Saving Freddie

Disclaimer: I don't own iCarly

A/N: This includes knowledge of my other fanfiction, as though they were actual memories of the characters. Please enjoy the read. In a way, it's a sequel to all of the action stories. The characters could be in their 40s.

-THE FINAL STRAW-

"Hector Puckett, Gibby, Jeremy, Nevel, and even Rueben, they're all losers," thought a man sitting in an office chair. Jason, Vash, and Brian sat in front of the desk listening to the person speak. "Even Rueben has betrayed us and moved to the good side, and now he's with that crummy woman, Shannon. What is it with these people?" The three bowed their heads as the man clenched his fist in the air. "I ask for one thing, was that so hard to do?"

"He's really tough," Jason said while shrugging his shoulders. "None of us have ever beaten him."

"Clearly you have not. What is it with all the morons out there? Why the hell did they continue going after Sam?" The three looked up as their boss continued his rant. "Each time they went after her, they lost! I don't give a damn about anyone's reasons; I just wanted them to go after one person and one person only! Do I make myself clear? Maybe I'm not clear enough, maybe I should have scraped their earwax out with a jagged knife!"

"No sir, you don't have to do that sir!" Brian protested. He quickly stood up and tensed his muscles up. "Permission to speak, sir!" The boss leaned back in his chair and clasped his hands together. "I'm sure it was all Gibby, he disliked Sam greatly. Years of torment from her and years of being picked on had made him want revenge against her. He merely caused Jeremy to join his cause. Despite everyone calling him Germy, he still hated hearing it from Sam. Nevel's just a follower."

"Well my people must learn to follow me!" The boss stood up and narrowed his eyes. "When asked who you serve, you say Shane. When asked who you wish to destroy, you say Freddie." Shane turned around and walked toward the window, he stared out and held his hands behind his back. Most likely it was the fall he had that messed with his brain and only agitated the thoughts he already had. "For so long I've been inferior to that bastard. Look at what he has…he has everything!"

"Well, if you think about it, Hector came pretty close to winning," Nevel said with a small chuckle. Pity though, Hector still lost out in the end. Everyone who ever faced off against Freddie lost out in the end. Why? Perhaps it was because they went after his wife, perhaps it was because they went after Sam. For years no one has gone after him, for fear that they would lose out once more. No matter what, no matter who, Freddie Benson always won, and Shane was pissed. He had been in charge of every person that went after Freddie, only because of his own jealousy.

"Benson…how I hate that name…Ever since we were teens, he's always had the benefit. Ever since I fell down the elevator shaft that one time, I realized just how superior Freddie was. He was famous, every girl in school wanted him, why even Sam wanted him. She never said it, but she wanted him, and look how it ended up. She's married to him now!" Shane turned around and the other three winced when they saw the flames in his eyes. "She should be mine. For far too long have I sat by and watched him get everything. This time, his head will be mine! No more will I allow people to do what I should have done myself…"

"It won't be easy, Boss."

"I know that." Shane walked over to his desk, leaning forward and placing his palms on the surface. "He has his best friends, Jake and Jonah. Jonah is married to Valerie while Jake is wed to Stephanie. Carly's a famous artist, following in her brother's footsteps…and every one of them is close knit. He has too many guards around him now, so we have to find a way around them and eliminate him once and for all!"

"Yeah, it should most likely be when he least expects to be attacked," Brian said as he crossed his arms and nodded his head. Shane nodded and sat back in his office chair, he opened his desk drawer and pulled a remote out. The three turned as Shane pressed the button and projected an image onto the clear wall. "What is this, boss?" Shane sighed and leaned back in the chair as Freddie's image appeared on the wall.

"I have placed cameras around the Benson household, with this I have spied on the Bensons and their friends for a couple of weeks and learned their schedule." The three gave nods of approval and Shane flipped through the images. "Sam Benson, age forty one, married for twenty one years. She works as a theater professor at the local university, in which Freddie is the President of the University." He pressed a button and the image of a twenty year old male appeared. "Derek Benson, he is recently attending a local college away from where his family works…"

"That makes sense, I mean that way he doesn't have to feel weird and neither do the people around him."

