"We have to think of a name, Sam." Mercedes said with a huge grin on her face, "and it has to be something good because our kid is going to have to carry around for the rest of his or her life."

"Something good, huh? Any suggestions?" Sam asked as he nuzzled his face into the side of her neck. "Whatever you pick I'm sure I love it."

"Ok...well, I was thinking Aundrea or Gabrielle for a girl but I can't think of any boy names."

"I have one."

"Really, what is it?" Mercedes smiled up at Sam in anticipation but her happiness quickly turned to horror as she watched Sam's crooked grin morph into a sinister grimace as he spat out words in a voice she didn't recognize.

"How about Sean Elijah Evans? That way he can have the same initials as his Daddy..."

BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!

Mercedes jerked awake at the loud incessant noise coming from the little black alarm clock on her night stand. She glared at it but for once she was grateful for the abrupt wake-up because it kept her from reliving that dream yet again. The dream where she and her baby were cast aside, unwanted, as Sam lived a perfect life with his perfect wife Quinn and their perfect little blonde baby boy. That dream had come to her every night since the day she had saw that sonogram picture on Sam's desk. Some nights it was cut short or she was so tired that she didn't remember it. But there were other nights where it was as clear as if it were in HD and it was like a bad horror movie playing in her head that she couldn't turn off.

She sat up and swung her legs over the side of the bed and waited for the nausea that had plagued her almost relentlessly for the past 11 weeks to subside. For the last few days it had only been a touch of queasiness in the mornings instead of the borderline Linda Blair-esque episodes that she had gone through in the first few weeks after she had found out she was pregnant. At almost 17 weeks Mercedes was finally in her second trimester and aside from a few 'iffy' moments in the morning she felt great. She smiled as she rubbed her stomach and she felt the tiny bump that was getting bigger and firmer every day. She hated doing this alone but she hated the alternative even more.

Mercedes glanced back over at the alarm clock and saw that the she had wasted almost five minutes thinking about bad dreams and morning sickness. She shook her head at her foolishness before getting up to start her morning ritual. She headed towards the bathroom but came up short when she realized it was occupied.

"Santana! Why are you still here? You're usually at work before I even get up in the mornings."

"Keep your panties on Mercedes!" Santana screamed through the door, "I'll be out in a second!"

Mercedes sighed and went back in her room and grabbed an outfit for work. Not too soon after she found something suitable she heard the door from the bathroom swing open followed quickly by a sharp rap on her door.

"Do I have to remind you that I'm letting you stay here, rent-free I might add, out of the goodness of my heart?"

Mercedes spared her old high-school buddy a quick glance before rolling her eyes and letting out an unladylike snort.

"The goodness of your heart Santana? Really? Don't you have to have a heart first before any goodness can come out?"

"Ha, ha, real funny." Santana said sarcastically as she plopped down on Mercedes unmade bed, "you can thank me and the goodness of my cold dead heart for this comfortable ass bed you've been sleeping on for almost three months."

Mercedes' snarky mood quickly became somber as she thought about the reason why she was bunking at Santana's apartment and she apologized to her friend for being ungrateful.

"Girl, stop," Santana tossed a pillow in Mercedes' direction, "you know I'm just playing with you. Like I told you when you first showed up on my doorstep, you are free to stay here as long as you need to."

Mercedes thought back to the desperation that had her calling a woman that she had only seen sporadically since high school and asking for a place to stay. Santana Lopez had always had tough exterior but inside that 'cold dead heart' of hers was actually made of gold.

"Thanks, Tana. I really do appreciate what you're doing for me and the baby." Mercedes said sincerely before picking up the pillow that was at her feet and tossing it back at her friend. "Now, why are you still here? Weren't you supposed to be at work like half an hour ago?"

"Ugh, don't remind me, I hate that fucking job." Santana practically growled, "if the pay wasn't so damn good I would have left it a long time ago."

Santana was a lawyer at a huge firm but what she really wanted to do was branch out and open a much smaller practice of her own. The dream was entirely possible but Santana really liked the money and she wasn't quite ready to give up a sure thing to build something up from scratch.

"So, are you going in late on purpose so they'll fire you?" Mercedes asked, confused, "because that doesn't sound like the best idea to me."

