Jack clicked back to the other line. "Okay. That was Joey."

"Where is she? Is she okay? Is she mad?"

"She doesn't want me to say. She's okay. I don't think she's mad," Jack answered in succession as he poured himself a glass of orange juice.

"Is she--is she coming back?"

"She's running off to Tahiti to elope with the mailman; she said she'll send you a card," Jack said dryly. "Of course she's coming back."

"There is no 'of course' when it comes to Joey Potter, Jack." He said, a relieved smile painting his features.

"Yeah, well, maybe Bessie can talk some sense into her." He drank his juice down thirstily and grimaced. "And I did not just say that."

"Didn't say what?" Pacey replied innocently.

Jack let out a breath of relief. "Nothing. I didn't say anything."

Pacey smirked. "Great, than we're in agreement." He paused, his smile falling, "She didn't say why she left, did she?"

"She said she needed time to think," Jack replied putting his glass in the sink.

"Okay, she could have told me that. I would have understood."

Jack shrugged. "Yeah, well, Joey has issues."

"We were getting along fine, you know? Which has been happening more and more often, and then suddenly she's up and running. That's what happened last time, for obviously different reasons. But it happened. Why can't she just open up to me?"

Jack shrugged again unsure of what to say. "Well, what made her run last time?"

"I'm not sure I should...she said she wanted to be the one who told you."

Jack shut his eyes and shook his head ridding it of an unwanted mental image. "I know what happened before she ran but why did she run?"

"For the longest time, I didn't know. But when we ran into each other again, she told me it was because she was falling in love and she wasn't ready for that." He paused, "And before you start pointing out similarities, that's not this case this time."

Jack tried hard to suppress a laugh. "Well, I guess you can say that's definitely not the case."

"Exactly. So...I mean, I don't think she hates me. We were getting along perfectly last night and this morning. I'm drawing a big fat blank here, Jack."

He shook his head in disbelief. "I think it's pretty obvious."

"Then why don't you impart that information on me?"

"Because I value my life," he answered quickly. "So, uh, how's Shane?"

Pacey smirked, "I think you'd know the answer to that better than I would."

"He hasn't said anything to you, has he?" Jack asked suspiciously.

"Aside from everything he loves about you...nope." He smiled into the phone.

Jack nodded his head slowly. "O-kay. I should go. I still have to cook dinner."

"Nope, Jack." He stopped, "I want the details here. Just not the gory ones."

Jack smiled. "I don't kiss and tell."

"You and Shane are a match made in heaven then. 'Cause he wont say much either." He faked a pout, "You guys are no fun. How's a guy supposed to live vicariously through his two gay friends?"

"He's not," Jack grinned. "He's supposed to go out and get a life for himself."

"Been there, tried that, made a mess. Getting a life is no good for Pacey Witter." He said, only half joking.

"Yeah, well don't be too hard on yourself. Things will probably work out in the end," Jack said evasively.

"What's to work out? Everything's fine aside from Joey's abrupt disappearance."

"You sure about that?"

"I have to be." He mumbled.

Jack sighed tiredly. "You and Joey...I swear," he muttered under his breath. "Anyway, I have to cook dinner if I'm planning to eat sometime today. I'll catch you later."

"Okay, bye Jack. And thanks."

"No problem. Later."

"Bye."

Pacey's eyes scanned the train station as he paced back and forth on the platform. Jack had said her train was coming in at 4:00 and he'd been there since 3:00. He gnawed on his thumb nail as he waited for her train to pull in, it was a nervous habit he'd picked up over the years.

He heard the train whistle in the distance and he froze as it pulled up to the platform. His eyes flickered to the other people around him, all waiting with him. Their eyes were alight with anticipation of their loved ones arriving. He imagined his looked similar, except with the shadow of fear lurking in their depths.

He couldn't help but fear that she wasn't going to be on the train. Maybe she decided to stay in Capeside, or maybe she'd just taken off again. Either way, as people began to exit the train, his nervousness and fear began to grow exponentially.

Joey readjusted the strap of her bag and brushed her hair away from her face as she stepped off the train. She heaved a sigh and glanced at the watch on her wrist. It was still early enough for her to go by the gallery and check out what was going on. She'd only talked to Lucy a few times out of the week under Bessie's orders who wanted to spend time with her sister.

Pacey scanned each face that stepped off the train, his panic rising as each of them came and went, and still no Joey. Then, there, suddenly she was, a small frown on her face as she disembarked. He moved swiftly through the crowd, pushing aside a few people that stood in his way. He couldn't feel anything but the relief that she had finally come home after two weeks. She caught site of him, a surprised look on her face, she'd probably expected Jack. He wasted no time, cupping her cheeks in his hands and drawing her lips to his. The lump in his throat that had been there since he'd discovered her absence magically dissolved as he kissed her.

