"Should you be going back to work so soon?"

"Its been one week." Mercedes answered as she placed her items in her bag, looking at the clock on the radio, "The doctor said that I was cleared to go back."

"I know but your mom and I think you should just wait it out for a few more days."

"Daddy, I can't stop my life because of what happened. I'm fine, I promise you.

"We can't help but worry. We almost lost you, Mercedes."

Mercedes sighed as she got out of her truck, grabbing her bag and placing it on her shoulder. Locking her doors, she began walking up the steps, "I know but I need you both to not worry, please. I can't stay locked in my apartment or my depression will literally worsen."

Her father sighed, rubbing his temples, "Just please take care of yourself and if you need to go home, do so."

"I will, Daddy. I love you."

"I love you too. Call me when you get off."

"Okay." She replied before hanging up her phone. Opening the door, she headed straight for the office to clock in, greeting everyone as she did. She checked her mailbox before exiting out and making her way down the hallway, smiling when she saw her friend and colleague walking towards her.

"Brown Sugar Cinnamon Latte with one shot of expresso."

"Thank you Santana." She gratefully took the cup from her, "You're a God send."

Santana smiled as she walked beside her, "I didn't expect you to be coming back so soon. How are you?"

"I'm doing much much better, can't say the same about my parents. They're freaking out about me being back at work but not only that, they call me every twenty minutes."

"Cut them some slack, babe. They could've lost you."

Mercedes sighed as she came to a stop in front of Santana's classroom, reaching her hand to grab something out of her bag, "I know."

Santana turned to side when she noticed someone she didn't see earlier, an eyebrow raised as at the familiar face, "Isn't that your paramedic?"

Mercedes grabbed her keys, face twisting up at her question before turning her face to where she was looking, finding the man sitting outside of her classroom in a chair, "What is he doing here? How did he find me?"

"Probably the same way you found him." Santana said matter of factly as she stared at the man in the uniform before her eyes went back to her, "Maybe I should introduce myself."

"No, no you shouldn't. You might scare him away." Mercedes side-eyed her friend before making her way towards him, not seeing the smirk that Santana was giving her. As she got closer to her room, she watched as he turned in her direction and stood up, "Hi."

"Hey, sorry to drop in unannounced. Do you have a few minutes to talk?"

"Sure." She responded with a smile as she placed her key in the door, pushing it open and turning on the lights, "Give me a minute to set up."

Sam followed behind her and took in the room. She was most definitely a Science Teacher, observing the decorations and taking that note that she not only taught first grade, but also second and third as well. He watched as she sat her things down on her desk before she turned to the board and grabbed a marker. He went over and sat in one of the desk, watching as she wrote down the assignments, the date and an inspirational quote.

"So..." She started as she turned around after writing what she needed, "What can I do for you, Mr. Evans?"

"Sam, please." He said teasingly, remembering how she insisted he call her by her first name. He watched as she giggled before rounding her desk, leaning against the front of it, "Remember when you said that you owe me big?"

"Mhm." Mercedes stared at him before crossing her arms over her chest, "Already trying to cash in? And here I thought you saving me was a good deed."

Sam could tell that it was in a jokingly manner and he couldn't help but continue the playful banner, "Of course, but I do plan to collect all accolades for it, starting with the brownies."

"More? Were they that good?"

"I wouldn't know. They were stolen from me as soon as you left."

Mercedes laughed as she shook her head, hearing the sound of kids starting to come down the hallways. She looked at the man in front of her before picking up her cup and taking a sip, "I can't believe you came all the way down here for that."

"Actually, I didn't." He said more seriously as he stood up, clearing his throat, "In all seriousness, I came here to ask you if you would like to go out with me sometime?"

Mercedes was definitely caught off guard and didn't have the chance to answer right then as the voices of her kids coming into the room broke their eye contact and conversation. She took her attention off of Sam and looked at them, smiling, "Good morning babies."

"Good morning Ms. Jones."

Sam smiled at the chorus of the greeting, the eyes of the miniatures looked at him skeptically as they went and placed their things in their cubbies. He watched as one little boy came and sat in his desk, confused to why he was mean mugging him.

"Who are you?"

Mercedes gave him a look, indicating that he needed to fix his tone, "Everyone, this is Mr. Sam. He's the paramedic..."

Before she could finish, the girl that Sam remembered helping, whose name was Juliette, spoke, "Hey, you're that man that saved Ms. Jones and fixed my leg."

"Yes I am. How is your leg feeling, ma'am?"

"Feeling much better, sir."

Mercedes laughed as she shook her head, watching the rest of the girls huddle together, giggling with red tinted cheeks, "Y'all are so giggly this morning."

Another girl, MaKayla, raised her hand and spoke as she looked at the man, "Are you Ms. Jones' boyfriend?"

"I'm trying to get there."

