**I know, I know…I suck. I can't believe it took me this long to update. I'm sorry you guys. Life has been kicking my ever-loving butt and I just haven't had the time and was not feeling very inspired. But I am here now and I hope you enjoy this update. Thank you to everyone who is still out there reading and sending me messages. You guys are the best! Oh yeah, the disclaimer. I don't own Glee, never have, never will.**

Chapter 24

The minute Sam saw Mercedes' plane fly away, he felt his stomach drop and his heartbeat started to slow down. He could literally feel his heart start to break. He had hoped that the hustle and bustle of his own flight would distract him from focusing on Mercedes' absence. But the four hours and ten minutes non-stop flight from Los Angeles to Nashville felt more like it was four very long days. Sam knew he loved Mercedes, but somewhere, between their visit to his family's home and right now, he realized that he was desperately in love with her.

He felt so alone without her next to him. Yes, Mercedes was a ball buster (that is no doubt), but Sam also knew the side of her that was tremendously loyal and supportive. If it wasn't for her, he wouldn't have had this opportunity at all. She was the one who put in the good word for him with Matt. She is the one who allowed him to sing on her tour more times than he could count. She was his best friend and he needed her by his side more than he needed anyone in his life. That knowledge both exhilarated him and scared him to death.

Sam sighed deeply into his plastic glass of Pepsi throughout the plane ride. He asked for Bourbon on the rocks, but they didn't have any for the flight. He hoped he could simply go to sleep, but when heard the inflight commercial began playing, he knew that would be impossible. It was the Beyoncé's world tour and Mercedes was shown singing in the background. At that point, Sam began to sob- very loudly. He cried so loudly, the elderly white woman sitting next to him began patting his back and trying to console him. The flight attendants gave him extra nuts and a free whiskey sour to help him calm down. By the time the flight landed, the entire flight crew, including the pilot, had befriended him and were comforting him. Puck was waiting for him at baggage claim when he saw several passengers of Sam's flight pat his back and even hug him before they left with their luggage. Puck shook his head at the sight of him in disbelief. After helping him with his luggage, Puck tried to shake his buddy from his funk.

"Sam...bro...Get yourself together, Dude. She's just a chick." Puck slapped his hand against Sam's back hard. Sam winced at the pain and shoved Puck off of him.

"Puck, how many times do I have to tell you that she's not just some chick?" Puck shrugged his shoulders and grabbed two bags. While the two walked out of the airport to Puck's car in the garage, Puck chattered coolly about the album, Blake and Miranda, and the dates he had been on since the last time he saw Sam, totally oblivious to Sam slow decline back into depression. When Puck finally realized that Sam was not responding to anything he had said, they sat mute in the car while Puck drove. Unable to take it any longer, Puck finally broke the silence.

"Ok, dude. I don't really get it, but I get it. It's that love shit and all. Not my particular bag, but hey if it works for you, run with it. But Dude, we are about to meet Blake and Miranda. Blake and Miranda! The king and queen of country right now! You've got to pull yourself together. If you walk in there like this, they are going to think you are a basketcase."

Sam took a deep breath as he ran his hands over his face. He knew Puck was right, but he was really struggling with shaking his sadness. He had to find a way to get through it. So he tried to practicing fake smiles. After thinking he perfected the right one, he turned to Puck and sought his approval.

"How's this?" he gritted through his teeth as he plastered his face smile. Puck scowled and turned back to the road.

"You look like you have an armadillo stuck up your ass. Just don't do anything."

Soon Puck was driving into a large gated estate in the near outskirts of Nashville. The Shelton/Lambert ranch was massive, with the tri-level main house, a horse stable, tennis courts, a Spanish infinity LUXE pool, a baseball field with stands, an outside amphitheater and a large pool house. Puck pulled into the driveway of the main house, parked the car, took Sam by the shoulder and shook him lightly.

"Dude, please don't blow this. You deserve this. Hell, I deserve this. I need this!" Sam laughed as he picked Puck's hands off of him.

"Is that all you care about, Man? Getting to kick it here with me?" Puck looked baffled at Sam's question.

"Of course." He answered simply. Sam rolled his eyes and opened his door. The two walked up the marble steps of the house and rang the bell.

The door swung open to a short blond woman. Miranda Lambert stood in the foyer, dressed in a t-shirt and jeans, barefooted. Even relaxed, the petite singer looked sexy and attractive.

