I know that you guys have been waiting for it so here it is. Its the second to last chapter and ugh I am so sad. Enjoy!

Sam held Mercedes's hand the entire way to the hospital; he didn't want to let her go. Even when they took her to the room to run some test, it took his whole family to assure him she would be fine. Pacing the hospital, Sam stopped as the doctor approached them.

"How is she? How is the baby? Please just tell me that I am not going to have to try and break into the jail and kill that bastard."

"Sam…"

"No, dad, after what he did to her…."

Dwight patted Sam on the shoulder. "All I am saying is I have a shovel."

"Guys, it won't come to that. Mercedes did suffer three broken fingers and a broken wrist. She has a contusion and is bruised all over, but for the most part, she is okay. We were just about to check on the baby if you want to come in; she's been asking for you."

Sam nodded. "Yes…" He said, fearing the worst…what if they lost the baby.

Dwight held Sam's hand. "Don't go in there thinking that…I can read your face. You have to have faith; she needs you right now, Sam, her, and your child."

Sam nodded, pulling his dad into a hug. "I am still so terrified, dad."

Dwight nodded. "Now that you are going to be a dad and a husband, I can tell you this. You are always going to feel scared in times like this. As the man your wife looks to, to protect, as a father. It doesn't go away, but you aren't in this alone; you have your mom and me, and you have that beautiful woman in there. So go in there and tell her everything is going to be okay. Even if you are too scared to fully believe it."

Sam nodded. "Okay."

Sam exhaled, walking into the hospital room, and saw Mercedes chewing her bottom lip; he knew she was worrying. "Baby, don't."

She looked up to Sam, doe eyes filled with tears. "Sam…am so sorry."

"Sorry? Baby, what do you have to be sorry about?"

Mercedes looked at her hands. "It's my fault. All this is my fault. I keep replaying it in my head. I could have told him where she was, there is no way he could have gotten to her before I called them, but my pride was…and now our baby-"

He shook his head, taking her hand. "No, don't even think it, Merce. Our baby is going to be fine."

"But wh-" She stopped as Sam silenced her with a kiss.

"You came out of there alive, and so did our child," Sam said, kissing her forehead.

Both of their eyes turned towards the doctor as she walked in, a nurse wheeling in the Ultrasound machine. Mercedes gripped Sam's hand as they waited to hear if their child survived this ordeal.

"Mercedes, no matter what happens, no matter if…no matter what happens, we got this, okay?"

She nodded. "Okay."

Lifting her gown, she watched the doctor put the wand on her stomach and looked back over to Sam. He gripped her hand, pulled it to his lips, and kissed it as he nodded towards her. "We got this."

Mercedes held her breath, and the moment they heard the heartbeat fill the room, Mercedes broke down and cried. Sam pulled her close and kissed her forehead.

"Baby."

Mercedes cried harder as Sam held her close. "Our baby is gonna be fine."

"We are all gonna be fine, baby," Sam said. "All three of us."

Sam stared at a sleeping Mercedes; the last few weeks had been a whirlwind of emotions for him. First, he thought he had lost her, then he thought they lost their baby, and now he was just grateful that they were both healthy and home. His dad had stepped back into the fold for a few weeks to allow Sam to take care of Mercedes.

When her family heard about what happened, they all had hopped on the first flight down. Her brothers had left a week ago because they had to get back to their lives, but her parents were still there, staying in her guest room. Hearing a gentle knock at the door, he kissed her on her forehead and exited their room.

"Mama Jones, what has you up this early?"

"Walk with me, Sam." She said as she led him out the back door and sighed, looking out into the field. "Sam, I know the last few weeks for you have been hell; none of this has been easy on you."

"Mama Jones, I know what you are going to say, you trusted me to protect her, and with everything that has happened, I can't blame you for feeling like I let her down… I let them both down."

She stopped walking and turned to Sam. "Sam, this isn't on you, baby; it's on that mad man who attacked her. He made the choice to attack my baby, and he will be prosecuted to the full extent of the law if we have anything to say about it. But what I want to talk to you about is…we need to get Mercedes to take some time off. She will want to go back to work; I know she's been itching to tell us. She's been trying to tell us all week."

