Author's Note: Okay guys so it's been a while since I've had time to think up, let alone sit and type, a decent fanfic but, I think I've got a good little story on my mind and well, I was taught to share the good stuff.

"And we're clear." Who knew such few words could hold the power to change the complete atmosphere of a room.

Not two seconds ago Sam and Carly had been practically bouncing off the walls of the studio, and now they were anything but.

"So that was it then? We're done." The emotion in Carly's voice was evident.

"Guess so." said Freddie.

"Are you sure that was all we had for this episode? Knowing you, dorkus, you might have left something off." Sam said as she frantically looked over their plan again.

"Well?" asked Carly hopefully.

Sam couldn't help the disappointment that creeped into her eyes as she answered, "That was everything."

The trio stood in silence for what seemed ages. It's not that they had nothing to say to each other, actually, it was quite the opposite. They had so much they wanted to say at that very second, that it all went from their mind to their brain stem at once, causing a dam of emotions that prevented the flow of their words.

"Well I guess I'll see you tomorrow Fred-o." Leave it up to Sam to break an otherwise unbreakable silence.

"Uh…Yeah, tomorrow. It's at six….Um, at my place, you know, across the hall."

"Cool," said Sam as she headed for the elevator, "I'll be their at eight." The elevator arrived and as she stepped in, Sam gave one last wave to her friends before the door came down.

"She's not really gonna get their at eight, you know."

"Yeah, Carly, I know. After all these years, I think I've finally learned that there are multiple time zones; there's eastern and central, pacific and Puckett."

They both shared an uneasy chuckle as they made their way down the stairs. Once at the landing they both entered another awkward silence. This one, though didn't last too long.

"Look Mrs. Benson I already told you, I don't know why Freddie is three minutes and twenty-two seconds late from iCarly."

"Spencer Shay don't walk away from me while I'm asking about my Freddie's whereabouts. He's young and impressionable and-"

"Mom!" Freddie cried out. How is it that even at a time like this she somehow managed to embarrass him.

"Fredward Benson where have you been for the past…" she looked down at what appeared to a be a rather large stopwatch, "…three minutes and fifty-four seconds?"

Carly couldn't help herself, "She times you now?"

Freddie looked down at his shoes as he answered. "She usually leaves the stopwatch at home." He started making his way over to his mom. "I guess I'll see you guys tomorrow. Let's go mom."

"But you still haven't answered me, what if there's a matter to discuss here?"

Freddie grabbed her by the arm and started to drag her out, "There's nothing to discuss, mom. Let's just go. Now. Come. On! Mom!"

Mrs. Benson was still wary of leaving but followed her son out the door and across the hall nonetheless.

As soon as the door closed behind them Spencer asked, "How is she gonna manage the whole…."

"I don't know." was Carly's honest response. "I'm gonna get something to drink."

"Oh try the lemonade. Made it myself. Two cups of sugar, two cups of water, and three cups of lemon extract."

Carly looked up at her brother, "Two cups of sugar and three cups of lemon extract? Are you sure it wasn't the other way around?"

Spencer looked at her dubiously as she made her way to the fridge and then a horrible thought occurred to him.

"You don't think Mrs. Benson will try to hang around here do you?" He turned to Carly, who for some reason now seemed very interested in whatever was in her cup. "Do you?"

"This lemonade smells funny. Have you had any yet?"

"No. Carly seriously do you?"

"Is the smell of citric acid supposed to singe your nostrils?"

Spencer was now very confused. "What? I don't- Carly what's going on?"

Carly put her cup down on the counter and looked up at Spencer. She had that 'One day you'll think this is funny' look on her face. "I might…have 'loaned' her my spare key…"

"Carly you didn't?"

"…and then may have unpurpose-ly said the words 'are', 'welcome', 'anytime', and 'you' in some particular order that currently escapes me."

Spencer had an 'I can't believe you did that' look on his face. "Carly what were you thinking?"

She waved her arms around helplessly, "Oh, I don't know. That she's single and lonely and will probably never find anyone willing to spend more than five minutes in her company unless they're related to her or really, really polite." Then she dropped her arms and huffed up the stairs to her room.

