Episode Sixteen "Expecting"

Jen's eyes fluttered open as the first light of day seeped through the curtains. She smiled as she felt the strong arms of her boyfriend around her, holding her close to him. She turned in his arms and looked at his sleeping form. His hair was muffled and he was smiling in his sleep.

She turned around so her back was against his front. She loved being in his arms, just lying here was amazing. She felt safe and loved and he always left her satisfied. But something was bugging her. She couldn't put her finger on what it was, but she had this nagging feeling that something wasn't right.

Her eyes drifted to the calendar Drue had above his desk as she tried to figure out if she was forgetting something she was supposed to do when suddenly it hit her. She was late. Almost two weeks late.

She closed her eyes, trying to make the dates go away, but they wouldn't. God she couldn't be pregnant, could she? She and Drue were always so careful. Not knowing what to do she reached over Drue and picked up the phone and dialed the familiar number.

"H'lo." Joey's sleepy voice answered.

"I need you to meet me."

"Jen?" Joey asked, sitting up sleepily.

"Yeah. Can you meet me at the Café across the street from Drue's apartment." Jen said quickly.

"Is everything okay? It's five am, Jen." Joey asked, already getting up and finding her clothes.

"I just need to talk."

"Okay, I'm coming." Joey hung up and turned to Pacey. Kissing him softly on the forehead, she quickly got changed and headed out the door.

-&-

When Joey arrived at the café Jen was already there, staring into her cup. She half smiled when Joey approached.

"I'm sorry, I just didn't know what else to do."

"Is everything okay? Is it Drue?" Joey asked, sitting down quickly. She was starting to get a little worried.

"No. Drue's fine. It's…Joey, I'm late." Jen said finally. "I'm never late. It's like clockwork, when I'm due, I'm always on time."

"Oh Jen." Joey took her hand. "Look, don't worry, it's probably nothing."

"How do you know?"

"I don't, but I know how scary it is." Joey admitted and Jen looked surprised. Joey sighed before continuing. "Last year, I was late too, but it was a false alarm."

"Oh."

"See? It could be nothing."

"But what am I going to do if it's not? I'm not ready to have a baby. I just can't." Jen said desperately.

"I know, but maybe we should cross that bridge if we come to it. First thing you need to do is tell Drue and take a test. We can go buy one today."

"I don't think I should tell him."

"No, you definitely should. I didn't tell Pacey when it happened and I really regretted it because I needed him. He was away with Doug at the time and he was dealing with a lot of stuff, but I still really wished he was there. I think you need to tell him."

"I'm scared Joey."

"I know." Joey put her arm around Jen softly. "It's going to be alright."

-&-

Joey closed the door to her dorm and smiled at her neatly made bed with a note resting on the pillow. She picked it up and smiled at Pacey's sloppy handwriting.

Jo,

I missed seeing your face first thing in the morning. I wanted to wait for you to get back from…where did you go? ;) But, unfortunately, I had to get to work. My lunch break is at one o'clock today, meet me at the Marina if you're free.

Love you.
Pacey

She put the note on her bedside and was about to turn around when she was startled by the bathroom door opening. She turned, surprised to see Stacy walk out.

"You scared me." Joey said softly.

"Sorry." Stacy said offhandedly, not even looking in Joey's direction.

She walked to her bed silently and Joey wanted to scream. Stacy had been ignoring her all week, despite the number of times Joey had apologized.

"Stacy?" She didn't respond so Joey walked over to her.

"What?"

"Can we talk? Please?" She pleaded.

Stacy looked up, really wanting to give in, but still too hurt to do so.

"I thought you forgot how to talk when you didn't tell me that Steve kissed you."

"I'm sorry. I told you I was sorry. Why are we letting a guy come between us? A guy I don't even like. There's nothing to fight over."

"You don't get it."

"Don't get what?"

"You made me feel so stupid. I confided in you about Steve. You told me to go for it and the whole time you knew he wasn't interested." Stacy said sadly.

