. Summary: Her choice changed everything, EVERYTHING! (Remember the season 4 promos when they played Madonna and had a lot of sad faces, yeah that's what I mean) What if one night did the trick? If you don't get my promo like summary let me elaborate, it's mid-season 4 minus all the P/J goo. Near the end of junior year Dawson and Joey get back together and then break up and I think the rest is pretty self-explanatory.  Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Epilogue

Pushing against the door lightly he peeked his head through the opening glancing around the empty B&B. "Joey?" He called out heading towards her room. 

She rummaged through her drawers looking for something simple that fit realizing it was extremely disrespectful to spend the day at Dawson's house in her husband's boxers. "Hey Jo," he said stepping into the room, "you left so quickly I didn't get to-."

She glanced over him her face falling slightly as she shook her head, "Oh, I'm sorry I just really needed to change into something clean." 

Chuckling lightly Pacey wrapped his arms around her waist cuddling his face into the crook of her neck, "If I knew you were going to take all my clothes I wouldn't have leant them to you." 

Tilting her head absently to give him better access she smoothed her hands over his, "Well if you just give me a chance I'll change and get them back to you." 

He smiled against her skin as he lightly tickled her soft skin with his lips, "But then we'd be skipping the fun part." 

Jumping out of his embrace she shook her head, "Pacey we can't do this it's wrong!" 

He furrowed his brows, "Since when was sleeping with your wife wrong?" 

"Since we started doing it," she responded. He took her hand bringing it to his lips kissing the palm of her thin gold wedding band. Dragging his lips across her hand he gently trailed kisses up the inside of her arm. "Pacey," she moaned. Stopping at the crook of her elbow he entwined his fingers through her silky hair. Cupping his face with her hand she shook her head, "We really need to stop acting on this inexplicable sexual attraction." 

Her eyes melted in his as her other hand ran up his chest, "Definitely," he nodded his lips teasing hers, "maybe tomorrow," he finished before capturing her lips. 

"Hey Jo, I've got some old 80's movies that I think will be-," Dawson trailed off standing in awe in the doorway. 

Pacey jumped back his hand coming to his lip as he settled on the other side of the room, "I was just going." 

"No you two were obviously in the middle of something, and clearly I'm the third wheel in this scenario so I should get going," Dawson said bitterly throwing the video cassettes to the ground. 

"Dawson wait." 

~*~ "Enjoying the sites provided by the beautiful River Seine?" Joey asked easing herself onto the swing next to him. 

"Well the le swings sets seemed so appealing at this time," he shrugged his attention directed towards the small gravel below his feet. 

"That was rather redundant you know," she teased tightening her grip on the rusty chains to balance her position. "I mean technically 'le' is the French word for 'the' which means you just said the, the swing sets." 

"Merci beau coupe Mademoiselle Josephine," he grunted allowing the tiny pebbles to crunch under his weight. 

She sighed looking out over the glistening water of the harbor, a few small sail boats bobbed along the gentle waves their hulls brushing against one another periodically creating a steady clanking purr. Tilting her head towards him she pursed her lips, "I've been really bad at this friend thing lately haven't I?" 

He stole a quick glance of her before redirecting his gaze to his shoes before he nodded slightly, "Some would say that." 

She let out a soft chuckle as she subtly shook her head, "You know in my vast journey this past year to not hurt you I've seemed to have hit the mother load of cruel and unusual punishment." 

He bit back his lip singing slightly brushing a golden lock from his forehead, "Don't let me stop you." 

"Sometimes I wish we could just relive this school year, you know think a little harder, make the right decisions, avoid alcohol at all costs." 

He shook his head finally looking up but out on the soft blue sky that seamlessly transitioned to the rocking waves, "Somehow I think we'd still be right here, in this same situation." 

She nodded solemnly, "Yeah, fate has a funny way of biting you in the ass." 

The warm summer breeze enveloped their silence as she swung on her swing in a slow melodic rhythm watching the newly bloomed leaves blow softly on their branches. "He really likes you, you know," Dawson finally mumbled. 

"He likes the fact that I have breasts, I don't think it really goes past that," Joey corrected him. 

"I've seen the way he looks at you Jo," Dawson sighed. "And I think today I finally was struck with that realization." 

Joey furrowed her brows twisting her swing to face him, "What do you mean by that?" 

