A/N: Alright. I apologize for leaving you with a cliffy...and that I'm bothering you with this note when you should be reading the story. Be warned; a swearing and generally labor-ish Sam off the port bow.
Enjoy!
Freddie scooped Sam up into his arms and ran towards the car, flipping off lights by force of habit as he went. Snatching his key off the table, he was out the front door in seconds. He slipped on a patch of ice, causing him to land flat on his back in the snow. And despite being in a rather large amount of pain, Sam found it in her to laugh.
And despite the fact that he was now speeding towards the hospital, Freddie found it in him to roll his eyes.
By the time they had arrived there, Sam had used Freddie's name among more profanities than he thought could be said in fifteen minutes. Picking her up again, he was barely through the front door when she was whisked away by several doctors and placed into a wheelchair.
She turned back over her shoulder. Her face was livid with pain and frustration, her eyes shining with many different emotions.
"WAIT!" she was shouting at the doctors. "WE-HAVE-TO-WAIT-FOR-FREDDIE!"
But try as he might, Freddie couldn't get himself to her side-she had to endure the shots and medication without him there. And the doctors didn't seem to listen to Sam's angry screams, the result of dealing with this on a regular basis.
Sam's eyes widened and her screams came to a dead halt at the sight of the needle they were about to inject into her. Shot needles had always been one of her least favorite things on earth, right up there with Mrs. Benson and third-through-ninth grade. But after the needle left her, she felt a strange numb sensation spreading down her lower body…and then she was off in the wheelchair again, speeding towards her room…
Meanwhile, Freddie was being confined to the waiting room until Sam was ready to begin pushing. He had already placed the hospital gown on over his pajamas, and had called Carly and Melanie, both of whom had expressed desire to attend Abby's birth.
It was the longest hour of his life. He glanced casually at the outdated magazine headlines several times, paced, he even counted ceiling tiles. But the entire time, he thought of his wife, who was probably being pushed far beyond her limits, and the delivery hadn't even begun….
Sam found herself in a long hospital gown, her legs propped up, and her eyes fixed on the white ceiling, trying to find some way to distract herself. The doctors continually made comments like "She looks good," "She appears stable…"
And then, after an hour of increasingly mounting pain, one of the nurses she vaguely recognized as being the one who had delivered the news that her baby was a girl approached.
"Mrs. Benson, your cervix has reached ten inches." She said calmly, a light smile on her pale features.
"…What does that mean?" Sam asked, confused.
The nurse was headed back to her fellow doctors when Sam asked the question, and she replied without a backward glance.
"It means that you're ready to push."
Ten minutes later, Freddie, Carly, and Melanie were looking in on the rather horrifying scene in front of them from behind the backs of several doctors. Upon seeing Freddie, one of the doctors gave a sigh of relief.
"She has been screaming for you since she got here." He said exasperatedly. "I think you're going to have to talk some sense into that…"
Freddie knew the doctor would have liked to have said "lunatic", but the effect it would have had on the already irate woman in front of him would have been rather alarming.
"Freddie...It…it hurts…" Sam shouted in-between pants.
Freddie approached her reassuringly. "Sssh….listen, I know it hurts, but you've got to do this, OK?" He offered her his hand. "Hold on to me as hard as you hurt."
And instantly his hand was crushed in a grip stronger than he had thought possible for even Sam to pull off-he would have doubted as much from a truck driver or pro wrestler. But then again, she could burp like one and fight like the other…
"There, that's good…" Freddie said, making an effort not to grimace. On the other side of the bed, Melanie and Carly had been admitted through the mess of doctors. Soon Carly had Sam's other hand, which Sam held onto so tightly that Carly's wedding ring cut both of their hands.
"Listen to me, Sam." Melanie said suddenly. Freddie, Carly, and Sam all turned to her. Melanie took over the situation like any Puckett would.
"Samantha, you are more than capable of dealing with this. You've always been a fighter, and it made you strong. You've got more strength than all of us. And you're gonna have a kid here in a few minutes who's gonna bring you all the happiness in the world."
Freddie and Sam met eyes momentarily. Freddie smiled, and Sam made the effort to, but it came out as a pained grimace.
