So sorry about the wait. I was completely finished 2 of them and the other 3 were all started to various degrees and then the end of iCarly happened and I died a little on the inside because what the actual fuck Dan that ending though ugh and I couldn't even think anymore or go near Seddie the two weeks after that premiered and then I just had writer's block and it was horrible and I'm sorry.

Disclaimer: If I owned iCarly, that last episode would not have happened. Random Creddie moments in iOAR would not have happened. Freddie being a jerk in the Pear Store would not have happened. Freddie losing his personality altogether after he and Sam broke up would not have happened. Omg, speaking of that, I don't know if it's just me but I feel like that happened to both Freddie and Beck after Sam and Jade broke up with them. If any of you watch Victorious, give me your thoughts about that. To me, Freddie and Beck lost their likeable…ness. It was like the writers didn't know what to do with them anymore.

31. Flowers

"Ughhhh, this is so boring!" Sam exclaimed from her position on Freddie's lap. He rolled his eyes for the hundredth time and shifted in agitation. She continued, "Why do we even need this shit!? Who cares about flowers?"

Freddie sighed and dropped his head so his chin rested on her shoulder. In front of them sat the computer on which a dozen different flower arrangements were shown. Editing options and price ranges were listed underneath each picture and he absentmindedly tapped his fingers along her ribs as Sam scrolled through the numerous options. She squirmed and he pressed his lips to her neck, a silent plea to stay calm.

"Can't we decorate everything with bacon instead?"

"No." She groaned but stopped when he halfheartedly tickled her. "Everything will be fine in the end," he said.

Then they both froze as sleepy noises came through the baby monitor on the desk. Despite their hopes, they heard crying begin and Sam hurried to comfort Antonia. When she came back, she sighed tiredly, "Do you mind if I just skip it?"

"No that's fine," Freddie said, humoring her. "The crowd will never notice. I'll just put the ring on thin air."

She chuckled, "I have a twin."

But her laughter stopped when she felt him stiffen. She looked back only to see him staring coldly, "You would do that? Even on a big day like this…you can't be bothered to care?"

She became serious, "Freddie I was joking." He didn't say anything. When his look didn't change, she threw up her arms in frustration.

"Fine!" Sam jumped off his lap, heading back towards the baby's room. "Eff this. You can do whatever you want! And you pick out the damn flowers."

"I will!" he yelled at her retreating back. "And they'll be orange!"

He knew how much she hated orange. She slammed the door in answer and then the apartment was quiet, save for Antonia's cries. Freddie swiveled back to the computer, muttering angrily as Sam tried to quiet Antonia in the other room. He took a few deep breaths. He loved Sam. And sometimes when she was stressed or nervous, she made jokes. He knew that and sometimes that was even a good thing-so why was he getting so angry? He began scrolling less violently. Finally, he found a bouquet that Sam would like; just the right amount of purple, light purple, and white. Satisfied, Freddie completed the order and glanced at the shut door to Antonia's room. He sighed heavily and opened Chuck Taylor's website. He customized a pair of purple converses that matched the flowers perfectly, then entered all the necessary information and finished that order as well. After texting Carly that Sam's (secret) wedding shoes would be arriving at her apartment in 7-12 business days, he made his way into Antonia's room.

"I'm sorry," he said. She sighed and watched Antonia in her crib a few seconds more, then turned and wordlessly fell into his embrace and wrapped her arms around his middle. Freddie pulled away slightly and looked at her questioningly, "I didn't catch that."

"I said, 'this is so stressful'," her throat was tight like she might start crying, "I love you but that's not even the reason we're getting married anymore. I feel like this wedding isn't ours; it's for your mom and our families so Tony isn't a 'bastard' like they think."

He walked them backwards until he was seated in the rocking chair in the corner and Sam was once again in his lap; he stroked her back lightly. He didn't want her to think that. He wanted this more than anything. But it had turned into their families' wedding as the planning went on.

"Sam, will you marry me?" he asked. She blinked. Freddie continued, "I love you and I want to wake up to you every day and see a ring on your finger. I want to introduce you as my wife, I want people walking down the street to immediately know what we are and most importantly I want you to belong to me in every possible way."

