Hey guys! It's been a crazy weekend, but I am here to give you another chapter! I hope you enjoy! Stay safe and blessed!
Mercedes grew nervous when Miles texted that he and Bri were on their way home with Laya. This was such a big deal. She tried to slow her racing heart as she glanced at Sam, who was pacing the floor.
"What if she doesn't like me?" He asked.
"Then she doesn't like you; she's eight, Sam; she doesn't know hate or dislike unless it's food or colors." Mercedes said, chewing her bottom lip.
Sam smiled, looking at her. "I see you are just as nervous as I am."
She looked at him. "What are you talking about?"
"You are biting your bottom lip. You do that when you are nervous."
She shrugged. "It's a big deal, Sam. And contrary to what you may believe, I don't want this to go bad either."
"Momma, guess what!" Malaya said, running into the house but stopping the moment she saw Sam.
"Malaya honey, come here." Mercedes said, exhaling.
Miles smiled. "Evans, good to see you again. I owe you an a- well; just be glad I like what you are doing for the team this year. Get that ring, and maybe I'll let you off the hook."
Bri shoved Miles and shook her head. "We will be upstairs; your parents said they will be back in a few too, so if you need us…just call, okay?"
Mercedes nodded as Malaya sat next to her, eyeing Sam. "Malaya, I wanted to introduce you to someone. But I want to talk to you first, okay?"
"Mommy, who is that man?" Malaya asked warily.
Mercedes pulled Malaya to her lap and offered her a soft smile. "Do you remember what you told me in your room before we came here? About your wish?"
Malaya nodded. "Uh-huh," Malaya said as she looked over to Sam again.
Mercedes nodded for Sam to walk over to them.
"Momma, what's going on?"
"Malaya, this is Sam."
Malaya blinked a few times as she looked at him. "Sam? Like Samantha, my middle name?"
Mercedes nodded. "Just like your middle name."
Malaya took a breath as she looked to be in deep thought. "Momma, I wanna go to my room."
"Laya," Mercedes said softly. "Sam is…Malaya, Sam is your father."
Sam froze, he wanted to speak, but he knew that Mercedes knew what was best for her. For their daughter.
She shook her head. "I take it back."
"Take what back, sweetie?"
She looked at Sam, and Mercedes could sense she was uncomfortable with her little lips trembling.
Mercedes pulled her into a hug. "Sweetie, it's going to be okay. Everything is going to be okay; I know this is a lot to take in. We can talk about it when you are ready, not before." Mercedes said.
Time seemed to stand still as Sam looked over at his little girl. His beautiful daughter who just learned who he was. Sam couldn't stand it anymore, and he moved closer to her, reaching out to touch Malaya, but she shrank back, moving to Mercedes.
"Momma, I wanna go to my room. Please."
Mercedes nodded. "Of course, Lil nugget. Hey, Uncle Bas and Hunter called for you earlier, and how about you call them on my phone?"
She nodded, looking at Sam as Mercedes pulled out her phone, sending a quick text to Bri to keep an eye on Malaya, then she handed it over. Malaya took the phone and walked up the stairs as Sam looked after her.
"She hates me!"
Mercedes exhaled. "Sam, this isn't about you. So stop, okay. I know that might sound harsh, but we just told that little girl you are her father. A father she didn't know about. So give her time to come to terms with that!"
Sam looked at her and could see the tears in Mercedes' eyes. "Merce… I'm sorry if we pushed her too fast."
Mercedes shook her head. "Sam, you just don't get it! I know how she feels…I can see it; I can feel it. She's so confused and lost."
Mercedes looked away from him, and Sam moved to sit next to her. "I will wait as long as I have to until she is ready to talk to me."
Mercedes nodded. "Thank you, Sam, that means a lot. She's never known you, so she has to come to terms with your existence."
Sam wrapped his arms around her. "Thank you, Mercedes. I know this wasn't easy for you either."
Mercedes sniffed, looking over at him. "Sam. You have to promise me that no matter what, you are not going to take her from me."
"Mercedes?"
"No, Sam. We need to be clear here, and she is my daughter."
"She's mine too."
Mercedes moved away from him. "What I mean is, she stays with me. Maybe she can visit you, and maybe you can do weekend visits. But after Christmas, her life will return to normal, with the only difference being that she knows who you are."
