Chapter 7

Freddie stretched out his arms and rubbed his eyes, feeling them start to blur after staring at his laptop screen for too long. He looked over at Charlie, who was lying in her playpen while he worked. She was so quiet and well behaved now, it was hard to believe that she was the same baby whose crying and screaming had put him and Sam through hell a week ago.

After eight days of constant crying, Sam had broken down and told Freddie to buy the probiotics the doctor had prescribed. He had gone out and bought the medicine and while he was at the drug store, a brown stuffed bear with soft fur caught Freddie's eye. On a whim, he bought it for Charlie. It was a little big for her still but he figured that she would grow into it. When he got home he placed the bear beside Charlie in her playpen. She stopped crying and looked at it curiously.

Sam had been utterly relieved to get a break from the crying. She looked at Charlie and then at Freddie. "Don't tell me that all this time all she needed was a freakin' bear?" She exclaimed.

It wasn't. Charlie eventually resumed her crying fit and they had to give her the medicine. It did help and she began crying less over the next few days, though Sam still refused to leave her. It took another week for the crying fits to stop and for Charlie to go back to a normal sleeping pattern. After another visit to Dr. Evans to make sure everything really was okay and to get Charlie a vaccination that she needed, Sam and Freddie finally went back to their normal schedules.

Charlie had developed a fondness for her bear though. She couldn't hold it or cuddle it yet but she liked having him beside her in her crib and playpen at all times. Freddie's chest couldn't help but swell with love as he watched Charlie. It still surprised him, the depth of love that he could feel for this little baby. He sometimes thought about what she'd be like, a year from now, five years from now, or fifteen years from now. She'll be gorgeous, just like Sam. He'd have to get a baseball bat to chase the boys away. On the other hand, Sam could be intimidating and scary enough for the two of them. All he'd have to do is keep their fridge well stocked with butter.

Freddie couldn't help but chuckle at his thoughts. He was probably getting too far ahead of himself. He turned back to his laptop and was just getting back to work when a knock came at the door. He got up and answered it.

"Hi!" Carly smiled up at him.

"Hey Carls," he said, stepping aside to let her in.

"Is Sam home yet?"

"No, but she should be soon."

Carly dropped a few bags on the couch and walked straight over to Charlie. "Hello…hello there," she cooed, bending over to pick her up.

"So, what brings you over?" Freddie asked.

"I just brought something for Sam and I wanted to check on Charlie here," she kissed Charlie's cheek. "The colic is gone?"

"Yeah. She's perfectly healthy, the doctor says. So I guess 'say hi to Freddie' is nowhere on that list, huh?" He joked. "Sam and Charlie get all the visitors, I'm just the invisible baby minder."

"Oh shush you," Carly sat down with the baby on her lap. "Maybe if you didn't keep moving all the time, people would know where to find you. Spencer said you moved out? Did you find an apartment?"

"Uh…Sort of." He scratched the back of his neck and sat down beside her.

Carly looked around and her eyes took in the suitcases and bags stacked against the wall beside the TV and the pillows and blanket on the love seat.

"You've moved in with Sam?" She asked disbelievingly.

"Well, I sleep here in the living room."

Carly shook her head. "Freddie, why don't you just tell Sam how you feel?"

He leaned back against the couch and put his arm over his eyes. "It's not that simple."

"Really? Because you're living together, you're raising a child together, so silly me for thinking the next step might just be actually getting together. Seems pretty simple to me."

"You know how Sam is! Sometimes I think we're getting pretty close to…But then she puts a wall up and I have to back off before she closes herself off completely."

"She's just scared," Carly said. "Now that she has Charlie she's afraid that you'll bolt when you realize you don't want to raise a kid that's not yours."

Freddie looked at her. "She said that?"

"Well, no, not that way. But I know Sam. Her mind is operating on the assumption that you're going to leave eventually. She's just keeping herself prepared for it, trying not to let you get too close."

"That's crazy! I love her…I'm in love with her. How could I ever leave her? Or Charlie?"

