Survivor / I Will Survive
Don't leave for tomorrow what you can do today, time waits on no man
"This is he" Sam opened his phone in answer to an unknown number
"Mr Evans, this is County Hospital, your wife's been in an accident, you need to get here as quick as you can"
"What?"
"Sir County hospital, as quickly as you can" the voice told him
"Sorry" he looked up at his board members "I have to go, my wife's been in an accident" he looked around the room "Ryder, will you take over please?"
"Yeah" Ryder got up concerned "But call me if you need me" he told his cousin
"I will" Sam grabbed his keys and left
On the drive to the hospital all the worst case scenarios were playing out in his mind, he shook his head and banged the steering wheel upset with himself
"She's a survivor" he whispered to himself
Flashback
Last night was supposed to have been a quiet one, he'd got in from a hard day's work with a board meeting to prepare for first thing in the morning, his mind was already fuzzed as to why the board would ask for an urgent meeting. He knew from a call earlier that day that Mercy was all fired up about something, it was usually a song she'd finally etched a tune out for or gossip she'd heard, whichever it was he never argued. He'd walked into their home smiling for hearing her voice singing along to some song on the stereo, "Baths set" she called from the kitchen, he didn't answer just went straight to the bathroom. When he emerged, dinner was on the table, whisky close at hand, and conversation ready "Good day?" she finally asked when they'd got through everything that had come to light from their previous evenings discussions
"Busy"
"So, you'll be happy I've got a relaxing evening set up for us"
"I love the way you think Mrs Evans…"
"I feel a but coming on" she focused on his face
"I've got an urgent board meeting in the morning I need to swot up on it tonight" he dropped the bomb on her.
"You knew I had something planned" she snapped at him
"I know but you know I have to prepare for this meeting babe, it's important"
"I thought what we both did was important"
"It is, I didn't mean that to sound the way it did"
"You never mean anything anymore" she got up ready to go full Mercedes Jones on him, he always referred to her wild side as Jones because his wife, Mercy Evans, was pure love, usually he could turn this into an all-night session in the bedroom, but tonight, as inviting as it might have sounded, he didn't have time for it, so he let it slide the other way, opting for the silent treatment to get something done.
"Babe, I'd love to follow this through with you, but I really need to get this prep done"
"Seriously" she hissed getting up to talk "You're dismissing me like that fucking secretary of yours?"
"I'm not dismissing you" he smirked, whatever he said she was going to find an argument in it
"So now I'm funny?"
"Predictable maybe" he smiled at her "Look Mercy, I need to get this done" he grabbed his briefcase
"Why didn't you do it at work?"
"Because if I'd have stayed any longer I wouldn't have seen you" he got up to follow her "Plus you said you were cooking, and I didn't want to miss this" he pointed at the table
"But you knew that meant I had an agenda"
"Babe" he gasped "Can we do this tomorrow night?"
"You always want to put things off"
"Look" he grabbed her arms gently "If this is about sex you can have it, I'll take my clothes off right here, and you can go for gold, but I'll be prepping" he kissed her "Or, you can prep until tomorrow night when this is over for me, and I can take your clothes off and we can go for gold"
"I'm in the studio" she pulled away from him and walked off "For the record, I hate that she comes before me"
"It doesn't" he smiled "I just need to get this done" he held the notes up
"I still hate her" she grabbed her sheet music and walked off to her studio
End of Flashback
He banged the steering wheel again damning the fact that he'd put work before her last night, and now he was driving to a hospital to find out if 'I need to get this done' was going to be the last words his wife was ever going to hear from him "I promise to go to church every freaking Sunday, twice, if you just let her be alright" he looked up feeling the need for a divine intervention "What the hell?" he slowed looking at the traffic ahead "This isn't happening" he got out the car like most of the others trying to see what the hold up ahead was
There was nothing to see except more traffic, he went back to his car and pulled out his phone to do the only thing available to him right now "Santana" he called when she answered
"Sam" her playful voice came back at him "Let me guess…" she laughed
"This is serious" he stopped the game she was about to play "Mercy's been in an accident, she's in County and I'm stuck on the damn bridge, can you get there and call me?"
