AN-So if you have read any of my other stories, I usually have my more mature stories like this centered around the idea of Sam having some new life away from Carly and Freddie and Freddie coming back to find her. But for awhile now I've been thinking about reversing the roles a little bit and I came up with this story. I hope you guys like it. Obviously, there will be Seddie!

…

"Daddy!"

"Hey there, pumpkin," Freddie smiled, scooping his five-year old daughter into his arms as she came charging towards him once he stepped through his front door.

"I missed you daddy," the child said.

"Lauren, I was only gone for a couple hours," Freddie chuckled, kissing the top of her head and rustling her long, red hair.

"I know, I still missed you," Lauren said simply.

"Freddie? Is that you?" he heard his wife calling from the kitchen.

"Yeah," Freddie said, heading into he kitchen with Lauren. "I just got home, Sarah. How was your-"

"I thought you were going to be home half-an-hour ago," his wife, Sarah, said as she pulled a large casserole dish out of the oven.

"My meeting ran late," Freddie said. "And since I only go into the office a couple times a month, I couldn't exactly just leave during one of the only times I was required to be there, could I?"

"No, I guess not," Sarah sighed, giving him a quick kiss. "But now I'm going to be running late for my meetings. I'm meeting with three clients and giving tours of two new open houses I just took on. Plus I have so much paper work…I think I'm gonna have to be a little late tonight, sweetie."

"Aw, well, that's okay," Freddie told her. "Lauren and I will have fun here, won't we, Lauren?"

"Uh-huh!" Lauren smiled.

"Great, well, I'll see you guys later then," Sarah said, grabbing her bag. "I just finished up a squash casserole for you guys to have for lunch. Make sure Lauren eats enough of it, she needs her vitamins."
"Yeah, okay, got it," Freddie said.

"Bye Lauren, be good for daddy," Sarah said, giving her daughter a quick hug before heading out.

This was a typical day for Freddie Benson. As a stay-at-home father, he'd spend his days taking care of Lauren while Sarah rushed off to her job as a real estate agent.

Freddie didn't mind, though; he loved getting to spend most of his time with his daughter.

"Daddy?" Lauren said, cringing at the casserole sitting on the counter. "Do we have to eat this for lunch?"

"Er…" Freddie frowned, looking down at the very unappetizing dish. "How about this? Let's go out to lunch and maybe sort of dump this casserole down the garbage disposal when we get back. Sound like a plan?"

Lauren nodded eagerly.

"Great, go get your jacket," Freddie told her. "We'll go get those hot dogs from the park that you love."

"Yay! You're the best, daddy," Lauren said happily.

"Yeah, well…I know," Freddie chuckled.

Once he had helped Lauren fasten the buttons on her coat, the two set out outside.

It was unseasonably cold; even in the winter, Texas usually didn't see temperatures this low.

"Can I play at the park after we eat our hot dogs?" Lauren asked as Freddie took her hand and led her down the sidewalk in front of their home.

"Sure," Freddie agreed.

The park wasn't too far from their home; just a short walk across the street led them to the large grassy area that Freddie had been taking Lauren to since she could walk.

"Two hot dogs, please," Freddie said to the vendor of the small hot dog stand across from the jungle gym.

The vendor handed him the hot dogs and Freddie and Lauren headed over to their usual bench to begin to eat.

"Why doesn't mommy like hot dogs?" Lauren asked as she took a bite of her lunch.

"Mommy's a vegetarian, sweetie," Freddie explained. "That means she doesn't eat meat."

"But hot dogs are so good," Lauren pointed out, and Freddie couldn't help but laugh.

Sarah had been an avid health nut ever since Freddie had met him during college so many years ago. She exercised religiously, never ate anything that wasn't organic or came from the health store and scowled at anything processed or filled with sugar.

"I know," Freddie agreed. "But everybody has different preferences."

Ten minutes later, once Lauren had finished her hot dog and Freddie had wiped the mustard from the corner of her mouth, he watched his daughter run off towards the jungle gym.

He smiled as the wind blew Lauren's hair out behind her, and he took a moment to appreciate just how much she looked like her mother. The red hair, the hazel eyes, the small, button nose… Freddie would sometimes joke that his genes appeared to have gotten lost. But even though Lauren didn't inherit too many of his physical characteristics, she definitely got his love of knowledge and computers, which always made Freddie's heart swell up with fatherly pride. She might be Sarah's clone on the outside, but on the inside, she was a real daddy's girl.

Him and Sara had met while they were both studying at the University of Texas. He had gotten a full-ride scholarship to peruse software development and she had been working hard to earn her business degree. They were drawn to each other because they had both felt like outsiders at the school. Both were far from home, missing those they had left behind.

He sighed as he thought back to how hard those first few months were away from home. Washington was far from Texas, after all, and when he was first accepted, he was hesitant to go at all. It had been the hardest thing to say goodbye the night before he left. He remembered how Carly had had tears in her eyes as she smiled and told him have a safe trip and how Spencer had clasped his shoulder and wished him good luck and how Gibby had tried to pass down his lucky socks to him (though he had politely refused those).

But it was always Sam's goodbye that he had been most moved by…

Right when Freddie was about to set off on the road, Sam had pulled him aside.

"I'll miss you," she had said softly as she looked right into his eyes. "A lot."

That was all she had said, but those few words had stuck with Freddie the longest, and they were the ones that had kept him up at night in his small dorm room for the entirety of his freshman year.

