DISCLAIMER: I don't own rights to glee nor it characters.

It's all just a big misunderstanding.

I'm in shock after seeing Sam punch Matt and I don't have time to react quickly. Matt, on the other hand, wastes no time. One second he is touching his jaw with his hand and the other he is punching Damian back.

What the hell is happening?

"Sam!" I gasp, my eyes are wide as my mind tries to process what is happening. Matt shoves Sam, Sam punches Matt in response and then Matt punches Sam back. It was like the scene off a movie. At the same time, it's like I'm on a kindergarten playground watching two boys fight.

Sam shakes his head to the side and then takes a step forward. I quickly jump in between them placing my palm against Sam's strong chest. I have to stop this now when I can. Before it gets even messier.

"Stop it!" I demand looking up at him.

Sam's lower lip is swollen on the left corner. He is angry and I have a feeling that all of that anger isn't just directed at Matt. I've never seen him in a physical fight with anyone. He's always been so collected and so responsible. This is just not his thing and it's a strange sight.

"Why don't you wait for me inside?" I ask him, pleading him with my eyes. I need him away from Matt.

"Mercedes, what"

I turn to look at Matt. "Matt, please, don't say anything," I say to him then turn back to Sam. "Sam, please, wait inside for me."

Sam hesitates. He keeps looking from me to Matt before he finally nods once and he walks inside but not before shooting another glare at Matt who is glaring right back at him.

"Are you crazy?" Matt asks as soon as the front door closes. "Inviting him into your home?"

"Matt, Sam is not going to hurt me," I say turning to look at him. His lower lip is cut open and is also swollen. It's like they mirrored their throw punches. I feel angry at both of them for their actions but I know they weren't entirely at fault. It was all a misunderstanding that I caused.

He frowns. "You said you left him."

"I did, but it wasn't because he hurt me. Sam never put a hand on me. He wouldn't."

There is a moment of silence as Matt tries to process what I said. "So what you were trying to tell me earlier..."

"Was that I am back together with him." I finish for him.

"Huh," He says as realization hit him. "I'm sorry..." He murmmurs as he sit down on the porch steps.

After a moment, I sit next to him and we don't say anything for a while. It's dark outside. The road is quiet except for a car that drives by. There is this thick space between Matt and I that feels like a cold wall.

"I want you to know that I didn't go to California to see him," I finally say. "I had no intention of seeing him, it just sort of happened. I owed him an explanation. I owed it to him—" I gulp down the knot in my throat. I don't know why I feel like crying but I don't want to. I deserve no sympathy from Matt.

"Why did you leave him?" Matt asks looking straight ahead.

"Many reasons. Stupid reasons." I sigh. "But it wasn't because I didn't love him. I was stupid and young. I thought I needed a new life to feel happy again. So that's what I did. I didn't think I would see Sam again." I admit then smile sadly. "Life had other plans."

"You love him?"

"I do," I say softly. "I'm so sorry, Matt. I'm sorry I didn't tell you I was married."

"I guess I was hoping he was a douche." Matt chuckles sadly.

"Yeah that would make things easier." I joke. "But Sam is anything but. I don't deserve him, if anything."

Matt turns to look at me. "I doubt that."

"I'm sorry," I say again.

He half smiles then he puts his arm around my shoulders and hugs me sideways. "It's alright. I'm sorry for punching your husband. He sure can throw a good punch," He says as he touches his lower lip with his thumb.

I smile but don't say anything. After a moment, he stands up.

"I should probably go," He says.

I nod as I stand up too. "Thank you for coming. I'm sorry it wasn't the kind of dinner you were hoping for."

"Yeah, you owe me a dinner now." He smiles. "Can I just ask you one more thing before I go?"

I nod and wait for his question.

"You really believe there is no future with us? Is there any doubt in your mind that you want to stay with him?"

I think about his question then choose my words carefully. I don't want to lie to him. I need to be honest. "There is no doubt in my mind," I finally say. "I'm sorry, Matt. It's just not fair for you. I know you'll find an amazing woman that truly deserves you."

He nods and smiles sadly. "May God hear You. "We laugh softly and theh he hugs me tightly. "You probably won't see me at the branch anytime soon," He says as we pulled apart.

"I understand."

I decide not to tell him that I won't be working there for long. Tonight will probably be the last time we see each other.

"Goodnight," He says before turning away.

