"Why does it feel like it's been ages since we caught up?"

"I don't know. It's only been a couple of days."

"Exactly. But it felt like forever, especially with the holiday weekend!" Quinn took a sip of her piping hot Al's coffee. It tasted like shit but she needed it to get through the day until the evening. Mondays were never fun but at least they were out tonight. "So I need to hear everything about everything! Those texts weren't enough. How was Thanksgiving with the new family? Did you buy much with Sam's sister and how did the date and the babysitting go?"

Quinn was full of questions that Mercedes was more than happy to answer. She was thrilled that Thanksgiving had been such a huge success and was touched by the words spoken around the table. But the date was what Quinn was most interested in.

"The music was great! I knew all the songs, even the new ones!"

Quinn rolled her eyes. "I asked about the date, not the music!"

"Geesh! You sound just like Sam! The date was fine. The meal was really good and we talked about travel and music and stuff."

"That's all general! Give me juicy details! Did you bring him home to get lucky?"

Mercedes had no idea just how horrified her expression was but Quinn noted it with curiosity. "What do you think I am? You know I don't do that kind of thing! And with Chey and Sam in the house?" She spotted Quinn's cheeky smile and relaxed a little. "Quit winding me up Q! He's a great guy but I'm not jumping straight into bed with him! He'd probably text me while we're half way through to see if it's going okay!"

Quinn laughed. "He wouldn't!"

"Sometimes I just don't know! He texts so much sometimes. Mostly it's nice although sometimes when I'm busy and don't get to reply straight away he gets annoyingly persistent. But getting me into that gig was amazing on Saturday. And he was a perfect gentleman so I can't complain. Seriously though, why does a smart guy like him even look twice at me?"

"Because you're hot!"

She chuckled ironically. "Yeah right. He got some stupid bee in his bonnet about Sam thinking I'm hot but I soon put him straight on that one. As if! But now he's away again on business at the moment but we'll be going to lunch when he gets back so I guess things are going well."

"I'm glad they are too. I've wanted to see you getting more male attention for ages so you need to make sure you 'werk it' girl!"

Mercedes just laughed at the craziness of the comment and nibbled on her chocolate chip cookie as Quinn changed the subject with news of her own. "Guess who I had a call from on Thanksgiving."

It was an easy one. "Ken?"

Quinn was surprised. "How did you guess?"

"Probably because that's always the answer when you say 'guess who called'. Especially on the holidays. How's he doing?"

"Really well. He was holed up somewhere in Minnesota with some of his driving buddies having a poker tournament. I suspect the closest he came to actually doing something for Thanksgiving was eating turkey bacon sandwiches!" Even now, Quinn still spoke of her quirky ex-husband with fondness.

"Seriously, that man needs someone to look after him!"

"Well it finally might be happening. He told me he's seeing someone!"

Mercedes eyes nearly bugged out of her head at the news. "Really?"

"Yeah. She's another truck driver."

"I figured it would have to be. Nobody else would put up with that lifestyle."

"And that's not the best bit. She hails from Minnesota and that poker tournament involves members of her family! It looks like this one might be serious!"

"He's finally moved on. I'm happy for him."

"So am I!" Quinn smiled as she stirred a second sweetener into her coffee pretending that it would actually make a difference to the taste. "Some days I still miss the way that we'd talk. He's a good man."

"I don't doubt that." Mercedes watched her friend carefully, waiting to see if she was going to say what she hoped she was going to say.

"-And I told him about Puck!" After the extended pause, the blurted out words sounded like a shot.

Mercedes grinned. She knew it! Quinn had dated since her divorce, but none of them had ever been serious enough for her to tell Ken. The fact that she was still occasionally in touch with her ex would seem weird to most, but she understood that their relationship had been as much a platonic friendship as it had a marriage. That foundation was unchanged by their relationship status. Mercedes had always liked Ken and understood his inner struggle and his desire not to be stuck in one place more than most. Plus his age and travels had given him a worldly wisdom which she liked. It was a sad day for all of them when he'd left. And for Quinn to tell Ken about her relationship meant this was serious. "That's great! What did he say?"

"He said he was happy for me. He said I sounded happy talking about it and he hopes we can make a real go of things."

