Chapter 3
Disclaimer: I don't own the movie "Fools Rush In" or the show, Dawson's Creek, kay? I'm just borrowing the plotline from "Fools Rush In" and some of the characters from Dawson's Creek.
Author's Note: If you wanna get a mental picture of what season Dawson and Joey look like they came from in this story, I guess it's from the fifth or sixth. BUT like I said, this is an alternate universe type fan fiction. There is no back story to them, they just have the same personalities as they would on the show. And instead of having Dawson being a construction worker or whatever Alex Whitman was in the movie, Dawson is; surprise, surprise, involved with a movie. Oh! Um. This story is set in Boston where Joey lives. The movie company Dawson is working for is shooting some scenes for a movie they're doing, that's what brought him there, otherwise, he lives in Los Angeles. Any of this confusing? E-mail me at the address below and I'll try to explain it.
Feedback: Yes! I would LOVE feedback. Please send feedback to Naskt8@aol.com. I'd love to hear what your guys think of my new story!
Thank You's: A BIG thank you to Jessie who helped me get ideas together.
Spoilers: There aren't any spoilers in here this time (Well, except if you haven't seen the movie "Fools Rush In".) This is an AU (Alternate Universe) fan fiction. So what you know about Dawson and Joey growing up together, being best friends, sadly there is none of that in this fan-fiction.
"So let me get this straight, you have dinner with your family every other week?" he asked, a little surprised. The two had decided to take her car, and leave his at the park to go pick up later on.
"Dinner with my sister," she corrected.
"Why not with your mother and father?" he asked. Joey paused for a second.
"Well, my mother got cancer and died when I was thirteen," she began. Dawson now felt really bad for asking.
"Wow, I'm really sorry I brought it up," he said.
"No, it's okay; really," she assured him. "My father was caught trafficking marijuana after she died, and was put in prison, leaving my older, and back then pregnant, sister to raise me and her unborn child," she finished.
"Wow," was all Dawson could say. "You've really had a rough life, haven't you?" Joey shrugged.
"I guess it could be worse." By the sounds of it, Joey life couldn't get any worse. Compared to Dawson's very normal upbringing, her life sounded like hell compared to his own.
"My mom cheated on my dad with her co-anchor when I was fifteen," Dawson offered. The two laughed.
"Wow, aren't our families dysfunctional," Joey said finally.
"Yes they are," Dawson agreed. The two fell silent.
"Are you parents….still together?" she asked finally.
Dawson nodded. "They are now. I mean, they got divorced, which didn't last long; they got re-married during my junior year," he explained. Joey nodded.
"Do you have any siblings?" she asked, realizing how little she really knew about him.
"Uh, yeah; one. A little sister," he said. "Her name is Lily."
"How old is she?" Joey asked.
"Seven." Joey nodded, her eyes on the road.
"Do you have any other brothers or sisters except for your sister?" Dawson asked. Joey shook her head.
"Nope. It's just me and Bessie," she said. "Well, and her boyfriend Bodie if you wanna count him," she added quickly.
"How often do you see your family?" she asked.
"Not as much as I'd like to," he admitted. The two sat in silence for a few minutes.
"So, how we going to do this?" Dawson asked.
"Well, I guess we just act like we've been dating for a while," Joey said. "Just don't tell them I picked you up outside the bathroom, okay?" she said smiling. Dawson smiled as well.
"I thought I picked you up," he teased, causing Joey to laugh. Another pause.
"Okay, so who are you?" he asked, wanting to get all their facts straight before they got there. But for the most part, he just wanted to know more about her.
"Well, I'm sort of an artist," she began. "I like to paint a lot; runs in my family I guess. Um… I grew up in a small town called Capeside, but I've lived in Boston since I was eighteen."
"Go on," he encouraged, wanting to hear more about her.
