A/N Hey, everyone. I based this off my personal speculation for the episode iSaved Your Life. I honestly didn't know the summary until after I wrote half of this. But I hope you like it, and it's split into three different points of view: Carly, Sam, and Freddie. Italics are flashbacks.
Disclaimer: I do not own iCarly.
Those Unsaid Things
I knew it was coming long before it reached me, so why didn't I get out of the way? Why did I stand there like a deer caught in headlights? The truck hurtled towards me and I stood rooted to the spot, bracing myself instead of running away. It all happened in a rush. I remember there was a blinding flash of light, a girl's terrified scream, and a pair of hands on my side, shoving me sideways. There was a moment before I lapsed into unconsciousness where I though wildly that I had felt the hands of God. And then I was falling, falling into the darkness, into nothing.
I heard the quiet murmurs of voices all around me. They were talking softly, in a clipped and urgent manner, yet the sound seemed to blend together; a garbled mess. A red haired woman loomed above me, dressed in white. She looked fuzzy and blurred around the edges. I couldn't see the details of her face, just a mass of pallor surrounded by tufts of red. "Carly?" she said. "Carly? It's okay, honey," the words came out jumbled. "You're gonna be just fine…" the faceless lady came in and out of my vision as my eyelids fluttered shut.
You're gonna be just fine…
The last thing I heard was the rhythmic beeping of the heart monitor.
When I came around, the first thing I noticed was the harsh light streaming from the overhead fixtures. I squinted, trying to block out the florescent brightness in an attempt to ease my throbbing forehead. I propped myself up on my elbows and realized my aching head felt unusually heavy. My right wrist hurt also, and there was an IV on my arm, dripping fluid into my veins.
I looked around the room. I was obviously in a hospital, and not a very nice one at that. The room was badly lit, with bland white walls and only one small table with a vase of flowers on it. There were only two chairs; white and plastic.
The door to my room opened, and in walked a dark haired nurse. She came to the side of my bed and fiddled with the IV before she noticed my open eyes. "Oh, good," she said. "You're awake!"
"What happened to me?" I asked. My voice was slightly strained and it cracked a little, like I hadn't talked in a while.
"You were nearly hit by a truck," the nurse stated, fluffing my pillows. "A young man shoved you out of the way, but you hit the road pretty hard. You broke your wrist, and you have a minor concussion."
A boy pushed me out of the way? It must've been Freddie. What had we been doing? I strained to remember, but the only memory I had was of a scream and a bright light. And hands… they must've been Freddie's hands. And the scream was probably Sam. "The young man," I said anxiously. "Is he okay?"
The nurse bit her lip uneasily. "He's in bad shape, hon. We don't -" there was a sharp rap on the door.
A grey haired nurse with a pinched face stuck her head inside. "You have a visitor," she said in a slightly nasally voice. Okay, it was more than slightly nasally. It was extremely nasally. I covered my mouth with my hand, trying to conceal my laughter.
The door swung open and in walked Sam. Her face was white and somewhat drawn, and she looked years older than sixteen. She certainly didn't look like the Sam I knew and loved. Our eyes met and suddenly her arms were around my neck and I could feel wetness against my cheek; wetness from her eyes.
Tears.
My laughter ceased immediately.
She released me and rubbed her cheek with the palm of her hand as she plopped into one of the plastic chairs by my bed. "Sam…" I said quietly, my voice quivering. I studied her face and saw the tracks of her tears and the circles under her eyes and I knew that something horrible must've happened. Sam Puckett never cried. Ever. "What happened to –" his name caught in my throat.
"Freddie," she stated.
"Yes," I whispered.
Her expression didn't change, but remained the same tired, un-Sam-like face of before. "He saved your life, Carls. He saw the truck coming and he ran out into the street and he- he pushed you out of the way and…" she trailed off. "The truck smashed into him. It- it didn't slow down or anything."
She took a deep, shaky breath. "But…" I whispered. "Is he…?"
"He's alive," Sam said quickly. "But he broke some ribs, and his collarbone, and one of his arms."
