AN-So the request for this oneshot was to recreate the finale of Friends with Sam and Freddie obviously replacing Ross and Rachel. If you don't watch Friends (although I don't know why you wouldn't…) don't worry, you don't have to know anything about the show to understand the story!

..

Lecture

"Alright, cute new backpack? Check," Carly said, going through several shopping bags in the living room. "New boots? Check!"

"New boots?" Freddie frowned, looking over his shoulder from the counter, where he had been working at the computer. "You have thirty pairs of boots! What could you possibly need with another pair?"

"And how many stupid computer toys do you need?" Carly snapped.

"Man, you get mean when it comes to shoes," Freddie chuckled.

"Sorry," Carly said. "But I couldn't help it; there was a sale, the boots were in the store window…I was lured in!"

"Why'd you get all that stuff anyway?" Freddie asked as Carly continued to go through her many bags.

"Because, next week we start our senior year!" Carly said. "It's a huge deal! I need to make sure I have the perfect wardrobe for the experience. Don't tell me you're not excited for our last year of high school."
"Of course I am," Freddie chuckled. "But I didn't buy out the mall. I've been over here perfecting the Freddie Benson Master Plan. I finally narrowed down my top five colleges I'll be applying to."

"Oh! I narrowed down my choices too!" Carly said. "And I planned out a schedule of when I'll work on each application."

"Me too," Freddie said, high-fiving Carly. "Wow…this is crazy. Can you believe we're actually applying to college? Seems like just yesterday we were three kids with a web show."
"Um, we're still three kids with a web show," Carly pointed out. She sat down on the couch, propping her feet up on the coffee table.

"True," Freddie agreed.

"But you know," Carly sighed. "There is one thing about senior year that I'm worried about."
"What?"
"Sam!" Carly said. "I mean you and I have our schedules all ready, but Sam…she hasn't said a word about what she's planning on doing after high school. This is her last year to get her act together! I'm worried she's not going to take this seriously."

"Oh man…" Freddie said, crossing his arms. "You're right. I mean right now we're here to help her out with everything, but next year…"

"Well we're just gonna have to talk with her, that's all," Carly said. "I mean she needs to start planning for her future. I don't want to see my best friend fall behind."

"Yeah, I don't want to see my-my-I don't want to see Sam fall behind either," Freddie said quickly.

"Well aren't you guys supposed to be filming a bunch of those clips for iCarly today?" Carly asked. "You know, the ones I'm never in because I'm always conveniently busy."

"Um, yeah, we were gonna do a few of them," Freddie nodded.

"Well why don't you start then?" Carly said. "Maybe you can at least get Sam thinking about how she's going to make senior year productive."

"You think Sam will listen to advice from me?" Freddie scoffed. "Ha!"

"Oh come on, Sam values your input," Carly said.

Freddie raised an eyebrow.

"Okay…maybe that's not exactly totally accurate," Carly said. "But you guys do have a special connection; you dated for crying out loud! For…how long was it? A month?"

"Five weeks and two days," Freddie said at once.

Carly gave him a strange look.

"Um…so you were saying?" Freddie said quickly, trying to brush the incident off.

"Just…Just make sure you get it across to Sam how important senior year is going to be," Carly said. She looked at her phone. "I have to go meet Spencer and a friend of our dad's for lunch. I'll see you later."

"Later," Freddie said as Carly hurried out of the apartment.

As the door closed behind her, Freddie thought about what Carly had just said.

You guys have a special connection?

Was that true? Carly was usually pretty good at picking up on those things after all.

Freddie felt a twinge of excitement at the very idea.

The Freddie Benson Master Plan that he had devised for himself did not just apply to his academics…Yes, it included detailed pro-con lists of all the schools he was applying to, as well applications for various scholarships and internships, but most importantly, it included fixing the biggest mistake he had made last year; the mistake that he still beat himself up over every day; the mistake of letting Sam Puckett go.

He had realized how wrong he had been to think that breaking up with her was for the best about ten minutes after Sam had left him at midnight that night. And after far too long of feeling sorry for himself and having to deal with the horrible jealous feeling that arose within him whenever another guy would so much as smile at Sam, he had decided that this year was going to be the year he worked up the courage to actually do something about it.

