November 2020

"Okay, Sam. So why don't you run me through why you think you're here?"

In his chair, Sam rubbed the back of his neck. "I lied. And I kept the lie a lot longer than I should've."

"That's why you're here? Or is that why Mercedes wants you here?"

He shrugged. "I guess the second one."

"So then why are you here?"

Sam's mouth tried to form words but to no avail.

"Okay. How about we start off with something a little easier? Do you consider your relationship with Mercedes to be an honest one outside of this incident?"

"I do, yeah."

"Then I have to wonder why you would feel the need to 'lie' to her, as you said, in the first place."

"I didn't think any of it mattered until it presented itself as a problem. But after that point, I just wanted to protect her. She was going through a lot."

"So, you truly didn't mean to harm her. You obviously love her. You wanted to make things easier and not harder?"

"Exactly." Sam looked down at his feet. "I just didn't know it would blow up in my face like that. Or that it would hurt her so badly. Granted, I also didn't know that she was putting on her private investigator hat, but I still should've told her. That would've prevented all of this in the first place. I know that now."

"Do you think she was justified in what she said and what she did?"

"Well, Dr. Green, I'm not in her mind. I don't understand what she's feeling, so I can't say she's not justified. Mercedes and I, we both feel things really strongly and we both act with our hearts before our heads, as much as she likes to convince herself otherwise."

"Mercedes has quite the," Dr. Green searched for the word, "reputation, no? Do you think she has an attitude or maybe she's overreacting? Do you think maybe she's just a diva?"

Sam sat up at this. "No, I don't. And I would thank you not to use those words when referring to her."

"Understood." She looked at him, signaling for him to go on.

"Sure, she has a reputation because of who she is and the way she looks, but other people's perceptions of her aren't indicative of who she actually is."

"Other people's perceptions?"

"People think that certain things about her give them the right to make decisions on what she's like and make certain judgments, but it doesn't. Mercedes is one of the kindest, most loving, most understanding people you'll ever meet. Sure, nobody's perfect and she has her moments, but no more than anyone else. And she's not a diva, either. Not in that way. She wasn't overreacting, she just knew what she thought was called for and she did it."

"So, you agree with her when she said that the two of you and your relationship were broken? And the engagement was just a rouse to make everything seem okay?"

"At first, I didn't." He shook his head. "At the moment, I thought she was just hurt and confused with everything that was happening. But the more I think about what she said and spend some time with it… I don't know. It doesn't not make sense."

"Do you want to elaborate on that for me?" Dr. Green readied her notepad and pen.

Sitting back, Sam said, "We've hurt each other. We've hurt other people. I pushed her to hurt someone else."

"You're talking about," Dr. Green looked in her notebook, "Shane, right? The high school boyfriend?"

"One of them, yeah. I knew she was with Shane, but I went after her. I wanted her and thought she would be with me."

"But, don't you think her infidelity should be on her? Let's say this thing with you and Dani had gone further, purposefully or not. If she doesn't blame herself for that, how could she blame you for this?"

"But she did blame herself for what happened with Shane. Hard. She never directed any of that blame at me, even though I actively pursued her when she told me to stop. Mercedes is someone who takes responsibility and accountability for things, even if she's not the only person to blame." He paused. "I know that. I always have. And I let her do it then and I let her do it in New York and now, by lying, I've unknowingly let her do it again. And we keep going in these circles over and over again. The same routine, all without any real sit-downs or repercussions, so yeah. I understand what she meant and I agree with her."

"Okay." Dr. Green made some more notes. "Let's move onto another thing that caught my attention. This whole 'secret love' thing."

"What about it?"

"You just mentioned that you and Mercedes have these routines. Would you not say that that's another one of them? A routine in which you want to go public with your relationship and she shuts you down? If so, how does that make you feel?"

"I mean… I guess. I feel like that's a little oversimplified."

"How so?"

"Well, it's not just that she shuts me down. She has her reasons. Some of them I've mentioned, some of them I haven't. But she's not ready and I respect that."

"Okay, Sam." Dr. Green closed her notebook and set it to the side, sitting up in her chair. "In order to get the best out of these sessions, you're going to have to stop focusing on Mercedes."

He frowned. "What?"