I closed my eyes. Oh, Freddie, I thought. Why?
"There's something else, Carls. He's in a coma."
And that was it. I completely lost it. Burying my head in my hands, I started crying hysterically. "W- why would h- he do th- that?" I hiccupped in between sobs.
Sam made a small noise in the back of her throat. "He loves you," she whispered.
I cried harder. How could he do that? Why would he be willing to die for me? Why would anybody be willing to die for anyone? Does it have to be for love?
The door was wrenched open and the nasally nurse thudded into the room. "I told you not to upset her," she hissed. Sam stared her down, quite impassive. "Out!" the nurse barked, pointing a finger at the door. Sam glanced at me before I grabbed her arm and pulled her into another hug.
"I'm so glad you're okay," Sam whispered before she left. The nasally nurse followed behind, slamming the door and leaving me in the discolored hospital room.
Freddie… I moaned silently. Why? What would make someone do something so stupid, but at the same time something so heroic, something so brave. Do you really have to love someone to be able to do something like that? No, I thought.
Because Freddie wasn't in love with me. That much I knew. Maybe he had never been in love with me, but I knew that however many times he had tried to convince me of his love, he wasn't trying to make me believe it. He was trying to make himself believe it, too.
"So…" Carly plopped down on her couch next to Freddie. "How was your date with Melanie?"
Freddie seemed very much in a daze; he was touching his lips gently, with a glassy eyed expression on his face.
"She… kissed me," he said quietly.
"What?" Carly exclaimed, her eyes widening. "Melanie kissed you?"
"There IS no Melanie," Freddie told her, turning his head to meet her eyes. "It was Sam!"
"Freddie!" Carly groaned. "That really was Melanie! Come on, Freddie, why would SAM kiss you?"
He didn't answer.
"Guess what?" Carly asked, changing the subject. "Troy Bernstein asked me out!" she squealed happily. Then she quieted, upset with Freddie's lack of reaction. "Freddie?"
"Huh?" he started. "Oh. Cool."
"Well…" she asked haughtily, looking for a response. "Aren't you jealous?"
He looked in her eyes. "Of what?"
It was then that Carly had to believe what she had suspected for months.
I could see the pure anger in his eyes, and maybe that's what made me back down. "Carly will never love you…" I whispered, and something in his expression flickered. The intensity of his stare made me look away and my gaze drifted upwards, up over his head and that's when I saw her.
Carly was standing in the middle of the street, her face white with panic. There was a truck barreling towards her and I knew what was about to happen. "Carly!" I screamed. Freddie's eyes widened and he whipped around. Before I could stop him, he was racing as fast as he could into the street and towards her. "No…" I whispered. And then I was screaming as Freddie shoved Carly out of the way. She hit the pavement, hard. In the split second before the truck smashed into Freddie, our eyes met. Brown met blue and then… nothing. It was over.
I remember crying for one of the first times in my life. I remember hysterically sobbing, the tears soaking my shirt. I remember sinking to my knees and burying my head in my lap and I didn't come up until I heard the wail of an ambulance.
Every night for a week after the accident, I would wake up screaming. I would have flashbacks of the moment of impact, the moment when Freddie crumpled on the pavement next to Carly. I remember blood; there was blood everywhere. Freddie's blood. And I remember my sobs ringing out in the silence because I was so sure that they were dead. The rest of the day was just a blur.
I burst through the hospital front door panting slightly and holding a stitch in my side. I had run five miles to the hospital since my mother was out buying a bikini. Five miles was quite an accomplishment and a very un-Sam-ish thing for me to do. But I needed to see Carly and Freddie and I needed to know that they weren't… I couldn't even let the possibility form in my head. I shook my head furiously, as if I could erase the horrors that had been the past few hours.
When I stopped shaking and opened my eyes, I could see a receptionist sitting at her desk, a slightly worried look on her face. I walked up to her and told her, "I have to see my friends. Carly Shay and Freddie Benson." Her expression changed to something more apologetic.
"I'm sorry, sweetie," she said in a condescending tone that made me sick to my stomach. "Are you family?"
