Disclaimer: Unfortunately real life has happened, and I won't be able to give this story the justice it deserves. I was up late last night with a family emergency and will continue to have to alter my life to help out because that is what family does. I am going to have to sum up 6 chapters in 2, and say goodbye to this version of Samcedes while cutting out a lot of Kurtcedes. You would have thanked me in the long run because the drama and stupid decisions that these two kept making would have made you curse both of them out equally. This way you get one chapter of stupidity, and the chapter that realization hits and we can have our happily ever after ending. Thank you for your unwavering support of this story. I had fun adapting Tickled Pink to my very own AU Glee universe while using your reviews to help guide and shape the story. So my appreciation of you is shown by adding your two cents in this chapter. This chapter contains many things, but the light is coming around the corner.
Chapter Nine
Sam's opinion of Vegas shows after spending two weeks there was simple, too many bright lights, much too noisy, and too many people lusting after his wife's flesh. Nothing could have prepared him for Mercedes' shows. Her concerts may have begun at 8:00pm, but she was up at the crack of dawn in turn waking him up as she prepared for her grueling schedule. He would go back to sleep when she would leave for the Colosseum at Caesars, and he would wake up around ten for breakfast and begin to write and draw for his comic book. He would stay in her condo until four and meet Mercedes for an early light protein meal at five thirty which had become his new lunch time. After that Mercedes would be in wardrobe and hair and make-up until it was time for her to meet and greet special guests before she hit the stage.
The first week he stayed with her until the show was over around 11, and then they would leave the hotel around midnight and eat dinner around one a.m. and then unhealthily hit the bed not long after. The next day if it was a Wednesday performance meant they could sleep late and spend the entire day in bed if they wanted, and they did do that. But after the Saturday performances, they would order room service and spend the night in the hotel, and Mercedes had to do it all over again the next day on Sunday. This past Monday they had went to Mercedes' home in California. She took him to her favorite restaurants, and it finally felt is if they were on their honeymoon, until their return to Vegas early Wednesday morning, and the cycle repeated itself.
It quickly got to the point that he knew most of the words to "Colorblind", "Leave a Light On", "Happy Part Two", "Hope in the Darkest Hour", "How to Survive", "I Love Me", "Victor not Victim", and his personal favorite "Hell to the No" because she rapped in the song. Some of the songs she performed were songs she wrote for other artists, and he was not familiar with them. He could tell that some of these songs were more designed to disguise weak vocals with excellent music. On those songs, he would dance around or watch her shake her famous behind. She had written songs for Beyonce that she performed as well and those would be the songs she would sing last and do the most choreography on. She told Sam she designed the set list so she wouldn't strain her voice or be too tired to dance at the end, so saved the most energetic/ dance oriented songs for last.
Now it was their last weekend in Vegas, and Mercedes was drained. She had spent the week running interference between Kurt and her mother for their July 25th Christmas in July spectacular, as well as going to Hawaii with Sam which ended up being a wasted trip because they spent the entire time in bed which they could have done for free in Vegas, but Sam wanted to be romantic but his desire for her outweighed his desire to see the islands. Mercedes was too exhausted from the shows to want to do much that first night in Waikiki anyway. So, when Sam began his early morning seduction of her, she hadn't fought him off.
As soon as they got back to Vegas, she had several messages and missed calls from Tina. When she called Tina and found out that her best friend was pregnant. Mercedes was filled with mixed emotions. On one hand she was overjoyed with her friend expanding their family, but on the other hand she was worried if the cancer came back. Tina had the same worries, but being in Vegas when her friend needed her in Lima made that week unbearable. She couldn't wait until Sunday was over. They planned to fly back Monday to Lima, and Mercedes knew she was going to see her best friend as soon as possible.
