AN: Hello, my dear readers. I do hope you enjoy my interpretation of last week's episode (iLost My Head in Vegas). Obviously previous chapters of this story mean that it is only based loosely on the episode itself.

As ever I would like to give special thanks to those of you who reviewed the last chapter.

LuckyFallenStarBaby, ArtisticAngel6 – thank you for your kind words; I'm glad you're enjoying it.

Digger12 – Freddie is in a fairly new relationship and finally happy, which is why he spends so much time with his girlfriend and wants to involve her with everything.

Saphirabrightscale – Freddie's a smart guy, especially when he's thinking clearly.

Hejk12345 – I wish I was in charge of iCarly and Victorious too; writing my stories is the nearest I'll get to it though unfortunately…

Ok, I think that's everyone – let's get on with the story.


"Hey Freddie!" Carly called across the school hallway; her just-about-friend turned to face her and smiled as she walked over to him.

"Hey Carls," he returned.

"I missed you last night," she said with a tone of regret, "How was… was it fencing last night? I lose track of all your activities." She poked him playfully in the chest, hiding the pain she felt that he had a whole other life that she was no longer a part of.

"It's my model train club on a Wednesday," he supplied. "At least nobody's tried to get me kicked out of this one yet" he continued bitterly.

Okay, now is not the time to mention Sam the brunette thought.

"Fencing is tonight," he added in a far brighter voice, "followed by dinner and a movie." His tone now oozed satisfaction and happiness; there could scarcely be more contrast between the moods of the two.

"So I won't see you tonight either," she noted in a soft voice as the bell rang and the teachers urged them to get to class. She hoped that Freddie hadn't heard her as she didn't want to seem like she was guilt-tripping him but he replied,

"I'm afraid not. But Kim and I are heading to the U21 club tomorrow night if you want to come too?"

The web star hesitated; she wanted to spend time with Freddie and she didn't dislike his girlfriend (other than the amount of time he spent with her) but she didn't want to feel like the third wheel again around them.

"I'm visiting Sam tomorrow night," she lied.

"Maybe some other time then," he shrugged as they entered the classroom and took their seats.

The brown-haired teen smiled as he spotted his girlfriend on the bleachers after his fencing session; he waved to her and she hopped down to the floor to give him a quick kiss.

"I'll be a couple of minutes getting changed, then I'm all yours" he promised.

"I can't wait" she grinned, kissing him again.

He headed to the locker room, showered quickly and dressed in a smart dress shirt and dark blue jeans. He crammed his bag into one of the vacant lockers and returned to the arena where Kim stood waiting. Like him she was dressed rather more smartly than usual; she wore a knee-length black dress, two-inch high heeled black shoes and completed the look by wielding a small, black purse. He offered his arm and she looped hers around it as they left the studio for his car and the restaurant.

The couple sat at their booth perusing the menu; Freddie, being a fan of Italian food, was drawn to the pastas. A friend from his tech club had eaten here the previous week and waxed lyrical about its lasagne so he ordered that.

"Lasagne sounds great; I'll have the same please," Lindsey said politely to their waitress. Freddie smiled, unable to stop himself mentally comparing this date, and the well-mannered girl, to the last time he and a girl ate lasagne in a restaurant. He took a sip of his soda and resumed smiling at the girl sat opposite.

"What?" she asked, confused but returning his smile.

"Can't a guy just be happy in the company of a beautiful girl?" he asked in mock affront but continuing to smile at her, causing her to giggle at his flattery before she raised her own glass and took a sip.

They chatted idly while their meals were prepared, thanking the waitress when she brought them over.

"Smells good," he commented as the girl left their table.

Kim sampled the food before responding "Tastes good too."

The pair talked a little while they ate; music was common ground for them so they discussed their bands' activities and upcoming gigs, trying to co-ordinate their routines to allow them to spend more time together.

"Between the band and my schoolwork I'm busy all this weekend," she lamented.

"I'll make sure I get ahead with my work then," he commented.

"I'm sure Carly will be pleased that I'm not around." Her tone was playful but her eyes cooled a little thinking of the other brunette. Freddie sighed and set his cutlery down.

"You know there's nothing between the two of us now, right?" He reached across the table and took her hand, gently tracing over the back of it with his thumb.

"I believe you; her… I'm not so sure about."

"She… she wants to spend more time with me," he admitted, "though just as a friend because, after everything that happened over the last few months we were barely even friends. Things are getting better though."

"Do you regret it? The way things went with her, I mean," she clarified in response to his quizzical look. He sighed again.

