"I'M NOT GOING TO LET YOU HURT YOURSELF!" Carly screamed out at the last moment. This made the blond girl stop struggling as she looked up at her best friend's face. She could tell that Carly was obviously torn as tears were coming out of her eyes. Sam just stood there in shock, feeling as if she was smacked in the face. Even though Carly didn't hit her, she might as well have. In fact, Sam would have preferred it instead of seeing her friend like this.

"C-Carly?" Sam stuttered, her eyes widening. The brunette girl realized she had managed to get her friend's attention and knew she had to persuade her to listen.

"Sam, please!" Carly pleaded with the girl, keeping a firm grasp on her wrists. "Just..go to the hospital. You're sick and burning up with an insane fever that came out of nowhere! We don't know what's going on! God forbid you have something wrong with you that could...." Her voice trailed off, as she didn't want to finish her train of thought.

"Could what...?" Sam asked quietly.

"C-could...I d-don't know.." Carly stuttered, reluctant to finish. "...kill you."

Sam's eyes just widened as her eyes dropped to the floor in shock. The thought of death never really occurred to her. Pain she could deal with, but....a possibility of dying? Sam was at a loss for words as she felt her mouth go dry. She looked up at Carly and watched as the girl's tears trailed down her cheeks. That made Sam's blood run cold.

Meanwhile, Carly, still gripping Sam's wrists, stared back. She herself hadn't even realized what she was thinking until after the fact. Her fear had been bottled up in a powder keg all this time and when she saw her best friend start to run away, something had finally exploded within the girl. "Sam I...." Carly stopped for a moment as she was surprised to feel the temperature in Sam's arms turn to ice. "Y-yes Sam, what if this is more serious than we thought? You might die.." The brunette girl found the courage to say it again.

"From surgery...?" She started, and Carly knew where she was going.

"No! WITHOUT surgery." Carly remarked. Even in a moment such as this, her best friend was just so dang stubborn. "If you don't go to the hospital, how can we know for sure that you'll be ok? What if you do need the surgery? Do you want to wait until things might be too late?!"

"But..." Sam studied Carly's face and could tell she was genuine with every word and emotion. She then looked behind her and saw that the others had stopped in their tracks and were now staring at the two girls. They had run up to help restrain Sam, but once they saw Carly's words got to her, they backed off. Sam looked over from Mrs. Benson, to Spencer, and finally to Freddie. They all held such worried and scared looks. 'I did this to the people who are trying to help me. And I ran away from them.' Sam thought in her head, angry with herself. She couldn't believe how childish and selfish she was acting. Looking back over at Carly, she took a big gulp. "F-fine, I'll go. Just.....don't cry." Sam was torn that she pushed her best friend to such an emotional level.

"No promises." Carly said softly as she let go of Sam's arms and gave her a small hug. Freddie walked over to the two and put a hand on Sam's shoulder as they broke it off.

"We'll be with you every step of the way." He said kindly as the two girls turned back towards the gurney.

"...not in the operating room if it comes to that." Sam muttered.

"Hey, don't doubt Spencer's skills. He can get us anywhere." Freddie joked as Spencer stepped forward.

"It's true!" He gave Sam a comforting smile as he winked. "I've got connections."

"You guys are morons." Sam let out a small laugh as she rolled her eyes. She then gripped her stomach as she felt the pain return. Her adrenaline rush had worn off by some time now, and Sam was feeling the result of her actions. "Uhh...." She hunched over.

"Let's get her set." One of the paramedics rolled the gurney over to the kids. They have been waiting patiently for Sam and were relieved they didn't have to use sedatives....or chase her down for that matter. The two men walked over to her as Carly and Freddie backed off so they could do their job. They watched as they helped lift Sam onto the mobile bed.

"Hey, watch your hands..." Sam stated to one of the paramedics. Even though she had lost the battle outside, it still raged inside her mind. She was downright terrified of the hospital and figured the only way to keep her thoughts off of it was to make a few snarky remarks.

"Sorry!" The guy apologized, not sure what she was referring to, and continued to strap her in.

Meanwhile, Carly had turned around to talk to Spencer.

"Is there any way I can ride with her in the ambulance? I want to keep her calm." Carly asked, realizing it was quite possible Sam could have a relapse of either fear, or just plain anger at the fact of people poking and prodding her.

