Hello Dear Readers

I read all your reviews about wanting Puck and Quinn together and for Finn and Rachel to get their baby, so I'm going to post a new episode everyday for the next 7 days. This way you get the happy ending (sort of because I'm no where near finished) you all want :)

How about as a thank you - you all let me know what you think and leave a review ;)

Happy Reading

Episode 7

Brooklyn Street Corner – Thursday Morning

Mercedes was rushing towards the subway station, on her way to meet the girls at the Diner when she saw the last person she would ever suspect getting out of a taxi right next to her.

"Sam?"

"Mercedes hi" Sam replied, smiling at her when he noticed her stood on the sidewalk. Sam closed the taxi door then slowly walked over to her. He didn't look half as shocked to see her as she did to see him.

"What are you doing here?" Mercedes asked. The last time Mercedes had spoken to Sam had been three months before, he was doing really well in LA and his new Topshop campaign was all over LA billboards. Mercedes had stopped the communication because it hurt too much for her to hear how well Sam was doing without her when her life was exactly the same, if not worse.

"I'm here for the new Topshop opening I'm just here for the week" Sam explained.

"Oh, why didn't you call me?" Mercedes wondered, trying not to sound hurt. She'd always assumed that if Sam was ever in New York again, she would be one of the first people he would want to talk to her. Mercedes wondered if that wasn't the case anymore and if Sam had somebody else in the picture. It had now been a year since the had broken up.

"I wanted to but I thought it would be harder if I saw you" Sam reasoned, he ran his hand through his head nervously. She was glad to see he was just as nervous as she was by their encounter.

"Yeah, I guess I get that" Mercedes sighed, before straightening up "So, how's LA?"

"It's good yeah, the campaign is going really well" Sam replied.

Mercedes nodded lamely "Good I'm glad"

"Look I have to get to the photoshoot but maybe we should meet up before I go back to LA to talk" Sam asked, cautiously.

"Yeah, we should, just give me a call" Mercedes replied. She wasn't sure if meeting Sam was a good idea or not but she knew she wanted to talk to him again.

"Bye Mercedes" Sam smiled sweetly. He leaned down and kissed her on the cheek.

"Bye Sam"

The Diner – Park Avenue – Thursday Morning

Twenty minutes later Mercedes was rushing in to the diner, still rattled from her encounter with Sam. Mercedes had thought she would never see Sam again so she wasn't sure what to make of seeing him randomly on the street corner in Brooklyn. She walked over to the girls usual table to see they were all already there.

"Hey guys sorry I'm late" Mercedes rushed out as she took a seat next to Rachel at the table. She picked up a menu and glanced over it.

"It's okay we haven't ordered yet" Quinn said, smiling at Mercedes. The girls were silent for a few minutes as they glanced over the menus.

"How you doing Rachel, you going back to work today?" Santana asked, once she had decided what she was getting. Rachel was going back to work after four weeks at home. She had needed the time to come to terms with everything that had happened but after a month she felt ready to go back to normal and that started with work.

"I am yeah, I'm ready to get back to normal" Rachel replied, softly. The others could see Rachel wasn't fully back to normal yet but she was heading in the right direction.

"As long as you go at your own pace, we are all here for you" Quinn reassured her.

"I know you are but really I'm okay, this was all a sign to me" Rachel shrugged. The others shared a confused look, not at all sure what Rachel was talking about.

"A sign of what?" Santana wondered.

"That maybe I'm not supposed to have children, that maybe it's just not meant to happen" Rachel added. The others tried their best not to look as alarmed as they felt, they couldn't believe what Rachel was saying. All Rachel had wanted for the last three years was a baby.

"You girls ready to order" The waitress cut in, before any of them could say anything about Rachel's shocking statement.

Walking to Broadway Star Offices – Time Square – Thursday Morning

After breakfast with the girls Mercedes decided to walk Rachel back to her building. Mercedes didn't have work until later and she wanted to double check that her friend was okay to go back to work, especially after the bombshell she had dropped at the Diner.