"Uh huh…" She smiled at her friend with a knowing raised eyebrow. "So Puck gets the Tenaka stamp of approval! Good to know. He's had the Jones stamp of approval for a while now. You glow when you're around him and you have no idea how happy that makes me!" It was true. Having seen how Quinn was with Ken, there was a huge difference. During her marriage she'd been quietly content, but with Puck she was blossoming and Mercedes couldn't get enough of seeing it. "Our double date is going to be epic tonight. We haven't done karaoke in forever!"

"I know. I'm excited about double dating with you for a change. But it's Sam tonight, so not really a date."

"I know that. But me and him have an agreement now. I was worried about his girlfriend so we have this ongoing 'not that kind of date' scenario to cover outings like this."

"Nice idea! I can't tell you how happy I am that you guys get on so well. Puck and I both are. The idea of our best friends having a hard time with each other is a complete nightmare scenario."

"I know. But Sam's good people really. He just comes over abrasive when he's angry. But his bark is worse than his bite. At least I hope so!"

"Oh I know so! Puck's told me how solid their friendship is and how he's always been there for him. He's a great guy Mercedes and I like that he's taking care of you. Can't always be easy for him to juggle that and have a girlfriend."

"Well I have news hot off the press about that one. Apparently things fizzled out between them and they broke up!"

"Really? Puck hinted at something but he never got to finish what he was saying so it's good to have it confirmed." Quinn smiled to herself and leaned back in her seat, thinking about the evening to come. "So Sam's relationship broke up huh. Interesting…"


Unique's looked completely different at night. Gone was the cozy homeliness of the daytime coffee shop and in all honesty, Mercedes felt like she was in a completely different venue. The stage that was only barely visible in the daytime was now more prominently on display, the step was lit up with what looked like twinkling fairy lights and a spotlight shone down over the microphone on center stage. There were even deep scarlet curtains covering the walls behind the stage, giving it a more dramatic and professional effect.

All the tables were still there but they'd been pushed further back and with barely any space between them. Nobody seemed to mind though and many people were already standing. As soon as the four of them arrived they were ushered by Sunshine to a table at the front which had been reserved for them.

"Wade said you were coming tonight. We've missed you on party nights!" Her smile was huge compared to her tiny body as she ushered them to their seats and she handed them the cocktail menu.

"This place does cocktails?" Quinn stared at the cocktail menu incredulously, "I didn't even know it had an alcohol license!"

Puck grinned at her. "It does, they do and Sunshine's the most amazing bartender! I know she doesn't look old enough to be touching alcohol and she's barely tall enough to reach half the display bottles but that girl has talent honed by years of practice." He looked more excited than she'd ever seen him and even Sam appeared to be on a high.

Mercedes looked back to the cake counter and realized it was indeed converted into a bar. Panels had opened up in the wall behind the counter and inside were huge bottles of every spirit imaginable.

Puck pulled his seat closer to Quinn's and slipped his arm around the back of it. Sam was desperate to do the same with Mercedes but knew it would be a step too far. He tried to tell himself that he shouldn't pretend in his head that this wasn't a double date but it totally was. She looked amazing. She had on jeans that hugged her curves just so and a sparkly purple sweater that was slightly asymmetrical on the neckline, revealing a teasing amount of shoulder. She was also wearing lip gloss and had her hair down just like it had been for her date. She looked stunning and he reveled in the fact that this time it was all for him. He knew he was staring a little too much but he couldn't help that either. Her face was full of life. She was smiling and laughing among friends and it made him feel so happy that his cheeks threatened to burst from the huge grin he was fighting to keep down.

He wasn't just on a slippery slope to falling for Mercedes, he was already half way down it. And he had no idea how it had got this bad so fast!

"So what are you having?" He reached for the drinks menu in front of her, intentionally grazing her hand with his as he did so and carefully assessing her expression for any type of reaction. Was that a slight intake of breath? He couldn't be sure and the moment was gone in a blink of an eye. The jolt of electricity he'd felt was unmistakable though. There was no way she was going to be thinking of Moe tonight.

"I don't know. Is there anything you recommend? I'd usually go for something sweet. Maybe something unusual."

