WARNING: I can't lie. This is probably the most gruesome and vulgar thing that I've ever written, in life. Murder. Bloody murder and torture are BOTH in this chapter.
There is pretty much no good way to look at this chapter. Sorry, folks. Watch out for the ITALIC!
Also, I apologize to all who have been turned off by the turn of events and the nature of the way that the enemy here decides to deal with their problems. I will try to get the bloodshed to stop as soon as it feels right to the story and to the direction that the story is taking. The next series shouldn't be nearly as graphically disturbing… (That's a hint that I am going to do another story in this universe, after I've completed this one.)
The Rendezvous
Sam watched, as Matt's voice narrated, "This was my mother." There were photos of the woman, at various stages in life, doing various things and smiling, brightly. "A lot of people claim they have these great and wonderful mothers; you probably do it too, but my mother was listed as one of Lima, Ohio's most extraordinary persons, three times, in her life. At other times, she was acknowledged on a state and national level for great work in the medical field, as well as civil rights activism. She graduated, with honors from high school and college. She went to school on a swimming scholarship, having been a swimmer all of her life and won several awards, but she went to school to study neurological science."
Sam saw the woman getting awards, over and over, in the photos, graduate photos of her and friends and family. She shook hands with famous people and posed with political figures at events. "She was able to balance being a professional and a star mom…" The music stopped long enough for a clip to play:
Mrs. Rutherford opened the door of the house, dressed to the nines in a fancy professional skirt set and a pair of nice high heel shoes. Sam thought she was a beautiful woman. Definitely of MILF status, now that he could see her differently than when he had seen her years ago. She was greeted by a barrage of balloons and cheers of happy birthdays. Her kids ran to her and hugged her and her husband kissed her and welcomed her into the house. "Oh, you all are so sentimental! Especially you, with that camera, Matt," she teased. "Thank you. I love you all."
Matt narrated, "We appreciated her and were not taxed to pay her tribute, as she deserved every moment of glory and honor that we ever granted her…"
Presently, Matt asked, "Do you remember the way that your friends treated her? Do you remember what the police reports say happened, actually happening?" He paused the tribute and stared at Sam. Sam looked at Matt, alarmed at how he could see nothing in his eyes.
It was like Matt had turned his feelings off for today (or perhaps Matt's eyes were always this cold), and he was genuinely awaiting an answer to his question. Sam replied, "I remember what happened to her… I… was taping what happened." That was something that had never been told before. Sam didn't even know whatever became of the tape, but was pretty sure it was somewhere with the rest of the dirt – not that it mattered, because all of the guilty had already been punished.
"So, what happened? I mean, you were there. The forensic investigators were not. Sure, tests are very reliable, but are they 100% accurate? We can never really know the whole truth – but I am sure that you at least have a better idea of the facts than anyone else who's willing to talk. What did they do to her? Don't leave anything out." Matt pulled out a folder and looked at his copy of the police report. He was waiting.
Sam took a deep breath and said, "They hit her in the knees and knocked her onto the ground. She was on the floor, trying to crawl away. She looked like she was trying to get to her youngest daughter. The little girl was scared, but she wasn't crying. Instead, she looked confused, not yet crying… but I guess that Mrs. Rutherford just wanted to comfort her or to try to protect her. She was trying to crawl over to her and Rick kicked her down to the floor and put his foot on the back of her neck. That was when the girl started… started crying…" Sam seemed to be getting choked up.
Matt's head snapped towards him and he snapped at him, "How dare you try to shed a tear at this point? You haven't earned the right to cry over this, yet. I don't want your trembling voice to interfere with this report!" Aphasia sniffled and covered her neck with her hand. Joe's eyes were moist as Sam nodded his head. Surely, he disagreed, but he would continue. "What happened after Rick put his foot on my mother's neck?" Matt asked.
Sam would say everything that needed to be said. He knew this would be even more difficult than it had been when he faced Shane, and much more hard to withstand than Aphasia was, but he spoke, to try to appease whatever it was that he could, for Matt. "Mr. Rutherford tried to run to her, and someone hit him in his stomach with a piece of metal – a big pipe. He went down, but he turned to fight the pipe away from the guy. He was fighting very well, and wrestled the pipe from him to hit him with it. That was when he was stabbed in the side, with a hunting knife. He fell, dropped the pipe. The pipe was picked up and he was beaten with it. Rick made him stop. Mr. Rutherford was supposed to live to see everything else. He was bound with rope and sat down, facing the scene. His son was going to crawl over to him and Rick yelled, "stop him," so I kicked him. He tried to come at me and I hit him with the camera and punched him down. He backed away and they tied him up, too…"
One of the guys ripped at Mrs. Rutherford's clothes, while she struggled beneath Rick's foot and her oldest daughter, who was holding her little sister cried out, "Please – don't do anything to her! Take me, instead!" Rick laughed and moved towards her. The older of the sisters placed her little sister behind her and Rick snatched the older one by the hair and slammed her against the floor, crying. He cut off her clothes with a hunting knife and attacked her. Before he was finished, he began to stab her, repeatedly. She screamed and tried to shield herself, but that seemed to excite him even more as he kept swinging the weapon at her. Sam's eyes were widened at it, but he didn't say anything. For some reason, he didn't think that they would be SO brutal towards the females. He didn't know why he'd made that presumption, but he had.
