The Unseen Obstacle CH.37

I Disclaim

"You don't look pleased to see me." Doug said as he walked down onto the dock.

"Oh I should please to see the guy that seduced one of my friends, and then dumped her."

" I don't think that's why you're upset, I mean you benefited from that, I left and you swooped in, and now from what I hear you and Joey are practically engaged, expect that you're not cause I came just in time to hear her dump your ass."

Pacey stepped back from the dock and bunched his fist, every instinct in him told him to just rush Doug and beat till the pain lessened, but he knew that wasn't going to happen. Doug was a trained officer and knew how to duck any attack Pacey was likely to launch, second he had a feeling his brother wanted him to thrown the first punch, and he was tired of doing what he others wanted. "Me and Jo, is about me and Jo, it was there before you and it be there after you, you don't matter in my realm Dougie."

"We have a serious problem here Pacey, two guys, one girl, how do you think we should handle this?"

"I think you should take your ass back to Quantico, and let me worry about Joey."

Doug looked back toward the house and shrugged his shoulders. "I don't think you're handling it that well."

"From what I can tell Joey was pretty much giving her all, and you shut her down."

"What do you want Doug?" Pacey looked at his brother with eyebrows raised." What are you doing, you angry I'm with Joey or angry that can't I watch her, what is this?"

Doug move closer to his brother and gazed out at the creek. "Do you know that dad knew Lillian Potter before she got married."

"Yeah he's been telling Joey stories about her mom in high school, what the point."

"Shut up and I'll tell you." Doug said trying to keep his patience." He knew her like we know Joey, like he was in love with her, like he wanted to marry her." Pacey turns and stares at his brother, and Doug just nods." Yeah apparently there's just something about those Taylor women that us Witter men can't resist, which explains those years that I spent lusting after Bessie in middle school." "Now see he was in love with her, crazy about her would have done anything for her and he did, he loved her enough to know that he couldn't be with her."

"Why?"

"Because Dad knew that he was going to be here forever, he was born here he was going to die here, and only leave for vacations and funerals, and she wasn't." "Lillian was a great artist she should have left this small town and been painting in Paris, and he left her alone so she could do that, but the she ran into Mike Potter and didn't go anywhere." "When he found out about me and Joey he told me that story." He met his brother's gaze." Right before he told me to go to Quantico, you're it Pacey." He turns and nods toward the house. "You're the one that gets the Taylor girl, you're not bound to this place like we are, you can go wherever you need to go to be with her, and you'd be fine cause you're a survivor you don't need to be sure of the next move cause you're sure that in the end everything will be alright." "So don't screw that up, by letting something that doesn't matter interfere with it."

"And you're okay with this?" Pacey looked at him with disbelief." You could see me walk off with her into the sunset, marry her, have kids with her, and that wouldn't kill you?"

"I love her enough to want her to be happy, and to give in when I realize that you're it." Pacey keeps staring at him, and he nods. " I was going fight for her when I got back, then dad talked to me and I remembered a scene I saw a couple of months back before I left when I saw you and Joey leaving the Rialto, I thought how annoyed I was that she canceled on me to spend time with you. But do you know what annoyed me more?"

"What?"

"That you looked so right together, we would never look that good together, people would always assume I was her big brother or one day god help me, her father."

"It's not as easy as you seem to think it is." Pacey said absorbing all his brother told him." You're just walking away; I get to live what with what you leave behind." "You're there with us, every date, every conversation; you're this wall in between us, just there."

"Am I really?"

"You don't think your are?" Pacey scoffed." You know one night she couldn't even look at me, because we have the same smile."

"Oh I get it." Doug nodded and gave a sick little smile." You think you're a Doug substitute, that's just funny."

"Really why?"

"I'm not stupid enough to think that I garnered Joey's attention on my own, you were what drew her to me." Doug started to walk back towards his car, and turned back." I was the sub, filling in for YOU till she figured out that she was with the wrong Witter." "Don't screw it up Pacey; you have a chance to get a Taylor woman something that no Witter has done yet."

Joey waited a grand total of five minutes before she slip through the window and bolted from the B&B, it was December but she didn't care she had two places she needed to go and the first was going to be difficult to maneuver. She needed to get to Grams' house, she and McPhee need to have a talk.

Unfortunately Pacey is still on the dock, and even if he wasn't she couldn't row across a half frozen creek. So she did the only thing she could do she ran there, it worked out best, she always got a clearer head when she ran, she could figure out things when she was just running.

So she did, and the through her thoughts ran rampant, she wondered if she had ruined this thing with Pacey, had her relationship with Doug really screwed up any chance with him at all, or did she just let Dawson once again find a way to dictate her decisions through his silly manipulations from afar. Was it just her bad luck with men rearing its ugly head again?