Left alone Spencer walked over to the counter. He could see what his sister meant. He reached for the cup and brought it up to his mouth and immediately put it back down. "Whoa! Ugh! Maybe it was two cups."

One Week Before:

"So what are we all doing once the hell-hole known as high school reopens and liberates it's demonic inhabitants, known as teachers, to once again go through their daily ritual of trying to brainwash us into being decent members of society?"

"Sam, I do believe that was the largest number of words to ever, come out of your mouth."

Freddie's insult was met with the same fate all the others did, Sam's payback. It wasn't so much the punch but, the fact that for some odd reason she had been wearing brass knuckles.

Carly walked into the studio a few seconds later, just in time to see Freddie rolling around on the floor clutching his arm for dear life.

"What's he doing down there?" she asked.

"Looking for his dignity." Carly turned to Sam and scowled. Then she noticed something shining on her fist. "Hey what are you doing with…Oh, Sam! You didn't?" Carly dropped down on her knees to help her tech producer.

"What? He insulted me first!"

They were both now on their feet. "That may be so but, you punched his camera arm."

Freddie looked offended, "Hey!…That's also my tech-belt hand." As Freddie went to pat his tech-belt, Sam noticed something shiny sticking out of his pocket.

"Nerd-on-steroids, what's that shining in your pocket? I thought you got rid of your gold plated pocket protector."

Carly looked at him questioningly, "Gold plated pocket protector?"

Freddie looked like a dear caught in the headlights. "Uh… She's lying!"

"No I'm not. You showed it to me last week, said it was one of the best things your mommy had given you."

"Did not."

"Did too. You just won't admit it in front of Carly." she turned to Carly, "He still holding out hope that one day he'll be your second husband."

Freddie's face matched his red shirt. "I am not!…Now I plan to be her third husband. Besides, it's not a pocket protector."

This peaked the girls' interest. Carly asked, "Well, what is it then?"

Freddie looked down at his pocket as he pulled out an envelope. "It's an invitation."

"To what? Join Dorks-R-Us." said Sam.

"No. To take an entrance exam for T.E. Prep."

Carly smiled at him. "T.E. Prep? As in Thomas Edison Preparatory School?"

"Yeah." answered Freddie.

Sam got up from the beanbag. "That's the private school that focus on all things techy isn't it?"

"Yeah." Freddie answered slowly.

"Like I said, Dorks-R-Us."

"Sam cut it out. Freddie that's the school you've been dreaming of going to since you found out it existed."

"Yeah but, my mom could never afford it. Now because of my grades, my A.V. Club record, and my work on iCarly, they're offering me a chance to take the test."

Carly couldn't help but be happy. She went over and hugged Freddie, who, for some reason, wasn't hugging back. Something Sam was only too happy to point out.

"What's up with you? You're usually clambering for any excuse to touch Carly and now that's she's all up on you there's no hugging back?"

"Shut up Sam. Congratulations Freddie. You must be thrilled." Carly pulled back from the hug and came face to face with a rather serious looking Freddie. "What's wrong? You look all 'not so thrilled'."

Freddie looked at the envelope, then back up to his friends. "There's more." The girls looked at him expectantly. "If I happen to score high enough on the exam, the school's willing to give me a full ride scholarship for the entire fall semester."

"And that's a bad thing because?" asked Carly.

"Don't you see?" said Sam. "If he gets into T.E. Prep, he won't be going to school with us. He'll be living on campus wherever the hell that nerd shop is and we'll be here, in Seattle, with no tech producer for iCarly."

Carly suddenly realized exactly what that would mean. "Oh…right…well, that doesn't matter right now."

"But, Carly what ab-"

"No, Sam. It doesn't matter. Right now it's about Freddie, and whatever he chooses is all right with me." She turned to smile at her best friend.

Freddie couldn't believe what he was hearing. "Really? You're okay with this, whatever this turns out to be?"

"Yeah. Why wouldn't I be? This a once in a lifetime opportunity for you. You should go for it."

Even as they made their way down the stairs, Sam still couldn't believe Carly was just taking this in stride.

"I guess I better go home and study some stuff, the test is two days from now." said Freddie.

"Okay Freddie. See you later." responded Carly.

"See ya. Later Sam."

