Mercedes grabbed the tray of pizza bites and the other of Jalapeno poppers, and turned towards the den, with Maddie on her heels as she grabbed the bowl of Sour Cream and Onion Chips and Cheese Puffs. Putting the platters down she watched as Sam and Miles grabbed the small cooler to add ice for the drinks. Game night was a tradition in the Jones house and Mercedes was excited that Sam got to be a part of it this time. It had been over a week since she took the job and Sam let his mom have it. And things between them seemed to only get better. He had spent almost every day at her house with her and the Twins, and they seemed to all really get along, Sam was great with them, not that she was worried he did have siblings of his own.

Mercedes pulled out Monopoly, Jenga and the cards for charades. This was going to be a game night to remember. And it was girl's versus boys and that was always fun. "I am gonna go grab the drinks and we should be set."

Miles watched Mercedes leave and looked over to Sam, it had become clear to the twins that Sam and Mercedes were dating, but they had wondered why that meant they couldn't be friends with Stevie and Stacey, and after losing Rock, Paper, Scissors to Maddie, Miles had been chosen to ask the major question.

"Sam, are you sure Stevie and Stacey can't come to game night? They were excited at school?"

Sam didn't know how to answer that question. He wasn't on speaking terms with his parents and they weren't on speaking terms with him or Mercedes. It sucked because that meant that Stevie and Stacey and Maddie and Miles were caught in the middle. They were best friends and he hated that this was cutting into their friendship. He had to find a way to let them still hang out despite the adults not getting along.

"Oh, I didn't know they came to game night. How often have they come?" Sam asked, unsure of how to answer their question.

Miles looked at Sam sadly. "We would have game night at our sleepovers. Mercedes would go all out."

Maddie sighed, chewing her bottom lip while looking at Sam. "Is it because you aren't with Quinn anymore? Stacey said Quinn has been really sad."

Sam didn't know how to answer that. "No… I mean, the break up has been tough on the Evans family, so everyone is just trying to adjust to it I guess. Things will be back to normal soon." Sam knew Stacey was close with Quinn, but he didn't know she was sad about it. He wanted to reach out to Stevie and Stacey and just talk to them, but he wasn't sure if his parents would allow it.

Maddie and Miles nodded as Mercedes returned to the room. "Okay guys, who is ready to play?!"

She moved to sit next to Sam. "I was thinking we can start with Monopoly and take it from there." She said, grabbing a bottle of water and taking a sip.

Miles looked at Mercedes and then Sam. "Did you dump Quinn to date Mercedes? Is that why everyone is sad?"

Mercedes practically spit out her drink onto Sam's legs and started coughing shocked at his words. She shouldn't have been. The twins were almost 13 and they were not stupid, but she still didn't expect his words.

Sam pat Mercedes on the back. "Are you okay?" he figured it would buy them some time from answering. He had no idea what to say.

She nodded. "Yeah the water went down the wrong pipe." She said catching her breath. She looked at Sam and sighed looking back at the twins. "Its a lot more complicated than that guys."

"Quinn, and I broke up for other reasons. My feelings for Mercedes helped push me along, but she wasn't the sole reason we broke up." Sam took a sip of water hoping that his answer sufficed. They really should have sat them down and talked to them about everything because they were practically teens which meant they probably knew more than they gave them credit for.

Maddie and Miles listened to Sam as they looked at each other then to Mercedes. "Okay." Came quicker than Mercedes expected. Maddie shrugged. "I was dating Marco but I liked Davey better so I get it."

It was more complicated than that but Mercedes just smiled and nodded. "Okay great so can we play?"

Miles sighed. "Okay but like if you guys are dating does that mean i can't like Stacey cause she's like this close to being my girlfriend." He held up his hand putting his fingers close together and Mercedes snorted.

Sam whipped his eyes up at Miles. When it came to Stacey, he was as overprotective as they come. "Girlfriend? Do I need to give you the brother talk?" Sam was serious. He didn't care if Mercedes vouched for Miles, he didn't want her dating anyone. She was only 13, and to him, she would always be his baby sister that thought the world of him. "And you guys won't be related, just in-laws, I don't know the rules about that, but I would say no to dating just to be on the safe side."

