Everyone was riding on a natural high from their Regionals' victory. For Rachel and Finn, they couldn't have asked for a better prelude to their nuptials. After the New Directions' excitement became containable, everyone began making their way to the Justice of the Peace. Finn and Sam caught a ride with the Hudson-Hummel couple while Rachel left with her dads; Mike, Tina, Blaine, Puck and Artie carpooled; Santana drove Brittany, Kurt drove himself—knowing he had a stop to make along the way—and Sugar insisted that Rory accept a ride from her dad. Mercedes caught a ride in Quinn's cherry red Beetle earlier, and planned to go with Santana and Brittany to the wedding. However, after finding out that Quinn would be coming to the wedding after all, Mercedes gladly remained co-pilot for the Volkswagon.

While everyone departed to their respective vehicles, Mercedes emerged from the choir room, looking down the hallways with a quizzical expression. "Quinn?" Her heels click-clacked as she wandered down the desolate halls, clutching a blue-striped jacket, and wondering where her friend was. Just as she was about to take out her phone and call her, Quinn appeared from the girls' bathroom, clad in her performance dress as well and carrying a large box under her arms. Mercedes noted her glowing face and wide smile and was unable to help smiling too as she asked, "What is it?"

Standing beside her friend now, Quinn looped an arm around Mercedes shoulder while they started towards the nearest exit, "Coach Sylvester gave me my Cheerios uniform back."

Eyes wide, Mercedes regarded her with an even more pleased expression, "Oh my God. So does this mean you're back on the Cheerios?"

Quinn nodded several silent, ecstatic nods, to which she was seized in a tight congratulatory hug.

"Mercedes, I can't even begin to tell you…this has been the best day I've had since I found out about Yale."

"Girl, after everything you've been through, I believe it!" She loosened her hold on the blonde and held her at the shoulders with her eyes gazing up at her. "You deserve to be back on that squad."

A soft laugh escaped Quinn's lips, but she promptly said, "Come on. We better hurry up if we're gonna get to Finn and Rachel's wedding on time."

"True," replied Mercedes. The two then prattled on about Regionals—talking about the Warblers' performance and their own. Mercedes started to mention how she had wished Quinn could have performed with the Trouble Tones as they made their way to the Beetle. Somehow, during their drive though, they ended up talking about Finn and Rachel's engagement again.

"…And I know you weren't crazy about them getting married when they told us all. I'm still a little iffy on it, but they're happy together so I think it's important we're supporting our friends."

"I know," said Quinn as she gazed out of the windshield. "Rachel and I talked about it before she left."

"Plus," Mercedes added, "She had a point last week. It would've been a shame for you skip out on a chance to rock a bridesmaids dress."

Quinn's cheeks rose with an agreeing smile, but it vanished quicker than it had appeared. "Oh crap. Crap, crap, crap!"

"What?" asked Mercedes.

"I have to turn around. Crap—I forgot my bridesmaids dress at home. Ugh, I don't believe this!"

Mercedes bent down to rifle through her bag on the floor between her ankles. She took out her phone to check the time, "It's okay. The ceremony's not til 5. I think we can make it with plenty of time."

"We better, or Rachel might try to verbally assault us," Quinn said in a half-joking tone.

As Quinn twisted the steering wheel to make a U-turn, she groped around the cup holders for her cell phone. Her eyes flickered back and forth between the phone screen and her windshield. "You have your dress, right 'Cedes?"

"Yeah it's in the back seat with my shoes." Mercedes served as a second pair of eyes on the road while Quinn sent a text to Rachel: "Ran home to get my bridesmaid dress. Be there soon."

Eventually the two made their way to the home where she and the former Mrs. Fabray lived. By the time they had arrived, Mercedes suggested that they just change there instead of waiting until they arrived. She gathered up her things from the back seat of the Bug and quickly followed Quinn through the front door. The house was quiet upon entry—a note was sitting on Quinn's bed in her mom's handwriting, telling her she had gone out to dinner for the night and would be back late. Quinn only glanced at it long enough to process what was written before Mercedes reminded her, "We gotta hurry, Quinn!"

The Hudson-Hummel vehicle parked in the nearest vacant spot. The entire way, Burt and Carole were doing their best to keep Finn's nerves in check by telling him and Sam what a great job The New Directions had done. Upon arriving at the courthouse, Burt and Carole got out of the car. "We'll go let the Justice of the Peace know you guys are here," said Burt.

Sam looked to his team mate and pursed his lips in a faint smile. He clapped a hand to Finn's shoulder, "You alright man?"

Finn nodded, wearing a mix of excitement and anxiety on his face. "Y-yeah, man," he replied.

Sam chuckled one time and shook Finn, "Come on, we still gotta get changed."

"Right," said Finn. They both un-hooked their suits from the handles above their windows, got out and followed after Burt and Carole. Soon after, the rest of the glee club had trickled in and two courthouse employees showed the guys and the girls where they could get ready at. Sam and Finn led the pack of men to the left while the girls smuggled Rachel away to the right, doing their best to keep Finn from seeing her anymore. As they giggled and chattered their way down the hall, Sam looked back and paused. His dark blonde brows came together, "Hey, where are Mercedes and Quinn?"

