This epilogue didn't feature in the original as I did intended to write another concluding fic in this series. The time jump in this one was more of an alternate ending as other stuff was supposed to happen, but I started then deleted the last fic as nobody was reading it but on reposting I've decided to tie up a couple of loose ends which would have been explained in that fic.

I suppose you could describe this section as bonus material.


Sam waited patiently until he saw Mercedes climb into her hired car and pull away from the curb. She was going to have lunch with Burt and Carole Hummel so he knew that definitely bought him a couple of hours. It felt strange walking up the familiar path to the Jones's front door. He remembered the many Saturday mornings that he would practically dance up the path, knowing that they would be spending the morning wrapped in each other's arms watching Doctor Who. He also remembered the first time he came alone sweating with nerves, because he'd wanted to speak with her parents about dating their daughter.

He felt the same way again, although this time he and their daughter had been dating for several months now. He was a grown man with a lot to offer, but that didn't stop the nerves. The way he saw it, it was only right to have a healthy respect for those he hoped would someday become family.

Straightening his spine and striding purposefully he raised his hand and gave a strong confident knock on the front door. It was opened quickly by a very shocked Alicia Jones. "Sam! Mercedes said you're still in New York!"

He grinned at her. "She thinks I am!"

"Come here!" She reached up and pulled him into a tight embrace. "You know that you're always welcome here."

"Thanks." He smiled and allowed her to pull him inside.

The sound of their voices had obviously pulled Michael Jones from the his office and he stood, leaning against the door frame of its entrance, casting them both a serious stare, even though his eyes twinkled. "I take it our daughter has no clue that you're here?"

"None whatsoever sir. When I called her this morning she thought that I was about to have breakfast with Ollie in a hotel across town."

He narrowed his eyes. "So you're doing things behind her back? Are you prepared to deal with the consequences?"

"Yes I am sir. A man knows that some things and some situations are well worth taking the chance."

There was a moment of silence when both men thought back to the last time that Sam had turned up at their house unexpectedly and without Mercedes knowledge. Silently the large man nodded. He reached out his hand to Alicia who immediately crossed over to his side and took the hand in hers with a smile. "Can I offer you something to drink?"

Sam thought back to the way his mouth had been parched the last time he'd come to speak to them. This time however, a sense of complete calm had come over him and he actually felt fine. He felt more than fine. "Maybe afterwards."

"Okay then you'd better come through." He led the way into the office and his wife turned around and shot Sam an excited grin as he followed them through.

Within moments they were back in their familiar positions, Sam on the couch, Michael on his chair with Alicia perched on his knee.

Michael broke the silence first. "So Sam, to what do we owe the honor of this visit?"

Sam smiled as he fingered the small box currently located deep in his pocket. "I was hoping you'd ask…"


Sam didn't even know where he was going until after he found himself stopped in the library parking lot. Even though he and Mercedes had visited Lima together a couple of times, he hadn't been back to his favorite thinking ground for years. And now, without even any conscious thought he'd found himself pulled back there. He hadn't doubted for a moment that her father would say yes to his request for his daughter's hand, the men got on well, but what he hadn't expected was the enthusiasm with which he'd given him his blessing. It was only after they'd had sipped a celebratory shot of something strong that burned all the way down and invited him to stay for lunch that the man revealed he'd paid a lot of attention to the way that they were back when they were teens. He noticed how Mercedes was when she was with him and when they were apart. And more than that. He'd observed them the day of the breakup, especially Sam, and taken note back then the depth of feeling that he had for her daughter. If he was coming back years later, feeling the same way when he knew for sure that his daughter felt the same way, there was nothing on earth that would cause him to hold them back.

Alicia had cried when she saw the ring and heard the story behind it. He'd been a little worried that it might be a little small but knew that Mercedes herself also had small hands and slender fingers. The 'welcome to the family' embraces he'd received blew him away, as did the fact that they insisted on instantly Skyping her brother JJ who was currently on holiday in Egypt with his wife to share the good news.

