Dangerous Journey

Disclaimer: Don't own iCarly

A/N:

Chapter 21 (Reunited: One Journey's End)

"I can't believe I'm actually doing this." Trina was gripping the door handle of Sam's car so firmly that Sam thought the girl's hand would freeze in place. She was shaking more violently than a leaf in a storm, and her face was wet with tears.

Sam pulled the car alongside the house the family was staying at, her heart swelled with pride as she parked the vehicle and turned to Trina. "Take a deep breath. It'll be okay." Trina continued to gaze out, her vision somber and chest heaving.

"There's so much…So much I want to ask, so much I want to say." Trina shook her head slowly and looked at Sam carefully. Her tone skipped and she seemed to stammer in her speech. "I'm surprised it's only you, not your police contacts."

"Well, they're processing Mr. Vega, and my job was to bring you to your family. So…" If it was any consolation, Freddie was already at the house. He was trying to prepare the Shays, get them calm and ready to see Trina. "Freddie's going to be in there too."

"I don't know what I'm going to do, Sam. My life…" Trina wiped her eyes with a tissue. "My life is here, everything I'm leaving behind."

"I don't think you're expected to make any decisions right away. Take it a step at a time." Sam opened the door and stepped out slowly. Trina remained in her seat, studying the house closely. She waited by the hood of her car, tapping her hand twice on the hood of the vehicle. "Take your time."

She watched the door of the house, smiling as the sun beat down on her face and the wind blew her hair back. Never would she have thought she'd come to this outcome when she first began. Hell, she had doubts from day one, but now that they were here she felt an enormous amount of relief.

The front door opened and Freddie stepped outside, closing the door behind him. He stood on the porch, held his hands together before his waist and made eye contact with Sam, giving her a loving smile. "They're all inside," he said calmly.

Trina stuck her head out the window, her voice trembling with fear. "Do they really want to see me?" Freddie poked his thumb over his shoulder and smirked.

"Come inside and find out for yourself."

Sam rolled her eyes and leaned down. "They want to see you more than anything, Trina." The door cracked behind Freddie, causing him to twist around and look as tiny fingers exited through the crack. Sam chuckled softly as Cammy's tiny head poked out.

The young child's nervous eyes met Trina's. They were wide and quivering, her expression meek and curious. Trina sucked in a breath of air and looked up. "That's…"

"Your niece," Sam answered, "Spencer's and Sasha's daughter."

"She's supposed to stay inside." Freddie opened the door and Cammy raised her arms up to him. "But that's clearly not going to happen." He picked her up and walked the child to the car. Trina made her way out slowly, her entire body continued to shake and her brow furrowed. "She's named after your mother." Freddie looked down as Cammy had one arm wrapped around his neck and the other up to her chin, with her finger hooked over her lip. "Cammy, meet Trina. She's your dad's youngest sister. Your aunt Trina."

Cammy leaned forward, studying Trina. "Why sad?" Trina let out a single sobbing laugh and smiled, shaking her head. Cammy extended her hand towards her. Trina raised her hand up to hers and placed her palm against the child's. "No sad."

Trina closed her eyes and a sob shook from her. Sam walked around the car and moved her hand up to Trina's back. "Are you ready to go inside?" Trina sniffled and looked up to the sky, gasping as though for air.

Cammy's hand curled around Trina's and the girl smiled. "Mommy and Daddy crying too. So's aunt Carly and Paw Paw." Sam rubbed the child's head and stepped next to Freddie. He slid an arm around her waist and looked to her, full of pride and love. She put her head to his shoulder and sighed.

Cammy extended her arms to Trina, so the woman carefully took her into her arms. She gasped out as the young girl hugged her neck and buried her face into her shoulder. Fresh tears escaped Trina's red eyes and dripped off her chin.

"Little Cammy has no clue what's been going on in her life," Sam said with a laugh. "All these new relatives she's been discovering. Her father, her aunt, her granddad, you…and she's not done getting new family yet." Cammy's eyes opened wide and Trina laughed.

"There's more?" The astonishment in the girl's voice was remarkable, so much that even Trina couldn't help but to smile in awe of her. "Big family?"

"Yes little one." Sam waved her arms through the air, shaking her fingers like she was in a jazz show. "So big." Cammy gasped and bounced excitedly in Trina's arms.

"Where? Where others?"

"Not here quite yet," Trina replied while flicking away a tear beneath her eyes. "Soon. You might have a cousin to run around with soon." Cammy squealed delightedly and Trina chuckled. She gazed tenderly at Cammy, hugging her tight for a second before looking to Sam. "Okay Sam. Freddie." She took a deep breath and nodded. Sam stepped away from Freddie and placed a hand on Trina's arm. "I think I'm ready to go inside now."

"Okay, come on then." Trina took a few steps forward, stopping in the center of the yard and steadying herself. Sam propped an elbow onto Freddie's shoulder and turned her eyes into his with a smirk. "'Cammy was supposed to stay inside', huh?" Freddie grinned at her. "Liar. She wouldn't have stepped out of that house unless someone told her."