"Well, I've already told you about my dysfunctional family history. My sister's name is Bessie, her boyfriend's name is Bodie. They have a baby together, my nephew. His name is Alexander and he's ten. Bessie and Bodie run a B & B in Capeside, very successful by the way," she added proudly. She continued to tell Dawson about her family the rest of the ride there…
~*~
"So, got any questions?" Joey asked as the two stood on the porch of her sister's B & B. Dawson looked as if he was still computing all the information.
"Uh yeah, actually. What's your last name?" he asked. Joey paused, realizing they didn't even know each other's last names, and here they were, expecting a baby together.
"Potter, Josephine Potter. And your Dawson…" she trailed off, waiting for him to fill in the blank.
"Leery," he said.
Joey smiled. "Dawson Leery," she repeated, trying the name out.
"Joey Potter," Dawson said, trying the name out as well, as he took a step towards her and extended his hand.
"Nice to meet you." Their eyes were locked on one another as Dawson held her hand.
Just then, the front door opened and a woman who looked slightly like Joey walked out.
"Hey Joey," the woman said warmly as she walked over to Joey and hugged her. Dawson smiled, realizing the woman was probably Joey's sister…Bessie was it? He asked himself. Finally Bessie turned her attention to Dawson.
"Oh, this is my sister, Bessie; Bessie, this is Dawson," Joey said, introducing the two. Dawson smiled, extending his hand.
"Nice to meet you, Dawson," Bessie said as she shook his hand. She looked at Dawson then back over to Joey.
"Ah, why don't we go inside, huh?" Joey suggested, knowing her sister was about to get into the questioning. Bessie looked at the two of them for a second longer before heading inside.
"Comon," Joey said, reaching down for his hand. The two walked into the house, hand in hand.
"We're here," Joey said as the three of them entered the kitchen. A tall colored man turned around from the counter.
"Hey!" Joey smiled and hugged him.
"Well, well, who's this; new boyfriend?" Bodie asked.
Joey nodded. "Bodie, this is Dawson, Dawson, this is Bodie- my sister's boyfriend."
"Hey," Dawson said smiling as he shook hands with Bodie. The four of them stood there in silence for a minute or so.
"Wait a second, weren't you and Eddie engaged?" Bodie asked, confused. Joey's eyes went wide.
"Eddie and I? We weren't engaged!" she said quickly. She turned towards Dawson. "I was not engaged," she assured him.
"I'm sorry Joey, I just can't keep up with you and your boyfriends," he said. Joey rolled her yes.
"Bodie, I'm not a teenager," she told him.
Deciding to change the subject, Dawson spoke up. "Can I help out with anything?" he asked.
Bessie shook her head. "Bodie's got it under control. Comon, let's go wait out back, huh?" she said. Joey nodded and headed towards the back, wanting to get Dawson away from Bodie before he said anything else.
Once they reached the backyard, the three were greeted by Joey's nephew, Alexander.
"Is dinner ready yet?" he asked Bessie. She shook her head.
"Not yet. 'Bout twenty more minutes," she told him. The young boy grumbled. Dawson smiled.
"Hey there, Alexander," Joey said.
"Hi Aunt Joey," he said.
"Alex, this is," she paused for a second, looking over at Dawson wondering if she should call him her boyfriend or not; if she'd confuse Alexander by saying so. "Dawson."
"Hey Alex, nice to meet you," Dawson said.
"You too," he said. He stood there for a few more seconds before going back to what he was doing before; kicking a ball around the yard.
"So…how'd you two meet?" Bessie asked finally as the three of them sat down at a table in the back. Joey looks over at Dawson and smiles, as she tells Bessie of "how they met."
Dawson sat at the table with Bessie, watching Joey and Bodie play some sort of a tag game with Alexander; laughing and running around. Dawson smiled as he watched Joey laugh, running away from her nephew. He sat there wondering what they're child would look like and which one the baby would act more like.
"Alexander waits everyday for Bodie to get home so that they can go play outside," Bessie said, snapping Dawson out of his thoughts.
