Disclaimer: Glee who? What's that? Don't own them. Didn't create them. I just like these characters, honest.

Chapter 23
Sam was holding his stomach as he plopped atop the leather couch in the family room, trying hard to catch his breath. The scene in front of him was too ridiculous for words. He was trying desperately to stop himself from crying from his laughter and to finally catch his breath. Watching Stevie and Mercedes trying to play Pictionary was enough to make him want to roll on the floor and die from laughter.

Mercedes was standing by the easel with a marker, scribbling something that was a cross between a horse and a pig, while Stevie was naming every animal he could think of.

"A cow! A dog! A guinea pig! Mercedes, draw something resembling anything!" Stevie yelled from the floor as he squeezed the life out of his pillow. Mercedes turned and glared at him with disgust, while trying to create other pictures on the page.

"Time!" Dwight yelled as he high-fived Mary and Stacey. Mercedes threw her hands up in the air, collapsing on the floor exhaustedly.

"It was the Easter bunny!" she sighed while lying on the floor. Stevie scrunched his face and looked confused at the scribbled paper.

"That's supposed to be the Easter Bunny?! In what universe, Mercedes?" He asked befuddled.

"Stevie, don't make me shove this marker up where the sun don't shine, ok? I never said I was the best drawer!"

"Clearly." Stevie got up from the floor and held his hand out to Mercedes to help her up. "Promise me you'll stick to the art of music." Mercedes took his hand to get up and then shoved Stevie into the couch with Sam.

"Final score, Mom, me, and Stacy have 15, Mercedes, Stevie and Sam have ten."

"Stevie's a jerk." Mercedes mumbled as she walked toward Mary. Mary embraced Mercedes tightly, consoling her gently.

"Don't pay him any mind, sweetheart. He is just a bad loser. Come on and help me get lunch on the table." Mercedes shrugged her shoulders and followed Mary into the kitchen. Sam watched the two most important women in his life leave the room arm in arm, with Stacy and Stevie following close behind. He felt an overwhelming sense of peace and happiness while watching them that it showed y on his face.

"Tone down that sunshine, Son. I'll need sunglasses to shield myself from the smile you're radiating." Dwight teased as he sat next to Sam. He slapped Sam's knee and wiggled it gently. Sam blushed at being caught by his father. His dad pushed his shoulder lightly. Sam was embarrassed that his feelings were completely apparent.

"Is it really that obvious?"

"Well it is to me. But you have to remember that I'm also someone who changed your diapers, gave you baths and kissed your boo boos. I know you a little better than most." Sam shrugged and gave his classic crooked smile.

"Dad, I never thought I could love somebody so much." Sam took a deep breath and shook his head.

"It feels like we are supposed to be together. It feels so right. It's even more than that...I know it's right."

Dwight lifted one of his eyebrows, as he studied Sam's face. He was so silent, it started to make Sam feel nervous.

"Dad, what?!" Sam finally questioned.

Dwight smiled as he shook his head.

"I'm just happy to have lived long enough to see my son find true love." Dwight turned his face from Sam and wiped his eyes. Sam was shocked by his father's sudden display of emotion. Dwight was always a caring father to Sam, but the whole family knew that his mom was the true emotional powerhouse. There wasn't a family moment that took place that Mary Evans didn't give at least a two hanky cry. While Dwight was known to shed tears at funerals and graduations that was pretty much the extent of his tearful moments. His tears today definitely took Sam by surprise. Sam placed his hand on his dad's back. A red faced Dwight turned his head back to Sam and half smiled.

"I'm proud of you, Son. Letting yourself fall in love is not easy and it takes a real man to do it." Dwight rested his hand on Sam's knee and squeezed. Sam had to turn his head and take a deep breath or else he would be a puddle of tears himself. Both of their eyes were red from unshed tears.

"Sam," Dwight's face turning serious, "Don't be afraid to take risks in love. Tell me. What's your next step with Mercedes?" Sam began chewing his bottom lip.

"I have been thinking about something," Sam began, but was interrupted by the vibration of his phone in his pocket. His face lit up when he recognized the caller.

"It's my friend Matt from the record company." He whispered to his dad as he answered the phone.

"Hey Sam!" Matt answered brightly. "Man, I have fabulous news for you. Dude, are you sitting down?!" Sam held his breath.

"Miranda Lambert and Blake Shelton want to record not one, not two, but three of your songs for their next duet album!" Sam was in a loss for words. The biggest names in country music want to record his music. THEY WERE APPROACHING HIM! His mouth was open and he tried to formulate words, but all he could do was blink wildly. Dwight looked at him expectantly and then shook his shoulder.