"Is it serious?" he could hear the tremor in her voice
"I don't know, bring Britt with you just in case"
"I can't do this Sam, if she's…"
"Santana" he snapped at her "Please" he bit his bottom lip to keep control of himself "Just get there, I'll get there as soon as I can, just let her know someone's there" he sat in the car feeling a bit better, but still wondering what to do next. He couldn't go back and there was no way forward, he'd have to ditch the car and walk the three miles to the hospital if this carried on for much longer
His mind kept repeating the same last words they'd shared over and over again, "She was right" he rolled his eyes, he always wanted to put things off, it seemed like the past year that was all he'd managed to do, his mind wondered back to just six months ago when yet again he'd put things off
Flashback
"So" she flopped back in the bed onto his arm as they finished a long promised night session, he remembered she'd been on a short tour and he'd been hard at work, his company was young, it had only been going for the past three years, so he was still establishing himself. "You promised that once you got Gerrard on the books we could talk"
"I thought we just did"
"Babe if that's your language I understand it, I do" she giggled "But I need you to understand mine for a while"
"Go for it" he pinched her chin softly
"I know we haven't talked about it in a while, but I think we're ready to start a family"
"Babe" he pushed her off his arm, this was the last conversation he was interested in having with everything going on at work, he'd nabbed Gerrard yes, but he couldn't get complacent about things now, it just meant he had to drive harder to get a few more big company's on board "I said when the company was on its way" he sat up looking at her
"It's on the way isn't it, all you've gone on about for the past three months is if Gerrard comes on board, and now they are, what's the problem?"
"Gerrard was the first of many"
"So, what are you saying, we're never going to…"
"We will" he stopped her talking "Of course, we will, but let's just get the business more established first, I need to build a solid foundation we don't want to be struggling for stuff with a family to think about as well"
"I work as well, we've got the stability financially, your argument doesn't hold water"
"How about I'm not ready?" he stood up angry "I'm not ready"
"Okay" she nodded her head, hurt, but satisfied he'd finally given an honest answer "So, you're not ready?"
"Not yet" his voice quieter this time "I didn't mean that to come out like that, I just felt like you were pushing me into a corner, I don't want to hurt you" he sat down "And I'm not saying I don't want children, I want us to have a few, when we're both ready, but right now, I don't have the time to fit them in, and I want to fit them in"
End of Flashback
There was no sleep that night, she was salty, and she made sure that he knew it, he hadn't handled that right at all, what he should have said was, can we think about that, and took his time thinking about it, hindsight is a great thing, especially if you get to use it before you put your foot in it
…If it wasn't for the nine to five, double up over time {I could remember}
If it wasn't for the Sunday All-Star, weekend games, girl {I could remember}
And if it wasn't the dough, getting fifty-G's a show, girl you know that, {I could remember}
But silly, me, silly me, oh, tell-me how could I ever forget to be your lover 'Put That Woman First' by Jaheim
"Okay Jaheim" he switched the player off, he didn't need reminding of his shortcomings "I promise to always roll with the punches, see both sides to everything, and never shut her down again, just let her be alright" he realised he was still waiting to move "I've got to get out of here" he got out the car, deciding to make the rest of the journey on foot "Mercy" he gasped feeling her presence around him
"Sir" someone shouted at him "You can't leave your car there" he turned to respond
"My wife's in hospital, I can't wait" he took his phone out to call Ryder, he was maybe twenty minutes away, he could collect it for him or send someone, he finished the call and started running towards the hospital
They lived twenty minutes away from the airport, and there was never a time he'd thought about running there to get a flight, although he'd do maybe a five mile track run around the top of his building on a daily basis. He ran along the side of the bridge wondering when the last time was he'd actually ran in the street, but what came to mind was the last time he didn't
Flashback
He'd had yet another long day at work, that was becoming a familiar thread in his life since he'd started the company, he'd been so stressed, Rachel; his secretary, had suggested a run. He'd decided to take her advice, but the ten minute run turned into a real stress buster, and he was on it for nearly half an hour before he remembered Mercy's performance.
His whole day had gone wrong, the third meeting had gone over, which meant he was running at least two hours behind on his day, and by the time he'd wound down enough to think about home, Mercy was on stage already and more than halfway through her set. He felt like shit, knew she was going to make him feel even worse about it and couldn't be bothered with the noise, so he stayed at work way over time, going home when he knew she'd be asleep, just to avoid the confrontation.
End of Flashback
"Okay" he looked up to the sky "Here's the deal, the final one" he closed his eyes for a second, stopping to take a proper breath "If you let her be alright, I promise every concert, family function, I'll be there no questions asked and oh" he opened his eyes for a second "Babies, lots of babies" he smiled "If you just remind her she's a survivor" he carried on with his journey their song filling his head, bringing a smile he didn't know he had right now
"Mrs Mercy Evans?" he asked at reception when he finally got there
"Could you fill these out Sir?" a pen was in his hand before she asked, he knew the drill
"Sam" Santana walked towards him "She's up here, but they wouldn't tell us anything"
"Could someone tell me what's happening with my wife please?" Sam asked the receptionist, handing her back the completed form
"The doctor will meet you there" the receptionist told him watching Santana rush him off
"She's pretty badly bruised, unconscious, and I tried to tidy her hair, but she's going to be mad as hell about that when she wakes up" Santana told him
"Thanks for being with her" he turned to tell her before he opened the door and closed it behind him, letting Santana know he wanted to be alone with her "What happened?" he walked towards her bed, needing to feel that she was still alive "Babe" he sat in the bed next to her leaning in to kiss her cheek, he hadn't even done that last night, he was so caught up in his own priorities. "How did we get so detached?" he asked her "I'm sorry babe" he lay on the bed beside her
"Mr Evans?" the doctor turned up a short while later
"Yes" he got up to hear what the woman had to say
"I'm doctor Owen" she smiled "Your wife's been in a car accident, it's our belief that she fainted at the wheel, she wasn't responsive when the nearby police attended the scene" she smiled "She's undergone a few tests to find out what the cause might be, to date we haven't come up with anything conclusive, but we're waiting for the results from her bloods"
"So, she hasn't woke up since the accident?"
