CHAPTER 7

Mercedes spent her 15 minute respite gathering a basin, soap, wash cloth and large drying towel for the impending sponge bath of frustration. She refused to return one second before her full 15 minutes was up, so for the last 59 seconds she went into another round of self pep talk. Her intention was to make the ordeal as quick and painless as possible but her brain was at a loss for distraction tips.

She took one final deep breath before entering room 819. As the door clicked shut she noticed a completely empty food tray. Not a speck of broccoli puree was to be found; this man was serious about his damn sponge bath, she thought. She flashed him a weak smile as she moved to his left side and placed the bath items on the night stand. Noticing the deafening silence, a distraction tactic miraculously popped into her head.

"My goodness, it's so quiet in here." Before she could finish, Sam interrupted.

"We could always get to know each other better. I usually wait until the 2nd date before the sponge bath phase…."

She couldn't help but roll her eyes playfully. He noticed this and chuckled lightly.

"I was going to suggest some music." She said, gesturing to the radio on the night stand. Sam simply nodded. Mercedes tuned it to her favorite station, 101.9, and fought off a smirk as the memory of that August night in 2010 flashed again.

"Let me get some warm water and we'll get started." She took the basin to the bathroom on the right side of his bed. Staring at herself in the mirror she noticed that despite the inner turmoil she was feeling, she still managed to look "cute" in her opinion. If she was going to have this excruciating experience, at least she could feel good about her appearance during. When she returned she caught Sam's eye as it seemed he'd been watching the door to the bathroom since she entered it. He had an intense gaze that seemed to startle her in a manner that no one else's could. The radio hummed with the last few notes of a familiar pop tune of yesteryear before the DJ piped up:

"Rolling on with our week long Greatest Pop Hits countdown, here's number 171: 'Lucky in Love' by K-Arthur. If any of you out there remember when those guys rolled into town on the I Am Unicorn tour, this is sure to make you smile."

Mercedes' heart began to race and she nearly splashed water from the basin as she shakily placed it on the night stand. As the chorus of K-Arthur's song began, she snuck a peek at Sam who seemed unaffected. He exhaled deeply and looked around the room. If anything was bothering him it wasn't hearing an old song from his heyday as a pop star – it was that the nurse he longed to better acquaint himself with seemed determined to freeze him out. He began to wonder if Quinn had said something on their drive to upset her. Fighting the urge to ask just that, he lay motionless as he watched Mercedes submerge the wash cloth and drizzle liquid soap into the basin. She swished the cloth around a few times until foam appeared. The moment of truth was upon her for she could stall no longer.

"Um…" she began reluctantly "We need to remove your gown."

In compliance, he raised himself up slowly to allow her access to the ties at the back of his neck. The cheap fabric clung to his body as he gingerly rolled it down his chest. Once he was bare down to his abdomen he looked at Mercedes and asked "Do I need to go further?"

"It's best if you take it all off." She realized how lascivious that sounded and sighed heavily in apology. "I didn't mean it like that."

Sam snorted lightly, nodded, and pushed the gown away from his body. As if Mercedes wasn't struggling enough to keep her wits about her, Sam had the audacity to have the magnificent body she'd always imagined of him. His chest was broad, tight, and perfectly formed. His abdominals, despite the massive bandage covering the surgical area, were immaculate. She could swear she'd never seen abs that cut on a real man up close. If the water her hand plunged into had been a few degrees warmer, beads of sweat surely would have formed at her temples. A delicate trail of flaxen hair from his navel to the bottom of his abdomen teased her mercilessly. Thankfully he'd had the modesty to keep the bed linens over his nether regions for now.

Biting the bullet, she began at his throat. Lightly, she swiped the cloth vertically from his chin to his collar bone and repeated in the middle and on the right side. Dunking the cloth again, she swiped over his rock solid shoulders, those beautiful pecs and the outsides and bend of his elbows. When she lifted his arms to tackle the pits, he pulled away and giggled. Sheepishly, he gazed at her and professed "I'm a little ticklish. Sorry." As badly as she wanted to show mirth, she fought it and nodded knowingly with another weak smile.

Sam felt the pricks of panic rise within him. He wondered what had Quinn said to Mercedes to make her so distant now? His jaw clenched somewhat and he tightened his fist. Mercedes noticed his body suddenly tensing and stopped. "Am I hurting you?" She asked with a timbre of concern in her voice. For a split second he was compelled to blurt out "Yes!", but thought better of it and shook his head in opposition.

"I'm going to check your stitches now. I'll be as gentle as possible. Please let me know if you feel any pain or added sensitivity." Sam simply nodded in compliance. Due to the cold shoulder he was receiving he had finally arrived at the conclusion that he wanted this to be over as quickly as possible. In his mind, he imagined a much more light hearted yet erotically tinged experience. If all he was going to get was a robotic interaction with Nurse Sexy, he could have kept his coveted strawberry applesauce cup and let Nurse Shapiro do her bidding, he thought in annoyance.

