A/N: Thanks again to everyone who read and reviewed this story. In case some things are confusing in this chapter, you might want to revisit the previous one since I updated it with more content.

Chapter 56

Sam left his apartment soon after Kurt went to Mercedes. He absolute have no idea where he was heading but thought of going to work knowing he'd always want to be with Mercedes and the only thing that could distract him right now is to find out how to keep his Mercedes safe from harm. He pushed his speed dial and immediately connected to the person he wanted to talk to.

"Rachel! I know it's the weekend and you have a life outside of work but I just really need those files now. I don't know what's taking so long to get all the information I want but you have got to do something about it ASAP!" Sam demanded.

"No need to boss me, I'm already in the office looking over the files. I was going to call you as soon as I have them sorted but you just beat me to it."

"That's great! I'm coming to the office now, so if you would be so gracious to have them ready by the time I get in the office I'll be forever indebted." Sam smiled knowing that flattery with Rachel Berry is everything.

"Have I ever let you down? Don't answer that! You don't think I'd let the safety of my besties in anyone's hands but my own. You don't know the low down crap I had to tell Kurt and Mercedes to get out of our sleepover tonight. As much as I would like to spend some girl time with them this is top priority." Rachel explained over the phone.

"So that's why you're not there." Sam said out loud.

"Excuse me?" Rachel heard Sam's comment but didn't understand.

Sam cursed himself for the slip and tried to come up with a quick explanation. "Sorry, its just Mercedes mentioned that Kurt is coming over to her place today. That's the very reason why I'm off to work and not at my girlfriend's house." Sam blew a sigh of relief with his believable performance.

"Awww… that's so sweet girlfriend!" Rachel teased.

"I can't believe you Rachel, if I had known then that mushiness was your kryptonite I would have sent you pictures of puppies and kittens just to get you off my back." Sam chuckled at Rachel.

"Well mushiness aside, your parents called earlier checking if you're at work since you seem to have forgotten how to use a cellphone. They wanted to know if you and Mercedes wanted to have dinner tonight at home. I told them I would pass the message along, so there message, has been passed."

"Shoot! I did forget to check my voicemail. Ok thanks Rachel, I'll call them now. See you in a bit." Sam ended the call and pressed another speed dial.

Sam waited for his mother to pick up only to be directed to voicemail. Sam didn't want to leave a voicemail message so he decided to call their house in the hope he would be able to talk to somebody. The phone rang exactly three times when their butler answered the phone.

"Evans residence." The butler answered in a very posh accent.

"James, it's Sam. Mother called earlier is she there? I tried calling her phone but it puts me through voicemail." Sam quickly inquired.

"Master Sam, yes your mother is here. I believe she's in the garden with the children. Would you like to speak with her?" James responded.

"Yes please, thank you."

"Very well sir, if you would hold for a moment."

James quickly placed Sam on hold and transferred the call to a cordless phone, which he brought out with him to the garden. Mrs. Evans was indeed outside with Stacie and Stevie tending to her rose garden.

"Madam, telephone call for you. It's master Sam." James interrupted.

Stacie quickly ran towards James and started reaching for the phone wanting to talk to her elder brother. James looked at Mrs. Evans for approval which she gave as she nodded. James quickly handed the phone to Stacie and went back inside the house to give the family some privacy. Stacie talked a mile a minute and all were about when they were going to see Mercedes again.

"Thank you James!" Mrs. Evan stood from her crouching position to stop Stacie from talking Sam's ear off.

"Stacie! I want to talk to Sam too!" Stevie protested, as Stacie held on the phone tighter.

"Stacie why don't you put Sam on speaker so all of us can talk to him." Mrs. Evans told her youngest as she removed her gloves and poured herself some iced tea.

Stacie obliged and places Sam on speaker. She wasted no time asking her questions again.

"Sammy, when are we going to have a play date with Mercy? I miss her so much, I can't wait to see her at dinner tonight!" Stacie excitedly told Sam.

"I want to go to the statue of liberty with Mercy, she said she has lots of fun every time she visits there. So can we please?" Stevie interjected.

"I want to go to the statue of liberty too and the empire state building and Times Square and Broadway and everywhere Mercy wants to go because it's fun hanging out with her." Stacie enumerated every single places she wanted to go with Mercedes.

