Hello all! Here's chapter ten! This is the last chapter, though there will be an epilogue… And then it'll be over! I have to say that I'm half sad, half relieved. It's been a long road, but I'm glad that I stuck with it long enough to finish it…
Thank you for all your replies!
Anyway, here's chapter ten, I hope you like it!
Snowie
Chapter Ten:
The sound of the gunshots didn't go unnoticed by Joey, though she had no idea what they meant. From what Sally Anderson had said, there was no way that Pacey would have made it this far yet. But maybe someone else…
Joey shook herself slightly, not allowing that thought to coalesce fully. There was nothing more useless than false hope. She would be here until Pacey arrived and then one of two things would happen. They'd both live or they'd both die.
It was amazing the kinds of things that you could come to accept in the kind of situation Joey now found herself in. She never thought that she'd accept the possibility of her own death so easily. But at least then it would be over. The pain, the uncertainty. Either way, it would all be over.
She heard the sound of footsteps above her as someone moved around, opening door and closing them again.
Searching for something…
Searching for her?
That damnable hope again, but this time she let it in. Let it saturate her being.
This felt different. It was almost as if…
Almost as if Pacey were there.
And impossible as that may have been, she couldn't help but pray that he was there. That he had finally come…
That Sally Anderson and her demon offspring were dead. They deserved to die. For all they'd done to her, but more, for all they'd done to Pacey.
Finally the door at the top of the stairs opened and footsteps sounded on the stairs down into the basement.
Joey didn't dare look. She couldn't make herself turn and see who it was. She didn't want her illusions taken from her just yet.
And then she heard his voice.
"Joey?"
His voice was hoarse, and it was almost as if he choked on the word, unable to contain the emotion he felt.
The fear translated easily to Joey's ears.
As did the reality that it was actually him.
She turned to face him, tears filling her eyes. "Pacey," she said, her voice breaking.
"Oh god, Joey," Pacey said, falling to his knees beside her. She saw him take in the chains, the bruises, the scars. "I'm so sorry!"
"Don't you dare!" Joey exclaimed, reaching out a trembling hand to touch his face. "It's not your fault that I'm here."
"Yes it is," Pacey said with conviction, all the while sorting through a ring of keys, trying to find the right one to free her from the chains.
"No," Joey insisted, as her eyes took him in hungrily. He was really here. She could hear the sound of his breathing. She could feel the warmth of his touch.
He had come for her.
Pacey found the correct key and made quick work of the locks, his hands shaking noticeably.
And at last she was free.
Her breath caught in her throat as Pacey took her hands in his, running his thumbs gently over the skin of her wrists. Skin rubbed raw by the metal of the cuffs.
And she felt the heat of his tears as they fell.
"Oh Pacey!" She exclaimed softly, throwing herself forward into his arms with as much strength as she could.
He caught her to his chest and held her tight, unable to hold back the tears any longer.
And together they wept… For all that had happened. For all that they'd done. For all that they'd lost and for all that they'd gained.
And with the tears, all that had been holding Pacey together collapsed.
Sobs shook his body violently and Joey held him tighter, listening to the words that fell from his lips. All that he had done in his frantic search for her. The lives that he'd taken… and the manner in which he had taken them.
The fear and guilt he obviously felt was in great contrast to the relief she felt at his words.
"Shh," she murmured softly into his hair. "It's okay."
"How can that possibly be?" Pacey whispered desperately. "I killed…"
Joey grabbed his face, forcing him to look her in the eyes. "It doesn't matter Pacey! Not to me. You did what you had to do. You saved me!"
"Well, I'm sure it'll matter to someone," Pacey said softly.
Joey felt a sudden bolt of fear race through her. They would try to punish him for this. They wouldn't understand how necessary it was. They wouldn't understand that he had done the only thing that he could have. He'd killed people, shot some of them in the back.
She understood it. In a way she loved him all the more for his actions.
And there was no way in hell that she was going to let him be punished for them.
"I won't let them hurt you for this," Joey whispered fiercely. "And I won't let you feel guilty about it either. These people made their own choices and you did what you had to do. What I would have done in order to get to you!"
Pacey's breath caught in his throat as her words penetrated. There was no mistaking her meaning, or her sincerity. She meant what she said. Every word.
He'd been sure that she's hate him for this.
For making her a target. For not stopping them before they had a chance to get anywhere near her. For not knowing immediately what had happened… For not getting to her soon enough.
All the things he hated himself for.
"You don't hate me?" Pacey asked faintly, the words escaping before he could stop them.
"Hate you?" Joey asked, her voice ripe with disbelief. "Why on earth would I hate you?" Pacey was silent, not quite able to look her in the eyes.
"Pacey?" Joey asked insistently. She grabbed his chin and forced him to meet her eyes. "Why would you think that I would hate you?"
"I didn't stop them," Pacey said desperately. "I didn't… I didn't come quickly enough. I made you a target and then I left you with them! They hurt you because of me!"
