Unforeseen 8/?

Summary: Set after 'Double Date.' Pacey wakes up the day after the carnival to a new reality no one saw coming.

Disclaimer: I only own the plot and Dr. Tiale.

Rating: R

A/N: next chapter of 'Heartache' is halfway there. Should I complete it with the next chapter, or should I do an epilogue of like a new season 4 episode 1?

-break-

As soon as she got home, she found Bessie putting away dishes, when she caught her sister's eye she broke, her body falling to the floor as it wracked with sobs. Bessie immediately came up pulling her body in, letting her tears soak her shirt.

"What is it? What happened?" Bessie asked sometime later after her tears subsided.

"Pacey's results came back from the biopsy; his cancer is worse, and they have to start him on chemo right away." She stopped gauging her sister's reaction before finishing. "I went to the hospital to be him, to hold him and let him hold me…but he snapped, said I was waiting for him to die so I could dance on his grave, then he yelled at me to get out."

Bessie wiped the tears from Joey's eyes, her heart breaking. "Joey he's just going through a lot…give him a few days."

"I'm going back to the hospital tomorrow." Joey muttered stubbornly, ignoring her sister's eye roll.

"Just give him some space…don't force him."

Seeing the faraway look in her sister's eye, Joey swallowed the pain of the past, nodding. "I won't."

"Go take a shower. Bodie should be back soon with dinner."

"Ok." The night seemed to pass slowly. Her shower felt like an hour but was only fifteen minutes, dinner was the same.

She felt foreign. She hadn't been away from Pacey's side since the carnival and even before that the snail project. And now he didn't want her there and it made her heart ache in her chest.

Closing her eyes, she tried to push the pain away. But instead, she found herself in front of Pacey, outside her house, his hand grasping her plaid overshirt and pulling her in, capturing her lips. Unlike reality she found herself leaning in letting the kiss deepen, his firm but soft lips pressing deeper into hers, his soft touch grazing the skin just above her jeans…

"JOEY!"

Joey startled back to reality, her heart pounding in her chest. "What?"

Bessie snickered as Bodie chuckled next to her, their eyes on the brunette. "Where did you go Joey, you were whimpering."

Joey blushed a deep crimson, standing up. "I'm going to bed. I'll see you in the morning." Scurrying to her room, she closed the door, leaning heavily into it.

She had never thought of Pacey that way before. Heck she never even thought of Dawson like that, and she had had a long-standing crush on him before he turned jerk.

Laying down Joey tossed and turned until she fell into an uneasy sleep.

Waking up her eyes hurt, little sleep came to her after having an alarmingly intimate dream between her and Pacey.

Her hands shook as she changed her shirt, remembering the dream as she freed Pacey of his wife beater, his firm muscular chest gliding beneath her fingers. Her pulse raced even more as he returned the favor.

She had heard rumors that he tried to seduce their English teacher, Ms. Jacobs, but she didn't know if anything had transpired between them. Now after experiencing dream Pacey, she wondered if the real Pacey was the same.

Shaking her head Joey tried to weed those thoughts from her head. He was sick and thought she didn't care, and she needed him to know that she did.

Bessie gave her an extra day off of school so when she was ready Bodie dropped her off at the front of the hospital.

Walking to Pacey's room she took a breath, there wouldn't be a repeat of yesterday.

Stepping in the room she held her breath as he paused his channel flipping, his eyes drawing to hers

Her heart raced as his soft blue eyes met hers. She waited for him to say something, to scream, to yell, but when nothing came, she walked to her chair, sitting down gently.

Her heart still pounded in her chest, she feel his eyes on her as she pulled out her homework. Pacey didn't say anything as she focused on her homework. After that nurses alternated in and out of the room until Dr. Tiale stepped in.

"Are you ready for this Mr. Witter?" The doctor asked, holding up the bag of liquid.

Clearing his throat, Pacey turned to the older man, his eyes straying from Joey for the first time in over an hour. "As I'll ever be."

"What…what is it?" Joey asked meekly, watching Dr. Tiale hook the bag up to Pacey's IV.

"Danorubicin." Dr. Tiale explained turning to the teens. "Its his chemotherapy."

"Oh…" Joey mumbled looking at Pacey for a long minute before turning back to her homework. Dr. Tiale left the two alone. Joey tried to focus on her work but found herself looking at Pacey waiting for the side effects to hit.

It didn't take long, fatigue settled in after a half hour, his eyes drooping as he lay back. That was until they shot open, his body turning opposite of her emptying his stomach on the floor.

"Oh my god Pace." Dropping her stuff on the floor Joey bolted out of the room, alerting the nurse's station before running back to Pacey's side, her hand gravitating to his back. Rubbing up and down his spine, she watched the nurses clean him up, even exchange his hospital gown.

Joey had to fight the tingles that coursed through her fingers touching his bare skin, her cheeks flaming as one nurse switched his gown, offering him a bed pan before leaving. Once the nurse left Hoey sat back in her chair before she could reach for her homework Pacey's hand shot to hers, squeezing it gently. Lifting her head, their eyes met, his sad but apologetic ones staring back at her.

"I'm sorry Jo."

Read and review…if you want more. There is no Tamara/ Pacey affair in this and if you hadn't noticed no Alex, at least not yet.