Summary: Sam knows the date between her dad and Angela did not go well and she wants some answers.

"Dad."

"Yeah, Sam."

She tapped her foot and waited for him to turn around.

"Whaat?"

"Dad. What happened the other night?"

"With what?"

"What do you mean, with what? With Angela. With your date."

"What do you mean?" His voice cracked a bit.

She crossed her arms and stared at him. She wasn't letting him off the hook. They'd come in, Angela had told him to go to hell and it was down hill from there. She was sure her dad messed things up, although how he did remained a mystery.

He was nervous and flinching and fumbling over his words. "Look, Sam, it just wasn't the right time. Can we just drop it?"

"No. We can't just drop it. Come on, dad. What happened?"

She waited a moment for him to offer up some explanation and instead he busied himself with cleaning. She continued, "You know...if the tables were turned and you had seen me and Jesse in a fight, you'd be doing the same thing. And you wouldn't be letting me off until I talked to you about it."

He at least looked back at her. He was conceding a little.

"Come on, dad. It's me. And it's Angela! Look, I know it's a little complicated with you two, but dad, I know you care about her."

"I do care about her."

"So what happened? You two were so excited to go out. I mean, dad, Mona and I were upstairs with her as she was getting ready!" She was animated now, talking with hands as she continued, "And she was nervous! And excited! And nervous. Wondering what to wear, what dress you've seen her in, what you haven't." Her head and hands bobbed from one side to the other, remembering Angela's indecision. "It was really cute. You, my dad!, made her nervous!" She lightly punched him on the arm. "And you brought her flowers and complimented her. Dad, you were on a roll."

She gaped at him, encouraging him to spill.

"Yeah, well, your old man blew it. I choked."

Sam's face scrunched up. What the heck was he was saying?

"You guys go out all the time. I don't understand."

"Well that's just it, Sam. We do go out all the time. But this time, it was a date. And I guess I just let that get to me."

"Why?"

"I don't know."

A moment later, having finally registered Sam's words, he cautiously asked, "She was nervous about going out with me?" He furrowed his brows in disbelief yet his eyes held surprise and hope.

"Yeah, dad. She was." She said it softly, with a lot tenderness. "Dad. If I didn't know better, I'd say you're scared."

"What?" He was incredulous. Now he was the one with the scrunched up face.

She continued gently, "Dad, you're scared about what a real date with Angela might mean. I know you care about her. I think...I think you're scared of your own feelings."

"Sam, it's me and Angela and it's complex."

"You think it is, but maybe it doesn't need to be. Look, dad, I just don't want to see you sad and lonely forever and protecting yourself from love because you're afraid of it." Tony's face scrunched up again. Sad and lonely? She was sure was exaggerating here. Was that really what she thought? He must have had a questioning look on his face because she continued, "I mean, remember what you used to tell me, after mom died? When I was sad and scared? I had to feel the loss. I had to cry and miss her. And then I had to open my heart again?"

"Yeah, I remember that," he said softly. He looked away. Remembering Marie overwhelmed him. He still thought about her, still missed her, and wondered if maybe Sam had a point. He sighed and looked back at his daughter. When did she get so wise?

"And...I don't want to see you hurt Angela either." Now she laid into him the way a young Brooklyn-born Italian could. "She was really excited, dad, and women don't get that excited and nervous over their friends. She really likes you. If you really did blow it, you need to fix it. I mean, if a guy did that to me, what would you think?"

"I'd think he was a jerk and he treated you badly and you deserve better!"

She laughed.

"Well, Angela does deserve better," he stated regretfully. "She deserves the best."

"Well, I'm just the teenager here, and I don't know what you think Angela wants, but don't you think you're being a little hard on yourself? Have you even asked Angela what she wants?" He let that one sink in for a moment.

"Dad, you just got nervous. You're not really a jerk and Angela knows that. If a guy made a mistake and wanted to apologize to me, you'd at least encourage me to hear him out." She stared at him, pointedly.

He ruminated on her points. The thing is, he'd made a lot of mistakes with Angela over the last 2.5 years, the sort of mistakes that would drive any woman away, the sort of mistakes that if a guy pulled on Sam, he'd tell her he was no good for her, that he had commitment issues.

"Dad, I think you owe her an apology and then I think you two crazy kids need to talk. You don't have to have it all figured out to take the next right step."

"Alright, alright." He gave her a half smile. "I promise you I'll talk to Angela." He knew she had good intentions. "Thanks, Sam."

"Anytime."

/

A/N: I remember being so excited for this episode (as well as Cardinal Sin) and then feeling so disappointed and conflicted at the end of both. As a kid watching these, I am sure more went over my head. I have a hard time with both episodes and the dishonesty that lurks underneath it all. It also drives me bananas that Tony by this point still refers to her as his boss first, not his friend, and that after 5.5 years, he's seemingly worse off with his insecurities, and it shows up in erratic, immature, and silly behavior.

With First Date, I knew the kids were invested in it enough to be curious enough after the fact to ask questions, particularly Sam. I figured Jonathan being in middle school would find more humor in it. I wanted them to have a voice and wanted Tony and Angela to witness the kids' reactions and to explore their own thoughts and feelings in a series of conversations that to me felt plausible. I also brought back Isabel because Angela really needed a good girlfriend.