For a long moment, Sam was overwhelmed by shock. He couldn't feel anything: not the wind howling around him, not the wet snow pelting his back, nor even his own beating heart. It was if he'd suddenly fallen into a black hole, and the only thing he could see, the only thing he could concentrate on, was Josie Geller's face.
But then, just as quickly, his senses returned in a rush so that he felt that there were too many thoughts flooding his head. How? Why? And why here? Now?
Putting a finger to her throat again to reassure himself that she was indeed breathing and her heart was beating, Sam let out a breath he hadn't known he was holding. A surge of�relief�flooded him, but it was soon buried by a tidal wave of anger. In fact, he was suddenly furious with Josie�for her deception months before, for the pain and frustration it had caused, and, most of all, for the love that she'd made him feel for her; the love he still felt for her. And damn her for being here to remind him of his utter failure to forget her!
Shaking his head clear, he realized that now was not the time to dredge up and examine all the emotions and feelings caused by seeing her again. He would have to deal with the backlash of that later. Right now, Josie was hurt and needed help, and he was the only person around to give it.
Leaning back into the car, Sam slowly felt his way down her arms, her hips, her legs, her ankles, checking for any sign of broken bones. Finding none, he reached across Josie's lap and unbuckled her seat belt. Untangling her from it, he carefully slid one arm underneath her knees and the other behind her neck to lift her out of the car. She obviously had some injury, since she was unconscious, and the sooner he could get her to the warmth of his Blazer and call for help, the better off she would be.
Cradling Josie's limp body in his arms, Sam turned and struggled against the wind and snow to climb his way up the embankment, taking care to stay in the swath that her car had carved out of the snow on the hill.
Reaching the road at last, Sam lifted Josie higher into his arms so that he could reach up and open the passenger side door. Awkwardly, he tried to turn her in his arms and place her inside the vehicle. When he finally was able to lay her body along the bench of the seat, he ran around the front side of the Blazer, opened his door and climbed in, quickly shutting it behind him. He shook his head to clear the layer of snow that had built up from being outside, and then slicked his wet hair back with his fingers nervously. Sam then sat Josie's body in an upright position, leaning it against the corner of the seat and the passenger door. From the floor of the back seat, he retrieved a woolen blanket, which he covered her with, and then he reached for his telephone, dialing 911.
Looking up through the windshield, Sam realized that the squall was starting to die down. Already he could see at least twice as far down the road, and the wind did not sound as if it were howling quite as fiercely. Then his thoughts were interrupted by the gruff voice on the end of the telephone line, "Oswego Police, Sheriff Parker speaking."
"Will, this is Sam Coulson again," Sam answered. Will Parker was a childhood playmate of Sam's from when he had visited in the summers. They'd kept in touch on and off ever since.
"Sam! Long time no talk�but this is the emergency line; is something wrong?"
"Unfortunately so, Will. I'm out here on Lake Drive, about�" Sam paused as he tried to gauge his exact location, "�a third of a mile from the turnoff to my family's cabin. There's been an accident."
Will knew the stretch of road Sam spoke of, and knew it wasn't exactly the most friendly to travelers during snowy weather. "Is anyone hurt? Were you involved?"
Sam replied, "No, I wasn't really involved. A car from the other side of the road spun out in front of me and ended up sliding off my side of the road down the embankment, hitting a tree. There was just one person inside the car. She's unconscious, but other than that, there are no apparent injuries, no broken bones. Her car had an airbag and she was wearing a seatbelt."
Will blew out a grateful breath. "Whew! Well, I'm glad to hear that. She'll probably be sore tomorrow, but those things might well have saved her life. Where is she now?"
"Right here next to me in the Blazer. I thought I should keep her warm, plus there's no telling if her car is even safe to be around right now," Sam answered.
"Okay," Will Parker replied. "I'll call for a tow and an ambulance to meet me at the scene. I should be there in ten, or maybe even five; the squall seems to be letting up."
