This is my version of Gimme Me a Break Glee style sorta like my The Brady Bunch/Evans Eight. A lot will be changed. I am not flipping Mercedes with Nell. And there is no way Sam could be the Chief but the premise will be the same. Don't think I will ever finish writing this reminds me of the tale I did on rape with Brittany with cancer and that caused me a lot of tears.
Prologue
"Quinn, how could you marry Sam Freaking Evans?"
"Mercedes, everybody was coupled up and with Puck suffering from PTSD from the military and committing suicide, I was lonely and alone and he was the only one there to grieve with me."
"Still, Quinn, I couldn't leave the tour for a non-relative death. It was my first headlining tour. I was nobody's opening act, or I would have been there for you. Even though we have had breaks and pauses in our friendship, we have always sworn to be soul sistas. "Hey Soul Sister" is still my ringtone for you, and I thought you felt the same way."
"You know I felt the same way. Sam Evans has always been in love with you. It was just lust and a childhood crush with me. I know this, you know this, and he knows this. You two just were not willing to compromise to try and make your relationship work. Plus you and I know how Black Twitter, The Shade Room, and Wendy Williams would have come for you for marrying an ex underage teenage stripper turned underwear model, turned high school assistant coach who took ten years to get his teacher's certificate only to decide to become a police officer. You had a reputation to protect and Sam never gave you the option to choose him over your success. You are a millionaire, actress, singer, and dancing star, and Sam wanted to wait until you won a Grammy and proposed, but you decided to go into acting winning a Tony for that Dreamgirls revival. You were New York, London, LA, and sometimes Atlanta based but Lima nor Lexington were never on your radar and you know this."
"Yeah, yeah, but those places were never on your radar either."
"Well Puck's mental illness and suicide derailed my acting career and I started to write. I could write from anywhere and coming back home with my mom, your mom, and even Sue helped me out when I was almost going to lose my mind. Sam just happened to be the only one still in Lima. When his mom was diagnosed with cancer, he immediately put in his notice, resigned, and moved back to Kentucky. He wasn't certified to teach there, so he got a job as a school resource police officer after attending the police academy.
"I was sorry to hear about Mama Mary. This all happened when Dreamgirls was in London, or I would have come to support the family. How is she doing now?"
"She is in her second round of remission. So all is well. Sam and I became closer and closer and I eventually moved to Lexington to support him. He was friendless. And we decided on having a marriage of convenience. It was when his mother wanted to see him settled before she died and we were now best of friends so why not get married. We both know we weren't in love, but romantic love does not make a relationship last. Mutual dreams, ambitions, respect, and friendship can make a relationship work. I am 33 years old and my eggs are getting old you know."
"Well, congratulations to you both. I am glad you told me about this before I heard it through the Glee grapevine. It hurts I won't lie, but I made my choices in life and I only have the one regret which is my relationship with Sam, but if you two are happy, then I will try to be happy for both of you."
"Thanks, Mercedes, I am sorry you won't be able to make it to the reception. We just had a small ceremony at Mary's and Dwight's home. We were going to invite everyone for the reception following our 15-year class reunion, but I saw that you sent your regrets, and I just wanted you to hear everything from me."
"Well, if I was there, I would sing Adele and wish nothing but the best for both of you."
Chapter One
"Mercedes, I am sorry. You have vocal cord paresis also known as vocal paralysis of one of your vocal cords. You will never be able to sing professionally again. You are going to have to go through vocal therapy. If your improvement is not satisfactory after three months, I will highly recommend surgery to change the position of the affected vocal cord. During the surgery, I can also add bulk by injecting the vocal cord with collagen, body fat or some other substance to bring the paralyzed cord closer to the cord that is not paralyzed. This allows the cords to vibrate enough to make sounds."
Mercedes used her Macbook to write down her thoughts to the doctor who had put on her vocal rest for the tenth time thinking she had vocal cord nodules again, but instead it was a lot worst. After scheduling her therapy she left the doctor's office feeling depressed, discouraged, and most of all distraught but unable to vocalize her feelings.
She ended up texting her manager, publicist, record label, and agent her news. When she finally was able to schedule meetings that would include the adapted technology of text to talk, she texted her mother. Her mother encouraged her to move back home and by the end of their conversation, Mercedes knew she was going to have to come back home and face her father who she disappointed when she left home at eighteen to pursue her dream of becoming a recording artist.
It took exactly six months for Mercedes to hire a packing company, list homes for sale, and donate furniture and clothing to homeless shelters, thrift stores, and her favorite charity A Place Called Home. By the time, she was able to move back home, she was doing better because of not just surgery and vocal therapy but also mental health therapy.
