Sam's Awakening, Part 17:
Centerfield
By Carol

Date Posted: January 17, 2001

Click here to hear "Centerfield" by John Fogerty

* * *

Rob sniffed the fresh air and smiled to himself. Life was good for 'Robbie- Rob.' All around him, balls cracked against bats as all his favorite music played on the loudspeakers. The sky was what his father would call Carolina Blue. And today, his team was preparing for a game. At last, he felt in control of his own destiny. As excited as he felt about playing, he was even more excited to be coaching. His sister had made this opportunity possible and Rob had made up his mind to make the most of it and seize the moment.

It was seventh period at South Glen South High School. Rob, Guy, Aldys, and the rest of the team were continuing their practice on the baseball field and working well together.

After giving it much consideration, Rob had decided that Aldys would be the perfect first base coach, based on her intelligence and knowledge of the game. Rob had also started a subtle campaign to divert Guy's interest from Josie to Aldys, and he figured the best way to do that would be to express interest in Aldys himself. Although he was sure none of the other members of the 'in crowd' had noticed it, Rob discovered that Guy had a habit of watching Aldys. Rob figured it would make sense to encourage a relationship where he could see that there was already an attraction. Rob knew there was no hope for a Guy/Josie relationship in light of the fact that his sister was not really a 17-year- old student. Besides, she and Mr. Coulson were obviously head over heels in love with each other. Sometimes Rob wondered why no-one at the school could see what was so readily apparent to him.

Rob he thought about the potential performance of his team and felt pretty confident that they could win, especially considering the way he and Josie had always worked together. He knew that together they had the ability to dazzle and impress all the Prom Court voters.

His only concern about the game focused on Mr. Coulson and his ability to cover the outfield as the Teachers' centerfielder. Rob's game plan was for a lot of bunting and infield hitting, but he also knew that he and Josie, as well as some of the others, had the ability to hit homeruns should the need arise.

* * *

Josie fled from Sam's classroom down to the girls' locker room to change into her summer softball team uniform. She didn't want to take any chances of running into him again until she'd had a chance to calm herself down. She wanted to change as quickly as she could and get out on to the field where Rob would be, so she could really focus on the game and forget about everything.

The words Sam had written on her paper had hurt her initially, but now Josie was fuming for the first time since she'd met him.

She was seething because she knew that he was aware that she was writing about him, but knowing that, he'd chosen to dismiss her feelings rather than deal with them. Granted, she knew that she probably wasn't being fair, since he thought she was his seventeen year old student…but after all that had transpired between them, the time they'd spent together, the friendship that was there if nothing else, she felt that he shouldn't have treated her feelings as if they didn't exist: as if he didn't know who she'd meant. In her heart she felt that he had to know now that she was in love with him, and in turn he'd treated her like a child.

'After all,' she thought bitterly, 'I took a chance writing that paper, letting him know how I felt. He obviously doesn't think what I feel for him is important. He probably thinks I'm just one of a big group of girls who get crushes on him. He and that girlfriend of his will probably get a big laugh over how stupid I am.' She was really kicking herself. She'd only written that because she was following her mother's advise about what her mother had said about taking a chance on something she cared about. 'So much for mom's advice,' she shrugged and she took off her wings pin and put it in her purse.

Josie continued to brood as she changed into her uniform. She wore #8 as a salute to Baltimore Oriole's player Cal Ripken. She'd always worn that number, at her request, even in college. This particular uniform was the smallest she'd worn when she was 14 years old. With all the weight she'd lost (20 pounds so far), it fit her again…she'd even had to take the waist in an inch. The uniform consisted of black pants with red and white stripes along the side and a black solid color shirt with the number 8 in red on the back along with her last name above it. As Josie looked in the mirror and brushed her hair, she realized that maybe she actually did look a little better with her new shape and blond hair. But that thought quickly led her back to the fact that it didn't seem to matter to Sam. 'Who cares?' she thought sadly. 'I'm still alone and always will be.'

She thought again about the erotic dream she'd had about Sam. "How could you think that a dream like that could ever come true for you?" she bitterly asked her own reflection.

As Josie ran down to the field, Rob saw her coming and told Guy and Aldys to continue practicing without him as he walked towards his sister. He could tell from a distance that something was wrong just from the expression on her face.

"Hey, Josie, what's up?"

"Nothing, Rob. My arm is fine and I'm fine and ready to play."

"You don't look fine, what happened?"

"Nothing… Just back off."

"Don't 'nothing' me, Josie…I know you. Is this some kind of PMS thing?"

"No! Just drop it, Rob. I'm going to do my stretches to warm up and I want to do them by myself, if it's all right with you," Josie said waspishly.

"Sure, fine, but if you want to talk about…"

"I don't want to talk about anything or anybody, Rob. I'm sick of talking about things at this stupid school. Let's just concentrate on winning this ballgame and do what we need to do so that you and I can eventually leave here and get on with our lives."

"Okay, that sounds good. Let me know if you need me," Rob said, backing away, glad he wasn't the target of her wrath. For the first time since coming to South Glen South, Rob could see that Josie was really furious. He had a feeling he knew who was the cause and he knew that was good news for him in one way…but he was concerned about her. But Rob knew better than to be in the line of fire when Josie looked like that.

Rob walked over to Guy and Aldys. "Hey you guys, just a word of warning. Josie is really pissed about something and she wants to be alone."

They glanced over at her nervously.

Rob hissed, "Don't look at her! I mean it! When she's like this, it helps her playing, but take my advice, don't get in her way. It could be anything, so don't try to talk to her before the game, okay?"

They both nodded, giving Josie another speculative glance.

* * *

As Josie stomped off to the side of the field to do her leg stretches, she looked back at the school, but saw no sign of Sam. 'Good,' she thought to herself. 'Just stay away from me, Sam Coulson, and we'll both be fine.' She first stretched standing up, and then she sat on the ground with her legs extended touching her toes.

As Josie continued with her warm up exercises, she started to calm down a little. Suddenly she felt a presence behind her. She took a deep breath and turned to confront whomever it was. She was surprised to be looking in the face of a cute young guy in an umpire's uniform. He was a little shorter and stockier than Sam, but he looked to be about the same age. He had dark brown hair and twinkling brown eyes and was smiling at her. When she saw that it wasn't Sam, she immediately relaxed and smiled back.

"Hi," he said, looking into her eyes as he bent to extend his hand. "Don't get up. I'm Matt Riley, the home plate umpire. I'm a little early… Hey, you're Josie, right?"

Josie was startled that he knew her name since she'd never seen him before. "Yes. Josie Geller, that's right. How did you know my name?"

He laughed. "A couple of my friends teach here. Scott Romano – you know, the baseball coach? - asked me to umpire for the game. Then my other friend, Sam Coulson, is one of your teachers, I think. "

Josie felt her face flush as she remembered what had just happened between her and Sam. Matt noticed she looked upset the minute he mentioned Sam's name. 'Isn't that interesting,' he thought to himself, suddenly wondering about Sam's own relationship with Josie.

She was curious now. "So, how do you know my name?" she persisted.

Matt smiled at her again and hesitated. "Well, this is kind of embarrassing… Don't laugh at me or anything."

Josie shook her head solemnly.

"Well, I'll bet they didn't know you played softball when Scott asked me to umpire…he called me Monday."

"I don't think they knew I was playing until yesterday." 'He's flirting with me,' she suddenly realized as Matt stared into her eyes and sat down on the ground moving closer to her to talk quietly. 'This cute guy is actually flirting with me! Wow, that's a first.'

On the other side of the field, Rob noticed the young good looking umpire sitting on the ground with Josie and he started to slowly walk up to them. He could see that they were talking and that Josie looked a little calmer now. He also noticed that the young man was sitting very close to Josie and that he periodically touched her as he talked to her. 'Whoa, he's putting the moves on her,' Rob thought as he looked around nervously for Mr. Coulson, but saw no sign of him or Coach Romano.

"Josie, I have a confession to make," Matt said as he moved a little closer to her and lightly touched her knee. "My friends and I saw you mowing the lawn over on the north side of town a couple of Saturdays ago. I told them to stop the car so I could, well you know, meet you."

Josie blushed and looked down. She'd never had anyone expressed such blatant interest in her before. She suddenly realized that this was someone close to her own age who was actually saying he was attracted to her and he was Sam's friend besides. 'I should be thrilled…so why don't I feel anything?' she thought to herself. He suddenly reached over and put his finger gently under her chin to lift her head up.

"Please look at me, Josie, otherwise I'll lose my nerve. Well, needless to say, my friends wouldn't allow me to talk to you then. Especially Sam. I think he thinks, you know, that because you're his student, he has to protect you as if you were a child or something."

"Mr. Coulson does treat me like a child," she said sadly, thinking about what he'd written on her paper. Josie was also confused by what Matt said, because she thought she might have seen Sam watching her while she mowed, but he'd been alone then, so something wasn't right. It didn't quite make sense to her. She looked at Matt. "Do you happen to remember what time of day that was?"

"About three in the afternoon, I think. Like I said, you were mowing the lawn and it looked like you were about finished. You were wearing an Orioles baseball cap, a halter-top, and shorts and your hair was different: in pigtails. Not like I noticed the details or anything," Matt concluded with an embarrassed laugh.

Josie blushed; flattered that he'd noticed all that about her. But she also realized something else: the time she thought she might have seen Sam was later in the afternoon, so apparently Sam had driven by alone later. She tried to find a reason for his puzzling behavior but found none. Even though this young man in front of her was telling her directly that he was attracted to her, Josie's main concern remained, as always, Sam Coulson and how he felt about her.

Matt could tell by the look on her face that Josie was confused, but of course, did not know the cause. Assuming she was still puzzled as to how he knew who she was, he continued, "Sam's my friend and everything but…he's got this fiancé, Lara? She tells everybody else what to do and I think he's becoming more and more like her after all these years with her. When I asked our friend Jon to stop the car so I could introduce myself, he told me that you were seventeen and too young and all. So that's how I know your name. Anyway," he put his hand gently on top of hers and leaned forward, "I'm very glad to meet you. I've been thinking about you constantly for the past two weeks."

