Does He Know You?

by KurlyQ722

I knew you then... Do I know you still? I do know you, love, and always will. Never let go of the one who holds your heart.

26. Acceptance (1 of 3)

I'm back!

Sorry for the delay. A special thanks to my beta for making my chapter flawless, even while she wasn't feeling well.

Another big thanks to my readers for sticking with me on this ride. I love every PM, Review, and tumblr message you send me. I save them all and read them often.

NOTE: This chapter may cause cavities, due to the obscene sugary sweet fluff contained within. The author is not responsible for any sugar induced comas, severe bouts of feels, or doctor bills associated with depression/angst over not having a relationship as flawless as our OTP couple. You have been warned.

ENJOY!

O-O

"Well folks, it looks like everything's on the up and up!" Dr. Taylor declared, tucking his pen light in the breast pocket of his lab coat. "Everything seems to be in order. Sam's eye exam looked normal. There are no visible signs of nerve damage or sight impairment, and the MRI showed no signs of cranial bleeding or deep fractures. With plenty of fluids and rest, you should be ready to go!"

Sam turned his head and smiled at his girlfriend, sitting behind him on the hospital bed. Mercedes beamed at him, rubbing his shoulder in congratulations. Their parents were equally as elated to hear the news.

"So, does that mean I can go home today?" Sam asked, letting the nurse finish the dressing on his stitches. He rubbed the arms of his wheelchair. "And do I get to keep the wheels?"

"As soon as discharge time rolls around, you're free to go young man! And sadly, the wheels do not come with the visit. It's just to get you downstairs and out the door without any spills." the cheery doctor joked. "If you can hold on for a couple more minutes, you'll be free as a bird! I'll have nurse Sharon get the discharge papers ready."

"Thank you for all you've done for our son," Victoria said to the doctor and nurse, reaching out to shake their hands. "We don't know what we would've done if we'd lost him."

"Oh, no! Not a chance Mrs. Evans!" The doctor assured, pointing at Sam. "This one is a fighter! I've seen the news reports on what happened. He's a brave young man for doing what he did."

"I fight for what matters to me, Sir," Sam answered humbly. He reached back to guide Mercedes' arms around him. She hugged him close and leaned over to kiss his temple.

"My hero," she said in a light voice, resting her head against his as she looked toward the doctor. "Thank you for taking care of my boyfriend, Dr. Taylor. He means the world to me."

Sam smiled big. Boyfriend. He'd never get tired of hearing her call him that.

"Is there anything we should be checking for? Any warning signs?" Mr. Evans asked, still a bit wary about Sam's condition. "Are you sure he's okay to go home?"

"I'd bet my medical career on it!" the doctor replied.

"And, exactly how long have you been practicing?" Victoria smacked her husband's chest, urging him to shut up. He'd been this way about Sam ever since he was eight weeks old, when he came down with his first cold and struggled to breathe. It was the scariest emergency visit he'd ever had to go through alone, and since then, hospital visits involving his eldest gave him the worst case of PTSD.

"If there are any complaints of dizziness, sudden fainting spells, or any bouts of vomiting or intense nausea, give me a call." The doctor replied, handing him his personal business card. "I'll try to link him up with one of my partners in Lima, just in case."

"Thank you doctor. Appreciate it." Mr. Evans sheepishly replied, tucking the card in his back pocket.

"Are there any medications that he should avoid? Has his medication list been reconciled to include his new pain prescription?" asked Mr. Jones, using his doctor tone.

Dr. Taylor smiled knowingly. "Pediatrician?"

"Dentist." He answered. "But I've done my fair share of peds in my third year of residency. Trust me, I picked the right profession." Mr. Jones smiled, resting his hand on Mercedes' shoulder. "Besides, I deal with meds on a regular basis. I'm used to it."

"Oh, I imagine! Especially with all those heavy extractions. I tell you, I do not envy your job." said Dr. Taylor.

"Well, I'll tell you what we say in the field. There are two kinds of patients, the no patient and the Novocain patient!"

The doctors shared a hearty laugh at the field humor. "How true, sir! How true!" Dr. Taylor chuckled.

"Doctor?" The nurse walked in and handed him a clipboard with a host of forms. "The discharge sheets for Mr. Evans."

"Oh, thank you." Dr. Taylor took it and flipped through the sheets as she left, throwing on his squared reading glasses to look them over. "Well, everything seems to be in order...and to answer your question Dr. Jones, Mr. Evans is clear for all meds listed except aspirin. One of his prescribed meds already has blood thinning properties, just in case there are any remaining traces of blood clots. It shouldn't hurt him in theory since we don't expect him to be on his meds for long, but we still want to err on the side of caution," the doctor explained. Sam nodded in comprehension. "Now, who am I handing these off to?"

"Me, I guess. I mean, I'm technically eighteen now, as of Wednesday." Dr. Taylor handed him the clipboard and pen, pointing out the first set of lines he needed to sign.

Sam dramatically sighed, bigger and louder as he read and signed each form. "Great. I'm an adult for less than a week and I already have paperwork. This sucks!"

"Welcome to the real world, son." Mr. Evans said with a laugh. "Soon, it will be bills and loans and car payments. Then you and Mercedes will be watching your own children sign paperwork when they crack their heads."

Mercedes and Sam shared a warm look at the mention of children. Mercedes bashfully ducked her head, sucking in her lips. Sam bit away a smile, looking off to the side.

"But, that won't be for a long, long, long time. Right?" Mr. Jones reached over and patted his hand, painfully crushing his fingers on the arm of the wheelchair. Sam got the hint, nodding emphatically.

"Where's mama?" Mercedes asked, suddenly noticing her mother's absence. "Is she still at the hotel?"

"She's downstairs with Stevie and Stacie. They're still too young to come on the floor. She agreed to watch them while I checked on Sammy." Victoria answered. She quickly glanced at her watch and tapped a fingernail on the glass, checking the hour. "Speaking of the rugrats, I'd better head on downstairs and buy them some lunch. They haven't eaten a thing since they found out what happened to you two. Get this...Stacie declared a hunger strike when I got the call from the hospital. She wouldn't even sip water or be near food until the doctor came down and told her that you guys were alright. Can you believe her? What seven year old knows about hunger strikes?"

"I told you she watches entirely too much Discovery Channel." chuckled Mr. Evans. "Of course, once Stevie heard that Mercedes was involved, he jumped in right away and joined the madness."

Sam good naturedly rolled his eyes. "Figures. Mercedes would be the only reason an Evans' man gave up food. That kid stays tryna steal my girl."

"Well, he is pretty charming," Mercedes sighed, resting her chin on his warm shoulder. "And cute. I mean, every time I see that adorable gap in his teeth when he smiles, I just swoon."

Sam finished the last of his signing and handed his dad the clipboard to review the forms. Victoria ran to meet Patrice and the children downstairs. The men huddled together in the corner of the room, discussing politics and gadgets and the like. Sam pouted, turning to face her with bulging pink lips. "I can be adorable, too," he whined.

Mercedes chuckled at his silliness. She couldn't resist rubbing her own plump pout against his. "Is that right?" she said in the same voice, stealing a peck. "Well, not as cute as your little brother. I think you're way too big to be on Stevie's level of adorable, baby."

Sam looked over to make sure the adults weren't paying attention, before returning his girlfriend's gaze with a wolfish smile.

"I can show you better than I can tell you, Ms. Jones." He said quietly, tilting his head back to softly kiss her neck. Mercedes gripped his hair and shuddered.

"That's not what adorable means. I'd...I'd hardly call that adorable," she replied, fighting to keep her voice neutral. Sam slowly licked and nipped his way to her jaw.

"Really?" He kissed along her chin, teasing her soft flesh gently between his teeth until he reached the shell of her ear. "I think I'm downright innocent and precocious, love. What would you call me, then?"

Mercedes tried her best to hide her moan in a soft clear of her throat. "I'd call you frustrating as hell." She growled, gasping when the tip of his tongue rapidly flicked over the sensitive dip behind her ear. "Sam, that's not fair. That's my spot. You know that's my spot, baby. Stop it."

He continued, cupping her neck to pull her closer. Despite her protests, Mercedes didn't move away. Her head lolled against his mouth, rubbing against his lips as he loved on her skin. From Joseph and William's perspective, their children's exchange looked entirely innocent. They had no idea that their little boy's naughty kisses were making their little girl's thighs quiver, or how her whimpers were making their little boy horny as hell.

"Baby, please." Mercedes quietly begged, conscious of the crowd close by. "My daddy's right over there."

"And you like that, don't you? You like that he might come and stop us at any moment. You like the thrill. My little freak." he whispered back a smile, drawing her lobe between his lips. "I love the way you sound when you beg me. It's so sexy. Say it again for me, baby. Say please stop sucking on me, Sammy. Please, you're making my pussy so wet."

Mercedes released a needier whine at his words, quickly covering her mistake with a hand to her mouth. The last thing they needed was her father's attention. But Sam felt so good, kissing and loving on her, that she dared to continue.

"I'm not begging you again, Sam." she whispered, giggling when the rough pad of his tongue tickled her behind her ear. "The only person I've ever begged was my daddy, and that was a long time ago," She smiled and pulled back to stare at his lips.

"You gonna call me daddy, then?" He quietly murmured , leaning against her hot mouth as he spoke. "Because I can assure you, Ms. Jones, I will get you to beg me again if it's the last thing I do." Sam confidently closed the space between them and cupped her cheeks, wrapping his tongue around hers until her moans vibrated down his throat. "Say please, big daddy." He eagerly begged, wetting her lower lip with soft licks."Please stop fucking me with your mouth, big daddy."

Her eyes narrowed, small slits of fiery, determined, espresso brown. "No." She declared, though the break in her voice made her demand less convincing. Sam smiled at the challenge, leaning back in to suck and please her neck to his heart's content. "Sam...My daddy is..." She sagged against him, softly sighing and licking her lips as he snaked his tongue up and down her pulse point. "Oh...S-sam, we...you just hit your h.-" She hissed, grabbing and mussing his hair with greedy fingers. "Oh, my fu...Oh, Daddy..."

"Yes?" The couple jumped apart at the voice . A curious Dr. Jones walked toward them, missing the entire scene. "What's the matter, baby girl? What do you need?"

"Nothing, Dad!" Mercedes squeaked.

"But, you called for me. You said daddy."

