Snowbound, Part 10
By RocknVaughn

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Author's Note: I wanted to take a moment to thank you all for the nice reviews, and also to comment on a few of them. Seeing that this story is primarily about the UST between Sam and Josie, in my opinion, a quick resolution to that tension would kill the story. Also, I didn't feel it would be realistic for Sam to just sit down and talk to Josie about his feelings. He's still very much in love with Josie, and hates that he is. In fact, he doesn't even want to admit that to himself, never mind Josie. He's still very hurt by what he perceives she's done to him and isn't ready to give up his anger. And he certainly is too afraid to trust anything Josie has to say for fear that she'll use him again. So, while Sam in the deepest recesses of his heart really wants the Josie he fell in love with to be real, he's not going to acknowledge that fact to her, nor take significant risks to determine if his Josie may actually exist.

On Josie's side, she's still hurt and insecure about Sam's intentions and feelings for her and isn't going to want to open up to him so he can stomp on her heart for a 2nd time. While she's more honest with herself about her feelings, she doesn't trust herself or Sam with them.

That being said, the story's not going to be just a "he thinks, she thinks" situation, either. There will be interactions and confrontations between the two; I just think they won't get into anything too heavy until the cabin fever starts to kick in…and then, watch the sparks fly!

Okay, without further ado...here's the next part. Thanks again for reading and reviewing!

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Josie was having the most wonderful dream. She felt as if she were floating, as if a gentle summer breeze were carrying her along like a fluffy, white cloud. Wrapped in delicious warmth, a permeating feeling of safety and contentment surrounded her.

Then, as if her senses were tuned only to him, she could feel Sam moving closer to her. She could not see him, but she could hear the rustle of his movement, smell a hint of his cologne, and feel his eyes burning her.

Yet, instead of making her nervous or embarrassed, it intensified the feeling of warmth and protection. She felt, rather than heard his approach. Soon, she felt his presence hovering like an angel beside her. The unique smell of him wafted on the breeze all around her. Her lips parted in anticipation as she felt, finally, the touch of Sam's fingers as they tenderly brushed away hair that tickled her neck, tucking it safely behind her ear.

Josie's heart skipped a beat and her breath caught in her chest as she felt Sam's heavenly lips caressing her jaw. A blissful sigh slid from her lips. She felt his warm breath upon her throat; he was moving closer, closer…he would surely kiss her, at last, at last…

As if clouds suddenly obscured the sun, Josie felt chilled, bereft. For some inexplicable reason, Sam had disappeared. His hands, his lips, his breath were gone, leaving behind only an aching need. She wanted to reach out to Sam, to beckon him back, but it was as if he were made of smoke. There was nothing to grasp onto; he'd simply vanished.

Her mind cried out for him, Wait! Come back! before a loud crash brought her abruptly to consciousness.

- - -

As the loud banging noise shook the kitchen, Josie literally startled awake, moving the now tepid water in the tub so violently that some of it sloshed over the side onto the floor.

Placing a shaky hand over her pounding heart, Josie called out unsteadily, "Sam? Sam, is that you?"

Josie heard his footfalls drawing nearer and then stop just outside the doorway. "Yeah, it's me," Sam replied. "Sorry about the door…the wind caught it when I was coming in. Hope I didn't wake you."

There was something slightly off about Sam's voice that nagged at Josie, but she couldn't put her finger on what it was. Wrapping her arms around herself to stave off the sudden cold sinking into her from the cool water and even cooler air, her teeth chattered slightly as she stammered in reply, "Uh….no, no. I'm fine." She paused for another moment, but when she didn't hear Sam retreat, she added, "Uh, I think…I'm done in here, so if you wouldn't mind…" Josie trailed off into embarrassed silence. She didn't want to voice how shy she felt, knowing she was naked mere feet from him.

Luckily, it appeared that Sam got the hint. "Okay. I'm gonna go stoke the fire. There's a bit of a chill in here."

