The Rift

Puck had not been by the shop, at all – Sam noticed, of course. And anytime that Set Me Free song began, the phone was either ignored or the ringer was turned off. He wondered if she knew about his tussle with Puckerman, or if she had fought with him, herself? He came up to Quinn, "Miss Fabray…"

"Evans if you ask me anything about Puck and Mercedes, I am going to send you off for the day, without pay, of course," she said, without missing a beat, and stepped around him. That only meant that she knew something and/or she noticed this suspiciousness that was Mercedes and Puck not communicating. He did a fist pump in the air and Quinn looked at him with her hand on her hip. He knew the inevitable comment about him not doing work was coming, soon.

"That was me, motivating myself to finish my work," he said and joyously rushed out to trim the hedges in front of the building. Lauren was dressed extra sexy when she came walking up the sidewalk and he turned off his machine and stared at her, "Wow. You got a hot date, or something?"

"More like trying to get one," she said, and leaned on his shoulder with both of her arms, which she laid on, "Noah Puckerman." She said, with her eyes asking him not to judge her. Sam groaned and she stood up, straight with a shy smile.

"Are you serious, Lauren? You want to date him?" Sam asked, a bit disgusted. Lauren was like a little sister to him, and Puck was… a dick.

"Well, not so much date as…" She smirked and lifted a single eyebrow. Now, Sam's feeling really looked hurt. "Girls of all sizes have needs, Evans."

"I don't doubt it. He's just… I don't like him," Sam said. The thought of Noah Puckerman and Lauren made him feel squeamish. She could do better, as far as he was concerned. Not judging Puck had been thrown completely out of the window since that unwarranted verbal provoking a few days ago, and the thing that bothered Sam the most was that intense heavy feeling of not knowing if there may have been a hint of truth in what Puck said to him.

"Yeah, well – I'm not in a battle for a fair lady's hand with him," she said and shrugged her shoulders.

"I don't even know what you're referring to," he said.

"Oh, so – it wasn't your actions that prompted Tina to call me and ask me to accompany her to the shop in the middle of the night, just in case I had to tackle you and throw you out?" She smiled as she headed for the front door.

"You're going to tell me about that meeting," he said, pointing a finger at her face with a wide smile that the others ever gave themselves a chance to see from him.

"No, I'm not," she told him, rocking her head from side to side and went in, blowing him a hands free kiss.

Mercedes came out of the shop with Becky being piggybacked on her and skipping. Sam watched them for a moment, perplexed, but amused. "She lost a bet," Becky said. Mercedes went up the sidewalk, then came back and set Becky down. Becky went back inside, full of laughter, while Mercedes sank into one of the benches near the shop.

"I didn't realize that you were a gambling woman, Mercy." Sam teased (loving the way that sounded every time it came from his lips) and sat down next to her, like he didn't have any work left to do. He could just imagine Quinn inside, cussing and staring out of the window.

Mercedes chuckled and said, "I'm not. I'm just highly imaginative and sarcastic and should think before I say things like 'Becky, if that happens, I will give you a piggyback ride out of this shop up and down this sidewalk and back…' Because Becky is about that - making you own up to what you say, no matter how silly it was - life." They sat in comfortable silence for a while, then she asked, "How is your list coming along?"

"Actually, I think that I'm done with it! It's a long list, but I'm pretty sure that all of my past hate has been recorded." He was happy and sad about that, simultaneously. He thought about how many times the infamous N word appeared on his list, realizing that the brunt of his hate had been against, people like her and was frustrated about what Puck had said all over again.

"Are you going to do anything with it?" She asked, breaking into his thoughts. "Like – see if you might be able to talk to any of the people and apologize, or at least try to see what their lives are like and how you might have affected them?"

He was glad she couldn't see the incredulous face he made as he chuckled and said, "That sounds a little terrifying." Then, he saw a slightly disappointed expression on her face and added, "But, I'm sure that I would be able to." Her expressions were so priceless. Being blind made her quite transparent. She never thought to hide her emotions, because she didn't know how expressive eyes and jaw lines could be. It kept her honest and kept him wanting to make sure she made more of that excited and pleased face that he'd just seen appear. Sam glanced down at himself. Did I really just get a hard-on for making her happy? He readjusted and smirked to himself. Yeah, Puck was full of it. There was no way – NO WAY that he would ever think ill of Mercy.