"Well if it's unusual you're after then Wade's the king of that. He whenever he travels he brings back some strange drink to use in his cocktails and they're all fantastic."

"If you're after something sweet and unusual I can recommend the Feijoa liquer."

Mercedes looked up to see a curvy black woman with a bob smiling at her as she perched on the edge of their table wearing a scarily short gold sequined dress. She returned the smile and frowned slightly at the vaguely familiar face. "Hi! Have we met before?"

She was met with a grin and a head shake. "I'm Unique!" She turned to Sam and Puck, "And all I have to say to you guys is that Unique's been feeling very neglected by her special boys!"

Both men shot her guilty expressions and Puck even took Unique's delicately manicured hand and placed a groveling kiss on to it, much to Quinn's amusement. Mercedes was surprised Quinn was amused rather than jealous of that action but even Sam seemed to be shooting Unique an indulgent smile. Before Mercedes could say anything Unique turned back to her. "Feijoa liquer is something I brought back after traveling in New Zealand last year. It's not on the menu because I only have a couple of bottles. But you honey, are family because you're with my boys, so you're more than welcome to have a taste because I know you'll appreciate it."

"Um… Thanks."

"No problem gorgeous. I'll be right back with your drink myself. I already know what the boys will be having."

Mercedes watched as she breezed away, her gait somewhat familiar in the sexy shoes she wore. "Wow! She must be Wade's twin sister. She's gorgeous!"

Puck let out a snort of laughter and Sam looked like he could barely contain himself. She looked over at Quinn who was also grinning and shaking her head slowly. Mercedes didn't understand. "What? Am I missing something?"

Sam let out something that was the cross between a cough and a laugh while Puck most definitely snorted before being jammed in the ribs by a smiling Quinn. "Wade's an only child," she said mysteriously.

Mercedes couldn't see how that helped matters and now Quinn was also fighting back the laughter. She felt like she was on the outside of a privately shared joke. "But they have to be related somehow because they look far too alike!"

"We went to school with Wade. Definitely an only child, I promise you that." Sam finally said.

"So what the hell is it that you're not telling me?"

Sam finally stopped sniggering. "The clue was in the shoes…"

"The shoes?" Mercedes remained confused. "But she was just wearing a pair of Wade's shoes."

"Uh huh. Wade's shoes…"

She felt like she was missing something obvious. And then the cogs started to turn inside her brain. "Oh… Ohhhhh…"

Puck leaned over towards Sam. "I think she's finally getting it."

"So Wade and Unique are…"

"One and the same!" Puck and Sam cried at exactly the same time.

"Wow! That sort of makes sen- Wait! So how come Unique doesn't know me?"

"Because you haven't met her. You've only met Wade. They're totally separate entities although one day I suspect Unique will be here to stay."

"And you guys knew all along?"

"We went to High School with Wade and met Unique in college. Those were interesting times but we had Wade's back all the way through."

"If it's any consolation, I only found out this afternoon when Puck told me. I didn't realize you didn't know and then your face was so funny I just had to let you work it out yourself!" Quinn gave her an apologetic smile but forgiveness wasn't even necessary.

Mercedes looked over to the bar to where Wade and Sunshine were stood reading something that was laid out on the counter. Unique had her arm flung around Sunshine's shoulder and her chin was resting on top of the short girl's head. "So are Wade-slash-Unique and Sunshine an item?"

She looked at Sam who simply shrugged then to Puck who did the same, muttering that he'd always been too scared to ask but he wasn't sure Unique swung that way. "Guys you really are something else!"

Unique returned bearing a tray. "Here you go honey. One tall Feijoa cooler for you. I've mixed it with lemonade, apple juice, soda water, a shot of vodka and crushed ice. For your friend I have one mango daiquiri." She placed the drinks carefully in front of them before turning to the guys and scowling. "And these two wastes of space can go fuck themselves!" She unceremoniously dumped open bottles of beer in front of Sam and Puck and turned away in an exaggerated huff. The two men snatched up their bottles and clinked them together. "Here's to manly drinks!" They laughed and necked their bottles.

"Really?" Mercedes was surprised. "You come to a place like this and drink beer?"

