"Yeah?"

"I need to call Leo. Mind if I use your phone?" Josh already knew the answer, it just seemed more polite to ask.

"No problem. You can use the one in the bedroom. Why do you have to call Leo?"

"I thought I better check in." Josh didn't really want to tell Sam that Leo had asked him to make sure to let them know Sam was okay. It was the kind of thing Sam was just better off not knowing.

"Oh. Okay."

"It won't take long." No one had tried to call him, so that meant no emergencies had arisen since he'd left work. Although after he talked to Leo, he probably should go, because Sam looked tired and Josh knew his friend would never tell him to leave. One thing at a time, he needed to call Leo. Otherwise, Sam was likely to find CJ and Toby at his door because they'd gotten tired of waiting. In fact, he was rather surprised that they weren't already there, which meant Leo must be keeping them occupied.

The phone call took considerably longer than Josh expected. After talking to Leo, Toby insisted on speaking to him personally, as if he didn't trust Leo's version. As soon as Josh reassured him that everything was fine, Toby yelled at him for not calling sooner. Since he would have done the same under the circumstances, Josh couldn't blame Toby for
his reaction. In the midst of his conversation with Toby, Josh remembered he needed to call Donna. That one definitely had taken longer than he anticipated, since Donna felt obligated to impart some advice to him, like he didn't know how to help his best friend.

"Sorry that took...." Josh stopped mid-apology as he realized that Sam had fallen asleep on the couch. For a brief moment, he thought about waking his friend and suggesting Sam actually go to bed. Then he considered how Sam would react to having fallen asleep while he had a guest over. Nothing Josh could say would convince him that he hadn't been horribly rude. If Sam were tired enough to let himself fall asleep, Josh wasn't going to do anything to disturb him. He settled for grabbing a blanket he found in the hall closet and covering Sam with it.

Any other time, Josh would have simply left at this point, but not tonight. It didn't seem right to leave without saying good-bye. Plus, after he got some rest, Sam might want to talk about Erin some more and there was a better chance of that happening if Josh were still there and available. Donna had asked him about the funeral and whether or not Sam would be attending, so he wanted to make sure to ask Sam about it as soon as possible because of scheduling. Then there was the fact that if the situation were reversed, Josh knew Sam wouldn't leave him alone until he was absolutely certain everything had been worked out. All he was doing was returning the favor.

At least now he could change the channel, Josh realized. Grabbing the remote off of the table, Josh lowered the volume and flipped to CNN. Afraid that the table lamp might disturb his friend, Josh turned it off, since the television would provide all the light he needed. Then he sat back down in the chair he'd claimed when the evening had started. Josh had always liked Sam's chair for two reasons: one, it was comfortable and two, it didn't fit anything else in Sam's apartment. Josh was fairly certain Sam had not spent much time picking out the rest of his furnishings. They were nice enough, they just lacked personality and looked barely used. Now, the chair was a holdover from Sam's college days and it had plenty of character.

There was some kind of story behind the chair because Sam always got a slight smile on his face whenever anyone asked him why he kept it. Even though it was old and the blue upholstery had long since faded, it was still in good condition. Resting his head on the back of the chair, Josh got a faint whiff of detergent and realized it must have been cleaned recently. He shook his head in amusement. Nothing was safe when Sam went into a cleaning frenzy. With everything that had been going on lately, Josh figured they were lucky his friend hadn't started on his office at work. Although it would be interesting to see how the others reacted to it, since Josh didn't think they had ever seen Sam in action.

Josh glanced over at his friend to make sure he was still asleep. He doubted Sam had gotten much sleep the night before. As much energy as he must have expended trying to pretend that everything was fine, Josh was surprised Sam hadn't crashed sooner. Josh smiled as he considered how Sam must have reacted when Donna hugged him. From Donna's description it had really thrown him for a loop. It was nice to know she had been looking out for Sam in his absence, even if she might have gone a little overboard in the process.

Thinking about Sam and the events of the day, Josh sighed. If CJ hadn't heard about Sam's cousin, Josh had no doubt that Sam would have kept it quiet until he needed time off for the funeral, assuming he planned to attend. The subject change when his uncle had been mentioned indicated tension in their relationship. Even if he had misread that situation, there were still Sam's parents to consider. If Sam thought his presence would cause any unpleasantness in an already difficult situation, he'd stay away.

