-May-

What remained of the last week of April seemed to pass rather quickly. Sam pulled himself together after his conversations and began putting Finn's advice to practice. That Sunday—Easter Sunday—Sam invited Mercedes to join him and Dani at her dance class's Easter egg hunt. Mercedes took photos on her phone while Sam walked around with Danica to help her locate a few eggs. The few times Danica spotted eggs for herself, she took off trotting fast in her lavender swing dress. The trio lingered at the park for a while longer following the hunt so Danica could tucker herself out from the sugar high. She alternated recruiting her dad and Mercedes for the fun, but eventually fell asleep on the swings, sitting in Mercedes' lap.

Into May, Sam would periodically send Mercedes a text to see how she was doing and to wish her a good day. Often times, Mercedes would give herself a break from the non-stop work days and use some of that time in her office to reply to him. They, along with Dani, were having dinner together more often, and twice they had gone together to look at a few potential apartments.

Mercedes, meanwhile, had plenty to handle and oversee at REAL, finalizing concepts for the magazine's summer issues and maintaining some sense of normalcy during meetings and conferences. With the passing of REAL's fifth anniversary, Mercedes and Puck decided that they wanted a change in positions amongst the staff. The first Monday of the month, the two held a meeting with their department heads to discuss the change and see how everyone was doing.

"So are any of us getting fired?" asked an outright but slightly nervous Sugar Motta.

Mercedes shook her head, "As of now? No, no one in here is getting fired. We're just revamping the staff we already have. It'll be a trial run for a few months, and if it works out, we'll continue operating like this until Puck and I feel like something else should be done, or if we think that we should go back to how things previously were." Seated at one end of the long dark-wooded table, Mercedes sat up, pulling her tablet close. "That being said, everyone will continue to report their outsourced writers and photographers to me first, and all article drafts and spreads will be sent to Puck for final approval. Sugar and Kurt, you two will co-lead fashion spreads and articles."

"Yeah, this'll allow at least one of you to travel if need be, while the other can be more local," said Puck who was reclining in a desk chair at the opposite end of the CEO. "You two can alternate too, but fashion's a big enough department that having two of you supervising would be better than one."

Mercedes nodded as Kurt and Sugar glanced across the table from one another with confident smiles. Kurt then turned to look to his boss and assured her, "Fashion will continue to be in good hands, Mercedes."

She smiled, bobbed her head once and returned her gaze to her tablet, "Santana and Artie, we're combining the Pop Culture and Politics departments as well."

Artie's eyebrows shot up, "Wait, what?"

"Seriously?" added Santana. "So we're gonna have articles about how dumb the GOP is next to how dumb Justin Bieber is?"

"Yeeah, I'm with Santana on this one. The two don't really go together."

The two had a few others mumbling uncertainty about the fusion as well, but Mercedes slapped a hand down on the tabletop to reclaim the room's attention.

"Guys! Look, Puck and I have been talking about this for a while. No, we're not saying that articles about Justin Bieber need to go next to Rick Santorum's face, okay? But when it comes to research and approach, the Pop Culture and political articles tend to operate in similar styles. That's why we're combining your departments. You both oversee and write for the parts of our magazine that tend to draw the most controversy, especially when our feature is someone more aligned with one or the other, or both."

"Yeah," chimed in Brittany, who turned to look to Santana, "Remember when you went to interview Sarah Palin?"

Tina nodded, "I do. She didn't exactly talk about her political agenda so much as she talked about getting people to vote for Bristol on Dancing With the Stars."

Santana rolled her eyes. "Fine. Artie and I can handle it."

Mercedes looked to Artie who gave an agreeing nod, which was followed by Mercedes' clipped, "Great."

As she took a breath to speak on, Sugar's slender hand shot up. "I have a question. Since I'm working with Kurt now, who's going to do the travel articles?"

"Well," Puck spoke up again, sensing Mercedes' shortness, "We're gonna have Travel absorbed into Home & Garden with Blaine."

At that, Blaine perked up in his seat, chirping a pleasantly surprised, "Oh! Awesome!"

No one spoke any objections, nor did they seem to back up Blaine's excitement with anything more than apathy. No one doubted that Blaine's writing skills as well as his finds for outsourcing were great; Mercedes knew the indifference in the room was due to the fact that most of the staff felt it was the most boring part of the magazine.

