Everything had finally seemed easy, the children were in school, Sam was on tour and ready to send out his next single in the next few day or so and as usual he played it to Mercy just before airing, she sat smiling with pride at his rendition of 'Kiss Me Like A Stranger' by Thomas Rhett
"Super sexy but real" she giggled
"It reminds me of us a while back, feeling different, new, right and thirsty and I'm feeling like that again"
"I could work with that" she laughed "But no kissing any strangers"
"I got plans for you babe" he giggled
"Shit Sam" she rolled her eyes saying making him laugh "Wake me up when you finally get home"
"I'll promise that"
"It's a hit you know that right?"
"If you say it, it's happening"
Less than a week later Mercy was off to Brooklyn doing seven shows a week, which included a matinee on Saturdays, while Sam flew off back to Canada for two months cruising around the country, it was snow season which was frustrating as some venues were locked off because of the weather being particularly bad in places
Mercy was in almost daily contact with the children's school, they hadn't fully reacted to their parents demise, she thought there was more to come and someone, meaning one of the grandparents, would need to fly in to collect a child or even children and take them back to Lima for now until they finished what they were doing. It seemed like as soon as she thought it, shit happened, the next thing she had was Nikita on her phone
"Aunt M" she heard down the phone when she answered after panicking for seeing the school number come up
"Nikita what's wrong?" she asked closing her eyes for this impossible situation that was going to present itself right now
"I want to come home" she blarted out
"Well you know both Uncle S and I are away working sweet, we can't do that until maybe the weekend"
"I need to come home now" she just about got out before she started crying
"I'll see what I can do sweet" Mercy told her in a panic "I'll need to call Uncle S see what he's doing, I'll call back in a minute" she told her putting the phone down, she couldn't say anymore just then she was about to get upset herself for Nikita's crying "Sam" she called when he answered, she couldn't help but cry for the pressure
"Babe what's up?" he asked concerned
"Nikita just called she's demanding someone fetch her from school right now, she's crying, she made me cry, I'm in the middle of something here, you're in Canada what can we do?"
"I can go fetch her later tonight, straight after my gig, what's wrong with her?"
"She didn't say, ask the teacher when you fetch her, I'll be home tomorrow night, I'll speak to Terry tonight"
"I'll need to get back for tomorrow night" he rolled his eyes telling her "I'll speak to Frank, we can't leave her home alone"
"Sorry Sam" she said knowing he'd be mad about cancelling, it cost him so much
Sam got to the school early morning, spoke to a rather disgruntled janitor's wife, who'd sat up half the night with Nikita waiting for him to arrive "What happened?" he asked as she shoved a small suitcase in his hand
"She wanted to go home" the woman said
"Do you want to see Identification?" he asked pulling his drivers licence out
"She knows you" she grunted, her lapse attitude and the schools lack of security getting Sam agitated
"Thanks" he said thinking about the others still in school, but he was going to have that conversation with Mercy later on. He got her all the way home without her saying a word other than hello and she told him she was hungry a couple of times, she slammed the car door as she exited before slamming through the door as soon as Sam opened it, running to her bedroom. He threw his coat on the back of the couch grabbed his phone out of his pocket and threw himself on the couch opening his phone to make a call "Mercy" he said, smiling when he got an obviously tired Mercy "She's not said a word, that janitor was no fucking use and Nikita's just slammed in and gone to bed, I don't know if I should just go ask her anything, I don't even know what to say, I'm crap at this" he spat down the phone
"Just cook something, she might eat later and then even talk"
"Is that what you'd do?"
"I guess" she rubbed her eyes saying
"We need to talk about that damn school too"
"Okay Sam, I can hear grump, get some sleep, I'll be there later"
"Bye babe, love you" he chuckled knowing he was ready to go full man diva
"Bye babe love you back"
Sam cooked something and eventually put it in the fridge before grabbing a bath and falling into bed, he was more grateful than he cared to admit about being able to sleep in his own bed, it had been months, It was lunchtime by the time he resurfaced to see Nikita sitting on the kitchen stool eating a sandwich
"Hi" he smiled as he walked past her "Aunt M will be here later today, maybe you'd prefer to talk to her?"
"Hi" she replied paying no mind to the rest of his conversation, he just rolled his eyes and carried on getting himself some coffee, they sat around the house like two strangers, she just kept leaving the room every now and again and fell asleep a couple of times, he finally gave up trying to understand her and sat writing another song, the day went quickly
"Babe" Sam jumped up smiling when Mercy came through the door, walking towards her, swearing under his breath when Nikita zoomed past him to fall into Mercy's arms "Hi" he stood watching this girl attach herself to his wife "Are you hungry?" he asked deflated
"Hi" she smiled holding Nikita as she gripped onto her waist "I better deal with this first" her eyes telling him she needed something else right now "Sorry" she mouthed walking towards their bedroom
After a while she finally got Nikita to tell her what was wrong, apparently, she'd had her first period in the classroom, some of the class had seen and laughed she'd ran out crying, scared and ashamed. Mercy sat listening to Nikita telling her about her girl problems, which included boys and surprisingly sex, smiling as she heard Tina's voice calling her a prude for what she didn't know about sex and all things boys, 'she'd be proud of me now' she grabbed Nikita's hand to reassure her everything that had gone down was normal "I remember a conversation with your Mom way back about boys, she spoke about your Dad actually, they were in love even back then, and sweetheart I can confirm that you'll know when it's right for you, but I'm telling you now is not the time to rush into stuff like that, and you need to promise to talk to me about it first, it'll be as embarrassing as hell but we'll get through it" she pulled her to her saying
"I will" she hugged her Aunt saying "But I'm not going back to that school Aunt M, I want to go to an all girls school" she finally announced after four hours of conversation about periods, hygiene and boys.