"No!" Joey said. "They hurt me because of something in them! They weren't right, Pacey. Something in them… It was just wired wrong and that is not your fault. You saved me Pace. You came here, risking everything, and you saved me!"
"You are everything," Pacey said softly, reaching out a hand and brushing it along her cheek. "Without you this world doesn't make sense."
"Oh Pacey," Joey said softly. "I love you, okay? That didn't stop and it never will."
"Even though…" Pacey stopped.
"Even though you killed," Joey said firmly. "And I'm glad they're dead. They deserved to die."
Pacey sat silently for a moment, just holding her close as he thought about what she'd said. And slowly, tentatively he allowed himself to start to believe it.
He shook himself slightly as he realized that there were things that they needed to be doing. Most important being... "We need to get you to a hospital."
"No," Joey said, shaking her head insistently. "Nothing life threatening. First we have to figure out what to do about all this." She waved one hand at the commune above them.
Pacey shrugged. "What can we do? I'll call Dad and Dougie and they'll do what they can… But I think…" He was reasonably sure that the police and the courts wouldn't see him shooting people in the back as self-defense or as justifiable… no matter what Joey might believe. They would put him in jail.
"Then we won't let them," Joey said, as if hearing his thoughts. "I don't want to go home Pacey. Not now. I don't know if I'll ever want to. I have you and there's no way in hell that I'm letting anyone take you away from me. Not now that I have you back again."
Pacey shook his head. "You can't mean that! What about Bessie and Alex? And Dawson and Jen? Can you just leave everybody behind?"
"Yes," Joey said firmly. "Can you?"
Pacey shrugged. "You're home to me, Joey. You always will be. Where you are is the only place I'll ever need to be."
"And I feel exactly the same way Pacey. I don't trust that it will work out okay if we stay and take what's coming… But I know that we can make sure that we're okay. Everyone else… They'll be fine without us."
"Bessie would help you heal…" Pacey said softly.
Joey shook her head. "Bessie wouldn't be able to deal with all that's happened. You can… and I can as long as we're together… Pacey, please!" Her voice became pleading and she held onto him desperately. "Don't let them take you away from me!"
Pacey was silent for a moment, his head warring with all kinds of different emotions. In the end, he went with his instinct. They could always go home later if they changed their minds. For now, the best thing for everyone would be if they took off, leaving the entirety of their old lives behind them.
"I have some fake ID's that will get us started," Pacey said softly. He touched Joey's cheek gently. "We'll search the commune. Mama always had at least a hundred grand on hand. Probably more in this situation. She would have known that she'd be running after this…"
"Okay," Joey said softly.
"Are you sure?" Pacey asked seriously. It was fine for him. He'd never felt comfortable in Capeside. It just wasn't home to him anyone. But Joey…
"It's what I want," Joey said assuredly. "It's the right thing for us."
"Okay…" Pacey said, nodding. He got to his feet and swung her up into his arms. He carried her up the stairs, ignoring her protests that she could walk just fine. She was weak. There was no way that he was going to let her wear herself out. He sat her down at the kitchen table and started searching the rooms for things that would be useful. He gathered a couple of bags and set her to work at packing the things that he brought to her. Soon they had quite the collection of food, weapons, clothes and money.
Pacey stepped out of the main building and quickly assessed the cars arranged out front. He picked the one that would likely be the least noticeable and most reliable to take with them. It took him close to a half hour to scour the rest of the commune for things that they could use. In the end, they left with at least a hundred and fifty thousand dollars and more weapons than they could ever use… But they would be worth something at a pawn shop.
When everything was loaded into the car, they were ready to go. They stopped once at the jeep on their way out of the compound so Pacey could get the rest of his belongings. Bobby they left to wake up on the commune steps. Once he was conscious, what he did with his momentary freedom was up to him. He could call the police or take off. Pacey found that he really didn't care.
Pacey stopped at the first payphone they found and called Doug. The conversation was short and to the point. He was fine. Joey was fine. A lot of people were dead and they were taking off… so that they could be together without any fear of the possible repercussions.
He hung up before his brother had any chance to argue.
He walked slowly back to the car, his eyes never leaving Joey's face. As he sat down in the driver's seat, he reached out and took her hand.
She squeezed it gently, smiling at him softly. "I love you," Joey said softly, bringing his hand to her lips and kissing it gently.
"And I love you," Pacey said. He kissed her forehead and then started the car, pulling out onto the road…
And then they were gone…
They made up their minds
And they started packing
They left before the sun came up that day
An exit to eternal summer slacking
But where were they going without ever knowing the way?
They drank up the wine
And they got to talking
They now had more important things to say
And when the car broke down they started walking
Where were they going without ever knowing the way?
Anyone can see the road that they walk on is paved in gold
And it's always summer
They'll never get cold
They'll never get hungry
They'll never get old and grey
You can see their shadows wandering off somewhere
They won't make it home but they really don't care