Disclaimer: I don't own iCarly or the rights to any of the songs mentioned herein, but if you are feeling really generous when you review you can give them to me :D

No eighteen year old expects to go to sleep in their own bed and wake up to the white sterility of a hospital room. This is what happened to me, I went to sleep curled comfortably in my own bed, and woke up in one of those horrible hospital gowns with an oxygen mask on my face.

I scanned the room, almost frantic until I saw Carly's dark hair, her head was bowed, I couldn't tell if she was asleep, praying, or staring at her feet. I tried to speak, but couldn't find my voice. I reached over and laid my hand on her crown. She looked up and I don't think I had ever seen so much sadness in her eyes, even on the anniversary of her mother's death. Her make-up was smeared, and she made no attempt to correct it.

"Sam…" she whispered, as if afraid her voice would cause me to shatter.

"H…h…hey kid" it took a second for my voice to come to me.

She stood and wrapped her arms tenderly around me, she started to cry more and I was wondering what in the world was going on.

"What happened?"

"Your house caught fire, electrical they think, you suffered some smoke inhalation, but someone pulled you out before the Fire Department got there." Again she cried harder, wiping her tears away with a handkerchief, "He suffered burns to over 50% of his body. They aren't sure if he'll make it."

"Who is it Carly?"

A knock at the door cause both of our breath's to catch and I saw Spencer standing there, haggard, and almost as distraught as Carly was. His shirt was misbuttoned and his shoes were untied.

"He's awake for now, you might want to go talk to him while you can." Carly nodded and rushed out of the room, Spencer stepped forward and stood beside my bed.

I grabbed the front of his shirt and pulled him down to me, "Who…is…it!"

"I'll show you."

I started to move, but he grabbed the remote to the TV I just noticed was hanging in the corner. The story came on and Spencer turned up the volume,

"…..This video caught on a cell phone is the only image of the boy who ran into the burning house. He has been identified, but his mother asked that his identity not be revealed just yet. We must warn you, this video is extremely graphic."

I saw the boy, well teenager, run toward the burning house. The fire department hadn't arrived yet, and just a few spectators were outside. He kicked the door in and disappeared into shadow and flame. It only took about 2 minutes for him to reemerge with a soaking wet blanket in his arms. Even though the video was a disintegrated quality and the distance, and the brightness of the flames I knew it was my blanket and I was under it.

At first I thought it was just how the video was shot, but then I realized he was actually on fire. His hair, shirt, and his jeans had been engulfed in flame. He didn't cry out, his mouth was pressed into a thin line as he hefted his bundle. Dropping to his knees a police officer to the side doused the flames with a fire extinguisher. Then brown eyes locked with the camera phone, I knew what words he had spoken, 'Olive Juice' and he laid down on the ground, the emotion on his face more relief than pain.

I felt the hot tears on my cheeks, it had been the one person I hoped it wasn't, my semi-secret boyfriend Freddie. I say semi-secret because only Carly and Spencer knew we were dating. At school we acted like we always had, a combination of fighting and flirting, but in private he was the only one who knew my darkest secrets, things I couldn't share with Carly, and I was the only one that knew his.

My life was far from perfect, I had a mother who did not know how to love me, and Freddie had a mom who loved him far too much. The way he treated me made me feel loved like never before. Like no boy had managed.

Spencer squeezed me into a tight hug as the tears continued to flow from my now bloodshot eyes. It had taken years for Freddie to gain the nerve to even ask me out, I threatened him with physical harm and yet he persisted, prodding gently with jokes, much like he had done to Carly, but on me it actually worked.

My brain was working in overdrive, remembering the last few months of a wonderful relationship.

I sat on Freddie's bed, we were talking about music when I spotted the acoustic guitar leaned up in a corner.

"No way, you play guitar? And you never told us about this?"

He held up his hands and shook his head, "I'm not that good, I only piddle around with it a bit." I stood up and walked toward the guitar, picking it up, noting the wear on it.

"Will you play for me?"

"Eh," he started, but I made a pouty face and he relented a little too easily, taking the guitar from my hand. He strummed for a second before deciding the song to play. His fingers danced across the neck of the guitar, I recognized the song as "Lie to Me" by 12 Stones. I listened to his voice, as he played the song from memory, reciting every line. I fell entranced by his voice, and when he stopped playing I was still staring at his dark brown eyes.

I remembered how melodic his voice was, how it rose and fell with the words in the song. I don't think I had ever heard Freddie sing anything seriously, there was always those moments you would catch him with his headphones in and he would be singing along with whatever was playing. He was the type that would sing at the top of his lungs when stopped at a traffic light, and despite my embarrassment when riding in the car with him, I recognized his quirks and actually liked them.

Most of the time we just ended up hanging out at Carly's or with Carly; we had made the decision together to keep our relationship private. We didn't need a whole bunch of people butting into our personal business. Only a few times were we ever truly alone,

I was sitting on the railing at the end of the pier that jutted into the Puget Sound. The ocean churned beneath my feet, white froth swirling around the pylons that made up the base to the old wooden pier. I was so caught up in watching the sea turn that I didn't see the arm that snaked around my waist from the left, and the hand that appeared from the right holding a corndog.

"You are a corndog." I said as I took it from his hand.

"I know, but you love me."

"I do love corndogs, and you I suppose."

"Marry me, today and every day." He squeezed me tightly and buried his face into my neck, "Don't answer now Sam if you don't want, but I will always be here for you."

I turned around to face him so that my back was to the ocean. I had to look down into his brown eyes, still holding the stick to the corndog. He took a black velvet box out of his pocket,

"Aren't you supposed to get down on one knee or something?"

"I would," He smiled "If you weren't sitting up higher than me, now quit arguing."

"If you don't wanna answer, just keep it as a promise…" He looked kinda downcast until I smacked him in the forehead with my half eaten corndog.

"Shut up and kiss me, nub"

I had to see him, I looked at Spencer and rubbed my eyes free of the tears. "I want to see him."

"I'm not going to try and stop you Sam, but Mrs. Benson has been strict."

"I don't care." I swung my legs out over the side of the bed and stood on somewhat shaky legs.