Yup, Freddie's senior year was going to be the year to remember. He was going to get into his dream school, graduate on top of his class and, above all, was going to get back together with the girl he loved. Nothing was going to mess this up; the Freddie Benson Master Plan was foolproof.

Just then the front door slammed open and Sam herself came into the apartment.

"Carls? Carly!" Sam said loudly.

"She just left," Freddie informed her. "Her and Spencer are getting lunch with a friend of her dad's."

"Oh," Sam said. "Oh right…she told me that yesterday. Dang it, I ran here for nothing then!"

"No, not for nothing," Freddie said. "We were gonna film stuff for the website today, remember?"

"Yeah, yeah, I remember," Sam said, heading towards the fridge and grabbing a can of Peppy Cola.

"Anyway," Freddie said. "I was thinking we could do another Random Debate; we haven't done one of those in awhile. We can-"

"Did Carly say when she'd be back?" Sam cut him off.

"No," Freddie said. "She didn't. So like I was saying, we can-"

"Do you think she'll be gone long?" Sam interrupted again. "Like more than a couple of hours?"

"I dunno," Freddie shrugged. "Why are you so eager to see her anyway?"

"I-I just need to talk to her," Sam mumbled.

"What about?" Freddie asked.

"Just stuff!" Sam snapped. "Mind your own business, Benson!"

"Fine," Freddie said, rolling his eyes. "Oh, but speaking of talking, Carly wanted me to bring something up to you."

"Why? Did she find the bacon wrappers I hid in her closet? Because it's Gibby's fault for filling the trashcan with-"

"Um, no," Freddie said. "That's not it. She wanted me to talk to you about our senior year."

Sam's face faltered. "S-Senior year?"

"Yeah," Freddie nodded. "I mean, this is a big year for all of us. I know a lot of people think you can just goof off, but if you don't plan ahead, you can wind up really messing things up for your future."

"Er…right," Sam said, looking down at her feet.

"I mean…I can help you get stuff in order if-if you want," Freddie offered, eager for an opportunity to spend some more time with her. "We can start looking at possible colleges, getting you ready to take the SAT, making sure you're set to graduate."

"Um, yeah," Sam said, clearing her throat awkwardly. "About-About that…"

"I know that it might seem like a lot," Freddie continued. "But don't worry; Carly and I will help you with anything you need. All you have to do is ask and-"

"Freddie, I-I'm not going back to Ridgeway for my senior year," Sam cut him off abruptly.

Freddie blinked. "Um…what?" he frowned, certain he had misheard her.

"I-I'm not going back to Ridgeway for senior year," Sam said softly, not meeting his gaze.

"What do you mean you're not coming back?" Freddie demanded. "Of course you're coming back! You can't just not come back! Didn't you hear my whole lecture about your future?"

"Yes, and believe it or not, I'm not as helpless as you and Carly think I am when it comes to thinking about that," Sam said.

"So then how can you just drop out of school and-"

"I'm not dropping out," Sam said.

"Well then what are you doing?"

Sam took a deep breath. "A few months ago Melanie called me and-and told me about this program that they have up at her boarding school. It's a really cool comedy writing program. They only let twenty students into it and then they teach you all sorts or writing techniques that writers on T.V. shows and stuff use. The professor who's in charge of the program knows Melanie and knows that we're sisters and told her that they'd be really interested in having someone like me. He-He had seen iCarly. So I submitted a few of the skits I've written for iCarly and yesterday…yesterday I found out I got in."

"You-You got in?" Freddie said. "Wow…Sam, that's-that's amazing."

"Thanks," Sam said, giving him a small smile. "After the program they set you up with internships and stuff with real professional so I'd have a really good shot of getting a job as a writer without even having to go to college."

"I-That's incredible," Freddie said, holding his arms out to give her a hug. "Wow…and here Carly and I were all worried for nothing. I can't believe-Wait…Melanie's boarding school…isn't that in like, Utah or something?"
"Er, Vermont, actually," Sam said.

