A/N: The idea for this chapter comes from QuinnAbrams. I told her I needed to do something to feature Sam and Artie, at the request of fellow author robbinsfabray. I dedicate this chapter to you both.
Artie never felt more alive than when he was in the pool. He contemplated this as he glided on his back, his arms doing his own version of a slow, gentle backstroke, without feet. Movement in the water was actually effortless, a feeling he never enjoyed otherwise. One time, his sister referred to him as the Little Mermaid. Merman, he'd smartly corrected her.
It was tradition in their family that, as long as the weather cooperated, the backyard swimming pool that they'd added the summer after the accident would open up for spring break. The pool was equipped with a heater, making it fancier than your typical backyard pool but for good reason. (Artie's body temperature was ideally supposed to stay in a certain range, otherwise he could get really sick.) Last year had been a little delayed. This year, the weather was indeed cooperative. The pool was open!
His peaceful solitude was interrupted by a noise, however, that made him grab onto the edge of the pool and jerk his head out of the water, twisting in the direction of the back gate. He smiled when he saw who was approaching...
Quinn had needed absolutely no convincing to be the first one invited to the pool on this, their first official day of spring break. (Skip day was kind of a bonus day.) And Sam, never one to miss out on any of Artie's summer parties if he could help it, would join them, too.
Sam had been swimming with Artie just moments ago but must have heard Quinn's arrival or received a text from her. Artie tended to tune out the outside world when it was just him and the water. Consequently, Artie hadn't even noticed Sam's brief disappearance. Sam returned through the gate, though, and with him was Quinn. Moments earlier, Quinn's mother had dropped her off and Sam had met her out front, to walk Quinn into the backyard. Naturally, there was a paved path off the driveway that led all the way out to the pool.
"I've never truly appreciated the fact that your family made sure you don't have to wheel yourself over the grass," Quinn commented, pushing herself as Sam walked alongside her, seemingly aware of all the etiquette rules about helping only when asked.
She was wearing a rather modest one-piece with short, floral-print board shorts, a far cry from the bikini she once sported after she had decided she'd lost enough of her baby weight two summers ago. It might have meant she still had some insecurity about her body and any scars post-accident. It might have just meant she wanted to be comfortable. With girls, you never knew.
"This is absolutely the best rehab you'll get all week," Artie told her, always getting excited to talk about swimming, which usually meant he was going to ramble on at a rapid pace for a few minutes. "Seriously, the fact that I swim daily all spring and summer means I barely need to go to therapy myself. It's the best therapy there is. There's nothing in the world that feels as good as being in the water."
Quinn locked her wheels by the steps. "I can believe it," she commented, giving the stairs a wary glance and then looking back at Sam, who was standing nearby as if waiting to see if she would need help. She did. "Sam... could you just hold onto me? I think I can step down into the pool... if I go really, really slow..."
Sam obediently grabbed the hand she offered and wrapped his other arm carefully around her waist. Quinn moved one foot off the footrest, followed by the other, and carefully stepped down onto the top step in the water. Artie went with her enough for therapy not to be surprised by this accomplishment. Still, this was the first time he'd witnessed her try anything outside the safety of the gym. All three teenagers held their breaths and simultaneously exhaled a sigh of relief when Sam helped her ease herself all the way out of her chair and down so that she was seated on the edge of the pool.
"It sure is warm." She could properly sense the temperature now, even though only her feet were presently submersed in the water. In response to her observation, Artie smiled, though it did take a bit of discipline on his part, to set aside some strange emotions that had crept in lately.
For lately, it was beginning to dawn on Artie that Quinn was indeed getting better. With each session, she looked less and less like a girl that still belonged in a wheelchair and more and more like someone who was there only for a short season. And he wondered how he'd feel, when the time really came for her to walk again. He'd never dare to articulate these mixed feelings of his to anyone. After all, he had been so very disgusted when anyone implied that he might not want Quinn to get better.
Of course not. Who would want such a thing?
Still, when the day came for her to stand up and walk into the choir room, to receive a round of applause and standing-ovation from the rest of the club, it was going to be awfully hard on him. Awfully hard to sit back and watch someone else live out what was an occasional fantasy of his, on those days when he was feeling down and out. For the most part, he was happy with his life, but it didn't mean there weren't days when he wanted something else.
It didn't take long to convince Quinn to get all the way into the water. Besides, if she didn't, he pointed out that the air was still a tad chilly and she'd get cold if she didn't get all the way in. Meanwhile, Sam did a backflip off the small diving board. Artie always thought Sam ought to be a lifeguard or something. He sure looked the part. Year-round tan, blonde, perfect body...
