Against All Odds

Disclaimer: I don't own iCarly

A/N:

Chapter 26 (The Family Car)

Spencer and Sasha were at the used car lot, Buyer's Advantage, trying to purchase a cheap, used car. It was tiresome using the bus, and the bus likely cost more than gas would. Either or, a car would feel a lot safer. They could strike a good deal with a State Farm agent. They were here for one car in particular. When they searched the site, they'd seen a Nissan Altima, four door brown sedan with good mileage and stats. It was a 1993, however, and it was the cheapest thing they could find. It was being offered to them at nearly two thousand dollars. The person they spoke to over the phone seemed to think it was a good deal, so they hoped that was the case. There was no way they wanted to waste two thousand dollars on a mechanical hunk of junk.

Travis did say before he left, they should use the money to buy a cheap car, if they could. Spencer had already been with State Farm for years, since he had owned cars in his lifetime, so he actually did get discounts from them. His agent said his monthly amount would be cheap enough, and to top it off, Jessica convinced him to have the agent send the insurance bills to her address as well, so that she could pay for his car insurance. She did not accept no for an answer, so car insurance would, thankfully, cost him nothing. Until, of course, he got a job that would allow him to pay the car insurance.

The couple were standing in the middle of the car lot, several rows of cars surrounded them while in front of them stood a small round building. Sasha gripped Blake's stroller handles tightly while Spencer carefully guided his hand to her lower back. "Spencer? You remember looking up on that yahoo answers site? We live on Morgan St, right?" She was just a bit frazzled over having read about the areas of Seattle one wanted to avoid, and they lived right around the Columbia City and Rainier Avenue area that the person on Yahoo Answers said to avoid. When looking at the crime reports, it was not fun. "This place, right in the heart of all that stuff…"

"It's fine, we do have a cop living next door to us." He understood why she was still a bit fearful of the area, almost every single time they got on a bus, they'd start driving by scenes of violence and vandalism. It was rather depressing, and it didn't help that she had to carry her purse with her when and if she went out. "I thought you already lived in a neighborhood like this?" Though, in all fairness, he knew she never really left the house. She was so close to agoraphobia, that it wasn't funny. Agoraphobia was the fear of leaving home, or leaving a safe place.

"That place wasn't as dangerous or violent. Crime on every single street." He could see the relief in her eyes when she eyed the cars. No more would she have to walk around these streets to reach the bus stop, no more would she have to get on a bus full of frightening people that always watched her. That was important to him, that she should feel safe. He smiled and moved his arm around her waist. She turned her head to him and smiled slightly, locking her eyes with his. He studied her wavering eyes, her body had a very mild, uneasy tremble.

"You're so on edge. Would you like a massage later?"

"That might be nice." He turned his lips upwards as she laid her head on his shoulder. As she closed her eyes, her body relaxed and leaned into him. He kissed the top of her head and looked at the building to see a woman of at least forty years, walking towards them. She had brown hair going down to her chin and sparkling brown eyes.

"Hi, are you the Shays?" Spencer nodded his head and extended his hand. He ignored the fact that she referred to Sasha with his last name, it was close enough, even though she wasn't married to him. Hell, they'd even gotten used to calling each other their fiancé, when in reality, he hadn't proposed to her and she hadn't said she accepted.

"Spencer Shay, this is my fiancé Sasha." The woman looked at them for a moment and turned her eyes to Blake. She shook her head for a moment and motioned for them to follow her as she turned around. Spencer glared at her for a minute and felt Sasha tense. His anger rose to his throat, but he didn't speak up, at least the woman didn't say anything about their having a child and not yet being married. Though, the look in her eyes was judgmental enough, and he knew how much that bothered Sasha. "You're showing us the car, right?" He hissed out the 'S' in his statement and felt Sasha smack his chest. She could tell he was upset by the woman's reaction.

"She doesn't know, don't get upset with her…" She whispered and started walking with Blake. The woman glanced back over her shoulder and smiled at the two.

"Yes, the sedan is right this way." They followed her around the building and Spencer eyed the cars as they passed. His irritation at the woman simmered. Sasha was right, the woman didn't know the circumstances, and she hadn't actually said anything about Blake. "My name is Julia, it is nice to meet you. I hope you find this car good for your family. How long have you been together?"

"A couple years now," Sasha remarked. Spencer raised an eyebrow and she shot him a quick look. Maybe she didn't want the woman to know that she'd been trying to raise a baby on her own. "We're waiting for the right time to get married or have any more kids."

"You seem like a very happy family." Julia smiled at them and Spencer relaxed. After another minute of walking, they found the car. It hardly even looked owned. It shimmered in the sunlight, was not a dull brown color, but had a brilliant shine to it. He was instantly surprised and began walking around the sedan. Looking inside, he saw beautiful brown, leather seats and a brown steering wheel that matched the chairs. How could such a good looking car be so cheap?

"The prior owner took good care of this car, didn't they?"

"Yes, but we did have to fix it up. You can't see where there had been a dent in the passenger door." Spencer and Sasha looked at the front passenger door and chuckled, there were absolutely no dents. "The prior owner had a teenager that took this car on several joyrides, so they had a few accidents, nothing major. He ran into a light post, and had a couple fender benders, but as I said over the phone, we fixed this car up good as new. However, given its age, and the fact that it has been in some accidents, it is our lowest marked vehicle. I would say it's worth more than what is priced, however I can give it to you for two thousand."

