Paternal Bonds Shattered

Disclaimer: Do I need to say it? I don't own iCarly

A/N:


Chapter 11 (Still Friends)

Carly sat in her dressing room, putting powder on her face. She was being put in some small action roles and hoped she could progress to become a big star. She loved action roles, and she loved drama. That wasn't to say romance wasn't a good role for her either. She was going to try a little bit of everything, but have a main genre either way. She came off as shallow to some people, but she wasn't, and she wanted people to know that about her.

Freddie, she still made sure to keep in touch every now and then. She didn't know what he was going to do with his life, but she knew what she wanted to do. She wanted to act. She stared at herself in the mirror and frowned, she missed Sam. Sam should be here with her, but she wasn't. Why did it seem so hard to move on? Perhaps because she felt Sam was still alive? She wasn't sure, but she was pissed when Freddie told her the cops stopped looking. Why the hell would they stop looking?

Carly frowned and picked up her phone, she dialed Freddie up and waited for his answer. After the phone rang for about a minute, he finally picked up. "It took you long enough," Carly said flatly.

"Sorry, I've been busy," Freddie responded. He had surrounded himself in his studies, he didn't have a lot of time for free time anymore. He had to keep himself busy, because when he wasn't busy, he thought of her. When he thought of her, he hated it. He missed the smell of her hair, the feel of her skin against his, the sound of her laughter. God, he wanted to find her so badly. "I guess you miss her too, Carly?"

"Her memory is the greatest thing ever, but it's become like a thorn in my side. Every time I think of her, I can't help but to want to cry." It was becoming problematic now, but at least whenever she was rehearsing for a scene, it didn't bother her so much. She only let the thoughts of Sam get to her when she was in her dressing room. "What has it been, four weeks now? One week since the cops decided to stop looking for her…"

"Yeah, and did you hear about what happened to Sam's mom?"

"Yeah…" Freddie knew Amy was still among the living, as he knew about his mother's division, but he had to still keep it a secret until the day came that she retired or left the force. "You know mom's come up with a possible lead, or maybe lost a lead if you look at it that way."

"What's that?"

"The person who shot Amy said Hector wasn't involved in Sam's disappearance." Carly frowned and slowly shook her head, she honestly was surprised by that. The way he had looked at Sam when he was around her, the way he seemed, it was just too off for her. "Maybe he isn't involved, but we may never know. It's as if he's dropped off the face of the earth."

"Well we have to find him Freddie." Freddie raised his eyebrow as Carly turned around in her chair. She stood up and walked over to her closet and began going through her outfits. "I'm not giving up on Sam. I refuse to believe all hope is lost. She's alive Freddie, I just know it. I can feel it."

"So you think so too?" Carly smiled and nodded her head, she knew Freddie thought Sam was alive somewhere. He wasn't about to give up on her, not in a million years. He loved that woman, she was the only one constantly on his mind. "I just can't believe the way it all went down, Carly. She just shows up, and then she's gone…" A tear left his eye and he slowly groaned in frustration. He hated crying, but it was at least a sign that he was still human. "I need her back. I need her in my life

"We both do. Have you heard from Jonah?"

"I don't really care to right now, to be honest." He was actually still a bit miffed over how Jonah treated Sam, even though it was two years ago. It didn't bother him much anymore, but he still didn't talk to him. "I only know that his family wound up moving…where, I don't know."

"Yeah, I can see him moving after everything that's happened. Gibby disappears, Jeremy's gone, Nevel and Valerie vanish into the air…their families murdered. Valerie's family's still alive though, right?"

"Yeah…" He was stunned by the murders and disappearances, and actually wondered if they had all been connected to Sam in any way. "We probably ought to investigate that, even though the cops don't want anyone to do that…"

"I know, it sucks!" Carly groaned and tossed a back tank top and jeans onto her bed. She sighed and looked up at the clock. "They're worried though that iCarly might have been targeted, so they hired a personal bodyguard for me."

"Oh yeah? That's funny." Freddie chuckled and Carly slowly shook their heads. They didn't think she would ever wind up in a situation where she'd need a guard, but then if she ever became a major star, she might need a bodyguard to get her away from all those rabid fans. "Then again, maybe you do need someone to guard you from all those creepy crawlies that you're afraid of." He smirked and Carly narrowed her eyes.

"I am not afraid of spiders! And it was one time." Freddie laughed and recalled a memory during the summer when a spider had crawled onto Carly's arm when she was asleep. It was the smallest thing, but when she woke up and saw it, she shrieked so loud, it must have woken everybody in the apartment complex. Hell, Della even ran over to find out if anyone had just been murdered in the middle of the night.

"Mom was so ticked off at you."

"Oh shut up, you." Freddie snickered once again and Carly rolled her eyes. "So, her cell phone still is never answered?" Freddie knew who Carly was talking about. He sighed sadly and looked down at his desk.

