Hello! Long time, no see! I know I've been slacking and I apologize for it. School, work and life are reclaiming me and also I got really, really sick this last week. Actually, I am still dealing with the aftermath.

Thanks for the reviews, the follows and the favs... Also, thanks for the patience... It means more than everything else!

Please forgive all the mistakes... I am just a silly human trying play the writer's game!

Disclaimer: I do not own Glee or anything that is affiliated to the show, Ryan Murphy & Co and Fox and to be honest I don't wish to own what is now a sinking ship. But, I do own my thoughts and I will write Samcedes Fics because they live beyond that stupid show. This story was partially based on the movie Made of Honor but my imagination decided to take me in another route so, it is based on nothing anymore! Please, don't get mad at me.

Without further ado, here's the new chapter... Don't forget to review!

Chapter 26

"Hello!" Sam persisted.

"Um… Hello." Marley shyly replied.

"Marley?" Sam asked.

"Yes." She answered in a whisper.

"Marley, I know it's been years. How you've been?" Sam said trying to guide the conversation into a different ground before telling her the real reason he was calling.

"I've been good. I'm living in Seattle and I got married a couple of months ago."

Sam smirked because he sensed that Marley said that to keep him at bay. If she only knew how much he has changed. "Oh! That's great. I've been in a relationship with Mercedes for some time now. Do you remember her?"

"Mercedes… Your friend from Cornell? Wow! Who would have thought?" She said astonished. "So, to what do I owe the pleasure of your call?"

"Always going straight to the point, Marley?"

"There are some things that never change, Sam. Are you making fun of me?"

"No, Marley." Sam took a deep breath, counted to 10 in his mind and decided to cut the crap and tell Marley the true nature of his call. "Marley, the reason I am calling you is because I need your help with something… umm, actually, someone."

"My help?" Marley asked.

"Does the name Finn Hudson ring a bell?" Sam asked and not even two seconds later Marley hung up the call. "Shit! Things between Marley and Finn were as fucked up as I thought." Sam thought aloud staring at his phone.

After getting nowhere with Marley's phone call, Sam decided to call it a night. While in bed and totally sleepless, Sam watched Mercedes sleep for what it felt an eternity. All he wanted was for this nightmare to be over so, they could both continue their lives together. He did not want anybody or anything disrupting their relationship but drama always found a way into their lives. He knew confronting Finn with his past was not going to clear his name because he indeed punched him twice but at least it could be a good reason for him to drop the charges. How am I going to get him to do that? Because honestly, I don't want to see him much less talk to him. Also, I am not exposing Mercedes to his craziness anymore. What to do? What to do? Sam thought while he slowly drifted to sleep.

XXXXX

It has been a week since the failed attempt to reach Marley for help and a whole week where things have not been resolved with Sam. While Sam has tried to keep his life as normal as he can, Mercedes has been busy with work and running around Manhattan looking for the things she needs for the exhibition back in Paris. Her leave's extension was due in three days and this time she really needed to head back to Paris if she wanted to keep her job. But honestly, all she wanted was to stay in New York with Sam.

Sam and Mercedes were in bed, ready to call it a night but the closer her departure day got, the more skeptical Mercedes was about leaving. She was not sure about leaving Sam on his own because she wanted to fight this battle with him, not to be a spectator on the sidelines.

"Sam, are you sure you are going to be alright when I leave?" Mercedes asked contrite.

Sam leaned up on his shoulder to look straight into his girlfriend's eyes. "Mercedes, I'll be alright." He said warily. All Sam wanted was to have Mercedes by his side but at the same time, he knew she had a job that was hanging by a thread. "Baby, you have a life in France and you need to keep your job. I want you to keep your doors open back at the Louvre and staying here is only going to damage you career. I'll be fine, I promise." He added, leaned down and gave her a chaste kiss on the lips. "You've done more for me than I deserve and for that I love you."

"I love you too." She said with a concerned smile.

"Don't worry about me more than you have to, baby. I have Puck, Rory, Kurt and Blaine by my side. We will figure this crap out and everything will be back to normal. I promise." Sam reassured her.

XXXXX

The next day, while Mercedes was out running errands, Sam got an unexpected phone call.

"Sam? It's me, Marley."

"Oh, wow! I thought I was never going to hear from you again." Sam said sardonically.

