"Jen, I'm not going out there! Did you see this-this monstrosity? It's horrible. This is not what I wanted." Joey crossed her arms in front of her chest refusing to come out of the changing room. She looked like some bad extra from Gone with the Wind, hoop skirt and all. She scowled at her reflection in the dressing room mirror. "It's ugly!" It was a warm July day and she'd enlisted Jen's help in planning her wedding, merely a month and a half away.

"It's not ugly, it's a...a classic." Jen said soothingly, rolling her eyes heavenward from the other side of the dressing room door.

"Yes, it is! It is! It's horrible!" Joey exclaimed angrily. "Don't lie to me. You know it is. I'm going to walk down that aisle and everyone is going to laugh!"

"Jo, no one is going to laugh." Jen said calmly, "Not even if you walked out looking like a hooker." She paused, "Well, maybe then." She smirked. "But you don't, so please come out here and let me see?"

Joey grimaced and pushed open the door, stepping out her arms firmly crossed over her chest. "Fine, happy now?"

"Not entirely." She motioned that Joey should turn in a circle. With a grumble she did so, Jen stood back to get a full view. "You're right. It's hideous." She turned to the sales woman beside her, "I don't suppose you have any other dresses, do you?" She asked sweetly. The woman looked ready to tear out her own hair from frustration. "Something more modern, maybe?"

"Yes, modern," The bride-to-be snapped. "Perhaps something from this century."

The woman nodded and walked away from the dressing rooms to find something more modern for the cranky brunette and her sarcastic friend. "For someone about to get married you're awfully..." Jen trailed off.

Joey frowned and sat down on one of the plush waiting chairs in the small boutique. "Happy. I'm awfully happy. It's just, it sucks Jen. Dawson's off working and I get stuck with the planning."

"He left this morning right?" She nodded. "Would you really rather be working right now?"

Joey sighed. "I guess not, but it'd be really helpful," she paused and raised her voice in the direction the sale's lady had went, "If they'd be able to find a dress that was made sometime after the eighteen hundreds."

Jen rested a hand on her friend's shoulder. "Calm down, Joey. What'd the woman ever do to you?"

She sunk down further in her seat. "You're right. I'm sorry. Chalk it up to stress."

"You're forgiven."

The frazzeled sales lady returned, with an arm load of taffeta. She held it out to the two woman, a desperate look in her eyes. Jen winced then bit her lip, shooting Joey a nervous look.

Joey inhaled a sharp breath and stood up. She eyed the gown she was wearing and the one the sales clerk was holding. Her eyes drifted toward the dressing room and back to the dress. She let out a resigned sigh, gave Jen a pointed look and lunged at the sales clerk in annoyance.

Within seconds Jen was holding Joey by the arm, dragging her away from the startled sales woman. She looked about ready to burst into tears. "My God, Joey!?"

"Jen! Did you not see what she did? She's purposely goading me!" Joey fumed.

"No, no she's not." She soothed.

"I'm not, really, I'm not." The woman said, pleading for some mercy.

Jen shot her a withering look. "I suggest you butt out, and take that hideous gown far, far out of her sight." She turned back to Joey. "She's just incompetant, Joey. That's all. We can come back when someone else is working or go to the other bridal shop on the otherside of town."

Joey let out a huffed breath. "Fine. Fine. There's no time for this, but fine. I- let's go," Joey said walking out the door forgetting she was still wearing the ridiculous wedding dress.

"Joey, You're forgetting something." Jen said, trying to hide the grin that was emerging on her face.

She glanced down at her clothing and let out a frustrated cry before storming back into the store, straight to the dressing room and her clothes. She slammed the door shut behind her and hurried to get her clothes back on. "Jen," she sniffled. "I can't do this. Look at me, I'm a mess."

"Can't do what?" She asked gently, "Buy a dress? Get married? Plan the wedding all on your own? Change clothes? What?"

"Let's go with D: All of the above."

Smiling, Jen rose from her chair and stood leaning against the door of the dressing room. "Let's start with one thing at a time. We have weeks to find you a dress. You have me, Bessie, the Leery's and even Pacey to help you plan the wedding. I'm pretty sure that you can find your way out of that dress and back into your clothes eventually." She smiled, "and as for getting married...well, we can talk about that one."

Joey let out a muffled a sigh and pulled the dress off, slipping on her own clothes. She opened the dressing room door and stepped out. "You think I'm crazy? For doing this on my own? I just thought Dawson would be around to help out more."

"I don't think you're crazy for planning the wedding on your own. For agreeing to marry Dawson, maybe." She gave her a teasing grin.

She smiled. "Yeah, I guess you're right." She surveyed the small boutique. "Before we make anymore attempts to find a suitable wedding dress, let's try lunch. I'm starving."

