Author's Note: Thank you for the positive comments thus far. I'm still young and very self-conscious of my work (I don't let my family and friends read my stories) but your reviews are really motivational and makes me feel like maybe…one day in the future I can actually achieve my dream of making a living out of sharing my stories.

Enough with the sappy things; you're here to read my story not read my random ramblings. I hope you all enjoy.

Disclaimer: I do not own Glee or its characters; they belong to their creators and FOX Studios. I am merely borrowing them for my plot.

"So where is the son of a bitch?" The 32-year old asked entering the kitchen.

"You realize you just came from church an hour ago and you're already cursing," Mercedes tolf Vincent as she slipped onto the marble countertop next to the kitchen sink.

"He's in the study with Dad," Dante, her 17-year old brother said as he raided the fridge for something to ease his salty cravings.

"You do realize we're gonna eat anytime now?" Aaron said sitting down next to Mercedes.

The youngest sibling shrugged.

"I'm a growing boy, I need my nutrients," he defended causing his three older siblings to roll their eyes.

"You okay?" Aaron asked Mercedes bumping her shoulder gently.

Mercedes gave him a small tight smile and nodded.

"If you want we can kick his ass," Dante said with a mouth full of Pringles and dip.

Vincent raised a brow analysing the tall heap of skin and bones in front of him. Unlike his two lanky brothers he was a heap of muscle.

"With what are you gonna kick his ass your imaginary muscles?"

Aaron and Mercedes snorted in amusement as an unimpressed glare wrote itself on Dante's face. Vincent turned to his sister and older, by five minutes, twin. His baby sister as hard as she tried hiding it looked emotionally drained.

"I'm a marshal, Mercedes. I'm virtually an assassin. Think about it."

Mercedes grinned.

"And I'm a surgeon I know ways how to torture a person without resulting in death or passing out so I can make him suffer for a very long time. Think about it," Aaron said.

Mercedes rolled her eyes but could not stop her grin from growing bigger. Her brother's weren't touchy-feely people but they had her back when it counted. They weren't the kind of siblings who declared their love for one another but they knew their bond was something special.

"I'll keep that in mind, thank you. But I'm fine guys, really. So play nice."

Aaron rolled his eyes.

"I make no such promises."

"Nor do I," Vincent said taking a few of Dante's Pringles. "By the way why does your kid have so much damn energy?" He asked.

This lunch was only meant for the adults of the family so the children were staying with his wife. They carpooled with him and Lea to their house and left them there.

"She jumped on Jumbo and rode him around like a horse. My Great Dane is not a horse, Mercedes." He explained. "Every time I try scolding her she stares at me with these innocent eyes like that lemur from Madagascar."

"Mort," Dante said. "And I know she makes you feel like you're the bad guy."

"She gets it from Mercedes," Aaron said. "When we were younger she got away with murder…literally."

Mercedes rolled her eyes.

"How many times do I have to say sorry for feeding your hamster rat poison? It was nearly two decades ago, get over it. And by the way it's your own fault since you two were terrible babysitters. I could have eaten some of it too. Better the hamster than your sister dying of poison."

"I liked the hamster better."

She shot Aaron a look just as her mother walked into the kitchen. She gave her eldest son and only daughter a disapproving glare

"I don't want your butt juices on my food when I cook. Get off my countertops."

The duo rolled their eyes jumping of the countertops.

"Now, I want you guys to behave yourselves, please. You're adults."

Vincent rolled his eyes.

"I don't know why you and Dad even invited the asshole. I'll try to restrain myself but I might just kick him in the junk."

Elizabeth gave her son a warning look…

MEANWHILE IN ANOTHER ROOM OF THE HOME Sam Evans tried controlling his erratic heart. In college Sam had thought of meeting Mercedes father under very different circumstances.

He swallowed the lump in his throat trying to keep the man's stare as he has been doing for the past five minutes. He tried showing no fear. The man in front of him may be short and burly and to top it off a pastor but foremost he was a father and Sam had a feeling Pastor Jones could take him. The man was a football player in college so he must have a mean tackle in him.

"So you're the man who impregnated my baby girl?"

It was not a question, more of a statement. Sam nodded slowly.

"You're the man who broke my daughter's heart."

Sam silently nodded as a cloud of shame engulfed him in its suffocating grip.

"You're my granddaughter's father."

Again, Sam rewarded him with a nod.

The man analysed the blonde man he met a few weeks ago in silence for a few more seconds, which felt like hours to Samuel. A sigh left his lips as he moved his gaze to the small wood Cross on his wall.

