Coffee

Sam and Freddie's first kiss was an event that neither of them ever forgot. They were both fourteen and felt like outsiders because they still hadn't shared a first kiss with anybody else. And of course at fourteen years old there is nothing worse than feeling like you are missing out on something that the rest of your peers are experiencing. Years later, when they would reflect on this life-changing moment, they would chuckle about how silly and ridiculous it all seemed now that they thought about it. Fourteen really was still pretty young, and they were certain a much larger proportion of teens that age had yet to kiss someone than they had thought at the time.

But ridiculous or not, Sam and Freddie's first kiss on the fire escape when they were fourteen years old was a pivotal point in their relationship. Not because it suddenly led to them declaring their love for each other, because it didn't. They were fourteen, and despite what cheesy chick flicks say, fourteen year olds don't know the first thing about love. It was a pivotal moment because after that kiss, Freddie saw, for the first time, that Sam Puckett wasn't only rude, cunning, and aggressive. She was also caring, and would always do the right thing in the end. And Sam…Sam realized how brave Freddie could be. She had always lied about already having her first kiss because she was secretly terrified of being mocked and teased…just as Freddie was when she told the whole he had never been kissed. To have to deal with that kind of humiliation...she didn't think she could've done it. But Freddie did.

When Sam and Freddie would tell people about their first kiss, they would often assume that that was the moment when the two realized they would be together for the rest of their lives.

But it wasn't. They were just two fourteen-year olds who wanted to know what all the fuss over having your first kiss was. It was definitely a nice kiss, there was no denying that from either party, but that kiss out on the fire escape didn't make them hear wedding bells.

It simply set the foundation for what was still to come.

….

Sam and Freddie's first date was chaotic, to say the least. It was the day after Sam had been released from Troubled Waters and Freddie had suggested that the two of them go out to the movies. It seemed like a typical first-date destination. However, in retrospect, Freddie should've realized that any date with Sam Puckett wasn't going to be your typical date. The two of them wound up getting thrown out of the theatre before the previews ended because Sam dumped her soda on the man sitting in front of her because he was 'chewing his jellybeans annoyingly'. But them being ejected from the movie turned out to be a blessing in disguise because they wound up going to get pizza at a tiny Italian bistro that they both fell in love with. Sam loved the flavored crusts and Freddie was absolutely delighted over the fact that the restaurant provided the perfect amounts of Parmesan cheese and red pepper flakes to season his pizza with. That small restaurant would quickly become a favorite date spot for the couple; even years and years later the two would continue to come back, smiling each time as they remembered just how far they came.

Sam and Freddie's second first date, their first date after they got back together six months after they had broken up, wasn't exactly chaotic. Or at least they didn't get thrown out of anywhere.

First dates are supposed to be somewhat awkward, that's a given. But when you're on a first date with someone who you had already been on a first date with in the past, there's a lot of uncertainty mixed in to the awkwardness as well.

This time Sam and Freddie decided to have their first date at the zoo. It was Spencer's idea; apparently the zoo was where he took all of his dates.

For the first part of the date, the two were very quite as they went around and looked at the animals, only making a few comments here and there about the exhibit. Freddie didn't know whether to hold her hand or not, and Sam was wondering why on Earth Freddie wasn't holding her hand.

Normally on a first date, when there is a lull in the conversation, you can fill the silence by asking about the other person. Where they're from, what they like to do, things like that. But when you already know nearly everything about the person, it becomes a harder task.

Both felt scared, too. Scared that they would mess things up again. With a typical first date, if things don't go well, both parties can normally walk away unharmed. Because feelings haven't become too invested. But in Sam and Freddie's case, both already knew how much they loved one another because they saw how hard it was to go without them for the past six months. So Sam tried her best not too act to abnormal, even when it meant not rushing off at full speed to watch the lions being fed, and Freddie tried his best not to act too normal, and even neglected to draw up a schedule that would've allowed them to see all the animal exhibits in the most efficient way.

It wasn't until they were about an hour into their date that things finally began to change. The two were in the reptile house, looking at snakes from all over the world.

"Some of these look really big," Freddie commented, looking into the glass at a large boa constrictor.

"Yeah…real big," Sam nodded, choosing not to mention the boa constrictor her Uncle let her watch for a weekend when she was a kid that she got to feed live mice to.

The two were just about to move on to the next exhibit when a wide woman shoved her way in between Sam and Freddie to see the boa constrictor, knocking Freddie hard onto the ground.

"Hey!" Sam exclaimed without thinking. "Lady! Watch where you're going! You just pushed my boyfriend!"

"You were in my way," the woman simply shrugged, turning back to the snake.

