A/N: Hey everyone! My apologies for the late update. Last minute stuff kept me busy these past few days (cooking and decorating, plans with the family, etc.). But I'm glad to take a break and get back to writing for a little while.

I loved the reviews for the last chapter, and thanks so much for the new story follows and favorites.

Don't forget to review and let me know what you think about this chapter.

Enjoy!

Leroy Geiger, Jr. said his goodbyes to the officers before heading for the elevators. Although it had been a while since his last visit here, he still knew the hospital's layout well. He expected Mercedes to have a room on the second floor, so instead of asking the young man seated at the front desk for any information, he smiled and kept walking. He waited for a few minutes for the elevator to return to the first level. Eventually the elevator came and he got on.

Once he made it to the second floor he spotted a woman in blue, green and white scrubs and went to speak with her. "Excuse me?"

"Yes sir?" The woman answered.

"I'm here to see-"

"Mercedes Jones?" She asked hopefully, having noticed the gift.

He nodded. "Yes. She's my niece. Is she still able to have visitors? I'm assuming it's after hours and all but I'd really appreciate it."

The woman smiled at him. "No, no it's fine. Given that she's a minor and she was admitted through emergency, standard hospital protocol doesn't typically apply here." The nurse began looking at her chart. "Okay, she hasn't been scheduled for surgery or anything yet, so she should still be in her room. I'll take you there if you'd like." She said.

The man nodded. "Mrs. ...?"

"Yeadon, 'Ms.' actually." She smiled.

He smiled back. "Ms. Yeadon," he said as he reached out his hand. "Thank you for your help."

She shook his hand. "The pleasure's all mine. Between you and me, I'm happy that she seems to be doing better. Not just in regards to her health, but her spirit." They began walking. "I can only imagine how difficult this must be for her, you and the rest of your family as well. You have my condolences."

"That means a lot." He smiled solemnly.

They were now in front of room 209. Ms. Yeadon knocks on the door and after a few seconds she hears footsteps. Dr. Grigoryev opens the door and greets them both. Nurse Yeadon introduces the two men to one another and the doctor steps back to allow LJ space to enter.

Mercedes, Marie and Edna-Ruth look towards the door to see who it is.

The second the man steps inside the room his eyes land on Mercedes. "Hi, sweetie." He says as he walks over to her.

Mercedes looked at the oversized teddy bear he was carrying. She figured he must have seen that the left side of her face was a bit more damaged than the right, as he moved over to the other side of her bed. He put the stuffed animal down in an available chair and squatted down so he was at eye level with her. They communicated with intense stares and blinks for a while, both seeming to fear that words just wouldn't be enough.

Mercedes had grown up hearing about all the great times her mom, aunt and uncle had as children. Edna-Ruth made a habit of emphasizing the importance of family, so naturally LJ took his roles both as older brother and uncle very seriously. They were always a close family, so she knew this had to be really hard on him. He broke the sad moment with a kiss on her forehead. "I love you, Mercy."

Mercedes smiled. "I love you too, Uncle LJ."

He stood up and took a moment to properly greet his mother and sister. After giving Edna-Ruth a hug and kiss he went over to his sister.

Edna-Ruth spoke. "How'd you know we were here, honey? I couldn't reach you on your cell phone before we left. Did the responding officers contact you?"

"I called him, mama. I didn't want him to worry if he called and no one answered." Marie said.

Edna-Ruth nodded as LJ came back to her side.

Nurse Yeadon re-entered the room and began discussing the chart with Dr. Grigoryev. She also refers to a manila envelope and a folder. She gave the envelope to the doctor and walked over to Edna-Ruth, handing the folder over to her. "Ma'am, we need you to fill out these hospital forms. It should be pretty simple."

Edna-Ruth looked them over briefly, pleased that there didn't seem to be very many. "Thank you."

Ms. Yeadon smiled and began checking Mercedes' blood pressure on her good arm, then checking her vision. She was pleased that things seemed to be back to normal. "You're progressing so well." She looked back to the doctor as he continued checking information on the chart, occasionally looking at the contents of the envelope. "I think you're about to hear some good news." She lowered her voice a bit as she whispered playfully.

"I hope so." Mercedes said.

She winked and headed for the door as Dr. Grigoryev made his way to the family. "I've got some good news for you Mercedes." He said.

"So I've heard." She said with a small smile.