"Her dad left, Melanie left, her mom might as well have left. It's all she knows, Freddie."

"Then what am I supposed to do? How can I convince her that I'm not going to leave?"

Carly rubbed one of Charlie's hands, pressing her lips to her head. "Just keep doing what you're doing, I guess. Whether Sam realizes it or not, she's depending on you a lot. She's letting you be Charlie's father, practically. And if she can keep trusting you with Charlie, maybe she'll figure out that she can also trust you with her heart."

Freddie took Charlie's other hand and gazed at her tenderly. "She feels like my daughter, is that crazy? Every day I keep thinking of her more and more as my baby. I can't wait to see her grow up, to see what she grows into, but I'm also terrified. Sometimes I want her to stay this small forever. And you know, even if Sam's not in love with me, even if she decides one day that she wants me out of her life, I don't think I could ever leave Charlie."

He brought her hand up to his lips, kissing her little fingers. When he looked up Carly was smiling at him.

"I think you should tell Sam that," she said.

Before he could say anything, the door opened and Sam walked in, bags in her arms. Freddie got up and took them from her and she caught sight of Carly.

"Carls!" She grinned. "Hey! I didn't know you were coming over."

"I came by to give you something and to see Charlie," she kissed the top of Charlie's head and held up one of her hands, making her wave to Sam.

"I'll just go put this in the kitchen," Freddie said.

"Set the table too," Sam called out as he retreated. "You're going to have to share your food."

She sat down beside Carly and took Charlie. "My baby…" She cooed, giving her an Eskimo kiss.

"It's like she gets bigger every time I see her," Carly said.

"I know. Who knew babies grew so fast?" Sam asked, cuddling Charlie to her chest.

"That's why I thought you should have a way to preserve the memories," Carly said, reaching into a canvas bag beside her and taking out a large purple album. She set it on her lap so that Sam could see the cover, which had a picture of Charlie on it and underneath, written in glittery letters was 'Charlie's Baby Book'.

Carly opened it to the first page, which was blank. "Normally, the ultrasound pictures and hospital bracelet would go here but since you don't have that, I thought you could paste a copy of Charlie's birth certificate here."

She turned the page to two more blank pages. "I didn't know if you had any early pictures of Charlie that you might want to put here so I left this blank too."

Sam pressed her cheek to the baby's head as she leaned in to look at the book. She thought of the pictures she took on her phone when she came home after Freddie's first time baby-sitting Charlie. "Yeah, I have some," she said softly.

Carly smiled. "Good. Now we get to the actual pictures." She turned the page and at the top was written 'Charlie's First Month'. Pictures from the party decorated the next few pages and Sam's heart stopped when they got to the page that was filled with pictures of Sam, Freddie, and Charlie that they took with the cake. They looked like a real family. Anyone looking at these pictures that didn't know them would think they were looking at a mom, dad, and baby, albeit a really young mom and dad. Sam felt an ache inside of her, a desperate wish for it to be real and she pressed her nose into Charlie's hair.

"I thought that we could keep putting pictures of Charlie in here as she grows up," Carly said.

"It's great, Carls," Sam said honestly. "Thank you."

"Come on and eat you guys," Freddie called from the kitchen.

"Can you bring Charlie's carrier?" Sam asked Carly, pointing to where it was sitting on the love seat.

Carly picked it up by the handle and followed Sam to the kitchen, where Freddie had set the breakfast nook table that he and Sam hardly used themselves. The table was round and the seat curved around it, just like some of the booths at Gibby's. Freddie took the carrier from Carly and placed it in the apex of the u-curve of the booth, right between himself and Sam. Carly sat on the other side of Sam at the edge of the booth and Charlie was placed inside of her carrier.

Sam played with Charlie, tickling her tummy, making faces at her, while Freddie loaded her plate with two steaks and a baked potato. Carly watched them, it was obvious that this was a ritual for them and she couldn't help but smile at how cute they were. She and Freddie split a container of carbonara and had a breadstick each.

