Author's Note: I know. It's been a month since I've updated. Sorry for this. I'll explain why at the end of the chapter. Anyway, I also want to apologize for any and all grammar mistakes you may find in this chapter as you read it. I proofread this three times, and I know that there are more mistakes out there. Try to focus on the story and not the grammar in this chapter or you're in for a ride. Longest chapter I've ever written.

Chapter 20

"Well Freddie, I hate to admit that you were right when you said this to me last week," Jeremy told his friend as he and Freddie were taking a quick lunch break in the back room of Tips in Tech, "But it appears that my sales are going to be flat on this holiday week as opposed to last year." He shook his head as he sat looking at his store sales spread sheet from the past few days.

Freddie shrugged sadly. He wasn't hoping that he was right about this. He was hoping that Jeremy's store would do better for this Independence Day's week than it did last year. It didn't turn out that way though. The economy was beginning to weaken again just as it had done ten years previous. But at least this time it was more of a slowdown than a recession. It was nothing compared to the huge recession the country went through when he and Jeremy were finishing their high school years.

Freddie finished eating the sandwich that he had brought for lunch, and he and Jeremy got up from their chairs and walked back out to the sales floor to help serve the customers that were shopping in the store. Only the front cashier was watching the store while Jeremy and Freddie ate. Jeremy's regular sales clerk took the 4th off, and he offered to work on Friday the 5th. Freddie had no problem with switching his days to accommodate the other worker. Besides, this gave Freddie a three day weekend.

It was 12:45 when the two went back to work. Business was steady the remainder of the afternoon. People were in shopping for digital cameras and accessories for Pearpods, and Peariscopes. Jeremy had placed a sign at the front door on Monday letting customers know that the store was closing at 4:00 today. They had no problem with the store clearing out as the magic hour approached. Jeremy locked the main doors and began to work on the closing paperwork. He then sent his cashier and Freddie out the door a few minutes later once the store was all tidied up. Freddie wished his friend a good holiday, and he left the store and took off to his place.

When he reached his apartment, Freddie took a quick shower, and after he got dressed; called Sam to let her know he was on his way.

Knowing that Freddie was working on this Thursday, and the fact that he was working until four, Sam had offered to stay over at the restaurant and help cover dinner breaks for Jacklyn and Dana, who were closing on this 4th of July night. When Sam's coworkers finished their supper break, Sam took off for home so that she could get ready for her date with Freddie.

Working at Paula's Place and spending time with Freddie were pretty much Sam's life now, as June had come to a close, and July was beginning. Sam was determined to begin saving up money for a car so that she wasn't so dependent on Freddie or her other friends for rides. Sam was getting physically stronger by the day, and she was also much happier with the way things were going in her life right now than any other time of her life. She and Freddie tried to do things and go out when possible. Freddie treated her to nice restaurants at times, and they would often go bowling or mini-golfing to have fun. Freddie got online, and purchased tickets at Safeco Park on Saturday to see the Mariners play the Oakland Athletics. Baseball wasn't one of Sam's favorite things, but she wanted to be with Freddie, and she thought that maybe going to a real life game at a stadium would be a lot more fun than watching a game on TV.

Sam was also excited about some special news that her boss Mrs. Moore had announced to the girls earlier in the week. The business was doing so well now, that Mrs. Moore was going to hire a couple more part-time waitresses to help fill the work schedule a little. Despite other businesses around the area slowing down, Paula's Place was booming. The customer count for the establishment was among the highest Mrs. Moore had ever seen she bought the business 18 years ago. Mrs. Moore knew her girls were getting a little overworked, and she, too, was hoping that she wouldn't have to do a lot more days of having to help serve herself. She told the girls that two more waitresses will be starting on the schedule the week of July 15th.

