Carly returned to her apartment and Mrs. Benson left for work. Sam remained in Freddie's room with the door closed. Freddie knocked and came in. Sam was sitting on the bed leaning against the headboard. She looked up when he entered but then returned to staring at the bedspread. Freddie discreetly locked the door behind him and walked towards her. He sat on the edge of the mattress across from her.

"Sam?"

"What?"

"I want to talk."

"I don't."

"I know. But we're going to talk anyways."

She made to get up but he put his hands on her shoulders and pushed her gently back down. She looked at him fearfully. "We're talking, Sam. You're not leaving."

Her fear turned to annoyance. "You're not the boss of me."

"Either you sit here and talk with me, or I'm leaving. The apartment. You can stay here by yourself till my mom gets home from work."

"You wouldn't leave me here. Your mom said you have to stay here."

"I don't care. I'll leave. And I'll take all the phones with me and you won't be able to call her." He tried to sound confident in his words, but his voice wavered a bit.

"Why?" She looked afraid again.

"Because I want you to talk to me. So either agree to sit here and talk or I'm leaving. And you'll be by yourself the rest of the night. Carly and Spencer have gone out so they won't be able to come over either. It will just be you here. Alone."

She looked ready to cry. He wanted to hug her and tell her that he would never leave her, not ever, but he refrained.

"Fine," she said.

Freddie took a deep breath. "Okay. Good." He wasn't sure how to even start. "Okay. I want you to give me every detail about what happened between you and your dad."

Sam looked annoyed again. "He had a knife. He took me from Carly's apartment. He drove me halfway across the country because he wanted to get Melanie so that he could get the money from my mom's company. Then I stole a cell phone from a waitress and texted Carly who called you. Then you called and said there was a bomb and everyone fled the restaurant and I ran and hid. Then you found me and saved me. The end. Anything else you want to talk about? Or can I get up now?"

"No. I want you to tell me what he did to you."

"I just told you."

Freddie shook his head. "No. I want you to tell me about when he molested you." He gulped.

Sam's expression changed. She stared back into his face and Freddie wasn't sure whether she was going to cry or hit him.

"How did you know?" she asked instead.

Freddie stared empathetically into her eyes. "So it's true. He did. It's what you scream about every night when you have a nightmare."

"Oh," she said. She stared down at the blanket.

Freddie put his hand on her shoulder but she shuddered and he removed it.

"Sam, you need to talk about this."

She shook her head and clenched her eyes shut.

"Sam."

She began to hyperventilate and clutched the edges of the blanket in her fists.

"Sam. Breathe."

She ignored him as her body began to shake. Tears rolled from her eyes and she clenched the blankets harder.

"Sam, please don't do this." He crawled across the bed so he was sitting beside her and pulled her close to his chest. "Sam, please breathe. Don't have a panic attack on me now. Please."

She continued to hyperventilate and her body shook against him. Freddie tried not to panic. He had seen his mom talk Sam out of a panic attack before but he never had to do it himself. He pulled Sam onto his lap and held her close. Her body was rigid in his arms. Her breathing was rapidly increasing pace. He rubbed her back and spoke soothingly to her. "Sam, it's okay. Just breathe. Breathe with me. Feel my chest go in and out. C'mon Sam. You have to breathe with me."

Her eyes remained clenched and she gripped Freddie's jeans in her hands as he held her. "Sam, breathe, please. Breathe with me. Feel my body move when I breathe. Do it with me. In and out. In and out." He over exaggerated his chest so she could feel it beneath her. He repeated himself until her breathing finally began to slow again. "That's good Sam. In and out. Keep going."

Minutes passed and her breathing regulated again. Her eyes were still clenched shut but she released her grip on his jeans. He could feel her warm breath against his neck. He ran his hand along her face. She was drenched in a cold sweat and was still slightly shaking. He kissed the top of her head. "It's okay. You're alright. I'm here."

She finally opened her eyes. Everything was still blurry. She leaned against his chest and let him rub her back. "I can't feel my face," she whispered. "Everything is numb."

They sat like that for awhile before she spoke again. "Okay. I'll tell you."

She remained in his lap and recounted the details of the trip to him. Freddie listened with a solid expression. His anger grew when she told him what he had done to her.

After the story, Sam just stared off into the room and he sat there, not knowing what to say. "It's good that you told me."

"It doesn't matter," she said. "You can't change what happened."

"No, but he can be punished for what he did to you. He can be in jail for the rest of his life."

"Yeah."

"I know, it's not an equal punishment for what you're feeling right now."

"What I'm feeling?" she said absentmindedly. "I don't know what I'm feeling."

"That's okay too. You don't have to know."

"Freddie? Why are you the one who came to save me?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well, why didn't you just call the police and tell them where I was? Why did you risk your life to come save me? You don't even like me that much."

"That's not true. I like you."

She looked up at him and he returned her gaze. "You do?"

"Do you think I would be sitting here with you on my lap if I didn't like you? That I would let you stay in my apartment and sleep in a bed with me every night?"

"You pity me. That's not the same."

"It's not pity. I like you."

"Okay." She looked away from his face but he pulled her chin up to look him in the face again. She stared into his eyes and he leaned down and kissed her lips.

"I like you," he said again.

"You locked me in a room and gave me a panic attack."

"I know. I'm sorry. Are you mad at me?"

"Yes."

He kissed her again. "Still mad at me?"

"A little."

He kissed her again. "Still?"

"No."

He kissed her again.

"I said I wasn't mad."

"I know. I wanted to be sure." He kissed her again before she nestled back into his chest. He snuggled her close and inhaled the delicious smell of her hair.

She played with a fuzz on his shirt. "Freddie?"

"Yeah?"

"Do you think I'll ever get him out of my head?"

"Yes. I think so."

She sighed. "I hope so. I really hate wearing those diapers to bed."

He smirked. "I don't know. I think they look kinda cute on you."

She looked at him with a stern look. "Watch it, Benson!"

He kissed her again.

"Don't think that when I'm mad at you, you can just kiss me and..." He cut her off by kissing her again. She gave into his lips and let her body relax against his.

"Not fair," she replied when they finished.

"All's fair in love and war," he replied.

"Love?" she asked, pulling away from him slightly.

He looked a little flabbergasted that he had said it aloud. "Yes. Is it okay if I love you?"

She paused for a moment. "Only if it's okay that I love you too."

He smirked again. "Yeah, I think that would be okay."

"Better be," she said, trying to sound tough.

"Oh please, are you gonna fight me if I say no?"

"I should. You were gonna leave me here by myself just because I wouldn't talk to you."

"I wouldn't have actually left. I would never do that to you. I would never leave you."

"Really?"

"Really."

"Good. Because I don't ever want you to leave."

Please Review!