"No Mr Evans, but physical checks have come back clear, so there's no internal damage" she smiled "We'll just have to wait for her to wake up"
"Was anyone else hurt?"
"Just your wife" the doctor told him
"This has happened before, not at the wheel, but she works so hard sometimes she exhausts herself"
"Well, once we've got the results from the bloods we're be able to tell you a bit more" she looked at Mercy asleep "Rest is probably the best thing for her right now"
"Thank you" he climbed back on the bed to listen to her breathing "I've been a fool" he whispered in her ear "But I promise to do better when we get out of here" his mind going back to the last time she was in hospital, it was only a couple of years ago and as far as he knew, she'd slowed down a hell of a lot since then. In fact, that episode was the reason he'd stepped up with the business, gone into super acceleration mode on his profit line, just so she wouldn't feel like she had to go at things so hard, and somehow he'd pushed her here again.
Flashback
He remembered she's spent nearly three months getting a set together, she'd fought really hard for a song that wasn't doing too well to be smack in the middle of the set list and although Tina; her agent, didn't think it was the right thing to do she did it anyway. She'd come home about two weeks before the tour on a high for finally winning the fight with her people and practiced the hell out of the song, it had to be the best one on the list, she was aiming to make them all eat their words.
"Babe, come to bed" he woke up at 4am to find she wasn't in bed, of course he found her in her studio listening to the song over and over again, trying to find fault "The song's perfect"
"It won't be perfect until I've sung it effortlessly twenty two times"
"Stop stressing babe, it's perfect" he thought he'd got through to her when she came to bed, but she was up before him in the morning and hard at it again. He tried everything, dinner out with friends; for which he'd enlisted Santana and Brittany, early nights that ended late, days out, but keeping her away from work just seemed to cause her more stress.
Things didn't let up even when the tour started she was finding fault in the song every time, it was when the tour went to Vegas she finally had the meltdown, she finished the set, went to her changing room, and collapsed on the floor. Luckily he was there that night and making his way to her changing room as soon as the gig finished, she was definitely out for at least ten minutes before he got to her, but it still took him another fifteen minutes to get her orientated enough to know where she was
"I'm alright" she tried to get up shouting at him
"You're not" he grabbed hold of her making ready to fall again "That's it, I'm not arguing, you're seeing a doctor, tonight"
"Babe, I'm fine"
"Mercy, you're not fine, it's either you see a doctor tonight or this shows over" it didn't take her a second to consider her answer
"Okay" she brushed his hand off her pissed for him pulling rank on her "I'll see the doctor"
She'd got four more shows left and in all honesty he didn't want to be responsible for the funk she was going to get into for not pleasing her fans, so he allowed a compromise, in that she rested every day and only performed for ninety minutes per show. The alternative in financial loss was unthinkable so of course everyone agreed to it, including Mercy, and after the tour finished, he got his cousin Ryder, more involved in the business and took her away for a retrieve
They had a pretty rough time of it those first few days, Mercy was never one to take being done to well, and with that good old hindsight, he did go in pretty hard, more because he was scared of losing her than anything else. Then on day five came the breakthrough, they'd spent the evening poolside listening to some seminar about mindfulness, ate and gone to bed. Waking up in the middle of the night to find the bed empty he thought he'd have to go even harder on her to make her understand the seriousness of the situation
"Hey" he smiled seeing her sat at the piano looking out at the night
"Hey" she smiled, watching him walk over to her "I woke up thinking about our engagement party, with that song in my head" she sat at the piano tapping out the notes for 'Island In The Stream'
"Blast from the past" he smiled sitting next to her "if I remember rightly the competition was to find different versions of that song wasn't it?" he laughed "Mom and dad came up with the classic version by Dolly Parton & Kenny Rogers of course"
"And you know my parents had to come all cultural with their 'JC Lodge & Don Campbell version" she laughed
"They were both good" he laughed "But I still think we smashed it out the ballpark with our up to the minute version by 'Kate Price & Peter Andre" he smiled tapping a few keys on the piano
Sam: Baby, when I met you there was peace unknown, I set out to get you with a fine tooth comb
I was soft inside, there was something going on,
Both: You do something to me that I can't explain, hold me closer and I feel no pain, every beat of my heart
We got something going on
"The oldies said they survived by always communicating remember?" she smiled
"I remember back then we thought arguing would never happen for us" he laughed
"I actually understand the song now"
"Us above everything" he smiled
"I've been thinking these past few days that you've been fighting against me" she smiled at him "But I realised tonight you're fighting for us" she leant her head on his chest "And I want us"
"So do I" he kissed her head "That's all I've ever wanted"
End of Flashback
"Sam" Brittany's head came in the door, disturbing his memories "Can we come in?"
