Hey, my loves, I know this chapter is not very long but I just really wanted to give you guys an update so I wrote this quickly. I hoped you all enjoy. Tell me your thoughts.

Her giggles are absorbed by the smooth white skin in the crook of his neck as he runs his fingertips over her middle small middle before sliding down over her generous hips, tickling the smooth skin hidden underneath a layer of clothes. She places her hand on Sam's wordlessly telling him to stop his assault.

They were sprawled on his dorm room floor on top of Sam's duvet and with a bottle of cheap wine and snacks as company. The moon bathed them in its gentle white light as they lost themselves in each other's eyes, both sets shining with joy.

Sam's roommate, Sebastian, went home for the weekend so Sam took the opportunity that presented itself to spend some time with his new girlfriend. However, this thing he had with Mercedes did not feel new at all- it felt as if they were just continuing. They were both deeply in love with each other, they already knew so much about each other that this right here felt just right. Some would be skeptical of the bone-drenching, the intense, passion-filled love he had for the girl currently resting next to him since they have only been officially dating for about two weeks now but Samuel Evans knew that he had found his soulmate at the tender age of twenty-one. He finally found the person God had made specifically with him in mind. He had found his Eve.

Sam peppered her in kisses from her forehead down her neck before stopping at her collarbone. He took a whiff of her jasmine-scented skin allowing her to intoxicate him with her presence. He gently captured the chocolate colored skin between his white teeth and gently sucks realizing he has never tasted anything as delicious. He heard her sharp intake of breath as Mercedes ran her hands through his hair. He swore he could hear her heart drum to the beat of his own .He took a moment to appreciate the fresh mark on her now red skin. Sam was not a man with a dominate personality but Mercedes brought out the caveman in him; there was something about seeing his girl disheveled and panting after he kissed her that did something to his pride. Knowing that he was the only person to see her in this state…it was too hot for words.

Before Mercedes could comment on him marking her, he decided to distract her by serenading her. He gently sang against her skin- the sweet words of the song absorbing through the pores of her skin.

"…But we're gonna start by drinking old cheap bottles of wine,

Sit talking up all night, saying things we haven't for a while

A while yeah

We're smiling but we're close to tears, even after all these years

We just now got the feeling that we're meeting for the first time…"

"This is actually very unfair, you know," she said staring at the ceiling above them. She bit her lip as pure ecstasy made its way through her veins

"What?"Sam mumbled against her skin, tasting her racing pulse on his lips as he spoke on the artery running down her throat.

"You're gorgeous, you -you're talented- I mean, you're art-artistic and you can sing and play the guitar and you're goofy…you're just perfect. I really don't like you sometimes," she said with a pout.

Sam sat up straight with a gentle smile on his face. She followed his lead and sat up straight crossing her legs. He pressed his palms against her cheeks, the warmth sent tingles through the receptors under her skin.

"Well, from my side you're the perfect one." Before Mercedes could roll her eyes Sam continued. "You are beautiful, smart and you have the voice of an angel. You are just perfect."

Mercedes gave her boyfriend a gentle smile. His green eyes shone with such sincerity that it left her breathless. She leaned forward placing her hand on his crossed legs and kissed him attentively savoring ever second of the slow and beautiful kiss. Mercedes knew she would never grow tired of kissing Samuel Evans' beautiful mouth. He was slowly becoming her addiction. He gently licked her taste buds. Her mouth watered. Blood rushed to her head. Her body was on fire. She was soaring.

When she returned back to earth Sam was hovering over her, his hands exploring her uncharted body. The warning bells were pulsating red and shrieking. She felt uncomfortable. She was not used to the unfamiliar physical responses of her body when she was in Sam's presence. It was scary and yet so natural. Things with Samuel always escalated; one minute they were sharing short sweet kisses, the next she underneath Sam panting and on fire.

She pulled away from Sam and closed her eyes trying as she tried catching her breath. She licked her swollen wine-stained lips as she tried regaining control of her body.

"I'm a virgin."

The words left her lips in a breathless rush.

"I kinda figured…" Sam said still straddling her.

"I'm not…ready for that…"She bit her lip shyly staring at his chest rather than his eyes. She has never before been self-conscious about her virginity…maybe because she was never in a relationship.

"Mercedes, you realize that's not why I'm with you…I mean 'that' will be totally epic between us…" he grins and Mercedes recognized that far away not-so-innocent look in his eyes before he continues. "…but I love you and I respect you. I'm willing to wait for you, okay."

Mercedes smiled as she wrapped her arms around his neck. She pulled him down and pressed the sweetest of kisses on his lips.

