The sun was just peeking over the windowsill of his bedroom when Dawson's eyes opened. He looked down to find Gretchen's head resting on his chest, her arm across him. Then, he remembered what had happened the night before, the things they had said and the kisses they'd shared. For a brief moment when he opened his eyes, he had been afraid it had all been a dream, but now.

"Good morning, Beautiful," he said to Gretchen as she stirred and looked up at him.

"Thank you, you too," She pulled herself up and gave him a light kiss.

"Some night we had last nigh, huh?" Dawson pulled Gretchen closer to him and wrapped both his arms around her.

"I think it would be fair to say that." She did the same to him. "I'm just glad it's all still real this morning."

A large smile spread across Dawson's face and he kissed her on the forehead. "Me too."

"Do you smell that?" Gretchen sat up in the bed.

Dawson raised his head and inhaled deeply. The faint smell of smoke was seeping in from the hallway. They both got up and ran downstairs, where they found Gayle and Tom kissing each other while French toast burned on the stove. When they realized that Dawson and Gretchen were standing in the kitchen doorway, they returned to what they had apparently been doing before their passions got the better of them.

"Good morning, you two," Gayle greeted them as she began searching for the maple syrup and powdered sugar in the cabinet. "I see you didn't get a chance to change out of your clothes again."

Dawson and Gretchen looked at each other, and shared a suppressed chuckle. For the second night in a row, they had managed to fall asleep in their street clothes, but this time they didn't have the excuse of watching episodes of The Creek.

Gayle continued, "And, I noticed Gretchen's bed wasn't slept in, again. Anything you all want to tell me?"

"It was nothing, Mom, we jut fell asleep talking." Dawson walked over to help her find whatever it was that she was now looking for. Gretchen followed his lead and began setting the table.

"I see." Gayle replied, letting her voice trail off at the end. Soon, she and Dawson had managed to find all the various syrups and toppings for the French toast, and joined Gretchen who was already setting at the table.

"So, did you all have fun with Lilly last night?" Tom asked, as he took the last slice of French toast from the skillet and then set the plate down on the table.

"Yeah, we did," responded Gretchen. "Where is the little princess, anyway?"

"She's probably still in bed. As late as the three of you were out last night, we figured we'd let her sleep in a little. She can have some cereal later, or I might fix her some French toast of her own," Gayle answered, looking at the clock across the room. "Besides, it's just a little after seven in the morning. What are you two doing up so early?"

Dawson and Gretchen shared a sideways glance. Dawson spoke, "We wanted to get a head start on the day. I figured I'd give Pace a call and see if he wanted to go do some male bonding before he enters into servitude on Saturday.

Gretchen continued, "And I figured I'd take Joey shopping for her wedding gift, seeing as I have no idea what to get her."

Dawson was slightly upset that his "servitude" comment hadn't elicited some type of response from someone, but decided it wasn't worth pursuing. Instead, he decided to ask his mother and Tom something, "Do you all have plans tonight?"

"Nothing solid. Why, did you have something in mind?" Gayle answered, a curious look beginning to spread across her face.

"I just figured I'd try my hand ad supper tonight, if that's ok with you two." Dawson added, taken a few moments to gauge the looks on everyone's faces, including Gretchen. "I've actually learned my way around a kitchen since I've been living in California.by myself."

Everyone laughed at this, and they set about eating their breakfast. Again, small talk filled the time until Lilly finally joined them. Dawson and Gretchen took this as an opportunity to make their exit and went back upstairs to clean up and change clothes before calling Pacey and Joey. Luckily, they were both free for a little while this morning. Pacey had an appointment with the caterer at 12:30 pm, and Joey had to meet with the florist at 1:00 pm, but other than that their day was free. They all decided to meet at the Ice House at 10:00 am before heading off on their daily missions.

They all grabbed a drink together at the Ice House before heading out, Dawson and Pacey headed for the Marina, and Gretchen and Joey headed downtown to the shops. Dawson decided to rent a boat for him and Pacey for a few hours, and Gretchen quickly began to bombard Joey with questions about what she wanted for a wedding present. About an hour later, Dawson and Pacey were out on the water.