"Thanks, Will."
Sam hung up the phone as he heard the click of Will hanging up as well. Placing the cell phone back into the charger, he turned back towards his charge: Josie Geller, in the flesh and in his car.
* * *
Josie felt as if she was surfacing from a deep, black lake. As she got closer and closer to the surface, light started to shimmer around her, as well as the echoing sound of a voice above her. Trying to concentrate on the sound, her head throbbed from the effort.
Again, the voice echoed, as if from far away, "Josie� Josie, wake up�" It sounded like�Sam! Assuming it was yet another dream, she started to slip deeper back down into the comforting blackness. But then, there was a hand that slid into her hair, and, incredibly, she could smell Sam Coulson's aftershave all around her. The fingers that were buried in her hair were moving, searching for something�and then suddenly there was an explosion of pain that lurched her upright and pulled a strangled moan from her lips.
* * *
Sam sat and stared at Josie's pale face for several long moments before deciding that maybe he should try to determine if she had hit her head during the crash. After all, that would be the most likely reason why she was unconscious. Sliding closer to her on the seat, he called to her softly, hoping for a response. When he didn't get one, he slowly pushed his right hand into the silkiness of her hair. Sam sucked in a breath and had to stop momentarily. It wasn't fair that her hair was even more silky and soft than he had dreamed!
Forcing his wayward thoughts aside and getting back on track with his task, Sam slid his fingers forward and back methodically, looking for some sign of injury. Then suddenly as he discovered a lump on the top left side of her head, she whimpered pitifully and jolted forward. Surprised, Sam slid his left arm around her back to steady her and stop her from possibly falling back and injuring herself further.
* * *
"Whoa, whoa," the voice soothed. "It's okay, Josie. C'mon, wake up� You can do it�" And again, the voice sounded like Sam. And now his arms were around her, holding her close to him. This was starting to feel too real to be just a dream; if she were going to dream about Sam, it wouldn't be with this pounding pain in her skull, she tried to reason.
Finally, Josie cracked one eye open, trying to adjust to the sudden explosion of light that caused her head to hurt even more. Then as she opened the other, she forced herself to try to focus on the face in front of her. Her eyes met greenish hazel ones, concerned, yet swarming with a full range of emotions underneath the surface�Sam's eyes. And then suddenly it was as if all her senses were working overtime: she felt the warmth of his arms surrounding her, could smell the wonderful aftershave that he always wore, and with widened eyes she took in every nuance of Sam's face.
The reality of Sam Coulson's actual presence frightened and confused Josie. Pulling herself free from his protective grasp, she pressed herself back against the passenger door and asked, "S�Sam? Wh�what happened? What are you doing here?" Wild-eyed with panic, she looked around. When she realized she was no longer in her car, she asked, "Where am I?"
Sam sighed and pushed away the fleeting but painful feeling of rejection and tried to reason that Josie had every right to be confused and scared at that moment. Placing a soothing hand on either shoulder, he prompted, "Josie, you were in an accident�Do you remember?"
Josie closed her eyes and remembered the white blur, the sickening fear when she saw the headlights of that car and then lost control of hers. She remembered sliding down the side of the hill, that huge tree looming up before her�
Opening her eyes abruptly to stop the vision, she said simply, "Yes, I remember. But what are you doing here? This is pretty darn far away from Chicago."
Sam shrugged a shoulder before answering, "I'm from Wisconsin originally, and my family owns a cabin not far from here. I was on my way there when I saw your car careen into the ditch. I was in the car you almost hit. But I could ask you the same question: What are you doing driving through Oswego? It's not exactly on the beaten path�"
Sam's tone was almost accusatory, and it tore at Josie's heart. Softly she explained, "I was in Green Bay working on a story for the paper." Sam flinched at her use of the word 'story', but Josie didn't notice. "I finished up earlier than expected, so I thought I would take the scenic route home."
