Dog Days

Disclaimer: I don't own iCarly.

A/N: Sam's parents will retain their names I had when I first wrote this story, meaning Sam's mom is still named Sarah. I do this, because I wrote this before we knew her name was Pam, and I intend to keep it that way.

Chapter 24 (Who I Am)

Carly was about ready to faint when they saw Freddie lying on the ground, this was the second time she'd seen someone or something change forms, she just never expected it to be Freddie. Jonah sighed and helped him to his feet, steadying him. "Of all times to finally become human again," Jonah muttered to his friend. Freddie chuckled nervously as Jonah lightly smacked him in the back of his head. "I guess timing means nothing to you, man."

"I couldn't exactly control that," Freddie commented warily. Scooter whimpered and lay down on the ground, this sucked, Freddie wasn't a dog anymore. Sam didn't know what to say, Amato was Freddie all along. He looked at her and swallowed. "Hi Sam…" Jonah rested his hand on Freddie's shoulder and looked over at Sam, he wasn't sure how the girl was going to respond.

"F-Freddie, it's really you," Sam said quietly. She wasn't sure what to do. Should she hug him? Should she cry?

"I'm sorry Sam, I didn't want you to find out like this. Hell, I wasn't even going to ever tell you…" Like a handsome prince he was, that's what Sam felt. She almost wondered if her kiss really transformed him.

"It's okay, I'm fine. M-Madame Fontessa told me something had happened to you, I just didn't know what." In truth, she'd had her suspicions very early on. When Shannon returned and Snowflake disappeared, she decided to put one and one together. She didn't really want to believe it at first, but she had to admit, she didn't have anything better. "I just wish I had known earlier on. You've been missing for over two months, Freddie. You don't even know how much that's been affecting everyone…"

"Yeah I do, actually." Freddie moved closer to Sam and placed his hand on her arm. "And I'm sorry, I'm sorry that I didn't see it sooner. I know how it's affected you, and I wish I could erase how I've acted."

"Yeah well…" She blushed and shook her head, she was just too confused at the moment. "So, it was your idea to bring Carly to my farm, then?"

"I knew she was a good friend to you, I knew she wouldn't hurt you. You were always so afraid of how people saw you, but you didn't have to be. I think you're a great person, Sam." She blushed and tore her gaze away from him, unsure how she felt on the matter.

"You really mean that?"

"Yeah, I think there's a lot of guys that would love you. Including me, to be honest…" Sam's already red face became redder and she moved her gaze back to his.

"You like me? Is that what you're saying?"

"Yeah, I've learned a lot and I've seen you for you, and I really do like what I see. I've been shooting for you to come out of your shell for so long, it seems. I knew the only way to do it was for you to tell Carly the truth." Jonah chuckled and closed his eyes, so that was why Carly showed up out of the blue.

"So what happened to you?" Carly asked while shaking her head, she wanted to move on from this crazy moment as quickly as possible.

"Someone had given me an orb just before our iCarly segment that day, then it turned me into a dog. I wasn't the person they needed to be with." He didn't want to tell the girls that it was Shannon, but he was sure if they were smart enough, they'd figure it out.

"Well I for one am glad that you're back. I guess Sam is too, right?"

"Yeah, definitely," Sam said with a smile. She loved having him back, and being held in his arms. Though she was sure some of his touching her was to keep from falling down. She didn't even think to ask how Jonah was aware of him, but she didn't really care.

"So, are you guys up for iCarly?" Freddie and Sam looked at her nervously and Carly grinned. She had a plan. "Trust me!" Sam shrugged as Freddie looked down at his leg, Scooter had his paws on him and was staring up at him with a sad look in his eyes, he was going to really miss Freddie after this.

"What's going to happen to me, Freddie?" Scooter asked with a whimper. "Where will I be?" Freddie had become his best friend. Freddie frowned and picked him up, petting him calmly and holding him close.

"Aw Scooter, you know, you're still the cutest pup around," Freddie said with a smile. He had no idea what the dog was saying to him. Jonah could tell, as could Shadow, which meant they were grinning from ear to ear.

"Can't hear him, can you?" Shadow barked out. Freddie's eyebrows rose and his mouth opened slightly. That was right, Scooter had said so little since he became human, which was a complete shock.