He shrugged as he watched a man walk past them along the sidewalk a little girl rested on his shoulders feasting on a large puff of cotton candy. "When we all found out that you were pregnant with his baby it never really hit me, I mean I realized that you were having a baby but I could never grasp how you got that way. The thought of you and Pacey ever sharing something so intimate could never become a reality to me." He ran his hands up the chains feeling the rough rusty metal below his smooth palms, the friction soothing. "I guess the fact that I knew it was some drunken meaningless thing helped me in my quest to erase it from my memory and I never really felt threatened." 

"So when did that change?" 

"The fact that I couldn't be the one for you. The fact that you took his hand instead of mine. All my life I was the one who could always be there for you, to soothe away your tears when your mother died, to tease away your insecurities of puberty, and to comfort you during all your injuries. And I mean I tried I really did to prove to you that I was the one who was best qualified to assist you through this but no matter what I did he could do something better. You two had something suddenly that I couldn't change no matter what." 

She searched his eyes, "What?" 

"A family Jo, you two were suddenly a family," he shook his head returning his attention back to the water. "This one night I came over to make you tea and help you study and I don't know something noble and chivalrous but he was already there. His head was resting there on your stomach your hands woven through his hair both sleeping peacefully and I realized I couldn't take that away." 

"Dawson you've always been my family, when my mom was gone, when my dad was incarcerated you were the one who was there for me, always." 

"When you guys got married I still didn't feel overly threatened you know because I figured it was more of an obligation. I would have asked you to marry me after we graduated college Jo, you know that right?" She nodded somberly at the pact they always seemed to have had. "That's the main reason I broke things off between us because I knew that we would spend the rest of our lives together and we needed to know how to live as individuals before we could take that step. That's why I wasn't upset when I found out." 

"Could've fooled me," she said sarcastically. 

He chuckled, "Okay so that's why I didn't pull a wooden post from the ground and run it through my heart, because I didn't think that it was anything past the vows you shared or the rings you wore. I just figured it was some legal right of passage to have a child together." He rocked his swing back picking up momentum as he swung back and forth. "But when I heard you talking to Jen this morning, when I saw you two kissing in your room I realized that there were other people out there who could fill that void in your life, that void in your heart that I thought only a soul mate could fill. You know that small part of me that always felt that no matter what I had some sort of ownership of your heart." 

"Well first loves always seem to steal a small part away." 

Stopping his movement he twisted his swing to her, "And thus ends the dramatic saga of Dawson and Joey." 

Twisting her lips into a smile she shook her head, "The romantic love story of two star crossed lovers, yes. But the sordid chapter of their lifelong friendship is just beginning." 

The silence fell between them again as he sat slumped on the seat twisting left and right his hands hanging loosely at his sides. His heart clenched in his chest as he met her eyes again. "I love you Joey," he said smiling weakly. 

"I love you too, Dawson." 

~*~

"Miss Lindley would you like to join me on a romantic row boat journey?" Pacey asked resting in the wooden boat the oars rocking in his hands as the water swooshed around them. 

Jen smiled resting on her dock as Pacey rolled out the puppy dog lip. "How could I refuse such a generous offer?" She shrugged stepping into the rowboat. "But between you and I, I think this little relationship we share is far too sibling oriented to make anything romantic." 

"True, because if this thing was anything but platonic I would have jumped you years ago," he joked helping her into a sitting position in front of him. 

"Besides I heard that you may be more married then any of us thought." 

Clenching his teeth he brought in a breath of air creating a sizzling noise, "That's gotten around already?" 

"The glowing bride herself," Jen teased. Watching Pacey fiddle with the oars nervously she tilted her head to him searching the embarrassed expression that played across his face. "So when exactly did you start with this unrequited love affair?" 

"Far too long ago for my own good," Pacey grunted as he rowed the boat away from the dock. "And you know I should rightfully be able to claim that I won right? But wrong because I may get her body but her soul will forever be wrapped around another certain person we both know." 

"Have you ever expressed for a desire outside of anything physical?" 

"You know I would, if I didn't have this pending fear that if I ever did express any non-platonic feelings that I would lose the little physical intimacy we have going on." 

Jen leaned in further giving him a knowing look as she rested her elbows on her thighs, "Do you really want to engage in the physical intimacy you have when you think you're making love and she thinks you're just screwing around?" 