"Wow," Dawson said as he looked back at the three, then turning his attention back to Bessie.
"Yeah, he and Bodie are really close; I mean, I'm sure most fathers and sons are, but…" she trailed off. Dawson smiled, listening to Bessie talk about her family.
"He's a handful, Alexander is, and having him so young was hard but I sit here now and…I couldn't imagine my life without him. Without either of them," she said, smiling as she watched Bodie on the ground, tickling Alexander.
She looked back at Dawson and smiled. "You'll know what I'm talking about when you have a person in your life that surprises you everyday; and a child you love with all your heart. Once you become a parent, your life seems to have so much more meaning than before," she told him. Dawson almost choked at the last part, quickly looking behind him at Joey, who was now making her way back to the table.
"What are you guys talking about?" she asked curiously as she sat down beside him.
"Parenting," Bessie said, smiling. Joey looked over at Dawson worriedly, wondering if he had said anything to Bessie.
"Oh," she said, trying to keep her composure. She looked back over at her sister, realizing if he had said anything, Bessie would have already asked her about it. A few minutes later, Bodie made his way back over to the table, carrying Alexander over his shoulder.
"Alright, what do you say we start picking up," he said as he set the boy down. "Alex, why don't you help your mom grab the mustard, ketchup, and stuff like that," he said, grabbing the hotdog and hamburger buns.
Joey smiled as she got up and began picking up the trash on the table. Dawson got up and began to help her as Bessie, Bodie and Alex went inside to put stuff away.
"So, the night went well, right?" she asked, looking up at him.
"It wasn't so bad," Dawson said. Joey smiled. The two stood there, looking at one another for what seemed like hours. All the attraction and heat that was between the two that night three months ago seemed to be restored. Dawson walked over to her, pulling her into his arms as he lowered his head to her. Joey swore she felt a bolt of electricity flow through her as their lips touched. God how he had missed her. He was disappointed to find her gone the next morning after their night of bliss. Suddenly as if realizing what hey we're doing-or fear of being caught- Joey pulled away and looked up at him.
"I.." before he could say anything Joey walked away from him, distancing herself from him. A few seconds later, Bodie and Bessie came back out to help finish picking up. Joey forced a smile so that her sister wouldn't catch on.
"Well thanks you guys for stopping over," Bessie said.
"Yeah, it was nice to meet you," Bodie said, extending his hand. Dawson turned towards Joey, who was hugging her sister.
Joey and Dawson were walking in silence towards the car when suddenly someone appeared out of no where. Well, Dawson wouldn't know where the man came from because he was so deep in thought about having kissed Joey earlier.
Joey stopped dead in her tracks. "Eddie," she said. Dawson frowned knowing he had heard that name from somewhere. Then it hit him, that night at the bar when Dawson had overheard her talking to her sister, she had mentioned a guy named 'Eddie.'
"Hey," Eddie said. He then looked over at Dawson.
"Oh uh, Dawson this is Eddie; Eddie, this is Dawson," she said, introducing the two of them- as much as she didn't want to. The two men stood, looking at one another. Joey suddenly felt very uncomfortable.
"Sorry, not to be rude, but how do you know Joey?" Eddie asked. Dawson looked over at Joey, his expression asking, 'What do you want me to say?' Joey decided it was a good idea to intervene.
"Dawson's my boyfriend," she told him, reaching down for Dawson's hand for emphasis. Eddie looked at her, his expression unreadable. "Why, do you have a problem with that?" she asked. The three of them just stood there for a few seconds.
"Hey man, how's it going," Eddie said, extending his hand. Dawson hesitated for a second before shaking the man's hand. A part of him was jealous that the man in front of him knew Joey before he did, and for a longer amount of time.
"A free word of advice; Don't let her get away, there's no one else in the world like Joey," he said, looking back at Joey. Dawson smiled, not knowing what else to do. He didn't really 'have' her; the two weren't even technically dating.