Rick stood up and pushed the woman's body around, with his feet. He looked down at the blood on himself and told the camera, with a shrug, "She volunteered." He turned and looked at the mother. She was screaming, insanely! It was like she could not be controlled. "Choke her to shut her up. We have very little time before the cops come here. Neighbors are going to be calling em', soon." She was being choked while she watched Rick approach her youngest daughter, while she was yet being sexually attacked. The woman squirmed, fought with everything. Her son, even tied up tried to go to her, but he was pressed to the floor and a nail was driven into the back of his head. The little girl screamed, at the top of her lungs and Rick snatched her up from the ground and asked her, "Don't you want me to do to you what I did to your sister?" She cried and shook her head no. "Shut. Up." He told her and threw her to the floor.
The sadist who had the son cut his pants to expose him and used his hunting knife. The kid was barely alive, but when his assailant began to cut him, he writhed in agony and began to have an asthma attack. Rick took the little girl's hand and brought her to him. "Do you want to help your brother stop hurting?" He asked her. She nodded, still crying. "Here, he handed her the knife and told her, "Stick him as hard as you can." He poked him in the heart and said, "Right here. You do that and you'll make him stop hurting." She cried and held onto the knife. "Come on. They say that you're a really smart little nigger. Let's see if you're strong too." She glared at him, shut her eyes and stabbed at her brother, as hard as she could. She stuck him, but he was still having his attack. "I guess you weren't strong enough," Rick taunted her.
"Rick…" Sam started. It was bad enough she was going to die. Forcing the child to try to stab her brother was just low, even for everything else happening around him. Sam didn't really get a chance to refute Rick, though. The girl took the knife and stuck Rick in leg with it, so near his penis that he currently can't even use the thing anymore. Rick growled in pain and backhandedly slapped her. Then, he held her down, by the throat, with one hand and punched her, over and over with the other. Sam said, "Rick…" And he moved towards the two of them to try to pull his old friend off of the defenseless child.
"Got to hell, Sam! This little b*tch just stabbed me in my d*ck!" Rick said and began to choke her.
"No," her father managed to say. "Please…" He was never a man to beg, but, "Not my baby. Not… my… baby girl."
Rick stood up, hunched over and looked down at the dead child. "She asked for it," he muttered and spit on her. Sam looked down at the child, and felt suddenly really bad for even being here. It was like beating a puppy to death, or a harmless little monkey, was more accurate… and it bothered him to see her smashed against the floor that way.
"Think that's enough?" the one climbing off of Mrs. Rutherford said. "I always have to take a leak after I pop white." He went over and relived himself on the child, looking right at her father, as he did. Rick held himself and said, "We have to make this quick, now. One of you get the kid, one get the papa. I've got this one."
"You hate the chicks, don't you?" Sam asked, seriously disturbed, now. Rick just laughed and walked over to Mrs. Rutherford. She wanted to know why. The only answer he gave her was a laugh and death. The son was stabbed in the back and the knife was twisted and Mr. Rutherford was stabbed in the heart… The guys left after that. Sam passed the camera to Rick and they each went separate ways. But, someone else was sent in to embellish the scene – slurs in blood on the walls, hanging the male bodies by the necks, and castrating also Mr. Rutherford. None of the guys involved said a word about any of it and they didn't have to, because the evidence was there. Even though they never saw the tape, they knew what was on it, and their DNA had been all over the place.
Sam didn't have much DNA present, but he did have a footprint, with the blood to match his shoe, when he stepped over the brother to get Rick to stop choking the little sister. That and an unused videotape were virtually the only things that ever connected him to the crime scene, for court purposes. But, he would be connected to the event that he witnessed and participated in for the rest of his life. You just don't forget anything like that.
"So… how much fun was it?" Matt asked.
