Snag

"So I have a question," Sam said as her and Freddie walked hand-in-hand through the crowded mall. "We've been together for three years now, right?"

"Right," Freddie nodded.

"So are we at the stage yet where we get to give joint birthday presents?" Sam asked. "Because I'm telling you, that's about the only way I'm gonna be able to give Gibby something decent."

"That's only for married couples," Freddie chuckled. "Besides, there's no way I'm sharing credit for the amazing gift I got him. You remember how we messed up his phaser from Galaxy Wars a few years ago?"

"Not really, but let's pretend like I do," Sam replied.

"Well, I got him something even better!" Freddie said excitedly. "A plasma beam! See, after the Gurgeon regime took over, phasers became such a scarce commodity that in order to have a form of protection, plasma beams became-"

"Hey, baby?" Sam cut him off. "What did we say about your annoying Galaxy Wars speeches?"

"Sorry," Freddie said quickly. "But the point it, Gib's gonna love it."
"Well what am I supposed to get him?" Sam asked. "A sack of potatoes? A bag of cat litter? Shoe laces?"

"I'll help you," Freddie assured her. "Gibby's one of my best friends."

"Yeah, that's not something you say proudly," Sam said.

"I'll make sure you get him something he'll like," Freddie continued, ignoring her comment. "Come on, let's start in that candle store. Gibby's really big on scented wax right now."

Finally, after several hours looking around the mall, Freddie found Sam the perfect gift to give Gibby.

"You sure Gibby's gonna like these aerobics DVDs?" Sam asked as her and Freddie walked through the parking garage back to Freddie's car.

"Yeah, he likes any excuse to wear stretchy pants," Freddie nodded.

"Gross," Sam cringed, shuddering slightly at the image. "Well I hope he knows that he better never wear them in public. Because if I have to see him in them, I'll put his head in the toilet again. You know, once I'm done vomiting."

"Fair enough," Freddie chuckled. "Hey, do you remember where we parked? I can't remember if it was on the third or fourth level and-"

He stopped talking though, as the couple was suddenly approached by a tall, hooded man.

"Um, can-can we help you?" Freddie frowned.

"Yeah, you can help me," the man said, pulling a small pocket knife out of his pocket. "Give me your wallet. And you, lady, you give me your purse!"

Freddie's eyes widened in panic. They were being mugged!

He gripped Sam's hand tighter. "I-I-" he stammered, not knowing anything else to do. He looked around desperately, hoping a security guard or anybody would come to their rescue.

"Now!" the man yelled, holding up his knife higher.

Freddie glanced over at Sam, who kept looking back and forth between the mugger and him.

Okay, Benson, now is not the time to whimp out! Freddie told himself firmly, while at the same time trying to keep his legs steady. You have to protect your girlfriend here! Just give him what he wants and he'll go away and hopefully nothing will happen.

"Alright," Freddie said quickly, pulling out his wallet. "You-You can take my wallet. Just please don't hurt-"

"What are you doing?" Sam hissed. "You're not seriously giving this guy your wallet, are you?"

"I-Um, now-now's not really the time for debates," Freddie muttered under his breath.

"Listen to your little boyfriend, girlie!" the man snapped. "Now give me your purse and-"

And then, in one swift movement, Sam kicked the man in the ankles, casing him to topple over onto the ground. Sam then quickly took his arm, kicked the knife out of his hand, and then twisted his arm behind his back.

"Ow!" the man cried, his voice sounding much less menacing now.

"Now let me explain to you how this is going to work," Sam said cooly. "When I let you up, I'm going to give you to the count of ten to get out of here and go very, very far away. And if I ever find out you're trying to mug people again, I'm not gonna be so forgiving. And trust me pal, I will find out. You understand?"

"Yes!" the man squeaked. "I'll never mug ever again! I-I promise! I'll go back to community college and become a dental hygienist like mom always wanted!"

"Yeah...okay, didn't ask for your life story," Sam said. She released the man's arm. "Alright, one, two, three…ten! Get out of here!"

The man scrambled to his feet and cast Sam one last terrified glance before sprinting away.

"What-What just-Did you-"Freddie stammered, flabbergasted.

"Here you go, baby," Sam smiled, picking up his wallet from the ground and handing it to him. "Anyway, back to what I was saying about Gibby and his pants. I'm still kind of scarred from that whole beach thing last month, so if he knows what's good for him, he'll-"

"Sam, what just happened there?" Freddie sputtered.

"What?" Sam frowned.

"You-You just saved our lives!" Freddie exclaimed.

"Oh calm down, it was just a mugging," Sam said, rolling her eyes. "And did you see that pathetic excuse for a knife? That would barely do any damage to a grapefruit."

"But-But how were you so calm?" Freddie asked. "Weren't you scared?"

"No, not really," Sam shrugged. "Come on, you saw that guy wasn't tough at all."

"But-But he-"

"Oh, and your car's parked on the third level," Sam told him. "I remember because I told you if you went any higher you'd be carrying me up the stairs. So let's hurry up. I wanna stop by the Wing Shack for a snack."

Sam hurried ahead of him off towards the car, leaving Freddie behind her, still absolutely stunned.

….

"You were mugged?" Carly exclaimed the next day as her, Sam and Freddie sat in the middle of Spencer's living room.