The only part that Mercedes did not look forward to returning to Lima and being with her best friend was having to listen to Tina talk about her hopes that Team Samcedes would have a baby, so their babies could be best friends. Having Melanie Jones as a mother had convinced Mercedes that everyone wasn't meant to be a mother, and she knew that she wasn't ready to embrace motherhood any time soon. Some might say she put her career first, but she truly didn't want to be a single mom trying to be a successful artist when she knew how important being a parent was, and she wasn't stupid to believe that Sam would want their marriage to last any longer than the court appointed time.
When she asked Sam about why he didn't use a condom with her the first two occasions they made love, she was shocked to realize that he didn't even realize he hadn't. Sam promised that he had never had sex without protection before, and he had his doctor fax her, his last test's results which he had taken at his last check-up a month prior. Although both of them were clean and Mercedes was on the pill to regulate her period, she still thought they should use condoms as a back-up. So, they were hopefully guarded against an unwanted pregnancy.
She didn't tell Tina any of this because Tina would have cursed her out if she had found out that Mercedes had unprotected sex with Sam, and she didn't want to hear her friend deliver her some home truths. Although Sam was an 80s rap music addict, Tina and Mercedes were 90s music fanatics, and they loved TLC. Left-Eye wore a condom over her left eye, and both of them swore that they would never had sex without protection unless they were in a committed relationship, knew their partner's sexual history, and saw tests results. Mercedes who knew she was saving herself for marriage never worried about not fulfilling her part of the pact. However, even though she was married to Sam, he was a virtual stranger, and she should have been more careful with her health.
Sitting in hair and make-up gave her too much spare time to think of these things. She really needed to be preparing herself for her next to the last concert in Vegas before February. Mercedes reminded herself changing her focus to her present. Tomorrow night she would be dedicating and performing a song she had written about Sam and her audience would get to hear it before anybody else, and she was excited and nervous about this. She began to hum the melody of "Your Touch" as she sat there patiently waiting for the last piece of weave to be curled before she was to go to the meet and greet.
Mercedes was shocked when she entered her dressing room to see not the fans that she thought were waiting on her, but Tina, Stacie, Dwight, and Mike. "What are you all doing here? Tina is safe for you to travel? Why didn't anybody tell me you all were coming?" Mercedes couldn't keep the questions from falling out of mouth, and when she noticed Sam standing behind everyone with a smirk on his face, she knew he had kept their visit a secret from her.
"I begged Sam to get me a ticket for your show so that I can come hear you sing live, but he told me that it was your honeymoon and that I couldn't come stay with you guys. So, I asked him about your last night here and could I come then, and he reluctantly agreed. However, mom did not think it was safe for a rising high school senior to be in Vegas without adult supervision. She knew that Mercedes would be busy with the show, and she didn't trust Sam to look after me, like I need a babysitter." Stacie said looking at her brother with her eyebrows raised.
"So, that is why I am here. Stacie had her heart set on coming, and I told Mary that I would bring our baby and make sure she doesn't decide to run away and become a showgirl. Also, I get the chance to see my daughter-in-law who I have been missing immensely perform, so it was a win win situation for me." Dwight added before giving Mercedes a gentle hug to not muss her hair or make-up.
"That explains you two, but Tina and Mike, how? Why?" Mercedes once again couldn't complete her questioning as she grabbed Tina and gave her a gentle hug.
"I will let your husband explain that," Mike said looking to Sam who noticed that Mercedes and Tina didn't look like they were going to let each other go any time soon.
"I could tell how much you wanted to be in Lima to be with Tina and Mike, and I know we will be leaving early Monday morning, but you would still worry until you saw her face to face. So, I called and asked Mike if he and Tina had any plans for the weekend, and they both said they didn't. I knew dad and Stacie were coming, so I asked them if they wanted to join them, and Mike said he would talk to Tina and get back with me."
"I had to check with my doctor because my pregnancy is considered high risk, but he couldn't see anything that should prevent me from taking the brief flight here and back to Lima. I let Mike know, and he called Sam and arranged for us to travel with Dwight and Stacie." Tina said releasing Mercedes so that Mercedes could give Mike and Stacie a brief hug.
