Disclaimer: I don't own Dawson's Creek. If I did, I would be living the good life right now instead of being broke. Sorry to burst your bubble.
Pacey knew Joey couldn't take much more. The fact that he knew what they were having and she didn't was starting to get to her. He liked being the one that held that card. She had been trying to get her to tell him for the past three weeks since they had found out. Being pregnant was starting to take it's toll on her. Now that she was six months along she couldn't do the things she used to. She couldn't even get up of the couch without help. It was rare that someone wasn't there to get what she needed. There were some perks, but being stuck in one place for hours at a time was making her restless.
Pacey sat at one end of the couch with Joey's feet propped in her lap. She had recently started complaining that her feet were starting to bother her. Sure enough they were swollen to almost half their size already. Bessie had said that they would get bigger and that the pain would get worse but Joey could barely handle it now. She felt like a whining brat who expected everyone to do everything for her. She wasn't used to that. But no one had complained. At least not yet. He rubbed her feet idly as he looked through a magazine. Joey was flipping through channels when she felt the urge to go to the bathroom.
"Pace help me up." She said pulling her feet away from him.
He pulled her up with one hand and steadied her with another. She waddled down the hall rubbing her back. Bessie and Gail had both said that it was normal for Joey to be the size she was. But she didn't think so. She hadn't seen that many pregnant woman, but the ones she had had not been this big until they were almost ready to have the baby. They had gone to the doctor's the other day and he had told her that not all woman were the same. Some gained more than others. She was one of them. As long as she ate right and didn't skip meals she should be okay.
She came back down the hall and gently lowered herself onto the couch. That was something she could do. Pacey pulled her feet back into his lap once she got situated again. She looked over at him with questioning eyes. She was going to make a deal with him. If she couldn't know the sex of the baby the least she could do was name it.
"Hey Pace."
"Hmm?"
"What would you say if I made a deal with you?"
"What kind of deal?" He asked looking at her over the top of his magazine.
"If the baby is a boy you get to name him. If it's a girl, I get to name her."
Pacey was silent for a few seconds thinking about what she had said. He could give her this.
"I promise not to bug you about the sex anymore." She said giving him doe eyes.
"I guess we can do that. You've got a deal."
Joey smiled triumphantly as Pacey hid a smile. He would let her think she had won for now. He was just glad that she wasn't going to bug him about it anymore.
XXXX
Later that night Pacey was helping Bessie clean after the dinner rush when she turned to look at him. He stopped what he was doing wondering what she had to say.
"You're practically living here. You know that right?"
"Do you not want me here?" Pacey asked bracing himself for the worst.
"I didn't say that. I'm just saying that you're over here a lot."
"Would you rather I take Jo over to Doug's? He'd like her living there more than me anyway."
"I didn't say that either." Bessie said with a sigh.
"Then what are you saying?" He asked giving her a confused look.
"Sit down Pacey." Bessie said putting a hand on his shoulder.
Pacey sat down at the table as Bessie sat across from him. She folded her hands as she laid them on the table. She let out a deep sigh before running her fingers through her hair.
"You know I like having you around. You make Joey happy and you save me a lot of trouble. I don't have to look after her when you are here."
"I know that."
"What I'm trying to say is that if you asked her to marry you I might let you move in here."
"We haven't even talked about getting married Bess. Plus I have a place to live."
"It's just an idea."
"You would be okay if we got engaged?"
"Yeah. Just as long as it's a long engagement."
Pacey shook his head trying to let everything sink in. His girlfriend's sister had just given him permission to ask her to marry him. What was going on? Had hell frozen over? Maybe he should think about asking Joey to marry him. Bessie did give him her blessing.
AN: I know it's short. But my brain is fried right now. Note to all of you: Never try to write when you are sick. It doesn't work.