"Something's wrong…we've got to get that baby out now…too much blood….she's losing too much blood!"

"What's wrong with my family?"

"Mr. Evans you can't be in here, we need you to leave NOW!"

"Not without my wife and our son…what's wrong with them?"

"We're sorry Mr. Evans we tried everything we could…"

"No…no…no…no…"

"…There was just too much blood…we lost them both…"

"No…no…no…no…"

"Mr. Evans…you should go home and check on your daughter before you lose her too…"

"No…no…no…no…"

"Mr. Evans it's over…they're all gone…"

"Mr. Evans? Mr. Evans? Mr. Sam…Sam…SAM!"

Sam jerked awake violently and took in his surroundings. His already rapidly beating heart started to thumb even harder as he recognized the hospital room from his dreams. Only this time there wasn't a growing crowd of blood-stained nurses with grotesque faces gleefully telling him that his family was gone. Now the only other person in the room was his very much alive and still very much pregnant wife. Her brown eyes scanned his form worriedly and she held out her hand for him to join her on the bed.

"What was it about this time?" She asked without preamble as she stroked her fingers over the palm of his hand.

"I don't want to talk about it," He answered quietly. "I just want to forget it."

"Sam, you're pale and you're shaking like a leaf, whatever it is scared the hell out of you and you're not just going to forget it. You haven't had nightmares like that for years. Is it about the baby?"

Sam said nothing but tears welled in his eyes and he bowed his head.

"Oh baby…" Mercedes whispered against his hair. "Everything is going to be okay."

"It wasn't last time." He answered gruffly before pulling away and standing up. "I brought you here to this same damn hospital and you and Lily almost died."

"Babe, that wasn't a normal occurrence. What happened was just…it was bad luck."

"Bad luck?" He asked incredulously. "If you would have died it would have just been bad luck?"

"You know what I mean Sa-aaaahhh…." Mercedes gripped her stomach and closed her eyes tightly as she breathed through another contraction.

Sam rushed forward to his wife's side, all thoughts of his nightmare gone, and he rubbed soothing hands on her lower back. She leaned her head against his shoulder gratefully and they stayed like that until he felt her body start to relax.

"Son of a bitch, those are starting to get bad." Mercedes said jokingly but Sam could tell she was in pain.

"Are you ready for your epidural?"

"I was ready about four hours ago but I still don't think I'm dilated enough for it."

Mercedes was rapidly approaching her tenth hour of labor and she was exhausted and Sam wasn't in much better shape. Mercedes kept pushing him to take a short nap because according to her once the baby came it would be best if at least one of his parents wasn't deliriously exhausted. To his credit Sam did try but the visions of Mercedes' still form and a quiet baby with a blanket over his tiny body wouldn't allow his mind to rest. Until he had his entire family at home and safe he knew he would not sleep a wink.

"Do you want me to get Dr. Holly or a nurse to come check you again?"

"No, I want you to tell me what you were dreaming about."

"You're in pain! We need to focus on that instead of some stupid dream I had."

"I'm in labor, there's going to be pain. I much rather have a normal, painful birth than…" Mercedes averted her gaze as her words trailed off.

At her words the image of nurses with hands that had his family's blood stained on them flashed across his mind. He shut his eyes tightly and clenched his teeth as if he was in physical pain.

"You haven't had dreams about Lily's birth since she was over a year old. You haven't had them since I found out I was pregnant, so why now?"

"I don't know…" Sam answered quietly. "I don't know if it's this place or what. I haven't been worried at all this entire time, but now…every time I close my eyes I see you dying over and over and over again."

"Sam…"

"I try and save you…I try to help but these nurses they keep holding me back."

"Baby…"

"There is blood everywhere and they keep screaming over and over again that they're losing you. I can't save you…." Sam gasps out the last part as he drops his head and his hands. "I can't save you."

The steady, reassuring beeping of the machines next to Mercedes are the only sounds in the room and it's like a lifeline for Sam.

"Come here." Mercedes says quietly after several minutes of silence but he didn't move. "Sam, come here." She says more forcefully but he still couldn't make himself move. He cursed himself silently for being a coward but he never knew how paralyzing fear, real or imagined, could truly be until that moment.

