Yeah I know I'm horrible at updating but I've been trying...My writing process sucks ass...but I'm working on it...I hope you like this chapter...I've decided to split what i wrote in half :) Don't hate me too much.

Mercedes couldn't decide if she was nervous or excited about meeting Sam's parents. She couldn't be upset about it because of the fact that Sam had met her parents so soon after they had met each other. They weren't claiming any titles at the time anyway. Just as she introduced Sam as her boyfriend to everyone at church, it had donned on her that he would introducing her to his parents as his girlfriend. A part of her kept wondering if they had been moving too fast in their relationship, but nothing had felt wrong.

"You're awfully quiet over there." Sam's voice had interrupting her thoughts. She looked over to him and flashed a warm smile.

"I'm just collecting my thoughts about meeting your parents."

"You're not nervous are you?"

"Now why would you think that?" She asked in a not so convincing tone.

"Because you have the same look on you face as I did, before I got out of the car the day of Amaya's party." She sighed and shook her head.

"I don't know why I'm nervous…They know right?"

"Know what?" He asked absently while he kept his eyes on the road.

"You know…..that I'm of the darker persuasion?" His face turned serious and he glanced at her quickly

"You are? Why didn't you tell me this before!?" Landon and Amaya laughed loudly as Sam began to make a playful and dramatic scene.

I can't believe I didn't notices before. I could have sworn the only thing I noticed the first time I saw you, was that you were gorgeous."

"Nice one Sam." Landon teased. Mercedes on the other hand, looked at Sam with narrowed eyes.

"One day, your smooth words aren't going to cut it, Evans." Sam laughed as he took one hand off the wheels and took hold of one of her hands.

"Stop worrying, Mercy sweetie. They're going to love you and the kids, I promise."

Twenty minutes later, they pulled up in front of an older modeled two-story house with a big wrap around porch. Amaya had admired the front yard from her backseat window. Sam cut the engine and he and Landon had got out the car first to help Mercedes and Amaya out of the car.

"Did you grow up here, Sam?" She had asked excitedly as she took his hand once again.

"Yep, wait until you see the backyard." Mercedes had taken Sam's other hand and Landon walked on her side as they proceeded up the walkway. Before they had approached the porch, they were greeted by an older slender woman. She had light blonde hair pulled into to a bun. She flashed a big smiled that was similar to Sam's and greeted them.

"Words can't express how excited I was when Sammy told us he was bringing you guys over for lunch. I'm so glad to finally meet you Mercedes." Mercedes greeted her with a big smile

"Mrs. Evans, thank you for having us over. This is Landon and my daughter Amaya."

"Call me Mary, sweetie, and aren't you both the cutest. Sam has told me so much about you two…Well come on in. Dwight, honey! They're here!"

Mercedes looked at Sam and laughed as she rolled his eyes embarrassingly at his mother's call for his father. Seconds later, an older yet still attractive version of Sam had emerged from the back room.

"Sorry bout that, Law and Order was just finishing up."

"I'm sure it's one you've seen a thousand times as well." Mary said teasingly. When he smiled, Mercedes knew exactly where Sam had gotten his charm from. She saw the same exact green eyes as he gave her a welcoming smile.

"You must be Mercedes."

"Yes, sir. It's so great to finally meet you. Sam has told me so much about you."

"Same here, sweetheart and please call me Dwight. I can see what's got Sam in knots." He then turned to Landon.

"You must be the young man Sam speaks so adamantly about. Landon, right?" Mr. Evans held out his hand and Landon excitedly took it and shook it.

"Yes sir. It's nice to meet you." Dwight Evans smiled brightly as he then looked down at Amaya.

"Oh well aren't you a spitting image of your mother. I can definitely see how you've got him and I'm sure everyone else wrapped around your cute little finger. How are you sweetie?"

Amaya squeezed Sam's hand tighter as she smiled shyly up at the older man.

"I'm fine, thank you." He looked back up at Mercedes.

" You've got a great pair of kids."

"Thank you."

"Well let's go on into the sun-room for lunch." Mary said cheerily and she led them all to the back of the house.

"What would you guys like for lunch?" She asked sweetly as they all took a seat. Amaya had taken a seat on Sam's lap, Mercedes sat close to same and Landon sat on the other side of his mother. Mercedes looked up at Mary and smiled.

