Author's note: Thank you all for your patience here is another chapter. Please forgive any mistakes and please review. Got to love a snow day. I can get so much writing done.
Disclaimer: I do not own Glee or any of its characters.
I Knew You Were Waiting for Me—Part II
Chapter 14
Sam had finally gotten out of the late coaches meeting and he was on his way towards his car in the parking lot when he remembered he needed to turn his phone back on. His phone began buzzing frantically in his hands as several text messages from his Father, Mother, Brother, and Sister appeared all questioning; "Why they found out that he had married Mercedes on their morning paper?" He hadn't thought about what their reactions would be when he saw the newspaper this morning at his door.
His brother wanted to know "How the Hell did that happen?" His sister thought that it seemed "World wind romantic. Especially after she saw the press conference before the big game." His father wanted to know "Why would he do such a thing after everything they have been reading in the papers about Mercedes and that guy Trey?" His mother just put several tear drop emoji's to show her disappointment in not being able to see "Her eldest son's big day!"
That is when Sam knew that he and Mercedes had to make some time and visit both of their parents.
XXXXX
It was a little after 8:30pm when Rick entered his new home. It was going to be a real challenge having his dominate hand bandaged down and across his chest. He was attempting to grip a pizza in his hand and attempted to ring the doorbell with his elbow quite a few times before actually making contact. Crystal opened the door her eyes were lowered and he heard her speaking "Rick, I've been receiving quite a bit of crank calls today…they have been hanging up as soon as I answer it." She looked up and saw him and her mouth dropped and her face became distraught as she snatched the Pizza box from his hand and scooted around some of the still stacked boxes in her living room. She placed it down on the coffee table and turned to Rick "Rick what happened to you?" She questioned fearfully as he was closing the door behind him. "Calm down Teddy, just some workplace violence that's all." "Workplace violence?" "I'm kidding, you know the game; anything can happen." "What did Dr. Claire say?" She asked. "I'm out for three games." He spoke as he lowered himself on the center of the couch.
Crystal still could not wipe the shock off of her face. "Are you in a lot of pain?" She asked empathetically. Rick could tell that she was fearful of the answer he may have given her. "I'll be fine." He tried to reassure her. "Is there anything that I can do to help?" "Well, I am hungry would you mind helping me out; sexy?" He asked. "No, not at all." Crystal was so preoccupied by his injury that she failed to realize the compliment that he had attempted to give her and she ran into the kitchen and got a plate and some napkins and brought it out to him. She kneeled down on the floor underneath him and opened the pizza box and took out a slice and laid it on the plate. Crystal then took the plate and attempted to hand it to Rick in his one available hand.
Rick shook his head "No." "What's the matter?" She asked. "That hand is going to be busy. C'mon up and sit next to me." Rick replied. Crystal got up from the floor and sat in the place that Rick was actively gesturing to by the tapping of his palm on the sofa cushion sitting on his right side. Once Crystal took her place Rick wrapped his available hand around her waist and pulled her closely into him. Rick kissed her twice and then asked her to feed him his pizza slice. Crystal reached for the plate and placed it on her lap. She lifted up the pizza slice and folded it in half and brought it close to his lips. Rick provided her with the most endearing smirk as he took a few moments and then leaned forward and bit into the slice of pizza. Crystal watched as the hot sauce burst forth and streamed a little down his chin. She pulled it back slightly enough for the mozzarella cheese to spread into long bands and the sound of a crunchy crust crackled in his teeth. "MMMMMmmm" He said as he began to chew the hot delight in his mouth. Crystal took one of the napkins and dabbed the place where the sauce had landed on his chin. Rick squeezed her tighter. "Let's share." Rick suggested as he nudged his head in the direction of his slice and then motioned towards her own mouth. Crystal took a bite of the same slice and when she went to wipe her mouth with her own napkin Rick kissed her instead and licking whatever residue sauce from her lips. "Rick…" She smiled. "I am supposed to be helping you." She smiled again as she snuggled closer to him. "This is helping me… and uh, by the way, I'm going to need a sponge bath later." Rick leaned in and began nibbling on her neck. Crystal burst into laughter.
The phone began to ring.
XXXXX
Trisha came running into the locker room and spun the code on her lock. Music could still be heard from her headphones that were hanging around her neck. She opened it up and tossed her jacket and her purse inside and took out her uniform jacket and slammed the door shut as she ran out of the room and down the hall as fast as she could putting on her jacket as she went. The young girl who was twenty years old had a problem with her scooter and had to push it to the hotel parking lot which made her late for her double-shift this evening. She started doing doubles because she felt that her scooter needed some serious repair but with going to school and working; it needed a new engine. She rounded the corner to enter the doorway and without noticing slammed right into the back of Mason McCarthy who had been speaking to Boyd her manager.