Vermont…

The smile vanished from Freddie's face. "So-So you're going to be-you're moving to-"

"Yeah," Sam said softly. "I'm going to Vermont."

…..

"I can't believe it…" Carly said a few days later as her and Freddie sat up in the iCarly studio. "I-I can't believe Sam's leaving in just four days."
Freddie, who was laying on a beanbag chair, made no response as he continued to stare up at the ceiling.

The news of Sam's departure to Vermont was still cutting into him just as painfully as when Sam had first told it to him.

"I mean I'm so happy for her," Carly sighed. "This is a great opportunity for her and for once it sounds like she's really excited about something other than meat or fighting. But I just hate the idea of her leaving us."

"Yeah," Freddie mumbled. "I know."

He wanted Sam to stay, but he knew he'd be selfish to try and talk her out of going. This program seemed perfect for her, and there was nothing like that for her in Seattle…

Freddie suddenly bolted up in his seat. "I've got it!"

"What do you got?" Carly frowned.

"I know how we can get Sam to stay!" Freddie exclaimed.

"Oh, Freddie," Carly said gently. Freddie thought that she knew why he had been taking the news so badly, and the sympathetic smile she gave him confirmed his suspicions. "I know how much you want her to stay here, but-but we can't take an opportunity like this away from her-"

"I don't to take away the opportunity," Freddie said. "I want to find her another one!"

"Huh?"

"The only reason she's moving to Vermont is for that program," Freddie explained. "So all we have to do is find a similar program out here in Seattle that she can go to and she'll be able to stay!"

"But do you think you can even find any?" Carly asked.

"Hey, the Internet's never let me down before!" Freddie said, grabbing his laptop. "Let's hope it doesn't start now."

….

Later that evening, Carly stepped into her apartment, hanging her purse up on the coat rack.

"Hey," Spencer said. "Where have you been?"

"Sam and I went out for dinner," Carly replied. "Man…I don't know what I'm gonna do when she leaves."

"I know, it's crazy," Spencer sighed. "I'm really gonna miss having someone I could count on the clean the leftovers out of my fridge."

"Guess you'll just have to start eating them," Carly chuckled. "Oh, by the way, is Freddie still here?"

"Yeah," Spencer nodded. "He hasn't left the studio. I went up to talk to him a little while ago but he's in the zone. What's he doing?"

"Trying to find a way to keep Sam in Seattle," Carly explained.

"Poor guy…he really likes her, doesn't he?" Spencer said knowingly.

"Uh-huh," Carly sighed. "He's gonna be so crushed when she leaves…I hope he'll be okay."

"I've got it!" Freddie suddenly yelled, running downstairs, a giant grin on his face. "I've got it!"

"Got what?" Spencer asked.

"I found a program just like the one in Vermont for Sam!" Freddie said excitedly, opening up his laptop. "See, it's a dual enrollment program; it lets Sam stay in high school her senior year while taking writing classes at the community college and then right after she graduates, she starts an internship at a giant writing agency."

"Wow, that does look like a really great program," Carly commented, looking at the laptop screen.

"I think it may actually be better than the one in Vermont," Freddie said proudly. "Because with this one, you still get a high school diploma. The other one just gives you credit for completing the program."

"But…hold on," Carly said. "This program already accepted its students for this year. The deadline to apply was a month ago; Sam can't-"

"I made a few phone calls," Freddie smirked. "See, it turns out the director of this program is the uncle of a buddy of mine from the AV club. I got the guys number, called him, sent him copies of Sam's work, promised to wash his cars for a year-"

"What?"

"Eh, it's fine. He only has four," Freddie said quickly. "But in the end he agreed to send Sam an email inviting her to the program! Isn't this great? She can stay in Seattle now! Where is she? We have to get her to check her email and-"

"She's with Wendy," Carly said. "They went to go test out Numchucks. I think it really hit Sam that she's not going to be able to see any of her friends while she's in Vermont so she's trying to spend as much time with everybody as she can. I mean she even got lunch with Gibby today, and apparently she only gave him three wedgies."