A few of the guys muttered, "I dunno," while the others said nothing at all. His lips pressed together and he swallowed hard, but turned back to keep following the rest of the guys. It wasn't like Mercedes to be late for anything—especially for important events. He knew she had gone with Quinn, but they were both punctual people. When he and the rest of the guys were shown into an empty room however, he shook away the concerns that were starting to plague his mind. It helped to remind himself that she and Quinn weren't technically late to begin with. Instead, he tuned into the friendly heckling the rest of the guys were giving Finn.

Puck cast a brooding smile while telling Finn that he was about to be ball and chained, and was still able to make himself a free man before it was too late. The others grinned and snickered while they all changed out of their black and gold Regionals garb. More of the teasing and random conversation carried on, but it hadn't served as a stable enough distraction for Sam. He was in the midst of buttoning up his white dress shirt when his mind conjured up a few irrational "What if?"s for Mercedes and Quinn's mysterious whereabouts. In the back of his mind, he knew it was stupid to think anything bad had happened to them. Why would it? And for all he knew, Mercedes and Quinn could have entered the courthouse right after he and the guys had rounded the corner. Yeah, they were probably just making sure none of us had left anything at the school before leaving, he thought. We all did rush off after winning Regionals. And with all the excitement of winning, somebody probably did leave something behind. Mercedes is a really responsible person; she would want to look out for the others, and since we were all officially on Spring Break now, it'd suck to have something left at school for a week.

"Sam!" Mike nearly shouted.

"Huh? What?" Sam said, jerking his head up.

"Dude, where were you just now?" Puck asked, staring at Sam as if he'd grown a third eye." We were asking if you were gonna go back to Kentucky for Spring Break."

"Don't tell me all the wedding buzz is getting you thinking…" Blaine teased with a kind smile.

"Because if you are, I'm all-too prepared to give you the same spiel I gave Finn and Rachel," Kurt shamelessly admitted, folding his arms as if to emphasize his point. He felt Finn's eyes fall on him but ignored it, "I love Mercedes to pieces but—"

Sam shook his head and interjected, "No, no that's not it. Besides Kurt, we're not together and you know that. But yeah I'm gonna spend half my break here and half back in Kentucky."

"Oh. Good," Kurt briskly responded. "Well I for one am looking forward to having the next week off. It's been so intense this past week…"

The conversation carried on about the room, but Sam hadn't re-joined it. Instead, he dug in the pocket of his performance slacks and pulled out his cell phone. Since Valentine's Day, he and Mercedes were giving themselves distance from each other outside of school, but he couldn't help being concerned and wanted to know that she was in fact on the other side of the courthouse getting ready with the rest of the girls. His long, nimble fingers moved across the keypad of his phone. "Hey, you and Quinn are here, right?" After finding Mercedes' name in his list of contacts, he hit 'Send' and slipped his phone into the pocket of the dress pants he was currently wearing.

It wasn't terribly difficult for him to appear interested in the talk about the room, but inside, he was anxiously awaiting a response from Mercedes. Only two minutes after he'd text her, did his phone buzz in his pocket. He took it out and read, "Not yet. Quinn forgot her dress. Getting ready to leave her place now."

A fair amount of relief washed over him, flooding the top of his head, right down to his shoes. He text her back, "Ok. Drive safe."

A few minutes later, she text back, "I'll tell Quinn."

Meanwhile, in a room in the courthouse, opposite the boys, all of the girls were clad in identical salmon pink dresses, with the exception of Rachel. Brittany was standing behind her, fixing her hair to accommodate her veil while Tina put some final touches on her make-up. Quinn and Mercedes still hadn't shown up and it felt like they were taking a millennium to arrive.

Rachel took her phone out when Tina allowed her and re-read her text from Quinn, and then she finally text her back, "HURRY!" The time at the corner of Rachel's iPhone read 4:40 which made her anxiety flare. Two of her best friends weren't here and she and Finn were schedule to exchange their vows in twenty minutes. As she lowered her phone back into her lap, Tina instructed Rachel to pucker her lips so she could add blush to her cheeks. Rachel did so while three friendly knocks rapped on the door.

Sugar stood and flitted to the door to answer while announcing, "I'll get it!". On the other side were Kurt and Blaine, fully clad in their identical suits and yellow boutonnieres. Sugar hugged them both and let them in; Blaine went over to greet the bride, "Rachel you look stunning."

Their star performer grinned as Kurt chimed in, "Yes, I think we made the right choice." He smiled at her but was quick to note the absence of his other best friend. "Wait, where's Mercedes? I thought she was doing your hair."

"Yeah and where's Quinn?" added Blaine, looking around the room.

"They're not here yet," Santana answered in her usually blunt fashion.

"Kurt can you call Mercedes and see where they're at?" Rachel nearly begged as her veil was being situated. She was more than ecstatic about marrying Finn but it had always been so important to her that both her family and her friends were there to share the moment with them.

Kurt had wandered to a corner in the room, pacing slowly with his phone to his ear. "Where are you?" he asked when Mercedes picked up.

Finally able to turn her head, Rachel looked to him, only hearing his half of the brief conversation.

"Fifteen minutes, Mercedes…yes I know but it's taken care of…okay good…uh-huh, bye." Once the call ended he said, "Mercedes and Quinn are coming. They ran into some heavy traffic on the main streets so they're taking a back road. She said sorry about the hair, and that they'd be here in 10."

