The Greatest Secret

Disclaimer: Nope, don't own iCarly

A/N: Yes, I'm skipping over the Pie episode and the Japan episode, but things in there kind of don't work for this story. From here, the story will begin to stop following the series and continue to tie up the plot. I'm expecting quite a few more chapters before it's over though.

Chapter 88 (Valerie's Surprise)

Valerie sat on her living room couch next to Sam, she was staring blankly at the wall in front of her. Sam patted her back and smiled softly, trying to give comfort to her friend. "Hey, it's okay," Sam said with a soft smile. "This happens to a lot of people."

"The first time?" Valerie asked while slowly turning her head to Sam. Sam gave a subtle nod and Valerie let out a sigh. "What will I tell Jonah, though? How will he react?" Sam gave her friend a hug and patted her on the back, she didn't think Valerie had anything to worry about. Jonah loved Valerie despite anything, he wouldn't have a bad reaction to her in any situation. "If you're right, then I need to find Jonah, but I don't exactly know where he's at."

"Well did you call him? Let me try for you…" Sam took her cell phone out and dialed Jonah's number, but it went directly to the voicemail. That meant he must have his phone turned off. Sam exhaled and spoke into the voicemail. "Jonah, where are you? Valerie needs to talk to you, something important has happened and you need to know. If you turn your phone on anytime soon, then call me back, or contact Valerie." Sam hung up her phone and pushed it into her pocket, she hoped that Jonah would call them back at some point of time.

"You didn't get him, I guess?" Sam slowly shook her head and stood up from the couch. Valerie stood up with her and closed her eyes. "Then we need to find him, who knows where he is. I'm worried about him." That was understandable, all Sam could do was comfort Valerie and help her try to find Jonah.

"Maybe Freddie can help us find him." Valerie nodded as Sam decided to call Freddie up. Freddie answered his phone and Sam began speaking. "Freddie, we can't find or contact Jonah. Do you know where he might be? Can you help us look for him?"

"I'm not exactly sure where he is, but yeah, I'll help you find him," Freddie answered. "I'll be right over."

"Thank you." Sam hung up the phone and looked to Valerie, smiling lightly. "Freddie's going to be right over. We'll find Jonah." Valerie smiled back at her friend and nodded her head. Ever since Jake died, Jonah had been acting strangely. Generally he just seemed to act guilty, and it bothered Valerie. She knew he was just depressed, but she didn't want him to be. Hopefully he wouldn't be so down and out for much longer.

"This is December, the Christmas season, so I want everyone to be happy." Sam gave an understanding nod and tapped her fingers on her leg. It wouldn't be a long wait for Freddie to get here, since it was only a three to four minute drive. To pass the time, Valerie and Sam decided to make a quick snack. When done making and eating, they heard Freddie knocking at the door. Sam went over and opened the door, smiling at Freddie.

"Hey, I think Jonah has his phone off if you've tried calling him," Freddie said while stepping inside.

"Yeah, we've tried that," Valerie replied.

"Okay, so what's going on?" Valerie chuckled nervously and looked downward, it was just something that she had been putting off and checking repeatedly, but her thoughts had been confirmed and she needed to talk to Jonah.

"It's just something I've found out recently…" Freddie nodded and rubbed his chin, trying to think of where Jonah could be. Quite frankly, he had no clue, just a few meager ideas. He gestured for the girls to follow and walked outside to his car. Though with his permit, he couldn't drive with Valerie and Sam, so the girls took Valerie's car while Freddie took his. They would search the streets all day if they had to.

"You know, I can't wait until I get my license," Sam said while trying to lift the mood a little. Valerie chuckled and smirked slightly, Sam would be the last one to get her license. She didn't mind much, since it just meant Freddie would have to drive her around. She actually enjoyed the thought of him playing her chauffer. When she did get her license, she was going to enjoy driving and possibly scaring the hell out of Freddie. "Man I love that guy."

"You want to make him a nervous wreck with your car, don't you?"

"Yes." Valerie laughed lightly and slowly shook her head. Sam smiled and rubbed her shoulder. "Don't worry, we're going to find Jonah." Valerie smiled at her friend and looked forward to keep her eyes on Freddie's car. They knew Jonah wasn't at his house, since Valerie had called Jonah's parents. The parents said that he had gone for a walk, which meant he could be anywhere at all. In a moment like this, the girls were clearly unhappy with Jonah. They knew he probably didn't intend to cause them worry.

"All right Jonah, where could you have gone?" Freddie thought as his eyes surveyed the street. His mind searched through all the possibilities that he could think of. Jonah had been depressed lately because of Jake's death, so what were the odds that his disappearance had something to do with that? "That's right, Jonah does visit Jake's grave every now and then. The cemetery, that could be where he is!" Freddie quickly turned left and the girls followed after him, they weren't exactly sure where Freddie was headed, but they trusted his direction.

-NEW SCENE-

Jonah sat in the cemetery in front of Jake's grave, months had passed, but he still felt that feeling of massive guilt. Why had Jake believed it was for the best to let his killer think that he was someone else? Jake could have lived. Jonah could have dealt with someone gunning for him. He felt completely responsible now for his friend's death. Jake shouldn't have had to die. He never deserved to die, he never did anything wrong. Why should he die when he was completely innocent and not even involved in all the secrets that had been swirling about?

