Thank you to everyone who has reviewed, favorited and alerted Annabelle and to everyone who has sent me messages on here and on tumblr. your words of wisdom and encouragement keep me going.

thank you to my darling beta rose - you are the best

Now this chapter may make some people a little angry but please be patient with me.

OK, I'm done rambling.

Chapter 3

The clicking of the clock that hung on the wall was the sound that echoed through their bathroom as they waited with baited breaths. They knew this moment would come ever since they got married but they didn't expect it to be so soon. Their lives would be completely changed with just one simple answer in a just a few short minutes. Mercedes sat on the hamper lid while Sam sat on the edge of the bathtub, biting his nails. He was nervous and he knew she was just as nervous as him. He wanted to be a father so bad, it was almost an obsession. Since his parents worked a lot of hours to be able to pay bills, he got to stay home a lot and babysit his siblings almost to the point where they were practically calling him dad. He knew he would be a good father because he was taught by the best but that still didn't stop little thoughts from running through his head. He reached over and grabbed Mercedes' hand when he saw that she was on the verge of a breakdown.

"Hey…" he said in a whisper

"Hey…" she whispered back

"Everything is going to be ok. I promise."

He pulled her from the hamper and sat her down on his lap. They lovingly looked into each other eyes and then their lips locked in a sweet kiss. And in that kiss was all Sam needed to know. Everything would be ok, no matter the results.

Their moment was broken when the timer went off; Mercedes took one look at Sam and said "Baby – you look. I'm too nervous." so Sam reached over and grabbed the pregnancy test. Mercedes closed her eyes and waited for the news.

"It's positive"

"What? What did you say? It's what?"

"It's positive Mercy! We're going to have a baby!"

Sam sat in his living room looking at the large wedding photo that hung over their fireplace where many family photos adorned their mantel. His eyes shifted to Mercedes' luggage that sat idly by the door and he could hear her moving around in their bedroom as she gathered more things. One of his biggest fears was coming to life, Mercedes was leaving him and there was nothing he could do about it. He knew this moment was coming but he didn't expect it to be so soon. He thought they would be able to get through anything but now he wasn't so sure. Two weeks had passed since his outburst at Dr. Ferguson's office and he hadn't been able to go back since. Mercedes tried in vain to get him to go back but he refused, telling her he wasn't ready. He knew she would be upset about it but he never expected her to just up and leave him. He begged her, pleaded with her on his hands and knees but she was adamant about leaving and it left him with a hole in his heart. He heard her coming down the stairs and immediately got up from the couch and advanced towards her.

"Mercy, baby, please, you don't have to do this. We can work this out," he felt the tears welling up in his eyes as he stared at his beautiful wife but all she did was walk past him and tend to her bags.

"Sam … Don't start ok." For the past two weeks Mercedes had heard Sam whine and moan about her leaving and it took all of her to not slap him silly. He did everything he could think of to get her to stay but she had already had this planned out and she needed get away from it all, wherever she went reminded of her Annabelle and so she decided to take Dr. Ferguson's advice and go away for a while but when she told Sam about her plans he flipped.

"Baby let me fix this! I'll do anything just please don't leave." He dropped down to his knees and hugged her midsection tight. Mercedes looked down at her husband and almost gave in but she needed to remain strong.

"Samuel Joshua Evans you are overreacting. It's only a dental conference! I'll be back in a week, a couple of day's tops. This isn't the end of the world, honey." Mercedes didn't have enough money to really go away like she wanted and she wasn't going to take her parents or her In – laws money so for a while she was stuck, but then when her father presented the idea of a dental conference to her and Tina, she jumped on it and she was sure that Tina was going through the same thing with Mike and the boys.

"But you know I hate sleeping alone, and you hate it too. Come on don't go. Who's gonna cook for me? Who am I gonna talk to about my day? Who am I gonna have sex with? Wait! Oh no! MERCEDES! You can't leave because then I won't be able to have sex! No I demand that you cancel this trip and stay home with me. As a matter of fact…" Sam picked up his wife and threw her over his shoulder and ran upstairs to their bedroom.

