A/N: Hey guys, LadiJ is back! I know you are shocked that I'm back so soon, but there was no way I was going to leave it on a cliffhanger, and not update soon. I want to apologize now for those that may not like this drama, but since I write for me, and I love it, then it is what it is. I wanna thank my beta Zeejack for being a great beta and friend. Now, on with the show! Happy Reading!

MUCH LOVE

***DISCLAIMER***I own nothing! Please excuse any mistakes, my beta and I are only human.

Sam was sitting on the couch with a huge bandage on his shoulder. He couldn't believe his luck, just a few weeks ago he was at the Super Bowl, leading his team to victory, and then in the blink of an eye, he was on the ground with a career ending injury. He was definitely going through all the stages of grief, and as he thought back to that day, all he could feel was anger.

Flashback

"What happened….where am I?" Sam croaked out, squinting because of the bright light shining in his face.

"Sam, can you hear me?" James Tolliver, the trainer for the Bears asked. Seeing Sam open his eyes was a good sign.

Sam nodded, "Yes I can hear you, but what happened, did we win?" He tried to move, but the pain shot up in his arm, "OW!"

James tried to keep Sam still, "You have to be still Sam. I'll answer anything you want, but you can't move. Now yes, you guys won the game, but on the last play, you got hit pretty hard. You dislocated your shoulder in a few places, and when I say a few, I mean four different places."

Sam's eyes bugged out of his head, "FOUR PLACES! Please tell me that this is normal, and I will be fine by next season." He felt like he was going to pass out again, but this time was because he couldn't breath.

James hated delivering news like this, it was the part of his job that gave him so much anxiety, "Um...not really normal. Most people only dislocate their shoulder in one or two places, I've never seen four places before." He swallowed hard, "This is not looking good Sam, and if I'm being honest with you, I can't see you returning to football again as a quarterback. Your shoulder is pretty messed up, and I don't know how much therapy you can do that would get your arm back in throwing form."

Sam couldn't believe what he was hearing, this was his worst nightmare. He started shaking his head, "No, no...this is not possible! I am supposed to be a quarterback in the NFL! I've worked too damn hard to have my career end like this! I have a wife…." His throat went dry when he thought about Mercedes, she was the driving force in his life. She was the reason he worked so hard to achieve all the things he had. "Mercedes...where is she? Does she know what's going on? I need to talk to her, bring her to me please." He dreaded seeing the look on her face when she heard the news, would she be disappointed in him? The timing couldn't be worse, he was supposed to go on tour with her for the summer. How was this going to affect her? He was in full blown panic mode at this point, and nothing was going to calm him down, unless he saw Mercedes. "I need my Mercy."

James shook his head, he could see that Sam needed his wife, "I'll get her down here Sam, but you need to stay calm." He left the room, and went to see about getting Mercedes down there. Five minute later, we walked back in, "She should be here soon." With that, he left Sam alone.

Frank got the call he was looking for, and Sam wanted to see Mercedes. So he called her phone and she answered this time.

"Frank! How is he? I need to see him Frank!" She was panicked too, but that was to be expected.

"Mercedes, please try to calm down. They wouldn't tell me what's going on with him, but he is requesting to see you, so the guard is coming to bring you down here okay?" Frank could feel her fears coming through the phone, and if he was being honest, he was just as scared as she was. Not just because Sam was his client, and he made a lot of money off of him, but through the years, they have actually become friends, and he was concerned for his friend. "The guard will be there soon, but he can only bring you."

Mercedes nodded, "Okay, I'm sure everyone will understand that. Thank you Frank, and I'll see you soon." She hung up the phone and had all eyes on her, "Sam needs me, so they are sending a guard to come get me. You guys can head back to the house, and I will let you know something as soon as I know something."

As much as Mary and Dwight wanted to be there, they knew that Sam needed his wife right now, so they were going to have to step back. "Okay Cedes," Mary said, "But please let me know how my baby boy is doing."

