Gonna Make You My Baby

Backstage at Nationals, Sam was fidgeting with all kinds of nervous energy. He thought he had been nervous at Sectionals and at Regionals too, but he wasn't this nervous. He kind of thought he might throw up, which would have been super embarrassing.

Bringing his hands up to adjust the knot in his tie, he untied it and realized what a mistake it was because now he was fumbling with the smooth fabric. Just as he was about to call out to Mike to help him fix it like he had in their room, he heard the disapproving clicking of someone's tongue, which caused his head to snap to the left.

"Boy," Mercedes chastised, reaching out for the tie as she shook her head. "What are you goin' and messin' with your tie for? It was fine the way it was."

"You don't have to fix it." His cheeks flushed and his lips were down turned sheepishly. "I was gonna get Mike to do it, anyway. I'm just like really nervous I guess. This is like Nationals, you know?"

"Do you ever stop wiggling and fidgeting? You're gonna waste all your energy movin' around instead of dancin' up on the stage. Take a deep breath and chill."

He swallowed thickly as he stared down at the beautiful girl in front of him.

Her smooth fingers glided over the skin of his neck as she adjusted the collar of his black shirt and because she was so close he could smell the cinnamon of her perfume and that was the real reason he couldn't stop fidgeting. Her nearness made him nervous and how beautiful she looked in the flowing black dress all the girls were wearing did too.

Licking his lips, he pushed his bangs from his eyes and told her, "You look really beautiful, Mercedes."

He thought he could see the deep copper of her cheeks turning the warm peach they had the night before, but he couldn't investigate any further because suddenly Kurt had appeared by her side. "She does, doesn't she?" The counter tenor gushed as he twirled her around. "I feel like I created a masterpiece with your hair and your makeup. It's like prom all over again."

"Yeah," He agreed absently under his breath. "It's totally like prom all over again."

He didn't want Kurt to leave, he liked the smaller boy and he was happy he was back at McKinley, but he kinda wished he would go find Santana and Brittany to gush about their hair and makeup or whatever so he could talk to Mercedes alone; except that didn't look like it was going to happen.

His almond shaped grey eyes went wide and he gasped in awe as he turned her toward him, his hands firmly planted on her shoulders and yelped, "Are you serious right now? You're wearing the black booties we saw Blake wearing at The Green Lantern premiere in Vogue last week?"

"Baby," Mercedes stressed, a bright smile crossing her soft features that made his stomach flip flop. "You should have seen the shoes Rachel thought we should all be wearin'. Ugh. If it wasn't for me and T we'd be stuck in those God awful Mary Janes she likes so much."

"No!"

Moving away from the excitable pair, he found himself standing with Mike like they were leaning up against the random brick wall on that street from the night before. "Do you, like, understand girls and shoes?"

"I don't think we're supposed to understand girls and shoes, man."

"Whoa." Sam's eyes went wide and his mouth formed an o as he blinked. "You are a wise Asian, dude. That totally makes sense."

"I wasn't cast as Jimny Cricket in Wilson Elementary's fourth grade production of Pinocchio for nothin'."

After the MC announced them, the backstage area fell silent as Finn and Rachel made their way to the stage. He stayed next to Mike but as Rachel and Finn's voices filled the theatre, his eyes fell on Mercedes' silhouette, drinking her in like he couldn't when Kurt had unexpectedly showed up by her side earlier. His tongue wet his lips and he swallowed thickly.

None of them had heard the duet their captains were going to sing and he didn't think he'd actually listen to the words, but once he heard them sing, "Will we ever say the words we're feeling," he couldn't help but think of him and Mercedes. They had to talk about last night, like, before they got back to Lima. He didn't know why talking about what happened between them suddenly seemed so urgent, but as he listened to Finn and Rachel pouring out their hearts to each other, he knew why it was.

Maybe Puck was right about New York being the "city of love," though he still totally thought it was Paris.

He started fidgeting again once the reverb of the final note ended and like everyone else in the theatre, he was transfixed – like almost frozen – by the way Finn and Rachel were staring at each other and not moving. He watched as she leaned in close and he bent his head down and then they were kissing; gasps rang out all around him and he was sure he gasped too.

Turning to Mike, he asked, "Were they, like, supposed to kiss or something?"