"Not you." She quickly replied, hurriedly wiping away any traces of Sam from her neck. She'd hoped, for her sanity, that he would drop the subject.

"But, I'm pretty sure you only have one daddy. If you weren't calling me, who were you calling?"

Sam struggled to hold his laugh in as he watched Mercedes struggle to explain. "I...uh...I was just..."

"Look who we snuck up here to see you!" Victoria joyfully cheered from the doorway, moving aside to let Patrice and the kids in.

"Mommy!" Mercedes sprang up to hug her mom, grateful for the much needed interruption. Four small arms and legs wrap themselves around her from the sides. "Babies!"

"Hi, Mahcedes!" Stacie said in an adorable giggle, reaching to be picked up. Stevie stepped back, sucking his thumb as he watched Mercedes lift his sister in her arms.

"Hi, darling! Did you come to see your big brother?" she asked, kissing her cheeks. Stacie wildly nodded her blond head, smiling to expose the adorable space where her front teeth used to be.

"And we came to see you too!" she said happily. The little one suddenly grew sad, looking up at Mercedes with the widest blue eyes. "I'm sorry you got hurted, Mahcedes. Mommy told us that Donoban hurted you and Sammy."

"It's hurt, sweetheart, not hurted. And I hope you don't mind, Mercy-mine." Victoria said, picking up Stevie and holding him against her hip. "They're seven and super curious. I didn't go into detail, but I thought that it would be educational to fill them in on some of what happened. There's been so much school violence these days..."

"I understand. It's good to talk about it." Mercedes rubbed noses with Stacie, smiling all the while. "But, I'm okay now. And your brother's okay, and we're all gonna be fine, alright?" she assured her.

Stacie smiled brightly, visibly relieved at the older girl's words. "Alright, Mahcedes." She peeked over Mercedes's shoulder and bounced excitedly in her arms, wiggling around to get to her feet. "Sammy!"

Mercedes laughed at her easily diverted attention, letting the girl down so she could hop in her brother's lap. Stevie took the same opportunity, climbing out of his mother's arms to walk to Mercedes.

"Steven Anthony Evans, you take that finger out of your mouth right now before I chop it off and feed it to the rats!" Mrs. Evans warned him.

He defiantly continued to suck, side eyeing his mother's threat. Stevie reached in his pocket and pulled out a folded piece of white paper. With a slight blush, he handed it to Mercedes.

"For you." He said in a garbled voice, shuffling away to join Stacie on his big brother's lap. Mercedes looked to Victoria for a clue, but she simply waved her hand, quietly urging her to open it.

Mercedes smiled as she unfolded it, eager to read. At the very top, in red and blue crayon, a child's handwriting wrote the words "SORRY YOU GOT HURTED" in all capital letters. Below the words was a picture of two hearts with Stacie and Stevie's names scribbled in the middle. Mercedes chuckled when she noticed Stevie's effort to make his heart nearly twice as big as his sister's. And below the hearts, each member of the Jones' and Evans' family were drawn in stick figure, brown, round faces mixed with beige, triangular ones, wearing big smiles and wrapping their arms around each other. A blue circle below the feet of the two figures in the middle—figures she assumed were her and Sam, since the round brown face and triangle beige face were holding hands—had the words LOVE in bright green crayon. The female figure wore one of her signature hats and the male one had a Captain America style shirt on. At the very bottom, appropriately so, the words MY FAMILY lay underneath all of their feet in red, with pink and purple stars drawn around it. Mercedes could hear their little hearts in every part of their card. Victoria and Patrice were touched by the beginnings of her tears, letting a few escape them as well as they watched her. They had already seen the card and knew that it would be the perfect balm to soothe her weary heart. Joseph and William snuck a peek over her shoulder, smiling when they read it.

"Well I'll be damned." Will said softly, awed by his children's handiwork. "I guess they understood it all better than I thought they did."

"What does it say, babe?" Sam asked. Mercedes turned to him, still smiling as she wiped the happy tears away. "What did you give her to make her cry, stink bug?" Sam asked his brother, tickling him.

"Nothing!" Stevie howled and kicked, squirming around in his brother's arms. Sam snuck an arm around Stacie's waist as well, tickling her sides until she screamed with laughter.

"We didn't do nothing! We didn't do nothing!" They cried between giggles and shrieks, until they lost their breath. Sam laughed with them. He loved the sounds of their laughter. Stacie managed to wiggle her way out, and she ran to hide behind Mercedes before her tickle monster big brother could catch her. The little one pressed her face against Mercedes's side in an attempt to hide, holding on to her waist with all of her might.

"Save us, Macedes! Save us from the Sam monster!" she cried. Mercedes crossed her arms and shook her head at her.

"I don't think I can do that, love." She replied.
"Why not?" Stacie questioned, frowning at the answer.

"Because-THIS!" Mercedes lifted her up and held her face down, tickling her belly. Stacie screamed louder, wiggling and kicking the air. Stevie ran over to join the fun, stretching his hands for Mercedes to pick him up and tickle him like his sister.

"Okay, you two. That's quite enough. Mercedes only has two hands and you two are getting heavy!" William said, reaching for Stevie's hand.

"Awwww!" The disappointed twins walked to their father, pouting as they took his hands. "No fair!"

"Yeah, we never get to play with Sammy and Mahcedes anymore, daddy!" Stacie said to her father.

Stevie rolled his eyes. "It's Mercedes, not Mahcedes, Stacie." He sassed, in the most matter of fact way. "Say her name right, stupid."

Stacie grew heated from embarrassment."Stop sucking your thumb like a poopy diaper baby, stupid!" she sassed back, hand on hip.

"Alright, enough!" William said firmly, parting them before a full-fledged fight broke out. Stacie stubbornly stuck her tongue out at Stevie behind their father's back, satisfied that she'd gotten the last word. Stevie gave Mercedes a proud smile, happy that she had seen him correct his sister about her name. He'd done something impressive, and that was all that mattered to him.

"I swear, I don't know what spell you have over them, but they never fight over anyone like this!" William laughed, struggling to hold the squabbling twins apart.

"Not even me," Sam said, shaking his head as they tried to hit each other behind his father's back. "Hey!" With a clap, he caught their attention. "Guys! Injured big brother over here! I don't get any love?"

The twins stopped fighting and ran over to their brother. "Sorry, Sammy." They said, hugging his shoulders and kissing each of his cheeks.

"Room for a couple more?" A yellow and purple rose bouquet suddenly popped up between Victoria and Patrice at the doorway, startling them. Kurt's head sprang up above it soon after, grinning like a cheeky elf.

"Kurt!" Mercedes and Sam exclaimed. Patrice and Victoria parted, giving him way to run into his friends' arms. The rest of New Directions flooded in behind him, kissing the mothers' cheeks as they passed to greet their friends. Quinn stopped to give Patrice a lingering hug, talking with her and linking fingers like they did when she had lived with the Joneses. Stevie ran to Finn, jumping into his outstretched arms. Finn threw him on his shoulders, seating him around his neck. His larger arms held out his smaller ones as they spun, with Finn making the silliest, whirring noise that Stevie had ever heard. Stacie skipped over to Brittany, and they greeted each other with a kiss on the finger and a touch on the nose. It was a secret handshake of sorts that they'd created when they met. Stacie felt a strange kinship with her that she hadn't felt with any other older girl. It was almost like Brittany was more her friend than Sam's.

Sugar and Santana bombarded Mercedes with hugs and kisses, tumbling over as a unit on the hospital bed. A concerned Kurt, Blaine and Joe inspected Sam's head wound, while Puck punched his arm and cheered him for his bravery. Rachel looked around, trying her best to look inconspicuous as she snuck a piece of fried fish from Sam's hospital tray. Her eyes rolled back in delight when she had her first taste of the crispy golden treat, and she shamelessly uncovered the plate to devour the rest. Tina and Mike came in shortly after all of them, walking in with tons of get well balloons. Tina also had two teddy bears in her left hand, with their hands magnetically linked .One was brown with a purple and blue polka dot bow on the ear and the other was white, wearing a blue bowtie to match his partner. The entire room was alive with excited chatter and well wishes.

Dr. Taylor walked in the room with the nurse, ready to discharge Sam. The two medical officials froze when they caught sight of the sudden crowd. He checked the clock on the wall, just to make sure that it had only been fifteen minutes since they'd left the room. How had they missed all of these people coming in?!

The doctor blew a loud whistle, quieting the noisy room in an instant.

"Mr. Evans, it you'd like, you're free to go. Your nurse is here to escort you and your—um, crowd downstairs to your...car?" he questioned, eyeing a rough estimate of fifteen people. "Boy, you have a whole entourage!"

The New Directions laughed.

"Yeah, . We're lucky folks." Sam said, grabbing Mercedes' hand. "C'mon, crew. Let's roll outta here."

O-O

The nurse wheeled Sam through the double doors of the emergency room exit, setting his brakes near the parked van on the curb. Mercedes following close behind, with their parents and the New Directions fanning around them.

"Mom? Dad? Is it okay if I ride with my friends back to Lima? The doctor said it would be fine." Stevie and Stacie hopped off of Sam's lap and raced to the van. William clicked the automatic door open just in time on the rental, letting them inside before they crashed into hard metal. He and his wife shared a pensive look.

"I don't know, bud. You up for it? The ride might be really bumpy. It could flare up your headaches." Mr. Evans warned him.

"Yeah, and there won't be any one there to remind you to take your medicine or put the ointment on your stitches or make sure that you get enough rest. I don't know, Sam." Mrs. Evans said warily.

"Mom, I'm pretty sure I could handle all of those things on my own. Besides, I have to start learning, right? You're not going to be around to keep track of me forever."

"Says who?" sassed Victoria, hand on hip. "Boy, eighteen or eighty, I'm still gonna be your mama. I'm gonna stick on you like peanut butter to the roof of your mouth on a hot summer day until the good lord sees right and fit to end me. Trust and believe."

"I know, Mom." Sam laughed. "But I'm not a baby anymore. I'll have to learn how to handle things on my own."

"You've been handling things, Son. We don't want you to have to do that again." said Mr. Evans.

"But we're not talking about long night shifts doing jobs I hate, dad. I'm talking about taking responsibility for myself and doing what's best for me. I may have started earlier than most, but now it's on my terms." Sam told his father. "Besides, it's just a couple of hours. We've all had a pretty difficult couple of days and...I really need to spend some time with them."

