., and it didn't happen when I went back to Lima from New York. When I told you that I loved you I meant it... I still love you...I will be in love with you, always."

"But Sam, if you are waiting... (She paused) I, I don't want you to be lonely." She said full of compassion. "You deserve better than that, you are too great of a guy for that." Sam quickly chimed in "I don't want you to be lonely either. I know that you will see people and I will see people too but that still doesn't mean that I won't be waiting for you, because I am...our lives have always brought us back to each other Mercedes, and I believe it will again. I am just hoping that the next time that it does- it will be for good, that's all." Sam's voice lowered slightly.

"But, Sam, I am asking you how long can you wait, realistically?" The phone was quiet again and then Sam suddenly said "I am going to change the way that I say goodbye to you when we text each other." A puzzled look came across Mercedes face. "What?" She replied. Sam sighed "I am not naïve Mercedes I know that there is a real chance that you could find someone else and fall in love with him and want to be with him always...the possibility of it hurts; I am not going to lie, but I know that it can happen-for either of us, I may find another woman and think the same thing, but until then I am going to end every text with the words "I'll love you always" and I want you to do the same; this way we can continue to have hope in our future together.

However, if or when it ceases to be true for either of us, when you think that you have really found the one...then we will no longer end our text messages in this way; we will then know that it is truly over, no guilt needed-okay?" He said. "Okay" Mercedes said meekly after thinking about his proposition. "I just need to hold on to the hope, Mercedes; do you understand what I am saying?" Sam added. Mercedes smiled "Yes Sam, I completely understand and I would like to hold on to that hope a little longer as well." She said which made Sam a very happy man.

"Hope was a very powerful thing" she thought as she rolled over on to her side..."this hope has already lasted for going on thirteen years." Mercedes closed her eyes and went off to sleep still "hopefully" in love with Sam.

XXXXX

The Falcon's training season was quickly coming to an end and their first game was in three days. Rick Raven the newest draft-pick was going to be inundated with media coverage. He had to have a meeting with the general manager about what was to be expected, and how he was to conduct himself. Rick could always understand what was expected from him but he had also made it very clear that he wanted Esse to sit in on any meeting he was to have, along with his sports agent, Christopher Jennings.

Jennings had the foresight to get in contact with Rick once he was recruited by Ohio State, and after (let's just say) Jennings intense drive at selling himself, he became a kindred spirit of Rick's. Sam often wondered why Rick was so intent on keeping him around especially after he had Christopher in the picture; but Rick always said that "He felt closer to Sam than to anyone else"; Rick saw Sam as "an instrumental component as to why his dream of being in the NFL came true; Sam was like a father figure to him and he valued his opinion about things."

Esse, Rick and Christopher entered into the General Manager's Peter Pettway's office. "Thank you gentlemen for being so prompt." Peter said as he shook each of the men's hands and offered them a seat before taking his own seat behind the large desk in the room. "I had the utmost faith that you would be a great addition to our team and from what I have heard about our practices, it seems that my faith has been justified." Pettway continued. "I hope to take it all the way, sir."Rick responded. "There will be no doubt about it." Chris chimed in. As the three men engaged in self-congratulatory smugness Sam thought it best to stay quiet; which unfortunately, he had gotten called out on by Mr. Pettway.

"Sam come on in and jump into this conversation. Don't be shy, as one of our coaches, your input is what is necessary to provide me with the assurances I need." Pettway waited for Sam to respond. "Yeah, Esse tell him what you think; you know me-we have this game in on lock down; don't we?" Sam looked at the men in the room and he knows what they wanted to hear, but he had to speak the truth as he knew it to be. "I have learned..." Sam started confidently "to live my life by some guided principles, principles that I get from biblical scriptures and one of these principles can be found in 1 Kings chapter 20 verse 11 'The king of Israel answered, "Tell him: 'One who puts on his armor should not boast like one who takes it off.' I just prefer to wait and see how the game plays itself out; I have learned that humility has never steered me wrong." Sam said in a very low key tone.

The room became quiet for a few minutes before Christopher tried to bring the room back to a more encouragingly elevated level. "That is why Sam is just an Assistant Coach...it will take him a little while to catch on to the vision." Christopher started laughing and Pettway joined him. "Sometimes it takes a little time but I won't hold that against him." Pettway laughed at Sam again. Sam had been through this before- since he began to take God's word more seriously, he realized that people took his words less seriously, but he knew what he believed and he had to have enough conviction to hang on to it despite any mocking which came his way. "I think Esse is right." Rick spoke up loudly when he saw the way the tide was turning in the room. "Esse that is why I take you with me everywhere I go." Rick grabbed onto Sam's knee with his hand and squeezed it as Sam sat next to him. "You have heard this saying before haven't you gentleman? 'A word to the wise is sufficient; but a word to a fool is wasted!'"

Christopher cringed in his seat and his muscles stiffened. Pettway simply answered "No, I haven't heard that saying, but let's get down to what this meeting is actually about, shall we? You are going to get the full court press over the next few days and I will send some people over to you this evening with a press packet; they will check out your wardrobe choices; go over some general questions and how you are going to answer them. Media management is not only what you say..." Pettway started but Christopher jumped into the conversation and finished his sentence right along with him. "... It is also what you are wise enough not to say." Pettway smirked at Christopher but glanced at Sam, and then he continued. "It is chaos, it seems endless, and you need to be the type of person who can hold it together under pressure. I have made a pretty big investment in you..." He glanced at Sam again. "I assume that you won't disappoint. Now with that said, get home early and I will have them meet you at 5pm. Now, let's see if the Falcons will soar because of- a Raven, goodbye gentlemen."

With that the three men left the office and walked into their collective futures.

Authors note: Please forgive any mistakes and please review. Thanks, Anna