"Um, well, it was nice to see you again Eddie. I'm sorry we couldn't talk longer, but we've gotta be getting back," she explained, tugging Dawson's hand towards the direction of her car.
"It was nice meeting you," Dawson said as the two walked towards the car. Eddie just stood there for a second and watched them before walking off.
~*~
Dawson was quiet the ride back to Boston. Bessie's words kept going through his head, Once you become a parent, your life seems to have so much more meaning than before. He looked over at Joey, who had her eyes glued to the road. He knew it couldn't have been easy on her, lying to her family, not to mention seeing her ex before they could leave.
"Joey I-" he began, wanting to say something to her to make her feel better.
"Don't," she said quietly, still looking out towards the road. "Please just…don't." Dawson sat there and looked at her, not ready to give up just yet.
"Joey, I want to help you. Why can't you just let me help you?" he asked, not understanding why she wouldn't let him help her.
"It'll be easier this way," she explained as they neared the park.
"At least let me give you a number so you can reach me," Dawson said. Joey shook her head without even thinking about it, knowing if she let herself think about that possibility she'd accept his offer.
"I don't want a number, Dawson. I can handle this; it's better this way," she said once more, to both herself and to Dawson. Dawson took a deep breath and sat back in the seat, not knowing what else to do. Maybe it was better this way, he thought to himself. They didn't really know much about one another accept for the attraction they both felt for one another.
Soon Joey's car pulled up at the park. The two we're just as silent as they had been an hour or so ago, neither knowing what else to say.
"So, uh, I guess this is it," Dawson said as Joey pulled up beside his car. Joey nodded, slowly turning her attention towards him.
"Yeah," she said, her voice almost a whisper. Dawson sat there for a few more seconds, trying to think of something else to say to her.
"Take care of yourself, okay?" he said. Joey gave him a small smile, touched by the concern in his voice.
"You too," she said. Dawson nodded, unbuckling his seatbelt. He then reached over and opened the door, casting one last look at her before getting out. Slowly, he walked over to his car, his mind racing wondering if he had made the right choice; letting her go. He stood there and watched as Joey put her car in reverse and began to drive away. His mind began to race, thinking about how he'd go on with his life, knowing Joey was out there, with his child. He knew he would always wonder what they we're doing, what his child looked like, thinking about how much his child had grown as the years went on, how they were… Dawson realized he couldn't let her walk out of his life again. Quickly acting on his feelings, Dawson walked out in front of her car.
Joey quickly stopped the car, coming a few feet away from hitting him. She cursed under her breath, not believing he had walked out in front of her car. She opened the door, and got out.
"Dawson, what the hell are you doing?" she asked. Dawson began towards her.
"I can't let you leave," he said, now standing in front of her.
Joey quickly shook her head. "No, don't do this. Get out of the-"
"No," he said firmly. "I'm not going to let you walk out of my life again, Joey. There's go to be some way for us to do this."
"There isn't. I've thought about this from every angle and-"
"And you couldn't see the two of us raising this child together would work?" he asked.
"Dawson, we hardly know anything about one another," she began.
"So we get to know each other," he said. Joey was about to respond when Dawson continued. "Look, I know we don't know a whole lot about each other, but it's not like we can't get to know one another. There's something between us Joey, I know it, or else how could that have happened between us three months ago?" he asked. Joey stood there in silence, listening to him; her guard slowly lowering as he went on. To further prove his point, Dawson took another step towards her and lowered his head. The electricity that flowed through that kiss was enough to leave Joey breathless.
"I know there's something between us and I'm not about to walk away from this, regretting what could have been if I hadn't let you leave. I know your scared, so aren't I. But we can do this together; just let me help you," she said. Joey looked up at him, wanting so badly for him to help her.
"So what are you saying we should do here?" she asked, her voice a little above a whisper.
Dawson grinned. "I think we should get married."