The Journey Home
Sam and Mercy sat holding hands, the short trip back was quiet, there was a lot of emotion to fit into that journey, they felt like they were travelling home from the hospital with their new born, all the plans they'd ever had in their lifetime about raising their child was about to come true. Asia was sat at the back thinking about being happy, having to grow up real fast now she was going to be a mother in her own right, a single one at that, because if there was anything she was ever going to do in her lifetime it was being a brilliant Mom, because this history, right here, wasn't about to repeat itself.
Asia lay on the back seat hugging her baby bump, wishing life had dealt her a different hand, in relation to her relationship with Lathan, she'd have wanted him to be around to meet her parents right now, after all the conversations they'd had and all the tears he'd wiped up he deserved to be a part of this
Flashback
There were many days she'd sit in Lathan's battered old car damning her biological parents, he'd smile and reassure her that things weren't always as black and white as she'd want to paint them. But on this particular day he changed his tune, and that lead her to wonder where her mind was, it was the day before her 15th birthday, she was thinking of losing her virginity to this guy, and something deep inside her felt familiar, she thought being with him was her fate "What do you mean?" she snapped back at him
"You've been thinking it for a while, I think you're right"
"For a start my parents didn't say anything about them using drugs" she snapped back
"Well fact remains, no one any good throws their kid away" he shouted "Why am I suddenly the enemy?"
"Because you don't know shit about my parents"
"Well, if those ones in there are anything to go by, and the government reckoned they were better" he shook his head disgusted
"Fuck you Lathan" she'd slammed out the car and went into her house
Of course the next day he came back all apologetic, laden with birthday presents and everything went ahead as planned, everything changed for her that night, even her perception of her birth parents, she actually cared what people thought about them, anything was better than the reality she was living right now
End of Flashback
"So, what happens now?" Asia leaned forward asking her now parents, as they pulled up outside Sam's parent's house
"I guess we call everyone together for dinner later, and tell them what we're doing" he told her
"What are we doing?" Mercy asked him
"We can talk about that when we get in" Sam told her
"All of us?" Asia asked
"At some point yes, but for now, just Mer.. Mom and I" he smiled
"I'm going to spend some time with Amy" Asia opened the door
"Don't open any presents till we get back" Sam instructed, watching her leave the car
Sam & Mercy
"What the hell just happened?" Mercy held her hair like she wanted to pull it out "Is this real?" she looked at Sam "Yesterday we were sitting in a hotel ready to meet one of your clingy ex's and today with have a grown child with a freaking grandbaby on the way"
"Breathe" he touched her thigh "Breathe" he watched her struggling to get her breath "Listen" her head sprung up "We were ready for this 16 years ago, we've got years of prep, we can do this"
"But where are we going to live? how are we going to look after a child, a baby? What am I going to do if I'm not singing? What are you going to do it you're not teaching? How is this going to work?"
"Mercy" he tried to get her to focus
"What are we going to do Sam?" he didn't actually have an answer, he looked around for a second before starting the car, stopping at star bucks, and went in
"We'll work it out" Sam told her looking around for seats "But you need to calm down" they sat at a table
"I'm trying" she looked at him, picking her drink up as the cup slide out of her hand "Shit" she hissed at the crash attracting attention, they both looked around the room
"Mercy" he grabbed her hands
"Give me a minute" she sprung up to find the bathroom, he gave her five minutes before he decided no more, she was in meltdown
"Mercy" he pushed the bathroom door open looking around before he went in "Babe" he stood behind her looking into the mirror at her terrified face, her hands gripping the sink so tight he felt sorry for it "Just breathe, I'm here" he hugged her "I'm not going anywhere this time" he rested his chin into her neck "I'm here, we'll face this together"
"What are we going to do?" she looked into the mirror at him
"We're going to take a walk, clear our heads, and work this out, together"
"I just feel like I'm going to be so crap at this"
"Me too" he smiled "But if we're crap together…"
"You're never crap at anything" she stroked his chin smiling
"Neither are you" he kissed her cheek "Remind me to put a mirror in our shower"
"Why?" she looked at him puzzled
"Call it a sex toy" he laughed
"Sam Evans" she rolled her eyes smiling "Let's walk" she turned kissing him on the lips "Wobble over" she grabbed his hand, ready to go
A short walk to the park, did the trick, they started to plan their life, things were going to change, having taken on Asia and the baby, they agreed without question they wanted to do this.