"I will Mary, I promise." She hugged the woman who was still crying. "As soon as I know, you'll know." Everyone else hugged her, and gave her encouraging words, and she was grateful to them all. The guard came, and she jumped on the cart and headed off to the locker room. The whole time there all she could think about was how Sam was doing, and she prayed that it was something minor, and he would be fine in a few weeks. The guard was trying to make small talk, but that's not what she wanted to hear at the time. She was still polite, but she didn't say much. Once they made it to the locker room area, she saw Frank standing there, and he greeted her with a hug.

"He's going to be fine Mercedes, we have to think positive." He wanted to be sure of that, but he wasn't, but he was going to be strong for her.

She hugged him back, "Thank you Frank, I know everything is going to be alright. Sam is a fighter, and whatever this is, is not going to knock him down." She had to believe that, or she would go crazy, so she was going to stay positive. Just then the door opened, and James came out.

"Mercedes, please come in, Sam is asking for you." James led her inside, and to the room where Sam was.

She followed behind the trainer, and when she saw Sam all bandaged up, her mouth went dry. He was laying on the table with his eyes closed, and all she could do was stare at him for a minute.

Sam could feel her presence, and without opening his eyes, he said, "Do I look that bad baby?"

Mercedes jumped a bit, but shook her head, "No babe, you look as handsome and sexy as you always do." She walked over to him, sitting in the seat beside the table. "How are you feeling?" She had to fight hard not to start crying, because she had to be the rock now.

Sam opened his eyes, and looked at Mercedes, he could see her struggling to be strong for him. "You're a horrible liar Mercy, I know I look a mess right now."

"You look handsome and sexy to me." She gave him a weak smile.

"Did they tell you what was going on?" He hoped they didn't, because he wanted to be the one that told her.

She shook her head, "No, but I really would like to know."

He took a deep breath, "It's my shoulder of course, apparently I dislocated it in four places."

Mercedes let out a gasp, "Oh my God! Baby...please tell me that's normal."

Sam shook his head, "That's what I asked, but the doctor told me that it is not normal, and it could do some serious damage to my arm." Even saying the words out loud broke his heart more and more. His career could be over, and he was not ready to accept that.

The words Sam was saying sounded so foreign to Mercedes, and she didn't understand how this could even happen. The worse case scenario happened, and all she could hear was his career was over. This was something she never wanted for Sam, this was his dream, and she needed him to fulfill his dreams. He deserved it, and now it might be over….she wasn't ready to accept that. "So what now?" She took his hand in hers, "You know I will support whatever you decide."

Sam could see the battle going on inside Mercedes, he was going through the same battle. Hearing her ask what now...it just didn't sit well with him, but he took a deep breath. "What now is, I am going to see if I need surgery, and if I do, I am going to have the surgery, then start physical therapy so I can get back on the field next season."

"You think you can be back by next season?" Mercedes was concerned about that, she didn't want him pushing so hard that he hurts himself even more.

Sam got on the defensive, "You don't think I can?"

"I didn't say that babe, I just want you to heal properly, that's all."

"And I will, but I am going to work my ass off to get back on the field. Your support would be appreciated…" Sam didn't know why he was lashing out at Mercedes, but something about the way she questioned him didn't sit well with him. He tried to stop talking, and he knew what he was saying would hurt, but it was like he had word vomit, and couldn't stop talking, "but not required."

"Sam…" Mercedes was shocked at the stance he took against her, she always supported him, and for him to act like this was not acceptable. "What is your problem? I always support you, and you acting like I'm the enemy right now is not okay." She snatched her hand away from his, "I don't know if you hit your head as well, but this tone is not acceptable, and I am not going to tolerate it."

Sam knew that he was wrong in this, and she didn't deserve this, "Mercy….babe, I'm sorry." He reached for her hand again, "I'm just so frustrated about all of this, but I can't take it out on you." He was relieved when he felt her hand back in his.

"I know you're frustrated Sam, and I am going to be here for you, but we are going to get through this together." She kissed his knuckles, "It's us against the world, remember?"

