Hello all!

Sorry that its taken me so long to get this up. See, thing is, the story's all finished so I have a little trouble remembering that I'm posting it here…lol, yeah, easily distracted and all… Don't even really remember why I started and stopped posting it way back when. Then every now and again I get a review sent my way and will post another chapter. So here's the deal… I'm gonna post the rest of the story, most likely tonight (maybe won't get to some of it till tomorrow) The sequel will most likely not be posted here, (unless people really want it to be)but I'll give you a link to where it can be found in the epilogue of this one. That said, here's chapter seven. Much more to come…

Snowie

Chapter Six:
Running

Pacey's Hospital Room

Paul knocked lightly on the door to Pacey's hospital room and stuck his head in. "Hey, Pacey. May I come in?"

"Sure," Pacey said. "You've met Joey, right?"

"Yes, I have," Paul said, entering the room with David on his heels. "Nice to see you again Joey."

"You too," Joey said politely.

"Pacey, Joey, I'd like you to meet David Alexander."

"Nice to meet you both," David said, shaking both of their hands.

"Nice to meet you too," Joey said, shifting uncomfortably. Pacey just nodded in acknowledgement, studying David carefully.

"Joey? Why don't we leave Pacey and David to get acquainted," Paul said.

"Oh, okay," Joey said, looking at Pacey uncertainly.

"Ah, go on," Pacey said with a grin. "As long as you promise to come back tomorrow."

"I'll do you one better," Joey said with a grin. "How about I come back tonight with, say a whopper and fries?"

"And a chocolate milkshake?" Pacey asked hopefully.

"You bet."

"Well, if you can pull that off, I'd just have to do everything in my power to have you declared a saint. Saint Josephine has a nice ring to it, don't you think?" He asked, directing the question at Paul.

"Sounds good to me," Paul said with a grin.

"Don't nark on us," Joey said, looking at Paul pleadingly. "It'll be hard enough to get by Nurse Ratchet without her getting outside assistance."

"This place has a Nurse Ratchet?" Paul asked, raising his eyebrows.

"You haven't seen her?" Pacey asked. "I swear the woman's possessed." He widened his eyes in mock horror. "She stood there glaring at me for ten whole minutes after I told her that hospital food should be declared toxic waste. And ithen/i she made me eat all of my stewed prunes before I could have any jello. Pure evil, I'm telling you."

Paul laughed. "Don't worry. I won't tell anyone. Seems to me a little fast food won't hurt you any. If she gives you a problem, tell her you have your doctor's permission."

"Yeah, like she'd buy that," Pacey scoffed.

"What? You don't think that I could get a nurse to do what I say?"

Pacey looked at him doubtfully. "Keep telling yourself that Paul...but the rest of us know who really runs these places...and it's not the doctors."

"I think that's my cue to leave," Paul said with a wry grin. "Joey?"

"Uh, yeah," Joey said. She gave Pacey's hand a squeeze. "I'll see you later, all right?"

"Later," Pacey said softly. He watched as the two of them left the room and then turned to David. "So, you're the shrink," he said. "I must say, you don't look much like one."

"Been around a lot of shrinks in your day, huh?"

"Naw, but you get this picture, you know what I'm saying?"

"Sure," David said. "I can see where you're coming from with that. So if I don't look like a shrink, what do I look like?"

Pacey studied him for a minute. "Couldn't tell you. For all I know this is a ploy to catch me off guard."

David held back a laugh, knowing that he was being tested. "And if it's the way I always dress?"

"Then I have to wonder if your opinion will be widely accepted within the shrink community."

David laughed. "And if I told you that I'm well thought of by my colleagues?"

"I'd have to start wondering if the entire world has gone crazy and I'm the only sane one left." David laughed again and Pacey studied him for a minute. "So how exactly is this going to work?" He asked.

"I'm going to ask you questions, and you're going to answer them to the best of your ability."

"And then you're going to decide if I'm sane enough to go home?"

"I'm going to make suggestions about what everyone can do to make this transition easier."

"What if I just want to go home?" Pacey asked. "What if I just want to go home and eat dinner with my family and talk to my parents and argue with my siblings? What if I really don't want to talk to you?"

"I can't make you talk to me Pacey, but I will tell you that I can help you...And I can help your family. You just have to let me."

Pacey studied him carefully before taking a deep breath. "Where do we start?"

David smiled reassuringly, but didn't let his relief show. His face took on a serious expression as he began to speak. "Why don't we start with the dreams. Gretchen said you were having nightmares."

