Pacey finished the last of his beer as he looked over at Jack, "It boggles the mind my friend. I mean...she said she loves me...but she doesn't want to stay married to me."

"You know...I'm beginning to think she's lost her mind." Jack nodded in agreement. "That can be the only explanation."

Pacey sat back in his chair, "I think she has too. I mean...if she had had Hope I could blame it on hormones. I don't know what the hell is going on in her head. We don't even talk to each other anymore. Our conversations usually consist of 'hello', 'goodbye' and 'where's Hope'."

Jack patted his hand on his friend's arm. "You're not sleeping together anymore?"

Pacey shook his head, "Nope. I sleep on the fold-out couch. What's the point in sleeping with her and falling even more in love with her, when in a few months, she'll make me leave?"

"Better to have loved and lost, as they say." Jack took another swig of his beer. "It's all a matter of what's going to hurt more: Wasting these last few months barely talking to each other and then walking away, or loving each other with everything you have and then walking away?"

"I can't. I can't do it, Jack. I just can't have everything with her...and then end it. It hurts already."

Jack sighed, and surveyed the bar sightlessly, "It just doesn't make sense..."

"I know. What's-what's wrong with her? I mean, am I that horrible that she can't imagine spending the rest of her life with me? I mean...explain it to me."

"It can't be that." Jack shook his head, "You have to talk to her, man. Get down to the bottom of this."

"I tried, Jack. I tried to talk to her, and she just tells me she doesn't want a husband." Pacey looked at Jack, "You think it could have something to do with Samuel hurting her?"

"That's a very distinct possibility." Jack nodded, "In fact...the more I think about it, it seems like the only possibility."

"He was an asshole. He divorced her because she couldn't have kids! That's it Jack!"

"What's it?" He looked back at his friend.

"She's thinking that I won't want to stay with her because she can't have children. She's said to me a million times that I'll find someone to start a family with...that's it!"

Jack watched the smile blossom on Pacey's face. "You're sure about that?"

"What else could it be, Jack?"

"I'm just saying, the female mind is a mysterious thing. Maybe it is that simple. For your sake, and hers, I hope that it is."

Pacey sighed, "The only problem is convincing Joey that I want to be with her no matter what."

Jack chuckled, "That's the catch. She's not going to believe you."

"No...because she never believes a damn word I have to say."

"So basically you're screwed."

He was quiet for a minute, then tilted his head at Jack, "Maybe. Then again...I could spend the next few months proving to her that I love her no matter what, you know?" He smiled, "I have been told I can be very charming when I want to be."

Jack laughed, "You've also been told, by Miss. Joey Potter herself, that your charms don't exactly work on her."

"She lies too. I've gotten her to do things she never thought she would do...I have the power of persuasion on my side."

Jack smiled slowly, "You've really got nothing left to lose, after all."

"And everything to gain." Pacey took a swig of another beer, "What is it about alcohol that makes you see everything so much more clearly?"

Jack laughed, "Usually it's just the opposite."

"But for us...we are very perceptive drunks."

"At least one of us is," he raised his bottle in toast.

"Nah, see...you led me down the path, Jack. You should be thanked. Go home and tell Landon I said to thank you."

"Eh, well, about Landon..."

Pacey looked at Jack, "What about Landon? What did you do?"

"What did I do? You automatically assume it was me?"

"Yeah. I do. We're both stupid. So naturally I assume it's you."

"He wants to adopt a baby."

"So?"

"So...he's got baby fever."

"And that kind of commitment scared the shit out of you, doesn't it?"

"To put it lightly, yeah."

"Why? Babies are great, Jack. Hope has made my life better."

"Yeah, but babies grow up to be children. And children grow up to go to school. And children don't understand when a kid has two daddies. And children grow up to hate their parents."

Pacey sighed, "Jack...kids don't understand much of anything. But what the do understand is that their parents love them. If the kid feels loved, that's all that matters."

"It's just more than I think I can handle."

"I know. But honestly, Jack, a child is a blessing."

"That may be so, but it's not one I think I'm ready for."

"You're scared. Believe me, I understand that. But are you telling me that you can never see yourself raising a child?"

"Someday. Maybe."

He sighed, "Have you told this to Landon? Or did you do what I do and leave to get drunk?"

"We're here, aren't we?" He smirked.

Pacey shook his head, "Think long and hard before you do something stupid like break up with him. He's good for you. Keeps you grounded. Don't throw what you have with him away because you're scared."

"I'll keep that in mind."

"No, you won't."

"I wont?" Jack shot wide eyes to his friend.

"No. You'll do the dumb thing and avoid talking to him and then he'll get fed up with your shit and he'll leave you. You know how I know? Because you and I are a lot more alike than you've ever thought."

Jack sighed, "I'll talk to him."

"Yeah...you had better. Or Joey will kick your ass. She likes Landon."

"I'm kinda fond of the little bugger too."

Pacey smiled, "Well, don't let him go then. You'll regret it in the long run."

"I just can't see staying with him if he forces me to move faster than I'm ready for. That's not what being in love is all about."