"Sam what the hell?! Put me down! We don't have time for your foolishness! Tina and my dad will be here any minute now." Mercedes banged her tiny fist into her husband's back but it was no use and before she knew it, he was throwing her on the bed and removing her clothes.

"If you won't listen to me then I guess I'll just have to show you."

After 2 failed attempts to leave and 4 orgasms, Mercedes was finally on her way to the airport with her dad and Tina. She tried to hide the hickeys with as much makeup as possible but Tina noticed immediately and teased her relentlessly about it. Making their way to Cleveland Hopkins International Airport, Mercedes bit her nails as she watched her small town fade away. She was finally getting out of Lima, albeit for a few days but nonetheless, she was leaving. She wanted nothing more than to get away from her nightmare and but she knew she could never do that completely. Before Annabelle's disappearance, Sam and Mercedes talked about possibly saving up their money and moving out of Lima and into a better home but those dream, just like everything else in their lives, were quickly washed away with Annabelle. She didn't even know she was crying until she felt Tina wrap her into a warm hug. She leaned into her longtime friend and cried on her shoulder as her father drove them around the airport looking for a parking spot. Dr. Jones turned around to say something to the girls when he saw they were both crying. Unbuckling his seat belt, he turned in his seat and placed his large hands on both their shoulders.

"Come girls… It's only going to be a week. You'll be back with your men before you know it." Dr. Jones said thinking they were upset about leaving Sam and Mike behind but he couldn't be furthest from the truth.

"It's Annabelle daddy. I…I…I miss Annabelle dad! God I miss her! I just want to hold her and kiss her and tell her everything is ok!" Mercedes sobbed harder into Tina's shoulder which prompted Tina to cry more for her friend. Tina understood the plight Mercedes was in. After giving birth to her twin boys Zander and Zyler, Tina and Mike dedicated their lives to their children, just like Sam and Mercedes did with Annabelle. Dr. Jones gave his daughter a sympathetic smile and then wrapped his large arms around her. There wasn't anything he could do to sooth her aching heart, he wished that he could find the words to make her life better but he knew he couldn't, so he did what he knew best. He held her in his arms.

"It's alright baby. It's alright…" While rubbing her back. "It's going to be alright. We'll get through this."

Sam sat at his desk staring blankly at his computer screen, willing himself to get something done but he just couldn't concentrate. Mercedes was only gone a couple of hours and already Sam was going stir crazy without her. This had been the longest they had ever been away from each other. Even on the day they had gotten married he had to see her but he didn't want to break tradition so he had her hide in the closet where she could see him but he couldn't see her and hearing her voice and her reassurance that there wasn't anything in the world that she wanted more than to marry him,

His ringing cellphone knocked him out of his thoughts. He picked it up and saw it was his boss/editor Holly Holliday.

"Hey Holly. Yeah. No I haven't gotten around to doing much. Yeah I know it's due soon. Holly, why don't I come in and just do it there, that way I won't be so distracted. Yeah, alright, I'll see you in a little bit. Alright bye."

Sam hung up his cellphone and got up from his chair and walked out of his office to go and get dressed for work. On his way to his bedroom, he passed by Annabelle's and like every day that he did, he would stop and stare at her closed door. He couldn't bring himself to open the door and walk in and he knew Mercedes couldn't do it either. That room held so many different memories for them. From the day they had bought Annabelle her big girl bed and she cried because she thought they didn't love her anymore since she wasn't sleeping in their room. It took them 4 months to finally get her to agree to sleep in her bed as long as at least one parent was sleeping in the room with her. He remembered the day they argued about what color's to paint her room with, Sam wanted green to match her eyes and Mercedes wanted pink and white because they represented "girl colors" he called her ideas stupid and he spent 2 nights sleeping on the couch. Taking a deep breath he backed away from the door and headed to his bedroom to change. He needed to get his mind right if he wanted to continue getting paid for his work so he pushed all thoughts of Annabelle out of his mind and got ready for work.

