Controlling Our Fates

Disclaimer: I do not own iCarly!

AN: "'The past is past, that is why they call it the past.'–C. Hurn. Yes one must look at the past, and then learn from it, but to ruminate and dwell on it is counterproductive. There is a new path ahead of you that YOU and only YOU created. There will be a time when you can walk it safely and be happy. I promise you."

Chapter 37 (Comfort)

Jonah was walking through the halls of the clinic on his own, Freddie wanted to talk to the therapist and they were one on one.. It was getting late, but that would be just fine, he didn't worry about the time. He made his way to the blonde at the front desk and leaned slightly against it. He was bored, so he figured he'd make conversation. The woman glanced up at him with a smile. "Jonah, how is your friend? Is he doing okay on his first day at the clinic?"

"Yeah, they're really helping him out. He's talking to the therapist now, so I'm just out and about." She nodded and looked back to her paperwork. He looked off at the wing where all the abuse victims went, it took his mind to Valerie. He wanted to know how she was doing and to let her know things were going to be okay. "You know, Mrs. Blackwell…what do you do…" He stopped himself and she looked up, waiting for the rest of his question. He shook his head and sighed. "Never mind…" He knew that even though Valerie was strong and not as fragile as she was before, she was stillfragile He wanted to change the subject, and fast. "You know, my dad's starting to get more involved in family, Carly really did a good thing, finding our lost relatives."

"Oh yeah, I saw that segment. I'm impressed with what Carly's doing, I think she should continue helping people and using iCarly for the right thing." Jonah nodded and gave a brisk smile. He was proud of Carly, proud of Freddie, but most of all, he was proud of everyone trying their best not to sink below the grain. "I know you and your dad had to iron a lot out, how are you two doing nowadays?"

"We're talking more, that's for sure. Since he's become a bit more involved, we've definitely been talking more often. He's actually dating my best friend's mother, I didn't know that until recently."

"You feel all right about that?"

"Yeah actually, cause Freddie and I are like brothers anyway." He looked off to the side and spotted Rodney snooping around. His blood spiked, but he remained calm. After Freddie made the guy piss his pants, maybe he was trying to seek help, but then again, Rodney wasn't the type to do that. So, what was he doing there? "Hey Mrs. Blackwell, have you seen that guy around here often?" The woman looked up and shook her head.

"No, I don't recognize him at all." He hummed and crossed his arms. That was strange, considering she never forgot a face. Even if she saw someone one time, she would always remember them. He narrowed his eyes and clenched his hands up, he was not wanting to fight anyone and after the earlier scare, he didn't want her to have to deal with Rodney a second time. She already knew the asshole was stalking her, along with everyone else. The only question was, was he really stalking her right now? Was she even here? He knew she came here, he was volunteering here on the day she first came. "Is there something wrong?"

"Has Valerie come in?"

"Hmm, I believe I saw her with her mother just a bit ago."

"I see. Did they go down that wing over there?" He pointed to the abuse wing and Mrs. Blackwell nodded in reply. "Okay, so what do you think I should do? I mean, I could throw him out the door right now because he's probably stalking Valerie right now, or I could try to go and let her know he's here."

"I'll just have security send him out."

"Good idea." She pressed a button and waited for a security guard to come to the front desk. Rodney, who was now fiddling with a plant near the entrance of the abuse wing, lifted his head up and stared at the guard as a deer in headlights. The guard moved towards him and started reaching for his nightstick.

"Sir I'm going to have to ask you to leave, you're disturbing a few of our clients."

"How am I disturbing anyone? I'm just admiring these plants."

"Do not make me tell you again, you are going to have to leave."

"Not like I'm hurting anything, but fine, I'll leave if it means that much to you." Jonah lifted his eyebrows as Rodney stormed out of the facility. It was almost too easy. On a hunch, the guard followed Rodney outside. Jonah moved to the window and looked out, Rodney was about to walk to Valerie's car, but when the guard walked out, he turned away and started heading off in the opposite direction.

"Bastard was up to something…" He made his way outside and stepped next to the guard. "Can you do me a favor?"

"What's that?"

"Can you get him in your patrol car and keep him there for a while, at least until Valerie's gone. I don't trust him around her. The guard nodded and started walking towards Rodney. After a minute, he heard the stalker start complaining. Once done, Jonah walked back inside and found Valerie walking out of the wing. She saw Jonah and waved. He smiled back at her and waved his hand in the air.

"Jonah! What are you doing here? Are you volunteering today?"

"That's debatable, actually. I'm here with a friend who is in their first therapy session, so I'm just walking around."

"Oh you are? Mom's with her therapist right now." Viola would be in a different wing for depression and recovery. Jonah nodded and Valerie folded her arms over. "I decided to visit my counselor and tell her what happened earlier." He flattened his lips and met her sullen eyes. She needed something to liven her up, something to get her spirited.

"Yeah, how are you doing from that?"

"I'm all right. Just a little bored, Mom's going to be in her counseling for the next two hours."

"Yikes!"

