Sam cursed her luck as she was once again thrust into darkness. She had just found out that her death was only a dream, and as soon as she made the realization, both Carly and Freddie disappeared as the iCarly studio melted away into an inky black. Sam sighed. She could hear many voices in the background but wasn't sure who was speaking, as she had started to grow accustomed to. Sam thought she heard Freddie's mom tell her to wake up for a split second, but she couldn't dwell on the thought, or even remember it that much. The only thing she could confirm at this point was that she was tired. Everything was still a bit hazy and she just wanted to clear her head. Her emotions had been shot to hell by now, and she was mentally exhausted. She tried to look around but could see nothing, and every time she moved she felt like she was waking up from the nightmare, before the pitch black sleep engulfed her mind once more. At this point Sam's body knew what it had to do. It had to get out of there.

Freddie and Carly were still sitting by the sides of Sam's bed making small talk as their friend slept quietly. It had been roughly ten minutes since both Mrs. Benson and Spencer left the room. The two kids understood that there could a long wait before they actually got to talk to Sam, so Carly and Freddie decided to occupy themselves with various activities as their conversation started to die off.

"Hey, I think there's a newspaper over here." Freddie looked at the counter and saw one folded up neatly. He reached over and grabbed it. "Want to read?" He offered it to Carly first.

"Nah, that's alright." She replied, giving him the ok to keep it. "I think I'll just turn on the TV." She found the remote to it and clicked on the power button, turning it onto a guide channel. Carly pressed the down arrow for the volume to keep it quiet for Sam. The two sat in a comfortable silence as they sat by their friend.

A little more time had passed, about twelve minutes, when Mrs. Benson came back in with a clipboard.

"Hello Carly, Freddie." She greeted quietly as she looked over at them.

"Hi Mrs. Benson." Carly smiled.

"Hey mom." Freddie replied.

"I'm here to check up on Samantha." She explained as she walked over to her patient.

"She's still sleeping." Carly replied as she stood up from her seat to allow Mrs. Benson to get closer to Sam.

"I see.." Mrs. Benson replied as she walked over and picked up her wrist to feel her pulse and glanced over at the heart monitor. Carly and Freddie watched silently as Mrs. Benson finally put her wrist down."Normal, that's good." She then put her hand against Sam's forehead. "Hmm..."

"What is it?" Freddie asked as he watched his mom.

"She may have a slight fever." She replied as she wrote down something on her clipboard.

"Is that bad?" Carly asked.

"Not at this temperature. It may easily be a result of the anesthesia. I'll keep an eye on her, and if the fever goes up, I'll give her some Tylenol." Mrs. Benson explained. "But for now, we'll she how she feels when she wakes up. The fever could break by then."

"Oh, ok." Freddie replied.

"I'm going to notify the doctors of Samantha's current condition. You kids need anything?" Mrs. Benson asked as she made her way to the door.

"No, we're fine." Carly replied.

"Yup." Freddie agreed. Once again, Mrs. Benson gave a small smile and left the room.

The clock ticked on the wall as the minutes continued to pass. Carly and Freddie had been sitting in the room for a total of thirty minutes now. Carly was still watching the TV as Freddie continued to read his newspaper. Every once in a while the kids would glance at Sam to make sure she was doing alright. Both of them wondered how Spencer was making out and hoped that he could get a hold of Sam's mom in time. Unfortunately that wouldn't be the case....

"Nnnrr....." Sam's voice mumbled low in her throat, catching her best friend's attention.

"Huh?" Carly quickly turned her head from the TV and looked down at her friend and watched as her lips started to move. "Freddie! I think she's coming to!"

"Really?" He dropped his newspaper and looked over and saw that sure enough Sam's eyes were moving under her eyelids. "It's only been a half an hour. I thought she'd be asleep for a lot longer."

"Me too! But it looks like she's waking up anyway." Carly paused for a moment. "Even without the fried chicken!" She added as Freddie smiled.

"Where's the button to beep my mom?" Freddie asked as he looked around.

"Right here." Carly reached over to the remote hooked to the bed and pressed the green button lightly, signifying Mrs. Benson that she was needed. She then looked back down as her friend struggled to wake up. "Sam?" She was met with no response. "It's me. Carly and Freddie." She gently explained as she picked up Sam's hand. Carly looked over at Freddie and waved him to come closer. He did as he was told and scooted his chair closer to Sam's side of the bed.

"Yeah, we're right here." Freddie replied as he took her left hand in his own.

'More people talking to me....and holding my hands...' Sam mentally thought as she felt a light touch. Everything felt weird to her, and her eyelids were so heavy. The two friends watched as Sam finally found the strength to open her eyes. They remained quiet as she looked around the room in a daze. From her point of view, everything was just one bright big blur as her pupils couldn't adjust to the light right away.

"Are you alright?" Carly asked quietly. Sam's eyes finally settled on her best friend and she just stared at her. Carly waited patiently as Sam continued to look at her oddly for ten seconds before she could make out an image.

