Ruined Puzzle Pieces

Part 9:

Back at what remains of Socko's campsite:

"Spencer, please let me help. The rescue teams aren't here, and Sam and Freddie could be hurt. The faster we move, the better." Carly was standing on the road safely away from the rubble, shouting over at Spencer who was doing his best to waddle around the unstable ground, his feet sinking roughly 2 feet every other step.

"I'm sorry Carly. I've already been on this ground for 5 minutes and it feels like it could all slide at any moment. There's no way I'm letting you walk over here."

"Spencer, Sam and Freddie are more like siblings than friends to me. We've been through everything together. I could never live with myself if they're hurt, and I could've helped them, but didn't… Spencer, if it was me and Dad told you couldn't help. How would you feel?" Carly looked so miserable, and Spencer could only look at her guiltily. Torn between the need to protect Carly and the desperate urge to find Sam and Freddie, Spencer swore. It was something he never did, never really allowed himself to do, in order to be a good role model and brother to Carly, but sometimes it was just too much.

"Alright Carly, but I'm going to walk over to you first, and then you stay an arm's distance from me at all times. You hear?" Spencer carefully crawled and navigated the rubble, carefully patting and kicking potential steps before moving. Carly was boucing up and down in impatience, feeling like the entire world was forcefully pulling the air from her lungs, leaving her in a constant state of suffocation.

Even after she was following Spencer, she felt like she could hit him for going so slowly. Spencer insisted on testing every footing that both he and Carly were going to take and it was a snail's pace. Carly wanted to scream, but knew that this was just as hard for Spencer as it was for her. One particular step though, left a slushing sound, one of mud as opposed to normal soil. Spencer noticed it too and pulled Carly over to him.

"Careful, that's probably where the river used to be."

"The river… the river! Spencer, Sam was on the dock the last time I saw her. And She looked like she wasn't going to be moving from that spot for a while!" Carly started moving dirt and rubble around her, looking for the dock. She was lucky, as she found a piece of wood on the first spot she tried, a small miracle.

"Sam! Sam! Say something! Sam! Freddie! …Freddie! Don't do this to me you guys! Say something!" Carly's face was covered in tears at this point as she kept digging as fast she could. Spencer noticed that the tips of her fingernails were bleeding at the harsh treatment she was giving them.

"Freddie! …I'm sorry I never went on a date with you! Freddie! Sam! Sam, I'm sorry I didn't lend you more of my clothes… Please… just don't leave me…" Carly started digging slower and slower as she waited for her friends' voices to appear, to tell her that they were alright and everything was going to be just fine. iCarly was invincible… wasn't it. Carly broke down sobbing and curled herself into a ball. Spencer didn't know what do. He didn't know what he could say that would not obviously be a euphemism or a flat out lie.

"Carly… maybe…"

"No! No! I can't let myself cry! I won't let myself cry! Not till I see a body! I'm not breaking down until I see a body!" Carly wiped her face quickly and started digging. Spencer quickly followed, silently awed by Carly's strength. He sometimes wondered who was it that really relied on whom. He had sometimes thought that perhaps Carly would be fine without him, but could he really be fine without her?

Carly suddenly paused, and Spencer looked over at what she was staring at, fearing the worst. It was the dock's post, the post that the boat had been tied to if Spencer recalled.

"They're alive." Carly said slowly. Spencer didn't understand.

"How do you know?"

"There's no rope tied to this post. That must mean that Freddie and Sam got away by boat."

"Carly… the rockslide probably tore the boat off the dock and threw it downstream. You don't know that…"

"Spencer, if the boat was torn, then it would have either torn the rope or ripped off the post all together. Neither of which happened. The rope was untied, which means someone ingeniously realized that the only way they could outrun a rockslide, was by the river.

Freddie… oh my… and he definitely would have made sure Sam was safe first before getting away himself. Freddie was always selfless like that… oh my… Sam was so lucky to have met you.

"Spencer! I'm sure! They're both alive and downriver! I'm going to be optimistic and we're going to find them!"

"But Carly, there's no road! And it can't be safe to walk there by this path." Neither obstacle bothered Carly. They were both alive, which meant they would be fine. Both of them were stubborn, and weren't quitters. They were both the type to keep trying till they won. It now depended on Carly to get to them in time with help.

