Saved
Chapter 2
Nothing I Can't Tell You
by: Jade


Disclaimer: Dawson's Creek is not my property.

Author's Note: Remember, flashbacks in *bold*.

Dedications: Thank you to those at the MB - mochagirl, Tay, Mel (meljoy_8), Jocelyn (TVLuver), TaraGel, negla2018, DuckieDuck, Amy (ditsyaml), Charley and others - for their support of the trilogy.

Neither of them had come home from work yet when the telephone rang. At the eighth ring, the answering machine picked it up and the message played in her voice:

"Hi, you've reached the residence of Pacey and Joey Witter. We can't pick up your call right now but if you'd leave your name and number, we'll be sure to get back to you."

Beep. Silence. And then a throat cleared.

"I didn't believe for three years that you'd actually done it. You and Pacey, married." The tone was one of incredulity. "I'm back in L.A. We really need to talk. Please give me a call as soon as you get this."

It was followed by a click and the line went dead.

Jen watched her as the latter quietly stirred her martini twirling her olive. "Ready to get back in the game?" she asked.

"They say a person takes half the time of how long he or she had been in the relationship before the break-up to get over it." She dropped her olive and pushed the glass aside. "Dawson and I have been on and off for about ten years. I'd say I still have four years and nine months to go."

Jen shook her head in resignation, wondering where the hell Pacey was. Joey's mood was contagious and she was afraid her own depressed state of mind would be aggravated if she caught it spending any more time alone with her.

"Joey, I'm on the road to recovery. Don't spoil it for me, huh?"

Joey sighed. "I'm sorry."

The two of them slumped forward in their chairs and went back to being moody together.

Pacey entered the bar and knew where to look even before he spotted them. All he needed to do was follow in the general direction of the men's eyes and he knew that he would find his party at the end of it.

They were a formidable-looking pair, whether they knew it or not.

"Evening, my ladies," he said, coming up from behind them. He was bent forward with one arm around Joey and the other around Jen and caught sight of their faces. "Why the solemn expressions?"

They declined to reply.

He hugged them both to him and kissed each one on the forehead. "Cheer up, Pacey's here."

Jen groaned and Joey dropped her forehead to the table.

"Okay," he conceded defeat, letting go and taking a seat opposite them. "Looks like my charming self isn't enough today."

Joey mumbled something incoherent in response.

"So..." He smacked his hands together, "Let's wallow."

"Go on," Jen encouraged grudgingly, "You know that woman over there has had her eye on you for days now."

He looked in the direction of her finger. The object of their attention was indeed very attractive and glancing his way every two seconds or so. Joey turned back to see as well.

"Yeah, go ahead, Pacey," she contributed and dropped her chin to rest on her forearms overlapping on the table. She resumed her doe-eyed despondency.

Pacey's gaze focused first on Jen, whose raised eyebrow warned him that he should grab the opportunity, then it fell on Joey who wasn't looking at him but at her martini. Next, it went to the woman. It lingered on her and she smiled back; he wanted so much to encourage her but he finally dropped his gaze back to Joey who sensed that she was being watched. She lifted her curious eyes to his and smiled in puzzlement.

He smiled back. "What say the three of us rent a video or two and go over to my place?"

Jen shook her head in despair discreetly. She shot him daggered looks and stepped down on his foot, slow and deliberate. He coughed and moved his foot from under hers.

Joey shrugged her shoulders, not noticing the exchange. "Sure. Whatever the two of you want."

Jen bobbed her head subtly that he could still get out of his suggestion.

He stood up instead. "Okay, let's go."

*****

"I'm gone, man." Jen stretched her arms and reached for her coat. "I'm exhausted."

"It's only eleven-thirty."

"The bride's a friend of a friend. I promised to be there early tomorrow to make sure that everything goes according to plan." She reached the last button on her coat. "People pay me huge sums of money just to do what I'm great at. Hey, the least I can do is be there to take the fall if something goes wrong."

"I'll walk you out."

They got to where her cab was waiting. "You know what I think," she said without hesitation.

"I couldn't just leave her all depressed-"

"Yes, you can and you will!"

He didn't respond.

"Pacey, you don't have to be physically present all the time to be there for her. Joey's a big girl, she can take care of herself."

He reached around her for the door. "Can we please not talk about this?"

Jen was fed up with watching this endless game between her friends. She let out a breath of exasperation and got into the vehicle, slamming the door shut after her.

~~~~~

She went into work that Saturday morning but came home early to make her husband lunch. They hadn't eaten in, except for calling takeaway, for a long time and she thought it would be a pleasant surprise.

She was cheerful when she entered the apartment carrying a bag of groceries but her mood backfired on her when she came home and played back the single message on the answering machine.

A long moment passed before she remembered to breathe again. Just as she let the air back into her lungs, she lost the feeling in her legs and she managed to sit down before her knees buckled under her.

~~~~~



"Is everything all right?" she asked as he came back in.

"Peachy. What did I miss?"

"Oh, just a high-speed chase."

He landed on the couch beside her and they unconsciously lapsed into a routine position where she put her head on his shoulder and rested in the comforting circle of his arm. He would always kiss her on the top of her head and she would hold on to his fingers drumming on her shoulder and plant one in return on his hand. It all seemed perfectly natural and fairly platonic to both of them.

