Three Years Later

Sam stood under the shade of a large tree as she stared off at her two children a short ways away from her.

Today was the day.

It was her and Freddie's wedding day.

Today she was going to make the vow to spend the rest of the life with him, and she couldn't be more excited.

After their first year together, Sam knew her and Freddie would stay together. They were perfect for each other, after all. He made her feel like a princess and she kept him on his toes.

Still, Sam had never thought she'd marry him. She loved him, yes, but to put their love in such final terms would just make it hurt more if something were to ever happen to either of them. Sam was determined to never have to go through the pain of losing a husband again.

But on their fifteen-month anniversary, when Freddie took her to New York and proposed to her right outside the Broadway theatre on their way to see her favorite play, she suddenly knew she wanted to do it. She wanted to officially be able to call Freddie her husband. Because deep down she knew; living your life afraid to take a risk just wasn't worth it.

So she had said yes, and never once did she regret her decision.

Carly had dived right into the wedding planning, not to the surprise of Sam or Freddie at all. Kenna had helped too, though she, like Sam, did not have Carly's patience for spending entire days in dress shops.

Kenna still pursed her lips and crossed her arms whenever Carly was around, but for Sam's sake, she was civil. Sam knew there was no way the two would ever be good friends, but Sam appreciated that Kenna never talked bad of Carly in front of her or acted upset that the two had made up. And when Sam asked Kenna to be her maid of honor, Kenna had even insisted that she give the honor to both her and Carly.

And now here she was…exactly six hours away from being Mrs. Benson. Well, Puckett-Benson, at least.

Figuring it was only a matter of time before she began getting bombarded with phone calls demanding her whereabouts and whether she had even attempted to begin getting ready, Sam stepped over towards her two children, trying not to think about how much being in this cemetery crept her out.

Roxy and Liam were both sitting at the base of Aiden's tombstone. Roxy was reading the same storybook her and Aiden read to her every night before he died out loud, and Liam was intently listening.

Roxy and Liam both adored Freddie; both were more than thrilled to have him as their step-father. But both still liked to come here on occasion and talk to Aiden. Just this morning they told her that they wanted to go say hi to daddy before they began getting ready for the wedding.

Freddie knew, and he didn't mind. He had even taken them here himself one afternoon when Sam had been at the restaurant and they told him they wanted to go.

"They should remember their father," Freddie told her.

And Sam completely agreed.

"Alright you guys, we need to head out soon," Sam said, kneeling down next to her two kids. "I need to start getting dressed."

"It takes you that long to get dressed?" seven-year old Roxy frowned.

Sam smiled. "You know how complicated that dress is to get into? It's probably going to take me an hour just to figure out where the front is."

"Mommy?" three-year old Liam said, picking up the picture of Aiden Roxy always brought when they visited. "This is daddy?"

"Yes, that's your daddy, sweetie," Sam said gently. "You see how much you look like him?"

"Why did daddy never see me?" Liam asked.

Sam stroked his hair. She had talked to Liam about this before, but he was still too young to really understand. "I told you, honey, daddy died before you were born. Trust me, he wanted to get meet you so badly. He named you, you know?"

"Is Freddie my daddy now?"

"Step-daddy," Sam corrected. "Freddie loves you very, very much. He's going to take care of you and your sister just as if he was your daddy."

"Okay!" Liam smiled happily, hugging his mother tightly.

Sam chuckled. She knew Liam didn't exactly understand still. But one day he would.

"Bye-bye, daddy," Roxy said, getting to her feet. "I'll tell you about how my soccer game goes next time. I hope I score a goal for you!"

"Bye-bye daddy," Liam said, mimicking his big sister.

"Hey, guys," Sam said, looking over at the field next to the cemetery. "Look at all those flowers over there. Why don't you go get some so we can fill up Roxy's flower girl basket even more?"

"Cool!" Roxy exclaimed, running off towards the field. "Come on Liam, let's go!"