"Goodnight." I whisper but he's already getting into his car.

I stand there for a moment, until his headlights disappear down the street. I take a deep breath then pick up the roses Sam had thrown to the ground before I walk back inside the house.

I make my way to the kitchen. Sam isn't there but I begin to put the flowers in the same vase as the roses Matt brought me. Red and white. It's like a symbol of peace, I feel Damian's presence behind me before I see him.

"You didn't have to throw the flowers, you know," I say as I fix them in the vase. "They were the least at fault of the situation,"

"Seems like you were having a romantic dinner," Sam says instead. "Sorry to have interrupted." His voice is cold.

Finally I turn to look at him. He's standing behind the island in the kitchen. I lean against the kitchen counter as I look at him. I suddenly feel exhausted. "Sam, come on, you know it wasn't like that."

"Do I?"

I take a deep breath. "Matt had been on a business trip all week. I didn't get to see him until today. I was in the middle of telling him I was married when you rang the doorbell"

He shakes his head in disbelief. "You keep doing it."

"Doing what?"

"Keeping things from me."

I narrow my eyes at him. "I'm sorry. I didn't know I had to report everything I did to you."

"You know that's not what I mean," He says. "You have to realize that this could have been avoided if you would have told me you were seeing him today."

"It could've also been avoided if you would've told me you were coming."

"I was trying to be romantic." He shakes his head. "And I find myself being accused of hurting you."

I gulp. I realize that I'm'not being fair to him. It's all just a big misunderstanding. All because I hadn't told Matt sooner.

"You come back to Arizona and you go back to pretending you're not married. You're not even wearing your ring." Sam continues looking at me in disbelief. "My mother told me and I didn't want to believe it"

I suddenly feel on fire and not the good kind. "Your mom?" I interrupt. "I thought you were here because you were trying to be romantic."

He clenches his jaw. "I wanted to see you."

"What did she put in your head? That i was lying to you? That I had given you the wrong address? That I was playing with you? Cheating on you?" I ask looking at him. He doesn't say anything but his silence says it all. "Tell me, Sam. I want to know what she told you."

"She didn't" He sighs"She's just worried about me. She doesn't trust you."

"She never has." I tell him.

"I came here because I wanted to see you."

"Don't lie to me. You came because your mother put things in your head and you wanted to see if she was right."

We had walked closer to each other by now but we still keep a distance. I'm hurt. He's trying to make me feel bad for having Matt over when his intentions for coming here weren't fully because he simply missed me.

"And what do you want me to think when I get here and see that man in your house? You hide things from me, Mercedes, you don't communicate. You proved my mother right."

I scoff as I shake my head. "I haven't even moved to California and Mary is already causing us problems."

"You need to work to get her trust. She is my mother and she just lost my father. You can't ask me to blow her off. You can't ask me to choose."

"I know she's your mother. That's why I tried for a year to live with her, to get along with her. I worked to get her trust three years ago, Sam, and she had no interest in getting to know me. For some reason I don't understand, she hates me. She doesn't want me as your wife and she never will."

"We just need to talk-all three of us"

I wipe a tear that had rolled down my cheek, angrily. "No. You just don't understand. She is different with you than she is with me." I shake my head. "Maybe it's good that you came. Maybe we should take this as a sigh–"

"Mercedes–" He reaches out to grab me but I take a step back.

"No, Sam, your mother hurt me and you don't believe me. You don't take me serious. You said you weren't going to let her come between us and look at us. One week later, and we're already fighting because of her. This is not the life I want," I say shaking my head.

This is why I ran way...

"You have to understand-my father passed away. I-I can't abandon her."