"I've said before, I'll move to yours, you have a business, I don't" he told her
"You have friends though; I don't want to ask you to leave them, friends are so fake in my world"
"To be honest most of my friends are happily married with children, except Jake, he'll be pissed" he laughed at the pending conversation.
"So, my apartment isn't going to fit everyone in once the baby arrives, we'll need to move"
"Not a problem, I have savings"
"Me too"
"And lastly" he looked at her unsure of how to word it "Asia" he held her hand "She needs to know we're a wall, we agree on everything, even if we don't, we can discuss it after the fact, but don't let her come between our decisions"
"That girl will wear you down before she attempts to tackle me" she laughed
"I must admit" he laughed "Watching you two today, there was no doubt in my mind you were from the same gene pool, you're both fierce" he looked at her "But if you think that shit is going to wash with me" he laughed "Think again, I'm not a pushover" he looked into her eyes "I left that shit back at 15, I swore what happened back then, would never happen to me again"
"But you're in love" she leaned in teasingly
"I am that" he laughed "Double in love"
"I can't wait to get you into bed tonight" her forehead touched his
"I'm there" he laughed, his lips grabbing hold of hers "But deflecting from me not being a pushover" he warned
"What Mercy wants..."
"Mercy will get, as long as Sam wants her to get it"
"Okay" she giggled "It's so exciting, but so freaking scary at the same time"
"Let's go agree all this with Asia" he jumped up and held his hand out to help her up
Asia & Amy
Back at Sam's parent's home Asia and Amy were deep in conversation about her new life, in wherever Asia's parents chose "I don't know how you can just accept everything" Amy snapped at her, half scared to be losing her cousin and half jealous of the adventure Asia had found herself in
"I accept my parents, and in doing that, I have to accept everything"
"Everything?"
"Shit" Asia hissed at her new realisation "What if they decide they can't do this, that they don't want me, that they can't cope with the baby, god what if they reject me?" she looked into her cousin's eyes panicked
"What happened to bad ass Asia?" Amy shook her
"They're my actual parents, you know, people I never dreamed I'd meet, I have this really warm feeling when I'm with them, much like how I feel when I'm with Lathan, and I know I love him"
"Love?" Amy rolled her eyes at Asia's ridiculous "I can't stand my parent's half the time, let alone love"
"You love your parents Amy, even I can see that, and they love you"
"When I get what I want" she laughed "They're my parents"
"Exactly, and I'll go wherever they tell me to, I never want to be without them, ever again"
"If you're sure"
"I'm sure that's what I want, but I'm yet to hear what they want" Asia smiled "And thanks for being my sounding board"
"God, this is hungry work" Amy laughed "Let's go see if they're ready to go for dinner" she got up dragging Asia with her
The Conversation
"Hi" Asia smiled at her parents sitting in the kitchen
"Hi" Sam and Mercy, smiled happy to see her
"Sorry" she hugged them "This is all still very new to me; I can't get enough of you guys"
"Can we have our conversation now?" Sam asked
"Sure" she looked at Amy, all that uncertainty flooding across her mind as she followed her parents through to the living room "So" she sat down hard on the couch "Are you going to keep me?"
"Of course we are" Mercy gasped, sitting next to her daughter "What would make you ask something like that?"
"Everything was a bit much back there, I thought once you'd seen my diva"
"Have you seen your Mom's Diva?" Sam laughed sitting on the footstool in front of them "She was going just as hard at it in the car, watching you go through that, where do you think you get it from?"