Miles raised an eyebrow to Sam. "Should I have the brother talk with you? Cause Mercedes is my sister? How come you can date my sister but I can't see yours?"

Mercedes cleared her throat. "Yeah so anyways let's start game night."

Maddie smiled. "But Mercy it's a valid question."

Mercedes sighed, "What Sam is saying, is that right now you guys should work on being friends and whatever happens in the future happens."

Miles looks at her. "Okay but still I don't want him to hurt you. And so that means I want to know what his intentions are with you?"

This took a turn. Sam didn't know what to say that would sound good enough for Miles and Maddie. But he figured he should just talk from the heart and hoped that it would suffice.

"My intention with Mercedes is to date her and get to know more about her. I have strong feelings for her, and I can't imagine hurting her. Ever. I want to see where this takes us, and if I'm completely honest, I'm in this for the long haul." He hoped that his answer was enough for them because that's how he felt.

Miles listened to Sam but frowned. "Didn't you have the same intentions for Quinn? Mercedes doesn't date, the last guy who she went out with ran off when he found out about us. We don't want her to be alone but we don't want her to be hurt too."

Maddie nodded. "And you proposed to Quinn, in front of like a million people."

Mercedes would have spoken up but the twins needed to get this out.

Sam had no idea what to say to them. He did propose to Quinn in front of everyone at Evans Corp and their families and hurt Mercedes in the process. "What Quinn and I had, is complicated. We didn't get together in a traditional way. We dated not because we wanted to, but because…" Sam didn't know how much he felt comfortable with revealing. He didn't even talk to Stevie and Stacey about it. "We just didn't work out, and we were in the relationship for the wrong reasons. Adults make mistakes and sometimes it takes a while for them to realize things aren't working out. But things with Mercedes are different. What I feel for her, I've never felt for anyone before." He takes Mercedes' hand and smiles slightly at her. "It's a feeling that I can't put easily into words."

Mercedes smiled towards Sam and Miles sighed. "Okay we get it, sometimes adults make mistakes, things are complicated and we don't always get to know why. But all that really matters is that you don't hurt our sister. She is all we have, everything we have. So are you gonna hurt her?"

"I won't hurt her intentionally." That was the best Sam could do. He could promise to never hurt her, but things happen and he wasn't perfect, just human. "I can't promise to never hurt her, but I'll try my hardest."

Miles looked over to Maddie and then back to Sam. "Okay." he looked at Mercedes "We just want you happy."

Mercedes kissed Miles on his forehead and did the same with Maddie. "I don't know what is gonna happen with Sam and I, but I am happy to have him, and I am in this for the long haul as well. And whatever we do, I will make sure to work with Sam so you guys can be around Stevie and Stacey, you kids shouldn't suffer because of the ignorance of adults."

Sam was glad that the conversation was over and that they were basically on the same page. "Okay, so are you girls prepared to lose?"

Monopoly had been fun, but they all agreed something a little more challenging was called for, since Miles seemed to be the winner when he purchased two corners of the game including Park Place and BoardWalk. So they decided to play Left, Right and Center. Its a game used with Quarters and two dice, the first die had either a L, R, or C on it. And the second had 0,1 and 2. If it landed on L when you roll the dice you move the coin to the left how ever many numbers the second dice landed on. So if you got L, 2 then you moved two quarters to the left.

Handing out 8 quarters, Mercedes smiled rolling the dice and getting R 2, which meant she gave Maddie who was to her left. Two quarters.

Sam enjoyed Monopoly very much, but he didn't understand this new game. But of course, he decided to not say anything and just hope for the best. He rolled the dice and got C 2. "Okay, so what does that mean?"

Mercedes could tell Sam wasn't feeling the game, it was confusing at first but everyone got the hang of it eventually. "Okay so you will put 2 Quarters to the center of the table." Mercedes said then handed the dice to Miles. He rolled 2 left and frowned. "Maddie is about to win I can feel it."

Maddie beamed rolling the dice and smiling when she got C and 0. "Yeah I think i am gonna win for sure." She bragged handing the dice to Mercedes who rolled. 1 and L. Handing the dice to Sam she smiled. "Its still anyone's game."

