Joey grew a smile that was twice as long as the Grand Canyon. Everything about that Saturday afternoon was perfect. She looked good and felt good. The sun was shining through the window and even birds were chirping. The best part, though, was Pacey.

Oh how she missed him! A whole month was spent without the feel, smell, taste, just the whole of Pacey. It was like she was living in a bad dream and only one thing could wake her up: Pacey.

Joey smiled her crooked smile from her chair. "Hi Sweetie," she responded back to his greeting.

Pacey kept his big grin. He was in awe at how much Joey changed from a month ago. When she first went here, she could barely talk above a whisper and could not go a minute without crying. Now, Joey talked normally and smiled. He had no idea how much he missed that smile until then.

"I bought you some flowers," he said handing her the bouquet.

Joey closed her eyes and smelled them. She smiled and looked at him. "They're beautiful."

"Only the best for you," Pacey replied.

Joey smirked again. "Nice line. James Bond couldn't have said it any better."

"Why, thank you," Pacey said with a smile. It was nice to have Joey and her comments back again. "Are you ready to go?"

"Um…" Joey began.

"Mr. Witter I presume," Angie said walking up to him with an extended hand.

Pacey shook her hand. "Please, call me Pacey."

"I've heard a lot about you, Pacey."

"Good things I hope."

"Very good. If you don't mind, I would like to talk to you before you take Joey home. It will only be a second."

Pacey nodded and looked to Joey. "I'll be right back, Jo. Try to not miss me too much."

Joey smirked. "You know I'll be anxiously awaiting your return."

"Great use of sarcasm," Pacey replied with a smile.

Joey blushed. "Thank you," she said softly.

Pacey gave her one last big smile before following Angie into her office. Angie took a seat behind her big desk and smiled at Pacey.

"She really comes alive with you, Pacey," Angie said with a grin.

"Joey is my whole life," Pacey replied with a serious undertone.

"That's good. I think that Joey will be back to her self in no time. I want to talk to you about the progress that she has made, Pacey. When Joey first arrived here, she was a broken woman. She wouldn't eat. She barely talked. It took us a few days until she would lie in her bed. As you can see, Joey has made tremendous progress. She eats well. She sleeps full nights and sometimes longer. She loved talking about you. There is one area, though, that progress was moving slowly. Two days ago, I had the girls partake in an activity where they are having physical contact with another group member. Joey had a bad reaction and I had to cut the session short to calm her down. We have been working together these past two days and Joey has become more comfortable with physical contact. Why I'm telling you this is because Joey might still be a bit retracted from others. If she flinches a bit when you come in contact with her, don't be alarmed. It has only been a month and she will come around eventually. Don't push her to do anything she's not ready for okay?" Angie finished with a smile.

Pacey nodded. So he would make sure to keep his distance and wait for her to come to him. "I can do that," he replied to Angie.

"Alright," Angie said. "Well, it was nice to finally meet you, Pacey. Take good care of Joey and I wish you luck."

Pacey stood up and walked back into the hallway. Pacey locked eyes with Joey and smiled. "Let's go," he said walking by her.

Joey stood up next to him. "Let's," she said with a grin and grabbed his hand.

Sparks flew from that little contact. They only held hands for the short walk to the truck, but it was pure magic.

They hoped into the truck and sat as it warmed up.

"So where are we going?" Joey asked in a sweet tone.

"Um, to my apartment I guess," Pacey said as he reversed the truck.

"Oh, okay," Joey said shortly.

Pacey glanced over to Joey quickly. "Do you want to go somewhere else?"

"Um, no. we can go to your apartment if you want."

"If you don't want to go back there yet than just tell me. I won't get upset."

Joey bit her lip as she looked at him. "Well, it's just that I've been cooped up in that place. I was hoping we could go and get an early dinner or something."

Pacey nodded. "Of course we can."

"Can I invite Jen and Jack? I know that you want to be alone with me, Pacey, and I want to too, but I was thinking that we could spend an hour or so with them and have the rest of the night to ourselves. What do you think?"

Pacey let out a sigh. "Okay."

Joey grew a big grin. "Good; because I already set it up."

Pacey chuckled. "Thanks for consulting me first."

"Awe, sweetie, don't feel bad. I really thought about it first. Besides, I knew you would say yes."

"Is that so? Let me tell you, Potter, I can be unbelievably unpredictable," he said in a cocky voice.

"You're so cute when you're delusional." Joey grabbed his hand again. "I love you, Pacey."

Pacey smiled and rubbed her hand with his thumb. "I love you too."

XXX

"Where are they?" Joey asked looking through the crowd at Civilization.

"Jack probably ran out of hair gel," Pacey chuckled.

Joey smacked him on the arm. "Be nice. You know you could learn a thing or two from Jack. Did you even comb your hair today?"

