A week after Sam got hurt at the game, school was officially out for winter break and he was officially out of the hospital. Thankfully, he'd completed most of his exams the week prior and his other teachers were able to work with him on grading because of his concussion. He'd manage to do pretty good. Not as well as he'd hoped, but a mix of Bs and (mostly) Cs was enough for him. He was doing pretty well. Well, for the most part. Since the concussion, he'd still been having some memory issues, some of which interfered with his exams. His doctor said it shouldn't last much longer, but it was really starting to agitate him. He couldn't really remember anything from his time in the hospital, either.

Shelly asked to meet with him once he was done with school, so he was going to go to lunch with her today to talk about whatever it is she wanted to talk with him about.

That Saturday morning, Sam and Mercedes met one another in the hallway.

Mercedes had only faired slightly better than Sam, if she faired better at all. She'd gotten all As as expected, but her dad was coming home tomorrow and she'd been stressed out all week. She also still hadn't told anyone about what she heard her dad say that night and she had no idea how she was going to live in the same house with him. Plus, he was on probation, so he was going to be spending a lot of time there.

Sam smiled at her. "Guess we're both a couple of worm lovers, huh?"

Mercedes looked up confusedly. "I'm sorry?"

"You know, because the early bird catches the worm? We're both up pretty early for a Saturday. I'm meeting with Shelly. What's your excuse?"

"Trouble sleeping," she said. "I was going to go down and help get the bakery ready for opening. We also have some pretty big orders we still have to fill, so."

He didn't respond for a moment. Green eyes stared deeply into brown and vice versa. "Are you okay?" He asked softly.

She aimed her eyes toward the ground as she shook her head. "But that's life, right? Shit happens and we have to be okay? Keep pushing forward."

He gently wrapped her in his arms. She'd told him all about her visit with her dad and her fears about him coming back and he'd been there for her through all of it. "If you ever need to not be okay, you know you've got me, right?"

She hugged him back and relaxed into his touch. She knew it wasn't fair because he was with Quinn, but with her being single, Mercedes was allowing herself to indulge in the time she spent with Sam and the things they did together. "This time tomorrow, he'll be home. I'm not ready."

"Everything will work out. I promise."

Later that day, Mercedes, Santana, Tina, Quinn, and Kurt all met up to help the girls pick out dresses for the winter formal. Well, to help Mercedes and Tina pick out a dress. Quinn had had hers picked out for months and Santana picked hers out the week prior.

"Okay, try the navy one," Kurt advised Mercedes. "Maybe, it'll make you feel sexier."

Santana rolled her eyes. "Navy doesn't make anyone feel sexy, Kurt. It's probably in the least 3 sexy colors."

"It is not! Go for it, Mercedes. Think Beyoncé in the 'Bigger' music video."

Tina, who'd already found her dress, agreed. "Exactly. You just have to have the right attitude!"

Mercedes stood in front of the mirrors. "Sexy isn't even what I'm going for. It's actually one of the last things I want."

"So much for the right attitude," Kurt mumbled.

Quinn stood up from her chair. "How about you guys find something a little less 'sexy' for her? Cedes, let's try this dress on and we'll go from there. I'll help you get in and out." She picked up the navy dress and took her back to the dressing room.

In the store, Santana was over Mercedes' funk. "How long is she going to be depressed? This feels like a long stretch of time, even for her."

"Have some sympathy." Kurt chided. "She just went through a super nasty breakup with the hottest guy in school and she's in love with the second hottest."

Tina also defended her, "Not to mention she's been missing her mom like crazy and her dad's getting out of prison tomorrow. She's going through a lot right now. She has been for a while."

Santana shrugged as she picked out a dress. "It just feels like she's so out of it these days. I'm not even going to lie, I'm kind of starting to worry about her. She barely talks anymore. She's quiet, even for her. I get that she's kind of going through it, but is there something we're missing? She's so down all the time?"

Kurt sighed. "Have she and Noah talked since the breakup?"

Tina shook her head. "If she has, she hasn't said anything to any of us about it. He just sends her scorned looks when he sees her with Sam. Or when he sees Sam in general."

"And Sam?"

"She said she told Sam about her feelings when she was in the hospital," said Santana, "but we all know Sam doesn't remember much of it, so there's really no telling what's happening with that at the moment."

In the dressing room, the conversation was also revolving around Mercedes and her relationships.

"Hey, Cedes, can I ask you something?" Quinn asked as she helped her out of her present dress.

"Sure."

"If there was something going on, you'd tell me right?"

She eyed her nervously as she stepped out of the dress. "And by that, you mean?"

