Author's Note: Well, this is another story I've neglected. So, I'm here to remedy that. This picks up right where I left off. If you don't remember (and you're like me and too lazy to re-read the last chapter), here's a recap of where I left off: Snake and Spike have returned from their honeymoon, Emma and Sean are together (although admittedly, I've neglected them in this story), Manny and Craig are friendly, and best of all, Caitlin has moved back much to Joey's delight. Here's the date I promised you all so long ago. Enjoy!

Spoiler alert: If you haven't seen the movie 50 First Dates, beware there is a reference to the ending. Read at your own risk.

Take My Breath Away

A Degrassi: The Next Generation fan-fiction

Chapter Five: Date Night

"Here you go, sweetheart," Joey announced, as he placed a plate of spaghetti in front of his little girl, Ang.

"Yummy, pasgetti," she sang, picking up her fork and digging in.

Craig looked up from his homework to see Ang shove a huge forkful into her mouth. He made a face. "Aw man, that's gross, Ang."

Joey looked at his daughter. She had spaghetti sauce all over her mouth. "Ang, sweetheart, slow down," he told her, grabbing a napkin and cleaning her face.

When she was cleaned up, Joey washed his hands in the sink. "Okay guys, I'm off to pick up Caitlin," he said, drying off with a dishtowel. "Bed time is at nine. Understood, Ang?" She nodded as she took another bite.

"Hey Joey, is it okay if Sean comes over?"

"Yeah, fine, tell him I'll drop him at home when I get back," Joey replied. He bent down to kiss Ang goodbye. "Be a good girl, okay?"

"Bye, daddy."

"Say hi to Caitlin for us," Craig called out as Joey left.

----

"No, Manny, listen," Emma was saying. She sat comfortably on her bed with the phone propped on her shoulder while she leafed through her school notebook.

Manny sighed. "Emma, what's the big deal? This isn't even a required project. It's only extra-credit."

"I know, but I want to better my marks."

At that moment, Emma's computer chimed with an incoming IM.

Whocares: Hey Em, you there?

"Hold on, Manny, Sean's online." Emma put the phone down and typed her response.

Sparklespaz: Hi Sean, what's up?

Whocares: Nothing going on here. You busy?

Sparklespaz: Not really. Just homework. Why?

Whocares: You wanna see a movie?

Sparklespaz: Sure. J

Whocares: Cool. I'll be over in fifteen.

Sparklespaz: Ok. See ya.

After Sean logged off, Emma picked up the phone again. "Manny? I gotta go. Sean's coming over. We're going to see a movie."

"But what about the assignment?" Manny grinned.

"Who cares? It's only extra-credit. Bye."

----

Joey pulled into the complex of Caitlin's condo. He spotted Caitlin's sporty little car right away and parked next to it. As he was getting out of the car, Caitlin appeared at the upper stairwell landing.

"You found it."

Joey looked up with a smile. "Impressive place, Cait. When can I get the grand tour?"

"How about right now?" Caitlin gestured toward the stairs. "Come on up."

Joey walked into the condo and whistled his approval. "Wow, this is nice."

"Thanks, it'll look a lot better once I get all these boxes out of here."

After a quick tour, Joey held the front door open. "I may not be as fancy as your new condo, but I promised you a 'congratulatory' dinner, so let's go."

Caitlin laughed. "You don't have to be 'fancy', Joey. I like you just how you are."

----

Sean and Emma arrived at the Cineplex and joined the long line at the box office. "So what do you want to see?" Emma asked, reading the marquee. 50 First Dates was playing and she had been dying to see it.

Sean shrugged. "Whatever you want."

Emma raised her eyebrows and glanced at the poster they stood near. "How about that one?"

Sean looked where she indicating and shrugged. "Yeah, sure, Sandler's cool."

Emma smiled. "Thanks, but you know it's a romantic comedy, right?"

"Yeah, I know, whatever you want, Em."

Emma grinned as they stepped toward the box office to pay for their tickets. 'This date is going great so far.'

----

Joey and Caitlin were seated a booth toward the back. With limited traffic, they were in relative privacy. "So, tell me about your first week," Joey said after they ordered.

Caitlin took a sip of her water. "Oh, it's no big deal. It's just a job."

"It's a very big deal," Joey insisted, "conservation/preservationist: that sounds like a big deal."

"It's basically what I did in high school," Caitlin said, "bringing attention to environment issues. This is just on a broader scale."

"Well, I'm proud of you, Cait," Joey told her, "I always knew you'd do good."

Caitlin blushed. "Okay, that's enough talk about me," she laughed. "Let's change the subject." She paused briefly. "Tell me about Ang. Her birthday is coming up, right? What is she into? I want to get her something she'll love."