"Congratulations, Blaine," Puck said, breaking the silence. Mercedes smiled again before going on.

"And finally, Brittany will continue to manage the advice responses from readers." Brittany grinned; Santana smiled to her and Sugar pumped a hand in the air, palm side up.

As Mercedes spoke on to gather an idea of where everyone was at in terms of brainstorming the July and August issues, her stomach churched. She had done her best to withstand the sick feeling that came and went—often at the most inopportune times—but the excessive focus in her features had Puck casting her a deep, quizzical expression. It seemed to go unnoticed by the others, along with her swift conclusion of the meeting once everyone filled her and Puck in on their future article plans. "It sounds like everyone's got something great to look forward to. And Kurt, we're going to have the photo shoot for Victoria Beckham in the middle of June, so remember to plan accordingly in terms of location."

After adjourning the meeting with other quick reminders, Mercedes made haste to return to her office with Puck following behind her.

"Hey," he started, closing the door behind him. "Are you alright?"

Mercedes smoothed a hand down the front of her pepper-colored blazer. With her back to her best friend, she told him, "I'm okay. I had a feeling not everyone was gonna be skipping around the room over the changes."

"Better they knew now. They've got a couple days to get over whatever they're feeling about the combinations and all that, because I'm not about to spend my retreat irritated."

"Yeah, that'd kind of defeat the purpose of the retreat."

Puck took a seat in one of her lounge chairs, resting an ankle on his knee. He reached out on her desk and held her water bottle to her. "I say anyone who doesn't get it together by Wednesday morning gets left behind."

Mercedes chuckled softly, accepting the bottle as she sat, "That's not a bad idea, but I think the appeal of four days paid vacation might be enough for everyone to be happy."

"Liquor helps too. Like last year when we all went down to San Diego and Tina and Santana got haaaammmered!"

After nearly choking on her small swig of water, Mercedes cackled, "Oh my God. I still have no idea how they found their way back to the hotel."

"Beats the hell outta me. Britt and Sugar probably went looking for them. Ten bucks says they're gonna be the first to push for doing one of those wine tours this time."

Mercedes coughed and faintly smiled, turning to her computer, "Pay up now then. Tina's still breastfeeding so chances are, she won't be getting drunk this time."

"Ah! But that still leaves Santana!" quipped Puck, grinning and pointing a finger at her.

Through clearing her throat, Mercedes croaked, "We'll see."

"Got that right." He'd pulled one of her desk trinkets off and began turning it over in his hands, "So…how's therapy been going?"

"Not bad—good, actually," she said, still typing away. "I'm kinda kicking myself for not making time to do this sooner, before everything with Shane…went down like it did."

Her response regarding therapy was true. Mercedes had been to three sessions already, deciding to be seen twice each week—this week being the exception due to the four day retreat she and others at REAL would be taking. However, her therapist suggested that she take a journal while she was away, so that they could talk about it when she got back.

As her stomach continued to churn, she could feel Puck's eyes still on her during her internal thoughts about her sessions, and after some silence passed over them, he asked again, "Are you sure you're alright?"

"Yeah. I just… didn't get breakfast before I came in, so…my stomach was bothering me during the meeting."

"Oh okay, well I'll send T across the street to Starbucks to get you your usual Java Chip no whip with a slice of coffee cake?"

"Mmmm that sounds delicious. But hold the Frappucino. I'll stick with the water."

Although Puck's brows pulled together, he shrugged off whatever suspicions were creeping up and got up to head to the door. "Alright."

Mercedes looked up from the computer screen after Puck left, staring at the door. Although Sam had already told his closest friends about the pregnancy, Mercedes wasn't ready yet for anyone else to know. She had her reason, and reminded herself of this while turning her attention back to the email she'd been composing.

"So when's that double date happening, Cedes?" Puck asked, stretching his legs out on the limousine floor.

"Double?" chimed in Tina. "How about a triple date?"

Mercedes threw a quick glare at Puck for even bringing it up in front of the central REAL crew. They, along with the six leads were well on their way to four days and three nights up in Monterey, but Mercedes was now finding herself wondering if only eight were going to make it to their destination.

"Ooo, a group date?" Sugar crooned from the rear of the car. "Are you still with that blonde guy, Mercedes?"