"I'll talk about it with Uncle S later" Mercy informed her, aware of the amount of time she'd spent consoling Nikita "If he's alright with it we'll look into schools tomorrow" she got up pulling Nikita with her "Now go have a bath and I'll be in when you get out"
"I'm hungry too" she smiled
"We'll see what's to eat" Mercy cupped her face saying before kissing her forehead and letting her go "Sam" she walked round the couch saying to see a sleeping Sam sitting there looking comfortable "You promised to wake me up" she whispered in his ear as she sat next to him
"Hmmm" he smiled, his eyes still closed "I've been waiting for you" he turned to grab hold of her "I need you to wake me up"
"Your song" she laughed as she turned the TV up, swinging to the tune as he lay watching her dancing
"Come here" he grabbed hold of her dancing her around the room kissing her neck and singing in her ear 'And tell me how am I supposed to keep my hands to myself, when you're making my mind wander somewhere else? It's on a one-way track, when you look like that' he grabbed her lips, they'd stopped dancing by now he'd only got one thing on his mind
"Sam" she pulled away smiling as she looked around the room, but he didn't let her up long enough for her to carry on talking, he pulled her back to him and took her mouth again
"You just do something to my soul, I just can't describe it, when you look like that" he sung going in for another kiss as he heard noise (Extract from 'When You Look Like That' by Thomas Rhett)
"Aunt M" Nikita's voice entered the room "You said I could get something to eat" as they both looked at her standing there with wet hair soaking her pyjama top
"Let's dry your hair" Mercy walked towards her spinning her back round to go back to the bedroom to help her do that
"I'll get you something to eat" Sam told her as they walked "What do you want?"
"She'll have whatever you made for dinner babe" Mercy answered, they came back out of her bedroom a short while later as Sam dished up the lasagne and they ate almost in silence
"Babe" Mercy looked at him across the table, his face told her he was fuming but he was trying his best to hold it down "Nikita wants to go to an all girls school, is it alright if I look into that?"
"Fine" he said throwing more food in his mouth, he wasn't good with this sharing thing, they'd never had to share their time with anyone else, this level of restraint was new to them. Eventually Nikita went to bed and they were left alone and tired "We need to go to bed" he threw the dirty dishes in the sink telling her, she didn't argue as she watched him stride across the room and grab her hand, she just followed him to bed
He was his old smiling self the next morning, Frank had called early demanding his presence and he was back missing in action again "Let me know what happens about the school thing and I'm sorry I wasn't much help, I only ever want to know about your cycle"
"That's cool there's three boys on the way up and I'm guessing Wesley will pretty soon be needing that man chat"
"Shit" he stopped to say "I forgot about the man chat"
"Hey you know that right?" she shouted as he walked towards her, she knew he was going to slam her body against his and kiss her fiercely, it made her smile as she felt his arms pull her, she saw his eyes on her lips just before she closed her eyes and took her kiss
"I know that and you know that right?"
"Right" she smiled and he was off back to Canada
Mercy set about finding Nikita an all girls school, double checked on the security thing Sam wasn't too happy about at the other school and following a call to the Grandparents Nikita was off to a school, it was a bit further away than the school the boys went to, but she was happy again. They both breathed when she was sorted out, Sam had to do extra dates on the Canada tour due to the weather thing and Mercy had to hook extra days on for the nearly two weeks she ended up having off, that meant they didn't get any of their birthdays together and it was half way through their first year together as husband and wife already
34 Years Old
They'd both grabbed the same Friday off but it didn't quite work out this time due to travel, times, they'd get an hour together and maybe had to stay at the airport to make it viable as Sam was going to Texas and Mercy was doing a bit of a stretch in Switzerland, they were going to be together for the summer and this was the sacrifice. There had been no real drama with the children or them for the last three months, some sort of normality was being reached as they started to relax about the children not coping with their loss, time was indeed a healer
"Mr Evans" Sam heard, on his phone as he answered the call from the boys school "This is Mr Nottingham the head Master of Wesley's school" his voice deep and disgruntled "I'm afraid we've had to expel Wesley, for physically abusing another boy at the school, it was a serious incident and we must ask that he be removed immediately"
"I'm in Texas at the moment and my wife's in Europe, we both work" he huffed back at him
"I'm sorry for the inconvenience Sir"
"Could I get twenty four hours?" he rolled his eyes asking
"We'll keep him in detention for the duration" Mr Nottingham told him cutting the call off shortly afterwards
Sam sat looking at his phone all he could think was that he hadn't signed up for this, neither had Mercy, they were losing money because of these children, why the hell can't they just behave their damn selves. He sat thinking about how simple life was for him just a short time ago, feeling sorry for himself as Mike popped into his head, reminding him of why he'd put himself in this situation. He smiled at how many times he'd listened on the phone to Mike and Puck moan about their wives treating the boys like girls, not letting them express themselves and how they were growing up like girls "He's expressing himself now" he smiled telling Mike as he got up to go give Frank the bad news, give his performance and then leave to go fetch their eldest boy.
