DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN GLEE NOR ANYTHING ELSE.

Vanessa Rutherford-Gugu Mbatha Raw


Sam folded his arms across his chest as he leaned against the doorframe, watching Mercedes curiously. She was beyond furious and with reason. He knew he needed to give her some time alone but he didn't want her to actually be alone so he just stayed in the back.

"She's pissed." Mike said as he came up beside his friend, titling his head as he looked at the all the paper targets on the ground, "Was the dinner really bad last night?"

"Her mom put the word father and her new man in the same sentence."

"Oh." Mike looked confused for a moment, realizing what he meant by that, he winced with a disapproval shake of his head, "Ohhh.."

"Yeah and she's been in there for an hour taking it out on that poor paper." Sam said as looked through the glass, seeing her reload her gun back up.

"I hope she be in a better mood before three. Tina is coming by the station to pick her up. They're suppose to go dress shopping today." Mike said just as his phone buzzed, picking it out of his pocket, he read the text and sighed, "Speaking of Tina. I thought she said three." He leaned forward once Mercedes paused and knocked on the glass hard.

Mercedes took the plugs out of her ears and turned when she heard knock, seeing Mike gesturing for her to come out, she sighed as she laid her gun down on the table and headed for the door, "Yes, your highness."

Mike pursed his lips at her, ignoring Sam's laughter, "Tina's here."

"I thought she said three."

"I did too but you know how you women are. Always changing your mind and shit." Mike said, laughing at the glare she was shooting him, "I'll cover for you."

"Fine." She gave him the her earplugs and moved passed him, standing on her tiptoes to give Sam a small kiss before she left out.

"Have fun." Sam called after her, smiling when she gave him a small smile in return. He turned back to his friend who went to put Mercedes stuff up for her, going in, "Can I ask you a personal question?"

"Of course." Mike said as he emptied the rest of the bullets out the gun, putting them in the box.

"Have you and Tina decided whether or not you want to have kids?"

"Well, having our own is not an option because Tina can't have any."

"Oh man, I'm sorry..I didn't know."

Mike waved him off as he grabbed the paper of the clips, "You couldn't have. We accepted it and it's fine. We have been looking into adoption but other than that, we just haven't decided when we wanted to go through with it." Sam nodded to himself as he sat down on the chair. Mike turned around and crossed his arms, "Why do you ask? You and Cedes thinking about having one?"

"We talked about it the other night and she really didn't give me a straight answer. She thinks she won't be good enough."

"What? Mercedes said that?" Mike said in shock, shaking his head, "She would be a wonderful mother, there's no doubt about it."

"I know man." He sighed as he ran his hand through his hair, "I don't want to pressure her or anything, I just thought that kids were in our cards."

"Let me ask you this." Mike started as he stared at the man, "Would you still love her the same if she ultimately comes up with the decision that she doesn't want to have kids?"

"Of course I would, that's not even a question. She's my soulmate, my forever. I love her."

"Good to know." He said as he sat in a chair beside him, patting his back, "Everything's going to work out man."

Sam nodded to himself as he looked at his friend, giving him a smile, "Thanks for the talk."

"Anytime brother, anytime." Mike said as he stood up, placing Mercedes' gun into his empty holster, "Let's get some lunch, my treat."

"Alright." Sam got up from his chair and followed behind his friend, deep in thought about what they just talked about. He meant what he said though. He would still love Mercedes, no matter what she decided to do in the future.


Mercedes chuckled lowly as she sat on the couch, thanking the woman as she handed her a champagne flute. Tina had dragged her out from work early for a reason. They had went to lunch and then a surprise midday spa treatment. She was so grateful for her friend right now. She really needed it. Now, they were sitting in the huge bridal shop on the couch, watching the consultant pull a couple of dresses for her, "I love you so much Tina. Thank you for today, it was amazing and exactly what I needed."

"You deserve a little pampering Mercedes, you're always taking care of someone else." Tina said with a smile as she patted her knee, taking a sip of her drink, "Mhm, I thought they were only suppose to give you champagne afterwards..meaning, when you spent thousands of dollars."

Mercedes chuckled at her friend, opening her mouth to speak but someone else beat her to the punch.

"I decided to bend the rules because it's Mercedes." The light skinned woman said with a smile as she came over and hugged Mercedes, "How are you my love?"

"I'm good." Mercedes smiled as she hugged her back, "Tina, this is Matt's cousin Vanessa. Nessa, this is one of my best friends, Mrs. Tina Cohen-Chang."

Tina smiled as she shook her hand, "It's a pleasure to meet you."

"Likewise." She smiled at the woman before letting go, clasping her hands together, "I was so excited when you called and decided to come here for your dress."

