Author's Note: See Part 1 for synopsis. Please be kind and send me feedback (I would send it to you!) [email protected]

"It was a wonderful night. Thank you, Andie, so much." Mrs. Leery says hugging her. It was nine o'clock, Joey was fast asleep and the boys were playing quietly in the family room, Dawson didn?t want to put them to bed yet. He was hoping Joey would wake up so she could see them leave their cookies out for Santa. It wasn't looking likely though, and Dawson didn?t want to wake her. "Thank you for being such a good friend to Joey and Dawson and Taylor, and for opening your home up to us so we could all be together for Joey's...for her...last Christmas." Mrs. Leery finally manages to admit. "I know that Joey loves you so much for this."

Andie nods, she knew it. Joey and Dawson were their best friends, she'd do anything for them or Taylor. Friendship could be thicker than blood.

"Dawson," Andie starts, pulling him aside, about to tell him the boys should put the cookies out and get to bed. It was getting late.

"I know." Dawson interrupts. "Let me just get the video camera, she's gonna be devastated that she missed this, and I really don't want to wake her, she looks so peaceful."

Dawson got the video camera out and Andie made egg nog for everyone, and hot chocolate for Taylor and Tim. Pacey read them 'The Night Before Christmas', as Dawson captured it on tape for Joey to watch the next day. Jack, Mrs. Leery and Mr. Leery sat by the fire and listened to the story as well. Then the boys put out a plate of cookies and milk for Santa Claus and carrots for his reindeer, and Pacey, Andie and Dawson tucked them into bed. It had been beautiful night.

"Good night boys, we love you." Andie said kissing Tim and then Taylor who gave her an especially tight hug.

"Don't wake us up before seven." Pacey smiles, glaring at Tim, and they left the room.

Dawson lingered behind. "Goodnight, Tim, good night buddy." He said to Taylor. "I'm sorry mommy couldn?t spend Christmas Eve with you. She'll be very mad that I didn't wake her up tomorrow." Dawson smiles.

"Daddy," Taylor tell him. "Was I a good boy all year?"

Dawson laughs. "You were a very, very good boy, Tayl." Dawson reassures him.

"Do you think Santa will bring me what I want most?" He asks Dawson.

Dawson and Joey had sent all the present they'd got for Taylor and each other to Pacey and Andie's a week before they?d left. "I'm sure he did." Dawson tells Taylor.

"Good!" Taylor exclaims.

"What did you want most?" Dawson asks him, with a raised eyebrow, to make sure it was among Taylor?s presents.

"I asked Santa to make mommy all better." Taylor tells him with a huge grin on his face.

Dawson felt like forty bricks had just been dropped on him. He felt like the wind had been knocked out of him. "Taylor, we talked about this before, remember? There isn't any medicine to fix mommy."

"But Santa uses magic. That's how he gets all those toys to all those kids, all over the world. And when Aunt Andie took me and Tim to sit on Santa's lap at the mall, that's what I asked him for."

"Oh, Taylor." Dawson says giving him a hug. "Not even Santa could help mommy. She'?s just too sick."

Taylor's face collapses and he bursts into sobs.

"Is everything set up down here?" Andie asks walking downstairs. Mr. Leery, Dawson and Pacey were putting all the presents under the Christmas tree and putting together some larger toys.

"Just about." Mr. Leery tells her as he finishes putting together one of the boy's toys.

"Andie, we've got it covered down here, why don't you go up to bed, it's almost midnight." Pacey tells her. "I'll be up in a bit."

"All right." Andie yawns. She was exhausted. "Good night guys." She kisses Pacey and waves to Dawson and Mr. Leery.

Andie heads upstairs and sees the light is on in Dawson and Joey's bedroom. She opens the door a crack and sees Joey's not in her bed. Wanting to make sure she?s okay, she walks in the room and sees Joey's in the bathroom washing her face. "Jo? You okay?" she asks, concerned.

Joey looks pale and drawn. "I'm so tired." She says. "What time is it?"

"It's eleven-thirty."

Joey instantly looks upset. "No, I missed the boys. I missed seeing Taylor put out his Christmas cookies and...and..."

"Jo, it?s okay. Dawson taped every detail." Andie reassures her. "Come on, I?ll help you get to bed."

Joey shakes her head. "Andie, I'm okay, I got it." Joey tells her, slowly making her way from the bathroom to the bedroom, grabbing onto the walls and furniture to steady herself. She gets under the covers. Andie takes the book from Joey's night stand, the one in which Andie was writing memories down for Taylor. "When he was two," Joey starts telling her, "he was an angel in the nursery school Christmas pageant. He looked so adorable with this little halo, and white gown. Dawson and I went to see the pageant, and all the angels came out, they're supposed to flying, so about twenty two year olds were hoping around the stage. We couldn't figure out which one Taylor was, and we kept trying to find him in the crowd, but we just couldn't point him out. Suddenly there was this loud bang, like as if someone dropped a grapefruit and it exploded open. One of the little angels flew off the stage. Of course, it turned out to be Taylor, his halo fell over his eyes, and he couldn't see. He got a concussion, and a big gash over his forehead. He has a scar, and he always asks me how he got it. And every Christmas when we put the angel on top of Christmas tree, Taylor makes me go through the whole story again."

"When you put the angel on?" Andie asks her, writing everything Joey tells her down.

Joey nods. "Yeah, Dawson and I always let him put the angel on, and then Dawson cleans up the boxes of decorations, and Taylor makes me go through the story and he laughs and laughs." Joey tells her.

