Part 4
Blown Away
Disclaimer: Dawson, Joey, Pacey, Jen and all other Dawson's Creek characters are the proporty of Kevin Williamson and the WB. I don't own them, so please don't sue.
Rating: PG-13. If you can watch the show, you can read this.
Spoilers: You know what happened in season 1 of Dawson's Creek. Of how Dawson Leery was oblivious to the fact that his long-time best friend, Joey Potter, was in love with him. You know of how Dawson dated Jen Lindley, while his other friend Pacey pursued his English teacher, Tamara Jacobs. But what if some avents had happened differently? I am the Watcher(KIDDING…lol…sorry, in-joke, nevermind). Anyway, in this story, something happened at the end of the pilot episode to change the course of the entire series. What happened? Just wait and see.
Editors Note: I'm trying something different this time around. I usually write in script format, but I thought I'd try narrative this time. It's a little experiment for a fic I might co-write in the future. Hope you like it.
It was a dark and stormy night…literally.
Hurricane Chris was approaching Capeside, the largest storm in years, and the entire town was almost at a standstill.
Meanwhile, the would-be ‘star-crossed couple’, Dawson and Joey, were in Dawson’s room…doing what they always did to pass the time.
Watch movies…
Dawson shut off the movie as the end credits started to roll.
“Well, so much for Twister.” he told his companion. “What's next?”
Joey lifted up a new video, smiling.
“I vote for the ‘Poseidon Adventure’” she announced.
“Yeah, but "Towering Inferno" has a higher body count” Dawson argued.
“They just burn,” she retorted. “In ‘Poseidon Adventure’, the deaths are much more interesting because everything's upside down.”
Dawson shrugged his shoulders. Then, checking his watch, he noticed the time…
“It's time,” he informed her “Let's see if our disaster movie séance worked.”
Dawson turned towards the television, switching on a news station.
On the screen, a local weatherman was informing the public regarding Hurricane Chris.
“Good evening from the Weather Centre, where we continue to track the progress if Hurricane Chris.” he informed them. “It's gaining momentum as it heads up the coast, there are warnings for several local areas and even school cancellations. Local officials have gone ahead and cancelled classes for tomorrow in Yormith, North Flama, and Capeside.”
At that moment, both Dawson and Joey had excited looks on their faces. Grinning, they slapped five.
Dawson then grinned at her.
“Oh, whatever shall we do with no school?” he asked, sarcastically.
“I’m sure we can think of something,” Joey answered, mischievously.
But then, Dawson’s mood suddenly changed. Looking at the television, Joey saw why.
On screen now was Gale, with her co-anchor, Bob.
Dawson’s eyes narrowed.
“Well, Bob, it looks like tomorrow would be a good day just to stay in bed.” Dawson’s mother suggested on the TV.
“You've got that right, Gale.” Bob answered.
Dawson shut off the TV in a rage.
“You ok?” Joey asked him, putting her hand on his shoulder.
“No” he answered, quietly. “This can’t be happening.”
Joey bit her lip.
“If it’s any consolation,” she said. “I know what you’re going through.”
Dawson stared at her with sad eyes.
“Thanks, Jo,” he replied. “I just…I don’t know what to think. I mean…you’ve seen my parents. This…just took me completely by surprise.
They paused for a moment. Then, Joey took his hand.
“Does your mom know you know?” she asked him.
“No” he replied.
“Your dad?” she asked again.
“Completely clueless” he told her. “I mean, what could I say. I…don’t know…”
Dawson laughed to himself.
“It’s funny,” he continued. “Just a few weeks back, I complaining how I wanted my life to have more conflict…”
“Conflict is over-rated, isn’t it?” she asked him, then paused for a moment. “We, uh, still haven’t talked about us, you know? ‘Us’ us.”
Dawson sighed.
“I’ve decided everything's in my life is postponed because of the hurricane” he told her. “Us included.”
“Your life is a hurricane” she corrected him. “Complete with the flying trees and collapsing roofs.”
