Chapter Sixteen: Make it Last Forever

The elevator doors had just closed behind Freddie when he heard a nurse's voice shout, "Doctor Sanchez, you're needed in Spencer Shay's room immediately!"

Freddie spun around and pressed the "emergency open" button before he descended to the lobby. Had he heard correctly? Please let him be okay, Freddie begged as he exited the elevator and rushed toward the room. Please.

Three more nurses ran into the room, blocking Freddie's view of whatever was going on inside. For all he knew, Spencer was dying! Frantically, he turned to a dark-haired girl who looked like she was about to cry.

"Excuse me, can you tell me what's going on?" he asked the girl.

The girl bit her lip and shook her head nervously. "I have no idea…he just…my brother…" A tear trickled down her cheek. Freddie knew what it was like to lose someone you cared about after his dad died, and he hoped this girl wouldn't have to go through the same thing.

"Wait…your brother? So…you know Sam Puckett, right?"

The girl frowned, nodding. "Y-Yes. I'm Carly." She smiled at Freddie weakly. "And I know who you are. Did you come to find her? Sam, I mean?"

"Yes, actually, though she won't talk to me. She's kind of mad at me for-"

"I know, I never miss an episode," Carly interjected. Then, remembering what Freddie had done to cause her best friend so much pain, she slapped him on the shoulder.

"Um…ow!" Freddie rubbed his shoulder, wincing.

Carly sighed. "Sorry, but I'm supposed to hate you. You cheated on Sam."

Freddie grimaced. "I did not…never mind. Look, where is Sam?" He peered around Carly as if Sam were hiding behind her.

Carly wiped her eyes on her sleeve and pointed to the room Spencer was in. "I guess she's still in there. Maybe she'll know what's happening."

Unfortunately, all they could do was wait.

X

"People are getting suspicious!" Missy groaned to Amber, running a hand through her long red hair. She'd had to tell someone what was going on, and she figured she could trust one of Sam's friends. "I don't know how much longer I can keep telling people Freddie went on a walk. I mean, he's had time to stroll around the entire world by now!"

"Why did we come back so early? You were supposed to keep us busy for the entire day!"

"I stayed at the spa as long as I could!"

"Tell me about it. We were there so long I actually learned that putting cucumbers over my eyes does nothing! Seriously, what's the point? We aren't even allowed to eat them-"

"Oh, focus, Amber! Freddie's not back, and I don't know what to do."

Amber rolled her eyes. "Did you try calling him on his Pearphone?"

"No, I was too busy trying to figure out what 'yolo' means…yes, of course I called him, you idiot! He turned his phone off." She sighed.

"Hey, he's the idiot! Not me…and what did you think 'yolo' stood for?"

Missy stomped her foot angrily. "Never mind! What are we going to about the other girls?"

"The only thing we can do…start planning on how we're going to slaughter that boy when he returns. He's the whole reason I have mud in places that should always be mudless!" Amber muttered through gritted teeth.

Missy heaved a sigh and slipped her pink Pearphone back into her pocket. "Look, I guess we really can't do anything. Just go do something and pretend not to know anything." instructed Missy.

Amber raised an eyebrow. "I won't tell anyone…if you give me the key to the kitchen."

"Absolutely not, it's past midnight! The kitchen is closed," Missy argued, crossing her arms.

Amber shrugged like she didn't care and turned to leave Missy's office. "Alright, well…I guess I'll just go see what the other girls are up to. I don't usually like gossiping, but there's a first time for everything, right?"

Missy groaned. "Fine!" Muttering some things that weren't so nice under her breath, she handed over the key into Amber's outstretched hand. "But I hope you know that you're the evil spawn of Satan."

Amber smiled deviously. "And people say you're mean…" Smiling to herself, she turned and headed for the door.

"Yogurt."

Amber glanced over her shoulder at Missy. "What?"

Missy's cheeks flamed red with humiliation. "I…I thought 'yolo' was some kind of yogurt, like Yoplait."

Amber blinked. Then she burst out laughing and had to bend over to breathe.

"Hey, it's not that crazy!" Missy protested, covering her face with her hands. "It could happen!" Amber just kept laughing so hard she was crying. "Oh, just take your key and go stuff your face."

After Amber had left, still snickering, Jonah appeared. He didn't look too happy.

"Missy, where is Freddie? We can't exactly do the show without him! No one wants to see a bunch of girls go to the spa for eight hours! Isn't he back from that walk yet?"