Jonah took a deep breath and brushed some grass away from Jake's grave. "December tenth, it's been exactly seven months since the day you were killed." He crossed his arms and closed his eyes. "Tell me why you did that? Why when that man asked for my name, you told him that was you. You weren't even involved until nearly that day…you didn't even deserve to die. Why did you have to let yourself die when that bastard was gunning for me!" Jonah clenched his fists and felt his eyes begin to water. "What have I done to deserve you dying for me? What do I have that means you should step in and prevent someone from killing me?"

"Stand up," A voice said. Jonah's eyes widened and he recognized the voice as Freddie's. He slowly stood up and turned around to see Freddie standing with his arms crossed. Valerie and Sam were standing behind him. Freddie swiftly connected a fist to Jonah's jaw and narrowed his eyes. "What gives you the right to deny Jake's basically saving your life!"

"…" Jonah rubbed his cheek and Valerie's eyes widened considerably. Freddie gave a deep sigh and slowly shook his head.

"Jonah, Jake didn't want you to die because you were his friend. He knew you were also the closer friend to me and Sam. Think about how you dying would have affected Valerie, Sam, and even myself."

"I'm sorry…" Freddie brushed that off and closed his eyes.

"It's true that we're all sad and devastated over Jake's death, but that doesn't mean that we aren't happy you're still alive. You have things to take care of, and yes, Jake did as well. However, Jake most likely felt you had more things to deal with than he did…None of us want you to be depressed, and hell, we don't want you to cause Valerie to worry about you."

"Yeah, I should have told you where I was…" Freddie placed his hand on Jonah's shoulder and stared into his eyes. He knew it was hard for Jonah to deal with Jake's death, but he also knew that Jonah could cope with his best friend's loss over time.

"Jonah, right now, you have something very important to take care of. You don't have time to be depressed anymore, none of us really do." Jonah raised his eyebrow and Freddie looked back to Valerie. Sam had her arm wrapped around Valerie's arm. She stepped forward with Valerie and Freddie stepped back from Jonah.

"Jonah, I was so worried," Valerie said as a tear left her eyes. "You were here the entire time…"

"I'm sorry that I worried you Valerie, I shouldn't have done that," Jonah replied. He felt bad that he caused her any grief, and he really did want to make it up to her. "I won't do that again."

"I hope not, because…" Valerie took a deep sigh and Jonah gazed into her eyes, eagerly awaiting what she had to say. Sam and Freddie remained silent as Valerie slowly exhaled. "It would be bad for the baby." Jonah raised his eyebrow in confusion and stared at Valerie. What was this about a baby?

"It would be bad for the baby? What baby? I don't…" Valerie rubbed her stomach and Jonah's eyes grew large with realization. Valerie was pregnant? Could it be true? They had fallen to the temptation one time a couple of weeks ago. Jonah inhaled sharply and slowly exhaled. "V-Valerie, are you saying that…you're pregnant?"

"I checked and checked over the last few weeks, and every time I tested, the test came out positive. I even went to the doctor yesterday…I'm four weeks pregnant and the first actual prenatal appointment isn't going to happen until I'm about eight weeks, they said." Jonah's hand shook slightly and Valerie took another deep breath, smiling lightly and hoping Jonah would take it well. "Jonah, you're a father."

"So do I cheer first, or faint? Cause I really feel like I'm going to faint." Freddie laughed and patted Jonah on the shoulder.

"Think you'll be all right, Jonah?"

"Yeah, hold on a sec." Jonah took a deep breath and Valerie watched with slight amusement. Clearly, Freddie and Sam were amused with his reaction. Jonah continued to take some deep breaths until he finally regained his composure, at least as much as he could. "I'm going to be a father!" Jonah leapt up and threw a proud fist in the air. Freddie and Sam laughed lightly. Valerie smiled and wiped her eye, Jonah seemed to take it well.

"Now the only thing you have to do is talk to Mr. and Mrs. Williams, then you're fine," Sam said while patting Jonah's back. "Your parents as well. You've got a lot to do Jonah." Jonah paled at the mention of his and Valerie's parents. He chuckled nervously and held up a finger.

"Hold on one sec." Jonah sighed and fell back onto the ground.

"Jonah!" Valerie cried as she knelt beside him.

"It's okay," Freddie said while crossing his arms and smirking. "I think he either passed out from the excitement and rush from being a father, or he passed out from the great excitement and thrill of talking to the parents." Sam playfully slapped Freddie's arm and he laughed out. "Come on, let's get him to the car." Everyone knew the parents would take it well, but they would push for Jonah and Valerie to marry and support the child as parents should. Jonah and Valerie would most likely have to buy an apartment, but the parents would help them in any way possible.

I hope you liked that. Hm, so Jonah and Valerie will have a baby, not bad. I'm aiming for it to be a girl. Well, you know what to do! By the way, if you really really want a lemon in this story...let me know through a Review or a PM. I'm personally a little ambivalent about putting one in, and my friend says it might be a bad idea since this didn't start as a M rated story....but you know, let me know what you think....