“Gee, thanks,” he commented, bitterly.
Joey grabbed her bag and headed towards the window.
“Later,” she said.
Dawson rose off the bed and headed towards her.
“Joey, wait,” he called.
He walked up to her and gave her a small kiss on the forehead.
She smiled at him.
“What was that for?” Joey asked.
“Just to let you know I haven’t forgotten,” he answered.
Then he smiled at her.
*****
Pacey and Jen walked down the beach, the sky above them a bright red.
“That doesn’t look good,” Jen commented. “Hey, you want to wait out the storm with Grams and me?”
“No can do, Lindey,” Pacey informed her. “Deputy Doug wants me to help out his ‘hurricane watch’, and dear old dad just couldn’t say no.”
Jen looked at him strangely.
“Hurricane watch?” she asked. “What’s that?”
“Boring is what it is,” Pacey replied. “Me and Dougie go door to door to see if anyone’s forgot to lock the windows. Tell me something. If this hurricane’s supposed to be dangerous, why am I going to be out there too? I’ll tell you why…”
“Oh, here it comes,” Jen quipped. “Another conspiracy theory of how your father’s planning to get rid of you? Maybe he’ll just send you to the big city to live with your grandparents because you’re not acting like a ‘good little girl’”.
Pacey laughed at that last comment.
“I don’t think dad has a problem with a boy of his acting like a ‘good little girl’, if you catch my drift” Pacey said with a grin.
That’s when the wind started to pick up.
“You’d better get home where it’s safe,” he warned her. “I’ll see you later.”
They kissed, and then both went their separate ways.
*****
A few minutes later, Pacey(now accompanied by his older brother Doug), walk along the very same beach he was earlier with Jen.
“Explain again why you can’t do this alone?” he asked his brother.
“Quit your whining!” Doug complained.
“You get paid for this, I don’t,” Pacey rationalized. “School’s out, so I’d much rather be sleeping, catching up on my soaps…enjoying the storm. That sort of thing.”
“Don’t blame me, little brother,” Doug replied. “Dad’s orders.”
“Dad's orders?” Pacey asked mockingly. " You say that with such a lapdog enthusiasm, Dougie. You know, most people stop being at their folks beck and call after they move out of the house.”
“One more word out of you, and…” Doug warned.
“Ouuuu…” Pacey mocked again. “I’m shaking in my widdle boots.”
“Screw you” Doug snapped.
Pacey started to laugh at his uniformed brother.
“Dougie, let me explain something to you,” he started to lecture. “One of these days, you're going to have to control these hostile emotions. Now, I understand that you need to project your self-hate on the nearest target, but I don’t think it’s healthy. Just learn to accept your true homosexual desires, and you’ll be ok.“
Doug gave him a cold stare with that last remark.
“Just because I'm pretty, doesn't mean I'm gay,” he informed him. “I happen to be the straightest guy I know.”
“God help us all,” Pacey quipped. “I would think your CD collection would contradict that. Barbara Streisand, the soundtrack to Les Mis…”
Doug pointed an accusing finger at him.
“I have an interesting and soft complexity,” he said. “Pay attention, you might learn something.”
Pacey put his hand on his shoulder in mock-compassion.
“You don't have to defend yourself to me,” he said with a grin. “I'm on your side. I just want you to live a happy and, fruitful life. Though, if you’re as ‘straight’ as you claim, why choose a profession that requires you to dress like one of the Village People?”
“I am not gay, Pacey!” he said one final time. “Get used to it.”
They continue walking towards the first house.
“Riiiight…” Pacey responded, mockingly. “Just don’t blame me when dad finds out.”
“Didn’t I tell you to shut up?”
*****
Back at the Leery house, the Potter’s enter through the front door.
“Thanks for letting us stay here, Mrs. Leery,” Bessie told Gale as they came in. “This thing is just making all of us really nervous.”
“Don’t mention it,” Mitch answered for his wife as he took their coats. “We’re glad to have the company.”
