PART 5
Joey
"Oh my god, look at these beautiful children," I said as Dawson and Gretchen filed their family inside our house.
I hugged Gretchen warmly. "You look so great," I told her.
"You look fabulous. Are you sure you just had a baby six weeks ago?" She asked with a laugh.
She placed her hands on the heads of the two little girls hugging her legs just below us. "Isabella, Kristina, this is your Aunt Joey. You both met her a very long time ago. You probably don't remember."
I knelt down so that I was at eye level with the little girls. "Hi girls," I said with a smile. They just stared at me awkwardly while grasping their mother tightly for protection.
"Don't even try it with those two," Pacey chimed in. "They're really shy," he said kneeling down to tease them. He started tickling them and they laughed before running to Dawson for more protection.
I stood and saw Dawson holding their youngest daughter who was the spitting image of Dawson himself. He was reaching down with his free hand, pretending to protect his other two daughters from Pacey. I smiled. It was so strange and so sweet seeing Dawson as a father. In my mind, it was always hard for me to imagine Dawson being anything other than a fifteen- year old boy.
I walked over and planted a kiss on his cheek and hugged him sort of strangely because he was still holding the baby. "It's so good to see you, Dawson," I told him.
"You too, Joey," he smiled at me. "You haven't met Ashley yet, have you?" he said smiling at his little girl.
"This one," Gretchen said with a roll of the eyes. "She is Daddy's girl, one hundred percent."
I laughed. "She looks just like you, Dawson."
"It's something, isn't it?" Dawson smiled.
I felt Pacey's arm around me and I turned my head to smile up at him. I could tell he was enjoying this just as much as I was, having his family home again.
"So, where is my nephew?" Gretchen asked us.
"Oh, he's sleeping," I said glancing at my watch. "He should be up any minute though."
"Can I sneak a peek?" she begged.
Pacey laughed. "C'mon," he said gesturing for her to follow him.
"This is a really great house," Dawson said once Pacey and Gretchen were out of the room.
"Oh, that's right. You've never been here before."
"It's been three years," Dawson said seeming to disbelieve it had been that long.
"We were still living in Boston the last time we saw you," I said remembering. "Well, Pacey will have to give you guys the tour a little later on. He's a much better tour guide than I am."
Dawson smiled. "So, how are you doing? Are you enjoying being a Mom?"
A happy smile took control of my face as I spoke. "I love it. For awhile there I thought I was going to hate it but now, it's…it's just….it's the best thing in the world."
He smiled down at all of his children who were still flocking to him for protection. "It is pretty great," he said.
"How come you're all being so shy?" I said to the girls.
"They'll come around. It always takes them a little while." He smiled. "Gretchen says that's my fault. That I baby them to much."
I laughed. "Pacey's going to be the same way. Every time Ryan cries, he picks him up immediately. I keep telling him that he can't do that forever or we're going to have one spoiled child on our hands."
"Give me a break," Pacey joked as he and Gretchen entered the room again. "He's six weeks old!"
"Joey," Gretchen said placing her hand on my arm. "That baby is so gorgeous." I could tell she had been crying and it made me feel as though I could cry.
"Dawson," Pacey said placing his hand firmly on Dawson's shoulder. "What is with your wife? She's crying far too much for a Witter."
"Oh, Pacey," I said creasing my brow at him. "Leave her alone."
"Well, you know what they say about pregnant women," Dawson said putting Ashley down on the ground. "They're usually pretty emotional."
I glanced between Dawson and Gretchen for a few seconds before enveloping Gretchen into a hug. "Oh, my god, congratulations!"
"Four kids?" Pacey joked. "Are you guys nuts?" Pacey said shaking Dawson's hand then hugging him. "Congratulations!"
"We're hoping for a boy this time," Dawson told us as I hugged him.
"And he and Ryan would be so close in age," I said excitedly. "How far along are you, Gretchen?"
"Five months," she said with a beaming smile on her face.
"I can't even tell," I said approaching her again to get a better look.
"Isn't she beautiful?" Dawson said putting his arm around Gretchen and kissing her lightly on the cheek. I smiled giddily at the sight of them, pleased that everything had turned out so perfectly.
****
"I can't believe she's pregnant," Pacey said as we lay in bed that night.
"Why?" I asked.
"Four kids," he said. "That's a lot of work."
"You wouldn't want four?"
"Well, I mean, I don't know…" he stumbled nervously over his words.
I laughed.
"I guess it's just that I see how hard it is having one kid and I can't imagine having three more," he explained. "I mean, someday I suppose I'll want that but now…I think we have enough for right now."
"I know what you mean. I feel the same way."
I heard him sigh and it made me love him a little bit more in that moment. I snuggled closer to him then.
