"Mercy, we need you in five."
"Thanks, Nikki," Mercedes said quietly, giving her assistant a short nod in acknowledgment, and then shifting her apologetic gaze back to the screen where she'd been Skyping with Sam and Cameron. She'd planned to set aside at least an hour to speak to them, but her tight schedule had derailed that plan from the start. The projected hour had been cut to a rushed ten minutes right before her show.
"Baby," Mercedes began, already wincing at the disappointed quirk of Sam's lips. "I'm sorry," she finished weakly.
The frustrated resignation in his green eyes pierced her heart and she swallowed thickly at the sight of them. Their one-year old went on babbling from his place in Sam's lap, playing with his stuffed Captain America doll, oblivious to the tense mood between his parents.
"Just have a good show," Sam muttered, barely holding back a roll of his eyes. He mustered up a tight smile for her, but Mercedes had been with him long enough to know it wasn't genuine. She sighed and looked away from the screen, where Sam had turned his attention from her to Cameron.
All the previous times she'd been on tour, Sam had always had the flexibility in his schedule to join her. Even with her frequent shows and the work he brought along, those months they spent traveling from stop to stop were a bit like an extended vacation to them. The only thing that mattered was that they got to be together. No matter the adventure each new stop provided—and there were many—they had experienced it as one.
Although Mercedes had long ago upgraded from the rickety vans at the start of her career to a pretty swanky tour bus after her first record exploded, she hadn't wanted to subject Cameron to life on the road—being cooped up in a bus, going from town to town, and struggling to keep any kind of regular schedule. This unfortunately meant that Sam stayed behind as well, as neither of them thought it was a good idea that Cameron be without both of them for three months.
She had thought she was ready for this. When the subject of touring to support her album had come up earlier that year, the three months she would have to go away from her family hadn't really registered. She even remembered stupidly saying, "It's only twelve weeks," the night she came home from her meeting and told Sam about the label's plans. Sensing her excitement over the opportunity, he'd put on a brave face.
As she sat facing her upset husband, a mere five weeks into the tour, she couldn't fathom what she had been thinking. She missed them both terribly and her constant busy schedule only made matters worse.
It had all started out well enough. They'd gotten in their nightly Skype sessions, texted throughout the day and spoke whenever she had a free minute. It wasn't the same as being together in person, but it eased the void.
Those free minutes got fewer and far between as the tour rolled on, however, and things had started to go downhill from there. Each new city required more attention, more energy, more time, and Mercedes soon found there weren't enough hours in the day for everything she needed to do.
Before long, she was struggling to stay awake during the Skype sessions that got pushed back later and later after her shows. The texts shifted from exchanging funny anecdotes about Cameron or their day, and flirting between the two of them, to apologies, postponements and promises to call when she had a minute.
Her free time was nearly non-existent, having fallen victim to interviews, press junkets, and local promotional events.
Before Mercedes knew it, she was starting to go entire days without actually speaking to Sam, without seeing her son, and everything seemed to be spiraling beyond her control.
"Sam," she tried again, smiling sadly as she watched him place a raspberry kiss onto their son's head. Cameron giggled at the contact and turned his bright smile up to his father. Sam dropped another kiss to his son's forehead and Cameron squealed, whacking Sam in the head with the doll he was holding.
Mercedes watched them interact, the sad smile still tugging at her lips. She'd never missed them more. She usually enjoyed watching them together, but right then she felt like an outsider. It was heartbreaking.
"Tell your mommy goodnight," Sam said, not looking up at the camera. His tone was a bit curt and Mercedes rolled her eyes in frustration, swallowing back the lump in her throat.
"Bye, Mommy," Cameron said sweetly with a little wave, before turning his attention back to the Captain America figure he held.
"We'll speak to you again…whenever you have time for us?" Sam asked and Mercedes recoiled as if she'd been slapped.
"Sam, that is not fair," she said quietly. "I didn't expect it to be like this. I'm trying."