“And you’re old enough to call me ‘Gale’, Bessie,” she corrected her.
Gale looked down at Bessie’s stomach.
“How much longer?” she asked with a smile.
“Not long,” Bessie answered.
Behind the expectant parents, Joey jumped as the wind started to pick up.
“Dawson upstairs, if you want to see him, Joey,” Mitch told her.
“Thanks,” she answered, and went upstairs.
*****
Upstairs, Joey slowly opened the door to Dawson’s room. Dawson was sitting on his unmade bed, facing the TV. On the screen was a home video of him, his parents, and Joey on a camping trip from a few years back. He was about 14 at the time, and it was about one year after Joey’s mother had died.
Dawson was so enthralled by the screen that he didn’t even hear Joey come in. He had a far away look of sadness to him. As if he was trying to capture the moment on-screen and bring it to life.
“Hey,” Joey greeted him, shocking him out of his daydream.
“Hey,” he answered with a smile. “I didn’t hear you come in.”
She sat down next to him.
“Any luck with your mom?” she asked him.
She received a sigh in response.
“I was all ready to tell her,” he informed her. “I went downstairs, completely prepared to tell her off. Then…I flaked. When I opened my mouth, all I could think of was ‘do you think the storm will be bad’. What is wrong with me?”
Joey put her hand on his shoulder.
“Nothing’s wrong with you,” she reassured him.
“Then why couldn’t I say anything?” he asked her, with a pleading look.
Dawson laid down on the bed and pulled the covers over his shoulder. Joey then climbed under the covers, facing his back, and put her arms around him.
“Maybe because you didn’t want to be the one that ruined it?” she suggested.
Dawson had a confused look, then leaned over slightly to look at Joey over his shoulder.
“Ruin it?” he asked. “What do you mean?”
“As of right now, your family has some semblance of stability,” she informed him. “Your dad doesn’t know, and your mom doesn’t know that anyone else knows. The second the truth comes out, when everything’s out in the open, well…it’s not going to be pretty. And I doubt it’s going to be anything like a sitcom family thing, where everything’s resolved in half-an-hour. After Mitch finds out, nothing between them is ever going to be the same again.”
Dawson turned completely around to face her. He had a scared look in his eyes.
“I know that,” he replied. “I just wish the thought of it didn’t feel like the end of the world.”
Joey hugged him tighter, and gently kissed his forehead…a tender gesture.
They both paused for a moment, looking at each other. Then, Dawson moved his face closer to hers and kissed her softly on the lips.
They moved apart for a moment, but then kissed again…this time longer.
Suddenly, they began to kiss for longer periods of time.
*****
If Dawson or Joey had been looking out the window that very moment, they would have seen a familiar face. For, at that same instant, Pacey Witter was preparing to climb the ladder leading to Dawson’s bedroom.
“Hey, D-Man?” he hollered. “You home?”
However, before he could start to climb, Dog grabbed him by the back of the shirt and pulled him away.
“Nice try, Pacey,” he said. “Dawson Leery is not going to bail you out this time.”
Pacey gave the deputy a bitter look.
“Any reason we’re not going to check on them?” Pacey asked in return.
“Mitch is an expert at building things,” Doug answered. “Odds are that the place was made hurricane-proof before Dawson was born. Now, get your lazy butt in gear and come with me next door. We have to check on the Ryan house.”
Pacey’s face lit up when he heard that.
‘There is a god,’ he thought.
*****
A moment later, next door, Grams heard a knock at the door. She went to answer it, with Jen close behind her.
“Why any sane person would be out in this horrid weather is beyond me, ” she muttered.
She opened to door, encountering both Pacey and Doug waiting on the other side.
Jen’s mouth twisted into a smile when she saw Pacey. Grams, on the other hand, was less thrilled.
Instead, she turned to face Doug.
“May I help you with something, officer?” he asked politely.
“Just doing a routine ‘hurricane watch’, Mrs. Ryan,” he announced. “Making sure the building is sound.”