She raised her eyebrows in amusement and he grinned sheepishly, "I'll belong to you too. We'll do the wedding however you want. Bacon can be the main course. We can have a wedding fatcake if you really want."

"Well," Sam pretended to ponder his offer. "Okay!"

"…I did pick out the flowers though."

32. Night

It started with one word.

Freddie.

Sam?

wassup

Wassup!? It's almost one in the morning! What do you think!?

i wanna go out

Then go out?

come with me

Sammm…ugh are you gonna rob a bank or something? A meat truck…?

lol just come on nerd. "please"

-_- fine.

k come downstairs. im already here

And now they were traveling Seattle's streets and if Freddie was honest with himself, he was still a bit confused as to why they were going out in the first place. She didn't seem to have any destination in mind. It was almost like she just wanted to spend time with him and go on an adventure. It was almost like she just didn't want to be alone…

He studied her from his seat as she paid the fare. That was another thing: she had, in her own rude Sam way, offered to pay when they first got on.

"See?" she asked, smiling as she came down the aisle. She sighed contently as she plopped down into the seat next to him. The bus began moving. "Not so bad is it?" Sam asked, nudging Freddie in the ribs. He swatted her away and shrugged, "I don't know. I've…never ridden a bus before."

Sam raised her eyebrows but didn't comment and he looked at her hesitantly, "You're…not gonna say anything?"

"You've ridden one now," she shrugged.

He smiled and went back to staring out the window. It was weird; ever since that day with the cat when they had an awkward-but-not-really talk, something had changed. They still bickered and they still sent snarky remarks back and forth. But sometimes, Sam would tell Freddie things that she didn't even tell Carly. Sometimes, like now for instance, she would want to hang out with just him. Which definitely indicated that she cared for him in some way; he was no longer just an inevitability to hanging out with Carly. They weren't just frenemies anymore. She was starting to trust him. He guessed that meant they were best friends…

He turned to look at the blonde with new eyes. Best friends. It was odd. He expected to feel some kind of shock or mild disgust at the fact that he considered Sam Puckett his best friend, even his friend for that matter. But all he felt was a small surge of affection towards the girl.

Feeling his gaze, Sam looked at him weirdly, "What are you looking at, nub?"

"A monster," he quipped. She laughed, then suddenly jumped up as the bus slowed at a stop. She grabbed Freddie's hand and tugged, "This is us! Let's go."

And then they were in the chilly air again. She seemed to know where she was going so he didn't bother asking where they were headed. They ended up at a diner and it was just so Sam to travel all the way across town to eat that Freddie could only shake his head and follow her into the warm room.

fxsxfxsxfxsxfxsxf

Freddie watched Sam shovel a forkful of spaghetti into her mouth. As she gulped it down, she looked up, "What?"

"Why did you wanna go somewhere tonight?" Freddie asked, not knowing at all if they were on this level yet but hoping that they were.

"Sometimes…when my mom is being…well horrible," she deadpanned in that way she often did. "I leave in the middle of the night and go wherever I want. Just to remind myself that I can."

Concern flashed across his face but she just shrugged. She was doing it again: letting him see little parts of her he never knew existed. Giving him new things to catalogue and think about and put away in the back of his mind in the file he kept under "Things To Know About Sam."

When they got the check, she looked at him expectantly. At his raised eyebrow, she scoffed, "I paid bus fare."

He smirked. He should've known. Later, after leaving the diner and another long bus ride, they finally arrived at Bushwell. She went to Carly's and he snuck past his mom's room and back into bed.

So…that was legal. And fun :)

duhh of course it was lol im a sam.

You're a monster :P

rawrrr ^.^ lol night dork

Lol goodnight Sam.

33. Expectations

Sam had really expected Carly to be on her side. When she came in, complaining about Freddie and the millionth argument they had, she had expected Carly to offer comfort or advice or something! Not this.

"Are you listening?" Carly looked heated and continued without waiting for a response, "I'm serious Sam. You-where are you going!?"

Sam made her way into the kitchen, "I need meat. I can't believe this."

