The Kid with the Scar
Chapter 1: Life Changes
Summary: Freddie and Sam are excited to have their first baby! But when they find out there is something wrong with the baby, their whole world is turned upside down. Rated T. Seddie. Multi-Chapter.
Disclaimer: iCarly is owned by Dan Schneider and Nickelodeon. All the copyrights associated with iCarly belong to them. Only the ideas contained within this story are my property. I am not gaining any profit from writing this story.
This is the first day of the story that changed my life. Now, this story actually starts at the beginning of the day, when I was going through a plain, old work schedule on a cloudy Tuesday afternoon.
First thing you gotta know about me is my job. I work with computers, a tedious business for some; to me it's like heaven. Of course, my job isn't all about putting in electrical wires and creating computer plans. No, my big problem is I have to deal with the ladies. I got young ones flirting with me by computer maintenance, middle-aged ones who give me quick smiles by the computer desk, and even the oldies that come in for volunteer work always trying to dance with me. I even got some guys staring at my body. I try to close my eyes and ignore those ones.
Honestly, the only lady I care about is my wife, Sam. Most of the time, the ladies (and guys) forget I'm married, which is ridiculous, because no one in their right minds would forget Sam Benson. Especially me. Every night after I come home from work, I take my wife, twirl her in my arms, then kiss her softly right on the lips. This is always my favorite moment of every weekday. Sam, of course, forgets some days and throws popcorn in my face as I enter the room. Other times, I found myself covered in water and a laughing Sam standing by the window. Of course, I never get mad at her. I just slap her across the face gently and she slaps me back.
Considering this, I never let any of the other ladies get in the way of my marriage and relationship. Though I have told Sam about my situation at work, she told me to ignore it and no one would ever want to date a nerd. I always ask her why she's married to me then. She said she's known me for a long enough time that she never even notices my "nerdiness" anymore. I always roll my eyes. Of course, like always, Sam's wrong and I'm right, and the fifth lady in ten minutes comes up to chat with me, not even noticing me tripping over a cord a few seconds before.
"Hey, Fredward Benson. Is your day going smoothly?" I soon realize that this is Margaret BeHonson. Drastic lady, she had transgender surgery and is now a woman. Her voice is still pretty low, though, making her sound like an old Russian man with a cold. I pull myself up from the ground and wipe the dirt off my slacks.
"Hello, Margaret. Yes, it's fine, though I just fell to the ground." She has her hands on her hips and seems pretty upset about something, though she's always upset, usually offended by someone mentioning something about her surgery or her looks. Before I knew it, there is a finger to my chest and spit coming out of Margaret's mouth.
"Never call me Margaret again! You know, after the surgery, I still haven't gotten used to having a female name, so I'd prefer just Mike or something." Mike? She's gotta be kidding me. The man wanted to become a woman, then makes everyone call her Mike? She's so sick.
"Yes, well, sorry, Mike. I'll remember next time. Now, if you'll just excuse me, I need to deliver these computer papers to Mr. Bonner's office." I roll my eyes quickly and turn away from her.
"You know, I didn't come over here to flirt with you. Are you kidding me? I'm a fifty-year-old man/lady! I just came over to tell you that the computer maintenance group is having issues with their monitors. Whatever that means." That's when I remembered that I was supposed to help the maintenance group over forty-five minutes ago! Great. Now, Mr. Bonner's gonna have a fit if I'm late to his office, too. Quickly, my frustration builds up and I shrug past Margaret. I still refuse to call her "Mike" in my thoughts.
"Oh, for crying out loud, Mike, did you have to tell me that just now? And why aren't you at your own post? You're the security guard? The one who's supposed to protect the building?" I push past her. She can never remember to do her job as security guard and whenever anyone reminds her, she doesn't talk for days.
Walking over to the maintenance desk, I see John Donner and Lily Mackarel sitting by an extremely cluttered corner with papers everywhere. The two of them are apparently trying to figure out if their monitor was blocked by a hacker or another force or something. As I make my way through a couple of banana peels lying around, I distinctly remember Scarlett Michaelson, the pretty lady at the front desk (also the gossip hound here at Computer Tower) telling me that John and Lily were the messiest people known to man. I can see that now.
