Part Seven
It was the smell that made him open his eyes, crisp and fresh with a hint of jasmine. It seemed stronger in this room, a stark contrast to the general sterile and almost industrial odour. It took a moment for him to adjust to the light but when he was able to focus on her, she filled his senses – her smell, the sight of her, her touch as she gently covered his hand with her own and then her voice, soft and somehow very young and vulnerable.
"Hey there."
"Am I dreaming?"
Joey laughed then and he saw her wipe her eyes with the back of her hand.
"No, I'm real. You've had us all very worried."
"So I heard."
He gingerly pulled himself up a little higher on the bed.
"Thanks for coming Jo. Have you been here long?"
"Just this afternoon."
He watched her, simply drinking in her presence. God, he loved her. He always had. He thought he had been able to lessen the hold she had on him by withdrawing into the world of make believe but even there she found him in the lines of Sammy and Colby. Since Jen's death he had allowed himself to open up to the possibility of fully loving her again, to risk the pain and hurt all over. He had felt for Joey when he'd heard that she and Pacey were finished, but for the most part he was nervously excited at would that could potentially mean for him and his ultimate dream.
He could tell that Joey was a little unnerved by his gaze when she immediately filled the silence.
"I thought that when we next saw each other I'd be at least able to give you a hug," she said.
"I don't think a little one would hurt."
He waited for her, his eyebrows lifted in a teasing smile.
He was incredibly pleased to see the faint blush that flooded her cheeks before she leant into him, carefully placing one arm around his shoulders.
Dawson tried to ignore the soft swell of her breast as it momentarily rested against his cheek but he still gave an involuntary quiver at her embrace.
"Oh, I've hurt you."
Joey immediately stepped back.
She was nervous. Hospitals had always made her so. She had spent too much time in them, waiting for those close to her to die, her mom…and Jen.
"I'm okay. I'm going to be okay." Dawson said gently.
She saw then that he had guessed her thoughts and felt her fear.
Joey nodded slowly.
"Yeah, your mom said."
"So," she continued with a tentative smile. "Capeside Hospital must have some pretty amazing doctors for you to have been rushed all the way back here from LA."
Dawson starting to laugh but immediately winced and stopped.
"Alright. I didn't tell you I was coming because I wanted it to be a surprise and I wasn't even sure I'd be able to make it till a couple of days ago."
"So you're telling me you came back for something other than the removal of your appendix."
"Yeah, that was an umm….unforseen bonus," Dawson grinned. "I'm here because I really wanted to see Lilly in her first school play tomorrow night. Looks like I'm not going to make it now."
Joey swallowed her disappointment. When she had told Dawson a month ago that she was no longer with Pacey he'd been the most wonderful and supportive friend. He had said all the right things, hadn't pried too deeply. But she desperately wanted more. In the midst of her anxiety and fear about his health a part of her was hoping that he had returned to Capeside on his way to her.
Dawson saw her eyes fall. His heart skipped a beat. She wanted more. She had wanted him to be coming to her.
"I was going to come and see you in New York the minute that play finished," he said softly.
Joey slowly lifted her eyes to meet his.
"Yeah?"
"Of course. I had a proposal for you. Still do actually."
Joey frowned.
"A proposal?"
"Okay, Jo. You'd better pull up a chair."
Joey reached behind her, dragging the hard-backed chair close to Dawson' bedside and then sat down.
"You remember me telling you about Amanda Crossdale?" Dawson continued.
Joey nodded slowly, determined not to question where Dawson was headed with this conversation.
"Yes, the writer who's been working with you going over the script for your miniseries with Spielberg."
"One and the same. Well, her mother was involved in a pretty bad car accident and so she has decided to leave the project and move back to Ohio until she has recovered fully. While we have the bulk of the script ironed out, we are going to still need someone on the ground to help facilitate and overlook the coordination of the overlapping stories purely from a script point of view."
Joey's resolve not to interrupt crumbled.
"So Dawson, what's this got to do with me?"
Dawson chuckled enjoying her impatience.
"Jo, did I mention that I've organised things with The Creek so that I will not have to be so nearly hands on next season? That Spielberg has decided to base production in the city where the miniseries is set? That this city is New York? That after I read that book of plays you edited, I knew I had the perfect replacement for Amanda?"
Joey's eyes had been growing wider with each new piece of information and she now sat with her mouth in a silent "oh."
"I know it's a big ask and that you already have a job that keeps you busy. But I remember you telling me that week Jen died that you weren't exactly loving what you were doing and you were tired of editing work that had no real literary worth. This script is really good Jo and it's a change for you and we work so well together…"
"Dawson, we haven't worked together for years. I might have turned into an impossible drama queen since then." Joey taunted a little. In all honesty she was excited and her mind was racing with the prospect. Working with and being near Dawson on a regular basis was all the incentive she really needed but she was also thrilled with the possibility of exploring other avenues for her writing. She might not even have to quit her job if she didn't want to. She was sure she could negotiate a more flexible working arrangement.
Dawson leaned back against the pillow.
"Hey, weren't you always a little bit of a drama queen?"
"Luckily for you, I'm going to chalk that dig up to the painkillers."
He gave a small smile in response.
"I can see you're tired," Joey said as she stood up. "I'm sure your doctor wouldn't be too pleased with you talking business on your recovery bed. I might go now."
Dawson nodded.
"Think about it Jo. I'll call in a couple of days when I'm out of here."
"You won't have to Dawson. I'm not leaving Capeside just yet. I'll be back to se you in the morning."
Dawson continued staring at the back of the door long after Joey had closed it behind her. In her eyes he had read all that he wanted. Joey loved him. In the months since Jen had died he had felt her slowly coming back to him day by day. Hearing that she had finished things with Pacey was a big step closer. He knew he could possibly hurry things along by revealing to her the nature and depth of his feelings but Dawson Leery had always been a believer in the old adage "If you love someone set them free. If they don't return they were never yours to begin with." In many ways he was still the same boy who'd told Pacey in high-school to let Andie McPhee go. "I think you should let her go. I really do. I mean, don't just pay lip service. Just let her go. That's the only way to get someone back to you." He could wait a little longer until Joey came to him and told him her heart.
