Beg

"You realize that it's forty degrees outside, don't you?" Sam said as she stared out one of the windows in Freddie's small studio apartment.

"Uh-huh…" Freddie nodded, looking up from his laptop at the kitchen table. "And?"

"And? This is horrible spring break weather!" Sam exclaimed. "Spring break is supposed to be warm. It's the law."

"Huh, don't recall learning that law in our civics class back in high school," Freddie smirked.

"Dude…"

"Well baby, sorry, but Massachusetts is still pretty cold in the spring," Freddie said. "There's nothing I can do about it."

"You go to MIT," Sam said, rolling her eyes. "You should be able to do something."

"Yeah Sam, they have a weather control class offered here," Freddie said. "Don't worry, I'll try to get into it next semester."

"God, can you be any more sarcastic?" Sam said, sitting down on the ledge of the table next to her boyfriend.

Freddie couldn't help but smile as he took in the sight. Sam had just rolled out of bed. Her hair was a mess and she was wearing one of his oversized MIT sweatshirts and pair of his boxers.

In his eyes she had never looked more beautiful.

"What?" Sam asked, noticing him staring.

"Nothing," Freddie said. "I'm just really glad you're spending your spring break visiting me."

"Yeah, well…me too," Sam said, giving him a small grin. "Even though you have terrible weather up here."

She moved off the table ledge and sat herself down on Freddie's lap. "And since it's freezing here, that means it's now your job to keep me warm."

"Oh is it?" Freddie said playfully, wrapping his arms around her waist.

"Yup," Sam nodded, craning her neck down to kiss him deeply, eliciting a moan from his mouth.

"Baby…" Freddie said breathlessly.

"Come on, let's go back to bed," Sam said seductively.

"Sam, I-we can't," Freddie said reluctantly. "Not right now."

Sam raised an eyebrow. "Excuse me?"

"Baby, trust me, I would love nothing more than to spend the entire day in bed with you," Freddie said. "But unfortunately I'm not on spring break."

"You said you didn't have class today," Sam said. "What gives, Benson?"

"I know, I don't have class, but I still have to do work," Freddie said. "I'm working on a big group project and my group members are coming by here soon."

"What?" Sam exclaimed. "You mean this place is gonna be filled with even more geeks?"

"It won't take long," Freddie promised. "And then I swear, we'll pick this up. And hey, this will be the perfect opportunity for you to meet some of my friends!"

"Why would I want to meet your dorky friends?" Sam said.

"Because you love me?" Freddie smirked.

"Eh."

Freddie rolled his eyes. "Just say hello. You don't have to converse with them if you don't want to."

"Fine," Sam said, getting off his lap. "Alright, since you would rather do your homework than have fun with me, I'll go take a shower…all alone."

"Sam…I don't want to-"

"No, no, it's fine," Sam said, sighing heavily. "I understand. Your computer codes are much more interesting to look at."

Freddie bit the corner of his lip as he checked his watch. His group members weren't supposed to be arriving for another half-an-hour…

"Oh come here," Freddie finally gave in, jumping up and pulling Sam into his arms, crashing his lips against hers.

….

Thirty minutes later Freddie quickly pulled his shirt over his still-damp body as he raced to answer his door.

"Your shirt's on backwards," Sam commented from Freddie's bed, where she was running a brush through her hair.

"Huh? Oh, thanks," Freddie said, quickly fixing the article of clothing as more knocks sounded from the front door. "You finished getting dressed?"

"Yeah, yeah, I'm done," Sam said, buttoning the top of her jeans and straightening her own shirt.

"Cool," Freddie said, leaning down to give her a quick kiss. "Alright, just be nice, okay?"

"I'll do my best," Sam sighed.

Freddie hurried to the door and opened up, letting in his three group members.

"Jeez, took you long enough," the first man said, adjusting his glasses. "It's cold out there, you know?"

"Sorry," Freddie said. "I was, um, tying my shoes."

"You're not wearing any shoes," the second man frowned.

"Um…I-I know," Freddie said lamely. "Anyway, I finished up most of the coding for the project this morning, so I don't think we should have to do too much."

"Good, then let's get started," the third man said, setting his laptop down on the table.

"Okay," Freddie nodded. "But first I want you guys to meet my girlfriend."

"Ah, the fictitious girlfriend you always go on about," the first man chuckled. "Freddie, Freddie, Freddie, give it up. We all know there's no way that guys like us could-whoa!"

Sam stood up from Freddie's bed and joined everybody.

"She's real?" the second man said, flabbergasted.

Sam gave Freddie a strange look.

"Yeah…nobody believed that I actually had a girlfriend," Freddie explained, rolling his eyes. "They thought I was too nerdy. They assumed I made you up."

"Ah, makes sense," Sam nodded. "I wouldn't believe it either if I wasn't the one dating you."

"Ha, ha," Freddie said dryly. "Anyway, Sam, these are a few of my friends. This is Chuck, Drew, and Patrick. Guys, this is Sam."

"Hi," Sam said, giving the three men a small wave.

"I-I can't believe she's actually real," Patrick said, his mouth slightly opened. "How'd you convince her to date you, Freddie?"

