The Greatest Secret

Disclaimer: Nope, don't own iCarly

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

Chapter 119 (Reunion: Partings and Requests)

Sam stood with Freddie as they got ready to leave. The reunion had been great for everyone, and even hectic during some parts, such as the secrets coming out. If anything, Sam could definitely say Freddie's family was no different than a regular family, and that was truly a good thing. She didn't have to be nervous around them, not at all. Not only that, they loved her! It was probably because Arian had given his approval, but either way, no one in the family seemed to dislike her.

Amanda came over and hugged Sam, she hoped to talk more with her around school. Rueben and Shannon were in the same boat as Amanda, it would be great to be friends with Sam and Freddie. "So what do you think Carly's going to think, since she probably knows that I'm not Freddie's bride?" Amanda asked with a slight chuckle. Sam hadn't thought about that. Chances were, Tyrone would tell Carly about that, but then perhaps he wouldn't believe them and still think it was Amanda.

"I don't know…" Sam was afraid now, but at the same time, she was confident nothing bad would happen. She would find out soon, since they had to head back home. Everyone had to make up their reason for missing school, although it might be difficult for Carly to believe some things. Also with what they learned, how could they tell Carly about it all? While she knew Freddie was going to a family reunion, she didn't know why Sam was out. It was a good guess that Spencer would have gone somewhere with Freddie's family, having married Sasha, so that wouldn't be a surprise to her.

"How are you going to tell Carly that she's Freddie's cousin?" Rueben asked as he leaned against a tree. That was confusing as well, there was no way Carly would believe it just by the word of mouth. Of course, they also had no way of knowing how Tyrone would react by telling him he was related to them. Speculation was that it wouldn't affect him one bit and he would still be out to get them. Then, maybe if Robert told Carly, she'd believe him. "Also, you've said that you lived with the Bensons…how will you convince Carly now that you're not Freddie's bride? Even when her father marries Mrs. Benson, Spencer and Sasha need a house of their own and probably can't take care of Carly…she'll have to move in with her dad." Sam bit her lip and swallowed hard, she had no clue what would happen then.

"I don't know." She frowned and slowly shook her head, there was nothing good she could see coming in the future. She had a bad feeling about everything. She was about to say something more but felt someone's hand on her shoulder. She looked back and saw Morris and Maggie smiling at her. She smiled at them and turned full to face them. "Hi Uncle Morris, Aunt Maggie…Will you be coming back to the house with us?"

"We actually need to get back home and check up on our dog," Maggie replied with a soft nod. Sam saw a nervous look in her Uncle's eyes and a kind, but thoughtful look in Maggie's, she immediately wanted to know what they were thinking. Maggie looked to Morris and lightly hit his shoulder. "Well, are you going to ask her about what we talked about?" Morris chuckled and rubbed the back of his neck, he was far too nervous. Sam raised an inquisitive eyebrow as her Uncle smiled sheepishly.

"Well actually Sam," Morris started out. He took a deep breath and sighed, looking into Sam's eyes. Greg and Annie walked over to them as Morris tried to collect his train of thoughts. "Well Maggie…er…I brought it up, I guess. We were wondering…if you'd like to live with us." Sam's eyebrows rose and Morris began speaking quickly. "Well, I mean…we know that back then your mom didn't think we could take care of you, but that was then and now we're really trying…I mean Maggie's trying her best to quit smoking, and I don't have a big anger issue, and well, we don't get to see much of you and you're going to be seventeen in what…six months? You're getting married when you're twenty and then you'll be gone, and you're part of the family and we'd…" Sam smiled and placed her hand on Morris's arm. He quieted down and looked at his niece, she looked so serene in that moment. For once in a long time, her eyes held a look of love and respect for her family, as though they had finally proven themselves to her.

"I'll think about it Uncle Morris, and I'll talk to Emily too…" Morris and Maggie smiled softly while Sam's cousins tried to cover up the glee they had in order to not embarrass themselves, they were close to losing that battle. They hoped Sam would give them a chance, they would love to have Sam as part of the family. "You know what, Uncle Morris? I've been thinking…when I'm twenty, I need someone to hand me away in place of my father…" Morris's eyes started to widen with happiness, he had a feeling about where this was going. Was Sam going to ask that he hand her to Freddie on her wedding day? It would be the greatest thing ever for him! "Maybe you can give me away in place of Dad." His mouth formed a wide grin and all movement seemed to cease, he couldn't believe what he was hearing. Maggie smiled at her husband, she was very happy for him.

"I-I would be honored if you considered me in place of your father, Sam." Sam smiled and tilted her head slightly. Morris didn't have much competition anyway, Sam didn't feel right to let someone who wasn't her immediate relative to give her away, so Spencer was definitely not an option for her. Morris was her favorite Uncle, and he did prove that he cared about her, so he was definitely tops on her list. She quickly hugged Morris, taking him by surprise. It was almost unusual for Sam to show affection for her relatives, and here she was, showing how great she thought of them. Maggie was brought to tears at the sight, Greg and Annie couldn't help but to smile. Morris smiled softly and wrapped his arms around Sam in a hug. "You did a great job today with both of your presentations…"

"Thank you Uncle Morris." The rest of Sam's family started gathering around, they were intrigued by what was happening. None of them thought Sam even cared about them, but to Sam, family was family either way. Especially after being at the reunion, she realized that it didn't matter who your family was, a relative would always love a relative. Unless they were crazy, like Lionel Shay. Sam stepped back and smiled at her family, feeling prouder of them than she'd ever felt. "You all showed me how much you care today…Freddie even told me everything…you're my family, I could never look down on you. I love you all."