"Oh, I'm so sorry!" Trisha exclaimed as she tried to latch on to Mason who was stumbling forward into Boyd's chest. "TRISHA! WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU?" Boyd shouted as he tried to steady Mason before he fell over completely. Mason caught his breath and turned to see who it was who packed such a wallop. His eyes caught the mere wisp of a girl who he had believed had to secretly be a player on Sam's football team; she had hit him so hard. "That's alright I shouldn't have been standing so close to the door. The funny thing was just before the impact I could have sworn I heard Mercedes singing." Mason gave a quick quirky smile and looked back at Boyd. Then both men looked back at Trisha who was desperately trying to turn down her MP3 player which clearly had one of Mercedes songs blasting through her headset. Mason just chuckled. Trisha lowered her eyes to the floor in embarrassment. "I'm sorry Boyd that I am late my scooter broke down again and…" "Never mind that just get to your station and apologize again." "I really am sorry." She spoke again as she took her seat in front of a dozen screens and nodded toward her co-worker Daniel who had been watching a dozen screens of his own.
"As I was saying Mr. McCarthy I wasn't working that evening when Ms. Jones was staying at the hotel, and that was-what, about three weeks ago? We really don't record what goes on in the hallways." Boyd continued. "Never? What if there was a theft? Is there no way for you to review what goes on?" This surprised Mason to no end. "We are a reputable place we don't have thefts on a regular basis. To be honest the corporation is kind of cheap and they put the cameras up for show as a deterrent; we do sometimes record, I mean we have the capability but I just can't swear it happened on the night in question." Boyd said bluntly. "Who was working that night? Is it possible for me to speak to them? I will come back if need be."
Boyd looked down at his watch quickly. "I'm sorry if I'm keeping you from something, Mason added." Boyd walked over to the schedule which was on a clip board that was hung up on the wall. He lifted a few sheets to reveal the older schedules below. "What was the date again?" Boyd asked. "The 11th" Mason spoke up quickly. "No need to come back. She is sitting right there." Boyd pointed to Trisha. "She did a double that night so she started at four in the evening and worked until eight in the morning. Trisha speak to this Lawyer; will you? About Ms. Mercedes Jones' room entrance that night. I've got to go." He turned his attention back to Mason. "She will handle it from here. If you need anything else reach out to me tomorrow morning." Boyd concluded as he pulled his jacket off of the back of the door and proceeded to go through it. "Very well." Mason spoke and then he looked at the young woman in question. "Do you think that you will be able to help me, Miss? At the time, Mercedes Jones, the famous singer stayed in this hotel for a few days prior to the date in question. Do you recall any interaction during her stay with a man who calls himself Trey? Maybe you have seen his picture on some magazine covers and news reports?"
Trisha's pale complexion turned crimson but she didn't speak. "You are a fan of Mrs. Jones' music aren't you?" He asked as he tapped her headphones which had still been hanging around her neck and now playing another one of Mercedes' songs. Daniel sat next to her munching on peanuts finding it interesting to have some other type of entertainment other than empty hallways (which only spiced up when he watched the cleaning lady folding towels from her tray before entering a room).
"He's a liar." Her voice was resentful as her eyes darted toward Daniel and then back to the screens in front of her. "Do you know how amazing Mercedes is?" She continued but now her voice had become stronger and defensive. "She made a choice to wait until she would get married to have sex and she didn't shy away from the question when asked about it. She is remarkable." Trisha spun around toward Mason in her swivel chair. "Trey said all those horrible things about Mercedes, but her true fans know the truth. She showed me it's okay to have high standards for myself. I don't have to feel weird about waiting." Daniel started coughing from choking on a peanut. Mason turned to look at Daniel "Sorry" was all he said and began looking back at his own screens.
"I am a stronger person because of Mercedes and I will not settle for less because I know that she didn't either. That Trey is a lying creep!" Trisha stood up and reached into her uniform jacket pocket and pulled out a small flash drive. "I did record those nights once I heard that she was staying at the hotel…I just hoped that I would get a glimpse of her. I saw her, with my own eyes, push him out of her room that night. He barely got a foot in the door and he was never in her room before or after that. You can see it too if you use this." She extended her hand and handed him the flash drive as she reiterated. "He's a liar." Mason flashed a smile with a glint in his eyes as he held out his hand and received the flash drive from her hand. "Would you testify to that in court if need be?" He asked her. "Of course I would; I'm her biggest fan." She said with a smile.
XXXXX
Sam stood in his bedroom packing his bags for his trip out of town. The Falcons would be playing two away games in Arizona and they were leaving the next evening. "I just wish that you could come with me that's all." Sam spoke as he put another article of clothing into his suitcase, the same article that Mercedes, who was sitting next to the suitcase on the bed, had just handed to him. "I wish I could go to but Mason and Jayne told me, this afternoon, when they left that they were stopping off in New York and California to help by sending Cease and Desist letters from there as well. They said that Playboy may not want to fight a war from many differing fronts, and that they may find that it would not be worth their while to continue with the publication. They also found out Trey's last name its 'Richards' so now they were going to be sending the letters to him too. Besides I need to check on my house, and see my doctor so I will just go to South Carolina while you are gone and meet you back here." She said as she handed him another shirt.
