Disclaimer: I don't own any of these characters I am only using them for entertainment purposes. I am also not making a dime out of them.
ENJOY
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The way over to the airport was not an enjoyable one. Sam had only one thing on his mind, and that was Josie. How could he have even thought of taking this job? Josie would suffer if he took it, and he wouldn't dream of asking her to move away from her job and friends.
Later, on the plane, he still had Josie on his mind. And even the movie on board, to him, had an importance. It was an old classic about a man returning to his love after making a huge mistake by moving away.
Sam looked around him at the other passengers and saw only the face of fear and loneliness as an overweight woman was making her way over to the food counter.
When the plane finally landed Sam, was happy to see Abby knowing she would have the answer to his problem. "Sam," Abby said while moving her hands in the air to make sure Sam saw her.
"Abby� It's so good to see you!" Sam said while giving her a tight hug.
"Yes Sam, it is good to see you again, too," Abby replied, hugging back.
"So Abb, how's the weather?" Sam asked while wheeling his suitcase along behind him.
"You know as well as I do it's pretty cool this time of year�" Abby answered while sidling up next to Sam and tucking in a piece of his shirt.
"Don't you ever tuck in your shirt?" Abby asked exasperated. Sam had the habit of going "tuck-less" ever since he was a boy.
"Abby� It's late, I have just spent 2 � hours wedged into a ridiculously small seat on a plane, I am tired and cranky� This is not a fashion show." Sam stopped and looked at Abby pointedly.
"Fine be sloppy� I just feel sorry for Josie," Abby sighed, knowing that Sam knew she was kidding.
At the mention of Josie, Sam started feeling sick to his stomach and knew that Abby noticed.
"Sam, are you all right? You're looking rather pale all of a sudden�" Abby said sounding very worried.
"I'm fine Abby, really; I just need a good night's rest," Sam said, walking faster when he saw the car. Abby had to jog to keep up with him.
Sam could see that Abby sensed there was something wrong, but he was grateful for her silence. "So Sam, how's Josie doing?" Abby asked looking over to Sam for a second.
"Josie? She's fine, never better," Sam answered turning on the heat in the car's console.
"I'm glad to hear that�" Abby looked over at Sam playfully and informed him, "I sent her a letter with some old photos of you she asked for�"
"Abby!" He rolled his eyes. His sister and Josie were already ganging up on him� "Which pictures did you send her?" Sam asked, sounding very worried.
With a twinkle in her eye, Abby said triumphantly, "Well, remember the Halloween picture of you when you were four?"
Sam blanched just at the thought. "Abby� you didn't�" he moaned.
"Well, I did explain why you were naked�" defended Abby.
"You are going to make me single, you know that, Abb?" Sam said with a rueful shake of his head.
"Sam� she can't blame you. After all, how were you supposed to know that people didn't actually go around naked like they did in that movie? I still can't believe that Will took you to see that�" Abby laughed, speaking of their eldest first cousin. "That was the last time he was ever allowed to babysit�" Both Sam and Abby chuckled at that.
When they arrived at Abby's home it was about 3 o'clock in the morning and they both hit the sack straight away. The next morning Sam had the pleasant experience of being woken up by his two-year old niece, who placed wet, sloppy kisses all over his cheeks until he woke up laughing.
"Sam, since your interview isn't until tomorrow, would you mind picking up some stuff at the store for me today?" Abby asked, while setting a plateful of bacon and eggs in front of him.
"Of course not, just leave me a list of stuff to buy�" Sam said while pouring cream into his coffee cup.
Taking his niece to drop off at daycare, Abby soon left for to work, leaving Sam alone to putter about the house. Once he was alone his mind made its way back to Josie. Her eyes, her smile, and her welcoming voice were all he could think of.
So Sam picked up the phone and called the Sun-Times news office.
"Chicago Sun-Times main switchboard, how may I help you?" the operator intoned.
"Yes, can you please direct me to Josie Geller?" Sam asked politely.
"One moment, sir," she said just before putting him on hold and the music came on.
"Josie Geller," Josie answered with her sophisticated phone voice.
"Josie, its me, Sam," he said. His smile grew just from hearing her voice.
"Sam! How are you? I see you made it there all right� How was your flight?" Josie said, overflowing with happiness at hearing from him so soon.
"I'm fine Josie� I just really miss you."
After a short silence, Josie asked, "So, when is your interview?"
"Tomorrow morning, but I won't be back until the day after. Couldn't get a flight on such short notice�" Sam answered.
"Sam, I really miss you, you have no idea how lonely the nights are without you" Josie said, fighting back tears.
"Josie, come on now, I know how you feel. I'm here with Abby and her husband, and they are still so in love. I really want that to be us," Sam sighed. "It's just two days�" Sam trailed off, trying to sound more confident than he felt.
"You're right Sam, of course. It's only a couple of days." Josie sighed. "Just promise me you'll call tomorrow after the interview, all right? I want to hear all about it," Josie said, wanting to be supportive.
"I promise." Sam reassured Josie.
"Ok, Sam, I have to go now�Gus just barked at me�" Sam could hear Josie grinning. "I love you very much," she confided softly.
"I love you, too, Josie. Bye�I'll see you soon," Sam said, and then hung up the receiver and sinking into a nearby chair.
After Sam returned from the store with the items Abby had asked him to pick up, he sat down to finish his interview entrance papers. When he came to the part that read 'Marital Status,' he forced himself to mark 'single.' He knew deep down inside he and Josie would always be together, but it was too soon to think about that, since they were really still getting to know each other.
