Chapter 13

"Thanks," said Sam, taking the beer that Puck handed him. "I really needed this," he said popping off the cap and then passing the bottle opener to Puck.

For a while there he thought his head might actually explode. Stories about his parents double crossing each other, Will cheating on his wife Emma with an old girlfriend, some bizarre love geometry that involved a lot of hurt feeling for him, multiple college girls and Quinn. Somehow Mike was mixed in. That part wasn't clear and Puck never did clarify.

The biggest shock of all was his mom's breast cancer scare. He'd almost lost his mother and he couldn't even remember it. A small blessing of his condition, Sam guessed. He could only imagine how gut wrenching it must have been for his mother during that time. His mother was always so strong, he could barely imagine her forced to be off her feet and fighting for her life.

"I figured." Puck took a seat on the floor, his back against Sam's bed.

"I'm not supposed to have it though." Sam pulled his feet up on the bed, sitting back against his mound of pillows as he sipped his beer.

"Well you always want what you can't have. Nothing new there."

Sam groaned, rolling his eyes upward. "Is it time for your sermon again?"

"Just listen and hear me out." Puck set his beer on the floor and shifted so he could get a better view of Sam up on the bed. "I know Quinn. She cares about you a great deal. Seeing you in a coma wrecked her in more ways than you can imagine."

"If you know all that why can't you believe that real feelings emerged from the experience for the both of us?"

"I do believe it. I can see your heart is stuck in a place you had long moved on from and I can see that Quinn's heart is so wrapped up in you. I sometimes wish you two could just go for it, take that chance."

Sam eyed Puck skeptically. "What a crock. All you've been saying is that Quinn and I shouldn't be together. You don't think I'm good enough for her."

"I never said that. Believe it or not, I think you're a good man Sam. You have flaws, like we all do, but I'm not going to support you with Quinn when I know you have a wife. However, if we take Mercedes out of the equation for a moment, I know you'd do everything in your power to make Quinn happy."

"That's good of you to say. I know how much you and Quinn have been through. It can't be easy talking about this with me, but thank you."

"Don't thank me yet because I'm not done." He took a swallow of beer. "While I do think you'd try to make her happy, I don't think you'd be able to."

There was always more with his family. No one could just wish him well and move on. There was always a catch.

"Why? Because only you can?"

"Because Quinn knows you and deep down she'd know that she really wasn't who you wanted."

Sam sighed. "That Mercedes stuff is in the past. I don't remember her."

He got that it was hard to grasp. Change was never easy, but the way he felt before his coma didn't much matter anymore. Not just because he couldn't remember it, but also because life had marched on. He was a father now, before the crash he hadn't been. That right there was enough to change the direction of his life. Even if he hadn't been comatose, having Beth might have altered his relationship with Mercedes. There was just no way of knowing what could have been, all they could do was focus on the how life was now, and the now had him aligned with Quinn.

"Wouldn't matter," Puck countered. "Quinn remembers and she isn't going to allow herself to be caught up with a man that loves his wife."

Under normal circumstances what Puck was saying might have been true. Quinn was never one to break her moral code, and the sanctity of marriage definitely was high up on her moral list, but this was about them. What they could have together, what they had always had between them, was beyond accepted morality.

She pulled back her hand lingering on his cheek, a sad smile on her face.

"Quinn?" he asked, confused since just a moment ago they had been caught up in passion.

"I'm tired Sam," she said softly as she climbed across the bed to the opposite side, lying down with her back to him.

How had their night turned into this? When they had first arrived at the Holiday Inn the air was filled with anticipation, finally they were together, anything was possible. Now it was like they were facing the gallows, the air thick and stale with regret and disappointments of dreams they may never get to realize.

"We can make this work," he said moving to rest behind her. He scooted close to her, but didn't make contact. He could see her whole body tense from his nearness. "I'm not going to let my father stop us from having a life together."

"There's more than one way to be together." She turned to face him, her green eyes seeming to glow even in the near darkness.

"How do you mean?" he asked. He let his fingers wrap around a few of the blonde curls at the end of her hair.

"We used to be such good friends, so close. I think we might have been better at being friends than lovers."

"I think that's because we didn't really try, from what you've told me about us, we seemed to just let go."

"Could be, but I know I valued our friendship so much. I counted on it. Never wanted to lose it," she said squeezing his arm as if she were trying to hold him there in front of her.

"You'll always have it." He smiled, planting a soft kiss on her forehead. "We can have that and more."

