Double Life

Disclaimer: Don't own Wendell and Vinnie, don't own iCarly

A/N: Something a bit new that I'm doing here. The story's clearly going to involve some heavy family issues. I think you'll enjoy this, bear with me as I set the scene

Chapter 1 (Collision)

Vinnie Bassett, also known as Spencer Shay stumbled over his words as he drafted an email to Carly Shay, living in Italy. She was telling him of the many things that she was able to visit, such as Venice or the Leaning Tower of Pisa. He was happy to see she was having a good time, but yet he was not without his guilt when drafting these almost daily emails.

He never knew time would catch up with him the way it had, and he had to acknowledge the many mistakes he'd made in his lifetime. His sister, Wilma, finally found him after so many years of being away, and he found himself the guardian of Wendell. Though, not all was as it seemed, and Spencer had no idea how he would be able to come clean with anyone in his life. Things had become so bad that he was no longer sure whether to go by his given birth name, Vinnie, or the name he made up back in '94.

Living in LA was different than Seattle, though it was where he spent the first twelve to thirteen years of his life. This was before he screwed up and fled his family over feelings of guilt and shame. He thought he'd never have to face up to the things he'd done, thought they'd forget all about him. No, it wasn't so easy. His brother died and Wilma hunted him down, and for good reason, but when she found him, she was pissed off. Besides his father, Richard, everyone in the family thought he was dead. Until once again, his teenage hormones got the better of him.

Spencer clicked the send button on the email to Carly, unable still to tell her he was no longer in Seattle. It was just one more deception, and yet he beat himself over it with every passing day. "There's no way to tell her…no way to tell her any of this." He turned his gaze to his bedroom door, listening to Wilma and Wendell laughing from the other room. "Or even them…"

It was late 1993, and Spencer was almost thirteen. He was a bit of a wild kid, despite his family being one of those popular rich lawyer families. His girlfriend at the time, Monica, was fixing to move away because her dad was being transferred to Seattle, Washington. About a week ago she came to him with unsettling news, after a night of hanging out at a college student's party, as her cousin was college aged, Spencer and Monica got their hands on alcohol for the first time. The unsettling news was that she was pregnant and with his child.

Shamed, and unwilling to face his family it was he who made the decision to leave with the Shays and to change his name from Vinnie to Spencer. However, being so young, it was discussed that the child grow up believing him to be a brother. Monica as well would be a sister. When she turned eighteen she wanted to go into the military like her father. She would be sent overseas, and she never returned home, something Spencer never quite got over.

Then there was Wendell, the child he never knew existed until his actual Sister came hunting him down. She didn't know about Carly, or any of the Shay family, and thought him for dead. When he left, his father and Mr. Shay talked and agreed it would be fine for him to move, but it was Spencer who convinced his father to just let the family think he'd ran off. So he had. It was not until his second screw-up that things went awry.

In late '99, Spencer had just turned eighteen. He had a friend of his, Socko, who always went along with his hair-brained schemes. Socko drafted up a fake ID card and helped him break into a college party. It was here he met a woman named Rhonda, visiting her cousin while her parents were visiting Seattle on a business trip. She was only twenty at the time, but her cousin got her into the party.

He hadn't told her anything about himself, he merely kept flirting with her. She became tipsy and went home with him, he didn't realize at the time that it was because she was drunk. Carly was playing on the living room floor when he got home with Rhonda, the girl watched them flee into the bedroom and shut the door.

After the act, the next morning, Rhonda was gone. She left a note saying she apologized for leading him on the prior night, if she had, that she hadn't realized what she was doing and that she was already engaged to someone. Rhonda also informed him that she hadn't known who he was, that he bore a strong resemblance to her fiancé and therefore she had to leave immediately.

Spencer heard nothing more of this Rhonda woman until a few months ago when Wilma found him in an angry storm. Rhonda was his brother's wife, and they discovered that Wendell was not his nephew, but his son. Rhonda and his brother Gary passed away in an automobile accident months prior, and Wilma demanded he 'step up and be man', and raise Wendell.

At the time, he was frightened of what Carly and the others would think, so he made yet another lie. He asked that Mr. Shay take her to Italy, knowing how much he meant to Carly. As soon as Carly was gone, he hightailed it to LA with the promise that he would email Carly as often as possible. He didn't tell Wilma anything, and Wendell is not aware that he is actually his father.

Spencer tapped his fingertips together and rested them on his chin, sighing as he gazed down at the computer. "The truth sets you free, right?" His heart was so torn by fear and uncertainty that he didn't even know where to begin. He was driving himself insane.

He pushed himself from the desk and slowly walked out of his bedroom, then down the hallway. Each step he took, his legs became heavier. His eyes remained glued on the staircase and his hands began to throb. After descending the steps, he smiled at Wilma and Wendell on the couch. Wendell looked up and waved, "Hey Uncle Vinnie! You'll never guess what Aunt Wilma got me!" Wilma turned around, hanging her elbow over the edge of the couch, and smiling slightly at her brother.