Sam went to fetch Wesley sitting through an hour long talking to about the child's behaviour, what they'd had to put up with and, how they really didn't think with the history of violence he was building for himself, that their school was best suited to him, at the end of it he felt like he was the one misbehaving "You mean you don't want him back?" Sam asked when the man finally took a breath
"His behaviour needs to change drastically"
"Did you ever think it might be the other guys who need to change their behaviour and attitude, the boy's just lost both his parents for crying out loud, actually, if you don't have his best interests at heart I think you're right this isn't the right school for him" Sam told him, pulling Wesley out the chair and marching out the school
"So what happened?" Sam finally asked Wesley as they sat in the car looking at the school "Auntie M's going to kill me for that" he told him as they both started laughing
"What you said, they were making jokes about how my parents died, I asked them to stop they didn't so I stopped them" Wesley told him
"That sounds about right to me"
"What that I stopped them?"
"Yeah You can't let anyone bully you, as a kid I was told words don't hurt, but I felt them, I was called trouty mouth at school and I brushed it off as harmful fun but inside I was mad as hell, and when it stuck I wished I'd have said something that first time you know"
"I miss my parents Uncle S" Wesley sat looking at him, tears brimming his eyes
"You're definitely your fathers son, I can hear him in you, we're done talking about this, it ends now, just back off, alright" Sam mimicked his Dad's voice
"You sound just like him" Wesley smiled
"You're Mom would have been heading that fight I know that, I so miss your parents too Wes..." he stopped shocked when Wesley fell onto his shoulder unable to stop his tears from falling, all he could do was hug him and cry too, for the hurt he knew this child was feeling right now, holding him until he lifted his head and smiled
"Sorry" he said
"No, don't apologise for missing your parents, I miss them a lot too, always will"
"Yeah"
"Come on lets get home" he started the car and drove them home
They sat watching the game, eating snacks and even played games on the Xbox for a while before getting something to eat and finally falling into their beds. Sam took the opportunity to call Mercy and fill her in on the events of the day, pleased with himself for being able to start some bonding with Wesley through the day
"He's been expelled for a month" he fitted in the middle of his news sandwich "I don't know how we're going to manage that but I need to get back to work"
"We both need to work Sam"
"It's holidays in three weeks time and they're expecting Mile to come be with us too, we need a bigger house"
"I don't want to leave our home, we've put so much into it"
"Mercy we can't have four children in a three bed apartment, we need a house with a garden and stuff"
"Sam" she whined "You're making me cry, leave our home alone, we built that"
"Sorry babe but it's just something else on the agenda, all the funds have come through now, we can afford it, we have to afford it"
"Do we?"
"Anyway forget all that, when am I going to get some of my wife again?"
"Maybe in two weeks just before the holidays start" she giggled
"Two week!"
"Would have been less had we not got Wesley at home, you could have come and seen me next weekend"
"Our life's changing Mercy" he sighed down the phone "I'm starving, I need you so bad, I feel like something is taking over our lives and its not us"
"But home's still home right?"
"You're still home, wherever you are" he smiled
"I'd say you were home babe"
Mercy was on the phone constantly those two weeks checking up on Wesley, making sure he was doing his course work and listening to Sam's frustrations for not being able to just get up and go
"Why don't you just get into another album?" she asked him one day
"I'm writing every damn day"
"No I mean get a concept, focus on it and make an album, dedicate it to Puck, Quinn, Tina and Mike"
"That's an idea"
"But remember Wesley's in the house, feed him" she laughed knowing how he gave all of himself when he was creating
"I will" he laughed, talking some more before they finally close the call down
The New House
The two weeks were up, Mercy was home finding she'd missed it more than usual, and wondered if that had something to do with a child being there when she got there, she cried when Sam's arms finally held her, it had been that long "I missed you" she kissed him saying looking in his eyes begging for more as they heard Wesley enter the room
"Aunt M" his smile big enough to melt her heart
"Wesley" she walked towards him her arms open for him to fall into "I missed you too" Sam stood watching the interaction feeling a ping of jealously as he heard Mercy tell Wesley the words she'd just told him, shaking his head to get rid of the ridiculous feeling and thought
"Uncle S and I have been having a good time" he looked up at her saying once she'd kissed his forehead "We played games, done my work, watched the game, went to a game, had burgers everything" he smiled as he spoke
"Great" Mercy looked at Sam saying, she couldn't help feeling a tad jealous for someone else sharing those times with her man, he'd actually been having fun while she hadn't been there, that was a new, funny feeling for her she closed her eyes, focused on Tina and came back smiling "I'll have a look at that homework later"
