Thank you for your continued support. I appreciate it.

Standard disclaimer.

I want it all...and I want it smothered in whipped cream and chocolate!

The next afternoon, Mercedes was in the ER, doing her damnedest not to dwell on the fact that, Sam was probably leaving town at any moment.

She kept busy and was checking in a patient, that a local officer had dragged in after breaking up a fight, when she took a call from Marley.

"I'm at the HSC, just closing after the teen advocacy meeting," Marley said. "And we have a problem."

Mercedes raced over there, and to her horror, Marley gestured to the medicine lock-up.

"I think there're four boxes of Oxycontin missing."

Mercedes' heart sank.

"What?"

"A month's supply."

Mercedes stared at the cabinet in complete and utter shock.

"What?" she repeated.

"Yeah. I called Shelby," Marley said. "I didn't want it to come out later and have anyone think it happened on my watch. I never got into the lock-up today at all."

Mercedes nodded in understanding.

That meant it had happened yesterday, when she'd been in charge.

She'd gone into the cabinet several times that she could remember, off the top of her head.

There'd been the birth control samples she'd given out to a young woman and the smoker's patches she'd given Ray.

Also, the vitamins for Mrs. Garland. Mercedes recalled that one, because, Sam had been there.

And just like that, she flashed back to him, admitting he'd gotten too attached to his pain meds.

He'd quit cold turkey, he'd said, with a harsh laugh. Though it was more like hot hell.

A tight feeling spread through her chest.

Whoever had taken those samples, had known what they were taking. Because, there were only two reasons to take Oxycontin...to sell, or to use.

'Probably to use,' she decided, remembering Sam's words. It was an act of desperation to steal them, and addicts were desperate.

Her sister Kamara had been desperate, and she had failed her...badly.

Who else was she failing?

Mercedes went back to the ER heartsick.

She was in the middle of teaching some brand new, firefighter paramedics, how to start IVs, when she was summoned to Biff's office.

She headed that way, expecting to get her hair blown back. But she didn't expect to face several board members, including Shelby and her mother, Nadine Jones.

"Tell us how this could have happened," Biff said, tone stern.

Mercedes drew a deep breath.

"We received samples early yesterday, for the weekend health clinic. I stocked the cabinet myself and locked it."

"Exactly how much is missing?"

He already knew how much. He knew everything. He just wanted to hear her say it.

"Four boxes," she told him. "Each was a week's supply."

"So a month. You've lost a month's supply of Oxycontin."

Mercedes nodded.

She was pissed, afraid, and frustrated.

She'd gone over the inventory a hundred times in her head, hoping she'd just miscalculated.

But she hadn't.

The meds were missing.

Someone had stolen them from beneath her nose. It was an anguished, distraught, frantic act, by someone she most likely knew by name.

"We'd like the list of everyone who came through the HSC yesterday," Biff said.

This was what she'd been dreading.

And right now, she didn't know what she wished for the most...that Sam hadn't shown up at all, or that someone else she knew and cared about, had.

"Biff, we're supposed to be anonymous."

"And you were supposed to make sure, something like this never happened. The list, Mercedes. I want it by tomorrow morning."

"I can fix this," she said. "Let me..."

"The only way you can fix this, is by trusting me to do my job," Biff told her. "And that job is the bottom line. I'm in charge of the bottom line. Do you understand?"

"Of course. But..."

"No buts, Mercedes. Don't make this come down to your job being on the line, as well as the HSC."

Mercedes' heart lurched. She ground her back teeth so hard, she was surprised they hadn't dissolve.

"And I'm sure this goes without saying," Biff said, "But until we solve this, the HSC stays closed."

That was a stab to the gut.

"Understood."

Somehow, Mercedes managed to get out of there and get through the rest of her shift.

And now, all she wanted, was to be alone, but her mother caught up with her in the parking lot.

"What aren't you telling us, Mercedes?"

Mercedes was good at hiding her devastation. She'd had lots of practice.

"What do you mean?"

"Honey, it's me. The woman who spent thirty-six hours in labor with you. I know when you're hiding something."

"Mom, I have to go."

Nadine looked deep into her daughter's eyes and shook her head.

"Oh, no! Oh, Mercedes..." She touched her jaw. "Who are you trying to save this time?"

"Mom, please. Just go back to work."