"Oh yes Sammy, did you get my messages? Are you and Mercedes free for dinner tonight? We would love to spend some time with you. It seems like I haven't seen my oldest son for ages." Mrs. Evans asked.

"I did get your message from Rachel but I'm afraid I'll be the only one coming to dinner."

"What? Why?" Stacie and Stevie pouted at the same time.

Mrs. Evans thought the kids are so cute but didn't want them subjected to any more disappointment, so she took Sam off the speaker and talked to him in private.

"What's wrong honey, why can't Mercedes join us?" Mrs. Evans inquired concerned.

"Oh no, nothing like that mom. She just has a sleepover with her best friend tonight and I don't want her to make a choice. I'd love to have dinner with you guys. I've missed you all. What time should I come?"

"Oh good! I thought I'd have to threaten you to apologize to that sweet girl." Mrs. Evans felt relief hearing Mercedes has a prior engagement and nothing like what she has concluded in her head.

"You know you're welcome any time, but dinner will be at 8PM sharp. And please tell Mercedes we want to spend time with her again, if you have to; force her to come to church again. We'll make a day of it." Mrs. Evans chuckled at herself.

"Yes mother! I'm sure she'd love to spend time with you guys. I'll check if she's free tomorrow, if yes we'll come to church." Sam smiled at how much his family loves Mercedes as much as he does.

"Sounds like a plan. I'll tell your disappointed siblings, but hopefully church pushes through so they won't be sulking for long."

"Thanks mom. Please tell them that Mercy and I are planning an awesome Evans' kids day out so they just have to be a little more patient. I have to go mom, love you."

"Love you too son!" Mrs. Evans replied before ending the call.

Few people knew that it was physically painful for Mercedes to actually sit through a Kurt Hummel interrogation. Kurt's lines of questioning are always blunt and straight to the point. Mercedes would rather go through a root canal procedure without anesthesia than a Kurt Hummel interrogation. Her stomach would go in knots and every word would hit a nerve. It's always excruciating but nevertheless the end of such predicament is always better than anything she would play in her head. Mercedes now finds herself embracing a contagious giddy Kurt, as he's all excited for her wedding. Now there were no talks of weddings or engagement or promises of some sort but Kurt has always been the forward thinker and to him sex is making babies and love equals marriage. Ever since Kurt and Mercedes met he has already planned out their retirement. His plans are very detailed, their retirement is always somewhere off to an exotic place with a beachfront view and where labor is cheap. Mercedes loves Kurt so much and despite her realist take on life a part of her wanted to dream like Kurt does. She knows it will take some time for her to be on her best-friend's level but for now she's happy living through Kurt.

"Mercy, you have got to tell Sam to buy an island so that all of us will live there throughout our retirement. Can you imagine sipping piña-coladas under the shade of coconut trees while young men fanning us." Kurt had a far-out look as he imagined young hot men with bronze abdomens.

"Earth to Kurt!" Mercedes snapped her fingers in front of Kurt's face to draw him out.

"Why would I ask Sam to buy an island? It's not like we're getting married." Mercedes continued.

"Oh honey, I know you and you would never sleep with anyone unless you see THAT future with them!" Kurt pointed to Mercedes to prove his point.

"That was then Kurt." Mercedes paused and looked down not wanting to look Kurt in the eyes.

"I learned soon enough that I would never have happily ever after, I won't be naive to think prince charming would come and rescue me."

"But Sam is here and that's proof he's your prince charming. Don't tell me rescuing you from a burning building is not prince charming duties?" Kurt interrupted Mercedes.

Mercedes quickly got out of her funk and chuckled at her friend as she refused to make a comment. She decided to get off the couch where they have been sitting for almost two hours talking about the most amazing night of her life.

"You are not going to ignore me Diva!" Kurt demanded.

Mercedes sighed and turned around to face her best friend.

"Fine! Sam is... Sam. I love him and it's such an incredible feeling that he loves me just as much. I want to believe it Kurt, but a part of me knows we are from two different worlds. Fairy tales never tell us what happens after the happily ever after, but in reality what happens is that shit happens! They never say that Cinderella felt judged every time she makes decisions for the kingdom and that Snow white have trust issues. Fairy tales are just that, tales. They only tell you the good parts in hope you'd always remain positive despite the dark times. I've been there Kurt and you know that, but every punch takes a toll on ones morale. I want to believe everything will turn out for the best but I just don't know how long I can last. I always have this thought at the back of my mind that Sam will wake up one day and realize I am so not worth it… then where does that leave me?" Mercedes didn't realize she was crying the whole time and only felt the tears when Kurt wiped them away.