"The days leading up to Lily's birth I knew something was off. I couldn't quite put my finger on it but I just didn't feel right. Working in an OB-GYN's office you see too often women that are just miserable their last few weeks of pregnancy. They hurt, they're swollen all over, they can't sleep…the works. When I started feeling 'off' that's what I chalked it up as. I was almost at the end of the pregnancy so obviously it was nothing and it was to be expected, right?"

"You couldn't have known what was coming Mercedes."

"But you could?"

"No…obviously not—"

"Then why are you blaming yourself for something you couldn't control?"

"I'm not blaming myself!"

"Fine, why are you torturing yourself then? Shit happens, Sam. I won't pretend to know what it was like for you on the outside looking in but we survived it…we all did. We have a beautiful, healthy little girl at home and I have all the faith in the world that we will have a healthy little boy in our arms soon."

"After everything that's happened to us I still don't know if I can have faith that it will work out okay."

"After everything that's happened to us I don't know how you can have faith that it won't." Mercedes smiled gently at him and held her hand out again. "Come here, baby, please."

Sam stared at her for a long moment before getting up and coming to her beside. She took his hands and smoothed them down across her belly as he sat down next to her.

"I'm scared." Sam choked out. "I don't want to be, but I am."

"There is nothing wrong with being scared, I'm terrified. I don't know what's going to happen but I believe from the bottom of my heart that this baby is going to be okay. I won't allow myself to think anything else."

"Easier said than done."

"Yeah, it is. But we've got this babe."

"I don't have faith in a lot of things, but I have faith in you." Sam whispered before pressing his forehead against hers.

"I have faith in us. We're going to be ooooooo….shit!"

Sam jerked away from Mercedes and watched helplessly as she doubled over from the pain of her latest contraction. He tried to rub her back but the first touch of his hands had her arching her back to get away and shaking her head fiercely at him.

"Go find me some drugs."

"Babe, I don't think—"

"NOW!"

Sam slid off the side of the bed so fast he almost hit the ground. He rushed to the door but he was met with a chipper Holly Holliday as she breezed into the room. The perky smile on her face quickly faded as she took in the terrified look on Sam's face. She brushed by him quickly and rushed to Mercedes' side.

"How are we doing Mercedes?" She asked as she glanced at the printout that was coming from the machine next to the bed. "Whew, your contractions are getting closer."

"Yeah, I'm aware of that." Mercedes answered through gritted teeth, "Can I get drugs yet or not?"

"First let me check how far you are and then we can go from there, okay?"

Mercedes laid back on the bed gingerly and positioned herself so that Dr. Holly could check to see how much she was dilated. Sam chewed on his lips nervously as he watched his wife grimace slightly as Holly did something under the sheet that he was glad he couldn't see.

"Well, Mercedes you are now fully effaced and dilated to a seven."

"Oh, thank God," Mercedes breathed out, "can I get drugs now?"

Holly laughed as she rolled away from the foot of the bed and pulled her disposable gloves off.

"Yes, you can. Are you sure that's what you want?"

"Mmm-hmmm…" Mercedes moaned out as she turned to her side and started breathing in and out rapidly.

"Ooooh, another contraction, huh?" Holly murmured soothingly as she went to the side of the bed and rubbed Mercedes' right hand that was clenching the side of her bed.

Holly looked back at Sam and with a nod of her head gestured for him to join them.

Sam went to the opposite side of the bed and gingerly placed his hand on the curve of her hip. He waited a second and after she didn't fling his hand off he slid it down to lower back and started to rub gentle circles into her skin. She moaned again but this time it was in relief instead of pain and her rapid pants of breath slowly evened out.

"I'm going to go get the anesthesiologist and he's going to get you taken care of, okay?"

Mercedes nodded and Holly patted her leg before shooting a quick smile at Sam and exiting the room.

The melodic beeps of the machines next to the bed were the only sounds in the room as Sam traveled slowly around the bed until he was facing his wife again.

"Hey baby," He murmured softly as he leaned down and kissed her forehead. "Is there anything I can do for you?"

"You can get your son out of me," Mercedes answered in a tight voice but there was a slight smile on her face. "He's a stubborn little thing and he's taking his sweet time to get here."