As she slowly peeled away the surgical dressing she saw nothing out of the ordinary. Several rows of stitches lined a medium-sized patch of his abdomen. Dr. Anderson had indeed stitched him up perfectly and Mercedes could see that Sam would heal nicely and most likely with minimal scarring. As she carefully dabbed the area with a tiny corner of the cloth she heard Sam wince lightly. Her eyes quickly shot to meet his. He blinked quickly and let out a sharp breath. "I'm sorry!" She breathily exclaimed and continued "Tenderness is normal. Your stitches look great though and I think you'll heal perfectly. Good as new." She finally smiled brightly and Sam felt his annoyance weaken a scant amount as he countered with a half smile. After making sure the area was completely dry she replaced the surgical dressing daintily.

Now it was time for the dreaded nether regions. Had she been as completely oblivious as Sam about their past meeting she would have easily relished this phase of scrubbing. She sucked in a deep breath and exhaled slowly. Just then, the radio DJ piped up again:

"And now up to a personal favorite of mine, number 170 on the countdown - "Super Lover" by the super sexy Sevans! Well he used to be sexy. Haven't heard from this guy in years, is he still alive? If anybody's seen him, please give me a call and give him my number!" the DJ finished with a maniacal chuckle. Mercedes froze. She slowly raised her eyes to meet Sam's, but found him staring confusedly at the radio. He felt her eyes on him and looked at her with raised eyebrows. Her pulse rocketed and her stomach lurched forcefully. The all too familiar synthesizer intro and pre-chorus adlibs caused her to exhale forcefully in frustration. The universe was asking too much of her nervous system at this point.

Thinking quickly, Sam interjected with hope "Do you hate this song as much as I do? Maybe we should turn it off?" He added a nervous chuckle and forced half smile. Belying the true source of her exasperation, she shrugged her shoulders and nodded. For a split second, she wondered how she'd recover from that fib if the full extent of her knowledge were ever revealed. She'd cross that bridge when she got there, she assured herself.

Immediately, the room returned to a state of deafening silence. Neither one felt brave enough to speak first. Finally, Sam spoke "You said you've had a difficult week. Why don't I finish myself up? I don't want to add extra stress on you right now."

One side of her mouth tugged down in slight embarrassment. "Yes, if you really wouldn't mind it this once? I'm so sorry. It's just catching up to me faster than normal this week." He nodded with understanding and fished the cloth from the basin. Mercedes chimed in "I'll step into the bathroom for a minute to give you some privacy." She moved rapidly to her destination. A few moments later, she peered around the bathroom door to find Sam drying his upper body with the large towel. After a few more moments she was emptying the basin down the sink and finally helping Sam into a fresh gown. No doubt from all of the tension, a headache began to plague her. This day started out wonderfully and unfortunately ended in a cluster of awkwardness and regret. She silently gathered up the bathing utensils and Sam could no longer let the elephant in the room go unmentioned.

"Nurse Jones?"

Mercedes couldn't deny the slight pang she felt when he returned to addressing her so formally. She had really screwed up now. She turned to him and slowly lifted her eyes to meet his. "Yes?"

"Did I do something to offend you? I know you've had a rough week, but I can't help but feel a little tension between us? If I've done anything, I apologize." Mercedes exhaled deeply and placed her hand to her heart. The last thing in the world she had wanted was for Sam to feel uncomfortable, but putting up a wall was the only plausible option she saw at the time.

"Oh my god, no!" she exclaimed sweetly. She wouldn't reveal her truth, but she wouldn't continue to make him feel guilty for a crime he didn't even know he committed. "Honey, I've just got so much personal stuff on my mind right now, and unfortunately I'm letting it bleed into work. I'm sorry if I've made you uncomfortable. I swear, I'll be fine by Saturday."

Sam screwed up his face. "Half an hour ago, you said you'd be fine by tomorrow. Have I made things worse?" He shrugged shyly.

"Definitely not! I just…tomorrow's my day off, so I wont see you again until Saturday, hence 'I'll be fine by Saturday'."

Hoping to assuage him with that statement; she unintentionally devastated him. His heart sank a bit and he looked down at his hands. The second half of the day had been weird indeed, but he had had his hopes up very high for redemption the following day. He sighed heavily and nodded. "Oh, well, I'll see you then I guess."

Returning mildly to her previous self she chirped "Are you going somewhere between now and Saturday?" with a noticeable twinge of playful sass. Sam raised an eyebrow and smiled a bit bashfully before answering "No. I'll be here."

"That's what I thought." Mercedes retorted confidently. She wished him a good night and left him with a smile.

Although awkwardness had ensued, she prided herself on keeping the secret of which she was twice entrusted in tact. She didn't know how she could keep up the charade but was thankful for one day's reprieve to gather her thoughts fully. Letting the happiness and excitement of what she knew return to her brain space for a moment, she drifted off to sleep as her fingers lazily traced over the golden, glittery bubble letters of a green tank top.