"Well it's about damn time, Samuel Evans. We've been waiting for you all damn morning. Bring your sweet little ass in here." she greeted them warmly. Miranda was exactly what Sam expected- a country spark plug. Puck and Sam followed her into the foyer of the house into the Spanish-Mediterranean styled living room. Puck tapped Sam gently in the side, as he awed at the structural beauty of the house. Puck sat on the couch, while Sam stood, waiting for Miranda to have a seat.

"Ma'am… Ms. Lambert…It's good to finally meet you. I want you to know what an honor, I mean a privilege it is to-" Sam was cut off with Miranda grabbing him by the collar and giving him a quick kiss, full on the mouth. Sam's eyes bulged in surprise when Miranda let him go with a slight push.

"Thanks for reminding me, Sammy," Miranda stated nonchalantly. "Anybody working with me can't be calling me Ms. Lambert and definitely not ma'am. Now that we've kissed, we're family. So no more weird feelings or apprehension. We are just gonna get loose and have fun. Got it?" Sam laughed as he rubbed the back of his neck.

"Yes, Ma'am... I mean Miranda." Sam stuttered. Puck licked his lips and stood up.

"Uh, You have a beautiful home here, Ms. Lambert." Puck grinned widely. Miranda smirked at Puck and sat on the chair behind her.

"Thanks, Puck." Puck's face immediately dropped and a frown came across his face. Sam giggled quietly, elbowed Puck in the side, and motioned for him to sit down. Clearly disappointed, Puck sat down. Miranda poured the men a glass of lemonade from a tray near them and began telling Sam about her ideas for the album.

"You see Sam, Blake and I want to make an album that will reflect how much we see each other not just as lovers, or husband and wife, but as true partners. We want our album to radiate passion. When we saw your performance with Mercedes Jones on YouTube, we just knew you would be the one to help us get there." Sam nodded excitedly.

"That sounds great, Miranda. When will Blake be able to join us here at the ranch?"

"How about now?" a voice boomed from the foyer. Seconds later, Blake Shelton walked into the living room sporting a brown sports jacket, brown cowboy boots and jeans. Both Sam and Puck shook his hand.
"Good to meet you both," Blake greeted them. "But can you fellas give me a minute to greet my lovely wife? I haven't seen her in over two weeks."

Before Sam and Puck could answer, Blake was striding determinedly towards Miranda, and lifted her up by the waist. Miranda hooted loudly as she wrapped her legs around Blake and proceeded to engage in the longest kiss that either Puck or Sam ever saw. Sam felt envy gnawing the pit of his stomach as he watched the lovebirds.

After finally remembering that they were not alone, Blake and Miranda pulled themselves apart from each other and sat on the loveseat opposite the guys.

"Sorry about that fellas," Blake began as he pulled Miranda into his lap. "This woman just does things to me." Miranda giggled as she cuddled into Blake's arms. Sam tried to hide the sadness in his face but obviously he did a terrible job at it, because Miranda gave him a worried look.

"Are you alright, sugar?" She asked while Sam ran his hand over his hair. He nodded his head as he exhaled a long breath.

"I'm sorry Miranda, Blake. Watching the two of you just makes me miss my sweetheart." Sam explained as Puck put his hand on Sam's shoulder.

"That would be Mercedes Jones." Puck interjected. Both Miranda and Blake looked at Sam sympathetically. Miranda snapped her fingers.

"Well honey, there's only one thing to do then. Tell her to come on up here and work with us. I heard your little lady and she's got a major set of pipes on her. I would love her to work on this album with us. You both can stay in the pool house and just kick Puck out." Sam smiled brightly, while Puck scowled at the idea.

"That is really generous of you to offer Miranda. But Mercedes is actually on her way to Russia right now." Blake and Miranda looked at Sam confused.

"She's on the Beyoncé World Tour." he explained. "She's of the opening acts." Blake whistled and leaned back on the couch.

"Wow wee. That is the big time there, son. I can't even blame her on that one. That's the big league and big money. Especially for a new artist." Sam nodded in agreement.

"But take it from a couple that have been apart a majority of their marriage," Blake offered as he held Miranda close in his lap. "Separation does not have to mean conclusion. A separation done right can make your love grow a hundred fold and have you crave each other's love more than you could ever imagine." Sam nodded his head as he watched the couple continue to makeout with each other on the loveseat. He needed to hear those words. He hoped Mercedes was getting the same type of support he was.

