Hey everyone! Thank you for your reviews. They have been very helpful. The lyric from Chapter 1 is from the song Waking up in Vegas by Katy Perry. If you guessed correctly, good job! You get an imaginary cookie. And now, on to Chapter 2!

Disclaimer: Once again, I do not own iCarly or any of the songs referenced.

Chapter 2

Been Far Away for Far Too Long

"Are you almost done packing?" Freddie called from the living room of the Shays' apartment.

"Yeah! Just a few more minutes!" Carly yelled from her bedroom.

Freddie sat on the couch and continued to wait for his brunette friend. His own suitcase was sitting on the floor next to the couch. He and Carly were getting ready to take a trip to Yellowstone National Park. Their history teacher set up an excursion to give her students a tour of Yellowstone. The class would be spending a week exploring the park, learning of its history, and taking notes for an upcoming school project. Spencer volunteered to be one of the chaperones for this trip. The class would be taking a bus to the park and to the lodge they would be staying at, but Spencer thought it would be easier if he drove Carly and Freddie. The male sibling was standing by the door with his suitcases by his side.

Another reason Spencer was going on this trip was he thought he would be able to finally catch a beavecoon. Some of the contents of his suitcases included beavecoon-trapping equipment. Of course, Carly was unaware of Spencer's motives.

Sam was sitting in one of the living room chairs with her feet on the coffee table. She did not have the same history class as Carly and Freddie, so she was not going on the trip with them.

"It's almost 8:00. We need to get going," Freddie said to Carly.

"Yeah Fredward. Keep telling a girl to hurry up. That will make her pack quickly."

Freddie turned toward the blonde. "Sam, being punctual is a very important characteristic to have in life."

"You're going to be touring a park, not visiting the President. It's no big deal if you're late for this. Come to think of it, why would the President want you to visit him? You'd bore him to death."

"Hey!" protested Freddie. "I can be interesting for the President!"

"Yeah, I'm sure he would be thrilled to hear about the use of camera wiring and the reasons why teenage boys like you can't get a girlfriend."

"Why are you here anyway?" asked Freddie. "You're not even going with us."

"I'm just here to see you off and begin celebrating my week of nub-free splendor."

"What?" asked Freddie.

"Think about it. A whole week of not seeing or hearing your dorkish little self. It will be paradise."

"That was uncalled for!"

"Your face is uncalled for."

Before the argument could spiral out of control, Carly finally walked down the stairs with two suitcases in hand.

"Okay, I'm ready!" she said.

"Alright then!" said Spencer excited. "Let's go load the car and hit the road. I'm looking forward to snagging a beav….uh, I mean learning about history and stuff. "

Carly looked at Spencer suspiciously, but then quickly shrugged it off and turned to Freddie. "I'm getting really excited, Freddie. I've always wanted to see an actual geyser."

"Yeah me too," said Freddie enthusiastically. "I hope we get to see some animals too."

"Yeah, it'll be great! You and I will be visiting this grand park together and it's for school! We'll have so much fun!"

"Hey lovebirds!" shouted Sam. "Go on your romantic getaway already! Your "togetherness" talk is making me want to hurl."

Carly and Freddie rolled their eyes at Sam and began walking out the door. Sam and Spencer followed them. They walked outside Bushwell to the car and loaded their suitcases in it. Finally, Spencer was sitting at the wheel with Carly in the front seat and Freddie in the back.

"Don't get into too much trouble while we're gone," Carly told Sam.

"Yeah, yeah. Have fun at Yellowstone," said Sam.

The car pulled out of the parking lot and drove out of sight. Sam smiled and began rubbing her hands together. Then she walked back to her house, thinking about how much she would enjoy her week of freedom and no annoying Freddie. This is going to be great!

As it turned out, the week was not at all what Sam had hoped for. The first day was good. Sam could do almost anything she wanted with no scolding from anyone (her friends did most of the scolding). But as time went on, things started to get boring. While Sam did have a lot of fans, her abrasive personality and bullying reputation did not earn her a lot of friends. The only people she hung out with on a regular basis were Carly and Freddie.