"That's really great to hear, sweetie," Sue said as she walked over and hugged Sam. Sam gladly returned the hug. "You know, we'll always be here for you, no matter what." Violet was leaning against a tree with her arms crossed, she was trying not to let her tears fall. She was closest to her sister before her passing and because of a low paying job and the birth of Venus, she couldn't take care of Sam if something ever happened to Sarah. Sarah had confided in her before that out of any of the other relatives, Morris and Maggie would probably be the best suited to take care of Sam, but they would have had to get help for their problems first. Violet looked over at Sam and smiled.

"You know, I think my sister's probably very proud of you," Violet said in a soft voice. Sam looked over and grinned, she would always want to make her mom happy, whether alive or not. "I know I am…actually, your entire family is proud of you, I'm positive of it."

"Thank you Aunt Violet." Violet pushed herself from the tree and gave Sam a hug. From here, the family would depart. Everyone had to get home and get some work done. Carly was also probably wondering where Freddie and Sam were. Sam looked over and spotted Freddie with Jonah and Valerie, he was waving and calling out to her.

"Hey Sam, it's time to go!" Freddie called out. "You know Carly's been calling constantly, I have like five missed calls from her!" Sam chuckled and rolled her eyes, Carly was definitely probably interested in their whereabouts.

"So answer them, dork!" Sam gave Amanda a final hug, then turned to Rueben and Shannon.

"Hey, I hope we didn't scare you too much," Rueben said with a light chuckle. He would always remember that brisk moment when Sam didn't expect them to be there. "Of course, no one knew you were Freddie's bride, so we couldn't warn you."

"That's okay. I think Freddie and I will probably see you around, right?" Rueben nodded and Shannon wrapped her arm around his. She kissed his cheek and looked over at Sam.

"We'll keep in touch," Shannon responded.

"Great. I have to get over there now before Carly calls Freddie again and he blows a gasket." The three laughed and Sam ran over to Freddie, waving at her relatives. She threw her arms around Freddie's neck and gave him a light peck on his lips. "I'm ready to go home, what about you?"

"As ready as I'll ever be," Freddie replied while giving a semi dramatic pant. He was actually pretty exhausted. All he wanted to do was get home and rest. He looked over to see Robert talking with Elaine, Angeline and Veronica. He gave them each hugs and hoped to see them again, then hurried over to Emily. Freddie looked at his cell phone as it beeped, he sighed and then looked to Sam. "Would you call Carly up?"

"Oh, sure…" Sam pulled out her cell phone and dialed Carly's number as everyone got into the car. Emily started the car and began driving out. "Hey Carly, how are you?"

"I've been worried sick!" Carly said with a quick tone of voice. She had been wondering where Sam was all day. "I mean I knew Freddie was at some reunion, but you never answered my calls, so I started calling Freddie to see if he possibly saw you…but then he never answered."

"Uh, well they forced me to go with them…I would have been in school, but I was sick…then when I started getting better, they forced me to go to their dumb reunion with all those icky people!" Carly gasped and felt so sorry for Sam. Jonah rolled his eyes and wondered why Sam still even bothered with Carly. She was a threat to his friends' happiness, they didn't need her. Freddie stifled a laugh and Valerie just snickered.

"I'm so sorry for you! Is his family really all that bad?"

"For the most part…you really don't know…" She was pretty sure Carly would love Freddie's family if she ever met them. Hell, Carly was a part of Freddie's family. She was his cousin through his father's side. It was funny, some arranged marriage culture involved a brother marrying the spouse of his brother, if said sibling died. Robert was doing exactly that, even though he should have married Emily first. "Look, I'll try to tell you what I can when I can, right now I have some other issues to deal with…like getting this dork's family aura off me. I smell like Benson! I need a shower!"

"I see…"

"We're heading home now, actually. I'll call you later, okay Carly?"

"Sure." Sam hung up the phone and pushed it into her pocket. Valerie laughed and looked over at her friend.

"You know Sam…you're a really good actress," Valerie said with a subtle smirk.

"Thank you." Sam closed her eyes and leaned back, thinking about all that had happened at the reunion. Meeting Arian, Freddie's family, learning all that she'd learn, becoming closer to her own family, it was all so great. Going to this reunion was probably the most nerve wracking, but one of the best experiences of her life. She would cherish it forever and hopefully there would be more reunions in the future. She remembered Morris's question and opened her eyes, she needed to bring that up. She smiled politely and looked at Emily. "Um Emily…Uncle Morris and Aunt Maggie want me to move in with them…" Emily raised her eyebrow and glanced at Sam through the rearview mirror. She wasn't sure about that, but she would definitely need to think about it and talk to Sam some about it.

"Well honey, let's talk about that when we get home, okay?" Emily answered. Sam nodded her head and rested it onto Freddie's shoulder. He actually didn't think the idea would be a bad one, especially considering there may be a chance that Carly would be living with Robert and Emily once they married. "Oh by the way, did you know that Arian intends to move back here?" Sam's eyes sparked and a smile graced her lips, it would be perfect if Arian moved back to Seattle.

"That's great!"

I hope you enjoyed this chapter!