After watching them play a bit, Sam was beginning to understand. He rolled and gave Mercedes a quarter. "Yea, Maddie is probably going to win. Though I may be feeling a little beginner's luck."

Mercedes laughed as the game continued. She loved this moment, spending time with the twins and with Sam. It felt like this was how things were always supposed to be. She loved this family time, this family moment.

Maddie stood up. "Bathroom break, and I know how many quarters I have." she said looking at Miles.

"I am offended you think i would take your money." he laughed. "But I need a break too. I will be back."

The twins ran off and Mercedes smiled looking at Sam. "Thank you, for being here, for all of this. Its perfect."

Sam smiled at Mercedes and kissed her forehead. "I should be thanking you for letting me be a part of this. It reminds me that I need to spend more time with Stacey and Stevie. I don't spend nearly enough time with them." He didn't dwell too much on his siblings though. "I love being here with you though. No hiding, or feeling guilty. We can be just us."

Mercedes smiled looking up to him and kissed him softly. "I want it to always be like this." She said softly. "Are you sure you are okay with everything Sam? I know a lot has happened but I never meant for our feelings for each other to cause so much pain."

"I knew this wasn't going to be easy, and I'm not expecting it to be. But this is really worth it." He paused before continuing. "I guess I'm just trying to figure out where I stand with my siblings, and what my parents must be telling them. And then there's Quinn carrying my baby and how this baby will be born with a lot of turmoil around it." He then turned to Mercedes, but don't think for one second that I regret anything because I don't. I know that with you by my side, we can face anything.

Leaning in, Mercedes kissed Sam again. "Stevie and Stacey are smart and they love you, once you talk to them, they will understand. " She sighed. "But what I don't want is for you to think I will hinder you and Quinn, when it comes to your child. I will be there and I will love he or she cause they are yours, but I wont do anything that would make things harder for you...does that make sense?"

"You're a class act Mercedes. If it was anyone else, they would have ran when Quinn announced that she was pregnant, but not you. I know that you would support me and I appreciate it, but I don't want you to sacrifice your happiness. You deserve to be happy with the life you want, and not to settle. I'll understand if you want to take a step back to reevaluate what you want. I'll wait as long as you need me too."

Mercedes smiled moving closer to Sam and looking him in the eyes. "If this was last week, and you asked me that after we fought and I found out about your mom blackballing the twins, I might have taken you up on that. But you gave up everything on principle, for me, and that, that means the world to me. I know you aren't perfect but you are perfect for me, the way you make me feel no man ever has. That is all I need to know. I mean I know you are still a little skeptical about my job, but you will see, things will be better then they were." She was glad Sam was on board with her new job. It was everything she needed. Yes the Evans had given her a large settlement and they could survive a little longer but this was a new start. "Plus I mean they are paying for a new house."

"New House? Are we moving?"

Mercedes turned towards Maddie and Miles and smiled. She hadn't told them anything she wanted it to be finalized and it all was that morning so now was a better time than ever. "Uh yeah. Come on and sit down, I need to talk to you."

"Are we moving in with Sam?" Maddie asked looking from the two of them.

"No, actually, I got a new job. One that is going to not only pay me 6 figures, but they are paying for your school and for us to find a new house. You guys always wanted a house with a pool and a big enough back yard for Miles to have his Mancave hideout. We can get that now, and have a room dedicated to you Maddie, just like we have here."

Miles sighed. "But I love this house."

"I know Miles, but we are all outgrowing it. It's a three bedroom with no garage because its your mancave and no den because it's Maddie's Princess Oasis, this could be a good thing."

Miles looked at Sam. "Would you be moving with us?"

Sam smiled at the perks Mercedes was mentioning. He was proud of her for standing on her own two feet and bouncing back. He needed to take a page out of her book. Miles' question stumped Him and Mercedes hadn't had the conversation about what they were to each other despite how they felt toward each other.

"Um, I'm not...But I'll help you guys move in, and maybe I can help you decorate your mancave."

Miles nodded. "But eventually you will, right?" When Sam said he would help him decorate Miles practically bounced. "That would be awesome!"

Maddie smiled. "Does this mean I can get a new wardrobe? I know we wear uniforms but not all the time."

