Pulling into her driveway, a now twenty-five year old Samantha Puckett parked her 2014 Honda Accord in the garage and turned it off. The week had felt like it'd gone on forever and all she wanted to do now was take a long soak in her tub and relax the rest of the night. Which, not surprisingly, was exactly what the young woman planned on doing.
With her first step inside she shed her jacket, tossing it on the couch in the living room to her left. Next was her purse, landing on the ground by the couch followed by her pulling the ponytail from her hair and putting it around her wrist. With that done, she ran long, manicured nails through her long curls and groaned at the pleasant feeling it left before. Kicking off her black tennis shoes, she kicked them aside and headed upstairs to her bedroom.
The year was 2020, each of the iCarly members having done quite a bit of growing up in their time apart. It wasn't as if they hadn't seen each other, they'd gone on a few vacations, spent nights reminiscing, but they were hardly the same goofy group that had started iCarly. Freddie and Carly had long since graduated from college, both in established careers of their own. Freddie had actually gone into directing and was currently working on his first big movie - he'd kept the whole thing under wraps, however. Not wanting to spoil it for anyone. While he'd been busy doing that, Carly had chosen the route of doctor, specializing in children. It had hit her in the middle of her sophomore year, when a family had come to visit a student and nearly lost the life of the younger child they'd brought with them.
Gibby's path was a little less unexpected. He'd soon figured out that owning an under school restaurant wasn't easy for a high school graduate and had since moved on, opening up a food chain. He cleverly named it Gibby's. It took him slightly longer to get up and running than the one under their school, but once he'd gotten everything together, he extending an offer to Sam. By that time, she'd been living with Cat for almost two years and was ready for a change. The two broke off their babysitting business and parted ways, though they did keep in contact.
Accepting the title of co-owner, Sam became Gibby's right hand woman. They slowly dominated the restaurant industry, expanding their realm from city to city, eventually creeping into multiple states. This year will mark the first of their international line. Which was why Sam had been so busy. Her and Gibby had much more planning to do, many decisions to settle and finances to fix. The way Sam saw it, they could literally rule the world via food industry.
But now was no longer the time to think of that as Sam sank deep into the warmth of her bubble bath. Letting the warm liquid surround her, she let out a comfortable sigh. The water felt wonderful and she only slid in further. It wasn't a long bath, but as Sam pushed herself out of the water, she felt freer than she had previously. With a towel to cover her frame she let the bath drain and entered her room. Seeing the blinking red light on her home phone, she pressed the voicemail button and let it repeat out loud.
"Hey Sam, it's Carly!" The voice shocked her and she turned to the machine, eyes widened. Why hadn't Carly called her cellphone? "Listen, I know it's kind of short notice and I know you and Gibby are super busy, but I'm taking a week off work and so is Freddie because-" She giggled, her excitement obviously getting the best of her. "Spencer booked an art show!" Carly let out an excited shriek. "I hope you'll come! Gibby said he would already and it would mean so much to both Spencer and myself to see you there. Let me know! Love you!" With that, the message cut off and Sam ran a hand through her wet hair.
The offer was tempting. Going back up to Seattle and seeing her old friends would be a great getaway...And besides, Gibby had already decided to go, why shouldn't she? Slipping into a large t-shirt and some panties, Sam went back downstairs for a snack and to grab her cellphone. As her ham and cheese sandwich warmed in the microwave, she searched her purse till she found her cell and laughed when she realized she had three text messages and five missed calls from Carly.
Pulling her plate out of the microwave and snatching up a soda, she headed back up to her room. The house she currently resided in was perfect and completely Sam. The kitchen was large, always stocked with the blonde's favorite foods. It was separated from the living room by only the stairs, which lead up to a hallway that had her bedroom at one end and a guest one at the other. Nothing fancy, because if there was one thing Sam didn't want it was a house so big she had empty rooms. It was just right.
Plopping down onto her bed, she bit into her sandwich and groaned at the taste before dialing Carly's number. It rang only once before Carly's voice filled the line. "Sam! Did you get my messages?" She asked.
Laughing, Sam nodded regardless of the fact that her closest friend couldn't see her. "Yeah, I got 'em Carls."
Carly's grin was almost audible as she spoke. "Good! Now, tell me you're coming. Cause you know you have to. Spence will be devastated if you don't show up."
"Carls, you know I'm coming..." Sam sighed, though she was only joking. She'd missed the sound of Carly's voice, having realized it'd been way too long since they'd spoken last. "So long as there's ham."
It sent the two of them into a round of giggles that Carly couldn't seem to shake. Chewing on her lip, Sam could tell there was something more. "You're too bubbly, even for Carly.." She accused, biting into her sandwich. "Wait! Oh my God, Carly!"
More laughter went through the line and it took the former webshow hostess a few moments to settle herself. "Sam you can't tell anyone!"
"Jared proposed!"
"Yes! But you can't tell Freddie, Gibby or Spencer! Promise me!"
Sam chuckled, swallowing her food. "I promise, I promise! But you gotta tell me all about it, got it girly?" She ordered.
"Of course Sam! As soon as you get in we'll spend the day together, alright? I have so much to tell you, and so many questions!" She added the last part quickly.
Confusion touched the blonde's tone, "What do you mean questions?"
Hearing a male voice coming through the line, Carly didn't hear her, "Hey I gotta go, alright? Jared said Freddie's having issues getting his flight booked. Call me when you know when you'll be flying in!"
Flipping on the TV, Sam pulled her laptop off her side table and into her lap. She hated driving and the last thing she wanted to do was rent a car and drive back to Seattle. "I'll try to be in by Friday, good luck helping Fredwardo," Sam teased, happy to hear Carly laugh in reply. With that, they said one last goodbye before hanging up.
Getting online, the restaurant owner quickly got herself signed up for the Thursday night flight. Seeing as it was Tuesday, it would give her enough time to pack the things she would need and would also allow her time to book a hotel. Carly would want Sam to stay with her and Jared, but she knew that with them in their engagement phase, it was just better for her to find a place for herself. And besides, she knew the hotels Freddie liked to stay in, so if she could easily find whichever one he was staying in and have someone to harass.
Yawning, she double checked that her flight was scheduled and turned her computer off before returning it to side table once more. Curling into bed, Sam wrapped her blankets around herself. She found herself smiling then, more than a little excited to be reuniting with her friends.