The next morning, Sam awoke still holding the frame in her arms. She looked over at Roxy, who was still asleep, before gently placing the frame back on her nightstand.

She remembered the mornings when she would wake up with Aiden at her side, and the two of them would exchange their good morning kiss before Roxy would come running in, jumping on Aiden's lap announcing she was starving or that she was bored and wanted to play.

She looked back at the picture, wishing she could see his smile for real again, instead of just in pictures. She sat up slowly and brought her knees to her chest and rested her chin on them, thinking back to the first time she had seen that smile so many years ago…

…

Seven Years Earlier

Sam took a sip of her drink as she rested her elbows on the counter of the sports bar she was in, looking up at the T.V., anxiously waiting for the MMA fight she had been excited about for weeks to start. She really needed this break, she had spent all day figuring out how she was going to make the storage garage her, Kenna and Garry had just bought into anything resembling a restaurant. Part of her wanted to give up and go get a job at somebody else's restaurant, but then she remembered her and the others had literally poured every penny they had into their place, so it looked like she didn't have any choice but to make it work.

Sam heard a group of guys cheer behind her, and Sam rolled her eyes, knowing how hard it was going to be to actually focus on the fight. She wished she could be watching this from the comfort of her own home, but the tiny apartment she shared with Kenna didn't have cable, so this was the best option she had.

"Hey," a voice behind her suddenly said. "Anyone sitting here?"

Sam turned around and found herself face to face with a tall, handsome man with the most dazzling green eyes she had ever seen, pointing to the bar stool next to her

"No," Sam said.

"Thanks," the man smiled, sitting down. "I was over at the booth back there, but I couldn't really see the T.V., and there's no way I'm missing this MMA fight."

"You're watching the fight?" Sam asked, slightly surprised. Most of the guys in the bar were more interested in the football game on the big screen.

"Of course, I'm a huge MMA fan," he nodded.

"So am I," Sam said.

"No kidding," the man grinned. "Finally. I didn't think anybody in this bar cared about it. So who do you think's gonna take this match?"
"I dunno," Sam said thoughtfully. "Phillip McGyver's left hook is pretty good, but you can't count out Rudy Rumble's body slam."

"But McGyver's arm has been bothering him since that match against Paul Luter," the man pointed out.

"He seemed fine when he knocked out Caged Larry last week."

"Wow," the man chuckled. "You really do know your stuff."

"Told you I was a fan," Sam smirked.

"I guess you were right," the man said. He extended a hand to her. "I'm Aiden, by the way."

"Sam," Sam smiled, shaking his hand.

"Sam…" Aiden repeated. "You new around here, Sam? It's just I've been watching MMA fights alone at this bar for years and I've never seen you."

"I just moved here from New York," Sam explained.

"Oh you're a New Yorker?"

"Not really," Sam admitted. "I was only there a few years. I'm from Seattle originally."

"And you found your way here?" Aiden grinned.

"Guess so," Sam nodded. "Hey look! The fighters are coming out! Man, I wish I could actually be there at the ring…it looks so awesome!"

"Me too," Aiden agreed. "You know they don't fight too far from here. The arena is only about an hour south of us."

"Really?" Sam said excitedly.

"Yeah," Aiden replied. "Maybe next year you will be there in person."

"Maybe," Sam smiled. "Maybe you will be too."

….

Sam remembered the two of them had stayed at that bar until the wee hours of the morning, at first just talking about MMA, but then their conversations strayed and Sam and him found out a lot about each other.

When she left that bar that night, Sam felt something she hadn't felt in years…She had actually woken Kenna up when she arrived back to their apartment that night to tell her all about Aiden, and she anxiously waited until it was daytime in Italy to call Carly.

She remembered wondering how long she should wait before she considered calling him, and how long she should wait before feeling nervous that he wasn't calling her.

But he had called that very next day and asked her out.

And one year after that, when they did in fact make it to the MMA arena to watch that fight live, he proposed to her, and she felt like the happiest girl in the world.

And every year after that, Sam and Aiden made it back to that arena to watch that fight.