"I think he gets that from you." Sam teased, and the smile on Mercedes face grew wider.

"Uh, no, I'm not the stubborn one." She replied, "that would be you."

"I think he'll be the perfect blend of both of us."

"Which means he'll be a little terror?"

"Basically…yeah."

They both laughed at that and Sam breathed an internal sigh of relief that the pained tightness around Mercedes mouth lessened a bit.

"What do you think he's going to look like?" Mercedes asked quietly as she toyed with Sam's fingers.

"I don't know…I hadn't really thought about it." He shrugged.

"Really?"

"Yeah, I just want a healthy baby…ya know? I have no doubt he'll be beautiful, I mean, look at you."

"Awwww….but let's not act like I'm the pretty one in this family."

"Ha, ha." Sam whispered as he leaned forward to give her a kiss.

Mercedes threaded her fingers through his hair and the two of them continued to touch their lips to each other softly. Sam would have happily stayed in that position forever but it was cut short when Mercedes suddenly sucked in a deep breath and tugged sharply on his hair.

"Ow!" Sam yelped out more in surprise than pain. "Baby?"

"God damn it!" Mercedes spat out as the force of her latest contraction crashed down on her.

"What do you want me to do?" He asked waiting for her to tell him exactly what she needed him to do. A low, deep groan partially muffled by a pillow was the only response he got.

"God this hurts," Mercedes finally panted out and Sam's heart clenched at the sight of tears leaking out of her eyes and slowly creeping down her face.

The sight of his wife in some much pain was killing him and the fact that her relief was somewhere wandering around the hospital and not doing his or her damn job was pissing Sam off.

"You would think after that VERY generous donation I made to them a few years ago they would be a little bit more accommodating to us!"

"Oh…no…oh, hell no." Mercedes said as she glared up at Sam. "I know you're not even thinking about playing that card."

"If it will get that damn anesthesiologist in here faster, then yes, I have no problem whatsoever playing that card." Sam answered unapologetically. "You're in pain and whoever this anesthesiologist is probably somewhere with his thumb stuck up his ass—"

"Actually, she's right here."

Sam whirled around and came face to face with a very tall and very annoyed woman in a pair of green scrubs.

"Mr. Evans, I presume?" She asked with a stern look on her face. "It's been a few years since the news clips about your very generous donation but you look the same."

"Yeah, that's me." Sam answered in a quiet voice and he had the decency to look contrite.

"Well, then, let me say personally that as an employee of this hospital I was very grateful for the very generous donation that you gave because the hospital staff did such a good job with your wife and daughter's care."

Sam shifted uncomfortably and glanced back at Mercedes who was watching the exchange with a smirk on her face.

"Because of that very generous donation we've been able to provide care for countless mothers and babies including the ones I was just with not a few minutes ago before I rushed over to care for your wife and baby who are equally just as important."

"I apologize." Sam responded, "What I said was inappropriate and unfair. I was worried about my wife but that's no excuse, I'm sorry."

"Apology accepted," the anesthesiologist responded kindly before turning her attention to Mercedes. "Mrs. Evans, my name is Sue Sylvester and I'm here to hopefully make you feel better."

"I think you may be my new favorite person."