"Okay. It's okay, as long as they get here," Rachel gave an answering smile and stood. "I'll be right back."

"Can you believe that?" Mercedes commented with a shake of her head.

"I know, right?" Quinn said. "Of all the days when it'd be so much easier…"

"People must've still been leaving the school or something."

Neither of them really cared what the cause of the traffic was however. They both knew the alternative route and were thankful for the minimal traffic. Mercedes kept track of the time while Quinn drove. A few times, she set her phone back in her bag, flipped the passenger mirror down and checked to make sure her hair still looked alright from the competition. It did.

"Mercedes you look fine," the blonde affirmed with an amused smile.

"I know, but I just wanted to make sure—"

"Sam would notice?" Quinn finished.

Mercedes pursed her lips for a moment while giving Quinn a sideways glance. Her cheeks burned but she scoffed aloud, "Please."

"Oh come on, Mercedes. Can you honestly tell me that you don't wanna look good for him still?"

"I've never gone out of my way to look good for anyone, any more than I usually do."

Quinn smirked, "So is that a 'no' or a 'yes'?"

Silence filled the car for a few seconds before Mercedes finally answered, "Remember when I told you on the phone a few weeks ago that I'd kissed Sam? Well I told him at school on Valentine's Day that I still love him but I can't be with him right now. I need to be single for a while to figure out who I am so I don't ever hurt him the way I'd hurt Shane, or worse."

"But 'Cedes, you would never do that to hi—"

"That's what he said to me too. And I told him I didn't think I'd ever do that to Shane, but I did. I'm just not sure of myself right now."

They were stuck behind a tractor for a moment; Quinn contemplated going around, but luckily it was turning at the approaching intersection. After being aware of this, she cast a comprehensive gaze at Mercedes and then said, "I can respect that. And understand it. Being single for a while now has helped give me a pretty clear head on who I am, what I want, and what I need to focus on. And don't think that I'm putting pressure on you, but I hope that you'll find yourself in a good enough place to be with Sam soon."

Mercedes turned her head towards her friend, looking taken aback, but Quinn went on. "I see the way he looks at you when you sing songs in Glee club or lead meetings with the God Squad. I see how he steals glances at you whenever he can. And I know it's hard for him to be respectful of your wishes to be single right now, even though he really loves you and wants to be with you. You and Sam deserve each other—that much is clear to me. In time, I really hope you two will have each other."

Mercedes couldn't look at her anymore. She felt herself wanting to cry, but much to her own relief, no tears were forming in her eyes. Everything Quinn was saying meant a lot to her—more than she could verbalize. Unable to form much to say, she whispered, "I hope so too."

Quinn rested her hand on Mercedes' arm in a consoling manner, triggering a grateful smile on the curvaceous girl's face. "Time check?" Quinn asked, subtly intent on changing the subject for her friend's sake.

"Um…" Mercedes picked her phone up from her bag but she was distracted from seeing what time it was. "Oh, I have a missed call."

"Is it Kurt again?"

Mercedes pinched her lips together tightly and then said, "No, it's from Sam."

"What time is it?"

"4:54. I'll call him back. Rachel's probably gonna have everyone on our case in a minute, but we're not even far anymore."

"Better call back before your phone blows up with calls," Quinn suggested.

Already holding her phone to her ear, Mercedes nodded agreeably. As she waited for Sam to pick up, she glanced at Quinn, who gave her an assuring smile. In the length of two rings, Sam had picked up the phone, "Hey, we're like…two minutes away. We had to take the back roads."

As Mercedes exchanged a few more words with Sam, Quinn's phone buzzed once in the cup holder. She sighed, "Here we go…"

Mercedes rolled her eyes but smiled at her while she carried on her conversation.

Quinn glanced down to read Rachel's text, "WHERE ARE YOU GUYS?"

"Yeah I can just picture it, but we can't get there any faster. Do you have any chill pills you can give her?"

Eyes flickering back and forth between the road and the phone, Quinn formed the text, "ON OUR WAY"

Mercedes laughed, "Seriously though, if they have to start without us, then they sh—"

She gasped.

A loud horn assaulted their ears.

"QUINN—!"

"Face it! She's not coming, and Mercedes probably couldn't talk her out of it" Santana abrasively stated.

"They're coming," Rachel insisted though her voice was riddled with the same anxiety it had fifteen minutes ago.

Only seconds afterward, Finn came bursting into the room with their parents and the groom's. "Rachel we gotta get going."

At that moment, Sam's phone buzzed in his pocket while 'Human Nature' quietly rang. He hastened to retrieve it while all eyes fell on him for a brief moment.

"Finn get out!" Sugar cried "You're not supposed to see the bride before the wedding!"

Finn held his hands up in surrender, "I've already seen her."

"But that's bad luck," noted Tina.

"It's okay you guys," Rachel appeased before turning to her fiancé. "Finn couldn't we wait just a little longer for Quinn and Mercedes?"

"It's now or never," replied Finn.

Only taking seconds to think it over, Rachel turned from Finn to retrieve her phone. She slid her finger across the screen and immediately went to texting Quinn again. As she pressed 'send', she could hear Sam speaking lowly on the opposite side of the room.

Sam chuckled, "I wish but I'm fresh out. I'll let them know you guys are close, but I know they don't wanna lose their spot."

