Permission

"Hey!" Carly said happily as Freddie opened the door and let her into his and Sam's home. "How goes it?"

"It goes good," Freddie smiled. "Thanks for babysitting. Hopefully Jason won't be too much trouble."

"Oh he's never any trouble," Carly said as the two-year old ran into the room with Sam behind him. "Hi Jason! You ready to have some fun with your Aunt Carly?"

"Fun!" Jason exclaimed as Freddie scooped him up.

"Yeah, I'm sure you guys will have a great time," Freddie said. "Anyway, Sam and I shouldn't be out too long, we'll be back by ten at the latest. Jason's already had his dinner and a bath. Just keep him entertained until eight, and then you can put him to bed."

"No bed!" Jason said firmly.

"Oh, yeah…Jason's in this stage where he doesn't like to sleep," Freddie added. "But you'll be fine. Just read to him and he'll knock out within an hour or so."

"Um, alright," Carly nodded. "Oh, I almost forgot. You know that sculpture Spencer just finished making for that new bakery that opened up in the mall? Well, the owners liked it so much that they gave him like, ten dozen free cupcakes. I have some right here for you guys, there's chocolate cream, there's vanilla, there's-"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! Get those cupcakes out of this house!" Sam cried as Carly pulled out a small box. "Jeez! What are you trying to do to me?"

"Sorry…I didn't know I needed your permission to bring cupcakes over," Carly said. "I thought you loved cupcakes!"

"Not tonight I don't!" Sam said.

"Okay, I'm confused."

"Well, you see, Carly," Freddie sighed. "The steakhouse we're going out to tonight has this…item-"

"It's a sixty-five ounce steak," Sam grinned. "Grilled to perfection with the best seasoning known to man."

"Sixty-five ounces?" Carly repeated, her eyes widening. "That's huge!"

"Yeah," Sam said dreamily. "It is. That's why I've been fasting all day; so I'll have room for it. And the restaurant has this policy where if someone orders it and can eat the entire thing in under an hour, they get it for free and their picture goes up on the Wall of Fame. You know what an honor that would be?"

"Yeah, it could go right up there on the list with that pie eating contest you won last year," Freddie said, rolling his eyes.

"Thirty pies…that was a good day," Sam smiled.

"You know, you eat insane amounts of food, you had a kid and you frown on any type of physical exercise," Carly frowned. "And I eat salads, never had anything growing inside me and work out twice a week and we can still share clothes…I think I'm doing something wrong here."

"Don't question her metabolism, it's one of the great mysteries of the world," Freddie chuckled.

"What can I say? It's a gift," Sam shrugged. "Anyway, only five people have ever eaten the entire steak, and no woman has even attempted it. Mommy's going to make history tonight, Jason!"

"Yay!" Jason smiled.

"Well you won't be making history if we miss our reservation," Freddie said, looking at his watch. "We only have twenty minutes to get there."

"Oh, right," Sam nodded, kissing the top of Jason's head. "Bye, sweetie. Be good for Aunt Carly."

"I good boy!" Jason said proudly.

"Make sure you show Aunt Carly that," Freddie said, setting his son down.

"Relax, go enjoy your massive steak," Carly said. "If it will even fit on your table, that is."

…..

"Alright, for the gentleman, we have the nine-ounce steak with a side of steamed broccoli," Sam and Freddie's waiter said, setting Freddie's small plate in front of him.

"Thank you," Freddie smiled.

"And for the lady, we have the sixty-five ounce 'monster' steak with a side of fries and onion rings," the waiter said, using both hands to lower the giant slab of meat onto the table.

"Oh…look at it!" Sam beamed, grabbing her knife and fork. "It's beautiful. Fredwad, take a picture. I need to remember this moment forever."

"Your hour to eat this entre starts now," the waiter said. "Enjoy."

"Okay, baby, I know you're, like, a champion eater, but there's no way even you are going to finish that," Freddie said as Sam began digging in.

"Oh watch me," Sam said with her mouth full. "Hey, pass the steak sauce, will you, nub? And don't criticize my food when you had to nerve to get a vegetable on the same plate as the best steak in Seattle!"

"Just make sure you keep track of your time," Freddie said. "And listen, Sam. I don't want you to feel discouraged if you can't finish this. I mean like you said, you're the first woman to even order this thing. That's a big step right there!"

"I'm going to finish this," Sam said firmly.

"Okay," Freddie said. "Whatever you say…"

…..

"Unbelievable!" Freddie said an hour later as Sam took her last bite of the steak. "You-You finished it!"

"Told you," Sam smirked triumphantly, licking up some leftover steak sauce from her plate. "Mama doesn't mess around with her steak! Hey, you gonna finish the rest of yours?"

"You're still hungry?" Freddie laughed, amused as he passed his wife his unfinished steak. "Amazing…baby, you're a beast! I don't think I've ever been prouder."

"Yeah, well," Sam said modestly as the couple's waiter came over.

"Wow, you-you really ate that whole steak?" he asked, stunned.

"Shoosh yeah she did," Freddie grinned. "I can't believe my wife is the first woman to eat an entire sixty-five ounce steak…It's like I'm married to a celebrity."

"Dude, calm down, you're acting like a moron," Sam said, though she was blushing.

"Wow, you know, I never thought I'd see a woman manage this," the waiter chuckled. "Most women that come in here are always so concerned with their appearances and get the little lean steaks with no fat or flavor."

