Singing

"These sushi chefs on T.V. make it look so easy," Carly commented as her, Sam and Freddie sat on the couch at Sam and Freddie's place, watching a cooking program. "The way they can just handle that knife so easily…it's crazy!"

"I could be doing that too if Fredwad would let me practice," Sam said, glancing over at her husband. "But he throws a fit every time I try."

"Excuse me for not feeling comfortable with you swinging knifes around our kitchen," Freddie said, rolling his eyes.

"Well…now I really want sushi," Carly said. "You guys want to go to that new sushi place Friday night? It could be fun."

"Sorry, we can't," Sam said. "Me and Freddie already have plans for Valentine's day."
"Um…it's March," Carly frowned.

"We know," Freddie chuckled. "But see, we were thinking. If we went out on the actual Valentine's Day, it'd be all crowded and miserable with every couple in Seattle out and about. So we decided to just postpone it a month."

"Oh…" Carly said. "That's…different. Well, what do you two have planned for you Valentine's-In-March-Day?"
"We're going to have a romantic night out," Sam smiled. "We have reservations at some fancy French place, then we're gonna go to the Space Needle and then we're gonna go to that ice cream place that makes each person their own, unique ice cream flavor based on this survey they fill out."

"We're also going to a real classy wine tasting too," Freddie added.

"Eh, no we're not," Sam said.

"We're not?" Freddie frowned. "How come? It was you who found the place last month."

"Yeah, but I decided I wasn't in the mood for it," Sam shrugged. "I mean it would require me being in heels for an extra hour."

"Well, alright," Freddie shrugged. "We won't do the wine tasting."

"And after, we're gonna come back here and exchange presents," Sam continued. "It's going to be so much better than waiting three hours for a table and having to watch all these other couples being all mushy."

"Actually, now that I think about it, that does sound like a good idea," Carly nodded.

"It was all Sam," Freddie said, putting his arm around her.

"Well, you hate people as much as me, you come up with some pretty great ways to avoid huge crowds of them," Sam grinned. She looked at her phone. "Oh, I've got to run; I promised I'd go with my mom to visit Uncle Carmine today. I'll see you guys later."

"Tell everyone I said hi," Freddie said as he gave Sam a quick kiss. "And make sure Uncle Carmine knows I haven't done anything that requires him getting stabby with me!"

"Well…you did mess with the thermostat last night," Sam said playfully.

"It was a million degrees!" Freddie defended. "I was sweating!"

"Just don't let it happen again," Sam said, rolling her eyes. "If you get hot, take your shirt off or something. I'll try not to gag."

"Cute," Freddie smirked. "But I don't remember you complaining about me being shirtless last night when-"

"Do you guys not remember that talk we had about making sure there aren't other people in the room before you two begin getting into certain details?" Carly cringed.

"Sorry," Freddie said quickly, giving Sam another short kiss.

"I'll bring back a tub of chicken for dinner," Sam said. "Later!"

"I thought you didn't like those tubs of chicken," Carly said to Freddie as Sam left. "You used to always say there were filled with grease and trans fat."

"Well when you're married to Sam, you get used to all sorts of foods you never thought you would," Freddie said. "Like just last night I realized that I really do like whipped cream on my pizza…"

"Wow," Carly said. "Your mom must love that. So what do you want to do for the rest of the day?"

"Actually, I'm sort of busy," Freddie said. "I have to finish tracking down Sam's present."

"Oh! Can I help?" Carly asked eagerly. "What are you getting her?"

"I'm not going to tell you!" Freddie scoffed. "You'll just tell Sam and ruin the surprise."

"No, I've gotten a lot better at keeping secrets, you know," Carly said. "I didn't tell Sam when you were going to propose to her, did I?"
"Well…that's true," Freddie reasoned. "And I could use some help…okay fine. I'll tell you. But remember, don't say a word to Sam."
"I promise," Carly said. "So what are you gonna get her?"

"Well, you remember our first Christmas together?" Freddie asked. "Sam traded her giant fork that she loved so much to get me that super cool light beam from Galaxy Wars?"

"Uh-huh," Carly nodded.

"Well, I'm going to find that fork and get it back to her!" Freddie said proudly. "I mean the poor woman has been forced to use dinky regular sized forks for years! My wife deserves better."

"Wow, Freddie, she'll love that," Carly said. "But do you even have any idea where that thing is now?"

"Well, unfortunately, the woman at the comic store where Sam traded it wound up selling it to cover some operation she had on her toenail," Freddie sighed. "But, using my detective sills, I was able to narrow the new locations of where the fork might be to five stores."
"Your detective skills?" Carly smirked.

"I watch a lot of crime shows!" Freddie defended. "Anyway, today I need to go around to all these places and see if any of them have the fork. Now, it's probably going to be hard to convince them to give up such a hot item-"

"It's a giant fork!"