"It wasn't actually fun. There was a bit of a rush, but it was more like when you're excited about being afraid, for me, than anything else," he said. Obviously, he was being allowed to cry now, because the tears were flowing, though his voice was somewhat still. "I hate myself for doing that, Matt. I swear to you, there is not a day that goes by that I am not haunted by nightmares of that night, or by…"
"It's time to resume the memorial," Matt said, cutting off the apology and playing his computer again.
He narrated, "This was my sister. She always thought that there was nothing special about her, because she was in a house full of these great achievers and she was considered an average kind of girl…"
"She wasn't average, was she Sam? Does just any girl beg someone to rape and kill her, if she thinks that it'll save someone else? Even her mother? Would your sister beg to switch places with your mother if that happened to them?" Matt asked, from next to Sam. Sam sniffled and shrugged his shoulders. Probably not, most likely. She would hate to see it happen, but he didn't know if he knew anyone who would sacrifice herself that way, except for maybe Mercy's family. Now, he wished that she was here. She would have hated hearing all of that, but it would have been nice to know if she still, still loved him after hearing all of the details from his own mouth. It would have been nice to feel her soft, loving hand reach over to squeeze his and give him a boost of confidence and comfort that he now felt most unworthy of, all over again.
The "average" sister was quite a wallflower. She didn't wear makeup or try to dress sophisticated or trendy. "She wasn't a genius or greatly talented, but she was like a saint amongst mere people. When we were little, I remember her holding an umbrella over my brother and I while she got soaked, because she preferred that, instead of either of us getting sick for getting even a little wet if we all tried to squeeze underneath it." For the first time, Matt's walls seemed to break down as he looked at the images of his family, when they had been happy and alive, not knowing what kind of fate would send them to the other side.
"This was my brother. He was a brilliant boy and he would have been even smarter than me. We were going to start a business together, if we ever could have agreed on what we wanted to do. We just knew that no matter what it was, it was going to be spectacular, because I was very well rounded and pretty smart and he was smarter than anyone else that I knew and very diligent and dedicated to intellectual success. He was small, for his age – always having health issues – from eczema, to asthma and a number of allergies and skin problems, he couldn't do a lot of physical activity."
"Like defend himself," Matt said, allowing a tear to fall, but refusing to wipe it away, as though it wasn't there.
"This was my father. I believed that he was a wonderful man. He served in the military, before I was born. By the time I was entering elementary, he was a policeman, and a few years later, a detective. Eventually, he left the force, concerned about corruption and dirty politics. It became an obsession for him. He began to be a private investigator, but spent much of his time working on special cases from his past – special assignments that he personally took on out of concern. He was a hero to me. My mentor. My idol. But, a man who always told me that he looked up to me. I never even understood how that could be, but I cherished it and him."
"This was my baby sister…" Matt paused the recording and handed the laptop to Sam. He got up and rushed over to his little sister's grave and bent over her gravestone. Sam, Joe and Aphasia exchanged glances. Matt shut his eyes tightly and tried to catch his breath. Aphasia had an understanding of what was happening to him. He never took the appropriate time or actions to deal with how he felt about losing all of these people, and now, he had to retry to relive the event to deal with his emotions. Aphasia went over and placed her hands on his shoulders. Matt shook his head and whispered, "I can't stand to watch it again."
"Is she here?" Aphasia whispered, too low for anyone to hear what she said.
"Yes!" He hissed, not lifting his head.
"What does she look like?" Aphasia asked. Matt looked over to see his little sister picking flowers out of the bouquet that Sam left her. She put two in her hair and spun around in her dress. The dress was covered in blood, but her face looked clear, except for some blood on her face. He was startled by the look of her. "If she looks any better, it's because you're finally facing all of this and you're getting better. You can't quit, now – Matt!" Aphasia wrapped her arms around him and hoisted him up to help him stand. "Please don't give up."
Matt went back to sit next to Sam, trying not to vomit or cry, or spontaneously combust. "Play it," he said, hoarsely. Sam did so.
There was the little girl, bright and beautiful, with her curly black hair in a ponytail and butterfly hairclips on the side of her hair. "Take me with you to Paris," she said.
"I can't," Matt said from behind the camera. "It's a school trip and we've already paid for just me. Not that you could have gone anyway!"
She folded her arms and said, "You could put me in your luggage! I'm small enough to fit into a big suitcase, just leave it cracked," she laughed and her laugh was beautiful. Sam began crying serious tears as he watched her. She was light shinned, like Matt. She almost looked mixed, with the texture of her hair and the light colored eyes she inherited from her mother. "You know what? I'm not even mad, because I'm gonna go to Paris, when I get famous! Beyonce goes to Paris."
