Hi all, so I made a big boo boo by neglecting to post a chapter I already had edited and really thought I had posted. I have corrected it, but as a result, all of the chapters have been re-arranged. If you so desire, you can re-visit chapter 4 and read it. Sincere apologies to all and a big thank you to Akasha83 for flipping the switch in my brain :)

I do not own Glee or the characters, neither do I own Head Over Heels.

"Sure, good things come to those who wait...but they're the leftovers from those who got there first."

Mercedes Jones

Sam watched the reaction on Mercedes' face, as she read her phone's screen. There was relief, quickly hidden behind a scowl and a derisive snort.

"I like the Absolutely Yes," Tessa said.

"Well, don't get excited," Mercedes told her. "Because, we've finally done it! We've just proven Mr. Magic Eight Ball completely wrong."

"How can you possibly know that?" Maylene asked.

"Because, I don't plan on changing a damn thing about myself. Which makes it a little unlikely, that I'll get someone to fall in love with me as is, wouldn't you say?"

Sam's heart squeezed at her words. And hurt flashed across his face for a brief second.

"Actually," Maylene said slowly, sounding as if Mercedes' words had made her hurt, as much as Sam was suddenly hurting. "I meant, you telling Tessa and me that you loved us. But I think you're wrong." She said this very gently, her eyes bright, her voice soft but utter steel. "There is someone out there for you. I know it."

"I think so, too," Tessa said, and it didn't escape Sam's notice, that no one looked at him. Clearly, he was not the someone that the sisters had in mind for her. Which he already knew. But it still irritated the shit out of him. He was a county sheriff, not some asshole off the street.

Mercedes shrugged, as if it mattered not one little bit, and it occurred to Sam, that she had no idea how much she was loved by the people in her life.

None at all.

And he'd had no idea that all along, she'd been afraid of that love. She hid it well behind that tough, unflappable, hard-edged courage she had.

But, not being all that fond of expressing emotions himself, the sympathy coursed through him.

And with both Tessa and Maylene deep in the throes of love themselves, the levels of emotions had to feel like a Hallmark movie at the B&B.

He knew this, because, that's how it felt at the bar these days...kind of nauseating.

Jackson snatched the phone again.

"Hey, Magic Eight," he said. "Since you're so accurate and all, tell me this...will Tessa ever try that one position in the Kama Sutra..."

Tessa pushed him and everyone cracked up, and just like that, he had accomplished what he did best, lightening the mood.

"Your turn," he said to Sam and tossed him the phone.

"Oh no," Sam said, to everyone's expectant face. "Hell no! All I ever get is Try Again Later."

"Liar! The odds don't support that, any more than Mercedes always being right," Noah said, as he leaned in close and spoke to the phone. "Magic Eight Ball, what about our good sheriff here? Will he ever get a woman and manage to keep her?"

Maylene gave Noah a dark look and a little nudge. Sam gave him a nudge, too, one that was actually more of a shove, right off the log he was sitting on, but not before the stupid Magic Eight app answered,

Try Again Later.

Everyone laughed but Noah.

"What did the love advisor say?" he wanted to know, from flat on his back in the sand. At this point, Sam was considering dumping his beer on him, when from deep in the woods, a flare went off.

At least it looked like a flare.

"What was that?" Tessa asked with a startled gasp, getting to her feet.

"I'll go look," Sam said. He was already on his feet.

A movement at his side had him turning his head and meeting Mercedes' gaze.

"Don't," she warned him. "Don't even try to tell me to..."

"Stay," he said firmly.

"Goddammit, Sam. A 'please' wouldn't kill you, you know."

Sam moved to his SUV and grabbed a high-powered flashlight.

Their fire was right near the water's edge and nowhere close to the woods.

But that flare…

They were at an all-time low for precipitation. It would take next to nothing to ignite a catastrophic forest fire.

He moved into the woods, with Noah and Jackson at his side.

And a few minutes later, they came to a small clearing that Sam knew well.

He'd come to this very spot as a stupid teenager to get trashed. There was a hastily put out campfire, several empty beer cans, and two cigarette butts.

