Mercedes looked around in shock at the boxes scattered around the spacious living room. At first she was in awe of the vast living space but the more she looked around the more things started to look strange…strangely familiar. Too familiar. The crazy lamp that Kurt had convinced her to buy at a flea market stood proudly in the corner next to the painting of a dark purple rose that her mother got her for her 24th birthday that was propped up against a wall. Mercedes turned her attention back to the numerous boxes on the floor and for the first time she noticed that some of them had the elegant handwriting that she used when she first began packing while the others had the panicked, trembling scrawl that she used after she had gotten 'the news.' The couch, the side tables, the coffee table, the TV stand—everything it was all hers. Mercedes stared on disbelief at her entire life stuffed haphazardly into Sam's living room.

"Wha—what the hell...is that my...why in the hell is all my stuff here?" She screeched in a voice she didn't even recognize. She turned her furious gaze to Sam and she felt her blood start to really boil when she saw the slow, almost smug grin cross his face.

"Welcome home, Mercedes."

"Excuse me?"

"Welcome home."

Mercedes shook her head back and forth before saying, "No…you said this was your house, not mine."

"Not true. It's our home."

"Since when?"

"Since you left everything behind! You said it yourself Mercedes, you don't have anywhere else to go."

"I said that five minutes ago! My shit didn't magically appear when I said that, you planned this!"

"Yes, I did." Sam said stated simply which just infuriated Mercedes even more. "You're not the only one around here that makes rash decisions that affect people around you."

Mercedes head snapped back as if he'd slapped her and her eyes narrowed dangerously, "Uh-uh, oh hell no! I let you take your pound of flesh Sam but you don't get to hang this over my head forever. I fucked up and I'm sorry but that doesn't give you the right to move all of my shit into some new house that you bought. I told you before I left what I felt about us living together and that was when stuff between us was good! You had no right, Sam. I know I messed up but you had no right."

Mercedes was furious but she didn't know if it were because of what Sam did or because of the feelings it evoked in her. She was so angry but at the same time she was scared. That same suffocating feeling that she had felt when Sam had mentioned living together months ago came rushing back only this time it was ten times stronger than it was before. Back then it was just an idea but not it was a reality and Mercedes was very aware of that fact. She wasn't ready then and she still wasn't ready now and she was pissed that he was forcing it on her.

"No." She said firmly.

"No?"

"Absolutely not. I don't care if I have to live in a box under a bridge somewhere I'm not doing it, not like this. I am not living here."

Sam's features darkened at her words and seconds later he spat out, "well guess what Mercedes it's not just about you anymore. If it makes you feel any better think of it this way, it's not for you it's for our baby. You can want to live in a box all you want to prove some fucked up point but I'll be damned before our baby has less than the absolute best."

Mercedes felt instantly ashamed because Sam was right. She wasn't thinking about the baby, she was thinking about herself. She panicked and as usual her first thought was to run. That type of reaction was never a good look but now that she was having a baby it was bad on a whole other level. A child needed stability and even though she hated to admit it, she had been anything but stable the last few months.

"You're right," Mercedes said reluctantly. Even though her initial reaction may have not been the best she refused to apologize for not reacting well to having something like this sprung on her.

Mercedes could feel Sam staring at her but she wouldn't meet his gaze. She looked around again at all her belongings and she could feel a lump growing in her throat. All at once the reality that her poorly thought out decision to run had real consequences that she hadn't counted on. If she hadn't run out the way she did, she would have had her own place to live. Even though remnants of anger towards Sam still remained she knew that ultimately the only person she could blame for this current situation was herself.

A long silence stretched between them until finally Mercedes heard Sam let out a loud sigh before asking curtly, "Are you hungry?"

"Yeah…I guess."

Mercedes could feel his eyes boring into her but she still refused to look at him. Out of the corner of her eye she could see him shifting his weight from foot to foot before finally spinning on his heel and stalking out of the house. Once he was gone Mercedes walked over to where her couch was located and grabbed one of the cushions off the tall pile next to it. She tossed the pillow on the ground and sat down on it before grabbing the closest box to her and dragging it towards her. She noticed the carefully written "PICTURES" on the side so she knew it was one of the boxes she had packed early on. The box had already been cut open and she looked around and noticed that all of the boxes had been conveniently opened. She turned back to the box in front of her and she reached inside and pulled out a large, flat rectangular object. She peeled the bubble wrap away and as soon as she revealed the photo her eyes welled with tears. It was a picture of her and her mom from her college graduation. For months she had tried to keep all thoughts of her mother to an absolute minimum because the guilt was crushing. She was ashamed by her actions but she felt justified by her bitterness but now after hearing Sam's story she knew how wrong she was. She held on to her resentment for years and when it came time to unleash it she erupted all over the wrong person. Her mother wasn't to blame for her shitty father and hearing Sam say that her mother only put up with him because of her broke her heart.