"Yeah, well guess what?" Sam snapped. "My fist is about to be in the way your face!"

"Sam, no!" Freddie said, scrambling to his feet and quickly holding her back.

"Freddie, let go of me!" Sam said. "This chick needs to be taught-"

"Is there a problem here?" a security guard asked as he approached the scene.

"No officer, no problem," Freddie replied readily.

"There is too a problem!" the woman said angrily. "That blonde girl was about to hit me!"

"Ma'am, with all due respect, she didn't hit you, and she's not going to hit you," Freddie said. "Even though you did rudely shove into us. Come on, Sam, let's go check out the bearded lizards."

"Since when do zoos have security guards?" Sam frowned as the couple walked away.

"Probably since Spencer's petting zoo fiasco here last month," Freddie said. "Um, sorry I had to hold you back. Um, I-I just didn't want you to get in trouble."

"No, I-I don't really want to spend our date in zoo jail, so…thanks," Sam said, giving him a small smile.

"Well thanks for almost beating that chick up for me," Freddie said. "She did kind of deserve it. She was a real skunk sack."

"Hey, you started saying skunk sack!" Sam said proudly.

"Oh, yeah, I did," Freddie nodded.

The two simply stood in silence for a moment.

"I've really missed you," Sam suddenly said, stepping forward and hugging Freddie. "I've missed you and your nubbish normalness."

"I've missed you too, Sam," Freddie said, hugging her back tightly. "You and your crazy abnormalness."

The first time Sam and Freddie made love was right before their high school graduation. They had been back together for several months now, and things were going great in their relationship. Sam was the one who had brought up the idea, though Freddie admitted he had been trying to find the right time to bring it up himself for a while too. They both agreed that they were ready to take such a step. Besides, they couldn't think of anybody else they'd rather have their first time with.

They decided Sam's house was the safest location. Her mom was going to be out of town for the whole weekend, and they both agreed that if they did it at Freddie's they'd be too preoccupied worrying about his mom walking in on them. She still threw fits and doused Freddie in disinfectant when she'd walk in on the them holding hands in the living room; they could only imagine what she would do if she caught them in bed together.

Freddie wanted to make sure the experience was romantic, so he pulled out all the stops. He brought candles, rose petals, chocolate covered strawberries…everything he could think of.

Sam also wanted to make sure that her and Freddie would have an unforgettable night. So she swallowed every once of pride that she had and went to Schneider's Secrets, a store that she made a point to gag at every time Carly dragged her into it. She picked herself out the laciest set of lingere that she could find; one that looked 'sexy' enough for that nights events. It looked like the most uncomfortable thing imaginable, but Sam figured she could suck it up for one night.

When the evening finally arrived, Sam and Freddie went up to Sam's bedrooms and closed the blinds, exchanging very seductive smiles with one another.

"You excited?" Sam grinned as she sat down on the end of her bed, kicking off her shoes. The couple had just gotten back from dinner.

"I can honestly say I've never been more excited for anything in my life," Freddie replied at once. He leaned down and gave her a long, passionate kiss, and then broke away and began rummaging through his bag. He pulled out a bag of rose petals and a couple of scented candles. He handed her the petals. "Here, I was thinking we could, you know, sprinkle these on the bed."

"People really do that?" Sam said. "I thought it was just in the movies."

"Oh, well, if you don't want to-"

"No, no, I want to," Sam said quickly, tossing a few handfuls of the petals onto her sheets. "Huh…they do look nice."

"Alright, let me just light these candles to set the mood," Freddie said, setting the candles down on Sam's desk and pulling out a lighter.

"Whoa…those are kind of strong," Sam said, holding back a cough. "What kind are they?"

"Um, I'm not sure, the label just said 'midnight romance'," Freddie said. "Seemed appropriate."

"True," Sam agreed. "So…um, you-you ready then?"

"Yeah," Freddie nodded. "But, um, just-just to be sure, you're ready too, right? Because we can still-"

"Freddie, I'm ready," Sam said softly.

Freddie smiled as he stepped over and joined Sam on the bed.

"So, um, I guess we start off just kissing and making out first, right?" Sam said, her cheeks reddening slightly.

"Seems like a good place to start," Freddie nodded.

"Okay then,' Sam said. She looked up at Freddie. "Well…lean."

Freddie quickly leaned down and kissed Sam, gently at first, but then quickly deepened the kiss. Soon enough him and Sam were lying back against her pillows, their arms entwined around one another.

After several minutes, Sam pulled apart and sat halfway up.

"Hey, are you alright?" Freddie asked. "You-Your eyes are all red and teary."

"Yeah, the fumes from the candles are kind of making them sting," Sam said, blinking her eyes quickly.