The other boy shook his head. "I doubt it. If they were, Rachel would have made Finn rehearse the kiss over and over. He totally caught her off guard."

"Whoa."

"Exactly."

The crowd was on their feet and clapping and cheering just like the one at Regionals had been after they finished their group number "Light Up The World" and with adrenaline rushing through him, Sam reached for Mercedes and pulled her into an unexpected hug. Her cinnamon smell was all around him once again, and he had no choice but to inhale the alluring scent.

Breaking the hug, he looked down at her, pink lips spread into a wide and goofy grin. "We killed it! We so killed it!" He shouted as he pumped his fist high in the air.

"We did, didn't we?" Her beautifully soft features were as bright as they had been on the stage of the empty theatre the night before and he nodded enthusiastically in agreement.

As high as everyone had been after the performance, it all came crashing down, when Mr. Schue appeared in front of them after looking at the results and said grimly, "We didn't place."

With the triumphant yells and hollers of the other show choirs ringing in their ears, they trudged back upstairs, all of them ending up in the girl's hotel room and not knowing what to say. With tears in her big brown eyes, Rachel sniffled and started apologizing, when suddenly Santana started screaming and cursing in Spanish as she lunged for the smaller brunette.

He, Mike and Quinn somehow managed hold the feisty Latina back as she continued her verbal assault about bad things happening in Lima Heights Adjacent while trying to break free from their hold, her arms reaching out to claw at Finn who was standing in front of Rachel.

"I can't believe it." He heard Mercedes soft, dejected voice from beside him after Brittany had taken Santana into the bathroom to calm her down. "We lost. After all that, we still lost. And why? Because Finn and Rachel had to figure out their crazy ass will they or won't they ish?"

His fingers twitched at his sides and his hands sort of shook at his sides, the feeling of wanting to reach for her and put his hand on her shoulder, really strong inside of him. His tongue wet his lips and he took a fortifying breath as he molded his hand to the gentle curve of her shoulder, making her turn her head so her chocolate eyes were staring into his clear green.

"Don't, like, hate me or anything and I know this like cliché or whatever, but there's always next year. We could totally come back and kick ass and take names. I mean, come on, Mercedes we wrote our own songs! No one else did that and maybe they weren't as good as the ones we did for Regionals, but we'll be like even better next year, right?"

"We said the same thing last year."

"So what? This time next year, we'll be putting Finn and Rachel on our shoulders and screaming and telling Vocal Adrenaline to like suck it."

He held his breath, hoping to see her chocolate eyes glimmer like they usually did and slowly the dark orbs regained their sparkle and her lips quirked with amusement. "I hope you're right."

Wrapping an arm around her shoulder, he pulled her into his side and his eyes darted around the room for a moment, checking to make sure no one was looking at them, and he bent to kiss her head. His reward was her little button nose scrunching and cute giggles bubbling from her pretty lips, making his heart swell because he got her to do all that.

They were back in Lima fast enough to give them all whiplash and suddenly everything about the average sized town seemed small; smaller than it ever was before. But the motel room he and his family were staying in felt especially smaller and it made his stomach churn and his fists ball up tightly because he couldn't do more than just working nights delivering pizzas.

Flopping down on the bed, he winced as the old, metal springs creaked underneath the weight of his muscular six foot frame. Sighing heavily, his fingers shifted through the soft strands of his golden hair and bit down on his full bottom lip, nibbling slightly as he remembered what he told all the guys back in New York before they helped Finn try and woo Rachel.

"If I was in love with a girl and I wasn't homeless, I would totally go for it."

Looking around the impossibly small room that was bursting with everything his family owned, his heart sank. There's no way even after they kissed on the stage in that empty theatre she would go for him. He couldn't afford to take her on dates and buy her presents or even flowers; unless, you know, you counted the wildflowers you could buy at a gas station, and he didn't. His eyes drifted to the ceiling while his stomach was churning and twisting once again as his little sister Stacey climbed onto the bed and began shaking his strong shoulder as vigorously as her little hands could.

"Sammy, you gotta get up." She whispered.

"I'm awake, Stace." He assured, gently pushing her away.

"I know you're awake, silly, but you have to get up." Her little voice bubbled with excitement, but it still wasn't enough for him to actually move. "There's a pretty girl at the door and she wants to have coffee with you before school."