Mercedes stared at the picture a minute longer before taking a deep breath and pulling her cell phone out of her jeans pocket. She scrolled until she found the number she was looking for and then she pressed send. Moments later she heard ringing and she drew in a shaky breath when almost immediately an achingly familiar voice came on the line.

"Hello?"

"Mama?"

Mercedes held her breath as she listened to the silence on the other end. She was getting worried that her mother had hung up on her when she finally heard Marilyn breathe out, "Mercedes?"

The thin hold on her control snapped at the sound of her mother's voice and she burst into tears before blurting out, "I'm…so….s-s-sorry for everything! I wasn't thinking and I…I…I—"

"Baby, calm down. I know." Marilyn answered soothingly in a slow and steady voice that helped bring Mercedes off the hysterical edge that she was hanging precariously on.

"Are you okay?" Marilyn asked.

"You're asking me if I'm okay?"

"Of course, you're my baby I'm always going to want to know if you're okay. You should really remember that the next time you decide to run off again without a word."

For the second time that night Mercedes felt ashamed. It would never fail to amaze her that her mother could make her feel just a few inches tall with just a few simple words.

"Never again Mama, I promise."

"Good. Now answer my question, are you okay?"

"Ummm...Sam bought us a house." Mercedes answered as if that explained everything.

"I know," Her mother laughed gently, "he showed me pictures, he is really excited."

"Well, I'm pretty sure I killed that."

"Mercedes!"

"I didn't mean to, I really didn't but I was shocked and angry. We talked about moving in together before and I was against it but he still went behind my back and did it anyway."

"You know this wouldn't have happened if you hadn't left."

"Yes, I know Mama…whose side are you on anyway?"

"His." Marilyn said simply. "About this I'm on his side."

"What?" Mercedes asked feeling slightly betrayed, "How can you take his side over mine?"

"You'll always be my baby and about anything else I've got you're back above all others but you know you were wrong for this."

"Yes…I know."

"Listen, I promised myself I wouldn't preach or lecture when we talked again but this needs to be said. That man loves you. When he found out that you were in Miami with Santana he was like a whirlwind: the house, the moving—he did all of that in less than a week. He set you up so that when he brought you back you would have a home to come back to and he made sure that you had all of your belongings. After everything your comfort and you well-being meant everything to him. Another man would've hate you and he would have every right to do so. To some people what you did would be considered unforgivable, but not to Sam. He may have been hurt and angry but at the end of the day he still loves you and he loves this baby. I know you're scared honey, and I know you've been hurt but you gotta give a little and meet him halfway. You've got a few months left until your baby gets here and in the meantime you need to get your shit together."

"Mama!"

"Well it's the truth. You need to get some therapy because your issues are far from gone. If you don't talk to someone you're always going to be one misunderstanding away from having a meltdown. What your father did you was unforgivable but you are better than him. He doesn't deserve your tears—he never did. Sam is a good man, a man that is a little bit broken himself. You two need each other. I know it's overwhelming and nothing has gone the way you planned it, but you have to adapt. You can't live your life afraid to love, or take a chance, or trust anybody otherwise you'll never be happy. Do you understand?"

"Yes, mama."

"Good. Now answer me this, do you love him? Really?"

"Of course I do."

"No, Mercedes, think about it. Do you love him? Not just because of the baby and in spite of everything. Do you love him?

Mercedes thought about it for a second and the answer was clear. Even after everything she still loved him, there was no doubt about that. Even when she was at her absolute lowest and she wanted to hate him, she still loved him even if she didn't want to admit it to herself.

"Yes." She answered firmly.

"Good, admitting is half the battle, baby, now you have to show it by meeting him halfway. I know he sprung this moving in thing on you but it doesn't have to be a bad thing."

"I guess…" Mercedes answered uncertainly.

"What do you think of the house?"

"It's huge…I don't even want to think about how much money he spent to get it, especially given how quickly he got it."

"Yeah, he spent a pretty penny. What do you think of the bedrooms?"

"I don't think anything about them…I haven't made it past the living room."

"Mercedes! You need to see your new home!"

"Well I was upset and then I started talking to you…"

"Well, go do it now! We'll have plenty of time to talk in a couple days. Sam bought me a plane ticket—first class." She announced proudly.