"I know! I was thinking I might go to the park or grab a bite to eat. Something to kill the time…do you know how long your friend's going to be in his counseling?" Jonah glanced back at the hallway and shrugged, he was guessing at least a couple hours for a first time session.

"It'll probably be a couple hours." Valerie nodded and eyed him carefully, she did trust him enough to go off with him on their own, that wasn't a problem. The only thing was she was far too jittery and she still felt like a burden. "I do know of a great ice cream place nearby if you're interested."

"Sure, I don't mind at all. Though, I don't know how well an ice cream place is going to keep us occupied until your friend and my mom are done with their counseling." She had to wonder why he hesitated around her, then again, he might think she was too jittery to ask out. In some ways, she was, but if it was Jonah, then she wouldn't mind a date at all, as long as they took it slowly. "I know for a fact Mom's got like two hours…" Jonah smiled and looked off to his car outside, then back to Valerie.

"Then I have an idea. Have you ever been to Cracker Barrel before?" She perked her head up briefly and raised an eyebrow. He folded his arms over and kept his gaze with hers. "It's a great restaurant and usually has a great country type store connected with it."

"Yeah, I've heard of the place, but have never gone."

"There's one about ten minutes from here, we could go there if you'd like." He watched her face light up. She took a slight step forward and nodded her head.

"I'd love that, actually."

"Okay." Jonah looked over to the lady at the desk and smiled, she was working on some paperwork. She moved her eyes to him and he waved while Valerie reached into her purse. "Mrs. Blackwell, Valerie and I are going to the Cracker Barrel, so if you see my friend come out, have him give me a call."

"Okay Jonah, you two have a good time. I'll be sure to let him know."

"Thanks." He moved his gaze back to Valerie and saw her sending at text message. She smiled at him and put the phone back in her purse when she finished.

"I let mom know where I was going. Let's go, I'm excited to try Cracker Barrel." She always wanted to go, but Rodney never really took her on dates when they were together. Then again, she wasn't sure if this could be considered a date or not, she was just happy to spend some time with Jonah.

"All right." He moved over to the door and opened it, waiting as she walked out and thanked him. They made it to his car and were soon driving towards the restaurant. Jonah knew it took a lot of trust on her part to get in the car with him. Even though they'd been in a car together several times before, this whole thing would have to take a lot of courage on her part. He glanced at her and felt a sense of relief to see her with such a pleasant expression on her face, even with the events of earlier, it was good that she was happy. She probably wasn't thinking about earlier.

"Jonah, is your friend in there…" He lifted his eyebrows. "I know it's for his privacy, so you don't have to tell me, but is it Freddie? I only ask because he's the one who came by when he saw the Shadow Hammer was around…and with that Crowbar, I think he was after that guy. Once he saw Rodney, he started talking to him. I don't know what was said or anything…"

"He was after the Shadow Hammer." He already knew she was well aware the Hammer was the one that killed Freddie's father. I'm actually glad he stopped and got Rodney instead." She lifted her head and looked over at him.

"You are?"

"Yeah, of course, I don't want you to be hurt any more than Freddie does. As for whether or not that's Freddie in counseling-"

"Don't worry about it, I'm not that concerned." She smiled and eyed his right shoulder, she was often drawn to it like a magnet and she never really knew why. There was just something about Jonah that made her feel very relaxed. She inhaled and moved her gaze to the passing buildings. "Jonah, can I ask you something?"

"Anything."

"Why are you so calm?" He raised an eyebrow and looked over as they pulled to a red stop light. They were just a few buildings away from the Cracker Barrel. "You were hurt when you were young, one would think you'd be a lot angrier than you are, but…the way you talk to people, your friends, me, I just…how can you be so calm?" He chuckled and closed his eyes, he was not to certain himself.

"I'm not a very angry person and I value all my friends. That includes you." Her cheeks started to turn red, so when he glanced over to her, she quickly looked away. "When I was young, I had my mom around to keep me in line, to pick me up when Dad would go crazy. After she passed away, I had Olivia to take care of. She also kept me in check. Even Freddie had his moment where he needed a good friend, so I've managed to learn to keep my cool when things get hard."

"You'd think it'd drive you nuts, having people all around you that have something going on…Like me, for example." She bowed her head and he moved his gaze to the light. He started moving as the light turned green. "I mean, I could understand how a girl who's been battered might be a burden…Besides, what guy would want to be with someone like me, anyway? I have so much baggage…"

"You, a burden?" He shook his head and she slowly looked up to him. "No. You're a good person with a strong heart and a strong will, you're anything but a burden. Especially to me, you could never be a burden to me. As for who would want to be with you…" He smiled as they pulled into the parking lot. He moved into a parking space, clicked the car in park and met Valerie's gaze. His heart jumped to his throat and he quickly gathered his train of thought before falling into a trance. "First off, let me just say that you have really beautiful eyes. Would it be appropriate if I said that?" Her eyebrows rose and a blush shot to her cheeks.

"You kind of just said it anyway…and yeah, it's appropriate."

