"Finis!" Josie exclaimed as she finished sealing and labeling the final box.

"Finally!" Joanna heaved a dramatic sigh of relief and collapsed into the recliner wearily. "I had no idea how much stuff one lone bachelor could have. He had what? About five boxes of books alone?"

"Six." Josie corrected from where she was still sitting on the floor. "Plus three for his hockey and baseball trophies."

"Well, if you weren't aware of it before, than I'm sure you're convinced of it now." Joanna commented with a laugh. "Sam is both an avid bookworm and a fanatic sports nut."

"Well that suits me just fine." Josie remarked honestly. "Because I'm a bookworm and a sports nut too."

"I'm glad." Joanna admitted seriously, giving the other woman a warm smile. Ever since Sam had told her and Jon the story behind how he and Josie had met, Joanna had found herself liking the younger woman more and more. What had impressed her the most about their story, was the fact that Josie was willing to give up her dream of being a reporter because she loved Sam much more. She was obviously a young woman who had her priorities straight. That was definitely one thing that she had on Lara, who put her career above everything and everyone else.

"You know, speaking of sports." Josie commented thoughtfully. "One thing I was kind of hoping to see was Sam's Gordie Howe helmet."

"His Gordie Howe helmet?" Joanna repeated in surprise.

"Yeah, the autographed one his dad bought him during his first year of peewee hockey." Josie explained. "Doesn't he still have it? I got the impression that it meant a lot to him."

"It did mean a lot to him." Joanna acknowledged before adding bitterly. "Which is way Princess Lara threw it out."

"What?" Josie exclaimed, her eyes widening in surprise. "She threw it out? Why?"

"Because she was angry that he was spending so much time playing hockey instead of visiting with her." Joanna explained, her tone still crisp.

"Sam told me that she didn't like him playing baseball and hockey." Josie told her. "But that certainly didn't give her any right to throw out Sam's stuff."

"Lara does whatever Lara wants to do." Joanna remarked tersely. "She doesn't care in the least who she hurts. In fact I think she relishes hurting people."

"No wonder you didn't like her." Josie acknowledged.

"That was a big part of it." The other woman agreed. "There was never much love lost between me and Lara, even in the beginning. Jonathan and I had been dating since we were seventeen, yet Lara still viewed me as a possible rival for Sam's attention since he and I were good friends. I love Sam, but he's never been more than like a brother to me."

"So I don't have to view you as a possible rival then." Josie teased, giving the other woman a mischievous smile.

"Not in the least." Joanna replied with a reassuring smile.

"Good, because I'd like to be able to view you as a friend." The younger woman admitted honestly.

"I'd like that too." Joanna assured her warmly. The two women smiled at each other as Jonathan and Sam entered the apartment.

"How's it coming?" Sam asked the two women as he collapsed on the couch and reached for Josie's hand.

"We just finished packing the last box." Joanna informed him. "All there's left to go is the furniture and about four boxes."

"Well, Matt and Scott are suppose to be here about five to help us load the big furniture." Sam told Jonathan.

Checking his watch Jonathan remarked. "They should be here anytime then. It's almost five now."

"Well I suppose we could move some of the lighter pieces down to the truck." Sam suggested. "That way when Matt and Scott get here we just have a few pieces left to take out."

"Sounds like a plan." Jonathan acknowledged as he pulled himself back to his feet. "The sooner we get this done the sooner we can get something to eat. I'm starved."

As the two men moved off to organize the furniture Josie moved from the floor to the couch. "I didn't realize that packing up an apartment was such hard work."

"Do you have your own place, or do you still live at home?" Joanna asked curiously.

"I have my own place." Josie replied. "I moved out of home about five years ago when I started working at the Chicago Sun-Times. I figured I was making my own money, so I might as well be out on my own."

"That's quite a mature attitude for a twenty year old." Joanna commented, deeply impressed by her words. No wonder Sam thought he was a mature seventeen year old. She probably was when she was seventeen. "Do you have any brothers or sisters?"

"I have one brother." Josie replied. "His name is Rob. He's twenty three and he still lives at home."

"Boys never seem to mature as fast as girls do." Joanna commented.

"Rob's okay." Josie defended. "In fact a lot of times I don't know what I'd do without him. He's a pretty terrific brother as far as younger brothers go. In fact he's helped me out a lot on this assignment. There's no way I could have gotten in with the 'in crowd' without his help. He's always been popular, where as I've always been a geek."

"I wouldn't call you a geek." Her new friend quickly objected. "I think you're a very nice, well educated young woman who is absolutely perfect for Sam. I can't tell you the last time I've seen him so happy. You obviously have a good effect on him."

Josie blushed slightly, pleased yet embarrassed by the compliment. "Thanks."

Their conversation was interrupted by the sound of a phone ringing. "That's not mine!" Sam called from the other room. "All my phones are packed in boxes!"

Josie jumped up and grabbed her purse off the kitchen counter. Just as she suspected the ringing was coming from inside. "Hello?" Josie answered after fishing her cellphone out of her bag.

"Hey, Jos." Rob's voice greeted her on the other end.

"Hi Rob, what's up?" There had been something about his greeting that made the hairs on the back of her neck stand on end.

"I'm at Nana's." He told her seriously. "I just ran into Aldys and she was very upset."

"How upset?" Josie queried.

"Crying upset." Rob replied.

"Why is she so upset?" Josie asked with deep concern.

"It seems that I wasn't the only one that saw you and Sam kissing outside of Prom the other night." Her brother reported grimly.

"Aldys saw us?" Josie's eyes widened in alarm.

"Apparently." Rob confirmed. "She came out looking for you after she saw you leave with Mr. C and then heard through the grapevine that you were going to be talking about college. Wanting to ask him something about her own application she followed you out. I guess she got out there just in time to find you two kissing on the bench."

"But didn't she see you come out and wonder why you weren't surprised or upset by what was happening?" His sister asked, trying to put the whole situation together.