Mercedes laughed and she realized she felt lighter than she had in months.

"I can't wait to see you mama."

"Me too baby. No go check out those rooms!"

"I will. Love you."

"Love you too, see you soon."

"Bye Mama."

"Bye Baby."

Mercedes hung up and she could hardly contain the wide smile on her face. Being without her mama just wasn't right. She was glad they were getting back to how they used to be. Mercedes carefully laid the picture back in the box and she looked around at the mess in the living room. For the first time since she found out about the 'living situation' she didn't feel suffocated or overwhelmed. She still was a bit weary of the idea of living with Sam but the aching dread that had descended upon her when she first felt the news dissipated after he talk with her mother. It was scary but it wasn't anything she couldn't handle.

After giving herself a mini pep talk she decided to follow her mother's advice and check out her new home. Her first stop was the kitchen and it was a sight to behold. It was ultra-chic and all white. Mercedes walked inside and ran her hands across the cool counter before sitting on one of the four barstools and doing a quick spin. She bit back the delighted giggle that tried to escape and she hopped off the stool and gave the kitchen one last appreciative look.

Next, she went into a room that was lined with bookshelves and she assumed that it would act as the library/office. Once again she tried to fight the delighted squeal that wanted to come out at the thought of filling those bookcases with tons and tons of books. From there she found a guest bathroom that had a massive walk-in shower across from a white marble sink. She grinned in excitement at the impressive space before making her way upstairs. Once she made it to the second floor she went into the first door to her immediate right and she found another bathroom but this one had a huge clawfoot tub that had Mercedes groaning in pleasure at the sight of it. Beside it was another walk in shower that was similar to the one that was downstairs, as well as the marble sink that was now a his and hers instead of just a single one. Mercedes tried to ignore the flutter of pleasure at the thought of spending mornings with Sam in the bathroom preparing for their day. The way this house came to be in her life still infuriated her but she would be lying if she didn't admit that with the reveal of every room she could feel that hard edge that was surrounding her heart softening with ever door knob turned.

Down the hallway she found that there were two rooms directly across from each other and then another one at the end of the hallway. She went into the room on the right and she was greeted with the sight of her old bedroom suite. The bed that had been broken down in anticipation for her move to her new apartment all those months ago was back together. On either side of it were her dark brown night tables and pushed up against the far wall was her matching dresser drawer. On the opposite side of the room were two doors, Mercedes went over and pulled them open and she couldn't contain the strangled gasp at what she found. In front of her was a walk-in closet that looked as if it were bigger than the size of her old apartment. The squeal that had been fighting to come out finally escaped as Mercedes took in the massive closet. She knew she had nowhere near enough clothes and shoes to fill it but she knew she would have a hell of good time trying to. After salivating over the closet for a few seconds more she finally, reluctantly pulled herself away so she could check out the room across the hall.

She opened the door and she was immediately smacked in the face but the lingering, familiar smell of Sam's cologne. She looked around in surprise for a second before eyes landed on the four-poster bed that she recognized from Sam's guest room at his penthouse. There were a couple of boxes, one was labeled shoes and the other toiletries but other than that the room was bare. Mercedes peaked inside the closest that was substantially smaller than hers and she found only a few suits hanging up inside. After the hissy fit she had thrown about them living together it surprised Mercedes how upset it made her feel to know that in all actuality they weren't. Now that she had calmed down and could see the whole picture clearly she realized Sam had moved everything she owned into this house but other than a spare bed and a couple of boxes nothing belonged to him. She knew that she should be grateful that Sam didn't bum rush her to the extent that she thought he did but instead she just felt…empty. She remembered him saying earlier that it was their home but now she was wondering if she misunderstood him. Maybe it would be 'their' house in a 'he bought it and she lived in it' kind of way as opposed to a 'we live her together' kind of way.

Mercedes felt disheartened as she closed Sam's bedroom door behind her and all of her earlier excitement seemed as if it had been drained from her body. She briefly considered just going back downstairs but the door at the end of the hall beckoned so she made her ways towards it. Once she reached it Mercedes half-heartedly pushed the door opened determined to only peek inside what she was sure was a empty room but what she found had her gasping in surprise as tears filled her eyes. The spacious room was a stark white but it was littered with a rainbow of colors. Taped to the wall was an array of different colors split into sections: one section was reds that faded into pinks, another one was all blue, another one was greens and yellows. Across the room there were sections for purples, whites and beiges, and browns. Pushed against the wall was a tiny table that was weighed down by a stack of parenting books and beside it was an old rocking chair that had a tiny white box in the seat. Mercedes wiped tears from her eyes and she made her way to the chair. She picked up the tiny box and she opened it to find the cutest little walking shoes she had ever seen. They were slightly yellowed with age and the laces were frayed but they were still adorable to Mercedes.