"Yeah, later." As the door closed behind Freddie, Sam grabbed Carly by the shoulders and shook her. "What?!?! 'You should go for it' What were you thinking?"

"I was thinking that getting into that school is something our best friend has been wanting to do for, like, ever." Sam let go of her shoulders.

"Don't you care that there won't be any more iCarly?"

Carly looked taken aback. "Of course I care. We've been doing the web show together since seventh grade, that's four years."

"Exactly!"

"But Freddie's been dreaming about T.E. since he first figured out how to work a calculator!"

As much as Sam insulted and degraded Freddie for being a tech nerd, he was their friend, and she knew he was smart. Keeping him in Seattle would be a waste.

"We can't take this away from him Sam."

"You're right. He still has to pass that entrance exam."

Carly raised an eyebrow at that. "You honestly think he won't pass it?"

Sam looked at her sheepishly. "A girl can hope can't she?"

Carly wrapped an arm around Sam's shoulder's as they walked towards the door. "Besides, it's only going to be the fall semester. We'll have our tech producer back by Christmas. iCarly isn't ending it's just going on hiatus for a while."

"Yeah, you're right."

"Aren't I always?" Sam laughed at that one. They said their goodbyes and Carly headed up the stairs to her room.

Four Days Later:

"It's here! It's here! Carly! Sam! Spencer! Mom! It's here!" Freddie's frantic words were the first thing heard immediately after the crash of the door.

Carly, Spencer, and Sam-who practically lived there-ran from the kitchen to the Shay's living room.

Mrs. Benson came flying in after Freddie. "Did you get it?"

"Yes, it's here." Freddie held up yet another envelope, similar to the one before.

Carly couldn't take it anymore. "SO? Are you in or not?"

Her friend looked down at his hands and started to open the envelope but, half way through he changed his mind and quickly handed the envelope to Carly. "Here you read it. If it's bad news it'll be easier to take coming from you."

Carly took the envelope with a questioning look on her face. "Why would it be easier coming from me?" Sam stepped in.

"Are you kidding me? You've been turning him down for so long that hearing bad news from you is just something he's used to." piped up Sam.

All it took was Carly's glare to let Sam know now was not the time. "Okay, here goes."

Carly opened the envelope the rest of the way. As she begin pulling the letter out she realized her hands were clammy and starting to shake. She could make the news sound better to Freddie but, who was going to make it better for her? It didn't matter what the letter said, tonight she was going to highly upset.

If Freddie didn't get in, she would he would be disappointed and it would all be her fault for encouraging him in the first place. If he did make it then that would mean no more iCarly. She totally and completely hated herself for going along with this. It seemed forever ago that they had been upstairs talking about punches and dignity.

It only took the rather loud clearing of Mrs. Benson's throat to get Carly to speed it up. She finally got the letter out and begin to read aloud.

"Dear Mr. Benson, it is our complete honor to inform you that not only did you pass but, you got the second highest score in T.E. history. With a wondrous score of ninety percent accuracy, it is our privilege to inform you that a schedule has been worked up and a dorm room assigned. You will find enclosed a copy of said schedule and dorm assignment. For more information please be sure to contact our Dean of Admissions at the number provided below. We look forward to seeing you on campus for orientation on August 31st. With sincere regards, Patrick Evans, Dean of Education."

Carly didn't know how she managed to keep reading after 'it is our complete honor'. She and Sam shared a quick look of disappointment, before joining in the celebration. The look of utter enthusiasm on Freddie's face made it all worth it.

Present Time:

It was six and the going away party was just beginning at the Benson's. Even though the guests were just now arriving Sam had already been there for the past three hours.

Freddie kept telling himself it was for the food but, as Carly had so keenly pointed out when she arrived, his mother's cooking wouldn't attract a starving hobo.

"So, how long you plan on keepin' up the party?" asked Sam.

"Just a couple of hours. I have flight to catch later tonight." Freddie answered.

"Wow, leaving already huh?" Carly asked as she came up behind them.

"Yeah, I want to get there early so I don't have to rush to find everything. So what are you guys doing tomorrow?"

"Oh, you know, me and Carly are just gonna go do some last minute shopping for school stuff."

