Against All Odds

Disclaimer: I don't own iCarly

A/N:

Chapter 2 (His Reaction)

"Whoa is that Sasha?" Carly's voice pulled Spencer back from the trance he was in. He glanced over his shoulder and saw everyone but Gibby get up and move a little closer. This was not how he wanted to spend his day. He felt their inquisitive gazes boring into him, questioning and searching his soul for the answers they desired. His throat tightened as he moved his eyes to Sasha's.

"Hello Spencer." Her voice was soft, like satin, and calm like that of a mother. Her eyes held a certain level of sorrow. "It's been a long time…" His body began to shake and his eyes started to sting, he was fighting not to show any signs of distress. Not for the fact that she was here, but for the fact that he hadn't seen her in three years and she had a baby. He saw her glance over her shoulder and raised an eyebrow, why did she seem to panic? "Can I come in? Can you make sure to lock the door? I mean…just lock it…"

"Sure…" Sasha walked inside and Spencer shut the door. He heard the others start cooing over the baby and quickly locked the door. He spun around to Sasha and let his eyes drift to the baby. His heart started pounding inside his chest, slamming against his ribcage. Who was the father? Who got Sasha pregnant? He'd find the person, and he would tear their head off. Who could be so irresponsible! He breathed in deep and folded his arms over. "Almost three years, my god where have you been?"

"Where do you think? I've been trying to raise our son…"

"Oh, I see-" His body froze as realization slowly dawned upon him. Everyone else stared at him with shock, having figured out the same thing. Gibby dropped his chicken leg on the floor and groaned. Spencer quickly shook his head and chuckled as he frantically rubbed his ear. "I'm sorry, did I hear you correctly? I thought you said-" Sasha reached for her back pocket and carefully pulled out a folded piece of paper. She handed it to Spencer and he unfolded it, then he started to pale to the color of his bed sheets.

"Spencer, this is Blake, your son." Spencer's eyes widened and he slowly looked to Freddie, no one knew what to say. He was half expecting Sam to say something about responsibility, in which, he apparently had none. His eyes turned to Blake and his hands began to shiver. She never told him? Why didn't she tell him? Why didn't she feel that she could come to him?

"I-I'm a father and you never even told me? Why didn't you tell me you were pregnant? You're sure that the baby-"

"Spencer. I was a virgin when we met and you're the only man I've ever slept with. You're the father." His stomach churned and his heart began to sink, he wasn't prepared for a family! He wasn't ready for this at all. His hands pulled at the birth certificate as they trembled harder, he was afraid he would tear the paper. Sasha looked afraid that he might push her out the door, but he wasn't going to do that. At least, he didn't think he wanted to throw her out. There had to be a reason she was here, wasn't there?

"You never…said anything?"

"I didn't find out I was pregnant until after the breakup."

"You still could have called!" She diverted her eyes and Spencer ran his hand through his hair, a nervous habit that oddly did make him feel somewhat better. "Why the hell didn't you call me? I could have helped you! I would have loved to be a father." She moved her eyes back to him and countered with a gold glare.

"You made it prettyclear that you wouldn't give anything up for me, or anyone else for that matter, Spencer." The words shook him like a violent wind, practically blowing him off his feet and across the room. She lifted her finger and poked his chest. He winced slightly and rubbed the affected area. "You told me that you wouldn't give your lifestyle up for anyone. So when I found out I was pregnant, I figured you wouldn't want to be a father, you can't blame me there. So do not blame me!"

"You expect me to say you had no part in it? If I'm right, you left me, you never gave me much of a chance."

"We were together one month, and I gave you plenty of opportunities." He felt a simmering anger as his face flushed and his head started to turn red. Why was she even here, then? If she didn't want to be here, then what the hell was the point of all this? "You never gave me any reason to believe that you would be in any way mature enough to handle being a father."

"The hell I didn't, and if you believe that, then why the hell are you here? Feel free to walk right back out of my life if you want!" Sasha turned her eyes down and Carly cupped her hand over her mouth. "And before you tell me I have no right to be mad, I have plenty right to be mad. You never told me you were pregnant! You never gave me a chance! So answer the question, why are you here?"

"Because I have nowhere else to turn…" He was blown off his feet once again and stammered in his response. He started to say something, but nothing intelligible came out. He saw the tears in her eyes and immediately he felt like an ass. "That's fine though, I'll just find another way…" She reached down for the carrier, but in an instant, Carly sped past and picked up Blake in her arms.