The next morning, a vibrant and well rested Quinn Abrams nee' Evans arrived at St. Crispin's. She expected to find her twin brother in the highest of spirits possible.

"Good morning baby brother!" she chirped as she entered with a flourish. She was a vision of style and loveliness; sporting a pair of dark wash skinny jeans, fluttery sun yellow top, gray scarf, dark denim jacket, and black ankle boots. Her brassy shoulder length hair was fastened with a wide gray fabric headband to match her scarf. Her toothy grin was met with a furrowed brow and significantly crossed arms by her masculine mirror image.

"Why so serious, Sam?"

"What did you say to Mercedes? She hates me!"

Quinn gasped before retorting "Nothing!"

"Oh really? Well, how do you explain the weird-as-fuck way she was acting after her car ride with you yesterday? I thought you were gonna hook me up, Q?"

"I totally talked you up. Are you sure you didn't do anything inappropriate?" Quinn's calm exterior belied tingles of uncertainty. If Mercedes had blabbed his secret, he would have led with that, so she was at a loss as to what the real problem was.

"I was my natural charming self."

Quinn snorted a little too hard for Sam's liking and he shot her a chastising look. "Damnit, Quinn, this is no time to joke. Tell me everything you talked about."

Trying to cover her tracks she countered with "Wow, are you sure they didn't implant a set of ovaries in you while you were under? Stop being such a girl, Evans."

"What….did….you…say?" Sam questioned intensely.

"Nothing incriminating! Geez. I told her how sweet you are – but now I'm rethinking that – and then we just talked about how we both can't wait to get out of Lima. Tame stuff."

"She wants to leave Lima?"

"Yes. You might be interested to know that she has aspirations to move to LA soon."

Sam lifted his chin and leveled his eyes quizzically at his sister. She returned with a slow nod in concurrence. He couldn't fight off a smile, but managed to keep his arms firmly crossed. Quinn wasn't getting out of this that easily.

"What else?"

"She wants to be a make-up artist. And she said she wants to have 10,000 of your green eyed babies. She wanted me to be sure you knew that."

"Ugh. You're a horrible person, you know that? I have a gaping hole in my side. Would it kill you to take it easy on me?"

"That gaping hole didn't seem to bother you so much when you were getting your mega-flirt on yesterday." She sassily sipped a cup of coffee she snagged on her way in. Sam rolled his eyes and threw his head back onto his pillow. He stared at the ceiling silently with arms still folded.

"Are you praying?" Quinn asked with a snarky jab. Her brother remained silent and shook his head in opposition.

"Seriously, Quinn, did she say anything about me? Did I offend her?"

"Oh my god, NO! I swear, it was a very un-incriminating conversation. Relax." She felt another tingle of uncertainty with a slight guilt chaser. She wondered if Mercedes supposed change in disposition was due to the secret she was tasked to keep. She quickly rationalized her way out of that thinking by asserting "The medical profession can be quite draining. Maybe she's just got a lot on her plate this week. Give her a break."

"She did mention that before my sponge bath."

Quinn's jaw dropped immediately and she moved so that her face was directly over her brother's. "What?"

Sam squirmed and pulled his arms tighter to his chest. Quinn tilted her head pointedly and jutted her chin out as she waited for a now reluctant Sam to expound.

"I may….or my not have…arranged for her to give me a sponge bath." He pursed his lips goofily and squeezed one eye shut in anticipation of his sister's chiding.

"And you wanted to blame me for the weird-as-fuckery? How dare you Samuel Evans, how dare you?"

Sam shrugged playfully and flashed his patented half-smile. Quinn shook her head and offered a playful 'tsk tsk' and wag of her finger.

"I thought it would be sexy. Sponge baths are sexy."

"I don't even….I can't with you." Quinn retorted as she dragged a chair closer to his bed. Once she sat comfortably she began "You're a dirty old man masquerading as 32. The poor woman's probably going to hide out from you – just forewarning."

Sam sighed "You're probably right. She said today's her day off, but she'll be in tomorrow."

"For your sake, you better hope she fakes amnesia or something. Oh…you're so gross."

"At least I'm charming with it."

"Speaking of charming, I talked to Lauren this morning. She sends her best and insists that you spend a few days at their place when you come to visit."

"Tell her not to hold her breath."

"Ass."

"Look, I've still got a lot of healing to do, if you haven't noticed, and I came here on a mission. Sue will have my ass if I don't report back soon. I just don't want people expecting me in a few months when it could take a year or so."

"It's not a big deal. She and Kevin are still new parents, so the offer may be a little premature, but it was a nice gesture. They miss you as much as we do."

"They have my number."

"Don't start sulking again. I beg of you." She took another sip of coffee.

"Alright subject change: you think I still have a shot with Nurse Sexy?"

Quinn sprayed coffee on the side of his bed, barely missing her own clothes. Her eyes wide and patting her mouth, she shook her head and uttered once more "I can't."


I like to think of this as the chapter house that awkward built. LOL :) Thanks for reading! More up this week as soon as I can. Thank you as always for reading and for comments!