And now here he was, his feet taking him on the old familiar narrow path and through the archway to the secret garden. Alicia had asked him how he planned to propose and he was still working through various ideas. He wanted to surprise her, but knew that a big public proposal would be something that would make her feel self-conscious so he wanted to avoid that. Currently the idea of taking her somewhere quiet for the weekend to propose was sounding quite promising.

"Sam? Is that you?"

He hadn't seen her. He'd been stood near the entrance for a moment, lost in thought and she'd been stood under the tree, facing away from him. From the corner of his eye he'd sensed another person present but hadn't really paid any attention to who it might have been, assuming it was just one of the locals tending the garden as often happened when he'd been a regular there.

She frowned at him puzzled. "But you're in-"

As he strode towards her he watched the expression on her face change from puzzlement, to confusion to anger that he/d lied about where he was. If there was one thing Mercedes Jones couldn't stand it was dishonesty. She'd asked him so many times to come on this long weekend with her and he'd said he couldn't make it. He needed to attend a weekend seminar with Ollie so he'd driven her to the airport and kissed her goodbye. She'd seen him pull away. And now he was here?

Sam reached her before she could get the words out. He was going to kiss her to steal any further words from her mouth but instead his brain and his heart took over and he suddenly felt one knee buckle and hit the ground in front of her.

"Are you okay Sam? You're-"

He was more than okay. He'd spent so much time thinking about this that it was happening without thought and without the hours of planning. Of all the beautiful romantic settings he could find to do this, they were already in the best, most significant one of all, and there was a small box burning a hole in pocket. This was their place. The location of their first date and the place where they had laid on their backs and discussed their lives with a childhood enthusiasm and innocence. It was a corner of the world that was untouched, and as the garden displayed its array of beautiful blooms, it was empty of all other people. Just like it had been specifically reserved just for them. And for this...

"Mercedes, I didn't tell you I was coming because this is something I had to do for myself. You know how I am. The whole Southern Gentleman thing, it doesn't leave you and it's a part of me that will be there forever. You should know, you said you find it kinda sexy…"

He winked and the anger melted from her eyes as she recognized his words and his sudden position down on one knee made it dawn on her what was actually happening. "What are you-"

"As soon as your parents saw me they knew why I was there and I know that you needed less than one second to work out why I'm here. I was planning on thinking up a really romantic situation to set this up, but right here right now is more perfect than I ever could have planned so I'm just going to get right on and say it. I know you said a long long time ago you didn't want to get married until after you won your first Grammy but your career has taken a turn in direction since then and so has mine. But one thing hasn't changed. We're still the same two people who slow danced in this garden to Adele singing Make You Feel My Love. And those words were true. I felt your love, even back then in the early days of us. I felt that love when we were together, when we parted and even when we each made mistakes because we were blinded by that love. But one thing it didn't do was die. It simply waited for the right time for us to find each other again. I know it took years, but now we're both at the right point in our lives for me to be able to do this."

He reached into his pocket and pulled out the small box. Turning it to open towards her he raised the lid and listened to her gasp at the contents. "Mercedes Jones, I have loved you from the moment you agreed to dance with me at prom. I know there's all these flowery words I could try and use but the truth is very simple. You're it for me. And when I say 'it', I don't mean in a dismissive way. I mean it in the sense of the 'It'. That single elusive key to happiness that everyone tries to find in their lifetime but very few actually succeed. You're that 'something special', that 'you'll know it when you feel it'. Everything about you is right for me. But it goes beyond that. We go right with each other. We fit together like two pieces of a puzzle. Your softness smooth's my hard edges and I start where you end. My grandma gave me this ring when we moved to Kentucky and she told me to save it for the special someone. From that moment on it's had your name on it. I've already spoken to your ma and pa and even JJ on Skype so that just leaves me with one last thing to say. Mercedes Jones, would you do me the greatest honor in the world by accepting my grandma's ring and agreeing to marry me?"

She'd gasped at the sight of the ring and now the tears and sobs were in earnest but it didn't stop her from nodding wildly.

