Hey guys! Here is one of the stories I have been working on! I do have a question. Someone suggested I put these stories on a site and get subscribers who pay like a buck a month for constant Samcedes Stories. Is that something you all would be interested in? Getting Samcedes all the time? I'm just wondering. No matter the answer, I love you and love your reviews. Enjoy!

"Samuel Evans, where the hell have you been?" Mary Evans frantically said through the phone.

Sam sighed. "Ma, I was in the Data Server. I can't take my phone in there. What's up? You called me like twelve times."

"You need to come over."

"Ma, I am in the middle of my shift, I can't just leave,"

"Well, you better, it's a family emergency, so bring your ass," Mary warned.

"I will get there as soon as I can, but I can't just leave my team," Sam said, rubbing his temples. Just tell me what's going on."

"Samuel, hear me when I say this is something you need to see and believe. Get here." And with that, she hung up.

Sam put his phone down and sighed. He was the manager of a huge data center that handled a ton of servers for different companies. He had worked his way from the bottom to the top, and now, five years later, he was over an entire division.

While he couldn't just get up and leave, his mom had never sounded this worried before, and he'd be lying if he said it didn't frighten him.

Walking to his second in command, Sam ran his hands through his short, sandy blonde hair. He used to bleach it, but as he grew older and out of that phase, he grew to like his dark roots.

"Artie, can you finish up the shift for me? I have a family emergency."

"Of course!" Artie Abrams said as he rolled himself out of his desk. He was now fluid with the chair, but Sam knew it took patience and hard work.

They went to high school together, and Artie loved to dance; he planned to go to Julliard, and honestly, the man was that good. But one night, when they were 17 and in their Senior year of high school, Sam, Artie, and a few of their usual squad decided to do a dare night.

His dare was simple: do a high dive into the pool from the school roof at the back of campus. They all thought they were invincible; since Artie had done the dive before, he was fearless.

But then something happened from jumping and landing, and by the time Sam swam to him, his friend was passed out. They immediately called 911, knowing they'd be in trouble, but Sam didn't care.

He told everyone to leave, but in the end, their friends stood by them, getting arrested while they watched Artie getting loaded up into the ambulance.

At first, the school was going to expel them, thinking it was a bullying incident, but once they learned it was just an accident, the youths were charged with Trespassing. They were wrecked with guilt as they accepted the two months of Saturday detention, one hundred hours of community service, and, worst of all, their friend losing the ability to use his legs.

Once they completed their tasks, their records would be expunged, but a clean record could not fix what was broken.

It took a lot of work and therapy, but eventually, they all forgave themselves after Artie forgave them.

Sam also lost something that night. He had a full ride to NYU to play college football, which he lost because he got arrested; it was part of the nobility clause.

So, instead of attending NYU, Sam took courses at Lima University while working full-time to pay for school. His parents were disappointed but very proud of how he handled the situation.

It took him longer than he would have liked, but Sam didn't give up. He pushed forward and made sure that when he got back on top, he would stay there.

Hiring Artie was a no-brainer. The man may have loved to dance, but his brain was beautiful when it came to data and software.

That's why they were working on creating their own video game in their spare time.

"Yo! Earth to Evans!" Artie said, waving his hands in front of him. "What is going on?"

Sam sighed. "I'm sorry. I'm just…trying to figure out what is happening with my mom. I will call you once I get things settled."

"Should I cancel poker for tonight?"

Sam shook his head. "Not yet; I'll text you and let you know."

Grabbing his things, Sam rushed out of the building and into his car, driving twenty minutes to his parents' house. Pulling up, he rolled his eyes at seeing his older brother Simon's car and his younger siblings Stevie and Stacey.

His mom called the whole family in, which worried Sam a bit. Walking into the house, he kicked off his shoes and searched for his family.

"Ma? Ma, where are you?"

Simon popped his head out of the den and gave his brother a sympathetic look. "Aye, you can't be too loud right now."

Sam raised an eyebrow. "Why? What's going on?"