"I'm really glad you came and got me in Miami," he said with a soft laugh.
"Huh?" I said sitting up on my elbow and squinting through the darkness to look at him.
"Ten years ago," he said. "Surely, you can't have forgotten it. It was one of the most memorable occasions in my life."
I laughed as I realized what he was talking about. "What made you think of that?"
"I think about it a lot."
"You do?"
"Well, yeah," he said as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. "It's the reason we're together today."
"You think so?" I asked in a disbelieving tone.
"Yes, I think so," he said sitting up on his elbow so that we were eye to eye. "I was pretty stubborn back then."
"Back then?" I teased him.
"Oh, ha ha."
I leaned forward and kissed him softly on the lips. "I wasn't very good at showing you that I loved you back then and you just needed me to show you. Once I did, well, then everything worked out."
"I'm very glad that it did," he said as I kissed him again.
"Me too."
"Because I can't imagine myself being even half as happy as I am without you."
"Aw, that's sweet," I said kissing him again.
"You're the exact right person for me," he told me and I realized that he wanted to talk so I stopped trying to seduce him for a minute.
"And you're the exact right person for me," I agreed.
"I don't know if you know how much I appreciate you."
"I think I do."
"You're really patient with me," he told me. "You always have been, even back when we were kids and that always meant a lot to me because I never had that from anyone else."
I smiled, a little embarrassed, because I could tell that he was trying to be serious and all I could think to say was a joke, which I knew wasn't appropriate.
"And you take care of me really well which is something else you've always done even when we pretended like we hated each other."
"We take care of each other," I told him.
"Ever since you had the baby, I've been trying to find this perfect way to say thank you and I just couldn't come up with anything so I said nothing. But the thing is, I really thought that with you I had everything I could ever ask for or hope for. And then you gave me a child. I don't think I have to tell you how miraculous," he said with a little chuckle, "that is because I see that you feel that way too. I mean, we created a human life out of our love…."
"It's amazing, isn't it?" I said understanding him suddenly.
"'Thanks' sounds so lame but thanks, Joey, for giving me everything I ever wanted and more." Through the darkness, I saw he was crying a little bit.
"Thank you too, Pacey," I said leaning in to kiss him, pushing him gently onto his back again. Nibbling on his neck I whispered, "I love you." He pulled me on top of him then and I concentrated on his face giving into the urge to touch him everywhere.
Joey
"Oh my god, look at these beautiful children," I said as Dawson and Gretchen filed their family inside our house.
I hugged Gretchen warmly. "You look so great," I told her.
"You look fabulous. Are you sure you just had a baby six weeks ago?" She asked with a laugh.
She placed her hands on the heads of the two little girls hugging her legs just below us. "Isabella, Kristina, this is your Aunt Joey. You both met her a very long time ago. You probably don't remember."
I knelt down so that I was at eye level with the little girls. "Hi girls," I said with a smile. They just stared at me awkwardly while grasping their mother tightly for protection.
"Don't even try it with those two," Pacey chimed in. "They're really shy," he said kneeling down to tease them. He started tickling them and they laughed before running to Dawson for more protection.
I stood and saw Dawson holding their youngest daughter who was the spitting image of Dawson himself. He was reaching down with his free hand, pretending to protect his other two daughters from Pacey. I smiled. It was so strange and so sweet seeing Dawson as a father. In my mind, it was always hard for me to imagine Dawson being anything other than a fifteen- year old boy.
I walked over and planted a kiss on his cheek and hugged him sort of strangely because he was still holding the baby. "It's so good to see you, Dawson," I told him.
"You too, Joey," he smiled at me. "You haven't met Ashley yet, have you?" he said smiling at his little girl.
"This one," Gretchen said with a roll of the eyes. "She is Daddy's girl, one hundred percent."
I laughed. "She looks just like you, Dawson."
"It's something, isn't it?" Dawson smiled.
I felt Pacey's arm around me and I turned my head to smile up at him. I could tell he was enjoying this just as much as I was, having his family home again.
"So, where is my nephew?" Gretchen asked us.
"Oh, he's sleeping," I said glancing at my watch. "He should be up any minute though."
"Can I sneak a peek?" she begged.
Pacey laughed. "C'mon," he said gesturing for her to follow him.
"This is a really great house," Dawson said once Pacey and Gretchen were out of the room.
"Oh, that's right. You've never been here before."
"It's been three years," Dawson said seeming to disbelieve it had been that long.
"We were still living in Boston the last time we saw you," I said remembering. "Well, Pacey will have to give you guys the tour a little later on. He's a much better tour guide than I am."
Dawson smiled. "So, how are you doing? Are you enjoying being a Mom?"