Gradually the other Glee club members were watching him again. They all had picked up on the fact that Mercedes was on the other end of the line. Rachel and Finn looked relieved that their friends were close, according to Sam's half of their conversation. But confusion fell on all of their faces as they watched Sam's face change almost instantly.

He heard Mercedes gasp. He heard the horn honk. He heard her shout Quinn's name. And he heard the solid, unmistakable crashing sound rapidly follow.

His plump red lips slackened while his green eyes bulged. "Mercedes?" He looked at the phone to see that the call hadn't dropped. It hadn't. "Mercedes?" The panic shot through his veins, and without any regard to anyone else, he immediately turned around and bolted from the room, ignoring the voices calling after him.

"Mercedes!" he shouted, still clutching the phone to his ear.

Sitting in the hallway of the Justice of the Peace was Mr. Schuester and Coach Sylvester. Both of them looked at Sam with their own forms of concern. Mr. Schue stood up, "Sam what's wrong?"

Sam wasn't answering anyone as he thundered back down the hallway. His expression was hardening as he grew determined to get an answer from Mercedes, though none had come.

"Sam!" Mr. Schue tried again. He caught up with Sam in no time and seized him at the shoulders. "Sam what happened?"

Fighting the urge to shove his teacher away, his chest rose and fell at an abnormal pace while he glared, "They crashed. They crashed—we have to go!"

"Who crashed?" asked Sue.

"Mercedes and Quinn!" Sam shouted, unable to express his fear in any other way than what they were receiving.

"Oh God," Rachel breathed somewhere behind him. Puck spat an expletive while the others either gasped or stood in silence.

"Are you absolutely sure?" Sue asked with complete severity.

"I HEARD IT!" Sam yelled, finally jerking his shoulders free from Mr. Schue. His eyes were reddening but he was determined to not let tears betray him when he desperately needed to see the numbers he was now dialing.

Behind him he heard Sugar wail the only sensible thing he'd heard yet, "Someone call 9-1-1!" while everyone else was trying to decide what to do or say.

As Sam held the phone back to his ear, Mr. Schue ushered him the rest of the way down the hallway while he said, "Come on."

"I'm coming with you," Puck declared, clearly upset as well.

Sam spoke shakily to the dispatcher; he forced himself to keep his voice low to prevent any more sounds of terror from escaping his lips. It was a difficult battle against his mind to try and recall where Mercedes said they were. The dispatcher spoke calmly to him the entire time as he tried to tell her about his conversation prior to the crash.

"Mr. Schue, their family," Puck said from the back seat, without looking at anyone or anything in particular as he whispered to himself, "Beth…"

Their teacher glanced at Puck from the rearview mirror and then back to the road. "I know…"

From a distance behind, Puck and Mr. Schue saw Mike's Camry with Coach Sylvester's Expedition following. Ahead of them, the three men saw smoke billowing up from the grassy Lima back roads, telling them exactly where to go. Mr Schue exchanged wary glances with his two students, "Guys we don't know what we're gonna see, so…just…brace yourselves."

Unfortunately there weren't words for the scene they arrived at. Quinn's compact Bug was wrapped around the grill of a bulky pick-up truck. Both front tires of the Bug were blown out and warped from the impact, while the driver of the truck laid leaning against their deployed airbag. Mr. Schue stopped his car a safe distance from the accident; Sam and Puck were out of their teacher's car in no time, running toward the Bug.

"Don't move them, guys!" Mr. Schue shouted, following after them.

"What do you mean 'don't move them'!" Puck shouted back.

"You could make it worse, Puck! Wait 'til the EMTs get here!"

None of them were able to get to the driver's side and the front windshield was shattered entirely into thousands of shards. Their only apparent means of getting into the car was through the passenger's side. Sam was there first, and saw the passenger window glass buckled to Mercedes' head. Because of the breaks in the glass, the right side of her face was concealed to him, but he could see her right arm pinned awkwardly between her side and the door. Beyond her, he glanced at Quinn who had visibly suffered the most from the accident. With the entire driver's side concaved, it would have taken a miracle for her to have been unscathed by it all. Despite having her seatbelt on, she had been thrown across Mercedes' lap from the torso up, with blood staining the left half of her dress. Her left hip was pinched into the vehicle and her legs invisible from where Sam was gazing. Both girls were marred with cuts—some, more unsettling to look at than others.

Sam's heart beat hard in his chest and ears as his right hand gripped the handle. He clenched his left hand in a fist over the rear passenger window; it took everything in him not yank the door open and pull both girls out.

Puck approached soon after and started shouting at the broken windows, "QUINN! MERCEDES!"

Neither girl stirred.

"Mr. Schue we need to get 'em out!" he insisted.

"No!" a clearly unnerved Will Schuester answered as he approached. "We can't do anything helpful until the EMTs get here."

He looked to Sam who had gone completely white and still. His right hand was still gripping the door handle tightly—his heart was still pulsing loudly in his ears and his eyes remained fixed on Mercedes. She couldn't be gone. Not like this. He refused to believe it possible. And part of him knew it was selfish to think of her more than Quinn but in that moment, he didn't care.

The definition of Mercedes' still form was dissolving before his eyes as tears overcame him. He squeezed both lids shut and lowered his head against the cracked glass, nearly oblivious to the approaching sirens or his friends who reached the accident site and were expressing varying forms of hysterics.