"When I found out you were dating Penny while dating me it felt like my heart was being ripped out. You were keeping things from me when I thought we were sharing everything,"

"Quinn I'm sorry I don't know why I did that."

"I'm not telling you that so you can apologize. I'm trying to get you to understand. It hurt to know you were with another woman when I thought you were trying to build a relationship with me."

"I'm sorry you ever had to feel like that." Sam rolled onto his back, pulling Quinn with him to rest on his chest. His intention to give her space completely forgotten, he needed her close.

"Somehow we survived all that drama and managed to keep our friendship intact. We really supported each other. You were there holding my hand while I dealt with my miscarriage, and I was holding yours when you thought Mercedes was cheating on you, we held on to each other. We were each other's support systems. You were my rock."

"I still want to be here for you, don't push me away."

"I'm not pushing you away." She sat up slightly to look at him, one hand leaning on his chest for balance. "Don't you see Sam? I want you in my life. I want my best friend back, because I have missed him so much. I need you here with me, holding my hand."

He gripped her hand threading his fingers through hers. "You got me. I'm not going anywhere."

"And you have me too. I'm going to hold your hand through this, the next nine months and beyond."

"Quinn..." he began shaking his head. He knew what she was about to say.

"Sam stop fighting it. You know what you have to do. Go home and tell your wife about me being free and then try to find some way to make things work with her."

"I don't want to be married to her. She's not who I want."

Quinn laughed lightly, tears filling her eyes. She rested her slender hand on his cheek. "I remember a time when being married to Mercedes was all you wanted."

"That time's gone."

"What if it's not?" She ran her fingers through his cropped hair as she looked at him. "What if it is somewhere lurking under the surface and you're just not letting yourself feel it?"

"I swear I can't remember her. All I see is you." He removed her hand from his face and kissed it, soft and lingering, hoping that everything he was feeling transferred into that kiss.

"If that's true come end of the year then we'll know."

"Know what?" he asked against her hair.

"If all of this we're feeling is meant to be and not just some weird byproduct of missing each other." Quinn wrapped her arm across his body, and squeezed him tightly, holding him there.

"I don't need nine months. I know this is real. I feel it in my bones, to my core."

"But how about to your soul?" she asked. He could feel her tears on his chest.

"What?"

"After you and Mercedes broke up, you told me that she was a part of you, that you felt her in your soul, and that's how you knew the two of you would never truly be over. Kind of hurt me to hear that because I knew you never felt that way about me, and I guess I always thought I was the one with the special place in your life, maybe in your soul. Turns out I was wrong."

Sam sat up abruptly, positioning Quinn in his arms so he could look directly into her eyes. "You weren't wrong. I feel that way about you. I always have." Both hands on her face, holding her head steady, forcing her to keep his gaze. "Look at us now, after all of that we've been through, together and apart, we're still close. You've never left my heart."

"I want to believe that," she said in almost a whisper. She looked away as she swiped at her tears.

"Believe it. Believe in me. When I truly love someone, that doesn't just fade. I can't just erase those feelings from my heart. They are a part of me."

He leaned to kiss her, wanting her to feel what he was saying was real, but she shifted way, rolling onto her side, leaving him to stare at her gray silk covered back.

"I know. That's why you need to go home and face things, because Mercedes is not erased either, she's still inside of you, even if you don't want her to be."

"That's not true. It can't be," he said still staring at her back.

"Guess we'll see for sure in nine months."

"I might never get my memory back Puck. We have to prepare for that."

"Still won't matter in the end."

Puck was so resolute. Sam could tell he really believe in what he was saying.

"I think you're wrong. Like you said, people change, life changes us. After what we've been through, Quinn and I both know that we can't waste time." He just had to convince her to let go and take a chance.

"I know and it'll feel good until reality sets in."

"How the hell do you know about any of this? You can't predict the future."

Puck was preaching like Yoda, but he didn't have a clue about any of it. He'd never been stuck in a marriage to a woman he didn't know while wanting to be with someone else. He'd never been carted off to a mental ward, locked away from everyone he knew and loved. Everything Puck said made sense in theory, but Sam was immersed in reality and from what he learned so far, things were anything but black and white. Under other circumstances, Sam might have let his head prevail over his heart, but facing death had changed him and he had to start living his life at max speed. It could all be over in an instant. That's another reason he needed to see Quinn tonight, to remind her that nine months without each other, without pursing their feelings could be too long to risk. Nothing was promised in this life.

