The Greatest Secret

Disclaimer: Nope, don't own iCarly

Chapter 81 (Nervous Emotions)

Robert walked into the main lobby of the apartment complex, he was wanting to ask Emily out on a date, but wasn't sure if the time was right. He was actually rather fearful, even though he and Emily were becoming closer. He moved toward Lewbert's desk and placed his hands on the counter, it seemed the doorman was nowhere to be found. He looked to a small bell and rang it. Immediately when ringing it, he heard a man shout out and leave an was Lewbert.

"What do you want?!" Lewbert exclaimed while sitting in his seat. He was annoyed, he had just lost a lot of money in the stock market, which was pretty bad considering he didn't make much. Robert cleared his throat and checked his watch, he wanted to make sure that Emily would be off from her job by now. Oddly after so long, he was still a nervous wreck. Of course, after a little over twenty eight years, who wouldn't be? He took a deep breath and slowly exhaled. He was going to ask if Emily was in.

"Is Ms. Benson in her apartment? Do you think you could just call up there and ask?" Lewbert raised his eyebrow and shrugged as he picked up the phone. He pressed a button and called up the number for the Benson apartment. It rang for a little while, but nobody picked up. Lewbert hung up the phone and shrugged his shoulders. "Okay, so no one's home, that's fine…" He thought maybe it wasn't the right time anyway, she might still turn him down for it being too soon. Lewbert raised his eyebrow and stared at Robert.

"So, what did you want, anyway?"

"Oh, I just wanted to uh…I was hoping that I might ask Ms. Benson to join me on a date." Lewbert laughed and shook his head, causing Robert to frown. Robert crossed his arms and stared at Lewbert, he didn't really know who this person was, nor did he care. "I think it's not the right time to ask her out, anyway."

"Well look out, someone else could snatch her up before you even get a chance to say hello." Robert raised his eyebrow and shrugged his shoulders, he didn't feel that he had anything to worry about in that department.

"I'm not worried, thank you." He watched as Lewbert moved back into his office. He pressed his lips together and felt sweat running down the side of his face. Maybe Emily was right, maybe he was a spineless jellyfish. After twenty years away from his girlfriend, he still couldn't ask her out. He loved her, he was sure that she'd say yes, but there was still that chance she'd want to rip his throat out. He was a different man, he wasn't going to let his father tear them apart again. Under no circumstances would that happen, he would take whatever Tyrone could throw at him this time. Being a military man did toughen him up a little. "Okay scared as hell...been through worse things and yet, I can't think of anything that's scared me more…"

"What's that?" A voice asked. Robert swallowed and turned around to see Freddie looking at him from a few feet away. It seemed Freddie was returning from school by now. Sam wasn't with him, so she might have been with Carly. "Were you looking for mom?" Robert gave a brief nod and sighed deeply. Freddie set his backpack down and leaned against the counter.

"I don't know if I told you…or if your mom ever told you…but did you know that your original father was actually her family's second choice?" Freddie shrugged and looked forward, he had been told that. Emily had told both Sam and Freddie about how she once had a man that she was so deeply in love with, but the man's father ripped them apart and kept them from ever marrying. He did everything in his power to try and control them, to keep them from even talking. It worked, they never saw each other again.

"Yeah Mr. Shay, she told us a lot about him." Robert inhaled and exhaled slowly, unsure of whether or not he should let Freddie know that he was the one that was supposed to be with Emily.

"Freddie, as close as you and I have become, I'm hoping you wouldn't mind if I asked your mom on a date…" Freddie raised his eyebrow and scoffed slightly. While he was certain Robert and Emily were growing closer, he was sure his mom wouldn't date Robert. Though he had to admit, it wouldn't be too horrible or daunting if he did.

"Well, if you think she'll accept, I don't see why not. I will say, though…you being a Shay has a hard effect on it. Also, just think about what Tyrone would say…" By now Freddie actually knew that Robert was the man that was supposed to have been with his mother. He had figured a lot out from the way Robert reacted and from the conversations he'd had with him. Robert clenched his hands up and ground his teeth at Tyrone's name.

"I don't give a damn about that man or what he has to say. I love Emily! I've loved her since we were young, I always have, and I still do!" Freddie's eyebrows rose and his lips formed a subtle smile. "As far as I'm concerned, Tyrone is not my father. He is an aggressive, abusive asshole who needs to learn to step out of other people's lives! If I want to be with Emily, I will. If that bastard tries to do anything about it, then he's got another thing coming."

"Not bad…I'd say exactly that about my fiancé."

"You do realize I know who it is, right?" Robert smirked and Freddie returned the smirk, neither man seemed to care about that. After all, Freddie had come to realize Robert wasn't going to be saying crap to Tyrone. "So, I hear you and Sam are just as in love…"

"Yeah, pretty much. There's nothing in this world that will stop me from loving her. No force can tear us apart." Robert smiled and closed his eyes, he was actually glad to hear that.

"I knew that when I was your age, but I wish I could have said it instead of clamming up like some coward."