Matt sucked his teeth at his little sister's mention of her idol. "Tell my friends what your name is," he said.
"I am Wonderful!" She said and laughed, clapping her hands.
Matt muttered, "She calls herself Wonderful, as her 'stage name,' now where she learned stage names, I don't know."
"It's not a stage name, Matty. It's my alter ego, like Sasha Fierce!" She told him, quickly, full of sass.
"And why does an eight year old need an alter ego?" Matt asked.
"I don't need anything. I can get to where I want to by just my talent. Are you going to show this to somebody in Paris?"
"To my friends when they ask me who is the kid that keeps calling my cell phone, asking what I'm doing, instead of letting me enjoy Paris?" he teased.
"Well, show them me singing. That will make their day," she bragged. "Wonderful's singing makes everyone's day…"
"Girl, just sing and quit with the ego," he said, chuckling.
"I get my smug attitude from you… That's what Momma said." She laughed and said, "Hmm… but what shall I sing? Of course, we know, it has gotta be Beyonce. But, I wonder if I wanna do the happy "Halo" or the sad "Listen."
"How about you start with the sad and end happy?" Matt suggested, sounding playfully annoyed, at the time. Sam could feel Matt's lips moving, reciting silently everything that he was saying on the recording. What they didn't know was that Matt had only seen watched this once after her death, when he put the memorial together. He simply replayed the last time he had a chance to talk to his little sister face to face, all the time.
"Matty – they told me that you were smart. I usually tell them, that's a special effect, but you might be smart!" She teased, cleared her throat, then went straight into, "Listen to the song in my heart.." Sam and Matt both cried at how hauntingly beautiful the child's voice was as she sang the song like a vocal prodigy, and when she got to the end of the song, she belted out the last note, with both hands lifted in the air, dramatically dropped her head, as she closed the song; then waved her hands in a circle as she popped her head back up with a smile that totally contrasted the song she had just sang and she sang, "Remember those walls I built? Well baby, they tumbling down…"
As she neared the end, hitting all of those notes, Sam's heart could barely take it! He covered his mouth with both hands and when the girl ended the song, she smiled and said, "And you act like Wonderful is not the right name for me!" She laughed.
Matt looked down at his lap to see his sister seated there, watching the performance with them. She didn't have blood all over her, or bruises. Or any of it. She had on a pretty, white dress – like he had her wear for her funeral, but instead of the mess of a face that they tried to make look presentable, resulting in Matt having open caskets to show how badly their faces had been attacked, she looked just like she did in the video. "Remember me that way, Matty," she whispered to him. "That's who I was, even 'til the end." She got up, walked over to her grave and smiled as she traced her name, with her fingers… then, she walked away and disappeared.
Matt wondered if she was gone for good, or if he would see her tomorrow. He wondered if she would appear this way, from now on, or if she would return a bloody mess. "Do you know any of their names?" Matt asked Sam.
"Matthew Rutherford Sr., father. Margerie Rutherford, mother. Meaghan Rutherford, oldest sister. Mark Rutherford, younger brother…" he sniffled and said, "Miracle Rutherford…" He choked on his words. Matt took his laptop and opened it to hand him the disc.
"Thank you for the flowers and candles. But, I'm sure that you realize, from at least some sense of rationale that none of that will ever mean anything to me." Matt stood up and began to put his laptop away.
Sam stood up too and asked, "Are you leaving?"
"No, you're leaving. I've showed you what I wanted to show you. I think that you got the idea. I think that now you at least know something about the people that you obliterated."
"Tell me this – why did you do it? Why did you take away everyone who was actually worth something, and you left me here? The only reason I could have ever been a good person was because I had so many great people to help balance me out. Without them, you know who I could have been? Jesse! Why did you kill them and not me?" Matt asked, angrily.
"From what I found out, you were supposed to die too, but Jesse had other plans," Sam said. "Nobody should have died that night and no one should ever have to die like they did. But, I promise you, I know what they went through. I've had to do it all, Matt. I had to watch people be attacked and be helpless about it. I've been brutally assaulted, objectified and used and they tried to kill me, too. There's nothing that I can say that will ever make any of what happened make any sense to you, but there's something that I can try to do to help you find some peace…"
Matt scoffed and began to walk off. Aphasia stepped up and said, "Matt, Sam has something very important to talk to you about."
Matt nodded and said, "Investigating Will Schuester, etc. Sure, right. I'm on it. But, just because I agreed to meet you today, does not mean that I agree to work with you. I don't care if you had not laid one hand on them. I don't care if you had never even stepped foot in there. Just knowing and supporting and protecting any of the others is enough for me to never want to be anywhere near you, again!" Matt stressed through his teeth.