"Oh we'll have whatever you're making."

"I take requests during lunchtime. Sam didn't tell you?" Mercedes gave Sam a hard glare and said,

"No, I guess it slipped his mind." Sam's cheeks reddened and he gave his girlfriend a sheepish smile.

"My bad."

"Can I have a peanut butter and jelly sandwich?" Amaya asked quietly. Mrs. Evans looked at her with a bright smile.

"Just a plain ol' Pb and j?" Amaya smiled, brought her finger up to her mouth and hummed in thought.

"Can I have bananas on it too?"

"You got it! That was Sammy's favorite as a kid as well." Mercedes laughed,

"That doesn't surprise me one bit. I just never saw the appeal of it." Sam turned to her in surprise.

"You can't go wrong with Pb and j with nanners though!" Mercedes and everyone else busted into a roar of laughter.

"Obviously you take you 'nanners' seriously, huh?" He nodded confidently,

"Please believe it. In fact; mom I'll have one too, and Mercy, you're gonna have a bite."

"Uh, I'll pass." Mary laughed at the playful banter between them.

"What would you like Mercedes, dear?"

"Oh I'll just have a turkey sandwich." She nodded and looked over at Landon.

"What are you craving sweetheart?"

"Do you have salami?"

"Sure do."

"Can I have a turkey, ham and salami sandwich?" Mercedes looked at her son in shock.

"You can't just eat all of her food, ya know?" Both Mary and Dwight shared a laugh.

"Oh, it's quite alright. He's a growing boy. Having raised two boys, who sometimes still eat like teenagers, I try to keep the fridge stocked. I'll get started on lunch." She started to rise from her seat and so did Mercedes.

"I'll help you."

"Oh no, you're a guest. I can't allow that."

"I insists after my son decided he wanted the whole deli case."

"Well, alright if you insist. Sammy, why don't you take the kids out back and show them the tree house." He nodded as he stood up, perched Amaya on his hip and guided his father and Landon out the door that led the way to the back yard.

Mercedes followed Mary into the kitchen. Mary went straight for the refrigerator and began to retrieve all of the ingredients for the sandwiches.

"What are you and Mr. Evans having?"

"Oh I keep it simple, like you and have a turkey sandwich….Dwight will eat anything I put in front of him."

"I see where Sam gets it from." She said with a smirk.

"Yes, Sam is very much his father's son in a lot of ways. When they're passionate about something, they make sure everyone around them knows it." Mercedes laughed nervously,

"I'm starting to see that."

"I hope you don't mind that Sam told me about you being divorced."

"Oh…No, that's in the past. Although, it was a rough road to travel, I'm forever grateful for the path it's led me to." At that moment, she heard Amaya squealing in excitement. Mercedes and Mary looked out of the window over to sink to see Sam pushing Amaya on a swing that was attached to a big tree house.

"Sam has always been good with kids. Even when the twins were growing up, so it was no surprise when he decided he wanted to be a teacher." Mary said with so much pride in her voice.

"It must be something about him, because both of my kids have always been tough to impress, especially Landon."

"Sometimes….when a person needs guidance the most, things have an amazing way of working out." Mercedes let out a soft giggle.

"That's EXACTLY something my mother would say."

"She must be a smart woman." The two women shared a laugh and as they continued to prepare lunch for everybody.

Mercedes found that in so many ways, Mary Evans had reminded her of her mother. She wasn't afraid to speak her mind, yet she remained soft spoken. When lunch was ready, they called everybody in from outside and met back in the sunroom. Mary gave Sam and Amaya their sandwiches and Sam tried his hardest to have Mercedes have the first bite. She stood her ground and refused. Sam's parents had a great time getting to know Sam's girlfriend and more about her children.

"So Landon, how are those guitar lessons coming along?" Dwight asked once they were finished with lunch.

"Great! It was a little hard getting all of the finger positions and chord progressions memorized at first. Luckily my teacher is patient with me. "He said glancing over at Sam, who proudly smiled back at the teen.

"Oh that's great. When will we get to hear you play?" Mary asked excitedly. Landon then looked at Sam nervously. Sam just continued to smile and nodded.