"Oh, well I can go put them out-"

"No, no, it's fine," Sam said. "Seriously, I think I just have to get used to them."

"Baby, are you sure?" Freddie asked hesitantly.

"Sure I'm sure," Sam said, a grin creeping onto her face. She slowly reached down to the hem of her shirt and pulled the garment up over her head, leaving her clad in only the new lacey black bra that she had just purchased.

Freddie's eyes widened at once and his jaw dropped. "Whoa…" he said dumbly.

"You like?" Sam whispered. "I got it special for tonight."

"Sam, you-you look sexier than usual," Freddie managed to sputter out. "And that is saying something."

He pulled her back down against her and began kissing her again.

"Wait," Sam said, pulling away after a few more minutes.

"What? Is it your eyes again?" Freddie asked.

"Yeah, but, just-don't worry," Sam said, rubbing her eyes again. "They're starting to feel better."

"Sam, I really think we should-"

"Hey, baby, you like my new bra, right?" Sam cut him off.

"Well, duh," Freddie nodded.

"Well," Sam said slowly. "Um, do you wanna, um, you know…take it off?"

"Oh!" Freddie said. "Yeah, um…I-I can't believe I forgot-yes! Yes, I-I want it off!"

"Stop drooling," Sam chuckled.

"It's hard when you have your super hot girlfriend on top of you like this," Freddie smiled. He sat up reached behind Sam for the bra's clasp.

"You got it?" Sam asked.

"Um, almost, I think," Freddie said. "I-I've never unhooked one of these things before…they're kind of tricky."

"You want me to turn around?"

"Er, yeah, maybe for just this first time," Freddie said. Sam turned around and Freddie looked down at the bra clasp, still fumbling around.

"You-You got it?" Sam asked again.

"This is hard!" Freddie said. "How do girls do this every day?"

"You want me to-"

"No! I'll get it," Freddie objected. "I think these hooks are just defective."

"They were fine when I put the bra on…" Sam sniffed.

"Okay, are you sure you're okay with these candles?" Freddie asked once more. "I-I think you might be allergic to them. I'm going to blow them out."

"No! Just keep working on the bra!" Sam said, but Freddie hopped off the bed and stepped over to the dresser and picked up the candle, ready to extinguish it.

"Baby, seriously, forget about it!" Sam said. "What about 'setting the mood?' Give that to me."

She made to grab the candle from Freddie, but in the process the candle dropped out of Freddie's hand and landed on Sam's carpet, causing the flame to spread onto the floor.

"Oh my God!" Freddie exclaimed as him and Sam jumped back from the flame. "Fire! There's a fire! There's a-"

But Sam grabbed a cup of water from her desk and quickly poured it onto the fire, dousing the flames.

The two looked at each other and simultaneously burst into laughter.

"Unbelievable," Sam smiled. "We try to have sex for the first time and wind up almost burning down my house."

"Not exactly how we planned it, huh?" Freddie chuckled. "I mean when I pictured this moment there was no fire and I was definitely able to get your bra off."

Sam let out a breath. "Maybe we tried too hard to make this night perfect."

"Maybe," Freddie agreed.

"I mean…we love each other, so do we really need the candles or the fancy lingerie?" Sam said. "Why don't we just start over? You get rid of the candles and I'll go put on something that you'll be able to actually get off me."

"Alright," Freddie nodded. "Hey, what about the rose petals?"

"Um, maybe you should clean those up too," Sam said. "I'm sort of worried about them getting stuck…places."

"Got it," Freddie nodded.

And so after getting rid of all of the unnecessary items, Sam and Freddie started over from the beginning. It might not have looked as romantic and sexy and sexy as they had imagined, but it felt more incredible than either of them could've ever dreamed of. Being that close to one another, holding one another like that…it was the most magical thing either had ever experienced.

"Wow…" Freddie said as him and Sam laid in bed after. "Wow…"

"Yeah," Sam echoed. "Wow."

Freddie pulled her closer to him, and Sam let her head rest on his bare chest, listening to his heartbeat, which was still slightly accelerated.

"I love you," he whispered, placing a soft kiss on top of her head.

"I love you too," Sam said back.

"Definitely a memorable first time then?" Freddie asked.

"Oh I won't be forgetting tonight for a long time," Sam assured him.

….

The first time Freddie was going to propose to Sam, he messed up completely. They had been dating for six years, both had steady jobs in their desired fields, they were living together…the timing couldn't be any more perfect. So Freddie made reservations at a fancy restaurant and went in ahead of time and paid the chef two hundred dollars to hide the ring in the chocolate cake; Sam's favorite dessert from the restaurant.

