The Little Girl

Disclaimer: I don't own iCarly

A/N: I wrote this oneshot back in 2008, it was inspired by a song that I heard and wanted to write something. I put the lyrics at the very end for people who wanted to know about it. When Fanfiction went through a purge, this oneshot was removed without my knowing, so I want to put it up. I've not rewritten it, it is exactly as it was. However this time, I'm not going to leave the lyrics at the end, you'll have to go look the song up. "The Little Girl" by John Michael Montgomery

-I KNOW THAT MAN-

Sixteen years old, Sam and Freddie sat on Carly's couch in her apartment like they usually did. The two had been dating for about two years, Sam couldn't be happier. "He's given me a great life, Dork," Sam said with a smile. Freddie held Sam's hand and smiled at her, he could agree. "He's been merciful to me and he's blessed me completely."

"I agree," Freddie said as he gently kissed Sam's forehead. She was so beautiful to him, just like an Angel from heaven, and God took care of that Angel. "I thank God every day that my father turned his phone on that day, and I thank Him every day that you're here with us right now." Sam smiled and rested her head on Freddie's shoulder, God had been good to her for the last nine years.

Sam's name hadn't always been Sam Puckett, her mom and father were not always Dale and Amy Puckett, she had a mom and dad beforehand. Nine years ago on this very day was the day that her first two parents died, a tear fell from Sam's eyes as she remembered her life from before.

-Flashback-

Sam Becker was her first name, the little seven year old girl seemed to be happy while she went to school, she had one friend who always seemed to do everything with her. "Come on, Sam, let's go!" Alison exclaimed with a smile.

"No, my mommy and daddy don't like for me to go to church," Sam said while pulling her arm from Alison's grip. Alison was her only real friend, and the one friend that knew everything about her, she was only a few years older than she was.

"Well you don't have to listen to them, Sam…" Sam sighed and shook her head, Alison glanced down and then placed her hand on Sam's shoulder. "Believe me, things will get better, I know it."

"You don't know it…" Alison smiled and gave Sam a hug; she stepped back and tilted her head to the side.

"Yes, I do…Because every day and every night me and my parents pray for you, and every night, God gives me these visions in my dreams." Sam rolled her eyes and crossed her arms over. "Sam, I dream about this boy and this girl, you're with them and you're with two other adults. You're happy, Sam!"

"Please…don't worry about it, I'm fine!" Sam smiled weakly and gave a small sigh. "My parents aren't going to be happy if I'm late…well…they probably won't care."

"Why don't you just come live with me?" Sam shook her head and ran off.

"Sorry, you're just too dorky!" Alison narrowed her eyes and gave a small smile. It was a shame really, Sam's parents were just two non believers who were lost in the world, they never took Sam to church, never spoke of His name, and never read her the word. The only time Sam ever read the scripture, was with Alison.

"I am not dorky!" Alison let out a sigh as she watched Sam's retreating form. "God, please do something…is there anything that a ten year old girl like myself could do but pray for her?" Alison turned around and started to walk home.

Sam stood at her front door and let out another sigh, she knew what she was walking into. Her father drank all the time and her mother did drugs, all she wanted was to have some fun and attention with them. Sam opened the door and saw her mother sitting in a chair, she looked drowsy and had a syringe in her arm.

"Mommy, guess what happened today at school!" Sam exclaimed, but of course it was no use. She would always try to be a happy little girl for her parents, but the usually paid her no mind.

"I don't…I think…yeah," Her mom said this in a slurred voice. Her words were incomprehensible and probably not something that would have been of interest to Sam.

"Mommy, I was just thinking that-" Her mother mumbled something incoherent once more and stood up to leave the room. Sam frowned and looked up on the wall behind the couch, there was a sculpture hanging.

"I don't care!" A voice shouted. Sam glanced over and heard the voice of her father shouting at her mother. "You're just a goddamn little whore who gets high on everything!"

"Well maybe if you didn't get so damn drunk every goddamn day of your life!" The mom shouted. Sam closed her eyes and heard her father punching a wall in anger. She quickly ran behind the couch and looked up at the sculpture; it was that of a man on a cross. He had thorns going around his head and cuts on his body.

