This wasn't going to work out.

Mercedes had had an inkling that this was the case during the first date. She was feeling skeptical during the second and was now finding that the third couldn't end fast enough. She secretly congratulated herself on opting to meet for lunch rather than dinner but this still felt like a non-event.

She stared at George's mouth and tried her best to tune back in to what he was saying. It was exceptionally hard because he kept talking with his mouth full which she really hated. After telling Chey on a daily basis not to do it she was constantly fighting to urge to snap at the guy sitting across from her and tell him that her child had better table manners than he did! He made too much noise when he chewed plus kept unnecessarily smacking and licking his lips which made her want to hurl.

"Don't you agree baby?"

"Huh?" She made out just in time that he was asking her a question. "Sorry, I didn't quite catch the last bit." And who the hell gave you permission to call me 'baby'? I'm a grown ass woman!

"About the midterm election, and the agenda for healthcare reform."

"Yeah... Yes I do think it's a good idea. But I don't see how it's workable with the way things are set up at the moment."

Mercedes hated talking politics. It's not that she didn't follow the news because she did. It's just, well, there were far more fun things to think about, especially when it was rare for her to be out like this in the first place. George struggled on with the subject for a little longer before falling quiet.

They ate in silence for a few moments and Mercedes was glad for the lack of interruption to her thoughts. Suddenly it dawned on her why things felt so off. This guy was trying too hard. He wasn't relaxed and it made the conversation feel forced. Maybe it was simply that he was just as uncomfortable as she was!

Taking another mouthful of food she mused to herself quietly. She didn't know why she continually put herself through this excruciating ritual.

Actually that wasn't true. She knew exactly why she did it. She was the only person on this planet whose mom had a better love life than she did! A few years after the passing of her dad, it was like Mercedes' mom had been given a new lease of life. The woman had had no shortage of dates and even though her mom had been the one to suggest that Mercedes could move in with her so that she could support her and help with childcare, she still felt like she was being a burden to her mother. Especially now that her mom, Dionne, had finally found the one.

Artie Abrams Jnr was a real character. Mercedes didn't want to like him because of what he represented in her life but it was impossible not to like him. For the last eighteen months he'd been her mother's world and she had been far happier with him than she had ever been with her father. Artie himself was unusual to say the least. At first glance he wasn't much to look at, not very tall for a man, dark brown hair greying at the temples and grayish blue eyes behind reasonably thick glasses but five minutes in his presence would make even the most depressed person smile. He hadn't had the easiest life, a car accident when he was young meant that he'd spent most of his childhood, teens and early twenties confined to a wheelchair. Pioneering surgery at the age of twenty-four finally allowed him to walk again, but only with the use of a cane. Artie walked around with it proudly, stating that it made him look like a pimp and to top off the look was always sure to team it up with a hat. The cane combined with his lively personality, humor, musicality, plus the fact that he was convinced he was a black man trapped inside a Jewish body meant that he brought no end of amusement to them. The man always said the funniest things and scattered outrageous complements like fairy dust. He was the type of guy who got away with saying things nobody else could.

Even her daughter Chey loved her 'uncle Artie' and they all knew that without a doubt, he was a man in love. Dionne never said much on the subject but it was obvious from the way she was when she was around him that she returned those feelings with equal strength. And then there was the day Mercedes had sprayed her breakfast half way across the kitchen when her mom had revealed that although Artie walked with a limp and a cane, his hips were more than fully functioning when it came to 'the important things in life'.

Nobody needs to know that kind of information about their mother. Ever!

But things were definitely serious between her mother and Artie. He was frequently starting to stay over and now more than ever Mercedes felt like she was in the way. For the last couple of years she'd desperately wanted to move out, get her own place and raise her child her own way. But as a single mom on a part time income it was impossible. She didn't want to have to rely on her mom forever but what else could she do? Besides, it had been years since she'd been in any real kind of a relationship of her own and had fallen back into her cycle of comfort eating and, well, just comfort eating some more. Yes she was heavy, she knew it, but food filled a hole which was probably going to stay open for the rest of her life. Realistically, what guy would want a woman with another man's child who still lived with her mom and whose shape was rapidly expanding to the size she'd been during late pregnancy? It was impossible. Sure she'd been on the occasional dates, but either they ran or she did before anything became serious.

Was it wrong that she just wanted to get settled for her daughter? It's not that she needed a man, because she definitely didn't. It's just that sometimes it would be nice to come home to someone and have some adult conversation. To share a movie with someone which wasn't a G rated Disney cartoon. Sure she had her mom but that wasn't the same. Her best friend Quinn had offered to share a place with her but she refused to take her up on it. The offer had been kind and well-meant but she knew deep down that having a child in the home would cramp Quinn's style. Hell it cramped her style too and there was no way she would do it to someone else.

