Summary: Upon meeting by chance at Camp Sparkle Lake, Mary Benson and Clara Puckett discover something shocking about their family history: they're twins, mysteriously separated at birth. They go on a mission to set right what clearly has gone wrong. A story of sisterhood, family, and lost (maybe even found) love. Based on The Parent Trap.

Disclaimer: I don't own iCarly. If I did, 'Midnight' would never have come! Meh!

iTrap

Trapter 18

"And when the little boys crept behind the tree…" whispered Mary eerily, pausing briefly for dramatic effect as she held the lit flashlight under her creepy, grinning face. Around her, crickets chirped in anticipation and Clara, Stephen, Michael and Spencer leaned in from their spots around Mary. "BWEH!"

Mary's audience screamed in terror, while she doubled over in laughter.

"Real funny, Mary!" said Clara, her voice still dotted with fear.

"Ha, I so got you guys!" she mocked, getting up and doing a little victory dance. That was too easy.

"That was mean!" Michael whined.

"Tell it again!" Stephen begged. "Seriously, I won't even scream this time!"

"No can do, Stephen. Don't want my twin here peeing her pants." Clara shook her head at her sister, displeased. "I mean, really, who knew your scream was so high-pitched and girly, Clara?" Mary teased.

Spencer cleared his throat and raised his hand. "Actually, that was me."

Sunset was long gone and night had blanketed the woods in which the Bensons, Pucketts, Shay-Browns and company had completed setting up camp. Emily was off in the corner texting eight different people at once. Now that Sam and Freddie were finally on okay terms, the two of them and Carly were picking up trash left behind by the group while exchanging funny stories about their kids. Well, more like Freddie and Carly were picking up trash, while Sam stood back as moral support, claiming she was allergic to effort. By the time dinner was over, the combined effort of Freddie and Gretchen had managed to set up five tents – one for Sam, Clara, Gretchen, one for Carly, Michael and Stephen, one for Spencer, Emily and Mary, and one for Freddie and –

"Rose," said Gretchen, watching Freddie's crazy fiancé, who was presently outlining one of the tents with honey, "What in the lord are you doing?"

She offered Gretchen a tight, superior smile. "Well, well, dear, if you paid any attention in science class you would know that honey repels bears and other mammals."

Gretchen raised an eyebrow. "Oh really now."

"Everyone who's anyone knows that!" Rose commented, continuing on with the task.

A few feet away by the campfire, Mary nudged Clara and pointed to Rose's tent, both of them giggling, followed by a not-so-discreet fist-bump. Gretchen made her way over to the girls and crossed her arms.

"Your theory, I'm assuming?" she clarified, gesturing at Rose scrambling around the tent.

Mary shrugged. "Maybe."

"And your honey jar?"

Clara broke into a grin. "Maybe, maybe."

"You girls," Gretchen remarked, shaking her head and smirking, "are definitely your mother's daughters." The girls shrugged.

"Hey Mike, Stephen," Mary said to the boys, who had just began a thumb-wrestling match, "You guys wanna play tag?"

Stephen immediately bounced up and whacked Michael in the shoulder. "You're it, you're it, ha ha ha ha ha!" Then he, Clara and Mary ran, Michael on their tail.

"I wish I had evil masterminds daughters!" Spencer complained, turning to Gretchen.

"Yo," called Emily from under her tree, "Anyone have a phone charger? My battery just fell in some bird poop."

"Don't you already have an evil mastermind ex-wife?" Gretchen reminded him as she took a seat. She couldn't help but note how cute he looked when he was being whiny.

"Oh man, she was miserable!" Spencer agreed, "She doesn't even believe in Beavecoons!"

"That's just plain silly," Gretchen laughed, "I saw one of those once."

"They're real, I swear – wait –" Was this really happening? "What?"

"Yeah, a few years back," she explained, "I was driving and one of those suckers ran right in front of my car. I almost hit it, it came out of nowhere! But it was definitely part beaver, part raccoon. No question."

This was really happening!

Spencer jumped off the log they were sitting on and punched the air, over and over. "Yes, yes, yes! Thank you! Thank you! C'mon – " He grabbed Gretchen's hand and pulled her up. "Let's go!" He dragged her towards the forest.

"Whoa, hon, where we headed?"

"BEAVECOON HUNTING, dear lady!"

"…So I opened the cabinet under the sink and there was Stephen, kicking the ceiling, covered in peanut butter!"

Sam and Freddie burst into laughter as Carly tied up the final trash bag.

"Holy cheese!" Sam exclaimed, the hilarious picture clear in her mind.

"How did that even happen?" Freddie chirped in.