"Why can't you shape up and get a life, you filthy whore!"

"Well you're one to talk, you damn bastard!" Something slammed into a wall once more; Sam let a tear escape her eyes as she got up and sat down on the couch. She turned on the television and started to watch it; she glanced to the side and thought she saw a man in a white robe sitting next to her. He smiled at her and stayed with her; Sam's mother walked into the room and did not appear to see the man next to Sam. If she had seen the man, she would have reacted.

Sam's mom sat in a chair and started to smoke, she tilted her head back and slowly drifted to sleep. Sam watched as her father walked out of the front door and slammed the door shut, Sam winced and the man next to her held her in his arms to soothe her.

"Why do they always fight?" Sam said quietly. The man looked at her and smiled as he wiped her tears away, Sam just couldn't bear the life she was living, but she knew she would have to deal with it somehow. "Why don't they ever notice me? Why don't they care? Is it my fault; am I not good enough for them? Don't they love me?" Sam shook slightly and looked over to see her mother staring directly at her, but her eyes were merely cold and blank.

Sam was afraid things would get worse, but she wasn't sure just how worse things could get for her. She slowly stood up and walked around to the back of the couch, she always felt safe hiding behind the couch and staring at the man on the cross. It was odd, but it was her shelter, it was where she felt safe. It seemed every day was worse than the last as far as her parents went, the slaps they gave each other were harder and the curses just grew. Sam sat behind the couch for what seemed like an eternity, though it was just a few hours. She stared at the sculpture of the man on the cross; she wondered what was so great about him that Alison always said was so great. She wondered if there was really anything this man could do to help her, to save her.

Sam once more closed her eyes and bowed her head, she heard her father slam the door open and attack her mother. He grabbed her arm and tossed her onto the floor, and she got up and tried to slap him, but he was still to strong. Sam hated the sound of their fighting, she hated the fear that ran through her body, but she loved the calming sense she got just by staring at that man.

"I don't know you," Sam said quietly. She tried to drown out the noise of her parents fighting, and she opened her eyes to see the man in white kneeling in front of her. He had a yellowish glow to him as he covered her ears up. "I know there must be something about you, something that makes Alison tell me you're so great. I wonder if she's praying for me right now, as she says that she and her family always do…She says you can save me, so if you can, I'll believe it. She reads to me from your Book that she calls the Word, and I sit and listen to her family talk about you all the time…they say that you died for us. They say that because your blood was shed, you offer safety and peace for everyone, the more I listen to Alison and her family, the more I believe that's the case."

"Damn you!" Her mother shouted. Her father shouted out a string of violent curse words and Sam's eyes tightened, she could hear the anger in his voice.

"Well, I think she's right," Sam said quietly. "Please…I'm so afraid…" Sam's eyes opened and widened as a gunshot rang out, she heard her mom gasp and hit the floor. Sam yelped and brought her hands to her ears as the man held her close, she sobbed harder and a second gunshot rang out once more, her father fell to the ground.

Sam whimpered and held her knees to her chest as she buried her head in her legs, she sat there and sobbed for a short time, listening only to the silence. She heard a loud knock at the front door, but she did not move, she was still scared, and she didn't know if she could trust strangers. She glanced over at the window and saw a boy looking into the window; he was her age at least. The boy looked over at an unseen person and said something, with that, the front door opened and three people ran in. An older man walked over to the bodies of Sam's parents and shook his head, Sam looked up and saw Alison and the boy standing above her, Alison had tears of anguish in her eyes as she wrapped her arms around Sam and cried with her.

"W-What are you doing here?" Sam asked in a quiet voice.

"She called my father," The boy stated. "She said that a man came to her and said that you needed help tonight and that she needed to do something. Oh, and my name is Freddie Benson."

"Sam, you wouldn't believe how hard this was," Alison said quietly. "There were no police officers around, they were all on call or something…but then this is a small town." Whether it was pure luck, mere coincidence or divine intervention, Officer Henry Benson had not only been off duty at the time, he was the only officer that Alison knew the number of and could call. He had been taking his son, Freddie to the park that day and only turned on his cell phone for five minutes, which is when Alison called him.