"No, but –"
"Then I'm sorry. Why don't you wait in the lobby over there? I'm sure someone can come out with news when there is some."
I shot her my best possible scathing look and walked over to the "lobby". It consisted of four plastic chairs and a table with a few limp magazines on it. I plopped down in one of those horrible chairs that somehow seem to signify why hospitals suck so much.
It was five o'clock… six o'clock… sometime around five thirty, Spencer had walked in. He was covered in paint and I knew he had just come from an art class in downtown Seattle. Panting, he half walked, half ran over to the receptionist. "I… need… to… see… my… sister…" he wheezed. "Carly Shay." The receptionist ruffled through some papers.
"I'm terribly sorry," she said patronizingly. "She's in surgery right now. But you can sit in our lobby with that girl over there," she pointed to me. Spencer gave her an exasperated look and plopped down on the chair beside me.
"What happened?" he asked. I shook my head. "Sam, I need to -" he was interrupted by the sound of a huge fuss.
"Open, doors!" a woman shrieked. "Let me in! I have to see my son! I HAVE TO SEE MY SON!"
Mrs. Benson, no doubt.
The receptionist looked up from her papers, alarmed. She looked at the front doors to see Mrs. Benson pounding on them, looking quite deranged. The receptionist's face changed to something more fearful. Mrs. Benson yelled again, and the automatic doors opened suddenly, and she fell flat on her face.
If we weren't in a hospital, and if my two friends hadn't been in an accident, it would've been absolutely hilarious.
Mrs. Benson got up and brushed herself off with some dignity. She then stormed over to the receptionist. "I need to see my son," she stated. "Fredward Benson."
The receptionist gave a little start. "I'm sorry," she replied automatically. "He's being worked on right now. You may wait in the lobby. Ma'am," she said quickly, as Mrs. Benson looked like she wanted to argue. "There's nothing you can do."
Pouting, Mrs. Benson walked over and sat down next to Spencer. Then she suddenly burst into tears.
Startled, Spencer awkwardly patted her on the back. "Sam," he said. "What the hell is going on here? I get a call in the middle of my art class saying Carly's hurt and in the hospital. What happened?"
I opened my mouth and then closed it. Then opened it again. And then I proceeded to tell him.
Six o'clock turned to seven o'clock and then it was seven thirty. I was curled into a ball on the white chair, my back pressed uncomfortably into the rigid plastic. Mrs. Benson, after hearing the story, had retreated into a white faced silence. Spencer sat staring at the floor, his hands folded. Finally, a grey haired nurse who looked constipated walked into the lobby, followed by a stern looking doctor with a mop of black hair.
"Well," the doctor said, swinging his arms back and forth. "Carly will be fine." Spencer nodded once and closed his eyes in relief.
"What about Fredward?" Mrs. Benson asked hoarsely. She was about as calm as I'd ever seen her and it was very unsettling, almost eerie.
The doctor cleared his throat. "Freddie is in critical, but stable condition. He has been severely injured, breaking his collarbone, right arm, and several ribs. He is also in a coma."
The room suddenly seemed deathly quiet. A… coma? I thought. I thought that only happened to people who were in car accidents right before they die. An awful, cold wave of realization washed over me. Freddie had been in a car accident and he could be dying. "He… will wake up though, right?" this time it was me who spoke.
The doctor nodded and I felt my hope rise slightly. "I think he will. I don't know when, but I think he will. The odds are in his favor. There doesn't seem to be any major brain damage, so we'll just have to wait."
The grey haired nurse who had been standing next to the doctor the whole time stood up. "Carly Shay is taking visitors."
"Right," the doctor clapped his hands together. "Family?"
Spencer stood up. I lifted my head from where it was on my knees and saw him looking at me, studying my face. Then he sat down. "You see her first," he said softly. "You're a part of her family just as much as I am."
And then I smiled, for the first time in years, it seemed.
When I woke up, exactly a week after the accident, my throat was raw and my tank top was soaked with sweat. My cheeks were also wet. Apparently I had been crying in my sleep. Great.
