Thanks for reading! Fluff alert.

Chapter 13

Mercedes coaxed herself out of sleep as she squinted against the bright sunlight that filled the room. She rubbed her face in the soft silk of his pajamas before reluctantly lifting her head from his chest.

Sam's pale green eyes were on her, a smile on his face. "Good morning," he said.

"Oh no," said Mercedes feeling her face warm in embarrassment.

"What?" Sam asked, looking amused by her discomfort.

"Did I fall asleep? I must look terrible." She tried to straighten her hair, rubbing down the strands that felt like they were standing up on the top of her head. She was in desperate need of a mirror.

"I haven't seen a woman in months, let alone sleep with one. You could be green and have warts like a witch and you'd still look good to me."

"Gee thanks," she mumbled feeling even more like she should make a sprint down the hall to the public restroom to fix herself up.

No self respecting woman would be caught in bed with a man as gorgeous as Sam, looking as bad as she probably did. Although he had seen it all before, exhausted and in need of a shower when he was in the hospital after their wedding, snot nosed and disgusting when she had that bad cold, covered in blood the night of the accident. Mercedes really shouldn't have been so self conscious. It was just Sam, her husband, the man that had promised to love her no matter what. Except it really wasn't him. He looked like Sam, he felt like Sam, although a bit thinner, he had the same devilish spark in his eyes, the same heart stopping smile, he even kissed just as she had remembered, but something had changed.

"Did you sleep well?" he asked taking her hand from her hair and enclosing it in his own.

"I actually did. Shocking."

"I managed to doze off too. The voices in my head stopped for a bit."

He had told her about hearing Quinn calling to him in his mind. Mercedes didn't know how to take that information. On the one hand she wanted to comfort him, let him know he wasn't losing it maybe it was all just a byproduct of the coma. Yet on the other, she wanted to shake him and fix whatever was out of place in his brain. She didn't want him thinking about Quinn, she wanted him thinking of her and all that he missed from their life together. Instead he was daydreaming about an unknown future with the woman that almost destroyed their marriage. It was hard to take, and Mercedes was finding it almost unbearable to just sit back and remain closed lipped about the true nature of her relationship with him. She was pretty sure that Sam wouldn't have been so open about his feelings for Quinn if he knew he was talking to his wife.

"So much for our pledge to stay up all night."

"We did watch the sunrise, so I think we upheld it."

"I better give you back your bed," she said sitting up. "I'm sprawled all over you."

"You're fine. I wouldn't mind if you stayed all day," he said threading his fingers through hers.

They had watched the sunrise. Mercedes had opened the blinds and shifted their position in the bed so they could see out of the window. As the golden glow overtook the room, Sam smiled, the corners of his eyes crinkling. It was his first sunrise since he had come out of the coma. He said he had never felt happier to see the sun in his life. Funny how Sam didn't even know he was in a coma, but still felt like he had been gone for a long time. He said it was like coming out of a dark tunnel, finally reaching the surface only to realize that he made a wrong turn, and had wound up in the wrong place. Mercedes couldn't help but wonder if he were wishing he were watching this sunrise with someone else. She had even asked him that, boldly picking at the thinly scabbed wound of being forgotten. After a moment of just staring her in the eyes, as if he were truly seeing her for the first time, he simply said, he was where he should be. Then he thanked her for helping him find the sun again.

"They might send out a search party if they notice me missing," she said a little fearful that the nurse on duty on her floor might be heading into a panic thinking she lost her patient.

"I'll hide you under the covers. They'll never know. You'll be my little secret."

The words ' I love you' spread across her mind as she stared into his eyes. Never had she felt more sure about him, about their future, as she did now. Almost losing Sam, then to finally get him back, made her want to hold him in her arms and never let him go again. She was so close to just telling him. Screw the doctors this was her husband and he had a right to know. But she held back curbed more by fear than a desire to follow the rules. Something was telling her that the time was not right for Sam to know who she truly was to him. Didn't stop her from wanting it desperately. Every touch, every kiss, every look she hoped would be the one that made him remember, that triggered something in his mind, that would make him feel her love.

Mercedes leaned into him, tugging at the collar of his pajamas, and kissed him softly on the lips. "I didn't mean to do that," she said ducking her head shyly.

"Yes you did," he said lifting her chin, forcing her to look at him. "What are you hiding for? Look at you, getting all embarrassed. It was just a little kiss."

"I keep crossing the line with you," she said getting lost in the green of his eyes.