"I understand, Mercedes; I understand that she should stay with you, but she's my daughter, and I want her to be with me too. I want her to get to know me, to see me as her dad."
"That is too much too fast! You have been gone; you can't just up and want her to spend the night!"
Sam sighed, putting his hands up. "I am not trying to rush! But to be fair, you are leaving here in a few weeks, and then when I will get this chance again? It's not fair, but it's what it is."
"It's not fair? Sam, what do you want from me? From all this? Did you even really think this through? Are we supposed to pack up our lives and move to Cincinnati so you can finally be her dad? Her life was just turned upside down, and now you want to add to taking her from me?"
Sam nodded, pulling back so she wouldn't feel like he was trying to upset her too. "I wouldn't take her from you. You are her mother, and I know how important that is. With my career and schedule, I know you will have to adjust. So I am going to continue to follow your lead. Whatever you feel is right."
They sat in silence for a few moments, Mercedes looking up the stairs before looking at Sam. "This is probably all we can do tonight, and maybe we will try to talk to her again together later."
Sam sighed, running his hand through his hair. He wanted to say something but felt like he would be pushing. So instead, he nodded. "Okay. Can I give you my number?"
She nodded. "Maybe I should give you mine since Laya has my phone."
Sam handed her his phone, watching as she put her number in his phone. Handing it back to Sam, she stood. "I will call you later."
"For what it's worth, Mercedes, you have done an amazing job as her mom. And thank you for giving me this chance."
Mercedes nodded, walking him to the door and watching him leave. As she closed the door, she exhaled deeply, closing her eyes before heading upstairs. "Now comes the hard part." She said to herself.
Mercedes took a few deep breaths before walking up to Malaya's room and knocking on the door. She heard a little "Come in" and walked into the room, offering her daughter a small smile.
"Hey Lil nugget."
Malaya was sitting on her bed, hugging her stuffed Unicorn Zizi. "Is he gone?"
"For now. But he wanted to come back when you were ready to talk to him." Mercedes said softly. "Are you ready to talk to me?"
Malaya shrugged her shoulders.
"Laya, we've always been able to talk, so I hope you know that I am right here if you have any questions. Always."
Malaya nodded.
Mercedes took a breath and stood. "Actually, I have something to show you, and it's something I kept just in case this happened."
Mercedes walked across the hall to her room and walked into her closet. After looking for a few minutes, she walked back across the hall with a boot box.
"Come on and sit next to me." Mercedes said as she took the top off.
"What is it?"
"This is the history of your dad and me." Mercedes pulled out a scrapbook. Opening it up, she smiled softly, seeing the very first photo of her and Sam. "Since I was the youngest mommom kind of went overboard and took a photo of Sam and my first date."
Malaya smiled at the next one. "Hey, that looks like Zizi." She said, looking at a photo of Mercedes snuggling with it.
"That is because it is Zizi. Sam, your dad, he won that for me on our first date. We went to a carnival, and it was one of the best times I have ever had." Mercedes confessed.
Malaya smiled at the next photo. "Is that Uncle Miles?"
Mercedes laughed, seeing the photo of Sam and Miles wrestling in the snow. "It started as a snowman building contest and then a snowball fight, and then Miles and Sam wrestling and ending up…." She turned the page. "Making snow angels."
"He was goofy? My…Sam?" Malaya asked.
"He was back then; pretty sure he still is. Just like you. And…look at this."
Mercedes pulled out a photo of her and Sam dressed as Captain America and Blackwidow.
"This is you guys? He likes Marvel?"
"Oh, honey." Mercedes giggled. "He loves Marvel! Loves Cap, and so yes, he does. He is the one who got me into it."
Malaya went through the photos, sighing. "You look happy, momma."
"I was, sweetie. I was really happy."
"So. Why did…why didn't he want me?" She asked tearfully.
"Oh, Honey." Mercedes moved the box and hugged her. "I don't think there was ever a time where your dad didn't want you. He just had a lot to deal with. Things you shouldn't worry about. But know that he loves you. And he wants to know you now."
"I didn't think…." Malaya stopped talking after a moment.
"Tell me, baby. You didn't think what?"
"I didn't think it would feel this way." She said softly.