"No, we have to stay late for mandatory overtime so they graciously let us come in an hour late even though I'm sure the overtime will be at least three or four hours."

"Oh, well...sorry." Mercedes gave her friend an apologetic smile before gathering up her toiletries for her morning ritual. "I get off at my regular time so if you call me and let me know when you're getting off I can have dinner ready."

"No need, I'll just grab something on my way home. Speaking of your job, how do you like it?"

"It's good, real good. Thanks for the suggestion, I'd probably still be job hunting if it weren't for you."

The day after Mercedes appeared on Santana's doorstep she was determined to find a job. Santana insisted that it wasn't necessary for her to start working immediately but Mercedes refused to be any more of a burden than she already was. She was fully prepared to grab the first paper she could find and start perusing the want ads but luckily for her Santana had a friend that worked at the local community healthcare center and they were in desperate need of a receptionist. Between the referral from Santana's friend and a great letter of recommendation from the OBGYN she used to work for, she was hired almost immediately. The facility housed everything from a general practitioner to a pediatrician, to an OBGYN and even a dentist. Mercedes worked for the pediatrician and after seeing how he was with his patients she was already convinced that he would be the perfect doctor for her child.

Her life for the past couple of months has been peaceful and she was content but even on her best days she still couldn't ignore the gnawing feeling in her gut that wouldn't go away. She hated how she left things with Kurt, her mother, and Sam but pride, stubbornness and a broken heart wouldn't allow her to fix any of it. Her main focus now was her baby and she was determined to do whatever she had to do to make it on her own. She had every intention of talking to Sam about the baby but she wanted to be securely standing on her own two feet when she did. She didn't want his sympathy or his charity, if he wanted to start up some perfect blonde life in the suburbs with Quinn that was fine with her but she would be damned before she accepted a hand-out from him because he felt guilty for knocking her up.

Mercedes could feel the familiar bitterness swelling up in her again but she was quickly brought out of her reverie by Santana clearing her throat loudly.

"Thinking about the baby daddy again? Just wondering because you've got that look that you only get when you talk about him."

"Yeah, I wish I wasn't but he has this way of popping into my head."

"You still in love with him?"

"No!" Mercedes snapped quickly, "after everything he did and all the lies he told there is no way I would still love him."

"Mmm-hmmm..." Santana shot Mercedes a look that clearly said she didn't believe a word she was saying but she didn't push it.

"Well, chica I gotta go slave away at this hellish job so I'll catch you later." Santana hopped off the bed and with a slight wave towards Mercedes and a blown kiss at her belly, Santana headed towards the living room and out the front door. Once she was gone Mercedes turned on the radio before walking over to the huge window that was covered by a huge white curtain. As she stared at the huge palm trees blowing gently in the wind she listened to the effervescent announcer give his hourly weather report.

"Get ready for a muggy one! The humidity is at about 82% and we will be reaching the upper 90's by Noon. Expect some thunderstorms later this evening at around quittin' time, so you all better have your umbrellas ready! It's going to be another scorchin' wet one here in Miami! Now, here's Tracey with your traffic report..."

12 WEEKS EARLIER

As Mercedes navigated the familiar roads of Lima, Ohio she wiped at the tears that had seemingly been streaming down her face for the past two days. After driving for over 10 hours straight her eyelids were heavy and she desperately needed sleep. She knew she should have stopped and rested instead of driving straight through but once she got in her car she couldn't force herself to stop other than to get gas and grab the occasional bite to eat. When she finally pulled up in front of her childhood home the relief she felt was enough to have her bursting into tears all over again. She buried her face in her hands and allowed herself a few minutes to get what she hoped were the last few tears out.

After recovering from her brief sobbing fit she dragged her exhausted frame out of her car and trudged up the steps to her mother's home. She was only able to rap on the door a couple of times before it swung open and revealed her mother. The sight of Marilyn Jones was like a hundred pound weight lifted off of Mercedes' shoulders. As soon as the screen door swung open she collapsed into her mother's arms and buried her face in her neck.

"Oh baby..." Marilyn crooned as she rocked her daughter back and forth in her arms, "come in the house and tell me what's wrong."

