AN-This one is rated T :)
…..
Contrary
"Wait 'till you try these brownies, Sam, you're gonna have to hold onto your taste buds," Freddie grinned, sliding a tray into the oven.
"I'm not putting one of those disgusting health brownies anywhere near my mouth," Sam said simply, flipping through a magazine.
"They're gonna taste like any normal, unhealthy brownie," Freddie said, rolling his eyes.
"Dad made brownies?" thirteen-year old Tyler exclaimed, running into the kitchen.
"Ha! At least someone's excited for them!" Freddie said proudly. "You know what, Ty? You can have the first brownie when these come out of the oven."
"Tell him what you put in them," Sam smirked.
"Sam, stop trying to-"
"What's in them, dad?" Tyler asked.
"Well…" Freddie said slowly. "There's flour, some cocoa powder, an egg…cooked spinach, sugar-"
"You put spinach in the brownies?" Tyler yelled. "What kind of monster does that?"
"Thanks, Sam," Freddie said as Tyler ran out of the room, still making gagging noises.
"It's your own fault for corrupting brownies," Sam shrugged, getting to her feet. "Good thing I have some real brownies stored upstairs."
"Real brownies…ha!" Freddie scoffed as his wife left the kitchen. "She'll see, these brownies are going to taste delicious and she'll be begging me to have some. Contrary to popular belief, not everything that's tasty has to be bad for you."
He opened the oven door, eager to get a scent of his creation.
Once the scent hit his nose, though, he nearly passed out.
"Ugh! Those smell horrible!" Freddie frowned. "Stupid health recipe!"
He closed the oven door and headed over to the medicine cabinet to find some nausea medicine for the churning feeling he now felt in his stomach.
When he opened the cabinet, a small, circular item fell out.
"What's this?" Freddie said to himself, picking it up. He saw that the item had tiny little pills in it, and once he got a closer look at it, he realized it was birth control.
Weird, I thought Sam kept this in our bathroom, Freddie said. Guess she moved it.
"Now these are brownies, Frednub," Sam said, returning with a box of spinach-free brownies. "Do us all a favor and keep your precious vegetables in your salads."
"It was a good idea, you know," Freddie said. "Don't I at least get credit for that?"
Sam gave him a quick kiss. "Nope."
"Just give me a brownie," Freddie mumbled, taking one from his wife.
"What's in your hand?" Sam asked, looking at the birth control container still in Freddie's hand.
"Oh, this fell out of the cabinet," Freddie said. "Why'd you move it down here? You take it right before you go to bed, so wouldn't it make more sense to have it up in our bathroom."
Sam looked confused for a second before her eyes suddenly grew wide. "Um…okay, baby? I-I guess this is a sign that it's time for you to find out. Just-Just take another brownie before I tell you something that really doesn't need to blown out of proportion, but you'll probably do just that."
"What are you talking about?" Freddie asked. "I don't care where you store your birth control. You're the one taking it. As long as you can remember to come down here every night I don't really-Wait…are you-Sam, you're pregnant!"
"What?" Sam exclaimed.
"That's why you moved this down here, you don't need it anymore!" Freddie beamed. "Wow, Sam…this is great! We're gonna have another baby!"
"No," Sam said. "We're not."
"You know, I thought you've been acting funny these last few days," Freddie grinned. "You've been moody and, well, I didn't want to say anything, but you've looked a little bloated and-"
Sam shoved him hard, cutting him off. "I am not pregnant!"
"Oh," Freddie said, looking like a deer in headlights. "Well then, um, have I told you how thin you looked lately?"
"Nice try, nub," Sam snapped.
"Well if you're not pregnant," Freddie said, massaging the spot on his hip where Sam had shoved him into the counter. "Then what is that I'm apparently about to find out-"
Suddenly Freddie grew silent as he stared down at the ring of birth control in his hand. On the side of the package was a small sticker from the pharmacy. But it wasn't Sam's name that was on it. The sticker read Emma Benson.
"No!" Freddie yelled. "No, no, no! What the-Since when-Why-"
"Sit down, breathe," Sam said, guiding her flabbergasted husband to the kitchen table. "Deep breaths, baby, deep breaths."
"Sam…" Freddie said, trying to keep his voice level. "Would you mind explaining to me why our seventeen-year old daughter is taking birth control?"