He had his speech planned out and kept going over it in his head while the two of them ate their dinner, wanting to make sure this all went smoothly.

"You finished with your chicken?" Freddie asked as he watched Sam pick at her meal.

"Well baby, I think today's going to have to be the day I finally do it," Sam sighed, setting her fork down.

"Huh?" Freddie said, confused.

"I think I'm gonna have to ask for a to-go box," Sam explained. "I-I'm full."

"You're full?" Freddie repeated. "You-You've never been full."

"I know," Sam said. "I think it might've been those six packs of bacon I ate right before we came here, though. Ugh…oh man, I'm so full I feel like I'm gonna puke."

"Okay, okay, we'll get you a to-go box," Freddie said. "But first let's order dessert! How about chocolate cake? Your favorite?"

"Oh God no, I'm way too full for dessert," Sam moaned. "Come on, lets just go home. Seriously, I feel nauseous."

"But-But you love dessert," Freddie said, a few beads of sweat now trickling down his neck. "How-How about you just have a few bites?"

"No, Freddie, I can't," Sam said. "Come on, just leave the money for the food on the table and let's go. I feel sick."
"But maybe you'll feel better after some cake!"

"What?"

"Um…"

"Freddie, if you want dessert so badly, I'll give you one of my Fat Cakes or something when we get home," Sam said, rolling her eyes as she reached into her purse and pulled out a few bills. She tossed them onto the table and got to her feet. "But I want to go home, got it?"

"Wait, no Sam!" Freddie called after to her, jumping up and following her out of the restaurant. "We have to go back in there and have our dessert!"

"Why?" Sam moaned, one hand clutching her stomach. "Dude, that bacon is really starting to do some damage. Besides, you're always the one saying we should watch our sugar consumption. Now let's hurry up and go before I puke all over this place."

She turned and headed outside to the parking lot.

"Sam, please! You-You don't have to eat the cake," Freddie said, said, catching up to her again. He took her hand and turned her so she was facing him. "I-I just think that if we go back inside and order that chocolate cake you'll-"

He was cut off as Sam suddenly doubled over and puked on the ground. Freddie quickly jumped back, though unfortunately for him, his shoes did not escape the damage.

"I told you I felt sick," Sam mumbled. "I warned you. Can we leave now?"

Freddie sighed. "Yeah, we can leave."

Thankfully, when Freddie proposed one week later, things went much more smoothly. Sam didn't throw up all over Freddie's shoes; she cried and quickly accepted, and the couple couldn't stop smiling the entire night.

But they found over the years that Freddie's first attempt made for a much more entertaining story to tell.

…..

Sam and Freddie bought their first home together a few weeks before their wedding. They had decided since they were starting a new chapter in their life, they should have a new place to live as well. Besides, they were really beginning to outgrow their small studio apartment.

They had been looking at houses for months, and had been having a lot of difficulty finding a place they both liked.

"Alright, we really need to try and find a place soon," Freddie said one evening as him and Sam sat on their sofa. "It needs to be a place that you and I both like and can see ourselves living in. So, I was thinking we'd make a list of things we'd both like to have in our new home, and that way we can try to narrow down our search."

"Can't we do this later," Sam sighed. "I just got back from a full day of wedding planning with Carly. I'm beat."

"Well Sam, wouldn't it be nice to have this house all ready for us to move in to after we get back from our honeymoon?" Freddie pointed out. "That way it will really feel like we're getting our life together started."

"Fine, fine, let's just make this quick," Sam conceded.

"Great," Freddie smiled, leaning down to give her a quick peck. "Okay, so I think one thing we should get settled is how many bedrooms we're looking for."

"How many bedrooms do we need?" Sam shrugged. "One for us and I guess we can have one for like an office-slash-game room thing. Oh! We can buy a pool table!"

"Um, maybe we can do that," Freddie said reluctantly. "But, well, since this is going to be a home that we'll be staying at for a while, wouldn't it be prudent to plan it with our family in mind? A game room would be cool, but maybe thinking about nurseries would be a little better."

"Oh…right," Sam nodded.

"You-You still want to have a family together, don't you?" Freddie frowned.

"Of course I do," Sam said quickly, giving his hand a small squeeze. "But still, don't we just need a room for us and a room for the baby?"

"That depends," Freddie said. "How many kids do you see us having?"

"Huh…" Sam said slowly.

The couple had talked about having children before, but they had never figured out a set number.

"How many do you want?" Sam asked him.

"I-I guess I haven't given it much thought either," Freddie admitted. "But, um, I-I sort of would like more than one. Growing up an only child was always a little lonely for me. I'd really like it if our kids could have at least one sibling around."

