Family Secret

Disclaimer: I don't own iCarly

A/N: Thoughts are in italics and speech is regular.

-FAMILY IS CLOSER THAN YOU THINK-

Sam walked down the hallway, heading toward Carly's apartment, she was bored and needed to do something to get her mind off of certain things. She had recently acquired a liking for Freddie, she didn't know if it was all that recent, it was a gradual thing. Sam met Carly long ago, Freddie and his mother moved next door to Carly only six years ago. That meant they were seven when they met him, and it was then that she actually had a childish crush on him.

"A mere crush was all it ever was," Sam thought as she crossed her arms. She knew there was no chance of him liking her, because as much as it hurt, he liked Carly. He would always like Carly, there was no doubt in her mind that if she even remotely revealed her feelings for him, he'd laugh in her face.

Mrs. Benson looked out of the peephole and saw Sam standing in front of the door, she smiled at the girl, she liked Sam. She honestly thought that maybe Freddie would like her too, but it seemed like her son liked someone else. She laughed at the thought of who it was, he said he had a crush on Carly. She didn't say anything to him when he first told her, but then she went to her room and laughed.

He couldn't like Carly, for that was an impossibility, she knew nothing would come of it and that nothing could come of it. Mrs. Benson paced the floor and sat down on her couch, she tapped the armrest and crossed her arms. She was ashamed of herself, she was ashamed to call herself mother, how could she call herself one at all. Her husband died six years ago, though he was her ex husband and both of them despised each other. Really he hated her, but it was her fault as well, she neglected her baby and as a result, he took their youngest child away from them when he divorced her.

"Nothing will come of Freddie and Carly, she doesn't like him at all, that is it…" No explanation was needed, she didn't think that was important. She was happy for Carly, Carly lived with her older brother after her father died, and the two had a happy life. Spencer had a pretty happy life with his father, even though he was technically adopted. His father was really his uncle, his real parents died after Carly's birth.

Mrs. Benson walked over to the door and looked out the peephole, Sam had not entered Carly's apartment, which was strange. She saw that Sam was sitting on the floor, her back to the door. The sight confused her, she wanted to know why Sam was so upset. When she opened the door, Sam merely looked up at her, only a single tear was rolling down her face.

"Is something wrong, Sam?" Sam slowly stood up and looked back at Carly's door, she sighed and shrugged her shoulders, as though to say nothing was wrong. "Sam, don't lie to me, I can tell something is bothering you. Would you like to come in, I made some cookies and I have some milk as well." Sam smiled softly and looked at Mrs. Benson, she couldn't turn down the woman's offer.

"Sure, I would love some," Sam responded. So Della Benson let Sam walk into the house, she looked one final time at Carly's door and closed her eyes. She could hear Freddie and Carly laughing inside the apartment; Della closed the door and turned around to see Sam walking out of the kitchen with a plate of cookies. She set the cookies on the coffee table and sat on the couch; Della smiled and sat down in a chair with her. "I brought some to share…"

"Thank you, Sam." Della took a cookie from the plate and bit into it; she chewed the cookie very slowly and swallowed. Her mind was on matters that caused her to eat slowly, she saw that Sam was just staring at a cookie and not eating it. "What is wrong? Why don't you eat it?"

"I'm sorry, I just have some things on my mind, don't mind me Mrs. Benson." Sam smiled and took a bite of the cookie, Della watched Sam as she took a bite, she closed her eyes and leaned back in the chair.

"Freddie will be fifteen soon…" Sam raised her eyebrow and looked over at Della, obviously the woman was thinking out loud, but that didn't sound right to Sam. Freddie turned thirteen several months ago, he couldn't be fifteen anytime soon.

"Uh, Mrs. Benson…Freddie is thirteen." Della opened her eyes and looked over at Sam, she had forgotten, Sam didn't really know. Actually only one person knew, she was too ashamed to admit it; she was not the perfect woman.

"Oh, just ignore that, Sam, it's just mere mumbling. So, you were going to see Carly, weren't you? How come you didn't go inside?" Sam once more stopped and glanced at her cookie.

"The dork was there, I didn't feel like going inside when he was with her." Sam took a bite of the cookie and Della raised her eyebrow. "I don't know why, but I just didn't want to go in and disturb their fun. They were watching television by the sound of it, but they were also laughing and I think the dork was just flirting around."

"You like him, don't you?" Sam quickly looked at Della and blushed, she was ready to deny it if she had to. "My son, you like him. I say you should go for it, go tell him that you like him, what is the worst thing that could possibly happen?"

"He laughs in my face and never speaks to me again. He loves Carly, so who am I to stand in his way?" Della laughed and Sam narrowed her eyes, she didn't see anything funny with the current situation.

