DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN GLEE NOR HAVE ANY AFFILIATIONS WITH THE GOVERNMENT.

A/N. I usually don't do my note at the beginning but this time is different. Not going to lie, after these past two weeks, I really lost the momentum to continue writing. Majority of the part due to the murders of unarmed black women and men man & the other part due to the ignorance of a lot of people. I focused my energy on trying to get clarity and understanding on the why and how I can better myself for my community. I really had no urge to even write anything, but I feel as we all need some type of distraction from this continuous horror. Black Lives Matter. Always have, always will. Please educate yourself, if for some reason you're not, on everything and continue to stay proactive!

Sam was past livid and he didn't know what to do about it. Under no circumstance would he have agreed to this. None. He couldn't believe that Mercedes' parents would've let this man come near their daughter after what happened between them in New York, "And you just want me to sit back and let that bastard talk to her alone?"

"Yes. They need to have a proper goodbye."

Sam looked at him in disgust, shaking his head before his eyes travelled to Madelyn's, softening as he hoped she didn't have anything to do with this.

"I had no idea." Madelyn voiced to Sam, reading his thoughts. This was the last thing she would've ever wanted. She didn't know what her husband was thinking, clearly he wasn't.

"SAM!"

At the sound of her voice, the man took off down the hall and to the bedroom they were occupying, pushing the door open and finding Mercedes with her arms crossed in the corner by the mirror. He glared at him as he made his way to her, "What the..."

"I didn't do anything."

"He didn't." She reassured him as she wrapped her arm around his, "I'm not being in the same room as him without you."

"I won't be long." He interrupted them to speak up for himself, not liking how all of sudden this girl he had known practically her whole life was treating him like a stranger and as if she was scared to be around him.

Feeling the tension not making a move in Sam, she decided to hurry up and get this man out of their presence, "What are you doing here, Brandon? Matter of fact, how did you even know where we was?"

"Your Dad invited me." Brandon watched the incredulous look on her face, deciding to direct his words to her only, "I just wanted to say goodbye. I've been promoted and I'm also being deployed tomorrow for I don't know how long. We haven't spoken in years, which is understandable. I'm sorry for the last time we were together. It was disrespectful and highly inappropriate, but I don't want to leave on bad terms."

"You betrayed my trust, you think I'm just going to say it's okay and welcome you back with open arms? No, it doesn't work like that Brandon. You crossed so many lines. So many."

"I know and I can't apologize enough for it."

"I wish you the best and safety, honest but you have no factor in my life anymore."

"I hate that you feel that way because I'll always care for you." Brandon spoke honestly before his expression turned into a grateful one looking at Sam, "Just know if you ever hurt her, I won't hesitate to kill you. At all."

"I don't need a reason to kill you, my dislike is enough. Furthermore, you're the last person who needs to making threats."

Brandon clenched his jaw before his eyes went back to Mercedes, then drifted to her stomach, "Congratulations, you're going to be a great mother."

The family was in the other room waiting on pins and needles. Not a word had been said as the anger, mostly coming from Madelyn, took over the atmosphere. They heard footsteps, seeing Brandon come out, Sam and Mercedes not too far behind him, both families not knowing how to react. They watched as the man walked over and gave Madelyn a hug, in which she lightly patted him on the back before stepping back. Silence still enveloped the room before AJ quietly made an exit to go check on the food and the kids, who were in the pool with Veronica and his wife.

"I know what he did and I'm not happy about it. However, I don't know when we'll ever see him again and I refuse to not have another goodbye missed just in case. He's like a son to me and forever will be. I can't toss that away." Lawrence spoke as he looked at the disbelief spread across both Mercedes and Sam's faces.

Sam nodded his head as he took a step back. He thought that the relationship between them have grown over the years due to a certain situation. He thought that he would finally see him as a son but he guessed he was wrong, "And to you, I will always be that reminder that your daughter could've been killed."

"Sam." Madelyn called for him when she saw him starting to walk away, Mary was about to go after him but stopped when she saw Mercedes following closely. She ran her hands over her face and sighed, looking at her husband with a frown, "You really crossed the line this time and it's time for you to go, Brandon."

Lawrence watched as she left out the room, leaving only him and Mary, who presented an unreadable face before words started to flow from her mouth.

"My son is a good man, Mister President." All formalities were back in place. Mary could respect him in position but she would be damned if anyone hurt her son, physically, mentally or emotionally, while in her presence, "I'm not saying that you don't have a right to feel a way about that young man, but bringing him here, on a week that those two were so excited about, it was wrong."

Lawrence watched as she left without another word, rubbing his fingers against his temples. He figured that they would react this way, but he had to see Brandon. He meant what he said when he stated that he was a son to him because he was. He practically lived with them growing up and he treated him as if he was his own. Losing him would be like losing LJ all over again and he wanted them to understand that. He looked at his watch, then his security detail, nodding. He had some unexpected business to take care of back in D.C, so he was leaving tonight and would be back Saturday morning for the shower.