Mercedes laughed. "Yes, you can."

Maddie was about to say something else but stopped as someone knocked on the door. Mercedes smiled. "I got it." Walking to the door she opened it frowning. "Stevie? Stacey? What are you doing here?"

Sam was about to go to the kitchen to grab some more snacks, but stopped when he heard Mercedes say his siblings name. He walked over to the door, and sure enough he saw Stevie and Stacey. "Okay, what are you two doing here? How did you get here? Do mom and dad know?"

Mercedes moved to the side before letting Stevie and Stacey in. Stacey smiled. "You act like we don't know how to use an Uber, which we do but we had Finn drive us. We told him it was either that or we were hitch hiking and he didn't want to change us being serious."

Stevie moved to hug Sam . "We haven't seen you in weeks and mom said that Maddie and Miles weren't going to be in school anymore. And they forbid us from talking to you to them so we decided to come see why. They won't tell us anything and the twins sent us a text saying you were being honest about things. We deserve that too."

Sam was overcome with emotion as he hugged Stevie and then Stacey. "You two deserve answers and the truth." He led them to the living room. "We were playing a game. You can talk to Maddie and Miles, while I'll call mom and dad and let them know where you are." Sam leaves the living room and heads to the kitchen to make the call.

Mercedes smiled hugging Stacey and Stevie and then followed Sam into the Kitchen. "Your parents are not gonna be happy the twins are here. You shouldn't tell them that Finn dropped them off, he was just trying to protect them."

"Yea, I won't tell them, but if they find out, they won't fire Finn. He's been on their payroll for years." But that's not what he was worried about. He wasn't even worried about telling his parents. Either Mary or Dwight would come pick them up, or they will wait for Sam to drop them off. He was more worried about the conversation with Stevie and Stacey about everything. He didn't want to sully their minds against his parents or Quinn. It was between them three and he wanted to keep Stacey and Stevie out of it as long as possible.

He waited for Mary to answer her cell phone.

"Sam, what do I owe this pleasure?"

"Just want you to know that Stevie and Stacey are with me at Mercedes house."

"I know that."

"How do you know?"

"Finn is on my payroll and he felt bad and didn't want to be put in the middle of this, so he told me after he dropped them off. I'll be sending him to pick them up tomorrow afternoon. Anything else?"

"Nope. That's it. Just didn't want you guys to worry."

"And any news on you getting back with Quinn? Have you even called her? I don't care how you feel about her, she is carrying your child. I would think that would concern you enough to keep tabs on her."

"I'll give her a call later. Just to check on her wellbeing, but we're completely over. I'll talk to you later." Sam hung up before Mary could say anything else. Of course he cared for Quinn. They knew each other for basically their whole lives. And he cared about the child she was carrying. He didn't need Mary to try and guilt trip him about it. Besides, he had other pressing things to worry about.

He turned back to Mercedes. "That conversation was as pleasant as you can imagine. Anyway, Finn will be here to pick up Stacey and Stevie tomorrow afternoon."

Mercedes sat back and listened to the conversation, watching Sam's reactions. Once she was done, she moved closer to him. "Well at least they can hang out until then. That much I appreciate. They are all just kids who are friends, and they shouldn't be punished for the actions of adults."

Mercedes closed her eyes. "I am just worried about all this Sam, I can put on a front and I will for the sake of the kids, but all this is about to come to a head and how we handle it will determine how the kids fair, I am talking about Maddie, Miles, Stevie and Stacey and your unborn child with Quinn."

"You're right, the kids shouldn't be put into the middle. But I don't know how much I'm willing to share with them about everything." He ran his hands down his face frustrated with this whole situation. "What should I do about Stevie and Stacey?"

Mercedes moved to hug him, knowing he needed it right now. "All you can do is answer their questions as best you can. Show them you truly care about them and no matter what you will still and always be their brother."

He hugged her back, and gave her a quick kiss on the forehead. "Well, let's get this over with." He gave her a brief smile before leading her to the living room where four sets of eyes turned to them as they walked in.

Mercedes followed Sam and sat next to him, she knew this was a conversation that Sam had to have with his siblings, she just hoped they understood like the twins did.