"My mom used to love that chair."

Mercedes jerked her hand away from the chair and she whirled in surprise to find Sam in the doorway of the bedroom watching her warily as if he were afraid to approach her.

"It's really beautiful."

Sam visibly softened a bit at Mercedes words before walking a few more steps inside the room. "She used to sing lullabies—Twinkle, Twinkle was my favorite" Sam said almost absent-mindedly as he continued into the room. "When my mom died the only thing I wanted was this. I know it's crazy but sometimes when I sit in it I swear I can still hear her voice." Sam's voice became noticeably thick but he continued on, "Stevie hated this chair, go figure, so it was just something for me and Mom. I loved it."

"I'm sure the baby will love it too."

"You think?" Sam asked with a slight smile on his face.

"Yeah I do. I think the baby is going to love the whole thing…I do."

Mercedes watched as the smile faltered from Sam's face as he watched her intently.

"Look, if you're just saying that because you don't want to hurt my feelings after telling you about my mom don't worry about it."

"This has nothing to do with your mom. I genuinely love this house, everything is so amazing. I know earlier I acted less than…gracious but after a talk with my mom I realized that I was being stupid."

"You weren't being stupid."

"Yes, I was." She replied firmly, "I have issues: Daddy issues, commitment issues, trust issues…but I don't want to be that girl anymore."

Sam looked at her in surprise, "Wow, that must have been one hell of a talk."

"It was, my mother is brutally honest as always. She just has a way of cutting through all the bullshit and making me see the light. I've desperately needed that in my life."

"Marilyn Jones is an incredible woman."

"I'm glad the two of you get along so well…I didn't expect it, but I like it."

"Me too, it's nice having a mother figure in my life again."

Mercedes' heart swelled at his words and she walked forward the remaining steps between him and wrapped her arms around his waist. She felt him stiffen when she laid her head against his chest but within seconds his arms were encircling her. The stood like that for a few seconds before Sam leaned back a little bit so that he could look down at her.

"So you really like the house?"

"Love it."

"Good." Sam pulled her close again and the stood like that for a few minutes longer in comfortable silence before Mercedes' stomach decided to interrupt it—loudly. Sam laughed heartily at the sound and Mercedes could feel her cheeks grow hot so she decided to save face and do what any good mother would do…blame her child.

"That wasn't me, that was the baby."

"Mmmm-hmmmm…" Was all Sam said before he grabbed her hand and took her out of the nursery.

15 minutes later Sam and Mercedes were back in the living room and they were sitting on two couch cushions facing each other with Chinese takeout boxes scattered around them.

"Um…I just wanted to let you know that tomorrow I'm going to call my OB to schedule an appointment for an ultrasound. I went before in Florida but it was too early to really see anything. I think now we could tell the sex…if you wanted to."

"What do you want?"

"I wanna know. What do you want?"

"I want whatever you want."

"Sam…"

"Okay, okay…I really want to know too."

Mercedes couldn't help the large grin that crossed her face and from the look on Sam's face she could tell he couldn't help his either. He leaned forward and gave her a smacking kiss on the lips before picking up the box on the floor nearest to him and peaking inside.

"So do you want this stir fry or do you want to start with the Sesame Chicken?"

An hour later Mercedes laid back with a groan and patted her protruding tummy.

"Why?" She began miserably, "why did you let me eat that much?

Sam laughed but it quickly turned to a groan of his own as he clutched his full stomach.

"You know as full as we are right now we're still going to be starving in a about an hour. The wonder of Chinese food."

"We'll cross that bridge when we come to it."

After that statement Mercedes turned on her back stared up at the high ceilings as she rubbed small circles on her belly. After a while she turned her head to find Sam watching her hand intently.

"You can feel if you want to."

Sam's green eyes snapped up to meet hers and she leaned over and grabbed his hand and placed it on her stomach.

"I feel light flutters all the time, but I think pretty soon you should be able to feel it on the outside."

Sam's green eyes softened as he rubbed his hand in big soothing circles on Mercedes' stomach.

"So…" he said after a while, "you never answered me about work."

"Do you think it's a good idea, us living together and working together?"

"We were pretty much doing it before all this happened and it worked out fine. Ironically enough it's when we weren't together that things fell apart."

"That's true." Mercedes admitted, "I just don't want to come back in the office after leaving so abruptly and mess up the flow of things."