"No, but I can speak from experience. You see I've been where you are, two women one tied to my childhood, other inhabiting my soul. I had an up and down relationships with both, breaking up with one and ping ponging to the other. All because I was too scared to go for what I truly wanted." Puck smiled sadly. The subject clearly was hard for him to talk about.

"But you and Quinn ended up together, twice. So what are you getting at?"

"Santana. She was my first real girlfriend. We dated all through high school and had been my best friend since third grade. She's one of the most important people in my life and I've been using her for over ten years," he said shaking his head. "I just couldn't let go of her. I couldn't walk away even though I was in love with Quinn. I still can't walk away."

"Santana knew how you felt about Quinn and she still chose to be involved with you. You can't put it all on yourself." Sam remembered Puck being hot for Santana, but he thought it was a passing thing once he hooked up with Quinn. To be still involved all these years later was insane.

"It is on me though. It didn't matter how much I loved Quinn or how much I wanted to move on, something inside of me couldn't let go. I let her cry on my shoulder about Brittany, I supported her stupid decision to marry Dave Karofsky. I kept wrapping myself up in her problems and –"

"Her pain," Sam said completing his thought.

He stared at his bedside table where he knew that picture of him with Mercedes was hidden away in the drawer. Her smile was so bright in that photo, all her teeth showing. He'd never seen her look that way in all the time he'd known her. Shadows followed her, her smiles were fast and fleeting, and her eyes, just so much pain reflecting back at him, too much to bear.

Now he knew what those tears meant. They had to do with the accident, the coma, and with loving him. His father's deal hadn't trapped him in this spot, she had. Her sad brown eyes that looked at him like he was the most amazing thing in the world, the answer to everything, she made it hard to just walk away.

"Yeah. Santana would give me this look and it was like I was the only man in the world that could make it better. I'd hurt myself to make her world right. From the look on your face I see you understand where I'm going with this."

She had cried out in her sleep. "Sam don't leave me." Sobs in the night that did not wake her, yet could not be controlled. He pulled her tight against his chest, kissing the top of her head, whispering soothing words, telling her he was with her, that he was never leaving, that she was safe with him. Promises in the near dark of his hospital room, ones he had no right to make, but he had made them, pledging his presence until she quieted back to sleep.

He hadn't even known she was his wife then and he had wanted to take care of her, keep her close. That was partly why he had invited her to move into his room that day. He wanted her near him so he could watch out for her. Things hadn't gone as planned and he had been the one to break her down and cause her distress. Blocking her and all feelings of attachment out had been the only way he could stomach his actions, that he could live with the knowledge that he had made her cry, when just the night before he would have given anything to make all her tears stop.

"I've been trying to block her out, kind of shutting it off," Sam admitted. He had hard a time getting the words to form on his tongue.

"How's that been working out for you?" Puck asked looking him in the eyes.

Sam looked away. "You already know the answer to that."

"I guess I do, with the way you've been treating Mercedes."

Sam ran his hand down his face, then along his jaw, exhaling sharply. "I can't let her in Puck. I have to think about Beth and this thing with Quinn. It just wouldn't be fair to Mercedes."

What would be the point to get close to her, to let himself give into those feelings when ultimately he knew it was going to lead them nowhere? His future wasn't with her and pretending otherwise while he indulged in an attraction would be beyond cruel. The last thing he wanted was to hurt her even more.

"You're allowed to want her you know? She's your wife."

"No I can't," he responded quickly. Not willing to let any of Puck's last statement resonate. "Not when I know this could be it with Quinn. I have to keep her at arm's length."

"How are you going to make your marriage work at arm's length?" Puck asked after taking a gulp of beer.

"God I don't know." Sam looked over at the baby monitor on the bedside table. Beth was still fast asleep. "Sometimes I think it would be easier if I could just walk away, pack up Beth and hit the road."

Puck wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. "And leave behind both Quinn and Mercedes?"

"Yep, just me and my baby girl, on our own."

It wasn't like he wanted to spend any more time away from Quinn, but maybe it would be easier on her. She could focus on getting Beth back, like she had told him she wanted to do at the hotel. Then once the dust had settled and Quinn was back on track, the three of them could reunite as a family. Sort of like what Quinn was asking him to do anyway, deny their feelings for nine months, only this way if he were out of town maybe it wouldn't feel so much like torture. He wouldn't have to see her around and hold back. Maybe it would be easier if she were out of sight.