"Nothing will ever come of that, Sam. That alone is impossible, and Spencer wouldn't allow it, hell, he would tell me if anything was happening with them."

"What are you talking about?" Della looked at Sam and saw the confused look on her face, she figured it was time to go ahead and tell Sam the truth. She stood up and walked over to a desk, Sam watched as Della opened the desk and pulled out a manila folder.

"These are the birth records and everything of my two children."

"Children…you only have one child, Mrs. Benson."

"No, I have two children, two very alive and very healthy children. I'm a bad mother though, because one of them has no clue, actually neither of them has any clue. I know though, Spencer isn't going to let anything happen between Freddie and Carly; at least I'm sure of it. I'm surprised he even cares, but of course Spencer knows what he didn't know, that I really feel remorse." Sam was even more confused, she didn't have any idea what Della was talking about at the moment. Maybe she meant that Carly was like a daughter to her, she watched as Della took out a birth certificate and handed it to Sam.

"What is this?" Sam looked at the birth certificate, it read Carly Shay, born to Roger and Della Shay. Sam's eyes widened and she looked up at Della, she didn't know what to say, but she did want to know what was going on. "Mrs. Benson, do you know who Carly's real mom is, because…I'm really not sure what to make of this." Della nodded her head and pulled out a photo, it was of herself with Roger, and two babies, Sam was shocked.

"That's right; I am Carly Shay's mother. I'm a horrible mother though; I don't even deserve to be her mom." Sam raised her eyebrow and saw Della looking at the picture, a single tear fell from her eye and she swiftly wiped it away.

"I don't understand….what happened? I mean, if you're Carly's mom, why is she with Spencer and not you?"

"Spencer's the one who got custody of her…I was too afraid." Sam tilted her head slightly, confusion evident on her face. Della let out a small sigh and began to explain what went wrong.

-Flashback-

Della sat in a chair, her loving husband, Roger was sitting in another chair, bouncing two year old Carly on his knee. She smiled as Roger kissed Carly's forehead and looked over. "This girl's going to grow up to be a star, I just know it!" Roger said with a quick chuckle.

"I think you're right," Della said while standing up. "Our little Carly is precious, and so is Freddie." She looked over to see three year old Freddie Benson running into the room, he fell over and hit his knee on the carpet. "Aw, poor little Freddie…" Della bent over and picked Freddie up, she sat down and placed him on her lap. "Are you okay, Freddie?"

"M-My leg hurts, mommy!" Freddie cried. Della smiled and kissed Freddie's knee, she then ran her fingers through his hair and gave him a hug.

"Do you feel better, my little boy?" Freddie nodded and sniffled. Della placed Freddie back on the floor and watched as he walked over to Carly, he grabbed a toy that she had in her hand and pulled it away from her. Carly then let out a cry and Freddie started to walk away. "Freddie, give Carly back her toy." Freddie pouted and walked back over to his sister, he placed the toy in Carly's lap and she immediately stopped crying, she giggled and picked up the toy.

"Crybaby…" Freddie turned around and walked away; Della smiled softly and looked over at Roger. Anyone might think that they had a great relationship and a great family, but those people would be wrong. Della had a small problem, whenever things got bad or she got depressed, she turned to alcohol. She and Roger fought about that almost all the time, she tried to change, and she was so close to breaking her habit. She believed she wouldn't ever turn to drinking again.

"I need to take Freddie out for a while," Roger said while placing Carly on the floor and slowly standing up. "Do you think you can look after Carly until I'm back? You can call me if anything goes wrong…"

"Yeah, don't worry about a thing, Roger," Della said with a soft smile. Roger called for Freddie and he walked back into the room, Roger then picked Freddie up and walked off. Della looked at her young daughter and smiled, there was so much life inside of her, and so much energy. "You are one beautiful daughter of mine…"

Della picked up a envelope from the coffee table, it was another bill. She hated seeing them, she and Roger were extremely tight on money, but that was another cause of her nearly nonexistent alcohol problem. She had nearly let Carly burn herself one time because of alcohol. Carly was on the counter and Della was deeply upset about something, she was pouring some whiskey and forgot about Carly, Roger walked in and caught Carly before she touched the stove that had been left on.

"I won't let that happen again." Della opened the bill and noticed it was slightly different, it was a notice. It said that if they didn't pay a huge sum of money within a month, they would repossess the house. Della stared at the notice with wide eyes, fear slowly started to consume her.

"R-Repossess the house, and we have to hurry with the payment? I don't understand…" Della got up and walked into the kitchen, she needed to think, she needed to find a way to get up the money. Della coughed and rubbed her throat, it felt dry and hoarse, she opened the refrigerator to see if she could see anything to drink. "No, there isn't anything to drink…I need something to drink."

