"But Sam!"

"Carly, I said no. You and Freddie can do it. I'll run the camera."

Sam and Freddie were sitting on the floor of his mother's bedroom and Carly was sitting on the bed trying to reason with Sam to restart iCarly.

"Sam, you haven't left Freddie's apartment in over a month. You used to come over every day and now I hardly ever see you."

"No one is stopping you from coming over."

"Uh, yeah, Freddie's mom pretty much hates me."

"She doesn't hate you," Freddie replied.

Carly gave him a look that shut him up. "I miss you, Sam. You won't even talk to me anymore."

"I'm talking to you right now."

"We're having an iCarly meeting. That hardly counts as friendship talking."

"Well, fine, then let's talk. What should we talk about? Lip gloss? Boys?"

"How about we talk about what happened between you and your dad that is causing you to never leave this apartment?"

Freddie gave Carly an astonished look. Sam suddenly looked very shaken. "No."

"Sam, you have to talk about it."

"No, I don't."

"So that's it? You're just gonna live here in Freddie's apartment forever. Never leave again? What if they move? What about when Freddie goes to college? You just gonna stay here?"

Sam gave Carly an angry look and stood up and stormed out of the room.

Carly watched her go and then gave Freddie an annoyed look. "Thanks for your help."

Freddie shook his head. "You shouldn't push her. She's not ready."

"It's been over a month. When is she going to be ready? I'm not saying that what she went through wasn't upsetting, but it's not like he made her watch him cut her sister up into pieces or anything. She was kidnapped, but now she's home and she's safe."

He shrugged. "It's more complicated than that."

"Why?"

"It just is. She needs more time. And if you keep pushing her, she'll never talk."

Carly sighed and left the room to find Sam. She knocked on the door of Freddie's room. Mrs. Benson opened the door.

"Oh, sorry. I thought Sam would be in here."

"She is."

"Oh," she said looking confused. "Um, can I talk to her?"

"Samantha does not wish to speak with you right now, Carly. I suggest you go home."

"Samantha?" she said, half to herself. "Um, could you just tell her that I'm sorry. Please?"

"I will see that she gets the message. Goodbye." Mrs. Benson closed the door in her face and Carly stood there stunned for a moment before returning to Freddie.

She walked in, still looking confused. "What's wrong?" he asked.

"Sam is in your room, with your mom."

"And?"

"Does there need to be an 'and?' She's with your mom in a room, willingly."

"Yeah, they've gotten really close lately."

"Sam? And your mom?"

"Yeah. It was a little weird for me too at first."

"A little weird?"

He shrugged. "Well, it's just that Sam won't leave the apartment."

"Yeah, I noticed."

"Well, I meant she won't leave, but she won't be here by herself either. My mom switched swifts so that she could be with Sam during the day while I am at school. She's been home schooling Sam here and they've been getting along really well."

Carly stared at him in disbelief. "How did that even happen?"

"Well you know my mom. She loves having someone to take care of. And Sam, well, she needs to have someone taking care of her right now. And I think that she kinda sees my mom as the mom she never had. You know, one who cares whether she's well fed and clean or not."

"Oh. I see."

"Yeah. I mean, it's actually pretty amazing. Sam does her schoolwork every day now. She bathes regularly and my mom has even got her eating healthy foods. Sam hasn't eaten a fat cake in weeks. And she even has table manners now."

"Holy crap!"

"Yeah." He looked away with a sad look.

"What's wrong? Are you jealous that Sam is getting all your mom's attention?"

"No. It's not that."

"What is it?"

"It's really great how my mom has been helping Sam. But...it's not enough."

"What do you mean? Not enough for what?"

Freddie looked pained. "It's not enough to make her forget what happened."

"What are you talking about?"

He just shook his head. "Forget it."

"No. Why do you say that? Did she tell you something about what happened?"

Freddie looked uneasy. "Not consciously."

"What does that mean?"

"Nothing. Nevermind."

"Tell me."

Freddie sighed. "Well, I just think that something else happened to her when he took her."

"Like?"

"I don't know."

"Yes, you do. Now tell me what you know."

Freddie got up from the floor and began pacing the room. He stopped in front of his full length mirror on the closet door. He could see Carly staring at him from the bed, waiting for an explanation. "She's been having nightmares and wetting the bed every night since I brought her home."

"What?"

He turned back to her. "Every night she wakes up screaming and she wets the bed every time. My mom had to put a plastic sheet on the mattress and she's been making Sam wear diapers to bed."

"Poor thing. What is she dreaming about?"

"I don't know. She won't tell me."

Carly gave another annoyed look. "Figures."

"Well, I don't know what the dream is about. But I know it's always the same one."

"How do you know?"

"Because she always is screaming the same thing."

"What does she say?"

Freddie looked away from her again and stared down at the floor.

"Freddie? What does she say?"

He paused for a moment before quietly answering her. "She screams, 'Please don't touch me. I've learned my lesson. Please don't touch me.' Over and over again."

Carly's eyes widened. "You think he hurt her?"

Freddie shook his head. "I think it's worse than that. I think he molested her."

Carly jumped off the bed. "No. No way. He couldn't have. He just...Sam." Tears formed in her eyes.

Freddie stared at himself in the mirror again. "I should have killed him when I saw him. I should have fucking killed him!" he screamed and punched the mirror with all his might. The glass shattered to the ground and Carly ran to him. "Freddie!"

He stood there staring at his bloody fist with angry tears in his eyes, breathing heavily. "Freddie, you couldn't have known. And if you killed him, then you would have gone to jail."

"I don't care. I want him dead."

"If you are in jail, then you can't be here to help Sam." She took his wrist in his hand and looked at his knuckles. "I'm going to get the first aid kit. Sit down."

Carly returned wheeling in Mrs. Benson's enormous first aid kit. She wiped his hand clean and bandaged it up. "If what you say is true, then it's really important that Sam talks to someone. Anyone."

"But she won't."

"Maybe she would talk to your mom about it."

"No. I already asked my mom to try to talk to her, but Sam just shuts down whenever either of us brings it up. Then she usually has a panic attack and we have to get her to calm down again. Then my mom usually makes her some soup and doesn't make her talk the rest of the day."

"Well, panic attack or not, she needs to talk about it or it will continue to haunt her. If your mom won't make her talk, then you have to do it."

"Did you not just hear what I said? She won't."

"Make her. Lock her in a room and force her to talk."

He pulled his fist out of her grasp and stood up, staring at her. "Carly, she was kidnapped. I really don't think locking her in a room and forcing her to do something she doesn't want to do is really the answer to her problems."

"I'm not telling you to chain her to the toilet. Just make her sit down with you until she talks. You know that she has to do it. And you know that she won't talk to a professional about it. So it has to be you."

"Why me?"

"Because she trusts you."

"She trusts you. You're her best friend."

Carly shook her head. "Not the way she trusts you. She trusts you with her safety. You're the one who saved her from him. She trusts you with her life. You're the one she'll speak to. But you're going to have to make her do it. And you can't let your mom step in because if Sam breaks down, she'll give in to her and won't make her talk. It has to be you. You know it."

"I just don't think she's ready. She needs more time."

"How much time is enough? Another month? Years? She'll just keep having those nightmares. She won't forget about him. It's not something that'll just go away. It will get worse if you don't do something."

Freddie still looked uneasy.

"Freddie, you know what needs to be done. She needs you to do this for her."

"Yeah. I guess you're right."