"Hold on!" Carly replied in a quick, disciplinary tone. Spencer and Sasha looked at her and felt their emotions beginning to simmer out. "Spencer, obviously Sasha's giving you another chance if she's here now, maybe hear her out?" He moved his eyes to Sasha and let out a quiet sigh. "And Sasha, try to be patient with Spencer, you guys shouldn't be fighting in front of the baby, anyway." She rocked Blake in her arms and looked down at him. Spencer rubbed the back of his head and felt a sense of unease beginning to rise up in him. "Now. Obviously something happened and I don't like being all that left in the dark, so…will someone please explain to me what's going on? Last time I saw Sasha, she was going down the elevator…when did you guys date?"

"After he got done with that sculpture he called me up and we went out." Sasha shrugged her shoulders and Spencer continued to gaze at Blake, trying to take it all in. How was he supposed to react to all this? Most men would jump at the chance to be a father, wouldn't they? He wasn't going to deny Sasha and Blake, he knew he couldn't just do that, so what could he do? He felt a sudden hand upon his shoulder and jumped. He turned his head back and saw it was only Sam, nothing to worry about.

"So Spencer, I know it's probably the inappropriate time to say this, but I guess Freddie and I have you beat on responsibility." He scowled and turned his attention back to Blake. The baby's eyes moved to him and reached for him. Spencer's heart started to soften as Sasha moved to her son.

"Blake, this is your papa. Can you say Papa?" Blake's eyes glinted and a big smile came to his face as he tried to say papa.

"Pa-pa?" The child's words struck him in a tender spot of his heart. He lifted his hand to his chest as Blake waved his arms. "Papa?"

"Can I hold him?" Sasha nodded as Carly moved over and handed Blake of to Spencer. Blake looked into Spencer's eyes and made a small baby grunt. Spencer felt his heart beginning to swell in size as he studied his son. Blake was clearly his son, he had Spencer's eyes, his nose, his ears. Joy started to climb up inside him as it really started to hit him that he was a father. Sure, it wasn't fair that Sasha stayed away, but maybe he could understand why. "Hey there little guy, I'm Spencer. It's nice to meet you…" The baby laughed and once again Spencer was overjoyed by the infectious laugh.

Sasha stepped next to him and ran her hand through Blake's hair. "He started learning to talk when he was ten months. Walking, eleven…" Spencer nodded and felt a sense of pride and fullness rush into him, and it finally dawned on him that this was a serious life change. He wanted to be there for his son. If Sasha thought he was irresponsible, maybe he could change? Maybe he could be more responsible.

"What made you finally come back..."

"No money. Made a bad decision trying to get money and now I owe money to someone…" Spencer's eyebrows rose as he held Blake close and felt the toddler wrap his little arms around his neck. Sasha's eyebrows shot up as Spencer beamed with awe. "Holy…Well, I guess he recognizes you as his dad."

"What do you mean?"

"Usually I'm the only one that can hold him without him fussing. I don't even know how Carly managed to do it…"

"Can I hold him?" Sam asked as she reached up to Blake. As she touched him, Blake broke out a loud wailing cry, causing Spencer to recoil and take a step back. Once Sam was out of the way, the toddler stopped crying. "Aw…what did I do?"

"Nothing, Blake doesn't trust a lot of people." A sudden jab hit Spencer in the heart. Those words echoed in his mind, as did her prior words about owing money to someone. What could make a baby cautious around someone besides violence against either it or its mother? He moved his eyes to Sasha and saw her eyeing the ground. She lifted her gaze up and smiled gently. As he studied her, that's when he saw it, a large arm band around her right wrist.

"Sasha…"

"Hm?"

"When you say you owe someone money…" He lifted Blake up and smiled at the baby. "Do you want Aunt Carly to hold you again?"

"A-Au-Auntie?"

"Yes, my sister, your aunt." Blake looked to Carly and smiled as she waved, he extended his arms to her and she happily took him from Spencer. "Okay…" He turned to Sasha and she took a step back, she'd seen him eyeing the arm band. He knew she never wore those, even back when they dated she expressed dislike for them.

"What are you doing?"

"Checking something…" He gently took her wrist and she winced as he lifted it up. The others watched in silence as he slowly pushed up the band, revealing a swollen and bruised wrist. A sickening feeling erupted from his stomach and bile threatened his throat. "Who, or what, did this to you?" He wasn't normally protective, but for some reason, seeing her wrist all puffed up the way it was made him want to attack the person who hurt her. He felt Sasha's body slump and looked up to meet her eyes, he could see she really didn't want to talk about it. He was going to press on. "Was it a boyfriend?"

