It's 2.5 years after the Killer Tuna Jump, Sam and Freddie haven't spoken in a long time. When Freddie inadvertently reconnects with Carly, the two seem to be the perfect couple. Suddenly a certain blonde comes back into the picture and reveals that she has been intentionally avoiding him for a very big reason.

For adult readers, there's a prequel one-shot called iMade a Big Mistake (rated M) but reading it isn't necessary to this story. It's just a bit of lemony Seddie action to set this up.

Chapter 1

"Freddie, Freddie, Freddie!" Spencer Shay burst through the Benson's apartment door, instead of meeting his young friend, he runs into Marissa Benson, her with bright yellow gloves up to her elbows, holding a can of disinfectant in one hand and a toilet brush in the other.

"Do you even know how to knock?" She scolded him shaking the brush his direction. "And Fredward isn't here, he's still at school. Unlike some people, he didn't drop out of college to be a hooligan."

Spencer hung his head, his high nearly ruined by the verbal berating he received. He was turning to leave when Freddie walked in behind him, saving the artist from further torment at the hands of the middle-aged nurse who was lecturing him on cleanliness.

Upon sight of the younger man, Spencer grabbed him into the world's biggest bear hug. "Dude, she's coming home, she's coming home!" The tall, thin man shouted at the top of his lungs and hopped up and down, his arms still around Freddie, shaking him like a martini. "Can you believe it, she's coming home."

"Who's coming home, Sam?" Freddie asked short of breath. "Did you hear from Sam?"

"No, silly. Carly! She's coming back to me. My baby sister's coming home!" Spencer exclaimed.

"Hmph!" Mrs. Benson grunted, clearly unimpressed. "If you two will excuse me, I have work to do. The bathroom hasn't been disinfected since the day before yesterday." She hatefully spritzed disinfectant in the direction of Spencer's back as she walked past him, toward her hallway. "Hooligan!" She snarled under her breath.

"Wait, so, Carly's coming to Seattle. How long is she staying?"

"For good, man!" Spencer grabbed Freddie by the shoulders, shaking him again. "My-our dad got a new assignment. He's retiring soon, so the air force is letting him come stateside to finish off his career. He's going to be traveling around the country, fixing problems and training people at bases here and there. But Carly is coming back to Seattle to live, she's transferring into U-Dub as soon as this semester's over, so she'll be here in about two months."

Freddie just stood there transfixed at the revelation, secretly hoping that Sam was the one returning to Seattle instead of Carly. Sure, Carly was his friend and his first crush, but Sam held his heart, she had for years and he ached for her every day since he was in L.A. to visit her over two and a half years ago.

"You OK, there Fredd-o?" Spencer asked, seeing Freddie's expression.

"Um-ah, yeah, that's so cool, Spencer. We should have a party, I-uh, I guess."

"Darn right!" Spencer agreed. "Hey, I've gotta go, I need to get her room cleaned out. I kind of stored some art stuff in there and I need to start thinking about that party. Can you to make a list of all you guys' old friends from school who are still in Seattle? Oh, man, I've gotta call Socko and T-Bo and tell them. And let Gibby know, will you? See ya later, Freddo." And as fast as he entered, Spencer left, leaving Freddie to his thoughts.

"Yeah, uh, see ya later Spence." Freddie responded and sat down on the couch to think about his long lost love.

Freddie's POV

I can't believe it. I wonder if Sam knows Carly is coming home? Sam! Man, I haven't heard from her in so long. It's not like I haven't tried to reach her, either. I don't know what went wrong between us. We had a great time together, really reconnected when I visited her a couple of years ago. Well, at least we had a great time after I got out of the hospital. Stupid tuna. She showed me around town, we hung out, even went out a few times, we were a real couple again.

The night before I left, I guess that's where it all went wrong. I knew we were going too fast. I said I love you, she said it too, and we kissed for hours. Her room mate was away for the weekend and we ended up giving each other our innocence. I was hoping it wouldn't make things weird and for a while it wasn't, we called almost every day. We sent hundreds of texts, sometimes just silly stuff like little emoticon hearts or pictures of each other's lips.

Then after about a month things just got awkward for some reason, the phone calls got fewer and shorter, the cute little texts stopped and after a few months we didn't even talk at all. There was that one weird call when she acted all serious and told me she had something important to tell me, but then just ended up telling me that Melanie was going to UCLA and moving in with her since Cat was graduating high school early and leaving for Texas or somewhere.

Looking back, I know that was just a crock, she probably intended to tell me that she found someone else and chickened out. I should have went to L.A. to find out the truth for myself, but I know it would have really wazzed her off if I did. I'd rather have her not talking to me than completely hating me, thinking I'm some kind of stalker or something. I mean, I know the whole twin sister thing is just a pile of lies and the way she said it, it was like she just pulled the words out of thin air. I doubt Cat's even going to college, let alone leaving L.A. to do it. And that kid graduating early, yeah, right!

I am excited to see Carly, I guess. Years ago, it would have been totally different. I was so infatuated with her that I couldn't see who was really right in front of me the whole time. I really think after being apart for so long, I've sort of outgrown Carly. Who knows, maybe after we're around each other again, we'll reconnect. I doubt that we'll ever be more than friends, though. It took me so long to get over how I used to feel about her and I can't picture ever getting those feelings back.

Meanwhile in L.A.

"Mels!" Sam yelled from the bedroom. Her twin was in the kitchen making dinner for them and three children in their shared apartment. The sisters were, indeed, room mates and Cat was truly in Texas after graduating early, over two years before.