"I didn't have to convince her!" Freddie snapped.

"You've got to give us some pointers," Chuck said, shaking his head in disbelief.

"Alright, this is officially weird," Sam said. She turned to Freddie. "Can I take your car? I saw a mall nearby when we were out last night and I promised Carly I would bring her back a souvenir."

"You promise to obey the speed limits?" Freddie asked, pulling his keys out of his pocket.

"Nope," Sam smiled, taking the keys. She gave him a quick peck on the lips. "Text me when you're done with your project. Bye nub…other nubs."

"Whoa, she even kissed you on the mouth!" Drew said as Sam left the apartment.

She did a lot more than that a little while ago, Freddie thought proudly to himself.

"Told you she was real," Freddie smirked to his friends as they men gathered around the table where Freddie's laptop was still set up.

"I'll say she's real," Chuck said. "And she's hot!"

"Smoking hot," Patrick agreed. "I mean it's hard enough to imagine you landing an average-looking girlfriend, but one like her? Seriously, what's your secret?"

"There's no secret," Freddie said. "We're both just attracted to each other. We were friends for a few years back in Seattle and our last year of high school we realized that we-"

"Dang it! I should've taken a picture!" Drew suddenly exclaimed, thumping his forehead.

"Um, why do you need a picture of my girlfriend?" Freddie frowned.

"Because she's insanely hot!" Drew said. "I thought we just established that! You have a spare pic lying around here I can take?"

"No!" Freddie snapped. "Alright, can we stop this? I don't like-"

"And she's blonde," Chuck said.

"What does Sam's hair color have to do with anything?" Freddie asked.

"Duh, everybody knows blondes are hotter other girls," Patrick said.

"I don't think-" Freddie started.

"Man, you are seriously the luckiest dude ever!" Drew moaned enviously.

"Well…yeah, I am lucky to be with Sam," Freddie nodded. "But it's not just because she's attractive."

"Sure, all right," Chuck chuckled.

"No, I'm serious," Freddie said. "I love Sam, but honestly her looks don't have anything to do with it. Yes, she's a very beautiful girl, but I'd love her just as much as I do no matter what she looked like. I love her for her, not her appearance. I mean she's amazing. She's hilarious and creative and sweet…well, sweet once you get to know her…kind of. And she's so determined…you know how hard she's been working in college? She wants to be a writer when she graduates, and she's going to be a great one. And she-"

"Um, okay we get it," Drew frowned. "Don't get all sappy on us."

"Yeah, come on, I just ate," Patrick nodded. "We didn't need to know all that."

"Fine," Freddie sighed, shaking his head. "Let's just get to work."

…..

A few hours later Sam let herself back into Freddie's apartment carrying a few bags.

"Hey," Freddie said, closing his laptop. "You have fun shopping?"

"Yeah, I guess," Sam said, sitting down on the couch next Freddie. "But I missed you."

"You've spent the past three months across the country from me, and you miss me after a few hours?" Freddie smirked. "You're going soft, Puckett."

Sam rolled her eyes as she playfully punched his shoulder. "Shut up."

"Okay, okay," Freddie laughed as he leaned down and kissed her. "Hey, what'd you buy?"

"A shirt for Carly, a five-pound bag of jellybeans for me, some super glue, a whoopee cushion...just the necessities."

"Yes, because a whoopee cushion is absolutely necessary," Freddie said.

"Wow, you're just full of sarcasm today, aren't you?" Sam laughed.

"You're rubbing off on me," Freddie replied, leaning down to kiss her again.

"Oh," Sam said when they pulled apart. "I got you something too."

"Me?" Freddie said.

"Yup," Sam smiled. She reached into her bag and pulled out a Galaxy Wars calendar.

"Oh cool!" Freddie grinned, taking the calendar. "I've been meaning to get a calendar to hang above my desk."

"I know, you were rambling about that a couple of weeks ago on the phone," Sam said.

"Aw, you listen," Freddie said. "Thanks, baby."

"Hold on, you have to look inside," Sam said.

"Huh?" Freddie said.

"Yeah," Sam nodded, taking the calendar and flipping it open.

Freddie glanced at the pages. On several of the dates, Sam had scribbled in notes.

"I added all of our little anniversaries," Sam explained. "I mean the big one is there too, obviously, but um, I also added some other ones."

"March sixteenth, our first coffee date," Freddie read, flipping through the pages. "April fourth…first time you lasted five seconds in arm wrestling with me…Wow, Sam, this-this is amazing. I can't believe you did this."

"I had time while I was waiting for you to finish your project," Sam shrugged. "You-You really like it?"

"Of course I do," Freddie said sincerely. "This was really thoughtful of you."

Sam blushed as she looked down at her lap. "It was nothing."

Freddie shook his head. This…This is what he loved most about Sam.

She was completely unpredictable. She had a whole other side to her that only he got to see.

And to him, that was the most beautiful thing about her.

"I love this," Freddie said sincerely. "Thank you."

Sam moved closer to him on the couch, resting her head on his couch as he wrapped his arms around her.

"I am a lucky guy," Freddie said softly, kissing the top of her head.

"Hmm?" Sam said, looking up at him, but he only answered by pressing his lips back against hers.