One Year Later "So it's the girlfriend's birthday today isn't it?" Ron laughed, noticing a nervous Dawson pack up his briefcase, making his usual dash out the door. "So did you get her something nice?"

"Actually I thought a subscription to Playboy would tell her just how much she means to me for her birthday and it's very appropriate for a house with a three year old," Dawson said sarcastically, tired already of Ron's presence.

"See that would be a great gift for her to give you for your birthday or Christmas," Ron said, catching a nasty look from Dawson. "I'm just saying after you have kids the body doesn't always go back to the way it used to be.in certain areas if you know what I mean."

"Sadly I do know what you mean Ron," Dawson said, pushing the down button on the elevator multiple times, praying it would arrive at any second. "Not that this is any of your business though, but her body is just fine even after having a child, in fact it's better than it was years ago, see you Monday," he said, quickly walking into the now available elevator car.

Catching a cab to head to her townhouse, he checked his briefcase again to make sure one of her gifts was still inside. They had been together now for a little over a year and things were going better than they imagined. They were dating, they were a couple, but they were still best friends above all else. Despite their agreement to take it slow, being back together, giving into what they felt and the way things were when they were together threw the "take your time" idea right out the window. They talked lightly about marriage, their future and having more kids one day. Not long after they reunited for good, Dawson began staying with her all the time, keeping things in his own drawers and designated parts of the closet. They would still do movie nights, the three of them, and he would take his turn making breakfast and dinner, depending on how late he was at work. After a month of this routine, Joey asked him to move in with them completely and he quickly sold his apartment and moved into the third floor rooms of the townhouse. Joey wanted him to have his own "space" within their house, but everyone knew he slept in her room every night.

Everything was great. Matthew was responding to Dawson more every day, developing a bond and connection with him outside of the closeness he had with his mother. Dawson bought him toys, watched movies, watched and played some sports with him and read to him all the time from the newspaper. Joey loved watching them together, seeing the evident bond between them, knowing Matthew finally had a man around that loved him and wanted to be a father to him. They never talked about Matthew's real father, but Dawson was waiting to broach the subject of perhaps adopting Matthew if and when he and Joey got married. They talked about marriage and agreed to just let it ride for now, but she wanted him to ask her, and he was just waiting for the right time.

Today was Joey's birthday and for some reason she was nervous about celebrating it. Normally her past birthdays included cards and calls from family and friends, some of her New York girlfriends would come over for dinner and drinks, hanging out and goofing around while she took care of Matthew, but things were different this year. Dawson was with her now, they were living together and dating and she was almost a bit nervous about what that evening would hold. She was humming in the kitchen while working on some food for all the guests coming over later. Joey's co-workers and friends were coming over for dinner and drinks and she was looking forward to it, although a private evening with her "boys" would have been just fine too. Matthew was busy playing in the kitchen while Joey worked, throwing the occasional glance over her shoulder to make sure he wasn't getting into trouble. That's how Dawson found them when he finally arrived home, his girlfriend cooking, obviously tense and Matthew coloring and playing at the table.

Motioning for Matthew to be quiet, Dawson snuck up behind her, wrapping his arms around her and placing a dozen roses around her so she could see them. She gasped, unable to hear him come home and giggled when he began kissing her neck softly and moving his hands around her stomach.

"Okay Turbo, Matthew is like two feet away," she whispered fiercely, enjoying that feeling she had in her stomach when he did this. "They're beautiful," she said, turning to kiss him on the lips.

"Happy Birthday," he whispered, leaning for another kiss.

"Dawson, mommy look," Matthew cried, interrupting the nice moment, showing them his drawing of a park.

"That is so wonderful Matthew, let's put it up in the living room so the guests can see it tonight when the come over," Dawson said, picking up the child, tickling him as his squeals echoed in the kitchen and into the living room. Depositing Matthew in the living room to continue coloring and playing with toys that were scattered all over the floor, Dawson quickly sneaked back into the kitchen, where Joey was continuing to get things ready for that night and the twenty guests they had coming over. The rooftop porch and garden was luminated by Christmas tree lights and a bar was already set up, just waiting for the last of the food to be added. Dawson insisted they cater the party, but guests begged her to make her specialty fruit cheesecake dish so she obliged. She could feel him sneaking up behind her again and just as he was about to scare her, she spun around, wrapping her arms around his neck and jumping on him, wrapping her legs around his waist. They both laughed and cried out in shock but soon those laughs faded away with a single kiss, turning more passionate as time went on. They were so in tune with one another, kissing each other frantically, tracing their hands all over one another, feeling the sense of need and urgency fill the room again.

"You know it is my birthday today, aren't I the one who's supposed to maul you," Joey said breathlessly as Dawson trailed kisses down her neck to her collarbone.