When Sam got back home, she quickly got cleaned up and dressed for her and Freddie's date. The plan was to see the fireworks over Lake Union on the north side of downtown Seattle. The weather was perfect for today. The weathermen called for some passing clouds and for it to be slightly windy for the late afternoon and evening. Temps would be in the upper 70's. After Sam did up her hair and makeup, she sat down on her couch and turned on the TV while she waited for her boyfriend to arrive. It was almost 5:30 when Freddie knocked on the door.

"Sorry I'm late," he said apologetically as he came in, "traffic on the freeways is terrible today. Are you ready to go?"

"Now?" Sam asked cocking her eyebrow at him, "I thought we'd eat here before taking off for downtown."

Freddie looked at his watch. He shrugged. "Yeah, that's fine. We can eat here," Freddie nodded as he walked with Sam to her kitchen so they could decide on something to eat. "It's just that I wanted to make a stop along the way."

Sam was grabbing some plates out of the cupboard when she paused to look at Freddie, "Make a stop where?" She asked curiously.

"I kinda wanted to stop and visit Mom real quick. It's on the way." Freddie replied as he turned to face Sam as he spoke. He paused for a moment before he continued, "You don't mind, do you? I mean, I guess I can always…"

"No Freddie, that's cool," Sam responded trying to give him a small smile, "I told you that I wanted to go with you to see your mom the next time you went."

"Yeah, I remember," Freddie said as he started going the fridge getting the stuff they needed so they could eat dinner, "It's just that I should have planned to do this earlier, rather than wait and spring it on you today."

Sam just smiled at him. She set down the plates on her small counter, and walked over to Freddie. "You don't have to explain to me why you want to see your mom," Sam commented softly as she wrapped her arms around her guy and gave him a hug, "I think that this would be the perfect day to see her."

Freddie smiled back at his girlfriend, and kissed the top of her forehead, "Did I ever tell you how wonderful you are?"

Sam rolled her eyes and smirked, "Yeah, yeah," she said as she let go of Freddie and patted him on his stomach in an act of mischief. She blushed when she added, "Let's hurry and eat big boy."

Freddie just shook his head and grinned as he got back to work helping his woman with dinner. They ate quickly; then the two got in Freddie's car and drove to Lakeview Cemetery.

When they arrived at the cemetery, the place was beginning to quiet down from the visitors it received on this holiday. Many people had come out on this beautiful day to visit their deceased loved ones and to bring flowers for their graves. Freddie made a quick stop at a flower shop about a mile from the cemetery before he and Sam pulled up within a few hundred feet of Mrs. Benson's grave. The two got out of the car, and they walked hand in hand to the grave site.

Sam let go of Freddie's hand as he knelt down in front of the grave to set the flowers down near the tombstone. She watched quietly as she saw Freddie begin to speak quietly.

"Hi mom," he spoke quietly as he stared at the tombstone, "It's been about a month now, but I've returned to see you." He paused for a moment as a warm smile began to spread across his face. "And I didn't return here alone either," he continued, stuttering a little as he spoke, "I came back with my one true love, who's with me right now." He began having tears of gratitude fall down his face. "I'm with Sam again Mom," he spoke softly, "And I know that you helped me to find her too…I only wish that you were still with us to see this."

Sam had watched Freddie the whole time as he was addressing his mother. She, too, had tears going down her face as she watched him opening up his heart the way he was. Sam also felt like she needed to thank Mrs. Benson as well. For so many years, Sam had regarded Freddie's mom as some sort of a crazy overprotective monster of a woman. She couldn't help but laugh at Freddie and her every time she would make a fool out of Freddie. Sam would always mock Mrs. Benson and backtalk her any chance she got just to get a laugh.