"She left before I came out." He replied, then after a brief pause added. "She's really upset about it, Jos. She even asked me if I thought she should report Mr. C. to the school authorities."

Josie closed her eyes against that piece of information. Reaching up she pinched the bridge of her nose as she tried desperately to think of a solution to the situation. "Where is she now?"

"She's still here." Rob told her. "I promised her that I'd help her get to the bottom of this." He paused again before carefully suggesting. "I think you need to tell her the truth, Josie. She's really mad at Sam right now. She feels hurt, angry and betrayed by her favorite teaching and worried out of her mind about you."

"I'll talk to her." Josie assured him. "Think you can convince her to meet me at my place? I'll tell her everything now."

"I'll have her there in twenty minutes." He promised.

"Thanks, Rob." Josie acknowledged. "You may have just prevented Sam from loosing his job. I owe you one."

"You owe me a whole lot more than one." He teased lightly. "After this assignment of yours is over I expect a big payback for all my hard work."

"How about all you can eat pizza and tickets to any baseball game of you choice." She offered with a knowing grin.

"Deal!" He accepted eagerly. "See you in twenty."

"Bye, Rob." As Josie hung up the phone Sam and Jonathan came through the bedroom door with Sam's mattress between them.

"Who's phone was that?" Sam asked curiously as they propped the mattress against the wall.

"It was mine." Josie told him a little distractedly.

"Who was it?" He pressed, noting her preoccupation.

"It was Rob." She told him, finally making eye contact with him. "He just ran into Aldys at Nana's and she was very upset."

"What about?" Sam asked with obvious concern.

Looking into Sam's worried face she said. "She saw us kissing outside of Prom." Sam's face paled slightly as Josie continued. "She's thinking of reporting it to the school authorities." Seeing how white his face had gone she quickly put a comforting hand on his arm as she assured him. "I'm going to talk to her. I'm going to tell her everything before things getting any more out of hand."

"Are you sure?" He asked, his concern deepening. "What about your job?"

"My job is of least importance here." She told him seriously. "If Aldys goes to the school authorities with this, then your reputation and moral character will be called into question. Chances are they'll want to investigate and even though I'm not really seventeen, the whole thing could get ugly. You know how people love a scandal and even if the accused is innocent they'll still try to tarnish your reputation just to make themselves look good." Looking at Sam she shook her head determinedly. "I will not let you go through that. The only thing to do is to stop this thing before it gets started. Like I told you at Prom, you're much more important to me than my job is. I can always get working somewhere else, doing something else if I have to but I will not let you be forced out a teaching because of me."

Sam, mildly comforted, pulled her into his arms and hugged her tightly. "You are amazing, Josie Geller." Hugging her tighter he added. "I love you."

"I love you too." She told him as she hugged him tightly back. "And don't worry about anything. I'll get this whole mess straightened out right away." I won't let you get in trouble because of my stupid mistakes." She promised him firmly. "I won't!"

About twenty minutes later there was a gentle knock on Josie's apartment door. Opening the door, Josie found a visibly upset Aldys standing on her doorstep.

"Thank goodness you're okay." Aldys surprised her by pulling her into a tight embrace. "I've been so worried about you since Prom. I've tried calling you about a hundred times since then, but all I ever got was your machine. I left you about a dozen messages but you never called me back. I thought maybe Mr. Coulson had kidnapped you or something."

"I'm fine." Josie quickly assured her friend as they released each other. "Why don't you have a seat." She offered as she reached over to close her apartment door. "You and I have a lot to talk about."

"I should say we do." Aldys agreed as she waited for Josie than followed her to the couch. "What was going on at Prom between you and Mr. Coulson? How could he kiss you like that? Josie, what are you going to do?"

"Calm down, Aldys." Josie gently admonished her friend as she reached out to put a comforting hand on her arm. "It's not what it looks like."

"Not what it looks like?" Aldys exclaimed in disbelief as she looked at her friend incredulously. "Josie, I came outside and fond you and Mr. Coulson kissing. You and Mr. Coulson, our teacher. I just don't understand how he could do such a thing. I always thought he was a very straight-laced, by the book teacher who would never use his position to take advantage of a student. Josie, I trusted him and I don't trust many people."

"Aldys!" Josie cried, trying to get her distraught friend's attention. "Before you have Mr. Coulson tarred and feathered I have something that I need to tell you."

"What?" Her friend looked at her anxiously. "What is it?"

Josie hesitated for a moment while she collected her thoughts then she looked her friend right in the eye and admitted. "I'm not a high school student. I'm really an undercover reporter for the Chicago Sun-Times."

"What?" The younger woman exclaimed, her eyebrows raising in surprise. "You're a reporter?"

Nodding in confirmation Josie continued to explain. "I graduated from High School eight years ago, then went to Northwestern for three years studying English Literature and Journalism. For the last five years I've been working as a copy editor for the Chicago Sun-Times, but my greatest dream is to be a reporter. Well, in March my dream finally came true when our publisher, Mr. Rigfort decided he wanted to have an undercover story done on high school kids today and since I was the only member of the staff that looked about the right age I was given the assignment. And that's what brought me to South Glen South."

"So Mr. Coulson knew that you weren't his student, but an undercover reporter when he kissed you on Friday?" Aldys commented, the anxiety that she'd been feeling for days finally giving way to understanding.

"I had just told him the truth about myself." Josie informed her.

"He sure didn't waste anytime acting on that information." Her friend observed, her eyes narrowing slightly. "Are you sure there wasn't anything going on between you two before that."

"There was something going on." Josie admitted honestly. "There was a lot of admiration and appreciation and respect. And I'll admit that there was a certain amount of attraction too." Pausing for a moment she contemplated her next words. "Because you've been such a good friend to me since we met, and since we've caused you so much heartache and worry the last few days I'll confide something to you. I've been in love with Sam almost since the first day I met him."

