The Red Light

Disclaimer: I don't own iCarly

A/N:

Chapter 26 (Counseling)

"I hope it's okay that I'm taking you here," Derek said as he drove his silver Porsche towards Sam's first counseling session with one of the church members that Pastor Zach referred her to. Jonah had to go to school and a sudden emergency at the bakery meant Valerie had to go and help her boss take care of it. With no way to get to her counselor, they had Derek take her. Sam had her hands on her legs and was staring down at her feet. Derek looked from her, then back to the street. "Don't be so nervous, I'm sure it'll go well."

"Not what I'm nervous about…" Sam mumbled under her breath and shifted her eyes to the small brown animal next to her right leg. She didn't normally take it everywhere, but right now, it was one of the only security blankets she had. She felt rather childish about it, but she was too nervous to not use it. Maybe in time, she'd stop carrying it around with her. "Surprised they didn't volunteer Freddie to take me, but he's probably got to get back to Melanie."

"Yeah, he talks about her all the time, you know." He laughed and took a right turn. Sam closed her eyes and took in that rich, deep laugh. It was almost melodious. "Do you want me to wait for you while you talk to the counselor?" Sam eyed the clear window and gazed at the brown shingled home that he was parking in front of. She didn't think he needed to wait around, but considering this street was just parallel with the street that Douglas actually lived on, she really didn't feel like being alone. By the time the session was over, it would be dark, and with Douglas on his usual daily walks, he'd be prowling the neighborhood. She turned her eyes to Derek and scanned his muscular arms. If he was strong, as he appeared so, then he'd be able to keep her safe if Douglas did see her.

"So, you're in the air force too, what career are you going into?" Derek turned towards her and rested his elbow on the chair.

"I'm going into the air traffic control, it's logistics. Right now, it's the best I can do as an enlisted. I'm also going to college, with enough college, I can become an officer like my brother, he's a Second Lieutenant. I wouldn't mind getting Jonah to join now, but he'd rather wait till after college, and that's fine."

"Yeah. So logistic stuff, huh? That must make you pretty smart." Derek chuckled and gave her a nod, he did have an issue with priding himself for his smarts. Sam smirked slightly and tilted her head. "I would have pegged you for a jock of sorts, but I guess since you're a friend of the dork, that would have to make you intelligent."

"Well, I don't know if I'd say Freddie's all that smart. It comes pretty close. We prefer calling him the 'techie' of the group. He is the geek of the trio, after all." He laughed once more and Sam's lips curled back into a large smile, her heart started to slam into her chest and she quickly opened the door. She bent down and smiled at Derek.

"If you want to grab something to eat, go ahead. It'll be about two hours. Stay nearby, just in case, but be here before six, if you can. At least thirty minutes before. I don't want to be stuck here when the sun starts going down."

"All right, can do ma'am." He smirked subtly and the blood rushed to her cheeks.

"Call me Sam, or Samantha, but I much prefer Sam."

"All right. See you at six, then."

"I'll be here." She started to turn away, then froze, peering back slightly. "Hey, if I can ask. Do you watch porn at all?" She really hoped he didn't, she wouldn't want him to think poorly of her. She saw his face twist slightly and he waved his hand dismissively.

"No, don't have time for that crap anyway." She smiled with relief and closed her eyes. He probably knew of her lifestyle anyway, by now everybody in the world knew. She wondered if he actually did or not, and if he would bring it up. As if he read her mind, he cleared his throat and locked onto her eyes. "And for the record, in case you're wondering, I do know you shot a few sex videos online…I don't really care so much, you seem like a nice person, that's what is important." Her eyes lit up and her heart began to dance, finally there was someone who wasn't completely judgmental! He put his hand on his steering wheel and smiled at her. "I think I'll stop over at the diner I saw down the street, grab myself a drink and a bowl of soup. I should be back at five thirty."

"Okay, I'll be looking."

"You think I'll be late?" He raised his eyebrow and smirked as she placed her hands to her hips. She narrowed her eyes deviously and grinned.

"You may be a military man, but I'm still willing to bet you'll be late."

"Not on your life. I'll be here."

"Fine, if you are here, then you're taking me to dinner." He lifted his eyebrows and Sam's eyes went towards the sky. Did she just say that? She was going to die from embarrassment now, that was, if he thought it meant a date. While a date would be great, as long as he didn't expect sex afterwards. She did not want that. He didn't seem like that type of guy, though, very respectable man.

"Don't forget your stuffed rabbit, Miss Puckett." He gave her a smug smirk as he pointed to the rabbit on the passenger seat. Her eyes widened and her cheeks flushed as she swiped the rabbit and quickly shut the door. Now that was embarrassing.