"Yeah, I guess even though she annoyed me, it was nice having Melanie around growing up," Sam said. "Yeah…I think I'd like to have two kids. Maybe three."

"Two or three…" Freddie said thoughtfully. "Yeah…"

"Three's my limit, though," Sam said firmly. "I'm not going any higher."

"I can't imagine having more than three kids running around, so don't even worry," Freddie chuckled, kissing her temple. "Anyway, I guess we should try to find a place with three to four bedrooms then. That seems decent for a possible family-of-five."

"I'd want them to have a backyard to play in," Sam continued.

"I do too," Freddie nodded. "I never had a yard to play in. I grew up in apartments all my life."

"And I want a big family room," Sam went on. "One where me, you and the kids and all just sit and kind of be with each other, you know? We could just watch T.V. or maybe some days we'd play a board game or something. Not lame ones like your mom played with you, but ones that are actually fun. And the kids will fall asleep on the couch and you and I will have to carry them up to bed, or maybe some nights we'll just sleep down there with them…"

"It sounds like you've already given this some thought," Freddie grinned.

"Maybe I have," Sam admitted. She moved closer to Freddie and rested her head against his shoulder. "Baby…I want our first home to be one where we can build a family. A real family…one that loves each other. That-That's really all I want, I guess."

Freddie smiled as he played with the ends of Sam's hair. "That's all I want too."

The next day Sam and Freddie went to go look at more houses. When they walked into their fifth house of the day, something about the home already seemed different from every other one they had looked at.

"It's four bedrooms," Freddie said as him and Sam looked around the front entrance. "Two baths. Seems pretty spacy."

"Yeah, it looks real nice," Sam nodded, looking around. "I like the windows out front. Oh! Baby, check out this huge fireplace!"

She ran into the living room and knelt down in front of the fireplace.

"Wow, I've never seen a real fireplace before," Freddie said. "Can't you just see us all sitting around this in the winter, sipping hot chocolate?"

"Yeah, that would be really nice," Sam smiled. She got up and continued to walk around the home. "Freddie, this place is great! Come look and see how huge the kitchen is! Oh! And you can see the yard from here! And there's a pool!"

"This house does seem perfect," Freddie said. "We should check out the upstairs too, but so far I'm really liking what I'm seeing."

Just then the back door in the kitchen opened and an older couple walked in.

"Oh hello, you must be the couple who's thinking about buying this place from us," the woman smiled kindly. "We were just talking to your realtor outside."

"Hi, I'm Freddie, and this is my fiancé, Sam," Freddie said, shaking their hands. "And yeah, I think we're seriously interested in this place. From what we've seen so far it seems to have everything we're looking for."

"Well it had everything we were looking for too," the man smiled, putting an arm around his wife's shoulders. "It's perfect if you're thinking of starting a family. Raised three kids of our own here. All our kids took our first steps out in that backyard, you know?"

"Wow," Sam said softly.

"We are planning on having a family," Freddie nodded.

"Well we might be biased, but if you ask us, there's no place better," the woman said. "Our youngest child just moved out on his own last month. We have a lot of memories here…I know we would both just love it if another family could have the chance to make their own memories here too."

Freddie looked down at Sam, taking her hand. "We'd like that too."

"Well please, keep looking around," the man said. "We'll just go out and have a few more words with your realtor. It was a pleasure meeting you both."

"You too!" Freddie called after them.

"They were nice," Sam commented once they left. She gave Freddie's hand a gentle squeeze. "Baby…I think-I think this really might be our home."

"Yeah," Freddie nodded, a smile creeping onto his face. "I think so too."

When Sam and Freddie found out they were having their first child together, both had never been more terrified in their life. They were now responsible for another whole life, and the thought of making even one mistake was enough to make them panic.

But they were also never more excited for anything in their lives either.

Every night throughout Sam's pregnancy, the couple made a point to talk to their unborn child, both of them pressing their hands gently against Sam's steadily growing abdomen, telling the child how much they already loved them and how they couldn't wait to meet them.

When Sam was in labor, Freddie stayed at her side the entire time. It wasn't an easy birth; Sam was in labor for nearly a full day and even though she knew it would be a painful process, she didn't expect it to be so severe. She threw anything she could get her hands on at Freddie and told him that he was never going to so much as lay a finger on her again. But after Sam gave that final push and the delivery room was suddenly filled with a loud cry, every grain of discomfort fled her body and Sam only had eyes for her and Freddie's new son.

He was perfect in every way. He had a balanced mixture of her and Freddie in him; her blonde hair, Freddie's dark eyes. When she got to hold him for the first time, she instantly felt her eyes well with tears as she smiled down at the tiny body in her arms.

