What if TPTB had wanted to rectify all that had gone wrong between our couple? What it they decided that they wanted us to be happy? How exactly could they do this? Change everything that has happened in the past three seasons? Put a spin on it -- it all happened; but not in the way that we think it did?

Here's my 'quick fix'. Here's how I think that TPTB could have sorted all that went wrong. Okay, well, maybe not ALL… but the important stuff. Spoilers: Everything from episode 501-509. There will also be references to "Reunited" and "Coda." Starts up just before the end of 501...kind of.

Feedback is always welcome;)

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"Audrey?" Joey called out to her roommate after hearing the knock at the door, but received no reply. Another knock resonated. "Audrey!?" Still no answer. "Hold on," Joey grumbled as she shuffled to the door to open it; standing on the other side was Dawson.

"Hi," he said while she couldn't stop the smile that appeared on her face.

Joey stepped out into the hallway, wrapping her arms around him as he wrapped his arms around her. She stood there with him, locked in a lingering embrace, revelling in him being there. For the first time ever, she wasn't imagining this, he really was standing there in front of her, proving to her how much she missed him.

His thoughts were similar to hers. He wondered if she missed this as much as he did, the questions going around in his mind if she had thought about it like he did, as they separated from the embrace.

"I can't believe you came. I thought that you couldn't." Joey told him; a hint of confusion crept into her voice.

"Well at the time I couldn't -- Jo, are we going to have this conversation out here or are you going to invite me in?" He asked her.

"Sorry Dawson, but I'm still a little surprised at seeing you. Um, why don't we go out for some breakfast? Audrey's still asleep." She replied.

"Uh, okay then."

"Just let me grab my purse." She re-entered for a moment, and then before she closed the door, she asked him, "Do you want to leave your stuff here?"

"Sure." He said, handing her his bag then gestured toward the sleeping figure in the bed, "The famous Audrey?"

"Yeah...I think that I saw a new side to her tonight;" Joey said as she closed the door. "She's not as annoying as I thought. Plus, Jen and Jack seem to like her too."

Dawson and Joey walked down the hallway in silence for a moment. "So Dawson," Joey said, breaking the silence, "Not that I'm not happy to see you or anything -- but, what happened with your internship?"

"It's a long story, Jo." Dawson replied while running a few fingers though shortened hair. "But I'd rather not talk about it right now."

"Okay, well how's school?"

**********

An hour later, as they walked back to Joey's dorm, Joey commented abstractly, "Hey you never mentioned how your flight was?" Her footsteps fell in sync with his as they walked across the Worthington lawns.

"It was fine. But you will never believe the dream that I had on the plane."

"I thought that you couldn't sleep on a plane!" Joey replied.

"Well apparently I can!" Dawson told her, sticking out his tongue.

"So tell me about this dream," Joey invited.

"Well I came to Boston to visit you..." Joey smiled at hearing this. "...And when it came time to go back to LA, well I couldn't do it. I wanted to stay...with you. I went to tell my parents that I wanted to drop out of USC."

"You wanted to drop out of USC?" Joey asked surprised. "I'll bet that your parents were impressed with that...their baby boy wants to give up his dream for a girl! What'd they say?"

"Well my dad wasn't impressed...he bought me a plane ticket back to LA. Mom, she was more supportive. I told dad that he had to allow me to make my own mistakes and that I wasn't going back. And." Dawson trailed off as tears started to form in his eyes.

"What's wrong?" Joey asked, starting to worry.

"I came back here and he died."

"Come again!"

"It was a car accident. I pushed everyone away from me...especially you. I ended up in therapy...it was a mess."

"Sounds like it was quite a dream," Joey agreed compassionately.

"There's more!" Dawson told her.

"You're kidding."

"Oh no." Dawson said, shaking his head. "This is the really weird part. I slept with Jen."

"Huh?"

"I'm not repeating it. Never, ever again. And it was my first time."

"You lost your V card to Jen?" Joey laughed. Shaking her head incredulous, she replied amused, "Your dad dies...and you sleep with Jen! It's just too much Dawson."

"Well anyway it was just a dream." He assured her.

Looking at him questioningly, asked, "Are you sure?"

"Oh, yeah. I'd know if it was real." Dawson informed her as they approached her dorm.

"You would?" She asked him. "And just how would Dawson Leery know that it was real? You have to have.... ummm," Joey doesn't finish what she was saying she just cleared her throat.

"Yes?" He countered as Joey's face turned pink. "Why can't you say it?" Dawson brought his face a little closer to Joey's as they stopped outside her dorm room.

"In this dream...how'd you know she was your first anyway?"

"Because of something that I said," He replied before adding, "And don't try to change the subject."

"I...I...well..." Joey stammered.

"Am I going to have to refresh your memory?" Dawson asked before bringing his lips to meet hers.

Joey's a little surprised at first but she kisses him back.

"You don't 'have' to refresh my memory." Joey said to him once they stopped kissing. "But you could if you wanted to."

"Maybe later when Audrey's not here," Dawson promised.

"Does this mean what I think it means?" She asked him; feeling that now is as good a time as any to have this conversation.

Dawson shrugged his shoulders. "I don't know. What do you think it means?" He asked her as she opened the door to the dorm.

"Well we never discussed your last night in Capeside."

"That kiss?"

"You kissed me!" She countered as she took off her jacket, hanging it up in the closet.

"I thought that it was more of a two way thing!" He informed Joey, as he threw his jacket on the bed.

"Okay we kissed each other..." She agreed while turning from the closet to face him. "Does this mean that --?"