"Once you get through this, I'm gonna buy you all the steak you can possibly eat, alright?" Melanie said firmly. "Show them what Pucketts are made of!"
Sam screamed as she gave another push.
"Come on, Sam!" Carly cried, "You're almost there…"
Something about the incident triggered a nine-year old memory of Freddie's…
He was searching Carly's old apartment for baby chicks…He had to yell at Duke to get him to do some feat he had thought impossible…What was it?
"Lift the fridge!" Freddie cried suddenly as it dawned on him.
"What the hell did you just say, Fredward?" Sam spat fiercely.
Well…if it worked on a sweaty wrestler, it would work on her.
"Come on, Sam-" Freddie began encouragingly, but he was cut off.
Sam let out her loudest and most agonized scream yet. It shook Freddie deeply as she turned to him with a murderous look on her face.
"YOU DID THIS TO ME, FREDDIE BENSON!" she screamed. "NOW GET ME OUT OF THIS!"
"You're getting there, Sam!" Freddie cried, almost not hearing himself anymore.
"I hate you, I hate you, I hate you!" Sam shouted. In its rather disoriented state, her mind was going back to the opinion of Freddie it had held long ago. Freddie played right along with it.
"I hate you too, Sam, but you have got to push harder!
"I can see the baby's head!" One of the doctors said excitedly. "Your baby has hair!"
"Did you hear that, Sam? Abby has hair!" Freddie cried encouragingly.
"I had hair…when I was born…" Sam said with a tiny smile.
"That is awesome! Hair is super! Hair is great!" Freddie shouted, knowing full well how ridiculous he sounded. It didn't matter; it was working. The baby was coming out slowly, but it was coming.
"The head and shoulders are out!" the head nurse cried, mostly to Sam but partially to Freddie.
Carly and Melanie seemed to get Freddie's idea then, because they chipped in with their own shouts.
"Did you hear that, Sam?"
"Our baby's almost half out!"
"Come on, push like you mean it, Puckett!"
"Keep pushing, Mrs. Benson!" The nurse called. "It's almost over…"
Freddie squeezed Sam's hand as she gripped his even tighter.
"IT'S ALL YOU, SAM!" Freddie shouted, aware that his words sounded like encouragement a thirteen year old would give in this situation. But it was this, more than anything, that made for one last scream, one last mighty shove…
And then the room was filled with the sounds of crying.
As Abby was cleaned and the umbilical cord removed from her body, the first of Sam and her cheer squad to lay eyes on her was Freddie. His eyes grew wide in an incredible awe as the baby was brought to Sam, and the doctors left to give the Bensons and their two friends a few minutes alone.
Sam looked down at her daughter.
Something struck her then. She had held many different babies, thought they were cute, or annoying, or soft, or fat, or overall bratty. But she had never truly connected with any of them, never felt any responsibility when she held one.
This was different.
"This is mine." She whispered in awe.
Freddie smiled down at her proudly. "You did amazing, Sam."
Brown and blue eyes fell to the young Abigail Marissa Benson in her mother's arms.
"Wow." They breathed.
"She's gorgeous." Freddie said, at a loss for words.
"She's perfect." Replied the breathless, exhausted, but most noticeably, ecstatic Sam.
Carly and Melanie beheld the scene with broad smiles on their faces. Both had been there, both had experienced the rush of joy and responsibility that Sam and Freddie were feeling.
And then, the only thing that could have ruined this moment came in the shape of Sam's mom.
Pam Puckett entered the room indifferently, looking at Abby for less than a second.
"Mom?" Melanie and Sam said disbelievingly at the same moment. It had been a very long time since all three Pucketts were in one room together.
"Why are you here?" Sam asked bluntly.
"I asked her to come." Melanie said immediately.
"You what?"
"Your sister spoke with me." Pam said flatly. "She explained your 'sadness' at my unhappiness with you."
Sam nodded slowly, her hold on Abby growing steadily more protective.
"Samantha Puckett…Well it's Benson now…" she cast Freddie a look, and he gave a small acknowledging smile.
"I have never been more proud of you."
Sam and Freddie looked at eachother in shock.
"…What?" Freddie said finally.
"Sam, we may not have the best past, but your sister here talked some sense into me."
She clapped her daughter's shoulder with all the typical Puckett vigor.
