center
font size="6"New Life/font/br
font size="5"When I Fall In Love/font
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phr
centeri
When I fall in love/br
It will be completely/br
Or I'll never fall in love/br
In a restless world like this is/br
Love is ended before it's begun/br
And too many moonlight kisses /br
Seem to cool in the warmth of the sun/br
/br
When I give my heart/br
It will be completely/br
Or I'll never give my heart/br
And the moment I can feel that you feel that way too/br
Is when fall in love with you/br
/br
When I fall in love/br
It will forever/br
Or I'll never fall in love/br
In a restless world like this is/br
Love is ended before it's begun/br
And too many moonlight kisses /br
Seem to cool in the warmth of the sun/br
/br
When I give my heart/br
It will be completely/br
Or I'll never give my heart/br
And the moment I can feel that you feel that way too/br
Is when I fall in love/br
When I fall in love/br
When I fall in love with you/br
~When I Fall In Love/br
~Celine Dion and Clive Griffith/i
/center
phr

pOver the next couple of weeks, Pacey and Joey had helped one another out
with the others kids. Pacey, being a high school teacher and off for the summer,
watched Noah during the day while Joey was at the Icehouse taking care of the
business and paying the bills. Afterwards, Pacey would meet Joey and the four of
them, Pacey, Joey, Noah, and Sam would all have dinner at the Icehouse or one of
them would offer to cook.

pPacey liked this arrangement. When he was with Joey, he had someone else to
talk to other than a six year old. And besides that, he didn't feel so alone. He felt
like there was hope yet. He felt like he could get on with his life. Though it would
be extremely difficult, he would move on; never forgetting the wonderful woman
that he still loved and missed everyday, but finding that he could live with
knowing that she was somewhere better off than she was with him. That
realization hurt Pacey to no end, but it was better for his wife.

pJoey found this arrangements to have it's benefits. Since Dawson left, there
had only been a few adults that she talked to. Other than Jen and Bessie, Joey was
left to have conversations with Noah, a five year old who love cartoons. She loved
her son, but she needed to have a conversation with someone who was her own
age and was interested in the same things she was. Finding companionship in
someone who was five years old and had no idea what the "Breakfast Club" was
made finding something worth talking about a little more than difficult.

pPacey, Noah, and Sam had just arrived at the Icehouse when Joey was
showing the plumber the bathroom that had flooded. Her day was not going well.
One of her waitresses quit, one of her cooks was sick, and she was exhausted after
Noah had been up the night before with a fever.

p"Hey, Jo."

p"Mommy!" Noah screamed as he ran for her.

p"Someone looks like they're feeling better."

p"Pacey made me soup."

p"Me too!" Sam squealed as her father picked her up.

p"Yeah. Sam made the soup too," Noah said wiping his nose. "And we
watched...what did we watch again?"

p"Charlie Brown's Christmas. Seems your son has never seen it."

p"I know. On Christmas it's hard enough to get him to sit still five minutes.
What was that doing on in July?"

p"Christmas in July. I don't know. It was on...they saw Snoopy, and they
watched it."

p"Oh. Well, you guys hungry?"

p"Yeah. How much longer until you're done here?"

p"As soon as the plumber comes back out and tells my why the women's toilet
overflowed."

p"Oh...that sounds like it was fun to clean up," he said sarcastically.

p"It was!" she snipped back.

p"Can we go sit down, Ms. Joey?"

p"Yeah, you and Noah go sit in that booth over there. You want something to
drink?"

p"Yeah."

p"Okay, I'll send you something over, okay?"

p"Okay."

pNoah and Sam ran over to the booth and sat down. Joey turned to Pacey and
smiled. She was too tired for words, and all she could think about was how much
the plumber was going to ask for.

p"Rough day?"

p"You have no idea, Pacey."

p"Really, I deal with hundreds of know-it-all teenagers for nine months. I know
what a rough day is, believe me."

p"Yeah. I seem to recall you being one of those know-it-alls in high school."

p"The difference between me and them is that I did know it all."

p"Yeah. Right."

pPacey sat on a stool and Joey followed, resting her head in her hands. "So,
was Noah a pain today? He usually is when he's sick."

p"Nope. He was good. He fell asleep at about 12 and woke up about an hour
before we got here."

p"Good. Maybe he'll feel good enough tonight to actually sleep."

p"Was he up all night?"