Joey's eyes widened in surprise to find him there and even more surprised by his greeting. He pulled away, slightly breathless. He rested his forehead against hers, his eyes still closed, "Don't ever do that again, Potter," he whispered, his voice sounding broken to her ears.

She smiled faintly. "Don't worry the baby's fine," she said softly.

"And you?"

"A little tired," she answered honestly. "Alex woke me up early because he wanted to make me breakfast."

He pulled away from her, taking her bag in one hand and her hand with his other. "Aside from the physical, how are you?" He led her towards the exit.

"I'm okay."

"Really? You're okay with the pregnancy now?" He asked, concern lacing his voice.

Her hand instinctively went to her stomach and she smiled slightly. "Yeah."

"And...you're okay with me?" He held open the double doors for her.

She shrugged. "That I'm still getting use to."

He nodded in understanding, "Tell me what you need, Jo. Be it time, distance, or graham crackers topped with coleslaw, I'll do my best to be accommodating."

She nodded slowly and inhaled sharply. "I think we should move in together," she said in one breath.

"Move in together?" He repeated, a skeptical look in his eyes as he unlocked the doors to his car. "Are you sure that'd be--are you really comfortable with that idea?"

She nodded. "I thought about it and I think that's really the best idea." She paused. "Maybe something with three bedrooms."

He gave her a short smile, "Okay, then. We will." He climbed into his car and put the keys in the ignition, he turned to her before starting the car, "And thank you."

"For what?"

"For letting me be a part of...this." The corner of his mouth turned up, "I couldn't imagine a better gift."

She shrugged glancing out the window. "Well, I really don't have much of a choice. You kind of helped with the inception."

"No, you did have a choice." He pulled out of his parking spot. "And you chose to let me be in your life to such an extent...and I can't thank you enough for that." He paused, "What am I going to tell Shane?"

"The truth?" Joey commented lightly.

"Yeah, but he can't afford our apartment on his own." He frowned, "You don't think Jack's ready for a live in boyfriend, do you?"

Joey smiled. "Jack's in love."

Pacey smiled too, "Yeah, I noticed. It's become pretty obvious. Shane's pretty much head over heels too. It's funny actually, I've never seen him like this."

"So maybe your moving out won't be that big of a problem." She glanced back out the window distractedly.

"I just hope they're ready for that step. For that matter, I hope we are." He glanced over at her in time to see a slight frown cross her features.

"Yeah..." she answered weakly.

"When were you thinking?" He asked.

She shifted. "I don't know sometime before I get too big to pack up my apartment."

He nodded, "Sounds good to me, we can give Shane a little time to get used to the idea so he can find a new place. And between the two of us, we should be able to get our apartment clean sometime before the baby goes to college."

"Well, unlike you, I am not a slob."

"No, you're more of the 'controlled chaos' type." He smirked at her.

"Bite me."

"Do you want to go apartment hunting together, then?"

She rolled her eyes. "Duh."

He smiled to himself, "Just clarifying. I'm never sure when it comes to you. Who knows, maybe you wanted to do it yourself." He shrugged.

She turned to him. "Why would I want to do that?"

"I donno." He shrugged, concentrating on the road. "Why do you do any of the things you do?"

She frowned.

He gave her a sidelong look and caught the frown on her face. "Not that that expression holds strictly to you," he amended. "The same goes for the general female populous."

She sighed again and rested her head against the glass window watching the passing scenery with muted interest.

"Did I do something wrong again?" He asked, growing weary at his own confusion.

She shook her head. "It's me."

"You want to talk about it?" he asked.

"I-" she began, then frowned and bit her lip. "There's nothing really to talk about."

He nodded to himself. "If that nothing ever turns into something, you know where to find me." He told her. "In the mean time, where am I taking you?" He asked, smiling at her, hoping to relieve the tension.

"Home."

"Okay, I know you've got to get caught up with the gallery now that you're back. When would be a good time for you to meet with a real estate agent?" He asked, anxious to get started on his new life.

She rubbed the back of her neck wearily. "I don't know. I have to check my schedule."

"Just let me know," he said easily. They neared her apartment building.

"Will do," she answered her hand already on the door handle so she'd be able to make a quick exit.

"I have to work tonight, but call me tomorrow?"

She nodded. "Okay."

"Bye, Potter." He said, a tired look on his face as he stared out the windshield.

"Bye," she said quietly opening the door and climbing out. She glanced back at him a second, opened her mouth to speak and paused, mentally debating with herself before shutting the door behind her.

Pacey took in the spacious living room with a skeptical eye. The large windows let in the afternoon light, making for an airy atmosphere, and an almost good view of the park below and a great view of the next building over. He moved into the kitchen, and tried not to look too disbelieving. It seemed perfect; clean, roomy, well stocked. He looked over his shoulder at the nervous looking agent, so far nothing had sparked their interest. In comparison, this place seemed to good to be true. He gave the agent a tight smile, there had to be something wrong with it. "Hey, Jo? Where are you?" he called, walking down the hallway.

