AN-This is a sequel to chapter 449, where Mrs. Benson dies.

Priority

"Hey, do you guys think Freddie will like this wreath I made for his mom?" Spencer asked Sam and Carly, holding up a large, beautiful wreath. Unlike most of his artwork, this piece lacked the usual wacky colors and crazy theme. It was simple, made up of many white roses.

"It looks nice," Carly nodded.

"Yeah," Sam agreed. "He'll love it, Spence."

It had been two days since Mrs. Benson had passed away, and Sam had been making supporting Freddie her priority. She had spent almost every minute with him, doing her best to help him through this difficult time.

"Where is Freddie?" Carly asked Sam softly.

"With his dad," Sam replied. "He came in late last night."

"Well that's good," Carly said. "He should be with him right now."

"He hasn't seen him in almost three years," Sam told her. "They're not very close."

"Oh," Carly frowned. "Well-Well maybe his dad will take this as an opportunity to get a better relationship with Freddie."

"Hopefully," Sam nodded.

Just then she felt her phone buzz, and she saw she had a text from Freddie.

Can you come over? she read on her screen.

On my way, she instantly replied.

"I need to go," Sam said to Carly and Spencer. "Freddie's back."

"Tell him we're here if he needs us," Carly said.

Sam left the Shay's apartment and knocked on Freddie's door across the hall.

"Hey," he said, letting her in. "That was fast."

"I was at Carly's," Sam explained. "Is-Is your dad here?"

"Yeah," Freddie mumbled. "He's back in the guest room getting set up. We just got back from getting lunch."

"How is he?" Sam asked.

Freddie shrugged. "I dunno. I wasn't really in the mood for talking. Usually when I see my dad he tries to make up for not seeing me too often. You can tell he's still trying to do that. He tried to take me to the Pear Store after we ate to get me a new laptop, but I told him I just wanted to come home."

"Well he's trying," Sam said.

"Now's not the time for him to be trying to make up for not seeing me in three years with presents," Freddie said.

"Freddie," came a voice down the hall. "Freddie, I'm about to run out and-Oh, hello."

Sam stared at the tall man in front of her. She could instantly tell he was Freddie's father; the two looked very similar.

"Um, dad," Freddie said, clearing his throat. "This-This is Sam. My girlfriend."

"Nice to meet you, Sam," Freddie's father said, shaking her hand.

"You too, Mr. Benson," Sam said.

"You can call me Robert," he told her. He turned to Freddie. "Okay, son, I'm going to go to the funeral home now to make the final arrangements for Saturday. You want anything while I'm out?"

"No," Freddie said at once.

"Alright, well, I'll be back in a few hours," Robert said. "Call if you need me."

Freddie sat down on the plastic covered couch as his father shut the door behind him. "He's taking care of all the funeral stuff," Freddie said to Sam.

"That's nice of him," Sam said.

"There really wasn't any other choice; I don't have the money to pay for it," Freddie shrugged.

Sam sat down next to him. "Try and give him a chance, okay?"

"It's hard to give him a chance when we both know if my mom wasn't dead he probably would've gone another year without swinging by," Freddie said darkly.

Sam squeezed his hand. "He's your dad. You know you love him."
Freddie didn't reply.

"So, um, I-I have all your schoolwork that you asked me to get you from today," Sam said. "I'll go put in your room later. All your teachers said to take your time with it."

"I'll work on it tonight," Freddie said.

"No, baby, you don't need to worry about it now," Sam said. "At least wait until Saturday, after the funeral."

"I sort of want to take my mind off the funeral," Freddie said, leaning back on the couch, shifting in his seat a little bit.

"Well…why don't you come over to my place then?" Sam suggested. "You can take your mind off of stuff and it will give your dad some more time to keep planning everything here."

"Okay," Freddie agreed. "Yeah…that'd be nice. I sort of want to get away from here for a little bit anyway."

"Good," Sam smiled. "We'll go there tonight."

"Man, this stupid couch is so uncomfortable with this plastic wrap," Freddie said, shifting in his seat again. "I wish I could take it off…"

As he said that, he slowly frowned. "Oh…I-I guess I can now, can't I?"

Sam said nothing as she hugged him tightly, letting him cry into her shoulder.

….

"I hate funerals," Sam mumbled to Carly that Saturday as the girls stood off in a corner at the funeral home.

"Me too," Carly sighed. "But we're here for Freddie. You know Sam, I think it's great the way you've been helping him out. It really shows how your relationship has grown."

"Thanks," Sam said, giving her best friend a small smile. "I just wish Freddie didn't have to go through this right now."

"I know," Carly agreed. "But he's pretty lucky to have you at his side the whole time. Anyway, I need to go find Spencer. I'll talk to you in a little bit."
As Carly left, Sam looked over at Freddie, who was talking to his grandparents. She was about to go get some water when suddenly Freddie's father approached her.

"Hi," he said kindly. "You have a minute?"

"Um, sure," Sam nodded. "What is it?"

"I just wanted to thank you for all you've done for my son these last few days," Robert told her. "You've really been there for him. Without you, he probably wouldn't have gotten out of bed some days."

"It's nothing," Sam shrugged. "He'd-He'd do the same for me."

"You know he really loves you," Robert continued. "Whenever I get a chance to speak with him on the phone, you're all he talks about."

Sam smiled. "Really?"

"Yeah," Robert sighed. "I know Freddie and I aren't exactly close…And I suppose that's my fault. After his mom and I split up, I should've made more of an effort to see him. But even I can tell you guys are going to last."

Sam didn't reply.

"I wish I hadn't waited until now to come back into Freddie's life," Robert said slowly. "He's leaving for college soon…he's all grown up." He took a deep breath and looked down at Sam. "Can I ask you to do me a favor?"

"Um, okay," Sam said hesitantly.
"Promise me that you'll always be there for my son," Robert whispered. "He needs a girl like you in his life. Especially when I've been gone for so long."

Sam nodded. "I'll always be there for him," she assured him. "I love him."

….

"Thanks for staying the whole time with me," Freddie said to Sam as the last of the funeral guests finally cleared out.

"Of course," Sam said, taking his hand. She kissed his cheek gently. "You feeling okay?"

"I-I guess I feel better than I did earlier," Freddie said. "Must be that closure thing."

"Maybe," Sam nodded.

"Hey," Freddie said. "What-What were you and my dad talking about earlier? I saw you two over in the back of the room."

"He told me that he thinks we're gonna last," Sam told him.

Freddie smiled. "Well, I guess that's one thing he got right."

"He really wants to be a part of your life," Sam said softly. "He loves you."

Freddie nodded. "Yeah…I-I guess if I've learned anything this week, it's that I should try and spend time with him while I still can."

He put an arm around Sam. "Seriously Sam, you-you've been amazing through this whole thing."

"Come on, it was nothing," Sam said. "What kind of girlfriend would just leave her boyfriend to deal with this on his own?"

"Well, either way," Freddie said, hugging her tightly. "I couldn't have gotten through this without you. Thank you, Sam."