"-But I'm prepared to pay any price," Freddie continued. "As long as it makes Sam happy."
"Aw," Carly smiled. "Leave it to the two of you to make me feel even more depressed about being single. Okay, well, let's go see if these stores have it."

"Right," Freddie nodded, grabbing his jacket.

"Hey, do you have a back up in case you can't find the fork in time?" Carly asked as her and Freddie headed out.

"Oh yeah," Freddie shrugged. "I picked her up a pair of diamond earrings last week."

"Diamond earrings are your back up?" Carly repeated. "Man…I've got to find myself a boyfriend."

"Well maybe you'll find a guy at one of the stores we go to," Freddie shrugged. "Hey, by the way…did Sam mention anything to you about my present?"

"Oh, so now you want me to blab secrets?" Carly said, raising an eyebrow.

"Well, I-I-"

"I couldn't even if I wanted to," Carly told him. "Sam wouldn't say a word about it when I asked her. She's a lot tougher to crack than you."

"Oh well," Freddie said. "I'll find out soon enough. I'll just have to focus on making sure her gift is perfect."

….

"Alright, this has to be it," Freddie sighed several hours later as him and Carly pulled up in front of the last shop on his list.

"Hopefully," Carly mumbled. "I always wondered what kind of stores would take in oversized silverware, and apparently, the answer is creepy ones. Hey, you know, Sam originally got that fork online. Why don't you just order her another one from there? I'm sure if you get the expensive shipping it'd be here in time."

"I can't just get her any old enormous fork!" Freddie said. "It has to have the meaning behind it! Otherwise it's just-just a fork. Man…if this place doesn't have it, I'm gonna have to give Sam those stupid diamond earrings."

"Stupid diamond-You trying to give me a heart attack?" Carly snapped. "Come on, let's just go in. And if they don't have it, maybe I can be nice and help you find a new gift for Sam and just take those earrings off your hands…"

Carly and Freddie stepped into the store, which was littered with novelty items and other unusual objects.

"Hello," the man behind the counter said. "Can I help you guys with anything?"
"Yes, actually, you can," Freddie said, pulling out his phone and brining up a picture of the fork. "Can you tell me if anybody has sold you this fork in the last few years?"

"Hmmm, I'm not sure," the man said, examining the picture. "I see a lot of comically large eatery in here."

"The second prong would've been slightly bent," Freddie said. He turned to Carly. "Sam once tried to use it on a piece of my mom's fruitcake."

"Ah."

"You know…I think I do still have that piece," the man said. "Yes…it was sold to me by a woman with a very disgusting toe."
"You have it?" Freddie said excitedly. "Oh that is fantastic! I've been going around Seattle all day trying to track it down! So can you sell it to me?"

"Well…since you seem desperate for it, I suppose I can part with it," the man nodded. "For ten thousand dollars."

"Ten-Ten thousand?" Freddie stammered. "That thing originally cost nine ninety-five!"

"You can't charge him ten thousand dollars for it!" Carly said. "You're just taking advantage of him because he's desperate."

"Yes, that's my job," the man beamed proudly.

"I-I don't have ten thousand dollars to just drop on a fork!" Freddie moaned. "Please, can-can you just be a little reasonable with me?"

The man sighed. "What's the highest you can go?"

"Um…" Freddie said, pulling out his wallet. "I-Okay, I can give you…four hundred."

"I want a thousand."

"But I only have four hundred!" Freddie exclaimed.

"Dude, you're never supposed to give your highest offer first," Carly whispered. "You tell them an amount smaller than what you're willing to pay because they always try to up it! Hasn't Sam taught you anything?"

"Well where was this advice ten seconds ago?" Freddie hissed. He turned back to the store owner. "Look, I-I really want to get my wife that fork for Valentine's Day."

"Valentine's Day was last-"

"It's a long story," Freddie said quickly. "But-But see, years ago she sold that fork to try and get me the perfect present for our first Christmas together. That thing was her most prized possession and-and it'd mean so much to her if I could get it back. Can't you please just help me out? In the name of love?"

The owner sighed. "Well…okay, how about I make you a new deal?"

He reached below the counter and pulled out a stuffed monkey. "This singing monkey has been driving me crazy ever since I got it six months ago. I can't sell it to anybody because it's so annoying! So if you'll take this toy, I'll sell it and the fork to you for the four hundred dollars."

"Really?" Freddie said. "Deal!"

"That monkey's actually kind of cute," Carly commented as the owner went in the back to get Sam's fork. "I think I used to have one like this when I was little. Well, until Spencer accidently dropped it down the trash chute on trash day. What are you gonna do with it?"

"I'll probably just throw it away or donate it," Freddie shrugged. "What are Sam and I gonna do with a little kid's toy?"

"Alright, here you go," the owner said, bringing out the fork and handing it to Freddie.

"Oh yeah, this is it!" Freddie grinned. "Sam's gonna love it…Man, I even shock myself at how good I am at giving gifts."

"What if Sam's gift for you winds up being super amazing?" Carly asked.

