Dual
Sam sat in her parked car outside her home, simply staring out at her surroundings. It was as though everything had suddenly stopped all around her; as though the world was still.
She leaned back in her seat. This was not what she had expected when she woke up that morning. This is not what she had ever expected. Yet here she was…
She had been sitting in her car for almost twenty minutes, and she knew sooner or later, if she didn't get out, Freddie would spot her from one of the windows and ask her what she was doing.
Freddie…
Just the thought of her husband's name seemed to make everything she was feeling ten times worse.
How do I tell him? Sam thought. Do-Do I even need to tell him?
But that was a stupid thought. Of course she did; even she had enough sense to realize how serious this all truly was. She had to tell him. After all, she'd want him to tell her if the roles were reversed…
Running her fingers through her hair, Sam glanced out her window and spotted her daughter, Emma's, discarded bike on the front lawn.
And that's when Sam felt herself break and the tears falling down her face. For that's when she realized what happened to her no longer only affected her. She was a mother. What happened to her also had an impact on her four children.
You're not even certain of everything yet, Sam reminded herself. The doctor said they still have to run tests to see how serious this all is. There's still a chance that-that all of this will be okay.
Grabbing a napkin from her glove compartment, Sam quickly dried her eyes. She gave herself a moment to get collected before pushing open her car door and stepping out. Before entering the house, though, she hesitated at the front step, trying to make sure she'd be able to act completely natural once she went inside.
The second she stepped into the house, she was greeted with a cacophony of noises and voices; a trademark of the Benson home.
"Ashton!" she heard her husband yelling from the kitchen. "Ashton, for the millionth time, come clean your crayons off the table! We're eating dinner as soon as your mom gets back!"
"Dinner?" Sam said, using all her strength to pull a smile onto her face as she walked into the kitchen. "You mean you actually cooked?"
"Don't have to sound so surprised," Freddie smirked, looking up from the pot he was stirring on the stove while balancing their two-year old son on his hip.
"Hi mommy!" Ashton said happily, looking up from the drawing she was working on. "Wanna color?"
"No, she does not want to color," Freddie said before Sam could answer. "Because like I've told you a million and one times now, we're eating dinner. Clean up your crayons. Now."
"We'll color after dinner, sweetie," Sam promised, taking Tyler from Freddie.
"You'll never guess what this kid got himself into a little while ago," Freddie said, shaking his head. "He decided it'd be a fun idea to try and bring his sandbox indoors. He must've dumped twenty buckets of sand into the living room! And while I was trying to get that ordeal cleaned up, Emma tried to do a cartwheel and wound up breaking a lamp! And then Jason took apart my alarm clock to use for spare parts on this robot contraption thing he's trying to build. Don't get me wrong, I'm impressed, but how am I supposed to wake up for work in the morning?"
He took his pot of sauce and poured it over a large bowl of spaghetti. "Alright guys!" he yelled loudly. "Dinner!"
"Here, I'll get Ty in his highchair," Sam said as Emma and Jason raced into the kitchen to join the family.
"I'm telling you Sam, I don't know how you handle them all day by yourself," Freddie said, pulling a tray of garlic bread from the oven. "You must be indestructible or something."
"Yeah," Sam sighed. "Indestructible…"
…
Later that evening, Sam felt exhausted, emotionally and physically, from her long day. And she still had to tell Freddie, which she knew would be harder than simply letting the news weigh on her alone, as she had been doing since she got home.
When she stepped into their bedroom, Freddie was already lying in bed, flipping through one of his tech magazines.
"Hey," he smiled, looking up at his wife. "You get Tyler down?"
"Yeah, he's fast asleep," Sam nodded. "He must've tired himself out today. He was out before his head hit the pillow."
"Yeah, I'd say," Freddie chuckled. "Hey, come here and tell me what you think of this new laptop. It's got a dual processing system, updated security system, enhanced hard drive…My laptop now is still in pretty good shape, but this would be great for work."
"Um, yeah, it's-it's great," Sam said distractedly, closing their bedroom door to make sure the kids wouldn't overhear what she was about to tell Freddie. "Um, Freddie? Can-Can we talk for a-"
"Eh, you know what? I don't need it," Freddie said, closing the magazine and tossing it aside. "I just gave the kids a whole big speech about how they don't need a new Game Sphere because our old one works perfectly well. I don't want to come off as some sort of hypocrite. Anyway, how'd your doctor's appointment go, by the way? You were gone for a long time. Did you stop somewhere after or something?"