"Thank you all for coming. I was going to wait to tomorrow to sing a new song that I had written for Sam, but because he was pivotal in getting you all here when I felt so blue to cheer me up, I am going to have to sing it tonight. Please excuse me, I got to go talk to my music director and rearrange some things for tonight's show, but please make yourselves comfortable." Mercedes said almost teary eyed with the love she felt from the comfort she felt in seeing Tina and being around people who truly loved and cared for her because of who she was and not who they wanted her to be.
"Alright everyone, I want to take this time to recognize some special people who have come tonight to support me," Mercedes told her audience. "My best friend since I was in school and the inspiration for several songs for my next album Tickled Pink, Mrs. Tina Cohen Chang and her husband another great friend of mine who is also my lawyer, Mr. Mike Chang joining them are my father-in-law Dwight Evans, and my sister-in-law Stacie Evans. The spotlight shined on them and their locations and the camera panned to them. They are all here to support me because of this wonderful man that I married and who needs to come on stage right now because I am about to serenade with him a song that I was inspired to write just for him."
Sam came from his position behind the stage and joined Mercedes. He sat down on the stool so they could be the same height that she had on stage when she sang slow ballads.
Because of You
I can't explain what is happening to me
Words can't express how you make me feel
With you in my life I can find the strength to be
All the women I am, every part of me
Your green eyes they entrance me oh yes they do
Your touch liberates me oh you know that's true
And your smile when you smile makes me realize
That my life is improved because of you
Now the person that I was is a stranger
With you I can now face any danger
Because in your arms I find courage to be
All the woman I am, every part of me
Your green eyes they entrance me oh yes they do
Your touch liberates me oh you know that's true
And your smile when you smile makes me realize
That my life is improved because of you
Bridge
Even though we don't always see things the same
I am never left feeling like I am the blame
You promise to never hurt me again
And this promise you better keep my lover, my friend
Instrumental break
It's like you are a mirror that allows me to see
My strengths, my weaknesses, my insecurities
But you still appreciate me and encourage me to be
All the woman I am, every part of me
Your green eyes they entrance me oh yes they do
Your touch liberates me oh you know that's true
And your smile when you smile makes me realize
That my life is improved because of you
Mercedes could hear the applause and even Mike and Dwight catcalls because they were so close to the stage, but she couldn't tear her eyes away from Sam. She felt so vulnerable expressing some of the many emotions he made her feel. She was actually going to sing a different song, but his actions tonight made her change her mind and she sung "Because of You" because it was suitable for Dwight to hear, and it expressed her appreciation for him.
Sam knew his wife was talented and a gifted performer, but he felt totally unworthy to hear the words in the songs and to know that Mercedes felt that way about him. It was almost if she was in love with him. Who was he kidding, but Quinn and his mom had taught him that he was unworthy of love being just himself and not changing who he was a dorky artist who loved rap music, drinking, and a good time. He liked to work hard and play harder, but that was who he used to be. Had he changed did love make a person change? Was he in love with Mercedes? His heart said devastatingly so, but his mind wanted to convince him that he was not good enough to love her.
But he couldn't tear his eyes away from her face. The way she was looking at him to see if he liked the song that she needed his validation. Sam made a promise to never hurt again and the fact that she mentioned it in the song made him realize that he could hurt her if he didn't get his head on straight. He got up and whispered in her ear, "Thanks baby that was…I am overwhelmed by what that was you see me like I'm a hero, and that's something nobody has ever saw me as." He stopped talking looked into her eyes and was about to give her kiss until he realized where they were.
Mercedes felt as if Sam removed his arm from around her she would melt to the floor. She was grateful he didn't kiss her, or she would have been unable to close the show out. After thanking her fans and wishing them a 'Goodnight Las Vegas' She headed back into her dressing room holding Sam's hand the entire time.
"That was fabulous Mercedes. I hope you don't mind that I taped as much as I could, and that I will be uploading it on my Tumblr page as soon as we get to our room in the hotel." Stacie said after hugging Mercedes.