"True, he is currently studying law enforcement. He hopes to join the Air Force after college. He would also like to aspire to be a secret service agent." Shane hit the remote button and a sixteen year old girl appeared. "Angela Benson, Angie for sort. She is sixteen years old and currently going to the local high school. The target is Freddie Benson, it always has been." Freddie's image appeared on the screen once more. "I'm not sure why people would target Sam when she is obviously not the one that is most hated. If they wanted revenge on Sam so much, taking what means the most to her would have sufficed. Now, what means the most to her?"

"Freddie Benson."

"Good. Now, we need to think of a plan to destroy him once and for all. Fighting is impossible, since anyone who has fought with him has lost, though come close to winning. You three will follow my instructions. Here is what we will do. First, we know that Sam has a theater production she's doing in another town for about two weeks, that means she will be gone for that amount of time."

"Freddie won't be able to leave?"

"No, he has business to take care of here. His daughter is always hanging around her friends and doing her homework, which leaves her father alone in the house. We know full well that his son lives on the college campus, so he's not a threat."

"So, we don't have anything to worry about there?" Vash asked while tilting his head to the side. He knew what Shane was thinking, there were still the neighbors. "What about Jake and Stephanie?"

"I have thought of them. As you know, Jake is a music teacher at the local high school, his wife is pretty much a housewife. However, Jake will be gone as well, he's performing some of the music scenes for the theater production that Sam's working on, which puts him out of commission. His wife will be joining him of course. As Jonah and Valerie…Valerie owns a bakery, we just need to get her bakery food recognized and she'll be out of here with her family for the time being."

"Wait, if her food becomes recognized, then won't that be a good thing for her?"

"It doesn't matter, we're just trying to kill Freddie. If we find a director, we can get her aired on the food network, but she will most likely have to leave the city to give a demonstration."

"Okay, but what about Carly Shay?" Jason asked as he tapped his chin. He knew the Shays could be a bit of a problem, they needed them out of the area. "We want to do this the legal way?"

"Well obviously, I'm a businessman, I can't have my career being risked over something like this. That's why you three are my goons."

"Yeah, goons…" The three sighed and shrugged their shoulders, they couldn't really care.

"It's fortunate that Freddie will be the only one here, so we have some planning to do and then you three can strike. No one associates you with me if you get caught. Now, let's find that director and give him a taste of Valerie Brown's food. Surely his mouth will water and she'll be out of the way. Mostly it's Jonah we want out of the way, since he's a pretty good guard." The others nodded and the group left the office.

Nearby, there was a closet door that was slid open very slightly. Fingers popped out and opened the door. A man stepped out and crossed his arms, he was wearing a jacket, blue jeans and black shades. His hair was short and spiky. "So Shane, I thought there was something about you." He narrowed his eyes and looked toward the desk. "Hmm…let's see what else you have on my father." He looked back to the door and frowned. "Come on Sis, get out of the closet now." A girl sighed and stepped out, her curly brown hair breezed with her every step.

"I really don't want to be here, Derek," She said while crossing her arms. "You're the one who likes criminal justice, I'm just scared right now. What if we're found out?"

"Don't worry about it Angie, I won't let anything happen to you, you're my younger sister."

"I feel more comfortable with my friends, not dealing with some villain that wants to murder our dad! Wait…how long did he say he wanted dad dead for?"

"Maybe twenty five years…people just kept going after Mom."

"Why does that disturb me?" Derek rolled his eyes and chuckled as he made his way toward the office door. Angie followed close behind.

-NEW SCENE-

"Daddy, I think you're in some sort of danger!" Angie exclaimed as she ran through the house. Sam had already left, as did Jake's family. Freddie raised his eyebrow and Angie just remembered she wasn't supposed to tell Freddie because they didn't want to worry him. "Yeah, you're in danger because the new puppy peed near your shoe…" That much was actually true, so she needed to tell him that.

"Great, oh well, that's fine," Freddie said while chuckling lightly. He stood up and walked out of the room. Derek stepped in and Angie looked over at him.

"I think one of the people intends to sneak in the house while Dad is asleep," Derek said with a frown. "I went back to that office and overheard them saying they were going to strike around midnight."

