Perfect by: Rachael

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Dawson arrived at the hotel about 1:30. He went to the front desk and picked up his key, since Andie was already there and had left a key for him at the front desk. He made his way to the room. He unlocked the door silently and pushed it open. Andie, who had obviously tried to wait up on him, was asleep on a perfectly made bed with all her clothes still on, including her shoes. He knelt down on the bed next to her. He smiled as he stared at her face, lit by moonlight coming through the window. She was so exquisite. He reached out with his hand, touched her face and smoothed her hair. She began to stir and slowly looked up at him. "Hi."

"Hi."

"How was your flight?"

"Okay, I guess. It was lonesome." She sat up and pulled him into her and they lay back together, both sitting up on there elbows looking at each other.

"Well, you don’t have to be lonely anymore." She kissed him on the forehead.

"I’m grateful for that." He was playing with her free hand in his own.

"Is Joey all right?"

"I’m sure she is now."

"Do I have to wait until tomorrow? Can’t you tell me what is going on now?"

"I suppose. Well, the big news tomorrow is that they are engaged, which I am sure that you already knew, since Pacey asked you about it before."

"Uh huh."

"Then, the unexpected happened, and Joey just sort of freaked out about it. She is pregnant!"

"That’s great. I bet they are so delighted."

"Yeah, they are. But be sure and act surprised tomorrow?"

"I will, I promise."

"Do you want to make me one more promise?"

"You name it."

"I know it seems a little premature, but promise me that no matter what is going on in our lives, that you will be by my side, that you won’t leave me."

"I promise that and so much more, Andie. I want you to be love you like you have never been loved before. I want you to feel like you have never felt before. I want you to be comfortable and safe. I want you to feel like you can talk to me about anything. If anything tries to stand in our way, it won’t work, because I will never leave you. I want you to feel all of those things and so many more that if I tried to list them all, we would be up all night."

"I already feel that way, Dawson." She leaned in and kissed him, this time without uncertainty. She leaned back and looked at him for a second, then kissed him again, this time not stopping. Even when they realized they probably wouldn’t stop until morning, they didn’t care. Tonight was about them, finding love again, finding each other, making each other promises never to be broken. Dawson knew his life would never be the same. After over a decade, he had finally gotten over Joey Potter and found a new love, a love that was there all along. He just hadn’t seen it. Now, he did.

Joey woke up from a pleasant dream. She looked down to see his arm protectively draped over her stomach. He was so happy. She knew it, she had known it all along. She really didn’t know why she freaked out the way she did. Maybe it was just the hormones, but she was glad that Andie had been there to support her. She hoped that tonight would go well. The four of them, together for a few days. Andie had said that she would talk Dawson into staying and extra night so they could all spend more time together. Jack, Doug and Amy couldn’t make it. They said when they agreed to become partners with Pacey that they didn’t fully understand the responsibilities of running a popular restaurant AND raising a one year old baby. Now, they refused to leave. She laughed at the concept. She thought about Dawson and Andie. It had seemed a bit strange at first, the two of them together as a couple. But, when Joey had seen her friend, she knew it was for real, that they really felt something for each other. Her mind drifted back to Pacey and their baby. He was going to be such a good father. She and Andie had decided to do some wedding planning while she was in town. They had decided on the end of April. It would just be warm enough for an outdoor wedding. Sure, Joey would be pretty big by then, but she would manage. They agreed to go dress shopping for a few hours the following day, while the boys did some male bonding. Since it was November, the doctor had said she was about 2 months along and that her stomach would begin to take shape soon. In about 2 more months, they could go back and learn the sex of their baby if they wanted to. Joey was thinking she wanted it to be a surprise. Pacey suddenly moaned and tightened his grip around her.

"How is my little family doing this morning?" he said, waking.

"We are fine. We would be even better if you made us some breakfast." She tickled him slightly.

"Well, yes, ma’am!"

"You wouldn’t want the two dearest things to you in your life to starve to death, now would you?" She made a pouty face. He couldn’t resist that. He leaned over and kissed her stomach, then back up and kissed her forehead as he crawled out of bed.

"What would you like, future Mrs. Witter and Little Witter?"

"French toast with ice cream and some pickles."

"Aw, gross, Jo," He stuck his tongue out at her.

"Hey, pregnant women have cravings."

"I know. All right, princess, I am off to make breakfast."

She smiled from ear to ear as she stretched out in the bed. Life is amazing, she thought. She was so lucky. She looked around at her apartment. This is way too small for a baby! They would have to think of getting a bigger place. She really didn’t want to raise a baby in New York, either. Maybe they could think about relocating. She would talk to Pacey about it after breakfast.

"Hey, Pace?" Joey was curled up on the couch in a blanket.

"Mmhm?" he leaned his out from the kitchen where he was washing the dishes.

"What do you think of moving?"

"Why would we move, Jo?"

"Well, I just think a house would be a more suitable for a baby."

"You’re probably right. Where were you thinking?"

She didn’t want to say it. She knew he was going to freak out. After all that moving he had just done, she wanted to move back to the place he had just came from.

