Going Home
Disclaimer: I don't own iCarly, if I did, I'd be rich and the kids would be sixteen.
Chapter 14 (Mall Encounters)
"Mom, Dad, you're back!" Sarah said as Sam and Freddie walked into the house. She had been dropped off at the home earlier; Sam smiled softly and looked at her with a teary smile.
"Mommy's crying again!" Alex said quickly. "Why is mommy crying?" Alex ran over to Sam and hugged her legs. "Mommy, don't cry, why are you sad, mommy?"
"I'm not really sad," Sam said as she wiped her tears and ran her hand through Alex's hair.
"But if you're not sad, then why are you crying? Wouldn't you be sad if you're crying? I'm here mommy, so you can't be sad anymore!" Sam chuckled and Freddie walked over to Alex and hugged her. He lifted Alex up and gave her a raspberry. "No, Daddy, that tickles!" Alex laughed and Freddie hugged him close.
"Don't worry, Alex. Your mom's doing fine; she's got a bit on her mind though." Sam nodded and looked at Sarah, Sarah fidgeted slightly and Sam slowly hugged her.
"Sarah, your father and I would like to talk to you for a brief moment," Sam said quietly. Sarah raised her eyebrow as Alex and John got the idea and ran to their rooms.
"So, what do you want to talk about, Mom?" Sarah asked while sitting down on the couch.
"We both know what you've been doing," Freddie said while crossing his arms. Sarah looked down and her eyes quivered.
"I-I just wanted to know my grandmother! I wanted to know the family I never knew, and-"
"I think it's great," Sam stated with a small smile. Sarah raised her eyebrow and her mouth hung open slightly. "I still don't know what to think of my mother, she hurt me so many years ago…but maybe, it's going slowly but…I might consider knowing my family again." Sam sat on the couch next to Sarah and let out a sigh. "This…is for you."
"What?" Sam handed the teddy bear to Sarah and she stared at it with a raised eyebrow. "I like it but I'm confused." Sarah looked up at Sam and saw that she had a tear falling from her eyes.
"Twelve years ago, that was under a Christmas tree, it was addressed to me with the intention of being given to my newborn baby. It is from your grandmother. That is, Grandma Puckett." Sarah's eyes grew and she looked at the bear.
"This was meant for me when I was a little baby?"
"Yes."
"I-I love it." Sarah pressed the bear's hand and it started to sing and say I love you.
"You should tell Amy that," Freddie said with a soft smile. "You know, that you like the gift. Tell her she can stop waiting by the Christmas tree every year until Sam gets her gifts, because Sam now has them." Sarah thought for a moment and tapped her chin.
"No, actually Mom needs to do that. I can't do it for you…"
"Yeah, don't make it easy for me," Sam said with a chuckle.
"I love you Mom!" Sarah hugged Sam and sniffed once.
"I love you too, sweetie."
"Mom, I also met Grandpa Puckett and Aunt Madison."
"You did? That's nice, Madison was always…" Sam looked down and then to Freddie. "Maybe sometime soon, we can talk to them again." Freddie smiled softly and took the stuffed bear from Sarah.
"I'll put the bear in your room," Freddie said with a smile. "You and your mom talk some more here and I'll get the other two kids. We're going to the mall to meet an old friend."
"Okay Dad," Sarah said with a grin. Freddie walked up the stairs and into Sarah's room where he placed the bear in the center of her bed. He turned around to see John and Alex looking at him.
"Daddy, is mommy okay?" Alex asked.
"She's fine now," Freddie said as he lifted Alex into the air and hugged her. "Ah, things are looking up for us all, my dear Alex!"
"Yay, that's great Daddy!" Alex laughed and Freddie set her on the ground.
"Okay, we'll be going to the mall for ice cream and to meet an old friend, I want you children to be on your best behavior."
"We will," John stated with a smile. "I can't wait!"
-NEW SCENE-
Freddie and Sam led their children through the mall, Freddie was carrying Alex piggyback style while Sam was holding John's hand. Sarah was walking in front of them and making sure not to go too far ahead of everyone. Sarah pointed forward and Sam looked at her, "is that them?" Sarah asked. Freddie and Sam looked in the distance and saw Spencer, Carly and Shelly sitting on the stools in the food court, Freddie smiled and Sam nodded.
"That's them all right," Freddie said as he placed Alex on the floor. Shelly looked over and smiled.
"Alex!" Shelly said quickly as she hopped out of her chair and ran over to Alex. Spencer and Carly looked over, they stood up as everybody walked to them.
"Carly told me she had a great surprise, but this is just too great," Spencer said with a soft chuckle. "It's great to see you guys again."
"And it's good to see you."