Mercedes stood up and pulled her own suitcase out from under their bed and opened it. She walked to the dresser and took out a few tops and pants and placed them in her suitcase. "I'm going to miss you." Sam spoke again. "I'm going to miss you too, but it's not like I'm going on tour Sam; it's just a week." Sam watched as Mercedes went to the dresser again opened up another drawer and moved some clothing around and pulled up a thin flat jewelry case and brought it towards her suitcase. "It'll feel like longer." Sam said softly as he placed another article of clothing in his suitcase. "What's in there?" Sam asked as he nodded towards the case. "My necklace collection." She said as she opened up the case and showed him several necklaces. One necklace read FOXY; two others both read LOVE using two differing types of fonts; there was another necklace which was pink in color and had the shape of a heart with a rainbow; another was in the shape of a heart but it was burgundy in color; there was one that was just the single letter M; still another read DIVA; and the last was in the shape of A Musical Note.
A small lopsided grin came across his face. "I remember these. You used to wear them at school." "Yeah, can you believe that I have still had them for all this time? But…they are kind of special to me." "Really? Why?" Sam asked as he became preoccupied again as he rolled up a few pairs of socks and placed them into the suitcase. "They remind me that someone can think that you are special, even if you can't see it at the time for yourself." Mercedes closed the case and placed the case into her suitcase.
"Hey, since I will be back for one game here at home and then we are going to Ohio for two more games-why don't you just meet me in Lima in a week? This way we can tell your folks the good news." "What good news is that?" Mercedes replied. Sam grabbed her by her waist and pulled her into his arms. "That I finally caught you!" He smiled before he pulled her into a kiss. "Fine, we will meet in Lima in a week." Mercedes was able to get out between kisses. It was then that Sam took one of his hands and swiftly pushed both suitcases off of the bed and onto the floor to make room, on the bed, for him and his wife.
XXXXX
The phone rang again as Crystal reached out over the back of her sofa and picked up the receiver of the phone that sat on the small table behind the couch. "Hello." She answered. "Hello?" She said again. "What? I can't hear you? Oh…." Crystal's eyes showed a slight panic. "Hi Mom." Rick twisted his body on the sofa to face Crystal. "Did I forget? Did I forget what? Oh….Dad's birthday." Crystal quickly pulled out her cellphone and looked at her Calendar app. "Oh well….what? This weekend? Everyone will be there…" Crystal's voice dropped in register. "Well you know…." Rick started bouncing up and down on the sofa nodding his head "Yes; yes; yes." But Crystal began to speak again into the receiver "I think I may have to work…" Her voice lingered as she stared at the antics of her husband. Rick started pointing towards his shoulder and shaking his head "No" again vigorously while still bouncing on the chair. Crystal had been shaking her head "No" as well. "Could you hold on for a minute please Mom?" Crystal said as she muted her phone. Crystal's voice took on a frantic and panicked tone. "Rick, not like this… my family are the type of people you need to meet in small, manageable doses. Not all at once. I am not trying to scar you for life or anything. Seriously, I am looking out- for you. Besides, you are hurt." She said quickly and un-muted the phone before Rick could even answer her. "Well I don't want to disappoint him either Mom but…. What? Even Aunt Tracy is flying in from where? From Seattle?" Rick snatched the phone from Crystal's hand and spoke quickly into it "Hi Mom, of course we'll be there, we wouldn't miss it for the world! What? Who am I? Why, I'm Rick Raven - your new son-in-law of course!"
Crystal got up from the sofa and covered her face with her hands. "Yes, you heard me correctly…" Rick continued on the phone. "I am Crystal's husband. We got married a few weeks ago. I have been so looking forward to meeting all of you and this sounds like the perfect opportunity to just dive right in." Rick looked over at his wife who now just leaned up against the front door of her apartment and slid down it until she was sitting on the floor- overwhelmed by what this weekend my bring. "No, I don't want you to see it like that. We weren't trying to keep anything from you or anything like that. It's just that it all happened quite quickly and I for one could not be more thrilled. What? No, she's not pregnant." Rick looked at Crystal with a raised eyebrow. Crystal just began nodding her head as if this was true to form of what to expect from her mother. Crystal simply sighed. "I would put her back on the phone now but she just went to the restroom but we will see all of you on the weekend. Nice talking to you." Rick then hung up the phone.
Crystal still sat there sporting a face of unbelief. "Your mother went straight for the pregnancy card. She's quick. I think I'm gonna like her." "If you do you will be the only one." Crystal allowed it to slip out. "Why? I remember you telling me about your family at the amusement park. They seemed like a great bunch of people." He said. Rick walked over to her and also slid down the door and sat on the floor beside her. "You just saw me get pummeled by An-jella I didn't want you to hear about my crappy home life too. How pathetic do you believe I want to come across to you?" "I would never see you as pathetic. So what you embellished a little or a lot. No one's family is perfect. Remember you haven't met my mom yet either. So I have an ideal we will go to your parents this weekend and we will go to Lima and visit mine next weekend and just rip off the Band-Aid; as it were. Besides it doesn't matter about any of them really as long as we are strong-we are good." Rick wrapped his arm around Crystal and she lay her head on his shoulder.
Author's note: Thanks for reading and please review.