"You're falling asleep."

Upon Joey's insistence that she needed to work on the recently assigned essay for her English class, Pacey offered to stay with her so she wasn't sitting up all alone. He coaxed her into coming on the bed instead of being in that stiff chair. Relenting, she curled up beside him with her essay on her lap.

As it was nearly midnight, Joey was quite obviously exhausted from a long day of classes and work, though she tried to pretend that she wasn't. Pacey observed her, how every so often she would stifle a yawn, letting out a tiny groan that he probably wasn't supposed to hear.

"I'm not," she mumbled, face scrunching up as another yawn came through. She batted his hands away when he attempted to gently move her school things. "Let me work, Pace."

"You've been working for hours, Jo," Pacey was adamant on ensuring that she relaxed before she overexerted herself, if she hadn't already. "You need a break. Sleep. Rest. Anything else but this."

"No," she shook her head. "I need to finish it. I have way too much to do to be slacking off."

"It's not slacking off," he assured her. "You just need to take a break sometimes. When's it due, anyway?"

"Next Friday."

"Which means you have plenty of time to finish it," Pacey told her. She started to protest. "You don't have to work Sunday, right? Just do it then."

"I guess you're right..."

"Of course I am," Pacey grinned at her boyishly. "And as your boyfriend, it's my job to make sure you're well cared for which means, no more studying until tomorrow, Potter."

"Pace-"

"I'm serious," he took her materials, placing them on the nightstand adjacent to the bed. She said nothing nor did she stop him. "What kind of boyfriend would I be if I let you run yourself ragged?"

She smiled slightly, a tired one but a smile nonetheless that conveyed her appreciation for him. "Thanks, Pace."

"Don't thank me yet, Jo," Pacey said as brushed away a piece of hair from her face. "I'm not done yet."

"Oh, yeah-" She was interrupted by another yawn.

He chuckled, pulling her into his arms. She dropped her head on his shoulder, closing her eyes. "I think you've been up long enough."

Laying back down, Joey stayed in his arms, melting in the embrace. He threw a blanket over the two of them, giving the top of her head a kiss.

It hardly took much time at all for her to completely fall asleep, the soft sounds of her snoring made him smile. He ran his fingers through her silky hair, keeping her in a firm grasp.

He loved this woman more than anything. She was his whole world and he'd tell the whole world.

"Goodnight, Sweetheart," he whispered.