The icy wind pierced through her coat and sweater, sending Jen's blond hair fluttering across her face. She brushed it away, climbing up the porch steps to the Potter B&B. She really should have just borrowed the car instead of opting to walk here from her house, it was far too cold, but she needed time to think about what she was going to say.

She had tried calling Pacey's house earlier that morning but chickened out, not sure of what she was going to say to him anyway. There was no way she could justify what she had done and 'I'm sorry' seemed so trite. She figured she could talk to Joey, of course she wouldn't be surprised if the brunette slammed the door in her face, but still if anyone knew the best way to handle this, it would be Joey.

Her hazel eyes watered a bit as she stood at the front door and she wiped the tears away with the back of her hand. She had really screwed up this time, maybe she was making a mistake. Maybe she should have just let Henry go. Pacey wasn't a bad guy, and he was a great boyfriend. Was she really making the right choice here?

She forced an uneasy smile and knocked on the door, clutching the covered plate she'd had brought with her as an excuse. Bessie answered the door before Jen had a chance to run and smiled at the blond. "Hey Jen, what brings you by this morning?"

"Grams was on some kind of baking frenzy and I was delegated with the job to deliver the goods." She held up the plate as Bessie stepped away from the door letting her inside. "God, it's cold out there." Jen muttered as the warmth of the room enveloped her. She followed Bessie into the kitchen and set the plate of brownies on the counter.

"Oh, I know." Bessie commented serving herself a cup of coffee and she offered Jen a mug. "I'm just glad the furnace is working."

Jen smiled sliding off her coat and sliding onto one of the stools by the counter, her warms hands held the mug securely as they soaked up the warmth. She took a small sip. "Thanks. I needed to be thawed."

Bessie shrugged grabbing a brownie before sitting down at the kitchen table. "Not a problem."

"It's really quiet," Jen said softly after a while gazing around the bright kitchen.

"Just one guest. Thankfully, otherwise this room would be in chaos." Bessie smiled faintly. "This is the only time I have to myself in the morning."

"I'm not bothering you am I?" Jen asked shooting Bessie a stricken look.

She shook her head. "Nah, right about this time Alex wakes up crying for a bottle." Right on cue, Alexander's wails carried into the kitchen. Bessie smiled getting up. "See?"

"Um, so is Joey up yet?" Jen questioned curiously.

Bessie shook her head. "No, but she should be. You can go wake her for me if you'd like." Alex cries grew more impatient and Bessie hurried off. "Tell her to make sure there's enough milk for breakfast this morning."

"Will do," Jen called after her. She took one last sip of coffee before heading off to wake up Joey.

Slowly, Joey shifted away from the light streaming in from her window. She hit a wall of solid flesh as she moved and her eyes flew open. They landed on Pacey's face. Immediately, the events of the night before returned to her. Sadly, she traced her finger along his jaw line, memorizing the long lashes that brushed his cheeks, the slight part of his full lips and the relaxed tilt of his head. She hoped she had something to do with the contentment she thought she saw on his face.

Knowing it wouldn't last, she lay back down beside him, careful not to disturb his slumber. She rested her head in the crook of his arm, put an arm around his torso, and closed her eyes, trying to savor the feeling and tried not to think of what would come once he woke up.

Jen knocked lightly on the wooden door. "Hey, Joey. Are you awake yet?"

Joey sat up in bed, the blankets sliding down her body, leaving her chest bare. "Wh-Jen. What are you doing here?" She stuttered, trying to untangle the sheet from around her legs. She glanced warily beside at Pacey's still sleeping form.

"I know, I'm probably not the first person you'd like to see in the morning, but I need to talk to you." She smiled bitterly and sniffled. "Pacey found out about Henry yesterday. It was a mistake the whole thing was a mistake," she said more to herself than to Joey. "It's really important that I talk to you. I guess I could have went to Jack but you know Pacey better than anyone lately..."

"Um...just a minute," Joey finally managed to untangle herself and rose from the bed. Frantically, she pulled on a pair of clean underwear and a nightgown, still creased where it had been folded.

Pacey groaned and stirred in his sleep. He slowly opened his eyes, immediately deemed it a bad idea and shut them. "Oh God, it's too bright in here," he moaned and balked at the bad taste left in his mouth from all the alcohol he had consumed. His eyes flew open and he shot up in bed. "Where are my�" He fearfully turned his head in Joey's direction after everything that happened the night before came back at him.