But all that had changed when she began to date Freddie. A big part of the reason why she and Freddie had gotten together in the first place was because Sam had needed to escape her home life. As Sam's teenage years had gone on, it was difficult for Sam to even stomach going home for anything. Her mom didn't want Sam there at all, so Sam always tried to get over to Carly's place when it was possible, and pretty much spent as many nights there as she could. Spencer had never really minded much about Sam pretty much "living" with them. What bothered Sam a little was the fact that Spencer never questioned why she was always there. He sort of just went with the flow. This situation worked for Sam for a little while until Carly started to date James, who was the rebellious teen that threatened Freddie to back off from Carly. James didn't particularly care for Sam all that much either. He thought that Sam took a little too much of Carly's free time, and he tried to take Carly away from Sam by taking her out as often as he could. Sam was starting to see a change in Carly, and it began to affect their friendship a bit. What was worse was the fact that Sam didn't really have a place to go, and she had lost her best friend to confide in. Luckily for her, she would be able to find a new special friend to confide in. And that person would be Freddie. Sam had become very impressed with how well Freddie had been there for her through some tough times. At this point and time, she began to really look at Freddie more with her heart now. She was even hoping that they could try to make a boyfriend/girlfriend relationship work. Sam had always been hurt previously over the way that Freddie crushed over Carly. But with Carly out of the picture now, she knew that she would have a chance with him. She had even been surprised that it was him that asked her out when they began dating.

But now for Sam, it was trying to make amends with Freddie's mom. Sam had been afraid that if she and Freddie were to ever date that his mom wouldn't allow it. But Mrs. Benson warmed to Sam when she saw how happy Sam was making her son. Mrs. Benson even tried to help Sam out with her situation at home. Mrs. Benson even had phone confrontations with Sam's mom. She told Ms. Puckett that she was doing a terrible job when it came to raising Sam. After a while even Mrs. Benson got frustrated with the ways of Ms. Puckett and she began to let Sam stay with them on certain occasions. She would only allow it though if she was able to install a lock on Freddie's door to keep him locked in his room at night. Mrs. Benson was still very overprotective at this point, especially with Freddie having his girlfriend spend the night with them. Sam was very grateful to Mrs. Benson for what she did for her in the final years of high school. Near the end, she even began to call Freddie's mother "mom". Sam owed a lot to Mrs. Benson for the way she cared about her. This was why it upset her so badly that she didn't know about Mrs. Benson's passing five years ago. It hurt her that she missed the funeral and that she didn't get a chance to say good bye.

"I, too, wish you were here right now," Sam said softly as she knelt down next to Freddie, "I miss you as well. I'm just so happy that I have your son back in my life with me now."

Freddie turned and grinned softly at Sam. He wiped the tears from her eyes; then bent over to kiss her softly on the lips. "I know that mom is smiling from up above Sam," he told her, "I truly believe that she thought of you as the daughter she never had."

Sam's tears burned a little in her eyes as she reached over and hugged Freddie. The two held each other for a few seconds until it became too uncomfortable to hold one another while being knelt down. The two stood up and wrapped their arms around each other's waists. They stood quietly for a moment before they decided to walk back to the car.

As Freddie was about to put the keys in the ignition, he looked at his watch. "Geez," he stated, "it's already after 7:30?"

"Freddie," Sam responded somewhat alarmed, "we better hurry and get up to the lake before we don't have a place to park."

Freddie quickly started the car. "We'll get there," he replied as he pulled away. He had to travel rather slowly through the grounds of the cemetery, but once he reached the main road he began to speed towards the lake.

Lake Union was only about a mile from the cemetery. They had to cross over the I-5 freeway to reach it. The road to the lake wasn't too busy until they crossed the freeway; then traffic came to a standstill. Freddie grumbled as he tried to follow the slow traffic that was trying to find parking as well. Many of Seattle's finest were directing traffic onto side streets to find parking spots. Freddie continued to follow the pack of cars in front of him until all of a sudden they came to a stop.

Freddie put his hands on his face and rubbed his cheeks, "I wonder what's going on up there?" He mumbled. Sam was doing her best to wait patiently as well. She was trying to look out the window to see if she could see what was happening, but she couldn't see why traffic was stopped.