"In a minute." She gently cupped Mercedes' face, kissed each cheek and then her forehead. "You can't save them all. You know that, right?"

"Yes, I know that." She closed her eyes. "I don't know what happened yesterday, but whoever it was, it was my fault. Someone I know is in trouble. And it's like Kamara all over again."

The sob reached up and choked her, shutting off her words, and she slapped a hand over her mouth to keep it in.

Her mother's eyes filled with tears.

"Oh, honey. Honey, no. What happened to your sister, wasn't your fault."

Mercedes closed her eyes.

"She came to me that night."

Her mother gasped.

"What?"

"Kamara. She came into my bedroom. And she said she needed me." Mercedes swallowed hard. "But I'd been...I'd been needing her and she hadn't been there for me. Not once. So I lashed out at her. I said terrible things to her. And you know what she did? She gave me her necklace. She told me she loved me. She pretty much said good-bye, Mom, and I missed it."

"Mercedes, you listen to me," her mother said fiercely, giving her a little shake. "You were sixteen."

"She felt like she was alone, like she had no other options. But she wasn't alone. There were lots of options." She let out a breath. "I failed her, mom. And I have to live with that. And now, I'm just trying to make sure I don't fail anyone else. I need to make sure no one else falls through the cracks."

"But at what cost?" her mother asked softly. "You're the one who said it, honey. There are just some things, that people have to do for themselves. They have to find their own will, their own happy. Their own path."

"Yes, and this is mine."

Her mother sighed and hugged her.

"Oh, honey. Are you sure? Because, this one's going to cost you big. It's going to cost you your job and your reputation."

"It already has. And yes, I'm sure. I have to do this, mom. I have to figure this out and fix it."

Nadine nodded her reluctant understanding, and Mercedes got into her car and drove straight to Sam's house. His house, not his home. Because, this was just a stop on his life's path...a destination, not the finish line.

She'd admired that about him.

Now it scared her.

Lots of things scared her.

Not too long ago, she'd asked him what he was afraid of, and he'd said he was afraid of not living.

They weren't so different after all, and God, she needed verification of that fact right now.

Sam didn't answer her knock.

The place was quiet. And empty.

Mercedes put a hand to her chest, knowing damn well, that last night had been a good-bye.

For all she knew, he was already gone. And for a minute, she panicked. After all, she'd asked him not to tell her, when he was leaving.

It was a very stupid, rash decision on her part. But when she peeked into the garage window and saw the Shelby, she sagged in relief.

Her relief was short-lived, though, because, she had no idea where he might go on a night like this. None whatsoever. And that didn't sit so well.

She was falling in love with a guy that she was afraid she didn't know at all.

Talk about taking a walk on the wild side...

Frustrated and annoyed, Mercedes went home.

She didn't bother with her usual routine.

'Screw the flowers. Screw the cat. Screw everything!'

She simply headed into her place, with the intention of getting into bed, pulling the covers over her head and pretending the day hadn't happened.

She was the queen of denial.

She dropped her purse in the living room. Kicked off her shoes in the hallway and walked into her bedroom, struggling with the buttons on her sweater.

Giving up, she yanked the thing over her head and got her hair tangled in the buttons.

"Dammit!"

She was standing there arms up, face covered by the sweater, when two strong arms enveloped her.

A startled scream pierced the room, but she was immediately gathered against a warm, hard form, that her body knew better than her own.

"Sam," she gasped.

He pressed her back against the bedroom door.

"You expecting anyone else?"

"I wasn't expecting anyone at all. Help me, I'm caught."

Instead, he slid a thigh between hers.

"Sam..." She struggled with the sweater some more and succeeded in catching her hair on a sweater button. "Ouch! I can't get loose."

"Hmm." His hands molded her body, everywhere. "I like you a little helpless."

She fought anew.

"That's sexist."

"Sexy," he corrected, untangling her, tossing the offending sweater over his head, while still holding her captive against the door. "What were you trying to do?"

"Strip." 'Crash. Forget.'

"I went looking for you."

"You found me," he said. Then tugged, and her scrub pants were gone.

Mercedes gasped.

"What are you doing?"

"Helping you strip." He slid a hand into her panties, his eyes dark and heavy lidded with desire. "Tell me why you went looking for me."

There was something in his voice, something edgy, and dark.

