Hey there readers young and old.
This is another "I'm still here" one shot… these updates have proved challenging and the addition of a job makes it even more hectic to try and write things.
But in any case, here is a fic which I've titled "Reflections"
So, without further ado, I give you my newest one-shot
Reflections
Mrs. Benson sat up from her failed attempt at sleep. She glanced over at the clock. Four in the morning is too early. Sleep deprivation is the number fifty-six cause of death for middle aged Caucasian women.
She walked to her son's bedroom door. She slowly forced the door open; careful not to make any noise. Sure, Freddie wasn't exactly a light sleeper, but you can never be too careful. It's the Benson Family motto.
She stood in the doorway and gazed at her son's sleeping figure.
I never wanted him to be like his father.
She began to let her mind wonder. The last person she wanted to think about was William Parker Reese. As far as she was concerned he was the scourge of the earth. He would always be; after abandoning her and her 8 month old son.
Sure, it started out all rainbows and butterflies. It always does. However, the dream eventually turns to reality. And if you're not careful it can all turn into one big nightmare.
She silently scoffed. The one time she decides to disregard the family motto. She brought her attention back to her son.
I suppose it all worked out for the best.
Still, regardless of whatever she prayed for, she always punctuated her prayer with 'don't let him be like his father, Amen'.
His father was quite the charmer. He always had the right words to say. The right moves to make. He'd always get whatever he wanted from whomever he wanted it from, and he'd get them to give it to him, freely. Marissa was well aware of this, but like so many others before her, she thought she was immune. And for a long time, she was immune. The Benson motto rang true in her head and she was able to use it to carefully think through any offers or requests from William 'Billy' Reese. A feat that very few could lay claim to.
Maybe that's what kept him around.
Whatever made him stick around, apparently, lost its charm because Billy Reese was long gone. Marissa's eyes glanced over at the awards that hung on Freddie's wall. Various awards for class participation, perfect attendance, Straight A Honor Roll, Pictures of him and his friends, all decorated Freddie's wall in a mosaic of accomplishment and happiness.
It seems that worked out for the best too.
It seemed that all of the prayers that she sent up, paid off. He was nothing like Bill Reese. Freddie got all of his A's on his own. He didn't have to con someone into giving him the answers. He got all of his friends because of who he was. Not because of fancy words and false promises. Marissa beamed with pride. She may have had the best child from a single parent home… ever. Certainly, better than most.
But with every blessing comes a bit of a curse. Freddie was nothing like his Father, but he was more like Marissa than she liked. She shook her head and silently slid the door closed. And walked down the hall to the guest room.
Of course, in the beginning it was all good. Freddie was like her and she couldn't be happier. He was always cautious. She impressed the Benson motto into his brain: 'You can never be too careful.' Freddie took it to heart. He was very adept in matters concerning health, safety, and fist-aid. Marissa had, at one point, entertained ideas of Freddie becoming a doctor or even a nurse and starting some sort of tradition of Bensons who practiced medicine. Of course, once he became interested in computers and that, blasted, web show of his; all notions of him practicing medicine flew out of the window. That was because he possessed another one of her traits. He was extremely dedicated and worked hard to achieve his goals, sometimes, despite the opposition.
She remembers that her own parents were opposed to her becoming a nurse. Her mother told her that she was stifling herself. That she could be so much more than 'just a nurse'. That doctors are more highly regarded in society and that they made more money. She stood her ground that life wasn't all about money and status. That being a doctor would force her to shut off her emotions. That she could only care up to a certain point before the job would eat her alive. She firmly believed that no amount of money was worth losing your soul. Being a nurse would give her decent money and a chance to stay true to her nurturing nature.
Her father, jokingly, suggested that she give up her thoughts about med school and rejoin The Fencin' Bensons. At least she hoped he was joking.
Maybe that's why she never put up a fight about his desire to work with computers. He would do what he felt would feed his soul. He would do what he loved. He worked hard and would do anything for the things that he loved…
… and the people.