I glanced at my clock. 11:25 A.M. I yawned, rubbing my eyes with my fist. I had had a different nightmare last night. Instead of a flashback of the accident where Carly was in the truck's path, it had been me who was in the middle of the street, a truck barreling towards me. I had looked to the side of the street, expecting to see Freddie running towards me, but no. He was with Carly on the sidewalk and they were embracing. And then they were holding hands and walked away from me just as the truck hit me. I woke up at that moment, shaking like a leaf in the most un-Sam-like way possible.
After getting up and throwing on some shorts, I walked into the kitchen. It was a complete mess. My mom never cleaned anything if she could help it, and I was no different. However, it had never been this bad. There were dirty dishes everywhere; on the counter, stacked on the table, and piled sky high in the sink. It was so disgusting that I wouldn't have been surprised to see a couple rats scurrying around.
Sure enough, a few seconds later, I heard a shriek from the living room. "What? What is it?" I exclaimed, having rushed in. My mother was sitting on the ratty old sofa in an extremely skimpy orange bikini.
"Bargain Mart's having a sale on ham in a can!" she squealed, waving a coupon over her curler-covered head. "One dollar off if you buy five!"
Half of me was in shock. Was she seriously thinking about ham at a time like this? My friend was in the hospital in a deep coma that he might never emerge from, and she was clipping coupons for canned meat?
But then the other half of me was thinking… ham in a can? Awesome!
I was about to respond when I felt a familiar buzz on the side of my leg. It was my phone, with a text message from Carly.
Carly: Freddie's awake!
He's awake? I thought, all ham gone from my mind. Freddie had opened his eyes several times over the course of a week, but he had always lapsed into a deep unconsciousness afterwards. But maybe this time he would stay awake. I hurriedly opened my phone up and quickly texted her back.
Sam: On my way.
It was the day after Melanie left to go back to boarding school. It was a beautiful day in Carly's apartment; the sun was shining through the window, the birds outside were singing, and Sam and Freddie were fighting.
"Don't you know how to act even remotely civilized?"
"How can I act civilized when I'm looking at your face?"
"That's not an excuse for calling me a nub and emptying a gallon chocolate milk on my head!"
"Well, hey, your head has never looked better!"
"That was uncalled for!"
"So are you, but unfortunately you're still here!"
"Sam!"
"What? Can't think of another pathetic comeback?"
"At least I got through third grade the first time."
There was the unmistakable sound of flesh hitting flesh, hard, and a grunt of pain.
"Sam!"
"Fred-o, isn't it kind of pathetic that I, a girl, can beat up you, a boy, with no sweat?"
"You? A girl? Any similarities between you and a girl are purely coincidental!"
There was a silence. Sam's eyes narrowed and she suddenly let out a ferocious yell, and suddenly pounced at Freddie. Her hands found his chest and she shoved him hard, knocking him backwards over the couch, sending them both tumbling to the floor. "What's the matter with you?" Freddie screamed, as Sam, sitting on his chest, started punching his torso, her face wild with rage. He tried to cover his face with his hands, but before he could, she stopped.
She sat there, perfectly still, her face unreadable, and her long hair tickling Freddie's face. Then she rolled off of him, so they were lying next to each other, exceedingly close. The only sound was of their heavy pants.
Sam closed her eyes, trying to get a grip on things. Why did you stop hitting him? the army sergeant in her brain barked at her. Because you lo-o-o-ve him, replied the Melanie in her head. Ridiculous! Sam thought fiercely. Garbage!He's a dork! Just because we kissed one time doesn't mean… and then her thoughts were cut short as she felt Freddie's head turn, so it was facing hers. His breath tickled her cheek. And then she turned her face to look at his and it was then that she discovered how very close they were.