"Um, why don't you try and control that little tick your eye's doing right now first," Sam said.
"Why is Emma on birth control?" Freddie asked again, his voice shaking.
Sam sighed. "Look, she's seventeen. Her and Quincy have been dating for almost two years. It-It's normal to expect them to start feeling urges-"
"No!" Freddie yelled. "No urges! She's too young for urges!"
"Calm down!" Sam said. "You're face is turning really red, Freddie."
"Why-You knew about this?" Freddie hissed.
"She asked me if she could start taking it," Sam admitted.
"So you knew our daughter was having sex and you didn't stop it?"
"Freddie, seriously, calm down," Sam said. "I talked to Emma. Like really talked to her when she came to me about this. I explained to her that she needs to be responsible and make sure she's ready for any decision she makes, and that she needs to be careful, but that we trusted her-"
"Oh you practically gave her permission!"
"I didn't give her permission!" Sam said. "But you know teenagers. If she came to me and told me she wanted to start taking birth control and I told her no and that she wasn't allowed to have sex, you think she would've listened? No! She would've done it anyway without birth control. Would you rather her be on birth control or have her come to us pregnant? Huh? Are you ready to be a grandpa? You think Emma and Quincy are ready to be parents?"
"I-No!" Freddie groaned. "But she still shouldn't be having sex! She's just a little girl! My little girl."
"She's seventeen," Sam said gently. "She's growing up."
Freddie said nothing.
"You know how much her and Quincy love each other," Sam said. "And you know Quincy isn't the type of guy who would pressure her into anything she isn't ready for. And when I talked to her, she said she didn't even know if her and Quincy were going to have sex yet, but she wanted to be ready in case they did. You see, she was responsible to at least plan in advance."
Freddie still didn't say anything.
"I'm glad Emma felt comfortable enough to come and talk to me about this," Sam continued. "Because if she didn't, like I said, they probably would've wound up doing it anyway. Shouldn't you be happy that our kids and us have a relationship where they can come to us about this kind of thing."
"She didn't come to me," Freddie pointed out.
"Dude," Sam said, rolling her eyes. "You're her dad. How awkward would it have been for both of you to have that conversation?"
Good point, Freddie thought to himself.
"I should've told you earlier," Sam sighed. "But I knew you'd overreact. I know how protective you are of the twins and that you still like to think of them as your little girls, but-"
"I don't want her doing…that kind of stuff yet!" Freddie said.
"She may not even be doing anything! I told you, she just wanted to start taking birth control to be ready!"
Freddie shook his head. "I don't like this Sam. Not one bit."
….
Later that evening, Freddie was still fuming as he came downstairs. He couldn't believe his daughter was even thinking about sex…He had half a mind to go over to Gibby's house and teach Quincy a lesson! And the fact that Sam knew and wasn't trying to stop it…
He went into the living room, where Emma herself was sitting on the sofa, flipping through the channels.
Freddie pursed his lips. What happened to her thinking boys were disgusting and practically running out the room whenever him and Sam would so much as kiss.
"What?" Emma said, looking over at her father.
"I-Nothing," Freddie said heavily. "Or actually…we need to talk."
"Why?" Emma frowned.
"Emma…sweetie," Freddie sighed. "I-I know you're seventeen now. You're not a little girl anymore…you're a young woman. And-And I just want to let you know that-that I trust you, okay? As much as I would love to control your life and make every decision for you…I know I can't do that. I trust that you'll always do what you think is right and-and make wise decisions for yourself."
"Um…okay?" Emma said, giving her father a strange look as the doorbell rang. "Oh! That's Quincy. Bye, dad, I'll see you tonight."
"You-You're going out with Quincy tonight?" Freddie asked.
"Yeah, that's okay, right?"
"I guess," Freddie mumbled as Emma ran to the door.
She opened it up, revealing Quincy standing on the front step with a bouquet of flowers. "Hey," he smiled at Emma, handing her the flowers. "I got you these."
"Aw," Emma grinned. "How come?"
"Because," Quincy shrugged. He leaned down and gave her a quick kiss. "You ready to go?"
"Yeah," Emma said, her eyes sparkling. "Let's go."
Freddie dug his fingers into the couch cushion, using all his willpower not to go grab Emma's hand and lock her away in her room for the rest of her life.
Sometimes, trusting your kids was the scariest thing you could do.
