AN: I recently rewatched iOMG for the first time in forever. It was the last good episode of the series in my opinion. I love the ending scene, but always wished it had been a tad bit more serious. I decided to write a short alternative take on the ending scene. It's a bit angsty, but the ending is a happy one and maybe a little too cheesy. I didn't know what to do with the ending. I hope you enjoy!
Sam sat out on the edge of Ridgeway's patio feeling on the verge of a mental breakdown. Why did Carly and Freddie think she liked Brad? Of all people, they thought it was Brad? For crying out loud, wasn't it obvious? Had none of the signals she'd been sending Freddie's way worked? She liked him. She really did. There wasn't a doubt in her mind anymore. Then again, she could understand why he wouldn't like her back. Their relationship had never been great. Sam and Freddie had shared a weird, rocky friendship that most people would have seen falling apart ages ago.
"It's all my fault, isn't it? No wonder he didn't pick up on it.", She whispered to herself. She didn't have anyone else to blame. After all, if she liked Freddie so much, why the hell hadn't she done a better job at showing it in the past? Their past history was a lot to overcome and might make it impossible for her to get what she wanted. She rubbed her eyes trying to blink back tears, but it was a futile effort. She gave up and let herself sob.
She heard the patio door open, and Freddie emerged from the doorway. Great, she was going to embarrass herself crying in front of the guy she couldn't have as her own. She couldn't imagine a worse way to end an already terrible night.
"Sam? What's going on? Why are you crying?" Freddie asked as he approached her. He was taken back by Sam's state. It felt almost alien to see her so emotionally vulnerable.
"Just leave me alone, Freddie." She said, trying to hold back her sobbing.
Freddie just shook his head and sat down next to her. "Sam, just tell me what's going on."
"Freddie, please just go. I can't talk about this." She was trying to so hard to get him to walk away, but it wasn't going to work. This didn't surprise her, knowing how persistent Freddie could be.
"I'm not letting you sit here alone crying your eyes out, Sam. C'mon just let me know what's wrong. Is it about Brad?" he pestered.
"It's not about Brad." Sam replied, her voice sounding weaker.
"What is it then Sam? From what I can see you've been pretty caught up over Brad lately." Freddie said. He didn't understand why she was so upset. Had Carly and her gotten into a huge fight? Did she like someone else? He had no clue.
She turned to face him, her eyes red and splotchy from her earlier crying fit. "I DON'T CARE ABOUT BRAD! Don't you get it? It's you! You have me all messed up!" she shouted, trying to hold back more tears.
Freddie tensed up at her outburst, but kept his cool. She liked him? He never would have imagined it. He thought hell would freeze over, before the day Sam Puckett admitted to having a crush on him. He still didn't understand why she was upset though. Did she think he didn't like her back at all? That would just be silly. Sure, in Freddie's eyes they'd never had the best relationship, but he'd be damned if he didn't admit he saw her as his closest best friend. And, frankly he wanted to be more than that. He wasn't sure how to handle this though. Sam was in a very fragile state, and he didn't want to make it any worse than it already was. He had to be very careful how he tread in this situation.
He nestled up closer to her and wrapped an arm around her shoulder. She resisted at first, but leaned into him. She didn't say anything for a while. Finally, after what seemed like ages, she broke her silence: "I'm sorry, Freddie." she whispered.
Freddie turned to her and whispered back, "What for? You have nothing to be sorry for, Sam. You haven't done anything wrong."
"We both know that's not true Freddie; please don't say that." she said. She knew damn well that wasn't true. Why was he trying to pretend she hadn't put him through hell on a nearly daily basis? She didn't need to be lied to.
"Sam, we've had some rough times together, but you're my best friend. I'm closer with you than I am with Carly or anyone else by a country mile. I wouldn't trade you or the times we've had together for the world." he said.
"That's just it, Freddie. I've never been all that great of a friend to you. I'm sorry. All I've ever done is hurt you. I wish I could take it all back. I wish I hadn't done any of it. I really like you, but all I've ever done is push you away." She broke down into tears again. Freddie tightened his hold on her and let her sob into his shoulder. He was starting to understand her hesitation. It wasn't that she was scared of her feelings for him, but she was scared of hurting him.
"Sam, you can't push me away. I'm right here. I'll be here whenever you need me. I really like you too. We can start fresh. Everything that's hurting you right now can be forgotten. All the things you've done to me in the past? That doesn't even matter anymore. None of that matters." he whispered to her, hugging her.
Sam continued to cry even harder, her body heaving, and breathing becoming more ragged. He just held onto her, rubbing small circles with his hand on her back, and trying his best to comfort her. Eventually, she calmed down and silently let herself be enveloped in Freddie's arms. He looked up near the patio door and saw Carly looking out at the window. He looked over at Sam and said, "I'll be right back, ok?" he got up, kissed her on the cheek, and walked over to the patio entrance door.