That night, an element was added.

She started to cry and he let her until her tears dried up but not before she soaked his shirt.

"Dawson ca-called me today." She tried to control her hiccuping in between. "He w-wanted me to go over to London to try, try and work things out."

"Do you want to?"

"I don't know, Pacey." She started rubbing at her eyes. "I just don't know."

~~~~~

It took all of her strength to momentarily forget what she'd heard and to keep herself busy in the kitchen.

But even preparation of lunch had to end sometime. So as she waited for her husband to come home, she sat at the dining table staring at the telephone.

A couple of times, she got up but sat right back down and continued staring. So engrossed was she in her task that she literally jumped when the low sound of a key turned in the lock of the front door. Running her fingers hastily through her hair, she tried to appear unperturbed.

"Hey stranger," he said in surprise at seeing her.

She smiled.

He put his bag of camera equipment aside and walked over to stand behind her. He kissed the top of her head and then the corner of her temple. "What are you doing home so early?" he asked, aiming his keys at a decorative bowl at the corner of the kitchen counter and landing them perfectly in a noisy shot.

She took his hand on her shoulder in hers and turned her face sideways and upward to look at him. "I thought we could enjoy a quiet meal indoors."

"Perfect." He grinned and leaned down to kiss her on the mouth. "I'll go get changed," he said against her lips. She nodded and made her way to the kitchen while he made for the bedroom.

She heard him ask something. "What?"

"Any messages on the machine?" he repeated his question. When he was met with silence after a few moments, he peeked out the door and saw her still figure by the kitchen sink.

"Joey?"

"Nothing," she said, "There were no messages."

He thought her demeanor a little odd but chose to attribute it to a distraction at work.

"I was hoping you'd call soon."

"What is it, Dawson?" She tried to keep her voice devoid of emotion, all the time twirling the telephone cord around her fingers nervously and her eyes constantly darting to the door of her office as though at any time, she would be caught red-handed.

"So we've cut to the chase, haven't we? Don't I even deserve a proper hello and how have you been?"

She took several silent breaths. "I'm sorry."

"Me too," he replied softly. He waited for her to speak but she said nothing. "I would like to see you," he continued.

She took awhile before replying. "I don't think it'd be such a good idea."

"Why? Because you married my best friend?"

The bitterness in his voice didn't escape her. "Dawson, please don't make this any harder than it has to be."

"I'm not doing anything, Joey. I just want to see you."

The lump in her throat seemed to grow with each minute gone by. "Have you told Pacey that you're back?"

"No. I figured you'd tell him," he said. "That is, if you wanted to."

She swallowed past the lump.

He knew her well and long enough to know that she was already consumed with guilt and part of him just wanted to let it go. But he couldn't find it in himself to forgive and forget just yet. "What are you going to do?" he asked, knowing it was childish behavior on his part but he wanted to add on to her dilemma.

Her silence told him he'd succeeded but he wasn't feeling particularly victorious.

Her eyes were puffed from dozing off on her own couch. She forgot that he'd stayed and swung her foot, only to hit something in the way.

"Ouch!" He was sitting on the floor at the foot of the couch, when he felt an impact on the back of his head.

She sobered up and reached to massage the spot on his scalp. "Sorry," she apologized, her voice raspy from sleep.

They'd been talking through the night again and had fallen asleep in her living room. It was becoming a weekly routine.

She fell back again, her face propped on the arm of the couch.

He glanced at her and asked, "Does your hair always stand on end first thing in the morning?"

It wasn't a smart thing to say when you're sitting near someone's foot. The next thing to come out of his mouth was another 'Ouch'.

She sat up again and moved her head around, trying to rid herself of the ache that was threatening to spread from her neck to her back. "You want some coffee?"

"Sure."

She missed his head this time by only an inch. When she moved to the kitchen, he pushed himself into a sitting position on the couch and leaned backwards, eyes closed. He opened one of them when he sniffed coffee in the air just above his nose.

"Thank you, Ethel," he said, as she came around and handed him the steaming mug.

"You're most welcome, Fred." She put her mug on the coffee table for it to cool and he followed suit. She rested the side of her head on her elbow and held his gaze.

He cocked a brow, never looking away for a second. They were at one of their 'moments' again.

She moved her face toward him and grinned before blowing into his eye.

He blinked. "No fair," he remarked, smiling.

She scooted closer to him and held on to his hand.

"Need a hug?"

She accepted his offer and leaned her head into his shoulder for a long time and left it there. Her hair was tickling his nose but he'd never felt more at home. "Thinking about Dawson again?"

"No."

"I guess that means yes."

A bout of silence followed.

"You know, we've talked about this a lot. There really is an easy solution to it."

She looked back at him with questioning eyes.

"All you have to do is kiss him," he replied, allowing himself a lopsided grin. "If memory serves me, he won't be in a hurry to go anywhere."

She rolled her eyes and smacked him lightly in the chest.

"I wasn't kidding, you know," he said when her hair started to tickle at his nose again.

"Pacey," she brooded, "If only I had such a hold on a single person."

Joey, if you only knew, his heart replied.

Feedback please, to: pacey@hockeymail.com