"Dad?"

My son's voice was timid, nervous.

"Yeah, Max?"

"Can we talk?"

It's generally not a good thing when your sixteen year old son says these kind of things. But it's Max after all. What's the worst thing he could have done? Forget to do the dishes?

"Sure, how about a drive?"

"Yeah, that works."

I tossed him the keys. He's got his permit now, he needs to practice.

We were on some old back road leading to nowhere when he finally said, "I screwed up."

"Come on Max. What happened? It can't be that bad. You can tell me."

"I kissed Sammy, Dad."

Samantha Beale- Eric and Nell's fifteen year old daughter. Of course.

"And?"

"And? Isn't that, like, bad?"

"That would depend on a few things."

"Dad."

I sighed. Of course this day was going to come. That's my boy.

"Is Mr. Beale going to kill me?"

I shook my head and laughed. "I'd be more worried about Mrs. Beale."

Max gripped the steering wheel tighter, not taking his eyes off of the road.

"What happened with Sammy, when you kissed her?"

"Her formal date stood her up. It was Mark, he's a real ass," Max said. "She didn't even want to go anyway. She only said she'd go because he asked her."

I squinted. This didn't make sense. He and Sammy were close, I knew that.

"Were you jealous?"

The car was dark, but I could almost make out a faint blush on his cheeks.

"Um, well, I mean, its not like I asked her or anything."

"But you didn't want her to go with Mark."

"No, I didn't."

I shook my head. "What happened next?"

"I was in the band room, cleaning up and putting stuff away from our last invitational, and she came in. She looked beautiful, Dad."

"Mmhm..." I hummed. My mind flashed to Kensi, after undercover ops, when she looked so pretty that I couldn't handle it. To when I was jealous of anyone who touched her. I understand what my son was going through.

"And she was just ranting about how mad she was that she got all dressed up and that he never showed up."

"Let me guess, you listened?"

"Of course I did. I was mad that someone would do that to her. Even though like, I want her," he paused. "Did I just say that out loud?"

I smiled and nodded. "Yes, yes you did." He kept staring at the road intently, refusing to let his emotions control him.

"I gave her a hug, and she told me how much I meant to her. And then, well..."

"You kissed her."

"I kissed her."

"Was she okay with that?"

"At first, I think she was. But then, like, we both started thinking about it, and all the stuff that could go wrong."

"Please tell me you didn't bail."

"We needed space, Dad."

I took a deep breath. "Do you love Sammy, Max?"

"She's my best friend. I'd do anything for her."

"Is she worth the risk?"

"There are a lot of risks."

"You're right. There are a lot of risks. That's what you have to figure out, Max. Your mom and I went through the same thing. We decided it was worth it, and it was."

"What do I even say to her?"

"I can't tell you that, either." I said. "Just say it from the heart. And mean it."

Max nodded slowly. I could tell he was still very conflicted, very scared.

"Thanks Dad. Do you think everything will work out, whatever Sammy and I decide?"

"You two have been inseparable since she was born," I said. "I doubt one kiss is going to destroy that. But I have a feeling it might strengthen it, though."

Max laughed, "I hope you're right."