Sam offered, "I just think that I could help you."
"No, you think that I can help you. You want to be free from your old mess. That's not my problem or concern. I honestly hope it never leaves you alone. I may be able to form coherent sentences and maintain a healthy appetite, but I will never be able to move past what happened to these people that I knew, loved, lived with and intended to share every important event in my life with. I'll never move past what was done and I'll never forgive any of you."
"Jesse St. James, included," Sam said. Matt just looked at him, waiting for more. Sam nodded and said, "I've been trying to tell you - Jesse St. James was the one to tell Will Schuester about whatever it was that your father had on him. He helped Will to plan that night. I wasn't supposed to be there. Jesse wanted me to come out of town with he and Dave Karofsky, so that when the details of what happened to your parents were released, they would not be able to stick it on the most likely suspect – me. That night was supposed to be expendable flunkies and they were supposed to be prosecuted and discarded after they served their purpose. I know for a fact that the masterminds behind it were Jesse and Will and that the fact that they helped you afterwards was more of a copout than you even imagined. They didn't do it just to seem not racist. They didn't do it just to gain political favor. They did it to be able to watch the effect it had on you, up close!" Matt was clenching his bag tightly and backing away.
"Matt… Will Schuester wanted you dead too. Jesse gave him the weekend that he knew you would be gone so that he could gloat about the fact that he helped to have your entire family killed and outsmarted you to do it."
Matt took a swing at Sam and Aphasia jumped when he did. Sam backed away from the fist, but put both of his hands up, letting Matt know that he was not here for that. If Matt wanted to fight him, he would take the punches. Especially if that would help Matt to decided they needed each other for this. Matt looked at his own fist, surprised at himself. His emotions had been grated too much, today. He turned and began walking away, saying, "I can't deal with anymore of this, right now. Call me tomorrow, Phai." He was so upset, right now, so ready to break, that he barely saw the car that was cruising up…
Everything happened so fast. He heard Aphasia scream his name and he looked up to see a gun pointed at him, from the passenger's seat of a white car. Matt quickly turned and started to run in the opposite direction that the car had been driving, when he felt someone tackle him and he heard shots, ringing out. He heard Aphasia scream Sam's name and he heard the car speeding away. Matt sat up and knocked Sam off of him. Sam was struggling for breath, with a gunshot wound in his side. Matt looked at all of the blood, and began to have a panic attack. Blood was not something that he could easily look at in small doses, but after having just thought of his family, this was a trigger, today. The car turned and started coming back. By this time, Joe was ducked behind a gravestone, calling for help and Aphasia had withdrawn a small firearm from her purse.
The person in the car was firing, as was Aphasia. Sam and Matt watched in horror as she marched right at the car, firing, with no fear or shame, at the passenger, who was now hanging out of the car, firing. Matt groaned and hit the ground and Sam glanced at him and saw that he had been hit in the chest. "No… no, Matt!" He said and tried to check on the other man. Aphasia hit the shooter in chest and head and fired at the driver, as well… but she only grazed his ear. She cussed and rushed to check on Matt.
Matt sat up and opened his shirt, to show them he had a vest on beneath it. "I never leave the house without this," he admitted and went to check Sam's wound. "That looks horrible," he said, and took Sam's hands to apply pressure to the wound.
"I've never been shot before," Sam said. He laughed and said, "It hurts." His green eyes were watering and he was breathing hard and fast with puckered lips.
"Is it fatal?" Aphasia asked.
"I don't know. I can't tell where it actually hit, because of all of the blood and I don't know if they possibly hit an organ or something. Then there's the fact that I don't know what kind of gun they used or if he might have a reaction to the metal or if the wound might get infected or…"
"Feels pretty serious," Sam said. Joe came over and said, "I got most of it on camera with my phone. I got the shooter and the driver but there was no license plate on the car. The ambulance is on their way, Sam. You want me to call Mercedes?"
"No, not until I'm alright. She'll worry herself to death if she finds out I've been shot." He shook his head and bit down so hard on his lip that he drew blood, "Matt… while I have your attention… could you please reconsider helping me with Will Schuester. I don't know if you noticed, but this bullet was meant for you, and he wasn't aiming for your side."
"Yeah… I'll reconsider," Matt said. He looked at Aphasia, and asked, "You alright, Phai?"
She nodded, but she was still clenching the gun between her fingers. "I practice shooting at the range as a stress reliever. I've been shooting Jesse St. James in the face and chest for years… usually not moving, though. I have a license for it, even though I technically can't just shoot it out in the streets like this… I think that two shot people, in my company, ought to be enough grounds for self defense."