She felt it, the strong pull and desire to consume an alcoholic beverage, but there was no alcohol to be found. "I'll go to the store, that's what I'll do!" Della quickly rushed into the living room, she picked up Carly and ran out of the house, she opened the car door and placed Carly in the safety seat, attached the belt and got into the drivers seat.

With that, she drove off, hurrying to the store. When she made it there, she parked the car and hurried out of it and into the store, leaving Carly in the car. She would spend the next thirty minutes looking for alcohol, when she found what she needed; she rushed back to the car. Then she drove to the nearest bar, she felt a need to talk to a friend of hers that worked there. She went inside and left Carly in the vehicle once more. She consumed major amounts of alcohol and stayed in the bar for two hours.

When she left the bar, she got into the car and didn't notice that Carly was starting to look dehydrated from being in the car for so long. She also didn't notice that the door in the back seat had been open all this time; she backed out of the parking place and began to drive off. The car door flew open and Carly's safety seat fell out of the car, Della continued to drive off, not knowing what had happened.

After a short time, she realized that her car door was opened and looked back to see that Carly was missing. "Oh no, Carly isn't there! Crap, where is she?" Della quickly turned around and drove back toward the bar, looking around frantically. "No, no, no, no, this can't be happening! Carly, where are you?" Della got to the bar and jumped out of the car, she was near panicking now. "Carly! Carly where are you!"

Della's cell phone began to ring, she answered it only to hear Roger's voice on the other line, and he did not sound happy. "Della, I want you to come home right now," Roger said in a harsh tone. "Meaning get whatever you have and get your ass over here this instant."

"Roger I'm panicking, I don't know where Carly is! I didn't realize the car door was open, and I swear to god I'll die if I don't find her! I'm sorry Roger, I-"

"Carly is fine, just get your ass over here." Della's heart nearly sunk, Roger sounded really mad and if he was as angry as he was, she knew that she was in trouble. She hung up and got into her car, she then drove toward her home and entered the house. She saw Carly on the couch and smiled.

"Carly!" Della ran toward Carly but stopped when Roger stepped in front of her, his arms were crossed and his eyes were glaring into hers.

"What would have happened, Della, if the bartender didn't see Carly fall out?" Della raised her eyebrow and Roger let out a sigh. "The bartender saw you drive off, he looked out the window and saw Carly fall from your car. Damn it Della, you spent nearly two hours drinking and you left your child in the car! Then you let her fall out of the car and you don't even notice?!" Della winced at the harsh tone, she just wanted to hug her child, but as Roger yelled; she was starting to realize how undeserving she was to even hug Carly. Once again, because of alcohol consumption, she nearly endangered Carly's health. She was thankful the bartender was a close friend, but she wasn't glad the bartender called Roger, but then she wasn't in the proper mental state.

"So what happens now?" Roger turned around and picked up Carly, he held her close and glared at Della.

"I've had enough…I'm filing for a divorce." Della gasped and Roger narrowed his eyes, she didn't want a divorce, she would do anything to not get a divorce.

"Please, I can change! Honestly I can, I can stop drinking, I swear! Just please, Roger, I beg of you, don't do that to me. Don't do that to the family!"

"You aren't very fit to be a mother…So I'm taking the children with me as well." Della's lip trembled and she fell to her knees, tears rolled down her face.

"No, please…don't take them from me! Honestly, I can become a good mother! I won't ever let anything bad happen to them again, just give me another chance to change! I promise!" Della was nearly shouting, tears were running down her face at rapid speed, it was as though her entire life was crumbling. Roger stared down at her with a frown on his face, he was starting to pity her, so he let out a sigh.

"I'll give you the divorce, and I'll give you a second chance." Della raised her eyebrow and looked up at Roger. "Della, I'm taking Carly with me, this is not the first time you've endangered her life! You will be raising Freddie, but hear this, the first time Freddie's life comes near danger, I am taking him into custody as well."

"Thank you!" Della was pleased with this, although she hated to see Carly go, she felt undeserving to be her mother anymore. She loved Carly, she loved her with all her heart, but she couldn't see herself as a good parent. "I promise you, I'll change…I'll take care of Freddie so much that you'll be surprised by how much of a good mother I can be! I love my children so much, Roger…I want to raise them."

"Then raise Freddie, but just remember what I said, Della."

"Yes, yes I'll remember. I'm never going to let anything happen to him, nothing bad will ever come near him! Thank you for giving me this second chance, and maybe we can work something out in the future."