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"Why is this freaking pillow in my chair? It looks filthy and nasty? Like it was probably used for over a hundred other passengers! Get it off of my chair! Now! And where is my water? Why is the cabin so cold? Where is my personal blanket?" Mercedes had been on a ranting rave for the past 3 hours while in first class and Tina had just about enough. She was not going to spend the next 10 1/2 hours of the flight like this. The last straw was when Mercedes had a hissy fit over the bag of nuts having more peanuts and not enough pecans! Tina turned to the four attendants that had gathered around Mercedes.

"Hey you guys, Thank you for your help, but why don't you go back to your seats or the other passengers. I'd like to be alone with Ms. Jones right now." The attendants nervously nodded their heads and shuffled out of the area quickly, while Mercedes rolled her eyes in frustration.

"Tina, why did you do that? I wasn't done."

"Oh yeah, Mercedes. You were done. You are on some kind of whirlwind right now and you need to calm down." Tina reached over and held Mercedes' hand. "It's going to be ok." She stated calmly.

"I know that." Mercedes responded acidly. "The problem is the incompetence of this airline."

"Mercedes, it's going to be ok." Tina stated calmly again.

"I said I know that. It's these stupid people and this fucked up airline. No one knows what they're doing on this stupid plane." Tina caressed Mercedes' hands.

"It's going to be ok."

"Stop saying that, Ok. Just leave me alone."

"It's going to ok."

"Stop it, Tina!" Mercedes yelled. "Why do you keep saying that? You..You don't know that. You don't know anything. You just don't...you just don't..." Tina pulled Mercedes into her chest and held her as her friend cried into her shoulder. Mercedes allowed herself to cry in her best friend's arms and let go of her pain and fears. She pulled on Tina's sweater as she cried.

"He's gone, Tina. Just when I opened up to love, it leaves me." Mercedes whispered. Tina gently rocked Mercedes, holding her close.

"That's crazy talk, Mercy. He did not leave you. He's out there working on his dream, and you're up here working on yours. It's just temporary and that's it. I'm not going to let you or fear or anything else make this into something it's not." Tina rubbed Mercedes' arms as she gently pushed her up to face her.

"Mercedes Jones, you have worked too hard on this relationship to give up now. You have worked too hard at being your true self to revert back to being Ms. Hell. That would break Sam's heart. Now It IS going to be ok. Now you say it." Mercedes sat up and sniffed.

"It is going to be ok." she said meekly. Tina shook her head.

"No, with power. IT IS GOING TO BE OK." Mercedes sighed.

"Tina, I really don't feel like-" Tina cut Mercedes off before she could continue.

"Hey! Knock it off!" Tina snapped while pointing at Mercedes. "You are Ms. Mercedes Jones, you got it. I am not going to let you feel sorry for yourself about something that hasn't even happened yet. Your man is in Tennessee missing you. And in case you forgot my husband and baby are in California missing me. So suck it up! We are both going to get through this. And not just get through it. We are going to be fierce!" Tina snapped her fingers in the shape of a Z, which made Mercedes burst into laughter. Soon both women were giggling and wiping the tears from their faces.

"Ok, BFF, you win. You win, and you're right. We are going to be fierce." Mercedes pulled a handkerchief from her bag and wiped her eyes. She motioned for one of the female flight attendant to come.

"Mercedes..." Tina grumbled. Mercedes tapped her hand softly.

"Don't worry." She responded. A tall lanky female flight attendant approached Mercedes cautiously, bracing herself for a tirade. Mercedes smiled at the young lady.

"Hi sweetie, two things: First, please give passenger on the plane a glass of champagne on me and give them my apologies for my behavior. Second, tell the rest of your crew that you each will be receiving two tickets and back stage passes for the Beyoncé Show in St. Petersburg tomorrow night. I'll have the tickets waiting for you at the ticket booth." Overcome by shock, the young woman suddenly hugged Mercedes and rushed back to the crew to tell them the good news. Mercedes sat back smiling. Tina looked at her with a grin.

"That's the Diva I know and love." Tina remarked. Mercedes nodded.

"Thanks for reminding me, BFF."

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After the long flight, Tina and Mercedes decided to treat themselves to evening massages after they settled in their hotel, the Astoria Hotel in St. Petersburg. Following the massage, Mercedes felt like a million bucks and was eager to reach out to Sam. Lying on her king size bed, she turned to the clock. It was 12am midnight, which meant it was 3pm in Nashville. Mercedes hoped she wouldn't be interrupting a work session, but she couldn't stand to wait one more minute before she heard from him. Anxiously Mercedes picked up her cell and dialed him.

