Jinx
"Sam…Sam…Sam!"
"Go away," Sam moaned, pulling her covers up over her head.
"Sam, come on, you need to wake up," Freddie said, rolling his eyes.
"Is the house on fire?" Sam asked.
"Um…no," Freddie replied.
"Are one of the kids hurt?" Sam continued.
"No."
"Are my snacks all safe in their special cabinet in the kitchen?"
"Um…as far as I know," Freddie frowned.
"Then I don't need to wake up," Sam said firmly. "It's Saturday."
"Yes, but it's chore day!" Freddie said excitedly.
"Oh my God…"
"Come on, we talked about this," Freddie said. "We have a lot that needs to be done around here, and with our busy schedules, everything's just kind of been put on the back burner. Today's the only day this month we have time to take care of everything, so we decided to dedicate this whole day to getting all of it done."
"Freddie, we've been married for what, eight years?" Sam yawned.
"Ten," Freddie corrected, rolling his eyes.
"Whatever," Sam said, her eyes still shut. "But my point is…do you really believe I actually agreed to any of that?"
"Well you said, and I quote, 'yeah, sure, whatever', yesterday when I ran this idea by you," Freddie pointed out.
"Uh-huh…and when did you run this by me?"
"When you were watching MMA…" Freddie said slowly.
"Right," Sam said. "So I obviously wasn't listening to a word coming out of your nubby mouth, and therefore I didn't really agree to anything."
"Baby…we have to do these chores," Freddie sighed.
"So make the kids do them," Sam suggested. "You've been blabbing for weeks about how we need to get them on a chore-allowance system so they can earn the value of a dollar. Here's your chance; go wild."
"Sam, we have a nine-year old, two five-year olds, and an infant," Freddie said. "I was thinking we'd have Jason, I dunno, help unload the dishwasher a couple times a week and have the twins clean up their room. The chores that I'm talking about today are big-ticket tasks; we need to paint the garage door, weed and mow the front lawn, wash the cars and organize the basement."
"What?" Sam frowned, finally sitting up. "There's no way I'm doing all of that!"
"Well if we work together I'm sure it won't be that bad," Freddie said optimistically.
"Freddie…" Sam sighed. "You know I love you, right?"
"Oh jeez," Freddie mumbled.
"But you've lost your dang mind!" Sam snapped. "You know how crazy my week was running around with the kids? I had to take the twins to the dentist, Jason's been trying to build a robot in his bedroom so I've been going insane keeping him from taking apart all of our electronics, and Tyler's had the flu. Plus all of my script deadlines at work got pushed up so I had to deal with that on top of everything. Now it's finally my chance to rest and I'm gonna rest!"
"So you're gonna make me do all of the work around here?" Freddie said. "I had a busy week too, Sam. Look, I know it seems like a lot, but like I said, with the two of us-"
"Baby, how about we make a deal?" Sam suddenly said.
"What kind of deal?" Freddie asked slowly.
"Well," Sam said. "You handle all those annoying chores-"
"What? No way!" Freddie exclaimed.
"-And I repay you tonight," Sam continued, smiling seductively as she wrapped her arms around her husband's neck.
"Really, Sam?" Freddie scoffed. "You think I'm so pathetic that you can just get out of helping me by luring me with sex?"
"No, I don't think you're pathetic," Sam said, kissing the sensitive spot next to his ear. "I think you're sexy and hot and-"
"Sam…" Freddie said, his voice coming out as a low moan.
"And just think of how long its been," Sam continued. "Its been…what? Three weeks? Like you've said, we've been so busy lately…"
Freddie didn't say anything, though he could feel his pace quickening.
"And we can do all the stuff you like," Sam went on, now trailing her hand down his chest. "You know…all the stuff."
Freddie's eyes widened. "You mean…?"
Sam nodded, grinning. "Oh yeah."
"And you'll-"
"Yup," Sam confirmed. "Just think about how fun that will be."
Freddie took a few deep breaths. "I-Okay."
"Okay?"
"I'll do all the chores myself," Freddie nodded. "And then tonight..."
"You've got yourself a deal, Benson," Sam said, kissing his cheek.
"Well alright then!" Freddie said happily, jumping to his feet. "I better get started!"
Sam watched as her husband hurried out of the room and then fell back down against her pillows. "The things I'll do for two extra hours of sleep…"
…
"I'm sore everywhere," Freddie sighed later that night as he collapsed onto his and Sam's bed. "That was the most physical labor I've ever done in my life. I still can't believe I got it all done."
"You did a great job," Sam said, kicking her shoes off. "The place looks really nice."
"It better," Freddie mumbled. "I'm exhausted."
"Hmm," Sam smirked. "Well then I guess our plans for tonight are off."
