The Greatest Secret

Disclaimer: Nope, don't own iCarly

A/N: As you know, thoughts are in italics and speech is in regular font.

A/N: IMPORTANT: I HAD TO MOVE THIS CHAPTER DOWN IN ORDER TO ADD SOMETHING I HAD STUPIDLY FORGOTTEN, THE BIRTH OF VALERIE'S BABY. GO READ CHAPTER 107, "VALERIE'S LABOR" AND USE CHAPTER 110 (THIS ONE) TO REVIEW IT, SINCE THIS CHAPTER IS THE SAME CHAPTER I UPDATED YESTERDAY. I WILL UPDATE THE NEXT CHAPTER SHORTLY.

Chapter 109 (Reunion: Meeting the Elders)

Emily glanced into her rearview mirror and smiled as she spotted Sam resting her head on Freddie's shoulder. It may have been an hour drive, but Sam must have been so stressed out that she fell asleep. She'd be awake soon, that much could be said. Robert smiled at her as she turned into a large parking lot. There were several cars there, so that meant all the members had to be there.

"Sam's really been stressed out, I think she'll be glad once this is over," Emily said quietly. Robert nodded as Emily parked in a nearby parking lot. The Pucketts parked their vehicles next to them and watched as the white truck drove to a further off area of the parking lot. Freddie gently nudged Sam and Emily twisted to look back. Sam moaned lightly and slowly opened her eyes. She rubbed her eyes as Emily smiled at her. "Wake up Sam, we're here." Sam smiled and nodded her head, she was ready. "Well, are you ready for this, dear?"

"I'm about as ready as I'm ever going to be," Sam stated as she undid her seatbelt. That small car nap had paid off, she was really relaxed and calm now. "What could possibly happen? I think I'm really going to make a good impression…at least I'm hoping to." Jonah and Valerie smiled at their friends as everyone left the car. They glanced over as the Puckett's exited their vehicles. Morris and Buzz took Carl's wheelchair from the trunk and rolled it around the car. It wasn't his usual motor wheelchair, that one simply wouldn't fit in the trunk. Sam looked at her uncles and leaned against the car. "Yeah, there shouldn't be a lot of trouble…"

"This is going to be a great day Sam," Valerie said as she exited the vehicle and patted Sam's shoulder. Jonah exited and smiled as he stepped next to Freddie and Sam. He glanced over at the building and made a small hum noise. It was a large church, it seemed fitting for a large family. Buzz and Morris helped Carl into the wheelchair and looked over at Sam. They were glad to see their niece looking happy and ready, it seemed she was ready to take on anything.

"Let's go in! I'm getting more anxious the longer I stand out here!"

"You're not the only one," Buzz said with a quiet voice. Garth raised his eyebrow and shifted his eyes over to his father.

"Dad," Garth warned. Buzz chuckled nervously and lifted his hands up.

"Hey, it's true. Everyone here is nervous." Garth nodded and glanced over as Violet took the handles of Carl's chair and began pushing him toward the church. Everybody else gathered and began following them. Annie hugged Sam and gave a small squeal of happiness.

"We're all excited, today's the day you're accepted into Freddie's family," Annie stated in a quiet tone. "We're all proud of you, by the way." Sam smiled and nodded her head, she was happy to hear that. She glanced over at Emily and saw that she had a folder and some larger rolls of paper in her hand. They were the papers Sam would need for her presentation. Annie was going to get the portraits she needed later. She had one painting per family group. She actually painted a large portrait of Arian for the man, she felt it was necessary to do as she thought he was a very important and influential member of the family.

As they made their way to the door, they saw an elderly woman standing in front of the doorway. She had the kindest smile and the softest look in her eyes. Her hair was wavy and short. Emily was the first to go up to her, this was her grandfather's sister, Era. She always called her Auntie throughout life, she was one of her favorite relatives. "Auntie!" Emily said as she gently hugged Era. She had to keep in mind, Era was one hundred years old.

