Gretchen was confused when she first woke up. She wasn't quite sure where
she was, but then she looked over and saw Dawson asleep next to her, her
head still on his shoulder. Then she remembered watching Creek episodes.
They must have fallen asleep. As she lay there, looking at him, she
realized how much he had changed, from the high school senior she had dated
six years ago. He was more grown up, slightly bigger, but in an in-shape
kind of way. She could tell that he hadn't adopted the vegetarian
lifestyle she had come to learn was so popular among the Hollywood set.
His hair was still blond and somewhat long. Soon, she realized that his
arm was around her. She had to admit, that she missed this, not so much
Dawson, as having someone hold her while they slept. Things had been so
crazy with work for the past six years that a social life was pretty much
out of the question, and after her experience before leaving school the
first time, she didn't desire a purely sexual relationship anymore. It was
odd, she thought, that this was the first time they'd spent the night
together in his room, of course, there was that time on the beach when
Dawson decided it would be a good idea to take a road trip on Ditch day,
only to have his jeep get a flat tire, and they didn't have any money to
get a new one. They'd almost slept together that night, but they never
did. That was something that Gretchen later found herself regretting.
Finally she tried to get up without waking him, but she failed.
"Good morning, sleepyhead." Gretchen smiled up at him as he opened his eyes for the first time. "I guess we fell asleep watching your show last night."
"Yeah, I guess we did," Dawson replied, taking his arm from around her and trying to stretch. "What time is it?"
Gretchen looked at her watch. "A little after nine. Why, got someplace to be?"
"Nope, just wondered." He paused to sniff the air. "Smells like someone's fixing breakfast."
At that moment, they both heard Lilly yell from the kitchen, "Dawson! Breakfast is ready!"
"I don't know about you, but I'm hungry." Gretchen hopped up off the bed and made her way towards the door. "You coming?"
Dawson didn't respond, he just got up and made his way towards the door. They both sauntered down the stairs to find Gayle's new husband at the stove, fixing pancakes, and Lilly sitting at the table working on one.
Dawson spotted his mother at the refrigerator, getting out a carton of milk. "Good morning, mom."
"Good morning, honey, Gretchen," Gayle replied, pouring four glasses of milk. "I take it you two fell asleep watching TV last night?"
Dawson and Gretchen looked at each other, realizing they were still wearing the same clothes they'd had on when they arrived the day before. After some subdued laughter, they both joined Lilly at the table, and fixed their own plates of pancakes.
A few minutes later, when both Gayle and her husband had joined everyone else at the table, Dawson asked his mother something that had been on his mind since the previous evening, "Mom, did you know that Gretchen and I were going to be the attendants at Joey and Pacey's wedding?"
Gayle hesitated a little bit before answering, "Yes, but I didn't tell you because they wanted it to be a surprise."
"It sure was a surprise, Gayle," Gretchen chimed in as she reached across the table for some bacon. "I nearly fell out of my chair last night when they told us."
"Joey said that you and Bessie are going to walk her down the aisle," Dawson continued. "I had wondered who was going to do that."
"Yeah. I couldn't hardly believe it when she asked me." Gayle took a deep breath. "We both cried like babies for about five minutes."
Everyone smiled and laughed a little bit at this, and continued eating there food for a while, until Gayle interrupted again, "So what are the plans for today?"
Gretchen and Dawson looked at each other, Dawson decided to speak first, "Well, we're going to do some fittings and go check out the church with Joey and Pacey. After that, I don't thing we have any plans."
"Good," Gayle responded. "I was wondering if the two of you could watch Lilly for us this evening, so we can have a night out. It's our anniversary."
"Jeez. I completely forgot about that, Mom." Dawson glanced at Gretchen; she nodded. "Of course we'll watch Lilly for you."
"Thank you both so much."
"No problem, Gayle. Besides, it will give me a chance to get to know this little girl. The last time I saw her, she was just a newborn." Gretchen replied.
That was pretty much the end of breakfast conversation. After breakfast, Dawson and Gretchen called Joey and Pacey to make sure that they were still on for the fittings and set off to meet them. Gretchen and Joey went to the dress shop for theirs and Pacey and Dawson headed for the men's clothier. It wasn't long after they had separated from the boys that Joey started asking Gretchen questions.
"So, Gretchen. What's it like seeing Dawson again after all this time?"
"I have to admit, when I first saw him at the Airport in LA, I was nervous. I thought that things would be awkward, but you know what, they really aren't. It was like we'd never lost track of each other."
Joey smiled. "So things went well with the reunion. What did the two of you do after you left the Ice House last night?"