"You are so sweet…"

"You are worth all the cold showers and blue balls."

"I really needed that image," she said sarcastically.

He grinned as he strokes her nose with his own…

Mercedes enters the living room after disconnecting her call with Kurt in another room to find the whole Evan's family gathering together watching with interest as Aria-ever the architect, studies her blanket fort from a distance before giving her builder- who she also calls 'Daddy', orders on how to perfect their blanket building. They did not seem to notice her presence.

"Where is Barbie going to sleep?" She asks running a critical eye over the multi-coloured blackest.

"Outside," Sam said trying to humor his daughter who was playing with her thick curls as yawned.

"Nooo! Barbie is gonna get cold, Daddy. You should build him a doggy house," she says as she sits down on the carpet looking at Sam expectantly.

"You're going to help, right?" he asked the little diva who was the perfect blend of him and her beautiful mother.

"Princess don't do work," his father said with a grin.

Aria's green, eyes that mirrored his own, lighted up as she nodded at her 'Granpaw 'Wight. She stood up from her position next to Sam on the brown carpet only to jump on her grandfather's lap. Dwight kissed her curls and gently rocks her back and forth on his lap. Mary, next to her husband, placed a kiss on the girl's cheek eliciting a giggle from her as she .

"Dad, you're going to turn her into a spoiled brat," Sam complained not liking that he was getting ganged up on. "We don't want another Stacey on our hands."

His only sister responded by throwing a pillow at his face.

"I'm only telling the truth!"

"You're the spoilt brat!"

"Am not!"

"Yes, you are!"

Seconds later Sam and Stacey were playful wrestling on the carpet whilst Aria was arguing with her Uncle Stevie about who was going to win the WWE smack down. Aria of course firmly believed in her father whilst Stevie betted on Stacey just to agitate the four-year-old. He found it adorable when she started arguing as she tried finding words in her limited vocabulary to insist that she was right and you were wrong. Her nose would scrunch up, her eyebrows would furrow and she would pout.

Mercedes could not ignore the wrenching guilt tightening its hold around her heart. The Evans adored Aria and that knowledge made her feel worse. At the time it felt right but now Mercedes realized just how she not only wronged them but also her little girl who seemed to adore her father's family.

They finally noticed her silent staring. Mary gave her a soft smile.

"Everything okay, Mercedes?"

Mercedes could still not understand how the Evans could even stand to be in the same room as her, much less forgive her. She gave the woman a small nod as she entered the room.

"Mommy, tell Uncle Stevie Daddy is gonna win, right Mommy, daddy is gonna win?" She asked looking at her with expectant eyes.

Mercedes grinned.

"I think Aunty Stacey might win."

"Mommy!"

"Thank you, Aria…at least I have your support," Sam said pretending to be offended as he sat on his thin sister's back. Underneath him, Stacey lay groaning as she complained about how he needed to lose weight.

Aria jumped off her grandfather's lap with a big yawn. She walked towards her mother and lifted her arms silently asking her to pick her up.

"I'm tired, Mommy."

Mercedes picked up the little girl and pressed her tightly against her. The small girl hid her face in her neck.

"Let's go tuck you in," Mercedes said into her hair.

"I want you and Daddy to tell me a story, Mommy," Aria said looking at the blonde man with expectation burning in her gaze. Mercedes tried not to tense up at the prospect of having to share a bed with Sam and Aria until the girl fell asleep. The image of a young family sprawled together on the queen sized the Evans offered for her and Aria, was too intimate for her heart to handle.

Sam would never be able to deny any of Aria's requests so he got off his sister. Stacey rubbed her ribs as she glared at her brother as Mercedes told Aria to wish them all a goodnight which she did as she opened her arms so that her father could take her.

She followed behind Sam trying to keep her eyes from wandering to Sam's buttocks. The material of his pajama boxers hugged the curve of his butt. Mercedes focused her gaze on Aria who was staring at her over Sam's shoulders. Mercedes stuck her tongue out at Aria. Aria grinned and stuck her small tongue out at her mother, her green eyes shone with mirth. Mercedes pulled a face which caused the girl to giggle as she buries her face into her father's neck.

"Hey, what's with all the giggling?" Sam asked. "I want to be part of the fun too."

Aria grinned at her father as he entered their room. Sam gentle threw her on the bed and watched her small body bounce up from the mattress as her sweet laughter fills the air. Sam then picked her up and tucked her in the middle of the bed before crawling in next to her. Mercedes did the same on her other side prompting the girl to snuggle her back into her chest and looked at her father silently.

