"So now what?" Sam asked.
Goopy Gilbert screams "Seddie!". How did he get back on the screen? Didn't Carly disconnect him? Then Carly signs off on the shortest iCarly ever. The Creddie fans were probably glad it was over. And the Seddie fans were too happy to care it was short. The fallout with the fans would have to be faced later, not now.
Sam and Freddie just stood in the middle of the room lightly holding each other and staring into the others eyes, in awe. The feeling of 'Now what?' hung in the air between them. They'd taken some big steps into scary new territory, but exciting territory too.
"All right, everyone out! Visiting hours are over!" called out the nurse.
Freddie looked shocked. "Out? But we're... I want to... Oh, chiz." he sighed. This had been the most monumental day in his life and he needed to talk to Sam. They had things to discuss and, after waiting so long to get to where they were, Freddie was looking forward to some more Sam kisses! And now he was expected to leave her in the mental institution and go home and sleep? Freddie knew that sleep was not going to be happening any time soon.
"Maybe I can sneak out with everyone?" Sam suggested.
"No, I don't think you should try. That nurse has eyes like a hawk. I'll come see you as soon as I can tomorrow." Freddie said and moved his hands from her waist around to her back to pull her closer. It felt very nice but awkward for Sam. This was Freddie who she thought she hated for so long but had come to realize that she had actually been hiding her attraction to him, even from herself. She decided to go with her feelings and wrapped her arms up around his neck. Freddie hesitated for a moment, silently asking this time if a kiss was welcomed by Sam. She smiled and leaned in for a gentle, long kiss. Oh, that was amazing. Finally, a kiss when they both knew there were feelings on both sides and a kiss they were both ready for. It wasn't enough. One kiss like that wasn't nearly enough but the nurse was shooing people out the door. "I'll see you tomorrow!" Freddie called as he was pushed out the door.
"Excuse me, can you tell me where Sam Puckett is? She wasn't in her room." Freddie asked the day nurse at the desk.
"I believe she's out in the court yard, just through those doors." she answered. Gesturing to the back doors of the sun room.
"Thank you." he replied as he headed towards the doors. He went out into the yard and found Sam on a bench swing tucked under some trees at the back of the court yard. She was just sitting there staring off into space and not looking particularly happy. This worried Freddie. They'd made such a great breakthrough the day before, pleeeeeeease, don't let her be backsliding into denial and fear!
As he neared the bench swing he pointed to the empty half of the bench and asked "May I?"
Sam's head jerked up to see who was talking, she had been deep in thought and hadn't noticed any one approaching. "Freddie? What are you doing here?" she asked.
"I told you I'd come to see you as soon as I could today." he said with a smile.
"But it's only one o'clock! You have never ditched a single class in your lifetime!" she exclaimed.
Freddie decided maybe Sam could use some confidence building so he went with the truth. "I've never had anything important enough to skip class for, until now."
"Me?" Sam asked, gesturing for him to sit down.
"Of course you!" he replied, sitting down next to her. He was right, she had been doing some back sliding in her thinking and he'd have to turn that around. He leaned in and asked "May I?" again. She leaned in also and the two shared their first unhurried, long, sweet kiss. "Mmmm, you're right" Freddie said licking his lips, "they do make good quesadillas here." They both chuckled, breaking the tension between them.
"Sam, we really need to talk about all that has happened." he said softly.
Sam was so quiet she was nearly whispering. "I don' wanna."
"Why not? Have you changed your mind about me?" he asked, silently praying she hadn't.
"No, but I don't know how to have a talk like this. I'm scared where it will lead, that I'll say the very wrong thing" she said "or you'll say something that hurts me."
"I don't know how to have a talk like this either. But it's important to know where we both stand. I'm scared too. I hate to say it but I bet we'll both say wrong things, but as long as we keep going to work everything out then I think it will be worth it in the end. And, Sam? I probably will say something that hurts you but I wouldn't do that on purpose, I'm just learning to connect with... hopefully... my girlfriend?"
Much to Sam's shock and horror, she blushed! Then she quickly nodded her head. Oh chiz, I'm Freddie's girlfriend and I'm thrilled about it. How did that happen? she thought to herself.
"Would it help if I went first?" he asked.
Sam nodded again, "I think it would help a lot because I have no idea what I'm supposed to say."