"I have no idea!" Carly admitted. "But now it smells like peanuts whenever I do the dishes." She crinkled her nose. "Stupid peanuts. They look like bald, little man-heads, don't you think?"

"Specking of bald little man-heads," interjected Sam as the trio made their way over to the smoking campfire and sat down on a log. Freddie, Carly, Sam. A three-part puzzle, incomplete without each other no matter what. "One time when Clara was three, she told me she wanted to be bald so that she could plant seeds on her head to grow food to give to the homeless!"

"Aw!" Carly cooed. "Cranium crops!"

"That's a coincidence," said Freddie, "Because Mary shaved one of her classmates bald during naptime once!" This statement caused the trio to laugh so hard that they cried. Sam even fell backwards off the log, which just made everyone laugh harder. Hard enough to forget.

When the hysteria finally ceased and those involved were catching their breath, Carly spoke up.

"I miss this," she said quietly. "I miss you guys."

Sam and Freddie couldn't help but glance across Carly and catch each other's eye, before awkwardly looking away.

Sam decided she was going to send The Serious Conversation packing. Start over… we need to start over. So she simply laughed. "Don't be stupid, Carls. We're right here!"

"Seriously, Sam." And that moment, Sam knew that she would have to shut up and embrace the seriousness because Carly Shay was never one to let things go. "You, too, Freddie." Freddie seemed to have drifted off into his own, contemplative world but was now back and listening. Carly sighed and patted her stomach. "I've got another kid on the way. I am always peeing. My boobs are like stone weights. I'm going to get fat and cranky and with Ben working so much I can't do this again without both of you."

This statement really hit Freddie hard because even though it probably wasn't her intention, he felt like Carly's words were a jab at the fact that he hadn't really been there for her during her pregnancy with the twins, at least not in the way he should have been, in the way Carly had been there for Sam and him when Mary and Clara were on the way. Sure, he called Carly every other week and came down to visit a month or so after the birth, but this invisible but horribly powerful Sam-built force field kept him at arm's reach. Because Carly and Sam were a package deal. If you found yourself pushed out of one of their lives, odds were you'd fall out of the life of the other, too. And that was exactly what happened.

Truth was he was a coward. Nothing really was physically holding him back from being there for Carly. He didn't try hard enough because he knew that Sam wanted him to stay away. It was all she was asking of him those days, and he refused to let her down.

"Hey, don't worry," Sam assured Carly, "I'll be here."

"Me too," echoed Freddie, though in his heart he knew it was a half-empty promise. At least he wanted to mean it fully, right? And maybe this time around, things would be… kind of different. He and Sam did agree to start over, so maybe they would.

"Gather 'round everyone!" Clara cried out to the campsite, Mary glued to her side, holding her blue acoustic guitar Santa had dropped under her tree three Christmases ago. "It's time for a sing-along!"

"I thought we were playing tag!" Michael whined.

"We were, but…"

"No, no more 'Tag'!" ordered Carly. "It's way too dark outside!"

"…But that." Mary finished. "Anyways!" She sat down on the log beside the one occupied by the former iCarly stars and readied the guitar on her lap. Clara sat next to her. Slowly, everyone within earshot of Clara made their way over to the campfire site and sat around on the logs. "Let's get this par-tay started!"

Though not without complaint. "These tree lumps are killing my thighs," Rose felt the need to share.

Carly, part of the plan, discreetly removed herself from the log she was sharing with Sam and Freddie and announced she had to go to the bathroom, woods-style. Again. Off she went, smiling to herself. Sometimes it paid off to be pregnant because it called for great excuses.

"Where's my dad?" Emily wondered. "And Gretchen?" Everyone shrugged.

"Mary plays guitar?" Sam asked Freddie, impressed.

"Yeah, she's been taking lessons for a few years now," Freddie explained. "It's probably the only object she does not enjoy smashing."

Sam smiled at that. "Clara sings."

"Really?"

"Yeah."

"Wow," said Freddie. "They're… perfect for each other."

"This little number goes out… to our parents." Mary totally and utterly loved the feeling of completeness she felt saying those words. "You guys ain't perfect, you're kind of lame sometimes actually, but even though you kept Clara and me apart for so long, you also allowed us to find each other. We hope this helps you find each other again. If anyone knows the words, feel free to sing along." Mary began strumming a soft, pensive tune, leaving Sam and Freddie confused and curious until Clara started singing.

