*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Author's Notes: OK, I know this has taken a while but I have been overloaded with school, home, work and a busted computer. I would like to say thanks to all those who sent me feedback about the last story, it was great, especially the praise on my writing of Jenn. Just in case you haven't noticed, I don't like her so I will always write her as a bitch. This story is set three months after the end of 'Life Changes'. I realise it starts a little slow, but gets faster at the end, I promise, just bear with me. Thanks to those who sent me their ideas, I have used some of them in this story, and some in the next part.
Disclaimer: Don't own them (except the kids) and I never will. Don't post this anywhere without my permission. OK, I've rambled for too long, on with the show.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Dawson bought the Jeep to a stop at the red light and took a moment to glance into the back seat where his children sat sleeping, their little cheeks pink with sunburn. His children, that phrase seemed a little strange, but it was wonderful all the same. Despite his early fears, Dawson had formed an incredible bond with his son over the last few months, as had the child with him. Djuna and Elliot had been surprised at the news that they were brother and sister, but not upset at all. The four of them, Dawson, Joey, Elliot and Djuna, had all become a close knit 'family' of sorts, spending the entire summer together. Joey had the kids for the days that Dawson worked, and the weekends they all spent together. The press had followed them at first, but after about a month they had backed off. Unfortunately, a little to late, for now the majority of the population knew Dawson's and Joey's entire lives, from the early years in Capeside, to their lives now in LA. The story had been so romantic that it had captured the nation. The only detail that had remained unpublished was the identity of Djuna's mother. Thanks to the agreement that had been made between Jenn and Dawson, her name wasn't even on Djuna's birth certificate. Dawson's parents had moved back to Capeside, to lose the press, and so far it had worked. They were incredibley happy at the fact that Joey was back in Dawson's life and even more excited at the fact that they had another grandchild.
"Daddy?" The sound of his son's voice broke Dawson from his reminiscing. He glanced quickly at Elliot. His hair was tousled from sleep and the seat belt had left a crease on his face. Dawson stifled a smile.
"Yes Buddy?"
"Am I staying at your house tonight?"
"Of course. Your Mom and I are going out to dinner, so Uncle Pacey is going to stay with you and your sister."
"Cool!" piped up another little voice. Dawson smiled at his little girl. "Hello Flutterbudget, I thought you were asleep?" he asked in a mock serious voice.
"Nope, I was just pretending Daddy. I'm not tired at all."
"OK, whatever." He pulled onto his block. "Nearly home now." Home, for all of them. With Elliot and Joey there every night, it was home to them as much as Djuna and Dawson. And if tonight went as he planned, it would soon be official.
They pulled into the driveway and the kids tumbled out. Dawson closed the garage door and entered through the kitchen.
"Hello?" he called for the benefit of Joey, "Anyone home?" No reply came, except for the noise from the kids playing in the TV room, so he headed upstairs towards his room.
Joey was standing with her back to him, looking in her end of the closet. She was just out of the shower, wearing naught but Dawson's robe. He stood admiring her for a moment, feeling lucky that she was here with him, then quietly walked up behind her, wrapped his arms around her waist and kissed the side of her neck. Joey jumped startled, but then turned to intercept his lips with hers.
"Welcome home." she said as they broke away. "How was your day."
He smiled at her, "Good. I found it hard to figure out where the animals were, in the cages or with me, but other than that it was fine."
"I'm glad." She kissed him again. Their kisses intensified until finally Joey pulled away. "If we are ever going to get out of here tonight, we'd better stop right now."
Dawson looked at her with his puppy dog eyes, "But I don't wanna."
Joey frowned at him, "That look doesn't work with me any more mister." she kissed his cheek and walked toward the door. "I'm going to get the kids fed and ready for bed. You can take this opportunity to get showered and dressed for tonight." She turned to leave, "But maybe if your good, we can pick up where we left off later." And she was gone.
Dawson stood on the spot for a moment before retreating to the bathroom to get ready. Tonight had to go perfectly, there was no doubt of that in his mind. Everything had been planned, right down to the last detail. All that remained now was to ask the question, and receive the answer. He hoped the answer was the one he thought it would be.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
When Dawson emerged from the bedroom 45 mins later, he was showered, shaved and all dressed up for the night out. He headed downstairs in the direction of the TV room, looking for his family. He heard the giggling from the front hall, and realised that Pacey must be here already. Moments later, his suspicions were confirmed, when he found his children and Pacey falling over with laughter at something on the TV.
"What are you watching?" he asked suspiciously. Pacey, Djuna and Elliot all looked at him with guilty looks on their faces.
"I bought some videos for the kids to watch." said Pacey.
Dawson narrowed his eyes, "What videos?"
"Your early film attempts." Dawson took a second to pull all the pieces together. "You mean the films I made in High School."
"Yep."
Elliot began to giggle, as did Djuna. "You were such a dork daddy! And so was mommy!" They rolled over the floor with laughter, clutching at their stomaches. Dawson turned to Pacey.