Sam smiled and nodded, "Yeah...us against the world." He wanted to believe that, he knew he should believe that, but something was just off about all of this.

End of Flashback

Tonight was the big night for Mercedes, the opening night of her tour, and she was so excited. The only thing that was making this night not as great as it should be, Sam was still down and a bit depressed, well in her eyes he was. He had changed his mind a few times this week about coming to her show. He said he didn't want people seeing him that way. He had the surgery, and the doctors said it was a success, and if Sam worked hard he could be back on the field. Maybe not next season, but the one after. She thought that was great news, but apparently that was not good enough for Sam, and he went into a deeper funk. She tried everything to cheer him up, but nothing was working. She could feel when he was just going through the motions, and that annoyed the hell out of her. She asked him this morning was he coming to the show, and all she got from him was "sure" and that hurt her feelings. Here she was trying to be the supportive wife, and when she needed his support, she got "sure." This was not how this day was supposed to go, but she was not going to let Sam bring her down. She had packed everything she was going to need for the tour last night. And although Sam said he was going to go with her for the summer, she wasn't sure anymore. She packed his bags anyway, just hoping he would still go. The label made sure that her tour bus was big enough for her and Sam, so she hoped he would stick to the plan. After one more check to see if everything was ready to go, she called out to Sam, "Babe, I have to leave in a little while, are you coming with me or are you going to come later?" She got no response, and that annoyed her. She made her way to the living room, where Sam was sitting watching television. She cleared her throat, "Um, Sam….did you hear me talking to you?"

Sam didn't move, he just shrugged his shoulders, "What did you say?" He heard her, but he was in no mood to pretend like he was excited about her leaving him today. He didn't want to be this way, but all he could think about was how Mercedes star was rising, and how he was quickly sliding to bottom of the barrel. His mind couldn't process not succeeding, and this was not something he was used to.

She didn't believe for a second that he didn't hear her, but she went along with it. "I said, I have to leave soon, so are you coming with me, or are you going to meet me later?"

He shrugged his shoulders again, "I don't know."

Mercedes was about to lose it, he was being super difficult and it was driving her crazy. She took a deep breath, and counted to ten before sitting down on the couch next to him. "Sam, do you want to come or not, because I don't want to force you to do anything that you don't want to do." Her heart was breaking at the thoughts of Sam not wanting to be there on her opening night.

Sam sighed, and turned the TV off, "I never said I didn't want to come Mercedes, I just didn't know if I wanted to come now or later."

"Well I have to leave soon Sam, so you need to make up your mind really quick." She dropped her head into her hands, "Look babe, I know you're going through a lot right now, but believe me, I'm not the enemy here. I want you to be happy, I want us to be happy. Please Sam, don't let this come between us."

"Fine, I'll come now, you happy?" He stood up slowly, heading towards the bedroom to get ready.

Mercedes was right on his heels, "No Sam, I'm not happy! Why are you making this so difficult right now? This is supposed to be a great day, and all you want to do is mope around. My tour starts in a few hours, and that's what I need to be focused on right now, but no, I'm here trying to convince my husband to come and be happy for me."

Sam was struggling to put a shirt on, and the more he struggled, and listening to Mercedes talk, the more frustrated he got. In a fit of anger, he threw the shirt across the room, "Dammit Mercy! I said I was coming, you see me trying to get dressed, why are you all on my fucking back right now!"

Mercedes instantly saw red, "Hold the fuck up, don't you dare talk to me like that! I am not on your back Samuel Evans, but if you want me to be, I can." She held her hand up, "I have been more than patient with you throughout this whole situation, and all I asked from you is to support me on my opening night, and you can't even do that! But you know what, don't worry about coming to my show, it'll probably be better without you." She didn't mean that at all, but her feelings were hurt, and in that moment, she wanted to hurt him. She turned on her heels, grabbed her bags and headed out the door to her awaiting tour bus. She maintained her emotions in front of everyone, but once she got into her room, she let the tears flow.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

This day went south so fast, and Sam didn't know why he was lashing out at Mercedes. She was being so understanding and supportive of him, but this was difficult. She was leaving him for months to go do what she loved, and he was stuck being her disabled husband on the sidelines, with everyone pitying him. He didn't want to have her worrying about him, when needed to be focused on her tour. So he made the decision not to go on the road with her, but focus on his physical therapy and get back in playing form. He did on the other hand need to get to Soldier Field tonight, he couldn't miss her opening night, so he grabbed his phone and called Tina.