"You know you don't have to walk me to work" Rachel chuckled as she looped her arm through Mercedes. Rachel seemed bright to Mercedes and not at all like she had just told her friends that she no longer wanted children.

"I wanted to, I don't have to be at work until later" Mercedes reasoned. Rachel glanced over at Mercedes, all throughout lunch Rachel noticed that something was on Mercedes' mind.

"So, you gonna tell me what's up" Rachel asked, as they turned the corner onto Rachel's street.

"Nothing is up" Mercedes shrugged lamely, Rachel gave her a pressing look "I saw Sam"

Rachel looked away, guiltily Mercedes could tell instantly that meant Rachel had known Sam was in New York and hadn't said anything to her. Mercedes knew that Sam and Finn still spoke but she had assumed that if Sam every told them anything important Rachel would tell her.

"Did you know he was in New York" Mercedes asked , trying not to sound too angry.

"Finn might have mentioned it" Rachel replied, guilty "I know you're probably pissed I didn't tell you but I wasn't sure if you would even want to know or want to see him"

"Well it looks like the universe has decided for me" Mercedes sighed. Rachel saw that the bench next to the bus stop was empty so Rachel pulled Mercedes towards it and they both sat down.

"How do you feel?" Rachel asked. Rachel knew a small part of Mercedes still loved Sam and probably always would, so she knew seeing him again must have been really confusing for Mercedes.

"I don't even know, he suggested that we get a drink while he's in town"

"Do you think that's a good idea?" Rachel wondered, already worried about the thought of what a conversation with Sam would lead to.

Mercedes shrugged "It might give me the closure I need"

"I thought you already had closure" Rachel pressed, she glanced over at Mercedes who was watching the people walk past them on the sidewalk instead of at Rachel.

"Well it might still be nice to be able to be friends with him" Mercedes reasoned.

"Why, he lives in LA" Rachel quipped, hoping she didn't sound too harsh.

"So, I take it you don't think it's a good idea" Mercedes argued. Rachel reached over at squeezed Mercedes hand affectionately.

"I just don't want you to be hurt Mercedes when he leaves again" Rachel argued, glancing over at Mercedes "Because he is leaving"

Mercedes nodded "I know"

Rachel pulled Mercedes off the bench and the two walked the rest of the way to Rachel's office in silence. Rachel knew Mercedes had a lot to think about so she was going to let her do it.

"We're here, do you wanna come inside. Go through my giant closest. I'll let you take something" Rachel asked, smiling widely at Mercedes once they reached the main entrance of the Time Square Tower.

"I'm okay really, you get inside and be the best editor you can be" Mercedes enthused before pulling Rachel in for a hug. Mercedes didn't want to bombard Rachel with any more Sam talk on her first day back at work.

"Well call me if you want to talk okay" Rachel replied, she pulled away but gave Mercedes a once over to make sure she really was okay to be on her own when her thoughts were still clearly on Sam.

"I will do… and the same goes for you" Mercedes replied, giving Rachel one last hug before walking away.

Dylan's Candy Bar – Union Square – Thursday Evening

Later that same day Rachel and Finn were having a Date Night. They had gone for a nice meal, then went to the movies then Rachel decided she wanted some candy so they had gone Dylan's Candy Bar so Rachel could pick out some of her favourite sweets.

"Good this is so good, thank you for bringing me?" Rachel sighed, happily as she opened a tub of Sour Patch Kids and threw a portion into her already full bag. Finn was stood behind her watching in amusement.

"Of course, I'm happy to see the smile on your face again" Finn enthused. He was glad to see Rachel first day back at work had gone better than he suspected it would and that his wife was in a better mood than she had been for weeks.

Rachel closed the tub then turned around to face Finn "I love you"

"Ditto" Finn replied, stealing a quick kiss before Rachel moved onto the next tub of sweets. He watched as Rachel poured some more sweets into her bag, passed the bag to him then opened a new one ready to fill that up as well.