"Sam! Sam! Speak!" Sam snapped out of his shock and hooted to the top of his lungs.

"Matt, that's awesome! I can't believe this!" Matt laughed excitely.

"Well believe it, Brother! You were on the top of their writers' list. They saw your performance of "When the Right One Comes Along" with Mercedes and they went crazy! Man, I mean they were clapping right along with the audience at the end." Sam's face broadened with a smile. He clapped his hands and fell to his knees, silently thanking God for his blessing.

"But I have even more greater news. They want you to collaborate with them on the music for the rest of the album." Sam shook his head in amazement.

"Seriously?"

"Yes, man! They want you. But there is a catch. You got to go up to their ranch in Nashville and work with them until the album is done. So you are going to have to leave Mercedes' tour. Are you good with that?"

For the first time since he got on the phone with Matt, Sam's face frowned. He knew this was a big step in his career, but the idea that he would have to leave Mercedes made him sick to his stomach.

"Sam? Are you still there?" Matt asked anxiously.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm here." He answered quietly.

"Well?," Matt asked expectantly. "Can I tell them yes, or what!" Sam started chewing his lower lip.

"Um, Matt. Let me call you back with that."

"Say What?"

"Matt, just let me call you back, ok?" Matt huffed and puffed.

"Fine. Call me back. Jeez, artists!" The phone went dead. Sam looked at his phone silently, while his father stared at him, waiting for his son to finally tell him what was going on. Sam turned to his dad with a smile.

"Miranda Lambert and Blake Shelton want me to co-write their new album." He stated flatly.

Dwight tossed his head back and laughed happily. He grabbed Sam by the shoulders and hugged him.

"Son, I'm so happy for you." Dwight pulled Sam back and pointed in his face. "You see, you see. God has a plan for you, Son. I knew good things were coming. This is amazing." Dwight pulled Sam back into the hug. Sam remained silent and melancholy during the embrace. Dwight pulled away and studied Sam's face.

"What's wrong, Son?" Sam rubbed the back of his neck and looked away.

"Dad, I'm thrilled about this. Really, I am. It's just..well…I...I'd have to leave Mercedes while I'm writing the album. I don't even know how long that will take." Dwight nodded his head in understanding.

"I know this sounds crazy. Nuts, even! Here I am with this amazing offer and all I can think of is how long I will be away from my girlfriend. I sound stupid, don't I?" Sam rubbed his hands roughly.

"No son, you don't sound dumb. You sound like a man who realizes that his plans aren't just his own anymore. You sound like a family man." Sam side-eyed his dad.

"Dad, Mercedes and I haven't even talked about marriage." Sam stood up and started pacing the family room. Dwight leaned back on the couch and crossed his arms.

"You don't have to be married to someone, Sam, to recognize that they are your family." Sam stopped pacing and looked at his dad curiously. Dwight nodded his head slowly, trying to give Sam a moment to process this information.

"She is your family." Dwight stated matter-of-factly. Sam tilted his head and a huge smile covered his face.

"Yeah," he said with realization in his tone, "She IS my family." Dwight continued nodding.

"Soooo…talk to her about it." Sam looked at his dad with determination.

"I will." He slapped his dad thigh and jogged towards the kitchen. Dwight watched his son and laughed at himself. Then he put his hands together and looked upward.

"Thank you Lord for your blessings." He whispered.

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Sam jogged into the kitchen and was stopped immediately by his mother who was holding her finger up to her lips and pointed to Mercedes. Mercedes was facing the glass door leading to the patio, talking intently to someone on her cellphone. Sam stopped immediately and tiptoed toward his mother who was standing next to the stove. He leaned on the counter with his elbow propping his face.

"What's happening?" Sam whispered.

"Somebody called her and she got all frantic." Mary whispered back.

"Was it Tina?" Sam asked. Mary shrugged.

"Was it her dad?" Mary again shrugged.

"Was it Sebastian?"

"Sshhhh!" Mary hissed frustrated. "I'm trying to read her lips and you're distracting me. Hush." Sam waited til his mother turned her head and stuck out his tongue at her.

"Do that again and I'll chop that tongue out with my cleaver." His momma mumbled, her eyes still fixed on Mercedes. Sam grimaced and backed away from her. After ten minutes, they both finally heard Mercedes conclude her phone call.

"Great," Mercedes exclaimed happily into the phone. "Get back to me as soon as you get the details settled." Mercedes turned around to face Sam and Mary. She began waving her hands and jumping up and down.