And out of sight would definitely be better for him, he needed to be away from haunting brown eyes, filled with love and expectations. Silently begging him to be a man he couldn't remember. Sam needed to escape Mercedes and the ways she complicated his plans for the future. Distance might help him forget his inexplicable need to take care of her, that need to wipe her tears, the pull to hold her close and keep her safe.

"You'd hurt a lot of people if you did that. Quinn and Mercedes would be devastated without you and Beth."

He flashed to an image of Beth's nursery, filled with photos of him. That was how she had survived the past nine months sitting in a room surrounded by his pictures. That was no way for someone to live, especially not someone as young as Mercedes. She'd be so much better off if he and Beth were gone then she could move on and really start living again. She had to want more for herself than to just take care of him and his daughter. With him out of the way, she could do what makes her happy, put that light back in her eyes. The least he could do was give her that back, since he was the one that had made it dim in the first place.

"I know and Beth needs to be around her family, but maybe things would be easier if I were gone."

Puck's face grew hard and cold as he gripped the beer bottle in his hand, his knuckles whitening around it "You selfish son of a bitch. I should knock you out for saying that."

"You'd really hit me right now?" Sam frowned. "I'm trying to be straight with you."

Puck continued to glare at him but made no moves to physically back up his threat. "That's what I'm afraid of. That you'll go off half-cocked and do something stupid."

"I'm not going anywhere. I'm just thinking out loud," he said quietly.

He'd lost enough of his life, he wasn't going to willingly give up any more of it. It was all just a big what if, an impossible daydream.

"Good you need to stop with the selfish thinking. Quinn's got a long road ahead of her, a person just doesn't bounce back from the things she's done. She's going to have to learn to live with it all and that will be hard in this town. People have long memories and unforgiving hearts in Lima. And Cede may seem like she's handling it all, but most days I have to remind her to eat. She doesn't sleep, she just keeps pushing herself harder to act like everything's normal."

Sam's stomach dropped. "I get it Puck. Things were rough on both of them."

"I don't think you do. There's stuff you don't know about. It's like Cede went into a coma with you, she sort of shut down and started to wither away. The only thing that saved her was Beth. If she didn't have her, I'm not sure if she'd even be functioning now."

The sick feeling in the pit of Sam's stomach intensified as he remembered the way Mercedes looked when he was recovering in the hospital, tired, drawn, sad. He'd thought she was just dealing with the stresses of being a new mother and a deadbeat husband. He had even wanted to save her from all of that and give her a vacation. Little had he known that he was the deadbeat she was shackled with. Now he was back and things didn't seem much better for her. She still seemed weary and sad.

"I'm here now. I'm going to step up with Beth and take some of that stress off of her so she can relax."

"You just don't get it. Her whole life has been about you and Beth. She's been waiting for you to wake up and come back to her. Now you're sitting here telling me that leaving town with Beth is going to relieve her stress? Get real Sam."

"Mercedes is not Beth's mother. Quinn should be the one taking care of her. It isn't right that they're separated."

"Sam, I know it must seem so simple to you, a baby needs her mother, so therefore Quinn should be with Beth, but there's more to it than that."

"Tell me what I'm missing, Puck. Everyone's hinting, but no one's coming out with it. I'm tired of the secrets."

"I'm not sure you're ready to hear it." Puck seemed reluctant to proceed.

"If it's about Quinn or my child, I need to," Sam urged, hoping that Puck would finally be the one person in his life that would be completely direct with him.

"Okay let's talk about Quinn. While you were in a coma she took all the heat for your affair on her own. She had to live in this town with people talking about her behind her back, making snap judgments, and then when everything went down with Beth, the media crucified her. Now I never would've expected you to stick by her after what she did, but maybe it wouldn't have gotten to that point if she had her best friend around."

He'd forgotten about the media. They'd always been a presence in his life but rarely had they taken great interest in his personal associations. There was always a respectful distance maintained. Things must have changed tremendously while he was in the coma. He guessed since he couldn't speak up for himself and tell the papers to back off, they took open season on all the players in his life. A love triangle, a baby out of wedlock, and a coma patient were just too much for them to resist.

"Never doubt my loyalty," Sam said, the words sounding forceful even to his own ears. "I definitely would've stuck by Quinn through anything."

"I know you think that, but everyone has their limits."

"Not me. Not with Quinn." He'd always stood by her through anything, even dumping him for his own cousin. Supporting her was the one constant in his life, like the sun and the moon.

"You went off on Mercedes pretty bad when you found out about some of the things she'd done."

