AN: Hello everyone and welcome to this little addendum to A Place to Call Home. I hope that you are all well.

I'd like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who read and reviewed the last chapter.

Challenge King – at the moment little is known about the man who has caught Marissa's eye, but I'm sure we'll learn more about him if he hangs around for a while.

Fanfic-Reader-88 – Trina being Trina she won't like having to repeat a year, that much is clear, but she's willing to do what she has to in order to make a success of her life. As for who got the gift, I think they were both happy with how it turned out, given that Cat had tried to instigate it a few months back.

Beverlie4055 – thanks.

The No-Name Guy – thank you.

Martial arts student – I've written party scenes in the past and didn't really want to just rehash one of them, which is why I didn't have that party (particularly with Cat's following right after).

Mkpunk – thanks, I'm glad you've enjoyed it.

Protogenxl – that may be something for Trina to explore, particularly with a technical genius among her (sister's) circle of friends.

Ember McLain – Beck and Jade… that is the question really. Right now they're apart but there's a year to go yet and a lot can happen in a year; we'll see how it pans out for them.

Darck Ben – thanks. Hopefully this chapter does some of what you had in mind.

SoraOblivian62 – they had their moment and seemed happy about it, thanks.

Agent-M – Thank you, I'm glad you enjoyed it.

Guest – as above, a lot can happen but at the moment, no Beck and Jade are not together.

Star445 – I'm working on a few stories at the moment but hope to update them all fairly regularly if I can.

Pbow – Lindsey acting opposite Freddie? Hmm, that could be interesting, if a little awkward. I really don't know how Freddie would feel, now that things were a bit better between them but I'm sure he wouldn't want her as a love interest – and might even say why if challenged (which I'm sure Lindsey wouldn't want becoming any more public knowledge than it already is) so I'm not sure we'd see the two of them in the same production.

SeddieHeartLand – Caddie got their moment and Bade aren't together. Jade hopefully will do better, or maybe Beck could actually learn from his mistakes. Stranger things have happened (admittedly not many). As for a one-shot about married life for Caddie – maybe, after the rest of the story is done. No promises yet though.

OneHorseShay has been busy recently; he has updated his excellent Teddie story, iGuess We're Roomies, and also a couple of updates for Who Are My Brothers?

Warning: Craziness and confusion should abound in this chapter.

Chapter 43: Has anybody seen the fourth wall?

Computer Lab, Hollywood Arts High School

Los Angeles, CA

Freddie set his web cam on the shelf above his workstation and took a seat in front of it; he glanced across as Cat appeared at his side and squeezed into the seat next to him, giggling as he squirmed to try and make a little more room; she draped her slender legs over his lap and slipped her arms around him. He leaned forwards and switched on the camera before settling back in his seat and snaking an arm around the grinning redhead.

"Here at Hollywood Arts," he began, "everyone has their own page on The Slap. You can use it to keep people informed on what's going on in your world…"

"Like this," Cat interrupted; with difficulty she extricated her pearphone from her pocket, wriggling in Freddie's lap as she did, before tapping away on it and waving it at the camera. "Look! I just updated my status."

"Sweetie, it's probably too small for them to see it," she was told; her smile drooped a fraction in disappointment at the news before she recovered as she turned back to the camera. "But you can also upload different clips to your page for people to watch – like these," he pulled his peartop computer towards him and pressed a few keys before bringing up a clip.

Main Hallway, Hollywood Arts

Freddie rested against his locker; he'd just finished sorting out his things for the day ahead and was waiting for Cat to finish up.

"Ok," she walked towards him before stumbling slightly as her foot caught an uneven part of the floor. "Whoa!" she yelped as she lunged forwards. Fortunately Nathan reacted quickly and was able to catch her so that she didn't go headlong into the lockers.

"You really were keen to see me," he joked, staying in character as Freddie.

"That's mean," Cat complained as the clip ended.

"I thought it was funny," he defended, "like this one," and he cued up another clip.

Beck's RV,

Driveway of Oliver Residence.

An insistent knocking could be heard on Beck's door.

"What's that noise?" André asked curiously, hearing the commotion over the web chat.

"Open the door!" the long-haired Canadian's girlfriend demanded.

"Is that Jade?" Tori asked in surprise.

"Yeah," the RV resident confirmed; he leaned towards the door and called out, "I'm busy working on a project!"

"I need to talk to you," the gothic teen insisted.

"Sorry, door's locked," he called calmly. A moment later the door rattled on its hinges but stayed shut. Outside (consequently out of shot) Liz could be heard yanking the door repeatedly, but still without success. "It's still locked," Avan observed with a grin. The door rattled again but once again didn't open.