Gretchen looked at her feet, and then at Joey, fairly sure of where this was all headed. "We went back to the house and watched some episodes of The Creek until we fell asleep."
"Together?"
"Yeah," Gretchen paused, looking away from Joey. "When I woke up this morning, my head was on his shoulder, and his arm was around me."
Gretchen didn't see the huge grin that was spreading across Joey's face, but disappeared when Gretchen turned to face her.
"It was really nice." Gretchen was now the one with the big grin on her face. "It's funny to admit it, but it was really nice to have him hold me again."
They'd just arrived at the dress shop when Gretchen said that. That was the last they talked about Dawson. While they were doing the fitting, their conversation drifted more towards the wedding ceremony and decorations and away from the men, who were off doing their own thing.
At the other end of Main Street, Dawson and Pacey found themselves standing in front of mirrors, while some people were taking measurements and making adjustments to the clothes that either of them work. After some small talk about why Pacey had picked Dawson to be his best man, Pacey decided it was time to broach the topic of his sister.
"So, what was it like seeing Gretchen again?" Pacey managed, while the seamstress adjusted the hem of his pants again.
"It was weird, Pace." Dawson was having similar actions made on cuff of his jacket. "I wasn't even sure it was her at first. She looked so much more beautiful than I even remembered. And that's saying a lot, considering how much I worshiped her when she was in high school."
"I'm glad the two of you are getting along after all these years apart."
"Me too, Pace, me too." Dawson smiled into the mirror. "It was really nice waking up next to her this morning."
Pacey nearly fell off the pedestal he was standing on, causing the seamstress to fall over. "What!"
"Nothing like that Pacey, we just fell asleep watching some old episodes of The Creek." Dawson tried to suppress laughter as Pacey helped the poor seamstress up off the floor. "I just hadn't realized how much I missed waking up next to someone."
"Do you think you still have feelings for her?"
Dawson's response was almost immediate, "Of course I still have feelings for her. They pretty much haven't changed that since I was thirteen."
"Have you told her this?" The seamstress was back at Pacey's pant legs again, though she seemed a bit shaken.
"Are you crazy. Things are going so well, I don't want to screw things up." Dawson looked over at Pacey. "It didn't work, remember, her and me."
"You're forgetting, though, Dawson. It didn't not work because you two didn't love each other, it didn't work because you two were headed in to different directions down entirely different paths. That's enough to tear any couple apart. But look at Joey and I, and our split wasn't nearly as amicable as yours and Gretchen's."
Dawson stood silent for a moment, thinking about what Pacey just said. "I still don't know, Pace. It's been so long, and I have no idea if she still has any of the same feelings for me."
"Dawson, I'm going to give you the same advice that Jen gave me. You're never going to know unless you tell her how you feel, so, ante up."
Dawson slowly nodded at what Pacey said, as the seamstress working on his tux triumphantly announced that she was finished. A few minutes later, he and Pacey were paying for the alterations and on their way to meet the girls for lunch at Leery's Fresh Fish.
"Good morning, sleepyhead." Gretchen smiled up at him as he opened his eyes for the first time. "I guess we fell asleep watching your show last night."
"Yeah, I guess we did," Dawson replied, taking his arm from around her and trying to stretch. "What time is it?"
Gretchen looked at her watch. "A little after nine. Why, got someplace to be?"
"Nope, just wondered." He paused to sniff the air. "Smells like someone's fixing breakfast."
At that moment, they both heard Lilly yell from the kitchen, "Dawson! Breakfast is ready!"
"I don't know about you, but I'm hungry." Gretchen hopped up off the bed and made her way towards the door. "You coming?"
Dawson didn't respond, he just got up and made his way towards the door. They both sauntered down the stairs to find Gayle's new husband at the stove, fixing pancakes, and Lilly sitting at the table working on one.
Dawson spotted his mother at the refrigerator, getting out a carton of milk. "Good morning, mom."
"Good morning, honey, Gretchen," Gayle replied, pouring four glasses of milk. "I take it you two fell asleep watching TV last night?"
Dawson and Gretchen looked at each other, realizing they were still wearing the same clothes they'd had on when they arrived the day before. After some subdued laughter, they both joined Lilly at the table, and fixed their own plates of pancakes.
A few minutes later, when both Gayle and her husband had joined everyone else at the table, Dawson asked his mother something that had been on his mind since the previous evening, "Mom, did you know that Gretchen and I were going to be the attendants at Joey and Pacey's wedding?"
Gayle hesitated a little bit before answering, "Yes, but I didn't tell you because they wanted it to be a surprise."
"It sure was a surprise, Gayle," Gretchen chimed in as she reached across the table for some bacon. "I nearly fell out of my chair last night when they told us."