Carly looked at her with a raised eyebrow. "I thought you got your stuff last week?"

"I got the essentials. Now I just need to go get some pens and paper."

Freddie and Carly shared a look. "I wish you luck with keeping her in check."

"Yeah, I think I'll need more than luck."

"The National Guard should cover it."

"Watch it Fred-weird. I still have time to rip you a new one."

Over the years Freddie had learned when to stop when it came to Sam. "Okay, I think I'm gonna go talk to Gibby and Spencer over there. Way, way, over there." he said pointing to the farthest corner of room.

It seemed like two hours had gone by in the blink of an eye. Where they had once been at a raging party, or at least that's what Mrs. Benson had referred to their little meeting as, they were now at the boarding gate for Freddie's flight. Once again they had so much to say, that none of it was coming out. All three just stood there fidgeting with their clothes, shifting their feet, anything but talking to each other.

From off in the distance Mrs. Benson watched on, Spencer beside her. "You don't think they'll spend the entire time just standing there, do you?"

"I don't know Mrs. Benson. It's the first time, in a long time, they've had to say goodbye."

Back at the gate Carly took the initiative. "So, are you going to have a roommate?"

Freddie was caught a little off guard. "Wha- Oh…Um, yeah. Roommate. Right. Um, I'll have one. His name is," he said as he searched for his dorm assignment, "Marcus Tillman."

"Wow, sounds fancy. I wonder if he's a bigger dork than you."

"For an insult, coming from you, that's pretty weak Sam."

"I'm saving the good stuff for when you get back." They all shared a smile. It was the first time Sam hadn't bothered to retort and Freddie was enjoying it. The feeling didn't last too long.

"All passengers of flight 317 to Denver, please begin boarding at gate 1c." The announcement made all three of them cringe just a little. It wasn't the announcement itself, so much as the message it brought with it. Final goodbyes. The inevitable journey had arrived.

"Well, I guess this is it, huh?" Freddie said as people began to show up at the gate.

"Yeah, I guess so." was Carly's simple response.

To everyone's surprise Sam left all insults and comments behind and just wrapped her arms around their best friend. Even more surprising, Freddie hugged her back.

After about three minutes Mrs. Benson showed up and pulled Sam off Freddie, only to hold him in a vice grip herself. "Oh, My baby's all grown up! This is the first time you'll be traveling by yourself. I can't believe you're going so soon. What am I going to do for four months without you? What I you forget your cloud-block?"

"Mom."

"What if you don't get to sit on Santa's lap?"

"Mom!"

"How am I supposed to know if you double pooed?"

"MOM!" Freddie couldn't believe his mom had just said that out loud. "I promise to double shampoo, okay."

"I'm sorry, it's just…" she choked up, "I'm going to miss you so much."

How could he possibly stay mad at her when she was practically falling apart on his shoulder. Besides, he had to admit, "I'm going to miss you too."

She let him go. Freddie felt like a boa had released it's hold on his lungs. He took his breaths in large, greedy gulps. When he finally felt he had returned his brain's oxygen levels to normal, he turned to his friends. "I'm going to miss all my friends…and Sam."

Before Sam could respond, "Last call for passengers for flight 317 to Denver."

Freddie shared one last goodbye with everyone. When he got his mom though, it became pretty obvious she had issues letting go. "Mom, I gotta go. The last few passengers are boarding. Mom!"

"Sorry." she said as she let go of him.

With one last wave Freddie handed his boarding pass to attendant and boarded the plane.

Mrs. Benson just stood in front of the large window, even after the plane had gone.

After about five minutes Sam asked, "Uh, why aren't we going?"

Spencer looked down at her, "Because, she gave us all a ride. Remember?"

"Right."

Sam walked slowly up to Mrs. Benson and reached her hand out even slower. At first Carly just watched in awe. Sam wasn't the one to show emotion, much less compassion. Yet there it was, twice in one day. It wasn't until Sam's hand veered down to the lady's pocket that Carly realized what it was exactly she was playing witness to.

I knew it was too good to be true. thought Carly.

Sam came back over to them and shoved Mrs. Benson's keys into Spencer's hand causing him to yelp out in pain. "All right let's roll."