"Anyway, I think I made a mistake," Jen continued. "You were right. I should have meant it when I told Pacey I love him�I think I do. I think maybe I was just scared, right? About feeling that way about someone else after what happened with Henry. Henry's nice and familiar, and," Jen groaned. "I don't know what I'm talking about. I think I am crazy."

Joey looked fearfully from Pacey to the door, biting her lip. "Anyway, I'll talk to you when you're fully awake," Jen laughed lightly stepping away from the door. "There's plenty of coffee in the kitchen."

"I'll, um, be right there." Joey stuttered, her eyes still on Pacey, who looked absolutely stunned sitting up in her bed, his broad chest exposed to the early morning light.

"Does--Does she know?" Pacey questioned after a long moment.

"That you're here? No, I don't think so." Joey shook her head and looked down at the floor, seeing their clothes scattered across the carpet.

Pacey climbed off the bed clutching the blanket around his waist as he began to gather his clothes. "I'm sorry, Joey. I'm really sorry."

"Don't Pacey." She shook her head, "Don't apologize."

He pulled on his boxers and then his shirt, unable to look at her. "We shouldn't have done that." He couldn't keep the regret out of his voice.

She inhaled a shaky breath, "I know. Just...just don't apologize for it."

"But you deserve better Joey," he said quietly.

"What if I--" she stopped herself from continuing. He already knew how she felt. "She still loves you," her voice was weak as she changed the subject.

He reached for his pants unsure of what to tell her.

"I'm," she swallowed, "I'm going to get you some aspirin." She turned to the door and unlocked it, "I'll be right back." She disappeared before he could say anything in reply. She walked quickly to the bathroom and shut the door behind her.

She faced the mirror and looked into her own eyes. She wouldn't cry. She couldn't. Not with Pacey in her bedroom and Jen in her kitchen. God, Jen...she wanted him back. Joey bit her lip and fumbled with the door to the medicine cabinet, she couldn't think about that all now.

She'd surely have plenty of time to wallow in her patheticness after Pacey and Jen had made up and rode off into the sunset together. She dumped two Advil into her hand and closed the bottle. With a resolute sigh, she left the bathroom and returned to Pacey.

"Thanks," he whispered hoarsely taking the Advil from her.

"There's water on the nightstand." She backed away from him. "I'm just...going to get rid of Jen, and then you can leave." She paused at the door, "Unless you don't want me to?" She was unable to keep her voice from wavering.

He shook his head popping the Advil into his mouth. "No, it's okay."

She nodded once, and left him as she went to the kitchen to face Jen.

Jen glanced up from the cup of coffee she was nursing when Joey entered the kitchen. She managed a weak smile. "Hey."

"I need caffeine." Joey replied, not looking at the other girl and made a bee line for the coffee maker.

"Bessie said to make sure there was enough milk for breakfast," Jen said lightly taking a sip of her now lukewarm coffee.

Joey opened the refrigerator and pulled out the carton of milk and added a splash to her coffee. "Yep, there is." She replaced the container and sat down across from Jen. "So. Pacey knows."

She nodded solemnly her eyes dropping to the counter. "Yeah."

"What happened?" She asked emotionlessly. Although she was curious, since Pacey hadn't told her exactly what happened, she wasn't sure she even wanted to know now.

"He saw me with Henry at the party last night."

"Smart move, Jen."

"It wasn't like I planned it," Jen snapped. She sighed. "I'm sorry."

Joey rolled her eyes, "So, what? Now that you lost him, you want him back?"

"I don't know what I want," Jen said honestly. "I just wish I could take it all back."

"What we all wouldn't give for a time machine," she sighed, staring off beyond Jen's shoulder.

Jen smiled weakly raising her mug to her lips. "Pacey and I wouldn't have lasted anyway. We were both on the rebound."

"You were, maybe." Joey brought her eyes back to Jen, "And for that reason alone, you shouldn't have gotten involved with him."

Jen shrugged sadly. "We were both wrong."

Joey shook her head, "I'm not sure why you came here, Jen. I'm not about to offer you any sympathy." She took a long drink of her coffee, swallowing the bitterness of her own guilt at having slept with her friend's ex-boyfriend, who technically, she hadn't broken up with yet.

"I kind of figured you wouldn't." The corner of her mouth turned up slightly. "I just figured since you were Pacey's friend..."

"That since I was Pacey's friend--what?"

She shrugged. "That'd you know the best way to handle this. I didn't want to hurt him."