Josh's thoughts strayed to his friend's outburst earlier in the afternoon. While he'd seen Sam get that upset before, usually on someone else's behalf, it had still shocked him. Of course, none of those times had ever left him thinking about how passionate Sam looked when he was angry or how much he wanted to be arousing that passion for entirely different reasons.

The attraction blindsided him. They were friends and he wasn't supposed to be thinking about Sam in this way. These were thoughts he had studiously avoided, because he didn't want them to get in the way. He'd seen too many friendships ruined when the relationship didn't work out and he didn't want to take the risk. Plus, Sam had certainly never indicated he wanted to be anything more than friends.

Of course, given Sam's very public track record with women, most people would believe Josh was foolish to even think Sam would contemplate a relationship with another man. However, most of them didn't know that Sam's first love was someone named Andrew, not Amanda, or that all subsequent serious relationships had been with men. With the exception of his engagement to Lisa, an aberration that still baffled Josh, Sam only had casual relationships with women, which seemed to solve his need for companionship without emotional entanglement. Something had happened to make Sam shy away from anything more than that. When Josh asked, Sam claimed he didn't want to cause any trouble for the administration and that he didn't have the time for anything but harmless flirtation. Josh didn't fully believe him. There were plenty of people who would be willing to put up with secrecy and the hectic schedule to be with him, if only Sam would ask.

Faint noises from the couch startled Josh from his thoughts. Sam had rolled on his side, so that he was facing Josh, his arms holding the blanket to his chest so that he was hugging himself. He looked so small and vulnerable, probably because he was asleep and wasn't trying to maintain the pretense that everything was all right. Josh wondered if Sam would feel like he had to hug himself if someone else were to do for it him while he slept. It would be interesting to find out.

Oh God.

Where had that thought come from? He was not supposed to be thinking about sleeping with Sam. This was not happening. He had come over here to make sure Sam was all right and offer support, not take advantage of him. Okay, he wasn't precisely taking advantage of Sam, they were just random thoughts, it's not like he had acted on any of his impulses, but still.... There had to be something wrong with him when his friend was having a crisis and all he could think about was holding Sam and kissing him senseless.

Josh sighed. It was late, he was tired and he obviously wasn't thinking straight. Maybe he should leave. However, Josh remained sitting there, watching Sam, until his eyes couldn't stay open any longer.

"Josh?"

Opening his eyes slowly, Josh found himself looking at a concerned Sam. "Hey."

"You should have woken me up."

"You needed your sleep."

"Then you could have left."

"I wanted to stay."

"Oh."

"It's no big deal, Sam. You were exhausted, you still are. I didn't come over so you could entertain me."

"I'm really sorry."

"Don't worry about it. I've done the same to you in the past." Josh stood up, needing to regain his equilibrium. All he'd been doing since the conversation started was think about how sexy Sam looked, with his sweats and tee-shirt slightly rumpled, his hair tousled from sleep and a faint smile on his lips. Unfortunately, Sam moved at the same time and Josh found himself face to face with his friend.

It was just too tempting.

Josh leaned forward and pressed his lips to Sam's, practically holding his breath and waiting to be pushed away. When it didn't happen, he added more pressure, nearly pulling away in surprise when he felt Sam's arms wrap around him. He deepened the kiss, Sam's soft moan all the encouragement he needed. His hand slid under the edge of Sam's tee-shirt, lightly caressing the warm skin of Sam's back, while his tongue explored Sam's mouth. Sam hugged him tighter and started kissing him back. Finally, needing to catch his breath, Josh lifted his head and looked at Sam, thinking that he should say something. "Wow." Okay, it wasn't the most brilliant statement, but it was a start.

"Josh...."

"Yeah?" Josh hoped this wasn't where Sam explained that he'd been caught off guard and apologized for sending the wrong signals.

"Josh?"

Josh woke up abruptly to find himself looking at a sleepy and slightly puzzled Sam. Wait a minute, hadn't he just done this?

Oh God.

He'd been dreaming.

About his best friend.

This was not good. Please, let me not have said anything I'll regret later, he pleaded silently. "Hey."