"Freddie! There you are! Do you have to be so slow?" John says this, while Lily looks on angrily. Weirdly, Lily is the only lady who hasn't fallen for my good looks. People say she's bewitched by John's older brother who is a punk guitar player and loves to date random girls he barely knows. I doubt Lily is that stupid, though, as she's really very smart when she's not throwing pizzas at the walls. John is also pretty good with computers, though he can be aggressive and break one or two of them. I clearly remember one day back in October when he shoved his hand through the computer monitor. He had to get fourteen stitches.
"Sorry, guys, I got held up. Now, what's your problem exactly?" As Lily tries to explain that the circuit route for the monitor seems to have broken down, she takes the manual out of her backpack that is sitting in a pile of orange juice. Unfortunately, the manual itself seems to have been drenched in coffee by the smell of it. Trust Lily (or her dog) to spill coffee over the manual in the rush of the morning. The reason I say Lily's dog is because he's the reason Lily isn't fired yet. Mr. Bonner tries to fire Lily almost every week for one thing or another, but she always claim it was her dog that did this or that. I guess Mr. Bonner believes her because she always has the saddest, cutest face on that really makes you want to believe her. Mr. Bonner needs to get it through that thick skull of his that Lily is obviously lying.
"Oh, guys, why is there coffee on this manual? You know I can't work off of this!" I throw the paper in the trash and tell Lily to move over so I can see what's wrong with the computer. It's much harder to fix something without a manual, but it can be done if you went through eight years of computer schools like I did. Mr. Bonner said that's the reason he hired me; you don't get many smart, knowledgeable people around here. I told him that I would always have his back.
Unfortunately, the second I threw the manual away, John and Lily started giving me death threats through their eyes. Gulping, I quickly pulled the paper out and laid it on the table, smoothly. John tells me in a menacing voice that they can fix the computer themselves and for me to get my ass out of there. I nod quickly then bolted. Scarlett gives me the thumbs-up look and I shoot daggers at her. She is a gossip hound, of course, but she's also a great friend. One time, I invited her over for dinner at my place and she and Sam got into detailed discussions about what the smartest type of cat was. Just like Sam, Scarlett looks pretty and sweet on the outside, but on the inside she's really very strange.
Walking over to my station in the corner (also the most equipped with supplies, thanks to Mr. Bonner) I retrieved my copy of the new laptop design that is sure to change generations. It is currently called the X-L27 and is planned to get at least a billion dollars in sales, by the looks of it. It is also going to totally wipe out the whole Smartacolic, Inc., Mr. Bonner's biggest rival. I learned all this last week at a night's meeting only for the smartest and most intellectual people in this building. Naturally, I was invited and so were John, Lily, Thomas Cronkerson, and David Rochernight. Margaret was not invited to everyone's relief, and Scarlett was out partying all night with her now-two week boyfriend, Luis Perez. Scarlett is a very big partier, though Mr. Bonner tries to stop it. He says that partying isn't good for someone in this business; they need to be off-the-chats smart. Scarlett always says she's just the secretary at the front desk, it's not like she's gonna change the world like I am. You just gotta love her.
Thomas and David are both gay and in a current relationship. Thomas is more of a smart, intellectual, and serious guy, while David is a professional musician. The two of them say they love each other unconditionally, but they've shown more signs of hate than love, more than Sam and I when we were young, in fact. Thomas always wants to go to business meetings and dinners while David says that rock concerts are the best. David actually never applied for his job as the janitor; Thomas brings him to work because he has nothing better to do. It's kinda funny love, isn't it?
Reaching the elevator, I press "Down." This elevator is a pretty slow thing. Our building is relatively new, except for the elevator. No one knows why, but it takes about five to ten minutes for it to reach whatever floor you're on. It's even worse for the fourth floor, which is where I work. I check my watch and hum a song to myself while I wait. After a few seconds, I realize that I don't even know what song I'm humming. I let my mind brood over it for a little, then I figure out the song. When I did, I smiled. It was the song that Sam and I first danced to when we where eighteen years old, almost done with our senior year.