But no one in sight.

The three men made sure the fire was out, then headed back to the beach.

As they approached, Sam saw Mercedes standing there, her back to their little circle, lit by the glow of the flames, as she squinted to see into the woods.

She was waiting, concern etched on her pretty face.

Concern for him.

This was different.

He'd always been the one to look after people and wasn't used to it, the other way around.

And yet, he could see it plain as day. Tough as she was, she let her emotions show, every single one of them.

He wasn't good at that and didn't want to be.

He hadn't managed to stay alive on the job by being an open book. Anything he felt, he kept to himself. And actually, sometimes he wasn't sure he even had any emotions to hide.

But all he had to do was look at Mercedes and know that he did.

He had way too many feelings when it came to her.

It'd been a damn long time, since he'd let anything penetrate, but she'd gotten through. In fact, what he felt for her had invaded his life.

Love was a weakness.

Love made a guy soft.

And soft meant mistakes were made. And yet, there was Mercedes Jones looking for him. And at him.

And something turned over in his chest. It was his heart, exposing its soft, vulnerable underbelly. And he had no idea what to do with that.

Or her.

Several days later, Mercedes was manning the inn.

She was sweeping the living room wood floors and watching an old Friends episode on repeat.

Then, Tenny called.

"Working hard?" he asked.

She glanced at the TV wryly.

"Very."

"Is that Friends?" he asked.

She aimed the remote and turned down the volume.

"If you can recognize it by the sound alone, you know it too well."

"What season?" he asked.

"Well, Chandler's secretly doing Monica, so season five."

Tenny laughed.

"If you can name the season, you know it too well."

She snorted.

"Better than being married to my PS3. Haven't seen you in days."

"Been busy, but not with my PS3."

The smugness in his voice alerted her.

"Ah. So how's your new girlfriend?"

"Good. Very good."

"Are we ever going to all hang out?" she asked.

"Hell, no!"

"Afraid I'll tell her all your secrets and scare her off?" she teased.

"Hell, yes! Listen, we have people coming in this weekend, and they want two rooms. You up for it?"

"Depends." Mercedes turned to the front desk and brought up the B&B's schedule on the computer. "Are they normal?"

"Define normal."

"Viable credit card and not any of Tyson's idiot friends."

"You're in luck. They're actually my godparents and their teenage kids, and they're nice. And they pay their bills."

"Okay, then. I'll book them."

"Thanks. So, what's this I read on Facebook, about you and the sheriff sending out save-the-date magnets?"

"What?"

Mercedes nearly fell off the chair. Righting herself, she clicked over to the Facebook page on the computer. There was nothing, except a cuss-out at the grocery store.

"You made that up!"

"Yeah," Tenny admitted on a rough laugh. "When did you get so easy?"

"When did you get so mean?"

"Aw, you know I love you." Then, some of the amusement faded from his voice. "And you should also know, Trent has a new crush."

"Jesus! Avery is not interested in Trent and his gang. Tell them, just because she's new and beautiful, that she..."

"You," Tenny said. "He's crushing on you."

"Oh. Too bad for him."

"Yeah, well, be careful."

"I'm handling Trent."

Mostly by ignoring him, but there wasn't much more she could do.

"He was drunk the other night, Mercedes. And talking about snatching you from beneath Sam's nose."

'Terrific!' she thought, rolling her eyes.

"I..." she started, but a woman walked in the front door of the inn.

"Gotta go," Mercedes whispered and hung up. "Hi," she said with a welcoming smile, promptly putting the annoying Trent out of her head. "Can I help you?"

"Um, yeah. I hope so. I don't have a reservation. Do you have any rooms available?"

The woman was probably mid-twenties, blonde and pretty.

And she was nervous as hell.

When she clasped her hands together at her chest, her fingers were shaking.

"We do have rooms," Mercedes said. "Just you?"

"Y-yes." She squeezed her lips together. "Just me."

Mercedes opened a registration page on the computer.

"Okay…your name?"

"Um..." The woman's gaze shifted towards the television, still turned to Friends. "Monica."