After about five minutes of waiting, the traffic very slowly went forward again. As they moved forward, Freddie noticed that there was traffic coming from the opposite direction towards him. The people in these cars looked rather angry. Freddie could even hear a few people grumble and cuss as they went by. Sam shook her head; she had an idea of what was happening.

"I'll bet the cops are directing traffic back this way Freddie," she said annoyed, "I'll bet there's no more parking up that way."

"Man," Freddie growled, "I think you're right." Freddie couldn't just do a U-turn in the middle of this street, so he continued to follow the line of cars up to where a bunch of policemen were standing blocking the road.

When Freddie finally got his vehicle to the road block, he stopped as a cop walked up to him. "Sir," the policeman said, "there's no more parking for the fireworks up this way. I'm going to have to ask you to turn your vehicle around and drive down Eastlake Ave and follow our detours over to the opposite side of the lake if you want to see the fireworks." The cop showed Freddie where he could do a U-turn so that he could go the other way down the street.

Freddie nodded, "Thanks," he said disappointedly, and he turned his car around and proceeded back down the street to Eastlake Ave. He looked at Sam who was sitting quietly in the passenger side with her arms crossed. "I'm sorry Sam," Freddie said to her softly, "I guess we should have left sooner from home…or from the cemetery."

Freddie was almost ready to turn onto Eastlake Ave, when Sam said, "Let's not go here to see the fireworks."

Freddie blinked his eyes in defeat. He felt like he just let her down. "You don't want to see the fireworks?" He asked.

"No, I want to see them," Sam replied, "I just don't want to have to spend hours afterward going through traffic to get home is all."

Freddie didn't have a choice but to pull onto Eastlake Ave. He figured he could just pull away from this detour if the two of them could make up their mind on something. "Where did you want to see the fireworks Sam?" Freddie asked her.

Sam grinned, "Don't you live on the third floor of a nice apartment complex near here?" She asked him.

"Well yeah…oh," Freddie replied. He just remembered something. "I forgot I have a view of the lake from my balcony. We should see the fireworks pretty good from up there."

"It's settled then," Sam said happily. "We'll see them from there."

Freddie grinned when he saw that Sam was happy about this plan. He saw that the traffic in front of him was getting detoured onto Fairview Ave which ran around the south side of the lake. But Freddie stayed on the road he was on. Eastlake Avenue ran parallel to I-5. As soon as he was able to get to a road that crossed the freeway, he turned onto that street and drove back to the Bellpeck.

"Freddie?" Sam said to him as they were nearing the Bellpeck.

"Yeah," Freddie answered as he took a second to look at her.

"Why is it that this is only the first time you've had me over to your place?" She asked him with a bemused look on her face.

Freddie turned a little pale. He really didn't have an answer for that. "I don't know," he replied uneasily, "I guess it was always easier to hang out at your place."

Sam smirked at him. "Just wondering is all," she said gently, "I thought that maybe your place was probably a true bachelor pad, and that it's probably a big mess and everything."

"Psst, whatever," Freddie snorted back, "for your information, I actually have my place decorated and I always keep it tidy and clean."

Sam chuckled at him. "I so enjoy getting you all wound up," she smiled, "and now you've really got me curious to see your place."

"Well you'll just have to wait until we get there," Freddie smirked at her as he continued to drive.

Sam continued to grin as she shook her head at him. She then sat quietly as Freddie approached the Bellpeck.

When they pulled into the tenant parking lot, the two got out of the car and walked through the lobby to the elevator. Sam was impressed at how nice a place the Bellpeck was. After about a minute, they arrived on the third floor, and Freddie led her to his apartment. He unlocked his door, and the two went inside.

"Wow," Sam said with awe as she began to look around the apartment. Freddie gave her a quick tour of his place. When he showed her everything, Sam punched him in the arm. "Ow," he said, "what on earth was that for?"

"Why do we hang out at my scrawny little apartment when we can sit here and relax in your huge luxury pad?" She asked him assertively. Freddie gave her a blank expression and just shrugged. She calmed after a moment; then continued, "You do have a very nice place here Freddie. I have to say that I'm impressed."