"Um, no," Sam said, taking a deep breath. "That's actually what-"
"I mean after spending the day with all the kids today, I don't blame you," Freddie chuckled. "You definitely deserve a break, baby. Like I said, I have no idea how you-"
"Freddie," Sam cut him off. "I-We really need to talk."
Freddie frowned. It wasn't often Sam looked this serious.
"Is everything okay?" he asked, concerned.
Sam looked down at her lap as she sat down on the bed next to him.
"I-I'm not sure…I don't know how...I don't know."
"Sam, you're really starting to freak me out," Freddie said, sitting up. "Did something happen while you were out today? Did-Did something happen at the doctor's?"
Sam slowly nodded her head.
"What is it?" Freddie asked, his voice so quiet Sam could barely hear him. "Baby…tell me."
"Well it was just a check-up," Sam said. "So-So they were doing all these tests. You know, the usual blood pressure, eye exam, reflex stuff…and then after all that came back normal, the doctor asked me if there was anything else that I wanted to get checked out while I was there. And…you know how I told you the back of my thigh has been kind of hurting these past couple of weeks?"
"Yeah," Freddie nodded, feeling as though the blood in his veins had been replaced by ice.
"Well, he said they could do some x-rays to make sure everything was okay with it," Sam said. "And I figured since I was already there…why not? But um, when-when the x-rays came back, they found…they found a tumor."
"A tumor?" Freddie repeated. "His eyes growing wide. "As-As in cancer?"
"Yeah," Sam whispered. "At first they thought it might be some sort of mix up, so they had me do another MRI, but-but it showed the same thing."
Freddie stared at his wife, too stunned to even speak.
"They told me it's a type of bone cancer," Sam continued, her voice shaking. "Chondrosarcoma. It-It has something to do with the cartilage. It usually effects your pelvis or shoulder or sometimes parts of your leg. With mine it's my pelvis, they said. And-"
"You have cancer?" Freddie said, his voice so unlike his own. "You-Sam, I-"
He reflexively held out his arms for Sam, who instantly welcomed his embrace.
"Are they sure?" Freddie said after a moment, his voice quivering, and Sam could feel his heart pounding out of his chest as he held her close. "Maybe it was a mistake. Maybe there was some sort of lab error or-"
"No, it's-it's definitely there," Sam said gently, squeezing her eyes shut to try and stop the tears. "They're one hundred percent certain on that."
"Oh my God…" Freddie said softly, and Sam could feel his own tears dropping onto her shoulder. "Sam…no. This-This can't-"
"But they don't know how aggressive the tumor is yet," Sam said quickly, pulling out of Freddie's embrace so she could look right at him. "They told me there's-there's different kinds of this thing. If it's grade one, that means the tumor is growing really slowly, and-and that's good. That means they can do surgery and remove it and-and that's it."
"But what about the other kinds?" Freddie asked.
Sam sighed. "If it's grade two or three, it's-it's more serious. They said then the tumor cells are growing faster then, and-and it's more likely that the cancer spreads to other parts of my body. They'd-They'd still do surgery, but-but they'd have to do more treatments to try and completely remove the tumor."
"Try?" Freddie said. "Try? As in they might not even be successful?"
"Baby," Sam said, reaching for his hand. "Don't-"
"How many grades of this are there?" Freddie asked, trying to ignore the horrible, surreal feeling inside of him. "Did they tell you that?"
"There's-there's four," Sam said slowly.
"Well what if you have grade 4 then?" Freddie asked, though he wasn't sure he wanted to even know the answer.
Sam closed her eyes again. "If it's grade 4, then-then the tumor would be spreading too fast for them to surgically remove it. They would try some forms of chemotherapy, but-but they said that doesn't usually work with-with this type of cancer. They said…they said I'd have about a year."
"A year?" Freddie repeated. "A year?"
"But that's-that's probably not going to be the case!" Sam said quickly. "They said grade 4 Chondrosarcoma is really rare!"
Freddie buried his head in his hands, tears streaming down his face.