"Beyonce and Jay Z want me to be one of their openings acts for their worldwide tour!" All three of them screamed at once. The threesome gathered together and started hopping around in a circle.

"Mercy, that is fantastic!" Sam pulled Mercedes into his arms and squeezed her tightly. Mercedes shook her head from side to side.

"I just can't believe it Sam! Their people called Sebastian and said that I was their very first pick. And the best part…" Mercedes stopped for a second and clutched her chest.

"They are paying me $25,000.00 a show!" All three of them screamed again and started jumping in a circle. Sam waved his hands for everyone to stop.

"Well, I also got great news." He tried gaining his breath. "Miranda Lambert and Blake Shelton want me to co-write an album with them!" All three of them began screaming again and jumping in a circle.

Mary was the first one to stop jumping. She grabbed Sam's hands and squeezed them tight.

"Baby, that is amazing! So you are going to be all over the world, writing music with Lambert and Shelton? That is incredible!" Sam's face changed as he slowed his breathing and looked back forth at Mary and Mercedes.

"Actually…no. The offer with Lambert and Shelton requires that I stay in Nashville until the album is done." Sam kept his gaze on Mercedes. Her eyebrows furrowed and she stood still. She put her hands on her waist and then crossed her arms. It took a minute for her to realize what he was saying but she finally understood.

"You can't go with me." She began biting her bottom lip. Mercedes ran a hand through her hair and turned away from Sam, facing the glass door.
Sam started walking toward her. Mary pushed his back slightly. Sam turned to her and glared. He motioned for her to leave. Mary rolled her eyes and leaned on the counter, folding her arms. Sam wrapped his arms around Mercedes' waist. She laid her hands on top of Sam's.
"Baby, this is your dream." He whispered in her ear. Mercedes nodded her head, leaning her head till it rested on his shoulder.
"This is your dream too. Blake Shelton? You adore him." Sam shrugged.
"I'm not that crazy about him." Mercedes side eyed Sam.
"You've been to 21 of his concerts."
"That's just because I happened to be in those cities."
"You just happen to be in Forest Valley, Iowa?"
"They have great potato salad?" Mercedes side eyed Sam again. Sam shrugged.
"You know what is my biggest dream?" Sam whispered in her ear. Mercedes shook her head silently.
"Being with you." Mercedes' chin began to tremble. Sam turned her body toward him.
"This album opportunity is great but it's not worth us." Sam held her face in his hands. "You are my family, Mercedes. You are my priority." Mercedes nodded her head while tears streamed down her face.
"Sam, I can't tell you to give up this opportunity any more than you can ask me to give up mine." Mercedes covered Sam's hands with hers.
"But I can't lie and say that I want you too be with me." Sam leaned his forehead on Mercedes.
"I want to be with you too, Baby. You know I do. But we can get through this. I know we can. I don't care how hard it gets."
Mercedes looked up at Sam.
"Sam, we could be apart for months before either one of us is free tovisit the other." She looked at him closely. "Can you honestly handle being in a monogamous relationship with no sex? For months?"
Sam took a deep breath.
"I'm not going to lie. It's going to be rough. I mean, your body be banging." Mercedes laughed and rested her head on his shoulder.
"But you know what is more wonderful than sex?" Sam rocked Mercedes gently.
"Long phone calls where we fall asleep together. Watching a movie together while on the phone. Skyping on a weekly basis. And...phone sex." Mercedes immediately looked around the room for Mary. Thankfully she's had left awhile ago.
"Sam!" She muttered embarrassingly. "Suppose your mom was still here."
"Trust me, my mom would encourage it." Sam giggled and kissed the back of her hands. He held her hands close to his chest.

"We can do this." He whispered. Mercedes nodded her head silently. Sam could sense the fear that was gripping her. Sam knew Mercedes still had her fears about long distance relationship because of her last boyfriend Devante Harper.

Devante had destroyed her belief that love could sustain distance, thereby making her doubt the strength of her love truly holding anyone. Mercedes truly worried that perhaps she didn't have the type of love that could overcome distance and separation.

"Mercedes," Sam gently stroked Mercedes hair. "There is nowhere I want to be but with you. And nothing-not distance, not work, not even your aggressive and annoying fans are going to ever change that." Mercedes remained silent as her head rested on Sam's shoulder. He gently lifted her chin so her eyes could meet his.

"Do you trust me, sweetheart?" Mercedes' sad doe eyes nodded.