"Tell Quinn," He said knowing it was the small blonde Stacey was most likely referring to. "That I don't feel like coffee, okay?"

More like I don't feel like her paying for my coffee, he thought absently hoping just this one time his little sister would listen to him.

"No, silly, Quinn's not the pretty girl at the door. She looks like Cinderella. This pretty girl looks like Princess Tiana.

Unlike most seventeen year old boys he actually knew who Princess Tiana was and he nearly tripped over his legs as he shot up from the bed to rush over to the door. He skidded to a stop half way and messed around with his hair for a few seconds before he ran his tongue over his teeth, feeling for any bits of food that could be stuck, once he was sure his teeth were clear, he rubbed his sweaty palms on his jeans and then finished his walk to the door.

"Don't look so excited to see me." Mercedes teased, soft features and smile bright.

"Uh, sorry." He murmured sheepishly, his fingers sifting through his hair as his mouth grew into the lopsided smile that had come to make her stomach flip flop. "I'm happy to see you, like, I swear!"

"Relax." She reached out to pat his upper arm and her cheeks flushed as she was able to feel the contours of the nicely formed muscles underneath the short sleeves of his grey hoodie; all the working out he talked up during Rocky Horror really did pay off.

"So, um, Stacey said you, like, wanted to have coffee?"

"Yeah." She shifted back and forth on her feet, suddenly feeling nervous. "Everyone was so depressed on the plane ride back we never got a chance to talk about what happened in New York, and I think we should talk about it."

"You're talking about us kissing, right?"

"Unless you kissed someone else, yeah, that's what I'm talkin' about; us kissing."

"That's cool. I just, um, I..." He swallowed and let out a sharp rush of air while she took notice of how good his pretty pink lips looked all pursed together like that; they were begging to be kissed and she wished they were alone so she could oblige. "Money's still really tight and stuff," He hung his head and his pale cheeks flushed, making her stomach twist.

"Don't worry about it. I got this, okay?" Her voice was gentle and he shivered from the feeling of her fingers touching his skin as she lifted his chin. "And don't worry about paying me back a'ight? It's not necessary. I mean, sure, you can try, but you'll just be wastin' time."

"We'll see about that."

Halfway to the Lima Bean, Sam put his hand on the crook of Mercedes' elbow and she stopped mid-step to turn to look at him. Her eyes were wide and expectant as she nibbled nervously on her bottom lip while he thought she looked totally beautiful and wanted nothing more than to nibble on her lip himself.

Flushing brightly from where his head was at, he licked his lips and cleared his throat. "I really like you, like a lot, Mercedes." He fumbled with the straps of his backpack before stuffing his hands into his pockets. "But seriously I don't know what you'd get out of dating me. I can't actually date you, you know what I mean? I can't even buy you flowers; cause you deserve way more than the cheap wildflowers from a gas station. Kissing you was great, but..."

His rambling was cut off by her lips pressing themselves forcefully into his own, nearly sending him stumbling backwards. He fell into the kiss quickly, though; her caramel taste proving too good to resist as he moved his lips perfectly in sync with hers.

They were both breathless when they pulled away and now it was his turn to stare at her expectantly.

"I really hope kissin' on those pretty lips you got, ain't the only way to shut you up." She shook her head, but a smile played at her soft, glistening lips.

"You shouldn't have kissed me to shut me up then; especially not like that." He told her trying his best to look innocent, but failing.

"Be serious. Cause I'm about to lay down the facts and you best be listenin' a'ight? J. Lo was not frontin' when she said love don't cost a thing. I don't need you buyin' me things or takin' me out every night or whatever it is you think you need to do to keep me on your arm, okay? Nobody has ever looked at me the way you look at me. I talk a good game about not needin' a man and all that ish, but I want what every girl wants; a boy to look at me like you do, to tell me I'm beautiful and mean it, to get all fumbling and cute as hell around me. You just do all that and we'll be all good. For real."

"Seriously?"

"Did I stutter?"

"No."

"Then chill and put those lips of yours to good use by kissin' on me."

"You don't have to tell me twice."

They broke apart after another kiss that left them breathless and made their way inside the Lima Bean. Each time her delicately shaped smooth fingers brushed against the thickness of his large, calloused ones, both felt the same shiver race up their spines and the same spark surge through them, making them smile softly at each other as they tried not to laugh giddily.