"He's going nuts over transcripts of some old legal case, as well as a book of law terms. I swear, he's going to be a lawyer one day. Just like his dad." Spencer winced inwardly and tore his gaze away from her growing smirk. She would never let him forget, he knew that much about her. "Oh wait…" Wilma turned to Wendell, who was now wrapped up in the book she got him, and put her hand to his shoulder. "Wendell, could you go next door and see what Taryn is doing? I've been wanting to, uh, spend some time with her later. Tell her she doesn't have a choice."

"Okay." He hopped up and rushed for the door, Spencer watched him and waved once he was gone. He truly loved his son, just as much as he loved Carly, there was no doubt about it that he wanted to be here. Only, he didn't know what Wendell would think if he learned the truth, he might hate him. It tore him up inside though, he didn't like keeping secrets, not anymore.

"You haven't told him yet, Vinnie." Wilma rose to her feet, her once pleasant expression grew sharp and angry. She had every right to be angry, not once would he challenge her on that. He was angry as well, but mostly with himself. "He's turning 13 soon, tell the kid the truth, why don't you? What have you got to hide?"

"And how do you expect me to tell him that? Like I need more family hating me! What am I supposed to do, walk up to him and say 'hey Wendell, you know what? I'm your father.'? Cause let me tell you, just cause it worked for Darth Vader doesn't mean it's going to work in reality. Then again, it didn't work for Vader!"

"Look, I'm just saying, your family deserves the truth. Not just Wendell, but Dad…mom…me, we all deserve a little truth don't you think? You ran off, Vinnie! You made us all think you were dead, and for what? What the hell were you doing in Seattle all these years?! What was so important that you had to leave your family and never talk to us?"

"I…" Her bitter tone spoke volumes, shattering his world. In a split second, this conversation turned from Wendell to what this really was about. He studied the angry tears welling in his elder sister's eyes, frowned at the firm shoulders and slanted eyes. She was hurt, devastated, this was years of anguish in the making. Growing up, she always looked after the younger two brothers. So it made sense when Gary died, she hunted him down. Not only for him to raise his son for once, but for him to be home.

"You know it wasn't until close to the day of their accident that Rhonda admitted that the man she had the one night stand with looked like you? It was five years later, you couldn't have looked that different." Wilma walked towards him, snarling as she circled him like a predator on prey. He half expected her to tear him apart with her dangerously sharp looking nails. Fear coursed through his veins and his hands flew to his pockets with his thumb hooking inside. Wilma stopped in front of him and started to shake her head. "When the accident happened and Gary was in that hospital dying, he told me he wanted you found. He told me to drag you back home on the chance that you were alive and the man Rhonda said was the father. He wanted you to be in Wendell's life, to be back in our lives…I just want answers."

"What do you want answered?"

"What do you think Vinnie? You were in Seattle for over nearly two decades. What were you doing there! You deserted your family and I want to know what the hell was so important that I lost a brother that I thought loved his family!"

He wanted desperately to tell her, but couldn't shake away the anxiety he was feeling over the situation. If he confessed to leaving his family for another family with a girlfriend he got pregnant at thirteen, it would make her hate him even more. "I…I do love you, all of you. I just-I can't talk about it right now."

Wilma set her hands to her hips and held her glare, growling for several seconds. "Vinnie, I swear to god…if you don't start owning up and acting like a goddamn man, then I am going to skin you alive the best way I know how. Legally. I will milk you dry, because just as easily as you can deny your sister-brother-parents-your own son…then it's that easy for me to deny you!"

She pointed at him, causing him to recoil and stumble backwards, whimpering slightly as he moved his hand over his chest. She turned and stormed to the door just as it opened and Wendell walked in with Taryn.

The sweet redheaded neighbor smiled at Wilma, asking her what it was she wanted. Wilma simply threw up her hands, "Forget it!" Once she stormed out, Taryn and Wendell looked to Spencer with confused and curious glances.

"What's with her?" Taryn asked. Spencer shrugged his shoulders and ran his fingers over his forehead, sighing heavily. "Vinnie? You okay?"

"I'll be fine."

Wendell walked over and looked up to him, "What's wrong Uncle V?" The boy had apparently always looked up to him. Wilma told him once that Wendell was always being told stories about him growing up, he always wanted to meet the uncle he never knew. Spencer started to smile and reached down, rubbing his head.

"It's fine, Wendell…I just need to think is all." Wendell gave him a firm nod, then led Taryn off to show her the book Wilma had given him. Spencer took a deep sigh and pulled his phone from his pocket, staring down at the alert for a new email. "Dear god…" He couldn't keep this up forever, and he certainly didn't intend to. The trouble was he didn't have the slightest idea what to do.

It's a slow downward spiral, I'm not going to jump right into confrontation, Spencer's got a lot to work on though. Tell me what you're thinking about so far, hopefully you'll enjoy this.