"Emily, how are you?" Era asked in a joyous tone. Naturally, she was happy to see her family. Emily stepped back and held her smile.

"I'm doing well." Emily turned around and pointed her hand to Freddie. "This is my son. Next to him is his future wife, Sam. The two standing next to them are their best friends, Jonah and Valerie." Jonah and Valerie smiled and waved, they decided to remain silent. "All of these people are Sam's relatives." Era nodded and looked to Sam, you could see the smile in her eyes.

"I see Freddie has such a beautiful wife."

"That's true," Freddie said as he placed his arm around Sam's waist. She blushed slightly and glanced up at the lady.

"So, you must be the young lady I spoke with over the phone." Sam nodded and stepped forward. She had received help on the family tree from both Era and Arian, as they seemed the most knowledgeable about the family's history. Era shook her hand and pulled back.

"It's great to meet you, I know everyone's looking forward to getting to know you."

"Thank you Miss Era," Sam said while giving a subtle smile. "And thank you for all of your help with the family history."

"You're welcome sweetie, I'm glad to have been of use to you." Era placed her hands together and looked at everyone. "Arian said you called in a little while ago, he was busy so I chose to come out and greet you. Please, come inside!" The large group nodded and followed Era into the church doors. They came upon an older woman with light brown hair, she was in her eighties. She looked over and smiled slightly, but still frowned. She looked like someone who had been through a lot in life. "This is my niece, Zamira."

"Hello," Zamira said while turning toward the large group. "It's good of you to come." She looked over at Robert and smiled slightly. "Emily, is this the man Arian was telling us about? The man who he chose for you thirty years ago?"

"Yes, this is Robert," Emily replied. She put her arms around his arm and smiled. He smiled and waved slightly.

"Hey," Robert stated. "Arian's told us about you." Zamira chuckled and crossed her arms. She was surprised he'd talk about her. Eighty years old and she didn't bother much with her family.

"I'm surprised he says anything at all about me, to be honest," Zamira said while shifting her eyes to the side of the room. She spotted your younger sister, Vera entering.

"Hey Zamira, don't look so down," Vera said while smiling gently. "It's been a long time, you act like you don't want to be around family. I think it's great you're here!"

"You would." Zamira smiled and rolled her eyes. She looked to Sam and patted her shoulder. "Welcome to the family."

"Oh wow, Emily said Freddie had a bride, but she didn't say she was so cute!" Sam blushed and looked away slightly.

"Thanks," Sam responded.

"Oh! Arian's just in the other room, he's waiting for you guys!" Vera glanced over at Zamira and placed her hand on her shoulder. "Hey, April's been looking for you, come on." Zamira nodded and followed Vera out of the room.

"Who is April?" Robert asked while raising his eyebrow. Sam thought to the names and history she memorized, she knew this one!

"April is the daughter of Megan Wilson, the daughter of Zamira," Sam responded. Freddie chuckled lightly and crossed his arms over.

"Impressive," Freddie stated. Sam smiled and followed the group into the next room over. They found Arian talking with a man who was around his age. Arian looked over and smiled.

"Hey, you made it safely I see. This is my brother, Besim." Besim waved in the air and Sam suddenly remembered Besim's granddaughter, Amanda.

"Besim, sir…where is Amanda, do you know?" Sam asked in a quick voice. Besim raised his eyebrow and Sam took a step forward. "I have to talk to her, it's important!"

"I believe Amanda is in the kitchen," Besim replied.

"Thank you!" Sam quickly hurried out of the room. Valerie knew the kitchen was where she needed to go, since she was helping out there, so she followed after. The Puckett family decided to split into their teams and start meeting the family. Sam entered the kitchen area and glanced around. There were two people sitting down at a table, Sam easily recognized the girl as Amanda Becker. She slowly walked forward and stopped when the two glanced over at her. "H-Hi, I'm Sam Puckett…you're Amanda, right?"

"Yeah, that's me," Amanda said while slowly standing up. She smiled and shook Sam's hand. "You seem in a hurry, what's up?"