"I know. I was wrong."

"Yeah, well, evidently so was I." Stacy said before walking out of the room.

Joey sighed, she didn't know what she could do to make it up to her roommate. She realized how much Stacy liked Steve and how much it must have hurt her. She just wished Stacy could find a way to forgive her.

-&-

David walked past the rows of books in the library, stopping when he found the right section. Finding the book he was looking for easily, he pulled it out off the shelf. He stopped suddenly as he peered through the hole left by the book and spotted Jack sitting at one of the tables working.

He took a deep breath, contemplating whether or not to approach him. They had successfully avoided each other for the past week and hardly said two words to each other since their kiss in Florida. David didn't know what to do. He realized it was just a mistake for Jack, he was with Tobey and he was happy. He wasn't looking to break up with his boyfriend. But it still hurt David.

Taking another deep breath, he walked around and approached Jack slowly.

Jack noticed a shadow beside him and looked up to find David standing over him. Suddenly, he didn't know what to do. David had been avoiding him all week or maybe he'd been avoiding David. Either way he wasn't prepared to see him and talk to him, he didn't know what to say anymore.

"Hey." He greeted.

"Hey." David said, cautiously taking a seat next to him. "What are you doing?"

"English assignment." Jack whispered back.

"Fun," David said sarcastically.

"Always." They sat there in silence, neither knowing what to say or do.

"Look about that night…." They both started at the same time and then laughed nervously. People at surrounding tables shot them dirty looks.

"You first." David said quickly.

"Well um…I was just going to say…"

"It was a mistake." David said quickly, before Jack could say it to him.

Jack was a bit hurt but covered it up quickly, obviously David hadn't been as confused about the whole thing as he was.

"Yeah right." Jack agreed and David kept smiling on purpose, covering the pain he was feeling.

"I mean, you're with Tobey."

"Right."

"And we're friends." David continued nervously.

"Of course. We're friends. Nothing else."

"Yeah."

They both looked at each other unable to say anything else. They knew it was a mistake, they knew the other could never feel the way they did.

"So I'll see you around." David said, standing up.

"Sure," Jack agreed, just wanting this conversation to be over.

David walked away and Jack sighed, dropping his head in his book.

-&-

Drue tried hard to stay awake as his professor rambled on about Frued. His eyes wandered the large lecture hall and he blinked as he noticed a petite blond peering in the window. It couldn't be Jen, could it? He smiled as she looked at him and he realized she really was there. She motioned to him to come out into the hallway and he quickly slid out of his seat and left quietly.

He swept Jen up into a hug, kissing her softly. "You have no idea how much you just brightened my day." He mumbled into her hair.

She tried to smile at him but he noticed something wasn't right.

"What's wrong?"

"We need to talk."

"This doesn't sound good."

Jen didn't say anything, she took his hand and walked with him, leaving the university building. Once they were outside they found a quiet picnic table to sit on. Drue sat down and Jen sat in his lap.

"What's wrong babe? You're scaring me." Drue, ran his hands through her soft curls, moving them behind her ear so he could see her face.

Jen took a deep breath and then just came out with it. "I'm late."

"Late for what?"

Jen just gave him a look and watched it sink in.

"Oh."

"Yes, oh." Jen said unhappily. Drue sat there quietly for a few seconds, trying to let this sink in. Jen was pregnant? No. She could be pregnant.

"Why are you so upset?" He asked, finally and Jen looked shocked.

"What's not to be upset about? I could be pregnant! We might have a baby!"

"Hmm… a little Jen running around, might not be so bad."

"What? You wouldn't mind if I were pregnant?"

"It wouldn't be the worst thing that could happen to us."

"Drue!" Jen stood up, looking at him as if he were crazy. "We can't have a baby. We just can't."

"Jen," he pulled her into his arms again, hugging her. "Don't worry so much. Everything will be okay."

"You promise?" Jen said in a child like voice and Drue laughed softly.

"I promise." He said, planting a kiss on her lips.

