Ello! Thank you for your reviews for the previous chapter, my loves. I just wanted you guys to know, I'm busy working on a new chapter for Our Story (hopefully it will be done by the end of the week). The new chapter has like three sentences but, hey it's a start. I am really gonna push myself to update that story again before I continue with this one.

I cannot remember whom, but somebody asked me to do a one shot and using the song 'At Last' by Etta James as inspiration for my Samcedes Song One Shots. I know it has been a super long time but I finally found the perfect little moment to incorporate the song into. I decided to use it in one of my flashbacks rather than adding it to my one shot collection.

I didn't add my signature family times side note (or whatever you call it) to the end of this chapter because I wanted to end this chapter with the flashback and leave you guys with that particular moment and feeling engraved into your minds until the next update.

Disclaimer: The characters, except Aria, belong to their creators and FOX studios. All that is mine is the writing. The song is by Etta James. I make no profit off any of this.

"Hey, you're early," Mercedes said as she made way for her tall friend to enter her home. "I haven't even ordered the pizza yet. You do know that by dinner I meant a pizza and not some full course meal, right? I was not in the mood to cook."

Matt gave her a grin studying the small apartment.

"Where's Cinnamon Bun?"

"In the bath, probably flooding the place as we speak," Mercedes said leading him to her kitchen before continuing making hors d'oeuvres for her guests. "So, why are you so early?"

"Why do I have the feeling you don't want me in your house?" Matt joked.

"And here I was trying to be subtle about it."

An amused grin planted itself on his face. His caramel skin bathed under the soft lights seemed to be glowing, Mercedes noted.

Matt sighed.

"I'm actually here because I need to say something and I need to say it before I lose my nerve."

Mercedes looked up from the food she was preparing once she heard the weightiness hidden in his voice, adorable confusion written on her face at the sudden change of tone. Matt could not help but smile a nervous smile, overwhelmed with emotion and fear of rejection.

"What's up?"

"I-I." He searched for the right words.

He was a man who survived war and here he was stumbling over his words, terrified of her reply whilst he was a man who faced bullets and the possibility of dying. He took a deep breath.

"Puck told me Aria's dad is back in the picture," Matt said.

He chose to change his tactic. It would be wise to fist gather intelligence before announcing his feelings for her. He needed to know if he had an even playing field before he said words that could change the course of their friendship for better…or worse.

"Yeah, he is," Mercedes said focusing her attention back on her food.

"Why didn't you tell me?"

She looked up from the knife in her hands.

"The last time we actually got time to talk was three months ago, the day we Skyped on my birthday. A lot can happen in three months, Matt." Mercedes said before continuing chopping away.

"Do you still have feelings for him?" Matthew asked trying to sound nonchalant but failing.

"It's been nearly five years, Matt," Mercedes said avoiding his gaze and letting him interpret the answer for himself. She refused to answer with a 'no' because deep down she knew she'd be lying but she also refused to answer 'yes' because she refused to acknowledge the part of her soul that longed to forget what happened between them and fall into his arms yet again.

"So, no?" Matt asked. "So you don't feel anything when he's around?"

"I feel guilt," Mercedes said before biting her cheek's flesh.

"Guilt?"

She nodded.

"Sam may have hurt me. I may not like him much but that does not change the fact that he adores Aria and she adores him. I feel guilty for having robbed them both from getting to know each other," Mercedes said. "She gets so excited, more than she already is by nature, when he's around. I swear she loves him more than she loves me, and I'm not even gonna lie, I'm jealous." She paints a soft smile on her face. "Aria's happy and that's all that counts. So if I have to swallow spending time with Samuel Evans for her to be happy then I will. Her happiness is all that counts."

"You're really an amazing mother, you know," he said seriously.

Mercedes raised a brow with a confused smile written on her lips as she studies the tall man.

"Okay, what do you want?"

"I don't want anything. I'm just honest."

Mercedes rolls her eyes.

"What's going on here, Matt?"

He took a deep breath, deciding to lay his feelings bare. He looked into her dark big orbs before speaking.

"I think I may be falling in love with you."

There was deafening silence in the room for a few awkward seconds.

"What?"

"I think I may be falling in love with you," he repeats nervously. "No, I'm lying; I am in love with you."