"Oh…" Freddie said, wondering why Sam hadn't so much as called him in the time since she told him the news. He quickly shook it off, though. He was sure Sam would get to him soon. "Well anyway, I've got to go to the store and buy some car wax and big buckets. Later!"

"Wow, that's dedication," Spencer said, impressed, as Freddie headed out the door.

"That," Carly said. "Is typical Sam and Freddie."

"Man, who knew washing four huge cars would take over six hours," Freddie said the next morning as he sat, exhausted, on the Shay's couch. "But it's all gonna be worth it in the end."

"I can't believe that guy is making you wash his cars," Carly said, shaking her head.

"It could be worse," Freddie shrugged. "When I was at his office I saw one of his assistants rubbing lotion on his feet. And let me tell you, if you thought Spencer's feet were gross-"

"What's up, people?" Sam said, letting herself into the apartment.

"Hey, Sam," Carly smiled. "How was the arcade with your detention crew?"

"We wound up getting thrown out for this incident with one of the Ski Ball machines," Sam shrugged. "But it was still fun…Hey, you'll never believe the email I got last night!"

"Email?" Freddie said, sitting up in his seat, trying to sound nonchalant. "What sort of email?"

"It's from the director of a program here in Seattle that's almost just like the one in Vermont," Sam replied. "They-They want to offer me a spot with them!"

"Wow, Sam!" Carly said. "That's great!"

"Right?" Sam said. "Who knew places like this would actually scout me out. And my parole officer told me I'd never amount to anything…ha!"

"Well that's perfect, Sam!" Freddie said. "Now you can stay here in Seattle and-"

"Huh? Oh no, I turned down this offer," Sam said.

"You-You turned it down?" Freddie said, flabbergasted.

"But why?" Carly asked, confused. "Wouldn't it be more convenient for you to stay here?"

"I guess," Sam shrugged. "But do you know how much more work this program is? I'd have to take my high school classes and college classes. That's double the classes!"
"But-But here you'd earn a diploma," Carly reasoned. "Think about how much better that will be for you later down the road."
"Eh, I'll take my chances," Sam said. "Besides, it would be ten times harder to keep up if I did that program. In Vermont at least I'd have a shot at-"

"You could keep up if, for once in your life, you'd put effort into something!" Freddie said, suddenly feeling very angry.

Sam frowned. "What's that supposed to mean?"
"It means you're choosing the easy way out like you always do!" Freddie snapped. "What? You're going to move all away across the country away from everybody who cares about you just because it will mean less work for you?"

"Well what do you care?" Sam demanded, crossing her arms. "It's not like it's affecting you. What difference is it to you whether I stay in Seattle or not?"

"You know what?" Freddie said, shaking his head. "It doesn't. Have fun in Vermont, Sam."

And with that he turned and stormed out of the apartment.

…..

Soon, as if time had suddenly sped up, the day had almost arrived.

The day Sam was scheduled to fly out to Vermont.

Freddie hadn't talked to her since their fight, but Carly had told him that Sam's plane would leave the next morning.

Freddie wished he could take back the things he had said to Sam. He didn't mean any of them. He had just been so mad and upset and heartbroken…

Because even though he had tried so hard to keep her here, Sam would still be leaving him.

It was late in the evening and Freddie was sitting out on his fire escape, looking out at the night sky.

Sam hadn't even called him to say goodbye yet…He knew she had said goodbye to everybody else already; Carly, Spencer, T-Bo, Gibby…everybody but him.

He wondered if he hadn't been stupid enough to let their relationship end last year if that would've made any difference in her staying.

Well now you'll never know, Freddie thought bitterly to himself. Because in twelve hours she'll be on a plane and heading to the other side of the country and I'll never get to-

Suddenly he heard a soft knock on the window and he spun around to see none other than Sam sitting on the window ledge.

"Sam…" he breathed, completely caught off guard.

"Mind if I come out here with you?" she asked.

Freddie shook his head. "No."

Sam hopped onto the fire escape, sitting down in the chair across from him.

