Dangerous Journey

Disclaimer: Don't own iCarly

A/N:

Chapter 18 (Updating the Shays)

Sam took Spencer and Carly to a small park with a long trail that served as a frame to the lake in the center. She walked ahead of them with her hands behind her back and her eyes scanning the area.

This wasn't the park she met Mr. Vega at, so there was no concern there. It was quiet and peaceful, with the only sounds coming from the ducks playing in the water. She hoped that it might serve as a pleasant distraction or something to keep the two calm when she told them about Trina.

"There's no easy way to get into this," she began. Even her plan to ease them into the news seemed farfetched. It was one thing to tell someone their sibling was pregnant, it was another to tell someone it was a relative that spent over a decade in captivity and had never seen them. "You guys might want to sit down for this."

"It must be serious if you're acting all nervous," Carly replied. Sam chuckled nervously and eyed a blue park bench seated on a hill overlooking the lake. It was possible she could say nothing at all, but knowing Trina was at Sasha's class meant it wouldn't be long before Sasha knew and thus told Spencer and Carly.

Sam hurried to the park bench and curled her hands over the top of the back rest. "Come sit." She looked out at the lake and took a deep breath. The sun lit a horizontal line across the lake, pointing like an arrow aimed at her.

This wasn't normal, it wasn't right. Telling someone news like this wasn't her place.

Her breathing shallowed and a thickness grew in her throat. Sam moved slowly towards the end of the bench, sliding two of her fingertips along the top. The metal ridges were warm from being baked in the sun, though she didn't focus on the burn.

Her hand tightened on the corner of the bench's back and she turned her head, watching from the side as Spencer and Carly sat down. "So what is this about?" Spencer pat his legs and looked up at her. "Is this about Trina?"

"Yes." She walked in front of them and turned her back to the lake. "Well you know they found her boyfriend alive in Seattle, but in a coma." Spencer crossed his arms and nodded. "Well I had to go notify her about that."

"How did she take it?"

"Pretty well." Sam curled her hair behind her ear and glanced sideways. "I um, I had to tell her about the investigation." Spencer's eyebrows rose and he frowned at her. His muscles appeared to tense and his eyes moved down. Carly had a similar look of contemplation, remaining so silent that it was startling. "She know she has a real family, she knows that family is you."

Carly's eyes closed and she breathed in suddenly. "Does she want to be with us?" Trina hadn't said that, but Sam was certain she wanted to.

"I believe she does. She had to process everything, I'm sure she's got questions. I know we haven't really talked much about it." Sam crossed her arms and looked between them. "There's one other thing, but I don't want you two to overreact."

So far the two seemed to be underreacting, though psychologically speaking she was aware that what was going on externally rarely matched what was going on internally. Spencer and Carly had been trying to keep calm during the entire duration of the investigation, so even now they may be trying to keep relaxed despite screaming on the inside.

"It's okay to react, guys. I expect it at the moment."

"I'm just stunned," Carly remarked. Moisture glistened in her eyes, and her fingers curled around the end of her purple skirt. "I still can't go talk to her, but now she knows I'm her sister?"

"Yes." Sam's eyes darted to Spencer. His hand was over his mouth, his eyes were closed, and stress lines were stretching across his crushed forehead. "She doesn't know every little detail, but she knows the basics. She has memories of what happened to your mom-nightmares."

Spencer made a comment about the nightmares being expected. She shrugged in response; he was correct. Even still, they needed the update on the situation. "Do you have any more news for us, Sam?" His eyelids slid up partially and lines like a V formed between his eyebrows. "It's already bad enough we have to sit on the sidelines, now knowing she knows what's going on…is she in danger?"

"I don't think she is. I wouldn't have told her if I thought she would confront Mr. Vega about it." Of all the things that happened to Trina and the friends she met or the boyfriends she had, just the fact that Trina hadn't confronted David over them was a sign she might not feel confident enough to challenge him.

At the same time she did have a small bit of doubt that suggested that telling Trina about her family, and then the pregnancy happening, both might make her brave enough to do exactly that.

Sam chewed her lower lip for a second and dropped her gaze. Her heartbeat raced in her chest and a tightness spread throughout her body. "Okay that was the easy part." She ran her fingers across her forehead and dropped her hand with a swift motion. "The hard part I have to update you on…is something that if you don't find out from me, you'll probably find out from Sasha."

Spencer leaned back and Carly's right eyebrow rose high beneath her bangs. "From Sasha?" Carly's head tilted and her lips pursed. "If it's about Trina, why would we find out from her?"

"Because." She held their gazes and breathed in slow. "Sasha is her teacher at the martial arts class, and regulations say that Trina needs to inform her instructor of this." Confusion swirled about Carly's gaze, but Spencer started to turn a lighter shade of white, as though he had some idea what it was. "You remember I mentioned Trina's boyfriend?"

"Yes."

"You know how they had sex a few months back?" Carly's eyes opened wide and her mouth fell agape. Sam's forehead muscles closed in and the corners of her mouth slid back, denting her cheeks. "Yeah." She placed her hands around her hips and stretched her chest and shoulders up while taking a deep breath.

