It had been nearly a month since Sam was diagnosed with anorexia and though his weight had balanced out, he was still underweight and still struggling. He had some good days where things were a little easier but he also had some very bad days where he had to fight back tears at the mere thought of the next meal. His foster family and friends had been by his side through the whole ordeal, but he truly didn't know what he would have done without Quinn. His girlfriend had seen him at his worst as well as his best and she had never wavered in her love for him. He knew that he was young, but he couldn't imagine his life without her anymore.
Quinn knew more about him then anyone - save for his therapist who was still proving annoyingly good at getting him to talk. He still couldn't quite believe his luck. Quinn was such an amazing girl and it seemed so impossible that she could love someone with more baggage then an airplane, but she did. She loved him, the dorky foster child with an abusive past, anorexia and what his therapist was beginning to suspect might be post traumatic stress disorder. She made it all worth it to him. He knew, even on his really bad days, that no matter how bad he felt, he had his friends, he had his foster family and he had her. He wasn't giving up, no matter how much he wanted to sometimes.
He might not have a real family, but he knew now that he at least had people who wouldn't send him away. He would stay with them until college and after the research he had done and a talk with his social worker, he knew that he would be alright after high school. It might not be easy, but he could do it. He still wanted to be adopted, he still wanted to have people who would truly be his forever and it still hurt that no one had ever wanted him enough to give him that, but he knew he would be okay even without that now. He didn't really want to leave the Turners and the life he had with his friends and foster siblings in Lima anyway, but he couldn't help but wish for more.
Things had been going well for the glee club kids. They had avoided any more major traumatic events and a few days ago they had decided to let Finn and Rachel have the duet at Nationals much to Rachel's delight. Santana had been too sidetracked by her new boyfriend to protest much and due to the group song, everyone else had been fine with the decision. The couple had already chosen the song they would be performing, with Rachel happily announcing that it fit perfectly with the theme of the group song. Sam knew that he needed to have his own song picked out soon, but nothing had seemed right yet.
Truth be told, he was still getting over the shock of being given the solo. He had been afraid that it was simply a pity vote, but Rachel had quickly assured him that she voted for him and she would never have done so if she didn't think he could help them win. It was such a Rachel thing to say that he had nearly laughed, but as the others informed him that his solo at the concert had greatly influenced their choice, he felt better about the decision. He was nervous that his friends had trusted him with such an important position for Nationals and he wanted to choose the perfect song, he didn't want to let them down.
At the moment, he was doing his best to distract himself by running through every song he could think of in his head. That day had been one of his bad ones and he had gone to his room immediately following dinner so that his foster siblings wouldn't see him if he broke down. His eating disorder had been explained in it's simplest terms to Anna and Aiden, much to his embarrassment. He had liked being someone they looked up to and he hated that they knew. He had saved what little was left of his pride by refusing to let them see him in his worst moments.
As if he had known that Sam was thinking about him, little Aiden chose that time to knock on his door, "Sammy? Can I come in?" the little boy asked.
"Come on in." Sam said, deciding he had pulled himself together enough.
"Are you ok, Sammy?" the just-turned-seven year old asked.
"I'm better now." he replied as his foster brother climbed onto the bed next to him.
"Jessica said you left cause today was a bad day and you were sad." Aiden informed him.
Sam sighed, "I guess I'm not much of a superhero anymore, huh?" he asked.
"Yes, you are!" the little boy replied, looking as though Sam had been crazy to think otherwise.
"What do you mean?" he question, confused. He certainly didn't feel much like a hero.
"Superhero's get hurt and sick and sad too, they just get better! And you're gonna get better too!" Aiden insisted.
"You're amazing kiddo, you know that?" the older boy said, tickling the child.
"Nu-uh. You are! You're Superman!" the little boy responded through his giggles.
"Well, I think you're pretty Super too, so who are you then?" Sam teased.
"Duh, I'm your sidekick, 'member?" Aiden reminded him.
"Oh, of course." he replied, remembering the conversation he'd had several weeks ago with his little foster brother.
Sam picked the little boy up and 'flew' him out of the room, into the hallway and set him down in his own bedroom, "I'll play with you some more later, ok buddy? I've got some homework I need to finish." he said before heading back to his own room. He knew exactly what he wanted to sing now.
"So, what do you think?" Sam asked as Quinn looked up from the lyrics he had printed out and brought to school.
He hadn't really expected her first reaction to be to hug him, "That's your song?" she questioned.
"Yeah. I mean I know it's ... but that's just part how things are for me right now, I think the other songs we're doing explain the rest pretty well." he replied.
"You know it doesn't seem like it at first, but it really does fit in with the other songs, doesn't it? I know this is your song, but I think we've all felt kinda like that before too." she said.
"That's what I had been thinking." he explained.
"It's perfect, Sam. If you perform that half as well as you did Stand there's no way we'll lose." she told him.
"It wasn't that good." Sam insisted.
"Sam, you got more applause then anyone else." she said with a smirk.
"Well ... what do you think we'll do for the forth number? The one we need for if we make the top ten?" he replied, fighting back a blush.
"Rachel's been talking about re-vamping an old number for that. I have a feeling she knows exactly which song she wants and she's just trying to get everyone to agree to her idea piece by piece." Quinn replied with a soft laugh.
"That sounds like Rachel. Finn's been talking about that too, so I'm sure whatever they've come up with, they're in it together." Sam told her.
"Yeah, that sounds about right too and I think I know what song they're thinking of." she informed him.
They spent the next several minutes discussing the set list for Nationals and what the final song might end up being. Quinn's gentile and silent reminders for him to eat combined with the easy conversation always made meals a little easier for Sam. He was able to keep his mind off of what he was doing for the most part while discussing Nationals faded into some mild gossip about Santana's latest boyfriend. They both agreed that Miles and Santana made a much cuter couple then anyone would have expected. For someone as tough as Santana and someone who looked as tough as Miles, there was an awful lot of hand holding, quick kisses and walking to classes together. It was almost amusing to watch them interact, but both Sam and Quinn were simply glad to see Santana happy. Things seemed to be looking up for everyone.
Author's Note: I hope you guys liked this! Only one chapter left before they're in New York! I'm fairly certain that this will end on Chapter Fifty Six, but there's an epilogue.
BlackKeys96: Thank you! I'm glad you're looking forward to the sequel - I'm looking forward to writing it!
Tessie: As I've mentioned before, I'm addicted to happy endings. I may torture characters, but things will always be better in the end. Thank you for your review!