"Listen, our personal relationship aside you were the best assistant I've ever had."

"Sam…"

"No, I'm serious. Emma was an amazing assistant but you were the best. You were the best with me, we clicked in a way that I haven't clicked with anyone else."

"Uh, yeah Sam I know how well we 'clicked', Mercedes said with a laugh as she gestured to her stomach.

"That's not what I meant, we were good together. I mean, we had a bumpy couple of weeks but once we got a handle on what our real problem was—"

"Our lack of 'clicking'?"

"Fine, once we clicked—really, clicked we made a great team."

"We really did," Mercedes begrudgingly admitted, "but what about your current assistant?"

"Whatever her name is, she's out." He shrugged.

"Sam!"

"What? She had only been there a few days and she isn't that great. She was more competent that the previous assistants but that's not exactly a compliment. Besides she was always hitting on me and it got annoying."

"If she was so bad why has she lasted so long?"

"Because I hired her a couple of days before I came to find you. I figured there would be no use in getting rid of her only to bring someone else in for a few days just so that I could fire them when you came back. Besides, I don't think the temp agency would've sent me another one anyway…" He finished in a mumbling voice.

"You were pretty confident that I was coming back with you."

"I wasn't going to take no for an answer."

Mercedes stared into his intense green eyes and she believed it. After Sam's strong words a slightly uncomfortable silence fell over room and Mercedes decided that now was a good a time as any to ask the question that had been plaguing her ever since her tour of the house.

"So aside from your bed, a couple of boxes and that rocking chair does anything else in this house belong to you?"

"Well, I've been sleeping here and that's why the bed is here but other than that, no. I knew the house would be a hard enough sell by itself, I didn't want to make it worse by forcing myself and all my stuff on you too."

"And now?"

Sam's green eyes bored into her brown ones.

"Do you want me to?"

"You bought this big house and it doesn't make sense for it to be just me and the baby." Mercedes answered evasively.

"That's not what I asked you. Do you want me here? I don't expect things to be perfect overnight but I want to…we were going somewhere before all of this and I just—"

"I want you to."

"Really?"

"Yeah….I mean, yes, I'll admit that the idea freaked me out at first and in some ways it still does but you're right, we had something before all of this and if you're willing to me give me another chance after everything then I want to try too. I want us to get all of our shit together before this baby gets here. I want us to be a family."

"I want that too." The apprehensive look on Sam's face melted as a wide grin crossed his face. He tugged on her cushions and slid her across the small space between them. He brought his large hand to her face and gently rubbed his thumb over her bottom lip. He did it several times but between that, his warm breath on her face, and her raging hormones Mercedes felt as if she were about to explode. When Sam's thumb made another pass over her lips Mercedes grabbed his hand in frustration and let out a small whining noise that caused Sam to chuckle.

"I know, I know," he said before putting her out of her misery and covering her mouth with his own. The spark between them that never seemed to die quickly turned into a blazing inferno and their little make out session was headed to something much more. They had kissed a couple times over the last few days but it was nothing like this, in fact, Mercedes didn't even think it was like this before she left either. Sam shifted them so that Mercedes was on her back on her cushions and he was hovering over her. Their kisses had now become frantic and their hands were racing over each other's bodies. Sam settled in between Mercedes' spread legs and he ground his hips in a deliciously slow way that had her clawing at his clothed back. Sam's plump lips settled on the crook of her neck and she felt the sharp bite of his teeth followed immediately but the cool soothing swipe of his tongue. Sam rolled his hips into hers roughly and even through several layers of clothes he hit the right spot. She let out a loud groan that sounded slightly pained as she felt the oh so, and greatly missed, familiar ache curling in her belly. She tightened her arms around Sam but was unceremoniously brought out of her lust-filled haze by the surprise of Sam jerking out of her arms.

"I'm sorry, I wasn't thinking…are you okay?"

"Wha-?" Mercedes asked in surprise as she tried to shake off the remnants of lust.

"The baby. I completely forgot that you were pregnant for a second."

"The baby—what in the hell are you talking about."

"You moaned and I thought I had hurt you or something and—are you laughing at me?"

Mercedes clutched at her stomach as she giggled uncontrollably. "Oh my God, you should see your face."

"Mercedes, this isn't funny," Sam said sternly which only caused Mercedes to laugh louder. After a couple minutes her loud guffaws finally settled into quiet giggles and she turned towards Sam again to find him laying on his cushions and pouting.