"Feel what way?" Mercedes asked, confused.
"I don't know…like I should…"
Mercedes hugged her daughter tightly. "You are allowed to feel anyway, every way. You just met your father. Someone who you never knew. As much as you wanted to meet him, being confused and scared is normal. It's normal to need some time to come to terms with all of this, and it's normal to feel how you do, baby."
"How do you know?"
Mercedes smiled softly. "Because I am your mom, I know. Plus, I have thought about this very thing since the moment you were born, and I asked for advice from therapists and people who have been there. And so that's how I know."
"Will he hate me for not talking to him?" She asked, lying against Mercedes.
"Never. He gets it and wants you to take the time to get to know him and his family."
"His family?" She asked, looking at Mercedes.
"You know how I was kinda surprised to see Mrs. Mary yesterday, how she caught me off guard, and it made me seem weird?"
Malaya nodded. "Yes."
"That's because she is your grandmother."
"But mommom is my grandmother."
Mercedes smiled. "She is on my side. Mrs. Mary is Sam's mom. You have new Aunts and Uncles and grandparents now who want to know you too when you are ready."
"Can I keep these?" Malaya asked, pointing to the photos.
"Of course. Go ahead, baby; I am going to change, then I am going to make a run." She said, kissing Malaya's forehead and standing. "I love you."
"Love you too, momma."
Sam walked into his grandparent's house, exhaling as he was met by four pairs of eyes.
"How'd it go?" Mary asked, standing.
"It went. It wasn't bad, but it's going to take time. But I got to meet her, and God, she is just as beautiful and perfect as you said."
"That's good. Um, son, you have a visitor." Mary said, looking towards the powder room. "She's been…."
"A nightmare," Stevie murmured.
Dwight cut his eyes at his youngest son. "She has been interesting."
"She?"
"Sammy!" Penny squealed as she walked out of the powder room. "I saw that article and knew I had to be with you!" She said, running to him and wrapping her arms around him.
Sam pushed her off of him. "Penny, how the hell did you find me here?"
"Well, you refused to tell me where you were staying, so I had to look your family up. Now I sent Mike a list of talk shows we can go on. We play up our engagement, and they forget all about that wannabe claiming you are a father."
"Delusional." Stacey sang to herself, causing Stevie to laugh but Mary to shake her head.
"Sam, dinner is almost ready. Are you staying, or will you and Ms. Owen."
"Just call me Penny, Mom."
Mary side-eyed her. "You can call me Mrs. Evans."
"Penny is leaving, but I am staying. I want to talk to you about something."
Penny raised an eyebrow. "Am I going to the hotel?"
Sam sighed. "Penny, what is this?"
"What do you mean?" She asked, faking innocently.
"We are not together, and we aren't engaged. And I don't know why you are here." He said firmly.
"Sam, are you telling me that we haven't been moving towards each other? That we don't have fun?"
"Penny, yes, we do have fun."
"And you can't tell me that when we are together, it's not good." She said more confidently.
"Give me a break," Stevie said with a groan.
"Penny, right now, I need to focus on myself and my family," Sam said.
"Good, then we are in agreement; we go on the record as a united front and put an end to this bad press."
"Penny, you aren't listening to me."
"Because she is an idi- Ow." Stevie looked to Stacey, who slapped him on the back of the head.
"Penny, I need you to hear me…" Sam said.
KNOCK KNOCK
"I got it, Sam; you just handle this." Mary nodded towards him.
Sam sighed with a nod.
Mary walked to the door and smiled, seeing Mercedes.
"Mercedes, this is…a pleasant surprise."
Mercedes looked around nervously. She had yet to return to this house since she left Lima almost 9 years ago. "Umm, I wanted to drop some things off to Sam. I talked to Laya, and she's just a bit lost, and I think if he had these, learned more about her, then when they see each other again, it might be easier."
Mary looked at the small box full of photos and smiled. "Mercedes, what you are doing for your daughter, for my son. I can't thank you enough."
Mercedes exhaled a shaky breath. "My daughter…our daughter means everything to me, and right now, it's important that they have this time."
"Is that MERCEDES!" Stevie screamed, running to the door and pulling her into a hug. "I wanted to reach out before, but scaredy pants, Sam wasn't ready." He said, twirling her around. "You look hot, by the way."