"I'm always an expectant mother's favorite person." Sue responded with a wink.

~~~CEO~~~

When Sam would tell the story of how his son was born he would always mention how great his son's timing was. It took about 20 minutes for Mercedes' epidural to work and less than 15 minutes and a few pushes later their baby was born. It all happened so fast it almost made them forget that Mercedes had been in labor for 11 hours. Almost.

Sam watched in awe as his son burrowed his tiny head into the warmth of Mercedes chest. Their son came into the world a healthy 8lbs 10oz with a set of lungs that would put his sister to shame.

Tears gathered and spilled unchecked from Sam's eyes as he watched Mercedes gently run her index finger along the side of their son's face. He knew that he had never loved her as much as he did in that moment, and that was saying something. He silently thanked God that his family was safe and happy and the dread that he had been unknowingly carrying around with him for months dissipated and he felt a million pounds lighter.

"Hey beautiful," Sam whispered as he sat on the edge of the bed and leaned forward to kiss Mercedes. "I'm so proud of you."

"Thank you," She answered bashfully, "I couldn't have done it without you, though."

Sam highly doubted that it was true because he was now convinced that Mercedes could do anything with or without his help, but he nodded his head in acceptance of the compliment.

"I can't believe he's finally here," Sam said as he skimmed his finger along the few wispy brown tendrils on the baby's head.

"What should we name him?"

"I don't know…what do you think?"

"I really love the name Gabriel."

"Hmmm….let me see." Sam gently tugged the blanket away from their son's face and studied his tiny features. "Definitely looks like a Gabriel to me."

"Yeah?" Mercedes asked with a smile.

"Yeah, I think it's almost perfect."

"Almost?"

"What about the middle name?"

"You pick something. Anything you want."

"Okay, how about James like…like mine?"

Mercedes looked up at Sam in surprise at his careful tone.

"I love that name. Why would you think I wouldn't like it?"

"Because of everything that happened with Quinn and Stevie and the sonogram…"

"And me jumping to conclusions because I didn't know your middle name was James?"

"Yeah."

"Baby, that was a lifetime ago."

"Yeah, I know I just don't want any reminders of what happened."

"Our son is not a reminder of that time, and he never will be. I love the idea of him having the same middle name as you. I love that the two of you will share that."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, I'm 100% positive. I promise."

"So, Gabriel James Evans?" Sam asked finally in a thick voice, "Our son's name is Gabriel James?"

A tear slid out of the corner of Mercedes' eye and Sam kissed it away. She turned and leaned her forehead against his and he felt her nod her head slightly.

"Now it's perfect."

5 DAYS LATER

"I don't like him!"

"Liliana!" Sam looked at his daughter in shock, "Why would you say something like that about your brother?"

" 'Cuz I don't like him!" She answered in a huff as if she had answered the question.

Sam tried to hide his smile as he watched his daughter crossed her arms and dramatically stomped across the room. He knew he should reprimand her for her attitude but her actions reminded him of how his mother said he acted when they brought Stevie home.

"Sweetheart, come here."

Lily shot a glare at her father but she slowly made her way back across the play room to stand in front of him.

He got down on his knees and pulled her forward until she was enveloped in his arms.

"Now tell me why you don't like your brother."

"I dunno..." She mumbled as she played with a loose thread on his white Henley. "I just don't."

"Hey, look at me." Sam commanded gently as he put a finger under chin and tipped her face so they would make eye contact. "Why don't you like your brother?"

Lily's big hazel eyes instantly filled with tears and she buried her face in her hands.

"Sweetie, what's wrong with you?"

"I miss Mommy!" She wailed loudly.

"What?" Sam asked in confusion, "She's just in the other room taking a nap. What do you mean you miss her?"

"Ever since he got here she hasn't tucked me in or read me a bedtime story." Lily explained in a hurt voice, "She didn't even give me good night kisses!"

"Well, honey Mommy has been tired these last few days-"

"Too tired for me?" Lily asked in a timid voice that tugged at Sam's heartstrings.

"Of course not, baby. It's just...it's hard to explain."

"I wish he wasn't here then Mommy wouldn't be too tired for me."

Sam realized that this conversation was getting away from him and he was making things worse instead of better. He stood up and held his arms out to pick up Liliana but she just looked at him warily as she wiped her wet eyes.

"Come on baby, I want to go take you to see Mommy."

Lily brightened at that and she all but launched herself in his waiting arms. The two made the quick trip down the hall and a few seconds later they were standing outside the master bedroom.