Simon shook his head. "Oh no, see, I am going to let Mom and Dad tell you; I am just here for moral support."

"Moral support for who?" Sam said, walking further into the home.

"Just remember to breathe, and if you pass out, I get twenty bucks, so if you feel it, go for it," Simon said, smiling at him.

Sam stopped walking, shaking his head. "Simon, you can't send me in there blind. You gotta tell me what's happening."

Simon looked behind him and then back to Sam. "Two words, Shelby Corcoran."

Sam glanced at him, confused for a moment, before his eyes widened. He had met Shelby when he went through his older woman phase a few years back.

"She moved to New York..is she here?" Sam didn't want to see her, not that they ended on bad terms; they just were not suited for each other. It was two months of nothing but sex, and then it ended.

"No, Shelby isn't here, but…just go see mom. She's in the living room.

Sam didn't know why, but the moment he began to walk, he felt a sinking feeling in his stomach. As he walked in, he was shocked to find his mother sitting on the sofa, cradling a young girl.

Mary's eyes shot up to Sam, and Dwight stood.

"Sammy, glad you could stop by,"

Sam nodded. "Soo… what's going on?"

Mary shifted the toddler in her arms and cleared her throat. "Oh, we just wanted you to meet Chloe, your daughter."

Blinking, he took an unsteady step backward. "My what?" Sam asked, confused.

"Yeah, that was my reaction when I found out that a woman old enough to be your mother, by the way, left this sweet little girl with a note telling me she was my granddaughter."

"I am not her fa—I can't be," Sam said, shaking his head and trying to steady the shaking ground.

Dwight reached for Sam, helping to steady him. "Sam, Chloe has been here since 7 a.m. And Stace was the one who found this poor girl in a car seat at the door with a note attached. The first thing your sister did was make sure we did a rapid swab. She is an Evans. And unless you and your brothers are keen on sharing, she is yours."

Sam nearly fell forward; he would have fallen if not for his father. "Where…where is she? She just left her?"

Mary sighed. "She's gone, Sam."

"Gone? No, she can't just leave this little girl here!"

Chloe began to stir, and Mary shook her head. "Lower your voice," she growled. "Like it or not, you are her father; she is your responsibility."

"I can't! I can't be her father; I can barely take care of myself."

"Samuel Dwight Evans, you are thirty-five years old. You better learn to start. Now Stevie, Simon, and your father are going to help you find a new place, and then we will decorate her room."

"If you have made all these decisions, then maybe you should keep her. I work ten-hour days; I have a life."

"And now you have a child!" Mary said sternly. "End of story. She was just given up by her mother; don't make her lose her father too."

Sam walked towards her and stared down at the little girl. "Mom, what am I going to do?"

Mary nodded towards her husband to come and take the little girl. Once free, she took Sam's hands in hers. "First, you are going to breathe. No matter how they came into this world, every child is a blessing, and your daughter is no different. No, you didn't plan this, but this is the risk you take when you have premarital sex."

Mary reached beside her and handed Sam the letter.

He hesitated before taking the letter and opening it.

Sam, this is Chloe, your daughter. There is so much to say, yet no time to say it. She turns three in about a month, and she needs her father. I have enclosed all the paperwork you will need to take care of her. Please look after her for me, and when she's older, tell her that I would have been stronger in another life.

Shelby.

Sam stared at the letter, confused, and his heart broke for his daughter. He was a father and now was in charge of another life.

"Sam?" Mary said, calling for his attention. "You aren't alone; we will do what we can to help."

Sam finally looked at his mom before walking over and kneeling down. She looked like Shelby and him; she had her mother's dark hair and his mother's nose.

Suddenly, her eyes opened, and the truth was seared into him. She had his green eyes; she was his.

"Ky, come out, come out wherever you are?" Mercedes sang, and she could hear her three-year-old daughter Kylie giggle.

Mercedes knew the girl was hiding behind the curtains, but she pretended to look behind the couch, made a big show about checking in the toy bin, and then, hesitating, went to the curtains.