"So, the agency called me today, they said they tried calling you but you weren't answering" Finn said. Ever since they first joined the adoption agency, the agency would always ring Rachel with any news of information because Finn knew how important it was to Rachel to have that control. So, he'd been surprised to get a phone call that Rachel had been ignoring.

"Yeah, I was really busy with catching up with work, what did they want?" Rachel asked, not looking at Finn but into digging into the tub of sweets in front of her.

"They just wanted to check in and see how we were doing?" Finn replied. Rachel had called the agency to put a pause on their application when she had become pregnant. While Finn wasn't really sure how the agency had found out about the miscarriage, they had rang him because they wanted to send on their condolence while also inquiring about their application. Fiona, their social worker, had mentioned how desperate the agency was to have strong candidates for adoption on their books. While Finn knew, it was meant as a compliment he couldn't help but wonder why though no family had picked them, besides Sugar.

"That was nice of them" Rachel said, trying not to roll her eyes. She had grown tired of everyone telling them how sorry they were.

"Is there a reason you didn't want to talk to them" Finn pressed.

"Nope like I said I was busy at work" Rachel replied, shrugging casually. She handed her second full bag of sweets to Finn and he looked at her in amusement.

"Okay I think I have enough" Rachel added, as Finn smirked at her. He nodded in agreement then went to the counter to pay for the Candy. Once paid for, Finn held the bag with one hand then used the other to lightly pull Rachel out of the store before she could buy anything else.

"Where to next, wanna see what's playing in Central Park" Finn asked, he wrapped his arm around Rachel's shoulder as the two began walking down the street towards Central Park.

Rachel nodded, peacefully "Sure"

The two walked in peaceful silence until they reached the park. They walked over to the SummerStage and enjoyed some of the music. The sat down on one of the benches and Finn pulled Rachel closer to him as they shared some of the sweets they had just bought.

"I've really enjoyed tonight Finn" Rachel beamed, before eating some more of the Jelly Beans from her bag.

"Me too"

"We wouldn't be able to enjoy nights like this if we had a baby" Rachel added. Finn turned quickly to face her, he had not expected her to say that to him. He now knew why Rachel had actually ignored the agency's phone call.

"I guess not" Finn replied, confused, not really sure what else to say.

Rachel cuddled into Finn and continued to enjoy the music "Just something to think about I guess"

Happy Smiles – East 17 Street – Thursday Evening

That same evening Mercedes walked into Happy smiles, Sam's old work place. Despite her better judgement, Mercedes had decided to meet Sam for a drink. She knew they had things to talk about and truthfully Mercedes hated that after their break up Mercedes had just cut Sam from her life.

"Hey Mercedes, I got you a drink already" Sam greeted her shyly. He was wearing a shirt and smart trousers and his hair was gelled back. Mercedes was happy to see he had made as much effort as she had for their supposed casual drinks together.

Mercedes took a seat across the table from Sam "Thank you"

"It's good to see you Mercedes, I'm not sure if I said that before but it is, really good" Sam said, smiling gratefully at her. Mercedes took a small drink of her favourite cocktail before answering.

"It's good to see you too Sam" Mercedes nodded in agreement.

"It's hard to see you as well and not be able to…" Sam trailed off but Mercedes knew the end of his sentence because she was feeling it as well. Mercedes had thought it was a good idea to meet Sam but Mercedes was getting distracted by how good Sam looked.

"Yeah it is" Mercedes agreed, smiling sadly.

"Wanna get super drunk" Sam enthused, clapping his hands on the table before he signalled one of the bartenders.

Mercedes nodded eagerly "Absolutely"

For the next two hours, Sam and Mercedes drank and caught up on each other's lives. Mercedes was surprised about how much Sam already knew. Mercedes hadn't realised just how in contact Finn and Sam still were. However, the alcohol was helping her to relax and enjoy Sam's company.

Eventual Sam had moved closer to her and had his arm around the back on her chair. There conversations had gone from safe topics to playfully flirting then to flirting that wasn't so playful.

"Wanna get out of here" Sam whispered seductively in her ear. All Mercedes could do was nod in reply.