"I wanted to see you."

It was the truth.

She knew in her heart, that he wouldn't have taken those meds. He wouldn't do anything to hurt her, ever. She knew that, just as she knew that her time with him was limited. Too limited.

But she was going to be brave about that, later.

"I want you," Mercedes whispered.

In the dark hallway, Sam's eyes gleamed with heat and intent, and then his mouth was on hers, in a hard kiss.

She sucked his tongue into her mouth, swallowing his rough groan, as she savored the taste of him.

"My bed," she said. "I need you in my bed."

They staggered farther into the room and fell onto the mattress.

"Hurry, Sam."

"Take everything off then," he demanded, in that quiet voice, that made her leap to obey.

She pulled off her top and unhooked her bra. And she was wriggling out of her panties, when she got distracted by watching him strip.

He tugged his shirt over his head, and then his hands went to his button fly, his movements quick and economical, as he bared his gorgeous body.

In a matter of seconds, he was naked, with one hundred percent of his attention, completely fixed on her.

And apparently, she was moving too slowly, because, he took over, wrapping his fingers around each of her ankles, giving a hard tug, so that she fell flat on her back.

He was on her in a heartbeat.

"I was working on a car, but all I could see, was you, running your fingers over the brake line, holding onto the wrench. It made me hard, so goddamn hard."

Mercedes slid her hands down Sam's sinewy, cut torso, planning on licking that same path, as soon as she got a chance.

"Me touching your tools makes you hard?"

"Yeah," he said silkily. "Your hands on my tool makes me very hard."

She laughed, and he nipped at her shoulder.

"Your scent was there, too," he said almost accusingly. "In the garage, lingering like you were right there, pestering me with all your questions."

"Well..." She frowned. "Hey!"

His lips claimed hers in a hungry, demanding kiss.

"I kept hearing your voice," he said between strokes of his tongue. "Pretending to be all sweet and warm, when really you had me pinned to the wall and were drilling me...with your questions."

"Return the favor," Mercedes said breathlessly. "Pin me down and drill me, Sam...with your 'tool' not your questions."

Sam looked torn between laughter and determination to do just that.

"You've had me in a fucking state all day, Mercedes Jones."

"How bad is this state?" she asked.

"Bad," he said, grinding his hips to hers to prove it. "So bad, I couldn't function."

"Mmm," she moaned at the feel of him, so hard for her. "So what did you do?"

"Jacked off."

She choked out a laugh.

"You did not."

"I did."

The air crackled with electricity, and he kissed her again.

His hands were just as demanding as his mouth, finding her breasts, teasing her nipples, sliding a hand between her legs.

Finding her already hot and wet, he groaned.

"Please, Sam. I need you. I need you so much."

"Show me," he said.

"Show you?" she asked.

"Show me."

Knowing what he meant, she bit her lower lip.

He'd just admitted to touching himself, while thinking about her...surely she could return the favor.

In the end, he helped her, entwining their fingers and dragging their joined hands up her body, positioning them on her breasts, urging her to caress her own nipples.

When she did, he pulled his fingers free and watched with a low groan.

Then, apparently convinced she would continue on, he slid down her body, kissing his way between her thighs.

Slowly and purposefully, he sucked her into his mouth, making her writhe so much, that he had to hold her down.

Mercedes felt her toes curled, and her eyes automatically closed.

Then, her fingers abandoned her breasts and slid into his hair, to hold him to that spot, because, he was taking her to high heaven.

But he stopped and just pulled his mouth away, until she looked at him.

"Keep your eyes open," he said, and when he lowered his mouth again, she did as he'd told her, watching as he took her right to the edge again.

It was the hardest thing she'd done so far with him.

But nothing about Sam, was in her comfort zone...not his life's experiences, not the way he made her feel, and certainly not how he got her to behave in the bedroom.

It felt extremely perverted to keep looking at Sam...to be a voyeur in her own bed.

But try as she might to hold on, her vision faded, when he pushed her over the edge with shocking ease.

When Mercedes could open her eyes again, Sam was holding himself, just above her, making room for himself between her thighs, as he cupped her face, his own now struggling with control.

She knew he'd never intended for things to go this far.

She hadn't either.

But as she tugged him close and kissed him, she felt their co-mingled best intentions, go right out the window.