"Carly?" Sam's voice came out weak and quiet, almost inaudible. Her vision felt cloudy to her, as if she was still in a dream, and she was really starting to loathe this feeling. Ever since the ambulance ride she hadn't felt normal and just wished she could clear her head. "I don't feel right.." Sam moaned, shutting her eyes.

"You're waking up from the surgery." Carly explained to her groggy friend.

"I think you just need some time to adjust..." Freddie replied. Upon hearing his voice, Sam opened her eyes and slowly looked to her left.

"Freddie?" She had just now noticed him.

"Hey." He smiled. Sam looked back and forth between her two friends. She started to feel relief and happiness well up in her chest until a thought quickly tore it away. This could easily be another nightmare.

"You're both here..?" She asked, not quite sure if she was really awake or not. Her mind had played so many tricks on her already that she didn't want to be fooled again. "This is real?"

"Yup." Freddie replied.

"We told you we would be right by your side when you woke up." Carly smiled. Sam, still unsure of the legitimacy of her friends this time, tried to sit up. Unfortunately for her, the attempt was pointless as she couldn't feel anything. Her limbs felt as if they were made of lead, and Sam's eyes widened upon this realization. Even though she was able to talk, her mind flashed back to her nightmare of not being to control or move her own body.

"I can't move....and I'm cold." Sam replied worriedly as an icy chill went up her spine. "Am I dead?" She looked up at her best friend.

"What? No, you're not.." Carly replied softly. "You're in the hospital." She tried to explain as she watched Sam close her eyes. Just then Mrs. Benson appeared in the doorway.

"Is everything alright?" She walked over with the clipboard in hand. Freddie turned around towards his mom.

"Sam just woke up." He explained.

"She says she can't move and that she's cold." Carly added. "Also I don't think she knows what's going on exactly." Mrs. Benson walked over to the side of the bed.

"Samantha..." She started. Sam opened her eyes and looked at her as she continued to talk. "You're waking up from the anesthesia right now, so you might not have full control of your muscles for a while." Mrs. Benson calmly explained.

"Anesthesia....?" Sam repeated, trying to figure out what she was saying.

"Yes, you were knocked out before surgery." Mrs. Benson replied. Sam stared at her and was starting to remember certain things, such as being in the hospital and getting ready for surgery. Still, all her memories were pretty mixed up from that horrible nightmare and she wasn't sure what to believe at this point. "I..." Sam started to say before she noticed that the room was beginning to tilt, and all of her friends were starting to spin. "The room's moving.." She choked out, fearful that she was still in a nightmare and was going to teleport once more to some god forsaken place.

"It's alright honey. Just relax and take a deep breath." Mrs. Benson advised. Sam shut her eyes and did as she was told. When she reopened them, the feeling hadn't subsided.

"Is this supposed to happen?" Carly looked up at Freddie's mom. "Is she supposed to feel this way?"

"People tend to have different reactions when waking up from anesthesia. Confusion and dizzyness are a few of them." Mrs. Benson explained.

"It's not going away!" Sam yelped out as she started to breathe heavily. The movement was beginning to make her stomach turn. "I-I-I don't feel good." She spoke frantically, starting to shake. Carly and Freddie's eyebrows went up in worry.

"Try and stay calm." Mrs. Benson replied softly, having gone through this many times with other patients. The two kids watched as she turned around and grabbed something from a shelf behind the bed. It was a medium sized basin. "Carly, can you help her sit up?"

"Of course." Carly replied as she stood up from her seat and sat down next to Sam on the bed. She gently reached underneath her friend's back and slowly raised her up into a sitting position. Carly realized that Sam had no strength whatsoever so she had to support her full weight. The only movement she felt from her friend's body were small shivers as Sam laid against her. Freddie reached over and grabbed the remote that controlled the mechanical aspects of the bed's mattress and pushed the button that helped raise the top part into a sitting position so Carly would have some backing and be able to support Sam better.

"Here." Mrs. Benson held the basin in front of her patient, fully aware of what was going to happen next.

"Uh..." The sick girl lurched forward and started to gag. Carly kept her hold on her friend's body steady and held the bottom of her chin up so Sam wouldn't miss the basin, as she realized her friend was too weak to even hold up her own head properly. Freddie reached over and helped pull Sam's hair back so it didn't get it the way. After a few moments, Sam finally heaved the contents of her stomach into the container, which by now was mostly just liquid.

"Mom, is this normal?!" Freddie asked worriedly as he watched his friend shiver and continue to get sick.

"Yes, this is common..." Mrs. Benson replied, keeping the basin in place. "Some patients react to anesthesia this way."

"But I thought people were just supposed to wake up from it?" Freddie responded.

"Most do, but some can wake up nauseous from it's effects." Mrs. Benson explained as Sam threw up once more. "Unfortunately Samantha is one of those people."

"But she's not only sick, she's shivering!" Carly replied, worriedly holding onto Sam's shaking body.

"Yeah!" Freddie replied as he continued to hold up Sam's hair in a ponytail.

"She's having a negative reaction to the anesthesia, but it's not life threatening." Mrs. Benson confirmed, seeing the scared expressions on the children's faces. "Like I said, some patients wake up with these symptoms, and the only way for it to go away would have to be for the anesthesia to run it's course and leave her body. I recommend that she sleep it off."

