3 days later
plural relationship test begins
"well Freddie what do you have to say about this situation, you haven't spoken all morning, sure we're currently wearing almost nothing but so are you" asks Carly, poking at Freddie to get him talking
"I'm just a little shocked is all, I'm not sure I like you having all the power, I think it should be divided equally between us" says Freddie
"I have to talk to her dad today, your mom didn't care about the plural relationship part, she was worried about my edible meds, she thought I would give you some as well, which isn't the case, they're dosed for me and me alone, they wouldn't really have an effect on anyone else anyway, that neutralized any objections from your mom, Sam's mom actually applauded Sam for helping to find a solution that she can enjoy so there's no objection from Sam's mom, Arnie's in full support so long as we don't get married, unless it's a purely spiritual ceremony, all that's left is Mr. Shay, until we get his consent, Carly gets the majority of the power, you have to remember her dad is navy, he could say or do something that breaks us up, I'm not just talking about the end of the plural relationship, I'm talking about the end of any relationship between any of us, he's very powerful in the navy, we can't risk him thinking that we don't value Carly's part in the relationship so like I said until we know that he won't try and pry us apart, Carly has the majority of the power in the relationship" says Shelby
"I guess I didn't see that side of things, how do you know him so well, you seem to know a lot about him" says Freddie as he snuggles them
"I have family ties to the navy and people he's worked with, they all tell me to tread carefully" says Shelby
"wasn't your mom a navy doctor" asks Carly
"unfortunately that didn't last long, though she was one of the best, a homophobic corporal accused her of dating a female nurse and got her removed, which is when her money problems started, after the divorce she couldn't afford anything and became homeless, even with her perfect record as a doctor even before she got into the navy nobody wants to hire her because she's depressed" says Shelby
"that's not fair to her, you never talk about her" says Sam
"and I won't, I haven't talked to her in many years, if you want to hear stories of my mother go talk to May" says Shelby very upset about talking about her mother
"what did she do to make you this angry at her" asks Carly trying to calm Shelby down
"she let our deadbeat father win custody, she had a chance to rebut his claims that she slept around but she didn't, that's the lie that got dad custody, they were in an open marriage, by that agreement they both slept around, she refused to defend herself or bring up the whole open marriage thing, had she brought it up all three of us Marx sisters would be back in Malibu, I'd probably still be in the CFC as fighting has always been a passion of mine, almost nothing would have changed if she'd defended herself" says Shelby as she gets up, gets dressed and walks out of the room to cool off before Stephen Shay calls to talk to her
"you shouldn't have pushed her Carly, she said she didn't want to talk about it and you made her talk about it, for all we know you just turned her against us, she seemed very angry" says Sam
"oh shoot, I didn't think about it that way, I just wanted to know why she was so angry, I mean mom left when I was little, I barely knew her, I didn't know you could hate your parents this intensely" says Carly as May walks in
"how badly can you screw something up Carly, what the hell" says May as angry, if not more as Shelby
"we were talking about things and her call with my dad today came up and all of a sudden she brought your mom up, she said she didn't want to talk about it but I wanted to understand why she hated her so much, all I wanted to do was understand, I never meant to set her off like that" says Carly
"her and mom simply don't get along, mom never wanted Shelly to fight at all, her and I used to draw really realistic scenes, Shelly stopped when her interest in fighting took off, mom wanted to have us paint like we used to, Shelly said no" says May as Carly gets dressed
"I refuse to continue making mistakes, I give up, goodbye, treat Shelby well" says Carly as she leaves and begins walking back towards Spencer's apartment all by herself
"did she really just do that, what other mistakes has she made exactly" asks May
"small mistakes, nothing major, this was the only big mistake she's made so far but obviously it weighs on her more, she's never going to make it through drug alley to Spencer's in one piece, you need to tell Arnie what happened and have someone pick her up so she can get back there safely, if she gets raped she will never come back here and will end up living with Spencer until she dies, never leaving the apartment again" says Sam
"would she really never come back" asks May as she texts Arnie the SOS message
"she'll see it as another boneheaded mistake, she takes making mistakes very seriously, as in drug addiction prevention in schools kind of serious, she doesn't take any mistake lightly no matter how small, if she returns it won't be for a while, even longer if she doesn't get to Spencer's safely" says Sam as May gets a text response
