Dawson`s Creek: I`ll Be Home For Christmas

Part IV

Written By: LeeryAndPotter at LeeryAndPotter@hotmail.com

Disclaimer: Dawson, Joey, Pacey, Andie, Jack, Jen & Alex are the property of Kevin Williamson and the WB network. I’m not sure if I own Lillian, seeing as how she hasn’t been born yet on the show. I don’t own them, so please don’t sue. I do, however, own DJ. He’s my own creation.

Category: D/P friendship…with some D/J overtones. HA, you didn’t think I’d write non-D/J fic, did you?

Rating: PG-13, basically, if you can watch the show, you can read this.

Spoilers: Dawson and Joey finally run into Pacey after all these years. Bessie tells DJ what happened to his parents all those years ago. And, Drue shows up.

Editors Note: Sorry this part is so short. I had exams. Next part will be longer, I assure you.

DAWSON: (quietly)Umm…hi Pacey.

Pacey Witter just looks at him with an evil gleam in his eye. For the first time in over a decade, he comes face-to-face with his former best friend. And what does he say?

He just repeats himself.

PACEY: Dawson.

DAWSON: It’s been awhile.

PACEY: (bitterly)Don’t kid yourself, Leery. It’s been a decade.

DJ: Wait a minute. Dad…you know this guy?

PACEY: (quietly) Dad?

Pacey looks down at DJ, then looks over at Dawson.

PACEY: Guess I shoulda seen the resemblance.

DAWSON: DJ, this is Pacey Witter…an old friend.

PACEY: For lack of a better term.

Pacey turns to Joey.

PACEY: (bitterly)How ya doing, Potter? Oh…wait. It’s "Leery" now, isn’t it? My mistake.

Jack shows up, with Lily and Alex following him. He mouths a silent curse when he sees what is happening.

PACEY: Well…I’d like to say it was great seeing you two again…but it wasn’t. Have a nice life. Pacey starts to walk away, but feels something tugging on his pantleg. He looks down, and sees Katie looking up at him.

KATIE: Mister? Why ya being so mean?

Pacey doesn’t answer, he just walks away.

Cut to Potter’s B&B. Bessie gives her sister a big hug.

BESSIE: So, how’s the "Big Time New York Girl" doing?

JOEY: I’d be doing a lot better if you’d stop calling me that.

DAWSON: At least she doesn’t refer to you as "the big time movie guru".

BESSIE: I see the years haven’t taken away your charm, Dawson.

Dawson smirks.

Him and Joey go into the kitchen with Bessie and Bodie to talk.

Cut to later that night. DJ: Hey, aunt Bessie? Where’s mom and dad?

BESSIE: At your grandparent’s house. They still had a lot of catching up to do. They didn’t see them during the summer like when we went up to New York.

DJ: And Alex?

BESSIE: He’s over there too. He stays at the Leery house every night.

DJ: Good, because there’s something I wanted to talk to you about.

BESSIE: I’m listening…

DJ sits down in a chair.

DJ: I ran into someone today. And dad seemed to know him…but when I asked dad about it later, he told me it wasn’t important. Same with mom. So…do you know anything about Pacey Witter?

BESSIE: (quietly) Pacey…

DJ: Because I find it really strange that my parents know someone with the same name as me…and a very rare name at that…and have never told me about it.

BESSIE: Are you sure you want to hear this?

DJ nods his head "yes"

BESSIE: When your parents were teenagers, just a little older than you, they weren’t exactly what Capeside residents consider normal. They were sort of outcasts…your father because of his attitude, which some people considered outdated, and your mother because of her background.

DJ: I’ve heard about that.

BESSIE: Well, they had friends who were outcasts as well. There was Andie McPhee, who had mental problems. Jen Lindley, whose parents had sent her here because they didn’t want to have to deal with her, and Jack McPhee, who was the only gay guy in Capeside… She pauses.

BESSIE: And then there was Pacey Witter, their first friend. He’d known them almost as long as they’d known each other. He was sort of a comedian, very lighthearted and funny. His dad was the sheriff, but didn’t even give him the time of day. I actually think your parents raised him more than his own parents did. Actually, he was more friends with Dawson than with Joey. Him and Joey argued constantly, and always got on each other’s nerves. Dawson was always stuck in the middle. But…in their junior year of high school, Pacey started to have feelings for her.

DJ: (confused) W-wait a minute. You mean sophomore year, right? My parents told me they first got together during…

A shocked expression comes over DJ’s face, as he realizes what happened.

DJ: Oh…oh! Okay…mom and dad had a on-again, off-again relationship. I’d guess this was during the "off-again" phase, right?