"I don't know. You're black and in Ohio. I'll have my lawyer help out," Matt said.
Sam wondered, "Where is the ambulance, because I am actually in a lot of pain and losing a lot of blood?"
Aphasia watched as Mercedes Jones held Sam's hand and he smiled, softly at her, with loving eyes, promising her, "This will be over soon, Babydoll." Babydoll… that was a cute name for her. Aphasia had a brief flash to Sam calling her some terrible things, but she pushed all of that away. Not only had Sam come to free her from the haunting of Jesse in her life, included her in his plans and listened to her advice… Now, he had saved Matt's life! Even after Matt said that he would never forgive him! What kind of a superman was Sam Evans?
She jealously watched as Sam guided his blind little beauty to sit next to him on the bed and gathered her into his arms, letting her lay back on him, on the side that was not injured. Aphasia felt guilty for looking at them like that. It was obvious that the do did each other much good. Mercedes was crying and trembling. It hurt Sam to see her so shaken, but he was delighted just to be able to see her again. A few hours before, it was very likely that he might not.
Mercedes had gotten virtually NO sleep the entire night, as she, Kurt, Blaine, Sam, Santana and Brittany stayed at the hospital, in the waiting room, to avoid possible threats at home. Sam leaned back, with his head against the wall and fell to sleep. Kurt drifted off to sleep on his honey's shoulder and Blaine rested his head on top of Kurt's head, with their hands intertwined tightly. Brittany and Santana remained awake for most of the night, mainly due to the fact that Brittany was unable to really go to sleep anywhere but in her own bed (and had been that way since she was little), unless being in the place for several nights, first.
Beiste remained next to Emma's bed, though Emma still was not waking up. The woman's eyes fluttered here and there and her vitals seemed normal, but she wasn't responding to anything and the doctor was sure that she might take much time to walk again, if ever, and she appeared to have suffered some brain damage due to hypovolemic shock, caused by her massive loss of blood. On the way to the hospital, the woman began to go into convulsions and fell unconscious. Several hours later, she still had not awoken and Shannon Beiste was a mess.
Eventually, Santana knocked on the door and asked if she needed a break of some sort. Shannon shook her head and sadly smiled at the younger woman. "If you need anything at all, Brit and I are still in the waiting room," Santana told her and gave the woman a tight bear hug from behind.
Kurt and Mercedes went back to Emma's and were allowed inside to get their stuff, but they weren't able to go anywhere near the kitchen or the office. When they had everything that belonged to them, and their significant others; both of them got into Kurt's SUV and headed for the shop. Mercedes just wanted to lie down for a while and at this point, that sounded like a wondrous idea to Kurt. So, they went directly to the apartment, carrying personal items with them and straight into the bedroom to rest.
The two of them were snuggled together in the bed, resting soundly when Mercedes heard the buzzing of the shop's doorbell. She jumped up and fumbled around to rush down to the shop. "Cedes… what…?" Kurt began, but she was down the elevator and at the front door before he had a chance to even formulate his surroundings.
Mercedes rushed to the front of the shop and opened the front door, "Hello, welcome to Pieces of Mercy. I apologize for the late opening. We are currently understaffed." She laughed brightly and stepped back to let the couple inside. "What can I help you find today?" She asked.
"Do you have anything left over from Mother's Day?" the male asked.
"Yes sir. Hold please," Mercedes said. She turned to face the shop, from the front door and pointed to her left, "There is a glass shelf on this side of the store, towards the back of the shop, before you get to the door that says 'Employees Only Please." Everything that we have left, aside from flowers is on that display for 50% off. But, if you want flowers, they are on the outside of the building, in the yard and they are all 75% off, and so are the fruit trees."
"Thank you, Miss."
Mercedes went to her company phone and began making calls, "Hey, Santana – is there any way that you might be able to come in for work at all today? I know that you had a rough night and I understand if you can't… Hey, Becky… I know that you aren't scheduled until this afternoon, but if you could possibly come in this morning, too… I would appreciate it…" Mercedes hung up and held her head. She went to the front counter and made sure that the bell was up there, in case someone needed to check out. Then, she called Sam, "Hey… I really need some help in the store, so if the meeting with Matt doesn't take too long, please – come back in a hurry. Santana didn't get any sleep last night and is practically dead to the world at the hospital and Becky has a prior engagement at the community center this morning." She took a deep breath and said, "Call me as soon as you get my message." She heard the bell.
Mercedes rushed to the counter and began to ring up items. She pressed the total button and pointed to the screen. "This is your total," she announced.