"I didn't think you'd come by," Freddie admitted. "I mean you-you said goodbye to everybody else awhile ago. I thought you forgot about me."
"I didn't forget about you," Sam said softly. "You were just the one I knew I'd have the hardest time saying goodbye to."
Freddie blinked. "Me?"
Sam nodded, staring down at her lap.

"Sam, look," Freddie started. "About what I said the other day, I-I didn't mean it. I-"

"It's okay," Sam cut him off. "Don't worry about it."

The two were silent for a few moments, both simply staring up at the stars.

"I'm sort of scared, you know," Sam said. "Of moving all the way to Vermont. I'm only going to have Melanie up there, and there's only so much of here I can take."

"You'll be fine," Freddie assured her. "You're tough."

"Thanks," Sam said. "I hope you're right."

"Just try to stay out of trouble," Freddie told her.

"I will," Sam said quietly. She looked up at him, and Freddie felt a pang of sadness when he thought about the fact that it would be a long time before he'd see those dazzling blue eyes again. She opened her mouth, about to say something, but then closed it, and quickly got to her feet.

"Well, anyway," she said. "I should go. I need to be at the airport by nine tomorrow. I just wanted to say goodbye so…goodbye."

There was so much more Freddie wanted to say to her; he had so many words he could've filled a hundred pages. But instead he simply said, "Goodbye."

Sam turned and began to climb back over the ledge.

"Try not to be too big of a nub," she said, looking over her shoulder and giving him a small smirk.

And with that, with the braveness he normally only used in his online quests in War of Warlords, Freddie acted.

"Sam, wait!"

"What is-"

She was cut off as Freddie crashed his lips to hers, putting everything he couldn't say earlier into the kiss.

Sam responded at once, and when she laced her arms around his neck, Freddie felt as if nothing in the world could ever be more right.

When they pulled apart, both were panting and had the same passion in their eyes.

"It's only ten-thirty," Sam said breathlessly.

"Want to say goodbye at midnight?" Freddie asked, his chest heaving.

"Midnight works," Sam nodded, and the two eagerly reconnected their lips.

….

Freddie should've known that as amazing as it felt to have Sam in his arms last night, to feel her lips against his and gaze into her alluring blue eyes, it would feel just as horrible the next morning.

And it did.

Because now he had been reminded of exactly what he was losing.

After Sam left at midnight that night, Freddie couldn't sleep. He had been foolish enough to, just for a second, think that their night together would've been enough to change her mind about leaving.

But Sam was still going to Vermont, and he was still heartbroken.

That morning when he dragged his feet across the hall to the Shay's apartment to get away from his mother's insistent questionings of what was bothering him, he was greeted by Carly, who looked unlike her usual peppy self.

"Hi," she said, attempting to give him a comforting smile.

Freddie didn't respond as he flopped down on the couch.

"How you holding up?" she asked gently.

Freddie sighed. "This was supposed to be the best year of my life," he mumbled. "I had a plan…"
"I know," Carly said, squeezing his shoulder supportively. "But you can still have a good senior year."

"How?" Freddie said heavily. "How can I have anything but a miserable senior year with Sam living across the country? There was so much I wanted to tell her, Carly. I wanted to tell her I was sorry for the way I treated her after we broke up. I wanted to tell her how stupid I was to let us break up in the first place. I wanted to tell her that I-that I-"

"You love her," Carly whispered. "Don't you?"
There was no use denying it anymore.

"Yeah," Freddie said. "I do."

"Well then," Carly nodded, getting to her feet. "You know what we have to do, don't you?"

"What?" Freddie frowned, confused.

"We're going to go to the airport and catch Sam before she boards the plane so you can tell Sam you love her and maybe change her mind about staying!" Carly said.

"I-Carly," Freddie said. "We can't do that."
"Sure we can," Carly said. "We still have two hours before Sam's flight is up in the air. The airport's an hour away, if we leave now we should still be able to get her. Spencer!"

"Carly, this isn't some T.V. sitcom," Freddie said. "That's not going to work! We'll never make it in time and-"

"Do you or do you not love Sam?" Carly demanded as Spencer ran out of the bathroom in nothing but his boxers, his face covered in a beard of shaving cream.