Mercedes was beyond confused now.

"I don't understand, Matthew. This is the first time in nearly eight months we have seen each other face to face and now you tell me you are falling for me? I don't get it."

He sighed scratching the back of his shaved head as he made his way to her on the other side of the kitchen island.

"It started before I was deployed back to Iraq," he explained looking down at her as he stood in front of her. "I don't know how but years of friendship turned into something more and before I could explore the possibility, I had to go overseas again." He took a deep breath feeling his heart rate accelerate in his chest. "Over there, I spent a lot of time thinking about you. Being away from your loved ones, seeing death and sorrow around you it can drive you crazy…it can make you hopeless. But every time depression tried to overcome me and I felt like giving up I imagined everything I still wanted to say and do when I come home to keep hope alive." Emotion shone in his dark eyes. "I realized the fragility of life over there and I promised myself if I survive and come back that I would tell you how I feel about you."

Mercedes was left speechless and numb by the confession. A feather could knock her over.

With nothing but pure valor in his blood, he placed his palm against her warm cheek.

"I'm in love with you Mercedes Jones."

"I-I-I," Mercedes searched for words but came up empty as she tried wrapping her mind around his words.

"I need to go check on Aria."

She tried leaving but he gently wrapped a hand around her wrist stopping her mid-step.

"Mercedes-"

"Matt, I- I can't."

His expression fell.

"You don't feel the same?"

"No...I mean yes...I don't know." she immediately said seeing anxiety written in his eyes. Mercedes was not a blind woman; Mathew was a good-looking man but she never explored the option of being more than friends with him before. She had live the life of a nun for those past few years after Sam Evans. God and her family was all she focused on.

"It's just that…this is a bad time, Matt."

"It's been nearly five years, Mercedes. You said so yourself."

She sighed.

"Or do you still have feelings for him? Is that what's still holding you back?"

"No," she automatically said. She ignored her differing heart. "It's just Sam being back…I still have to adjust. And being in relationship with someone else will just confuse Aria. I just…I can't right now." Her eyes stayed glued to his warm hand around her wrist. "I'm not ready for a relationship."

"Mercedes, I adore Aria. It's not like you're introducing her to a complete stranger." He placed his palm on her cheek making her look at him so that she could see the sincerity in her eyes. "You're in shock, I get it. I'll give you some time to think about it and weigh your options. Aren't you sick of being alone; I know I am."

Before Mercedes could reply, a loud knock came from the door. Matthew let go of her stepping out of her personal bubble.

"I'm hungry Mercedes, open up!"

Puck's muffled words broke the cloud of intimate tension. Both decided to pretend like the past few minutes did not happen for the sake of their friends for tonight.

"Look, Daddy, he has dots," Aria said pulling her father after her.

On either side of the small aisle, housing dogs varying in size and breeding, barked in their cages. The smell of wet dog hung in the air making Mercedes pull a face. Aria could care less she was too busy in search of the perfect pet from the animal shelter- Sam's idea, of course.

She followed behind her little girl who now had half of he face wedged between the bars of cage housing a thin Dalmatian nearly twice her size, giggling as the dog liked her nose and forehead.

"He likes you," the female animal shelter worker said before focusing her attention on Sam with a more than friendly smile, Mercedes noted. It made her feel some kind of way but she was in no mood to do soul searching so she swallowed her unease and focused her attention on the Chihuahua in the cage next to her. "She's adorable. Those bog green eyes like her daddy's probably lets her get away with murder. I've always been a sucker for green eyes."

Mercedes, who chose to look away, could however not magically turn off her hearing making her hear the not subtle attempt at flirting.

"She got her beauty from her mom," Sam said.

Mercedes could feel his gaze on her as he spoke but she chose to ignore it and pretend that Chico the Chihuahua was the most fascinating thing on planet earth.

"Are you together because according to news paper articles…"

Mercedes quickly decided she did not to hear this nor did she want her child to hear. She mentally rolled her eyes at the girl for not being able to have the common sense to know what conversations were acceptable and which were improper to be having in the presence of a child.

"Ari, look at the doggy there," Mercedes said quickly making her way towards Aria as she pointed to the three-legged pug excitedly jumping. She took her hand and made way to the animal. Aria looked over her shoulder waving goodbye to her canine friend.