"Freddie," Sam said, as she felt her own eyes welling the tears she could no longer hold back. "Freddie, please. Don't-Don't do this."
"Sam, I just-God…I don't even know what-" He wrapped his arms around her again. "I love you. Sam, I-I can't even imagine…I-I can't lose you."
Sam carefully titled her neck back, pressing her lips to his. She could taste the saltiness of his tears.
"You're not going to lose me," she said firmly. "I-I told you. They don't know how far along this whole thing is yet."
"Well when will they know?" Freddie asked.
"They're-they're sending my tests out to some expert in Wisconsin," Sam replied. "They're overnighting them so-so it should be quick. And-And I have to go in for more exams in a few days. I-I already made the appointment. That's when they'll-they'll know exactly what's going on."
"I'm going with you," Freddie said at once, wiping his eyes. "I should've been there with you today."
"You were watching the kids, you couldn't have been," Sam told him. "But…I really do want you with me when I go back. I guess we'll ask Carly to babysit or something."
"Yeah…" Freddie said distantly. "Yeah, I-we'll do that."
The two were silent for a moment.
"Are we going to tell the kids about this?" Freddie finally asked.
"No," Sam at once. "Not until-Not until we have to. I don't want them to get scared for nothing. Besides, Tyler and the twins are really too young to even understand. Even Jason's probably not old enough. I don't want to tell anybody else right now. Not Carly or Spencer or anybody."
"Alright," Freddie said, running his fingers through his hair. "Alright."
"It will all…It will all turn out okay," Sam said weakly.
"This is all just so crazy," Freddie mumbled. "I never thought-"
"I know," Sam said. "I-I know, me neither. But…here we are."
Freddie shook his head. "This isn't fair. You don't deserve this."
"Yeah, well," Sam said, giving him a small smile. "Since when has life been fair?"
Freddie squeezed her hand tightly. "Sam, I promise you, no matter what winds up happening…I'm going to be there for you. Every step of the way."
Sam squeezed his hand back. "Thanks. Because…because I-I'm scared, Freddie."
It was the first time in their eleven years of marriage that she had ever said those words to him.
…..
That night, as Freddie lay in bed, he had never felt more awake. He didn't know how he could be expected to sleep after hearing the worst news he had ever heard in his life.
He watched Sam next to him, trying to rememorize every feature of her.
She was his whole world. And now that whole world was shattering around him.
He hated the idea of having to watch her suffer. And even more, he hated the idea, the remote possibility, that she might…
Freddie quickly halted that thought.
Don't think like that, he told himself firmly. And stop making this all about yourself! This is about Sam! For once in your life…you're going to have to be the stronger one.
Carefully, so as to not wake her, Freddie put an arm around her waist, feeling the familiar warmth of her body.
He couldn't help but wonder, though, how he could've missed it. Surely there had to have been signs. He should've insisted Sam go to the doctor weeks ago, as soon as she began complaining about that pain in her thigh.
Maybe then he wouldn't have been feeling so helpless right now.
Suddenly, he felt Sam's hand take his, and she rolled over onto her back, looking up at him.
"Sorry," Freddie said quickly. "I didn't mean to wake you."
"You didn't," Sam whispered. "I couldn't sleep."
"Me neither," Freddie sighed. He slowly sat up, leaning back against the pillows. "You know? I looked up Chondrosarcoma on my phone a little while ago while I was laying here. I was looking at some of the treatment options-"
"I don't want to talk about that," Sam said quickly. "I've been thinking about it ever since I left the doctor's office. Can we just…I just want to talk about something else. Anything else."
She rested her head on Freddie's shoulder.
Freddie thought for a moment.
"Remember that time right after Tyler was born?" he spoke after a moment. "We were both so tired from handling four kids at once for the first time, and each time after we'd finally get Tyler to sleep for a few hours at night we'd just pass out anywhere?"
Sam smiled. "Yeah. I remember that."
"And there was one night," Freddie continued. "When we just could not get that kid to sleep. We tried feeding him, changing him, rocking him…we took his temperature, woke the pediatrician up calling at three in the morning, we drove him around the neighborhood a bunch of times…we tried everything."
"I know," Sam chuckled. "And he was crying so much he wound up waking Jason, Emma and Ashton too."