BESSIE: Yeah…the last one. Your parents had a fight…a big one concerning my father. Suffice to say that it was traumatic for both of them. Dawson was scared that Joey would hurt him again, so he tried to stay away from her until he figured things out. But he still cared about her…so he asked someone else to look after her.

DJ: Let me guess…Pacey, right?

BESSIE: Dawson figured Pacey was the only person he could trust. Boy, was he wrong. Your mom was convinced he didn’t love her anymore, and stayed convinced of that for a long time. Then Pacey became interested in her, and it all went downhill from there…Your mom thought Dawson didn’t love her, so she decided to take Pacey up on his offer. And when Dawson found out, it was from a third party.

DJ continues to listen, hardly believing what he’s hearing.

BESSIE: By the time Dawson told her how he felt, it was too late. Your mom told me afterwards that wanted some sort of adventure while she was still young. So she left with Pacey for the summer, leaving Dawson alone… When they got back…that was something else. Dawson had matured so much over the summer, while they had stayed exactly the same. Pacey kept retreating into his insecurities, believing that Dawson was so much better than him…it’s almost as if he knew what was coming.

DJ: What do you mean? What happened?

BESSIE: Eventually, your parents repaired their friendship. More importantly, Dawson and Pacey repaired their friendship as well. Of course, this is probably because Dawson started to go out with his older sister.

DJ: (chuckles) This is starting to sound like a bad soap opera.

BESSIE: It gets worse… You see, seeing Pacey’s sister with Dawson brought back a lot of your mom’s old feelings for him. That, coupled with all their other issues, caused them to break up. Not long after that, Pacey’s sister moved away, leaving Dawson all alone… Then, on the senior trip…something happened…

DJ: What?

BESSIE: They didn’t plan it, it just happened. After everything they had been through, both together and apart, I think they just couldn’t hold it in anymore. DJ realizes what she’s talking about. He may be young, but not too young that he didn’t know what people who loved each other enough did. They had to have done it once for him to be born, of course. And another time for Katie. It was just a little uncomfortable to think of your parents…you know.

DJ: (quietly)Pacey didn’t take it too well, did he?

BESSIE: Horribly. He found out about it the worst possible way. Then he punched your father. And that was the last time he spoke to either of them.

DJ: Until this afternoon, that is. Thank you. I think I’m going to have a chat with dad tomorrow.

Cut to a restaurant. "Pure Gold" to be precise.

Dawson didn’t like fancy restaurants. Of course, that didn’t stop him from having to go there on meetings. Apparently every big-name actor or producer loves this stuff. Personally, Dawson couldn’t stand it. He would rather be eating a quarter pounder with cheese and drinking a chocolate milkshake than consume overcooked pasta and very, very cheap wine. The only reason he was there was because he was never allowed to be there when he was younger. It was for only the super rich. And now, well, he was the super rich. Unlike him, however, his wife didn’t like to keep her displeasure to herself.

JOEY: Okay, how much did we pay for this? No wonder no one ever paid me good tips when I worked here. The food is lousy.

DAWSON: Um…Jo. Could you keep it quiet, please. People are starting to stare. Besides, it could be worse.

JOEY: Worse, how could it possibly be worse.

A man with dark hair, a dark three-piece suit, and a mishevious smile sits down at their table.

MAN: I trust everyone is enjoying themselves?

JOEY: We’re fine, Mr…

MAN: You don’t remember me? I’m crushed, and after our memorable sojourn in the storage closet.

DAWSON: Drue Valentine…I should of known

. DRUE: Dawson Leery, famous filmmaker. What brings you to our litter nowheresville.

DAWSON: I have family here, remember?

DAWSON: And I see you’ve managed to tame little Joey, here. Probably works off all that excess anger these days, if you know what I mean.

Drue gestures, granting him an evil stare from Joey.

DAWSON: What are you doing her, Drue?

DRUE: I own this place…and I can throw you out with a snap of my fingers if you’re not nice to me. Now, I heard you’ve got kids these days. One of them’s 12, right. Correct me if I’m wrong, but you only graduated 14 years ago. Must have been pretty busy in College, right?

JOEY: That’s it. I don’t care if you throw me out of town, I’ve got a fist with your name on it.

DRUE: Do the words "law suit" hold any meaning for you, Mrs. Potter-Leery? Cause that’s what you’re gonna have if you lay a hand on me.

Drue grins, knowing that there’s nothing she can do to him.

DAWSON: Come on, Joey. Let’s head home.

They leave, leaving Drue standing there with a grin on his face.

DRUE: See ya around.

To Be Continued...

DJ confronts his parents about Pacey, then asks for Lily and Alex’s help in trying to fix things with them. Both Drue and his kids cause more trouble. Don’t miss it

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