Dawson turned around and grinned at Pacey. "You're early."

"Couldn't sleep," Pacey said, smiling. "The excitement kept me up all night." He watched Dawson face the mirror again and fuss with his bow tie. "You ready?"

"Yeah," Dawson nodded. "I'm ready." He let out a shaky breath. "Man, I can't believe it. I'm going to be a married man in two hours. Don't get me wrong, I *want* to marry C.J...."

"Dawson, it's perfectly natural to be nervous," Pacey assured. "This is a major transistion." Pacey walked up to Dawson. "Here, let me help with that."

"What would I do without you, Pace?" Dawson smiled as Pacey took over the bow-tying.

"You don't ever have to worry about that, Dawson," Pacey said, finishing his work. "I'll always be here for you."

@--->------ to love and to cherish....

Joey sat calmly in a chair in a corner of the large dressing room observing the chaos around her. Fellow bridemaids fought over mirrors as others made last-minute touch-ups to hair, the flower girls were running around the room, giggling. Jen went from one person to the next, adding a little blush here, suggesting a different color of lipstick there. Laughter arose about every other second; in the gaps between were stern warnings to the children about what would happen if they did not stop playing around. She smiled at all of this. She glanced at her watch. Twenty minutes to show time.

@--->------ from this day forward.....'til death do us part....

He couldn't sleep at all last night. Joey's words echoed throughout his mind, forcing him to stay awake and contemplate, analyze what she had said to him. But in the end, when the sun rose that morning, he decided that what he was doing was in fact the best and right thing to do and always was.

The wedding was without flaw. In Pacey's opinion, it was fairy-tale perfect. Normally he would have been disgusted and/or annoyed at such perfection, but Dawson Leery deserved only the best, at least according to Pacey he did. So there was no traces of annoyance or disgust on his face as the wedding preceded.

He watched as Dawson and his new wife C.J. got up from table and head out toward the dance floor. The song they had chosen to celebrate their marriage with began to play. The opening notes of "Unchained Melody" filled the room, and an awestruck audience watched as the two moved across the open space as if they were one.

Pacey looked over at Joey, who, like everyone else, was witnessing the confirmation of a love that everyone dreams about, craves for, but seldom finds.

*Oh, my love, my darling,
I've hungered for your touch
a long, lonely time...*

Joey felt someone's eyes on her. She slowly and cautiously turned to see the observer, but instead found an empty space where Pacey had moments before had been sitting.

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*You spend all your time waiting for that second chance, for a break that will make it okay. There's always some reason to feel not good enough, and it's hard at the end of the day. I need some distraction. Oh, beautiful release. Memory seeps from my veins. Let me be empty. Well, weightlessness and maybe...*

Pacey collapsed into an armchair in the breakroom and let out a sigh of relief. He closed his eyes. No one was there but him, so besides the voices he could hear outside the door, there was silence.

Maybe he shouldn't have gone back to work so quickly. Probably should have allowed a day of rest between returning to Boston and going back to his daily routine as Pacey Witter, M.D. He wasn't even supposed to be there anyway. He had requested a three-day weekend; he had originally planned to stay a day after Dawson's wedding and linger around Capeside. But he thought it'd be best to get get back home as quickly as possible. Still, he could've kept the day off and loafed around his apartment. Oh, well, too late now.

He heard the door squeak, yet still kept his eyes closed.

"They told me I'd find you here," he heard Jen say.

He opened one eye, and smiled. "And here I am." He opened the other eye and sat up, gesturing Jen to take the chair next to him. "What are you doing here in Boston?"

"Doing a little sight-seeing," Jen answered.

Pacey raised his eyebrows. "Sight-seeing?"

"Actually..." Jen said slowly. "I came here because I need to talk to you."

"What's the matter?" Concern spread rapidly across his face. Being a doctor made him think the worst the most quickly. "Jen, are you okay?"

"Oh, I'm fine. One-hundred percent healthy," Jen assured. "What makes you think it was something that serious?"

"Because you opted a plane ticket over a phone call," Pacey said.

"Well, it has nothing to do with me," Jen said, "Not directly, anyway."

"Then who does it have to do with?"

Jen swallowed. "Joey."

Pacey sighed and leaned back into the chair again. "You know, I wish everyone would just give it up."

"Just answer me one question, Pacey," Jen requested. "Just one. You and Joey...why not?"

"You know why."

"I only know what she told me," she said.

"The reason I'm about to give is the same reason I gave ten years ago," he said calmly. "I know I'm not Prince Charming. I'm not going to sweep anyone off their feet and give them a happy ending. I'm the Capeside screw-up, remember?" Jen shook her head in disbelief. "After all these years, you still believe that about yourself? Look around you, Pacey. We're not in Capeside anymore. We're in a hospital where you happen to be staffed and well respected among your peers. You've come a long way from what you were ten years ago. Even then you weren't so bad."