There was two inches, maybe less, between their lips. Sam could hear her mind yelling at her to stop, to get up, to leave, but she didn't. Instead she gazed at him, trying to read the expression in his eyes. But she couldn't. And then his brown eyes closed, and he moved closer, agonizingly slow, and their lips got closer and closer and Sam thought wildly, oh-god-why-am-I-not-stopping-this and then…
"Sam! FREDDIE!" Carly screeched from the iCarly studio upstairs. Sam quickly scooted away Freddie and sat up. "iCarly starts in two minutes, so you'd better get your butts up here PRONTO!"
"We- we'd better go now," Sam said hurriedly, straightening out her shirt.
"Sam…" Freddie said a little sheepishly.
"We have to go," Sam cut him off. "iCarly needs us…me." And then she rushed upstairs, trying to make her head stop spinning, and wondering why she could still smell the spicy scent of Freddie's cologne.
It was like I was emerging from a dream. I remember opening my eyes and seeing nothing but colors running together like an abstract painting, and then nothing again. Then I woke up for real.
It happened slowly. It was like breaking the surface of water after you've been under it for a long time. My eyes opened blearily, and the room I was in slowly came into focus. It was a dingy hospital room, with white walls and white furniture. And there was Carly, sitting on a plastic chair, her head bent over, her hair falling over her face. I let out a breath and her head shot up suddenly. "Freddie," she whispered. "Oh, Freddie," she collapsed on my chest and started crying, deep, heavy sobs. "You idiot!" she moaned. "You almost died!"
"Carly?" I said. "What- you're… okay?"
"I'm okay," she said, though I noticed her wrist was in a cast. "Thanks to you."
I nodded, closing my eyes.
"Don't go back into a coma, Freddie," she said sharply.
"I was in a coma?"
"For a whole week," she stated. "The doctors were baffled. Said there was nothing wrong in your head. They thought you were a goner if you didn't wake up soon."
"Oh," I said, not sure what else to say. "I'm glad you're fine, though. And I will be too."
"Freddie," she said harshly. "What the hell were you thinking, running in front of a friggin' semi?"
I stared at her. "Instinct," I mumbled.
"You damn near killed yourself! And now you've got a fractured collarbone, three broken ribs, and you shattered your right arm! What if you'd died? It would've been all my fault! How could you risk your life like that? Weren't you even thinking- "
"Carly!" I nearly shouted, interrupting her. "How about a thank you for saving your life?"
She was silent. I exhaled loudly, and closed my eyes.
"I'm sorry," she muttered. "I just feel so guilty. It was all my fault, you know?"
"No," I said. "It wasn't your fault. It was my choice to run in front of that truck. I did this."
Carly looked like she was going to protest but thought better of it, and shut her mouth. "So…" she said. "Do you remember what happened?"
"Kind of," I said, trying to remember. "We were at the Groovy Smoothie…"
"…and you and Sam were fighting like crazy…"
"And then…"
"Sam!" Freddie shouted, trickles of blue smoothie running down his forehead. "What the hell was that for?"
Sam shrugged. "Just for being you, I guess."
"You're out of control!"
"Oh yeah?"
"Yeah!"
"Momma's boy!"
"Beast!"
"Loser!"
"That's it! Sam, you disgust me!" Freddie yelled. "Why? Why do you always have to do this to me?"
She shrugged, sucking down the last bit of her smoothie.
Carly groaned. "You guys are ridiculous and embarrassing! I'm leaving!" She grabbed her bag and stormed out of the Groovy Smoothie.
Freddie turned to Sam. "You see what you do? You made her leave!" He snatched his jacket and started running towards the exit. "Carly!"
He ran out the door, pushing it open and sprinting towards the intersection where Carly was headed. He could hear Sam's voice behind him. "You just keep running after her Freddie," she called. "You're never gonna catch her." He kept jogging, trying to block out her voice. "Carly will never love you!" Sam screamed behind him. And then he turned around.
He was furious. She whispered those words again, and he resisted rolling his eyes. She had basically turned him down in front of millions of people; why would she care if he loved Carly? Was it possible that…
"Carly!" Sam shrieked and he turned around only to see Carly in the middle of the street, a truck coming towards her. And without a second thought, he raced into the road and pushed her aside, waiting for impact.