At Freddie and Sam's makeshift campsite:

Sam hung onto Freddie's shirt tightly, giving a silent prayer that he was alright. It was funny, she had always thought that in a life-threatening situation, it would be Freddie breaking down, and she would the one to keep a clear head. Except it was she who freaked, and Freddie was the one who stepped up. Sam made a silent promise to herself to give him an easier time if they both made it back alive. Freddie deserved a lot more credit than she gave him. He proved that today.

No, not just today. He's been changing this whole time, and I just ignored it. Heck! The shirt is big enough that I get my arms and knees under it. 'Little' Benson's grown enough that I actually have to tilt my head up to talk to him eye-to-eye.

Freddie emerged from the darkness, carrying enough firewood to make at least two campfires. He dropped it all next to Sam, and sat down next to her looking defeated.

"What's the matter dorkface?" Sam quipped, but softly, without the harsh edge she normally put on it. She was just too tired to put up that front anymore.

Freddie smiled, "I am so happy to hear you say that. It's good you're feeling like yourself. I was worried I'd have think up jokes or something to cheer you up. You know, I've been reading this joke book lately…"

"Freddie… you're not funny. Even if you knew a joke, you wouldn't be able to tell it right."

"I don't know, you laugh at me quite a bit. I think you find me plenty funny."

"I laugh AT you, Benson. Most people consider that a bad thing."

"But I do make you laugh. In fact, I daresay I make you laugh more than any other person you know."

"That's is! …true." Sam admitted. This was uncomfortable territory for her, and she quickly changed the subject, "So why were you looking all droopy-faced when you came back?"

Freddie squirmed uncomfortably for a sec before saying softly, "I realized that even with firewood, I have no way to start a fire…"

Sam smiled to one side of her face. Freddie supposed that most would call it a boyish grin, but it was kind of fitting that Sam could do it so well. She pulled off a hair band and scooted over carefully to Freddie's pile of sticks. (Freddie noticed that Sam had been soaking her swollen foot in the icy stream and that it was already looking loads better. Perhaps she'll be able to put some weight on it soon.)

"No worries, I can do it" Sam pulled out a fork from her pocket (Freddie groaned, but didn't comment) and started to carve a small hole into one of the larger sticks. (a small log really) She then took two small sticks and arranged them into a cross. Then Sam took her hair band and did a knot that looked extremely complex to Freddie tying the cross together. Sam then pulled a piece of string out of her pocket and tied it from one stick to the other. Freddie was fascinated at what Sam was doing. He had never seen this before.

Sam pulled on one stick experimentally, and Freddie noticed that the second stick spun whenever Sam pulled or pushed on the first one. Sam set the second spinning stick into the hole she had made in the small log and looked up at Freddie.

"I need small dried leaves, needles, grass, anything that will burn easily." Freddie quickly looked around the immediately area, grabbing dead grass, and dried-up leaves before returning to Sam. She set some of the dead grass into the hole and made a little mound of the stuff around the hole as well. Sam then started pulling and pushing the first stick causing the second stick to spin faster and faster. Freddie really wanted to compliment on Sam's resourcefulness but Sam had a look of such concentration that he just watched silently.

Soon enough, the friction between the stick and the log caused the dead grass to start smoking, and Sam looked up at Freddie and motioned to him. Putting two and two together, he leaned down towards the smoking grass and blew softly. He was rewarded with soft glowing embers. After few more minutes of Sam spinning her sticks and Freddie blowing, they had a small fire going. Freddie grabbed some more grass and leaves and carefully tended to it. Sam laid back down so she could put less stress on her sore leg. She smiled as she watched Freddie work enthusiastically, looking hopeful for the first time in along while. She turned away quickly when Freddie looked back over to her. The fire was a true campfire now, burning on its own.

"Where did you learn that, Sam?"

Sam was silent for a few moments. She thought about putting up her wall again, and quip something back. No, she was tired, and Freddie didn't deserve that right now. She didn't deserve that right now.

"My dad taught me."

Freddie went silent himself for a moment, quickly realizing how important the last statement was.

"You don't… talk about him very much." Freddie commented softly.

"There's not much to tell." Sam lied.

"That's not true. He's your dad. He taught you things. Heck, you share half of your genetic build-up with him. He's important. I would know too, because my dad's not around anymore either." Sam didn't want to talk about this anymore. Thoughts of her dad always hurt, but Freddie's eyes were so caring, so genuinely worried that Sam just couldn't say no. He had never looked at her before with such warm chocolate brown eyes before. Something had happened.