"She is right, if your parents would have been here tonight, I don't think they would ever mention you being a lawyer again. No lawyer has the impact that you have on others while you use that voice that God has given you. It is truly a gift, and to piggyback off that song you wrote for my son, my life is enriched because you are now in it." Dwight said hugging Mercedes.
Mercedes whose mother had told her constantly that tears were a sign of weakness couldn't stop the flow of tears that came down her cheeks while listening to the words that Dwight had said. As much as she hated to be court ordered to marry, meeting Sam, Dwight, and Stacie and forging relationships had been well worth all the pain and loss of control of her career.
"Mercedes Jones crying it must be a miracle," Tina joked looking at her friend and realizing how much Mercedes had grown as person from being married to Sam.
"Excuse you, you mean Mercedes Jones Evans," Sam corrected using his thumbs to wipe away the tears without smearing her make-up and placing his hand back into hers.
"You all need to go my penthouse suite upstairs and order food from the room service menu. I will be along shortly after I take this make-up off, shower, and change." Mercedes said needing a little time alone to digest all her feelings.
"Babe, do you want me to give them my key? I don't mind staying here and waiting on you." Sam admitted not wanting to let her go.
"I will be fine, and you will only slow me down Romeo. I will only be a few minutes I promise." Mercedes said as she headed to the bathroom. She needed time alone.
Sam reluctantly let her go and watched as he headed to the bathroom, and he took his family through the Colosseum to the hotel, and they rode the elevator to the top floor.
"Mercedes Jones, what in the hell were you thinking announcing to America that you were married to some white man and dedicating a song to him without running it through me your publicist first?" Santana Lopez was furious from being inundated with questions concerning Mercedes' marriage and her newest song that had social media in a frenzy. TMZ was speculating she was doing a Brandy and was pregnant and was pretending to be married so that the baby would be perceived to be conceived and born in wedlock.
"There better not be a bun in your oven missy." Santana told her after reading what some of the sites were speculating.
"I am not pregnant Santana, and you know the truth that I was sentenced to marry and that was why I had to delay the release of my album and cancel so many opportunities that were overseas or more than three day trips."
"We both agreed that the public cannot know the truth about your marriage or the quick annulment you told me you were getting. Now you introducing your in laws and your husband to an audience at your Vegas show, and your sister-in-law posted all of your little dedication to him including the eye sex that could be noticed on an iPhone quality video. You didn't tell me your husband looked like a male model. All the free publicity we could have gotten from you deciding to put your career back to take care of a friend, finding love in your hometown, and marrying that big lipped guppy could have kept you relevant and hot until you could drop that new album."
"Santana, I don't have time to talk about this with you." Mercedes looked at her clock and knew she had to be downstairs by ten to be ready to leave for the Colosseum.
"You better make time. Your management team has already contacted me, and they are being hounded by Sony to put a release date on your album to go with this momentum. You and your husband are going to have to decide on his taking a sabbatical and being with you because you are going to have to go on the talk show circuit and bring your huge mouthed hubby along with you. Ellen has called and demanded you both make an experience, Wendy Williams wants you both, and Oprah has even called. You know nobody turns down Oprah."
"We will meet with you in Lima sometime this week Santana. I have the show for tonight to worry about, and when I have finished it, Sam and I can discuss what we can and can't do with you. I know you going to call me out my name, but that is the end of this conversation." Mercedes said and then hung up the phone, turned the ringer off, and headed to her shower.
Sam tried to not make a noise but he couldn't help but overhear Mercedes' conversation with her publicist. He didn't want to cause her any more trouble with her career. She had already sacrificed so much. It was time he had a talk with his dad, and he was going to have to sacrifice more than taking three weeks off of his job.
Back in Lima, Mercedes just wanted to sleep for days. After Sunday night's performance, she didn't bother going to her dressing room to remove her hair and make-up, she went straight to the limo parked outside with Sam and headed to her condo. She fell asleep as soon as Roderick put the vehicle on the road and remained sleeping until Sam with Roderick's help picked her up out the limo, and Sam thanked Roderick for opening the door, carrying their bags, and helping him get on the elevator and using Mercedes' card to open the door before the driver headed back outside.
