Part Four One month later - Friday
Joey had the baby nestled against her shoulder, trying to burp her, when there was a sudden knock on the door. She cursed silently and headed downstairs, patting the baby's back as she went. The look on her face as the door swung open must have been one of pure surprise because Jen laughed slightly.
'Jen, hi!' she stood in the doorway unsure as to whether to hug her or politely ask her inside. She opted for the latter, closing the door behind her as she entered the house.
'I'm sorry I haven't been over before now.' She glanced away, suddenly unable to look at her friend or the baby that was sleeping soundly against her shoulder 'It's just'
'Jen, it's ok. I know.' She smiled sympathetically 'Let me just go and put her down. Could you put the kettle on for me and I'll make us a drink'.
Once the baby was settled she appeared in the kitchen just as Jen had finished making them a drink and was sitting at the counter. Joey grabbed her mug and leaned back against the sink 'How've you been? I know Dawson has been speaking to Pacey but it's not the same'.
Jen nodded and smiled thinly 'I'm ok' She glanced around the kitchen, noticing for the first time the various baby items that were scattered around the room. She turned her attention back to Joey 'It's been rough, it still is, but we're coping'.
Joey nodded 'I kept meaning to come over or call or something but I just couldn't find the words.' She stopped, knowing how hollow her words must have sounded 'Jeez, who am I kidding, I kept thinking of things I wanted to say but then I thought how I would feel in your shoes and the words sounded pointless, empty'.
Jen smiled slightly 'I've heard a lot worse lately Jo. Don't worry about it, I could've just as easily picked up the phone, I wanted to congratulate you both but…' She could suddenly feel tears swimming in her eyes 'God I…'
Joey could see her trying to compose herself and was aching to go over and hug her. Not sure whether it would be welcome, she threw caution to the wind and enveloped her friend in a hug, sighing with relief 'I'm so sorry Jen'.
Jen sniffled slightly, angry at herself at letting herself go in front of Joey, she pulled back slightly, sniffing 'Don't be. It wasn't anyone's fault'.
'How's Dawson been?'.
Jen laughed sharply 'I don't know, he's suddenly become so closed off from me. I know he doesn't blame me and I'm probably partly to blame because I pulled away so sharply after it happened but' She blew her nose into the tissue that Joey was holding out for her 'It's like he doesn't need me at all'.
Joey shook her head, settling herself on the stool next to Jen 'That's what he used to get like when his parents were going through problems. It's like, if he ignores it, everything is ok'.
Jen nodded 'He's considering taking a break to go and see them'.
'On his own?'.
'I think so..'.
'How do you feel about that?'.
She shrugged 'I don't know…. I don't know how I feel about anything anymore'.
'It'll get better Jen'.
She looked at Joey sharply 'How can you be so sure?'.
Joey rose from her chair and grabbed the two now empty mugs from the counter 'I know how much you two love each other' she indicated the kettle 'Do you want another cup?' preparing the coffee at Jen's nod 'A horrible thing has happened to you, but you can get through it'.
'I wish I could believe you.' She shook her head, trying to dispel the negative thoughts from her head 'So enough about me, how are you guys?'.
Joey rolled her eyes dramatically 'Ugghh, well if you consider the fact that I have had about 3 hours sleep in the last two days, I haven't had a chance to do any washing or tidying in about a month let alone wash and bathe myself we're doing great' She smiled, letting Jen know that as hard as it was she wouldn't be without any of it. 'Pace is doing his best but with the hours he works it isn't fair to expect more, he's wonderful at the weekend's, I actually get to sleep in as he takes the pair of them out for a walk first thing'.
'What have you named her?'.
'Rebecca'.
Jen smiled 'Pretty'.
Joey rubbed her eyes 'It sure was easier with Megan. She got into a sleep routine almost immediately but with Becca she can go three hours without waking but sometimes it's only half an hour'. She caught a momentary statement of jealously from Jen and quickly apologised 'I'm sorry, I know I should be thankful for what I've got, I am' she nodded emphatically. 'But it gets hard' as if to accentuate this, she heard Rebecca cry out upstairs 'I'll be right back'.