That was the reason when it came time for him to choose between going back home to Seattle for the summer and staying down in Texas until the next term, Freddie had opted to stay.

It had been near impossible to leave once; he knew he wouldn't be strong enough to do it again.

That was the summer he had met Sarah, and he had always taken that as a sign that he was supposed to have stayed.

He never went back to Seattle, but that didn't mean he didn't still think about his home. There were days like this where he couldn't help but reminisce on what he had left behind. He wondered how everybody was…he knew Sam and Carly had both went to Washington State, but that was about it.

He wondered if they were mad at him for never coming back…

It was for the best, Freddie told himself. I needed to get out and spread my wings. And look what happened. I have a beautiful wife, the best daughter I could've ever asked for…this is the way my life was supposed to turn out.

Freddie watched Lauren scramble to the top of the jungle gym, laughing as she slid down the slide. She could climb up and down for hours without ever getting bored, and Freddie could sit and watch her for just as long.

He glanced over to a crowd of people cutting through the park. It was always busy around this time. It was the normal lunch hour and people from the office buildings surrounding the park would cut through on their way to get their food from one of the nearby restaurants.

He stared at the busybodies, chuckling slightly as he remembered how he had always imagined being one of them. Back when he was in high school, he'd never have imagined being a stay-at-home father. He did have a job; he worked from home as a web designer for a large company. He had given up several promotions throughout the years so that he could continue to stay home with his daughter, and he had never regretted the decision once.

Suddenly, though, his eyes fell on a woman in the crowd. She had long blonde hair and even from a distance, he could see she had piercing blue eyes. She was small, but she walked with such conviction that she could've been ten feet tall.

"No…" Freddie said softly, his jaw dropping the woman came closer, allowing him to see her better. "No…It's not…it can't be…"

But it was, there was no mistaking it.

That was Sam Puckett.

Tossing his half-finished hot dog in the trash, Freddie ran over to the crowd, nearly running into a jogger as he did.

"Sam!" he called out. "Sam!"

He reached out and touched her shoulder, causing her to spin around, taking the ear buds that had been in her ears out.

For a moment she simply stared at him. Then she opened her mouth. "Freddie?" she said in amazement.

"Sam," Freddie said again. "I-Hi."

From this close, Freddie could see that Sam looked almost as she did the day he had left Seattle.

Sam continued to stare at him. "What-What are you doing here?" she asked slowly.

"I live here," Freddie said. "What are you doing here?"

"I live here too," she replied. "As of…fifteen hours ago, that is."

"You just moved here?"

She nodded. "Yeah, um, I got a new job down here so here I am."

"Oh," Freddie said. "Well, um…wow. Um…you-you look-I just-I mean…I can't believe I'm really seeing you right now."

Sam gave him a small smile. "Yeah…me neither."

The two stared at each other for another moment before they both stepped closer and wrapped their arms around the other.

"It's good to see you again, Sam," Freddie said. "I've missed you."

"Yeah, um, you too," Sam said. "I mean we haven't seen you since you went off to college…"

"Um, yeah, I-I know," Freddie said, somewhat guilty. "I-I just-So you live here now. Well, um, we'll have to catch up some time."

"Yeah, that'd be nice I guess," Sam agreed.

"You busy now?" Freddie asked. "We could sit here and talk or-"

"I, um, actually have to get some residency forms over to city hall," Sam said, holding up the folder in her hand. "The guy I need to give all this stuff to leaves in a couple hours so I sort of need to get them over there now."

"Oh, right," Freddie said. "Yeah…Well, um, maybe tomorrow you could come by my place for dinner? You know, if you're free. My wife makes this really good walnut salad."

"Your wife?" Sam repeated, raising an eyebrow. "You mean you're married now?"

"Um, yeah," Freddie nodded. "Yeah…I am."

"Oh," Sam said, somewhat surprised. "Well…congrats. Guess-Guess things really worked out for you here then."

"Yeah, they did," Freddie said. "So…does tomorrow work for you then?"

"Uh, sure, I get off of work around six," Sam replied.

"Perfect, we'll eat at seven then," Freddie said. "I'll text you my address. Oh, I guess I should get your number then…"

Sam gave him a small smirk. "Yeah, that would probably help. Here, let me get yours too…"

They had both pulled out their phones when Lauren came running over from the jungle gym.

"Daddy, can you come push me on the swings?" Lauren asked, tugging on Freddie's sleeve.

"Yeah, sure Lauren," Freddie said. "Just a minute though. I want you to meet someone. This is Sam. Her and I…we used to be-she's an old friend of mine. Sam, this is my daughter, Lauren."

Sam stared down at the child, almost in disbelief. She quickly recovered though and extended her hand to Lauren.

"Hi there, Lauren," she smiled. "Nice to meet you."

"You're my daddy's friend?" Lauren said hesitantly. "Daddy doesn't have friends."
Sam laughed.

"I do too!" Freddie defended.

"How come I never see them?" Lauren asked simply.

"I-I don't know," Freddie said lamely.

"I was friends with your dad back when he was barely taller than you," Sam told Lauren.

"Wow," Lauren said, impressed.

"She's real cute," Sam said to Freddie.

"Thanks," Freddie said.

"Um, okay well…I need to get to city hall," Sam said. "I-I'll see you tomorrow. Bye, Lauren."

"See you tomorrow," Freddie echoed.

"I like her, she's nice," Lauren said.

Freddie chuckled. "Yeah, Sam's…Sam's great. Now come on, let's get you on those swings."