By Pesh Lockard

Preface

Disclaimer: Don't own them, not making money with them, I'm just re-arranging them for awhile. All rights go to the owners.

Author's Note: Takes place in the future, everyone is in their early thirties. I really enjoyed writing this, and it is my first submission, so please be kind and send me feedback (I would send it to you!) [email protected] Thanks for taking time to read this.

"Have you seen where the lights are?"

"God, Pacey, we keep them in the same place every year!" Andie tells him shaking her head.

"Mom, I?m hungry."

"Pacey, pour some milk onto Tim's Count Chocula." Andie tells him as she empties the dishwasher. The sink is full of dirty dishes.

"Who or what is Count Chocula?" Pacey asks her. "And why should I pour milk on him?"

Andie doesn't look amused. "His cereal, you idiot!"

"Oh, Count Chocula!" Pacey remembers. He goes into the fridge and grabs a carton of milk. "Andie, the laundry in the washer is done." He tells her.

She rolls her eyes at him, while washing out various pots and pans. "I?m a little busy right now!"

Pacey puts a bowl of Count Chocula on the table where Tim is sitting. "Right. So where are the lights?"

"Think hard." Andie tells him smiling in annoyance. "We go through this every year, are you becoming senile?!"

"Tim, could you go upstairs and get dressed. Mommy and I need to talk for a minute." Pacey asks him, sensing tension from his so-called better half.

"But my Count Chocula will get soggy." Tim, age four, whines.

"Tim, forget about the Count Chocula. I'll make you more later." Pacey tells him. Tim goes upstairs, sensing Pacey's seriousness. "What is with you Andie?"

"Pacey, I have to wax the floors, get a turkey in the oven, clean the house, make sure you get the Christmas lights, and evergreen roping up before tonight. This year has to be the perfect Christmas."

"Andie, look, get Tim to clean his room. Forget the turkey, we'll go out. Besides Christmas is still a few days away." Pacey reminds her.

Andie goes out to the garage and comes back into the kitchen with a big box, full of christmas lights. She drops it on the floor in front of Pacey's feet. "Okay, fine." She smiles. "I want the colored lights on the pines in the back yard. All the shrubs and the trees in the front should have white lights. Remember to alternate between solid and blinking. Make sure to differentiate between the blinking lights and the twinkling lights. The blinkers go off and on, then twinklers get bright and dim. Put the twinklers up the trunk of the trees and at the tips of the branches, and on the mailbox. The roping is in the woodshed and I want it wrapped around the mailbox and draped on the trim of the front porch." Andie explains. "Got, it?"

"Remind me again why this year has to be the perfect Christmas?"

"You know why Pacey." Andie tells him solemnly. Pacey nods and they kiss.

"Can I eat now?!" Tim asks running into the kitchen.

"Pacey can you get some count Chocula?" Andie asks as she walks back into the laundry room and moves the clothes from the washer to the dryer.

"Here we go again." Pacey nods.

"We're late!" Dawson yells up the stairs. "Let's move!"

"God, Dawson. It's a two hour drive, just cool it. I'll be down in a second." Joey yells back down. Dawson stands leaning on the banister until Joey walks down the stairs, lugging several heavy bags behind her.

"Joey, what are you doing, I'll get that." Dawson tells her.

"I'm not a cripple, Dawson." Joey tells him, tense. "I can handle a few suitcases."

"Jo, I just..." Dawson trails off.

Joey sighs. "Where's Taylor?"

"He's in the car, I put him in his car seat." Dawson tells her.

"You left him alone in the car?" Joey asks putting her coat on. "He's four years old, he could be choking, or crying or..."

"Sleeping." Dawson smiles, interjecting. "He was falling asleep so I put him down in the car so we wouldn't have to wake him to get him into his car seat." He tells her.

Joey nods, a little embarrassed. She was just nervous, on the edge. "Okay." She sighs. "Let's go, we're running late."

"Okay. The lights are up, the roping is up, and I think I have frostbite." Pacey announces walking in through the back door. It was snowing outside and he has snow on his hat and coat.

"Good!" Andie tells him on her hands and knees scrubbing the downstairs bathroom. "Remind me again why we bought a house with six bathrooms?"

"Or why we bought a house so much shrubbery." Pacey complains and takes his boots and coat off. "Where's Tim?"

"He went to play next door with Brian and Katie." Andie tells him and stands up. "They're sledding in the backyard."

"So we're here, all alone?" Pacey asks raising his eyebrows.

Andie makes a face. "Pacey! We have a lot of work to do! Dawson, Joey and Taylor will be here in a few hours. This house is still a mess. This Christmas has to be perfect for Joey." Andie reminds him.

"Andie, a clean house won't give Joey a perfect Christmas. Being with her friends for the last time will." Pacey tells her pouring himself some coffee. "Besides, the house looks fine." Pacey shrugs. Their house was always clean. They had cleaning ladies come in twice a week to wash the floors and clean the house. Andie was a perfectionist and the house was never messy. "You know what I'm thinking?" Pacey asks her.

Andie looks annoyed and pours some cream into her own coffee. "What, oh wise one?" She asks sarcastically.

"That you're cleaning this place like a mad woman because you know that if you have a minute to yourself, a minute to think, you're gonna have to face the facts."

"Pacey, what are you talking about? Don't try to psycho-babble me." Andie warns him as she starts to scrub the kitchen sink.

"You know that if you have a minute to think, you'll deal with the fact that...." Pacey trails off.

"What?" Andie asks him.

Pacey?s quiet and takes a sip of his coffee. "Nothing." He says quietly, sorry he brought it up, and walks out of the room.

On to Part 2