Santana shot her palm out in front of her face, "Hold up. You mean dude with the lips who was at the REAL party? I've seen him around the office sporting a janitor's suit. Are you two a thing?"

While the rear of the limo erupted in speculations and comments, Mercedes subtly raised her knee, pivoted her ankle to the left, and slowly drove her stiletto down over the toe of Puck's right Converse. She hadn't stopped until she'd gotten loud, gratifying "OW! FUCK!" from him, bringing quiet to the vehicle.

Finally, Mercedes spoke up with a gentle smile, "Look, his name's Sam and yes he's one of the janitors on staff, and yes we're dating. Now will you guys relax?"

Sugar was grinning, Santana sat back against the side bench, crossing one leg over the other, joining Artie in throwing a praise hand in the air; Brittany and Blaine crooned a long, "Awww," and Kurt simply smiled. Tina was smiling as well, but hers was a slightly sad one as she tried to console a pained Puck. The car stayed on the subject of Mercedes and Sam; asking Mercedes how they met and when they would all be getting together to really meet him. Santana bid a good riddance to Shane and upon doing so, reminded Mercedes to announce the news she'd been sitting on since the previous evening—the signing of her divorce papers. She and Lauren met up before dinnertime and once finished reviewing everything, Mercedes swooped a pen along the appropriate lines.

Again, the car erupted in celebration. Immediately, Santana and Sugar reached for the complimentary bottles of champagne and popped the corks off, passing around glasses. Mercedes artfully busied herself with a bottle of water and let herself relax and bask in her second family's joy for her. The group stayed rather lively through the bulk of the drive up to Monterey. Surely, as Mercedes and Puck hoped just days before, the REAL crew had absolved any tension or doubts regarding the changes back at the office, and shifted into full preparation or a lax four days in Monterey.

They arrived and checked into the hotel around dinnertime, prompting them all to head to Fisherman's Wharf to eat. On their second day, most of the REAL crew ventured back to the wharf for a whale-watching excursion; Artie declined in favor of sleeping in, and Mercedes—while truly interested in going and hoping to see a whale or dolphins—skipped out with claims of sea sickness. Rather than chancing puking through the trip, she followed Artie's example and slept through that morning and again, for a couple of hours in the afternoon. She called up Sam, catching him just before his shift at Best Western began, and had a quick conversation with Dani as well. And after Sam had to go, Mercedes settled back into bed to get to jot down some thoughts in her journal for therapy.

That same evening, after washing away the seawater off, everyone was primping for a night on the town. Not including the REAL anniversary party, it felt like it had been too long since she had gone out just to have a good time. Part of her felt anxious and set on anchoring her to the hotel room she and Tina were sharing, but the rest of her was itching to know what it would feel like to go out again—if it would feel like a well-rehearsed role she'd grown accustomed to portraying whenever she was invited to events by celebrities. Would she step into that skin again and fool everyone with courteous smiles and thought-out increments for dancing? Sit, order, sip, talk/laugh, let yourself be photographed, dance for half of a song, return to the table, repeat. Or could she carry herself in a more carefree, liberated fashion—ordering what she felt like, talking as little or as much as she wanted, dancing as often as she wanted or not at all? Declining pictures altogether, or photo-bombing one of her friends' selfies? The itch that the latter created, while it was a terrifying feeling, it was just as tempting.

She found herself in front of the body mirror pressed into her hotel bedroom's closet doors. Her hair had been in natural curls all week and now bounced on either side of her face when she would walk. Twisting to one side in her black glittering heels, Mercedes smoothed a hand down the front of her deep crimson and black peplum halter dress. While side facing the mirror, she found herself thinking again on how much her stomach would balloon, which in truth, had her thinking on how much longer she had before she would have to tell those closest to her about the twins.

The knocking at the room door snapped her out of her present thoughts as Tina hollered, "I'll get it!" Seconds later the common room of their space was filled with Santana and Sugar chattering about the lounge they were all heading to that night. Mercedes snatched her clutch and joined the two, Brittany and Tina—all donning dresses and heels as well. The five of them conversed for a little longer and then left to get the boys.