She pulled herself up and said, "I have a lot to do this week and I'm sure that you have plenty of work, yourself. In fact, I know it so… if you would, please?" He got up to and watched her go back inside before starting his work again.

Mercedes had fallen asleep on the bed in the backroom. Even though Sam had been residing in the room, she had been especially stressed out and tired on this particular day, and this was what the room was for, anyway. She decided that she would take a nap, and it turned into real sleep. At the end of the night, Quinn and Santana headed out, together, laughing and talking and Lauren was left to finish up, alone. She had gotten used to it. She would come in early and do all of Mercedes' little things that needed to be done, be her taxi, extra pair of hands, and pair of eyes, leave around lunch and come back in the evening, or in the afternoon if it was simply busy enough. The ladies took turns closing up. "Make sure Cedes is alright before you leave," Santana reminded.

Sam came from upstairs as Lauren was shutting the drapes, "Isn't it like your mom's birthday, or something?" He asked.

"Yeah. I'm pretty much gonna miss dinner with her," Lauren commented, with a simple, but sad shrug, as she began to clean up.

Sam snatched the dusting rag from her hand and said, "Get the hell out of here. Mercedes wouldn't want you missing your mom's dinner to dust and sweep. I'll take care of it, for you."

Lauren shook her head and said, "I don't care what anyone says about you, Evans, you are a doll!" She pinched his cheek, rushed to get her bag and said, "Thanks, and good night!" She dashed out and locked the door behind her. Sam finished up cleaning and shut out the lights.

When he went into the backroom, he froze. Mercedes was knocked out, in the bed. Sam decided that he would let her sleep a little longer. He went to take his shower and dressed for the night. He got on his knees to pray and said, "Amen." He looked at her, watched her for a moment. He kneeled next to her and laid his head on the bed, beside her. "I'll just let her sleep a moment longer," he told himself. She just looked so peaceful and innocent… and beautiful. Sam fell asleep, right where he was.

Quinn entered the store a bit earlier than usual, and Lauren was already there, in her routine of the morning, but Quinn noticed the trash did not have a bag, and she didn't see any under the counter, so she stepped into the stock room to get a roll of them when she saw it… She froze and said, "Oh. My. God."

Lauren called out, "Is it another spider? I think that we need to fog or something." Quinn grabbed the bags and rushed back out to Lauren who looked alarmed at Quinn's angered face. "What?"

Quinn pointed her hand towards the room and asked, "Where was she when you left? Did you check on her and make sure that she was alright?"

Lauren groaned and covered her face, "I forgot. I left early and Sam took over the night cleaning for me. I was trying to…" Quinn looked so upset that Lauren was afraid of what she might see. She had been told about Sam's history. She knew the details, and as she went forward into the backroom, her heart was in her throat. Then, she saw it. She gasped and said, "Aww!" Then pulled her phone out to snap a photo.

Sam was asleep, on the floor, with his head on the bed, next to Mercedes. His hand was reaching out towards her and touching her face and her hand was rested in his hair. Lauren came closer and took another photo, but the flash struck and Sam jumped up and knocked her to the floor. Lauren screamed and dropped her phone and Quinn raced to retrieve her own, in case Sam was about to kill Lauren! Didn't that happen sometimes with ex-cons and veterans who'd been to war. Ohmigod. Ohmigod. Ohmigod. Ohmigod. Ohmigod… Quinn's brain was a mess as she prepared to call 911.

Mercedes jumped up and asked, "What? What's going on?"

Lauren pressed her knee into Sam's back and told him, "I didn't mean to scare you, Sam. Ok? Calm down. It's me, Lauren." He was breathing hard, but he was still. She got up off of him and looked at a terrified Quinn. Lauren popped her knuckles, then helped the man up from the floor.

