A/N and Disclaimer: I guess I may not own this story or Glee characters but the song lyrics for the Samcedes Christmas songs are mine LOL. I hope you all are keeping warm and staying safe and that you all enjoy all the wonderful gifts that are free in life: family, friends, faith, etc. I hate the capitalist version of holidays; they make people feel guilty about having less and some go in debt just to meet an expectation that nobody really cares about a week afterwards. It's like the baby getting all those gifts and the wrapping paper and the box are the two items that the child enjoys the most. I hope if you celebrate and the economy and the grocery shelves and the weather has gotten you down that you can find joy in something be it free fanfiction from us weirdos who take the time to entertain you all without compensation or just music sung by a children's choir, or just calling someone who may have lost a loved one this year and check on them and say the lines of Stevie Wonder, "I just call to say how much I care." and the other fabulous Christmas song that tells us "to give love on Christmas" The best things in life really are free but I won't turn down money. LOL You guys are so awesome and I really appreciate each and every one of you, and if somebody tells you that you are less than nothing, know that I may not ever meet you or see your faces or hear your voices, but you all are very important to me in the words of the Harp/Amber Riley you all are perfect to me (because you could have skipped this long note and went to the ending but you took the time to read my ramblings) who inspired me with her win to share this story with you guys.

Epilogue

Samcedes

Vail, Colorado

December 21

Could you pass me the red bowl?" Cedes, holding a needle and thread in one hand, gestured with her other toward the cabin's kitchen, where a large ceramic bowl sat on the countertop beside two cooling loaves of sweet potato bread.

Sam brought it over to her, setting it on the coffee table. Then he grabbed a handful of the popcorn that filled the bowl and tossed it into his mouth.

"Hey! How am I going to make the popcorn chain for the tree if you keep eating it?"

He leaned down and kissed her, mumbling a "Sorry, my love" around the popcorn in his mouth.

McConaughey perked up when he saw the new bowl of popcorn. Cedes took two fluffy white kernels and set them in her palm, holding it out to the little dog, smiling all the while at Sam, who tried his best to give her, and McConaughey, a disapproving look.

"It's gluten free," Cedes reminded Sam, still smiling as she tucked her grandma's handmade quilt around her shoulders and began threading the popcorn again. The chain was growing in length—it stretched across Cedes' lap and coiled on the floor at her feet. She had been at it for about an hour while Sam put up the decorations and Christmas lights on the outside of the cabin, which looked even more festive against the crystal-like snow.

They were getting ready to host Christmas for their families, her mom was flying from Lima to Nashville later today to meet up with the Evans family, and then traveling along with Dwight, Stacie, her husband, Rory, and Sam's almost eight-month-old niece, Hannah, on Dwight's private jet on Christmas Eve day.

The cabin had undergone some renovations during the summer months, to add a new section that could comfortably accommodate guests. But Sam had made sure the main portion of the cabin remained the same because there were some things that should never change, and the memories of this cabin that Mary Ellen had loved so much were important to keep.

"Did you see the new batch of Christmas cards? They came today," Cedes said.

"I did." Sam had strung them on a piece of string along the kitchen island cabinet. One from Tana, who had taken over as head judge on America's Newest Star when Will Schuester was fired after the expose on TMZ and cancelled in the fashion of Matt Lauer and Les Moonves which meant they paid him to leave which he needed the funds for his lawyer and all his lawsuits including his pending divorce, without Will, the show was even more of a success, and they had just wrapped up this season. Will had fired Mason when he realized it was Mason who spilled the beans to Sam about his part in trying to sabotage Samcedes. So, Sam had helped to secure a job for him on Tana's team, as her head assistant. Mason often met up with them when they were in Nashville because Tana insisted they stayed with her when they were in Nashville since she had to be there to film the show. So, he had become a part of their Nashville friend group, and they were happy to receive a card from him as well. "April and Lauren sent speciality baskets, too. Full of some Nashville treats they thought we might be missing this year."

"I already open those," Cedes said with a chuckle. But Sam didn't respond. He was pacing the cabin's main room, checking and stoking the fire, adjusting the garland that went around the front door, the holly berries bright red against the deeply hued greenery, shifting one glass ball from one side of the tree to the other (for "balance," he said).

"Why don't you come and sit down beside me. You need to take a break. You can work on that scarf and hat for Hannah?"

"I'm good," Sam replied, giving her a quick smile before crouching in front of the Christmas tree, unnecessarily shifting the mountain of presents around.

Cedes watched all of this, using a thimble so she didn't prick her finger as she threaded the popcorn kernels, and wondered what was up with her boyfriend. They had been at the cabin for almost a week now, and he had become increasingly "busy" as the days counted down to Christmas.

