Hello, everyone! This is a prompt from Movies And TV Shows AU.

Disclaimer: I do not own ICarly or any of its characters. The character Jennette Shay was Movies And TV Shows AU's idea.

The shrill ring of the phone jolted Jennette out of her sleep, and she groaned as she popped her neck, having fallen asleep on the couch while watching The Voice.

Jennette grabbed the phone and placed it against her ear.

"Hello?" she muttered, wondering who could be calling at eleven o'clock at night.

"Jennette?" Sam said, nervously, into the phone.

Jennette frowned. "Sam? I thought you were in your room."

"I snuck out. Jennette, I messed up," Sam mumbled.

"How badly? Like the time Spencer built that invention that went haywire and spray painted our entire living or the time Carly tripped and knocked over a really expensive vase at the museum?" Jennette asked.

"Worse. I got arrested," Sam admitted.

Jennette sighed. "I'll be there soon. Where are you?"

"Juvie. I need you to bail me out," Sam murmured.

Jennette nodded before stopping when she remembered that Sam couldn't see her (Come on, people. We've all nodded while talking at the phone at some point, even though the person can't see us). "I should be there in ten minutes. Hang tight, little sis."

Jennette hung up and walked across the hall to Mrs. Benson's door (in this AU, Mrs. Benson still lives across the hall and is protective of Jennette and her siblings since she has no kids of her own to worry over), knocking lightly on the wood.

Mrs. Benson answered the door in her robe and frowned when she saw who was on the other side.

"Jennette, what are you doing here?" she asked. "It's the middle of the night."

Jennette sighed. "Sam got into some trouble, and I need to go help her out of it. Could you maybe just check on my sister and brothers every fifteen or so minutes until I get back?"

Mrs. Benson nodded. "Of course."

"Thank you, Mrs. Benson. You are a life saver!" Jennette said, gratefully, before running towards the elevator, her keys jingling in her hand.

"So what did you even do?" Jennette asked as she drove back towards their apartment with Sam in the passenger seat.

Sam sighed. "I stole from a mall. It was only ten bucks, but… I don't know. I just grabbed it off the shelf and walked out."

Jennette raised an eyebrow. "Sam, I could've bought you the item. But… I don't think this was just about the item itself. You didn't walk into that store thinking I'm going to steal something today."

Sam pursed her lips.

Jennette knew she should be grounding Sam or yelling at her or even threatening to spank her with a belt. After all, she got arrested; most disciplinarians wouldn't let that slide with a slap on the wrist.

But Jennette had been down this road before. Sam had been failing a class and Jennette had grounded her until she got her grades up, but Sam had continued to fail, no matter how many days she spent locked in her room. It didn't take long for Jennette to realize that Sam couldn't do her homework because she was too busy crying over their mother, who had died only a few months before. Sam had been so close to both of their parents, so their mother's death was a hard blow to all of them, but especially Sam (and Freddie, but that's a story for another time). Jennette started helping Sam instead of punishing her, and within two weeks, Sam's grades were all As and Bs.

Jennette realized that Sam didn't need a punishment. She needed someone to talk to.

"Would this have anything to do with Dad?" Jennette asked. "Do you think his daughter getting arrested would bring him home?"

Sam didn't speak or nod or move to confirm or deny Jennette's words. Her silence was basically an answer all by itself.

"Sam, getting into trouble will not bring Dad home, but I know that he loves you very much, and if he had a choice, he would be in this car with you right now. But he can't be, so he left me to take care of you because he knows that I love you just as much, maybe even more if that's possible, than he does. He knew I could take care of you, and that's why I'm not going to punish you."

Sam sputtered in shock. She'd expected to be grounded, house bound, yelled at, maybe even spanked. Not being punished at all was the one thing she hadn't been expecting.

"You're not?" Sam stammered.

Jennette shook her head. "Grounding you will not stop you from getting into trouble, but talking to you will. I love you, Sam. Dad loves you. Carly, Freddie, Spencer- they love you, too. And whatever you need, we are right here. We need Dad; I'm not going to say we don't, but until he gets back, you need to let us be there for you, just like you need to be there for us."

Sam wasn't one to cry, but she felt tears fill her eyes as Jennette wrapped an arm around her shoulders.

Sam had spent a long time thinking she had such rotten luck. Her mother died. Her father joined the army and left the country.

But Jennette made her realize that while Sam had lost her mother and in a sense, her father, she was lucky enough to have four great siblings who loved her more than life itself.

In that moment, Sam felt unbelievably grateful for her brothers and sisters. Without them, her life would've crumbled right then and there.

Jennette Shay speaking, and I'm here to tell you that nobody knows my siblings better than me. I know my baby brothers and sisters like the back of my hand. I knew that Sam's tough girl attitude was just an act and that when it came down to it, she needed a shoulder to cry on, a soothing voice to tell her it was all okay, not a firm hand. Tough love never worked with Sam. It only pushed her further away from me and our family, and I couldn't let that happen, so I softened my tone and gave her a hug instead of yelling or sending her to her room. She needed me for comfort, for support, for help… not for a harsh punishment. Sam didn't even realize that about herself, but I did because nobody knows my siblings better than me. Sometimes I know them better than they know themselves.

Thanks for reading! Please tell me what you thought in the form of a review or a PM! I'm always grateful for feedback (but keep it kind or constructive criticism because any flames will be ignored and possibly reported). Have a nice day, everyone, and I will see you next time. Bye, everyone!