"How do you know that people are giving you the right amount?" The gentleman asked.
She smiled and shrugged her shoulders, "If they feel that they have to cheat a blind woman, maybe they need the product more than I need the money for it." He handed her some money and she asked him what each bill was, so that she could key in the correct amount and issue out his change. "I know the buttons and the way my bills are set up inside of the register. I just need to know what cash I'm being handed." After about half an hour, she drew up a sign that said "Credit Only." It was too hard to try to get through the cash part, by herself.
After about two hours, Becky finally came rushing in, "Sorry, Boss! I'm here, now!" She cheered.
"Praise!" Mercedes rejoiced as she snatched down the sign and announced, "She can get someone over here!" She said softly, "I hate to do this to you, Becky, but…"
"Chill out, Sister. I've got this," Becky said and quickly began ringing the customers in front of her up.
"Is this a joke? One cashier is blind and the other is retarded?" Someone whispered.
Mercedes' head snapped and she said, "First off, to whoever said that – she isn't retarded, and you should feel ashamed of yourself for using such a word to describe someone without knowing a thing about her. Secondly, I'm the owner, not a cashier and if you think that either of our conditions is a reason to doubt our ability to work, I would love for you to show somewhere that pleases you, Sir."
Kurt came down the stairs after a long shower and changing his clothes. The Magic Mirror had called him several times today, but they knew how to make order forms for any custom work and anything else simply had to wait. "Cedes, do you need me to bring you anything or do something for you before I head into the shop?" He asked.
"No, thanks. Just be sure to come back here and pick me up at 7:00," she said and kissed him platonically on the lips.
"You look shaken up, Queen," he said.
"I have to take my medicine," she commented, frowning.
"Well, don't delay," he told her and handed her cell phone to her. "You've been getting calls all afternoon," he told her.
"What song?" She asked.
"What a Friend We Have in Jesus?" he answered in the form of a question.
She tilted her head and wondered, "Who has that ringtone? It's someone that doesn't call often. It's not my pastor, though…"
"Joe?" Kurt asked.
"Joe!" She said and quickly went to her phone to call Joe back. "Hey – Joe… I've been swamped at the shop. I opened up late and I didn't even get to close for lunch today. Becky and I are here now, and Kurt's heading to his place. This stuff is taking a lot out of me."
"I really hate to do this to you, Mercedes, but… Sam is not alright, right now. He asked me not to call until we knew something, but I wouldn't want you to find things out too late," Joe said, gently.
"What happened?" She asked, already afraid.
"He was shot, and he's been rushed to the hospital," Joe said.
Mercedes dropped the phone and literally fainted, fell to the floor and made a huge thud! "Oh my God, Cedes!" Kurt called and bent over to check on her. He grabbed the phone and said, "Hello? Joe?"
"Kurt, hello. I'm sorry, but Sam has been shot and he's on his way to the hospital. If you could bring Mercedes…"
"Yes, immediately." Kurt hung up and called out, "Could someone please help me get her into my vehicle?" One of the customers was gracious enough to do so and Kurt told Becky, "Hey – let him get his stuff for free today, K, Becky?"
"Sure, Mr. Hummel," she said, from behind the register. She was concerned, but she also was about to be the only person working in the shop during the sale after Mother's Day. She grabbed the phone and called Santana, "Look, I understand that it's been a rough night. But, Miss Jones just passed out, Mr. Hummel just took her away, Sam is not here and you know that Quinn is out of town. I need a member of management in this place AND a coworker."
"K, Beck… I'll be there shortly… uh.. I'll get Lauren to come in too. She can do light duty," the woman answered, groggily.
"Thank you," Becky said, rolled her eyes and hung up the phone. She rolled her eyes, thinking, Hell, they act like just because I haven't been being attacked, that means that I'm Superwoman. Somebody's ass better act like they realize this is a place of business. She smiled and handed her current customer the purchase receipt. "Thank you for shopping at Pieces of Mercy."
Mercedes awoke in Kurt's car and screamed at the top of her lungs. Kurt jumped, initially, then stared at her with wide eyes. "Did you get it all out?" He asked, in a soft voice.
"NO!" She screamed and began crying. She screamed repeatedly, over and over, as loud as her vocal chords, tongue, and anything else connected to sound coming worth from her could produce. She leaned back in the seat and cried.
"I'm sure that he'll be alright, Mercedes. You believe in a god… that means that you should have some faith," Kurt said and reached for her hand to squeeze it.
