Syndrome

"I wish you were coming with me," Sam said as she closed her suitcase.

"So do I," Freddie nodded. "But I couldn't get off of work. I really tried, though, baby."

"I know you did," Sam said, giving him a small smile as she sat down on their bed next to him. "But I'm only gonna be gone two days."

"I'll still miss you," Freddie smirked, wrapping his arms around his wife. "Why'd your mom have to get arrested all the way in Vermont?"

"I dunno, I think she's really trying to say she's been arrested in all fifty states," Sam sighed. "I bet the next place we get a phone call from is Alaska."

"Well have fun," Freddie said. "Try and keep your mom from trying to marry another prison officer again."

"I'll do my best," Sam chuckled. "So what are you gonna do here? You have the place to yourself."

"I dunno, I guess I'll relax, maybe have a Galaxy Wars marathon," Freddie said.

"Gross," Sam cringed. "Yeah, you should do that while you have the chance, because we maybe be married now, but there's still no chance that's happening while I'm around."

"What time's your flight again?" Freddie asked, rolling his eyes.

"Six," Sam replied. "Which means I need to be at the airport in two hours."

"Two hours…" Freddie said thoughtfully. "Well, since you are gonna be gone for two days, maybe we should use this time to, you know, get a few things off our chest."

"Hmm, maybe," Sam grinned, leaning up to kiss him. "You know…I'm really gonna miss you."

"Tell me about it," Freddie said, holding his wife tightly as he continued to kiss her passionately.

…..

"Alright," Freddie said to himself a few hours later as he walked back into the Benson home after dropping Sam off at the airport. "Time to get this Galaxy Wars marathon underway. Hey…you know, I could order a pizza right now and actually get to eat some. You know what? This might not be as bad as I expected."

So Freddie sat down on the couch, put his feet on the coffee table, ordered himself a pineapple pizza, a delicacy that Sam wouldn't even let cross the threshold of the house, and grabbed the remote to begin a relaxing night of Proton Cruisers and Sky Nauts.

A little after midnight, though, just after he finished his third movie and ate the last slice of pizza, Freddie felt his eyelids growing heavy, and knowing he needed to be at work early the next morning, he decided to call it a night.

He headed up to his bedroom, kicked off his shoes and slid into bed.

The second his head hit the pillow, though, he realized how big and empty the bed suddenly felt with only one person in it.

He let out a small sigh as he turned to his side. Even though it had been nice to have some time to himself to relax and unwind, he was starting to really miss his wife. It felt strange not to exchange their normal good night kiss and drift off to sleep with her in his arms.

Him and Sam had been married for six months, and before that, they had lived with each other for over a year.

Wow, Freddie thought to himself as he stared off into the darkness. This is the first night we've been apart in almost two years.

Freddie closed his eyes shut, trying to block out this foreign feeling to get some sleep, but it seemed almost as if he had developed insomnia.

He sat up, fluffed his pillow and laid back down, but that did absolutely nothing.

"Come on," Freddie sighed. "I have to be up in six hours. I never have trouble falling asleep!"

He turned the lights back on and grabbed his Pearpad. Maybe messing around with a few apps would tire him out.

But even after several games of Sugar Slam, Freddie still felt wide awake.

He opened his drawer and pulled out the thick book on the dangers of dryer lint his mother had dropped off a few weeks ago after she claimed Sam was trying to kill him with her laundry skills that were apparently 'subpar'. But even after a chapter of that, Freddie didn't feel any sleepier, and he suddenly had a desire to never step foot in the laundry room again for fear of getting something called Dryer's Death Syndrome.

This is ridiculous, Freddie thought angrily. I just want to sleep! Is that that too much to ask?

He looked over at Sam's side of the bed, and he knew that if she was laying there with him, he'd have been fast asleep hours ago.

Am I really some pathetic nub that can't fall asleep without his wife next to him? Freddie thought, shaking his head as he checked the time, seeing that it was after four in the morning now. He sighed. Looks like it.

…..

"Sam!"

"Hey!" Sam beamed as she stepped off her plane, running over to her husband and embracing him.

The couple shared a long kiss, each clearly missing the other's lips.

"Where's your mom?" Freddie asked, looking around for his eccentric mother-in-law. "Didn't you bail her out?"

"Yeah," Sam sighed. "But then we went out for breakfast this morning and she wound up hitting it off with the waiter, so she's staying in Vermont a little longer. You know, until that waiter realizes what he got himself into and runs like the rest of them. So how was your weekend? You like having the house to yourself?"

"It was…alright," Freddie said. "It was sort of lonely though. How was Vermont? Other than watching your mother chase down her newest guy, that is."

"Kind of boring," she admitted. "But I got a bunch of maple candy, at least. I'm ready to be back home, though."
"Good," Freddie smiled, kissing her again. "And next time your mom needs to be bailed out of jail, I say we get Melanie to do it."

"I like the way you think," Sam grinned.