Mercedes paused.

"Last name?"

"Do you really need that?"

"Well, I'll need a driver's license and credit card, so..."

"Oh, but I'm going to pay cash," the woman said, eyes darting around, as if someone might object. "So you don't need an ID, right?"

"Actually, we still ask for ID."

Mercedes looked at the woman's luggage...a garment bag from a haute couture store in Seattle and two wrinkled plastic bags from Target.

Quite the contradiction.

Another, was that 'Monica's' makeup was theater flawless.

With her hair up in an intricate French twist, that had been clearly done by a professional, she still wore cheap, baggy sweats.

On her right breast was a tiny round clear sticker with a small black S...indicating the shirt was new...the size hadn't yet been removed.

And then there was the big tell...the woman's panic was a tangible, living, breathing thing in the room, and Mercedes knew right then, she was going to cave.

But before she could do so, Tessa poked her head in from the kitchen.

"I've got groceries to unload...oops! Sorry."

"Excuse me for just a minute," Mercedes said to 'Monica' and jogged after Tessa into the kitchen.

Maylene was just coming in the back door as well.

"Problem," Mercedes told them quietly. "We have a guest who doesn't want to show ID."

"We have to have a credit card on file," Tessa said.

"She's running away from someone." Mercedes cracked the kitchen door to peek at their guest, who was pacing the living room. "But I want to let her stay here."

"You asking or telling?" Tessa asked and Mercedes locked gazes with her. "We've got to at least get ID," Tessa protested.

"Or we could...forget," Maylene said softly. "Because, if the poor thing is hiding, it's for a reason, and we should help her."

Mercedes nodded her agreement on that score.

"She's scared. I'm going back out there."

Back in the living room, Mercedes smiled reassuringly at their guest.

"Just one night?"

"Yes. I need to be on the road at the crack of dawn."

"Sure." Once again, Mercedes bent to the computer. "So where are you headed?"

The woman bit her lip.

"LA?"

Mercedes looked up from the screen.

"Okay, but tomorrow night, when you're standing at another front desk in some other inn, don't say it with a question mark. Own it."

The woman winced.

"Oh, God! You're right." She seemed to collapse in on herself. "And I don't want to be standing at another inn tomorrow. I've only come from Seattle, and I'm already tired of driving. Can I just book a room here for a week and have you pretend I don't exist?"

"A week might be harder to swing without a credit card."

'Monica' backed to the couch and sat down hard. She was wearing white pumps with her sweats.

Pristine white pumps.

"I know what it looks like," she said. "Like I'm an escapee from the mental hospital, but I'm not."

"Because you're a runaway bride?" Mercedes asked softly.

The woman straightened and stared at her in horror.

"I don't...I mean..." She bit her lower lip. "I just like white pumps, a lot. So of course, I'm not a runaway bride. Running away from my own wedding would make me a horrible person." She covered her face. "Oh, God, I'm a horrible person! How did you know?"

"The Target sweats with the wedding pumps were a dead giveaway," Mercedes said gently, coming around the desk to sit at her side. "So was stealing Monica Geller's identity." She paused. "Are you okay?"

"Sure. I've only broken the hearts of all my family, my friends and groom-to-be, who I've known since I was ten. But other than that, I'm terrific."

And then she burst into tears.

Mercedes put a sympathetic hand on her shoulder, and she slumped against her like they were best friends and sobbed.

Then, she awkwardly patted her back, while staring helplessly at the door to the kitchen.

Where the hell was Maylene the Hugger when she needed her?

"Um…can I call your family for you?" Mercedes started. "I could tell them that you're safe. They don't have to know where you are, but I'm sure they're worried sick about you."

Right at that moment, Maylene came out with some tea, and Tessa followed with cupcakes.

'Thank God!' Mercedes thought.

The three of them sat on the couch while the woman sniffled and blew her nose.

"My name is Callie," she said.

"Would you like a cupcake, Callie?" Maylene asked kindly.

See nodded and took two, one in each hand.