Mercedes let her mother lead her into her spacious living room but once she got settled in the words simply wouldn't come. She wanted to tell her mother everything but at the same time she was so ashamed at the situation she had found herself in that she couldn't bring herself to tell her mother about it.

"Sweetie, do you want to talk about it?" Mercedes stared into the sincere, doe-shaped brown eyes that were so similar to hers and she shook her head sadly.

"I can't Mama...not right now."

"Ok baby, what do you need? Are you hungry?"

"No, I'm just tired, I drove all night."

Mercedes watched as her mother pressed her lips together and she knew she was forcing herself not to reprimand her daughter for driving all night without resting.

"Well in that case let's get you up to bed. Your old bedroom is all ready for you."

"Thanks, Mama." Mercedes gave her mother a small smile before making her way up the stairs towards her old bedroom. She turned when she got to the top step and said, "I love you mama, good night."

"Good night baby, get some rest."

"I will."

As soon as Mercedes entered the room she dropped her bag on the ground, kicked her shoes off, and crawled into bed fully dressed and she was asleep the second her head hit the pillow.

For the next two days Mercedes practically hibernated in her room and fortunately for her Marilyn let her, on the third day however, it was clear that her mother had enough of her moping around and she wanted answers.

"Mercedes, we need to talk."

"I don't feel like talking right now, I need time."

"You've had three days Mercedes, that's enough. I've never seen you act like this and frankly it's starting to scare me."

"Mama, I'm fine! I just need some time to figure some stuff out." Mercedes snapped.

"You call me crying hysterically and then show up on doorstep two days later and you're going and try and tell me that everything is fine? Don't lie to me, girl. What's going on?"

"I'm pregnant!" Mercedes blurted out.

"Wha—" Marilyn's eyes looked as if they were about to bug out of her head as she stared in disbelief at her only child. "How...are you sure Mercedes?"

"Yes, I'm sure. I just took a test a few days ago. I'm going to go to a doctor to confirm it but I know without a doubt that I'm pregnant."

"I...I don't know what to say."

"You don't have to say anything, there is nothing to say." Mercedes said angrily, "it just happened and now I have to deal with it."

"Woah...wait, a minute, deal with it? What exactly does that mean? You're not getting rid of this baby are you?"

"No, I can't...I don't want to."

Marilyn breathed an audible sigh of relief as Mercedes swiped at the tears that were threatening to spill over.

"Okay honey, if you know that you're keeping the baby then what's the problem?"

"It's Sam..." Mercedes voice trailed off as she started picking at a piece of imaginary lint on her t-shirt. Her mother knew the absolute bare minimum about Sam, in fact all Mercedes had told her was that she was dating a man that she worked with named Sam.

"He's the father? You two haven't been together that long have you?"

"No, just about six weeks." Mercedes answered quietly praying that her mother would stop asking question about Sam.

"Well, what does he have to say about all of this?" Marilyn pressed.

"He doesn't know and frankly I don't care what he would think if he did know." Mercedes replied coldly.

"Honey, I don't understa—"

"I'm done talking about this!" Mercedes screamed, "I came here to get away from Sam, so the last thing I want to be doing right now is talking about him. I know you have question but they are going to have to wait Mama, because I can't deal with it right now."

Marilyn's head snapped back at her daughter's haughty tone and her eyes narrowed dangerously. Mercedes knew she was skating on thin ice with her mother but at that moment suffering her wrath was easier compared to talking about Sam.

"Fine, I'll let you have some time Mercy, but this conversation isn't over, do you hear me?"

"Yes, ma'am."

Marilyn left the bedroom and Mercedes fell back against her bed gratefully. She would have to face the world at some point but today was not that day.

By the fifth day Mercedes had somehow managed to fall into an even deeper depression and had blocked out the outside world entirely. Unbeknownst to her, her mother had had enough and got in touch with Kurt to find out what was going on. What she heard had her on the warpath and all of her anger was directed towards her daughter.

"MERCEDES JONES! GET OUT OF THAT BED NOW!"

Mercedes' eyes snapped open as she heard her mother's loud, angry voice right outside her bedroom door. She quickly got out of bed and pulled the door open to find her mother practically vibrating with anger as she held her cordless phone in her had.

"Mercedes you have about five seconds to explain to me what the hell is going on!"

"What are you talking about Mama?"