Josie breathed a sigh of relief as she heard Sam retreat into the living room. Grabbing either side of the tub with each hand, she carefully pushed herself up to a stand. Gingerly, she twisted this way and that, testing her muscles, and was pleasantly surprised to discover that the worst of her aches had vanished.

Quickly, she stepped out of the tub and into her fuzzy slippers, unfolding the large bath towel to dry herself off.

- - -

Walking away from the kitchen doorway, Sam felt a sliver of guilt creep into his self-satisfied demeanor. Josie sounded rattled (and cold), and he knew he was responsible for that. Trying to focus less on his troubled conscience and more on what she had been trying to do to him with her innocent little "falling asleep in the bathtub" trick, he picked up a couple of new logs and stoked the fire.

He heard the cascade of water as it slid off Josie's body and closed his eyes firmly against the temptation to look in her direction. He'd already caused himself enough trouble responding to her little peep show as she'd gotten into the tub; he wasn't going to fall for it again as she got out.

Still, even over the hissing of the damp wood on the fire, Sam could hear the towel flick open, could hear the sound the cotton made as it rubbed against Josie's body. Josie's naked body…his mind corrected before Sam reined in his rogue thoughts once more. Rubbing a hand over his eyes and pinching the bridge of his nose in frustration, Sam decided that the sooner Josie Geller was fully dressed, the better off he'd be.

- - -

Josie slipped her arms into the thick terrycloth robe and wrapped the lapels across her, tying the sash tightly across her waist to keep it closed. Sighing at the warmth it provided, she tried to keep her mind from her dream as she bent over to clean up the water puddle she'd made.

Once she was sure she'd cleaned up the mess, she laid the towel across the back of one of the kitchen chairs, scooting it over with a scrape across the floor toward the stove so the towel could dry. Then, squaring her shoulders and pulling the bathrobe sash even tighter, she pushed aside the sheet and stepped out into the living room.

Sam was still on his knees before the fire, leaning forward on his hands to blow softly upon the kindling, coaxing it to light. Josie couldn't help but admire how his wonderful jeans molded themselves to his toned thighs and bottom.

As if sensing her eyes on him, Sam turned his head to look at her; a touch of an amused smile graced the corners of his mouth. "Everything all right?" he asked as his eyes assessed Josie from head to toe.

Josie could feel the heat rising in her cheeks both from Sam's visual assessment of her and that he had caught her staring at him. She stammered, "Oh, um, yeah…fine." Mentally rolling her eyes at how stupid she'd just sounded, she added more calmly, "The bath was a big help. Thank you."

"Good," Sam murmured, suddenly lost in Josie's green eyes.

Their eyes remained locked as moments ticked by, unnoticed by either of them. Finally, Josie's eyes darted away from Sam's face, looking at everything but him. "I…uh, I'm gonna go get changed, if you don't mind," she said, staring at the rough hewn rocks of the hearth just over Sam's head.

With a nod, Sam pushed himself into a squat and then stood, brushing his hands together to remove dust and ash from them. "Okay," he replied, "then I'll just go and take care of that tub while you do that."

Josie nodded shyly, and entered the bedroom, closing the door safely behind her before letting out a long breath she didn't realize she'd been holding. Sam seemed more irresistibly attractive to her with every passing moment. It was getting difficult just to be in the same room with the man without staring at him, or worse, wish things could be different between them. Sam had made it painfully clear that would never happen. Josie almost hoped Sam would get angry with her again, if only to bring her back to reality for a while.

More and more, Josie thought that perhaps Anita had been right…there was no way she could be around Sam without getting her heart broken…again. Unfortunately, with the blizzard now in full force, it was too late to do anything about it. Both she and her heart were now trapped; Josie could only hope that when it was all over, she'd find a way to put Sam Coulson behind her.

- - -

Sam stared for a long moment at the closed bedroom door. Even after vowing to hold out against Josie's charms, he was finding it more and more difficult to do so. Letting out a long, weary sigh, he headed toward the kitchen to clean things up.