"I think we might be beyond lines now," his still rough voice sounding smoother as he dropped his tone.

"I don't want to make you uncomfortable."

"I'm not." He placed a gentle kiss on her lips, caressing the curve of her chin lightly as he pulled back. "Now we're even. No more acting all shy."

He felt something that was for sure. Their kisses had grown more and more intense throughout the night, growing in passion the longer they spent time in each other's company. This was probably the Sam that Rachel fell in love with, sweet and attentive, sharing stories about his life and glimpses into his dreams. He was charming, flirtatious, and far less guarded than when he first met her. Mercedes used to wish Sam would be like this with her, back then, when she was the only one in love, and he thought she was a nuisance. She wanted the stolen kisses, the shy smiles, the romantic dates, she wanted to be the one he chose to spend his time with. Their interaction had built them a bond, a true friendship, that had ultimately led them down the aisle, but they had missed out on all the little things lovers do, the lazy stroll that often led to true love.

Sam hadn't minded the unconventional nature of their relationship. He felt it just proved they were meant to be. Mercedes, however, couldn't help but miss some of the romance, especially since she had never experienced it before. So he had tried to give it to her, after the wedding, when love usually starts to become more like a routine and less like a surprise, Sam decided he was going to date his wife. He promised every day would have a hint of romance. Mercedes was skeptical he could pull it off, especially since there was less incentive now that they were fully committed. The cow was bought, the milk was on the table. She should have known better than to doubt him, Sam always tried to be a man of his word, and he had romanced her far beyond her fantasies. Nothing fancy, no flights to Paris, or expensive jewels, but a life filled with little things. Walks to work, cooking her favorite meal, unexpected flowers, kisses just because, breakfast every morning, skipping work just to spend the day with her, lazy afternoons in bed and so much love, he never left her side without telling her how much he loved her. Better than any fairytale she had ever read. She should have known it couldn't last. Blow after blow crushed all of the little things until she was left with nothing but his motionless body imprisoned in the bed. Now he was back, just like before, but he wasn't her Sam. He was some version of himself from another time, a time before Mercedes had even known him.

"Can we do that again?" she asked, feeling very seduced by the nearness of him. He wasn't even touching her but just the heat from his body was exciting her. Anticipation built in her chest as she imagined his lips on hers again. She couldn't even bring herself to care that he didn't remember her, as she stared into his darkening green eyes. All she wanted was to be close to him again.

"You're pushing it," he laughed. Mercedes tried to hide her disappointment with her own light chuckle.

"Right sorry I..." He grabbed her face in his hands, and kissed her again, deeper this time, her lips parting to allow him entrance.

"Sorry," he murmured across her lips. He pulled back, running his fingers through her hair before releasing her completely. "I didn't mean to cut you off. What were you saying?"

"I was talking?" she asked feeling dazed, a warm flush blooming over her body. "I'm tingling all over."

"Glad to see I haven't lost my skills," he said, smiling as he watched her recline in the bed. "A man can get rusty after months of disuse."

"You're not rusty at all," she grinned as she rolled over, turning her back to him.

"Trying to kiss and run?" he asked pulling her back, closer to his body.

"No, I just couldn't keep looking at your lips. I was getting all fluttery." His arm encircled her waist as he remained pressed behind her, the hair on his face, tickling her cheek as he leaned closer.

"I'll try my best not to smile," he said against her ear.

"No don't!" She rolled over quickly to face him. "I missed that smile."

"I take it I didn't smile in the coma?" he asked, his lips looking even pinker peeking through his beard.

She reached up and stroked his cheek, liking the feel of his soft hair under her fingertips. "That's one of the things you never did."

"So when did you ever see me smile before? Was I conscious when you first brought me in after the accident?" The struggle to make sense of it all was in his eyes. He moved away from her trying to focus on all the details that painted a picture of the life he missed.

Mercedes ducked under the covers, finding it easier to evade his questions than face him, especially after the night they had just shared. Images of the night played through her mind like a film.

He had kissed her passionately, making out like teenagers in his dark hospital room. Things started to heat up and Mercedes' heart was pounding so hard she thought her chest might explode. Then he pulled back, looking into her eyes, and her heart fell. His eyes were lidded with desire, and she could tell he had truly enjoyed himself but there was something missing. There was no pent up passion from months of fighting attraction like when they first slept together, there was no love or depth of emotion that was always in his eyes after they got married. It was like meeting a cute guy at a club and making out with him in a dark corner, it was hot and it was fun, but it meant nothing. Not that Mercedes had ever made out with a cute guy in a club just for fun. Her nights at the club were strictly business, but she did know the feeling.