"We're talking about how her never wanting to share the news of your relationship makes you feel, but Mercedes is not the focal point here. She's not in the room, you don't have her on the phone, she moved out, so you don't even see her every day anymore, and there's currently nothing to protect her from, so other than how her actions affect you, your answer shouldn't have anything to do with her. This is about you."

"I thought you weren't here to judge me. You said that the first time we walked into your office."

"I'm not. But I am here to identify patterns and give you honest advice on how to stop them if they're destructive."

Sam shook his head. "I don't think that thinking of Mercedes is a destructive pattern."

"You can think that or not. But Sam," Dr. Green spoke calmly as always. "You can either think about yourself and approach our session in a constructive way, or choose to focus on Mercedes, neglect your needs, and eventually tear your relationship to shreds. Now, I don't want that for you and I'm certain you don't either. So, I'll ask you again: How does it make you feel that Mercedes often forgoes your wants because she thinks that her wants are better for the both of you?"


Some days later

Michelle shook her head as she read the thermometer. "Still warm."

"Oh, come on," Mercedes groaned. She was on day 4 of some illness and was far from enjoying it.

"Did you have your flu shot yet? Flu season started early this year, you know."

"I did. It's mandatory for all employees at McKinley."

Michelle frowned as she sat down in the chair across from the foot of the bed. "I thought you said you weren't working there?"

"I'm already there with the kids every day and Mr. Schue and I have an understanding. I have to follow certain employee rules. That includes getting my flu shot."

"Are you being paid an employee's salary to go with those demands?"

"Mom, please don't start, okay?" Mercedes laid back in bed and pulled the covers up to her neck.

"Why? Don't feel well?" Michelle asked with a smirk, knowing the answer.

Mercedes pursed her lips at her mother, refusing to expose herself. She didn't feel great, but she was fine. Much better than the days prior. "Can I at least go to his room?"

Michelle scoffed. "Girl, have you lost your mind?"

"Why not?" She whined.

"You know why not. Your dad is undergoing chemo and not to mention, still recovering from major surgery. The slightest infection could take an enormous toll on him. And you still have a fever, which means that whatever you've got is still contagious."

"Mom, 99º is barely a fever."

"Not when you normally run at 97, it's not."

Mercedes tilted her head a little. "How did you know I normally run at 97?"

It was Michelle's turn to purse her lips. "I'm your mom, Mercedes. We may not have the best relationship now, but I did help raise you for a solid 18 years. Remember that? I was there for every case of the cold, flu, strep throat, mono, you name it. I know when my baby girl has a fever."

'My baby girl.' Mercedes might've been chilly under the cover, but she'd be damned if it didn't warm her heart to hear her mother call her that again. Her dad wasn't the only person to do it. In fact, her mom started calling her that first. But as it happened with everything else, by the time she turned 16, something shifted. She could count on one hand how many times she'd heard it from her since then. They weren't completely over everything that had happened between Michelle and Sam; Mercedes had half the mind to go to her mom and put her foot down and for all. But instead, she went to her calmly, Michelle apologized to both her and Sam, and she and Mercedes were officially working on mending their relationship. When she heard about what happened with Sam, she reminded Mercedes that she always had her childhood home to come back to if she needed it, and that's just what she did.

Despite breaking off their engagement, neither Mercedes nor Sam could bring themselves to end things. They stayed together and she decided to continue working with the glee kids while she was still in town helping her dad on his road back to health. That meant seeing Dani everyday, oftentimes in the same room as her and Sam. She couldn't stop thinking about what could've happened, what would've happened if Sam hadn't told her about them when he did. Before long, it literally pained her just to hold his hand, spend time with him, or even lay next to him in bed at night. They were so strained, but trying (and failing) to push through. They were doing what they had always done: trying to act as if nothing happened and return to business as usual. But she couldn't do that. She was hurt and she needed space. So, two weeks after they broke off the engagement, Mercedes moved all of her things out of Sam's house and into her parents', who welcomed her with open arms. They were still together, but she just couldn't be around both him and Dani all day and then him all evening and night.