Tina jumped in her car, and was about to head to Mercedes show, when she heard her phone ringing. She was shocked to see it was Sam, "Hey Sam, what's up?"

"Hey Tina, please tell me you haven't left your house yet."

"No, I was about to though."

Sam let out a sigh of relief, "Great, can you swing by here and pick me up?"

Tina was shocked to hear that Sam was still there, "Why didn't you go with Cedes?"

"We kinda got into an argument, and she left me." He sheepishly said.

"WHAT! You got into an argument on her opening night? What the hell Sam?" Tina couldn't believe what she was hearing, "She needs to be focused tonight."

"I know, I know...I messed up, but I'm trying to make it right, so can you please just come pick me up?"

Tina rolled her eyes, she knew that Sam was down about his injury, and she saw how much Mercedes catered to his needs over hers, so it aggravated to hear how selfish Sam was being. "For Mercedes I'll do it, but you need to get it together Sam, and just be happy for her."

The truth hurt a lot, and he hated hearing it, but he had to, so all he could do was agree with Tina, "I am happy for her, and I will show it better. Thank you Tina, I'm ready as soon as you get here."

"I'm on the way." With that, she hung up and headed to pick up Sam.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Mercedes finished her soundcheck, and it was horrible. She couldn't focus on anything other her fight with Sam. She was trying to be professional, but that was much harder than she thought. She snapped on the sound guy for having so much feedback in her microphone, and then she yelled at her background dancers for dancing way too close. She didn't mean to be snippy, but with the stress of opening night, and then her difficult husband, she was a wreck. Mike saw how nervous and unfocused she was, and he knew he needed to talk to her.

"Cedes, can I talk to you for a minute?" Mike called her over. He knew he needed to tread lightly right now, but he had to get her head in the game.

She walked over, still agitated, "What is it Mike? It's the dancers right? They act like they forgot everything we rehearsed." She huffed.

Mike shook his head, "No Cedes, I don't want to talk about the dancers, I want to talk about you. What's going on? You are not all here tonight, and we need you all the way here."

Mercedes was not shocked to hear Mike say that about her, because it was true. Her head was not all the way there, and she hated it. "You're right Mike, I am not focused. I can't stop thinking about Sam."

"Sam…" Mike scrunched his face, "Is he alright?"

She rolled her eyes, "No he' not alright, he's being an ass right now. You see he's not here."

"I just thought he was going to come later like Tina. Why is he being an ass?"

"He decided right before I left the house to get into an argument with me. All I asked him was he coming now or later, and that turned into World War 3!" She said, feeling exasperated. "Ever since he's been hurt, he has been lashing out on me, and I have been doing everything for him Mike. I even cut rehearsals for my tour short just so I could be home with him, and making sure he had everything he needed, but does he appreciate that?" She could feel the tears coming up, "No, all he does is mope around and act as if I'm the enemy. I just don't know what to do Mike." She quickly wiped the stray tear that escaped her eyes.

Mike hated hearing that Sam and Mercedes was going through this, but he knew that this was a hard time for both of them, and they were going to have to figure out how to handle this. He wrapped his arms around her shoulders, and pulled her close to him, "Cedes, don't cry. I know it seems hard now, but you and Sam are so in love and I know you can get through this rough patch." He looked up to see Sam and Tina walk in, and he smiled. "I know Sam is happy and supportive of you."

"Ha! He got a funny way of showing it." She rolled her eyes again, "So supportive, he can't even show up."