He grinned but refused to get up until he heard the words. He cocked his ear and pretended he'd missed her answer. "Huh? What was that?"

Mercedes was clever enough to snatch the box from his hand before smacking him upside the head. He simply laughed, finally standing, pulling her close, brushing her lips with his very gently before making the pressure firmer until she opened her mouth and allowed his kiss to engulf her completely.

It seemed too soon before he had to pull away for air but he kept his eyes focused on hers which were wide and equally focused on him as she breathed hard, still speechless but a smile playing on her lips.

"So I'm taking that as a yes then?"

"Of course it's a yes!" She took the ring from the box and slid it onto her finger where it fitted perfectly. "It's beautiful Sam. I couldn't have chosen a ring that suited me more."

"When your mom looked at it she cried and said the same thing!"


Time passed without either of them noticing as they sat under their tree basking in the glow of their love but eventually Mercedes did remember that she had been annoyed with him.

"So when you called me this morning you weren't about to have breakfast with Ollie?"

He shook his head. "Nope. I didn't have any breakfast. There wasn't any where I stayed."

"You're staying in Lima?"

He nodded sheepishly. "I came last night."

She nudged him with her shoulder. "And left me to sleep all lonely and alone in my parent's house?"

"I think my being in your house and not letting you sleep alone might have had a negative bearing when it came to speaking to your parents. They'd probably opt for us havinv separate bedrooms and leaving the door open wherever we went."

"True. So where did you stay that didn't offer you breakfast?"

His face became serious. "The motel."

"The motel? The one where you were living? Why?"

He shrugged. "I don't know. I just felt the need to go back and remember where I'd come from. I own my own home and I'm comfortable with money now, but it wasn't always like that." He pulled out his keys and showed him the battered snowcone keychain that was still attached. The red paint had chipped off and it looked like it had been through the wars but it was still there. "I promised myself that this would be on the keychain to my own home and it is, but this is where I was when I got it, where everything began, and even then, you were right there with me."

Mercedes pulled out her keys and showed him her snowcone, also in a state of disrepair but still going. "Did you ever think when you got us these that we would still be together years later?"

He looked her dead in the eye. "Yes."

A shiver ran down her spine. But it was a shiver of pleasure.

There was a pause as he leaned in to kiss her before she pulled back. "Do you still have the motel room?"

He nodded. "I check out tomorrow."

"Can I see it?"

His immediate response was to question why, but he knew that she wanted to share this with him. She'd spent time in that motel room and knew more than anyone what the memories of that place did to him.

They drove there quietly and when they arrived the opened the door so that she could step in first. It felt the same. Sure the walls were a slightly different color and the bedding was different, but the layout was exactly the same and she wouldn't have been surprised if some of the furniture was the original pieces.

"It feels smaller than before."

"That's what I thought. Maybe because we're older now."

She sat on the edge of one of the beds and patted the space next to her for him to sit. He did so but the serious face still remained. "Wanna talk about it?"

He shrugged. "Not really."

So they didn't. Mercedes lay back on the bed and he laid in her arms in silence for the longest while. "You know, thinking of you got me through a lot of the darkest times when we lived here."

"It did?"

"Yeah. You made everything brighter. Not just for me, but for the kids too. And mom. She adored you so much and your mom."

"It's a shame they lost touch. Hopefully our wedding can bring them back together."

"Our wedding…" The words made Sam's heart leap with joy. After everything they'd each been through he still couldn't believe this was finally going to happen.

Mercedes raised her hand above their heads and they both stared at the ring settled perfectly on it. She was right. The ring was perfect for her. They were meant to be. He joined her hand in his as he kissed her softly. A chaste closed mouth kiss that held so many promises. "I can't wait for meemaw to see it- SHIT! I haven't called my family to tell them the news!"

She gasped. "Neither have I!" They'd both been so caught up they hadn't even thought of sharing the news.

