Chapter 26

Almost two months had gone by since Mike showed up at their doorstep that night. Afterwards, the two had talked on the phone some, trying to repair they're relationship; which had gotten better in the past few months. But Joey, being hurt by him in the past, was still somewhat hesitant. "People change, Joey. Give the man a chance," Dawson kept telling her. So she did. The two talked on the phone at least once a week, trying to catch up on what they'd both missed out on. Dawson was glad she and Mike were talking more. He knew what it felt like to loose a parent when you weren't getting long, and he didn't wish that kind of pain on anyone, especially Joey.

But the two were also busy finishing preparing for the new member of their family; who was expected to be arriving in another five weeks, minimum. All they had to do was the finishing touches and the baby room was ready and waiting.

"What do you think about Melissa?" Joey asked as she and Dawson walked down the street. They had been watching a birthing film Joey picked up when she realized she h ad been lazy through her pregnancy so far and that she should start walking every morning -after she got an okay from the doctor. Not wanting to and not allowed to walk alone, Dawson decided to accompany her every morning for their run.

"What's wrong with the name Chelsea?" Dawson asked, walking on left side of her.

"It's okay.." she said. "Doesn't thrill me though."

"Well, we shouldn't even be discussing girls names since it's going to be a boy," he said confidentially. Joey laughed, shaking her head.

"You know, Bessie told me an old wives tale that if a woman eats a lot of dairy foods then the baby will be a girl and if she eats a lot of spicy food, it'll be a boy," Joey explained. "So the baby may very well be a girl."

"Okay, well it could just the same be a boy," Dawson said. "You went through a spicy food kick not too long ago," Dawson reminded her.

"Fine, let's discuss boys names," Joey said, knowing she wouldn't win. Dawson smiled, feeling glad she let him win this one. "How about Joshua?" she asked. He thought about it for a second.

"I don't know. Didn't you date a guy named Joshua?" Dawson asked, mentally trying to go down the list of all the guys Joey had dated.

Joey laughed. "I'd never date anyone named Joshua." She crinkled her nose. "Something about the name…" she trailed off.

"Alright then how about Jacob, or Jason, or Tyler?" he suggested.

"Oh I like those names," Joey said, smiling. "You know when we get home we should probably make a list of the girls names and the boys names we agree on."

Dawson laughed. "I can just see how that list is going to be."

"What do you mean by that?" Joey asked.

"Jo, we've been trying to decide on names for weeks now. At the rate were going the baby will be here before we got a name picked out for the little guy."

"Or girl," Joey said quickly.

"Or girl," he said. "Regardless, this kid's going to need a name."

"I totally agree," Joey said.

Dawson thought for a second and smiled. "Hey, what would you think about a baby naming shower? Like mom did when she was pregnant with Lily?" Dawson suggested. Joey thought about it for a second. Actually the thought had crossed her mind before, but she wasn't sure if she wanted to. She'd want her sister there along with Gale, and Andie, and they'd have to get Audrey down there. She just wasn't sure if it was worth the hassle when everyone would be coming in another month when the baby was born.

"I thought about that actually," Joey admitted, mirroring her thoughts. "But everyone's going to be coming here when the baby's born anyways. I mean, would it really be worth it?" she asked. Dawson shrugged.

"It's up to you. I'm for it either way," he said.

"You know, sometimes I think your too supportive," Joey said. "I can't make alll the decisions; I'm horrible at decision making!"

"Yeah, I'll say," Dawson mumbled. He looked over at Joey, surprised she hadn't heard him; also relieved. The two walked in silence for a few moments, both enjoying the beautiful March morning. It was a little cool, but with a few layer of clothes on it wasn't bad at all.

"C'mon, let's head back to the apartment," Dawson suggested, looking down at his watch realizing they'd been out for over an hour; just walking and talking.

"Yeah, I gotta go pee," she said, causing Dawson to laugh.

"Figures," he said as they headed back to their apartment.

Joey stood, Dawson's arm around her side as they looked around the brightly colored room, smiles on both their faces. The baby's room was now finished; completely set up and waiting for the baby to arrive. Stuffed animals littered each corner of the room along with the crib which sat in the middle of the room. The rocking chair was positioned so that Joey could look out the window when she was rocking the baby -or Dawson. They had also picked up a changing table and a small dresser; little drawings Joey had painted a few weeks back dotted all over the walls, bright yellow suns and white puffy clouds. A little creek running through one side of the wall. She liked that picture the most. Over the crib, Dawson had hung the mobile they had picked up, little baby animals hanging down. The sight of the room caused Joey's eyes to water -that and her raging hormones.

Dawson looked over at her, studying her reaction to the finished room. He had added the finishing touches the other day, but this was the first time Joey had seen the room completely finished. The only thing they were waiting for now was the baby. Her bag was even packed; Dawson had told her it was a little too early for her hospital bad to be packed, but she had insisted, telling him she had nothing to do.

"So, what do you think?" Dawson asked finally.

"It's perfect," she assured him.

"I'm just hoping with my history with putting things together that the baby doesn't fall through the crib," he said, causing Joey to laugh.

"I'm sure it's fine," she said, her eyes still gazing around the room before finally settling on Dawson. "I just can't believe he or she will be here in another month."

"I know, I can't either," he admitted. "Seemed like it was just yesterday you came into my office and told me you were pregnant," Dawson said, smiling at the memories at that day. The day that changed his life forever; in the best possible way.

"You know what this means," Joey said after a few moments.

"What?"

"Now all we gotta do is decide on a name," she said. Dawson groaned, knowing she was right. They hadn't been able to decide on a name. They had gone through the past two weeks trying to make a choice on one, unable to settle on the right one.