"Mommy, he has a round belly like Grandpa," Aria said causing a light giggle from Mercedes, who was trying her best not to look back since she was now out of earshot from the two figures she left behind.

The dog immediately made his way to Aria, excitedly wagging its tail, as it liked her hand.

"Mommy, where is the doggy's other leg?"

"I don't know, baby."

Aria looked over to her dad and the woman painting an innocent look on her face as she bit her lips staring at him through a veil of thick brown lashes as she twirls her hair around her finger.

"Miss Dog Lady, where did the doggy's other leg go?" Aria asked.

There was a small part of Mercedes that was overjoyed by the annoyance written on the woman's face, but if one ever asked, Mercedes would deny it.

"That's a very good question, Ari. What happened to the dog's legs?" Mercedes asked just for the sake of annoying the girl, whom Mercedes guessed was probably still a teenager or who just reached her twenties.

She pained a fake tight-lipped smile on her pale face and made her way over to the mother-daughter duo.

"He was very sick, so the vet had to cut his leg off," the woman said in a gentle tone.

Aria looked at her mother.

"Mommy, what is a 'vet'?"

"A vet is a doctor for animals, baby."

Accepting Mercedes' answer, she focused her attention back to the girl and started firing questions:

"Why did the vet cut the doggy's leg of? I get sick to but the doctor doesn't cut my leg off…Did it hurt when they cut his legs off?... Why doesn't his leg grow back…Where do doggy's come from... When do you know if it is a boy or a girl dog...? Why is the doggy in the jail, did he do something bad..."

Mercedes grinned in amusement as the girl- Tiffany, her nametag said, scrambled for answers as the four year-old assaulted her with question. She felt Sam's presence behind her before he spoke.

"She's really smart for her age. I guess she gets that from her Mom too," Sam whispered in her ear causing her heart to leap in her chest for a second or two before returning to its normal heart rate.

"You need to stop."

"It was just a general observation."

Mercedes rolled her eyes.

"So, how was dinner with 'Mattie'?" He tried too hard sounding nonchalant, Mercedes noted.

Mercedes raised a brow glancing at him over her shoulder.

"Is that jealousy I detect?"

Sam shrugged painting a lopsided grin on his face.

"I won't deny; I don't like how he looks at you."

Mercedes rolls her eyes.

"You have no room for jealousy." She straightened her spine. "Now, leave me alone before your new girlfriend gets upset."

"New girlfriend?"

She deepens her voice trying out an impression of him.

"It was just a general observation."

"You make me sound like a dumb blonde Miami suffer."

"You're blonde, you were born in Miami before your parents moved to Tennessee when you were a few months old, and you can surf," Mercedes said rolling her eyes.

Sam grins placing a hand on his heart

"You know me so well." He winks at her before changing the subject. "But on a serious note, do I have competition?"

"I'm not a game, Samuel."

He leaned over her shoulder whispering in her ear. His breath fanned her earlobe tickling fine hairs.

"I know, but your heart is my prize."

He walked away from her towards Aria who somehow progressed from dog-related queries to 'what are rainbows made off?' He decided to save the girl from further quizzing.

"Aria, have you seen a dog you want?"

She nodded.

"Yes, Daddy…" Hearing her refer to him as 'Daddy' still made his heart skip several beats. "…I want this doggy. I'm gonna call him Barbie."

"But Barbie is a girl's name and he's a boy dog."

"I have a boy name and I'm a girl," Aria said with a frown.

Sam grinned at the smart retort. For the sake of feminism, he let her name the dog Barbie; if she could go through life with a dead guy's name surely a dog could go through life with a female name. Sam was all for equal rights.

"You, know what, I like the name Barbie too," Sam said. "We'll take him."

Sam was annoyed. Sam was annoyed out of his mind. It seems Matt had all the females in the Jones family wrapped around his pinkie. They all flocked to him; even Esther and Esther did not like anyone.

He watched Matt conversing with Mercedes' grinning mother and Esther, who seemed to have made peace, while Aria was sitting on his shoulders lightly tapping his shaven head pretending that he was a drum. Mercedes stood off to the side talking to two men.