"What can I say?" He shrugged. "You're not the only one that knows a thing or two about planning things. After all, I figured Cammy might help ease some of Trina's nervousness about her family."

"Right, good thinking." A coy expression came over her. "Now what was that about planning things?"

"Oh the 'stroke of luck' that Tori's friends were planning an abduction."

"The pieces were in place, I just took advantage." Some things she didn't plan for, but she had the tools and pawns needed to capture the king. Once Trina was able to provide her DNA in a public place, the moves could be made. Granted, she wasn't expecting David to leave his shirt covered in her blood in the park, that was a mistake on his part.

After that, she told Tori to tell her friends what was going on, and after seeing the guilt they had been troubled with, it was a safe risk to assume they would try and help Trina somehow. Once they took the bait, she needed Cat to contact David, let him know an abduction was about to take place and get there at the same time.

Then it was smooth sailing, communicating with David on the level he needed. He was surrounded by her pawns, by her queen piece and her knight. With no moves he could make, she had him beat.

"I so earned that 'well-played'."

"And what if he had shot one of them?"

"He wouldn't have taken that chance." She profiled him enough to know he didn't do things directly. Even the one murder he was directly connected to wasn't what he wanted. "His act is to scare. He intimidated all of Trina's boyfriends, tried to scare them away."

"And Ross?"

"Ross and Jason were the two that couldn't be intimidated. He had to get rid of them, and hired someone to do it…Ross's car was small enough that, well, T-Bo's jeep killed him. Jason was lucky, very lucky."

Freddie looked at Trina and chuckled. "I can't wait to see that reunion. Though I get the feeling it'll pale in comparison to what we're about to see."

"Speaking of…" She extended her hand and he placed a hand in hers, giving it a quick squeeze and walking with her towards Trina. "Time to deliver on my promise."

"Took long enough."

"Understatement. There were times I wasn't sure I could do it at all, though." She watched Trina step up to the porch and turn around. Cammy still hugged her neck tightly, the child's eyes were closed and her lips slightly parted. Sam's heart started to swell and she nodded slowly. "I'm glad I never gave up, though. Never gave into doubts."

"If you had…nothing would have changed."

"Correct." Sam breezed past Trina and pushed open the door. As the sunlight spilled inside, she could see the rest of the family.

Carly was pacing back and forth behind the couch that Spencer and Sasha were on. Spencer was bent forward, wringing his hands between his knees and shambling in place as Sasha rubbed her hand along his leg and knee. Steven was in a recliner, arms crossed and eyes closed, his face was tense and for a moment Sam was afraid he'd crumble to pieces the minute he moved.

Carly looked up with a gasp and raced around the couch. "Sam, Freddie, where is she?" The two parted, standing on either side of the door. Trina walked in slowly. Spencer and Steven stood abruptly, their eyes open and filled with tears. Cammy raised her head up and looked out at her family with sleepy eyes.

All was still as Trina slowly made her way across the room. Sasha raised her arms up and took her daughter. Trina turned to her siblings and father. Steven raised a hand to his mouth and shut his eyes, letting his tears run down his face. Carly walked forward, extending her hand and taking Trina's, she smiled bright as her eyes met with the girl's.

Though they'd met once before, it felt like it was their first meeting since the abduction. Carly pulled her into a hug, and Spencer soon joined the embrace. Trina broke down into a mess of sobs in their arms, and her siblings soon began to weep. After a minute, Steven moved forward, wrapping his arms around all three of them.

Sam crossed her arms and wiped away some tears of her own. Freddie leaned over, stroking her arm. "You did good, Puckett." She scooted closer to him and put her head to his shoulder. He curled an arm around her waist and she closed her eyes, breathing in slowly.

In the months that passed, the trial of David Vega had become high profile. Trina testified all that she could, saying the good and the bad. Spencer testified, as did Sasha. Sam went on the stand herself where she was cross-examined, she answered as truthfully as she could.

Jason recovered well and testified to what had happened to him, implementing T-Bo as the man he passed. His testimony helped to avenge the death of Samuel Ross.

What was even more astonishing to Sam was that Jesse Klein himself, leader of the Black Knights gang and former boyfriend of Trina's came out of hiding to testify about the threats David made to him. He'd spent some time trying to find ways to locate Trina's mysterious family, but eventually was forced to give up.

It was not long after Trina's daughter, Rachel, was born that the court hearing came. The verdict was passed on the day that Spencer and Sasha married, which was on the very day of Camilla's death-their plan to turn a painful memory into an anniversary of something good.

David was sentenced to life in prison, with the possibility of parole in fifty years. It struck Sam hard, but not for him. For Mr. Vega, for the Shays, it was an ending. They could finally move on with their lives, finally be happy. Their family was whole again, with Trina living in Seattle with them, still in touch with Tori and Holly.

Her primary goal was complete.

For Sam, it was a reminder, one final thing that she needed to do. Closure of her own, giving her the option to move on with her own life in full support of her boyfriend, mother, and sister.

An emotional chapter, an emotional end; but there's one more chapter left. What are your thoughts on this? What do you think Sam's got left to do?