"The father in me does not like you very much and wants to hurt you a lot," he said honestly. "The preacher in me is preaching forgiveness."

"I'm sorry for what I have done to Mercedes, Sir. I did not mean to hurt her," Sam said honestly. "I made a mistake."

There was an undeniable sincerity in his voice. When Arthur, Samuel's probation officer asked him to use the church funded charities as community service for the young man David thought it would be a humbling experience for Sam. David would have never thought God would send his granddaughter's father to his door.

"I do not know the details of what happened. I just know that you hurt her… a lot and as her father I am not going to stand for that again. Nor will I let you hurt Aria," he said. "What is it you want, Samuel? What are your intentions here?"

Sam expected difficult questions. He rehearsed his answers in the mirror a few times. But he knew if the roles were reversed and somebody hurt his daughter the way he hurt Mercedes a rehearsed answer would not be satisfactory at all. He decided to speak from his heart laying his emotions bare there for the man to see.

"I missed out on the first few years of my daughter's life and I don't want to anymore. I want to know her. She's a beautiful little girl and I want know everything about her. The fact that Mercedes did not tell me…it hurts me and yes there is resentment there but I can't just fault her for that decision," Sam said honestly casting his eyes down. "The weeks leading up to our break up were rough and I admit I was not the man you would want fathering your child. I was immature-"

David interrupted the man, raising a brow as he spoke:

"Was? The fact that you decided to involve yourself in a police chase makes me question your maturity."

The words made him cringe casting his gaze to his hands.

"I admit that was not one of my best moments." Sam lifted his gaze back to the man. "But I'm willing and trying to change my way so I can be a worthy father to Aria. It's time for me to grow up."

David let the word sink in before asking.

"What about my daughter?"

Sam sighed. He decided to be honest.

"Your daughter…well…there are still lingering feelings for her." Lingering feelings would be an understatement. What he shared with Mercedes, though it was short, it was something special. With her things felt just right; as if his soul found its other half. "But I know I hurt her deeply. I wish I could take back what I did and what I said to her but I can't. I will always regret what I said for the rest of my life because that's the day I lost somebody and something very special and irreplaceable."

All David did was look at the man silently reading him. He seemed sincere. David let out a breath sitting back on his chair weaving his fingers together.

"If you hurt my daughter or my granddaughter I will go to jail for murder." Sam could only nod at the man. "At this moment as the father of the young woman you hurt I am not very fond of you at all but Aria needs a father. I am willing to support your relationship with her. As a man of God I cannot judge you for your mistakes. The Bible does say to forgive so I will try but I can't promise you the others of this family would be so accepting." David said thinking back to a time when his daughter was nothing but a hollow shell. "You broke her, Samuel. Whatever happened between you left a long-lasting effect on her 'till this day. When she returned home she was not the same person she was when she left. Everybody could see the pain in her eyes though she tried hiding it. It took her months to smile again and have that smile reach her eyes. It took her months get her sharp sarcastic wit back. It took her years to build up her confidence again." His gaze burned with a deadly warning. "I will not let you steal her light and essence again."

"I won't, Sir."

That was a promise.

David rose out of his chair prompting Sam to do the same. The pastor offered the man a hand which he quickly accepted by shaking his hand.

"The food is getting cold. Let's join the rest for lunch."

David leads Sam out of the study into the hallway lined with photos of his children and grandchildren. As Sam slowly strolled behind, trying to calm his fears a picture of Mercedes holding a newborn Aria in her arms grinning.

He followed the round man into the where his wife and children talked. All eyes were on him except those of Mercedes whom focused her gaze on the floor. Mr Jones words hit him again as he looked at her. He hurt her deeply.

"So, you're the f*cker who hurt my sister."

Those were the last words Sam heard before the big brown fist of a big brown man collided with his face sending him into an abyss of darkness…

A week had passed since they last saw one another; their last encounter leaving Sam standing in front of the café bathed under the streetlights. In that week there was no form of communication between them. It was hard for Mercedes; she has become accustomed to Sam's presence in her everyday life. If they did not see each other they would text one another. Communication with one another was routine.

But as much as his absence broke her soul she knew it was needed. They needed time apart to try and figure out what to do with their confused love after their sudden epiphanies. But the realization that they needed to part did little to ease the painful yearning for him engraved in the depth of her heart. She missed his beautiful smile causing a jolt in her heart. She missed his goofy humour that always seemed to lift her spirit no matter how terrible her day was. She missed talking to him about her dreams and fears.

The depth of emotions scared her; the fact that she fell so irrevocably in love with him in such a short amount of time scared her. Her list of lovers was something non-existent except her two-week long foolishness with Noah Puckerman in junior year of high school. She was already freefalling into the abyss called Sam Evan and she had a feeling she would never recover if he told her he did not want her.

