Limited

"Hey, Sam?" Carly said, casually flipping through a magazine as she lounged in one of the beanbag chairs in the iCarly studio. "Come look at this chick in this picture and tell me she doesn't look like she could be Ms. Briggs' daughter. I mean, I know Ms. Briggs' doesn't have a daughter, but still, they really look alike, minus the pointy boobs."

"Huh?" Sam said absentmindedly, not looking up from her laptop. "Oh, um, that's nice, Carls."

"What are you doing?" Carly asked, tossing her magazine aside.

"Ordering Freddie's birthday present," Sam said.

"Oh! So you finally figured out what you're getting him?" Carly grinned.

"Yup," Sam nodded proudly. "I'm getting him this limited edition Galaxy Wars thermos. I showed it to Spencer this morning and apparently it's a real collectors item. Only ten have ever been made."
"Wow, that sounds…dorky," Carly said.
"Exactly," Sam said. "Which means Freddie will love it. And once I order this, I'll finally be done shopping for the nub."
"Yeah, you've been looking for weeks for his birthday present," Carly commented.

"I know," Sam said. "This was so much easier before we were a couple."
"Yes, back when you would get him half a taco for his birthday," Carly chuckled.

"Hey, I always saved him the bigger half!" Sam defended. "But this thermos will be even better! I can't wait to see the look on his face when I give it to him and-"

"Hola, muchachas," Freddie said brightly, entering the studio suddenly.

Sam quickly slammed her laptop closed. "Um, hey baby."

"What are you guys up to?" Freddie asked, sitting down with Sam on her beanbag chair, giving his girlfriend a quick kiss.

"Um, just relaxing," Carly said quickly. "What about you? Are you starting to get pumped for your birthday next week?"

"I guess," Freddie said. "I mean my mom's already started taking out my baby books and crying over them, so I'm already in my usual birthday spirit."

"Well this year you're going to have the best birthday ever," Sam assured him.

"Well if you're there, I'm sure I will," Freddie smirked. "Although I did already start on my own celebration."
"What do you mean?" Carly asked.

"I splurged and bought myself an early birthday present," Freddie said. "But it was totally worth it."
"What'd you get yourself?" Sam asked.

"This!" Freddie beamed, handing her his Pearphone. "This limited edition Galaxy Wars thermos!"
Sam's face fell as she stared at the screen.

"Thermos?" Carly repeated as her and Sam exchanged a quick glance.

"Yup," Freddie said. "It's a real collectors item! Only ten have ever been made. I know you guys probably think it's lame but it's going to look great next to my Princess Ablogata action figure."

"Yeah…" Sam mumbled, handing Freddie his phone back. "It will look real great."

"You okay?" Freddie asked.

"Er, yeah, I'm fine," Sam said quickly. "But I'm kind of hungry. Can you go downstairs and grab me a snack? Something fried? Oh, and an iced tea?"

"Okay," Freddie agreed, getting to his feet. "You want anything, Carly?"
"Um, no, I'm good," Carly replied.

"Alright, well, I'll be back in a sec," Freddie said.
Sam waited until he had left the studio before letting out a long moan. "Unbelievable! He went and got himself the same exact thing I was gonna get him!"

"Well…at least you hadn't ordered it yet," Carly pointed out optimistically. "And I'm sure you'll figure out something else to give him."

"It took me weeks just to come up with the thermos idea," Sam said miserably. "His birthday is in six days! How can I come up with a perfect gift in just six days?"

"Look, I'm sure Freddie will love whatever you get him, as long as it's a gift from the heart," Carly said.

"Ugh, not the 'gift from the heart' line," Sam moaned. "Everybody knows that's what you say when you can't find anything good."

"It is not," Carly said, rolling her eyes.

"Maybe I can make him something," Sam said thoughtfully. "Or I can offer to stop putting superglue in his mom's shoes…"

"That's you?" Carly frowned.

"Or I guess I can go to the mall later," Sam continued, ignoring Carly's comment. "If I walk around long enough, maybe I can find something…Man, this is so hard! I hate shopping for myself! How am I supposed to do it for other people too?"

…..

"You can get him one of those fancy flash drives," Carly suggested, pointing at a small kiosk as her and Sam walked through the mall later that day. "Look, there's one that looks like a rocket ship, an ostrich, a-"

"No, he already has a ton of those," Sam sighed.

"Well what about a new shirt?" Carly said. "You always say he wears too much stripes."

"I'm not going to by my boyfriend clothes for his birthday," Sam replied. "I'm not his mother."

"Come on, we've walked through the mall five times already," Carly moaned. "Even I'm starting to get sick of this place. Don't you think you might be being a little picky?"

