Carly Shay had been called by her full name only three times in her life.
The first had been by her father the night their mother had died, her hysterical crying broken only by the stern declaration, while the second had been by Spencer. She'd failed a test, and too ashamed to tell him, Carly had forged his signature on the paper to return to her teacher.
And the third...
"Carly Angela Shay!"
She cringed at the top of the stairs, her open bedroom door at her back and she contemplated crawling into bed so she could pretend to sleep thus avoiding both Spencer's anger and his disappointment. She hadn't felt any regret for sneaking off to the MMA match at the time, but after Spencer and Jackson Colt had met under less than stellar circumstances, she had felt some remorse. Especially when Spencer failed to immediately awake following his cross-room flight.
Stepping down the staircase slowly, she reached the living room with a grim smile. She would have played it off, called him by his own full name, but Carly was smart enough to know that would only result in upsetting him further.
Before she could say anything, Spencer started, "I told you that I didn't want you at that fight. It was too dangerous for you, Sam, and Freddie."
"But we were there as guests! We were invited..." She argued, but Spencer cut her off with a look that spoke of the punishment to come.
"It doesn't matter! I said you couldn't go, you went anyway, and do you have any idea how worried I was when I saw those other kids upstairs? When I realized that you guys had snuck out?" he continued, his voice hinting at the fear that had pulsed through him.
Carly sighed. "I'm sorry, Spencer."
"I know you are," he retorted, unforgiving, and added, "You're grounded for the next two weeks. You can do iCarly since you'll be in the apartment anyway." The latter was somewhat of afterthought, he would admit, but given that it would be her next question, he figured he'd preempt it.
She nodded, wanting to fight it; to point out that two weeks was harsh, yet she kept her mouth shut. Turning to go, Carly realized something and looked back at her brother, asking, "Did you tell Dad?"
"No. His unit is getting deployed to Iraq to relieve another unit and I didn't think it'd been a good idea to worry him." Spencer shrugged. "Go to your room. I'll call you when breakfast is ready."
She really did turn away then, hand on the banister as one bare foot lifted toward the first stair. This time she was interrupted by the sound of apartment 8D's door slamming. Her eyes widened, she glanced at Spencer, and the broke into a pounding run – Spencer could deal with Freddie's mom.