"You quit your job? You don't have anywhere to live? You were dating your boss? What the hell is going on with you?"

Mercedes could feel all the blood drain from her face as her mother spat out question after question.

"Who were you talking to on the phone?"

"No! You don't get to ask any questions. I have been patient even though I've been going out of my mind with worry but I'm done with it. You are going to tell me what the hell is going on and you're going to tell me now."

"Not until you tell me who you talked to." Mercedes said stubbornly.

"Kurt. I called Kurt because I wanted to know what was wrong with you and he spilled the whole story. He had been worried about you for days, Mercedes! The very least you could have done was call your friend and tell him that you were okay."

Mercedes felt instantly guilty because she knew her mother was right. Once she got home she was so worried about shutting the world out so that she didn't have to deal with her problems for a little while that she didn't even think about the people that were worried about her.

"You're right, I'll call him and let him know I'm alright." She reached for the cordless but came up short when her mother jerked the phone out of her reach.

"No. You can call him later but you and I are going to talk right now."

"Mama I don't want—"

"Frankly, what you want right now isn't that important to me. We are going to have this talk and we are going to have it right now whether you're ready for it or not."

Mercedes could start to feel her blood boil. She loved and respected her mother but she wasn't a child and she resented her mother for treating her like one just to get her to bend to her will.

"Fine." Mercedes snapped, "let's get this over with."

Marilyn turned on her heel and went back down the stairs towards the living room forcing Mercedes to follow suit. Once they got situated on the couch Marilyn shot Mercedes a look that clearly said that she needed to get started so Mercedes reluctantly began her tale. She told her mother everything from start to finish and when she was done she expected that her mother would have her back.

She couldn't have been more wrong.

"So let me get this straight Mercedes, you quit your job, left your home and ran out on your baby's father because of a letter? A letter that frankly you had no business reading anyway? Not only that but you ran out without giving him a chance to explain or defend himself? I know I taught you to be smarter than that."

"Excuse me?" Mercedes asked in disbelief, "did you hear anything I said?"

"Yes, I heard everything you said, the question is did you hear it?"

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"It means that you've jumped to one hell of a conclusion with almost no evidence to back it up. You claim that you loved Sam but the first opportunity that came along for you to cry foul and dump him you took it."

"He lied to me, Mama! He claimed he loved me but he spent our entire relationship keeping secrets about his ex-fiancé!"

"Maybe if you'll let him expla—"

"He had plenty of chances to explain! He had plenty chances to come clean about his relationship with Quinn but he chose to keep silent. He played me for a fool and I fell for it hook, line, and sinker."

"Mercedes you need to talk to Sam. According to Kurt you've got it all wrong."

"According to Kurt? How in the hell would Kurt know what I have wrong."

"He talked to Sam when he came looking for you and he said that it's important that you get Sam's side of the story."

Mercedes started shaking her head from left to right before her mother even finished her sentence.

"No...just no. I don't know what Sam told Kurt and frankly right now I don't give a damn. That man lied to my face for weeks, so lying to Kurt would be like a walk in the park to him."

"Mercedes I think you're fishing..."

"Fishing for what?"

"For a reason to hate Sam."

"Oh, believe me Mama, I didn't have to fish very hard." Mercedes answered bitterly.

"If he did all the things that you are accusing him of, then yes, he deserves your disdain but you need to make sure that he's guilty before you punish him."

"I'm not trying to punish him. I'm just doing what's right for me and my baby."

"Don't you mean 'our' baby?"

"What?"

"You said you have to do what's right for your baby but it isn't just your baby, you didn't make it alone."

"I'm aware of that Mama."

"Well, then again I ask, why are you trying to punish him?"

"I'm not!" Mercedes snapped in exasperation, "I needed space and time to think and I knew I wouldn't get that if I stayed in the city, so I left."

"That's BS and you know it Mercedes. If you need some space you pack an overnight bag and go spend the night in a different place. You don't quit your job, move out of your apartment, and flee everything you've known for years just so you can get some 'space and time'. You're running from him and you know it and I know it, the question is why?"

"Mom, I'm done with this conversation. Call Kurt back and tell him I'm fine."

"No. Tell me right now why you're really running. Tell me why you had every intention of keeping Sam from knowing about his child."