"I need to apologize for something…but first off, I'm Freddie's bride."

"Oh! Well congratulations, I'm sure you'll be very happy together!" Sam smiled and gave a nod.

"He makes me happy whenever I'm with him. I love him more and more each day."

"Awesome…that's how I feel with Kyle."

"Kyle?"

"My fiancé." Amanda pointed to the boy sitting down. Kyle smiled and stood up from his seat, he was glad to meet Sam. Of course, he was glad to meet anyone in Amanda's family, and soon to be family.

"Hi, it's good to meet you," Kyle stated. "Amanda and I were just stepping out from the large crowd. It can get hectic out there." Valerie walked into the kitchen and glanced around, she had to find the cooks somewhere. Kyle looked over and raised his eyebrow. "Amanda, who is that?"

"No one in my family." Sam looked over at Valerie and laughed once. Valerie walked over and smiled at the group.

"Hey, I'm Sam's best friend, Valerie. Nice to meet you."

"It's good meeting you. Kyle's brother and brother's girlfriend came with us. You should meet them, you'd like them!" Sam wouldn't mind meeting them, after all, they would probably be considered family too.

"Oh, I wanted to apologize for something…I told my friend Carly that Freddie had a wife and I described you…without knowing," Sam said as she turned her head shamefully toward the ground. Amanda blinked and tilted her head to the side, she didn't see what the big deal was. Sam didn't have to be sad about that. "She might have told Tyrone."

"She did." Sam raised her head up and stared at Amanda, her jaw fell with confusion. Amanda sounded so calm and nonchalant about it. "Actually I understand what happened…Tyrone did come visit my family."

"What happened?"

"Uncle Arian was there, he managed to…convince Tyrone to leave us alone." Sam's eyebrows rose and thoughts about how exactly Arian got Tyrone away swirled around in her mind. She figured the how wasn't important, as long as Tyrone left Amanda's family alone.

"So, Tyrone didn't do anything at all?"

"No, we simply told him I wasn't Freddie's bride. I figured his real bride might have said something…"

"I did, and I'm so sorry! It's just my friend has this crush on him and-"

"You don't need to explain." Amanda held her hand up and smiled, she really wasn't bothered by this in the slightest. "I might have done the same basic thing in your situation. Plus, you didn't realize who you were describing, most likely…"

"No, I didn't. So, everything's okay?"

"Yeah, no worries." Amanda gave Sam a hug and stepped back. Sam smiled at the gesture and closed her eyes, she was thankful that Amanda was so accepting. Just then, she heard a familiar voice call out to Kyle. Her eyes shot open and her lips parted slightly. Valerie raised her eyebrow as Sam took a step back.

"No…" Sam turned her head toward one of the doors leading into the kitchen and frowned. Rueben entered the kitchen and was wiping his hands with a towel.

"Hey Kyle, have you seen-" Rueben stopped short when he spotted Sam. His jaw fell and his eyes grew wide. "SAM?!"

"RUEBEN?!" Amanda and Kyle stared on with confusion, had Sam and Ruben met before? Sam was freaking out now, how could Rueben be there? How could he be at the reunion when this wasn't his family at all? Surely he wasn't stalking her, she wasn't about to stick around and find out either.

"Rueben, did I hear you say Sam?" Another familiar voice asked. Sam paled and her eyes widened more. "If it's Sam Puckett, why would she be here? She couldn't possibly-" Just then, Shannon entered the room. She stopped and stared at Sam with wide eyes, shocked and surprised to see that Sam was actually here. "Sam!"

"Not you too! I can't deal with this right now…" Sam quickly turned around and fled the room. She ignored Rueben shouting out for her to wait. This was just too creepy for her. Why was Rueben there? Why was Shannon there? There was no explanation. Sure, if she stayed longer she might have learned, but she needed some time to get over the shock of seeing them at the family gathering.

Surprise number one, I bet you never expected to see those two again. We'll see what significance they are in the next chapter. I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Review and make me happy