"Oh my god!" She scurried towards the front door, rang the doorbell, and glanced back over her shoulder. He had waited for her to get to the door. When the door opened, he gave her a farewell salute and drove off. As she looked back to the door, she saw a kind lady, possibly middle aged, with straight blonde hair going past her shoulders. She had blue eyes and a sharp nose. "H-Hi, I'm Sam. Pastor Zach told me to come here."

"Yeah, he told me he wanted me to counsel you. Come in, I'm Mrs. Crown, but you can call me Dee." The woman gave a friendly smile to Sam and let her inside. "Now, would you like anything to drink? I have soda, tea, coffee, water…"

"Maybe some coffee to calm my nerves…" Dee led her into the kitchen and grabbed a cup for her. Sam set the cup down on the wooden countertop that ran against the wall. It had a curve at the end that ran towards the laundry room door, but met with a white refrigerator. The coffee pot sat next to wooden stair railings and steps covered with brown shag carpeting, curling up to the floor above them.

Sam poured the coffee into the cup and smiled as she looked to the bulletin board on the yellow wall in front of her. It had notes and cards, some birthday cards and some stuff detailing events for church, or other things. The floor was made of yellow linoleum. To her right was a small area with two computers propped up against the wall. To her left was the silver sink and the black stove. In front of the stove was a brown wooden wall that held the oven.

The room she'd entered into when entering the house was actually a den, it had two computers against the front wall on the right, a chair positioned in front of a television and its stand that contained some cable boxes and a PS3. The carpeting was brown, as was the rest of the house. On the left of the room was a large, round, oak table with swivel chairs and grey padded cushioning around it. The roof was high up, and at the top, above the bookshelves containing books and other artifacts, was a wooden railing that overlooked the room from the second floor.

Sam poured two shots of creamer into her coffee cup, added some sugar to it, and stirred it carefully. Lifting the cup up, she followed Dee into the living room, which had two brown reclining chairs resting against the stairway and a brown, glass end table in between them. There was an entryway into a small hallway facing the side of the recliners. On the left of the hallway was a yellow, three seat couch, leaning against the wall. In the opposite corner of the room was a very large television and two glass stands on either side of it. On one the wall to the right of the television was a yellow reclining chair, to the left of the television was a brick fireplace on which a WII sat upon.

"Take a seat, wherever you feel comfortable. Or would you prefer to sit at the table?"

"I think I'd rather the table. This is a beautiful house you have."

"Thank you." The two walked back into the front room. Dee sat in the chair with the back to the wall and a file cabinet, it was the back of the table. The head was with the chair facing the two computers and television at the far end. Sam took her seat to Dee's left, to where she faced the two long windows with sideways blinds.

"I can't imagine you living here without a big family."

"Well, I am married. I have three children, actually. One of them just recently graduated from college, my son's now entering that college, and my youngest is homeschooled."

"Oh cool, where are all of them?"

"Well my husband took them to the movies. Normally I do that, but since I was going to give you some counseling, I asked him to."

"Okay, that's cool." Sam sipped her coffee nervously and gently set it down on the soft brown coaster. "I'm glad you're doing this with me, it's really hard…You don't have to."

"Well I want to. I'm here for you. Anything we talk about is strictly confidential, between us two."

"Thanks. You know, I'm also going to be going to go to these SA meetings, starting tomorrow. Hopefully those will go well."

"They should. You know the twelve steps they follow? A lot like alcoholics anonymous." Sam's head perked up as Dee pointed her pen towards the open folder on her desk. "You'll be dealing with those there, it's highly religious."

"I believe in God, I'm trying to become spiritual like my family, like Valerie and Jonah…"

"Okay. Well, I guess right now we could get to know each other. Think of me as your friend, okay? I'm here to listen and maybe we can take a break and play cards. Whatever you feel like doing. If you don't feel comfortable about something, let me know, okay?"

"I'll do that." Sam smiled happily and took another sip of her coffee. She really liked this lady and did feel comfortable with her. Sure she was a bit afraid, but aside from that, she knew she'd be okay.

At 5:29, she was watching the clock anxiously. She'd already told Dee about Derek, and the woman was also waiting to see if he'd make it there. She thought he'd make a good friend too, considering he knew Jonah and was in the military. Military men were very respectable people. They watched the second hand eagerly, Sam's palms were actually sweating. She didn't know why, she was just becoming anxious.

As the second hand hit the twelve, Dee pointed to the window with a smile growing strongly at her lips. Sam gasped and her eyes started to widen when she looked out the window and saw Derek pulling up next to the curb. 5:30 on the dot, just as he said. "A man of his word too, huh Sam."

"Oh we shall see. I'm glad he's here early, because of Douglas, you know."

"You said Douglas lives around here?" Sam nodded her head and Dee tried to think about if she'd seen him around the area. She did recall seeing him at the community pool once, so she knew he must live in the general neighborhood. "I'll keep an eye out for him if you'd like."

