Like all the other writers, I do not own these characters. I am not making a profit from them and if the original storyline didn't provide for them, I made them up. Any and all similarities with persons living or dead is purely coincidental! Let me know what you think at [email protected]
Background information: Characters: Sam Coulson - Josie Geller - Abby Coulson Reid (Sam's sister) and her husband Bill - Tim Coulson and Julia Coulson Howell (Sam's parents). Setting: The Coulson Howell residence in San Francisco. Time: December (around Christmas) * * * Josie was busy packing her suitcase when she noticed it was 2 PM. She only had 30 minutes left to finish packing, take a shower and get dressed before Sam was coming to pick her up to go to the airport. They were spending Christmas with his parents, his sister and her husband in San Francisco. She put the last few items in her suitcase and went over her checklist to make sure she hadn't forgotten anything. Sam was bringing the gifts they had gotten for his relatives, so she didn't have to worry about that. She closed the suitcase, locked it and put it in the hallway. She was just putting on her shoes, when the doorbell rang 20 minutes later. Josie hobbled to the front door as she finished putting on the second shoe. As she opened the door, she noticed that Sam looked amazing. She still couldn't believe that the attraction was this strong after all those months. Josie didn't think she'd be this nervous. She and Sam had talked about visiting his parents for Christmas, but somehow, Josie was still nervous. After all, this was the first time she'd see Sam's parents. Sam noticed that Josie got increasingly nervous as the plane was nearing San Francisco. He tried to think of something to say that would make her feel better, but all he could think of was how nervous he had been when he'd met Josie's parents for the first time. So he settled for just holding her hand. Josie smiled up at Sam as he took her hand in his, and tried not to be too nervous. "Ladies and Gentlemen, this is your captain speaking. We're getting ready for our descent into San Francisco International Airport. Please fasten your seatbelts, put your trays and seats in an upright position and hand all remaining waste to our cabin personnel." At this announcement, Josie felt her palms get sweaty. She just couldn't help being nervous. What if Sam's parents didn't like her? * * * As the shuttle service pulled up to the house, Josie noticed that Sam's parents had a beautiful home. It certainly looked friendly. She hoped that it was an indication of what his parents would be like. Josie looked down the street and noticed the view. She was willing to bet you could see the entire bay on a clear day! Sam and she walked up the stairs towards the house and when they got to the top, Sam put the suitcases down and rang the doorbell. He'd noticed Josie was really nervous, so as they waited for someone to open the door, he whispered in her ear "they're going to love you, just as I love you." The smile Josie sent him, was all the reward he needed. Then they saw a shadow and the door was opened. Josie looked into a face that looked a lot like Sam's, only a little older. She figured this was his sister, a guess that was confirmed as he heard Sam say "Hi Abby!" and give her a hug. Abby stepped aside so Sam and Josie could get inside, because it was a little chilly outside. As Sam put the suitcases down, he turned around and said "Abby, I'd like you to meet Josie, the love of my life. Josie, I'd like you to meet my sister Abby." Abby turned toward Josie and said "Hi, it's nice to finally meet you, I've heard a great deal about you." and gave her a hug. Josie immediately felt a little more relaxed. Then Abby said "Come on, you have to meet my husband and our parents. Sam, you can leave the suitcases in the hall for now." Whe they went into the living room, Josie saw two people looking at the Christmas tree as a third was putting the angel on top. "Mom, Dad, Bill, come here and say hello to Sam and Josie." As if on cue, all three persons turned around at the same time. And when she saw all of them smile when they noticed her, Josie suddenly wondered what she'd been so nervous about. "It's very nice to meet you, Mrs. Coulson", Josie said as she was about ready to stick out her hand. But Mrs. Coulson surprised her and said "Please, call me Julia", after which she hugged Josie. When everybody had said hello, Sam's told Sam to go put the suitcases in the guestroom downstairs and Josie went with him to unpack. Once Sam had put the suitcases down, he turned around, wrapped his arms around Josie and said "See, I told you they'd love you!" Josie smiled up at him and kissed him. And after all this time, it was still a bit of a shock to both of their systems. "Gosh, don't I feel silly for being so nervous. But we'd better unpack everything before they come and check up on us." Sam laughed as he heard Josie say that. "Don't worry, we'll be fine", he said. After they'd finished unpacking, Sam and Josie went into the kitchen to join the others for a cup of coffee. As she was talking to Sam's father (who'd insisted she call him Tim), Abby walked up to her brother. "You were right, she's wonderful", she said. "And she's so much better for you than Laura ever was. I'm still a bit sorry for introducing her to