"Sure" he got off the bed again "Sorry I forgot about you guys, thanks for coming so quick, I just wanted her to know there was someone here" he made his way round to their side of the bed before looking back at Mercy still sleeping
"Have they said anything?" Santana asked as they hugged him
"They're still waiting for blood results, personally I think it's exhaustion again, she's had a turn before, a few years ago"
"I thought she was just writing?" Brittany asked
"She is" he looked back at her before walking back round to the other side of the bed to grab her hand "But works putting some pressure on me, on us recently, and I think that's got something to do with it"
"There's always going to be an element of pressure in your jobs, she can't just keep blacking out every time shit gets real" Santana told him
"It was nearly three years ago Santana, and she's generally fine" he snapped at her
"Sorry" she frowned at him "I guess I'm just worried"
"We all are" Brittany grabbed her hand to calm her down as they moved closer to the bed "She looks so peaceful"
"She's not dead" Sam snapped again
"Maybe now's not the right time for visiting" Santana looked at him sharply "Call us if anything changes"
"Yeah, sorry, I'm not myself right now" Sam apologised
"Just call" Santana stroked Mercy's face and walked out
"Bye" Brittany looked at Sam smiling
"Bye" his face in worried mode "And thanks again" he lay back on the bed to finish his delve into their past
"Babe" Mercy's muffled voice stopped him thinking a few minutes later
"Babe" his head shot up to look at her "Thank god, what happened?" he kissed her cheek "Don't answer that, are you hurt, is anywhere hurting?"
"I think I fainted"
"Definitely fainted" he smiled
"Did I hurt anyone else?"
"No sweet, it was only you and the car"
"Is the car alright?"
"Let's work out what's happening with you first babe, you worried me"
"I'm fine" she grabbed his hand
"Let me just call the nurse" he turned to grab the buzzer
"Sam" she stopped him moving "Will you listen to me please?"
"Yes" he stopped and lay back down on the bed
"As you know I wanted to talk to you about something last night but…"
"I'm sorry about that"
"Never mind all that" she waved her hand in the air irritated "I wanted to tell…"
"Oh" Doctor Owen walked into the room smiling "You're awake" she stood at the foot of the bed looking up at them smiling "Could I do some vitals?"
"Sure" Sam nodded, kissing Mercy before he got off the bed and stepped away
"Mrs Evans, do you have any recollection of what happened?" she asked as she went around checking various charts and feeling Mercy's parts
"I just felt really hot and then just when I thought it was too much to bear I blacked out"
"Nothing strange happened just before, a strange smell or anything like that?" Doctor Owen asked
"Not that I remember" Mercy looked at her concerned
"Doctor Owen" a nurse came to the door with a chart "The results of the test" she handed her the chart, the doctor looked at them and smiled at Mercy
"Can we have a minute?" Mercy asked the Doctor looking at Sam
"Of course," she smiled turning to leave
"What about the results?" Sam asked stepping towards the bed again
"I've got this" Mercy told the Doctor as she turned to answer Sam
"Babe" a look of concern on his face
"Babe" she smiled "I went to the doctors yesterday, I haven't been feeling myself and I knew something was wrong, so I had some tests done"
"Are you alright?"
"They found a bump"
"God Mercy" tears sprung to his eyes "What… I mean where is it, can they remove it?" his watering eyes unable to control themselves
"It can be removed" she smiled "In about eight months"
"Why do they have to wait that long?"
"Because that's how long it takes" she widened her eyes at him knowing he'd need more "We've already done a month without knowing it"
"You've known about this for a month already?" his eyes getting ready to flare red
"So" she smiled "You can choose the middle name"
"You're naming this…. I can choose….." he slowed down looking at her "Why did you do that?" he smiled
"I thought if I gave you worst case scenario, you'd he happy with anything better" she giggled
"I promised god if you were alright I'd be fine with babies, lots of babies" he laughed "So, bring it on" he hugged her
"I think if he or she's survived the crash, they'll be up for anything"
"Survivor, just like his or her mommy" he touched her tummy "I'm going to be a daddy" he laughed
"I'm assuming everyone's clear on the reason for the fainting spell?" Doctor Owen walked back into the room "Congratulations"
"Thanks" they grinned at her