The Road Trip
Mercedes was unsure of how long she had been asleep, but when she woke up, she could feel Sam's warm body wrapped around hers and hear his measured breathing. She reached over to touch his face and saw that he still had his blindfolds on his eyes, which made her smile. She told him to take it off to find his condom, but he refused, and took more time than she cared for to get the little piece of latex situated. It had been worth it, though.
The sound of Joss Stone singing, "You had me, you lost me…" startled Sam, but Mercedes reached for the phone and answered it, "Yeah? I'm not alone, Puck! Sam is here." She sighed and said, "I don't' care what you think, Puck. I don't care how you feel, either… not right now. No, I don't want to talk about this…" She sighed again, then hung up and put her phone on silent. "Sam?" she whispered.
"Yeah, Babe?" He answered, softly.
"Are you hungry?" She asked.
"Yes."
"Me too… but I don't really feel up to getting up," she said in the cutest, serious voice.
"I'm on it," he told her and kissed her on the forehead. Sam pulled off his blinds and handed them to her, "Hold on to that for me," he said and went to find his discarded clothes.
When Sam left the room, Mercedes did get up to take a bath. Even though Sam was gentle, that stuff hurt and she was feeling sore. She would soak in a tub of hot water and salts. Sam looked at the time on his cell phone. 8:30 pm, with 17 missed calls, 6 voicemails and 13 texts. He sighed and checked his history.
Calls: Lauren, Lauren, Lauren, Quinn, Quinn, Lauren, Puck, Puck, Puck, Sue Sylvester, Puck, Puck, Puck, Puck...
Voicemails: Lauren, Quinn, Puck, Puck, Puck,Puck…
Texts: Lauren – Hey, please call me back, everyone's worried, and OF COURSE, I'm the one they all look to when they need to contact you.
Quinn – Kurt told us he dropped Mercy off with you. Make sure that she eats and takes her medicine, and PLEASE, don't leave her alone for any reason! We'll be back at the shop around 9:30, and I'll stay with her after that. Thank you, Sam.
Santana – I know that you probably won't think to do it, unless someone tells you, specifically, so - call us if you need anything, Trouty. (Sam smiled a little)
Tina – Hey! I know that Lauren left you a VM, but seriously; all of us are here for you, if you need it. Just let us know. In the meantime, you and Mercy take care of each other. (Sam smiled, a lot, and actually got a little choked up)
Sunshine – Be encouraged, Sam. We know the man that you really are today!
Becky – Sam! I hope that you don't let what other people say about you hurt your feelings, because your feelings will stay hurt forever, if you do. (Sam was starting to wonder if Lauren had put them all up to this, now. But, even if she had – they had chosen to comply, so he still felt the love and it was very satisfying.)
Artie – After the festival, we're all going to go to Beiste's and kickback. You should be there.. You and Mercedes. Love you, Man.
Blaine – It takes a really big person to admit that he's changed and you've changed for the better, so don't forget that and don't let any outside forces stop you or negatively affect the change that you've made, or the changes you still intend to make. (Sam seriously had to stop walking and catch his breath. He knew that he had grown on everyone, but this was a shock and overwhelming. He felt like he was a part of the group, honestly, for the first time.)
Sugar – OMG! How could you NOT tell somebody that you're a Nazi before sleeping with them? Even for booty calls or one night stands that is just bad manners and I feel SO SICK! (Deleted)
Joe – I know that things seem hard now, but trust in God, Sam. I'll be praying for you and you have family and friends who will do the same… PS, I NEED to speak with you, whenever you have the chance and you're willing. God bless you.
Sue Sylvester – Your phone went straight to voicemail and I know that you're bad about checking them. I just wanted to let you know that I've seen the fliers and you need to call me when you have the chance. As soon as you have the chance, Evans.
Emma – It may be a good idea for you to come stay with me for a while. Get back to me and let me know, please? I have plenty of room and it would keep Mercedes out of the line of fire…
Mom – Sammy, please call me when you get a chance, Honey.
Sam blinked at the text from his mother and noticed that in the midst of the Puck missed calls, his mother had called, as well. Well, he immediately called her back. "Mom?"
