"You better not be going against the grain over there, Potter," Pacey hollered from his position at the stern.

"Oh yeah?! And what if I am?! You gonna find yourself another indentured servant? Because people will really line up for that job," Joey retorted. She held her arms up pretending to read from a scribe. "Wanted: free labor. Must take orders from high school slacker boy. Compensation: none. Applicants must provide the snacks."

"Cute, Potter. That reminds me ... You have been neglecting your snack duties."

Joey scoffed at him as she bent down to pick something up from the brown bag by her feet. "Bessie says that Chex mix is too expensive, so you better enjoy this last bag," she said as she hurled the bag toward him.

"Sisters Potter are cutting me off?! I mean what does a guy have to do to maintain some decent snackage?" he questioned, giving Joey his best puppy dog eyes.

"Oh hush. We take very good care of you. Even if you weren't housebroken when we found you," she said with a grin that suggested she really enjoyed insinuating he was a stray. "Besides, I was going to offer you some homemade mix, but it seems that would not be up to your standards."

"No no. That will do nicely. Yes, I think the Captain would enjoy some of the Potter special."

At the sound of Pacey referring to himself as 'Captain', again, Joey gave him her best eye roll and returned her attention to her spot on the hull of 'True Love.' "Well, if you're good, you may come over this weekend and I'll show you how to make it."

Pacey considered arguing the whole 'show you' point, but decided against it. Joey Potter had just invited him over! He chuckled to himself realizing that he wouldn't need to concoct a reason to show up at the Potter B&B on Saturday. Smiling a little wider than intended, he said, "That sounds good, Potter."

Joey looked up just in time to see the ends of his mouth curl up. What was that feeling in her stomach, she wondered. She quickly dismissed it as an indicator that she must be hungry or something. "OK then. Now leave me be. Otherwise, the Captain may yell at me. He's a real pain in the ass." Joey could not believe she made the mistake of calling him Captain. Great, now she'd never hear the end of it, she thought

"I like that, Potter," Pacey said with a shit-eating grin. "Let's have more of that."

Joey stuck her tongue out at him. He's lucky he wasn't closer to her or she really would have let him have it. "Bite me, Pacey."

They worked awhile in a comfortable silence. Well, not complete silence because Pacey could be heard humming along to the classic rock that was booming from his portable radio. Pacey worked on the stern while Joey tackled the bow. This had become a common occurrence these days. Neither was exactly sure how it happened, there wasn't any discussion or established agreement, but it had. It was like so many other things this past year. Joey needed something, Pacey was there, and vice versa. It was simple, natural, and comforting. At some point it started to become more, for one of them at least.

Pacey continued to work while jamming out to "Free Bird." When that song ended, a familiar Cheap Trick tune started. Much to his surprise, Pacey could faintly hear Joey singing along, "I want you to want me, I need you to need me …" Those familiar with the Pacey-Joey banter would assume he would have seized this opportunity for mockery, but Pacey was more perceptive these days. He knew that Joey singing along meant she felt comfortable in her surroundings. She was not someone who often allowed herself to be vulnerable, and he was not someone to take advantage of that vulnerability. Pacey enjoyed a fair fight. Plus, he relished hearing her voice.

As the song began to come to an end, Pacey began moving off the port bow. "Oh, didn't I, didn't I, didn't I see you crying?" He did not get very far before stopping in his tracks to admire his work partner. When she had arrived to their work site after school today, Joey was wearing a long-sleeve t-shirt. He noticed that she had since shed this layer of clothing placing it on the sawhorse he had been using earlier. In it's place he saw a red spaghetti strap tank top. Her recently exposed skin glimmered in the sunlight. The knowledge that she had taken clothes off, no matter how not scandalous, made his heart skip a beat. Her hair was in the process of falling out of the ponytail she had carefully put it in this morning. Pacey noticed one strand of hair in particular moving softly against her back in the light breeze. He silently chastised himself for being jealous of that strand of hair. To touch her without fear of repercussions was a luxury he, Pacey Witter, did not have.

Instead, he was faced with the fear of rejection. He had kissed her once before, which had not had the desired effect. Pacey had recovered from that rejection pretty effortlessly, but things were different now. He really knew her now. For example, he knew that she was concentrating on the sanding she was doing, which meant that her bottom lip was firmly held beneath her top teeth. He also knew that she wasn't just fun when she loosened up, but rather just being in her presence was a gift. Pacey also had to contend with the fear of losing her completely. Once he allowed himself to touch her, he could not un-ring that bell because he knew his body would give his feelings away. One touch and even Oblivious Joey Potter would know something had changed. Pacey was not ready to take that risk because he wanted this goddess in his life. He needed her there and not just because she was good with sandpaper.