"Oh my god…"

"What is it Freddie?" Sam asked as she looked to him worriedly. Valerie had left to get the camera, she still was in total shock and didn't know what the hell was going on. Jonah was now calling up Mr. and Mrs. Benson to let them know Freddie was okay. He knew that they knew what really happened, so they would be pleased to hear the news.

"Sam, is it okay for me to adopt Scooter and take him home with me?" Scooter's jaw dropped and Sam smiled sweetly, perhaps Freddie would give him a really good home.

"Well I suppose you know how he is about baths…do I need to explain anything about him?"

"Not really." He chuckled and cuddled Scooter closely as Valerie walked out with the camera. Sam's parents came out to see what was going on, as they needed to get these animals taken care of.

"Sam, what are you doing?" Dave asked in an almost reprimanding tone. "I don't mean to be hard on you, but there isn't any time for iCarly." Sam was usually more responsible than this.

"I know Dad, I'm not sure exactly what Carly's got in mind."

"Don't worry Mr. Puckett!" Carly urged with a smile. She knew the minute they started recording their live feed, everybody in the world was going to know the real, the true Sam Puckett. "Jonah, I take it you're Freddie's friend? How long have you guys known each other?"

"Uh, he introduced me to you guys, remember?" Jonah reminded Carly with a slight chuckle. They hadn't really talked since the whole incident, but it really didn't seem that long ago.

"So, are you one of his techie friends?"

"Oh hell no." Freddie laughed and placed his elbow on Jonah's shoulder. Jonah was one of the cooler guys in the school, he was no nerd. Neither was Freddie, truth be said. "Though, I do know a thing or two about cameras. Why?"

"I need you to record everything that goes on."

"Do I have to?" He whined and Carly rolled her eyes, she just wanted to do this. It was very important to her. "Let Mr. Puckett do it, if you don't want Freddie to. He's better with technology than either of us." Carly gave a hum and looked over at Dave.

"Would you?"

"I suppose it wouldn't hurt," he replied cautiously. Sam raised her eyebrow as her father took the camera. How would they do iCarly without having rehearsed a thing? Not only that, but they were on her farm. Sam's eyes widened with realization as Carly stepped next to Sam and Freddie stood slightly behind them, to their left.

"Carly, you're not," Sam whispered quietly. Carly grinned as Jonah started hooking everything up to the laptop that he brought out with the camera. It was on a wheeled platform, so they could freely move if they needed to. He grunted with frustration and looked over at Freddie, searching for help.

"How the hell do you set up the live connection?"

"Here, let me do this," Freddie replied while hurrying to the computer and typing. Sam smiled at him and sighed, she felt like a schoolgirl watching her crush. She was very happy to have him back, and god did she miss him. Soon, iCarly was up and running, and people across the globe were receiving alerts of its airing. Carly smiled at the camera and Sam looked at her with concern, usually she started up first, but she wasn't saying anything. She shifted her eyes back and forth between Carly and the camera nervously and decided to speak.

"I-I'm Sam Puckett!"

"And I'm Carly Shay! This is iCarly, but we're doing something a little different today! She's finally coming out of her shell of insecurity, sorry Sam!"

"No offense taken." She smiled nervously as Carly continued enthusiastically.

"We're going to finally delve into the hidden life and see a day in the life of the real Sam Puckett."

"Oh, that's what we're…oh! What?" Sam looked at her outfit and groaned, she was covered in dirt, sweat, and fur. God, that was probably the first thing everyone noticed about her. "Carly, I'm not even prepared…I have a lot of work to do anyway!"

"And we're going to do it, on iCarly! This is all about you. This show, you're the star." Sam's eyes widened, she wasn't sure what to say to that. Hell, she was so unprepared that she was hideously out of material. "My best friend has finally revealed that she is not who we all thought her as, but who she is, I appreciate and like a whole lot."

"Thanks Carly, that makes me feel good…"

"I'm glad. Now talk, I'm done talking."

"Um, okay…" She was sweating, nervous, and almost afraid of what would happen. She turned to the camera and smiled. "Well for one thing, I'm not a savage, coldhearted, mean spirited person at all. I live on a farm, with my wonderful parents…Mom, come say hi to everyone!" She coaxed her wary mom over to the camera and grinned as Sarah waved.

"Hi," Sarah said quickly, then started to leave the camera's view.