"Then trust this, we-" Sam pointed his hands from Mercedes to himself. "We are going nowhere. Ok?" Mercedes' face lightened and she smiled.

"OK." She whispered. Sam pulled her into a deeper hug, as she looked out the glass door quietly.

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After saying goodbye to Sam's family, the couple had to move quickly with setting certain gears in motion. The next two weeks moved quickly for Mercedes and Sam as their own personal itineraries were quickly being developed. For Sam, Puck had arranged for all of his belongings to be moved from Mercedes' tour to Tennessee. Once in Tennessee, he would be escorted to his own personal three bathrooms, four baths ranch house on the Lambert/Shelton estate. For Mercedes, Sebastian worked with the Ms. Carter Tour to develop a full but, not too overly stressed, concert schedule for the next 3 months taking her to Russia, France, Italy, Brazil and Columbia. Her accommodations were nothing less than five star hotels and villas. Sebastian somehow convinced Tina to take a hiatus from mommyhood to accompany Mercedes on the tour. Both of the artists had strict demands being placed on them for the next 3-4 months. The couple worked on the arrangements for their individual destinations together, always letting the other person know of any new arrangements and developments, but they avoided the conversation about how to deal with the actual last day. The day that they both were dreading was suddenly upon them.
Both Sam and Mercedes were at the LAX airport. Sam had to catch his flight to Tennessee, while Mercedes had to catch her connecting flights to Italy. Mercedes' flight was the first to depart so Sam walked her through the luggage check in and was seeking assistance with getting through security so he could sit with her by her gate. They walked outside the airport to speak to a redcap supervisor. Mercedes pulled his arm down right before he gained the attention of the supervisor.

"Mercedes, what are you doing?" he asked confused. Mercedes was looking up at him with her sunglasses covering her eyes.

"Sam, I think it's better that we say goodbye here." She said firmly. Sam was confused by her behavior. She was distant with him throughout the entire car ride and now she appeared to not want to spend any final moments with him. He held her shoulders as he looked down at her face. The glasses may have covered her eyes, but they couldn't hide the quivering of her chin.

"Baby, no. I am walking you to your gate. I want to see you off. I have enough time." Mercedes shook her head quickly, and pulled away from him. She gathered her bags in her arms.

"No, Sam. You can't. It's better this way. It's too hard if you don't. I have to go, I have to go." Mercedes began running down the sidewalk and into the airport. Sam called out to her, but realized that he needed to get to the supervisor first. He finally flagged the supervisor, explained the situation and provided him with the acceptable passes that Sebastian arranged for him. The supervisor gave him a document to take to security that will allow him to go to Mercedes' Gate. The minute he got it in his hands, Sam ran towards the airport doors and to the security line. He was 40-50 people behind Mercedes. He could clearly see her wiping her face and choking up with tears. His heart was breaking from seeing her like this. He needed to get to her. He tried calling out her name, but either she didn't hear or just ignored him. Desperate, Sam could think of only one choice. He cleared his throat and began singing loudly.

Drifting on a memory
Ain't no place I'd rather be than with you
Loving you

[Several people turned to watch Sam, continuing to move up in the security line. He waves at the folks asking each person to tap the person in front of them until they reached Mercedes.]

Day will make the way for night
All we need is candlelight
And a song,

soft and long
Well, you'd like to think
We're alone with a love unlike no other
Sad to see, a new horizon slowly coming into view
[Mercedes receives a tap on the shoulder and turns her head to see Sam singing directly at her.]
[Chorus:]
I want to be living for the love of you
All that I'm giving is for the love of you

[The other passengers begin singing with him, swaying to the melody. Mercedes smiles, watching Sam closely.]

Lovely as a ray of sun
That touches me when the morning comes
Feels good to me
My loving me, yeah
Smoother then a gentle breeze
Flowing from my mind with ease
Soft as can be
Well, when you're loving me, ooh baby
Love to be
Riding the waves of love enchanted with your touch
It seems to me
We can sail together in and out of mystery
[chorus]
Paradise, I hafta think, can't feel as secure again
You're the key
And this I see
Now and then I lose my way
Confusing words to try and say what I feel
Yeah, your love is real
I might as well, sign my name on a card that's been saying better
See, time will tell
Cause it seems that I've done just about all that I can do

By the time Sam finished singing, both he and Mercedes passed security and he was now standing in front of her. The other passengers applauded him and began slapping his back. Sam thanked them, waved and nodded. When he was able to finally give his attention to Mercedes, he mmediately pulled the sunglasses off her face, revealing her red eyes.

