AN: Happy St. Patrick's Day! Thanks to the wonderful readers who have reviewed/commented on here and over at AO3. I really appreciate it. For those of you who NEVER review, would it kill you to say, "Your story is awesome! Keep up the good work! I can't wait for more. Carly and Sam are my favorite!"? :) But that's alright. I can hear you saying it mentally. But it is still nice to know that there are people out there who are enjoying my hard work and appreciate all I go through to bring these wonderful stories to you.

Warning: This chapter contains depictions of suicide and character deaths. Please read carefully if these trigger you. But I hope you still read anyway because all is not what it seems, as you'll probably notice right away.

Chapter 27

Carly sat on the soft green grass in front of the fresh new tombstone and sobbed openly. The words 'Samuel Michael Puckett. Beloved Son, Brother, and Friend' stared back at her. That's not all he was, she thought sadly. He was so much more. He was everything! She dug her fingers into the soft grass as she let her tears fall onto the ground. She felt utterly devastated. "You can't be dead," she whispered sadly. "We didn't even have a chance to start a life together."

She continued to bawl her eyes out for several minutes, completely inconsolable. Then she heard the sweetest voice she'd ever heard.

"It's okay, Cupcake," Sam said softly.

She looked up and saw him standing behind the tombstone. "Sam!" she exclaimed in surprise.

"I'm here," Sam said gently and smiled at her. He was dressed in an all-white suit and he never looked more handsome.

He walked over to her and she stood up to greet him. The smile on his handsome face grew even wider as he pulled her in for a hug. She gratefully embraced him tightly, wrapping her arms around his back. She rested her head against his shoulder and breathed him in, relishing the feeling of his chest pressed against hers and his strong arms wrapped securely around her. She sighed in relief and kissed the side of his neck. She could feel his hands rubbing her back lovingly. She never wanted to let him go.

They held each other for several wonderful moments and then they pulled back a few inches to gaze into one another's eyes. Sam brushed her tears away with his thumbs as he gently cupped her cheeks in both hands. Then their faces drifted towards each other and their lips came together softly. They kissed for several amazing minutes, each enjoying the feel of the other's lips. Carly cupped his cheek tenderly and hummed into the kiss. She'd been longing for this ever since he'd runaway that dreadful night. She felt his thumb gently caressing her cheek and she moaned again, never wanting this to end. Sam's lips were always so soft. Carly knew she would never be able to kiss him enough. Eventually, Sam pulled back slowly to look her in the eye. And Carly was confused at first when she realized she could see right through him. Shock and sadness crossed her face as she comprehended what this meant.

"No," she whispered sadly.

"It's okay, Cupcake," Sam said again, his voice becoming echoey and faded.

"It's not okay," Carly replied. "You're d-dead!"

But Sam just continued to smile that megawatt smile as he pulled out of her embrace. She tried to cling to him but couldn't. He pulled away but she gripped his hand firmly.

"I have to go now," he said calmly as a bright white light enveloped him.

"No!" Carly yelled desperately as fresh tears spilled from her eyes. "Please don't!"

"It's okay," Sam repeated calmly.

"No! It's NOT!"

"We'll be together again. I promise," Sam said, the peaceful, loving smile never leaving his handsome face. Bright white orbs began to encircle him and the white light around him became even brighter, engulfing him.

"Please don't go!" Carly sobbed as more tears slipped down her cheeks.

His fingers slipped from her grasp and he took a step back from her as he started to fade from existence.

"Sam, no!" Carly cried out in desperation, staring at his transparent form. His ghost.

"I love you, Cupcake," he said as he reached out at the last second and caressed her cheek lovingly. Then he and the light faded completely.

"SAM!" Carly screamed as she bolted up in bed, breathing heavily; tears streaming down her beautiful face. Rain pelted the windows and then lightning flashed just before a loud crash of thunder boomed outside. She jumped at the sound and clutched at her bedsheets. She was shaking uncontrollably.

It was just a dream, she thought, trying to steady her erratic breathing. Just a dream. Sam's still alive. He's still alive. He BETTER still be alive! She calmed down a bit after taking a few deep breaths, but she was extremely unsettled. She worried that the dream was a bad sign. A premonition. Would Sam still be alive when she was finally able to see him again at the start of visiting hours? She shook her head, trying to get the dream out of her mind but it had seemed so real. She reached over and grabbed some tissues to wipe her face. Then she glanced at the clock and saw 3:17am lit up. She sighed and rolled over, turning her back to the windows and pulling the covers over her shoulder. She tried to go back to sleep but the dreadful dream, her worry about Sam, and the thunderstorm raging outside made it impossible.

It was 6:45am when Spencer came out of his bedroom and saw Carly in the kitchen already dressed for the day and pouring herself some coffee into a to-go thermos. "Hey, kiddo. You're up early," Spencer greeted.

"I…couldn't sleep," Carly said in a serious tone not looking her brother in the eye. She hadn't been able to go back to sleep after she'd woken up from that intense dream that seemed all too real. After tossing and turning for a few hours, she decided to get up and shower. "Visiting hours at the hospital start at 7am. I want to get over there and see Sam as soon as possible."

"Did you sleep at all?" he asked her with worry in his voice.

"I think I got about three hours," she answered honestly and he sighed at that.

"Well, did you eat breakfast yet?" Spencer asked her in concern. "I could make you something." He knew she hadn't been eating or sleeping all that much lately.

"No," Carly replied, "but I'm good with coffee." She wasn't hungry at all. Too nervous to eat. And a bit too nervous for caffeine but she knew she needed it from having so little sleep.

"Well, let me get dressed and I'll drive you over there," Spencer offered.

"I already called a cab," Carly replied, finally meeting his eyes after screwing the top on her thermos. Spencer could see just how tired she really was and his heart gave a pang. "It should be out front any minute."

Spencer sighed again, "Well, promise me you'll go to school after you visit with Sam?"

"Sure, Spencer," she angrily replied a bit sarcastically, "I'll be sure to go to school because we all know that's the most important thing right now, for me to go to a stupid building and NOT pay attention to boring teachers drone on and on because I'm too worried about Sam to even listen to any of them!" She'd raised her voice near the end and sounded irritated and frustrated.

Spencer just stared at her, his face a mixture of surprise and compassion. He knew how she felt, to an extent. They were all worried about Sam but none of them could really comprehend how upset she had been. This was her soulmate lying in a hospital bed fighting for his life. Not just a friend or sibling figure, or even a foster son. This was her Sam. The most important person in her life. She sighed when she realized how harsh she'd sounded. "Spence…I'm…sorry. I just-"

"It's okay," Spencer cut in, "I understand. I know you want to be with Sam. I just don't want you to fall behind in school and…it might be a good distraction. I know it seems ridiculous to try to focus on anything else but him right now but…"

"I promise I'll go to school," Carly said trying to put him at ease, "but…will you go sit with him for a while today? Mrs. Benson has to work most of the day and Freddie, Wendy, and I will all be at school. I just don't want him to be alone if…when he wakes up."

"Of course," Spencer replied, "I was planning to anyway."

"Thanks," she said as she gave him a hug. She then crossed into the living room, grabbed her backpack and left.

Carly hurried through the hospital hallways towards Sam's room. She was anxious to find out about his current condition. Would he be better? Worse? The same? When she entered his room, she found him just as he was the previous night. Breathing a sigh of relief at the sight of him still alive and the comforting sounds of the machines keeping him stable, she approached his bed. She noted that his coloring appeared to be a little better than last night. That was a good sign. She brushed the hair off of his brow and kissed his forehead lovingly. Then she sat in the chair next to his bed and held his hand. He still had dark circles under his eyes but he wasn't quite as pale as he had been. Just then a nurse came in to check his vitals and to change out his IV bag.

"How is he?" Carly asked hesitantly.

"Mmm, about the same throughout the night. Not much of a change," the nurse replied.

"Has he woken up at all?"

"Not yet," the nurse answered, "but he needs as much rest as possible. It's going to take a long while for his body to manufacture the rest of the blood that was lost. He's going to be pretty tired and weak during that time. Especially since he's fighting off the pneumonia and healing from the gunshot wound."

"Can't we just get his brother to donate blood again?" Carly asked hopefully.

"Unfortunately, a person can only donate once every 56 days," she replied. "And his brother donated the maximum amount allowed in one donation. But by then, Sam's body will have generated most of the lost blood on its own."

Carly looked crestfallen but then asked, "How long after a transfusion can you tell if his body will reject the blood or not?"

"A person can have a reaction to the transfusion from anywhere between one day and four weeks. It all just depends. But we'll keep an eye on him and look for the usual symptoms for that."

"Which are?"

"Usually nausea, fever, chills, hives, and itching. Those are the mild symptoms. A more serious reaction could cause damage to the kidneys, respiratory distress, chest and lower back pain, high fever, low blood pressure, and hemoglobinuria."

"What is that?

"Red urine," the nurse explained and Carly looked ill at all this. "Don't worry. We don't expect there to be any complications since the blood was compatible. There can still be a small chance of reactions even from compatible blood but it's not likely."

