A/N - Sam may seem a bit out of character in these, but I think overall she was very out of character in Sam and Cat, or maybe she just changed as a person. I've always thought Freddie makes her act completely different anyway! Enjoy!

Friday came just as quickly as Sam expected it would. Freddie texted Sam to tell her he would be arriving at the airport at 12pm, so would arrive at Sam's for about 12:30. Sam texted him back a simple 'Ok', but it was more than simple, really, as it was the first time she'd replied to a message of his since the tuna incident.

When Freddie arrived at 12:35, Sam made Cat answer the door, but did stand behind her and wait. "Hey, Cat." Freddie said, noticing her first. "How are you?" He looked around the apartment before noticing Sam stood behind Cat, looking at the floor.

"Sam." He said, putting his bags down as Cat closed the door behind him. "It's so good to see you."

"Don't you start with that." Sam said, looking at him, but avoiding his gaze. "I'm still mad at you."

"I know, Sam and I'm so sorry that I-"

"Stop." Sam said, turning away and starting to walk towards the kitchen.

"Sam-"

"Look, you're here to fill a purpose, we need you to live here for a few weeks just so the apartment manager will get off our backs, and then you can go. You're not here to get forgiveness."

"But Sam if you'll just listen-"

"No!" Sam stressed, walking through to the bedroom.

"Sam!" Freddie turned towards Cat.

"She's just like that sometimes." Cat said weakly.

"Trust me, I know." Freddie said. He walked over to his bags and took out a carrier bag, checking what was inside before taking it towards the girls bedroom. "Wish me luck." He said. he didn't wait for Cat's reply before going in. He saw Sam sat on her bed, staring at the wall.

"What do you want, dork?" Sam rolled her eyes.

"I just came to-"

"There was no need for that in there." Sam cut him off.

"For what?"

"For the apologies. I know you're not sorry."

"I am sorry! It was the biggest mistake of my life!"

"But it's all fake, Freddie, I know your game. You're just doing this for Carly."

"Carly has nothing to do with this! It's about you, Sam. I want to be close to you again. I've missed you." Freddie sat down next to her on the bed.

"Well, who's fault is that?" Sam rolled her eyes sarcastically. "If you even try to blame me I swear-"

"I'm not going to blame you. It was completely my fault that we fell apart. I left you Sam, and it was the worst decision I've ever made."

"But why would you do it? I sat in that restaurant, Freddie, for two hours waiting for you to show up. Two hours! I looked like an absolute weirdo, and when I realised you weren't showing up I cried for hours on a bench. You were such an idiot and I absolutely hate you for it." Sam said, tearing up. Freddie handed her the plastic bag which was next to him. She gave him a confused look before peeking inside to see her favourite ham from Seattle - the most expensive one from Hank's Hams, and a cardboard box which had the Galini's Pie logo on top. Sam looked back up at him.

"You have every right to hate me - heck, I hate me." He pulled her into a hug, thankful that Sam let him. "If you want to know why I did it, I can tell you. However, I know you won't like the answer. Please don't let it change anything between us." Freddie was starting to tear up himself. He started to stroke Sam's hair. "I was afraid to fall even deeper in love with you."

"You love me?" Sam asked, wiping her tears.

"I do, Sam, I really do. I've loved you forever. When I told you I loved you all those years ago, I meant it. And I still do. Meeting up with you when I thought you were hurt… I was so worried. I knew that as soon as I saw you I was going to fall in love with you even deeper. Sam, what I did was so selfish and so cruel and it was the worst decision of my life. But I knew I was going to fall hard and I knew you were completely over me. I thought it would make you angry that I wasn't over you… and I just wanted you to be happy. I still do. And I thought making you happy meant leaving you, so you could continue being happy with Cat and find a boyfriend who was way cooler than me… and just be happy." Both Sam and Freddie were in floods of tears by now.