"Okay, I know we were playing a game, but since you obviously have questions, let's put the game on hold, and you can ask me anything, and I'll try to answer to the best of my abilities." Sam said with confidence.

Stacey looked at Sam. "Why aren't you and Quinn together anymore?"

Sam didn't know how to answer that. He wanted to tell them the truth, but wanted to protect them at the same time. "People just grow apart. It was something that was coming for a while. I still care for her, but I think we're better apart than we are together." It was as closest to the truth as he could get.

Stevie strugs. "Well I say good riddance." Stevie had no problem making it known that Quinn wasn't the best match for Sam. He honestly thought Sam should be single and focus on himself for a while.

Stacey was a little more disappointed. She always thought of Quinn as a sister to her. "How do you feel about that Sam? Do you miss her? Are you upset?" Seeing her siblings facial expression, she continued. "I mean that you guys have been together for a long time. And you seemed really in love and like the perfect couple. It just seems that it would take you some time to get over that."

Sam thought carefully about how to answer Stacey's questions. "Of course I cared about her, I still do. I've known Quinn for a long time. But some people are better off as friends than they are together." Sam debated with himself if he should just come out and say how their relationship was kind of arranged by their parents, and about the pregnancy. But he just thought that it would confuse them more. Plus he doesn't want to turn them against anyone. "But you guys can still have a relationship with Quinn if you choose to."

Mercedes wondered if Stacey would be upset to learn about her and Sam. She seemed to like Mercedes well enough but was it enough to take the place of Quinn by Sam's side.

Miles folded his arms. "Sam aren't you gonna tell them that you and Mercedes are dating?" Maddie elbowed him and he shrugged. "Hey I like Sam and if he makes Mercedes happy I am happy but I owed him for the Stacey thing." he said to Maddie.

It's not like Sam forgot to mention him and Mercedes, it just didn't cross his mind that his siblings didn't know. His mind was so filled up, but of course he should have mentioned it.

"Wait, you're dating Mercedes now?" Stacey asked with a confused look. "It didn't take you too long to move on."

"They were probably together before he and Quinn broke up." Stevie said nonchalantly.

Stacey's eyes went wide. "You cheated on Quinn?"

"Okay, we are getting off topic, " Sam replies.

"How is that off topic? We're talking about you and Quinn breaking up, you dating Mercedes right after, it all seems connected to me." Stacey said, her green eyes piercing at Sam's. "Stop downplaying everything Sam. We're 13, not 5. I expect lying from mom and dad, but not you. You've always been truthful with us, don't stop now."

Sam sighed. He never lied to his siblings before, and he always tried to make things seem not as bad, but they are smart, and he knew they deserved the whole story.

"Okay, so Quinn and I were in a somewhat arranged marriage."

"Those still exist?" Stevie interrupted.

Mercedes sat up straight and cleared her throat. "I want to make something clear guys, Sam and I were not together while he and Quinn were, we caught feelings, it wasn't intentional and trust me I tried to deny what I felt out of respect for Sam, for Quinn. I even quit when I realized that I was falling in love with him. You guys know me and have known me for years. I wouldn't intentionally hurt someone."

She hoped they understood.

"Don't worry Mercedes, we won't blame you, will just blame the engaged man." Stacey was upset about this whole thing. Her brother wasn't a cheater. If he could cheat on someone he cared about, there was no hope in the world.

"Stace, that's not fair. People make mistakes."

Ignoring Stevie she continued. "So you and Quinn were arranged to be married, and what, you fell for Mercedes, broke up with Quinn, and now you and mom and dad are fighting?"

Sam nodded. "That's the gist of it. And I'm sorry if you're disappointed in me Stacey, We didn't mean for this to happen." He didn't know what else to say to Stacey, he knew she was upset with him, and she had every reason to be. "Things happen, and I guess I didn't take into consideration that I am engaged to Quinn and I should have called off the engagement or never proposed, knowing that my heart wasn't in it. That's on me. I should have had more self restraint and thought about my actions. But I didn't. I fell for Mercedes and things just kind of spiral from there."