"You have?" Aldys exclaimed in surprise then pressed curiously. "And how did he feel about you?"

"Sam also felt a certain attraction for me, but contrary to what you first thought he was beating himself up for it." Josie told her. "He felt like a real heal for falling for one of his students. He's still not completely comfortable about the thought but consoles himself with the fact that since I'm really twenty-five than I probably acted like a very mature seventeen year old."

"You did." Aldys admitted. "That's one of the reasons I liked you so much. You weren't flighty and shallow like most of the other girls. Though I must admit I was starting to doubt your maturity when you started hanging around with the 'lemmings'."

Josie chuckled in amusement at the term. "Trust me, I would have much sooner hung around with you and the Denominators. But I had to try to 'infiltrate' the in-crowd for my story."

"I have to admit that I was a little hurt when you started hanging around with them." Aldys confided. "When we met, I thought that I had finally found a best friend that I could hang around with. One that seemed to have the same interests as me and who was viewed by the popular kids the same way that I was. But when you got accepted by them I felt like I really was a loser."

"You're not a loser!" Josie quickly assured her. "You're smart and fun and you have a lot more going for you than Gibby, Kirstin or Kristen."

"Really?" The younger girl looked at her friend hopefully.

"Really." Josie confirmed. "And I hope that even though we're not the same age we can still be really good friends."

Aldys hesitated for a moment before asking a little shyly. "Would you mind if I still considered you my best friend?"

"I'd be honored." Josie assured her. "And I'd be happy to consider you one of mine. That is if you don't mind sharing the title with someone else."

"If she doesn't, I won't." Aldys assured her. "Maybe someday the three of us could be best friends."

"Quite likely." Josie agreed with a knowing smile. "Anita is a very big hearted, loving person."

"When do I get to meet her?" Her friend asked eagerly.

"Actually you already have." Josie told her with a mischievous grin.

"I have? When?"

"You remember 'Pam Kitterman'?" The older girl asked, her eyes dancing with fun.

"You mean the Sex-Ed speaker we had?" Aldys asked in a puzzled tone.

"That's the one." Josie nodded. "'Pam' was actually my friend Anita Brandt who happened to be in the wrong place at the right time."

Aldys laughed at the humor behind that story. "She did a good job. She must be well acquainted with the subject."

"And how." Josie exclaimed knowingly. "Just don't get her started. But I have to tell you, the fact that Pam is actually Anita is a secret that only four people know about and we want to keep it that way."

"Only four people?" Aldys repeated, raising an eyebrow in surprise. "You and me and I'm assuming Mr. Coulson are three, but who's the fourth?"

"Rob." Josie told her.

"Rob?" Again surprise showed on the younger girl's face but then after a moment her expression turned thoughtful. "What's the deal with you and Rob anyway?"

"What do you mean?" Her friend asked curiously.

"Well, he arrived shortly after you do and instantly you too are as thick as thieves and then next thing I know the two of you are in with the popular kids." Aldys commented, her eyes narrowing with mock-suspicion. "If I didn't know better I'd swear I smell a rat."

"I know Rob can smell bad, but I don't know if I'd call him a rat." Josie teased lightly. Rising to her feet she moved to pick up a photo of herself and Rob that was taken at his graduation. Handing it to Aldys she said. "Rob is my younger brother. He became my self-appointed popularity manager after hearing me moan about not being able to get into the in-crowd. He was always popular in school, were as I wasn't." When Aldys handed her back the photo she looked at it warmly and said. "Rob's been pretty great through all of this."

"How old is Rob?" Aldys asked as Josie returned the picture to it's spot.

"Twenty-three going on fifteen." Josie laughed as she sat down in the armchair. "Actually, he's not that bad."

Hesitating slightly her friend finally asked. "I'll be eighteen in six weeks. Do you think he'd be interested in going out with an eighteen year old?"

Josie gave her friend a surprised look. "Aldys Wells! Don't tell me you have a crush on Rob!" The blush on her cheeks gave her away. A delighted smile spread across Josie's face. "That's great!"

A relieved smile tugged at Aldys mouth. "You really think so?"

"Of course I think so!" Josie assured her. "I think you'd be good for Rob, as long as you like baseball, pizza and baseball, in that order."

"I love pizza and I'm a pretty big Cub fan." She told her friend.

"Well than you and my brother should get along just fine." Josie laughed. "Speaking of Rob, where is the big nut?"

"Waiting down in the car." Aldys said. "He said he'd drive me home after we talked."

"That was nice of him." Josie commented as she got up and walked to the window. Looking out she laughed and reported. "He's down there talking to his car."

Aldys jumped up and joined her at the window. "He was doing that on the way over too. I've never had a three way conversation that included a car before."

Josie laughed. "He actually talked to Bambi while you were in the car? That is even weirder than him talking to it when he's alone. I always knew my brother was strange, but now I'm thinking he's insane."

"He's not that bad." Aldys defended causing Josie to look at her in amusement. "What?"

"Girl, you've got it bad!" Josie teased as she gave the other girl a warm smile.

"I'm starved!" Jonathan exclaimed as he flopped down on the couch, which was now sitting in Sam's new apartment. "You guys ready to go get something to eat?"

"I'm ready!" Matt Reilly exclaimed as he flopped down beside his friend.

"I'm more than ready!" Scott Romano echoed sitting in the recliner. "How about you, Sam?"

"Uh, huh." A distracted Sam grunted from his spot before his living room window. From there he had an unobstructed view of the front door of his apartment building.

"Sam? Earth to Sam!" Matt called out, trying to get his friend's attention. When Sam looked at him blankly he asked with concern. "Are you okay? You seem so distracted today."

"I'm fine." Sam replied, not very convincingly as he turned his attention back to the window.

"Sam, everything will be fine." Joanna told her friend comfortingly as she approached him and put a hand on his arm. "She'll get it all straightened out."