"Good, because it's true. Now, your statement…" He moved his elbow to the top of his seat and exhaled softly. "I know just about any guy would want to be with you. Even still, I would love to be with you." Her eyes remained locked with his and she was blissfully unaware of how crimson her cheeks were becoming. "You're beautiful, you're smart, you're strong, you're very family-oriented. Stop me whenever you like. You have shown you're very capable of standing on your own two feet, you have a beautiful laugh and a personality that shines out. There isn't a guy in this world that wouldn't love to be with you and you need someone that can support you in all that you do, someone that makes those features of you stand out, not someone that hinders them. If you can find that, you will never have to worry about not being wanted."

She took a deep breath and slowly exhaled, trying to recover. Right now, more than ever, she wanted him to hold her. Why? She was starting to figure that question out. "Okay…so another question. How is it you always know what to say to someone?" He laughed once and shrugged his shoulders.

"I just speak my mind, which usually, in my mind, is the truth."

"I see. Thank you…" Her voice was so soft, he could barely hear her, but he was glad that she was at the very least, happy. She smiled and opened the door. "Let's go in, I'm starving."

"All right." They exited the car and within minutes, they were inside. They first entered into the store part of the restaurant where Valerie began looking around in awe. He watched her for a moment and folded his arms over. "They have a lot of old time stuff, in addition to some more relative stuff."

"It looks awesome."

"Wait until you have the food. They emphasize home-cooking."

"Oh they do? Well then, let's see just how good they are." She smirked playfully and walked over to the corner of the room where a woman stood in front of an open doorway. Jonah chuckled and followed after her. Did she enjoy testing restaurants on their home style cooking? It would make sense if she did. The hostess asked how many there would be dining in and Valerie answered. "Just two please, and maybe a booth if you have one." The hostess grabbed two menus and turned to the dining area.

"Right this way." When they entered, Valerie was overcome with the awe of the atmosphere. It was very comforting, warm, and ad very fitting decorations on the wall. She looked over at Jonah and laughed happily.

"This place looks awesome!"

"It is awesome." They were led to a booth where Valerie took Jonah's hand and pulled him next to her. He blushed at the contact and made a failed attempt to conceal the blush. He didn't pull away from her, rather, he waited for her to let go. She stared at his hand for a minute before releasing, smiling as she did so. Did she expect him to pull away from her? To shy away? He wasn't afraid of her, wasn't afraid of being comfortable around her, and he wanted her to know that.

"You have soft hands, Jonah. I'm surprised." He raised his eyebrow and chuckled briskly. He didn't think his hands would be all that soft, but then, he did wash them regularly. You have to wash your hands a lot in the medical field.

"Kind of surprised about that, but then, I'm not all that surprised. I wash them a lot, since I'm going into the medical field. Your hands a pretty soft too." He watched her blush. His lips curled into a grin as he grabbed the menu. "So shall we find our food?"

"Yeah…"

After some time, they had their food, along with the homemade bread. He was listening with satisfaction as Valerie embellished each bite she took. She'd been amazed by how good the food was and was commenting on how she wanted to ask for recipes. He took a bite of his baked potato and swallowed it down with his iced tea. "So I take it you're enjoying the food?"

"Yeah, it's really good! You know, I rate a restaurant on it's taste, style, preparation, and whether or not it grabs me and makes me want to come back. This makes me want to come back."

"Well that's good. If you think the food's good here, I should introduce you to the Cotton Patch Café."

"Ooh, I've actually been there before, that's reallygood food!" She set her silverware down as Jonah grabbed his roll and brought it to his mouth. "Anyway, I've been wondering…"

"Yeah?"

"What you said earlier…that I was beautiful…you really think so?" He inhaled the bread too quickly, caught off guard, and took a swig of his drink. The action caused her to giggle, which made him happy to hear. He smiled at her and nodded his answer.

"Yes. You're very beautiful." He caught a small smile from her lips and watched as she stared down at her food. What was she thinking? Was she doubting the words, was she doubting herself? No, but maybe she was still struggling to believe it. "That guy really did hurt you. The things he said to you, the things he did, you have to know they were wrong. No man should ever do or say those things to a woman."

"You wouldn't, would you? You'd never hurt me…you know, if we were dating…"

"I would never lay a hand on you. I'm not that man." She lifted her eyes to his and carefully leaned over to him, bringing her head upon his shoulder and closing her eyes. She breathed out in a slow, gentle fashion.

"Thank you, for everything and…for being there." His heart swelled inside him as he felt her hand grace his. She let her fingers glide into his palm and he gave her hand a gentle squeeze. He felt her sigh and looked to her as she cuddled close to him. He smiled and used his free hand to take a bite of green beans.

"Are you comfortable?"

"Yes. Er…" She opened her eyes and looked up at him, meeting his eyes with mild uncertainty. "You don't mind, it's just…"

"You're all right, I don't mind at all. You want to get some dessert?"

"Yeah, but I want to sit like this for a bit, if it's okay."

"It's fine by me." They had plenty of time, and he could sit like this forever if they had the chance, but he was certain Freddie wouldn't want to wait all day. Well, he couldn't help it if he was comfortable too

Aww, it's an almost sugary sweet chapter. Hm. I hope you enjoyed this one! Next coming soon