When she was thirteen she ran away to the beach in Cabo San Lucas with the girl staying in a hotel room three doors down from her suite with her mom Keisha. Mercedes had so much fun playing on the beach, eating sweets from the little shops in the village, just being free and far away from her mother. She never wanted to leave. On the second day, as she searched for seashells on the edge of shore, she met Estefan. He was fifteen, with dark hair, a long nose that hooked and a full red mouth. He found her a bucket and filled it with shells, he held her hand as they ran along the beach, the warm sea tickling their toes. And under the shade of the rocky cliffs, she had almost let him kiss her. She wanted him to, but as his head cast a shadow over her face, a pang of fear hit, and she pushed him away, running as fast as she could to find her friend. It seemed boys were the same as men for Mercedes, their touches led to the same awful things, but for a moment, she knew what it was like to be swept away by someone she hardly knew. It was thrilling and sweet all at once.

Mercedes suspected that this is what she was for Sam right now. A thrilling and sweet way to pass the time. She didn't dare hope that it could be mean anything more than that. How could it? He didn't even know who she was.

So when Sam sat up in the bed and suggested they talk, Mercedes had been relieved. It was easier to play the friendly nurse than something more. Her own emotions tended to betray her when she was so close to him. So a more platonic diversion was greatly appreciated. Before they knew it the morning had crept over them bringing a renewed closeness and the desire they had let cool, started to slowly simmer with the rising sun.

"I could live under here. It's toasty," she said from underneath the blankets.

"Sorry to just barge in. I'm looking for Mercedes."

Mercedes shrunk down even further in the bed as she heard her father's voice in the room. She really didn't want to talk to him at the moment. Not only had she skipped out of her hospital room, but she had spent the night with Sam. She was sure he would have some comments on both those actions. The morning had been going so well that she would have just preferred to skip it all together.

"It's cool. You're Julian right? My father's friend?" Mercedes hadn't realized that Sam even knew who her father was.

"That I am," replied Julian. "Mercedes is my daughter." Sam probably didn't notice but Julian's tone was decidedly less jovial than usual. It had to be really hard for her father to talk to Sam with all the past drama between them.

"My mom mentioned that," said Sam.

"I'm surprised you recognize me. Puck never really brought you by the house."

"I've seen you around. There was that trip to Los Angeles," said Sam sounding rather friendly. If he only knew all the bad blood between them, he wouldn't be taking this all so casually.

"Oh yeah. You and me and Dwight all went out there on a little vacation. That had to be like almost ten years ago."

"Maybe more. I was still in high school."

"Good memory," Julian commented.

"With some things." Mercedes could feel Sam tense up next to her. Any mention of his lost memory and he just got stressed. It clearly was still bothering him more than he was letting on.

"I heard about that. The brain's tricky."

"Is that your medical opinion?" Sam asked laughing lightly.

"Mercedes I know you're under there I can see part of your hair sticking out." She'd been spotted, so much for avoidance.

Mercedes lifted her hand out from under the blanket and waved. "Hi, dad."

"Let's go. You've got to get back in bed." His voice was closer now, so Mercedes could tell he was moving toward the bed. She wanted him out the door, not further in the room.

"I am in bed. I even slept. Ask Sam," she said raising her voice from under the blanket.

"She did, like a rock, a black haired snoring rock," said Sam poking her arm under the covers.

She swatted his hand away. "Hey! I don't snore."

"Cede you were supposed to be hooked up to your IV. Despite what you keep telling everyone, you didn't faint, you collapsed. Your body gave out on you because it needed food and water. I'm not playing now. I need you back in bed." Mercedes sighed at her father's lecturing tone. She knew he meant well but he always seemed to forget she was an adult and could take care of herself.

"I don't want to be in there all alone," she said rolling herself into Sam's chest. He put his arm around her and held her close, rubbing her back softly.

"I'll sit with you and Beiste will come," her father replied. He didn't sound like he was going to let it go. Mercedes really didn't want to argue with him, she had far too many other things on her mind than food and sleep. Sam was about to find out about Beth today, she needed to be alert for that.

"She can stay with me," Sam volunteered.

Mercedes pulled the blanket from over her head and looked at him. "Do you mean that?"