"When's Amy coming home?" Sam asked, out of nowhere, as he settled onto the ledge that went all around the pool. He asked about Amy far too much for Artie's liking, even though the rational part of Artie knew Sam was happy with Mercedes. He may have just been asking because, in the past, Artie usually preferred Sam to stay elsewhere when Amy visited from college.
"She's not coming home until the end of the week, just for a day or two, and then she goes back," Artie explained. "Apparently, someone decided to adopt an introvert for spring break and invited my sister to Mexico."
"Oh, yeah? You okay with her going off to Mexico with some guy?" Sam arched a brow, as Quinn looked back and forth between the conversation like she was watching a tennis match.
"Not a guy." Artie could arch brows right back with the best of them. Sam really pressed his luck sometimes. "It's a girls' trip thing. So, what's Mercedes doing over the break?"
"She's on vacation with her family," Sam answered, as Quinn looked disappointed. They both knew why. Quinn certainly couldn't go anywhere for spring break, not with her physio appointments scheduled daily. "But that's okay. Uh, I have something I need to do for my family."
"Oh, for your family?" Artie knew he missed his parents and two younger siblings. He'd been wondering if Sam was going to use spring break to go to Kentucky or if maybe they were going to come to Lima to see him.
"Yeah, and I was going to see if maybe you'd help me?"
That got Artie's attention. Sam was the sort of guy that did things for himself, never asked for any help. For instance, when he'd gotten a very questionable job working at a nightclub, because Dairy Queen wasn't paying enough. So, if Sam Evans said he needed help, he really needed help.
"Go on."
"I think I told you that Dad's the assistant manager for a Texas Roadhouse, right? Well, there's a manager position open at the one in Lima. So, he applied, because he knows I want to spend senior year here, and they want to be here with me. Well, he got the job! It's official now... the Evans family is moving back to Lima."
At this, Quinn and Artie both let out excited cheers and the three friends hugged it out. Artie's family had been ready to let Sam live with them for however long he needed, but Artie knew Sam was secretly torn. He hadn't wanted to give up his friends and Glee club, but he hated being away from his family, too.
"So, wait, how can I help?" Artie wanted to know.
"Dad's rented a trailer," Sam explained. "And Mom's doing the best she can to pack while the kids are at school. But when they're home in the evenings, she says they're not very productive. She needs me to come entertain them, help pack, all the things."
"So, you need a ride?" Artie knew the Evans family lived in Louisville, which was about a four-hour drive from Lima. But Sam didn't have a car or drive yet, so he wasn't opposed to dropping Sam off, if that was what he needed.
"Exactly, a road trip," Sam said, nodding enthusiastically. He then shifted his gaze to Quinn. "Uh, and Quinn, I'd totally invite you to come along, but it's kind of a bro thing, no offense."
"Oh, none taken." Quinn looked like there were so many things she'd rather do before ride four hours in a car with the two of them. "Besides, I won't be alone this week. Joe's going to be around. And maybe now that we know each other a little better, he can come to therapy and it won't be, um, uncomfortable for anyone."
Artie cringed at the mention of Joe, particularly when it came to him being with Quinn at her therapy. She didn't need any distractions, and Joe was definitely a distraction. Joe would let his attraction to Quinn get in the way of being helpful to her in therapy yet again. As far as Artie knew, those two weren't getting serious or anything. Though Tina had said she'd overheard Joe talking to Rory about how he wanted to ask Quinn to prom. So, whatever Quinn was thinking, Joe had far from given up his quest. And Artie wasn't even sure Quinn wanted him to give her up in the first place.
"So you'll do it?" Sam asked, and when Artie reluctantly nodded, he let out a whoop. "This is gonna be great, dude! A road trip for spring break. And don't worry about, you know, your accommodations and stuff. Our house is small but it'll be picked up by the time you get there. We'll figure out the bathroom, just bring whatever you need, dude. And you can take my bed, I'll sleep on the floor and my siblings can room in with Mom and Dad and-"
"Wait, what?" Artie stopped him right there, before he got any more carried away with the plan. "Hold up, I thought I was just going to be giving you a ride, you know, and like... going back home..."
"Dude, what?" Now it was Sam's turn to be confused. "Uh-uh, that would be like eight hours straight in the car for you, man. And there's no way my mom would let you drive me all that way just to drop me off, turn right around, and go home. She'll wanna cook for you, and like, sort of repay the favor you've done for me in some small way. She'll want you to stay a few days."