"Sir, I'm sorry. Just give him a little more time, please. He's just stressed-"

"Stressed? What, is the pressure of having girls throw themselves at him too much to handle?" Jonah muttered sarcastically. "At least he doesn't have to worry about the ratings. He doesn't have to determine which scenes are appropriate for a family show. All he has to do is show up and choose a girl!"

"It's a little more complicated than that, sir," Missy protested. "He's trying to find a wife."

"Oh, who cares? It's not like the marriage will last. Most marriages end in divorce. It'll be a miracle if they last a week," he sneered. "Now call him until he picks up!" Jonah stormed out of the office.

Missy rolled her eyes and re-dialed Freddie's number.

Sorry, I can't talk right now, so leave a message after the *beep*!

"Argh!" Missy moaned, frustrated. She was so going to get fired.

X

No one had come back yet. Was that a good or bad sign? How long would he and Carly have to stand around waiting to find out about Spencer's condition?

"Carly!" a familiar voice called out from behind them.

Freddie knew that voice. He turned around and saw Sam running toward them. She'd just come from Spencer's room. His heart hurt to see her crying.

Carly covered her mouth with one hand. "Is he…"

Sam smiled, tears streaming down her face. "He's okay! He's awake."

Carly and Sam embraced, crying with relief together. Freddie stood awkwardly beside them, trying to decide on what to say to Sam. Finally he tapped her shoulder and she pulled away from Carly to stare at him.

"Oh, it's you," she mumbled, turning back to Carly.

"Sam, just please let me explain!"

Sam looked confused. "Huh?"

"Sam, I love you so much. I don't know why I kissed those other girls! It was stupid and…and I'm not letting you go. If I lose you, I'll never get over it. America will never get over it. So please…forgive me."

Sam's face softened. She smiled at him. "Aw…that's so sweet," she sighed, wiping her eyes. "If I was Sam, I would totally take you back after that speech."

"Um…what?"

Sam's eyebrows raised. "Oh!" she gasped. "You think I'm…oh, no, I'm Melanie. Sam didn't tell you she had a twin sister?"

Freddie's jaw dropped open. "Yeah, this is the face of someone in the know!" he scoffed. So there were two of Sam? Well…that was surprising. And he'd wasted a heartfelt speech on the wrong girl. Great.

"Look…Melanie…I'm really glad Spencer's okay, but I need to find Sam. I'm not leaving her again." He knew that much to be true. He wasn't letting that blonde demon out of his sight ever again.

Melanie told him to go one inside Spencer's room, so he did. Sam was standing by the bed, talking to a doctor.

"Sam!" he exclaimed. When Sam looked over and saw him, he grinned. "Just to be sure…you are Sam, right? There's not a third girl who looks just like you?"

Sam's beautiful blue eyes narrowed. "Freddie, what are you doing here? Didn't I make it clear? I don't ever want to see you again. Just go." She didn't sound at all like the girl he loved.

Freddie took a deep breath, shaking his head. "No." Sam opened her mouth to argue, but he held up a hand to stop her. "Sam, I can't just forget what we had together. I know you still remember, too."

"What we had together? We never had anything, Freddie. Nothing. If it had real, you wouldn't have had your lips all over those other girls."

"Okay, so we weren't technically dating, but we can be! Let me make it up to you, Sam. Those other girls meant nothing to me." He whispered the last part. "I only want you."

"Don't Freddie. Don't make this harder for me." Sam looked down at the floor. If she looked into his eyes, she knew she'd forgive him. It was just too hard.

"Why not? I thought you liked me too. I thought things changed between us. Remember our first alone date? Remember how we-"

"Okay, yes!" Sam shouted, finally looking at him. She ran a hand through her blonde curls and frowned. "I liked how things were going. But that was a different world. This is the real world now, Freddie, and we don't always get what we want. Whatever we had in L.A…it's over. You belong on the show and I need to stay here in Seattle."

"Maybe if-"

"No! Did you honestly think this would last? Did you think we'd get married and live in a huge mansion with four kids and live happily ever after? That will never happen." Sam slowly pressed her lips against Freddie's one last time.

Freddie closed his eyes, wishing he could make this moment last forever. But when he opened his eyes, Sam was gone.

A/N: I really want to apologize to everyone who read this story and has been waiting for me to update. I realize it's been seven months since the last chapter. I kind of lost my inspiration for this story and took a break from fanfic for a while.

I just decided to update today now that it's summer and I've got all this free time. So if any of you still read this story, I'll be updating a new chapter in the next few days. Pinkie swear!