"Yeah," he said with a crooked smile.

"She needs to be in a bed of her own," Julian countered, taking a seat in the chair. So much for not having to argue, her father was not going to make this easy.

"Can't you put one in here for her? The room's huge."

"I've been trying to get a bed in here for her for months. So she wouldn't have to curl up next to you."

Mercedes turned and gave her father a sharp look. "Dad…"

Julian continued. "But she kept telling me, no she didn't want one, and that she'd rather be close to you."

Mercedes wanted to crawl back under the covers, or better yet under the bed. Her father was completely mortifying her with his every word. Sam must think she was some crazy stalker lady. Nurses don't want to sleep in bed with their comatose patients. It is not only frowned upon, it's also very creepy.

"Dad can you please stop talking?" she asked covering her face with her hands.

If only she could teleport or had the power to make herself invisible. That would've come in so handy right now. Sam rubbed her arm, coaxing her to relax. Great, now he's trying to placate the insane woman in his bed. He probably was pretending to like her until he could safely get help to get her away from him.

"Julian just set her up in here. We can be roommates." He hugged her close from behind, nuzzling his face into her neck.

"Can you give us a minute, Dad? I need to talk to Sam." Mercedes gestured that he scram with her eyebrows, hoping he would get the hint.

Julian reluctantly got up from the chair and headed toward the door. "Sure. But I'll be back in half hour. I want you back on your drip."

Mercedes didn't even wait for the door to close before she turned around in Sam's arms. "Okay, Sam be straight with me. What's really going on here?"

"What do you mean?" he asked letting go of her.

"After what my dad just said about me, why aren't you yelling for help?" She asked sitting upright in the bed, crossing her legs Indian style. "Are you just trying to get some or what?"

"Why would you think I just wanted to get some?" he asked trying not to laugh at her directness.

That was something he never expected to hear out of her mouth, such a blunt question about his sexual intentions. Yes things had progressed between them but to the point of sleeping together? Well not sleeping together literally, since they did that already, but sex, to the point of having sex. Were they even relating on that level? Did that question mean he had a shot? Strike that last part, he wasn't looking for a shot. A shot would be nice, since it had been so long, but really he didn't think he was up to it at the moment. Still a little weak, and definitely feeling stiff in certain areas. Although that one particular area did get pretty stiff around her repeatedly through the night, so maybe he was underestimating his body's abilities. Maybe he could take that shot she might be offering.

Sam took a deep breath trying to get himself thinking with the right part of his anatomy. He wasn't going to have sex with a woman he barely knew, although now that she brought the subject up, he could think of nothing else. In fact, if she decided to push the issue he probably could be easily persuaded to go along for the ride. And by the looks of her, that ride might be quite exciting. She had this deceptive sexiness hidden behind her innocent looking face and wide brown eyes. Careless men could easily be caught up in her before they even realized what was happening. Sam was starting to feel like one of those careless men right now. Her eyes were luring him into some sort of trap, he could feel the pull, but there was nothing he could do to resist. He was compelled to do whatever it took to make her sad eyes spark. He had tried all night to erase the pain reflected there, and a few times he succeeded. He had felt like he won a gold medal when her eyes brightened as he talked to her. Then he would say something else, and her eyes would grow dull, and the teary sadness would reappear.

"Come on Sam, my dad just painted a pretty warped picture of me for you. I can only imagine what must be going through your mind right now."

"You told me earlier that you liked to talk to me. Maybe he was just misconstruing what he was seeing when you were in here talking."

She eyed him skeptically."You don't buy that. You're too jaded to believe that."

"How do you know what I'm like? You've only seen me in a coma." The scary part was she really did seem like she knew him. He couldn't be that transparent.

"I'm a good judge of character and I can read people pretty well."

"If you can read me, then you should know better than to ask me if I am after sex," he challenged.

She didn't seem convinced as she asked, "So you don't want to sleep with me?"

"Are you making me a proposition?" Sam couldn't help himself. She put it out there with all the sex talk, maybe she was the one looking to get some.

She attempted to ignore his question, but Sam noted the tell tale sign of a response. She was looking down and he bet if she were lighter he'd see pink all over her cheeks.

"I just want to know what's going on here. We had this incredible night together and I feel like we've made a breakthrough…gotten closer."

"I feel the same way," he agreed. "It has been fun."

"Fun?"