“I've weathered more storms in my time than you can count, young man!” she reassured him. “If the Lord decides to blow my house away then so be it.”
Jen tapped her grandmother on the shoulder.
“What is it, Jennifer?” Grams asked her.
“I forgot to tell you,” she answered, with an amused grin. “The Lord sent a fax when you were out, it said something about the Armageddon.”
Behind them, Pacey had to suppress a chuckle. Doug had to elbow him and give a warning look.
Grams just gave her granddaughter a cold stare.
“I can assure you, Douglas, we are fine,” she said to them.
Before they could say anything else, the wind started to pick up fiercely. Pacey had to grip his jacket to keep it from blowing away.
“You sure about that?” he asked them. “Cause, I’d really like to avoid being a kite, if that’s all right with you ‘Douglas’?”
“Get inside, both of you,” Grams warned the two brothers. “You can wait out the storm inside.”
Grams turned towards Jen and gave her a silent warning. Then she did the same for Pacey.
It was going to be a long night.
*****
Back in Dawson’s room, Dawson and Joey continued to kiss. Still beneath the covers, they seemed to become more and more passionate by the moment.
Joey herself could hardly believe it. After months of worrying, she finally found out that Dawson felt for her the same way that she felt for him. Her exuberance at this though was definitely being expressed at this point.
Unfortunately, it didn’t last.
The door to Dawson’s room slowly opened. Dawson’s parents had been concerned about the two of them, worried that the storm was getting too strong. Mitch suggested that everyone stay together downstairs just in case. They definitely were not prepared for the scene that displayed itself.
Suffice to say, it killed the mood.
“Oh…my…god…!” she exclaimed, the expression on her face becoming one of horror.
Mitch’s eyes closely resembled dinner plates.
The two fifteen-year-olds broke off the kiss, and stared at the shell-shocked adults in surprise. The ramifications of this situation slowly dawned of Joey, out of breath from her makeout session with Dawson.
They were making out furiously, in his bed, with the covers almost up to their necks. It didn’t take a genius to understand how that would look to the Leery’s.
“Well, umm…this is a surprise,” Mitch announced, the words falling all over each other as they came out of his mouth. “Joey? I…I…uh…w-when did you start…um…well, this certainly explains the dummy head.”
“This isn’t what it looks like, Mr. Leery,” Joey said, jumping out of the bed as if it were catching fire.
Mitch turned to his son, who stood up himself. His brain was completely wracked with questions concerning this new development. Joey, blushing a bright red, merely stepped aside.
“Sooo…when did Joey change from your ‘girl friend’ to your ‘girlfriend’, Dawson?” he asked, half-laughing. From the way he was acting, Dawson almost expected Mitch to give him a ‘pat on the back’.
“I didn’t say she was,” he corrected his father, with a grim look. He noticed, however, that his mother’s reaction was less enthusiastic and more horrified. “I really don’t need you to freak out about this right now, mom.”
Out the corner of his eye, Dawson noticed Joey bit her lip at his declaration. He felt like dirt right now, but he couldn’t help it. Joey knew that there was nothing ‘official’ between them yet, but he still felt like a creep. He was just too mad to go into detail with his parents about it.
“How am I supposed to act, Dawson?” Gale inquired. “I’m not even going to begin to try and understand why you’re suddenly having sex with your so-called ‘best friend’. But you have to understand that these types of things have ramifications…”
Now Joey’s eyes rounded to the size of dinner plates.
“We were not--”
“Isn’t that the pot calling the kettle black, mom?” he spat.
Mitch was suddenly perplexed. His son was making less and less sense …what was he talking about?
“Excuse me?” he asked, curiously. “What is he talking about, Gale?”
“I don’t know,” she replied.
“Yeah, sure you don’t!” Dawson said coldly. “Why don’t you explain to dad why you’re always late getting home? Or why you lie about going to meetings?”
