Carly felt something being stuffed into her hand. "Here, take this, Carly," Sam said, leaving her in possession of the blue remote. "For when you need a laugh, or a boo, or a Random Dance."

Carly could tell Sam was trying to be her strong, emotionless self, but she could see in her friend's remarkably blue eyes that the façade was crumbling. Tears started to well up in her own eyes. "Aw, Sam…" she cried, pulling the blonde in for a hug.

The two girls held each other in the elevator for what seemed like an eternity. Carly opened her eyes just in time for Sam to pull back a little and meet her gaze. Carly stared into those expressive blue orbs, and she saw something other than the friendship they'd shared for the last eight years. She saw longing, and tenderness, smoldering desire, and even… Love? Without thinking, she brought her lips to Sam's, and a fire was ignited. Carly had never had a kiss like this before. The, so she thought, steamy kiss she'd given Freddie just an hour ago now paled in comparison. And now Carly knew why. This kiss with Sam, this is what her romantic life had been leading up to all this time. Eventually, the need for air split the two girls apart.

"Stay, Carly," Sam requested.

Carly mulled it over. She was going to Italy with her father, a chance to catch up with a parent she only saw on special occasions. She had always been jealous of Spencer, in that he'd known both of their parents well. Carly's mom died when she was seven, and her dad requested a transfer out of Seattle less than a year later. There were too many memories, he'd needed to get away. Carly would have gone with him, but just a week before, and for the first time since Missy Robinson left, she'd found a real friend. A quirky, mean, meat-loving best friend named Sam. She had to stay in Seattle. Now it had come full circle. As she was about to leave again, her relationship with Sam had taken this new, amazing turn. If she didn't stay to explore the possibilities, she'd regret it for the rest of her life.

"Of course I'll stay, Sam. How could I leave after a kiss like that," she answered.

"Stay, Carly," Sam repeated.

Had Sam not been listening? She just said she would.

"Hey, Carly. Come on Snug-bug."

Snug-bug? That's what her dad called her? What?

"Snug-bug! Wake up!" Her dad's voice called more urgently now, and she opened her eyes to the interior of a 747. "Come on, Carly, you have to put your seat up for landing."

"Landing?" she questioned, still half asleep and not willing to give up the dream she'd had.

"Yeah, we're landing in New York. We've got a three hour lay-over, I thought maybe you'd want to grab a bite to eat or go shopping or something," he explained.

While they were in New York, Carly's dad took her to the Four Seasons restaurant, with world-famous gourmet cuisine, but she barely tasted it. For his part, Stephen Shay just assumed his daughter was homesick. He had, after all, sprung this move on her with little notice. He was sure she just missed her friends. Sure enough, Carly was already texting someone on her Pearphone.

They stopped at a bookstore, and the Colonel picked up a copy of Italian for Dummies, which Carly spent most of the flight to Milan reading, when she wasn't sleeping. If Italy was going to be her home for a while, she wanted to be able to communicate with the natives. Besides, Italian was such a melodic language. She loved it when Sam spoke Italian…

And her thoughts drifted back to the elevator. The dream she'd had earlier wasn't exactly how it happened, but it wasn't entirely a figment of her imagination either. She had looked into Sam's eyes and she had seen everything she'd always wanted in those eyes. She would have kissed Sam, too, had it not been for that little… Skunkbag. Of course, it might have been kind of awkward if she'd have been liplocked with another girl when the elevator doors opened, then had to explain to her dad why she wasn't going to Italy.

Why did she come to Italy? Being honest with herself, the whole thing with Sam frightened her. She wasn't used to feeling this way about girls, and the fact that it was Sam – her best friend in the world – freaked her out even more. What if Carly was misreading the signs? Maybe Sam hadn't even noticed the sexual tension. If she'd have tried to pursue something with Sam, would the blonde have been receptive? Maybe it would have ruined their friendship. Or maybe it would have blossomed into romance, but Carly's track record with romance was as bad as Spencer's. If the relationship failed, could she ever be friends with Sam again? Too many thoughts, so she avoided them by going to Italy.

Smart move, Carly. Now you're 6000 miles away from the only person who can answer those questions.

After landing in Milan, they drove the sixty miles to the USAF base her father was stationed at. After getting through the guard shack, they had to stop at the main office so that Carly could get her military ID, allowing her to get on and off base. Stephen had called it in yesterday before they left Seattle, and rank has its privileges, so it had been expedited for him. Carly just needed to get her picture taken. It reminded Carly of the DMV back home. She noticed an attractive young man sitting nearby waiting to get his picture as well. Two uniformed women flanked him. Maybe a little harmless flirting would take her mind off Sam. Carly smiled at the young man, who smiled back. Carly nudged her father, "Who is that?"

Colonel Shay followed her gaze, and immediately his eyes narrowed. "Oh, him," he grumbled. "His name's Cody. Stay away from him."

"What, is he a bad boy or something?" Visions of Griffin before the Pee-Wee Babies danced in her head. Or maybe Sam. She was a bad... um… girl.

"Not exactly. See those women with him. Those are his… mothers," Stephen rolled his eyes on the last word.

"Mothers?" Carly asked. "As in plural?"

"Captain Sharkey and Captain Yoder," Steven explained. "Everyone on base thought they were just roommates for the longest time. The one had moved into help the other raise her son. Then when Don't Ask, Don't Tell ended, they came out. They're a couple, Carly. You don't need to be associating with people like that. There's plenty of other fine young men on base."

Carly felt her stomach drop. She must be misunderstanding her father. She didn't remember ever hearing anything prejudiced from him before. His best friend, her own godfather Roger Morgan, was black. There was no way this kind, understanding man was homophobic. Still, considering her own feelings for Sam, his comment felt like a weight pressing on her.

Finally, they arrived at Carly's new home. She'd been in military housing before when she was little, and this was no different. Rather austere, as Stephen had lived alone in it for years. Nothing like the colorful kaleidoscope that was Spencer's loft. She took her suitcases to her new room. It had a bed, but her dad had been using it for storage. It kind of reminded her of the iCarly studio before they redecorated. She missed her gummy bear chandelier, her coffee table with the boats, her touchscreen closet. Mostly she missed knowing Spencer and her friends had done all of that for her.

She laid down on the bed, with its boring white sheets and grey blanket. Staring up at the plain white ceiling, she imagined Spencer painting random drawings on it. She imagined having Freddie over to help her hook up the TV and stereo. Mostly she imagined Sam. Sam coming in through her open window in the middle of the night. Sam sleeping next to her, as they'd done for years, the blonde hogging all of the blanket. Sam waking up to the smell of bacon and pushing her out of the way to get to it. Sam almost kissing her passionately in the elevator. She sighed.

They were going to have to talk this out sooner or later, and it had been far too long since she'd heard Sam's voice. She took out her cell phone, and made a note to thank Freddie for talking her into spending a couple extra dollars a month on the international plan when she bought it. Swiping her finger down the screen, she found Sam's contact. She stared at the picture next to Sam's name. Sam in her evening gown, newly crowned as Miss Seattle Teen. Carly had never been more proud of Sam than that night. She touched the picture lovingly, and was slightly startled when the phone began to dial.

Carly's heart was in her throat as she listened to it ring. "Hey, Carls."