"Joey said that you and Bessie are going to walk her down the aisle," Dawson continued. "I had wondered who was going to do that."
"Yeah. I couldn't hardly believe it when she asked me." Gayle took a deep breath. "We both cried like babies for about five minutes."
Everyone smiled and laughed a little bit at this, and continued eating there food for a while, until Gayle interrupted again, "So what are the plans for today?"
Gretchen and Dawson looked at each other, Dawson decided to speak first, "Well, we're going to do some fittings and go check out the church with Joey and Pacey. After that, I don't thing we have any plans."
"Good," Gayle responded. "I was wondering if the two of you could watch Lilly for us this evening, so we can have a night out. It's our anniversary."
"Jeez. I completely forgot about that, Mom." Dawson glanced at Gretchen; she nodded. "Of course we'll watch Lilly for you."
"Thank you both so much."
"No problem, Gayle. Besides, it will give me a chance to get to know this little girl. The last time I saw her, she was just a newborn." Gretchen replied.
That was pretty much the end of breakfast conversation. After breakfast, Dawson and Gretchen called Joey and Pacey to make sure that they were still on for the fittings and set off to meet them. Gretchen and Joey went to the dress shop for theirs and Pacey and Dawson headed for the men's clothier. It wasn't long after they had separated from the boys that Joey started asking Gretchen questions.
"So, Gretchen. What's it like seeing Dawson again after all this time?"
"I have to admit, when I first saw him at the Airport in LA, I was nervous. I thought that things would be awkward, but you know what, they really aren't. It was like we'd never lost track of each other."
Joey smiled. "So things went well with the reunion. What did the two of you do after you left the Ice House last night?"
Gretchen looked at her feet, and then at Joey, fairly sure of where this was all headed. "We went back to the house and watched some episodes of The Creek until we fell asleep."
"Together?"
"Yeah," Gretchen paused, looking away from Joey. "When I woke up this morning, my head was on his shoulder, and his arm was around me."
Gretchen didn't see the huge grin that was spreading across Joey's face, but disappeared when Gretchen turned to face her.
"It was really nice." Gretchen was now the one with the big grin on her face. "It's funny to admit it, but it was really nice to have him hold me again."
They'd just arrived at the dress shop when Gretchen said that. That was the last they talked about Dawson. While they were doing the fitting, their conversation drifted more towards the wedding ceremony and decorations and away from the men, who were off doing their own thing.
At the other end of Main Street, Dawson and Pacey found themselves standing in front of mirrors, while some people were taking measurements and making adjustments to the clothes that either of them work. After some small talk about why Pacey had picked Dawson to be his best man, Pacey decided it was time to broach the topic of his sister.
"So, what was it like seeing Gretchen again?" Pacey managed, while the seamstress adjusted the hem of his pants again.
"It was weird, Pace." Dawson was having similar actions made on cuff of his jacket. "I wasn't even sure it was her at first. She looked so much more beautiful than I even remembered. And that's saying a lot, considering how much I worshiped her when she was in high school."
"I'm glad the two of you are getting along after all these years apart."
"Me too, Pace, me too." Dawson smiled into the mirror. "It was really nice waking up next to her this morning."
Pacey nearly fell off the pedestal he was standing on, causing the seamstress to fall over. "What!"
"Nothing like that Pacey, we just fell asleep watching some old episodes of The Creek." Dawson tried to suppress laughter as Pacey helped the poor seamstress up off the floor. "I just hadn't realized how much I missed waking up next to someone."
"Do you think you still have feelings for her?"
Dawson's response was almost immediate, "Of course I still have feelings for her. They pretty much haven't changed that since I was thirteen."
"Have you told her this?" The seamstress was back at Pacey's pant legs again, though she seemed a bit shaken.
"Are you crazy. Things are going so well, I don't want to screw things up." Dawson looked over at Pacey. "It didn't work, remember, her and me."
"You're forgetting, though, Dawson. It didn't not work because you two didn't love each other, it didn't work because you two were headed in to different directions down entirely different paths. That's enough to tear any couple apart. But look at Joey and I, and our split wasn't nearly as amicable as yours and Gretchen's."
Dawson stood silent for a moment, thinking about what Pacey just said. "I still don't know, Pace. It's been so long, and I have no idea if she still has any of the same feelings for me."
"Dawson, I'm going to give you the same advice that Jen gave me. You're never going to know unless you tell her how you feel, so, ante up."
Dawson slowly nodded at what Pacey said, as the seamstress working on his tux triumphantly announced that she was finished. A few minutes later, he and Pacey were paying for the alterations and on their way to meet the girls for lunch at Leery's Fresh Fish.