Freddie asked about her classes and about Ian and Carly caught them up on what was going on with her but half her mind was on observing Sam. She had seen Sam with Charlie before but not for an extended period of time when Carly could really see what she was like in 'mom mode' and it was a sight to behold. Sam, who would once have devoured the two steaks in five minutes flat, now took periodic breaks from eating to coo at and play with Charlie. Every time Charlie so much as gargled, she immediately had Sam's full attention. Carly was sure that if the baby was big enough and able to eat solid food, Sam would be feeding her off of her plate. Sam, who never shared her food. But Carly was pretty sure that Sam would chop off her own body parts for Charlie at this point.

She and Freddie had both finished their food before Sam finished one steak. Freddie got up and came back with a platter of cookies and Charlie's bottle. Sam took the bottle from him and fed Charlie while he took her plate with one steak on it and the half eaten baked potato. Carly's eyes widened and she shook her head at him frantically, knowing how Sam got about her food.

"It's okay," he said, smiling reassuringly at her. "I'm just going to set it aside and she'll eat it after she puts Charlie to bed."

Carly took a cookie and watched Sam as she fed Charlie, bent over the carrier and stroking her hair while murmuring softly to her. It really hit her then. Sam Puckett, reformed juvenile delinquent, meat lover extraordinaire, former web show host, current small business owner, her best friend in the whole world, was a mom.

Wonders never ceased.

Sam was buried in paperwork, it was one of her least favorite things about her job but such a necessary part of it. The orders for supplies had to be made, after all, and pay checks had to be signed. But it meant that she was stuck at the desk in her office for pretty much her whole day at work. After signing the last piece of paper in her stack, Sam threw her pen down and stretched her arms over head. She had just decided to visit the kitchen for a few minutes when her door, which was half ajar, was pushed open and Abby came in carrying a picnic basket.

"Hey, Sam, this was delivered for you," she said, placing the basket on her desk.

"From who?" Sam asked, even though she already had an idea.

Abby shrugged. "It was a delivery service."

"Thanks, Abby," Sam said distractedly and the girl nodded and left.

She opened the basket and took out the items one by one. Several packages of Bolivian bacon, an entire ham, and underneath were colorful brochures that had preliminary designs of what the branches of Gibby's would look like. Yep, it was a bribery package courtesy of Garrett Anderson.

Sam sighed and sat down again, taking the envelope she had found at the bottom of the basket and pulling out a card. In Garrett's neat script was printed:

Sam,

I know we didn't get off to a great start but I do hope you've read the paperwork I gave you. I know you probably think I'm an arrogant jerk but to be honest, I'm a bit intimidated by you. I just wanted to make a strong impression and now I think it was too strong. Please, just give me another chance? I'd really like to explain the details of this to you in person.

Give me a call, anytime.

Yours truly,

Garret

She rolled her eyes and tossed the card onto her desk. The truth was, she had read the papers Garrett left behind. And on paper, it all sounded pretty amazing. Instead of just managing this one restaurant, Sam would be a consultant to Garrett's company and oversee all of the branches. Gibby's would be taken care of, the company would bring in private and corporate sponsors and put its stocks on the market. She'd have an insane salary for doing much less work than she does now and she'd get to travel to visit the other branches. It was an opportunity that Sam's classmates at Culinary school were only dreaming about at the moment.

But it was selling out. Sam wasn't naïve, she knew what Gibby's would become with time if it became a money making franchise success; another overpriced, uniform establishment with terrible food and employees that hated their life. Two months ago she wouldn't have even considered it. Two months ago she would have ripped up the papers and wouldn't have given franchising or Garrett Anderson another thought. Two months ago she didn't have Charlie.

Charlie was a game changer in Sam's life in so many ways. And one of the biggest was the financial aspect. She had been doing fairly well in that department since graduating high school but babies are expensive. There were the daily expenses of diapers, formula, and clothes and it wouldn't be long until Sam would have to be thinking about putting Charlie through school and even saving for college. She was determined that Charlie would want for nothing, that everyday she'd wake up with the certainty that she'd always have a roof over her head, food on the table, electricity, and hot water. All the things that Sam couldn't afford to take for granted when she was young because she was never sure if she'd wake up and still have it. She'd rather see Charlie grow up like Carly, innocent and wondrous but still able to stand up for herself, rather than like herself, hardened and jaded outside and constantly afraid on the inside.

