Disclaimer - The title from this fanfic comes from a film . Doesn’t belong to me. Neither do the characters here that are shown in Dawson’s Creek, or the familiar scenes. They all belong to a load of executives in the US. To quote Joey, I’m ‘putting characters in contrived situations’ ! I hope you enjoy them!
Spoilers - OK, they’re all now 23. Joey and Dawson have finally got back together, and she’s pregnant with his child. This is 5 weeks after the last part, so she’s 11 weeks. They’re kinda living at his parent’s house, but she spends the occasional night at Bessie’s. Everything seems to be going perfectly, eh? Just wait!
Author’s Note - I hope you all had a really great Christmas. With any money you might have got, may I suggest you buy Goodbye by the Spice Girls? It rocks! OK, I’ll go now. Thanks for reading. E-mail me! Becci.Wooster@btinternet.com
Dawson woke to the sound of the toilet flushing. He smiled to himself, and got out of bed. He walked to the bathroom, and pushed the door open. Sure enough, Joey was there, washing her face.
"Hey, honey!" he said, turning her round and kissing her on the lips. "How are you feeling?" Joey grunted in response. "That bad, eh?"
"I hate all men. You especially!" she stated, walking back to his bedroom.
"Come on! The morning sickness will pass in the next few weeks!" Dawson pointed out.
"Too long. I’m being sick every half hour, and when I’m not doing that, I’m having to pee. Why do women choose to do this to themselves?"
"Because at the end of it all, you get a cute little baby," Dawson reminded her.
"Yeah, cute until it wakes up at four in the morning!" Joey exclaimed. "Don’t forget I’ve lived with a baby!"
"Well, much as I’d like to lose another argument, I’d better go and have a shower. I’m going to Boston. Are you sure you’ll be Ok spending the night at Bessie’s?" Dawson asked.
"She’s my sister! I’ll be fine!" Joey said, angry.
"OK, I’ll be round in the morning to pick you up, about 11," Dawson reiterated.
"Go!"
"OK. I love you. Both of you," Dawson said, smiling at the love of his life. They kissed quickly, and then he left to get ready.
Joey woke the next morning with a start. She looked at the clock. 8:37. It was the longest lie in she’d had for weeks. She got up, and put on her slippers and robe. She walked into the kitchen, where her 8 year old nephew and her brother in law were eating breakfast.
"Hey, Joey!" Bodie said, smiling at her. "How are we this morning?"
"Good. For once, good. What’s for breakfast?" she said, slightly confused.
"Breakfast? You must be feeling better!" Bodie joked. "What do you want? I’ll cook you anything," he offered.
"She can have coco flakes!" Alex insisted. Joey laughed, and sat down beside him.
"Thanks, but I think a black coffee and some bacon would be better," she explained.
"Be about 15 minutes," Bodie said, getting up and walking over to the fridge.
"Has Dawson called yet?" Joey asked. "He said he would before he left Boston."
"Yes, he rang about an hour ago," Bessie’s voice called. She entered the kitchen fully dressed. "How are you feeling, honey?"
"Fine. I haven’t been sick since yesterday morning and I didn’t get up at all during the night," Joey reported.
"Ah, the joys of the first few months," Bessie said.
"Yeah, but it’s weird, you know? Why has it all suddenly stopped?" Joey asked.
"Well, you’re eleven weeks, right?" Bessie asked.
"Yeah," Joey replied.
"Well, it should stop about now, so stop worrying, ok?"
"OK."
A few hours later, Dawson arrived at Bessie’s house. After more than twenty four hours, he wanted to see Joey. He used the key he had to open the front door, and walked into the living room. There was Joey, playing with Alex.
"Hey, gorgeous!" he said, making her head snap up.
"Hey yourself," came the reply. She got off the couch and walked over to him. She hugged him close, and he kissed her deeply.
"Ugh! Aunt Joey!" Alex cried from the couch. Dawson and Joey pulled apart, and flushed a light shade of pink.
"So, you look better today," Dawson ventured.
"Well, I’ve not been sick since yesterday morning for a start," Joey said. "Bessie says that it’s probably over."
"That’s good news. I don’t enjoy watching you be ill, you know?"
"I’ll go get my bag and tell Bodie that I’m going, OK?" Joey asked. Dawson nodded, and she left the room.
Joey smiled as she sat in the car. She was happy that Dawson was back. He’d gone to Boston on some big errand. He hadn’t told her why, but she assumed that his mother had asked for something. Suddenly, she felt a sharp pain in her abdomen. She winced, and groaned in pain. Dawson looked at her worriedly.