The impact came. But, milliseconds before it did, his eyes connected with Sam's and he saw how wide and scared they were. And then he fell into darkness.
"Freddie!"
"Huh, what?" Freddie snapped out of his thoughts. Her eyes… Sam's eyes… he remembered how vulnerable she seemed in that short second…
"You kind of blanked out there," Carly said, giggling nervously.
"I'm fine," he said quietly.
She sighed. "You're not in love with me."
"No," Freddie said simply.
She nodded. "I know.
"You know?"
"I've known."
He looked at her questioningly. "Please," she stated matter-of-factly. "You think I'm stupid?" Freddie shook his head and smiled. "The day before the accident? iCarly? You weren't exactly being subtle."
Freddie remembered.
"Okay! Next on iCarly, we have one of our most popular segments… Messin' With Lewbert!" Carly said elatedly as Sam pressed the cheer button on her blue remote.
"Yeah!" Sam cheered, clapping her hands together. She flipped her hair over her right shoulder and sent it tumbling down her torso. Her hair… why had Freddie never noticed it? It was so long, and golden… like molten gold. He wondered what it smelled like. What kind of shampoo did she use? And what kind of perfume? Freddie had never known that Sam used perfume before earlier that day, when they had nearly… kissed. But she had smelled faintly flowery, like lilacs. As opposed to Carly, who probably used gallons of sickly sweet perfume daily. No, Sam was more subtle. With everything, Freddie realized. Did Sam ever throw herself on guys she liked? No, never. So was there still a possibility that she might feel something for… Freddie? Was it possible that Freddie felt something for her? Something like-
"Fredward!" Sam barked, and Freddie snapped out of his thoughts. She was glaring at him, her hands on her hips, and Freddie's mind reeled. What was he supposed to be doing?
"Freddie!" Carly hissed. "Play the segment!" Freddie suddenly realized that he needed to move the TV screen and play the Messin' With Lewbert.
"Right!" He said, shaking his head slightly. He walked over to the computer and pressed a few buttons, trying to ignore the smirk on Sam's face.
The video played a clip of Sam and Carly pouring habanera hot sauce on a sandwich and leaving it on Lewbert's desk, but Freddie was hardly watching. He was too busy thinking.
Why couldn't he stop thinking about Sam? Why was her scent, her smile, her attitude, and even her insults racing around in his head? She was Sam for God's sake. Sam, who teased him to no end and enjoyed making his life miserable. Earlier, after she had tackled him, the urge to kiss her had been overwhelmingly strong. He had never felt that way about anyone, ever.
"Okay, iCarly fans! That's pretty much it for today's show," Carly said, the Lewbert clip over. "But before we end, we're going to talk to you, our viewers on the Blab Cam! Ready this time, Freddie?"
Freddie rolled his eyes at her and nodded. He clicked on a button on the computer and a girl about age ten with red braids and glasses popped up on the screen. "Hi, Carly! Hi, Sam! Hi, Freddie!" she waved excitedly. "So I was wondering… since the last iCarly contest didn't go so well, are you ever gonna do another one?"
"Hmm, we're not really sure yet! Probably," Carly answered. Freddie tapped another button on the laptop and a blonde girl with curly hair appeared.
"Hey iCarly!" she squealed, hugging a pillow to her chest. "I lo-o-ove your webshow."
"Thanks!" Carly beamed.
"So I was wondering something," she continued. "Sam and Freddie- you guys have the most ah-mazing chemistry ehh-ver!"
Whoa, Freddie thought. What?
"You guys should, like, totally get together! You'd make the cutest couple!"
Freddie stared blankly at the screen where this bubbly girl was obviously picking up the wrong signals. Sam and him? A couple? Where would someone get that idea? Sure, the thought had crossed his mind a few times, but now their viewers were thinking about it too? Freddie furrowed his eyebrows and sighed. Would it really be a bad thing if he and Sam got together? Did he… want to?
"Ha! Ha ha!" Sam snorted. "Me and Fredweird? A couple? Ha!"
Freddie squinted his eyes, annoyed.
