Song used Through The Rain by Mariah Carey


Sam and Mercedes talked for what felt like hours. They slowly paced towards his car trying to make the moment last longer. He was happy she was here and more importantly that they were talking again. He couldn't remember the last time that he laughed this much. Once they reached his car they both just stood in silence as they stared at each other. He wanted to hug her but he wasn't sure if he wouldn't want to kiss her as well. The last thing he wanted to do was cheat on Brittany.

"You know," she chuckled before placing her hands in her back pocket and then smiling up at him. "We do this a lot."

"What do you mean?" Sam asked as he smiled back at her and leaned back against his car.

"We tend to talk in silence every once and a while." she replied as her smile softened. "As much as we may think otherwise, it's really loud." she added before they fell into silence again. "Here we go again."

"I guess we have a lot to say." Sam responded as they both laughed. "I missed hearing you laugh." he confessed as they fell silent again.

"I missed you." she admitted before stepping closer to him then stopping just a few steps from him. It was almost as if she had to stop herself from coming even closer. "I watched the show every week just to keep up with you."

"Seriously?" he asked in shock. He thought that she hadn't watched the show after she left. His mind replayed a couple episodes that even he was ashamed of before he cringed at the thought. "Even the episode where they made me have that crazy multiple personality and pretend to be my own twin?" he asked causing her to laugh again.

"Yes, especially that episode. I laughed at how you were committed to both characters."

"They never bring that up again. Almost as if it all was an illusion or something."

"Yeah, they tend to do that on Gleek."

"Oh what about that crazy episode where they made you stand on a table protesting about tots? Whose idea was that?" Sam asked.

"I hated doing that episode." Mercedes responded as she thought back to wanting to argue with Finn about that scene but deciding to keep it all in because she thought she could get fired. "Let's talk about how Josh was dyslexic and we never hear him bring it up again."

"We've met everyone's parents on the show but Kendra's and Finn flew to Lima to get you back on the show."

"Preach!" Mercedes said as she thought about how true his statement was. "Do you wanna talk about how you put cereal on the ground to get Britt to date you?" she added as Sam shook his head before laughing as well. When he was given the script he tried to fight it but Finn really believed it was comedy gold. "Y'all made that poor girl eat off that nasty floor." she reached over and jabbed Sam softly on his arm.

"Awww man! I try to act like that episode didn't happen." he responded as he looked away from her.

"Took me a while to realize how cute you guys are together." she admitted causing Sam to look at her again. "I was...uh...happy for you. I am...happy for you."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah." she replied softly. "I like seeing you happy." Sam wasn't sure if she was being honest, because he hated seeing her with Brody. To him, there was nothing cute about seeing her with him. He was happy when he found out that they'd broken up. He wondered if she was happy as well.

"Are you happy?"

"Hmmm?"

"When you were with Brody, you didn't seem happy." Sam responded before stepping forward and reaching for her hand. "Are you happy now?" she looked down at their hands for a few seconds before looking back at him and smiling.

"I am now."


Later that night, Sam made it home and was happy to find Brittany left him a note that she was with her parents that evening. She told him that Lord Tubbington had an appointment with a therapist the next day and she needed to be there. Sam smiled mainly because he finally had time to be alone. He decided to play a quick game with Jake as he complained about relationship issues he was having with Marley. Sam still couldn't believe they were still together, because it was obvious Jake was not in it for the right reasons.

"She has become a stage five clinger, dude." Jake said as Sam tried not to think of Mercedes again. They talked for hours and yet all Sam wanted to do was talk to her some more.

"If you're not happy with her break up with her, bro." Sam advised to the sound of Jake scoffing.

"Are you trying to get me kicked off the show, bro? I break up with her then I'm a goner for sure."

"That's not true. Finn likes the drama. He'd probably add it to the script." Sam replied.

"The fans love me being with Marley. If I break up with her they will definitely stop following me and I'll lose out more than a part of being on the show."

"You have a point there." Sam responded as he wondered what would happen if he broke things off with Brittany. She had a nice cult following since she joined the show. He also didn't know that Mercedes had a lot of hate for the scenes they had together before she left. If he began dating her after leaving Brittany there's no telling how much hate she'd get then.

"Maybe I can try and date Mercedes again." Jake said as Sam finally snapped back into the conversation. "You think the fans will dig that?"

"Uh...what?"

"Yeah, man. She's single now. And she came back with a lil something something, you know what I'm saying?" Jake added. "I might call her up tonight and see what she's up to, maybe even try to Netflix and chill. You think she'll go for it?" Sam wasn't sure what was wrong but just the thought of Jake thinking of flirting with Mercedes made Sam feel his heart beat quicken. He knew Mercedes wasn't into Jake but he did not want to take the chance of letting him try.

"Um...uh...hey man let me call you back Britt's calling me." Sam lied as he quickly hung up the phone. He scrolled on his phone until he saw her name appear on the phone and debated calling her. He decided to text her instead but stopped when he saw the message he sent her that she'd ignored. He tried to swipe out of the messenger and instead hit the call button. He quickly hung up the phone and did a silent prayer that the call didn't go through or at least she was already sleeping. Seconds later his phone began ringing and her face appeared on the screen of his phone.