Losing her ability to sing was likened to losing a child. She was going through the stages of grief while volunteering for children who were mute and learning American Sign Language. Being around others less fortunate than herself, helped Mercedes the most. It made her realize what a gift of having a full voice for 35 years was.
Back in Lima, Mercedes mended her relationship slowly with her parents. There were no I told you so's or recriminations. Just her parents being there for her and supporting her through her journey of ups and downs and helping her redirect her energies in encouraging her to use her fame, her journey, and her money to visit schools, hospitals, and use her skill with sign language to substitute teach at the Haverbrook and work with their choir. Mercedes became so adept at sign language that she was asked by her church to provide her expertise in signing the entire church service even though she was able to speak clearly now after all of her medical procedures and healing. She could carry a tune but full voice singing was something that she would never be able to do again.
Because Lima and Lexington were close, Quinn became the sister that Mercedes needed. The two would often meet in Cincinnati and have lunch when their schedules permitted. Quinn had finally become pregnant after two years of trying, and Mercedes was excited to be the godmother to the twins that she had conceived with in vitro fertilization. Mercedes helped Quinn design the nursery and threw her a baby shower.
While Quinn and Mercedes grew closer, Sam became more distant. He was recently promoted to chief of police and was working a lot, and he was rarely at home, so Mercedes rarely saw him. When she did see him, it was like he would look straight through her. Unbeknownst to Mercedes, Sam and Quinn disagreed on the two becoming close friends again. Quinn knew Sam's heart was broken by Mercedes on more than one occasion, and she knew he had some unforgiveness towards her, but they were happily married now and expecting their first children. She tried to help him get over it but finally gave up when Sam began to work longer hours to just avoid her and her endless conversations with her best friend/soul sister.
After the twins' birth, Quinn begged Mercedes to come to Lexington and help her out. Mercedes was hesitant because she knew how their friendship had put a strain on her friends' marriage. Even though Sam Evans didn't want to be in the same room as her, she still saw him as her friend. When she diagnosed with vocal paralysis, Sam had been along with Quinn one of her biggest cheerleaders. It wasn't until she moved to Lima and sorta picked up where he left off with being involved in education and a show choir that he had begun to distanced himself away from her.
At first, Mercedes thought it was jealousy over the amount of time she was spending with Quinn. Then when she noticed he was distanced from Quinn as well, she thought he might be going through a premature mid-life crisis. She didn't force her presence into their lives, Quinn wanted her there and being there for each other helped the both of them and if Sam Evans couldn't take it, then Mercedes didn't care.
But living with them and helping them with the twins did cause Mercedes a moment of reflection. She turned down Quinn's offer of staying at their house instead she chose to stay with Sam's parents because even though she was no longer performing, she didn't want to live in a hotel with fans and people reminding her that she was famous. She only wanted to be the new Mercedes Jones and not be reminded of her past.
Mercedes stayed with the senior Evans for a month helping Quinn out along with Mary Evans when Sam was at work. The twin girls were not identical. One twin had dark hair and looked a lot like Quinn and the other had blonde hair and looked like Stacy Evans who resembled her brother a lot. Quinn and Sam named the girls Samantha Julie and Katherine Merie Evans. They were known by their nicknames of Sammy J and Katie. Sammy J was the brunette and Katie was the blonde and they were both spoiled rotten by their parents, grandparents, and godparents (Mercedes, Kurt, and Blaine).
When Quinn was the first to turn 36, the two friends celebrated by taking the twins and going to see The Lion King on Broadway. While on the trip, Mercedes noticed her friend looking pale, thin, and basically unhealthy. Not wanting to say anything alarming around the girls, Mercedes waited until the twins were asleep and finally sat down and had a conversation with her best friend.
"Girl, you don't look okay. I know that I have experienced the middle-aged spread now that I am no longer performing and in the public eye. I work out but genetics don't play and this butt of mine is going nowhere. But you are the opposite. You are looking like something is wrong. Please tell me the truth Quinn are you sick?"
"You need to stop you are like a fine wine Mercedes Jones and are looking better with age. You still look like the Same Cedes who I first saw as a freshman. I, on the other hand, am not black, so I crack."
"It's more than the wrinkles Quinn. It is your energy, your paleness, and your extreme thinness."
"I didn't want to tell you not tonight. I wanted us to just enjoy the city the girls' first trip to New York City as Brittlers seeing their first musical. I want to have as many firsts with them as possible."
"What the hell do you mean as many first as possible? The girls are only eighteen months old. How many firsts do you think they can have with you in this crazy timeline you are giving yourself as if you are dying."