Sam gently led her into the bathroom and used her make-up removal wipes to gently remove the make-up from her face while he ran her a bath. As soon as the make-up, jewelry, clothing, hosiery, and shoes were removed, the bath had enough water for her to be able to set down in it and be comfortable. Sam continued to cater to his wife adding her favorite bath salts and lavender fragrance. Sam bathed her and let her soaked while he removed his clothes and turned on the shower. When the shower was ready he lifted her into the shower with him so she could rinse off the residue of the bath water. After their joint shower was finished, Sam wrapped Mercedes up in a bath rug and carried her to the bed and laid her down before going back and toweling himself dry and putting on his boxers. He then completely dried Mercedes and put her under the covers of the bed allowing her to sleep naked as he cuddled into her curves.
Mercedes knew without a shadow of doubt that Sam was a good man and worth risking her heart to love after his actions from the night before. Now that they were home and able to relieve Stevie and Stacie of their house-sitting and dog-sitting duties, she was surprised at how different their relationship felt. She could tell that Sam was up to something, but he kept telling her it was a surprise, and she allowed him to keep his little secret as she luxuriated in resting her voice, her mind, and her body.
The rest didn't last too long because one Santana Lopez had to make her presence known sooner rather than later. "Chica I know you don't read what people say about you in the media, but right now you and Sam are receiving a lot of negative press from his camp." Santana told her to explain why she was in Lima on Wednesday evening instead of later in the week like they had planned.
"What camp? I don't have a camp." Sam said looking at the Latina as if she had lost her mind.
"Your people who include your past associates have been painting a picture of you that could ruin everything for my girl. It's okay for a man to be a playboy before marriage society doesn't condemn men who sleep around only women. But your ex-fiancée Quinn Fabray and your supposed best friend have been giving interviews left and right and all of them paint Sam and your marriage in a negative light."
"According to Quinn's interview with US Weekly, 'Sam Evans is a weak man boy ruled by his mother and love for boyish things such as comic books and rap music.' She claims that you were not man enough to marry her because she fell pregnant forcing her to get an abortion and then ending the engagement by taking back the ring that you had given her in good faith. She says that your mother ruled you and made you sue for the ring causing her years of anguish and despair, and she blames you on being the reason why she is still single. That after her experience with you she now has quote commitment issues unquote."
"That's a bunch of lies. Everything about Quinn Fabray is a lie." Sam said.
"So your engagement, her pregnancy, her abortion, and the lawsuit involving the returning of the ring are all lies?" Santana asked looking at him in disbelief.
"No, she just twisted everything. Quinn was pregnant but the baby was not mine, and that is why I ended the relationship. She cheated on me. And the ring given to her was a family ring that stays in the family, so yes my mom made sure she was court-ordered to return it." Sam admitted feeling so low he wanted to disappear.
"Well, we can clear that up, but the things your friend, Noah Puckerman, have said to Jacob Ben Israel are much worse.
"What did the lying no excuse for being have to say?" Mercedes asked still trying to digest all that was happening.
"He said that your marriage is a fraud. That he has prove that Sam has been cheating on Mercedes before you two even married. He says that Sam is not even attracted to Mercedes because she is unlike any of the women he has even dated, and that in fact, Sam has a girlfriend a model named Marley who had recently visited him publicly in his office which shows that Sam doesn't care that Mercedes knows about his infidelities."
"He also states that everybody knows of the long nights the two of you spend apart, and how Mercedes is so hard up for attention from any man that she parades herself around the office turning on all the men just to get her husband's attention, but it doesn't work because Sam avoids being around Mercedes as much as possible. He even insists that Mercedes has had him over her house one night while Sam was out with another woman in order to get revenge. He says that Sam allows him to sleep with all of his women because he never cares that much about them. He admits to sleeping with Quinn, Marley, and every woman that Sam has ever been in a relationship with because Sam loves to shares his hoes with his bro."