While inside the lounge, the group sat back on a low, deep-set, L-shaped couch, save Artie and Sugar. Sugar, Santana, Artie, Blaine, Brittany and Puck wasted no time ordering drinks. As Sugar's buzz dissolved into pure drunkenness, she found herself draped in Artie's lap, giggling away while he murmured and slurred in her ear. Brittany pulled Santana away to dance and Blaine sidled up to Kurt with hopes of getting him to agree on a dinner date when they returned to LA. Tina, Kurt, and Mercedes were the only ones to stay sober through the night.

Mercedes sat at the edge of her bed, pulling her ankle boots off her feet. The final full day in Monterey, Kurt, Sugar, Tina, Puck and Mercedes headed to the aquarium while the others slept off hangovers. After some time seeing the marine life, she lingered around the gift shop with Tina and Puck. The hours spent there, coupled with the walk afterward to dinner had her feeling more than ready for a good night's rest and plans for massages in the morning . She started to pull the light coat from her shoulders when a few knocks on hers and Tina's entrance door made her pause.

"I got it!" Tina called from the other room.

While accepting this, Mercedes couldn't help wondering who was coming by their room when it seemed everyone else was either retiring for bed as well, or going out to check out more local bars. She made it to her bedroom door when Puck came into view down the hall, standing beside Tina. Tina's head bobbed and Puck looked in her direction.

"Hey."

"Hey, Puck," Mercedes warily replied. "I thought you were going out with Santana, Britt and Artie."

Puck shook his head, loping to the hallway with his hands in his pockets, "No, I uh…I wanted to talk to you. Tina and I both did."

"Oh…okay, sure." Mercedes stepped out of the doorway, inviting the two of them in. After the passed her by, the two took a stance like a united front, raising Mercedes' brows.

"So…what'd you guys want to talk about?"

Her friends exchanged glances, making Mercedes even more suspicious, until Tina started shaking her head, "Alright I'm just going to come right out and ask."

The wariness took a turn toward panic, as Mercedes gradually turned sideways, working to maintain a somewhat oblivious expression.

"You're pregnant, aren't you?" asked Tina.

"What?" Mercedes said a little too loudly and feebly. She then quietly asked, "Why would you say that?"

"The nausea. The fatigue. Avoiding seafood despite us being in Monterey."

"And you didn't wanna go drinking with us or whale watching," spat Puck.

"And…" Tina's voice had been considerably kinder than Puck's, "We saw you looking at the baby clothes inside the aquarium."

Mercedes couldn't move. It didn't matter that she hadn't said anything about it, or that she'd been so focused on not guarding a hand across her belly—something she had taken to doing when she was alone or with Sam. With her back still to her friends, Mercedes slid a hand up the center of her chest and clutched the charms on her necklace.

"Look, I know that fuckface did a number on you, so it made it hard for you to tell me shit—I get it—"

"No you don't get it, Puck," Mercedes immediately snapped. She finally turned to face him and Tina, revealing the deep brown that covered every inch of her face. "Look, what I let myself go through with Shane was hard for me to talk to at the time, and I'm working on healing from those years. But me not telling you guys yet wasn't about him. It was about me and what I wanted."

"Why?" Puck demanded.

"Because I wasn't ready to!" As Mercedes pushed back, Tina touched a hand to Puck's arm to get him to back down. She shook her head at him while Mercedes tamed her temper. "This is my first time being pregnant and I know being this early in, I could miscarry. I didn't want to bring it up if I…if it wasn't going anywhere."

Tina's voice remained significantly calmer than either of her friends' as she asked, "How far along are you?"

"About 9 weeks now."

She anticipated the confusion that gradually swept across both Tina and Puck's faces.

"But you left…Shane…in January…" Tina fumbled.

Mercedes drew an unnecessarily deep breath but kept a stoic look on her face. She could see that Tina was figuring it out, but Puck dropped a sideways glance at her anyway and shrugged off her idle hand.

"Dickwad isn't the father, Tina."

"I know, I know. I'm just…surprised? I guess?"

"Yeah, well that makes two of us," muttered Puck.

"It's not…" Tina tried to add on but took a thoughtful breath. "I mean we've met Sam. And we've seen him sometimes in the office, but we don't really know him." Not long after saying this though, Tina said above a whisper, "But I guess we didn't really know Shane either."

Mercedes folded her arms, dropping her gaze with her chin, slightly. "I wasn't expecting you guys to be leaping for joy when you found out."