"Gee, thanks," Freddie smiled, "but hey, we need to get to the balcony soon to see the fireworks."

The two walked out to the balcony that overlooked the lake. They did indeed have a good view of the fireworks. The skies were darkening, but it was still too bright out for the fireworks to begin. The weather was starting to cool off as well.

"Did you want something to eat before the fireworks begin?" He asked her.

"Can you pop some popcorn?" Sam asked him as she continued to sit in one of the two chairs that Freddie had out on his balcony.

"Sure thing," Freddie replied as he got up to go inside. As he was about to walk back inside, he noticed that Sam was shivering a little. He smiled, "Would you like me to bring you a blanket as well?"

Sam smiled back at him, "Yeah, would you?" She saw him nod at her before he disappeared inside. She turned her chair to face the inside of the apartment so she could watch him get the things she requested.

He's such a good man; she thought to herself, he always does his best to come through for me in everything he does. I love him so much, and I know he feels the same about me. I enjoy being with him. I feel safe with him. And I know he wouldn't do anything to hurt me.

She paused as she began to think about this statement. She really believed that Freddie probably really didn't mean to hurt her when they were younger either. The prom thing was probably a misunderstanding, she thought, but I've got to know what happened that night. We have to talk about this if we're going to move forward in our relationship…and we're going to get this over with tonight.

When Sam saw Freddie preparing to return to the balcony, she turned her chair back around to face the edge of the balcony. She thanked him for the food and the blanket, and the two pushed their chairs next to one another. They took the blanket and wrapped it around them and they began to eat the popcorn. The fireworks soon began. The two sat quietly as they watched a dazzling display of lights fill the evening sky for the next 45 minutes.

As the lights and the smoke from the last firework disappeared from the sky, Sam got up from the chair and looked down to Freddie, "Hey, we need to talk," she said plainly.

Freddie gazed at her, "Okay," he replied somewhat nervously, "what did you want to talk about?"

"Let's go inside to your living room," Sam responded, beckoning him to follow her back inside. Freddie got up from his chair, and grabbed the blanket from their seats. He followed Sam inside as she led him to his living room. Sam took a seat on his couch while she motioned Freddie to take a seat in his recliner which was across from her.

Freddie lightly tossed the blanket that he had taken outside onto the couch before he took a seat in his chair. He stared at Sam, "Did I do something wrong?" He asked her.

Sam paused a moment to think about the question. "Freddie, you've been nothing but perfect since you came back into my life," she told him softly, "I haven't been this happy in my life since…high school."

Freddie had his suspicions about what Sam would want to talk to him about, but now he was beginning to get an idea of what this conversation was going to be about. He nodded to Sam, and smiled softly, "I'm glad you're happy Sam," he spoke quietly, "and I feel the same way too. Since I found you, I've never been happier either."

Sam smiled at him for a moment. Then her expression became serious and she said, "I want our happiness to continue. But I think if we're going to move forward in our relationship, we need to talk about what it was that happened at the end of high school that separated us in the first place."

Freddie nodded. "I've been thinking about that as well," he said, "I was actually always hoping that you and I could discuss this sometime."

"I just don't want to mess things up with you again Freddie," Sam said with her voice quivering a bit, "You're my life, and if I lost you again, well…I just don't want to think about it."

"Me neither," Freddie replied to her, "I want us to be together forever. But I, too, think we need to figure out where we went wrong all those years ago."

"Let me just ask you right out," Sam said to him as she leaned forward in her seat, "Do you have any idea what it was you did that upset and hurt me so much?"

Freddie closed his eyes a moment and tried to remember what he possibly could have done to set her off back then. He had an idea when this took place. "Sam, I wish I knew what I did to you that hurt you so," he responded opening his eyes and looking at her, "but I'm guessing it had something to do with prom night, am I right?"