"Tessa calls these Sugar and Spice and Anything but Nice Cupcakes," Mercedes said. "She was annoyed at her boyfriend when she baked them."

"Yeah?" Callie asked, as she shoveled in a cupcake, still occasionally hiccupping and wiping her nose. "What did he do?"

"She won't tell us," Mercedes said. "Whatever it is, happened this morning, I think, but she's mum on the subject. He probably left his underwear on the floor. Tessa's OCD about that kind of stuff. But then again, I'm still on the fence, that her boyfriend actually wears underwear."

Mercedes grinned into Tessa's narrowed eyes and thought,

'I may have promised to grow up, but I've never promised to stop poking at my sisters.'

The three sisters chatted with Callie...listening to her mostly...until she was feeling a bit better.

Just then, the phone rang, and Mercedes jumped up to take the call.

It was a woman wanting to make reservations for her and her sisters, for a long weekend.

"How many rooms would you like?"

"All of them."

Mercedes blinked.

"Come again?"

"We'd like the whole inn for ourselves. It's a reunion, you see. Two of us have been overseas in the military, and another has just gotten her doctorate, and the baby's getting married. We haven't all been together, the eight of us, in five years."

"The whole inn," Mercedes repeated, stunned.

"Yes, for at least four days. I hope that's not a problem. We want to utilize the day spa, too. Oh, and do you have yoga classes?"

"Yes!"

Or they would. Mercedes cleared her throat.

"How soon are you looking at?" she asked.

"What's the soonest you have?"

"Hold on a sec?"

Dizzy with excitement, Mercedes covered the phone and turned to her sisters.

"Problem?" Tessa asked, rising to her feet, at what surely was a look of shock on Mercedes' face.

"No. Yes. I don't know." she laughed. "I have a request for a four-day exclusive stay for a family of sisters, who wants the entire B&B and day spa at their disposal. ASAP."

Tessa and Maylene stared at her.

"Honey," Maylene said gently, "There is no day spa yet."

"Not yet," Mercedes said. "But it's coming."

She went back to the phone, catching the warning look in Tessa's eyes, the one that said don't you dare be impulsive. But Mercedes grinned at her, while calmly telling the woman on the phone, that the spa would be open for limited service in two weeks, or they could wait for the full range of services to be offered in a month.

She made the booking, although not unhappy that the woman had settled for limited service.

"No worries," she said to her sisters when she'd hung up. "Noah promised he could handle it."

Callie sighed.

"They all think they can handle it. So there's a day spa?"

Thirty minutes later, Mercedes had shown Callie to her room, then headed into the sun-room, where she was joined by her sisters.

"I think Callie's going to be okay."

"You were good with her," Tessa said. "I might have just given her the room key and stayed out of it."

"No, you wouldn't," Maylene said. "You were the first one on board when I was running away from my life and needed to stay here, remember?"

She hugged Tessa, then reached for Mercedes' hand, pulling her in close, too.

"I called Noah and told him we had reservations coming in, that we need this room done yesterday. He said he'd do it at material cost only, and that I could pay the labor later."

"I'll pay," Mercedes said, trying to figure out, how long was long enough to stay in the group hug without being rude. "Whatever it is."

"I've got it," Maylene said. "No worries."

"No, I..."

"Merce," Tessa said dryly. "I'm pretty sure the debt can't be paid in money."

Maylene blushed to the tips of her toes.

"Oh. Gotcha." Mercedes laughed. "Well, then, thanks for paying up, sis."

Maylene rolled her eyes and hugged her again.

And Tessa was still right there, too, so that Mercedes was now sandwiched between them.

"Okay...well, I have things to do," Mercedes said.

"You always do when we're having a mushy moment," Tessa said, not letting go.

'Dammit!'

"Seriously?" Mercedes asked. "Because, we just mushed all over each other a few months back, when Maylene got engaged, and I'm still recovering from that."

"That was a year ago," Maylene quipped. "And now Tessa's engaged. It's definitely mush time."

Tessa shook her head.

"No, first we mush on this." She looked at Mercedes. "We owe you an apology."

"Whoa! Can you repeat?"