Everything seemed to happen in slow motion then, though the reality was that the paramedics' actions were swift. Sam had to be ushered away by both Puck and Mr. Schue while the EMTs and firefighters worked together to remove all three victims from the cars safely. Someone—he didn't know who—mentioned calling Quinn and Mercedes' parents. He didn't know who was going to do it, but somewhere in his mind, he'd hoped that someone would be able to reach the Fabrays and the Jones'.

Unfortunately he was repeatedly held back as they pulled Mercedes out and lay her on, what would later rise as a stretcher. Under the warmth of the early evening sun, she wore a distressed look on her face and breathed shallowly, but was still unconscious while the paramedics multi-tasked. Their hands moved about her body, examining her injuries while calmly going through careful procedures to wake her. Another group of EMTs and firefighters were still trying to safely remove Quinn from her mangled car, and the driver of the truck had come to in a matter of minutes, following help's arrival.

When Mercedes didn't respond to anything the paramedics tried, they placed a brace around her neck to station her head and moved quickly to get her into one of the multiple ambulances that had shown up.

"I'm going with her," Sam said to no one in particular as he snatched her bag and cell phone from the car. Although the EMTs questioned his relationship with her, they hadn't stopped him from being by her side for the ride to the hospital.

The stretcher was lifted up so that Mercedes was now lying level to Sam's waist. He took hold of her hand and squeezed as one of the medics held an oxygen mask over her nose and mouth. "Mercedes…"

He let go of her hand only long enough for them to slid her stretcher into the ambulance; after following inside, he glanced away from her only once. His eyes swept over the scene of the cars for the last time, and then he saw his fellow Glee club members, scattered a short distance away. All of them looked out of place in their formalwear, but they all were holding onto somebody, with the exception of Puck, Coach Sylvester, and Mr. Schue. He saw Mike make eye contact with him before he called out, "We'll be there soon dude!"

Sam nodded once and then looked back to his love as the ambulance doors closed them in.

The medics exchanged words that Sam only half understood during the entirety of the ride to the hospital but their terms weren't his main focus. He resumed holding Mercedes' left hand—his thumb rubbing circles over her knuckles while his sage hues studied her face more carefully than before. He couldn't bring himself to stare long at the rest of her and maintain some composure, due to the terrible injuries that marred her dress, legs and right arm.

While seated on her left side, Sam noticed everything. Her once loose, black curls she'd worn for Regionals were now disheveled, but he caught something silver glimmering at her ears. Sam cocked his head slightly to see a heart-shaped earring hanging below her left lobe. He recognized the accessory—mainly because he had given the pair to her last summer, but also because she had worn them so frequently to school.

Behind the oxygen mask, he saw a tiny cut across her button nose; another one similar to it was below her left cheek. He saw one of the female EMTs replacing some gauze for an alarming amount of blood along the right side of Mercedes' face that made Sam's stomach lurch. An indescribable fear conquered his insides then; all he could do was hold tightly to her hand and quietly plead, "Please open your eyes 'Cedes."

"She your girlfriend?" One of the male medics asked.

Sam's head inclined toward the other male but his eyes stayed on Mercedes. To his own dismay he muttered, "Not exactly…"

"Oh. Friends?"

"We're close," he admitted, bringing the conversation to a quick end. There was clearly no interest in making small talk with him. Instead, he brought his full attention back to Mercedes where it belonged.

At one point, her eyes fluttered, but never fully opened. It was a good sign in Sam's eyes, and internally he tried not to get over-excited about it, but it was impossible. It was enough to fight off some of the fear that attempted to best him until they arrived at the hospital. As the paramedics pulled the stretcher out of the vehicle's rear, they were met by a doctor and a small number of nurses. Sam rushed to follow them and heard one of the paramedics inform the hospital staff that two more people were on their way; one was another girl in worse shape than Mercedes. From there, the exchange of words while boarding the elevator resumed to a slew of medical terminology, but Sam caught, "breaks in the right arm", and "head trauma" intermingled with everything else that was being said.

"What's her name?" the doctor asked as they wheeled her down a wide corridor.

"Mercedes Jones," Sam answered before anyone else could.

All eyes momentarily fell on him, but the doctor promptly thanked him and looked back to Mercedes while he waved a small flashlight back and forth across her lidded eyes. Sam's chest constricted when she didn't respond to the light. Without being aware of it, he was huffing short breaths again as if he had just run a marathon. He was about to ask if she was going to be okay when one of the nurses claimed his arm and held him back in the same instant that the doctor and small team of nurses wheeled Mercedes' gurney through a set of doors.

The nurse was met with resistance by Sam, but she spoke firmly to gain his attention. "I'm sorry but you can't be with her right now. You need to wait here."

"But—"

"I'm sorry," she asserted, "but without the patient's consent, only kin and spouses are allowed beyond this point. You'll have to wait here."

Sam swallowed hard and quit fighting the nurse. His shoulders fell hopelessly as he nodded. He carried himself and Mercedes' things toward the waiting room while combing a set of fingers through his sandy blonde roots. Helpless and alone, Sam sank into a vacant chair; his eyes fell on the bag in his hand. Again, part of him hoped that hers and Quinn's parents had been called. He didn't know how to form the words, but if they hadn't been called, he needed them to know.