"Look at him," she whispered as Freddie wrapped an arm around him. "Oh my God Freddie, this is our son!"

"He's the most amazing thing I've ever seen," Freddie said.

Sam gently passed the child to Freddie and he looked down at his newborn son; a creation that him and Sam had made together.

"Hi there," Freddie said softly. "Hi, I-I'm your daddy. I-Wow, I-I can't get over the fact that you're finally here, and-and I'm holding you."

He placed the infant back in Sam's arms, still staring down at him.

"Your mommy and I love you more than anything, and we're always going to love you more than anything," Freddie said as Sam stroked the child's head.

"That's right," Sam nodded. "You're our baby. Our perfect, wonderful baby."

"He's the best thing we ever did, Sam," Freddie smiled, kissing his wife's cheek.

Later that day, Freddie sat across from Sam's bed, watching his wife sleep peacefully with their son asleep in his plastic crib right next to her.

"I'm the luckiest man on earth," Freddie whispered to himself.

…..

Sam and Freddie's first fight came almost three years into their marriage. Well, not their first fight exactly, they were infamous for having arguments over something as simple as who got to pour their cereal at breakfast first, after all. No, this was the first fight where they truly fought.

Freddie had been working late a lot and was beginning to spend less and less time at home with Sam and their nearly two-year old son, Jason.

Sam thought it was only going to be a temporary arrangement; Freddie had just gotten a big promotion, after all, and she figured he needed time to adjust to the job. But soon a full month passed and it seemed that Freddie was basically living at the office.

She was beginning to have enough.

One evening, when Freddie came home close to midnight, Sam was sitting down in the living room.

"Oh, hey," Freddie said as he closed the front door behind him. "I didn't think you'd be up still."

"Well I am," Sam said icily.

"Is Jason asleep?"

"Yup," Sam replied. "And since you left before he even woke up this morning, you've now gone a full twenty-four hours without seeing him. Oh, but wait, you didn't see him at all yesterday, either, or the day before!"

"I go in there and say good night to him," Freddie frowned as he hung up his coat.

"Like he realizes that," Sam scoffed.

"Okay…are you in a mood or something?" Freddie asked. "Because I've had a really long day at work, Sam. I don't need this right now."

"I know you've had a long day! All you have are 'long days' any more!" Sam snapped, getting to her feet. "You're always 'at the office'!"

"Um, let me see if I'm understanding what's happening here," Freddie said, crossing his arms. "You're yelling at me because I went to work today?"

Sam glared at him. "I'm yelling at you because lately you're more involved with your damn job than you are with me and Jason."

"Oh, you mean the job that pays for everything around here?" Freddie shot back. "Because you know Sam, I could stop working. But there's these little things called a mortgage and car payments and college savings that kind of require me to go to work so I can fund them. Your writing salary wouldn't cover even half of what we need for those, especially now that you've taken on less hours."

"I took on less hours to take care of our son!" Sam yelled. "Jason, remember him? The kid who you can't even be bothered to come home to tuck in anymore?"

"You don't think I'd rather be spending time here?" Freddie exclaimed. "But I have to work! I don't know why you're holding this against me! With this new promotion we're making an income large enough to get a bigger house in a year, to pay off our credit cards, to-"

"We were doing just fine before this stupid promotion!" Sam snapped. "Don't you make it seem like you have to be at the office all these hours! You like it!"

"Yeah, you know what? I do like it!" Freddie nodded. "This is my dream job! You know that! And how messed up is it that my wife can't even be happy for me that I'm finally living my dream?"

"This is your dream?" Sam said, narrowing her eyes. "Working all the time and never seeing your family? Wasn't that what ruined your parents marriage? Your dad being away at work all the time?"

She had hit a nerve.

"How dare-You think-You know what?" Freddie fumed, grabbing his jacket again and turning towards the door. "I was able to afford to go to MIT because my dad worked so hard to save up for me!"

"Oh, and that made up for him never being there for you?" Sam said. "Are you going to just hand Jason a giant check for his tuition when he turns eighteen to make up for never being around for him?"

"Hey, I think it's kind of ironic that you're criticizing me and my dad for never being around when your dad was actually never around!" Freddie countered.

Sam narrowed her eyes. "I can't believe you're going there."

"You went there first," Freddie said simply. And with that he headed back out of the house.

Sam sat up in their bedroom crying her eyes out that night, not getting a second of sleep. Her and Freddie had never fought like this before. And Freddie had never left like he had either. Their arguments had always been dumb, pointless, playful even. This one actually scared her. They had both gone too far. But what scared her the most was that she didn't know where they would go from here. What if they didn't make up? What if they-

Just then she heard footsteps coming up the stairs and a few seconds later the bedroom door cracked open and Freddie slowly stepped in.