"Jo? What’s wrong?"
"I don’t know Dawson. Just get me home quickly please," she managed to say through gritted teeth. He increased the speed of the car, and they were at his house in a matter of minutes. As soon as the car stopped, Joey ran out of the car and into the house. She ran into the toilet, with Dawson following. She locked the door, and he waited outside, concerned. After a few minutes, she opened the door.
"What’s wrong, Joey?" he asked.
"Dawson, can you take me to the hospital please," she demanded.
"What? Why? Joey?" Dawson said, panicking.
"I’m bleeding, Dawson. I think we need to get to hospital," she explained.
Bessie, Bodie, Alex, Gail and Mitch all came racing through the doors of the hospital within a few minutes. Dawson had called both families on his mobile from the hospital, and they had all raced there immediately. After finding the right ward, they found Dawson sat on a chair in the waiting area.
"Dawson!" Gail Leery called out. He looked up, and hugged his mother when she reached him. Then Bessie hugged him.
"How is she?" Bessie asked.
"I don’t know," Dawson admitted. "The doctors took her in about an hour ago, and no one’s come to tell me."
"Try not to worry," Mitch said, sensing his son fears. "It’s probably nothing."
"You didn’t see how much pain she was in, Dad," Dawson pointed out. He ran his hands through his hair, and sat down again. Within seconds, a doctor walked up to the group.
"Mr Dawson Leery?" he asked. Dawson stood up and stepped forwards.
"That’s me," he said.
"Are these family members?" the doctor asked.
"Yes. Mine and Joey’s," Dawson replied.
"Would you like to come with me then?" the doctor asked. He led them to a small room. They all sat down expectantly, and the doctor proceeded to inform them of what was wrong. "I’m afraid that Josephine…"
"Joey," Dawson corrected. "Don’t call her Josephine. I have the scars to show why."
"OK…Joey…she’s had a miscarriage," the doctor said solemnly. Bessie let out a cry, and Gail hugged Mitch for comfort. Dawson sat forwards in his chair, his face blank.
"How is she?" Dawson asked.
"Physically, as well as can be expected. Emotionally, I don’t know. She’s asked for you. You can see her if you want."
"Yes please," Dawson replied.
Dawson took a deep breath as he reached the door to the room where Joey was. He gently pushed it open, and walked inside. Joey was lying on the bed, curled up, facing the wall. He walked slowly over to the bed, and sat in the chair beside it.
"Jo," he said softly, his voice higher than usual. She turned to face him, and seeing it was Dawson, she sat up in the bed. "Jo," he repeated.
"Hey, Dawson," she said. Her face was white, with red stains to prove she had been crying.
"Jo, I don’t know what to say."
"There’s nothing to say. 2 in 3 pregnancies end in miscarriage before the second trimester starts. We were just unlucky."
"Jo!" Dawson exclaimed, worried at her reaction. "The most important thing is that you’re ok. I love you, you know?"
"I love you too, Dawson."
After about another half hour of talking, a nurse came into the room and asked Dawson to leave, as Joey needed rest. He walked slowly out of the room, and into the small room where he knew everyone was waiting. Sure enough, when he opened the door, Gail and Bessie ran forward.
"How is she?" Bessie asked. Dawson looked at her face. She had been crying. So had his mother. Yet he and Joey hadn’t. Dawson ran his hands through his hair, and sat down.
"Same as when Clara died," he said, wrinkling his nose. It was true, he’d only ever seen Joey like this when her mother died.
"What do you mean?" Bessie asked.
"She quoted facts and statistics, and cut me out. When your mom died, she turned to me because I wasn’t grieving. Now, she’s on her own."
"well, do you think there’s anyone that she could talk to?" Gail asked, concerned for both Joey and Dawson.
"I don’t know…I hate seeing her like this!" Dawson said, standing up again.
"Pacey?" Mitch asked.
"No! Have you seen those two together? I’m not putting Joey through that!" Dawson pointed out.
"Dawson?" Bodie asked. "What about Jack Mc Phee?" Dawson turned to him as if he was mad. Jack had been a major factor in him and Joey breaking up when they were 15. The last thing Dawson wanted to do was push the two of them together again.
"Don’t look at me like that. I have his number in New York. He could be here tomorrow morning. He’s completely detached, and she’s close enough to him for her to be able to speak." Bodie looked at Bessie, who was smiling at his suggestion. Dawson sat back down again.
"I guess. Can you call him please? We didn’t exactly part on good terms," Dawson revealed.
