Snapshots...

Disclaimer: I do not own the characters of Dawson's Creek.

Coupling: Andie/Other/PJ

Rating: Pg-13

Shout Outs: To my friend Jo for proofing and to ellasblues for her encouragement.

Summary: This is a series of scenes from the beginning of the Junior year at Capeside High and tracks the bumpy path to love for Andie along with all the gang.

Snapshot: Andie's house a couple of weeks after their first kiss

Issac stood at the door of Andie's house and tried to calm himself. Ever since he'd kissed Andie he felt this obligation to ask her father for his permission. Issac knew that other guy his age wouldn't even think of doing what he was about to do but Issac wasn't those guys. He couldn't handle the thought that Mr McPhee might object to him being with Andie. He felt it was far better to have her father onside. This wasn't Romeo and Juliet he figured. No suicide pacts or other high drama was needed. Trying to calm himself and taking a deep breath, he knocked on the door.

Jack opened the door. "Hey Zac. Andie's at the day camp."

"Hey Jack. I'm not here to see Andie...erm, is your father home?"

"Yeah. He's in his office. Why?"

"I need to see him. Is it okay if I come in?"

"Sure. Why do you want to talk to him for?"

"It's about Andie. I want to ask his permission to see her."

Jack laughed which caused Issac to feel like fleeing. "That's so nineteenth century. "

"Ha ha, Jack. You funny man. I'm serious. I don't want your father to stop me from seeing Andie. "

"He's in there if you dare." Jack pointed to the office and Issac walked up to the door and knocked on it. Jack looked on and smirked. He went and grabbed the phone to call Jen for this was too precious in Jack's eyes.

"Jack? You don't need to knock son. Come in." Mr McPhee called out after Issac had knocked on the door. Issac pushed the door open and walked in.

"It's not Jack Mr McPhee, its Issac...um hello." Issac stood there in the office trying to control his body and keep his voice even. He was very nervous.

"Hello Issac. Has your father sent you around with something for me?" Andie's father was keying figures into his laptop and not looking up.

"No sir. I've come to ask you about Andie."

Joe McPhee stopped typing and turned in Issac's direction looking him up and down. He noticed immediately how nervous Issac was and wondered why Issac was asking him about his daughter.

"Andie? Is there something I should know about son?"

"Well sir, I've come to ask you for your permission to ah...date Andie." He cracked a half smile hoping to look sincere. "I really like your daughter Mr McPhee and um...I was hoping it would be ok."

Outside the office Jack was listening and talking to Jen on the phone.

"He's in there now asking Dad for his permission to see Andie."

"You're kidding? Issac's asking your Dad if he can date Andie. What decade is Issac living in? The1950s?" Jen was laughing loudly. This was like an episode of an old TV show.

"Beats me. He looked really scared of going in to see Dad."

"What are they saying now?" Jen asked. Jack moved closer to the door and listened.

"Andie told me that she was seeing you Issac. Is this a serious thing between you two?"

"I don't know sir. I truly care for your daughter and I am reluctant to continue to see Andie if you're not happy with us to be a couple."

"That sounds pretty serious to me."

Jack whispered outside into the handset. "He's asking Zac if it's serious. He said he cares for her deeply."

"Cares for her? He's head over heels in love with her." Jen replied. She saw how Issac's feelings had grown towards Andie. It was clear by the way he looked at her, the way he spoke about her that he was falling in love. Jen was happy for the both of them, even allowing for her bitterness towards romance and men in general. Andie deserved someone and Jen thought Issac would be good for her.

"Tell me something I don't know. Hang on he's saying some thing else." Jack moved closer to hear well.

"Well I am pretty serious about her sir. I'm not into casual relationships with girls, if that makes it more acceptable to you. The only thing that I care about is her happiness sir. That's all I can say." Issac felt he had to lay it out for Mr McPhee who was looking at him with a stern look.

For his part, Joe McPhee liked Issac. He was doing business with Issac's father and had seen Issac at home and when he was over at the McPhee house studying with Andie. From what he had seen and heard Issac was a good kid, an honours student and athlete. In fact, he was almost a male version of his daughter. He only wanted Andie to be happy as well. He'd moved back to Capeside to try and build his relationship with his children again. Now Andie was healthy, he knew that perhaps seeing a boy would be good for her now that Pacey wasn't around. He'd recently asked Jack about it and learned that Andie and Pacey had broken up some time earlier. Finding that out made him realise how out of touch he was and that was something he was trying to make amends for. He smiled at Issac and replied.

"Well son, I'm happy for you to date Andie but promise me you'll be good to her and won't let it get too serious?"

Issac nodded quickly and replied. "Thankyou Mr McPhee. I promise I'll try my best sir to be a good boyfriend for Andie." Issac felt a huge sense of relief.

"He's told Zac it's ok!" Jack almost spoke loud enough for his father and Issac to hear.

