Carly stared at the headstone; it was made out of black marble. The front read:
Freddie Benson
February 4th, 1994- October 15th, 2018
With Love We Remember
While the back had a poem Carly and Marissa had picked out:
A million times we've needed you,
A million times we've cried.
If love alone could have saved you,
You never would have died.
If all the world was ours to give,
We would give it, yes, and more,
To see you coming up the steps,
And walking through the door.
To hear your voice and see your smile,
To sit and talk a while,
To be with you that same old way,
Would be our fondest day.
Carly walked around to the back of the headstone and traced the poem, permanently carved into the marble headstone, and smiled bitterly "I miss you." she said to the headstone. The cold, uncaring marble didn't reply but she kept talking "Freddie's getting so big now... He's almost done with middle school... I remember middle school." she said with a wistful sigh.
"So do I" came a familiar voice behind her.
"Hey Sam." Carly said, not moving an inch.
"I figured you'd be here cupcake."
"Yeah... I needed to see him."
Sam opened her mouth to correct her but thought better of it, "I miss him too, I actually came to see the grave but I had this odd feeling you'd be here." She walked over to where Carly was still examining the headstone, as if it held some secret no one but she knew. "Nice poem." she finally said as she read the words on the back of the headstone.
"It doesn't seem like it's been fourteen years." the brunette girl said softly.
"I know... I haven't seen him in.." She trailed off, "and I won't ever get to see him again. We had our issues but... I miss him Carly, I miss his nerdiness, I miss teasing him and I miss... I miss hearing his voice."
Carly looked up at the blonde girl, "He'd totally rub that in your face if he heard you say that."
"I know..." She said, managing a smile, "I might even let him if he was still here."
Carly walked back around to the front of the Grave "I wonder if his Mom has been here lately."
"Are you kidding? I'm surprised she doesn't live here." She said before realizing something, "Wait... You don't see her anymore?"
"We had a bit of a... Falling out, over how I raised Freddie."
"Why am I not surprised?"
"Freddie goes over there sometimes but... It's obvious he doesn't like being treated like an infant."
"So what exactly happened?"
Carly looked up with a sigh "It was something really stupid, she didn't like something I did, I don't remember... maybe it was giving him candy? Anyway we had an argument and I told her to get out. She hasn't spoken to me since."
Sam shook her head, "I always said that woman was insane."
"You thought it was funny what she did to Freddie."
"Maybe, but she was still insane."
"I'm going to bring Freddie here later.. I just wanted to-"
"See him first." Sam finished for her.
"Exactly..." She looked at her watch, "I need to go pick him up now."
"Doesn't he usually walk?"
"Yeah, but I want to go straight from the school to back here."
"Ah Alright... Well I'm going to go see Gibby; I just realized I haven't seen him since I came into town."
"He could probably use some support, last time I saw Tasha she was considering filing for divorce."
Sam winced, "Alright... See ya later Cupcake."
Carly waved in response as she headed to her car.
Freddie looked at the clock impatiently, he wanted to get home and work on new skits for iCarly. The web show had started slow, but with some advertising ideas from his mom they had slowly picked up viewers.
He glanced at Kurt, who was looking out the window. He knew things had become more serious between him and his cousin in the last couple of weeks since they had hooked up, Freddie was happy for them but for some reason there was an odd look, like he knew something Freddie didn't, when he talked about his co-host.
Finally the bell rang and he almost ran out of the room to his locker when he heard a familiar voice behind him, "Hey bro, what's goin' on?"
"I'm heading to my house, to start working on ideas... Remember? You and Carly will be there?"
"Oh right, I forgot." he said, "Listen I may be a little late -"
"Dude come on, you've been late every day... Just bring her too , I want to have some words with my cousin anyway."
"Alright, alright."
As soon as he turned on his phone it rang with a text from his mother, informing him she was picking him up after school.
"Actually, scratch that." he said with a sigh, "My mom is picking me up for something."
Miranda walked up behind Kurt and kissed his cheek "What's goin' on guys?"
"Freddie was just telling me that rehearsal was canceled for iCarly because his Mom is picking him up."
"That's okay, I'm supposed to help a new kid in class with her science and math."
Freddie smirked, "You? Tutoring? I didn't know you were a comedian."
"Oh shut it Benson." She growled.
"Why don't you make me?"
Before she could say anything another girl walked up and said, "Hi!" she said excitably
"Hi Emma." Freddie, "What's up?"
"I'm new here, just transferred last week, I'm looking for Miranda Shay."
"I'm right here."
"Oh!" she said and giggled, "I'm the one you're supposed to tutor! Won't it be just awesome?!"
"Yeah...Awesome."
Freddie laughed, "Alright I'll see you guys later."
"See ya bro!"