p"Yes. I feel so bad when he's sick because I don't know how to make him
well, and he cries, and I hate it when he cries, Pacey."

p"I know. I hate seeing Sam cry. It rips my heart out."

p"Well, who would have ever thought that Pacey Witter and Joey Potter would
be sitting in the Icehouse talking about the feeling of their hearts being ripped out
of their chests whenever they see their children crying?"

p"Not me."

p"Me either." She stated. "Oh, Jen's coming to town next week."

p"Really?"

p"Yeah. I told her you were back, so she said she's taking her vacation and is
dragging Nicholas down here."

p"Good. I miss Jenny."

p"Why do you call her that?"

p"The same reason I called you Josephine. Because it irritates you."

pJoey laughed. "Yes it did. And it still does."

p"So, where are we eating?"

p"I don't know. All I know is that I am not cooking."

p"We could eat here."

p"Pacey, I've been here all day. I would really like to leave."

p"Okay. Wanna go out to eat somewhere else?"

p"Yeah...I guess."

p"Ms. Potter?"

pJoey turned around to see the plumber standing behind her, holding a plastic
bag. Joey eyed the bag and the plumber oddly.

p"I found this in your system."

p"What is it?"

p"It just appears to be a bag."

p"And that was what caused the toilet to over flow?"

p"No. The things caught in it caused it to overflow, not letting anything past
it."

p"I don't even want to know what was caught in it do I?"

p"Not really?"

p"Thank you. Come on, I'll get your money."

pJoey hopped off the stool and walked back into her office. Pacey went over to
the two children in the booth. Sam and Noah were talking about something that
Pacey had never heard of. He looked around the restaurant and noticed that it was
very crowded.

p"Daddy?"

p"Yeah sweetie?"

p"Where'd Miss Joey go?"

p"She had to go do something."

p"Are we going to eat?"

p"That's the plan. Why? Are you hungry?"

pShe nodded her head. Pacey smiled at her. "Well, we'll get you fed."

p"I want pizza," Noah exclaimed.

p"You do?"

p"Yeah! I want pizza too!"

p"Well, we'll ask Joey and see what she says."

p"See what I say about what?"

p"Pizza."

pJoey looked down at the two bright-eyed children. Their smiles widening as
they saw that she was going to give in. She turned to Pacey who was staring up at
her expectantly.

p"Okay...just as long as there is not fish anywhere in sight."

pThe two children smiled. "Okay, so...who's riding with me and who's riding
with Joey?"

p"I wanna ride with Pacey, Momma."

p"Okay...so...Sam is riding with me."

p"Okay."

p"So...where are we going to eat pizza at Joey?"

p"Chuck E. Cheese!"

pJoey raised her eye brows at Pacey. He grimaced.

p"Can we eat somewhere that has good pizza?"

p"Aw...come on Daddy," Sam said smiling.

p"Come on, what?"

pSam perched on her knees and wrapped her arms around his neck.
"Pleeeeeeease?"

pPacey smiled. Joey knew he was going to give in. All Sam had to do now was
kiss him on the cheek and Pacey was putty in her hands. It was wonderful to see
him so caring with his daughter. She knew that the more time she spent with
Pacey and Sam, the more she began to feel like, maybe they were building their
own type of family.

pJoey watched as Sam smiled at Pacey and then kissed his cheek. "I love you,
Daddy."

pThat was it, Pacey was now mush. He wrapped his arms around the child and
kissed her forehead. "Well, I guess that means we're eating at Chuck E. Cheese."

pJoey smiled. Pacey was mush when it came to Sam. She was the same way
with Noah. It's strange how their children had this control over them that no one
else was ever able to gain.

p"Okay, Sam, let's go. Leave the boys alone and we'll get there before them."

pPacey smirked. "In your dreams, Potter."

p"Bring it on, Witter," she said with a playful poke to his chest.

pSam and Joey ran to Joey's car. Pacey lifted Noah and ran quickly to his
parked next to her. Joey was already down the highway before Pacey got Noah
seat belted in.

p"Mr. Pacey?"

p"Hmmm?"

p"Why did you stop running?"

pPacey smiled. "I wanted to let your mom win."

p"Why?"

p"Because....she's a really sore loser," he said laughing.

phr

pJoey and Pacey sat at the table with the half eaten pizza and a bag of tokens,
while Sam and Noah were playing games. Joey stared at Pacey's face. He really
hadn't changed. He still looked exactly the same.