"Hey! Are you alright? Your parole officer was trying to contact you," she said, with a shaky voice. Sam sighed, a little pissed at Sylvester, but he knew that it was her job to keep tabs on him and she had become even more stern about it since his possible involvement with Jesse St. James' death.
"I'm fine, Mom. I just had a rough afternoon, so I turned my phone off. How's everybody?"
"Worried," she said. "Why was Ms. Sylvester trying to reach you so badly that she called us?"
"She might have assumed that I skipped town, Mom. Sylvester's a hardass. Don't worry about it, and tell everyone else not to worry either," he said.
"They miss you," the woman answered for her family.
"I miss them. I miss all of you. I just can't stand the thought of y'all seeing me in the condition that I'm in. When I can really get back on my feet, I'll come to see you." He said and heard the beep of an incoming call. Quinn. He ignored it.
"Then do we get to meet that wonderful young lady who took you in?" she asked, with a smile in her voice. Sam chuckled. "How is Mercedes?"
"Right now, she's fine. Like I said, it was a rough afternoon."
"For her, as well?" Mary Evans asked. Sam heard the incoming call again. Damn it, Quinn!
"Mom, hold on a sec – Mercedes' friend is blowing up my other line." He clicked over, "Quinn!"
"Sam, what are you doing?" She asked.
"Going to get some food and trying to talk to my mom, if you'll excuse me."
"I asked you not to leave Mercedes alone…"
"Mercy doesn't want to be babied, Quinn."
"Did you at least make sure she took her medicine? Did you make sure that she ate?"
"Once again, babying… and I just told you that I'm going get some food, right now."
"Do not leave her alone, Sam!" Quinn yelled through the receiver. "Go check on her and make sure that it isn't her that Puck is tearing into on his cell phone, right now!" Sam generally didn't respond well to Quinn yelling at him, but this time was different. This time, he rushed back onto the elevator and up to Mercedes' room. He could hear her crying in the bathroom, and he knocked on the door.
"Yes?" She called, trying to mask her tears. Sam stepped in and she was in the tub, on the phone, but she turned towards the door. "Sam?"
"Yeah. It just occurred to me that I didn't even check to see what you wanted to eat…"
"Is he IN THE BATHROOM WITH YOU? WHILE you're in the tub?" He heard Puck yell over the receiver.
She shut her eyes tightly and squeezed out some tears. Sam marched over and held his hand out, "Could I have that, Mercy?" He asked. She sniffled and handed the phone to Sam, with a shaky hand. "Puck… I don't know what you're doing to her, but I swear to God, if I ever see her go from how I left her, to how you just made her again, I will kill you. Do you understand me? You need to stay the hell away from her, from now on. I do not care how long you've allegedly been friends. I don't care if I'm overstepping my boundaries. You two have nothing that you need to discuss, any further!"
"Get yourself a piece of ass and you just think you own her."
"All I can assure you of, right now, Puck – is that if you do not heed my advice, you will regret it. I have never made a threat in my life!"
"Yeah, why do that when you can just kill whoever you want and get away with it. Too bad she doesn't realize that it's her life you're gonna destroy next."
"You are the expert on destroying her life you toxic bastard!"
"Sam…" Mercedes pleaded, but Sam barely heard her over himself and Puck yelling at each other over the phone.
Puck asked, "Do you really think that in four months that you could actually tear down ten years of friendship and six years of love between us?"
"I think it would take four days to erase that bullshit that you try to pretend was ever friendship or love!"
"Well, I guess I should be glad that you underestimate me. Don't be disappointed when you're inside of her and she calls my name."
"F*ck you, you kike!" Sam snapped before he had the chance to think about his words. Puck just snorted a laugh and hung up. Sam groaned, and pulled his own hair at his outburst.
"Sam? Did you just say that to him in front of Mercedes?" He heard Quinn ask and he simply hung up on her. His phone rang and he looked at it. Mom.
"Mom? Sorry… um, about what you asked me, I think I may take you up on that."
"Coming to see us?"
