CHAPTER 25: iAM SO LUCKY

As Carly softly stirred and rubbed her tired eyes, she slowly made a mental note of her surroundings. She could immediately tell that her exhaustion had inevitably caught up with her. Not long ago, her body felt heavy and achy, and she felt mentally drained. Slowly regaining her mental capacities, she noted that she was curled up and snuggled within soft fabric, her head gently set upon a pillow.

How did I get back into bed? Last I remember, I was trying to get to the door, and then...

Gathering the strength to sit up, Carly brushed her hair from her face and stretched slightly. Sighing a breath of comfort and relief, she drowsily browsed around for her Pear Phone. Catching the sight of it on the nearby nightstand table, she reached for it to check the time. Unlocking it, she gazed at the clock.

9:35 PM

Geez...I must have been asleep for at least a few hours, Carly thought to herself. Waking up further, she saw that she had two Text Messages, from 2 hours prior, opening them, she read them.

From: Puckett, Samantha

To: Me

I'm so worried about my little cocoa-headed honeybunny...we gotta talk once you're ready, sweetheart 3

From: Puckett, Samantha

To: Me

I love you, babe. Just sayin'. You're so sexy ;)

Gosh, Sam is so lovely...she must have carried me into bed.

Rising out of bed, Carly slipped her feet into a pair of socks, briefly fixed her hair, and walked out into the Living Room. Much to her surprise, she found Sam and Freddie in the kitchen area, chatting and cooking a meal of some sort. It smelled fantastic. Smiling, Carly approached them.

"Hey, you two!" Carly muttered, still tired and somewhat sleepy.

"Awww..." Sam immediately replied, walking toward her best friend and lover. "I thought you'd still be sleeping, honey..." she explained, kissing her softly on the forehead. "You were a wreck a few hours ago...poor thing!"

"Partially my own fault, really," she answered, leaning slightly forward, kissing Sam softly on the lips. "I couldn't sleep much the night before, then I had class all day, then the whole thing with my dad..."

"Save all of that for later, baby," Freddie interrupted her. "We wanted you to be able to catch up on sleep, and now that you have..." he trailed off as he turned to finish preparing dinner, grabbing a plate, "You should refuel with some hot food!" he exclaimed. Much to Carly's surprise, Freddie presented her with something she hadn't eaten in ages – Spaghetti Tacos and Coconut Cream Pie! Seeing two of her favorite foods in the same place at the same time, given to her by the man she loved, Carly nearly burst into tears of happiness.

"Eat up, C. Shay!" Sam chirped, handing Carly the plate of food. "Surely you have to be starving..." she said further, grabbing a fork for her. Not even bothering to sit down anywhere to eat, Carly immediately began scarfing it down, barely breathing between bites. Her sleep deprivation combined with physical exhaustion had caused her to ignore the fact that she had skipped eating both Breakfast and Lunch.

"See this, babe?" Sam asked Freddie, as they both still stood there and watched Carly briefly. "I had a feeling she was hungry..."

"And you weren't lying, honey," Freddie finished, preparing more Spaghetti Tacos for Carly. He had already prepped 2 other plates for himself and Sam.

Stopping eating briefly to wipe her mouth with her shirt sleeve, Carly spoke, having already cleaned her plate, the food having satisfied her for the moment. "Thanks, guys..." she said softly, setting her plate onto the counter. She walked slowly to the couch and sat down. Suddenly, thoughts of the conversation with her dad began to flood back into her mind...and she began to weep, pulling her legs up to her chin, her face buried into her knees. Wanting to comfort and console her friend and lover, Sam walked over to her and sat beside her. Freddie soon followed.

Putting her arm around Carly's shoulder, Sam reached at the nearby Coffee Table and snatched a few Tissues from the Kleenex box, and began to gently wipe Carly's tears. "My poor sweetie..." Sam uttered softly, tracing her dark brown hair back from her face to dry her tears quicker. Freddie sat down on the other side of Carly, caressing her head gently.

"What happened, darling?" Freddie asked, obviously concerned.

Sniffling, and grasping for the Tissue that Sam was holding, Carly gently blew her nose, gathered a few breaths, and began to speak to the both of them.

"Well..." Carly began. "First of all, you pretty much already know that I spoke to my dad earlier this afternoon..."