"No, I myself have had enough of your drinking problem. I was going to be supportive of you and help you beat it, but it's gotten too hard to bear. I 'm even going against my better judgment, letting you keep Freddie…"

"I promise. I promise that Freddie will not be harmed…"

"Good luck with that, Della Benson." Della's mouth opened and she looked at Roger, his eyes staying away from hers, she didn't know why he just used her maiden name. Roger slowly walked away, but stopped short of the door. "You are no longer a Shay, you are no longer my wife...Freddie may keep my last name if you like, but I don't think it would be good for you to do that."

"R-Roger…" Roger closed his eyes and walked out the door, she clenched her fists and hit the ground, tears stung her cheeks. "Fine then, I won't keep your last name…and neither will Freddie! But damn it to hell if I'm going to let you take him, I'm going to be the best mother ever, you'll see."

-End Flashback-

Sam's mouth hung open, she was of course in extreme shock at the moment. "S-So, that's why you're always protective of Freddie, then," Sam said in a quiet voice. Della nodded and Sam crossed her arms. "Then why didn't you ever tell them?"

"I suspect Roger didn't tell Carly about me," Della responded while taking a sip from her drink.

"Wait…what about Spencer? Where was he in all this?"

"Spencer?" Della smiled and closed her eyes. "Spencer was the son of Roger's brother, some time after the divorce happened, Roger's brother and sister died. When this happened, Spencer went to live with Roger."

"Oh…so you never told Carly or Freddie that they're related and you're their mother. Why didn't you?"

"Like I said, I don't feel deserving to be Carly's mother. I'm afraid of what her reaction would be, and when she finds out that I neglected her...I think she would hate me."

"Carly? She doesn't hate anybody."

"Trust me, she would hate me. I mean, for all I know, if Roger hadn't done what he did, she'd be dead!" Sam frowned and let out a sigh, she couldn't say she agreed with Mrs. Benson on not telling them.

"I don't know…isn't just unfair, to both of them?"

"Yeah, maybe it is, but I'm too afraid to tell them. I'm too afraid of what they'll think of me, I mean what kind of mother lets her baby fall out of the car!" Sam shrugged and looked toward the door, she didn't know what to tell Della.

-NEW SCENE-

Freddie and Carly sat on the couch, both on separate sides of it. Spencer watched them closely, wondering what would happen. Currently the two were watching a cartoon, that's why they were laughing earlier. Spencer leaned forward on the counter and glanced over at his newest sculpture, it was a large calculator made of pens.

Spencer glanced back over at Carly and Freddie, he thought of how she didn't know her real mother and he never mentioned her mother to her, nor did Roger. Carly did know about him really being her cousin, nobody ever really questioned that.

Spencer's real parents were Brad and Helen Shay, they died when he was sixteen, that's when he moved in with his uncle, Roger. Carly was three at the time, and Roger was without a wife. Roger always acted strange, never once did he talk about his wife, but he would always be going somewhere.

"Why do people think they can keep something secret for so long anyway?" Spencer thought to himself. He chuckled lightly, thinking of his own situation with Mrs. Benson and whatnot. "I followed Roger that one day…" Spencer watched as Carly and Freddie laughed at something on the television, he then closed his eyes and remembered the day he found out about Mrs. Benson.

-Flashback-

It was only about a month after his parents died, and a month after he moved in with Roger Shay. Every day, Roger would watch Carly play and he would appear to be saddened about something. Spencer was a very curious teenager at the time, he always wondered what Roger would be thinking about. Spencer watched from the hallway, it was almost the time that Roger would leave the house and go somewhere, he would always take Carly with him. Spencer never thought to follow him, he never even asked, but his growing curiosity was getting the better of him. Roger got up and placed Carly in a stroller, he left the apartment and Spencer quickly left the door. He glanced over and saw Roger walking down a hallway.

"This time, I'm going to find out where you're going," Spencer thought as he followed Roger. He didn't get too far behind, and he didn't get to close. Once they got downstairs, Roger started chatting with the doorman, Lewbert. He would make quick glances toward Spencer's direction and never see him, when he finished talking to Lewbert, he left. Spencer followed after him, hiding behind trees and other objects around the street.

Every now and then, Roger would turn around and glance back, Spencer would always be hiding. He would start moving again when Roger did, Roger stopped at a house and looked inside the window. It was the home of Mrs. Benson and Freddie, he would stand there a second and leave. When he left, he walked past Spencer's hiding spot and stopped.

"You can come out now, Spencer," Roger said quietly. Spencer hesitated a moment before walking out, he was surprised Roger knew he was there. "I was a sneak myself when I was younger…"

"Why are you at the house there? Who lives there?" Roger's face grew tight and he continued walking down the street with Spencer. "Are you going to tell me?"

"My Ex wife, Della, and my son live in that house." Spencer raised his eyebrow and looked back, he was confused. "I watch over Freddie every day, making sure Della is treating him right. It is unfortunate that Carly has to be separated from her, but Della nearly killed Carly."