Mr. Evans nodded in understanding.

"And I'll be there, Mama Vic. I'll help him remember everything," Mercedes added, nodding assuredly as she rubbed her boyfriend's shoulder. "I'll time it and put the new bandages on myself if he needs it. You know I'm good for it."

"We'll all be there to help." Finn added, pulling Rachel and Puck close beside him. "Right guys?" Everyone nodded, voicing their commitments to help.

Victoria's eyes shone over her son. She rubbed his cheek lovingly, admiring the new sense of self that shone in his eyes. "When did you stop crawling around and toppling over my furniture and start becoming a man?"

Sam shrugged, wearing his adorable crooked grin. "Somewhere around puberty, I think." he joked. Sam looked to Mercedes, cupping her hand over his shoulder. "And I met a good woman who challenged me to be better, mama. She changed everything about life."

Mercedes smiled at him, mouthing "I love you."

Rachel scowled, smacking Finn in the stomach. "Ow! Rachel, what the hell?"

"Why don't you make sweet speeches to your parents about how I've influenced your life?" she angrily asked.

"Uhhh..." Finn thought up a quick answer, cowering under the looming sense of dread that washed over him whenever Rachel started tapping her foot. "Because the impact you've had on my life needs no words?"

Rachel's face brightened. "Really? Aww, Finny Bear!" She bounced up on the balls of her feet and kissed his cheek. Finn smiled dumbly, happy that she bought it.

"So, where are we dropping Mr. Evans? Is he traveling with his friends or going into the van with you?" the nurse asked, checking her watch. "I don't mean to rush you, but we have a heavy load on the floor and I'm nowhere near done with my documentation."

Sam looked to his parents. "Well? Is it alright?"

The adult Evans' nodded. "We'll drive you over to the bus. C'mon, let's get you inside."

"C'mon, Sammy! C'mon!" The twins cheered, winding down the window to listen in. Stevie slid the door open, a bit too roughly for Mr. Evans liking.

"Sorry, daddy!" Stevie said hurriedly, before he could get the verbal tongue lashing due to him. "I'm just excited!"

"Let's go, New Directions! We have a bus to catch!" Rachel cheered, leading the group to the buses on the other side of the parking lot.

O-O

The drive wasn't long at all. With stop signs and slow speed limits considered, it only took them five minutes to get to the west lot. The yellow buses were parked around the corner, bright and clear as day against the gray, drab slot of concrete.

"Sam, before you leave, we need to talk about something important."

Sam paused, hand on the door handle. "Yes, Dad? What's up?"

Mrs. Evans looked back to check on the twins. They were sound asleep in their booster seats, tuckered out from the long and eventful weekend.

"First of all, we have to tell you how glad we are that you're alive and well. God knows you walkin' and talkin' right now is nothing short of fervent prayer answered. You and Mercedes have gone through the wringer," Mrs. Evans said.

"I know. I'm just grateful to get out in one piece." Sam replied with a short laugh. "Everything else is like an extra blessing. The whole experience was pretty surreal. Kind of trippy, really."

"I'll bet." Mr. Evans replied, chuckling with his son. "You two were brave. And whether you realize it or not, this weekend will change your lives forever. Things like this tend to either make or break people. You two seem to be coping just fine, and I'm happy to see that."

"I am, too. With a little more therapy, I should be fine, right?" Sam smiled, pulling the door open. Mrs. Evans reached back behind her chair to halt his hand.

"Which brings us to what we really want to talk about, Samuel." She said gravely. "You and Mercedes have endured a lot of pain and lasted through it, probably for the long haul, and we need to know what your intentions are with her."

"My intentions?" Sam questioned, yanking the sliding van door closed. "What do you mean?"

"Well, Son, we know you. You're a feeling led kind of guy. You have a tendency to rush into things before you're ready for them. You see the whole picture and move without inspecting the details. Now, you've popped the question to other girls in the past...

"Mercedes isn't another girl. She's the one." Sam insisted, sitting up straighter.

Mrs. Evans smiled at his stern reflection in the rearview mirror. "We know that, dear. We never said she wasn't." He was so much like his father at that age, when he'd sat down in front of her dad and fought for their right to get married. "We just don't want you to do something crazy, like run the girl off to Vegas and get hitched without us knowing. We love her, and we love you both together, but now may not be the right time to make such an important decision."

Sam leaned back, a bit stunned. "I don't know. I guess I haven't really thought about what would happen after." Unbeknownst to his parents, he had already acted on his impulse before the incident. Her left hand already held the placeholder until he could afford the ring. "To be honest, I feel like I could marry her tomorrow. What's the big deal?"

"That's what we mean, Son. Marriage is a serious institution." warned Mr. Evans. "It's not ever something that you should enter into on a whim or a feeling. It's a life-long commitment. Your mother and I made that mistake when we were your age, and while we don't regret it now, it took a lot of work to get us to where we are now. I picked the right woman, but chose the wrong time. Do you understand what I'm telling you, Son?"

"I think so, sir," Sam said forlornly, staring at the silver string around his wedding finger. It had frayed a bit more, but still held every ounce of its original meaning. "How would I know when it's the right time, then?"

"When everything settles, and you have time to stop and think, the answer will come to you. It won't be sudden and passionate. It won't come in a heated kiss or a loving stare. It will be a conscious choice. Most times, wisdom will tell you not yet. But soon, that ready will come, and you'll have full faith in it." Mr. Evans replied, patting his son's cheek.

"Now, are we saying that you're too young to get married right now? Not at all. It may very well be okay for you. Are we saying that you shouldn't marry Mercedes?" Both turned to him, squinting their eyes in warning. "You better marry that girl, Samuel. That's the best thing to ever come along now. Don't be dumb."

"Okay, mom!" Sam laughed. Mr. Evans motioned to his eyes in an 'I'm watching you' motion. "I get it! Jeez, you guys are subtle."

His parents smirked at him. "We just want you to use your head and your heart together, Son. That's all." Mr. Evans assured him. "And when you're both seriously ready, we'll rejoice with you. Just...don't let the excitement of this weekend speed everything up. Give yourself time to think straight. Alright?"

"Yes, sir." Sam nodded. "I promise I'll think it out."

"My boy." Mr. Evans said proudly. "Now, get out of here before you start sprouting roots in our chair. You have a bus load of people waiting for you, including your lil' lady." The bus horn blared soon after, with Puck waving at them from the driver's seat. Mr. Schue ran up and shooed him away, pointing him to the back of the bus as he took his rightful place behind the wheel.

Sam kissed his brother and sister's sleeping foreheads, then his parents' cheeks, before preparing to leave.

"Oh, and Samuel?"

"Yes, Mom?" he answered.

She smiled and handed him a small grey velvet box. "When it happens, make sure you give her this. You have our blessing."

Sam curiously opened the box. Inside was a lovely white gold ring, with amethyst and diamonds littered throughout the band. The sparking jewels gradually grew larger in size as they met toward the open oval center, marrying around the largest diamond Sam had ever seen in his lifetime nestled in the middle. The gems around it looped and curled together in a never ending ring of infinity symbols, dazzling the eyes as well as the heart. Sam took it out and felt around the inside band. He gasped when the tell-tale Evans inscription graced his fingers, in elegant cursive.

"This was grammy's ring," he said in awe. "The one she used to talk about. The one you told me about."

Mr. Evans nodded, growing teary eyed. "Couldn't find it in me to pawn it. It was too special. I knew that she would have wanted you to have it someday." He sniffed and cleared his throat. "Only put it on one finger, Son. And never take it off, no matter what happens. You hear?"

"Yes, sir," Sam answered, still staring at the lovely ring. Mr. Evans had been denied the opportunity to give the heirloom to his wife. They were young and strong-willed, and had rushed through their nuptials without their family and friends. It wasn't until his mother passed that he'd even discovered the ring in his inheritance, and he knew that Sam would be the one to give it to his special lady when the time came.

Mercedes arrived sooner than all of them had expected, but Mr. Evans recognized the inevitable. He had taken the liberty of getting the ring resized for its new future owner.

"Thank you." Sam whispered to his parents, holding the sparkler to the sunlight. "Thank you so much."

O-O

Sam put the ring back in its rightful place and tucked the box in his pants pocket. As he made his way toward the bus, Puck ran out and met him halfway, wrapping Sam's arm around his shoulders to offer support.

"Dude, I'm fine. I can walk on my own," Sam insisted.

"Not my choice, man. Orders from your woman." Puck told him, patting his back as they walked. "You know, for someone so little, Mercedes is intimidating as hell."

"I heard that, Puck," Mercedes called out from the bus steps, hopping down to greet her boyfriend with a kiss. "How are you feeling? Dizzy? Lightheaded?"

"A little smothered, honestly!" Sam laughed, untangling himself from his friend and girlfriend. "Guys, relax! It's no big deal."

Mercedes scoffed. "No big deal?! Aren't you the same guy that almost got shot and just came out of the hospital for a head injury?" she sassily asked, hand on hip.

"Well, yes. But..."

"And, didn't this same guy just get stitches and pain meds to fix the pistol whipping he got only yesterday?" Puck asked Mercedes, talking around him like he wasn't there.

"Yup, he sure did, Puck." She nodded, staring right at Sam. "He must not understand how serious it all was, or how freaked out we were about possibly losing him. Permanently..."

"Okay, guys! I get it." Sam said, quieting them. "Thank you for caring about me. I just...I don't like to think about it. It makes me feel weird."

"Are you scared?" Mercedes asked. He didn't answer. "Baby, what's the matter? Is this what that scene in the hospital was about? I felt it." She softened when he looked away. "It's okay if you're scared, baby. It's perfectly normal. I'm still nervous about going back home. Everything's changed."

Sam still didn't answer. He simply patted Puck on the back and ushered him toward the bus doors. "I'm good, man. You can go inside."

"You sure?" Puck asked, looking back and forth between them.

Mercedes recognized the shimmer in Sam's eyes and nodded. "He's sure. You can go, Puck. I've got it from here."

Puck accepted it with a shrug. He recognized a dismissal when he heard one. Besides, they obviously needed to talk about something emotional, and he hated being in the crossfire when people were expressing their feelings. "Call me if you need me, then."

