Lean
"Wait! Here, Carly, come feel it!" Sam said, placing a hand on her stomach. "The baby's kicking!"
"Really? Oh my God!" Carly gasped, rushing over to Sam and placing a hand next to hers. "Whoa! You can feel the tiny feet!"
"Hey, I want to feel!" Freddie said, joining the two. "Er, Carly do you think you can move a little to the right so I can-"
"You've felt before!" Carly snapped. "It's my turn!"
"It's my baby!" Freddie defended.
"Well it stopped anyway," Sam said as Carly removed her had.
"Isn't that something," Carly smiled, shaking her head in awe. "You can actually feel the baby inside of you…That must feel incredible."
"Yeah, the kicking's pretty cool," Sam said. "The morning sickness, backaches, cramps, heartburn and swollen feet I can live without, though."
"And the mood swings," Freddie added.
Sam glared at him. "I do not have mood swings!"
"Okay, okay!" Freddie said quickly. Just then his Pearphone buzzed and looked down at the screen. "Aw man…that's my mom. She's on her way over here. Dang it!"
"Sweet," Sam grinned happily.
Carly gave the couple a confused look. "Um…shouldn't Freddie be the excited one here? And shouldn't Sam be the one trying to barricade the door or something?"
"Pfft, why would I do that?" Sam scoffed.
"Because you ha-don't like the woman!" Carly pointed out.
"True," Sam agreed. "But ever since I've gotten pregnant, the craziest thing has happened…His mom has been pampering me and treating me like some sort of queen!"
"She says the girl carrying the grandchild she's wanted for so long deserves the best," Freddie said, rolling his eyes. "So my mom has been spoiling her for the past five months."
"It's a great set-up," Sam said. "And I plan on enjoying ever moment of the four months I've got left on this ride."
"Oh, well, that's sort of sweet," Carly said. "I think it's nice that you and Freddie's mom are finally getting along. Don't you, Freddie?"
"Yeah, it's real great," Freddie said, rolling his eyes.
"What's the problem?" Carly frowned. "I would've thought you'd be all happy that your mom and wife are finally-"
"I'm here!" Marissa Benson suddenly announced, letting herself into the house. "Sam! Look at you! You're glowing!"
She hurried over to her daughter-in-law and sat down next to her and began rummaging through her bag, paying no mind to Carly or Freddie.
"How are you, honey? Are you managing your morning sickness? Are you getting enough rest? Enough nutrients?"
"I'm fine," Sam replied. "The morning sickness is getting kind of worse, though. I puked this morning when I woke up like I always do, but then when I was doing the breakfast dishes, I felt sick again and I-"
"You were doing dishes?" Marissa gasped. "In your condition? Well it's no wonder you felt sick!"
She turned to Freddie, finally acknowledging him. "Fredward Benson!" she snapped. "Have I really raised you to be the type of husband who lets his pregnant wife tire herself out with household chores? Why weren't you doing the dishes while poor Sam got some rest?"
"Well because I was running late for work," Freddie explained. "So I needed to hurry out right after breakfast and I didn't get a chance to-"
"Unbelievable!" Marissa said in a scandalized voice. "You put work in front of your wife?"
"What? No!" Freddie said quickly. "Of course not! But see, I had a big presentation today and Sam didn't have to be anywhere so-"
"I don't want to hear excuses!" Marissa said, patting Sam's shoulder. "But if I hear anymore of this nonsense about Sam doing dishes, you'll be in big trouble!"
"Mom, I'm a grown man," Freddie said, rolling his eyes. "You can't just-"
But his sentence fell short at Marissa shot him a stern look.
"Anyway, Sam, I brought you over some goodies," Marissa said, turning back to her daughter-in-law. She pulled out a container of foot cream. "Your poor feet…they've been so worked. But this stuff will make them feel good as new again. Here," she thrust the container into her son's hands. "Rub this on her feet."
"Her feet?" Freddie cried.
"Yes, her feet!" Marissa said. She got up from the couch. "I'm going to go make you some nice sleepy time tea so you can get a nice nap in before dinner, Sam. Be right back!"
"Take your time," Sam beamed.
As Marissa headed into the kitchen, Sam looked back at her husband. "Well you heard your mom, Fredbag. Rub!"
"So…I understand why Sam likes your mom, now," Carly commented as Freddie began to rub the cream on Sam's feet.
"That's right, baby," Sam sighed. "In between the toes…"
"Here you go, dear," Marissa said, returning with a cup of steaming tea. "Drink up. And-And even though it goes against everything I believe in, I used whole milk to make that because I know it's your favorite. And, well, you do need the extra nutrients."
"Cool, thanks!" Sam said.
"Okay, this is too weird for me," Carly said, getting to her feet. "I'm out of here. I'll see you guys tomorrow."
"Bye, Carls!" Sam said brightly, sipping her tea.
"Yeah, bye," Freddie mumbled.