"I hope so." He said with deep feeling as he continued to look out the window. Than after a moment he turned his gaze to her and added firmly. "Because giving her up isn't an option, Joanna and I now that that's what it'll come down do if the school finds out about us. I won't loose her, Joanna. I won't!"

"I'm sure it won't come to that kind of decision." Joanna assured him sincerely. "Josie said she was going to handle everything and I trust her to do that. She's not going to let anything happen to you or your job, Sam. I think she made that perfectly obvious."

"I know." He nodded. "I guess I just have to have faith in her."

"I know I do." She told him honestly. Sam gave her a warm smile, but before he could say anything a knock at the door caused him to jump slightly. "That's probably her." Joanna commented softly. Sam nodded. It was all he could do as he was trying desperately to keep from flying to the door. He managed to keep himself rooted to his spot by the window while Matt opened the door.

"Well hello there, good-looking." Matt grinned broadly at the blond-haired woman he found standing out in the hallway. "How can I help you?"

"Is this Sam Coulson's new apartment?" Josie asked, suddenly worried that she'd gotten the wrong address.

"Yes it is." Matt confirmed with a nod. "Are you his new pizza delivery girl?" He gestured to the pizza boxes that she held in her hands.

Josie chuckled slightly. "I guess you could call me that. Though I do have a little help." She glanced at Aldys and Rob who were also carrying bags of food. "We brought supper."

"Well then come in." Matt opened the door wider and welcomed them in. "I can never turn away a beautiful woman, especially one carrying an arm load of pizzas." After the trio entered the apartment Matt closed the door and then relieved Josie of her burdens. "Here, let me take those. I'll just go and put them in the kitchen and then when I get back maybe you and I can get better acquainted." He winked at her before disappearing into the other room an amused Aldys and Rob following him with their own bundles.

"Who was that?" Josie asked Sam when he appeared at her side.

"That's Matt Reilly. He's a bit of a flirt, but he's harmless." Sam told her, a thoughtful expression on his face.

"What's wrong?" She asked when she noted the expression.

"Can I assume from the fact that you brought Aldys over that she's okay with what you told her?" Sam asked, a hint of worry in his tone.

"She was perfectly okay with everything once I explained to her what was really going on." Josie assured him. "In fact she's very happy for us and still wants to be friends."

Sam heaved a great sigh of relief and pulled Josie tightly to him. Burying his face in her hair he said. "That's good, because I knew that if push came to shove that I could never let you go no matter what the consequences." Pulling back to look into her face he smiled. "I love you, Josie Geller. I love you very much."

"I love you too." She gave him a broad smile. Sam smiled back and leaned down to give her a gentle kiss on the lips.

"Hey!" Matt's loud exclamation interrupted the kissing pair. When Sam looked at him curiously he said. "Get your own girl! I saw her first!"

"Sorry Matt, but I saw her way before you did!" Sam told his friend seriously.

"Oh yeah?" Matt challenged. "How way?"

"Way way!" The other man replied. "I met her back in March."

"Okay, I'll give you that you met her first." His friend conceded. "But I still put first dibs on her when she walked through the door."

"Sorry, pal." Sam grinned slyly at his friend. "But I had a prior claim on her that superceded your claim."

"What do you mean?" Matt asked curiously.

"What I mean is, Matt I'd like you to meet my girlfriend, Josie Geller." Sam told his friend proudly.

"Girlfriend?" Matt repeated in surprise. "What happened to Lara?"

"We broke up last week." His friend informed him. "She and I are completely finished."

"Yes!" Matt exclaimed happily as he pumped a fist in the air. "There is a god!"

"Matt!" Joanna cried in a shocked tone. "Watch your mouth!"

"Yes mother!" Matt stuck his tongue out at Joanna before turning his attention back to Sam. "Well, since you finally ditched that witch of a Lara than I guess I can let you have Josie." He gave a dramatic sigh. "I hope you realize what a sacrifice this is. A beautiful woman like this doesn't come along just everyday."

Josie blushed a hot red, which managed to deepen even more when Sam echoed. "Don't I know it."

"Enough of this nonsense." Joanna interrupted, seeing how embarrassed Josie was getting. "You guys were all complaining earlier how hungry you were. Why don't we eat before everything gets cold."

"I'm with that suggestion!" Jonathan acknowledged as he jump off the couch and headed for the kitchen. "Last one there gets to eat the crumbs!"

"And he's not kidding." Coach Romano joked as he followed Jonathan into the other room.

"Come on, everyone." Joanna urged the Matt, Rob and Aldys into the kitchen. "We'd better get in there before Jon and Scott eat it all."

"They'd better not eat all my anchovies!" Rob called as he disappeared into the other room.

"Anchovies!" Matt's face screwed up into a pained grimace. "Don't tell me you actually ruined a good pizza by putting anchovies!"

"But of course!" Rob replied. "What better way can you think of to ensure that you get a pizza all to yourself."

As the rest of them disappeared into the kitchen Josie moved to follow them, but Sam stopped her by grabbing her by the hand. Josie looked at him curiously for several moments. "What is it, Sam?" She finally asked when he didn't say anything.

Raising a hand to her cheek he gently stroked it before finally saying. "I just wanted to thank you. I know how hard it must have been for you to tell Aldys the truth. I can't tell you how much that meant to me, Josie. After spending five years with a person who sacrificed everything for her career I can't tell you how nice it is to be with someone who would sacrifice her career for someone else. Now don't get me wrong, it's not that I expect you to sacrifice your career for me. I want your dream of being a reporter to come true. But it means a lot to me to know that if push came to shove that you would give up your career for me. Because I know that if push came to shove I'd do the same for you." Josie gave him a warm smile before surrendering completely to his loving kiss, the pair soon becoming completely oblivious to the excited din of their friends in the kitchen.