He sighed painfully, "It's better then nothing right?" 

"You ever think maybe she feels something too?" She asked thoughtfully. 

Bringing the boat to a stop they lolled gently in the creek, resting the oars along the edge he ran a frustrated hand through his hair, "Dawson walked in on us this morning." 

Jen flinched, "That can't be good." 

Pursing his lips he nodded violently, "Good it was not." 

"So what exactly happened after that?" 

"I'm not really sure," he said chewing on the inside of his lower lip. "Dawson left, Joey followed, I moseyed on over here and now I'm sitting in a row boat with a gorgeous blonde." 

"Obviously your predicament didn't end tragically," she teased, "but I can see where the confusion could play in." 

"Confusion? I think I understand the Joey and Dawson dynamic much better then you could seeing as I grew up around it." 

"But you can't seem to comprehend the fact that you're the one that she's sleeping with, it's your wedding band that she's wearing," Jen emphasized. "And let's not forget that little bundle of joy that she's carrying in the oven that you're responsible for." 

Pacey nodded, "I see what you're getting at but I'm not quite sure I follow your point." 

"Pacey, she likes you more then you think." 

Twitching his nose he thought for a moment, "You think?" He asked, his mouth twitching with a threatening smile. 

"I know." 

~*~

Greeted by two arms locked around his neck and a pair of lips smothering his he grinned slightly against her clanking teeth as his arms wrapped around her waist. "I feel like I'm being used Josephine," he mumbled against her lips. 

"Why is that?" She muttered back her lips still sliding against his. 

"I don't get any greetings, I don't have to use the sweet talk, what is all of this for?" 

She broke away hunger in her eyes as she pulled his shirt off over his head, "This is to make up for earlier. Remember we were doing something like this," her lips traveled over his broad chest as her hands massaged his shoulders, "and then this whole drama ensued and I sort of left you there." 

Running his hands along her waist he couldn't help but smile at her movement, "Yes I think that rings a bell." 

"Well after clearing things up," she continued smoothing her lips over his neck, "I spent the rest of the day thinking of a way to make things up to you." 

"And this was your solution?" 

She tilted her head catching his blue gaze, "Well it was this or chocolates," she said with seductive eyes. 

"Mmm, chocolate sounds good," he moaned capturing her lips again. She giggled pressing her body hard against him as her tongue slid across his. Pulling away he smoothed his hands down her long silky arms, "Slow down, slow down," he muttered leaning his head against hers. 

"What is it?" She asked nipping at his lips. 

He stared into her eyes for a moment searching the deep gray waves. He hated the fact that he couldn't read them, couldn't understand how she felt, all he knew was that he wanted her and by some strange chance she wanted him. Shaking his head he cupped her face between his soft palms, "Nothing," he mumbled before kissing her again. 

~*~

Stroking the long length of her bare back he could feel the light pulse of her breathing against his chest along with the subtle fluttering of her eyelashes tickling him slightly. Lacing her fingers between his he placed soft kisses along her knuckles wrapping his other arm around her sleeping form. 

He couldn't explain this feeling he had for her but he could pinpoint it to the moment that they were 15 and he saw her in a new light. When he saw the autumn sun dance across her bare bronze back after hunting for snails and nearly dying of hypothermia. He had yearned to smooth his hands down the long length to feel her ease into his touch and from that moment on he was hooked. 

Then there was the inevitable rejection, the first time he had expressed his interest in her only to be left out in the cold. Putting any feelings on hold he sat back and watched the whole Dawson and Joey drama unfold while he found his own romantic conflict. He had loved Andie, but only in an innocent first love effect. He wasn't infatuated with her as he was with Tamara, or as smitten as he was with Joey but she filled the void in his life and helped him grow as a person. The worst lesson she taught him however was that love wasn't always enough. After she had cheated on him he never quite mended his broken heart rather swearing off women while he focused his attention on school and work. 

Then Joey and Dawson were over and Dawson was moving on. Him and Joey seemed to form a bitter club, sitting around sulking while engaging in their patented banter and he fell all over again. Nuzzling his nose into her silky hair he kissed it softly the words escaping his lips barely above a whisper, barely filling the air around them. The words were so strong however they were nearly tangible, "I love you."