"Told you" Sam smiled at him "She's an A grade student"
"Uncle said I wouldn't be able to get anything past you" he laughed walking over to Sam "Game?" he asked picking up the two remote controls, Sam looked at Mercy, sorry in his eyes as she turned quickly to hide her hurt
"Carry on don't mind me" she fanned as she walked "I need to unpack" she grabbed her case and walked towards their bedroom, Sam raked his hand through his hair looked at Wesley, smiled and grabbed the control off him to sit and play the game
His body was sitting on the couch getting ready to play the game and he wanted to do that, he'd bonded with Wesley over the past three weeks but his mind was all over his wife, he missed her, they'd be rolling around their bed long before now in a past life 'What the fuck happened' he thought looking at Wesley as he remembered 'Your best friends died, that's what' he sat wondering where that life he'd pictured back then had actually gone, he'd always pictured a wife and when he met Mercy he knew who that was going to be, all he ever wanted to do was sing and get married, he'd never figured children, growing up past maybe 25 or something now here he was 33 with four grown children a wife, a flat, career 'Is this where you want to be?" he asked himself
"Uncle S" he heard pulling him out of his thought, looking across to see Wesley looking at him "The game, you haven't pressed an attack once" he laughed
"Sorry" he smiled before he got into the game, the next thing he knew it had been over two hours since Mercy had gone in the bedroom to pack a few things away, he paused the game and jumped up to go check on her, smiling when he saw her asleep on their bed, walking towards her to kiss her forehead, noticing tears down her face "She's been crying" he whispered to himself, and God right now he wished he had the time to wake her up and make that better but Wesley was in the next room, the game was on pause, he couldn't chance it, he opted for leaving her the kiss and left the room 'I'll deal with that later' he thought
Some three hours later Mercy made an appearance "Hi" she smiled, walking over to sit on Sam's lap
"Babe" he whined "We're in the middle of a game"
"And?" she questioned, those games had never mattered that much before
"Wesley's winning me, I got to fight back" he smiled
"Okay" she got up off him and walked over to the kitchen, He watched her walk, knowing he'd just done the wrong thing again, but with a child in the room it really wasn't appropriate to have that conversation 'I'll deal with that later' he told himself
Mercy cooked and ate alone as they stuffed their faces as the gaming carried on, the competition seemed to intensify as time went on, she sat watching for a short while before she disappeared to the bedroom and found sleep, unaware of what time Sam actually came to bed, all she knew was that she was too mad to speak the following day and having to hold it in was killing her, she was cooking breakfast when she heard the bedroom door open and soon felt Sam's hands on her
"I'm sorry babe, I didn't think it was right feeling on you last night, when I know I've got some grovelling to do first" he kissed her neck saying, smiling as she fell back onto him "I'm sorry for neglecting you yesterday I'm just... I think Wesley and I are just bonding and I …."
"Morning" they heard making them jump
"Morning" Mercy smiled back at Wesley, going over to give him a kiss on the forehead "Breakfast is ready" she told him letting him go to find the cooker again, Sam stood watching, the smile had left this face, she was actually blanking him, and yeah he deserved it, he'd done the same to her all day yesterday
"I'll start again shall I?" he asked as she looked round at him but said nothing "Morning"
"Morning" she said back without turning to look at him
"I said I'm sorry"
"Wesley do you want one or two rashers?" she asked, ignoring his conversation again
"Two please Aunt M" he replied walking over to get his plate, before she put Sam's breakfast on a plate and turned to give it to him, collecting the toast and taking it to the table for them, then sharing her breakfast to join them at the table
"Uncle S you up for another match?" Wesley asked as they cleaned their plates
"I've got something to discuss with Aunt M this morning" Sam told him looking across at Mercy
"Okay" Wesley rushed off saying, he was going to play regardless
"Mercy" he leaned against the cooker calling her, but she didn't acknowledge him, he walked across the kitchen grabbed her hand and marched over to their bedroom "I've said sorry twice babe and I mean it, stop this blanking me out stuff, it's not what we do, talk to me" he spun her round saying as he shut the bedroom door for privacy
"You totally ignored me yesterday Sam, we haven't seen each other for nearly three months and you totally ignore me"
"And you know why that was babe Wesl..."
"Me Sam never mind Wesley, me"
"I told you, he's just coming to grips with his parents, he's talking and I don't want him to feel that I'm not there"
"I feel like you're not there"
"Babe you know I'm there, here, we're here, we've got this to deal with and it's not easy for any of us and we know there's going to be changes..."
"You ignored me"
"Are you even listening to me I just fucking told you why that was..."
"Are you listening to me?"