p"Ya know what Jo?"

p"What?"

p"I'm really glad you're back in my life."

pJoey smiled. "I feel the same way, Pacey."

pPacey bit the inside of his lip. Trying to think of what he wanted to say to her.
There were so many things he wanted to say to her. He wanted to tell her that
she's still one of the most beautiful things he's ever seen. He wanted to tell her that
without her help over the last couple of weeks, he would have really had his hands
full with Sam and life in general. He wanted to tell her that every second he was
with her and didn't think about Veronica, he felt that much more guilty when he
got home.

pThe guilt was mounting. He felt horrible every time he looked at Joey as
something other than a friend. It was like he was dishonoring Veronica's memory.
He'd never felt guilty about looking at other women when she was alive for the
thought that he was married and had a beautiful wife to go home to. But now
things were different. She was gone, and Joey was very much there.

pSam and Noah rushed up to the table with rows and rows of tickets in their
hands. Joey and Pacey both sat up, eyes wide. They turned to their children, both
beaming with pride.

p"Sam, how in the world did you win all these tickets?"

p"There's a matching game over there. We matched them all up."

pJoey smiled. "So, you guys want more tokens?" she asked. She looked down
at her son who yawned. "Or are you guys ready to cash in you tickets and go
home."

p"I wanna go home, Mommy."

p"You do?"

p"Yes."

p"Yeah...Sam, why don't you and Noah take your tickets up there and get a
prize okay?"

p"Okay."

pSam and Noah ran up to the counter, both holding their tickets. Pacey turned
to Joey who was fishing in her wallet. Pacey grabbed her wrist, stopping her.

p"What are you doing?"

p"I'm paying."

p"No, Jo, it's my treat."

p"Pacey..."

pHe stuck up his hand to silence any further protests. "I said my treat."

pJoey gave in. She walked up to where Noah and Sam were waiting to turned
their tickets in, watching their excited little faces glow. Pacey watched Joey as she
rubbed Sam's hair. She was so caring with his daughter. He appreciated all the
things that Joey did to make Sam feel comfortable in a new town.

pPacey made his way over to the three of them and watched Sam and Noah
stand on their tip toes to see over the counter at the things hanging on the wall.
Sam got a weird purple monkey and Noah picked a stuffed Chucky Cheese. The
two children smiled at the adults with pride.

p"Okay, Sam. Tell Joey and Noah goodnight."

p"Daddy, can Noah spend the night?"

p"Yeah? Can I?"

p"No. You've been sick all day. You're going home," Joey said sternly.

pPacey looked down at his daughter, seeing the disappointment written in her
eyes. But he knew that it wasn't a good idea to let him, although he had been with
Pacey all day, and seemed to feel much better.

p"You heard, Joey. She said no."

p"Please, Pacey," asked Noah.

p"Please, Daddy."

p"Joey, help me here."

p"Noah. I said no."

p"But mommy. I'm not sick any more."

p"Yeah. He's not sick. Please, Ms. Joey."

p"Noah..."

p"Please, Mommy."

pPacey saw her reserve die, and he knew that Noah would be at his house
tonight. Pacey smiled as Joey looked at him.

p"You gonna stop by and get some of his clothes?"

p"Yeah."

p"YAY!!!" The two children screamed excitedly.

p"Okay. Let's get a move on."

pJoey scooped Noah up into her arms, the child giggled and she smiled down at
his bright face. She kissed him on the forehead, then set him back down. Pacey
watched the exchange, never finding Joey more beautiful than when she cared for
her child or his. There was something about watching her be so motherly to a
child, and it affected him in ways he wasn't aware that it could.

pJoey caught Pacey staring at her. She smiled her half smile, feeling a little
uncomfortable with his watching her. She ushered Noah out to her car, taking his
hand as they walked across the parking lot. Pacey lifted Sam onto his shoulders,
hearing the little girl's squeaks of laughter.

pJoey turned and saw the smiling girl on his shoulders. Something about a man
taking care of his child, making the child happy beyond belief, seemed like the
sexiest thing in the world. Seeing the child's short size and lack of strength set
against a strong, handsome, sexy man was something that she was just discovering
had an overwhelming effect on her.

pPacey opened the passenger side door to his car, setting Sam inside. He turned
to see Joey standing next to his car. He shut Sam's door, then walked to where she
was standing.