He was about to ask her what she wanted, when suddenly, they heard Kurt's happy voice shout, "Oh! Look who's here!"

Blaine turned around, his usual charming smile crossing his lush lips and warmth was etched into his musical tone as he greeted them, "Hey, what are you guys doing here?"

Neither knew what to say; there was a lot of story behind how they got "here," and they weren't talking about here as in the Lima Bean. They shared a brief look before Sam swung is arms back and forth, trying to be as casual as he could saying, as he licked his lips, "Just, uh, getting a coffee."

Mercedes nodded her head vigorously, speaking faster than she normally did when she said, "We ran into each other in the parking lot."

For their part, it appeared that neither boy noticed anything was different about the blonde jock and the curvaceous diva. With his fingers crossed exaggeratedly, Blaine told the pair, "We're on our way to get sheet music; tomorrow's my audition for the summer show at Six Flags."

Kurt easily transitioned the conversation back to him, announcing his summer plans with an easy flair. "Where as I am spending my summer composing Pip Pip Hooray; a Broadway musical about Pippa Middleton."

Sam's forehead creased in confusion about Kurt's plans about some Broadway show about a person – at least he thought this Pippa Middleton was a person – he'd never heard of, but the smaller boy was Mercedes' best friend, so he nodded and did his best to be supportive. "Um, yeah, I have no idea who that is, but it sounds totally awesome."

He hoped the wink he gave at the end wasn't too suspicious or weird.

She couldn't help but giggle at how adorable he looked all confused with his brows furrowed and his pretty lips pursed together. Lightly, she patted his chest, the urge to touch him surging through her as she rolled her eyes and shared a look with Kurt that said Really? How can he not know who Pippa Middleton is?

Expectantly, Blaine and Kurt started at both of them and quickly, she put an end to their conversation with her eyes bright and her voice a little higher than usual, "We'll see you in class!"

Once they were behind the large column that the boys' table was situated behind, through clenched teeth she asked worriedly, "Do you think they know?"

He shrugged her off easily with the reminder of, "Nobody knows."

"Right."

Biting down on her lip, Mercedes fumbled with the cardboard protective sleeve the baristas put on all the coffee cups as they made their way from the Lima Bean to McKinley High. Turning to Sam, she asked, "Why didn't we say anything to Kurt and Blaine about us?"

He licked his lips nervously and swallowed thickly, his brows furrowing in concentration as he hoped he wouldn't screw up and say the wrong thing. "Uh," He mumbled as he rubbed the back of his neck before he pulled her behind one of the trees in the school's parking lot. "Should I have said something? Cause I totally would have if you wanted me to. Wait, I was supposed to know you wanted me to say something, wasn't I?"

"Are you tellin' me you read minds, Sam?"

"Uh, no. Cause, like, I don't. Though, that would be totally awesome if I could. I would be like Professor X from the X-Men!"

"I am like two seconds away from smackin' you upside your blonde head, boy. Do not be talkin' about comics right now! This is serious! What the hell are we even doin'? What is this? Are you my man now? Am I your girl?"

(Moment of honesty

Someone's gotta take the lead tonight

Whose it gonna be?

I'm gonna sit right here

And tell you all that comes to me

If you have something to say

You should say it right now

[Drake: You should say it right now]) ("Un-Thinkable (I'm Ready)" by Alicia Keys feat. Drake)

The way her body shook and the frantic look inside her chocolate eyes had his stomach sinking. Instead of saying they were at the Lima Bean for coffee (even though, they were), he should have told Kurt and Blaine he was getting coffee with his girlfriend. He really screwed up.

Running his fingers through his hair, he reached for her hand and gave it a squeeze as his clear green eyes bore into her chocolate. "I should have told Kurt and Blaine I was getting coffee with my girlfriend, but this what's happening between you and me is, like, new; really new and it's not an excuse, but me and girls haven't exactly worked out. Quinn was always trying to make me less dorky and Santana she was just really scary and handsy too, so I just did whatever she said. This – you and me – it's like different, but in a good way. You don't want to make me less dorky, you're not scary or handsy," A cheeky grin crossed his wide lips as he wiggled his brows. "Though, if you want, I'm not, like, opposed to you being handsy."

