Disclaimer: I do not own Dawson's Creek. Nor would I want to, I wouldn't be able to handle all the drama.

Pacey took in the people surrounding him. All of the people that he cared for most in the world were in the same room, except one person. Joey had yet to show up. Jack had mentioned that he and Doug were into town. He hoped that whatever was keeping her from celebrating his birthday with their family and friends was important. Even Dawson was there, which surprised him.

Gretchen stood next to him, watching him through worried eyes. She knew that he and Joey were having problems; it didn't take a scientist to figure that out. She also knew that she would be the last person that he would go to with his problems. Pacey was the type to suffer in silence, now unlike when they were kids and when he was mad everyone felt his wrath.

"Where's Jo? I thought that she would have been here by now." Gretchen observed.

"I don't know." Pacey said sadly with a shake of his head.

She would know not to bring Joey up again. That remark alone and the way he had said it explained everything. She would talk to joey while she was there to warn her once more about not taking Pacey for granted. She had done that once and considered herself lucky that Dawson had been willing to give her a second chance after what she had put him through.

"Happy birthday, Pace." she said hugging him with one arm.

"Thanks, Gretch." he said halfheartedly.

She squeezed his shoulder gently before laying her head on his shoulder. Their brother/sister dynamic had changed a lot in the last nine years. She found it funny that she'd had to move across the country to make it happen.

"How are things going with you and Dawson?" he asked.

"Slow. We don't want to make the same mistakes we made last time." she said cautiously.

"That's a good idea. He wasn't the same for a while after you left." he agreed.

"He told me. I'm glad that he has a friend like you to help him keep his head on straight." she said with discern.

"I don't know what we are right now. Up until Gail's wedding I hadn't talked to him in three years. He hadn't been home in five." he said with a shrug.

"Sometimes it takes something traumatic to bring friends back together." she reasoned.

"I guess you're right." he agreed.

"I mean, look at you and Joey. She broke up with a guy who was on the verge of proposing to her to be with you. She said that the guy was emotionally closed off and that she found herself emulating him sometimes. Can you imagine how hard that must have been for her?" she prodded.

"When you say it like that I see you're point." he said with a deep sigh.

"Don't give up on her. Give her some time, she'll come around." she encouraged him.

"Yeah." he said with a small smile.

She pulled away from him to walk over to their parents. Pacey was surprised that his dad had made the trip. The only time that John had ever left Capeside was to go to Boston to see the Red Sox and the Patriots play. He was glad that his dad had been able to make the trip.

John had pulled him aside not long after he had arrived to tell him how proud he was of him. That had made up for all the times that he had let Pacey down as a kid. It was funny that after all of the years of torment and verbal abuse that everything had been made right by saying four simple words.

The party was winding down and everyone was gathering their things to leave two hours later and Joey still hadn't shown up. Pacey began clearing tables after his parents, Jack, Doug, Bessie, Bodie, Gail, Dawson and Gretchen left. Eugene came out of the kitchen with the leftover cake in a take home box.

"Don't worry about that boss, it's your birthday. We'll take care of it." Eugene said sitting the box on the table in front of Pacey.

"I can't expect you guys to clean this place up after you stayed an extra three hours to throw this party for me." Pacey admonished.

"Consider it your birthday present." Eugene said with a warm smile.

Eugene may have been a former amateur wrestler, but he had the heart of a child. He was intimidating, yet he was gentle. Pacey had made the right decision when he had decided to hire him.

Pacey pulled on his jacket and was out the door less than five minutes later. He hailed a cab and gave the cabby his address before the worry set in. What could have happened that had made Joey not show up tonight? What if something life threatening had happened to her? It wasn't like her to give up the chance to see their friends and family for just anything.

At the apartment he checked every room before calling her phone. He paced as he waited for her to pick up. Her voice mail kicked in and he sighed in aggravation.

"Hey, it's me. Just letting you know that I'm at home. Call me when you get the chance."

He sat on the couch, eyeing his phone, willing it to ring. When it finally did half an hour later he nearly jumped out of his skin. He picked it up after making sure that his heart rate was back to normal. Joey's face stared back at him before pressing the on button.

"Jo?"

"Hey. I am so sorry that I wasn't able to answer the phone when you called. My phone died earlier." she apologized.

"That's okay. Where were you?" he asked curiously.

"I went out to a late dinner with my editor and an author that he's thinking of signing."

"You were at a business dinner?" he asked credulously.

"Yes. They do happen from time to time. I understand when you have them." she said with a light laugh.

"Do you know what today is?"

"Wednesday?" she offered.

"Yes it's Wednesday Jo. But what day is it?"

"I just told you what day it is." she argued.

"We'll talk about this when you get home. I don't want to have this conversation while you are in a cab."

"I'm pulling up to the building now. What has gotten into you? Is this because I didn't come and see everyone tonight?" she questioned.

"My dad has never been to see me before. Do you know how important that was?" he accused.