Josie smiled as her doorbell rang bright and early Monday morning. When she'd gotten home last night there had been a message on her machine from Anita dying to find out how things had gone at Sam's. After filling her in on all the details of the day, including the answer to the question she'd raised the night before, Anita had filled her in on her day with Gus.

"I don't want to watch another Christopher Lloyd movie as long as I live!" She moaned to Josie after she finished her tale. "I could barely tolerate that guy before today, now I absolutely can't stand him!"

"He's not that bad." Josie had commented. "Certainly not one of my favorite actors, but I certainly don't hate him."

"That's because you haven't been forced to sit through six hours of him." Anita pointed out. "You'd soon change your tune. Maybe I'll suggest to Sam that he have a Back to the Future marathon too."

"Don't you dare, Anita Brandt!" Josie exclaimed in alarm. "Or I'll tell Gus you love to watch Dumb and Dumber." Both women shuddered at the thought of that movie.

After they'd finished talking they'd made plans to get together for breakfast. Anita promised to pick her up at seven so they could grab a quick breakfast together before heading off for work. And it appeared for once that Anita was right on time for her appointment.

"It's open!" Josie called, poking her head out of her bedroom. When she hard the front door open she ducked back inside the room to finish getting ready. "I'll be out in a minute, I wasn't expecting you yet. You're early." Without pausing for a reply she continued to say. "I am so nervous about seeing Sam at school today, Anita. It is going to be so hard to pretend that he's just my teacher and not the man I love more than anything in the world. I don't know how I'm going to get through the day without accidentally letting something slip. Wouldn't everybody look if I walked into English class and planted a big kiss on Sam." She chuckled in amusement at the thought as she gave her reflection one final inspection. "So, how do I look?" She asked as she stepped out into the living room.

Her eyes widened in surprise as she heard Sam's voice reply with obvious amusement. "Beautiful."

"What are you doing here?" She asked in confusion, her eyes quickly scanning the room for her best friend.

"Well that sure is a warm greeting." He countered in a mock-hurt tone. "What happened to planting a big kiss on me?"

Josie blushed as he repeated her earlier statement. "I'm sorry, I just wasn't expecting you. I thought it was Anita that came in. I wasn't expecting to see you until sixth period."

"Do you honestly think that I could have lasted that long without getting a kiss from my favorite girl?" Josie blushed again as Sam stepped up to her and put his hands on her shoulders. "So, are you going to kiss me and put me out of my misery?"

Josie smiled in amusement. "Well, I do hate to see anyone suffer." Sam flashed her a warm smile as he leaned down and captured her lips with his. Josie responded by putting her arms around his neck and pulling him closer. They were still locked in each other's embrace when Josie's apartment door opened a few minutes later.

"Knock! Knock!" Anita Brandt's cheerful voice preceded her into the apartment. "Josie, I'm here! Are you ready for..." She stopped in her tracks when she saw Josie and Sam still wrapped in each others arms. "...breakfast?" She finished softly, silently kicking herself for interrupting the pair. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to interrupt." She started backing her way out of the room. "I'll just catch up with you later, Josie."

"No, wait." Sam's voice stopped her in her tracks. Releasing Josie he continued. "Please, don't leave on my account. I didn't realize that you two had plans, so I brought breakfast with me."

"You did?" Josie looked at him in surprise.

He nodded. "I brought some bagels and cream cheese and some fresh croissants." He informed her, but then looking at Anita he added. "But if you two already had plans to go somewhere else I can just go..."

"Don't be silly." Anita quickly assured him. "Jos and I can do breakfast another time. I'll just go..."

"Why don't you both stay." Josie interrupted the pair laughingly. "I have orange juice in the fridge. We can have a nice breakfast right here. Sound okay to everyone."

"Sounds fine to me." Anita readily agreed.

"Sam?" Josie prompted, looking at him uncertainly.

"I'm certainly not about to say no to the chance of sharing breakfast with two such beautiful ladies such as yourselves." Placing his hands on her shoulders he leaned down and kissed the tip of Josie's nose, adding. "Anything to be able to spend some time with my precious Josie." Josie blushed as Sam turned his attention to Anita and added. "Besides, this will give me the opportunity to get to know the illustrious 'Pam Kitterman' better."

Anita chuckled and corrected. "Actually it's Anita, Anita Brandt."

"Well, I'm pleased to meet you Anita." Sam gave her a warm smile. "How about I get breakfast ready?" When Josie gave him a bright smile of approval he gave her another squeeze before releasing her and moving towards the kitchen.

An instant later Anita grabbed her arm and whispered seriously. "If you don't put a permanent claim on that wonderful man than I will."

Josie laughed and gave her friend an amused look. "Sorry, Anita. He's already spoken for. And for your information I do intend to put a permanent claim on him just as soon as he asks me."

"You are so lucky." Her friend told her enviously as they watched him poke through a few cupboards obviously looking for something. "I wish Gus was half as romantic as Sam is..."

"Honey, where do keep your plates?" The searcher finally inquired, having no success on his own finding the objects in question.

"Or as adorable." Anita finished as they moved to join Sam in the kitchen area.

Josie gave her friend another amused look before moving to Sam's side and showed him where her plates were. "Voila." She exclaimed, opening the cupboard door.

"Merci." He grinned as he dropped a kiss on her cheek before he pulled out one big plate and three little ones. Turning around he set them on the counter that separated the kitchen from the living room and opened the paper bag he'd set there earlier. As he set the bagels and croissants on the larger plate, Josie poured three glasses of orange juice. "Breakfast is served." He announced as he set the last bagel on the plate.

"Let's eat then." Josie said as she set the glasses with the juice on the counter. She felt a sudden chill of delight run through her body when Sam dropped a kiss on her neck before claiming one of the barstools. Josie and Anita sat on the other two.

As they each grabbed a bagel or croissant Anita decided to find out a little more about her best friend's boyfriend. "So Sam, how long have you been teaching at South Glen South?"