They were wed exactly one year after their engagement, and before they departed for their honeymoon, they stopped off at the fight, Sam still wearing her wedding dress as her and Aiden cheered on One-Eyed Oswald.

And the next year that was where Sam told him she was pregnant with Roxy.

Sam slowly got up out of the bed, allowing herself one last look at the photo.

Yes, every year her and Aiden had gone to that fight…this would be the first year she missed it.

She let out a soft sigh as she walked across the room to Liam's crib, where the child was sitting up, sucking on his rattle.

He held up his arms, giving his mother a few happy coos.

"Morning," Sam smiled, holding her son tight. "You hungry sweetie?"

The infant gave a few fussy cries, confirming Sam's question.

She saw Roxy stir slightly from the bed. Knowing her daughter needed her rest, Sam quickly took Liam out of the room into the kitchen. She took a bottle from the fridge and gently placed it in his mouth. He gave a few sucks of the bottle before spitting the nipple out, still crying.

"Oh, I know what you want," Sam said, opening the fridge again and pulling out a cold teething ring, and Liam's cries at once subsided when she placed it in his mouth.

"Yeah, I know, teething sucks," Sam said, rubbing his back gently. "But soon you'll have teeth like a big boy and you'll be able to eat some real food. Won't that be cool?"

Suddenly, she heard the tiny patter of footsteps, and Roxy came running into the kitchen. She rushed over to Sam, wrapping her arms around her mom's leg. She stared up, and Sam's heart almost broke at the look of betrayal on her daughter's face.

Roxy hated being left alone.

"Oh honey, I didn't leave you," Sam said, kneeling down to wrap her free arm around Roxy. "Mommy just had to feed your brother. I was right in here the whole time."

But Roxy still clung to Sam.

"Come on," Sam said, kissing the top of her head. "Let's go get ready to go into the restaurant."

…

Freddie looked around his living room, finally finished packing up the last of the few things he had.

Though he had only stayed in this apartment a total of two nights now, he had reached the conclusion that it simply felt…lonely. Overseas, he had shared a tiny apartment with four other men, so he would've thought having his own space like this would be a dream.

He sat down on his sofa, staring at his blank wall. Maybe he should go to the store and see if he could find anything to liven up the place.

At least that would give him something to do today.

Used to having his days jammed pack, this newfound free-time was beginning to take its toll on Freddie. Of course, he did know where he would want to spend his time…He wanted to go back to Sam's restaurant to spend more time with her. But he knew that he couldn't hang around there all day, she did have to work. Besides, he didn't want to be a bother.

Slowly, Freddie reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone.

Sam had given him Carly's number before he left the restaurant last night. He remembered what she had told him when she did so, too.

"I wouldn't hold your breath on anything…she really loves her life in Italy."

It was worth a try, Freddie figured. After all, he did miss Carly. He didn't even get to see her before he left ten years ago…

So he dialed Carly's numbed held his phone up to his ear. The line rang several times before he was greeted with a voicemail message.

"Hi, you've reached Carly Shay. I'm not available right now, but please leave a message and I will try to get back to you as soon as possible. Chao!"

He waited until he heard the beep before he began speaking.

"Hi Carly, it's-it's Freddie. Freddie Benson," he said slowly. "Um, I-I know you're still in Italy, but I just wanted to let you know that I-I finished up my service with that organization I left for ten years ago and I'm here in New Jersey. I-I actually just met up with Sam a couple of days ago…that's how I got your number. Anyway, now that I'm back, I was wondering if we could catch up sometime, you know, me, you and Sam. Just like the old days. So…yeah, give me a call when you get a chance. Um, bye."

He hung up, wondering if Carly would in fact give him a call.

He supposed he would have to wait and see.

And then, deciding he certainly wasn't going to stay cooped up in his home all day, Freddie grabbed his keys and headed out the door.

It was a nice day, cool, yet not miserable.

Maybe I'll walk around, Freddie thought to himself, starting down the stone steps outside his building. Maybe-Maybe I can wait until eleven, when Sam said the restaurant gets quiet and swing by again…just for a little bit.

