Title: San Diego, California 1974

Author: Elizabeth Bennet-Darcy

Disclaimer: They are not mine for keeps. I'll just borrow them, play very carefully and put them back unharmed (relatively).

Summary: The senior staff, plus two, on the day before their tenth birthdays. Mainly focuses on their relationships with their fathers.

Spoilers: Various episodes, but nothing too telling.

Rating: PG13 for the series; PG for this story

SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA 1974

"Tent, check; sleeping bags, check; canteens, check; bug spray, check," Sam smiled as he finished checking off his list. He had everything assembled at the bottom of the stairs waiting to be loaded in the car when his dad came home. The clicking of heels on the hard wood floor alerted him to his mother's presence. She was dressed up and her hair was piled on her head. Sam could smell her perfume and she smelled like Mom. She smiled at him as she handed him a delicate gold chain. Sam stood on the third step and carefully reached his arms around her neck to clasp the necklace. Turning she smiled at him, "Thank you Sam, I'd kiss you, but the lipstick."

Sam just smiled, he could spend hours just looking at how beautiful his mother was. "We have to catch fish and cook it ourselves in tin foil," Sam told her proudly. She wrinkled her perfect nose, "Let's not talk about fish, sweetheart."

"Dad said that if it doesn't rain we could sleep outside the tent under the stars. You're sure you're not gonna be lonely?"

"I have the play tonight, tea at that awful Morgenstern woman's house tomorrow and the church bizarre on Sunday, I'll be too busy to be lonely. Now make sure you have everything so you're ready when your father gets here."

The words had barely left her lips when Sam heard the door of his father's car slam. He got a nervous fluttery feeling in his stomach. He and his father were going on the Boy Scouts father/son camping trip and Sam was excited.

The door had barely opened when Sam cried out, "I have everything we need packed and ready to go, Dad."

Norm Seaborn gave his son a sad smile, "I'm so sorry kiddo. I have to go to the Santa Monica office. I'll be there the whole weekend. I'm sorry."

"Oh," Sam said, his face falling, "that's... that's okay. It was just a dumb camping trip."

"I knew you be a sport about it. I promise we'll go camping another time, just you and me. No scout regulation to follow. I'm sure your mother can call one of the other father's to give you a ride. Sarah, you look beautiful. I just gotta grab some suits and..." his voice trailed off as he headed up stairs.

Sarah frowned up the stairs. She held out a perfectly manicured hand to her son, "Come on we'll make some calls."

"That's okay, Mom. I don't really want to go without Dad. I'll just go next time," Sam blinked to keep the tears from falling, but his voice wavered.

Sarah knelt in front of her son, "Now Sam, I know you're disappointed, but your father works really hard for us and sometimes he has to be away. I don't know what the trouble is in that Santa Monica office, but he has to go there a lot for now and we have to be patient. I know he can't be having fun going there all the time and sleeping in a yucky hotel. I'll tell you what, you go put on your suit and come see the Mikado with me and then we'll go to dinner, okay? We'll go on a little date."

Sam smiled despite his tears and nodded. Disregarding her lipstick, Sarah kissed him on the forehead.

As he stood in his room wrestling the tiny buttons of his dress shirt Sam decided to be the best son he could for his Mom and Dad. Tomorrow he'd do everything in his power to be the best son in the world, because tomorrow Sam would turn ten.