This is the Title/Header

Disclaimer: I do not own any of these characters, they all belong to the WB network, and Kevin Williamson

Spoilers: You have to read parts 1,2,3,&4 of "Forever Young" to understand

"When Happily Ever After, Ends :Part Five in the Series"

"Anderson, I don't understand you...How are Casey and David supposed to forget about you, if you do this?" Joey rubbed her head with her free hand, clearly baffled.

"But I miss them."

"But we agreed---"

"Listen, I have to go, I'll call you later."

"Anderson..." Joey heard a click on the other end of the phone, and put the phone back in it's cradle. In all the "excitement" she had forgotten to tell him about Dawson and her getting married....Not like it was a good time for that anyway. UGH!!!!!!

"Joey?" A knock came from her door.

"Yah?" She groaned. Bessie came in, confused at her sister's tone, considering the day's events.

"What's wrong?" She sat next to her sister who was lying on her bed. Joey sat up and ran her fingers through her hair. She looked at Bessie helplessly.

"Anderson." She said simply.

"Oh...Was that who was on the phone?" Joey nodded. "What did he want?"

"He's coming to Capeside."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

(Late the Same Evening)

Joey sat on her bed, contemplating what she was going to do...What she was going to tell Dawson...HOW she was going to tell Dawson. She glanced at her clock on the nightstand. She had given up on trying to go to sleep two hours ago, and now she was aimlessly passing the time. She had read, written to some of her friends back in New York, she even organized her closet, and now, she couldn't think of anything else to do. Finally a thought crossed her mind, she looked under her bed, and found what she was looking for.

She pulled out an old shoebox from under her bed, by the way it looked it had obviously been through a lot. Joey carefully lifted the tattered top and pulled out several pictures. Some were of her and Anderson, her and the kids, but what she was looking for lay at the bottom of the box. She pulled out a group of pictures that were tied with a thin white ribbon. She brought the pile onto her bed and untied the ribbon, letting the pictures cascade onto her bed.

One by one she looked at each of the pictures. They were of her and Dawson when they were teenagers, more specifically, when they were together. She came across one that particularly piqued her attention. It was of her and Dawson when they were juniors in high school. She remembered they had skipped school one day and went to a fair at Providence. The pictures were taken at an instant picture booth, one was of them smiling, making a funny face, laughing, and the last one was of them kissing. She remembered that day so clearly. Joey quickly thought of something in her purse. She grabbed it off her vanity and brought it back to her bed. She fished through her belongings until she found what she was looking for. About two months before, Dawson took her and the kids to the same fair. They had gotten their pictures done in an instant picture booth...It took them forever to find the old black n' white ones. Nowawdays, there was "super-duper-hi-tech-color", and borders, but they just wanted plain black and white.

Joey looked at the latest ones skeptically. She compared the two. Despite the vague aging on their faces, the pictures were almost identical....

Joey woke up with a start. She looked around her and saw pictures scattered around her bed and floor. I must have fallen asleep. Joey wearily got out of bed and rubbed the back of her neck. She was sore all over from sleeping in an awkward position all night. She walked into the kitchen where she found no one, only a note by the phone.

Joey,
Well we didn't want to wake you this morning, so I got the kids ready for
camp. I know, I know, you like doing that stuff with them, but I didn't want
to wake you up. We're catering a party tonight we won't be home til late. Alex
has that camping trip, and Meme is staying with a friend...I'm sure you'll
have plenty to do tonight without us...By the way, Dawson called for you about
10:00 this morning...He said it was about tonight and he wants you to call him
back ASAP. Ciao!
Bessie

Joey poured herself a cup of coffee as she dialed Dawson's number on the portable phone. The phone rang a couple of times before she heard that familiar voice. The voice that somehow made her forget, for only a second, about the plaguing disaster that was awaiting her.

"Bonjour." She said into the phone.

On the other end Dawson smiled widely and answered, "Bonjour Mademoiselle.

Ca va?"

Joey laughed softly and answered, "Ca va tres bien, et toi?"

"Tres bien...So Joey, are we still on for tonight?"

Joey took a long sip of her coffee as she broke a piece off a blueberry muffin. "Definitely, but we need to talk."

Hearing the seriousness in her voice Dawson quickly became worried, "Is something wrong?"

"No, but can you come over for breakfast?" Joey said, not caring that she was half way through her breakfast.