"Mom is actually the head doctor at the downtown medical hospital. My dad is a businessman, but also is a supplier of dairy products, such as milk and eggs. We work also with the nearby animal shelter and help to train and make various animals adoptable. We usually end up with a large variety of animals who we train specially on our farm. Also none of our animals are ever sent to a kill shelter, we don't believe in those. The same goes for the livestock, they live on the farm until they pass on naturally. Oh, and in other news, I may be going on a date soon…" She whispered the line to the camera and winked, she had a good feeling that Freddie was going to ask her out. From the way he was looking at her.

"Yeah, I was about to ask you out, so what?" Freddie asked as he casually entered the camera's view, as if he'd never vanished. Sam blushed and Freddie flashed a subtle smirk. "Let's save that for after the show, though. This is all about you, of course. Funny, I'm not in on this one. It's all Carly."

"I figured." Carly smiled sheepishly and Sam looked over at Jonah and Valerie, quickly thinking about them. "Oh turn the camera on them, Dad! This is my best friend and her boyfriend, who is a good friend to me too." Dave turned the camera on the nervous couple, who waved awkwardly at the camera. "They have been forgiven for their past, so nobody mess with them. Remember that I may not really be as mean as I acted, because I was always afraid of how people would react to the real me, but I am deathly protective of my friends. So if anybody gives them anymore crap, I will hunt each and every one of you down."

"Good to know you care so much," Jonah said with a slight chuckle. Valerie nodded and kissed Jonah's cheek, causing him to place his arm around her and give her a kiss on the lips in return.

"They're hopelessly in love." Sam rolled her eyes and smiled as the couple gave her the cheesiest smile possible. Sam spoke for a few minutes, then the group walked around the farm and she explained her daily chores. "So we have to milk the cows and collect the eggs from the chicken coop, we groom the horses, take care of the pigs. My favorite is Balloon, he's the chubbiest pig of them all. If you ask whether or not I'm a vegetarian, no I'm not. I know it sounds odd, but there are plenty of people who work with animals that eat meat."

"I know I do," Dave said with a grin. Sam smiled at her father and continued on.

"Daily chores get pretty hectic, so I'm glad to have Jonah and Valerie around to help with them on occasion. So, now that you've seen the farm and know of the many duties I have to take care of, though I love every one of them, we get to go inside where all the new animals are. There are currently eleven dogs and nine cats. We still have to name them. Now that in itself is going to be quite the task, and I've already had a pretty tiring and surprising day, in case you hadn't noticed." She was also more irritable than usual, perhaps that was simply because it was her time of the month and she was already stressed out enough as it were.

They made their way inside the house where there were several animals barking and mewing, Sam immediately rushed to calm all the animals down. It was chaotic almost. Dave put the camera on all of them, some shied away, some stared at the camera with curiosity or fear, while others seemed to just beg for the attention. The oldest animal there was a Bloodhound, he was also the one being the calmest. The fastest dog there, rivaling Scooter in speed, was an Australian Cattle Dog, he was zipping all over the place, the hardest to catch on camera.

"I think I have a name for that one already," Sarah said as the dog ran into her. "Zip!" Sam laughed as the dog stopped and barked happily, he liked the name, seeing as how it fit him so well. Jonah picked up a small Jack Russell Terrier puppy and couldn't help but make sounds of awe.

"I think this guy needs the name Killer," Jonah stated. Sam nodded as she tried to lead all the dogs into the house's dog room and tried to get the cats in their own designated room. Valerie, Carly, Jonah, and Freddie all helped with this. It took a good half hour at least, but they managed to do it.

"Damn, this is hard work!" Carly said as she crashed on the couch. Sam laughed and crossed her arms, it didn't surprise her that Carly was already exhausted. But when you were used to it, it didn't bother you much.

"Well, what do you expect? This is my life, I love it. I couldn't be prouder of it." Freddie smiled and placed his arm around Sam's shoulder, he was very happy to hear those words. Valerie and Jonah felt the same way. Even her parents were basking in the joy and glory, finally they didn't have to feel like their daughter didn't appreciate them. "Some wise people told me, I should always remain true to myself." Sam looked to her mom and smiled at her, she knew how much this all meant to her. "What do you have, really, if not your own identity? If you hide who you are, how can you accept who you are? I love living on a farm, I love all the work and pleasure that comes with it, and I wouldn't trade this life for anything. Thank you Carly, I think this was the best way to really get people to know who I am."

"I'm glad."

Well there's that chapter. It would technically be the end, but there are two more chapters left! And we speed on forward.