And yet, with all of these thoughts, she still wouldn't change her life for the world. Chey was the most amazing gift in the world and she simply could not imagine life without her. The little girl's smiles, kisses and unconditional love got her through even the loneliest of moments.

The hardest part was when she asked about her father. Even after all these years she still didn't really know what to say. She knew that soon her answers of 'daddy loves you and asked me to take extra special care of you because he can't be here' would not be enough of an explanation. But she would cross that bridge when she came to it and not a day before. To everyone else she'd told a story as near to the truth as possible. In fact it actually was the truth. In a moment of weakness due to the combined effect of alcohol and depression she'd hooked up with a stranger who she'd no way of getting in contact with when she found out she was pregnant. She knew that it didn't paint her in great light, but those who knew her and what she'd been through showed a greater level of compassion and understanding.

Chey was a gift. Chey had literally saved her life and nothing was ever going to come between her and her child. If she ever had to make the choice between her daughter and finding love, the little girl would win every time. No contest at all. Every man she dated, she assessed them first as a potential father for her daughter, and then as company for herself. And although she could think of nobody as badly as she did Chey's real father, she had come across some other real douchebags in her time.

Although she knew this date wasn't going anywhere, she at least had to be polite. She smiled up at George and he smiled hesitantly back at her. She decided that it was her turn to initiate conversation. "How's your chicken?" For a man who liked his food, he'd been pushing it around his plate for the last five minutes, the same as she had been pushing around hers.

"It's fine..." His expression looked troubled, as if he was trying to find the words to say something so she simply waited. "But Mercedes… I'm sorry but I don't think this is going to work out. For us I mean." His words came out in a crazy rush.

"Oh thank god for that!" Mercedes' hand flew over her mouth. Initial relief gave way to instant mortification at her rude reaction. Why the hell did she just say that out loud?

Instead of being angry George smiled. "Wow, I didn't realize I was that bad!"

"I know! I mean no! I mean- I'm sorry. I just wanted to say I agree with you. I've enjoyed spending time with you but I don't really see us going anywhere. As an us I mean!"

George's eyes twinkled for the first time that afternoon as he chuckled. "Don't worry. I understand completely. This whole thing seems a bit forced if you know what I mean. I like you, but if I'm honest I'm not ready for a serious relationship and despite what I said at the outset I definitely don't think I'm ready for a child yet either."

"That's okay. I'm glad that you're honest. I- I guess I just wasn't feeling much chemistry between us. I have a nice time with you, but it's not the epic romance I was promised by my mom's friend."

"Hey, I've only been divorced for nine months. I think we've both been pushed into this one! I'm not entirely sure why I even agreed to this."

"Me neither. Yet we somehow managed three dates!"

George chuckled. "Yeah, we did. I guess we're just two people who don't get out much that were looking for an opportunity."

"I guess so. And we liked each other enough to do this three times so it can't have been all that bad!"

Ironically, without the pressure of it being a date, they enjoyed the lunch far more, talking and laughing far more freely. Even George's eating suddenly seemed less noisy, or maybe it was because she was suddenly being less picky. They both relaxed and instead of feeling the need to impress each other with 'intelligent' subjects, fell into easy conversation about movies and childhood memories of TV shows and pointless celebrities.

Before long, Mercedes was laughing in a way that she hadn't laughed with anyone in a long time with the exception of Quinn.

By the time the meal ended Mercedes had to admit that she'd thoroughly enjoyed herself. Without the pressure of being on a 'date' and trying to impress, she actually had actually managed to let herself relax and go with the flow. In another universe she could actually see George among her circle of friends and wondered if she would ever be comfortable enough around him to let him know that the moustache he was growing really wasn't working. It's not that he wasn't an attractive man. It's just that the slug on his top lip was distracting.

George scooped up the bill as soon as it arrived despite her protestations.

"George, if we've agreed to be friends and this isn't a date then I can't let you pay."

He shook his head at her. "Nope. Not today!" He pulled out his card.

"I'm serious! Can't we at least split it?"

"I said no! This is my treat. I've had fun and I just wanted to thank you for it. I haven't been getting out much and I think I needed the laughs we've had over this lunch more than I realized. I promise next time we'll do a friends lunch and split it. How does that sound?"

Mercedes wasn't entirely happy at losing this particular argument but decided to let it go for now, having enjoyed having the adult company and suddenly feeling a lot less intimidated by the idea of a 'next time'.

"So what are your plans for this afternoon?" As George walked her to her car he seemed in no rush to leave.

"I have to get back to the little one. My mom's got a date of her own this evening so I promised I'd be around. I'll probably text Quinn to see if she wants to come round for a movie or something later. What about you?"

"Some of the guys from work are going to watch the game so I'll tag along. It's a standing arrangement they have every week and its open invitation. I'd forgotten what it was like to be single and actually be able to make spontaneous decisions about what to do with my time."