"She doesn't have a key?" Tori asked, suppressing a grin.

"No, she does have a foot but clearly the door is stuck." All the actors involved in the chat were shaking with their barely-contained giggles.

"So if she can't get in," Tori noted thoughtfully, "does that mean you're stuck in there?"

Avan pulled a slightly concerned face as he pondered this. "Quite possibly," he conceded.

"And we know there isn't a back door," Daniella leaned across her on-screen sister to add the comment.

Finally one of the crew helped Liz get the door open. "What is going on?" Jade demanded, keeping a scowl on her face as she walked over to join her man; she took one look at Avan's grinning face and palmed her head as she began to laugh, taking the others with them.

Black box theatre, Hollywood Arts

Freddie and Jade were on stage during a dress rehearsal for their play.

"You have to go," Freddie's character was told while Jade's looked on wearing a crestfallen expression as the love of her life was being taken from her.

"When will you be back?" she asked through a few well-crafted tears. The girl took a step towards him before catching her heel in the boards on the stage floor; she was unable to catch herself in time and momentum started to take her to the ground. Fortunately she was close enough to one of her co-stars to catch hold of him and avoid falling to the ground.

"Enjoy the trip?" the boy asked her with a smile.

"Hey, you try walking in heels," she retorted as Nathan walked over to check on her as well.

Jade happened to be passing the computer room; she spotted the couple sitting by a computer and walked over to them. This meant that she caught the end of the clip they'd just shown; she frowned as they laughed a little at her slip-up.

"Hey…" she greeted them in acidic tones, "you want to show people some funny clips? Try this one," she nudged him out of the way a little and brought up a clip of her own.

Benson residence, Hollywood Hills

Sam stood on the doorstep of Freddie's home.

"Hey, what are you doing here?" he asked the blonde.

"I'll tell you if I can have ice cream," she offered.

"Mom, I'm going for ice cream with Cat!" he called.

"Uh, I'm Sam," the blonde pointed out with a snigger as the boy pinched the bridge of his nose and shook his head.

"You really need to learn which of your friends is which, Freddie," Marissa bustled over to join them as the fourteen-year-old girl burst out laughing at his increasingly reddening features.

"Despite being teenagers in school," Cat took up as the clip ended (Freddie and Jade were eyeing one another uneasily), "we do, of course, spend a lot of our time elsewhere."

"Yes," Freddie agreed readily, turning back to the camera, "one of our favourite places has turned out to be the miniature golf course."

"Baby golf!" Cat cried excitedly.

"Of course, even somewhere as supposedly quiet and serene as the mini-golf course, sometimes things can go wrong."

Sherman Oaks Castle Park

4989 Sepulveda Blvd, Sherman Oaks, CA

The tech producer took his first shot; the ball seemed to be sailing serenely towards the hole when it broke to the right, rolled into something and bounced back a few inches before coming to a halt about ten feet from the hole. His girlfriend clapped excitedly at the shot.

"It wasn't bad," he shrugged, "better if it hadn't gone off line like that at the end though."

Cat nodded and set her own ball down. She seized her putter and swung wildly at it, missing it and giggling at the fact. She repeated the action and this time the head flew off the putter, sailing serenely down the first hole.

"Whoa," she yelped; Freddie instinctively put his hands to his head for protection.

"I'm glad it flew off that way," he observed; Ariana nodded her agreement; the two teens looked at one another and grinned, soon getting the giggles.

"Yo Dan, I think we need better props," Nathan called with a smile.

"The guys also spend a lot of time fencing – and mixing boys and swords isn't good," Cat stared seriously at the camera.

"It's not that bad," Freddie protested.

"Watch this," Cat continued with a grin towards the camera.

Swordplay Fencing Studio

"Ready?" Freddie asked Beck, slipping his facemask on; the taller teen did likewise. "En garde!"

The two began to fence and Freddie quickly gained the upper hand, due to his greater aptitude and experience. Seeing Beck's struggles, André jumped up from the bench, donning his own mask and joining the fray to help. Nathan began to laugh as the two tried to gang up on him, followed swiftly by the other boys.

"Stop! Stop!" The instructor, hired by the studio, screamed in annoyance. "You're supposed to be taking this seriously!" he complained, sounding as if he was approaching apoplexy.

"Ok," Avan chuckled, lifting his mask for an instant but still smiling broadly.

"Tell them," Nathan complained slightly grumpily, "I was taking it seriously until the double-team." He swatted at the other two boys with his epee and they began to laugh again as they attempted to defend themselves.

"Another place that we seem to spend a surprising amount of time is the hospital – and not just because my mom works there," Freddie explained when the clip was done.