"Yup," Freddie nodded. "And then around five o'clock in the morning, neither of us having slept any that whole night, Ashton picks up Tyler's blanket, the one with the monkeys on it, from the couch and hands it to him and bam, just like that, he stops crying and falls asleep instantly!"
"I didn't know whether to laugh or cry," Sam grinned. "We spent who knows how many hours trying to get him to sleep, and a four-year old managed to get it done in about thirty seconds."
"It was definitely something," Freddie laughed. "And then we decided since there was no way we'd get the other three kids back to sleep, we might as well just start the day. So we made a giant breakfast of chocolate chip pancakes and bacon before the sun even rose."
"And I wasn't even that wazzed off about the no sleep thing," Sam said.
And so for the rest of the night, Sam and Freddie simply sat in their bed, recounting memories from their life together, whether they were from back in their childhood or moments spent with their family.
It was another night neither got any sleep.
…..
For the next three days, Sam tried as best she could to get on with her life. She knew that if she didn't, then she'd just drive herself crazy counting down the hours until her doctor's appointment, when she'd finally find out just how serious her condition was.
Freddie tried as hard as her could too to go on as if everything was normal in front of the kids. Still, though, he had to sometimes stop himself from running to Sam's aid if she would so much as cough.
"We want to go to the park," Emma whined on the day of Sam's appointment as Sam loaded the breakfast dishes into the dishwasher. "Why can't you take us to the park?"
"Because, I have to go out with daddy as soon as Aunt Carly gets here to watch you guys," Sam said.
"But we want to go to the park!" Emma said loudly, stomping her foot just as Freddie came into the kitchen.
"Emma, stop giving your mom a hard time," Freddie said firmly. "Go clean up your toys in the living room before Aunt Carly gets here. Now."
Muttering protests under her breath, the six-year old stormed out of the kitchen.
"Here," Freddie said, taking the dish from Sam. "Let me do that."
"I've got it," Sam told him.
"Come on, since when do you willingly do the dishes anyway?" Freddie said.
"Since when do you treat me like I'm daffodil about to fall over?" Sam countered, raising an eyebrow.
Freddie sighed. "I'm sorry."
"At least after today they mystery will be gone about this whole thing," Sam mumbled. "It's the not knowing that's killing me. I just want to know what's going on."
"I know," Freddie said gently.
Just then there was a knock at the front door.
"Carly's here," Sam said. "Come on, we should go."
Freddie followed Sam out to the living room, where Carly was scooping Tyler up in her arms.
"Hey, Carls," Freddie said. "Thanks again for watching them all."
"No problem," Carly smiled. "Clarissa wanted to come over and see the twins anyway. She got some new Bambie doll thing she wanted to show them."
"Good, well, they should stay entertained," Sam said, grabbing her jacket. "Tyler needs to take a nap around noon, and make sure Jason doesn't sit around playing video games all day."
"Yeah, sure," Carly nodded. "Where are you two off to anyway?"
"Um, we-we just have something to do," Freddie said lamely.
"Something to do?" Carly frowned. "What do-"
"We'll be back probably around four," Sam told her, cutting her off. "There's money in the kitchen to order a pizza or something for lunch."
"Um, alright," Carly said.
"Sorry, I should've had something ready," Freddie said once him and Sam stepped out of the house. "I should've known she'd ask where we were going. It's Carly."
"Whatever, it's fine," Sam said. "Let's just go."
…..
Freddie leaned against the wall outside the large room where Sam was inside having yet another MRI done. He wasn't allowed in with her, and every time a doctor would walk past him, he'd anxiously ask if they knew anything. Finally, Sam's main doctor walked out of the room, followed by Sam herself.
"So?" Freddie said at once.
"We're going to need some time to look over the scans," the doctor told Freddie. "If you'll have a seat in the waiting room, we can let you know as soon as we reach a conclusive diagnosis."
"How long will that take?" Sam asked.
"I'd say roughly two to three hours," the doctor told her.
"That long?" Freddie frowned.
"We want to be certain of your wife's condition before we move on with treatment," the doctor told him gently.
"It's okay," Sam said. "We'll wait."
Sam and Freddie retreated hand-in-hand back to the empty waiting room and sat down in two uncomfortable chairs.