She followed the nurse leading her through the corridors of the hospital. The strong scent of cleaning supplies and medicine assaulted her nasal cavity.

"The doctor wants to keep him overnight because of the severity of the concussion," the older woman explained.

Mercedes nodded. Mercedes thought their reunion would be…would be…well in all honesty she had no idea what to expect when they would reunite again but visiting him in the hospital after suffering a concussion during football practice was not what she had in mind. The romantic in her was expecting something out of The Notebook and them kissing in the rain or Say Anything with Sam holding a boom box over his head singing her a love song.

Mercedes followed the nurse into the room greeted by the sight of Sam lying on the small hospital bed with his eyes closed; a white bandage wrapped around his head.

"Mr Evans?"

Sam's green eyes shot open to see Mercedes standing behind the small nurse biting her lip. The heart monitor betrayed him; his accelerated heartbeat flashed green hills and valleys over the black monitor screen causing a deep crimson blush over the milky skin on his cheeks and nose.

The Asian nurse tried swallowing a smile before she continued speaking.

"You have a visitor." She turned to Mercedes focusing her brown gaze on her. "You and your boyfriend have an hour until visiting time is over."

The word 'boyfriend' caused a jolt in her heart pulsing electricity from her aorta in the left ventricle of her heart down her spine. The word seemed so intimate. Before Mercedes could set the record straight the woman flashed them a smile and disappeared out of the room.

Mercedes watched her leave keeping her gaze on the door trying to ignore Sam's blatant stare. A wave of nervous energy crashed down on her flooding her system with apprehension. A cloud of uncomfortable silence vaporized in the air threatening to suffocate both in its condensed anxiety.

Sam's husky voice was like a windstorm in the small room blowing away the cloud of silence forcing Mercedes to look at him:

"My parents are on their way; Mom thinks I have severe brain damage."

He rolled his eyes.

Mercedes smiled at him.

"Moms worry a lot. I swear I'll be one of those helicopter moms one day too."

The image of Mercedes with his kids caused another publicized flutter in his heart to flash across the monitor. She would be a great mother one day. Rosie dust swept over his cheeks as he made space for her on the small bed.

Mercedes placed her handbag on the chair next to the bed before scooting on the bed next to him. His warm skin brushing against hers shot a numbing warmth through her arm. A soft breeze of his cologne swept over her naval cavity making her mouth water.

"You okay?"She asked seriously studying his face only a few inches away. "You really had me worried."

He gave her a small grin. In his foggy green eyes she could see the lasting effect of the painful blow to the head hidden under the thin layer of humour in his eyes.

"Other than the deafening headache…well, I saw my life flash before my eyes…and it was boring."

Mercedes grinned rolling her eyes.

"You stole that off 'The Amazing World of Gumball', you thief."

A small sigh left his smiling lips as he studies the beauty next to him. Her nonattendance took a toll on his soul. He missed her laughter as sweet and beautiful as chimes. He missed her smile causing lightening volts in his veins. He missed her soft citrus scent washing over his senses like a soft summer breeze. He missed her big brown eyes shining with happiness. He missed her beautiful soul.

"I missed you so much," he whispers. A soft breeze of intimacy swept over each corner of the room.

She bit her soft lips casting her gaze down. As much as the words warmed his heart that still did not change the fact that he was not hers.

"You have a girlfriend."

She felt his gentle fingertips softly press against her chin, his fingerprints tattooing her skin. She looked at him through her lashes, her breath halting on her lips. She swallowed the lump in her throat.

"I broke up with her," he whispered. "I love you, Mercedes and I want to be with you." The sincerity in his eyes caused burning tears in her eyes. "I have to be with you, Mercedes. It's like my soul feels like it has been missing out on something and then you suddenly came into my life with you beautiful bursting soul and I found what I never knew I was missing." He ran his thumb over her full lips staring at them for a few seconds before looking into her eyes. "I want you so much. I love you so much it feels like my heart is gonna burst with the amount of adoration and love for you." He rested his forehead against hers moving his palms to the side of her neck and flooded her with the emotion in his eyes.

Mercedes closed her eyes letting his words wash over her again and again bathing her in warmth. The words took her breath away; the lack of oxygen in her system made her limbs numb. Her heart was hammering in her chest. She bit her lip as she let the words take her higher like a drug.

She prayed for those words for so long. But why did she still have this lingering guilt? Even though Sam broke up with Quinn it did not change the severity of the inappropriate nature of their friendship whilst he was still with Quinn.

