Paternal Bonds Shattered

Disclaimer: Do I need to say it? I don't own iCarly

A/N:

Chapter 19 (Dinner)

The next day, Valerie was making sirloin steaks for everybody. It was a vote between steaks and spaghetti, but the boys being the guys they were, voted for spaghetti. Jeremy was expecting his to end up being overcooked, for obvious reasons, but Valerie took great pride in her cooking skills. She wouldn't overcook anything on purpose, no matter how bad someone was to her. Gibby wanted his steak done medium well, Jeremy wanted it well done, Nevel wanted it medium, and Hector wanted his steak Rare.

Now cooking a steak well done was a challenge, it has to be cooked slowly on low heat or the risk is run of it basically being nothing but shoe leather. Valerie was going to season these steaks, make them juicy, and cook them in with barbeque. She wanted this to be perfect. She wasn't trying to suck up to them, she didn't care about that. She always felt so at peace whenever she cooked something, it was like an escape to her. Whenever she had been stressed, whenever she had been afraid, no matter what feeling she felt, she cooked and it always took her away long enough to feel great.

The men sat around the table and watched as Valerie cooked the food. They took notice of how focused she seemed to be on the steaks, like nothing could possibly tear her away from the food or distract her. She was so into her work, that it became her. They were almost afraid to say anything to her, fearing the outcome of her losing her focus on that food. Cooking was just a way of life to her. When she wasn't working on the steaks, she was working on the cupcake mix.

"I've been really eager to try her cooking," Hector said as he leaned back in his chair, resting his arm on the table and tapping it gently. "It all smells really good, and she can really multitask." Steaks, cupcakes, loaded mashed potatoes, and green beans was the menu today. Valerie quickly ran from the batter of the cupcakes and pulled out a big plate. She grabbed the melted cheese and the salsa from the stove and began pouring it into two small bowls, which she sat in the center of the plate. She set the pots back on the stove and carefully placed a hefty amount of warm tortilla chips around the bowls. "Hmm, the appetizer's ready."

"Yeah, looks tasty," Jeremy said as Valerie brought the plate to the table. She smiled and quickly hurried back to the cooking area. Everyone grabbed a chip and dipped it in either sauce of their choice, then bit in. Instantly, pleasure shot through them, and it was just the appetizer! "Damn!"

"That is some good salsa!" Nevel said as he licked his lips. It was hot, medium spicy, and very well stirred. Valerie had put just a hint of Tabasco in it. She looked over and beamed with pride. They hadn't even had the main course yet and already they were falling in love with the food. "Hey Hector, you haven't tried the salsa yet!"

"No, but try the cheese, it's out of this world!" Hector commented. Everybody took another chip and dipped it in the sauce they had yet to try. They loved it. Valerie smirked and cracked her knuckles as she moved to the steaks, continuing to take great care. Hector's would be one of the last to be cooked, since his would be rare, not a lot of cooking would have to go into that. She had to time them just right enough to serve them all at the same time.

After making sure the steaks were doing well, she moved to the mashed potatoes and began fluffing them. She wanted to make them creamy. They were already pretty creamy and had a perfect buttery swirl. She'd mixed in a good amount of bacon bits and chives. This was basically a baked potato without the skin. She then hurried to the cupcake mix and poured the batter into the cupcake pan.

Hector laughed and applauded her performance, everyone really enjoyed seeing how into it she was and how much she enjoyed it. "It really is getting hot in that kitchen."

"Yeah I agree," Jeremy said while nodding his approval. Gibby muttered and glanced to the side. Sure they hadn't meant how it sounded to him, but he couldn't help what he thought.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Gibby asked the two. Hector and Jeremy looked over at Gibby with frowns on their faces, they were not sure if they needed to feel offended or not. Hector knew better than to protest, because to them, he really was that way. However he wasn't thinking like that with Valerie. Jeremy, nobody really knew what he thought. "Sorry, that was a bit uncalled for."

"Yeah let's not think about all that crap right now," Nevel said calmly. He was actually more interested in eating than anything else. It wasn't long before all the steaks were ready and Valerie began serving everyone. Nevel licked his lips as his plate was placed in front of him. "It looks so good!" He hadn't had a home-cooked meal in such a long time. "Thank you, thank you!"

"Gladly," Valerie said as she set the plates in front of everyone else. She then finally served herself, believing the chef serves last. Her steak was cooked medium well. "Well dig in, the cook doesn't eat until everyone else has." Jeremy looked at his big, juicy steak and licked his chops. He chuckled nervously and looked over at Valerie.