"the bracelet Carly was wearing has a tracker in it as do the earrings she was wearing, Shelby isn't stupid, the text I just got was Arnie telling me he located her and is safely escorting her to Spencer's, he'll probably have a long chat with her about stuff, especially about mom and why Shelby's so standoffish about it, Shelby can be irrational at times and what lays ahead won't help" says May
"what do you mean" asks Freddie
"Spencer says that their dad is calling for our mom to be brought back into the field as a navy doctor and that he will use it as a negotiating chip for him accepting the plural relationship because he wants Shelby to make the call" says May
"that's not going to blow over well, she's made several passes at him for being a deadbeat dad for choosing the navy over his kids and leaving Spencer to raise Carly" says Freddie
"oh believe me she will return any arguments Mr. Shay has about you guys right back in his face, after she's done, he'll feel like he's just been in the middle of a war zone, so everyone is aware there will be tons of yelling and screaming, especially now that she's on edge, everyone else has been warned, when she stops screaming Freddie you have to check up on her" says May
"why, if I'm being honest I'd much rather give her time to calm down, she needs space" says Freddie
"let's put it this way, the last time she was like this was her last call with mom, she got so angry and screamed for so long that she started seizing and that seizure landed her in the hospital for a month, if she needs to go to the hospital, the sooner you find her the better" says May
"what if she is ok, won't she get mad" asks Freddie
"no, you should know by now that she likes being checked up on, it gives her a sense of security, she'll give you a thumbs up and use her hands to tell you how long she will be before she returns, she's probably quite bummed that Carly walked away, she was telling me that Carly's the glue in the plural relationship, even if it's purely just a test, she won't engage in anything whole heartedly without Carly here, in fact she might stay clothed at all times" says May
"what like she's depressed" asks Sam
"basically, we grew up in a family that was in an open marriage, they were both bringing other people home so we are used to what is known as polyamory but they didn't call it that, they didn't even call it plural relationships, dad is pretty petty, he is the one that proposed the open marriage because he'd cheated on mom and gotten them pregnant, mom agreed to the open marriage because she wasn't happy in the relationship, dad was fine until mom brought home a female co-worker, then he said 'that's it, we're done and I WILL get custody of the girls and they will never speak of you again', so far only Shelby hold to that, though mostly out of fear of dad, he's become very aggressive, especially when he drinks, trust me she will hand Mr. Shay his ass if he tried to make her talk to mom without giving up anything himself in return for accepting the plural relationship" says May
"ok, you better go with Melanie for groceries, the call starts soon" says Freddie
"it started a few minutes ago, the moment Carly left actually, she feels he's responsible for Carly being the way she is" says May as she leaves the room
Meanwhile with Shelby
"honestly Stephen, I don't care that you want me to talk to my mother, you're no role model yourself, after your wife left you high and dry while Carly was young, you decided to flee and cling to your navy or air force service or whatever you are instead of taking time to be THE father in her life, you never take time out of your life to even visit, she thinks she's a massive failure because your own father tried to take her away from Spencer, then you did the same, the one time you decided to visit you tried to whisk her away to Italy, away from her friends and the only father figure she's really ever known, your only God damn son, do you really think Spencer doesn't resent you for leaving him to take care of Carly, why do you think he chose a profession where he never had to leave her side, he could have been a very successful chef, the food he makes is beyond amazing, I'll talk to my mother when you decide that spending time around Carly is worth more than taking her away from her friends" says Shelby
"your mother misses you and we need her back in the navy, they're willing to pay big bucks and pay off any debts she has but she won't return our calls" says Stephen Shay
"the man who used to be in your position fired her because a female nurse dared to flirt with her and my mother flirted back, she won't answer the navy's calls and every time I'm in Los Angeles I know she watches my fights yet when I ask for some bonding time and explanations as to why she never defended herself she walks away, if you want to talk to my mother you can talk to her through May, even if I wanted to call her she definitely doesn't want to talk to me, honestly this whole call is a bust anyway because I got angry at Carly for daring to care why I didn't want to talk about my mother and she ran, she's no longer in this house, without her I might as well be single" says Shelby
"are you saying that Sam and Freddie won't engage in romance without Carly" asks Stephen