"How about just the basics today? That should be scary enough for one afternoon, don't you think?" he asked.
"What 'basics' do you mean?" Sam asked.
Freddie took a deep breath. "I, Freddie Benson, like you, Sam Puckett. I mean LIKE like you, want to kiss you and go out on dates with you and spend time alone with you."
Sam smiled, "Ok, I can do that. I really like you too, Benson. I like kissing you and would like to go out on dates with you and spend time with just you."
"Then it's official, oh wait, not yet." he said and Sam looked confused. "Sam, when your mom finally gets home to get you out of here, would you like to go out to dinner and a movie with me?" he asked.
"Yeah, sure." she replied.
"Ok, then, now it's official, we are dating." he said with a big grin.
"You dork!" she laughed.
"I may be a dork, but you are dating a dork!" he retorted with a smile.
Sam looked surprised for a second and then laughed, "I guess I am." Then she stopped laughing. "No, I am not dating a dork. Freddie you are not a dork or a nerd. Well, ok, you do tend towards being a techy nerd but that is not really being a nerd." Freddie gave her a strange look. "I'm trying to com-mu-ni-cate with my boy-friend." she said and both the words communicate and boyfriend came out sounding like they tasted bad in her mouth.
"Thank you." he said as he leaned in for a gentle kiss.
"But understand, I'm not going to stop calling you a dork or a nerd!" she exclaimed.
"I wouldn't have it any other way." Freddie told her. And he really meant it. Once he figured out that she was hiding her true feelings behind the insults he began to enjoy the insults as if they were really compliments. True compliments would be nice but he knew Sam was a long way from being able to do that, he'd suffice knowing the insults meant she really cared for him. "So, how about we get to know each other a bit better? We could trade stories about the nuts in our family trees. That should bring up some interesting stories."
"Can it wait a few minutes?" Sam asked.
"Yeah, but wh..." Freddie was cut off by Sam suddenly kissing him. The family nuts stories could wait all day, as far as he was concerned, if this was how they were going to spend their time instead.
After several minutes, Sam pried herself from Freddie's luscious lips and leaned back in her seat. "So, you want to hear about my great Aunt Bertha and her hobby of put-pocketing? She doesn't pick people's pockets, she puts something in them. Do you want to know what she puts in other people's pockets or do you have a family nut you're dying to tell me about?" she asked.
"No, you go ahead. I think I want to hear more about this great aunt of yours." Freddie said as he settled back into his seat for a nice chat with his girlfriend, interrupted often by kisses, of course.
"There you are! I was worried about you, I thought you'd be at home but no one was there." Carly called out across the court yard a few hours later.
"Sorry, Carly, I just thought if I rushed out of the lunchroom looking like I was going to vomit that maybe everyone would think I went home sick and they'd go easier on me tomorrow when I don't bring in a note from my mom." Freddie explained.
"Oh, no problem, Freddie, I can forge a perfect note for you. Wouldn't want you to be late visiting me tomorrow because of detention, I'll be bored here by myself!" Sam said.
The use of Freddie's proper name from Sam did not go unnoticed by Carly. She looked at the couple, sitting close together on the bench, Freddie's arm around Sam and her all snuggled up close to him. Somehow, even as different as they looked, they looked just right. Finally! It took them long enough to get together! "You guys want me to head out and leave you two alone?"
Sam and Freddie looked at each other and a slight smirk on Sam's face told Freddie she was about to tease Carly so he just kept quiet. "Yeah, leave us alone, go away!" Carly turned around. "I'm just kidding, Carly! Get back here!" she laughed. "We've missed you!"
Freddie scooted over to make room for Carly. "Just keep your hands off my boyfriend over there." Sam teased.
Carly looked sideways at Freddie and said dryly "I'll try to restrain myself." then laughed. The iCarly trio was back together and life was good. They talked and laughed and caught up on each others lives. Carly and Freddie told Sam the gossip from school for that week. Sam told them about some of the more colorful antics of the patients in the mental institution. They made notes on some of those antics to be used for future iCarly episodes. Carly and Freddie had to leave to get home for supper far sooner than they were all ready for. After 5 days of only being together for a few minutes here and there, they really wanted to be together, all 3 of them, for a good long time. Better yet, together in their studio, horsing around and getting some work done on the show. But that would have to wait for Pam to get back home, whenever that was going to be.