A/N: This chapter is it, the next one will be the epilogue. Before you read this, I'd like to say something. On the second chapter of this story, I told you to read until the end and I still mean that. This story is a figment of my imagination, and look what it has turn into. Thanks for that. Hold on to the end, guys and gals. Just trust me.
Disclaimer: iCarly is not mine.
Chapter 12: The One Thing That Won't Change
Freddie was in bed when he heard the phone ring. Usually, he'd sleep through it, but he hadn't had a restful night since he found out about my Leukemia.
"Freddie?" Mrs. Benson peeked into the room, with a questioning look on her face, "It's three in the morning, who's calling?"
Freddie shrugged and went to answer it, "Hello?"
"Freddie, it's me," Freddie covered the bottom of the phone and mouthed 'It's Carly' to his mom.
"Why are you calling so late?" He questioned, rubbing his eye with his free hand. Mrs. Benson left the room, heading towards the kitchen.
Freddie heard a rustling sound in the background when she said, "Get to the hospital, now!"
His face turned to horror, he knew what was going on, "What happened?!"
"It's Sam! Just go! I'll meet you there in a few," Carly sounded urgent, as if nothing else mattered. The only thing that did was getting there before it was too late.
Freddie hung up, and threw on a shirt over his gray tank top, and left his pajama bottoms on. He slipped on some black shoes, grabbed his keys and headed to the door.
"Where are you going?" Mrs. Benson was having a cup of coffee when Freddie ran through. She set the cup down and rose from her chair, full of concern.
He gulped, "Sam's in trouble!" Mrs. Benson grabbed her purse and ran after him as he ran out the door.
They busted through the hospital doors and ran up towards the room. A few doctors they'd never seen before stopped them.
"I'm sorry, no one's allowed down here," Two doctors, one woman and one man were standing right in front of them. Freddie pushed past them after a moment and, of course, they tried to hold him back.
"Freddie," All eyes turned to the voice that spoke. Dr. Reynolds motioned for the doctors to leave them alone. Mrs. Benson stayed beside Freddie as he continued, "sit down."
They all sat down and Freddie looked panic-stricken. The last time they were sitting like this, he was told about my Leukemia. Now he felt that more bad news was coming.
"Sam," He began. The past few months, he had really enjoyed having me as a patient. My love of life and how strong I was made him recognize something he had long forgotten: his job meant something, "She's in a coma."
Freddie held back what he was feeling, gesturing for Dr. Reynolds to continue. You could tell it was hard for all of them, Dr. Reynolds included, "Sam's chances of waking up are slim to none, Freddie. She's not going to make it."
The tears ran down his face, but his expression didn't change. I was gone.
"Let me see her," Dr. Reynolds nodded and Freddie went in alone. My still body lay there; the only sound came from the machines. As he approached my bedside, his hand touched mine.
"I love you," He brushed a strand of hair out of my face, and leaned down to kiss me. It sank in when I didn't kiss back.
Out of the corner of his eye, he caught a glimpse of a brown book. Freddie picked it up, examining it. Embroidered on the bottom was my name. He looked through it and stopped at my last journal entry:
March 11th
If you're reading this, you're probably Freddie (I know you so much better than you think). You know how hard I fought in this, and I'm trying with everything I have to hold on. Dr. Reynolds said I wasn't even supposed to make it this long. I'm writing this because I wanted to thank you for everything. You've been my best friend even when I wasn't one to you. I love you, Benson. I want you to know, whatever happens, that's the one thing that won't change.
Love,
Puckett
Freddie closed the book and looked at me again, "Don't worry, Sammy. I'll see you on the other side."
He ran out of the hospital and his mom soon followed. They arrived home a few minutes later.
"Dr. Reynolds said, they'll contact us if she wakes up, or-" She stopped, finding it hard to say. Then, she decided to finish the thought with something else, "I need to give you something."
She got up, and said, "Tell Carly to come over, she'll want to see this too."
Carly came with Spencer and Mrs. Benson decided to explain, "Sam gave this to me to give to you."
It was a tape, the tape I had made. She told them to watch it and walked away, border line crying.
Carly put it in, afraid of what she'd see:
"If you're seeing this, I didn't make it."
That alone was hard to hear, but they continued to watch.
"You know how much I wanted to pull through, but sometimes it just doesn't work that way. I want you all to know that I'll miss you. Carly, you're my sister. You planned my dream wedding, and I will never be able to repay you. You've always had my back, and I'm sorry I can't be around anymore to do the same for you. Thank you for being there; I love you sis. Spencer, take care of her. She'll need you."
Spencer comforted Carly as she started to cry.
"Gibby, look after Freddie for me. iCarly fans, if they show this to you, thanks for watching. Hopefully, even though I'm gone, they'll still find a way to continue on without me."
Freddie shook his head no. How could they? They had lost an important part of the show; a third of their trio.
"Freddie, I love you. The last couple of months have been hard, but I'm so glad I got to be with you until I went. There's only one thing I wish for you. Don't forget what we had, but it's okay to move on and find love again. I love all of you. Thanks for everything. Don't miss me too much, we'll see each other again, I promise. Goodbye."
Moving on would be hard, but it's what I wanted and he knew he had to.
A few minutes later, Carly and Spencer left and Mrs. Benson went to bed. Freddie remained awake. He snuck out to the fire escape and sat in that chair he sat in on the night we first kissed.
He turned to look at the window.
"That was really brave," He started, "what you said."
"You heard?"
"You didn't think I'd miss iCarly?" She grinned.
He smiled at the memory, but it hurt. Looking down, he glanced at his wedding ring.
"I love you." Freddie said as she started to leave.
"I love you too."
Letting go would take time, but he knew he had to. Still looking at the ring, he smiled slightly said into the night, "Always."
A/N: Remember what I said...hold on. Epilogue is coming soon, please check my profile for updates.