"Now you didn't poison it did you?" He asked jokingly. The others laughed and Valerie shook her head. She would never treat food in such a poor manner.

"Of course not, food is meant to be prepared and eaten, not tainted with poison and other foul things." She straightened her posture and started cutting her meat. Gibby chuckled at this and took a bite of his steak, it was delicious.

"Ooh, you better not insult the lady who cooks your food, Jeremy," Gibby said with a laugh. "By the way Valerie, this steak is out of this world."

"Thank you Gibby. I appreciate the compliment. How is it for everyone else?" They knew how easy it could be for her to taint their food, and for someone they weren't sure about, they put a lot of trust in her handling her food. However they were confident she wouldn't do anything bad, especially considering she herself wasn't a bad woman. Even they could see that. She acted like she wouldn't be able to hurt a fly. Nevel decided to strike the mashed potatoes first. They were delicious. The creamy, buttery texture was the first to hit his taste buds. God he loved it.

"Oh shit, I feel like I've died and gone to heaven," Nevel said while leaning back in his chair and sighing contently. Valerie smiled happily and looked over at Hector, who was trying his steak. He nodded his approval and looked over at her with a slight wink.

"It's good."

"Thank you, Hector."

"You should really consider it as a career."

"I wanted to be a chef." Hector nodded and Jeremy stared quietly at his plate, unsure of which to tackle first. He decided upon the steak. It was the perfect quality, perfect tenderness for him. It was not at all overcooked or undercooked.

"Jesus your cooking is perfect!" Jeremy said with tears in his eyes. He hadn't tasted food so good since his mother, who died many years ago. "Thank you very much for cooking this."

"I appreciate that, Jeremy." Valerie smiled and began to eat her steak. It was not long before they were done with the food. Valerie actually was the slowest to eat, since she felt guilty about having a big meal while Sam was stuck in the basement, unable to eat anything. She knew if she objected, she'd be chided, so out of fear, she said nothing at all. "The cupcakes are done." Valerie rose from the table and hurried to the oven, where she pulled out the cupcakes. Now she just needed to put the frosting, and other décor on them.

"Hector, do you mind if I ask a personal question?" Hector looked over as Jeremy placed his silverware on the plate and carried it over to the sink. He then moved back to the table and sat down, taking a deck of cards from his pocket and removing the cards from a container.

"Ask whatever you want," Hector said quietly.

"Why do you do what you do?" He raised his eyebrow curiously as Jeremy shuffled the cards. The others took their plates to the sink and returned to the table. "Outside, you don't seem like the type to commit, you know, rape…" Hector closed his eyes and sighed, this was a very tender subject for him. Sometimes it was hard to control his urges, and yes he knew that he wasn't the victim in any way, he was the criminal. "Something triggers you, doesn't it?"

"I like the feeling of being in control." It was what most sex offenders did their crimes for, control. The crime in itself was not a crime of lust so much as it was a crime of power. They wanted to be strong, to be powerful, to be in control. "To make those weaker obedient, that is the biggest thing when it comes to sex offenders." Gibby frowned and eyed Jeremy closely, he wondered just how far off he was from using that to commit a crime. "It doesn't always mean it's right, but once you start…it really is hard not to continue. It's easier for me, but I try to avoid alcohol because that is what does me in. If I've had anything to drink…"

"The day you kidnapped Sam…did you have something to drink?"

"Yes. I had to work up the courage to do it, and I did it." Nevel looked away and Gibby just stared down as Jeremy dealt the cards. "It's really similar to someone who abuses people. It is a crime of control, power, fear…it is why you were beating on Valerie the other day…"

"I lost it, okay. I do that lately." He felt like something was wrong with him, but at the same time, he did enjoy the rush he got from having that control over her. Gibby wasn't going to let him touch Valerie anymore, that was obvious enough. Valerie placed her cupcakes on the plate and walked over to the table, ignoring the conversation the men were having. The cupcakes were chocolate. Some of the cupcakes had brown frosting, some pink and some yellow. They were also covered with an array of sprinkles.

"Holy crap I'm going to get a sweet tooth," Nevel said as he took a cupcake. He smiled at Valerie, referencing their earlier joke. She smiled back as the other guys took their cupcakes. Jeremy did take note that during this entire time, Valerie had not one time glanced his way. Nevel took a bite of the cupcake and sighed dreamily. "Thank god I'm not diabetic, or else I'd be in trouble."