Josie was a little flustered by all that Matt had said and by all the flirtatious touching, but she felt her anger return as she absorbed what he'd said about Sam and Lara and that now Lara was apparently Sam's fiancé. She looked at Matt seriously, removing her hand from his. "So…Mr. Coulson wouldn't let you talk to me?" She wondered again about that day when she thought she had seen him and decided, 'Maybe he was checking on where I lived, since he obviously thinks I'm such an incompetent child.' It definitely seemed like he had been confused by the address, she decided, as she thought about it in light of this new information. And in light of the way he'd responded to her paper, it was clear that it had nothing to do with any sort of romantic attraction. No, it was quite obvious that Anita was definitely wrong about that.

Matt shook his head. "Not only that, but he told me to stay away from you altogether. So that makes today a little risky for me," he grinned. "But it's worth the risk to get to see you again. Besides, I believe in fate. Fate has brought us together. Now you can make your own decision about me. I didn't know you were going to be here, but I'm glad you are." He smiled at her again. "I hope you'll at least give me a chance."

Rob decided it was time to walk up and introduce himself. He knew his sister, and even though she was talking pleasantly with Matt, he could tell she was still upset. In fact, she looked angrier than ever. Waves of anger actually emanated from her and Rob had never seen her look quite that way about anyone.

Rob's eyes opened wide when Matt explained his friendship with Sam and how he knew whom Josie was before they met. Since Josie was still being nice to Matt, Rob had to assume that the anger was directed at Mr. Coulson. However, Rob also noticed that Matt was touching Josie at every opportunity. He had to fight down his protective instincts because he knew the guy was most definitely a womanizer type.

* * *

Sam sighed as he changed into his blue on white Yale Bulldog uniform and his Mets cap. Sam also had chosen #8…and for the same reason Josie had: Cal Ripken. He'd had the number all through middle school, high school and college.

Sam felt like he'd just made the biggest mistake of his life by not letting Josie know how he felt. He knew she was probably down on the field, upset with him. He thought wistfully about walking her to class that morning and touching her arm, picturing the way she'd looked in her blue sundress and white sweater and about the wondrous dream he'd had about holding her in his arms and kissing her.

As he and Coach Romano walked out to the field, Sam saw Josie on the ground sitting next to someone, with Rob standing over the other person. Josie had her back to Sam and he immediately grinned when he saw that she too was wearing a uniform with #8 on the back. 'Another connection between us,' he thought happily.

He had asked his friend Jonathan, who was going to Baltimore that weekend, to pick up a Cal Ripken Beanie Baby for him to give to Josie on her birthday. In addition, Jon was to get two tickets for the July 4th weekend ball game at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. Since it seemed that he had the support and permission of at least Josie's mother to pursue her, Sam had also reserved two rooms at the Hyatt Hotel overlooking Baltimore's Inner Harbor, hoping that Josie would go with him for a long 4th of July weekend. Now he was wondering how he'd ever control himself alone with her on such a trip.

He'd planned to tell her about all of this at the birthday party Josie's mother had invited him to, when he would also gave her the autographed copy of Cal Ripken's book, in addition to the pearl necklace and earrings he'd picked out for her. Sam's grin faded as he remembered the way Josie had looked as she ran out of his classroom. 'God, I'm an idiot,' he thought to himself. 'The way I'm going she won't even be speaking to me by the 4th of July.'

Suddenly Sam stopped short and choked as he realized who it was that was sitting on the ground so very close to Josie. Everything inside of Sam screamed "No!" In fact, he had to struggle to keep from saying it out loud. Matt Riley was not only sitting there, he was periodically touching her on the leg and the arm, a couple of his more practiced moves. He knew that Matt made a habit of touching any woman he was interested in. But this wasn't just any woman; this was Josie. This was his Josie. At the same moment, he saw that Rob had noticed he and Scott and was walking toward them. Sam couldn't seem to stop coughing and get his breath.

Coach Romano interrupted his tumultuous thoughts. "You okay, Sam? He patted him on the back as Sam 's coughing subsided. "Here comes Rob. Give him the roster now, Sam. It looks like everyone's here that's playing."

"Would you just relax, Scott?" Sam said hoarsely, as he tried to clear his throat. He was clearly irritated at everything at the moment, including his friend.

"Hey Rob," Scott Romano called, excitement tingeing his voice, "We have to give you the updated roster."

Rob jogged the rest of the way up to the two men and squinted. "Updated roster? Updated how? What's the change?" He looked from Sam to Coach Romano.

Meanwhile, Sam was staring at Josie, who was still sitting deep in conversation with Matt Riley. Sam scowled as he saw Matt pick up Josie's arm and hold it in his hands to examine it, much the way Sam had done that morning at her locker.

Sam knew there was a big difference between himself and Matt, and it was part of what was infuriating him: Matt could openly express romantic interest in Josie while he touched her and flattered her and did God knows what else, while Sam had to constantly consider the constraints of a teacher/student relationship. And Sam knew that Matt wasn't hesitant or reluctant when it came to women, not by a long shot. Matt was aggressive and forceful, unlike Sam who had a tendency to be more laidback and shy.

Sam had never dealt with such overwhelming feelings of love, passion and jealousy before. Now that he wanted to express his love for Josie, he was frustrated at every turn, mostly by his own sense of duty as her teacher. He was sure that his own feelings ran much deeper than any attraction Matt might be acting on, but he knew that part of what he felt now was most definitely a sexual attraction, so in that sense he and Matt were more alike than Sam cared to admit.

Scott Romano answered Rob, since Sam seemed quite obviously preoccupied. "Sam's will be playing shortstop today and Ms. Knox is in centerfield. That's really the only change, Rob. And really, that shouldn't matter to you, since you didn't watch our practice yesterday anyway," he finished smugly.

Sam was still staring at Josie, who was doing leg stretches again now. It didn't help that she looked so incredibly beautiful. And he knew darn well that he wasn't the only man who felt that way. After what Scott Romano had said at dinner the night before, Sam felt like every single man in Chicago had his eye on his Josie. Thankfully, Matt had moved a little to give her some room, but he was still way too close to her, according to Sam's thinking. And he was still obviously trying to flirt with her…and it didn't look like he intended to leave her side anytime soon. Sam would have given anything in the world to trade places with Matt at that moment.

Rob stared wide-eyed at the roster for a brief second as he realized what this change would mean. He looked from Coach Romano to Mr. Coulson. Then, quickly recovering his composure, he squinted again, smiled, and nodded. Rob knew he had the ability to adapt to the changing situation, even though he hadn't anticipated the roster switch. In fact, he relished the challenge that this posed for him.

Rob cleared his throat and replied coolly, "No problem! That should make it a more exciting game for the fans." He looked at Sam again and raised his eyebrows. "Really, Mr. Coulson, I'm a little surprised at you! That's pretty sneaky. I have to hand it to you. But it seems that not all your sneaky tricks work in your favor… If I were you, I'd want to be as far away from my catcher as possible, because that other thing you did…well, that's going to backfire big time, I'm afraid," he said more quietly and pointed at Josie with his thumb.

Sam's tore his eyes from Matt and Josie to give Rob a sharp look. "What other thing?" Sam asked, dreading the answer.

Rob moved in closer to them so he could be sure that no one would hear. "Whatever you did to upset my catcher. I just have to tell you that nobody plays better, more focused ball than Josie when she's mad. I had been trying to irritate her last night and today to annoy her, but whatever you did or said has her really worked up. Just look at how her eyes are flashing and how flushed her cheeks are. I wouldn't want to be in your shoes right now, sir, or yours, Coach Romano. She was upset when she got out here and then that umpire friend of yours told her something else about the two of you that upset her even more. To tell you the truth, I've never seen her this angry," Rob confided.

"Angry? She's angry?" Sam asked fearfully.

Rob's eyes connected with Sam's and he felt sorry for the guy. "I'm afraid so. In all the years I've known her, this is the most furious I've ever seen her," Rob said quietly. "You really hit a nerve there. Oh! And a word to the wise… She has this little habit of shaking her finger at whomever she's mad at. If she pulls out that finger, run for the hills."

"Geez, Sam, she does look hot. What did you do?" Coach Romano asked nervously.

"Nothing. Just forget it, Scott," Sam snapped. "Rob here is just using a little gamesmanship to try and make us nervous." But secretly Sam was alarmed by this turn of events and Rob knew it.

"Okay, Mr. C; whatever you say. I need to wrap her arm now and try to calm her down a little. Oh, and you guys can be home team. I'll give you that advantage since you have all that age on us and everything," Rob said with a smile. "And if I were either one of you, I'd stay away from Josie because in this state I don't know what she might say or do. She already snapped my head off when I tried to ask her about what was wrong, so I'm steering clear. And I'm not even the one she's mad at…"

Coach Romano rolled his eyes. "Thanks Rob, we'll take home field advantage and your advice. Hey and tell her we're both sorry if you think it'll help. Come on, Sam; let's go warm up. Isn't that why we're out here?"

"Yeah, okay," Sam muttered, still glancing nervously over at Josie. Rob was right; she was angry with him for what he'd written on that paper and for God knows what else Matt had told her. 'She's never been angry at me,' he thought worriedly, wondering how he could possible make it up to her, especially with Matt hovering over her like that.

As they walked away Scott turned to Sam, "Can you believe how calm Rob was about your roster change? I wish that kid could work for me, I really do. He's such a cool customer. And what did you do to Josie anyway? She sure looks fired up."

"Nothing, Scott. Just drop it, okay? I think she just misinterpreted something that happened in class today. I'm sure Rob's exaggerating how angry she is, although it wouldn't surprise me that Matt would have said something to unwittingly make the situation worse. I'll talk to her about it after she cools off. Come on." Sam tried to shrug it off, but the knot in his stomach was growing my the second.

As it got closer to game time, the stands were starting to fill up. Most of the student body and faculty were there including the principal, Jack Kerdan. Mr. Kerdan always did his best to support student activities and although he had plenty to do, he intended to stay for at least the first part of the game. Tickets were selling for five dollars apiece, so it was already a huge success from a fundraising perspective.