"I see no problem with that." He thought as he looked over to the paramedics. "Yo! Think my little sis can ride with her to the hospital?"

"Yeah sure." One of the guys responded.

'Thank goodness..' Sam thought as relief filled her. She felt the gurney jerk a bit as the men started to wheel it towards the door.

"Look! We'll meet you downstairs ok?" Spencer called out. "The elevator is too small for all of us to fit."

"Ok." Sam nodded as the elevator door started to close down on her. As soon as it shut, Spencer turned around.

"Let's get downstairs." All four of them hurried out of the apartment.


Meanwhile, in the elevator, the three sat there in silence awkwardly. One of the men let out a rough cough. Sam looked at him oddly.

"Uh, I'm guessing this would be a bad time to ask you for an autograph?" He looked at her from the corner of his eye.

"Huh?" Sam was quite confused.

"My son loves your web show." He smiled. "We're big iCarly fans."

"Yeah? No chizz?" Sam perked up. She then thought for a moment. "Tell you what. After the doctors figure out what's wrong with me, you can come visit with your son. I'll sign ya a piece of paper or a bandage or something."

"Cool!" The guy answered. Sam laid her head back back down on the pillow.

'An iCarly fan..who knew?' She thought as she looked up at the ceiling light on the elevator. That little bit of news seemed to be calming.


The elevator dinged as it landed on the lobby floor. Before the door even fully opened, Spencer, Mrs. Benson, and the kids came shuffling down the stairs. Sam was happy to see them as she was wheeled out.

"Whichever one of you is riding in the ambulance, come with us." One of the paramedics stated. Carly walked over to the gurney and smiled as she took Sam's hand.

"And don't worry about us!" Freddie called out. "Spencer's going to drive my mom and I to the hospital."

"Alright..." Sam started to say until her eyes widened in realization. One of Freddie's words stung her. 'Mom.' The paramedics started to roll her to the main doors. "HEY WAIT STOP!" Sam yelled. The gurney came to a halt as the gang ran over to her, wondering what her outburst was about. "Guys! My mom! What about my mom?!" Sam cried out frantically.

"Uh, do you have any idea where she is?!" Carly asked.

"No clue!" Sam winced.

"She have a cellphone?" Freddie asked.

"No.." Sam answered. "The police can track those." Freddie looked at her oddly.

"Look, do you have a picture of her or something? I can round up some buddies to go and search for her." Spencer offered.

"I don't have a picture on me, and the only one my mom didn't light on fire is in my room." Everyone looked at her confused. "She was going through a phase!" Sam replied. "Anyways, the picture is in my secret Fat Cake box."

"Fat Cake box?" Freddie asked.

"What? Precious family photos and Fat Cakes can't live together happily?" Sam remarked.

"Um ok, I can go get it." Spencer replied.

"No, you don't know where it is." Sam stated. She then looked up at Carly. "Only Carls does..." Sam moaned shutting her eyes. It was getting too painful to talk.

"Guys, we really have to get going..." One of the paramedics told them.

"OK! NEW PLAN!" Spencer yelled out. "Carly! You come with me! We're going to Sam's house to get that photo." He then looked over at the Bensons. "Freddie, you ride with Sam!" The boy nodded. "And Mrs. Benson, can you take care of all the hospital stuff until I get back?" Spencer asked.

"Sure." She responded.

"Alright good!" Spencer replied. Sam closed her eyes as her heart filled with sadness when she started to be rolled away from them.

"Hey, don't worry." Sam looked up as she saw Freddie walking alongside her. "I'll be riding with you."

"Oh great." Sam mumbled and looked away, in fake disappointment.

"Well, if that's how you feel..." Freddie shrugged and pretended to walk away.

"Benson!" Sam reached out and grabbed his arm to pull him back. Freddie just turned around with a big smile on his face.

"You couldn't get rid of me if you tried."


I know these chapters are a bit shorter than previous ones, but it's a little more relaxing to write them. And don't worry! For some reason, I'm still on this kick of inspiration, and can continue to update frequently! Enjoy! ^_^

(Also, based on a few inquiries in my reviews, no, this story does not have any shipping in it! It's just based on friendship. =D)