"This is getting out of hand, I'm about to burst I need to get out of here before one of us says something we'll both regret, I'll be back later" he walked out the room grabbing his tracksuit jacket as he flew at the front door, banging everything in his path as he left the building "Shit" he held his head saying as he hit the cold air outside "What the fuck is happening to us?" he threw his ear phones in and put his radio on to start jogging
Mercy sat at her dresser, she wanted to cry, but she wanted to kick herself more she was sulking like a baby because she wanted her man wrapped around her and he chose, for once, to wrap himself around a child, who they both vowed to take care of, who they both loved like life itself, who had recently lost both his parents "You're being a bitch in the worst way Mrs Evans" she looked at herself in the mirror saying as she listened to a song on the radio telling her their thing 'Say that you're the one who's taking me home cause I want you on my skin and my bones, knocking me off my feet, just say I'm the one that you need (oh, please) say that you're the one who's taking me home, so I can get you alone, Oh oh oh oooh, oh oh oh oooh, Oh oh oh oooh, oh oh oh oooh' "I just want to be home properly" she told her image
Sam ran, he really didn't know what to do for the best, he loved his wife no question, but they had these children and they needed to cater for all their needs, even he knew that so why was she giving him a hard time for taking care of Wesley's basic needs. He was to blame in parts he didn't know how to share himself, he'd never had to share and he hadn't actually realised that until now, everything he was belonged to Mercy and her to him, there was never anyone in between them "Mercy" he gasped as he heard a song on the radio saying their thing 'Say that I'm the one who's taking you home, cause I want you on my skin and my bones, knocking me off my feet, just say I'm the one that you need (oh, please) say that I'm the one who's taking you home, so I can get you alone, Oh oh oh oooh, oh oh oh oooh, Oh oh oh oooh, oh oh oh oooh' (Extract from 'Alone' by Jessie Ware, Adapted for Sam's part) "My wife came home and I didn't touch her" he turned round mid-stride and ran back home "Sorry Wes we need to get some adult stuff sorted" he passed him in the lounge saying, grabbing Mercy from the kitchen and heading to the bedroom
"Sam" she called as he dragged her with him, pressing her up against the bedroom door as he locked it for the first time ever
"I'm the one that takes you home, say it" he looked in her eyes telling her
"I'm the one that takes you home" she told him closing her eyes for what she knew was coming next
"And?"
"You need me on your skin and your bones" he pulled her from the door to the bed, a smile on her face as she grabbed his lips, she knew where they were she could feel his breath on her
"I need you, to never be jealous of anything" he stopped to get her attention "Whoever I'm with, whatever I'm doing remember that ?" he told her before they went home
"Sam" she smiled as they lay fully satisfied "I love you"
"I don't need somebody else to call my name, no, I don't need somebody else to make me stay, no I don't never need to walk away, when you could just say, you could just say" he sang
"Say that you're the one who's taking me home" she giggled "I was being selfish, and I'm sorry"
"We're both learning here, we're bound to fuck it up somewhere along the line patience and communication I think"
"I agree" she kissed him saying "Now I guess we better feed that child" she made to get up saying
"Come back here, we just had breakfast" he laughed pulling her back to him "I decided to do that album you spoke about"
"Great" she jumped up saying "And I finally agree to moving"
"Yeah" he roared excited "I've been looking"
"What price range?"
"Well you know their parents money came in and the Grandparents insist that now all the college funds are set up all the money or as much of it as we need is sunk into their home so we have a fair bit, what with our savings too"
"How much?"
"Let's say you can shop without looking at tags" he laughed "I'm not telling you the amount, next thing I'll know we'll be having a wardrobe built onto this place"
Two days later they were standing in a small mansion in Beverley Hills looking down at the acres of land outstretching for miles around them as they stood in the master bedroom getting sucked in by the Estate Agent "I like it, it's the best so far" Wesley noted
"It is actually but the kitchen..."
"Can be changed" Sam butted in
"Please Aunt M" Wesley begged
"It's ….. nice" she finally agreed
"But is it nice enough to buy?" Sam asked as they watched Wesley standing with his hands in beg position and his face distortedly saying please making them laugh
"Alright yeah this is it" she smiled as the two cheered
"Rip that sign down before she changed her mind" Sam told the agent
"Mile's coming next week, he'll love his new room" Wesley rubbed his hands together saying, Sam and Mercy looked at each other, faces frowning at the thought of having yet another situation to test them
"What say we stop off for a burger on the way back?" Sam asked as they jumped in the car to make the journey back
"I'll be really put out having to go back to school after the holidays" Wesley laughed
Lima
Suddenly the week was up, they'd fetched Nikita and Isaac back home the house was pumping, it was hard to find any private space with two near 14 year olds, a near 12 year old and soon a nearing 8 year old running around the place it was like a train station. They hadn't done too well this first six months with Nikita and then Wesley, they'd had to put in extra shifts and that had meant they'd missed more birthdays, even their own again, their parents anniversaries and nearly every national holiday you get the first half of the year.