"Hello?" Mercedes called. She heard the thudding of Quinn's sneakers entering the room and she felt arms squeeze her tightly. "Quinn, what?"

"You slept in the backroom!" Quinn said. "You were asleep in the bed and he was next to you."

"I was on the floor," Sam said, defensively. Mercedes laughed and hoisted herself up. She was exhausted from sleeping so much. Damn, this thing with Puck was weighing her down… Sam tried to move his neck – it was no good. Everything from the shoulders up hurt and everything from the waist down was asleep and tingling. He asked, "Did you sleep well, Mercedes?" Hopefully it was worth it for him to feel like he'd been pelted with sticks and stones and stuck with pins and needles.

"Yeah," she said. "Now, I need to eat something. God!" She stretched and her shirt came up a bit and revealed half of her belly. Quinn quickly pulled the shirt down and threw Sam a harsh look for having seen it. Mercedes shooed her blond friend away from her and walked passed her to the shop. "I want some of that coffee, Lauren."

"Right away, Miss Jones," Lauren said. "Any particular flavoring?"

"I think I'm in a mood for white chocolate. We have any?"

"I'm sure we do," Lauren answered and began to peruse the shelves in the stock room dedicated to the coffee. They heard Mercedes singing. Sam sat down stiffly on the bed, in a great deal of actual pain. How had he even managed to remain sleeping if he was positioned so effing poorly?

Oh, yes, right. Mercy was in the bed and he didn't want to wake her and the few times he stirred were times where she'd mumbled his name or touched his hair and he didn't want to move, because then he might ruin the moment. He tried to strength and pop his bones to relieve some of the tension. It didn't help much, but Sam wasn't one to let physical pain keep him from anything, so he gathered up his clothes for the day and started getting ready.

"Evans! We're going into Mercedes' apartment to box up her wardrobe and make room for the new shipment." Lauren called out as soon as he came out of the stock room. Sam tilted his head, then looked around for Quinn. "Per Miss Jones," Lauren said and waited for him by the elevator. He shrugged his shoulders and met her at the elevator. Lauren watched him, bounce around, a little nervously. He had never been in the apartment before. It was like an unspoken rule that he was not allowed in there, even though he was fairly certain that this was at the behest of the circle and not Mercy herself.

Lauren smirked and asked, "Nervous, Evans?"

"I'm just…" he sighed and nodded, "Yeah, nervous." The doors opened and she got off and went into the bedroom. Sam was looking around at the place. Both of the dogs were in there, running around, cheerily and Mercedes was seated on her little balcony, in a sundress with a long sleeved cardigan, letting the breeze hit her face and the wind blow through her hair. Her apartment was quite fashionable, for a person who could not see. Kurt's doing, Sam immediately recognized.

She had marble gray and white walls, and much of her decorations were purple, light blue, gold and floral. There were a couple of fancy little doghouses, with dog beds inside of them and nothing was out of place. There was not one bit of paper or lint or dust anywhere. "Evans! In here!" Lauren called. He rushed into the bedroom… it was the plainest place in the entire apartment. The walls were simply white, and there was only a nightstand with nothing on top of it and the bed, covered in a huge, snuggly looking blanket and several pillows. Lauren had her hand on her hip. "Are you writing a paper?" Lauren asked. He smiled and joined her at the closet… which was huge. It had two vertical dressers inside, four shoe racks and three roda of clothes.

"Do not touch the shoes on the two racks to the left. Don't touch anything on any of the shelves above the clothes. Everything is cataloged in her memory, and if you put anything out of order, she may not be able to match her clothes. All of the items above the clothes are in a certain place – from her hair accessories to her jewelry. Right now, all I need you to do is take all of the clothes on these two rods off of the hangars and box them up." Lauren explained.

Sam nodded and looked around for the boxes. Lauren pointed to them and he grabbed one. "Don't tape them up, when they're full, set them to the right of the elevator, inside the tape that I put down."

"Alright," he said, with his eyebrows furrowed.