Bar 40 – West Village – Friday Evening

The next evening the girls were enjoying a drink together at Bar 40. Mercedes was slightly hungover from her night with Sam but luckily for her none of the other girls had noticed yet. She had left Sam's hotel room early that morning and had been ignoring his calls since, she didn't want to speak to him until she had her own feelings about what happened, sorted out.

"Okay next round on me" Rachel said before getting up from the booth and walking over to the bar. Quinn watched Rachel reach the bar then turned back to the others.

"Do you think we should ask her about what she said the other day" Quinn wondered. After Rachel's announcement at the Diner the day before none of them had had a chance to really talk to her properly about it. Truthfully none of them even knew how to talk to her about it either, they felt like it was a conversation Rachel needed to have with Finn first.

"What, about not wanting kids" Santana asked, before taking a drink of her beer.

"Finn knows she said the same to him, he told Noah" Quinn added. When Quinn had dropped NJ of at Puck's he had mentioned that Finn had spoken to him that morning that Rachel had said the same to him as she had her friends. Puck had also mentioned that Finn was at a loss about what to say next.

"She can't mean it" Mercedes argued, she glanced over at Rachel who was still talking to the bartender.

"Which is why we shouldn't push her; she needs to work through this herself or she'll make a decision that she regrets later" Santana maintained.

"Maybe you're right" Quinn agreed. Rachel was as stubborn as they all were and if she felt pressured she would make a snap decision just to prove them all wrong.

Mercedes covered her mouth when she yawned for the fourth time since they had gotten to the bar. She had not gotten much sleep the night before and was hoping for an early night.

"Your quiet tonight Cedes" Quinn questioned when she noticed Mercedes stifle another yawn.

"I'm just a little hungover" Mercedes waved off.

"Who did you go out with last night" Santana asked, slightly confused as Mercedes had not mentioned she was going out.

"No one" Mercedes shook her head, hoping her friends would drop the subject.

"Here we go ladies" Rachel cheered as she put a tray of drinks down on the table before sitting back down next to Quinn. Everyone took a drink of their cocktails, Santana looked at Mercedes over her glass then turned to Rachel.

"Mercedes went out last night and she won't tell us who with" Santana complained. Rachel looked over at Mercedes and took in her appearance before gasping loudly.

"You slept with Sam!" Rachel exclaimed, pointing her finger at Mercedes.

"What how did that happen he's in LA isn't he" Quinn asked, confused. All three of them turned to Mercedes who was cowering under their glares, demanding to know what happened.

"He's back for a few weeks to shoot a new campaign and I ran in to him… he asked me to meet him for a drink and I did" Mercedes explained. All three of them took a big drink of their cocktails before turning back to Mercedes, who was still cowering in her seat.

"How could you possibly think that was a good idea" Santana snipped, rolling her eyes.

"You can be friend with an ex" Mercedes argued. She had gone to drink with Sam with the hope that they could be friends again. She had been side-tracked by the sex but she still hoped that they could be friends again.

"I think you just proved that you can't" Santana quipped. Quinn sent Santana a disapproving look before turning back to Mercedes.

"Mercedes we just don't want you to get hurt again. He's leaving" Quinn interjected, soundly a lot kinder than Santana did.

"I know he is. This isn't like before I know what I'm doing" Mercedes snapped, looking away from her friends "Can we please drop this"

XoXo

"So, what do you think about Mercedes and Sam?" Santana asked as her and Rachel stood at the bar, getting them all another drink, while Quinn called Puck to check up on NJ.

"She's going to get hurt again, we all know it" Rachel replied, she glanced over Mercedes who sat at their table, on her phone "Sam is still a child"

"Nice abs for a child though" Santana teased before turning serious "So, how are you?"

"I'm good, Finn and I are talking more about things and I think I've made some decisions about what I want and what I think will make me happy" Rachel answered. Santana knew they had agreed to not talk about it but she couldn't help herself.

"Is this about what not wanting children" Santana asked. Rachel nodded slowly as the bartender put their drinks down in front of them.

"I just think this is for the best. I can focus on my career" Rachel affirmed before taking a drink.