"Breakfast? Jo it's 12:30." Dawson said carefully into his phone.

Looking at a clock for the first time, Joey laughed, "Really? My gosh, how long was I asleep? So, how about lunch?"

"Sure...I have to finish this one thing and then i have to drop it off at the post office. How about lunch on the beach?"

"Definitely. I'll pack us something." Joey opened the fridge, looking at its contents.

"Okay, I'll pick you up, say, 1:00? 1:15?"

"Sure, see ya then." Joey took out some sliced turkey and lettuce.

"Kay, Bye Jo."

"Bye Dawson." Joey was about to hang up when she heard Dawson's voice again.

"Joey!"

"Yah?"

"Love you."

Joey couldn't help but smile. The hopeless romantic, that was Dawson. Her Dawson. "Love you too. Now go back to work so I can see you all the more sooner!"

Joey could hear him laugh on the other end, "Okay, bye Joey."

"Bye Dawson." Joey hung up and started making sandwiches. How am I going to tell him this?

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

(At the Beach)

Joey was lying on a blanket on the beach, looking at the waves crash on the shore. She had spent her whole lunch thinking of a way to tell Dawson what was going on, but she didn't have enough courage to follow through with any of them.

She sighed deeply as she propped herself up on her elbows. She looked over at Dawson who was peacfully munching on the last remains of his sandwich.

"Dawson, define love." Joey asked, rather out of the blue, but nonetheless, she thought it was important for him to answer.

"Huh?" Dawson asked confused. He looked over at Joey, squinting to avoid the glare of the sun.

"You heard me, define love." She was now looking at him straight in the eye.

"Love, well I mean...um, let me see....." He thought for about five minutes before answering. He talked slowly, "It's like...All your life, from the minute you're born, you have this...empty feeling. Like, you're...hollow. And when you find love, you become....not hollow." He smiled meekly. Joey returned the smile and leaned over and kissed him.

When she pulled away, she said, "Good answer...So, do I make you feel 'not hollow'?" He smiled and kissed her again.

"You know you do.....So Joey, what do you need to talk about?" Dawson asked.

Joey was looking back at the water, "Hmm?"

"You said you needed to talk about something, what is it?" Dawson leaned back down in to a lying position, and Joey took that oppurtunty to snuggle into his arms. He protectively wrapped his arm around her.

"Anderson called me last night." It just came out, not like ANY of the ways she had rehearsed it in her head. She knew that it wasn't anything really, but she didn't know how Dawsn would take it. She felt him tense up.

"Really? What did he want?" Dawson asked slowly.

"WellitseemsthathemissesDavidandCaseyandhe'scomingtoCapeside." Joey spoke very fast as she sat up, out of Dawson's arms.

"HUH?!"

"Well it seems that he misses David and Casey and he's coming to Capeside." Joey repeated slower.

"WHAT?!? Geez...When?" Dawson sat up and ran his fingers through his hair.

"In two days. Please Dawson, I know it seems bad, but he'll only be here for a few days. He's staying in a hotel, and then he'll be gone." Joey looked at him, pleading him with her eyes.

"I don't understand, I thought you were going to let the kids 'forget about him'." Dawson said, clearly frustrated.

"I know, that's what I said. But really Dawson, it's unfair to let him not be a part of their lives." Joey reached over and picked up Dawson's hand. She was relieved when he didn't pull away.

He gave it a soft squeeze, "I know..."

"Listen. Don't be worried about you and me, that is something that will remain untouched. Me and Anderson have been over since the first year of our marriage." She said reassuringly, which Dawson let out a sigh of relief.

"But," she continued, "What I am worried about is Casey and David."

He glanced over at her, flashing a confused face, "What do you mean?"

"I don't know, I mean. When I tell him about....us, he might get a little bit jealous y'know?" Joey looked nervously at Dawson, who looked expressionless. "And I mean, with him coming in and out of their lives, it might get them really confused, I don't know....I just have a feeling, you know?" He nodded slightly. "I dunno, just call it a maternal instinct I guess." Joey shrugged, and she let go of Dawson's hand.

Dawson moved closer to her and wrapped his arms around her shoulders, letting her lean back on his chest. Even if it was about ninety degrees out, Joey liked the way he felt around her, it was comforting. No words had to be spoken, Dawson understood.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

(Two Days Later, the Afternoon)

DING-DONG!!!!!!!

