So… this chapter has two different stories in it… The first one occurs maybe eight or nine years after the finale and the second one occurs the same year as the finale.
Enjoy!
==========AFTER==========
She can't remember the last time she came home from work to an empty house. She truly has no idea. She couldn't even begin to guess.
And while she would typically relish the thought of having a little time to herself, she just doesn't want to be alone right now.
After the day she had, she really just wants to see her family.
She has been glancing at the clock every minute for the past ten. Sam and Noah should be home any second and she just wants to see them. Right now.
It was Sam's day off today and since Lucy was at camp, he decided to take Noah for some "man time," as he likes to call it. She has no idea what they do during man time and he won't tell. She's even tried to bribe Noah on more than one occasion, but that kid can be even more stubborn than she is.
Finally, she hears the front door open and she quickly walks over to greet her boys. And when she turns the corner to find them in the foyer, Sam is carrying the sleeping child in his arms.
"Well, I guess he enjoyed his man time with Daddy," she says with a smile.
"Yep. Fell asleep the second I started the car," he tells his wife before leaning in and giving her a quick kiss. "I'll go put him in his bed," he tells her, when he pulls away.
"I'll come with," she offers before she follows him up the stairs to Noah's bedroom.
Ten minutes later, when they are in their own room, she wraps her arms around him and immediately buries her face in his shirt.
"You okay?" He asks.
She pulls away enough so she can look at him. "You're just… you're just a really amazing Dad and… an unbelievable husband and I… I love you so much," she tells him.
His eyebrows furrow slightly and he immediately begins searching her eyes while cupping her face with one hand.
It's not like she never says stuff like this to him, but the look in her eyes is telling him that something is off.
"What's going on?" He asks, pushing her bangs to the side so he can get a good look at her.
"Just a really rough day," she tells him with a sigh.
"What happened?" He questions.
She closes her eyes for a brief second and takes a deep breath, mentally preparing herself to tell him about her day. "Got called to a domestic…. this guy was beating his wife… really badly. Their eight year old son called 9-1-1 and when we got there, he and his sister were just sobbing and screaming at their dad. It was so awful. The woman was in such bad shape. Her eye was swollen shut and she had this nasty cut on her skull… it was just gushing blood… her entire scalp and all of her hair were covered… and on top of that, she had two broken ribs, a sprained wrist and bruises all over her body. It was… it was so bad, Sam… the kids were hysterical… the little girl was clinging to me and she was shaking uncontrollably and she was sobbing so hard that she was almost out of breath… it was horrible," she tells him and she's even got a few tears in her eyes as she relives all of it.
He holds her a little tighter and tries to soothe her by running his hand up and down her back. "I know, I'm sorry," he tells her.
She pulls away just enough to look at him and meets his eyes. "I just… I don't think I tell you enough how amazing you are and how ridiculously in love with you I am and that you're… you're just the best dad to our kids," she tells him. "I've just… I've never felt anything but completely safe with you," she tells him. "And I know Mya and Lucy and Noah feel the same way… every day you take care of us and love us and… and I'm just so lucky and grateful that I married you," she tells him.
He's a little taken back and he's not exactly sure what to say, but it doesn't seem like she's waiting for a response because seconds later, she's kissing him and pushing him onto their bed.
==========AFTER==========
When he wakes up to an empty bed and his alarm clock telling him it's eight o'clock, he's… confused.
Andy rarely gets out of bed without waking him up, whether it's accidental or on purpose, so he's rather surprised that he's alone right now. And the fact that he slept until eight o'clock… well, that's quite a feat considering that they have Mya this weekend and his daughter is nothing if not an early riser. At that realization, he glances over to the nightstand and notices that the baby monitor is no longer sitting where he left it last night. So yeah, he's fairly certain that Andy is up to something.
So, he gets out of bed and stretches a bit before making his way down the hall. He stops in Mya's room, but unsurprisingly, she's not sleeping in her crib, so he continues making his way down the hallway. When he turns the corner, he is instantly hit with an unbelievable smell. He definitely catches a whiff of bacon in the air, and there's a hint of coffee and maybe even omelets. So, Andy is making breakfast- a real breakfast. That's… unusual.
When he finally gets downstairs, he finds his wife in the kitchen wearing an apron and checking on something in the oven while Mya watches from her playpen.
He walks towards the two of them and when he gets to Mya, she immediately lifts her arms up, wanting him to hold her. He quickly scoops her up and rests her on his hip while he walks into the kitchen.
"Hey," he says to Andy, who is facing away from him and seemingly oblivious to his presence.
"Shit! Sam!" She exclaims as she puts a hand to her chest, obviously startled by his sudden appearance in the kitchen. "You're supposed to be sleeping!" She adds.
"I was. Now I'm awake," he replies. "What's all this?" He asks, gesturing to the breakfast she's making.
"I was trying to surprise you… was gonna make you breakfast in bed," she admits, apparently upset that the surprise is ruined.
"Well, we can still eat in bed," he offers with an amused smile.
"It's not the same," she argues.
"Andy…" He begins, making it known that she's being a little nuts.
"I just really wanted to do something nice for you since it's your first Father's Day," she explains.
Oh.
Yeah, he actually completely forgot about that. It's not exactly a holiday he's had to remember for the past fifteen years.
He offers her a smile before leaning in to kiss her. "Thank you," he says in between a kiss. "Why don't the three of us eat breakfast in bed together?" He suggests as he pushes a lock of hair behind her ear.
"Yeah, okay," she agrees, unable to hide all of her disappointment. She was just really looking forward to surprising him. She doesn't make fancy breakfasts like this that often and she wanted to see the look on his face when she woke him up with it.
He can see she's still not totally over her surprise being ruined, so he tries to appease her. "Hey," he says as he uses his finger to lift her chin so their eyes meet. "Thanks for making me breakfast… I love you," he tells her.
She smiles up at him and gives him another kiss. "I made your favorites," she informs him with pride.
"Mm… how did I ever land a woman like you?" He asks, grinning back at her.
Her smile widens and she stands up on her toes to press her lips against his. "Now, shall we move this party upstairs?" She asks, when she pulls away.
"Sure," Sam agrees with a laugh before the three of them make their way to the bedroom to enjoy their Father's Day breakfast.
After a couple trips, they are finally settled on the bed with their food. And while Sam starts to distribute the food onto their plates, Andy feeds Mya some Cheerios, which she gobbles up like always.
"Mya, do you know how lucky you are to have this guy as your dad?" Andy asks her as she hands her another Cheerio, while Sam looks on with a big smile on his face. Mya coos in response, eliciting some laughter from both adults. "I think she does," Andy says as she glances over at her husband.
Sam smiles at her and pulls her in for a deep kiss.
"Seriously, you really are a great dad," she tells him, when they pull away.
Sam continues to smile at her while grabbing her hand and bringing it to his lips. "I love you," he promises.
"Love you, too," she replies. "And happy Father's Day."
==========AFTER==========
Can I just say that it sucks we never really got to see Sam as a dad on the show… I think that's pretty much the number one reason I wrote After lol.
Anyway, hope you enjoy!
PS- I should be posting the last chapter for Expecting in the next few days, I'm just putting the finishing touches on it, so look out for that!
And don't forget to review!