"Derek, nothing is going to happen to Dad, right?" He could tell she was incredibly worried, so he had no choice but to try and comfort her. He hugged Angie and smiled.

"Don't worry, Dad is going to be just fine. I promise you, nothing is going to happen to our father."

"Yeah, I hope you're right. I don't want that bastard to hurt dad, and I don't want Mom to be upset about anything. You're the one studying criminal justice…law enforcement…er, what's the difference?"

"There is a difference." Derek placed his hands on Angie's shoulders and gave her a determined look. "Listen, you just don't worry about a thing, okay. I know you're concerned, and I know you're scared, so I just want you to relax and spend time with your friends if you can." Angie smiled and nodded her head, trusting her brother to deal with it carefully. "I'm going to try and go to the police with this…"

"Derek, you know police won't take action unless something actually happens."

"True…So I'll handle it myself."

"There's something about that that worries me…" Derek shrugged and patted her shoulder as he walked out of the room. Angie sighed and shifted her eyes toward the side, she couldn't help but get a sinking feeling. She knew her brother was tough, he got it from both of the parents, yet she didn't want him protecting Dad on his own.

-NEW SCENE-

Later that night, Freddie lay down to sleep and Derek slipped behind a statue near his father's door. He made sure the window in Freddie's bedroom was locked, making it hard to enter that way. He checked his watch and noticed it was well after midnight, which meant the bad guy should be showing up. He heard a creaking sound coming from his father's room and slowly opened the bedroom door. It was there that he saw Vash standing over his father, somehow Vash managed to get into the house. He remembered when Angie entered the house earlier during the night and started talking to him, the door had been open for a good thirty minutes.

"Damn it, he must have been inside the house during the night," Derek thought while narrowing his eyes. He saw a small cylinder attached to a tube, it was attached to what looked like a gas mask. "NO!" He pulled a knife from his pocket and raised his hand in the air. He also placed his hand on the camera attached around his neck and took a photo of Vash placing the mask over his father's face. "Get away from my father!" Vash looked up and gasped as Derek threw the knife toward him, he yelped as it cut into his side.

"Damn it!" Vash ran out of the room and Derek chased out of him, Freddie was still asleep. He was known for being a hard sleeper, which could be a problem. Vash looked back and ripped the knife out of his body. He threw the knife toward his pursuer, but Derek dodged it skillfully. He leapt forward and tackled Vash, pushing him down the flight of stairs. "Ah, crap!" Derek stopped himself and stood up, watching as Vash landed on the ground. He charged toward Vash and gripped his shirt, pulling him up and slamming him against the wall. "Ah!"

"Shut up!" Derek punched Vash in the face and glared into his eyes. "You think I'm going to sit around and let you murder my father while my mother is gone? Guess what, I'm not leaving this house until my mother has returned, Mr. and Mrs. Brown have returned, and Mr. and Mrs. Krandle have returned. Believe me when I say this, Shane Casimir is going to be tossed in prison, but I'm not letting you go so easily."

"What do you intend to do, abduct me?"

"No. I don't have to abduct someone who has performed breaking and entry. You go in the basement for a bit."

"What?" Derek opened the basement door and pushed Vash inside.

"Can't let you go and tell your boss anything."

"I do have backup tonight you know, just in case something goes wrong." Derek raised his eyebrow and heard Angie scream, he jumped back and growled.

"Angie!" He slammed the door shut and ran upstairs, Angie's door was shut and she was screaming for him.

"Derek! Get in here!" Derek got to the door and grabbed the handle.

"Whoever's in there with my sister better get out!" He waited a second and opened the door, he saw Jason staring at them with narrow eyes. "Angie, what were you doing?"

"I was sleeping and heard him come in through the window…so I got up and blocked the door so he wouldn't hurt Dad."

"Idiot, I'm right out here, he can't do crap! Don't put yourself in that situation!" Jason growled and charged toward the door, but Derek quickly stepped in front of him and kicked him in the jaw. "Hey, breaking and entering is pretty bad…you just picked the wrong house to break into and the wrong person to piss off."

"Damn, I thought Shane said you lived on the campus," Jason said in an exasperated sigh. Derek leaned back and crossed his arms while smirking.