After going into the hospital, Mercedes found that the administration would not allow her to see Sam, claiming that only family could visit him and that there was a police officer stationed outside of his room door to ensure that. She had to call his family to tell him that he had been shot, which was terrible for her, because of the pain in Mary's voice as she fell apart and handed the phone to Dwight. Then, the woman was so distraught that she couldn't tell her husband, and Mercedes had to repeat it.
"Mercedes, Hun… Listen to me – we are on our way to Ohio. Put me back on the phone with the folks at the desk." When the nurse got the phone, Dwight said, "Now you listen here, Ma'am, and you listen good. The little woman right there is the woman that my son is gonna marry and if he's in a position where he might not make it. When I get to that place from Kentucky and he hasn't had a chance to spend his last moments with someone that he loves, you people are gon' have hell to pay. Let her into his damned room, thus said his father!"
When Mercedes and Kurt neared the room, Kurt saw the police talking to Matt Rutherford, who had blood on him, and a black woman that he didn't know, who also had blood on her. Joe was there with them and immediately rushed to Mercedes and Kurt, "They were aiming at Matt…"
Kurt finished the statement, "And Sam's hero ass jumped in front of him." He shook his head, "Sometimes I hate that sonofabitch's goodness."
"Is he going to make it?" Mercedes wondered.
"They think so. He's been out of surgery for a short time, but we can't see him…" Joe started, when the doctor came.
"Mercedes Jones?" The doctor called out. She turned to face the woman, who politely said, "Come with me, Miss Jones. The patient's father has insisted that you be added to the list of family allowed to visit." Mercedes covered her mouth with her hands and cried as Kurt helped her to the doctor. "I'm Dr. Hitchens. Your fiancé sustained an injury to…"
Mercedes shook her head and said, "I can't. I can't hear all of that. Is he alright?" She asked.
"He's stable. I'll take you to him," the woman said. She helped Mercedes into the room and the rest of them simply came to the window and peeked inside of the open curtains at her. When Dr. Hitchens came out of the room, she looked at the group of people outside of the room and asked, "Is that really that man's fiancée?" They just kind of looked at each other and she laughed and shook her head, "I just there's somebody for everybody. Call me if you need anything, but may I suggest getting home, washing up, a change of clothes maybe."
"There might be people waiting to shoot us at home," Matt commented, from the seat that he had been in since they got there, on his laptop, with it plugged into a socket in the wall.
"You have on a vest," Aphasia reminded him, looking irritated at his casual nature in this entire situation. Sam could have died for him!
"Not on my head," he said, giving her a wink and placing his earbuds back into his ears now that the doctor was leaving.
Kurt asked, "Should I even ask what happened?"
"If you want to know the truth. The news seems pretty determined to give it a slant," Matt said, replacing his second earpiece.
Mercedes reached for Sam's hand, picked it up and kissed it. This was the first time that she had touched him in his sleep, with her hands. Sam was always so reactive about it that she learned not to ever do it. Generally, if she was awake before him, she pressed her breasts or her other lady parts against him, first. He generally responded pleasantly to that feeling… never choked her for it. She leaned over him and said, "Sam… if you can hear me, please respond." He didn't move, so she gently shook his hand and he squeezed it, softly. Mercedes leaned into his ear and said, "Sam Evans, I love you and I need you. Please, don't… leave… me…" She sniffled and pressed her forehead against the side of his face crying.
"MMmm… what're ya talkin' 'bout. 'M not leavin,'" he mumbled, incoherently. She took a deep breath, unable to see Sam's green eyes, trying to focus on her, but rolling a bit from the drugs and his current state. "Mercy?" He called.
"Yes?" She said.
"I love you. You know that?" He asked.
"Yes, Sam. I know, and I love you too," she said.
"I did this for you," he said and squeezed her hand. She looked completely confused. Why the hell would he get shot for her? She didn't want him getting shot! "I thought that you would be proud of me if I put someone else before myself… especially since I owed him. I figured that if I didn't make it, you would at least appreciate my sacrifice."
"Stop figuring," she said, seriously. He chuckled and she pushed her face into the peach fuzz that was his hair.
"Ok, but before I stopped, I also figured that if I survived, Matt might be in this thing with us," he said, pulling her closely, "And I definitely wanted that, for you. We need this all settled so that we can just live happily together. And I promise you, that the moment we're able to… I am going to do everything in my power everyday to make you the happiest little lady in the world."
"You stay alive and stay with me and I promise, I'll count it all joy, Sam." She wrapped her arms around him and he groaned. "Oh! I'm sorry!"
"No, Babydoll. Don't worry." He cupped her face and kissed her. "I'm sleepy, though…"
She smiled and stroked his face. "Get some rest."