"she's the glue, she's funny even when she doesn't mean to be, Sam's too scared to engage because of her juvenile record which exists because a cop dared to call her irredeemable and that the only cure was jail time and a criminal record, her anger only existed because of a few faulty parking meters, they stopped working after ten minutes, even if her mom put in enough money for an hour, the parking tickets kept piling up, Sam thought that if there was no parking meter that there would be no reason to give her mother another parking ticket, her heart was in the right place but that criminal record terrifies her, besides her main interest is Carly, with me as a close second, to her Freddie is a big cuddly teddy bear, Freddie is only part of the polyamorous relationship test because I want him there, however that said he cares way too much, if he even thinks we're in a vulnerable mental space he won't do anything, not even if we explicitly ask him to, without Carly's dash of reality and accidental humour the whole thing will literally fall apart" says Shelby
"I have a months leave saved up, I will be there for that time, I've been avoiding it to avoid your mother, she's combative but the woman that flirted with her, her dad is the one that discharged your mother, guilt weighs on both sides Shelby and that woman was forced to take your mother's medical command, her father is on his death bed and she requested permission from him to court your mother, to make a relationship possible and she thinks I'm the only one that can convince your mother to come back" says Stephen Shay
"you don't seem to be pushing back as much as we all thought you would" says Shelby
"I only left Carly with Spencer because I couldn't understand Carly like he could, it was one of the hardest decisions of my life but she had bonded to him like he was her father, I had thought it was for the best that I walk away, I never realized he would make sacrifices because of it, if Carly, Sam and Freddie truly consent to the polyamorous relationship, then I guess there is no point in fighting it, non forced consent is all that matters to me" says Stephen
"we were never worried about ourselves Stephen, we were worried about what you parents would think, Freddie's mom was worried about the edibles I have to take in place of my medicine because of nasty side effects they were giving me, once that was cleared up she was ready to give her blessing, Sam's mom was an easy sell as she only wanted Sam to be happy, that leaves you as the last for us to get a blessing from, though like I said I'm not sure any of that matters now that Carly walked away because of me, the main thing Carly lacks is perspective, which is one of the dozen or so things I have zero chances of teaching anyone, let alone her" says Shelby
"I'll be there next week, I'll talk to her, does she know about the special needs division and that you run it" says Stephen
"yeah" says Shelby
"does she know you're autistic" asks Stephen as Shelby recoils
"no and I'd rather she didn't, nobody beyond my sisters knows, well besides Spencer and I only did so to get him to trust me, I swore them all to secrecy" says Shelby
"I don't know why you and Carly keep it such a secret" says Stephen
"I certainly don't act stereotypically autistic in public and fighting keeps meltdowns at bay, if people knew that I'm autistic, I'd be swarmed with people saying 'you don't look or act autistic so you can't be autistic', if Carly is indeed autistic, she'd be getting the exact same questions if people knew, that's why it's a secret, her emotional stability relies on her fans liking her for her, adding public knowledge that she's autistic could absolutely decimate her fan base and therefore her emotional stability, the same goes for me, 'autism is caused by vaccines' people are out there, if we can avoid provoking them by having them learn their favourite fighter or their favourite web show host is autistic then you must let us keep it a secret" says Shelby
"honestly I'm surprised Carly didn't tell you" says Stephen
"I'm sure she has her reasons just like I have mine for not telling her, anyway I should go, I have to try and salvage what I can from this plural relationship test, though that's assuming it's even possible to save it, I don't see Carly coming back, she wouldn't even look at me as she left and I will NOT let you force her to come back" says Shelby
"can I at least tell her that you're autistic, it might help her understand why you freaked out the way you did" asks Stephen
"I guess that's fair but you can't tell ANYONE ELSE, am I understood Colonel Shay" says Shelby, getting a rise out of him
"you are understood, however as a non navy or air force officer you have no right to call me that, it's just Stephen to you Miss Shelby Ruby Marx" says Stephen as he ends the call
"ugh I hate that he did that, nobody uses my full name, ever" says Shelby as Freddie comes to check up on her
"you ok Shelby" asks Freddie
"yup, I'm fine, give me five minutes then I'll come in and snuggle you and Sam" says Shelby
"is he going to talk to Carly" asks Freddie