A scared look came over Gale’s face. She stepped back in shock as she put two and two together. Her heart beat a mile-a-minute as she realized that she was caught.
“Oh my god, you know?” she said in a whisper.
Dawson merely stood there, bitterly. His face showing nothing but contempt. Beside him, Joey could only watch as the scene unfolded before her.
Joey was frozen in place, hating having to watch this, but not being able to do anything about it. For the longest time, she had treated the Leery’s as a surrogate family. And now, right before her eyes, it looked at if it were about to suffer the same fate as her real one.
“He knows what?” Mitch asked, still completely clueless. “Gale, what is he…?”
Gale faced Mitch, her eyes welling up with tears, her eyes beet red from attempting to hold them back. There was no use in trying to hide things now.
“I’m so sorry,” she told him. “I didn’t want you to find out this way.”
“Find out what?” he asked again, but he had already guessed. He just couldn’t believe it.
Her dead silence gave him his answer.
“Batteries,” he says to Dawson. “I just remember that I forgot to pick up some batteries. I mean, what if the power goes out? We can’t just light candles, am I right?”
He starts to laugh to himself…a deep, forced laugh. No one in the room could decide whether he was laughing or crying.
“Mitch?” Gale asked him pleadingly. “Don’t…”
“It’s Bob, isn’t it?” he accused her. Mitch’s voice was now completely empty of emotion. Cold and hollow. “You know, I didn’t like that guy from the moment I first saw him. Now I think I know why.”
Mitch coldly turned and left. There was a stiff, dead silence in the room. The wind whistled accusingly, causing Gale to look at her son accusingly.
“Dawson?” she pleaded. But her pleas fell on deft ears.
“If you’re going to blame me for this, you had better forget it!” he told her. “If you’re looking for sympathy, you’re looking in the wrong place, mom. Do you honestly expect anyone to treat you like the victim here?”
She doesn’t answer him.
“If you want to apologize, you’re apologizing to the wrong person!” he spat. “You can just sit up here feeling sorry for yourself, for all I care. As long as you stay away from me.”
With that, he left without even looking at her. Joey followed him.
Now alone in the room, her only companion the harsh weather outside, Gale sighed to herself. He leaned her head against the door and closed her eyes in shame.
*****
Joey chased Dawson downstairs. The further he went, the angrier he got.
“Dawson?” she called after him. “Listen to me…”
“I don’t want to talk about it,” he admitted, not even looking at her.
Joey took a deep breath before trying to reason with him again.
“I understand that you’re mad at her, Dawson,” she said. “I’m mad, too.”
“Oh, and it effects you so much, doesn’t it?” he replied sarcastically.
Joey painfully ignored that last comment.
“I just don’t want you to hate her,” she finished.
As soon as she finished her sentence, the earshattering boom of thunder split the silence, almost making Joey jump out of her skin. Dawson angrily stepped towards her.
“You’re taking HER side?” he spat. “I can’t believe this.”
“That’s not what this is, ‘taking sides’” she corrected him. “Dawson, up until now everything has been good for your family. This thing with Bob wrecks that, but that doesn’t mean you should just give up.”
“Maybe I want to!” he announced.
“You’re angry, Dawson” she informed him. “Saying things you don’t mean—“
“I meant every single thing I said back there,” he said, cutting her off.
Joey stopped in her tracks. He meant it. That there was nothing ‘official’ between them. Maybe there never would be. That single thought robbed her of any desire to straighten things out now. ‘Considerate Joey’ went on the back burner, as ‘Cynical Joey’ came rushing back.
“Fine,” she responded bitterly. “But you know what? Some of us have been dealing with things like this a lot longer than you have. Maybe you should just stop blaming everyone for things not working out? Most of all, you should get down on your knees and thank god that you have a mother!”
Joey turned and left, without saying anything further.
The second she was out of view, Dawson’s face softened slightly. He sat down on the couch and put his head in his hands.
*****
Next door, Doug, Pacey, and Jen are sitting together at the kitchen table. Grams poured them all tea.