"How is the tea, Sam?" Marissa asked. "Too sweet? Too hot?"
"No, it's great," Sam said. "Perfect."
"Um, mom?" Freddie said. "I-I wouldn't mind some tea…"
"I only made enough for Sam," Marissa said simply.
"Here, take a sip," Sam offered, handing Freddie her cup.
"No, that's all for you, sweetheart," Marissa said. "And of course my little baby granddaughter…"
"Or grandson," Sam corrected.
"Yes, well, I can have my hopes," Marissa said. "Oh! I almost forgot, Sam. I picked these up for you too."
She pulled a pair of fluffy slippers out of her bag. "I thought these might make you feel more comfortable. They're orthopedic."
"Whoa…these things are soft," Sam commented, putting the slippers up to her cheek. "Oh man…I might go to work in these! Thanks!"
"Anything for you," Marissa said, and Freddie had to resist the urge to gag.
"Freddie," Marissa said. "When you're done rubbing Sam's feet, you're going to need to run a vacuum through this room. The dust could obstruct Sam's breathing and harm the baby!"
"Mom, I just vacuumed in here last week," Freddie said.
"Do not give me that sass in front of your unborn child!" Marissa said, appalled. She turned back to Sam. "Hmm, you seem a bit pale…let me go get you a hot towel."
"Oh you don't have to-" Sam started.
"I insist," Marissa said.
"Oh…well if you insist," Sam shrugged.
"And Freddie, you need to rub harder than that!" Marissa said to her son. "Didn't you learn anything from that pedicure program we went to when you were twelve?"
"Mom!" Freddie groaned as Sam snorted in laughter.
"Man, we might need to have another kid after this one is born," Sam chuckled as Marissa left the room.
"Why? So my mom can make me your servant again?" Freddie said.
"Yeah," Sam grinned. "It's pretty great…Hey, it's not actually bothering you, is it?"
Freddie shook his head. "No, it's fine, I guess…I mean, I did grow up with her. I'm used to-"
"Freddie!" Marissa said loudly, coming back into the room. "Why are there three pillows on your side of the bed? Poor Sam only has six! And I would like to know why you don't have more covers out on the bed for her. She could catch a cold! That's it. You're going to Pottery Barrel right now and buying the most expensive comforter you can find!"
"Mom, I don't want to go to Pottery Barrel to spend two hundred bucks on blankets," Freddie said. "Besides, Sam doesn't get cold with our own blanket, do you baby?"
"Well…" Sam said. "I do get a little chilly sometimes. You sort of have this little habit of hogging all the covers."
"You're the covers hogger!" Freddie exclaimed.
"That's enough, mister!" Marissa said sternly. "Now go!"
"Bye, Freddie," Sam smiled, leaning her neck up to give him a quick kiss.
"You're loving this, aren't you?" Freddie mumbled.
"Little bit," Sam nodded.
…..
That evening, Sam was already in bed, curled up under the new comforter Freddie had just bought. Marissa was in the kitchen, stocking the medicine cupboard with all sorts of nausea medicines for Sam.
Freddie walked in and sat down at the table. "Mom?" he said. "Can I talk to you?"
"What is it? I need to print off some articles about sleeping positions that are supposed to relieve backache for Sam," Marissa said.
"Mom," Freddie said, clearing his throat. "Ever since you found out Sam was pregnant…you've been going out of your way to pamper her. You treat her like-like royalty. And by doing that, you've also been treating me like, well, the opposite of royalty. You yell at me to do every little thing for Sam and ignore me half the time because you're so busy with her."
Marissa looked down at her feet.
"And I just want to say…" Freddie continued. "I just want to say thank you."
Marissa looked back up. "Thank you?"
"Mom, you-you and Sam have never been close," Freddie said. "But lately you've-you've been really great with her. You don't insult her or criticize her and you don't make her feel bad about herself. Sam's wanted this for a long time, for you two to get along, even if she won't admit it. And I just want to say thank you for treating Sam like your daughter for once. She appreciates it, and so do I."
Marissa smiled. "Well of course I want to treat her right," she said. "She's my daughter-in-law and she's pregnant with my grandchild!"
"I know," Freddie nodded.
"And she needs this extra attention," Marissa said. "Heaven knows the other grandmother won't do it. And her body is going through all sorts of changes…pregnancy is no picnic, Freddie."
"Um, right, I-I got that," Freddie said. "Well, um, that's all I wanted to-"
"Why I remember when I was pregnant with you," Marissa continued. "I was so confused about everything happening to my-"
"Stop! Mom, please!" Freddie exclaimed, covering his ears. "I don't need to hear that story again!"
…
AN-If you guys haven't already, you should definitely go check out Jennette McCurdy's new web series What's Next For Sarah? It's really funny so far and there's eve a couple of iCarly cameos! (I'd post the link but this site never copies them; the link's all over Twitter though)