"probably, he promised he'd visit as he has a month vacation next week, I forbade him from forcing Carly to return if she doesn't want to, I'm not about forcing anyone to do anything, especially in this kind of relationship, if Carly choses not to come back but wants Sam in her life, Sam is more than welcome to go to Carly, you could go with them if you wanted to" says Shelby
"you don't seem all that excited about a plural relationship" asks Freddie
"in one way or another it's all I've ever known, though my parents called it an open marriage, I'm sad because Carly is literally the glue that keeps us together, without her we'll all fall apart at the speed of light" says Shelby as Sam walks out and joins Freddie
"you're afraid you'll be all alone, is that what you are worried about" asks Sam
"it's always been scary for me, people always scream 'you groomed her' when they see how I'm wearing the bare minimum in the cage, people seem to think that I've been groomed my entire life but my parents motto was always 'do as I say not as I do', they've never endorsed a plural relationship lifestyle ever, even when I'd push them and ask about it, their response was always 'NO, not even a little, forget about it Shelby', the problem is it's always fascinated me, which along with me being autistic, tends to make me an outcast, which is why nobody knows either of those things, not without me knowing them well enough to know if they'll judge me harsher for it" says Shelby
"why didn't you tell us sooner that you're autistic" asks Sam
"you don't know what it's like Sam, all three of us Marx sisters are autistic, Missy's on the worse side, May's in the middle, all she has going for her is music and her social skills, that's why she sells her music to artists instead of selling it herself to fans, you put her in a talent show setting and she completely freezes up, long ago she said she'd never be a 'true' artist because of that intense fear that autism brings her, we're all intimately in touch with our emotions, it's how they found out about us being paranoid, as for me I have the ability to mask my emotions for the most part, apparently too well, last year my doctor had been trying to reverse my autism diagnosis because 'I got better and am no longer autistic', so I choked him for a good solid thirty seconds then when he threatened to sue me I said 'why you're not choking anymore, there's nothing to sue me for', he hasn't mentioned removing my autism diagnosis since" says Shelby
"but surely there were marks left" says Sam abandoning asking about her autism diagnosis
"I'm an MMA fighter Sam, a highly trained one at that, I am fully aware that my actions could have left marks, I choked him just enough to cause him pain, no marks were left, he got the message, especially after Shaun spoke with him, you can't just remove someone's autism diagnosis just because they no longer 'look' like they're autistic, if he had proof I was misdiagnosed that would be different but he just wanted me to not be autistic because I don't look autistic and I'm mega popular and popular people can't be autistic" says Shelby
"but by not telling people, aren't you making it seem like popular people can't be autistic" asks Sam, genuinely curious
"no, there's a difference, me not telling people isn't me making something look a certain way, us autistic people, us girls specifically, we're picked on because ninety-nine percent of studies on autism are done on boys, we don't fit the 'criteria' because studies of autistic girls are extremely rare so nobody understands that it is possible for girls to be autistic AND functioning members of society, my doctor, he wanted to take my diagnosis away simply because I no longer 'look' autistic, the thing is autism doesn't have a 'look', there's also a belief, a wrong belief that autism is caused solely by vaccines, when in fact genetics play a vital role in the chances of someone being born autistic, Sam let's put it this way, if you were autistic and you could avoid getting bullied by pretending to not be autistic and hiding the fact that you have BEEN diagnosed as autistic, would you tell everyone and risk getting bullied to possible serious mental health problems like suicidal thoughts or the other extreme, or would you hide it" says Shelby
"I guess you have a fair point…. Wait, I've noticed for a long time that Carly changes how she acts based on who is around, could she be autistic" says Sam
"it is possible yeah, her dad seemed to hint that Carly had an autism diagnosis but he never actually said she had one, all he said was 'I don't know why you and Carly keep it a secret' or something like that, I haven't been off the phone for more than ten minutes at best and I already forgot some of what he said" says Shelby
"wait are you having memory issues again" asks Freddie
"you're sweet to be concerned but no, in this instance it's just my overactive brain worrying about how I'm going to make this work without Carly, ugh I wish I could fight already, I don't have this problem when I'm fighting" says Shelby
"ok let's go snuggle, we'll deal with the Carly issue later, right now you need a nap, we all need a nap, Melanie and May are bringing lunch after they're done with groceries, we should at least try and nap until then" says Sam
"that's probably a smart idea but you know how I nap" says Shelby