"I know it may seem tedious to you, but these rules are set in order to make sure that Mercedes doesn't trip over anything or stump her toe or walk into something. She has a process and formula and getting outside of that could mean a threat to her safety."

"I understand that," Sam said. But, it was a little unnerving. Of course, she wouldn't want for her dog to have to see her around her own apartment, so she would do something to make certain that she would be safe and free in her own home… but how would someone else ever be able to live with her?

"She's versatile," Lauren said, like she knew what he was thinking. "She's harbored friends here before. As long as her bedroom closet isn't touched and things are kept out of the floor, she has room for someone else." Sam smiled. Lauren was the only person that encouraging about Mercedes.

"I'm not trying to move in, Zizes," he said. She simply pursed her lips. Hell, he had yet to even admit that he had feelings for the woman, and with her, things would have to move incredibly slow, painfully slow, even. "It just seems like a hard, lonely road. She has all of these friends, but none of us really understands her daily life."

Lauren said, "I don't understand anyone's daily life. I can only really understand bits and pieces of someone else's life. All of us are lonely in our own skin, in some aspect. She's a happy and comfortable person. There' s no need to feel bad for her, Sam."

Sam decided to lie down for lunch. He was still in pain and just needed some rest. When he went into the back room, he tenderly set himself on the bed and tried to set in the least painful position. His phone rang and it was Puck. He hit the ignore button with all of the might of his finger and slammed the phone onto the little nightstand next to the small bed, harder than he intended. He heard it buzzing and knew it was a text. He elected not to even look at it, because no matter what Puck had to say, he knew he didn't want to receive it. That and he was in too much pain to be dealing with that jackass.

Mercedes left for lunch, surprised not to feel Sam fall in step with her or following closely behind. Then again, after everything that happened, she understood why he might keep his distance. Puck didn't tell Quinn what he and Sam discussed, but Quinn saw Sam push Puck against the bus and Puck laugh. Now, Puck was texting and calling every hour, claiming that he was sorry for what he'd said to Mercedes and for upsetting Sam. So… Mercedes, being Mercedes forgave him, but the hurt was still there, and the anger was too.

Puck had been drinking, it was obvious from the way that he sounded on the phone. Damn him for breaking again. What could've been so bad that he threw away five consecutive months without a drink, seven months without actually becoming drunk? He came off of the elevator leaning on Quinn's shoulders and crying. Quinn was glad that Mercedes couldn't see this pitiful image of her guy being a drunken mess, but she knew that it still hurt her to know. Mercedes asked, "What happened to him?" Puck flopped down onto the couch and slid right off, onto the floor.

Quinn whispered, "We found out that Finn's going to have to go to Afghanistan for about six months. They talked on the phone about it, and shortly afterwards, Puck was at my door, halfway to this point, with bottles of liquor in his pockets."

"Have you been drinking, too?" Mercedes asked.

"I'm not drunk if that's what you're asking. I had a couple of drinks. I mean, my man is being sent into a warzone in a few weeks," Quinn sassed.

Mercedes felt extremely guilty. "I'm sorry, Girl. Come here and hug my neck." She wrapped her arms around her friends and Quinn began crying. "It's okay. It'll be okay."

"We can't know that," Quinn said.

Puck called out, "He's gonna get killed, you know that, right? Finn is not cut out for the ARMY, much less for Afghanistan!" Puck said.

"Shut up, Puck!" Quinn squealed, letting go of Mercedes to fuss at him. She held her head and said, "I'm gonna make some coffee, if that's alright, Cedes…" she went into the kitchen without a response and Mercedes followed the scent of liquor to Puck, tripped over him and landed on top of him.

"That's what I'm talking about!" he cheered and grabbed a handful of her butt cheek.

"Puck…" she said, a little annoyed. "Look – I know that you're upset about Finn, but let's have some faith. You saying stuff like that is gonna break Quinn. She's emotional enough. Try to be sensible."

"Anything for you, Sexy Mama," he said and kissed her neck.

"Puck…"

"What?" He snapped, becoming angry. "Why can't I touch you?"