Mercedes followed Puck with her eyes, watching until she was sure he was all the way inside. The bus doors closed, and Mercedes marched forward and forcefully pulled Sam into a tight hug.

"It's okay," she said quietly, kissing his cheek as she held him.

Sam's jaw clenched repeatedly. He looked off behind her, fighting the urge to break with all of his might. "I know it's okay, Mercedes. I'm still standing. You don't have to tell me that."

"Sam, please shut up and stop being stubborn." She leaned up to his ear and spoke gently, a soft caress of reason in his ear. "We made a promise to be honest to each other, even if the truth isn't pretty. Right now, I know you're standing terrified, because your arms are shaking so hard that we're both trembling. I also know that you don't want to tell me, because you refuse to let go of the stupid voice in your head that tells you you're wrong for being afraid. You're trying to be strong for me, but I'm giving you permission to let go and let me hold you, baby. I won't think less of you, Sam. I could never think less of you. Stop fighting."

Sam felt his face grow hot. The tremors intensified, and an involuntary groan left him when the first tear slipped down his left cheek. Mercedes leaned back to cup his face in her hands. Softly, she rubbed their noses together. It had become a thing with them, ever since Sam left her to go to Kentucky. When that small part of their bodies touched, it was a simple reminder of the other's presence. In times of anguish, it reminded them to focus less on the problems around them and more on the loving solution standing in front of them. Each brick of his emotional wall slid and tumbled over one by one under the intensity of her gaze.

"It's okay." She assured him. "Do you trust me? It's okay here. It's okay." she repeated. "Let it go."

She would kiss him with every silent tear that fell down his cheek until, finally, he allowed himself to succumb and fell into her shoulder.

She wrapped her arms even tighter around him, rewarding his jaw and neck with kisses as she squeezed with all of her might. He weakly hugged her back, growing slack in her embrace as he cried.

It was embarrassing for him to think about how he looked in that moment. Sam could feel the curious eyes on them from the bus windows and knew, without a doubt, that his face was probably red as beet. But he couldn't stop letting go if he tried. Once one knew freedom, how could they ever willingly return to the prison that held them captive? It felt so good to have someone recognize his pain when he couldn't, to trust someone enough to unburden everything on and know that they would keep it all in confidence. Mercedes loved him even when he wasn't strong. She loved him more for the reality of him. It was liberating...and frightening. Every underlying fear and anxiety he'd harbored bubbled to the surface. Thoughts he didn't realize were haunting him came to light once she gave him permission to acknowledge them.

"I could have died, Mercy," he cried, snuggling deeper into her neck. "I could have been gone yesterday. I could have lost everything. I could have lost you, baby."

Mercedes looked to the heavens, silently thanking God for his grace as her chin quivered. "I know," she replied, her voice breaking. "I think about that all the time."

He sniffled, tightly squeezing her waist. "I wouldn't have seen you again."

Mercedes shuddered, tucking her face into the shelter of their embrace. That reminder of how quickly everything could have changed brought up some unresolved fears of her own. "I don't know what I would have done. Sam, I don't know how I would've gone on if I had to watch him kill you."

"But I'm not dead. I'm right here." He kissed her shoulder, pulling her sweater aside to reach her bare skin.. "I'm alive and right here and I'm not going anywhere anytime soon."

"You better not, Sam." She warned. "You better stay right here with me."

He nodded, squeezing her once more before he pulled back to wipe her eyes. "And I am going to fuss and obsess and occasionally smother you, but it's only because I care about you more than anything and it's the only way I know how to stay sane."

Sam laughed, drying his face in his sleeve. "In that case, I promise not to complain too much."

"You better not complain at all." She demanded, tenderly touching his cheek. "I nearly collapsed in that theater. I had to count the panic attack away in my head. It was the only thing that kept me standing. That, and the fact that you were still breathing." She stared at him for a while, and slowly, the tiniest bits of humor drained from her face. She stepped forward and combed back his bangs with her fingers. Her thumb grazed his wound and lingered, running back and forth over the bumps of sewn skin concealed by the bandage. "I guess we have another scar to add to the collection, huh?" she asked softly.

Sam nodded. "I guess so. A pretty huge one at that." He'd caught on quickly to the fact they weren't talking about stitches at all. "It'll heal soon, though."

Mercedes sighed, closing her eyes as she leaned into his forehead. "How long will it take, you think?"

"Not long," he whispered, pulling her in to rest his chin atop her head. "Not nearly as long as we think it will."

Her eyes opened, and she smirked at the unconscious paring of his shirt with her nail polish. It was the exact same shade of jade green and they hadn't even planned it. "I believe that," she said, tapping her adorned wedding finger against his shoulder. "I have to believe that."

They stood quietly in each other's arms for a while, reflecting on everything and nothing in particular, before Mercedes interrupted the silence.

"Hey."

Sam leaned back, meeting her eyes. "Yeah?"

She sucked in her top lip, anxiously nibbling, before she replied. "Daily reminder that I love you."

And in that instant, Sam wondered if God himself had inspired the conversation his parents had with him mere minutes ago. His heart felt full to bursting for the woman in front of him. The words marry me blared in the forefront of his mind, loud and boisterous as ever. The ring box suddenly felt too heavy for his pocket. He could hijack the bus and drive them to the nearest chapel right now to make her his. He could cut away the promise on her hand and replace it with something solid and precious and permanent. Right now, right this second, she could be his Mrs. Evans.

"I love you too, Mercedes Jones." he replied, and the entire near death experience made him realize how selfless that love truly was. For the first time in his life, he had someone that loved him just as fiercely and insanely as he loved them. Sam never once had to worry that she'd disappear. Her dedication was extreme. She was willing to take a bullet for him, to die with him, without hesitation. He could sit with Mercedes and envision their future together, and she saw it all as clearly as he did. It was never an if with her. It was always a when.

"Wait." said the quiet voice guiding his mind and heart. "Wait."

His proposal could wait. He wouldn't be selfish with her. He would give her the courtesy of a well thought out proposal, with wine and candles and all the works. He'd get her daddy's blessing. Her mama would be their first call, and she'd cry on the phone because she too had waited a long time for their moment. He'd give her a story to tell her friends, and their children, and children's children for years to come. Because Mercedes wasn't just anybody. She was the true and indisputable keeper of his heart. The real ring could wait until they were both ready.

Love—real love— never fails, dear ones. It scars and wears thin and grows old, as many precious things do, but it never fails.

O-O

An unfamiliar set of arms wrapped around their waists, startling them. Mercedes craned her neck to find a tear-ridden Sugar resting against her back.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to interrupt. I just..." She let go and stepped back, looking to the floor in embarrassment. "I was scared, too."

Sam and Mercedes looked at her, then each other, and opened their arms to let her in without hesitation. She jumped in eagerly, happily wiggling in their embrace. Santana came down and stood in front of the steps, awkwardly watching the scene.

"Is there any room left or..."

Mercedes smiled, beckoning her over with her finger. "There's always room for you, Tana. C'mon, girl. "

Santana walked into the little circle, kissing her friend's cheek. "Talk about a close call, huh? We'll be telling our kids about this one." She reached over, playfully punching Sam's shoulder. "Wouldn't have been the same without you, Trouty."

He smiled. "Tell me about it. Who else could you use those awesome Lisa Rinna jokes on?" He gently punched her back. "I'm glad that I'm still here to hear them."

Tina and the rest of new directions climbed down the bus steps, watching by the doors. "Ahem."

The circle of heads turned to face her. Sam rolled his eyes, chuckling at the eagerness on his friend's faces. They looked like happy puppies.

"Bring it in, you dopes." He laughed, letting go of Sugar's hand to let them in. Everyone rushed in all at once, bombarding them with embracing arms. Mr. Schue and Mike brought Artie down and set up his wheelchair, placing him in the center of all the love.

"I hope we're still cool?" Artie asked Mercedes, clearly uncertain. "I'm sorry about everything before. I can't imagine losing you guys and never getting the chance to apologize. Too scary."

"It's forgiven." she answered. "And I can't imagine losing any of you period."

"We've came pretty close, though." Tina added.

"When I saw that gun, I thought for sure that one of us was going to get a bullet. A near loss like that really puts things into perspective, you know?" said Rachel, leaning on Puck's shoulder.

"How so, my Yiddish compadre?" Puck asked.

"It brought back every mean thing that I've ever said or done. When he pointed it at me, I didn't see my life flash before my eyes. I saw the lives I'd affected instead." Rachel eyed each of her friends sadly. "I've been horrible, haven't I?"

"Well, since you brought it up..."

"We've all done stuff we're not proud of, Santana." Finn quickly replied, dodging Santana's harsh rant. "Especially to each other. We've been the best of friends and the worst of enemies, all in the same week."

"Week?" scoffed Kurt. "Try day."

"Try hour." Blaine added. "Glee club must be one of those ironic names."

The crew chuckled.

"But really guys, for the record." Rachel said seriously. "If we leave out today and crash into some fiery inferno or die of some rapidly spreading incurable mutant virus..."

"No more Explorer channel for Rachel," muttered Finn, wrapping an arm around a giggling Brittany.

"I want you all to know how sorry I am for all the stuff I've said that I didn't mean. I'm sorry if you ever thought for a second that I didn't care about you or that I would push our friendship aside to pursue my own selfish ambitions. Dinner theatre or Broadway, I always want you guys by my side. I want you to be there for my shows and have you invite me to sing at your weddings. I want our kids to grow up together and ask us why they call us uncle and aunt when we're not related. I want to share embarrassing stories and pictures with them from days like this. Our highlight years," Rachel said sincerely. "And I want to be able to talk about you and smile during my E true Hollywood story, when they ask me about the people that changed my life. It's here. It's right now. It's you guys."

Everyone smiled, with a few sniffles and cleared throats chorusing throughout.

"You mean you could have gotten all of this before if someone just held a gun to your face? Why the hell didn't we think of that?"

"TINA!" laughed Mercedes, pushing her away. Everyone laughed.

"No, I joke. Ditto to all of that. I want all of those things, too."

"Me too." added Sugar.

"Why don't we make a pact?" Finn suggested.

"Great idea, Finn. A commitment pact to each other," interjected Mr. Schue. "No matter where we are or what happens we'll always find a way to come back together. You kids have been the highlight of my career, and I hope that someday you'll come to think of me as more than your teacher."