Asia laughed rolling her eyes "How are you going to cope?" she asked her Dad
"I have ways" he looked at Mercy
"So" Mercy evaded the look "We decided to live in California, what do you think about that?"
"Cali's good, or so I hear"
"We'll need to move to a new house, my place is nowhere big enough for the baby as well" Mercy frowned "But we'll try and get that done as quickly as possible"
"I'm fine with that"
"We'll have to stop off at my place tomorrow, there are a few things to tie up, I need to put my place on the market, which I've started already, and see about getting a new job, I'm on it" he held his phone up
"We're doing this?" Asia laughed
"Just so you know, I've already told your Mom" he smiled at Mercy for the new title "Sam as friend, partner and now Dad can be very liberal, but don't take advantage, because, as Sam the man I can be very stubborn"
"I think you might be the only man in the world I'm about to ever take orders from" Asia laughed
"Okay so take the time after presents to get yourself packed and ready for our flight in the morning" Sam told both of them "We're going out for quick drinks with your Uncle and Aunt, so we'll see you in the morning" he looked at Asia
The Evans family walked round to Mercy's parent's house, it turned out to be better than Mercy had thought it would be, her Mom ended up having to cook food that she was used to, instead of getting all cultural again. After dinner they opened presents, sang happy birthday to Ryder and watched him open his presents, Mercy, Sam and Asia packed, before Ryder, Marley, Sam and Mercy left the others watching movies to get ready for their night out
Evening Out
"Will I do?" Mercy came to her front door asking,
"This is going to be a really short night" Sam grabbed her waist and pulled her to him "Really short" he kissed her on the lips
"Fine by me" she giggled pushing him to get into the cab "Hi" she greeted Ryder and Marley waiting for them, the two lady's finding easy chatter for the journey, they had teenagers and brothers in common, and Mercy was eager to learn
"We thought we could really let our hair down tonight" Ryder told his brother "Maybe the ladies could bring on their diva"
"I generally only do diva when I'm on stage to be honest" Mercy laughed
"I beg to differ" Sam laughed
"What" she laughed slapping his leg softly
"Hold on, stage?" Ryder asked
"Yeah I've been known to get paid for singing" she laughed
"You're in the presence of music royalty" Sam smiled at her, their eyes connecting
"So, what is the deal with you two?" Ryder asked "I mean how long were you two actually together for?"
"Fourteen months and three days" Sam laughed
"Are you guys going official?"
"We'll announce it when we know" Mercy laughed "We have a daughter, grandchild on the way, and a lifestyle to change, we haven't really got around to us yet"
"But we've started the conversation" Sam quickly added "Oh we're here" he opened the cab door and stepped out, helping Mercy and Marley out, they could hear the music before they entered the bar. The drinking started as soon as they got inside, Mercy was ordering champagne by the bottle before she knew what was happening, everyone was more than ready to let their hair down.
They danced, sang and talked throughout the night, then suddenly four hours had gone by, they were all worse for wear, and Sam was mumbling about a flight the next morning. An hour later, they were drinking for his birthday, after finishing another bottle, everyone was ready for home, they jumped in a cab, dropped Ryder and Marley home, grabbed their overnight bag out of Sam's car and made their way to the hotel "What?" Mercy asked at the strange look he was giving her
"I was just thinking on what Ryder said earlier"
"About?"
"About us, what we are to each other, what we want"
"Please, let's not get serious right now, we can work all that stuff out later" she frowned "My heads full of drink and sex, hotel and sex, birthday and sex" she giggled
"What Mercy wants, Mercy gets" he laughed, hugging her, for now the fact that they were living together in California was more than enough for him, she was right, they'd known each other for nearly 17 years, but they really didn't know each other at all. What was left of the night was theirs, behaving like teenagers, they drank, played loud music, and made very loud love all over the place, the birthday gifts just kept coming, that wasn't going to be possible for a while, when Asia and then a baby came into the mix
Monday
"Shit" Sam jumped out of his sleep "We're going to be late" he nudged Mercy "Come on"
"Sam" she moaned turning over
"Come on, you promised you'd get up" his voice wondered off
"Do I have to?"