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Puck and Sam pulled into the parking lot of the Germantown Café for lunch. After spending most of the morning and early afternoon setting up the pool house and arranging to have his things delivered to the house, Sam decided to take Puck to one of his favorite restaurants in Nashville. Puck had just pulled into a parking space in the parking lot and the two walked to the front of the restaurant when Sam heard his phone ring. The song Human Nature played, Mercedes' ring tone. Sam's face automatically lit up as he quickly pulled his phone out of his breast pocket.

"Mercy?" He answered quickly without even looking at the caller i.d. Mercedes' heart soared at the sound of his voice.

"Hi Sammy." She cooed softly. Sam closed his eyes and smiled as he leaned against the brick outside wall of the restaurant. Puck smiled and shook his head as he entered the restaurant without Sam.

"Baby, I'm so glad that you called. How are you feeling? " Sam asked as he continued to lean against the wall with his eyes shut.

"I'm great, Sammy. I'm missing you like crazy though." Mercedes sighed as she held the phone tightly. She was mentally telling herself not to cry on the phone. The last thing Sam needed to hear was her breaking down. She knew that would hurt him like crazy.

"Oh Baby, I am missing you to my core. You sound so good on this phone. I'm so happy right now." He gushed. "So how was the flight?"

"Uh…" Mercedes hesitated to tell Sam what a bitch she was initially. "That wasn't so good. Or more like, I wasn't so good." Sam opened his eyes at that revelation.

"Really? Why Babe?" He asked. Mercedes sat up on the bed.

"I was kinda…sorta….a teeny bit of a…bitch to the staff." She mumbled. She heard Sam sucked his teeth softly.

"Mercy….Did they give you a nut packet with mostly peanuts?" Mercedes smiled widely.

"Yes, Baby! You know how I feel about not getting my pecans." She exclaimed. Sam shook his head laughing.

"You always forget to go to the airport store and buy a bag of pecans, Babe. You know, that is the only way you get through a flight." Sam slid down the wall and sat of the concrete sidewalk.

"Did Tina make sure to bring your special cashmere blanket?"
"No," Mercedes whined, "she said there wasn't enough time and that she wasn't going to spoil me like you do." Sam tilted his head and sighed.

"Good, because I want to be the only one who spoils you." Mercedes laid her head back on the pillow.

How about your flight? Was it smooth?" She asked.

"Uh….," Sam rubbed the back of his neck as he hesitated to tell Mercedes about his breakdown. "That wasn't so good. I kind of…sorta… a teeny bit…sobbed in front of the entire plane. Really loudly." Sam rubbed his face with his hand.

"What!" Mercedes cried as she sat up on the bed. "What happened?" Sam sighed.

"I saw a commercial with you and Beyonce and I freaked out." Mercedes frowned at the revelation.

"Baby, did you get your Bourbon on the rocks before the flight?" Sam made his crooked smile.

"No," he whined. "They didn't have any on the flight."

"Those bastards. I swear."

"They gave me a whisky sour instead."

"But whiskey only makes you more emotional?"

"I know." Sam lamented. Mercedes felt her heart sink.

"Babe, I don't want you to freak out and be all upset." Sam loved hearing her concern for him.

"I'm ok, Mercy. Honestly. Meeting Miranda and Blake helped a lot."

"Really?" Mercedes smiled. "Tell me about them. What are they like?" Sam laughed.

"They are great, Mercy. Really nice and cool people. And they are nuts just like us. They remind me so much of us."

"Really, why? Is she crazy like me too?"

"Crazier! I knew she had a reputation of being a 'tell it like it is' chick, but when she kissed me today, I thought my eyes were going to-"

"What the hell did you just say!" Mercedes bellowed, cutting Sam off. Sam cursed himself for letting that slip out. He meant to never tell Mercedes that little bit of information.

"Babe, it's not what you think." Sam tried to explain.

"I am going to stab that little pixie with the heel of my stiletto!" Mercedes shouted.

"Mercy, stop! It's not like that. She did it to get me to stop being so nervous around her. She thought it would remove any tension."

"Yeah? Well she just created some with me!"

"Baby, it's not like that at all. She is head over heels in love with Blake. They were all over each other in front of me and Puck. She even wanted me to invite you to come down and stay with them and work on the album with us. I told her you were on the Beyonce Tour and she was raving about how talented you were." Mercedes calmed down and lay back on the bed.