“I did not expect this storm to come so far north,” she informed them. “You two boys are lucky, you know? What were you doing out in this awful weather?”
Doug smiled at the two girls proudly.
“You know the saying,” he said. “Neither rain, nor snow, nor sleet, nor hair…”
Pacey rolled his eyes in frustration at both his brother’s cheezyness and his utter stupidity.
“That’s mailmen, Doug,” he reminded him.
“Was I talking to you?” Doug snapped, then looked back towards Grams and Jen. “As I was saying, this is nothing new for me. It’s my job to put my life on the line for the sake of others.”
Pacey abruptly slapped his forehead in mock surprise.
“Yeah, who would defend us from the evil parking meters if it weren’t for you?” he quipped.
“You’ll have to excuse my little brother,” Doug told them bitterly. “He suffers from a severe lack of maturity.”
“Dougie?” he asked, his eyes showing embarrassment. “In the words of Joey Potter…bite me!”
“What’s wrong, little brother?” his brother replied. “Run out of new material? Guess it’s burger-flipping, then.”
Pacey, now angry, stood up from his seat. He was not going to sit around and listen to his friends get insulted like that.
“Excuse me, Mrs. Ryan,” he spat. “I just lost my appetite.”
Pacey stormed off in a huff. Doug just laughed at his brother’s dramatic show of anger.
“Loser!” he commented.
Now it was Jen’s turn to stand up.
“Must run in the family,” she muttered under her breath, and went to follow Pacey.
“Jennifer, apologize,” Grams ordered, but it was too late.
*****
Dawson was still sitting on the couch when his father got back. Mitch walked into the living room and sat next to him.
“Where were you?” Dawson asked him without looking. “Don’t tell me you were driving in this weather?”
Mitch nodded.
“You’re probably thinking I have a death wish or something, right?”
Dawson doesn’t answer him.
“Come on, say something,” he continued. “Dawson, I’m supposed to be the one who’s upset right now.”
“Why did you come back,” Dawson finally whispered.
“I don’t know,” his father answered him, sighing. “Part of me wanted to stay away. At least for a little while. And another part of me wanted to track down said anchorman, beat him up on live television, and tell him ‘stay the hell away from her’. Then, another part just wants to go up into my room, and beg her never to do this to me again.”
Dawson had trouble believing that last remark. He looked at Mitch, confused.
“Are you joking?” he asked bitterly. “That’s it, huh? Laugh so you don’t cry?”
Mitch shook his head and sighed again.
“You’re probably thinking that I hate her, right?” he inquired. “Maybe part of me does. But…I’ve spent the past several decades loving her…that’s not an easy thing to let go of. I think it might even be impossible.”
“So you’re just saying ‘it happened and it’s over’?” Dawson replied. “That’s not---“
“I wish things were that simple, they never are,” he answered. “I honestly don’t know what I’m going to do. Right now, I’m just trying to get up the courage to walk into that room and talk to her about it. I have no idea what I’m going to say.”
There was an awkward pause between the two of them. Both Dawson and Mitch waited impatiently to for someone to break the silence.
“So, you and Joey, huh?” Mitch finally said, with a smirk.
“Please don’t start,” he answered.
*****
“I can’t believe he has the nerve to talk like that,” Jen told Pacey as they entered her room. “Can’t you get him to shut up?”
“I’ve been trying to do that for my entire life,” Pacey informed her. “That closet case is just too damn stubborn for his own good.”
Jen looked at Pacey, surprised at his sudden revelation. A shocked grin appeared on her face.
“Closet case?” she asked inquisitively. “You mean he’s gay? Are you putting me on?”
Pacey shook his head, confirming it.
“I am completely serious,” he admitted. “My big brother is a full-blooded, 100% gay man. He likes to keep it quiet, being an officer of the law in a small town and all.”
“This is too much,” she responded, surpressing a laugh. “Do your parents know?”
“They are a certain river in Egypt regarding it,” he joked. “It's really an ugly situation.”