It was now his turn for Pacey to shake his head. "Nothing's changed. Not really. I'm doomed, Jen. Always was. I come with a curse. No one is bound to be happy with someone like me. It'd be best for Joey to stay away from me because all I have to offer will never come close to what she deserves. In fact, It'd be best if every female with a romantic quest to just keep a safe distance so that they don't wind up getting disappointed."

"Well, that's a great philosophy, Pacey. That way you can go through life without ever really knowing anybody."

A small smile. "'Good Will Hunting,' Miramax Pictures, 1997."

She paused before continuing. "When I first came to Capeside, I just wanted to start over. In New York, I was this pathetic, for lack of a better word, slut. I wanted a new life. You can understand that. And when someone like Dawson showed up and said that he wanted someone like me, I didn't feel like I deserved him. That he was bound to better off with someone else. You can understand that, too. But I realized something that you still need to figure out. I realized that as human being we all naturally feel unworthy of love and happiness. And that's why we're so surprised when we get chances at it. Shocked, maybe. Scared, even."

"What are you, a philosopher?"

"No, a realist," she replied, smiling. "When I first met you, Pacey, the first impression I of you got was one of a lively, incredibly ballsy guy who was willing to try anything, and for a while, I thought courage meant to be willing to try anything." Her voice became solemn again. "But now I know that's not what real courage is. Real courage, Pacey, is to be willing to try things that has consequences that might leave you hurting in the end, physically or emotionally. I want you to prove to me that I was right about you the first time around." She looked at her watch. "I, um, have a plane to catch." She straightened the strap of her bag on her shoulder as she turned to leave.

"It was nice seeing you, Pacey."

*...I'll find some peace tonight. In the arms of the angel, far away from here, from this dark, cold hotel room, and the endlessness that you fear. You are pulled from the wreckage of your silent reverie. In the arms of the angel, may you find some comfort here...*

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"Joey, Ms. Rizal needs that article edited by six," Matt said as he walked by Joey's desk.

Joey grabbed a file folder underneath several papers and handed it to him. "Right here."

"Joey," Karen approached her. "I--"

"Oh, Karen," she noticed him. "I don't have that source yet, but I can get it to you by tomorrow morning."

"Relax. I don't need it until Thursday." She handed a wrapped box to her. "I have a package here for you. Delivery guy was in the foyer same time I was. I signed for you."

"Thanks," she said, taking it from her. "Who's it from?"

Karen smiled and shrugged, then headed to her desk.

Joey tore away the wrapping and surpressed a laugh.

A box of Twinkies. Typical.

Scrawled on top of the box in Pacey's handwriting were the words "Behind you."

At that moment, Joey heard a keyboard play out the opening notes of "I Say a Little Prayer."

She spun around, and there Pacey stood near the entrance of the office, next to one of her co- workers providing music on a keyboard, grinning.

"Pacey, what are you--"

"From the moment I wake up..." he sang at the top of his lungs. "Before I put on my make-up." He pointed to her. "I say a little prayer for you."

Joey put her head in her hands and started to laugh. Her co-workers stopped what they had been doing to observe what was happening.

"One comb in my hair now," Pacey continued to sing. "I'm wondering which dress to wear now, I say a little prayer for you. Forever and ever, you'll stay in heart, and I will love you forever and ever. We never will part. I love you. Together forever, that's how it must be. To live without you would only mean heartbreak for me."

Her co-workers began to clap to the song's rythym.

Pacey climbed onto a neaby desk. "I run for the bus, dear. While riding, I think of us, dear."

Joey's co-workers joined him in singing. "I say a little prayer for you."

Pacey went solo again, as he moved on to another desk, one that was right next to Joey's. "At work, I just take time. And all throrugh my coffee break time." Everyone joined in again. "I say a little prayer for you. Forever and ever, you'll stay in heart, and I will love you forever and ever. We never will part. I love you. Together forever, that's how it must be. To live without you would only mean heartbreak for me." Pacey jumped down from the desk and walked over to Joey. He kneeled down and took her hand in his.

"My darling, believe me," Pacey sang individually.

"Believe me," a few of the female employees echoed.

"For me, there is no one but you. Please love me, too."

"Answer his prayer," they echoed.

"I'm in love with you."

"Answer his prayer now, baby," they echoed.

"Answer my prayer, baby."

"Answer his prayer."

"Say you love me, too."

The whole office had burst out into song. "Forever and ever, you'll stay in heart, and I will love you forever and ever. We never will part. I love you. Together forever, that's how it must be. To live without you would only mean heartbreak for me." As the song ended and the music died, everyone began to clap and cheer.

Pacey stood up and moved closer to Joey, still holding her hands, whispering, "So, Jo, whaddya say?"

Her grin widened. "My Best Friend's Wedding, Tristar Pictures, 1997."

He laughed, then leaned in for a long-awaited kiss, the applause reaching its peak.

And they lived happily ever after.

*~The End~*

Want me to continue the story? Write a sequel to *this* sequel? Tough! =) I wouldn't count on a trilogy. This is the end, and I must say, it's been fun. You've been a great audience. Until next time...