As per usual, Sam was completely understanding, not putting up a fight when she wanted to leave and offering to help her move her things. He understood that he hurt her and that she needed her space. They wanted to seriously work on themselves and their relationship, so they decided to do some individual and couple's therapy. Technically it was her idea, but Sam was eager to try anything he could to not lose her again. It was time to finally put a cast of their broken bone of a relationship instead of a band-aid, to use her own analogy.

Mercedes was going to crack a joke, but instead she just gave her mom a small, closed-mouth smile and sank deeper into her covers.

Michelle stood up. "I'm about to head to work. Do you need anything before I go?"

She shook her head. "I'm going to take a shower and find something to eat. Then I'll probably just come back to bed."

"Okay. I'll let you know when I'm about to come home just in case you need something while I'm out."

"I can always go get something myself, you know."

"Mmhmm," Michelle hummed. Her daughter was probably not going to leave that bed except to do the things she just mentioned. "I'll see you tonight."

Mercedes wasted no time in getting out of bed, hoping that the sooner she got up and about, the sooner she would feel better.

After taking her shower, she went to the kitchen and was surprised at what she found waiting for her. A thermos filled with tea and a note:

Ginger with honey and lemon. Made more chicken soup last night, it's on the stove. Try not to eat it all in one day. -Mom

Mercedes couldn't believe she was saying this, but she was pleasantly surprised with her mom once again. This was truly the start of a new chapter for them.

As she was drinking her tea, there was a knock at the door. She went over to it and smiled when she saw who was on the other side. "Hi."

"Hey," Sam said. He went in for a kiss, but she stopped him.

"I'm still contagious, so you might not wanna do that."

He gently wrapped his arm around her waist and brought her in for a kiss on her forehead.

"What are you doing here?" she asked when they separated.

He shrugged. "Just stopping by on my way to work."

She raised her brow at him. "Sam, my house is not on the way to McKinley from yours. It's actually quite out of the way."

He let out a quiet laugh and rubbed the back of his neck. "Yeah, I just kind of wanted to come and see you."

"Babe, you don't need an excuse to come and see me." She shook her head. "Do you want to come in?"

"No, no, I'm going to be late as it is. Also, I'm not sure if I should in general." He wanted to ensure that she had all the space she needed and coming in didn't exactly scream 'giving you space'.

Feeling a chill, Mercedes bit her lip as she left the door and came back wrapped in a blanket. She moved to his side of the door and closed it behind her. "Sam, I know things between us have been rocky over the past few months, but seeing you is getting back to being one of the highlights of my day instead of one of the most difficult parts of it."

That made him feel good to hear. No, that made him feel great to hear. "Can I make a confession?" When she nodded, he continued. "It's kind of been like hell with you gone. I know you moved out because you needed your space and everything and completely I respect that. But when you came back, we fell into a routine so quickly, you know? It was almost like we had already been doing it for years. You've been gone now for longer than you were there, but I still can't quite figure it out." He sat down in one of the chairs on the porch and sighed, "I don't know."

"If it makes you feel any better," she said as she took the chair beside him, "I had a routine to fall into with my dad, but that didn't make it any easier. It was hard being with you, but it was just as hard not being with you."

"It's funny because I've been watering the plants you got for the house and I'm pretty sure they can sense that you're not there. Or maybe they just hate me." He chuckled. "Even Jr. is having to adjust to life without you. She sits in your spot on the—"

"Sam, stop that. Neither of you are living life without me," she said assuringly. "I may not be there all the time, but I'm still just as much both of yours as I was when I was living there. I promise."

As they stared at one another and brisk autumn winds continued rushing past them, Mercedes stood up.

"Come inside."

"I can't, I have to get to work."

"Call in sick or something. As much as I'd like to sit out here and talk with you, I'm freezing, my head hurts, and I've been holding back a cough for the past three minutes." She smiled at him as he laughed, afraid to laugh herself because of the impending coughing fit. "Sam, I don't want you to go. So can you just call in a substitute, come inside, and make me feel a little less disgusting with this flu and a little less awful that I'm doing this to you?"

Sam stood up and followed her into the house, shutting the door behind him. Mercedes finished her tea and tried talking to him for a little bit, but in less than 20 minutes she was wrapped up in even more blankets and asleep on his lap.

Sam had almost drifted off himself when he heard footsteps behind him. He turned his head. "Marvin. Hey."

