DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN GLEE BUT THIS STORY I DO!

ENJOY :)

Henry,

I am going to be taking some time off this summer and I'll be back in the Fall. I need some time to clear my head, among other things. You will find the rest of the money from the win in here as well. Take it and put it into the gym and no, I don't want it back. You deserve this….you all do.

Sam E.

That letter was from three months ago. Since then, no one has heard from him, well at least no one in Oakland has. Mercedes had definitely put him in the back of her mind, her words hitting hard to the core, but nothing but truth when her dad read her the letter.

"That's his choice." Mercedes shrugged as she looked at her father, "If he wants to walk out on us again, that's on him. This time, I'm done trying and I'm not letting him back in."

Mercedes' focus had been completely on herself and her child. These past couple of months, she had so much self-growth and awareness, she was grateful. Therapy was such a big help and it brought her completely out of her comfort zone and most importantly, clarity and peace. Not only has she been doing some big things internally, but she has been making major moves in her personal life. Career wise, and with her father's blessing, she had worked with Mitch at his gym over the summer, training some of his women fighters. It was such an amazing experience and she really enjoyed it. However, the biggest and newest thing that has happened was that she finally moved out of her tiny apartment and moved into her very first, and own, two bedroom home. It was perfect, not because of the home itself, it's because after much consideration, Poppy decided that she wanted to live with Mercedes. She was excited for this new journey…this exciting new chapter, nothing could strip it away from her.

Henry came into the his office with an envelope in his hand, handing it to the young woman that was on her laptop standing up, "This was just dropped off for you."

Mercedes glanced over to him, sitting the laptop down and grabbing the envelope. She opened it and peeked inside, pulling the check from it. She looked at it and was impressed, "Not bad for a few weeks. You might want to step your game up, Dad."

Henry knew she was teasing but he has been thinking a lot lately, and he wanted his daughter to do what made her happy and get the monetary that she deserved for being so great, "I talked to him last night. He's willing to give you a full time position over there."

Mercedes turned around and smirked, "Oh yeah? That's actually not a bad offer."

"If it's what you want to do, I support it, you know that."

Mercedes realized that he was being serious and that brought her so much confusion, "Dad, as long as you want to do this, you know I'm going to be right by your side. I'll never give this place up for a bigger pay day."

"That's the problem. I don't want to hold you back, Mercedes. You're so gifted and so truly deserving. You've outgrown not only me, but this gym as well.

"You're not holding me back, Dad. And yes, maybe I've gotten better at what I do, that's because of you. You taught me everything I know." She said as she gave him a reassuring smile, "I have always believe in you and this gym every since you had me in here. This is my forever and this place will continue to grow as long as we're here together." Henry gave her a smile that only got wider at her next words, "Besides, who else is responsible enough to keep things in order around here?"

Henry chuckled as he shook his head, "Gill, of course."

Mercedes rolled her eyes, turning away as he laughed harder. She looked up at the door when she heard a knock, seeing the man stare at her, cursing underneath her breath because she not only lost track of time but forgot to tell her dad about this.

Henry sobered up when he saw who it was, his eyes going to Mercedes before putting his attention back on the man, "What the hell are you doing here?"

Before he could answer, Mercedes had spoke, prompting her father to do a double take with her response, "I asked him to come."

"Excuse me?"

Mercedes nibbled on her bottom lip before turning back to Angelo, "I'll be down in a few."

Henry watched as he nodded before he headed back down the stairs. He turned to his daughter and stared at her, "What's going on? Why is Angelo within a distance of you?"

"My therapist and I have been having this conversation and I'm at a point in my therapy where I need to confront people and situations from my past. I decided to start with Angelo because he played a vital role. He's the person who took my virginity and is the biological father of Poppy."

Henry was quiet for quite awhile as he took a deep breath, "Are you sure about this?"

"I'm sure, I promise. I'm going to be fine."

Henry leaned forward and wrapped her into a big hug, pressing a kiss to the side of her head, "If you need me, don't hesitate to call."