"Okay," Sam whispered, "Here's the deal, you can see Mommy but you've got to be very quiet, okay?"

Lily gave a big exaggerated nod of her head to let him know that she understood and she even went as far as to lock her lips and throw away the key.

Sam slowly pushed the door to his bedroom open and shushed an already quiet Liliana one more time before walking through the door.

"Mommy!" Lily yelled loudly as soon as she saw her mother's still frame in the bed and Sam stared at his daughter in shock at her betrayal.

"Lily!" He whispered-yelled, "I thought we had a deal?! What happened with the key?" Sam made the locking lips motion again and Lily just shrugged in response like she had no idea what he was talking about.

Sam turned to go back out of the bedroom but he stopped at the sound of Mercedes' laughter.

"What have you two knuckleheads come up with now?"

"Mommy!" Lily squealed and she squirmed in Sam's arms until he walked to the edge of the bed and dropped her. She bounced towards her mother and all but jumped into her arms.

"Liliana, be careful." Sam said sternly, "You can't jump on your mother like that right now."

"She's okay," Mercedes murmured as she cuddled with her daughter. "What brings you two in here?"

"I miss you." Lily answered quietly, so quietly that Mercedes barely understood her.

"What did you say baby?"

"I miss you." Lily mumbled again but Mercedes heard her and her shocked gaze flew to Sam.

"Miss me? Sweetie, I'm right here."

"You didn't give me good night kisses or read me a princess story." Lily answered as she glared over at the bassinet next to the bed. "You were with him. I don't like him. Can he go back in your belly?"

"Sweetheart, it doesn't work that way." Sam responded before Mercedes got a chance to. "You can't go back in Mommy's belly and neither can he."

Lily looked away but not before her parents saw the fat tears brimming in her eyes.

Sam and Mercedes shared a bewildered look because neither one of them was quite sure how to fix the problem. Lily had never expressed any jealously about the impending birth of her brother, in fact, she seemed quite excited about it so it was a bit of an unexpected shock when she instantly disliked her brother from the second she laid eyes on him. Sam and Mercedes assumed it would get better as Lily got used to having her brother around but it appeared it was only going to get worse.

Lily tried to slid to the side of the bed so she could climb down but Mercedes stopped her and pulled her into a hug.

"And just where do you think you're going little girl?"

"I'm going to play with my toys," Lily answered sullenly.

"I thought you missed me? You don't want to spend time with me?"

Lily nodded her head but she kept glancing at her brother sleeping next to them.

"Why don't you like the baby?"

"I dunno..."

"Do you think he's going to take me away from you?"

Lily didn't answer verbally but neither parent missed the slight nod of her head.

"Do you think I won't love you because of him?"

Another slight nod.

"Lily, come here. I want you to put your head right here." Mercedes held her arms out to her daughter and patted her chest where she wanted Lily to lay her head.

The little girl took her sweet time but after a moment's indecision she crawled in her mother's lap and laid her head on her chest.

"Okay, do you hear that sound?"

Lily listened for a minute before nodding her head.

"What does it sound like?"

"Ummm...thump, thump...thump, thump."

"Do you know what that is?"

Lily listened some more before slowly shaking her head.

"That's my heartbeat. Sounds cool, huh?"

Liliana smiled and laid her head down to listen some more.

"Do you know what it sounds like from the inside?"

Lily looked at her like she was crazy before answering, "No."

"Are you sure?" Mercedes asked slyly.

Lily looked at her father for helped but he just shrugged his shoulders because he had no idea where Mercedes was going with this.

"When you were inside me, like your brother was, you could hear my heartbeat. You are the only two people in the whole wide world that can say that. That makes you two the most precious things in the world to me. There is literally nobody like you."

"Not even Daddy?"

"Nope, not even him. You and your brother are the only ones in the whole wide world!"

"Wow!"

"Yep, but you know what that means, right? You have to take care of each other and love each other."

"But he can't play Doc McStuffins!"

"No, right, now he can't but someday he will be old enough to play with you. Are you going to be there to teach him how to do it?"

Lily nodded emphatically.

"Are you sure?" Sam interjected, "Just a little while ago you were trying to get him a one way ticket back to Mommy's belly."

Lily gave her Dad an exasperated look that had Mercedes laughing loudly, unfortunately it was a little too loud for the baby because just a second later an ear-splitting scream filled the room.

"I got him," Sam said to stop Mercedes' move towards the side of the bed to grab the crying baby.

