Against All Odds

Disclaimer: I don't own iCarly

A/N:

Chapter 11 (Time of Need)

Spencer worked on reassembling his art sculpture with Carly while Sasha fed Blake at the kitchen counter. He hoped he could finish the sculpture in time for the buyer, so that they could have some money left, but the chances were very slim. It was supposed to be another dog sculpture for the same impatient buyer that he made the Labradoodle sculpture for so long ago when he first met Sasha. So already, the marks were against him. What was the point? It just didn't make him happy the way it used to.

He dropped his paintbrush into the bucket and slowly stood from the ground. Carly gazed up helplessly as Spencer scrubbed the back of his head. "I'm done. The buyer won't take it, we won't be done with this before tomorrow, I'm done." He saw despair reach over Carly's face and she quickly stood from the sculpture.

"But Spencer, it could give us at least some money to tide us over, right?"

"What's the point? There's no way to complete it in time, and the buyer said he won't push deadlines any further." He looked to Sasha and Blake, his heart fluttered momentarily as Sasha looked over at him. Her lips were pressed into a thin line, her eyes were glazed over and she appeared tired and exhausted. He needed to take care of his family first, above all else. He didn't care if he gave up on his art, not as long as his family would be safe. He lowered his voice to a whisper and turned his eyes down at the sculpture. "At least we're together now…" The door swung open and Spencer's eyes flew over just as Freddie and Sam came running in.

"We got your text!" Sam exclaimed, hugging Carly close. "We came as soon as we heard, we even brought our-" Sam looked around and narrowed her eyes, meeting Freddie's gaze carefully. They walked outside for a second. Spencer's eyebrows lifted and his arms folded over. He turned his head back to see Sasha leaning forward against the counter, resting on her arms and watching the door. Freddie and Sam returned with Marissa and Pam, gripping them by their wrists. The two mothers appeared agitated. Their faces were flat and they were leaning away towards the door. "We brought our mothers to try and discuss living arrangements. Maybe you could stay with one of us!"

"I am a single mother, now raising two girls," Pam said as she pulled her hand away from her daughter. Sam frowned and turned to her mother. "Besides that, we're poor enough as it is, there's nowhere in our house for them, I'm sorry."

"But mom!" Pam sighed and moved towards Spencer, putting her hand on his arm and looking at him apologetically.

"I'm sorry, I would help you if I could, but there's just no room for you." He smiled politely and lifted his hand to dismiss her. He hadn't wanted to impose on the mothers; he hadn't even expected something like this. "You could always sue Nevel for Libel and Slander, couldn't you?" He rubbed his chin and chuckled. It was a good idea, at best, but it wouldn't work.

"Most of the things Nevel said were true and could be proven, so it would be a bad case to make. Thank you for the suggestion." He turned to Sam and Freddie, then smiled at them. "And thank you for the offers, but I'll figure something out." Freddie cursed under his breath and quickly looked up to Spencer.

"Mom has that one guest bedroom, though!" Spencer's heart clenched and Sasha put her hand to her chest. Carly definitely had good friends, he could never question his little sister on that. They were trying all they could to help, but it just wasn't enough.

"One bedroom won't hold two adults, a teenager, and a toddler, Freddie. Thank you." While it could be possible, the guest bedroom Freddie was talking about was very small. There would be little space to move around, much less sleep. He inhaled and met the mothers' sad eyes. Marissa looked away and Pam seemed to show more sympathy, perhaps it was due to Pam being the one of the two that was poor. Marissa had money, and plenty of it. "If you really want to help, help us pack. I need to make a phone call." There was only one person he could think of that would have a place, but for nothing, it wouldn't be very great. He had to expect that. He walked to his bedroom and sat on the bed, looking up as Sasha walked in. "Sasha, I…I'm not giving up. I want you to know…" Sasha lowered her arms and breathed in as he kept his eyes with hers. "No matter what happens. I love you. I love my son, and I love you. I'm going to do everything I can to do right by you two."

Sasha's eyes opened and her voice softened. "I know…" She slowly sat next to him and put her hand over his. "I have something to tell you, Spencer." He looked at her, wanting to joke, to lighten the mood somehow, but he couldn't think of a damn thing to make this situation any better. "I love you too. I've never stopped, and I have faith in you. Okay? I trust you."

His heart lifted and his blood warmed inside. His lips parted, and a quiet gasp left them. He moved towards Sasha and his heart began pounding. She said the words he wanted to hear, he almost couldn't believe it. A newfound strength rose in him. If Sasha had faith in him, then so could he. "Thank you, Sasha. For believing in me. I do have a friend that could get us a place, but it wouldn't be very good, at least…it would be shelter." She closed her eyes and lifted her hand up.

"Any place that we won't get kicked out of in a week, I'm fine. Just find us somewhere to stay. Even if it's just a motel room."

"Yeah I'm pretty sure a motel room would be better than what Socko would have in store," He replied flatly. Sasha's eyes lit with remembrance of Socko, and a chuckle left her lips.

"Oh him? Well…he's better than nothing."

