A/N. Thank you all for the wonderful reviews I have gotten recently, especially JAS, Shelz and JM. I am no where near finishing this one off, if it makes you all feel any better. Song is 'Lullaby' by Starsailor and I own nothing about it (I wish I did thought, it's one of my favourite songs)

Lullaby

The air was cold on the streets of New York that morning. Joey wrapped her scarf around her neck again, digging her hands into her pockets. Dawson had his arm entwined in hers, trying to keep himself warm and her walking in a straight line. The early spring air had sobered them both up slightly, so much so that neither of them knew what to say to each other after the discussion about how to get back to the hotel. Both of them had decided to walk, Jen and Jack's only being a 5 minute stroll and it being a safe area.

'So, did you have a good time tonight?' Dawson asked, pulling Joey away from the kerb she was dangerously walking along, like a child.

'Umm, yeah. Maybe too much alcohol but I had a great time. All of us together, something I didn't think I would ever experience again.' Joey said, correcting her path and gripping onto Dawson's arm tightly.

Get back on your feet again
So insincere
Quiet American
I held you so dear

'I know what you mean. Are you and Jen okay?' Dawson asked, his curiosity getting the better of him.

Joey eyed him up suspiciously. 'Well, after I finished licking the chocolate off her chest and we tied each other up with various devices she seemed to be fine.' Joey replied with a straight face. She looked at Dawson and fought the urge to laugh.

Get back on your feet again
I'm so into you
We met in a cinema
You fell from my view
Dawson looked back at her, a look of mock distain across his face. 'One of these days Potter, that sarcastic streak is going to get the better of you.' He pulled at her ponytail playfully and turned to face the sidewalk ahead. Would Jen have told her? If Jen had, would she still be talking to her?

Lullaby
Stop twisting my words tonight
If you get high on life
Don't leave me behind

Joey saw him hiding the curiosity about the conversation, he was never very good at trying to appear nonchalant. It just came off as slightly disappointed. 'Well, apart from the casual bondage, she did fill me in on some of the things that have happened over the last few years. You know, college, Charlie, casual sex, those sort of things,' Joey felt Dawson tense up and then he stopped dead, closing his eyes with the realization of what she was saying.

'Jen told you?' Dawson said his eyes still firmly closed.

'Yup. Bit of a stud aren't you?' Joey joked.

Get back on your feet again
Nothing to say
Some of your weaker friends
Get in my away

She wouldn't lie and say that the Jen thing didn't hurt her. It was the opposite; it hurt her more than anything else about leaving. But, she was not angel. She had had relationships in Italy, passionate flings with her fellow art students. But none of them were serious and she didn't have regrets about anything she did. She had reasoned that Dawson would also continue his life; she would have expected nothing less from him.

He slowly opened his eyes and saw Joey smiling back, her mouth turned up in a small grin and her eyes sparkling.

'You seem much less mad about this then I thought you would be. What happened to you in Italy?' Dawson asked, starting to walk again, the hotel now in view.

Get back on your feet again
You always seem down
Some of your weaker friends
Don't want you around

'I grew up Dawson. It would be wholly unrealistic for me to imagine you wouldn't have sex ever, as much as I may have wanted to keep you a virgin for the rest of your life.' She tucked a stray bit of hair behind her ears and looked over to him. 'You didn't think I would have become a born again virgin do you?'

Lullaby
Stop twisting my words tonight
If you get high on life
Don't leave me behind

Dawson smiled. 'Let's just say I tried not to think about it.' He turned to smile at her. 'So, you don't want me or my...family jewels dead and in a blender?'

'No Dawson. You never know when you or your...family jewels will come in handy,' Joey smirked back, raising one eyebrow.

Lullaby
You live in my ruined mind
Make light of all my fears
And lead me from here

Dawson laughed heartily as they crossed across the almost deserted street into the lobby of the hotel. They got into the elevator and suddenly the mood became very serious, almost as if someone had taken all the lighthearted banter out of the world for that one moment.

They were still linking arms and the remembrance of that sent a shiver down Joey' spine. She scolded herself for thinking that way. The complications and heartache that the actions which were swimming around her head could have caused would tear her apart again. She looked up to the ceiling to try and escape the memory of Dawson kissing her for the first time, but it was still there, obscuring her vision.

