FRED

In the first comic, he learned that he was going to be a father, but unlike some men who end up in that situation accidentally with women they aren't married to, Fred supported Meri Lin all the way and intended to stay with her and raise their child. He was working at a just-above-entry-level position in an insurance firm and made enough money for them to squeak by on rent in their small New York City apartment.

Fred saw Meri Lin all the way through the pregnancy and birth in an exemplary fashion, caring for her with humor and compassion. But when he became the father of a rather unusual baby, his skills were tested. Please don't read further if you're not interested in learning some of the surprises about the baby; spoilers follow.

When Meri Lin revealed to him that their daughter Amanda had some unheard-of ability to move things without touching them, his first reaction was denial, which moved into a less specific denial: "Maybe it'll go away like childhood asthma." But the couple had no such luck, and they were stuck trying to figure out the best way to parent a kid who apparently needed to be hidden from the world until she could learn to control and limit her ability. Fred was a little more lighthearted than Meri Lin about this heavy prospect, but he also had a more straightforward attitude toward disciplining the baby. . . .

In any case, Fred found that he loved being a father, and tended to call baby Amanda silly things like "Daddy's little cupcake."

Another big spoiler follows.

When Fred found his role changing after the loss of their child (who mysteriously vanished out the window), he was shown to have a tendency to self-medicate with alcohol and withdraw, though this is not a big part of who he is. Meri Lin struggled to return him to the man he used to be, and he finally began returning to his previous mental state when they discovered some evidence that their baby was probably all right. He and Meri Lin had another baby--Benjamin--and he continued to provide for his family, having been promoted in his insurance company for his good detail skills and negotiating prowess (or his awesome ties).

Fred is quite tall at six feet four inches (and his height difference with Meri Lin makes them a funny-looking couple!). He is on the slim side of average and has wavy blond hair and blue eyes. He has pale pinkish skin and a medium-low voice. He wears a mustache and keeps the rest of his face shaved; when he is not in a depressive funk, Fred likes to shave multiple times a day because he doesn't like whiskers. Fred is usually seen in dress shirts and dress pants with a belt during the day, and hangs out in jeans and tee shirts the rest of the time. He likes to have a sweater with him if he goes out.

Fred has a kooky sense of humor and values intelligence very highly; it's what attracted him to Meri Lin in the first place. He loves to give others silly nicknames. He's a bit innovative when it comes to problem-solving and will sometimes come up with his own weird ways to solve issues instead of following established wisdom. Fred values literature and the sciences (especially astronomy and chemistry) and basically keeps up to date with politics (he is a registered Democrat). He is agnostic but rarely says so. He loves learning and remembering the rules of any game. He has an easy laugh and doesn't like to sit still. He loves spaghetti and other Italian food. He can be sentimental and always gives Meri Lin genuine gifts for holidays. He worried that his relationship with Meri Lin would be questionable at first because when they met their age gap was more significant than it is in the present; she was still in high school and he was nineteen when they met. But for the first couple of years that they talked whenever he stopped into her parents' flower shop, he was honestly just fascinated with her as a person, and only started to consider trying to date her when she was approaching her graduation. Fred is not super close with his parents or siblings, but stays in touch with them enough to see them on holidays. His older sister Dorothy has a baby who's about the same age as his son. His other siblings include a sister named Carol and a brother named Art. His parents are Neil and Louise.