"Here we are!" Freddie said, stepping into the lobby of Bushwell Plaza with Sam and the twins. "The building where we spent the best years of our lives."
"Yeah," Sam said. "I think I spent more hours here than at my own house."
"This is where your mom lives?" Leah asked Freddie.
"Yup, apartment 8D," Freddie nodded. "Come on, I just texted her and told her we'd be up any minute."
"Wouldn't want to keep Crazy waiting…" Sam mumbled, earning her a glare from Freddie.
"Last one," Sam said, smiling and giving him a quick kiss.
The four made their way up the eight flights of stairs, everyone slightly out of breath by the time they reached the corridor.
"Why didn't we take the elevator?" Kira gasped.
"We live on the fourteenth floor at home," Sam pointed out. "This should feel like nothing to you."
"We're on vacation," Leah pointed out. "We're not supposed to have to use energy."
"Well the elevators here are weird," Sam said. "They take you inside people's actual apartments…I never really understood that."
"Me neither," Freddie said. "But I guess the guy who designed the building thought-"
"No way, no way! They're here!"
The four spun around to see the door across from apartment 8D fly open and a tall man run out and throw his arms around Sam.
"Spencer!" Sam exclaimed happily, hugging him back. "Dude, I've missed you so much!"
"Missed you too, Kiddo," Spencer grinned. He spotted Freddie, smiling as he watched the reunion.
"Fred-O!" Spencer cried, grabbing Freddie's shoulders and pulling him into the group hug. "Here's the other half of my favorite engaged couple. I can't believe you guys are finally back in Seattle!"
"Yeah, well, I guess I couldn't stay away forever," Sam chuckled. "It's not gonna be all fun though. I'm staying across the hall, remember."
"Oh right," Spencer grimaced. "Boy, are you gonna be stressed."
"Must we talk about my mom like that right in front of her door?" Freddie sighed.
"Oh, Spence!" Sam said, looking over at Kira and Leah, ignoring Freddie's comment. "You can finally meet the twins! Girls, this is Spencer, Carly's brother. Spencer this is Leah and Kira."
"Hey!" Spencer said brightly, shaking each of their hands. "I've heard a lot about you guys."
"Hi," Leah said politely.
"Why are your hands blue?" Kira asked.
"Oh, well, that's actually a funny story," Spencer chuckled. "See, I'm working on this sculpture and I wanted it to be really blue, so I decided it would be smarter to use my hands instead of a paint brush!"
Kira and Leah both laughed.
"Man, you haven't changed at all," Sam said. "Hey, do you still have that Bottle-Bot sculpture in there? You have to show them that. Oh, and do you-"
"What's this?" came a shrill cry from behind the group.
Sam bit her tongue as her and Freddie turned around to see Mrs. Benson standing at her now-open doorway, glaring, with her hands on her hips.
"Fredward Benson!" Mrs. Benson exclaimed. "I can't believe you've been home for who knows how long, loitering in the hallway, without even thinking to pay your poor mother a visit!"
"Mom, we just got here," Freddie sighed. "And we weren't loitering; Spencer just wanted to say hey to everyone. He hasn't seen Sam and me in forever and he just got to meet the twins for the first time, so-"
"I don't want to hear excuses!" Mrs. Benson said, still giving her son a stern look. "I knew moving to New York would do this to you!"
"Clearly I'll be spending a lot of time at your place," Sam said to Spencer under her breath.
"Mom," Freddie said, trying hard to remember why he had insisted they stay with her. "Please don't do this. We're all really excited to stay here while we get a lot of the wedding planning done, right Sam?"
"Oh…yeah," Sam said, trying to put even a small amount of enthusiasm in her voice. "So excited…Um, nice to see you again, by the way…it's been way too long."
"Well whose fault is that?" Mrs. Benson snapped. "You're the one who made my Freddikins move all the way across the country!"
"Mom, you remember Sam's daughters, right?" Freddie asked quickly before Sam could respond. "Kira and Leah?"
"Um…er, hi," Leah said while Kira continued to stare at the woman.
"Ah yes," Mrs. Benson nodded, ignoring Leah's greeting. "Samantha's children from her other relationship. How nice that-"
"Okay, well, these bags aren't going to unpack themselves!" Freddie said just as Sam was about to open her mouth to retort. He picked up the suitcases and quickly let himself into his old childhood apartment.