"Well I was planning something for my mom's birthday since it's so close to spring break." He looked at his mother and blushed.

"I didn't know you were planning anything."

"I was debating n whether or not I wanted to surprise you." Mercedes smiled as she wrapped her arm around her son's shoulder and pulled him closer to her.

"I can't wait to hear you play." Landon looked away sheepishly as if he was too embarrassed by his mother's embrace when really; he was such a mama's boy.

"Mommy, I have to use the bathroom." Amaya announced in a small voice.

"Okay, sweetie." She turned to Mary and kindly smiled. Mary smiled back at her and answered before she could ask.

"Just go on through the family room, down the hall and it's the first door on the left." Amaya hopped off of Sam's lap as Mercedes stood and held out her hand for Amaya to take. She led the way and sent Amaya into the bathroom. While she waited in the family room, she took the time to look a shrine of pictures that were perched on top of the fireplace. There were several family portraits from throughout the years. She giggled softly at the pictures of a younger Sam with two of his front teeth missing. He was smiling as if he had a mouthful of teeth. Her heart warmed at a picture of a teen Sam holding who she assumed were his brother and sister when they were babies. She was just getting to his high school prom picture when she heard Amaya return from the back room. She glanced at it long enough to get a look at the blonde bombshell that was by his side. So she was the one that let him go.

" Hmm" She mumbled as she shook her head, looking at the young girl in the picture. One woman's loss is another's gain. She thought to herself as Amaya took her hand again and they headed back to the sun-room When they returned, Amaya had went back to Sam, but instead of hopping back onto his lap, she look up at him and asked,

"Can I go back to the tree house?"

"Sure, we can go one more time before we leave. Mercy wanna go for a swing?"

"Oh I'm not in 'swinging clothes'." He stared at her for a few seconds before poking his lip out.

"Please Mercy?" She tried to fight the urge to give in to the lip but was quickly failing. She turned to his parents,

"Does he always do this to you guys?" Mary laughed and nodded.

"Yes, and I have to admit…it works most of the time." She turned back to Sam, who was now flashing his pearly whites. She deeply sighed mockingly as if she was annoyed with him.

"Fine, but if I get dirty, you're paying for my dry cleaning." He stood up and held out his hand to Mercedes.

"Of course." She took his hand and he helped her out of her seat. Mercedes, Sam and Amaya all walked into the back yard hand in hand. Landon had walked around to help his sister onto the swing while Sam held back a swing for Mercedes. She smoothed out her skirt before taking a seat. Sam wrapped his hands around the chains connected to the swing and pulled her close to him.

"How high do you want to go?" She turned to look at him. She smiled and planted a light kiss on his lips before saying,

"To the sky of course."

They spent another half hour in the back yard before they decided it was time to head home. Mercedes couldn't have been happier at the fact that Sam's parents were so welcoming to her and her kids.

"Anytime you and Sam want to go out, We'll be more than happy to watch the kids for you."

"I'll be sure to keep that in mind, Mrs. Evans. Thank you so much for lunch." Mercedes said brightly.

"Oh you're more than welcome sweetheart. I'm just glad we finally got a chance to me you and your beautiful children."

Sam had felt Amaya let go of his hand and was surprised to see her go over and hug his mother's waist. It not only surprised Mercedes as well, it also warmed her heart to see her kids be so open with someone who wasn't a part of their immediate family. They said their good byes and made their way to the car and headed back to Mercedes' house.

"So what do you have planned for the rest of the day?" Sam asked after helping them all inside the house.

"We're gonna head over to Santana's and Britt's for dinner tonight."

"Oh okay. Well, be sure to tell them I said hello. I've gotta go and head over to Mac's Place for rehearsal."

"Alrighty then, just called me later." He nodded as he leaned down to kiss her.

"Thank you for coming to my parents' today." She smiled against his lips before saying,

"No thank you for taking us. I had a great time and I'm sure the kids did too. But really thanks for joining us for church. It means a lot to me."

"Anytime, Mercy. Trust me, it won't be the last time." He kissed her again, only letting it linger for a little bit before saying a quick goodbye to the kids and heading back to his car. Mercedes and kids had changed clothes and hung around the house for a couple of hours before heading over to Santana's.