She stopped outside of the guest room. She placed a hand on the door and let loose a low ragged sigh. Of all the people… she thought with a shake of the head.
The delinquent had run away again. She hated to think that Freddie would be friends with a delinquent but she kept acting out and not telling anyone why. She insists that she doesn't need help time and again. So then she must be a delinquent, and she'll be one until she explains the reason for her latest stunt.
Still, if my Freddie cares about her this much she can't be all bad.
So when she came out of her room at 1 in the morning to find them huddled together on her couch she offered the poor girl a warm bed to sleep in. The girl may be a delinquent but Benson's aren't heartless.
She pushed the door open, less concerned with waking up the sleeping Puckett. Unlike her Freddie, Marissa doubted that, even, a raging bull with a ringing fire alarm strapped to it's hide could wake up Samantha. She looked at the sleeping blonde with a bit of contempt as the memories of the events that led to this situation flooded back to her memory.
Marissa had been sitting in the kitchen reading the news paper. Suddenly she heard an exclamation of disbelief come from her son's room. Before she could get to him and demand to know what the problem was, he had shot out of his room and into the den. He grabbed his keys off of the coffee table and began to leave the house.
She called out to him. He stopped in his tracks. After asking where he was going, she found out that Sam had indeed run away again and Freddie was off to search for her.
Marissa, of course, demanded that he abandon this fool hardy task. She claimed that it was too dangerous to be driving around at night.
He, of course, rebutted, claiming that she was his friend and he had to go look for her.
It was 'of course' because, this wasn't the first time. When this incident occurred for the first time, Freddie refused to follow her orders. She was shocked. Freddie had never defied her in such a manner. She was so shocked that she didn't even have the ability to try to stop her son from walking out of the door to find his lost friend.
She leaned against the doorframe and folded her arms. Yep, Freddie had turned out just like Marissa, for better and for worse.
She watched and remembered what her parents said about Bill when she brought him home to meet them. They held the same Benson courtesy reserved for guests of their home. But they were not fooled by his silver tongue and cheeky smile. They told her that he wasn't good for her. That he seemed great on the outside but that eventually any façade breaks down. He remembered her father's archaic advice.
"Once the movie is over and the credits have rolled, its just you and him in the theatre. Then, you'll see who he really is."
It was shortly followed by her mother's resounding of the family motto.
"Sweetie, what your father is saying, is that you can never be too careful."
She accused her father's statement of being nonsense and told her mother that she was, in fact, being careful. Her parents, of course, rebutted, and the argument followed. She'd made up her mind then and there that it didn't matter what they said. She would be with Bill and she would prove them wrong. She chased him. With every intention of leaving it all behind, she went after him. He was her dream.
She received her rude awakening though.
Her father's advice didn't make any sense then but it certainly rang true. Sure enough, once the fun part was over and she'd stopped denying that the fun part was over, he was there in plain view. She didn't see it at the time, of course. You rarely do, but hindsight is 20/20.
She swore, while she was holding, eight month old, Freddie and reading the apology note, that she would never let his happen to her Freddie. Not to her baby boy. She'd protect him from the entire world. She'll make sure that he found the girl that would be the best and treat him right. And there would be no measure that she wouldn't take to keep him safe. You could never be too careful. It was advice that she'd never ignore again.
Yet, for all of her nurturing and caring and loving, her son would fight against her. Didn't he know that she only wanted the best for her son? Didn't he know that she was only trying to protect her son from the same fate that she, herself, fell to?
Of course he knew. She'd told Freddie the story of his father about a year ago. Freddie is a smart kid. Freddie could definitely understand that Marissa only wanted the best for her only son… her pride and joy. He could definitely understand the pain that his mother went through. He was sharp as a tack. Just like her…
Just like me.
As she watched the blonde as she lay sleeping she heard footsteps behind her.
"Mom?" Marissa jumped and quickly turned to meet the confused stare of her son, "What are you doing up?"
"I suppose I could ask you the same thing."
"I was just comin' to check on Sam."
