Unforeseen 1/?

Summary: Set after 'Double Date.' Pacey wakes up the day after the carnival to a new reality no one saw coming. Slight canon, mainly AU and only slightly follows the episodes.

Disclaimer: I only own the plot, so far.

Rating: R

-break-

Groaning Pacey tried to move, to stretch the sudden ache that seemed to take over his whole body.

Last night he had been fine, even after Joey's rejection of him, he came home, dealt with his father's usual drunkenness and then laid down.

Shifting slightly, he cringed at the jarring tinge that rattled his bones. Lifting off his bed, he got to his elbows before his weakened muscles gave out, sending him flat back to his bed.

"Pacey!" Doug called out of nowhere from the other side of the door, annoyance clear in his tone. "Pacey come on!" He barked again, opening the door. Doug stopped, finding his brother pale, weak and dazed. "Pace, what is it?"

"I…I don't know." Pacey tried to sit up again but once again found his arms too weak to hold him up. "My whole body is aching, and I can't get up…at all."

"Alright." Doug nodded, feeling suddenly alarmed. He always saw his brother vivacious and sarcastic, finding any way to smile and any way to get someone to smile. The form before him was showing none of that. "Let me talk to Pop, I'll be right back."

Pacey nodded, his head dropping back to his pillow tiredly. It felt like hours before Doug stepped back into the room.

"Are you dressed?" Receiving a nod, Doug bit his lip before pulling down the covers. "I'll put your shoes on and then we can take you to the doctor."

"If I could help I would." Pacey replied weakly, lifting his legs the best he could to aid his brother.

"No problem." Tying the last shoe, Doug eased both of his brother's legs to the floor, surprised at how boneless they felt. "Put your arms around my neck and we'll see about lifting you." Lifting Pacey from the bed was easy but taxing. His body easily lifted from the bed but when he was upright nearly all of his weight leaned against Doug. "The stairs will be a pain but hold onto the rail and lean against me."

"I'll try." Pacey hissed breathless; his whole body felt foreign to him.

"Do you know what brought this on?" Doug growled, almost all of his brother's weight was on him as he carefully guided them down the stairs.

"No…idea." Pacey breathed his hands shaking as he held as tightly too Doug as he could muster. A wave of dizziness nearly toppled them both as they reached the bottom.

Seeing the pain and feeling how weak his brother was, was starting to scare Doug. After a painful walk to the Wagoneer, Doug got Pacey settled in the passenger seat.

They reached the only doctor in Capeside, who took one look at Pacey and sent them to the nearest hospital, Capeside Memorial. It didn't take long to get there and even less to be escorted to the back.

Hours and many tests later Doug was getting antsy, while Pacey seemed to bounce in and out of sleep.

Finally, an older man in a white coat stepped in, an unreadable expression on his face. "Hi, I'm Dr. Tiale…and you are?"

Shaking the doctor's hand Doug stole a glance at his slumbering brother before answering. "Doug Witter, I'm Pacey's older brother."

"Ok, are you at liberty to discuss your brother or should I wait for your parents?"

"You can speak to me. My father gave me permission to authorize anything my brother needs."

"Good. Were going to admit him and start him on a round of chemo right away."

"Chemo?" Doug barked, wide eyed, that's the last thing he thought he'd hear. "What?"

"I'm sorry I should have fully introduced myself. I'm Dr. Anthony Tiale, I'm head of oncology. I was called down when Pacey's blood tests came back abnormal."

Air seemed to leave Doug as the words hit, his eyes widening further. "So, your saying…?"

Dr. Tiale sighed, looking over Pacey's chart. "All signs point to Leukemia. We'll have to do more tests to determine which form, but it would be in Pacey's best interest to start chemo right away. If we find he has the acute form, it would be needed anyway.

"Wow…ok. Do what you need to do. If you will excuse me, I have to go speak with my family." Doug's whole body shook in shock as he walked to the courtesy phone. Picking up the phone he dialed the station number, knowing his father wouldn't be home. When the line picked up, he recognized the voice. "Paul, its Doug, can I speak to my father?"

-break-

Three days later.

Joey groaned, having a newborn under the roof was exhausting. She had had even less sleep since the carnival, when Pacey kissed her.

It's not that it was a bad kiss, but it was jarring, sending a jolt tingling down her spine as she pushed him back. Her mind had been solely focused on Dawson before that but since she could only focus on the effect Pacey's touch had had on her.

Shaking her head, she settled in her desk in her English class. A class she usually had with both Dawson and Pacey but the last few days it had been just her and Dawson.

At that moment Dawson sat at his desk, next to her, pulling his bag from his shoulder and placing it on the ground. "Hey Joey, how was your night?"

Yawning, she rubbed her eyes tiredly. "Alright, other than Alex keeping me up half the night. You?"

"Well, I was supposed to have a date with Jen, but I got a call from Mr. Oleson asking me to help cover Pacey's shift."

That threw Joey for a loop, her eyes settling on Pacey's empty desk. "Have you heard from him?"

"Pacey?" Dawson smirked shaking his head and pulling out his binder from his bag. "Not since the carnival. Besides he's probably playing hooky."

"Yeah." She reluctantly agreed, her eyes lingering on Pacey's desk as the teacher started talking.

-break-

Biting her lip Joey took a few more tentative steps toward the Witter property. She knew Dawson was probably right that Pacey was playing hooky, but she couldn't fight the nagging feeling she was missing something.

Walking up the drive Joey had to do a double take. There stood Gretchen Witter, talking on the phone next to the Wagoneer. It had been at least two years since she'd seen the older Witter sister but why was she here?

Gretchen's eyes caught hers and the look she saw in them sped up Joey's heart. "Hey Gretch."

"Joey hey…" The blonde stuttered nervously, turning back to her phone she added, 'Let me call you back.' before turning back to Joey. "Hey…what are you doing here?"

Squinting her eyes in question, Joey moved to step past Gretchen. "Pacey's been out for a few days. I was coming to check on him." Before Joey could reach the steps leading up to the house she was stopped by Gretchen's hand on her shoulder.

"Joey wait, he's not in there."

Those words stopped Joey cold, a shiver of fear running through her as she swiveled back to Gretchen. "Where is he?"

Gnawing at her lower lip, Gretchen sighed. "I told him I wouldn't say but you and Dawson are his friends, and you deserve to know. Pacey is at Capeside Memorial."

Joey's eyes widened in shock and fear, her heart skyrocketing to her throat. "Why?"

"Doug took him on Monday after he found him in his room, weak and unable to move. After they ran tests, they found…Gretchen stopped as tears pooled in her eyes. "They found…he has Leukemia."

Joey's eyes widened further, her hand covering her mouth in shock. "What?"

Read and review…if you want more. The next chapter of 'Heartache' is still in progress but this plot bunny couldn't be ignored.