We were sitting on the cheap beach chairs that Spencer had laid out for us that fine summer's evening. Sam and I had been dating for over two months now, but had never even danced together, let alone slow danced. I stared at her blonde head and remembered the first day I met her. She seemed evil and dark at first, but as I got to know her true colors, I realized what I had been missing my whole life.
"Sam." She turned her lovely head towards me. Her hair was covered in her long, curly locks and her blue eyes glazed at me, true love looking at me. She smiled at me.
"Would you like to dance?" I stood up and offered her my hand. It was almost like offering her my hand in marriage. She gracefully took it and said she would love to.
Together, we held hands and walked slowly towards the dance floor. Once there, I put my hands on my lover's waist and she put her hands across my neck. The music was soothing. At every beat, we swayed side to side, love in every movement. Though we didn't talk, I knew at that moment we were meant to be. This was the girl of my dreams. This was the happiest day of my life.
It's true, you know. Even the day we got married or the day I proposed to her wasn't happier than that day in June. I think it was because that was the day I first realized how much I loved Sam and how much I would give up to be with her forever and ever. It was an amazing day, period.
The elevator dinged, interrupting my thoughts. I stepped inside with Dora Littleton and smiled. She was a quiet lady who barely ever talked. Sam barely even knows her, and that's saying something since I tell Sam everything about the people at work. The only thing Sam knows about Dora is her funny name. It stands for Midora, which is in no way a better name, but Sam says it's "trendy." Like I said before, Sam's a strange person. Dora looked at me from the corner of her eye. She tried to make it oblivious, but I've got 20/20 vision. After a few seconds, I think she noticed I knew she was staring and she looked away, red. The elevator opened up (pretty fast for the old thing) and let us out. Dora shook her head, meaning this wasn't her stop and I nodded. As soon as I got out and the elevator went back down, I frowned. Poor Dora.
The second floor is probably the quietest floor, which is why Mr. Bonner hogs half of it. He believes that peace and quiet is the best solution, and most people admire him for that. I, for one, don't, because he hogs the whole second floor and I barely have enough room on the fourth floor for only a quarter of my belongings. I've told him my situation, but all he does is laugh at me and call me ridiculous.
Mr. Bonner works mainly in room 175, so I head for there first. As always, he is in there. Scarlett once told me that Jonathan (Mr. Bonner) always goes to the men's room, sits on the toilet, and reads newspaper articles on sewing. I highly doubt that since Scarlett is also known for hating on old men, and Mr. Bonner is sixty-five years old, which, in Scarlett's mind, is ancient.
I knocked on the door, respecting Mr. Bonner's peace and quiet rule, and heard a booming voice say, "Enter!" I walked in half-heartedly. Mr. Bonner is a great boss in many ways. He gives out reasonable amounts of money, is very peaceful, and cares about everyone. In some ways, though, he can be a nuisance. One time, Sam and I held a party and everyone at my work were invited. Mr. Bonner naturally came and, sadly, ate all of Sam's cheese puffs. Sam, being the aggressive person she is, whacked him over the head with a carton of milk. Thankfully, it wasn't very hard as the milk carton was three-quarters empty, but Mr. Bonner was very insulted. I wasn't fired since Mr. Bonner knows that I didn't do anything and it was my wife, being a naturally kind and caring person. The bad thing from this incident is that Sam now hates Mr. Bonner. Of course, I will always blame my boss over my wife, so I am pretty mad that he ate all of Sam's cheese puffs. But, honestly, he needs to lay off the food. He weighs 275 pounds already.
"Welcome, my boy, welcome! You have the new laptop design, I presume?" He is also an extremely formal man, too, which is why his office is full of inspirational poems and signs, including my favorite one which says:
THE 21ST CENTURY: WHERE THE MAGIC WILL OCCUR
Computer Towers: Everything Imaginable
The reason I love this sign is, well, I created it. It is covered will balloons and bright colors, which Mr. Bonner loved because he said it showed our customers we are cheerful and happy people.