"What?" Spencer looked at Carly in shock and then back up at Roger. "How could she do such a thing?"

"Neglect…Alcohol abuse…those are just a small few."

"Why did you let her keep Freddie?"

"She wanted a second chance, I wasn't going to let her, but I felt that she was sincere in her desire and the strength in her will to change and be a better mother. However, I could not leave Carly with her, it was far too dangerous. Besides, if anyone saw what happened to her, they might have called the CPS and would have taken both of our children away."

"Oh…"

"If anything happens to Freddie, I will take him from her. In the time that I left her though, she seems to have been a much better mom, a little on the overprotective side though."

"Will Carly ever know her mother?" Roger didn't answer, he just continued walking, unsure of the answer to that question. He didn't think that Carly should not know her mom, but at the current instant, it wasn't the time. He did however want Carly to know her mom, just like he wanted Freddie to know him, but that day would come in the future.

-Flashback, NEW SCENE-

Carly was seven years old, Roger Shay passed on and Carly moved in with Spencer. Only a month after his death, Carly is still deeply saddened, but what six year old girl wouldn't be sad about her father dying in a car accident. At the funeral, Spencer looked for the woman, Carly's mom, but he never saw her. Spencer sat down on the couch in his apartment, Carly had been upstairs, but she chose to visit the new neighbors that had moved in.

Spencer watched as Carly walked into the room, she had a smile on her face as she walked over to Spencer. "Did you meet the new neighbors?" Spencer asked as Carly jumped onto the couch.

"Yeah, and they were fun, the mom was a bit protective, but they were still fun!" Carly exclaimed as she sat on the couch. "I wish Daddy could have met them, I think he would have liked them very much."

"Oh, well what are their names?" Spencer hadn't met or heard of the new neighbors, they only moved in during the week. Carly thought for a minute and then smiled.

"Freddie Benson, that's the name of the boy, he's my age!" Spencer's eyes widened, that sounded very similar to who he remembered Roger telling him about years before. Only that Freddie was a year older than Carly, Spencer crossed his arms and rubbed his chin, trying to think if it was just coincidence. Spencer heard a knock on the door, so he got up and walked over to answer it, when he opened the door he saw that it was the same woman in pictures that Roger showed him. It was the same woman in the house that Roger went to, it was indeed Della Benson.

"Hi, I baked you guys a pie," Della said with a smile. "I'm hoping you'll like it, I have to hurry and give Freddie his tick bath though." Della lifted the pie up and Spencer slowly took it from her, he eyed her closely and wondered why the hell she moved across the hall and if she was going to claim Carly as her daughter. "I hope you enjoy it!" Della turned around and Spencer placed his hand on her shoulder to stop her.

"Thank you for the pie, Mrs. Benson…do you mind if we talk for a while?" Della looked at him with her mouth ajar, he held a slightly serious look that told her he wasn't going to take no for an answer. "We need to talk about something, can you let Freddie come over here?"

"Y-Yeah, sure…" Della walked into her apartment and soon she exited with Freddie by her side, when she entered the room, Spencer instructed both Carly and Freddie to go to Carly's room for a while. "How do you know my name?"

"I'm not stupid…" Spencer put the pie on the counter and opened a drawer, he took out a knife and began to cut the pie. "I know you're Carly's mother." Della looked at Spencer and then back toward the ground, Spencer raised his eyebrow and placed a slice of pie on a plate. He did the same for another slice and took the plates over to Della, one for her and one for him. "Roger kept a close eye on you and Freddie, I followed him one day when he went to your home…that's how I found out. Now I ask you this, why?"

"I don't understand the question…why what?" Della picked up a fork and placed it into the pie, her hand was starting to shake from Spencer's words.

"Why does Carly still not know you're her mother, why does Freddie not know that he has a sister? Are you going to tell Carly and let her move in with you?"

"No."

"No? No!" Della sighed and Spencer stared at her with a slightly angered look. "You're their mother for crying out loud!"

"I don't deserve to be Carly's mother." Della closed her eyes and Spencer set his plate on the coffee table, he wondered why she would possibly think that. "I endangered Carly's life several times, and it was all because of my drinking problems that I had back then. I don't drink anymore, not a single drop, and I'm very protective and making sure I don't make the same mistake with Freddie, but I just don't want to tell her. I'm afraid…"

"Afraid? What are you afraid of?"

"I don't want her to hate me! She will think I left her, and I even lied to Freddie by telling him he's a year younger…"

"Why did you do that?"

"To throw anything off, you know, in case she ever found out her real mother's name was Benson, it would throw her off if Freddie was the same age as her."

"You know you're just taking the easy way out of this, right? You have to tell Carly that you're her mother, there's no question about it."