"I won't." She gave him a squeeze before letting go, she stepped back and headed out the door, walking down the steps. When she got downstairs, Angelo was waiting at the door, obviously ignoring the glares he was getting from Gill and the rest of the gym.

Gill turned his head and gave her a look when she came in his view, opening his mouth but closed it when she shook her head. He literally had to bite his tongue as he watched her leave out with him. He didn't know what was going on, but he knew that Mercedes did and she wouldn't hesitate to call if needed.

Mercedes and Angelo didn't go to the diner because she didn't want some untrue rumors to be swirling around about them, so they headed to the park, where they sat at a picnic table across from each other. They sat there for a few minutes in silence. She knew this wasn't going to be easy on her end, but she was wondering why he had been so quiet. When her therapist told her she had to do this, she flat out refused. There was no chance in hell that she wanted to attempt a conversation with him, but here she was, willingly doing so. To her surprise, he had agreed to it and said that it was long overdue, which took her by surprise. So, out of nervousness, it's been two weeks since they scheduled and here they were.

Angelo fiddled with the bracelet on his wrist before he looked up at her, "Let me just start off by saying I apologize for everything. I know there's no excuse for it, but I've had a lot of time to think about my actions. Firstly, grabbing you like I did a couple of months, it was wrong and unforgivable, and I'm truly sorry for that. I want you to know that my intent wasn't to hurt you."

"I know that, but really, what was it?" Mercedes asked as she watched him sigh as he adverted his eyes a bit, "I chalked up it up to you having a couple of drinks, but ultimately, there had to be something else wrong because even though your an ass, you aren't an aggressor."

"Jealousy." He admitted, which caught her off guard as he let out a humorless chuckle, "That damn Sam Evans has gotten under my skin since the day I met him and quite honestly, seeing him there and back in your life, I knew that any chance I had at even attempting to ask you out was out the window. So yes, I reacted out of jealously and I shouldn't have done that."

Mercedes shouldn't be surprised but she was. All this time, this man sitting in front of her had real feelings for her, but didn't truly show them because of that man who shall not be named.

"Believe it or not, I am a changed person, Mercedes and I want to make this right."

Mercedes watched him closely as he held the pregnancy test in his hands, not saying a word. They've been in this same position for ten minutes. Speechless and dare she say it, scared.

"You're really pregnant?"

"Yes." She wiped the tears that started to come down her cheeks, rolling her eyes in frustration as she cleared her throat, "I just wanted to let you know."

Angelo finally lifted his head up and stared at her, "What are you going to do?"

"I don't know." She responded honestly as she watched his features to change. When they set, she knew exactly what was going through his mind, "You want me to have an abortion don't you?"

"I'm not ready for a kid. I'm too young and have a lot going for myself." He said as he stepped back, tossing the test on the counter as he shook his head, "I'll pay for it to happen or sign my rights over, whatever. I don't want this."

Mercedes didn't even realize that she placed a protective hand over her stomach as she looked at him in disgust, "Get the hell out of this gym."

"Gladly." He said as he turned around, pushing the doors open and leaving without another word.

Mercedes slid down the ring and sat on the floor, covering her face with her hands as more tears escaped her eyes. She sat there for hours crying about everything until she cried herself to sleep. She had tired herself out so, she didn't realize her cousin had picked her up and placed her in the bed in the back room.

"I was young and so stupid. I hate that I took one of the most precious things from you. You didn't deserve that." He paused for a moment as he gathered his thoughts, "It's sad to say, but it took me so long to realize this and I'm just so sorry."

Mercedes stayed quiet for a minute before she spoke, "I'm not here to point the finger and put it all you like it was just you who had a part. I'm thankful that you did apologize, but now….now I can tell that you're really sincere and that gives me the closure I need."

Angelo watched her closely, "Can I show you something?"

Mercedes looked at him curiously, eyebrows knitting in confusion when he pulled the collar of his shirt down, turning his neck for her to see. A tattoo. Not just any tattoo, but one that was roman numerals of Poppy's birthday.

"I never forgot about her, no matter how much I wanted to believe I didn't care, I couldn't." He let go of his shirt, eyes going back to hers, "Our daughter….I don't have no right to call her that, sorry. I don't know if it's possible but…I'd like to meet her, of course if you allow it."