Pacey was still daydreaming about being that strand of hair when he realized that Cheap Trick could no longer be heard from his radio. He quickly recognized that he better quickly say or do something before Joey caught him staring. Pacey walked behind Joey pretending to inspect her work. "You know, Josephine, that looks pretty good. Nice work."

Joey cringed at the sound of her full name. Leave it to Pacey to give her a compliment mixed with an insult. "Yeah, looks like the elbow grease I acquired after years of mopping floors at the Ice House have really paid off," she replied sarcastically. She paused for a moment before saying, "I've actually been wanting to ask you where you learned to do all these things, Pacey. I mean, you were always breaking things when we were younger, but I didn't know you could fix them too."

If someone else had asked him that question he likely would have responded with a typical non-committal response, "Funny you should ask me that. To really understand the gift that is Pacey J. Witter, one must start at the very beginning. It all started with a boy and his Playskool toolbox …" but Pacey was too focused on the fact that Joey wanted to ask him something to provide a witty response. He thought about how she said she had been thinking about it, about him, for a while. That information was all it took to completely disarm him. "Well, knowing the difference between a straight head and Phillips screwdriver was one of the few things that was rewarded by the attention of one, John Witter. When I was really little I spent time with my Grandpop in his tool shed. Then, when Chief Witter realized I wasn't doomed to ruin everything I touched, he let me work with him in the garage sometimes. Of course, using his tools for unauthorized activities was severely frowned upon, and I received no small number of whippings for that particular offense. Luckily, I was able to begin collecting my own set of tools, so I wouldn't have to rely on his. Some I inherited from my Grandpop after he passed. Others I accumulated from working with Mitch over the years." Joey nodded her head acknowledging that Dawson certainly wasn't interested in tickering along side Mr. Leery. "The remaining I purchased with my Screen Play Video fortune. Well, except for this." Pacey held up a rather large hammer. "Deputy Doug actually gave me this one right after I got my girl here," he said patting the hull of 'True Love."

"It's huge!" Joey squealed.

"Yeah, my big brother has a tendency to ... Overcompensate," Pacey replied with a raised eyebrow.

Joey blushed at the implication, but forged ahead saying, "And you would know nothing about that, right funny man?" Then she gave Pacey a knowing look. She may have been a bit prudish, but Joey still wasn't going to let him off easy. She was grateful to Doug for mustering up some level of thoughtfulness for his brother. Joey sometimes had the feeling that no one was really looking out for Pacey and that made her ... Angry? Frustrated? Sad? She wasn't exactly sure yet, but she knew she didn't like it. Joey was aware that the original impetus for the project had been as a source of distraction while Pacey mended his broken heart. But some how what happened with Andie seemed like an after thought now. Pacey was invested in 'True Love'. They both were really.

"Haha. Very funny, Miss Queen of Sarcasm," Pacey quipped back. "What about you? They don't exactly teach these things in books and I know you didn't take industrial arts."

Joey considered his question for a moment. Visions of her father came flooding into her consciousness. She shook her head in an effort to remove those thoughts before they were able to take hold. It was still too painful to think about Mike Potter. "Oh you know, I was heavily influenced by the works of Bob Villa. Now, I'll need to put together a list of groceries for you to get before Saturday," Joey said in an unsophisticated effort to change the topic.

Pacey recognized the look on Joey's face. It was similar to the one she got whenever she was thinking about her mom. This look held even more disappointment and raw emotion. Pacey didn't know the specifics, but he did recall Mr. Potter being quite handy growing up. Pacey became momentarily disappointed that Joey decided not to share any of that with him, but that feeling quickly turned to empathy when he recognized that it must be painful for Joey to talk about her recently imprisoned father. He internally vowed to be present for her if and when she was ready to talk about him. Pacey was in no rush. He would follow her lead. "Tell ya what … We've done some good work here today. How's about we clean up, I'll take you home, and you can write out that grocery list?" Pacey suggested. He silently hoped she would agree because this plan would give him more time with her today. He certainly had no intention of going grocery shopping alone. He'd figure out a way to get her to join him later.