"It's a deal, we'll come back when this airhead's shift is over." Jen nodded her agreement, hooking her arm through Joey's she lead her out the door.

"I'll have a club sandwich minus the tomato, blue cheese dressing on the side, and a diet coke." Jen handed the menu to the middle-aged waitress and turned her eyes to her companion.

Joey's hands played with the napkin in front of her. "I'll just have a chicken salad and a Coke." The waitress nodded and dissapeared with their menus. They'd chosen a quiet little restaurant they'd found nearby, the light was dim and their table was off in the corner.

"So, Joey."

Joey glanced out the huge window to her right. "Jen." She turned back to the girl and smiled.

"You never did tell me how Dawson proposed..." She hinted.

Joey grinned and shrugged. "Well, it's kind of stupid."

"And cliched, predictable, scripted and reminicent of a Speilburg movie, I'm sure, knowing Dawson. But I still wanna hear about it." She grinned, taking a sip of water. "Lord knows when I'll get a proposal of my own."

Joey smiled actually. "It wasn't. I was just dropping him off at the airport, and when it was time for him to board he just yelled it out to me as he entered the walkway. 'Joey! Marry me!' " She laughed fondly at the memory. "And of course everyone stared and I said yes, after dying of embarrassment."

"Well, I'll give ya it doesn't sound scripted, but I *know* I've seen that on the big screen somewhere."

Joey shrugged. "Typical Dawson."

"Yeah," she agreed with a smile. "He's one of a kind. It's a good thing too, the world isn't prepared for more than one."

Joey laughed lightly. "I know what you mean." Her eyes shifted to the window again.

"So, why isn't he here helping you again?"

Joey forced a smile and looped a strand of hair behind her ear. "Work. You know how it is. He's just so busy lately, with court dates and stuff. He's on the fast track and he like what he does." Joey kept on gesturing with her hands nervously.

"What about you?" Jen asked tactfully.

Joey shrugged. "I like what I do too."

"But do you love it like he does?"

She shrugged again and took a sip of her water. "I'm happy."

"Funny, you don't sound happy."

Joey sighed. "I am. What I'd really like to do is open my own gallery, but Dawson-Dawson and I decided that we'd wait a year at least until he's more settled in his firm." Joey took another sip of water.

Jen nodded slowly, "I can understand that. Kinda sucky that you have to wait though."

"Yeah, but he said it would be for the best."

"Best for who?" Jen asked instantly. Taking in Joey's wary visage, she continued. "Never mind, forget I asked."

Joey went to speak when the food was placed in front of her. She picked at the salad disinterestedly. "I guess I wasn't as hungry as I thought."

"Okay, Jo...I tried making small talk. But since that didn't work I'll just come out and ask. What's the problem?"

She frowned. "There's no problem. I don't know what you're talking about." She patted her stomach lightly. "I'm thinking of having kids, but Dawson thinks we should at least wait two years, until we have our house."

Jen almost choked on her sandwich. "You're not even married yet, and you're thinking about children?"

She nodded and took a small sip of water. "Dawson said he'd like to start our family as soon as possible, but now he wants to wait for the house."

"What do you want?"

Joey smiled softly. "I want the same thing."

"Ri-ght," Jen said knowingly, turning back to her sandwich. "For someone who I haven't seen in eight months, you're putting very little effort into catching up with me."

Joey's gaze fell into her lap. "I'm sorry, Jen. Dawson's always saying how I do that. He says sometimes I get so caught up in my own melodrama that I forget about everyone else." She smiled apologetically. "So how are you, Jen?"

Jen smiled good naturedly at her friend. "It's okay, Jo. You're getting married, you have every right to be...distracted. I'm great. My students were wonderful this last year, especially the morning group, they bonded so well with each other. I've never seen anything like it. It was amazing to watch friendship's blossom between people with such different backgrounds and personalities. I love that I had a part in that." She smiled happily, thinking back to the last year teaching at Gordon Halloway Middle School in New York. She was spending the summer break in Capeside. Grams had died two years before, leaving the house on Seaside Lane to her.

Joey grinned slightly and took a small sip of her soda. "That's great, Jen. Dawson says our childhood shapes who we are."

"Thank God I moved to Capeside then, I'd hate to imagine what kinda person I'd be if I continued growing up in New York."

Joey's eyes brightened lightly and she took a bite of her salad, chewing thoughtfully. "And how's your love life? Any romantic prospects on the horizon."

"Yeah," She looked down at her plate. "Well, no. I mean," she sighed, "kinda. It's complicated."

Joey tilted her head to the side. "Well, uncomplicate it for me." She giggled lightly.