Sam sat by the window seat near the backdoor of his home strumming along to his guitar while he kept an eye on Annabelle, Zander and Zyler while they played pirates in Annabelle's playroom. The leaves had begun to fall which signaled that autumn was upon them. It was his turn to watch the kids as Tina and Mike were away for the weekend and Mercedes was sick with the flu. He continued to strum on his guitar as the kids ran around and yelled in pirate talk.

"Daddy can you draw me a mustache?" Annabelle asked her father as she walked up to him with a black marker and a cap around her neck and a sock wrapped around her head, covering one eye.

"Sure baby," he took the marker from her and drew the best mustache he could.

"Thank you daddy," she gave him a big smile and a kiss on the cheek and skipped along to play. He smiled back at her and continued to strum on his guitar, just messing around when he absentmindedly began to play the first strings of Human Nature by Michael Jackson. That song held so much meaning for them, it was their first duet in glee club, it was the song that was playing when they first made love and it was the song that they danced to at their wedding. He found himself singing the words when Annabelle came out of her playroom with a curious look on her face.

"I know that song! Mama sings it every morning!" She began to sing along with her father and he gave her an incredulous look. Annabelle was singing and she could actually carry a tune. He stared at her as she belted out the words to the MJ classic and danced around in her pirate gear. He noted that she also had a bit of rhythm which she obviously got from her mother, he could dance but not as great as his wife and he was pretty sure Mercedes wouldn't want him to teach their three year old his famous Evans body roll.

"Hey … What's going on down here?" Mercedes said from around the corner, she was wrapped tightly in her robe while wearing Sam's PJ bottoms, socks and slippers.

Annabelle's beautiful face lit up when she saw her mother, "Mama! Daddy was singing that song you sing in the morning! Sing with us mama!"

"Oh baby, I wish I could but Mama's sick. I promise when I get better I will sing the song with you sweetie… What is that on your face? Is that … Is that a mustache? Annabelle, where did you get the mustache from?"

"Daddy drew it … You don't like it mama?" Annabelle's large green eyes began to water because she thought her mother didn't like her design.

"Oh yeah? Where did you get the marker?" Mercedes asked, as she side eyed her gullible husband

"From daddy's office…"

"Annabelle Marie Evans, how many times have I told you not to go into Daddy's office? And how did you open the gate anyway? Baby you could have gotten hurt! Don't ever do that again!"

Annabelle's lip trembled and the tears fell from her eyes and ran down her ebony cheeks. She walked slowly to her mother and hugged her midsection tightly.

"I'm sowwy mama…" Her cries were muffled as she cried into her mother's robe. Mercedes felt bad but Annabelle needed to learn discipline. She was at that age where she was curious with just about everything. She needed to touch everything because apparently 'I can't feel it I don't touch it'.

"It's alright baby. Mama isn't mad; she just doesn't want you to get hurt ok? We would be lost without you so please don't do that again."

"Yes mama…" Annabelle sniffled and then smiled up at her lookalike. She ran off to her playroom to continue her game while Mercedes gave Sam another side eye.

"What?" He asked innocently.

"You, Mr. Evans, are a giant sucker."

Sam sat at his work office just the same way he sat at home, staring blankly at his computer. He willed himself to think of something but once again he was drawing a blank. He couldn't afford to miss a deadline. Although the newspaper paid good money and working at Burt's shop also added to his income with Mercedes job, it still wasn't enough for him. He was a man of pride and he wanted to be able to take care of his family. He had made a promise to himself that Mercedes and Annabelle would never want for anything. He put his head down on his desk and more thoughts of Annabelle invaded his mind. He wanted to find her with a burning passion; he wanted to kill whoever took his child and make his life a nightmare. He and the detective's on the case along his parents went back to the gas station where Annabelle was last seen and asked to see the video camera but as bad luck would have it, their camera systems were down that day so it was no help. The clerk said he did see a little girl matching her description near another car but he didn't think anything of it so he went along his merry day and it took all four detectives and his father to pry Sam off of the clerk. They posted pictures and bulletins all over their town. They even went on TV trying to get the word out about their child but that was an even bigger mistake when news correspondent Nancy Grace, accused the parents of kidnapping their own child and were trying to throw everyone off by claiming someone else took her. They had to pay a hefty fine when Mercedes called Nancy a no neck having bitter old bitch on the air. They just couldn't catch a break. They hadn't heard from the private investigator in almost 5 months and Sam was beginning to lose all hope. He nearly jumped out of his skin when he felt a hand touch his shoulder.