Sam was able to handle Carly being away from her. Carly visited her grandfather in Yakima from time to time and would be gone for a few days with each visit. Sam could tolerate this because she at least had the nub to keep her company. They would chill at the Shays' apartment and watch an occasional MMA fight on TV. They would do skits for iCarly such as Pathetic Plays and Disgusting Super Slow Motion. But now she didn't even have him.

School was more boring than usual. She tried to curb her boredom by pulling pranks on students and painting Mr. Howard's car purple. Even though she had fun doing these acts, it just wasn't enough.

On the fourth day of "No Friends" week, she thought she could pass the time at the Shays' apartment with some TV. She did have a TV at her house, but it only had a few channels. So she went to Apartment 8-C and let herself in using the hidden key and a butter knife for unlatching the lock chain. Carly would have had a fit if she broke the lock chain like last time. She sat on the couch and hit the "On" button on the remote.

Eventually, watching numerous episodes of Girly Cow and Celebrities Underwater was getting old. Sam turned off the TV and went home. She tried the Shays' TV again the next day. After flipping through the channel cycle for the tenth time, Sam groaned and hit the "Off" button. She was so desperate to get rid of her boredom, she called Gibby on her cell phone and asked him if he had any plans. Unfortunately, Gibby had a date with Tasha. Sam hung up the phone grumbling and wondering what could possibly be wrong with that girl.

Suddenly, Sam heard the apartment door close. Her eyes widen and she eagerly turned toward the door. "Carly? Freddie?" But there was no one there. She groaned and turned to face the TV again. Then she heard another sound…no…several sounds. First, there was the sound of little objects being scattered. Then there was a light thumping sound with a slight scraping sound following each thump. And it was coming from behind the couch! Sam slowly turned around and peeked over the headrest. This time, Sam saw the source of the sounds.

Sitting behind the couch was a little girl. She appeared to be about seven years of age. She was wearing a purple jacket over a light pink buttoned shirt along with a blue skirt and hot pink leggings. She had shoulder-length blonde hair that was slightly curled. It almost reminded Sam of her own hair. The sounds the little girl was making were coming from the game of jacks she was playing.

Sam just stared at the little girl in confusion, not exactly knowing what to do. The little girl apparently sensed someone watching her as she caught the rubber ball before it hit the ground and looked up in Sam's direction.

"Um…hi there?" said Sam uneasily. The little girl did not reply. She just stared at Sam.

"So, uh…who are you and where did you come from?" asked Sam. The little girl said nothing. She scooped up her jacks and put them in her pockets.

"Okay, well I think I better call the lobby and see if we can find your parents." Sam turned around and picked up her cell phone. She began dialing the number to the front desk. She sighed as she was not looking forward to once again deal with that nasty doorman Lewbert. As she put the phone to her ear, Sam turned around to look behind the couch. The little girl was not there. Sam quickly hung up the phone and got off the couch. She looked around the living room and looked toward the kitchen. The girl was nowhere in sight. So she ran into Spencer's room and looked around there. She was looking in Spencer's locker when she heard a door shut. It was the refrigerator door! Sam rushed out of Spencer's room and into the living room. She stopped as soon as she reached the kitchen. The little girl was sitting on the kitchen island, sipping a can of Wahoo Punch through a straw.

Sam sighed in relief. "There you are. Man, you are sneakier than a ninja." She walked closer to the little girl. "So where's your Mommy and Daddy?"

The little girl still didn't speak. She just continued staring at Sam.

"Ooooookay then. Can you tell me your name?" asked Sam. No reply.

"Geez, can't you say anything at all?" The girl just sipped and stared.

Sam threw her hands up in frustration and turned away from the girl. "Uugghh! This is pointless! It's like talking to a potato!"

Sam closed her eyes and spoke to herself. "Calm down. She's just a little girl. You can do this."

Sam took a deep breath, opened her eyes, and turned toward the island. The little girl was gone.