Sam recognized the taller muscular man as Mercedes' landlord and friend the infamous 'Puck'. The other thinner man was grinning as he explained something with his hands. His dreadlocks were tamed on top of his head with a scarf making him look like a hippie.

"I can't remember the last time I've been at a church function," Blaine said next to him as he rubbed his arms uncomfortably.

Mercedes' church members were having a fundraiser; there was music, slides, people selling foods and sweets all trying to make money for the church, which Sam was here today to do as well. Yes, Sam was not a part of her church but he decided to give a helping hand in the hopes for earning some points with Mercedes' family. So, if that meant he had to paint butterflies and pandas on a bunch of kid's faces, he would do so. He could just give a large donation but it seems most of the men in her family (her brothers who would only glare at him if they found him in the soup kitchen) thought his head was up his ass…so he really needed some brownie points today.

He decided to drag Blaine along so that he could at least have one friend in the land of the foreigners.

"Being gay kinda makes church people look at you differently," Blaine said scanning the sea of multi-racial faces, waiting for judgmental gazes to drift his way. There were no judgmental gazes thrown his way. Nope, they were aimed at Sam.

"I'm the infamous one between the two of us. I was the guy who took their pastor's daughter's innocence and everybody knows it." Sam said adjusting his hand holding his face-painting supplies. He looked away from Mercedes back to Blaine. "And Mercedes has this gay friend who comes for the church's social events and she says they don't treat him weirdly. Plus, it's one of those progressive 'come as you are everybody is welcome' kinda churches. So, chill out, you won't be stoned to death…me on the other hand…I'm not so sure of-"

"Samuel?"

Sam turned to the sound of the voice to find Mercedes' father dressed in casual clothes.

"Hey Pastor Jones," Sam said as the man reached him with a woman holding a clipboard against her chest. "This is my friend Blaine. He's gay."

Blaine gave him a look before offering his hand for the sturdy man to shake.

"Nice meeting you, Blaine," the man said before tuning his focus back on Sam. "Alison will show where your stand will be."

Before Sam could try small talk and earn some points, the man walked away when one of his congregation members called his name.

"You can follow me," the young blonde-haired woman said turning on the balls of her feet.

"Really? Why did you do that?" Blaine hissed under his breath as they followed the pretty blonde girl.

Sam shrugged.

"You were feeling all awkward about it, so I just said it so everybody could know you are gay and you can stop acting like you're about to die a Biblical death."

"I don't like you. Why didn't you just bring Santana-" Sam raised a brow. "-Okay, Mike then. Why didn't you bring Mike?"

"His in-laws are visiting from Korea."

The girl led them to an open space with a table and two chairs under the shade of a tree before disappearing. Next to the open space, he found Mercedes' youngest bother sitting behind a booth with a variety of sweets behind him and a cotton candy machine.

Sam gave a polite hello but the brown teenager raised a brow before adjusting on the seat before focusing his attention on the comic book in his hands.

"Well, that was cold."

"Shut up, Blaine."

Blaine smirked and helped him unpack his supplies and placed his board with the words 'Face Painting $2' in front of the table. After they were done, a familiar face made her way closer.

Sam introduced the two strangers to one another.

"Mercedes, this is Blaine, he's gay."

Blaine of course glared at him before greeting her.

"You're cute," Mercedes said studying Blaine from head to toe for a few seconds. "Fashionable, good taste in cologne; you don't have a mono-brow. How do you feel about musicals and lady gaga?"

"Uhm…they are nice," Blaine said, confusion ringing in his voice.

"Are you single?"

"He's gay," Sam quickly threw in.

Mercedes rewarded him with an eye roll as Blaine said 'Yes'.

"Why did you just ask me that?"

"I like playing cupid, is all."

"Yeah, for everybody but your family, that is," Dante threw in from the side-lines as Mercedes rolled her eyes.

"She's married, 'Tay." Mercedes said making her way her brother who was eavesdropping.

"She wasn't when we met. I could have been Mr. Rachel Berry now if you just decided to be a good wing woman."

Mercedes gives her brother a look, before she can reply though with something sarcastic her sister in-law makes an appearance.

"'Tay, Grandma Evelyn is looking for you."