"It hurt – a lot. What they did – or rather didn't do – at the party, but if they hadn't then I'd still be in that old life and who knows? Maybe I'd still be putting up with Sam's crap and her indifference. Maybe I'd have just let Sam screw up my job and I'd have sat there and let her drive you away from me when she said what she did, or not stood up to Gibby when he swung on me. Everything snowballed after that night but, for all the distance and awkwardness between Carly and me, I think things are actually better than they were; we're looking at a genuine friendship if we get there instead of whatever we had before. And then…" he squeezed her hand a little, "there's you and me. Even if there'd been nothing to salvage, if she was no longer in my life at all – which was what I wanted the morning after the party anyway – being with you means I wouldn't change any of it."

She smiled across the table at him as moisture threatened to glisten in her eyes. "Let's eat up before it gets cold," he said with a laugh, releasing her hand and they both returned to their meals.

The former tech producer paid the check and took his girlfriend's hand in his own as they left the restaurant in high spirits, having enjoyed such an excellent meal. He drove them to the cinema complex and bought tickets to the new Eddie Murphy film (on Spencer's recommendation, so it was with some trepidation that they sat in front of the screen). They had arrived early enough to claim the back row so Freddie whispered that there was always "Plan B" if the movie sucked. She giggled and replied that "Plan B" might happen even if the movie's good before stealing a quick kiss. Freddie responded in kind and the couple were just threatening to indulge in a really good make-out session when a disgusted voice called from the front of the auditorium,

"Guys, at least wait until the lights go out before you start."

"Sorry," they said in unison before grinning guiltily at the group of teenagers who had just entered the room.

Within five minutes of the lights going out they were ignoring the movie and back to making out.


Feeling that she shouldn't lie to Freddie, Carly visited the local jail the following evening while he and Kim went to the club. Sam was pleased to see the brunette and was happy that during their talk she was able to get some news of the world outside of the facility. The blonde did have a request to make of her friend, however.

"My uncle Carmine came to visit yesterday," she began. Carly grimaced. Nothing good can begin that way she thought grimly. "And he says that my mom was arrested in Vegas yesterday. Her lawyer called him; he must have gone down the list of Pucketts until he found one that wasn't in jail," the blonde surmised.

"What does he expect you to do about it?" Carly asked in wonderment.

"He wants me to find someone," the inmate smiled sweetly at her friend, "who's willing to bail her out."

"How much?" Carly groaned in resignation.

"Twenty-five hundred."

"Dollars?" she squeaked.

"Uh huh."

"I don't know where I'm gonna find that sort of cash," she mused.

"You could ask Spencer…" Sam began but was cut off.

"Oh, he hasn't had a job since twelfth grade and hasn't sold a sculpture since…" she paused for thought. "He hasn't sold a sculpture."

"Well there's gotta be someone who can get her out of there; otherwise she'll be stuck there until a trial date is set."

"I don't know anyone who might have that sort of cash except…"

"Who?" Sam demanded.

"Freddie – and do you really think he's going to want to help you out?"

"Maybe you could pull the old 'please, for me' on him?" the blonde suggested. "Please Carls, you have to try at least; I can't just have my mom rotting in a Vegas jail and obviously I can't do anything from here."

"I'll try," she promised.

"Thanks Carls," her friend smiled.


"Knock, knock," Freddie called around 10 a.m. on the Saturday morning.

"Oh hi Freddie," Carly's voice had an air of distraction; she had spent the previous night wondering how on earth she could try to convince Freddie to join in with this latest escapade.

"Are you ok?" he asked concernedly, detecting instantly that all was not well with the brunette.

"I'm fine," she said truthfully, "how was the club?"

"Fantastic!" he enthused. "The music wasn't all to my taste but the company…" he trailed off with a broad smile. "Let's just say it was a great night with a great girl."

Carly's brain was in overdrive by this point and she really didn't like some of the thoughts that it was coming up with. She was relieved when he was the next to speak.

"How was your night?"

"Oh, it was ok," she answered, "until she told me her mom was arrested a couple of days ago in Vegas."

"Like mother, like daughter," the brown-haired boy muttered bitterly.

"Yeah, and she wants me to bail her out."

"Seriously?"

"Oh yes, and it's going to cost twenty-five hundred."

"Dollars?" he yelped.

"Uh huh."

He whistled. "Where does she expect you to get that kind of money?" She looked at him; he face-palmed and closed his eyes, shaking his head.

"Seriously? She seriously expects me to do her a favour?"

"No, she expects you to do me a favour when I use 'please, for me' on you," she admitted with a sigh, "but it's not like you'd lose the money… provided she shows up for the hearing," a trace of uncertainty crept into Carly's voice at the thought. Freddie smirked. "So… what are the chances?"

"Slim to none," he said nonchalantly.

"I didn't think so; figured I had to ask though. Especially after what happened with Gibby," the brunette played the closest thing she had to an ace; admittedly it was probably closer to a seven.

"What's that got to do with anything?" Freddie asked in confusion.

"Well," she began slowly and thoughtfully, "You beat him up… in self-defence I know," she added hurriedly, "but I guess it shows that, if things were a little different, you could be the one in there and maybe needing a favour."