This should have been good news for Sam, but he was totally preoccupied with what he was observing with regard to Josie and Matt. It had looked to him like they had been talking for a while when he arrived and Matt hadn't left Josie's side since. Sam didn't like it one bit and he had a sick feeling that the situation was about to worsen.

Sam and Scott and their team were practicing in the infield, while Rob, Josie and Matt were now over to the side by their dugout. Sam noticed that Rob was getting ready to wrap Josie's arm. But he groaned out loud and dropped the ball Scott had thrown to him when he saw Matt step up and offer his assistance instead. Then he sat a little too close to Josie on the bench. Sam stopped what he was doing to glare at Matt who was preparing to wrap Josie's arm while he carried on a clearly animated conversation with both of them. From Sam's perspective, it looked like Matt was practically holding Josie's arm in his lap. Suddenly Sam had a mental image of Matt kissing Josie. He grimaced and looked at the sky, thinking, 'Oh, God, anything but that!' Somehow he knew that this day would prove to be torture for him.

* * *

"There," Matt said to Josie, "I'll just wrap a little more to give it a little more padding on the bruise and you'll be all set." He felt Sam's angry stare burning into his back even before he glanced over and noticed the expression on his face. Leaning even closer to Josie, he whispered, "I hope I survive this day with the way Sam is glaring at me. Will you come visit me in the hospital, Josie?"

Josie smiled in spite of herself at the ridiculous image of the two of them fighting over her: 'Josie Grossie'. "I don't think that will be necessary. I'm sure he won't hurt you in front of all these people. I can't see Mr. Coulson being violent. I don't know why he's looking at you like that, though. I just don't understand him at all."

"Yeah, me either," Matt said with a shrug. "He's usually pretty easygoing, but he sure is staring at us something mean. If looks could kill, I'd definitely be dead by now. It's like he thinks I'm some sort of child molester or something. You certainly don't seem like a child to me, Josie," he flirted as he briefly stopped wrapping her arm and leaned in as if he were about to kiss her.

"Just ignore him. That's what I intend to do," Josie said quietly and firmly, looking down. She instinctively leaned away from Matt.

Seeing Josie lean away like that, Sam felt like he could breathe again. He hadn't missed an instant of this interaction between the two of them. He felt like he was standing on the edge of a cliff, but this was worse than his fear of heights: worse in fact, than anything he'd ever experienced.

* * *

Scott Romano noticed that Sam was distracted and followed his gaze. "Oh hell, Sam! Are you going to stare at him like that all day? We've got a game to prepare for. He's just helping her wrap her arm, that's all. He's got that EMT training and he's putting it to use, that's all it is."

Sam continued to scowl at them. "How long does it take to wrap one small arm, anyway? How long is he going to sit like that with her arm in his lap?" he muttered to himself. He noticed Josie was smiling at Matt now and it made him want to walk up and slug him. He knew that Matt didn't give up easily and if he saw him try to kiss her again, Sam knew he wouldn't be able to control himself. He found himself wishing for the hundredth time that he'd written something, anything else on that paper of hers so that she would know how he really felt.

Just then, he noticed Rob walking towards him with a smile on his face. He decided to direct a little of his pent-up anger and frustration at Rob. Sam looked at him disgustedly. "I thought you were going to wrap Josie's arm, so it'd be done right!" he hissed accusingly.

Rob put his hands in the air. "Hold on, hold on here. He's an EMT and he said he's your friend… I thought he might do a better job of it. If you're so worried then I'll check when he's done, don't worry! He is a friend of yours, isn't he?"

"Yeah," Sam muttered. "He's supposed to be."

Rob walked closer to Sam, where Coach Romano couldn't hear them. "Does he always approach girls like that?"

"Like what?" Sam demanded, his eyes flashing.

"I don't know what he said earlier, but from what I heard, well…" Rob frowned at Sam.

"Well, what!?" Sam insisted.

"He told her you guys drove by or something and saw her and that's how he knows who she is and he said that you," Rob pointed at Sam, "wouldn't let him talk to her because you think she is a child…you know, too young and immature for him. He also said you and your girlfriend like to run everybody else's lives. Only I think he called her your fiancé."

Sam gasped and then swore under his breath. 'Leave it to Matt to screw things up even more…' he thought heatedly.

"Is that true? The fiancé part?" Rob asked, upset himself. "Because if it is…"

Sam interrupted Rob, saying, "No, the 'fiancé' part was never true. In fact, we've broken up. Matt just doesn't know about it, that's all," Sam explained.

Rob looked relieved. "Okay, then. When I walked up, he was saying something about fate bringing them together again and how he wants her to think about going out with him after she graduates because he's risking his life asking her all this with you and Coach Romano in the vicinity. He told her to think about it during the game and not to give him an answer until later so he can be a fair umpire. He told her she's going to be enough of a distraction for him as it is because she's so pretty… Things like that. Some of the stuff he's saying is funny, so at least he's making her laugh, but Josie's not used to that kind of guy, Mr. C. Did you know all this when you asked him to umpire?"

"I didn't ask him, believe me, Rob. Coach Romano did. I'll talk to him, though…if he ever finishes taping her arm," Sam said waspishly.

"I was a little worried that he might use the game and all to try and pressure her to go out with him, and I want to tell you right now, Mr. C, no game is worth that to me. I want to win, but not like that,"

Sam could tell Rob was serious now, and he was actually proud of the young man for being such a good friend to Josie.

Rob hesitated. "Josie's not used to that type of approach, Mr. C. She's not a child, but she's not, well…experienced with men, if you know what I mean. To tell you the truth, she has no experience. I'm not going to let him use this game as any kind of leverage to get her to go out with him or worse, you know?"

Sam felt a pang of guilt, thinking about his own sexual attraction to Josie.

"I really don't think he's her type at all," Rob added.

"I appreciate that, Rob. I don't think he's her type, either." He wanted to scream, "I'm her type!" at the top of his lungs, but knew it was out of the question. Besides, Rob seemed to understand what he meant.

He didn't know whether he was trying to reassure Rob or himself as he kept talking. "But…I think he'll do what he says and try to be fair. I think he's trying to get her to like him, so he'll probably do his best to impress her, knowing Matt…as I unfortunately do. He's probably all the more determined to do it because he knows I'm against it and I let him know it."

Rob cracked a grin and gave Sam's arm a nudge. "Well, if that's the case, then I guess Josie's more of a secret weapon than I realized, huh Mr. C? With the way she looks now and all and the effect she seems to have on men." Sam scowled and Rob added hastily, "Not me though. Luckily for me, I'm immune. I've known her too long." Rob looked at Josie and shook his head. "She sure has changed since she's been here. Sometimes I don't even recognize her and I've known her forever. It's like I closed my eyes and blinked and there she was all different and everything. She looks so, so, well, you know…"

"Yeah, I do know, Rob," Sam sighed. "I really do." 'You have no idea how much I know it,' he thought to himself.

"Anyway, she's kind of naïve about men and this guy has a habit of touching her and I don't think he should use the fact that she has to stand close to him the whole game as an excuse to put his hands all over her, if you get my drift. She might be too embarrassed to tell him on her own."

"I'll talk to him and get it straightened out, Rob, I promise."

"Thanks, Mr. C."

Sam looked down, and then called out to Coach Romano. "Come on, Scott. I need to have a word with Matt before we start and it would be better if I had a chaperone."

Scott looked at Sam and moaned. "Okay, but don't freak out and alienate him, Sam. He is the umpire after all and he looks like he's doing a good job on that arm of hers."

Sam and Scott walked up just as Matt was finishing taping Josie's arm.

"There, Josie," Matt said as he gently patted her arm. "If you have any problem with that, remember I'm right behind you." Sam rolled his eyes and sighed.

"Oh God, here comes Mom and Dad now…" Matt whispered jokingly to Josie, "…and they don't look happy."

"Thanks for wrapping my arm," Josie said shyly, pulling her arm back. "I'm sure it will be fine. I have to go now." She faced Sam, frowned, and then turned on her heel to walk towards the dugout.

When Josie looked at him and turned away, Sam felt his heart sinking.

Matt looked back and forth between his golfing buddies. Sam looked even more agitated than before and he couldn't resist the urge to tease him a little.

"Hi guys! Ready to play?" he said cheerfully. When that garnered no response, he said, "I have a confession to make, right up front."

"Oh yeah? What's that?" Scott Romano asked.

"I'm in love with the other team's catcher. She looks even prettier up close! And I'm working on getting even closer."

Sam took a menacing step toward Matt and Scott had to put his hand on Sam's arm to restrain him.

"Easy, Sam… He's just kidding. Aren't you, Matt?" Scott prodded.

"Sorry guys, but she's the woman of my dreams, and I'm not kidding! Who knew she could play ball in addition to looking like that? Wow! And she's got the most incredible eyes I've ever seen…and don't get me started on that body of hers."

"Knock it off, Matt," Scott said, glancing at Sam nervously. Sam looked like he was within a hairbreadth of losing it. "She's a student. You can't pull your usual stuff with her."

"I'm not pulling anything. I like her, and if she goes out with me after she graduates, it'll be between me and her and nobody else," Matt said defiantly. "You two can't run her life just because she's a student, you know. And Josie and I won't be needing any chaperones when I take her out, either," looking Sam square in the eyes. "If you two back off, maybe I'll even invite you to the wedding."

Sam needed all the self-control he had within him to fight off the picture he had in his mind of himself attending a Matt/Josie wedding…and to not jump his friend and beat him senseless. 'Over my dead body!' he thought angrily. Fire leapt in Sam's eyes, and he took two deep breaths before he spoke. "Just do your job and treat Josie with respect or I'll call this whole game off, do you hear me!? I'm Captain of the Teachers' team and my counterpart, Rob…I think you've met? Well, he and I both agree that you are to treat her with respect here or there's no game! If it comes to that and we call the game because of you, I'll make the announcement myself, and at that point you and I will meet to settle this outside. Do you understand me?" Sam got up into Matt's face menacingly.

