A/N: Hey everyone! It's been a while but you know me, my schedule gets busy towards the middle and the end of the semester :( However this past week has been fairly easy, so I decided to use that to my advantage and get in some time for writing. I'll be focusing on this story for a while (my next two updates), so don't worry about anymore long waits between updates.

Enjoy!

Mercedes rested quietly in the backseat of Marie's blue Beetle as they pulled out of the hospital parking lot. They were headed for Mercedes' home in Lima to meet Roberta, with LJ following in his truck.

Mercedes looked out of the window and up at the morning sun shining down beautifully upon them. She wondered if it was a sign, a sign of happiness. Like a form of communication between her and God like her mom once told her when she was little. But how could that be during a time like this? What could God possibly want her to be happy about?

Was he telling her that her family's safe with him now?

Was he telling her that there's no need for her to hold on to any more sadness?

Was he telling her that her life was spared for a reason, and that she should continue living the way they would've wanted her to, by being happy?

'Maybe so,' she thought with a small smile before casting another glance towards the sky.

Mercedes was lost in her thoughts for a few more minutes before she began dosing off.

Marie looked at her sleeping form in the rearview mirror. She was glad that the happy-go-lucky Mercedes they all know and love seemed to be returning.

Edna-Ruth looked down at her vibrating cell phone as another phone call was sent to voicemail. It was just one of many that morning, as more and more visiting relatives arrived in town. She knew that eventually they'd have to be informed of what's happened, but between Mercedes sleeping so soundly in the back of the vehicle and the whole thing still being so fresh, she didn't think now would be the best time.

Marie noticed her mother's uneasy silence. "Mama, are you okay?" She asked quietly.

Edna-Ruth turned to look at her daughter. "Oh, yes I'm alright, sweetheart." She rested her head against the headrest. "I guess I'm just tired."

"That's not surprising. You didn't get any sleep in the hospital. Please promise me that you'll get some rest when we get to the house. Please?" Marie asked.

"Oh honey, we probably won't be here for that long. I'm sure Roberta's got everything packed."

"I know, but I think we could all use some rest, especially Mercedes. I still think we should've taken her home before driving over here. All this motion in and out of the car can't be good for her with an injured arm, but she's just as stubborn as you."

Edna-Ruth smiled. "Some call it stubborn. I call it strong-willed."

Marie shook her head and chuckled softly. "There's a fine line between the two, I guess." She smiled.

About 30 minutes later, they pulled up to the house.

They saw a white Toyota parked in front, and Marie drove up the driveway.

LJ pulled in behind her and got out of his truck.

Edna-Ruth gently woke up Mercedes. "Honey, we're here." She said as she rubbed her knee.

Mercedes slowly opened her eyes and looked to her right where she saw her Lima home. She reached to unbuckle her seatbelt, but Marie was quick to stop her.

"Ah ah ah nope, don't you move. I'll take care of it." She said as she got out of the car and came around to Mercedes' side.

Edna-Ruth exited the car as well and walked over to the back where Marie and Mercedes were now standing. She grabbed Mercedes' hand and they began walking to the side door.

LJ walked up the driveway and headed in the same direction.

The door was suddenly opened by a beautiful woman. She was slender, of average height with gorgeous dark chocolate-colored skin. "Hi, you guys." She said as the family stood in front of her. She saw Mercedes and couldn't stop the sad frown that formed. She stepped out of the house and opened her arms wide, reaching them out in Mercedes' direction.

Mercedes gave a small smile before walking into her Godmother's waiting arms.

Roberta hugged Mercedes, careful of her sore arm. "I'm so happy to see my Mercy. How are you feeling, sweetie?"

"Hi, Auntie Robbie. I'm feeling a little bit better." Mercedes said.

"Are you hungry? Do you want anything to eat?" Roberta asked while they all began entering the house.

Mercedes shook her head. "No thanks, I'm really tired."

"Actually Mercy I think you should have at least a little food. You didn't eat very much before we left the hospital." Marie interjected.

Mercedes paused to consider her aunt's advice before nodding in agreement. "Okay, I guess I can eat a little. But I'm too sleepy right now." She said while yawning.

"Go upstairs and relax. How about you take a nap and you can eat a little later?" Roberta asked while gently rubbing Mercedes' back.

Mercedes nodded. "Okay." She slowly walked up the stairs, around the hall corner and into her bedroom.