"Baby, why are you doing this?" he pleaded. Mercedes shook her head, looking down.

"I'm…I'm so scared Sam." Sam cradled her face in his hands. "I have told you in every way I can conceive of, including embarrassing myself in the middle of a airport, that I love you Mercedes Jones. I love you and I am not going anywhere. I'm not going to let you get rid of me, so how about that?" Sam looked at Mercedes defiantly. She smirked as she wiped her nose.

"Did you steal that line from Jerry McGuire?" Sam shook his head guiltily.

"That's not the point. The point is I'm here. I'm here Mercedes not for your sex that can make any sane man weep. Not for your luscious curves that make even a potato sack look sexy as hell. Not because of the way your kisses make every hair in the back of my neck stand up." Mercedes smiled as she wiped the tears falling on her cheek.

"I'm here because you are my best friend, my closest confidante, the best woman, other than my momma and sister, that I know." Mercedes pulled Sam into a fierce, toe curling, body shivering kiss that made them both so hot that they became dizzy. She looked Sam dead in the eye as he tried to get his orientation back.

"Samuel Evans, you listen and you listen good then. I am going to skype you. I am going to call you. I am going to send you dirty texts. And God help you if you ever ignore even one of them. Because I will bring my lovely ass to Nashville from wherever the hell I am at and whoop your ass. Do you got that?" Sam gulped as he stared into her fierce eyes. He nodded his head nervously.

"Because you are stuck with me until I am good and ready for you to leave. You got it? And I'm..I'm..not ready." Mercedes' face softened. "You actually sang to me at an airport security line?" They both started laughing.

"I couldn't think of any other way to get your attention."

"You always had it, Love. You always had it." Mercedes whispered as she pulled Sam into another long tantalizing kiss. Soon they heard the announcer.

"Flight 420 for Washington D.C. is now boarding."

The couple pulled apart and held both of each other's hands. Mercedes pulled her lips into a tight smile and rocked on her heels. "That's me. My connector flight." Sam nodded his head. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a silver charm bracelet.

"Here. I'm sorry I didn't get a chance to wrap it in a pretty box, but I just got too nervous." He stammered. The bracelet had five charms dangling- an ice cream cone, a microphone, a diamond crusted heart, a cowboy hat and a Hershey kiss. Mercedes' face glowed as she admired the bracelet and each charm.

"Sam, I love it. I absolutely love it. It is all about us. Each of them. Well maybe except for the Hershey kiss. I'm not sure I get that one." Mercedes laughed. Sam tilted his head and laughed.

"Oh yeah. I couldn't find anything to represent a special memory so I used this as a type of reminder." Mercedes shook her head in confusion.

"You see," he explained, "Hershey kisses makes me think of kissing. Kissing makes me think of French kissing, which makes me think of France. France makes me think of French Canada which makes me think of you and Tina in jail for trying to set up Ciara." Mercedes hopped up and down, covering her laughter with her hand.

"Honey that is so good! I love it. I absolutely do." The two embraced tightly.

"Last call for flight 420." Sam was the first to pull away from Mercedes. He gently stroked her face and kissed her forehead.

"Sing something for me at the end of your sets." He whispered. "I know it's selfish-" Mercedes cut him off with her hand.

"It's not selfish at all. And I already planned to." She giggled. They walked to the doorway to the boarding aisle. Sam looked in her eyes with glassy eyes of his own.

"I love you." He stated confidently. Mercedes stood up straight and cleared her throat.

"And I love you." She smiled, turned towards the plane entrance and walked away from Sam. Sam waited until the plane took off, standing by the large window, staring at the tarmac. He couldn't stop the tears from falling. So he decided to let them keep falling as he walked to his terminal.

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Hey you all. First let me first apologize for this long, long delay. I just could not find my mojo for writing for awhile. Maybe it was RL. Maybe I was enjoying watching my OTP finally getting some real air time. Who knows? But I'm super sorry. Thanks to everyone who kept asking me to update (KurlyQ721, I promised you I would do this by my birthday! I got it on my B-Day!) It is so nice to know people miss your writing. I am going to try like crazy to keep up and write. I also been getting into real books like the Beautiful Creatures series that has me totally hooked. The song sung by Sam is Living for the Love of You by the smooth Isley Brothers. I wonder if anyone notice that I used some of the lines from "the show" in the story. The show never fails to suck in how they handle samcedes. Therefore I created some "redos". I will return much sooner. I promise. I have some interesting ideas about the skyping and phone sex for these two. As always, your favoriting, follows, and reviews make my day! Tootles xoxo