"You know Dawson, there's still one baby name we haven't brought up; yet I have a feeling we both have thought about it," she said.

"What's that?" he asked. She paused for a moment, before telling him the name.

"Mitch." Dawson froze, unsure of how to respond. Joey watched, his expression unreadable as she struggled to figure out what was going through his mind. He rarely ever talked about his father in the past six years since his death.

"Well uh, I guess that's a possibility," he said.

"You don't like it?" Joey asked.

"It's not that," he said. "I can't really explain it. I guess I wish he was here to see his first grandchild is all," he told her. Joey nodded, knowing how he felt. She wished more than ever, that her mother was still alive; to help her out when the baby was born and just to see her again.

"I know," Joey said, sympathetically. "And if you don't want to discuss that name as a possibility, that's okay too."

"Let's not rule it out just yet," he said, showing a hint of smile as he reached down. Holding her hand and stroking the back of it.

"Okay," Joey said smiling.

Joey hummed to herself as she walked back into the apartment, carrying a stack of mail they had neglected for a few weeks. She had been reading up on baby names since she had told Dawson she'd work on their name dilemma while he was out, but got bored with it, so decided to get their mail. She walked into the house, thinking of Dawson -as usual, feeling happy for him. He had left earlier, telling her he had an appointment with someone about the script he'd been writing. She flipped through the mail quickly before putting it down on the table to look at later.

But as she went to walk away, an envelope suddenly caught her attention. She frowned as she picked it up and studied it. It was from Los Angeles. And it was addressed to Dawson. She then looked at the return address. Julie Leigh. The name wasn't familiar, but it didn't make her any less curious. Curiosity begged her to open it, but knowing it wasn't right to open Dawson's mail. She pried her eyes away from the letter and began towards the living room to find something to do. What's the harm in looking? He looked at my diary and that's a lot worse than opening a letter… A voice inside Joey's head reasoned. She bit her bottom lip as she walked back over to the table and picked up the letter.

"What the hell," she mumbled to herself, before tearing open the letter. She took out the letter and scanned it quickly. Words and phrases jumped out at her… Dawson, I miss you….. When are you coming back?…. It's not the same here without you….. Remember the time when.. Joey tore her gaze away from the letter once more, throwing onto the table and taking a few steps back. Hurt and anger rushing over her. Was Dawson seeing another girl? Some old girlfriend back in L.A? It had happened before, what would be different now? Joey put her hand on her stomach, as if shielding her unborn child. Everything was different now. Or so she had thought till then.

Joey turned around, contemplating what to do next when she heard the front door open. She turned around, her hand still on her stomach, feeling the need to protect her child from Dawson. As soon as he looked into her face, he could tell something was wrong.

"Jo, what is it?" he asked, putting a folder down on the counter as he walked over towards her. Joey stepped back.

"You tell me," she said, grabbing the letter and forcefully handing it to him. He looked at her confused before looking down at the letter. She watched as he began to read the letter.

"Who is she, Dawson?" Joey asked, biting back tears. She couldn't take it if he was cheating on her. A pert of her knew he wasn't, that he couldn't. but another part told her not to rule it out.

"Joey, it's not what you think," he assured her.

"Isn't it?" she asked. "Dawson, I can't even form a thought in my head right now," Joey said, walking into the living room, Dawson at her heels.

"Joey, just stop," he said, catching her arm and wheeling her around.

"Leave me alone," she said, trying to brush him off.

"Just wait a second here. Let me explain!" he said.

"Explain what, huh? Are you seeing her?" Joey asked.

"No," Dawson said without hesitation. "Joey, she was an assistant of mine in L.A. and-"

"Did you sleep her when you went down there recently?" she asked.

"What? No! Joey, I- how could you even think I'd do something like that?" he asked, unable to believe what was happening. She was overreacting, and there was no getting through to her.

"It's happened before. You having a girlfriend back home while your with me," Joey spatted. "How do I know this isn't the case again?" she asked. "How do I know your not sleeping with her behind my back?"

"Oh you wanna talk about history repeating itself, huh? How do I know you won't leave me again for Pacey!?" Dawson asked, now angry as well. "I seem to recall a lot of 'sneaking around' between the two of you."

"I don't love Pacey!" she exclaimed. "And why are you changing the subject, Dawson? Were talking about you and this 'girlfriend' back in L.A." she reminded him. "I mean, god, were having a baby Dawson! We're engaged!" she shouted, motioning to her ring.

"Cheating, huh? Your not really the one to talk when it comes to that, " he said.

"Yeah well the last time I checked, you were right there with me and I seem to recall you knew I was with him!" she exclaimed back.

Dawson suddenly got a sense of clarity, realize they were yelling at one another. "Joey, I'm not going to do this," he told her, lowering his voice. "I'm not cheating on you, okay?"

"How do I know, Dawson? This letter doesn't exactly help in your-"

"You just have to trust me, okay!!" he exclaimed, frustrated.

"Dawson, this has happened before; I don't know if I can," she told him.

"Alright, fine. I'm going to do something your good at doing," he said. "Walking away." He turned and began towards the door. Joey suddenly grabbed the couch for support and put her other hand on her stomach as she bent forward.

"Dawson!" Joey said quickly. Dawson turned around quickly, realizing pain was in her voice, not anger. He walked back over to her quickly.

"Jo, what is it?" Dawson asked, putting his hands on her shoulders to try and help her, forgetting they had just been arguing. "Is it the baby?" he asked worriedly,. Joey slowly looked up at him, her face pale and filled with shock.

"Dawson…I think I'm in labor…"