-&-

"So, where did you go so early this morning?" Pacey asked after he finished ordering their lunch. They were sitting in a Pizzeria just near the Marina.

"Oh, Jen needed to talk to me."

"At five am?" Pacey rose his eyebrows.

"It was important." Joey said offhandedly, staring out the window.

Pacey noticed her mind was somewhere else and reached across the table, taking her hand in his.

"Is something wrong? You seem distracted."

"No, not exactly. It's just…Stacy still isn't speaking to me and Jen…" Joey didn't know whether she should tell him, but decided it was ok. "She's late. She's worried she might be pregnant."

"What!?!"

"I know." Joey said. "I told her to try not to worry so much. It's probably just stress or something."

"What if she is pregnant? How is she? Did she tell Drue yet?" Pacey asked, so many questions coming out at once.

"Slow down honey. She's okay…well, not really, but I think she'll be okay. I'm not sure if Drue knows yet, but I told her to tell him straight away. She needs him right now." Joey said.

She couldn't help thinking back to the time she thought she was late. She had been so scared. She felt so confused and alone.

"Of course she does. I can't imagine what it would feel like. I wonder how Drue will take it." Pacey mused.

He couldn't image how Jen must be feeling right now. They were so young and carefree, a child would change things completely.

Joey watched Pacey as he processed the news and she could see the worry on his face. She wanted to know what he was thinking. She'd never told him about that time. When it had happened everything was so wrong between them. She couldn't even think back to that time without feeling chills.

But that was a long time ago. She was so thankful she could say that that was all behind them now. She never wanted to feel like that again. And she hadn't since she and Pacey had gotten back together. It had been so long since she thought about it that she hadn't even realized she hadn't told him.

But should she tell him now? Would he want to know? Did he have a right to know?

"Jo?" Pacey brought her out of her daze. "Are you okay?" He asked softly.

"Yeah…I…" Joey looked a little lost, but decided she should tell him. No secrets. That was their agreement.

"Pacey?"

"Yeah?"

"I was… um, I was late once." Joey managed to say.

"Excuse me? Say that again." Pacey looked confused, he had definitely heard her wrong.

"I uh…I thought I was pregnant once." Joey looked down, not wanting to see the hurt she knew was in his eyes.

"It was while you were away with Doug, at the end of senior year?"

Pacey remembered, everything was so screwed up then. He almost never thought about that time, it was too painful to look back at those memories. And what was the point, he was happy now, that was all that mattered. Or all that mattered until a minute ago.

"Why didn't you…why didn't you tell me?" Pacey managed to ask, his mind still reeling.

"I don't know. Everything was so messed up, Pacey. I was scared, I didn't know what to do."

"I should have been there for you." Pacey said, getting angry at himself.

"It wasn't your fault." Joey leaned over to take his hand and he pulled away. She looked at him, a little hurt, but he wasn't looking at her.

"Jeez Jo, I can't believe you never told me."

"I'm sorry."

"I had a right to know."

"I know, I'm really sorry." Joey pleaded again.

"Me too. I guess you couldn't trust me to help you? Didn't you know I would have been there, right by your side?" Pacey asked, almost pleadingly.

"I knew and I wanted you to be there. I just knew you were dealing with a lot of things then."

"So it is my fault?" Pacey said, too angry to see that's not what she meant.

"That's not what I said."

Pacey stood up, knowing he couldn't sit through lunch any longer. He needed to think about this. As much as he loved Joey, this really hit him hard. He needed to clear his head.

"Where are you going?" Joey asked, almost near tears.

"I just…I need to think." Pacey told her, taking out some money for lunch and dropping it on the table.

"I'll…see you later." He walked away, leaving Joey behind.

"Pacey!" She called after him, but he didn't stop. He didn't even turn around.

-&-

Brenda walked towards the Marina praying that Noah was working today. She didn't know his schedule and she hoped was here now. It had taken her until now to sort herself out and to decide that she needed to apologize to him for making a complete ass out of herself.

