Against All Odds

Disclaimer: I don't own iCarly

A/N:

Chapter 41 (Moment of Relaxation)

After dinner, Travis, Ken, and Michael managed to get Spencer on the boat to fish. Carly was on the shore with Jessica and Sasha, being taught about fishing there. Spencer couldn't believe how this moment matched the fantasy he'd had before. He watched the departing shore with a smile as the wind blew his hair back. The salty water carried a marvelous scent into the wind, and with the fullness of his stomach after the meal, he didn't think he could feel any better.

Ken was at the wheel of the boat while Travis stood behind him, Michael was manning the motor, while Spencer held onto four fishing rods. There had been a number of fishing rods in the house, as Ken had a tendency to lose the rods when he came to visit his sister. In his defense, he blamed the giant fish for being so damn difficult. Needless to say, after the earlier debacle, they weren't too sure they wanted to be placing another fishing rod in his hands.

Spencer heard Travis talking to Ken about the steering and location, he wanted to get right in the middle of this lake. For Spencer, he could hardly see the family on the shore, they were so far into the distance. Travis cleared his throat and Spencer turned his eyes over his shoulder. He watched his grandfather wave his hand in the air, giving out an order. "Drop the anchor, boy!" Michael rolled his eyes and laughed while flipping off the motor.

"It's a motor, gramps, not an anchor."

"Same difference. This is the perfect location! Now, to enlighten Spencer to a real sport. Fishing." Spencer lifted his eyebrows as the three men grabbed their fishing rods from him. He turned to his grandfather and smiled wryly, unsure of what to say. "Now you know, none of us live at this house anymore except your mother, but we do constantly come out to this lake, it is and has always been a place of relaxation for this family, and now we're going to get you relaxed."

"Fishing doesn't have to be boring," Michael said while grabbing some bait from the bait box next to the motor. "The trick is, whether you get a bite or not, you just let your worries slip away from you. Have you ever been fishing before?"

"Since I was a kid? No." He shook his head at his cousin and stared at the black fishing rod in his hand. He knew the basics, but that was about it. No one ever took him fishing, no one showed him the ropes. Sure, they did when he was just a child visiting his grandparents here, but that was years ago! "I think I remember some stuff, but it's passed me by."

"Well have a seat, dad and Gramps will teach you all you need to know." There were four benches in the back of the motor boat, just enough for the four men to sit. Spencer was on the back right, Michael was on the back left, Travis sat on the front right, and Ken moved to the front left. Travis pointed over Spencer at the box of bait.

"Hand me some bait, would you?"

"Sure Grandpa." Spencer reached over and grabbed two pieces of bait, one for him and one for Travis. Travis thanked him and hooked the bait, Spencer watched and followed his example. "Now I just cast the line like this, right?" He lifted the rod and flung it forward, watching as the hook sailed through the warm air and landed in the water. Travis beamed with pride and pat his back.

"I think you're lying, you seem to have fishing down already!" The two men laughed for the moment. Ken reached over and rubbed his shoulder.

"It's like riding a bike, Spencer. You never forget. Now that you cast your line, just take a deep breath and relax. You're tense enough as is." He quickly nodded and shut his eyes, inhaling slow and deep. He held on to that breath for a few seconds, sucking back all that tension, all the stress of everything that had been going on, then releasing it all with one long exhale. His muscles relaxed and his shoulders fell.

The men were right, fishing was not about whether or not the fish were biting and you caught any, although it was nice to compete to see who could catch the most during the day, the sport was all about relaxation. That was exactly what he was going to do. He could cast all his worries away, and tonight would be the first night that he and Sasha could sleep together in complete rest.

He listened as the water rippled beneath him and beat against the sides of the boat. The waves swirled as fish shot through them. The pink and orange clouds in the sky painted a beautiful picture framed by green trees, while the sunset turned the water into a sea of soothing honey. No one spoke, for what seemed the longest time. No words were needed in this moment, as all the men let the stress roll off of their shoulders, free from the worry of an uncertain future.

After a good half hour, Spencer gazed up at the sky, half-lidded and in a state of total relaxation. They'd caught a few fish, tossed them back into the water as they did, and continued on about the fishing. He was truly seeing how this kept everyone alive. "Do you think…the women are still fishing by the shore?" He asked with a soft voice, no longer speaking in a rushed, hurried tone.