The nurse left after finishing her routine checks for Sam, and Carly went back to silently staring at his handsome face. She wasn't sure if what the nurse had told her made her feel better or worse. She continued to sit with him until it was time for her to leave to go to school. She stood, leaned over him, and pressed her cheek against his. Then she whispered into his ear, "Sam, I have to go now. But I'll be back after school. I love you so much." And then she kissed his forehead again. She gazed longingly at his beautiful face hoping to see some sign that he had heard her but there was nothing. She started to leave but stopped at the doorway and turned back to look at him one more time. Giving one last heavy sigh, she finally exited the hospital and headed to school.

"How was he this morning?" Freddie asked as he bit into his sandwich. It was lunchtime and Carly, Freddie, and Wendy were all sitting together.

"The nurse said there hadn't been much change throughout the night and he hadn't woken up yet but his coloring looked a little bit better to me," Carly answered.

"That's good," Freddie replied, "right?"

"I think so," Carly muttered softly.

"At least his brother donated the blood he needed," Wendy put in. "I didn't think he would. Mel seems so…enraged. I mean, I know I don't know him that well but he just seems like the self-centered type. But I guess he must care about Sam to do that for him."

"What I don't get is why Mr. Puckett favored Mel all these years," Freddie wondered. "I mean, Sam is the nice one, apparently."

"Maybe that's why," Carly replied. "Mr. Puckett probably favors Mel more because he's just like him. He probably sees Sam's sweet side as a weakness or something."

"What a messed-up family," Freddie voiced, taking another bite of his sandwich.

"Tell me about it," Carly agreed.

"How did Sam get to be so sweet coming from a family like that?" Wendy wanted to know. "I mean, yeah, he's done illegal things but he's nothing like his family. He's sweet and funny and respectful to women…"

"I think it was because he met a sweet girl when he was little who befriended him and took care of him all these years," Freddie answered, smiling at Carly. The brunette gave a small smile in return.

"But Sam was always sweet and nice to me, even the first day we met," Carly input, "well, after he tried to steal my tuna sandwich and I took it back, that is."

"Well, that's because he had a crush on you from the start, ever since you ended up sharing that sandwich with him," Freddie replied.

Carly looked surprised at this, "What?"

Freddie gulped down his food and looked back at her like he'd accidentally let a secret slip out. "Uh,…you didn't know that?" he asked in shock. Carly shook her head 'no' and Freddie added, "He, uh, once told me that. That he's been in love with you since you first met."

Carly's heart felt like it was melting. "But we were only eight years old," she reminded him, a blush spreading across her face at this information.

"Yeah, but that's what he said," Freddie replied. "That he'd had feelings for you ever since that day."

A silence settled across the table as they went back to eating their lunch. Freddie tried to hide his smile at thinking about his friends. He didn't want Carly and Wendy to know he was such a sap. Could anything in the history of the world be any sweeter than that? he thought. And Wendy had a hard time not falling in love with Sam all over again at that story. She'd heard the tuna fish sandwich story before but hadn't known about Sam's feelings.

Carly felt a strong emotion bubbling up in her chest and her eyes began to water, but in a good way. She had no idea that Sam had felt that way for so long; for as long as they'd known each other. She remembered standing up to Sam that day and taking her sandwich back and Sam had seemed impressed with her for that. Then she'd surprised him by generously sharing the sandwich anyway. She was probably the first person to have ever shown him genuine kindness. The emotion bubbling up and spreading throughout her was love, pure and simple. She wanted to throw herself into Sam's loving arms and never be separated from him ever again. She wanted to kiss him so fiercely and tell him how much she loved him and make sure he never doubted it again.

But she couldn't. Not yet. She accidentally sniffled and her two friends looked up at her. She wiped the tears away that had slipped down her cheeks. "I'm okay," she said with a smile, "these are happy tears. For once." Freddie and Wendy smiled warmly at her.

Sam walked through the halls of Bushwell Plaza. He was desperate to see Carly. He was so glad to be out of the hospital. He stopped. Wait, he thought confused. I can't remember actually being let out of the hospital. He recalled that horrible vision he'd had about seeing Carly at his gravesite and then he remembered waking up in the hospital just before they put him under. Am I still under the anesthesia? he wondered. Or is this real? Maybe I'm dreaming. He looked down at his hands and saw that they didn't seem see-through at all. This is real, right?

He walked down the hall a ways and when he turned the corner, he saw Lewbert putting change into a vending machine. "Hey, Lewb," Sam called out to him but the grumpy doorman didn't seem to hear him. "Lewbert!" he yelled at him. The unkempt man just ignored him as he pulled his snack out of the vending machine. "Oh, no," Sam mumbled. "I'm not dead, am I?"

He strolled up to Lewbert and tried to slap him across his face but his hand went right through the doorman, much to Sam's surprise. "Oh, shit!" Sam cried out in alarm. "I'm dead!" He turned and ran down the hall to Carly's apartment but before he went through the door, he noticed that the Bensons' front door was wide open. He stepped inside their apartment to find it empty. All the furniture had been removed. "What the hell is going on?" Sam said out loud. He walked through the rest of the apartment to find it completely void of everything. He checked all the rooms. It was totally empty. All his things were gone. Freddie's room was completely empty. "No," Sam mumbled in fear. After checking the rest of the apartment and not finding any people, furniture, or personal effects, he ran back out into the hallway.

"This is too disturbing," he muttered. Then he walked through the Shays' front door. As in, he walked right through the solid wooden CLOSED door like a ghost would. He gasped after he realized what he'd done. "No, I can't be dead! I woke up at the hospital. They were going to do surgery on me," Sam voiced out loud. "Maybe I didn't make it through the operation." Terror filled him. He gazed around the Shay apartment and everything seemed as it should. The furniture was all there, along with Spencer's crazy sculptures.

"Well, everything here seems normal," Sam said, "did the Bensons move out?" He walked to the center of the living room and called out, "Hello? Can anybody hear me?!" But it was dead silent. He ran up the stairs and entered Carly's bedroom but nobody seemed to be home. Her bedroom seemed totally normal. "At least there aren't any signs of them moving," he muttered. Only then did he notice the sound of the water running from the bathroom. He crossed the room and walked through the closed bathroom door and saw Carly laying in a bubble bath, the suds coming up to her shoulders.

Sam gave a sigh of relief at seeing her but he quickly realized something was off. Her face was filled with sadness. Her eyes were puffy and red rimmed and tears were streaming down her cheeks. She reached over and shut off the water and then grabbed the razor blade from the side of the tub. "No," Sam mumbled in shock, his eyes wide. "No! Carly, look at me!" He approached the tub and tried to grab the razor out of her hand but his fingers went right through hers. "No!" he shouted in terror, but she couldn't see or hear him.

"Sam," she whispered sadly, her lower lip trembling. "I'm sorry. I can't be without you."

Sam was crying desperately now, tears streaming down his face. There was nothing he could do. "Carls, please don't do this! I love you! I'm not dead! I'm still here!"

She raised the blade and held it up to her wrist. Sam tried one last time to grab the blade but it was futile. He shouted in her face to stop, begging and pleading with her not to do it. She sliced and blood ran. "NOOO!" Sam yelled in anguish. "Goddamn it!"

Carly gritted her teeth as she opened her other wrist and more tears streamed down her beautiful face. The bathwater was quickly turning red. Sam just sobbed out loud harder than he'd ever cried in his life. He wanted to wrap her wrists in towels or call for help or just hold her. But he couldn't do anything but bawl out loud as he dropped to his knees and stared at her face. "Cupcake!" he whispered inconsolably as if he were in agony and were dying. He saw her eyes flutter closed and her head slumped to the side. Her face was just inches from the surface of the water.

"Carly, I'm home!" Spencer called out from the first floor. "You here?"

"Spencer!" Sam shouted out. He knew the Shay sibling wouldn't be able to hear him but he called out anyway.

Spencer came up the stairs and entered Carly's bedroom to find it empty. He then walked over to the bathroom door and knocked. "You in there, kiddo?" When he didn't hear anything he turned the doorknob and opened it. His face fell in shock and fear when he saw his baby sister lying motionless in the red water. "Oh, no! Oh, God, NO!" Spencer cried out as he grabbed Carly's wrists and pulled them out of the water. "NOOO!"

"Spencer, do something!" Sam yelled at him.

Spencer grabbed her face and patted it, trying to wake her. "Come on, Carly!" He then grabbed a towel and tightly wrapped one of her wrists with it. Then did the same for her other wrist with another towel. Then he pulled out his cell from his pocket with shaky hands and dialed 911. Sam didn't pay attention to what he was saying over the phone to the dispatcher. All he could do was stare at Carly and cry. Spencer finally got off the phone and pulled his sister out of the tub and laid her down on the bathroom floor. He covered her with a large towel and then, after checking her pulse, he began CPR.