As he plucked Mercedes' iPhone from the top, he recognized the light blue and white-striped cotton jacket stuffed inside. It didn't even register until that moment that he'd left it behind after the competition. And the fact that Mercedes was just as thorough as he knew her to be only made his mind become drunk on more concern for the girl he loved. With his elbow rested on his thigh, Sam clutched the jacket and lowered his face into the material. Words abandoned him—he couldn't call anyone. All he could think to do right then was pray.

Keeping his head bowed, he thought up the one of the most informal prayers of his life. Sure, Mercedes didn't seem to be in that bad of a condition, but he wasn't dumb. As much as he didn't want to think it, he knew whatever "head trauma" she suffered could take a turn for the worse. And there was no way he could forget how terrible Quinn looked. He prayed fiercely that they would both make it and be okay. That's all he could keep begging in his mind, again and again. The more he prayed these desires, the harder it became to hold himself together. Behind the cotton cloth, he squeezed his eyes shut, but it wasn't enough to keep tears from escaping. He kept repeating his hopes while the moisture was absorbed into the fabric.

No sooner had he mouthed, "Amen," in his jacket did the elevator doors 'ding', filling long hallway with more fast buzzing of medical terminology. Sam raised his head and turned his torso to see a blurred team of new doctors guiding another gurney in his direction. He rose from the seat while trying to clear his vision and stood at the edge of the waiting room as they neared and quickly passed by.

It was true; Quinn looked horrendous and suffered much more from the impact. It was evident on the parts of her body that he'd glimpse then and it was clear in the greater amount of urgency in the physicians' voices. Puck had come with her, but he'd been stopped at the double doors just as Sam had been. He began to put up a bit more resistance than Sam had, even letting it slip that she was the mother of his kid. As Sam went to try and calm Puck down enough to stop fighting the nurse however, the nurse permitted him through the doors.

It almost felt like a kick in the chest as Sam stood dumbfounded, though it didn't take long for him to put the pieces together. Sure it was true, she was Beth's mom but they'd given her up for adoption; neither of them had any legal right to her. But Sam knew Puck was persuasive and would do whatever he had to in order to get what he wanted. Chances were, he didn't want Quinn in there alone, no matter what their relationship now was, or wasn't.

Good. Quinn wouldn't be by herself. But what about Mercedes? He thought angrily.

Turning back to the waiting room, Sam sucked in a jagged breath and let it out fully. He picked up Mercedes' phone again, went through the contacts until he found "Mom" and made the call.

Mercedes' mom wasn't far when Sam called. She had already been contacted by Mr. Schuester, who arrived at the hospital shortly after Quinn's ambulance brought her in. Ms. Jones arrived twenty minutes after Sam's call. Ms. Jones had obviously cried a great deal prior to arriving, but it ceased by the time she'd joined Sam in the waiting room. She was well-aware of the relationship her daughter once had with Sam, and was thankful to him when she found out he rode with her to the hospital. After speaking with a doctor, Ms. Jones hugged Sam tightly as if he were her own son.

Quinn's mother, Judy, arrived just ahead of Mercedes' mom, and her father, not long after her. In under an hour's time, the entire waiting room was filled with the Glee club, Coach Sylvester, The Berry parents and the Hudson-Hummel parents. Hiram and LeRoy—the last to arrive—brought the would-be reception refreshments from their car, doing their best to rid it of the festive appeal it once held. Most of it, however, had not been touched with everyone being too upset or worried to eat.

The desire to converse came and went frequently. Ms. Jones and the Frabrays wanted to know how their daughters ended up in the wreck. A tearful Rachel and a shaken Sam both tried to help put the pieces together. Silence filled the space after they finished explaining, but it didn't last. Tensions soon flared when Quinn's father almost immediately placed the blame on Rachel for bothering Quinn with so many text messages. He also made an attempt to accuse Sam of distracting Mercedes when she could have been watching the road as well, but his accusations were quickly squashed. Ms. Jones stuck up fiercely against faulting her daughter, Sam and Rachel, alongside Rachel's now vehement fathers, Finn, Burt, Carole and even Mr. Schue.

When the dust settled, the former Mrs. Fabray stepped up to her husband and, in as even a tone as she could manage said, "That's just like you, isn't it? Blame everyone else for everything that goes wrong." Mr. Fabray said nothing, and without giving him much more of an opportunity to, his ex-wife added, "It was an accident, Russell. An accident. And if you hadn't noticed, Quinn isn't the only one that's suffering from it." As if to emphasize her point, she jutted her hand out, gesturing it around the room to all of the morose faces that were staring back at them. Her eyes welled up with fresh tears but she turned away from her ex-husband and re-joined her stance next to Sam and Mercedes' mother.

More silence filled the waiting room as they all waited to hear news from the doctors. Since arriving, the only thing Fabrays had been told was that Quinn was being operated on due to internal bleeding. Puck had been forced to join the group prior to the surgery prep. As for Mercedes, her right forearm had been broken in two places and she had a multitude of stitches on her head and limbs. In addition, the doctors informed her mom that some of her ribs were bruised and they had run several tests to help determine the severity of her head injury.

"While we wait for the results, you may go see her, but do your best not to press her with questions or stress her out," the doctor instructed. "She remembers the answers to several rudimentary questions, but she can't recall what's just happened to her."