"Oh, Freddie." Sam sobbed, hugging him harder. "I never got over you… that's what I wanted to talk about at the restaurant. I appreciate why you did stand me up… but it was still a stupid move okay? And I'm still in the process of forgiveness. You really, really hurt me, Freddie. It'll take me a while to be back to normal with you… but I will be eventually. Please just give me some time… and please don't fall out of love with me in the process."

"I promise I'll always love you." Freddie smiled, holding her at arms length and stroking her cheek. "Always."

"Thanks, Freddie." Sam whispered, breaking eye contact and looking at the floor. "I'm sorry I'm being awkward."

"Oh, Sam, you're not being awkward. I hurt you so bad and I'll never forgive myself for that. You're taking it quite lightly, actually. I'm not in hospital, am I?"

"Not yet you're not." Sam laughed, standing up and then pulling Freddie up. "Come on. I'm hungry."

"I'll put some of this ham into a sandwich."

"Thanks, Freddie." Sam looked at him in the eyes one last time and give him a kiss on the cheek. "Ham here we come!" She grinned, skipping out of the room. Freddie blinked slowly, in awe of her.

"She's gonna be the death of me." He whispered to himself.

When Sam re-entered the living area, Cat noticed her brighter mood. Sam flicked on the kitchen light and went to the fridge, pulling out the ingredients for the sandwich. "Someone's a happy bunny!" Cat commented, this was the brightest she'd seen Sam in weeks.

"I'll tell you about it later!" Sam grinned.

"Woah, someone's a very happy bunny!" Cat corrected herself, pleased that Sam seemed happy.

"Do you want a ham sandwich as well?" Freddie asked Cat.

"Ohhh, yes please!"

"Make mine first." Sam commanded, flopping down on the couch.

"I wouldn't do it any other way, Princess Puckett."

Freddie continued to make the sandwiches until the three of them were squashed up on the couch stuffing their faces. "This is just as amazing as I remember it!" Sam grinned. She hadn't had one of these since the two of them were dating (he'd brought his special sauce from home as well) so it was bringing back some amazing memories… and she loved it. She even was so love drugged by the sandwich than she rested her head on Freddie's shoulder. She realised her mistake soon enough, but didn't want to make it seem like an accident, so she left it there, ignoring Cat's raised eyebrows that she was trying to make look suggestive.

"So what's the plan? I mean, I know why I'm here, but what do I need to do?"

"Not much." Sam said. "The manager is coming tomorrow to check that there's an over 18 living with us and to meet you. You just need to act like you're all settled in, we had the box room converted into a spare room so you'll be staying in there. You need to say you're staying here and that we'll let them know if you decide to move, those kind of things."

"Okay then."

"He's coming at midday." Cat said.

"How long can you stay for?"

"Quite a while." Freddie replied. "I told my mum I was staying in a hotel. She knows I'm visiting you, and I told her I was also gonna look at the Tech college, which I am."

"You are?" Sam said, taking her head of his shoulder and looking at him.

"I am. It's a really good programme."

"I thought you wanted to go to NYCU." Sam said.

"Yeah. I've got accepted there, as well at Seattle and a scholarship St. Louis. But, I've been offered a scholarship at the Tech college in LA if I can pass their little test that they do. I'm going next week to take it and have a look around."

"I didn't even know you wanted to go here." Sam said. She was shocked.

"It's a really good programme, and the accommodation is great as well. And, you know, I'd be closer to you."

"Yeah." Sam said. She smiled, and could feel herself starting to blush for the first time in a long time.

"You're okay with it?" Freddie asked.

"Yeah." Sam repeated, still not really looking at him.

Cat grinned at the pair, who were acting like she wasn't even there, not that she minded. "Hey, I'm just going through there to call someone." She said, before heading to the bedroom. She went onto splash face and called Carly.

"Hey, Carly." She said once she picked up.