Sam went to call his mom then held off. "Mercy. How would you like to come to Memphis and break the news in person? Meemaw would love to meet you and she's so frail now…" His voice tapered off and the sadness hung in the air.

"No I'd love to. But we only have a couple of days and there's no direct flights from Lima."

A frown marred his face as he thought about it. "But there are from Cincinnati and that's only two hours from here. We could fly out and back the same day."

A quick call to her parents solved it all. They would go back there for the evening, have a meal together then drive up down and stay in Cincinnati so they could take an early flight and spend the whole day in Memphis with time to visit Sam's home and his grandma's nursing home. The old lady was still as sharp as a button, it was just her failing body that let her down. They would drive up the following day to spend a little more time with Mercedes' parents before their evening flight back to New York. It took Sam minutes to sort the flights and accommodation in Cincinnati and Mercedes loved the clear and efficient way he booked things on the phone after looking them up online. When everything was sorted he looked back at her. "So Mercedes soon-to-be Evans, we've got nearly two hours before we have to be at your parent's for dinner. Any ideas on how we might fill the time?"

She giggled at the way he waggled his eyebrows and did the best to ignore the fact that they'd both been lying on a bed but so far had done nothing but a few kisses. "I don't know. I'm sure there's something we could find on the TV. I dunno, maybe watch the news or something?"

"The news!" He pretended to be affronted before leaning forward and kissing her. As she relaxed into the kiss he leaned her back and crawled to lie between her legs. "I was thinking something a little more like the Discovery Channel."

"Discovery huh?" She raised her head to expose more of her neck to the kisses that he was tickling her with.

"Mmmhmmm…" He allowed his hands to roam the now totally familiar landscape of her body. "I think we need to celebrate out engagement, and there was that song about the Discovery Channel…"

"Song?" It was getting harder and harder to form words as the temperature went up in the room and Sam's hand went up under her top.

"Yeah. Don't you remember? You and me baby ain't nothing but mammals, so let's do it like they do on the Discov-"

She pulled back. "Sam Evans! If you dare finish that line you'll be spending the next hour on the other bed alone!"

"Huh? That song doesn't turn you on?"

"That song doesn't turn anyone on."

"Oh." He pretended to think for a moment. "How about this then?" Shifting his hips, he ground against her core, knowing that the thin leggings she was wearing would do little to block the friction of his hardness in his jeans. The resulting groan proved he was right.

"Oh yeah. That works!" She opened her legs wider and hooked one around his back allowing him to press closer and harder as he continued to grind up against her.

"So I was thinking, maybe we should have a do-over of that afternoon before the phone rang!" Sam smiled down at her kiss swollen lips. He loved that look on her, glazed and flustered yet also deeply happy.

"I'm pretty sure we weren't grinding like this that afternoon."

He rocked his hips against hers even harder, causing her to whimper with combined pleasure and frustration. "Trust me, we were only seconds away from it!"

"You were wicked Sam!"

"I'd been patient for the longest time and I needed you to feel some of the frustration I felt being near you and not being able to touch you the way that I wanted."

"Well now you can touch me as much as you like!"

"Is that an invitation?"

"That's a promise!"


Despite their hunger for each other, their lovemaking was slow and intense. With every stroke Sam let her know how much he loved her and how much he was looking forward to be doing this with her for the rest of their lives. There would be other times to take it hard and fast, but this time it was the sealing of a promise made with a ring in their secret garden. The sharing of hopes shyly expressed as they laid on their backs by the lake staring up at the clouds all those years before. It didn't matter that it was a crappy motel room. They could have stayed their in each other's arms for the rest of the day. Unfortunately they needed to have dinner with her parents then make the drive up to the airport hotel in Cincinnati so that they could get their early flight in the morning.

As Mercedes spent time in the bathroom getting herself back together and freshening up, Sam threw his clothes into his bag for his early checkout and stared out the window as he saw his visibly pregnant next door neighbor leave the room with three mixed race children in tow. She reminded him of a shorter heaver version of Santana and was wearing a diner uniform. He watched as she knocked the door at the end of their row and the three children went inside. She then sighed, looked at her watch, rubbed her back as if it was aching her and quickly hurried around the corner. When he'd first walked into his room he'd heard the noise of the kids playing next door and initially it had annoyed him. Then he remembered how hard it was to get Stacey and Stevie to keep their voices down in the room and he cut them a little more slack.

