Freddie Benson was worried about Sam. They were in the middle of their latest episode of iCarly; Carly and Sam were doing a sketch and when Carly slapped Sam on the back in a playful manner Sam flinched. It wasn't an obvious flinch, Sam was good at hiding her discomfort, but Freddie noticed. It was his job to film each episode and so he had spent countless hours looking at the two girls closely. Carly did not notice, but then she wasn't looking directly at Sam and had to worry about what she was doing anyway. Freddie did notice however and that, combined with other things he had seen, caused him great worry.
Over the past week at school Freddie had noticed Sam favoring parts of her body. Instead of carrying her backpack over her left shoulder, she now slung it over her right shoulder. This struck Freddie as odd since Sam is right-handed. He had also seen Sam limping; again it wasn't an obvious limp, but Freddie had still noticed. Freddie thought all of this added up to someone hurting Sam. The problem to Freddie was who was hurting her. If Sam was getting into fights with someone at school he would have heard about it. Also, Sam would have no problem telling them herself. No, Freddie thought someone was beating her up but she did not want anyone to know.
Carly and Sam were finishing the show with random dancing. It was very obvious to Freddie now; Sam was clearly favoring her left ankle. As the show was wrapping up Freddie thought about how to handle this; on the one hand he could do nothing. This was Sam's business; if she did not want to share then he shouldn't pry. On the other hand, Sam was probably the most stubborn teenager in the entire Western Hemisphere and had too much pride to come out and ask for help.
Freddie looked very hard at Sam. Even though she teased him mercilessly, and he got the occasional jab back at her in return, he did care a lot for her. He knew her home life was not ideal; it had occurred to him that her teasing him was a necessary way to release stress. They had shared their first true kiss together. While it did not lead to a new relationship, they hadn't started dating or anything like that; she did start teasing him a little bit less. He also knew that Sam would stick up for him if a situation called for it.
Freddie made his decision; he was going to get to the bottom of what was happening to Sam and help her whether she wanted the help or not. When it came down to it; she was his Princess Puckett after all, she wouldn't let someone else hurt him so he wasn't going to let someone hurt her.
Carly and Sam said their goodbyes and ended the show. "And we're clear," Freddie ended with. The two girls and Freddie walked out of the studio and down the stairs to the bottom floor. Carly poured the three of them some punch and got three cupcakes to celebrate another show with.
"So Carls," Sam said in between bites of red velvet cupcake, "any chance I can stay here tomorrow and Sunday while you and Spencer are gone?" Carly and Spencer were leaving that night for Yakima. Their grandfather was celebrating his birthday and there was a big Shay family reunion planned for the next day.
"No Sam, not after what happened last time." The last time Spencer and Carly had let Sam stay alone in the loft overnight she had ordered and MMA pay per view and invited a couple dozen people over to watch. It had taken the better part of a day to clean up the mess and Sam had stuck Spencer with the pay-per-view bill.
Sam sighed, "Oh well, I understand. I guess I better get going home." She got up to leave, "I'll see at school on Monday then. Say hi to your grandpa for me."
"Wait Sam," Freddie called out, surprising Sam and Carly. "Can you help me with something over at my place before you go?" Freddie desperately tried to think of something Sam could help him with, in order to convince her to come. Luckily, Sam didn't object.
"What is it Freddork, your mother isn't home to help you organize your Galaxy Wars action figure collection?"
"My mom is working a double shift at the hospital tonight, but I don't need your help with my Galaxy Wars collection. Come on." Freddie caught up with Sam and led her towards the front door of the loft. "Have fun in Yakima, Carly; see you in a few days." With that Freddie and Sam made their way from the Shay's loft to the Benson's apartment.
Freddie took Sam into the living room and had her sit down on the couch. He turned on the television and left, promising to return in a few minutes with some ham. Sam had no objections and found a particularly gory zombie movie on one of the movie channels. Thank god Mrs. Benson and taken off all the channel locks she thought.
True to his word, Freddie returned a few minutes later with a plate of ham. He also brought a very large first aid kit with him.
"What is that for?" Sam asked, referring to the first aid kit.
Freddie gave Sam a piece of ham. "It's for you in case you need it. At the very least there are some cold packs in there for your ankle and shoulder."
Sam was taken aback. "Why would I need any cold packs?"
"Sam, don't give me any BS. I can tell you're favoring your ankle. You've also switched the shoulder you use to carry your backpack. Don't worry, you're good at covering this stuff up, but I am really good at noticing things. Especially when it comes to you and Carly; I can tell you are in a lot of pain."
"You don't know what you're talking about Freddork," Sam was an accomplished liar and was pretty convincing right then.
Freddie wasn't buying it, though. "Ok, fine, if your left shoulder is ok then you won't mind me giving you a friendly pat on it."