Sam hit the hay a little late that night because he couldn't get his mind off of his dilemma with the interview and Josie. The next morning he awoke feeling a little low and tried valiantly to get it together.
As Sam came down the stairs, dressed in a suit and straightening his tie, Abby noticed that he looked a little bit peaked. "Sam, why don't you sit down?" Abby said, while motioning towards the chair. Sam sat down and looked down at his hands in frustration. "Sam, I am your sister, I grew up with you, I know everything about you, and I know when there is something causing you pain," Abby continued. She gently leaned over and tipped up his head to look him in the eye, then asked softly, "Sam what's wrong?"
Sam looked up at Abby with huge green eyes, and just for a moment he felt as if he were a little boy again and she was his savior. Wistfully, he asked, "Abby� is this right? You know� even thinking about this interview? I love Josie, I love my school, and I love my city. The more I think about it, the more this doesn't feel right. What should I do?" Sam asked, keeping eye contact with Abby.
Abby exhaled deeply before answering, "Sam, I can't tell you whether this job is right or wrong for you�but I can tell you that if you truly love Josie, then you have to consider how it will affect her as well. If you decided to take this job, then Josie would be half a country away, and I'm sure you're not interested in another long-distance relationship. Either that, or Josie would have to move to be with you. She would have to find a new job, make new friends, and make a whole new way of life just to be with you. And what about all those kids at South Glen? What will happen to all the students that need your help?" Abby asked.
Abby was right, he realized. He had to think of Josie, too. And he knew her well enough to know that if he took the position, Josie would move to be with him because she believed in making sacrifices in the name of love.
As Sam sat pondering this new angle of his situation, Abby got up and walked towards the door and said over her shoulder, "I have the feeling this is the sort of decision that will affect your entire life, Sam. Take your time�and make the right choice." With that the closed the kitchen door behind her.
The answer came to him in a flash: he couldn't move here; this wasn't his home, it never could be. His home was with Josie. So with the decision made, Sam got up and walked towards the telephone. He called his interviewer at North Ridge and explained that he wouldn't be able to make his appointment; that he was no longer interested in the job.
All that was left for Sam to do now was to figure out how to get home as soon as possible. He took a cab to the airport and turned in his ticket for a chance at standby seating. As he got out of the cab and grabbed his bag, he felt a sudden chill and shuddered. But it was not because of the weather; he knew that it was the thought of scooping Josie up in his arms that suddenly brought a chill to his body.
After watching three consecutive flights take off without him, he was lucky to find a seat�unfortunately, the only seat left was in the smoking section, and since Sam didn't smoke, he could feel the air getting thinner and thinner as the smoke settled around him.
But even with the smoke giving him a horrid headache, his only thoughts were of Josie. He could remember her eyes and the way they shone after every kiss, the way he slid his hand through her hair and could smell her fresh scent lingering on his fingers.
As the plane neared the airport, he felt as if the only thing keeping him from getting to Josie was the steel walls surrounding him and his own skin.
As Sam got off the plane, his cell phone started ringing. He answered it, surprised, "Sam Coulson speaking."
Abby's voice answered, "Where the hell are you? I've been trying to reach you for hours! You're going to be late for dinner, at this rate!"
Oh no! He had forgotten to tell Abby he was going home! Sam answered with a smile,"Well Abby, I fear that by the time I get there my dinner would be freezing� I changed my mind about the position at North Ridge and took the first flight back to Chicago I could get on. I missed Josie terribly and just had to come home," Sam said, while striding briskly down the people mover.
"Good for you Sam. I'm happy for you�and for Josie, too," Abby answered. "Hey listen Sam, I've got to go; this call is going to cost me an arm and a leg!" and laughing, Abby hung up.
Sam made his way to his parked car in a hurry, and once inside her searched his glove department for the parking ticket he had thrown in there when he was left Chicago two days ago. After paying the parking ticket, he drove straight to Josie's place without even stopping at his place to drop off his bag. Now he just had to hope that she would be there.
When Sam arrived at Josie's, he was surprised to find that Josie hadn't returned from work yet. He glanced at his watch. It was almost 6:30 in the evening. "That's odd," he thought to himself. Well, he had no intention of leaving until he saw her. "What the heck," he thought, and made himself comfortable on the steps of the porch.
About an hour later, a confused Josie arrived to find Sam sound asleep on her stoop. He looked so adorable, she didn't really want to wake him, but she knew he was going to have a stiff back if she didn't.
"Sam� Sam� Wake up� Its me, Josie," Josie said softly as she gently shook his shoulder. To Josie's amazement, Sam sat up and pulled Josie down across his lap and covered her face with kisses.
"Josie� You have no idea how much I missed you," Sam said while holding Josie's face between his palms and staring into her eyes.
"So, Sam, how did the interview go?" Josie inquired while looking at her hands.
Sam cracked a brilliant smile and said, "You know Josie, I really don't have a clue. You see, Sam Coulson didn't make it to his interview, he was on a plane trying to prevent making the biggest mistake of his life." The smile on Josie's face was the perfect reward as he again moved in to kiss her.
As they entered her apartment, Josie turned to Sam and said teasingly, "You know Sam, I knew all along that you wouldn't take that job�"
Sam grinned back and argued, "Liar, you didn't know that�"
"Oh really? You're you calling me a liar now? I say we should solve this dispute with a game of Scrabble� What do you think?" and with that they closed the door behind them leaving the world and all the heartache in the darkness outside.
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