Chapter 30: I am the half brother of Meredith Grey

It was already late at night when Sam finally decided to leave Carly's house after spending the entire remainder of the day there. With Carly's help, she had managed to complete her homework, and hopefully, she would at least get a passing grade on her essay, although Sam never really cared much about academics. In fact, if it hadn't been for Carly pushing her every year and Sam's desire to keep up with her friend, she probably would have dropped out of school by now, just like most of her cousins.

Lost in her thoughts, Sam arrived home without even realizing it. As she opened the door, she was greeted by the sight of her mother, Pam, engaged in a passionate kiss with a man who appeared to be a police officer—something Sam had grown accustomed to seeing. Her mother had always had the habit of bringing different guys into the house at some point she just became numb to it all.

"I'm home!" Sam shouted, causing the man to abruptly break away from her mother's lips in surprise.

Pam quickly introduced the man to her daughter, motioning towards Sam who was standing at the door. "Sam, this is...," Pam began, only to realize that she had forgotten his name. Without any awkwardness whatsoever, she turned to the man she had just been locking lips with and asked, "Sorry, dear, I forgot your name."

"Um... Greg," the man replied, raising an eyebrow. He hadn't anticipated that the woman in front of him would immediately forget his name, especially after spending a good amount of money for their date earlier in the night, the man just felt wronged about the entire thing.

"Yeah. I really don't care. You guys can continue; I'll just go to my room," Sam replied nonchalantly. She had little interest in Greg; Sam could barely remember all the men who had come into her mother's life. To her, Greg would soon become another forgotten memory.

"Nah, Greg here is actually leaving. Right, Greg?" Pam Puckett said flatly, causing Greg to reluctantly agree. Before he left the house, he adjusted his pants, and Pam led him out of the door with a playful tap on his butt.

"Isn't he quite a bit younger for a woman of your age?" Sam asked casually, opting to stay in the living room and watch TV instead of retreating to her room.

Pam smirked, a hint of pride in her voice. "Probably about 10-15 years younger. A fresh-faced policeman, young and strong, but who's counting?". She made her way to the kitchen, opening a bottle of wine for herself. "Oh, by the way, if you're planning to stay at Carly's place, make sure not to stay out too late. With news of a killer on the loose, you never know what could happen during the late hours of the night," she added, taking a sip of her wine straight from the bottle.

Sam gave her mother a skeptical side-eye. "I don't think the killer is targeting kids. The news mentioned that it's been all adults so far," Sam replied, recalling the information she and Carly had learned while watching the news earlier in the day. The media had released potential age ranges of the victims, narrowing the focus of concern.

Pam shook her head. "Still, I don't think it's safe," she insisted, joining Sam on the couch. "Greg told me they've started collecting the bodies and would be placing them in a tent the police are building near the Seattle Police Department."

Suddenly, an idea sparked in Sam's mind. With the national attention surrounding these killings, it might be a good opportunity to do something with it on the next episode of iCarly.

**************

Later the next day, Freddie was in the middle of getting his books out of his locker when Sam abruptly slammed it shut, causing him to jump in surprise. "What are you doing?!" he shouted, a mix of annoyance and shock in his voice.

"Do you have any portable cameras, Fredward?" Sam asked, displaying little concern for Freddie's reaction.

Freddie let out a sigh, already accustomed to Sam's disregard for his feelings. Sam was lucky that his hand wasn't inside the locker when she slammed it shut, or he would have been even more upset. "Why do you need portable cameras?" he inquired, trying to understand her sudden interest.

"For the latest episode of iCarly, duh!" Sam retorted, irritated by Freddie's questioning.

"For iCarly? How many do you need?" Freddie asked, his curiosity piqued. Sam rarely took the initiative to contribute to the show. While she co-hosted alongside Carly, she typically left the preparations and logistics to Carly and himself. So, Sam showing enthusiasm and taking the lead on something was definitely unusual plus he wasn't aware that they would be needing portable cameras.

"Just one will do," Sam replied after a moment of consideration.

Still intrigued, Freddie probed further. "What are you planning to do with it?"

A mischievous grin appeared on Sam's face, sending a shiver down Freddie's spine. He knew that expression all too well—it was the same one Sam wore whenever she was plotting something. Immediately, Freddie assumed that Sam was going to prank someone, due to his experiences with Sam in the past. For him, Sam would only have the face when she was going to hurt him, so it was a plausible conclusion in Freddie's mind.

"Are you going to prank someone and feature it on iCarly?" Freddie stated with a narrowed brow, "I'm not sure that would be a good idea, Sam".

With a smirk, Sam replied, "If you really want to find out, I will text you on the night you give the camera. I have something planned." However, before leaving, Sam's face turned serious, and she locked eyes with Freddie. "Make sure you tell no one about what we just discussed, especially not Carly," she added, leaving Freddie perplexed by the whole exchange.

************

EXTRA SCENE:

"Damn it," Meredith muttered as she turned off her alarm clock. Despite going to bed early the previous night, she found herself unable to get a good night's sleep. Nightmares plagued her throughout the night, and when she was awake, the memory of her encounter with Derek in the elevator the previous day kept replaying in her mind. Instead of feeling fully refreshed, she felt drained.

Thinking that a shower might help clear her mind, she got up from her bed and walked towards her cabinet to grab a fresh towel. However, her eyes immediately diverted to an urn where her mother's ashes were stored. "I need to get rid of that," she whispered softly.