"Maybe it's not all that surprising given the clips you've just shown," Jade observed.

"I'm not complaining; we got back together in the hospital," Cat reminded him.

"I know, baby, I'm not complaining either," he insisted, "just pointing out that a lot of our time is spent there – and sometimes we're there for the strangest of reasons."

Janitor's Closet, Hollywood Arts High School

"I know," Tori conceded in shame. "What I did was terrible and awful and immature and you have every right to be furious with me. I swear, Cat, if I were you, I'd just punch me right in the face."

A moment later, Cat extended her left arm and punched the other girl square on the nose before looking off dreamily into space.

"Owww! Cat!" the half-Latina complained.

"What?" she asked calmly, looking back towards her friend.

"You just punched me in the face," the brunette moaned.

"You said to," she pointed out.

"I know, but that's just something people say- owwww!" she pinched her nose with her left hand as she felt blood begin to trickle down one of her nostrils.

"Does it hurt?" Cat enquired.

"A lot! Okay. I think my nose may be broken."

"Well, now I feel all bad," she lamented.

"Don't. I deserved it! Feel better?" Tori asked.

"I think so," she nodded with a little smile.

"I'm sorry," the new girl repeated; she held out her right arm towards the other girl. Cat gave a genuine smile and they hugged, bringing a giggle from the shorter teen. "Will you take me to a hospital now?" Tori pleaded.

"Sure," she agreed.

Black box theatre

"Next, um, Tori, let's see the tornado," Sikowitz asked, going through the checklist.

"Full on?" she asked.

"Full on," he confirmed. "Blow me away," he urged, pausing for a laugh that never arrived. "Just turn it on."

"Here we go," she fired up the machine; Beck immediately realised the problem.

"It's in reverse!"

"Tori, turn it off!" Jade called from the gantry; beside her Cat gasped in horror at what was unfolding. The brunette clutched her best friend's arm, urging her into action and leading her downstairs.

"I know, I know, I know..." the half-Latina struggled with the controls before screaming as Rex was sucked from his seat on the scenery and into it.

"Turn it off! Turn it off!" Sikowitz urged; finally Tori managed to do so.

Sikowitz's apartment

"Uh, sweet farm girl?" She turned to Sikowitz with a smile at his call. "Could you bring that tray of quesadillas from the kitchen?"

"Why I wouldn't mind at all!" She skipped to the kitchen and reached to pick the tray up.

"Wait," the eccentric called in horror, "that tray's just came out of the..."

Jade yelled in pain as bare flesh touched hot metal; she dropped it again as Freddie sprang to his feet and rushed over to her with Cat just a step behind him.

"... the oven," Sikowitz concluded, grimacing at the event.

Jade's voice trembled but she, admirably, stayed in character. "My goodness that tray was hot. Well, lookie there. My skin's startin' to blister. And I do believe that's the sweet smell of my burnin' flesh."

"Right, weird things do happen," Cat conceded, "and sometimes the weirdness actually happens in the hospital."

Providence Saint Joseph Medical Centre,

501 S Buena Vista St, Burbank.

"Hello? Big man who brought me down here?" Cat called as she sat alone in the padded room; she looked down at her hands, encased in the large cubes. "My nose itches and I can't scratch it. Oh, I know," she leaned backwards trying to bring her foot up to her nose instead before overbalancing and groaning slightly as she toppled onto the floor.

"Ow," Ariana broke character, "I think I strained something in my leg. Argh," she winced. A stagehand rushed into the room to take the cubes off her hands; one they were free she began to massage the leg.

"It's ok," she told them after a minute or so, "just cramp I think."

Robbie, who was using a walker, entered the room. "Hey, there's my little blood angel," he smiled.

"Robbie, why are you out of bed?" Tori asked.

"I don't know," he shrugged. "I just felt kind of bad that you had to give more blood for me."

"No worries, already done. There she is," she showed him the package.

"Oh yeah. Let me see. Wow." He picked it up. "It's like I'm holding liquid you in my hands."

"Okay," Tori thought that sounded a little creepy really.

"Oh sweet," the ventriloquist held the package up to the light. "Did you know if you hold blood up against the light you can totally see all the..." he was cut off as the package slipped from his hands and it landed on the floor. However, instead of bursting, it bounced past the teenagers and out of the door.

"Wait!" Victoria cried as she leapt from her chair and raced after it. "Stop that blood!" she yelled. Nathan and Mary, stood outside the room and waiting for their cue, looked at one another and shook their heads as the brunette chased the bouncing package down the corridor.

"Aha, got it," she raised it triumphantly and showed it to them. Nathan just smiled and nodded.