"I'm coming!" Liam yelled, trying to keep up with her on his tiny legs.

Sam watched the two for a moment, before turning back to Aiden's grave.

Usually when she took the kids here, she stood under the tree and watched until the end, when she would walk over, smile sadly, then say goodbye as she led the kids back to the car.

She never knew what else to do.

"Hi, Aiden," Sam said softly for the first time in what felt like centuries. "It's been awhile, huh? I haven't forgotten about you or anything, but I've just…I just never knew what to say."

She settled down onto the ground. "I miss you," she said. "I really do." She looked down at her lap. "But you probably know that-that…I'm getting married today. To that Freddie Benson guy I told you about once or twice. He's-He's a great man. He treats me right, he loves the kids, and they love him…"

"I just needed to move on," Sam continued in a whisper. "And I fell in love with Freddie. I know-I know you would've never wanted me to live the rest of my life alone and miserable. I wouldn't have wanted you to, either."

She sighed. "Look…I-I know there was so much more you wanted to do. You wanted take Roxy to her first baseball game. You wanted to see her first day of kindergarten. You wanted to scare the crap out of her first date and see her graduate high school and go off to college and dance with her at her wedding. And you-you wanted the chance to hold Liam, and see him take his first steps. You wanted to take him on that camping trip you dreamed about since they day you found out he was a boy and have that awkward talk with him about the birds and the bees and see him grow up to be a man just like you. And-And us…we were supposed to go to Paris for our ten-year anniversary. We were supposed to take those stupid couple's scuba lessons together. We wanted one more baby together. We were supposed to retire to Florida one day and live the rest of our lives on the beach with the dog we'd adopt to keep us company and entertain the grandkids when they came to visit. That's where we were supposed to end. But we ended so much earlier than that…it wasn't fair. It will never be fair, Aiden."

She looked back over at Roxy and Liam, still playing in the field. "Freddie will look after them for you. He'll be there for them. He'll threaten Roxy's first boyfriend and he'll have that talk with Liam. They need a father figure, and Freddie will be the best step-father out there, I know that. But…"

She gave a small fire. "I'll never let them forget their daddy. I'll make sure you live on forever in their hearts. They'll always know all about their father, and how wonderful of a man he was."

She slowly got to her feet. "I'm marrying Freddie because I love him. Not because I'm trying to force you out of my memories, because we'll always have those Aiden. I love Freddie so much, but I'll never forget the amazing seven years you gave me."

She sighed again. "I just wish I knew if you were okay with all of this…"

Suddenly, out of nowhere, a huge gust of wind came through the cemetery, blowing Sam's hair in all directions. She clutched her arms closer to her body. And then she heard the echo of Aiden's voice from years ago…

"The wind is nature's way of letting you know everything's okay."

Sam smiled and nodded. "Thanks, Aiden."

…..

"Okay, one more layer of lipstick….there! Perfect!" Carly beamed as she re-fluffed Sam's veil.

"You remember your vows?" Kenna asked, fixing the train of Sam's dress.

"Yeah," Sam nodded. "Yeah, I remember them."

"Mommy?" Roxy asked, playing with the hem of her flower girl dress. "Are you and Freddie going to kiss?"

Sam chuckled. "Yup."

"Gross!"

"You've seen me and Freddie kiss before, Roxy," Sam said, rolling her eyes.

"It's always gross, mom," Roxy replied.

"Try to not take too long walking down the aisle, Sam," Kenna smirked, resting her hand on her swollen abdomen. "Those of us who are eight months pregnant can't stand for a gazillion hours."

"I swear, you go into labor at my wedding and I'll kill you," Sam joked. "And don't worry. Have you seen the cake at the reception? I want to get there as soon as possible!"

"Yeah, yeah," Kenna laughed. "So, you're leaving for your honeymoon tonight. Any chance you and Freddie will come back with you carrying a new playmate for little Garry Jr.?"