Pacey looked at the wall. "Well, if she told you about the dream, then she must have told you what it was about. I don't know that there's a whole lot more to say about that."

"How did Meg come to join Sally Anderson's group?"

Pacey sighed. "She was young. College age. Mama could be very persuasive when she wanted to be. Meg was disillusioned and Mama wanted her money. It didn't take her long to figure out that life with the militants wasn't going to be the illuminating thing she thought it would be." Pacey's face took on an incredibly vulnerable look and David could almost see the child that he had been back then. "She...She used to sneak me snacks. She'd talk to me about her childhood, her parents, her friends. I'd tell her about Capeside. One night she snuck me out of the compound. She was going to bring me home." Pacey's expression changed from one of sadness to one of anger. "She should have known better! What the hell was she thinking? She should have known that Mama always wins in the end. There's no escaping the witch."

"You escaped from her," David said softly. "You beat her."

Pacey laughed, but there was no humor in the sound. "No I didn't. And I never will. She won this thing a long time ago, long before most people even knew they were in the game. Don't you see? There won't be a moment in my life that won't be tainted by her. She'll always have the last laugh, because she'll always control me. Everything I do in my life will be a reaction to what happened, what she did. Whether I'm running away from it, or fighting it, she'll always be there. Right there. It doesn't matter that she lost this last battle, 'cause she still won the war."

"Do you really believe that Pacey?"

"I know that Dr. Alexander. I know because that warm beautiful summer night she killed one of the most beautiful human beings in the world...And part of me died right along with her. The part of me that could believe in goodness. The part that believed in happy endings and love and friendship. And I don't think I can get that back... and that means that she won, because what's life without love? Without a basic belief in the goodness of mankind? I'll tell you what it's like. It's like death, so what's the difference?"

"The difference is that you're not with her anymore. You're with people who love you. People who want to help you, not hurt you."

Pacey rubbed his temples and sighed. "Don't take everything I say overly seriously, okay? Half the time I don't even know what I'm saying."

David nodded, looking at Pacey carefully, noticing just how much stress the boy was feeling. "You look tired. Why don't I come back later and we can talk some more."

Pacey nodded. He watched as David went to go. "Hey Doc.?"

"Yes Pacey?" David said.

"It's not that I don't believe in love. I do. I love my family, my friends and I know that they love me. I just don't think that love can save you. I don't believe that it can make everything okay again."

David nodded softly. "I understand Pacey. I do understand where that's coming from and I hope...I hope that you can come to see that love doesn't have to save you in order to help you. That you'll see that it can make things better. Think about that."

Pacey nodded again and watched the doctor leave the room. "Well I guess I'm not going home tonight," he said wryly, flopping back against his pillows and trying to relax.

Hallway

David left Pacey's room and was soon surrounded by a group of people. He let out a silent sigh and then looked around at the hopeful faces, trying to figure out what he should say. "Okay, good news, he talked to me."

"And the bad news?" Mr. Witter asked.

"Nothing that isn't to be expected," David said. "Mood swings. Anger, hatred, depression. He's alternatively vulnerable and blocked off. He's angry at himself, at the world, at her. You're going to need to be patient with him."

"What about bringing him home?" Mrs. Witter asked. She wanted her baby back under her roof again. It had been so long since she had felt his presence in their home. She needed to feel that again.

"I think that he needs to go home soon. Maybe tomorrow or the next day. He needs to feel connected to you and his home again. He needs to feel like he's at home. Like he's wanted. That's hard in a hospital."

The Witter's nodded. "We'll get everything ready," Mr. Witter said. He looked at Pacey's door. "Do you think...?"

"I think that he needs a few minutes," David said. "But you can go in soon." Mr. Witter nodded. "In the meantime, why don't we all get some lunch and talk some more. There are a lot of things that we need to discuss." Mr. Witter nodded again. David looked around before turning to Paul. "Joey?"

"She had to go home, but she left her number for you."

David nodded. "Let's go?" He said.

The others nodded and followed him towards the cafeteria.

Pacey's Room

Pacey sighed as he shifted in bed, trying to get comfortable. He was so damn tired of this place. He wanted to go outside. He wanted the hell out of this place is what he wanted.

"The hell with waiting," He muttered. He was tired of being controlled. He was tired of only going places when other people let him. He wanted some control back. He looked down at his arm, wondering how much damage he would cause himself by pulling the IV out.