Sam nodded. "I know I have been avoiding it…I-" He sighed. "I don't want her to go back. Not yet. I want her to rest for the next 5 months and maybe a year after our child is born. I want her to not have to worry about all the bad in the world. But we both know she is as fierce as they come. No matter how bad things have been, she will want to go back to show us she's not weak. But she is the furthest from it. She is the strongest woman I know. And she gets that strength from you, all of your children do."

"You know when we met at that game, I knew that you would be good for her. Sam, when Mercedes was young, she always told us that she wanted to change the world. And then her bad luck with men started. People saw her as this shy bookworm girl and tried to take advantage. And for a while, she let her brother's and her dad fight her own battles, and then one day, she fought back. And she hasn't stopped fighting since."

Sam exhaled. "Meeting her that day, on the side of the road selling her my fruit, it changed my life. I was lost until I found her."

"Sam? Momma?"

Sam turned to see Mercedes walking towards them. "Baby, why aren't you in bed? You are supposed to be resting."

"Sam, I have been resting for the last two weeks; I am over it. And I am not as fragile as I look."

Sam looked at Mercedes's mother and then back to Mercedes. "I know you aren't. Come take a walk with me, beautiful."

Mercedes glanced at her mom before letting Sam guide her through the fruit crop. Her right hand was in a sling due to her broken wrist and fingers.

Sam sighed heavily, closing his eyes so he could muster up the courage to talk to her. Just do it! He scolded himself.

"I don't want to go back to work." Came a timid and soft voice. "I know I should, I know I should be strong and just go back to work, but I can't, Sam. What happened to me, it, it opened my eyes. I may want to go back later, but I want to focus on this baby and us right now. We have money too if that's your worry; the house is paid for and stuff."

Sam smiled, pulling her close as he shook his head. "Baby, none of us want you to go back to work."

Mercedes sighed against his chest. "I know it's the right thing to do, but…."

"No, the right thing to do is to take care of yourself and our child. The rest can wait, and someone else can save the world in your place." He said, kissing her forehead. "And I am not really worried about money, the farm is doing great, and your parents and brothers started the "don't let her go back to work" fund. I tried to stop them, but then they all gave me that Jones stare and made me give them our bank account, so you are gonna see way too much money in there….way too much."

Mercedes rolled her eyes. "How much is too much?"

Sam sighed, pulling out his phone. Mercedes snorted, shaking her head. "They got that many zero's passed you?"

"As your mother told me the fifth time, I told her this was a bad idea. We are family; I am the father of their grandchild. So consider it, them investing in the farm and naming you trustee of the account."

"They are smart…its where I get it from…and one of the places where our children will get it from."

Sam grinned. "Children? You trying to have more kids with me, Ms. Jones?"

"Ahem, that's Jones, future Evans, and yes Sam. As many as you will give me, Sam…I want a future with you; I want my world filled with our kids and our family."

Sam pulled her closer to him. "As you wish…but first we have to get married."

"What? Don't want to have this child out of wedlock?" Mercedes said, leaning against his chest.

"We could, but I would prefer a wedding just to let everyone know that we did it backward, but hey, that's life."

Mercedes laughed. "That's life, huh?"

"Yes! Now, let's get you inside; I will make breakfast while you tell your parents that they won and you will not be returning to work."

Mercedes sighed contently, laying her head on Sam's lap, watching The Flash as he did his work. While Sam was 1000 percent, Marvel over DC, the Flash, and Superman shows did get a pass because Mercedes loved them so much, and he could see the appeal.

Her phone rang, and she paused the show picking up the cell phone. "I don't recognize the number."

Sam looked down. "Want me to answer it?"

She nodded. "Please."

Sam took the phone, and she watched as his face went from concerned to relieved. "This is for you, baby."

Sitting up, Mercedes took the phone, taking a breath. "Hello?"

"Ms. Jones, you might not remember me, but I had to call you to thank you."

"Thank me? Mrs. Rhodes?"

"It's Ms. Martin now, but yes. I heard about what happened, with my ex. You could have given us up; why didn't you?"

Mercedes sighed. "In truth, I could take whatever he dished out; I promised you that I was going to protect you no matter what."

"We owe you a debt of gratitude; he's gonna be gone for a long time now."

"Kidnapping, attempted murder, breaking parole, just to name a few, it will be 20 years before they even let him think about parole. You and your daughter have nothing to fear from him." Mercedes looked over to Sam. "None of us do anymore."