"Dude, your mom really wants to see me explode, doesn't she?" Sam hissed to Freddie as her and the twins followed him inside.
"I'll talk to her," Freddie promised.
"You better," Sam said. "Or I might just-"
"Alright, girls, you two are going to stay in the guest room here," Freddie said before Sam could finish her sentence. He opened the door and revealed a very old-fashioned bedroom with only a single bed. "Um, I guess you'll have to share the bed…"
"Gross!" both sisters cringed, looking at each other.
"Get over it…that's what I'm doing," Sam said.
"Mom, isn't there a camping bed or something we could bring up from the storage unit to put in here?" Freddie asked as Marissa joined them.
"A camping bed?" she repeated. "You think I would keep something as dangerous as a camping bed in my household? Do you know how un-sturdy those bedsprings are? And ticks just flock to those things! And-"
"Alright, alright!" Freddie sighed.
"Oh, speaking of ticks, I have some new anti-tick spray I need to spray everyone with," Marissa announced. "I'll be right back!"
"Freddie, no offense, but your mom's completely psycho," Kira said once Mrs. Benson was out of earshot.
"I-I know," Freddie nodded. "But she means well…usually. Why don't you two start getting settled in? I'll try and talk my mom out of the tick sprays."
"A hotel's looking real good right now, isn't it?" Sam smirked to Freddie as the girls retreated into the guestroom.
"It will be fine," Freddie assured her, giving her a quick kiss. "I promise. Now come on, we're staying in my old room."
"Are the Galaxy Wars sheets still there?" Sam grinned.
"No!" Freddie defended.
Sam raised an eyebrow knowingly.
"Well they're comfy," Freddie huffed as Sam laughed.
"You're still the same old nub you were when you lived here, aren't you?" she chuckled.
"Guess so," Freddie agreed.
…..
Getting settled in Freddie's old home wasn't exactly the easiest thing to do. Mrs. Benson's habits of obsessive cleanliness and overbearingness had not died out, and it was taking all Sam had to stay on her best behavior.
"Mom?" Kira said about an hour after the family's arrival as her and Leah walked into Freddie's old bedroom. "We're bored."
"So watch T.V.," Sam said, looking up from her Pearpad.
"Freddie's mom has all of the channels locked," Leah pointed out.
"Oh…I forgot about that," Sam said. "Should've warned you."
"Can't we just stay at a hotel? This lady's insane!" Kira moaned.
"Hey, be nice…I have to," Sam told her.
"When are we going to go dress shopping?" Leah asked just as Freddie walked back into the bedroom.
"Um, yeah, about that," Sam sighed. "I know you really wanted to come, Leah, but the dress store where Carly made me an appointment at today has a strict 'no kid' policy."
"I am not a kid!" Leah huffed indignantly. "I am a teenager, which is practically an adult."
"Sorry, the store's all snobby and stuck up about it," Sam said. "But hey, you know what? I probably won't find anything there anyway. I'm just going to shut Carly up. I promise, I won't buy any dress without you seeing it first."
"Wait, so you're just going to leave us here with that nutjob of a woman?" Kira frowned. She looked over at Freddie. "No offense, Freddie."
"Well, considering the fact that I was just fed fruit sauce by her, I really can't say anything," Freddie sighed. "Hey! I have an idea. How about while your mom's out shopping with Carly, you girls and I go grab some lunch?"
"Okay," Leah smiled. "I guess it would be fun to see some of Seattle."
"Yeah, anything beats this place," Kira mumbled. She looked back up at Freddie. "No offense…again."
"There you go, you guys get to go shove your faces with food while I have to go spend hours trying on uncomfortable dresses in stores that only give you Eucalyptus water…" Sam said. "Try not to rub it in."
"We'll bring you back some food," Freddie promised. He turned back to the girls. "Why don't you go grab your jackets and then we'll head out of here before my mom tries to make us all wear cloud block."
Sam waited until the girls had left before she gave her fiancé a small smile. "During this lunch thing…are you going to tell them-"
"About the adoption idea?" Freddie finished. "Yeah. I-I think I am. Hopefully they'll be open to it."
"Don't be nervous," Sam assured him, gently squeezing his hand. "It's going to be fine."