"Oh no, I can't find her. Maybe I should just give up."

"No, Mommy! Here I am!" Kylie said, jumping out. "Ima monster grrrr."

"Ah, a monster!" Mercedes giggled.

"I am not a real monster, Mommy, just pretend."

Mercedes bent down to pick her daughter up. "And what a great pretend monster you are, way better than Uncle Bas."

That earned Kylie a proud grin as Mercedes took her to the Island and sat her in the booster seat." What do we want for lunch today?"

"Mmmm, Sushi."

"Sushi?" Mercedes laughed. "That's the last time I let Auntie Jane pick you up for lunch. How about we do mac and cheese instead of sushi?"

"Mmm, I love mac and cheese!"

"I know sweetie! Here, while I warm up the leftovers have some strawberries."

Mercedes always made sure they could have whatever she made for dinner for lunch whenever she wasn't in daycare.

When she had Ky, it seemed like everything that could go wrong went wrong.

She met Kylie's father in High School. His mother couldn't stand Mercedes. She had a plan for her son, including who he would marry, yet Kyle knew when he saw Mercedes that she was his future.

After graduation, he asked her to marry him, and Mercedes said yes. That is until his mother found her at his graduation party. She told Mercedes that he had given up a full ride to the University of Miami because he knew Mercedes had to stay close to home for her grandmother.

It broke her heart to think he gave up his dream for her, so she promised they would make it as long as he followed his dream. And they made that long-distance work. Four years of separation and yearly visits were hard, but they survived, only to have his mother give him an ultimatum.

Leave Mercedes or get cut off.

He didn't want to lose his family, but Mercedes was his heart. So he chose to be with Mercedes.

Seeing the struggle and how hard it was for Kyle to walk away from his mom, she tried to reach out, even having a heart-to-heart, and that is when she realized the truth. His mother was never going to accept their relationship. She told Mercedes that she was not good enough and never would be.

And for a moment, she believed that Kyle deserved so much better. Until she met his best friend, Simon.

Simon made sure she realized that she had always been the best thing that had ever happened to Kyle. If she left him, he wouldn't survive, and she knew that she wouldn't survive either.

Going back to Kyle, she told him everything that happened, and he basically said what Simon did. They decided that anyone who wouldn't support them didn't need to be around them.

The two married in a small ceremony a few weeks later, and Kyle decided to become a firefighter.

Married life was hard, and there were times she was sure they would break, but they made it work. Mercedes worked and saved enough to put her grandmother in a good home, and Kyle cared for her when it all became too much.

Even though they talked about starting a family, they were married for ten years before they felt ready to be parents. But on the eve of her thirty-third birthday, she sat at home, setting up a romantic dinner, waiting for Kyle so she could tell him that they were pregnant.

But he never came home.

Instead, Simon showed up with Hunter, Kyle's other best friend. They told her that he had lost his life saving a child, which Mercedes thought was ironic.

After a beautiful dedication, the firehouse swore to look out for her and Kylie. They had lost their Lieutenant, a man they loved and respected, so supporting Mercedes was only fitting.

And they did. Simon was there when Kyle's mother slapped Mercedes, saying she killed Kyle. And he was surprised when Mercedes slapped the woman back, telling her not to take her anger out on her. That she left Kyle's life, not the other way around.

The slap was mostly the depression from losing him, mostly.

Simon and Hunter were there when she went into labor and welcomed Kylie Harper Jones-Hill into the world—Kylie for Kyle, her father, and Harper for Mercedes' own mother, who passed on.

Coming back from her memories, Mercedes smiled at her daughter. She was the best part of Kyle, and she knew he was watching over them.

Coming back to her thoughts, she began to warm up the homemade mac and cheese when her phone rang.

Grabbing the broccoli from the freezer, she paused, looking at her phone and seeing a name she really didn't want to deal with. Hitting ignore, she went back to making lunch when a text came through.