Fun was all he was willing to admit. She didn't need to know that he had connected with her in a way that he hadn't with anyone else since Quinn. Not even Brittany, a woman he married, had made him feel this close and comfortable. There was a safety in her company that made him feel he could tell her anything and she would understand. It scared the shit out of him, especially in light of what Julian had said. She clearly had spent more time with him than he had realized while he was comatose. And the fact that he wasn't scared of her and actually felt closer to her than ever even after hearing that was the freakiest part of all. What the hell was wrong with him?

"Yeah, so why do we have to stop?" Maybe it was because he didn't have Brittany anymore and was all alone, but Sam really wanted Mercedes to stay. "You can stay in here with me and keep me company. Maybe I can get that rematch in poker."

"Well if you want to be humiliated again it's on. Thank you, Sam. I really don't like to sleep alone," she admitted lowering her eyes.

"I sort of got that. I'm surprised your father didn't say anything about you being in bed with me. He did seem a little tense though." Tense and not all that friendly, although who could blame the guy? No father wants to see his daughter in the bed with a man, a patient no less.

"He's not really the type to judge. I better go and tell my dad," she said standing up.

"Not yet." He grabbed her by the hand. "Stay with me awhile." Again it felt like his brain had stopped working. He should be putting some distance between them, yet here he was pulling her back into bed.

"I can do that," she said smiling softly as she leaned back against the pillow. "Let me just send a quick text to Beiste, I need to check on Beth." She picked up her phone from the table and started typing.

"Must be hard being away from her."

"I worry about all the disruptions in her schedule." She paused her typing to look at him. "She's been through so much already."

"What happened to her? Was she sick?" The girl seemed really healthy. Sam couldn't imagine anything being wrong with her.

"Uh well…she was premature and shuffled around a lot, the hospital, new places. It can be hard on a baby."

"I'm sure she's fine. You seem like a great mother." A little shy about gushing, but Sam could tell she loved her baby.

"I'm faking it. I have no clue what I'm doing."

"I thought that stuff was instinctive after you have a child, the mother bond."

"It's complicated."

"I get complicated," he chuckled. "You should meet my family."

"I sort of already did, remember?"

"Right. I keep forgetting you know them all."

"You just have to get used to all the changes. It will get easier."

"I can't wait until I start getting more details. I feel like there's something big staring me in the face and I'm missing it." He had given himself a headache trying to figure it out, searching the blank spaces in his mind for any sort of a clue.

"In a few hours you'll know more," she said quietly.

He had expected to see Quinn there when he awakened. He had heard her voice so clearly. Then when he finally opened his eyes all he saw was his nurse's smiling face and later his parents. It was disappointing and unnerving. He started to doubt if he had really heard Quinn at all. Each time he opened his eyes in the first few days all he saw was Mercedes. Eventually he started hoping Mercedes would be there. He always felt so disorientated when he woke up during that time, seeing her face was the one constant, her smile was something he could count on.

Now that Quinn had confirmed that she was with him while he was awakening but hadn't stayed, he was thoroughly confused. In his head, Quinn was his companion, her face and her voice floating through his mind like a hazy dream. But in reality she wasn't there, it was Mercedes that never seemed to leave him. It was her hands that touched him, her voice that made him smile, and her presence that made him feel less confused and alone. He liked having her around, and he needed her there. She was the only thing that felt real in his world now. That's why he wanted her in his room, in his bed. She anchored him to this place where he felt like he was drifting, where he didn't seem to fit.

"Will you be there? I noticed sometimes you disappear during my doctor consultations."

"Trying to give you some space. You don't want me hanging around all the time."

"Maybe you can stay this time." He gave her a quick glance to check her reaction. He didn't want to seem needy about it, but he just felt like he wanted some support. He didn't know what to expect.

"I'll do whatever you want Sam." The way she said it made him think she meant something more than sitting in while he talked to a doctor.

He squeezed her bare knee. "I want you there."

"Then that's where I'll be."

Maybe he should have been leaning on his mom more. Sam was starting to feel bad about putting his nurse in an awkward position, a position that should've been filled by a girlfriend or a wife. Apparently the last three years had left him alone as ever. He had hoped he would have found someone to spend his life with by now. In his dreams it was Quinn, their second chance should have happened during these forgotten years. Sam couldn't help but feel disappointed that it didn't seem to have happened.

She stroked his hair gently as he leaned his head on her shoulder. "That feels nice."

"I did this all the time, and full body massages."

"Is that why my muscles are not completely atrophied?"