She smiled as she spotted him working, standing back for a while, watching him talk to a customer. She had to admit he was cute. And he had been so nice about the kiss, he didn't just sleaze onto her like almost any other guy would have. He didn't even mention it again in Florida.

When he finished with the custormer, he saw her and waverd her over. She was wearing shorts and a red tank top and her brown hair looked silky soft.

"Hey there, party animal." Brenda cringed as he smirked at her.

"Funny, Riley."

"What can I do for you today?" Noah asked, continuing to work as he spoke to her.

"Well, I came to apologize." Brenda admitted.

"For what?"

"For something I did that I'd rather not remember." Brenda said, embarrassed.

"You didn't do anything wrong." Noah said softly.

"Oh no? I practically threw myself at you."

"That's never a bad thing." Noah said slyly and Brenda hit him lightly in the arm.

"It's already forgotten. Although, if you decide to do it again I may not let you apologize. I might even go as far as to thank you." Noah grinned.

"And you said you weren't flirting with me." Brenda said sarcastically.

"I wasn't." Noah paused, "Then."

"I…"

Brenda didn't know what to say. She wasn't sure what she was feeling. It had been so long since she'd experienced the start of something and this felt really weird.

"I'm still sorry about what happened and I wanted to thank you for being so understanding." She said quickly before moving away. "I'll see you around, Noah."

"I hope so." Noah mumbled to himself as he watched her leave.

-&-

Drue and Jen walked hand in hand down the street. They were heading to the drug store to pick up a test and Jen was very worried. They were walking in a strange silence and Jen couldn't take it anymore.

"Why aren't you more worried about this?" Jen asked, almost angrily.

Drue looked confused as Jen stopped in the street, and turned to him.

"I just…I don't know."

He didn't know why, but he didn't completely hate the idea of maybe being a Dad. He knew he and Jen were a bit young, but people his age had children all the time. And he was sure he could be the kind of Dad his father wasn't.

"Do you want a baby?" She almost accused and Drue didn't know what to say.

"It wouldn't be the end of the world. Sure it's sooner than either of us would have planned, but wouldn't you love to have a little baby of our own? It would be ours, something we made together."

"Not right now! We're so young. I couldn't handle it."

"Are you sure you just don't want a baby or you don't want one with me?" Drue said.

"What? Of course I would want a baby with you, but not now."

"It doesn't have to be so bad. We could raise him together. I think we would make great parents." Drue said, suddenly defending the idea. He couldn't explain it, but he'd actually been happy since he found out she was late.

"Some day! Not now."

"Why not? What's so wrong with it?" Drue asked.

"So much!"

"Fine. Be that way. But I happen to think that our baby would be beautiful." Drue said before walking off.

Jen watched him leave and sighed, not really knowing what had just happened. She turned and headed back to her dorm before the tears started flowing.

-&-

Jack took a deep breath and picked up the phone, dialing the number. He gripped the phone tightly, nervous for some reason.

"Hello."

"Tobey." Jack smiled as he heard Tobey's voice on the other end, suddenly making everything okay.

"Jack! Hey sweetie." Tobey said excitedly. "How are you?"

"I'm good, just needed to hear your voice."

"I miss you too." Tobey said longingly. Jack held the phone, part of him missed Tobey like hell and just wanted to hold him again, but the other part felt weirdly detached from him and felt a pull towards David. "Is everything okay?"

"What? Yeah, everything's fine."

"So how are things? How was Florida? Did you have fun?" Tobey asked, really interested and it just made Jack feel worse.

"It was good. Drue and Pacey all over Jen and Joey. You know, the usual." Tobey laughed.

"That sounds about right."

"Did you have fun with your family?" Jack asked, trying to focus on Tobey.

"Good. Sasha fighting with me over politics. Mom and Dad telling us to just shut up and eat. Jamie complaining about everything."

"Sounds like your family."

"Yep." Tobey smiled, thinking of them.