She shook her head as he put her down, smoothing out her black and pink sweatsuit and matching Adidas. Her hair was in a high pony with tendrils surrounding her face. "Stevie, you are still far too young to be flirting with me."
"Excuse you, I am over 20; I can flirt with a grown and sexy woman if I want to," Stevie said, and she shook her head, looking at Stacey.
"Oh, Stace, look at you all grown up. Looking just beautiful."
Stacey beamed, moving to hug her. "You are the gorgeous one. And a mom! I still can't believe it."
"Ahem. I have been waiting here patiently for my hug, young lady." Dwight said impatiently, and Mercedes laughed, moving to him.
"I am sorry, Mr. E. I was saving the best for last."
"Uh huh, a likely story. I am really sorry about all that transpired, Mercedes."
She shook her head. "You don't need to be. It's just one of those things that we can't go back on, so we shouldn't dwell on." She sighed. "Well, can I hand these to Sam? Is he here?"
"Oh, he's here," Stevie said. "Sammy boy!"
Mercedes looked at him confused until Sam walked back into the living room, a leggy blonde wearing a revealing silky long-sleeve dress that fell right above her knees. The silver heels matched the dress entirely, and diamonds graced her ears, neck, and finger. Mercedes slunk back as she took in the woman who looked like a walking ad for the perfect football wife.
Sam looked at Mercedes, surprised to see her after how they left things. "Merce…what are you…"
Mercedes blinked a few times, trying not to compare herself to the woman next to him but failing. "Oh, I brought you a few things." She said. "To help with Malaya."
Penny looked from her to Sam and back to Mercedes. "You look familiar," Penny said, moving closer to Mercedes. Whoever she was, Penny did not like the way Sam was staring at her. "I am Penny Owens, soon to be Evans. It's nice to meet you."
"I'm sorry, what?" Mercedes asked, looking at Sam.
Penny held out her hand, showing off a massive diamond ring, before Sam literally smacked her hand back down.
"You brought yourself a ring? Are you serious?" Sam asked angrily.
"Are you serious, Sam! What is going on here!" Penny defended.
"You know what. I am gonna go." Mercedes said, turning to leave, but Sam stopped her.
"No, you aren't. I know what you are thinking, but I didn't lie to you, Mercedes. Penny and I are NOT engaged, and I didn't buy her that ring."
"Sam, we just discussed how this is what is best for all of us."
"Penny, will you please let me talk to Mercedes."
"I will when you stop acting as if I am nothing to you! I am here to be by your side while some crazy psycho spreads lies about you; don't give me credit for that. I gave up Cancun for you!"
"Crazy Psycho?" Mercedes said, looking at Penny. "Why is she a crazy psycho?"
"Did ya see her ass?" Penny laughed.
Mercedes folded her arms across her chest. "What's wrong with her ass?"
"Absolutely nothing," Stevie said dreamily.
"That's too much ass for Sam. There is no way he slept with her. So going around saying a man is a father of a child, which he isn't, makes her both in my book. Sam and I are going on Regis and Kelly, then a few radio spots to provide a united front. He will not give in to these allegations. And we will demand a paternity test."
If Sam could shrink back into the abyss, he would at this moment.
"And what happens if the paternity test says that Sam is the father? Then what?"
"Then Sam and I get married, take the child, and raise it better than any backwater-broke golddigger can. I mean, Sam is a multi-millionaire; we can buy off whoever we need to so that the child is in his arms by Christmas. Oh, and then we can get TLC or VH1 or MTV to do a special on us…damn, I really hope you are the father now. Can you imagine the press?"
Mercedes laughed, shaking her head. "Wow, you two have thought of everything."
Sam shook his head. "Mercedes, this isn't…I don't feel that way. I don't know what's happening here."
"What's happening, Sam, is that I am taking my daughter as far away from you and Malibu Barbie as I can. And if you want to take her from me, well, it will be a cold dark day in hell before I let you do it without a fight. Oh, and Miss thang! This!" She said, turning her back towards her giving her a view of her backside. "Is a freaking incredible ass! I worked hard for it. Respect it. You no ass having classless…."
Mercedes mumbled, walking towards the door and leaving.