Saved
Chapter 7
Love, Valor, Madness
by: Jade


Disclaimer: Dawson's Creek is not my property.

Author's Note: I suppose this chapter is sorta dedicated to the character of Jen, whom obviously deserved a much better story line than what the writers have given her this season past. Michelle Williams is a great actress and I hope she'll have more of a chance to showcase her talent in Season 4.

She had been tidying up his apartment for his return when the telephone rang.

"Turn on the news, Joey."

The grave tone of Jen's voice prevented her from asking any questions before she picked up the remote control and pointed it at the television. When she had it at the right channel her heart slowly lurched at the chaos that was going on at the scene being broadcast.

Sirens were sounding in the background and firefighters were all clambering to put out the fire that was raging from the back half of the plane wreckage. She tried to take in what the reporter was saying-

"Rescue workers are still looking for survivors-"

"Is that his flight?" Jen asked in fear.

"I'm going to the airport," Joey replied, willing herself to remain calm. He's okay. I know he is, she told herself. God please let him be okay.

"I'll meet you there," Jen said.

*****

It took her twenty minutes once she'd arrived to get through the mass of relatives to talk to one of the airline personnel who were shouting to be heard above the din.

"I'm sorry, ma'am. As of now, we have no confirmation of-"

She let out a cry of frustration and turned away. Jen saw her and came up to her side.

"They can't tell us anything!" Joey told her, tears threatening to fall.

"Joey, calm down," Jen advised, although she wasn't feeling the inclination to herself. "Pacey will be fine."

"He's always, always doing this to me." She sniffled and started to cry.

Jen wrapped a comforting arm around her and guided her to a corner. "Stay here. I'll force something out of them." She soon came back after some major hassling, bewildered but optimistic. "Pacey wasn't on the flight."

"What?"

"He never checked in. He wasn't on the plane."

Joey absorbed the information in a daze before reacting. "Then where the hell is he?"

"Maybe he was delayed and missed his flight. Or he had to stay on in Houston." She whipped out her cell phone and started dialing. "I'm calling his office, they might know something." She put it to her ear and waited for someone to pick up and kept mumbling, "Come on, come on," as she glanced at her watch, hoping at least one person was working late.

Joey watched on anxiously as someone finally did and Jen related her reason for calling and asked if anyone in the office could tell her if Pacey had been delayed back in Houston. The latter listened quietly to the response on the other end and thanked the person for his help.

"The shoot ended on time. Pacey reported in yesterday but didn't mention a change of plans. If he'd switched flights, they wouldn't know."

"Lend me your phone."

"What are you doing?"

"If he's stuck at the airport on a later flight, he'd probably have heard about the accident. He might have left a message on the machine." To her disappointment, there were no new messages.

"I should check mine too just in case," Jen said. There was nothing for her either.

"I can't just stay here." Joey closed her eyes, trying to think straight. "I'm going to see if he was on another flight." Jen watched helplessly as she wove her way through the crowd again to the counters, afraid that the latter would come back with news she didn't want to hear.

It was almost nine o'clock by the time Joey was persuaded by Jen that there was nothing else to do but wait for the airline to call the minute they knew something. They eventually took a cab back into Manhattan.

Joey remained quiet throughout the ride and barely looked up when her doorman called out a greeting. She made it to the elevator in a lifeless manner with Jen hurrying to catch up after paying the cab driver. Outside her apartment, she gave up trying to find her keys in her bag and threw it aside. Jen picked it up and found them, having the door opened within seconds.

"Don't," Joey mumbled as Jen reached for the light switch. She made it to the couch and curled herself into a ball beside the phone.

"Joey," Jen sighed. "You'll feel better after a hot bath." She heard no protest and tried not to bump into anything on the way to Joey's bedroom. She fumbled for the light in there and finally turned it on. What she saw made her gasp. "Oh my God," was her next reaction. It was maybe the fifth time she'd said those words in her entire life. She managed to move her feet back into the living room.

"Joey, I think you'd better see this."

There was no reaction from the couch.

"Joey," Jen repeated more firmly. "I found Pacey."

Joey sat up immediately, disconcerted.

"He's fast asleep on your bed."

In her scramble, Joey nearly fell to the floor. She ran to her room and sure enough, the slumbering figure of Pacey Witter greeted her. She grabbed the nearest pillow and began hitting him with it.

"Awww!" Pacey had no time to register what was happening as he was rudely awakened from his deep sleep. It took him a whole half-minute to establish that Joey was attacking him with a pillow and that she looked really mad. "Hey!" He held down one of her hands but she started shoving him against the headboard with the other. "Jo, stop it!" he yelled. It was then that he noticed Jen standing in the corner, staring at him wide-eyed.

"Will someone please tell me what the hell is going on!"

Jen found her voice again. "We thought you were dead, Pacey."

