Okay so thank you for all of the love and sorry again for the lapse in my updates. I will try to get better about updating. Also just to shed some light, I received a review on the last chapter where someone thought that Artie and Mercedes were together. Artie is with Santana and Brittany. Sam just thought that maybe Mercedes was with him when he found her and that was it. So I hope that clears up some of the confusion. Thank you all again. I do not own glee, nor would I want to.

Chapter 5: Funny Seeing You Again

Sam scoured the internet again. He checked all social networks like Facebook and Twitter. Did you know how many Jones, M's there were listed? Thousands. Sam was starting to give up hope, but he kept at it. No matter what, he would find them if it was the last thing that he ever did.

It had been a little less than a year since he had seen Mercedes and he knew that his son or daughter was already born now and less than four months old. He was so angry and sad that he had missed the birth because he didn't want to miss a single day of his children's life. Most of that anger was towards Mercedes. The other part of it was towards whatever had caused her to run from a good thing in her life.

He wondered what his child looked like. Did it have his lips or eyes? What features did the baby have of him and what features did the baby have of Mercedes? Was the baby a boy or a girl? What did Mercedes name the baby? He got angry all over again when he realized that Mercedes didn't give him a chance to pick out names for their child. She didn't give him a chance to go in the middle of the night and get her food that she was craving with her pregnancy. He wasn't allowed to feel the baby kick in the womb, or to cut the cord in the delivery room. Thinking of all of those things just made him angry all over again. It was like he was in a constant state of anger and hope, trying to find the love of his live and his child.

His truck driving took him all over and he always looked for Mercedes everywhere that he went. He sometimes imagined that he saw her face in the crowd, but it always disappointed him when it turned out to not be her.

He kept at it though and he wouldn't give up. He could never give up. They were somewhere out there and he just had to find him.

It was after hours upon hours of Facebook searches that finally gave him hope. A picture. A picture that had a person tagged in it named Mercedes Jones. A picture that was taken in front of a diner with four people in it. There was a very pregnant Mercedes in the middle of a slim blonde woman and a slim Latina. Then there was a guy in a wheelchair on the other side of the Latina. They were all smiling and looking happy. The picture was taken outside and in front of what seemed like a diner. There was a name too. A name that hopefully wouldn't be hard to find, Artie's.

The Latina was the one who posted the picture. He tried to see where she lived, but her wall was private. She didn't post many other photos. It was just mainly pictures of her, the blonde woman and the wheelchair guy. He knew that she wouldn't befriend him either because he was a complete stranger to her so he knew that he would have to go off of the name in the background of the picture.

He did a web search of Artie's filling in restaurant and then diner. The search for an Artie's restaurant didn't feel any good results, but he did save all the addresses to the ones in the United States in case he needed to check each and every one. He ruled out the ones with websites that showed what the place looked like if it didn't match or was close to the photo he had. Artie's Diner came up with some more results as well. He found that there were four throughout the United States. The first two didn't have websites attached with them, but the third did. He clicked on the link and saw a picture of a guy, the same one in the picture with Mercedes. He had his destination now, Hope Indiana.

Calling his boss, he quit over the phone saying that this next drop was going to be his last. He didn't even want to do the drop, but he knew that he had to because all of the stuff was in the back of his cab.

He did the load albeit reluctantly and then he made his way to her, to his Mercy.

He was still rather wary, hoping that she was still at the place in the photo. He wouldn't know what to do if it lead to a dead end and she had been long gone. Throughout the whole drive, Sam was wired in anticipation and worry. He made it there in record time and parked his vehicle outside.

Sam walked into the restaurant, hoping that this was the right place from the photo he had seen, but then knowing he was once he took in the layout. He was constantly looking for them, but so far no luck.

His eyes scanned the establishment and stopped at a small chocolate drop that was near the counter, holding onto a car seat. Is that her? His heart hoped and prayed that it was.

He didn't even know that he went closer to her until he was a few feet behind her, watching as she talked with a man in a wheelchair.

"Mercedes." Her name fell from his lips in a whisper, like he was saying a prayer.

Tension grew in her posture as he watched her. Stiffly, she slowly turned towards him with her eyes wide in shock.

"Sam." She ushered that one word like it was a blessing and a curse all wrapped up into one.

He cleared his throat before speaking her name once more. His eyes held hers, unwilling to look away in case he was dreaming. Two more steps forward and she was in his arms again. "I've missed you so much." He held her dearly, crushing her body into his. Tears sprang to his eyes as her familiar scent washed over his nostrils. "It's really you. I can't believe it. When I saw that photo of you, I looked up any place that could look like this and I found it. I found you."

"Wait..." Mercedes leaned her head back so that she could look at Sam. "What photo? How did you find me?"

"All in due time Mercedes. I will tell you all in due time. Right now I just want to hold you." He squeezed her even more closer to him. He held her for moments that seemed like forever and was only broken when a voice cleared.

Sam seemed to gain his bearings and noticed the guy in the wheelchair staring at them.

"Sam, this is Artie. Artie meet Sam." Mercedes gestured in between both of them for her introductions with the one hand that she wasn't carrying a sleeping Ella in.

"Hi, nice to meet you." Sam smiled skeptically at the other man, shaking his hand. He wondered who this guy was. Was he Mercedes boyfriend? No, he couldn't be. She wouldn't do that to him, at least he thought so.

When the blond was preoccupied with her roommate, the mother thought it was a good decision to run as she held tightly onto Ella's car seat and high tailed it out there.

The trucker noticed movement in his eyesight and watched as she retreated from him again, carrying a car seat.