Sam's jaw tightened as he took in her hurt expression and he lowered his gaze again.
"Don't be mad at me," Mercedes said in the same quiet tone. "It's already bad enough without y'all here with me. I can't take you being mad at me, too."
Sam blew out a breath, his expression a mix of remorse and sadness when he looked back up at her. "I'm not mad," he told her. "I'm sorry I said that. I know it's not your fault. I'm just not used to this. I miss you like crazy."
"I miss you, too," Mercedes in a low whisper. She didn't trust herself to speak any louder, knowing she'd cry if she did.
Sam opened his mouth to speak, but Nikki appeared again. "Mercy, you're supposed to be on right now. Is everything alright?"
"Uh…yeah. Just give me—," Mercedes started to say, but Sam cut her off.
"Just go, babe. Duty calls. Have a great show." She looked up at the camera just in time to see Sam's sad smile as he picked up Cameron's hand and made the baby wave to the camera. Seconds later, he disconnected the call.
Mercedes said nothing as Nikki squeezed her shoulder comfortingly. Taking another moment to collect her thoughts, she plastered a smile on her face and headed for the stage.
36 hours later...
Mercedes had had enough! She hung up the phone as yet another call went straight to Sam's voicemail, squeezing the life out of her phone with a frustrated growl. 36 hours! It had been 36 hours since she'd last spoken to Sam. 36 hours she'd been left to wonder where the hell he was—not a video chat, not a call, not a fucking reply to a text. She was officially panicking.
She'd even called Mike and Tina. Neither of them had heard from him, which was admittedly strange since the couples lived within minutes of each other. They rarely went any significant amount of time without communicating.
Mercedes was all the way across the ocean and she was losing her mind.
She thought back to their last conversation, trying to piece together what could have happened. If this was some sort of revenge, to get back at her over her busy schedule, she would kill him herself. She wanted to bristle at the thought, but she couldn't believe Sam would do something so childish rather than just talk to her—or fight it out. He wasn't one for the silent treatment and usually confronted things early on. It'd saved them from having too many big blowouts in their relationship.
Mercedes dialed his cell phone again, groaning loudly this time when it went to voicemail again. This time she left a message. It would be a nice addition to the dozen she'd already left.
"Samuel Evans, it's your wife…again." Her tone was curt, clearly showing the frustration she felt. "Where the hell are you? This is possibly the 98th time I've called you over the last 36 hours. I'm freaking the hell out here. I need to speak to you and to Cameron. Any reassurance that you're not lying in a ditch somewhere would be nice." Mercedes gasped a little as she spoke the last sentence. She collected herself and finished, "If this is you being mad at me, it's actually pretty cruel, so you should stop. Just leave word with Mike and Tina that the two of you are okay…even if you don't want to talk to me."
Mercedes hung up the call awkwardly, feeling like she couldn't take in a proper breath. She didn't know what to feel. She was frustrated, hurt, terrified, and angry all at once. She had a show to perform that night, but she wasn't sure if she'd be able to go on feeling the way she did at the moment.
Her motto had always been the show would go on, even back in the rickety van days, but the show was no longer the dream she lived for. She thought of Cameron, of all that she was missing by being away from him right then. She thought of Sam and the frustration rolling off of him in waves the last time she spoke to him.
In just a few short hours, she would have an arena full of fans waiting to hear her sing. She'd made the commitment to give them that time. She felt ungrateful, but in that moment, she didn't care about them. All she could think about was Sam and Cameron, and the toll this was taking on their little family and it hurt.
In that instant, she didn't care about her career or anything else. She just needed to be home with them—she needed to fix this.
Mercedes marched toward the door of her hotel room, on a mission to find her assistant. The label wasn't going to be happy, but she needed to postpone a few shows. She needed to get back home—then, after she killed her husband for disappearing off the face of this earth with her son, they would come up with a solution to fix this whole mess before she could even think about another 7 weeks on this tour.