After Mercedes was out of sight, Roberta turned to face everyone else. It was almost as if she hadn't noticed them when they first arrived, because she was so focused on Mercedes. But now that she was able to give them her full attention, she was surprised by their appearances. Edna-Ruth's eyes not-so-obviously read sadness and anger, masked by an almost emotionless façade. Marie was the exact opposite, wearing her emotions on her sleeve and freely expressing her concerns. LJ on the other hand could only be described as…unreadable, which isn't surprising to anyone that knows him. It was part of the reason why things never worked out between him and Roberta years ago.

Roberta was brought back to reality when LJ lead his mother to the couch to have a seat. He and Marie sat next to her.

Roberta walked over to them. "Mama Edna, Marie, would either of you like me to get you something to eat or drink, maybe some tea?"

Edna-Ruth slowly opened her previously closed eyes. "Yes dear, thank you." Edna-Ruth smiled. "And after you're done, could you do me a favor?"

Roberta nodded. "Sure, what is it?"

"Sit down and take it easy. Today's been rough for all of us, and I think we could all use some rest. With that early morning drive you must be exhausted, so please don't worry about anything, okay?" Edna-Ruth patted the younger woman's hand.

Roberta smiled. "Yes ma'am."

LJ got up from the couch. "I'll help her out, mom. Come on Roberta." He headed for the kitchen, Roberta slowly followed behind.

They entered the kitchen quietly. LJ grabbed the tea kettle from its place between the dish rack and sink. He turned on the faucet and began filling the kettle with water. Roberta opened one of the cabinets and grabbed 5 tea bags, placing them on the counter. She then went over to the stove to turn on one of the burners. When LJ was done filling the kettle, he turned off the faucet and walked over to the stove. Standing next to Roberta, he placed the kettle on top of the burner.

They stood in silence for what seemed like hours before Roberta spoke up. "So…"

"…So," LJ responded.

"It's been a while."

LJ nodded and replaced his sorrowful expression with a rather nonchalant look. "Yeah it has."

Roberta knew where this was going, but she also knew that he was suffering right now. "I know that's my fault, and I'm sorry…But you know that I still care about you."

LJ looked up from the kettle and turned to face her. He could tell she meant every word she'd spoken. Her warm brown eyes were a bit misty, her brow furrowed with guilt. He knew that now wasn't the time to discuss their rocky history on top of everything else they were forced to handle. He reached to hold her hand. "Yeah, I know." He intertwined their fingers. "I still care about you too."

She smiled a bit. She hadn't expected him to respond this way, though she was happy he did.

LJ gave a small smile as well. "I'm glad that you're here Robbie."

Roberta's smile slowly faded away as she began thinking back to Marie's call. Tears began to spill from her eyes. "L," she sniffled. "L, I just…I can't believe this is happening."

LJ took her into his arms and hugged her tightly as she continued to cry. He ran his fingers through her hair and trailed that hand down her back while the other held her firmly at the waist. He rested his head against hers as they stood in silence. She clung to him tighter and continued crying. LJ placed a gentle yet lingering kiss on her head. Roberta slowly turned to look at him. She was hypnotized by his loving gaze. She leaned forward, closer to his face until she came within inches of his lips. He stares into her eyes as he closes the gap of space between them and kisses her. At this moment, they forget about all they've lost. They forget about their past. The only thing they can focus on in this moment is how much they want, need and love each other.

Mercedes slowly sat up on the side of her bed as she looked around her room, exhausted yet restless at the same time. She couldn't sleep anymore. She expected things to feel differently upon her return home, but not this different. It was as if she was living a completely different life now. Suddenly the portraits of her family displayed throughout the house weren't just captured memories from the past, but a way to keep those memories alive. She couldn't escape the images, and although they were agonizing reminders of the accident, a part of Mercedes didn't want to escape them.

She slowly got up from the bed and began walking over to her dresser where she saw a few of her own photos. She'd taken the pictures over the Fourth of July weekend almost two months ago. She admired most of them for a while before she focused on one which caught her attention. It was a photograph of her and her mom eating ice cream in the kitchen. They'd just finished cleaning up after their visiting relatives left for the night. Alonzo and Melvin were sleeping in the living room, so they decided to have a treat since they weren't tired enough to go to sleep. Mercedes laughed at the memory as she picked up the picture and stared at her mom's smiling face.

The moment was abruptly interrupted when Mercedes' cell phone began ringing. She sighed and picked it up off of the dresser. She checked the caller ID and saw that it was Kurt calling. Obviously she wasn't in the mood for gossip, so she took a deep breath to steady her nerves before answering on the sixth ring. "Hello?"