Ms. Jones picked up Mercedes' bag and ushered Sam along with her. The doctor noticed and stopped, "I'm sorry Ms. Jones, but only family is allowed in the room without the patient's consent."

Immediately, Mercedes' mom's brows came together in disgust. Sam nervously glanced down at her and instantly recognized her current expression; he knew exactly where Mercedes got it from. She had just as much sass and confidence as her mother—evident in what Ms. Jones said next. "Look, I don't know if you're blind or just foolish but this young man," she looped her arm around Sam's, "is family. And if it weren't for him, Lord knows when help would have arrived. Now if you don't mind, we would like to see my daughter. Now."

After setting his jaw tightly, the doctor gave one comprehensive nod to Ms. Jones, and then proceeded to guide the them through the double doors. Sam ducked his head in Ms. Jones' direction and whispered, "You didn't have to do that ma'am."

Ms. Jones squeezed Sam's arm with her own and waved off his comment with her other hand. "Sam, I ain't a liar. When I say things, I mean them—you understand?" She drew herself up tall and cast him the biggest smile she could muster at that moment.

Sam couldn't help giving her an answering smile and nod. "Yes ma'am."

"Besides," she added, "I know you wanna see her. And I'm sure she'll be wantin' to see you too."

Despite his uncertainty on that last part, Sam couldn't control himself blushing.

The two followed the doctor to a wide grey door; he knocked twice and then pushed the handle open. "Mercedes, you have some family here to see you."

Upon entry to the room, Ms. Jones let go of Sam and brought herself around to Mercedes bedside. She softly spoke her daughter's name while placing a tender grip over the girl's left arm. The grasp stirred Mercedes out of the rested state she previously appeared to be in. Her neck mobility was still restricted by a brace and oxygen tubes adorned her face—from cheeks to her nose, but she blinked slowly and glanced to her left.

"Mom?" she croaked.

Her mom cast a reassuring smile, "I'm right here, Baby. And Sam's here too. Thank God you're okay."

"Sam?" Mercedes' brows furrowed as she looked curiously around the room in search of Sam. He'd been lingering near the door out with his hands shoved deep in his pockets ever since the doctors left.

His gaze flickered from the floor to Mercedes and back again. "I'm here."

Ms. Jones discreetly scrutinized Sam's hesitant demeanor and then looked back to her daughter. "I'd hug you but I don't wanna hurt you any more than you already are."

"What happened, Mom?"

Frowning now, Ms. Jones answered, "Baby, you were in a car accident."

"With Quinn." Mercedes shut her eyes, concentrating hard to recall more. The attempts stabbed sharp head pains that made her wince and clench her jaw. After slowly opening her eyes again, she parted her lips a minimal amount to ask, "Is she okay?"

Her mom gazed woefully at Sam, but looked back to her with an answer. "The doctors are tending to her now. I'm going to go call your brother and talk to doctor to see how long you're gonna be here, but I'll be right back. Can I get you anything?"

"Mm-mm," Mercedes sighed after regrettably taking in deep breath.

"Okay. I'll be right back." Ms. Jones patted Mercedes' hand lovingly and then made her way back to the door. As she opened the door, her hand gave Sam a friendly nudge on the back. Sam's feet scuffed a couple of times and when he glanced back at her, Ms. Jones cast him a small but meaningful smile.

Sam's cheeks darkened again while he quietly approached Mercedes, taking her mother's place at bedside chair. On the opposite side of the bed, standing in front of the monitors was a tray where her heart-shaped earrings sat. For a moment, Sam wondered if they'd removed them for whatever tests they had to run, but he didn't dwell on the thought too long. Instead his eyes reverted back to Mercedes. The majority of her was blanketed or clad in a hospital gown, but he saw the strap of her sling draped across her left shoulder, concealing the cast her right arm was in. An IV was injected into her left arm, allowing it limited mobility as well. Taking all of this in, Sam softly asked, "How are you feeling?"

Mercedes smiled weakly, "Terrible. It hurts to breathe, I can barely feel my right arm, and I feel like I got hit over my head."

With a faint, humorless smile Sam told her, "Well, you sort of did."

"What are you doing here Sam?"

His brows twitched together, "What do you mean?"

"How'd you know about the accident? How'd you know I was here?"

"You…you don't remember?" he asked, maintaining a low tone in his voice. His green hues caught Mercedes confused yet exhausted expression in the same moment that the doctor's warning echoed in his mind. He would never lie to Mercedes though, so rather than risking overwhelming her with a play-by-play of the events, he merely reminded her that they were on the phone together before everything happened.

Mercedes seemed to accept that and shut her eyes again. In the seconds that followed, Sam pressed his lips together and watched her take sore, shallow breaths. After almost a minute passed, he rose to his feet again and made to leave so she could rest. His actions hadn't progressed beyond standing however; Mercedes hoarse voice murmured for his attention. "Sam…it's probably unfair for me to ask this, but… please don't go."

Sam looked back and noticed her upturned left palm—open and asking to be held. He couldn't resist the silent request, and sat back down as his left hand closed over her palm. "Why's it unfair for you to ask that?" He quietly wondered.

Mercedes' chocolate brown orbs looked to him. "Because I hurt you."

Sam's gaze fell to the floor again but when he lifted his head, he feigned a small smile, "After the hell you've been through today, you think I can't tough out my rejected St. Valentine?"

