DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN GLEE NOR ANYTHING ELSE.
ENJOY :)
Mercedes moved around in the bed when she heard the alarm go off beside her. Madison was coming back from her trip today with Stevie and Stacey and she couldn't be any happier to see her. Opening her eyes, she saw Sam come from out of the bathroom with a towel wrapped around his waist, "Hey."
Sam looked up from drying his wet hair with a towel, smiling at her as he walked towards the bed, "Hey baby." He leaned down and gave her a chaste kiss on the lips.
Mercedes smiled at him, "How long do you have to be at work today?"
"I have court at ten, so I should be back at twelve." He walked into his closet, calling out to her, "Madison should be home by the same time. So you my dear have the whole morning to yourself."
"Sounds nice." She smiled just as her phone started ringing. Reaching over to grab it from the table, she smiled when she saw it was Maverick calling. She clicked the answer button as she set the phone up in front of her, "Hey baby.."
Maverick smiled when his mom came in view, "Hey mama."
Mercedes scrunched up her face when she notice where he was, "Why are you at the airport?"
"Oh, Brent and I are coming home early. He got sick and he didn't want to ruin the trip for everyone else, so we decided to come back." He turned the camera towards a pale looking Brent.
Brent waved weakly, "Hey Ms. Jones..you're still looking hot." He cough into his elbow, sniffling hard.
"Oh my god..sweetheart." Mercedes looked at him worriedly, "What's wrong?"
Maverick turned the phone back to him, "I took him to the emergency room last night and the doctor said he came down with a seasonal cold. They gave him some meds and said he will start feeling better in a couple days."
"Poor baby." Mercedes pouted a little as she moved some of her hair back, "What time is your flight?"
"Our plane boards in a few minutes, so we should be there by one."
Mercedes nodded, "Okay baby, take care of him and have a safe flight. I'll be there to pick y'all up. Love you."
"I will mom. Love you too."
"Love you Ms. Jones." Brent said as he laid his head down on Maverick's shoulder.
"Bye babies." She blew them a kiss before she hung up the phone, tossing it in the bed. She watched as Sam came out of the closet fully dressed.
"What happened?" He asked as looked in the mirror to straighten up his tie.
"Brent got sick, so him and Mav are coming home today."
"That sucks. I hope he's alright." Sam turned to her with a smile, "I'll see you later." He leaned down and kissed her lips softly.
"Good luck." She kissed his cheek.
"Thank you. I love you." He said as he grabbed his briefcase and walked out the room.
"Love you." She called out as she buried herself back in the cover, deciding to get a little nap in before she picked up the boys.
Sam anxiously tapped his fingers against the table as they waited for the jury to come back with a verdict. He was sure that it was going to come back not guilty because he client was in fact not guilty. He was just in the wrong place at the wrong time and evidence proved that. Hearing the bailiff announce their arrival, he stood up, patting his client shoulder for him to get up. When the judge asked the juror did they reach a decision, the man nodded and read off the paper. Sam turned to his client with a big smile on his face when they came back with a not guilty verdict. His client gave him a big hug and thanked him repeatedly before he turned around and hugged his wife and sons. Sam was happy. This wasn't just about winning cases to him..it was about getting to the truth of what happened so that nobody would be sent to prison when they were innocent. He grabbed his briefcase and heading out of the courtroom. Once he got outside on the steps, he phone started to ring. Picking it out of his pocket, he frowned when he saw the number on there. He knew it was her. Quite frankly he had nothing to say to her but something was telling him to answer it anyways. He slid his finger across the answer button, "Hello."
"You have a collect call from a federal prison. Please stay on to be connected or end the call now. You will not be charged for this call."
"About time you answered your damn phone." She said in a malicious tone.
Sam rolled his eyes, "What do you want Nicole or Allison..whatever the hell you go by these days."
Nicole grunted at his attitude, "I want to see my daughter."
Sam let out a humorless laugh, "That's not happening."
She squeezed the phone tightly, "When I get out, I'm getting my daughter back."
"The fuck you are. You're never seeing her again. Ever. It will be a cold day in hell before that shit happens." He said through gritted teeth, jaw clenching tightly, "You got away with so much. I can't believed I didn't notice that you were abusing my child. But I'll be damn if I let that happen again. Stop sending your family around to try to see her because that's not happening either. And if you do get out of jail and you try to come for her, I will fucking kill you myself." He hung up the phone abruptly. He set a mental note in his head to call the prison and have them block her from calling him.
Mercedes texted Sam to let him know that she was coming back a little later because she just picked the boys up. Sitting the phone down on the counter, she turned the stove off, moving the pot of homemade chicken noodle soup to the side. She had told Maverick that Brent could stay over for the night only if it was okay with his parents.
Maverick looked at his boyfriend with concern etched across his face, "Do you need me to turn up the heat? Are you sure you don't want anymore blankets?"
Brent shook his head, head swimming with from all the questions, "Babe no..I'm fine. Relax."