Green eyes met blue when Sam locked eyes with his coworker, Savannah Girabaldi, a petite blonde who wrote for the wedding announcements section of the paper. They had been working nearly the same amount of time together but he was barely there while he assumed she was there every day. By all intents and purposes, Savannah was a beautiful woman, a true stunner. Standing 5 feet 4 inches tall with long golden blonde hair and a great shape with beautiful facial features, it also helped that she was a ray of sunshine without being irritating or annoying. Yes she was gorgeous but no one was more attractive than his wife and he dared anyone to disagree.

"Are you alright? You look a little stressed out." Savanna gave him a sympathetic smile and he returned It.

"I'm fine. My head is just jumbled with a lot of things and I can't seem to concentrate on anything else but my daughter and it's frustrating."

"Yeah… I heard about that … I am so sorry Sam. I have no idea what you must be feeling, but you can't lose hope you know? You have to be strong for your wife. How is she doing by the way?"

"She's hanging in there and every day it's a struggle but like you said not all hope is lost." Savannah as well as everyone in their town knew about Annabelle's disappearance. Because he and Mercedes were very private about their lives, they didn't know how to take all of the attention they were receiving. They just wanted to find their child back but the media who had connections in the police department caught wind of what happened and they showed up at the their home with their cameras and microphones asking questions they still didn't know the answers to.

"Thanks for your concern Savannah. It really means a lot."

"You know if you ever need to unwind or something, like get a drink or something you can always call me. I'm always available." Sam bit his bottom lip and looked down at his desk. 'Is she hitting on me? Obviously she knows I'm married, she just asked about her. This girl must be crazy.' Sam thought to himself.

"Uh… Savannah, that's really nice of you but I don't think that's going to happen. My wife wouldn't be too happy about me going out on a date"

"A date?! Sam please, I wasn't asking you out on a date, it was an invite to hang out as friends. I'll give you my number anyway for whenever you want to hang out as friend." She laughed as she shook her head at him and then she leaned down and wrote her number down on a scrap of paper. After writing down her number, she ruffled his hair and walked back to her office, leaving Sam in a stupor. He turned back to his now sleeping computer and decided to at least try and get some work done. After almost 4 hours of sitting at his computer trying make his comics funny, he decided to call it a day. He packed up his stuff, said goodbye to his coworkers and went home.

Hey you've reached Mercedes Evans; I can't come to the phone right now so please leave a message after the beep.

Sam hung up his cellphone is a huff, that was the sixth time he had called her and every time he got her voicemail. She had called him once to say she had landed safely but that was it and he was beginning to get worried.

'Calm down Sam. she's with her dad and Tina, nothing is going to happen to her.' But he couldn't calm down. He had been on edge since they had lost Annabelle and with each passing day without her, he was slowly becoming unhinged and didn't even know it. He needed Mercedes like he needed air and if something were to happen to her he would lose himself in despair. Reaching over to his cellphone, he decided to call the only person who knew how to help him.

"Hey! I know this is late and I'm sorry if I woke you – Yes this is Sam – You told me to call if I ever needed someone to talk to – When are you available? Tomorrow? I can meet you. Thank you so much. Good night."

so...yay or nay? tell me what you guys think? did you like it? did you hate it? don't forget to review that way i know you guys enjoyed it.

Much love,

Tay :-)