"Well I guess I'll have to let you do that later then, this is separate," he said shakily, overcome from the feeling of kissing her and the feel of her body against his. Even though they slept in the same bed, in each other's arms every night, having her this close to him made him go crazy, trying to remember they had a small child in the next room, hindering his want to take her right there. "Do you want one of your gifts now?" They pulled apart slowly, holding hands, cheeks flushed. She nodded and he ran out to his briefcase to get the small Tiffany box that waited patiently inside.

He checked on Matthew, who was absorbed in his coloring book and dashed back into the kitchen, where Joey was sitting at the table, smoothing her hair down and waiting for him anxiously. Sitting in a chair and pulling her on his lap, he produced the box, causing her eyes to open widely and shooting him a look before tearing it open. Inside was a smile floating diamond necklace that had three two-carat stones, causing Joey to gasp.

"Dawson this is too much," she breathed, touching the necklace gently. Watching her face, seeing how she reacted was enough for him, anxious for his surprise later on.

"One stone is for each of us, you, me and Matthew," he said softly, watching her still stare at the necklace. She looked at him, tears starting in her eyes. Closing the necklace box, she held him tightly, kissing his temple, cheek and eventually his lips, causing them to get locked yet again in a dangerous position considering her son was in the next room.

Within the hour, people started to arrive at the townhouse, bearing gifts and wine for the birthday girl and her party. It was a fairly casual gathering, jeans or khakis, but Joey dressed up a bit more to show off her new necklace. All the women admired her gift, fawning over it while Dawson retreated to the corner of the room where most of the men were mingling with one another. Matthew was staying with the sitter that night so Joey and Dawson could have some time alone, although both of them had a hard time saying goodbye when it came for him to leave. Clinging to Dawson and then Joey as they gave Annie the sitter his stuff, they kissed him softly, promising to pick him up the next morning right away and then spend the day in the park together.

After everyone arrived, they moved upstairs to the rooftop garden, where soft music piped out of the small Bose speakers and drinks and food were served. As everyone talked and mingled with one another, discussing work, books, movies, etc. Dawson and Joey were completely lost in their own world, looking at one another or holding hands the entire time, never more than arms reach away from one another. To everyone else their closeness was typical, but they could tell something else was up.

"Are you pregnant?" Sarah said boldly after several drinks. The warm New York air was also helping the alcohol to relax and loosen up everyone around them.

"Are you crazy?" Joey said, surprised by her question. "Dawson and I haven't exactly been.intimate yet," she said, flushing red in her cheeks.

"Please you guys are all over one another and you're telling me you haven't even.done it yet?" she hissed, leaning in closer. "You've been together for like over a year?"

"I know," Joey said softly, hoping Sarah's voice quieted down a bit so everyone didn't hear her.

"Look we've.done stuff but it's hard to fool around when you have a young child only a few feet away from you at all times, and Matthew's a light sleeper." Sarah laughed, giving Joey a huge hug.

"Well the kid's gone tonight so you better get something," she snorted, causing Joey to burst out laughing too. After singing "happy birthday" and blowing out her candles, the guests slowly left, hugging her and Dawson good bye and promising to set up a lunch date soon. Exhausted and slightly drunk, Dawson re-joined Joey in the garden after seeing everyone out, locking the doors behind them. She was cleaning up part of the tables, but he grabbed her hands, pulling her into a close slow dance, just the two of them on the top of her townhouse, the lights of New York surrounding them. Smelling slightly of alcohol and cologne, Joey rested her head on his shoulder, wrapping her arms around his neck, pulling his as close as she could to her. They danced without saying a word for awhile, getting lost in the music and each other's touch.

"Okay stay here for a few minutes, it's time for your other gift," he said softly, removing her arms from him and kissing her on the nose. She nodded and settled herself in a lawn chair, picking at the remaining pieces of cake. After fifteen minutes, she was getting impatient, fidgeting with her necklace and wondering if he forgot about her. Pacing back and forth, she was about to just go in when the door to the roof flew open and he appeared again, grinning like the Cheshire cat. "Ready?" he asked, extending his hand. She took it nervously and followed him down the stairs to the third floor of the townhouse.

"Dawson what's going on?" she asked cautiously, seeing the house was lightly lit

"Just wait," he said, grabbing a remote for the stereo, filling the house with soft, romantic music. Playing Don Henley's "This Love," Billy Joel's "She's Got a Way," and other tunes, he lead her down the stairs, pausing to for her to see the picture he blew up to poster size and the life-size cardboard cutouts he had made of their pictures. Pictures of them as kids, at the Anti-Prom, at graduation, at his mother's wedding, and the pictures he had of them on his desk. She smiled, remembering all the good times they had together, holding his hand tightly as he slowly took her down to her living room, asking her to wait a minute as he went on ahead.