Here's where the haggling came in, but he wanted to take it for a test drive first. If it ran as well as the lady informed them, then it would be great. "We're able to take a test drive?"

"Yes. Follow me inside, I'll have you sign a couple forms and then let you drive around the block." Once the dealer started walking, they followed. They appreciated the woman's honesty, as many car salespeople were not that honest when it came to their cars.

Once done filling out forms, they had the car out for a test drive. Spencer sat in the driver's seat, Sasha in the passenger, and Blake was sitting in a car seat provided by the dealership, strapped in the back. It was the same design as the one they had bought from the store, and it fit very well in the car. Spencer adjusted the rearview mirror and briskly adjusted his hair. Sasha laughed and playfully smacked his hand down. "Come on Spencer, drive."

"All right, your majesty." He smirked teasingly and reached over, kissing the corner of her lips. She blushed and closed her eyes. Satisfied, he started the drive.

The car ran well, didn't have a whole lot of used miles, so the prior owners didn't actually drive it all that much. "This car must have been a teenager's first car gift or something." It was possible, and after a couple mishaps, the parents likely returned the car as punishment. He turned out onto the street and smiled as Sasha slowly ran her fingers along the tanned dashboard. "This car really is beautiful. Can you imagine this being our first family car?" He hesitated a moment and felt a grin spreading across his face. Her words were stunning, did she even realize what she'd suggested?

"You said our first family car? Am I to take that means you see us together as a family?" Her blush deepened and she quickly pulled her hand from the dash. He looked into the rearview mirror at Blake and watched as the boy played with a toy dinosaur. It was a yellow triceratops, that evidently Blake was bestowing the gift of flight to.

He parked at a red light and let his eyes flick to the windshield wiper lever. He pulled it, letting the water jets spray the windshield, the wipers activated and swept the windshield in one clean, swift motion. The brakes were smooth, the ride was smooth, the car was an automatic, and even the air conditioner worked as well as the heater! Sasha reached over and turned on the radio, Beethoven music began pumping from the radio.

"This is great, Spencer!" He chuckled and reached over to the buttons on the space between the front seats. They were for the front and back windows, with a child safety lock for both windows and doors. He pressed down on the front windows and watched as Sasha started to hang her arm from the window. When the light turned green, he took a left turn and watched as Sasha's hair breezed through the wind. She laughed. Music to his ears.

"Are you happy?" He turned his gaze to her for a moment. She put her hand through her hair and looked at him with a bright grin. She was positively glowing, her eyes were wide and full of joy. Moments like these, he lived for.

A mental image of them taking this car on the highway, Blake and Carly in the backseat with Sasha beside him. Windows down, music playing, and everyone singing along. He wanted that, he wanted to see everyone filled with joy, filled with a happiness that knew no bounds. This car, he could have so many memories with the people he loved in this car. It wasn't impossible to imagine.

"Of course I'm happy, Spencer. If we can have a family car, if we can drive to and from work or interviews, take Carly to school, and then Blake will be starting Kindergarten in a few years…just think of how great this could be for us."

"I agree. Do you like this car?" Her input was more crucial than anyone else was. If she didn't like the car, he wouldn't get it. If she liked the car, he would go for it. He wanted this car, he didn't just want a car, he wanted this car. Why? He wasn't sure, but if he could picture his family in this one, then that's exactly what he wanted.

"I do."

Then it was settled, this car would be their first car. When they returned to the dealership, Julia was waiting for them. As they exited and started pulling Blake from the car, Spencer made his way over to the dealer. "So how did you enjoy the drive, Mr. Shay?"

"We were very pleased. We want it." Sasha nodded her head and carefully placed Blake in the stroller. Julia grinned and Spencer's lip curled into a sly smile. "Now I want to discuss the price. When we first arrived, you gave us a very judgmental look when you realized we weren't married, but had a two year old son." Julia frowned and let her eyes drift down.

"Yes, I'm sorry, I was judging, but I didn't say anything about it. It is not my business whether you're married with a child or not."

"The important thing is we're together and looking for a car. I think, however, we should lower the price a little." The woman sighed and motioned for them to follow. Haggling, she likely did this many times and knew how the process was. As Spencer followed, he could feel Sasha's unwavering gaze from behind.

"I'm willing to take the price down to fifteen hundred. You're getting a great deal out of this car, though."

"Oh I know, I think it's worth a lot, however let's see if you'd settle for one thousand. My family and I are short on money and I was recently laid off." Julia turned to him and moved her eyes to Blake. Her brow furrowed and her hand rested gently upon her forehead. "We do live in a lesser part of town, and we're a bit afraid to board the bus."

"Twelve hundred…can you afford twelve hundred?" He started to respond, but Sasha quickly nudged him in the side. He chuckled nervously, meeting her glare, and decided to settle at the dealer's price. He moved his hand to the back of his head and closed his eyes, smiling cheerfully.

"I think we've hit a price." They did manage to take it down eight hundred dollars, and that right there, was yet another month of bills they could deal with. The woman smiled at him and led them into the building to fill out all the papers.

Once all the forms were filled out and the car bought, they were able to leave the dealership with their new car. Now all they had to do was get a couple license plates and new stickers for the car. All in all this was a great day, he would have to thank his grandpa later.

So they have a car, this is good.