Mercedes awoke to someone stroking her head. "Good Morning Merce, time to wake up."

She groaned. "What time is it?"

"Almost 6: 24 am, and that is when the sun will rise. You said last night one of the things you wished you could do was get up in time to actually see the sunrise."

She sighed, sitting up. "But we can't really see it from my window."

"I know; that is why you will follow me."

Sam grabbed the blanket as he looped his arm in hers and leads her to the rooftop of her building. When she arrived, there was a blanket, some pillows, and a picnic basket.

"Sam, when did you have time to do all this?"

"I woke up about 30 minutes ago and couldn't go back to sleep, so I made us a little breakfast, and voila!"

Mercedes bit her lip, shaking her head. "You are the best, just the best ever."

Sam pulled her down to the pillows, sitting her in front of him so he could hold her, and wrapped them both up in the blanket as the cool morning air hit. Grabbing the thermos of hot chocolate, he handed it to her. He began opening the breakfast sandwiches he made for them. Mercedes leaned against Sam and sighed contently.

"This is perfect. I just, I have always wanted to do this I just never do."

"Well, now you can cross this off your bucket list."

The two cuddled in silence as the sun rose and the beauty of the moment was taken in. The moment felt pure and perfect, and Mercedes knew no moment would ever do it justice. No moment would ever make her feel like this if she wasn't with Sam.

"Are you sleep on me, Merce?"

She shook her head. "No, just, this is so beautiful. You always tend to share the most beautiful moments with me."

"I could say the same about you."

Sam exhaled, and Mercedes stiffened a bit. "Merce, can we talk now?"

"Sam, I just, we should get distressed and get ready to go."

"I know, but we are going to have to talk; there are things I need to tell you that I want to tell you. And I wanted to do it in person."

"We can talk when we get to the cottages. We have a long drive ahead of us; last year, it took me two hours."

Sam sighed and nodded. "Where exactly is this place?"

"It's in Morris, Connecticut. But I can drive since I have been there before."

"How about I drive?"

"Sam…"

"Come on, I am on your insurance, and if I am your "fiancee," then I want to show up driving you."

Mercedes hesitated for only a moment before she nodded. "Okay fine, you can drive. But only because I am still tired. But we have to leave before 10, or we will hit traffic."

It didn't take long for them to get packed up and on the road. Mercedes didn't know why but she was tired and found herself dozing off almost immediately. It seemed like she had just closed her eyes when she was jerked forward.

Opening her eyes immediately, she blinked a few times before realizing that they weren't on the highway, but they were on a dirt road. "Sam? Sam, where are we?"

She looked at him, and he frowned. "I am so sorry, I thought, there was road working, and I just thought we could find our way."

Mercedes glanced down at his phone. "Did you turn off your GPS?"

Sam opened the door and got out, and Mercedes followed. "Sam! Why would you do that! I told you we had to be on time!"

"Merce, I didn't turn it off; I just lost the signal."

She glanced down and saw that the tire was flat. "Are you serious!?"

She threw her hands in the arm angrily. "Sam! This is why I wanted to drive! Why would you do this?!"

"Mercedes, calm down! I wasn't trying to make you late; I was just...I just wanted us to take an adventure."

"Everything isn't a damn adventure! This is real life and my job!"

Sam ran his hands through his hair, and Mercedes closed her eyes. Sam walked closer to her and lifted her chin up to his face. "What's really going on?"

"Sam, I have a presentation, and if I screw that up…."

"Why didn't you tell me, Merce?"

She shook her head. "Let's just change this tire."

Sam nodded defeated and grabbed the spare tire from the trunk. As they worked together, Mercedes looked over to Sam. "I'm sorry. I am just frustrated."

"I know, and I know you feel like you have the weight of the world on your shoulder, but you don't. You are supposed to rely on me."

"I am not sure if I can. Or if I should."

Sam pulled her up to him. "Mercedes, I don't get why you are so upset, and I don't understand why you feel like you shouldn't. Or why you seem so mad at me."

"You said Rachel proposed to you."

Sam raised an eyebrow. "I did."

"Okay, and that's why."

Sam shook his head. "Mercedes, I am not engaged. I want to talk to you about this; I want to clear all of this up. But I know you need to get to the retreat, but I promise you, the moment we are alone, we will have this conversation, and you will listen to everything I have to say."

Mercedes nodded as she went back to work on the tire. She was relieved that Sam and Rachel weren't together, but she was also scared about what that meant.

Once they arrived, Mercedes was verbally attacked by Will; for some reason, the man wanted to bring her down, and she hated him for it.

"Mercedes, where the hell have you been? If we tank this, I promise I will let everyone know that it was you who ruined this for us."

"Will calm down! I am here now."

He shook his head, "I swear you are late and lazy. Everyone around you works and gives their all, and you just don't!"