Maverick sighed as he looked at him again, "Are you sure?"
"Yes Maverick.." He smiled the best him could.
Maverick nodded, "Okay, I'm going to go check on your food." He gave him one last glance before he headed to kitchen. He saw his mother pouring a large spoonful in a bowl and sitting it on the tray with crackers, "Mom, I'm going crazy."
Mercedes let out a small laugh, "Now you know how I feel when you are sick. I use to freak the hell out when you were little because I didn't know what to do." She opened the top off the bottle of ginger ale, pouring it in a glass. She turned to him, "Baby, he's going to be okay."
"I know..I'm just worried, ya know?"
"I know." She handed him the tray carefully, "All he needs now is for you to be there for him. Let the medicine do all the other work."
Maverick sighed as he took the tray from her, "Thank you."
Mercedes smiled, following him to the living room. She sat on the couch and watched how attentive and gentle her son was when it came to Brent.
Brent looked over at Mercedes, "Thank you so much Ms. Jones."
"You're welcome sweetie." Mercedes said as she tucked her lips into her mouth, fanning a little bit from the hot temperature.
Maverick looked at his mother apologetic when he saw that she was hot.
It's okay. She mouthed to him as she stood up and grabbed her purse, "I'm going to see Madison. I'll see you two later tonight." She gave them a quick smile before she hurried out the door, thanking the heavens for the cool breeze in the air.
Sam was lounging around the living room when he heard the front door open, turning his head once he heard the footsteps coming in full force. He heard Stevie tell Madi that they would be back later and he loved her.
Madison walked around the couch with a smile plastered on her face, "Daddy, I'm back."
He opened up his arms for her to come hug him. When she did, he pulled her to lay on the couch with him, kissing her forehead, "Did you have fun?"
Madison nodded as she laid her head down on his chest, "Yes..but I missed you."
"I missed you too sweetheart." He rubbed her back gently, "Are you hungry?"
"Yes."
Sam gripped her as he stood up from the couch, holding her in his arms as he walked to the kitchen. He sat her down on the counter, "How about some Mac n cheese?"
"How about no." Mercedes said as she came into the kitchen.
Madison reached out for her, "Mama."
Mercedes smiled as she hugged the little girl, "I missed you so much."
"I missed you too." She hugged back tightly.
Sam smiled before he realized what Mercedes said, "Why no?"
"Because.." Mercedes said as she kissed Madison's forehead, looking at her boyfriend, holding up the bag, "I brought us some Chinese food."
"Yes." Madison said quietly. She loved her dad to pieces but his macaroni always came out too mushy.
"I thought you loved my macaroni and cheese?" He glared playfully at his daughter.
Madison bit down on her lip as she looked at him through her lashes, "I do daddy but sometimes.."
"The noodles are overcooked Sam and it's mushy." Mercedes interrupted, sending a wink to Madison. She knew that the little girl didn't want to hurt Sam's feelings so she helped her out.
Sam looked at them in shock, folding his arms, "Why didn't y'all tell me?"
"I didn't want you to be mad at me for saying that." Madison said as she looked at him, feeling her eyes prick up with tears, "I'm so sorry daddy. Please don't be mad at me."
"Muffin, I'm not mad." Sam said, frowning a little. Madison was very sensitive and he knew that she acted that way because of how Nicole treated her. Madison was always careful and would apologize for the littlest things and Sam hated that she felt the need to do that. He wiped her tears, kissing her cheek softly, "I will never be mad at you sweetheart. Never." He smoothed down her ponytail and picked her off the counter, sitting her carefully down on her feet, "Go wash your hands so you can eat."
Madison nodded as she turned and walked towards the downstairs bathroom, wiping her face with her arm.
Mercedes leaned against the counter as she watched on. She couldn't help but feel the sadness when she saw Madison start to cry.
Sam sighed as he turned back to Mercedes, "She messed my daughter up emotionally, Mercedes. It pisses me off that every little thing that happens, a spill of milk or even dropping something from the table, she thinks she have to apologize for it."
"I know baby." She walked over and hugged him, leaning up to kiss him on the cheek, "She's going to be alright Sam. You just have to continue that let her know that you are not her." She tugged at the front of his shirt, "Maybe you should take her to a therapist. It could be really good for her to talk to someone other than you about what happened. It's helping Maverick out a lot. "
"I've been thinking about that for awhile." Sam said honestly, "I'll call someone tomorrow."
"Hold on." She unwrapped herself from him and walked to her purse, opening the zipper part, she pulled out a card and walked back to him, "My friend specializes in child psychology and he's really good. All the information is on there, just tell him that I sent you. He owes me a favor anyways."
Sam took the card from her and sent her a warm smile, "You're seriously the best. Thank you." He leaned down and kissed her lips softly.
