DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN GLEE NOR ANYTHING ELSE.
"Some painful things can teach us lessons that we didn't think we needed to know."
Reece walked down the hallway when she heard the slamming of cabinets. Her and Chris has only been in Georgia for four days and a lot has transpired since then. But one thing that was tugging fiercely at her heart was seeing how bad Danielle was taking it all. One upset Dani led to one pissed off mother, not that she blamed her one bit. She haven't even met this Roxy chick and she already wanted to ring her neck. Finding Mercedes pouring herself a generous amount of wine in a glass, she walked in, "Babe, what's going on?"
Mercedes scoffed as she took a long sip, closing her eyes as she swallowed the liquid down before sitting the glass back on the counter, "I had to literally force pieces of a sandwich down my daughter's throat and constantly keep reassuring her that nothing is her fault."
"Much like you did when she was twelve." Reece said sadly as she took a seat at the bar, wincing at the memory.
Mercedes nodded as she leaned over on the counter, running her hands over her face. When Dani got older, Mercedes told her about everything that had transpired before she was born because she wanted to know the truth. The preteen took it harder than expected and long story short, she blamed herself. She locked herself in her room for a week and barely ate until Mercedes took matters into her own hands, "So now I'm here weighing my options. I can go to jail for hurting that bitch or I can go to jail for hurting that bitch."
Reece snorted at her friend before picking up her abandoned glass, taking a few sips before holding her hand up, "Here's a third option. You take care of Dandelion and I'll handle this Roxy chick."
Mercedes side eyed her for a moment before turning around and going to the refrigerator, "The last time you handled someone.."
"We said we would never bring that up again." Reece interrupted her and gave her a pointed look with a small smirk on her face, picking up a cookie from the tray, "Besides, that's a different situation. She has kids. I won't actually hurt her physically. We're just going to have some words."
"It's not like I just want to keep this drama going, you know?" Mercedes said all of sudden as she turned back to look at her friend, "You can say whatever the hell you want to me, I don't give a shit but don't ever come for my daughter."
"That's why you need to leave it to me. I don't want you getting in trouble so I'll take care of it. I am a certified classy, ratchet, mixed with everything bitch. I got you."
Mercedes let a quiet laugh escape her mouth as she shook her head. She was right, she was mixed with everything and because she was born and raised in Oakland, she did have a tad bit of hoodish tendencies, "Never in my life would I have thought I would ever meet anyone who was worse than Santana."
"We're two of a kind, that's why we get along so well." She said with a smile as she crossed her legs, hearing Mercedes phone go off.
Mercedes chuckled at her before sliding the answer button, putting the phone to her ear, "Hey love."
"Hey." Sam smiled as he took a seat, rubbing the back of his neck, "How's everything going there?"
"She still won't come out of her room but a couple of hours ago I made her eat, shower and I slipped a sleeping pill into her water."
Sam sighed as he leaned his hand back on the wall, pinching the bridge of his nose, "Saint wants to see her."
"Excuse me?"
"He told me this morning that he wants to talk to her. Not only about what happened with him but what he did to us." Hearing the silence on the other line, he continued on, "Call me crazy baby, like seriously, I think I hit my head on something without knowing in the past seventy-two hours because you know my first response would be no but I think it's a good idea."
"Oh really?"
"Yes." Sam bit down on his bottom lip as he looked out the window, hearing her sigh, he let a smile take over his lips, "It's ultimately going to be up to her anyways so.."
"Are you being cheeky with me right now? Don't get cheeky with me Evans."
Sam snorted as he rolled his eyes, "Yes ma'am."
Mercedes grunted before turning her head, seeing Danielle come into the kitchen, "I'll tell her about it."
"Alright." Sam said as he looked at his watch, "I'm heading straight to work after I leave here and then I'll see you later on this evening. Love you."
"Love you too." Mercedes said before she hung up the phone, ignoring the cheesy grin that was spread across Reece's face, she went over to her daughter, "You alright?"