She waited anxiously, wondering what else was waiting for her, still reeling from the trip down the Dawson and Joey memory lane. He called for her after a minute to come down and she did, descending the stairs slowly, feeling like she was floating into a dream. The living room floor was covered in blankets and flowers, softly lit with candles everywhere. The drapes looking outside were drawn so no one could see in and a star machine filled the living room ceiling with the night's sky. The flowers were evenly distributed around the room, with something in between each bundle of flowers. She couldn't see it clearly, but as she moved down the stairs and around, she could finally see that they were magazines. Dawson was standing in the middle of the living room, grinning still from ear to ear, watching the confused look on her face as she moved to him.

"Dawson this is beautiful," she breathed, taking the scene in around her, just noticing the abundance of Chinese lanterns in the living room, just like the ones at the porch on Tavern on the Green, where they had a drink and caught up so long ago.

"I have something for you," he said softly, watching her as her gaze finally returned to him. He pulled a piece of paper out of his back pocket and gave it to her, watching as she opened it slowly.

"A volunteer application?" she asked, confused, seeing he made it on his computer and filled it out.

"A long time ago you said you wanted Matthew to have a father figure and I said I would volunteer for the job, so now I'm just turning in my application for the position, sorry it's a bit late," he said, feeling his heart start racing. Joey laughed and looked up at him, folding the application and putting it in her pocket.

"Well we have a strict application process, but I think we'll be calling you for an interview," she smiled, reaching in to kiss him, but he pulled back for a minute.

"Matthew is such an amazing kid Joey and you've done an amazing job raising him and I want to be there to help out, to be a part of his life, and yours, for good," Dawson said, reaching out and holding her hands.

"You are a part of our life Dawson and he loves you just as much as I do," she said, wondering what was going on.

"I know we said we'd go slow, but you know Jo, I've been in love with you for a very long time and well I'm just tired of waiting for us to feel it's completely right between us because it is perfect, right now," he said, feeling his voice shake a bit. "You're my soul mate Joey, you're my inspiration and you are my everything and being with you know after all that time apart, I can't be without you or Matthew ever again. I'll never love anyone else as much I love you, so." he said, turning moving the flowers a bit to show the magazines between the flowers.

Joey looked down, still holding his hands and gasped when she saw they were bridal magazines, tons of bridal magazines between each bushel of flowers he put in the living room. She spun around, looking all around her to see the amount of magazines he collected and used to cover the room. When she finally turned back to him he was facing her again, holding another small Tiffany-blue box in his hand, causing her to tear up and breathe heavily. Without a word, he kissed her hand and dropped to both knees, gently opening the box, his eyes never leaving hers.

"Marry me Joey?" he said shakily, feeling like he was about to faint. When he said her name, he opened the black box, showing a stunning three-diamond ring to match her necklace. Taken aback by what was happening and the intense, loving look in his eyes, Joey burst out crying, covering her face with her hands, while nodding her head. "Was that a yes?" he said nervously, unsure if that was a yes or not.

"Yes," she choked, offering him her ring finger, watching the look of shock and joy wash over him as he put the ring on her finger and jumped up, kissing her passionately on the mouth before pulling her into a tight embrace, both crying softly. "I love you so much, I was hoping this was your surprise," she laughed into his shoulder, still holding him tight.

"I love you too," he said, kissing her temple. "So you think you can expedite my volunteer application for Matthew now that you said yes?" She started laughing, pulling back for a minute.

"I think that you're pretty much a shoe-in," she said, leaning in to kiss him again on the mouth, soon getting lost in their kisses. After kissing for what felt like hours, Dawson finally pulled away, gasping for breath, looking at his new fiancée, whose lips were also swollen and puffy from kissing. "Okay I have a gift for you too, but you have to catch me to get it," she said, giving him a sly smile before taking off upstairs, with Dawson right on her heels.

The next morning they woke up tangled together with a light sheet covering them. Dawson woke first, looking at his Joey sleeping soundly next to him, tired after a long day and night. He could see her engagement ring on her finger, remembering the look on her face when she saw the ring. Wrapping a blanket from the floor around him, he snuck downstairs, relieved none of the candles from the previous night dripped wax on the furniture or set anything on fire. That would have been embarrassing to interrupt their passionate night together by the smell of smoke or the fire alarm ringing. Getting a glass of water from the fridge, he noticed a few scratches on his shoulder blade and arms, a mark from their previous night together, finally giving in to the sexual tension and want between them that built over the last year. They waited before sleeping together again and at times the waiting drove him crazy, especially after they started living together, but after the proposal and the events that followed, waiting was the right thing to do. Lost in thought, he felt two arms wrap around him, kissing his shoulder blade and neck softly, feeling her curly soft hair tickle his skin. Turning around he saw her smiling widely, wrapped in the sheet that covered them, his cheeks glowing and eyes sparkling.