Sam pushed aside the sheet across the doorway to let himself through and then turned to systematically remove the clips holding it in place before folding the sheet and putting it aside. Then he busied himself with stoking the fire inside the stove and refilling the guttering lantern with kerosene until it blazed brightly again, casting his enlarged shadow upon the wall behind him like a specter.

Standing with his hands on his hips, Sam pondered the best way to dispose of the water in the tub. Unheeded, the vision of Josie sleeping neck deep in the water reemerged, causing Sam to curse under his breath. Bending over, he tried to expend his excess energy on heaving the tub backward toward the sink, but it wouldn't budge. Instead, Sam had to bail out several potfuls before he could move the metal tub.

Finally, Sam was able to lift it and carry it to the double sink, where he poured the remaining water out in a rushing cascade. That done, he tucked the tub back into the alcove where he'd found it and wearily plopped himself backward into the chair that Josie had pulled close to the stove, leaning both elbows on the back while he rested his chin in his hands.

Sam stared idly out the window over the sink, watching as the wind whipped snowflakes against its surface, listening to the tapping sound they made against the glass. He wondered how long the storm would last. He hoped that when he woke up in the morning, the worst of it would be over, but somehow Sam knew in the pit of his stomach that wouldn't be the case.

Fate obviously had other plans…and it seemed they were at cross-purposes to his. All he'd wanted from his trip to the cabin was a chance to forget Josie, to finally put her behind him so he could move on with his life. Instead, she was here in the flesh right under his nose, and there was little doubt that, after this, he would never be able to get her from under his skin.

As if to prove his point, the steam from the drying towel blasted Sam's senses, leaving behind just a trace of Josie's perfume in his nostrils. Immediately, his body responded: his heart skipped a beat and then began to drum against his ribcage in anticipation. Damn it! he thought angrily, yanking the offending cotton material off the back of the chair and whipping it across the room away from him.

- - -

Once Josie's heart stopped hammering and she caught a few calming breaths, she sat down on the bed, picking her wristwatch up off the bedside table. She was surprised to discover it was ten past nine, and that she'd been in the tub for about two hours. Shrugging slightly, Josie attached the watch to her wrist and then dug into her overnight bag to retrieve her pajamas. Nuzzling her nose into the soft flannel of the button down top, she sighed. At least she'd had the foresight to pack warm (and non-revealing!) nightwear. This way, she could at least be seen outside the bedroom without blushing right to her roots.

Not that it mattered, she thought. It was obvious that Sam wanted nothing more than to be free of her as soon as possible. And, considering how much trouble she was having controlling her emotions around him, Josie was starting to feel that way, too.

- - -

Soon, Josie was covered head to foot in pink flannel, sitting cross-legged on the bed as she chewed thoughtfully on the end of her pen cap. Spread-eagled before her was her trusty journal; the one place where she felt she could truly be honest about herself, her feelings, and anything else of note in her life.

It had been a Christmas present from Anita last year…a gift to help Josie, then a reporter-wanna-be, hone her writing skills. Of course, that was before…before her big break… Before my big heartbreak… Josie amended mentally.

While she had used her journal in the months prior to her assignment at South Glen South, from the moment she'd walked through the doors of that school, the book had become an essential part of her day. Looking back through its pages now with the 20/20 vision of hindsight, it was obvious to Josie that she had been falling for Sam Coulson from the very first day she'd met him. The pages were littered with anecdotes he'd used in class, things he'd told her, comments he'd written on her papers, how he'd made her feel. When she couldn't admit her feelings to anyone else, even to herself, she could pour her heart out to these pages; safe in the knowledge that whatever she wrote there would remain her secret.

To her journal, she'd confessed her attraction to Sam and lamented his having a girlfriend (not that he'd ever be attracted to her—Josie Grossie—anyway…). To her journal she confided how excited she'd felt when Sam had rescued her on the Ferris wheel, when he'd confided to her his fears about commitment to his girlfriend, and had complimented Josie in a way that had apparently even surprised him. And oh, the look they'd shared high above Chicago! It had been enough to make her breath catch and her heart beat double-time.