"Well, you also can't stay in the same place forever, Jack. You have to move forward eventually, otherwise why be in a relationship?"

"Because I love him and want to be with him. Why can't it be that simple?" He arched an eyebrow at Pacey, "Maybe that's what Joey wants, maybe she just wants the simplicity with out the need for legal ties?"

Pacey shrugged, "Well, whatever it is she wants...I'm gonna find out what it is. And I know the one person she would tell it to."

"Let me guess..."



"Jen."

"Pacey?" The blonde stepped back from the doorway and let him into the house, "What are you doing here?"

"I need to talk to you...and it's about Joey."

"Surprise, surprise," she led the way down the hallway and stopped in the living room to pick up Marissa. "You want a cup of coffee or something before we get into the deep conversation?"

Pacey shook his head, "Nah...I'm good."

"I think I might need the fortification," she handed the baby to Pacey, and started to prepare herself some tea. "What about Joey?"

"Does she really loved me?" he asked smiling at Marissa.

"Head over heels," Jen nodded, "My words, not hers. And it terrifies her."

"Why? I mean, I've thought about this for weeks now. I've talked to Jack about it. I just...I can't figure out why, since she's in love with me and I'm in love with her, she still wants a divorce when the year is up. Can you tell me? I figure if anyone could you could."

"She hasn't told me, and believe me, Pace, I've pleaded your case a thousand times." She pulled the cup of hot water from the microwave and started dipping her tea bag into the water. "It's like she doesn't want to be happy or something."

Pacey sat in a chair at her kitchen table, "I just don't understand it, Jen. I mean...I really don't. I have two thoughts. One, she's scared after what happened with Samuel. And two...she thinks that because she can't have children...that would make me love her less in the long run."

"Both very valid points," Jen nodded. "And I think she's scared of needing someone, and of not being needed back. I don't know. But she's scared of something. That much is obvious. Maybe it's a combination of things."

"Yeah. She seemed really shocked that I didn't want to carry on with our relationship after she told me she still planned to get a divorce."

"Well, she loves you Pace...she probably wants to hold on to you for as long as she can."

"If that were the case, she wouldn't want a divorce," he said tilting his head at her. "It's driving me crazy, Jen. I mean...I want to be with her as much as she says she wants to be with me, but I'm not sure I should even put my heart out there and give her the opportunity to crush it. Know what I mean?"

Jen sighed deeply, "Yeah, I do. And I can't blame you. Maybe she's right, maybe you should just move on...make a family of your own."

He shook his head, "I want the family I have. I want her and Hope. There will never be another woman I could love the way I love her. And as for Hope, she may not be mine, but that child...she's the best thing that ever happened to me."

"And if you turn away from them now or three months from now, whatever, how are you going to feel?"

"Lost...completely and totally lost. That's why I want to know what's going on in Joey's head. I want--I want to know why she's willing to end something that works."

"Maybe it's not working for her?" Jen questioned thoughtfully, "Maybe....I don't know."

"Then why would she want to continue things?"

"God, Pacey, I don't know. Maybe she just likes the sex. You'll have to ask her. She's the only one with the answers you want. Every time I try to bring this up, she just tells me she doesn't want a husband."

"She tells me the same thing."

Jen sighed, blowing on the hot tea before taking a sip, "Well, maybe that's the answer, don't be her husband. That doesn't mean you can't be her lover, or her best friend, or significant other. Whatever you want to call it, it doesn't change the way either of you feel about it. 'A rose by any other name'..."

Pacey nodded, "You're right. We could continue things, just...not as a married couple."

"That might work." Jen brushed back a curl behind her ear.

He sighed, "No it won't."

"Why not?"

"Cause she's more stubborn than I am. She's got her mind on ending this...completely ending this in a year."

"So you'll just have to be even more stubborn, I guess."

He smiled, "That won't be hard." Pacey looked down at Marissa, "Well, I think I should get back there, or else she could really give me the silent treatment."

Jen winced, "Is it still that bad?"

"I believe the longest sentence exchanged between us is 'Will you change Hope?'"

"That's just sad, Pacey." Jen shook her head.

"Hey, you know, when someone tells you they want to divorce you...it usually stops a lot of conversation."

"But you knew that's what she wanted, Pace. She told you before any of this started."

"I wasn't expecting to fall for her, Jen."

"She wasn't expecting to fall for you either."

"See...we weren't expecting to sleep together, and we did. She was expecting me to date other women, and I don't. We weren't expecting to fall in love with one another, but we did. Why should I expect for us to still get a divorce when all our other expectations have gone right out the window?"

"There's still plenty of time left...maybe you wont."

He smiled, "I'm gonna work on it. Besides like you said before, I could always date her and not marry her."

"Right." Jen nodded, "Maybe you should be getting home. I wouldn't want Mike to come home and get the wrong idea."

Pacey winked at her, "He has nothing to worry about."

"Good, go see if you can't get your wife to talk to you."

"Okay," Pacey stood and handed Marissa to Jen. "Wish me luck?"

"Always."

He kissed her on the top of her head and left the house, "I need all the luck I can get."