He chuckled. "I figured Nurse Yeadon informed you." He took the X-Ray scans out of the folder. "I faxed your X-Rays to a colleague of mine. He's across town with a patient in need of corrective surgery, but he was able to look over everything. We've both come to the conclusion that as long as your arm remains immobile for the next 6 weeks at the minimum, you should make a full recovery without needing surgery." He smiled brightly.

Mercedes looked at him surprised. She sat up slowly with the help of her aunt. "Really? I won't need the surgery? EVER?" She asked hopefully.

He chuckled. "I don't think so. Prior to your injury, your medical history was great. No fractures, no breaks, no serious injuries of any kind. You should heal fine on your own."

She smiled. "Thank you, Dr. Grigoryev."

"You're very welcome." He patted her hand. "You rest up for a while and I'll see about getting you cleared early."

She nodded slightly and leaned back against the pillows as the doctor left the room.

LJ took off his coat and grabbed his mother's and sister's as well. He went over to the closet to put them each on hangers. He came over to the chairs to get the gift and placed it on the table. He noticed the roses that were already there. "Who got you these, Mercy?" He asked.

Marie poured Mercedes a cup of water and held the cup while Mercedes sipped the water through a straw. When she was done she answered. "I'm not sure. They're pretty though. I saw them here when they brought me back up from my getting the X-Ray."

Edna-Ruth looked at them. "They certainly are beautiful. It's a good thing you'll be able to leave today. We can take them home and put them in water."

Mercedes abruptly turned to look at her grandma. Her words sparked a question to immediately form in her mind, and she wanted to know the answer. "Speaking of home…what happens now?" she asked, avoiding clarity.

Marie and LJ however knew exactly where the conversation was headed and looked to each other before setting their eyes on their mother to see how she'd react.

The older woman was a bit confused. "What do you mean, baby?" She asked as she softly touched Mercedes' forehead looking into her eyes.

Mercedes looked around the room before speaking. "Well, I mean…" Tears began forming once again. "…With them all…" She briefly closed her eyes. "Can I go home to Lima when I'm released?"

Edna-Ruth looked at her kids before grabbing her granddaughter's hand. "Sweetie, I don't think that's a good idea. I want you to stay with me."

"We figured you wouldn't want to go back anyway, so I called Roberta and told her to head to the house and get some things for you." Marie said.

"That's right, Mercy." LJ agreed with his sister before hearing the last part of her statement. "'Roberta?'"

"I called a little after we arrived. I didn't want to leave Mercy here and I knew you and Mama weren't going to either. I didn't really tell her that much about what's happened, but I think she pretty much figured it out. She's driving in from Columbus within the next few hours and she said she'll call us when she gets here."

Mercedes was surprised at the news that her godmother was on her way so quickly. "You guys already thought this out huh?" She smiled sadly. "Okay."

LJ saw his niece's sadness and wanted to comfort her. "It's best that you're around family, Mercy. We need each other to get through this. I know I need you all." He said with misty eyes as he kissed her forehead again. "And I don't think you staying by yourself would be a good idea."

Mercedes nodded as she absorbed the information. Things were happening faster than she'd prefer, but she knew that her uncle was right. They were all facing a tragedy, one from which they'd suffer longer if they weren't there for one another when it mattered. With a plastered-on smile, she vowed to hold her head up high and accept the way things were now.

At 9 am, the once tranquil silence within the darkness of Sam's bedroom was interrupted when he woke up. He took a while to force the rest of his body awake and turned over to sip on his water bottle. Although his nausea was apparently gone for the time being, his head continued pounding as he got up lazily and put on a pair of blue, plaid pajama bottoms before slowly making his way out of the room.

He descended the stairs and heard the sounds of his sister's laughter as well as his parents' voices. 'Shit,' he reached the bottom step. He hadn't even considered the possibility of everyone being up this early, especially since they must've gotten in really late. With a bit of caution, he walked into the kitchen.

"Sammy!" Stacey screamed with delight as she got out of her chair and ran to her older brother. She greeted him with a large hug, almost knocking an unsuspecting Sam into the refrigerator.

He groaned a bit. "Stacey, get off, Geez. Seriously I'm not feeling that great." He said as he removed the young girl's arms from around his waist.

The 6-year old looked up at him with sad, puppy dog eyes and a pouted bottom lip. She knew Sam wouldn't be able to resist.

He rolled his eyes before giving in. "Okay, okay I'm sorry. Give me a hug." He said while bending down a bit.

She smiled before wrapping her arms around his shoulders and planting a big kiss on his cheek. Sam slipped out a small laugh as he lifted her up and walked her back over to her seat at the table next to his dad.