"Sam, give me a break." Marley said harshly.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to get you upset." Sam replied apologetically.

"Look, Sam… When you call me last week, a river of emotions ran through my veins but when you mention Finn Hudson…" She stopped trying to control a sob. "Just listening to his name brought back a lot of painful and scary memories."

"Was it that bad?" Sam asked worriedly that he was stepping into unknown territory.

"Sam, it was bad. Something I don't want anybody to go through." She replied dryly. "My question is… Why do you need help with him?"

"He's been after Mercedes." Sam said and proceeded to tell her the Mercedes-Finn story from San Francisco to New York.

"Shit!" Marley said alarmed. "You need to get her as far as you can from him."

"That's the problem. I can't." Sam said defeated.

"Why?"

"Well… When I went to see Finn, my anger got the best of me and I punched him, twice, and he pressed charges against me. I'm out on bail." Sam explained.

"Double crap!" Marley whispered. "He definitely knows how to play his game."

In that moment, Sam told her about what Kurt and Blaine found out through Adam. "Marley, the only reason I was calling you was to confirm that what my friends found out was true."

"What they found it's true. It is the PG-13 version of the events but nonetheless, true."

"Do I have your permi-"

"Yes, Sam. You do. Do what you gotta do to get rid of him."

"Thank you, Marley."

"Good Luck, Sam."

After a few seconds of awkward silence, Marley hung up.

XXXXX

After speaking with Marley, Sam's mood definitely changed. He felt more relax and content, even though Mercedes' departure was just around the corner. Trying to ease the discomfort of his girlfriend departure, Sam spent every possible minute with Mercedes. The night before she was schedule to leave, Sam and Mercedes were having a wine and a movie night, something cozy and intimate before her long flight back to Paris.

"I'll be right back." Mercedes said, standing from the couch.

"Where are you going?" Sam asked quizzically.

"Bathroom." Mercedes replied, eyeing him suspiciously.

"I'll go with you." He said standing up.

Mercedes raised her hands. "Hold it right there, Evans. You are not going to the bathroom with me."

"Why not?" He asked innocently.

"You are not going to see me pee." Mercedes said horrified.

"Mercedes, you're my girlfriend. You better get used to it because stuff like this is going to happen when we get married." He said casually and Mercedes looked at him in shock.

"When we get married?" She whispered.

"Yes. I want you to be my Mrs. Evans." He said standing in front of her.

"But… But… you have never been a fan of marriage." Mercedes said stuttering.

"That was until I fell in love with you." He said grabbing her hands and kissing the knuckles on both hands.

"I have to go to the bathroom. I'll be back." Mercedes said as she hastily jerked her hands off his hands and walked away from an apprehensive Sam.

XXXXX

"Dude, cheer up!" Puck said giving Sam a bottle of beer. "You look the same way you did when Mercedes went on that trip to San Francisco." He added.

Puck took Sam out for a night with the boys to lift up his spirit, since he was a bit down since Mercedes left. It has been a few days since Mercedes went back to Paris and Sam felt like all the air has left his body. His reason of living is on the other side of the world and things between them shifted awkwardly after he mentioned marriage the night before she left. All Sam wanted was for Mercedes to be his but she was having commitment issues again.

"Puck, I feel like I'm dying a thousand deaths every hour I am far from Mercedes." He said taking a chug of his beer.

"You got it bad, Sam." Puck teased him.

"Yeah, I know." Sam replied.

"Sam, what are you going to do with the Finn thing? Are you going to try to fix your differences with him in court or are you going to take matters into your own hands."

"Puck, last time I tried to take matters into my own hands I ended up in jail. This time I asked my lawyer for a private hearing with Finn and his lawyer. We are just waiting to hear from them."

"Well… we will see how that goes. Hopefully what you have on him helps." Puck finalized.

XXXXX

The next morning after his night out with the boys, Sam's lawyer called him to tell him that Finn agreed to meet. Sam finally told his lawyer why he was so insisting with this meeting and his lawyer told him that he had not only a good possibility to get Finn to drop the charges. Sam was feeling positive about his move and he only hoped for this to be the last time he had to face Finn Hudson.

A week passed and finally the day of the meeting arrived. Sam paced up and down the conference room at his lawyer's office because even though he knew he had the upper hand, he was anxious because Finn was the kind of person to find his way out of things not caring who he could hurt in the process.