"True, but it really wasn't your fault…If you're afraid she'll say no, I'm pretty sure she won't reject you now. I think you've shown yourself to be highly against Tyrone." Freddie could see that there was still that nervousness in Robert. It might take a little more to get him completely confident. He'd have to think of something, but then, there wasn't much to think about. He patted Robert on the shoulder and put his hand in his pocket. "You know, personally, I think you shouldn't worry about it too much. Mom does like you better now, now that she knows you're completely against Tyrone. Anyway, I'm fixing to do iCarly in a little bit, I just have to wait for Sam and Carly. We're doing another thing to Lewbert, so yeah…" Freddie rolled his eyes and chuckled as Robert rubbed his chin.

"You know, I was wondering about that show, what would happen if you got a stalker or something?" Freddie raised his eyebrow and glanced over, he had thought of that before. In a year and a half of doing the show, the group still hadn't had anyone stalk them or try to create harm. "What would you do if someone dangerous came? I mean you guys do give a lot of personal information there…"

"The instant danger came because of iCarly…I don't care who it is that gets thrust into danger, I'm taking Sam from it and iCarly ends."

"What if they didn't want it to end?"

"I'm more concerned about Sam's safety rather than Carly wanting to continue it. Sam's actually on the line about it. She enjoys it mostly because it's something to do with Carly, but she would probably end it if danger came. She's afraid of danger coming because of iCarly, and she's told me her fears about it." Robert nodded and Freddie shifted his eyes toward a clock, he needed to hurry up and set up the equipment. "It's good talking to you, Mr. Shay…maybe one day I'll be calling you something else."

"What would that be?" Freddie shrugged his shoulders and smirked as he moved toward the elevator. Robert raised his eyebrow and moved out of the building. He stopped when he saw Sam walking down the street, he smiled and waved at her. She waved back and hurried over to him. "Hello Sam, Freddie's already heading toward the studio."

"That's great," Sam said with a bright smile. She wanted to see Freddie as soon as she could. "So what brings you here, Mr. Shay?"

"Oh…" Robert lifted his eyes up and smiled as he thought of Emily. He never could get her off his mind, it was practically impossible. "I wanted to come see Emily, but she wasn't here."

"That's too bad, but maybe you'll get to see her again soon!" Robert looked past Sam and thought he saw someone hiding behind a tree. He narrowed his eyes and placed his hand on Sam's shoulder. She tilted her head and looked up to Robert with confusion. "Is something wrong?" Robert smiled politely and looked to Sam.

"Go inside and to the apartment, don't worry about a thing." Sam nodded and went inside. Robert smoothly walked over to the odd man and grabbed his shirt. The man let out a yelp as Robert stared into his eyes. "Why were you following her?"

"W-What are you talking about?" Robert shook the man once and stared angrily into the man's eyes. It seemed clear that the man was following Sam, there wasn't anyone else walking down the road but her.

"Do you see anyone else? You were following her, why?"

"Well…I don't know…I mean…" The man shifted his eyes around nervously and chuckled, he was afraid of the situation he was in at the current moment.

"Well?"

"I thought she was one of those hot chicks from iCarly, okay?!" Robert frowned and thought about what Freddie had said. The show made Carly happy, and it seemed to give Sam something more to do with Carly. What would happen if iCarly ended? There might be a lot of trauma, that enough was predictable. The thought that someone had been following the girls around made Robert's blood boil. He couldn't believe someone actually would do such a thing.

"And how long have you been following Sam around?"

"I don't know, maybe about a week."

"Well, you're not going to be doing that anymore." Robert shifted his eyes over to see Emily's car parking nearby. She exited the car and stared at him with a raised eyebrow. "This man was stalking Sam…"

"I see," Emily replied as she walked toward the man. She pulled out her handcuffs and cuffed the stalker. "I'm taking you down to the station, we'll have some questions for you then." Robert smiled at her as she pushed the man toward her car, he loved how she was always so determined to do her job.

"Emily, Freddie says if something like that happened, he'd take Sam from iCarly and it would end for good…"

"I know, and I would agree with him. Right now it's just his guy, nothing really dangerous has happened yet, so I don't think at this moment, it will be necessary to tell Freddie about it. If it gets worse, we'll have to tell them."

"Right…" He nodded and watched as Emily sighed and moved toward the driver's seat of her car. She hadn't wanted to deal with arresting someone when she'd just got off work, but it was needed. He wasn't going to wait another second. He swallowed lightly and made sure he wasn't shaking horribly. "Hey Emily…" She stopped and looked at Robert, eager to hear what he had to say, but she was also in a hurry to get to the station. "I wanted to ask you something."

"Can it wait? I have to get to the station..." Robert frowned and shrugged his shoulders, it was best not to keep her from her work, he knew that much.

"You look great today."

"Thanks..." Emily blushed lightly and got into her car. Robert cursed mentally and watched as she drove off. He would ask her out when she wasn't in a hurry, it was always best to do such a thing when everything was calm.

I hope you enjoyed that chapter.