Puck wasn't looking at her when he tightened his folded arms against his chest. "I don't know how to take it, Mercedes. You've had a shit ton going on already. The divorce. Dealing with how the dipshit treated you, and sorting things out at REAL? Is a baby something you need to add on top of it?"

"Babies," she admitted, seeing no point in the secrecy anymore. She ignored the bug-eyed gazes bearing into her face to tell them, "I didn't plan this any more than I planned on being smacked around or backstabbed by my husband, you guys. The difference is I had control over this happening, but I didn't stop it. So…here I am. You don't have to like it or be in favor of Sam and I having kids together. I'm just asking that you respect my decision, and keep this to yourselves until I'm ready to tell the rest of the staff and my parents."

Some dread flushed through her system at the disappointed reaction she was already expecting from her parents. And while she meant what she told Puck and Tina, there wasn't a lone response that she was anticipating from either of them. When neither of them spoke up again, Mercedes stepped back and excused herself with the intent to go to the bathroom and change into her pajamas.

"Mercedes, wait."

She stopped at the room's entryway and looked back to Tina.

"We…I know you've been through a lot—not just this year, apparently but…what I'm trying to say is, and maybe what Puck's trying to say too is that we know being a mom is something you've wanted. It's something I remember you mentioning a lot when we first met and got to working together. When you had talked about it then, you were really happy and…even though this is unexpected and all, I do hope you're happy, or at least find some soon. I don't want to see what he did to you end up ruling the rest of your life."

Mercedes started to suck her lips in but she pressed them together and nodded. "I'm finding some happiness…thank you, Tina. I let myself be damaged by him for way too long. I'm going to get back to some of who I was, and working on adding in who I want to be."

Tina's slips spread with a knowing smile—knowing that it was more than just the pregnancy that had to do with said happiness. Her smile faltered when she saw Mercedes' gaze move off of her and look beyond her face. She turned around to find Puck staring right back at Mercedes. His lips were pursed and a bit of his skin rippled from brow to brow. Tina half expected him to say something, but when he didn't, she faced Mercedes again. One foot stepped forward to cross the room and hug her friend, but the second she'd done so, she was passed by Puck who hadn't stopped until his arms were secure around his closest friend.

His tight grip around her was something she hadn't prepared herself for, but by no means did she reject it or complain. Her hands had been crushed between her chest and his torso, but she managed to slide them free and coil them around his back, needing the comfort more than she realized.

The group returned to Los Angeles late Saturday night and wasted no time heading home from the office parking lot; Sam picked Mercedes up from REAL in her Camaro. When he got out to greet her with a hug, she was immediately familiarized with his Irish Spring body wash—a tremendous relief after the days of smelling fish and seawater. Her fingers curled into the back of his t-shirt as she nestled her face to his warm front. The fleeting thought of how much her hormones could change during pregnancy crossed her mind, but she doubted herself blaming this arousal and desire on the twins. While she and Sam had been intimate in other ways since that day in the elevator, it was the first and last time they'd had sex; she'd be lying if she hadn't thought about wanting more and getting it.

"I missed you," he told her.

Mercedes muttered back mid-exhale, "Mmm, you too," causing Sam to chuckle at her.

"Are you alright?"

"Oh yeah," she confidently replied, finally raising her head. He was already looking down at her, both amused and quizzical, but she was becoming more and more distracted by the crooked smile he bore. She rose on the balls of her feet to kiss those full, lop-sided lips, and while she could tell she'd caught Sam by surprise, it didn't take long for him to recover and relax his jaw to deepen the kiss.

As Mercedes tipped her chin up and sighed out the breath she'd been holding, Sam took advantage and glided the tip of his tongue past the edge of her teeth. She moaned, leaning her body into his to back him against the rear of her car. The more fervent their lips and tongues worked, the harder the pulsing between her thighs became to quell.

Sam dragged his lips away from hers and started a messy trail down her jaw and to her neck. "You missed me like this?"

Mercedes lolled her head to one side and rolled her eyes shut, mumbling, "Not...just like this...I've barely seen you..all week…" Despite the warm LA night and Sam's equally warm body, she shivered when his lips started back toward hers. One of her knees started to hike up against his side but she snapped her eyes open and reluctantly gripped Sam's shoulders, "Sam, wait…wait, wait..."