Dante groans before disappearing into the stalls in search of his grandmother.

"Sam," Ava says politely.

"Hey,"

"Glad to see you in the land of the conscious."

A crimson blush paints itself on his face as he averts his eyes from the light brown woman whose eyes shone with mirth. Ava was not done though; she wanted to see the type of reaction she could get from Sam if she played dirty.

"I see Matt's looking all hot these days."

"You're married, what would your husband say," Mercedes said knowing what she was trying to do.

Her sister in-law rolled her eyes.

"Just because I'm married don't mean I can't appreciate a rugged, tall, toffee-colored soldier when I see one. Don't you agree, Mercedes or are you more of a white chocolate kinda girl?" She joked as Mercedes sighed in irritation.

She glanced at Sam's face to see him staring at Mercedes' trying to decipher hidden messages in her expression. His jaw was clenched.

Oh how Ava was enjoying this.

" Ava, where are your children?"

Ava stopped before taking another drink of her Coke.

'That was a good question.

"I need to go find my babies before they get kidnapped."

"If they're anything like their mother, trust me the kidnappers will bring them back in a matter of minutes!" Mercedes called after the woman.

"I wonder if Matt's abs tastes like fudge! Do they Mercedes?" She said with a smirk over her shoulder quickly gazing at Sam to see he was red in the face.

"I hate you!"

A cloud of awkward silence filled space. Blaine quickly excused himself with an excuse of needing to buy tickets so Sam could have change once his mini customers arrived.

"Are you together?" Sam asks.

"What's it to ya?" Mercedes says avoiding his gaze

"Mercedes."

He sounded like he was begging for more information. She decided to give it to him. If you ask her she would say it was because she was in no mood for hurt and confused puppy looks. Deep down, however, she wanted him to be jealous.

"Yes."

That's a lie.

"No…I don't know." Mercedes said honestly.

She was the one who said she needed time to think about it. It was all in her hands but something was holding her back.

"You don't know?" Sam repeated.

"Are you deaf, Sam?" Mercedes asked with a sigh. The tone in her voice told him to drop it. …He did not.

"Are you two having…you know?"

Yes, it was hypocritical of him but the idea of Mercedes with someone else…it did things to him. It did murderous things. Yes, he was aware that he sounds like a behemoth that marked its territory and, yes, it was her body but she was his. He was her first, he was supposed to be her only and last.

"Did you just ask me that?" Mercedes deadpanned. "That's none of your business, Sam. You can't really judge, now can you?" She snapped. She took a deep calming breath. "Look, my personal life is none of your business; just like yours is none of mine."

Before Sam could reply, he spotted Matt out of the corner of his eye making his way towards Mercedes' table with Aria and another little girl. Once Aria spotted Sam she let go of the man's hand and ran towards him with an ice-cream cone in hand.

"Daddy, Whatcha doing?" She asked lifting her arms so he could pick her up.

"I'm going to paint faces, Princess." Sam said placing her on his hip. A part of him felt vindicated when he saw her immediately leave Matt's side to run to him

She offered him some of her strawberry swirl.

"I want a butterfly, please Daddy?"

He placed a gentle kiss on her cheek.

"Sure but you first have to finish your ice cream so it doesn't melt," Sam said. "Who is your little friend?"

"That's 'Kenzie, my cousin."

"Hi, Kenzie," Sam said to the shy girl who was sucking her thumb. "How old are you?"

She showed him three fingers before walking to her aunt and asking her to pick her up.

"Mackenzie's ice cream fell and the Petersen's are having trouble with their ice cream machine so I brought her for cotton candy," Matt told Mercedes after giving Sam a head nod as a greeting.

Mercedes kissed the brown girl's chubby cheeks before placing her on the ground and whispering in her ear. Mercedes handed her paper tickets and pointed towards Sam.

The little girl gave Sam the tickets.

"Misteh, I wanna tigeh."

Sam placed Aria back on the ground before placing the four tickets, each worth $1 into a small tin can. He helped McKenzie onto the chair and started painting her face while eaves dropping on the booth next to his.

"You've been ignoring me."

"I've been busy, is all," he heard her say. "And now isn't really the best time to talk about it." He could hear discomfort in her voice.

"You've been ignoring my calls. You avoid being alone with me. When can we talk?"