"We weren't mugged," Sam said, rolling her eyes.

"Well we almost were!" Freddie said.

"Oh my God, that must've been so scary," Carly said. "Are you both okay?"

"Yeah, we're fine," Sam said. "I took care of it. You think I'm gonna let some freak snag my purse? I had half a candy bar in there! So I taught the guy a lesson. That guy won't be trying to mug anybody for a long time."
"Wow," Carly chuckled. "I guess it was a good thing Sam was there to protect you guys, right Freddie?"

"I-I had the situation under control!" Freddie said. "I could've protected us!"

"Of course you could've," Sam smirked, giving him a patronizing pat on the back.

"I-I could have!" Freddie defended.

"Right," Carly grinned. "Look, Freddie, it's no big deal. Obviously Sam would be the one to get you out of a situation like that. I mean you know how she is. Any mugger would be ten times more afraid of her then-"

"Then me?" Freddie finished, raising an eyebrow.

"Um…no, that-that's not what I was going to say," Carly said lamely, quickly exchanging a look with Sam.

"Yes you were!"

"Freddie, you're very intimidating," Sam said, trying to keep a straight face as she gave him a small peck on the cheek. "Seriously! I-I bet that guy ran away so fast because-because he knew you'd be coming after him."

"Oh how stupid do you think I am?" Freddie snapped.

"No, I-I mean it!" Sam said. "Carls, don't you think Freddie's a really scary looking guy?"

"Totally," Carly said at once.

"For two people who grew up acting on a web show, you're both terrible actresses," Freddie said bitterly, grabbing his jacket and turning towards the front door.

"Aw baby, don't go!" Sam said.

"Why? It's not like you need me here to protect you," Freddie retorted.

As the door closed behind him, Sam let out a long sigh.

"He's gonna make a whole thing out of this, isn't he?" Carly asked.

"Obviously," Sam replied, rolling her eyes.

Later that day, Sam walked down the hall of Freddie's apartment building. She hoped that her boyfriend was done moping by now and was back to normal, but when she reached his door, she heard loud music blasting from within.

She let herself into the apartment and came face to face with Freddie throwing punches at a large punching bag in the middle of his living room.

Okay…you've got to be kidding me, Sam though, stepping over to his speakers and shutting off the music.

"What the-" Freddie said, turning around and finally noticing her presence. "Oh, hey Sam. Just-Just getting in a quick workout."

"Where did you get this punching bag?" Sam asked.

"I-I had it lying around," Freddie mumbled.

"Right…" Sam said heavily. She stepped closer to him and took one of his hands to see that his knuckles were bleeding.

"You're not punching right," she said simply. "That's why you're hurting yourself."

"I'm doing just fine, thank you," Freddie replied, withdrawing his hand.

"Dude…what are you doing?" Sam sighed. "You hate fighting."

"Well, maybe I just wanted a new hobby," Freddie stated. "Is that a crime?"

"No," Sam said. "I guess not. But…come on. You pick up this 'new hobby' the day after we almost get mugged? Seems like a really big coincidence."

Freddie didn't reply.

"Is this about what me and Carly said earlier?" Sam asked. "About you not being intimidating? Because we were totally kidding, Freddie!"
"No," Freddie said. "You-You weren't. I-I know it's true, Sam. I-I'm not exactly the toughest guy out there. I've accepted that. But-But still…I-I always thought if there was a situation where-where we were in trouble, I'd be able to defend you and protect you. I'm your boyfriend; that's-that's my job, isn't it?"

"But-But Freddie, that's stupid," Sam said. "Who cares if you can't beat some mugger up?"

"I do!" Freddie said. "What kind of a boyfriend can't even make his girlfriend feel safe?"

Sam frowned. "Who said I don't feel safe around you?"

"I think yesterday showed you that I'm pretty worthless in that department," Freddie scoffed.

Sam took a deep breath. "Did you ever wonder why I taught myself to fight when I was so young? Why all through school I'd have my butter sock in my bag at all times, ready to go? Because back then I-I never did feel safe."
Freddie blinked. "What do you mean?"

Sam sat down slowly on the couch. "I mean…things were kind of rough for me, growing up. My mom and I lived in a sketchy neighborhood with a lock that barely worked. I was home by myself most of the time because my mom had to leave me to go to work. Do you know how many times our house got broken into? Plus half the guys she'd bring around always-always scared me…and, well…I knew that I needed to learn to defend myself or-or it was just going to be bad."

"Sam-" Freddie said softly.

"Look," Sam said, quickly changing the subject. "Ever since I've been with you…I've never felt safer. I know that you can protect me…even-even if it's not in a traditional way. I know you'd never let me get hurt…and-and that means more to me than you being able to fight off some punk at the mall."

Freddie didn't say a word. He simply wrapped his arms around her, holding her tightly.

"I love you," she whispered.

"I love you too," Freddie said. He brushed away a few stray hairs from her face and gently kissed her. "Sam…I-I-do you want to talk about-about anything."

Sam gave him a small smile. "No…No, I-I don't. Just…just know that I really do feel safe when I'm when with you."
Freddie nodded, kissing her again. "I'll always be here for you, baby."

"I know," Sam nodded, kissing him back. "I know."