"No, you're the last guy I dated, Spencer. I had a kid, no time for a boyfriend. I barely even had time for a job, clearly, considering I was fired from it." She lifted her eyes skyward and pulled her hand back from him. "That's just from a few days ago. You see, I kept having these run ins with these guys working for this loan shark…" He lowered his arms and felt his heart beginning to sink, he knew all too well what a loan shark was, and he knew getting mixed up with one was bad news no matter what the cost. "One time in my life, I gambled…I had to think about Blake."

"And you borrowed money from a loan shark? What were you thinking?"

"There was no other options…"

"You could have come back here when you ran out of options in the first place, Sasha! I would have let you in!" His voice had risen beyond what he wanted, so he stopped himself and wiped his brow. "Look, I'm sorry, it's just…it's been three years and no word from you, you never told me I was a father. Why? Because you thought I wouldn't make a good dad?" She crossed her arms and turned away from him. Sam and Freddie exchanged awkward glances and looked at Carly, who appeared to be feeling uneasy about the situation. "Look, yes I loved my artwork, and I still do, but what started that fight back then…it was just a damn conversation."

"Spencer, I gave you a big part of myself and I knew that if we were going to be serious, I would have to be able to rely on you. To depend on you." She clicked her heel on the ground and spun to face him, her face was mixed with mild agitation and sadness. "I needed a man, not a boy depending solely on his father's finances. If you didn't have your dad's finances, could you even earn a decent living?" He lowered his arms and felt his throat clench up, he wasn't positive. It would be difficult, but he'd have to try to find a job, yet in this economy it would be rough.

"I could probably do it…"

"But if you had to, Spencer. Could we rely on you?"

"I have no doubts about that." He watched her shift to the side, suspicion shimmered in her eyes and he could feel her searching into his very being. He moved his eyes to Blake and gently rubbed the back of his head. "Did you…Did you bring any of Blake's stuff? Diapers and all that?"

"No, I had some of my things ready, had a bag of all his stuff, but I left it back at the apartment. Those thugs came up and I had to get the hell out of there…" He swallowed hard and nodded his head, they needed to get baby supplies as soon as possible. He turned to Freddie and pointed at him. "Freddie, doesn't your mother have a bunch of baby stuff?" Freddie raised his eyebrow in response.

"Why would she-oh yeah…yeah she does."

He clicked his tongue and gestured his thumb to the door. "Go grab a couple diapers and some of the basic baby supplies. Someone needs to go to the store and grab some actual baby stuff. That can be our job, Sasha."

"Oh, okay…we could try to grab my stuff from the house. Well, it's more of a shack than anything."

"Whatever the case, we'll try it. Freddie, get moving please." Freddie nodded and left the apartment. "Do you feed him milk from a bottle or is he breastfed?"

"Either works usually...So, what are you saying, you actually want us around?"

"I'm a father, Sasha. I want my kid to be a part of my life, yes. You too, if you'll have me…"

"Hm, we'll see if I think you're a good father, but I can't deny Blake the right to grow up with his dad…" Spencer beamed with pride as Sasha started walking past him and pushed his chest a bit. "Don't get all excited yet." He raised an eyebrow as Sasha knelt next to Carly and Blake. Blake met her eyes and cooed happily. "Blake, Mama's going to the store with Papa, will you be a good boy for Auntie Carly?" Carly pursed her lips and tilted her head.

"You're not taking him with you?"

"I want him to get used to you. Besides, I don't have a stroller…"

"Right."

Spencer folded his arms and chuckled lightly. "You don't think I can do it, do you Sasha?" She stood up and sighed, keeping her back turned to him. She smirked and slowly turned around.

"You want to prove it?"

"I can take care of you and our son…"

"Fine, let's see it. First things first, we need to get the baby supplies from the store."

"Fine. Let's go."

"Lead the way. Oh boyish man." Spencer narrowed his eyes and huffed as he turned towards the door.

Well tell me what you're thinking so far, please. Give me some critique, give me some input on the chapter as a whole. Honestly, I'm not about to do what I think is a good storyline if it only has one reader. Seems it's happening lately that people just want seddie fluff, no one worries about a good story that might have some drama in it. I'm testing the waters here.