"Whoa! No problem. Calm down, Sam. I like her and I respect her and I want her to like me, so you can relax! Honest! I really like her. I don't know what you think I'm going to do besides tell her she's pretty. How can you argue with that? I mean, just look at her!"

"He's got a point, Sam," Scott offered, trying to assist in the truce. "She is pretty."

"Stay out of this, Scott," Sam snapped.

"See, Sam? At least Scott admits it," Matt persisted. "What's wrong with noticing and wanting to date a pretty girl? She's not just pretty…she's gorgeous and I'm attracted to her. If she tells me after the game that she's not interested then so be it, but I can talk to her and get to know her a little while we're here. Just because you hang around with that bossy bitch, Lara, don't think you can boss me around too, Sam. Josie doesn't need you or your stupid fiancé or whatever she is to run her life."

"Why are you bringing Lara into this!?" Sam asked angrily. "This has nothing to do with her."

"Oh, yeah? Well, it's just like I told Josie," Matt continued, "You are getting to be just like that bossy girlfriend of yours, telling everybody what to do. And Josie and I don't need advice from either of you or anybody else."

"'Josie and I'? What the hell do you mean 'Josie and I'!? You're certainly not a couple yet!" Sam said hotly.

"I think Josie's dating their shortstop, anyway, Matt," Scott Romano warned, "and he may have something to say, too, if you get out of line."

Stubbornly Matt replied, "I don't see any ring on her finger, and until there is one, I think you guys should quit acting like her parents and stay out of her love life. I don't think she's too happy with you right now, anyway," he said, pointing at Sam. "And quit staring at me like that, Sam! I'm not some rapist… I'm your friend, for God's sake. Sheesh!"

Matt shook his head in disgust. "I've dated seventeen year olds before, and you knew about it and never said anything. Just because she's your student doesn't mean you own her. You know, as a matter of fact, I could tell that Josie was pissed with you from the first time I mentioned your name. Did you do this to her, too? Did you try to boss her around and tell her who she can and can't be with in class today? That sounds just like the kind of righteous crap you'd pull…"

That taunt hit too close to home for Sam, because Matt was very close to being right. That was exactly what he had ended up doing in his shoddy handling of the situation with Josie's paper, even though it hadn't been his intention. The thought that Matt might be right about him made him even angrier with his friend, and suddenly, he felt like handling his stress by connecting his fist with Matt's face. Sam took another step towards Matt before Scott Romano put his body between his two friends and held them apart.

"Come on, Sam. You're not going to fight over this here in front of everybody, are you?" Scott asked nervously, looking at the stands.

"Well, that all depends on Matt's behavior," Sam snapped.

Matt pushed Scott Romano aside and stepped towards Sam, poking him in the chest with his finger. "What about your behavior here, Sam? If I have anything to say about it, that girl will be dating me soon and you two can just stay the hell out of it, or you'll answer to me for a change! You're the one who's upsetting her not me! Isimply helped her wrap her arm and made her smile. So what's wrong with that?"

Sam sighed and felt ashamed, knowing that Matt was right about how he had been the one to upset Josie. But he still wasn't about to let Matt off the hook for hanging all over her. "Just treat her with respect, Riley, and keep your hands off her, and you'll have no problem with me," Sam growled.

"Fine with me…on the first part. Hey, I already said I respect her. But I'm treating her like the beautiful woman she is, not a child. Maybe you should take some of your own advice and respect her enough to let her run her own life, Sam. But, if I want to touch her, I will…unless she tells me otherwise, not you!"

Sam glared at him in response but said nothing further. The fury in his eyes said it all. He wanted desperately to say, "No one touches her, but me!" but he restrained himself for the moment.

Putting his umpire mask down over his face, Matt abruptly ended the conversation by loudly yelling for the crowd but right into Sam's face, "Let's play ball! Batter up!"

* * *

As the first inning was about to start, Josie put on her batting helmet and picked up her bat. She realized there was a full house, but that had never bothered her as a ball player and it didn't bother her now. She realized that Sam and Matt had just had some sort of heated discussion about her and it only angered her more, as she saw this more and more evidence that Sam did think of her as a child and was trying to control her life.

Josie also felt anger about the fact that here was Matt—a good-looking, attractive, single guy, touching her and flirting with her and she didn't feel a thing. She knew that she felt more from just looking at Sam than she would ever feel from touching any other man. She knew that part of her anger wasn't fair, considering that she was supposed to be seventeen, but she felt it nonetheless. She knew she'd never love anyone the way she loved Sam Coulson…for all the good it did her.

As she stepped up to the plate, Josie noticed that the teachers were setting up for her to hit in the infield. Rob was on the third baseline coaching and he signaled for her to swing away. Rob had quickly adjusted his game plan to the teachers' roster change and informed Josie that she was to aim for centerfield or beyond.

Rob had advised her that Coach Romano's first pitch would be the one to hit, as he typically threw the first one slow and over the center of the plate, assuming that the batter would take. Her arm felt pretty good and she noticed Sam looking expectantly at her, almost as if he thought she'd hit right to him.

'Not this time,' she said angrily to herself. 'This time I'll show you how strong I can be.' It was obvious that she wasn't being considered a threat because of her size, and she was sick and tired of Sam treating her like a child. The more she saw Sam watching her, the more infuriated she felt about the whole situation, and the more determined she became to prove him wrong.

Sam studied Josie worriedly. He had never seen such a determined angry look on her face…and he knew that the anger was directed at him. He tried to get her to look in his eyes so that he could somehow convey how he was feeling, but it was obvious that she was determined to keep as far away from him as possible, physically as well as emotionally.

Just as Rob had predicted, the first pitch was over the center of the plate, and just as they'd planned Josie swung away, her anger fueling her natural ability. The ball went sailing far over Sam's head and over the centerfield fence. The crowd went wild as Josie ran the bases. Aldys cheered and hopped up and down as Josie flew past her along the first base line.

Rob ran in from coaching third to throw his arms around her after she crossed home plate. Sam and Scott both stood with their mouths open, staring at her run the bases than gaping at the scene at home plate. Scott Romano took off his cap and scratched his head and muttered, "Who knew she had that kind of power?"

Josie's entire team burst out of the dugout to give her high fives and congratulate her. "That's my girl," Rob said proudly as he hugged her again. "Prom queen here you come," he whispered in her ear. Then he smiled and tipped his cap to Coach Romano.

Sam watched as Guy Perkins gave her a hug and whispered something in her ear. She smiled shyly and blushed. Then to make matters worse, he saw Matt come up behind her put his hands on her shoulders and obviously congratulate her and whisper something to her, with his lips almost touching her ear. When she turned around to face Matt, Sam watched in agony as Matt leaned forward and gently brushed Josie's hair out of her eyes with his hand. Everybody but Sam, it seemed, could—and did!—hug, touch, and whisper to Josie. Sam was left with nothing but his dreams of the night before. To add insult to injury, Sam watched helplessly as Matt playfully messed up Josie's hair as she smiled at him.

'If I don't kill him by the end of this game, it'll be a miracle,' Sam thought angrily.

The rest of the inning went a little better for the teachers. Coach Romano struck out one and Sam easily handled two solid infield hits, the last being hit by Rob, for the outs. But, thanks to Josie, the score was 1-0 for the students.

Sam took a deep breath as he headed for the dugout and noticed Matt helping Josie put on her chest protector and kneepads. Here, one of his own friends was touching Josie and standing way too close to her, and there was nothing Sam could do about it. Instead, he ran out to coach along the third baseline. He stood staring at her and tried his best to catch her eye. If he could only show her even a small portion of how he was feeling… But Josie was having none of Sam Coulson today, and he knew it.

As Scott Romano stepped up to bat first for the teachers, Sam noticed that Matt seemed to be almost touching Josie's backside, or at least it looked that way to him from his perspective. Thankfully for Sam, Scott noticed it, too. "Hey, back up a little, Matt. You're forcing Josie to crowd the plate," Scott directed. Matt obliged by backing up a little, but Sam noticed him leaning in again after a few pitches. Sam felt his rage growing as he noticed Matt continuing to glance appreciatively at Josie's body as he moved around her and leaned in behind her. It suddenly looked to Sam as if Matt was doing his best to try to unobtrusively smell Josie's hair. Sam was beside himself with jealousy as he remembered his own fantasies about being close to her and touching that same silky hair.

At this point even Rob noticed what was going on and intervened. "Hey umpire! Back up a little, would ya?" he yelled. "We can't do our signals properly with you that close to her." This time Matt shrugged and actually did take a few steps back.

'Thank God for Rob,' Sam thought to himself as he stood along the third baseline. He didn't miss the way Josie's eyes flashed angrily every time she looked his way.

As the inning progressed, Sam finally saw the totality of what Rob had meant about Josie's catching abilities. She was without a doubt one of the most fiercely aggressive catchers Sam had ever seen, even at the college level. And he realized that, for Matt, she was an umpire's dream come true. He never had to worry about a ball getting by Josie. Both Matt and Sam could see that right away. And Josie and Rob worked together like a finely tuned machine: they were that good and that quick and that talented.

If a foul ball was hit, Josie would throw off the mask and position herself exactly at the spot where the ball came down. She had that quick instinct that just seemed to know where the ball would go. And given her size, Sam was surprised at her ability to leap in the air, when necessary, to get the out. He was reminded again of how she'd amazed him again and again ever since that first day in March. They had so much in common…so many things that they shared.

He remembered how effortlessly she'd leapt and danced on the ice and was reminded again of how exquisite she'd looked to him that day. He thought about how many times he'd sat in his lonely apartment staring at the pictures of her, dreaming about a future together. He felt so impressed with her talent and proud of her at the same time.

He wanted to tell her how he felt, here and now, but he realized that even if he did, it wouldn't have mattered, since she really was furious with him. He saw it in her eyes whenever she would glance in his direction, even through her catcher's mask.