Mercedes looked around the garden room in the back of the house, decorated with green, white and yellow decorations that wasn't overwhelming and also included a safari theme. The attire was going to be different too. Everyone was required to wear pajamas or something comfortable. Tomorrow was going to be a day of fun and comfortability. The grandmothers did an excellent job creating her vision, especially with the menu. She wanted to stray away from your typical baby shower food and had something that she's been craving. So, they decided on having a taco bar, along with the color themed cupcakes that they were going to make tonight and beautiful, sea green punch. After taking one more glance, she started to make her way to the kitchen to get herself something to drink. She was suppose to be a happy and she was but her mind was still wondering to the events yesterday. Her concern was more for her boyfriend. He was deeply hurt and she understood. Sam may was hard acting and never showed his feelings, but to her, he wears his heart on his sleeve and it was tangled up at the moment. No matter how much he would deny if asked, she knew that a relationship with her father was something that he wanted. It was something that had grown over the years, but last night, it was lit up in the air due to someone else who had his undivided attention. She was so deep in thought as she took the top off the bottle that she didn't see him standing at the door, his voice scaring her a bit with a slight jump.

"You look beautiful."

Mercedes turned around and smiled when she found Sam leaned against the doorframe, "I'm wearing a t-shirt and shorts, Sam."

"That doesn't change the fact of what I said."

Mercedes giggled as she felt her cheeks warm up, "Thank you."

Sam pushed off the door and made his way over to her, wrapping his arms around her as he pressed a kiss to her lips, "Good afternoon."

"Good evening." She mumbled in correction against his lisp before pulling back, "It's after five."

"Really?" Sam asked shockingly as he looked out the windows, shaking his head, "I didn't know I was sleep that long."

"You needed it." She rubbed his arms before letting her hands drop, seeing the stress evident on his face worried her, "How are feeling?"

"I'm okay."

Mercedes gave him a knowing look, watching as his lips parted to let the sigh escape, his hands dropping down to her stomach. Last night when Sam walked out, he had went outside and sat on the patio, watching his nieces and nephews enjoy the water. They didn't utter a word until Mercedes' stomach made an unsatisfactory growling noise that broke the tension and caused them both to laugh.

"Honestly, I just feel a whole lot of rejection. First it was you with the proposal." Sam watched as she winced before he shook his head, grabbing ahold of her hands, "Don't. We both know I wasn't ready and I really need my ass beat for that awful, unromantic attempt of asking you to marry me."

Two years ago...

"Sam? Where are you?" She took off her jacket and laid it on her desk, trying to figure out where her boyfriend was. He had Mike fill in for him today and she was confused because she hadn't talk to at all. Walking through her room, she found him in the living room, eyes focused on something in front of him, "What gives my man? I haven't heard from you all day

Sam gulped lightly as he turned around, giving her a smile so she could tone down her angry features, "I'm nervous as hell so forgive me."

"Why?" Mercedes eyebrows crinkled in confusion, his nervous energy brought on curiosity. She crossed her arms and watched as his hand went to his pocket, "Sam."

"Shh."

"Excuse me..." She drifted off when she saw him pull the box from his pocket and get down on one knee. What in the hell?

"Will you marry me?"

Mercedes stared at him with an unreadable expression, her words out so quickly that it caught Sam off guard, "No."

"No?"

"No, I don't want to marry you." She said as she stared down at the man, watching as he looked back in shock, "Someday but not now."

Sam felt like the wind was kicked out of him a bit as he stood up, clearing his throat with a bruised ego. He knew it wasn't the most romantic proposal but he didn't think that she was going to outright decline it either, "Wow Mercedes...I...I wasn't expecting that."

"Sam, can you honestly look me in the eyes and say you're ready for marriage?"

"I...well no." He admitted as he looked at her before his eyes drifted away, "I just want you to have what you want. I don't want to be the main reason standing in the way."

"I don't want you to want it for me, I want to you to truly want it because you do. I don't want complacency." Mercedes said as a small frown started to form on her lips, "Now I'm mad because really? You think marriage is what I need in order to want to be with you?"

"Honestly? Yes."

"Have a little faith in me." She said in a hurt tone as she shook her head and walked away, "I can't believe you."

"Mercedes, wait." He ran to the door to block her from leaving out, staring down at her pathetically, "I'm sorry. I really am. It's not that I don't have faith in you because I do. I'm just scared that one day you're going to realize that you can do a hell of a lot better than me."

"I love you with every bone in my body. There is no one else for me, don't you get that?"

Sam felt like the biggest asshole in the world when he saw the tears producing in her eyes. He sighed as he shook his head, wrapping his arms around her as he pulled her to his chest, "I do and I'm sorry. I really am. I love you so much. I just don't want to mess us up."

"You're going to have to trust in us, Sam." She mumbled as she sniffled, "I'm not like her and you're not the same man you were back then."

