Can
"Hey, so I made the reservations for our date night Saturday," Freddie said, hanging up his Pearphone. "We're going to be feasting on hundred dollar lobsters in exactly three days."
"Sweet," Sam grinned. "I plan on ordering three or four."
"Well then I hope you don't mind not having heat in this place for a couple months," Freddie smirked, sitting down next his girlfriend and wrapping his arms around her as he gave her a quick kiss. "Hey, you feeling any better from this morning?"
"Yeah, I feel fine," Sam nodded. "I think I just puked from all those s'mores I ate last night."
"I told you that eating a dozen would make you sick," Freddie said, rolling his eyes.
"You tell me a lot of things, doesn't mean I have to listen," Sam said simply.
"You never do," Freddie said, kissing her again. "Hey, have I told you how sexy you look right now?"
"Yeah, I think you've mentioned it five times at least this last hour," Sam chuckled. She gave him a quick peck. "Sorry, baby, not tonight. I'm really tired and I was about to head to bed."
"Okay," Freddie nodded. "You sure you're alright?"
"Yeah, I just had a long day," Sam told him. "We had to finish up a bunch script edits at work and Carly and I had to work through lunch."
"Aw, well go get some rest," Freddie told her. "I'll try not to wake you tomorrow morning. I need to be into work a couple hours early to finish up some updates on a new app."
"Night," Sam yawned, getting to her feet. "Love you."
"Love you too," Freddie smiled, giving her one last kiss.
…..
The next morning Sam woke up as her alarm blared on her bedside table. She slammed her fist down on the clock and slowly sat up.
True to his word, Freddie hadn't woken her up when he left that morning. Sam looked over to his side of the bed which, as usual, was neatly made up.
For a moment she simply sat there, wiping the sleep from her eyes.
And then, all of the sudden, a wave of nausea hit her and she threw her sheets off her as she bolted to the adjoining bathroom, reaching the toilet just in time as she began to vomit into the bowl.
"Ugh, again?" Sam moaned, pulling back her hair. "I didn't eat anything bad yesterday! Dang it! I must be getting sick! I better not still be puking on Saturday…there's no way I'm missing that lobster."
Sam slowly got to her feet and rinsed her face and dressed for work.
When she arrived at her and Carly's shared office, she was still feeling a bit sick, but she felt much better than she had when she woke up.
"Hey," Carly greeted her, looking up from her laptop. "You're not gonna believe this. You know all those edits we made to those scripts yesterday?"
"Yeah," Sam nodded, shrugging out of her jacket. "What about them?"
"Well they never got sent in!" Carly said.
"What?" Sam exclaimed. "So you mean we did all that work for nothing?"
"Uh-huh!" Carly nodded angrily.
"You see? This is why I never like spending extra time on work," Sam said, sitting down at her desk. As she sat, she felt another wave of nausea hit her, but she tried to hold it down.
"You okay?" Carly frowned, glancing over at her friend.
"I-Yeah," Sam said. "I think I'm just coming down with something. Probably no big deal. But hopefully whatever it is will be out of my system by Saturday night. Freddie's taking me out for lobster."
"Wow, Freddie's springing for lobster?" Carly grinned. "Big night?"
"Sort of, we haven't really had too much time to go out lately," Sam replied. "We just wanted a nice night to ourselves."
"Well maybe you should run across the street to the drugstore and get some medicine to try and stomp this thing out," Carly recommended. "I'll cover for you."
"Thanks," Sam sighed. "I'll be back in a few minutes. I'll pick us up some gummy bears or something."
"If you're sick why would you get gummy bears?" Carly asked.
"I dunno, why not?" Sam said. "I'm really craving them…"
….
"No, this one doesn't seem right," Sam said, looking through the different medications at the drugstore. She was reading the different labels trying to find something that matched her symptoms, but so far she was having no luck.
"Can I help you?" a worker asked, coming up behind Sam.
"Oh, um, yeah, I'm trying to find some medicine," Sam replied. "But I can't find the right stuff…"
"Well what are your symptoms? I'm sure I can find something that will help you," the woman said.
"I've been feeling nauseous the last few days," Sam told her. "It starts right when I wake up in the morning. I'll usually vomit then, and then feel fine after an hour or two. I just want to get rid of this chiz before it gets worse. I have a lobster date coming up and my boyfriend would probably get all wazzed up if I wind up puking all over the fancy tablecloths at the restaurant."
The worker frowned. "You get sick only in the morning?"
"Yeah, weird, I know," Sam nodded. "Anyway, you got something for that?"
"Ma'am, I don't mean to be frank, but is there any possibility that you could be pregnant?" the worker asked.