"I didn't mean to fall asleep. I was just going to rest my eyes for a bit."

"That's usually a sign that you need to go sleep."

"I guess. How did you end up asleep in the chair?"

"I got to watching the news and it just happened."

"Oh. You didn't have to stay."

"I know." Josh was glad Sam retreated back to the couch, since it put a safe distance between the two of them.

"I'm sorry."

"You needed the sleep. Stop worrying about it." Sam still looked tired which meant he should probably say goodnight and leave. Besides, if he stayed, Josh feared he would give into temptation and that was the last thing Sam needed right now. "You okay?"

"Yeah."

"Are you going to go to Erin's funeral?" Josh watched as Sam got up from the couch and started folding the blanket.

"I don't know."

"Do you know when it is?" This was better. He could handle this kind of conversation, especially since it looked like it was going to take a little prying on his part to get Sam to give him a straight answer. It meant he had something to concentrate on besides his dream and how he wished it were reality.

"That's why my aunt called me."

Josh wondered if there was any significance to Sam's aunt calling him at the office, instead of home. However, it wasn't the important issue at the moment, so he didn't ask. "When's it going to be?"

"Wednesday."

"Do you want to go?" Sam had put the blanket away and was now headed for the kitchen. With a sigh, Josh got up and followed his friend, knowing if he didn't, Sam would make sure they never got back to the conversation.

"It's not a good time for me to take off from work."

"That's not what I asked, Sam. Getting the time off won't be a problem." Josh knew there was no way Toby would tell Sam he couldn't go. If anyone else offered an objection or complained about covering his absence, Toby would be the first person defending Sam. Assuming that Josh didn't hear about it first.

"It would make things uncomfortable."

"That's still not the question. Do you want to go?" The cartons from dinner that had been left on the counter were now being stored in the refrigerator. Josh figured the next step would be for Sam to start washing the few dishes they'd used.

"I don't know."

"If your aunt really thought you didn't have the right to be there, she wouldn't have called with the information."

"Erin made her promise."

"She didn't have to keep it." Josh was surprised when Sam left the dinner dishes untouched and led the way back into the living room instead. Just when he thought he was learning the pattern, Sam changed things and it wasn't fair.

"One of her daughter's last requests? I think she did."

"If you want to go, you should go."

"I don't think anyone wants to go to a funeral."

Now Sam was just being difficult. It was also a sign that he should let the subject go for the moment, Josh decided. "You don't have to decide right now. Just think about it. Work won't be a problem if you decide to go." In the morning, Josh would make sure his schedule was clear and talk to Leo, just in case. There was no way he was going to let Sam go by himself. Of course, the hardest part would be convincing Sam of that fact, which was why Josh planned to have everything arranged before he told him.

"I'll have to make up my mind pretty soon, if I want to get everything arranged."

This was a step in the right direction. It meant Sam was starting to really think about it. "Listen, I better go. You need to get some more sleep and I really don't want to hear what Donna has to say if I go to work wearing the same suit two days in a row." As he intended, the last comment earned him a faint smile from Sam.

"I'm sure you've heard it before."

"Which is why I don't want to hear it again." Josh grabbed his coat off the rack and pulled it on. He was reluctant to leave, but he thought Sam wanted some time alone. Plus, the image from his dream kept creeping into his head and he needed some time to get those thoughts under control. Sam did not need to be dealing with his overactive imagination right now. "I'll see you in the morning."

"Yeah. Thanks."

"Any time." If it had been anyone else, Josh would have hugged Sam at that moment, because his friend looked like he could use one. However, his sudden awareness of his desire for Sam stopped him. This did not seem like a good time to test his self control. "Try to get some more sleep." Josh opened the door and stepped into the hallway.

"I will."

"Good." Josh had a sinking feeling that Sam was lying through his teeth, but there wasn't much he could do about it. "I'll see you later."

As the door closed behind him, Josh released a sigh. There was no way he'd envisioned his day ending like this when he woke up this morning. Sure, it was supposed to have been a busy one and it should have resulted in a late night. However, nowhere had his plans included realizing that he was in love with his best friend.

Oh God.

He was in love with Sam.

What was he supposed to do now?