"There's a deli next door," Freddie said. "We could go grab some sandwiches if you want."
"No, that's okay," Sam mumbled. "I'm not really hungry."
The time seemed to drag on for the couple as they sat in the waiting room. They watched dozens of other patients head back for their own check-ups and examinations, wondering if those people were about to have their worlds rattled as well.
Finally, just as Sam began leafing through a ten-year old magazine for the twelfth time, her doctor poked his head into the waiting room. "Mrs. Benson? You can come back now."
Sam and Freddie both rose to their feet as they followed the doctor back to a small room.
"Have a seat," he told Sam, nodding over to the small examination table.
"So how far along is this?" Freddie asked, gripping Sam's hand tightly as she sat down.
"We've concluded that the Chondrosarcoma is grade two," the doctor said heavily.
Freddie felt his knees buckle. "Grade two?" he repeated.
"That-That's one of the faster spreading types, right?" Sam asked, trying to keep her voice steady.
"Yes," the doctor nodded.
"Oh my God," Freddie mumbled. "Oh my…okay. Okay, so what do we do?"
"Fortunately," the doctor said, looking down at the charts in his hand. "We caught this early on. While it's true that the tumor is growing at a rapid rate, according to the tests we performed today, it has stayed centralized to the right pelvic region."
"So it hasn't spread anywhere else?" Freddie asked.
"No," the doctor replied. "Which is good news. It means we will be able to surgically remove the tumor, and once it's gone, you should be cancer free, Mrs. Benson."
"So I-I'll be alright?" Sam asked, hardly daring to believe it.
"It appears so," the doctor said, giving her a small smile. "Of course we're talking major surgery. And there will be a somewhat lengthy recovery process, but-"
"That's okay," Freddie said. "As-As long as she's going to be okay. We'll do whatever."
"We're also not going to have as much time as I would like to get you prepped for the surgery," the doctor continued to tell Sam. "Since this is a grade two tumor."
"When will I need to have surgery then?" Sam asked. "Next week?"
"More like the day after tomorrow," the doctor corrected, scribbling a few notes down on his clipboard.
"Day after tomorrow?" Sam exclaimed. "That's just two days away!"
"Yes, but it really is critical we remove the tumor as soon as possible."
"It will be okay," Freddie told Sam, wrapping an arm around her. "Just remember, I'll be there for you."
…
"They remove my hip!" Sam said as her and Freddie pulled back into driveway later that day. She held up the pamphlet the doctor had given her and waved it in Freddie's face.
"Yes, but…not all of it," Freddie said. "Just-Just half."
"Oh, well that's better!"
"Come on, you heard the doctor, you'll barely notice it's gone," Freddie told her, turning off the car. "They're going to put in some high-tech gadget in its place so you'll still be able to do everything you've done before with a little practice."
"This is insane," Sam sighed. "I can't eat anything all day tomorrow. We have to wake up at five the next morning to drive three hours away to some specialty hospital, where I'm gonna have to stay for the next week. We have a two-year old here! I can't be off my feet that long!"
"Look, I know you're scared," Freddie said, reaching over and stroking her hair soothingly. "I'd be too. But just remember…at least this is it. After that surgery you'll have that stupid tumor out of you and-and you'll be okay."
"I know," Sam said softly. "I guess I shouldn't be complaining. It-It could be worse."
Freddie smiled as he leaned down to kiss her. "Let's just be thankful this all going to be behind us soon."
…..
"Alright, we have ribs, lasagna, pizza, macaroni and cheese, and of course, fried chicken," Freddie said, setting down plates at the Benson table later that evening.
"Whoa!" Emma said, her small eyes widening as she looked at the feast in front of her.
"And we have a giant chocolate cake for desert," Freddie added.
"Chocolate cake?" Ashton gasped excitedly.
"How come we're having such a big dinner?" Jason asked as he sat down at his seat. "Mom doesn't even make meals like this."
"Well," Freddie said, glancing at Sam, who was getting Tyler into his high chair. "Your mom isn't going to be able to eat tomorrow so we're going to make sure she has a nice, filling meal tonight."
"Why can't you eat tomorrow, mommy?" Emma asked.
Sam gave her a small smile as she reached for a rack of ribs. "That's actually something we wanted to talk to you guys about."
"Are we in trouble?" Ashton asked.