"You are worth it Mercedes. Sam knows it and so does everyone privileged enough to have met you. You have got to stop relating the things that has happened to your life as your karma. It's a test to show you how strong you are and how wrong you see yourself." Kurt placed his hands on Mercedes' shoulders and looked her straight in the eye.

"By the way, you are totally wrong about fairy tales. They don't teach you about optimism, it's never about staying positive and blindly knowing everything will turn out good for the heroine. It has never been about that, fairy tales teaches us hope and faith… all is lost without hope and faith is believing even without knowing. You see it's never about the happily ever after, because lets face it, no one can be happy all the time!" Kurt sassed.

Mercedes gave Kurt a watery smile as she nodded in understanding.

Chapter 57

Olivia Jones was his world. The exact moment she died, Derrick Jones' world spiraled out of control. He became reckless and destructive to himself, but knew he doesn't want his baby girl to be part of any of it. He knew he had to hide that he is no longer the Derrick Jones before his wife died and he also knew, that to stay alive he needs to forget all the pain.

Mercedes is his life now, his wife's precious gift to him. She looks so much like Olivia that it pains him to see her. The love he feels for his precious baby is far beyond anything he could have imagined, but the pain remains the trigger to all his misfortunes. If only he could numb the pain, he knew they would be alright.

Sam and Rachel has been going through the documents most of the afternoon and still Sam cannot comprehend how Mercedes was able to resist the dark world her father was involved. He knew the stories and statistics of cycles and environment. He knows of a child's upbringing determining their future, but Mercedes was an anomaly. She was in the center of it all but she doesn't fit in any statistics.

The documents contained records of Derrick Jones from his younger days as well as his downfall. They tell of the tragic story of his life but nothing about child abuse or violence. Sam concluded that Derrick Jones fell when his world crumbled right before his eyes. Sam felt given the same situation today it would exactly be his own action. How can a man survive knowing the love of his life gone? How can he bear living when the person he lives for no longer there? Sam was brought out of his thoughts when Rachel started gathering the scattered documents to file them back into place.

"Is it time to leave already?" Sam asked as he helped to arrange the papers on his desk.

"I'm afraid so boss. You have a family dinner to go to and I promised Finn I will see him tonight." Rachel answered.

"Hmmm… Finn, how's our rising star by the way? And you two official now?" Sam queried.

"If you must know, yes we are but we're taking it slow." Sam looked at Rachel as if she was feeding him a load of crap.

"Don't look at me like that Sam Evans! Even at our pace you and Mercedes are unbeatable. You two have been going out for months and this sexual tension between the two of you is so thick it'll take a chainsaw to cut through it." Sam's eyes widened and quickly perused the papers once more.

Rachel was expecting a retort from Sam only to find him busily engrossed in the documents. Rachel has always been perceptive to her boss and this is one of those things that she's so happy she can easily read him like a book.

"Oh my Lord, you guys did it! The only time I passed up on a sleep-over and you've gone and done the job." Rachel took a seat to process the information she just received.

"How… What?" Sam looked up confused as to what just happened.

"You Samuel Evans is one lucky bastard. Cedes don't just give it up for anyone and to be frankly she's never given the goody goods to anyone. From the look of you right now you got the goody goods and then some. You better not be screwing with my girl or else, boss or no boss I will cut you and feed you to the fishes!" Rachel threatened Sam with a sweet smile that made Sam cringe at the thought.

"Ok hold on! First I don't plan on hurting anyone most of all Mercedes, and second of all what the hell are goody goods? My philosophy is that if someone needs cutesy words for sex then that means they should not be talking about S.E.X.! Lastly none of your goddamn business! As your boss you are bound by the company's disclosure agreement to never talk about the things you hear or see in the office or in my private life. So lets just clear up and go to our separate appointments." Sam started again with clearing his desk while Rachel did the same.