"You've been really quiet lately," she said. "More than usual. We've all noticed, but we've been brushing it off."

"I'm okay, Quinn, I'm just—"

"Going through a lot, we know. But we feel like as your friends, we should be there for you. That's a little difficult when you aren't saying anything. Sam's been—"

"You've been talking to Sam about us-" she caught herself before she finished the word, "me?"

She nodded. "He's been really worried about you and asking me to keep an eye on you. Either he knows more than we do or he also thinks something serious is going on with you." After hanging the other dress, she took the other off of its hanger and began helping her into it.

Mercedes stayed silent as she put the dress on. She stared at herself in the mirror and exhaled tiredly. "I just want so much of this to be over. My dad coming home, this drama with Noah, the stupid winter formal." She tried to rearrange the dress to make her like it. It wasn't happening. "I hate this dress. I hate all of these dresses. I just," she rested her forehead in her hands.

Quinn rubbed her shoulders. "You know, we don't have to do this today. I mean, winter formal is only a few weeks away, but we can always come next weekend or even during the week now that school is out."

"No, it's fine." She adjusted the evening dress once more. "Let's just pick one and get it over with. But not this one. I look elderly in this dress."

Quinn chuckled. "No, you don't." They walked towards the door and before she opened it, she said, "Just one last question. If there were something going on between you and Sam, you'd tell me, right?"

"Me and Sam?"

"I mean, you two have been really close lately. And he was just so weird at the hospital."

She saw us holding hands. Shit. "Quinn,"

"I would get it, you know? I mean, he's a total stud. Plus, I never even asked how you would've felt about us getting together, I just kind of jumped on him. So if you like him, I would totally understand."

"I promise you you have nothing to worry about," Mercedes said, interlocking her fingers and twisting them.

Quinn gave her a smile. "Okay. Great. Here we go!" She opened the door and led her out of it.

After some small talk, Sam and Shelly got right down to business.

"So, Sam, you know your mom is almost done with her time in rehab."

"I do, yes."

"Well, she's officially been cleared for visitation and wants to see you. Is that something you'd be up for?"

He grinned. "Hell yeah. Sorry," he cleared his throat before losing his smile, "Yes, it is. It really is. I've missed her."

"She's missed you, too."

His eyes widened. "You've been talking to her?"

"Oh, yeah. She's always asking about you and how you're doing here. I've been keeping her abreast of everything. She knows all about how you got onto the football team, she knows you won the championship, and she also knows you're making waves in the athletic sphere. She even knows about Quinn. She's really proud of you and quite amazed that you've been doing so well. But, and she told me to tell you this, she's not surprised in the least. She says you've always had a knack for making the absolute best out of any situation."

He found himself tearing up as his cheeks ached from smiling so hard. He was glad that his mom was proud of him even though she wasn't here. Still, she wasn't here. He hated that he won his first championship game without her. "When would this be happening? When can I see her?"

"We can go one day next week if you'd like. How's Wednesday?"

Without even thinking of his schedule, he blurted, "Wednesday's perfect."

Shelly chuckled. "You sure you don't need to think about that? I'm sure you and your friends have things planned for winter break."

"Whatever it is, it can wait. My mom comes first. Always."

"Okay, then. I'll get everything set up. And if you're okay with it, we'll go up there once a week until she can see you herself. How's that sound?"

Sam nearly jumped for joy at the thought. "That sounds great."

Quinn dropped Mercedes off and helped her bring her painstakingly chosen dress into the house. With her all squared away, Quinn found her way to Sam's room. Glad to see him opening the door after her knocks, she asked, "Hey, can we talk for a sec?"

Sam grinned as he kissed her on the cheek. "Yeah, come in. You wouldn't believe the news I just got."

"Actually," Quinn interrupted him, "maybe I should go first?"

He nodded and gestured for her to sit beside him on his bed.

"Sam, I think you were right when you said you wanted to slow things down."

"Wait, what? But I thought we were doing good? I've been making sure to make time for you and I haven't talked about Star Wars as much, as per your request. I mean, I've still got some work to do as far as the comic books and everything else goes, but I thought we were getting along really well?"

"No, we are." She placed her hands on his. "We really are. But I've just been doing some thinking, and I think that we should scale back on this. We can still be somewhat together, but I don't think we should be in an exclusive and committed relationship right now. Mercedes said it and I don't think I realized it until recently, but you'll be leaving soon. We don't have a lot of time left and you shouldn't feel bogged down by me. We can still hang out and stuff and I'd still like you to be my date to the winter formal if that's okay with you. We'll just do all of that in a much less official capacity." She smiled sweetly at him. "You're an amazing guy. Seriously. These past couple of months have been more than incredible thanks to you."