With a mischievous grin, Pacey put his arms around her and lead them towards the bed.
“Uh uh, no way,” Jen warned him, pushing his hands off of her. “With my bible-toting grandmother and your jerk brother downstairs?”
“We’ll be quiet,” he said with a grin. “Kidding. You’re probably right. Want to try and make a break for Dawson’s house?”
A white-hot flash of light illuminated the turmoilous sky as a bolt of lightning cracked across their line of sight.
“Not unless I want to be ‘Jen-puree’,” she replied jokingly. “Guess we’re stuck here.”
“From where I’m sitting, Lindley, that ain’t so bad” he informed her.
That’s when Jen’s idea stuck her. It would be very mean, but she figured it might get both Doug and Grams off her back.
“Pace?” she asked her boyfriend. “How would you like to teach Grams and Doug a lesson?”
Pacey’s face lit up like a Christmas tree.
“When and where?” he asked.
*****
Joey was sitting down with Bessie and Bodie in the kitchen, telling them what had happened. Her and Dawson, Dawson’s parents, the argument they had…everything.
“And now it’s over,” she concluded, sadly. “I don’t even think Dawson wants me as a friend, anymore. Much less more than that.
“You know what, Joey?” Bessie asked. “You are the most paranoid person I know. Of course Dawson’s still your friend.”
“But nothing more,” Joey grumbled back.
Bessie just smiled at her.
“Don’t be too sure,” she responded. “I knew something like this might happen one day. And I doubt that it’s over as quickly as that. Dawson’s just…mad right now. But not at you. Come on, he’s spent the better part of his life dealing with how stubborn you are. At least try to do the same.”
Joey gave Bessie an angry look for a moment, but then thought about it.
*****
Jen and Pacey sat back down at the kitchen table, meeting Grams’ disapproving looks and Doug’s glares.
“I trust you have finished your respective temper tantrums?” she scolded the two of them.
Jen just gave her a cold stare.
“I’m really sorry about my idiot brother, Mrs. Ryan,” Doug apologized. “We've had to put up with this pinhead imbecile for years now.”
“It is quite all right, officer,” she assured him.
“I mean, dad keeps trying to get him to straighten him out,” he continued to rant. “It’s no good, though. He should follow me as an example.”
Jen turned to Doug, smiling.
“You should be really proud of yourself, Doug,” she said sweetly. “I’m really impressed. Not to mention surprised.”
“Surprised?” he inquired with a grin. “How so?”
“Well, I’m not sure how people treat you at the station,” she continued. “A gay police officer might get looked down upon. Especially with your dad being the sheriff.”
Pacey could almost see smoke coming out of Doug’s ears. He had to suppress a chuckle.
“WHAT???” Doug bellowed.
“Jennifer?!” Grams said, shocked beyond belief.
Doug turned towards his brother, snapping at him.
“Did you tell her I was gay?” he spat.
Jen tapped him on the shoulder.
“I grew up in New York, remember?” she reminded him. “I have good gaydar.”
Doug didn’t listen to her, he just continued yelling at Pacey.
“Tell her I'm not gay!” he demanded.
Pacey merely pointed at Jen in amusement.
“She has gaydar, bro,” he said flippantly. “It’s out of my hands.”
“It's no big deal, really!” she said.
“Jennifer, please,” Grams asked, but it was now out of her or anyone’s control.
“That's exactly what I've been trying to tell him,” Pacey said to Jen. “The man just doesn’t listen.”
To everyone’s surprise, Doug takes out his gun and aims it directly at Pacey.
“Tell her!” he orders, his eyes cold and finger on the trigger. Pacey, loosing his humor, can only stare in fear.
“Oh dear lord!” Grams exclaimed in shock.
“Woah!” Jen said. “Take it easy…take it easy…”
Before anyone can make a move, Grams grabbed the weapon out of Doug’s hands.
“What are you…?”