Simon: I know you're there

Simon: Screening my calls. Really Merce? Come on, I need your help.

Rolling her eyes, she grabbed her phone as it rang again. "What do you want, Si?"

"Hey, beautiful."

"I will hang up," Mercedes warned.

"Look, I know you might still be angry at me because of Jordan."

"Oh, don't you mention that woman hater to me!" Mercedes growled. "How could you think I wanted to go out with him?"

"Because Quinn said he was your type," Simon answered.

'"If that's true then I am smacking her when I see her. The first thing he said to me was he liked the wagon I was dragging."

Simon laughed. "I mean, your ass is amazing."

"Oh, you shut it! What do you want? I am making Ky lunch?"

"It's not for me; it's for my brother."

"If Stevie needed something, he would ask. Unlike you, I like him."

Simon gasped. "I am wounded. But it's for Sam."

"Sam?" She asked.

"Yeah, you haven't met him yet, but he needs an apartment, and I figured you could hook him up."

"Si…"

"Merce, I wouldn't ask if he didn't need it. Your apartment complex is five minutes from his work, and he needs a two-bedroom. Please Merce. He just found out he has a kid and needs help." He hesitated for a moment. "You gonna put a kid on the streets?"

Mercedes shook her head. "Low blow using a child, you a-jerk." She said, looking over to Kylie.

The microwave beeped, and she sighed, grabbing the plate.

"Will you help him, Merce? We can bring the first and last right now to hold the spot."

Mercedes growled lowly as she plated Kylie's food. "You know that we typically have a waiting list, right?"

"I will throw in my mom's apple pie. You know you love her pie. Last time I brought you one, you said you wanted a moment alone with it."

"Oh, first guilt and now bribery, Lieutenant Evans? You are desperate, aren't you?"

Simon sighed. "Cards on the table, Sam hooked up with this older woman a few years back. It was just a month or two, then she left, and he basically forgot about her. This morning, my sister found this little girl in a car seat on our doorstep, and since she is a Medical student, she had some tests run. The girl is Sam's, and we are all she has."

"And that's why he needs this place?" she asked, kissing Kylie on the forehead as she gave her food.

"Yeah, he has a studio close to his work, but that's not gonna work anymore."

Mercedes was quiet for a long moment; she knew she could help his brother without problem.

Though Mercedes had the money from Kyle's life insurance policy, she put most of it in a savings account. She sold their home and moved into Elite Pine.

Mercedes liked the place because she felt safe there. Not only did they have 24-hour security on site, but they also had a thumbprint scanner to allow you entry inside. There was also a rooftop garden area.

When she walked into the complex, she only wanted to tour the place, but by the end of her tour, she walked out with a job and one of their three-bedroom, two-bathroom apartments.

Though she wanted a two-bedroom apartment, the owner assured her that having one would allow her to work from home part-time and in her office in the lobby when needed.

Running her hand through her hair, she cleared her throat. "Look, I had a couple pull out of their rental this morning. Their daughter just found out she was pregnant, and they decided to pack up and move to Florida. It's a three-bedroom, two-bathroom apartment. I think it could work for him. The only issue is it's literally across the hall from me."

"That's perfect! I get to see you more."

Mercedes shook her head. "Uh, no. If you do, I will evict him." They both laughed, and Mercedes grabbed the broccoli. "I am feeding Ky right now, but send me his info, and I will rush the process to get him in this weekend.."

"Can we pay extra to get in tomorrow if the place is ready? He can only get out of his lease without paying another month if he leaves tomorrow."

Mercedes sighed. "I can figure it out, but you, Evans, owe me big time."

"You know I will always pay that debt. Thank you, Merce. Tell Ky I said hi, and she is about to make a new friend."

"Yeah, yeah."

Mercedes hung up and looked over to Kylie, who was happily stuffing her face.

After lunch, she got Kylie something to drink, helped her go potty, and read her a naptime story. Mercedes was able to put her down and went to her home office. There, she answered a few emails and then submitted the background check for Simon's brother.