"So, Dawson, you and Gretchen both looked a little different this morning," said Pacey, as he and Dawson sat on the boat. "Anything you want to tell me?"

"Things are a little different than they were yesterday." Dawson paused. "I told her how I feel about her."

"And."

"She told me that she pretty much feels the same way." Dawson helped Pacey tighten the sail, as they felt themselves slowing down from a lack of wind. After they got done, Dawson continued. "It's incredible, man, after all these years, all the things that have changed, and we end up in the same place, at the same time, both looking for someone to share our lives with."

"Fate, she's a weird, fickle mistress," replied Pacey, smiling at Dawson. "So what are your plans? Or, do you have any?"

"I'm not totally sure, I mean, we've known each other for years, loved each other, granted, from afar, for almost eight years. I don't wan to waste anymore time." Dawson looked down at his feet.

"Are you saying that you want to marry my sister?" There was a bit of shock in Pacey's voice.

"You asked Joey to marry you two months after you got back together," Dawson replied.

"Yeah, two months, not two days."

"Pace, have I ever done anything like I was expected to?"

Pacey sat in silent thought for a few moments, "No, I don't suppose you have."

"It's just, I've had enough loss in my life to last me two lifetimes. First, it was Mr. Brooks, then came Gretchen, followed by my dad, and then Joey, and last year, it was Jen, the first woman I ever made love to. Luckily, I've gotten another chance with Gretchen. I know what I want, and I don't ever want to let it go." Dawson was now looking directly at Pacey.

"So, are you asking my permission?" Pacey smiled at him, again.

"Yeah, Pace, this time, I think I am." He smiled back.

"Well, after that speech, you've got it." He reached over to Dawson and gave him a one-armed hug, before continuing. "We better head for the yacht club, I've got to meet with that caterer."

At around the same time the men were starting their conversation on the boat, Gretchen and Joey were at a clothing store, looking at lingerie. Gretchen had finally stopped asking Joey what she wanted when Joey drug her into this shop and headed immediately for this section. Now, they were both just perusing, Gretchen humming softly to herself.

"What is with you today, you're acting like you just." Joey stopped herself, as Gretchen turned to face her. "You and Dawson didn't.did you?"

Gretchen smiled broadly before responding, letting the thought stew with Joey for a while. "No, we didn't sleep together; well, we slept together, but we didn't 'sleep together'"

"Well, then what's got you so happy?" They were now holding a conversation over the top of the clothes rack.

"We talked, about a lot of things." Gretchen paused, to give Joey a chance to say something.

"And." was all that Joey could manage.

"I told him how I feel about him, and he told me that he still loved me too. We went for a walk, and it was almost like we'd never broken up, and that the past, nearly, eight years had all been just one bad dream after another."

Joey simply stared at Gretchen, giving up on the lingerie entirely. "What brought all this about?"

"I don't know what it was for him, but for me it was something that happened earlier, when we were out with Lilly. A waitress at the diner thought that she was our daughter, and that got me to thinking a little bit. I remembered how, when I saw him at LAX, all those strange feelings came back in the pit of my stomach. I remembered how much I loved him, and last night, I realized that I still did." Gretchen was still mindlessly flipping through the rack. She took a piece off of it and tossed it to Joey. They both walked over to a changing room and continued talking through the door.

"What does this mean? I mean, are you guys back together?" Joey said, while unbuttoning her jeans.

"I'd definitely have to say yes. But, there's just something."

"You want more?"

"I think so. I mean, Joe, I'm almost thirty years old. The only decent man I've ever loved is still in love with me after nearly eight years apart from each other. I'd be an idiot if I didn't want more."

"So, you're telling me, that if Dawson proposed to you tomorrow, you'd say yes?"

Gretchen didn't respond for a few moments. Finally, she spoke, "Yeah, I think I would."

"Gretchen, if what you're telling me about what you and Dawson said to each other last night, and if he even remotely feels the same way as you do, then I think he might just be crazy enough to ask you."