This is a shift day [see above]. There will be another upload this afternoon: A Dish Best Served Cold, chapter 10.

"If Ever She Were Lost"
Sam/Rachel, Nell (OC)
Sam & Nell series
(all series now listed under the communities tab in my profile)

In the days after the incident with Nell, Sam had not been in school. They understood well enough that he needed to look after his daughter. Rachel herself would go ahead and visit them as often as she could, to the point where she had slept on the Evans' couch a couple of times now.

Nell was fine. All things considered, the small scar she would get on her forehead was a small price to pay, showing no other injuries in any way. Rachel knew this, and when it had been a whole week since Sam had set foot in McKinley, she knew she had to talk to him. They were both pretty open with one another about everything, but this was something that had slipped by her and she did worry.

She had gone and picked up some of the cookies Nell loved on the way from school to Sam's house. When she got there, he welcomed her with a signal that told her Nell would be asleep. She came in quietly, showed him the cookies and he smiled, leaning to kiss her, first at her lips, then her forehead, holding there.

"Did something happen?" she asked after a while, and still he held. "Sam?"

"It's… It's fine now, I just…" he started, pulling back to look at her. "We got a visit the other day, from social services," he revealed, and her spine chilled.

"What for? I-I mean you didn't…"

"No, but it could look like it, you know? So they had to check."

"What did they say?"

"Well they don't think Nell's in danger or anything, so that's… that's good. They're still going to look in on us a couple more times though."

"I can talk to them, I'll tell them how much you love her and care for her and there's no way…" she shook her head, on the verge of panicking.

"It's alright, I swear," he hugged her close again. "Last couple of days I just… I needed to be with her, I couldn't… It was just really scary for a while."

"Why didn't you say anything?" she shook her head, willing herself to breathe calmer now.

"Didn't want you to worry again," he looked to her when she pulled back, bowing his head.

They had gone to look in on Nell, still sleeping, although knowing her it wouldn't last long. She could sleep her nights fine, most days, but she was a notoriously bad napper. She would start wiggling about, and then all of a sudden there would be those big bright eyes staring back at you, with a smile to match. Now her talents included getting herself stood up in her crib, holding to the bars. Both Sam and Rachel would reflexively move up to hold a hand at her back in case she should teeter back. This made it so that the three of them stood very close to one another, and Nell would coo, stretching her fingers out to her father and the girl she looked to like a mother without needing to comprehend what that meant.

It was the kind of moment that was both so simple and so cherished without needing to think of it too much, but on that day she felt Sam's hand tremble at Nell's back and she looked to the side to find he was crying. "Hey…" she breathed, and he stepped back, moving to sit in the rocking chair by the window. Rachel turned back to Nell, picking her up out of the crib and carrying her over so she could sit by the chair and keep the girl in her lap. "What's wrong?"

"Maybe I'm still not over being scared," he admitted, and she could see he was crying. She reached for his hand, and he grasped it more than willingly.

"You said everything was fine with social services…"

"It is, it is," he nodded, reminding himself. "Just when they first showed up that day, I felt like someone had gut punched me, you know? I thought they were going to take her away from me…"

"Sam, you're a great father, Nell is lucky to have you, and there are any number of people who would back you up with that, no questions asked," she promised.

"I know, but… I did drop her."

"It was an accident," she squeezed his hand.

"Which was about all I could tell them, and then they could have thought I was lying," he explained, breathing out. He looked down, to Nell sitting up in Rachel's lap and giving that smile of hers that was so much like his… He reached down, taking her outstretched hands, picked her up to hold close as Rachel handed her over.

"She's got such a good life here with you and your family. You gave up so much so she could have that life and she couldn't be in a better place," she spoke, believing firmly in what she said.

"She's lucky to have you, too," he added, knowing she wouldn't just include herself if he didn't say anything. She smiled.

"Will you be coming back to school this week then, or…" He let out a breath, looking to his daughter, who had now promptly resumed her nap on his shoulder. He rubbed at her back, gently touched her soft blonde hair, brushed it away from the scar on her forehead and kissed it.

"Think they'd let me bring her to class," he joked with a small smile and Rachel smiled back.

"Sure would make things more interesting," she gave a nod, then paused. "You're going to have to let go eventually," she reminded him, though she was sure she didn't need to. Then she thought about something. "Pop…" she spoke and Sam looked to her.

"What?"

"He's working from home this week and next week while they redo his office. I mean, if you're not ready to send her back to daycare, maybe he could watch her."

"But he's going to be working," he didn't want to impose.

"Trust me, it wouldn't disrupt a thing. It wouldn't hurt to ask, at least. We know he's crazy about her already," she reminded from the times Sam had brought Nell to Rachel's house, and he laughed.

"He is," Sam confirmed. "But you were right, I do need to let go, and if I just put her in with your father, then that's just delaying for no reason, so… I think I'll bring her back in to daycare tomorrow, get to school… If I miss any more they probably won't be as understanding as they've been so far."

"We miss you in Glee Club, too," she added.

"I've missed it, too," he told her. She'd been keeping him up to speed on all the goings on, including her efforts to hold off on a particular duet, in hopes of performing it with him. "It's not too late, is it?" he asked, not even needing to mention what he was talking about.

"I've exhausted all but one or two of my delay tactics, but I would have found more if I had to," she vowed, and he smiled, getting up from the rocking chair to lay Nell back in her crib before turning to help Rachel back to her feet. As soon as she had her balance back he had his arms around her, kissing her lightly. The last few weeks had been so full of ups and downs and all he could think each time was how thankful he was for her. It felt redundant to say it, even think it, but it was always true, and he hoped it would continue to be.

THE END

A/N: This is a one-shot ficlet, which means that signing up for story alert will not bring you any alerts.
In the event of a sequel, the story will be separate from this one. And as chapter stories go, they are
always clearly indicated as such [ex: "Days 204-210" in the summary] Thank you!