"That's insane!" Sam continued. "That would never happen! I would rather eat a bowl of live cockroaches then go out with him!"
"Sam," Carly said quietly.
"Sam!" Freddie nearly yelled. "What's the matter with you?"
Sam visibly flinched, presumably remembering her earlier fight with him.
"I'm standing right here, you know!" Freddie shouted.
"Yeah, I know, dork," she said, a little less harshly.
"Would it really be that terrible?"
"Guys, stop it!" Carly cried.
"It would be horrible!" Sam jeered.
"Really? Then why were you willing to kiss me earlier today?"
There was dead silence. Carly's eyes widened and she stared at Sam and Freddie, her eyes whizzing back and forth. Sam looked ready to destroy Freddie. "I don't kiss dorks," she hissed and stormed over to the elevator.
"Maybe you're just scared!" Freddie yelled to her retreating back.
She halted immediately. "Scared of what?"
"Scared to admit that maybe you might feel something for me!"
She turned her head slowly. "You flatter yourself," she sneered. Then, without another word, she disappeared into the elevator.
Carly gazed at Freddie, her mouth agape. "What…" she started.
He shook his head. "It's nothing."
Carly closed her mouth then her eyes widened again as she looked at the camera. "Sorry, 'bout that, iCarly viewers,"
Shit, Freddie thought. We're still filming…
"Okay! That's it for today's show and um, we'll see you next week," Carly forced a smile. "Um, maybe. Possibly not. Okay, bye!"
And then Freddie turned off the camera and sat down on the floor, burying his face in his hands. I blew it, he thought.
"Do you…" Carly coughed. "Do you love her?"
Freddie thought about it. "I could," he said.
Carly nodded. "Okay." And then she got up. "I gotta go help Spencer with his sculpture," she said. "I'll visit you later." She got up to leave, walking over to the door. "I knew before then, you know. Even before you realized it yourself." And then she shut the door behind her gently.
Freddie sighed. How could he be in love with a girl who put him down at any chance she got and called him names and just generally insulted him?
You know, they say that when a girl constantly rips on a guy, it means she actually has a crush on him.
Yeah, but I wasn't ripping on a guy. I was ripping on you.
He smiled. How could he not?
The door opened again and Freddie looked up. There was Sam. She walked slowly and solemnly, like she felt out of place. He followed her with his eyes until she sat down in the hard plastic chair by his bed.
"Hey," she said quietly, looking down at her folded hands.
"Hi," he said, equally as awkward.
There was a heavy silence. "That was really brave, what you did," Sam said, still looking down. "Risking your life to save Carly."
"She's my best friend," Freddie said slowly. "I did what I had to do."
Sam gave a little smile. "I know."
She looked down again, as did I. "So I was wondering," Sam said hesitantly.
"Yeah?"
"I was wondering… if you would do the same for me."
Freddie looked up suddenly. The question hung in the air; those unsaid things lingering around them. He opened his mouth to speak, but the words hitched in his throat. There was a long pause. "I would do anything for you," he said finally. Sam lifted her head, and their eyes met. She smiled faintly.
"I'm sorry," she said. "About what I said during that iCarly webcast."
"It's okay -" Freddie started, but she interrupted.
"No, it's not," she continued. "Especially since… since maybe you were right."
Freddie hardly dared to breathe. "Oh," he said.
Sam let out a long breath. "Yeah."
Freddie grinned.
"Maybe I was scared," she said. "But now I'm not." And then she leaned over and their lips met hesitantly. It was a gentle kiss, sweet and mild and perfect. Sam pulled away finally, a smile on her face. "I gotta go buy some canned ham now," she whispered.
Freddie crinkled his eyes at her, confused. "It's on sale," she said, as if it were obvious. He laughed and lifted his head to kiss her again. Her lips curved upwards as she backed away, leaving Freddie alone in the hospital room again.
He sighed, finally content. Maybe get hit by a truck had been worth it, after all.
End
A/N Whoa, this took me forever! Whew! I hope you enjoyed it, and please do review. They make this all worthwhile.
~Alison