"What?" Carly raised an eyebrow. Sam emerged, already busy eating from a bag of jerky she held in her hands.

"You!" Sam pointed a stick at her, bits of meat flying. She sat down with a disgruntled expression. "Yelling! At me!"

"You really need to get ahold of yourself, Sam," For once, Carly sincerely sounded pissed off. Sam didn't even know Carly came with that setting. She stared, flabbergasted, as her friend rolled her eyes. Sam threw her an incredulous look, "What are you even angry about!? It's not your relationship! Why do you get to tell me what I should do?!"

"I-you…are you serious!?" Carly almost threw up her arms. "Are you being serious right now? So you and Freddie being my best friends means nothing? You are the one who came to me, Sam. You told me all about your relationship with Freddie. And I told you my opinion. That's what best friends do; they tell each other when they're right and they tell each other when they're being. Complete. Idiots!"

Sam glared, "How am I being an idiot!?"

"Because after all this time it's still him who needs to understand you. It's still him who needs to work on his insecurities while you get to keep yours because 'if he loves you, he'd love all of you and you shouldn't have to change.' Relationships are about compromise Sam. It's about time you learn that…"

Sam made a face at the word "love" but stayed silent, letting Carly's words marinate. Her friend finally seemed to lose her anger. Now, she just looked perturbed and- much to Sam's annoyance- determined to stay silent until Sam responded.

"I don't…mean to be this way. I'm not scared," and she refused to go on until Carly acknowledged that statement with an impatient nod. "It's just hard…everything is so serious and intense. It's not the same as it used to be anymore and it's-it's just really weird! I feel like we're already married or something and it freaks me out and it annoys me and he annoys me and ughhh he's such a nub!"

Carly's expression finally softened. "None of that has to be a bad thing." She touched Sam's arm in what Sam thought might have been a comforting gesture, then stood up abruptly and announced, "Now, I'm going to get Freddie and you can tell him this stuff yourself!"

"What-no! Carly you can't," Ignoring her friend's panicked objections, Carly walked towards the door and in the ensuing silence, Sam stood up, anxious and frenzied. She contemplated attacking her-she really contemplated just running and tackling the shit out of Carly (and possibly knocking her out) but she didn't think that would do so well for her friendship or Carly's wellbeing…

"Seriously, don't!" Sam called, her voice becoming strained with her effort not to use physical force. Carly sighed and turned around, "Why?"

"I…" Sam faltered. She sat back down in her chair, wishing it would just swallow her whole. Carly must have seen her suddenly forlorn expression because she sat down as well and patiently waited for her friend's words. "Okay I do…you know…love him."

Carly tried not to roll her eyes at Sam's apprehension towards the word and nodded for Sam to go on.

Sam didn't know what she expected when she kissed Freddie freshman year. She didn't even know what she expected when they decided to date but it surely wasn't this. How could she have ever anticipated this overwhelming awareness of him? This…huge part of herself that was only for Freddie. She certainly hadn't expected to ever say 'we' instead of 'I' and 'you.' It was hard- realizing they were in a serious adult relationship now. But how could she tell Carly all of that?

"I just…never expected…love to be so...big."

34. Stars

"Can I tell you something?"

Sam isn't looking at him but he nods unconcernedly and looks to where her gaze is pointed: the sky.

"When I was younger, I thought I couldn't see stars anymore because I was growing up…I thought I was too old to make wishes…It was light pollution all along but…it used to scare me shitless. And…when you brought me here…I saw them again."

It's her way of thanking Freddie for being in her life, for making it a happier place. He doesn't say anything, knowing she doesn't need that; she just needs to get some things off her chest every once in a while. It started with small things she couldn't trust Carly to understand like Missy and being jealous but he knew she trusted him absolutely when she came to him that night after Matt, that bastard.

"How'd you find this place, anyways?" Sam asks him. Her hands move gently over the blanket as though she's trying to make snow angels.

"…My mom and I got in a fight-"

"What!?" Ignoring his eye roll, she crawls over to the basket previously filled with food and pulls out popcorn. She crawls back, seats herself and faces him with rapt attention.

