Pacey couldn't believe what Joey had told him earlier that night.  She still loved him, at least that what he thinks she was saying.

Things had been hard over the past few years, girls had come and gone but there was one that left an imprint on his heart and that was Joey.  He tried to pretend that things were different and that he had moved on, but seeing her that day on the pier when he had come back from Barbados, she was more beautiful than he remembered.  She seemed to have moved on and he was happy.  The last few months they had grown closer again.  She had been helping out a lot with the restaurant.  She said that she owed him for helping with the B & B.  The electricity between them was still there and they both felt it but were too scarred to act on it.

"Pacey, why are you stomping round my apartment?"  Doug Witter said rubbing sleep from his eyes.

"Dougster, I thought you were asleep?"

"I was until you started clomping around!"

"Sorry" he continued to look out the window.

Doug Witter looked at his brother concerned.  He had that same look on his face when he had first realised that he was in love with Joey and was scarred to do anything about it.

"Pace, go talk to her"

Pacey turned around surprised. "Talk to who?"
"Joey?!?  You have that same look on your face that you had when you realised you were in love with her"

"I do not.  Dougie, why don't you go back to bed and dream about Brad Pitt or whoever it is you dream about!"

"Ok, fine I can take your gay jokes tonight cause I know that you want to go to her."

"I do not want to go to her"

"Yes you do"

"No I don't"

"Yes you do!"  Doug said forcefully.

"Much as I would love to have this little tete a tete Dougie, I can't deal with you right now."

"Deal with this Pacey.  There is a girl across the creek, who is beautiful, talented, smart and wants you.  But you being the idiot you are, are fighting it.  You know you want her but you refuse to do anything about it."

"Why oh Freudian brother am I so scarred then, tell me"

"Dawson!"

Pacey shook his head and turned back to the window.  "I have Dawson's blessing to pursue the girl, Dougie."

"Then what's holding you back, is it because you still don't think your good enough for her.  This girl loves you with her whole heart Pacey and I'm pretty sure that you love her too, yet you choose to fight it.  Follow your heart Pacey."

"The last time I did that I ended up wrecking everything.  So, I think she's too good for me. I love Joey Potter, there I said it but what difference does it make. "
"Oh my good god.  It makes a big difference.  It gets you out of my hair for a start."

"Why are you so concerned about my love life?"  Pacey asked

"Cause I know what it's like to lose the love of your life and I know what it's like to love a Potter girl."

"Bessie?!"  Pacey asked shocked.  He watched as Doug nodded his head and sat down on the couch.   "When? How?"

"A long time ago and I'm over it now but that's not the point.  Pacey, if you don't do this right now, you'll regret it.  Maybe not now, but a few years down the line when you see the girl that you loved with your whole heart walking hand in hand with the guy that she choose and have him rubbing her swollen belly then you'll regret.  You'll start to think, what if I'd told her that I loved her that I wanted to be with her always.  It'll tear you apart and then you just end up a broken man."

"I think you're being a bit melodramatic dougie" Pacey said with a little laugh, worried about his brother's seriousness.

"Listen, I don't think you understand."

"I do Dougie, I do.  It's just that it scares the hell out of me to love her again.  It scares me to think that I could love her that deeply again.  And I love her Dougie I really do but I just don't want to hurt her again."

"Who say's your going to hurt her?"

"My past record isn't anything to go by."

"Ahh, Pacey Witter, the heartbreaker.  Yeah, I remember him."  Doug said laughing. "Do you want to be with her?"

"It's complicated!"

"Only if you make it complicated"

"I want to be with her so badly it hurts.  She told me that she has feelings for me and I could have jumped her right there on that dock in front of her house, but I held back.  You know, I've been feeling like there is something missing in my life for the past few months and sitting there on that dock with her, I felt complete for the first time in my life.  I touched her and I felt electricity shoot through my body, but I'm scared as hell that I'm going to hurt her and I don't want to do that, I can't do that"

"Pace…"  Doug started.

"I need to get out of here."

Pacey walked out into the cool night.

He walked until he found himself at the Country club.  He walked towards the dock where True Love had been moored.  He sat and looked at the other boats floating in the water.  He missed True Love; he missed not having her there so he could sail off at a moments notice.  Maybe now that I'm in my new job I can buy another one, he though to himself.

His cell phone rang in his pocket.  He took it out and never bothered to look at the name.

"Dougie, please I can't deal with you now!"

"Pace?" came a familiar voice
Pacey smiled to himself.  "Dawson, my man, how is sunny California?"

"Clammy, hot, smoggy, but you gotta love it.  Are you arguing with Doug again?"
"I tore his Brad Pitt Poster and he's pissed!"  He said mock serious.  He heard Dawson give a hearty laugh on the other end of the phone.

"Man, I miss you"

"I miss you too Pace.  When are you going to come out and visit me?  It's been a while."
"Well, things are pretty hectic here at the minute."

"Yeah, Jen told me."

"How is Lindley?  Last I heard she was in London."

"Still there, I think she like all the regal stuff that goes along with being there.  But she's good, young and in love."

"It makes you sick."

"So…have you seen her yet?"  Dawson asked cautiously.

"Seen who?"  Pacey asked innocently.

"Pacey, this is me you're talking too.  Your best friend.  Have you seen the girl that you went back to Capeside to find?  Joey, have you seen Joey?"

"Yeah!"

"And?"

"I don't know!"  He said miserably
"Pace, what's to know?"  Dawson said sounding confused.

"Everything.  Dawson believe me talking to anyone else but you right now would be a hell of a lot easier.  She was so beautiful sitting there; I thought my heart would break just sitting next to her."

"Pacey, I'm not going to lie to you and say that on some level I don't have feelings for Joey cause I do, I love her and I always will and I know that you still feel like she' going to choose me over you, but I don't have any claim on her anymore just like she doesn't have any claim on me.  Joey and I were never meant to be.  Sure we always somehow managed to get back into one another's arms but it was more like a security blanket than love."

"Do you ever feel like the world is conspiring against you?  I don't know what to say to her."

"Stop thinking about the past and start living for the now.  Who knows what will happen in the future but right now you and Joey belong together."

"Dawson Leery forever the optimist.  I better go"

"Pacey, do me a favour?"

"Anything"

"Tell her I said hi!"

Pacey hung up his phone and put it back in his pocket.