Taking control, Sam slid his big hand to her bottom and pushed inside her, with one hard thrust.

"Oh, fuck!" he said. "You feel amazing."

It was just the passion of the moment, Mercedes tried to tell herself, but she felt him to the depths of her soul.

And in her heart of hearts, she knew, he felt far more for her, than he was letting on.

It was in his actions, and the way he looked at her sometimes.

She wrapped her arms around his broad shoulders and melted into the hard planes of his body, as emotions welled up within her.

'I love you!'

She had to clamp her mouth closed, to hold in the words that wanted to escape.

"Mercedes..."

Opening her eyes, she stared up into Sam's darkened green orbs, her heart clenching hard.

His hands slid up to her hips, positioning her exactly as he wanted, and when he thrust again, she gasped, as pleasure swamped her.

Wrapping her legs around his hips, she whispered his name, needing him to move more rapidly.

Instead, he lowered his head and traced her nipple with his tongue, causing her to arch her back and shamelessly roll her hips into his.

"Sam..."

His fingers skimmed roughly up her spine, leaving a trail of heat, that she felt all the way to her toes, until his hands gripped hers on either side of her head.

"I'm right here," he promised, taking her exactly where she needed to go, without words.

And that was it, the beginning of the point of no return for her.

He was exactly what she'd wanted, what she'd never had the nerve to reach out and grasp for herself before.

It was ironic, really.

He didn't want her to depend on him, and yet, he was the one who'd given her the security, to be who she was.

If only he'd keep looking at her, the way he was right now.

For always.

It wasn't going to happen, she knew that.

She had to settle for this...for the right now.

Telling herself she was stronger than she knew, that she could do it, Mercedes cupped Sam's face and let herself go, moving with him in the age-old dance of lovers.

And when her release came, it shattered her apart and yet somehow, made her whole at the same time.

At some point in the night, Sam woke up, wrapped in warm woman.

And it wasn't her clinging to him. Nope, that was all him.

He had one hand entangled in her crazy hair, the other on her bare ass, holding her possessively and protectively to him.

'Shit!'

The night of the orchestra had been a mistake, and everyone was allowed one mistake. But if he slept with her again, tonight, it would be mistake number two.

He didn't make mistakes, much less the same one twice.

It took some doing, but Sam managed to get out of the bed, without waking Mercedes.

He gathered his things and walked out of her bedroom, quietly shutting the door behind him.

Dumping everything at his feet to sort, he hesitated. In his real life, hesitating was a good way to get killed. And yet, he did just that.

He turned back to her bedroom door, his hands up on the frame above his head.

He wanted to go back in there.

So bad.

'Don't do it, man.'

He looked down at his stuff. His shirt was missing and there was only one sock.

From his pants pocket, his phone was blinking. He knew it was Francine, because, she and Dr. Scott had finally connected.

The gig was up, she knew he was cleared.

His last message from her, had been something along the lines of, get your sorry ass back to work. This had been accompanied by a text, with a confirmation number for a one-way, first-class airplane ticket back to D.C.

Sam stubbed his toe on his own shoes.

Swearing softly, he kicked one down the hallway, then went still, when the bedroom door opened and the light came on.

Mercedes stood there blinking sleepily, tousled and rumpled and wearing nothing but his shirt.

"Hey," she murmured. "You okay?"

"Yeah. Sorry. Didn't mean to wake you."

"Are you leaving?"

"Yeah, I...yeah, I'm leaving."

He needed to.

And now.

Because, he was starting to wonder, how he was going to leave Lucky Harbor at all.

Mercedes made a soft noise in the back of her throat.

She was looking at his jeans still on the floor, and the two things that had spilled out of his pockets.

His keys and the empty Vicodin bottle.

She bent and picked up the bottle, staring at it for a long time.

And Sam saw her, taking in the two-month-old date of the prescription...the fact that there were refills available to him, which he clearly hadn't used.

Finally, she handed the bottle back to him with a gentle smile.

"Stay, Sam. Stay with me for tonight. Just tonight."

He couldn't.

Staying would be a mistake.

"Mercedes..."

She covered his mouth with her fingers, then took his hand in hers, drawing him back into her bedroom and into her bed, and into her warm, soft heart.

Continue to rest in peace, big sister Yvette. I miss you, especially today.

Stay safe!