"What, you want that job of being the creepy loser that lurks in the shadows during class reunions? Because I'm pretty sure either you or Figgins already has that position in the bag," sassed Santana.

"No, Santana. I hope to be your friend," he laughed. "I hope to see all of you grow up and make something of yourselves. I want to see you all enjoy life and become successful."

"Yeah, and then we could have kids and send them to your class to learn how to sing and dance. Then, we could get them their own TV show, build a cult following, and get hoards and hoards of geeky teens and pedophiles to follow them on twitter," suggested Brittany. "Wait...do they have a twitter in the future?"

"You know what cult means?" Joe asked seriously.

"You want pedophiles following our kids?" asked Santana.

"Britt, no disrespect, but I highly doubt America would be interested in watching a bunch of kids doing our lame Glee performances." replied a doubtful Sam.

"Why not?" asked Mercedes. "They already have performance shows like that. I'm sure our kids would be just as talented."

"Even more talented!" added Rachel.

"Yeah, but who in their right mind would forego dancing celebrities and hot crime dramas to watch a bunch of high schoolers sprout acne and make out?" asked Kurt. "I mean, aside from being adorable, what would they do? Brood and sing their every emotion down crowded hallways when no one's paying attention? Form committed relationships one week, then break up and not speak to each other with absolutely no explanation at all? Give has-been guest stars crappy one liners and empty story lines to boost ratings? It would be a train wreck!"

Brittany thought about it, and then laughed at her own logic. "Yeah, I guess that was pretty stupid, even for me. But we could still put them in a band and they could win the 40th season of X-factor."

"Hey guys, I've got a better idea. How about we pray about it?" Joe suggested, redirecting the conversation. "The pact I mean, not...not the X-factor part. That is, if everyone is cool with it."

"I'm good." Kurt replied, surprising the rest. "What? I may not believe in the big guy, but I know that something or someone got us away from Donovan, alive and in one piece. I think we owe the universe a favor to commit to this as formally as possible. Let's do it."

Everyone shrugged and joined hands. At Joe's nod, every head bowed and eye closed, ready for prayer.

"Father God, we..."

Joe paused mid-sentence. Mercedes raised her head, curious about the interruption. Wordlessly, their eyes met and he gestured over his shoulder. Mercedes followed his gaze to the sunset, where a fiery, wavy mass of hair glowed in the cast of golden light.

Sam felt his girlfriend's energy change and opened his eyes as well. When he looked where she looked, he anticipated the worst.

"Hold off on the prayer, guys," he announced to the group.. "We have company."

One by one, each member looked up, watching a terrified Erin walk from her parents' car toward them. She took slow steps, one careful foot after another, until she was just short of reaching them. If she had reached out, she would've been able to rest her hand on Mercedes's shoulder. It was a safe distance away. Mercedes was still untouchable.

"I wrote you letters." She said quickly, eager to fill the silence. "I sat for hours everyday, trying to find the right words to say how truly sorry I am. I wrote how much your friendship changed my life, and how stupid I was for ever thinking that you didn't value it. I reminded you of the talks we'd had and all I'd shared with you, and I could smack myself for acting the way I did. You had never betrayed my trust before. You never thought to use anything I'd told you against me. You could have, but you didn't. You're my friend. You care about me. I see that now." she told her. " And I begged you...in this letter...to come out with me for ice cream, like old times. I want the chance to apologize properly. I'd even get you three scoops instead two this time. Because, good things always come in threes, right?"

Mercedes merely blinked at the failed attempt of a joke.

" To be honest, I anticipated the day that you'd fail me. I know it's wrong and I shouldn't have, but I'm not used to having good things last. Good things—good people—they're not supposed to find someone like me. Finding out about my brother was...it was the failure I was looking for." Erin moved to continue, but faltered, hugging herself as she thought. "I've lost a lot of people that I care about in my life. I realize now that I should cherish the good things when they happen. You're a good thing, Mercedes. I can't afford to lose you. And even though I don't think that I deserve your friendship, I have to try and get it back. I can't let it go when I know that I have the power to fix it. So...this is me, attempting."

Mercedes's eyebrows rose. She stepped forward, away from the circle, and joined her. "And you explained all of this...in a letter?"

"Well, I tried to, but I ran out of paper." Erin awkwardly laughed. "The words wouldn't come out right. Then I thought, 'Erin, you should probably just say them in person'. So, here I am. I know I usually talk a lot, so words failing me is, like, rare, but I kept trying and trying to organize my thoughts so they would make sense and ironically it all makes perfect sense now that I'm standing here talking to you with sweaty palms and a heart ready to beat out of my chest, so I guess nerves is what I needed to..."

"Erin, please stop talking. You're rambling," Mercedes calmly ordered. Her mouth shut immediately. "How did you find out that I knew who your brother was?"

Erin's gaze fell to the floor. "You called him Donovan. I've never told you his full name, not once. I've only called him Donnie since I was little. I didn't even remember his whole name until I showed you his picture and you said it. Then, you had this strange look on your face, like you'd seen a ghost or something. I knew it was weird, but the dots didn't really connect until I decided to do some research. I saw the story on the news and read it on the internet and...put two and two together." She answered. "If I didn't do that, I would've had no idea. I guess that's what made me so mad. My brother would have been alive and well, the entire world would have known about it, and I would've had no idea."

"Did the police call you to come up here?" Mercedes asked.

Erin nodded. "A little after I found out, they showed up at our door. They offered to fly me up to New York on a chopper. They said that my brother needed me. I'd just found out he was alive, and all of a sudden I needed to be his sister again. It was all so overwhelming. My parents flew down with me. We got here in less than two hours." She pointed to the running engine parked behind her. "They're waiting by in the rental to drive me back home, but I told them I had to stop here first. We just came from seeing Don—I mean, my brother." She wiped away the tears as quickly as they ran down her cheeks. "I'm so sorry for what he did to you, Mercedes. And you must hate looking at me because of how he hurt you, but...I had to try to fix it between us. You're the best friend I've ever had. I had to give it a shot."

Mercedes nodded slowly, taking in all she said. Her expression gave Erin no answers. Sam and Artie couldn't even interpret a thing from her face, and they knew her well.

"Well, you did come and tell me, so there's that." she answered in a neutral tone. "I'm glad you came and told me."

Growing fearful, Erin anxiously ran up to hug her, crying hysterically in her shoulder. "Please. I'm not him, Mercedes. I'm so sorry for what I did...for what my family did to you. I didn't mean any of it, I swear! Please don't be mad!"

"Please let go, Erin. I never said that I was mad." Mercedes said calmly. Erin stepped back, holding herself together as best she could under the circumstances.

"Joseph, could you come here?" Joe pointed to himself, surprised to hear his whole name, before running over to Mercedes.

"Yes?"

"Before Erin came, what were we doing?" She asked, as if the answer escaped her.

"Um...we were about to pray?" he answered, frowning. "You know that."

"What for?" she said coolly, turning to face him.

"For us," he slowly replied. " That we would stick together, no matter what happens. We'll honor our friendship with the loyalty it deserves."

"Exactly. Loyalty." she replied, turning back to Erin. "Friendship requires a great deal of commitment."

"Mercedes, what are you doing?" Sam whispered to her, touching her shoulder and watching Erin slowly come undone at her words. Artie wheeled between her and Joe, patting her right thigh.

"C'mon, baby girl. Don't do Erin dirty like that. Have a heart." he begged softly. He hurt for her.

Mercedes silenced them with a wave of her hand. "What was that quote you shared with us again? That quote about friends and sticking by them?" She asked Joe.

"Oh, um..." he wracked his brain for the exact wording. "Friendship isn't about who you've known the longest, it's about who came and never left your side."

"Hmm," she nodded. "What an appropriate quote for today."

"I didn't, Mercedes! I was always your friend!" Erin tearfully insisted, grabbing her hand. "Always!"

Mercedes nodded again, squinting as she observed her. "I've learned alot about friendship these past couple of months, Erin. A real friend doesn't bow out when things get difficult. They don't leave because their feelings were hurt. Friendship takes work, lots of effort, and plenty of communication. You understand?"

"I do." Erin nodded desperately. "I do understand."

"And friends who give up on you...well, they're not worthwhile friends at all, are they?" Mercedes asked her.

Erin's eyes grew wide with hurt. Her lips trembled, blood red from her efforts to bite back her cries. "This is goodbye, isn't it?" she asked solemnly. "Is this goodbye?"

"Goodbye?" Mercedes scoffed. "After all we've been through? After all you've done for me? You think one little misunderstanding and not talking to me for three days is gonna get rid of that?"

Erin frowned, completely puzzled. "What?"

"Guys, do you think we could make a little more room for Erin in the circle?" Mercedes yelled back. "I really think that she should be a part of this."

"You're not mad at me?" Erin asked, hoping. Mercedes simply walked her over to the circle, lacing their fingers together.

"I told you. Worthwhile friends don't give up on you." She smiled. "And, we're friends, aren't we?"

Erin squealed and jumped in her arms, holding her shorter friend tight. "For as long as you'll have me!" she said.

Mercedes laughed, returning her hug. "How about we start with fifty years, and then renegotiate our terms? I should have told you the truth. I'm sorry, too. I just couldn't bear to take away the happy memories you had of your brother. You always brightened so much when you talked about him. I couldn't figure out how to tell you that he'd hurt me. i knew it would hurt you far worse. I'm so sorry you had to find out that way, Erin. I can't imagine..."

Erin nodded in her shoulder. For a while, she simply rocked in her embrace. Then, they grew still, and Mercedes felt the droplets on her shoulder before the group could hear the psob.

"It's okay, Erin." Tina said lowly, rubbing her back. "It's okay."

"We all make mistakes, honey," Santana assured her, smoothing her hair. "But friends understand that. We stick by you."

Artie wheeled up and held her hand. "We're gonna be right here. What happened was not your fault, Erin."

The irony of Artie's words struck Mercedes right away. A few months ago, she had been Erin, crying in her mother's arms as she told her the same thing. Back then, she couldn't believe her. How could something so terrible not be her fault? How could something that happened to her own body be outside of her control? It was too difficult to comprehend, let alone accept as truth.

Then, Bee happened. And Sam happened. Then God and her friends happened. And here she was, standing in a circle of her closest confidantes, comforting the sister of her attacker and calling her friend.

She was the one healing a hurt.