Sam noted that he sound annoyed.

"You said you'd give me space. Now drop it please," Mercedes said with the same amount of exasperated annoyance.

Sam smirked as he brushed orange paint on the girl's skin. The fact that there was already trouble in paradise pleased him to no end. Before Sam could bask in his vindictiveness further, a small crowd of children gathered with parents all waiting for a turn.

"You really did not need to drop me off," Mercedes told Blaine as she exited his car. "I could have gotten one of my brothers to take me home."

Her car just randomly decided to die on her a few days ago. It now stood in Burt Hummel's garage awaiting its fate. Mercedes could have it fixed but that would cost thousands of dollars she did not have.

Yeah, Sam paid child support but Mercedes was too proud to spend his money on anything or anyone other than Aria.

"Blaine shrugged. "I need to pass your place to drop Sam off anyway. Giving lifts to people is good for the environment."

Mercedes grinned under the lights in the parking lot. She liked Blaine

"Night Blaine."

"Night. Mercedes, it was nice meeting you."

Mercedes grabbed her purse and excited the car. She watched Sam tuck something under his arm before gently lifting Aria out of the car careful not to wake her. He closed the car door and followed Mercedes up the stairs until they reached her apartment.

Mercedes unlocked the door and stepped in blindly feeling the walls until she felt the light switch prickling the sensors under her skin.

"Down the hall on the left," she explained before Sam could ask where to lay her down.

Mercedes placed her purse and plastic bags full of goodies on the kitchen counter before quickly making her way to her room. She grabbed all the items she was looking for and walked back towards the living area to find Sam leaning against the counter.

"You should take your gifts back."

She actually wanted to give them back to him earlier but it would always slip her mind.

"Didn't your parents teach you it's rude to return gifts?"

She rolled her eyes placing the items of jewelry on the counter. She gave the chocolates to Aria.

"Sam, I'm serious. I don't want this."

"I got you another present," he said holding the wrapped flat object out to her.

"Sam-"

"Just open it, Mercedes." In his green eyes sincerity shone. "I know it's a little late since you're birthday was three months ago…but I thought you'd like it."

She took it. If one were to ask her why, she would say it was nothing but sheer curiosity but in all honesty, it was because as hard as she tried, she never could say no when he looked at her like that.

She unwrapped it to find Etta James' side-profile and the words 'At Last' written under her name in green. She bit her lip feeling a familiar and one of her most sacred memories tug on her heartstrings as she studied the vinyl record's cover.

"I have realized that if I want to win you back that fancy clothes and jewelry wouldn't do it. You never really cared much for those things. So, I'm going to use all our memories to my advantage to make you realize that what we had was special and real."

She closed her eyes as he whispered. It was funny that his voice alone could cause such a heavy and beautiful intimacy around them. She felt him move closer, she could feel his presence and warmth on her skin, she could taste his cologne on her lips, so sweet it made her mouth water.

He pressed his lips to her forehead. Mercedes swore her heart crumbled as his familiar lips touched her skin.

"You are still my At Last, Mercedes."

Without another word, he walked out of the apartment leaving her to her thoughts…

"What are you actually looking for?" Sam asked his girlfriend as he watched her fingers run over the old records as she studies each one.

"I'm just looking around," she answers.

The strong smell of freshly brewed coffee filled his senses. The retro record store was part of a coffee shop, which was now empty. The red walls were lined with framed records of The Beetles and other singers and bands Sam did not know. The atmosphere was quirky, old school and cute.

Sam watched her in her element searching for the old music society could not appreciate anymore. Mercedes was the kind of girl who always took pride in her appearance; she always planned every outfit the day before. But if Sam had to be honest he liked her more in modest clothes; like today. In nothing but a loose pair of Adidas sweatpants and one of his high school sport team hoodies her natural beauty shone demanding attention.

"You're staring again," Mercedes said not taking her eyes off the John Coltrane record in her hands.

"How can I not appreciate one of God's most beautiful creations?"

Immediately, familiar heat traveled to her cheeks.

"You're such a cornball, Sam Evans."

He grinned at her as he wrapped his arms around her waist pulling her back into his chest. He placed a soft sweet kiss under her ear.

