The Next Morning

Joey was getting ready to pick Jen and Dawson up from the hospital. Grams and Gregory had already left to go back to Boston at Jen's insistance. Joey paused as she looked in the hallway mirror. 'I look like shit' She thought to herself. She had barely slept a wink. She kept tossing and turning hearing Pacey's voice over and over again in her head. Accusing her of seeing Eddie. Joey wasn't sure what the hell had gottn into Pacey. He wasn't acting like himself. He usually told her exactly what was on his mind, and these days she could barely get a word out of him without him running off on her.

"Sis? Are you going to bring Jen home?" Bessie asked her sister as she came down the stairs.

"Yeah, then we're leaving for Boston" Jen wanted to go home right away. School started in two days, and she knew she could sleep in the car on the way up. Joey knew her friend was anxious to be with Grams again. And to see if Jack was home yet.

"How did Gail and Grams take the news?" Bessie was talking about the baby. It had definately shocked the hell out of her.

"Good I guess. I didn't want to intrude on their conversation. I talked to Jen on the phone last night and she said that they were upset at first of course. But they figured everything out. Now I think they're kinda excited about it". Joey felt guilty. She had wanted to throw herself into her best friends arms and cry about Pacey. But with the accident and the baby she didn't exactly feel that it was the right time.

"Give them all my love okay sis?" Bessie asked as she made her way into the kitchen.

Joey smiled and nodded. She finished loading all of her and Jen's luggage into the trunk of Dawson's car. She started the car up and headed for the hospital.

"Are you sure you want to drive back to Boston today Jen? Why don't you just come back to Mom's house with me and rest. We'll leave tomorrow and get there in plenty of time." Dawson had spent the better part of the morning trying to convince Jen.

"Dawson enough already! I'm fine. The accident wasn't as bad as it looked. I wasn't driving that fast. I'm okay. I'll sleep in the car." Jen just wanted to get out of the hospital and back to her own bed. "The doctor just checked me out of here. I'm fine."

Dawson sighed, he knew that there was no point arguing with Jen. His mind went back to Pacey and Joey. Pacey had called last night a told them that he was sailing into Boston Harbour. Dawson was at his wits end with his friend. He could barely get a full sentance out of Pacey. He figured that it just hurt too much to talk about. But it certainly was annoying.

Jen knew what he was thinking about. "Should we tell Joey that he's going to be back in Boston so soon?"

"I don't know. It's not our place to tell her. Pacey doesn't want her to know yet. Has he said anything to you?"

"Not really. He talked to me, but at the same time he didn't really say much. I don't know what he's thinking. He know now that Joey had nothing to do with Eddie. But he won't open up about. I don't think we should push him yet."

"Anybody ready to go home yet?" Joey called out, peaking her head around the door. "I have a wheelchair here with someone's name on it!" She pushed it into the room.

"Do I really have to get in that thing? I broke my arm not my leg" Jen eyed the chair warily, "Is this necessary?"

"Doctor's orders. They don't want you falling before you get out of the hospital. Then you can't sue." Dawson helped her sit in the wheelchair, "Come on it might be fun!"

"Joey, watch my boyfriend carefully. He might spot some hot nurse and send me flying"

"Not a chance. I've finally got you right where I want you." Dawson laughed. He pushed her down to the nurse's station so she could fill out some paperwork.

"Dawson?" Joey asked quietly, "When is Pacey coming back to Boston"

Dawson wanted to tell her, but Pacey would freak if he found out, "I don't know Jo. He didn't say anything to me"

Joey bit her lip but didn't ask anymore questions.

"Ready to roll?" Jen laughed, "I wanna get the hell out of here!"

After an uneventful drive home, Joey helped Dawson get Jen settled back at Grams. She declined Grams offer of supper, and decided to take a walk around the pier. She wandered around for a while, just watching the waves. She was reminded of the summer she and Pacey had shared on the True Love. And the summer that she missed on the True Love 2. Before she knew it she was crying again. She was amazed that she had any tears left to shed. She couldn't take standing still anymore, and she walked to where the True Love 2 had last been docked. To her surprise, there it was.

"Pacey?" She called hopefully. She still needed so many answers. "Are you there?"

Pacey recognized the voice, "Jo? What are you doing here?"

"Permission to come aboard?" She stared at him, trying to break him down.

He sighed, "Granted. You just can't leave this alone can you Jo?" He went back down below the deck.

"How can I leave this alone Pace?" She followed him, "This is US. I will never leave it alone" She vowed.

"What do you want Jo? I can't talk about this anymore. It hurts too much."

"Is that why you keep leaving? Because it hurts you too much? Because it hurts me too. More then you'll ever know."

"I can't talk to you because even just a simple hello makes me want to forget everything that has happened. It makes me want to get back what I thought I had lost. And we can't go back Jo. To much has happened. I spent three months thinking that I had lost you again. I dealt with it. Accepted it. Hell I even mourned it. But I will be dammned if I go through it again Jo. I am the second runner up. That's what I'll always be. There will always be someone out there, someone with more to offer then me just waiting to take you away. It you can't understand why it hurts so much to even look at you then, then I don't know how else to explain it to you."

Joey was shocked, "You dealt with it? Accepted it? How the hell could you do that without even talking to me? Without seeing if you had anything to deal with!" Now she was mad. She had fought too damn hard to make this work. She was not letting him off the hook that easily. "You know damn well how much I wanted to be with you Pace. I have always wanted to be with you. Yes I was with Eddie. Almost two years ago. And now there is no one else in my life but you. Always and forever you."

"Always Jo? Forever Jo? How many times have you run before?" Pacey couldn't look at her, "What makes you think you won't run again?"

"I ran Pace!" Joey spat bitterly, "Who the hell is doing all the running now? Over a miscommunication. Something that didn't even happen. And now you stand here overacting, mad at me over nothing!"

"Nothing? That nothing tore my heart out Jo. It hurts too much. Please just leave"

"It hurts to look at me? Look at me dammit!" She grabbed his face and made him look at her, "You already know there was nothing more between Eddie and me. Before you left you were ready to have a relationship with me. So what has changed now Pace? I love you. You can see it, everyone can see it. Just please get over this and love me. I know you do." She moved closer to him.

Pacey groaned, she was too damn close. She was making it really hard to remember how mad he really was. Damn she looked good. He could smell her. The smell that never failed to drive him crazy. Before he knew what was happening he was crushing his mouth on hers. "Jo!" He moaned, before he lost all senses.

"Pace" Joey lost herself in the feelings. The electricity was overwhelming. Pacey picked her up and carried her over to his makeshift couch. He was blindly taking her clothes off, tossing them over his shoulder in his need to see her. To touch her.

Joey moaned, whispering his name over and over. Finally they were going to get the us back.