"Come on" he pulled her by the hand "Asia"
"Five minutes"
"Come on" he yanked at her hand, pulling her across the room and into the running shower
They came out of the shower wide awake, having officially celebrated his birthday, Mercy making a call home while Sam threw their things into the overnight bag and ordered coffee. He sat on the bed listening to her conversation, she didn't sound like his Mercy, she sounded like a boss, one that took no bull, and played hard
"Okay" she locked her phone "That's done, I've told them a week just to be sure"
"Who was that you were talking to?"
"Earl" she flashed her hair off her shoulder, and looked back at the mirror "He's a friend, and my mastering engineer, as well as doing other things around the studio"
"Other things, around the studio?"
"Yes" she huffed "The studio Sam" she turned to look at him "What are you saying?"
"Nothing" he got up at the knock at the door, grabbing their coffee and handing her one
"Sam" she grabbed his arm before he could move off "We wouldn't be doing this if there was anyone else, you know that don't you?"
"I know" he half smiled "I guess I'm just jealous that someone knows you better than me"
"But nobody knows me like you know me" she pulled him to her and kissed him lightly "I'm ready" she stood up, grabbed her coffee and his hand "We've got this"
"We've got this" he agreed
"Talking about jealousy, am I going to meet up with any of your ex's?"
"Don't see any of them anymore, except Brittany, she's not an ex, she's married to my friend, but for some reason, she acts like my Mother" he laughed
"How many were there?"
"Three" he told her not bothering to look at her "You?"
"Two"
"Will I be meeting any of them?"
"I don't know, I'm still in the business, you might" he stood biting his top lip looking down at her
"I know myself" he laughed "I'm going to be all up in that mess, if they come in my space"
"And you know me" she laughed
"Yeah I know you" he threw his arm over her shoulder "You gave me my beat" he kissed her forehead "And our baby girl" they walked out the hotel and into their cab, leaving the door card in the box
"Why did we not talk about our relationships?" she asked on their way back home
"I didn't want to know, remember, and I didn't want you thinking there was anyone other than you" he kissed her forehead
"Our rollercoaster is about to start" she looked into his eyes, the cab moving through the almost empty streets
"Close your eyes" he told her "I've found the perfect words and killer beat for us" she closed her eyes and took in the noise of the streets, cab and their breathing her man coming at her with
Stop all this talk, where did it come from, you're way off the mark
We're not the problem, it's life that is hard, but we'll figure it out, stop tearing yourself apart
Are you still what I want? let me give you the answer, and pretty enough
Are you're crazy for asking, I still get a rush every time that we touch, you're more than enough for me
'Who I Love' by Guy Sebastian
"I love it" she smiled up at him
"We'll work it out" he kissed her nose, the rest of the journey was silent, both of them apprehensive for the journey ahead "Here we go" he finally cut the silence when they stopped outside his parent's home
Texas
They'd spent the half an hour they'd left themselves watching Sam open gifts and saying goodbye to their families, everyone was tearful, this had been a very different homecoming to the ones they were used to, Asia's presence made a difference to everyone, plus Grandma Hilton was due to fly back home in a week.