"Maybe," Sam said simply. "You never know…And please tell me you're not naming your kid Garry Jr."

"Nah, it's just a placeholder," Kenna assured her. "Speaking of Garry, I'm gonna go find him. He has my stash of craving foods. Come on Roxy and Liam, we need to get you in position."

"Wait, one last hug before I get married, you two," Sam said, holding her arms out for her children.

As they ran into her embrace she kissed them both on their head. "Love you guys," she whispered.

When Kenna had taken the children, Carly and Sam were left alone.

"So how's Freddie?" Sam asked, taking another look at herself in the mirror.

"Nervous," Carly replied. "But the good nervous. I once read that if the couple isn't at least a little anxious before they get married, it's bad luck."

"Well is everything going okay out in the church?" Sam asked. "Is everybody here? Is the priest here? Did-"

"Sam, everything's fine, Kenna and I made sure of that," Carly said. "All you have to do is walk down the aisle and marry Freddie."

Sam smiled. "I guess I can manage that…Hey, um, thanks for all your help, by the way. I would've never managed to pull this together without you."

"Yeah, well, what are friends for?" Carly shrugged.

Sam held her arms out for Carly and held her tightly. "You're a really good friend, Carly. Know that."

Carly beamed as she wiped her eyes. "Thanks, Sam," she whispered. She straightened out her dress. "Well, I should go. The wedding's starting in ten minutes. You know what to do, right?"

"I've got it, Carls," Sam said.

"Alright, well, break a leg out there," Carly told her, giving her one last smile before turning and heading out the door.

Sam took a deep breath as she stepped off the stool in front of the mirror. Ten more minutes…Ten more minutes. She supposed she should go wait outside the church doors like she was supposed to.

As she poked her head into the hallway, though, she spotted Freddie coming out of the next room.

"Yo! Fredwad!"

Freddie spun around. "Sam!" he said. "Aw man! I'm not supposed to see you before the ceremony! It's bad luck."

Sam rolled her eyes. "You didn't see the dress, just my head. Besides, I'm not superstitious. And neither are you."

"Well…yeah," Freddie nodded. "But-"

"Hey, come in here for a sec," Sam said. "You can close your eyes so you don't see my dress and upset the magical marriage spirits."

Freddie laughed, but he still closed his eyes firmly as Sam led her into her dressing room.

"You look beautiful," Freddie said.

"You can't even see me," Sam scoffed.

"I don't need to," Freddie said.

Sam felt her face redden. "Jeez, if your vows are as cheesy as that, I might actually cry up there. And then Carly will rip you apart for making me smear my mascara."

"So what did you want to see me for?" Freddie asked.

"I just wanted to tell you I love you one last time before we're up there in front of all those people," Sam replied, gently taking his hands.

Freddie grinned. "Well I love you too, Sam. And I can't wait until we're husband and wife in just…"

"Nine minutes," Sam said. "Which means you probably should get to the alter. I know it would just about kill the King of Punctuality to be late for his own wedding."

"Yeah, it would," Freddie agreed. He turned to go, but then quickly spun back around and somehow blindly found Sam's lips and gave her a quick kiss.

"Our last kiss as just an engaged couple," he said. "From now on, every kiss will be the kiss of a married couple."

"Very sweet, but you smudged my lipstick, you dork!" Sam said playfully. "Now go so I can fix it before I walk down the aisle and make you tear up when you see how hot I look in this dress."

"I'll be looking forward to it," Freddie said.

Sam watched him leave, realizing how long even those nine minutes away from him were going to be.

And so once Sam's lipstick was perfect once again, Sam took a deep breath and stepped out of the room, ready to take start in the next great adventure of her life.

One that would now have Freddie in it.

….

AN-That's it! The story's officially over! Thanks again to everybody who read/reviewed/supported this story! You guys are all fantastic and you keep giving the motivation to write :)