"Come on, kiddo! I can't lose you too!" Spencer cried as he continued to do chest compressions, tears streaming down his face. He continued to administer CPR for the next several minutes but it was apparent that she was already gone. Spencer was crying uncontrollably. He finally stopped and just pulled his little sister up to his chest and hugged her as he sobbed hysterically. Sam was crying too. But even in his brokenhearted state, something had occurred to him. If he was dead, why couldn't he see Carly's spirit? Where was she? She took her life so they could be together. So, where was she?

He looked all around. He couldn't see her. "Carly?" he called out. "Where's Carly? Where is she? Where are you?! Carly! Carly!"

"Carly," Sam mumbled as he began to awaken in the hospital bed. "Carly…"

The beautiful brunette was sitting by his bedside and she looked up at his face when she thought she heard his voice. It was muffled due to the oxygen mask he was wearing. She noticed that his eyes were still closed but then she heard it again. "Carly."

"You're awake!" Carly softly exclaimed. She stood over him and caressed his cheek. "Sam?"

His eyes finally fluttered open and they looked bloodshot, exhausted, and confused but then they finally met hers as she exhaled in extreme relief and smiled warmly at him. They both stared at each other as the relief rushed in for both of them. Sam's eyes began to tear up at the sight of her and he smiled slightly. Carly had been longing to see his beautiful blue eyes for so long and the sight of them, along with knowing he was awake, filled her with a profound relief that she didn't even know she'd needed. "Cupcake!" he groggily exclaimed as his tears slipped down his face.

Carly smiled even wider in content, and happy tears streamed down her cheeks. Sam realized that the last few minutes he'd experienced had been a horrible, awful, terrible dream. Never in his life, did he feel more relieved to see his Cupcake than at that moment. He glanced around and noted that he was in the hospital and no one else was in the room at the moment. He tried to sit up but he immediately winced in pain.

"No, don't try to move," she gently commanded him, lightly placing a hand on his chest to keep him laying down.

"Carls, I…thought…you…" Sam mumbled incoherently.

"Shhh, don't try to talk," Carly instructed. "No, leave that on," she said when Sam had reached up to try to remove his oxygen mask. "You need the oxygen. You also have pneumonia in addition to the gunshot wound." Sam finally calmed and then squeezed his eyes shut in pain as he tried to take a deep breath.

Carly caressed his cheek and said, "I should go tell someone that you're awake." But Sam grabbed her arm as she turned, about to leave. She stopped and looked back at him. He gently grabbed her hand and pulled it up to his chest, holding her palm to his heart and interlacing their fingers. She smiled and just nodded. He wasn't quite ready for anyone else to be in the room with them. He just needed to look at her and be near her. He reached up with his other hand and caressed her cheek gently and she let her eyes flutter shut at the feeling that she'd missed so much over the past week. His thumb slowly glided against her cheekbone and she sighed in relief at his touch.

She opened her eyes and then she reached with her free hand and caressed his cheek as well. A hint of a smile spread across his lips again and he leaned his face into her touch. The two of them just stared intensely at each other as if it had been an eternity since they'd seen one another and as if they'd each gone through hell just to be with the other. They gazed into each other's eyes adoringly as they caressed each other's faces. They'd each thought that they would never see the other again and their relief was immense. Carly turned her face into his touch and kissed his palm as he continued to caress her cheek.

After lovingly gazing at each other in silence for several moments, Sam's eyelids drooped tiredly and Carly knew he was probably on the verge of drifting off again. "I love you," she softly whispered and he smiled and tried to return the sentiment but it was muffled due to the oxygen mask. But Carly knew what he'd said.

She then heard him murmur a soft, "Cupcake," as he blinked tiredly. But he looked as if he were desperately trying to stay awake.

"It's okay," Carly replied softly, leaning over and kissing his forehead, "you can sleep. You're going to be okay. I'll still be here when you wake up. Everything's going to be okay now." She sounded as if she were trying to reassure herself as well.

She ran her fingers through his hair, brushing his bangs off his brow and he let his eyes flutter closed at the feeling. He finally felt safe. He knew Carly was alive and well. He could sleep peacefully now. Freddie came in the room at that moment sipping a peppy cola and he stopped abruptly when he saw them.

"He's awake?!" Freddie asked excitedly.

Carly turned to him, "He was for just a few moments. But he drifted back off. I was able to talk to him very briefly but he looked so tired."

Freddie approached them and stared at Sam's face, feeling a bit sad that he hadn't been in the room when Sam woke up, but feeling relived that he'd woken up at all.

"What'd he say?" Freddie asked curiously.

"Not a lot," Carly replied, "just my name and 'Cupcake' and 'I love you'".

"Did he seem…okay?" Freddie asked hopefully, "did he seem like he's going to come out of this alright?" Freddie had been trying to hide it over the past couple days but he had been seriously worried about his foster brother.

"I don't know, Freddie," Carly replied, "but just seeing his beautiful blue eyes was enough. I feel like he's going to be okay now. And he seemed…relieved to see me. I could tell he was trying to stay awake but he looked so tired."

Freddie gave a heavy sigh of relief and sat down in the other chair on the opposite side of Sam's bed, sipping his peppy cola. They'd both gone to the hospital together after school and had sat with Sam while they did their homework. Wendy had spent some time with them but then had to leave after about an hour. Mrs. Benson had been able to briefly visit with Sam on her lunch break but she was working a double shift so she wouldn't be able to see him the rest of the day.

Carly had relieved Spencer of his duty of watching over Sam when they had gotten there after school. He'd sat with Sam for several hours throughout the day and Carly had told him to return home when she'd arrived. It was now early evening. After staring at Sam's beautiful face adoringly for several more minutes, Carly finally sat back down in her chair and held his hand, stroking her thumb over his knuckles.

"It's just my luck that he'd wake up the second I leave to go get a drink," Freddie said, his voice sounding jealous.

Carly smiled at him and said, "Maybe he'll wake up again before we have to leave."

They sat with him in silence for a while and then Kevin entered the room. "Hey," he quietly greeted them.

"Hi," Carly said and began to stand but Kevin waved her off.

"No, you don't have to get up," he said and Carly got settled back in her seat. "I just wanted to stop in after my shift at work and see how he was doing. Any progress?"

"He woke up a little while ago but then fell back asleep after a few minutes," Carly explained.

Kevin just nodded as he stared at Sam's face. He noted how sickly pale and drained the blond teen looked. Just then, six-year-old Carolyn ran into the room and stopped when she saw Sam lying unconscious in the hospital bed. She then ran up to her daddy and wrapped her arms around his leg in a hug. She looked shy and scared. Julie quickly followed her into the room.

Kevin turned to his wife and gently said, "I told you I didn't want her to see him like this."

"I know," Julie replied. "I'm sorry. She just really wanted to see Sam and she ran off in the direction you went." She looked around the room at everyone and said, "Hi, I'm Julie, Kevin's wife. This is our daughter, Carolyn." Carly stood up and shook her hand when the blond woman approached her. "You must be Carly."

"I am," the brunette said a bit stunned, "how did you know?"

Julie smiled and said, "I recognize you from Sam's drawings. He talked about you so affectionately. I could tell he really cares about you and missed you."

Carly blushed at the number of people who seemed to know her before she'd even met them; all of them through Sam in some way. Little Carolyn yanked on her mother's blouse and the woman leaned down to her daughter as the six-year-old whispered something into her ear. Julie smiled and stood back up.

"You're right," Julie stated to her daughter, "she's even prettier in person."

Carly blushed even redder. Then little Carolyn whispered up to her dad, "Can I see him?"

Kevin smiled and simply picked his daughter up and held her so she could see Sam better. The little girl was quiet and had a sad look on her face as she stared at Sam. Carly felt her heart swell at the sight of these people whom Sam had made an impact on. Especially the adorable little girl who seemed so concerned about him. They'd only known Sam for a few days and yet, they already cared about him tremendously.

"Is Sam going to be alright?" little Carolyn mumbled sadly with a frown. She looked scared, like she was worried about Sam.

"Yes," Carly answered confidently and sweetly to the little girl. "He's going to be fine. He's just sleeping right now. It will take him awhile to get better but he'll be okay."

Right then, Mel entered the hospital room. He paused in the doorway when he saw all the people. Carolyn gasped when she saw him, not expecting to see someone who looked just like Sam.

"Um, everyone, this is Mel. Sam's twin brother," Carly announced.

"Hi, I'm Kevin," the tall man greeted. "This is my wife, Julie and my daughter, Carolyn. It's nice to meet you. We're all grateful to you for donating your blood to Sam."

"Hi," was all Mel said, his hand still gripping the door handle. His expression was blank and he seemed as if he didn't know what to say. Silence filled the room for several awkward moments and then Mel added, "I'll come back later." And then he began to leave.

"No, wait," Carly called after him. "You don't have to go." But Mel didn't say anything as he left the room, letting the door shut behind him. Carly sighed.

Kevin and his family stayed and visited for another 45 minutes and then left for the evening. Carly and Freddie stayed a little longer after that. Freddie had been hoping Sam would wake up again while he was there but the blond stayed asleep the whole time. Around 6pm, Spencer called Carly and told her that dinner would be ready in a few minutes and to come home for the night. Visiting hours would be ending soon anyway. She and Freddie said goodbye to the unconscious Sam, letting him know that they would return the next day, and then they decided to head home.

