Against All Odds

Disclaimer: I don't own iCarly

A/N:

Chapter 33 (The Right Choice)

"Actually it's all of us, Spencer." His mom's voice was the first, Ken and Travis greeted him from the background, and then his grandma Rebecca, Aunt Regina, and cousin, Michael. He had to say, he was impressed, his mom actually pulled the whole family to try to talk with him. He heard Michael speak next, with a very impressed tone of voice.

"Man, I'm twenty eight and still don't have a girlfriend! You're thirty, got a fiancé, and a son! To top it all off, why have I not met them yet? Aunt Jessica's been going nuts over here! So have mom and dad!" Spencer closed his eyes and chuckled once. So, they didn't know Sasha was pregnant again, yet. Or at least, they didn't seem to know. "You need to get down here, and give me some tips, dude!"

"You're not too busy with the political life, Mike?"

"Nah, I'm an intern over at the mayor's office. I would like to be a congressman, but I'm also trying to enjoy my life while I can. I mean hey, you don't have to be a stuffy stick in the mud just because you're in politics. Right Dad?" Ken laughed and Michael merely chuckled. "Aunt Jessie's thinking of retiring in a year or two, and I think she's getting a grey hair." Spencer heard his mother gasp and smiled at the image of his cousin flashing her a teasing grin. "I think, you and that lady of yours ought to come down here, go to college if you want, and get a job."

"Not wasting any time there, eh Cuz?"

"No Spencer, I'm not. You want to see my political kung fu? I can show you, you'll lose, my dad taught me how to debate growing up, I was number one in class!"

"You were number five, son," Ken said with a slight laugh. Michael sighed and bowed his head.

"Can't let a guy dream, huh pops?" Socko looked to Spencer, amused. The phone was on a high enough volume that he could hear the whole conversation. He was clearly enjoying every second of it. "Anyway, I took have my degree in law and political science, so if you're in need of legal help…don't shoot me down now."

"Actually Mike, I might need you some day." Maybe sooner than he thought, considering Nevel.

"Well that's good to hear. Um, Grandma's been getting antsy, really wants to see her great grandson, but you know how that goes. Old people, right?" He heard someone smack him upside the head and grinned as Michael let out a small yelp. "Ouch! It was a joke, grandma. I think I'm holding up the line here, Aunt Jessie really seems to want to talk to you. I just wanted to get some words in, you know, with everything going on. You're always talking to dad, or grandpa, and hey, I'm your cousin. Why haven't we talked? We used to be so close when we were kids, right? Well…whenever we visited for the holidays, which are coming up, might I remind you!"

"Okay, okay, let mom talk!" He laughed heartily and sighed. He really did enjoy hearing his cousin's voice, as well as everyone else. Though, he didn't want to lose connection or anything before he got a word in edgewise with his mom. "So what's up Mom? You've got the whole gang rallied up for this phone call, must be important."

"It is," Jessica replied. "I have something I want to tell you."

"So do I, but I'll let you go first." Only because he didn't know how she'd react if he told her Sasha was pregnant again. Jessica took a deep breath and spoke.

"Ken and I were trying to figure a way to help you out, and well, Michael suggested something to us…we went out and we found you a job that we thought you might enjoy." His eyebrows rose and he quickly leaned forward, immediately interested in what they were saying. Was it a job here in Seattle, or was it in Tallahassee, home of the Florida Carlsons? At this point, he honestly didn't care where, or what, that job was. He might enjoy working in Florida more than here in Seattle, though. Considering he'd be close to his family. "I don't want you to think I'm trying to control anything or that I'm being a nag, I just want to see my children and my grandson…"

His heart sank and he was sure he heard a single, faint sob. His eyes dropped as Socko watched him. Hearing the desperation in his mom's voice, and even in Michael's voice, it hurt. It wasn't just him suffering, or Sasha, Carly, or even Blake. Everyone was suffering from this.

"There's nothing I can do, Spencer. You're there, I'm here, and if I even try to go there, your father's got his paranoid little military friends everywhere. They'll see me in an instant and he'll…god knows what he'll-"

"I don't want to talk about him, Mom. As far as I'm concerned…" With a brave breath of air, he inhaled and exhaled, finally trashing the thought of his father. "He's nothing to me. He has no business around my family, either…The things he's done to us, to you, I can't accept any of it anymore. I won't let him control me, and he's not controlling you guys either…"

"No way!" Michael interjected, cutting off Jessica before she got a chance to speak. "I know a thing or two about what's going on, and I think we can take him out. Legally, and politically. See, I've been working on a thing with mom and grandma…Mom's a lawyer, as you know, and Grandma knows her way around the legal system too. So, I think we could make a case, but, we might want to run everything by you first."