"Thanks buddy, for giving my children reason to ridicule me."
"Hey, you did that yourself when you shot those films. By the way, Jo said to tell you she's getting ready in the guest bedroom because you were taking too long. Busy organising tonight's plans were we?"
Dawson shot Pacey a murderous look and pulled him into the kitchen. "Shush! I don't want the kids to overhear. But to answer your question, yes, I was planning for tonight."
Pacey grinned wide and looked happily at his friend, "And?"
"I've decided I'm going to do it. Everything is planned down to the music."
"Really?? You're going ahead with it?"
"Yep." Dawson looked at Pacey, trying unsuccessfully to control his elation.
Pacey slapped Dawson on the back, "Good on you. It's about time, I always knew you two would end up together."
"Well don't go counting your chickens just yet Pace, she hasn't said yes."
Pacey scoffed, "Like she'll say no. Please, this girl has been 100%, head-in-the-clouds, ass backwards in love with you since we were all on training wheels, she'll say yes. Trust me."
"Trust you Pacey, I don't know if that's at all possible." Both men turned at the voice. Joey was standing in the doorway, all dressed up for dinner. Dawson's mouth almost dropped at the sight of her. She was wearing a pale pink satin evening gown, ankle length, skin tight with thin spaghetti straps (OK, my descriptions suck, I know.) and her hair had been pulled off her face into a French twist. Joey grinned, well aware of her boyfriends reaction, walked over to Dawson slowly. "Are we ready to go sweetie?" she asked.
Dawson pulled himself together and stood up. "Yes." he looked at Pacey. "You sure you're OK with the kids?"
"Please! They love me. I'll have no trouble with them."
"Fine," said Joey from the doorway where she was pulling on her jacket "But I'll lay down some ground Ruses anyway. The kids are in bed by 9:30 at the latest; they'll sleep in Djuna's bed, Elliot on the right, Djuna on the left; no junk food after 8 or they won't go to sleep and no scary stories please Pacey. Last time Djuna didn't sleep for a week."
Pacey mock saluted Joey, "Yes sir! Go, have a good time. They'll be fine."
Dawson looked warily at his best friend, but then smiled. "OK, I'll just go say goodnight."
He and Joey went into the TV room and kissed both children. Then all five of them walked out to Dawson's car. The kids and Pacey waved goodbye as they drove off. Pacey turned his young charges back into the house. "Well kids, what do you guys want to do tonight?"
"Well,", said Elliot, "Djuna and I are going to have a Disney marathon."
Pacey looked at feigning interest, "Really? That sounds like fun."
"Yep, ", added Djuna, "I am going to prove that those movies create unrealistic expectations for young children and give them a false sense of adulthood and reality." she turned to her brother, "Come on, I'll race you to my room."
She sprinted up the stairs with Elliot close on her heels yelling "No way! They are only fairy tales, stop being so analytical." Pacey stood in the hall, flabbergasted at the conversation he had just experienced. Wow, those kids were advanced. "Well, ", he said to himself as he followed them slowly, "There's no question of who their father is."
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Meanwhile, while Elliot, Djuna and Pacey were debating the morals of 'Beauty and The Beast', Dawson and Joey were enjoying a romantic dinner across town. Most of the meal had been spent in silence, or with small chit-chat. Joey was beginning to wonder what was wrong. Dawson had seemed nervous all night, and oddly quiet, especially over dessert. She was about to ask him what was wrong when the band began to play.
Suddenly Dawson perked up. He stood up and extended his hand to Joey. "Let's dance." She stood up slowly and followed him onto the dance floor. Dawson wrapped her in his arms and began to slowly move around the dance floor. Finally, his cue was here. He signalled carefully to the band leader who nodded in return. Perfect, all the pieces were in place.
When the song finished, Joey went to sit down again, but Dawson kept her on the floor. "Wait Jo. Just one more dance."
She took one look at his face and sighed, "OK, if you insist."
The band leader took the mike, "The next song is dedicated from Dawson to Joey." Joey looked at Dawson, embarrassed but incredibly surprised. As the song began, he wrapped his arms around her again. She laid her head on his shoulder, breathing in his scent.
Some day, When I'm awfully low, When the world is cold, I will feel aglow just thinking of you And the way you look tonight.
Oh, but you're lovely, With your smile so warm, And your cheeks so soft. There is nothing for me but to love you, Just the way you look tonight.
With each word, Your tenderness grows, Tearing my fear apart. And that laugh, That wrinkles your nose, Touches my foolish heart.
Lovely, Never, never change, Keep that breathless charm. Won't you please arrange it because I, I love you. Just the way you look tonight.
Dawson sang along with the words, quietly into Joey's ear. She loved the feeling of his breath on her neck, and the sound of his voice in her ear, and the sentiments of the song he had chosen. When the song finished, Dawson whispered into Joey's ear, "Josephine Marie Potter will you marry me?"
Joey pulled back, startled, "What?"