With the hire car returned, the new family sat huddled together in the airport lounge, it was only 6am and they could have all done with a bit more sleep "Come on" Sam knocked them when their flight was ready for boarding, they spent the journey watching a movie, all thinking about what was waiting for them in Sam's hometown
Four hours after departure, they were standing in his apartment "Well this is home for this week at least" he showed them around, his one bed home "I guess you two could have my bed and I'll sleep in here" he pointed at the couch. There were books everywhere, but being a teacher that was to be expected "Sorry" he moved some of the books off the couch "I clearly wasn't expecting company, and the bedroom's worse"
"You guys can have the bed, I'm fine out here" Asia flopped on the couch "I was up half the night waiting for you guys to get in, I'm catching some sleep right now" she lay down and curled up
"Hot drink?" Sam asked "I wished I could sleep, but I've made an appointment to go see Figgins at 12pm, explain myself, hopefully I can get into the University to pack my things and make some calls to Cali, see if there's anything going" he stood getting things ready for their drink, "An old colleague, a Lecturer, moved over there a while back, I might still have his contact somewhere" he looked around the kitchen, before opening a draw to take an address book out "Check this for William S" he passed the book to Mercy
"It's been years since I've seen one of these" she laughed opening the book
"Those are all very private numbers in there, too private to lose in a phone" he warned "Very important people"
"Here he is" she passed him the book
"Thanks" he passed her a hot drink and picked up the book "Will you deal with storage for Wednesday please?" he looked around "Laptop's over there" he pointed to the kitchen table "And I'll bring a birthday lunch back with me" he walked off towards his bedroom "Make yourself at home, I'll be back as quick as I can" he came out of his bedroom twenty minutes later looking very professional, the jeans and t-shirt replaced by shirt, tie and trousers, his hair tied back and his briefcase in hand "Bye" he kissed a sleeping Asia "Bye you" he pulled Mercy's mouth to him, and kissed her
"Don't forget you said you were going to meet up with your friends on Thursday" she reminded him
"If we get everything done" he smiled "You should come"
"What about Asia?"
"She should be fine for a couple of hours or so, she's fifteen, and responsible"
"I'll ask her when she wakes up"
"I'll see you in a while" he kissed her again and left the apartment, tapping on his phone "Jake" he called when his friend answered "Yeah I'm back, I need to see you on Thursday, thanks" he laughed at Jake's birthday wishes "The snooker hall 5pm"
He got to Figgins' house, plugged Jake to him as his replacement, called William for a reference, elated when he learned the man was at Southern California University and there were posts coming up in the new study year, that was one of the most prestigious institutes in the area, it certainly impressed Figgins.
After arranging for his belonging at the college to be picked up, the next thing on his agenda was getting his place rented out, he called a few local estate agents, and sorted out shipping for his instruments, books and things before ordering lunch to pick up on his way home.
"Hi, is it true are you really leaving?" Quinn met him at the pizza hut door
"Hi" he laughed "That was quick, yes I am" he smiled "I'm moving to California"
"When?"
"The weekend maybe"
"That soon" she smiled "Is there a leaving party?"
"Not as such, I'm meeting Jake at the snooker hall on Thursday at 5pm that's about it" he smiled "Tell Artie to come down if he's around"
"I will" she smiled walking off, she'd always pretended to be a great girl to all Artie's friends, but as soon as she got that proverbial noose around his neck, she did her best to cut him off from all of them, including him.
He made his way back home, finished lunch, and relaxed with his family, Asia had slept most of the evening and they'd allowed it, she'd had a rough weekend, and he was enjoying his second birthday in life, wrapped in Mercy
By Tuesday afternoon they'd showed the first agent around the property, in between busily getting the boxes packed, for storage or shipping, all done before 5pm. They'd made decisions about which pieces of furniture were going, by the evening they'd listened to two more estate agents and packed two cases before Sam called time on it all, they could see he liked the quiet life, there was another night in, Wednesday was furniture removal day, and a day closer to Sam leaving his life behind
Thursday
"We're going to be late" Sam looked at his phone, trying to rush Asia and Mercy on, they'd spent an unimaginable amount of time in the bath, Mercy had agreed to pass on sex because Asia was in the small house, they were both frustrated, and the bath was feeling all of that
"Carry on, we'll catch you up" Mercy told him still trying to sort her hair out
"I don't want to be late, I'll call you a cab" he kissed her forehead and left her to it
Mercy and Asia had stalled on purpose, they really didn't want to be there to take the blame for taking their friend away from the life he'd built with them, but they didn't know how to tell him that, they sat in his bedroom contemplating what to do
"We're not ashamed of ourselves, are we?" Asia walked into the bedroom asking her Mom
"No of course not"
"So why aren't we going again?" she sat on the bed looking at her Mom still doing her hair
"Let's give him half an hour and then follow" Mercy laughed, her daughter was calling her out on her fears
Snooker Hall
"Hey" Sam walked in, smiling at Jake, and Artie sat waiting for him "Great to see you guys" he looked at Artie "You should have told me this was what I needed to do to get you out your nest, I'd have done it sooner" He grabbed Artie's waiting hand
"So, dude, you're leaving us?" Artie smiled
"For California" Jake grabbed his hand greeting him too
"Yeah about that" he sat down "I" he looked around the room "I finally connected with Mercy you know"
"Are you serious?" Jake rolled his eyes
"Have you been drinking already?" Artie asked
"Every time you get drunk you talk about this imaginary Mercy girl, please give that shit up" Jake told him
"I'm not drunk" he laughed "And she's real"
"So why California?" Brittany's voice came into the conversation
"Brittany" he stood up "Where's Matt?"