His daughter! He remembered, the shock of actually finding Mercedes making him forget.

"Mercedes, wait." Sam yelled as he ran after her and what appeared to be their daughter. A daughter that looked a little like him from the one glance that he saw. "Mercedes is that my daughter?"

Mercedes didn't know why she ran. She was just so shocked to see Sam again. He was still as gorgeous as ever and she knew that she had done him wrong. She stopped when he called out after her, turning around to face him.

"...Yes." She said cautiously. "Meet Gabriella Samantha Jones, or Ella as I like to call her." Mercedes said as she brought the car seat up so that Sam could get a better look at his daughter.

"Oh god, she's beautiful." Sam said as a couple of tears escaped his eyes. She had his mouth. Her eyes were closed though so he couldn't see them. She was so beautiful with her caramel skin tone and Mercedes nose. He wanted to hold her in his arms and just gaze at her until he memorized her every feature. "Can I hold her?" He asked hopefully.

Mercedes nodded her head. "Yeah, we should go back inside. I have to work, but you can watch her during my shift." She led the way back inside with Sam following behind her. "She has an ear infection so she will need some more medicine in a couple of hours. That's why I couldn't drop her off at daycare."

Sam frowned when he heard that his baby girl was sick. "My poor Ella." He stated, just trying out her name on his lips. He loved it, but he still wasn't happy that he couldn't help pick the name out. He noticed that Mercedes did name her after him though. Gabriella Samantha, he really like that. The last name Jones was okay for now, but if he had his way both Mercedes and his baby would share his last name.

"You have a lot of explaining to do Mercedes." Sam said as he followed her.

"I know. I promise that I will explain, just after my shift. Is that okay?" Mercedes looked back at him tentatively.

"Yeah, that's fine." He nodded his head.

She picked a booth for them in her section, placing the car seat down so she could undo the straps to get her daughter out. She lifted her cautiously from the car seat, not wanting to wake her. Turning to Sam, she gently place their daughter in his hands.

Sam stood in awe at the little being in his arms. He started to rock her a little in his arms, pacing the floor back and forth.

Tears came to Mercedes eyes at the moment between father and daughter. She brushed them away quickly and then cleared her throat. "Can I get you anything Sam?" She asked. "Are you hungry at all?"

"No I'm good." He stated, his eyes never leaving his daughter.

"Okay, just let me know if you change your mind." She smiled at him before leaving him and their child to start work.

Going back to the waitress station, she was met with three pairs of curious eyes.

"So that's Sam?" Santana asked with her eyebrow raised.

She nodded her head. "Yes, that's Sam."

"I like him." Brittany said smiling. "You have to invite him for dinner tonight Cedes."

"Yes, you really should." Santana agreed.

"Totally." Artie stated as well.

"Okay, I will." Mercedes agreed a little reluctantly.

Her shift was a couple of hours in and everything was fine. She periodically glanced to where Sam and Ella were, smiling at the interaction. It wasn't until Ella woke up that some problems started to arise.

His daughter grew increasingly restless in his arms, squirming in her blanket. She opened her eyes and he gazed into her brilliant emerald hues, loving that she had his eyes too. When she opened her eyes, that's when the wails started. He tried to calm her down and rock her, but nothing was working.

"Britt can you cover for me for a bit?" Mercedes asked the blonde who nodded her head and then she came over to Sam and her daughter. "Here let me." She said, trying to take her daughter back into her arms. She knew that Ella probably needed the medicine again.

Sam shook his head. "No, I got it." He tried to calm her, using all of the techniques he knew, but Ella still wailed.

"She doesn't know you Sam." Mercedes said as Sam continued to bounce a crying Ella in his arms.

"Yea, well that's not my fault. Is it?" Sam snapped back.

Mercedes cowered her head in shame. She felt so guilty about leaving him, so he wasn't there for the first few months of his child's birth. She didn't know if she could apologize enough for her nature. "I'm sorry Sam."

They were starting to gain the attention of the whole diner and Mercedes knew that she needed to stop Ella's crying. "I'll give Ella back to you after I give her the medicine and feed her, okay?" She asked Sam.

He nodded his head and handed the baby over.

Ella's crying went from loud wails to small hiccups when she was in her mom's arms. Mercedes cooed at her baby. "Sam can you grab the diaper bag over there?"

He nodded his head and grabbed it for her.

With one hand, Mercedes got out the medicine. She put the ear drops in her baby's ear and smiled when Ella started to feel a little better. Grabbing a bottle from the bag, she went over to Santana and asked her to warm the bottle for her. Santana willing did so, handing the bottle back to her once she was done. Mercedes checked the temperature of the bottle on her wrist and felt that it was fine. She was glad that she had pumped some breast milk before she came. She started to feed her little girl, smiling when her baby drank up. Once she was finished with the bottle, Mercedes went back to Sam. "Do you know how to burp a baby?"

Sam nodded his head. "I had to help sometimes with my siblings and my parents showed me how."

"Okay good." She pulled the burp cloth out of the diaper bag and then handed Ella back over to Sam, smiling when Ella didn't fuss. "My shift is almost over and then I was asked by my roommates to ask you to dinner at our place. Do you have somewhere to stay?"

"Dinner is good." Sam nodded as he gently burped his daughter. "No, I don't have a place to say yet."

"Well we have plenty of room at Artie's so you can stay with us. I'll clear it with my roommates first, but I'm sure that it will be fine."

"Okay Mercy." Sam smiled up at her. "After dinner though we talk, right?"

Mercedes pursed her lips. "Yeah, after dinner we can talk."

So... what did you think? Reviews are appreciated, but not necessary.