Matt seemed to compliment Josie on every play. She was flattered by the attention, even though in her heart she knew there was only one man she wanted to hear compliments from, and that man thought of her as nothing more than a silly child. She didn't know whether to be angrier with him or herself for fantasizing about a hopeless relationship and having such a stupid dream.

Josie knew Sam was looking at her, but she was determined not to give him the satisfaction of meeting his eye…not yet, anyway. 'Maybe he won't feel so sorry for me after this,' she thought bitterly. 'At least he'll know I'm not a total loser if one of his friends is actually interested in me.'

Meanwhile, watching the interaction between Matt and Josie, Sam felt like he was being tortured. Slowly and steadily, he was losing the great love of his life due to his own cowardice and stupidity.

The third batter up for the teachers was Ms. Knox. Rob looked at her, hesitated, called time out, and walked up to her. "How am I supposed to pitch to you when you look so cute in those shorts, Ms. Knox?" Rob joked with her. "It's really not fair."

Marilyn Knox blushed and giggled as Rob laughed and turned around, heading back for the pitcher's mound.

Matt used the opportunity to touch Josie on the shoulder and say a little too loudly, "If he feels that way about her, imagine how I feel being so close to you, Josie. How am I supposed to concentrate when you look so sexy?"

Sam watched as Rob whirled around to give Matt a sharp look, and he realized that Rob didn't like whatever it was that Matt had just said to Josie. If Rob looked that upset; then Sam felt like he didn't even want to know what might have been said. He was afraid he really would have to punch Matt in the face and call the game.

But for the first time, Sam noticed that Josie also looked annoyed by whatever it was that Matt had said. He noticed that she made a face similar to the one he'd seen the day the assistant golf pro had put his arms around her. He saw her move away from Matt and towards Ms. Knox. Matt shrugged it off and moved back into position. Rob continued to stare at Matt for a long moment, and then he motioned for Matt to back up again. Matt backed up a little and then took a step towards Josie. Rob hesitated then pointed again to Matt.

"Back up there, umpire, or I'll have to call time," Rob insisted. Alarm bells went off in Sam's head. The usually good-natured Rob obviously felt that Matt had gone too far this time. Sam realized this was the first time he'd seen any hint of real anger from Rob.

"Okay, okay, sorry," Matt said amiably, shrugging at Rob.

Rob had two strikes on Ms. Knox when she hit one foul in the air along the third base side. Josie threw off her mask, almost running into Sam to make the catch for the out to end the inning. Sam was finally close enough to her to try to say something to her to mend the fences.

"Nice catch, Josie," he said sincerely, as the music between the innings started to play.

Josie nodded at him, but didn't make eye contact.

As she turned away, he said, his voice shaking, "Josie, wait a second."

Josie hesitated as she started to remove her chest protector. She didn't want to be near him now, but something in his voice tugged at her heartstrings and made her pause, albeit reluctantly.

"Here, let me help you," Sam practically begged as he started to help her remove her padding. He stopped abruptly when she shook her head and stepped away from him.

Sam continued, "Josie, did Matt say something to upset you there? You looked upset and if you want me to talk to him, I will." Sam offered, as Josie sat on the ground. Then he bent down and started to help her with her kneepads. Her temper flared yet again as she realized that, not only did he think that she couldn't handle Matt on her own, he apparently didn't even think she could remove her own gear.

Josie closed her eyes for a second, pain piercing her heart yet again, and then pushed his hands away from her viciously. "No! Just…don't help me with anything!" she said sharply.

Sam quickly realized that instead of making things better, things had for some reason gotten much worse. "Josie…please," he said helplessly.

She turned to glare back at him, her face grim. "I know this is probably hard for you to believe, but he was complimenting me. I think it just came out wrong. I guess it just surprised me that someone would be that interested in me in that way. But, it's not your problem; it's mine. I may not be used to that kind of attention, but I can handle it. Don't worry about it… And for God's sake, don't feel sorry for me or feel like you're obligated to help me anymore, okay!?"

Sam was stunned by her icy tone shocked that she would think that he felt sorry for her. "Josie, I don't feel sorry for you. I…I…"

"You what?" Josie challenged angrily. She waited while Sam hesitated.

He knew that practically the whole school, including his boss, was in the stands. As much as he wanted to tell her how he felt, he just couldn't get the words to come out.

She shook her head in disgust and looked at the ground, tears stinging at the corners of her eyes. His silence spoke volumes. But, she had decided that no matter what, she wouldn't cry. Living with all the rejection and frustration of being an outcast for so long had taught her to accept what she could not change and move on.

She looked him straight in the eye and said sarcastically, "Yeah, sure you don't. Look, just play your position, all right? I am not your problem, Mr. Coulson. You don't need to fix me. And thanks for offering to help me with my equipment, but I'm a big girl now and I've been doing it since I was six. I appreciate all your sympathy, but I am not a child and I'm not the total pathetic loser that you—and your girlfriend apparently—think I am. I can be strong and I can solve my own problems, and that includes your friend Matt. So stay out of my life and we'll both be fine!" She got up and started to stalk off.

"Aw, Josie…no, please…" Sam said helplessly to her retreating back, but she ignored him and kept walking towards the dugout.

"Hey, Sam… Here's your glove. Let's go," Scott broke in, tossing Sam his glove.

Sam had to blink back tears as he watched Josie go into the dugout. With a stadium full of spectators, he knew he couldn't chase after her and make his apologies. He was crushed by all that she'd said to him and all the hurt and anger he'd seen in her eyes.

* * *

By the bottom of the second inning, the score was still 1-0 for the students. The next batter up for the teachers was Sam. He put on the helmet and took a few swings, glancing at Matt and Josie, who were getting into position. 'What a nightmare,' Sam thought to himself. 'Matt that close to Josie and she doesn't mind, and her so angry at me for treating her like a child when all I want to do is treat her like an adult…'

Sam was so rattled that he took Rob's first pitch, a perfect strike down the center of the plate. He glared at Matt when he called it a little too loudly.

"God, Sam…if looks could kill… Lighten up, would ya?" Matt tried to joke him out of it.

He noticed Matt again touching Josie's shoulder and whispering in her ear and smiling. Josie's eyes were flashing angrily when she turned and looked at Sam. He wasn't sure if she was angry with Matt or just still so furious at him. He tried to get her to look at him, but she just looked at the ground and picked up a piece of dirt and threw it back down…anything, he realized, to avoid making eye contact. Then Rob put up a hand for time, and there was a brief delay while Rob stopped to confer with Aldys and Guy.

"Josie, your hair smells so wonderful…like flowers," Matt said quietly, but it was loud enough for Sam to overhear.

Sam grimaced. He wanted to scream, "Not flowers…Peach blossoms! She smells like peach blossoms, dammit!" but he bit his tongue.

"Thanks," Josie said quietly.

The next pitch was low and outside, and Sam didn't swing at it, but Matt called it a strike. Sam turned around to glare at his friend. Even Josie turned to look at Matt, but she didn't say anything.

"Could you back up a little, please?" Josie said softly.

"Sure, Josie, sorry," Matt said politely.

Sam winced, realizing that Josie's motivation was less about Matt crowding her, but more to be as far away from him as possible.

Sam noticed that even Rob looked surprised by the last call. Matt called the next pitch a ball, so the count was one ball and two strikes. Between pitches, Sam kept trying to make some kind of connection with Josie, but to no avail. 'She looks at everything, but me,' he realized sadly.

On the fourth pitch, Sam connected, hitting a home run over the right field fence. He was glad to be away from the Matt/Josie situation at home plate, because he'd felt as if he were going to explode at any second. Fortunately for Sam, he exploded by scoring the run to tie the ball game. After he touched home plate and was congratulated by his teammates, he took up his position coaching along the third base line. And still Josie was making a conscious effort not to look at him.

The inning came to a close without any more runs scored. This time as the inning ended, Josie was able to stay away from Sam as she took off her equipment. He noticed her pacing in the dugout and kicking the dirt. She looked like she was mad at the entire world.

As the next two innings progressed, Josie succeeded in keeping her distance from Sam.

This distance did not go unnoticed by Sam. During the bottom of the innings, when his team was batting and Sam was positioned along the third base line he continued to watch helplessly as Matt persistently talked to Josie and touched her whenever he could. Sam felt as if he was losing her more with every pitch out of Rob's hand.

He kept thinking about what she'd said about him staying out of her life and letting her handle her own problems. He knew she was angry about how Matt had interpreted his behavior that day in the car: as a teacher protecting his young student instead of as a man in love with her. To be fair, that had been the impression he'd wanted Matt to have, but the truth was then and always would be that Sam saw her as the woman he was in love with, and he wanted Matt and every other man to stay away from her out of jealousy, pure and simple. He felt like the biggest hypocrite in the world.

Sam's biggest fear wasn't that Matt would take advantage of her. Sam knew that in his heart, he was terrified of something quite different: he was scared to death that Josie would be attracted to Matt because Matt could say the things to her that Sam could not. Matt could tell her how beautiful and desirable she was. In fact, Matt could express everything he was feeling about her while Sam was forced to restrain himself.

At top of the sixth inning the score was still tied 1-1. The next up for the students was Guy Perkins. Sam noticed that Guy also was glaring at Matt and looking at him after questionable calls. Guy hit the third pitch straight into centerfield where Marilyn Knox stumbled and fell. When she finally got to the ball and threw it to Sam, Guy was safely on third base.

Next up was Josie. This time, Scott Romano threw junk his first pitch and she took it for a ball. The second pitch was clearly a strike, but Matt called it a ball. Sam noticed Josie turn around and say something to Matt and then she shook her finger at him. Sam couldn't hear what Josie had said, but it was clear that Matt was taken aback by whatever it was. Sam noticed that she looked angrier than ever. At least he knew that she was angry with Matt now too, for all the good it did Sam.

Rob gave her the signal and Josie hit the next pitch straight into centerfield, just as they had planned. Once again Ms. Knox bobbled the ball, finally relaying it to the third baseman. Guy came home to score easily for the students, giving them their second run.