Despite herself, Mrs. Benson let a small smile play on her lips. "Well I've got that under control. I think you've done enough for the night."
Freddie nodded, "Ok, I'll just get a glass of water and go back to bed."
Marissa glanced once again at the sleeping Puckett and heard her mumble something. She smiled a bit before she shut the door. She headed to the kitchen where she spotted Freddie staring down into his glass of water.
"Is there something the matter, sweetie?"
Freddie looked up from his glas of water and smiled, "No mom, nothin's wrong. It's just…" he glanced towards the guest room, "it's been a long night."
Marissa followed his gaze and sighed, softly, "If you'd just tell me what's going on, I could help her."
Freddie shook his head, "I can't do that mom. It's a delicate situation."
Marissa nodded her head. She didn't quite understand, but she knew that she wasn't going to get much more than that. But perhaps this rare Mother/Son chat wouldn't have to be a total waste. "Why her?"
Freddie scrunched his face up in confusion, "What do you mean?"
"She's always been such a delinquent, and such a bad influence."
"She hasn't been a-" Mrs. Benson gave her son a look, "Ok maybe she's got a bit of a reputation but she's a good person when she wants to be."
"I suppose you may be right. But she's shown a lot more bad than good. I raised you to be able to avoid those types."
"Mom, that's just it… to you she seems like a bad person but to me she's more good than bad." Freddie observed his mom's confused expression, "Listen, all my life you've nurtured me, kept me safe, and most of all, you've taught me to look past appearances. I know that she has a rough exterior but… just trust me… there is a reason for it."
"But what about some of the other nice girls… like that Wendy girl with red hair or the Shannon girl that actually liked you and acted like she liked you.. or even…" She released a heavy sigh, "or even that Shay girl from across the hall?"
"Mom all of those girls are like you… and no offense, but, I've already got a 'you'. Wendy is smart, Carly's nice and Shannon is…" Freddie thought about a word that would adequately replace 'insane', "pretty… either way you're already all of those things."
"But?" Marissa asked, preparing to hear the worst.
"But… Sam is different. She's smart but in a different way. She's nice but in a different way. She's-" Freddie stopped himself unsure if he wanted to say that Sam was pretty. That would undoubtedly lead down a line of questioning that he didn't feel like enduring. "She's a change of pace from you and Carly. The most important thing is… she's never lied about who she was… at least, not to me. And I think that's deserving of my trust."
Mrs. Benson smiled at her son's words. And for the first time, she wasn't upset that her son had gone against her wishes for someone who was important to him
Just like me.
"Besides," Marissa, who hadn't realized that she'd been staring at the kitchen table, looked up, "it's not like we're dating or anything."
Mrs. Benson chuckled, "Of course not sweetie. You should get some rest its 4:45 in the morning."
"You're right… but I'm gonna run to the bathroom first. I drank a lot of water and you can never be too careful."
She watched Freddie walk down the hallway.
"That's my boy." She walked to the guest room to check in on Sam one more time. All the while reflecting on her talk with Freddie.
He was nothing like his father. He cared about his friends and family. He never lied… at least he was never any good at it. And he'd always put his loved ones before his self.
Marissa slid the door open and looked in to find Sam still asleep. Although: her head was now at the opposite end of the bed, and her shirt raised up; exposing her midsection. She shook her head and chuckled once again.
As she was closing the door, she heard a noise come from the slumbering Puckett.
She peeked in, unable to resist the urge to meddle and listened to the mumbled sleep talk coming from Sam. In between moans and some unintelligible muttering she heard two words loud and clear and she couldn't stop the smile once again.
No, he was definitely more like his mother. Loyal to a fault, dependable, and very much headstrong. And even though they would bump heads at times because of their similarities…
"Thanks Freddie."
It all worked out for the best.
Well there ya have it. Hopefully it wasn't too disappointing (not being the chapter(s) that I have been promising you)
In any case, thank you guys for reading. Reviews are welcome, but if you decide against it then thank you for reading anyway.
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Well that about wraps it up for me,
Til next time,
Dueces
KL21