Vampy: This is just a one shot of a fluffy brother/sister moment between Carly and Spencer because there are waaaaaaaay too many Seddie/Cibby/Ceddie fanfics. Please feel free to give me constructive criticism or send me a PM if you have a request for a Sparly story (which will be my main focus because, as stated before, there are waaaaaaaaaaay too many Seddie/Cibby/Creddie fics).

I don't own anything from iCarly.

"You're fired!"

19 year old Spencer flinched as his boss, Mr. Featherton, the owner of a restaurant called The Plucky Chicken, screamed the words in his face. While Spencer could admit that accidentally setting a well known food critic's jacket on fire was definitely a faux pas, it was not his fault that the man had decided to panic rather than 'stop, drop, and roll'. It was also not his fault that said critic ended up causing some tables to catch fire. Plus the jacket was made out of flammable material.

Spencer didn't bother begging for another chance since he knew it would do no good. He changed into his casual clothes and turned in his uniform before leaving the restaurant with a muttered "Good riddance" to his ex-employer. The guy was a jerk anyways. Still, he knew that he would need to find a new job. He had to provide for Carly somehow or Grandad would take her away from him and he just couldn't let that happen.

The lanky teen trudged over to where he had parked his bike. Unfortunately, when he reached the bike rack he found it to be empty. "You have got to be kidding me!" Spencer groaned as he threw his hands up in frustration. "Who would want to steal a piece of crap? Aw man, it's gonna take me forever to get home. At least it can't get worse than this. . ."

Of course he should have known better than to say such a thing out loud because no sooner had the words left his lips than thunder rumbled loudly above him. Spencer huffed in annoyance and glanced up at the rapidly darkening sky.

"Well that's just great. I lost my job, I lost my bike, and now I'm probably going to catch a cold." He grumbled before he began the long walk back to the apartment he shared with his little sister.

The walls of the apartment rattled as Spencer slammed the door shut after Thalia ( now the ex-babysitter and his ex-girlfriend) left. As soon as he'd gotten home, sopping wet and jobless, Thalia had started to complain about Carly's behavior during the day. Spencer could handle being fired. He could handle a stolen bike and a little rain. But he absolutely hated when someone made his sister sound like a little brat. So he fired and broke up with her.

Spencer sank to the floor and buried his face in his hands, guilt and shame flooding through him. Why had he thought that he'd be able to raise Carly? He was a failure, just like his father said he would be. "DAMMIT!"

6 year old Carly nearly fell off the bed in surprise when she heard her brother's curse all the way from the living room. Spencer never swore! It went against everything that he stood for as both her guardian and her big brother. She glanced at the clock and saw that it was too early for him to be home from work yet. He must have gotten fired. Again. Carly peeked around the doorway to the only bedroom in their small apartment, her heart breaking a little when she saw her brother sitting on their moth eaten carpet with his head in his hands. She knew that he was trying very hard to make things comfortable for her. Spencer had dropped out of law school just to take care of her after he fought to have legal guardianship of her when their mother died and their father's military unit transferred to a different country.

She knew that things were pretty rough at the moment. Spencer was somewhat accident prone and had managed to set their last apartment on fire, so they had been thrown out. Luckily Spencer's best friend Socko knew someone who was renting out a place for a really cheap price (almost suspiciously cheap) and the Shays were able to get it easily. But now they were pretty much broke as Spencer had to pay their last landlord for the damage, give their current landlady a down payment, and had already paid the college for a year of classes that he wasn't going to take.

Carly bit her lip thoughtfully as she watched Spencer rub his temples, a sure sign that he was stressed. She had seen him do that a lot more often during the past few days when he thought she wasn't looking. The small brunette wanted desperately to show him that he was the best brother in the whole world since that was obviously what he needed.

The little girl looked around for something to make her brother feel better and smiled as her gaze fell on her coloring books. Coloring always made her feel better, and she knew that Spencer absolutely loved art! Maybe he would feel better if he was able express himself through coloring. She gathered them up into her arms and grabbed her box of crayons before walking over to the soaking teenager. Carly dropped her burdens onto the floor next to Spencer before climbing onto his lap.

"You're all wet." She said once she got comfortable on her perch, her nose wrinkling slightly in distaste at the cold that seeped into her clothes though she made no sign of moving away from the older boy.

Spencer snorted a little at the obvious statement but held back the "No shit, Sherlock" that threatened to drop from his lips. Instead he wrapped his arms around his precious baby sister and shook water droplets from his hair onto her face, smiling when she shrieked in response. Spending time with Carly always made him smile no matter what his mood.

"Mhm, got caught in the rain." He rubbed his cheek against hers playfully as she squirmed in his arms. "What are these for, Carly-cue?" Spencer asked curiously as he nodded towards the coloring books.

Carly leaned into him and rested her head on his chest so she could listen to his heartbeat. "You looked sad. I thought that coloring would help you feel better." She explained.

Spencer got a little choked up at his sister's kindness. He cleared his throat and blinked his eyes rapidly against the sting in them. "Thank you, Carly."

"You're welcome, Penny!" Carly gave him her most special smile that she reserved only for his eyes as she used the nickname only she was allowed to call him. It always made him chuckle.

The lanky teen couldn't help but smile back at her when she called him Penny. It reminded him of when she was little and was never able to pronounce his name. That was when he knew that they would be alright. As long as they had each other, Spencer knew that nothing would be able to prevent them from making their way in life. He would give Grandad a call that night to ask about a little bit of help money wise. If it was for Carly then he could handle a hit to his pride.

Spencer sighed as he sat back on his heels and stared at his latest art project, trying to decide whether or not he needed to add anything else to it. The now 26 year old had managed to get his little sister to her 13th birthday just fine. They no longer lived in a run down apartment and he no longer had to worry about feeding his sister as their father would send money to Spencer's bank account to pay for his 'college classes'. But the brunette still worried about failing his family.

He glanced at the clock on his bedside table. Making a face at the late hour and cursing himself for not paying better attention to the time, Spencer stood up and stretched before padding quietly out of his room to get a glass of water from the kitchen. The man paused when he saw Carly, Sam, and Freddy sprawled out on the couch. He smiled at the sight, covered them with a blanket, then leaned over to kiss Carly's forehead affectionately. As Spencer walked back to his room, he wondered if maybe he wasn't failing after all.