As she disappeared upstairs Jen's eyes wandered around the kitchen, smiling at the pictures obviously drawn by Megan on the fridge door depicting Joey and Pacey Her gaze then falling on the pre-prepared bottles of formula and the various pacifiers in a bowl next to them. The cries from upstairs suddenly grew louder, and Jen quickly headed upstairs to check on them. Joey was franticly pacing around her and Pacey's bedroom, patting the baby on the back.
'Is she ok?'.
Joey shook her head 'I think she's coming down with something, she feel's hot. Do you think you could grab the thermometer from the bathroom cabinet for me?'
She nodded and reappeared seconds later, holding it out to Joey, watching as she placed it gently in the screaming child's ear '103' She looked panicky at Jen 'I'm going to get her to the doctors.' She quickly gathered up a couple of blankets from the bassinet and placed them around her, heading downstairs.
Jen scurried behind her 'Do you think you should call Pacey?'.
Joey shook her head as she buckled her into her car seat 'He's in a meeting all day today. They're trying to land this huge deal with a multinational'.
'What about Megan?'.
Bessie has been taking care of her for me for a few hours a week to give me a break. I don't usually collect her until 6 ish'.
'I'll drive you'.
Joey nodded gratefully 'Are you sure?'.
She ushered them all out of the door 'I've got nothing else to do, besides you look like you could do with the company'.
Joey and Jen emerged from the doctors at half past three, exactly five minutes after they had been seen by the doctor 'an ear infection?' Jen questioned.
Joey nodded 'That's all, but she did tell me it was wise to bring her down. I've just got to give her some drops three times a day and watch that her temperature doesn't go up at all'.
9:30pm
Pacey walked wearily up the steps to the house, fumbling with his key in the lock while holding his briefcase and jacket. He opened the door to find Jen and Megan seated on the sofa watching a Disney film 'Hey' he slung his jacket over the back of the chair, dropping his briefcase behind the sofa. Picking up Megan and hugging her when she appeared at his side, he ruffled her hair 'Hey baby'.
She nestled her head on his shoulder as he greeted Jen 'Hey Jen, how are you doing?'.
She nodded 'I'm better thanks. Nice day at the office dear?'.
He grinned at her remark 'D here?'.
She shook her head 'Nope, I dropped by this afternoon to see Jo and she invited me to stay for dinner.' She inclined her head upwards 'But judging by the fact that she's been up there with the baby for half an hour I think she's fallen asleep or something'.
He plonked himself and Megan down in the chair opposite her 'She ok?'.
She nodded reassuringly 'Just exhausted, we had to take Rebecca to the doctors this afternoon and she's been crying non stop ever since'.
His head snapped up 'What's wrong with her?'.
'Just an ear infection, but Jo was pretty freaked'.
'Why didn't she call me?'.
'She didn't want to pull you out of your meeting. The baby's fine though, just crying a lot!'.
'I'm just going to go up and see them' he tickled Megan and deposited the laughing child onto Jen's lap.
He pushed open the door to their room, forehead furrowing when he didn't see her on the bed. He opened the door fully and saw her on the window seat with the baby nestled against her chest. He sat gently in front of her, smiling at the image, they were both fast asleep. He reached out and placed a hand against the baby's forehead, feeling for any temperature, she was warm but didn't feel alarmingly so. Joey stirred and he gently picked the baby up, cradling her in his arms before placing her in her bassinet, careful not to wake her. He returned back to Jo who was at least partially awake now and watching him.
'Hey' she whispered.
'Hey' He sat next to her on the window seat 'She ok?' his face full of concern.
She nodded, leaning against his shoulder 'She's got an ear infection.' She held up a tiny bottle 'I got drops'.
He placed an arm around her shoulder 'And how's her mom?'
She closed her eyes momentarily 'Fine'.
He rubbed her shoulder with his thumb, sweeping her hair back from her face with his free hand 'I've got some good news.'
Her head jerked up and she turned to face him 'How was the meeting??'
He smiled 'Good, very good, it went really well but that isn't the good news'.
'You won the lottery?'.
'Because we signed the 'big' deal today the boss has granted us all a two week vacation, so you're going to be stuck with me around the house for a couple of weeks'
She grinned widely, bumping him with her shoulder 'I can't think of a single thing that I can get you to do'.