Mercedes moved over to Stacey. "Okay I know you are angry, I was angry very angry. And honestly I still am, but that's on me not you. Sam isn't a bad guy, Quinn isn't bad, I am not bad we are all just people. People who are in love, who are prone to mistakes. I hate that this happened. I have waited my whole life to fall in love, to find someone who made me feel like my dad made my mom feel."

Mercedes sighed heavily. "Stacey, you know your brother. You know how much he loves you and your family. But I can't think you would want him to stay with someone he doesn't love. I know I am not as educated as she is and your family doesn't want us together, but all I care is how you and Stevie, how Maddie and Miles feel about us, about me, him. Because you guys mean the world to us. And I know if Sam thought for a moment you hated him, he wouldn't be able to live with himself."

She really hoped the kids understood but all they could do was be honest and let the cards fall where they may.

Stacey stood up and moved away from everyone. No one was getting why she was upset and she didn't know how to express herself without twisting up her words. "This isn't about you Mercedes and how you feel about my brother or your education level or about my family's feelings about you. This isn't even about Sam being unhappy with Quinn."

"Stace, Calm down." Stevie knew Stacey was close with Quinn but he didn't think she would go to bat for her this hard. "It's okay. Just take a breather.

"No!, I will not calm down. I will get this out and I will be heard no matter how uncomfortable it makes people."

"Stace-" Sam started.

"No, it's my turn to talk and you just listen." Stacey took a few deep breaths to calm down and to get her point across in a way that wasn't disrespectful. "I'm upset because Sam was engaged to Quinn. He proposed to her in front of everyone, and then basically dumped her. I'm glad he did it before the wedding, but did you stop to think how humiliating that would be? The proposal wasn't that long ago, so you had to know that your feelings for her weren't as genuine and instead of just not proposing and breaking up, you decided to propose to her in public. Was that all for show? And now you and Mercedes are dating, not long after you broke up. Did you stop to think how that would look for you, Mercedes or Quinn?

She sighed. "I'm just saying that you handled things poorly, and I'm disappointed because I thought there was no one one better than my brother and I wanted to marry a man who treated me how you treated Quinn. But now I see how you really are, and I can't help but have my bubble burst. I'm sure you and Mercedes are a lovely couple, but it's tainted because you had to mistreat your fiance to get to this point. I would have respected you more if you said screw the arrangement, I'm not doing this."

Sam was shocked. In fact he knows he wasn't the only one. And he had no words to say to her. He didn't mean to disappoint his sister. "Stace…" He didn't have words right at that moment. He wanted to comfort her and reassure her, but when his baby sister looked at him with such hurt in her eyes, he knew it would take more for her to change her opinion about him.

So, Sam did what he always did when she had a booboo, he walked up to her and wrapped his arms around her. And at first she kept her arms down at her side, determined not to let him off easily. "I'm so sorry Stace. I could have handled things better." He kept his arms around her for a bit and kissed her head before backing away.

Stacey didn't like yelling at Sam, but she needed to be honest. But now she just thinks she made things more uncomfortable and awkward for everyone.

Mercedes chewed the inside of her lip as Stacey spoke. She wanted to speak up, and say something but to be honest, Stacey practically said everything Mercedes was afraid to even think of. All of this was wrong, all of this was so much and while she was glad that the truth was coming out, she herself wasn't feeling up well enough to say anything. How it must have looked to her siblings, to Sam's.

"I uh excuse me."

She got up and walked out of the room and out to the kitchen and to the backyard. She suddenly needed some air as she couldn't breathe.

Miles looked over to Stacey. "I know Sam didn't mean to hurt anyone most of all you." He moved over to hug her knowing she really needed a hug.

Maddie sighed looking at Sam. "So what happens now? Can we forgive and forget or is this gonna be a thing now?"

Stacey hugged Miles back before sitting down and hugging her knees to her chest.

Sam sighed. Things were not going as he would have hoped. "Stacey, I get your concerns and I'm sorry. I can't change the past, just improve and work on the future. I made mistakes, and didn't do right by Quinn. I own up to that. I won't make the same mistake twice. What I feel for Mercedes, I've never felt for anyone before, including Quinn. I can promise you that I'll treat Mercedes with respect and I won't humiliate her or hurt her. And I'll talk to Quinn and give her a real apology also. What I did wasn't great. Thank you for being honest and upfront about everything, and I hope in time you can forgive me."