"Oh you love it, Miss Jones."

Mercedes placed a hand on his arm lying back into him as she embarks on her search for vinyl in silence until she found a certain record that brought a cloud of nostalgia. A soft smile grows on her face as she studies the Etta James record.

"Etta James is my Gran-Gran's favorite singer. She and my grandpa danced on 'At Last' on their wedding day. When I was younger, my grandpa used to put her record on and teach me how to dance." She clutched the record to her chest lost in the memory. "It started when I was ten. I found a bunch of his old records in the basement and out of curiosity asked my grandpa to play them for me. He dusted off his record player and someway somehow, a tradition was born where he and I would dance to them and he would tell me stories of his youth. I used to step on his toes a lot but with years of practice I can finally dance now." Mercedes looked up at him over her shoulder feeling tears burn under her eyelids. "The Sunday before he died he was so sick and so weak but he somehow made it into that wheelchair and danced with me and then my grandma for the last time. That's my favorite memory of him; happy dancing with the love of his life for one last time." Mercedes wiped away tears. "I realized right there and then I wanted that love one day. I wanted that full beautiful love that last even after death; something forever."

Sam gave her a small smile. The emotion shining in her eyes made his heart tighten in his chest.

"Have you found it?"

She stood on the tip of her toes, placing her hand on the back of his neck pulling him down so their lips could meet for a second.

"Yeah, I think so."

He rested her forehead on hers for a few seconds just staring into her brown orbs shining with adoration so strong it left him breathless.

She straightened out of his arms, breaking their moment, and focused her attention to the woman behind the counter of the coffee/ record shop. The older woman, Sam guessed, look like she was a part of the hippie movement back in the day; judging by her round John Lennon inspired glasses and dyed shirt with a 'peace' sign necklace hanging from her neck. Her grey hair was in two braid half-hidden under a bandana.

"Miss, does your record player work?" Mercedes asked nodding towards the object resting in a corner.

"Yes, do you need some help?" The owner asked getting to her feet.

"No need, I know how to use it. I inherited my grandpa's player."

The woman smiled.

"Finally, a young person with culture. Maybe there is hope for this generation."

Mercedes grinned at the woman before making her way the vinyl record player. She loaded the vinyl and started the turntable. Mercedes memorized every song by list and skipped songs until she reached the song she wanted.

She closed her eyes as the familiar introduction started, a soft nostalgic smile painted on her face. The scuff texture that the vinyl record provides the song transported her back to her grandparents living room in the body of a ten year old.

"Dance with me?"

She can feel him near her; smell the soft whisper of his cologne engulfing her.

"In the middle of a coffee shop?" Sam asked.

"It's empty," Mercedes said slowly making her way towards him.

A dark blush sweeps over his face.

"I can't slow-dance. I have never slow danced before."

"Prom?"

"Junior prom was about the time my dad lost his job so I didn't have money to go to prom. And senior prom, I got food poisoning before the second song even started."

Mercedes slipped her hand into his before placing his free-hand on her lower back.

"Just close your eyes and listen to the music. Once you feel comfortable enough just take a step forward to the music. I'll follow your lead."

At last

My love has come along

My lonely days are over and life is like a song

Oh yeah.

Sam did what she told and listened to the words and tempo of the song as Mercedes rested her cheek against his chest gently swaying in place. He took a step forward, immediately causing Mercedes to take a step backward. He took another small step this time with his other leg.

At last

The skies above are blue

My heart was wrapped up in clover

The night I looked at you.

He could feel her hum against his chest as they glided between the empty chairs and tables. They were in a world of their own lost to the music, in place where there was no old woman or waiter and cook staring at them whilst clutching their chests at the sentiment of the moment.

I found a dream that I could speak to

A dream that I can call my own

I found a thrill to press my cheek to

A thrill I've never know, oh yeah.

You smiled, you smiled, oh and then the spell was cast

And here we are in Heaven

For you are mine

At last.

They swayed in one place until the music died down. Mercedes looks up at him through a veil of thick lashes.

"Sam?"

"Mmm?"

"You're my 'At Last," she whispered referring to every single lyric of the song.

He presses a kiss so soft and beautiful to her lips.

"And you're mine."

Any thoughts about this chapter?