Jack didn't say anything and Tobey could sense something was wrong. Things hadn't really felt right ever since his last visit. Sometimes he really thought it was okay and others he could tell Jack was a million miles away and he didn't know why.

"Jack?"

"Yeah?"

"I know we don't get to talk much anymore but I love you, you know that right?" Tobey said softly.

"Yeah, I know." Jack said, unable to say it back.

-&-

Joey entered the boys' apartment with her key and saw Drue sitting on the couch with his head in his hands.

"Rough day?" She asked, sitting on the couch next to him.

"You could say that." Drue said sadly. "Did Jen tell you she's…"

"Yeah." Joey said. "It's not that bad Drue, it's probably a false alarm."

"I know, it's not that."

"What is it then?"

"I had a fight with Jen." Drue admitted.

"What about?"

"I don't know. She's mad at me for not freaking out that she might be pregnant."

"You're not worried?"

"Not as much as she is. I know this isn't the best time, but I don't see how something created by the two of us could be all bad. Maybe I am crazy."

"It's not crazy to want kids, Drue."

"No? Jen seems to think so. Does she even want my kids?"

"Of course she does! Look, she's upset and scared and confused. You can't let her go through this alone. Whether she's pregnant or not, she loves you and needs you to be there for her now."

"I know." Drue sighed, and then looked at Joey, really looked at her. "Are you okay, you don't look too good?"

"Fine. Pacey's not here is he?" Joey asked, although she knew he wasn't there the minute she walked in.

"No. Did you have a fight?"

"No. Just me screwing up again."

"I don't believe that." Drue said supportively.

"I did. But you can't. So go and see her and tell her how much you love her." Joey said, reminding Drue of his own worries.

"I will." Drue took a deep breath, trying to get the courage to stand up.

"Drue?" Joey looked at him curiously.

"Yeah?"

"What are you still doing here?" Joey nudged him a little and he smiled, finally standing up.

"Thanks Jo."

"No problem, Valentine."

-&-

Pacey sat on one of the boats and looked out at the sea. It was weird how just being out there gave him such an incredible feeling. Being on the water had always been his favorite place. His way of escaping. He hadn't needed to for a long time. Not since he and Joey had been back together.

But now he just wanted to take a boat and go. Get lost in the ocean and forget everything. All those memories came back to him. When his brother took him on that fishing trip he knew it had been one of his all time lows. He didn't think things had really been worse.

The thought of losing Joey and knowing that everything between them was just so wrong that it was bound to destroy them sooner or later had made him feel terrible. Joey had always been his saving grace and at that time he felt he was losing that. He was losing her.

Obviously, it had been the same for her. She had felt it too. She hadn't been able to tell him something so important to them. He could imagine how it made her feel, he knew what she was like. She must have been so scared and confused. And she must have felt so alone. She didn't even feel like she could tell him.

That made him feel terrible. Things had been rough, sure, but he always felt like he was there for her. When she needed him, he was there. But she obviously didn't feel like he was.

"A penny for your thoughts?" She broke his thoughts with her soft voice. He turned and her face brought a smile to his lips.

"I don't know if a penny is enough." Pacey said, reaching his hand out for Joey to join him on the boat. He wasn't mad at her. Even if he wanted to be, he couldn't be.

Joey took his hand and he helped her into the boat. She sat on his lap, looking into his sad eyes. "I'm sorry." She said again, hating that she caused him such pain.

"I know." Pacey said softly. He leaned on her shoulder, burying his face in her hair. However much he had wanted to get away from the world, to disappear on his boat, he couldn't. Because he couldn't ever leave her, he loved her too much.

"It really wasn't you, Pacey." Joey said, knowing him well enough to know he had been blaming himself. Pacey looked up at her. "It's not that you weren't there for me. I never doubted you would be there. So don't think that."

"I wasn't." Pacey tried, still amazed that she knew him so well.

"Right."

"What was it then, Jo? What made you keep it from me, not just then, but ever." Pacey asked, really wanting to know.

