Thanks for reading!

Oh I noticed a few of your commented on the phone Mercedes left behind in the room with Sam and why Sam didn't look through it. That phone was a new phone (not a smart phone) that Puck bought for her that night because Julian had confiscated her phone in the hopes of her getting rest. There was nothing to see on that phone but the photos she took while spending the night with him.

Chapter 15

"Puck thank god you sent that text when you did. I totally dodged a bullet," said Mercedes as she pulled her still damp hair into a high bun. She had gotten in a quick shower and changed into her black yoga pants and electric blue long fitted t-shirt before coming to meet Puck in one of the private waiting rooms.

"What do you mean?" he asked. "I thought you were with Sam."

"I was with Sam. I almost messed everything up."

She was so close to telling Sam she was his wife when the phone buzzed saving the day. Mercedes wanted Sam to know. She hated lying to him like this, but she couldn't seem to find the words. It wasn't something she could just blurt out. Sam had to work up to the news that she was not only his nurse but also the woman he had married. Maybe she should have just come right out with it. Might have stopped Sam from asking so many questions and from looking at her like she had fallen from outer space. She could tell he was completely thrown by their quickly developing closeness.

Actually Mercedes was feeling a little thrown herself. It had been quite a surprise to find Sam taking to her so quickly and easily. When she found out he had amnesia she figured it would be a long slow process to get him to accept her in his life. She imagined it would have been more like it was when they first met, a hesitant attraction mixed with building curiosity. Instead Sam had embraced her right from the start. Relying on her at first for his medical care and eventually leaning on her for his emotional needs as well. The physical attraction had always been there, but Mercedes was a little surprised Sam had been so willing to act on it, especially when he was so fixated on Quinn.

"What are you talking about?" asked Puck.

"I was about to tell him that we are married."

"I thought the doctor was going to tell him that this afternoon."

"She is but you know me. I started feeling really guilty about keeping this from him."

"And you couldn't wait a few more hours? He will know soon."

In less than two hours to be exact. Mercedes was so anxious for it all to be over. Beth was ready in the hospital nursery, waiting to meet her father officially this time.

"He had been asking me questions all morning about why I was always there, why I used to sleep in his room, why we feel such a strong connection."

She couldn't help but wonder if that connection he was feeling was some residual memory of her, of their life. Sometimes a look would cross his face and Mercedes would be so sure that the moment she had been hoping for had come, and that he'd finally remember. But so far nothing. Just his continued awe at how much he felt for her so fast.

"How did you respond to all of that?"

"As close to the truth as possible without saying the real reason."

"That must have confused the hell out of him."

"It was hard to tell, he was bringing up destiny and meant to be type stuff."

"Oh man," said Puck rubbing the back of his neck. "If Sam is resorting to the metaphysical, he is completely lost."

"I am guessing he might think I'm some sort of crazy person that falls for her patients."

"And that didn't scare him?" Puck asked.

"Nope. He said he had good instincts about me and that he trusts me." That was the worst part of all. He trusted her and she was lying.

"Oh Cede," said Puck sympathetically.

She plopped down into an empty chair. "I know. I feel like crap."

"It's for his own good. You're not trying to hurt him. He'll understand that." Puck tried to reassure her as he took a seat beside her.

"I hope so. We've gotten so much closer Puck. Last night was…" She smiled just thinking about it. It had been a special night.

"How much closer? You know he is still recovering you can't give him too much excitement."

"Not that close," she laughed. "We talked a lot."

"Just talked? I'm not buying it, you are all gushing. Look at that smile."

She probably was grinning like a fool, but Mercedes didn't care. The way Sam had looked at her last night, still made her tingle all over. There were a few times that it actually seemed like the old Sam was back, that he remembered her and still loved her.

"Maybe a little more than talking," she admitted. "Our connection is still there Puck. He doesn't remember me but he still feels it."

He had brought it up over and over, that connection, trying to make sense of how he was feeling. Mercedes's heart soared with each mention. She was on his mind and making headway into his heart. That had to be a good thing.

"That's how you know it's real. The heart never forgets."

"That is so poetic," she sighed.

Puck threw her a goofy grin. "Thank you. I read it in a greeting card once."

"So that picture of you and Quinn, was that your heart not forgetting?" Puck had volunteered to make the three hour trek to see Quinn. Mercedes couldn't help but wonder if there was something more going on with him.

"It was for Beth," he said avoiding her eyes.

"Yeah, you looked pretty cozy though."

"You have to get in close to fit in the frame. You know that."

"Sam saw it," Mercedes said the corners of her mouth dropping.

"He did?"

"Yep he picked up the phone. It upset him pretty badly."