Was it normal that since the second he had been reunited with her, Sam was practically the only thing on his mind?

Suddenly, Freddie was thrust out of his thoughts by a loud voice across the street.

"Freddie!"

Freddie's head jerked up and his face lit up.

Standing in front of one of the town houses across from him was Sam.

"Sam!" Freddie said, not even looking as he ran across the street, causing a very angry driver to slam on his brakes and give him a rude hand gesture.

"Whoa…don't get run over," Sam smirked.

"Yeah…should've looked both ways," Freddie said, catching his breath.

"Do you live there?" Sam asked, shifting Liam in her arms as she nodded at his apartment building.

"Yeah," Freddie nodded, looking down at Roxy and giving her a small smile, only to have the child clutch her mother's hand. "You-You live here?"

"Well my car's in front of this place and I'm standing here, so yeah, I think you can make that assumption," Sam said. "Jeez, what happened to that brain of yours, Benson?"

"Well, it looks like we're neighbors now," Freddie chuckled. And then he caught sight of the For Sale sign in her year. "Or…at least for a little bit. Are you moving?"

"Oh, um, yeah…hopefully," Sam nodded. "If I can ever find a buyer."

"You're not leaving New Jersey…are you?"

"Nah," Sam assured him. "I found a place a couple blocks from here that would be nice. It's smaller, which is good. I, um, have a lot of extra space right now. I just can't put an offer on it until I get money from this place."

"Oh, well, I'm sure you'll find someone who's interested in this place," Freddie said.

Sam shrugged. "Maybe…So what are you up to?"

"Nothing," Freddie replied. "I was just going for a walk."

"Ah," Sam said slowly. "Wait…you don't have any other plans today, do you?"

"No," he said at once. "Why?"

"Well, um, it's just that Kenna called me a few minutes ago and said that one of our waitresses can't come into today because she's got the flu, and we're always really swamped on Friday," Sam explained. "And if you're not busy…would you be interested in filling in? You'd get paid, and you keep any tip money."

"Um, sure," Freddie agreed. "I-I don't really have any experience-"

"You'll learn," Sam said, giving her a quick smile. "Don't worry. Thanks so much, you're a lifesaver."

"Anytime," Freddie said. "Trust me, it's no problem at all."

…

"So how did I do?" Freddie asked Sam a few hours later, after a large crowd of customers had cleared out of the restaurant.

"Not bad," Sam said as he followed her into the kitchen, where she placed a few more chicken breasts into the deep fryer. "You know, first you helped clean last night and now you're waiting tables…you sure you don't want to quit that spy job and come work here?"

Freddie laughed. "Maybe some day."

"Here, take some of the breakfast leftovers," Sam said, tossing him a biscuit. "We just have to throw them out soon anyway. I usually come back here and snack on this stuff all day."

As she threw the biscuit, the light bounced off the ring on her finger, almost as a cruel reminder to Freddie that it was still there.

And then, suddenly no longer able to hold back from asking the question, Freddie opened his mouth.

"So you're married, huh?"

The question seemed to catch Sam completely off guard. "W-What?"

"I mean you have a wedding ring," Freddie shrugged.

"Oh," Sam said softly, looking down at her finger. "Right…Well, um, no. I-I'm not married…anymore."

Freddie blinked. Well…he hadn't been expecting that answer.

"Sorry then," he said quickly. "I just assumed…the ring-"

"Yeah, I-I haven't gotten around to taking it off," Sam said, her voice barely a whisper now, and Freddie suddenly felt bad for bringing up the subject. Sam looked up. "My-My husband actually…he died."

Freddie's eyes widened. "Oh…Sam, I-I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to…I didn't know-"

"No, don't worry about it," Sam said. "I would assume you were married too if I saw you with a wedding ring…"

"Hey, we just got a bunch more people in," Kenna said, poking her head into the kitchen.

"Okay, we're on it," Sam said, her voice returning to normal as she grabbed a pitcher of water. "Come on, nub. I'll show you how to 'convince' customers to order the most expensive stuff on the menu."