As they exited the hospital, Carly caught sight of Mel standing a few feet away from the entrance smoking a cigarette. She was surprised he'd waited here so long for everyone to leave so he could visit with Sam. She approached him guardedly. Freddie hung back a few feet to give them some privacy.

"You know, you didn't have to leave," Carly said softly once she was only a couple feet away. "He's your brother. You have every right to be in there."

Mel blew smoke out of his lips and then replied, "Seemed a bit crowded."

"I wanted to thank you for donating your blood to save Sam," Carly added in an appreciative tone.

"It was no big deal," Mel muttered nonchalantly.

"Yes, it was," Carly countered. "It was a very big deal. He may not have made it through the night without it." They stared each other in the eyes pensively for several quiet moments and then Mel took another drag off his cigarette.

"You know," Mel began after exhaling the smoke, "Sam would talk about you all the time whenever he and my mom came to visit me in juvie. You were pretty much all he talked about. I felt…jealous." Carly looked surprised at this admission. "But it took me awhile to figure out that I wasn't just jealous of him. I was jealous of you," he went on and Carly scrunched her eyebrows together in confusion. "Yeah, I was jealous that he wasn't stuck in juvie like I was and that he had a girlfriend. But I was also jealous that you got spend all this time with him, while I was left in that hellhole. He was sharing his life with this completely other person and each time he came to visit, it just felt like…we were drifting further and further apart."

"I didn't think you got along with Sam when you were younger," Carly pointed out.

"I mean, sure, we fought like brothers do, but…we were brothers. We should have grown up together. We were supposed to grow up together," Mel said and he sounded resentful at that. "Then after my mom ran off, Sam never came back to visit. I guess he had someone more important to spend all his time with."

"Yeah, and he was busy fighting off his dad," Carly put in angrily. "Your dad! Your alcoholic, abusive father who hit Sam all the time! Who put him in the hospital!"

"Look, I know my father's an asshole but-"

"But what?!" Carly cut him off, growing even angrier. "Are you gonna tell me he's just misunderstood? That it's not his fault he's a child abuser?! After your mom left, he started beating Sam more and more because he was drunk all the time. He blamed Sam for your mother leaving. The abuse got so bad I was worried every time that Sam left to go home that that would be the last time I'd see him. And where were you? You were supposed to be looking out for your brother! But no! You were off in juvie for a crime that was completely your fault! So don't try to act like you're innocent in all of this. I was the only one Sam had on those nights when he would show up at my window beaten and bloody. You weren't there. You have no idea what he's been through!"

This rendered Mel speechless. After a few silent moments, he quietly replied, "I had no idea it was that bad."

"Well, it was," Carly said, trying to contain her anger. "The last time he beat Sam so severely that he was unconscious for a week. He ended up with a broken wrist and several broken ribs. Half of his face and body were horribly bruised and he still deals with the emotional trauma of it. So don't act like your father doesn't deserve to be in prison for what he did because if he were here right now, I'd have a hard time not beating the bastard myself!"

Mel raised an eyebrow at her in surprise. He secretly admired Carly's fierceness and loyalty. He wished he had someone that was so protective of him. Sam's lucky, he thought.

"Sam never mentioned how fiery you are," Mel said with admiration. This surprised Carly. Mel kept going back and forth between hating and liking her. "I'd like to see you go a few rounds with my father in a boxing ring. I'd put good money on you." Mel smirked at her and then took one last drag off his cigarette before dropping it on the sidewalk and stamping it out. "By the way, you're pretty cute when you're angry."

Then he silently walked past her and headed inside the hospital to visit with Sam, leaving Carly feeling perplexed. She walked back over to Freddie and just stood there silently.

"Well, that was, um…interesting," Freddie muttered.

Carly just glared at him and said, "Come on. Let's go eat some spaghetti tacos."

"Here, let me help you with that, Sam," Marissa said as she helped Sam take a sip of water from the cup on his bedside table. He'd been allowed to remove his oxygen mask while he ate meals.

It was two days later. Sam had been in and out of consciousness during that time. But he was mostly out and when he was awake, he'd been too groggy to talk. The meds he'd been put on made him sleepy most of time. He was slowly getting better but he still felt terrible whenever he was awake. Carly had visited him as much as she could over the past two days and had been able to converse with him only briefly.

Sam coughed a few times and then took another sip of water. Then he laid his head back down on his pillow. It hurt his wound every time he coughed but it was unavoidable due to the pneumonia. His coloring had been slowly getting better and the dark circles under his eyes didn't look quite as scary anymore. It was lunch time on Saturday and Carly had just left with Spencer to go get a quick lunch. Freddie sat in the chair to Sam's left, while Mrs. Benson was hovering over Sam's right side. She batted at the cluster of balloons that were floating above Sam's bed and pulled them over into the corner of the room.

"Why did Spencer have to get the largest set of balloons they had in the gift shop?" she asked in annoyance. Freddie quietly chuckled as Sam glared at him as if his eyes were saying, 'I can't believe this irritating woman is going to be taking care of me'.

The tech producer had been so happy to see Sam open his eyes for the first time. A muffled, "Fred-bag," was all he'd said before he fell back asleep again. That had been yesterday. None of them had had a full conversation with the blond teen yet. Sam had mostly just listened when the doctor came in and explained everything that had happened once he had arrived at the hospital. The doctor had told Sam about him dying briefly before being revived and how he'd woken up and grabbed the nurse's shirt collar, asking about Carly.

The physician had also informed Sam about his surgery and blood loss, as well as the pneumonia. But before he could tell Sam about Mel donating his blood to save him, Marissa had pulled the doctor aside and informed him about Sam's relationship with his twin and asked if they could tell him about Mel's arrival a little later when Sam was feeling better. The doctor consented and had just ended up telling Sam that he'd gotten an anonymous blood donor at the last minute. He also let Sam know that, due to the likelihood of them not getting another donation of blood, that Sam's body would have to generate the blood on its own over time. And that he would be tired and weak. But that was already expected because of his pneumonia. Dr. Hannigan went on to explain to Sam about his recovery and his likely outcome, telling him what would be expected once he would finally be able to go home.

Wendy and Gibby had also come to visit Sam the previous day after school and were able to see him briefly while he was awake but the handsome blond hadn't been able to say much to them.

Mrs. Benson sat back down in her chair and continued to spoon feed Sam the rest of his cherry Jell-O. He'd had to choke down the disgusting hospital food but at least the Jell-O was good and one of his favorite flavors. After he finished his dessert, Sam muttered, "Alright Fredalupe, I need to you help me into the bathroom again."

Freddie smiled and then stood up to help Sam stand and then he slowly walked him (and wheeled his IV pole with him) into the private bathroom that was connected to his hospital room. After Freddie had helped Sam into the bathroom, he left the lavatory and pulled the door closed behind him. Sam leaned against the sink and looked at himself in the mirror. Jesus! I've seen better days, he thought as he gazed at his sickly reflection. He felt drained, exhausted and weak. Worse than the last time he'd woken up in a hospital. It was exhausting just walking the short stretch to the bathroom. His wound hurt terribly and it was even worse when he moved or coughed but he was assured by his nurses that it was "healing nicely." It didn't hurt as bad whenever his pain meds kicked in but he usually slept during that time because they (combined with the antibiotics) made him drowsy.

Sam quickly urinated and then washed his hands. He finally opened the bathroom door and saw Freddie waiting for him to help him back across the room to his bed. Once Sam was settled under his covers, a coughing fit hit him and he covered his mouth until it passed. Mrs. Benson then sprayed his hands with hand sanitizer and she also gave him a lozenge to help soothe his cough. Luckily, the doctor had informed them that since Sam had been on antibiotics for over two days, he was no longer contagious so none of them had to worry about catching his pneumonia. Although, only the Bensons had been in the room at the time and Sam had been asleep when the doctor told them this little bit of useful information.

Sam put his nasal cannula back in place. They had switched him from the oxygen mask to the nasal tube once he had woken up so that he could speak easier. Freddie flipped through the muted TV in search of something to watch but there were only five channels and none of them had anything interesting. A few minutes later, Carly and Spencer returned and when Sam caught her eye, the two of them smiled and stared lovingly at one another. Freddie saw the looks they were giving each other and suggested to his mother that they go grab some lunch.

"Alright, Sam, Freddie and I are going to grab a quick lunch," Marissa said, "we'll be back in a little while." Then Mrs. Benson surprised Sam by kissing him on the forehead. The gesture had involuntarily made him flinch since it had been a long while since his own mother had done that. And Carly was the only one who ever kissed him anywhere.

After the Bensons left, Carly and Sam eyed Spencer for a few seconds before the tall artist caught on to the fact that they wanted some alone time.

"I think I'll go take a lap around the hospital. See what else they have at the gift shop," Spencer muttered and then quickly left to give them some privacy. Carly approached Sam and kissed the top of his head.