Freddie waved half halfheartedly and walked out of the building, his mind racing at the various reasons why his Mother would pick him up. Maybe something's happened to Uncle Spencer He thought, No... If that was the case then Miranda would be going too.
He waved as Carly pulled up and he slid into the car "What's up Mom? You never pick me up, even on your days off."
"Well... I have a surprise for you."
"Oh yeah?" He asked excitedly, "What kind of surprise."
She sighed, "Well.. You'll see when we get there."
The drive wasn't very long, but it was oddly quiet which made it seem longer than it actually was, but finally they pulled up to a cemetery and all excitement Freddie may have felt died quickly "Mom...?"
"Freddie." she said, "This is where your father is buried."
His heart stopped for a moment, "C-Can we see his Grave?"
She nodded, "That's why we're here."
They walked in complete silence, Freddie's mind too distracted to ask any questions.
Finally they reached Freddie Sr.'s grave and Freddie Jr. froze. This was it, this was where the man he would have called Dad was buried.
Finally he spoke "It's not fair.."
"No it's not." came the gentle voice of his Mother.
"Why did he have to go?"
Carly felt her heart break at the words from her son "I don't know... I really don't."
His vision began to blur and he realized he was crying, "Did the man who did this to us... To him, did he pay?"
"Yes he did." she said softly, "He was... He got what he deserved."
"What happened to him."
"You don't need to worry about that." She said.
He opened his mouth to protest but stopped himself, it wasn't important. "I saw him on the old iCarly tapes... What Sam did to him was inexcusable."
"I know."
The anger in his body was strange, he had never really gotten angry in his life but now he couldn't seem to control his emotions "When I was a kid, and you told me the hero story... You said you didn't know why the hero's crush didn't save him from the other friend... You meant you and Sam didn't you?"
"Yes."
"You miss him... Don't you?"
"Every day."
He touched the headstone and almost recoiled, the thing was ice cold, I wonder if death is like that he thought as he outlined the words on the front with his fingers. "He's been dead for almost fourteen years." he muttered to himself.
He stood there, staring at the headstone like it held secrets he could unlock just by starting at it, secrets he needed to know. Finally he turned to look at her, "C.. Can we go?"
She nodded "Of course... If you need to come back I'll happily bring you."
"Thanks Mom."
I will come back and see you. He promised as he turned to look at the grave one last time I just need time to get to know you. He planned to study those iCarly dvd's a lot closer now, they seemed like the best link he had to his dad.
Gibby didn't look up as the door to his restaurant opened and someone walked in "How can I help you?"
"I'll take some ham, some bacon... and maybe an old friend to go?" Came a familiar voice.
"Sam?" he asked looking up, "Sam!" he said and walked around the counter to hug her "How've ya been Sam?"
"I've been good; I see you opened a restaurant."
"Welcome to my dream!"
"I thought your dream was the restaurant in our school basement?"
"Opening a restaurant, any restaurant, is my dream Sam."
"To bad I have a job already; I really liked working in your restaurant, beating people with a butter sock."
Gibby let out a laugh, "I liked your hot meat sandwiches better."
"The secret was hot meat." she teased.
"So you say, but no one has ever been able to make 'em like you did."
"You flatter me." She said, "So what's new Gibby?"
"Well... I'm getting a divorce."
The blonde girl winced, "Sorry kid, Carly told me she was considering it but..."
He shrugged, "I don't think either of us has been happy for a long time; I was dreading it but I'm more worried about Kurt's reaction."
"Wow, you have grown up."
"People tend to do that."
"Fair enough, now can I get some food? I'm starving."
He laughed "What'll you have?"
"I told you, Ham, bacon and... I dunno, Canadian bacon?"
"Ham, Bacon, and more ham." he repeated as he wrote it down, "Coming right up."
Rolling her eyes "Oh and coffee."
"Gotcha."
Her food arrived a few minutes later and she dug in "This is one thing I could never quit." she said between mouthfuls of food, "Ham and Bacon."
"Something tells me I have a new best customer."
"Yeah yeah, so tell me about you and..."
"Tasha."
"Oh! She came back?"
"Yeah, She was in Europe modeling I guess... Anyway, she tracked me down and we hit it off again." He paused to take another order before turning his attention back to the story and grabbed himself a cup of coffee. "We ended up getting married after we found out she was expecting Kurt."
"I will never get used to the idea of you being a parent." Sam interrupted.
"Yeah me either, I wish Freddie could have met him.."
"I stopped by his grave today."
"Oh?" His voice got quieter, more focused.
"Yeah...It's a resting place he deserved."
They both went silent for a moment before Gibby raised his own cup of coffee "To old friends and... To missed friends."
"To friends you wish you could apologize to." Sam said and sipped from her coffee.
"You got regrets?" He asked.
"Gibby, my entire childhood is one big regret."