Sam flinched, "All right, you got me. I hurt my shoulder last week, I fell down some stairs."
"Really Sam? Why didn't you mention it to anyone?"
"What, I have to keep you and Carly apprised every time I get clumsy?"
"What about your ankle then? I can tell you're favoring it."
"It's no big deal; I tripped on some junk in our front yard the other day."
"You seem to be real clumsy these days, but that doesn't mean you don't need some aid and comfort. Here, let's get your left ankle elevated." Freddie pulled the coffee table closer to the couch and put a cushion there on which Sam could rest her ankle. Freddie put a cold back on the ankle and took the opportunity to examine the injury as best he could. He could tell it was very swollen. "There, isn't that a little better?"
Sam had to admit that it did help the throbbing. Doing iCarly had really taken a toll on it. She didn't know how she made it through random dancing. Freddie was being extra sweet right now and she really appreciated it, but she didn't want to let him know that. "Yeah, it's a little better. At least you're good for something. Now give me another piece of ham."
Freddie had a feeling she was hiding something; he could see it in her eyes. "Now let's take a look at your left shoulder."
"Wait, Freddie, you can't look at it. I can't take my shirt off in front of you." Sam really didn't' want him to examine her injury.
"I'll just lift up your shirt from behind. I won't see anything I shouldn't. Come on, don't be a baby." Freddie dangled another piece of ham in front of Sam's face, as she reached for it he pulled up her t-shirt from behind the couch.
Sam had been distracted by the ham; she didn't expect Freddie to work that quickly. She tried to pull away from him but her leg was still propped up on the sofa and she couldn't move quickly at all. Once Freddie got a good look at her back she knew there wasn't any point anymore.
Sam's back was covered in bruises and welts. Some were recent, within the last night or two, Freddie thought. Others were much older, maybe a week or two or more. On the back of her left shoulder blade was a huge gash. No wonder she flinched when Carly patted her there earlier. Freddie was shocked; how could Sam endure this much pain and suffering and not tell anyone? How could she not come to her best friends for help? He tried to keep his voice steady, "Sam, I'm going to put some Neosporin on this gash and these welts. I don't want them to get infected."
Sam simply nodded her head. She was crying softly, no point in trying to seem strong and invulnerable any longer. Freddie had just discovered her biggest secret. When he was finished with the Neosporin, he dressed her gash with a bandage and carefully taped it up. Before he lowered her t-shirt over her back, Freddie knelt forward and gave her a gentle kiss on her wound. He didn't know exactly why he did it, he just remembered his mother kissing his boo-boos as a little boy. He thought Sam probably found it silly, but he was wrong.
"Freddie," she said in a sad and tired voice, "Thank you so much. I don't know what to say, that's the most kindness anyone other than a Shay has ever shown me I think."
Freddie came around the couch and sat down next to Sam so that he was facing her. "It's my pleasure Princess Puckett. Now why don't you tell me who's doing this to you? Is it your mother or that new guy you told us she's dating?"
Sam hesitated; she didn't want to tell Freddie anything, out of habit if nothing else. The only person she really ever confided in was Carly, and she never told her anything about this kind of stuff. She simply couldn't handle it and Sam wasn't sure Freddie could either. She stared to spin a lie to explain the injuries when Freddie cut her off.
"The truth Sam. I can't help you if you don't tell me the truth."
"Who says I need any help?"
"I do. And don't say you don't want any help because it won't make a difference. I'm helping whether you want me to or not. I know your home life isn't good. I know your mother neglects you and that she emotionally abuses you at the very least. In the past I've looked past that, just like Carly and Spencer, and assumed you could take care of yourself and you would be fine. Well, Sam, right now you are not fine. You deserve better, you deserve to be taken care of for once in your life."
Sam looked hard at Freddie. There was hardness in his eyes that she had never seen before. Freddie actually seemed to be mad because she was hurting. For the first time Sam thought maybe she could trust someone else with the complete truth. Her voice was hesitant, but she got the words out. "It's Gary that jerk my mother's engaged to now. He's been beating me up the last couple of months. I told mom, but she didn't seem to care. She said I would have to learn to mind my new father."
Freddie wasn't shocked by this, he was pretty sure it was either her mother or boyfriend, but just hearing it out of Sam's mouth made him angry. How dare someone hurt his Princess Puckett! "Sam what are you going to do?"
"I don't know, Freddie." Sam started to cry harder, tears rolling freely down her cheeks. "I don't know what to do. If I tell someone I'll wind up in foster care probably far away from here. I don't want to be away from you and Carly. I don't want to start over. I can't be on my own yet, either, I'm only 15. I just don't know what to do."
Freddie took Sam into his arms and let her sob into his chest. He held her tight and whispered into her ear, "Please let me help you Sam. Let me figure out how to help you." He kissed Sam gently on her forehead and rocked her gently. Eventually Sam fell asleep in his arms.