Stacey looked at Sam for a minute, and nodded. At least he was owning up to things. "But words are words, I hope you can show me that the old Sam is in there through your actions."

Sam smiled and nodded at her before turning to Maddie. "I think we can put this behind us, for now. Anyway, I'm going to check on Mercedes right quick."

Sam leaves the kids in the living room while he goes out to the back yard to check on Mercedes. "Are you okay?"

Mercedes felt bad for leaving Sam in there but she needed some air. Tears fell as she closed her eyes. Would them being together ever be a good thing? Sam came out and she sighed looking at him.

"Am I okay?" She asked softly, looking at him. "That's kinda a loaded question considering the situation we are in. The more I think we are doing what is right by acknowledging our feelings, the further we get smacked down when we realize who we are actually hurting. Stacey doesn't believe that men are good guys now, you already know your parents hate me, what are your siblings gonna think about me once they learn that Quinn is pregnant? What are mine gonna think about me? Am I being selfish?"

She wiped her eyes moving closer to Sam. "I always do what is right because I have two kids who follow my lead. But what is the right thing to do here Sam? My heart is saying that I am in love with you and I need to fight to keep you, and my head is saying that I should let you try with Quinn because she is having your child.

Sam understood her concern. She was getting the brunt of the backlash from his parents, while Sam was getting it from everyone. "I can't change Quinn being pregnant, or that I'm the father. I can't change any of it. We knew getting together wouldn't be easy. If you were to walk away right now, I still won't be with Quinn, and she would still be pregnant, and people would still have a problem with it." Sam sighed before shoving his hands in his pockets. "We can't change the past or the circumstances that came to be, we can just make sure the future is better."

Mercedes chewed her bottom lip turning from Sam and looking back up to the night sky, it was peaceful and the future was scary but if she and Sam were going to stand a chance, then she had to embrace that fear, and had to be honest with Sam. "I am scared. Scared that you are gonna wake up one day and realize that I am not enough for you. That you are gonna regret me, us. I am scared that you could hurt me in a way I have never been hurt before."

She turned towards him. "But what I am most afraid of, is how much I love you Sam. You came out of nowhere. And I told myself you were just my boss. But then I got to know the real you and it was so easy to fall in love with you. And now that I have you I am most afraid of losing you."

"I'm scared too. There's nothing not scary about this situation. I'm scared that you're going to realize that being with me is too hard and not want to deal with it anymore. I"m scared that once the baby comes, you realize that you resent Quinn and I having a child together, and you won't want any parts of it, and leave me. I'm scared that you'll realize that I'm not the man you fell for and that I have nothing to offer you." Sam bit his lips before continuing. "Fear is a part of life. It's how we handled it that matters. I love you too Mercedes and I'm willing to work through this and stand up for our relationship as long as you're willing to do the same. I can show you that your fears aren't going to come true, but a part of that is trust. You have to trust my feelings for you, and I have to trust your feelings for me. That's the only way that we will prosper as a couple."

Sam didn't know how much his word would mean to her, or if it just seems like he's not sincere about what he's saying. He takes her by both hands and steps closer to her. "I love you more than I loved anyone, and I promise you that if we work together and keep our communication open, we will be fine."

Mercedes listened to Sam and could feel him chip away at her fears, but it was when she finally looked him in the eyes, did she realize how sincere he was, how truthful he was being about his feelings. She was silent for a moment, taking in all of the words, taking him in. Her arms wrapped around his neck and she smiled softly. "You are more than anything I ever thought I deserved Sam. I don't care if you live in a penthouse or the poorhouse, I don't care about what you can do for me materialistically. I just want you." She stood up on her tippy toes placing a kiss on his lips, holding him closer as she did so.

With her words, Sam knew that they could face anything together. He was confident that this was it for him, and he wanted to be everything for her as she was everything to him. He cupped her cheek while kissing her back. "I love you Mercedes Jones, and that is never ever ever changing." He gave her a big dramatic and loud kiss on the lips one last time before taking her by the hand and heading back inside to hopefully continue game night.