He walked inside and looked over at Carly. She rubbed the back of her head, standing awkwardly, clearly confused, and unsure of how to react to what she'd seen. Neither of them had expected this outcome (although Freddie was quite thankful for it sans Sam's current mental fragility). Carly finally spoke up, "So, are you and Sam together now?" a hint of hesitation present in her voice. There wasn't any certainty in this situation.
"I think so, but Sam's just having a rough time. I just want to make sure she's ok first. That's more important than whether or not we're an item," he replied. He looked back out of the window and saw her staring out into space absentmindedly playing with her hair. He turned back to Carly and took a deep breath.
"So, what are you going to do? Don't you and Brad still have to work on your project?", she asked.
"We do, but that's really not important right now. Sam is my number one priority currently and I've got to be there for her.", he replied, running a hand through his hair. He was nervous as hell. He had no idea Sam felt so guilty about how she'd treated him in the past. He honestly thought she never paid any mind to it. He'd never been more wrong in his entire life and wished he could have seen the signs sooner.
"Don't worry about it, Freddie, I'll cover for you. I'm pretty much done with mine and Gibby's project. Why don't you just head out with Sam? She really needs you more than anything right now.", Carly said, shifting her feet to head back in the direction of Gibby and Brad.
"Yea, I'll do that, Carly. Thanks, by the way.", Freddie replied.
"Anytime, Freddie, don't even worry about it. Have a good night. Tell Sam to reach out to me when she's feeling up to it, ok?", She said.
"I'll tell her Carly; have a good night.", he waved her off as she walked off back into the halls of Ridgeway. He turned around and headed back out onto the patio sitting down next to Sam, wrapping his arms around her.
"You gonna be ok, Sam? How are you feeling?" he asked, running a hand through her hair.
Sam looked at Freddie and shook her head 'no'. She laid her head down on Freddie's shoulder. She shut her eyes and held back more tears. Freddie ran his hand along her face wiping away the tears that had escaped.
"Sam, tell me what's going through your head. What's eating at you?", he asked.
"I don't deserve this, Freddie. Any of it.", She said quietly. Freddie could barely hear her, but it made his skin crawl when he realized what she'd said. Why would she ever think that?
"Sam, don't you dare say that. You absolutely do deserve to be happy. Don't even try to argue with me on this. That's not an argument I'm letting you win.", he replied, firm yet simultaneously gentle in his tone.
"I'm just so scared, Freddie. I don't want to hurt you anymore. I don't want to mess things up and make everything worse." , she admitted. The truth was finally laid bare. She nearly felt relief at having finally unbottled her mess of feelings.
"Sam, what's there to be scared of? We both really like each other. I already told you our past doesn't matter here. We can move forward together. You need to forgive yourself. You're not going to ruin things. I promise. I want to make you happy, Sam. Nothing would make my life better than having you at my side. You said you don't want to push me away anymore, so stop pushing." He spoke to her softly.
She stayed silent as everything Freddie had said circled around her mind. He was right. She should just forgive herself. There wasn't any reason to not take this opportunity to move forward in a new direction. A more positive one. She had wanted this chance for ages, and now it was finally in her grasp. All she had to do was accept the change and take it. Finally, she briefly spoke up: "Ok."
"Ok?" he questioned.
"I won't push you away anymore. I want to take that chance with you and be happy." She said as she turned and hugged him. He returned it and felt her lean in to kiss him, which he eagerly returned too. They broke apart and got up to stand. Sam smiled and grabbed his hand, swinging it, as they walked away from Ridgeway.
"Where to, Sam?", he asked as they headed in the direction of Bushwell.
She paused in thought. She knew exactly where she wanted to go, but also knew that Mrs. Benson could potentially get in the way of that plan. "Two questions: 1. Is your mom home? 2. Do you have snacks that are actually edible and won't cause me to gag?"
Freddie smiled, "You're in luck on both accounts. My mom's away visiting my Aunt Meredith in Boise and my hidden cabinet is stocked with everything you could want."
"Well, in that case, you and I have a date involving your fire escape and every scrap of food in that cabinet, Freddison! Let's get going!" she tugged on Freddie's hand and sped up her walking pace. Freddie laughed relieved that Sam's mood had improved and thinking of just how insane it was to finally be with her.
Sam was grinning from ear to ear as they kept walking. She'd finally found herself with Freddie and a sense of peace washed over her. Life would be alright knowing she'd have him along for the ride. She couldn't ask for much else. Frankly, she didn't need anything else. She had what she needed and that was enough.