Author's Note: Here is another update. I hope that you will enjoy. Please forgive any mistakes and please review.

Disclaimer: I do not own glee nor any of its characters.

I Knew You Were Waiting for Me - Part II

Chapter 13

When Sam woke up the next morning for work he found that his wedding picture was on the front page of the newspaper which had been left outside his front door. The headline read "Morale Mercedes Gives up New Lover Due to Old Flame!" Sam wished just once a reporter would actually request an interview instead of making it up as they went along. Sam brought the paper in and left it on the table. He then kissed Mercedes on her forehead while she was still sleeping and left for work.

What Sam had not counted on though? Was that his wish would come true faster than he thought. When Sam drove up and parked his car and began walking to the entrance of the stadium at 5:45 am the stadium locker room entrance was surrounded by reporters. One spotted Sam and the fleet came running towards him. "Sam, Sam! What do you think about Trey and all the sordid details with your new bride?" One reporter asked him. Another spoke up "Are you mad that you dropped the ball and now someone else claimed the true prize?" "Were you just waiting for someone to show her the ropes before you climbed on board?" Another shouted. "What do you think about the upcoming Playboy article?" They were all pushing and shoving jostling for a position in front of him. "Sam, Sam…Did Mercedes' instructional time with Trey help make your wedding night something to remember? Maybe you want to offer him a word of thanks?" A few of the reporters started laughing.

Sam who had been pushing himself through the crowd trying to get to his destination at that moment felt such a surge of anger. "How dare they say these things about his Mercy? They don't even know her or the beauty of their relationship." Before Sam knew it he had dropped his bag reared back his arm in an attempt to punch that reporter right in the face but another fist connected first as flashes of light surrounded them both. Rick punched that reporter so hard that the reporter knocked down three other reporters as he fell. Sam grabbed up his bag and Rick grabbed Sam's arm and forcefully pushed him into the locker room and shut the door behind them. "Why did you do that?!" Sam shouted. "Because, I didn't tell you this before but….Pettway already had a disciplinary action against you and I didn't want you to get another one. Besides, that jerk had it comin'." Rick replied as he dropped his own bag and shook out his hand which had just landed the big blow.

"What are you talking about?" Sam asked. "Remember when you "disappeared" during the 30th Anniversary game?" Rick reminded. "Yeah?" "Well, Pettway was not pleased and he had Crystal write you a disciplinary notice and fined you as well." Sam stood there dumbfounded. "What are you talking about I never got any letter?" Sam said. "I took care of it for you that's why." Rick continued as he picked back up his own bag and started walking deeper into the locker room. "Rick!" Sam called out as Rick had continued walking ahead of him. "Rick!" Sam called again which stopped Rick's movement. Sam immediately caught up to Rick and then turned around and stood in front of him. "What do you think you are doing?" Sam scolded. "What do you mean?" Rick answered. "Why did you take care of it?" Sam asked. "I'm helping you out! You're my friend." Rick responded. "You're right Rick I am your friend….not your responsibility. I am a grown man who can take care of myself and handle the consequences of my own actions." Rick didn't get it "Why did Sam seem so upset?" He thought. "You are not here to fight my battles or to keep me out of trouble. We cannot keep living like this!" Sam demanded. "Living like what?" "YOU DON'T OWE ME ANYTHING! SO STOP LIVING LIKE YOU DO!" Sam shouted fearful that Rick would always spend the rest of his days attempting to pay back an old debt. "How can you say that Esse? You know I do." "NO, YOU DON'T… that is what I am trying to tell you." Sam's voice lowered in register. "I don't believe it Rick, after all this time you have been confusing our friendship with 'indentured servitude' and that is not the kind of friendship that I need from you; alright? Make sure that Crystal gives me that letter and I will pay my own fines; don't jump in again just because you feel like you owe me something-do you understand me?" Sam started walking deeper into the locker room but he yelled back. "And stay away from the reporters there is no reason for you to get into trouble because of me." Sam stated firmly as he walked forcefully through the coaching offices front door.

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Rick found himself off his game. All during practice he would keep stealing glances at Esse from across the field. "How did I get him so mad?" Rick didn't understand. He thought "Surely Sam should've known by now that he would have done anything for him…he loved him. He wasn't just like a father to me, he was a big brother; too, and a favorite uncle all rolled into one." Rick thought as he was now running up the field. Rick was also thinking about what Sam had said about "indentured servitude" when he got completely run over by a fullback on the field. Rick felt a pulsating blow to his side and the wind knocked completely out of him as his body lifted into the air and then hit the ground banging his head and shoulder on the hard turf and then feeling the weight of at least five other big players landing on top of him; faintly he heard a whistle blow and felt the ball he was holding slip from his hands.