"Oh, I see..." Artie said, in a small voice. He didn't know what else to say. He was kind of honored that Sam would choose him, when he had other friends who could drive, friends who could lug boxes and move furniture and do all that useful stuff. Artie was the last person you'd want to help you move. As he trailed off, he noticed Quinn silently imploring him to say something else. "Uh..."
"Sounds like a great time to me," Quinn supplied, her expression pointed and meaningful, as Artie continued to find himself at a most uncharacteristic loss for words, trying to come up with some sort of excuse that wasn't related to his disability. After he'd just made such a big deal over Quinn not using hers as a reason to miss senior skip day...
"C'mon, let me show you my hometown," Sam urged him.
"Wait, your hometown?" Quinn, despite briefly dating Sam, knew surprisingly little about him. "I thought your parents just moved there for the first time. Is that actually where you're from? Why didn't you want to go back to your hometown?"
"Because, that's how much I liked Glee club."
Sam let his statement set in for a moment, as Artie contemplated the magic of their little club. Mr. Schuester had no idea what he'd started there. There was such a strong sense of belonging among the New Directions, that just about everyone who came didn't want to leave. Even Matt Rutherford, he'd just been there a year, and yet even he had visited last year to help Artie put together 'Safety Dance' for sectionals.
"That's really sweet," Quinn commented, smiling fondly at him. And then she added, "So, are you going to show Artie that all boys' boarding school you went to?"
And as Sam turned bright red, Artie vaguely recalled the triple date at Breadstix that he and Puck orchestrated after they'd made three hundred dollars singing in the school courtyard. They'd taken Santana and Brittany, and they'd crashed the date that Sam and Quinn won through the duets competition. But Quinn started giggling then, and Artie knew why. They'd never, in a million years, believed that Sam went to a private school. But at the time, Quinn had humored him. Now that they knew him better, it was high time someone called him on the lie.
"Okay..." Sam ducked his head. "I was wondering if you were ever gonna say anything. Right. Obviously, a guy who lives in a duplex across from the school and shares a bedroom with his siblings probably didn't go to a fancy private school."
"Well, we were willing to give you the benefit of the doubt," Artie said, generously. "Maybe you were on some kind of scholarship. Or maybe you-"
"We knew," Quinn cut him off, and Artie remembered that she hadn't been Queen Bee, Head of the Cheerios, and later, Head of the Skanks without being a bit cut-throat. He just shrugged, but when he caught her eye, he sighed and had to come clean himself.
"We-we knew, dude," Artie confessed. "But it was totally cool with us. You figured out, I guess, that none of us cared about that kind of stuff."
"A little too late not to embarrass myself with a dumb lie, but yeah, I figured it out," Sam agreed. Luckily, he didn't look too embarrassed. They'd come a long way from when he'd once tried too hard to impress everyone. "So, does this mean you'll come with me, man?"
Artie pressed his temples. "I really don't think you know what you're getting yourself into, man. You should see if Puck's available... or Finn... or..."
C'mon, no dude. It'll be more fun to go with you. We can listen to my entire iTunes playlist. And-and yours... it'll pass the time. And I know all the fun local spots around Louisville. We actually live a little bit outside of the city. It's nothing fancy, but it beats sitting around at home, right? With your... uh... awesome... pool..."
"Well, Quinn could look after the awesome pool," Artie said, looking at the other blonde, as she gave an enthusiastic nod. "Seriously, you need to come, even if I'm not home. We can get you a key to the back gate. Just come anytime you want."
"Does this mean you'll come on a road trip with me?" Sam asked, eagerly, his blonde Beiber-esque coif bobbing as he implored Artie for a final answer. When Artie finally threw up his hands in defeat and conceded, Sam let out a victorious whoop!
"Alright, alright, alright!" Just the thought of Kentucky brought out the country side of Sam, as he launched right into his best Matthew McConaughey impression. "Me 'n Artie gonna be hittin' the road!"
Two days later, the boys headed out. The Evans family were planning to be out of their two-bedroom rental home by Friday, which meant they had five more days to accomplish the move. Artie didn't know how he'd be of any help, other than providing his car and giving Sam a ride, but Sam insisted there was tons they could both do. For starters, someone needed to pick up Stevie and Stacey after school and entertain them until dinner, and they liked Artie.
"The kids were really put out that they don't get a spring break," Sam was explaining. "Since Lima's schools are on break this week but not Louisville. So, my mom, she agreed not to enroll them for a week. That way, they get a break."
"That was nice of her," Artie agreed, focused on the road and not saying much else as Sam rambled, sharing comment after comment. Artie was using cruise control for the first time, since he'd never driven on such a long stretch of highway before, and he was extra wary of it. It felt strange not to be in control of the speed, but of course you were back in control as soon as you hit the break.