Initially he'd wondered if the woman was a single mother when he'd seen her pitch up in her diner uniform, but as he'd been unable to sleep with the multiple thoughts going through his head, at midnight he'd been awake to see a tall black man with shoulder length locks in the delivery uniform who arrived looking tired and let himself in. Three and a half hours later, the same man left, looking equally tired, but this time wearing a storeroom uniform. Sam felt the struggle acutely. The effort of working every available hour for minimum wage and little return.

"What are you doing?" Mercedes watched him with the question in her eyes as he slipped a small white envelope under the door of the room next door as they walked together to the main office so they could check out early.

"Being a good neighbor." One day he would tell her that the envelope contained the contents of his wallet, four fifty dollar notes, but not today. The image was still clear in his mind of coming home and finding his mom in tears, clutching the fifty dollar note that she'd found in an envelope that someone had pushed under the door while they were all out. To this day they never knew who the money came from but it had come at a time when Stacey was sick and they'd had literally nothing to give her. Their food had run down to their last few packets of noodles and Sam had resorted to sneakily bringing home expired food from work. He'd made it out from that dark place and now it was his turn to pay it back.


"It's a shame your dad's working away this weekend. It would have been great if he could have been there when we told the rest of your family."

Sam's jaw tightened but he said nothing. He knew that Mercedes saw the look but she still didn't know what kind of a man Dwight Evans really was. It was the one thing that he had resolved not to tell Mercedes about. How was she to know that it was actually a relief for the whole family when he was away at work? Despite his reservations, at her prompting Sam had tried to be a dutiful son but no longer felt it was worth the effort. The last conversation they'd had ended with Sam hanging up on him when he'd started to grumble that the only reason he had to work so far away was because all the local jobs had been taken by immigrants. He'd hoped for change in his dad's attitude over the years but it wasn't there and it affected the family. He regularly gave money to his mom for her and the kids because he didn't trust that his dad was using all his money for fulfilling his family responsibilities. Mercedes didn't fully understand. She thought that his problems with Dwight stemmed only from the man's alcoholism and he didn't want to put a downer on their news by revealing that his dad would be the only one to not respond with enthusiasm.

It was a tearful reunion. Mercedes had talked to Mary, Stacey and Stevie several times on Skype but this was the first time they were seeing her in person since they'd moved from Lima all those years ago. Stacey was the spitting image of her mom and Stevie was growing into quite the blond haired blue eyed heartbreaker. The way they welcomed her to the family with excitement made Sam proud and he was relieved his dad wasn't there to put a damper on the atmosphere.

While Mary prepared lunch, they took the short drive to the residential facility where Sarah Evans resided, now that she was physically unable to move around her own home unaided. She liked it there for the company and the fact that it was so close that Mary was able to visit her on practically a daily basis which was a lot more than could be said of her own son.

As they entered the building Mercedes turned to him. "Are you sure she'll be okay with me? I know the older generation can be a bit…"

He pulled his arm around her waist reassuringly. "She's fine. She'll love you and she trusts my judgment. Besides…" the tight jaw returned, "sometimes it's not the older generation who have the problems."

She paused and gazed at him thoughtfully and he could see her expression change as she finally worked things out. "Your dad? But he was never horrible to me…"

Sam sighed, feeling hurt on her behalf. "I know. And he never would be. Not to your face. But let's just say he thought you were simply a phase I was going through."

"A phase?"

He nodded, allowing the words to sink in and watching as Mercedes began to draw her own conclusions without him having to spell it out. "Don't take it personally. He's the one living in the time warp, not meemaw. And I think it hurt his pride that when we had nothing, the people who helped us most were the ones he would have been least inclined to go out of his way for."