"I'd say it's a miracle," Henry said while walking over. He looked at Sam and smiled softly as he held his hand out to her, she placed her hand in his and he pulled her up. "You're going to be safe now."

"What's going to happen to me?"

"Well, I'm going to take you to the station, and we're going to give you a new family, are you okay with that?"

"W-What if they're like my mommy and daddy?"

"They won't be, they shouldn't be, but come with us and let's get you out of here." Sam sniffed and nodded as she was led out of the house by Mr. Benson, Freddie and Alison were walking right behind them as she left the area of the house for good.

-NEW SCENE-

Dale and Amy Puckett were two of the closest friends of the Benson family, Henry decided that Sam should go to live with them. They were sitting in their living room, both of them were ecstatic, Amy was actually sobbing. "Dale, we're finally going to have a child!" Amy said quickly. Dale smiled and hugged his wife close, she was barren and could not become pregnant, while he was actually infertile, he could never impregnate anyone.

"I know, it's a blessing, we've been trying to have a child for so long," Dale said with a smile. They had been married for ten years and had been trying for a child for nine years; this was the greatest day of their lives. "Henry said she was a neglected child, right?"

"Yes, so let's be sure to treat her like the beautiful angel that she is. She's just a baby, it isn't right that she is neglected, well let's be good parents for her, okay?" Dale took her hand and smiled, tears were falling from his eyes as well.

"Yeah, Henry believes we'll be good parents for her, which is why he's trusting her with us, I suppose it would be a good idea to treat her well. I want to treat her well because she's our first child."

"She has to be an angel, I just know it, I love her already and I haven't even met her yet!" Truth be told, Dale and Amy had been praying for so long that they would be granted with a child, they both figured this was the answer to their prayers and they believed Sam was the perfect answer. They stood up when they heard a knock on the door, they walked over and opened it, Henry was standing at the doorway holding Sam's hand. Sam had a blue dress on and a flower in her hair, Dale and Amy quickly dove down and gave her hugs and kisses. She loved the feeling, as she never got any hugs and kisses from her other parents.

"What is your name?" Dale asked to Sam.

"Sam Becker…" She had a slightly timid voice and a quiet tone to it; Dale smiled at her and lifted her up. She giggled as she was hugged and sandwiched between Dale and Amy; Henry just looked at them and smiled onwards.

"Well from now on, your name is going to be Sam Puckett, what do you think of that?"

"I like it."

"I think you're going to like it here," Amy said with a smile. She couldn't wait to start spending time with her new daughter, Dale felt the same. "Sam, we'll have some ground rules to discuss, but we can get to those later, is there anything we can get you?"

Sam thought for a moment and her stomach growled, she loved food but in her old home she rarely had anything that would last her. It was always ample and meager portions. Dale and Amy heard the growl of her stomach, so they quickly rushed with her into the kitchen, they set her on the floor and opened all the cabinets and looked into the refrigerator.

"What do you want to eat, Sam?"

"What do you like?" Dale asked with a smile on his face.

"Do you want to go to the park after this?"

"We can always go to the movies if you want…" Sam smiled and wiped her eyes, her new parents seemed to pay great attention to her, she loved that.

-NEW SCENE-

On Sunday, she was taken to church for the first time in her life, she wished she still met with Alison but Alison lived miles away. She would have told Alison about how her parents were taking her to church for the first time, she was thrilled about it.

Sam parted with Amy and Dale as she stood in the Sunday School classroom, they kissed her forehead and went to their classes. She walked into the class and saw a brown haired girl sitting at a table with the boy she met once before. There were a few others sitting there, but those two seemed to stand out more.

"Hello!" The girl said with a bright smile. "I'm Carly Shay and this is Freddie Benson!"

"She knows me, she met me," Freddie said with a sigh.

"Yeah, I met the dork already," Sam said with a smile. "So, I can sit with you?"

"Yeah, it'll make me feel even better, being the sole guy in the group…" His tone was obviously sarcastic, but he didn't really care, he had to admit that he liked being around both of the girls.

"My old friend, Alison always told me about Church and God…" Sam glanced over at a large picture that hung on the wall, Carly and Freddie watched as she walked over and looked at the picture with a soft smile.