"I do!" Freddie said. "But-But-"

"Then you need to at least try to tell her," Carly said.

"What's going on?" Spencer asked, catching his breath. "Is it burglars?"

"We need you drive us to the airport," Freddie said, suddenly feeling very determined.

"The airport?" Spencer repeated. "I'm not wearing pants!"

"Well put some on and move!" Carly snapped. "We've got a couple to reunite!"

…..

"Okay, I looked up Sam's flight info on the way over," Freddie said, panting for breath as the three ran through the airport doors. "She's getting on at gate E! How much time until her plane leaves?"

"Forty-three minutes!" Carly said.

"But we still need to get through security!" Spencer pointed out.

"Well maybe if we just explain the situation they'll let us pass," Freddie said. "Come on!"

They raced towards the gates, but before they could get past the long line at the security check-in, a large, scary looking officer stepped in front of them.

"You three will need to proceed to the back of the line," he said gruffly.

"No, you don't understand, we're not trying to get on a plane!" Freddie said.

"Well then why in the heck are you at an airport?" the officer demanded.

"We have to stop our friend from getting on her plane!" Carly said. "Because he needs to tell her he loves her!"

"Please, she's gonna move to Vermont and she won't know how I feel unless I can get to her before she gets on the plane!" Freddie said.

"The backstory between the two is actually quite fascinating," Spencer said to the officer. "See, back when they were kids they'd fight all the time but soon-"

"I'm not interested in some teen love story," the officer scoffed. "If you don't have a plane ticket you don't get past this point, and even if you did have a plane ticket, you still wouldn't get past here until you go through security!"

"Fine!" Freddie exclaimed, frustrated. "I'll buy a ticket to somewhere!"

"Do I look like a ticket salesperson?" the officer snapped.

"Well where do we buy the tickets?" Carly asked desperately.

"That counter over there," the officer replied, nodding over to the counter on his right.

"Let's go!" Freddie said, sprinting towards the counter, Carly and Spencer at his heels.

"Hooligans…" the officer mumbled, shaking his head.

…..

Finally, twenty-one minutes later, Freddie held his purchased ticket to Tennessee in his hand as he made it through the security check-in at last.

"You'll be boarding at gate O," the man at the check-in told him. "That's down this way to your right."
"Yeah, thanks!" Freddie called over his shoulder as he turned the opposite direction. He had no intention to heading to his own gate; all he cared about was getting to Sam's.

He ran through the airport as fast as his legs could carry him, desperately searching for gate E.

"C…D…E!" Freddie gasped happily. He ran over to the seating area for gate E. The area was almost empty, as most of the passengers had already boarded the plane.

But then he spotted a familiar blonde head just stepping through the door that would lead her to her plane. Her back was to him, but he knew instantly it was Sam.

"Sam!" Freddie yelled. "Sam!"
But Sam didn't turn around, and Freddie could see that she had her headphones plugged into her ears.

He ran over to the terminal door, still yelling Sam's name.

"Excuse me, sir, I'll need to see your ticket before you board the plane," the flight attendant said, stepping in front of Freddie just as he was about to run after Sam.

"I-I don't have a ticket for this plane," Freddie said. "But please, that girl that just boarded, I need to talk to her! Can you get her for me please? Please!"
"Sir, we're taking off in ten minutes," the flight attendant said firmly. "The second I step through those doors nobody is getting off that plane."
"I-But-Ugh!" Freddie groaned, venting his feelings by kicking the row of seats next to him as the flight attendant turned and walked through the door, closing it behind her.

He had been so close! If he had just gotten here a minute earlier…

He sank into one of the seats, burying his head in his hands.

Suddenly, one last desperate attempt popped into his head.

He slowly pulled his Pearphone out of his pocket. He had come all this way; he wasn't going to give up just yet.

"Come on, pick up," Freddie pleaded as he quickly dialed Sam's number and pressed the phone to his ear. "Pick up Sam, pick up, pick-"

"Freddie?" came Sam's voice on the other end.