"Hey, Sam. You hung up before I could answer the phone." Mercedes said the minute he answered the call.

"I...uh...butt dialed you, I think." he lied.

"Oh..."

"Hope I didn't wake you up."

"It's okay. Are you okay?" she asked as she let out a sound that he could only assume was her yawning and stretching.

"I...uh..."

"Hold on, Sam. Someone is calling me on my other line." she responded before mumbling about not recognizing the number. "What am I a hotline tonight?" was the last thing that Sam heard before she clicked over. Sam prayed that it wasn't Jake calling her on the other line. "Why am I feeling jealous?" Sam asked himself as he tried to calm down.


Mercedes went to be bed with a smile on her face. She was so happy to have finally spoken to Sam. She thought back to how they hugged before they parted ways. Hugging him felt exactly how she'd imagined it plenty times. She fit perfectly in his arms, especially since she was wearing heels so that he didn't have to bend to reach her. She replayed the conversation multiple times before finally closing her eyes to sleep. She felt as if she'd just closed her eyes when she felt her phone vibrate beside her. For a second, she thought it was a dream but it buzzed a second time before stopping. She reached over for the phone in shock to see Sam's face.

"Sam?" she asked out loud as if someone could answer her. She quickly called him back. "Hey Sam, you hung up before I could answer." She listened to him stammer before she asked if he was okay. He didn't get a chance to respond when she got a call on the other line from a number she didn't recognize. "Who the hell is this now?" she asked herself. "Hold on, Sam. Someone is calling me on my other line." she said with a sigh. "What am I a hotline tonight?" she asked herself before clicking over. "Hello?"

"Hey, Mercedes. Did I wake you?" she heard the voice say. The minute she heard his voice, she sat up and clinched her phone as if she were going to crush it with her bare hands.

"What do you want?" she asked as Brody chuckled a bit.

"Uh, I wanted to talk to you." he responded. "When you left, you didn't give me a chance to explain what..."

"Is he kidding me?" she asked in frustration as she clicked back over to Sam. She hadn't heard from Brody since the night she walked off the stage. She couldn't believe his nerve.

"Is who kidding you?" Sam asked then stammered again to ask: "Was it Jake calling you? Whatever you do, don't talk to Jake."

"Jake? Why the hell would Jake call me?" she asked but then realized it didn't matter. "You know what? It don't even matter." she responded with a chuckle as her other line began to buzz again. "He just won't quit."

"Who?" Sam asked. Mercedes wanted to tell him it was Brody. She wanted to spend this moment venting to someone finally about how she really felt about Brody, but she didn't. She decided that she wanted to not spend another minute on him.

"Someone that I need to block." she replied before quickly changing the subject. "So, why aren't you sleeping?" she asked and forced a smile on her face.

"Uh...I'm usually up at this hour playing video games with Jake. I have issues with sleeping here. It's different compared to Lima."

"Yeah, I can see that. When I first came here, I squinted a lot. I tried to get Finn to take productions over to Vancouver but he refused." she chuckled. "He listens to my suggestions sometimes but the things I really want, he just ignores."

"I'm happy he brought you back. The show really needed you." he added. Mercedes wanted to ask if he needed her too but she decided not to push her luck. She was bolder when she was a teenager chasing after Brody. She would do anything to have half the confidence of her younger self and a portion of Kendra's confidence.

"Yeah, I really missed being on the show but I really needed that time to spend with my dad."

"Oh yeah, how was it?"

"It was everything. I missed my daddy. He helped me get over the whole ordeal with he who will not be named."

"So, you think you're over him?" Sam asked.

"Hell to the yeah." she quickly replied. "I should apologize to you because you tried to talk to me about him but I wouldn't listen."

"It's okay. If the shoe was on the other foot, I know I would have responded the same way." Mercedes wanted to respond that the shoe was on the other foot now but decided to remain silent instead. When Sam tried to warn her about Brody, it just pushed her away from him and the last thing she wanted to do was push Sam away. "We're doing that thing we do again." he said as they both began to laugh.

"I really don't know why we do that." she lied and continued to laugh. She knew exactly why they fell silent. They both had things they wanted to say to each other that they decide is better left unsaid. Mercedes knew that if she did say something to him about her real feelings, there would be no turning back. "So back to you and this insomnia. Have you tried talking to someone about what keeps you up at night?"

"Uh...I guess it's just a lot on my mind." he replied then paused before taking a deep breath in and sighing. "Do you remember the letter my mom sent me from my bio-mom?" he asked.

"Yeah. Did you write her back?" Mercedes asked. She always wanted to know what happened with his bio-mom. "I always wondered if you all were able to meet up."

"Well, other things happened right after you left...shit kind of hit the fan." Sam responded.