Spencer had an expression of horror and concern on his face, and anger was flickering like a flame in his eyes. "What are you saying, Sam? She isn't…"

"She took a pregnancy test. It was positive." When Sam went to the bathroom after talking with Trina, she saw multiple that were stuffed away in the trashcan, and the vast majority of what she saw were positive. Trina threw the trash out after that and she left without having a chance to ask her about the remaining tests. "She's pregnant."

Carly began to shake and whimper and Spencer fell deathly quiet until like a rocket he shot up from the bench. "Then what are you doing here?" His voice rose above every noise in the park and his eyebrows slammed together as two cars rushing into each other. "You should be there, getting her the hell out of that madhouse. If she's pregnant, then her kid's in danger too!"

"I know."

"You know?" Spencer swept his arm out, pointing to the East. "That lunatic killed my mother, kidnapped our sister, and god knows what else." Sam closed her eyes and raised her shoulders, cringing as her ears started to burn with pain. "She's been in danger all these years, and now you're telling me-"

Carly shook her head and put her hand on Spencer's arm, pulling it down. "Spencer stop shouting." Her voice wavered as she stood up, her tears were filled with tears and her lips trembling. "Sam's doing the best she can, and you're the one that asked her here in the first place. She didn't have to come, she didn't have to help us…"

Spencer stammered for a second, then dropped his arm with a hefty sigh. "You're right." He swept his hand through his hair and Sam raised her eyes to him. "Sam, I'm sorry. I've just been stressed, we all have. I…" A single sob fell from his lips in the form of a chuckle and he turned his head towards the lake. "I appreciate what you're doing for us. If she's pregnant, that scares me, I don't know if that puts her in any further danger or not."

Carly's lips pressed together and she looked sternly at Sam. "Well? Sam? What does it mean." Sam studied her best friend closely. The girl's muscles were tense, her jaw was tight and her eyes were quivering. From what she could see, it was taking every ounce of Carly's strength not to collapse or scream.

She breathed a sigh of relief and shook her head. "I don't know. She could be in danger, but Mr. Vega actually seems like he cares about her." Spencer scoffed, then winced when Carly tightened her hand on his forearm. "He's human, Spencer. He's raised her like his own child."

"If that's the case…" Spencer sneered for a second and rolled his eyes. "I'd imagine that boy, Jason, would be in more danger than Trina."

"I think so. Tori and her mother have taken off as well, for their own safety. They took my advice." Carly flashed a smile while Spencer crossed his arms over his chest.

Sam exhaled from her nostrils. Her eyes moved from Spencer to Carly, then back. "Anyway…" She turned and walked towards the boundary of the lake, gazing down at the shimmering ripples near her feet. "The reason I told you was because I didn't want you to get angry at me if you guys found out and then realized I knew."

"How would we find out?" Carly asked. "Sasha? I don't know if she would have been legally able to tell us or not."

"Maybe not. I don't know." Sam's right cheek indented and her right eyebrow pushed upwards. "I didn't want to take the chance. I know Trina has to tell her, and she's as stressed out as you are about this whole thing, so I just didn't want to set off a bomb." She looked over her shoulder, staring back at the two with a serious expression. "But, I also don't want the two of you taking matters into your own hands."

"We won't."

Sam pointed to Carly and her eyes fell into slants. "You said that once, and then you showed up at Trina's class." Carly's eyes popped and Spencer looked down towards his sister. "But I mean it this time. Do not take matters into your own hands. Don't try to go in and get Trina out on your own. Trina may not be in danger, but anyone trying to take her away is."

Spencer raised his hand over his chin and closed his eyes. "I suppose that is the trend." His head shook from side to side and his shoulders sloped downward. "Hard as it has been not to take action, and it's even harder now, you're right. We'll just let you and Mr. Benson deal with things…" He opened his eyelids halfway, revealing the glaze of tears. "How is his investigation going by the way? Is he making progress?"

"I think so, yes. There's only so much he can tell me." She wasn't yet a police officer, but a civilian whose sole purpose was subterfuge. The integrity of the investigation had to be maintained above all else. "Mr. Benson has to be a professional about it."

"Yes. That makes sense." Spencer dropped his hand and furrowed his brow. "We have a bit of an update for you as well." Carly started to smile and Spencer looked towards the sky as the roar of an airplane flew above them. "Our father's coming in today. His flight should be in this afternoon."

Sam's jaw dropped and her heartbeat flickered at the thought of Mr. Shay making his arrival. She wasn't sure what this could mean for the investigation and the progress being made, but if he was in town, it could certainly help.

"Wow." She stammered and rubbed the back of her head with a nervous motion. "Take him to Mr. Benson." John would be able to use his statement. Though Steven Shay had never met David personally, the man was still a witness of sorts. Hell, that man is the reason the crime occurred in the first place.

So what are your thoughts? Is Colonel Shay coming in going to stir up some issues? What do you think? Is he a problem or a powerful ally? How do you think Sam's handling of the news delivery to Spencer and Carly went?