The next morning, Sam was released from the hospital. Carly had agreed that she could take the day off from wedding dress shopping, though Sam knew it was only a matter of time before she came over with a stack of catalogues.

"Do you know the number of a good doctor you can start going to in New York?" Freddie asked as him and Sam sat in his old bedroom at his mom's apartment. "Did you like the doctor you went to when you were pregnant with the twins? Do you still have that number?"

Sam didn't respond. She was sitting on Freddie's old bed as Freddie bounced around the room like an eager child.

"And maybe we should start looking for a bigger place, too," Freddie continued. "The apartment's going to be way too cramped with five people living in it. We can start going through ads when we get back home."

"Freddie," Sam sighed. "Freddie, I have to-"

"Oh, and I hope you don't mind, I think it's best not to mention this to my mom until after the wedding," Freddie went on. "I mean, she's always wanted a grandchild, but getting one out of wedlock might waz her out a little, and I'd rather not deal with that if we could avoid it."

"Freddie," Sam said again. "Listen, I need to talk to you about-"

"And we'll have to start researching top-notch preschools right away," Freddie said, clearly not hearing his fiancé. "I hear you need to get a spot on a waiting list before you even have the kid nowadays. Crazy, right? And we should-"

"Freddie!" Sam said loudly, finally causing him to fall silent. "Stop, okay? I-I need to talk to you."

"What is it?" Freddie asked, his voice full of concern as he sat down next to her. "Do you not feel well? Should we get you back to the hospital?"

"No," Sam said softly. "No, it's not that."

"Then what's wrong?" Freddie asked. "Talk to me."

Marshall was always a subject Sam avoided bringing up at all costs. She had never sat down and told anyone the full story about their relationship, or what had happened between them. But now she didn't have a choice.

She took a deep breath. "You-You know about my ex-boyfriend," she said shakily. "The girls' father?"

Freddie frowned. "I mean, I know of him. You-You've never really mentioned him before. I know you don't like to bring him up. Er, why are you bringing him up?"

"He's been in jail for the past ten years, I've told you that," Sam said quietly. "I think the girls figured that out too. I don't know. I've only told them that he left, but, well, they're smart. But anyway, the reason he was in jail was because…he got really drunk one night…it was the night I found out Leah was sick. He came home and he tried to get me to sleep with him. But I told him to get lost…and he started yelling, and I yelled back and then-then he stabbed me."

"He-He what?" Freddie exclaimed. Anger boiled up inside of him. How dare anyone lay his hands on Sam? His Sam.

"Shh," Sam said. "Anyway, he got arrested for that. I made sure he had to give up all custodial rights to Kira and Leah. The only time I've had any contact with him since then is when I went through his parole officer to see if he could get tested to see if his kidney was a match for Leah. He only did that after he was promised a reduced sentence time if he was. Obviously he wasn't."

Freddie's eyes slowly traveled down to Sam's shoulder, where the faint scar of that night remained.

"You didn't get that from work, did you?" he said softly.

Sam shook her head. "No."

"Sam," Freddie breathed, pulling her close to him. "I-I'm sorry you had to go through that. I really am. Believe me, if I ever had the chance to get my hands on that guy…But that's all done now. We're going to be married in less than a month. We're going to have a baby. All that is in the past now."

"No," Sam said shakily, squeezing her eyes shut. "No, it's not. Freddie, Marshall's getting released from prison. In fact…today was his release date."

Freddie stared at her. He had never seen Sam like this. She looked positively terrified.

"I found out a week ago," Sam continued. "And-And I went to the courthouse, to make sure that when he got out, he couldn't touch the girls again. But-But he's already filing for his parental rights back. I know he doesn't care about the girls. He's doing this because he knows it will kill me."

"He-He can't do that, can he?" Freddie asked.

"He must have one good lawyer," Sam mumbled. "I just don't know what he's going to do. Marshall he's…he's very good at getting what he wants. But he's dangerous. I'm afraid he'll do something to Kira and Leah. Or-Or once he finds out I'm pregnant…Oh, God, I don't know."

"It's going to be okay," Freddie said, but only because he knew that's what he was supposed to say. In all honesty, he didn't know what to do. Sam was the toughest person he knew. If somebody could get her this worked up…

"I won't let him hurt the girls," Freddie said firmly. "Or the baby. Or you. I promise."

"You don't know Marshall, Freddie," Sam sniffed.

"But I do know that you guys are the most important things in my life," Freddie said. "And I'll do whatever I have to in order to protect you."

…