"Awww…" she whispered quietly as she put her hand on face much in the way he did hers earlier. She ran her hand down his cheek before leaning forward and giving him a small kiss on his pursed lips. When he didn't kiss her back she stifled a giggle and pressed another, firmer kiss to his lips but there was still no response. She pushed him so that he was laying on his back and she leaned over him, she noticed that the pout still remained but his green eyes were sparkling.

"For the record," she murmured softly as she kissed his jawline, "I made that nosie because what you were doing felt really, really good."

"Is that right?" He asked huskily as she tugged gently at his earlobe with her teeth.

"Mmmmm-hmmm," she moaned in his ear before she traced it with her tongue, "you're not going to hurt the baby Sam."

At the mention of their baby Sam wandering hands stilled and he pulled away but not before Mercedes caught the guilty look on his face.

"That's what worries you, isn't it? Hurting the baby?"

"I don't want to…I'm just not sure and I don't…"

"It's okay, we'll talk to the doctor about that stuff. Okay? I promise you it won't be a problem."

"Okay." Sam gave her a slight grin but it didn't quite meet his eyes. Mercedes hoped that after they talked with the OB he would feel better.

Deciding a change of topic was in order Mercedes sat up and gave Sam a playful look, "Sooooooo, what are we going to do now?"

"Well…" Sam looked around the box-filled living room, "we could always unpack."

"Oh joy."

The next morning Mercedes woke with a huge smile on her face and very sore muscles. The sore muscles came from hours of unpacking what seemed like an endless number of boxes and the smile came from the toe-curling kiss that Sam gave her outside her bedroom before they went to bed. That tingling feeling was still racing down her spine hours later.

"Well don't you look like the cat that caught the canary," came a sardonic, dry voice from the foot of her bed.

"Ah!" Mercedes yelled in startled surprise. The surprise quickly changed to joy and then apprehension as she stared into the cold, angry eyes of her best friend."

"Hey Kurt."

"Mercedes." He snapped, "sleep well?"

"Kurt, I—"

"No, I need to say something and you're going to listen. Got it?"

"Yes."

"I'm mad at you. I am so mad at you that I can barely see straight. What you did was irresponsible and selfish and damn it Mercedes! Why did you do it?"

"Kurt…"

"I'm not finished!" He interrupted loudly, "You hurt me, your mother and Sam, it was like you didn't even care. We spent weeks worried about you and you couldn't even be bothered to email or text or send snail mail or anything!"

Kurt's face had turned red and tears were streaming down his face and the next words he said had Mercedes' hurt stopping in her chest.

"I hate you Mercedes," he said in a low choked voice, "I hate you for the pain you caused. I hate you for how easily you dismissed all of us. I hate that if Sam hadn't found you then you probably would have kept that baby away from us. I hate that you made your mother cry. I hate that you made me cry. I hate missing you. I hate that you broke Sam. Most of all I hate that despite it all I still love you more than I have ever loved anyone else. You're my best friend. You're my family—don't ever do this to me again."

"Okay, I promise." Mercedes managed to get out before the tears clogging her throat made it impossible to speak.

Kurt crawled in bed and gathered Mercedes in his arms.

"I'm so sorry Kurt"

"I know…I've just been holding that in for months and needed to get it out."

"Feel better?"

"Much."

"Good."

They lay together in bed for several more minutes and the only sound between them was a few sniffles here and there.

"I've missed you," Kurt finally whispered.

"Missed you too." Mercedes whispered back, "I'm really sorry, you were right, I was selfish."

"And now?"

"And now I realize how much of a fool I've been and I want to make it better with everyone, including you—especially you."

"You've already made it a million times better by just being here."

Mercedes smiled and snuggled deeper in Kurt's arms. She didn't realize until just then how much she missed and needed her best friend in her life. With the exception of her mother no one has never been more honest with Mercedes than Kurt.

"Sam did a great job," Kurt said, breaking into her reverie, "He was like a man possessed when he found where you were. I swear five minutes after he got off the phone with Santana he was asking for the key to the storage so he could have all your stuff shipped to this house. I knew you would flip your shit when you found out what he did but I happily helped him."

"I see that." She replied drily.

"You should have seen him Mercy, I know I had my doubts about him in the beginning but I don't anymore. He really loves you."

"I know that."

"And?"

"And what?"

"What do you plan on doing about the two of you. I see you're still here and haven't burned down the townhouse in a fit of hormonal rage so I figure that was a sign of good things."

"Well….we talked last night and we decided that we both wanted to try. So much stuff has been done and said so it may be hard but he is so worth it."

"You're worth it too you know."

Mercedes averted her gaze and dropped her head.