Mercedes didn't know what was worse. The fact that he was thinking about Quinn and wanting to see her or the fact that he was feeling so much that he was actually jealous. No question, the jealousy was worse. It made it all too real. Sam had legit feelings for Quinn.

"I take it he's still asking about Quinn."

Sam trusted her so much that he had even confided in her about his feelings for this other woman, not knowing that every time he brought up her name, a part of Mercedes felt torn to shreds. She held her tongue, swallowed her pain, and tried her best to just listen. She wanted to continue being a supportive presence in his life. If his last memories were of Quinn and retreating back to them made him feel better, then Mercedes wasn't going to get in the way of that. She had waited for so long for Sam to come back, she wasn't going to risk doing anything to jeopardize his health.

"He pretty much admitted to me that he wants to see where things could go with her."

"Like for them as a couple?"

It was surreal to be even having this conversation. Mercedes never considered Quinn a threat to her marriage, not even after she found out that Sam had slept with her. She was always so secure in their love after he made it clear he had chosen her. And now the day before their first wedding anniversary, she was in competition for his heart. Things were not supposed to end up like this.

"He wants a second chance." Just saying the words felt like someone had punched her. The idea that he wanted Quinn made her sick.

"Cede, how are you taking all of this so lightly? This is a big deal."

She knew this was major. She was pretty much scared out of her mind that Sam would wake up one day and announce he wanted to leave her to go take that chance with Quinn. She had just got him back from the brink of death, only to possibly lose him to another woman.

"I'm trying to just hold on to the fact that he wants to see where things go with me too. He asked me out you know."

That was as close to an upside as the situation had. At least Sam was still attracted to her and still liked her. Even without his memory he was showing her attention. Quinn might have the advantage of beauty, history, and of course Beth, but Mercedes wasn't completely out of the fight. Sam felt something for her too. She was hoping that something was the same thing he had always felt, that undeniable connection, that kinetic bond that made them feel like kindred spirits. If he could feel that again, then Quinn didn't have a prayer. They had a love that could withstand anything. She had to keep believing that.

"Sam has not lost his touch. Not even out of the hospital and already setting up dates with his nurse and all the while he has another woman pining away for him upstate."

"She's pining?" Mercedes had suspected this, especially after hearing what Quinn had said to Sam the morning he woke up. There was more than friendship in her tone.

"Oh no. I was just saying.." said Puck back pedaling a bit.

"Tell me the truth. Quinn wants Sam back doesn't she?" Mercedes asked looking Puck directly in the eyes.

Puck shifted in his seat uneasily as he responded. "I think Quinn is just lost and alone and is clinging to the good things in her life."

"Like my husband."

"Like her baby's father."

"Maybe this was how things were supposed to be. Maybe this is their chance for a reunion."

She didn't want to let him go. They had already gone through so much and never even had a real chance to be together. But sometimes life had a tendency of derailing plans. She was starting to learn that so many things happened for a reason. Maybe all of last year was just a way to get Sam and Quinn to this point, back to their start, so they could raise Beth together. Maybe life had just been using Mercedes to make that happen.

"You can't mean that."

"He woke up remembering her and now you are telling me she is feeling all warm and fuzzy about him too. What else can I think? This could be some sort of divine intervention to make sure Beth has her family together."

"Beth will have her family no matter who ends up together. We all love that little girl too much to let her have a bad life."

She pushed the superficial thoughts about her relationship woes to the back of her mind. "You're right and that's so important. Really this is all about Beth. She's getting her father back today."

"I'm glad. It will be good for the both of them."

"I think so too. Gives Sam something real to hold on to since he's so hazy about so much stuff in his life." He needed a real connection to 2014 and Beth could be the perfect way to make that happen.

"He'll have you too. Sam's going to find out he has a family that loves him."

"I'm a little nervous about it all. What if he is disappointed that I'm his wife?"

Mercedes often felt like she didn't measure up to the women in his past. What if Sam had always hoped for someone better as a wife? She highly doubted that he would ever pick her out of a lineup given the chance.

"You just told me he already asked you out. And what about all that not just talking you did last night?"

There was that, but Mercedes was also the only woman around at this point. Once he was back on his feet, he could have anyone he wanted, including the one that got away it seemed.

"There was a whole lot of kissing. This is true. We could hardly keep our hands off each other."

Sex had never been their issue. Mercedes knew Sam wanted her pretty early on. It was everything else she doubted. A relationship couldn't last with just sexual attraction.

"Did I just hear you right? You were kissing Sam?" Julian asked as he walked into the waiting room.

"Dad!" Mercedes exclaimed jumping up, her face burning with embarrassment.

Of all the things for her father to overhear, why did it have to be that?

Next chapter - Sam and Dr. Hill