That had been the beginning, she knew, brushing aside a tear as she flipped through the pages, reminiscing. That moment changed everything.

As inexperienced as Josie was in the ways of men, and as incredible as it seemed, somehow she knew in that moment that her feelings for Sam weren't altogether unrequited. The weeks that followed emphasized that fact over and over again. However, she could never determine if Sam just cared for her as a favorite student, or if there was something more going on.

It hadn't been until Prom night, until their dance together, that she'd known, known that what Sam felt for her went way beyond the boundaries of teacher and student. That knowledge both thrilled and terrified her: She was thrilled that her feelings were being returned by such an incredible man, yet she was terrified because Gus had indeed been right about Sam's feelings. Gus wanted Josie to betray Sam at the very moment he was at his most vulnerable—when he'd finally laid his heart out on the line for her—not that she had had any intention of doing so; she just hadn't decided how she would go about protecting him yet.

But, first things first: She needed to tell Sam the truth, to let him know that all was not as it seemed, and tell him she felt the same for him. Then she had to pray he'd understand. From the earnest, heartfelt look in Sam's eyes, Josie honestly believed he would understand, would forgive her for the necessary disguise that had placed an invisible barrier between them for the last two months.

But then, her future and her past had collided. Her selfless act of saving Aldys from humiliation by the popular kids had been more instinct than conscious choice. Josie had seen herself in the girl and had been determined not to let history repeat itself. She'd succeeded in saving Aldys from Josie's own fate, but paid a terrible price in the process. Just when Josie thought she'd finally found happiness, fate's wheel had spun cruelly, wrenching Sam from her forever.

Josie let out a deep sigh, flipping forward to the first blank page and wiping her damp eyes against her sleeve. No good could come from wanting what she couldn't have; that was one lesson she'd learned well enough. Her pining for Sam Coulson was pointless, and the sooner she accepted that fact, the better off she'd be.

- - -

Weary from a long afternoon and evening, not to mention a treacherous trek home in the middle of a blizzard, Will Parker let out a grateful sigh as he pulled open the back door to his cozy home in downtown Oswego. Shoving the door closed against the storm, Will stood in the entryway, shrugged off his heavy slicker and stomped the snow off his heavy-duty boots.

From around the corner, his wife Meredith called, "Will? Is that you, honey?"

A mischievous smile touched the corners of his mouth as he hung up his slicker and sat on the bench next to the door to remove his boots. "No, it's the milkman," he replied playfully.

An auburn-haired beauty rounded the corner and met Will lips first as he stood with arms open to receive her greeting. Ruffling her fingers through his wavy hair, still wet with melting snow, she confided in little more than a whisper, "Well, in that case, you should get out of here…my husband will be home soon." An impish grin grew against Will's lips.

After pulling his wife closer and kissing her properly, Will responded, "I think I'll chance it." He linked his arm around her back as they ambled into the living room. "Where are the kids?" Will asked lightly.

"Just tucked them into bed," Meredith replied. "They're probably still awake if you want to say good night…"

Will detached himself from his wife's embrace long enough to enter his daughters' room and give an affectionate kiss and hug to each of his half-asleep 6 year old twins.

Once he'd returned to the living room, Meredith asked him, "Are you hungry? Did you eat?"

Will plopped himself wearily into his favorite overstuffed armchair and motioned for his wife to come sit by him on the arm. "No, I grabbed a sandwich at the office." As his wife's fingers slid through his hair softly, Will found his mind straying back to the accident earlier that day, and the strange behavior of his friend.

Pressing a kiss to her husband's temple, Meredith asked, "Where are you?"

Shaking his head lightly as if to clear it, Will pulled Meredith's hand down to his lips and pressed them against her palm. "Oh, I was just thinking…"

"Uh, huh…" Meredith coaxed, "And?"

"Well, there was an accident out on Lake Drive this afternoon."

"Was anyone hurt?"