"Jo?" he called to her, since she was taking so long to answer.

"Yeah....."

"Are you gonna tell me?"

"Promise you won’t get mad?"

"I never get mad at you."

"Okay, I was thinking maybe we should move back to Capeside...."

"WHAT!!" she covered her ears as he practically screamed.

"I’m sorry, Pace, I just miss it and that would be a perfect place to have a family."

"Jo, I am not mad at you, I am sorry I yelled. It’s just that, I JUST came from there. I sold my restaurant. My stuff is on its way."

"I know, it just makes things more complicated. But, what if we waited until the new restaurant was finished, you could hire someone to work, then we could move. It’s only going to take a few more months, right? The baby isn’t coming until May, so we have time." She made another pouty face at him. For some reason, it looked even cuter now that she was pregnant.

"Jo..... I um....." He couldn’t find the words. He just stood there and grinned at her. "Oh, all right. But you know, now we have even more stuff to do."

"I know, but it will be quite all right as long as I have you by my side." She couldn’t help but lean over onto his chest and hug him tightly. "Just think, now that you have Jack and Doug as partners and we will all be living in the same town, you will have more time to spend with me and the baby."

"Well, since you have failed to tell Bessie yet," he eyed her, "I guess we should go house hunting and pay a visit to her and Bodie in a few weeks."

"Sounds great."

"Okay, love." He kissed her and she laid all the way down in his lap and started to drift off to sleep.

Dawson slowly awoke from the first sound sleep he had in a long time. He blinked and looked over at the figure lying next to him. He blinked again to make sure he wasn’t dreaming, then smiled and reached over and stroked her face. She had been lying on her back, when he touched her, she turned on her side and slid her arm across him. Last night had been astounding. They had talked a lot, about lots of things. They had made love numerous times. He had never felt like that before, not even with Joey. They had fallen asleep about 5 that morning, exhausted from the night’s events. He decided to get up and get them both some breakfast before she woke up. As he stood, she reached for him and he put a pillow quickly in his place. She smiled in her sleep as she nuzzled it. He chuckled quietly and retreated to the bathroom.

He brought back every kind of breakfast food he could think of, not sure of what she would want. He made his way back into the room where she was still soundly sleeping on the bed. Pulling a chair up to the table, he began arranging everything. Sure that the aroma would eventually wake her, he tried to hurry and make everything just right, including the placement of the flowers he had even brought back for her. Sure enough, she began to stir. She sat up, dreamy-eyed, and just looked around.

"Oh, Dawson, you didn’t have to do all this."

"I wanted everything to be perfect."

"It already was." She moved over and sat in his lap, kissing him delicately.

"Plus, I was hungry." He poked her in the rib with his finger.

"Well, me, too," She said trying to swallow a bite while she laughed.

"What shall we do today, before we go to Pacey and Joey’s this evening?"

"I could really just stay here all day long." She stretched out in his lap and faked sleeping.

"We can do that for a while. But, I have never actually seen the sites of New York, and I know you haven’t either. I figured we could do it together. You know, our first great experience together....."

"If you insist, but I had other plans for us, I want you to know," she kissed his ear seductively.

"There will be plenty of time for that," he said, returning the gesture.

"Well, let me get ready, and then we will be off to see the city."

"Okay, honey." He kissed her one more time as she bounded off to the bathroom.

Later that afternoon, Joey was fluttering around the apartment waiting on Andie and Dawson. Pacey hadn’t come home from work yet. She had been really surprised at his reaction to her wanting to move back to Capeside. But, it was their hometown, after all, and the perfect atmosphere to raise a baby in. Even though they had both desperately tried to escape it after high school, they both loved it dearly.

The buzzer suddenly buzzed and yelled, "Joey, it’s me Andie, let me in, it’s pouring down rain!"

I hadn’t even noticed it was raining, she thought to herself as she pushed the button that allowed the door to open. "Hey," she said cheerfully as Andie stepped in from the rain, drenched.

"Hey, Jo."

"Where’s Dawson?"

"Oh, he’ll be along in a bit, he said he had one more thing to do ‘alone’”.

"I see." Joey knew that if Dawson had said that he wanted to be alone he was probably up to something.

"Anyway, how are you feeling?"

"Fine, aside from being sick a little in the morning."

"That’s good."

"I am so glad that we are all going to be together for the next few days, it’s going to be so awesome."

"I know, feels like old times."

"Almost." Joey said sadly, and Andie knew she was talking about Jen.

"I wish she was still here, too, Jo."

"Okay, on to a happier note..." Joey tried to sound light-hearted as she walked into the kitchen. "I am going to be pretty big by the time of the wedding, so I was thinking along the lines of a simple dress, maybe like silk."

"That sounds good. We will try and hunt one down tomorrow. Are we still planning on having this little shindig in Capeside?"

"Yes, and I almost forgot. Pacey and I have decided to move back there."

"That’s great, but why? It’s lovely here."

"Well, I love here, but I really love it in Capeside and it just seems like a more suitable place to raise a child. You know?"

