The Greatest Secret

Disclaimer: Nope, don't own iCarly

A/N: While the events of the Christmas episode in the beginning take place, it will be basically an entirely different scenario happening. Mitch will appear to someone else, not Carly. The events at the end may happen, but that will not be explained as Mitch, rather Carly having a nightmare or something. We'll see when I get to it. Trust, my fellow readers, trust.

Chapter 93 (Final Step)

Freddie gently hugged Valerie and smiled. She smiled back, his hug was soft and gentle, it confused her at first. "I don't understand any of this, Freddie," Valerie said with a quiet and timid voice.

"I've had an epiphany, so to speak," Freddie said with a small chuckle. Valerie chuckled lightly at that as Freddie wiped a tear from her eye. "God, I'm so sorry Valerie. You know, Jonah would kill me…" It was true, if Freddie ever hit Valerie in the normal timeline, Jonah would seriously maim him, best friend or not. "Valerie, I…I want you to meet someone. This person is someone that would take care of you, believe me, he's the most honest and good-natured man I've ever met in my life."

"What are you saying?"

"Valerie, you and I…right now I only see you as a close friend. To be honest, that's really what you are, that's how things should be. I don't deserve someone like you. You're a good person, you're sweet, you're nice, you deserve someone who can take better care of you. I know exactly who that person is, do you trust me?" Valerie thought for a minute, but saw genuine honesty in Freddie's eyes. He was saying she could have a better life, be with someone better, and she believed it.

"Okay…" Freddie smiled and walked with her out of the office. He made note of the kids staring at him, some were a little confused, but most were just fine with him now. He led Valerie out of the school and spotted the car that Mitch had appeared with. He entered the car and waited as Valerie moved to the passenger side. "This man is my best friend, Jonah Brown."

"Jonah? Isn't he the guy that got arrested for a murder he did not commit?"

"That's true, he did." Valerie blinked and stared ahead as Freddie drove toward the juvenile center. Once they made it, Freddie led Valerie inside and toward the visitation area. "Here, have a seat." Valerie nodded and sat down, she picked up the phone and waited as Jonah walked toward his side and picked up the phone.

"Hi, I'm Valerie Williams." Freddie crossed his arms and smiled as Valerie and Jonah began talking. They seemed to be hitting it off well. As they spoke, he could see Valerie blushing and giggling every now and then. It was definitely a sight that he missed. The two spoke for a long time, but Freddie didn't count down the hours. He knew he'd been in this world for days, but none of it mattered to him unless he could make things right.

After they finished talking, Valerie stood up and smiled at Freddie. Her face seemed to shine, perhaps it was because this was the first time he'd seen Valerie appear genuinely happy in this world. "He said that someone confessed to killing that man. All I have to do is give my witness testimony and then wait for a few months until they have the new trial. Either way, he's a really caring gentleman."

"Yeah, that's why he's my best friend." Valerie smiled and rolled her eyes, she wasn't sure what to make of how Freddie was acting. Just the other day, Freddie had been harsh and abusive, but now he wasn't. "Valerie, I want you to know, you never have to worry about me hurting you again. I promise, I won't ever hit you. However, as I said, I don't feel you and I are meant to be together."

"You're in love with someone else, aren't you?" Freddie raised his eyebrow and Valerie sighed quietly. "I can see it in your eyes, you look at me differently than you used to, but not in a bad way. I mean…it's like you only see me as a friend, someone that you care about but you're not in love with."

"Valerie…" Freddie took a deep breath and smiled slightly. "You're right, I'm in love with the person who is supposed to be your best friend." Valerie raised her eyebrow and Freddie crossed his arms over. "Sam Puckett, she's the one. Listen, you wouldn't believe me if I tried to explain, but how would you like to meet her?" Valerie tapped her chin lightly and nodded her head, she actually did want to meet Sam.

"I would love nothing more." Freddie patted Valerie's back and smiled as the two walked out to the car. He drove toward where the small mobile home was and parked, he hoped to see Sam around the area.

"Wait in the car, Val. I'm going to check on her." Valerie nodded as Freddie moved from the car and walked around the house. He could hear a noise, so he stopped and poked his head around a corner. He saw Sam pressed against the side of the mobile home with her arms pinned against her head. The one holding her there was Rodney.

Mitch appeared behind Freddie and tapped his chin. "Ooh, Rodney is her boyfriend." Freddie felt anger rushing through his veins, he couldn't believe this. Sam looked like she wasn't enjoying it at all. She was moving, as though struggling to free herself from his grasp. Rodney had his hand under her shirt and was fondling her breast, this angered Freddie more than anything.

"Please stop it," Sam said in a hushed voice. "I'm not enjoying this."

"You're my girlfriend, of course you enjoy this," Rodney said while nipping at her neck. That was it, Freddie had enough. He walked behind Rodney, grabbed the man by the shirt, and tore him away from Sam.