"Yay!" Jen replied. "Do we tell Andie?"

"Nah let Zac do that. You coming over later?"

"Ok, but tell me. Am I sad and pathetic to live vicariously through Zac and Andie?" Jen asked.

"No, we're sad and pathetic Jen. I'll see you later. Bye."

"Bye Jackers."

Snapshot: The summer of Andie's junior year at High school: Issac's house, two weeks before school reopens...

He had built it for her while ostensibly helping his parents out. The vision was so clear. At the end of the summer he would have one fabulous night with her. That night he would tell her how much he loved her, how much she meant to him and how he hoped he meant as much to her. He finished the gazebo just in time. That day had been crazy as he ran around like a madman trying to get everything set up for that evening.

But it was ready. The fairy lights were plugged in and working, he had the slow dance mix cd ready to go and candles in place. His parents had cooperated by leaving on a trip that day and wouldn't be back until tomorrow night. The house was his.

He picked her up and was speechless at how beautiful she looked. She wore a little black dress, off the shoulders, natural makeup and her hair done in a bob that he loved. The word that came to his mind was ravishing. Dinner was a blur to him as he counted the moments until he could hold her in his arms and just drank her beauty in. They strolled past the spot where she had found him that day and laughed at the memory.

They got to his place and he managed to distract her while he lit the candles and switched on the lights. When he was sure everything was ready, he led her out into the backyard with her eyes covered. Andie was nervous and wondering where this was going when he told her to open her eyes. The gazebo was softly lit with the fairy lights and the candles.

So surprised by this she turned towards him and kissed him passionately, leaving him momentarily stunned. He led her into the gazebo and turned the music on and they began to dance, their bodies softly swaying. It felt like they were totally alone in their own little paradise. Issac felt this more than made up for the prom. There was no drama with the triangle, there was no pining or unrequited love, it was just Andie and Issac holding each other. He joked that if dancing was really foreplay as Andie contended, then this was the time to begin. Andie laughed at his theory and kissed him while teasing him that how did he know what foreplay was? Issac suggested that Andie could teach him and she accepted the challenge. As they both giggled, Issac thought it was time to ask something that he hadn't asked before.

"Tell me about Marc?" He looked at her expectantly. "We've been so open and honest with each other Andie", he paused, searching her eyes for a reaction, "but it feels like your holding something back".

So she told him. Ever since he had told her he didn't care about her past the first time he kissed her properly she had been unsure. But tonight she was ready to test that trust she could see so clearly in him.

Andie told him that at that time in the hospital she was lonely and confused Marc was there and he understood what that meant. Somehow it had gone from just an understanding to something physical. It seemed at the time that they made themselves better when they were with each other. She had loved Marc in her own way mainly because he filled that Pacey-sized hole in her heart. The fact was she loved him for being there for her and for being there to hold her. But she assured Issac that she hadn't loved him like she love she had shared with Pacey. They were two separate things.

Issac understood why and he told her so. But he did ask about her reaction when she found out about Pacey and Joey. Andie told him that finding out about Pacey and Joey had hurt her because she had told Joey how much she still felt for Pacey. But it was not the fact that Joey was her friend, or that Pacey was her ex-boyfriend that she was still in love with. It wasn't a betrayal although she had felt that at first. Instead it was just the anger surfacing. The source of that anger was the unforgiving reality of the situation hitting her so directly. At that moment she knew that the dream she had cherished of reuniting with Pacey was just that, a dream. They were not getting back together because in the time they were apart he had fallen out of love with her, and had fallen back in love with Joey. It still hurt, even now, but she knew she had to come to grips with it sooner or later and her being here tonight with Issac was proof enough of that she felt. At least it would do for now.

The next words out of Issac's mouth would stun Andie.

"You know why I'm in love with you Andie?"

Intrigued, she cautiously asked Issac why. He had been so careful not to use that word all summer, as if he was waiting for the right time or was also so scared that he couldn't find the way to say "I love you".

"Because Andie McPhee I love you because it is so damn easy to. You're perky, funny, bright, and stunningly luminous. You radiate this light and you have a sparkle in your eyes that just melts my heart every time. Where Joey is cynical, you're sincere. Where Joey dwells on her problems, you find ways to overcome them. You're warm and open, but Joey can be passive-aggressive and cold. I desperately wanted to tell you that afternoon by the docks that I was in love with you but I was too scared of getting hurt, too scared you just thought of me as a friend and not a potential boyfriend."

At that moment, all the feelings that Andie had been processing, came together. This summer had sorted her feelings for him and she knew what she could say now without hesitation.

"Issac, I think I am falling in love with you too"

The rush of love that they both felt at the moment came to them without hesitation. Leaning in till their foreheads touched and breathing slowly in time with each other, they felt the world spin around them. Issac was the first to break the spell.

"Then the greater mystery is, Miss McPhee..." he murmured, "why you love me back."