A/N: Hey, thanks for taking time to read this story. I hope you guys like it :)

"Carly!"

The door to the Shays' apartment opens and hits the wall with a loud thud, surprising Freddie who had just stood up and was about to make his way out to try to look for her.

"Freddie!" She says, sounding relieved. There was Sam in front of him, her curls all messy and sticking to her face. She's panting, trying to catch her breath. What had she been doing?

"Sam? God, I was wondering where you went, it's been like, thirty minutes since you went down to the store to buy ham-"

"I love you!"

Freddie's face is one of shock – but then he realizes something and it turns to one of sadness, but he doesn't want her to see him weak just so that she could make fun of him again. His expression settles with amusement. He tells himself that she's just messing with him, once again.

"I love you too, you're my bestfriend," he says, smirking his usual lopsided smile, feeling all good about himself for being a step ahead of her this once.

"No, not like that," she says, seriousness in her features. Freddie notices that the front door is still wide open, and that she is still panting. "I'm in love with you," she says slowly and seriously, staring into his eyes and making sure the idea gets to him.

His eyes show her pure shock, and then they turn happy. And then he feels really stupid for thinking that Sam was messing around. "Really?"

"Yeah, really!" She practically shouts. He doesn't understand why she seems so much in a rush, but that didn't really matter.

"Well," he says, stepping nearer to her, "I'm in love with you, too." They're staring into each other's eyes and each pair tells the other that the other is being sincere and is telling the truth.

"Really?" She asks, hopeful.

"Really," he confirms, smirking at her. She's looking into him, and he's looking into her, and all Sam can feel is the warm and fuzzy feeling of relief spreading through her body.

She sighs and closes her eyes, contented. "That's great...it's all I could ask for..." she mumbles before collapsing into his arms unexpectedly.

Carly had been watching for a while now, being a bystander as her friends confessed their feelings for one another. She did see it coming, and she's glad they've finally realized it and told each other. But now she's bounding down the stairs, hurriedly standing next to Freddie.

"What happened?" she asks, panic in her eyes.

"I don't know," Freddie replies, holding Sam's limp body, looking at the girl's peaceful and smiling expression.

"Oh no..." he mutters as he sees the bloodstain getting larger on her hoodie. He turns her around as he and Carly gasp in shock at what they see. The whole back of her hoodie is bloody and there's a hole through her shirt, which – which could only mean –

"Spencer!" Carly calls in complete panic. Her brother comes out of his room, holding a screwdriver and a hammer. "What did I do this time?"

"Nothing! It's Sam! Look!" They turn her to show Spencer. Spencer gasps as Carly explains, "I think she's been shot!" and Spencer runs to the telephone, screaming, "We have to call 911!"

Spencer's frantic voice is loud and clear around the room as everyone panics, not knowing what to do. Freddie lays her body on the couch and shakes her shoulders, saying "Sam, wake up!" over and over.

Finally, her eyes open a little. "Hurts," she tells them, fighting the darkness trying to overcome her.

Freddie sighs in relief, thankful. "Don't worry, the paramedics will be here soon," he tells her as he kisses her forehead. She smiles, and gathers all the strength she has left to push herself off of the cushions and on her elbows to reach his lips. Their lips meet and it's like déjà vu to the both of them – fireworks are booming overhead, or that's what it feels like, anyway. It's a sweet and simple kiss, just for Sam to prove to Freddie that she really does love him.

They are left smiling at each other, and Carly can't help but feel tears form on her eyes as she watches both her friends hanging on to each other. It's hard, hard, hard, to understand and accept everything, especially since it's all happening so fast.

She walks away, not bearing to watch something so sad. When she gathers the strength to stop crying, she walks back to the living room couch to Sam and Freddie, comforting each other. Sam repeats I love you as Freddie tells her she's going to be fine, again and again and again.

Carly's eyes feel hot, and she feels her tears coming again, but she pushes it back, just for the sake of her best friend. She wasn't the one hurt, so what right had she to cry?

"Sam...can you tell us what happened?"

Sam feels three (yes, Spencer's around) sets of eyes watching her, pleading to her to tell them. It was painful, but she knew she had to.

"I," she starts, gathering the strength she had left. "I went down to the store – to buy ham. I bought some – and was about to enter Bushwell – when some guys stopped me. They were drunk. They asked for money – and I told them I had no more...but they didn't believe me," she tells them, pausing between every few phrases to breathe. She's keeping tears back, but continues, "And they touched me all over, looking for money..." She closes her eyes as uncontrollable tears stream down her face, and takes one deep breath. Her eyes open again, showing all the sadness and pain she was feeling. "And I pushed them off, and ran to Bushwell, and one of them called me a bitch, and shot me."