"Did I tell you I knew your name, but it seems that I've lost it?" Clara crooned. "Did I tell you it's my own game? This is not your problem…"

Sam Puckett's heart started beating, rapidly and angrily. Everything inside her told her to get up and run, but she was too shocked to move. That song. That stupid, excruciatingly slow, painfully meaningful song that made it to seven hundred plays on her PearTunes freshman year of high school because of him. The man used-to-be boy sitting beside her, looking just as uncomfortable.

"I don't know if I'm gonna change… wasting time and another day…"

Memories. Freddie Benson could feel them, like a calming but relentless breeze flowing through his conscience. Fourteen years old or in their thirties, married or unmarried, starting over or nearing the end, this song would always take him back to that night. The night where he first realized he was in love with Sam Puckett.

"I keep…"

"Running away…" AM sang from fourteen year-old Freddie Benson's PearPod speakers, clear and beautiful.

Freddie couldn't help but notice that just as the words 'running away' flowed into the air on the fire escape, Sam's back was turned, and she was heading back inside. She was bolting.

This made him panic. This… this first kiss, this out-of-this-world thing that had transpired just seconds ago, it was… well, it was huge for them. At least, it was huge for him, because who knew what was going on in that demon's head. All Freddie knew was he had so much more to say than 'That was nice.'

But what? What could he say? They had promised things would go back to normal. Well, normal for them.

"Even from the good things…"

"Hey," he heard himself say. Sam turned around, expectant. And at that moment Freddie knew exactly what to say. "I hate you." He couldn't help but smile at her, the warmth of this moment filling all the empty spaces inside him, instantly.

"Hate you, too."

Because normal for Sam and Freddie was an unspoken implication. To keep on fighting, because they were worth the fight.

Still, something changed that day. And it was only a matter of time, Freddie reasoned, until they called a truce and lived happily, dysfunctionally ever after.

"I keep running away…"

"Even from the good things…" sang Clara, as Mary strummed along. Both girls tried to act casual but could not stop themselves from sneaking glances at their parents' shocked faces. They'd learned about the secret meaning behind this song from Carly.

"Fredward!" Rose cut in abruptly, "Can I have a word with you? In private?"

"S-sure," Freddie agreed as Rose dragged him away. Truthfully, he was relieved to have been removed from that awkward situation.

Once they were out of earshot, Mary stopped playing. Sam eyed the girls suspiciously and vicously.

"Interesting song choice," she deadpanned.

Mary and Clara grinned sheepishly.

She did not like the looks of that sing-along. Oh, no, she did not.

"Fredward," Rose snarled, "What was that?"

"What was what?" Freddie asked, playing dumb.

"Do you think I am a fool?" she hissed. "Those... looks you were giving Sam Puckett while the Singing Clones were performing. Like suddenly she was the whole world. Explain yourself!"

"I-um, it was just," Freddie stammered, speed-shopping for excuses, "It's just a song from my childhood. Sam and I both like it."

This was getting out of hand. Rose had seen enough chick flicks to see what was on the horizon, and she couldn't risk losing her financially-flourishing husband. Her wealthy, carefree future was slipping through her perfectly manicured fingers and into the dirty hands of some horrible, abrasive baker. If Freddie wasn't going to remove himself from the mine trap that was Sam Puckett and stay in her arms where he so rightfully belonged, Rose would just have to do it herself.

"Do you love me?" she challenged, staring Freddie straight in the eye.

The question surprised him. "Yeah," he replied, "Yeah, you know I do."

"Then there is something I want you to do for me. For us." She smiled deviously. "About that lottery money..."

Meanwhile, along the outskirts of the campsite, a small helicopter landed, and right on schedule, Carly wandered over to meet Spye and Skye, Socko's twin cousins, who Spencer had enlisted to help out in a scheme.

The plan she and Spencer had hatched, Carly figured, was just crazy enough to work. Spye's role had been to break into Freddie's house in Boston without setting off the alarms, locate his winning lottery ticket, make a photocopy of it and bring both tickets to the campsite. All the while, Skye's helicopter was to be used to get to Boston and back to Seattle as fast as possible. Once Clara and Mary had hold of the tickets, they would pretend to destroy the fake ticket right in front of Rose and Freddie. In doing this, Carly hoped that crazy lawyer-slash-yoga-instructor Rose would crack and reveal that she was indeed only marrying Freddie because he won the lottery and not because she really loved him.

Carly watched as Spye hopped off the helicopter, followed immediately by his sister Skye. Both of Socko's cousins were in their early forties.

"Over here!" shouted Carly.

"Are you Carly Shay?" asked Spye, all business-like.

"Yes, hi, that's me, that's my name!" gushed Carly. "I'm so glad you guys made it in time!"

"Yeah, and we picked up a hitchhiker on the way…" said Skye, smiling.