"Three years." Sam replied with a knowing smile. Some how he had the feeling that he was going to be put through yet another 'Are You Eligible to Date Josie' test. He didn't mind. He knew it was only because her friends and family cared about her so much. And actually Josie had been put through a similar test with Jon and Joanna yesterday when they'd found out that she was now Sam's girlfriend. He guessed it was just something to expect when they first start dating.

"And Josie told me that you went to Yale before that." Anita remarked, clearly impressed.

Sam nodded. "I graduated in '95. Majored in English Literature and minored in Creative Writing." Giving her a wicked grin he teased. "I can show you my school transcripts if you want."

"I'll let you know." Anita chuckled, knowing he was joking. "Let's see how well you do on the rest of this test."

"I knew it was a test." Sam exclaimed good-naturedly. "I knew this was another 'Are You Eligible to Date Josie' test!"

"Oh, you've already been through one of these?" The tester asked in surprise. "Who gave it?"

"Mr. Rob Geller and Mr. Tom Geller." Sam replied.

"Well, in that case I guess you've probably been thoroughly screened than." Anita commented with exaggerated disappointment. "I guess I don't have to work you over after all."

"That's a relief." Sam gave an exaggerated sigh. "I've seen you in action, frankly I was getting scared."

"Not fair!" Anita laughed as she slapped his arm playfully. "You're the one getting picked on here, not me."

"Hey!" Josie exclaimed in a mock-angry tone. "Don't hit my boyfriend!"

"Yeah!" Sam retorted back to Anita in fun.

"That's my job." Josie added, giving Sam's arm a light slap.

"Hey!" He pretended to give her a hurt look. "I didn't realize I was getting into an abusive relationship."

"I'm not abusive!" Josie denied. "I'm just feisty. There is a difference."

"I certainly hope so." He commented, looking her up and down seriously before pulling her in a warm embrace. "Because I don't mind being in a relationship with a feisty person, but I won't be in one with an abusive one. I've done that already and I don't want to ever do that again."

"Well I can guarantee, Mr. Coulson, that Josie is anything but abusive." Anita assured him sincerely. "She's in fact the most considerate, kind and loving person I know and you are the luckiest guy in the world to have her love and admiration."

"I know." Sam agreed, kissing the side of Josie's head lovingly. "I feel like the luckiest guy in the world."

"And I feel like the luckiest girl." Josie told him as he looked at him warmly. "I have a wonderful boyfriend." Looking at Anita she added. "And the greatest best friend." Then with a sigh she said dismally. "Now if only I could find a superb story."

Josie took a deep breath and climbed the front steps of South Glen South. This was definitely going to be a very difficult day. Not only did she have to pretend that Sam wasn't her boyfriend, but as Sam pointed out at breakfast this morning, she had to pretend that Guy was. Or that at least he was someone that she was interested in. Her only hope was that Guy didn't try to kiss her. She wasn't about to kiss anyone just to keep up her cover. The only person she was ever going to kiss was Sam. But she didn't want to hurt Guy's feeling either, especially since he did seem to be genuinely interested in her. She remembered his words as they danced together at the Prom. You rock my world. And the look in his eyes as he said it was proof that he meant it. No, she didn't want to hurt him.

As she passed through the metal detectors she noticed Rob, Guy and the rest of the 'in crowd' waiting for her just inside. They seemed quite engrossed in their conversation, each one of them talking animatedly about something. From what Josie could tell Rob was the 'audience' to everybody else's excited chatter.

Just then Gibby spotted her and lifted her hand to get her friend's attention. "Josie!"

Josie chuckled and returned the wave. When she reached the group she hugged each of the girls and gave the boys shy smiles. "Hi."

Rob threw an arm across her shoulders and said. "I've just been given the whole low down on the party we missed after Prom. Sounds like it was a really wing-ding."

"I'm sorry we had to miss it." Josie said as sincerely as possible. "I'm sure it would have been fun."

"So, Josie how was your weekend?" Kristen asked curiously. "We tried getting you on Saturday, but we just got your answering machine. Where were you?"

"Saturday I was at Rob's." Josie replied, which technically was the truth. "His parents invited me over for dinner." Once again, the truth. Just that his parents were also her parents.

"Oh, that sounds like fun." Gibby grinned slightly, giving Josie a sly look. "Like old times I'm sure."

"Old times?" Josie frowned slightly.

"Yeah, like when you two use to go out." Kirsten clarified.

Josie looked at Rob and tried not to laugh. The thought of him and her as a couple struck her as so ludicrous. "Yeah, just like 'old times'." Just then the warning bell sounded and everyone started heading for their classes.

"I still can't understand why you two broke up." Gibby commented, glancing at Rob and Josie as they walked down the hall, Rob's arm still draped across Josie's shoulders. "You make such a cute couple."

"Yeah, but obviously he didn't realize how amazing she is." Guy remarked as he casually pushed Rob's arm off her shoulders and replaced it with his own. "That's why she's my girl now."

Josie blushed and shot Rob a pleading look. As usual he came to her rescue. Imitating Guy's actions he casually pushed his arm off of Josie and replaced it with his own saying. "That may be, but I'm her best friend not to mention the fact that I've known her longer than all of you put together."

Feeling more confident now that Rob had had the last word Josie gently pushed her brother's arm off of her and said as lightly as possibly. "Now, now boys. There's no need to fight over me. I'm quite capable of being both your friends." She quickened her pace so that she could join Gibby, Kirsten and Kristen who were now walking a few steps ahead of them.

Guy watched her go and couldn't help but chuckle. "Isn't she incredible? I think I'm falling for her, man. She rocks my world."

Rob felt a prick of conscience as he noted the look on the other man's face. For the first time since he'd come to South Glen South he felt bad about all the lies and stories he'd told about himself and Josie. He never expected anybody to get hurt, and he certainly hadn't expected anybody to actually fall for his sister. But here there were two men who had fallen for her. One she returned his affection, but how would Guy feel when he found out he was being played the fool. He would probably be very hurt. "Um, Guy there's something you should probably know."