"Had? What are you talking about?" Mercedes asked, panic seeping into her voice.

"Kurt told him. The day you left Sam came to your place frantically looking for you but he found Kurt...and your pregnancy test instead."

Mercedes eyes closed slowly as she cursed herself for being stupid enough to leave her pregnancy test back at the apartment.

"What did he say?"

"I don't know Kurt didn't tell me, all he said was that you needed to talk to Sam yourself."

"No, I don't want to talk to Sam. I don't want to hear whatever crappy excuse he will try and pull out of thin air. I don't want to hear about how I was wrong and I imagined the whole thing. I just don't want to hear it."

"That doesn't make any sense Mercedes, why wouldn't you want to know the truth? Why wouldn't you want to fix this before it gets too out of hand...for the baby's sake."

"I am doing this for the baby!" Mercedes screamed, "My baby's well-being is my first priority but I can't say I'm too surprised that you can't see that."

"What the hell is that supposed to mean Mercedes?"

"It means that protecting my baby's mental, physical and emotional well-being is very important to me."

"Are you insinuating that it wasn't important to me?"

"I don't know, you tell me." Mercedes said coldly, "At what point does it stop being okay to subject your child to a situation where she was unwanted?"

Marilyn's head snapped back as if Mercedes slapped her and her eyes welled with tears.

"Mercedes, you need to be real careful because you are skating on thin ice right now.

"I don't care! How can you sit there and try and tell me what I should do for my baby's sake when for years you didn't care about your own baby's sake?"

"You don't know what you're talking about."

"I don't know?" Mercedes laughed harshly, "I know all too well what it's like to not be wanted by your father. I know what it's like to desperately do all the right things to get that man to love you only to find out time and time again that it wasn't enough. I know what it was like to be cast aside as if I were nothing so that he could go build a brand new life with his new wife and his new kids. I know what it's like to be unwanted and I will never, EVER let my child feel that for even a second."

"Sweetie..."

"No! Don't sweetie me, if you had protected me I would have never had to go through that. I needed my mother to have my back but instead you were so desperate to hold on to that pathetic idea of a family with Daddy that you used me as the glue that was supposed to hold it together. You weren't enough to keep him around and neither was I and now we both have to live with that knowledge for the rest of our lives. I will not do that to my child. He or she will never have to feel second best when it comes to their parent's love. My child will never feel like a burden or a mistake or anything like that. I don't need Sam, I'll love our baby enough for the both of us."

As Mercedes finished her tirade she angrily wiped away tears before looking into her mother's sad eyes. She felt sorry for her outburst but she had been holding on to that resentment for so long it was bound to come out at some point. Mercedes hadn't thought about her deadbeat father in years but after finding out about Sam's soon-to-be 'other family' and Stevie's harsh words all of the insecurities and self-doubt that she thought she had gotten rid of years ago came hurtling to the surface. She spent years convincing herself that she was good enough to be loved even if her father didn't think so and she would never wish that feeling on her worst enemy, much less her own child. There was a niggling doubt in the back of Mercedes mind that she was wrong about everything but it was completely swamped by the fear of history repeating itself. She would never forgive herself if she allowed her child to go through the exact same pain that she went through for years.

"I'm sorry Mama if I hurt your feelings, but this is the way I feel."

"Baby, I know what happened with your father hurt you but Sam is not him. You can't punish him for someone else's sins."

"For the last time Mama, I'm not punishing him. I just...I have to protect my baby the best way I know how."

"Keeping them apart is the best way? I know you're upset but even you have to admit that plan isn't a good one."

"I know it's not the best plan but that's why I needed time away from him. I never intended to keep the baby a secret from him forever but I did want to keep it a secret until I figured something out. The baby won't be here for months so Sam's involvement, if there is even going to be any, isn't necessary until he or she gets here."

"Is that fair, Mercedes?"

"No," She admitted, "But for right now it's going to have to do."

"Honey, I wish that you would just talk—"

"Mama, I don't feel well, I'm going to back to bed, okay?" Mercedes asked curtly, before getting up from the couch and walking away without waiting for an answer.

A few hours later Mercedes woke up feeling extremely thirsty so she decided to go to the kitchen and grab a bottle of water. As she padded down to the kitchen she could hear her mother talking to someone on the other phone but she barely paid attention to the conversation until she heard her name.

