"No!" Melanie gasped and covered her mouth with her hand.

Pacey nodded. "Yes. I found her in bed with Dawson."

"So what happened?" Melanie asked, feeling horrible for him, wishing Joey was there so she could slap her and shake her and demand to know why she would do such a thing to a man who loved her so much.

Pacey's eyes clouded over and he shrugged. "I hit Dawson a little and Joey began screaming for me to leave him alone and I left." He paused and shrugged again. "I haven't seen or heard from her since."

Melanie sighed and stared at him, not knowing what to say. Pacey filled in the silence for her with an afterthought. "Except for the call from her lawyer about the divorce."

Melanie gasped again and again her hand went to her mouth. "Oh no!"

"Oh yes." He nodded, getting up and going to the refrigerator for another beer.

Melanie frowned as she felt a tug on her heartstrings. She was surprised at herself. She'd literally dreamed about Pacey and Joey getting a divorce and leaving him free to be hers. But now that the proceedings were underway, she felt an incredible sense of unexplainable sadness. Then she realized what it was. Pacey. She loved him so much that she didn't want him to get a divorce; she knew it would make him unhappy. She loved him so much that his happiness came before her desire to be with him.

When Pacey came back and opened his bottle, she lit up a cigarette and smoked it thoughtfully. Pacey was a little annoyed that she didn't ask if he minded her smoking in the house, but he let it slide. They were friends, after all.

"Why did Joey want to get a divorce?" She asked suddenly.

Pacey looked at her in confusion. "What?"

"Joey," Melanie said. "Why did Joey want a divorce?" When Pacey just looked at her speculatively, she continued. "I mean, you caught her in bed with someone else. What gives her the right to divorce you? I would think that you would divorce her."

Pacey shrugged. "She beat me to it."

"What do you mean?"

"She told me she wanted to get a divorce right then and there," Pacey told her bitterly, taking a swig of the beer and declining Melanie's offer of a cigarette. "I guess she wanted to keep on jumping Dawson with a clear conscience."

Melanie frowned and took another pull from her cigarette. Letting the smoke out slowly, she shook her head and rapped on the island counter. "See? Something about that just doesn't make any sense to me."

Laughing humorlessly, Pacey propped his elbow up on the counter and rested his chin in his cupped hand. "What makes n sense?" He asked, drumming his fingers on his knee.

"First of all, how can you divorce your husband to have an affair with a married man with a clear conscience? Why not just stay married? Unless Dawson's getting a divorce too?" Melanie wondered. Pacey shrugged.

"What did Joey say exactly?" Melanie asked him, an idea forming in her head. Pacey sighed. "Come on, Witter. That whole thing just doesn't click. What did she say when you first came in? Specifically."

Trying not to let her see how much it pained him to recount that morning, Pacey told her what she'd said. "She called me a lying bastard, she said she hated me, and she told me she wanted a divorce. That's all."

"See!" Melanie said, slamming her hand on the counter for emphasis. The cigarette jumped out of the ashtray and landed on the counter. Pacey wordlessly picked it up and handed it to her. She took it and waved it around as she spoke. "You caught her in bed with Dawson. Why was she saying she hated you? Why did she call you a lying bastard?"

Pacey shrugged again. Melanie smoked.

"What happened before that morning? When was the last time you saw each other?"

Closing his eyes, Pacey thought back to the last time they'd seen each other. She looked so gorgeous, standing there with her hair damp from her shower. When he kissed her, it felt like he was going to explode. "We made love." He told Melanie achingly, his eyes still shut, unable to see the pain contort Melanie's face.

They were silent for a moment, Pacey trying to banish thoughts of that night from his mind, Melanie insisting to herself that if she began crying, she wouldn't be much help to Pacey.

"All right," Melanie told him, blowing smoke rings, hoping she looked unaffected. "I don't know about Joey, but I wouldn't tell someone that I hated him and call him a lying bastard if the last thing we did was sleep together. Unless…"

Waiting for her to finish, Pacey prompted her when she didn't, "Unless what?"

"Unless something happened to make her think that you were lying to her," Melanie said quietly. "Unless something happened to make her hate you. Unless something happened… to make her sleep with Dawson to get back at you."

"But I didn't even do anything." Pacey said incredulously.

"You don't know that."

"What are you going to do?" Jen asked quietly. They were sitting in the kitchen, Jen drinking coffee, Joey drinking orange juice. Joey had taken another pregnancy test, which had come up just as positive as the last one.

Joey took a deep breath and slowly shook her head. "I don't know." She whispered.

Jen sipped her coffee and let Joey think for a while. It was a lot to digest. There was the possibility that Pacey didn't actually sleep with someone else, and then there was the baby. Joey had to make some decisions, and the sooner she made them, the better.