"How are you feeling?" she asked as she took a seat in the chair next to his bed and grabbed his hand.

"Better, now that you're here," Sam replied and stroked his thumb over her hand.

Carly blushed and smiled at him, "I'm so glad you're doing better. We were all so worried. I…thought I might lose you all over again. And right after we got you back." Her features turned sad.

"Hey, it takes more than a bullet and a lung infection to wipe out Sam Puckett," he said with a grin, trying to make her smile. And she did, but a tear also slipped down her cheek and she quickly wiped it away.

"You read our letters?" Carly asked and Sam nodded. "So, you know that Mrs. Benson has no intention of sending you away again, right?"

"Yeah," Sam replied but sounded unsure.

"And she said we could be together and wouldn't interfere in our relationship," Carly went on, looking him in the eye. "So, there's no reason for you to worry or to…run away again." She'd been scared that Sam might still intend to leave after he got well.

"Carls," Sam started in a low voice, "I don't plan on going anywhere. After I read your letters, I had every intention of coming home that night. I just ended up getting shot before that could happen." Carly sighed, feeling more at ease. "And while I know that Mrs. Benson no longer wants to send me away, I still don't feel welcome at their apartment."

"They care about you, Sam," Carly cut in abruptly. "We all do. They want you back in their lives."

"I know," Sam replied. "But I don't think I can ever truly feel comfortable there or fully trust them. Or anyone, for that matter. Except you."

Carly sighed again. She supposed she could understand where he was coming from but she felt sad that Sam couldn't trust anyone or feel content in the place that was meant to be his home.

"Have you talked to them at all?" she asked. "The Bensons. I mean, really talked?"

"No," Sam mumbled honestly. "I kinda don't know what to say. It's still…awkward."

"Have they talked to you yet?" Carly asked.

"Nothing significant," Sam answered. "Just the usual small talk after one wakes up in the hospital. I'm still not convinced Mrs. Benson isn't planning to send me to juvie until I hear it come directly out of her mouth. I feel like one small slipup and she could send me packing."

"She won't do that," Carly tried to reassure him. "She was devastated when she got that phone call that you had been shot and died on the way to the hospital. We all were. I'd never seen her that upset before."

They sat in silence for a few moments, Sam mulling over what Carly had said. He hoped he could eventually trust Mrs. Benson but he felt like his future was still up in the air.

Carly took a deep breath and then hesitantly said, "While we're on the subject of trust, there's something I need to tell you." She wasn't sure how Sam was going to take this news. "There's no easy way to say this so I'll just say it. First…your brother, Mel, is back. He got out of juvie a few days ago." She paused to let this information sink in.

Sam sat there quietly, contemplating what this meant. His brother was back. He wasn't sure how he felt about this. He'd never really gotten along with Mel. His brother could be controlling and self-centered. And violent, if pushed even just an inch in the wrong direction. He was unpredictable and impulsive. He hadn't seen his brother in at least two years and wasn't sure how he would react for their first meeting.

Carly finally went on after giving Sam a few moments and he hadn't said anything. "He sorta showed up in front of school one morning, looking for you. He'd mentioned that he had been placed in a group home when he got out of juvie. We told him about you running away and that we had been looking for you. It was later that evening when we found out you had been shot."

"I wonder what he wants," Sam pondered out loud. "It's not like he would be trying to get a family reunion going."

"He just said that he was looking for you. That you were the only family he had since your mom left and your dad's in prison."

"Him being back can't be a good thing," Sam replied.

"Well…he's the one that donated the blood to save your life," Carly finally said.

"Oh, great," Sam said, sounding concerned and annoyed.

"What?" Carly asked curiously.

"If Mel did that, he'll be expecting something in return. He never does anything out of the goodness of his heart. I wonder what his angle is."

"Are you sure?" Carly asked. "Maybe he's changed since the last time you've seen him. He seemed…concerned about you after I told him you were in the hospital."

"Trust me, nothing good can come from Mel being around," Sam replied.

"There's something else I have to tell you," Carly began, sounding nervous. She wasn't sure how Sam would feel about her accidentally kissing his brother.

She took a deep breath and began. "I…"

"Good afternoon!" Dr. Hannigan greeted as he entered the room, cutting Carly off. "How are you feeling today, Sam?"

"A little better than yesterday, I guess," the blond teen replied. "But still really tired."

"That's to be expected," the doctor explained as he listened to Sam's lungs through his stethoscope. "It's a combination of the meds you're on and your condition. You're going to be pretty tired for a long while, even after you're off the antibiotics and the pain meds."

"How long do you think it will be before I'm well?" Sam asked.

"Well, it all depends," the doctor answered, "for your gunshot wound, in most cases, they heal in about ten to fourteen days for your specific type of injury as long as no other problems occur. Your pneumonia will probably take between one to two weeks to clear up. For some people, it takes up to a month or longer. Most people will still feel tired after a month even if all other symptoms have subsided."

Sam looked depressed at this and then asked, "How long before I can get out of here?"

"Well," Dr. Hannigan began, "as long as there are no other complications and you continue to show signs of improvement, you could probably be released in another two days. But we'll need to run some tests first to make sure your lab work looks good and I want to make sure your fever doesn't come back. But even after you're released, you're going to have to take it easy for the next few weeks. And I'm confident that I'll be leaving you in good hands since Mrs. Benson is a registered nurse." Sam simply nodded and the doctor went on, "On a scale of one to ten, how is your current pain level? With one being the lowest and ten being the absolute worst."

Sam's eyes shifted to Carly's briefly and then back up to the doctor's. He didn't want to worry Carly but he figured he should be honest with the doctor. "Uh…it's about a seven right now," Sam mumbled quietly. The doctor checked his records and then looked over Sam's IV bag and vitals.

"Well, it looks like you're due for another round of pain meds. I'll have the nurse come in and administer them shortly."

The doctor finished checking Sam out and then soon left the room. A silence fell over the two of them for several moments.

"Well, it seems I have a couple days to kill," Sam said with a grin, trying to break the ice.

"I don't mind keeping you company," Carly replied with a grin of her own as she took Sam's hand again and stroked his knuckles with her thumb. Then she remembered about Mel. "Oh, about Mel…I need to tell you-"

"Hello, Sam," the nurse came into the room and greeted him. "It's time for your next round of meds. I'm sorry but this will make you drowsy." She then changed out his IV bag and gave him his round of antibiotics and pain medicine.

"It's alright," Sam replied, "it's not like I'm driving anywhere." The nurse smiled at him as she checked his vitals. Satisfied at his pulse, blood pressure, blood oxygen level, and temperature, she finally left the room. "Now, where were we?" Sam asked.

"Mel," Carly replied.

"Right," Sam said, "so what did he do now?" As if on cue, Mel came through the door. "Speak of the devil," Sam mumbled as he stared at his twin. He'd grown quite a bit since the last time he'd seen him. Carly sighed heavily at being interrupted again.

"Sam," Mel greeted, "it's good to see you awake and…you know, alive. It's been a while."

"Yes, it has," was all Sam muttered in return. Another uncomfortable silence settled and Mel eyed Sam's hand in Carly's.

"Hope I'm not interrupting anything," Mel said with a grin.

"I was actually just talking to Sam about you," Carly replied.

"Oh, good, so you told him about the hot make-out session," Mel blurted out. Carly's eyes went wide and she looked like she was going to faint. She had been hoping to explain it to Sam in her own way before it could come out like it was some dirty little secret.

"What make-out session?" Sam asked, his eyes shifting over to Carly's nervous ones.

"Ours," Mel answered casually with a grin.

"Whose?" Sam asked sounding a bit angry now.

"Mine and Carly's," Mel replied.

"What?!" Sam nearly yelled. "Mel, what the hell are you talking about?!" Sam shouted out and then he looked over to Carly and saw the guilt and nervousness. "Carly?"

"It's not how it sounds," Carly finally spoke up after she was able to make her voice work and then she squeezed his hand.

"You kissed him?!" Sam asked with hurt and betrayal in his eyes, his eyebrows scrunched up in pain.

"Yes, but I thought he was you. I swear!" Carly answered, hoping Sam would believe her. Sam let go of her hand and Carly felt her heart drop. He rubbed his forehead with his fingers. His head suddenly hurt and he felt like he wanted to cry but he held back. "I was just about to tell you before Mel came in."

An uncomfortable silence settled in the room for several moments. "I should let you two talk," Mel said and then left the room with a smirk on his face.

"Sam, I swear, I thought I was kissing you. I saw him outside the school a few days ago and I was so relieved to see you that I just ran up to him and started kissing him without even giving a greeting. Then I felt him kissing me back and I was just so happy that you were alright and had returned. But then after I pulled away, I quickly realized he wasn't you. I'm so sorry, Sam. Please don't be angry with me. I would have never kissed him, had I realized. I just wasn't expecting to see your twin. I had been hoping to see you. You're the only one I want to be with!" She'd blurted the whole thing out in a hurry and wasn't sure what Sam was thinking. His eyes had lowered to his lap as she explained everything. "Sam?" she asked in fear. She was on the brink of tears. She knew she had hurt him and she hated herself for it.