"Sam." Marvin nodded.

Sam sat there, willing himself to say something else to him. He and Marvin hadn't so much as seen one another since what happened the night before his surgery. He was almost too petrified to even get up. Noticing he was about to leave the house, Sam decided to go over to him. "Hey, Marvin. Can I talk to you for a quick second?"

Marvin turned around just as he reached the door. He was not expecting whatever it was Sam was about to say. "Can you walk and talk? I've got to get my steps in everyday. Doctors' orders."

"Uh." Sam looked back at Mercedes on the couch. He didn't want her to wake up and see him gone.

"Did she drink her tea?"

He nodded. "Just before I got here."

Marvin smiled. "Her mom slips half a packet of theraflu in her tea when she's sick, knocks her right out. She does it to both the kids, it makes them a little less insufferable. Hell, she probably does to me, too." He laughed. "She'll be out for another couple hours at least. I'll meet you outside."

On their walk, Sam found himself terrified again. How had he gotten up to go on a walk with Marvin, but couldn't even talk to the man?

"So are you going to tell me what's on your mind or am I going to have to take a wild guess and say this is about my daughter?"

"I apologized to her but I needed to apologize to you because you're part of the reason that we were even able to get back together. Without you, I couldn't have surprised her at the airport. I don't want you to think that I was trying to deceive you in any way. I'm so sorry about what I did. Honestly."

"She told me you two were engaged."

Sam winced. "I'm also sorry for not asking for your blessing."

"Oh, please. I hate the very idea of that. Mercedes may be my daughter, but she doesn't belong to me. She belongs to herself and is 100% capable of making those decisions on her own. Neither you or her need my blessing or permission to do anything."

"I guess I just wanted to know where we stand," Sam said.

"To be completely honest with you, I'm not sure, Sam." Marvin didn't try to soften the blow. He knew Sam could take it. "You made my daughter cry. And eventually, she was so hurt by you that she couldn't even live with you anymore. I don't take any of that lightly." He paused and shook his head. "But I also can't deny the fact that she would not have been able to make it through my health scare without you. You were always there for her, doing whatever you could to make sure that she was okay while I couldn't. You took over as the number one man in her life and you did my job when I was unable to. I have to recognize and thank you for that."

"It's not a problem. Not at all."

"But I keep going back to how hurt she was that first night and I'm going to be honest again here: If I hadn't just had a life-saving surgery and cancer-fighting drugs making a world tour out of my veins, our first conversation afterward would've gone a lot differently than this."

He nodded, ashamed.

"Look, Mercedes forgave you and as her father, it's my obligation to at least try to make this work. And I can't ignore the fact that you've proven that you can be there for her when she needs you. But don't be fooled, you don't have my trust. My trust is earned and it'll be a while before you can get that back."

"I'll do whatever I can, sir, I swear to you."

As they walked, Marvin looked over at him. "Want to get a head start on that?"

"Yes, of course." Sam would do anything to earn his trust again. He needed Marvin to trust him because if not, he wouldn't have anymore remaining fans in the Jones family.

"Thanksgiving is coming up. I want you two to host."

Ok, maybe not anything. "Marvin, I can't do that. Mercedes would never go for it. Also, I don't know if you've missed this, but Michelle hates me and Mason has barely spoken to me since he found out what happened."

"I'll handle those two. You handle Mercedes. And invite your family. It's time I meet your folks."

Sam laughed nervously. "Sir, all due respect seriously, but there's no way that that's going to bode well for any of us. As someone who knows both of them, my mom and your wife in a room together isn't a good mix at the moment. Or probably at any moment."

"You want to earn my trust back, no?"

"I do, but—"

"Then make it happen. You proposed to my daughter and she said yes. No matter the circumstances, that tells me that what you two have is much more serious than any of us realize. I need to meet your family before we all become family. Understood?"

Sam nodded. He understood alright. Didn't mean that was going to make it any easier. "I'll get it done."


A few days later, Sam woke up feeling like he'd been hit by a truck. Everything hurt, he was freezing cold even with the heat on, and could barely muster the energy required to pick up the phone and send his girlfriend a text.

Caught your flu :(

Mercedes, back in tip top shape, was at his house within the hour. Nothing could've prepared her for what she saw as she appeared at his bedroom door.