"I always never cared about anyone or their opinions but for some reason, it hurts. It hurts to know that to him, whether he said it or not, I will always be that reminder."

Mercedes wiped the tears that fell from his eyes, watching as he stubbornly but gently moved them, "Baby."

"Let's just drop it." He said, finality in his voice, shaking his head. He wasn't about to do this. Not now and hopefully not ever, "This weekend is about having fun and celebrating our baby, who is going to be here in another month or so."

"And is still nameless." Mercedes added, causing him to chuckle. She would welcome the subject change for now but she wasn't going to let him suppress his feelings forever.

"He's going to have a name." Sam snorted before he turned back serious, gazing down at the woman in front of him, "I love you. You know?"

"I know." Mercedes responded, knowing that it was more of a statement than declaration in this moment, "And I love you too."

"I know." He breathed out as before bending down and pressing his lips against hers, grunting lowly when he heard a chorus of voices, young and old.

"Ewwwwwwwwwwww."

Mercedes pulled back with a giggle, peeking over Sam's shoulder and seeing the choir of children flooding through the door with a few of her cousins, Sam's sisters and AJ's wife.

"Scat." Sam called out, causing the voices to run out in giggles as they headed to the backyard.

Kara grabbed a water from the refrigerator, turning back to them, "Glad to see you're up, little brother. Thought you were going to sleep your life away."

Sam rolled his eyes, watching as Veronica brought in a good amount of flour, "What's all that for?"

"AJ is making pizza for dinner."

"He's such a show off." Sam muttered, causing the women to laugh at the man.

Laney gave him a teasing smile before raising a brow, "Jealous much?"

"Far from it. If I wanted to cook, I would."

"You sound jealous to me."

"I'm not."

Mercedes chuckled a bit as she rubbed her stomach, biting the corner of her bottom lip, "We can ponder over it after I find something to get of these weird cravings."

Sam dismissed them and the conversation from earlier and putting his attention on his pregnant girlfriend, "What do you want?"

"We don't have it, unfortunately." Mercedes responded with a pout as she sat down, tucking her hands underneath her stomach, "Takis and Strawberry Cheesecake Ice Cream."

"I can go get it."

"No, you don't have to."

"Nope, what my babies want, my babies get. I'll be right back."

Kara watched with a smile as he dropped a kiss to the woman's lips before exiting out of the kitchen, "It's still so weird but heartwarming to see him like this. He's so in love."

"Gives me straight cavities." Veronica commented with a shake of her head, "Always."

Laney smirked at Mercedes, placing a gently hand on her shoulder, "I'm so happy you two found each other, my gosh. You're perfect together."

"From from perfect, but I'm glad." Mercedes smiled at all of them, giving the woman a small squeeze on her hand, "I love him so much."

"We know." They all said at the same time, causing each other to laugh. Hearing the sound of yelling and summoning for the mothers and aunt, Mercedes watched in amusement as they sighed before heading out, chuckling.

An hour later, Mercedes watched with a smile as the kids played in the pool. One thing was for sure, the pool was receiving a lot of attention, seeing as they were in it almost every hour. The parents were glad because there was no fight for them going to bed. Her eyes wondered over to her AJ, who was pulling the third pizza out of the outside oven, "Now I see why Laney married you, all you do is cook."

AJ laughed as he moved the pan to the the table, jokingly speaking as he walked back up the steps, "I think that's the only reason she's staying with me."

"Of course, what other reason would she?" She joked as a giggle left her mouth. Over the years, she had became close to Sam's siblings, AJ especially because he really reminded her so much of her own bother.

"You want some?" He asked as he gestured to the pizza, seeing her head shake and her saying she would get some later, his eyebrows furrowed when he finally focused on what she had in her lap, "What are you eating on?"

"Takis and Strawberry Cheesecake Ice Cream."

"What a combo."

Mercedes chuckled at him, watching as he came and took a seat beside her, "It just hit me all of sudden and your brother being him, he went out and got it for me."

"Such a sweetheart." AJ teases, earning a push to his shoulder as he leaned over and grabbed some of the chips, popping them in his mouth as his face twitched you at the heat almost immediately, "Oh wow, these are kind of hot."

Mercedes snorted as she licked the spoon before placing it back in the carton, stretching her legs, "They're so good though."

AJ frowned at the hotness and the uncomfortable tingling he had in his throat. He leaned over and grabbed a bottle of water from the cooler, opening it and gulping it down much to Mercedes my amusement. Once he was finally able to get himself together, he questioned her, "Where is Sam anyways? I thought he came back."

"That's a very good question, he should've been by n..." She drifted off as she stared at the man, seeing him stare at her in confusion with she stop all of a sudden, "Oh no."

"What? What's wrong?"

Mercedes closed her eyes, taking a deep breath before she lowly began to speak so she wouldn't cause a scene, "I think...no, my water just broke."