I look at him sadly. "I am not going to make you choose between your mother and me. I'm choosing for you." I walk past him then stop. "You should go." I tell him before making my way to my room where I lock the door and hide myself in the closet. It's there that I finally stop fighting the knot in my throat and I burst out crying.

~~~~~~~~~

Quinn voice of reason-

I walk into Evans Pediatrics feeling determined. I'm on a mission. I need to see my brother and talk some sense into his knucklehead. I haven't stepped foot in the clinic for a while now. I don't usually come because I don't have a reason to for the most part. But today is different. The time is up.

The waiting room is filled with parents and their very loud children. There is a lot of noise from the kids yelling and them playing with their toys. There is also a movie playing on TV and I wish they would turn it down. A loud TV only makes people want to talk louder to talk over it.

I walk up to the reception desk and grin at the girl behind it. "Hi, I'm looking for Samuel."

The girl adjusts her glasses.. "I'm sorry, Dr. Evans is not here today. Did you have an appointment?"

"I'm Quinn," I say. "His sister. I'm trying to get ahold of him, did he come at all today?"

He hasn't answered his phone though that's not a surprise because he hasn't been answering my calls for days now.

"Im sorry, no," She says apologetically.

"Quinn."

I turn around at the sound of my name and see Penny making her way towards me. She's wearing her white lab coat and her hair is pulled back in a ponytail. I also haven't seen her in a while, probably since she started working here. She looks the same old Penny I met back when she was dating my brother.

"Hi, Penny."

She nods. "Hey. Is everything alright?"

"Yeah, I was just looking for Sam."

"Sam hasn't been here for two days." Penny says

"Really?"

I'm actually surprised. He hasn't been sleeping at the house either but one thing is for him to not spend the night at home and it's a whole other thing for him to not even show up to work. The clinic is his priority. He wouldn't just leave. What if something happened to him? I feel like we would've heard from him already if it was something bad. I begin to think about places where he might be...

"Yes, I'm worried about him," Penny says and there is concern clear in her eyes.

"Me too," I say. "I'm going to look for him. Thanks for letting me know."

"Please let me know when you find him," Penny says behind me and I turn to look at her. "So I know he's okay." She continues.

Oh, it's so obvious she still really care about my brother and it's not in the friendly way.

I nod. "I will. Bye." I turn around and walk out of the clinic.

As I walk to my car, I try to think of where he might be. Sam doesn't really go anywhere except to work from home and vice versa. He hasn't been home for two days. I know he's having a rough time which was why I'm worried about him.

He's never been this irresponsible. Not even when Mercedes left. He came back from Arizona on Saturday, four days ago. I knew things didn't go well the moment I took a look at his face. I told myself I would give him time, knowing he wouldn't want to talk about it then. Sam shuts down when he's angry or sad or both.

But he didn't come out of his room Sunday and that night he was gone. I take out my phone and go to my messages. Maybe he went back to Arizona?

Jane, I text, is Damian with you guys by chance?

I get in my car and start it while I wait for the reply. Thankfully, Jane replies quickly.

No, she texts.

Are you sure? Maybe he's with Mercedes?

I'm with Mercedes right now, she texts back. Then in another text. Is something wrong?

I sigh as I type, I haven't seen him in 2 days...don't know where he is.

Minutes later, she calls me.

"Hey." I answer.

"Hey," She whispers. "Give me a second." Pause. "Sorry, I had to come outside. You really haven't seen him in two days?"

"No. I thought maybe he drove back to Arizona?"

"No, he's not here. He was here on Saturday...I wasn't here but Mercedes told me..."

I frown. "They had a fight didn't they?"

"I think they broke up."

"They can't just break up, they're married," I say to her. "Do you know why they fought?"

Jane clears her throat. "I don't know the details but, um, I think it was about your, um, mom."

"Ah." I sigh. Of course it was.

"Should I tell Mercedes he's missing? She has heen ignoring his calls so she's still mad but... should I tell her still?"

"No," I say. "She's just going to worry. I'm going to look for him, I think I might know where he is."

"Okay, let me know when you find him so I know he's okay."

I almost laugh at the fact that Penny said the exact same thing. "Okay, thanks, Jane."

"Good luck, bye,"

The line goes dead. Back when Mercedes ran away, Sam would hide in a hotel room where he could be alone sometimes. Most of the time, where he could drink without worrying about driving or hurting anyone which can cost him his medical license.

I go on the internet and hack into his e-mail and pray he still has the same password he had three years ago. I sigh in relief when I log in successfully and wonder if I should tell him it's good to change your password at least once a year. I decide not to.

Wondering why I hadn't done this sooner, I find a hotel confirmation receipt in one of his most recent e-mails. I grin. I know where he is.