As Josie rounded second and dove for third, the third baseman relayed the ball to Sam who was covering third. Josie had already begun her head first slide when Sam caught the ball and placed one foot on the bag. As she slid with her arms outstretched and Sam reached out to tag her, somehow she grabbed his leg and they ended up in a tangled heap on the ground.

The outfield umpire called Josie out, but Matt disputed the call, saying that from his point of view she was safe. Because of the angle, it was a difficult call and Rob and Coach Romano both were out on the field arguing with both umpires. There was a lot of yelling from the crowd, too.

While all this was going on, Josie found herself lying on top of Sam with her head on his chest, breathing heavily from her exertion.

Sam knew it was now or never. This was his one chance to make things right. He bent his head to whisper to her. "Josie?" he said tentatively, knowing how angry she was with him. When she didn't answer and didn't move, he asked worriedly, "Josie, are you okay, hon?"

The endearment slipped out before he even realized he'd said it. All his faculties were focused on Josie. It was killing him having her so close and not be able to touch her. Part of it was their surroundings, but it was more knowing how upset she was. And now he didn't even know if she might be hurt.

A shocked Josie nodded against him in answer to his question, but she didn't move as she was trying to catch her breath and come to terms with what she thought she'd just heard him say all at the same time. Even innocently falling on top of Sam during a ballgame like this, even having been furious with him, she felt the familiar excitement that she felt whenever she was close to him.

Sam knew this would probably be his only chance to say anything to her and since both of the teams were heatedly arguing the call, he knew it would be a minute before anyone noticed them.

Sam knew he had to try to explain and this might be his only opportunity to do so. And at this point, he was desperate and at his wits end. Throwing a bit of caution to the wind, he tried to whisper over the sound of his heart pounding in his ears, "Please don't be angry at me, Josie. I…I only said that stuff to Matt because…" Sam paused a moment to swallow the lump in his throat, and then spit out, "…because I was jealous. Please forgive me. Please, Josie," he begged.

Josie slowly rolled off him and they both stood up and brushed themselves off. Josie peeked over to the side. Rob and Coach Romano were still arguing the call. Finally, Josie looked into Sam's eyes for the first time since sixth period.

"Jealous?" she said softly. She was afraid to hope that it might be true, because that would mean…

Sam nodded, looking into her eyes for a moment, and then he looked down at the ground in embarrassment.

"Because…of me?" She asked, not quite believing it.

"Yes," he whispered. "Yes, Josie," he said it clearly the second time, wanting to make sure that she heard him.

Josie bit her lip and looked at him for a moment. She swore she would never ask him, but now she just couldn't help but let it slip out. "But…my paper?" she asked, the hurt and fear reflecting in her eyes.

Sam looked at her again and sighed. "I…didn't know what to do. I felt like my hands were tied and I couldn't handle the situation the way I wanted, so I ended up doing something stupid and insensitive instead. Forgive me?" He wished he could say more, but he knew that the time wasn't right for that.

She felt her heart melt as she looked into his eyes and she nodded, a tremulous smile on her lips. 'How could I not forgive him when he looks at me like that?' she wondered. He looked so sincere and so sweet.

Sam had never felt so relieved in his entire life. They looked at each other for reassurance and their eyes locked then and nothing else mattered much to either one of them.

Rob walked over to Sam and Josie. He sensed that something had changed between them. Josie's stance had softened and Mr. Coulson looked much more relaxed now. Not to mention they were staring at each other again. He cleared his throat and then said, "The call stands, Jos; you're out. But at least we tried. And Guy's run scored." Turning to Sam and slapping him on the back, he complimented, "Nice play, Mr. C."

"Thanks Rob," Sam said quietly, smiling now. At that moment he wasn't even sure what play Rob was talking about. He felt like the weight of the world had lifted from his shoulders.

Josie had already started to walk back to the dugout. She had a lot to think about. She knew now that Sam did have feelings for her…or at least he was fighting feelings for her. This time when she turned around in the dugout, she met his gaze and they smiled at each other for the first time in what seemed like forever to both of them. She knew the only way to stay angry at him was never to see him again, because as sweet as he was and as much as she loved him, she knew she would always end up forgiving him, no matter what.

In the bottom of the sixth inning Coach Romano was up for the teachers and to Rob's surprise the coach hit the first pitch for a homerun. Rob was so surprised that he lost his footing and twisted his right knee. It only hurt for a second, but it was his bad knee so he was a little anxious about it.

"You okay, Rob?" Josie yelled at her brother.

"Yeah I'm fine, don't worry," Rob waved at her. When the inning was over, Rob ran up to Josie and put his arm around her.

"I'm going to pretend to hurt my knee when I'm up," he whispered. "I want to try something here with Guy and Aldys, so just go along with me, okay?"

"Are you crazy, Rob!?" Josie whispered.

"No, just go along with me, it'll be fine. I have a plan. Just trust me, Josie."

"Okay Rob," she smiled graciously at her little brother. "You're the boss."

"Just keep that in mind from here on out." He grinned at her and she swatted his arm.

At the top of the seventh inning the score was tied 2-2. Rob was the first batter. Coach Romano threw three balls and two strikes, for a full count on Rob. Rob squinted and smiled at Coach Romano, who shuddered then. At that point Rob looked at Marilyn Knox who looked like she was in a daze out in centerfield and he hit one out in her direction.

This time however, while Ms. Knox wasn't able to catch the ball, she did pick it up pretty quickly to throw it to second. Rob ran with all his strength and was safe on second, but the slide caused his knee to give way and he lay on the ground for a moment.

At this point Josie and Aldys both ran out to him. He looked at both of their worried faces and winced. "God, you guys… I didn't die or anything…don't look so sad." He reached for their hands, and they pulled him to a stand. Rob tested his knee and then leaned a hand over Josie's shoulder for support. Looking over at Aldys, he acted as if he just got an idea. "Hey, Aldys… You come in and run for me, okay?"

Aldys nodded.

"You can do it, Aldys," Rob encouraged. "I'm counting on you, now. I know you can do it!" Rob smiled at her.

Sam, standing off to the side at shortstop, saw what was happening. "Hey Rob, do you need help?"

"Nah, I'm fine. I just twisted it, that's all," Rob said. "It's an old injury. It does this and I just have to rest it for a bit and then it's all better like right away. Josie knows." They all looked at her and she nodded. "Maybe Matt here could tape it for me."

Matt nodded and ran to the dugout for bandages and tape. Rob had a few things he wanted to say to Matt privately during the knee taping.

"You'd better sit the rest of this one out, Rob," Josie said quietly, playing along. "You've got that State championship game on Monday and you don't want to take any chances…"

"Yeah, really, she's right. You don't want to take a chance on a more serious injury here," Matt agreed.

"I'm okay, but… all right. I'll put Guy in pitching, okay, Mr. C?"

Sam nodded. Then he and Josie smiled at each other. It couldn't have mattered less to either one of them who pitched or who won at this point.

"And I want Aldys to fill in for Guy at shortstop for the bottom of the inning."

Josie looked surprised and whispered to him so no one else could hear, "Are you sure, Rob?"

"I'm sure," he replied knowingly. "I've practiced with her and Guy for two days. I know she can do it."

"Good thinking there, Rob," Coach Romano smiled. "Smart coaching, son."

"Thanks, Coach," Rob beamed.

Time was called while Matt proceeded to wrap Rob's right knee.

The next batter up was Jason. He hit a line drive up the middle and almost everyone cheered as Aldys scored the go ahead run.

Gibby nudged Kirsten as they watched from the stands. "It looks like we need to show 'Alpo' her place. Next thing you know she'll want to come to Prom, too!"

Aldys came up and hugged Rob after she crossed home plate and the whole team gave her high fives for scoring the run. "Hey Aldys, you're my shortstop now," Rob said seriously. "I know you can do it, show everybody, okay?"

She nodded. "Okay Rob, I'll do my best."

"That's all I ask for, Aldys. You'll be great. I believe in you." As the top half of the inning ended the students were ahead 3-2. The teachers came up to bat with Marilyn Knox popping up for the first out, which was caught easily by Aldys. The second batter grounded out to first.

The third batter for the teachers was Sam. As he walked up, he looked at Josie and smiled…and this time she smiled back.

When he saw her smile that wonderful smile at him, all the tension and anxiety about Matt disappeared. He knew that Josie had forgiven him and that was the only thing that mattered to Sam. He glanced at Matt and grinned at him, too.

Matt saw the positive interaction between Sam and Josie and was a little perplexed. He decided to continue to try to yank Sam's chain again. "Did I ever tell you that you have the most beautiful eyes I've ever seen?" he said to Josie, clearly loud enough for Sam to overhear.

Sam turned around and grinned. "Thanks Matt, I didn't know you cared. They're green, actually." Sam winked at Josie. She giggled out loud and then put her hand over her mouth to stifle it.

Matt rolled his eyes. "Not you, her," he said and pointed at Josie.

"Well, then, I'd have to say that I completely agree with that, Matt," Sam said and smiled at her.

"Thank you," Josie blushed and looked at Sam and they smiled into each other's eyes, each one reminded of their dream about the other. It was the first time that Sam had ever complimented her like that, and even if he was echoing Matt, it meant the world to Josie.

'What the…?' Matt Riley thought to himself. He'd been flattering her the entire game and he'd never once seen her face light up like it did when Sam spoke to her. Then suddenly it all made sense… even the weird conversation he'd just had with Rob. 'I should've known,' he thought to himself as he shook his head. 'They like each other!' In fact, they were staring at each other as if there was no one else in the world. Matt cleared his throat and they set up for the next pitch.

With two outs and two strikes, and the teachers behind 3-2 in this, the last inning of the game, Sam hit a grounder into right field for a double. The next batter, Ms. Brown, the ladies' gym coach and the Teachers' first baseman, had a full count when she hit into centerfield. The centerfielder relayed the ball to Aldys. As Sam rounded third and headed for home, Aldys's job was to throw the ball to Josie for the out. Josie set herself up in the base path with her glove out, waiting for the ball.