"Okay… That's fine. I mean, it sucks, because you're a great girl, too, but I guess I understand."

She gave him a kiss. "Thanks for being so great about it. And keep watching out for Mercedes, will you? It has been really nice knowing how much you've been there for her."

He nodded before watching her walk out. What in the hell just happened?

Mercedes knocked on Sam's door shortly after, which was still wide open. "Does my fellow worm lover want to go downstairs for a secret slice of sheet cake? I could use it after the day I've had."

"You and me, both," Sam said, still very confused.

"What happened?"

"I, uh," he tried to shake the brain fog away, "I think Quinn just broke up with me?"

Well, that came out of nowhere. "Oh, shit."

"Yeah. And my mom me to visit her in rehab next week and weekly from there until she gets out. So today's been quite a whirlwind."

Inside, Mercedes secretly felt relieved. Obviously, whatever worries she had about her and Sam didn't matter anymore if they weren't together. Still, she knew Sam liked her. Looking at him, she couldn't tell what he was feeling.

He kept his confused look as he got up and started walking toward her.

She eyed him. "I can't really read your emotions, right now, so is that a no on the sheet cake or?"

He closed his door and locked them in the room.

"Sam?"

He turned to her. "I love you."

She couldn't get anything else out before he wrapped his hands around her neck and crashed his lips into hers.

In an instant, they felt both of their worlds collide the way they wanted them to since they met.

They separated, but not out of kissing distance. He kept his hands around her and wondered what she might be thinking.

But the truth was that she wasn't thinking anything. She copied his earlier move, bringing his lips back to hers with her hands. They kissed two, three, four more times before they officially lost count. They seemed to be making up for all of the kisses they'd missed in the past four months and then some. They moved over to the wall before moving toward his bed, their lips never separating for more than a half-second. They fought their moans and groans, knowing not to alarm anyone who may be nearby, but they were both in heaven. The small jolts of electricity Sam normally felt when Mercedes touched him felt like the most wonderfully electrifying lightning bolts shooting through him. The butterflies in Mercedes' stomach had now grown from small flutters to a full-on springtime dance that extended all the way up and through her fingers and toes. Neither of them could figure out a way to stop it. Neither of them wanted to. All of their surroundings faded into the black until there was another knock at Sam's door.

"Sam?" It was Amaiya. "It Mercedes in there? Grandma said she wants to see us."

Mercedes and Sam fully separated from one another. They felt the lightning and the butterflies disappear all at once.

Trying to get her panting under control, Mercedes said, "I'll be there in a sec, Maiya."

Both still out of breath, the teens stared at one another, unsure of what to make of what just happened. They had no idea what to think except for the fact they both wanted to do it again.

With her breath finally under control, Mercedes rose from Sam's bed, kissed him gently on his forehead, and left the room.

When she walked into the kitchen, she was surprised to see her brother and her grandmother sitting there. "What's up?"

"Have a seat, Mercedes," Abeline said softly. "There's something we need to tell you."

Mercedes grew wary as she sat down across from her brother. Her grandmother never called her by her first name. Ever. "Where's Amaiya? She called me in here."

JJ explained, "We're going to talk to her in a second. Right now, we just…" he bit lips bottom lip and looked downward as Abeline rubbed his shoulder.

Mercedes' breathing rate shot right to where it was a few minutes prior. "Grandmother, what's going on?"

"Your dad isn't coming home tomorrow, Sunshine."

She frowned. "What do you mean he's not coming home tomorrow? Did the dates get pushed back or something?"

Abeline shook her head.

"Okay? Look, I wasn't the most excited about it or anything, but I'm pretty sure I know the day he was supposed to get out."

"He's not coming home, Cedes," JJ said. "Period." He slid a letter across the table and motioned for her to pick it up. "Dad wrote this letter just of our visit. Apparently, he's been running a drug operation since the day he got in there six years ago. He finally got caught after we left."

Mercedes read the letter. "There's no way this is real. This has got to be a prank, right?" She looked up at Abeline. "Grandmother. This is a prank."

"It's not, Sunshine. I wish it was."

"But if he got caught, how did he have time to write a letter explaining everything?"

JJ slid her another letter. "From his bunkmate. Says that when Dad wrote the letter, he asked him to keep it and send it just in case things went wrong. This one explains what happened to him."

She read the letter from his bunkmate. "He got into an altercation with the guards?"

