iRelease You

Sam had taken Carly to lunch that afternoon, after a trip to the Pike Place Market. It was the least she could do, in her mind, after fucking things up so royally. She would understand if Carls wanted to call it quits after this. That was just how badly she'd screwed the pooch today, at least in her mind. Carls, of course, kept telling her how everything was just fine, so long as Freddie and Melanie forgave her.

"Carls, honey, I just can't apologize enough for what happened."

Carly's cell phone rang, ruining the mood. She glanced at the Caller ID and her heart sank. Her father was calling. She hadn't spoken to him since the previous week, when he had tried to physically assault her, all for her crime of falling in love. Against her better judgment, she took his call, but she wasn't about to be his saccharin-sweet little princess any longer.

"What do you want? I really have nothing to say to you."

"Carly, please, hear me out…"

"Colonel, there isn't anything you could say that I would want to hear."

"Sweetheart… Honey… Please…"

Carly felt herself get physically sick. She had no idea what the man was looking for from her. She certainly couldn't be what he wanted.

"Don't you DARE 'Sweetheart' me, you Son of a Bitch, after what you've done…"

Steven Shay continued to press the issue.

"Carly, I understand if you hate me, I've certainly given you that right... however…"

"YOU UNDERSTAND NOTHING!" she screamed. "I am not going to have this conversation with you, Colonel… I want you to understand something, ONCE AND FOR ALL! Nothing you can ever say or do will change the way I feel about Sam – EVER. As soon as I start college – which you won't have to pay for, by the way – she and I will be out on our own and that will be that. Quite frankly, I'm done! WE'RE DONE! You aren't any good to me, so I release you… Good bye, Daddy!" Carly said the last word with as much contempt as she could muster. She felt every raw, hurtful, negative emotion she possessed come raging to the surface. She was shaking, with only Sam Puckett as her protector. Overcome, she began to sob right then and there, in the middle of the street.

"Carls…Baby…" Sam kissed her cheek, not caring who might see.

Carly's phone rang again. Steven Shay had the audacity to call back. Sam snatched the phone from Carly's trembling hand and answered it without a second's hesitation. The contempt in her voice was palpable.

"Listen, call her again and we're going to the police and having you charged with Harassment!" She ended the call before Steven Shay even knew what had hit him.

Distraught, Carly beamed at Sam. She loved her. She loved her with all of her soul. She would breathe her last breath in this world loving Samantha Puckett. Tears streamed down her face and her makeup ran. She felt hot, swollen, bloated, embarrassed, and a host of other emotions she couldn't yet process. She didn't care. As long she had Sam, all was right in her world. The sky could be falling all around her, but with Sam by her side, it would never matter.

"Sam…" Carly squeaked through tears. "Home… Please…"

Sam craned her mouth to Carly's ear.

"I love you, Cupcake."

It was all Carly Shay needed to hear. The gaping hole in her stomach knitted. She would be well. It would take time and it would certainly be painful, but she would be well. She had Sam.

"I love you too… I love you too."

Sam knew that Carly was in no position to trek her way back across town on a city bus. She just wouldn't allow it. Reaching the curb, she hailed a cab, opened the door, and as gently as she could, shepherded Carly inside, following soon after. She closed the door with a slam.

"Bushwell Plaza. NOW." Sam dug into her purse, fumbled for her wallet, and produced a twenty dollar bill.

The cab pulled off into midday Seattle traffic, but neither Carly nor Sam was in any position to notice. So far as they were concerned, the other was the only thing that existed in the entire world. It killed Sam to see her this way. It tore at the fiber of her very soul to see Carly Shay suffer, especially so unnecessarily. If it took the rest of her life, Sam Puckett would see to it that no one ever hurt her precious, beautiful, vivacious Cupcake ever again. If they did, they would have to go through her in order to do it. She drew Carly into an embrace, kissing her discreetly, using her lips as a bandage for Carly's pain.

"I love you, Carlotta." Sam whispered, using her given name for the first time in quite a while. It was the soothing balm that Carly needed. Her nose crinkled at the sound of her full name, causing a weak smile to play its way across her face, if only for a moment.

"Sam…" Carly was hoarse with tears.

"Shhh, Cupcake. I know."

Carly managed a giggle. Of course Sam knew. Sam Puckett always knew.

The cab dropped both girls at the front entrance to the Bushwell Plaza with money to spare. Sam told the driver to keep the change. She knew they just needed to go. It took all of Carly's concentration to focus on the momentary task of unlocking the back door and exiting the car. Sam Puckett followed her, draping her denim jacket over Carly, as though she were a celebrity being shielded from the paparazzi working the rope line.

They entered the building and crossed the lobby without incident. Sam saw no sign of Lewbert, nor did she care. She dropped the jacket from over Carly's eyes as they waited. They were already beginning to swell.

"Just a few more minutes, Cupcake, I promise…" Sam cooed into her ear, barely above a whisper. The elevator finally arrived, its doors sliding open. The girls stepped inside, the doors whooshing shut behind them. Braced against the back wall of the car, Carly collapsed against Sam, defeated, and cried.

"Shhh, Cupcake… we're almost home, I promise. A few more minutes and you can rest, I promise. Can you do that for me?"

Carly stared deep into Sam's face. She could get lost in those eyes forever.

'Anything for you', her look seemed to say.

Arriving on the eighth floor, Sam guided Carly down the hall to 8C, opening the door with Carly's key. She forced the door open with a kick. She turned to Carly, who looked green around the gills. This simply would not do.

"Upsy Daisy, Cupcake…" Sam swept Carly into her arms, carrying her across the threshold, as she imagined she would on their wedding night. Sam could feel Carly slipping away in her arms. She knew it was coming. She crossed the darkened living room, depositing her now sleeping love onto the sofa, resting her against the arm. Lacking a suitable blanket, her jacket, now damp with a mixture of rain and Carly's tears, would have to suffice. Sam drew it up to Carly's chin. Certain she was resting comfortably; Sam crossed the room and entered the kitchen. Finding a pen and notepad on the kitchen counter, she scrawled a note:

Spence,

Carly sick. Thank your father for that.

Let her sleep.

Sam

Signing her name with a scratch and a scribble, she returned the way she'd come and sat on the sofa, opposite the object of her affection. She would be here when she woke up, for whatever she needed. No matter when that was. She owed her that much. That was, of course, what unconditional love meant.