So kind of him to bring up his less than stellar moments at every opportunity, his ego would never swell with Puck around.

"Mercedes is not Quinn. Besides it was how Mercedes handled things. She lied to my face, presenting herself in one light then, making me feel one way about her, and then she'd drop these bombs that made me unable to trust anything she said. If she'd just been straight with me -"

"She's human Sam" said Puck cutting him off. "She was scared of your reaction, and from what went down she was totally right to be. You don't think Quinn has those same fears?"

"Quinn knows she can tell me anything."

Last night, she had already shared so much about what she had been going through during the time he had forgotten. That closeness, that trust had not been lost in the past three years and it comforted Sam greatly to know that some things would never change.

"Quinn has been through a lot she may not be ready to share all of that with you. There was real pain in her life all these months without you. She was so lost, and I couldn't bring her back." His voice hitched, as he let his head fall back against the bed, his gaze on the ceiling. "I couldn't help her Sam. I wasn't who she needed." Puck turned and looked at Sam, his hazel eyes clouded with pain.

"I'm sorry that I wasn't around. I hate that I ended up in a coma. I would've given anything to be here and of use to my family instead."

"It wasn't your fault, but if you run away, it's all on you. That would be unforgivable." He looked at Sam, his eyes darkening with a warning.

"You don't think I know how alone and scared Quinn was? You don't think I see those dark circles under Mercedes's eyes. I know something's wrong," said Sam in a rush of words. It was just like Puck to assume he was too oblivious to know what was happening to the people in his life.

"If you know all that, why the fuck are you talking about leaving town?" Puck asked bitterly. "I can't believe you'd turn your back on everyone that needs you."

"Come on Puck." Sam put his hand on Puck's shoulder, giving it a slight squeeze. "You know me better than that. I know I have responsibilities."

"Just making sure. Who knows how much falling on your head impaired you."

"Nice. Pick on the sick guy." Sam laughed.

"I don't think you can play the sick card anymore." He rubbed his jaw. "That punch hurt."

"Well I always could take you down," Sam said grinning. "Sick or healthy wouldn't matter."

"Again with the revisionist history. I was the one that always beat you up, made you run crying to your mommy." They both laughed, the mood lightening between them considerably.

"Puck do you realize we've spent years of our lives together right under this roof?"

"Yep we've been through a lot together."

"Remember when you used to come in my room and sleep at the end of my bed when you got scared after watching horror movies?"

"Uh, you got that backwards. You came into my room. Slasher movies didn't scare me, but you would scream any time you saw Freddy Krueger."

"I will neither confirm nor deny that statement," said Sam with a straight face.

Puck chuckled, shaking his head. "Your secret's safe with me. Hey, remember our fort?"

"Yep right out there in the hall." A smile spread on Sam's face as he pictured their hideout. "We made it with sheets and blankets."

"We'd get in there with our flashlights and comic books."

"Drove my dad crazy because he had to use the back stairs to get down to his office." His father always grumbled whenever they built their fort but he never made them take it down.

"We had good times as kids."

"Fishing with Will," said Sam.

Puck shifted around in his seat on the floor to face Sam fully, his elbow resting on the bed. "Those random road trips with your dad and Aunt Elizabeth."

Before their aunt married Burt Hummel and had Kurt, she used to be a large presence in Sam and Puck's lives. His father's youngest sister, the heart of the Evans family and definitely his father's conscience. After Aunt Elizabeth died everything changed a light went out in their family, the mansion became the mausoleum it is today, and his father's permeant scowl took up residence. Even Puck didn't last long after that, staying with Julian with more frequency until finally he just moved in with him, leaving Sam alone in the big house with his father and mother's constant fighting.

"I still think he was using us as drug mules by the way. Why did we always end up at the Canadian border?"

"Last I checked rice krispy treats weren't an illicit substance."

"Maybe he laced them. He always fed them to us in the car." Without fail, they each got a rice krispy treat square and a juice box when they embarked on each trip.

"That's because of my mom. Uncle Dwight said she used to make them."

"You never told me that before."

Puck's eyes fell to his lap. "Felt weird talking about her because I didn't get to know her before she up and left. I figured you would think I was nuts for telling you stories about essentially a stranger."

"She's your mom. She's a part you, those kinds of bonds are so strong. You didn't need to know her to love her."

Sam hadn't known her either. His Aunt Sarah was just a smiling face in a frame. He used to stare at her photo sometimes and make up stories about what she might've been like. All this time it never occurred to him that Puck was probably doing the same.