"Hey." Carly said. She was happy that Cat had called - she'd done nothing but worry about Sam since their last call. She didn't like it when Sam was unhappy, and being so far away really didn't help as she felt like there was nothing she could do about it. Having a newfound friendship with Cat could help them be closer again - and help her to keep an eye on Sam. "How's Sam?"

"She seems good. Like, really good."

"Oh? That's great!"

"I haven't seen her this happy since before Freddie came to visit the first time."

"Has she been upset since then?"

"She really hasn't been herself."

"Right."

"Freddie came about noon, and she was all angry then, like straight away. But then they both went into our room, and were in there for quite a while, talking or whatever. But then Sam came out and seemed really happy, and so did Freddie. Sam was almost bounding out of the room - and then when we sat down on the couch, she put her head on his shoulder! Like practically snuggling him!"

"No way!" Carly said, excited. "So, does it seem like she likes him?"

"Oh, definitely. Even though she tells me daily she hates him."

"Yeah, she likes to do that." Carly said. "I think a lot of the time it's like she's convincing herself rather than telling you."

"Right." Cat said.

"I feel like I've missed out on so much." Cat said. "I moved to Italy to be with my dad but leaving Sam and Freddie meant that we're really not as close as we used to be. I do regret it sometimes."

"I'm taking care of Sam for you." Cat said. "And now we're friends I can help you stay closer to her."

"I guess so." Carly sighed, still upset. "What's Sam doing now? And Freddie?"

"I left them on the couch talking about Freddie's colleges and stuff."

"Can I talk to her?"

"Sure." Cat walked through to the other room. "Sam, Carly's on the phone."

"Have you been telling her stuff again?" Sam asked. It was much harder to hide stuff from Carly than it was from everyone else. They just had that special connection. She didn't want Carly asking questions about her and Freddie again.

"No." Cat said.

"Yeah, right." Sam shook her head. She took hold of the phone. "Cat, show Freddie the room. Get settled in and stuff."

"Alright." Freddie said, giving her a big grin. Sam pulled a face at him to stop herself smiling back. She walked through to the bedroom for privacy. "Hey, cupcake." She said to Carly.

"So, tell me. What happened?" Carly asked excitedly.

"Shay, I've literally just got on the phone with you. Tell me how you are. How's your day been?"

"Sam, this is about you. What happened?"

"What do you want to know?"

"Everything!"

"Well, my name is Sam Puckett, I was born on-"

"Sam." Carly warned.

"Fine." Sam took a deep breath. "Freddie arrived around noon. Basically, I told him off for apologising to me when he came in because he was being fake. He told me he wasn't and that he meant it. It led onto him explaining why he abandoned me at the restaurant and how it was the worst mistake of his life and blah blah blah…"

"Sam, I know there's much more to the story than that."

"I can't remember!"

"Yeah right."

"Well… He told me he was in love with me… numerous times… and that he hated himself for what he's done to me and our relationship. I told him that I was still in the process of forgiving him. I maybe kinda made him promise he wouldn't fall out of love with me though."

"Sammy!" Carly squealed. "You're so in love with him!"

"Er, no I'm not." Sam denied. "He hurt me, Carly."

"But you love him. You might not know it now, but you do. You two are going to have the perfect wedding and perfect kids and the perfect house and… awww I'm so excited now!"

"You've officially been banned from calling me or Cat" Sam declared. "I'm blocking you."

"No!" Carly protested. "You can't do that!"

"Carly."

"Sam."

"Carly. Stop."

"Nope. Hey, I might even call twice a day if I'm going to get juicy gossip! "

"So close to blocking you!" Sam warned.

"Fine. But this conversation isn't over."

"It really is!" Sam sang.

"I'm assuming you've had enough for now though. Don't worry, you can get back to Freddie straight away."

"Shay! I'm hanging up on you now." Sam said, before following through with that. She laughed as she thew the phone down onto the bed next to her. Carly really was a piece of work, but it was lovely to have her back.

A/N - Please review!