"You aren't touching me, you are groping me, and you are so drunk that I feel like I'm getting there on the fumes alone." She pulled herself out of his grasp and tried to get up. "Puck, let go."

"Fine!" He groaned and put his hands up. "God, I can't even get a sympathy screw from a blind chick tonight," he mumbled.

Mercedes stood up and asked, "What did you say? A blind chick? That's it? That's who I am?"

"You know I didn't mean it like that, Mercedes," he said, pulling himself up to finally actually sit on the couch. "Come sit on me. I wanna touch you."

"Are you serious? Like I would want you touching me after you say something like that to me.." She took a deep breath and reminded herself that he was drunk and it would be simple-minded to fuss with him right now.

"There are so many chicks that would love to be in your place tonight, ain't that right, Quinnie?" He yelled out.

"How about you eat a dick, Puck?" Quinn called from the kitchen.

"How about you do it? Mercy's on her high horse again. Team Saint. Team Virgin!" He yelled out. Mercedes moved towards him, ready to hit him, but she heard Quinn's footsteps enter the room and a smack across his head. "Hey!" Puck said, "She knows that I'm just picking," he said and popped Quinn on the backside, earning himself another smack. "Stop it!" Quinn glared at him and left the room again.

Quinn went into the bathroom and when Mercedes heard the door shut, she asked, "Why are you being so mean to me, Puck? I care about Finn, too. I know that I don't know him as well as you guys, but he is my best friend's boyfriend and my boyfriend's best friend and I love him like family. I want to be here for you." She reached out to touch him and asked, "Why is your shirt off?"

"Let's go in the bedroom, Babe. It's a rough night and I just wanna lay down and be with you," he said.

"Puck, we've had this discussion before… Even if I was in the mood, I don't like being alone with you when you're drunk. You don't listen and you're too rough." Mercedes said.

"It's not like I'd rape you or anything, why do you always have to make me feel like an asshole?" Puck asked, starting to cry. "I can never do anything right. If I want to touch you or hold you or make love to you, you treat me like a predator and if I just want you near me, you act like I'm gonna try something on you. You think very lowly of me. You think that I'm a trashy drunk."

Mercedes replied, keeping her voice as cool as she could, despite the rise in her temperature and the aching in her head and heart. "When you're drunk, you say things like that. When you're sober, you say the opposite. I don't like drunken conversations with you, because you make me feel bad."

They heard the elevator and Rachel stepped off, immediately talking, "Mercedes, I wanted to be sure to be here in a time that would allow us to reach our destination with several minutes to spare. Kurt and Blaine are waiting in the car and you do not look ready. This isn't even the outfit that we decided on. Mercedes!" She covered her nose suddenly and said, "What is that? Oh my God! Is Noah Puckerman drinking again? Puckerman…"

"Leave it," Quinn said, finally coming out of the bathroom. "Finn's going to Afghanistan and he's taking it a little hard." Rachel could see that Quinn had been crying, and her own eyes began to water, for Finn. She and Finn weren't close, but she adored him. The few times that they had been around each other, they connected. It took her heavy concentration to see him as someone else's boyfriend, because she liked so much about him that she secretly wished that she could have met him before Quinn did.

"Finn is going into…" She blinked the tears away and said, "Mercedes, I understand of you don't want to come to the show with us." She took both of Mercedes' hands into hers and swung them from side to side in an effort to cheer her up with some human contact.

Quinn simply said, "No, she's bought her ticket and the four of you have been waiting for this now for months." She went into the kitchen to pour herself and Puck some coffee, came back and handed him his as she watched him stare at Mercedes, wondering if she would actually abandon him on a night like this.

"My dads are meeting us there," Rachel said, hopefully urging Mercedes to come to the show, as she knew Mercedes loved her some Leroy and Hiram. The assistant/friend quickly went into Mercedes bedroom and retrieved the outfit set up on the single rack and suggested, "Quinn and Puck have known each other for years. I'm sure that he'll be fine in her hands, tonight." She handed Mercedes her clothes and said, "Time is of the essence, Mercedes. This town may never again see an all drag off Broadway street performance of Wicked."