He finally looked her in the eye and quietly muttered, "It's not your fault. Mel is always pulling this kind of thing. You thought he was me." He paused. He didn't blame Carly. He knew it hadn't been intentional but it still didn't hurt any less. Even a wound inflicted by accident still hurts. And he had always had a fear in the back of his head that someone would come along and take Carly away from him. The fact that his twin could possibly be that person just stung even worse. "I'm actually angrier at him for kissing you back than I am at you for kissing him," Sam went on.

"But…you are angry at me?" Carly asked timidly, her eyes brimming with unshed tears.

Sam opened his mouth to speak but was cut off by Spencer coming into the room. "Hey," the tall, lanky artist greeted. "I just saw Mel walking down the hall." Neither of them said anything and Spencer sensed the tension in the room. "Did I just miss something?"

They hadn't had a chance to talk after that. Sam's meds had kicked in and he had soon fallen asleep. The following day was a bust as well. The doctors were busy running all kinds of tests on Sam to see if he was well enough to be released in the next day or so. Carly had been hoping to get a chance to smooth things over with him but Sam had been poked and prodded all morning and into the afternoon. Blood and urine tests, along with an MRI of his chest. And having to wait what seemed like forever in between.

His blood and urine came back looking healthy, meaning his body had most likely accepted the blood transfusion and he probably wouldn't have a reaction to it. His MRI results were as expected. His pneumonia was slowly getting better thanks to the antibiotics. The doctors had also done x-rays on his wrist and determined that the bones were fully healed and that he could get his cast taken off. Which is what they were busy doing in the evening.

Sam was so relieved to finally get his cast off. He was looking forward to playing his guitar. He saved the outer shell of the cast with all the signatures and get-well sentiments from his friends, sending it home with Freddie at the end of the night. By the time visiting hours had ended, Carly had only been able to spend a few minutes with him, altogether. And they hadn't been alone for any of that time. Carly sighed heavily as she stared at the exterior of the hospital. Spencer started the car and drove them home.

The following day at school, Carly was sitting at their usual table with Freddie, eating lunch. Wendy had visited with them for awhile and then went over to sit with her other friends. I hate Mondays, Carly thought as she bit into her slice of pepperoni pizza. At least there's pizza. Pepperoni pizza, crinkle cut French fries, and a warm chocolate chip cookie. It was the best tasting lunch they had at their school. But it was usually a rarity. She'd had a hard time focusing on her classes since she'd messed things up with Sam. She'd told Freddie all about Mel's unfortunate visit at the worst possible timing. The tech producer noticed Carly's depressed state as he bit into one of his fries.

"I know Sam will forgive you," Freddie mumbled with his mouth full. "There's not really anything to forgive. You did nothing wrong."

"I know but it feels like I did," Carly replied sadly. "And even so, you didn't see the look on Sam's face. Whether he believes it was an accident or not, I hurt him really badly."

"You don't think he thought you were lying, do you?" Freddie asked. "About the kiss being an accident."

"No," Carly immediately replied and then fear shot through her at that thought, "I hope not!" Her eyes had gone wide. Sam told me he couldn't trust anyone. Except me. Oh, no! Does he still trust me? "You don't think Sam would actually think I'd want to leave him for Mel, do you?"

"No." He paused, a concerned look on his face. "I don't know," Freddie added as he thought it over, "I'd like to think he wouldn't but he said it himself that he and Mel never got along. Who knows what's gone on between them in the past. Mr. Puckett always favored Mel. What if Mrs. Puckett was the same way? What if it caused some deep-rooted insecurities in Sam when it comes to his brother?"

"Oh, God! I have to talk to him!" Carly said with worry. "Will you come with me right after school to go visit him?"

"Uh, actually…" Freddie trailed off looking nervous.

"What, Freddie?" Carly was worried now after seeing the look on his face.

"I wasn't supposed to tell you this but…my mom texted me during fourth period and…"

"What? You're freaking me out! Just tell me! Is something wrong with Sam?!"

"No. They released Sam from the hospital this morning. My mom checked him out and they're already at home."

"Oh," Carly replied, suddenly feeling relieved and excited that Sam was well enough to come home, "well, why didn't you just tell-"

"Because my mom didn't want me to tell you just yet…because she knew you would insist on going over to see him right away."

"You're damn right I am! What? Is she worried about us cutting school?"

"No, she…just wants to keep Sam under lock and key until he's better. She basically said she doesn't want him to have any contact from the outside world until his wound is fully healed and his pneumonia is completely cleared up."

"But that could take weeks!" Carly shouted at him. "Or longer!" Luckily, the rest of the cafeteria was loud with the chatter of all the other students so her yelling hadn't caught anyone's attention.

"I know," was all Freddie muttered sadly.

"Well, what about school?" Carly was grasping at straws, hoping Mrs. Benson would see that he couldn't miss that much school.

"She worked out a deal with Principal Franklin and his teachers. I'm supposed to bring home all his assignments and then return them when he's done with them. My mom said she might even hire a tutor if Sam needs one. He's basically homebound."

Carly felt all the color drain from her face. She just got Sam back. She couldn't go another month or so without him.

"Carly, would you wait up?!" Freddie called after his friend. It was later that afternoon and they were walking home from school. Or more like, Carly was sprinting home and Freddie was trying to keep up with her. She was chomping at the bit to see Sam. She didn't care if Mrs. Benson didn't want her to come over. She was determined to enter the Benson apartment as soon as Freddie unlocked his front door.

"Freddie, hurry up!" Carly hollered back to him.

"You know, it's not going to make a difference when we get there. He's not going anywhere," Freddie said as he finally caught up to Carly.

"Um, yes it will," Carly replied, "if we get there five minutes sooner, that's five more minutes I get to spend with Sam."

"You really think my mom is just going to let you in his room after what I told you?"

"Well, she might after she sees how much I want to see him."

"You mean, after you lay on the guilt and bring on the 'sad eyes?'" Freddie asked.

"Something like that," Carly replied with a smile.

They made it to Freddie's front door and Carly was basically hovering over him as he put his key in the lock. The second he opened the door however, they both came face to face with Mrs. Benson, making them halt immediately as she was blocking the doorway. She must have heard the tech producer putting the key in the lock.

"Freddie go on inside and start on your homework," the controlling woman commanded and she made just enough room for him to step around her. Freddie felt conflicted but quietly obeyed his mother. She immediately blocked the doorway again once he was inside.

"Mrs. Benson, may I see Sam please?" Carly asked politely, making sure to appear as innocent and concerned as possible. It didn't really require any acting at all on her part. She was concerned about Sam and the fact that it may be weeks before she could see him again.

"I'm sorry, Carly, but he's sleeping right now," Marissa answered.

"I promise not to wake him up," Carly replied, "I just want to see him. Please?" She had tears brimming her eyes now, desperate to see Sam.

"Carly…Sam is still very weak," the older woman explained. "He's going to need uninterrupted sleep and care for a long while to ensure he gets better. That means, no excitement and no possible introduction of new viruses or bacterial infections. And also…I don't want you or anyone else to catch his pneumonia. He's still very contagious. Now, I know I'll be taking a risk because I'll be taking care of him but I'm a nurse so I know what precautions to take. And Freddie will be staying away from him as much as possible as well."

"But-"

"I'm sorry, Carly," Marissa stated with finality. "This is for your own good. And for Sam's own good. He doesn't need to be exposed to anything new while his immune system is still so weak. I'll tell him you stopped by."

And with that, she shut the front door. Carly just remained out in the hallway, staring at the Bensons' door for several minutes before she finally went inside her own apartment.

Over in the Benson apartment, Freddie stood with his arms crossed, facing his mother. She turned away from the front door and when she saw the angry look on his face, she froze.

"'Still very contagious?'" Freddie asked as he repeated her own words back to her. "You know he hasn't been contagious for days now. The doctor said so. Is that what you also told Sam? To keep him from wanting to see Carly?"

"Freddie, I told you to go do your homework," his mother said as she crossed the living room and went into the kitchen to get started on dinner.

"You're still trying to keep them apart," Freddie pointed out, surprised that she would pull this after everything they'd been through trying to get Sam home.

"No, I'm not," Marissa stated angrily. "And I don't appreciate the accusation. I'm doing this for Sam. He needs to get well. Now, go do your homework."

Freddie finally retreated to his bedroom when he realized that arguing with his mother would get him nowhere. But he was angry at her for, once again, trying to interfere in his friends' relationship.

Later that evening, Marissa entered Sam's bedroom with a tray of food and set it down on his nightstand. She ruffled his hair and this made him stir. Sam opened his eyes and muttered, "Carly?" Then his eyes focused on Mrs. Benson and he blinked and rolled onto his back. Marissa's heart gave a guilty pang when he'd uttered Carly's name.

"I brought you some dinner," she said gently to him.

Sam sat up and got situated with his pillow behind his back as he leaned against the headboard. Then Marissa settled the food tray on his lab. Sam began to eat the hearty beef and vegetable soup. There were also bread rolls and lemonade. Marissa pulled up a chair and sat at his bedside as he ate. Things between them were still awkward.