"He's away on business" she smiled sitting next to him
"So?" he looked around the table at his friends "Cali because that's where she lives"
"So you have to move to her?" Brittany asked "Are you faking it?"
"Sam" Mercy and Asia were standing looking at the group of people sat in the booth
"Guys" Sam jumped up and stood between them "This is.."
"Cedes?" Jake asked surprised
"Yes" Mercy smiled nervously, stepping forward to shake hands
"Jake, pleased to meet you"
"Artie" Artie held his hand out for shaking looking between Sam and Mercy "You chose Sam?" he asked, an unbelieving smirk on his face
"Yes" she looked back at Sam wide eyed before shaking Artie's hand
"Sorry" Artie shook his head "Pleased to finally meet you"
"Finally?" Mercy looked back at Sam surprised
"Yes" Jake smiled "We thought you were a figment of his imagination"
"Brittany" Brittany looked at her smiling, not offering her hand
"The Mother" Mercy smiled, nodding at Sam knowingly
"What's this about Sam, the money?" Brittany looked past her to speak to Sam
"Pardon?" Mercy asked, she didn't get to say anything else, Asia was obviously offended
"How dare you" Asia stepped in front of her Mom, angry
"Asia" Mercy looked at her daughter
"No Mom" she looked back at Brittany "You have no right talking about my Mom like that"
"I was actually talking to Sam" Brittany corrected her "But you could do with finding some manners"
"Brittany" Sam stepped in "I came to say bye to everyone, not to argue"
"And that's fine, as long as you're doing it all for the right reasons Sam, I mean, less than a week ago you left a single man, and now you've come back with a random family, ready to give up everything, and everyone you've ever known?"
"I knew Mercy before I knew any of you, and Asia is my daughter"
"Your daughter?" Brittany asked shocked
"We had her when we were 15, she found us on Saturday, and I'm already in love with them" he grabbed Mercy's hand "And I choose my family, wherever they are, every time, I'm never losing them again"
"Sam, I'm sorry" Brittany's tone apologetic
"Dude" Jake laughed, changing the mood "Superstar Cedes is your mystery lady?"
"Do you really want my opinion?" Artie asked laughing "Teaching students in Dallas comes third, go with god Evans"
"Can I get your autograph?" Jake asked Mercy
"Sure" she smiled
"Mercy, Asia" Brittany caught their attention "I really must apologise, I really was just looking out for Sam, I'm sorry"
"That's fine, I actually understand that, I'm grateful even, but we got this" Mercy looked up at Sam smiling before signing the autograph for Jake
They spent the evening sharing, everyone excited for having a superstar in their midst, a few of his colleagues from the college turned up and the party got rowdy. By the time the night was coming to the end, it truly felt like a final goodbye, everyone kissing, hugging or shaking hands with a man, it was plain to see, they truly respected.