"Have you guys sorted your cases out?" Mercy shouted across the room as all three sat tentatively in front of the TV playing the computer game "Guys" she shouted still no response
"Guys" Sam shouted from the pool as everyone looked at him including Mercy "Aunt M's talking, that will be off if I hear her ask again" he smiled at her before his mind returned to his song writing
Everyone was excited to get back to Lima, Isaac was still a bit quite but he smiled a lot and seemed happy, the fact that he was an only child meant he tended to make conversations with Sam or Mercy more than his cousins, but he was getting better. Finally everyone was packed, the cases were loaded in the cabs and they were off to the airport, chaos was not the word as the children found different things to keep them occupied leaving Sam and Mercy running around the airport to keep an eye on them as they played, brought or watched things while they waited for the flight to be called
"Gosh" Sam said when they finally sat down on the plane, their pockets somewhat lighter having brought them all tablets for gaming "I feel like I've been to the damn gym twice in one day"
"Imagine how I feel, I don't do gym" she laughed
"Oh you do gym alright, you just have too much fun doing it to notice" he whispered in her ear
"Maybe there'll be an opportunity for you to show me that routine again while we're in Lima" she gave him the eyes saying
"I guess we could get the opportunity to get a routine going while we're there"
"Best holiday ever" she smiled grabbing his arm ready to relax for the short trip, the children on their tablets, happy and yet excited
They got home with the intentions of disseminating the children out to their grandparents and having a week's rest and time for each other for once in the past 6 months, but once they met up with Mile, their minds were changed for them, he was the most miserable 8 year old ever, he refused to be detached from his Grandparents Chang and acted like he didn't even remember his siblings. Mom Chang was upset because she'd had the full burden of looking after him and it was plain to see she was exhausted, Dad Chang looked like he was on his last nerve with their parents demanding attention, even before they could say hello properly they were demanding to be toileted "Best holiday ever?" Sam questioned as they gathered Mile's things to take him with them, of course he came screaming and kicking, but it also meant Wesley and Nikita ended up staying half the expected time with Grandparents Cohen Chang because they ended up having the two instead of one
"Seriously?" Mercy sat in the car watching Sam secure the child seat
"Think Tina and Mike babe"
"I can't even tell you what I'm damn well thinking"
By day three it was apparent that not so cute Mile was a brat to put it nicely, he was throwing a fit, like a two year old, every time they went shopping and he didn't get exactly what he'd wanted, at first they played his game and brought him what he needed. When he decided to go to church and display the same behaviour Mercy's Mom pulled them aside and alerted them to the fact that the child was spoilt and needed pulling back in before it was too late. They very quickly put rules in place, stopped taking him with them to the shops unless he agreed to be quiet and behave, removing perks and stuff, they were surprised at how quickly he caught on and started changing his behaviour.
"Shit we did it" Mercy smiled as they walked through the airport to get their plane back to Hollywood with all four children quiet
"Those three were easy, got them hooked on their tablets, I only need to take them and they feel like their right arms gone" Sam shared with her as they walked "It works with every child" he giggled "I'm getting Mile one when we get back"
Five hours later they were back in Hollywood, in their flat dealing with their organised chaos
The one bad habit young Mile had formed was sleeping in their bed, the fact that the flat was overcrowded with Nikita needing her own space, Wesley and Isaac acquiring a double bunk bed in their room, the only place left for Mile was their bed or the couch and they couldn't leave him on the couch
"This isn't good babe" Sam told her as they came out the bathroom, that being the only place to get privacy in their home right now, and it had to be when Mile was asleep too "We need to chase up on the house, I can't live like this"
"Sorry babe" she laughed as they looked at each other dressed in long night dress and pyjamas for bed
"Look at you all butter wouldn't melt, after what you just put me through in there" he laughed getting into bed "Does he have to be in the middle?"
"What if he falls off?"
"He falls" Sam laughed
"Sam" she giggled
"What?" he laughed "I fell on my head it did me no harm"
"I beg to differ" she laughed "Goodnight babe"
"Goodnight" he replied as they both turned their backs to Mile to fall asleep
Home
So the summer holidays were on them Wesley and Isaac hadn't got a school, Nikita was happy in her all girls school and wanted to go back. The one good thing was that Isaac was coming into his own, he'd demanded to go to the school Wesley was going to, Sam was all up for him moving after his experience with that janitor's wife and the headmaster
"We got the house" Sam came running into the main room to tell everyone "Can you believe we got the house" he grabbed Mercy still shouting
"Yes" Wesley laughed hitting fists with Sam as he walked past him, Mile started screaming, taking Mercy's attention again, and Sam moved off to fist bump Isaac and hug Nikita
"I'm going to get on it this weekend babe, we need to have moved before these guys go back to school and I'm busy writing"
"That's fine say three weeks?"
"I'll get on it" he smiled "And in this next place, everyone has their space including Aunt M and I" he announced, no one was actually listening
Mercy busied herself with designs, fabrics, furniture and colours, while Sam looked at building work, insurances, contractors and setting up bills, by week three of the holidays Sam was frustrated. He needed to write and every place he went in the house the children followed him, fighting, arguing, crying, laughing, just being children really but he didn't need that while he was trying to write
"Babe I know how this is going to look but I need some time out, I'm not getting any work done we seem to wake up and fall asleep with the children around us, and if I'm being honest it's about to drive me fucking mad"
"How do you think I feel, I can't even think about work right now"
"I know how you feel babe I'm there, but what I'm saying is, if I don't get out of here I'm going to blow"
"So what are you asking for?"
"A week maybe, to just go away with the guys and create, I'll be back in a week"
"A week?" she looked at him asking "A week you're sure?"