"You look so beautiful," he sighed, taking in the sight before him. She blushed and wrapped her arms around him

"You're biased, you just got lucky last night," she giggled, kissing his nose.

"Oh you bet I did, but I got something better too," he whispered in her ear. "I got the girl of my dreams." Hearing him say that made her swoon.

"Yeah well she's yours from now on," she said, pulling him in for a passionate kiss, losing the blanket and towel in the process.

After a few more hours of "post-engagement celebration time," Dawson and Joey left to pick up Matthew. They opted to walk today, feeling a bit more outgoing, holding hands and kissing at street corners, forgetting about everything around them. Annie immediately noticed something was up when she answered her door and found Dawson nuzzling Joey's neck and her squealing and giggling like a child. Noticing her presence, they immediately snapped out of it, but threw glances constantly at one another.

"Something's up, but we'll get to that in a minute," Annie said, eyeing the two suspiciously.

"Matthew they're here." The silence was quickly broken by the sound of two little feet rapidly running through the apartment and into the living room, where they were waiting. Matthew's face broke into a smile and he ran into Joey's arms hugging her tightly, kissing her cheeks before reaching out to Dawson with one arm, beckoning him to get in on the hug.

"Did you miss us?" Joey cooed, kissing his cheeks, making him laugh.

"A little," he squealed, moving into Dawson's arms as Joey gathered up his stuff. They thanked Annie and left, Joey holding Matthew in one arm while holding Dawson's hand at the same time. Matthew rattled on and on about his adventures with Annie and her crazy neighbors with the exotic pets. They made their way immediately into Central Park, finding a nice shady bench to sit on, placing Matthew's things next to them. Joey and Dawson relaxed together, his arm around her shoulder, snuggling close together as Matthew played in front of them, chasing squirrels and birds.

After watching him play for awhile, Joey called Matthew over, pulling him on her lap so he was facing her and Dawson. She wanted to tell him first about the engagement before anyone else knew so he wouldn't feel left out, hoping he would approve of Dawson staying around indefinitely.

"Matthew, you know why your dad doesn't live with us, don't you?" Joey asked hesitantly. They never formally discussed why Kyle left or what happened, but she knew that Matthew was aware that his daddy was gone.

"He left," he said softly, looking at her with his big eyes.

"Yes he did, but how would you feel if someone else came to live with us and he was your daddy?" she asked, kissing his head. Matthew seemed confused for a second, thinking it over, but looking at Dawson, who still had his arm around Joey, a smile broke on his face.

"Is Dawson my daddy?" he asked. They looked at each other for a minute.

"Dawson isn't your real daddy, but-" Joey started, unsure how to finish that statement. Sensing her nerves though, Dawson interrupted and picked up.

"Matthew do you remember when I told you how much I loved your mom and I wanted to be with her always?" Dawson asked, catching Joey by surprise. She didn't know about that conversation.

"Yes," he said softly.

"Well I love you as much as I love your mom and I was wondering if maybe I could stay with you guys and be your dad from now on?" Dawson asked, moving Matthew onto his lap. Matthew looked between the two of them.

"You want to be my new dad?" he asked, seeing the looks sent between Dawson and Joey.

"Well your real dad will still be your dad, but I want you to think of me like a dad too, does that make sense?" Dawson asked, getting a bit confused by his own statement.

"Matthew Dawson and I love you very, very much and we want you to be comfortable with this," she said, rubbing his cheeks. "Dawson would live with us permanently and he would do dad things with you like what Casey and Alan's dads do. Would that be okay?"

"Yes, do I have to call you dad?" he asked.

"Only if you want to and you don't have to right away if you feel uncomfortable with it," Dawson said, bouncing him a bit on his knee. Matthew looked between Dawson and Joey and giggled.

"Okay, mom, dad I'm going to go play with the squirrels again," Matthew said, jumping off Dawson's lap and running after a squirrel that crossed their path. Dawson and Joey were both affected by him calling Dawson dad, but they smiled at each other and moved closer to one another again.

"I didn't know about that conversation you had with Matthew, about how much you loved me," she said slyly, kissing his cheek and lacing her fingers through his. He was blushing now.

"Yeah well you know, I thought before I asked you to marry me, I should get permission," he said, kissing her softly on the mouth before they snuggled close together, watching her son, their son play with the squirrels a few feet away. The sun shined brightly that day in New York with not a cloud in the sky. It was a great day, a new day and a new beginning for a better life.