"You're the one who always says I need to do more nice things from Freddie," Sam pointed out. "And this is the first birthday of his we've had together as a couple. I don't-I don't want him to be disappointed with what I get him."

"Sam, I told you, Freddie will love whatever-"

"Can you cool it with that line?" Sam snapped.

"Alright, alright," Carly conceded. "I guess we can do one more lap around the mall. Maybe we missed something earlier. I don't see how that's possible though…We've been in every store."

….

The day of his birthday, Freddie groggily opened his eyes, having been awoken by the force of someone jumping onto his bed.

"Sam?" he yawned as he slowly sat up, spotting the blonde at the foot of his bed. "What are you doing here?"

"Wishing you a happy birthday, nub," Sam grinned, rolling her eyes as she moved next to him, leaning over to give him a long kiss. "Happy birthday, baby."

"Thanks," Freddie smiled, looking over at his alarm clock. "It's eight o'clock in the morning though. I didn't think you'd even be conscious until at least eleven."

"Eh, I made an exception for today," Sam shrugged.

"Aw," Freddie chuckled, craning his neck to give her another kiss. "But listen, not that I don't appreciate this amazing wake-up call, but my mom will be up soon and if she finds you in here she's going to-"

"Your mom's not home," Sam said simply.

"What are you talking about? Yes she is," Freddie said. "And on my birthday she's more of a nutcase than her usual self. See, first she makes us watch the video of my birth and then-"

"Your mom's at work," Sam told him.

"What? No she's not," Freddie said. "She always takes my birthday off."

"Not when someone hacks into the nurses' schedule at the hospital and rearranges a few things," Sam said mischievously.

"Wait…" Freddie said. "You mean you hacked into the hospital and scheduled my mom to work? Sam, that-that's the nicest thing anybody's ever done for me!"

He wrapped his arms around her. "You used your tech skills and made this the first birthday I won't be sick during breakfast! Thanks, baby."

"Anytime," Sam laughed. "I scheduled her to get off at five, so you'll still get to see her later. Oh, and Carly made the reservations for Petrozini's for seven."

"Sounds good," Freddie said.

"And that also gives us the whole day almost for us to spend together," Sam continued. "So hurry up and get dressed, Fredbag, we have a lot to do."

"Can't wait," Freddie said, kicking off his covers. "I should probably document this, though. I doubt I'll ever get another chance to see Sam Puckett telling me to get out of bed."

"Probably not," Sam smirked. "I'm already planning on hibernating until four in the afternoon tomorrow."

….

"Wow, Sam," Freddie said later that day as the couple left the Museum of Natural History and Phenomenons, hand in hand. "This has really been the best birthday ever. I-I can't believe you did all this for me it."

"It was nothing," Sam said. "I'm just glad you had a good time."

"What do you mean it was nothing?" Freddie said, rolling his eyes. "Sam, you took me to the aquarium, the Go-Kart track, my favorite restaurant for lasagna, and the museum! I couldn't have thought of a more fun day if I tried."

He leaned down, kissing her lips gently. "Seriously, thank you, Sam. Today was unbelievable."

"Yeah, well…" Sam sighed, looking down at the ground. "Don't say that just yet."

"Huh?" Freddie said, confused.

"Look," Sam said. "Baby, I'm sorry. I-I tried really hard, but-but I couldn't do it."
"Do what?" Freddie frowned.

"Find you the perfect gift," Sam said miserably.

"The perfect-Sam, what are you talking about?" Freddie said, giving her hand a gentle squeeze. "This whole day has been perfect!"

"But I wanted to get you something," Sam said. "You know, like a present that I wrap up and give to you only to have you do that annoying thing you do where you open it neatly instead of just ripping the paper off."

"Sam," Freddie laughed. "I-I don't need an actual gift from you. Honestly, just being with you today was enough. It wouldn't have even mattered if we just sat around in my apartment all day. As long as you were there, it would've still been great."

"Come on, you're just saying that," Sam said.

"No, I'm really not," Freddie told her. "I mean…this is the first birthday I've ever spent with someone I love and care about as much as you. That alone has already made this the best birthday I've ever had."

Sam felt her cheeks flush. "You mean better than all the birthdays you've spent with your mom eating sugar-free cake and watching her give birth to you?"

"Way better," Freddie chuckled.

"I guess that's something then," Sam smiled as Freddie pulled her into a warm embrace. "Still, though, I-I did get you something."

She pulled away from him and reached into his pocket, pulling out a small keychain with a picture of the two of them last month at the Space Needle, where they had gone for their six-month anniversary.

"While I was at the mall, looking in every store for something you'd like, I saw this little stand that made these and figured they were kind of nice. I know it's small but-"

"I love it," Freddie said at once, pulling out his keys and attaching the keychain. "Thank you, Sam. For everything."