Gail's Wedding, 2008
"Did you have fun getting drinks with your friends last night?" Christopher asked.
"Yeah, it was great to see everyone. It's the first time we've all been together in the same room in five years," Joey replied happily.
"So, when do I get to meet Colby and Petey?" he joked. Christopher loved to make fun of Joey's addiction to The Creek, Dawson's TV show. One night, Joey let it slip that she had an emotional connection to the show in response to his good-natured ribbing of its soapiness. When Christopher pressed her as to why, Joey spilled that the show is based on her teenage years in Capeside. Since then Christopher watched every episode with her and quizzed her as to what stories were true and which ones were fiction. More often than not, fiction was her answer. Given Dawson only ever saw her and Pacey's relationship from his side, Sam and Petey's story wasn't entirely accurate.
Joey swatted Christopher playfully on the chest and then pointed to Dawson, who was taking pictures with his mom, sister and new stepfather. "That's Colby," she stated with a smile.
But when Joey looked around for Pacey, she couldn't find him. Anywhere. She lightheardly said, "Petey doesn't seem to be present at the moment," though worry nagged at her. She didn't remember seeing Pacey during the wedding either. Odd.
When Jack, Jen and Andie passed by, she stopped them. "Have any of you seen Pacey today? I wanted to introduce him to Christopher, but I don't see him."
At that, Joey's friends began searching the crowd for Pacey. When they didn't see him, Jen motioned to Dawson to come over. When he reached them, he asked, "What's up, guys? I have to get back to pictures."
"Have you seen Pacey?" Andie asked. "We can't find him."
"No. Now that you mention it, I haven't." Then, "Hmm. That's weird."
"Where's Doug? Maybe he knows," Jen suggested.
"I was chatting with him when he got an emergency page and had to go inside to use the phone," Jack supplied helpfully.
Just then, Joey saw Doug barrel out of the house with a stricken look on his face. When he found the group of them, he ran over. "I have to go… it's Pacey."
Joey could tell by the sound of Doug's voice that something was terribly wrong. Heart in her throat, she asked, "What about Pacey, Doug?"
"He's in the hospital. And it's bad."
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A/N: This is something that popped into my head. I thought, What if Jen doesn't die? What if Pacey's beating was more serious than they depicted? What if it took that to make Joey realize she still loves him just has he realizes he needs to let her off the hook? This is the result. Not sure how long it will be or how often it will be updated. But I'd love opinions. :)