"What's that, man?" Guy looked at him expectantly, stopping when Rob did.

"Ah, you see." Rob shuffled uncomfortably and glanced down the rapidly emptying hallway. Taking a deep breath he said. "There's no easy way to tell you this, but, ah..."

"Just spit it out, man." Guy told him, a trifle impatiently.

"Josie's in love with someone else." Rob finally said.

He felt bad as he watched Guy's shoulders slouch slightly. "Who?"

Rob shook his head. "I can't say. She's sworn me to secrecy." When Guy continued to look at him he added desperately. "She made me pinky swear! I can't break a pinky swear!"

"Why didn't she say anything?" The other man asked sadly.

"Because she doesn't know you cared for her that much." Rob replied. "Also, so didn't know how he felt about her."

"And she does now?" Guy asked dully.

Rob nodded. "They got together this weekend." Reaching over he squeezed the other man's shoulder sympathetically. "I'm sorry man. I know what its like to loose someone you care about."

"Did you feel the same way when you and Josie broke up?" Guy asked curiously.

Rob thought about his answer carefully before replying. "Let's just say that I'm very grateful to have Josie as my best friend. I don't know what I would do without her."

Guy sighed. "I don't know what I'm going to do either. She's just so amazing."

"You can still be her friend." Rob told him. "You still have that."

The other man looked thoughtful for a moment and then gave his head a nod. "You're right, I can still be her friend. Thanks man." He reached over and shook Rob's hand gratefully.

"My pleasure." Rob assured him, a broad grin nearly splitting his face. Feeling both proud and relieved Rob followed Guy down the hall just as the final bell rang.

At lunch time Josie excused herself from Gibby, Kirsten and Kristen feigning last minute research on a school report and headed for the Library. In actual fact she was hoping for a few minutes to work on her reporting assignment. She'd really been hoping to have an idea ready to present to Gus that afternoon at the weekly staff meeting, but so far she was drawing nothing but a blank. How could she top a so-called scandal between a teacher and his supposed student? What could possibly be as riveting or as noteworthy? Surely nothing else about her boring life that would qualify. A deep sigh escaped her lips as she entered the Library. She was thankful to find that the room was basically empty except for one or two other people. Without even looking at her companions she headed for the back of the Library to where all the non-fiction and reference materials were kept. Dropping her shoulder bag on a table she moved to the closest row of shelves and began scanning the titles. She wasn't looking for any book in particular, just whatever struck her and might give her some ideas for her story.

"'My Semester in High School'." She murmured Rigfort's original theme to herself as she ran a hand over the various volumes on the shelf. "'My Life As a Geek'." She added as she continued to scan the titles under her hand. As her mind traveled over other self-deprecating titles she pulled a book from the shelf and flipped it open. She was so deep in thought that she didn't even notice the hand that reached over her shoulder to drop a piece of paper on her open book. It wasn't until she was about to turn the page that she noticed the piece of blue paper. Shifting the book from one hand to the other she picked up the note curiously. On the scrap of paper, scribbled in Sam's familiar handwriting were the following words: The best stories come from within influenced by life, time and growth. A similar comment Sam had made to her echoed in Josie's head: To write well, you have to write what you know.

As Josie seriously considered those words she felt a pair of arms encircle her waist from behind. Hugging her tightly to him Sam leaned down and whispered softly in her ear the same thing he'd written on the piece of paper she still held. "The best stories come from within influenced by life, time and growth." Kissing the side of her head tender he then added. "Listen to your heart, sweetheart and believe in yourself. You'll write a fantastic story. I have complete faith in you." Kissing her again he said. "I love you." Then with after another loving squeeze he was gone, disappearing just as suddenly as he'd appeared. Josie wondered if he'd really been there or if she'd just imagined him. Looking down again she found another piece of paper lying on her open book. This one was folded and looked larger than the previous one. Carrying her book the a table she carefully sat down and unfolded the note, careful to keep the paper out of view of her camera.

"My dearest Josie." The note read. "I don't know how many more days I can do this. If I thought that pretending not to be in love with you was hard when I was just your teacher I should have realized how much harder it would be now as your boyfriend. I hope we can end this charade soon because I am absolutely dying to tell everyone that you belong to me. That you are mine and no one else can have you.

I overheard Rob talking to Guy this morning. He was trying to gently tell him not to get him hopes up about you and him because you were in love with someone else. Don't worry, Rob handled the whole thing very well and Guy had no idea who you're in love with. But for me, I can't begin to explain how I felt when I heard Rob say that and know that he was talking about me. That I was the guy lucky enough to be the object of your affection.

I love you so much, Josie. I love you more than I've ever loved anyone before. And more than anything I want to have you in my life forever. I want to marry you, to have children with you, to live happily ever after with you. Don't get me wrong, this isn't a proposal - yet. This is merely a declaration of my heartfelt intentions.

I love you Josie Geller, and I always will.

Yours always, Sam."

Josie wiped the tears from her eyes as the bell rang signaling the end of lunch. Quickly folding Sam's letter she slipped it into her bag before slinging it over her shoulder and heading for her next class.

"Good afternoon everyone!" Sam greeted his Senior Lit class warmly as he entered the classroom and closed the door behind himself.

"Afternoon." Most of his students returned pleasantly. After setting his briefcase down on his desk he turned to face the class, a slight smile on his lips. He scanned the room silently for a moment before letting a broad smile spread across his face. "Welcome to your last week of High School English." A cheer erupted from his students echoed by vigorous applause and some excited whistles. Sam put on his most offended look. "Nice to know you're going to miss me."