"I know, I know Mercedes can be very stubborn sometimes...yes, I know this is for the best and I'm sure she knows it too, she just doesn't want to admit it...how soon can you be here?...tomorrow? That would be perfect...no, I think it's best if we don't tell her you're coming...yes, she will most definitely be mad...no, no don't worry about it...I'm sure...she needs to know the truth and she'll only believe it coming from you...I'm sure honey, don't worry about it...I want what's best for my grandchild...I totally understand...are you ready for the address?...Okay, it's 5151 Spartan Way, Lima Ohi—

"WHO ARE YOU TALKING TO?" Mercedes angrily grabbed the phone from her shocked mother's hand before barking into the phone, "who is this?"

"Mercedes, this is Sam. Baby, you need to listen to—"

Click.

A long stretch of silence followed the quiet beep of the cordless phone being turned off. Mercedes stared accusingly at her mother as the feeling of rage and betrayal clawed at her throat.

"How could you?" she asked quietly as she fought the urge to scream at her mother.

"I'm doing you a favor Mercedes, you're too wrapped up in past hurts to see that what you're doing now is wrong."

"Did you call him or did he call you?"

"What does it matter?"

"It matters because I need to know if you actively betrayed me or if you just took advantage when an opportunity presented itself?"

"I called him." Marilyn answered without a lick of remorse, "I called Kurt back and got Sam's phone number and then I called him."

"Wow Mama, it's so good to know that yet again when I needed you the most you hung me out to dry." Mercedes spat out angrily, "at least this time I was prepared for it."

"Mercedes Renee Jones, when you are in this house you will respect me! You can be angry all you want but you are not going to talk to me any kind of way in my house!"

"You're absolutely right, I'm not."

With that Mercedes threw the cordless phone down on the couch and went back upstairs to her bedroom. She grabbed her bag off the floor and she furiously started scooping up the few meager belongings that she had unpacked during her brief stay. After giving the room a quick once-over she threw her bag over her shoulder and headed back downstairs. When she got to the living room she found her mother in the same spot that she left her in. Mercedes debated walking right out the front door but even feeling as betrayed as she did, she would never leave her mother like that.

"Mama, I'm leaving."

Marilyn's eyes snapped towards her daughter's in disbelief as she took everything in.

"Mercedes, don't be ridiculous it's late and you don't need to be on the road at this time of night."

"I've done it before, besides, I've been sleeping constantly for the last 5 days, so being tired is the least of my worries."

"Honey, just wait until tomorrow—"

"I can't, he'll be here tomorrow and I can't...I just can't deal with him right now."

"How long do you plan on running Mercedes?" Her mother asked sadly. "You can't do this forever."

"I'll do it for a long as I need to. I'll do it until I figure out the best situation for me and my baby."

"The best situation is right in front of you but you're too stubborn to see it!"

"Mama, I don't want to fight anymore."

"Will you at least tell me where you are when you get there?"

"I'll call you when I make it, okay? I gotta go now, but I love you."

"I love you too, Mercedes. Please think about talking to Sam...please?"

"Bye, Mama." Mercedes hated being so short with her mother but she couldn't give her the answer she wanted and she refused to lie.

"Bye baby, take care of my grandchild."

"I will."

Mercedes gave her mother a quick hug and kiss before running out to her car. Once inside the feeling of despair threatened to crush her but she fought past it. She never thought she would be leaving her mother's like this but she couldn't stay knowing that he would be there soon. She knew she was taking the coward's way out by running again but in that moment she didn't care. She needed peace and space so that she could think. She needed time to run through all of her options and figure out what she wanted and needed. She needed time to get her bearings back so that when she faced Sam again she wouldn't be an emotional basket case. She wanted to be strong so that if she did see Sam with his new family she could handle it. She wanted to be secure so that if he offered her some guilt money she could tell him where he could shove it. She wanted to set herself up to be the best self-sufficient mother that she could be and she couldn't do that if she was being constantly reminded of him every day. She needed to be with someone who didn't give a damn about Sam Evans or his 'truth' and she needed that person to be so far off his radar he wouldn't even know where to begin to look. Luckily for her she knew a person that fit the bill exactly.

