AN-Hey, this is a sequel to chapter 231, where Freddie comes back from the Middle East and surprises Sam.
….
Enclosing
"-And this is my new robot super hero," Jason said, handing his father his toy. "He used to be able to talk, but I dropped him on accident in the pool. But he's still my favorite."
"Wow, I can see why, this guy's pretty awesome," Freddie laughed.
Ever since the family had been home, they had been in Jason's room, where the three-year old had been showing Freddie nearly everything in there, from his stuffed animals to his favorite books.
"And these are my new shoes," Jason said, showing his dad his new blue sneakers. "They make me run really fast!"
Freddie chuckled and glanced over at Sam, who was sitting right next to him on Jason's bed.
"It's true," Sam smiled. "You know how hard it is to catch him in those things?"
"I always win when I play tag with mommy!" Jason said. He gave a long yawn.
"Sounds like someone's tired," Freddie laughed.
"No I'm not!" Jason said, yawning again.
"Hey Jason, why don't you go get your bedtime book for daddy to read to you tonight?" Sam suggested.
"Yay!" Jason exclaimed, running to his bookshelf and grabbing a picture book. "Look daddy! It's all about dinosaurs."
"I see," Freddie said, taking the book from his son. "And are you going to tell me you know how to read now too?"
"That says 'Dino's Day in Dino School," Jason grinned, pointing at the book's title.
"What? You can read now?" Freddie exclaimed.
"Nah," Sam laughed. "He's just got that book memorized from having everybody read it to him so much."
"Oh, is that it?" Freddie said, rustling his son's hair.
After Freddie read Jason his story three times, he had finally fallen asleep. Sam turned off the lights in the bedroom and her and Freddie quietly snuck out.
"Wow," Freddie said as they gently shut Jason's door. "You realize when I left last year he could barely form sentences? Now he's talking like a person!"
"Yeah, I know," Sam said. "He's a little chatterbox now…" She put her arms around his neck. "I missed you. So much," she whispered as he pulled her closer to him.
"Sam, you have no idea how much I missed you either," Freddie said, kissing the top of her head. "Not seeing you everyday…it was worse than I could've ever imagined."
"It was so long too," Sam said softly as the couple retreated into their bedroom. "A year…you realize that the two of us probably haven't gone a day without seeing each other since we were thirteen?"
"Well I promise, baby," Freddie said as the two sat down on their bed. "I'm never going to leave you again. My tech agency did its time over there. We never have to go back."
"Good," Sam said. "Because I don't think I can handle doing this all over again." And then, without warning, she began to cry.
"Sam-" Freddie started, concerned.
"Freddie, you don't know what it was like over here," Sam said, wiping her eyes, her voice shaking. "Every day, every single day for the past year, all I could think about was whether you were okay and if something had happened to you. It was the worst; I knew it would be hard when you left, but I never thought it would be like that! And then we'd always hear on the news about explosions or other incidents over there and of course the first thing that pops into my head is what if you were involved in it!"
"Sam," Freddie said gently, moving closer to his wife, enclosing the small gap between them. "It's over. I'm here now."
"I know," Sam said, resting her head on his chest. "I guess I just never realized how much-how much of a mess I would be without you."
"Hey, you weren't a mess," Freddie said. "You took care of Jason all by yourself for an entire year!"
"Yeah, and every night I would come in here and spend an hour trying to fall asleep because I could never get used to the empty bed," Sam admitted.
Freddie didn't reply. He simply leaned down and kissed her.
"I don't want you to leave again," Sam whispered when they pulled apart.
"I never want to leave again either," Freddie said. "It's too hard to be away from you."
