EPILOGUE

Five years later….

Joey Potter was in love with her best friend. As she watched Pacey converse with Jack and Jen at Gail's wedding, she marveled at the amazing man he'd become. After quitting the brokerage, he spent some time in Boston working at a private equity job he got thanks to one of his former clients. After saving enough money, he moved back to Capeside and re-opened The Icehouse, which he owned free and clear. In addition, he owned a condo near the beach and a new boat, which was docked at the marina. Whenever everyone was in town, which was surprisingly often now that Jack was teaching at the high school and Grams had bought her house back, they all went sailing together.

"Hey," Joey said as she walked over to him.

He smiled. "Hey."

She cleared her throat. "So, I've been meaning to ask you something all afternoon… Would you like to dance with me?"

He nodded and reached for her hand. "Yes, I believe I would."

They took their place on the floor. As Have a Little Faith in Me played, they swayed to the music. "So what's going on, Pace?"

"Hmm… What's going on? What's going on is that I forgot how much fun I have when I'm with you. That's what."

Joey chuckled "Me too."

As Pacey's hand brushed the wedding band on her finger he asked, "So, how's married life?"

She shrugged. "It's good. He works a lot. Almost as much as me, so we don't see each other like we should. But, I guess that's part of it, huh?"

"Yeah, I suppose. After a while, it becomes more about quality than quantity, especially with a toddler who demands constant attention."

"Gee, I wonder who she takes after there?" Joey joked.

"Me?" When she nodded, he pulled back. "No, she is her momma's daughter through and through. Which can be exhausting for me, to say the least."

Before Joey could respond, Jen and Dawson sidled up next to them. Brightly, Jen asked to switch because Dawson wouldn't let her lead. Despite not wanting to cut their dance short, Joey went along with it. It felt amazing to be alone with Pacey in his arms, even for a short time.

Her dance with Dawson was slightly strained. He'd never gotten over the fact that she'd married someone who wasn't him. While she'd always love him and be connected to him, she wasn't in love with him. They'd never gotten back together after their disastrous one night stand. Joey was relieved when Jen asked to switch back.

Joey had only just barely gotten settled in Pacey's arms again when she heard Dawson shout Jen's name and saw her collapsed on the dance floor.

Soon thereafter, she, Pacey, Dawson, Jack and Grams waited impatiently in the waiting room for news from the doctor. As they waited, Doug showed up to pay his respects to Jen, but she and everyone else knew it was really to support Jack, with whom he'd been in a secret relationship with for six months.

"Jennifer Lindley family," a doctor called lit.

They all stood anxiously. "Yes?" was the collective question.

"She is awake and stable. She has asked to see you all. While I've advised against so many visitors at once, she insisted. She wants to tell you what caused the collapse herself."

After the doctor left, Doug took a seat in the room while the rest of them went to see Jen. Grams took a seat in the chair while Pacey perched on one side of her bed and Jack on the other. Joey and Dawson stood by the foot.

"So, what the hell is going on, Jen," Jack demanded. "The doctor wouldn't tell us."

"Calm down, Jackers. I'm fine. The collapse wasn't caused by my bum ticker."

"So the surgery is still successful?" Grams asked.

"Yes," Jen replied. "My fainting had nothing to do with my heart condition."

"Then please enlighten us, Lindley." Pacey commanded.

Joey was surprised to see Jen blush. She looked down at the hand that Pacey was gripping for dear life and then looked back up. "I'm pregnant."

"What?" Pacey asked just as Jack uttered a, "Seriously?!"

"I fainted because I was dehydrated from the heat of being out in the sun. When they ran blood tests, they found out I'm pregnant."

"Oh my God! This is amazing!" Jack exclaimed.

Jen looked at Pacey expectantly. "Is it?"

In response, Pacey leaned forward and kissed her tenderly. "Yes, it is." Then, he reached out and placed a hand on her stomach as he whispered something private in her ear that made her blush again and then smack him playfully on his arm with her free hand, which was adorned with a wedding band that matched the one he was wearing.

Joey pasted a smile on her face, offered her congratulations, and then slipped quietly out of the room. She ran into a nearby restroom and let the tears fall. This bizarre form of torture was her comeuppance for being unable to put Pacey and their relationship first five years ago thanks to her obsession with protecting Dawson and his feelings even after everything that had happened.

After their gut-wrenching breakup, Joey traveled to Paris to clear her head, came back and finished her degree at Worthington while she worked on rebuilding a friendship with Pacey, and then moved to New York for graduate school, where she ended up staying. It took a while, but she and Pacey were able to evolve once again from awkward exes to best friends, though the distance made it easier (for her at least) to accept losing him as more than that. While working as an editor, she began dating Christopher, one of her authors. She married him three months ago. She told herself it had nothing to do with the fact that Pacey had eloped with Jen three months before that.

Jen had moved back to Capeside to live with Grams after her loser boyfriend Errol knocked her up and left her. Pacey supported her throughout the pregnancy and after Amy was born, he stepped up to be a father figure to the little girl. He and Jen shocked everyone when they eloped six months ago. Apparently, they'd fallen in love as they worked together to parent Amy. Although Jen kept her last name for professional reasons, once Pacey's adoption of Amy went through, the little girl would be a Witter. Just like their new baby.

So, now Joey was married to a man back in New York she only loved with part of her heart while Pacey was building a family with one of her best friends.

There were times, like when he was holding her in his arms earlier, that Joey swore he still loved her as much as she loved him. But, when she witnessed moments like when he whispered in Jen's ear, Joey was forced to face the reality that he'd moved on and she'd been replaced in his heart by the last person she ever expected.

And it hurt like hell.

A\N: I love PJo happy endings as much as the next girl, but this story called to me to write a "What if?" scenario where Joey realizes she wants Pacey but can't let go of her unhealthy attachment to Dawson. But, unlike in high school, Pacey refuses to come in second and stands up for himself and demand what he deserves. I put Pacey with Jen because I thought they were cute during their sex pact and they never really had a chance to explore that because it was used only as a means to an end. (Personally, I'd much rather have had a Jen/Pacey/Joey triangle than a Joey/Dawson/Jen triangle, but it was Dawson's show, so...) To me, it made sense for their friendship to evolve into more as Pacey bonded with and tried to be the dad to Amy that he never had.