He nodded. "When they busted him, yeah. They took off his good time and he didn't like that, so he got violent. He attacked three of them. He not only got his good time taken away, but he's being transferred to God knows where… and he got an extra 10 added onto his sentence. It'll probably be months before we hear from him again. Bottom line is he's not coming home."

"Oh, my god," Mercedes whimpered. "Are y'all serious right now? Is this a freaking joke?"

Abeline didn't bother telling her to watch her tone. "I know this is a lot to take in, sweetheart."

Mercedes let out a humorless chuckle. "It is, but I'm not sure why. It's not like I expected anything else from him." She really wasn't sure. This should've been great news for her. Why didn't it feel like it?

JJ had had enough of his sister's attitude toward their dad. "What the hell does that even mean, Mercedes? You've been so angry at him for what appears to be no reason and now that he's not coming back, you don't seem the slightest bit phased. Are you feeling anything right now? At all?" Before he responded, he stuck his finger up. "Oh, wait. I know. You're probably happy, right? Happy that James won't have to—"

"Shut up, JJ." She seethed. "You don't know what I'm feeling OR what I've been through. You are the last person who gets to have a say in how I feel about anything after how you treated me at the prison."

"You mean how I treated you when you called our dad everything but a child of God? Somebody needed to treat you that way. Obviously, you'd lost your damn mind the way you were talking to him."

Abeline slammed her hand on the table and yelled, "Both of you, shut it down. NOW."

The two siblings were scolded into silence and shame.

"Now, there's a lot I'll let slide. But cussing each other out? That ain't one of them. Not under my roof. Everybody in here gets treated with respect. If you have an issue with that, JJ, you know the way out of here and you," she pointed at Mercedes, "know the way to your room. That is not who your mother raised you two to be and you won't become those people now. Not on my watch. So, if you two wanna try that again, be my guest. But know that you're both on thin ice."

After a moment of silence, JJ spoke up, "It just feels like she doesn't want him back. And I know that things are different between the two of them and he was a different father when she came around. But I have more experience with him. I know him better and I'm just trying to tell you that the dad I knew is still in there. I can feel it."

"Can I go to my room now?" Mercedes asked softly.

But JJ wanted to have the conversation. "Cedes, I'm just trying to—"

"Grandmother, please." Mercedes looked up to her grandma, pleading with her.

Abeline sighed as she rubbed her thumb over the back of her granddaughter's hand. "Sure, Sunshine. I'll come to check on you before dinner, okay?"

With permission, Mercedes bolted for her room from the table.

Just as Abeline said, she came in to check on her a few hours later. "How you doing, Sunshine?"

Mercedes shrugged under her covers.

Abeline closed the door and motioned for Mercedes to scoot over. She sat beside her, brought her head down to her lap, and started rubbing it soothingly.

"Why do you call me that?" she asked softly.

"What? Sunshine? You don't remember?" With a head shake in response, Abeline told her, "It all started when you were a little baby. You use to look straight up into the sun. Oh, you just about gave your mama a heart attack." She chuckled. "She was always thinking you were going to go blind one day just staring up at it like that. I came up with the nickname and the two of us used to call you that in private, just to poke fun." Grinning, she continued, "Then, when you started drawing, you always drew your suns smack dab in the middle of your paper. Other kids took up a corner, but not you. Yours was dead center, shining down on all your helpless little stick figures." She laughed again. "So, we started calling you that in public. Just casually." She took a slow breath. "Then, when your mama got sick, she brought that nickname up again. She wasn't worried about anything because even in the darkest of times, when she laid her eyes on you, it was like seeing the sun shining through the sky; you can't help but feel everything's gonna be alright. She passed and of course, it shook all of us to the core. But it seemed to hit you the hardest. So I started calling you that all the time to remind you of how she saw you. And how so many other people see you. I also wanted to make sure you know how beautiful and bright you are at all times. You're my sunshine. Making me happy when skies are grey and all that."

"And you really believe that? You believe that I'm all of that stuff?"

"You're damn skippy. Don't you?"

"Not usually," she said at just above a whisper. "Sometimes, I feel like a burden almost."

"Oh, never. Never."

Still running her hand along her head, Abeline started singing to her.

You are my sunshine

My only sunshine

You make me happy

When skies are gray

You'll never know, dear

How much I love you

Please don't take my sunshine away

Mercedes closed her eyes, imagining that it was her mother singing to her. This was the song she used to always sing to get her to sleep. That is, before Mercedes solely requested Aretha Franklin. Now, she wishes she'd never stopped singing it.

When the song was finished, Abeline whispered, "Whenever you're ready to tell me what's going on with you and your daddy, I'm here for you, Sunshine."

Eager to hear your thoughts!