"Pacey, I don't think I can do this." Joey paced through the kitchen with a frown, her high heels clicking on the tiled floor as she checked on the roast in the oven. "What was I thinking suggesting we have everyone over here for dinner? I mean, what kind of idiot am I? Having eighteen people over here! What if Lindsey makes it?" She asked, referring to Pacey's oldest sister who'd called to say she couldn't come. "How will we feed the extra people? Are the potatoes even in the oven yet?"

Pacey grasped her shoulders in his hands, "Breathe, Joey. Breathe."

"I don't have time to breathe!"

He smiled, "Sure you do. In," he said taking a deep breath, "out."

She tried to copy him, but her breathing was still wildly erratic. "Pacey...how are we ever going to convince everyone that we're in love? I can't even convince Bobo to sit!"

He smiled, "Hey, calm down okay? We can do it. We were in love once. Remember?"

"I'm having a hard time remembering my name right now."

Pacey pulled her to him and hugged her tightly, "Come on, Jo. I'm sure we could convince anyone if we wanted to badly enough. You just have to remember why you're doing this."

"Right." She inhaled a deep breath, resting her head against his shoulder. "I'm going to have a baby. You're right," she said much more calmly. "We can do this. I can do this..."

He nodded and cupped her face in his hands, "You can. We can. Keep your eye on the big picture here."

"Big picture, got it." She nodded, drawing strength and courage from the depths of his oceanic blue eyes.

The doorbell rang and Joey tensed up again, "Calm down, the potatoes are fine, and I'll go get the door."

"Right, you get the door. What do I do?" she wrung her hands together.

"Calm down."

"The table needs candles!" She ignored him and dug through one of the kitchen drawers to find the package of white tapered candles she knew she'd just bought.

He grasped her hands, "Joey. Stop. Relax. Everything will be fine. Besides, I don't trust you with fire right now. You go answer the door, I'll get the candles."

She let out another deep breath and nodded. She forced herself to talk long, slow steps to the front door. Plastering a smile on her face, she swung it open." She let out a sigh of relief seeing Jack and Landon on the porch. "It's just you."

Jack smirked, "Nice to see you too, Jo."

She gave him and Landon, a tall lanky blond, each a hug. "No, I'm glad you're the first ones here. That means I wont have to socialize with Pacey's family all on my own."

Jack smiled as Pacey walked up behind Joey, "See, all that worrying and it's just them."

Jack smiled, "You're welcoming could use some work."

"Don't start with me, Jack." She narrowed her eyes at him. "I'll poison your hors d'oeuvres."

Pacey patted her on the shoulders as Jack and Landon walked into the room, "Now, now, Potter. Threatening guests that you want to help you is not the way to get a favor."

Landon nodded, "You should listen to him. One of the few times something smart has come out of his mouth."

"They're getting free food out of it." She shrugged as Bobo lopped into the living room to see who the new comers were. The doe-eyed black lab was nearing thirteen years old and it had been years since she'd seen him move at anything quicker than a trot. She gave him an affectionate pat on the head.

Landon looked at Pacey, "So when are the parents getting here?"

Pacey checked his watched, "Any minute now." He looked at Landon, "Prepare yourself."

Joey frowned, "I should go make sure the hors d'oeuvres are ready to go."

Pacey looked over at Landon, "Now look what you've done."

"What did I do?"

"She was calm for five minutes, you mention my parents, and I get psycho Joey."

"Can you blame her, the way you talk about them?" Jack chuckled. "She's completely forgotten that the used to love her."

"They are still crazy. Whether they love her or not, they are out of their fucking minds. Why do you think I'm as screwed up as I am?"

"Pacey's screwed up?" Landon asked Jack.

"Like you wouldn't believe," Jack smirked.

Pacey nodded, "It's true. I have more...problems than you could come up with. I'm just really good at hiding it." He glanced at the kitchen and noticed Joey fidgeting, "Speaking of hiding, I think I need to go rescue my 'wife to be' from herself. Excuse me."

Landon laughed and took a seat on the couch, "They're both neurotic."

Jack smirked, "Like you wouldn't believe."

He held out a hand to Jack, "I'm so glad we're normal."