He hoped his corniness would make her laugh and sure enough, the familiar bubbly sound escaped those perfectly kissable lips of hers.

"You crazy, white boy, you know that?"

"Crazy about you."

"Stop it." She flushed brightly and shook her head as she pushed at his chest, trying to get him out of her personal space, but he wouldn't budge.

"You asked if I was your man and I want to be." His pale cheeks now matched the pink color of his wide mouth. "Just like I want you to be my girl, but I don't think everybody needs to be in our business, you know? I mean, it's like, every non-Asian relationship in this glee club is, like, cursed or something, and I think we should take this slow. Everything went so fast with Quinn and even though she kissed Finn and stuff, I think I kind of scared her off with the whole promise ring thing and Santana...Like I said, she's just way scary and who wants to be on her bad side? Bad things," He said in a high pitched tone with a horrible Spanish accent. "Happen in Lima Heights Adjacent."

"So we're keepin' this on the down low then?"

"Only if you're cool with it. If you're not, I could totally save up my money from my pizza delivery job and get a sky writer to write that Mercedes Jones is my girl over Lima."

"I knew I was right when I called you crazy; cause you are. And just so we're crystal, I'm down with keeping us on the down low. I like having something that's just mine; especially since I tell Kurt and Tina everything. I can tell you how good you make me feel and how I've never felt like this before." Her voice grew soft and wistful as a warm smile crossed her lips while she peered at him from behind her eyelashes.

(You give me a feeling that I never felt before

And I deserve it, I think I deserve it

[Drake: I deserve it, I think I deserve it...Let it go]

It's becoming something that's impossible to ignore

And I can't take it

[Drake: I can't take it])

Gently, he pushed several strands of her smooth straight hair behind her ear and he shook his head. "Someone should have been smart enough to make you feel like this before me."

Waiving her hand dismissively, she cupped the strong curve of his cheek in her palm. "Don't sweat the technique a'ight? Obviously, I've been waitin' for some crazy, dorkalicious white boy who can rock a letterman's jacket like nobody's business, the prettiest green I eyes I've ever seen and delicious pink lips I can't stop wanting to kiss."

"You can't stop wanting to kiss me, huh?" The cheeky grin from earlier was back and his stunningly clear green eyes sparkled in a way she hadn't seen, but liked a lot.

"Divas don't lie about wanting to get their kiss on and this diva – well, she don't lie about bein' your girl. So how bout you seal this deal and make me your baby."

(I was wondering

Could I make you my baby

If we do the unthinkable would it make us look crazy

If you ask me I'm ready

[Echo: I'm ready, I'm ready]

If you ask me I'm ready

[Echo: I'm ready, I'm ready])

Until the last glee club meeting of the year, those were the last words either Sam or Mercedes spoke. Instead of sealing the deal she proposed with words, he did it with a series of kisses. First on her forehead, then across her eyelids, on the tip of her button nose, both of her cheeks and then finally her lips. The kiss he drew her lips into started out soft and gentle, but it quickly grew in both length and heat.

For the first time they both tasted each other; their tongues probing while their bodies were pressed tightly together as her back scraped against the thick, harsh trunk of the tree they were standing behind.

They pulled back, after air became a necessity, goofy smiles gracing their faces as their chests heaved up and down. Before their hands became intertwined, they scanned the parking lot making sure the cars that belonged to their fellow gleeks were all in the parking lot and then they walked inside, only letting go of each other's hands as they made their way through the choir room door.

All the while, though, they kept stealing glances at each other and smiling in secret, the new and exciting feelings surging inside of them too strong to make them stop.

(You give me a feeling that I never felt before

And I deserve it, I know I deserve it

[Drake: I know I deserve it, I know I deserve it. Let it go]

It's becoming something that's impossible to ignore

It's what we make it

[Drake: It's what we make it])

Song used "Un-Thinkable (I'm Ready)" by Alicia Keys feat. Drake)

Note: The Blake Kurt refers to is Blake Lively an actress best known for her role as Serena van der Woodsen on Gossip Girl and Princess Tiana, the way Sam's baby sister Stacey describes Mercedes, is Disney's first African American Princess from the 2009 movie the Princess & The Frog.