Eventually, the large stack of players climbed up off Rick and another one offered Rick his hand to help him up. Rick heard a coach screaming. "C'mon, Raven, head in the game! You should have been able to shake him!" As Rick stumbled to the sidelines he could have sworn that he was seeing double until he slumped down on the bench and removed his helmet. There was a ringing in his ears that had not yet subsided; but it was the pain in his right shoulder, that he had landed on, which was really pulling his attention. One of the players coming into the game from off of the bench patted Rick hard on the right shoulder and Rick let out such a blood curdling scream that he was escorted off of the field and sent to the orthopedic surgeon.

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Dr. Jennifer Claire was in her office when Raven was brought in and placed on her exam table. "So what happened to you?" Jennifer spoke up as the other players who helped to carry him in were leaving and heading back to the field. "I got sacked." Was Raven's short term response. "I see." She made him sit up on the table and she helped to remove his padding and shirt to see how much damage had actually been done. She extended out his right arm and began attempting to rotate it to access the damage to his range of motion. Rick winced in pain at various points of the process. "Is this your dominate arm?" She questioned. "Yeah" Rick answered as he winced again. She walked around his topless form while he sat on the table. "What's this discoloring here?" She asked as she pointed to a spot on the back of his left shoulder blade. He chuckled. "That was me playing with my wife last night….it's just marker ink. I told her I wanted to tattoo a Raven there; we were checking out locations." He smiled.

"A Raven? Are you the guy who just joined the team and brought the Coach Sam Evans with you?" She spoke as she prepared an injection to dull the pain so that she could begin to wrap the arm. "Yeah, Rick Raven - that's me." Rick smiled. "Yeah, well you know, your friend, he led me on (not too long ago) only to give me the brush off." She said with a disappointed tone. Rick turned his face towards hers and then looked back at a spot he noticed on the wall which had now captivated his focus. "I doubt that highly." He said. Dr. Claire walked back over to him with the syringe in hand. "Do you think that I am lying to you?" She asked firmly. "No, I think you are mistaken. Esse is not the type of guy to do something like that." "Well, I am telling you that he flirted with me right here in this very room and then the night of the party he discarded me like some old worn out cleats never to give me even a second glance." "Look Doc, he has been in love with his wife since forever. I think you just mistook a kind gesture is all I'm saying."

Dr. Claire held onto Rick's arm and the injected it with the painkiller. "I saw, now that he got married. I read about it in the paper this morning. Why do men go for the damaged goods anyway?" She asked. Rick's face showed complete disbelief in what he just heard but the answer made him smile. "There is absolutely nothing damaged about my wife." Sam said as he stood in the doorway. Jennifer quickly turned around to face the voice that she heard come from behind her. That was when Rick peered over her shoulder only to find Esse standing there. "Yeah, what was that you were asking?" Rick quickly chimed in to help rub her face in all of her gossiping glory.

Dr. Claire's face blushed quickly as she walked away from the table and turned toward another smaller table to pick up the bandages then she directed her next comment to Sam. "I never said there was…it was just a general statement-you know, just making conversation." It was then Sam spoke up again. "I have found that a woman who is truly damaged reveals it only when she thinks no one else is watching. The sneakier a woman is, or the more backpedaling that she has to do once she is caught, and put in an awkward situation actually shows the depth of her damage. Because a woman of integrity would have nothing to hide. That is what I love about my wife she is a woman of integrity." Sam said. "You are so true Esse, Crystal and I were just saying the other day how Mercedes has such a good heart and is never malicious." Rick added. Sam looked at Rick. "That's funny, because Mercedes and I just had the same conversation about your wife Crystal-true loveliness and integrity, if ever we saw it." Sam complimented. "Thanks." Rick said as he smiled then turned and looked at Dr. Claire. "So, since you are the only damaged goods here why don't you tell us…why do the men go for you anyway? You know just making conversation and all." Rick stated with a feigned naiveté.

Dr. Claire did not open her mouth again she wrapped Rick's arm and wrote him a prescription for pain killers and told him that he had to miss the next three games before she dismissed both of the men from her office.