"It has been a long time," Sam stated with a nod. "It's been far too long. Spencer, I'm really sorry about Ciara, if I had known…"
"It's getting better, slowly but still getting better." Spencer frowned and looked at Shelly who was happily chatting away with Alex. "She's doing so well it seems, she's made a new friend and everything." Sam smiled and crossed her arms.
"Children tend to deal with certain things a lot better than adults sometimes." Sarah looked up and Freddie rubbed her head.
"What do you mean by that?" Sarah asked while laughing and taking hold of Freddie's arm as if to push it off her head.
"We tried to find you guys," Spencer said while crossing his arms. "We never could."
"As a director, I had my number closed off to the public so I wouldn't keep getting phone calls twenty four seven."
"Yeah, that was troublesome," Sam said while shaking her head. "Who knew a director could get so many calls."
"Well, I'm glad that your boss had you stationed down here," Spencer said with a smirk. "Otherwise we may never have seen you again. Let me tell you, these last twelve years have been hectic." Spencer looked at Shelly and smiled, he patted her back and she looked up. "Shelly, this is Sam, your mother's sister."
"So that makes her my aunt?" Shelly asked with bright eyes.
"Yes. Your Aunt Sam and Uncle Freddie, they've come back home to us." Shelly smiled and hugged Sam and then hugged Freddie.
"Yay, mommy told me a lot about you!"
"She did?" Sam asked with a soft smile. She knelt down and hugged Shelly. "What did she say?"
"She always told me you were a great little sister to have and that she always wanted to see you again. She always wanted you to come back, and Daddy says you're back now, so does that mean you're back for good?"
"Yes. Yes, we're not going anywhere."
"Good, then mommy's happy, Daddy says mommy would be happy and Aunt Carly thinks she's happy too!"
"I'm sure she is," Carly said softly. "I'm sure she's smiling down on us right now. She's probably thinking that she got her wish."
"She did?!" Shelly's eyes grew large and Carly smiled.
"Yes, through your eyes she has seen her sister one final time." Carly looked at Sam and smiled. "I'm sure she would be very happy if Sam finally got back together with her family."
"Once family, always family," Spencer said as he crossed his arms. "No matter what, family will always be family."
"That's right," A voice said from behind. Everyone turned around to see Dale, Brian and Daniel behind them. "Hello…Sam" Freddie glanced as Sam through the corner of his eyes and smiled.
"Dale," Sam said with a shaky voice. Sam did not expect to see him here; he must have been taking his children to see the mall Santa.
"You used to always call me dad," Dale said with a quiet voice. "Brian, Daniel, this is your older sister."
"She's even older than Madison," Daniel said while blinking. Brian sighed and slapped Daniel on the back of the head.
"He didn't mean it like that," Brian stated. Brian crossed his arms, he felt like there was tension in the air. Sam blinked and everyone was silent, her lips curved into a smile and then a smirk.
"Now I don't think you should be calling me old, you wouldn't be doing that to me...your…sister." Daniel and Brian grinned and Dale smiled lightly, Sam looked at Dale and smiled at him. "Dad, I-"
"If you're calling me dad now, does that mean we're on a good basis?" Dale asked with a smirk. "It's really good to see you, I'm very sorry for what has happened, everything was just going so crazy. I just wish things could have been different and maybe if they were…"
"Dad, relax." Sam walked over to Dale and held he arms next to her side. "Things are and they will be getting better. Its taken twelve years, but I think I'm starting to forgive and possibly forget what happened." Sam brought her arms up and hugged Dale. She then stepped back and smiled at him. "What are you doing here anyway?"
"Well we were visiting the mall Santa," Brian stated.
"I still think we're too old for it!" Daniel said.
"Hush, don't ruin the mood! Do you know how great a moment this is? I mean come on; we finally get to meet our older sister!" Brian slapped Daniel on the back of the head, Daniel groaned and rubbed the spot.
"I think it's great that we get to meet her. There are so many things I want to ask!"
"Yeah, I know!" Brian and Daniel looked at Sam and then to the ground.
"If she's our sister, you don't think she'd mind if we hugged her."
"Go ahead and ask," Freddie said with a chuckle. Sam looked at Freddie and then back to Brian and Daniel, she knelt down and wrapped her arms around their necks in a hug.
"My youngest siblings, and boys too," Sam said with a teary smile. "You don't know how great that is to know that dad isn't the only male in that house now." Daniel and Brian chuckled lightly and Dale crossed his arms with a smirk. "You two seem to be doing well."
"Hey, here's a question," Daniel stated. "Do you think you can stop mom from being so sad?"
"Yeah, every Christmas it is the same thing," Brian said with a slight eye roll. Sam frowned and slowly stood up. "We can't stand to be around her at Christmas time because she's always so sad." Sam smiled sadly and let out a sigh.