"My dad… was really smart, and he always tried to teach me cool, weird things when I was little." Sam looked over at Freddie, but he didn't say anything, just patiently waited for her to continue.

"He was always busy. Mom and I hardly got to see him at one point. I think his lab was losing their funding or something, but the point is that he just wasn't around. Mom and him were always getting into fights over money. I think they both forgot how to love each other. Money can ruin people." Sam wasn't sure when, but at some point Freddie had sat down next to her, and was supporting her head with his arm. It felt really, really good, and Sam didn't care anymore. She was tired of constantly putting up a front and acting strong. Right now, she wanted to be cradled and supported. She thought that she was long overdue for that, and Sam just let her weight sink into Freddie, the weight of the world disappearing with just that one motion.

"What happened? To your father…" Freddie said without looking down at her.

"He… well I could only guess from what Mom says when she's drunk now, but I think he took shortcuts in his experiments and testings for his lab's product. The product ended up having severe side effects and the FDA found out my dad had broken some federal laws." Sam sighed. She wasn't even crying, perhaps she had wasted all the tears in the years before, perhaps destiny had finally decided that she had pained enough but she wasn't crying now, just remorseful.

"He's in jail, Freddie. My dad's in prison, and I keep thinking that one day, I'll join him."

"That would never happen, Sam. Carly and I would never let that happen, and most importantly I know now that you'll never let that happen." Freddie finally looked down and he seemed so sure of himself. He no longer looked like the techie-nerd boy Freddie Benson, just Freddie. He just looked like Freddie now.

"Freddie, you're so like him in so many ways. Your enthusiasm for your latest inventions, the way your eyes light up when you see something geeky that interests you. You remind me of him a lot, and I'm afraid that I may have resented you for it." Sam sighed and took a few deep breaths. She needed to say this.

"I was afraid… in some stupid subconscious way probably, that you'd end up hurting me like he did. That I'd finally get use to having you around, and you'd just disappear on me. I so wished early on that you'd just give up on me and Carly and just disappear, but that was stupid. You must hate me."

"It's not stupid and it kinda makes sense, and I already told you that I don't hate you. Sure, I'd like some more appreciation now and then, but I NEVER hated you. Every time I was picked on by the jocks at school, you'd rescue me. Every time I went through a school day being ignored by everyone, you and Carly were always there. And yes, sometimes you said some pretty harsh things, but even I'll admit that I'm kind of a wuss and could use a kick in the rear." Freddie had started playing with Sam's hair, but he didn't notice. Sam definitely noticed, but didn't dare comment.

"That's what I liked most about you Sam. You never ignored me. The opposite of love isn't hate, it's neglect, and you never neglected me. In a way, it was like you didn't see me, Freddie Benson. You saw who I should be, someone with a spine that could stand up for myself. You know, be independent and fight back. You kept prodding me, expecting that person to appear, but I never could."

"I don't know… You did pretty well today. Look, we're both warm." Sam nodded at the fire. Freddie smiled and Sam closed her eyes. The moon was overhead and Freddie estimated that it had to be close to midnight. (His watch was sadly not waterproof) After a long day, Sam deserved her rest. Freddie kept a close watch, and waited for Sam to fall asleep. He was awarded with pretty loud snoring and Freddie glanced down at Sam with her mouth gaping wide open.

Sleeps like a princess, she does…

Giving Sam a tender kiss to her temple, Freddie kept a close watch by the fire, making sure to keep safe the most important person in his life.

A/N: Phew! Okay, I'll be the first to admit this. I'm a guy, and writing lovey dovey scenes freak me out! I am always afraid that any romantic scene I write will be apocalyptically bad. So yay! They're together! Freddie and Sam sitting in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G, first comes love, then comes marriage… etc, etc, etc. Anyone expecting a great happy get-together scene from this story. I REALLY HOPE I didn't disappoint, cuz I tried REALLY REALLY HARD!

A/N/N: So PLEASE REVIEW!!!

(Also, please try my other story: Seddie: Year One. I love writing Sam and Freddie as a couple and that story cuts right to the chase. That's where all my creative humor has been going too lately, and I personally think its funny, so please give it a chance.)

P.S. "That is! …true" is my current all-time favorite Seddie line and I think really sums up their relationship.