Sam and Rick left the medical unit laughing hysterically. "I'm glad to see that you are not too banged up." Sam said. "Aww you know me Esse… I'm tougher than all that." Rick grinned. They walked along quietly for a few minutes when Rick spoke up. "Esse, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to make you mad at me." Sam stopped walking and looked at Rick. "Rick, I just don't want you thinking that you have to take care of me. That is not what this friendship is all about; alright?" "But Esse…." Sam then interrupted Rick. "No, buts…we are friends' period. But not the type of friends who are holding scorecards to make sure that what we do for each other evens up. Besides if that was the case I would never catch up-you have gotten me two jobs since I have known you." Sam commented. "I would never have been able too if you hadn't have coached me. If you hadn't…." Rick started. "That's not the point! Rick you would have gone pro even if you have never met me-it's just who you are." Sam said as he began walking again down the long corridor.

"Esse that's not true." Rick said. "Let it go Rick it was only probation for goodness sakes." Sam said. "That's not what I mean Esse!" Rick's voice became high pitched. Sam stopped and looked at Rick. "I know Esse. I know what you did for me." Sam looked at him completely puzzled. Rick walked up to Sam and stood to him toe to toe, looking him dead in the eyes. "You prayed for me Esse! You prayed for me every single night! The first time I heard you do it was back when I was in high school. I caught you again when we were at Ohio State. I was never wise enough to pray about my future, I didn't even know how to pray. I would sit outside your room door at Ohio State and here you pray for me every single night. You prayed about my talents, about my success, you prayed for doors to open for me, you even prayed that if I got hurt it wouldn't be too severe and ruin my career opportunities (Rick pointed to his shoulder), and you prayed for me never to do anything to endanger the plans that God had for me. Esse, I owe you everything." Rick stated. Sam looked at Rick a slowly shook his head. "You owe God everything Rick—not me." "You're right I do. Because when I needed it the most he sent me you Esse. I will be forever grateful for that. I am not being your friend just because of the probation. I would be a fool not to be your friend because of the friendship that you have offered to me first. A deeper kind of friendship-that didn't even allow me to know about it. You never told me once that you were doing that for me. You never asked me for anything in return. I need to be your friend Esse because I want to be like you. I want you to teach me how to be like you, I want to eventually teach my sons how to be like you. You know that my relationship with my own father has never been good but… God gave me you and because of that I can and will give you anything and everything I have and you can't stop me." Rick said as a tear began to develop in his eye. Rick turned away and began walking down the corridor again. Sam looked up and breathed a heavy sigh "I guess I have to tell Mercedes that we already have a son, huh Heavenly Father." Sam thought then smiled trying not to show how overwhelmed he had been by what had just transpired between the two of them. Sam quickly wiped away a tear from his own eye as he walked down the corridor; he could not have been more proud.

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Mason and Jayne entered Sam's apartment and gave Sam and Mercedes great big hugs and kisses that evening. Sam took their bags and placed them in the closet of his bedroom. "I hope you don't mind but the place isn't very big. You are welcome to stay with us I have a big air mattress or I could get you guys a hotel room." Sam stated. "We don't mind camping out do we honey?" Mason asked Jayne. "Not at all, at least while we do some strategizing." Jayne smiled. After they had eaten the dinner that Mercedes had prepared and laughed and talked over old times. They spoke of the time when Mercedes was training them and giving singing lessons and how inspired they were have such a famous person come back to the school just to help them become better singers and performers. "Are you two still doing off-Broadway shows?" Mercedes asked. "When we have the time. We love entertaining but we love entertainment law too." Mason answered. "It's the best of both worlds. We get to have stable income but we also get to stay close to our passion and we plan and produce our own shows when we have the time." Jayne said. "It's been great." Mason said. "Speaking of shows I thought sure I saw you Sam peeking into the window that day Mercedes was giving us singing lessons in the choir room." Jayne laughed. "Hey, that's right I saw him there too! How did you get up so high Sam anyway?" Mason asked. "I'll never tell; but guilty as charged. What can I tell you? Mercedes was back home and she captured my every waking thought. I just had to see her." Sam said as Mercedes just smiled at him. "Who would have imagined you would have become an even bigger star since then." Jayne added. "I imagined it – easily." Sam spoke confidently. "Yeah, but being a star has its drawbacks. What do you guys think is there anything that we can do about Trey?" Mercedes asked needing to get down to the heart of the matter of the business at hand.