"She'll hate me, she'll hate Freddie, she already seems to like him and I think he likes her too! They even met Sam today, the girl that Carly knows."

"You already know someone Carly knows?"

"Well I am her mother…I kept my eye on her too. I also knew Sam, Sam Puckett, I know her mom well. That's beside the point, I'm a cruel and neglectful woman who doesn't deserve to be called the mother of Carly Shay."

"You seem to be doing well with Freddie."

"I was given that second chance, I was given the option to take care of him. Even now though, they're going to think I'm-"

"Weak? That you're taking the easy way out of this by not telling them the truth? Just because you were neglectful, it doesn't mean they will hate you."

"They will think I left them, that's what they'll think. Well Carly might think it, Freddie might think something else."

"Look, you know you will have to tell them one day, you can't keep it a secret forever, they will find out. Wouldn't it be best for you to tell them, rather than them finding out on their own? Carly doesn't even know she has a mom, she would love to meet you I bet!"

"Well Freddie doesn't know his father…its unfortunate though."

"Then think of Freddie, do you want Carly to go through the same thing? Carly doesn't know her mother, what if you were to die tomorrow, wouldn't you want Carly to know that you were her mother? Would you not want Carly to be happy, knowing she spent at least a fraction of her life to know her mother?" Della sat in silence for a minute, she waited and Spencer watched as a single tear rolled down her face.

"I'm scared…" Spencer sighed and slowly stood up, he could hear Carly and Freddie laughing from upstairs, the joyous laughter of two siblings who did not know anything about each other. He closed his eyes and let out a small sigh, Della looked at him as he turned around to glance at her.

"Mrs. Benson, whenever you feel ready to tell them the truth, let me know, I will be here for you and I will help you. You won't have to go through it alone, besides, Freddie would be my cousin and I would like for him to know that. Sure, it'll be tough when the time comes that you must tell them, so I'll be there for you."

"Thank you Spencer, you're a kind person…"

-End Flashback-

Now Carly was thirteen and Mrs. Benson still hadn't told her, that was hard. Carly had even asked about her mother at different times, but he could never tell her anything. Even now, when it seemed like Freddie liked Carly, he couldn't say anything about it.

Carly and Freddie turned off the television, there was nothing left to watch that interested them. Freddie looked over at the door and frowned, he thought Sam was going to come by, that's what Carly said.

"Sam didn't come by," Freddie said with a sad look on his face. "I was kind of hoping that she would." Carly nodded and looked at the door, she was sure Sam was coming, since Sam did call her and tell her she would be coming by.

"That is odd, I wonder why she didn't come in yet, do you think I should call her?" Carly asked in response. "You really should just tell her what you think, you know?"

"What do you mean?"

"That you like her…you know, it's the reason you pretend to like me all the time."

"Yeah, and I mean I really do love you, but it's only like a brother loves a sister. I mean that's what it feels like to me, nothing more. Of course, the one that I'm sure that I am falling for is Sam."

"Yeah, you really should tell her, and maybe we should stop pretending that you like me, it never helps."

"Yeah, and I'm not too fond of it either for some reason, it just doesn't sit well in my stomach."

"Well I know one thing we'll never do."

"What's that?"

"Dating, that's what!" Carly laughed and Spencer looked over from the counter.

"Oh yeah, that would be hilarious! Can you imagine? I mean it would be horrible for Sam I think, I wouldn't want her to see me asking you on a date. 'Carly do you want to go on a date?' and then she would be so upset."

"Yeah…" Spencer heard the words Carly, date and yeah, that wasn't good at all. He quickly hurried over to them, both Carly and Freddie looked at Spencer to see a weird look on his face.

"No!" Spencer exclaimed. "You can't date, that is not allowed!"

"What? We're not-"

"You two are related!" Spencer clasped his hands over his mouth while Carly and Freddie stared at him with shock written all over their faces.

"Uh, Spencer, I'm sorry but what was that?" Carly asked in a quiet voice.

"Yeah, I may have something in my ears," Freddie said while rubbing his ear. "For a minute there I thought you said we were related…" Spencer brought his hands down and let out a sigh, Carly and Freddie merely raised their eyebrows as Spencer nodded his head.

"You are, you two are brother and sister," Spencer said quietly. Carly and Freddie both stared at him with wide eyes, he continued to talk. "That is why you two cannot possibly date."

"W-We weren't being serious about the dating thing," Carly stated. "We're related? How do you know this?"

"Damn, I wasn't supposed to tell them, Mrs. Benson better be ready to tell them, I warned her they might find out one day." Spencer sighed and gestured for them to stand up, they did so and he crossed his arms. "You two were born to Roger and Della Shay, but they divorced and…well you're really a year older, Freddie."

"Care to explain this?"