Charlie would have everything that she didn't and if franchising was going to give Sam the ability to provide more for her then she had to least consider it. She picked up Garrett Anderson's card and dialed the number.

"Okay," Freddie said, walking into the kitchen with Charlie on his shoulder. "She is all burped and ready for bed. Say goodnight, Charlie. Goodnight…" He murmured, bringing her close to Sam.

She brushed back Charlie's hair and kissed her cheek, whispering goodnight to her as her eyes sleepily closed. She watched as Freddie walked down the hall and into Charlie's bedroom before turning her attention back to the task at hand, which was cutting up pieces of beef.

She tried not to think about her phone conversation with Garrett Anderson and that she had a meeting with him in two days. If she did then she started to feel guilty about selling out her restaurant and she tried to convince herself that she hadn't made a decision yet. Just because she was willing to hear Garrett out didn't mean that she was going to do it. She had to explore her options, after all.

"Hey," Freddie said from behind her. "You okay?"

"I'm fine, Fredward," she answered, picking up the knife and resuming her cutting. "Why?"

"I don't know, you've just seemed distracted since you got home. Something on your mind?"

"Nope," she said, popping the 'p'.

He stood beside her. "What are you making?"

"Just trying out this recipe for Mongolian Beef."

He raised an eyebrow. "Adding Chinese food to Gibby's menu?"

"No, Fredweird. I just feel like making something, alright?"

"Alright," he said slowly, looking at her. "Can I help?"

She rolled her eyes. "Fine, grab the other big knife and a chopping board."

"Those words coming out of your mouth would have sent me running and cowering under my bed when I was thirteen," Freddie quipped as he took out those items and positioned himself beside her at the counter.

"You really want to talk about how much of a wuss you were back then, Benson?"

He laughed. "I guess not."

"I mean, not much has changed…"

"Hey!"

She stuck her tongue out at him and he grabbed a large piece of beef, laying it out on his board.

"So how do I do this, Chef Sam?"

"You cut it. I think even you can manage that."

He started cutting and Sam watched.

"And apparently not," she said. "Not like that! You'll ruin the meat."

"How can I ruin the meat?" He exclaimed.

"You're going to make it all tough and chewy. I'm not making beef jerky here."

Sam put down her own knife and moved closer to him. She flipped his meat over. "See this?" She pointed to the lines embedded in the beef. "You have to cut against the grain, that will make the meat tender."

Freddie tried it again and it was better but still not what she wanted. "No no," she put her hand over his and positioned it in the right way. "Cut it diagonally, like this."

She guided him in cutting the meat, only realizing after a few minutes how close they were. Sam looked up over her shoulder to see Freddie watching her instead of their hands, his face so close to hers. She suddenly became aware of her hand on his, their arms pressed together, electricity shooting out from all the points of contact, making Sam feel tingly all over. His face was only inches away, she looked into his eyes and felt like she could drown in those chocolate depths. Then they closed, and he was moving closer.

Sam jumped, moving back and away from him. Freddie's eyes opened.

"I-I…don't think we should…" She stammered.

"Oh," Freddie said, hurt in his eyes.

"It's not a good idea, Freddie."

"Why not?" He challenged.

She closed her eyes, pushing her knife and chopping board away from her.

"Why isn't it a good idea, Sam?" Freddie asked again.

He moved closer to her and when Sam opened her eyes, she realized he had her trapped between him and the counter behind her, his arms on either side of her. He was close, dangerously close, the faint smell of his cologne mixed with baby powder and the scent that was uniquely Freddie was making her dizzy.

She struggled to come up with an answer to his question. She struggled to even remember his question. She couldn't think with him this close.