"I do live on a college campus, but at the time, I don't. At the time, I live with my father, protecting him from assassins." He stepped toward Jason and patted his back. "So what made you choose a life of crime? I mean, surely there's something that made you become what you are today."

"There is no…well…there is one thing."

"Tell me all about it big guy." Jason sat down in a chair and stared at the floor.

"I suppose it all began when I was a kid. I could never do anything right, my family hated me and I had no friends. Even today I have no friends."

"Elaborate on that. Do you mean to tell me that you are, even today, a person who has no friends and can't do a thing right?"

"That's true."

"I'm so sorry. I feel I should have some sympathy for you, but I have no pity for you. After all, this is what you let yourself become. You're in a rut, how screwed up was your life when you were a teenager?"

"It was pretty screwed up, I hated myself."

"Elaborate on that."

"I just hated myself…my family, my friends, everything about that. I just couldn't stand my life."

"Tell me more…"

"I never had a girlfriend, never will. I…I shouldn't even be talking to you right now."

"Life sucks, doesn't it?" Jason frowned and closed his eyes, trying to fight back tears. "I guess there's a whole lot of hurt deep inside that you don't want to talk about. Don't worry, there are people that care about you. Yet, this life you're living now…you don't need to do this.

"You're right, I-I should go now." Jason walked out the door and Derek followed after him. He watched as Jason left the living room door and exited into the front yard.

"Are you just going to let him go?" Angie asked as she stepped next to Derek.

"Yep, he seems emotionally distressed, I think his emotions will distract him from doing his job. As for me, I have a little someone to visit." Angie raised her eyebrow as Derek walked toward the basement door. "If anyone else comes in, call me." She nodded and Derek entered the basement. "Hey Vash, how's it going?"

"Shut up," Vash said while crossing his arms and growling.

"Hey, don't take that tone with me. Anyway, here's what I want you to do." Vash narrowed his eyes and slowly turned his head toward Derek.

"What…"

"I want you to calmly go with the police when they arrive here to pick you up for breaking and entering."

"What!" Derek took out his cell phone and dialed the police, he knew the story would appear on local news, but he wasn't going to let his father find out about the attempt on his life. There was no way he was going to make Freddie worry about something of this gravity.

-NEW SCENE-

Derek slowly opened his eyes and moaned, the sun was beating down on him through the window. The police had come and taken Vash, he mentioned that he didn't want his father to know because he didn't want to worry him so much, so they left it at that. He had stayed up most of the night, making sure nobody decided to break in and kill Freddie while he slept. Then he fell asleep on the couch some time after five in the morning.

"Derek!" Angie screamed out from upstairs. Derek moaned and rubbed his head as he stood up.

"What is it? I have a headache!"

"Dad isn't waking up!" Derek's eyes widened and adrenaline ran through his body.

"Crap!" He knew he shouldn't have fallen asleep while his dad's life was still in danger, the people could have returned then. He ran up the stairs and into the bedroom to see Angie sitting beside Freddie. The police had taken the cylinder the previous night as evidence, but Vash didn't confess to planning to kill Freddie. He only confessed to breaking in. "Dad!"

"I've tried pushing him and he just won't wake up!" Derek rubbed his chin and raised his eyebrow, Freddie's body was full of color, so it didn't make sense that he'd be dead. If anything, the events of the prior night had Angie freaked out more than she usually was. Usually, she was calm and very tough regarding various things, but in times like these she wouldn't be. Derek sighed and placed his fingers to Freddie's wrist, checking for the pulse. There was a clear pulse, indicating nothing bad had happened to him.

"Angie, I think Dad's still alive..." He smiled and walked over to his sister, giving her a comforting hug. "You don't have to worry about anything at all, okay. I'm going to protect Dad, you have nothing to fear. I'm also glad Mom isn't here right now, she'd be flipping out as well…" Angie nodded and wiped a tear from her eyes, she had been really worried, since she'd been trying to wake Freddie for nearly twenty minutes. "Dad's just a hard sleeper, what time is it?" Derek looked over at the clock and saw that it was eleven in the morning. "Hm, let's let Dad sleep some more…"

"Yeah…and you're right, I'm getting too freaked out by all this."