"Surely there was a bright spot."
"Of course... Carly and iCarly."
"Ah yes... I heard our kids our continuing it."
"Who better to continue the legacy?" She asked, "It's our... I dunno, it's what we're giving them, their inheritance in a way."
"Wow, when did you get so smart?"
"When I grew up, people tend to do that."
He laughed at that, "Fair enough."
She finished her meal and he took the plate away, "Hate to eat and run, but I got some things to do." She said, "Call me sometime." she said and gave him her number.
"Will do." he said, "It was nice seeing you again."
"Right back at you." she said as she exited the diner.
Gibby stood there for a moment before another customer walked in and he headed back to work.
Kurt glanced over at Miranda who was doing her homework, "You know; when you invited me over sitting here and watching you do homework wasn't what I had in mind."
She let out a soft giggle and turned to face him, "You should be doing your own homework." she scolded playfully, "Now let me do my work then we'll watch a movie."
He rolled his eyes over dramatically and lay back on the bean bag chair he was sitting in "Fine."
The next twenty minutes were spent by Miranda doing homework while Kurt found ways to entertain himself. Finally she turned in her chair, "All done!" she said.
He jumped out of his chair and grinned, "Alright! What're we gonna watch?"
"Well, Dad and I watched one of his favorite shows, Girly Cow, and it was kind of funny... Want to watch it?"
"I've heard of that, yeah that sounds good."
"Mom makes me watch the censored version though, just a heads up."
He sighed, "Yeah I figured."
They headed downstairs, they had been in her room while she did homework, and he sat on the couch while she popped in one of the DVD's.
After she sat down Kurt scooted over and wrapped an arm around her, "It's about time we got to relax a little bit." he said softly.
She smiled and laid her head on his shoulder "Yeah, I've been looking forward to this all day."
He laughed, "Me too." he said softly, "Me too."
They settled in to watch the show enjoying each other's company.
Carly looked down at her phone and brushed her blonde hair out of her eyes Why would he up and cancel like that? It was unlike Freddie to cancel a rehearsal for iCarly and she was getting worried, he hadn't answered any of her texts I sound like a jealous ex-girlfriend She realized, What am I doing?. She flipped her phone shut and plopped down on her bed.
She'd been on the way to Freddie's house for rehearsal, her mind full of ideas, when she'd gotten the text that rehearsal had been canceled and, after texting Freddie three or four times and getting no reply, she'd gone home.
He might need your help Her consciousness argued, Remember when he found out about his Dad? Maybe he found something else out? She bit her lip in confusion, why was this so difficult? But if he needed me he'd talk to me.
Finally she couldn't take it anymore; she was going to go check on her friend. The walk to Freddie's house took a few minutes, enough time for her to clear her head and get her thoughts in order. She knocked on the door and was greeted by the older Carly.
"Carly?" the older woman asked, "You're looking for Freddie?"
"Y-Yes." She said.
The older woman smiled gently, "He's upstairs, he could probably use a friend."
She took a deep breath and smiled, glad she came over. She slipped past the older brunette woman and headed upstairs. "Freddie?"
"I'm in here." Came the familiar voice of her friend.
She walked into his room and saw him sitting on his bed, watching one of the iCarly DVD's, the volume on full. He paused as a boy, presumably Freddie Sr., turned the camera on himself. "Is that..?"
"Yes, that's my father."
She walked over and sat beside him "He was handsome, like you."
"Thanks..."
"What's going on Freddie?"
"Mom took me to... His grave."
"Oh."
"It was, odd... Seeing the man that I call father buried six feet under with a nice little headstone that gave his birth date and death date."
She put a hand on his back and smiled "It's okay..."
He shook his head, "It's so... Clean, organized." he said, "A man is dead and all we get is a nice headstone and some memories... Memories I don't even have."
She frowned and hugged him "I'm sorry... I know what it's like to not have a father."
He laughed, "Yeah... I guess you do." he said softly, "I'm sorry for that."
"It's okay, Mom doesn't think I know but he ran out when he found out she was having me."
"How'd you find out?" he asked curiously.
"I overheard her talking on the phone." she said.
"Oh." He looked up at her, "Thank you... It seems like you're always there when I need you."
She looked away, smiling "We're friends right? That's what friends do." She turned to look at him, her face turning slightly red.
"Your face is red." he muttered, "You got a fever?"
"No I'm fine.." she said softly.
Their eyes locked and he started to lean towards her when a pounding noise came from the other side of the door "Are you staying for dinner Carly?"
They both jumped, forcibly brought out of their moment. "Um, no Mrs. Shay, My mom wants to go out and eat tonight."
She noticed the look of disappointment that flashed through his eyes and smiled "Sorry Freddie, but I need to go."
He nodded and stood up, "Walk you home?"