He gives her a look and continues, "She caught me coming back from hanging out with you in the city one night and disinfected me and ranted about the dangers of the outside world and the dangers of you and I literally just turned around and walked out the door. I just…wanted to go outside. Really go outside. So I…took a few buses," here he nods at her. It's his way of showing her that she's a good thing in his life too. She grins and he continues, "And then I walked until I just ended up…here. It's refreshing…you know?"

She runs her fingers through the blades of grass surrounding them and smiles, "I do know."

They both relish in the fresh air and natural quiet when Sam suddenly asks, "Freddie what's your favorite food?"

"Why?"

"Maybe I'll return the favor one day," she gestures at the empty basket, then grins as though she's telling a secret, "If Mama's nice."

"I like Spanish food." She raises an eyebrow.

"I'll teach you how to make it," he assures her. They lapse into another silence that is only broken by the muted sounds of a car radio somewhere nearby. He hums along absentmindedly and a thought strikes him, "What's your favorite song?"

"mmmmmhmhmdslkmflk\Hmm…P!nk's new album is pretty awesome."

"What's-?"

"It's my turn!" she punches him in the arm and he rubs it, looking highly ruffled. She nonchalantly continues, "What's your favorite song?"

"What, so we're playing the question game?"

"I don't know, are we?" she raises her eyebrows.

Freddie rolls his eyes, "Charlie Brown."

"…um, as in I'm hopeless?" Sam doesn't know if she's supposed to feel insulted or not. He chuckles, "That's the name of the song. It's by Coldplay."

"You are so a Coldplay kind of guy," she does a little chortle and lies down on the blanket. His nose wrinkles and he does know that he's supposed to feel insulted, "What is that supposed to mean?"

"Chillax dude. It means you're sensitive like everyone already knew. But…it also means you have good taste."

"…"

"Go, it's your turn! Ask me a question."

"So we are playing the question game."

"Duh!"

"Okay…favorite color?"

"Dude come on, that's obvious and totally lame."

"Oh yeah, then what's mine?"

"Freddie, it's green," at his incredulous look, Sam rolls her eyes, "Everyone thinks it's blue cause that's all you wear but I know it's green because you always compliment girls when they wear it, even if they're not your type. And you always pick the green option. Green makes everything stand out to you."

He is rendered mute and she just scoffs, "Now it's my turn. Tell me my favorite color."

He panics for a second because he's a boy and why would he even pay attention to a thing like that and he's pretty sure Sam's never spoken about her favorite color but then his brain flashes through everything from her sneakers to bracelets to hoodies and shirts to phone cases and backpacks and "purple" tumbles out of his mouth and he is relieved when she grins.

35. Hold My Hand

"Geek," Sam growled, pushing her mouth ferociously against his as though they were in an all-out war.

"Monster," he murmured back. If Sam was raging fire, burning right through him, then Freddie was the tantalizing smoke, slowly suffocating her. He met her ferocity with tenderness; his lips moved slowly over hers as though trying to tame her and a hushed moan sounded in her throat. He wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her closer. Immediately, a hand tangled in his hair as the other rested on his shoulder.

The late bell chose precisely that moment to ring and they reluctantly exited the closet after calming their racing hearts. As Sam made to leave, Freddie daringly caught her hand in his and fell into step beside her.

"Freddie," she hissed.

"What's wrong? Scared?" Freddie cocked an eyebrow. She raised one in answer, "You challenging me?"

"What if I am?" he sent her one of his smirks. Sam aggressively grabbed his hand and intertwined their fingers as they walked down the empty halls. She held up her chin proudly so as not to show weakness and Freddie chuckled, used to her antics by now, "I don't know why you look so pleased. You'd be too scared to do it with people around."

She growled warningly. He laughed, "Tell me I'm wrong."

"You are!" she immediately shouted.

"Okay," he grinned happily and her stomach fluttered for an instant before her glare hardened. "You'll have to prove it, Princess."

While Monster was his term of endearment, Princess was his insult, his goad. Her eyes narrowed but Freddie kept walking, looking altogether unimpressed by the situation. Sam meanwhile was clenching his hand so hard, he thought he might lose it. She tried not to make it obvious when she glanced around the halls and when, arriving at her classroom, she sighed in relief.

