o O o
A/N: Welcome new subscribers; I hope you'll have a chance to drop me a line and let me know what you think of the story.
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Freddie answered Carly's text as honestly as he could. "Found Sam. No help needed." He realized he hadn't actually asked her anything about the paper and prayed that wouldn't come back to bite him later. Then again, once Carly heard the news, that paper was going to plummet to the bottom of her list. Shifting uneasily in his bus seat, he wondered if there was anything he could say to predispose her to react more favorably to the bomb that was about to be dropped on her unsuspecting head. The answer to that was probably a big, fat NO, since he was on the "didn't see it, didn't hear it" train. He sighed. Might as well get psyched up; it looked like he would once again be called upon to fulfill his role as the Diffuser – not to be confused with Defuser. He couldn't defuse either of the girls, but was adept at absorbing their energy and spreading it out at a much safer voltage. Fredward Benson, human transformer.
o O o
There was no argument over which of them would enlighten Carly. Sam knew if she didn't do it herself, Carly would retreat into the infamous Snit of Betrayal. Spencer knew if he didn't do it, she would cast the Arctic Freeze. Since neither of these was a particularly desirable outcome, unspoken agreement placed them together in front of the TV when Carly returned from footnoting with Gibby.
Without so much as a how do you do, she zeroed in on Sam. "THERE you are! Sam, did you threaten Freddie with bodily harm so that he would tell me you don't need help with your paper?"
"Well…" she began thoughtfully, "it's possible that the 'bodily' part applies here somehow, but aside from that fortuitous vocabular coincidence, I'm pretty sure that I didn't."
"Sam, be serious! Senior projects are due in four days and I have yet to see you –"
"Carls! Chill, ok? I – I mean WE want to talk to you about something else right now."
Spencer jumped in helpfully. "Well actually, that's really all we needed to tell you. That we're a we."
Sam looked at him and gave a small shake of her head. Not Manic. The slight widening of his eyes answered 'this is Carly. Manic always deals with Carly.' She shook her head again and leaned against him. We'll see.
Carly rolled her eyes. "Yes Spencer, I can see that you're a 'we.' That's generally what is meant by an aggregation of two or more people who are connected in some way. "
"That's it exactly," Spencer agreed.
"WHAT'S it exactly?"
"The connected in some way part."
"Spencer, is there an actual point to this conversation?"
Sam huffed. "For crying out loud, Carly, we're trying to tell you that we're TOGETHER."
"Yes, Sam, I can see that you're together. That's generally what is meant by being in the same place at the same time. Now what is it that you need to tell me?"
Was she being purposely dense? "OMG! Carly, TOGETHER! As in 'a couple'. As in 'in love.' As in REMIND ME TO TAKE MY PILLS! Is that clear enough?"
Spencer closed his eyes. Way to break it to her gently…
"I'm sorry Spence," Sam said contritely, "but at this rate we were going to be here all night. If you're going to pull a band aid off, you have to just RIP it. "
Carly blinked. "So was there anything else?"
Spencer opened his eyes to look curiously at his sister. "Carly –"
"As I said, I can see that you're a 'we.' I can see that you're together. I've been expecting this," she said calmly, "well, except for that last part." She looked reproachfully at them. "You could have told me. Why does everyone always assume I'm going to 'freak the freak out'? "
"Wait wait wait! What do you mean you've been expecting this?" Sam demanded.
"Well, you're always here. Ok, you're here most of the time anyway, but Freddie and I haven't even been around and you still make a beeline. You answer his phone; you make choices for him - he lets you. He cooks especially for you – doesn't even wait for me to get home. You ditch school on your birthday and do what? You spend all day here trying to teach Spencer how to dance. I knew T Bo couldn't be serving barbecue on a stick EVERY day, so there had to be something or SOMEONE else you were rushing out of school for. The evidence, while circumstantial, strongly pointed towards that someone being my brother. And you COULD have told me."
"So are you saying that you have no objection?" Spencer asked, clearly surprised.
"If you love her and she loves you, why would I? What I object to is being treated like a child. You've obviously granted Sam adult status. Don't I deserve the same?"
"Carly…are you trying to tell me something here?"
Carly flushed. "NO, not like that, but YES! I'm trying to tell you that I'm not a child. I'm trying to tell you that it hurts my feelings to be excluded from something as wonderful as my only brother and my best friend being in love."
"Carly, we ARE telling you. We're telling you now. It's not like we've been out telling everyone else we know except for you," Sam pointed out. "I'm sorry; I wasn't trying to hurt your feelings. It's just…you have him all the time. I wanted a little bit of time to myself. I wish I had the words to explain what it means to me that Spencer loves me." She glanced at him and continued, "I don't think I'm wrong in saying that this relationship is something new for both of us. I've never in my life put my heart out on the line like I did when this started. And I don't think he's ever made the kind of commitment that he's made to me. We don't want to exclude you; we were just finding our way in including each other. Will you forgive me for being selfish and try to be happy for us?"
Carly's expression softened and she sank down beside Sam to give her a hug. "I AM happy for you. Really. I can see a lot of good in this. Just do me a favor – if it belongs behind closed doors, please keep it there. Ok? I'm heading over to the Groovy Smoothie; (that does NOT mean that I want to come home and find panties on the stairs…) Freddie promised me dinner. For some reason he seems to think I'm in need of stress relief. I know Gibby can be challenging, but I don't think I'm a basket case yet. Do I look like a basket case to you?"
"Not at all," Spencer assured her. "But it's good of Freddie to look out for you like that. Don't knock it." Worried about the news but blaming it on Gibby – what a smart guy… One of these days maybe Carly would get around to figuring that out.
"So is it ok to share this info with Freddie, or are you still a secret?"
Sam's eyes sparkled. "You want to tell the nub? I don't know; Spencer, do you think Freddie can be trusted with a revelation of this magnitude?"
Spencer coughed. "I think Freddie has an impressive capacity for revelations. If the topic happens to come up, by all means, feel free."
Carly let out a sigh of relief. "That's good; I really don't like secrets. See you guys later – love you!" Exiting the apartment, she shut the door firmly behind her.
In his mind's eye, Spencer rearranged the scene. Freddie was drawn in to flank Sam on the right, alert and watchful. Carly took up a position on his left (minus the "O") - watching the couple with a benevolent eye. An "I can handle it" word bubble floated above her head. It had seemed too easy – both falling into line independently of the other, responding in ways that he had not expected. He acknowledged that he DID have to accord them adult status; they earned it.
"So…that went better than I imagined. Next time though, can we work on the delivery?"
"You didn't like that?" Sam teased. Sobering at once she said, "I AM sorry. Sometimes the Puckett just comes out, you know? I'm working on it."
"I know Mädchen; I know. You did such a good job with Freddie; I'm really proud. Carly was a little irked at us and pushed your buttons on purpose. I'm just worried about the people we have left to persuade."
"Does it really matter what they think Spence?" she asked softly.
"Does it matter…" he echoed. It mattered only if he let it matter.
Sam watched him carefully. She noted the moment that his eyes hardened -the wound was an old one, and had been left untended. The girl inside recognized it and claimed it as her own. He gathered her in his arms and his voice was gruff when the answer came. "No Sam, it doesn't matter." With his lips on her throat, she melted against him. "It's OK Spence," she whispered, "you don't have to be a superhero all the time…you're not just one anymore."
God, he loved this woman. The last thought he had before she drove all thought away was a sardonic "Sorry Carly…" The panties hit the floor.