"What’s that meant to mean?" Mitch asked. Dawson smiled.
"The last day of school, I punched him! He wound me up, and said that I wouldn’t be able to hurt him, so I punched him. Broken nose and a hell of a lot of blood! You should have seen his face." He looked up from the floor to discover everyone was looking at him, shocked. "Oh well, I’m gonna go call Pacey." He got up off the seat, and walked out of the room.
Pacey slammed the door shut. He had just driven for an hour to the hospital where his two best friends were. As soon as Dawson had called, he had left Capeside and raced to support them both. He walked into the reception. He gave the name Leery to the receptionist, and got directions to the ward they were on. Once there, another receptionist showed him to the room where everyone was. He took a deep breath before pushing the door open.
"Pacey!" Gail Leery said before coming forwards and hugging him.
"Hey, Mrs Leery," Pacey said when she finally let go. "Where are Dawson and Bessie?"
"Bessie’s in with Joey, and Dawson’s gone for some coffee," Gail explained. Pacey nodded, and sat down beside Bodie and Alex.
"Hey, Al!" he said. Alex looked up, and seeing Pacey, he smiled.
"Pacey! I lost another tooth on Wednesday!" he said proudly.
"Hey! You’re almost a grown up now!" Pacey told him. Alex had changed a lot since the days of the English Patient, and Pacey enjoyed spending time with him. Just then, Dawson entered the room empty handed. He saw Pacey, who stood up and walked over to him. After an awkward second, they hugged briefly.
"Hey, man!" Pacey said cheerfully, trying to lighten the mood.
"Dawson honey? Where’s your coffee?" Gail asked. Dawson looked down at his empty hands.
"I got to the machine and realised I didn’t want any," Dawson proffered as a reason.
"How are you?" Pacey asked.
"OK. Joey’s Ok too," Dawson said. Pacey looked at Gail and Mitch, who had identical expressions of concern on their faces. Dawson, who didn’t notice, went to sit down. At the same moment, Bessie walked through the door.
"Damn nurse asked me to leave," she explained. Then, she noticed Pacey.
"Pacey! You’re here!" she exclaimed before giving him a big hug.
"How’s Joey?" Dawson asked.
"Same as before. Told me the facts and figures. She mentioned Mom," Bessie remembered. Dawson looked up sharply. "She says it’s a good thing that you didn’t know the baby. She says that it doesn’t hurt unless you know the person."
"That’s bullshit!" Dawson shouted. "It hurts like hell, and she’s making it worse!" He stormed out of the room. Pacey looked at the door for a moment, then followed him.
Dawson got into his car, and shut the door behind him. He turned on the radio, and sat back in the driver’s seat. A few seconds later, the passenger door opened, and Pacey got in.
"Dawson, do you want to talk?" Pacey offered.
"I’m worried, Pacey. I’m scared. How is this gonna affect the way we are?"
"What do you mean?"
"Well, she came back to me because she was pregnant. She’s not anymore. Where does that leave us?"
"Come on, you know she loves you!" Pacey exclaimed.
"Do I? If she loved me, wouldn’t she speak to me? Can you imagine how she must be feeling right now? I’m the one she should be able to talk to, not Mc Phee."
"Jack?" Pacey asked shocked.
"Yeah, Bodie thought she’d be OK talking to him. But it’s our baby we’ve lost, you know? More than anything else, I want to hold her in my arms and tell her I love her."
"As I remember, that’s how she got pregnant!" Pacey joked. Dawson smiled.
"Plus, I left her at Bessie’s last night to go to Boston and buy this," Dawson said, reaching into his pocket and pulling out a jewellery box. Inside was a ring, with a small but perfect diamond. "I was gonna ask her to marry me today," Dawson revealed, his eyes filling with tears.
"Wow!" Pacey breathed.
"I know. And now Jack’s gonna come and ruin everything!"
"He shouldn’t. You know about him, don’t you?"
"What?"
"I can’t believe you don’t know! He and Jen met up when he moved to New York. They’re married, Dawson!" Pacey told his friend.
"Jen? And Jack?" Dawson stuttered.
"Yeah, about three years," Pacey said.
"Wow," Dawson said, wordless.
Jen Mc Phee followed her husband into the small room that they had been shown to. They had received a phone call yesterday lunchtime, and had come running back to Capeside. It was nine in the morning, but Dawson, Pacey and Bessie were all inside the room, waiting.
"Jen!" Dawson said, standing up to hug her. He was almost exactly like she remembered. It had been more than four years since she had last seen him.
"Hey, Dawson. I’m so sorry," she began.