"Of course, sir, right over here. I managed to work on it for a few hours last night and I've gotten some extremely good ideas." I laid out the paper and started talking about how I thought the laptop should have the highest speed in the world. Mr. Bonner agreed. I also stated that it was very important that the user be able to personalize literally everything. He agreed with this, too. My last point, though, was to for the laptop to be a wireless, touch-screen, transparent one. He didn't like this idea, to put it shortly.
"Well, why would the user want a transparent screen? There's no use for that, and we can't pay for it in the least." Another thing you need to know about Mr. Bonner is that he doesn't like to pay a lot of money for new technology. For our last new model (that time for a camera) we got beaten by Smartacolic, Inc. because Mr. Bonner refused to pay a lot of money for a better model. He's a great guy, but he hates spending money. You could say he's a penny pincher. This time, though, I am definitely getting through with this new model. I knew it would work out.
"But, sir, we want this best model yet. If we don't do this, we'll get beaten by Smartacolic, Inc.! And, sir, transparent screen's can be very useful. If our laptop's are going to be small, people will want to walk with it. They don't want to bump into anything and transparent screens can let people see in front of them." Mr. Bonner had always said I was a good persuader, and that was the poisonous part of me. He could fall into so many "tricks" of mine if he wasn't careful. I just say that persuading is a very good quality in the computer business, which is just my natural talent.
"Yes, but, money! Benson, you keep forgetting that little point about money! We barely have enough for this new project, but you said you had it all under control. But this, this, I won't stand." His stubbornness can be annoying. Many a time, he has refused one person a raise because he feels that he'll lose money. People say that it's impossible to like someone who is a penny pincher and stubborn. This isn't true, though, since Mr. Bonner is a very likeable guy.
"Sir, if it annoys you so much, I assure you that I'll pay for it. You mark my words." He stares at me for a few seconds, eyes deciding, until he finally speaks.
"Very well. But if you can't pay for it in exactly one year, this project is over. Got it?" I told him I got it, and immediately became excited. The reason this project is so important is, well, Sam and I need the extra money. We're not poor by any standards, but that's only because Sam is taking her day job. She works at a coffee shop not far away from us, and she hates it. A lot. If we can get the money from this project, Sam won't have to work anymore, which she says is her dream come true.
I've never lied to Mr. Bonner in my two years working for him, except for once. When I told him I'm naturally talented at persuading, that was a lie. I was actually trained to persuade that well from my wife, Sam Benson. You can learn a lot of things from the one you love the most.
After a pretty hard day of work, including more of Margaret being her cranky self, Scarlett giving me a "juicy" piece of information about Luis's new home, and John and Lucy still giving me the silent treatment, I headed for home.
Home has always been my favorite place in the whole world. It's in a very nice neighborhood with beautiful houses, including a top floor, the middle floor, and a basement. We live in the suburbs, though I work in the city. I wanted a suburban life since it's quieter and a much safer way of living. I have a humongous bedroom which I share with my wife; a bed area, a den, a big bathroom, and three closets. Carly Shay, my best friend from childhood, also lives across from us and one house to the right. She and her family have just gotten back from Hawaii, a trip they had been planning for three years now. They've been gone for four weeks, and Sam has been miserable without her. They arrived back to Seattle yesterday and Sam planned a dinner for their arrival. I'm very excited since Sam has always been too lazy to plan anything, so I am very proud of her.
The best thing, though, about my home is Sam. She's the one who brightens my day and sends sunshine to my otherwise boring life. She loves me unconditionally and will never give up on me, either. Life without Sam would be like life with Margaret, and I don't even want to think about that possibility.
As I drove up my driveway and parked the car, I remembered to kiss Sam like I always do. Before I could open the door, however, Sam popped out into the garage and kissed me right on the lips. I started laughing, and then shouted for her to get off, for she was suffocating me. She got off, a devious smile on her face, and then helped me back up. I took my shoes off and put them in our little wooden shoe closet right by the door. As pressed the button for the garage door to close, I asked Sam what that was for.