"Well, Socko just destroyed my computer, so I don't have the keylogger problem that my dad did." Michael laughed and Spencer's eyebrow rose.

"It's about time someone put an end to that damn thing. You were just asking for your old man to control you, the longer you kept using that thing." Socko made no effort to conceal his pride in Michael's statement, much to Spencer's amusement. Jessica cleared her throat and Michael sighed. "Sorry, I cut off Aunt Jessie. She wants to be the one to tell you the news, so, here you go!"

"Right, so mom, what did you find?"

"Okay, here we go," Jessica leaned back in her chair, creating a light clicking noise as though she were sitting in a wooden rocker. Spencer lifted his eyes skyward and chuckled inwardly. Please, let her not turn into a rocking chair grandma.

"Mom, are you in a rocking chair?"

"Yes, we're all on the back porch of your grandpa's home." So, they were all either in lawn chairs or rocking chairs. "Is that bad?" He started to crack up and slowly shook his head.

"No, not at all, but I have to ask…have you taken up knitting lately?"

"Well it does calm me down when I get too stressed out. I knitted some cute little pajamas for Blake!" Spencer cleared his throat and Michael burst out laughing. He heard Ken tease Jessica, knowing exactly what she sounded like right now. Who knew what would come next, maybe she'd start trying to teach Sasha how to knit! She paused for a brief moment and sighed, ignoring the teases. "Moving on…I don't know what it's going to take to get you to come down here and let us help you. It gets lonely living on my own, you know I never remarried…"

"After Dad, I can't say I'm surprised. You've really lived on your own all this time?"

"My house isn't big, but it's big enough for you, Carly, Sasha, and Blake. It's a two story, not a mansion, just a two story. I have my bedroom, there's a big bedroom upstairs and two bedrooms downstairs, one of which can easily be converted into a nursery! I'll even move upstairs if you and Sasha prefer to be on the same level as Blake. The reason I say that is because both rooms are large. I don't know, we could set it up however you guys wanted, I just…" She paused again, and no one interrupted her. Silence filled the air. Spencer appreciated his mom's concern, he actually wanted to move in with her. "It isn't much, but you can stay until you've found a job…we even have a great high school here in Tallahassee! Carly would love it!" Was she actually begging him, now? Had this been bothering her so much? "You know I worry about you guys…"

"I know mom. You'd do anything to get us down there, huh?"

"More than you know…As for the job, Michael was going through the list of jobs being registered in the city and one of our old friends was looking for someone to fill a security guard position. It's at the local art museum, they have a lot of great exhibits, so I think you'd enjoy that, right? We talked to the owner and he said he'd be happy to hire you, assuming you can move down here and give him an interview."

He smiled and his heart swelled with pride. Of course he'd enjoy that, it combined his degree and something he at least had a passion for. "Well, how much is the pay?"

"Well, it's a starting pay of thirteen dollars an hour, you have health benefits and all the great things that come with the job. As time goes on, you get pay increases. There's also a great community college nearby here if Sasha wants to try for college. You guys can work that out…Carly is my daughter, so you know I'd pay for her to go to college."

"Right, and there are good universities in Florida…"

"Yeah, and then you can always go to whatever graduate school you want to go to. Even law school, if you want to finish that, I don't mind what you do as long as it makes you happy. Just…please come down here?" Her near timid tone brought a tear to his eyes, and to make things harder, he missed them all just as bad as they missed him.

"Mom, I don't think you'd sound so timid if you knew my news…" He was strongly leaning towards Florida, it was the right thing to do, wasn't it? If he took his family there, they would be happy, they'd be free. "But first, I want you to know, I don't want to rely on your money, but I will take any help you have to offer me…"

"Really!" He heard collective gasps, all of relief. How tense were they over there? How important was he to them? It did sound like he was very important to all of them, especially if they were honestly holding their breaths this long. He even detected a sliver of hope in his mother's voice.

"Yes, I will, especially because it's the right thing to do. For my family, it's what I should have done…I can't prove squat to them here, especially not since I can't do anything here, I'm like a trapped rat…I can get to that in a minute, just wanted to point that out. Socko kind of knocked some sense into me and I'm ready to do the right thing…" She sniffled once and Ken decided to speak up.

"So what's going on up there, son? What's your news? Because you sure don't make it sound good…"

"Oh, well, it's a mix of bad and good Uncle Ken…you may not like what I have to say, and I really do hope it isn't too late to ask for help, I'm sorry I was so damn stubborn. Doesn't seem like it is, but I get the feeling I've worn you guys pretty thin…"

"I've told you before, we'll always offer to help you. You're family, after all, and for the record…we are getting tired of Dad bragging about being the first and only one to see Blake." Spencer laughed and took a small sip of his beer, having forgotten about it. After he took his drink, he set it back down and heaved a heavy sigh.