"In here." Joey's voice echoed around the empty room as she surveyed it. She walked over to one of the large windows that lined the wall and gazed out at the street below.

He followed the sound of her voice into one of the bedrooms. "So, what do you think?"

"It's great," she said quietly stepping away from the window.

"I donno," he looked out the window, "It seems too perfect. There's a park nearby, a school...it's the perfect size and close to the gallery. There's got to be something wrong with it."

"Yeah, we're planning to move into it."

He chuckled, "So you really like it?" He asked, a smile on his face.

She nodded glancing around the empty room again. "Yeah. I do."

"Should we tell the agent or let her stew for a while?"

She laughed softly. "Don't be mean."

"But I'm good at it," he pouted.

She sighed and placed a hand behind her, rubbing lightly at her lower back. "Let's just hurry up and get this over with. I'm getting tired."

"Okay," he nodded. "You want to tell her or should I?" He held open the bedroom door for her.

"You can tell her," Joey said walking out of the room.

He followed behind her, his hands in his pockets. He wondered inwardly how to make things easier between them. Or even if that was possible. He smiled upon seeing the sales woman her back turned to them. "Ahem." He cleared his throat.

She smiled brightly, brushed her luxurious red hair behind her ear, and straightened the jacket to her yellow skirt suit. She looked at the two of them expectedly. "So?"

He glanced at Joey quickly before looking back at their agent. "We'll take it." He announced, a slow smile crossing his features.

She brought her hands together and beamed happily. "Wonderful. The papers are down at my office if you're interested in signing them today."

"Jo?" he asked, turning to her.

She waved him off. "You can just go without me. I think I'm about ready to head home."

"No, we'll do it later," he told the sales agent. "We're going to co-sign for it."

She smiled. "Okay. You have my number call and schedule a time." She walked over to the kitchen and retrieved her purse. "Just make sure to lock up when you're done."

"Alright, thanks," he shook her hand as she left. He turned to Joey after the door had closed. "So...what room do you want?"

"Um." She thought about it. "The one that's closest to the bathroom."

He smiled, "Probably a good idea. Where do you think the baby should go?"

"The one closest to my room, of course."

He smiled, "That leaves me with the one across the hall. Works for me."

She laughed slightly. "This has to be the weirdest situation."

"Can't say this is the weirdest I've been in, but it ranks up there." He chucked, "Let me tell ya, Potter. All the times I've imagined us living together, it sure wasn't like this." He gazed around the room again.

She smirked. "You've imagined us living together?"

"Can't say that it hasn't crossed my mind on occasion." He shied away from her question.

"Uh-huh," she said patronizingly.

"What? You've never thought about us together?" He turned the focus on to her.

She looked away and glanced around the living room. "Hmm...I think my couch would look great right by the window."

"Thought so." He smiled smugly to himself. "You know what would look really good above the mantle?"

She turned to him puzzled. "What?"

"Some work by this artist I know..." he tilted his head as he eyed the blank wall. "I can't seem to think of her name though. It's a guy's name, Max or Kris or something like that..."

Joey smiled and shrugged helplessly. "Well, if you can't remember her name I guess we'll have to settle with a blank space."

"It'll come to me." He assured her. "The woman's work is remarkable. You'd like it."

"Yes, and since your such an art aficionado how can I doubt your taste?"

"Precisely," he chose to ignore her sarcasm.

Joey tapped her finger against her lips thoughtfully. "But I figured something more classy would suit your tastes, such as dogs playing poker."

He shook his head, "No, I'm saving that one for my room."

"Good idea."

"Thought you'd appreciate that," he winked at her. "So, you ready to head out of here?"

Her heart fluttered involuntarily and she smiled. "Yep."

"Alright, let's go." He took the key the real estate agent had left them on the counter and headed for the door. As always, he held it open for her.

She smiled faintly. "Thanks."

He checked his watch, "We're done earlier than I thought we'd be. You just going to go home and sleep?"

She shrugged. "More than likely."

"Okay. How are things at the gallery?" He asked, more to be conversational than anything else.

"Fine. Lucy seems to be handling everything okay and she promised to call me if something came up."

"When do you want to go back?"

She shrugged. "As soon as I can, I guess."

"What's stopping you from going back now?"

"I don't know. I haven't really been feeling up to it. What's with the twenty questions?"

"I'm just curious. I want to know what's going on in your life. And how we're going to work this whole moving thing," He shrugged as the got on the elevator. "I'm probably getting ahead of myself though. We haven't even signed anything."

"I'm not going to change my mind if that's what you're worried about."