Sam turned her head, trying to clear it, and caught sight of Charlie's pacifier in the sink. It was just one of the many things in this apartment that gave away the fact that Sam's life was anything but normal. And no matter how much she tried, Sam would never be normal. And she was starting to be okay with that. If she was normal then she wouldn't have a restaurant because only a crazy person would have tried to open a business at her age. If she was normal then she wouldn't have Charlie because it's crazy for a nineteen year old to raise a baby that's not even hers. She wouldn't trade the life she had now for anything. But Freddie? One day he's going to want a real family, with a wife and a baby that's really his.

"We-I…I can't, Freddie," she said.

"Why not?" He pressed.

"We've already done this and it didn't work…"

"We were young then and we made mistakes." He cupped her face. "My biggest mistake was letting you go and not fighting for us."

Sam fought back the lump in her throat. She'd been waiting so long to hear him say that. She forced herself to pull away, to get some space from him.

"Things have changed, Freddie. I have Charlie and I can't risk ruining what we have now. You know what we're like. The fighting, the arguing…what if we break up again and we can't be around each other anymore? Charlie's already so attached to you. I don't want her to lose you."

"Sam, I'm not going anywhere, ever. I love Charlie so much. More than I thought possible. I couldn't possibly leave her. Or you. What can I do to make you believe that?"

"I don't know," she told him honestly. "I'm just not ready yet."

Freddie moved closer and took her hands in his. "Then I'll wait until you are. I've got time. I l-"

She put a finger to his lips, cutting him off. "Don't say it, please," she begged. If he said it, she wouldn't have the strength to turn him away. She barely had that strength now.

Sam moved forward and hugged him. Because he's wonderful and everything she'd been dreaming about for far too long now. And she wished she could believe him. Her heart wanted to but her mind was telling her that she wouldn't survive losing him. So she held on tight, it was the best she could do at the moment.

Sam blinked back tears as she sliced onions, her eyes stinging. She knew that she didn't have to do this, she'd had three of the chef assistants offer to take her place, but she liked worked with her hands and having the distraction of doing a simple, manual task in the kitchen. It cleared her mind and helped her think, something she desperately needed after her conversation with Freddie a few days ago.

Things had gone back to normal between them, their routine was still in place, and Freddie was as loving and attentive with Charlie as ever. But Sam felt like she'd climbed down another rung of hell. It was getting more and more difficult to be around him, knowing how he felt and what he wanted from her. She wanted to give in, to just fall into his arms and kiss him. Every night she watched him fold out his sofa bed and was tempted to drag him back into her own bed. Her body burned with desire, her heart yearned with love, but as always her brain held her back.

There was once a time when Sam plunged on headlong into things without thinking through the consequences. She'd been an adrenaline junkie since she was young, always wanting to go faster on her bike, climb higher on trees, shoplift just because she could. She relied on her emotions and gut feeling more than her brain. But since carrying Gibby's on her shoulders and being responsible for thousands of dollars of investment and for the employment of fifty six people, Sam had changed. She couldn't just think of herself anymore, she had people relying on her. People who went to school or had families to support. And now she had Charlie as well, a little helpless being who was also relying on her. The days when Sam could simply throw caution to the wind and do what she wanted to, when she wanted to were well and truly over now.

"Sam."

She looked up to see Diane, one of the waitresses, standing next to her.

"Your mom is here," she said. "I took her to your office."

Sam sighed. She'd forgotten it was that time of the month. "Thanks Diane," she said, putting her knife down.

She made her way out of the kitchen and to her office, not particularly looking forward to this but needing to get it over with.

"Mom," she greeted curtly, walking into her office to see her mother sprawled out on the chair next to her desk.

"Hiya Sammy, who is that waiter out there with the fine ass? Wanna hook me up?"

Sam rolled her eyes and sat down behind her desk. Pam Puckett never changed. She opened her top drawer, took out a fat envelope, and slid it across the desk.

"What you came for," she said. "Don't harass my employees on your way out."

Pam took the envelope and pulled out the money, not bothering to count it before rolling it up and stuffing it into her bra. Sam thought she'd leave then but she just sat there, chewing her gum.