Pacey ran a hand in his un-cut hair. "You think it's sexy."

"It still looks messy."

"So you admit it? My hair is sexy."

"You're such a narcissist," Joey retorted.

"But a sexy narcissist," he responded.

Joey rolled her eyes and stood up to greet Jack and Jen. Pacey noticed the small flinches from Joey as she hugged them.

"I'm sorry we're late. I ran out of hair gel," Jack said.

"I told you," Pacey laughed before Joey glared at him, releasing a chuckle herself.

They all took their seats and ordered. As expected, they both wanted to know what the last month was like for Joey. Joey talked and talked and talked until there was nothing left to say.

"Enough about me. How are things with Charlie, Jen?" Joey asked.

"I told you about that in the truck, Jo," Pacey said looking at her.

Joey frowned. "I'm sorry sweetie, I must have missed that," she said before placing his hand on her knee and intertwined fingers for the contact they both desperately desired.

"Oh, um, we broke up," Jen finally said.

"Oh, no. Why?" Joey asked.

"He was selfish in the sack," Jen simply stated.

"I know how that feels," Joey said softly.

Pacey lifted an eyebrow to her. "When have I ever been selfish in that area? In fact, I do believe I am very generous in that department."

Joey removed her hand from his and looked down. "I wasn't talking about you, Pacey."

Then it dawned on him. She had been with someone else, even if it was against her wishes. "Jo, I'm sorry that I…"

"Forget it," Joey said as she shook her head.

The table grew quiet. No one knew what to say. It was a good few minutes that they sat in silence.

"Does any one want dessert?" Jack asked, trying to break the awkward silence.

"I'm pretty tired. I think I'm ready to leave and go to sleep. Bye guys," Joey said standing up and walking away.

Pacey pulled some money out of his wallet and put it on the table. "She'll be okay. Have a good night."

"You too," Jen and Jack said in unison as Pacey followed Joey out.

The ride to the apartment was silent. They entered the apartment and didn't say a word to each other as they changed into their pajamas. Pacey started to pull back the covers and Joey looked around. Everything was just as she remembered. Even the smell was the same.

She smiled at him. "Do you remember that CD you made for me last year? The one with all the love songs on it?"

Pacey stood up straight. "Yeah, wasn't it called 'A Musical Romance' or something like that?"

"That's the one. After I would have my therapy sessions, I always felt really stressed and depressed. I put in that CD one day and I skipped through some songs, but I stopped at 'Nothing Heals Me like You Do' and you popped into my mind. I started feeling better as the song went on. So, when my sessions were done, I would put on that song, hold onto your picture, and feel better. That song reminds me of you because, as cheesy as it may sound; nothing heals me like you do, Pacey."

Pacey could only smile. He wanted to hold her and kiss her but he didn't want her be afraid of him. "I saved every message that you left for me while you were gone and I still remember every conversation we had."

Joey looked at him with big eyes. "Why didn't you delete them?"

Pacey sighed. "How could I, Jo? Those messages were the only way I could hear your voice. Everyday, I played the messages and closed my eyes so I could picture you standing in front of me. I dreamt about you whenever I could sleep. I was a wreck without you. I missed you so much."

Joey felt a tear fall. She watched as his eyes turned into the icy blue they became when he was sad. Joey walked over to him and kissed him hard. His arms stayed by his side, afraid to touch her, but they were moved by Joey to go around her waist. She didn't even flinch. He pulled her closer and deepened the kiss. Joey let her hands roam in his messy hair. They could stay like that forever. They yearned for each other in such a way that Beatrice Small could not have written it better. Eventually, the kiss died down and their lips separated. Still, they remained mere inches apart.

"I love you, Pacey," Joey whispered. "I am so happy when I'm with you. You make me feel alive and invincible."

Pacey licked his lips, still tasting her. "Move in with me," he whispered in a husky tone.

"What?" Joey breathed out.

"Move in with me. I don't want you to go back to that dorm as much as you. Worthington is a few blocks away so you can borrow my truck when you have class. I want to spend every moment I can with you. There is plenty of room for the both of us so move in with me," Pacey said in the same tone.

Joey grinned wide, exposing most of her teeth. "Okay," she said with a nod of her head.

Pacey smiled and kissed her. This one didn't last as long but had just as much meaning. When the kiss ended, they climbed into bed for the night. Pacey stayed on his side for most of the night. During the middle of the night, Joey decided that only she could take action to being herself again.

"Pacey," Joey whispered and kissed his forehead.

"Huh?" Pacey said drunk with sleep.

"I want you to hold me."

There was a small pause. "Are you sure?"

Joey turned away from Pacey and laid up to him in a spoon position. She took his arm and wrapped it around her hips. She felt him back away when she flinched slightly, but she just moved his arm back.

"I'm sure," she said before falling asleep for the rest of the night.