The women decided not to subject Carly and Sasha to the boat yet, especially since the men vied for it. Travis lifted his shoulders and glanced over to his grandson with a subtle smile. "Probably. Who knows, there are so many more things to do at this lake than simply fishing. I reckon they'll be lounging around whenever we get back."

"You know something, Spence?" Michael reeled in his line and Spencer turned back to him. He watched his cousin remove a fish from the hook and toss it back in. "I'm really glad you decided to come down here. Not just because we missed you, and yes it really took a toll on Aunt Jessica more than any of us…" Spencer's heart sank a bit, the guilt of putting his mom through that Hell still remained, and it probably would stay there for a while. "But more than that, you came here because you knew it was best for your family, what they wanted, what they needed…and I really admire you for that."

"It's almost a true test of a man's character," Ken added with a glance from the corner of his eyes. Spencer's lips curved up and his heart started to rise. "We're all proud of you for coming down here, for willing to accept help to get on your feet so you can take care of your family."

"A fiancé, a child, a baby on the way…it's difficult, Uncle Ken. I couldn't possibly do it alone…" He gazed out at his line and closed his eyes, remembering what Socko had been telling him. "All along, my best friend had been telling me the same thing all of you were saying, and I just wasn't listening. I'm sorry." The three men looked at him and all reached over to pat his shoulder. He felt a deep sorrow for putting his family through the misery that he did, and he knew it wasn't fair. "I should have come down here from day one, I shouldn't have let it come so far. To think, if it wasn't for Grandpa going up there when he did, we'd be in worse shape. Then Michael, you helped out tremendously with Nevel…"

"Now it's your mother's turn to shine," Travis commented. Spence raised an eyebrow as Travis reeled in his line. A fish had been on it, but it freed itself. He put on some new bait, then cast out his line. "We've compiled a lot of evidence against your father, and that judge. Bribery is a serious offense, and she intends to get him before she gets her. Or you…"

"What do you mean?" He knew his dad still threatened Jessica and her family, but he didn't know how serious anything was. Once the man realized that he just hightailed it to Florida with Carly, he'd get severely pissed. "What more can Dad do?"

"He could do the same thing to you that he did to your mother. You wonder why he would keep a check on your finances? Since he still had legal authority over you and Carly, and you had a child out of wedlock…a man of his status and power could easily try to claim you're unfit to parent…" Spencer's lips parted, then shut, he had no argument to this. His father was just that much of an asshole, and he knew it.

"I wouldn't let him do that."

"That's exactly what your mother said about you and Carly, until he bribed that judge." Spencer's head shot up and the bile rose in his throat. Even as relaxed as he was, the thought of what his father had done still angered him greatly. "Your Aunt Regina is acting as your mother's lawyer here, and they've built a strong case against your father. We don't know the full details, but your mother and Regina have already sent a letter out to Robert's superiors in the military."

"So they want to get him down to level before they fully charge him?"

"Yes. In the last month or two, he's actually been sending all of us emails and phone calls-all of which we've saved-threatening us if we pursue…he's gotten reprimanded by his superiors and they have asked that we compile any serious threats that he's sent out, along with proof of the bribery, and then he will be charged."

"I won't have to worry about any of this?" He hoped not, he really hoped that his Mom and Aunt could solve the problem before it affected him in any way. Travis gave him a reassuring smile, confirming that he wouldn't need to worry about a thing. Which was great, all he had to worry about was getting a job and trying to help raise his family. "And even if there was an issue, once I have a job and income…and get married to Sasha…there's nothing he can do to try and say we're bad parents."

"Exactly, now put this out of your mind for the moment, and relax. Tomorrow begins a new day." Spencer watched his grandfather take a breath, then turned his gaze to the water. A stroke of peace filled his soul as the wind scraped the water, forming tiny ripples. He could definitely get used to this, no worries at all. At least he wouldn't have to stress out, and tomorrow, he would meet the manager of that museum for the first time.

"Things are really beginning to look up."

What a soothing day it was. What did you guys think?