"You doing okay?" Sam checked in, noticing Artie's hyper-focus over the cruise control and mistaking it for something else. "I kind of need a pit stop and we could get gas in Cincinnati. Then we could swap drivers for awhile. Those controls come off pretty easily, don't they?"
Artie chuckled. "Uh, Sam, you don't even have a license," he commented. "In fact, if I'm not mistaken, you don't even have a permit. No, dude, I'm good. Just getting used to this cruise control thing. This is... my first road trip, in... in a long time."
"You used to take lots of road trips?"
"For soccer," Artie explained. "'Because my team was a traveling, competitive team. We went on lots of weekend trips to tournaments. I was actually on my way to an important tournament when we got in the accident."
"Oh, dude, I'm sorry," Sam said. Artie hadn't freely volunteered that many details about his accident before. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Sam processing that bit of information. "This isn't, like, bad déjà vu or anything, I hope?"
"No, no, it's not like that," Artie said, quickly. And he was being honest. He didn't, like, freak out anytime he got in a car. "Besides, I don't even really remember it. Maybe that helps. I'm good, really. This is the first time I've driven further than, like, Columbus to visit Amy."
"You're doing awesome," Sam assured him. "Hey, check it out, 3.67. Let's pull off here, use the little boys' room, and get some snacks. Want me to pump the gas?"
"Probably quicker if you do it," Artie agreed, not wanting anything to eat up any more of their time. Besides, he needed to get to the restroom and soon. Their parents had graciously given him a card to get gas along the way. Prices were kind of steep right now, so Artie felt a little bad about that.
When both guys had visited the restroom, stocked up on chips and soda (Sam got him a Snicker's bar as a thanks for driving), and gassed up the car, they were ready to get back out on the road. They had just over an hour and a half left in their trip, from Cincinnati to Louisville.
"Hey, if we make really good time, we could pick the kids up from school," Sam pointed out. "They go to the same elementary school I used to go. Ms. Cunningham, the guidance counselor, is still there and still remembers me."
"Is that a good thing?" Artie had to wonder aloud.
"She'll go nuts when I walk into that office," Sam continued, with a laugh. "She already just about had a heart attack when she realized there were two more Evans kids."
"So, Sam..." Artie ventured, as they got back onto the highway and he looked for the chance to put the car back into cruise control. (Scary, sure, a bit, but exhilarating.) "You seem to have good memories of Louisville. And yet you didn't want to go back there. I have to ask, since we've got the time... why?"
"Like I told Quinn, Glee club is that special to me," Sam said. "And not just Glee club. I'm talking about the people in the Glee club. Look, I'm kind of a weird dude, alright? Well, I don't have to tell you. I know I have this blonde surfer thing going, so you think I'd be pretty popular, but I just wasn't everyone's cup of tea back then. Or anyone's, really..."
"That kind of explains why you were so caught up on being popular when you first came to McKinley," Artie mused. "And then you found us."
"Exactly." Sam either missed the point or didn't care. "Instant popularity."
They drove on, listening to a variety of selections from both playlists. Sam and Artie's ability to harmonize was nearly as good as his and Amy's, and that was saying something. He really hoped Sam was the kind of friend who was going to be around for the long haul, as he could see himself getting along with the other guy for years to come. The last hour and a half of their journey passed like it was no time.
They did get into town in time to call Sam's mom and let her know they could save her some time by picking the kids up from school. Sam directed Artie to park in the teacher lot, which was pretty full, save for the handicapped space, of course. Artie waited in the car as Sam went inside to get his brother and sister amid the busy school dismissal. He silently applauded himself on the road trip. Four hours straight of driving was a new personal record, but man was his back ever stiff and sore. He hoped Sam's bed was comfortable.
"Hi, Artie!" The back doors opened and Sam's brother and sister climbed into opposite sides of the backseat, piling their backpacks into the floorboard.
"Hey, check it out, just like old times!" Artie beamed at them over his shoulder, recalling when he used to help Sam pick them up from their elementary school. "You guys ready to go back to your old school?"
"After we get a spring break," Stacey said, tossing her blonde hair over her shoulder and looking far more grown up, so much so that she passed for Stevie's twin. "Mom promised."
"You guys want a slush from Sonic on the way home?" Sam asked. His question was met with cheers and a half-hearted grin from Artie, who had been counting on hurrying home to get relief for his back. He didn't want to mention this to Sam or disappoint his brother and sister, so he just forced a smile.