The two quickly finished filing the documents and placing them in Rachel's locked drawers before leaving the office building. Sam opted to leave his car in the office for his town car service and offered Rachel a ride to her destination. Rachel refused the offer since Finn will be meeting with her at the Starbucks across the street. Sam said his farewell and told his driver to take him to his parents' house.

Finn as usual was all nerves whenever he is meeting up with Rachel, he couldn't quite put it why it felt like coming to an execution every time. He likes spending time with Rachel, he actually misses her when she's not around bossing him around, but the feeling of dread never leaves. One good thing though is that as soon as he sees Rachel everything just falls in to place and the nervousness totally forgotten. Finn has nothing but warm fuzzy feelings now as he sees Rachel walking towards their meeting place. He has her hot camomile tea waiting for her and a bagel to share or not, depends on whether Rachel is too famished to wait for dinner. Rachel with a wide smile eyed their table and the awkward looking Finn standing up to greet her.

"Have you been waiting long?" Rachel asked as she placed a chaste kiss on Finn's lips.

"Not that long, just enough time to order something. You have perfect timing! I got you some tea and bagel if you want something to carry you before dinner." Finn smiled.

"Perfect! I needed a quick bite or I'll collapse. Too caught up with work to remember lunch and now my stomach's protesting!" Rachel grabbed her middle as she felt it rumble.

"Sam working you too hard? I think I should have a word with him, but first eat." Finn teased as he pushed the bagel in front of Rachel.

"Sam's a sweetheart, I am working myself to death because it's my choice so no words needed." Rachel smiled at Finn for his concern before taking a bite out of her bagel.

"Uhmm… Rachel, I need to tell you something." Rachel stopped eating to give Finn her undivided attention.

"Remember our band's launch party by the end of this month? You said you won't be able to go due to a prior engagement, so I was wondering if it will be ok for me to bring Mercedes along? I did ask her before you and I got together and I think it'll be good for her exposure, seeing as she's an aspiring artist like myself. She'll meet lots of people from the music industry and we were thinking of letting her sing one song during our set just to showcase her talent." Finn babbled as if trying to cram every reasoning possible.

"Finn… Finn… you're talking way too fast. First of all, I don't mind you bringing Mercedes, but I have to warn you, Sam's a bit on the possessive side, so you might have to clear that with him first before making plans." Rachel smiled as she imagined that conversation.

Finn's sudden realization that Mercedes is Sam's girlfriend showed painstakingly on his face. It was never Rachel's intention to scare Finn, but seeing his reaction made her feel bad for her boyfriend.

"Sweetie I'm sure it'll be fine. Sam and I are going to the business event I was telling you about so I'm sure he won't have a problem. And besides he can't stop Mercedes is she wants to go. Just make sure you let him know of your plans, I don't think he'd be against it." Rachel took Finn's hand and squeezed it to comfort him. Finn looked at Rachel and smiled at how amazing his girlfriend is.

Chapter 58

Dinner at the Evan's estate is always a spectacle, it looked and felt like a state dinner. For whatever reason no one in the family likes having this type of dinner setting but none would change it either. Sam walked in the house feeling under-dressed as he saw his family dressed to the nines.

"I forgot how these dinners are. I'm glad I'm exempted from the dress code but I feel like a peasant with all of you looking like that." Sam teased as he went to kiss his mother.

"Hush, you look perfectly acceptable." Mrs. Evans hugged her son before giving him a light slap on the arm.

"Hey old man, looking good there!" Sam went over to his father and gave him a hug.

"I don't know who this old man you're referring to because I don't see anyone old here." Mr. Evans joked as he returned the hug.

"Sammy promise you'll bring Mercy tomorrow." Stacie pouted as she went over to Sam and clung to his leg.

"I promise to do my best, that's all I can promise sweet pea." Sam bent down to pick up his little sister.

Stevie was sitting in the couch fidgeting with his bow tie, too repulsed to be in a penguin suit to make conversation with his brother. Sam saw the all too familiar look on his brother's face and went over to sit down next to him with Stacie on his lap.

"Hey lil' bro, wazzup?" Sam put out his fist waiting for their usual brotherly fist bump.

"No Mercedes, No bro!" Stevie smirked as he left Sam hanging.

"You did not just leave your bro hanging for a girl." Sam teased before grabbing Stevie for an Evans kids group hug.

"I'm gonna tell Mercy you said she's just a girl." Stevie shouted.