"What do you mean?" Mercedes asked as she sat up. "Wait, hold up. Start at the beginning." Mercedes listened as Sam told her exactly what happened when he received a call from his sister inviting him to stay over for the break. Mercedes felt a bit of guilt as he explained leaving because he felt he needed a break. She knew he left because she ignored him and left him without even saying goodbye. "Oh Sam."

"It's okay. Like you said, everything happens for a reason." he replied as he continued telling her about meeting his sister Kitty and he explained how her father was rude to him. "I decided then that I needed to leave that chapter of my life. I was so determined to finally meet her that I didn't even question the fact that Kitty was arranging everything."

"Sam." she said as she shook her head. She wished she was there for him through out of that. "I'm sorry you had to go through that alone."

"I think I would've been embarrassed if I went there with someone else. I just wished she would have been there or tried to meet with me." he admitted then sighed. "I know she was a teen when she gave me up. And I know I could never understand what was going through her mind."

"Sam." she managed to say his name softly as he paused before continuing. She could hear his voice cracking as he spoke. She could tell he was holding it all in all this time and now he was finally letting it all out.

"I don't want to get to know her. I don't want to interrupt her life any more than I have already. I just want to ask her one thing. I want to stop trying to assume the answer. I just want to know the truth" he paused and she could hear him take in a deep breath. "I don't even know if I can handle the truth if she does tell me, but I think once I know..."

"You'll be able to sleep?"

"Well, it will be one of those things I check off of my brain at night." Sam responded with a slight chuckle. "I just want to meet her, ya know. Ask her the one question and when she answers it, never speak of her again." he paused and they were silent for a brief second before he continued. "I just want to meet her." he repeated once again but it was said so low that Mercedes figured he was saying it to himself.

"Let's do it!" Mercedes exclaimed.

"What?"

"You wanna meet her, right?"

"I'm just talking..."

"So you don't want to meet her?"

"I mean...I think I do."

"Sam." Mercedes said his name softly. She wished she was near him because she could tell that he needed a hug at this moment. He fell silent and she could tell that he was thinking about if he really wanted to meet his bio-mom or if he was finally over the whole ordeal. She could tell that he was thinking it over and possibly over thinking it.

"What if she doesn't want to meet me?" he finally asked.

"We won't know till we try."

"We?"

"Yes, we. I'm with you on this and I will go with you if you want me to." she responded. "I just want you to understand that you don't have to do this by yourself."

"Can I think about it?"

"Haven't you thought about it enough, Sam?" Mercedes asked then realized that she was probably pushing him too hard. "Look, I'm just trying to be there for you. I want you to be well and I want you to get sleep at night. I wasn't there last time and it's eating me up that you went through that alone. Especially as someone that cares about you a lot, I hate that I wasn't and I want to be here for you next time." They fell silent once again. It was so silent that she had to look at the phone to see if the call had dropped. "Sam?"

"I'm here."

"Why'd you go quiet?"

"You care about me."

"Well...of course I care about you, Sam. You're my best friend. Quite possibly my only friend but my best friend either way." she admitted.

"Then why didn't you respond to my message?" he asked. She knew he was going to ask about that eventually and she wished he'd waited for another time because she did not have an answer. She debated telling him that he was right about their special connection. She wanted to tell him that they'd been connected since the day that they were born. She wanted to tell him that he did cross the line with her when she was with Brody but she wasn't innocent in the situation either. She wanted to tell him that it was hard for to hold back how she felt for him as well, but she didn't.

"Sam..." she paused. "I was with...that guy...and I...I don't know why I didn't respond. But...I do care about you, Sam. And I think you should meet this Quinn Fabray and finally get some good sleep." They fell silent once again before she finally broke the silence. "So, are we doing it?"

"Can I think about it?"

"Sure take all the time you need. When you're ready just let me know." she replied before yawning. "Do you feel sleepy yet?"

"Not really. If you're sleepy, we can talk tomorrow. You don't have to stay up with me." he quickly said. She didn't want to stop talking to him but she was really getting sleepy. She decided it was time to pull out the big guns.

"Wanna try something?"

"What's that?"

"Let me try singing you to sleep." she offered. She wasn't sure if it was going to work but she wanted to be there for him and wanted this to work.

"Uh..." he chuckled. "That's not going to work but I love your voice. Let me get comfortable." he added.

"Close your eyes. Don't say a word. Just listen." she whispered softly into the phone before beginning to sing. "When you get caught in the rain with nowhere to run. When you're distraught and in pain without anyone. When you keep crying out to be safe but nobody comes. And you feel so far away that you just can't find your way home. You can get there alone, it's okay, what you say is." she paused briefly before singing the next lyric. "I can make it through the rain...I can stand up once again on my own...And I know that I'm strong enough to mend...And every time I feel afraid I hold tighter to my faith...And I live one more day and I make it through the rain." she smiled when she heard soft snores coming from his end of the phone. "Good night, Sam."


Hey yall...thanks for returning and reviewing. I just want to say for those of you that check when I update, you can follow the story to get updates or just come here every weekend. That is when I get free time, so that's when I update.

OOH...can you guys guess the episodes that they were joking about...leave a review if you know which episodes they were joking about