"Kinda busy here, Sam." Melanie replied, balancing a brown eyed little girl on her hip and stirring a pot of spaghetti sauce.

"Ugh. I can't find my phone!" Sam exclaimed coming out into the living room to see a little boy about seven years old and his younger sister fighting over the missing device. "Give me that!" She yelled and grabbed the phone. "I swear if you guys messed up my new phone, I'm gonna . . . "

"Sam, could you take Steph for a minute, so I can drain the pasta, please?" Melanie asked.

As Sam reached out her arms for the child, the blonde haired little girl let out a wail loud enough to wake the dead. "How about I drain the spaghetti and you keep the kid? It'll be more peaceful that way." Sam suggested.

"Looks like this one's going through the terrible two's a little early, she's only 22 months old. But I'll prefer to think she just missed me. Is that it, Stephie? Did you miss me while I was at my study group today?" She cooed at the child lovingly.

"I know very well how old she is, Mel. After all, I was the one who pushed the kid out of her hoo-hoo after twenty-six hours of labor." Sam cracked back before noticing the dastardly look her sister was now giving her. "Sorry, Sis. I don't mean to be short, but she's been such a handful today, for the last week or so, actually. I think you're right about the terrible two's. Or maybe she's having one of those growth squirts."

"Growth spurts, Sam. Listen, I know you must be going stir crazy, you haven't had any time to yourself in weeks. Heck, you haven't left the apartment except to go for groceries and stuff. Finals will be over soon and I promise, I'll stay here with Stephanie and let you have some time to yourself. Go to the beach, see a movie, whatever. Or I can take her out for a day and let you have the place all to yourself and you can get some rest."

"That's not necessary, Mels. After all, she's my responsibility." Sam replied with a frown.

"When you found out you were having her, I moved in with you to help. Sure, Cat was leaving for school and I hated the dorms so I was glad to have someplace else to go, but I love Steph, and you too, Sammy. Everyone needs a break." Mel smiled and put her hand on Sam's shoulder. "She has a father, you don't have to do this on your own, you know."

"Not this bullshit again!" Sam groaned and jerked away from her sister. "I've told you a thousand times, that's NOT an option."

"Look, Sam. I don't know Freddie like you do, obviously. But from what I know about him, he'll do the right thing, he'll help you with his daughter. She is his daughter, right?"

"For the hundredth time, Melanie, yes! Stephanie is Freddie's daughter. He's the only guy I was ever with and that was only once. And I know that he's the kind of guy who would drop everything and come here to do his part. That's exactly why I'm not telling him. He's smart, practically a genius, and he has a future, I don't want to ruin his plans, his life, with all this. This is all my fault, it's my problem to deal with."

"Sammy, it's not just your fault. He was there, too." Melanie reminded her.

"Yeah, I know he was there. I was the one doin' it with him." Sam cracked. "And he is not going to find out about Stephanie! Got it! I'll take care of her and keep him out of her life, just like Mom did with us, for all our sakes."

"You really don't have the right to keep her from him." Mel defended, her free hand on her hip as Sam dished up food for the two kids there were taking care of. "That's hardly fair to him, Sammy. I'm sure he'd love her as much as you do."

"Yeah, and you don't have the right to give me advice and I don't have the right to screw up Freddie's future. Blows doesn't it? Besides, what kind of life will any of us have if he drops out of college and comes here to take care of me and this kid? He'll be stuck in a dead-end, minimum wage job and I'll be babysitting forever. Maybe if we were lucky, we'd be able to afford a decent car or to send Stephanie to college if we save up for the next sixteen years."

"Soooo . . . you're saying you'll tell him after he graduates?" Mel asked hopefully.

"Uggh!" Sam flopped pasta in a bowl and began to cut it up for her daughter. "That's not what I said."

"Why not? After he graduates and gets a job, you can tell him because he won't leave college and wreck his future."

"Sure, Sis, that's a conversation I want to have with the only guy I've ever loved. Let' see, how would that go, now?" Sam put her hand to her head in the shape of a phone. "Ring, ring, hello, Freddie? It's Sam. You know, the first girl you ever slept with. I know I should have said something four years ago, but you remember that time we had sex? Well, you knocked me up and I've been raising your daughter and keeping her from you so you could graduate college. But now that you have and got yourself a decent job and have some money, I want you to drop everything and come here to take care of us."

"That's not what . . . " Melanie tried to defend, setting the toddler in her high chair and fastening the seat belt.

"Not happening, Mel." Sam put up her hand.

"You can't avoid him for the rest of your life, Sam. You guys have common friends, what happens when Spencer finds out and tells him about Stepanie, you've always said he can't keep secrets. Or what about when Carly gets married, she'll want both of you guys there, you know."

"Yep, but unlike Freddie, I have a twin who can take my place." Sam smirked as she started to feed the little girl. "You can play Sam and I can play mommy."

"Ugh, you're impossible." Mel threw her hands up in defeat and walked out of the kitchen. "C'mon guys, dinner's ready." She informed the two kids who were now wrestling around on the living room floor fighting over the TV remote.

I couldn't resist getting this one started. I've actually been working on it for about 3 months now and I hope everyone enjoys it as much as I've enjoyed writing it. And for those who are thinking it: No, it's not cool for Sam to keep the baby from Freddie, but it's being done for the sake of making a dramatic, angst ridden story.