"She said enough," Freddie said as he violently threw Rodney on the ground. Rodney grunted and glared up at Freddie. Sam stayed behind Freddie and grasped his arm, she wasn't really sure why, but she felt safe with him.

"How dare you do that, why are you interfering with my time with my girlfriend?!"

"I'm not your girlfriend anymore!" Sam shouted angrily as she glared at Rodney. "It's over, we're through. You can't make me afraid of you any longer!"

"Come on babe!"

"I said we're through. I'm leaving you."

"If you leave, then where will you go?" Freddie had told Sam that he could provide her with a better life. She trusted him, so she had no fears.

"I think I'll find something, bastard." Rodney swallowed and sweat dripped down the side of his face. If there was anything Freddie knew about Rodney, it was that the man would never fight back. Once he became scared, he would run.

"W-Well if you leave, don't think you can come crawling back to me, because I won't take you back!" Sam scoffed and threw her hair back, she wasn't worried.

"I won't come back to you, not in a million years."

"Do you have anything you need?" Freddie whispered to Sam. She shook her head and clung to his arm.

"Everything in that place can burn, I don't need any of it, since Rodney's touched it all." Freddie nodded and started to walk away with Sam. Rodney wouldn't go after her, he was far too cowardly to do that. They made it into the car and Sam gasped when she saw Valerie. "Oh my goodness, your eye! Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm just fine," Valerie said with a gentle voice. "I'm Valerie Williams, it's nice to meet you."

"Oh, same..." As Freddie drove, he listened to Valerie and Sam talk. They seemed to be heading down a good track for their friendship. They had even asked each other for their contact information. Perhaps they would now become the best of friends. This made Freddie very pleased with everything. After some amount of driving, he dropped Valerie off at her home and drove toward Lisa and Sasha's place. Freddie parked next to the curb and looked to Sam with a small smile.

"Sam, I know it may seem sudden…but would you like to start going out with me?" Sam blinked and smirked slightly, she actually liked Freddie pretty well. To her, he seemed nice, charming, and generally like a good person. He was definitely different from Rodney. Maybe, just maybe, she could have a good relationship with him. She took a deep breath and smiled as she leaned forward and gently kissed his cheek.

"You got me out of that hell, and I trust you to…will you never hurt me?"

"I promise, I will never do anything to hurt you. The people in this house…They're my Aunt Lisa and cousin Sasha Everett, they've offered to take care of me, so I'm going to move in with them. I'm positive they're going to take care of you."

"Great." Sam looked to the house and smiled, it looked like a big change from the small mobile home. Two women stepped out and looked at the car, they chose to wait until Freddie exited. "It's definitely a change."

"I'm positive it's one for the better." Freddie and Sam exited the car and walked toward Lisa and Sasha. The two women smiled kindly at them. "Aunt Lisa, I'm ready to accept your offer and move in with you."

"Really, you're honest about that?" Lisa asked while raising her eyebrow. A smile was tugging at the corner of her lips. Freddie nodded and grinned at them. The two women quickly hugged him and smiled. "Well, we're glad to have you!"

"I'm glad to be here."

"This is the greatest Christmas gift we could ever have." Freddie chuckled and nodded his head, he was proud to give it. He remembered Sam standing next to him, so he stepped back and placed his hand on her back.

"This is Sam, she needs a place to live." Sasha and Lisa looked over as Sam took a step forward. They began talking and Freddie walked over to the car. He leaned against the door and looked inside. "Hey Mitch? I've done it. Everything's better, everything's fixed." Mitch didn't appear anywhere, it was odd. "Mitch? Don't tell me I'm stuck this way, though. I wouldn't have too much of a problem, but it would still be hard…Mitch? Where are you Mitch?" Freddie swallowed hard and turned around, he was starting to lose hope of ever returning back to his normal world. That meant Carly would be in jail, his mom and all of the Shays would be dead, he'd be starting over with Sam, and so many other things would be different and hard to get used to.

"Oh no…" He had no fear that things would work out, but he was still frightened about how he'd get used to an entirely different lifestyle. He frowned and started to walk toward Sam and the others. Sasha turned to him and smiled.

"Hey cousin, it's settled," Sasha stated as she hugged Sam. "She can stay." This pleased him, he was so glad that she could stay with them.

"I still wish everything was back to normal. I still wish I had met Sam at the fountain. 'More than anything, I want a best friend I can grow up with.'" The kid that lived next door was playing with his brother. They were throwing around a ball. Just as Freddie was wishing his life normal again, the kid threw the ball toward him on accident.

"Freddie, look out!" Sam shouted. Freddie turned around and the ball hit him in the head. He shouted out as he fell back, unconscious. "Freddie!"

I hope you liked the chapter, the next will be the final chapter of the Mitch Arc, then we'll be getting back into play. I'm sure you'll enjoy it.