"The best way to handle it was to not hurt him in the first place." She scowled and took a long drink of her coffee, finishing the last of it. Letting out a sigh, "But..."

Jen looked at her expectantly. "What?"

"If...if you meant what you said back there." She pointed with her thumb in the direction of her bedroom, remembering the look on Pacey's face. "Then you should talk to him."

"I don't know if he'll even talk to me..."

"If you don't care enough to try, then he's better off without you." She pushed her chair away from the table, "Now, I need to take a shower and get dressed, so..."

"No, I'll talk to him," Jen said hurriedly.

"Um...you should probably wait a little while before heading over there. He's a renowned late sleeper." Joey added as she walked to the back door.

"It'll give me a chance to think about what I'm going to say."

"What *are* you going to say?" She couldn't keep herself from asking.

Jen's nose crinkled slightly. "I'm not really sure yet."

"What about Henry?"

She sighed again helplessly. "I don't know."

"Maybe you should figure that out first, Jen. Going to him saying you want them both, is not going to get you what you want."

"I--You're right," Jen said defeated. "I have to decide. I just wish someone wouldn't end up getting hurt in the process."

Joey opened the door, holding it for Jen. "Been there, done that."

"And look how well that turned out," Jen mumbled heading for the door.

"Yeah. Look at us all now..." she said sarcastically.

Jen frowned thoughtfully and turned back to look at Joey discerningly. "Thanks."

"Don't mention it." She urged Jen out the door, closing it behind her. With a sigh, she leaned back against it, her eyes closed as she steeled herself to face Pacey again.

Jen pulled her coat tighter around her body, her eyes trained to the ground. Joey was right, she needed to make a choice and now she had a long walk home to think about it.


Quietly, Joey approached her bedroom and entered, silently closing the door behind her. She handed him the mug of coffee she'd brought and then moved away.

He didn't say anything, not even sure if he'd be able to find the words and accepted the coffee with a nod.

"Jen's, um, going to try and talk with you." Joey said, attempting to fill the silence. "She's really confused, Pacey. I mean, you heard her, right?" she waved a hand as she spoke. "She's got a bad case of dumper's remorse and she's unsure of how she feels about Henry and about you. Mostly she's just really confused."

He exhaled sharply. "I can understand that."

"Yeah," she looked to the side, "Me too."

"We're going to have to talk about it," he said after a long pause.

She let out a long breath, "I was afraid of that."

He frowned feeling like shit. "I wish I knew where to start."

"I don't really know what there is to say either, Pacey." She said slowly. "You were hurting and I did what I could to lessen the pain." She snorted, "In the process compounded the problem."

He shook his head against her words. "It was my fault. I took advantage of you."

She chuckled bitterly, "Pacey, you were the drunk one. If anything, it was the other way around. If you had been sober, you never would have touched me."

"I knew what I was doing, granted the alcohol might have given me incentive but still."

"And I knew what I was doing." She wrapped her arms around herself protectivly, as though her arms would shield her from his words.

"I'm sorry." It was weak but the only thing he could think to say.

"Don't be." She shook her head, "I-I don't expect you to feel like I do. Please, don't apologize. I should be the sorry one, I let it happen and," she swallowed, keeping her eyes trained on the floor "...I wanted it to happen."

"I don't know what to say here, Joey. Everything just comes out wrong."

"I- it's probably asking to much." She paused, "But, I wish you could try and forgive me. I screwed up... and the last thing I want is for you to hate me. This last week...God, Pacey, it was horrible for me."

He got up and moved beside her forcing her to look at him. "Listen, I don't hate you."

"But..."

"I don't."

Her lips curved faintly into a grateful smile as she met his eyes. He wasn't lying. She watched his eyes, struck anew at their beauty, even bloodshot and tired as they were. Gently, he brushed his thumb against her cheek. It felt soft beneath his fingertips. "I could never hate you," he said softly.

Her breath caught in her throat, as she leaned into his touch ever so slightly. "You don't know how badly I needed to hear that," She whispered.

For a moment, he stared at her, his hand still caressing her cheek before he pulled away. He needed to get out of there. He needed to leave before he did something stupid. "I have to go," he said already at the door. "I'll call you or something."

She squeezed her eyes closed, and nodded. "Okay. Let me know...how it goes with Jen, okay?"

He nodded. "Yeah--um, I will."

"Bye, Pace." She said tiredly, watching him go.