"Positive"
"Okay a week" she agreed "Call every day"
"You don't have to tell me that" he laughed "Gone are the days when home was the only place to be for us time" he looked around the room telling her
"I don't know about Mile, I'll spit my dummy out if you don't get back, so don't go far"
The next day he was packed and off to some secluded hut in the woods with his merry band of writers, well two anyway for a week of work on day five he called Mercy to hear anarchy happening in the house "What's going on?" he asked as the phone was answered
"Aunt M and Nikita are being Diva's" Wesley laughed
"It sounds real" Sam laughed
"It is" Wesley laughed louder "All Isaac did was mix their hair dye up, now they have like an orange colour in their hair, thing is they can wash it out in a few weeks"
"You're joking right?" Sam asked shocked that Wesley didn't actually see anything wrong with what he'd claimed Isaac had done "Put Aunt M on the phone" Mercy was up in the heavens with her screech, she sounded like she was running around after the boys "Mercy" he shouted down the phone but she wasn't listening, the next thing he knew the phone went dead "Shit" he sat looking at the dead phone wondering if there were going to be any children left when he got back, wondering if he really wanted to go back to that, smiling at the thought of seeing Mercy with orange hair.
"Sam" he heard her voice through the phone some hours later sounding calm "Sorry about earlier I was chasing Isaac, he's hairs orange now too" she laughed
"So there are no adults in the house then?" Sam laughed
"I had to get my teenage years back on to deal with this lot, we're having fun though"
"It sounded serious before"
"Oh it was I wanted to hurt him" she laughed
"This wasn't the dream was it?" he got serious asking
"No I guess it wasn't, but who ever gets everything they dreamed about?"
"You I hope, you got me"
"I know I got everything but I guess dreams don't just stop where you want them to"
"Any regrets?"
"Not that I can think of right now no" she giggled
"I love you Mrs Evans"
"Unconditionally back at you Mr Evans"
That night he sat and wrote 'Sixteen' by Thomas Rhett and came home on the seventh night as they'd agreed. Their plans got fast after that they had to find a Nanny for Mile, he wasn't going to any type of boarding school at 8 they needed to check him every day, they were about to secure a school for Wesley and Isaac who had suddenly become best buddies, the house needed sorting and they needed to move. Luckily they weren't selling the flat Sam was going to use it for creating and maybe they'd take breaks, more often, he was seriously working on his album and Mercy was hoping to get back into work locally when school started back, they had a plan.
Week five of the holidays and they'd been busy, they had a move in date in sight, schools were sorted for all children, they'd sourced two agencies for the Nanny and were looking at references, the house was ready, they were waiting for the couch and that was it. Sam had a new record he was keeping close to his chest, Mercy was reading a script for a Hollywood production, if she got it she's be able to be home most nights for Mile, freeing up Sam to tour and do his thing, there was a light a the end of the rather gloomy tunnel
35 years old
There had been a definite light at the end of that tunnel, the children had settled that first Summer they'd had a lot of time with Sam and Mercy, they purposely didn't do any holidays abroad, their professional life imposed but they soon found a work, home life balance and nearing 15 year old Wesley and Nikita, 13 year old Isaac and 10 year old Mile were more than feeling settled and at home. Mile had long since left their bedroom and everything in that department was back on track, even more so as Mercy was more often than not home every night and Sam was making the effort to get home whenever he could, it was costing, but it was worth it.
Sam had been on a long stretch, he'd been away promoting his album letting off a song every six weeks or so and he was on the last stretch, Mercy had managed to grab herself an Olivier Award at her 4 week intensive stint in England a while ago, and they were having a bit of a celebration about it at Paramount, now she was back and had time
They sat in the day room of their 12 bed mini mansion waiting for the Grandparents to fly in scared but excited for them all being on the same flight, knowing there was going to be tears tonight, the bet was going to be who'd cry the loudest and that was up for grabs now Tina wasn't around for anyone to beat her record
"Is that them?" Sam asked looking round as everyone strained their ears to hear cars on the white pebbled u shaped drive, Isaac was the first one up and everyone just seemed to follow, cooks, butlers, maids everyone got busy making sure everyone was in with the least discomfort and sitting comfortably. The grandchildren went into spoilt brat mode as the Jones and Evans' looked on smiling
"Order whatever you want" Mercy encouraged their frail relatives "If I could have I'd have asked Jim to do this in Lima save you guys travelling like this"
"We're fine" Mom Chang told her smiling
"We've got a few hours before we need to get off" Mercy smiled "Hair and beauty" she touched her Mom's hair telling her
"We've got suits and boots" Sam laughed telling the Dad's "Not really, more like beer and the game"
"Sam" Mercy looked at him smiling
"What? That's what we want" he told her, as she looked around at smiling Dads
"Nikita are you coming with us" she asked
"Of course" she smiled as the Grandparents looked on amazed at the growth rate of their grandchildren
Everyone did their thing and finally got back together early evening for a rush preparation, getting to the venue with only five minutes to spare, sweat and all as they rushed up to the front table before the cameras rolled to take in the event, it wasn't going out live but they were going to show it at some point.