Mercedes fished around in her bag. "Yeah well try having a child. It kind of kills that kind of spontaneity forever!"

He chuckled but she frowned as she continued to search frantically in her bag. "You lost something Mercedes?"

"I don't know..." Her frown deepened as she checked through all of the pockets of her purse for a third time. "I can't find my cell. I thought I remembered putting it in my bag but now I'm not so sure."

He looked concerned. "Well if it's any help I didn't see you with it at all today so maybe it's still at home."

She sighed. "Yeah. Maybe. I hope so. Anyway, I'd better go. Mom hates it when she can't reach me."

"Sure. Stay in touch okay?"

"Definitely." He enveloped her in warm hug before watching her get into her car. She smiled back at him and waved as she pulled out of the space. Now that there was no pressure of dating she actually liked him much more. Maybe they would stay in touch. Chey didn't have many positive male figures in her life and she really needed to start to start having some.

The drive home did not take very long. The beauty of a lunch date was that it left a good chunk of the day to get other things done. Chey had to dress up as a fairy for her school assembly on Monday and she was nowhere near finished with the outfit. With her bright eyes and thick curly hair, her daughter was going to be the fairest fairy of them all with her exceptionally pretty looks. Chey's resemblance to her father was uncanny. To Mercedes it was blindingly obvious who her father was and his reflection stared back at her every single day as a bitter reminder. But nobody else saw it. How could they? Nobody would ever in a million years make a connection between the two of them and that's the way she intended to keep it. He clearly wanted no part in his child's life and that was fine. She didn't need his money. And she had more than enough love for the both of them. The difficulty would come when Chey comes of age. There was no way that she would be able to lie to her face and there was every chance that she was going to want to track down her real father. The thing was, what would she say?

After many sleepless nights musing over the scenario she decided that she was just going to have to face it head on. When Chey turned 18, if she wanted to know about her father she would tell her the truth. And if she still wanted to meet him then she would move mountains to make it happen, even if it meant stalking all of his press appearances and kicking up a stink until he finally gave them the time of day. They would confront him together, and if he still insisted he wanted nothing to do with them he would have to look his daughter in the eye and say it to her face this time. She wasn't going to give him the coward's option of using somebody else to relay the news like he had before.

The thought of having to do that already made her feel sick with nerves even though she still had another twelve years to work herself up to it. Mercedes knew that it would hurt Chey to know the truth of her parentage, but living with the lie would be even worse and there was no reason for her to lie when she was old enough to start finding the truth for herself.

Each time she saw picture of Sam Evans in the media, stepping out with yet another young floozy it made her wonder just how many other women like her were out there. Maybe she'd never know. Life wasn't fair and she'd spent her entire life learning that lesson. It would be a hard lesson for her daughter to learn, but she'd support and stand by her every step of the way. She knew that there would be a good chance that her daughter would resent her for what happened, but she hoped their close bond would get them through it eventually.

Mercedes sighed as she turned into her street. She didn't know why her thoughts today had been filled with thoughts of Chey and her father but for some reason they were. Worse still, there was a sense of foreboding at the pit of her stomach that she just couldn't quite explain. It had been there since she'd woken that morning and had attributed it to pre date nerves, but it was still there and now stronger than ever.

As she pulled up outside the house she heard her phone ring. She must have left it in the car after all! Maybe it had slipped out of her bag in her haste to get to the restaurant. Quickly switching off the engine and unbuckling her seatbelt she fished underneath her seat until she felt it. The passenger seat in Artie's car had been jammed for a while and it made it difficult to reach back and get the things that had fallen underneath it. When her fingers finally reached the cell she felt relieved.

It had stopped ringing the moment her fingers had touched it and by the time she had it in her hands it beeped with a voicemail. Checking her screen she noticed a whole host of calls. One from her mom and nine from Quinn. There were also several texts from Quinn and three voicemails. Rather than waste her time and credit listening to the messages she immediately hit 'call' to speak to her friend, wondering what the hell had caused her to blow up her phone like that in such a short period of time. Holding the phone against her ear with her shoulder she climbed out of the car, slamming the door behind her and fished through her bag for the key to lock her vehicle.

Quinn answered within one ring. "Oh my god Mercedes! Where have you been! I've-"

"Sorry girl. I dropped my phone in the car and it's been under the seat the whole time. How come you've been blowing up my- OH SHIT! Babe I'll call you right back!"

She ended the call and damn near dropped the phone at the sight of the man who had appeared beside her from seemingly nowhere, arms folded against his strong chest.

His voice was a familiar deep baritone but it contained not a trace of the charm that had fuelled their last meeting. Instead there was cold, calculated anger. "Mercedes Jones, you are one hell of a difficult woman to track down!"

This was the moment she had been dreading for the last six years.

The worst case scenario.

She slowly stiffened her spine, lifted her eyes and defiantly locked them with the steely green ones that were glaring back at her…