"And you're sure you're not just making this decision because you don't want to get hurt again" Santana wondered. She paid the bartender then picked up their tray of drinks ready to back to the table.

Rachel shrugged slightly "Maybe so but is that such a bad thing. Ever since we talked about wanting children it's been one crushing defeat after another"

"Rachel this is all you've ever wanted" Santana argued. She put back down the tray then picked up her own drink and took a large gulp.

"Not any more it isn't" Rachel pressed, Santana could see Rachel was getting defensive so she knew she had to tread lightly. Santana was used to just saying whatever she thought but she knew with Rachel's fragile state she couldn't handle it.

"I just don't think you should make a quick decision that you're going to regret later"

"I'm not, I've thought a lot about this" Rachel said, firmly, glancing away from Santana "You don't need to worry"

"Besides Mercedes is the one we should be worrying about" Rachel argued, nodding her head over at Mercedes who still had her head down staring intensely at her phone. While they didn't know for sure, the girls were convinced she was texting Sam.

"God, you guys and your crazy lives" Santana quipped, she picked up the tray again and the two started walking back to the table.

"Yeah luckily we have Sane Santana to keep us going" Rachel joked.

Santana nodded "You're all very lucky"

Finn and Rachel's House – West Village – Saturday Afternoon

Rachel walked into the living room to see Finn leaning down to the coffee table grading some homework. Rachel took a seat at the coffee table, so Finn looked up from his work and towards her.

"So, I got tickets to the Knicks game tonight" Rachel said. Finn leaned across and gave her a quick kiss.

"How'd you manage that" Finn asked, he started putting away his papers as Rachel got up from the coffee table.

"I have some connections" Rachel smiled, waving her arm at Finn "Now get ready husband"

Finn and Rachel both got ready then got a cab over to Madison Square Garden. Rachel wasn't much of a basketball fan but she knew how much Finn loved it and she wanted to make him happy after everything that had happened over the last few weeks.

"So, any reason you wanted to go out tonight" Finn asked as he handed their tickets to the stadium worker. They walked inside and Rachel quickly walked over to one of the food vendors.

"I just think that we should enjoy each other's company. It's just going to be just us for a while" Rachel reasoned before asking the food vendor for two hotdogs, some nachos and two beers. While the vendor got their food, Finn looked over at Rachel.

"It might not be, we are still on the list and …"

"That's not what I meant Finn" Rachel cut in. She paid for their food then walked away from the stall with Finn following behind her. He knew it wasn't the place to talk about it but Finn decided he needed a clear answer from Rachel about what she meant.

"What do you mean then?" Finn asked.

Rachel turned so she was facing Finn "I've been thinking we should take a break from this whole baby thing for a while. The doctors have said they don't think it's likely I'll get pregnant again – "

Finn shook his head "That's not what they – "

"And it could be months before we hear from the agency again so I think that we should call them to take us off the list. Maybe everything that has happened is a sign that it shouldn't happen yet. We should just enjoy our lives for a while or maybe period"

"Do you really feel this way" Finn wondered. He tried to keep the hurt from his voice. Finn had wanted a child with Rachel since they had been married and Finn was upset that Rachel was derailing all their plans.

"I do. We can enjoy our careers and each other, spend time in this wonderful city. We really don't enjoy it enough" Rachel explained. They walked in silence as they went to find their seats. Rachel grabbed Finn's hand as they sat down a few rows up from the courtside seats.

"You ready for the game" Rachel asked, handing Finn his drink and hotdog.

Finn nodded, lamely "It's gonna be fun"

Mercedes' Apartment – Brooklyn – Friday Afternoon

Mercedes was walking into her apartment after a long day at work when her phone started ringing. She fished it out of her bag to see that Sam was calling her again. Mercedes had been ignoring his calls since the day before but she decided it was time she spoke to him.

"Hey Sam" Mercedes greeted, trying to sound casual.