"Well, you always do that to me after work, so I thought I should change it up and do it to you instead." I laughed. Sam just loves to change things up. I remember our wedding day when she decided to have ham instead of a wedding cake. All our wedding guests were confused, but Sam didn't care. I just rolled my eyes and had to quickly go out, in my groom's suit and all, to buy a cheap wedding cake for the guests. You could say that it was the most embarrassing moment of my life.
I went into our house and ran to our family room to lay on the couch. We bought those couches at a very good furniture store downtown so Sam could have good naps if she didn't feel like going upstairs to our bed. Weirdly, I use the couch more than she does and she even wonders if we might have switched places. I told her no way in a million years would I ever switch places with you. She cracks me up.
Usually, after work, she lets me lay down, but today she forced me to stand back up. I took a pillow and smacked her across the head. She did the same to me. Of course, her hit hurt way more since I'm a "nerd" and can't hit if I wanted to. I told her to let me just sleep but she said that there was no way that was happening. I just fell back asleep, anyways.
"Oh, Freddie, do you have short-term memory loss or something? The Gibson's are coming for dinner! We need to set the food out before they come!" I bolted up quickly and ran to the kitchen. Our kitchen is connected to a little dining room, but not as fancy as our real dining room. As I took the mashed potatoes and the steak out of the refrigerator, Sam went to heat them up in our microwave. Only a few days before, Sam had spent her whole day off work cooking all of this and I can just hope that it's good. I went to the laundry room, grabbed the Coke, and then checked the freezer to make sure our ice cream cake and Jell-O for dessert was still there. I didn't want this dinner to end up like the last one where Sam had eaten all the Jell-O and there was no dessert left for anyone. This wasn't so bad since Carly and Gibby are our best friends, but their poor little three-year-old son, Vijay, was crying for hours because he didn't get any Jell-O. It was pretty horrific.
"Freddie, they're here!" I ran to the front door where Carly, Gibby, and Vijay were standing. I opened the door and let them in. The couple were smiling, but Vijay seemed a little shy of me. I quickly hugged Carly, who was in such a bright and happy mood that she would see her best friend, Sam that I couldn't stop her. Gibby shook my hand and asked me if Gibby could watch a cartoon. I led Vijay to the family room and turned on SpongeBob, his favorite cartoon. Going back to our guests, I led them to the kitchen and gave them their seats.
"Wow, it's so nice to see the two of you and your son again! How was Hawaii?" I knew Gibby had wanted to go their his whole life, and with Carly's raise, they were finally able to go. It must have been lots of fun.
"Well," Carly said, "I gotta admit, I thought even Hawaii would be freezing in December, but it wasn't! No, it was actually very warm. Vijay simply loved it; he's been asking to go to the beach every since. All in all, it was definitely a memorable trip." I knew Carly would love it. Hawaii has always been her favorite state, and it's always nice to get out of the rain in Seattle for a few weeks.
"What was the best part about it? Did anything exciting happen?" Sam said. She really wanted to know every detail of the trip, and she said she had a feeling something big happened on their vacation. Her instinct was correct when Carly and Gibby held each other's hands, and told us some very big news.
"Actually," said Carly, "We found out I'm pregnant." It went silent. At least in my ears it did. I knew Sam was congratulating the two and all, but I was just shocked. I didn't really know why until a few seconds later when I realized something. Sam and I had been married for seven years and we don't have any children. I've always wanted a baby, but I guess our lives had been so busy we never even thought about having kids.
"Uh, wow, guys, that's great news. Congrats!" I knew I should be happy, but it was hard to be happy about your best friend having their second child when you don't have any. I looked over at Sam and made up my mind. We needed to have a baby. I knew that our work situations weren't the best at the moment, but I also knew I wanted a baby. Making this decision final, I sat up straight and ate.