Sam nodded sadly. She was hoping that Freddie could unlock that memory of what happened at the end of their prom. She was supposed to have had the best night of her life with Freddie, and it turned out to be her worst with him.

"I think the only way I'm going to be able to figure this out is if I tell you what I remember about the prom," he stated, "and if our stories about the night our different; then we can discuss these differences and hopefully figure out where everything went wrong that evening."

"You said a mouthful there Fredward," Sam grinned at him, "but I think it's a good idea. Why don't you tell me what you thought happened that evening?"

"All right then," Freddie responded. He sat back in his recliner, and began to tell his story. "I remember that I picked you up that night in a limo. I took you out to eat at Shili's before we headed off to the school…"

"Ah, Shili's," Sam muttered as she smiled. She missed going to that restaurant. She absolutely loved their food. She sat back in the couch and closed her eyes a moment as she thought fondly of her favorite meal. She opened her eyes though when she realized that Freddie had paused his story and was looking at her. "Oh, sorry," she said slightly embarrassed, "you were telling a story."

Freddie sighed and shook his head, "Anyway," he continued, "we joined the rest of our classmates in the auditorium for the big dance. I remember that it was very hot that night, and the place was very loud. We had that tribute band come to the school to play our favorite songs. We danced pretty much the whole evening until I started getting a bit woozy."

Sam was sitting quietly on the couch listening to Freddie speak. She would nod every once in a while to let him know that she agreed with everything he was saying. When Freddie spoke of being "woozy"; Sam thought to herself, Yeah, you and most of the school were getting drunk is a little more like it.

"You took a bathroom break while I went to get something to drink," Freddie continued his story, "Afterward, we danced for a while longer; then we took a break at the back of the gym. I remember as we were standing in the back of the auditorium watching our friends dance that you had tried to ask me something, and I couldn't hear you because of the noise. So I asked you to repeat what you were trying to tell me…"

Sam was now sitting up at the edge of her seat. This was the part of the story she was waiting for.

"…You repeated it to me, and so I went and got your drink for you," Freddie continued, "When I got back with your drink, you got all angry with me, and to this day I can't figure out why…"

He paused his story when he saw the weird look she was giving him. "Uh…Sam?"

Sam was perplexed. She was trying to comprehend what Freddie had just told her. He went and got my drink, she thought, I asked him if he wanted to have sex and he… "You did what now?" Sam asked him with a confused tone.

"I went to get you a drink, and…" he began.

"What drink?" She asked very confused.

"You asked me, 'Do you want to get a drink for me?'" Freddie responded, "I nodded to you, and I left to go to the refreshment table to get you what you wanted."

Sam stared at him for a moment. She thought about the whole sequence of events they were discussing and how Freddie mistook what she asked him. Suddenly she began to chuckle. Then she began to laugh out loud, "You thought I asked you to get me a drink?"

Freddie was absolutely dumbfounded. He had no idea what Sam was laughing at. I must have heard her question wrong that night, he thought to himself as he continued to watch Sam giggle, obviously she didn't want me to get her something to drink. "Well Sam," he said somewhat defensively, "I had a hard time hearing you because of the noise in the gym. Plus, it was hot. I thought that you were thirsty."

Sam's laughter finally subsided. She continued to smile at him, "I can't believe that's what you thought I asked you," she said, "and here I thought you had lost your mind that night…well." She paused for a moment when she realized that maybe he wasn't thinking very clearly because of the punch.

"All right Sam," Freddie said impatiently, "I give up. What did you really ask me?"

Sam got up from her seat and walked over to him. She knelt down next to him and said, "Freddie, do you remember what you and I were supposed to do later that night?"

He thought a moment; then he smiled, "I sure do. It was supposed to be the night that you and I were going to have our first…omigosh," he said smacking his forehead with his hand, "Were you asking me…"

Sam nodded gently. Freddie's head fell to his chest. Sam reached over and ran her finger through his hair. "Freddie, I asked you, 'Do you want to do it with me?'" she said softly.