Sam was about to ask her what kind of insane person would take the 'scenic route home' with a blizzard on the way but was interrupted by a series of hard raps on the driver's side window. Looking up, Sam saw Will Parker standing there, motioning toward the squad car and the tow truck that was just arriving. With a wave and nod, Sam turned back to Josie and said, "I'll be right back, okay?"
Mute, Josie nodded and then watched as Sam opened the driver's side door and climbed out, shutting the door behind him. Relieved at the chance to collect her thoughts, Josie laid her head back on the headrest and then winced when she made contact with the bump on her head.
All of this was too bizarre to be believed�She hadn't seen Sam Coulson in what? Six? Seven months? And then suddenly he appears out of nowhere in the middle of rural Wisconsin hundreds of miles from home? And to pull her out of her wrecked car no less?
Closing her eyes, Josie could again see Sam's eyes as she first awoke. Other than the concern for human life that seemed forefront on his mind, Sam's eyes spoke volumes about pain, suffering, and anger. If he still carried around that much emotional baggage about her, even after all these months, it was no wonder he had never shown up at the ball field, she thought. She wondered briefly whether he had gone through the same hell that she had that first week after her disguise had been revealed, and then realized she would probably never know.
Lifting her head and really looking around at her surroundings for the first time, it seemed that the snowstorm has almost entirely dissipated. Now there was only a light snowfall�hard to believe that this idyllic picture had been a whiteout blizzard just minutes before. Without even realizing it, her eyes followed Sam as he walked toward the squad car with the police officer. He still had that same innate grace when he moved; and it still had the power to mesmerize her.
Catching herself staring, she laid her head back against the headrest more carefully and closed her eyes. Her heart constricted painfully at the realization that Sam was no closer to forgiving her than he had been that warm night in May. The only man she had ever loved�and it was clear that even now, he would never be willing to love her back. Despite her resolve not to cry in front of him, silent tears of despair slipped from the corners of her eyes and trailed down her face.
* * *
Sam followed Will back toward the squad car several yards away from the Blazer. Leaning against the driver's side door, Will asked, "So how is she doing? Is she conscious now?"
"Yeah, she woke up just a few moments ago," Sam said flatly.
Will frowned at Sam's tone. "But�? What's wrong?"
Sam shook his head as if clearing it. "Nothing's wrong. Other than a pretty good bump on the back of her head, she seems fine. At least, she didn't complain of any other ailments."
Will nodded, satisfied. "Good. Now, why don't you show me where that car is so that Horace can get down there and start winching it back onto the road? I already called Rusty in for backup so he can direct what little traffic may come along." Patting Sam's back, he put a hand out before him in a silent request for Sam to lead the way.
Sam walked back to just about ten feet in front of the Blazer and then pointed down toward the gray Buick with the crushed front end. "There it is. As I said, she had crossed the middle line during the whiteout and then it seems when she saw my headlights, she tried to overcorrect and the back wheels just lost traction."
Will looked down at the wrecked car for a moment and then waved for Horace in the tow truck to come over. As Horace started to move the truck closer, Will took a minute to look over his shoulder into Sam's Blazer. The pretty young woman was staring back at them, but quickly turned her head when she noticed that Will was looking at her.
Turning back to Sam, he asked, "Do you think her head is okay? Did she tell you who she was or where she's fr�?"
"Her name's Josie Geller and she's from Chicago," Sam answered without even letting Will finish his sentence.
Startled, Will looked at Sam, but Sam was just staring blankly at the car down in the ditch as if morbidly fascinated with it. Will studied Sam for a long moment and then said softly, more a statement than a question, "You know her."
Without looking up or otherwise acknowledging Will's presence, Sam said, "Yeah, I do."
Sam's uncharacteristic reticence, as well as the myriad of emotions crossing his face, told Will this woman was not just an acquaintance. Sam definitely had a 'history' with her, and apparently whatever it was between them had gone unresolved.