That night, after finding out loads more of information from the Gibson's, like Spencer getting married in six weeks to Veronica, Sam and I headed for bed. Remembering the promise I had made to myself earlier, I realized I had to tell Sam that I wanted a baby. I sat on our bed and waited for Sam to finish brushing her teeth. I tried to sort out how I wanted to tell her when she came out of the bathroom. I cleared my throat.
"Uh, Sam…Can I ask you something?" I was self conscious of the fact that my voice was shaking. So were my hands.
"Uh…Yeah. Are you okay?" Sam looked genuinely worried, which she never is, not even the time when I was in a slight car accident. I guess she's more of an emotional person than a physical one.
"Yeah. I was just wondering…Do you wanna have a baby?" She stared at me. I stared back. We sat like this for a few minutes, examining each other, when Sam seemed to break out of the trance and started to speak.
"Why do you want a baby?" This was the last question I expected her to ask. Why else would someone want to have a baby then for the obvious reason? To start a family. This question also wasn't helping my nervous factor.
"Well…" I said. "To start a family of course. What other reason would there be?" This was definitely not the way I was expecting to get a "yes" from Sam. My frustration started rising and I had to fight to control my anger.
"Having a baby because your best friend is isn't the right reason at all. Freddie, you can't trick me. You're only doing this cause you don't want to be left out." I couldn't believe this! How could Sam not want a child? I couldn't hold my anger in much longer.
"Sam! Don't you want a child that you can hold and love? Don't you want to see your own baby go to school, make friends, and one day have children of their own? Don't you want to start a new life?" I said this last part very quietly, like I was losing hope. When I looked up at Sam, however, I saw something in her eyes. Something changed. A softer look came to them, like a new light. I waited for her response. When she did, she was talking very softly.
"You know, my mother had Melanie and I by accident. She didn't know how to properly take care of us. She basically almost ruined our lives because she didn't know how to parent. It was horrible for her." I didn't know what to say. Sam barely talked about her family troubles, though I knew she had many in her life. Maybe she was right. What if we couldn't parent? We shouldn't put a burden like this on a child. But, no. That couldn't be so.
"No. Your mother had you and Melanie by accident, like you said. This won't be on accident. We do know how to parent, she didn't. Please, Sam, just think about it." I could hear the desperate longing in my voice. I knew I sounded whiny. But all I hoped for is that Sam says "yes."
"You didn't let me finish. I was also going to say that we would be better parents than my mother was. I know we'll be better parents because you're the father, Freddie. You'll make a great father, I know you will." I smiled. The way she said that made me tear up. Sam, the girl who always bullied me, thought I'd be a good dad to her baby. That's something worth knowing.
"So…so, do you wanna, you know, do it tonight?" My face went red.
"Uh…sure, why not?" We both sat there for a few moments, each waiting for the other. I decided to break the silence.
"Okay, so let's go." We both got onto the bed and under the covers. I started kissing Sam's face and lips. I heard her moan slightly. She started pulling down my pants. I reached under her shirt and took her bra off, and then slipped her underwear off. Before I knew it, we were kissing passionately and we were making love. I smoothed my fingers in her hair and she kissed my neck. I sighed. This was great.
And, at that moment, though I didn't realize it, that second would change my life forever.
AN: Wow, that was a long chapter. XD
This story will only be in Freddie's POV, so no changes.
This story is basically about Freddie and Sam's baby. They soon realize there is something wrong with it. You will have to wait till future chapters until we find out what is wrong, though. Feel free to guess, but I won't reveal the answer. I know you may be thinking, "What was the purpose of that whole work scene?" Well, it will have a purpose in future chapters, don't worry. Oh, and the gender of the baby is already decided. ;)
This story takes place when the trio and Gibby are twenty-seven years old. It also takes place in the suburbs of Seattle.
I basically made this story because I was sick of seeing Seddie fanfics where their baby is perfectly healthy at birth. I wanted to make one where the baby is not okay because, realistically, lots of babies are born with complications.
Please feel fee to review, give criticism, and ask questions. No flames please. Thanks!
P.S. I'd like to apologize for the length of this chapter. It ended a little long.