"We'll miss you, Mr. Coulson." Kristen told him eagerly. Looking at her three girlfriends she prompted. "Won't we, girls?" Gibby and Kirsten echoed her sentiment with sincere nods and words of agreement. The fact was the three of them were going to miss him very much. They had all had a crush on him since the first day of class. In fact amongst themselves they referred to him as Mr. Coolson. They thought he was the handsomest teacher at South Glen South and they each wished desperately that he was younger - or better yet that they were a little older. Turning to Josie who hadn't said anything Kristen pushed. "You'll miss him too, won't you Josie?"

Josie's cheeks flushed at the other girl's innocent question. She noticed that Aldys was desperately trying not to choke on the laughter she was attempting to hold back. Trying her best to keep her voice steady and as normal sounding as possible Josie finally managed to reply. "Yes, of course I will."

Sam turned his smile on her and said neutrally. "Thank you, Josie. That means a lot to me." Looking at the others he added. "I'm going to miss you all too." He paused for a moment, a thoughtful look on his face before continuing. "I have an idea. How about we do something special so that we'll never forget each other."

"Like what?" Jason asked suspiciously.

Sam paused for another moment before replying. "I want each of you to write an essay about your Senior years at South Glen South. I want you to tell me just how much of an influence this year has been on your lives and your view of both the past and the future." Josie shot Sam an amused look. She knew exactly where his inspiration had come from for this little assignment. "Your papers will be due the day after tomorrow and then we'll spend the next three days discussing them as a group." A collective groan went up from the class. "Oh, come on you guys." He gave them all an encouraging look. "Just think, this is your last High School English assignment." When he received more moans he chuckled and offered. "Tell you what. Why don't we get things rolling by sharing some of our favorite South Glen South Senior year experiences? Who wants to start?" When no hands went up he prompted. "Come on, somebody must have something to share. I didn't think it was that boring of a year!" Aldys put up her hand and Sam gave her an encouraging smile.

"Well I think I'll always remember the look on Brett's face when you nailed him with those whipped cream pies on Senior night." She shot the football star a teasing look.

Sam and some of the other students laughed in agreement. "That was pretty good, wasn't it." He commented as he too shot the young man a mischievous look. "I'm just glad that Brett's a good sport."

"Just until graduation." Brett pretended to threaten. "After that you'd better watch your back Mr. Coulson."

Sam chuckled good-naturedly. "I'll remember that." Then looking back to the class he asked. "Anybody else? Anyone?"

"Why don't you share a memory from when you were in High School?" Tommy prompted, a mischievous smile on his face.

"Did they even have High School back then?" Jason added teasingly.

"For your information we had a great high school!" Sam defended in mock-annoyance.

"So tell us about it." Gibby encouraged.

Sam grinned for a moment, exchanged a brief look with Josie and then nodded his head. "All right." Settling himself on the edge of his desk he thought for a moment before starting to chuckle. "How about I tell you a story about my Senior Lit teacher." There were nods and murmurs of approval. "Well, when I was in High School, our school had a yearly tradition that on the last day of classes before exams started the teachers would put on a show for the students."

"What kind of show?" Kristen asked curiously.

"Air bands." Sam explained. "They'd get up and lip sync to some song and usually dance or pretend to play an instrument at the same time. Well, my Lit teacher was a real nut. He got up on stage dressed like an Eskimo: winter coat, scarf, hat, mitts, the works. Then while lip syncing to the song I'm Too Sexy he slowly stripped on stage all the way down to a pair of shorts and T-shirt. And each layer that he took off he tossed into the audience. Well everybody was just roaring with laughter." His present audience was also greatly amused by the story. "Oh, and later...oh, this was great! You see usually for about the last month of school water fights were big in my school. Almost everyone had either a water gun or water balloons or both and there were water fights everywhere. Well, during the Teacher's Aid Bands one of the Vice Principals came out on stage and said that after that day there wasn't to be any more water guns or water fights in school. It was exam time and we were all suppose to be serious. Well, later on he did a song and dance for us and came out dressed in a long trench coat, his back to the audience. After a couple moments he whipped around and started soaking the audience with his Super Soaker. Well the kids in the audience retaliated with their water guns and balloons. The stage was just swimming in water, but it was one of the funniest water fights I'd ever been involved in!"

"That's rufus!" Guy exclaimed as he and his buddies laughed heartily at the story. "I wish we had something like that here."

"Yeah, it'd be fun to nail the principal and the vice principal with water balloons." Jason agreed eagerly.

"Okay, so I've told my story." Sam commented. "Now it's somebody else's turn." Looking around the room his eyes finally settled on Josie. He gave her a warm smile and prompted. "Josie, why don't you tell us how being at South Glen South for the last three months has effected you." When Josie's eyes widened in alarm he encouraged. "How was it different from your last High School?" Swallowing hard Josie stood up and turned to face the class. She had no idea what she was going to say. If she didn't love Sam Coulson so much she would have been tempted to beat him to death at that very moment. "Why don't you come and sit up here, Josie." Sam encouraged, scooting over a little to make room beside him on the desk. He patted the vacant space invitingly. Josie hesitated for a moment than moved to join him. With a shy smile she settled herself on the desk beside him before looking at the class.

"My experience here at South Glen South started out very much like it had at my last High school." Josie began a little hesitantly. "Most people ignored me, or tormented me. Few of my classmates ever took the time to get to know me. I was basically an outcast, a geek. Things didn't change too much when I first came to South Glen. I was considered a geek here too."

"There are no 'geeks' in my class, Josie." Sam quickly corrected her. "What you are is a very studious and highly talented young lady."

Josie blushed slightly at the comment and felt her heart swell with love for this wonderful man who was now the love of her life. "Anyway, things are different now. Others have finally accepted me, and it has given me a whole new perspective about things. I know longer wonder 'what if', but I can look forward to what's coming next without any regrets. I think my experience at South Glen South has changed my life a lot. It has changed my outlook on my life a lot too." Looking at Sam she grinned slightly and added. "Now if I can only nail this assignment my happiness will be complete." Only Sam, Aldys and Josie knew she wasn't referring to Sam's English assignment.