"No." Mercedes interrupted as they spoke at the same time, not missing his comment as she felt herself began to get a little flustered as she grabbed a permanent marker off her desk, "Take out your workbooks and homework."

"But Ms. Jones..."

"No buts." Mercedes gave them all a look, watching as they let out a collective sigh before doing as they were told, "Five minutes."

Sam's hand went down to his radio, turning it down when a call went out, "I should get going but while you're deciding on your answer about the date." He stopped at the door and turned around, raising a brow, "Can I still get some more of those brownies regardless of your decision?"

Mercedes smiled at him as she grabbed ahold of his hand, "I'll do you one better." She took the Sharpie that was in her left hand and wrote her number in the inside of his palm, "You can get both."

Sam smiled at her as he stepped back, lifting his hand, "I'll be calling."

"Be safe out there, Sam." She said as she closed the door, turning back around to her students, "Alright, homework check."


The same afternoon of the anticipated date, Sam had stopped by his parents house for a minute because he haven't had a chance to see them in awhile. When he arrived, he saw that his brother and his wife was there, along with his parents, in the dining room eating. He went around and greeted everyone, his mother holding on to him a little tightly.

"You don't do that anymore, Sam. I was worried sick when Stefan told me."

"I wouldn't have had to if you know, the firefighters did their jobs."

Stefan dropped the fork on his plate and glared at his brother, "From our point of view, there was no way we could've gotten her out."

"Then why is she out and alive now?" Sam countered, watching as his brother rolled his eyes, "I-"

"The important thing is that she's okay." Their mother cut in, her eyes going to Sam when she took notice that he kept looking at his watch, "You have somewhere to be son?"

"I do actually." Sam as he cut him a piece of pie and wrapped it in a napkin, "I just wanted to drop in and say hi. I have a date tonight."

"Color me surprised." Natalie said with a smile as she leaned forward with interest, "Who is she?"

Sam smiled as he looked at her, shaking his head, "No, no, no. I'm not telling y'all anything for a good while. Y'all will not get a chance to run her off."

"I highly doubt we'll do that." Sam's father cut in, watching as his son gave him a knowing look, "I know I wouldn't."

"Yeah but your wife most definitely would."

"I digress that claim. I just want you to find somebody that's right for you. You can't blame me for speaking my mind on your past mistakes."

Sam grunted lowly at the mention of his exes, "Yeah, I got to get going."

"I bet it's the girl from the farmer's market, she's been trying like hell to get you to go out with her. She seems nice...kind of desperate but nice."

"Like I said." Sam started as he made his way out, turning around briefly, "I'm not telling. Have a great night."


Sam and Mercedes had been texting and talking on the phone all week. Not only were they getting to know one another better, but Sam was also using what he was learning to get a feel of what he should do for their date. He didn't want to do the movies because they wouldn't have much of a chance to talk or go to a typical dinner date because that was expected. After going back and forth, he decided to take her bowling. He had every intention of picking her up but she told him that she had already taken an Uber due to the fact that she had an errand to run before their date. Once he parked his truck, he got out and locked his doors, stepping onto the sidewalk. He spotted her with her back turned, watching as she placed her phone into her purse, "You know, you really put a damper on me being a gentleman and picking you up." He greeted, watching as she turned around, giving her a smile.

"I know but at least you'll be able to take me home." Mercedes smiled as she leaned forward and greeted him with a hug, "Hi."

"Hi." He pulled back before he went and opened the door for her, "I hope you wasn't waiting long."

"I wasn't."

"Good. So, how do you feel about bowling?"

"Love it." Mercedes responded as they came to the counter where they had to pay and got their shoes. Once Sam did, she thanked the girl when she handed her the shoes, making their way over to their lane and sitting area. Once Mercedes got her shoes on and tied, she went and put her and Sam's name on the screen, "Just so you know, I'm really competitive."

"So am I." He stood up from the couch just as she turned around, "How about a friendly bet?"

"I like winning those too." She smirked when he laughed, "Winner gets to pick the next date?"

"Already thinking about date number two with me, Ms. Jones? Wow." Sam teased, taking notice to her blushing, "Loser pays?"

Mercedes held her hand out, prompting Sam to grab ahold so they could shake on it, "Deal."

Sam reluctantly let go of her hand and watched as she stuck her fingers in the three holes, picking the ball and and bringing it to her chest, going forward for letting it release.

Perfect form. Perfect roll. Strike.

Mercedes turned around and raised a brow at him, "Hope you're ready for this butt whopping."

She had no idea.


After three rounds of bowling, Sam had ended up winning the last two, leaving Mercedes in shock at how actually good he was. He never puffed his smoke like she did and she was starting to regret ever doing so. They had decided to go to this Mexican restaurant that was right across the street, walking with their hands intertwine.

"Butt whooping you say?"

Mercedes pursed her lips at him as she slid into the booth, watching as the man sat in front of her with a smug expression as the hostess sat the menus down in front of them, "You lucked up."