"What?" He lost his grip on Joey and she gave him a final shove with both her hands and moved away from him to the foot of the bed.

"You know what, Pacey! I don't give a damn if you were lying in a ditch somewhere!" Her voice quivered violently with emotion as she yelled at him.

He was confused beyond words. "Jen, what happened?"

"The flight that you were scheduled to be on crashed."

His jaw dropped.

"Where were you?" Jen continued to interrogate, her face a mask of bafflement.

"I- I took an earlier flight on another airline," he fumbled to explain.

Joey turned away but not before giving away that she was crying again.

Jen took this as indication that she should take her leave. "I'm going to go now. God knows I need a drink. But call me," she warned him pointedly that she still wanted a full explanation.

Pacey nodded distractedly. They heard the door close and he got out of bed and came up behind her. "Joey-" He reached out to touch her shoulder but she pushed his hand away. He tried again and managed to turn her around. Her face was wet with tears.

"I'm so sorry," he whispered. He brought her into his embrace and she sobbed into his top.

"Y- you are such a jerk, Wii-tter," she managed to say through her hiccups.

"I know. I'm so sorry."

Her next words made him hug her tighter to him.

"I was so scared."

"I shouldn't have done it." He kissed the top of her head. "But I hated the way we left things the other day and I wanted to get home as soon as I could. So I bought another ticket that would get me in two hours earlier. I came right over but you weren't here. I took a shower and waited for you to get back but I guess I was more tired than I thought."

She raised her face to his. "No," she said shaking her head, "I feel terrible for all those people and for saying this but I'm glad you did what you did."

He cupped her face in his hands and wiped her damp cheeks with his thumb. He leant in to kiss her. Her arms went around his neck and held on tightly as if she were afraid to let him disappear out of sight again.

*****

After coaxing her to sleep, he gently removed his arm from under her, careful not to wake her. He had taken a box out of his coat and as he sat in the dimly lit living room, he opened it and stared at the ring inside. It wasn't anything fancy but he wasn't even sure that she wouldn't think it too much. What am I saying? She hasn't even said yes, he thought. In fact, he couldn't even be certain that she wouldn't have preferred to just forget about the whole thing. After what happened that night, he couldn't blame her. Their relationship thus so far had been filled with more tears than smiles.

He was startled when he heard her sleepy voice behind him. "What are you doing?"

He snapped the box shut and pushed it deep between the cushions of the couch. "Nothing," he hastily covered up.

She came round and lay the side of her head on his lap, curling herself into a fetal position. She reached for his hand and held it close to her face. Using his other, he gently ran his fingers through her hair. Her breathing gradually evened out. He leaned over to look and seeing her eyes closed, he kissed her on the temple goodnight.

He continued to play with her hair and when he thought he was in the clear, he carefully dug for the box he'd stuffed beneath.

"I was going to say yes, you know," she suddenly said, the sleep gone from her tone.

His hand paused in mid-air with the box.

She turned her face to look up at him, her eyes bright and clear. "I was going to say yes," she repeated. "I'd already made up my mind before what happened today."

He swallowed nervously. "Was?"

She was squeezing his hand, unaware she was doing it. "Do you still want to marry me?" she asked, nervous and apprehensive. "After all that I've put you through?"

His smile slowly grew. "Now more than ever."

She smiled back. "Then my answer's yes. I will marry you."

"What are you doing in town, Dawson?"

His presence at the office had overwhelmed her. Making use of the time between his suggestion they go for dinner and the trip to the restaurant, she had had time to put her incoherent thoughts together.

"Not happy to see an old friend?"

"Of course, I am," she told him. "I'm just surprised, that's all. I had no idea you were in New York. I mean, I haven't exactly got a clue as to how you've been all these years."

"You're not the only one," he said more to himself than to her.

"How are you?"

"Truly?"

She nodded.

"I've been better."

"Me too."

"Are they happy?"

Jen sighed, having anticipated the questioning she would be subjected to. "I think you should ask them yourself."

"I'm asking you, Jen." Dawson pleaded with his eyes, "Please."

She didn't know if she did it out of empathy in order to soften the blow or if she was simply no longer sure about what went on in the lives of her friends since she barely had a grasp on her own that she offered a fairly vague response. "I think they're content."

Dawson chuckled in mock humor. "I can't stop thinking about the day I got that phone call from Joey telling me she was getting married. To Pacey, of all people."