"What th-… now where is she?" Sam looked behind the island. No girl. She looked under the kitchen table. No girl. Then she ran to the oven. She began reaching for the oven door when she stopped. "Wait, that's stupid. She wouldn't be in there." Sam dropped her hand back to her side. Suddenly, she heard a *ding* and the elevator door opening. She looked toward the elevator and saw the little girl walking into the elevator with her Wahoo Punch in hand. Sam made a break for the elevator, but tripped and fell to the floor. Before she could get up, the elevator door closed. Sam dashed out of the kitchen and ran up the stairs, hoping to catch the girl before she reached the studio. She pushed open the studio door and looked toward the elevator. The door was open and the elevator compartment was empty except for the can of Wahoo Punch sitting on the floor. Sam began searching the studio for the girl. She looked in the studio's back room, behind various filming equipment, and under piles of iCarly props, but still no little girl. Sam began looking in the car in the corner of the room. Suddenly, Sam heard the studio door close. She looked up and saw the little girl behind the studio door giggling at her through the glass before running downstairs.

"Come back here you little ninja midget!" growled Sam and sprinted toward the studio door. She ran downstairs and stopped at the foot of the steps to look around. The little girl was standing at the open apartment door. She smiled and waved at Sam. Then she walked out of the apartment and closed the door. Sam ran to the door and opened it. She looked in both directions of the hallway and saw nobody. Sam ran around the hallway looking everywhere, even behind the potted plants. But the little girl was nowhere to be found. Defeated, Sam walked back to the Shays' apartment and wondered what the heck just happened.

The day Carly, Freddie, and Spencer would return to Seattle finally arrived. Sam was standing outside Bushwell Plaza waiting for them. It was a cold day, so Sam was wearing a hoodie and some jeans. She put the hood over her head to protect her ears from the cold air. While she waited, Sam was deep in thought. This week of torture gave her plenty of time to think. She learned from this experience to not take some things for granted. One of those things was her friendship with Freddie. She thought of the time she made fun of him before he left and pointed out to him how much fun it would be without him around. Although she would not admit it to him, she felt bad about doing that. He was one of her best friends and was actually good company to be with when Carly was away. Enduring this week without him made her realize how much she valued his friendship.

Her thoughts were interrupted by the Shays' car pulling into the parking lot. Sam walked over to meet them. Carly stepped out of the car and ran to give Sam a hug. "Oh Sam, it's good to see you again. I missed you so much."

"Same here Carls," said Sam as she hugged Carly back. Freddie walked right behind Carly. The girls let go of each other and Freddie approached Sam.

"Hey Sam," said Freddie.

"Benson," nodded Sam. They gave each other a fist bump.

"How was your week?"

"Not bad. Didn't set the school on fire or anything. How was your week?"

"Pretty good actually. We took pictures of some geysers and wildlife and stuff. Overall, it was an awesome trip."

"Yeah, with the exception of a certain older brother," said Carly as she turned to look at Spencer unloading some suitcases from the car.

"Okay, okay! So I didn't tell you I was going beavecoon hunting on this trip. It's no big deal," protested Spencer.

"First of all, beavecoons don't exist! And secondly, what do you mean "no big deal"? You set traps all over the park! We could have gotten in big trouble!"

"Oh come on! Nobody got hurt."

"One of your traps snagged a swan! I'm pretty sure the park officials would not have liked that. You're lucky the swan wasn't killed and nobody caught you!"

The Shay siblings walked toward the lobby doors with their suitcases in tow, continuing their argument along the way. Sam and Freddie looked in their direction while shaking their heads and then looked at each other.

"So, can you please give us a hand with this stuff? We bought a bunch of souvenirs from the park," said Freddie.

"Yeah sure," said Sam. The pair walked to the car's trunk and began unloading its contents. In the middle of their task, Freddie turned to Sam.

"Hey Sam. After we're done taking this stuff back to the apartments, do you want to go to the Groovy Smoothie and-"

"Yes!" Sam said quickly as she looked up at him. Freddie looked at Sam in surprise. Sam tried to regain her composure.

"Uh, I mean yeah. I've been craving a smoothie for some time and I need someone to pay for it." She turned back to unloading the souvenirs.

Freddie stared at Sam for a few seconds and a warm smile grew on his face. "I missed you too Sam."

Freddie wasn't completely sure, but he could have sworn he saw a smile hiding underneath Sam's hood.

Author's note: And that concludes Chapter 2. I hope you liked it. This was one of the first chapter ideas that came to mind when I decided to write this story. Please review. Have a good day! Or night! Or afternoon! You know what I mean.