"Tattle tale! Stacie will defend me, right Stace?" Sam looked to his little sister for help.

"I'm gonna tell Mercy on the both of you so she'll only play with me!"

"Ouch! Betrayed by my own family." Sam mocked hurt.

The siblings continued their rough housing until dinner was announced. The Evans kids made haste to get into the dining hall thinking the sooner they get dinner done the sooner they can go and play. The older Evans leisurely walked to the dining hall smiling at their children's antics. They do value family time and none more evident when they all share a meal together.

The meal went quite well as expected. The Evans use meal time to catch up with each other's lives. Mr. Evans is proud that Sam is making good progress with his business ventures and ready to launch their latest venture in a couple of weeks. Sam learned that his father is in the middle of a big business acquisition that would make Evans Empire the best of the best. The kids were happily rambling about school and their after school activities while Mrs. Evans just as happy listened to every single one of them.

The conversation were moved to the family room and again to the study for some night cap when the kids were put to bed.

"I am not one to pry on my children's personal lives but I have to know what are your plans for the future?" Mr. Evans inquired as he poured himself and his son a drink.

"Well like I was talking about over dinner I am buckling down to the family business. I am through will all the shenanigans, I'm ready father!" Sam proudly declared.

Mr. Evans couldn't help but chuckle at his son's seriousness and was glad that his wife entered the study to lighten the situation.

"What have I missed? I told you not to start without me!" Mrs. Evans walked over to her husband and stood right next to him.

Mr. Evans wiped the grin off his face before turning around to hand over the drink to Sam.

"You haven't missed anything darling. Our son here was just telling me that he's ready to take over the family business, which means a cruise is in our near future!" Mr. Evans winked at his wife.

"What? I thought we're going to ask him what his plans for marriage and our grandkids!" Mrs. Evans asked confused.

It was at that very moment Sam spitted out the sip of drink in his mouth. Mr. Evans looked at his wife with amusement knowing all to well she wouldn't be able to take his hint and inadvertedly reveal their true purpose.

"Marriage? Grandkids? What are you guys talking about?" Sam asked as he gently put down his glass to avoid further accidents.

Mrs. Evans looked at her husband apologetically before facing her eldest son.

"We were hoping Mercedes would be here but I guess this is a good enough opportunity. Your father and I would like to know your plans of settling down and having kids. We know it's far from our generation, but we'd like to have grandkids and preferably soon!" Mrs. Evans looked at her son with wide eyes.

"What? When did the two of you decided on this? Mercedes and I are just starting our relationship and now you want grand-babies?" Sam stood up from where he was sitting not believing the conversation he is having with his parents.

"Hold up son! Your mother and I aren't saying have children right now, we just want to know if you have plans of settling down by marrying the love of your life. Evans men may be charming and a ladies man but when we fall in love we fall hard and to only to one woman for the rest of our lives." Mr. Evans drew his wife closer to him and stared deep in her eyes.

Mrs. Evans blushed under her husband's intense stare and rose up to give him a chaste kiss. Sam loved that about his parents and that was the same thing he's been looking for in all the wrong places. Finding Mercedes was like a light bulb brought to life. He was in the dark and now he has seen the light. He knew she was the one but he also knew they were moving way too fast and he doesn't want to scare Mercedes.

"I don't want to scare her. I told her I love her too fast too soon. I don't want to propose and her thinking it isn't right that I'm rushing things. I don't want to lose her, I honestly don't think I can handle being without her in my life anymore. Settling down will have to be her decision and I will go as slow or as fast as she wants it to go." Sam reasoned to his parents.

Mrs. Evans understood where her son was coming from and reached out to Sam for a hug. Sam gladly obliged his mother as he badly needed a hug.

"I told you we should have waited for Mercedes. Our son is very much like you and would move heaven and earth to please the woman he loves. But just a word of advise, if Mercedes is anything like the women that fell for an Evans man, then you have nothing to worry about. We are just like you Evans men that's why we are perfect for each other. It might be a scary thought, but in the end we know that there's no other future we would like to have!" Mrs. Evans advised Sam as she rubbed his back comfortingly.

"Yes ma'am! Every single one of those Mrs. Evans would tell you they wouldn't have it any other way!" Mr. Evans added as he patted his son on the back.