Get back on your feet again
So insincere
Quiet American
I held you so dear
Get back on your feet again
Nothing to say
We met in a cinema
You got in my way

Dawson was having an equally difficult time in controlling his raging memories and hormones. His eyes hadn't left the floor indicator above the door, the elevator going slower the more he watched it. He felt Joey tense up as she gazed at the ceiling and wondered what she was thinking. Did he think they had a future? Well, he did in his 16 year old optimistic memory. But their recent and checkered history made him question his feelings for her. He briefly looked at her and saw the beautiful woman she had become, not the 16 year old tomboy he had fallen in love with all those years ago. He knew he wanted her, more than he had wanted any of the other women he had met in his life. The added bonus was he was still in love with her.

Lullaby
Stop twisting my words tonight
If you get high on life
Don't leave me behind

The doors opened on the floor and the pair slowly made their way out, Joey fumbling in her bag for her hotel key card and Dawson reluctantly letting her arm go. He watched her closely as she pulled her bag apart looking for the missing key, her brow getting more furrowed the more she couldn't find it. Eventually, she pulled it out of a small compartment in her bag, her smile returning.

She looked up and saw him watching her intently. His eyes were strong and alive, in a way she had never seen them before. She flushed red under his gaze and turned sharply to unlock the door and hide her embarrassment.

Lullaby
You live in my ruined mind
Make light of all my fears
And lead me from here

'So this is us. Do you want a drink?' Joey said, walking into the room first and taking her coat off, flinging it across the back of a chair.

'I think we may have had enough. I think we just need to sleep.' Dawson said, also shedding his jacket and lowering himself on the bed to take his shoes off. Joey nodded in response and started to turn the bed down.

'You know you're on the wrong side?' Joey said, throwing a scatter cushion at his head.

'Hey! Don't start something you can't finish.' He threatened, getting to his feet and grabbing a pillow.

'Try me film boy!' Joey said, picking another cushion up and throwing it at him.

'That's it!' Dawson said, running around to catch her but she jumped over the bed and ran around him, throwing another cushion.

'You've gotten too old for this game Dawson!' Joey squealed as she ran around the bed, avoiding him grabbing her.

'I don't think so...' he said, lunging forwards and grabbing her around the waist, pulling her down onto the bed and pinning her arms to the bed. 'See, I always win at this,'

Joey continued to squirm under his weight, her arms going numb with the pressure he was putting them under. She stopped squirming and looked up at his face. He was smiling but his face became more serious when their eyes met. She felt the spark between them, the room falling into deathly silence.

'So...' Joey began, shifting her gaze away from Dawson's face. He immediately let go of her and got to his feet.

'Yeah...ummm... we should probably sleep,' he said, looking away from her on the bed.

'Yeah,' Joey replied simply, getting up and moving toward the bathroom. When he heard the bathroom door click Dawson sighed heavily and pulled the sheets back on the bed.

Joey stood in front of the mirror in the bathroom, pulling her sweater of revealing a little vest top she had been wearing underneath. She was flushed red, unsure of what was going to happen or what had just happened.

'Well Potter, that's another fine mess you've gotten us into,' she mumbled to herself, pulling off her jeans and finding the oversized sweat pants she slept in.

When she returned to the room Dawson was in bed with his trademark T-shirt and boxer's combo, his head dozing on the pillow. Joey smiled to herself. He slept like an angel some nights. Other nights he snored loudly and spread his arms and legs across the bed.

She climbed into bed and switched the lights off, the only light coming from the moon outside the window. It cast a long ray of light across the room, revealing Dawson's sleeping face and body. She tucked her hair behind her ears and leaned across, planting a tiny kiss on his nose. He stirred slightly and she pulled back quickly. What was she doing? She knew she wanted him. But she also knew that sex with Dawson would never just be sex. It would be complications and heartache, mass angst and the possible loss of their friendship. But she couldn't shake the memory of how good it felt to be in his arms, even after all this time.

As if he was reading her mind, Dawson opened his eyes and saw her gazing down on him. Their eyes locked and both of them knew what the other was thinking. Dawson reached up, his thumb brushing her cheek while he cupped her face. Joey placed her hand across his on her face, relishing the moment of tenderness between them. The moon hid behind a cloud, cutting the light to the room so they were in pitch darkness. In the dark, Dawson moved his other hand to her face and pulled her towards his, softly brushing his lips against hers in a soft kiss. Joey felt tingles across her body as she returned the kiss, as softly as he gave it. She lowered herself in the bed and into Dawson's kiss, his embrace becoming heated and passionate. The pair engulfed each other, kissing with ferocity and passion. It was as if they were sixteen again, in Dawson's bed in Capeside. Dawson broke away suddenly to look at Joey, the moon reappearing and illuminating her face.

'Joey, are you...' Dawson started but was soon silence by Joey's lips pressing against his. He knew she wanted this as much as he did. The moon went behind its cloud again, leaving the pair wrapped in their passionate embrace.