Freddie continued to look down and shake his head. He felt horrible. He can't believe he misunderstood what Sam was asking him. She had wanted to leave the gym so that the two could go fulfill their first sexual experience and here he wanted to stay in that hot auditorium. He still couldn't quite figure out why Sam reacted so harshly to him getting her a drink though. "I'm so sorry Sam," he spoke to her as he raised his head to look at her, "I can't believe I ruined our special night and the seven years that followed."

Sam reached over and wrapped her arms around Freddie. She knew in her heart that a misunderstanding had taken place here, although she was still upset with him getting her that cup of punch. She still couldn't figure out why Freddie would purposely give her a cup that was laced with alcohol when he knew she hated it.

Freddie still had thoughts going through his head about why she reacted the way she did about him getting her a drink. He released Sam from the hug and simply asked her, "I guess I still don't understand why you freaked out when I brought you that drink. I was trying to do something nice."

Sam's mood began to darken, "Oh, so you thought that when you brought me that punch that you were 'doing something nice'?" She asked.

Freddie was really confused now. "What did I do that was so wrong?" He asked cautiously, trying not to provoke Sam's anger.

"Oh come on Freddie," Sam replied impatiently, "you knew how much I hated alcohol, and yet you decided to bring me that punch so that I would get all tipsy…and…"

She stopped her train of thought as she saw Freddie face turn white while she spoke. She shook her head at him to get him to come out of his trance, "Freddie?"

"That punch had alcohol in it?" Freddie asked in a voice that was barely above a whisper.

"Yes, Fredward," Sam replied, "did you forget about the punch being spiked?"

Freddie continued to look at her palely, "Sam," he said softly again, "I didn't know there was alcohol in the punch."

"Freddie," Sam retorted, "everybody knew that the punch was spiked. I found out about it when I went to the ladies room and saw…"

Sam stopped for a moment and began to play the flashback of her meeting with Gibby near the ladies room.

"Has anybody told Freddie yet?" Sam asked concerned. She didn't want Freddie to be intoxicated tonight, because she had something special planned for later.

"Not that I know of," Gibby replied as he was almost to the exit, "but I'll tell him when I get back in, I promise."

"You better, Gibby," she said disgusted with him. She then hurried to the ladies room to freshen up.

"Oh my gosh," Sam said softly. It was starting to make sense now. A certain somebody was supposed to have told Freddie that there was alcohol in the punch. She was getting the impression that maybe that person didn't tell Freddie. "Freddie," she said softly to him, "did Gibby ever come talk to you…about a certain something?"

Freddie shook his head cautiously, "I hardly saw Gibby that night," he replied to her.

Sam pursed her lips together and nodded, "So, he never came up to you that night and told you that he spiked the punch?"

"Gibby spiked the punch?!" Freddie exclaimed. He puts his hands on top of his head. "Gosh, no wonder I wasn't feeling like myself that night." He paused for a moment as he reflected on the events of the evening now that he knew that he had been intoxicated the latter part of the night. "I was always wondering why my mother was so angry with me that night when I got home. She could smell it on my breath. And…oh Sam, I brought you the alcohol to drink…no wonder you reacted the way that you did."

Sam reached over to grab Freddie's hands that were still on top of his head. She took his hands in her hers and held them, "Freddie, from my viewpoint, I thought that you were wanting me to join you in getting drunk before you and I had our first time together. I couldn't understand why you would've wanted to do that to me considering that you knew how much I hated alcohol."

"And that's why you didn't want to speak to me about it afterward," Freddie said somewhat sadly. "I can't believe how badly I messed things up that night."

"Freddie, it wasn't your fault," Sam said trying to give him a small smile, "it was a terrible misunderstanding. I only wished that I wouldn't have shut you out and I had given you the opportunity to tell your side of the story."