Seeing right through his front, Mercedes sighed, "Sam, this accident isn't something to equate to us and you know it."

Save the beep of the monitors and Mercedes' shallow audible breaths, the room went quiet. Sam was no longer looking at her, but his hand remained secure in hers.

"You know what's funny?" Mercedes asked, drawing Sam's attention back to her. "Since you've been back…you haven't told me that you love me…"

"'Cedes, you know I—"

"Let me finish," she insisted in a tired tone. "You haven't told me that you love me…but you've shown it…in so many ways since you came back. I've told you that I love you…but I haven't shown it…not really at least."

"So what's that mean?" Absent-mindedly, Sam began circling his thumb along her wrist. Though his mouth was settled, his eyes looked anxious as he waited to hear her response but he was patient, gathering that it was difficult for Mercedes to gather the air to speak.

"Well…you know I can't tell you what that means for you…but…for me it means…I gotta walk the walk…starting now."

One sandy-colored brow arched, "Now?"

Mercedes closed her eyes, but she said, "Yeah…where's my bag?"

Sam looked around and saw that Ms. Jones had left it beside the chair. As he bent to pick it up, Mercedes told him, "Look in the bottom of it."

After digging past her black and red performance dress and the clothes she'd come to Regionals in, he closed his hand around an all-too familiar object laying at the bottom. Sam pulled it out and opened his hand to reveal the wise man he painted to depict St. Valentine. One corner of his lips rose in the lop-sided smile Mercedes loved. She opened her eyes to see his reaction and then softly she told him, "It's kind of my little lucky charm now."

"Some luck it has—look at you. No offense."

"Boy, please. I'm alive aren't I? I might look and feel bad, but I'm gonna be okay. And I bet Quinn will be too."

"So you're putting your faith in a painted wise man now?" he teased.

Mercedes rolled her eyes, "I believe that things are gonna get better from here." She squeezed his hand. "And Sam… I know it's been a while now since we last talked about us…and I still don't exactly know who I am but…I know I don't wanna wait and see how long it'll take me to find out…and I don't want to keep you pushed away…I shouldn't push away someone I love so much. And I mean it when I say that I love you."

"I know you do. You don't say those kinds of things unless you mean them." His knowledge of her made her smile but the pain dull pain on the right side of her face abruptly ended that. Sam noticed her wince, triggering a grimace on his own face. He stood up again and quietly said, "You should get some sleep, 'Cedes."

"You really do see me," she noted, throwing Sam off.

"What?"

"Remember…last summer? You made me watch Avatar with you…and we talked about how they say 'I see you' to each other. Well…you see me. Really well."

He was both impressed and incredulous at what she said. Of course more of him had been impressed but he didn't want to let himself get too caught up in her words, as he so often did. To give himself a defense, albeit flimsy, he chuckled softly a couple of times, "I think whatever drugs they gave you are going to your head. Get some sleep, Mercedes."

"I don't think I'll have a choice in a minute. Whatever medicine they gave me is making my eyes and head feel heavy." She managed to open them again though, "Are you gonna go after I'm sleep?"

The way she'd asked combined with the tired, distressed look on her face tugged at his heart. How could he walk away? It was no secret to him that he was terrible at resisting her. "I uhm…well Kurt and the others are here too. I bet they'd want to see you before you fall back asleep."

"The wedding…wait…oh my God, what about the wedding?" Mercedes asked.

Sam gave her hand a gentle squeeze, "Don't stress. It's been postponed. What? You think Rachel and Finn would feel right saying 'I do' with you guys here in the hospital?"

Mercedes opted out of answering that one, letting her eyes close again. "One more question, Sam."

"Yeah?"

She blew out another shallow sigh, "What are you thinking about?"

This had taken him by surprise—enough to bring him back into the seat. "Right now?"

"Yes."

With his left hand still in Mercedes', Sam pushed his through his dirty blonde locks again. "Uhm…to be honest, I really was thinking about seeing if the others could take turns coming to see you before you fall back asleep."

"Oh…"

At the same time, Sam added, "And, I was thinking about how glad I am that someone I care about…and someone I love and care about are both still here."

Once more, Mercedes' eyes opened. It hurt to smile but she couldn't help letting it last for a little bit. What she would give to be able to turn her head and look at him properly right then! Instead she had to settle for her capable sideways glance. "What did you say?"

Her favorite crooked smile returned before Sam said, "I said that I care about Quinn and I'm glad she's here. I care about you too, but, I also love you Mercedes."

Almost instantly, her pulse quickened from the sound of those words; the monitor betrayed her would-have-been discreet response, but Sam just smiled a little more. "I lost my mind when the accident happened. I couldn't really relax until I got to see you with your eyes open again."

Mercedes kept her smile going as she blinked slowly. "You know…you're putting this 'show and tell' thing further out of whack."

Sam shook his head, "No, I'm the shower, rather than the teller. I'm working on telling more, remember?"

Teeth appeared in her smile now, "Yeah, yeah."

"Are you up for seeing anyone else right now, or…?"

"As long as you promise you'll come back."

She caught Sam smiling softly at her before her eyes closed. But blood rushed to her cheeks as a familiar pair of lips tenderly kissed her pair. He pulled away smiling when her heartrate reacted abnormally on the monitor. For the first time since sitting down, Sam released his hold on her hand while he told her, "If you want me to, then you know I will."