Isn't it funny how life comes full circle that way? She should have been a walking tragedy. She and Sam shouldn't have worked out the way they did. Her friends should have left her once they knew, or even once Donovan decided to sabotage the rehearsal room. She should be huddled in her room now like she was then, depressed and hurting, trying to cover up her pain and fake a smile so she could continue life.

Instead, she was living. Her boyfriend declared his undying love, stood by her, and adamantly claimed her hand in marriage the moment she said she was ready. Her friends fought for her (literally) and dedicated an entire performance to sexual abuse because it was something that mattered to her. She found Bee and the girls and spoke about her issues. She dealt with her pain instead of burying it, and came out a better person than she was before all of this happened. Her life was a testimony. The very fact that she was standing today is nothing short of a blessing. And the One who controlled everything—the One who saw the attack happen, watched her break down and gather the fragmented pieces of herself after Donovan had hurt her—loved her enough to give her back everything she'd lost and then some. Everything she thought he'd taken from her, God had returned, tenfold and stronger than ever.

"Don't cry, sweetheart," she said softly, closing her eyes. "It's not your fault. It was never, ever your fault."

The darkness had lifted.

Hallelujah.

O-O

Joe beckoned everyone else over. They all joined hands and bowed their heads, surrounding a sniffling Erin resting in Mercedes's embrace. She began to hum This Little Light of Mine softly in her ear, knowing it would bring her comfort.

"You remembered," Erin whispered, smiling.

The steady, soulful sound created the perfect atmosphere for their commune with God.

"Father...Daddy...Abba...We love you so much," Joe began, "We ask that you look down upon us this day and smile. We've been through so much as a group, suffering from the hand of the enemy in more ways than one. But Lord, I'm grateful that we're standing. I'm grateful for the strength you've placed in each of us to endure until the end. We were each other's support when foundations shook, each other's backbone when our bodies grew weary and lifeless, and breaths of fresh air in times when our worlds were clouded with filth. Father, I pray that we never lose that. I pray that we always seek to uplift and support one another. Let us never lose the fight in our spirits. Help us to recognize the attacks on our friendships for what they are, mere attempts to make us weak. Together we are strong, and I pray that we will always recognize the strength of our union. Continue to help us, Abba, in times when we don't know. Be our eyes in the darkness of this world. Help us to be lights, illuminating the way for others. Most of all, help us to always remember that we are more than just friends. We are family. And in the heart of this family, may we always find you. In the Savior's name we pray, amen."

"Amen," chorused the group, reaching out to join in the embrace.

O-O

The New Directions silently boarded the bus one after the other, reflecting on the promise laid out in prayer. The still, loving mood lasted well into the trip home. Seating arrangements had changed, and the changes were understood and respected without discussion. Friends that haven't spoken in a while huddled together in groups of twos and threes to reconnect, mending any broken bridges between them. Joe even had the presence of mind to call Rory and check in on him. He may have left the group out of fear, but Joe still considered him to be one of their friends. He put the Irishman on speaker when he answered, letting everyone on the bus voice their greetings and fill him in on all that happened.

Six hours into the trip, everyone fell asleep in their new seats, huddled together under blankets. Tina sat sandwiched between a snoring Kurt and Blaine, with Mike sitting between Quinn and Finn in the seat across from them. Santana and Rachel shared a blanket and pillow, leaning against each other's heads as they noisily snored. Erin decided to forego the trip back with her parents in favor of riding with her new buddies. She rested in Artie's embrace, sleeping against his left shoulder. A droopy headed Brittany slept on his right.

Joe and Sugar looked quite comfortable nestled against the window-perhaps a bit more comfortable that most were used to seeing them. Mercedes noted the way his arms wrapped around Sugar's shoulders, and how contently the brunette smiled as she snuggled against his chest. It was exactly how she and Sam slept on long car rides. The sleepy, unconscious kiss Joe gave Sugar's forehead confirmed her suspicions.

She internally cheered, bursting to share the good news of their coupledom. Unfortunately, her seat in the back made gossip difficult. Her girls were too far to reach, the boys wouldn't care or understand, and she didn't want to call anyone to wake them up. That would be highly inconsiderate.

"Sam! Psst...Sam!" she shook her sleeping boyfriend, slapping his shoulder. Mercedes pouted when he didn't respond . She grabbed her pillow and swung, hitting him in the chest.

"Sam!" she whispered again. Still no answer. Growing frustrated, she threw the pillow in his face, hoping to startle him awake. Her slumbering boyfriend barely budged. The pillow pathetically bounced off his forehead, rolled down his chest, and landed in his lap.

"Log head." She grumbled. Mercedes slid closer to him, changing her tactic with a tickle to his neck. Still nothing.

"Sam?" Mercedes suddenly remembered everything the doctor told them about latent coma symptoms and warning signs. "Sam, wake up." She grew anxious when she shook him harder and he still didn't open his eyes. "Sam? Baby, please wake up."

Sam began to stir, moaning as he stretched and twisted about. Mercedes sighed in relief when his bleary eyes opened.

"Infuriating woman." He yawned, too sleepy to sound truly upset. "Why won't you let me sleep? I only got about two hours off and on in the hospital."

"I tried to wake you to tell you something, but you didn't wake up." she replied. "Then, your breathing sounded weird and I remembered what the doctor said about your head and I..."

"Mercedes." he deadpanned. "I am fine. I'm just tired." He sighed wearily, turning on his side to go back to sleep. "Leave me alone and let me rest."

She rolled her eyes, annoyed with his attitude. "I was just trying to make sure that you were okay. I wanted to share something with you. Excuse me for caring,"

Sam's eye popped open to check on her. The anger was false, but he could tell that her concern and worry were very real. With a long-suffering huff, he wrapped his fingers around her forearm, gently tugging her toward him. She stubbornly stayed put.

"Mercedes." He said lowly, giving her a look.

She side-eyed him. "What? Is my presence disturbing you too? Should I move?" she sassed.

"C'mon, babe." He pouted, tugging her to his chest. "Don't be that way."

"You're mean when you're tired." She pouted back, lying against him. "I don't think that I deserved that."

"No, you didn't. And I'm sorry." he replied, kissing her forehead. "What was so important?"

Mercedes looked up, stubbornly refusing to reply. Sam smiled and hugged her shoulders, kissing her all over.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry," he said, pressing his lips against her cheeks, chin and nose. She finally smiled when he kissed her lips, and she cupped her hand around his head to deepen his affections.

"Mmmm...forgiven." she moaned, licking her lips. She reached for the Superman blanket underneath her, lifting the corner and making room for herself underneath. Sam took the liberty of tucking her in, making an obvious effort to linger on the curve of her hip.

"I'm listening." he said smoothly.

Mercedes nodded toward the couple across from them. "Look at Joe and Sugar. What do you see?"

Sam halfheartedly gave the pair a once over. "A guy and a girl sleeping because they're tired. We should follow their example."

Mercedes sucked her teeth, resting her lips on his stubbly chin. "Be serious. Look."

He wearily raised his eyebrows. "All I see is you, baby." He smiled. Another, even larger yawn escaped him.

She yanked his chin down, physically prying his eyelid open with her fingers. "LOOK, Sam! What do you see? Don't they look extra close?"

He squinted his eyes at the huddled pair, pretending to intensely study them. He gave up trying to find whatever his girlfriend wanted him to look for. "I guess." He shrugged. "No closer than two good friends should be." He yawned again, his largest one yet, and asked, "What do you see Mercedes?"

"The obvious!" she whispered emphatically. Sam waited patiently for the punch line. "They've obviously started dating, Sam! I mean, look at Joe's arms. Don't you see how he's holding her? And the way Sugar is resting on his chest?"

"There's a way a girl can rest on a guy's chest? I thought resting was resting." He replied, closing his eyes. "Not that I would know proper resting from personal experience."

"Lovingly, Sam! She's snuggling into him. She's practically buried in his chest! I'm telling you, they're dating." She said surely.

"Awesome." Sam mumbled, turning his face into the cushion of the seat. "We'll bake them a cake and throw a party. Put their names on banners and have a parade."

"The real question is, why are they keeping it a secret?" Mercedes wondered aloud, completely missing Sam's weary sarcasm. "Why didn't they tell anybody?"

"Probably the same reason we didn't tell anybody when we first got together." Sam sighed, tucking the corners of his comforter tighter around them. "Too new. Too soon. Good things need to be protected."

She hummed in agreement. A brief lull drifted into their conversation. Sam's breathing started to even as he drifted off into a slumber.

"Sam?"

"Hmm?" he hummed, only half awake.

She raised her head to look up at his sleeping face. "Would you have preferred if we kept our relationship a secret? Y'know, for longer than we did? Do you regret telling people sometimes?"

Sam shook his head, moaning at the soft rub of her lips against his chin. "I wanted everyone to know. Still want that."

She smiled. "I want that, too."

"S'good," he replied with a slur, rubbing her arm. "We want the same things. Now sleep."

Mercedes sighed, lying back against his chest as her mind wandered. Sam started to lightly snore.

"Sam?"

"Woman!" he grumbled. "What is it?"

"Do people give you a hard time because you're dating me?"

His eyes popped open. "What do you mean?"

"Because I'm a big girl...because I'm black," she replied. "We never really talked about it. Does anyone say anything to you about it? Does it bother you?"

"Of course it doesn't bother me, Mercedes. You know that. No one's said anything to me." he assured her, sitting up. "Where is this coming from?"

"I don't know...I just thought about Derrick and the way Donovan and Eva said he died," she replied. "He just wanted to know who he was, you know? He only knew part of himself, and all he wanted was to find the other. Here, if you're black, you're black. If you're white, you're white. What was he? What would our kids be? How do people see us?"

Sam frowned. "I never really thought about it."

"And what about how we look? I'm short and fat. You're tall and athletic. We're not supposed to be together."

Sam grew defensive. "Says who? Did someone give you a hard time about us?"

She felt him tense and rubbed his chest. "No, Sam. Relax," she said calmly. "I was just thinking."

"Oh." He visibly calmed, idly stroking her curls with his thumb. "Well, I don't care if anybody has a problem with it. It's our world. It's you and me."

"But it's not just you and me, Sam," she explained. "I've seen the ugly in this town. People who smile in your face will spit at me behind your back and you wouldn't even know it. You've never had someone put you down because of your color, Sam. I have. How are we gonna deal with those people? How are we gonna defend our relationship? Our marriage?How will our children grow up? What's their identity?"