The Sunday school teacher walked in at that time and looked at Sam; she smiled and placed her hand on Sam's shoulder. "Hello, I think you're new here, right?" The teacher asked. Sam nodded and then pointed her hand toward the picture, the teacher smiled and Sam looked at her.

"I know that man on that cross, I don't know his name but I'm positive he got off." Everyone in the class looked at Sam as she spoke; she had a smile and tears that were running down her cheeks. "He did, because he was there in my old house, he held me close while I hid behind the couch on the night that my parents died."

"Yes, that man is Jesus Christ; he is our savior who died for our sins. He was persecuted by man and was placed upon the cross where he would die to protect us. Now whenever we believe in Him, we are safe and we shall go to him in Heaven, then we will not suffer or fear any longer."

"My friend Alison would tell me her favorite verse was John 3:16…" The teacher smiled and looked over at the class as they recited the verse.

"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only son, so that whosoever believeth in him shall not perish but have eternal life."

"That's right…and she also said that one of her other favorites was Proverbs 18:10." Once more the class decided to recite them for her, which didn't even seem to embarrass her.

"Proverbs 18:10, the name of the Lord is a strong tower; the righteous run to it and are safe."

"Yeah, but still…she would read me those verses and her family would always read from the scripture."

"Well you tell your friend Alison that she did a very good thing for you," The teacher said with a smile.

"I can't see her anymore; she lives far away from me…"

"I see, well take your seat and let's get started." The teacher smiled as Sam nodded and sat next to Freddie and Carly, they smiled at her and the teacher started the lesson.

-End Flashback-

"Do you ever wonder what happened to Alison?" Freddie asked as he held his arm around Sam's shoulder. Sam shook her head and sighed, she truly did miss Alison, but like most childhood friends, they parted and probably wouldn't ever see each other again.

"It's hard to deal with when a friend moves away from you, but there's nothing you can do, especially when you're the friend that moves away," Sam said with a small chuckle. "Either way, she called your father up that night and got me out of the situation I was in." Sam looked over to see Carly walking in the room with a bright smile on her face.

"Your friend did help you out a lot, where would you be if she didn't call Mr. Benson?" Carly asked while crossing her arms.

"I don't know where…I'd probably just be wondering the streets or maybe I would have died that day."

"Well you definitely had someone watching over you, and then Alison got help for you. Great friends do great things for people, and God is pretty great as well." Sam nodded and Carly leaned against the wall while holding a smirk on her face. "Surprises are everywhere, Sam. Speaking of surprises, I have one for you."

"Oh yeah, what is it?" Sam raised her eyebrow and Carly grinned as she opened her door and looked into the hallway. Just a short second later, a girl of about nineteen walked in the room, she had brown hair that went to her waist and deep brown eyes. Sam's mouth fell and she quickly stood up. "Alison!"

"Hey Sam, I've been looking around for you," Alison said with a smile as she and Sam hugged each other. "I got accepted into college last year and I finally got a chance to look for you, since I knew you lived in this town somewhere."

"Awesome, so how have you been?"

"Never better, what about you, Sam? How have you been?" Sam smiled and a tear fell from her eye, she wiped it away and crossed her arms.

"Well, my boyfriend is a dork, my best friend is nuts…" Carly and Freddie both chuckled and shook their heads; Sam definitely had a great way to describe them. "My parents are the greatest parents that I could ask for." Alison smiled and crossed her arms.

"I'm so happy that you have such a good life now." Sam nodded and Alison tapped her chin.

"Oh, and that man on the cross, I believe in him now." Alison nodded and grinned, Sam crossed her arms over and Freddie slowly stood up from his seat. "He helped me in my old home, He gave me a new life and I got a great boyfriend and friend because of Him." Freddie walked over and placed his arm around Sam's waist.

"I think I got a great girlfriend out of the deal if you ask me," Freddie said with a subtle smirk. "I think it's safe to say one thing for sure, the little girl that Sam was before has truly grown into a strong and beautiful woman." Sam blushed at the comment and gave Freddie a kiss, and with that, Alison walked in and spent the next few hours talking to everyone about their lives.

A blast from the past, and a refreshing one to see. I wanted to leave it as I had written it all those years ago, still inspired by the song, hope you enjoyed it.