Sam gently picked up his son and patted his back soothingly. Mercedes watched the interaction with a slight smile on her face before sinking back down in the pillows and bringing Lily with her. The two of them watched Sam slow dance with Gabriel around the cramped room with matching smiles on their faces.

After the songs in his head finished Sam swayed back to his side of he bed and climbed into bed with Gabriel still cradled in his arms. Lily stared curiously at her little brother until finally curiosity got the best of her and she stuck one finger out and touched him gently on the bottom of his foot. Neither Sam or Mercedes said or word because it was the first time since Lily met her brother that she was willingly touched him or responded to him in a positive way.

Lily kept running her tiny finger back and forth along the bottom of his foot until suddenly out of the blue a small, but distinct, smile blossomed on Gabriel's face.

"Lily look at what you did!" Mercedes exclaimed as she inwardly cursed herself for not having a camera on the ready. "You were the first person to make your brother smile!"

Lily's eyes widened and she looked at her brother and the biggest, brightest smile crossed her face.

"I did that 'cuz we're special." She answered matter-of-factly and Sam and Mercedes could do nothing but laugh at the clever little child they created.

Sam bent over and placed a gentle kiss on Gabriel's forehead before moving to Lily's. His daughter smiled up at him and puckered her lips for another kiss and Sam was only too happy to grant her wish.

It didn't take too long for Gabriel to slip back into sleep and Liliana, who was completely snuggled into her mother's side, followed soon after.

Sam and Mercedes lay facing each other, with their children between them, as they listened to the faint noises of the busy street below them and the synchronized breathing of their babies.

"Ya know, if anybody would have told me years ago that this would be my life right now, I would have laughed in their faces." Sam said quietly as he ran his finger lightly over Gabriel's arm. "Who, in a million years, would have guessed I would have fallen madly in love with my assistant?"

"Not me." Mercedes laughed lightly as she twirled one of Liliana's curls. "I thought you were an asshole...God, I hated you!"

"I hated you too! You drove me insane and you completely wrecked my controlled life."

"I'm sorry." She replied but it wasn't in the least bit sincere.

"I'm not. You're the best thing that's ever happened to me."

"I know." She answered jauntily, "You're okay too."

"Ha, ha. You're so funny, ever thought of being a comedian?"

"It crossed my mind but I'm too busy assisting you to do anything else."

"You're a pro at it, the best I've ever had."

"You bet your ass I am."

"You know that sassy mouth of yours drives me crazy. It's almost as bad as that leather skirt you wore. God, where is that?"

"Why? It's not like you could get me out of it."

"Ouch...ow...that physically hurt me." Sam laughed as he clutched at his chest, "Why did you have to go there and bring up those bad memories?"

"Hey, you went there first." Mercedes replied with a smile, "Although I will say getting hot and heavy in that private room in that restaurant is not something I'd count as a bad memory."

"Mmmmm..." Sam murmured as he thought back to that day. "Okay, we're going to have to change the subject because you just gave birth five days ago and we have our children in between us but my mind is going to some very non-family friendly places."

"Sam!"

"What? I'm only human and that leather skirt of yours was just...damn, we've gotta find that damn skirt."

"Sam, focus!" Mercedes reprimanded him but it wasn't very effective because she was laughing the entire time she said it.

"I'm sorry. I promise that I won't think about your ass in that ski-"

"Sam!"

"Okay, no more talk about that good good, I swear. At least for another six weeks and then all bets are off."

Mercedes swallowed at the smoldering look in Sam's eyes but she extended her hand over their sleeping babies and shook his hand to seal the deal.

"So, do you want anymore?" Mercedes asked as she nodded down at their kids. "Or is two enough?"

"I don't think I want anymore," Sam answered honestly, "Do you remember what I said in the hospital after we named Gabriel?"

"You said, 'Now, it's perfect."

"Yes, but I was wrong. That was almost perfect because we didn't have our girl with us. This right here, the four of us, this is perfect. I don't want anything more than what we have right now. You, Lily and Gabriel are my perfection, it can't get any better than this."

Mercedes ran her hand over their sleeping babies and she looked back up at him and said with a nod, "You're right, now this is perfect.

~~THE END~~

A/N: Thanks to everyone that has read this story. It started as an idea that I couldn't get of my head and it turned into this beast of a story that was bigger and longer than I could have ever imagine. I have had so much fun writing Sam and Mercedes in this little world I created in my head so this isn't the end. It's just a stopping place so I can end this particular journey and start up with some new ones...Stay tuned!