"Great job today, honey." She said sincerely.
"You kicked ass."
Sure, it wasn't exactly the phrasing of a Hallmark card, but Sam beamed. So did Carly, Melanie, and Freddie.
Sam passed her daughter up to her mother. At that moment, Abby opened her eyes to reveal to shockingly blue pools of color.
"Woah…those are the bluest eyes I've ever seen…" Freddie breathed, looking into his mother-in-law's arms.
"And they'll stay blue." Pam said confidently.
Freddie raised his eyebrows. "You sure?"
"Sure, all babies are born with blue eyes, but you can always tell if they'll stay that way. Your girl's got Puckett eyes there, Sam." Pam said, and there was an unmistakable note of pride in her voice.
Sam smiled even wider than before as her daughter returned to her arms.
And even after the doctors took Abby away to give her the shots and checkups she needed, the five people in the hospital room stayed where they were, pulling up seats around Sam's bed. They made small talk, remembering all the good times between them. Carly even asked if they'd be interested in posting a new video on iCarly, their first in a year, to celebrate the event, but Sam had declined.
"Maybe this Christmas." Sam had said to the somewhat disappointed look on her friend's face.
"So in….seven days!" Melanie said brightly.
"You think Spencer will let us use the loft again?" Freddie asked.
"I'm sure I can talk him into it." Carly said as the now fully awake newborn was placed into her arms.
"Wow, Sam..." Carly breathed. "You did an awesome job."
"She looks like you." Pam commented. "Except her hair."
Sam hadn't thought to actually examine her daughter's physical features yet, having been too preoccupied with the fact that she was finally real, not just the object of all her recent dreams. But one look and she saw it to be true; Abby had her eyes, her facial structure, and her nose. But the hair was unmistakably Freddie's.
Sam and Freddie brought Abby home on December 22nd, four days after the delivery. She slept through Christmas Day, and Sam only made it until ten that New Year's. True to her word, Melanie bought Sam all the steak she wanted, most of which she used as inventory for The Flaming Pigs.
Abby's eyes forever retained their deep blue color, and her hair had taken the length and style of her mother's by the time she was two, but it still retained Freddie's brunette shade.
On the day that Abigail Benson came home, Freddie had the radio on and tuned to his and Sam's favorite stations. The radio host was nearing the end of his talk, and like usual, he asked,
"Anyone interested in making a shoutout, you know which number to call!"
Freddie thought about this for a moment, then he flipped his cell phone open and dialed the station.
"Hello, this is Nate Thompson, your Seattle Beat Radio host. Who's this?"
Freddie was pleasantly surprised. He had never gotten through to the station before.
"Freddie Benson."
"Hey there, Mr. Benson, and what can I do for you?"
"I'd like to make a shoutout to a certain Mrs. Benson here next to me, and another shoutout to Abby, who's just barely four days old."
"Congratulations!"
"Thank you!" Freddie said, casting a fond look at his sleeping daughter and exhausted wife. But she had heard the shoutout, and she took Freddie's hand in hers.
"You didn't have to do that."
"I know."
Sam rolled her eyes, laughing gently. "You are a sap, Freddie Benson."
"But you love me."
"I know that."
The radio host, who had heard this exchange due to Freddie forgetting to hang up, smiled into his microphone.
"Well, Seattle, here's to love, marriage, and to new life…"
Freddie snapped his phone shut, rubbing the back of Sam's hand with his thumb.
"This is Nate Thompson signing off…"
The car pulled up into the Benson's driveway, and the halt woke up Abby, who patted at her blanket happily.
"Goodnight, Seattle. Over and out."
A/N: And now you know why it's called Over and Out xDD
Wow. This chapter took a whole week to write. If you'd like, I'll make a oneshot showing what the Benson's are up to nowadays and put it in Frosting Fights.
Also, art pertaining to this fic will start showing up on my DeviantArt account, which is MJEatsPants. I do not eat pants. It's an inside joke.
I really hope you enjoyed this chapter, and this fanfic. It's been a pleasure writing it, and all your nice reviews made it that much more fun. Hope you liked reading as much as I liked writing.
Thank you so much! Cannot say how much it means to me. Keep on being awesome, my fellow Seddie warriors!