"I never stopped liking you either Freddie," Cat whispered.

Freddie was a little stunned at the different choice of wording the girl used but this was nothing compared to his shock as she leaned in towards him. He was frozen in place as she moved ever closer; finally their lips met in a gentle, tentative and almost shy kiss. Suddenly the last year and a bit dissolved into nothing as their lips reacquainted and the feelings they had both long-repressed rushed back to the forefront of their minds.

"Nooooo!" They jumped in surprise and pulled apart, turning at the shout as Tori raced towards them; she seized Freddie's arm and tried to pull him away from the redhead. "He's mine! All mine!" the half-Latina insisted.

"I want him," Cat stood and stamped her foot as she grabbed the boy's other arm and tried to pull him back; it was clear that the two girls were battling desperately to stay in character.

"Whoa girls," he protested, "calm down." Then he gave them a cocky grin. "There's plenty of Freddie to go around," he slipped his arms from their hold and wrapped one around each girl's waist; the smiling trio walked out of shot ignoring the director's screams of 'cut'.

"Despite Tori's… intervention," Freddie told the camera, "Cat and I did of course get back together…"

"Yay," Cat double-fist-pumped before leaning against him smiling goofily.

"Yes," he nods, "and we've had… certain moments of quiet intimacy since then. Some great, some a little more awkward, like this one…"

Valentine residence

Freddie heard a shuffling sound followed by the lock on the bathroom door clicking; it opened inwards to reveal the tear-stained and confused-looking face of Cat Valentine. His heart ached anew, knowing that he had caused this but he offered her his hand and, slightly to his surprise, she acquiesced; he led her back to her room and steered her into a seated position on her bed. He himself remained stood, albeit slightly hunched because he kept her hand in his own.

"Cat," he began, before stopping as she wriggled and let go of his hand.

"Sorry," Ariana apologised, "my lingerie's pinching me." All decorum went out of the window and the mood of the scene was ruined as Nathan burst out laughing, with Ari following suit immediately after.

"Great!" Dan called off-camera. "It's supposed to be a moving and sensitive scene between them and my two leads can't stop laughing!"

"Sorry," the redhead apologised, reaching to straighten her underwear. "Ok, I'm good now."

"There's an old saying in show business," Freddie addressed the camera again, "never work with adults or animals."

"Is that a real saying?" Cat asked curiously.

"Well, certainly the adults part is true; watch…"

Olivia Benson's apartment,

Manhattan, NY

"The Rick Castle?" Freddie asked in surprise, bringing all eyes to him, "writer of…" he hesitated for half-a-second, "Storm Force?"

"Yes, that's me, and that's just one of many best-sellers that I've written," the author confirmed immodestly.

"Freddie Benson; I'm a big fan of your novels," he snapped out of his reverie towards the female homicide detective and smiled at the man, stepping forward and offering his hand; Castle shook it and returned the smile.

"So you're…" he fished.

"Olivia's my aunt," he nodded at the copper-haired detective, "mom and I are just here for Thanksgiving; up from Los Angeles for the long weekend," he grinned.

"Yes well, sorry to disturb you, Detective," Beckett turned the conversation back to the matter at hand, "but we received call about a homicide; we're on our way there now."

"What does that have to do with me?" she wondered aloud. "I'm SVU; I'm not in your department."

"No, but we have reports of a child witness to the attack, and reason to believe that there was a history of…" At this point Stana wondered why Mariska was smiling as much as she would; in fact she seemed barely able to contain a laugh. She looked behind her to see Nathan Fillion stood with a none too convincing innocent expression on his face.

"Were you doing your impersonation of me behind my back?" she charged before turning to the others. "You know he does this all the time when we're shooting our own show." She faced her co-star again. "We're not going to get invited back if you keep goofing around."

"Sorry about that," Olivia told her guests after returning from the crime scene, "but duty called."

"That's ok, aunt Liv, we get it," Freddie assured her. The cop glanced to her twin sister; Marissa just smiled slightly awkwardly and said nothing. "So, will you have to work any more of the weekend?" he pressed.

"No, we've dealt with it from our side – for now at least," she explained, "the witness-slash-additional-victim-possibly has been taken," she paused briefly at the feeling that she didn't have the line right, "to a safe… location," she struggled on as Mary and Nathan began to grin, "and is being… looked… after," she finally gave up and joined them in laughing. "What? I thought I could keep going with it," she protested.

"It almost worked," Nathan sounded supportive.

"No, not really," Mary disagreed.

Yerbanian Central Prison

Slowly but surely Freddie made his way up the mesh, finally making enough of a hole for the inmates to squeeze through. Just as he thought his luck really was in, a shout came from behind him.