"I guess, I just felt lost. I'm not the most rationale person at times, you know. Everything was so messed up, Pacey. I hurt you and I felt you slipping away. Because of my stupid behavior I was losing you. And that scared me."

Pacey took in her words, knowing that neither of them liked to think back to that time.

"When I realized that I was late, my first reaction was to find you and tell you. I went to Gretchen to see if she knew where you were. I told her I needed you and she told me that you were going through a lot. She said I should be more supportive of you and not add to your stress. I shouldn't bother you while you were away and I wouldn't if I wasn't so selfish."

"What? Jo, that's ridiculous." Pacey couldn't believe his sister would say that.

"I know, but she didn't know I was late. She was more supportive after I told her that I thought I might be pregnant. But by the time you called, I knew that I wasn't and it didn't seem like the best time to lay all of that on you."

"Joey, I…" Pacey didn't know what to say. He was surprised to hear what had happened while he was away with Doug and still felt awful that he wasn't there. He still wished she would have told him, even after she found out she wasn't pregnant.

"Pacey, I'm sorry." Joey said again and Pacey looked at her amazed.

"You don't have anything to be sorry for, Jo. But I never ever want you to do that again, ok?" Pacey said seriously. "Promise me that you will trust me enough to tell me these things. You should never have to go through anything alone. We're in this together."

"I know." Joey smiled widely, she wrapped her arms around Pacey and leaned in close to him.

"Promise?" Pacey said, pulling away from her lips a little.

"I promise." Joey said, and Pacey grinned, leaning in to kiss her passionately.

-&-

Jack knocked on David's door and waited for an answer. He didn't know why he was here. He just knew this is where he needed to be. He talked to Tobey like he normally did but it felt strange. It hadn't felt normal with him for a long time.

He knew Tobey felt it too, but he never said anything. He wouldn't admit things weren't the same. Or maybe he was the only one who felt it. Maybe being around David was making him see his relationship with Tobey differently.

He felt so bad. He and Tobey had been together for months and he knew Tobey loved him. But he had grown so close to David and things with him just felt right. He didn't know what to do.

There was nothing he could do anyway. David thought their kiss was a mistake. But it didn't feel like a mistake. It felt great. It felt real.

He sighed realizing David wasn't home. He turned and walked away still unsure about what was going on. As he turned the corner, David approached from the other side and walked into his room, not knowing that Jack had been there.

-&-

Brenda smiled when she opened her door and found Noah standing outside. "Hey."

"Hey. I didn't think you knew where I lived." Brenda commented.

"I got it out of Pacey." Noah admitted. "I just wanted to come and see you."

"So, I'm guessing you want me to let you in?" Brenda teased, holding the door slightly closed.

"Well, we could just stand here and talk if you really don't trust me."

"Should I trust you?"

"Why not?" Noah asked, interested.

"You are one of those charming guys, who expect all women to fall at your feet." Brenda joked.

"Is that what you really think?"

"I'm just kidding." Brenda said. "Though the charming bit is true."

"So you think I'm charming?" Noah grinned.

"Maybe a little."

"Well at least that's something." Noah took a deep breath before continuing. "Since you think I'm charming, I was wondering if you'd be interest in maybe going to dinner tonight?"

Brenda's face suddenly dropped and she didn't say anything. She liked Noah, she really did, he was a lot of fun. But she didn't think she was ready to move forward just yet. It was too soon and she knew she was still in love with Matt.

"Noah, I…" He realized what was coming next and relented.

"No, it's okay."

"There's just a lot you don't know about me."

"Isn't that the purpose of dating?" Noah asked.

"Yeah, but…I really like you, and I would love to be friends with you. I just don't think I could give you any more than that. At least not right now."

"Sure, I'd love to be friends too."

"I'm sorry." She said, feeling bad.

"Don't be, really. I can take rejection pretty well. Do you want to go and grab a bite to eat now? As friends of course."

Brenda smiled, there was no reason she couldn't spend time with him.

"Sure."