Sam's eyes widened. "Pregnant? I-No! No way!"
"Are you positive?" the worker said. "Morning sickness is one of the key signs."
"I-No," Sam said again. "No, I am not pregnant."
"Well, if you're one hundred percent certain you aren't, then I'd recommend some simple antacids," the woman said. "But if there is a chance…we sell pregnancy tests in aisle six."
Sam stared after the woman as she walked away.
She couldn't be pregnant! That was impossible!
Well, actually, it wasn't impossible…Her and Freddie had been living together for almost six months now. They were certainly doing everything needed to get pregnant, but-but usually they were pretty careful. But she remembered lately there had been a few times when they had been so caught up in the moment that certain precautions may have been forgotten…
Maybe I should just take the test…just to get peace of mind, Sam told herself. What could it hurt? I-I can't be pregnant…Can I?
And so with her heart suddenly racing out of her chest, Sam walked down to aisle six and picked up a small, thin package.
…..
"Hey, did you get your medicine?" Carly asked when Sam returned to the office.
"What?" Sam said, still a bit dazed at the thoughts running through her head as she sat down at her desk. She pulled out a can of ginger ale and began chugging it.
"Your medicine," Carly repeated. "Did you get it?"
"Oh, um, no," Sam said, finishing the can and tossing it in the recycling bin. "They-They didn't have anything."
"Wow, are you thirsty or something?" Carly said, somewhat amused as Sam uncapped the bottle of water on her desk.
"Yeah, um, I guess it's from the walk over to the drugstore," Sam shrugged.
"Well did you pick up those gummy bears?" Carly asked. "After you mentioned them I kind of started craving them myself."
"Oh, no, I-I forgot," Sam said, getting to her feet and grabbing her purse. "Hey, I'm gonna run to the bathroom."
"Yeah, no surprise after everything you just drank," Carly chuckled.
Sam rushed into the bathrooms next to the office and stepped into the first stall. She carefully pulled out the pregnancy test from her bag and pulled the white stick out of the box.
One line means not pregnant, Sam read off the back of the box. Two means pregnant…
Once Sam had prepared the test, she set the timer on her phone and leaned against the stall wall, tapping her foot impatiently.
She couldn't be pregnant…her and Freddie weren't ready for kids! Both of them were just starting out in their careers, they had a dinky little apartment, barely any savings…
Kids were something they both wanted, sure, but not now. They both planned on being married and a lot further in both of their jobs, maybe living in an actual house instead of a small apartment.
God, if thing winds up being positive, Freddie's gonna lose his mind, Sam thought miserably. Being the careful, risk-free guy Freddie was, he didn't even like to eat breakfast without first planning everything out. Something like this coming in and upsetting everything was probably going to make him have an aneurism.
But it can't be positive, Sam told herself firmly. It can't be. It can't be-
Suddenly the timer on her phone went off and Sam looked down at the test, fully expecting to feel a sense of relief.
But instead, she let out a soft gasp. Staring back up at her were two small lines.
She was pregnant.
….
"-And then there was a huge traffic jam on the street in front of my office, so it took me almost half-an-hour just to leave the parking lot," Freddie said that evening as him and Sam sat at their kitchen table, eating the burgers Freddie had picked up for dinner that night. "I was ten minutes late picking up my dry cleaning and I didn't even have time to swing by the bank and deposit my last pay check before it closed."
"That's nice," Sam mumbled, barely paying attention to her boyfriend as she picked at her food.
"Okay, that burger's been on your plate for over fine minutes and it's not even halfway done," Freddie frowned. "Sam, you okay?"
"Fine," Sam sighed. Except for the fact that I just found out I'm pregnant with a baby today, she added in her head.
"You seem…distracted, though," Freddie said. "Everything okay? How was work today? Carly mentioned that you felt sick in the morning."
"Yeah, um, just an upset stomach," Sam said quickly. "I felt better by lunch."
"Maybe you should go to the doctor, you've been feeling sick a lot, haven't you?" Freddie said, concerned.
"Baby, no, I'm fine," Sam said firmly. She pushed away her plate. "I'm just not that hungry. One of the vending machines at work today was it was spewing free candy bars, so I filled up on those. I'll have this for breakfast tomorrow or something."
"Sam, I-" Freddie started.
"I'm gonna go take a shower," Sam said, getting to her feet.
She headed into the bathroom and locked the door behind her. She stood in front of the mirror and pushed up her shirt, staring at her flat abdomen.
There's really a baby in there…Sam thought to herself. Our baby is growing inside of me.
She wondered how long it would be until she started to show; how much longer could she keep this a secret?