Sam knew that this play would either tie or lose the ball game. He also knew that, with Josie blocking the base path, he would need to run or slide into her to have any chance of scoring.

The whole crowd was on its feet cheering, either for him to score, or for Josie to make the out. As much as he hated the idea, he knew that he had no choice but to give it his best shot. He had to run full throttle if he expected to score, so he turned on the power, hoping to make it by Josie before she caught the ball, or at least to avoid hitting Josie directly.

Josie had done this before. She knew what her job was. Get the ball for the out and hold on to it while blocking the base path. She knew that Sam was going to have to run into her if he expected to score, but she wasn't worried. No one had ever budged her from that path in all her years of playing. Even Gus Strauss had once told her, "Geller, you're the toughest catcher I've ever seen!" and Gus never complimented anybody.

She had stood her ground against players of all sizes, and both sexes… But in the past, Josie had been 20 pounds heavier. Now her center of gravity was different… but, not really thinking of that, she was setting up the same old way, expecting to stand her ground.

It all happened so quickly that Sam wasn't sure whether Josie even had the ball or not. He looked up from his running to realize that he was too close to her to avoid a direct collision…and at full speed. Cursing himself, he wondered why he hadn't realized sooner that Josie was not about to move, no matter what was coming at her.

He heard the thud of the ball hitting her glove a split second before he plowed into her and she tagged him with her glove. The force of their collision caused Josie to fly off to the base path and land hard on her right side facing away from him in the infield. In all his years of playing ball he'd never hit anyone as hard as he'd hit Josie.

As the seconds ticked by and Josie didn't move, the crowd quickly fell silent, waiting.

Shaken himself, Sam was sprawled out with his hand just touching home plate. 'Oh, Josie, please be okay,' Sam prayed silently and he turned to stare at her motionless form. Her body was turned away from him and he couldn't even tell if she was breathing.

Matt walked over to where she was lying to check on her.

"Josie, Josie, are you okay?" Matt asked, bending over her. He placed a hand on her shoulder and shook her slightly. Josie didn't open her eyes, but she groaned a little. Then, ever so slowly, Josie turned her mitt to expose it to Matt's view. She still had the ball safely tucked inside.

Matt stood up, motioned to Sam with his thumb and called, "You're out!" And with that, the game was over.

The crowd cheered wildly, and chanted, "Josie! Josie! Josie!"

Sam was still frozen in place, and he heard the yelling as if it was far away. All he cared about was the fact that Josie still laid on her side and except for holding her glove up, she hadn't moved. He saw Rob rushing over to her, and he realized she wasn't getting up. It spurred him into action, and he scrambled up to run over to where she was lying. As far as Sam could tell, Josie still hadn't answered Matt, and she still had her eyes closed. Sam was afraid to breathe. 'Oh God, what have I done?' he thought miserably, as he watched Rob try to tend to her.

"Josie, come on, wake up!" Rob was bending over her now, staring at her. He looked over at Sam. "Snap out of it, Josie! You're scaring Mr. Coulson and everybody else. Come on; wake up!! You won the game, Josie!"

Straightening up, Rob gestured at Sam. "She just had her bell rung, Mr. Coulson. She gets knocked out pretty easily, but she always comes around." Rob gestured for Matt to come back and look at her again, and then bent down on one knee next to Josie and shook her arm gently. "Come on, Josie… Look at me!"

Sam walked over to the other side of her. He bent down on one knee then and laid a hand softly on her arm. "Josie, I'm so sorry," he started. Her eyes were closed and she looked deathly pale. Sam bent closer until his lips just touched her ear. "Josie, you've got to be okay! Please, open your eyes for me!"

Suddenly, her eyelashes fluttered then and Josie sighed and then looked up through a haze to see Sam and Rob staring at her worriedly.

"Gus is gonna kill me," she murmured before she closed her eyes once again.

Sam was completely confused. He looked at Rob and frowned. "Gus who?"

"Uh…He's her summer softball coach, Mr. C. She's just a little loopy when she's out of it like this." And to Josie, Rob urged, "Come on, Josie…you know Gus isn't here. We're all at South Glen South. I'm here, Mr. Coulson's here, and Matt the umpire is here and everything's fine."

Josie blinked. "Sam," she whispered. Luckily it was only loud enough for Sam, Rob, and Matt to hear. Matt raised his eyebrows and looked at Sam, then at Rob. Rob shrugged and rolled his eyes as if he didn't know what that meant. Meanwhile, Sam felt the now-familiar jolt of warmth rush over him, just as it always did when she said his name.

"What are you doing here?" she asked, confused, making eye contact with him at last. "What's going on?"

Sam breathed normally for the first time in minutes. He smiled at her tenderly. "You made the play that won the game, Josie," he said softly. "I'm out. Are you okay?"

She smiled at Sam, thinking how incredibly handsome he was when he was worried. "I'm fine. Are you okay? We hit each other didn't we?'

He closed his eyes. It was so like Josie to think of him before herself, even though she was the one lying on the ground hurt.

"I'm fine too, Josie. I ran into you…hard. I…misjudged, I guess. I didn't think you would stand your ground like that. I'm sorry."

"We both did our jobs like always, Sam," she murmured.

"What?" Sam was completely baffled now. "Both did our jobs? What do you mean, Josie? Oh playing ball, I see."

Meanwhile, Rob could see that this conversation of his sister's was going nowhere good fast. If she wasn't careful, she was going to completely blow her cover. Well, that wasn't something he thought there should be other people around to witness. "Okay, guys," he said to the teammates and teachers milling around, "Give her some space, okay?" Once they all backed off, he turned to Matt and said, "Hey, do you have a medical kit or something?"

Matt pushed himself up from his knees and said, "Sure, it's with my stuff. I'll go get it."

Now that they were alone, Rob said to Sam, "She's just babbling, Mr. C. When she got knocked out a couple of weeks ago, you should have heard her. She thought that being in high school was a dream or something. She didn't even recognize me at first, remember Josie? It's me, Rob, your best friend, and Mr. Coulson, your English teacher."

"A dream…" Josie murmured, looking up at Sam hazily. "Yes…I had a beautiful dream about you last night…"

Sam's eyes flew open wide in shock. "You dreamt about me?" he asked hoarsely. He could see that her eyes were still unfocused even though she was conscious.

"Uh huh. I came to visit you, and… I didn't have to go back to my turtles and my penguin… You touched my arm and didn't send me away. It felt so real." She sighed dreamily.

Sam suddenly couldn't breathe. It was if he'd had the wind knocked out of him. She was describing his dream. 'That couldn't be, could it?' he thought nervously. He knew there was an unexplainable connection between them, but sharing a dream…that was just beyond the realm of possibility…wasn't it? But…it certainly sounded like the same incredible dream. He wanted her to continue describing her dream, to know if it was indeed the same as his, but yet he was scared to death to find out that it was identical to his own, and what that might mean.

"And then you…" Josie started to say.

"Whoa, whoa! Stop right there, Josie," Rob interrupted. "I don't think we want to go there at the moment, do we?" Rob insisted; looking around nervously to make sure no one else had overheard. "Come on, here; listen to me. Focus now, okay? I don't think Mr. Coulson needs to hear about that right now."

Rob snuck a quick glance at Sam to see how he had handled the news of Josie dreaming about him. He could see that Sam was shocked…but apparently shocked and very, very happy.

Still, he wanted Josie awake and alert as soon as possible…before she could say anything else to incriminate herself. He continued, "Maybe you can write a paper for him or something. Since he's your teacher and you're his student… Talk to me now, Josie. It's me, Rob. Talk to me, here. No more talking about your dream, okay? Just let us know that you are back in reality with us here. No more reenacting The Wizard of Oz." He gently slapped her cheek. "Come on now, just like when you ran into that door. "

Suddenly as Rob slapped her, Josie realized where she was and what was happening. 'Oh God, what have I been saying?' she wondered. She couldn't remember. She looked at Sam and smiled. "I…I'm okay now," she said. Then she noticed that he was blushing, but he was positively beaming at her. 'Now why would he look at her like that?' she wondered. Obviously, she concluded, he must just be relieved that she was conscious and talking.

Just then, Matt came back with his bag and helped as Sam and Rob helped Josie sit up. Even though it seemed that she was finally talking coherently, he could also see that she still looked confused and he glanced at Matt, obviously concerned, saying, "Do you think she might have a concussion or something?"

"Hard to tell, Sam," Matt replied. "Maybe we should take her to the Emergency Room and get her checked out."

"Really, I think she'll be fine. Won't you, Josie?" Rob urged.

Josie interrupted, saying, "No, no, I'm fine really. I'm sorry. I was just out of it for a minute. I'm better now, really." she argued. "I know the symptoms to watch for. Really, I feel okay now. Please don't worry about me." She was still trying to remember what she'd said when she'd been waking up, but she couldn't quite get a handle on it. "What did I say, anyway?"

Rob and Sam exchanged glances and then Sam said, "It's okay, Josie. It was nothing to worry about. And Rob's right. You and I can talk about it later, but right now don't worry about anything except feeling better. You really think you're okay?"

"Yes," she nodded. "I'm sorry if I scared you. I've been knocked out before, haven't I, Rob? I hope I didn't say anything awful," she said as she blushed with embarrassment. Sam sure was looking at her strangely.

"Don't worry about anything, Josie. You didn't say anything bad. It was quite the opposite, if the truth be told."

Josie looked really curious now, but Sam cut in before she could ask again. "You look much better now, like you're more yourself, I think. Wouldn't you say so, Rob?" Sam asked.

She knew where she was now at least and she'd stopped talking about her dream, Rob realized with a sigh of relief. "Yeah, Mr. C," Rob offered. "When we were little she used to get knocked out like that every other game. I think it has something to do with being so stubborn at her position…you know how catchers are," he teased and peeked at Josie. "Plus, this one has an extremely hard head."

She frowned and then she started to reach out to slap Rob's leg.

"Easy! Easy there, hothead! I was just kidding!" Rob smiled.

Sam laughed. He wondered briefly if she was aware now of what she'd told him. She'd looked so confused about it that he doubted it.