"It's really uncertain right now. You know how I am in relationships...neither of us is all that sure of what's going on. That's one of the reasons I'm in Capeside now, aside from the impending wedding. We want to figure things out."

Joey nodded and folded her napkin across her lap. "So how did you guys meet?"

"I, uh...I moved next door to his best friend." She answered softly.

Joey's smile widened. "Really? Sounds intriguing. So tell me about this mysterious stranger. Does he work in New York too?" Joey took a drink of her soda.

"No, he, um, travels a lot, but he makes business trips to the city fairly often." She continued carefully.

Joey smiled. "You're awfully sparse with details. Is he cute?"

She grinned to herself. "You'd think so."

Joey laughed and raised her glass to her lips. "So, when do I get to meet him?"

Her smile faltered, "You already have, Jo."

Joey glanced at her puzzled. "Really? I can't believe I forgot. Who is he?"

"Oh God, how to say this..." She mumbled to herself. "It's Pacey, Jo."

Joey nearly choked on her food and she hurriedly fumbled for her soda taking a large sip. "P-Pacey? Pacey Witter? Um, wow, when?" She motioned to the waitress. "Whiskey, straight up."

"Like I said Jo, things are really uncertain right now. He came to New York on business and looked me up, that was about a year ago. We went to dinner, drank, danced some, and went home. He visited again two months later and we did the same. His visits became more frequent and for longer periods of time. And one night, things just kind of happened." She tried to soften the blow slightly, knowing Joey had never really gotten over Pacey when they ended things in high school. "I don't even know if we're a couple or just friends who-" she cut herself off, "or what."

Joey nodded and downed the glass of whiskey as soon as it was placed in front of her. She forced a smile. "I'm happy for you, really. It's great. I mean, who would've thought? The original four settled with each other." She laughed self-consiously

Jen shook her head, "Nothing's settled between me and Pacey. We're just..."

Joey motioned the waiter for another glass. "No, it's fine. You don't have to explain it to me. I'm sure that you'll guys work everything out."

"Jo, if you want...I'll call this off now. I know that after everything that happened between you two in high school..." She trailed off avoiding her friends eyes. "It's not like I'm madly in love with him or anything."

Joey shook her head. "No. No, don't do that. Jen, I'm getting married. I'm with someone. It shouldn't matter who Pacey's seeing and if it's you, all the better."

"You're sure?"

"I'm positive. I mean really, Pacey and I were over a long time ago." Joey smiled brightly.

Jen grinned, "I can't tell you how happy I am to hear you say that, Joey. I was so nervous about telling you. I'm really hoping that there's something real between us. I think spending the summer in Capeside together will really help. Y'know, get us back to our roots, back where we all started. And we can help you with the wedding and all."

Joey forced a reassuring smile. "That's great, Jen. You know we should all have dinner together. Dawson's supposed to come up tomorrow night. It should be fun."

"Yeah, that'll be great. So, I take it that means Pacey and Dawson have found their peace? I know that he's the best man and all, but that doesn't necessarily mean things are back to the way they were. Pacey doesn't talk about it much. For that matter, Pacey doesn't talk about anything much."

Joey nodded and swallowed the glass of whisky in front of her quickly, motioning to the waitress for a third. "Yeah, sure. Everything's almost perfect. Dawson and Pacey friends again, Dawson and I getting married and now you and Pacey." She smiled.

"Yeah, perfect." She bit into the last of her sandwich as the waitress returned with another drink for Joey. "Um, how many of those are you gonna drink, Jo? It's only one in the afternoon."

Joey giggled nervously. "Oh, this is, this is um, nothing. You should see us in Boston during lunch." She downed the drink quickly and smiled finally feeling relaxed. She laughed and motioned the waitress for one more drink. "I think I'm ready for more dress shopping."

"Okay, I'm ready. Should we check out the boutique on the other side of town, or head back to idiot woman?"

Joey grinned and pulled out her credit card handing it to the waitress in exchange for her last shot. She tilted her head back and gulped the liquid down thirstily. She looked at Jen and giggled. "Let's go across town."

"Sounds like a good idea." Jen nodded, finishing hte last of her soda, eyeing her friend carefully.

Joey signed the receipt and handed it back to the waitress. She slipped the credit card back inside her purse and stood up. "C'mon, let's go Jennn."

"Oh, lord." She mumbled to herself, as Joey slurred. She rose from her seat and watched Joey carefully in case she stumbled. How many drinks did she have?

Joey walked over to her Beamer and handed the keys to Jen. "Here you drive." She sighed and pulled out a pair of Ray Ban shades from her pocket book sliding them over her eyes.

Jen took the keys from her friend, giving her a wary look. They got in the car, and entered traffic in silence. Every so often Jen would give Joey a worried look. She knew her news about Pacey had shocked her, the fact that she was very nicely buzzed spoke to that.

