A/N: Again, sorry about the slow updates! I'll try to update every night, or every other night, but sorry if I can't quite get around to it. Hope you guys are enjoying this fic anyway.

CHAPTER 7

"For every minute you remain angry, you give up sixty seconds of peace of mind."

~Ralph Waldo Emerson

~*December*~

"She's WHAT?!" a deep baritone voice roared on the other end of the phone. Carly sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose between her thumb and forefinger.

"Pregnant," Carly repeated, trying to keep her voice calm.

"I heard what you said!" Freddie yelled.

"Then why did you ask?"

"I'm kind of in shock over here! Why the hell didn't she tell me?" Carly groaned in frustration, flopping her head backwards. She winced in pain as it made rough contact with the head of the hotel bed she was sitting on.

"Because of how you'd react?" she said, trying too hard to sound oblivious to Sam's real reasons for not telling him. "I don't know, she never gave me a straight reason." Freddie began grumbling a slur of incoherent obscenities.

"It didn't ever occur to her that maybe the father would like to know about his potential child?" he screamed.

"Why are you yelling at me?" Carly griped, closing her eyes tightly. "I'm not the one who's kept this whole thing a secret." She heard Freddie take a few deep breaths on the other end.

"You're right," he said, his voice calmer but very strained. "I'm sorry."

"Why don't you go talk to her?" Carly suggested. "She sure as hell won't open up to me."

"What is it with you two?" he growled. "First, you're best friends, then you're worst enemies, then you're inseparable again, and now you can't stand each other. When will you guys just grow up and move on?"

"I've moved on perfectly fine!" Carly fought back. "It's Sam that won't let it go."

"Now you sound like a four year old," Freddie answered unenthusiastically.

"Just go freaking talk to her," Carly sighed. "I'm heading back home tomorrow, so there's not much more I can do here." Freddie exhaled deeply.

"What am I supposed to say?" he finally asked, his voice soft and composed. "Hey Sam, I hear you're carrying my unborn baby child, let's get back together? Then I'll just sound like I only want to be together because of the baby."

"She'd take that over not talking to her at all," Carly answered. "At least you're sort of showing you'd be there for her and the baby."

"Is that what she's afraid of? That'd I'd strand her with the baby as soon as I found out?" Carly didn't answer, but Freddie knew that was the reason. "Why would she possibly think that?!" he exclaimed, his voice becoming more hysterical.

"DON'T ASK ME!" Carly yelled, enunciating each syllable separately. "Just go find her and ask her!"

"Fine," Freddie grumbled. He was silent for a moment, attempting to find the right words to say. "Thanks, for everything," he finally said.

"I'm always here for you," Carly answered. She flipped her phone closed, ending the call and leaving one of her best friends to fend for himself.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Freddie heard the line go dead. He sighed, flipping his phone closed with his chin and sliding it in his pocket. He stared up at his ceiling, attempting to find shapes in the rough pattern. At this point, everything just looked like Sam. He knew what he had to do, but couldn't find the nerve to do it. What if she turned him down, insisting she didn't need him and could take care of herself? What if she didn't love him anymore? What if she'd found someone more reliable that she could depend on? He shook his head, trying to clear out the morbid thoughts.

She couldn't have found someone else this soon, he thought. She wouldn't move on this quickly. He knew he needed to stand up and go find her. He knew he needed to find her and assure her he'd always be there for her and the baby. His mind told him everything he needed to do, but his body wouldn't move. He grumbled in annoyance. Since when was it this hard for him to talk to Sam?

Since there was the imminent threat she'd actually reject you? He couldn't argue with that thought. Finally, he felt his body begin moving, his legs seemingly carrying him wherever they pleased. He glanced at the clock on the windowsil of his dorm room as he shrugged his coat on. It was 2:54. Sam was almost done with her last class of the day. If he hurried, he could catch up with her before she left the building. He swiped his keys off his desk as he ran from his dorm room, running as fast as he could through the ice and slush that coated the ground of the campus. The icy winter wind whipped at his face, stinging his eyes and causing his nose to drip slightly. He ignored it, making a mad dash across the university. He was determined to find the girl he loved before she could get away from him again. He knew he'd win her back, no matter what stood in his way.

A/N: This ending took a while for me to figure out. I couldn't add much more to this chapter because it would make it hard to coordinate it with the rest of the fic. So, sorry it's so short! Hope you liked it though, and didn't totally hate the ending. R&R!

Xoxo~Liz-beth