The sight that met her when she opened the door had her gasping and stumbling back a few steps, "Oh my God," she yelped, before she got her bearings and ran into the open arms waiting to engulf her.
She was crying hard and she didn't care as she felt Sam's free arm pull her in tighter to his chest. Cameron thrashed about excitedly in his other arm as he tried to get her attention. He threw his arms around her head as he lurched forward.
He'd had a great time with daddy and all, but he'd been wondering where mommy was for a while. He'd seen her on the computer, but he couldn't really understand why she was so small and he could hear her voice but couldn't touch her. The fact that she was back in the flesh was sort of blowing his mind.
All these thoughts flitted through his brain, but all that came out was an endless string of, 'Momma!' as he desperately tried to attach himself to her. Mercedes cried even harder as she felt her son's hands in her hair and Sam's hand rubbing circles onto her back.
He pulled back a moment later to look at her face, smiling brightly at her as he said, "Surprise?"
Mercedes looked up at him in disbelief, still breathing harshly. This had to be a dream. Sam chuckled at her dazed expression and pressed a soft kiss onto her lips.
"Oh my God. I'm going to kill you," she finally said when she could speak again. She stood upright, swiped at the tears on her face with both hands, and finally took Cameron into her arms, cradling him close. "Hi, baby," she said into his blond curls, followed by a sniffle.
Cameron hadn't stopped his excited babbling yet and continued as he laid his head down on his mother's shoulder. Mercedes couldn't stop another round of tears as the fact that they were here dawned on her again.
"What? I fly all the way to Europe to surprise you and you threaten to kill me?" Sam asked incredulously. "That's not exactly the reaction I was going for. And we were doing so well with the tears and the hugs," Sam said, shaking his head with mock disappointment. "I was hoping some kisses would be next," he informed her.
"You could have answered your phone or told Tina and Mike to cover for you! I have been worried sick. I was about to go home," she told him. She tried to keep up her glare, but he was there and she was holding her son! She was too ridiculously happy and touched he'd done this for her to care that he'd snuck around for 36 hours without calling her. Damn him.
"I hate you," she said, even as she nestled her body against him once more—burying her tear-streaked face into his chest.
"Oh, God," Sam started, rolling his eyes in mock offense. "You're not getting this reunion thing down at all. Here's what happens. I make a grand gesture and surprise you. You freak the hell out. Maybe say something like, 'Oh Sam, you're the most amazing husband I've ever had. I love you so much.' Then you shower me with kisses. Or you could just lead with the kisses—that's always a good start—and we go from there."
Mercedes giggled against him in spite of herself again.
"Shut up, Sam," she said with a contented sigh.
Sam squawked, "No, baby. You're not getting this right at—,"
Mercedes had had enough. She silenced him with one of those kisses he kept harping about, pouring over a month's worth of absence, want, and need into it. The kiss was deep but not frantic—their lips and tongues moving slowly against each other, trying to savor the moment.
She pulled out of the kiss with a giggle when she felt Cameron's mouth against her cheek—he wasn't happy being left out of the lovefest, it seemed. She nuzzled her face into his neck, heading toward the hotel's living room.
Mercedes sighed happily as she took a seat, only smiling at her husband as he sat next to her. She leaned back into the couch, letting Cameron stand on her lap. He leaned forward, smiling at her as he framed her face with his little hands.
"How long are you here for?" Mercedes asked, turning to Sam.
"How long is the rest of this tour?" Sam asked with a small smile.
Mercedes looked at him, surprised. "Really?"
"Well," Sam began slowly, "Three months was kind of a tall order. It wasn't working for either of us. I have the time and Cam traveled pretty well. It'll be different than what he's used to, but he's a trooper. If it gets to be too much, we'll cross that bridge when we get there. This way, we can be together more and you can be on tour and no one has to get upset about it."
Mercedes' answering smile was blinding. She ignored Sam's assertion that she was finally getting the hang of this reunion business as she leaned forward, whispering, "I love you," and kissed him.
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