He smiled, his face turning serious suddenly 'I'm sorry I've kind of dumped everything around here on you recently'.
'You haven't Pacey' she shook her head vehemently 'I don't work, you do, and it's sort of my job'.
'It shouldn't have to be, I mean look at you, you're exhausted, I lost count of the number of times I heard her cry last night'.
'She's not well'.
'Well, I'm going to be here to help over the next two weeks, so you can get a bit more rest and I don't want you sleeping in the nursery with her, I miss you at night.'
She nodded, taking hold of his hands and enclosing them within her own 'Did you see Jen downstairs?'
'Uh huh, she's watching 101 Dalmatians with Megan.'
'Again?, that must be the 101st time she has seen that film'.
Pacey stood, pulling her with him 'Come on, I feel a pizza order coming on'.
Pacey finally collapsed into bed around 11pm. While Joey checked on the baby and Megan he found himself making plans of the things they could all do during his time off. When she emerged from the hallway and into their bathroom for her normal nightly cleansing routine he had already planned the activities for roughly half their week.
'I wonder how long she'll be down for?' she commented, brushing her hair as she returned to the bedroom. 'I give her an hour, tops'.
He reached over and pulled her down onto the bed next to him, causing her to drop the hairbrush onto the floor by the bed 'I'll go when she does'.
She smirked up at him 'Yeah, how about the next five or six times she cries during the night?'.
His face fell slightly 'Wasn't Megan sleeping through by this age?'.
She nodded 'Yes, but I think Rebecca gets her disposition from her father'.
He quirked his eyebrow at her 'Meaning what?'
'Well, Megan is more like my side of the family, able to just sit and relax, watch TV, vegetate. Whereas Becca is an active little soul'.
'I can't help it that I can't sit still for more than ten minutes.' His gaze fell from her eyes to her body that had filled out remarkably since the birth.
She swatted the hand that was making its way down from her shoulder to cup her breast. She sighed softly, closing her eyes 'Pace'.
He smirked up at her innocently 'Yes'.
'Don't start something we can't finish'.
'Do you know how long it's been?'.
She groaned 'Too long.' Seeing the look in his eyes beginning to heat up if anything she leaned over him, resting the top half of her body on his. When his eyes closed in pleasure she leaned in and kissed him, deepening it as he began to return it. Their tongues wrestled, both starving for each other's kiss, moaning softly as hands began to wander. He pulled away first, panting breathlessly 'Jeez Jo, what did you just finish saying'.
She smiled softly 'Sorry, I couldn't help it.' Not sure whether he was angry with her she pulled herself off of him, crawling into her side of the bed after turning off the lamp on her bedside table.
'It's ok.' he lay on his back, turning his head to look at her in the moonlit room 'Jo?'.
She turned over to face him 'What?'.
'I'm not angry with you, just frustrated'.
She nodded 'So am I.' A thought came into her head 'If you want me to, I could always...' She glanced at his painfully aroused crotch.
He shook his head 'Nah, as much as I love it when you do that it's not the same.' he wrapped an arm around her waist, pulling her intimately against himself.
Her stomach suddenly objected to the arm that was wrapped tightly around her waist and seeing her flinch he loosened his arms immediately and pulled away to look at her 'what's wrong?'
'My stomach is really sore at the moment that's all'.
He frowned 'still?'.
She nodded and he gestured for her to lift her tanktop so he could see. She was hesitant, knowing he would be angry that she hadn't mentioned it sooner. He drew in a sharp breath when he caught sight of the red angry line that stretched more than 6 inches across the bottom of her stomach 'Oh Jo'
'it looks worse than it feels'.
He didn't believe her, she could tell, he winced visibly when he ran a finger lightly over the wound 'have you mentioned it to your doctor on your post-natal visits?'
She shook her head 'he always seems to be more interested in the baby than me. It's ok Pace, if it gets any worse I'll get it checked out'.
He tipped her chin up with his finger and made her look him in the eye 'promise me Jo'.
'I promise Pace'.
He seemed satisfied with that and relaxed back against the covers, waiting while she got comfortable in his arms before allowing himself to sleep.