"Why would he do this, why would he risk his own marriage by doing this, and why tell these lies that can be proven to be lies?" Sam asked in amazement.
"Because when asked every woman he names admits to sleeping with him, and all of them minus Quinn and Marley said that they were not in a committed relationship with you, so you didn't care if they slept with others or not. Quinn refused to comment which means she is guilty, and Marley burst out in tears saying it was a drunken mistake that she never meant to cheat on Sam or hurt her friend Rachel. I am just saying your relationship is sounding like a Jerry Springer version of The Notebook?"
"I promise you both that I have never had any kind of arrangement with Noah Puckerman and anybody I dated. The women I have casually dated; I didn't sleep with, so I couldn't tell them to not sleep with anyone else or felt comfortable about asking them who they slept with. Marley was the last woman I had a sexual relationship with and that ended six months before I even met Mercedes."
Sam paused and had a sudden realization. "I understand why he came after Mercedes now. It is obviously his MO. I bet Quinn was pregnant with his baby. I am so sorry Mercedes. Sorry that I was such a lousy judge of character, sorry that your reputation is being ruined because of my bad decisions. I can't do this anymore." Sam said leaving Mercedes and Santana alone.
"I am not a lie detector but my left breast didn't itch while he was talking, so I think he was telling the truth." Santana admitted looking at Mercedes whose eyes were wide in shock.
"One thing about Sam is he doesn't lie. I just don't know what to do or say. I have never been betrayed that way by both former lovers and a trusted friend the way he has. I have been dumped by Anthony for being too fat, verbally abused by mom for not being a good little lawyer, and I know what rejection feels like, but I can't understand the pain he must be feeling. If he would have never married me, then all of these evil things wouldn't have come out, and he would be better off."
"No one is better off living a lie. He needed to know the cancers he had in his life. It seems to me that this Quinn and Noah suffer from narcissistic personality disorder which is a mental disorder in which people have an inflated sense of their own importance, a deep need for admiration, and a lack of empathy for others. I have the same condition, but I see a therapist for my issues. In order for people with untreated NPD to be happy they have to associate with someone with a low self-esteem. Your Sam, if his mother is as bad as your mother, probably has a very low sense of self and was easily manipulated by being in relationships with them. Noah obviously is a sex addict as well, and he needs to get help before he catches a disease and his peter falls off or before his wife cuts it off."
"I see why I pay you all the big bucks. Now I need you to earn that obscene paycheck you make for working for me and tell me what I need to do to turn all this around."
Mercedes was grateful that with brainstorming with Kurt, Tina, and Santana that they were all able to come up with a plan of exposing the Disgusting Duo as Kurt nicknamed them upon hearing the story. Nobody could do evil like Santana, had the resources that Kurt had, and could plan like Tina. Mercedes knew all the bad press would blow over in a day and everybody who was somebody would be talking about the Pink and White Gala that she would be throwing next year. Mercedes couldn't wait until Sam was told the good news, so she rushed to his office after everything was put in motion, only to be told by Brittany that he was meeting with Dwight. Mercedes went to Dwight'
"Dad, I just can't do this anymore." She heard Sam say.
"Sam, I can't say that I agree with your decision. You need to talk to Mercedes and you two need to make decisions together."
"Dad, did you not see the interview that Quinn gave to the media. Mercedes doesn't deserve the bad publicity from being associated with me, and I can't leave you now in a lurch because of Noah Puckerman's stupidity."
"Sam no one is going to believe those lies, and I know I have to fire Puckerman, and right now we can't be short two interior designers. But we can find a way for you to do the job long distance until I hire someone new."
"Everything has gone straight to hell. I went to mom and Mrs. Jones and they both agreed how our marriage was damaging Mercedes' career and both our families' names, and they got Judge Washington to agree to a dissolution of our marriage without penalty of jail time." Sam said and Mercedes couldn't believe her ears, she ran away from the office for the second time in tears. Sam said he would never hurt again, but hurt people hurt people whether they wanted to or not.