"Yeah. I, I have to go. I'll call you back." Sam dropped both of the cell phones into the empty sink and sat down next to the bathtub. "I'm sorry, " he said. "I was angry and it just came out."
"What comes out of you is what is inside of you," she said, gently – speaking a fact, not trying to cut him down, he realized, immediately.
"Yes… I do still have some things buried inside that should not be there," he admitted.
"So, if I make you mad in the future, I can possibly be smashed in the heart with something hateful from you…"
"No!" He said and shook his head, "No, that was different. That was Puck, and you know how he is. He was trying to press my buttons and unfortunately, he is the best person to be able to do that to me, because of his past with you and how he can just say anything with no regard for anyone else, not even you! I would never say anything that hateful to you and you would never do anything to make me angry enough to even blow up like that.
Let's be realistic. Puck aims to make people as upset as he is and he is quite skilled at it. That is not a reaction that I generally have to people, anymore. That was something that he dug up, after digging into me over and over. What he said about you was just…" Sam took a deep breath, knowing that if she could forgive Puck's years of actual verbal abuse, she would forgive his slip of the tongue, when provoked. Of course, that only meant that a deeper issue was still in tow, and that was what hurt – that it was even still there for Puck TO dig up.
Sam believed with all of his heart he would never say or do anything to hurt Mercedes, but hell, if that kind of stuff was just dormant inside of him… "What do you think about taking a road trip with me?" He asked.
"Where?"
"Kentucky," he said and looked at her for facial responses. Shock, but not a bad shocked. "My mom wants us to come out there and with everything from that flier to what is certain to be a dramatic disaster with Puck, I just want to get you away from this for a little while."
"When do you want to leave?" She asked with a smile.
"Like, right now. Because they'll be here in less than an hour, and I'll want to already be gone." She reached for her towel and stood to get out of the tub, without even giving it a second thought. "Is this a yes?" He asked.
"I want to get away from this mess just as much as you," she said.
Mercedes had emergency bags packed. Being blind meant that in the case of an emergency, she couldn't scramble and get sentimental items, legal records, etc and so on and so forth, so she kept a couple of bags prepared, with everything that she might need in case of a sudden evacuation from a fire or storm. One couldn't be too prepared and Sam was elated about it. That just meant he had to throw his junk into his duffel bag and they hit the road before 9:00. When Sam heard "You had me, you lost me," he almost snatched the phone and threw it out of the window. "Don't answer that, please?" Sam asked.
"I have to," she told him. That disappointed him, but when Mercy answered, he was blown away. "Noah Puckerman, I think that my man already warned you to leave me alone. I was willing to put up with a lot from you because I thought you were my friend and I loved you, but I am not going to let you try to undo every bit of good that Sam tries to do. He hasn't done anything to you to deserve that and I am not going to let you poison my relationship with him or run him off, like you've done everyone else. He's important to me and I choose him, over you. You need to leave me alone, and if you call again, don't expect my words to be nearly as nice, if I even answer, at all." She hung up and exhaled a deep breath. "Oh my God!"
"Are you alright?" He asked, with a smile.
"I have never been better!" She reached for his hand and intertwined their fingers. "Thank you, Sam. I don't think that I would have been able to do that without you here to inspire me." She leaned over and kissed him on the corner of his mouth.
He smiled and told her, "I sent a mass text message to everyone who mattered to let them know that we were fine and that we're gonna be gone a few days, and not to worry…"
"So, I should expect hundreds of calls and texts from my overbearing friends…"
"Basically," he said with a swift nod.
"Thanks for the heads up," she said as she turned off her phone and put it away in her purse. She reached into it and pulled out a couple of treats for the dogs. "When are we going to go back?" She asked.
"That's up to you," he told her. "Even though I invited you to come with me, all the W's are now your responsibility." He watched the smile grow across her face and she turned on the music. "Mercy… we never took the time to eat," he told her.
"Well, let's drive through somewhere. I don't want to stop until we get to Kentucky."
Quinn was seated at the bar, listening to Santana and Brittany sing a duet, when she heard her phone beeping. It was another text from Sam! Thank God! She opened it and saw "Just arrived in Kentucky. Made it safely, love you guys. Mercy says it too." Then he drew a little rose with characters. Quinn glanced around and saw everyone checking their phones, and obviously receiving the same text, just like earlier.