"It's her choice and right now, she said she doesn't want to. Maybe one day she'll change her mind, but until then, I'm going to respect her wishes." Mercedes watched as she nodded, looking down at her phone when her alarm went off, "I have to go, but thank you for meeting with me today." It wasn't even a second after she got up that she looked back down at him when he grabbed ahold of her hand before standing up as well, her eyes traveling to his questionably.

"I know the romantic feelings aren't there, and it may be a long shot, but I hope that this could get us on a path of being friends. I really want that if you're up for it."

At this point, neither one of them realize that he was still holding her hand until Mercedes pulled it out of his. She gave him a small smile and nod, "I think it's something that we can possibly work towards."

Angelo returned the smile and nodded his head too, "Good."

"Thank you for doing this again, it helped more than you realize."

"I'm glad that it did."

"See you later, Angelo." She said before she turned around and headed to her car. It wasn't a long, drawn out conversation and that was exactly what she needed. This was a big step in the right direction and she left that park relieved.

Santana moved the scissors from the box when she got through opening the box. She had just came back from the post office after Mercedes had called and ask if she could pick up some packages for the gym while she went to the doctor, and open them for her, "Some new mouth guards and tape." She mumbled as she pulled them out and sat them on the table. She the smaller box with Henry's name written on it and pulled it out. She decided to go ahead and take it to his office for him. As she walked up the stairs, she felt her phone vibrating in her back pocket but she ignored it when she heard talking going on upstairs. She came to a stop when she realized that she didn't hear Henry's voice, instead, it was Gill's and some unfamiliar woman's. Before she could head back down the steps, the door opened, revealing an unfamiliar face and one that she hasn't seen nor heard from in quite awhile. She watched as the pair of eyes stared back into hers, emotionless.

"Oh, hey Santana." Gill greeted as he looked at her as he came out of his boss' office, "If you're looking for Henry, he left about an hour ago."

"What the hell is he doing here?"

Gill wasn't taken aback by her tone at all and he sighed, "Sam just came back today."

Santana looked at the man, who was staring at her with still no emotion etched across his face as her eyes went over to the woman standing next to him, "Who are you anyways?"

"I'm Bridgette." She responded cautiously, "I'm an old friend of Sam's."

"Bridgette will move down here for a couple of months and she's going to be training Sam at his request." Gill started as he closed the door behind him and made his way down the stairs with Santana hot on his heels, "He just needs need somebody that has more experience with…"

Santana crossed her arms and glared at him a bit as she cut him off, "More experience? Mercedes, Papa Hen, and even you, know what the hell you're doing, how fucking dare he request outside help like you all are amateurs."

Bridgette cleared her throat as she directed her words to Santana, "If I may…"

"No you may not." Santana didn't let her finish either, tossing her a look as well before her eyes went to back Gill, "You have some nerves to even agree to this."

"If you'd just listen..."

"No. You know Papa Henry's not going to approve this."

"Not that it's any of your business, but this is Gill's call." Sam finally stepped in after being quiet, "If I wanted to leave, I would have and not that I need to explain it to you but Bridgette has known me since I first went to Chicago, so I'm comfortable with her."

Santana scoffed as a sarcastic laugh left her mouth, "You may have Gill fooled, but it's obvious there's more going on between you two and you have some damn nerves bringing her up in here."

"I'm not here to argue nor continue to explain myself to someone who's not even the owner."

"May not be an owner, but this is my family and it was yours too at one point. The nerve of you to pull this shit when you and your skank easily could've stayed where you were."

Sam glanced over at Bridgette, who was turning read at her insult but she kept her composure and didn't say a word.

"Just so you know, I was really rooting for you." Santana spoke honestly as she shook her head, picking up her keys from the table, "But now, just stay away from my family, especially Mercedes, or I'm going to make your life a living hell."

"Santana."

"And you go fuck yourself."

Gill ran his hands over his face as he shook it. This was definitely going to be a problem and he didn't know how Mercedes was going to handle this because she was also in the dark about it.