"Whoa, you're throwing this at me all at once, darlin'!" he cried. "Ease up a second. Can I think?"

Mercedes nodded, lying back down as she waited for his answer. Unknowingly, she held her breath until he spoke.

"Well, like I said, I hadn't thought much about it." he answered. "To me, you've never been a color. I mean sure, I know you're black, but that's only been part of you. I love who you are, and your race is part of you, but it's not all of you, you know?"

"Mmhmm." She hummed, still resting against him.

"But, you're right. People won't see that. They won't see the love between us. They'll just see our differences. And if that's all that they see, then they're not people that we want to associate ourselves with, are they?" he replied.

"But that could be a lot of people, Sam." She told him, sitting up to look at him. "It might be people that surprise you. It could even be family."

"Someone in my family say somethin'?!" he cried, balling his fists.

"No, Sam!" Mercedes couldn't help but chuckle at his reddened face. "And you can't beat up everyone who doesn't love me like you do! We've got to deal with this, babe."

He sighed. "I didn't know it would be that hard."

She reached up to rake his hair back. "I know. But we can't pretend that it's gonna be simple, either." Just then, her phone alarm beeped. She took it out and unlocked her screen, shutting off the blaring horns.

"Time for ointment and a new bandage!" she sing-songed. Sam groaned, hiding under his covers. "Now c'mon, don't be that way. It won't hurt. Besides, I promised Mama Vic that I would take care of you."

Sam reluctantly handed her the tube from his pocket, coupled with fresh Q-tips and a sterile square bandage. "Now hold still, baby. I'm gonna peel the old one off."

Sam cringed, then hissed, as she peeled the sticky bandage back, exposing his stitches. He yelped when the tail end of the tape tugged on his wound.

"Ah! God!" he cried.

"Hold on. I'm sorry." She hushed him. "Hold still. This should help."

She took the Q-tip and squeezed a dime sized amount of ointment on its tip. With a soft blow to the angry flesh, she smoothed the medicine on, nice and slow. Sam sighed in relief.

"That feels so good." He moaned happily.

Mercedes amusedly chuckled. "And I only used a Q-tip. Imagine what I can do with my hands."

Sam laughed loudly, forgetting the sleeping patrons around him. "Oh, I bet!" he complimented. His voice fell to a whisper. "I remember."

"And remember that time we drove up to that new comic book store in Columbus and you insisted that we christen the bathroom near the back of the store?" she reminded him, analyzing the skin around his wound for any pus or reddening.

"Oh, that one that was the employee bathroom? I told you to block the door with the trashcan!" Sam laughed. "That's what they do in all the movies!"

"And I told you to make sure it was a public bathroom! I knew there was something wrong with the door having a key. You shouldn't have to jump the counter to open the public restroom, Sam!" she laughed, laying down his fresh bandage. "If it wasn't for my hands, you would have been showing manager Bill a lot more than your lack of decorum!"

"If it weren't for your hands, we wouldn't have been in that mess." Sam's green eyes shone on her. "We're banned for life anyway, so it doesn't matter." His heart swelled, seeing the focus in her eyes as she dressed his wound. "You weren't even mad. You just found the next store in your GPS and drove us there."

"Where we found that limited first-edition Hawk-Eye that you went crazy over." she said with a roll of her eyes, smoothing the bandage over with her thumb. "I didn't get it at all, but you loved it so..."

Mercedes leaned back and sighed, smiling at her handiwork. "All done! And it didn't even hurt, did it?"

"Nope." he said softly, watching her as she packed everything away in his backpack on the floor. "It was easy."

As she sat up, he reached for her hands, lacing their fingers together.

"What are you doing?" she laughed, eyeing the curious expression on his face.

"This is what we are." He explained lifting their hands. "This is what I see. But the world, they see..." he laid their hands palm to palm, matching their fingers as best as he could. "This. They see our differences. They see us on opposite sides. But, when I'm with you, I can't see that. You're so perfect for me. We match in every way that matters. And everything different about you just makes being with you interesting. So, yeah. I know that there's black and white. I know there's tall and short. I know there's big and thin. But, when it's us, Mercedes." He laced their fingers together again. "We're just one hand. All I see is one hand. I thought my grip was perfect, until you slid into the spaces between my fingers and showed me what holding on truly meant."

Her eyes watered as she looked between their hands and his eyes. "That's beautiful, Sam," she whispered.

"And, if people around me can't see that and they give you a hard time, let me know. If they give me a hard time, I'll share it with you. And no, I can't promise that my first instinct won't be to knock them out, but I can promise you that I will consult you before I move. Whatever we do, whoever we fight, we've got to do it together Mercedes. I don't have all the answers now, but I do know that we have to figure it out together."

She smiled and released him, reaching up to cup his cheeks instead. "I'm very blessed." She told him.

"Why? Because of me?" he chuckled. "No sweetheart, you've got it wrong. I'm the lucky one, Mercedes."

Her smile faltered, and she leaned in to kiss him with all the passion and feeling she could muster. He hugged her shoulders and pulled her deeper, parting her lips to flick his tongue against hers. They both smiled.

"And our kids are gonna be so lucky, because they'll have a little bit of me and a little bit of you inside them." he whispered against her lips.

"Best of both worlds." She grinned.

"Best of both worlds." He nodded, leaning in for another kiss. "And that's what I'll tell them. We'll say that they're lucky enough to be birthed from love. We'll tell them that some people won't understand it, but that doesn't make it any less valid. I want them to love themselves for being both, not try to figure out if they're one or the other."

"Because they are both, and that's beautiful." Mercedes replied. She scrunched her face and giggled when Sam licked the tip of her nose.

"You're beautiful." He told her. He stared at her for a while, taking in every part of her expression. She was breathtaking. He counted the little lashes on the corners of her eyes, touched every mole on the sides of her neck until he'd felt them all. His thumbs gently stroked her eyebrows, loving the way her soft hairs feathered and curved to frame her face. The corner of his palm grazed on the corner of her mouth, sensing the exact moment when the skin around her mouth wrinkled as she smiled. Sam could feel her dimples sink and pucker on her cheeks. He was enamored with her.

"What are you thinking?" she asked him sweetly, kissing his wrist. "What's on your mind?"

He answered honestly. "I'm thinking...someday, I want us to have a daughter that looks exactly like you."

"Sam, stop..." Her face grew warm.

"No, I'm serious!" he insisted. "I told you that the day after the...when we made love that day. You were sleeping, but I told you and I swore I would tell you again when you woke up. Just give me one daughter with your eyes and your lips and your sweet spirit, and I'll be the luckiest man in the world. Screw the twenty kids. I'd be happy with one, as long as it's with you."

"You've gotta stop doing that, Sam." She blushed, looking down.

"What?"

"This! Making me feel so..." she struggled to find words to explain it. "I feel like I'm gonna burst with you. Like I'm gonna float out of my skin and drift away. It's such a weird feeling."

"Is it bad?" He asked.

"No, it's just...unusual." Mercedes explained. "I don't think I've ever met anyone like you."

"I'm certain I've never met anyone like you." He chuckled. "I think I would remember."

Mercedes broke their gaze, looking anywhere but his eyes. They burned right through her, to the very marrow and bone. She fiddled with his shirt instead, twisting the taut material around her fingers.

"Can you sing for me, Sam?" she asked quietly.

"What do you want to hear?"

"Something? Anything?" She answered. "Anything you want me to hear. Something you want to tell me. I want to hear what your heart's saying now. Please?"

Sam nodded. "Why now, though?"

She ran her fingers up and down his chest. "I want this to be real. All my good memories have a song with them. I want to think of a song and always have you. If something happens to you...or to us..."

"On one condition." He cupped her chin, bringing her head up. "You have to look at me the entire time. No looking away. Agreed?"

"Okay," she answered feebly, already feeling herself sink into him. "I can do that."

Sam watched her, testing her, until he was sure her gaze would stay. Then he studied her, taking the moment in, until a song came to mind.

When I look into your eyes

It's like watching the night sky

Or a beautiful sunrise

There's so much they hold

Mercedes already felt like looking away, but the pull was too great. She let herself fall, allowed the sinking feeling in her stomach to envelop her.

And just like them old stars

I see that you've come so far

To be right where you are

How old is your soul?

And strangely enough, the fall wasn't frightening. In fact, it felt much like the roller coaster at the carnival, when the cars neared the edge and slowly toppled over into the first drop. The feeling thrilled her, made her heart work overtime in the most insane and exciting way. Sam's voice was calm and steady, but each word he sung to her left her soaring.

Joe started to stir in the background, waking from sleep. The couple hardly noticed him, far too focused on their moment with each other. He smiled at the familiar tune, then at the sleeping form leaning against him, and decided to join in the romantic spirit. He pulled out his guitar and started to play along.

Well I won't give up on us

Even if the skies get rough

Sam smiled when he heard the music play around them, catching Joe's strumming out of the corner of his eye. But he never looked away from his lady, not for a second. He wanted her to always remember what they have now. He wanted her to hear his promise to her, for now and the rest of their lives.

I'm giving you all my love

I'm still looking up

Sugar yawned and stretched, opening her eyes to Joe's nimble fingers plucking each beautiful note. Joe grinned at her and began to sing, joining Sam's voice in harmony as he serenaded the newly birthed affections between them.

And when you're needing your space

To do some navigating

The rest of New Directions had woken up when the music started. Finn knelt in his seat and signaled the rest to join in on the next verse. They nodded, spying over their seats as they waited for their turn. Quinn and Tina silently awed over the tender scene. Santana merely smiled. They all knew firsthand how difficult it was for Mercedes in the beginning. They were just happy to see a genuine smile on her face again.

I'll be here patiently waiting

To see what you find

Finn surprised them all by bellowing the next line. The rest of the crew loudly joined him. Even Will smiled and crooned behind the driver's seat, watching them from the rearview mirror. It probably wasn't the safest idea to have them all out of their seats like they were, but who cared? Love was sacrifice sometimes, wasn't it?