"Kentucky?" She heard Artie yell out. "Oh, LAWD, he done took my babay to Kentucky!"
Quinn laughed. She actually laughed. Mercy was making a choice to well, be free to make a choice and Quinn was so proud of her. That was the Mercy that she'd fallen in love with all those years ago, anyway. The woman that she'd become was still equally loveable, but Quinn knew that Mercedes had been stifled for years now. Surprisingly, with Sam, she seemed to be blossoming again. "Good for you, Mercy," she said, with the tears streaming down her face.
She felt a pair of arms wrap her up from behind and she turned her head slightly to see Tina. The girl put her face in Quinn's hair and said, "If anybody is going to be alright, it's her!"
"I know, but I'm gonna miss her so much," Quinn said and wiped her face.
Kurt came up, now, too, as well and shook his head. "I will never for the life of me understand why I even continue to support this man," Kurt said and scoffed before ordering a drink. "I place her in his hands to comfort her… he takes her to Kentucky. Why the hell Kentucky?"
"That's where his family lives," Quinn said. Kurt and Tina's eyes both widened. "Yep… he's taking Mercy home to meet Mama."
Tina puffed out a gust of air and shook her head to clear away a little daze. "It's official. I like him."
Kurt laughed and threw his hands into the air, "Tina, you've liked him for a minute, now."
"That was unofficial," Tina said.
Quinn sighed, and through another flurry of tears, lifted her glass and said, "To Sam and Mercedes." Tina clanked her bottle against the glass, but Kurt was drinking his drink and when he turned to cheers, it was over. "Your late ass," Quinn said and they laughed.
Sam decided that it would be best to stay in a motel for the night, because it was so late and he really didn't want to bother his family at this time of night. Besides, he wanted to spend at least a little bit of time alone with Mercy… even though they technically weren't alone because Clusterfrak and KissyKissyBangBang were dramatically excited for having been driving around for about five hours – the longest they had ever been in a vehicle. "I have something to help calm them in my bag," Mercedes said. After a short while, the dogs were quiet, but they wanted to be in the bed. Hell they were used to their own individual beds…
"Not tonight, dear friends," Sam said, pushing the dogs off of the bed and snuggling against Mercedes in there stead. "I wonder what your friends are thinking, right now."
"I bet that they're thinking that they'll never see me again, because they think that I'm too stupid to walk down the street, much less to cross state lines."
Sam sighed and began to stroke her hair, "I know that they don't really think that, Mercy. I agree that they treat you like a child, but they don't do it because they think you're stupid. You're just too important to them. You are the glue that holds that lot together."
"No, Emma is."
"Mercedes, I was living in the shop for two months before I ever even saw Emma. But, after ONE day of being there, I had the chance to meet every single friend that you have – the ones from the institution and your other close friends, too. The common thread is that I saw a group of people who didn't care if they looked like the hugest jerks in the world, as long as you're safe."
"I don't like that. They don't know the full story of my dad, but they know about my mom. I would never want any of them to sacrifice themselves for me."
"Love is about sacrifice, isn't it? You would risk what you have to be with me, I know that over the years, you've given up so much to please your friends. They realize that, and I'm sure that they just want to give back. I understand how they feel. There is nothing in this world that I want more than to protect you from being with me… except for maybe to let you decide, because I see how much it hurts you when you aren't allowed the freedom to be yourself. So, I have to sacrifice that part of myself that is selfish and wants to shelter you, so that I can cater to that part of me that wants to see you smile." He nuzzled her neck, "You are so cuddly," he said. "I could stay in your arms forever and not be the least bit upset about it," he told her.
"Do you think that they'll know?" she asked… "About what happened between us?"
"Yeah, they'll be able to tell, probably. Does that matter to you?" He asked.
"I'm not ready for the backlash," she admitted.
"I'll protect you," he promised. And, to be quite honest, that didn't make her feel helpless or childish. In this particular instant, she felt just like a woman, being guarded by her man.