She paused, desperately wanting to say yes but also wanting to be alone, "No I'll be alright."
He didn't respond, instead he walked with her to the door "See you tomorrow then." he said.
She nodded, "I look forward to it."
She heard the door close with a click as she started walking. A strong wind blew her hair in front of her eyes but she was so lost in thought she didn't notice. He almost kissed me She realized with a soft smile, the thought of him kissing her sent a warm feeling down her body Why didn't I kiss him? She realized she was disappointed that they'd been interrupted but at the same time relieve, she didn't know if he was actually interested or just emotionally vulnerable, he'd never really shown much interest in her before.
Growing up sucks She decided as she kicked at a small rock on the sidewalk, sending it flying against a nearby telephone pole. When she got home she could smell food "Mom?" she called.
"In here." Sam called from the kitchen
"Dinner ready?" asked the younger Puckett when she entered the kitchen.
"Almost."
"Okay..."
"What's troubling you?" Sam asked.
"W-What? Nothing!"
"Don't lie to me, I'm your Mother... I know when you're lying."
"It's just... Growing up."
"Ah."
"Ah?"
Sam laughed, "I was a teenager once." she said, "Granted I wasn't a normal teenager."
"You weren't?"
"Nope, I was a fighter... I only had one friend, no one else could really stand me."
"What about Freddie's father?"
Sam paused, trying to form a coherent sentence. "That was...Complicated."
"The iCarly videos didn't seem to make it very complicated."
Sam winced inwardly "Point taken... Listen Freddie and I were held together by Carly... She was our glue really."
"You mean Freddie's mom?"
"Yup, she was my best friend and he was in love with her, so he tolerated me."
"Oh.." She sighed, not sure what to say.
"It's okay, it was my fault really... I didn't exactly help things."
"How do you know when a guy likes you?" Carly suddenly asked.
Sam's eyes widened in understanding and she sighed, "That's a complicated answer. It's different really for every boy."
"O-Oh."
"Most won't be shy about it, I remember Freddie wasn't shy about telling Carly how he felt."
Let's hope Jr. takes after his father Carly thought.
"Anything else bothering you?"
"Nope, I'm going to go upstairs and read over my book report."
After she left Sam sighed in relief, she loved her daughter and would do anything for her but she sucked with advice, she didn't have a clue what to say to her daughter and she felt bad about it. Maybe Carly will know... She was always better with advice than I was. She thought.
The next few days went by in a blur; Sam didn't get a chance to talk to Carly until the next week, a few days before the last day of 8th Grade for the new iCarly trio.
Kurt walked up to Freddie and grinned, "We're done with middle school!" he said excitedly.
"We still have the rest of the week, remember?"
"You've gotta ruin everything, don't you?"
Freddie laughed, "It's my job bro."
"Yeah yeah.. Listen, I know we haven't gotten to hang out like we used to."
"Don't worry about it, You've got a girlfriend... I knew this would happen eventually."
"You did?"
"Dude..." Freddie sighed, "It's called thinking ahead, we grow up, we get girls... We value what time we get without friends more."
"That's... Deep."
"Don't you forget it Gibson."
"You wanna start something Benson?"
They both started laughing and high fived each other and headed to class.
Sam managed to catch her best friend during their lunch break, "Hey Carls can I talk to you?"
"Sure..." The brunette girl said,
"Well, a couple nights ago Carly asked me about boys..."
"And you had no idea what to tell her." Carly finished.
"How'd you know?" she asked.
Her brunette Co-Anchor smiled knowingly, "Because I had to teach you about boys and even then I don't think you ever really got the hang of it."
"Well I must have did something right, I ended up with Carly."
"True... But listen, on this one I can't help." she said.
Sam looked at her, obviously disappointed. "Why?"
"Because Sam, part of being a parent is learning from your mistakes and learning to live with them."
She sighed, "I guess..."
"Listen, the best advice you can give her is straight from your heart."
"Okay Miss Fortune Cookie."
Carly giggled slightly, "Well it's true, just trust me."
"When did things get so complicated?"
Carly's smile faded slowly, "When we grew up I suppose."
Sam turned to focus on her sandwich, not quite sure what to say to that.
The next few days went by without incident and finally it was the last day of school. Freddie walked through the doors and yawned, You're a freshman now Benson He thought, Time keeps ticking away.
Carly and Kurt walked up behind him and grinned, "New iCarly tonight right?"
"Of course." He said, grinning "I wouldn't miss it."
He watched as kids exited the building and sighed I'm rather looking forward to this summer. He thought as the trio headed to his house.
Note: Whew long one, this is the final chapter of this story, though there will be a sequel taking place during the new iCarly's senior year and a few more oneshots probably. Please read and review, I don't own iCarly and I don't own the poem on Freddie's tombstone, I found it on the net.