"Mercy, girl I have to talk to you. OMG, OMG, OMG! Okay, so you know how Blaine and I were hanging out at his house yesterday? Well, at first things seemed to be going pretty normally. We were watching movies and eating popcorn, but by the time the opening credits started on the third movie, we were making out like crazy! Seriously, it was fantastic. And afterwards, he told me that he likes me! He's so awesome, Cedes. I know he's still getting over his Ex and all, but still." Kurt sighed with a wide smile on his face. "I think this is the start of something serious." He said excitedly. "So, what are you up to? How's everything at your grandma's house?"

Mercedes remained quiet as she picked up the picture of her and her mom, and slowly walked over to her bed to lie back down. About halfway through Kurt's story she zoned out and hadn't been able to focus on the rest of what he was saying. It wasn't until she heard him calling her name that she was able to finally snap out of it. "Huh? What?"

"Are you just waking up or something? How come you haven't told me what you think about me and Blaine?"

Mercedes cleared her throat in an attempt to stop the sob she felt slowly beginning to form. "Oh yeah, that's great Kurt. I always knew you two would end up together." She said in an unconvincingly happy tone.

Kurt knew something was wrong. "Mercy, you okay?"

She sniffled. "Um, yeah I'm fine."

Kurt was quiet as he took a moment to listen to Mercedes uneven tone. "…Are you sure? You don't sound too good. Is something wrong?"

Mercedes looked at the picture once more before she decided to stop avoiding the problem. She closed her eyes and took another deep breath before answering Kurt's question. "Kurt…something happened."

Kurt immediately began to worry even more. "…What happened?"

Mercedes took a moment to allow the words to form in her mind. It was hard enough just trying to understand it all on her own much less actually saying it to someone else. But she knew that this wasn't the type of thing that should be kept a secret, not that she'd be able to successfully do so anyway. She sniffled again. "…My family…they're…they're dead, Kurt."

Sam stood underneath the shower head in complete ecstasy as the warm water soothed his body. He'd already been in the shower for 30 minutes, although he hasn't even moved a muscle within that time. He ran a hand through his hair removing the wet strands from over his eyes and bent down to reach for the soap. He created a thick lather in his hands before washing his neck and face, careful not to touch the knot on his forehead. He washed the rest of his body and quickly washed his hair as well, he'd saved it for last in another attempt to avoid the sore area.

After he's done, he slowly turned off the shower and grabbed his towel. He wrapped it around his waist before walking into his room. Once inside, he starts drying off while heading over to the bed where his clothing and Brody's cell phone were on top of the blanket. He remembered that he still needed to call Brody's motel room before leaving to go over there, so he picked up the cell phone and checked Puck's text to find the number. He stores the number and dials. After several rings and still no answer, he ends the call and tries dialing again.

This time, Brody answers the phone on the third ring. "Hello?"

"B, hey it's Sam."

Brody rubbed his eyes. "Hey man, what's up?" Brody slowly rolled onto his back. The movement caused the other occupant of the bed to stir in her sleep a bit and she clung to Brody, wrapping her arms around his torso. He rolled his eyes.

"Not much. Honestly I'm still pretty out of it, and from the sound of your voice I'm guessing you are too."

Brody laughed. "Yeah, tell me about it."

"Right," Sam laughed too. "Listen, I've actually got some of your stuff. Your jacket and cell phone are with me. I grabbed yours instead of my own before I left last night."

Brody nodded. "Oh no problem, were you going to swing by before I check out?"

"Yeah, I'm getting ready to leave my house in a few minutes. I was hoping you didn't leave yet."

Brody got up from the bed and put on his boxers. "Alright, cool. I've got a few hours before I have to get back to campus. I'll see you in a bit."

"Yeah, okay. Bye," Sam said before he hung up. He finished drying off and removed his towel before tossing it into the hamper and getting dressed. He put on a white t-shirt and blue jeans with his favorite blue chucks. He grabbed Brody's jacket along and cell phone along with his wallet all of which he placed in his pants' pockets. Then he went to his bedside table to grab his keys and water bottle before exiting his bedroom.

He slowly descended the stairs, went to open the front door and left the house. He walked up the driveway towards his car and opens the driver's side door before getting inside. Sam is immediately shocked when he notices some blood on the steering wheel. He squints in confusion before he finally realizes that the blood more than likely came from him hitting his head. He brings a hand up to his injury and looks into the rearview mirror. 'What the hell is going on?' He thinks to himself, still very unsure about why he'd hit his head.

He chooses to ignore all that for now and puts the key into the ignition. He starts the car and slowly pulls out of the driveway and onto the street headed for the motel.

