Chapter 10: The Truth Finally Comes Out

Dawson woke up the next morning in a hospital bed at Boston Memorial with a throbbing headache. He looked around his room and saw his stomach bandaged and his nose set with surgical tape. Sara was sitting next to his bed, staring at him with a concerned look on her face, moving closer to him when she saw him wake up. Trying to move, he groaned in pain and settled back in the original position he woke up in.

"Dawson please just relax okay," Sara said tearfully. "You broke a few ribs and your nose, but thank god it wasn't worse. I came over to visit you and I found you lying on the floor with blood all over.I was so afraid that I called the paramedics." He rolled his head to look at her, actually seeing tears form in her eyes. "Do you remember anything about what happened?" He sighed for a moment, replaying the moment when he opened the door to his apartment, hoping to see Joey, but finding her crazy fiancé instead. He was fortunate enough not to remember most of the beating because he blacked out after the first blow to the ribs, but he was sure feeling the beatings aftereffects.

"No," he muttered, trying to move a bit without setting off waves of pain in his stomach, chest and back. Paul attacked him last night and all Dawson could think about was trying to get in touch with Joey to warn her and tell her to get out of that apartment. "Sara I need your help, I need you to get me the phone so I can make a call." Looking at her again, he saw the worried look wipe of her face and be replaced by an annoyed one.

"Her fiancé did this didn't he?" she snapped, looking at him with the coldest stare in her eyes. "I can't say that I blame him though, being lied to and cheated on sucks Dawson." He sighed and grabbed her arm to keep her there.

"I'm sorry I lied to you Sara, really I am," he said sincerely. "I should have told you sooner and ended this whole thing before you got hurt. I can't marry you Sara because I don't love you, not like I used to and I think somewhere deep down inside you don't really love me either." She paused for a moment, thinking about what he said and hanging her head.

"Why couldn't you tell me?" she asked, unable to look at him.

"Because there was all this pressure from you to get married and I was a coward and chickened out," he said, looking right in her eyes. She nodded and smiled faintly at him leaning in to kiss him on the cheek before leaving for good.

"Nurse," Dawson called out the door. "Can someone bring a phone over here please!"

Joey and Paul were frantically trying to get ready for the rehearsal dinner that night at a restaurant in downtown Boston. While running around making sure everything was set, Joey snuck away to try and call Dawson but again there was no answer on his phone. She waited for him to call last night and he didn't and he didn't answer his phone today either. Trying not let on that something was wrong, she began to worry about him. This was unusual behavior for him and she wondered if something was wrong, especially because Paul was acting nicer than usual, being overly happy and perky about everything. For a minute she paused, wondering if he took off because she had not called off the wedding yet. Her mind was racing with possibilities of why she had not heard from Dawson, each one a bit more extreme and upsetting for her to imagine. Then there was Paul. Joey planned on pulling him aside and talking to him, but she never got a moment alone with him and the day was rapidly flying by. The only time they actually had alone was when they were dressing for the rehearsal dinner and Joey knew she had to tell him now before it went on to long. She found him getting changed in their bedroom, trying to decide what jacket to wear with his khakis and tie.

"Paul we need to talk," she stammered, settling herself at the end of the bed. He didn't seem to hear her though and she moved closer to him and repeated herself a bit louder. "Paul we need to talk."

"What about lovebug," he said sweetly, fixing his tie in front of the mirror. "Is this the time that you decide to 'fess up about cheating on me with that guy from the diner and lying to me for months?" Joey stared at him in shock for a second, unsure of what to say.

"I'm sorry?" she said, trying to regain her composure.

"I asked if you finally decided to cut the crap and tell me about your little fling with that guy we ran into at Mattie's last week," he said coldly.

"How did you know?" she whispered, avoiding his stare.

"You mean how did I know you were cheating and lying to me while trying play the perfect bride-to-be?" he said angrily. "Joey you can't lie to save your soul so that helped me to deduce that you weren't really having lunch meetings and working extra hours, and your cell phone was a handy guide to locate the guy you were actually spending all this time with." Hearing the mention of her phone, Joey's head shot up, staring at him angrily.

"You were tracking my calls," she snapped, having a hard time believing what she was hearing. He spun around to look at her, feeling the anger rise in his chest.

"Yes I did and I even called your little friend to warn him what would happen if he kept meddling, but he doesn't like to listen very much," he muttered, still working with his tie.

"You called Dawson and threatened him?" she said, horrified by what she was hearing. Paul had become a completely different person and this person was scaring her beyond belief. "What do you mean he doesn't like to listen very much?"

"He wasn't going to leave us alone Joey so I had to teach him a little lesson to make sure he didn't interrupt our special day," Paul muttered, feeling a wave of relief rush over him now that he could tell someone how he felt. Joey felt a pain of panic hit her chest, wondering what Paul did to Dawson, if he did do something horrible to him. She moved off the bed and stood silently next to him, afraid of what he might do to her.

"What did you do to him Paul? Where is he?" she asked softly, feeling the fear take over and the tears start in her eyes. That was why Dawson didn't call last night or answer his phone today. The thought of Dawson hurt or worse made her feel weak.

"He's not dead Joey so calm down, but I imagine someone must have found him so I would guess he's at Boston Memorial as we speak," he said sweetly standing up to kiss her cheek. Joey backed away from him angrily, staring at him with nothing but hurt and contempt.