"Oh really?"

"Yes, really." She said as she opened the menu and covered her face with it.

Sam laughed at how frustrated she was, finding it strikingly adorable that she got this mad when she lost. He didn't bother to open the menu, already knowing what he wanted, so he planned to continue on with the teasing, "How about we make a deal? Since you've already claimed a second date..."

Mercedes moved the menu from her face and gave him a look, "Don't get cocky."

"You can plan the second date and I'll pay." Sam continued, ignoring her words with a grin plastered on his face.

"Fifty fifty, it's only fair. I'll pay this time." Mercedes saw that look on his face, prompting her to let a small smile grace her lips, "Please tell me you're not the type of man who wants to pay for everything every time."

"I am and I most definitely wasn't going to let you pay if you won that bet. That's just how I was raised and I'm not apologizing for it."

"There's nothing wrong with it at all, but I like to contribute too." Mercedes countered as she took a sip of her drink before continuing, "This is where we clash, I guess."

Sam let out a laugh before shaking his head, "No, I can respect it but don't expect me to like it."

Mercedes smiled at him, looking over to side when their waitress came to get their meal orders. After ordering what they wanted, she took up the menus and went to put them in, "I can't believe we didn't talk about this over this week but do you have any siblings?"

"A brother" Sam answered as he opened his straw and placed it in his water, "How about you?"

"I'm an only child."

"Really? And how is that?"

Mercedes sat her cup down and linked at him, "For the longest, I wanted a sibling but it turned out to be not so bad. Thankfully I wasn't that lonely because my cousin lived across the street but I think it plays a big part in why I want to have a big family of my own."

"We're like two peas in a pod because I really want a big family as well."

"Duly noted."

A smirked quirked up at the corner of his mouth, "I know you said you loved nature and all things that involved science growing up but how did becoming a teacher come again?"

"I was so curious about to natural world growing up, nothing else interested me. I wanted to share my love for it with others." She smiled as she took a sip of her lemonade before speaking again, "How about you? What made you want to save lives on the daily?"

"That's what the doctors do, I'm the middle man to make sure that they get there in enough time."

Mercedes shook her head in disagreement, "Don't downplay what you do. Being a first responder is just as important as being a doctor."

Sam smiled a bit before he continued, her words impacting him more than she realized, "Childhood trauma actually. A kid in our neighborhood had an asthma attack, parents weren't home and his pump was empty, along with his backups. He was lifeless when they arrived but the paramedics worked and worked to get him to breath again. When we thought it was over for him, he started breathing again. It was saddening and scary but it made me want to be able to help others just like they did that day."

"Wow." Was all that came out of her mouth. He was legitimately so caring, it was heartwarming to hear, "That's so amazing, wow."

Sam just smiled at her as they stared at each other for the longest until it was broken by the waitress brining their food, that consists of queso and guacamole dip, blackened shrimp and beef birria tacos, that ended up with them sampling each other's.


The rest of evening went so well, and they spent it just talking. Before they knew it, they restaurant was about to closed, prompting them to finally get up and head home. The ride to Mercedes' apartment was in a comfortable silence, while the heater blasted to warm the coldness of the truck. When Sam pulled into the parking lot, he got out and went to the other side to open the door for her, helping her out.

Mercedes gloved hand held on to his as they walked to the building, thanking him when he opened the door. Luckily, she lived on the first floor, so they didn't have to go far. She couldn't believe this night had flown by so quickly, she really didn't want it to end, "I had a really nice time tonight." She shared as she looked at him with a smile, "Learned a lot about my hero too."

Sam didn't want this night to end. Everything he thought about Mercedes was confirmed. She was super sweet, smart, funny and beautiful inside and out. Hearing her words, he laughed a short bit as they stopped in front of her door, shaking his head, "Far from a hero."

"You're humbled and that's great but you really are mine. And I don't want you to think that it's the only reason I said yes to this date is because you saved my life because it's not. I really feel a connection and wanted to see if I was still filled with smoke or not." She said seriously as she tilted her head, grabbing ahold of his hands, "You're an amazing person, Sam, inside and out."

"But?"

"No buts, I just wanted you to know that."

Sam couldn't help but stare into her eyes, "You're an amazingly strong, sweet and beautiful woman, Mercedes."

Mercedes stared at him for a moment before leaning forward, tilting her head up as she placed her lips on top of his.

Sam was the one who broke the kiss after awhile. He knew the type of woman she was and her morals, she didn't have to voice them for him to respect them. He left a small kiss to end it.

"I don't kiss on the first date, but you're obviously an exception." She mumbled breathlessly as she moved back slowly, a smile gracing her lips as she opened her door, "Goodnight Sam."

"Goodnight Mercedes." He sent her a lopsided grin before she turned away and went inside of her apartment, waiting until he heard her lock it before walking away.