It was Joey's turn to laugh. "How long do you have? It seems her interests change every day." He paused. "This week, she's been talking about 'Hello, Kitty'. She loves those pink and white little cats."

"Oh, I remember those!" Caitlin exclaimed. "I think my mom still has a few of mine up in her attic. I didn't know 'Hello, Kitty' made a comeback."

"Definitely, in fact, a lot of things from our childhood has made a comeback," Joey informed her. "You should have seen me at the toy store for the first time. I was more excited than Ang was."

Caitlin giggled. "I can just imagine you were."

----

Sean and Emma emerged from the Cineplex after the movie let out. "That was such a good movie," Emma sighed.

"Yeah, it was," Sean agreed, "Rob Schneider's character was hilarious. He was the best part of the movie."

"How can you say that, Sean?" Emma exclaimed. "The best part was the end when Drew Barrymore woke up to find herself married to Adam and they had a baby!"

"Uh, yeah, you would say that, you're a girl."

Emma swatted Sean's arm playfully. "Such a romantic you are," she said sarcastically.

Sean grinned. "Are you hungry? We can go get a pizza."

"Sure, that sounds great."

As they walked toward the food court in the mall, their hands brushed. Slowly, Sean intertwined his fingers through Emma's until they were tightly wound.

They picked up their slices of pizza and carried them over to the table. As they ate, they discussed other parts of the movie they liked. Thirty minutes later, they walked out of the mall and started walking toward Emma's house.

"I had a really good time, Sean," Emma told him. "I'm glad you IM'd me tonight."

"I hope we can do this again soon," Sean said, as he threads his fingers through Emma's again.

Emma sighed happily as they continued to walk. When they reached her house, Emma reached into her purse for her key. Turning to Sean, she asked, "you want to come in? My mom and Snake are probably upstairs, we'll have the TV to ourselves."

"Nah, I told Tracker I'd be home early," Sean said. He leaned forward slightly and brought his face closer to Emma's. She leaned forward as well and their lips touched. The kiss lasted only seconds but when they parted, Emma was breathless. "I'll see you tomorrow," Sean told her, giving her hand a squeeze.

Emma nodded and watched him walk away. She let herself in the house and locked it behind her. The living room was empty. Her mother and Snake must have gone to bed early like she thought. Emma jogged upstairs and knocked on her mother's bedroom door. "I'm home and I'm going to bed now."

"Okay, sweetie," Christine called back, "good night."

Emma walked into her room and turned on the computer. She hoped to find Manny still awake. What luck, she thought.

Sparklespaz: Manny! Thank God you're up!

Smileygurl: Hi Emma! How was your date?

Sparklespaz: Great! J Sean is so sweet!

Emma and Manny continued their online conversation until Manny's mother busted her. After Manny logged off, Emma followed suit and turned off the lights and crawled into bed. She drifted off to sleep with visions of Sean Cameron dancing in her head.

----

Joey drove into Caitlin's condo complex and parked. "It's still early," Caitlin realized, "I just bought a bunch of new DVD's. You want to come upstairs and watch them? I've got popcorn."

Joey agreed and they climbed the stairs. While Caitlin put the popcorn in the microwave, Joey picked over her DVD collection. "You bought Animal House!" he exclaimed. "We have to watch this."

"I knew you would like that," Caitlin laughed. "I thought of you when I picked it up at the store so I had to buy it."

Caitlin carried the bowl of popcorn over to the couch as Joey put the disc into the player. He joined her on the couch as the menu came on the screen. "We have to watch the special features afterward, okay?"

Caitlin nodded. "Whatever you say."

An hour later, in between laughs, Joey looked over at Caitlin and found her fast asleep. He pulled the afghan from the back of the couch. Leaning back, he covered her up. Before he settled back to continue the movie, he pulled his cell phone out of his pocket and dialed home.

Craig answered on the second ring. "Yo."

Joey rolled his eyes. "Yo? Is that how you answer the phone, Craig?"

"Hey Joey! How's it going?"

"Fine, how are things at home?"

"Cool, everything's cool, Ang is asleep."

"Good. Listen, did Sean come over?" Joey asked, remembering that he had offered to give him a ride home.

"Nah, he had a date with Emma," Craig answered. "I've been by myself tonight."

"Okay, well, I'm going to be here awhile," Joey told him. "We're watching a DVD. I'll be home later. Don't forget to lock the door before you go to bed."

Joey closed his phone and leaned back on the couch. In her sleep, Caitlin snuggled close to his body. Joey closed his arm around her and sighed. This felt totally natural to him, being there with Caitlin. He kicked off his shoes and put his feet on the coffee table to continue the movie. Before it was over, Joey was asleep.

(There! I hope you liked it. I didn't realize it was going to be so long. I just kept going and going and going. Anyway, please review!)