"I am going to die Mercedes. I am undergoing chemotherapy but the doctors have given me the odds and they are not good. I am stage IV."
"You do not have cancer. You would have told me if you had cancer. I tell you everything Quinn and unfortunately, I thought you told me everything like you and Sam not having sex in two years which I really didn't need to know."
"Sam and I were sexually incompatible. We tried it and I just couldn't have an orgasm, and he felt like I was a cold brick of ice that is why I had in vitro done. He also thinks that I am in love with you. Sam is crazy but I love him and I love our girls, but we both know that two of us were not in love and having sex with your friend is not as exciting as books and movies portray it. I could tell he wished I was somebody else, and to be honest I couldn't climax with someone who I viewed more like a brother than a lover. I am not into incest."
"So, that is one of the reasons why Sam refuses to have anything to do with me. He thinks I am stealing his wife. Quinn this is not throwing me off the fact that you have stage IV cancer and haven't told me."
"Well, I was smoking a lot when Noah died. Then I moved to vaping. Sam tried to get me to stop with his mom battling cancer, and I tried to quit too. When I finally became pregnant with the twins, I gave up the nicotine. However, after noticing that I was losing a lot of weight and thinking that I was once again suffering from post-partum depression, I went to the doctor and after several tests shown I was just depressed and didn't have post-partum, my doctor recommended me to an oncologist in New York at New Amsterdam. The Dr. Helen has been treating me and that is why we are in New York. We are in New York to see if the experimental treatments that they have had minimal success will work for me."
"And when were you going to tell me this?"
"When would be the right time to tell you that I have pancreatic cancer?"
"Before this trip, you could have been seen by the best doctors money could buy. I am still filthy rich Quinn. I could have..."
"You could have done no more than I am doing now. I was depressed. I couldn't tell you or anybody not even Sam. I wanted to live in denial. I knew how cancer has affected the Evans family and I couldn't tell them when I had to wake up every morning and be the best mom I could be for my little girls."
"We won't agree on this, but please of the love of God tell me that Sam knows now."
"He knows. I don't have health insurance as an author so we use his job for insurance for our family. So, he found out when he received the statement, and we fought about this, and I think if I didn't have cancer, it would be the final nail in the coffin and he would divorce me."
"Are you crazy? That man loves you and loves his girls. Before they were born he was a class A jerkwad. But now he is a devoted husband and father and no matter how shitty he is towards me, I do respect that aspect of him."
"Cedes, I have not been a good wife to Sam. You tried to warn me not to marry him without romantic love but I didn't listen. In a way because of the twins, I am glad I didn't, but we could have the twins together without ever marrying and ruining our friendship. I have Sam trapped. He won't admit it but I can see it in his eyes that he regrets marrying me."
"He may regret it, but he doesn't regret your daughters. The only time I truly see him smile is when he is with those two. They bring him joy. The house, the dog, the picket fence, the kids are his dreams. He so wanted to be married and marrying you was one the best decisions he ever made."
"We only see in parts and you see the best parts as always. When I was the world's worst sister and friend, you still saw the good in me. Hell, you saw the good in Rachel Berry and tried to help her. That is the part of you that is so much like Sam that it hurts because I am not that way. I am selfish, a user, and manipulative. I know myself and to be loved by people like you and Sam bring out the best in me and teaches me how to love and treat others but you both let people run you over and manipulate you. I wish a little of me rubbed off on the both of you."
"We are who we are. Nobody is perfect. I am not perfect or I would have not disappointed my parents to the extent it took me losing my voice to be reconciled with them. I wouldn't have put my career over finding love and being a relationship and having children of my own. We all have faults so nobody can judge. We are all God Squad members remember. We believe in somebody greater, we have faith, forgiveness, and believe in redemption."
"I stopped going to church after Noah committed suicide. I lost my way. I had Sam and manipulated him into never leaving me by marrying me. Seeing how brief my life's journey will be has led me to self reflect. I am going to try to do right by everyone I hurt. And the only way that will be possible if you promise me to fulfill your role as godmother to my daughters when I am gone. Sam and the girls will need you and you will need them."
"Quinn, I know the odds are long but we have to have faith. I promise to look after them only if you promise me that you will fight this disease with everything that you got. I forgive you, and I am sure Sam forgives you. We both love you and anybody else that you have wronged will forgive you as well. Forgive yourself and fight for your family. Fight for me your sister." Mercedes couldn't say anything else as the tears she had been trying to hold inside were unleashed.
"Don't cry Cedes, I promise to fight, I promise to fight for you and the girls and Sam. I don't want to die." Quinn revealed as she began to cry along with her sister who she loved as much as her biological sister Frannie.