Sam walked over behind Mercedes, "Mercy…"

She turned seeing Sam standing there, and as mad as she was, she couldn't stop her heart from fluttering at the sight of him standing there. She quickly had to regain her being upset stance, there was no way he was going to let him off that easy, "Sam...I see you made it, I hope it was not too much of an inconvenience for you." She folded her arms, knowing she was being petty, but she didn't care.

"Okay, I deserved that." He acknowledged, "Can we please talk?"

Mike nudged her shoulder, urging her to fix this, and Tina was behind Sam telling her to do the same. She sighed, "Fine, come to my dressing room." She spun on her heels and marched off, with Sam right behind her.

Tina wrapped her arms around Mike's waist, "This is a mess."

Mike nodded, "Yeah it is, but they will get through it."

"I know they will, their Samcedes." She smiled.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

They sat in silence for a few minutes after getting into the dressing room, neither one of them knowing what to say. All the emotions they were feeling were making things difficult, and they needed to get them on the table now. Sam decided he would be the first to speak.

"I'm sorry Mercy for the way I treated you today. I don't know why I feel the need to lash out at you, but I'm sorry." He took a deep breath, "Just thinking about not being able to play the game I love so much anymore is so hard for me to process, and I know that's not an excuse for treating you this way, but it is all I got right now. I just want to play football, and hearing that I can't frustrates me."

Mercedes sat back and listened to everything he was saying, and a part of her wanted to call BS, but the other part of her knew that he was being sincere. She softened her glare, "Sam, I know this is a hard time for you, trust me, this is not what I wanted either, but this is the cards that has been dealt, and we have to play them. I am always going to support you and be here for you…"

"No you're not Mercedes! That's what I am afraid of." Sam blurted out.

"Sam what are you talking about? I am going to be here for you." She was so confused.

"Mercy, you are about to go on tour, and leaving me here."

Mercedes felt like she had just been kicked in the stomach, "So...you're staying here."

Sam realized what he said, and that was not how he wanted to tell her his decision. "Yes….I want to focus on my physical therapy, I don't need any distractions."

"Distractions!" She huffed out, "So I am a distraction now? You know what Sam, you can stay if you want, and focus on your therapy. Even though I had a physical therapist coming on the road, so you would never miss a day, but I'll have him come to the house then."

Sam knew Mercedes was always going to make sure he had what he needed, but what he really needed was time alone, to gather his thoughts, and focus on getting better. "Look Mercy, I appreciate you doing that for me, but I think I would do better at home, and you would be way more focused if you didn't have to worry about taking care of your crippled husband everyday. Go out there and shine superstar, and I will be here better when you get back." He walked over to her and took her hand in his hand, "I am not trying to hurt you or upset you…"

"Too late for that…." Mercedes muttered.

"I'm sorry baby, that was not my intentions, I really just think it would be best for the both of us if we focused on our individual things, and when you get back, I'll be in a better mind frame, and not stressing you out."

Mercedes let out a sigh, because as hurt as she was, she could see his point. It would be easier for her to focus if she wasn't trying to make sure he was okay all the time. And in the condition that he was in, being on a tour bus may not be as comfortable for him. As much as she wanted him with her, him deciding to not go was best for him, "I get it babe, and I respect your decision. I'm not going to lie and say that I'm happy about this, because I am going to miss you like crazy."

"I'm going to miss you too babe, but this is best for both of us."

"I know…" She sighed, but then started laughing.

"What's so funny?" He asked.

"We have really grown up Mr. Evans." She smiled, "It was a time when we had the hardest time telling the other person to leave, but here you are sending me on my way, and saying it's the right thing to do, is the honeymoon over?"

Sam laughed and sat her on his lap, "Never baby, the honeymoon is always on for us, but life is cruel sometimes, and we have to sometimes be apart. A smart woman once told me that." He kissed her cheek.

"That woman sounds brilliant." She giggled, "As much as it is going to suck being apart, I want you to get better, and if this is going to help, then so be it. I'll make sure you have everything you need."