"Are you going to keep the baby?" Jen asked gently.

Joey looked up at her, horrified. "Of course."

Jen held up a hand defensively. "I'm sorry. I just—you know, I… I know you're Pro-Choice and…"

Joey nodded her understanding. "I am, but…" her eyes clouded over and she propped her elbow up on the table and pressed her forehead to her palm. "I couldn't do that… not after losing L.J.…"

"Sorry." Jen told her again.

"Don't apologize," Joey reassured her, resting her hand briefly on Jen's and looking her in the eye to show she meant it. She sighed and began pulling the pins from her hair. Jen drank her coffee and watched Joey give her hair a shake and tuck the long dark strands behind her ears.

"So what next?" Jen inquired.

Shrugging, Joey said, "You're the one with the theories. I was doing fine just divorcing Pacey and getting on with my life."

Jen wanted to point out that Joey wasn't 'doing fine', but figured it would be a waste of time and considered the question instead. "Well, now that we've dealt with one of the possibilities, what do you say to dealing with another?"

"What do you mean?" Joey asked suspiciously, not liking the gleam in Jen's eyes.

"Ask Pacey if he slept with that girl." Jen said simply.

Joey gaped at her. "Just like that?"

"Just like that."

"After that whole thing with Dawson? After I asked him for a divorce? I would have absolutely no right to do that." She told her, aghast. Jen rolled her eyes and took a casual sip of her coffee.

"I would think that if Pacey really didn't sleep with her, and if he is sitting at home right now wishing things were different between you two, he wouldn't mind." Joey gave her a look. "Well, he would mind at first," Jen amended. "But think of the result. You'd be together, and Casey and Aliya will have two parents to complain to when this baby is getting all the attention."

Joey blinked. She really hadn't been factoring Casey and Aliya into the equation. She missed them, and she knew that Pacey had been missing them too. They didn't know about their plans for a divorce; Joey put off telling them. They didn't say anything, but she knew that they knew that something was up, especially Casey. Casey was a smart girl, a smart and intuitive little girl who spoke her mind. She wouldn't keep quiet for long.

"I don't know," Joey said uneasily. "This is all too much at once." She rubbed her temples, trying to soothe the headache that was beginning to form.

"I'm only trying to help you do what's right." Jen said softly. "And divorcing Pacey for something he didn't do is definitely not right."

Joey took a deep breath. Jen was right, of course. "But what about the thing with Dawson? Pacey was furious."

"Just explain to him the position you were in, and he'll understand. He's not an unfeeling bastard; he'll realize that you needed someone to turn to," Jen paused and tilted her head to one side as she eyed Joey speculatively. "You know, he probably jumped to the wrong conclusion himself."

"I was thinking the same thing," Joey agreed. "But I didn't care, because it would serve him right. But if he didn't sleep with her… well would be a different story."

"I would say so." Jen paused. "So when are you going to talk to him?"

She was answered by a shrug. Jen gave her a look. "All right," Joey sighed and said, "As soon as possible."

"How about tonight?" Jen suggested. When Joey balked at that, Jen nodded. "All right—tomorrow, then."

"Tomorrow." Joey accepted. "After work."

"Wait a minute. So you're telling me that there's a chance that Joey's divorcing me because of something I didn't do?" Pacey asked. "You're telling me that she slept with my best friend for something that I didn't do? If she didn't decide that she belonged with Dawson, what the hell could I have done for her to do something like that?"

Melanie shrugged. "That's the problem. I don't know. That's a hell of a way to get back at someone. But people do that sometimes."

"Why?"

"Usually because their partner slept with someone else. Maybe she thinks you did." Melanie suggested.

Pacey snickered grimly. "Yeah right. And whom would I have slept with? You?"

Melanie shrugged again and assured herself that he didn't mean that as an insult. "Maybe. Maybe she saw us together and assumed the worst."

Pacey mulled that one over but rejected it. "Joey wouldn't do that," he decided. "She's not that kind of person. As a matter of fact, unless she was in love with someone else, she wouldn't sleep around on me. And I would've liked to think that if she did want to be with someone else, she'd tell me. But I guess I thought too highly of her in that respect." He finished resentfully, glowering at the bottle in his hand.

"Look, you guys just need to talk," Melanie sighed. "You don't just divorce someone without talking."

Pacey snorted. "Talk about what exactly?" he asked crossly. "The way she would drink herself into a stupor instead of talking to me? The way she ran off to Dawson's for two weeks without a word? What? The way she slept with me and then ran out? The way she fucked Dawson? Oh no, there's nothing left to talk about. All I need to know is where to sign and how often I get to see my girls. She can have this house. I can't step foot into the goddamn bedroom anyway. Crazy, right? But I can't."