"No, no, no one's in trouble," Sam said. "The reason I can't eat tomorrow is because the next day I'm going to have surgery."
"Like when they cut you open?" Emma asked.
"Er, yeah," Sam nodded.
"How come you're having surgery, mom?" Jason frowned. "What's wrong?"
Sam set down her fork and took a deep breath. "Well…the other day, when-when I went to the doctor, they found out that I-I have something really wrong with me."
"What?" Ashton asked.
"It's-It's something called Chondrosarcoma," Sam said carefully, not wanting to use the word 'cancer'. She didn't want to scare the kids.
"Isn't that cancer?" Jason said, dropping his knife.
Sam and Freddie both turned to him.
"How'd you know that?" Freddie asked. "I didn't even know what it was."
"I read about it in one of my science magazines," Jason said. "But does mom have cancer?"
"Cancer's bad!" Ashton said, her eyes already filling with tears. "A girl in my class said her grandpa died from it!"
"Mommy's going to die?" Emma cried.
"No!" Sam said quickly. "No, no. I'm not going to die. I-Yes, Chondrosarcoma is a type of cancer. But-But when we went back to the doctor today, they told me they're going to be able to get rid of it. I'm very, very lucky that the doctors found this out so soon, and that they're going to be able make me better."
"Exactly," Freddie nodded. "After mommy's surgery, the doctor said she's going to be cancer-free. Now, she is going to have to rest up for awhile afterwards, which means we're all going to have to pitch in a little more. You guys will need to pick up a few more chores around the house and help me with Tyler."
"But what if-" Jason started.
"Hey, we're not going to worry about any 'what if's now," Sam said, silencing her son by scooping a large serving of macaroni onto his plate. "What we are going to worry about is making sure nobody leaves the table tonight until they're more stuffed than they've ever been in their whole life. And that's it."
…
"They're going to give you the Anesthesia in a few minutes," Freddie told Sam softly as he sat next to her in her hospital bed. "And then they're going to take you into the operating room. They told me the procedure will take about seven hours, which, if you want to look on the bright side, is probably the most sleep you've gotten at once since we had Jason."
"That's so long," Sam said, nervously fiddling with the IV in her arm. "What if something goes wrong?"
Freddie pressed a gentle kiss to her temple. "I've researched this place, baby. They have some of the most skilled surgeons in the country working here."
Sam gave him a small smile. "It's kind of ironic. I've been a huge fan of the surgery channel for years. But now that I'm the one they're cutting into I'm freaking out."
"Sam, you're the bravest woman I've ever met in my life," Freddie told her. "I know you can handle this."
Sam nodded, but didn't reply.
"I'm not going to leave your side until the very last second," Freddie promised. "Not until they pull me away from you. And I'm not going to leave this hospital during your entire surgery. And I promise, I'll be here waiting the second you wake up."
"Okay," Sam whispered.
"I love you," Freddie said, kissing her again.
"I love you too," Sam said.
….
As the fluorescent lights beamed down on her, Sam groggily opened her eyes, feeling absolutely exhausted.
"Hey," she heard a familiar voice speak next to her. "Look who's finally waking up."
"Freddie?" Sam mumbled, turning her head slightly to see her husband smiling down at her. "What happened? I thought they were taking me in for surgery."
"They did," Freddie said. "And the finished it. Successfully."
"They did?"
"Uh-huh, about three hours ago," Freddie chuckled. "How do you feel?"
"Like my hip got rammed by a rhino," Sam muttered.
"They said you'd experience some pain after," Freddie said. "But they're going to get you on some pain pills soon, so don't worry."
He leaned forward and kissed her forehead.
"I'm hungry," Sam said, still feeling weighed down by the Anesthesia warring off. "It's been over twenty-four hours since my last meal."
"I know," Freddie said sympathetically. "But you're going to have to wait another hour or so. They need to make sure there's no lasting effects from the Anesthesia. But I have a Chinese restaurant on standby for delivery as soon as you get the clear to eat."
Sam attempted to sit up, but Freddie gently put a hand on her shoulder, stopping her.
"Just rest, baby," he told her. "You've had a long day."
"So-So the surgery," Sam said, slowly beginning to fully wake up. "They-They got the tumor out then?"