For Sam, having their families with them for the holidays meant everything. He had been planning it for months, starting with the cabin renovation and ending with so many decorations. Many he had made by hand with each family member's name on them. These ornaments hung on every tree branch along with tinsel and lights. Fresh garlands were on every doorway. Sam had knitted stockings for everyone, too. Twinkly lights hung from the ceiling in rows, making it look like stars when they turned off the cabin's lights. It had been a long time since Sam had celebrated such a joyful Christmas, and he was determined to make this the best one yet, for all of them.

Cedes hadn't seen her mom in a few months and couldn't wait for Marilyn to arrive. It had been another busy year. Cedes and Sam had spent the first part of it recording an album together, with a new producer Tana had helped them secure: her name was Shelby Cochran, and she was brilliant, possessed of a creative drive Cedes and Sam were in awe of. And she was smart, respectful, and collaborative—absolutely nothing like Will Schuester.

The album—called Strange Bedfellows—was full of the steamy love songs Samcedes was known for, plus had some fun, upbeat tracks to round it out. Once it had been released, Cedes and Sam went on tour to promote it, visiting their favorite cities in North America and a few in the United Kingdom, Australia, Italy, Portugal, Finland and South Africa. The tour had recently ended, and they were taking a few weeks in Vail to relax before heading back into the studio to record their own solo albums in the new year.

They had assured their legions of fans that this was not a sign they were over, but rather an important step for their relationship. They supported one another and their separate career dreams, but they'd also be back in the studio together once more in another year or two. And meanwhile, they had recorded another holiday song. Cedes was delighted at how different it was from the song she had worked on with Will, thanking her lucky stars that all that was far behind her.

At first Will Schuester had threatened to battle Cedes in court for the songs she had recorded at his studio, but on Tana's advice, Cedes had decided to fight him in a different way, making the decision to re record the songs herself, with a new producer. She was considering using Shelby, but Timbaland and Missy Elliott—who produced Rihanna's latest album—were also interested, and all Cedes knew right now was that her future in the music industry was bright. Sam's, too: he had been slowly working away on his own collection of solo songs and would be choosing a producer soon.

"So, hey, did you hear back from Jack Antonoff yet?" Cedes asked Sam, putting down her needle and thread and wondering if this was what was behind his apparent sudden case of nerves. Jack Antonoff, Taylor Swift's producer, had taken a meeting with Sam before they left for Vail, and Cedes knew how hopeful Sam felt about it.

At this, Sam grinned. "I was saving that piece of news for later. He listened to my demo, and he loves it. Sounds like a sure thing for the new year."

Cedes pushed the popcorn aside and jumped up, crossing the room to give Sam a congratulatory kiss. Working with producers like Shelby had helped them put all the ugliness of working with Will Schuester behind them, and they were looking forward to expanding their horizons even more. It seemed a lot of other artists in Nashville were doing the same. As Dwight had predicted, Will was finished a music producer in Nashville, due to Stacie's exposé. Other women had come forward, some of them established musicians, most of them from the Broadway show that had been canceled, and some of them were contestants on America's Newest Star. These stories had been the final nails in the producer's professional coffin. No one trusted him anymore, and for good reason. They decided to Bill Cosby his ass, and because of his lawyer's advice, he chose to settle as many cases as possible. Most of the women wanted to put the past behind them, so they were happy to make donations of his payouts to several rape centers, women shelters, and other worthwhile causes to prove that they were not in it for the money. Will was almost bankrupt and had no longer had any power to hurt unsuspecting girls and young women trying to make it in the industry. The last that Tana had heard about him was that he had moved back home to live with his parents whose house he had paid for but gifted to them, so he didn't have to liquidate that asset to pay for his plethora of legal problems including his costly divorce from Rachel Berry.

Cedes took Sam's hands in hers. "Come on babe. Take a little break."

Sam allowed Cedes to pull him to the couch. "You know I'm putty in your hands," he said with a smile, marveling at her and feeling grateful to be by her side. Not just on the stage now, but in life, too. It was sometimes hard to believe how much had changed for them in a year. Around this time a year before it seemed that happiness of any sort was out of reach for Sam and Cedes. But here they were.

"So, just tell me," Cedes said when they were settled on the couch. "If it's not waiting to hear from Jack Antonoff, what's got you so hot and bothered?" She lay a hand on Sam's cheek. He had a beard again—which, it turned out, Cedes quite liked. He was her very own Santa baby.

"I just want everything to be perfect for your mom and my family. I really hope we can make this an annual tradition, you know?"

"Everything is already perfect," Cedes said, smiling. Then she gestured around the room. "Look at this place! It's a freaking Christmas wonderland."

"More like Christmas Excess in here." Sam laughed, noting how not a single surface of the cabin had escaped his decorating frenzy.

"It's perfect," Cedes reiterated, holding his gaze. They leaned toward one another, sharing a kiss, and then they broke apart suddenly, staring at each other with wide eyes.