His lips slowed until he raised them completely off her skin. He didn't have to ask what the problem was, because it was entirely on her face and he read it while catching his breath. Finally accepting that here was neither the time nor place, he tucked his lips in and gave her one curt nod.

Mercedes stepped back to unpin him from the car, but as she did, she told him, "Just…I want to, trust me, but not here."

Sam's brows shot up, "Where? The hotel? Finn's watching Dani for me until I come back from getting you, so unless we go to your place first…" He popped the trunk lifting her bags in and when he shut it, he found Mercedes still staring right back at him. Arching a single brow this time, he followed her gaze over his shoulder and then looked back to her. "Really?"

She shrugged. "You don't think we can?"

His eyes narrowed a fraction which only caused her to give him a smug smirk back. He shook his head at her while making his way to the driver's side. "Get in."

"You first," she quipped, surprising him and even herself at the quip. She did her best not to let her shock show and got into the passenger's seat, smoothing down her skirt. The effort soon proved in vein; as they reached a stoplight Sam's hand ventured across the gear shift panel and hiked her skirt with a rough glide up her thigh.

"You're sure about this," he asked. The unfamiliar husk in his voice had her pinning his fingers between her squeezing thighs.

Mercedes nodded before looking to him, "Yes. Are you sure you're gonna make it back to the hotel?"

"Maybe…" he started as she relaxed her legs enough for him to slip them up, giving her inner thigh a firm squeeze. Each time they came to a stoplight, his hand got closer to her mound, and by the time he pulled into a parking stall and killed the engine, his fingers were as wet as her panties. He'd snatched the keys out of the ignition and Mercedes made him leave her bags in the trunk.

Before they got to the hotel, Mercedes had ditched her heels, but she snatched them up from the car floor and shoved them into her purse while they speedily padded through the lobby and to the elevators. It was there that she noticed and started to comment on the tent in his pants, but Sam spoke up asking, "You're sure?"

"Sam I get why you're doing it but don't ask me again tonight. I'm sure," she growled, breathy from shimmying out of her blazer. They reached her room in no time and immediately, she abandoned her things and pulled her blouse up and over her head. As she reached back to unhook her bra, her fingers paused while her eyes glued to Sam's abs. He'd rolled his , hoisting his ass off the bed long enough for him to push his sweats and boxers past his knees, and the action emphasized the ripples of his six pack and the crease of his Apollo's belt.

After abandoning the efforts on her half-hooked bra, Mercedes climbed onto the bed, saddling herself right over those divots. Working only her hips for a moment, she rocked back and forth, teasing herself and him in the process. She leaned forward to sit a little harder, causing Sam to groan.

While she leaned a little closer to kiss his luscious lips again, Sam was sliding his hands up her skirt to seize the only problem he was having with this. Mercedes could feel the tension in his knuckles against her supple skin, and before she could react to what he was doing, the thin fabric gave with a quick, loud rip.

Her lips froze for only a second before she sat up again, allowing him to slide the partially damp nylon and lace away. "This better not be a habit of yours," she remarked, glaring at her now useless panties.

Sam merely cast a smug smile that vanished as her left hand moved from beside his shoulder and curled up under her skirt. He sucked in a sharp breath when her small but capable fingers stroked his shaft up and down, and up and down again and again. He couldn't help the snap his hips responded with, but he was soon relieved of this teasing too. Mercedes guided his tip past her folds and rolled her hips slowly, pushing him further into her.

"Shh-fuck," Sam hissed at the feeling of her warm, engorged walls around his dick.

Mercedes tossed her head back with a strained moan, rolling her hips back and forth like a belly dancer; she pushed her hips forward to give herself a bit of a bounce while going in to kiss Sam's lips again. As she did, he raised a hand to pull one of her bra cups down and began circling a few of his fingers over her dark tit target, triggering another moan right into his mouth.

The two were responding to one another for minutes—their hips rocking; Sam occasionally stealing some of her trickling essence and Mercedes sucking his bottom lip into her mouth while grinding into him so he'd hit the depths of her pink. His tweaks and twists from one nipple to the other were driving her crazy, and her nectar kept coming because of it all. As her folds grew stiff, tight and slick with his dick sliding in and out of her, Mercedes found her tone hiking up when Sam bucked harder under her. He palmed her ass with both of his hands only seconds before his release, and together they rode out the high.