Paul stared intently at his morning newspaper, only occasionally turning his attention away to sip some orange juice or have a bite of toast.

Sam noticed and spoke briefly. "How's the paper this morning, dad?" He asked.

Paul shook his head in disgust at the article. "Kids, let me tell you something important, right here and now." He sat down the paper. "This country…sucks." He said bluntly. "As of now, I'm convinced."

Sam nodded at the typical response and looked at his sister, her eyes wide with confusion as she twirled her spoon around the inside of her bowl of cereal. "Well I guess that could be a good thing. The firm could capitalize on all the trouble that people are bound to get into." He said.

The man looked up at his eldest son and chuckled. "Although that's not the type of optimism I expected, I suppose you're right, son."

Sam smirked and headed for the refrigerator. He saw a yellow post-it note stuck to the fridge door and figured his mom left it for him for last night. He rolled his eyes when his suspicions were proven to be correct. He was about to fix himself some cereal when he saw his mom and brother coming up the stairs from the basement.

Nancy smiled at him. "Hey sweetie, I didn't think you'd be up so soon. Did you get our note last night?" She came over to kiss him on the forehead. She noticed when Sam winced a bit and grew concerned. "Honey, are you feeling okay?" She began feeling his forehead and gasped when she felt a large bump. She lifted his bangs and her green eyes widened when she saw the bruised and bloody area. "Oh my goodness, what happened?"

Sam looked confused as he began feeling around his forehead until he felt the knot himself. He couldn't recall how he'd gotten it.

Stevie heard his mom's worried tone and brought his attention up from admiring his new soccer uniform, looking at his older brother's head. He whistled. "Whoa, that looks gross. Does it hurt?" He asked while jumping up to touch the injury.

Sam moved his head out of the way, just narrowly missing his brother's fingers. "Touch me and die, dwarf." He said in an intimidatingly low voice.

Stevie stuck out his tongue and moved to walk pass his brother, but abruptly turned back around and punched his arm before running up the stairs.

Sam turned and moved to run after Stevie before his mom grabbed his wrist. "Now, now, that's enough. Let me see your head." She examined the area closer. "What on Earth…?"

"I'm fine mom. It only hurts when you touch it. No big deal." He said. He opened the fridge door and began making his breakfast.

"Well, if you're sure." She went to the hall closet and got some rubbing alcohol and a Band-Aid. "But you should at least clean it off so it doesn't get infected."

Sam sighed as he finished preparing his cereal. He forced a gracious smile. "Thanks mom. I'll do it after breakfast."

She smiled back and kissed his cheek.

Stevie came back downstairs as they all sat at the table. Sam fought through his drowsiness and headache so he wouldn't alarm his parents, but the task became more and more difficult as Stevie went on and on about how excited he was for soccer practice later that morning. To make matters worse, Nancy, always the busy-body, would scold the two young children whenever they weren't eating or began picking on one another, while Paul complained about work.

When he finally felt as though he could push through the pain, Sam hurried through breakfast in hopes of cutting out before anyone noticed. When he was done he put his bowl in the sink and headed back upstairs, straight for the bathroom and locked the door. He looked into the mirror and saw the bruised area on his head covered in dried blood. He began cleaning it while racking his brain in wonder of what happened, but all he could remember was talking on the phone to Mike while on his way somewhere. 'Geez, what the hell did I do yesterday?'

When he finished cleaning the wound he went to his bedroom and plopped down on his bed. He sighed and sipped some more water. He fully intended to sleep for a while longer until he heard the faint buzzing of a vibrating phone. He looked at the floor and saw an unfamiliar black leather jacket. He got up slowly from his bed and reached inside the coat's pocket, the buzzing got louder. He pulled out a cell phone and noticed his fingers were covered with a white, chalky residue that reminded him of baking powder. He was disrupted from this thought as the phone began vibrating again.

'What the hell?' Sam realized now that something wasn't right. Aside from him holding someone else's jacket, this was clearly someone else's phone as well. He let the call go to voicemail, and then looked at the background picture. Things began making sense when he saw a picture of Brody taking body shots from some girl's cleavage. 'So where's my stuff?' He thought annoyed. The last thing he wanted was another lecture on 'responsibility' from his parents. He dialed Puck's number.

After a few rings he answered. He yawned before speaking. "What's up B? You better not be calling for a ride from some skank's house."

"Puck it's not Brody, it's me."

"Oh hey dude. Why didn't you call on your phone?"