Danielle looked up at her, rubbing her sleepy eyes, "You drugged me."
"I did." Mercedes replied as she went and took a seat beside her, placing her phone on the counter, "You haven't been sleeping and that's not healthy."
Danielle ran her hands through her messy hair before speaking, "I've been trying but I can't."
Mercedes rubbed her hand up and down her back, "Dad wanted me to let you know that if you're up to it, Saint wants to talk to you." She felt her stiffen up and she gave her shoulder a reassuring squeeze, "You don't have to if you don't want to."
"Yeah Dandelion. If it makes you uncomfortable, nobody is forcing you to go."
Danielle sighed as she looked over at her mother with a curious expression, "Would you be mad if I did?"
"Would you be mad at yourself if you didn't?" Mercedes retorted the question back to her, seeing the small glare she was sending her, she sent one back. She got up from the chair and pressed a kiss to her forehead before going back to the refrigerator, "Listen to your heart."
Danielle listened to what she said and nodded. She wanted so badly to talk to this man, that's all she ever wanted for him was to hear her out but lately, she was scared to even do that now because she didn't know how it was going to end.
"You will begin to heal when you let go of past hurts, forgive those who have wronged you, and learn to forgive yourself for your mistakes."
Saint thanked the nurse when he took the IV out of his hand, sitting up in the bed. He was happy to be going home in a few minutes. This hospital was really getting uncomfortable and the only reason he had to stay was because he was placed under the standard forty-eight hour suicide watch. As much as he hated, he was also grateful for it because it gave him some much needed time to reflect on some things. Hearing a knock on the door, he lifted his head and turned to see who it was. He was shocked to see Danielle standing there. He knew he had told Sam he wanted to speak with her but he thought for sure she wouldn't even come. Watching her come into the room, he notice almost immediately that she didn't look like herself at all. From what he could tell when he first met her, she was always bubbly, glowing and kept a smile on her face. The young woman in front of him was definitely not that, "Hey."
Danielle fiddled with her hands as she moved in, tucking her hair behind her ears, "Hi."
"You can have a seat if you want." Saint said quietly, seeing her nod and walked over to the chair. He waited until she sat before speaking, "Thank you for coming."
Danielle raised her eyes to him, not trusting herself to talk so she just nodded.
Saint saw that she was having a hard time and he hated that. The outspoken young woman he met just a few days ago was not that anymore, "Listen Danielle, I ask you here because I want to talk to you. If you don't want to say anything, that's really okay. I don't want to force you talk, I just want you to listen." He said softly as he sat up in the bed, clearing his throat, "First and foremost, none of this is your fault and don't let anyone try to tell you it is. I was fighting my demons and still am. Truth is, I finally realized how what I did was beyond messed up. I can't apologize enough for it. What set me off was when I saw how emotionally damage you were. I couldn't help but think that it's because of me. I'm the cause of this girl's pain. I just couldn't take it anymore. There was nothing I could do or say to change what I had done." Saint sighed as he looked away from her, feeling his eyes starting to water up, "I'm working on myself and when I get out this hospital, I will get the professional help I need. I accept that my relationship with my brother will never be the same. I accept that you don't like me and may never will, it's okay. All I want from all of you is to understand that I'm not just saying this for the hell of it but I am really sorry."
Danielle wiped the tears that fallen from her eyes, sniffling as she stared at the ground, "I never meant for it to lead to this. I just wanted you to know how much you hurt us, that's all. When your wife blamed me, I started to think the same way I did when I was younger. Maybe I am the cause of every bad thing that has happened in my life." She looked back up at him, "I don't hate you, not by a long shot. I was raised to never hate anyone but I do dislike you. I'm sorry I can't change that. I'm sorry I don't have an off switch people expect me to have. But one thing I do want you to know is that I forgive you and I sincerely wish you the best recovery for yourself and your kids. Alex and Timothy are amazing and I'm so lucky to have them as my cousins. And I want to thank you for asking me to come by. I was so scared but I'm glad I did."