Sam pushed his luck and wrapped his arm around Mercedes' shoulder, caging Aria between them. Mercedes threw him a look but didn't shrug him off- probably because of Aria. Sam has noticed that when they were around Aria, Mercedes was on her best behavior, no smart remarks or glares. He took advantage of those opportunities without shame.

"Okay, once upon a time long, long ago-" Sam began only to be interrupted.

"How long ago, Daddy?"

"Uhm…a while ago?" Sam answered taken aback slightly as he watched Mercedes try to swallow a laugh.

"How long ago is that, Daddy?"

Sam quickly scrambled for an answer. "Uhm….a hundred years ago…But that's not important. What's important is the story…so don't interrupt."

Aria pretended to zip her mouth shut and lock it. She proceeded to offer the imaginary key to Sam as she offered him her closed fist. Sam smiled at the cuteness and pretended to take the invisible key from her.

"Okay, so once upon a time long, long ago there lived a beautiful princess," Sam said as he watched her sleepy eyes widen with interest after hearing the word 'princess'. "The princess was the prettiest princess in the land. She had skin as brown as pools of sweet chocolate, eyes that shone like the stars in the night sky and a smile that could melt the heart of the ugliest and meanest ogre in the land. This beautiful princess' name was Mercedia."

Mercedes rolled her eyes at the man who was painting vivid pictures with his words alone. She tried her best to keep a smile of her face.

"Now, Mercedia stole the heart of a pirate named Samtheus-"

"Wow, subtle."

"Who's telling the story, Mercedia?" Sam asked "No commentary from the peanut gallery."

"Mommy does not like peanuts. They make Mommy sick," Aria said.

Sam gently poked the girl in her side eliciting a laugh from her.

"You're mouth is still locked, missy."

"Sorry."

"Now, Samtheus had to leave the beautiful Princess Mercedia behind because he had to go on another voyage to find gold in a distant land to offer to King Daveed to show he was worthy enough for Princess Mercedia's hand in marriage," Sam said. "On a cold night, he paid his love one last visit promising her that he would return for her and marry her so that they could have a beautiful baby named Alia…"

"That's almost like my name, Dad-"

Before she could finish her sentence, Sam poked her in the ribs again only to have her giggle and try moving away from his fingers.

"Anyway, Samtheus kissed his true love goodbye before leaving for the open seas at the crack of dawn the next morning. Samtheus was away from his love for months, searching for a large enough booty to take back to Princess Mercedia's father. After months of collecting treasure from all the seas, Samtheus realized that there would never be enough gold in all the world to bring to the king that would show the worth of his daughter. So Samtheus returned to Clevelantia to give the king all the gold he has collected and told him that no amount of gold could ever determine the worth of his beautiful daughter. But…" Sam paused before continuing with a dark voice that Evan had Mercedes intrigued. "…when Samtheus returned for his love, he was told by the very sad King and Queen that Princess Mercedes was kidnapped by an ugly beast. The beast had a big head and a snout that housed hundreds of ugly sharp teeth. And his eyes were as red as chillies. The beast's name was Matthewus-ugly-face-stinky-breath-gross-teeth."

Mercedes glared at Sam, not amused in the slightest.

"So, the brave, funny, charismatic, amazing, athletic, awesome pirate Samtheus decided to go save his princess from the claws of Matthewus-ugly-face-stinky-breath-gross-teeth. He grabbed his sword and went into the dark woods to find her. He tracked through the woods for days until he found the beast's castle. It was covered with thorns and just pure evilness," Sam said before pretending to shiver at the imagery. His voice dropped as he continued the story providing to it concealed malice. "The handsome pirate sliced through the thorn-covered vines until he reached the big doors of the mansion. He opened the squeaky door only to find the ugly beast waiting for him with its ugly fangs bared…"

Mercedes waited for Sam to continue the story- that even had her slightly interested, but he never did. He just silently looked at her with those grassland eyes that one could easily get lost in.

"And? Are you going to continue."

He smirked.

"Patience, my young grasshopper, the story is 'To Be Continued'. Aria is fast asleep" He ran his hand through her hair. "Spoiler alert- Samtheus and Mercedia end up together."

Mercedes growls lowly as she gets up from the bed careful not to wake their daughter who was softly snoring.

"Stop trying to be cute, Sam and that story was not funny-"

"Hey, it's my story-"

"-and it was also inappropriate and-"

"-and the names used were purely coincidental-"

"-frankly, it's childish of you."

Aria groaned before popping her thumb in her mouth. Both Sam and Mercedes froze as the girl wiggled around the bed until she found a comfortable position against Sam's chest.