"I know it was important and I am sorry that I missed it. I'll go and see him at the hotel tomorrow."

"He's leaving in the morning."

"I'm getting in the elevator. I'll talk to you in a minute." she promised before hanging up.

Pacey went to their room and pulled his overnight bag out of the closet. He quickly threw clothes into it and was zipping it shut as Joey opened the door to the apartment.

"Pacey?" she called from the foyer.

He came out of the room with the bag slung over his shoulder. Her eyes widened in surprise as he crossed the room silently.

"I'm going to stay with Doug and Jack. I'll be back in a few days." he said as he passed her.

"Pacey, wait." she pleaded as he opened the door.

He was at the elevators before she caught up with him. She placed a hand on his back, gently rubbing his shoulders.

"What is going on?"

"I would rather not talk about it." he answered.

"I get that you're mad at me, but could you at least tell me what I did wrong?" she pleaded.

"There's a box on the kitchen table. Look inside of it. You'll figure it out." he said as the elevator doors opened.

Joey stood frozen where she was long after the elevator had closed. She racked her brain, trying to figure out why today was so important to Pacey. She made her way back to the apartment in a fog. She went into the kitchen and slowly opened the box on the table like he had asked. Inside was half a sheet cake. The words 'Happy 26th birthday' were written across the center.

Her eyes widened in shock as it dawned on her. It was January 11th. It was Pacey's birthday and she had completely forgotten about it. Tears spilled from her eyes and she didn't bother to wipe them away before they fell to the floor. She sat at the island with her head in her hands. She was worried that something like this would happen. She had broken Pacey's trust for the last time. She had no way of knowing if he would come back or if he would forgive her. How could she have let this happen?

XXXX

Pacey was woken up to the sound of an air horn blasting beside his ear. He bolted upright, his eyes adjusting to the bright light shining in his eyes. Doug stood above him with an evil grin. Pacey scowled at him before finally turning off the flashlight.

"Why did you do that?" Pacey asked darkly.

"Because it's after three o' clock and you cannot stay here forever." Doug reasoned.

"I don't plan on staying here forever…Just until Sunday." he said offhandedly.

"You have a place of business that needs your attention. You're just going to walk away from it for the next three days?" Doug questioned.

"I talked to my assistant manager last night. They can handle things for the weekend." he explained.

"Are you going to come running to me every time you have a problem with Joey?" Doug asked with a sigh.

"She forgot my birthday Doug." he stated flatly.

"You always forgot mine when we were kids. Did I ever walk out on the family?"

"No." Pacey said with a sigh.

"You need to go home. She has called here four times for you in the past two hours because you have turned off your phone."

"If I go home now I am going to say something that I will regret. I need to calm down first."

"You'll have a three hour car ride to calm down." Doug said hopefully.

"I am not going home." Pacey said sternly.

"Then you can go and stay with mom and dad. You have officially overstayed your welcome."

"I was only here one night!" he argued.

"And your girlfriend is calling here nonstop already. Go. Home." Doug said pointedly.

Pacey threw the blankets off of him with a sigh. Doug had a point. He would solve his problems by running away every time he and Joey had a rough patch. He got his things together and once he had said goodbye to Jack and Amy he was out the door.

XXXX

Joey was asleep on the couch when Pacey came in at a little after seven that night. He sat across from her, watching her sadly. Her face was tearstained and she had bags under her eyes. He hated it when he made her cry, he always had. He finally made his way to the bedroom and saw a gift wrapped box on the bed. There was a note on top of it.

Pacey,

I've had this for three weeks, so technically I did not forget your birthday. I just forgot what day it was. I'm sorry that I wasn't there. I know that this won't make up for it, but I promise you that I will never forget something that is important to you again.

Love, Jo

He opened the box to see a book on the history of the New England Patriots. He opened it and a small envelope. He opened the envelope and pulled out another note.

Take anyone you want. Just don't expect it to be me.

He reached into the envelope again and pulled out two tickets the upcoming Giants and Patriots game. Maybe he could talk Eugene into going, he was a Giants fan.

He heard Joey walking around in the living room and he made his way back into the room. He leaned against the alcove separating the living room from the hall. She was cleaning up tissues that she had left in the cracks of the couch.

"Hey." he said to get her attention.

She turned to face him, giving him a scared look. He crossed the room then pulled her into his arms. She wrapped her arms around his neck before burying her face in his chest. He wrapped his arms around her waist to keep her to him.

"I am so sorry." she said quietly.

"It's over now. I shouldn't have run away from the problem."

"What can I do to make it up to you?" she asked.

"You can make sure that it never happens again like you promised."

"It will never happen again." she confirmed.

"Call me crazy, but I actually believe you this time." he teased

She stifled a laugh before heaving a sigh. He kissed her temple as he tightened his grip on her. He said a silent prayer that their problems were behind them. He'd had enough strife and turmoil to last him a few years.