"They did," Freddie nodded. "And they put in this prosthetic hip thing too, so you're not even going to feel a difference after awhile."
"And-And that's it?" Sam said. "It's over?"
"You're going to have to come back for check-ups once a month for the next year, and then twice a year after that," Freddie said. "So they can be sure there's no relapse, but they said your prognosis looks strong. Once you complete a little physical therapy to get used to that new hip, they'll write you a clean bill of healthy."
"Good," Sam said, letting out a relieved sigh. "Because this has been the most stressful week of my entire life."
"I know," Freddie said, gently squeezing her shoulder comfortingly. "But you handled it all so well. I'm really proud of you, Sam."
Sam gave him a small smile. "Yeah, well, you-you've been kind of great through this whole thing too."
"Come on," Freddie said nonchalantly. "It's no big deal. In sickness and in health, remember?"
"I know, but-but seriously," Sam said. "You've-You've been unbelievable though all of this. I-I know that everything wound up being okay, but-but I was really scared. If-If I didn't have you, I-I probably would've been even more of a mess."
"You weren't a mess," Freddie told her. "Anybody would've been scared in your position."
"Yeah, well…still," Sam said. "Thank you."
"Anytime," Freddie grinned, kissing her again.
"So," Sam said once they pulled apart. "Where are the kids? They're coming to visit, right?"
"Uh-huh," Freddie nodded. "I called Carly to drive over as soon as you got out of surgery. Which means they should be here any-"
Just then Sam's hospital door swung open and Jason and the twins bolted in.
"Mommy!" Ashton yelled. "Mommy! Are you all better now?"
"Did they fix you?" Emma asked eagerly.
"Yes," Sam laughed, giving each of the kids a one-armed hug from her bed. "Yes, I'm all better now."
"You guys," came Carly's voice as she entered the room with Tyler in her arms, panting. "I told you not to run."
"Trust me, I've been there," Freddie assured her as he pulled up a few chairs next to Sam's bed. "Thanks for driving them all the way here."
"Of course," Carly said, stepping over to Sam's bedside. "How are you feeling, Sam?"
"Pretty good now," Sam smiled, holding out her arms for Tyler.
"Mommy!" the two-year old beamed happily.
"We got you these," Jason said, holding out a large bouquet of purple violets. "Aunt Carly let us stop and get them for you at the gift store."
"Aw, thanks guys," Sam said, taking the flowers from him. "I love them. They'll brighten up this place for the next week I'm stuck here."
"We brought you pictures too, mommy," Ashton said. "We spent all day making them. We even used glitter!"
"Yeah, um, your living room carpet might never be the same after that little adventure," Carly said.
"Did they really cut you open?" Emma asked her mother.
"Uh-huh," Sam nodded. "And they put in this fake hip too."
"Whoa!" Jason said, his eyes widening. "You think that makes you part robot or something?"
"That'd be pretty cool," Sam chuckled.
"Alright, you guys," Freddie said. "Your mom's really beat right now. Now I know you all want to spend time with her, but let's just make sure we keep it down and-"
"Baby, don't worry about them," Sam smiled. "They're fine."
"Alright," Freddie said. "Well, while they keep you company, I'm going to go find your doctor so we can see about getting you that food."
"Oh don't worry, I'll do that," Carly told him. "You stay in here. I'd hate to break you guys up."
"We owe you one, Carls," Sam grinned. "Now, I heard something about glitterfied pictures?"
As Carly left the room, Freddie sat down in his seat at the foot of Sam's bed, watching as the twins climbed up on with their mother.
It had definitely been a crazy week. Freddie felt both emotionally and physically worn from all of it. Being faced with the possibility of losing the most important person in your life would do that to you, after all.
As he sat there, watching Sam grinning from ear to ear as Ashton handed her a large sheet of construction paper sparkling with at least a pound of glitter on it, he realized just how differently things could've ended. If Sam hadn't gone to the doctor when she did, who knew when her condition would've been discovered. And by then…by then it could've been too late.
Maybe it was simply the age-old adage of not knowing what you had until you were about to lose it weighing on him, but suddenly, he had never felt closer to his wife.
We got through this, he thought to himself. This-This has been one of the scariest moments for us…and we got through it. Together. Just like we'll get through anything else life throws at as.