p"What's the matter?"

p"Are you sure you want to take him tonight? I mean, he seems to feel
better...."

p"Joey...I'll be fine. And so will he. Besides, he and Sam wore themselves out
playing in there. I'm almost willing to bet that once they get to my house, they
will go to sleep."

p"Will you?"

pPacey looked confused, "Will I what?"

pJoey shook her head, then smiled up at him, "Nothing. Nevermind."

p"Are you sure you're okay?"

p"Yes."

p"Okay, see you in a few minutes."

phr

pJoey opened Noah's closet and pulled out his bag he took to slipovers. Pacey
was sitting on Noah's bed, playing with Dawson's old E.T. doll. He knew what
Joey meant about the 'will you' question. He knew that Sam told her about his lack
of sleep. They'd talked about it. But, he'd never been ready to fully discuss it.

pJoey turned around and saw Pacey looking blankly at the doll. She raised her
eyebrows, then went to Noah's dresser.

p"You okay?"

p"Yeah, I guess."

p"Wanna talk about it?"

p"Not really."

p"Are you sure?"

p"Yeah." He was dying to ask her one question. Not even about their children,
but about her and her personal life. He wasn't sure why he wanted to know, but he
did. It was a question that gnawed at him on the inside, and he had no choice. He
had to ask her. Why didn't she ever date? "Jo, can I ask you a rather personal
question?"

p"What's it about?"

p"Dating."

p"What about it?"

p"Why don't you?"

pJoey turned and looked at him, "What brought that up?"

p"I was just thinking, you're still young and beautiful and successful...you could
have any guy you set your sights on, and yet, you never go out with anyone. Why
is that?"

p"I guess...because I can't find anyone who interests me."

p"Is that the real reason?"

p"What do you mean, is that the real reason?"

p"I mean, is it really because you can't find anyone, or because you're afraid to
find someone?"

pJoey furrowed her brow, "What?"

p"Is it because you are afraid of being hurt again?"

p"Partially. What about you? It's been a while for you..."

p"I'm not ready. I'm not over Veronica."

p"Did you always call her Veronica?"

p"I called her Ronnie most of the time. But I find that when I say Veronica,
people know who I'm talking about."

p"How come you didn't invite me to your wedding?"

p"Why didn't you invite me to yours?"

p"Because...I had no idea where you were."

pPacey frowns, "I did kind of disappear, didn't I?"

p"Yeah." Joey picks up a sheet of paper off the dresser, looks it over, then
hands it to Pacey, "I've been meaning to give this to you."

p"What is it?"

p"It's a form for this camp that I sent Noah to last year. I'm sending him in a
month, and I thought that you could let Sam go."

p"A camp?"

p"Yeah."

pPacey smiles, "How very suburban of you."

p"I know. But he had a lot of fun. And he talked about it for months."

p"I'll think about it."

p"Hey, think about this, with Sam and Noah gone, you can get everything
together that you need before school starts. You can be the very prepared Mr.
Witter."

p"I get things done when they're around."

pJoey and Pacey hear something break, they look at one another, then run down
the stairs. Noah and Sam are looking at a collectors plate, lying on the floor next
to the shelf it fell off.

pJoey looks at the crying Sam, "What happened?"

p"I...I fell...and the plate hit my hand," she said holding up the bloody hand.

p"Oh GOD!" Pacey, exclaimed. Before he could rush to Sam's side, Joey was
holding her and walking into the kitchen.

p"Could you clean up the plate, while I clean up her hand?"

p"Jo..."

p"Please, Pace. It would be easier to bandage this up if just one person is doing
it."

pPacey watched Joey place Sam next to the sink and pull the First Aid kit out of
the cabinet next to her. Sam was still crying, but seemed to calm down some as
Joey started talking to her.

pNoah watched Pacey as he stared into the kitchen. He was really scared for
Sam. He didn't know that a person could turn green, and Pacey had. Noah pulled
on Pacey's pants, and Pacey looked down at the little boy.

p"Mommy is good at making boo boo's better."

pPacey smiled, "Good."

p"Are you scared?"

p"Yeah. But, she's in good hands with Joey."

p"Yeah. I thought Mommy was going to be mad."

p"About the plate?"

p"Uh-huh. It was the last thing my Daddy gave her."

p"I think she's more concerned over how Sam's doing right now." Pacey kneeled
and started picking up the parts of the broken plate. "How did this happen?"