"Follow me…" Spencer led Carly and Freddie out the door, he knocked on Mrs. Benson's door and waited for her to answer the door. Sam answered the door, a cookie in her hand and a bite in her mouth. She stared at the two people, they had very confused looks on their faces, she shrugged and looked back.

"Mrs. Benson, Carly and Freddie are here with Spencer," Sam said quickly. "Should I let them in?" After a second, she opened the door wider, Carly, Freddie and Spencer all walked in to see Della sitting on the couch. She had a manila folder in her hand and a Kleenex box sitting beside her, Freddie wondered why his mom had been crying.

"Mom, are you okay?" Freddie asked. Della looked up and saw Spencer's eyes, the look in his eyes was different than usual, almost as if to tell her something big had just happened.

"Do you want to tell me something, Mrs. Benson?" Carly asked in a quiet voice. Sam and Della both stared at Carly, exchanging nervous glances.

"Yes, sit down," Della responded. Sam and Spencer both went to sit down next to her, while Carly and Freddie sat down elsewhere. "Carly, it is time I told you and Freddie the truth. I think that I'm ready to do this, but I'm scared, I really am."

"We're here for you, Mrs. Benson," Sam said as she patted Della on the back. Spencer nodded and Della let out a sigh, she handed Carly and Freddie the folder and gestured for them to look through it.

"I am your mother, I was married to Roger Shay, and Freddie really is fourteen, not thirteen." Freddie blinked and Carly slowly opened the folder, the first thing she saw was the birth certificate belonging to her.

"I-I don't believe this, you're my real mom?" Carly asked while lifting the paper out with her shaky hands, tears stung her cheeks and Freddie sat with an even more confused look on his face.

"If I'm fourteen, why did you lie to me about my own age?" Freddie asked. His hands shook with anger, his eyes held various emotions that he had to try and keep down. "Why did you keep me away from my sister? You even moved next door to her and never told her!"

"You're my mom…why didn't you ever tell me?"

"I was afraid," Della said in a quiet voice. She noted the shakiness in Carly's voice and the anger in Freddie's, she was so scared that both children would hate them.

"You were afraid of what!" Freddie exclaimed as he quickly stood up. "What were you possibly afraid of that you couldn't tell us who our own siblings were? Why were we separated in the first place!"

"Freddie, relax," Sam said in a quick voice. She could understand his anger, she could understand Carly's shock and fear, but she also knew that they shouldn't be angry. "Let Mrs. Benson speak first, I'm sure you'll understand it a little better…" Freddie let out a sigh and closed his eyes, he was trying to calm himself down, but that much was hard to do. He slowly sat down next to Carly, she was still looking at the paper that she held in her hands, she wondered why her mom didn't want her.

"Did you love me, mom?" Carly asked as she closed her eyes. She grit her teeth and tears rolled down her cheek. "Why didn't you want me? I could have been everything you'd ever want in a daughter, couldn't I? What reason was there that you couldn't keep me?"

"I understand that you're upset right now," Della responded. "It was Roger that took you, he would have taken Freddie too but he let me keep Freddie as a second chance. I was a mother who neglected her baby, I let you fall out of a car, I left you in the car…there was no way in the world I was fit to be your mom. Roger divorced me and he took custody of you, he swore if I ever did anything wrong with Freddie, he would take him under custody."

"But you never visited, you never did anything, I never even knew I had a mother!"

"I was afraid…Roger didn't like me hanging around you too much but it was mostly because I was ashamed. I was ashamed to even call myself a mother, even when he died, I was afraid you'd reject me as your mom. I felt remorseful for my actions, but once I thought that you'd hate me the instant you knew, I was afraid to even tell you. Spencer easily found out, but I told him not to tell you, so if you get mad at anyone, get mad at me. Hate me, I'm the one who did everything wrong…"

Freddie and Carly both sat in silence, tears streaking Carly's face and Freddie's hands clenched into fists, Freddie was the first to break the silence. "I for one don't hate you, Mom."

"You don't?"

"You're my mother, why would I hate you? I am disappointed though, I'm disappointed that you think you aren't deserving enough to be a mother. You've taken care of me for such a long time, there is no proof of neglect in the last however many years. This may take some time to get used to, to adjust to, but that's all." Freddie lifted his head up slightly and looked into Della's eyes. "A child wouldn't hate their mother, I know I wouldn't. It's just shocking, that's all."

"I spent so long wanting to know my mom," Carly said in a shaky voice. "Every day and every night, I would dream about her. I would dream I was holding her hand, or that I was cooking with her or doing whatever it is that mothers do with their daughters. The only one who's ever been remotely like a mother to me…was you…and now I find out you really are my mom. Why would you be scared though? I wasn't going to hate you, I think I was seven when you first moved here…how could I hate you then?"