"Thank you for coming Danielle, seriously. You have no idea how much that alone means to me." Saint said seriously as he looked at the young woman. Seeing a small smile tug at her lips did it for him. Although it wasn't easy hearing what she had to say, it was like relief washed over him when she said she forgives him.
Danielle stood up from the chair and placed her hands into her pockets, sniffling, "I am thankful that I do I have my dad. A lot of girls can't say that. Better late than never, I suppose. Have a good day, Mr. Saint." And with that, she turned and walked out the room with her head held high. She felt a sense of reassurance wave over her when it came out of his mouth that she didn't cause this. One positive outcome out of this short meeting, she knew he meant it when he apologized.
"I forgive but I also learn a lesson. I won't hate you, but I'll never get close enough for you to hurt me again. I can't let my forgiveness become foolishness."
Sam rested his chin on top of Mercedes' right shoulder as he watched on from behind, staring at their daughter. Once he had came over after work, Mercedes had cooked some dinner. Sam wasn't too surprised that Dani didn't share with them what happen with her and Saint. All he knew is it had to had gone well because she was returning to her old self.
Danielle groaned lowly when she felt her parents watching her, knowing exactly why they were doing it. She pushed her glasses up on her face and lifted up the empty plate, "All gone."
Mercedes smiled at her before folding her arms, "Now, go upstairs and get some sleep."
"Not going to drug me this time?" She quipped as she stood up from the table with her plate, walking over to the sink.
Mercedes giggled as she turn and looked at Sam before going back over to her, "Not unless I have to."
"You won't." She said with a small smile as she went over and gave her a hug, doing the same to Sam before letting go and heading out the kitchen, "I love y'all."
"Love you too." The both replied with smiles on their faces, watching as she headed up the stairs.
Sam grabbed himself a bottle of water before following behind Mercedes to the living room, plopping down on the couch, "What a week."
"You can say that again." Mercedes sighed as she sat down beside him, tucking her legs underneath her, "I'm emotionally, physically, and mentally exhausted."
"Same." Sam threw his arm around her shoulders and pulled her to him, kissing her cheek, "Never thought it would lead to all of this, you know?" Sam laid his head down on top of hers, staring at the black screen of the TV in front of him, "You know, I realized some things this week. I'm a changed person and I honestly think it's because of you and Danielle. Let me tell you why. I had a short conversation with Saint. I forgave him, and a big reason was because of what happened. Life is too short and a lot can happen in a blink of an eye. I forgave him because no matter what he did, deep down, he is my brother and I love him despite how I have been feeling. Just because I forgave him doesn't mean I'm going to ever forget. He hurt me, he hurt you and he hurt our daughter. That's forever going to be engraved in my mind but it's time for me to let go of all this negative energy because it's only going to hurt me in the long run." He took ahold of her hand and locked their fingers together, "Goddammit I'm getting soft."
Mercedes chuckled heartily before moving her head to side to look at him, "Not soft, you're just not a heartless son of a bitch like people think."
"That's true." He said with a snort as he leaned back on the couch. He remembered throughout his whole baseball career people thought he was arrogant..okay, maybe he was a little but not to the extremes like the other players in the league.
"But I absolutely agree with you. We can't let this consume us for the rest of our lives. No matter how much it hurts, we have to let go and live our lives. We have each other now, let's not dwell on things we can't change."
Sam nodded as he laid his head on the couch, letting out a low hum before he spoke again, "I think it's time we take that family vacation. Get away from this place for awhile. Just the three of us."
"Maybe we can go somewhere for Dani's birthday next week."
"Sounds good with me. Matter of fact.." He started as he let go of her and stood up from the couch, a smile plastered on his face as he walked backwards, "Let me get a head start on planning and booking now."
Mercedes watched as he walked out the room and she giggled, shaking her head as she laid back on the couch. A break was something that they all needed right now and she couldn't wait to get away and spend some time with her family.
A/N. Taking a break for awhile..