"I wouldn't go anywhere else when I know you're here. Plus, you decided to open your New York shop right on time." Mercedes giggled just as the consultant came back, letting them know she was done.

Mercedes downed the rest of her drink before putting it down on the table, standing up from the couch, "I'll be back."

Tina smiled at her friend before pulling out her phone, sending her husband a quick text before turning it to the camera, preparing to take a lot of pictures. She looked up when she heard Vanessa speaking again.

"She's really happy isn't she?" Vanessa asked with a smile as she folded her arms.

"She is."

"I'm glad. If you'll excuse me." She said once she heard the telephone ringing.

Leslie walked into bridal shop, looking around for Mercedes. Once she saw Tina, she made her way down to steps, going over to give her a hug, "Hey Tina, sorry I'm late."

"It's okay. You want something to drink?" She lifted up the bottle, watching the woman nod immediately, she laughed and picked up another empty flute and poured it in there just as Mercedes came out in the first dress.

"Oh, that's pretty." Leslie said with a smile once she saw her sister in law, "Hey babe."

"Hey." Mercedes smiled as she stood in front of the mirror, frowning as she turned around, "It is pretty but this dress is for girls with no boobs and mine are exploding out of it."

"So that's a no?" Tina asked as she picked up her phone, seeing her nod, she told her to smile for the picture, "I'm going to send this one to Sam then."

"And get the poor man hot and bothered while he's at work?" Leslie snickered as she watched Mercedes roll her eyes and walked back out, "You know I'm telling the truth."

"Not listening to you." Mercedes said before disappearing into the dressing room with a smile tugging at the corners of her mouth. She shook her head as she stepped out of the dress just to put another one on. The same action repeated for the next hour before she sat down in what was her tenth dress trying on. Santana had finally made it out of court and she was there, along with Tamara, Sadie, Brittany, and her cousins, Miraya and Sapphire.

"Ms. Jones, if you would like to take break, you can. I pulled four different styles for your bridesmaids, in four different shades of purples."

Mercedes nodded, laughing as she watched all the girls get up and follow the consultant in excitement. She turned to side and notice Santana was staring at her intently, "What?"

"Are you okay?"

"I'm fine San." She smiled as she tucked some of her hair back behind her ear, "Go try on a dress."

"Not until you tell me what's wrong. I know when you're lying."

"It's nothing but this drama with my mom." She said as she picked at some of the ruffles, "For one, she totally shitted on my location for the wedding. She didn't even let me get a chance to tell her that she was the last to know about it and we sent the invitations out awhile ago. Two, she tried to say her boyfriend is going to be a father figure to us."

"Oh shit no." Santana said in horror as she looked at her, shaking her head. She didn't know what was going on with Helena lately but she has been changing from what she has seen. One of the things Santana did while Sam was away, was come over and help her plan for her wedding. Her mom blew her off every time, saying she had to do something and that really crushed her best friend, "Babe, I don't know what's wrong with your mom lately but I know that even with what's going on right now, she still loves you. Don't let this make you upset. This is a time for you to be happy and have fun. After everything you've been through, you deserve this happiness."

Mercedes sighed as she listen to her, nodding before raising her eyes to meet hers, "Thank you San, I really needed that."

Santana smiled as she leaned forward and hugged her tightly, kissing the side of her head, "See, I can be nice sometimes."

Mercedes chuckled as she leaned back, picking up her phone, she saw she had a text from Sam, letting her know that he was leaving work and meeting Miguel. She twitched her nose up in confusion but before she had time to think about, the girls were making there way back in. She smiled as she looked at them, "Oh wow."

"Beautiful right?"

Mercedes nodded as she stood up, crossing her arms over her chest, "Gorgeous, I love them all to be honest."

Sadie turned and looked at herself in the mirror and smiled, smoothing down the short lavender dress. She was so excited that Mercedes had asked her to be in her wedding. They have only gotten closer over the years and she was already like a sister to her, "I don't know if it's tacky or not but how about we all wear different style dresses but in the same color and length."

Mercedes thought for a moment before looking back at them and the dresses, a bright smile coming to her face as she clasped her hands together, "That's not tacky at all, it's actually unique."

"Very unique." Miraya said with a nod of her head, turning to the teenager and holding her hand up for a high five, "Good job Sam squared."

Sadie giggled at the nickname as she softly hit the woman's hand, going over to Mercedes and giving her a big hug.

Mercedes hugged her back with a smile, feeling the love surrounding her but especially from the girl who had her arms around her. She lifted her head and looked at them, "Alright ladies, I like that plum color the best."