"See you," he said cheerily and she got a minute warning from the look on his face right before he swooped down and pecked her right in the middle of the hallway! He disappeared around the corner, leaving Sam with a feeling of delightful foreboding.

sxfxsxfxsxfxs

As kids flooded into the cafeteria, Sam, an anxious mess, scanned the crowd for Freddie.

"Looking for me?" she could just hear the dumb smirk in his voice. His hand slipped into hers as they made their way in. She tried to calm her mounting paranoia and resist the urge to rip her hand away from his. They arrived at the table safely and sat across from each other, Sam glaring and Freddie smirking. When Carly sat down, all was well. No one noticed their linked hands under the table and conversation swirled around them as they ate.

Sam?" Carly tilted her head. "You're right-handed…Why are you eating with your left?"

Freddie immediately let go of Sam's hand but she just shrugged, "…I was thinking; for someone who loves to eat, I sure limit myself by only using one hand. I've decided to become ambidextrous."

Freddie raised an eyebrow, "You do know that you can't just become ambidextrous right?"

"Mama will," Sam assured him. Under the table, she reached for his hand again. He smirked and held it tight.

sxfxsxfxsxfxs

Somehow they managed to end up in an empty hallway after school as she waited for Carly and he waited for soccer practice to start. He was holding her hand again and she was trying her best not to scour the halls for potential threats. His thumb stroked the back of her hand as though he knew anyway and his fingers tapped along her knuckles every once and awhile.

"I think you're enjoying this a bit too much," Sam said wryly. He grinned unabashedly.

"Sam!? Freddie!?"

Sam's grip on his hand immediately went to crushing and Freddie looked back at Carly, convincingly pleadingly, "Carly! Make her let go!"

"Sam," Carly admonished. Sam made a face and only squeezed harder. "Sam!"

She rolled her eyes and released Freddie's hand and Carly walked away, her arm around Sam's shoulder to make sure she followed. "We'll see you at home Freddie! Sam you're so mean."

"He's such a nub," Sam pretended to glare over her shoulder. Freddie smiled and blew a kiss towards her. She smirked at his cheesiness and winked before following Carly outside to the parking lot.

So yeah that's it. Interesting note: I see quite a few fics showing Sam being into Metal but I never got that impression. I think she'd be a punk rock/alternative rock kind of person with the occasional classic rock and rap. And I threw in P!nk because P!nk is everything and I don't care what anyone says, "Please Don't Leave Me" is Seddie's official song. A lot of P!nk's songs are actually really Seddie-relatable. Anyways, I can see Sam being into P!nk and Eminem because she's basically their pg-rated love child; attitudinal, doesn't take shit from anyon, it takes a lot for her to trust, she shows love in…interesting ways, violent tendencies but still loveable, etc.

Freddie…he just seems like someone who likes the occasional pop song but who would be into Coldplay, The Fray, Keane, The Killers, Maroon 5, One Republic, Plain White T's, etc. And um yeah…about Soccer…Freddie needs some explanation for those damn muscles and I also felt like they tried to make him ULTRA geeky (playing with model trains? Really?) so this was my way of fighting that lol.

Also to explain some things…it's my headcanon that Sam and Carly are basically sisters but Carly's too naïve and too trusting and too soft sometimes and I really do think that Sam probably keeps a lot from Carly to protect her. (Also, it's emotionally draining trying to tell someone who honestly doesn't get it why you're upset or how a certain situation happened because the person is too naïve or too eager to see the good in everyone.)

I really can't see Sam going to her if she almost got raped/sexually assaulted. I imagine Carly would've been sympathetic but also would've kept saying "But why?" "I can't believe he…but he's so nice." Etc. etc. (NOTE: I'm also not trying to make light of rape or anything. I have a friend who was attacked by three guys but she got away like Sam. Anything that has to do with or results from Sam's situation will be based directly off of what my friend told me. I'm not going to go too in depth and misrepresent anything or anyone and I apologize if I offend you but PM me or state the problem in a review and I'll act accordingly.) Thanks guys, leave a review and tell me what you think :)