“Get out of my house!” Grams ordered. “And, Douglas, if you EVER come into my home with a weapon again, and threaten anyone, I will personally have your father come here himself and…and throw you in your own jail.”
“But he…” Doug tried to defend himself, but her mind was made up.
“NOW!” she yelled, causing him to go out the door. The storm was finally passing, so he managed to not be blown away.
Pacey sighed in relief, putting his head on the table from exhaustion.
“That guy is a nut!” she said, the blood flowing back into his face.
“Do you realize what almost happened to you, Mr. Witter?” Grams asked him.
“Lady, I’ve been dealing with him my entire life,” he responded. “This is just routine for me.”
Grams sighed for a moment, then she did something unexpected.
She put her hand out, letting Pacey shake it.
“And I suppose you expected me to treat you the same?” she asked. “You may all think I’m…judgmental, and perhaps I am. But I do know the difference between a good person and a bad one. But I promise you this…if you treat Jennifer wrong, your brother will be the least of your troubles.”
Pacey grinned.
“That I think I can handle,” he said, smiling at Jen.
*****
Dawson entered his bedroom, and opened his closet door. Joey was sitting inside it, and gave him a hurt look as he walked over to her.
“I was hoping you'd still be here,” he said with a sigh.
“I’m just regressing for a moment,” she replied, showing off her famous ‘half smile’…the one she reserved for him. “I remember how we used to play in here when we were kids. We'd reenact the whole third act from Jaws. You'd be Captain Qwin and I'd be Cooper and Sheriff Brody. We knew all the lines by heart. Still do.”
“I can’t tell you how much I wish things could be like that again,” he answered. “We're not kids anymore. Especially after today. I’m…I’m growing up, Jo. I just wish that thought didn’t scare me so much.”
“It scares me too, Dawson,” she admitted to both him and herself. “I had to grow up a lot sooner than I should have. I had no choice…suddenly I woke up and found out my parents were no longer there. This whole thing today…it just reminded me. I know this isn’t about me…but no one should have to go through this.”
“What?” Dawson asked. “Loosing their family.”
“You haven’t lost your family, Dawson,” she informed him. “It’s still there. Irrecoverably altered, yes. But you’re parents…they’re still around. They still love you.”
“ I owe you an apology, Jo,” he replied. I was just…I wasn’t thinking.”
“Dawson?” Joey asked, “This isn’t your fault, you know? And I'm sorry for using the mother card. I keep it in my back pocket and it's way too easy.”
“I don't know what I would do if I lost either of them,” he admitted.
“It hurts,” Joey responded. “I mean, you're born and you die and you make a lot of mistakes in between. Funny thing is, you know? Now that she's gone, I, I can't seem to remember a single mistake.”
“I keep thinking ‘what does that mean to me’?” Dawson told her. “These are my parents. The people I come from. Does that mean…I’m any different? Does all this mean that, one day, I’ll do the exact same thing?”
“Don’t do this to yourself,” she responded. “That’s not you.”
“How do you know that?” he asked. “I don’t even know that anymore. I don’t know anything except that, until I figure things out, I can’t be with anyone. I’m sorry.”
“I understand,” Joey said quietly. It hurt, there was no doubt. But she did understand. More than anyone in the world. Could you do me a favor, though?”
“What?” he asked.
“Can we put our rapid ascend to adulthood on hold?” she asked. “Just for tonight?”
Dawson managed a smile. He walked into the closet, and closed the door behind him.
From inside the closet, their voices could still be heard, for the next several hours at least.
“Sheriff Brody that's a 20 footer!” Dawson quoted. “Quiet I think he's come back for his noon feeding.”
“Gotta get a shot at this orca's head,” she responded in turn.
“Smile you son of a bitch!”
Then they laughed, for the first time all day.
“We're gonna need a bigger boat.”
Coming soon: Part V…Look Who's Talking
Disillusioned with romance, Dawson becomes trapped between his feelings for Joey, and his anger towards his parents. Meanwhile, Joey has problems of her own...considering Bessie has just started going into labor.
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