She pulled her phone out of her duffel bag and turned it back on, she had cut it off when she first got to her mother's house and had never bothered to turn it on back again. As soon as the home screen lit up numerous dings from e-mails, text messages, voicemail and missed calls started going off. She ignored all of it and instead went to her contacts. She scrolled down to the 'S' section and ignored the tiny stab of pain when she saw Sam's name and instead focused on the name directly below his. She pushed the name and another screen popped up prompting her to press again to call. She pressed the screen and after about three rings the person on the other line picked up.

"This had better be good because it's 11 o' clock at night and I have work in the morning!"

"Santana?"

"Yeah, who is this?"

"Hi, it's Mercedes."

"Well, long time no hear, Merce, what's up?"

"Um...nothing much, I just have a massive favor to ask you."

"Shoot."

"I was wondering if I could stay with you for a while?"

"I'm sorry, what?"

"Can I live with you for a while?"

"Hold up, I haven't heard from you in God knows how long and when you finally do call it's to ask to move in?"

"I know, I know...look, I wouldn't be doing this if it weren't extremely urgent but I have nowhere else to go right now and I'm desperate."

"Ugh, fine...how long?"

"I'm not sure, but I promise I'll be out of your hair as soon as I possibly can."

"Alright, Mercedes but girl you are going to owe me."

"Big time."

"So when are you going to be here, because I really was serious about having to get to work in the morning."

"Well, I'm in Ohio right now so...in a few days?"

"What?"

"Look it's a long story and I'll tell you all about it when I get there, okay."

"You'd better. Drive safe, and let me know when you're close so I can throw some stuff in the closet in the guest bedroom and make it look presentable."

Mercedes laughed at her friend's snarky remark and it felt good after what seemed like days and days of endless crying.

"Alright, Tana. Thank you again, I promise you won't regret it."

"Mmmm-hmmm, girl, we'll see."

"Bye."

"Bye."

Mercedes hung up the phone and said a small prayer of thanks that she was able to find somewhere else to go so quickly. She gave her mother's house one last longing look before backing out of the driveway and back onto the streets of Lima. It wasn't long before she was outside of city limits and she stopped at the first gas station she saw and filled up car. She plugged in the coordinates to Santana's house into her GPS and with another small prayer for a safe trip she took out into the open road. She hoped that being in Miami and far away from New York and Ohio would give her the time and space that she felt she needed and most importantly the odds of Sam finding her in Miami were close to nil.

PRESENT DAY

Mercedes really, really hated when the weatherman was right. She struggled up the sidewalk towards Santana's house with the worthless umbrella that she spent a fortune on as sheets of rain fell down on her. At the first gust of wind her piece of shit umbrella had folded like a house of cards and she had gotten soaked within seconds. Now she was dripping wet and she could just add that to list of other shit that didn't go right for her that day. She had gotten yelled at by her boss and written up for something she didn't even do. Her back had been killing her all day and halfway through the afternoon she had gotten a monstrous craving for chocolate but there was none anywhere in the office. She would have stopped on her way home and picked some up but she didn't want to get out into the rain but considering her current state, she may as well have gone for it, at least now she would have chocolate. The thought of her missed opportunity with the chocolate just made Mercedes want to cry so she continued trudging up the sidewalk as she tried to shield herself with the broken umbrella.

Just as the thought entered into her mind that her day couldn't possibly get any worse her toe caught a tiny crack in the sidewalk and she stumbled causing her belongings to fly everywhere. She had to bite back the supreme need to bury her face in her hands and burst into tears. This day had sucked and she just wanted it to be over. She started to gather up her soaking belongings but when she reached for the tattered umbrella a pair of black boots appeared in her line of vision. As she grabbed the umbrella a smooth, slightly tanned hand grabbed it at the same time and when their fingers lightly touched and a spark of electricity shot through Mercedes' arm. She instantly snatched her hand back and looked up in horror at a pair of steely, cold, green eyes staring down at her.

"I must say Miss Jones you sure know how to play a mean game of hide and go seek."

Sorry, this update took way longer than I anticipated but between a blackout, the 4th of July, and a mean case of writer's block I'm actually surprised I managed to get it out as soon as I did. Hopefully the next update won't take nearly as long.