"First things first. We need you to tell us everything about your relationship with him – don't leave out any details, even the ones you may think are small or insignificant. We need to get a good picture of him and his motives from the very beginning." Mason said. Jayne started cleaning up the plates and things from the dining room table and replaced them with legal pads pens and a tape recorder. Once Jayne had everything in place she asked Mercedes "Are you ready?" Mercedes simply nodded and Jayne turned on the tape recorder for the interview to begin. Jayne then spoke "Client Mercedes Juliette Jones…" Sam cleared his throat and Jayne corrected herself. "Client Mercedes Juliette Evans hitherto after referred to as client number 2614.5 Initial Deposition - 1st recording." Mason then began to ask her to describe her first encounter with the defendant.

Mercedes spent the next hour and a half explaining every single detail that she could remember about Trey and her encounters with him. There really wasn't much to offer because she repeatedly told them that they hadn't spoken very often or even saw each other. "It was nothing that he keeps making it out to be." Mercedes finally concluded.

Jayne stopped the recording and she and Mason shared their notes with each other highlighting the first things which they found to be important and needed further investigation. "So what do you guys think?" Sam spoke up after feeling like he could not wait any longer- he needed to know if the legal route was going to work or should he just hurt him as his initial thoughts always guided him towards.

Jayne spoke first "I don't know if you knew this Mercedes but I did a social media search on him before we came here from home. Did you know that he was an aspiring singer?" "No." Mercedes answered Jayne. "He never mentioned it to me." Mercedes looked over at Sam. "You have said some things that we would like to look into like… 'Why did he have a word association lined up about our home town?'" Mason asked. "I thought that was strange too at the time." Mercedes said. "And did he ever mention who this cousin was and why he just happened to be in the same area you were in time for the party that night?" Jayne continued. "No, he never mentioned anything else about it- just that he was already here." "I also want to go back to the hotel you were staying at and see if there is any footage they still may have of you forcing him out of your hotel room that night." Mason said. Jayne nodded yes "That would come in handy." Jayne said.

"I am going to hunt down his home base and his last name." Mason said. "And I am going to draft the first cease and desist letter we will send it directly to him by certified mail and to Playboy Magazine for now." Jayne added. "I will also buzz it to the media that you will be making a statement so I need to talk to your agent to set it up with your most trusted and respectable reporters that you've known over the years – start off with three possibilities and we will choose the most reputable one from among them and give them an exclusive. Jayne will write your statement for you." Mason concluded. "Don't worry Mercedes we've got this." Jayne smiled and took her hand and squeezed it.

Sam smiled as he looked at Mercedes. "We're not worried."

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The next morning An-Jella walked into the medical unit for her meeting with Dr. Claire. Jennifer welcomed her with a handshake and invited her to sit down at the small table she had within her office. "It's nice to see you again An-jella. What can I do for you?" Jennifer asked. "I know this is last minute but your uncle Peter just gave me some more clients to look into and I wanted to get your advice about some of the things I should be looking for when it comes to safety for the team. A new start-up company would like us to be their first big clients for new regulation football helmets (Just for practice not the actual games). Since they are a new company it would be cheaper but I need to know what kind of damage could be done to the players if I cut too many corners?" "Peter told you? I told him I didn't want it to be awkward here if people knew." Jennifer answered. "Don't worry your secret is safe with me. As a matter of fact I will keep your secret if you will keep mine – your uncle and I are together now." An-jella couldn't wait to get it out.

"Really?" Jennifer questioned. "You must be something special because that is not like him to handle that kind of business in the workplace." Jennifer added. "I'd like to think that I am special and worth it. And he seems to feel the same way." An-jella batted her eyelashes at the doctor. "I see. Well is it only helmets or do they handle the padding too?" Jennifer asked. "They do helmets mostly but there is a padding division and the client says that they are working on something in the frame to make it much more durable and it has the ability to take more of the impact blows. Something about a new frame design and polymer or something to that effect." An-jella said as she scanned through some notes in a notebook that she was holding.

"Well I say look into that because one of the players was just in here yesterday and he damaged his shoulder pretty well. With better padding he may have still been in the game. Now he is out for three games instead and probably enjoying the time at home with his wife." Jennifer stated. "Alright thanks for the insight. Which player is it? Do you think that he could tell me what kind of padding he would have preferred to help prevent such an injury?" An-jella asked. "I suppose you could ask him. His name was Rick Raven." Jennifer said. "Rick Raven?" An-jella questioned. "He doesn't have a wife?" An-jella continued. "Oh yes he does. Sam Evans confirmed it right here in my exam room yesterday. Such a waste that Sam Evans-they both just got married recently; apparently." Jennifer said. "Did you catch the name of Rick's wife?" An-jella asked. Jennifer thought back for a few moments. "I think they said her name was Crystal."

Author's note: Please review.