Sam's slid his wide palms up to her back while she lay on him, pressing her knees into the mattress to remove his length. His kisses against her swollen lips were more tender now

They quietly entered Sam's hotel room to find Finn reclined in one of the stuff kitchen chairs. He sat up quickly and after taking in Mercedes' pajama garb and letting them know that Dani was fast asleep, he quietly excused himself to find Rachel and head home.

Mercedes climbed into the bed where she usually slept whenever she spent the night, while Sam shut the kitchen light off. She watched him crawl into the bed just behind her and welcomed the arm that came around her.

"You know…when I said I missed you, I wasn't just talking about this either," he uttered through a smile.

Mercedes chuckled against his chest, "Well I'm glad it wasn't just this. But…l'm just glad this time it wasn't a dream."

At that, Sam raised his head a bit with piqued interest, "You were dreaming about me?"

"Mmhm, you and me—a couple of times while I was in Monterey." Her cheek was still to his chest but she went on, "I think the first time you and I had sex, I wasn't sure how to feel about it. Not that it was bad or that I regretted it. I was just in a different place than I am now, and I'd never done anything like that before."

Sam was idly drawing circles along her back, "And now?"

"Now…" she took a breath and sighed it out keeping her voice low, "Now I feel…free. Free to take control of more situations in my life. For as long as REAL's existed, I've had plenty of control over it, but outside of that, I didn't have that feeling anywhere else for years." Finally, Mercedes lifted her head to look to Sam, "With you, I'm finding that I love that you allow me to do that. Not in some power trip kind of way, but as much as you let me know that I can depend on you, you also let me be a woman who can take charge and assert myself when I feel comfortable doing it."

Still circling his fingertips along her curvy backside, Sam smiled and told her, "I don't wanna make you feel less than what I see you as, Mercedes."

"And what's that?" she sleepily asked.

"The mother of my youngest, and an amazing role model to Dani, first and foremost. I see you as a beautiful woman, a strong leader…talented..smart…sexy…loving, and someone who respects me despite my temper or the line of work I'm in… and you might even like me."

At that she lightly and rolled her eyes shut, "You know I more than like you. Get outta here with that."

Sam's soft, low chuckles had her smiling even more, "It's nice to hear though. And I more than like you too. But I remember how you were with me just a few months ago. You were hurt and guarded. Maybe part of you still is, but listening to you—the way you speak, the way you carry yourself inside and outside of REAL…and you letting me in enough to come to know you better… I feel really honored to see that…and to be someone you're willing to let in." He stifled a yawn and nuzzled his nose against the back of her curls. His words were coming further apart and slightly slurred as he slipped into unconsciousness. "I hope…you're it for…me, Mercedes…"

The following morning, Mercedes slowly came to from the good night's rest. She was finding herself recalling the past day—the morning massage she and the others received, and how that had given her a kind of relaxation she longed to hold onto for longer than an hour. At one point during the limo ride back, she'd fallen asleep against Puck, only to be nudged awake by him when he discreetly told her she'd begun moaning. Luckily for her, at the time he was the only other one awake and not isolated with earbuds wedged on either side of their head. It was then that she found her mind thinking on sex with Sam again—more so than any times before.

Now thinking on how Sam willingly obliged to her craving, and the realization she voiced to him afterward, Mercedes was quickly becoming much more awake and plenty sanguine. She yawned, turning her face into one of his bed pillows to cover it, only to feel a sturdy, muscular arm shifting around her middle.

"Happy Mother's Day, Mercedes," Sam murmured from behind her shoulder, triggering a soft smile on her face. Mercedes grinned and turned onto her other side in his bed to face him, to which he ducked his head and kissed her full on the lips. Before going in for another, he broke apart add, "To the first of many more."

The sleepy, innocent question that soon came from Danica made both Sam and Mercedes freeze.

"Is Miss Cedes my mommy now?"

Please leave reviews! I'm always grateful for your thoughts! Sorry the retreat wasn't all that dialogue-filled! Also, I had no intention of making this chapter as long as it ended up being but I hope you enjoyed it! What did you think of it? Of the return to LA? More is coming, of course. Danica has a question that needs answering, and Ms. Stacey Evans still has her appearance to make. Plus, I think some dates are overdue, don't you? Let me know!

Chapter Title: "Adorn" by Miguel