It was silent for a while, everyone's tears threatening to fall. But they wouldn't let them, because they had to be strong for their friend. Suddenly, it wasn't just about them anymore.

"And it hurts, hurts, hurts, Carly," she tells her friend, more tears falling down her face.

Carly kneels beside the couch, and beside Freddie, and holds her hand. "Don't worry, Sam. You'll be okay soon," she reassures her friend, but then and there, it feels like a lie. She had learned about this before, and she's pretty sure it's a stomach wound, and stomach wounds aren't just painful – they're the worst. Blood mixes with acid and most die of toxemia, or what is better known as blood loss. And seeing as Sam had to walk to the apartment...Carly knows she doesn't have much time left. But no, no, no, she doesn't voice it out. She holds on to hope, praying over and over to whatever god was listening.

"I'm sorry for everything, guys," Sam starts, struggling with what to say. "And tell everyone I'm sorry too," she says, smiling a little. "Tell Gibby to wear a shirt, and tell Principal Franklin he's cool. Tell Melanie and my mom that I love them, and that Melanie can have my stuff."

Freddie's expression turned hard. "No, don't you start talking like...like you're gonna die."

There. Freddie just said what everyone was afraid of saying. "Help's coming soon, so don't you give up on this!" He pleads. "Yeah, Kiddo, you'll be fine," Spencer, who has been like a brother to her all these years, comforts her. Sam looks over at Spencer, then settles with looking into Freddie's eyes. Her eyes show a knowing sadness – she understands that Freddie's not coming to terms with the fact that she was dying. She nods and mutters a quiet "Okay", though, to keep Freddie satisfied. He grips her hand tighter, with no plans of letting go.

The ambulance comes in a short while, and Sam is put in a stretcher while Freddie, Spencer, and Carly watch in fear.

"Go," Carly whispers quietly, nudging Freddie. "She needs you."

Freddie nods and enters the ambulance, anxiety overtaking him. He has never seen Sam so vulnerable before, and she was right in front of him, and bleeding. Men start working on her, and he takes her hand into his and offers her a smile.

He brings his lips to hers, kissing her passionately, desperately – he was trying to hold on to the moment. He couldn't lose her, he just couldn't. Not tonight, not ever. They were going to live happily ever after.

He pulls back, and she smiles as she tells him, once again, "I love you."

"I love you, too."

"Hey, iCarly viewers. As you can see, Sam's not with us today...and as some of you already know," Carly starts, swallowing nervously, "She passed away last night." She looks down, feeling bad. "So we ask you all to pray for her. That's all for this webcast, thanks."

"And we're clear," Freddie says quietly.

iCarly just isn't iCarly without Sam. Life just isn't life without Sam. The two make their way to each other and cry on each other's shirts.

It's been eight days since that fateful night. For a whole week, Sam's body was at a funeral parlor and everyone was welcome to visit. Surprisingly, even people they didn't know went to her wake.

And now, they're all at her funeral. Freddie looks through the crowd to see Principal Franklin arrive. A lot of people had come to pay their respects – among them was Gibby, Nevel, Reuben, and even Jonah. His eyes move toward Sam's mom, who's in front with Melanie at her side, comforting her.

He looks away quickly. He can't look at someone who's the spitting image of Sam, and most especially, he can't look into the same blue eyes knowing it's not Sam.

Everyone goes forward to have one last look at Sam. Freddie waits for everyone to see her one last time before coming forward.

"Hi, Sam," he says quietly, looking down. He can't look at her. "I'll miss you, and I'll be praying for you." He holds back his tears and continues. "I hope you're happy. You know when we kissed, that night with A.M. playing? That's when I started to fall for you. And even though you hurt me, I knew that was your way of being friends. And – and I can't believe you left me," he says, finally succumbing to tears. There's nothing more to say. He stands there a while longer, bawling his eyes out, not caring how he must look to everyone around.

He finally looks over at her dead and unbreathing body, and it's just so hard, but he can't deny that she's never looked more beautiful. "I love you," he tells her one last time, sobbing all the pain away.

Right before men cover the casket with dirt, Carly looks down to see white roses above the casket, but they were all falling to the side. There was only one red rose that lay in the middle.

A/N: So, how was it? Liked it? Loved it? Made you sad? Made you cry?

Tell me with a review!

Trixie