Joey stared at the plate of crackers topped with cheese and thinly sliced kabasa. "Is it too early to put these in the microwave?" She wondered, hearing Pacey enter the kitchen. She made a face, "Maybe these aren't sophisticated enough. I should have gone with the Pepper Poppers. Or the spinach spread."

Pacey shook his head, "You could have gone with squirt cheese on saltines and my parents would have eaten it happily. Believe me, what you have is plenty sophisticated enough. Relax. It's my parents, not the President."

"I am relaxed."

"No, you aren't."

The doorbell rang, "I hope that's Doug. Or Gretchen." Joey slid the plate into the microwave and hit start.

Pacey walked to the door and opened it and smiled at his brother, "Dougie, welcome to the Potter Plaza."

Doug shook his head, "Even after all this time, you're still a dufus."

Pacey nodded, "I know. It's part of my charm."

"So where's the latest innocent soul to be sucked into our family fold?" Doug held out a bottle, "I brought wine."

Pacey pointed to the kitchen, "Cooking for Mom and Dad. And it's a good thing you brought alcohol, we're probably going to need it.

"Are you sure Joey hasn't been imbibing already?" Doug smirked, entering the room. "She's marrying you after all."

Pacey shook his head, "If she had, she wouldn't be as nervous. She would remember that our parents loved her and are extremely happy that she will make an honest man out of one of their sons."

"Well, that goes to show how crazy our parents are. I wouldn't wish you on my worst enemy."

"Eat shit, Doug."

"That's the brother I know and love," Doug grinned and slapped Pacey on the back. "Congratulations."

"Thanks."

"Joey," Doug smiled as she entered the living room. "You're looking just as beautiful as ever."

"You sound surprised," she quirked a confused eyebrow at him.

"I'd thought you had to be feverish or something to agree to marry my brother," he smirked.

She rolled her eyes and moved to Pacey's side, slipping an arm around his waist. "Be nice, Dougie, or I'll stop holding him to his promise not to make gay jokes at your expense." She moved onto her tip toes, giving Pacey a quick kiss on the cheek.

Doug narrowed his eyes, "He can't possibly still believe I'm gay," he said looking at his brother who wrapped an arm around Joey. "I would think after an encounter one afternoon in the distant past, you learned that wasn't true."

"Doesn't mean he can't make your parents think so." She grinned. "Doug, you remember Jack." She gestured to the couch, "And this is his partner, Landon."

Doug smirked, "Yeah, I believe I arrested you in the group of your friends one night."

"Oooh," Landon's eyes it up. "This sounds like a story I wanna hear."

Jack shook his head, "No it's not. Believe me."

Pacey nodded, "It's so not a story to be told again."

Doug smirked over at him, "I found you hanging from a tree trying to do a funnel of God only knows what. Of course you would think it's not a story to be told."

The doorbell rang again, "Pacey, could you get that?" Joey edged towards the kitchen. I need to..." she beat a retreat before she finished the sentence.

Pacey sighed, "Yeah." He walked to the door and smiled at Bessie, "Joey will be so happy to see you."

"Have you been tormenting her again?" She questioned with an arched brow, a suitcase beside her.

Pacey smiled, "If only it were that simple. You see, she's stressed about my family being here, so you need to go into the kitchen, both you and Bodie," he said nodding his head at the other man as he walked up behind Bessie, "need to make her calm down."

"And you couldn't do this?" Bessie asked archly brushing past him, as twelve-year-old Alex dragged another suitcase up the walkway.

He shook his head, "As much as I've tried to reassure her that my parents love her and are crazy, she's still wound up tighter than a tennis racket. So please, help me."

"I'll take care of her," Bessie said with a knowing smirk, waving to the three in the living room. "You help Bodie and Alex with our things."

Bodie rolled his eyes, "Apparently she thought someone was going to break into the B&B while we were gone, she packed almost everything."

Pacey smiled, "Yeah, because Capeside is known for it's high crime rate." He took a suitcase and groaned at it's weight, "Damn, what's in here?"

"My Playstation Six." Alex said proudly. "I brought Dark Demon and Underfire."

Pacey shook his head, "I remember when the first Playstation came out. It was high technology."

"Ya seen the latest games?" Alex scoffed, "They'll blow your mind."

Pacey shook his head, "Nah...too bloody. I liked the racing games. I could always beat Dawson."

"Like that was hard," Jack scoffed. "He complained because the games didn't have a turn signal."