you." * * * The next morning was Christmas Day and Josie and Sam had gotten up around 8.30 (due to an alarm clock...). After they'd both taken a shower to freshen up, they went to the kitchen to get some breakfast. Sam had told Josie the night before that his parents usually had breakfast around 9 and he'd wanted to eat breakfast with them. So they'd put the alarm on 8.30. When they walked into the kitchen, Abby and Julia were just putting everything on the table. "Goodmorning! Bill and Tim are in the living room." "Can I help you with anything?" Josie asked. "Sure", Julia said as she motioned to a stack of plates, "you can put those dishes on the table if you want to." After they'd finished breakfast, Sam's parents said that they would go and get ready for church and that Josie was welcome to join them if she wanted. Josie looked at Sam and said that she'd love to join them. "Okay", we leave in about 15 minutes. Does anyone else want to come?" * * * When they returned from church, Abby and Josie went into the kitchen to make some tea so they could have something to drink while unwrapping the presents. Suddenly, everybody heard laughter coming from the kitchen. Sam looked around the corner and asked what they were laughing about. "Abby was just telling me story about your Gordie Howe helmet I hadn't heard before" Josie said. Sam moved to stand behind Josie and wrapped his arms around her. "Yeah, I did some pretty funny stuff while wearing that helmet." After that they took the tea into the living room where everybody went to sit by the tree. First, Sam handed the present he and Josie had gotten to his parents. As Sam's mom unwrapped it, Josie said "We hope you like it, Sam said this was the perfect gift for you." A lot of ooooooooohhhh's and aaaaaaaaaaahhh's went through the room as Julia held up a crystal bowl. "It's gorgeous, thank you!" After Abby and Bill had unwrapped their present, Sam picked up a small package and handed it to Josie. Josie saw the smile in his eyes, and she opened the package to find a copy of Shakespeare's Sonnets. She felt tears well up in her eyes as she turned to Sam. "Thank you", she said with a lump the size of a baseball in her throat. She handed Sam a package in return. When Sam had unwrapped his present, both he and Josie laughed. "Great minds think alike!", Sam said as he held up a copy of Shakespeare's "As you like it". "Open it", Josie said. Inside were tickets to the theatre performance of "As you like it". Sam kissed Josie as he said thank you. When they had unwrapped all of the presents, Sam and Bill cleaned up all of the giftwrapping paper. "Hey gorgeous, you wanna go for a walk?" Sam asked Josie. As Josie nodded, Sam told his parents that they were going for a walk, and that they'd be back in time for him to help his mother with dinner. * * * Over dinner that evening, Josie commented that she knew where Sam had gotten his cooking skills. "Julia, this is great!" she told Sam's mother. "Thank you, dear." They had a nice dinner, a few laughs here and there, especially when childhood storied were told. After dinner, they sat down and watched a movie on TV. When the movie was over, Sam's parents excused themselves and went to bed, and shortly thereafter Abby and Bill went home. Sam and Josie decided to sit on the couch for a little while and see if there was anything else on TV. "You know, Sam, I've been meaning to talk to you about something", Josie said. "Hmmm?", Sam replied. He was enjoying just sitting on the couch with Josie. "Well, errrr, I don't really know how to bring this up, but it seems a little silly that we're still both paying rent, with the amount of time we spend together anyway. Don't you agree?" Sam turned to Josie and said "Yeah, I know what you mean, but I was afraid to bring it up. Afraid that you'd think I was moving to fast. So I'm actually kind of glad you brought it up. Have you given any thought to who should move in with whom?" "No, I hadn't really gone that far yet, because I didn't want to get ahead of myself. Do you have any preference?" "Well, if it's all the same to you, I propose I move in with you, because I think that would be easier. I don't see all of your stuff fitting in my apartment", he said as he smiled. * * * The next morning, Sam announced over breakfast that he was going to move in with Josie, because it made sense. "We'll let you know when I'm moving, but it shouldn't be that long. In the mean time, let me give you Josie's address so you know where to reach me", Sam said as he wrote Josie's address down. After breakfast, Sam and Josie packed their suitcases, because they had to catch the afternoon flight. "I'm sorry we couldn't stay longer, but Josie could only get a few days off from work, and we promised to stop by her parents' house as well", Sam told his parents. "But we certainly hope to see you soon!" Bill put the suitcases in the car as Josie and Sam said their good-byes. "Thank you for having us. I had a wonderful time", Josie said to Sam's parents. "Bye, Mom. Bye, Dad. Please come to Chicago soon and let us return the favor." Bill and Abby were taking them to the airport, where they said goodbye. On the plane home, Josie said to Sam that she liked his family very much and that she couldn't even remember what she'd been so nervous about on the way over there. * * * THE END Back to Stories Page