"Hey, stop that. Nobody was madder at you than I was but the love still never went anywhere. It's the same for your mom and Sam. We're all crazy about you Mercy and with good damn reason. You made a stupid, hurtful mistake but you're only human. At the end of the day the mistake isn't important, what you do after the mistake is what's important."

"When did you get so wise?" Mercedes asked in a teasing voice.

"Hey! I know a thing or two."

"Mmmm-hmmm…"Mercedes laughed and after a few seconds he joined in.

"If Kurt was anybody else I would be terribly jealous right now." Came a deep voice from the doorway.

Kurt and Mercedes laughter tapered off as the found Sam watching them with an amused look on his face.

"You should be jealous," Kurt teased, "we all know I'm the man of Mercedes' dreams."

"This is true," Mercedes answered giving Sam a quick wink.

Kurt hugged her once more and whispered "I love you" in her ear before getting out of the bed. As he walked by Sam he gave him a smile and a light tap on his shoulder.

"Don't you two do anything I wouldn't do!"

"There's something you won't do?"

"Ah, touché Samuel, touché."

With that Kurt blew a kiss in Mercedes direction and then he was out the door.

Once Kurt was out the door Mercedes finally focused her full attention on Sam and he looked good…real good. The dark gray suit he wore fit him like a glove and he looked good enough to eat. The memory of his warm, plump lips on hers the night before flashed in her mind and she instantly got warm all over.

"Good morning." Sam said breaking into her hormone fueled thoughts.

"Good morning."

"Kurt didn't wake you did he? I told him to wait but he wanted to see you."

"No, he didn't wake me which means he has been watching me sleep. How long has he been here?"

"Not long," Sam laughed.

"So you headed for work?"

"Yes. Mrs. Halbright may keel over and die when she sees me."

"Why?"

"This is the first time that I've worn a suit to work since you left. Looking presentable wasn't high on my list of priorities.

"Well you look more than presentable."

"You think so?" He asked with a small grin before walking over to the side of the bed and taking the spot Kurt had just vacated

"Mmm-hmmm…" she nodded.

Sam leaned forward to kiss her but she jerked her head back before he could get too close.

"No…morning breath." She said apologetically.

Sam gave her a look that clearly said he didn't care but he still respected her wishes and leaned back to his side of the bed.

"So, um I'm going to call my OB today and see if she can work some magic and squeeze me in today, it might be a longshot but given that I used to work for her she might do me a favor."

"Whenever, it doesn't matter, I'll be there. I can't wait to see our baby."

"Good, I'll call her right now."

Hours later Mercedes got her favor granted. Her OB was over the moon about Mercedes being pregnant and she also couldn't wait to see the baby. There was no opening during the normal work hours so she made special arrangements for Mercedes to come in after hours and get her sonogram done.

As Mercedes lay on the table she watched as Sam nervously tugged on his hair and bit his lip as his knee bounced up and down almost frantically.

"Are you okay?"

"Wha—yeah…no…yeah…yes, I'm good." He replied nervously.

"Really?"

"I just—no, I'm good."

"Okay." Mercedes answered even though she didn't believe him. She tried to ignore the niggling thought in the back of her mind that kept trying to remind her that it was all too good to be true and Sam was going to run off. He wouldn't do that to her and she knew she needed to stop letting that fear rule her life.

She reached over to him and motioned for him to take her hand, once she did she placed it on her exposed belly and she watched as the strained lines in Sam's face disappeared as a smile bloomed on his face.

The sweet moment was broken by the sound of her doctor entering the room. Holly Holiday was a tall, thin blonde waif that was scatter-brained and all over the place 99% of the time but Mercedes loved her. The prospect of childbirth was a million times easier because she knew t hat Holly would be there with her.

"So, you two are you ready to see your bundle of joy? We normally have technicians do the ultrasounds but I wanted to do this one myself. So you guys ready?" She asked with barely contained excitement.

"Yes," Sam and Mercedes answered simultaneously before looking at each other and sharing a nervous laugh.

Holly wasted no time and she quickly squirted the cool liquid onto Mercedes belly before giving them a brief rundown on what they were going to be looking at. Once she placed the wand on Mercedes' stomach it was if all the air was sucked out of the room. Both Sam and Mercedes were deathly quiet as the intently watched the screen. Just when Mercedes thought she couldn't take it any longer she heard it—her baby's heartbeat.

The quick, rhythmic beating noise filled the room and Mercedes felt the tears run down her face at the sound. She looked over at Sam and his gaze was fixated on the screen but she could still see the tears shining in his green eyes.