"Oh no," Freddie said, perking up at once. "I definitely have enough energy for tonight. Thinking about it was the only thing that got me through all that work. The kids asleep yet?"
"Yup," Sam nodded.
"Perfect!" Freddie beamed, jumping to his feet. He began to do a few stretches.
"You're such a dork," Sam said, shaking her head.
"Hey, we have a deal," Freddie reminded her.
"Doesn't mean you're not still a dork," Sam chuckled just as a loud clasp of thunder sounded.
"Whoa, it's really coming down out there," Freddie commented.
"I think it's supposed to storm all night," Sam nodded.
"Well, good think I used that fast-drying paint on the garage door," Freddie shrugged. "Now then…where were we?"
"Just let me take a quick shower first, okay?" Sam said. "Tyler spit his dinner in my hair and I think there's till chunks of carrots in there."
"Fine," Freddie conceded.
"I'll be quick," Sam promised.
As Sam stepped into the adjoining the bathroom, Freddie sat back down on the couple's bed, grabbing his Pear Tech magazine from his bedside table to pass the time.
Just then another loud roll of thunder sounded through the house.
Hopefully the cars don't get ruined from all of this, Freddie thought to himself, flipping through his magazine. Otherwise that will be four hours I never get-
Just then the bedroom door slammed open and before Freddie could even comprehend what was happening, a small figure ran right towards him, jumping onto his lap.
"Oh!" Freddie grunted from the force. "What the-Emma?"
Freddie looked down at his daughter. "Emma? What are you doing? It's past your bedtime and-hey…hey, sweetie what's going on? What's the matter?"
He realized that his daughter was crying hard.
"Shh, shh, honey, it's okay," Freddie said, wrapping his arms around her. "Daddy's got you…what's wrong?"
"Daddy, it's scary!" Emma sobbed, burying her face in Freddie's chest.
"What's scary?" Freddie asked gently. "Did you have a bad dream or-"
Just then there was another loud clasp of thunder and Emma let out a yelp and clung closer to her father.
"Daddy, make it stop!" Emma begged.
"Oh…Em, sweetie it's just thunder," Freddie said.
"It's scary!"
"I know it sounds a little scary," Freddie nodded, giving her a small smile. "But really thunder is nothing to be afraid of. Especially when you know the science behind it. See, when-"
There was another roll of thunder and Emma continued to cry harder.
"Okay…okay," Freddie said, rubbing her back soothingly; something he had done since she was a baby.
"I want to sleep in here tonight," Emma sniffed, still hugging Freddie tightly.
"Oh…well Emma, you know you're a big girl now," Freddie said slowly. "And you need to sleep in your own bed in your own room."
"No!" Emma said at once. "The thunder is extra loud and scary in my room! I want you and mommy!"
Freddie sighed. He knew there was no way he was going to be able to say no to her.
Just then the bathroom door opened and Sam stepped out, wrapped in her robe.
"Huh…looks like we have company," Sam chuckled, spotting her daughter on the bed.
"The thunder is scary," Emma sniffed. "I need to sleep in her so you and daddy can protect me."
Sam and Freddie exchanged quick glances.
"Of course, sweetheart," Freddie said, kissing the top of her head. "You can sleep with us."
"Thank you," Emma said shakily as Sam got a tissue and wiped her face.
"I know the thunder sucks," Sam told the five-year old. "When I was your age I used to always try to scream louder than the thunder so I wouldn't have to hear it."
"Can I try that?" Emma asked.
"Um…maybe tomorrow if it's still storming," Freddie said quickly. "Come on, Em. Go ahead and get to sleep; it's late."
"Okay," Emma yawned, closing her eyes and cuddling close to Freddie. "Night mommy and daddy. I love you."
…..
An hour later Sam and Freddie were both still up, Emma sleeping peacefully between her.
"You know, she's probably out by now," Sam whispered. "You could probably carry her back to her room without her waking up."
Another clasp of thunder sounded and Freddie looked down at the innocent little girl next to him.
"Probably," he agreed. "But she'd feel so betrayed if she woke up and realized what we did. Just let her sleep in here the whole night."
"You do realize that means we can't do anything, right?" Sam reminded him. "And tomorrow night I'm going to be taking care of my mom after her foot surgery."
"Well…that's okay, we can do it the night after," Freddie shrugged.
"You've got that international call at like, three in the morning," Sam said. "Honestly…we're probably not gonna get another chance until next weekend…if we're lucky."
Freddie let out a sigh of disappointment.
Sam gave him a small smile as she leaned over and kissed him. "I'm sorry."
Freddie looked back down at Emma. "That's okay," he said softly.
Sam kissed him again. "Don't worry, though. I never break a deal. When we finally do get a chance to have some time to ourselves, I'll make sure I repay you for all those chores you did today."
Freddie chuckled. "I'm looking forward to it."