"I can't find my phone. I guess I left it in the room last night. I need the number to Brody's motel room. Get it from your contacts and call back."

He sat up in bed and stretched. "Okay, no problem."

"Thanks, man. I'm going to try my cell number too and see if he picks up, so if I don't answer just text me."

"Okay, give me a few minutes."

"Alright, thanks again. Bye." With that he hung up. He immediately dialed his own number and didn't know whether to be pleased or upset that it went straight to voicemail. He heard footsteps coming up the stairs and then a soft knock on the door. "Come in." He said.

His mom walked in. "Hi honey. We're heading out for Stevie's practice. Afterwards, we'll probably take the kids to lunch. Are you sure you don't want to come with us?"

"No thanks mom. I've got some stuff to do today. Wish him good luck for me." He said as he started looking through his drawers, taking out clothes to wear later.

Nancy came forward. "You take it easy today. And keep that wound clean." She kissed his cheek before leaving the room.

Not long after, he heard the front door close and the house was quiet.

Sam finished setting out his clothes and gathered his shower supplies while waiting for Puck's call. He noticed that he didn't have any towels and figured there were some in the laundry room. He walked out of his room and down the stairs, passing through the living room and kitchen before going down to the basement. After searching through a large amount of the clean clothing, he finally found the towels. He grabbed two and went back upstairs just as his headache made its routine return. He stopped in the kitchen and opened the fridge to retrieve another water bottle, then went to the hall closet and got out the Tylenol. He took two and drank some water before heading back upstairs. When he returned to his room he saw the cell phone vibrating, alerting him that Puck had sent a text. He read it, and listed was the number he'd asked for. Now he just had to call Brody, but not before taking the longest shower in history.

Mercedes wore a bright pink sweat-suit, and stood next to Marie as the woman placed her clothing from the previous day into a medium-sized duffel bag she bought a while ago from Target, along with Mercedes' new outfit. When they got the news that Mercedes was in a good enough condition to be cleared whenever she was ready, Marie decided to make a quick shopping trip since Mercedes would need some new clothes to put on.

Mercedes had been given a prescription for her pain and was feeling a bit better. Roberta called about an hour ago and told them that she had arrived in town and was heading over to the house. Since Mercedes had been advised not to use her arm, Edna-Ruth suggested that she tell Roberta what items she wanted her to pack for the week. They were going to meet her there as soon as they left the hospital.

As her aunt continued packing, Mercedes went over to the table, the roses catching her attention once more. She thought back to her uncle asking whom the person was that got them for her. With her good arm, she reached inside the thick bouquet and stumbled across a small card. She pulled it out and read:

Trust that things will get better in time, as they certainly will for you.

Remember that those you love are never truly gone, because they're always in your heart.

We wish you as speedy of a recovery as possible Honey, and God Bless.

- Fairfield County Hospital Nurses' Staff

Mercedes set down the card as tears formed in her eyes. She brought her hand up to cover her mouth, totally in awe of the incredibly sweet gesture. She wiped her eyes just as Marie finished packing. Marie noticed her niece's tears and put down the duffel before walking over to her. She caught a glimpse of the card and smiled. She looked at Mercedes and pulled her against her in a side-hug. They stood there admiring the power of a stranger's, or in this case a group of strangers' kindness, until the sound of footsteps could be heard at the door.

Edna-Ruth and LJ returned from the first floor. They'd gone down to get a wheelchair for Mercedes and park the car closer to the hospital. Edna-Ruth noticed how quiet the two younger women were. "You ready to go, sweetie?" She smiled as she walked over to them and picked up the roses.

Mercedes looked at her aunt's smiling face before turning back to her grandmother. LJ and a young nurse came over with the wheelchair. Mercedes recognized her as the woman that assisted Dr. Grigoryev after she passed out. She smiled brightly at Mercedes.

The teenager returned the smile and nodded her head as she got into the wheelchair and LJ proceeded to lead the family out of the room, towards the elevators.

While they made their way there, Mercedes was greeted by the warm, encouraging smiles of her doctor as he came over to wish her a speedy recovery, the nurses' staff including Nurse Yeadon who sent her a playfully wink, and other hospital staff that simply felt the need to see her off as she began a new chapter of her life.

Although things weren't going to be easy, Mercedes chose to view all that's happened as something bad that could possibly lead to something good. 'I know it will be.' She thought as they entered the elevator and waved goodbye to the helpful people of Fairfield County Hospital.

'This is a new beginning.'

A/N: Have a happy Holiday everyone! :)