"You picked the right color Ms. Jones because we have all those styles in that color. After we have everyone done, we're going to continue with you."

Mercedes gave the sweet consultant a smile before nodding, taking a seat again. Her mood had instantly lifted since she had been here. All though she was sad that her mom didn't come, she was happy that she could be here with her girls, who she considered family. Another thirty minutes later, the women all had their dresses and Mercedes had found hers. She was head over heels in love with it and so was everyone else. She could confidently say, she picked a winner.


Sam folded his arms across his chest with a frown plastered on his face. His eyes glaring a hole into the side of his future brother in law's head. When Miguel called him to come meet him for a drink after work, he thought nothing of it. He enjoyed spending time with the older man but he was beyond pissed when he walked in. Their little get together was not exactly just them.

"You both can stop glaring at me." Miguel said before taking a sip from his beer, looking at them both before leaning forward and grabbing a few of the cheese fries from the plate, dipping it in the ranch, "This is long overdue."

"What exactly is long overdue?" Morris asked his brother through clenched teeth.

"Us having a conversation." He swallowed his food before picking up a napkin, wiping his mouth, "You two need to squash whatever beef you have with each other. We are going to be family soon and we need to get everything on the table and over with."

"We ain't blood, he'll never be a brother of mine."

"That's rich coming from you." Sam glared at the man with a raised brow.

"Enough." Miguel glared at them both, "Stop the back and forward. Stop with the low blows. We are going to have a conversation like grown men, and we're not going to leave here until everything is good."

Sam played with the rim of his bottle, letting out a grunt as he slouched back in his chair.

Morris gulped down the rest of his drink before gesturing for the waitress for a refill. He stared at the his brother for a moment before his eyes went over to him, rolling his eyes, "Look, I said I respected you and my sister's relationship and I do. I just don't like nor do I trust you."

"How can you say that and you don't even know me?" Sam asked angrily before sitting up, "You didn't even take a chance to get to know me before you wrote me off. But it doesn't matter because honestly, I can do without you even acknowledging me. I want Mercedes to have a relationship with her family, I would never get in between that but I want nothing to do with you."

"The feeling is fucking mutual blondie."

"Both of you calm down, seriously. For Mercedes' sake, you two need to work out your differences. You two knuckleheads might not notice, but she is hurting. She wants you two to get along and it would be fucking great if you could because that shit that happened last night, we need each other before this family falls apart again. So I'm going to say this again. Tell each other what problem you have and let's get it squashed."

Sam rolled his jaw as he adverted his eyes from them, letting out a sigh. He didn't notice at all. He usually could read Mercedes like a book but he didn't pick up on it. He looked at Morris, shaking his head, "I don't understand why you don't like me but I can tell you why I don't like you. The way you not only disrespected me two and half years ago but the way treated your sister. It was horrible. I would never do my siblings like you did Mercedes. I lost all respect for you when she came back to my apartment that night crying. Hearing her cry literally broke me and I never want to see her like that again. I honesty don't give a damn if you ever like me. My main concern is and will always be Mercedes."

"Mercedes knows how sorry I am for everything and I really am. I have been in a bad headspace for years and I finally got the help I needed. I realized every fucked up thing I did hurt her and it's not a day that goes by that I don't hate myself for it. I realized that anger I was holding onto was not because of her but for the reason I wasn't able to say goodbye to the man who raised me as his own when my own father didn't want me. None of this is excuse, I'm just telling you because I want you to know." Morris ran his hands over his face, "Look, I don't have a reason that I didn't like you, I just don't. Maybe because you weren't as weak as I expected. I'm over it man, seriously. It's childish and Miguel's right, we're grown men, about to be family and it would be nice if we all got along. I don't expect you to forgive me, hell I wouldn't if I was you but I'm over this petty bullshit. Can we call a truce and move on from it?"

Miguel watched as his brother stuck out his hand and he was clearly taken aback but proud. This was a huge step for Morris. He has never been the one to admit his wrongs nor apologize for anything. That has changed over these past two years and he was happy.

Sam looked at the man for a moment before his eyes drifted down to his outreached hand. He stuck his own out and shook his.

"See, now was that so hard?" Miguel smirked as he grabbed another fry, turning in his chair, "Another round for us Barry, this is on me."

Morris shook his head at his brother before sitting back in his chair, picking up his bottle and tipping it to him before raising it to his mouth.

Sam nodded his head, looking over at Miguel who had a mile long smile on his face. He chuckled as he shook his head, his own smile creeping on his face. They weren't going to be close friends all of a sudden but this was a step.


