A/N: Stay safe and please please continue to stay inside if you can!

Enjoy!

Chapter 8

An Early Arrival

Sam paced back and forth as Carol assessed Mercedes, she placed an IV into her arm to give her fluids and stitched up the open gash before checking her leg which seemed to swollen but not broken but her ankle was twisted and would need a brace to help. She lifted her shirt to see if there was any other damaged and froze momentarily before slowly lowering it back down and letting out a deep breath.

"Sam"

"…"

"Sam, look at me." Carol said softly walking around the bed and reaching out for Sam, when her hand made contact with his arm he jumped and gave her a worried look.

"Sam… tell me everything and don't you leave anything out." She said crossing her arms over her chest.

"She's my boss's wife… he abuses her and I'm helping her get away from him." He replied breathing deeply and looking over Carol's shoulder at Mercedes.

"She has a damn shoe print on her stomach, bite marks and I don't even want to know about the rest of her body. You have to contact the police, you have to get her real protection."

"No. I made a promise and I know I barely know her but I'm not putting her on his radar and neither are you."

"Sam, when I finish examining her and I will conduct a full exam I will have to report my findings. What on earth made you think you could help her?" Carol asked gently sensing he wasn't going to like what she just said, his jaw began to clench.

"Carol you will get her killed if you report what you find… her husband is really powerful, bringing her here was a risk in itself and now you expect me you let you report this? She's checked in as my wife, he knows I'm not married and I was literally the last man she was alone with… I'm the reason she was gone for two months! I can't and won't do that to her..." he replied shaking his head and muttering under his breath.

"She's not Mary, Sam."

"..."

"She's NOT your mother Sam! She's not Dwight either, you can't keep thinking these things are your fault. What happened you your mother wasn't your fault and what happened to your dad wasn't your fault either, she's laying here because of past trauma not from anything you did. Her husband chose to do what he did, he chose to put her in the situation where she could not win. Look at me."

"Don't." Sam said backing away from her.

"Sam, you did not kill your parents! You didn't cause the wreck… you were just there when it happened and you need to let that hurt go. She, Mercedes can be saved if you let me help her but if you refuse my help then you are putting her in more danger!"

"Can I take her home now?"

"Sam, listen to me and listen good. She is not well, she needs counseling and she will need someone who can be there constantly for her while she goes through all of it, you live and work and hour away. You barely have enough time to get out to the cabins and now you're going to take this on, Sam you can NOT do this to yourself or to her." Carol said grabbing him again seeing the tears forming in his eyes. She let out a sigh and pulled him into a tight hug.

"I can't shake this feeling that I need to help her and I will take time off, just let me do this Carol… she was coming around and she trusts me." He pleaded.

"Okay but I will need to do a full exam and you have to start seeing Shannon again both of you will need to go and-"

"What… where am I?" Sam and Carol both turned and looked at Mercedes who was still blinking and moving her head until she made eye contact with Sam, she gave him a worried smile but it quickly changed when she saw Carol and she tried to get out the bed but fell back when she felt the pain shoot through her leg. Sam walked over to her side and gave her a small smile before nodding Carol over, Mercedes was trying to communicate with him through her eyes and he could tell she was afraid.

"You're in good hands, no one is going to hurt you here and no one is going to know you are here." Carol said to Mercedes with warm smile. Mercedes looked from Carol and then to Sam before easing a little and nodding her head.

"What happened?" She asked softly.

"You were having a nightmare again but this time you… umm you woke but not fully and ran away from me before I could stop you. You fell down and hit your head and hurt you leg." Sam replied.

"You had a gash on your forehead but I patched it up, I was just about to examine you further to make sure everything else is okay. I may need to keep you over night just to observe and make sure there's no real trauma to your head." Carol added and moved beside the bed as well. Mercedes quickly began shaking her head and tried to pull the IV out of her arm but stopped when Carol place her hands over hers.

"Mercedes, I know you don't know me but-" She stopped and looked at Sam first before realizing what she was about to ask was extremely personal. "Sam I need you to step outside for a minute and before either of you protest it'll only take a few moments. Sam I'll come and get you once we're done." Carol finished nodding Sam away. He reluctantly did what he was told and waited outside her door texting Puck to let him know she woke up.

"Okay sweetheart, I know you're afraid but I need to ask you a few things okay?" Carol asked pulling a stool up to sit down next Mercedes after she nodded and let out a shaky breath.

"How old are those bruises?" Mercedes turned away shaking her head and swallowing the lump in her throat.

"Which ones?"