'Cause even the stars they burn
Some even fall to the earth
We've got a lot to learn
God knows we're worth it

Sam sat silent and let them sing his thoughts. Without breaking their gaze, he took Mercedes' hand and kissed it, singing the next line solo.
No, I won't give up

The loving notes played on. Mercedes took a moment to look at Sam and let her mind wander. It wasn't his song to her that took her aback. They had sung to each other plenty of times. It was the song itself, the words he'd chosen and the power behind them. It was the same boy she fell in love with over summer, yet he had somehow wholly changed. She supposed he had seen the same change in her, judging by the way he studied her.

This was her man. She was somebody's woman. And she wanted to give every part of herself to this man, to have him hold her and love her like a man does his woman. She wanted to be his, in every sense of the word.

I don't wanna be someone who walks away so easily
I'm here to stay and make the difference that I can make
Our differences they do a lot to teach us how to use
The tools and gifts we got, yeah, we got a lot at stake
And in the end, you're still my friend at least we did intend
For us to work we didn't break, we didn't burn
We had to learn how to bend without the world caving in
I had to learn what I've got, and what I'm not, and who I am.

Sam felt a fire stirring in the very depths of him. Every word he sang to her held his passion. He meant everything. He wanted her to know that he wasn't going to leave when something difficult tried to come between them. He wanted her to understand that she was and always would be the one who held his heart. He wanted her to trust him with everything.

She was his everything.

I won't give up on us
Even if the skies get rough
I'm giving you all my love
I'm still looking up, still looking up.

Their friends swayed back and forth, accompanying Sam's tune with their delightful melody of voices.

I won't give up on us (no I'm not giving up)
God knows I'm tough enough (I am tough, I am loved)
We've got a lot to learn (we're alive, we are loved)
God knows we're worth it (and we're worth it)

Sam hushed them with a flick of his hand. He had to sing the ending alone. This was about them. He wanted Mercedes to know that the world would always quiet around them if they wanted it to. No one would interfere with what they had.

I won't give up on us
Even if the skies get rough

I'm giving you all my love
I'm still looking up

Their eyes remained open as Sam leaned in and pressed their lips together. Mercedes refused to blink or look away. She simply melted into him, pulling in his shoulders and pressing herself against him. When they parted, he remained close, waiting for her response.

"Well?" he asked, nervously nibbling the corner of his mouth.

She took a breath, staring at his lips. "I…" She felt the eyes around them and turned her head. "Go away, nosy people!"

The New Directions playfully grumbled and complained, slowly lowering in their seats with mutters of "Excuusse me!" and "Sorry for caring!"

"They're dopes." Mercedes giggled.

"Yeah, they are." He cupped her chin, turning her back to him. "They just want us to work. I meant all I said, Mercedes. I don't plan on leaving you anytime soon."

"I know." She sighed, looking down. "And..."

"And?" he repeated, tapping her chin. She looked up and smiled, catching his thumb between her teeth and slowly dragging it through.

"And...what if I told you that I'm ready now?" she quietly replied. His eyes widened.

"Ready? Like, ready for...?" Mercedes nodded, lifting up to suck on his lip. Her tongue laved the soft flesh, delighting in its warmth.

"Ready for you." she replied. "Are you ready for me?"

His mouth gaped, struggling to form words. "I—I mean..." his breath caught. "Now, right?"

"Yes!" she giggled. "Is that so surprising?"

"No! I mean, kind of. I just...I wasn't expecting you to say that." He honestly answered. "That's awesome, baby. I'm glad you're ready."

Mercedes squinted, sensing his hesitation. "But?"

"But...I want this to be right. I want to do this right." He told her. "I want a bed, and candles, and soft music playing for you. I want to draw you a bath and take my time with you. I want you to remember."

"I will." she said softly. "It'll be perfect because I'm with you, Sam. I don't need all of that to make it special. It's right because it's you."

"I don't want you to hate me after." he said. He chuckled at her confusion. "I don't want regrets. I don't want us to look at that day ten years later and say, 'I wish we did this differently.' I want to plan this out."

"Okay." Mercedes nodded. "Would prom be enough time for you to plan this flawless date for us?"

"Should be." He smiled. "When I'm done with that Howard-Johnson hotel room, you're gonna think you stepped into paradise."

She hummed in contentment, leaning into his chest. "I can't wait."

Sam leaned back and held her, quietly thinking over his plans for their special day.

"Mercedes?"

"Yeah?" she asked, lovingly rubbing her cheek against his chest.

"...I can't sleep now."

It took both hands to hide her snorting laughter.

O-O

Near the tail end of their trip, Mercedes woke up, bright and fresh from her nap. The welcome sign for Lima sped past her sight as she opened her eyes. She snuggled deeper into Sam's chest, feeling utterly relaxed.

Sam didn't have the same luck in the sleep department. Since her confession, all he could think about was what scent body scrub to put in the bathroom for her bath or what body oil he wanted to massage into her skin. He thought about the sheets and what material they should be. Silk is sexier, but cotton is warm and lighter for summer. Should he light candles? What color rose petals and how many? Should he scatter them all over the bed, or would that be too cliché?

The small room they'd reserved no longer seemed big enough to hold all of his plans.

He felt her stir and stroked her hair, twirling a barrel curl around his pinky.

"So, just so we're clear." He began, catching her full attention. "When you say ready, you mean ready as in..."

"I mean ready as in I want you inside me, Mr. Evans." She quietly answered, stealing a kiss. "Can you handle that? Are you sure you're ready for me?"

Sam chuckled, shaking his head. "Am I sure I'm ready for her, she says..." He cupped the back of her head and pulled her to him, nuzzling her chin. She purred happily in his arms, reveling in the attention.

"I've been ready for you, Ms. Jones, since Moses himself walked Egypt and split the sea." He said. The vibration of her giggles tickled his nose. "I've been ready for you my entire life. I just didn't know it until we finally got to meet." He kissed all the way up to her ear. "And I promise you, I will always be ready..." His tongue flicked the curve of her earlobe. "Anytime you want me."

"Anytime?" her eyes closed when he blew against the wet flesh. She shivered, feeling the rush of flame in her core from the cooling of his breath.

"In any way, on any surface, in any position..." He kissed the shell of her ear and said in the softest of voices. "However fast you want...however slow you want...until you've had your fill of me."

"Promises, promises." She whispered back, rubbing her cheek against his stubble.

"Them's guarantees, for your information." He corrected. "You should really be asking yourself if you're really ready for me, because if you are, I'm gonna need at least a day to make up for lost time."

"An entire day? And you'll be satisfied? That's not the Sammy I remember." She teased. "And what makes you think I'll be done with you in a day, Evans? You're lucky if you remember how to walk a week after I have my way with you."

His eyes flickered to hers, darkening in desire. "Is that a challenge, love? You know how I like a good challenge."

"Them's guarantees, for your information." She fired back. He shuddered against her, thinking of all that meant.

"Damn, Mercy. You can't keep doing these things to me in public. It's so rude to get me all worked up when I can't...relieve the tension." He groaned when her knee slid up his thigh, nudging the hardening between his legs.

"I thought you liked audiences, daddy." She retorted, sliding her fingers up and down his bare arm. "I thought you liked it when I teased you."

"Oh, that's low, Mercedes." Sam growled, hissing and scooting his hips away from her. "That's just cold. You're gonna use the daddy on me?"

"I'm gonna make you cry, Mr. Evans." She sung, pulling his chin lower and lower until he rested against her cleavage and could smell her perfume. "And you're gonna love every minute of it. I swear it, daddy." Mercedes dragged him back up to her mouth, and took the liberties of licking and kissing the corners of his pout. "You're gonna forget every month you've had to wait for it."

Without thinking, Sam pulled her into his lap and ground her hips against his. She gasped when he began to softly thrust, holding her tightly around her waist as he nipped her lip.

"Woman." He growled, just before snaking his tongue down her throat. It wasn't until they heard someone clear their throat that they remembered where they were. Mercedes slid off of Sam's lap and straightened her clothes. Sam pulled at the collar of his shirt, letting some air in to cool down. Both were still too overwhelmed to look at each other, but their smiles were shameless.

Santana slow clapped the performance. "Bravo. I saw the sex tape, but the live version is epic." She said, tongue in cheek. "Now, I would never stop a good show, but…..I think you're scaring the virgins."

Santana pointed out the wide-eyed Joe and shocked Sugar watching beside them. When they realized that they had been spotted, the two perused their bags for any books they could find and stuffed their noses in them as quickly as possible.

"Sorry, guys." Mercedes said, feeling slightly embarrassed that they had been caught by their friends. "We didn't mean for you to see that."

Sam shrugged, leaning back against his arm. "Oh, well. Maybe they learned something."

"Sam!" Mercedes swatted his chest, falling into him as she laughed. "So rude!"

"Hey, it's the truth! If I feel like lovin' on you and they happen to be there, well…..education." He casually replied. "Besides, we're sexy."

Santana rolled her eyes, sinking back into her seat. Sugar and Joe maintained their cover with steely focus. Their eyes never left their books for a second.

After a quiet moment, Sam's smile fell away as he replayed Santana's words in his mind. "What sex tape is she talking about, Mercy?"

"The choir room, babe." She scandalously whispered. "Santana destroyed all the evidence, but I should have known filthy mcnasty would have taken a peek first." She slapped the seat in front of them. Santana waved a hand above her seat.

"Sorry, I'm not sorry!" she cried.

Mercedes wrapped both of Sam's arms around her. "We've been caught on candid camera, baby." She chuckled. "Don't worry. If she has any copies, I'll wrestle them from her later. No one will ever know that they existed."

Sam nodded and closed his eyes, pulling her close. After a beat, his eyes popped open again, frown returning.

"So, Santana….can we get a copy of that on dvd? Or post it somewhere?"

"SAM!"

"Well, Jorge did want to try his hand at adult films." Santana replied, considering the possibilities."You're eighteen now, right Sam? Legal?"

"SANTANA!"

O-O

LOL, right? This was so much fun to write.

For my readers who follow me on Tumblr, I will post a special sneak peek of next chapter, to make up for the long wait. For those that have read my note on my tumblr page, I am setting a goal of updating the 24th of each month. It will give me a deadline, give you an expected publish date, and keep everyone happy. If I finish earlier, I will update earlier. If I'm ever running late (and I'll try my best not to), I will let you know on my page.

Tell me what you think about the update in your reviews! Your words are my sunshine.

Tumblr Name: Ez2luvme

Song credit: "I won't give up" by Jason Mraz