Mercedes stepped forward, but Sam pulled her away. "You will not speak to her like that!"

"Oh? And who are you?"

Sam puffed out his chest. "I am her fiancee, and I don't give a damn who you are; you will not speak to her like that again, do you hear me?"

Will stepped back. "I don't understand who you think you are, but I can have you removed from this place."

Sam laughed, "You go ahead and try, but let's make one thing very clear. You will not disrespect her anymore. I don't know what kind of place you are running here, I don't know what kind of business this is, but I can promise you, if I ever get word you are disrespecting her again, we will see each other and this time, with my fists and your face."

Mercedes stares at Sam, not sure what was going on but happy that he was there; she could handle Will; that wasn't an issue but her not having to handle him was a relief. Will huffed and walked away, and Mercedes turned to Sam. "Thank you for that."

"No one should be allowed to steal your light, and anyone that does needs to be knocked down a peg."

Mercedes looked at the time and sighed. "I have my presentation about this case for the Jr associates, but how about after the games and dinner we meet up and talk, really talk."

Sam kissed her forehead, "Go to your presentation, and we will talk, plus I need to stretch if I am gonna be carrying you through these games."

Mercedes snorted, pushing him away. "Shut up."

After the presentation, Mercedes went to her cottage to change. The place was beautiful. A roaring fireplace, heated jet hot tub, king-sized bed, and a shower that could fit three maybe four people. The atmosphere was full of romance and love, and Mercedes knew that this could be the perfect place for her and Sam to actually have a talk, and that talk scared the hell out of her. She thought she was afraid of Sam getting with Rachel, but she was scared of Sam actually wanting to be with her and how hard it would be. Shaking off her feelings, she closed her eyes.

"Let's get our swimsuits on and head out its time to show these people why we won Lima Summer Camp's Olympics four years in a row."

Once changed, they headed out, and Mercedes smiled seeing the three-legged race ahead of her. "Oh Sam, they must have known we were coming." She laughed.

Sam nodded. "They don't know what they just did."

Heading to the first station, she smiled as the assistants tied her and Sam's legs together. They stood next to Emma and Will. Mercedes nodded towards Emma.

"Hey Emma, how have you been?"

"I have been good; how are you?"

"I am great."

Emma looks at Sam. "I can see that. Good luck."

Mercedes laughed. "You too."

As the horn blast, she jumped forward, and Sam was right with her. They always seemed to work together very well, and it showed as they made it through to the finish line. Sam picked her up, and they tumbled as he tried to spin her around.

Will scoffed, "Don't let that one win fool you; we are going to beat you in the next race."

Sam smiled. "Care to make a bet?"

Will folded his arms. "I'm listening."

"500 bucks says we can beat you at any game of your choosing."

Will raised his eyes and smirked. "Oh, I will take that bet."

Will eyed the different games and stood tall. "The relay race." He eyed Mercedes up and down. "No way someone like you could beat me."

Mercedes smirked if only Will knew the truth. Mercedes might have been curvy, but she was still in shape. "You are on. Make sure you have my money ready."

As they took their spot at the relay race spot, Mercedes sees Sam and Emma at the next station, and a crowd has gathered. Sue steps up with a smile on her face.

"There is nothing I love more than seeing a bloodbath in the last afternoon sun. Old man river over here and his ditzy bride, then they can overtake Aretha and big mouth Biber. The rules are simple. The first half is a relay race, you will run to your partners, cuff yourselves together, and run a half-mile to the next station, tripping, and every other underhanded ploy to win is appreciated."

"It's frowned upon sue!"

Burt spoke up, and she rolled her eyes. "Fine, it's frowned upon but not discouraged. Remember, you can't catch what you cant see. Now once you reach the third station, you will be met with a row of tires you have to run through; barb fire, I will light on fire."

"No fire, Sue!"

"Hummel, you are as infuriating as you are a stick in the mud. Without bloodshed, how will we decide a winner."

"By someone actually winning, Sue!"

Sue rolled her eyes. "Fine, play it safe with the no-fire barb wire you crawl under. Which considering all the products in Will's hair might be a good call. After the barbed wire, you will climb a series of walls and face your biggest challenge yet. Live Black bears waiting for you to wrestle."

"NO! Sue, oh my God, will you stop it."

"I am outraged at the lack of violence this relay race has, and I am not going to sit around and watch this pansy show!"

Sue did a mike drop, and Burt sighed. "Look, you climb over the walls and will have to dig to find the key to unlock you and your partner; once unlocked, you just run to the finish line."

Sue steals the mIke. "Where the losers will be shot on sight!"

Mercedes laughed as Burt pulled Sue away and glanced at Will. "Prepare to lose."

Mercedes rolled her eyes and focused. Her eyes met Sam's, and he smiled at her. She nodded. She got this.