"No...no sleep.." Sam mumbled quietly, catching that part of the conversation. She was sick of being out of it and wanted to be with her friends, especially since she could now feel them, unlike before when she was a ghost.

"You should really listen to her and go back to sleep." Carly advised, looking down. Sam used what little strength she could find and sat back into her friend's arms signaling that she was done puking so Freddie gently let go of her hair. Sam tilted her head up to look Carly in the eyes.

"No...I wanna stay with you...and Freddie.." She replied, looking over at him sadly.

"Freddie and I aren't going anywhere. Promise." Carly confirmed gently.

"Yeah. Just go to sleep and relax. We'll be here when you wake up." Freddie added.

"But I-I don't want to sleep." Sam's eyes started to tear up, catching her two friends off guard with this reaction.

"Please don't cry....it's alright..." Carly hated seeing her friend like this. It was obvious that the mix of drugs and Sam's stubborn attitude was causing her to become emotionally distraught.

"Mom, are you sure this is normal? At all?!" Freddie stood up from his seat. He had never seen Sam break down like this before, especially over something as simple as sleep since she always enjoyed it!

"Yes, I am quite sure. I'm just sorry that Samantha's one of the patients who has a hard time waking up from anesthesia. Crying is also a normal reaction." Mrs. Benson replied, looking sympathetically at her patient.

"And there's nothing we can do?" Freddie asked.

"Like I said, sleeping it off would be best..." Mrs. Benson looked over at Sam and watched as Carly tried to calm her down. "...but I see she's not interested in listening to that suggestion right now." The woman walked over to her and put a hand on her shoulder. "Samantha?" The crying girl looked up at her. "Would you care for some apple juice to settle your stomach?"

Sam sniffled. "Sure..."

"Alright, I'm going to go get you some." Mrs. Benson replied gently. She figured that if Sam had some clear liquids to drink, it might get rid of her nausea and she would be able to fall asleep better. "Will you kids be alright for a moment?" She looked back at Carly and Freddie.

"Yes." Carly replied.

"Go ahead." Freddie confirmed. Mrs. Benson nodded as she picked up the basin to go wash it and walked out of the room.

"Are you guys really here?" Sam asked quietly, leaning on Carly's shoulder and staring into space.

"Huh? Yes we are." Freddie replied, sitting back down and patting her gently on her left hand. Sam glanced over at him when she felt his touch.

"And I'm really not dreaming?" She asked cautiously.

"No, you're not. You're really awake." Carly replied softly, smiling down at her. Sam looked up at her and then back at Freddie. They were both sitting next to her and she could feel Carly's arms wrapped around her and Freddie's hand resting ontop of hers. She finally came to the conclusion that they were telling the truth, and broke down in tears of relief as she started to sob.

"Sam, everything's ok now!" Freddie quickly responded. He looked up at Carly with a worried expression. They didn't understand why she was crying.

"I know, I'm just...s-sorry.." Sam's voice spoke softly, as she turned her head away from him and towards Carly, burying her face into her friend's shoulder, ashamed that Freddie got to see her in such an emotional and weakened state.

"Why?" Carly asked as she looked down at her, gently patting her on the shoulder to try and calm her down.

"I don't know what's wrong with me, and why I'm crying..." She sobbed as a few more tears rolled down. She was truly happy to be with her friends but she couldn't stop the tears.

"Hey, don't worry about it.." Carly replied softly as her friend continued to sob into her shoulder. "It's just the anesthesia. Plus you've gone through a lot."

"Yeah." Freddie agreed as he stood up to grab a box of tissues from the counter. "We don't mind if you cry or not." He pulled a few out and handed them to Sam as she looked over at him. "As long as you're ok, that's all that matters."

"Thank you." Sam replied as she gratefully took the tissues from him and started to wipe her eyes. Suddenly she didn't feel so bad about letting him see her cry. Freddie was being extremely nice and caring about it...as well as Carly, who must of had a few tear stains on her shirt by now. Sam realized this and started to feel happy until her body reminded her how sick she was with a small shiver. "I feel so horrible.." She croaked out as she finished drying her face.

"Mom says you'll feel better if you sleep it off." Freddie replied as he took the tissues from Sam, walked over to a garbage can, and dropped them in.

"I know...it's just...I can't..." Sam sighed. Every time she fell asleep she had a horrible feeling of uneasiness, especially with the bad dreams she had been experiencing during the surgery.

"Well.." Freddie started off, putting a finger to his chin and looking up in thought. "I could go and see if Ms. Briggs ever taped one of her lessons."

"Huh?" Sam looked up at him confused.

"We could put it on TV for you. You'll be sound asleep in no time." He winked. Sam stared at him for a moment oddly, then smiled.

"You doof." She replied weakly.

"Aw, now that's the Sam we all know and love." Carly responded with a laugh.

Gotta say, one of my favorite chapters to write so far!

Also, I've read stories where people can wake up from anesthesia cold, sick, and crying so I gave Sam the same symptoms. Luckily her friends are there to calm her down and take care of her! =)