Andie smiles. "You hungry?"

Joey shakes her head. "No, I just threw up all the food I've eaten in the past two weeks, I don't want to ever look at food again." Joey tells her. "Andie, I know things are gonna be okay." She tells her. "At first, I was really scared. I didn't know what Taylor and Dawson would do, who Taylor could look at maternally, I felt like if I died I would be failing them. But now, I think it will be okay."

"Of course it will, Jo."

Joey sits up in bed with watery eyes. "Andie, you'll never let him forget me, will you?" She asks.

Andie feels her throat tighten. "Never." She shakes her head, and hugs Joey, wanting to not let her friend go.

"Mommy, Daddy, wake up!!!!" Tim and Taylor scream running into Andie and Pacey's room and jumping on their bed. "Time to open presents!"

"Tim, please." Pacey tells him, waking up. "It's only," he sits up and glances at the clock on his night stand. "Woa, nine o'clock." Pacey?s surprised. "Andie." He wakes her up. "Andie!"

"Pacey," Andie whines half asleep, " not now, I'm tired."

Pacey rolls his eyes. "He got it right this time, wake up, we have to do presents."

"Maybe Santa didn't come yet and we should all go back to sleep." Andie yawns, very tired.

"Andie." Pacey says pulling her into an upright position by her arm. "Wake up."

"Alright, alright. Boys, just give us a minute to get presentable." Andie tells them. "Go back to your room, we'll take you down in a minute."

"Mom!!" Tim whines.

"We want presents now!" Taylor tell them, as if they didn't know.

"Go back to your room, we'll all open presents in a minute. Aunt Joey might need some time to wake up and get ready, too." Pacey tells them as Andie goes into their bathroom and brushes her teeth.

"Jo, wake up." Dawson whispers in her ear.

"Hmm?"

"We have to get up, it's Christmas."

Joey opens her eyes. "Are the boys up?"

"I think so, I heard them running down the hall to Pacey and Andie's room." He tells her putting his bathrobe on. "You feel okay?"

She shakes her head. "No." She tells him sitting up. "But there is no way I'm missing the last Christmas with my son and my family.

"It sounds like the kids are up." Gail tells Mitch. They're both awake but still in bed.

"Gail, I talked to Dawson about us moving here. He doesn't want that, instead he's gonna sell the house and move up here, by Pacey and Andie."

Mrs. Leery sits up, abruptly. "What?!"

"Gail, just calm down. This is what he and Joey want. We have to respect that, he is an adult."

"He wouldn't want to move to Florida to be near us either?"

Mitch shakes his head. "No, they've done a lot of talking, this is what they want, and mostly important to Dawson, this is something she approves."

Mrs. Leery shakes her head. "We don't get Joey's approval?"

"Gail, don't do this." Mitch tell her getting out of bed. "When Lillian died, you helped out, you stepped in as a surrogate mother to Joey. This is what Andie is doing for Taylor, he needs it even more because he's just a baby." Mitch tell her. "They don't want us to uproot ourselves, to burden us. Maybe it's for the best, we've just gotten settled in Florida."

"We'll visit all the time." Gail tells him putting her bathrobe. "Every few months."

"Whatever they need." Mitch tells her. "We're doing this for their benefit, not ours."

"I knew moving was a mistake. We should've never sold the house in Capeside."

"Mom, Dad, the boys are about to explode, are you ready to come downstairs so they can open presents?" Dawson asks standing in their door way. He'd just arrived and hadn?t heard a word they'd said.

"We'll be ready in a second, Dawson." Mrs. Leery tells him.

Everyone finally managed to get decent by nine forty-five and in what seemed like millisecond everyone was knee deep in wrapping paper. The boys were blissfully happy and totally overwhelmed, too many toys for one day.

After everyone finished opening presents, Mr. Leery made a huge breakfast while everyone showered, except Joey who went back to bed, she was so tired, and she could hardly move, her joints were so stiff and painful. "Joey?" A voice called from her bedroom door.

"Jack." Joey smiles. "Come in."

"I come to Pacey and Andie?s every Christmas, Jo. Usually, I come to be with family, but I don't really look forward to it. Pacey and Andie have this deliriously happy little life here, this beautiful house, adorable kid, etc., and it makes me feel insecure because I don?t have that in my life." Jack tells her. "So I come, because I love Andie and Pacey and Tim, and I stay because I don't want to be alone for Christmas, but I don't really look forward to it, you know?"

Joey nods. "I know, sometimes I feel that way to, Andie has this need to create perfection and harmony."

"Well this year was different." He tells her. "I couldn't wait to come, because I had to see you. And I am so glad that I came, because I owe this to you, Joey." Jack tells her. "When we were dating, and I came out, about being gay, you were the first one who stood by me. Not even Andie stuck by me at first. You were the first one who took me seriously, Andie assumed it wasn't true, or just didn't want to accept the possibility it could be true, same with my father. And everyone else made fun of me and held it against me, except you."

"It wasn't me, Jack." Joey tells him, deeply touched. "You deserved it."

"But you were the only one who realized that, even before I did. And by doing that you helped me in so many ways, Joey, you'll never know. So I knew I had to come back this year, because now you deserve it." Jack tells her. "And even though we haven't really talked much in the past few years, you will always be one of my best friends, and I love you."

"Jack, I love you too." Joey whispers hugging him. "And thank you for telling me this. It makes me feel better."

"Best friends can be the best medicine." Jack tells her, smiling.

Part 15

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