"Well, things aren't looking good right now. I'm running low on money, only have about nineteen hundred dollars…not to worry you, but I was just mugged…" Jessica gasped and the others groaned. As if that would make them any less worried. He bit that one. "That kid, Nevel, wants his money back after he bought iCarly and then let it fail...and he's added interest apparently, so…he's become like a loan shark of sorts-"

"Makes no sense," Michael interrupted. He raised an eyebrow as his cousin decided to point out some facts for him. "From what I understand, I think you told Uncle Ken when Carly sold it, Nevel bought the URL and even let Carly sign a transfer document. Since it bombed under his care, he has no right to ask for money back. That, and, he's just a kid…did this mugging have anything to do with that, Spencer?"

"Yes, they were two thugs that worked for him. Our neighbor is investigating it right now."

"You have nothing to worry about. Legally, he shouldn't even be doing anything to you, even if you took it to court, you would likely win." He heard Aunt Regina and Grandma both state their agreement. This made him smile, knowing that his family did have his back. "Anyway, sorry to interrupt, carry on…"

"Right, so I don't have a job yet, Carly's still working weekends at an eight dollar an hour job."

"Hey Spencer," Regina's voice caught his attention and he waited patiently. "Do you think Carly's boss has any connections around here? It would be great for her to have a part time job while going to school." He had been thinking about that, to be honest. He hated to imagine Carly would be unable to work if they moved.

"I don't know, I think he might have a cousin that moved there from Jamaica recently. We'll have to ask."

"Okay, keep an eye out, if her boss can recommend her, then that would be fantastic. What else do you have for us?"

"Besides having a creepy little kid sending grown thugs after us, and not having a job? Well…there is one more thing. It's a good thing, something I'm really happy about, but...it could be very bad if I'm living on the streets. So my eyes are open now, because of this."

"Please don't be vague, boy," Travis stated with a quirky tone. "Spill it out, we can take it."

"Okay…" He closed his eyes and inhaled, not intentionally trying to build their anticipation. This really wasn't a matter like that, he was just nervous to their reactions. He knew they would be thrilled that Sasha was pregnant, but he was certain they would be scared to death of the living arrangements. He had to just come straight out, no more messing around. "Sasha's pregnant with our second child…"

There came a sudden silence, to which Spencer was sure he heard crickets chirping. For a second, he thought he'd lost connection, so he checked the phone, but they were still there. He heard the shuffling of footsteps and his mother's rocking chair suddenly stopped creaking. After a minute, his mom's voice came over the phone, calm and silent, but slowly rising to a panicked state.

"Spencer…this is your mother speaking. On the behalf of your entire family, we are now pleading even more…come to Florida! You can't possibly keep your family up there in that volatile environment. I already worry terribly about you, and now Sasha's pregnant again? We want to be there for you guys, we want to help create a beautiful wedding ceremony, and more than ever, I want to see my babies and grandbabies. I don't want you guys to have to be in that dangerous environment! Please, please, please come home! I don't know how much more I can take of all this worrying! If we have to buy you a ticket and U-haul, we will! I'll do anything!"

"I know you would, Mom…" His lips curved upwards and he slowly rose to his feet. "What's going on over there right now?"

"Well Michael just ran off to the phone to call the owner of that museum, Ken's run to the computer to look up plane tickets, train tickets, bus…Regina's trying to get in touch with our gynecologist. By 'our', I mean the doctor that she and I go to, the lady's cheap and more than willing to help, I'm sure."

"All before I even say whether or not I want to go down there, huh?" He smirked playfully and Socko shot him a look of disapproval. He immediately frowned and slowly nodded his head, now was hardly the time for jokes of any kind.

"Spencer please, no games, this is serious…I think Mom almost had a heart attack when she heard you say Sasha's pregnant. Everyone here is concerned about her, about Blake, and Carly." That sounded about right, those three were more important than he was, by far.

"Those three deserve to be happy, Mom. I'm done messing around, I'm going to do the right thing. I don't know how much time we have, but I'll talk to Sasha and I'll talk to Carly. We want to keep our sedan, so…would it be okay if we drove? We honestly don't have much of value here besides clothes. I assume you have bedsheets? I was wondering about what you said earlier…why do you have three other bedrooms?"

"They're all guest bedrooms right now. When I came to Florida, I moved back in with Mom and Dad, so it was their house, until they moved down the street a couple years ago." Well that made sense, and it was understandable she didn't want to move. "They wanted a smaller place just for themselves and this was our family home when Ken and I were kids."

"I see, well that's great."