"Take it easy on my wooden floor, Sam." His lawyer said trying to soothe him.

"Ken, you don't understand. This meeting means everything to me because it could either free me from him or tangle me into his affairs even more." Sam said visibly concerned.

"Don't fret, Sam. With the information your friends got on him and with the confirmation you got from the girl, he would feel cornered and he would drop the charges. We have the odds on our favor. Let me do my job and you will see that at the end of the day the only thing you are going to worry about is how you are going to propose to Mercedes."

Sam smiled but his smile did not reach his eyes.

A few minutes later, Sam's lawyer secretary guided Finn and his lawyer inside the conference room. Finn was sporting his usual cocky demeanor. The proper introductions were made and seconds later, the discussions began. Ken Tanaka, Sam's lawyers, was one of the best lawyers in Manhattan and he had a whole agenda to go through with Finn and his lawyer, William Shuester. During the meeting, Sam tried his best to avoid Finn's provocative glares. Sam knew that Finn was trying to get under his skin and make him lose his temper but this time Sam was better prepared to deal with him and he kept Mercedes in his mind. She was his soothing piece.

"Tanaka, what is the real purpose of this meeting?" Shuester asked.

"Well… you see, we wanted to come to an agreement with you client." Tanaka replied in a very business-like tone.

"What kind of agreement?"

"The dropping of the charges."

"Again, Sam. First Mercedes and now your extremely expensive lawyer are asking me for the same thing. When are you going to understand that you need to pay for what you did?" Finn finally said.

"What exactly is what I did? Because this can't be some quarrel just because I punched you." Sam said coldly while Finn looked like he wanted to eviscerate him.

"Gentlemen, let's keep this conversation on path." Tanaka warned them. They just glared at each other angrily.

"Why should my client drop the charges, Tanaka? He was the one that was assaulted by your client. He committed a misdemeanor and he needs to face the consequences." Shuester said regaining the control of the conversation.

"Just like you client had faced the ones he committed in the past?" Tanaka said sarcastically.

"Excuse me?" Shuester said, while Finn blanched.

In that moment, Tanaka pulled the file that Sam gave him from his briefcase and pulled out the complaint Marley first presented against Finn and placed it on the table. Shuester took it and started to look at it.

"Finn, what is this?" Shuester asked concerned as he handed Finn the paper. "Why didn't you tell me about this?" He added as he examined the rest of documentation.

Finn looked at the paper and then guided his sight to the New York City skyline through the floor-to-ceiling-window. It was a beautiful morning but for him it was turning into a sour one. He knew his game was ending and he was going to be the loser once again. Why the Marley issue is coming back to haunt me? Well… It was actually I who haunted her, but I thought I managed to clear that out of my record. How this asshole got a grip of that information? I'm done! I'm done! Those thoughts and many more were messing up Finn's brain. His façade was crumbling and for the first time since the debacle started, all he wanted to do was to get the hell away from everything and everyone.

"How did you manage to get this information?" Finn asked Sam without looking at him.

"That's a matter of public record, Finn." Sam replied.

"No. No, it's not. I paid a pretty decent amount of money to get that erased from my life and my records." Finn added calmly, while Tanaka and Shuester looked at Finn in horror.

"Aren't you going to defend yourself?" Sam asked.

"No." Finn answered and stood up from his chair. "Also… I'm dropping the charges. Shuester will take care of that." He added but before he left the conference room, he turn and told Sam "Have a nice life and make her happy, really happy." Sam looked at him with a bewildered expression.

Finn's lawyer was still in shock at the turn of events. He kept glancing at the documentation in horror. "I can't believe this."

"What you're looking at is the PG-13 version of the events." Sam said nonchalantly.

"I'm going to and deal with the dismissing of the charges. You would be on the clear no later than late this afternoon. Tanaka, I will give you a call to let you know when everything is done." Shuester added while shaking hands with Tanaka and Sam. Seconds later, he was gone.

"Sam, your nightmare is over and who knew you were going to get rid of it almost on your own. What are you going to do as soon as everything clears?"

"I'm going to Paris." Sam said hopeful.

A/N: The Finn nightmare is over! Yay! I just couldn't drag that anymore. I want happy fluff! Well, let's see how can I make that happen. Let's see how can take Sam to Paris without ruining everything, LOL!

Until Next Time,

XOXO