"How are you feeling?" she asked.

"Tired," Sam mumbled with his mouth full.

"How's your pain level?" Marissa wanted to know.

"About a five," Sam answered, using the pain scale the doctor had been asking him over the past few days.

"I want you to eat as much as you're able to and then I'll give you your next round of meds."

Sam noted that the food was actually good, not like Mrs. Benson's normal cooking. Was she trying to apologize in her own way for driving him away? Was she trying to make life at their apartment more enjoyable so he wouldn't try to run away again? It made Sam wonder but he was just thankful for something delicious and filling. He knew she could be a decent chef if she just cooked like a normal person instead of trying to make everything overly healthy. He'd dug into the meal with fervor and he quickly finished it all. Marissa was glad to see that his appetite was almost normal and pleased to see that he enjoyed the meal based on how quickly he finished and the sounds he was making while wolfing it down. After he'd finished, he paused as he looked up at Mrs. Benson.

Sam had some broth smeared in the corner of his mouth and crumbs from the bread rolls on his lips. Marissa grinned at the adorableness of it and wiped his mouth with the napkin. Then she grabbed the pill bottles from the side of his bed and dumped out the appropriate amount to hand to Sam.

"Hey, uh…where's my phone?" the blond asked. "I want to check my messages and also check in with Carly."

Marissa paused as she handed over the pills to Sam and said, "Oh, I, uh, think I left it in my room somewhere. I'll look for it in a little while." She still hadn't given Sam his phone back from when she'd confiscated it.

"Well, can she come over for a visit?" Sam asked hopefully, taking the pills and downing them with some water. "I need to talk to her about a few things."

"Sam…" Mrs. Benson paused. "It's not a good idea for Carly, or anyone, to visit you right now."

"Why not?" Sam asked, now feeling worried.

"You need your rest," she replied, "you almost died. You did die. And you're still very weak. I don't want you overtaxing yourself. And…you're still contagious. I know how protective you are of Carly. You don't want her to catch your pneumonia, now do you?"

Sam thought about this. He definitely didn't want that. "No, I guess not."

"No, of course not," Marissa stated, hoping she'd gotten through to him, "I think it's best if she doesn't visit with you for at least a while. It's for her own good. And yours too. You don't need excitement. Just rest."

Sam looked sad at this. He felt that he would get better faster if his wonderful girlfriend were by his side. She lifted his spirits more than anything. But he nodded in understanding. He didn't want Carly to get sick. Or anyone else.

"Good," Marissa said after he'd made it clear he understood.

"Well, can I at least call her?" Sam asked. "I need to…tell her something important. We had a misunderstanding and I need to talk to her about it."

"I'll look for your phone, but in the meantime, get some rest," Marissa stated as she picked up Sam's food tray and carried it away. She left in a hurry and Sam got comfortable in his bed again.

Later that night, Carly laid in her bed staring at pictures of her and Sam on her phone. She tried to text him but hadn't gotten a reply. Either Mrs. Benson hadn't given him his phone back yet or he was asleep. Probably both. She sighed as she set her phone down on her nightstand and tried to get some sleep.

The following day at lunch, Carly and Freddie sat together and ate, as usual. "How's Sam doing?" Carly asked curiously.

"He's…well, I'm not sure exactly," Freddie replied, "my mom wouldn't let me into his room and I think he was sleeping most of the evening anyway. She went in to feed him his dinner and give him his meds and checked on him a few times. But I didn't hear them talking or anything."

Carly sighed, "I miss him so much!" She paused to wipe a tear away and then continued. "I know he's still contagious and I'm not supposed to see him but…can't you talk to you mom or something? I really need to talk to him. Can't you see if she'll at least give him his phone back?"

Freddie felt guilty. He hadn't told anyone yet that his mother had been lying. "Carly…" he paused for a moment, "Sam's not contagious. Anymore."

"What?" Carly asked bewildered.

"I overheard the doctor tell my mom that, once a person with pneumonia has been on antibiotics for two days, they're no longer contagious."

"But it's been almost a week!" Carly exclaimed, noting that he'd been brought into the hospital the previous Wednesday night and had started antibiotics right away. It was now the following Tuesday afternoon.

"I know," he said sadly, "my mom lied to you. And I'm pretty sure she's lying to Sam."

"But why?" Carly wanted to know.

"Well, she says it's for Sam's own good, for his recovery. But I think she's just trying to keep you two apart for as long as possible. She must still be worried that Sam'll knock you up or something. But then again, maybe it's because she's worried about his recovery. Ever since he showed up at the hospital, she's been cleaning the apartment like crazy. Sterilizing everything and washing his clothes and bedsheets. Like she was preparing for him to come home and wanted to make everything as clean and sanitary as possible. You know how neurotic she is when I'm sick. This is like ten times worse. Probably because of how close Sam came to death. Well…he actually did die. That's probably why she's gone into overprotective mama bear mode."

Carly took all this in. She couldn't believe Mrs. Benson had lied to her. And probably to Sam too. "Can you get me in to see Sam?" Carly asked with pleading eyes.

"I…don't know," Freddie stammered. "You know how she is."

"Please? I have to talk to him. I need to make sure he knows that the kiss with Mel was actually a mistake and that I would never leave him. For anyone. And…I just need to be near him." When Freddie didn't say anything for several moments, she added, "Please? You owe me." She gave him "the look."

She didn't need to say anything else. "Okay," Freddie replied remorsefully. He still felt guilty for driving Sam away in the first place because of that stupid, disturbing "Carly collage" that he'd made and never gotten rid of. Carly didn't know exactly how much he actually owed her. She didn't know about the "spank bank" but Sam did. "My mom has to work the evening shift at the hospital tonight," he went on, "she wants me to look after Sam and make sure he takes his meds. I'll text you when she leaves so you know when to come over."

Carly sighed in relief, "Thanks, Freddie."

"Freddie, I have to leave now," Marissa said to her son as she grabbed her purse, "I want you to give Sam his meds on time and get him anything he needs. But let him rest. And don't, under any circumstances, let Carly or anyone else over while I'm gone. You understand?"

"Yes, mom," Freddie answered sullenly.

She kissed him on the cheek and said, "Bye, sweetie. I'll be home a little after ten. There's leftover soup in the fridge for dinner."

"Bye, mom," Freddie replied and then she left. He breathed a sigh of relief and then pulled out his phone to text Carly but no sooner had his mom left, than he heard a knock at the front door.

He thought his mom had forgotten her keys or something but when he opened the door, he was greeted by Carly.

Freddie grinned, "You must have been watching out your peephole."

Carly grinned back, "Yeah, and? You're the biggest peeper on this hall."

"Touché," Freddie replied, closing the door after letting Carly in. She kicked off her shoes at the door, knowing about Mrs. Benson's rule. "He's probably asleep but go on in."

Carly went down the hall towards Sam's room as Freddie got settled on the living room couch. The brunette quietly opened Sam's bedroom door without knocking and closed it once inside.

She saw that Sam was asleep, laying on his right side, facing the windows. The late afternoon sun streamed in through the curtains. She approached his bedside and stared longingly at his handsome face. He looked so exhausted. She carefully slid under the covers, scooting up next to him. She laid facing Sam and wrapped her arm around him, pulling him close in an embrace, wrapping his arm around her, and tucking her head under his chin. She closed her eyes as she reveled in the wonderful feeling of being close to him. Finally. She was pressed up against his chest and could feel his warmth and his heart beating.

She'd been craving this for what seemed like an eternity. She kissed his chest through his shirt and then nuzzled her face into him. He felt so warm and comforting. She breathed him in, smelling the refreshing scent of bodywash and laundry detergent. Freddie had been right about Mrs. Benson going overboard on the cleaning. Sam must have showered recently too because he smelled incredible.

A few minutes passed and she felt herself slowly starting to drift off when she felt Sam stir in his sleep and his arms tightened around her. "Carly?" he asked in confusion. She pulled her head back to gaze at him and felt her heart melt a little at the sight of his beautiful blue eyes. She could stare into them forever. "What are you doing here?" he groggily asked in curiosity and then he remembered what Mrs. Benson had told him. "No, you're not supposed to be here. I could get you sick!" He suddenly sounded worried for her.

"Shhh, it's okay," Carly gently replied as she caressed his cheek. "You're not contagious. Mrs. Benson lied. Freddie heard the doctor tell her that you would no longer be contagious after you've been on antibiotics for two days."

Sam looked stunned, "She lied to me?"

Carly nodded, "To me too. I tried to get in to see you yesterday but she wouldn't budge. I even texted you last night but I guess she hasn't given your phone back yet."

Sam felt anger build up inside and Carly sensed this. Marissa lying to him just drove home the fact that Sam couldn't trust her. Carly gently pressed her lips against his and Sam felt his anger melting away. It had been far too long since they'd kissed. Their lips molded together perfectly and Sam closed his eyes as he kissed back. He'd missed her so much over the past couple weeks that his body physically ached to be near her. He caressed her cheek as they kissed and Carly moaned in pleasure and relief. She'd been longing for his touch. They continued to kiss for several tender moments and then pulled back for air.