"I know. Everyone is," he said wisely. He turned to Jack. "Hey. Thanks for coming."
"That’s all right. I’m Joey’s friend. I had to come. Just please don’t hit me!" he joked. Pacey walked up to Jen and hugged her, then shook Jack’s hand. "Hey, Bessie. You look wonderful, darling," Jack said in an English accent, making her smile. "How’s Joey?"
"Dawson spent the night in the room with her," Bessie explained. "Bodie, Alex and the Leery’s went home last night."
"She’s not really upset," Dawson explained. "Well, she is, but she’s not showing it. That’s why we hoped you’d be able to open her up."
"I’ll try," Jack said.
"Thank you," Dawson said sincerely. "Come on, I’ll take you to her." Jack followed Dawson out of the room and down the corridor to the small room where Joey was. Dawson opened the door. Joey was sat in bed, reading a magazine.
"Jo?" Dawson asked quietly. "I’ve got someone here who’d like to see you." Jack took this as his cue, and entered the room. Joey’s eyes lit up at the sight of her long lost friend.
"Jack!" she cried.
"Hey, Jo," he said, smiling. Dawson smiled at them both, and left the room, shutting the door behind him. He walked back into the waiting room.
"So, what’s been happening in your life?" Dawson asked Jen, smiling at how weird the question was. Bessie had left to go to the bathroom, and the two old friends were attempting to catch up.
"Well, I’ve been married about three years, and that’s pretty much it…" Jen explained. "There is one thing, but I don’t…."
"What?" Dawson asked, intrigued.
"I’ve found out that I’m pregnant, Dawson," Jen said slowly, biting her bottom lip. Dawson stared into space for a moment, then turned to her and smiled.
"That’s great, Jen. Really. Does Jack know?"
"Yeah, I told him yesterday, just before your phone call. I’m sorry, Dawson. It must be such a hard time for you," she started. Dawson shook his head.
"Don’t worry. I had a little moan to Pacey earlier, and now I’m just worried about Joey."
"How did you two… I thought you weren’t together anymore?" Jen asked, uncertain.
"We weren’t. After university, she moved to Boston and I stayed in Capeside. Then, she came back to tell me she was engaged to this guy Alistair. I told her I loved her, then she told me about him. She was angry with me, and one thing led to another and…" Dawson smiled at the memory of that night. "Next think I know, she’s on my doorstep in tears - she was pregnant and Alistair had kicked her out, ‘cause it wasn’t his."
"Wow. That beats my story," Jen said smiling.
"I knew things were going too well," Dawson said, staring at nothing. Jen paused for a moment before hugging him. He started to cry at last, letting the emotions flood out of him.
Jack pushed open the door of the waiting room. His stomach swirled with emotion. He had spent an hour and a half discussing his most personal thoughts with Joey. She had opened up to him, but he was now emotionally drained. He found himself being watched by three curious faces. Bessie, Jen and Dawson were all anxious to know how Joey was. Only Jen wanted to now how Jack was too. She stood up, with a look of concern on her face. She stepped forward, and he hugged her close to him, needing comfort. Eventually, she pulled away.
"Jack?" Dawson asked quietly. Jack looked at him, and saw pain in his ex-enemy’s eyes.
"She’s crying her heart out, Leery. You’d better go see her," he said. Dawson smiled his thanks, and rushed out of the room. Jack sank weakly into the nearest chair.
"Thank you so much, Jack," Bessie said gently. He just shook his head. He didn’t need to be thanked. It was the least he could do.
Joey sobbed even harder when Dawson appeared in the doorway. She’d been talking to Jack, and knew that Dawson would seek her out when he returned to the room. She’d confessed to Jack the pain she was feeling, the memories she had of her mother’s death, and the fear she had. The fear that she would now lose Dawson. He had persuaded her that Dawson loved her and wasn’t going anywhere. They needed to grieve together.
"Jo, don’t cry," Dawson commanded, tears forming in his eyes.
"I love you, Dawson," she confessed. He walked up to the bed, and hugged her. Her tears sunk through the thin material of his shirt. "I need you so much, it scares me!"
"I need you too, Joey. I love you more than anything, and I can’t stand to see you hurt. I promise that I’ll never do anything to hurt you." Dawson meant what he said. They would build a strong relationship, built on the fact they needed each other just as much as they needed to air they breathed.
It was the end of something simple, and the beginning of everything else…
OK! I know it’s soppy, but I’m in that kind of a mood!
Do you want me to continue? Is anybody out there reading any of this? Write and tell me. I promise I don’t bite.