"oh believe me I'm ready" says Sam as they head to their bedroom
With Carly and Spencer on a call with their dad
"she's autistic too Carly, you know how you act when people bring up Nevel, even though you made peace, his name still angers you, the same goes for Shelby and her mother" says Stephen
"my hate for Nevel doesn't compare to what I saw in Shelby when I brought up her mom" says Carly
"doesn't compare to how you feel, you don't know how Shelby sees it" says Stephen
"then explain it" says Carly getting frustrated
"I was there at the custody hearing, her parents were in an open marriage, legally speaking that meant she wasn't restricted to only bringing men home, she brought a fellow navy doctor who had flirted with her, Shelby got upset when her father won custody, her mom never defended herself once, she could have gotten custody off the bat if she'd mentioned that they were in an open marriage because his argument was that she was unfaithful and was bringing 'unhealthy' women in to corrupt the kids, that's literally the reason she lost custody" says Stephen
"but she doesn't talk about her dad either" says Carly
"because he is violent, he was in the air force, he tried to rape one of his female superiors, might I add she was one of the first female to truly earn her position, he was dishonorably discharged and absolutely banned from ever serving in any military, she doesn't trust him, none of them do but Shelby's the only one that refuses to forgive her mother" says Stephen
"wait why were you at that custody hearing, if you knew Shelby, why did I have to wait so long to meet her" asks Carly
"Shelby wanted nothing to do with any branch of the military, for a time that included even family members of those that serve, it didn't help that I was there to serve her mom with discharge papers, the woman she flirted with and brought home was the daughter of an admiral and the admiral wasn't having it, back then being even a little bi or gay curious was absolutely frowned upon, any member of the military could get discharged for flirting with someone of the same sex or gender identity, it didn't matter if it was consensual, it would result in an immediate discharge if the admiral, army commander or colonel had even the slightest belief that it was happening, even if its literally a rumor, the 'offending' person was immediately punished or discharged, because it was me who was chosen to serve the discharge papers that day, Shelby thought it was some sort of conspiracy against her mother and refused to talk to anyone with the last name Shay or anything close to it" says Stephen
"wait but she hates her mom" says Carly
"no Carly, not hate, it would be easier if it was just hate, it wouldn't consume her like this if it was just hate, it's disappointed love, she's angry because her mom doesn't call her, even if it was short and just to apologize, it's her moms unwillingness to connect and apologize that she has a problem with, trust me I spoke to her, she compared her mother to me, me not being there for you and leaving you with Spencer after your mother left us high and dry" says Stephen
"wait she compares what you HAD to do, to her mom not being there and apologizing" asks Spencer
"basically, she feels that you had to back away from your passions to raise Carly, something that in her eyes was supposed to be my job, she complimented Spencer's cooking and even said he could be a chef" says Stephen
"she's never complimented his cooking before though dad" says Carly
"she won't in normal situations, especially with how good Spencer is at making food, she sees it like telling a clock it knows how to tell time or telling a car it hasn't broken down in forever, basically she thinks complimenting amazing cooks would be insulting" says Stephen
"but she compliments my food, does that mean I'm not good, I'm a failure at most things, when she compliments me it makes me feel good" says Carly
"you just explained why she does it Carly, she sees how nervous making food by yourself makes you so she compliments you, it's not that you make bad food, because believe me she'd tell you if you did, it's about making you confident in yourself so that she won't have to, she hopes that eventually you'll just know your food is amazing, because it is, it rivals my own" says Spencer
"is she really that analytic of a person, I never noticed that about her" asks Carly slightly confused
"yes, she analyzes everything and everyone, getting to be in her inner circle is a big deal and you're a major part of her future now, you being away from her, Sam and Freddie, even for a day makes things harder for her, mentally, emotionally and physically" says Stephen
"you want me back there don't you" asks Carly
"oh no I never said that, she forbade me from making you go back, it must be your decision to make Carly, just because after speaking to her I believe that you being there, dating them, would be good for all of you, doesn't mean I automatically get to make that decision, you're an adult now Carly, your life, your decision, however that said, if I were in your position, I'd be running back there as fast as I could because I misunderstood the situation" says Stephen
"and if I'm too embarrassed to go back" asks Carly