Sam woke up in Freddie's arms a couple hours later on the couch; it was almost 10:30pm. She felt safe and comfortable in Freddie's arms; she even felt loved. She had never really thought of Freddie in that way before, but she couldn't deny it. They way he was holding her made her feel special; she didn't want to get up. However, she was supposed to be home by 10:00. She was already late; she reluctantly pushed herself away from Freddie.
Freddie awoke slightly groggy, "Where are you going?"
"I have to go home. I told my mother Carly was going out of town after the show and she told me to be home by 10:00. I'm already late."
"Wait, is it safe for you to go home?"
"What choice do I have?"
"You can stay here with me, I'll protect you."
Sam smiled at the thought of someone actually willing to protect her. "Have you been watching too much Galaxy Wars? I'm not some princess who needs to be rescued. I'll be fine tonight; Gary and mom usually get pretty drunk on the weekends."
Freddie was reluctant, but short of kidnapping Sam there was nothing he could do. "Ok, but I want you to text me as soon as you are safe in your room. If I don't hear from you by midnight I'm going to do something drastic."
"Something drastic Freddie?" Sam seemed to be teasing Freddie, but inside she was really touched. "Just what do you have in mind?"
"Don't text me and you'll find out," Freddie replied with a smirk.
"It's a deal then." Sam was about to leave through the front door when she suddenly stopped and went back to Freddie on the couch. She kissed him on the cheek and said quickly right into his ear, "You're the sweetest guy in the world, Freddie Benson." She turned quickly and with that she was gone.
Freddie sat on his couch watching Sam leave. He absently touched his cheek where Sam had kissed him. His emotions were confusing him greatly. He was supposed to be pining for Carly; she was the love of his life, or at least he used to think she was. In truth he had given up on the idea of Carly ever returning those feelings a long time ago and he had come to accept that fact. What was confusing him now were the feelings he was having for Sam.
He certainly considered Sam a friend, even one of his best friends, but not someone he loved in a romantic sense. Still, he had grown very angry treating Sam's wounds; his heart nearly broke when she sobbed on that couch in front of him. Since they had done iCarly earlier that evening he had felt an overwhelming need to protect her. Wasn't this the sort of thing you thought about in regards to your girlfriend instead of your best friend? Did he want Sam to be his girlfriend?
Freddie pondered this question as he went into his kitchen to get something to drink. Sam was certainly attractive to him; she had a very different body-type than Carly, but it still appealed to him. It occurred to him that he had been paying more attention to Sam's appearance these last few months than he had to Carly's. Sam's and his treatment of each other had evolved over the last several months as well. He and Sam had been doing more things together alone without Carly; something that would have been unthinkable two years ago.
Freddie was also finding himself looking forward to the time he got to spend with Sam. It used to be he loved doing iCarly because it gave him a chance to be closer to Carly, but now he found himself more excited to be closer to Sam. Freddie sat back down on his couch. His thoughts and feelings were becoming clearer and the fact that he was worried and scared to death for Sam right then sealed the question in his mind; he wanted Sam to be his girlfriend. He loved Sam like he used to love Carly and he was not going to let anyone hurt her ever again.
He picked up his phone and called for a cab to pick him up. He was going to go over to Sam's house, confess his feelings to her, and one way or another he was going to get her out of that environment and somewhere safe. He was going to save his "Princess Puckett".
While Freddie was coming to grips with his true feelings about Sam, she was just entering her house through the front door. She saw her mother passed out on the couch and began to relax slightly. She went to head up the stairs and to her room when a booming voice called out.
"Where the hell have you been? You're almost and hour late." It was Gary and unfortunately he was nowhere near as drunk as her mother.
"I fell asleep over at Carly's and it took me time to walk home." Sam did her best not to show any contempt in her voice; she did not want to make Gary any angrier.
"You told your mother Carly was going out of town tonight, where were you really?"
"I was over at Freddie's place. I was helping him out with something." Sam was getting nervous.
"A 15 year old girl over at a boy's? Were his parents home?" When Sam failed to answer Gary just assumed she and Freddie were alone. "God you are such a whore. Do you know what 15 year old whores need?"
"N-No." Sam tried to keep her voice calm.
"They need to be disciplined. And if I get my hands on this Freddie kid I'll kick the shit out of him as well." Gary was mad, but Sam didn't care at that moment. The thought of him beating up Freddie was too much for her to take.
"Don't you dare lay a hand on Freddie." Sam was getting mad herself. Unfortunately she was not nearly as big or as strong as Gary. In a heartbeat Gary crossed the remaining distance between him and Sam and smacked her across the face as hard as he could. Her head snapped hard to her right side and she fell back into the stairs dazed and seeing stars.