Deciding not to push the issue further at the time being, Will said, "Well, I probably should go talk to her. I need to get a statement from her for the report. Will you excuse me?"
Sam, still staring down at the car, watching as Horace tracked his way down the hill to attach the winch to the rear axle, simply nodded.
Crossing over to the driver's side of Sam's Blazer, Will opened the door and climbed inside. Josie turned to look at him as he entered and then smiled in a tentative greeting, and he smiled back. "Hello," Will said. "How are you feeling? How is your head?"
"I�It�Well, it hurts," she answered honestly, "but other than a headache, I don't seem to be the worse for wear."
"Is your vision blurred at all? Seeing double?"
'Other than my tears blurring my vision, you mean?' she thought, but she answered. "No, I can see fine, thanks."
"Sam told me your name is Josie and you're from Chicago?" Will pressed gently.
Josie nodded, glancing out the windshield at a motionless Sam, who was staring down the embankment, apparently watching the effort to recover her car. She paused to swallow the lump of emotion in her throat before she continued, "Yes. My name is Josie Geller. I work for the Chicago Sun-Times. I was on my way back from Green Bay, where I was working on a story."
A bell of recognition went off in Will's head when she mentioned both her name and the newspaper for which she worked�almost as if he'd heard it somewhere before. Glancing briefly at Sam, he knew he hadn't heard it from him, but yet, she obviously had something to do with him. He could see it in this woman's eyes, and the way her eyes kept straying back to Sam. He wondered again about the connection between her and Sam, but didn't dare ask. Instead he asked, "Can you tell me what happened? Do you remember the events leading up to the accident?"
Josie closed her eyes, letting the picture form in her mind. "Well, I was driving south on this road when suddenly it seemed that the wind and snow came up suddenly, it was like driving into a cloud. I could barely see past the end of the car. I knew there was no place to pull over, so I tried to keep moving. Then suddenly I saw headlights coming at me, not more than a car length or two in front of me. At first I thought that it had crossed into my lane, so I swerved toward that side of the road, thinking to go around it. But then I realized it had been me and I tried to recover, but I must have turned the wheel too sharply, because the back end of the car slid out and then I was sliding down the embankment toward that tree�" Josie shuddered at the memory.
Will placed a sympathetic hand on hers and said, "That's okay, I understand. You don't have to go on. But when you awoke you were here? You don't remember anything else?"
"No. I woke up and I was here�In Sam's�car," Josie finished awkwardly.
Will nodded and then looked up when he noticed the ambulance had arrived. He said, gesturing toward the ambulance, "Well, why don't we have them look you over and make sure you're okay, all right?"
Josie nodded. "All right." She started to open the passenger door, but Will put a staying hand on her arm.
"Hold on, I want to come around and help you out of there."
Nodding, Josie pulled the door closed again and waited.
* * *
Sam stood watching as they slowly pulled Josie's car up from the bottom of the embankment. His eyes were on the car, but his mind was elsewhere. He still didn't understand why this was happening to him now�now when he was finally starting to get a handle on his emotions for Josie? Hell, this whole trip had been about him putting her out of his mind for good.
He had to laugh at that. Yeah, like he would have been able to just put her out of his mind, he thought sarcastically. The flood of emotions that even now threatened to engulf him was proof enough of the impossibility of that task. Josie Geller was branded onto his soul; he knew that now. And he didn't have any idea how to change that. Anger rose to the top of his emotions again. Why!? Why did she have to be here!? Why did he have to be the one to find her? Why couldn't Fate have left it well enough alone!?
He knew that Will had climbed into the Blazer to talk to Josie. He refused to look, because inside he knew it would bother him and he didn't want to have to admit that to himself as well. So instead, he ignored it. He didn't want to admit to even himself how deep his feelings for Josie still ran. It was as if he'd simply put them on hold instead of actually having gotten over them.