Dawson took her hands in his and looked into her eyes. An audience had gathered around them, but neither noticed. Dawson spoke again, louder this time. "Josephine Marie Potter, for 20 years you have been my best friend, my other half, my second brain. You are the one person in this world who knows me better than I know myself.", he reached into his pocket and pulled out a box. He opened the lid to reveal a beautiful, but tasteful, diamond solitaire ring. He held it out to Joey, "You are my soulmate and I was wondering if you would give me the privilege and honour of marrying you." He finished his speech and looked at her, waiting for a reaction.
Joey quickly processed all Dawson had said, and came to her answer quickly. She threw her arms around his neck and kissed him. "Of course I will you goof. I've been waiting 10 years to hear that question from you." Dawson hugged her tight, then removed the ring from the box and slid it onto Joey's left hand ring finger. He looked deep into her eyes, "I love you." Joey smiled at him, her eyes brimming with tears, "I love you too." They kissed again, earning applause from the audience around them. They broke apart, red with embarrassment, but ecstatically happy.
The band began to play again and the crowd thinned out. Dawson lead his new fiancee back to the table where they quickly paid the cheque and left. They wanted to get home an tell their families the wonderful news. Dawson didn't think anyone would be at all surprised. Everything was finally perfect. *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
The next night, in New York, Jennifer Lindley lay on her couch, trying to finish some work and watch 'Entertainment Tonight' at the same time. So far, the work was winning, but one sentence from the TV changed all that.
Mary Hart introduced the new story, "Happy news tonight from Hollywood. It was confirmed today that Hollywood movie and TV director, Dawson Leery is engaged to be married to his childhood sweetheart, Josephine 'Joey' Potter." Photos of the two of them were placed in the corner of the screen.
Suddenly, the TV had her full attention. She grabbed the remote and turned up the volume.
"The couple have been seen together in Hollywood for only a few months, despite the fact that they have known each other for 20 years.", A high school photo of the two of them replaced the recent one, "Potter, who is a Professor at USC, is the mother of Leery's son, Elliot. He has a daughter, Djuna, from a previous relationship." A photo of the children was shown, capturing Jenn attention greatly. She listened intently to the last few sentences. "The wedding has been set for sometime this winter, with the couple asking for privacy from the press. This relationship looks like one that will last, don't you think Bob?"
"Yes Mary, may they have all the happiness in the world. We'll be right back."
Jenn shut off the TV and sat in silence for a moment. Her eyes fell upon a photo Dawson had sent her, many months ago, of Djuna. In the same frame was a photo of Jenn and Dawson together. "So Dawson.", she said to the photo, "Joey finally told you the truth, and you're going to marry her." She walked over and picked up the frame. "Well, not if I have anything to do with it. I'll just destroy your happiness by taking away what you hold most dear.", she ran her hand across the picture of Djuna, a plot forming in her head. "Djuna Devonny Leery, my darling daughter, I think it's time you learned the truth.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Three Months Later:
"Damn this traffic!". Dawson leaned on the horn in a feeble attempt to move the cars in front of him. Joey had rung him on the set to tell him that Elliot was sick, and that she was picking him up from school and taking him to the doctor, so Dawson had to pick up Djuna from school. He was panicked about being late, and this traffic wasn't moving for the moment. He sighed and prepared himself for a wait. Djuna's teacher would keep her inside till he got there. His thoughts drifted towards Joey and his kids. The wedding date had been set for Christmas Eve, in Capeside. It was only six weeks away, and everyone, including Pacey, Dawson's parents, Bessie and Bodie were frantically organising last minute details. The families were both very excited, especially Dawson's parents. They had visited two weeks beforehand, and welcomed Joey and Elliot with open arms.
A sudden blast from behind broke his train of thought. The traffic was moving, finally. Dawson accelerated and then pulled into the first side street he came across. He drove the back streets to the school and pulled up out the front, 25 mins late. He hurried out of the car and inside.
He found Djuna's classroom empty, except for her teacher. "Hello." he said.
She looked up. "Mr Leery, hi."
"Is Djuna outside? I was supposed to pick her up, but I'm running a little late."
"No. Her Mom already picked her up, about 15 mins ago."
Dawson looked at her, confused. "You sure?"
"Yep, saw her get into the car myself."
"OK, thanks. Must be a mix up in communications. Bye." He walked off down the hall, and out to his car. As he was about to start the engine, his cell phone rang.
"Hello?"
"Dawson?" It was Joey. A very upset and distressed Joey. He was instantly worried.
"Joey? What's wrong. Is it the kids?"
"It's Djuna.", Joey took a deep breath, in an attempt to calm down, "Jenn's got her."
"What!?"..............................
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* OK, put away the guns. The next part is halfway done, so just give me a week. I hope you weren't put off by the slow start, but I always feel it is best to include every vital fact in a story. I know I said this was going to be called "New Beginnings" but I thought "Seemingly Perfect" was more appropriate. Feedback can be sent to 'edencreek@hotmail.com' if you wish, just no death threats please. Thanx!!