"I think you are exactly right, Potter."

Just, then the buzzer buzzed again. "Hey girls, it’s Dawson, let me up please?" They both burst out laughing, knowing that he was probably soaked by the rain. Joey pushed the button once more. When he came in, he seemed to be more drenched than Andie had been. Of course, knowing she would hate him for it, he immediately hugged Joey tightly.

"Dawson!" she jumped back from the water on him being so cold.

"Sorry, Jo, I couldn’t resist." He turned and kissed Andie for an instant to say hello.

Joey noticed that both of them seemed so happy. "Excuse me?" Joey cleared her throat to break them apart.

"Where’s Pacey?" Dawson casually scanned the apartment making sure his friend wasn’t there.

"He’ll be here in a bit, just had some finishing touches to tell the builders about the restaurant. Drinks?" She trotted off to the kitchen.

"Whatever you have...." Dawson really wanted a beer, but was scared she would be upset because she couldn’t have one, so he didn’t ask.

"We have beer, coke, tea, water and orange juice," she smiled at the thought of Pacey making the fresh orange juice a few mornings ago.

"Will it bother you if I have a beer?"

"Not at all, Dawson. Why would it?" Little did she know that he already knew she was pregnant.

"No reason!" Dawson replied abruptly.

"Tea for me!" Andie interrupted. Joey went about her business making the drinks while Andie gave Dawson a keep your mouth shut look.

"So, what is all this special news that you have tonight?" Dawson wondered if he could get anything out of her while Pacey wasn’t there.

"All in good time," she gave him a mocking grin.

"Okay, Joey, first of all, I already know that you are engaged because Pacey asked me about it before he asked."

"Oh, really? And what exactly did he say?"

"He just called and asked me how long I thought he should wait before proposing to you, that’s all. I knew that he would do it soon. So you see, I already knew."

"All right, but that doesn’t mean I am telling you anything else until he gets here." As if on cue, the door opened and Pacey stepped in. He looked up to see them all staring at him as if expecting him to make a speech or something.

"Speak of the devil," Dawson said.

"Hey, man."

"Now that you are here, can we hear all this news you guys have got?"

"I suppose if Joey is ready to tell you. Hey, Andie." He hadn’t said hi to her before since Dawson seemed to be anxious. She just nodded at him, waiting silently for the conversation to continue.

"Jo?" Pacey turned and started walked toward her. He kissed her on the forehead, then on the stomach, forgetting about the other two people in the room.

"Well, since Pacey has just pretty much given it away and Andie already knows, I guess it’s time you know, Dawson. I’m pregnant."

"Joey, that’s great." He moved over and hugged her. "I am so happy for you, really."

"Thanks. Oh yeah, something else, too. I had just told Andie right before you got here, so she didn’t have a chance to tell you. We’re going to move back to Capeside."

Dawson looked sort of stunned. Didn’t Pacey just come from there?

"Why?"

"Let me, Jo." He motioned for her and Andie to finish what they were doing in the kitchen. "Well, because a two bedroom apartment in the middle of New York really isn’t the best place to have a baby."

"But Pace, you just came from there and we have made our whole lives sound like we never wanted to go back. Now you’re just going to move back there?"

"Dawson, as much as we try to deny it, Capeside is our home. It always has been, no matter where we move off to or how long we stay away, it always leads us back there."

"You know, you’re probably right."

"And even though we thought our lives were royally screwed for growing up there, they weren’t. Jo and I think it is the most suitable place we will find to raise our family."

"Yeah, you’re probably right about that, too," Dawson laughed as he went over and enveloped his best friend in a hug. "That sounds great, Pace. When are you leaving?"

"Oh, not for a few more months, the restaurant still isn’t finished and I have to find someone to work there, too."

"Yeah, and I think the girls are planning to do a lot of wedding planning between now and then..." Pacey noticed Dawson staring into the kitchen and looking affectionately at Andie.

"Do you love her?"

Surprised at Pacey’s question, Dawson stood there for a few minutes without answering. "Yeah, I think I do." He turned and grinned at Pacey, who was grinning back.

"Does she know?"

"If you mean have I told her? No. But, I think she knows." The two made their way into the kitchen to help. Dawson walked over to Andie and kissed her on the forehead. She just smiled up at him in the same affectionate way he had her a few moments ago. Pacey walked up behind Joey and wrapped his arms around her, cradling her belly. They finished making some drinks and snacks and went into the living room. Thy watched movies all night and laughed and talked. They reminisced about old times and about some of things they wanted to happen in the future. Now, at the age of 25, it was as if they were 16 years old again, only more grown up this time. Pacey let Andie and Dawson sleep on their pull-out couch bed. Joey had already fallen asleep in his lap, so he carried her to bed. They had so much ahead of them. A baby. A marriage. Two great friends who were falling in love with each other. Remembering that he had broken up with her their senior year because he accused her of trying to change him and told her he wasn’t good enough for her, he now felt like he was. He felt like everything in his life was finally perfect..........

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