"You don't hate me now?" Della asked with a raised eyebrow. "I mean, after all that happened…"

"I would be willing to give being your daughter a try, I would have loved to know sooner though." Carly looked at Della and smiled softly, but the tears were still going down. "It's going to take some time getting used to it, I know it will, but I can do it."

"Thank you. You know, I probably should have told you, in order to avoid you two from actually falling for each other…" Freddie grimaced slightly and held up his hands, counting off on his fingers.

"One, we weren't falling for each other from the start," Freddie said quietly. "Two, Carly and I were only pretending to like each other, it was for another purpose. I don't like her like that, and especially now that I know about her being my sister…I can't help but to shudder."

Sam's mouth opened slightly, Freddie and Carly had never liked each other, she had gotten jealous of Carly because they were pretending. "So, what happens now?" Sam asked while crossing her arms. She hoped to get them to talk more about what the future had in store for them, it was important.

"I guess I was taken away because of Mom's neglect," Carly responded. "But now, I want to get to know my mom, I want to be her daughter and give her a second chance."

"So does that mean you'll be moving in with her?" Spencer asked in a quiet voice. Carly thought for a minute and slowly nodded her head, that would be tough, she had been so used to living with Spencer. "If that's what you want to do, go for it." Spencer smiled and Carly got up and walked over to Della.

"Mom, and I will call you that…" Della smiled as Carly let out a sigh and hugged her. "I want you to know, that though I don't know exactly what it is that you did, I don't care. I'm glad to finally know you, and I hope you'll want me to be your daughter." A tear fell from Della's eyes as she closed them and hugged Carly close.

"Of course I want you as my daughter," Della responded with a very soft voice. Freddie got up and walked over to Della, he uncrossed his arms and gave her a hug.

"I think I should let you know, I love you Mom," Freddie said with a small smile. "Hey, it may be late, but I get to know a sister that I never remember having…" Freddie and Carly let go of Della and smiled, they were still confused and shocked, but they knew that would go away with time.

Freddie and Carly both turned to each other and smiled, Freddie tilted his head slightly and spoke first. "Well, I know we met before as friends, but now I guess we're meeting as long lost siblings. It's good to meet you at last, Carly."

"It's good to meet you too, Freddie," Carly responded as she and Freddie shared a hug. The funny thing about it was the feeling in the hug, it was honestly as though they never knew each other before and were finally meeting a relative from long ago.

"Since you're my sister, I can say I love you and mean it." Freddie smirked and Carly nodded as they released the hug.

"Well, I love you too, brother." Carly turned to Della and smiled, she crossed her arms and looked at her. "What are we going to do about our names though?"

"I think I want Freddie to have the name of his father, he is a Shay by birth, I'll do the same by changing my name to my husband's name." Della was thrilled that it didn't go as bad as she had feared, though she was positive it would take some time to get adjusted to everything. There was however, no doubt in her mind that things would work out just fine.

"I don't have to take any tick baths, do I?" Everyone in the room let out a laugh, Della shook her head and gave Carly one more hug.

"No, I think I'm going to take a break from tick baths." Freddie smiled and looked over at Sam, she looked at him and smiled back, she was happy for everyone.

"Sam, I have a question for you," Freddie said quietly.

"Yeah, what is that, dork?" Sam responded. Freddie flashed a smirk and she blushed lightly, she crossed her arms and waited for him to talk.

"I was wondering if…perhaps you would…like to go out sometime." Sam's jaw dropped and she quickly closed it.

"Y-You mean like…on a date or something?" Sam stuttered and looked at Carly, she knew she couldn't be jealous or worry about Freddie liking her, and he just said they were pretending. Sam closed her eyes and smiled softly. "Yes, I think I would enjoy that very much."

"Really, you mean it?!" Freddie's eyes widened slightly and Sam chuckled.

"Yes I mean it, dork."

"Uh, well…okay, so…what are you doing this…uh…Friday?" Sam smirked and looked at Freddie, she thought he was very cute right then.

"Oh I don't know, maybe it involves going somewhere with the dork, what do you have in mind?"

"A nice restaurant that just opened up down the street, I want to take you there." Sam smiled and licked her lips, that restaurant he spoke of was Italian, she loved Italian food.

"I'd love too."

"Great!" Freddie grinned and Della smiled, she was happy now, she had her daughter back and her son was going to go on his first real date. Of course now, she had a lot of catching up to do with Carly.

"Carly, how about we go shopping on that day?" Della asked with a smile. "In fact, starting today , you and I have a lot of catching up to do!" Carly smiled and nodded her head in response.

"I would love to do that, Mom."

I hope you enjoyed that! I felt that was a nice way to end it right there, so drop a review and let me know what you think.