Joey groaned and shut her eyes, not wanting to look at the scenery. She turned her head to Jen, her face looking slightly green. "Jen, I'm sorry. I acted upset about the Pacey and you thing, but I'm over it. I am, and I'm really happy for you and I hope you're happy. You'll be really happy together. I know that and you deserve each other." Joey forced a big, bright smile before leaning her head out her window. "Oh...I think I'm going to be sick."

"Oh, shit." Jen pulled over as quickly as she could in case Joey lost what little of her lunch she ate.

Joey pulled back and smiled clumsily. "False alarm."

"Thank God. You shouldn't have drunk so much on an empty stomach, Jo." She rubbed her back gently. "You sure you'll be okay?"

She shook it off. "I'm fine. Terrific even."

"Ri-ght. You sure you're up to shopping? We could head back to the B & B and look at flower arrangements or something."

"You know what, Jen? That's a great idea. We'll worry about the flowers first."

"Alright," Jen nodded and pulled back into traffic, turning around to head back towards the creek.

"Thanks Jen. You're a real friend." Joey mumbled through half closed lids.

"No problem, Jo." She answered, keeping her eyes on the road. She couldn't help but feel guilty, Joey hadn't ordered a drink until Jen told her about Pacey.

Joey stumbled out of the car as soon as it stopped and walked up the stairs to the B&B. "Bessieeee! I'm hoooome!" She giggled and opened the door, stepping into her familiar childhood home.

Bessie stepped out of the kitchen where she was currently washing dishes. "Joey, Hon. You're back soon. Any luck in finding a dress?"

Joey sighed and shook her head. "Nope. The only veritable boutique is run by idiots. I might have to go up to Boston for a dress." Joey stood up and wandered over to the kitchen. "Do you still keep the liquor in that cabinet? I've had such a stressful day. Did Dawson call? I've been waiting for him to call. I think he forgot about my cell phone. He said if he got out early he'd come back down tonight. God, I hope so, I'd really like to see him."

"I'm sure he'll call soon, Jo." Jen reassured. "Dont give her any alcohol, she's already tipsy." She hissed to Bessie.

Joey pulled out a chair and sat down at the kitchen table already rifling through the florist books that had been delivered earlier. She swung her legs beneath her as she turned page after page. "Hmm...Jen, come over here. I don't know which one looks better."

"Well, what's your theme gonna be?" She asked, sliding into the seat beside the brunette.

Joey flipped her hair over her shoulder and shrugged. "Well, I don't know. Dawson hasn't told me yet."

"You're the one planning the wedding right? Shouldn't you be the one deciding the color scheme?"

She shook her head. "I need to check with Dawson first. That's why I was waiting for him to call me."

"Hmm, knowing Dawson, he's forgotten. Why don't you call his cell?"

Joey grinned and slid off her seat, heading toward the phone in the kitchen. "Okay."

She picked up the phone and dialed the number to Dawson's cell phone. Her voice took on a teasing lilt. "Hiya Dawson." Her face fell and she frowned. "Fine. I just-" Her face curved into a puzzled expression. "Okay. Fine. I'm sorry. It was an accident." Her eyes saddened. "Okay. Fine. No, I understand." Another pause, "Yes, it was nothing really important, just stupid." She frowned and listened for a few more moments. "Okay, bye. I love-" She hung up the phone and hid relaxed her head against the wall. "You," she finished quietly. She walked back to where Jen was sitting. "I think I'm going to lay down now."

Jen gave her a puzzled look, it didn't sound like the conversation went the way Joey had planned. "Yeah, sure." She nodded. "I think I'll head back to the house, give me a call later, okay? We'll make those dinner plans."

Joey nodded her head and tried to manage a smile. "Yeah, we'll do that. Bye." She turned and headed to her old room.

"Bye Joey," Jen called after her friend as she walked down the hall. "I hope she's okay," she said to Bessie.

Bessie shrugged. "She's been under a lot of stress lately. I'm sure after she takes a nap she'll feel better."

"I can't help thinking it's more than stress though," she trailed off.

Bessie turned to Jen puzzled. "You think so? I don't know. I just hope it's only stress then."

"Yeah, me too." Jen checked her watch. "I should probably go. I wouldn't mind catching a few Z's myself, before I meet P-" She cut herself off. "Before I go out again."

Bessie smiled and walked Jen over to the door. "It was nice seeing you again, Jen."

"Yeah, you too. But I'm sure you'll be sick of seeing my face in the next coming weeks." She smiled.

She grinned. "I don't think so. Joey really needs a friend right now."

Jen left the house with a sigh. The next coming weeks were definatly going to be interesting.

To be continued in Part Two: A Lifetime Thing

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