Mercedes lay in bed with her eyes closed, willing herself not to let her thoughts prevent her from sleeping. She knew it was pointless, especially after telling Kurt about the accident and the fact that she'd be moving to live with her grandmother. Mercedes had expected a dramatic reaction, but what Kurt gave was nothing short of a meltdown. He cried and constantly asked if she was okay, only for Mercedes to respond by insisting that she was getting better and that she appreciated his concern. As his hysterics continued, a part of her began feeling as though she should be asking how he was doing instead of vice versa.

She shook her head and sighed as she opened her eyes and slowly sat up in bed.

Suddenly there's a knock on her door. "Come in," Mercedes said.

Marie opened the door a bit and poked her head inside of the room. "Hey, just checking to see if you were up yet." She entered and walked over to Mercedes. When she reached the side of the bed, she handed Mercedes a cup. "Here's some tea, and Roberta's almost done cooking, she made scrambled eggs. Do you feel like coming downstairs to sit with us or do you want to eat in bed?" She asked.

"No, I'll come downstairs. I can't seem to get back to sleep anyway." Mercedes sipped on her tea, moaning as the warm liquid quenched her thirst. "Mmm…thanks, I needed this."

Marie smiled. She grabbed Mercedes' desk chair, put it next to the bed and sat down. "How's your arm feeling?"

Mercedes finished taking another sip of her tea before she spoke. "It's pretty numb now, but I guess that's better than being in pain." She turned around and sat the cup down on her bedside table.

"Make sure you take your pills. That numbness is supposed to stop soon and we don't want your arm giving you too much trouble."

Mercedes nodded. "Yeah, I know. The last thing I want is for this to get worse. I don't want it to heal incorrectly after I've already been forced to keep it in this cast. That would suck."

"Exactly," Marie said. "Totally suck." She laughed.

Mercedes laughed as well. "You sort of remind me of mom when you say stuff like that." She smiled. "But you don't take it too far and start getting annoying when you say it."

"You know why she made you feel that way? Because she's your mom," Marie said. "For some reason, children always feel weird when our parents start acting like us. Imagine how I feel seeing my mom TEXTING of all things." Marie laughed again. "But when someone else's parents do it, it's funny."

Mercedes smiled. "You're right. I guess that's why people liked Mom so much, and my dad. Alonzo and I would say that they were probably just lying to them so they didn't hurt their feelings. But now that I think about it, when my friends' parents do the same thing, it really is funny."

Marie nodded. "I told you so." She was quiet for a moment and grabbed Mercedes' hand before looking down at the floor. After a while, she looked back up and noticed Mercedes also seemed to be having a moment of her own. "Mercy, are you okay?" She asked.

Mercedes looked at her aunt. "Oh yeah, I'm fine…I was…just thinking about yesterday."

"Honey," Marie leaned forward to hug her niece. "You know you can talk to me, your grandma, or any of us whenever you want."

Mercedes smiled a bit. "I know. But thanks for telling me anyway." She said as she kissed her aunt's cheek.

Marie smiled and wiped the tear that fell from the corner of her right eye.

Roberta came to the doorway. She stopped when she saw Marie and Mercedes' embrace and smiled at the scene. She quietly entered the room. "Hey you two, breakfast is ready."

Marie stood up and wiped her eyes again. "Okay, come on little woman, let's go eat."

Mercedes' swung her legs over the side of her bed, and she slipped on her flip-flops before standing up.

Marie and Mercedes exited the bedroom.

Roberta was about to follow them out, but she noticed Mercedes' empty cup and decided to get it and take it downstairs to be washed with the rest of the dirty dishes. As she walked over to the bedside table, she saw the photo Mercedes had been looking at earlier. The image of her best friend's smiling face brightened her own as she picked up the picture. She smiled and looked at it for a while before walking over to Mercedes dresser and retrieving the empty picture frame on top of it. She placed the photo inside of the frame and walked back over to the bedside table to place it down. She continued looking at the image. 'Oh Allie…' Roberta thought sadly before she slowly walked towards the door. She spared one last look at the photo before exiting the room.

Roberta walked down the stairs, and as she entered the kitchen LJ finished preparing five plates. Edna-Ruth was seated at the table sipping on some water, and Marie told Mercedes to sit down as well.

Mercedes sat next to her grandmother and Roberta told her she'd bring over her food.

Not long after she was seated, Mercedes' cell phone began ringing again. She pulled it out of her pocket and saw that it was Tina calling. She answered. "Hello?"

Tina was quiet for a while as she tried her best not to cry. "…Hey Mercy, it's uh…it's T. This isn't a bad time to talk to you, is it? I didn't wake you, did I?"

"No, no Tina, I've been up for a while. And I'm taking it easy today so we can talk anytime…What's up?" Mercedes asked hesitantly. She had a good feeling that she already knew why Tina was calling.