"It's completely normal." Angie smiled as she and Derek left the room. They walked downstairs and turned on the television, hoping to catch up on the news. They saw two men on the local news, they were Jason and Vash. "Hey look, it's that one guy that has a sucky life!" Angie laughed and shook her head, it really wasn't right for him to joke like that, but at the moment, it really did help ease some stress. "So, they've been arrested for attempted burglary…Well then, they're going to get more charges when we're done here."

"Hopefully no one manages to kill Dad." Derek nodded his head and looked over to the stairs, he saw Freddie slowly making his way down.

"Good morning," Freddie said with a tired yawn. He looked over at Derek and raised his eyebrow, he still wasn't sure why Derek was staying over here instead of his campus residence. "Isn't this the third day you've been here? It's not that I don't want you here, I'm just shocked. At the same time, I'm glad to have both my kids here while Sam is gone for the week."

"Yeah Dad, we don't want you to be lonely," Derek replied while changing the channel. "We'd hate for you to be so lonely that something should happen to you before Mom gets back." Freddie smiled and walked into the kitchen.

"I'm going to make some breakfast, do you want anything?" Derek looked over at a window and raised his eyebrow, the window was open. Hadn't he locked the windows? Maybe he forgot about that one, but it still shouldn't be open.

"Angie, did you open a window recently?" Angie looked over and shook her head, she had been in her room most of the morning. "Damn it." Derek stood up and walked into the kitchen. A worried look grew on Angie's face, so she quickly joined him. "No Dad, I think I'm fine."

"I don't know, you police officers have a lot of work to do, so you have to eat to keep up your strength." Derek laughed and patted Freddie on the back.

"I'm not a police officer yet, and I'm looking to be a bodyguard or secret service agent, so don't worry about a thing!" Angie rolled her eyes and smiled, she really felt her brother would keep them safe.

"I insist that you have some food! Your mother told me to make sure that 'the children were fed all three meals.' I don't want to disappoint Sam." Derek laughed once and shifted his eyes to the side, searching the area.

"Not right now, but I'm sure Angie would love to have a bite to eat." Angie nodded and smiled at Freddie, she'd love to sit with him, though she had already eaten. Freddie sighed and shrugged his shoulders.

"Okay, that's fine with me." Derek stepped onto the tile floor, earning a confused glance from Freddie.

"Come out come out wherever you are." The door from the kitchen into the laundry room was cracked open. He narrowed his eyes and reached for the door, Angie watched on with widening eyes. He pulled the door open but saw nothing but the washer and dryer. He lowered his hand and Angie let out a sigh of relief. Freddie was still not sure what was going on. "Wait, where is ?" Derek stepped back and looked toward Angie. "Sis, where is the puppy?"

"Out back, why?"

"Isn't he usually inside?"

"Yeah, but the backdoor was open and he was outside barking at something…I thought you had opened it and left the door open, you did, right?"

"Uh, yeah, enjoy your breakfast!" Derek quickly hurried out the backdoor and saw Balin lying on the grass, he was whimpering. "Balin, what happened to you?!" Derek quickly rushed over to the dog and checked it for any injuries, but he didn't see anything. At most, the puppy had hit something, but it would be fine. He slowly stood up and looked around the yard. "I know for a fact I didn't come out here, someone did. If it wasn't Angie, then who…"

Balin got up from the grass and started barking. Derek looked down and watched the dog run toward the house, he followed close afterwards. He ran up the stairs and into Freddie's bedroom, Balin immediately began barking at the closet. Derek narrowed his eyes and reached for the door, someone had to be behind the door. Balin was a German shepherd, there was no way he'd not be able to detect someone inside a closet. Derek's eyes slanted more as he opened the door. In the corner of his eyes he saw something move, so he quickly dodged to the side and avoided being slashed by a knife.

"Almost!" He thrust his hand into the closet and grabbed someone then he pulled him out and slammed him against a wall. The person was Brian, the third henchman of Shane. "Bastard, what are you doing here?"

"What else? I'm here to kill your father, I'd like to know how you found out about us, Shane did everything to make sure he didn't have any people spying on him."

"Aw too bad, I guess I'm more sneaky than people give me credit for."

"I think you should know, Shane figured out that you had stopped Vash and Jason, so I'm nearly a pawn." Brian smirked and Derek's eyes widened.