Sam left it at that, knowing that she and Kurt were the two that really helped him the most that summer. She squeezed his hand tighter, knowing that she was thinking the same thing. One of the things he loved about Mercedes was that she knew when to stop pushing him. Also that she was smart enough to work things out without being told. He never had to spell anything out to her other than the depth of his feelings. It's just one of the reasons why they worked so well. She never asked him about his relationship with his dad again after that.

Rather than being up in her chair, Sarah Evans was sat up in bed, recovering from a chest infection, but her eyes lit up in recognition of her favorite grandson. "Sam! You didn't tell me you were coming! And you brought a guest! You shoulda told me before so I could've got my hair done!"

He went straight to her and kissed her cheek. "This isn't a guest meemaw, this is family!" Pulling Mercedes forward he introduced them. "Mercedes, this is my grandma Sarah Evans. Dad's mom."

A huge smile spread across her face and she instantly reached out her gnarled hand for Mercedes'. "Your picture didn't do you justice."

"I'm honored to meet you." She returned the woman's warm smile before turning to Sam with a confused expression. "So which pictures of me did you see?"

Sam leaned forward, looking surprised. "I haven't showed you any pictures of Mercedes yet grandma!"

"Oh hush!" The old woman instantly dismissed him, "Just because you didn't actually show it to me doesn't mean I don't know what was under your pillow!"

Sam turned bright red and cast his eyes to the ground in an attempt to shield his burning face. How on earth had she known that!

"Pillow?" Mercedes felt like the only one in the room who didn't understand and Sarah smiled warmly at her again.

"When they first moved back to Tennessee, this boy slept with a picture of you under his pillow every night!"

"Grandma!"

"I said hush! She needs to know how long you've held a candle for her Sammy."

"Yes Sammy what picture is this?" Laughter shone in both women's eyes at his expense and he wanted the ground to swallow him whole.

"If you must know it was the official prom photo. Until you sent me the other pics it was pretty much the only one I had of us together. I folded the part with Rachel behind so that it looked like it was just you leaning up to kiss me."

"Sam that's really cute! That's nothing to be ashamed of!"

"I- I was just…" He knew he would regret introducing the two women but he didn't know the regret would set in so quickly.

Sarah looked at him dismissively then smiled back at Mercedes. "The boy was so lovesick it made my heart sad. He pined for you and I can't imagine you were faring much better. Separation is so hard on young love." She took Mercedes' hand and fingered the ring gently. "Congratulations my dear. It looks so beautiful on your skin."

"Purple is my favorite color."

"I can see why. As soon as I gave this to Sam I saw the glint of determination in his eye and I knew that he'd already planned who to give it to. If he makes you half as happy as you make him you're going to be in for a wonderful life. I had a wonderful life with his grandpa and would do it all over again in a heartbeat, but you have that extra spark of first love which you need to never let die."

"We won't."

"That's good." Sarah squeezed her hand tighter. "Mary and the grandkids spoke so highly of you. Sam's not the only one who fell in love with you back then. And Sam," she reached out her other hand to him, it was frozen as a claw through arthritis so Sam took it gently in his, "promise me that you'll look after her. She's a good person and deserves the best treatment. Keep her away from your dad's poison. She doesn't need to have to deal with that." She sadly and her head slowly. "It's a sad day when you call out your own flesh and blood for their shit!"

Sam turned scarlet, unsure if it was for the reference to his dad or the fact that she'd just cursed. "Grandma!"

She was unapologetic. "What? So I said shit. I'm old and I'm not long for this world. When you're in my position you can say what you like without consequences too. My one son has turned out to be a disappointment so let me find my pleasure through my grandchildren." Her gazed fixed on him hard. "And grandchildren…"

Sam added a groan to the red face and Mercedes cleared her throat nervously sparking her curiosity. "There isn't one already on the way is there?"

"No!"
"No!"

"Oh. That's a shame. So when's the wedding? Don't set it too far away because I want to see it before I die…"

Yes there were definitely some perks to being old...