She rushed it so she would know within a few hours if he qualified. Calling her maintenance staff lead, Dave, she asked him to double-check and make sure the apartment was in working order.

She checked the baby monitor and smiled at Kylie. She knew any help would make her feel grateful if she were in his position. She picked up her phone and chewed her bottom lip as she called her pseudo-baby sister Jane. They may have had different parents, but that didn't matter to her.

"Talk to me!" Jane said as she answered on the second ring.

"Why do you answer the phone like that? I swear." Mercedes laughed.

"I only do it for you 'cause I know you hate it. But what can I do for you?"

"How do you know I want something?" She asked playfully.

"Cause it's before four; you never call before then unless you need something."

Mercedes sighed, shaking her head. Jane did know her; they had been around each other for the last five years. Mercedes mentored her when she started college; the two have been close ever since.

"You know that box of clothes I gave you to donate? Did you do it yet?"

Jane sighed. "No, it's still in my trunk; I am sorry. After lunch Kiki and I got our nails done, and I totally forgot."

"Great! I need you to bring it back here. And we need to talk about you and my daughter. You got her asking me for sushi."

Jane laughed. "It's not my fault she has good taste. Anyways I can bring it, but I thought Kiki outgrew all of them."

"She has; the girl is tall like her dad, but I wanted to see if they can work for a friend's niece," Mercedes said, leaning back in her chair.

"Ok, I am gonna need more info than that," Jane said.

"Just bring it here. If you do, I am pretty sure you can get a look at Stevie."

"Stevie? As in Stevie, Stevie?"

Mercedes laughed. Jane met Stevie and Simon at the fire station and has been in love with him ever since.

"Sooo, if Stevie is there, then Simon's there too? You're gonna finally go out with him?"

Mercedes scoffed. "They aren't here yet, but they will be later tomorrow to move their brother and his daughter in. And second, no. Si and I tried dating about a year ago, but it didn't work."

"Too bad, those are some fine men… you think brother number three is just as gorgeous?" Jane asked.

"I think I need to finish getting through these emails; you can just come up when you get here."

"It pays to know the manager. You make everything so easy. I am sure Simon feels the same way," Jane mused.

"Goodbye Jane."

Mercedes hung up and laughed as she went back to work. Jane wasn't lying. The Evans men were good-looking. Kyle would always joke that she was only allowed to remarry an Evans if he ever passed.

As she finished sending out her emails, someone knocked on her door. Going to answer it, she shook her head, seeing her best friend Quinn with a bottle of Cheerwine and a stuffed unicorn wrapped in a bow. "I come bearing gifts."

"You come knowing that Si told me you thought Jordan was good for me." Mercedes laughed, letting her in. "Another stuffie for Ky? This girl is about to have the biggest collection; I am gonna need to put up a wall mount."

"I always come with gifts for my girls. And yes, Si has a big mouth, but he also said you were helping Sam, so I wanted to say thanks."

"Ah yes, the ex," Mercedes smirked. "Are you just here to see when he's moving in?"

Quinn shook her head. "Sam and I dated years ago, and he is not the one; Simon, on the other hand… will forever see me as only Sam's ex."

"Remind me what he looks like; I know I never met him, but with Si and Stevie looking so similar, I wonder if he looks like them, too?"

"Sam… he does look like them but doesn't have their carefree nature. He is a bit uptight, and he doesn't believe in relationships, or rather he sees the bad in people, so doesn't see the point."

"Damn, yeah, that's nothing like Si…did Si tell you why he's moving."

"Baby momma drama?" Quinn laughed. "Yes, and hey, it's about damn time that man got caught up. He's the one who loves them and leaves them, and now there is a girl he can never leave. Sounds like justice to me."

Hearing Kylie murmur, she looked at the monitor and sighed deeply. "Come on, since you are here, you can help me get the baby girl up."

"Yay, gimmie, my girl."

Mercedes laughed, leading her to the room. She felt very blessed to have family and friends who cared.