"Yes, and I do have plenty of bed sheets. You can stay with me, no cost. All bills paid for, everything. If you want to pay your car insurance, health insurance, and all that, you can. I understand your need for independence, to raise your family, but for the love of god, don't do it alone…"

"Maybe it's time I say I need help, then. Swallow my pride, do the right thing for Sasha, Carly, Blake, and that unborn child. They deserve only the best. Give us time."

He heard Michael come back to the phone, a sense of urgency in his voice. "The owner of the museum wants to know if he can see you by next month at the latest. Also, maybe Mom and I can fly over there, I want to personally give that little weasel, Nevel, a legal ass kicking. Then, we can drive anything of value in a U-Haul truck." Well, he wasn't sure if a U-Haul was necessary or not, they honestly didn't have anything of value. He turned his eyes to the computer fragments on the ground and sighed. Neither of them had a computer. Anymore.

"Would I be able to tell you 'no', or will you come down here anyway?"

"I'd probably go up there anyway."

"Uh huh."

"I promise not to flirt with your girlfriend!" Spencer laughed and imagined his cousin sitting there with a full grin on his face. He knew Michael was just joking, the guy loved to have fun, but he'd never actually openly flirt with any of his friends' or relatives' girlfriends.

"Okay, you can come up here if it means that much to you."

"Yes! I get to meet everyone before the others!" He did a little cheer, and Spencer was almost certain he heard him bump into something. Michael settled and cleared his throat. "Sorry about that. Now if you'll excuse me…I just got a bowl of nachos on my pants…and yes, we were snacking…we're not anymore." Spencer could hear his mother snickering, or at least, trying to stifle her snickering.

"All right, and hey, if you guys fly over here, you know you'll probably be flying back. Right? Unless you rent a U-haul truck or something and have a driver go with you."

"We'll just see what happens when that time comes…"

"Spencer," Jessica sounded much happier now that Spencer decided to actually ask for help. "I'm so glad you're going to come down here. Once you talk to Sasha, that is." He smiled and closed his eyes, Sasha would be more than happy to go there.

"Sasha will most likely be all for going to Florida."

"Do you guys have enough money for gas? It's probably going to be four dollars wherever you…are you sure you don't want to just sell your car and fly down here?"

"No, we love that little sedan. We'll probably get a second car someday, but whatever we do, we want to keep that sedan. Besides, Carly's been a little iffy about airplanes ever since that trip to Japan."

"Understandable…It's almost a two day drive, isn't it?"

"I believe so, but we'll stop at a motel or two. We should have plenty of money in that bank to make the trip. Whatever we don't need in the line of clothes and other items, we'll sell or donate. We'll figure something out." Socko cleared his throat and waved his hand in the air.

"Hello, Spencer, my friend Ulysses owns a U-haul truck. You don't need to rent one or anything, he can help you guys move." Now there was an idea. Some days it paid to have a best friend like him around. He smiled and leaned back.

"Mom, I'm going to let you go and hurry home. I want to tell Sasha and Carly about this."

"Okay sweetie. Stay in touch!"

"I will. Love you mom."

"Love you too, honey." He hung up his phone and looked to his friend with a smile. Socko had tears in his eyes. It hit him then, by moving to Florida, he'd have to say goodbye to Socko and any of his friends here. It was for the best, but it sure was going to sting. They'd always have the internet, though, wouldn't they?

"Well Socko…"

"No words man, I know what you're thinking…no words, just relax and enjoy the rest of your beer." He looked down to his beer and sighed, there was about half of it left. In all the excitement, he hadn't really drank any of it.

"Right…" The two sat back on the couch and stared at the television, gazing at their solemn reflections. There would be no goodbyes between them. Once brothers, always brothers. That was how it had always been. Perhaps that was how it would always be, even if they were miles apart.

Simultaneously, they sipped their beers. Spencer could not explain how he was feeling in this moment. It was like he was on a whole different plane of existence, that he was walking on air, but the painful reminder that he'd be leaving everything in Seattle behind, it threatened to bring him down. On one side of the coin, he would miss this place, but on the other side, this city had epitomized everything that he hated. Good memories, bad memories, he really couldn't determine whether leaving it all behind would be positive or negative.

"You know Socko…"

"Yeah man?" His voice was silent and firm and unshakeable.

"When that wedding happens…if you're able to fly down to Florida, I'd like you to be my best man at the wedding."

"Yeah…that sound good." Socko took one final swig of his beer and slowly rose to his feet. "I'm going to toss this out, you best go to your woman now. They're probably worried about you." Spencer slowly nodded his head as Socko walked off. Maybe, just maybe, things would look up. This, this was real, actually happening. More and more, though, he felt that he was doing the right thing. Now he truly was doing right by those he loved.

Double posted since originally, this was part of the last chapter. Looks like Spencer's finally made a decision to take care of his family.