"Like I said, Sam," her voice drops a few octaves as. "-that was not funny. You need to stop."

Sam sighed before placing a kiss on Aria forehead. A could of silence condenses in the air as Sam studies his daughter. He noticed the almost unnoticeable six freckles dusted over her small button nose.

"So, you're dating Matt now."

It was not a question. It was a statement.

"That's none of your business."

He raised a brow.

"I think we both now, it's my business, Mercedes."

Mercedes tried her best to blink away the image of them three days ago in the rain. She could still feel his heart drumming against her chest. She could still feel his drenched skin pressing against her own. She could still taste his swollen delicious lips

"It's complicated."

She rolled her eyes. She had no idea why she said it…but for some reason she could not lie to him. Things with Matthew were complicated. She told him that she wanted to ease into the thing…or whatever they had. She wanted to take it slow…but the thing is…they haven't even gone on a date yet and Mercedes knew once she returned home, that would be the first thing on the agenda…and truthfully it scared her but also pissed her off. It pissed her off that Sam could get into her head like that. She knew for a fact that if Sam was not in the picture, whispering doubts in her ear, she would have happily jumped into a relationship with Matt. He was everything she wanted for her and Aria; stability, love, familiarity and trust. He would look after them and love Aria like his own. But then Sam came and he made her doubt but she refused to act upon the doubt. Mercedes Jones was a stubborn woman and she would make it work with Matt. She would and she would be damn happy too; her heart would have no choice but to be freaking happy.

"Why?"

Mercedes kept her gaze on Aria.

"It just is."

"He makes you feel safe," Sam whispered. Mercedes' eyes snapped to Sam, slightly taken aback by the words. "I mean- he's a soldier. He screams safety and security." Sam shrugs. "I get it. You need stability and somebody to keep your heart safe…" He paused and looks at her. He really looks at her. "And you'll find it with Matt, I guess. You might get married and your marriage will be…'fine'…just 'fine' for years until you're like, forty-five and all the children are out of the house and he retires from his dignified position as sergeant or something in the military, you will finally be forced to actually spend time with your husband for the first time. You're going to look at him and all the memories you have made with him."

She watched him gently get off the bed running his hand through Aria's hair for the last time before leaning against the wall on the other side of the wall with his arms crossed over his chest.

"You are going to think of nights wrapped in each other's arms getting drunk on cheap bottles of wine. You going to think of the time you broke into the community swimming pool to skinny dip. You are going to think of the time he dared you to smoke a joint and much to his surprise you actually did it and how he had to walk around in an 'I Love Justin Bieber' shirt because you did smoke that joint. The worst part of it all is that all those memories will fill your mind and you will realize that you did not make those beautiful and fun memories with your husband but you made them with me all those years ago. The thing is you're too alike the two of you and he won't push you out of your comfort zone and release 'Fun-Reckless-Mercedes. And Fun-Reckless-Mercedes is going to slowly die as the years go by. You are going to realize that your marriage is nothing but comfortable...and mundane." He pauses for a minute allowing her to marinate in his words. "And knowing you, you'll preserve and stay married because you don't believe in divorce. You'll never believe in divorce so you will stay married until the day you die."

Mercedes was left speechless. She watches him slowly make his way to her until he is in front of her invading her personal space bubble.

"I love you. You and I both know we will make a beautiful life together which we can look back on one day and laugh, cry and argue about. We will watch our children grow up and have children of their own. We will die old with laugh wrinkles on our faces."

Sam pressed his lips to her cheek, lingering there for a few seconds allowing her to breathe him in.

"Goodnight, my Mercedia."

She watched him turn and leave the room.

Goodbye, Samtheus.

Sam *groans into the pillow as he hears cries through the baby monitor*: Mercedes-

Mercedes *she kept her gaze on the magazine in her hand*: No

Sam: But-

Mercedes: It's your turn.

Sam: But it's your baby.

Mercedes *raised a brow*: How come the baby magically becomes only mine when he cries but when he's acting all cute you take all the glory.

Sam: Because, I'm to blame for the cuteness and you're to blame to for his dramatic outbursts and cries of attention…that's just how it is.

Mercedes *not amused at all*: Go check on your son, Sam, and while you're at it check if Aria is still asleep.

Sam *groans as he stretches on the bed*: Mercedes-

Mercedes: Sam.

Sam *pouts as he mumbles incoherent words*

Mercedes *continues reading the latest celebrity rumor*: Or you can just sleep outside for a few weeks. The grass is so comfortable this time of the year.