Sam grinned. "It's on!" The radio—a twenty-four-hour Christmas music channel—was playing their newly released holiday song.

"Our first time hearing it together," Cedes said.

"I realize that I didn't used to care that much for the holiday' . . . "Sam's voice rang out from the radio speakers, and Cedes excitedly grabbed his hands.

"That was how it used to be until I came your way . . . "Cedes sang her line now, in time with the song, and she and Sam continued singing to one another in the cabin, their voices as magical together as they ever had been.

Then the song finished with them singing Because of your Christmas kisses, and the DJ said, "That was Sam Evans and Cedes Jones's latest Christmas song, 'Christmas Kiss,' and we have to say, this one is destined to be a classic. I heard from a reliable source that those two first kiss was really on Christmas. Can't get any more romantic than that. Those two just keep getting better and better, don't you all agree?"

"I agree wholeheartedly," Sam said as he held Cedes' hands tightly, then cleared his throat—which was locking up on him all of a sudden.

"Babe, are you okay?" Cedes asked, concerned. "You aren't getting sick, are you?"

"I'm fine," he replied. "But I need to ask you something. And I wanted to do it before everyone got here. So it could, you know, just be the two of us."

"Alrighty then . . ." Cedes replied, looking confused.

Then, Sam suddenly let go of her hands, and in one swift motion dropped to one knee in front of her.

"Is this really about to happen?" Cedes whispered.

"Mercedes Lynley Jones, I didn't see you coming, in fact fate wanted to be sure that we get together because I didn't just get to meet you once; I got to meet you twice. Although we had a horrible first, second, and even third meeting; I can't imagine my life without you in it. You have pushed me, challenged me, and pissed me off on more than one occasion." She laughed then, and so did Sam. "But you also have made me a better man, a man who has learned the importance of therapy, communication, and the power of forgiveness. I am a better person because you got me to deal with my trauma and grief, and you were the impetus of me listening to my dad and forgiving him and learning the truth, and now I have a loving relationship with my father. I owe my current state of joy unimaginable to you. I never thought I would ever feel this way again. I am no longer seeing the world through eyes of a cynic who was afraid of reliving his father's mistakes and never being able to achieve success in my own right. You make me not want to settle and to provide you with the world because that is what you mean to me. Everything I am today, everything I have today, is because of you, and I only want to be the best version of myself because that is what you deserve and more."

Cedes had tears in her eyes now, and her heart beat furiously—she pressed a hand to her chest to try to calm it.

Sam reached around to his back pocket and pulled out a ring—a large solitaire resting on a thin platinum and gold band. It glittered with the twinkle lights overhead, and Cedes thought it was the most beautiful ring she had ever seen.

"It's a conflict free diamond," Sam said, grinning at her. There time in South Africa had been short but they learned about the diamond trade, and Cedes had refused to wear diamonds that were unethically sold.

She nodded but couldn't speak. Cedes could barely catch her breath.

He held out the ring, then took her hand in his free one. Cedes could feel the slight shake of his hand, and squeezed tightly to tell him she was feeling all the same things he was right then.

"Cedes Jones, this year I have finally gotten to know you. We toured together and got to really know the good, the bad, and the ugly of each other, and still you have decided to keep on loving me and remain in my life. We make beautiful music together as partners in singing, but will you do me the honor—and it would be the greatest honor that anyone has ever given me—of becoming my forever partner in this crazy life we live?"

"Yes," Cedes breathed out, using every last bit of air she had to do so. Then she took a breath and said, "Yes, yes, yes!"

"So, it's a yes?" Sam asked, smiling at her, tears in his eyes.

She threw herself into him, the both of them tumbling to the soft rug. Cedes was on top of Sam, and he let out a tiny groan when he hit the ground.

"Are you okay? I'm sorry!" Cedes said, pushing herself up on her hands to take her weight off Sam.

"Are you kidding me?" Sam replied, chuckling. "I have never—ever—been better, darlin'."

Then he reached for her left hand, and she held out her fingers so Sam could slide the ring on. "It fits perfectly," he said, his voice soft and low.

"Just like us," Cedes replied. Then something caught her eye out the window. "Hey, it's snowing!"

Sam turned to look, and smiled when he saw the fat snowflakes coming down steadily outside the cabin's window. "I arranged that," he said, giving a shrug.

"Did you now?" Cedes replied, grinning at him. "Sam Evans, what am I going to do with you?"

"I can think of a few things," Sam said lascivious smirk.

"Boy you better be glad that I love you," she said.

"I love you more," Sam replied, then he took her face in his hands and gently pulled her to him, kissing her.

The popcorn chain would remain unfinished until much later, the cabin sinking into darkness as the daytime light faded, allowing for the glow of holiday lights and the fire embers to be the only thing illuminating the room. But Sam and Cedes barely noticed, lost in one another, ready for a future they had only dreamed about.