"Damn it!" Derek quickly slammed Brian's head into the wall, knocking him unconscious. He ran out of the room and down the stairs to find Angie sitting on the couch, she looked at him with confusion and worry. "Angie, call the police, I think Shane's making his move now!"

"What! I'm on it!" She exclaimed. Derek looked up to see Freddie stepping out of the kitchen, raising his eyebrow as Angie pulled out her cell phone. She turned around and gasped, dropping the phone. Shane was standing behind Freddie, but Freddie did not know Shane was behind him. "Dad, look out behind you!" Freddie turned around and gasped in shock, Shane grinned darkly and fired a shot into Freddie's body. "DADDY!" Freddie groaned and fell to the ground, placing his hand on his stomach. Angie quickly ran beside Freddie and felt her tears stinging her cheeks. She looked up at Shane and growled. "You bastard, why the hell are you doing this!" Shane tilted his head back and laughed darkly as he shifted his gun to Freddie's head. Freddie was still conscious and panting heavily, he wasn't sure what was going on, he hadn't even seen Shane in years.

"Bastard," Derek said as he took a step toward Shane and narrowed his eyes. "Do you think you can just come in here, try to kill my father, and get away with it?"

"My plans are usually perfect, so I'm not sure how you found out about this," Shane said as he gave an insane grin. "However, Freddie must die. All these years he's had a better life than I have, and therefore-"

"You think just because someone's life is better than your screwed up little life, that you can just go ahead and kill that person? Well that's where you're wrong. Guess what, if you think I'm going to let you kill my dad, then you've got another thing coming!" Derek shouted for Balin and in a few quick seconds, the dog came running down the stairs. Shane looked over and his eyes widened as the dog jumped up and bit into his wrist. He shouted and stepped back, tossing the dog off of him.

"How dare you get that filthy mutt near me!" At that time, Shane was open, so Derek quickly swooped in and grabbed his arm. Shane thought quickly and pulled back, trying not to let Derek grab the gun from his hand. "Get off of me!" Derek growled and started to punch Shane in the abdomen. Angie quickly stood up and watched with wide and fearful eyes, hoping her brother would win. She looked down to see that her dad's arm was the only thing that had been shot, but it didn't stop him from being in great pain. She turned her head back to her brother and heard a gunshot ring aloud. Derek halted and Shane smirked, just then Derek fell to the ground and Angie let out a shrill scream.

"DEREK!" Derek fell face down next to his father and Shane took a step forward, smirking triumphantly. He ignored Angie, not thinking she was a major threat to him. Angie grabbed onto his arm and felt bitter tears running down her face. "Leave my dad alone!" Shane growled and jerked his arm, tossing Angie off of him. He chuckled as Freddie gazed up at him with helpless eyes. Angie shifted her eyes in between Freddie and Shane then broke in a run toward the kitchen.

"Hey Freddie, it's been a while hasn't it?" Freddie bared his teeth and growled, Shane merely tilted his head and smirked. "I don't think you're in the position to act tough anymore. Finally, you will die. Don't fret, though. Your son is going with you…maybe even your daughter, since she's a witness here. I don't particularly care about Sam, not at all." Freddie growled and Shane started to lift his gun back to him. "This is the end of the line Freddie. Your son did well, apparently he had found out about my plans and captured all of my henchmen. I'm guessing he got Brian as well, judging by the speed he ran down here."

"Get away from my father!" Shane raised his eyebrow and felt a butcher knife slam into his back. He fell forward and the knife sliced from the top of his spine and downward, by reflex he jerked back and threw Angie off of him. She shouted out as she landed against a wall, she gasped as Shane turned around and took a staggering step forward. "Go away, bastard! Leave my family alone!" Shane sneered at her and took another step forward, but was growing weaker by the second.

"Damn you girl, trying to ruin my plans like that." He panted and lifted his gun toward her. "Screw your father, I'll take you out instead." He slowly lifted the gun and Angie clenched her fists, preparing to try to duck the shot at least. The shot never came, instead Shane's face twisted and his body fell toward the ground. She waited a few seconds, but he didn't rise up.