"It's definitely going to suck, but we'll get through it, we always do."

There was a knock at the door, and the glam squad was coming in ready to get Mercedes ready for the show.

"Sorry guys," Tanya said, "but I have got to start on her hair now.

"And her face has got to get beat." "Deja said, "So Sam…"

He raised his hand in surrender, "I know, I know, I got to go." With one last kiss to Mercedes, "I'll go get my seat, you are going to be amazing out there tonight, I believe in you."

Mercedes smiled, "Oh Sam Evans, you know what those words do to me." She smirked.

"I'll meet you right back here after the show." He winked.

She pulled him closer, and whispered in his ear, "Make sure you're naked." She turned him around, swatted him on his ass, and sent him on his way.

"Damn I love that woman!" He smiled and whistled all the way to his seat.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Thank you Chicago! I love you!" Mercedes yelled and headed off the stage after her third encore. She was beat, and she needed to get out of those sweaty clothes. The show was good, her fans seemed to love it. Her being a perfectionist could spot out the flaws and what they needed to work on for the next show. Everyone was congratulating her on her way back to the dressing room, and she thanked them all. Once she made it to her dressing room, she was greeted with a naked Sam Evans sitting on her couch.

"You were amazing out there baby, and as you can clearly see I was moved by your performance."

She smiled brightly, and locked the door, "You were huh?" She started stripping off her clothes, "How moved were you?"

Sam started stroking himself looking at her strip for him, she was so freaking sexy, and for a moment he regretted not going on the road with her. "Very...why don't you come over here and see how moved I was."

And with that, the unwinding began. They spent a couple of hours making love to one another, and you can sense the desperation between them. One because they hadn't been intimate a lot since his injury, and because this was going to be it for a long time. Neither one of them wanted this to end, but unfortunately she had to leave and get on the road. After they showered together, they both took turns dressing the other one.

"Now babe, I want you to do everything your therapist and your doctors tell you to do okay." Mercedes slid his shirt on, "I am going to get a nurse to come to the house everyday to make sure everything is okay. And I am going to make sure Constance is going to prepare your food for the week so all you have to do is heat it up when you want."

"Babe, I can handle all that, just focus on you and your show." Sam said helping her in her jacket.

"I know you can, but I am going to do it for my own sanity."

Sam chuckled and shook his head, "Okay, for your sanity."

There was a knock on the door, "Mercedes, it's Mike, we need to go now."

She sighed, "Okay Mike I'm on my way." She looked back at Sam, "Walk me to the bus?"

Sam smiled and nodded, "Of course."

She grabbed her bag, and they headed out to the bus. They saw Tina and Mike saying their goodbyes, and they gave each other one last hug and kiss.

"I love you Sam, please remember that."

"I do, and know I always love you, even when I'm being an ass." He smirked.

"I know you do. Please take care of yourself."

"I will, I promise." He hugged her tighter with his good arm.

"T...can you check in on him for me please."

Tina smiled at Mercedes, "I can do that, if you promise to watch out for this guy for me."

"I can definitely do that." Mercedes smiled.

Sean poked his head out of the bus, "Guys, we really have to go now."

"Okay…" She kissed Sam one more time, "You make sure to call me."

"And you make sure to Facetime, and text me." Sam added.

"I will, I love you."

"Forever and Always Mercy."

With one last hug and kiss, Mercedes and Mike boarded the bus, and Sam and Tina watched them pull out of the stadium.

"Well Sam…" Tina said, trying not to cry, "Looks like it's just you and me."

"Yup….you wanna go grab a bite to eat before we head home?"

"Yeah, I kinda worked up an appetite after the show." She said with a smirk on her face.

Sam laughed, "Yeah me too, come on, let's get some pizza!"

"Sounds like a plan!" And with that, they were on their way.

A/N: So there you have it, I hope you enjoyed it. Let me know how you feel. Just to let you know, all is not well with Samcedes, just a warning, but trust me, you know in my stories it's always Samcedes for the win!