-&-

Drue walked down the street and stopped when he saw Jen sitting on a bench, just staring straight ahead. He walked up to her and sat down. Following her line of vision he realized they were sitting directly opposite the drugstore.

"I've been sitting here for over an hour," Jen said softly, not turning to look at him. "I just have to walk over there and buy the damn thing, but I can't get up."

"Oh Jen, I'm so sorry." He moved closer to her, putting his arm around her and she turned into his embrace. "I don't want to fight."

"I don't want to fight either."

"We can do this together, whatever happens, I'm here for you." Drue promised.

"I felt so lost and then you weren't there and I didn't know what to do."

"I'm always here baby, I love you."

"What if it's positive? I don't know how to be a mom, I can't be one."

"Everything's going to be okay. We'll deal with whatever happens together." Drue stood up, bringing her with him. He turned to her and kissed her.

She took a deep breath, feeling slightly better as she looked into Drue's eyes. "Okay, I'm ready."

"That's my girl." He took her hand and they crossed the road, entering the drugstore together.

-&-

Pacey got home from work to find Jack sitting outside his apartment, his head in his hands. Jack didn't hear him as he approached and Pacey bent down to get his attention. "Jack?" He tapped him on the shoulder and he looked up.

"Pacey, hey."

"Is everything okay?" Pacey asked, sensing it obviously wasn't.

"Not really." Pacey took his keys out and opened his door. Jack got up and followed him inside.

"How long have you been here?"

"A while. I just needed to think."

"And the hallway outside my apartment is a good thinking place?" Pacey asked.

"Well, no one was home." Jack disputed.

"So, do you want a beer or do you want to jump right in?"

"Beer." Jack grinned while Pacey went to the kitchen to get the drink.

"What's up?" Pacey said, as he handed Jack the bottle.

"My life is messed up."

"God how often do we hear that in our group of friends."

"Too often." Jack agreed.

Pacey waited while Jack took long gulps of his drink. "I kissed David." Jack said finally.

"What?"

"Or he kissed me. Or we kissed each other. Either way I'm a horrible person." Jack mumbled.

"When did this happen?"

"Spring Break."

"Oh, I thought I noticed some tension near the end of the trip." Pacey said realizing what it was about. "You're not a horrible person, Jack."

"I am. I have a few problems with Tobey and I go running to someone else."

"You didn't run to David and he isn't just 'someone else,' he's a great guy."

"I know. That's the problem."

"Do you really like him?"

"I don't know. We talked about it and decided it was a mistake, but it didn't feel like a mistake. Except it did." Jack sighed, downing the rest of his beer.

"What are you going to do?"

"I don't know. This is why I need Jen."

"I'm sorry I'm not a good enough substitute." Pacey said, pretending to be offended. "Although Jen has a few worries of her own to deal with."

"What do you mean? What happened?"

"Well…she's late."

"Shit."

"I know."

"Now I'm a lousy friend too." Jack moaned. "I can't believe I didn't know."

"Don't sweat it man. I think this is something she and Drue need to deal with together." Pacey advised.

"Yeah, I guess. I have enough of my own problems to deal with."

-&-

"How much longer?" Drue asked as he paced impatiently out of the bathroom door.

"Just a few more minutes."

"This is taking so long." Drue moaned.

"Quit pacing, honey. I can hear you wearing a hole in the carpet."

"Sorry," Drue stopped pacing and stood still.

He was so nervous. He started pacing again, not being able to stand still. Finally, the bathroom door opened and he rushed to Jen's side.

"So?"

Jen's face widened into and grin and she jumped into Drue's arms. "Only one blue line."

"One? That's negative, right?"

"Yes!" Jen said really happy, she hugged Drue tight. "Isn't that great!"

"Yeah, it is." Drue sighed into her arms. A part of him was relieved, but another part of him was a little disappointed.

"I'm so relieved." Jen said pulling away and looking into Drue's eyes.

He smiled back at her, glad that she was no longer upset.