"Take that, bastard…" She panted and quickly ran toward her cell phone on the ground, she had to call the police and fast. She picked up the phone and dialed 911, still keeping an eye on Shane's body, but he still wasn't getting up. "Please send help, my father and brother have been shot! There's a man here, and I think there may be someone upstairs, please send the police and ambulance, fast!" She continued to flip out while the woman receiving the call continued trying to keep her calm and composed, as impossible as that was in such a situation. Angie closed her eyes and tears began running down her face. "I don't know if the attacker is dead or alive, I stabbed him and he fell…My brother was trying to protect us and he got shot, I can't tell if he's alive or not."

-NEW SCENE-

A week later, Derek opened his eyes, he had been in the hospital recovering from a gunshot wound to the chest. He was due to get out of the hospital any time now. He looked over at his hospital door and stared at it for a few seconds before it opened. A young nurse in training appeared, she was around his age and was very pretty, he had spent most of the week flirting with her. "You have visitors, Derek."

"Okay sweet cheeks, send them in." He smirked and the girl let out a small giggle while letting a blush rise to her cheeks. Angie was the first to enter the room. Next was Freddie, his arm was wrapped around Sam's waist. They walked toward Derek's bedside and he smiled at them. "Hey Dad, Mom, Angie, I'm sorry if I worried you guys." Angie leaned down and gave Derek a hug, he winced slightly and smiled as his sister let go. "Yeah, it still hurts a little. I didn't know the bullet was so close to my heart, I'm lucky to be alive, they say."

"I should never have left," Sam said while wiping away a tear. She had been devastated when she received a call stating that her family had been shot. Nothing but the fear of their deaths ever dared to cross her mind. Jake was pretty nervous as well, along with Jonah and Valerie. "I'm just glad you are all okay and I have a family to come home to." Freddie smiled as Sam leaned forward and kissed Derek on the forehead. "Angie told us everything, you were very brave to protect your father like that."

"I couldn't let that guy hurt anyone, but hey…Angie deserves most of the credit. If it wasn't for her, we'd all be dead." Angie blushed slightly and glanced toward the side. Though Shane was a killer, the mental trauma of the ordeal and the fact that she had killed a man was going to weigh heavily on her for some time.

"I still can't believe I killed him," Angie said in a quiet voice. Derek smiled at her and gave her hand a gentle squeeze.

"You did what you had to do in order to survive." She nodded and sniffed once, avoiding any tears.

"You still should have told me," Freddie said while crossing his arms. "However, I am thankful that everyone is safe. Just, if something like this happens again, let me know."

"Dad, I think I'd freak out if this were to happen again." Freddie laughed and Sam slowly shook her head.

"Yeah, but we have to deal with the fear of losing you when you become a police officer, not before then," Sam reminded him. She smiled gently and crossed her arms. "Either way, if it wasn't for you…I don't even want to think about what might have happened." She cringed and Freddie gently kissed her cheek.

"Then don't think about it," Freddie said with a smile. He looked toward Derek and smirked. "So, tell us about that nurse you've been flirting with all week." Derek chuckled and looked toward the side, blushing. "Is there anything you want to say?"

"Well she's not really my nurse," Derek whispered. "She's just a girl who visits me because she was concerned…she goes to my college."

"And, what else is there?"

"Dad!" Sam and Angie both snickered as Derek crossed his arms over. "We're going to go to the movies when I get out of here…"

"Aha, my son's first girlfriend!"

"DAD!" Derek glared at Freddie and the two girls began laughing like crazy. Derek's face grew redder and he quickly looked away, grumbling at them. "Dumb crazy family…butting in on my personal life…"

"Look at it this way," Angie started out while smirking. "Its better you have family to butt in rather than to have lost your family, which, by the way, times like these are when I'm glad to have a brother like you…"

"Yeah, and I guess it's good to have an annoying little brat for a sister like you too." He smirked and Angie's jaw fell.

"Hey!"

"What, you were an annoying little sibling, always playing pranks on me and everything."

"I'm not anymore! Besides, you played more pranks on me than I ever did on you!"

"This is true." Sam and Freddie both chuckled and glanced at each other, it seemed everything would be back to normal soon.

I hope you liked that, drop a review. Heh, I bet you thought Derek was going to die.