"Do NOT try to compare me with that bitch!" he snapped angrily, waving his left index finger in her face. She raised her hands in submission.

"I'm sorry; I guess I just hoped that you'd consider the circumstances and perhaps think that you could maybe do this one thing – for me if not for her."

Freddie thought for a moment; he didn't have any inclination to help Sam but Carly… well she was different. He didn't have any plans for the weekend, with Kim busy, and a trip to Sin City appealed to him, not least because the thought of him being there would utterly horrify his mother, so he turned to the girl he had long crushed upon.

"Can Spencer borrow Socko's RV? If so, I guess I'm in."

Carly flung herself on him and hugged him before she realised the impropriety of doing so and stepped back in embarrassment. "Thank you," she told the floor, "I'll ask Spencer."

To nobody's great surprise Spencer had no plans for the weekend either, so he borrowed the vehicle (to Freddie's surprise – after losing an RV during the search for Bigfoot he highly doubted that Socko would loan Spencer anything again) and the three were quickly on the road to Nevada.

"Oh seriously?" Carly laughed as Freddie unloaded his bag on the small table in the living area of the vehicle. "You're going to spend the trip doing homework?"

"I don't get much time during the week," he explained. "I work on Monday – and Saturday usually, I'm taking a day off for this and financing things," he reminded her curtly, "Tech club is Tuesday, Trains on a Wednesday, Fencing on Thursday, band on a Sunday – again I have to miss that for this – plus the time I spend with Kim, so I need to get my work done while I have the chance."

"Okay," she surrendered, "need a study buddy?"

"Sure."

The teens spent the trip engrossed in their studies while Spencer amused himself singing along to the radio.


The RV pulled into a rest stop on the outskirts of Las Vegas in the early hours of Sunday morning; Spencer yawned tiredly and trudged into the back.

"Okay, I am wiped. I'm going to get a few hours' sleep before we do anything else."

"Sure thing," Carly said brightly; she and Freddie had slept a little after finishing their work, "We'll go explore and wake you up in a few."

"Oh no!" the elder Shay put his foot down, "you are not going off into Las Vegas in the middle of the night. You stay in here until daybreak."

"Alright," she grumbled.

Freddie returned to one of the roll-out beds. "May as well get a couple more hours," he muttered. Carly sighed and squeezed in next to him, leaving the other bed free for Spencer. The boy was surprised, and a little uncomfortable, but said nothing; he would awake to find his arm draped over her and a coy smile on her face.

"Let's go!" the brunette cried, extricating herself from him. He took a moment to tidy his hair and followed her out of the RV; Spencer blundered out behind them and locked up.

"Ok, I need to find a bank," Freddie commented. Carly drew her pearphone from her jeans and tapped away to bring up a map.

"There's one a couple of blocks that way," she pointed and led the way. Freddie went in for a few minutes before emerging and smiling at the Shays.

"Okay," he told them, "let's bail out a Puckett."

The trio made their way to the local jail and Carly walked up to the window, flanked by the guys.

"Hi, we're here to bail out a Pam Puckett," she told the surly officer, who scanned her computer.

"Puckett, Puckett… we have a Pinkton," she offered.

"We don't want a Pinkton," Freddie interjected.

"I don't blame you, she's a stabber," the officer told them. All three raised their eyebrows at the information. "Oh here we are," she continued. "Pam Puckett; oh yeah," as if surprised that someone would come for the Jane Lynch-lookalike. "Bail is twenty-five hundred."

Freddie handed over the banker's draft and the officer traded it for a receipt. "She'll be out in a minute; have a seat." Then she stopped herself as she was turning away and returned her gaze to the handsome teen. "Say, are you dating anybody?"

"Uh yeah, I am."

"That sucks," the officer muttered and walked off.

"Tell me about it," whispered Carly under her breath.

"Carly!" shouted Sam's mother as she emerged from the cells. "Thank you so much for coming for me," she continued in a grateful tone. "Oh it's you," she commented to Freddie.

"Yeah, me," he snapped, "the one that just bailed you out of there. The one your daughter shot without provocation. Yes, it's definitely me."

Pam's mouth formed an 'o' shape at his outburst.

"I think that means 'thank you' in Puckett," Carly said lightly.

"Yes, thanks," the Puckett matriarch muttered gruffly. "Well, let's head back to Seattle then."

"Hold on," Spencer half-shouted, "I've just driven eighteen hours to get here. We are going sight-seeing."

The teens shrugged at one another. "I wouldn't mind seeing the strip," Freddie volunteered.

"Me too," Carly agreed.

"Meh, it's not all that," Pam muttered as she followed them out to freedom.


AN: Thank you all for reading. I really hope you enjoyed this. If so, please let me know. If not, please let me know what you didn't like. All feedback is welcome and gratefully received. I hope to see you all for the next chapter, which may or may not be the finale now… PD