"I'm not gonna see it tonight," Mercedes complained as she snatched the clothes.

"Of course you will, my darling. You'll see it with your ears and mind, with my fathers narrating every single action taking place." She cupped Mercedes' face and kissed her nose. Mercedes reluctantly rushed to get dressed and left with her friend. While she knew that she wanted to go, she also felt bad about leaving Puck and Quinn at a time like this. On the other hand, she could hardly deal with Puck when he was drunk and just being plain mean and hurtful. But then again, he would just be the same way to Quinn, and Quinn certainly didn't need that… She was relieved when they all finally got together. Rachel kept her arms wrapped around Mercedes from behind as Mercedes was "her date" and she knew that Mercedes could use a good holding after having to put up with any period of time with a drunk Noah Puckerman.

When Mercedes came back, Puck was asleep in a tub full of water. She helped pick him up and settle him in the bed, soaking the entire thing. Rachel would have to change the covers in the morning. As for her, she slept on the couch and of course was none the wiser, until two months later.

The rift between Mercedes and Puck had been formed, and she had only just recently realized that they had been holding on to the seams, and stretching themselves thin trying to do it. There would be no more of that. She was ready to let go. No, she had let go. She forgave Puck, but she would not continue to be his favorite caged pet. She was ready to celebrate her first birthday as a real person, in six years.

Sam called Mercedes in the morning, before Lauren or Quinn even arrived at the shop. (He knew that she would be awake and hoped that she would answer her phone). "Good morning, Sam," she answered and he immediately broke into the happy birthday song. When he was finished, she said, "Sam, I didn't realize that you could sing. I better hear a song from you at the karaoke party."

"I promise you will, but I wanted to take you out this morning, before all of your long time friends get a hold of you and I don't get to see you again until karaoke."

"Well, there are already breakfast plans, but you are willing to come along with us."

"I guess so," he said, sadly.

"I don't have lunch plans, if you could settle for that?" She suggested.

"Ok!" He said more cheerfully, "But.. I might catch a ride with you to breakfast, too. I forgot to eat last night."

"What were you doing that you forgot to eat?" She wondered.

"You'll find out," he told her.

Sam was shocked to see Puck at the birthday breakfast, which took up a couple of tables inside of the place and was loud and a little crowded for Sam's liking. BUT, he was seated right next to Mercy and could think of no better place to be. This was her day and she seemed as though she was going to live it up, the entire day. That pleased him. He didn't even realize the way he was gazing at her with a small smile until Lauren snapped a picture of the two of them on her phone and showed it to him across the table. "Text it to me," he whispered. She read his lips and moments later, his phone buzzed, and he saved it as the image to come up when she called him. The photo of them asleep near each other was his wallpaper.

After breakfast, Mercedes wanted to keep up with her routine of jogging, but Quinn had an appointment with Beth's teacher, so Sam offered to go with his lady friend. He noticed Puck's eyes twitch, slightly when it was suggested, but Puck didn't respond. In fact, he couldn't remember Puck saying a single word the entire breakfast, but he wasn't paying much attention to anyone else but the newly 24 year old seated next to him. They left the place together and walked back to the shop to get the dogs, then walked to the park for the jog.

"I made contact with a couple of people from my list," Sam said. "I've decided to go in order of reverse importance. Like, I started with the people that I called out of their names or talked badly about, first. They pretty much were cool about what had happened between me and them – excusing it because we were all kids. It's the more serious ones that I'm kinda worried about." And "kinda" was an understatement. The only thing that Lauren would share with him from the secret ladies meeting were some excellent points made by Santana – and Sam had already thought of exactly those things before it was even mentioned to him.

He worried about Mercedes' being near him, but he respected her as a woman with a choice and she had chosen his friendship, despite what may come. He would be lying if he said that he wanted her to stay away from him, even if to be safer… but he wanted her to do what she wanted to do, because he saw her friends try to dissuade her from just that, on a daily basis, even sometimes with small things. He could always tell when they were making her feel sheltered and insulted. They couldn't, because they had been doing it to her so long that it was common policy to treat her like the resident child (despite the fact that she was the most mature of everyone in the group, or at least in his opinion).