She could feel his lips on hers like a soft whisper in the wind. As much as she wanted to taste his soft lips she dreamed of touching with her own for so long, she pulled away opening her eyes.

"I can't, Sam," she whispered.

Confusion and hurt glimmers in his emerald eyes.

"Mercedes, we can finally be together. I'm not with Quinn anymore. There's nothing stopping us."

He leaned into kiss her but she pulled away placing her palm on his chest to stop him from following.

"What we did…what you did to Quinn…it was wrong. We lied, we cheated. It makes me feel awful-"

"I didn't cheat-"

She shook her head slowly. The guilt threatened to drown her.

"Sam we might not have done anything physically but emotionally you cheated on her. We lied about the status of our relationship to her, to our friends and to ourselves even when we knew we were more than just friends." She casts her gaze to his chest. "We both used to pride ourselves on our loyalty and honesty. We lost ourselves and I think that maybe we should not be together if our feelings only leave destruction behind."

He lifted her jaw forcing her to look at him.

"I know how we went about us was not right. What we did sucks but I can't regret my feelings for you…I never will," he said honestly. "I feel bad too Mercedes but you can't punish yourself for falling in love with me."

"But, we were wrong-"

"I know, babe. Call me selfish but I want to be with you," he said. "-karma be dammed."

Mercedes gave a small smile that didn't reach her eyes.

"You don't believe in karma."

"That's why I dammed it," he said before turning serious. "Mercedes, I know you feel bad. I feel bad too but denying ourselves happiness won't make it go away and it won't make us feel any better." He pressed his lips against her forehead wrapping his arms around her.

Mercedes sighed relaxing into him. Her soul, her body and her heart wanted to accept those words but her mind reminded her of her actions. She realized he was right; denying herself of him would not erase the damage done. All she could do was pray for forgiveness.

Mercedes looked up at Sam through a veil of thick black eyelashes seeing the intensity in his green gaze. The hidden shades of blue become visible resembling lightening flashes in his green irises. The world around them disappeared into nothing; no hospital bed, no plugged in machines, no lingering scents of chemicals…just them in that moment.

He leaned closer, his eyes fluttering close and gently pressed his lips against hers like he has been dreaming of doing so long. He could taste the 'Bar One' she had early still linger on her lips.

Mercedes' kissing record had only one name on it: Noah Puckerman. They only shared a few kisses and each one felt awkward to her. Before she imaged her first kiss to be something magical; drumming pulse, warmth and electricity striking in her heart. She was greatly disappointed at the time. She had concluded that maybe she had expected too much in that moment.

But now having Sam press his soft lips against hers for the first time she realized she had expected to little. An electric jolt went off in the small veins on her lips carrying warmth through them into her whole body down to her toes. Sam led her lips in a slow waltz easing her before his tongue crept over the small mounds of flesh into her mouth.

Her heart stopped before sudden bursts of electric fire ignited in its four chambers. She felt his tongue sweep over her taste buds and she had to admit she never tasted anything so delicious. Her heart was going insane in her chest, threatening to break free from the bars of her ribs. Her veins were ablaze. Her body trembling as he ran his hand over her hip and thigh. Her lungs were burning with the need for oxygen but she did not care, she would kiss him until she passed, she did not want this ecstasy to end.

Sam was the one to pull away first. He smiled against her swollen mouth resting his forehead against hers. The sound of his erratic beating heart coming from the monitor drummed through the room.

"I love you."

Sam *cries as he nearly trips over his feet*: Shit, shitty shit!

Aria: Daddy! You said a bad word. I'm gonna tell Mommy. *Gives Sam a disappointed look as she waves her legs back and fro on the shopping cart.*

*Over her shoulder Sam sees the disapproving glare of a judgmental mother shaking her head*

Sam: Mommy does not have to know about that little slip up. If you don't tell her I'll buy you a 'Bar One'.

Aria *puckers lips as she thinks his offer over*: I want a 'Bar One' and-and Oreos and pink marshmallows too.

Sam: If I feed you all that sugar you are not going to fall asleep tonight.

*Aria grins cutely*

Sam *groans*: You are really your mother's child. Okay fine but no telling Mommy about the bad word or the sweets, okay?

Aria* puts hands on mouth shaking her head before struck with another idea*: I also want gummy worms too, Daddy.

Sam *sighs turning the cart around and mumbles*: Between your sweet addiction and your mother's outrages and expensive nursery purchases I am going to end up bankrupt.

Author's Note: I hope you enjoyed and I hope it lived up to expectation. Your reviews are very motivational so thank you for each one. I love hearing your thoughts.