"it all falls apart, she called you the glue, she'd be on her own, Sam and Freddie would be on their own" says Stephen
"but she's strong, I'm sure she could make it work" says Carly attempting to fool herself into thinking she's not as important as it seems she is
"she's physically strong not emotionally strong, there is a difference, remember how quickly she turned on you when she thought that you pushed her grandmother over on purpose, it was instant anger, she was ready to tear you to shreds remember, family means everything to her" says Spencer
"but I'm not family" says Carly
"how can you think that, she basically lived here for a while and she would snuggle with you" says Spencer as Stephen has to abruptly hang up due to a military exercise
"do you know something I don't Spencer, you've never been good at keeping secrets" says Carly suddenly suspicious
"of course I do, unfortunately you're an adult now so I can't just give up everything I know, it's time for you to figure out stuff on your own, you can't do that here, I have to have a life too you know" says Spencer
"did you really have to give up on lots of things because of me" asks Carly
"unfortunately yes, however that doesn't mean I regret any of it, helping raise you into the confident girl you are was well worth it" says Spencer
"do you think I overreacted" asks Carly
"you usually do, it's hardly a surprise given the situation you put yourself in, I have nothing against polyamory but finding out if it's for you is important and you will probably get spooked a few more times, you have to let them know that you're autistic like Shelby, they'll understand and work with you" says Spencer
"let them know I'm autistic, no absolutely not, Sam and Freddie will look down on me" says Carly
"they're not that stupid Carly, Sam's had suspicions for a while and I'm sure Freddie feels the same, if they didn't leave you months ago they never will, if anything I'm sure they're more interested in you now than ever, honestly I don't know anyone that likes you like they clearly do that would be WILLING to share you with anyone, even in a polyamorous situation, the fact that they're willing to share at all should speak volumes about how much they love you, I can't find one person who loves me that much, let alone three, and no I'm not counting family in that, I meant in a romantic way" says Spencer
"ok ok I get it, take me back there please" says Carly
"I didn't force you to say that did I, because I'd rather not be kicked by Shelby again, that first time was plenty, it took me a week before my body settled back down" says Spencer
"I wouldn't say forced, you have a pretty convincing argument, as much as it hurt, I needed to hear it" says Carly
"so I can tell them you're autistic" asks Spencer
"yeah I guess but I'll also probably be on edge all week, I don't like the words autism, autistic, polyamorous and polyamory because of the negative associations those words have, I'd honestly rather be called 'different' than have any of those words used to describe me or how I chose to love, even on iCarly last week I just said 'how I refer to Freddie, Sam and Shelby may change, please don't look too much into it, there are some things I just want to keep private about my life', for some reason I felt the need to warn them and I hate it" says Carly
"yeah your viewership doubled, maybe even tripled after that statement" says Spencer as they get in the elevator and head down to the lobby
"any rude or sexualizing comments, I've noticed they increased when we changed the iCarly set to include a bed" says Carly
"a few but most were saying that you didn't have to say anything, that you deserve privacy, a few even said if you needed a few weeks off they wouldn't hate you guys for it" says Spencer
"so they assumed a romantic situation" asks Carly
"they assumed some sort of romantic or sexual attraction between someone in the group changed for you but nobody has narrowed it down further than that" says Spencer
"I guess my wording could have been a little more vague huh" asks Carly
"no, they'd have been more suspicious had you said less, ninety percent of the comments said they were content with how much you divulged, some of what was left wanted more information and some wanted less, now let's get going" says Spencer letting Carly into the car
15 minutes later back at the house
"how is she" asks Sam waiting as she saw Spencer pull up
"she's fine, just don't use the words, autistic, autism, polyamorous or polyamory, she doesn't much like them" says Spencer
"so she is autistic" asks Sam as Carly lays in the couch
"yes but like I said don't use that word, she doesn't like the negative associations it or the other words have, oh and she'll probably be a bit skittish for a while, she thinks she told the iCarly viewers too much and she wasn't all too keen for anyone to find out she's autistic, she's afraid you and Freddie will look down on her like she's some lesser human or something" says Spencer
"we have no plans to belittle her, if anything it makes her and Shelby even more special, come on Carly it's snuggle" says Sam
"you sure I'm not a burden" asks Carly
"absolutely not, I have no idea where you got that idea, now come on, Shelby and Freddie are waiting" says Sam as Carly gets up and hugs her, then follows her to their room