"There's only one way to find out," he muttered, gritting his teeth and pulling the IV out in one swift, steady movement. He let out a sigh of pain, but it didn't hurt for long. "That wasn't so bad," he said. He got out of bed and made his way to the closet, careful to keep the hospital gown closed behind him. He opened the closet and cursed under his breath. Nothing. He didn't have clothes. "Great! Just great."

Pacey walked over to the door and peeked out. The only person within sight in the hall was an orderly. "Psst! Buddy!" He hissed.

"Yeah?" The guy asked.

"Can you come in here a minute?"

The guy shrugged and entered Pacey's room. "Whadya need?"

"Clothes," Pacey said. "Any kind of clothes."

"You're not supposed to leave the hospital. They told me."

Pacey rolled his eyes. "I'm not planning a jailbreak," he said. "I just want to be able to walk down the hall without feeling a breeze up my butt, ya know what I'm saying?"

The orderly laughed. "I understand where you're coming from, but I can't help you."

"Come on buddy. I'll even settle from some of those nifty duds like you're wearing. Please?"

The orderly considered for a minute. "All right. Give me a minute."

"You're a prince among men, my man," Pacey said, clapping the guy on the shoulder. He watched him go and then thought for a minute. "Now what to do about shoes?"

Potter B&B

Joey looked out the window at the swirling snow, enjoying the way it danced in the air. She always loved snowy days. There was just something so peaceful about them. She was about to turn away from the window when something caught her eye. Someone was sitting at the end of her dock and it took her only a moment to figure out who.

"Bessie, I'll be right back!" She called hurrying to the closet and pulling on her coat, hat and gloves. She then grabbed a spare blanket and hurried out into the cold.

"Jo?" Bessie called. "Where are you going?" Her only answer was the slam of the door. She went over to the window and looked out and smiled softly as she watched her sister approach the hunched figure on the end of the dock. It had been years since she had seen Pacey, but she could tell even from this distance that it was him. Who else would it be?

"Nifty P.J.'s, Pace." Joey said, throwing the blanket over Pacey's shoulders. "What're you doing sitting out here in the cold in only hospital scrubs?"

"Thinking," Pacey said with a slight smile as he looked up at her. "Trying to work up the courage to knock on your door."

"You don't need courage to do that," Joey chided, sitting down beside him. She grabbed one of his cold hands and rubbed it between her gloves, trying to warm him. "I always want to see you, and Bessie's been wanting to see you since you got home. She just didn't want to intrude."

"Oh," Pacey said softly. He looked at her out of the corner of his eye. She was so beautiful, especially now, with the cold air bringing a flush to her cheeks and snowflakes dancing around her. "My mistake then."

His voice was so small, uncertain. She felt drawn to him. She wanted desperately to make everything right for him. "So, they finally sprung you from the hospital, huh?" Knowing all the time that the hospital scrubs told a whole other story, but not wanting to accuse him of anything. "That talk with Dr. Alexander must have gone well. Bet it feels nice to be home." Pacey looked slightly guilty. "Pace?" Joey questioned, noticing the look at once.

"Well, they didn't exactly release me..." Pacey said reluctantly. "I just couldn't stay cooped up anymore."

"So you decided to release yourself without telling anyone," Joey stated. Pacey nodded. "Did you at least leave a note?"

A stricken look crossed Pacey's face. "No...I didn't even think...Do you think...Do you think they'll..." His voice dropped to a whisper. "Do you think they'll be mad."

Joey's heart broke at the slight whisper of fear that was almost, but not quite hidden in his tone. "No," she said softly. "They'll be scared out of their minds, but they won't be mad. Why don't we go inside and call them now, Okay?"

Pacey nodded. "Okay."

Joey got to her feet and held her hand out to him. He stood and took it, comforted by her presence. She smiled reassuringly at him and led him towards the house. "I was just about to go get your Whopper when I saw you out here, but, you're in luck. Bodie is cooking tonight, so you can safely stay and eat with us."

"Are you sure?" Pacey asked uncertainly. "I mean, I don't want to be a bother."

"No bother," Joey said. "I told you. Bessie's looking forward to seeing you again. Besides," she said, bumping him with her shoulder. "I want you to stay and it just so happens that I have pull with the owners of this joint."

"That so?" Pacey said with a smile.

"Yup."

"Then by all means," Pacey said with a bow. "I would be delighted to stay for dinner."

Joey laughed and led him into the house. Pacey smiled. It felt nice to be with her. She made him feel safe, like things were going to be okay. He treasured that feeling. It was something that he hadn't felt in a very long time.