Sam lay in the bed, facing her in a fetal position under his covers. He stared up at her as if he was silently pleading her for his life. There were already tissues piling up in a small trash can beside the bed.

She bit back a laugh. "I'm sorry you don't feel good, Babe." She brought some bags into the room with her and placed them on his bed. "I've got some stuff to help you out."

"Can you just hold me please?" He croaked, now aware of how groggy his voice was.

Mercedes' snicker escaped her mouth before she could stop it.

"Why are you laughing at me?" He whined and pulled the covers further up on him.

"I'm not, I promise," Mercedes said pitifully as she got into bed with him. "I'm not laughing at you. This must be some flu that's got you feeling like this, huh?" She snuggled up next to him, rubbing his shoulder.

"You gave it to me."

She smiled, hoping he wasn't looking at her. "I know. Which is why I came here to get you settled before I went to the school."

"No, you can't go." He whined again. "I need you."

He was making it really hard not to laugh at him. "Sam, I was out last week. Sectionals is the week after Thanksgiving. At least one of us has to be there this week."

"But if you go, I'll be here sick all alone."

"You'll be fine. I brought you some blankets, some tea, and a whole bunch of other stuff to make things a little easier for you." She went to move off the bed when he pulled her back.

"Where are you going?"

"Oh, my gosh! I'm going to make you some tea. Can I do that?"

"I don't want you to leave."

"Sam, I'm just going to the kitchen," she said dully as she left the room, taking her things with her. Hearing him whine from his room, she laughed to herself as she made him his tea.

"Mercedes, I think I'm dying. Please don't leave me."

Just as she was about to tell him that his life was not in danger, her dad called. "Hey, Dad."

"Hey, what happened to our walk this morning?"

"Sorry, I'm at Sam's. He caught my flu and as of a few minutes ago he can't do a single thing for himself, so I'm helping him get settled before I head to work. I meant to tell you."

"Oh. How's that going?"

She smiled. "It's a total disaster. I just got here and he's already talking about dying. Are all men such babies when they're sick?"

"You want a secret tip?"

"Please."

"I'm assuming you brought that theraflu with you. Make him some tea, rip it open, and put half a packet in there. He'll be asleep in minutes and you'll be able to go about your day. Works like a charm."

Mercedes furrowed her brows. "Is that what Mom does to me when I'm sick?"

"What was that?"

"Mom makes my tea when I'm sick and I always fall asleep right after. I just figured it was the mother's touch thing."

"Gosh, you know what? I just stepped outside now and I think there's something with these trees—"

"Dad. Is Mom lacing my tea with theraflu?"

"Something about these trees is just blocking my reception like crazy. I can barely hear you."

"Da- do not hang up this phone right now!"

"Hey Babygirl, if you can hear me, try that and let me know how it goes, okay? Love you, talk to you later."

"Don't you—" She was cut off by the sound of her call ending.

"Mercy? Are you still there? My head hurts. Can you bring me some water? And can you make some soup? And when you get back in the room, can you hand me the remote? I want to watch tv."

Unsure of whether she wanted to laugh or scream, Mercedes put her hand over her mouth to stop whatever wanted to come out. "I'm coming, Sam. Give me one second." As the kettle came to a boil, she quickly poured him a cup and dropped the tea bag in.

"Can you hurry?"

"Sam, baby. I'm gonna need for you to just try to calm down for a bit, okay? You just got sick. The first day with the flu isn't even the worst." She picked up his cup and started heading back to his room.

"You mean it's gonna get worse?"

Mercedes stopped in her tracks. Taking a deep breath, she knew what needed to be done. She made an about face and went back to the counter where her supplies were, found the theraflu, opened a packet, and gently mixed some of it with Sam's tea. "Don't worry, Sam. The next few days are gonna go by a lot faster than you think."


Hello! So we're back! I hope I wasn't gone too long for y'all. As I said earlier, there is a slight time jump here, one that appears to have had ups and downs for our couple. Let's hope that things continue to work out for them, though! More importantly, let's hope this upcoming Thanksgiving dinner isn't a complete disaster. My break from this story is over, so expect a chapter much sooner next time! Can't wait to hear y'all's thoughts.