Mercedes turned in the bed when she felt it dip, snoring lightly as she pulled the covers more over her body. Her nose twitched when she smelt Sam's cool minty breath hit her face when he kissed her cheek then wrapped his arm around her waist to pull her closer, "How was things with Miguel?"

"Good." He whispered as he watched her sleepy eyes open slowly, giving her a lopsided grin as he leaned forward and gave her a kiss, "Morris and I called a truce."

Mercedes eyes went wide as she sat up quickly, squinting in the dark to see if he was lying and to see if he had any indication that they fought, "You're serious?"

"Mhm. It's not like we're going to be best friends anytime soon but we talked."

"And that's all I can ask." Mercedes said with a smile as she gave him a small peck, running her hand along his cheek, "I'm proud of you."

"Thank you." He said as he pulled her back down, wrapping both of his arms around her as she laid her head down on his chest, "How did things go today?"

"Amazing. Your sister came up with this brilliant idea for the bridesmaids dresses, which you're going to have to wait until the wedding to see." She giggled when she heard him groan, "And I fell in love with this beautiful dress. It's a reason why I did."

"What's the reason?" Sam asked curiously as he rubbed her back lovingly as they laid down in the warmth of their covers.

"It reminded me of my dad. He always told me he would dread the day I got married because no man deserved his princess." She chuckled along with Sam, "But he said that he would have to suck it up. He also said that I would be a beautiful bride and make some lucky bastard, his words, happy someday. I guess that really doesn't explain why I love the dress but it was like I was drawn to it, like my daddy sent me in that direction for it. I know it sounds crazy.."

"No, it doesn't." Sam said truthfully as he kissed her forehead but he stopped for a minute, wincing at the thought that crossed his mind, "Oh god Mercedes, your dad probably wants to kill me for sexing up his daughter every chance I get, I didn't even think about it until now."

Mercedes lifted her head and stared at the man before falling out in a loud laughter, snorting as she hit his chest, "Stop."

Sam smiled at her as he moved up and retied up her loosen scarf, "I guess I'm the lucky bastard then. I'm never letting you go, that's a promise. You're stuck with me, Detective Mercedes Jones".

Mercedes grinned widely as she straddled his lap, pressing small kisses on his face before making her way to his lips, "I like the sound of that." She smiled at him before moving his hair from out of his face, "I also been thinking a lot about our conversation we had the other night."

"Yeah?"

Mercedes nodded before her eyes met his green ones, giving him a nervous smile, "I came to a conclusion that even though it scares me, I do want to have kids someday. I want a family with you, Sam. I love you so much."

Sam pulled her down and wrapped her into a tight hug, swaying them from side to side, "I love you baby and you're truly making me the happiest man by agreeing to marry and have children with me."

Mercedes hugged him tightly as she closed her eyes. Loved. That what she felt when she was with him and she knew she would always feel that way. Sam was truly a blessing in her life and she was so grateful that she had him.


Sam nervously walked in the grass as he looked for what he was searching for. He was truly nervous. Beyond nervous for many of reasons. He stopped shortly when he got to where he needed to be, looking down at the tombstone.

Beloved brother, husband, father, friend and son. You are severely missed but you are in a better place. May you rest in heavenly peace.

Felix David Jones

1954-2009

Sam finished reading before sitting the flowers on top, "Hi Mr. Jones. I think it's time that I finally introduce myself. I know I should've done it earlier but I feel like this time is best. As you probably already know, my name is Samuel Evans and I'm madly in love with your daughter." He smiled to himself as he stuck his hands in his pockets, "I really wish I got a chance to meet you. The stories that Mercedes tell about you always bring a smile to my face. You were a great man, an inspiration, Mr. Jones." He sighed as he looked at the tombstone again, "I came here to ask you something. I want to ask you for permission to marry your daughter. She is beyond extraordinary and I want to spend the rest of my life with her. So I know I might sound a little crazy but if you can hear me now, can you give me any kind of sign that you.." He stopped when he felt the cold wind blow across his body, causing him to shiver. That was weird, seeing that it was hot outside but he realized what he just ask, "Was that it?" His shocked face turned into amazement as a flower broke off the stem and blew in the wind and landed on his hand, "Okay, I get it. I'm going to take that as a yes..I hope that was you and that's what it meant." He chuckled again before running his hand along his neck, looking out towards the distance, "I hope this is completely normal, coming and talking to a grave. I've never done it before but I'm pretty sure I'm doing the right thing." He smiled to himself as he leaned forward and ran his fingers along his nameplate, "I promise I will take care of her. I won't let anything ever bad happen to her." He stood back with another smile before turning around and walking away.


A/N. Flashback of Sam's proposal is next update, plus another time jump, not that much though. Not going to give my review today, I'm going to leave that all to you guys!