She stared quietly into her glass, thinking back to her own reaction when she was first told the news...

~~~~~

"You're kidding, right?" She laughed, hoping they would too but she was greeted by somber expressions. Her face fell. "Please tell me you're kidding."

They couldn't.

She shook her head in despair and walked out of the reception area into her office without another word.

"Let me," Pacey told Joey as she started after Jen whom he followed into the office. He closed the door behind him as he did.

"I cannot believe the two of you are doing this! This is crazy." She fought to keep her voice down but it was a struggle.

"I'm asking you to be happy for us," Pacey replied calmly.

"No," she shook her head some more. "Not when I know what this is about. Pacey, you're trying to hold on to her for as long and as tightly as you can and you think marriage is the only way out?"

"You're making this something it's not, Jen."

"Am I?" she challenged. "Haven't you learned anything from the failed marriages we've seen throughout our lives? Do you even remember how painful it is when it all ends?"

"I've already made up my mind and I don't want to discuss this any further," he said, making his way to the door. "Joey and I came here today to ask you for your blessing and if you would be one of the witnesses. What can I tell her?"

Jen dropped to her chair and looked at him for a long moment. "Have you really thought about this, Pacey?" she questioned softly.

He kept his hand on the doorknob and kept silent.

She finally looked away and sighed. "Tell Joey I'm sorry," she said, keeping her gaze carefully averted from his. She heard the soft click of the door closing then she buried her face in her hands.

~~~~~

She opened the door to her apartment and stopped short at the figure standing by the window.

"Get the hell out of my apartment, Danny," she said coldly.

He made his way toward her. "I'm not leaving until we talk this through."

"There's nothing left for us to talk about."

He searched her face for answers but there were none. "Why are you doing this?" He had taken her by the shoulders, willing her to tell him the truth.

She bit her lip to keep it from quivering. Pushing his hands away she went to sit on the couch. "I'm tired. Please go," she said, not even looking at him.

She continued to sit there long after he'd left. Absently, she started rubbing her stomach; she didn't even know she was crying until she felt a drop of tear fall on her arm.

She opened the door to her apartment and stopped short at the figure standing by the window.

In quick reflex, she picked up the nearest heavy object within her reach, which turned out to be a very expensive crystal vase that had been a gift from a grateful client.

"Who the hell are you and what are doing in my apartment!" She grabbed her cell phone out of her bag with her free hand and started to dial. "I'm calling the police right now."

The man moved out of the shadows and walked toward her. Her hand tightened on the vase and she was about to connect the call through when he spoke.

"Jennifer Lindley, you haven't changed a bit."

She stopped what she was doing and wrinkled her brows. She stared on, as bafflement then shock registered. Instead of putting the vase down and shutting off the phone at recognizing the intruder, she gave him a wry look and warned, "Then you should know I wouldn't hesitate to use either of these." She went on to indicate the objects in her hand with a tilt of her head to each side, saying "But you'll probably worm your way out of prison, courtesy of law school."

He chuckled. Moving unhurriedly to stand before her, he took the vase from her and sighed in amusement. "Don't want to waste this for nothing," he said and put it down.

She made no effort to convince him that his presence was welcomed.

He raised his brow at her phone and it was with great reluctance that she ended the connection and slipped the phone back in her bag. She tried to stare him down but it was her who looked away first. Brushing roughly past him, she dropped her light coat and tote bag onto the couch and demanded to know, hand on hip, "What the hell do you want, Daniel Lerner?"

"Call me Danny," he offered.

She rolled her eyes.

"Okay," he relented. "I'm in town for Pacey and before you say anything, he doesn't know I'm here. I took the key you gave him when he wasn't looking and let myself in."

"You mean you stole the key."

"Oh well, if you want to be pedantic," he mocked. "I've been told that unfair surprise is sometimes the most effective way of getting through to someone."

"Not to mention unethical," Jen replied, returning his gesture with a mock smile of her own that died appropriately in two seconds.

"Look, Pacey really wants you at City Hall tomorrow. He and Joey have been brooding over it for a week now and pretending it wouldn't matter much. You're obviously important to them."

Jen sensed the slight sarcasm behind his words but he apologized with his eyes before she could come up with a retort. Daniel Lerner annoyed the hell out of her. She hated the way he always goaded her into arguments and how his brown eyes would twinkle if he were winning or how guilty he would make her just by the hurt expression in those same eyes if she hit a soft spot with her words. And it didn't help at college that she was constantly plagued by questions from girls who couldn't stop fawning over Pacey or his incredibly handsome roommate.

Women mostly found Pacey irresistible first and foremost because of his devilish charms and sardonic wit. And of course there was that killer smile of his. Danny Lerner, on the other hand...there was just something different about him. For one thing, it didn't take a woman more than a millisecond to see that he was too good-looking for his own good. But at times he seemed to hate how he looked. When Pacey became his roommate in sophomore year, she would have had to drop by his dorm on occasion if they had arranged to meet. The first time they met she had been rounding a corner and so had he...from the opposite direction. She'd literally walked into someone whose face was partially blocked by a huge pile of books he was carrying. The books thundered to the floor until there was only one left in that person's hand.