"You did an amazing job catching, Josie," Sam said sincerely as he looked into her eyes. He couldn't fight the urge to brush her hair out of her eyes then and he tenderly touched her cheek and smiled at her. "Just rest there now for a minute. I'm so glad you're okay," he said softly. They were both smiling at each other again as if they were the only two people on earth.

Coach Romano stepped up to Rob then. Rob stood, meeting his coach's appreciative gaze.

"Great job, Rob," he said shaking his hand.

"Thanks, Coach! You guys made it tough, though… You gave us a good game!"

"How's the knee, Rob?"

"It's better already, Coach. Don't worry, I'll play in the championship no matter what!"

Sam looked up at Rob. "That was sheer genius, Rob, putting Guy in to pitch and having Aldys at Short… Great job! I was really impressed!"

"Thanks Mr. C," Rob beamed.

Sam was still kneeling next to Josie.

Rob smiled at them. "I couldn't have done it without my secret weapon, here." He nudged Josie with his foot.

"You were great, Rob!" She smiled up at him.

Guy, Tommy and Jason were standing to the side. "Kegger Party - my house tonight!" Jason yelled.

"Hey Robster, Josie, ya going?" Guy yelled.

"Yeah, yeah man, we'll be there, go ahead… I'll bring Josie," Rob yelled back.

Sam and Josie both frowned at Rob.

Rob kneeled down next to them and looked around surreptitiously. Matt was off to one side now, talking to Coach Romano so only Sam and Josie were within earshot.

"I don't want to do that, Rob," Josie said quietly.

Sam smiled a little and sighed with relief.

"No, I know," Rob said, looking at Sam. "We're supposed to meet our parents, uh…Josie's and mine…for dinner. Anyway, I forgot to tell you about that, Josie."

"But you told those guys…" she interrupted.

"Yeah, yeah, but they'll get drunk and wasted… They'll never miss us. I don't want to go, either. I know, we'll just go in the school and change and I'll meet you out here on the field in a half hour or so, okay? By then they'll all be gone. You can take a shower or whatever and get dressed and by then we'll meet and just go do our own thing."

"Okay, Rob," she said and smiled at Sam, who hadn't left her side. "You should be some kind of CIA agent or something, the way you plot and scheme."

Rob smirked at her and waggled his eyebrows. "Yeah. Either that or a private eye…or an undercover reporter."

Josie glared at him and cleared her throat.

"You two can walk in with me if you want," Sam said as he offered his hand to Josie to help her up.

She took his hand trustingly, and he gently helped her to her feet. She squeezed his hand softly before she let go and he squeezed back. Sam swallowed and smiled into her eyes.

Even though Matt Riley had been talking to Scott Romano, he didn't miss any of the interaction between Josie and Sam. "Hey, nice meeting you, Josie and Rob," Matt called as he waved and smiled. "Good game."

Josie and Rob both smiled and waved at Matt.

"See you later, Sam," Matt called.

"Yeah, Matt, later," Sam waved to his friend and walked towards the front of the school with Josie and Rob.

"You sure you're okay, Josie?" Sam asked, still a little concerned.

"I'm fine. I didn't know where I was for a minute, but I'm fine now."

"Be sure you tell your parents what happened in case you feel bad later, okay?" Sam persisted. "And I'm not treating you like a child. It's just that I care about you, Josie, and I…"

"I know. I'm sorry I said that, Mr. Coulson. It's so nice of you to care about me. I'll be fine, though," she smiled at him. "Rob's right, I do have a hard head."

"I'll watch her like a hawk, Mr. C, and if she acts weirder than usual…"

Josie smacked him hard on the arm.

"Ow! If she looks sick or anything, I'll get her to a doctor, I promise," Rob finished rubbing his arm.

"Okay Rob, I'll hold you to that. I'll see you both tomorrow." Sam looked at Josie and smiled again. "Bye, Josie."

"Bye, Mr. Coulson," she said softly as they all parted ways inside the front door.

* * *

A half hour later, Sam was sitting in his classroom grading quizzes in between thoughts of how much he missed Josie and envied Rob when he heard a light knock on the door. He was trying not to think about how he and Josie had dreamt about each other, but the knock caused him to momentarily think about the knock on his door that he'd heard in that amazing dream.

"Hey Sam," Scott Romano smiled as he let himself into the room. "Want to go out to Clyde's for a beer and get a bite to eat?"

"Sure, Scott," Sam agreed. "Just give me a second to finish up these quizzes."

Scott Romano walked over to the window and looked out toward the baseball field.

"What the heck? Well, I'll be!" he exclaimed, smiling.

"What's up?" Sam asked, looking up from his papers.

"That is one beautiful girl, Sam. I don't care what you say… Matt's right about that," Scott said as he stared out the window. "I'd say she's breathtaking!"

Sam got up from his desk and walked up beside Scott. Josie had changed back into her blue sundress and white sweater and was standing on the pitcher's mound, apparently waiting for Rob. She'd obviously washed and dried her hair and it was shining and her face was positively glowing. The lights on the field were up as it was dark outside now. All Sam could do was swallow and nod as he stared at her standing alone looking so unbelievably beautiful.

Josie stood there waiting for Rob, wishing all the while that Sam was the one coming to take her away from everything. She closed her eyes and smiled picturing him running up to her there, taking her in his arms, and kissing her. She hugged herself and ran her hands up and down her arms, imagining Sam touching her as he done in that wonderful dream.

Sam felt like flames were licking his body as he watched her. It was like he was inside her mind for that instant, because he knew what she wanted and he knew what she was feeling: he was absolutely positive that she was recalling the dream…their beautiful dream.

Josie's heart rate accelerated as she heard footsteps approaching. For some reason, she felt as if Sam were close by, as if he too were thinking of her. Hoping against hope, she held her breath and opened her eyes, willing it to be Sam, but it was just Rob standing in front of her, wearing a white dress shirt, tie, and his best jeans.

From his vantage point, Sam could almost see the momentary flicker of disappointment when she realized it was Rob there. Suddenly he knew who she'd been hoping to see standing in front of her. He knew it as sure as he lived and breathed. And at that moment, he would have given anything to have been the one standing before her when she opened her eyes.

Josie threw back her head and laughed at her little brother. "I think I must be dreaming. You look so nice, Robert," she said formally and smiled.

"So dance with me, Josephine," he replied. "I'll put on the music, if you'll just dance with me."

"No Rob, not here! What if someone sees us?"

"No one will…and who cares if they do? Can't a brother dance with his sister? Can't two friends dance? We won the game; you have everything you want and so do I; we had a great day! Come on, Josie, dance with me. Do I have to get down on my knees?" he laughed and started to do it.

She shook her head and gestured at her head with her hand, "You're crazy, Rob. Okay, one song."

"And let me lead for once, Josie!" he yelled back at her as he ran to put the music on the loudspeaker.

Josie laughed as John Fogerty's song Centerfield started to play. Rob ran over to bow from the waist to Josie and they proceeded to dance all around the field as Rob's favorite song echoed across the field loudly enough that Sam and Coach Romano could hear it. They both shook their heads and smiled as they watched the couple dancing.

"Well, I'll be," Scott Romano exclaimed again. "That wacky kid must think he's in The King and I or something… Look at them dance! God, I wish he worked for me… With all that ingenuity and enthusiasm, not to mention sneakiness!"

Sam just stood there smiling and watching Josie dance with her friend. She was laughing and looked so exquisite in that dress. 'God, I wish I could dance with her, just once,' Sam thought longingly, envying Rob in that moment, as much as he liked him.

"They're really good, Sam," Scott exclaimed.

"I can see that, Scott." Sam smiled and sighed closing his eyes, imagining what it would be like to hold Josie in his arms and have her smile at him and look into those beautiful blue eyes.

* * *

Sam and Scott were just finishing up their burgers and drinking the dregs of their beers. They were sitting across from each other in a booth in one of their favorite pubs, Clyde's, when Sam noticed Matt Riley walking up to them.

"Hey, guys… Mind if I join you?" he said sliding in next to Scott, not waiting for an answer.

Scott looked nervously at Sam.

"Hi, Matt," Sam said quietly.

"Aren't you two 'Guardians of Josie's Virtue' going to ask me what happened?" Matt asked, smiling at Sam.

"Okay, what happened?" Scott asked as Sam felt the tension returning to his stomach.

"I asked her out and she said 'No, thanks.' She shot me down, nicely though, but the lady still shot me down. And I tried everything I could think of to persuade her to go out with me. That is one incredible woman," he said taking a sip of his beer, staring at Sam.

Sam couldn't help but sigh with relief, but he didn't say anything.

"Well she was out on the field dancing with Rob when we were leaving… Maybe there's something between the two of them after all," Scott said.

"No, it wasn't because of Rob," Matt said, still watching Sam. "In fact, Rob told me that she's in love with someone else."

"Did he say who?" Scott asked.

Sam held his breath.

"As a matter of fact, he did. He said that she's crazy in love with the shortstop," Matt said evenly, raising an eyebrow.

Sam gulped in a breath of air and looked down at the table, trying not to grin like a lunatic.

None of this was lost on Matt Riley.

It was, however, lost on Scott Romano. He said, "Oh yeah, that makes sense. Guy Perkins, the shortstop. They're going to the Prom together. I didn't realize it was that serious though," Scott said. "You'd never know it from seeing them together. I'd say he's pretty lucky if she's in love with him."

"Yeah, I just hope that shortstop realizes how lucky he really is," Matt said seriously, staring hard at Sam again.

"Yeah. Hey, Matt, you mind? I gotta go to the 'locker room' for a sec…" Matt got up and Scott excused himself.

Sam and Matt were left alone at the table.

"You and I both know which shortstop she's really in love with, don't we, Sam?" Matt questioned.

Sam blushed, looked at his friend, and nodded.

"Well then, I hope you know how lucky you are."

Sam closed his eyes for a minute, picturing Josie standing on that pitcher's mound, thinking of him. Sighing, he opened his eyes and met his friend's gaze again. "I do, Matt. I really do."

To be continued…

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