Tina sniffled. "Well, I spoke to Kurt a little while ago…"

'Of course, I knew it.' Mercedes thought as she continued listening.

"…He told me what happened. I'm so sorry, Mercedes. Really, I am. I couldn't believe it when Kurt first told me. I just…I'm really sorry, Mercy." She said as tears ran down her cheeks.

Mercedes closed her eyes and lowered her head. "…I appreciate that T, but please stop crying. Like I told Kurt, I'm doing okay."

"But he told me that you're moving," Tina said with a sad tone.

Mercedes was quiet at first, eventually she responded. "Yeah, my family's in Fairfield so I'll be staying with them."

Suddenly they heard the loud sounds of tires screeching as a car abruptly stopped in the middle of the street, right in front of the house. This alerted the family and they all got up, exited the kitchen and went into the living room. They looked out of the window and Mercedes didn't need to look for any longer than a second before she realized what was going on.

She hung up her cell phone and went over to open the front door before she headed for the car. "What are you guys doing?"

"Mercedes, we had to come by. We needed to talk you out of leaving. Please, you can't move." Kurt said as he and Tina quickly got out of the car and shut the doors.

They sped over to Mercedes but stopped in their tracks as they got a better look at her. Aside from her injured arm, her face was still pretty cut up and a bit bruised.

Kurt gasped and placed a hand over his mouth before slowly walking up to stand face-to-face with Mercedes. "Mercy…" He reached to caress her cheek.

Mercedes smiled sadly. "I'm fine Kurt, really. It looks so much worse than it really is."

Tina came over to stand with them. "Cedes…I know this has to be difficult for you, and I know we probably seem selfish and stupid, but we really don't want you to leave Lima." She said as Mercedes' family came of out the house, walking towards them.

"Mercy, what's going on?" Edna-Ruth asked as she and the other adults stood next to Mercedes.

"Trust me Gran, you're about to find out," Mercedes said.

"We're sorry for making a scene ma'am, but we really wanted to see how Mercedes was doing, and…" Tina said. She paused before saying the next part as she considered the elderly woman's feelings. "…and we wanted to ask if there was any possible way that she could stay here."

Kurt spoke up next. "When she told me about what happened, I freaked out. Hearing Mercedes tell me about losing her loved ones and seeing her right now, it makes me feel a way that I haven't felt since I was a kid, when my mom died."

Edna-Ruth listened intently after hearing Kurt's words. Marie put her hand over her chest while tears formed in her eyes, and Roberta closed the space between herself and LJ as he wrapped his arm around her shoulders.

"You see, I know what it's like to lose someone important to you. In case you couldn't tell, I'm gay. For a long time, my mom was the only person that made me feel comfortable enough to be myself. When my dad was getting mad at me for not playing with toy trucks like the other little boys, my mom was taking me to singing lessons. My world felt like it had ended when she died, and from that point on I tried being the son my dad always wanted me to be. I kept it going for a while, and I was miserable every single day. It wasn't until I got to high school that I made any real friends, and they encouraged me to be honest with myself. I came out that same year, and I've never been happier. Eventually, my dad even accepted it. We're closer now than we ever were when I was pretending to be someone that I'm not."

Edna-Ruth nodded as Kurt continued.

"All that has taught me about how important it is to hold on to those you care about, and Mercedes is one of those people." Kurt grabbed Mercedes' hand. "She's got such a big heart, but she's honest, serious and firm with us when it's needed, which is part of why she's such a great addition to our show choir. She's a great friend, and we really don't want her to leave us." Kurt finished with a hopeful smile.

Edna-Ruth looked at her children and Roberta before looking at Mercedes. "Sweetie, how do you feel about this? Would you prefer to stay here in Lima?"

Mercedes quietly looked to the ground before answering her Grandmother's question. "Well…McKinley's not so bad. As you can see, I've made some great friends. And with this being my senior year, I don't think I want to start over again."

Edna-Ruth smiled in understanding and hugged her granddaughter. She then looked at Kurt and Tina. "What are your names?"

Kurt stepped in front of the woman and reached his hand out to her. "I'm Kurt Hummel." He shook Edna-Ruth's hand.

Tina smiled. "And I'm Tina Cohen-Chang. It's nice to meet you."

Edna-Ruth looked at the two new faces for a while longer before speaking. "Would you two like to come in?"

Kurt and Tina nodded. "Sure."

Edna-Ruth smiled. "Well then I suggest you move that car from in the middle of the street. I don't want you getting a ticket on my watch." Edna-Ruth said with a chuckle as she, Mercedes and the rest of the family headed back inside of the house.