"Pfft, she'd never do that," Freddie said. "Sam doesn't care about that stuff. Her motto is: 'More fat, more flavor.'"

"Well, it certainly is refreshing to see a woman who doesn't seem to care about figure," the waiter said, taking the plates out of the way.

"That's what I love about her," Freddie said.

"I'll have our manager come out to get your picture on the wall," the waiter told Sam. "Congratulations."

"Yeah, um, thanks," Sam mumbled, looking down at her lap.

"This is going to be something to tell the grandkids one day, isn't it?" Freddie said. "Seriously, Sam, you should be proud of yourself."

"Um, sure," Sam said softly. "I-I am."

…..

"So did she do it? Did Sam eat the entire steak?" Carly asked later that evening as Sam and Freddie walked back into their house.

"Yes she did!" Freddie said. "It was incredible; it was like I was watching DaVinci paint the Mona Lisa."

"Wow, Sam, congrats!" Carly grinned. "I guess this is one more food feat for you to add to the books."

"Yeah, it was real great," Sam said less-than enthusiastically. "Hey, is Jason still up?"

"Um, no, he went down about an hour ago," Carly said.

"I'm just gonna go check on him," Sam said heavily. "See you tomorrow, Carls,"

"Hey, Freddie, is she okay?" Carly frowned as Sam hurried upstairs.

"Um…I don't know," Freddie said. "I thought she'd be jumping up and down right about now. But ever since we left the restaurant she's been really quiet. Maybe she's just finally feeling how stuffed she must be. She ate over four pounds of steak, after all."

"Yeah, that could take its toll on you," Carly agreed. "Well, I should get home. I'll see you later."

"Will do, thanks again for watching Jason," Freddie said.

He waited until Carly had left before heading upstairs to his and Sam's bedroom, where Sam was standing by the dresser, taking out her earrings.

"So you think you'll ever tackle that steak again?" Freddie asked, coming up behind her and wrapping his arms around her. "I mean maybe in a few months you can go back. No one's ever eaten that whole thing twice, and-"

"Okay, I get it, I ate the whole steak!" Sam snapped. "Do we have to keep talking about it? Jeez!"

"Um, Sam? What's wrong?" Freddie asked, confused.

"Nothing!"

"No…something," Freddie said. "Seriously, you've been a little off since we left the restaurant. Are you starting to feel sick from the steak or something?"

"No! I'm fine, okay?" Sam said. "I'm just gonna go to bed."

"Wait, Sam, I'm really worried; what's bugging you?" Freddie asked. "You just ate the largest steak in the country! You should be thrilled!"

"Let's just forget about that, okay?" Sam sighed. "Come on let's get some sleep. Jason will be up at the crack of dawn wanting to play."

"No, I'm not going to sleep until you tell me what's wrong," Freddie said firmly.

Sam looked down at her feet. "It's nothing…really."

"If it's nothing, just tell me."

Sam bit the corner of her lip and let out a heavy sigh. "Fine…Do you think that…Does it bother you that-Do you think I need to start watching what I eat more?"

Freddie's eyes widened. "Huh?"

"I mean, come on, you heard that waiter; most girls barely eat any steak in that restaurant," Sam said. "And later everybody kept coming up to me and said how nice it was that I didn't seem to care about my figure."
"Well…you don't, do you?" Freddie said slowly.

"God, Freddie! You're so stupid!" Sam groaned. "Yes I care about my figure, okay? There, I said it!"

"But-But Sam…you look fine," Freddie said, still confused. "You're perfect."

"Yeah, now I look fine," Sam mumbled. "But what if one day I wake up and all those giant steaks and hams and Fat Cakes suddenly catch up to me? I mean it's amazing I'm not the size of a house now!"

"I-I never knew this bothered you so much, Sam," Freddie said softly. "Have-Have you always felt this way?"

"I-No," Sam said heavily. "It's just lately I keep hearing everybody tell me how lucky I am that I can eat whatever I want and how it's nice that I don't seem to care about how it affects me. But…I do care. I-I care about looking good for you. And-And I dunno, maybe it's time I actually put effort into that."

"Sam…that's crazy," Freddie said gently. "Who cares what people say? You should eat what you want. You love steak, so you ate a giant steak. How's that a crime?"

"Yeah but-"

"Sam, do you think I love you and I married you because you're thin?" Freddie frowned. "I didn't. I married you because you're the most perfect girl I've met. I'd think that if you were one hundred pounds or if you were five hundred pounds. And as for looking good for me…all you need to do is show me those amazing blue eyes and flash me that smile of yours and I you can't get anymore beautiful."

Sam gave him a small smile. "You-You really mean that? You don't think I need to watch what I eat or anything?"

"No," Freddie said. "You eat what you want to. If you want to eat a salad one day, eat a salad. If you want to eat fried chicken the next day, eat fried chicken."

Sam chuckled. "I do love fried chicken."

"I know you do," Freddie smiled, pulling her closer to him. He tilted her chin up and gave her a kiss as she wrapped her arms around his neck.

"Hey," he said when they pulled apart. "You know…watching you eat that giant steak tonight…it was kind of a turn on."

"Really?" Sam smirked, raising an eyebrow.

"Yeah," Freddie whispered, beginning to plant gentle kisses down her neck. "You looked totally sexy."

"Hmm," Sam laughed, taking Freddie's hands and leading them towards their bed. "Maybe we should do something about that then…"