The discussion was ended by Dawson kissing her.

"Yes...if that's what you want. Although, you do have a habit of saying things that you don't really mean..." At her quizzical expression, Dawson continued, "Like when you told me that you wanted me to stay in Capeside -- Even though you wanted me to go to LA. Or in high school -- our one month anniversary -- after we got back together…" He trailed off as he reached for her hand.

"What about it?" Joey inquired as she lay on her stomach looking at him.

"Well you said that you had thought about it considered it."

Joey smiled at the overwhelming memory.

"But you also said that we were too young to sleep together," Dawson added deliberately.

Joey bit her lip. "Uh huh..."

"But then the next night--"

"--So what's your point?"

He shrugged his shoulders. "I'm just saying that you sometimes say things that you don't mean."

"Didn't you know that it's a woman's prerogative to change her mind? And Dawson?"

"Hmmm?" He encouraged blatantly.

"This isn't one of those times," She told him before leaning up to kiss him.

Once they stopped kissing, Joey yawned causing Dawson to laugh. "My company isn't that bad!"

She smiled at him, "It's not you. When you knocked on the door earlier...well I had just gotten in. I'm just really..." She yawned again. "...Tired."

"I'm still a little tired too." He told her.

"So how long are you here for?" She asked him as he wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her closer to him.

"Let's just get some sleep. We can talk about that later."

"Okay." She told him as she closed her eyes and he did the same. Both of them fell asleep remembering…

**********

A few years ago, the night after their one-month anniversary, in Dawson's room; it hadn't been planned, they had both agreed to wait, yet, best laid plans…

They'd been lying in his room, on his bed, watching a movie. Dawson slightly seated, while Joey lay beside him holding one of his hands. Neither really paying any attention to the movie. He subconsciously started to stroke her wrist, pulling her from her thoughts. She shook her head a little, and then looked at him. He was just staring at the TV, but she could tell that he wasn't paying any attention to it.

She picked up the remote, turned the TV off, confirming what she though, he was in a world of his own. Joey propped herself up on her elbows and whispered, "Penny for them." She got no reply. So she leaned up enough to kiss him on the cheek, before saying his name. "Dawson..."

"Mmmm..." He replied as he looked at her.

"What were you thinking about?" She asked him.

Dawson gave her a weak smile. "Just the movie."

Joey just looked at him. "And are you enjoying the movie?"

He nodded his head as he looked back towards the TV, noticing that it was now switched off. "Oh," the involuntarily sound clotted his throat at being caught.

"Bingo! Dawson, tell me what's wrong!" She pleaded as she sat up, facing him.

He sighed. "I was just thinking about Mom and Dad. Mom's going to Philadelphia. I don't. -- I just wish that they could sort things out." He paused for a moment, "I know that I'm normally quite optimistic about things. Saying that they'll work it out, but lately...lately I just don't know. All I do know is that as long as I have you..." He said with a smile, "I can get through this." As he finished a single tear slid down his cheek.

Joey reached up and wiped the tear, stroking his cheek. That's when it happened. She kissed him and he kissed her back. Lightly at first then both of them getting lost in the kiss. They moved closer to each other; both of them now on their knees. The kiss was broken; they shared one last smile before everything changed again. Shared one last look, communicating without words. There was no doubt in either of their minds, the time was now.

Her T-shirt was the first to go then followed by his. Her bra was discarded next while they shared another kiss. He looked at her appreciatively, and for the first time, she didn't blush, nor was she self-conscious, which surprised her.

They both moved off of the bed to their opposite sides, and discarded the clothing that remained. Together, they pulled back the covers and slipped under them. Dawson reached over to his night stand and pulled out a condom from his drawer. Once the condom was on, Joey kissed him, letting him know that she was ready.

He wrapped his arms around her; they both revelled at the feel of the others naked skin against their own. His breath caught in his throat as she rubbed against his erection. Dawson moved against her, causing her to take a sharp intake of breath, before he entered her. Joey took a few moments to adjust to the new sensation. There was companionable silence as they felt their bodies glide together, the slip and slide of skin, cherishing every touch, their breathing ragged.

Joey rocked her hips against his, causing him to moan her name as he buried his head in the crook of her neck. Dawson thrust into her with her returning the thrust in time; their hips rocking together, almost fighting each other.

She grasped his hand, clasping her fingers in his. Dawson lifted his head, looking at her, his eyes searching hers, hoping that she was okay. Joey nodded her head in response, she bit her lip as she finally felt the release; pleasure swept through her body, the only sound that escaped her was his name, lingering around the curvature of her swollen lips.

He came right after she did, slamming into her once more, before relaxing then collapsing on top of her. After, they lay there, their arms wrapped around each other, silence encapsulating the room. After awhile, they share another kiss then confess their love to the other.

The End

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Authors Note: Okay, I know that this story has a few major flaws -- a few? You could probably write a book on how many there are! Some examples: the whole conversation in Coda, where Dawson says that he's still a virgin; the whole conversation that Dawson has with Eve, about it being with the right person and for every reason, which goes to show how conflicted Dawson was when he slept with Jen; last, but not least, the conversation that Dawson and Joey have in Promicide. You know the part? Where Joey says that if Dawson had to cross that milestone then she's glad that it was with Gretchen?

Note to Karen from Karen: Okay, you didn't realize that there were major flaws at the start; you knew there was bound to be one. But, well, there were more. But I'm pretty sure that if TPTB had written this, then they would have come up with some very inventive ways of getting past these flaws.