Sam sighed as she pulled her shirt back down. No, she had to tell Freddie soon. She needed him to get through this, after all.
…
"Wow, you look beautiful," Freddie said a few nights later as Sam stood in front of her dresser, putting in the pair of diamond earrings Freddie had gotten her for her birthday a few months back. He stepped behind her and laced his arms around her waist. "I don't think I'm gonna be able to keep my eyes off you tonight."
"Well then maybe you'll be distracted enough not to pass out when we get the bill at the restaurant," Sam chuckled.
"Hey, Sam, tonight I don't even care about the money," Freddie told her. "I've been putting stuff aside for this night for awhile. I just care about having a nice night with the woman I love."
Sam smiled as she leaned up and kissed him. "Love you too."
"We should probably get going soon," Freddie said. "Our reservations are for eight. Wait till you see this place, baby. They have a table set up for us in the moonlight and they'll have chilled champagne waiting for us when we get there."
"Oh, um, champagne?" Sam frowned.
"Yeah, I got the good stuff you love," Freddie nodded. "Come on, let's go. I don't think I can wait to get this evening started any longer."
Just do it, Sam told herself. Do it now and get it over with. It will be like taking a Band-Aid off.
"Freddie, wait," Sam said heavily. "I-There's something I have to tell you."
"Can't you tell me in the car?" Freddie said.
"N-No," Sam said. "No, this is-this is pretty important."
"Is everything okay?" Freddie asked, worried.
"I-I'm not sure," Sam admitted slowly. "Depends what your definition of 'okay' is I guess."
"Sam, what's wrong?" Freddie asked softly.
Sam took a deep breath. "Freddie…I-I'm pregnant."
As she said those words, Freddie's eyes widened and he looked like a deer in headlights.
"P-Pregnant?" he squeaked. "Pregnant? Like-Like with a baby? Right now? Pregnant?"
"I took the test a few days ago," Sam whispered. "And it came back positive. And today I went to the doctors and took another one there and-and I'm definitely pregnant."
Freddie gripped the counter behind him for support.
"I-I know we're always careful," Sam said. "But-But I guess we just-well…Look, Freddie, I don't know how this happened, but it happened. We-I don't know what we're gonna do, but we have to-"
She was cut off as Freddie grabbed her and pulled her closer to him, kissing her passionately.
When they pulled apart Sam stared into his eyes. "What-What was that-You're not mad?"
"Sam, I love you," Freddie said, still looking dazed from the news. "I've known for ages I wanted to start a family with you. I-Yeah, this is sooner than we planned, but-but some things you can't plan for I guess. I just-Come here."
He pulled her into his arms again, hugging her tightly.
Relief rushed over Sam's body. Freddie wasn't furious. He wasn't panicking or going crazy. He seemed surprised, just like she had been, but, well, that was to be expected.
"We have a lot to figure out now, I guess," Sam sighed. "We need to find a way to pay for everything, figure out where this baby is going to sleep, think about-"
"Marry me," Freddie said, interrupting her. "Sam-Will you-I want-"
"Marry you?" Sam said, her eyes bugging out of their sockets. "I-No, Freddie…no. I-We don't have to get married in some big rush because of this. That's not gonna solve any problems. Look, I get that this whole thing caught you off guard, but I don't want us to just get married because we think we have to. You're supposed to get married because-"
"Sam, wait, I-I'm not asking you to marry me because I just found out you're pregnant," Freddie said quickly. "I've been planning on doing it for awhile. I-That-that's why I wanted us to go out to that fancy restaurant tonight. I-I was going to do it there. There was gonna be flowers and-and music and I had a whole speech planned out…I-I sort of forgot it now, but-but-"
He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small box. He opened it up and Sam's jaw dropped.
"I told you, I love you," Freddie said gently. "I want to spend the rest of my life with you, no matter what."
"You-You were gonna ask me even if I-I didn't tell you I was pregnant tonight?" Sam asked, feeling tears welling up in her eyes. Stupid hormones…
"I would've asked you no matter what," Freddie said. "Sorry I just blurted it out, though. But I was a little…surprised."
"That's okay," Sam whispered, still staring at the ring.
"So, do you still…is it a no still?" Freddie said shakily. "I just need-"
"I'll marry you," Sam said at once.
Freddie beamed up at her as he quickly slid the ring onto her finger. He wrapped his arms around her and kissed her deeply.
"We're getting married," he said breathlessly when they pulled apart. "We're gonna get married and-and we're having a baby. Sam, I-This is the greatest moment of my life."
"Mine too," Sam nodded, wiping her eyes. "Mine too, Freddie."