"Okay you two, so Baby Evans has a strong, healthy heartbeat which we love. If you look right here you will see your little one's spine—see, it looks like a strand of pearls. Right here is his or her nose and awww, it looks like they may be sucking their thumb. From the looks of things he or she is about 5 ½ inches and almost 7 oz which is about the size of an heirloom tomato so your baby is right on target."

Mercedes giggled at the cute thought of a 7oz baby tomato baby and Sam turned to smile at her in response.

"So," Holly asked, "do you want to know the sex because I can definitely tell."

Sam and Mercedes looked at each other and gave each other looks that made it clear that both of them wanted to know.

"Ok…drum roll? No? Alright then, congratulations you two on what I'm sure will be a beautiful baby girl."

Mercedes covered her mouth as even more tears started to stream down her face. She watched through bleary eyes as Sam bowed his head and wiped at his eyes.

"Well, what do you two think?"

Mercedes still had her hand over her mouth and she shook her head from left to right unable to get out the words past the huge lump in her throat.

"Perfect," Sam said in a thick voice, "our baby girl is perfect."

An hour later Sam and Mercedes were walking through the door of the townhouse, they hadn't spoken a word since they left the doctor's office and the silence between them was heavy with something but Mercedes didn't know what it was. She figured it had something to do with the sex question she had asked the doctor before they had left but she couldn't be sure. As she suspected sex between them was perfectly okay and as Holly put it once those hormones kicked in it would be something that Mercedes really needed and really, really wanted.

Sam walked into the house and he threw his keys on the small stand next to the coat rack.

"You hungry?" He asked without meeting Mercedes gaze.

"Not really."

"Ok then." Sam moved to leave the room but Mercedes rushed forward and grabbed his arm. "What's going on with you? You've been acting weird ever since we left the doctor's office."

"It's nothing , I'm fine."

"You're lying, I thought you wanted to work on this relationship and we can't do that if you're being dishone—"

Mercedes words were cut off by Sam lips. His mouth worked furiously on hers and it took only a second for the surprise to wear off before she was fully returning his kiss. The ultrasound fluttered to the ground as Mercedes was almost roughly backed up to the couch. Sam slowed just a bit once they bumped into it and in a small break from his earlier hurried ministrations he lowered her gently to the couch. Within seconds he was covering her body with his and his lips were back on hers. The large living room was soon filled with breathy moans and harsh breaths as the two of them sipped, and tugged, and tore at each other's lips.

Again Mercedes felt the familiar ache in her lower belly as Sam rubbed his heavy, hard lower body against hers. He felt so good but it wasn't enough and it was driving her insane.

"Sam please," she begged, "I need you…I need more."

At her words Sam suddenly stilled and after a second's hesitation he lifted himself off of her.

"I'm sorry," He said as he stood up, he ran his hands through his mussed blonde hair as he stared down at her with unreadable eyes. "I can't do this right now."

"What?" Mercedes asked in confusion as she moved into a sitting position. "What are you talking about—Sam…where are you going?" Mercedes jumped up from the couch and watched in horror as Sam scooped up the keys from the stand he threw them on and stalked towards the front door.

"Wait! What's going on?"

"I just…this isn't right…I can't do this right now. I'm sorry."

With those cold, detached words Sam walked out the door and shut it firmly behind him. Mercedes stood there for what seemed like hours as she stared at the door willing it to open and for Sam to walk back through.

"This is not happening." she kept whispering to herself over and over again. All of her worst fears were not coming true…he was NOT just going to leave her…it wasn't happening. Mercedes walked back towards the couch but before she got there she picked up the sonogram that had fallen to the floor. She sat on the cushions that were still warm from their bodies and she curled her legs under her as she stared down at the picture of her baby.

"It's going to be okay Little Bit, everything's fine. Daddy just needed to get some air but he'll be back I promise. We're just going to sit and wait for him, okay?"

Mercedes refused to believe that Sam dragged her all the way back here just so he could leave her. She refused to believe that all of those touches, and looks, and kisses, and words were fake. This was not happening to her.

She didn't know what was going on with him but she knew he'd be back, so she would wait.

So she did.

She waited.

And waited.

And waited.

He never came back.

A/N: Don't worry there will be no massive time jump or anything of the sorts and all will be explained in the first couple of paragraphs. As far as updates go, the thing in my life that was keeping me from writing as much as I would like is no longer an issue so my updates will be much quicker in the future. In fact, I hope to have the next chapter up sometime later on this week.

And for those of you still worried about what's going on just a little head's up the title to the next chapter is "Sex Therapy".