"Sam?" he whispered. "Sam…are you awake?"

Sam sat up and wiped her eyes, turning on the lamp on the bedside table next to her.

Freddie quickly sat down on the bed next to her, and when Sam looked up at him, she saw that his eyes were red and wet, just like hers.

"Sam, I'm so sorry," Freddie said at once. "I don't even know what I was-I can't believe I-I'm sorry."

Sam didn't reply, she just moved closer to him and buried her face in the crook of his neck.

"I'm sorry," Freddie said again, his voice cracking. "I brought up your dad…I know that's the one thing you-but I still-I'm sorry, Sam. I'm sorry, I'm-"

"I'm sorry too," Sam whispered. "I brought up your dad too. I-"

She trailed off as Freddie leaned down and wiped away a few stray tears with his thumb, pressing a gentle kiss to her temple. "I love you. No matter what…I love you so much, Sam."

"I love you too," Sam sniffed.

The two sat there in silence, holding one another, for several minutes.

"I'm giving up the job," Freddie finally spoke.

"What?" Sam said, looking up at him.

"I'll go back to my old position or try to find something else, I don't care," Freddie said. "But first thing in the morning I'm telling them I'm not doing this anymore."

"No, look, um, you-you were right," Sam said. "This is your dream. You were right before, I-I should try harder to be supporting you on this. We'll figure out some way to make it work and will all be fine and-"

"No Sam, you were right," Freddie said firmly. "My dad did put his job first when I was growing up and that was what ruined his marriage with my mom. The thought of that happening to us…I don't know what I would do."

"Freddie-"

"You know the guy who had this job before me didn't make it to any of his kids high school graduations?" Freddie said. "He worked through every single one. His oldest daughter was even the valedictorian and got to give a whole speech. Still didn't show up. And the guy who had the job before him…his wife went into labor the same day he had to take a conference call with our branch in Japan. He wouldn't even reschedule the call. Sam, I don't want to even chance that happening to us. I don't want to miss huge moments in Jason's life or miss being there for you when you need me to be. Because that job is just a job, Sam. You guys are my dream. And I'm not messing that up."

Sam smiled as she leaned up and kissed his lips.

"And I never want us to fight like that again," Freddie said when they pulled apart. "I-I hated that."

"I did too," Sam echoed. "But at least we got through it."

"Of course we did," Freddie said. "We'll always get through anything, Sam."

…..

The first time Sam ever saw Freddie cry, they were nearly fifteen years into their marriage. It was ironic, really. Sam was clearly the 'tough one' out of the two. Yet Freddie had seen her break down several times over the years, and he had always been the one to be strong for Sam.

Their ten-year old daughter, Emma, had had a bad accident during one of her soccer games. Sam hadn't been there; she had been across town with their other daughter at a debate competition. Only Freddie had been there to see their daughter try to make a crazy goal by doing a move she had seen earlier on T.V. (one that him and Sam had told her over and over again that she was not to try to do on her own). She had jumped up into the air but missed the ball by a long shot and wound up slamming her head, hard, into the goal post. She was knocked unconscious before she even fell back to the ground.

Freddie sprinted out onto the field before the referee had even blown his whistle. He felt his heart stop as he stared down at his baby girl, who had a gigantic, bleeding gash on her head.

"Emma," he had whispered shakily. "Emma, come on sweetie, open your eyes…"

He held her hand the entire ambulance ride, and when they arrived at the hospital he had watched helplessly as the doctors whisked her away from him.

Sam arrived ten minutes after Freddie had called her. She had rushed into the waiting room, looking just as scared and as frightened as he was.

"Freddie," she said at once. "What happened? Where is she? Is she okay?"

"She-She hit her head," Freddie said, his voice cracking. "On the-On the goal post thingy. She-She hit her head really hard and-and she's not waking up and there was so much blood and-and-"

He suddenly broke down in Sam's arms, tears streaming down his face. "This is all my fault! I-I should've been able to do something. I was there! I-I should've-"

"F-Freddie, no baby, no, this wasn't your fault," Sam said, trying to keep her own voice steady for the sake of her husband. "There was nothing you could've done."

"I'm her father," Freddie said. "I'm always supposed to be able to do something. And now she's hurt and-and what if-"

Sam simply held him tighter. "She'll be okay," she said, trying hard to believe her own words. "She-She's strong. She'll-She'll be alright."

And thankfully, she was.

After the longest five hours of Sam and Freddie's lives, the doctors came out and told them that Emma was going to make a full recovery. She needed several stitches and she had broken her arm when she had fallen, and she'd probably have a headache for a few days, but she was going to all right.