"Yep. It drives Unique mad. But don't worry, I'd say that over the years we have definitely worked our way through the entire cocktail menu when we didn't have ladies with us to impress." Sam nodded emphatically at Puck's statement. "Mostly all on that one same night…"

"Shit yes! I remember! Vaguely…"

"Plus beer is a far better form of Dutch courage for going on stage."

"So are you guys going to sing?"

Puck looked at Sam. "Maybe. But I think tonight's all about seeing what you guys can do. Us boys can keep an air of mystery for a little while longer.

Several people took to the stage, most were pretty good but a couple were truly terrible.

Quinn and Puck eventually went up and sang 'You're The One That I Want' from Grease. They both had amazing voices which went well together. Coming back from the stage to rapturous applause Quinn finally dragged Mercedes up. "The night's nearly over. It's time to show them how it's really done!"

Her second cocktail had finally helped her conquer her nerves so Mercedes finally went up to Unique to have a peek at the playlist.

Sam watched as Mercedes made her choice then took to the center of the stage. People around them were still talking and laughing loudly and he wanted to yell at them to shut up and listen but she simply looked up from the stage, unfazed. Sam could barely hear the music or her words as she began to sing softly.

Left a good job in the city
Workin' for the Man every night and day
But I never lost a minute of sleepin'
Worryin' 'bout the way things might have been

A few people started to stop talking and turned to the stage as they recognized the song.

Big wheel keep on turnin'
Proud Mary keep on burnin'
Rollin', rollin', rollin' on the river

By now everyone was silent and turned towards the stage. Mercedes had done nothing, simply softly and soulfully sang her song, but people started to realize that not only did they know her song, her singing was good. Really good!

The second verse was punctuated by cheers and whoops of encouragement and Mercedes started to sing stronger and louder.

Cleaned a lot of plates in Memphis
Pumped a lot of 'tane down in New Orleans
But I never saw the good side of a city
'Til I hitched a ride on the riverboat queen

Big wheel keep on turnin'
Proud Mary keep on burnin'
Rollin', rollin', rollin' on the river

Yes we're rollin', rollin', rollin' on the river

Mercedes looked up into the audience to see that she now had everyone's attention. She'd forgotten how it felt, the rush that came from performing. Shane had spent so long undermining what she did that the feeling had nearly been lost forever.

Now it was time to turn things up a notch!

2… 3… 4…

Suddenly the music got louder and faster. Mercedes put in a shimmy and addressed her audience.

"Okay everybody, I think I got you all warmed up. Now it's time to really let you feel the music…

Let's take this again from the top!"

She broke out into a huge smile. She was Mercedes Jones and Shane Tinsleys of the world be damned, she was back!

Pulling the microphone loose from the stand she decided to show Unique and all in the audience what she was really made of. Twice the speed, twice the volume and twice the fun!

Left a good job in the city
Workin' for the Man every night and day
But I never lost a minute of sleep
Worryin' 'bout the way things might have been

This time she had everyone's attention and most were already on their feet.

Big wheel keep on turnin'
Proud Mary keep on burnin'
Rollin', rollin', rollin' on the river

Everybody sing with me!

Rollin', rollin', rolling' on the river

River- do do do do, do do do do, do do do do

Alright! Yeah!

If you come down to the River
Bet you're gonna find some people who live
You don't have to worry 'cause you have no money
People on the river are happy to give

Big wheel keep on turnin'
Proud Mary keep on burnin'
Rollin', rollin', rollin' on the river

Mercedes looked out into the audience so see how Sam reacted to her singing. She saw Quinn bopping away, the only one who truly knew what Mercedes was capable of, and Puck with his mouth still slightly opened in shock.

But Sam was nowhere to be seen. Biting down her disappointment she powered through.

Rollin', rollin', rolling' on the river

River- do do do do, do do do do, do do do do

The crowd were so stirred up that Unique kept the chorus going over and over. Mercedes kept looking out into the audience but Sam seemed to have vanished. It was only as she finally took a bow and replaced the microphone that she saw him standing by the door talking on his phone, his face serious with a slight frown. And she pretended it didn't hurt her to the core that he hadn't been listening. She pretended that maybe the performance wasn't to impress him and get him to see another side to her that wasn't a dowdy single mom.