"Hey Mercedes you free? I've just finished my shoot, wanna meet for a drink" Sam asked. Mercedes took a second to think about it. She knew her friends wouldn't be happy and a small part of her knew it was probably a bad idea for her to meet Sam again with alcohol involved but she couldn't stop herself from saying.

"Yeah, yeah I do"

Crunch Gym – West Village – Saturday Morning

Finn pounded into the punching bag a few more times before decided he'd had enough for one day. He ripped off one of his gloves and grabbed his bottle of water. Ever since Puck had taken Finn to Crunch Gym after Rachel's miscarriage and introduced him to Boxing Finn had found a new appreciation for it. It helped him release any aggressive he was feeling and Finn always felt much calmer after ever session.

"So, she just said she doesn't want them?" Puck asked, he put on his own boxing gloves and took a few swings at the punching bag.

"Yeah, she said maybe everything that has happened is a sign that we shouldn't have them" Finn explained. He took a seat on the work bench next to them and wiped his face.

"And how do you feel about that" Puck pressed, he took some more swings of the punching bag then ripped of his gloves. He took a drink of his water then sat down next to Finn on the bench.

"Honestly I think Rachel is still really hurt by everything that happened but I don't really think she wants this I think she just thinks it's easier" Finn acknowledged.

Puck wiped the sweat dripping from his face "What are you going to do then?"

"I think I have to go along with it, at least for a little while" Finn reasoned as he took another drink of water, he put his gloves back on ready to take another turn "Rachel's stubborn she won't change her mind if I tried to force the issue"

"But what about you Finn, what about what you want" Puck argued. He watched as Finn got up from the bench and took another hard swing at the bag.

"I want a happy wife, right now that's what I care about. Rachel's only coming back from the miscarriage and I don't want to upset her further"

Puck didn't say anything as he continued to watch Finn take his anger out on the punching bag. Puck was ready to step in if Finn started going too far.

"Rachel will change her mind; this is what she needs right now and I'm going to give it to her" Finn stated, sadly.

"As long as you're sure" Puck pressed, looking at Finn unsure. Finn was always doing everything to help Rachel even if it wasn't something that helped Finn as well.

Finn nodded "I am"

Rachel and Finn's House – West Village – Saturday Morning

An hour later Finn walked into the couple's home office to see Rachel sat at her desk doing some work. Finn pulled his seat from his own desk and took a seat next to her.

"Hey babe, how was the gym with Noah" Rachel asked. She paused her work and looked over at Finn, smiling at him lovingly.

"It's was good, how are you?" Finn wondered, before leaning over to Rachel a quick kiss. Finn felt better after his work out with Puck. He was always a great way for Finn to relieve any stress and after the week he'd had Finn had needed it.

"Good, I got a lot of work done" Rachel replied, she went back to her work but glanced over at Finn "Did you manage to ring the agency yet?"

"I haven't had a chance but I'll do it now, I have to get something from our room anyway so I'll do it now" Finn said, he got up from his chair and fished out his phone from his pocket.

"Thank you" Rachel replied before going back to her laptop.

Finn walked into their bedroom, closed the door behind him and then took a set on the edge on their bed. Finn dialled the agency's number then waited for them to answer.

"Hi, I'm Finn Hudson I'm calling about mine and my wife's adoption application" Finn said once the agency answered the call. Finn took a deep breath before he said "I need to, ah…. Uh I need to change the main phone number on file, if I can"

Finn felt guilty about what he was doing but he knew Rachel was going to change her mind eventually and he didn't want them to start all over again when she did.

"That's great thank you for your help" Finn concluded before disconnecting the call and shoving his phone back in his pocket. Finn walked back into the office and took a seat back next to Rachel. He straightened his face hoping Rachel couldn't see the guilt in his eyes.

"Hey was that them. Was everything okay?" Rachel asked, she glanced over at Finn before going back to her laptop.

"Yeah it was fine, they understood" Finn replied, trying not to sound guilty. Finn had never lied to Rachel ever, but he also knew that it had to be done. Finn knew Rachel better than she knew herself and Finn knew she would change her mind.

Rachel leaned her head on to Finn's shoulder "This is for the best, for a while at least"