Title Where I Belong
Chapter iKeep Tabs (2/?)
Author Devylish
Pairing Spam, Spencer/Sam
Rating PG13 - currently
Words 860
Warnings none Spoilers Nada
Disclaimer All publicly recognizable characters, settings, plot, etc. are the property of the creators of the TV show iCarly. Any original characters, settings and plots are the property of devylish. devylish is in no way associated with the TV show iCarly and no copyright infringement is intended. This work is an amateur fan effort and no profit is being made.
AN unbeta'd
"So," he placed a sandwich in front of Sam, "Lilah, huh?"
She dived for the plate, "Ham! Uhm, yeah, Lilah."
He placed his own sandwich on the table and sat down across from his sister's best childhood friend. "Lilah…Puckett?"
"Anything wrong with the name Puckett?" She raised a brow at him.
He held up his hands in mock surrender then asked the question he'd been dancing around. "Who's her father?"
"No one you know."
"Where's her father?"
"Who knows?"
"Were you always this monosyllabic?"
"Yup."
He smiled despite himself. "Do you have a place to stay?"
She stopped chewing and swallowed hard. "I-we could stay with my mom, but…."
"Carly's room is free, for when she comes to visit. Why don't you and Lilah stay here… your own bathroom, queen size bed --."
"The famous Shay refridgerator." She added with a grin. Her face grew serious and she glanced down at Lilah who lay on a blanket on the floor. "Thanks Spencer."
"No problem, you know you always have a place here."
"Tell you what -- as repayment -- I'll make dinner the next couple of nights."
"Sam Puckett cooks?" He grabbed his chest under the guise of a fake heart attack.
"Dude, living by yourself teaches you a lot! I, for instance, am an amazing chef! Who knew? I mean, I knew I loved to eat the stuff, but cooking it too?"
Lilah stirred on her blanket, lifting her head and squirming in the way only sleepy babies could.
"She looks just like you."
"Thank God! Her deadbeat-sperm-donator was fugly." Sam dropped the last of her sandwich back onto the plate and moved to scoop up the squiggling child. "Isn't that right baby? You're a pretty girl, and it's all mommy's doing isn't it?"
"I see you've become vain in your old age."
"If I'm old, what does that make you? Prehistoric?"
"Watch it little one, you're not too old for me to throw over my knee and spank."
"I'd like to see you try it!" She frowned suddenly, "Okay, Lilah is in desperate need of a diaper change. Whew!" She looked up at Spencer, "Can you hold her? I left a bunch of our crap in the hallway."
Spencer didn't hear the question; his mind was lost, suddenly, inappropriately, in the thought of a very adult Sam's bare bottom.
"Yo! Spence. Earth to Shay!"
He shook his head, clearing his mind of the disturbing… engrossing picture. "Uh… huh?"
"Where'd you go?"
"Go?"
"Never mind. Can you hold Lilah while I get our stuff?"
"Uh, sure. Yeah. No problem." He smiled at the blonde munchkin and reached for her. "Come to Uncle Spencer, Cutie."
Sam handed Lilah over with a warning. "Might want to hold your breath, apparently, she had a lot to get out of her system." Tousling her daughter's hair she teased, "Isn't that right baby? Stinky girl."
"Ooooh! Wow! Uh, yeah, make with the diaper grabbing Sam."
***
An hour later found Sam sitting on the floor in Carly's old room with Lilah.
It was good to be home.
And not half as – odd – as she'd thought it might be to be here without Carly.
In the five years she'd been gone, Sam had kept tabs on Shay and the gang. She knew, of course, that Carly had gone to Stanford. And Gibby had followed Freddie to Harvard; she'd gotten a giggle out of that.... They'd all successfully earned their bachelor's degrees sometime last year. Carly in Media and Communications, Freddie in some sort of techie nerdy thing that she couldn't pronounce if her life depended upon it, and Gibby, Gibby had received his MBA.
Beyond the educational crap, Sam had also managed to keep track of their personal lives. Gibby was living in Chicago with his partner of three years, Adam. Freddie was engaged to Ali, a red headed Carly look-alike that he'd met at Haaaaavaaaaaahhhd. And Carly was pretty serious about Josh, some guy she'd met when she started Graduate school this past year.
Yup, she had kept close tabs on the whole Shay gang. Even Spencer. Careerwise, he was more popular than ever. His artwork was selling like hotcakes.
Mmmm, hotcakes.
She'd seen advertisements of his work in magazines; she'd even snuck into one of the showings he had a couple of years back. His quirky sense of expression, and his skill were finally being appreciated by a mass audience.
Personal life? Spencer was still single. He'd dated here and there during the past few years, but no woman had lasted longer than a few weeks. She fought back the smile that crept to her face at the thought of Spencer being unattached.
Geesh! I thought I got over that stupid crush years ago!
Apparently not.
Turning Lilah over onto her belly so she could work on her crawling skills, Sam slowly rubbed the baby's back.
So, yeah, Carly, Freddie, Spencer, and even Gibby were doing pretty well. They were all doing well… except for her.
She looked into the small duffel bag that held both her clothes and Lilah's. It had been a tough year. A tough five years. But finally, finally she was back home.