Unique came over and pulled her into a crushing hug. "Honey that was amazing! I think that's the best performance we've ever had in here. Nobody can follow it tonight. Are you going to give us an encore?"

She thought about it but shook her head. Seeing Sam distracted had totally broken her euphoric mood and her desire to sing had vanished.

"Not tonight. I'm a bit rusty and that really took it out of me. But I promise I'll be back to perform again. I've really missed doing it and your place has great acoustics!"

Unique pouted but saw that Mercedes' decision was final. "Okay I'll accept it for now, but you'll have to come again and grace us with your voice."

"I definitely promise." She smiled, "But only if you sweeten the deal with a couple of cupcakes."

Unique flicked her hair. "Consider it done sweetie! You just have to promise me to wear a dress next time coz that ass of yours needs to shake when you sing! You need to do the original Tina Turner performance and show Beyonce a thing or two about how it's really done!"

Suddenly a pair of arms snaked around her and she turned to meet a sparkling pair of green eyes. "You were amazing. I know you said you could sing but you were just selling yourself short!"

Despite what her brain was saying her body seemed to react to his overfamiliar touch. "I looked for you Sam but you'd disappeared. Where did you go?"

"I had to make a call." He steered her through the crowd and congratulations from random strangers back to her seat. "I need to ask you something but I think you need to be sitting down first."

She looked at him with suspicion but allowed herself to be led back to her seat where Quinn hugged her and Puck was effusive with his praise of her performance. Sam allowed her to sit before taking both of her hands in his which made her instantly feel nervous and more than a little flustered. "Mercedes, what are you doing on January 19th?"

She shook her head. "Nothing. Why?"

It was Puck's turn to become wide eyed. "Wait, isn't that the annual-", he was rapidly hushed by Sam who gripped her hands even tighter.

"You know you said that you always wanted to sing in front of a massive audience…" Sam's smile was so huge it looked as if his face was going to crack and it made her nervous.

"Yeah…" His excitement both excited and worried her.

"Well, and this is totally up to you, I'm just in initial talks at the moment, but how would you like to sing on a theatre stage in front of an audience of over two thousand?"

"What?" Her eyes nearly bugged out of her head and Quinn was the same.

"City Center theatre stage to be precise."

Her heart started to pound. "Sam. What the hell are you talking about?"

He shuffled in his seat until he was facing her completely. "Have you heard of the Evans Foundation?"

She nodded her head. She'd heard of it but in all honesty she didn't know too much detail or even the specifics of what they did.

"In a nutshell, it's the charity that Stevie set up after mom died. Initially it was for leukemia research but through the years the funds have been split between several good causes including children's charities. But our main fundraiser event is a show we put on at the beginning of each year at City Center. We have performances of music and comedy and the audience is made up some of the major donators as well as children, hospice residents and medical staff. It's a day out for those who are constantly going through endless cycles of treatment, and the staff that look after them as well as donators who pay for premium tickets to enjoy the performances."

"Sam that's huge!"

"I know. But I know you can do it. Look how you turned on the audience here tonight. Imagine what you can do on the stage. This is your chance to live your dream and people deserve to hear your voice."

"I don't know Sam."

He rubbed the back of her hands lightly with his thumbs, sending tingles straight up her arms. "I know it's a big ask and you don't have to give me an answer just yet. But I know I took away your chance to do something big and this is my opportunity to give it back. And best of all, it's all for a good cause. You blew me away tonight. You blew us all away. You have real talent deserve to be showcased. I care about you as a person but I'm also a businessman with an eye for quality. I'm asking you this because of your talent. You're special Mercedes, don't ever forget that."

She could feel her eyes start to well at his impassioned plea and without thinking she allowed him to take her hand properly.

"And I can think about it, right?"

He nodded.

"Then thank you Sam. It's an amazing offer. Obviously I need to think about it lots more, and I'm sure I'll probably bombard you with millions of questions, but I promise I'm honored that you asked and I won't keep you waiting too long for my answer."

Reaching for her drink she took several long swallows as Quinn squealed excitedly next to her.

Could she pull this off?

Did she still have it in her to finally get the solo performance and have her chance to shine?