"Everything's going to be okay, Drue. Don't worry." She stood on her tiptoes to kiss him and he pulled her into his embrace again.

-&-

Stacy walked into the Coffeehouse and smiled when she spotted Joey working behind the counter. She glanced in the direction of the tables where Steve was cleaning and continued towards Joey.

"Hey," She greeted Joey.

"Hey." Joey said cautiously. "Steve's over there if you want to talk to him."

"I don't. I came to see you."

"Oh." Joey looked down, not sure what Stacy wanted to say to her.

"I'm sorry."

"What for? I'm the one who…"

"Tried to protect me." Stacy filled in. "It's not your fault Steve's a sleaze and I was too stupid to see it."

"You weren't stupid. He's okay." Stacy just rose her eyebrows.

"Okay, he's a jerk." Stacy laughed.

"Yeah. Tia will be pleased, she never liked him." Stacy said. "I guess I'll have to direct my attention elsewhere."

"Well, thankfully he hasn't tried to talk to me all day."

"And he won't if he knows what's good for him."

"So are we okay?" Joey asked.

"Yeah, we're good." Stacy smiled and Joey sighed.

"Great because I've been dying to talk to you about something all day…" Joey said as she started telling Stacy about what had happened today.

-&-

Jack knocked on the door and took a deep breath. He was fidgeting with his hands as he waited for David to answer the door. He didn't know exactly why he was so nervous, but he knew something was about to happen that would change everything for him.

David opened the door and was surprised to see Jack there. He was getting used to the avoidance tactics they had both been using lately.

"Jack."

"Hey, can I come in?" Jack asked, rather abruptly.

"Sure." David moved out of the way and Jack walked in. He started pacing up and down in the small space and David just looked at him strangely. "So, what's up?"

"Was it really a mistake?" Jack said.

"What?"

"The kiss. Spring Break. The reason we've been avoiding each other for a week. Did you really think it was a mistake?"

David was surprised by Jack's question. He wasn't ready to be confronted like this.

"I…"

"David, please, I need you to be straight with me. I just need to know if what I felt was completely one sided." Jack said finally.

"What did you feel?" David asked.

"I felt…like it wasn't a mistake." Jack admitted, not looking David in the eye.

"Jack, you're the one with the boyfriend." David said, still avoiding the question.

Jack moved closer, looking him in the eye.

"That's not an answer, David."

That was all it took for Jack to lean forward and kiss David, for the second time. This kiss was more passionate than the last, but once again it changed the balance of his relationships.

-&-

Drue was sitting on the couch and Jen was lying in his lap, her head resting against his chest. Drue was stroking Jen's hair, lost in his own world. "Drue?" Jen said softly.

"Hmm."

"Are you okay?"

"I'm fine, babe." Drue said absentmindedly. Jen lifted her head and looked into his eyes, trying to read his expression.

"Did you really want a baby? Now?"

"No…I…" Drue stopped, not knowing what else to say.

"Talk to me, Drue." Jen said, kissing his forehead.

"I guess, I just wanted the chance. The chance to be what my Dad never was. I don't want to turn out like him. I want to be a good father."

"You will be. You'll be a great Dad. I know you will."

"Then why didn't you want…"

"It's not that I didn't want your child Drue. I'm just not ready to have any child. I'm too young and I have so much to do before we start a family. But it doesn't mean you won't be a great Dad someday. And I promise when we have kids it'll be when we're both ready."

"Thanks."

"For what?"

"Being you." Jen's face lit up and she leaned in to kiss her boyfriend.

"Drue?" Jen said, pulling away.

"Yeah?"

"You said him." Drue looked at her quizzically. "When we were fighting before you said we could raise 'him' together. Does that mean you want a boy first?"

"I didn't realize I said that, but I guess." Drue smiled. "Actually as long as it has your DNA he or she will be the best kid ever."

"Ain't that the truth." Jen smirked and leaned over, kissing him passionately.

He lost himself in her kiss, pulling away only to say, "I love you."