A/N: Hey guys! I finally have a computer that works!! Before I was using my mom's work computer, and I couldn't always get on it. So, hopefully now I'll be able to update more quickly because our home computer finally works!! Sorry this took soooooo long guys. I appreciate you sticking with the story!! It should be finished soon!

CHAPTER 10

"Love is like war: easy to begin, but very hard to stop."

H.L. Menken

~*December*~

Freddie tapped his foot impatiently, standing outside the doorway of Sam's currently class. He knew she had College Precalc 101 at this time during the day, and hoped to god she had shown up for class. He stared at the clock placed at the end of the hallway, his heartbeat quickening with every tick of the second hand. After what seemed like an eternity, the minute hand reached the 2 o'clock mark, and a wave of students poured out from the classroom. Freddie quickly scanned over the mob, trying to pick out wavy blonde locks and a pair of vibrant blue eyes. Finally, he spotted her towards the very back of the group. He called out her name, but she either didn't hear him, or pretended she didn't hear him. He groaned, beginning to push past people to reach her. He finally grabbed her shoulder and turned her around. She looked him up and down, a look of surprise washing over her face.

"What are you doing here?" she asked monotonously.

"I needed to see you," he said, his voice in a hushed tone. She rolled her eyes.

"Well, you saw me. Now bye." She began to walk away, but his grip on her shoulder was too strong. "What?"

"I need to talk to you," he said seriously, looking her straight in the eye. She sighed, looking down at the ground.

"There's nothing to talk about," she mumbled. Freddie clenched his teeth, looking around to make sure none of the other students were evesdropping.

"You know damn well there's a lot to talk about," he growled, his voice barely above a whisper. "I'm taking you back to my place, and you're giving me the full story."

"Freddie, I have homework…"

"It's Friday. You have the whole goddamned weekend to do homework." He grabbed her by the wrist forcefully, while still trying not to hurt her, and began leading her out of the building and towards his apartment.

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

"Why the hell didn't you tell me?" Freddie shouted as he slammed the door behind him. Sam held both of her elbows in her hands, looking down at the ground.

"Tell you what?" she mumbled, hoping that he wasn't talking about her small situation.

"You know damn well what!" he yelled, moving towards her quickly. His face had begun to turn red with anger. He was inches from her face when he began yelling again. "Why the hell wouldn't you tell me you're pregnant? Didn't we always agree to go through everything together? Didn't we always agree to share everything with each other?" Sam nodded slowly, rapidly blinking back the tears that threatened to spill over her cheeks.

"I didn't think it was that big of a deal," she answered lamely, trying to keep her uncaring, strong demeanor. Freddie threw his arms in the air in aggravation.

"Last time I checked, being pregnant is a pretty huge fucking deal!" he yelled. Sam winced, hoping nobody else in the apartment building could hear him.

"I can handle it myself," she answered, still not looking him in the face.

"Don't you think I at least deserved to know about my potential child?! Didn't it occur to you that, being the father, I might like to know about this?!"

"What if you're not the father?" Sam asked, immediately questioning why the words had even come out of her mouth. In the years she and Freddie had been together, cheating had never even come close to crossing her mind. Freddie's jaw dropped and his eyes went wide. He began to stutter, attempting to find the right words to say.

"Wh-what?" he finally choked out. Sam sighed, shaking her head. "Sam…" his voice trailed off in disbelief. "I can't…I can't believe you'd do that to me." Sam groaned in frustration and flopped down on the couch.

"I didn't." she cried, putting her head in her hands.

"Then why did you say…."

"I don't know!" she shouted, her voice muffled by her hands. "I thought maybe if you thought it wasn't your's, you'd leave me alone and let me take care of it by myself." Freddie walked over to the couch, sitting gently next to Sam.

"Why are you so convinced you need to do this on your own?" he asked quietly. She shrugged.

"I never needed a man in my life before you. I don't want to start depending on one now," she answered, picking her head up. Freddie sighed.

"Because of your father?" he asked. Sam hesitated, then nodded slowly.

"He told my mom he'd always be there for her when she was pregnant with me," she whispered, staring into space. "He told her he'd never leave, and that he'd support her and me throughout our lives. The day I was born, his bags were packed, and my mom never saw or heard from him again." Freddie gently placed his hand under her chin, slowly turning her head to face him.

"You don't think I'm like that, do you?" he asked quietly. Sam shrugged.

"My mom didn't think he was like that, either."

"Sam, you can't base your life off of what some guy did to your mom. I mean, what he did is terrible, but not every guy is like that. Some guys stay true to their promises." He looked deeply into her bright blue eyes that had been overcome with a devastating amount of sadness.

"I guess I just wanted to know I was able to do it on my own," Sam whispered. "I wanted to remind myself that I was strong enough to not need someone in my life. I wanted to know that I could still survive if you left me." Freddie cupped both of Sam's cheeks in his hands, gently stroking them with his thumbs.

"You forgot to account for the fact that I'd never leave you, especially when you needed me most."

"But that's the thing too…I didn't want you to feel obligated to stay with me just because I was…you know…" Sam couldn't get herself to say pregnant.

"I wouldn't feel obligated, Sam," Freddie assured her. "I'd be with you because I wanted to be; because I love you. Look at me." Sam trailed her gaze back up to Freddie's eyes. "I love you Sam, more than anything else in the world. A baby isn't going to change any of that. If you decide to put it up fro adoption, I'll be there to hold your hand every step of the way. If you decide to keep it, you'd better believe I'd show up at your doorstep with a diamond ring, and I'd be there through every phase of the baby's life."

"You don't deserve to have a baby ruin your chances of a future," Sam said quietly. Freddie shook his head.

"It would do just the opposite," he said, "because my future is you. No matter what I'm doing, whether it's flipping burgers for the rest of my life or working at the topmost computer security company in the world…as long as I'm with you, I'll be happy." Sam sniffed lightly as tears began to line the bottoms of her eyes. "I'll be there for you forever because I want to be, not because I feel like I have to be. No matter what you decide, I'll be there to back you up 100%." Tears began to trail down Sam's pale cheeks.

"I don't want to be pregnant, Freddie," choked out. "I don't want to go through all of this. I don't want to have a baby, or be a mom, or any of that."

"There's always adoption," Freddie said. Sam nodded, scooting closer to him and lying her head on his shoulder.

"Life is happening too fast," she sighed. Freddie wrapped his arms tightly around her, nuzzling his face gently into her hair, inhaling the scent of her shampoo.

"Yeah," he mumbled into her blonde locks. She looked up at him, cupping his face with her palm and placing a gentle kiss on his lips. He sighed in content, smiling as she pulled away. "I've missed you," he whispered.

"I've missed you too," she answered. He opened his eyes, looking back down at her. "You promise you'll always be there for me, no matter what?" she asked. He nodded intently.

"I would never, ever leave you," he assured her. She placed her head back on his shoulder.

"I'm not ready for all of this," she sighed sadly. He took her in a strong embrace once again.

"Neither am I."

A/N: So, sorry again that this took so long. I'm really glad you guys are still keeping up with it!! R&R!!!!!!

Xoxo~Liz-Beth