"Please, how can she top this?" Freddie chuckled. "She'll use it every day, it has sentimental meaning behind it...what more can someone want in a gift?"

"That's true," Carly nodded.

"I can't wait to see her face when she gets the most perfect Valentine's Day present in the world," Freddie said excitedly. "She might even cry…"

"How cool was that ice cream place?" Sam said a few days later as her and Freddie stepped into their home after coming back from their Valentine's Day date. "We've got to go back sometime."

"Totally," Freddie said. "I can't believe I ate my whole cone; I was so stuffed from that French food."

"Yeah, I loved that place too," Sam said. "Normally those fancy places stiff you on their portions, but they could give The Cheesecake Warehouse a run for their money."

"I'll say," Freddie chuckled as he wrapped his arms around his wife and kissed her deeply. "Happy late Valentine's Day, Sam. I love."

"Love you too, Freddie," Sam said, kissing him back. "Oh! But now it's time for the most important part; presents!"

"Of course," Freddie laughed. He stepped over to the cabinet where the T.V. was sitting and opened up one of the drawers and pulled out his gift. "Here you go, baby. Here's your Valentine's Day present. It took forever for me to find, but I did it."

"What is it?" Sam asked as she opened up the box. She removed the lid and looked down at the fork sitting inside. "Oh my God…" she whispered. "This-This is my-You found my giant fork! Holy chiz!"

"That's right," Freddie nodded. "I know how much you loved it, and I know how hard it was for you to give it up just so you could try to get me the perfect Christmas present all those years ago."

"I-I can't believe this," Sam said, picking up the fork and examining it. "You know how much more I'm going to be able to eat now? Baby, you put my dream of eating my weight in bacon back on the table! Thank you! I love this!"

She threw her arms around him and kissed him again.

"You're welcome," Freddie smiled. "I'm glad you love it so much."

"It must've been so hard to track this down after all these years," Sam continued.

"Well…a little," Freddie admitted modestly. "But you know I'd do anything to make you happy."

"Yeah, I know," Sam nodded, kissing him once more. "Wow…Okay, well, now it's my turn to give you your gift."

She reached over for her purse and pulled out a small envelope. "Here," she said, handing it to him. "Happy late Valentine's Day."
"Oh cool," Freddie said, taking it. "What is it? A gift card or something?"

"I don't know," Sam shrugged. "Open it and find out."

Freddie ripped open the envelope and pulled out a single fuzzy photograph with a bunch of black and white lines.
"Um…what is it?" Freddie asked, confused.

"It's an ultrasound," Sam told him.

"An ultrasound? Of what?" Freddie frowned. "I can't see anything."

"Yeah, it takes a little while to get used to," Sam said, scooting closer to him. "But…see that peanut shaped thing right in the middle?"

"Uh-huh."

"Well," Sam said, a huge grin creeping onto her face. "That…That's our baby."

Freddie's eyes widened and the ultrasound picture fell out of his hand. "Our-Our baby? You-You mean you're-we're having-you-you-"

"I'm pregnant," Sam said softly.

"You-You-Sam!" Freddie cried, his face breaking into the widest smile he had ever had. "Oh my God! Sam! Are you serious? We're having a baby?"

"We're having a baby," Sam nodded as Freddie picked her up and spun her around.

"I-I can't believe this!" Freddie said, his cheeks beginning to hurt from smiling so much. "Sam, this is great! We're going to be parents! We're going to have a family!"

"I know," Sam said, hugging him tightly. "I know."

"This-This is the best present I could've ever gotten," Freddie whispered. "Ten times better than any old fork."

"Hey, I love that fork," Sam said.

"I-I just can't-This is incredible," Freddie said as the couple sat back down. "When did you find out?"

"I took a pregnancy test last week," Sam explained. "And then I went to the doctor's the other day to confirm it. I was gonna tell you right away, but then I decided that I wanted to surprise you."

"You definitely did," Freddie nodded. He placed a hand on her stomach. "So our baby is really in there, huh?"

"Yup," Sam said. "I'm about six weeks along. I have another doctor's appointment in a couple weeks if you want to come and-"

"Of course I'll come!" Freddie said. "Are you kidding? Sam, I'm going to be there with you for this entire thing! Oh! I even have a toy we can put in the baby's room!"

He jumped up and ran back over to the cabinet and pulled out the monkey he had gotten from the store.

"Aw, that thing's so cute," Sam smiled. "Where'd you get it?"

"With your fork," Freddie said. "I was planning on tossing it, but now that we're going to have a use for it…"
"It's perfect," Sam said, taking it and kissing Freddie. "You know…I think this has been the best Valentine's Day ever."

"By a long shot," Freddie agreed. "Maybe we should celebrate more holidays a month late."

"Maybe," Sam laughed. "Hey…are you crying?"

"No, I just have something in my-oh, you know what, who cares?" Freddie said as he wiped his eyes. "Yes. Yes I am."