Sam stared into her beautiful chocolate brown eyes, feeling the relief wash over him at finally being in the arms of the one he loved. They gazed at each other lovingly for a while and then Carly finally broke the silence. "Sam…I hope you know that when I kissed Mel, it was totally by accident and that I would never leave you for anyone. You're the only one I want to kiss. And I hope you're not still mad at me."

"Carls," he replied, "I was never mad at you. I was mad at him. And…hurt that it happened at all. But I didn't blame you. You did nothing wrong."

Carly breathed a sigh of relief at that and smiled. He smiled back as he caressed her face. She looked adorable as a blush spread across her cheeks. "God, I've missed you so much!" Sam said happily.

"Me too!" Carly replied just as overjoyed.

Their lips drew together like magnets and they kissed each other hungrily. They each savored the other's lips, as the fire between them built and they relished in their passion that radiated throughout them like waves. Sam ran his fingers through Carly's silky hair, enjoying the softness. Carly moaned as she felt him massaging the back of her head. Her hand slipped up underneath his shirt and she caressed his muscular chest. Then her fingers glided down to his abs and she accidentally grazed his bandage. Sam flinched and pulled away from the kiss as a hiss of pain escaped his lips and Carly immediately pulled her hand away.

"I'm sorry," she said remorsefully.

"It's alright," Sam replied and then, seeing the sad look on her face, he immediately drew her lips back in for another steamy kiss.

Carly relaxed again and cupped his face as Sam's fingers trailed down her arm and then slipped up underneath her top. He caressed the soft skin of her hip and then slid his hand around her back, pulling her closer. By now, the kiss had turned heated again and they were hungry for each other. Carly felt herself throbbing between her legs when she felt Sam firmly run his hand over the back of her jeans and caressed her backside. She moaned into the kiss as he pulled her closer to him. After a few scorching minutes of passionate kissing, Sam felt Carly gently rolling him onto his back and she reached her hand lower.

Their lips were still locked when Sam felt Carly caressing his erection through his pajama pants and she gasped at finding him already hard. She stroked him a few times through the fabric and Sam groaned into the kiss. He pulled away from her lips a few inches, panting for air, and said, "Um, as much as I'd love to keep this going, I'm not sure I have the stamina for it right now."

Carly, still gripping him firmly, knew he would be too tired and in too much pain to do most of the things they wanted but she smiled at him and said, "It's okay. Let me take care of you. You won't have to do anything except lay back and relax." She gently nudged him to lay on his back and he did, resting his head on his pillow. "You know," Carly added timidly as she cleared her throat and drew circles lazily onto Sam's chest with her finger, "I read somewhere that sexual activity, especially orgasms, help boost the immune system and improve mental and emotional wellbeing and, by extension, physical wellbeing."

Sam raised his eyebrow at her, "Really?" She nodded at him. "Then, by all means, let's boost my immune system." Carly giggled and then she brought their lips back together. She kissed him while her hand went back to lightly caressing his erection through his pajamas for several moments and then she started kissing a trail down his jawline and neck. She began sucking and nibbling his neck and Sam groaned. She spent a few moments on his neck before moving further south, kissing him through his shirt along the way. Then she sat up, smiled at him one last time and then disappeared under the covers as she yanked them over her head.

Sam laughed at her playfulness but then his features suddenly turned to pure bliss as he felt Carly lift his shirt and start kissing his muscular abs, while simultaneously slipping her hand down his boxers and caressing his erection directly. "Oh, God, Carly!" he mumbled in pleasure as his eyes rolled to the back of his head. He was infinitely grateful that he'd decided to take a shower after lunch and then put on fresh pajamas, even though the showering process, along with towel drying, dressing, and brushing his teeth had greatly worn him out.

Carly pulled her lips away from his glorious abs and smiled under the sheets as she heard him moaning and panting. After stroking him for several moments, she pulled her hand out of his pants and then carefully pulled his erect penis through the fly of his boxers and his pajamas and it stood at attention for her. Staring at the massive shaft, she found herself transfixed again, impressed with its size. She always got the feeling that it was saluting her in respect and admiration, considering it was Sam's penis. She gripped it in her hand and began to stroke him again. She heard him groaning in pleasure. She felt herself becoming slick between her lower lips as she daydreamed about what it would feel like to have Sam inside her. To have him fill her up completely. Slowly thrusting in and out. She shook her head out of her daze. Focus, Carly! she thought as she felt a strong contraction in her nether regions. She would "take care of herself" later that night in her own bed, while thinking of Sam.

She brought her lips up to the tip of his engorged penis and kissed it softly. She heard Sam hiss in pleasure and another grin spread across her face. Then she wrapped her lips around the head of his penis and began a slow bobbing motion with her head.

"Oh, fuck!" Sam moaned out, feeling her warm, wet mouth around his most sensitive part. He felt a tightness in his lower stomach building as Carly continued to lick and suck.

Carly was surprised at the pleasure she derived from giving Sam pleasure. She loved pleasing him in this way. Or any way, for that matter. And because Sam depended on her to bring him to his culmination, it was both dominating and submissive at the same time. And a total turn on for Carly. In her younger years after she had learned about "the birds and the bees", the thought of sex had terrified her. It sounded scary and quite possibly painful. But as she'd gotten older, the possibility of Sam being her first, made her heart beat faster. She was no longer terrified of sex as long as it was with Sam. She trusted him with her life and knew he would never hurt her in any way.

Sam was in heaven, biting his lower lip and squeezing his eyes shut. His breathing picked up as his desire built. He was flooded with love, passion, and gratitude. He felt so lucky to have Carly. He felt like he didn't deserve her most of the time. He was just so glad she loved him as much as he loved her.

Carly picked up the pace with her mouth and also began stroking him with her hand at the same time, using her saliva as lubricant. She would take turns using her mouth and hand, increasing her speed based on the sounds he was making. She started flicking her tongue over his tip while pumping him in her hand at the same time. Sam was gasping and panting at this point and trying to muffle his moans so Freddie didn't hear in the next room.

"Oh, Carly! I'm gonna…"

Carly sped up with her hand even more at hearing this, pumping him harder and faster, and embraced the head of his erection with her lips once again. Seconds later he erupted in her mouth, all the while, Sam was moaning out her name and gasping for breath as he rode out his orgasm to the end. The spurts finally stopped after several seconds and Sam was euphoric, still panting and moaning a soft, "Carly." After she'd swallowed the last drop, Carly grinned around his erection. Hearing him say her name that way, sent a shiver down her spine. She pulled her mouth away from him and then carefully stuffed him back into his boxers and crawled her way back up to him. When she poked her head out from under the covers, she grinned at him. His face was dazed and he was trying to catch his breath.

He smiled back at her. "You're really good at that," he mumbled while still panting, making Carly chuckle. "I'm worried where you got the practice though."

"Smart ass!" she replied and lightly swatted him on his arm. "I'm just naturally talented."

"Yes, you are!" he adamantly agreed with her. Sam chuckled as Carly laid down beside him on his right side so she wouldn't lean on his wound and wrapped an arm around him, carefully avoiding his bandage on his left side. She rested her head on his shoulder.

"Feeling better?" she asked.

"Infinitely," he replied as he caught his breath and wrapped his arm around her. He kissed her temple lovingly. After a few moments of rest, Carly felt Sam's other hand travel down her stomach and rubbed her lower abdomen over her jeans zipper. He wanted to reciprocate and make her feel as good as she'd just made him feel. He reached to undo her jeans and she stopped him, grabbing his hand gently.

Looking into his exhausted eyes she smiled and said, "It's alright. You'll get me later. Just rest for now." She didn't want him overexerting himself and pulling his stitches or tiring himself more than he already was. Then she kissed him deeply and he caressed her cheek as he kissed back. She felt him becoming sluggish as they kissed and then pulled away to see his eyes drooping closed. "Go to sleep," she whispered sweetly to him with a smile, kissing him on the cheek.

He wanted to stay awake just to be with her but he could barely keep his eyes open. He rested his head back on the pillow, closed his eyes and whispered, "Thanks, Cupcake. I love you." Her smile widened.

"You're welcome," Carly replied softly as she rested her head back on his shoulder. "I love you too." She was happy to have been able to make Sam feel better. And elated to finally have Sam back in her life. Safe and sound and on the mend. She pulled the covers up to her shoulder and reveled in holding Sam close and feeling his body heat. She hummed happily as she let out a sleepy sigh. She was coming down from her own arousal now and felt like she could possibly fall asleep. Sam was on cloud nine as he drifted off to sleep with Carly in his arms.

AN: I'm not sure when the next chapter will be ready since I have requests for me to update my other stories first. But I do have a significant portion of the next chapter written already. So, I will be continuing. Just not sure when it will get updated. I'm starting to sound like a broken record, but please review. The more reviews/requests I get for a certain story, the more I'm motivated to write for that particular story.