That night Sam went back home with the couple's other kids while Freddie stayed back at the hospital with Emma. He didn't get much sleep, though. He kept watching Emma, remembering just how terrified he had been a few hours earlier.

His kids and Sam were the most important things in the world to him, and the thought of anything happening to any of them was enough to make him crumble.

…..

Sam and Freddie's first grandchild was came when they were close to fifty years old. Not exactly 'super old', but still old enough for the fact that they were now having grandchildren to make them very aware of their aging.

As parents, Sam and Freddie had been very careful not to spoil their kids. They always gave them what they needed, of course, but not everything they wanted. They wanted to make sure that their children never became to engrossed in material possessions and forgot about what was really important. They were never ones to buy out toy stores or cover their kids' rooms with trinkets that they didn't need.

But as grandparents Sam and Freddie decided to throw all of that out the window.

"Guys what is all this stuff?" Emma frowned as Sam and Freddie carried in bags and bags of stuff a few days after their granddaughter, Savannah, was born.

"Mostly toys," Sam shrugged. "But there's other stuff too. A pillow with her name sewn onto it, a bunch of board books, your dad's idea, obviously, some cute outfits…but you can go through all of that stuff later. Give me my granddaughter!"

She stepped over and took the sleeping newborn from Emma's arms.

"You get five minutes and then it's my turn, Sam!" Freddie said.

"We'll see, nub," Sam smirked, not looking up from her granddaughter.

"Did you two buy everything in the store?" Emma asked, looking around.

"Maybe we did get go a little crazy," Freddie chuckled. "But hey, cut us some slack. Savannah's our first grandchild."

"Yeah, but does she really need some of this stuff?" Emma asked, rifling through a few of the bags. She pulled out a box of oddly shaped bottles. "Like these. You guys bought her a million bottles before she was even born!"

"Yes, but these are so much better," Freddie said. "They're designed to ease the flow of formula into her mouth. All of the celebrity babies use them!"

"I don't think we even have enough space for all the clothes you bought for her," Emma continued, pulling out several onsies from another bag.

"Well we can buy little Savannah another dresser for her room or something," Sam shrugged. "Oh! We saw the cutest one when we were at the store, right baby?"

"Oh right, it was so cool, Em," Freddie nodded. "It had these tiny little monkeys on it and the knobs were shaped like little bananas. Sam, we can swing back there on the way home and pick it up. Is there room in the car?"

"Yeah, if we put the back seat down," Sam nodded. "Oh, while we're back there we should get that giant stuffed elephant we saw! I bet Savannah would love that!"

"Good call," Freddie grinned.

"Um, mom, dad, I-I appreciate you getting all this stuff for Savannah," Emma said. "Really, I do. But don't you think you're spoiling her just a little bit?"

"So what if we're spoiling her? We're grandparents! It's what we do!" Sam said.

"Grandma Puckett never spoiled us growing up," Emma pointed out. "She just offered to pierce our ears for us every time she came over. And grandma Benson just brought us a lot of hand sanitizer."

"Well we we're not insane," Sam said simply. "Grandparents spoil their grandkids. It's just a way of life, Emma. And until one of your siblings decides to get a move on it and give us a second grandchild, we're going to have to focus all of grandparenting on Savannah."

"Oh goody," Emma said, rolling her eyes, though she showed a small smile.

….

The first time Sam was ever alone was after sixty-three years of marriage.

The first time Sam was ever alone was after Freddie Benson, her husband, the love of her life since she was a teenager, had died.

After the funeral and the reception, Sam had retreated up to her and Freddie's, well, now just her bedroom. Her home was filled with people; her and Freddie's own four children, as well as grandchildren and now even great grandchildren. They didn't want to leave her alone…She had even heard her youngest son, Tyler, talking to Jason about trying to convince her to consider moving in with him. But right now, at this moment, Sam felt she needed to be alone.

When she stepped into the bedroom, she picked up a large photo album from the dresser and slowly sat down on the bed. It felt strange knowing that Freddie would no longer be there next to her when she woke up.

She slowly opened up the photo album and looked down at the first picture. She let out a small laugh. It was them when they were thirteen years old, after they had just finished an episode of iCarly. They were just children then…they had come so far.

They had their first kiss together.

They were each other's first time.

They bought their first home together.

They started a family together.

They dealt with real problems for the first time.

They went to Europe for the first time together, tried planting a garden for the first time together, went skiing for the first time together, tried Moroccan coffee for the first time together, bought a dog for the first time together….

They grew old together.

Sam felt a tear slide down her cheek as she continued to stare down at the picture.

"You were my first love…my only love," she whispered. "You were my first…everything. Thank you Freddie. You gave me the world."