They both were silent for a bit, lost in their private memories. "I'm so glad Beth has you back," Puck said finally. "I would hate for her to have had to go through what I did not having either of my parents. Though Julian was an amazing stand-in. He treats me like his own."

"I think to him, you are his own. He sees you as his son."

"That's how Cede sees Beth you know? You never would've had to worry about her being taken care of."

Sam picked up the baby monitor and zoomed the camera in on his sleeping daughter. Pale blond hair, puffing cheeks, and her fist curled up by her mouth, Sam could have watched that sight all night. He wasn't worried about Mercedes and her abilities as a surrogate mother, she was great in the role, with her endless lists, her specially decorated nursery, and stories told just for his baby. Quinn was the one he worried for. It bothered him that she was missing out on moments she could never get back.

"She's so good with her. That's part of what makes things so hard. It's like Beth doesn't miss her mother because she feels like she's always had one in Mercedes."

"I think Beth does miss Quinn. Life will be good for her once she gets back, but in the meantime she's very loved and that's not a bad thing."

"Puck I really need you to believe that I wouldn't abandon my family. I was just talking before. I'll always be here for Beth and Quinn."

Family meant everything to him, always had. He came from an unconventional and ruthless lot, that tended to criticize and degrade over displaying affection, but he still loved them. Not that he was much different, he was just as dysfunctional as they were. He could be rash and flighty at times, following whims instead of thinking things through, short tempered and quick tongued, but with his family he always tried to be accessible and reliable.

"What about Mercedes?" Puck asked.

Sam sighed. "You'll look after her right? Make sure she's safe?"

"Of course, I've been looking out for both Quinn and Mercedes since you got sick, before then, but as much as I hate to admit this, me being around is not much help. I'm a poor substitute for you. They both need you."

He needed another beer. "It's not like I can split myself in half. I've got to make a choice."

"Not tonight you don't. Not even this month. Take some time and get to know what your life is like now."

Sam hesitated, momentarily warring with himself about whether he should share this with Puck. He didn't want his cousin to make too much of the news.

"I asked Mercedes if I could move back in," said Sam taking the plunge and putting it out there.

"That's a terrible idea."

"What? You said I should get to know her."

That was a surprise. Sam was sure that Puck would be pleased with this turn of events. He had been pushing for him to make an effort with Mercedes.

"Yeah at a safe distance, not lying next to her in bed where you'll be all kinds of tempted."

Sam ran a hand through his hair, confused. "You said I can't keep her at arm's length."

"I meant emotionally. Physically you need to keep your hands in your pockets. I don't want you sleeping with her then a few months from now Quinn is released and you toss her like trash."

Man, Puck was diehard in this big brother role. He was acting like he had just said he wanted to have a one night stand with her. Technically since he and Mercedes were married, Sam had every right to sleep with her if he wanted, which he didn't. Sex would just make this big mess that was his life even worse.

"I wouldn't do that." Puck shot him a look. "I care about her. There's this thing between us I just can't shake."

Somewhere between attraction and sympathy was something more, something deeper. Whenever he looked at her he could physically feel her pain, almost as if it were his own. He had a constant need, an ache really, to take care of her and keep her safe. No amount of denial had been able to turn those feelings off.

"Finally he admits it." Puck stood up abruptly, a smile on his face. "It's about damn time, because you weren't fooling anybody. Every time I mentioned Finn's name this vein right here." Puck tapped Sam's forehead. "Would pop out."

"Stop playing around," he said, slapping Puck's hand away. "This is hard for me. Things are complicated."

"Poor Sam. He has a wife and he likes her," Puck teased, still smiling.

"Yes, I like Mercedes. There I said it. But I love Quinn and that's the problem. I don't want to hurt her Puck."

Sam looked up at Puck, feeling a bit like a weight had been lifted from his chest, but he could clearly see another one looming to take its place. Caring about Mercedes only made things worse.

"So please take my advice and stay away."

"I can't do that. I am forced to make this work, for real, but if the time comes and I get my chance with Quinn, I'm going to have to take it. No matter how I feel about Mercedes, what's between me and Quinn is -"

A slight creak from the floor diverted Sam's attention to the door, stopping him mid-sentence.

There she stood in the doorway, black curly hair wild about her head, no shoes, tear streaked face, her brown eyes wide like saucers.

"How long have you been standing there?" asked Sam, standing up.

She crossed her arms over her chest. "Don't let me interrupt. Please continue that thought. I'm riveted."