"You had physical therapy the whole time, but I would massage you and moisturize you, keep your circulation moving." She moved away from him looking embarrassed. "I guess I'm grossing you out."

"It's just weird to think about not being aware of all this happening to me. Thank you for doing all of that."

She shrugged her shoulders. "It's my job."

"Don't say that. It's more than a job isn't it?"

It bothered him every time she made it seem like he was just a patient. They felt like so much more than that, right from the start.

"Yes. It's not a job to me."

Mercedes gave him this look, an incredible look that seemed to say everything she was feeling without words. The things she was too scared to admit. The things he had been feeling too. There was something between them growing inexplicably deeper the more time they spent together.

Quinn had given him that same look once, the night of the limo accident. He couldn't help but wonder if it was still there, that spark of something more? He and Quinn had been through so much, did the last three years erase it all?

He needed a drink. He was looking at Mercedes searching for more in her eyes, while at the same time wishing Quinn was looking at him the same way. Unreal. Something like this would only happen to him. Two women had been by his bedside. The one he always wanted, didn't stay, and the one he never knew, always remained and Sam was feeling things for them both.

He ran his hand through his hair. "I should not be feeling these things. My head must be mush."

"Feeling what things?" she asked with a little more eagerness than Sam was prepared for. He didn't know how much he should reveal to her.

He had Quinn in his head, Mercedes in his bed, and a foot in two different times. Neither scenario was good for him. Quinn was off singing somewhere, not caring enough to come see him and he was crazily falling head over heels for her all over again. His mind just couldn't let go of the possibility that this was their chance to finally get it right and be together. Sam wasn't one to deal in psychic visions or find hidden meaning in dreams, but Quinn's haunting of him had to mean something. He was convinced of it. He needed to see her, look her in the eyes and then he'd know where they stood.

Then he thought back to earlier that morning, when he opened his eyes and saw her dark hair on his chest, and as he let his fingers play in her waves, he couldn't imagine Mercedes not in his life. He hadn't even known her a month and he already had this overwhelming sense that she was supposed to be with him, in his arms, in his bed, in his life. He wanted to save her from her pathetic excuse for a husband, take her and her baby in, and keep them safe. It was more than just wanting to do a good deed for his kind and caring nurse. Every time she looked up at him with those haunting brown eyes it hit him to his core, somehow she was his to look after.

"The things I'm feeling about you," he said deliberately being vague. No need to scare her prematurely. "You're my nurse. I shouldn't be so attracted."

"You're attracted to me?"

"I thought that was obvious," he said swiping his finger down the point in her chin. "My mom asked me if I had a crush."

"Do you?"

Man, she wasn't going to make this easy for him.

He exhaled sharply. "This is so complicated. I can't stop thinking about another woman."

"Quinn." She said it more like a statement than a question. Something Sam couldn't quite understand flickered in her eyes.

Behind closed eyes it was a different story his need to see Quinn had been steadily increasing just as his bond with Mercedes had been building. He was starting to feel separated, existing in two planes, two versions of himself. There was the one Sam that dreamed of Quinn, that was still under that blanket with her. It was comfortable and it felt more real to him than anything that existed when he opened his eyes. The other version of himself, the one that was stuck in the hospital room in 2014, confused and frustrated, was dangerously close to entangling his heart in the worst possible place. Around a sweet little nurse with sad doe eyes, an infant, and an absentee husband. Everything about her was giant warning sign to steer clear. But Sam was starting not to be able to help himself.

"Yes, but I'm feeling very much like I want to kiss you right now."

"Nine months is a long time. You're probably just craving some action." She was trying to sound lighthearted, but it came out sounding like defeat. As if she had resigned herself to thinking he only wanted sex from her.

"It's more than that. I liked you from the moment I met you. I don't know why," said Sam feeling the need to reassure her.

"I like you too."

"I picked up on that," he teased. "But what about your husband? He might have left but you got to still care." Sam really didn't want to hear the answer, he was already starting to have jealous thoughts about her invisible spouse, but he had to know where her head was.

"I love him. I don't think that will ever change."

He officially hated the guy. She was totally hung up on him, he could see it in her eyes. Maybe it was better this way. He could stop feeling weird for being hung up on someone else too.

"I can't stop feeling like maybe something is in the cards for me and Quinn. Though I'm probably being stupid. She hasn't even come to visit." He didn't bother to add that his feelings came from a night that happened three years ago. He was feeling pathetic enough as it was.