"Mmm hmm. Ok, maybe she didn't mean anything by it. But you tell that chick to keep her hands and mouth to herself from now on, or I will personally show her how street your girlfriend really is. And I…"

"Play dirty." They said simultaneously and laughed.

"She really likes my singing?" Mercedes asked suspiciously.

"Yes, Absolutely."

"Ok. I guess I won't catch a flight to Nashville this morning to kick some country girl's ass."

"Thank you Babe. So what have you done out there so far."

"Nothing. Checked in, unpacked. Oh, I did get an hour massage."

"Oh yeah?" Sam felt his private member suddenly twitch.

"Yeah, it was great." Mercedes purred as she stretched on the bed. "I feel so relaxed and comfy."

"Yeah? Did you just get it?"

"Yep?"

"Are you still wearing the robe?"

"Yep, that's all." Sam's ears pepped up.

"That's all you're wearing right now?"

"Yup. Just the robe and my panties." Sam's member instantly moved from limp to semi-erect.

"Mercy, hold on." Sam scanned the parking lot and spotted Puck's car. He tapped his side pocket and found his set of keys for the car.

"Sam," Mercedes asked concerned. "Why are you huffing and puffing are you running?" Sam just made it to the car and sat inside quickly. He scanned the lot to see if anyone was around, leaned his seat back and unzipped his fly.

"I'm not now. Ok, now tell me exactly what you are doing and wearing. And tell me really nice and slow." Sam reached his hand into his underwear and started stroking himself. Mercedes smiled wickedly to herself.

"Samuel Evans, what are you doing right now?" Her voice was so low and sultry, it made Sam start to drool. He licked his lip and began breathing heavy. He could imagine her soft cocoa skin covered in massage oil. Slick and warm. Just ready for him to knead her and slide right inside of her. Imagining her tightening around his cock was making him so hard his penis was turning bright red.

"Mercy, I need to hear your voice. Please baby, let me hear you. God I miss you." He moaned. His moan triggered a puddle of moisture to seep from Mercedes's core. She started to ache to his touch.

"Sammy, I miss you too." Mercedes opened up her robe and pulled up panties off. She started playing with her clit. "I'm so wet for you, Baby."

"You are, Mercy?" He moaned as stroke himself in long strides. "Touch it for me. Touch your pussy for me. Touch it like I'm touching it." Mercedes pushed two fingers inside her pussy and felt it pulsating. She was so wet she was leaking onto the bed. She groaned from the sensation that was taking over her.

"Sammy, I'm imagining you touching me. You're touching me so nice and slow. Oh Sammy, you feel so good. So amazing."

"Tell what you taste like baby. Tell me what that pussy taste like. Oh God, Mercy. Please tell me." Sam was stroking himself quickly now, in short, fast strokes, feeling the need to cum rising up quickly. Mercedes used her other hand to taste herself while she kept stroking herself.

"I taste like cream, Sammy. I taste like buttery, silky cream. Oh Baby, I cumming. I cumming, Sammy." She gasped as she finger fucked herself faster.

"Mercy, Mercy..." Sam could barely speak as he felt his release overcome him. His eyes were clamped shut and he dropped the phone to the floor. He couldn't move for a couple of minutes. When he was finally able to open his eyes, he picked up the phone from the floor.

"Mercy? Mercedes are you there?" He asked. He heard some fumbling and Mercedes panting from a distance.

"I'm here Sammy. I put you on speaker. I can barely move right now." She panted.

"Me too." Sam replied. They both started laughing.

"That was…" Mercedes began.

"Yeah, it was." Sam interjected. Again they both laughed. Mercedes heard a car beeping from a distance.

"Sam," Mercedes asked concerned. "Where exactly are you?" Sam laughed softly.

"Don't worry, Baby. I'm fine. Just a little sticky." Mercedes yawned softly, reminding Sam of what time it must be for her.

"Hey Baby, go to sleep. I'll talk to you soon. Okay?" A suddenly exhausted Mercedes yawned again and nodded her head.

"Ok, my Sammy. I love you now," she began.

"And I'll love you forever." He continued. They hung up the phone blissfully relaxed. Sam was still smiling to himself when he snapped his fingers, remembering something. He dialed a number on his phone and sat back.

"Hey Puck. Yeah. Wait. Listen. Order me a BLT with fries to go and bring it to the car. I can't actually go into the restaurant right now. Why? I kinda need to change. Just order the sandwich and come on." Sam closed his eyes and drifted to sleep.

***I'm going to really try to be better at updating, you guys. I really am. Thanks for all the support. Tootles!***