"Sam!" Freddie exclaimed. "Hi! Listen, I'm at the airport right now! I-I came all this way to tell you something important but I just missed you before you got on your plane!"
"You're at the airport?" Sam said, confused. "Why? Hang on, I think the flight attendents are telling us to turn our phones off. What did you want to tell me? Did I forget something at your place?"

"No!" Freddie said. "I-I came to tell you-"

"Ma'am, I'm going to have to ask you to turn your phone off, please," Freddie heard a flight attendant tell Sam.

"Just a minute!" Sam told her. "My friend's trying to tell me something. What is it, Freddie? Hurry!"

"I just wanted to tell you-"

"Ma'am, we cannot begin our flight until all passanger's cell phones are turned off or switched to airplane mode," the attendant said. "I must ask you to please-"

"I will!" Sam snapped. "Just give me thirty seconds!"

"Phones need to be off now-"

"Freddie, talk will you!" Sam yelled into the phone. "What were you going to tell-"

"Sam I love you!" Freddie blurted out. "I'm in love with you, okay! I love you!"

"You-You love-"

But then her line suddenly went dead.

"Sam?" Freddie frowned. "Sam? Sam!"

But there was no answer…they had made her shut her phone off.

Freddie sadly hung up his own phone, shoving it back into his pocket.

It was done.

Sam was going to Vermont, and he would remain here in Seattle, feeling as if he had been punched in the gut.

"I'm sorry we couldn't catch her, Freddie," Carly said for the third time as her, Freddie and Spencer returned to Bushwell Plaza

"Hey, maybe she'll hate it in Vermont and want to come back here the second she lands," Spencer said.

Freddie appreciated the two trying to make him feel better, but right now he didn't think there was any way to make him feel less awful.

"Do you want to come over?" Carly asked gently. "We can watch a movie or something. Maybe get your mind off of Sam?"

"No thanks," Freddie mumbled. "I think I just want to be alone right now."
"Okay," Carly nodded. "Well, we'll be right across the hall if you need us."
When Freddie entered his apartment, he was relieved to find his mother wasn't home. He sat down on the plastic-covered couch and let out a heavy sigh. He felt his phone digging into his leg inside his pocket, so he reached down and pulled it out.

His voicemail icon was flashing on his screen; somebody had left him a message.

Freddie bolted up as he stared down at the screen.

The message was from Sam!

He quickly opened up his voicemail, desperately pressing the phone to his ear.

"Freddie, you love me?" Sam's voice sounded. "You love me? Oh my God…that's what you came all the way to the airport to tell me?"

"Ma'am," he now heard the flight attendant say. "I told you, your phone must be turned off during takeoff."

"I-You-You should've told me that earlier," Sam continued, ignoring the flight attendant. "But now it's too late…I-I have to go to Vermont…I have to…No! No, wait a minute, I don't!"

Freddie felt his heart skip.

"Ma'am, this is your final warning," the flight attendant said. "You need to turn off your phone."
"Alright, but I need to get off this plane," Sam said.

Yes! Freddie thought. She's getting off the plane!

"Ma'am, I'm afraid I cannot permit you to leave," the flight attendant said.

"No!" Freddie yelled out loud. "No! Let her get off the plane!"

"What do you mean? I'm getting off this plane!"

"Please don't make me call security, ma'am."
"Well then just let me off the plane!"

And the for the second time that day, her phone went dead.

"What?" Freddie exclaimed, hurriedly searching for a second voicemail. "Did she get off? What happened? Did she get off the plane? Did she-"

"I got off the plane."
Freddie spun around to find Sam standing at his doorway, her suitcase at her side.

"Sam!"
Freddie threw his phone down and raced over to her, throwing his arms around her and hugging her tightly.

"You got off the plane!"

"I just said that," Sam smirked. "I'm not allowed to fly for six months, but…"

"So you're staying in Seattle?" Freddie asked, hardly daring to believe what was happening.

"I'm staying in Seattle," Sam told him, beaming.

"I-I-Holy chiz, this is insane!" Freddie laughed, hugging Sam again. "You're staying! You're staying, Sam!"

"Yeah, I know," Sam chuckled. She looked up at him. "Oh, and Freddie?"
"Yeah?"

"I love you too."