She grimaced apologetically and was about to convey the same in words when she looked up at him and for the first time in her life, was stunned speechless by the sight of a man. And she thought Matthew McConaughey was beautiful. In fact, the guy did look a little like him in A Time To Kill, with the gold-rimmed glasses and all minus the light-colored hair. This one had straighter, darker hair.

She opened her mouth to apologize but was cut off by him.

"Are you always this clumsy?" He began picking up his books, barely glancing her way.

She felt indignant by the impatience in his tone. It wasn't as if he hadn't played a part in the incident. She grudgingly bent down to help him. "We walked into each other. It's not like there's a rule that says you had the right of way."

He frowned and finally took a look at the face that the voice belonged to. She picked up the three books closest to her and cocked a brow at the titles of them. "That explains it," she muttered under her breath. They both stood up, him towering over her. With an annoyed tilt of her mouth, she thrust the books back at him and crossed her arms, daring him to put the entire blame on her.

He didn't need to say anything to infuriate her even further. It was what he didn't say but his expression that made it plainly clear. She decided she didn't like him very much even if he was gorgeous. She rolled her eyes heavenward and wrinkled her nose in distaste. As she walked past him, she was tempted to push him and his books to the floor again.

Later she'd made her way to Pacey's room. "Hey Witt-" The rest of her sentence had been cut off by the sheer dread she felt at what she saw as the door was opened. "Just great," she mumbled.

"Well, well, well." He moved aside to let her in. She shook her head at the untimely coincidence as she walked into the room.

"Lindley, what took you so long?" Pacey called from where he was seated on his bed, tying his shoelaces.

"I had to stop by to see a friend from class but not before I had a slight accident with some books." She chose that moment to look pointedly at the other guy in the room and gave him a faked wide smile.

Pacey hadn't noticed anything. He finished with his shoes and grabbed his wallet. "Man, I'm starving," he said. He wrapped Jen up from behind in a bear hug and affectionately ruffled her hair as he placed his chin on her head. "Jen Lindley, meet my roommate, Danny Lerner."

He had taken off his glasses, his rich brown eyes twinkling and at least he had the decency to offer her a warm, attractive smile as he reached for a handshake. Seeing that Pacey couldn't see her face, she preferred not to return the smile. But she was pretty sure he was holding on to her hand on purpose and struggled to pull it back from his, trying to act unaffected.

"Wanna come with us?"

Jen widened her eyes at Pacey's offer. Danny tried to keep from grinning as he politely declined.

"No thanks, Pacey. Got to start working on the reading list."

"Ease up, man. It's our first week back," Pacey quipped.

For a moment, she was afraid he would change his mind.

"Nah," he finally said. "Thanks for asking anyway."

"Okay, want me to get you anything?" Danny shook his head and Pacey held on to Jen's hand, dragging her out. "I'll see you later then," he called back.

"So that's her in person," he said to himself after they were gone. Pacey didn't have many photos on his share of the walls but he'd seen one of the latter with Jen Lindley together. It was apparent that they were close. Shrugging at nothing in particular, he turned his attention back to his books after coming to the conclusion that they were probably going out.

*****

Danny wasn't certain if he'd succeeded in changing her mind. He sat across the table from her, pretending to stir his coffee while he watched her from the corner of his eye. She had changed out of her work clothes into an NYU sweatshirt and loose pants and scrubbed her face clean of makeup. She'd brought her legs up to the chair and tucked them under her chin and was staring out the window, deep in thought.

"I know this must be difficult for you," he started to say.

She turned away from the window toward him.

"Seeing how you feel about Pacey and all."

She frowned. She had no idea how and when the notion started to grow in his head but years ago, she gave up trying to convince Danny that she wasn't secretly in love with Pacey. She kept silent, not wanting to encourage him with a response or reaction.

"They really want you there."

Jen had had a week to think it over since they broke the news to her. She couldn't yet bring herself to condone what they were getting themselves into but she knew that friendship ranked above everything else and what counted at this point in time was how much they needed her approval and blessing and for her to just be there.

"I'll be there," she stated simply.

He smiled. "I was afraid I would have to threaten to seduce Joey as a last resort to force you to turn up," he told her. "Pacey has done it again. The woman's gorgeous."

"You stay away from Joey," she warned protectively.

"There, I knew it'll get to you." He leaned forward, across the table. "Because, Jen Lindley, I know no matter what, the only thing you'll ever want for your friends is for them to be happy."

"You're not Joey's type anyway," she smirked. Leaning forward as well, she said, "Besides, Dan Lerner, I know no matter what, you would never make a move on a girl you didn't think felt the same way about you, especially not the love of your best friend's life."

He stared at her for a long time and she began to fidget uncomfortably under his gaze. "You don't know how right you are," he replied quietly.

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