Pacey laughed, "He'd get really mad when I would smack into him and spin him around in circles."

"Where should I put these things?"

Pacey turned to Bodie, "Oh. Joey's room. You and Bessie are in there, and Alex is in the study," he said walking down the hall.

Bodie smiled, "And where will Joey be?"

Pacey smirked as he set the suit case on Joey's bed, "She'll...be at my place."

"What an inconvenience." Bodie replied with a sarcastic smile.

Pacey shook his head and smiled, "Hey, Joey kicks. But you know, I suppose I can deal with it."

"You learn to live with it," Bodie deposited the suitcases on Joey's well made bed. "Bessie tends to throw punches in her sleep."

Pacey smirked, "And while she's awake," he mumbled.

"Yeah, she told me about that." Bodie laughed. "She saved me the trouble." He regarded Pacey's face critically, "The bruise has completely healed. What did you tell Joey?"

Pacey rolled his eyes, "That I punched myself in my sleep."

"And she bought it?"

"No. Of course not. She asked who punched me, and I told her no one. Then I changed the subject..."

"We can leave this stuff up here until later," Bodie moved toward the door. "For the record, if you hurt her, I'll do a hell of a lot worse than Bessie did."

Pacey nodded, "I believe you."

"She's a good woman and she's gotten the short end of the stick all too often."

Pacey nodded, "Bodie, believe me, I know. But do you really think I would marry her if I didn't love her? I have no intention of ever hurting her again."

"Good," Bodie smiled, putting a hand on his shoulder. "You're a good man too, Pacey. I trust ya."

Pacey watched him walk down the hall and shook his head, "Her whole family is going to beat the shit out of me," he grumbled to himself before following Bodie down the hall.




Pacey walked the door when someone knocked and looked over his shoulder at Joey. He offered her a smile, then opened the door. She walked slowly behind him as Pacey's mother hugged him. "Ma...where's Pop?"

She pulled away and then hugged Joey, "He's parking the car dear." She pulled away and looked at Joey, "Joey, honey, you look beautiful. You haven't changed since high school."

"Um, thanks." She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, with an embarrassed smile. "I think."

Pacey wrapped an arm around her waist, "It was a compliment. Accept it."

"So the news can't be true. My son is getting married," John Witter said as he walked up to the door.

Pacey nodded, "It's true." He looked at Joey, "She twisted my arm."

Pacey's mother hit him on the arm, "Don't say things like that about Joey. You should be ashamed."

Joey smiled faintly, leaning her head against Pacey's shoulder, "I'm lucky to have him."

Pacey smiled, "See. She's lucky to have me." They walked into the apartment, and Pacey shut the door behind them. Joey stayed as close to Pacey as possible. "So, can I get anyone a drink?"

"You got beer, son?"

Pacey nodded, "Yeah, Pop, we've got beer. Mom?"

"I don't suppose you have any wine?"

He nodded, "We do. Doug brought it. Anyone else?" He took a few more requests for wine, "Jo, you wanna help me?" She nodded, and cast one more look at his parents, then followed him into the kitchen.

"Okay, okay," Joey walked straight to the refrigerator to fetch the wine. "How long till the leave?"

Pacey laughed, "A good hour or two. Possibly three." He could see Bessie watching out of the corner of his eye and reached for her, placing both hands on her waist. "Calm down, okay? They are my parents. No one important. And no matter what they think of you, this is still going to happen." He kissed her on the forehead, "And as for what they do think of you, you hear my mom gush over you, right? They love you, Joey. Probably more than me. So relax."

"I know I'm being stupid," she sighed, giving him a quick hug. "I don't even know why I'm so freaked out here."

He sighed, "Because you want them to like you. Which is a stupid concept. They're my parents and I could care less if they like me."

"They do like you, Pace." She assured him, pulling away to look up at him. "They just suck at showing it."

He tilted his head, "You think?"

"I know so. Otherwise, why would they even care who you're marrying?"

"They care because it makes them look better in front of their friends to tell them that they have a son who's getting married."

"You underestimate them, Pace." She tilted her head to the side. "I know they were horrible parents while you were growing up. There's no denying that. But you've more than proven yourself worthy of their love and respect as an adult, and they've finally taken notice." She smiled up at him, "They're proud of you."