He shook his head, "No, it's not that. I just...don't like change. I'd rather get it all over and done with so we can settle in together." She nodded quietly. "You know what I mean? This is all incredibly overwhelming, and once I get one part of my life settled, I can start to tackle everything else. And at the moment, moving seems to be at the forefront."

She sighed again. "Ugh, I'm gonna have to start packing."

"Yeah, and we need to decide what furniture to take with us, and what we're going to need to buy." He smiled, a glimmer in his eye, "not to mention baby things."

"Yeah, that too..."

"Don't sound so glum, Jo." He put his arm around her shoulders. "We'll be okay."

She frowned. "I just hate that we're forced to do this."

He frowned slightly, "I can't speak for you...but I don't feel forced. Jo, this is the best thing that's happened to me in years. I want to have a baby with you, I want to raise a child with you. I want to have a real life...with a real family. I can see where this is the last thing you want, but," he shook his head, "I don't know how to fix it."

Joey scoffed. "Yeah, a real dysfunctional family."

"There's a lot to be said for dysfunction. My family was functional, and it was the coldest household I've ever been in. We may not be normal, but there will be no lack of love."

"This kid is going to need years of therapy."

He smiled, "I'll make sure to put some money away just for that purpose."

She managed a weak smile in return. "This is definitely going to kill all my chances for a relationship."

He looked down, "I'm sorry, Jo."

"Yeah, well...it's not your fault."

"Yeah, it was," He replied.

"It just happened." She shrugged. "Not like it was intentional."

"Yeah, but who pressured you for a sexual relationship? Who's insisting that you have the baby? Who exactly is it that's turning your life upside down?"

She paused thoughtfully. "You have a point. I hate you."

He nodded, "Good, just so we know where we stand." She started laughing, "What?" He gave her an exasperated look.

"You amuse me."

"Glad to know I'm good for something," he said dryly.

She smiled. "Yeah, the only reason I keep you around."

"That and half of that embryo is mine." He touched her stomach lightly, then pulled his hand away.

She shrugged evasively. "Maybe because of that, maybe not."

"Dare I ask, does that mean you might actually enjoy my company?" He teased. His smile faded to a frown, "Jo, you hate this, I know you do. It's written all over your face, ever since you found out. I can't help but feel to blame for that."

Her gaze dropped to the floor. "I don't necessarily hate it, it's just an uncomfortable situation."

"What can I do to make us both more comfortable? Is it going to just take time to get used to, or can I actually do something?"

She shook her head. "Just forget about it."

"So we're just going to go on like this...?"

"I don't see anything wrong with it."

"For two people who just a month ago were incredibly intimate, this feels awkward." He shrugged, "Do you think moving in together is going to make that any better?"

"No, but what other choice do we have?"

"I don't know...to talk about it? I feel absolutely horrible about doing this to you, Joey. I hate being the one who makes you frown. I hate being the one who forced you to skip town. And I hate being the one who makes you all around miserable."

She shook her head. "You don't make me miserable, Pacey."

"Maybe, maybe not. But I did make you pregnant, and that makes you miserable."

"It makes me hormonal," she corrected.

"So?"

"It just amplifies all my other feelings, like a really bad case of PMS that lasts for nine months."

"Then you're only a tiny bit miserable and it just seems like a lot," he reiterated.

"A very small bit."

"And what's the rest of you feeling?"

Joey frowned. "You don't want to know."

He shook his head. "No, I do. I want to know if you're excited, scared, nervous. If you resent me for forcing you to completely rework your life. I want to know if you just plain don't give a damn. Because, Joey, this guilt is eating me alive. I'd just like to know whether it's founded or not."

"It's not."

"So, it's really just all in my head?"

She nodded her head not looking at him. "Yep."

"Than why wont you look at me?"

She turned her head her eyes not quite meeting his. "What are you talking about?"

"You're lying to me." He told her, his eyes narrowing. "At least be honest with me, Joey. If you're upset that I made you pregnant, at least be open about it. We're never going to make this work otherwise." He frowned.

"Like I have a choice," she muttered under her breath. She wrapped her jacket tighter around her and grimaced uncomfortably.

He sighed, and looked away from her. He dug his hands into his pockets. He felt the key to the apartment in his left pocket and he wrapped his hands around it. Making an instant decision, he pulled it out and stopped her.

"Joey, if you don't want me in your life and if you'd rather just raise the baby on your own..." he frowned and took her hand, opening it, he put the key inside. "It'll kill me, Jo. But I will walk away if that's what it takes to make you happy." He closed her fingers around the key and turned away, he didn't look back as he hailed a cab.

She stared after him wordlessly, clutching the key tightly as it dug into her palm, branding her. She bit her lip unable to make herself move to go after him, stop him and confess everything like she wanted to.

Instead, she let him go.