Tessa sighed.

"You might be the youngest, but you're not a baby. You've really changed, Mercedes. You've grown up."

"Okay, thanks. Can you let go of me now?"

"No," Maylene said, tightening her grip, and laughing when she swore.

"We're trying to tell you that we're sorry it took us so long to realize," Tessa said. "And that, though you march to a different drummer, you have it together just fine."

"Sometimes even more than us," Maylene added.

Mercedes narrowed her eyes.

"Okay, what do you guys want? You're both going away with your lovers this weekend, right? Leaving me with the inn? Is that it?"

Maylene laughed.

"No. We love you, Merce. That's it."

"Oh, good God." Mercedes dropped her head and banged it repeatedly on Maylene's shoulder.

Her sisters laughed, but she didn't feel quite in on the joke.

Her mother had been a free spirit and had flung the L-word around to anyone and everyone, so much so, that it had lost its meaning.

And then there'd been TV, and in movies, and everyone knew that love wasn't real either, just an easy antidote to bad stuff suffered in the story.

Your family betrayed you? I love you. And it's all better.

A man ripped your heart to shreds? I love you. It's the perfect Band-Aid.

World destruction imminent and you're going to fly into the asteroid, leaving your daughter an orphan? I love you. Buck up.

No, to her, it seemed like people used 'I love you' when they meant 'I'm sorry' or 'Could we please forget about what a moron I've been?'

They weren't words to be used like a Band-Aid, or to be said to make someone feel better in the moment, like the time her mother had left her...a seven-year-old...at a stranger's house for four days, or when she'd spent the entire Christmas money on gifts for her boyfriend.

Mercedes might not be the smartest kid on the block, but she'd learned early on, that those three words had power.

No way she would ever let that power be wasted. That would be a sacrilege.

Her sisters could joke all they wanted, but she knew deep in her bones, that when it was time to say the words, she'd know.

There'd be some cosmic sign.

Problem was, she was starting to wonder if her cosmic receiver was faulty.

'I wonder if Noah knows a contractor for that?'

In any case, she was grateful for what she did have with her sisters. More than they could possibly know.

They were all she had as far as stabilizing forces. They were her only blood ties.

And if she let herself think that way for too long, it made her sad.

Lonely.

And afraid.

So she didn't think on it.

Ever.

She just enjoyed having them in her life.

And as she'd come to realize in the past year, the more of herself that she gave to the inn, the longer that might be.

"She'll say it when she's ready," Maylene said to Tessa. "And we shouldn't be teasing her. Merce, honey, you're ashen. Are you okay? Are you having trouble breathing?"

"It's blood loss from my brain exploding."

Mercedes jammed her hands into her pockets, suddenly, extremely and uncomfortably aware, that they were both staring at her with concern.

"Not everyone wants to sit around and discuss feelings. Not everyone is in a relationship."

She was met with silence, and she grimaced.

When would she learn to stop talking?

"Sugar..." Tessa's eyes were unusually soft and, dammit, full of sympathy. "Is this about us both getting married?"

"No," Mercedes said. "Of course not. I'm thrilled for both of you."

"Is it about you wanting a relationship?" Maylene asked gently.

"If I wanted a relationship, I'd have one."

"Is it about Sam?" Tessa asked. "Are you're falling for him?"

'Yes. No. Maybe.'

Christ, she had no idea.

But she shook her head, hoping that covered all the options.

"That would be stupid."

Tessa let out a breath and nodded. And this, of course, put Mercedes into defense mode.

"Why are you nodding?" Mercedes asked.

Tessa looked at Maylene, then back at Mercedes.

"Because," Tessa said carefully, "You said it yourself."

"Yes, and I know why I said it, but why did you say it?"

"Well, there's the whole he-wears-a-badge thing and your whole I-hate-authority thing. And..."

Maylene put her hand on Mercedes' arm.

"Honey, what she means, is that you've never been all that interested in toeing the line, and Sam's life is that line, you know?"

Of course she knew.

She knew exactly.

And wasn't that just the problem.

Stay safe!