I put on my seatbelt and drive out of the parking lot. The hotel is all the way in Santa Monica, about an hour away. I make it there in 40 minutes speeding through the highway. I feel myself getting more angry at him as I get there. Sam is an intelligent man, obviously, but he's so naive when it comes to his relationship with Mercedes. He didn't know how to keep her back then and he's letting her go again now.

I'll speak with my mother too if I need to, but right now it's Sam who needs someone to yell at him for being an idiot.

The hotel is on the ocean side. Sam's room is on the 15th floor. The elevator stops about 3 times on the way up for people before I finally reach it. I walk down the hall until I find his room number and knock. I have to knock a few times before I finally hear movement on the other side and then the door opens.

Sam looks like crap. He's wearing shorts with a white T-shirt. His stublble looks dark against his skin. The circles under his eyes seem darker than usual. I can tell he's had a few drinks.

"Quinn?" He asks narrowing his eyes. "What the hell are you doing here? How did you find me?

I decide to ignore the question about how I found him.

"Mom was worried about you. She almost called the cops," I say. Not entirely a lie. Mom did look worried this morning and she is dramatic enough to call the cops.

Sam sighs. "Leave me alone, Quinn."

He tries slamming the door but I stop it with my palm and push it open. I walk inside the room before he locks me out. Sam grabs a beer from the fridge then sits down on the couch facing the ocean.

It's a really nice view. It makes me want to go out there and play some volleyball. I've lived here my whole life and the ocean still takes my breath away. I help myself to a beer and sit on the couch diagonally to his. We sit in silence for a moment. I haven't seen Sam in this state since Mercedes left. Sam has always responsible and serious about his job and he never drinks, even if he's not on call. So when he does start drinking, it's a sign that he's feeling really low.

"So you had a fight with Mercedes." I began.

Sam looks annoyed." don't want a Pep talk."

"But you need one. No, you know what? Screw pep talks. I'm here to tell you to get your head out of your ass."

He narrows his eyes at me. "You don't know anything, Quinn, leave me alone."

"Stop acting like a boy," I say setting the beer on the center table and lean in. "Be a man, Sam."

Sam clenches his jaw before he stands up and pushes me, making me fall back against the couch. I stand up and get on his face. "You want to hit me? Hit me if it'll make you feel better. Hit me if it'll take you out of this ridiculous phase."

He has his fists clenched at his sides but after a moment of glaring at me, his shoulders relax and he then he looks miserable again.

"I love her," He says as he sits back on the couch.

I sit next to him. "So fight for her," I say placing my hand on his shoulder.

He shakes his head. He seems to be miles away as he stares at empty space. "I can't seem to get it right. What if I can't make her happy? What if I make her give up ber life to come here and she ends up being unhappy again? Maybe she deserves better."

"Sam, if you love her you need to make her your priority. She needs to come before your job and before Mom."

He looks at me. "I'm trying"

"You need to try harder, man," I say to him. "Or you're going to lose her for real this time. Listen, Mercedes was already patient with you before and I know that is she doesn't see that you're doing anything to make things work between you two, you'll lose her Sam."

"I don't want to lose her." He murmurs, mostly to himself.

I feel bad for him. He looks so lost, so miserable. I can tell he's struggling. He wants the perfect, happy life where both your wife and mom got along and are best friends and have dinners every Sunday. I love Mom as I'm sure Sam does too.

We're diferent though. Sam has always had a soft spot for her. He's always been the good boy, momma's boy. It's the reason he let Mom decide where he and Mercedes would live and it was the reason Mercedes had ran away. Sam needs to draw a boundary line if he wants Cedes back.

"Mercedes is so sure mom is never going to accept her as my wife," Sam says. His voice sounds sad.

"Do you believe her?"

He runs a hand through his hair. "I don't know. I know she wouldn't say that unless she really meant it. It's just" He turns to look at me. "Is mom really a bad person?"

"Nah," I say. "She just wants to rule our lives too much." I sigh. "Listen, I'm all about respecting Mom and listening to her opinion, sure, but that's it. Don't let her get in your marriage. You need to buy a house and take Mercedes with you."

Sam meets my gaze. "Why do you care so much, Quinn?

I shrug."I just see how much you've suffered and how much Mercedes suffered when she lived with mom. You two love each other and should be together. And I mean, you're a knucklehead when it comes to relationships so I feel it's my duty to play Cupid."

"Cupid Quinn." Sam chuckles as he reaches for his beer.

I look at him and wonder how many beers he's had. I can only hope he'll remember this conversation when he's sober again.

God knows he needs a wake-up call.

DOUBLE UPDATE TODAY.

Hmmm. I'm thinking, I'm thinking.

please excuse all grammar errors.