"Well, be brave – I know that you can do it. The fact that you're taking the time to try is one of the most admirable things that I've ever known someone to do. Don't let anything discourage you, Sam. You have a big heart and once you get all of this stuff off of it, you'll be able to follow it anywhere." She said, breathily, with a smile across her adorable face.

By lunch time, Sam rushed to Mercedes with a bag and said, "Look at this," when he took something out of it and put it in her hands.

She felt it for a moment and said, "Is it a mask?"

"Yes. It is a sleep mask. It covers up your eyes so that light and stuff won't bother you and I think it has some other therapeutic purpose too."

"Did you get this for me?" She asked confused.

"Don't get ahead of me, Mercy," he said. He handed her a long piece of cloth and said, "It's a blindfold."

"If this is supposed to mean something, I suggest you give me the short version, because I;m starting to feel like you're poking fun at me," she said with a grunt or a laugh, neither could tell what the sound was.

"I want you to put this on me," he said, then turned and kneeled in front of her. "The mask you can slide over my head, I'll help you."

"Why do you want me to put this on you?" She wondered, though her breath was already leaving her with what the answer might be, she could have NEVER guessed the next words to come out of him.

Sam stood up and looked at her with his hands on her shoulders and told her, "Because you're blind, day in and day out, everyone's always trying to direct you somewhere, like you don't know where you're going. No one ever really thinks about what it might be like to be you or to be like you and have all of these people around who think that they love you equally, but they don't because they're scared to. I want to endure what you have to endure and I'll depend on you to lead me, because I believe in you, and I know that you're capable." He turned again and kneeled and Mercedes placed the mask on his head, feeling around to see that it was secure, then tied the blindfold on him.

"You've obviously never heard of what happens when the blind leads the blind," Mercedes joked, but she had already cataloged this as the best present that she had ever received. Now, neither of them could see the way that all of the ladies in the shop were looking at them. Quinn and Santana walked from two different places in the shop and when they met, looked at each other, then at their friend.

"Kissy, purse!" Sam called. Mercedes laughed as the dog came along. She grabbed her purse and her handle and handed Sam Cluster's leash. Sam still had his bag tucked under his other arm and Mercy latched on to the arm which held Cluster.

"Walk straight, Sam. You're veering to the left."

"Am I really? It doesn't feel like... Shit!" He bumped into the bar and knocked over a stool. Lauren quickly rushed to get it out of the way. "Am I clear, guys?" he asked, a little worried. When given affirmation, they began to walk again.

Sam planned lunch at the pond, under her favorite tree, with music and scented candles and her favorite lunch of tots and tea. He felt all through the bag, as she kept her hands over his eyes, even though he was blindfolded, he wanted to show her that he wasn't cheating. It was not easy AT ALL for him to do simple tasks like light candles, but she helped to guide his hands and after a while, the two sat, listening to music, eating and talking. "This is the most beautiful thing that anybody has ever done for me, Sam."

"I didn't want to come on too strong, but I couldn't help it. I really wanted to give you this experience and I wanted to live this experience with you. I'm kinda trying to prove a point."

"That is?"

"I don't care what our differences are. If there's a way to reconcile 'em – I'm gonna figure it out and I'm gonna fight to make it happen." He reached all around and accidentally rubbed her head, until she guided his hands to her face. She moved his hands over the surface of it, as she would if she was trying to see someone's face with her hands. He smiled, and commented, "You are so beautiful, to me. Do you remember what I look like?" he asked.

To that, she placed her hands on his face and examined him, getting a feel for him, all over again… but this time, he looked different than he did when she first met him. For one thing, he was cleaned up and had shorter hair, but most importantly, the way that his face was... it was like… the way that he looked at her had changed. Mercedes scooted closer to him and rested her head on his shoulder and could honestly say that this was the first time in a long time that she was held by a man who actually made her feel like a woman.