He nodded, "I know. It's just...when you've been told the same thing your whole life, you tend to believe it. I started to believe I was nothing to them, you know?"

"I do know," she sighed. "I was there, remember? I saw what their attitude did to you. I guess I'll just have to keep reminding you how loveable you are." She said with a smirk. "Eventually you'll begin to believe it."

He smiled, "But you also like to remind me that I'm an ass."

"A loveable ass?" She tried.

He smiled, "We'll go with lovable ass."

Reluctantly, she disengaged herself from his embrace, "The rest of your family is going to show up any minute now."

He nodded slowly, "Which means, we should probably get stuff ready, huh?"

"I'm going to finish up in here. The roast will be ready whenever they get here. You take out the wine and beer," she moved away from him to grab glasses, "And then get your parents settled in the guest room, okay?"

He nodded, "Yeah. I can do that. Did you pack your stuff to take over to my place?" he asked as he removed the wine from the fridge and poured several glasses for the patrons in the kitchen, and grabbed a beer for his father.

"No, not yet." She sighed, "I knew I was forgetting something."

He grinned, "You know, you don't have to pack a bag. You could always sleep in what you're wearing under your clothes."

"But then I would be naked," she replied innocently.

His eyes were wide, "Are you telling me, that you aren't wearing anything under your clothes?"

Bessie cleared her throat as she entered the kitchen, and Pacey looked away from Joey, "I only caught the last part of that conversation and all I have to say is control yourselves while there are other people here."

Joey grinned, "Well, do either of you see any panty lines?" She winked at Bessie, "And the only one who needs help controlling anything is Pacey."

He shook his head and left the room, grumbling something about being teased beyond the brink of sanity. Bessie smiled at her sister, "It's nice to see you smile again."

She shrugged a shoulder, turning to the oven to check on the roast and potatoes. "Pacey always did have an unfortunate knack for that."

Bessie nodded, "Yeah...but it's more than just you smiling. You look happy."

"Well," Joey smiled at her sister, "I'm getting married. Why shouldn't I be happy?"

Bessie shook her head, "I didn't say you shouldn't...just saying it's good to see you happy."

"Thank Pacey."

Bessie nodded, "I will."

The doorbell rang again, "I think I must have been insane to think I was ready to cater to twenty people tonight."

Bessie smiled and put a hand on her shoulder, "Relax. He'll still marry you if tonight goes badly."

"I know," she smiled. "He's desperate. But I was thinking more for my own survival. Could you do me a big favor and get the hors d'oeuvres from the microwave?" She called as she headed for the front door.

Pacey beat her to it and swung the door open as he grinned at her. Joey let out a sigh of relief as Jen smiled at her, "Hey."

Pacey smiled, "Oh good, you're here." He pulled her inside and waved at Mike as he walked up the front steps, "You can calm her down."

Joey rolled her eyes, "You've said that to everyone who's walked through the door, Pacey."

Pacey smiled, "But none of them have succeeded."

"And none of them will." She replied easily. "Come on in guys." She grinned at Marissa who was looking positively adorable dressed in a purple dress, perched on her father's arm. "Can I?"

Mike handed her over with a smile, "Of course."

Joey smiled softly down at the baby, "You are so cute," she cooed, stepping away from the door so the others could come in. "Yes, you are. With your daddy's eyes and your mommy's smile."

Pacey smiled and looked at Mike, "You might not get your daughter back."

Jen smirked, "Oh she'll give her back or we will fight."

"Ohh, I could get into that." Mike smirked, eyeing the two women.

Pacey smiled, "You and me both. Will Jell-o be involved?"

"If you both behave yourselves," Joey replied distractedly, carrying the baby into the living room.

Pacey hit Mike playfully on the arm, "You hear that? If we behave."

Joey sank into one of the chairs, followed by Jen. Glancing up at the guests around her she gave a shaky smile, "We're just waiting on Gretchen and Carrie. In the mean time, um. Jen, Jack, you remember Pacey's parents right?"

"Of course," Jen gave them a warm smile and shook Sheriff Witter's hand. "This is my husband, Mike. And that's our daughter, Marissa." Much to Joey's relief, small talk quickly ensued. While Bessie passed around hors d'oeuvres, she sat back with a sigh, cradling the baby against her.