"It's over Paul," she said boldly. "I don't love you anymore and right now I don't even recognize you. I'm not going to marry you tomorrow and I'm moving out of the apartment today." He looked at her for a minute, not really sure of what to do now.

"You don't mean that Joey," he said softly grabbing his jacket out of the closet. "We should get going now, we'll be late for the rehearsal dinner." She stared at him in shock again, she couldn't believe what she was hearing.

"I'm not going Paul because we're not getting married," she said nastily. "It's over, I'm leaving you."

"So after all this, after three years of being happy together you're just going to walk away?" he snapped.

"Yes," she whispered. "I'm sorry for lying to you and keeping all this from you because I should have told you when it happened months ago, but I was scared and confused, but I'm not anymore. Don't you feel any remorse for what you've done?"

"I'm supposed to feel sorry?" he snapped, angrily digging through the drawers for his cufflinks. "You're the one who caused all this Joey, you did all this. You cheated on me, you're loving, patient, devoted fiancée, who you used to love and adore, but then you take off and become this completely different person! You lover is in that hospital because of you, you did this, you brought all of this on."

"Maybe I did so now I'm going to fix it," she said, reaching for her purse and keys. "Goodbye Paul, I'll be by to pick up my things." Looking at him one last time, she left, running out the apartment and over to her car, driving as fast as she could to Boston Memorial, hoping Dawson was not hurt as bad as she feared he could be.

When she arrived at the hospital, she took a deep breath and pulled her engagement ring off her finger, stashing it in her glove compartment for now. Looking up at the outside of the hospital, still wracked with guilt and worry about Dawson and what his current condition could be, she felt relieved and happy because as long as he was alive she would be there to take care of him, never leaving him again. Walking into the hospital, she picked up the pace a bit when she saw the empty nurses station. The nurses told her about his injuries, saying that he had been on the phone all day trying to reach someone, who they assumed to be her, and that he would not take his sleep medication until he knew that this someone was okay. It was after visiting hours, but they allowed her in, knowing he would be glad to see her. Peaking through the glass on the door, Joey saw Dawson barking at someone on the phone, wincing for a moment in pain and holding his side. She quietly entered the room, standing near the chairs along the wall, waiting for him to see her.

"Scott I don't care if you have to go to every restaurant in this city, I need you to find her and tell me she's okay, I can't reach her on her cell phone." he yelled, noticing someone standing in the room and turning to see Joey standing near his bed. "Actually never mind, I have to go, I'll call you later." They looked at each other for a minute, tears welling up in Joey's eyes as she saw his broken nose and bandaged ribs. She moved closer to him to look at him better, tears streaming down her face as she saw his bruises and bandages.

"I'm so sorry," she whispered, afraid to get closer to him.

"The only thing that matters is that you're okay, this can heal," he said, staring deep in her eyes before she dropped her purse and crawled into his hospital bed, wrapping her arms around him and covering his face with kisses. He groaned at her tight embrace and cupped her face his hands, kissing her softly on the lips. After a minute, he she pulled back and looked at him, tracing her finger over his nose and along his face, still unaware of the pressure she was putting on his broken ribs.

"I love you," she whispered.

"I love you too Joey," he said, trying to shift her body weight off his sore ribs. "But honey I swear if you want me to get better, you have to move yourself around here a bit!" She looked at him confused but gasped when she saw that she was on his ribs, quickly moving off of him and cuddling close next to him on the cramped bed. For awhile they just stayed there together, holding hands and not saying a word. The sound of him breathing was enough to make Joey happy. They were together now and neither one of them had any intention of being apart again. "So I take it Paul told you about what happened?"

"It came out when I was about to tell him it was over between us," she sighed, tracing her finger over his check and gently over his ribs, leaning her head on his shoulder. "But I knew something was wrong Dawson, I knew it because you didn't call the night before and Paul was acting differently after his 'errand' but I didn't know he would or could do something like this. I should have told him sooner that the wedding was off.I'm so sorry, it's my fault you're here." He could hear her whimper a bit, trying to fight back tears. Turning his neck to face her, he raised her head so they were looking eye to eye.

"This is not your fault Joey," he said sternly. "Maybe if we had been honest with everyone sooner, then nothing would have happened but the only, and I mean only thing that matters is that there is nothing standing between us now and when I get better, we can start over together." She smiled, wiping the tears from her eyes, nodding in agreement. She still felt a bit guilty, but knew that she had to focus on his recovery and their new life. Leaning in to kiss him on the lips, she unknowingly crawled on top of him again, wanting to hold him tightly, but forgetting about his broken ribs. He ignored the pressure on his chest as long as he could, eventually wincing in pain and trying to pull a persistent Joey off his chest.

"Okay normally I would never say this, but woman you have to get off of me because the pain in my ribs is causing me to distract my attention from you," he laughed, gritting his teeth from the sharpening pain in his body. She looked at him curiously and then looked down to see her resting on him again.

"I'm sorry," she said, trying not to laugh a bit and rolling back beside him. "So I take it we can't fool around a little bit until you get better?" He looked at her with a devilish look on his face.

"Well if we follow doctor's orders we would have to abstain for three weeks so I can heal, but I think that just means we'll have just be creative," he said slyly, brushing a piece of hair out of her face and leaning in to kiss her again, both feeling free and completely happy.