"The ones on your-"

"I know what you meant… just ask the real question please."

"When was the last time he sexually assaulted you?" Carol asked calmly but sternly. Mercedes cleared her throat and looked at Carol for a moment then she looked at the door.

"I think two month ago… I passed out before so I can be sure if he actually did or just… beat me."

"Passed out?"

"He made me strip then he slammed me against the wall and I passed out and woke up a few days later."

"And the shoe print?"

"Consider it a tattoo at this point." She replied still looking at the door and Carol noticed she hadn't made eye contact with her the entire time.

"You're not allowed to talk to anyone in the medical industry are you?"

"I'm not allowed to do a lot of things..." She said finally looking at Carol. "Shane Tinsley is a lot of things but dumb is not one of them, he'll figure it out soon enough who's helping me and the second Mr. Evans is on his scent it's over… this little vacation I'm having will end sooner if you don't let me leave now, please if you care about him let me leave." Mercedes pleaded with the woman sitting in front of her. Carol rose an eyebrow and felt something in her gut that wasn't sitting well.

"You're awfully calm…"

"I've had practice and being around women isn't an issue… it's just that I have learned to not to be so trusting because… look please let me go. This was a mistake and I do not want Mr. Evans to get any further involved than he already is, no one else need to get hurt." She replied looking away and wiping a tear that had fallen. The last thing she needed was an innocent person getting roped into all the bullshit she caused, she knew coming out here was a risk but she couldn't take missing more time and she felt if he did it again he would kill her. She should've thought it through more but the only thing on here mind was get out and stay out, she wasn't going to go back again.

"You think he'll come after Sam?"

"He won't at first but if he thinks we've… done anything- which we haven't! I've never… Shane was..." She felt herself getting flustered and it just now hit her that he literally would do far worse to Sam than he did to her two months ago and she wouldn't forgive herself for causing him more problems. Carol just nodded and let out a heavy breath before standing up and making a mental note to talk to Sam privately on another date.

…

"Where the hell is she?" Shane demanded as he looked at his staff, he arrived home early and had been calling Mercedes since but she wasn't answering.

"As far as we know she's at her mother's, sir."

"Where's that damn butler the one that's always waiting on her hand and foot?"

"Roderick put in his notice two days ago, your wife relieved him of his duties before she went to her mother's the new butler starts today." Maria said calmly

"Fucking bitch. Get her mother on the phone immediately."Shane stormed through the house looking in all the spaces she would usually be and nothing, he went out to the guest house she was always in and started rummaging through her things but didn't find anything out of place. He started to think that she was actually at her mother's but he checked her closet and saw all the clothes she thought he didn't know about were gone.

"Okay bitch. You want to play then let's play." He said to his self before calling an old friend.

"Yo Azimio.. how's 100K sound?"

"Nah just need to take handle a property I own.. down on East Street."

"I don't care how it looks, hell you can have fun for all I care. I'll send half now and the other half once it's done."

"Yeah, bet."

Shane chuckled and walked out the guest house and back into the main house. He nodded when the maid handed him the phone with Mercedes's mom on there waiting.

"Ms. Jones I don't think you understand how our agreement works. You're daughter isn't here so until she returns the money train stops now."

"What are you talking about she should be at my house?"

"She should be? As in you're not there?"

"No! I'm in Miami. She said she would stay and watch after everything until I got back."

"She hasn't answered my calls and she knows better than not to leave unanswered for days."

"Well if you stopped beating her you wouldn't have these problems."

"Talk to me like that again and I'll make sure to extend them to you. She's a trifling bitch that can't seem to listen to simple commands. You have three days to locate her and bring her back or I will send my friends to find her and just know my friends have my full permission to do anything to her until they get her back to me."

"You wouldn't..."

"Try me."

"Shane, I will get her back just don't send your friends to find her she won't come willingly.. I can do it. Just.. let me fly back and I'll find her."

"Why your daughter can't be this submissive I'll never understand. Three days and then it's game on."

"I'll bring her back but we will need to discuss an increase because I'm not my daughter and you don't scare me."

"Fine. 75k now you got your increase find my fucking wife."

He hung up rubbing his hands together because he would give her three days but he was still sending his friends to look for her as well. She would need to learn from her actions anyways so he killed two birds with one stone.

Sooooooo...? So she woke and... she's talking :o Sam's a little more damaged than you think but he's actions are pure. Mercedes's moma... whew I don't like her! Shane is a smart man.. but don't underestimate our girl because she's smart too... just has to remember who the hell she is!