Mercedes smiled, "You're welcome." She saw Madison come back and she went to her, picking her up, "Pretty girls don't cry okay?" When she nodded, she kissed her cheek, "Lets eat because I'm starving." She walked them over to the table and sat her down, opening up the bag to take the boxes out. She gave Madison a pair of chopstick like she always did and started to fix her plate for her.
Madison watched quietly as Mercedes fixed her plate, not chancing a glance at Sam.
Sam reached over and grabbed her hand, "I'm not mad sweetheart. I swear I'm not." He rubbed the back of her hand, "I promise that I will get Cedes to help me cook some not so mushy macaroni one day, okay?"
Madison laughed lowly, nodding her head, "Okay."
Mercedes smiled as she fixed Sam a plate. She knew that everything was going to be just fine between those two.
Brent sighed for the thousandth time as Maverick looked at him. He knew he was worried but it wasn't like he was dying. He had stayed the night with him and this morning he was going to take him home, "Can you stop looking at me like that?"
"I'm sorry." He said as he scanned his face again, "You still look sick."
"That's because I am but I'm feeling a lot better than I was yesterday." He stood up from Maverick's bed and grabbed a shirt from one of Maverick's draws to put on.
Maverick smiled at the back him, "Well if you're feeling better than yesterday, can I get a kiss? I haven't kissed my boyfriend in four days, three hours, twenty-nine minutes and.." He looked at his watch, "...five seconds."
Brent doubled over in laughter, "Seriously Mav? You've been counting?" He shook his head, "No you can not kiss me because I do not want you to get sick."
"I don't care about getting sick." He shrugged lightly before getting off the bed.
Brent pointed at him, "No."
Maverick let out a sly smirk as he walked towards him, "Just one.."
"No.."
He backed him up against the wall, his lips hovering over his, leaving just a small peck on his lips.
Brent took the palm of his hand and smushed his face away, "You're so hardheaded."
Mercedes knocked on Maverick's door and opened, "Hey I-woah." She stopped when she saw them in the corner, "I'll just come back."
"Mom..we weren't doing anything." Maverick said, feeling his face starting to heat up.
"Actually you were." Brent said with a smirk before he turned to Mercedes, "He continually tried to kiss me when I told him not to ."
"Maverick." Mercedes said in shock, "God I thought you were a gentleman."
"Mama.." He groaned, feeling the tip of his ears burning up.
Mercedes laughed at his embarrassment, "I'm kidding but I do need for you to come downstairs before you take Brent home. I need to talk to you about something." She turned and walked out of his room.
"Okay." He watched as she left with a confused look on his face, he turned to Brent who just shrugged and laid back down in his bed. He headed out the room and down the stairs, "Mom..nothing happen-" He stopped once he saw Sam and Madison, "Hey guys."
Madison waved at him. She was still kind of quiet from yesterday. Sam tried to reassure her that she did nothing wrong but she still felt like she did.
"Hey Maverick." Sam smiled at the young boy before he moved to stand by Mercedes
"Why don't you two have a seat." Mercedes waited for them to sit down on the couch, "Sam and I have something to ask you and Madi."
Maverick and Madison looked at each other and back at their parents.
Sam looked at Mercedes, "Since Mercedes and I have been seeing each other for awhile and we're completely in love." He grabbed her hand, "I ask her something this weekend that is going affect all of us."
Madison's eyes brightened, "Are y'all getting married?"
Mercedes chuckled at her excitement, "No..not yet." She smirked over at Sam before turning back serious, "What would you two think about us living together?"
"Like in one house? All of us?" Maverick asked a little confused.
"Yeah..that is if you want too." Sam looked between the three, "Your mom was hesitant about it at first, which I can understand. I don't want to do anything that would make y'all uncomfortable."
Madison felt like she was going to burst from the happiness that was boiling inside of her. She loved the idea of being able to see Mercedes and Maverick everyday.
Maverick was trying to process everything that they were saying. He loved Madison and he looked up to Sam as a father figure. He knew that Sam was not going anywhere and that he really loved his mom. So what harm could it do? To be honest, he has actually been waiting for this to happen. He looked at them with a smile, "I'm down. I think that this would be good for us."
Mercedes let out breath she didn't even know she was holding.
Sam turned to his daughter, "What about you sweetheart?"
"YES!" She yelled excitedly, looking at them as she bounced in her seat.
Sam smiled at his daughter before he turned back to Mercedes, "If you need more time, I understand."
Mercedes shook her head, "No. This is something we really want to do and I wouldn't want to do it with anyone else. We are a family now."
Sam leaned down and kissed her, "Yes we are."
Madison jumped from the couch and hugged them.
Maverick wasn't too far behind her as he stood up and went to join them also, "One big happy family."
Mercedes leaned over and kissed his forehead, "I told you we would be complete one day."
Maverick smiled at her. He was so happy that this was happening. He waited for so long for them to be really happy and now..they had a real chance at being just that.
A/N. Not going to say much, but I hope you enjoyed this update. Many more happy times and surprises coming for this family!