p"We were playing tag, and Sam slipped and hit the wall, and the plate fell
down and broke."

p"What does that tell you?"

p"That glass is easy to break?"

p"No. Don't play tag in the house." Pacey set the pieces in the trash can. He
started thinking about the camp idea. "So, are you excited about going to camp?"

p"Kind of."

p"Why only 'kind of'?"

p"Cause I want Sam to go."

p"What if I told you I was going to let her go too?"

p"You are?!"

p"Maybe."

p"Then I would be happy!" said the boy, smiling.

p"All better," Joey said, walking in with Sam.

p"Mommy, Pacey said that Sam is going to camp, too!"

pJoey stared at Pacey, then smiled. She looked down at Sam who was giggling
at Noah's little dance. Pacey walked over to his daughter, scooping her up into his
arms. He kissed her on the cheek then looked at her hand. On the palm of her
hand was a small band aid.

p"It was only a scratch," Sam said as she yawned.

p"So...I'm going to go get Noah's stuff together...stay down here and watch
them."

p"Yes ma'am."

pJoey smiles and starts up the stairs, "Don't be a dork."

phr

pLater that night, as Pacey was in bed, the phone rang. He picked it up,
knowing that it was her. She's called three times already, checking on Noah.

p"Hello?"

p"Hey," she said softly.

p"He's fine, Jo. Stop worrying."

p"Okay. I know I shouldn't be so..."

p"Insane?"

p"I was going to say protective, but if you think insane is a better word..."

p"I do have a child Joey, I know the number to the fire department and police
department, and I know CPR...so stop worrying."

p"Okay. Sorry. So...what are you doing?"

p"About to go to sleep."

p"How are you sleeping these days, Pace?"

pHe sighed, "I'm getting better. I don't wake up screaming anymore, if that's
what you mean."

p"Are you still having the dreams?"

p"Not as bad. Usually they are just memories now...none of the really graphic
dreams."

p"Good."

p"What about you Joey?"

p"What about me?"

p"Well, it's 1:00 in the morning, and you are talking to me on the phone about
sleeping while you could be doing it."

p"Sometimes I have these dreams, and they seem so real."

p"What kind of dreams?"

p"They are more along the lines of fantasies."

pPacey laughed, "Joey Potter is having porn dreams. That's funny."

p"They aren't porn, Pacey. They're romantic."

p"Like what?"

p"I'm not telling you."

p"Why not?"

p"Because you'll just make fun of me."

p"I will not."

p"Yes you will. I'll tell you and then you'll say something like, 'You are such a
girl' or , 'You need mental help if you think that's romantic'. And I like my
dreams...so...I'm not going to let you ruin them for me."

pSoftly, sincerely, "I would never do that, Joey. Sometimes...all people have
are dreams."

p"You swear you won't laugh?"

p"Cross my heart and hope to die."

pJoey sighed, "Fine. The one I have the most often usually involves a picnic.
It's out by the creek, the sun is setting, and...I feel really stupid telling you this."

p"I want to hear it, Joey."

p"Well, it's me and this man, I can't make out his face, and we're kissing. You
know the kind of kiss that takes your breath away, makes you week in the knees,
gives you butterflies and goose bumps?"

pWhispers, "Yeah."

p"That's the kind of kiss. Full of passion and heat and..."

p"Love?"

p"Yeah."

p"Is there anymore to this dream?"

p"Yes, but there is bno/b way I'm telling you that."

p"Sounds like a wonderful dream, Jo."

p"You don't think it's corny?"

p"I think it sounds beautiful."

pJoey smiles. She listened to the sound of his breathing. Soft, steady. He was
getting to her in a way that she didn't know anyone could. Being around him so
much recently has made her realize that she is falling into something she may not
be able to recover from.

p"I don't have to work tomorrow, so if you want to bring the kids over here and
all of us go swimming, you can."

p"Sounds good. I'll see you tomorrow."

p"Yeah."

p"And Jo?"

p"Hmmm?"

p"I hope you find the guy that gives you butterflies and goosebumps."

p"Thanks, Pacey. Bye."

p"Bye."

pJoey hung up the phone, thinking about what Pacey had just said. She looked
down at her arm, goosebumps decorating her skin. "I think I already have." She
then threw her head into her pillow and screamed.

phr

pcenter
To Be Continued...
/center