A happy smile took control of my face as I spoke. "I love it. For awhile there I thought I was going to hate it but now, it's…it's just….it's the best thing in the world."
He smiled down at all of his children who were still flocking to him for protection. "It is pretty great," he said.
"How come you're all being so shy?" I said to the girls.
"They'll come around. It always takes them a little while." He smiled. "Gretchen says that's my fault. That I baby them to much."
I laughed. "Pacey's going to be the same way. Every time Ryan cries, he picks him up immediately. I keep telling him that he can't do that forever or we're going to have one spoiled child on our hands."
"Give me a break," Pacey joked as he and Gretchen entered the room again. "He's six weeks old!"
"Joey," Gretchen said placing her hand on my arm. "That baby is so gorgeous." I could tell she had been crying and it made me feel as though I could cry.
"Dawson," Pacey said placing his hand firmly on Dawson's shoulder. "What is with your wife? She's crying far too much for a Witter."
"Oh, Pacey," I said creasing my brow at him. "Leave her alone."
"Well, you know what they say about pregnant women," Dawson said putting Ashley down on the ground. "They're usually pretty emotional."
I glanced between Dawson and Gretchen for a few seconds before enveloping Gretchen into a hug. "Oh, my god, congratulations!"
"Four kids?" Pacey joked. "Are you guys nuts?" Pacey said shaking Dawson's hand then hugging him. "Congratulations!"
"We're hoping for a boy this time," Dawson told us as I hugged him.
"And he and Ryan would be so close in age," I said excitedly. "How far along are you, Gretchen?"
"Five months," she said with a beaming smile on her face.
"I can't even tell," I said approaching her again to get a better look.
"Isn't she beautiful?" Dawson said putting his arm around Gretchen and kissing her lightly on the cheek. I smiled giddily at the sight of them, pleased that everything had turned out so perfectly.
****
"I can't believe she's pregnant," Pacey said as we lay in bed that night.
"Why?" I asked.
"Four kids," he said. "That's a lot of work."
"You wouldn't want four?"
"Well, I mean, I don't know…" he stumbled nervously over his words.
I laughed.
"I guess it's just that I see how hard it is having one kid and I can't imagine having three more," he explained. "I mean, someday I suppose I'll want that but now…I think we have enough for right now."
"I know what you mean. I feel the same way."
I heard him sigh and it made me love him a little bit more in that moment. I snuggled closer to him then.
"I'm really glad you came and got me in Miami," he said with a soft laugh.
"Huh?" I said sitting up on my elbow and squinting through the darkness to look at him.
"Ten years ago," he said. "Surely, you can't have forgotten it. It was one of the most memorable occasions in my life."
I laughed as I realized what he was talking about. "What made you think of that?"
"I think about it a lot."
"You do?"
"Well, yeah," he said as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. "It's the reason we're together today."
"You think so?" I asked in a disbelieving tone.
"Yes, I think so," he said sitting up on his elbow so that we were eye to eye. "I was pretty stubborn back then."
"Back then?" I teased him.
"Oh, ha ha."
I leaned forward and kissed him softly on the lips. "I wasn't very good at showing you that I loved you back then and you just needed me to show you. Once I did, well, then everything worked out."
"I'm very glad that it did," he said as I kissed him again.
"Me too."
"Because I can't imagine myself being even half as happy as I am without you."
"Aw, that's sweet," I said kissing him again.
"You're the exact right person for me," he told me and I realized that he wanted to talk so I stopped trying to seduce him for a minute.
"And you're the exact right person for me," I agreed.
"I don't know if you know how much I appreciate you."
"I think I do."
"You're really patient with me," he told me. "You always have been, even back when we were kids and that always meant a lot to me because I never had that from anyone else."
I smiled, a little embarrassed, because I could tell that he was trying to be serious and all I could think to say was a joke, which I knew wasn't appropriate.
"And you take care of me really well which is something else you've always done even when we pretended like we hated each other."
"We take care of each other," I told him.
"Ever since you had the baby, I've been trying to find this perfect way to say thank you and I just couldn't come up with anything so I said nothing. But the thing is, I really thought that with you I had everything I could ever ask for or hope for. And then you gave me a child. I don't think I have to tell you how miraculous," he said with a little chuckle, "that is because I see that you feel that way too. I mean, we created a human life out of our love…."
"It's amazing, isn't it?" I said understanding him suddenly.
"'Thanks' sounds so lame but thanks, Joey, for giving me everything I ever wanted and more." Through the darkness, I saw he was crying a little bit.
"Thank you too, Pacey," I said leaning in to kiss him, pushing him gently onto his back again. Nibbling on his neck I whispered, "I love you." He pulled me on top of him then and I concentrated on his face giving into the urge to touch him everywhere.