"Yeah..." Sam and Freddie replied in unison.

Clearing her throat to gain her composure, Carly continued. "My dad answered the question I've wondered since I was eight years old...'where is my mommy?'...and boy, what an answer it was." Sipping on the glass of water that Freddie had brought to the table for her, Carly calmed herself so she could explain things coherently.

"Long story short, my mom dealt with two types of cancer shortly after she and my dad got married...she got diagnosed with both Breast Cancer and Ovarian Cancer."

"...Damn," Sam and Freddie replied. The gravity of this information rendered them unable to reply in any other fashion. Neither of them could believe what Carly was revealing to them...what her own father had revealed to her, after all these years.

"My mom had Spencer first, while she dealt with Breast Cancer, then the Ovarian Cancer developed not long after he was born...my parents had tried for the longest to have another child, and they got to a point where they honestly felt it was hopeless, of having the 'American Dream' family, of two children...but, strangely, even after my mom's Ovarian Cancer advanced into more severe stages, she discovered that she was actually pregnant...with me," Carly explained, briefly sipping more water in an attempt to catch her breath during her confession.

Neither Sam nor Freddie could muster the ability to speak, their faces stricken with shock and amazement. No wonder Carly's dad hadn't told her about any of this earlier on – this was far too painful a topic to discuss with a small child.

Gulping down the last of the water, and chewing on the leftover Ice Cubes to rehydrate her mouth, Carly explained further. "So yeah...my mom, while battling both Breast and Ovarian Cancer, somehow managed to conceive me. My dad told me that they literally thought of me as a 'miracle child'. A sentimental and heartfelt notion, for sure...and it made even more sense, after my dad told me that..." choking up in an attempt to finish explaining herself, Carly realized that the following information was by far the hardest for her to repeat. Choking back tears, she pushed through it.

"...told me that my mom, only minutes after she gave birth to me, died from complications due to her diseases...she..." Carly began to cry once again. Sam and Freddie both reached out and held her from both sides, leaning their faces inward toward hers. Both of them lightly kissed her on the cheek.

"...she held me in her arms as she died..." Carly managed to squeeze out a few more words before she burst into tears, the pain of her revelation stinging her face through her tears, like drops of wayward acid.

"Oh...my gosh, Carls..." Sam began, noticing that she was beginning to cry too, feeling the weight of the pain from her lover's confession. She squeezed Carly even tighter, as if to squeeze every drop of pain from her tired and emotionally wrought body. She could easily tell that Carly was still in emotional straights, and still needed time to rest and cope.

"Carly...baby, I'm so sorry..." Freddie answered softly, holding her as well, resting his chin on her head, wrapping his arms around her shoulders, as if to grant her security. "You know we love you, babe...ever so much."

"If it makes you feel any better, sweetness," Sam began. "...your dad was telling the truth about you...you are a miracle child. You are a miraculous person, a miraculous woman," she admitted.

"Sam's right, darling..." Freddie added. "Just think...think about how different our lives would be had none of us met. We all met because of you, baby...had it not been for you, who knows where we'd be?"

"Hell, I'd probably still be in Juvie...or worse," Sam admitted further, noticing that Carly was crying less...she was finally beginning to calm down more.

"You've touched and changed so many lives, Carly...and we're not just saying that," Sam continued. "We're saying it because we know how special you are...how amazing you are...and we love you so dearly for you being you," she chirped, kissing Carly on the forehead once again. She was glad that their heartfelt words weren't falling on deaf ears, regardless of how Carly was feeling at that particular moment.

"You are damn amazing, Carly," Freddie admitted. "You always have been, and you always will be...face it, babe – we're freaking crazy about you!" he added, kissing her on her neck.

Breathing normally, Carly noticed that she wasn't crying anymore. Feeling the comforting weight of Sam and Freddie surrounding her, Carly immediately realized that she would always be okay – she would always have these two to lean on for anything. Smiling, and grabbing more Tissue to blow her nose and dry her eyes, Carly gazed at the two of them...her incredible best friends...her amazing lovers. Reaching out to return their soothing grasp, Carly put her arms around them.

"I love you guys...both of you," she said, kissing both of them softly. "I am so lucky...because of the two of you...thank you so much. A girl could never, ever ask for better."

"We love you too, babe," Sam and Freddie answered.