Freddie facial expression began to brighten. He pulled Sam's hands towards him and he kissed them tenderly, "I wished I would have had the chance as well. But you wouldn't give it to me. You were so stubborn back then."

Sam's eyes grew wide. "Stubborn?!" She exclaimed with a broadening smile on her face.

"Yeah, stubborn," Freddie responded with a smirk. In a quick move, he let go of her hands and he reached for her waist. He pulled her into the recliner with him, "But that's why I love you so," he said smiling.

"You better love me for more reasons than that dork," she snickered and buried her lips onto his in a passionate kiss. The two made out for a moment before Freddie released the kiss.

"So," he said with a grin, "you were trying to ask me something at the end of the dance, and I couldn't hear you the two times that you asked me. Am I right?"

Sam looked at him puzzled. She thought a second; then she smiled. "That's right," she said grinning, "You didn't hear me at all the first time. And you didn't get me what I wanted the second time. So?"

Freddie softly and methodically ran his fingers through Sam's hair as she continued to sit on him in his recliner. "So…" Freddie replied with a goofy look on his face, "I was wondering if I could have another shot at answering your request?"

Sam blushed. Her heart was beating very quickly inside her chest, and her hands began to sweat. But she looked Freddie in the eye calmly and asked, "First, tell me why I should give you another chance?"

"Oh," Freddie replied softly as he began to reach forward and kiss Sam on the neck, "because I think…" he spoke a few words at a time because he was busy nibbling on Sam, "…that since…I can hear…you more clearly now…that I might…be able to…answer your question."

Sam moaned softly while Freddie was doing this, but when Freddie finally quit speaking; she pulled him off her neck and held his face in front of hers. "Okay," she spoke gently, "one last time…Do you want to do it with me?"

Freddie looked at her with a straight face when he answered, "I thought you'd never ask."

Sam looked at him wide eyed again. "Why you…omigosh," she began when she was suddenly lifted up off the chair. Freddie, with a burst of strength, boosted himself and Sam off the recliner. He was able to hold Sam in his arms the whole time. Sam squealed in his arms and bent over to kiss him again. Freddie kissed her back. He began walking towards his bedroom carrying her and kissing her on and off. After a few moments he entered his bedroom and he tossed Sam playfully in his bed. She lay there smiling patiently as he got ready to pounce on her in the bed. Now the real fireworks were happening. Never in either of their wildest dreams did they expect their first time to be like this.

The event that took seven years in the making for Freddie Benson and Samantha Puckett finally took place.

A/N #1: Remember, this story is "T" rated. I'm not about to cross over to an "M" rated story for one scene. I believe most of us have an imagination so I figure everyone can guess what happened next.

A/N #2: I feel bad about the next thing I'm about to tell you, but I want to stay truthful to the readers that have followed this story from the beginning. Some circumstances have come about in my life right now (and the past month) that is forcing me to temporarily suspend this story. As most of you know, my wife is about to have a baby here in May, and she's been off work since February because she's having a difficult pregnancy. I've also been informed a couple weeks ago that I'm going to be laid off my job in June. I'm also going to be moving to a different shift starting next week until the time I'm laid off. Needless to say, the last thing that has been on my mind right now is writing. I feel bad enough that I can't get this story updated fast enough to hold people's interest, so I've decided to stop the story at this point until I'm able to finish it. I plan to write about six or seven more chapters. Right now it's just a matter of when I'll be able to do it. Maybe when I'm laid off I can work on it, I don't know right now. Anyway, I will not update this story again until it's completed. So if you see Chapter 21 uploaded, I will be sending daily updates of each of the remaining chapters until completion. Again, I am so sorry for this, because I know that there are a lot of you that have really enjoyed this story. But I have to be fair to you, and tell you what is happening and why. I pray that I can finish this quickly, but I don't want to set any kind of a date as to when. Lastly, I want to say that you guys have been awesome, and very, very kind. Thank you! - kwags74 (4-3-09)