Gary pounced on Sam like a predator taking down its prey. He grabbed her by the hair and began dragging her up the steps. Halfway up the staircase Sam began fighting back but Gary stomped down on her chest with his right foot. Sam felt one of her ribs crack and all the breath left her body. She was unable to move while Gary dragged her into her room and dropped her down in the middle of the floor.
"What you need to do, little girl, is learn how to mind your elders." Gary kicked Sam in the chest and midsection several times. She wasn't sure if he broke any more ribs, but she found herself spitting up blood. She tried to get up to defend herself, but was unable. Instead she spit in his direction and tried kicking him. Gary was not amused by this. "Now you've done it. Now I have to teach you a real lesson."
Sam had tried kicking Gary with her left leg; Gary grabbed that leg and took her foot in both of his hands. He straddled Sam for additional leverage and with all of the strength he could muster twisted her foot counter-clockwise in one swift motion. Sam's foot and ankle became dislocated with an audible snap. It was the worst pain Sam had ever felt in her young life. "AAAAGGGGHHHHH," she screamed. Even with her broken ribs the sound could be heard several houses down in each direction.
All Sam could think about as her world began to fade out was that she hoped Gary would just kill her this time. If she couldn't be saved than she just wanted to die.
Freddie's cab dropped him off in front of Sam's house. He told the driver to wait out front, he wouldn't be long. As we was walking up the porch steps to the front door he thought he could hear a struggle coming from inside. He looked around and saw a baseball bat lying a few feet away. He picked it up and was about to ring the bell when he heard Sam scream. The ferocity of the scream did something to Freddie. He had never been one to lose his temper, but hearing Sam in that much pain unleashed something inside of him. Something nobody, not even himself, ever expected to be there. For the first time in his life, Freddie Benson was experiencing a pure unstoppable rage.
The front door was locked, but the door itself was not particularly sturdy. Freddie kicked it in; hearing the struggle going on upstairs he dashed as fast as he could in that direction. He barely registered Sam's mother on the couch still unconscious. He made his way up the stairs taking them two at a time. No more than 30 seconds after Sam's horrific scream Freddie burst into her room.
Freddie's voice was cold, "Don't you dare touch her again."
Gary turned to face this intruder and began advancing, "Who the hell are you…"
Freddie never gave Gary the chance to finish what he was saying. He swung the baseball bat as hard as he could at Gary's head. Freddie had never played baseball in his life, but his timing here was perfect and the head of the bat squarely met the head of Gary. Gary crumpled backwards, almost tripping over Sam. He was not unconscious, however, and after a moment began rushing towards Freddie.
Freddie did not panic. He sidestepped Gary while swinging the bat again, only lower this time. Again Freddie's timing was perfect. The bat made solid contact with Gary's left kneecap. The sound of the bat meeting the knee was like a firecracker going off. Gary fell right to the ground in a heap, his arms stretched out on the floor.
"You son of a bitch, if I ever get my hands on you and your little whore over there you are both so dead." Gary spit out the words through gritted teeth.
Freddie's eyes grew colder. He took a few steps closer to Gary and brought the bat down as hard as he could straight down onto Gary's chest. The blow knocked the wind out of Gary. While he began gasping for breath Freddie took the opportunity to bring another blow of the bat down onto his right arm. He heard a satisfactory crack as the bones in Gary's forearm broke. At this point Gary was whimpering on the floor; his left kneecap shattered, his right arm broken and a rib or two possibly broken.
Freddie pointed the end of the bat at Gary's face. "If you ever touch Sam again, if you ever threaten her again, and god help you if you ever call her a whore again; the last thing you ever see will be me killing your worthless ass. Do you understand me?" Gary didn't move. "DO YOU UNDERSTAND ME?" Freddie repeated with more emphasis. Gary finally nodded and fell unconscious.
Satisfied, Freddie tossed the bat aside and turned to Sam. She had a badly swollen eye, blood was trickling out of her mouth and her left foot was lying at a grotesque angle from the rest of her leg. He kneeled down close to her face. She was awake but her breathing was shallow; he thought she might be in shock. Freddie wrapped her in a blanket and carried her down the stairs and out of the house bridal style. Freddie's cab was still there; the driver was surprised, but helped lie Sam down in the back seat with her head resting on Freddie's lap.
As the cab began making its way to Seattle Mercy Hospital, Sam looked up at Freddie as he began stroking her hair. She felt she was seeing him for the first time all over again. Now he was not only her friend and confidant; he was also her savior and protector. She managed to smile; Freddie smiled back. Sam's voice was weak, but she managed to say with all the conviction in the world, "My handsome prince came to my rescue." She then took Freddie's right hand and kissed the back of it.
Freddie continued to smile down at Sam. "Anything for my Princess Puckett."