"So I heard Melly had a kid," Pam finally said.

"You're not seeing her."

"Who said I wanted to see the rugrat? I just find it funny is all, if I had to place bets on which one of my girls would get knocked up early, my money would have been on you, kid."

"Yeah, I know. Everyone in Seattle would have bet on me. And look, you all would have lost."

"But you still wind up with the kid," she taunted. "Yep, Melly always was the smart one."

Sam glared at her. "You got your money, mom. Now get out."

Pam ignored her, simply leaning back in her chair and crossing her legs. "So who takes care of the baby when you're off being career woman here? Carly?"

"Carly's at school," she said flatly.

"Don't tell me it's that boytoy of yours?" She grinned widely. "The one with the camera? The one you didn't want to admit you were mooning over? You got the poor sucker playing daddy now?"

"It's none of your business."

Pam laughed hollowly. "Oh Sammy, let me give you a piece of advice…"

"When did I ever listen to anything you have to say?"

She wagged her finger. "This time I know what I'm talking about. Men are all the same."

"Yeah, thanks mom, that's really wise."

"Let me finish! Men run out, that's what they do. Look at your dad, look at the babydaddy that knocked Mel up. They all ran."

"You're wrong, mom. Not all guys are like that."

"Maybe not," Pam allowed. "But we Pucketts tend to choose the runners. And from what I remember, that boy of yours is a smart one, he has a future ahead of him. You really think he's going to want to be your nanny forever?"

Sam gripped the edge of her desk tightly. How was it that her mom could be involved in her life in the smallest amount possible and yet still know her fears exactly?

"And you know I love both you and your sister but let's be real here, if Melanie couldn't get a guy to stick around, what chance do you have?"

Sam kept her face blank, trying not to show how her mother's words affected her even as they stabbed her through the heart.

"But you know what? You did a good thing, Sam, taking the baby. It was a nice thing to do for your sister even if you just ruined your own life. So good luck with that."

"Gee, mom, that means so much," Sam said, venom dripping out of her voice.

Pam winked at her and stood up. "Say hi to my granddaughter for me." She turned around at the door. "God, my granddaughter," she shuddered. "Makes me sound old. Eh, no one needs to know about her."

She walked out the door, not bothering to close it behind her. Pam Puckett, always the charmer. Over Sam's dead body would that woman ever be allowed to be involved in Charlie's life. Sam stood up and got back to work, trying not to think about what her mom said about Freddie. But the words nagged at her, twisting and tying itself in ugly knots around the fears and insecurities that were lurking in the back of Sam's mind.

A/N: I am really really really sorry for the long wait! It's been a crazy past couple of weeks, what with finals, graduation, my parents coming to visit from the Philippines, plus my whole family being here for Memorial Day weekend. Not to mention this was a particularly difficult chapter for me to write, a lot of serious conversations that needed to take place. I'm still pretty busy because my parents will be here for a month and I have an exam at my new school coming up on Saturday. But I'll keep writing when I can.

In the meantime, follow me on Twitter! heartlines12 :D Also, read the stories of these fantastic authors...

Read

~The CABAL~

annierocket aussiemma axel100 BaalRulesbeforeskylines BoxOfTrinkets Braxenimos Coyote Laughs Deviocity Dwyn Arthur FMellark heartlines iCarlyAngst JamesTheGreater KeyLimePie14 KingxLeon21 Moviepal Myjumpingsocks ober22 Pieequals36 Pigwiz pearlbutton328 PsychoticAppleSauce rebeccaofsbfarm Rhiabrey Skye seddiefan2009 sidouxamer Spinlight Tech-Man ThatSamGirl TheWrtrInMe Twowritehands User1-FlynnK Virgoleo23 Waffels Of Doom WhiteKnightro WildPomegranate xXACCEBXx

From fluff, to face melting angst.

The Cabal authors produce the best.

Follow us on Twitter: iCabalOfficial

Find us on fanfiction net: iCabal