"The horses"

A scruffy-headed shirtless boy skipped into the hallway leading to the living room. He couldn't have been more than 6 years old, but young Gibby Gibson Jr. had a question to ask. The room contained his parents, Carly and Gibby Gibson Sr. Across from them sat the Bensons. Freddie Benson sat on the hardwood floor as his wife, Sam, indulged on a whole ham above him. He was giving her a foot rub in the process due to the 9 months of swollen ankles she bared through.

"Your due date's a week from today, right?" Carly inquired while drinking a can of peppy cola. Junior peered around the corner and watched the adults.

Freddie had answered for her, seeing as how Sam's mouth was too full of meat to answer her best friend. "Yup, although Sam's family and mine has a history of delivering late" He turned to his fully-occupied spouse and narrowed his eyebrows. "I don't think I can deal with a pregnant Sam longer than 9 months. She'll probably kill me like she's threatened to this whole month."

Sam had swallowed her ham in time to add a witty reply to that. "That's not a threat, Benson. It's a promise." Freddie chuckled and kept on laughing. Junior took this as a cue to ask his question now.

"Child alert." Freddie pointed to the child who was wearing nothing but his light blue floral bathing suit from swimming with his baby sister, Gabby, earlier.

"Hi mommy, daddy, Uncle Freddie, Aunt Sam." He waved to all of the adults politely. They all smiled and waved back.

Carly patted her lap. "Come here sweetie." The youngster ran over to his mom and nearly jumped into her lap. She greeted him with a kiss on the cheek and wrapped her arms around him. Gibby reached over and messed up his hair more than it already was.

"Is Aunt Sam gonna eat that whole ham!" He exclaimed. Freddie nodded.

"You gotta remember, Junior, she's eating for two." He kissed her calf and continued her foot massage. Moans of pleasure escaped Sam's mouth. The corners of Freddie's face festered up a smile followed by a slight laugh.

Junior's face narrowed. "Two?" Freddie sat back and realized what kind of pickle he'd just gotten himself into.

"Yeah, she's having a baby." Gibby said, nearly saving Freddie's butt. Freddie breathed a sigh of relief.

"Where do babies come from?"

"Boy, you are full of questions today." Gibby said between clenched teeth and a fake giggle. "Carly, wanna explain that to your son?"

Carly stuck her tongue out at Gibby before turning Junior so she could see him face-to-face. "Sweetie, remember when we had Gabby, and my stomach got really big? She lived in mommy's tummy until she was ready to be born. When she was ready, a magical stork came and she was born!"

Sam started laughing on the love seat perpendicular to them. "Carls, you really think he's gonna believe that? Look kid, babies are made when people have s-."

"SAM!" Carly, Gibby and Freddie yelled simultaneously as Carly covered his ears. "He's only 6. Keep it PG, Puckett." Carly pointed an accusing finger. Sam pointed back. Freddie just shook his head, thinking about when their kid asks this question.

"Then name's Benson now." She slowly retracted her hand. Carly uncovered Junior's ears.

"Freddie, remember that little chat we had at school that one time?"

Freddie scrunched his eyebrows together. "Oh, the one about Gibby's por-."

"Not that one! The one about the animal channel and…the horses." She said the last part in a whisper.

"The horses?" Sam and Gibby looked at each other, confused as Junior was.

"What about horses, mommy?" Junior asked.

"Well..U-Uncle Freddie can probably explain this better than me, Freddie?"

"You were the one who told me this story." He whisper-yelled. Carly dismissed him with a hand gesture as he started telling the story.

"Well, Junior. When they want two horses to…date." He stifled out a giggle, almost losing focus. "They put them in the same barn together…and turned the barn light down…." He completely lost it then. Good thing he was already on the floor. Sam gave him a swift knock in the head before turning so she could put her feet up on the opposite arm of the couch. Sam gave him the 'you're-not-my-husband-if-you-ever-do-that-in-public' look. Carly just glared.

"As you Uncle Freddie was saying…after the barn lights get turned down, the horses see if they really like each other." Freddie's laughter had come to an end.

Sam butted in."Then they have se-."

The 3 of them shouted "SAM!" again.

"Ok, parental trio." She mocked.

"You're about to become a mother and someday your kid's gonna ask where babies come from. Watch, and learn the right way." Carly said. Sam just rolled her eyes and laid back on the couch.

"And when two horses really like each other, they decide to have a baby horse."

"They have to like each other?" Junior asked. Carly and Gibby nodded their heads. "But what about Uncle Freddie and Aunt Sam? They hate each other."

"We don't really hate each other. It's just a game your Aunt and I play, watch." He turned to face Sam who was licking a jar of nutella clean. "Hey, Sam. I loooove you."

"Go jump off a bridge." She mumbled coldly with her mouthful for the umpteenth time that day.

"Annnnd then there's those pregnancy hormones." He fake-smiled. "Mmm. Gotta love 'em. Sometimes she's like this, other times she-." He got cut off by Sam turning his head towards hers and planting a nice, long, nutella-flavored, kiss on his lips.

"Grabs me out of the blue and kisses me." He finished his statement.

"That's how we first fell in love." Sam said. Junior nodded and began to look like he understood.

"You understanding this better?" Gibby asked with his arm around Carly. The child nodded and bounced off his mother's lap.

"Yeah, I think so. Thanks!" He ran off flailing his arms and screaming into the hallway: "Hey Gabby, guess what! Babies come from horses!"

This caused the adults to uproar in laughter. Freddie helped Sam sit up so he could sit with her. They intertwined hands on the way up.

"Should we tell him that's not what we meant?" Carly said through a giggle.

"Nah, it's funnier this way." Sam said.

"Ahhhh, the joys of parenthood." Gibby sighed as Carly pecked his cheek.

"Mmm…can't wait." Freddie replied dryly. "Just kidding. I really couldn't be more excited. But at that age, they're just so oblivious." Freddie stated. The rest nodded with him.

"That horses story reminds me of the time Sam and Freddie bought a horse." The room filled with silence and confusion.

"What?" Freddie coughed out.

"Well, during that crazy rumor that you guys kissed someone told me you guys bought a…." He trailed off. "Oh…mustard!"

"What's wrong, Gib?" Sam asked. She turned to Freddie and Carly, who were looking at her. The three of them thought Gibby finally grew out of his oblivious state.

"I forgot to pick up my dry cleaning." As if nothing had happened, Gibby got off the couch and went out the door. Before he did, however, he removed his shirt and walked out.

Sam leaned her head against Freddie shoulder and talked. "Then again, obliviousness could just be hereditary."