Fifteen minutes later she was at Grams house, knocking on the door out of breath and short on patience. Jen answered the door, and shook her head pointed at Joey." No Potter, the last time you showed on my door on a Saturday morning you had me talk to Tool, that's not happening, again I owe you no favors." Joey took and deep breathe and finally met Jen's gaze, the other girl gasped noticing the red rim eyes. "Joey what's wrong?"

"Nothing, uh Pacey and I broke up, but that's beside the point." Joey wiped her eyes again." I need to see Jack, could you get him for me."

Jen stepped back and motioned for Joey to come in." Come in and get warm."

"No Grams will see me, and it becomes a conversation, I'm not ready to have yet with anyone so, if you could just get him for me, please?"

Jen nodded a little worried. "I'll get him now." She ran up the stairs making a mental note to call Pacey and find out what happened. She knocked on Jack's door, and heard the muffled go away." Jack get up." She walked in and shoved him off the bed." Come on Jackers you're on deck."

Jack shook his head and tried to focus and looked at Jen questioningly." What?"

"Joey's downstairs crying saying that she and Pacey broke up, and asking for you, go fix her." Jen picked up his jeans and a sweatshirt and tossed them at him." I'll try to get Witter."

Jack caught the clothes and rushed to put them on as he hurried downstairs, and went outside to find Joey just sitting on the top step. "Joey what's going on?"

"How could you Jack, I asked you to let it go." She looked at him, and glared." The emails from Dawson, that I said I could handle you took them John Witter." "You took them to him, and now Pacey thinks he can't protect me, or trust me."

"Joey…..'

"No now you're listening, because you once asked me to trust you, and I did, and now I'm not sure if I can keep doing that."

"Joey, I was worried." Jack sat down beside her and looked at her, she looked so broken." Joey you've been friends with him your entire life, he had a control over you that wasn't normal or healthy, and you were letting that dictate the way you handled this he has problems Joey, problems that you can't ignore." " If he didn't get help he was going to get worse, and then what… what was I suppose to tell Pacey if Dawson snapped and something happened to you, hate me if you want, but as least you'll be alive to do it."

Joey tried to stay mad, she deserved it Jack had betrayed her confidence, but it was Pacey that was breaking her heart." He just … I don't know what happened." Joey turned to look at her friend her eyes filled with tears, and shrugged her shoulders..." Last night we where in love, and now we over, and I don't know what I did Jack, what did I do?"

Jack took her into his arms, and kissed her head, rocking her gently. "Not a thing Joey, not a thing."

Pacey answered his cell phone on the second ring." Hello?"

"Witter what the hell did you do to my friend?"

"Lindely, how can I help you?" Pacey pulled the phone from his ear and grimaced, paying close attention to the road as he drove home.

"Don't Lindley me, what did you do to Joey, she's a wreck Pacey?"

"Then don't worry about what happened, just makes sure she's okay."

"Pacey come on, how can I help if I don't know what's going on?"

"Well should I begin the part where Dawson sends her over two hundred emails in one day, or the part where Doug's back?"

"It depends which is the reason for the break up?"Jen heard his frustrated sigh over the line and." Pace be honest?"

"He's my brother." Pacey growled his hand tightening over the steering wheel "She was with my brother, they were lovers, they shared intimates secrets, and I'm just suppose to get over that?"

"Yes, you are." Jen walked over to the window and watched as Jack gave Joey a big hug and kiss on the cheek before she started to run away." The same way she got over the fact that you had two lovers before her, the same way she ignored that stupid sex pact we had." "You ignore it because it's part of her past, part of the past that made her who she is now, the woman you say you love."

"I loved her before."

"You can't hold that against her, Pacey, did you ever think that had she not been with him, she would have never had the courage to go after things with you."

"That's stupid, Jen."

" No it's not, you were with an older woman Pacey, and then Andie you have more experience then Joey and all her exes combined , she couldn't have even handled you before him, cause she would have still be locked in the room with Dawson watching E.T." "Being with him gave her the confidence to break away from the things she knew try things to make herself happy, and in doing that she found you." The silence on the other end was deafening." Tell yourself whatever you need to Pacey, bottom line is this, if you love her like you say you do you'll deal, if not then I suggest you just walk away." Not waiting for his reply she hung up the phone and turned to find Jack in her doorway." What's the word?"

"Love sucks."

Jen thought of her friends and nodded." I concur."

"So back to where it all started, huh?" Joey cleared off a spot by her mother's tombstone and crouched down." I know we've already had this conversation but again to clarify, I suck at this." "I need your help, because I don't know what to do?" "Is it me?" "Give me a clue her mom, cause I'm all alone again, and I don't know how it happened?"

"You're not alone Joey, you have me."

Joey turned at the sound of the voice and jumped to her feet "What are you doing here?"