"Please and thank you." Dee smiled reassuringly and looked towards Derek's car.

"Let's say he actually does ask you out at some point of time, or any guy for that matter, do you think you're ready to date?" Sam bit her lip and turned her eyes to the table. She had to try, if she ever had the opportunity.

"I don't know, I just know it'd be best to spend time with a guy and get to know him first. Above all else…I'm not sure if I could handle a serious relationship or not, but I know I wouldn't want to screw it up. I'm just scared of a guy looking at my past and taking off…"

"A good man won't do that to you."

"I hope you're right…I really do…" Dee placed her hand on Sam's and looked into her eyes, filling her with comfort.

"How about I let you go early. Maybe Derek will take you somewhere nice to eat."

"Well he never did say he would, he just kind of drove off. I don't know if he really would go for that or not…probably not, with my luck."

"Well try." Dee winked and Sam slowly stood up from the chair. "I'll see you next Monday?"

"Yeah. Thanks for everything." She hugged Dee and quickly left the house. Derek spotted her from the car and waved, grinning smugly. She felt her heart rise to her throat and slowly turned her eyes to the corner of the street in the distance. She saw a dog on a leash cross the corner, then a man. He was so far down the street that he didn't see her, but she recognized him. It was Douglas! Her body stiffened and she quickly ran into the car, slammed the door shut and pushed the belt into the belt buckle.

"Drive, just drive." Derek pushed the gear into drive and pressed down on the gas pedal. He glanced over to see Sam eyeing the side mirror anxiously.

"You okay?"

"Yeah, it's just Douglas…"

"The manager guy that Freddie said he pummeled a couple nights ago?" Sam pulled her attention away from the mirror and laughed. She couldn't believe Freddie would actually say that, much less, feel any sense of pride over it.

"Yeah, that's the guy. I'm fine, thanks for asking."

"No problem. Now tell me, where would you like to eat?" Sam lifted her eyebrows up astonishingly and glanced to the side, she was stunned that he actually remembered. "I told you I'd get here, and here I am. I'm just surprised you got out early."

"Yeah, we wrapped things up quicker than expected. She was very nice. Anyway, as far as food goes, I'm starving, so you pick."

"All right then, I have a great place in mind. Valerie always says that Jonah, Freddie and I aren't allowed to eat Italian unless she's making it, but she jokes usually." Sam rolled her window down and hung her elbow outside. She let the wind blow through her hair and closed her eyes. Her thoughts drifted over to Carly and her lips curled into a frown. What was going on with her? Was she okay? What was she doing right now?

"Where do you have in mind?"

"You've heard of Arcadia, over on 1st Avenue, right?" Sam's jaw dropped and she quickly shut it. She'd always wanted to go there, Valerie said the Italian food there was spectacular! And if she said that, she must be right, because she knew Italian. Her dad came from an Italian family, with his parents being full blooded Italian, that's why Valerie's best type of meal was Italian. She knew how to cook that more than any other type of food out there.

"I've never been there, I've wanted to go…"

"Well now you will. Should I assume you're going to pay for your portion or should I?"

"I have no money…" She looked at him guiltily and he shrugged his shoulders. "I donated it all."

"No problem."

"Should we let Jonah and Valerie know I'm out eating with you tonight? Do you think they'd get upset if I wasn't home when they got there?"

"It'll be fine, but yeah we should probably call them. When Jonah gets off, that'll be our best bet."

"All right. Well while you drive, I'm going to call Carly and see if she's there." Derek nodded as Sam pulled her cell phone from her purse and dialed the number she had for Carly. She placed it to her ear and waited for it to ring, but it didn't.

We're sorry, the number you have dialed is disconnected or no longer in service, if you feel you've received-

Sam gasped and shut the phone off. Carly's phone number didn't exist anymore? Was that good or bad? Did her grandfather cut off all communications? She swallowed hard and stared out the window once more. Derek looked to her sadly, then moved his eyes back to the road.

"She didn't answer?"

"Her phone…it's gone…I can't reach her anymore…" She wiped her eyes and tried to hold her breath, fearing if she didn't, she'd start to cry. Crying was one thing she didn't want to do around Derek.

"I'm sorry, Sam. I know things have been hard on you lately…"

"You don't know the half of it, Derek…You don't know the half of it…"

Haha, I modeled the counselor's home after my Aunt Dee's home ^_^. Looks like Sam and Derek are becoming good friends, and she's still nervous around him. Well, the next chapter begins the long arc that is Carly and Douglas, they have a grand total of 10 chapters. I figured I had to give Carly some time as well. Now it gets interesting: You're in for twists, shocks, bumps, curves and turns. Good sailing! ^_^