"What – " Just then, the third passenger of the helicopter strode out. Carly squealed like a thirteen year-old. "No way! Ben?"

Ben grinned at his wife and spread his arms out. "Are you gonna hug me or what?"

Carly took off running and jumped into Ben's arms. He kissed her sweetly.

"How did you end up on an unregistered helicopter flying from Boston?" Carly asked.

"I got off work early," he explained, "So I texted Spencer asking if I could still come camping, to surprise you. He said he'd arrange a ride. I figured he meant like a taxi or something, next thing I knew a helicopter landed in the Bushwell Parking lot. Lewbert was not happy."

"I'm so glad you're here!" Carly exclaimed. "It's been… well, nuts around here. So where's the ticket and faux-ticket?" The question was directed at Spye and Skye, standing awkwardly to the side.

"About that…" said Skye, biting her lip.

Carly's smile faltered. "You do have the tickets… don't you?"

"Negative," said Spye.

"What?" Carly shrieked.

"Honey, calm down – " Ben tried carefully.

"Don't tell me to calm down!" she snapped. "It… it just makes me more not calm! Why don't you have the tickets?"

"We couldn't find it," Spye explained. "We scanned every room in the guy's house. Either that ticket was doused in some form on anti-detection spray, or it's simply not there."

"But if it's not in Freddie's house," Carly pondered out loud, "Then… where is it?"

After saying a quick goodbye and thanks to Spye and Skye, Carly returned to camp. So the plan didn't go very well (more like it didn't go at all), but at least Ben was here. Things had to be looking up.

"Dad!" Stephen and Michael shouted in unison, sprinting over to their father and attacking him with a hug.

"Hey buds!" he said happily.

"Hey, Uncle Ben!" Emily came over.

"Hi!" added Clara.

"Hey girls!" said Ben. He fist-bumped them both.

"Benny-Ben!" greeted Sam. "When'd you get here?"

"Just now," he answered, putting an arm around Carly. "I literally dropped in."

Carly grinned and rested her head on his shoulder. "Oh, you and your puns!"

Mary stood awkwardly to the side, feeling like some sort of lame intruder on the little love fest going on. Because Rose was off discussing stuff with Freddie and Spencer took Gretchen who knew where, she was literally the only one who didn't know Ben. She didn't know Ben, or love Ben. She hadn't grown up with him in her life. She hadn't even met him. It'd be so humiliating to have to introduce herself for the first time among all their happy, familiar chaos.

For the first time this summer, she felt like she didn't belong.

"Attention, future family!" cried Rose, as she and Freddie finally reappeared, "Freddie and I have just the most wonderful announcement to make, don't we, dear?" Freddie nodded.

"Absolutely," he agreed.

"As most of you know, my handsome, wonderful, loving fiancé won the lottery recently." Sam had to turn away so she could gag at the sugar rushing out of Rose's butt. "We've had quite a pickle of a time trying to figure out what to do with this ticket – " Rose pulled the actual lottery ticket out of her purse and held it high for the world to see. Carly smacked her hand against her head. Who carries a lottery ticket around with them? Stupid plan-ruiner! "…But I thought of a wonderful idea tonight and my Fredward has agreed to it… After the wedding, we are moving to Spain! Happily ever after!"

Silence. Even the wind shut up. The hush seemed to drag on for hours, though really it only lasted a few seconds.

"Spain?" Carly finally broke the silence. You could practically feel her heart breaking, as it sank in that Freddie would not be around so much after all. "As in, eight-thousand-miles-across-the-world Spain?"

"Of course that Spain!" said Rose, cheerful and oblivious to the utter outrage boiling inside of Freddie's loved ones.

Sam opened her mouth to say something, when suddenly, Mary let out a long-overdue cry of frustration, kicked a log, and took off running into the woods.

"Mary!" Freddie shouted, running after her. "Mary, get back here right now!"

"Whoa, kiddo, where you going?" Sam cried, dashing in right behind Freddie.

"Mary, no, don't!" Then came Clara, right behind her mother. Thinking on her feet, she grabbed a roll of toilet paper and stuffed it in Carly's arms. "Hold this!" The broken family disappeared into the darkness of the evening woods, toilet paper trailing behind them.

A/N: Dun dun DUN!

I'm sorry this update took forever. I hope you are all having a lovely new year so far and I hope you enjoyed this chapter. We finally met Ben! But Rose is still wrecking everything ever! Why did Mary run off? What are Spencer and Gretchen up to? What will transpire in the woods? Will Clara ever get to grow cranium crops? Stay tuned!

-Colors