Sam heard the Blazer's door slam and looked over in the direction. But instead of walking toward him, Will crossed over to the passenger side to let Josie out, placing a polite hand on either side of her waist to let her down slowly without any jarring. Sam's jaw tightened and his eyes glittered with barely quashed jealousy as Will helped Josie over to the ambulance that Sam had only just now noticed. Then the second police officer, Rusty, along with the EMT all helped Josie up into the back of the ambulance so they could run some tests.
Damn it, but Sam was jealous of every man who laid a hand on Josie. He gritted his teeth against the feeling, but it wouldn't go away. Looking down, he kicked at a piece of icy snow on the side of the road and then sighed. 'Well, I might as well go over and find out how she is,' he tried to reason as his feet started wandering toward the open back of the ambulance.
* * *
Josie sat patiently while the EMT checked her pupils, her blood pressure, her limbs for anything broken or bruised and finally the bump on her head, which he gave her a cold pack to press against it.
As she turned back to look toward the outside, she noticed Sam was approaching�and he had an inscrutable look on his face. What was he thinking? What did he want?
Sam came to stand at the foot of the ambulance, watching, but not saying a word. He wasn't sure if he could. Part of him was afraid that something could be wrong with her, and part of him was angry that he even cared.
Will noticed Sam's presence and informed him, "Just a bump on the head, Sam, possibly a concussion, nothing more. She's quite lucky, actually."
Sam nodded and looked up to make eye contact with Josie once more. Unnerved by his stare, Josie looked up and beyond him to notice that her car was finally at street level, and from the angle it sat, it didn't look too bad. Maybe she could just end up getting in her car and getting out of here and just try to pretend none of this had ever happened.
"Um�" she began, sliding off the stretcher to a stand, and handing the EMT his cold compress back. "I think my car is ready. Maybe I can be on my way now�"
"Whoa," the EMT said, frowning. "We're not even sure yet if you have a concussion; I'm not sure I feel that comfortable letting you drive."
Will concurred. "Yes, Josie. Just because you feel okay right now doesn't mean that bump can't cause problems for you later. Besides, I'm not all that sure your car will be drivable."
Still, Josie pushed herself forward, stepping down the step and then hopping to the ground, landing next to Sam. She wobbled for a moment, and without even thinking, Sam put out his hand to steady her. Pulling back from him as if his hand burned her, she stuttered, "I'm sure everything will be just fine as long as I�" She trailed off as Horace walked toward the group, his face grim.
Having overheard the last bit of the conversation, he said, "I'm sorry, Miss, but I'm afraid your car won't be going anywhere�not for a while at least. Front axle cracked from the impact with that tree."
Josie felt tears of frustration welling up in her eyes, and she brushed them away angrily. All she wanted was to get away from here�and mostly Sam�as soon as possible, and it seemed that everything was working against her.
"But surely that's easy to fix, right?" she asked, hopefully.
"No, ma'am. That'll require quite a bit of work, I'm afraid. I'm not sure if I even have the right part in stock, so I'd have to order it from Green Bay. And with the storm coming, I don't think I could get it fixed much before Wednesday next week."
Dragging in a deep breath, she tried to keep from crying in earnest. Then all of his statement registered and she asked, confused, "What storm?"
All the men surrounding her looked at Josie in disbelief, including Sam. Finally it was Will who spoke. "What storm!? Ms. Geller, there is a blizzard on the way�one of possibly monstrous proportions. You can't mean you didn't know?"
Shocked, she looked up at Sam's face for confirmation and found it there. Turning to look at the Sheriff, tears spilling over her lower lashes in silent anguish. Finally, she choked out, "No, I didn't know."
Irrationally angry at Josie for being so careless, Sam began, "How could you�!?" but a look from Will silenced him.