"Maybe, but there are still a few issues I have to work within myself before I can allow myself to see her," Sam said with a sad voice. Her hand slowly clenched and she wiped a tear from her face. "I mean, I know now that she really misses me and all, but…I'm still afraid, I still know the words she told me. They still plaque my mind all the time, I will not be able to forget what she called me those years before, I can't forget what she did to me so long ago."
"Oh…" A sad feeling arose in the air and Freddie gave Sam a hug.
"Maybe you can't forget," Freddie said quietly. Everyone raised their heads and looked at Freddie and Sam with interest, he ran his hand through her hair and her lip trembled slightly. "Maybe you can't forget, but it is possible to try your best to move on. Something bad happened, something really bad happened, but it was in the past, the far and distant past. It's not something that can easily be forgotten, hell if it ever could be then perhaps the world would be a better place. Nobody can forget the past, it's just not possible. People still remember Pearl Harbor; people still remember the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln. The British no doubt remember the American Revolution…"
"Amy still remembers what happened," Dale said in a quiet voice. "It plaques her mind every day as well, but he has a point there, Sam. You know, the British are even our allies now, but they definitely remember the American Revolution and they were probably our greatest enemies."
"But like the British, maybe it's time for both you and Amy to give up that fear, give up that pain and come together, mother and daughter. It'll be hard I'm sure, there's no question about that, and I will be there for you. I'll be there for you both, so will everyone here. That worry that you have, that pain you feel in your chest, it is all a broken heart. That won't go away, nor will it be fixed so easily. It can, though, be fixed with a special kind of glue, a very special kind of superglue." Alex looked at her mom and dad and smiled as she remembered the incident at the church.
"Superglue, you say?" Sam said in a low, quiet whisper. "What superglue us that?"
"The bond that there is in every mother and daughter relationship, that is what 'glue' I'm talking about. A mother will always love her daughter and miss her no matter what and family will always be family. You are the daughter of Amy Puckett and she is your mother, to top it off, she's your birth mother."
"You're probably the most special child to her," Dale said quietly. "Well, you're the only one of her children that was born through her original marriage."
"Yeah but Hector whatever his last name was…he was a bad man," Sam said with a flat voice. "So, since I'm the spawn of Hector and my mom, how can…" Freddie smirked and pulled Sam closer.
"Did you not hear me when I said that a mother will always love her daughter? There isn't a soul in this world that can change that, if you want to be with your mom again, then the only one that's going to do that…is you. We may not be able to change the past, but we can definitely control what will happen to us in the future, but the only way to do that is to stop dwelling on what we cannot change and focus on what we can control." Sam blinked and took a second to let the words the lips register in her mind, she smiled lightly and gave Freddie a quick kiss on.
"Sometimes Freddie, I wonder where I would be without a smart and wonderful husband like you."
"Hmm, perhaps still in Paris." Freddie smirked and brought his lips to Sam's.
"Ew, stop with the kissing!" Alex said quickly. "It's so gross!" Everyone laughed and Freddie picked up Alex in a hug.
"One day Alex, you will probably be wanting to kiss every guy around. When that day comes though, I'll be sitting on my couch waiting to meet the boy."
"Probably with a shotgun in your hand, right?" Sam asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Yep, you got that one right!" Alex blinked and stared at her father with a look of shock.
"Ew, I'll never kiss boys!" Alex exclaimed while sticking her tongue out. Freddie grinned and hugged Alex.
"Let's keep it that way, for both you and Sarah."
"And John will be staying away from the girls when he's older," Sam said with a smirk. John blinked and his eyes grew large, possibly because of the fact that he was brought into the conversation.
"Mom," John said very quietly. "That is…GROSS! Girls are gross, don't you know they have cooties, and can't play video games!" With that, Sarah and Shelly looked at John.
"Oh you're on," Sarah said with narrow eyes and a smirk.
"Let's go to the mall arcade!" Shelly said quickly. "Too bad Aunt Madison isn't here to kick your tails!"
"I'll help you John my man," Daniel said as he patted John's shoulder. Brian shook his head sadly and sighed.
"Have fun," Brian stated. "I'm going to sit this one out and get to know my sister…And yes, girls have cooties. It's just common sense."
"Yeah, and you don't have a crush on that girl down the street," Daniel said with narrow eyes. Brian's face flushed and everyone laughed as they went to the mall arcade.
As they left, the group seemed blissfully unaware of the ominous aura given off by the three sets of venomous eyes watching them.
Uh-oh...As my mom said when she was a 16 year old with a speeding ticket when she ran to my Grandparent's bedroom: "Get up! There's gonna be trouble!" Though it's good to see Sam's back with her dad, all that's left for her to be close to again is Madison and Amy. Next chapter should be up soon.