Joey nervously ran out of the kitchen to answer the front door. She had been dreading this moment for the past two days. Everything was going SO well. They had told Dawson's parents about their engagement, and they couldn't be happier. Ever since, Mrs. Leery and Bessie had been bombarding her with wedding questions and reception issues, etcetera, etcetera....

Joey opened the front door and saw a very familiar face. Surprisingly, her and Anderson had parted rather well. They were more or less "friends".

"Joey!" Anderson smiled and hugged her into his arms.

"Hi Anderson...."Joey's voice was clearly less elated. She pulled away from his embrace and motioned for him to come in.

"So where are they?" Anderson looked eagerly around the house for his two kids.

Joey looked at her watch, "Well you're kinda early. They're still at camp. They should be here in fifteen minutes." Joey lead him into the kitchen. "Can I get you something to drink?"

"Water? Please." Anderson took a seat on a stool while Joey got him his water. "So.... How are you?" Anderson asked after taking a sip of his water.

"Great, you?" Joey sat on a stool across from him.

"Same---" Anderson was interrupted by the phone ringing. Joey shot up to pick it up.

"Hello?"

"Hey Joey." Came the voice from the other end.

"Hey Dawson! How are you?" She asked, happy to get away from the uncomfortable conversation.

"Frustrated. My mom's been bugging me about the ceremony, the reception..."

"Yah I know, me too, Bessie has been shoving various magazines in my face."

Joey laughed, then realized Anderson was still there. "Well listen Dawson, I can't talk now."

"Oh, yah. Anderson's coming over today." Dawson said, showing the slightest bit of jealousy.

"Yah, but I'll call you as soon as I can."

"Ok, well I love you."

Joey glanced at Anderson, "Yah, me too. Bye." Joey quickly hung up the phone and sat back on the stool.

"That was Dawson?" Anderson asked. Joey shifted in her chair, She STILL hadn't told him about the engagement.

"Yup."

"So, Joey. I know we agreed on this whole 'staying away' thing, but I was thinking that it would be nice if we went out to dinner together. You know, me, you, and the kids?" Anderson looked at her hopefully.

"I dunno Anderson...."

"C'mon, strictly as ex-es. I just want to know what's going on with my kids." Joey knew this wasn't going to work. The minute they agreed on the whole 'forgetting' thing, she knew someday it would backfire, but she never knew it would happen so fast.

"Sure, why not?" Joey vaugely rememeberd her plans she had made with Dawson the night before. They were planing to have dinner with his parents and talk about locations for the wedding. "Oh, well he'll understand. This is ALL for the sake of David and Casey anyway." She thought as she continued her conversation with Anderson.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

(That Night)

Joey held the phone loosely in her hands as it was ringing.

"Hello?"

"Dawson, hi." She said into the phone.

"Joey! I just got off the phone with my parents, and they thought a good location for diner tonight was Chez Bessie. Is that okay?"

Joey sighed deeply, she hated standing up Dawson, expecially at the last minute. "Well that's why I called. Apparently Anderson really wants me and the kids to go out to dinner with him, and...." Her voice trailed off. "You should have seen how happy they were to see him." Joey added.

"Oh, so are you just gonna..."

"If you don't mind too much, I mean...Is it okay?He'll only be here for a couple of days, and Casey and David are SO happy to see him! Please Dawson?"

Joey found herself begging him.

"Are Casey and David really happy?" Dawson's voice was soft and understanding. Joey knew it was okay with him.

She smiled, "Yah, they really are. Thanks Dawson, I love you."

"I love you too."

"I promise we'll do the whole dinner thing tomorrow, okay?"

"Sure, bye Jo."

"Bye Dawson." Joey said slowly as she heard a click on the other end. She quickly finished dressing.

Joey was slowly eating her salad as Anderson was telling numerous stories about life back in New York. She forked a piece of lettuce as he finished one of his stories. She hadn't been paying attention at all, she was thinking about Dawson, Even though he seemed ok with the idea of her spending dinner with Anderson, he seemed very hesitant towards everything ever since she told him Anderson was coming.

"Joey, Joey?" Anderson lightly shook Joey's hand which made her snap back into reality.

"Huh?" She looked up at him.

"Are you finished?" Joey looked down at her plate. It was practically untouched, but she wasn't hungry at all.