Josie straightened her shoulders defiantly. She'd be damned if Sam Coulson was going to ridicule her! Ignoring him and talking directly to Will, she said, "Well, then I guess I'll have to make the best of it. Maybe you can drop me off at the nearest motel?"
Will looked at Rusty and Horace and then shuffled his feet. "Well, ma'am, I could do that, but it's at least twenty miles from here�"
An uneasy silence fell with that revelation.
As Sam looked at Josie's demoralized expression, something resurfaced in his mind�his dream from last night: Josie calling out to him for help, and he couldn't find her because of a thick white cloud surrounding them�the blizzard perhaps? And the same panicked feeling he'd had in that dream bubbled up inside him.
It was as if his memory of the dream was forcing the air from his lungs and he couldn't breathe, as if there was a large brick sitting on his chest, making him really fear that dream�and that something might actually happen to Josie to make that dream become a reality. After all, it seemed too damn coincidental that he would have that dream and then she suddenly appeared. Sam didn't think he would be able to live with himself if he didn't at least try to prevent that dream from happening, even if, for now, it was just that... a dream...
What if it had it been a sign of some sort? That if he didn't watch over her something terrible would happen? Something that would make him lose her forever? His heart constricted at the thought of anything more happening to Josie. No matter how angry, furious, frustrated, hurt he was at her, a part of him could not let her go�not now, not like this�not with that big white cloud of a storm coming.
A huge sense of foreboding washed over him�as if his next words would be of monumental importance in his life.
Although the angry part of him was screaming that he was insane, telling him not to do it, he couldn't stop his mouth from saying, barely above a whisper, "She could stay with me�"
Both Will and Josie turned to Sam, incredulous. "Wh�what did you say?" Josie choked out with shock.
It was too late to take the offer back, and Sam knew it. Clearing his throat, he looked directly at Josie and with a challenging, defiant tone repeated, "You could stay with me."
Josie was shaking her head even before she said, "No�no�I�couldn't�"
Sighing his impatience, Sam got right to the point. "You and I both know there's no other logical solution. You don't have anywhere else to go�"
Will thought to himself that he would have been willing to take her home and have he and his wife Meredith put her up through the storm, but decided instead to see how this scene would play itself out and stayed quiet.
Sam continued, "And when the car is ready, I'll drive you into town and you can be on your way." He wished he felt as reasonable and cool as he sounded.
So there it was. Sam was being polite, but in reality, he couldn't wait to see her gone. Tears pricked Josie's eyes again, but she refused to let them fall and blinked them back. She wasn't going to give Sam the satisfaction of seeing her hurt more than he already had.
Turning on her heel, Josie walked over to her mangled car, shoved open the creaking driver's side door and yanked her keys from the ignition. She grabbed her purse from the floor of the car and started shoving all her belongings back into it, sighing when she saw the smashed cellular phone in pieces.
Climbing back out, she walked to the back of the sedan and unlocked the trunk, grabbing her overnight bag and the padded laptop case. Slamming the trunk, she walked back over to the group of men with her head held high. She held out the key ring to Horace, who relieved her of it. Finally, she turned back to face Sam.
He was right; she didn't have anywhere else to go, and they both knew it. There really wasn't a question of whether she would accept his offer�she had to. She knew that no matter his feelings for her, he would be a gentleman. 'Nothing to worry about there,' she snickered to herself. 'I'll be lucky if he says three words to me the entire time!' And if he could be so cold and calculating about it, then darn it, so could she. With a monotonic voice, she said, "Fine. If we're going, let's go." Nodding in farewell to the other men, she turned and started walking toward the Blazer.
Almost in a daze, Sam shook hands with Will and said goodbye to the others. Will extracted a promise from Sam that he would call if Josie showed any signs of worsening. Then Sam turned and started to follow Josie back to his car.
Suddenly he stopped short, watching Josie's body swaying with a womanly gait as she carried her load toward his vehicle. Panicked, the only thought to cross his mind was, 'Oh my God�what have I done!?"
* * *