"Exactly." They were close to Socko back when they were dating, almost always, they'd hang with him. He was a scrappy looking fellow and always wore a white ball cap with the visor sideways. He lived out in a run-down neighborhood, known as the "ghetto", and helped to lease homes. He had a friend named Lenny, a Landlord, who knew Spencer and often said if he ever needed anything, he might be able to help. Sure, if Socko found a house and Lenny approved, it may be a run-down piece of crap, but they couldn't even afford a motel right now. "Should I give him a call? I don't want to bother with that sculpture right now…"

"You shouldn't put it off, Spencer. If you think it's the one thing that can get us money right now, you should work on it." He smiled sadly and lay back on the mattress. He pushed his hands behind his head and looked up to Sasha, who was gazing down at him. "I know you just need to relax, we all need to take a break…" He pressed his lips together and eyed her plump lips, the desire to kiss her was there even now, but why in such a hard time? He knew if he tried, she would probably smack the hell out of him. "Just think about it. If you finish the sculpture in time to make the money, then at least we'll have something to use, even for Socko. Even though he may or may not force us to pay rent, it would still help. Even something to get us on our feet for a bit. You know, I'll support you." His lips turned up and he tilted his head to the right.

"It'll be hard, but we could do it. And did you mean what you said?" She lifted her eyebrows as he breathed in, feeling nervous as hell. "About still loving me? You would have faith in me? Maybe even date me…" She bit her lip and her chest moved out as she inhaled a deep breath.

"Maybe."

"How would I know? Cause no matter what, I'm not going to stop loving, or attempting to court, you." He smirked and she laughed once. Her eyes softened and her lips rubbed against one another. He was surprised when she started leaning down to him. Her lips hovered over his and her hair clung to his face. He gazed into her bright eyes and slowly brought his arms to his sides. "Sasha?"

Her breath on his lips shot him into cloud nine, his blood rushed to his skin and his heart started to attack his ribs and lungs. She moved her body above him and leaned down, pressing her lips against his, bringing him into instant euphoria. He closed his eyes and brought his hands to her sides. He felt invincible, nothing could reach him, this was a high that he hadn't experienced in so long.

Her hands slid beneath his shirt and rubbed against his bare skin. Her fingertips kissed his chest like a million butterflies dancing around him. Her right hand rested above his heart and she lifted up a few inches from him. "I can feel your heart racing…" She carefully moved her left hand to his wrist and pulled it to her right breast. He breathed in and pressed against her chest. He felt her heart thrashing about inside, beating in rapid succession. "The way you make me feel amazes me, I don't know if I expected that or not. The way you care about Carly, how you've automatically started caring about Blake, and your willingness to let us in, I…I can't say I expected any of that."

"So what, that's how to win your heart? Is that it?"

"By being a man...Spencer. Taking responsibility..." He teased her with a smirk and slowly moved his arms around her waist. He was amazed that she was starting to come around, and now he knew how to win her back for sure. He would definitely do his best to take care of them all, even if that meant working hard on this one last sculpture for four to five hundred dollars.

"Thank you Sasha." He leaned up and kissed her passionately. She gasped into his mouth and swayed her hips to the side as he rolled her over. Her arms moved around his back as he kissed her jaw and made his way to her neck. Her eyes fluttered open as he started nipping. She opened her mouth and clamped it shut on his collarbone as he sucked in her skin. He let out a grunt as her nails scraped along his back.

This was too much, he knew they shouldn't do anything right now, there were more important matters at stake. He'd only not felt this way for such a long time, that it was so easy to give into the temptation. He could feel her giving into it, her body was quivering and tiny yelps were escaping from her. "S-Spencer…" He pulled away from her and rested his head on his pillow. Gazing into her eyes, he felt she was a true image of beauty. Indeed he wanted to paint a portrait of her, but now just wasn't the time for that. They took heavy breaths and cuddled close. Sasha curled up at his chest and sighed. "It does feel good…being in your arms again."

"It feels good having you in mine again."

"It's too easy."

"What is?" He watched as she looked up at him. He caught the faintest smile gracing her lips.

"Falling for you all over again. It's easy to fall in love, but am I afraid? Yes…I know you say you have more reason to fear, I'm the one that left, and I…I do regret that."

"I understand why, and I can promise you this." He held her closer and gently kissed her forehead. She gazed into his eyes, her breath stilled and her body relaxed into his arms. "Everything I do is for you, for Blake, and for Carly. You three are my world right now, and I don't want to do anything that might let you down."

"That's a lot to promise." She closed her eyes and flipped over, letting him spoon her body. She pulled his hand around her and held it close to her chest. "I know you'll let us down sometime, and I'll probably do the same, no one's perfect. Maybe that's what I expected back then, but…we can pull through. You haven't called Socko yet?"

"No. I don't even know what I'm going to tell him. Such short notice, we have to finish that last sculpture and get it done in time to have some money to start out with, then we have to finish packing. There's really nothing in this house that we can keep, besides mattresses, and even still…" There was no way to move mattresses, the car he had was his father's car, which meant he couldn't do a damn thing with that. At least it could serve transportation means for the next week, or until Tyrone went to take the car away. "We're in a lot of trouble."

"It'll be okay, as long as all of us are together, it'll be okay. Right?" In that single moment, it became entirely clear to him through the small tone in her voice, perhaps a hint of a click in her tone, that she really was depending on him. She needed him not to give up. Whatever the case was, he was going to give it his all. There was no room for faltering. They needed him to believe in himself, that was all.

"It will be." He watched her smile and he smiled back at her. "What do you want me to do right now? Go back and work on that sculpture?"

"Yes, but for now, just hold me a little longer."

"Okay." He reached over and kissed her temple. She nestled herself closer and hummed softly. "I love you, Sasha." He slowly closed his eyes and breathed out as all the stressors around him seemed to fade away. He never wanted this moment to end, just to keep going on forever.

Well I hope you enjoyed the chapter. It was nice of Sam and Freddie to ask their moms to help out, even though they were unable. The talk Spencer and Sasha had was very relaxing to write. Let me know what you thought of everything