"Hey! What are you doing buddy?"

The girls gasped as the guard approached Freddie menacingly; he instinctively reached into his pocket and drew the shock pen as he spun around. He thrust it at the guard's neck and clicked it and the extra began to seriously overplay the scene, crashing to the ground and writhing in agony. Nathan looked at the shock pen. "No wonder Sam loves it," he commented with a shrug, staying in character as the others tried to struggle through the fencing.

Take 2

The girls gasped as the guard approached Freddie menacingly; he instinctively reached into his pocket and drew the shock pen as he spun around. He thrust it at the guard's neck and clicked it, triggering a shock that sent the man to the ground where he briefly convulsed before lying still. The teen crouched down and confirmed a pulse; turning round again he saw that Jade had already forced her way out through the prison fence and was now holding the makeshift doorway in the fence open for the others. Daniella was last to come through and yelped slightly as she tried to exit, pausing and turning back to the fence.

"Caught my jumpsuit on the wire," she complained as she unpicked it. "Ok, I'm good now," she declared happily as she joined the others outside the perimeter.

The girls, and Matt, sighed as Dan called, "ok, back inside, we'll do it again," and made their way back through the fence as Nathan helped the 'guard' back to his feet.

"Right, adults do goof around too much," Cat conceded as the clips ended. "Animals aren't so bad though – except when our puppy peed on my mom. Oh, we don't have a clip of that."

"Of course, at the end of it all," Freddie decided that he should move things along, "we're all really good friends here at school – and we'd do anything for our friends."

"Speak for yourself," Jade couldn't keep the smirk from her face as she said that.

"Oh I don't know, Jade; you've done a lot of stuff for your friends when you've had to," he reminded her.

Black Box theatre

Tori, having roused herself again, staggered up to Jade and Freddie from behind, draped her arms around their necks and asked, in a weak voice, "Did they get the Pontiac out of Robbie?"

"They sure did, Tori," he confirmed with a smile, thinking back on his mother's text message.

"Yay," she declared before grinning slightly and leaning into Jade; she began to nuzzle a little at the other girl's neck.

"Uh, what are you doing?" she demanded.

"Oh you know half the audience watch for the 'Jori' moments," Victoria reminded her. Liz glanced past her at Nathan, who by this point was fighting the urge to laugh. She shrugged and pulled her fellow brunette into a hug.

"I'm feeling a little left out here," Nathan complained; as one the two girls stretch out an arm, pulling him into a group hug.

Paramore Studios

Cat intercepted Tori as she rushed towards the group. "By the... Tori, he's over there," she whispered, directing the girl backstage.

Tori followed her direction. "Beck, Beck," she called in a low voice.

To Victoria's surprise it was Nathan walks in, wearing an identical dress to her. "Uh, Beck couldn't make it," he told her.

Victoria burst out laughing. "Nathan, you look ridiculous," she complained.

"What? I need a bit more padding?" he gestures to his upper body, only intensifying her giggles.

"So was the aim of this to scare people off?" Jade asked the couple.

"No, just to inform and entertain; hopefully they'll see the clips and want to find out more about the school and The Slap," Freddie argued.

"So if you do want to check out more clips, you can follow us on here and keep up with our updates and our lives," Cat pointed out.

"And look out for more cool stuff coming soon to a Slap page near you. But it's bye for now," Freddie concluded, waving at the camera. Cat, enthusiastically, joined in and, after a few moments, Jade did so too, albeit more restrained than her friend. The brown-haired boy switched off the camera and the screen turned black.

AN: And that's it for A Place to Call Home; I hope you enjoyed this little extra – my thanks to everyone who helped in its production, especially Martial Arts Student and Challenge King.

The first chapter of A Summer in Film has also been posted, over in the iCarly/Victorious cross-over section since Carly and Sam will be a part of it. All that remains is for me to thank you for reading it and to give my special thanks to everybody who has reviewed this story – so a shout out to:- Challenge King, Fanfic-Reader-88, SpazzQueen15, That's My Jay, pbow, Agent-M-0167, Subject87, EnchantingNightmares, OneHorseShay, Guest, ilovebade, The Question23, Darck Ben, Nightmare Sired Muse, ArtisticAngel6, Consort Of Chaos, KoiChoco, Bucio, TenorSax93, Martial arts student, DoubblySquared, ola, beverlie4055, SeddieHeartLand, FloatingOtter, Iz, mkpunk, SoraOblivion62, The No-Name Guy, thedarkrid, AprilBaby95, pinkcrazyness, Ember McLain, star445 and protogenxl,; thank you one and all for your feedback, all of which is greatly appreciated. PD