"No, you've tried it?"

"Yeah…" They both tried Sam's phone, possibly a hundred times in the last four weeks. It would often ring and then the voicemail would pick up. After the first couple weeks, it started going straight to voicemail. "I'm starting to think maybe she was kidnapped. I don't know if she would have run away, like we originally thought."

"Well we know she was kidnapped…" They just didn't want to accept it. Hell, a part of them still didn't accept that she was kidnapped. When Hector had been questioned just the week of her disappearance, he said he looked high and low in that theatre for her. He was so distraught, they just let him go. "Who could have kidnapped her, Freddie? Who could have taken our Sam?"

"I don't know, but I plan to get to the bottom of this. I don't know when that's going to be done, but I will." He knew things were at a standstill as far as police investigation went, and that made it harder for him, but he wasn't going to give up just as quickly as they had. "The cops were bought out, that's what my father said. At least he's sure of that. He overheard the Chief talking to someone that day…"

"Well if that's the case, I've lost all respect for Seattle's police department until they can actually get past that." Freddie nodded as Carly flipped on her television. She started flipping aimlessly, looking for something that was on, but found nothing. "So, am I right to have heard from some of the others at Ridgeway, you and Jake Krandall have become friends?"

"Yeah, we hang out every now and then." Carly chuckled and smiled, she was happy for Freddie, but shocked at the same time. Didn't he not like Jake?

"I thought you hated him."

"No, he's cool now. He's a bit perverted though."

"Now you're hanging out with perverts?"

"Shut up, you." Carly laughed and flipped off the television. Now she could get under his skin. "You know, I've taken up writing as a hobby of mine."

"That's good, are you going to work on getting your stuff published?"

"Yeah, maybe one day…I want to go into the film department as well and start a company of film critics."

"Oh no, you rating movies? What will the world come to?"

"Look out Miss Shay, I'll be hunting your movies down some day." Freddie smirked and laughed, Carly joined in the laughter. It was true what they said, laughter really was the best medicine for pain. "I just need a degree in journalism, then I'm going to start working with the print media in broadcasting. Maybe own my own company one day."

"There's not much need for film critics anymore, you know. But it's great that you have goals. Isn't it going to be difficult?"

"I've already gotten started. I've joined the high school paper and I'm working on getting a job with the newspaper." Carly smiled and closed her eyes, she was extremely proud of her friend.

"I'm proud of you, Freddie. I'm glad you're trying your best to succeed."

"Thanks, and the same to you. You do still go to school, right?"

"You know I am. They have me going to a private school for actors, though." They both had high hopes and high dreams, now they just had to work extremely hard to get those dreams achieved. It would call for a highly busy schedule, so in their free time, they'd have to search for Sam in any way they could. "I have to go, though…I need to meet my new and first bodyguard."

"Good luck with that." Freddie snickered as Carly rolled her eyes. She didn't really want a bodyguard, nor did she think she needed one. It seemed she had no choice, though. In the few weeks she'd been there, the director just loved her, he didn't want anything to happen to his star actor. She'd become like a second daughter to him..

"Oh shut up. How's Spencer, by the way, before I go?"

"He's doing great. Misses you to death, but he's doing well."

"Well good. I guess I'll talk to you later, Freddie. Goodbye for now."

"Good hearing from you, Carly." Carly smiled as they hung up their phones. She sighed and dressed into her outfit. After about five minutes, she walked out of her dressing room and found her supervisor. The man looked at her and smiled.

"Hey Miss Shay, are you ready to meet your new bodyguard?"

"Yep, lead me to her."

"Gladly. She's in the next room. You know, she was a teacher at one point of time."

"Oh? That's nice."

"Yeah, she taught at your old school a couple years back, I believe." Carly raised her eyebrows in wonder and followed him to the next room. She tried to figure out what teacher could have joined the ranks of the law force. There was only one that she could think of, but it seemed too unlikely. When they entered the room, she saw none other than Ms. Briggs, she was standing with her back turned towards them.

"Ms. Briggs!" The director blinked as Ms. Briggs turned around and smiled subtly. Carly's jaw dropped and her eyes were frozen in shock.

"Yeah, she quit her job at the school a few years back and went into the criminal justice field. She heard you needed a bodyguard and offered, seeing her credentials, we gave her the job. She's really good."

"Hello Carly," Ms. Briggs stated calmly. Happy to see the girl.

"I-I…I need to go back to my dressing room and scream for a minute or two." The former teacher and the director watched with raised eyebrows as Carly left the area. They were sure she'd get used to the idea soon enough. Ms. Briggs blinked and looked at the man.

"Is there a problem, Mr. Jackson?"

"She'll come around eventually."


Shock, and prepare for the next few chapters as some of the GREATEST emotional moments and action chapters of anything I've ever written. Shame only a few will ever read them. Thanks to all that are reviewing, you've given me hope XD ^_^