The big boss Jim Gianopulos got up and compared most of the evening, of course he recognised other things that had been going on for all corners of his business before his focus landed on Mercy and her performance in his hit musical. She laughed as some children came out doing the mini me on some of the show and some of the original cast members came out and said sweet stuff about her, she looked twice when Sam shook her off him and got up "Where you going?" she grabbed his cuff asking him
"You'll see" he smiled pulling away from her and walking off as she watched him, Mile saw his opportunity and ran over to claim her lap, he knew it was his when Dad wasn't about, she smiled and pulled him to her smiling as he shuffled about to get comfortable before she heard Sam's voice over the mic and her head shot up
"Hi" he waved smiling at Mercy "Good evening everyone" he smiled as everyone cheered "Those of you who know us personally know me as Sam Evans, Mercy's husband and those of you who don't just know that I exist in her background somewhere" he laughed "There are a few things people don't know about our lives, Mercy doesn't know this, but I'm about to let out some of our secrets tonight in her honour" he smiled at her
"No" she mouthed knowing he wasn't going to take any notice
"We've been together for 19 years of course the first maybe four years were on and off we where in high school" he laughed "And we got married just 3 years ago" he frowned "I'd like to say it was a happy occasion but it wasn't for so many of us" he said as the crowd didn't know whether to laugh or sigh and he looked at the family all sitting there, faces deep in thought "Two days before our wedding we..." he pointed to the the family tables "Collectively those 11 people down there and myself lost four of their children, those little angels parents, and our dear friends, it was heart breaking" he looked at his hands as the pain of it all revisited him "In a horrific plane crash"
"But just like she's taken on her career, Mercy grabbed the challenge with both hands, we both did, and managed to not only be a mother to four children, but still managed to continue working almost at the same pace, if not faster, and of the same high quality to merit an Oliver Award. I speak for the whole family, and we've gotten so big" he laughed "When I say we're proud of Mercy" he laughed "Usually when I'd finish a speech of any kind one of my wing men would say that's life, and of course it is" he chocked
"Mercy hasn't heard this song yet" he smiled at her saying "It's the title track to my new album she got me to focus on through all this, it's ultimately dedicated to my wife for her life achievements we're celebrating tonight, but the undertones are from conversations we had with our wingmen and women, and I've also thrown something in there for our children, I hope you feel what I'm trying to say; this is for Puck, Quinn, Tina and Mike our families and of course Mercy from Me" he told the crowd as he grabbed his guitar and a choir came from the sides to join him as he started singing 'Grave' by Thomas Rhett
You're my forever, my slice of heaven on this side of the Mississippi River, baby
You're my infinity, no end to you and me come hell, fire, or rain, baby, nothing can change it, no, nothing can change it
Oh when the good Lord calls me home and this life is through, I may be six feet deep, but I'll still be loving you
Baby, what we got won't ever die,
Can't take diamonds, can't take gold, but I'll take your love with me when I go, I'm gonna take it to the grave with me
You're my destiny, you'll always be with me, today, tomorrow, all the way to eternity, baby
No last breath taken on this earth, no concrete tombstone, no amount of dirt can change it, no, nothing can change it
Oh when the good Lord calls me home and this life is through, I may be six feet deep, but I'll still be loving you
Baby, what we got won't ever die,
Can't take diamonds, can't take gold, but I'll take your love with me when I go, I'm gonna take it to the grave with me,
To the grave with me, to the grave , to the grave, to the grave with me,
To the grave with me, to the grave with me, to the grave, to the grave, to the grave with me
To the grave with me, to the grave with me, to the grave, to the grave, to the grave with me,
To the grave with me, to the grave with me, to the grave, to the grave, to the grave with me
You're my forever, my slice of heaven on this side of the Mississippi River, baby
Oh when the good Lord calls me home and this life is through, I may be six feet deep, but I'll still be loving you
Baby, what we got won't ever die,
Can't take diamonds, can't take gold, but I'll take your love with me when I go, I'm gonna take it to the grave with me
Mercy was up on stage before he finished "Did you like it?" he hugged her asking
"I loved it, we all loved it" she smiled kissing him "It's beautiful" of course there was a big speech dedicated to Mercy from the man himself as Sam stood by her side, the proudest she'd ever seen him, eventually the night closed and the family went home, Mile asleep in Sam's arms as the older children woke up to walk into the house. They were sent to bed while the adults sat around chatting about their highlights of the night, eventually Sam and Mercy returned to the day room
"Okay" Sam raised his voice saying "That was a good night wasn't it?" he smiled at all their parents saying
"Great day" Mercy's Dad echoed raising his glass
"Made even better with the news that we'll be adding our bundle of joy to our clan in 6 months time" he looked around the room saying
"Seriously?" Mercy's Mom asked as Sam watched his Mom rushing as fast as she could towards him
"I knew you guys were hiding something" Isaac came from nowhere saying "Please give us a little sister Mile's so annoying"
"Little whoever they are, is going to annoy you anyway Isaac, that's life" Sam laughed as Isaac came toward him for a hug
"A baby, a stroppy 9 going on 19 year old and three hormonal teenagers, that's life" Mercy laughed rolling her eyes as everyone went in for hugs, kisses and congratulations, before goodnights were passed around and everyone went to find sleep
"Sam" Mercy whined as she sat on their bed watching him undress "Can we ca..."
"There'll be no baby Quinn, Noah Puck or whatever I draw a line" he laughed
"But it doesn't seem fair to have Tina and Mike and not ..."
"No" Sam jumped on the bed laughing "None of them, Sam or Mercy I can work with"
"You're so mean, I thought we could add their names so we could tell their story every time someone asked"
"Means my middle name" he laughed pulling her on top of him "And I mean it when I say, shut up and kiss me"
"Must I, it's a tough life" she smiled
"As I said to Isaac, that's lif..." he got out before she did as he'd asked