"Uh, yah." She handed her plate to the waiter who was standing next to her.

"Do you want dessert? I think the kids all ready know what they want." Joey shook her head no and Anderson ordered dessert. She went back to her train of thought about Dawson. "He's been acting strange, but I don't know WHY?" Joey kept on trying to figure out what exactly was wrong with Dawson, that she didn't feel Casey pulling her ring off her finger, until...

"Casey what is that?" Anderson pulled the ring away from her and looked at it. He looked at it curiously.

"Oh, that's mine." Joey took the ring from his hands and slipped it carefully onto her finger,and put her hand in her lap. Anderson eyed her suspisciously.

"New ring?" He asked, kind-heartedly.

"Uhh.....yah." Joey looked at him and smiled nervously. She knew she had to tell him sometime, but she didn't think right then was the time.

"Where from?" Anderson pryed.

"That's Dawson's ring." David said innocently as he played with the bread crumbs on the table. Joey shot Anderson a nervous look, and then looked at David dissapprovingly.

"Don't play with that David." David reluctantly put his hands in his lap.

"What does he mean, 'Dawson's ring'?" Anderson looked at Joey carefully.

"Oh, well you see...um..."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

(At Dawson's OLD house)

Dawson sipped his cup of coffee, as he felt his parent's eyes burning into him.

"What?" Dawson looked up from his cup and looked at his parents.

"Nothing." Gail Leery quickly looked down into her cup, and took a sip. Dawson took the last gulp of the warm liquid and sighed.

"So...When is he leaving?" Mitch asked, a few minutes later.

Dawson shrugged, "Joey keeps on telling me that he's leaving in 'a couple of days' but she's never given me a REAL answer, so, I have my doubts."

"Honey, you seem so worried. What do you think's gonna happen?" Gail asked with a certain lightness in her voice, kind of like she wasn't taking it seriously.

"I dunno, I mean, I just have a feeling." Dawson paused, "It's probably nothing..." He glanced at his watch. 10:45. "Gosh I better get going, um.." He got out of his chair.

"Actually, me and your mom were wondering if you would like to stay with us tonight?" Mitch asked. Dawson gave them a weird look.

"Uhhh..."

"Because, we were planning on cleaning out that closet of yours. We aren't going to change your room or anything, just, we need the extra space." Gail said carefully.

"Umm, sure."

"You sure don't waste anytime do you?" Anderson asked as they were coming down from putting the children to bed.

"Excuse me?!" Joey asked, slightly taken aback. When she had told him about Dawson, he acted like everything was fine, now all of a sudden.

"We're divorced for what, less than six months, and you're all ready getting re-married?!?!?" Anderson was whispering, but was talking sternly.

"Please Anderson, our marriage was a short lived FLING! And yes, we did get two GREAT children out of it, but that's basically it on my part!" Joey stormed into the kitchen, where Anderson followed.

"What do our 'two GREAT children' think of this Dawson guy anyway?" Anderson asked.

"They adore him! And he adores them! Anderson, I've known Dawson longer than I've known you!" Joey got a glas of water and was now chugging down.

"Even so, Joey! David and Casey are going to get confused!"

"Confused?! You're worried about getting them confused?! I spend one month telling them that they're not going to see their father again, EVER, and then less than six months later, YOU appear?! Please Anderson, do not talk to me about confusion! I mean, why are you here anyway? You agreed that you would dissapear out of their lives. And when we made that agreement, you didn't seem to have one little ounce of remorse for doing so! So tell me Anderson, why the hell are you here?" Joey fumed at him, but his eyes softened, which startled her.

"Because Joey, I still love you." He stepped closer to her.

"No. No, no, no, no, NO! Not now. Anderson we WERE married, and now, we're DIVORCED! We both wanted it! Why are you doing this?" She asked, confused.

"No, Joey. I only said I wanted the divorce because I knew how much YOU wanted it. You were always so....unhappy." Anderson took another step closer to her and pushed a lock of hair out of her eyes. He leaned down and lightly kissed her.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

THAT'S THE END OF PART FIVE!!!! IDEAS? GREAT! SEND THEM TO EMME706@AOL.COM, I COULD REALLY USE THEM! OR COMMENTS, ANYTHING WILL DO =)

STAY TUNED FOR PART SIX- "WHEN HAPPILY EVER AFTER ENDS: PART SIX IN THE SERIES"



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