"Yeah, if she keeps feeding us these sweet treats, we're bound to die from sugar highs." Jeremy smiled as the others shared a chuckle. "Okay so here's something to talk about. What do you think your worst sin is?"

"Gluttony," Valerie said with a small smile. She wasn't sure about that, since she didn't eat very much. Gibby shook his head with doubt and smirked slightly.

"You?" Gibby asked as he took a bite of his cupcake. "I don't believe glutton would define you. Yet out of the seven deadly sins, you have…Pride, Wrath, Gluttony, Lust, Envy, Greed, and Sloth. I can't say any of them fit you."

"Well I'm sure one does…" Maybe lust, since whenever she was with Jonah she always ended up wanting to feel him. He was the same. Her face started to grow red and Gibby smirked slightly, guessing she must be thinking about someone.

"Got someone on your mind there, Valerie?"

"No!"

"You can tell the truth. As far as me, I'm going to say wrath." Jeremy and Nevel quickly nodded their heads while Valerie chuckled very lightly. Gibby was definitely wrathful. If anyone pissed him off, he was quick to throw a punch.

"I'm envy," Nevel said as he lifted his hand up. "I'm guilty of being jealous of a lot of people, mainly the iCarly crew." Jeremy nodded and took another bite of his cupcake. He swallowed it and hummed to himself.

"I'd have to say either Greed or Envy, probably both," Jeremy said quietly. True, it was a bad combination. He wanted what he wanted, and that was power, dominance, everything. He also was very jealous of the people who had it better than he did. "What about you, Hector?"

"I suffer from pride," Hector replied quietly as he picked up his cards. They were going to play a few rounds of poker, as there really wasn't much to do. "Let's get this game started, all right?"

"One more thing," Valerie said while looking up. She was very afraid to ask this, but it was nagging her greatly. "I know…Sam's not supposed to have big meals and all…" The boys frowned and looked to her, not liking where this was going. "But can't she at least have like…half of what we have on our plates or something? I mean hell, maybe even a sandwich would suffice, if anything. I don't feel right eating all this when she gets nothing."

"She gets nothing, and that's how it is to remain," Hector said in a quiet voice. Sam could survive on ample portions of meals, she didn't need everything. "For example, today…she gets a steak about one third the size of the ones we had, a spoonful or two of mashed potatoes and a small helping of green beans. Does that seem sufficient enough for you?" It wasn't a lot, but at least it was something. Valerie would have to make do with that. She smiled politely and nodded her head.

"Yes, and thank you so much. I just feel guilty for not letting her eat…"

"You need to learn to harden yourself," Jeremy said honestly as he eyed his cards carefully. "If you don't, you're going to get eaten…" Valerie swallowed and fearfully nodded her head. She didn't want to be hurt, she really didn't. Gibby groaned and moved his eyes over to Jeremy. Surely, Jeremy hadn't meant anything harsh from it, but he had to be careful with Valerie, she was already terrified of the man.

"I think what he means is, you need to not be so easily upset by what's going on," Gibby said in a soft tone of voice. "We don't like Sam. We hate her." Valerie nodded her head and closed her eyes. "She is going to be tortured, and I guess you're getting stuck with the hellish job of tending to her wounds and physical needs…but right now you don't have a choice."

"If you were to leave or tell anyone anything, you would be killed, simple as that," Hector said matter-of-factly. Victor would not hesitate to slaughter Valerie and her family. "You may wish to believe that I am the one calling the shots here, and believe it all you want, but there's a higher authority…you have no choice to stay with us."

"Yeah if you screw up, I'm probably not going to like it," Jeremy stated while placing his cards on the table. He had nothing, he would have to fold. "If you disobey us, break the rules, do things that are just stupid, I'm going to get pissed. Whether or not you hate Sam, I don't really give a fuck, I'm not asking you to beat on her daily. I'm not asking you to be hateful to her, though it would look good to me, I just don't care. Don't baby her, don't pamper her, I don't think she deserves it. Just toughen up, and quit your damn whining, because that whining is going to get you killed one day. You need to be strong."

"Think about it Valerie," Gibby said while looking directly into her eyes. "You have twice the reason to be stronger…" Nobody other than he and Valerie understood that sentence. She had to be strong not only for herself, but for the baby she was going to have. The situation called for her to be tough, or she might end up losing it completely. "Oh, and keep cooking us those great meals. You seem to enjoy it, and we really love your homemade cooking." Valerie smiled at the compliment as the group went on to continue their poker game.

So a bit of a bitersweet moment for the group, who seem almost like they would be a dysfunctional family.