"I haven't heard from you all day. I wasn't sure you guys were still coming." Santana stated as Mercedes and her kids made their way inside.

"I'm sorry. We went to Sam's parents' lunch after church." Santana's eyes widened in surprise.

"Sam went to church with y'all this morning? AND you met his parents today? That's great!" Mercedes laughed at her best friend's excitement. Landon and Amaya had headed towards the TV room while Santana pulled Mercedes into the kitchen where Brittany was preparing dinner.

"What are you screeching about out there?" The blonde had asked her girlfriend.

"Mercy met Sam's parents today." It was Brittany's turn to look at Mercedes in surprise.

"Really? How did it go?"

"It went really well….a little TOO well for me." Both women looked at her in confusion.

"Why do you say that?" Santana asked. Mercedes sighed heavily.

"I don't know. It's just crazy how comfortable we all were together."

"And that's bad?"

"No! it's just a little scary to me." Santana studied her best friend for a moment.

"Don't do it Mercedes."

"Don't do what?" Santana laughed and shook her head.

"You're trying to fear the worst of your situation. You've got this look on your face like want to run away because you're scared of being happy."

"I'm not going to run."

"But you admit that you're scared right?"

"I think I have a right to be. I can't help but be cautious of my giving my heart to someone after having JUST ended a fifteen year marriage. I never expected to be THIS happy with another man so soon. I just feel like we're jumping the gun a little too quick."

"Have you slept with him yet?"

"No of course not."

"Then you're not moving fast enough." Mercedes covered her face at Santana's bluntness.

"Oh my God." Brittany then stepped in.

"No San's right. What you need is to be dicked down really good to take some of that doubt away." Mercedes couldn't help but laugh, but she did not disagree. It had been a good two years since she's had GOOD SEX. If she felt like her body was on fire while Sam was kissing her, there was no doubt in her mind that he was an exceptional lover. Mercedes looked at her best friends and shrugged.

"Yeah, well whenever the time is right."

After dinner with her best friends, Mercedes and her kids stuck around for another hour or so before they headed home. She had the kids get started on their homework while she cleaned up the house a bit. After taking a shower and getting Amaya ready for bed, she received a text from Sam asking how dinner went. Instead of replying to his text, she called him and spent the rest of the night chatting with her boyfriend.

In the following weeks, Mercedes and Sam grew closer. But, Sam couldn't help to notice that Mercedes' guard was still half-way up. He really couldn't blame her but he hoped she would let him all the way in sooner rather than later. Though they spent a lot of time together, Sam made sure to do just as many things with Landon and Amaya whenever they weren't way at their fathers. While Landon was getting better at the guitar, his grades were all improving immensely in all of his classes. Mercedes was overjoyed when she saw his first progress report since his tutoring started.

Upon the weeks leading up to Mercedes' birthday, Landon and Sam began practicing a couple of songs they both wanted to perform for her.

"You're really not going to give me one spoiler as to what you and Landon are going to perform for me?" Mercedes asked as she and Sam made their way to meet some of their friends at a local karaoke bar. Sam laughed as he kept his eyes on the road.

"Okay one; your nerd is showing using the word 'spoiler' and two; why would I give away such precious information when it's supposed to be a surprise?" Mercedes crossed her arms over her chest and poked out her bottom lip. That only made him laugh harder.

"Oh don't start that pouting stuff. I'm not telling you. It won't be long now…..BUT I can tell you this…your son has quite the voice on him."

"Well duh…It's in his genes." She scoffed playfully. Sam laughed and shook his head.

"Alright, Miss Cocky." They laughed together as Sam pulled into the parking lot of Jw's karaoke bar. There, they met up with Santana, Brittany, Mercedes' coworker and his boyfriend Blaine, Sam's best friend Puck and his wife Lauren. They all had a few drinks as they watched other patrons get up on stage and try their best to imitate their favorite singers.

Santana and Mercedes were the first from the group to go up, performing Tina Turner's River deep mountain high, hyping up the whole crowd. Kurt and Blaine went the romantic route and performed Hold your hand by The Beatles. Mercedes and Sam were looking through the book of songs as Puck dedicated Fat bottomed girls to his wife.

"Sam, is that you?" A dainty female voice called out, causing both Mercedes and Sam to look up.

"Quinn?"