"Well, yes, but not seriously hurt. Actually, the woman was quite lucky…drove right over the embankment and hit a tree. Blinded during that snow squall."

"But…" Will's wife motioned with her hand for him to continue, knowing instinctively that there was more to the story.

"Well, it was the weirdest thing. You remember my friend Sam Coulson?"

"The one from Chicago? His parents have a place down by the lake, right?"

"Yeah, that's him. Well, he was there when it happened, pulled the young woman from her car."

"And that's strange?"

"No, what's strange is that he knew her…knew her from Chicago."

"Was she up visiting him or something?"

"No, that's what was so strange…she just happened to be driving back from Green Bay and drove off the road right in front of him."

"Okay…" Meredith said, nodding her head. "I'll admit that's a little weird."

"Yeah. But what was even more puzzling was their reaction to each other. There was this undercurrent of, oh, I don't know…I guess I'd call it tension between them."

"And old girlfriend, perhaps?" Meredith offered.

Will shrugged. "I don't know. Her name sounded familiar to me, yet I can't remember Sam ever mentioning her." As almost an afterthought, he mentioned, "She's a reporter for the Sun Times…I thought maybe you'd have heard of her…Josie Geller?"

Meredith sat up straighter on the arm of the chair, her motion arrested. "Wait…did you say Josie Geller?"

Will gave his wife a curious glance. "Yes, I did…why?"

A knowing spark glimmered in Meredith's bright blue eyes. "Petite, blonde, and cute?"

"Yeah…How'd you know?"

"Hold on a second…I'll be right back." Meredith hurried from the living room to their bedroom and returned a moment later carrying a folded up newspaper. Unfolding the page and holding it before Will's face, she asked, "Is this her?"

Awe and disbelief colored Will's face as he stared at a black and white version of Josie. "Yes! But…"

Answering Will's unfinished question, Meredith replied, "My sister Janice loves her! She sends me her articles all the time. But I'm surprised you don't remember her, too."

Will's puzzled look spoke for itself.

"Don't you remember about, oh…six or seven months ago? About the undercover reporter from Chicago who fell in love with a teacher while she was on an assignment at a high school? She waited on a baseball field for him to show up and forgive her for something she'd done, but he never came?"

Now that Meredith had mentioned it, Will vaguely remembered seeing the story on the news. "Yes, now I do."

"That was her!" Meredith enthused, pointing at Josie's picture again. She quickly scanned the article, rereading what Josie had said about her mystery man. Then her eyes narrowed shrewdly.

"Will? Isn't Sam Coulson a teacher?"

"Yeah…" he replied, confused, clearly not following his wife's train of thought.

"At a high school in Chicago?" she asked pointedly.

"Uh, huh…" said Will, still not getting understanding what she was getting at.

Laugher bubbled from Meredith's lips at the perplexed look on Will's face. "Don't you get it? Sam's the teacher!"

Immediately the denial sprang to Will's lips, because the idea seemed so outlandish, yet, he couldn't deny that it seemed to put Sam's strange behavior in an understandable perspective. Finally, he admitted, "Maybe."

"Maybe nothing!" Meredith crowed. "So, what happened after the accident?"

Will couldn't meet her eyes as he admitted, "Um, well…Sam sort of…offered to put her up at his place while her car was getting fixed, but…"

Meredith giggled and hugged Will around the neck. "You see? He still loves her. It's definitely him."

"…But…" Will cut in, trying to put a damper on her excitement. "He didn't seem at all thrilled about the prospect."

"Yeah, but he still offered," Meredith rebutted. "Did she accept?"

"Yes, she did."

Meredith hugged the newspaper to her chest and let out a most girlish squeal. "Oooh, it's gonna happen…I feel it!"

"What's going to happen?"

"He's going to forgive her."

"Who? Sam?"

Meredith nodded gleefully.

Will thought back to that afternoon and reassessed Josie and Sam's behavior around each other. His voice laced with doubt, Will said, "I don't know…" before finally amending, "Well, maybe…if they don't kill each other first."

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