"She would if she could." She said it so matter of fact, not like an appeasement, but like truth.

"How do you know that?"

"A woman knows these things. We know when someone truly cares. Quinn cares about you."

Sam fought the urge to ask her what Quinn had said and done all the times she had come to see him. Things were weird enough between them as it was.

"We are a strange pair. In the bed together talking about other people."

"Nothing wrong with being unique," she said throwing him a smile.

"You are the most wonderful surprise," he said before he could stop himself.

"What do you mean?

"Never thought I would wake up and find someone like you in my life." He might as well put it all out there, he had told her practically everything else.

She smiled softly. "You didn't even know you were in a coma, so I doubt you thought much of anything."

"You know what I'm saying. I've never met anyone like you before."

"You don't even know me that well," she said looking down, but Sam could still see the shine of tears in her eyes.

"I want to," he said taking her hand. "Maybe when I get out of here and get stronger we can spend some time together, get dinner."

"Like a date?"

"It would be nice to see you in something other than scrubs, though I have to say your current outfit is pretty cute. And I do have more to my wardrobe than pajamas. We can just be normal." His mother would never let him live this one down. He just asked out his nurse. He could hear her gloating already in his mind.

"I'm not sure I can pull off normal, but I'd love to try for you."

"I look forward to it."

"Me too," she said climbing out of bed and smoothing her shorts. "I'm leaving for real this time."

"See you when you get back."

She hesitated. "Sam are you sure you want me in here with you?"

"You're probably my closest friend in the world right now, scary as that sounds. You make me feel better."

"So you're using me?"

He hoped he wasn't, but he had to admit the fact that she was always there made her even more attractive. She filled his loneliness and helped him focus on the present and not all that he missed.

"Aren't you using me? To feel better about your husband?"

Even if she didn't realize it Sam could tell. The problem was that he didn't care. He just wanted to spend time with her. Yep, he was sucked into her trap, he was feeling might hooked.

"I suppose."

"Nothing wrong with using each other for awhile. Who are we hurting?" They both were so open and honest with each other. What could go wrong?

"And the kissing?" she asked leaning her knee against the bed.

"I'm a man and you have the prettiest mouth I've ever seen. Those lips…" He trailed off as he focused on her mouth.

She frowned but still got back on the bed, crawling toward him on all fours. "That totally sounded like a line. A pretty mouth?"

"I mean it. I can't help myself. I just want to taste…" His hands were on the side of her face before he knew what he was doing. Soft lips over his, warm and moist, open and inviting, he let himself get lost in the soft feel of her kisses.

She pulled away, her hand running down his chest. "You better stop that or a girl might never want to leave."

"That's the plan," he smirked covering her hand with his own, holding it there against his rapidly beating heart.

"I'll be back," she said tearing herself away nearly running for the door.

"Can't wait."

Sam laughed as she looked back longingly, before turning the handle and leaving. He guessed she wasn't lying when she said he still had skills. That dazed look in Mercedes' eyes told him that she liked every bit of that kiss and would be back for more.

It was nice to feel wanted. All he could remember was Brittany running from their attraction and her endless rejections. Enough of that takes a toll on a man. Maybe that was why that night with Quinn had meant so much. He finally felt like he was on the right track, that he had stopped chasing the wrong dream, and was face to face with his destiny. Cheesy indeed, but that's how it always felt with Quinn, something bigger than either of them were ready to handle. Sam was feeling up to the challenge now. He was ready to see what was still there with Quinn. It was the right time.

Sam picked up the phone Mercedes had left behind, tapping through, hoping to find a game, instead he found the pictures. All those photos they had taken overnight and in the early morning. It was a little jarring to see himself so thin and with his beard that full, but otherwise he looked as he remembered. No scars or major changes in the past three years. His hair was awful. Mercedes claimed it was bed head but now looking at the pictures, he could clearly see someone had butchered his hair. It almost looked like they cut it with their eyes closed. Someone would answer for that. It was unacceptable.

He scrolled through more photos of the two of them making faces into the camera, stopping when one caught his eyes. Mercedes was full frame, smiling into the camera and he was just staring at her, with a look on his face that Sam knew all too well. He tossed the phone back on the table, unable to look at any more. Sam wondered if he could book a flight to Acapulco and have himself transferred to a hospital there without anyone noticing. Running away might be his only answer, because now Sam knew with absolute certainty, that he was totally screwed.