In Another's Eyes Part Five by: Aria

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(Song Written by Garth Brooks, Bobby Wood, and John Peppard. Performed by Garth Brooks and Trisha Yearwood)

In another’s eyes, I’m someone who
Loves her enough to walk away from you
I’d never cheat, I’d never lie
In another’s eyes.....

In another’s eyes, I can do no wrong
He believes in me, and his faith is strong
I’d never fall, or even compromise
In another’s eyes........

In another’s eyes, I’m afraid that I can’t see
That picture perfect portrait that they paint of me
They don’t realize, and I pray they never do
Cause every time I look, I’m seeing you,
In another’s eyes.

In another’s eyes, starin’ back at me
I see a sinking soul trying desperately
To turn the tide before it dies
In another’s eyes.........

And what they don’t see, is killing me
And it’s a blessing and a curse that love is blind.......

In another’s eyes, I’m afraid that I don’t see
This picture perfect portrait that they paint of me
They don’t realize, and I pray to God they never do,
Cause every time I look I’m seeing you
In another’s eyes.


Dawson sat in a chair in the waiting room of the hospital, reading a magazine. The smell of hospitals still made him uncomfortable, but he was there in support of Pacey and Andie. Pacey wanted him to be the first one to see their new addition, and Dawson couldn’t let his best friends down. Jack and Michael were sitting across the room, talking quietly, and Jen was sitting beside Dawson. She had been having lunch with him and his kids when Dawson received the phone call that Andie had gone into labor. Dawson left his children with Mitch and Gail, and he and Jen immediately set off for the hospital to await the news.

"Looks like we’re almost all the gang's together again." Jen said, trying to create some conversation in the silence of the room.

"Yea, almost. We’re only missing Joey, and I know Andie called her to come. She said she’d be here as soon as she could." Jack said, looking up.

Joey was coming. Dawson hadn’t seen her since the night of the reunion two days ago. He remembered kissing her, wanting her so badly, and then realizing that she wasn’t free to be wanted. The guilt was killing him, and he hoped that he hadn’t ruined any chance that he had of getting Joey back, at least as a friend. Jack got up.

"I’m going to go and get some coffee. Anyone want anything?" Jack asked.

No one said anything so he headed off down the hallway. To his surprise, he saw Joey walking towards him, and he stopped her.

"Hey Jo! How are you?" He asked.

"I’m good thanks. How’s Andie doing?" she returned.

"Last thing we heard, she was doing fine. Just playing the waiting game right now. Pacey comes out every once in a while to give us an update. Man, he looks like the cat who swallowed the canary. I don’t think I’ve ever seen him this happy." Jack told her.

"That’s great...I’m going to head on down there now." She said turning.

"Wait a second Jo." His tone changed a bit. "Dawson is down there. Have you talked to him since the reunion?" He asked her.

Fear rose up in the pit of her stomach. "No, I haven’t. Why do you ask?" she wondered if he knew anything.

"Well, I wasn’t going to say anything, but I just can’t stand it anymore. Michael saw you and Dawson kissing that night at Pacey and Andie’s house. I was just wondering what was going on." He told her. Her face dropped, and she thought she was going to throw up. Jack perceived that she was a bit upset and wanted to set her mind to rest. "Whoa, don’t make that face Joey. I’m not going to say anything, and Michael won’t either. I was just wondering if this means what I think it does."

She thought a minute. "Depends on what you think it means. If you think it means that I don’t love my husband, and that I’m going to leave him for Dawson, you’re beyond wrong." She said frankly.

"That’s not what I meant at all. I know you love Andrew. But do you still love Dawson too?" Jack asked her.

"Busted" she thought. Jack always had that annoying talent of knowing what she was really thinking too. She didn’t know what to tell him. She wanted to be honest, but she wasn’t exactly sure what the truth was yet. Yes, she was still in love with Dawson. But no, she hadn’t talked to Andrew about her feelings either. She wasn’t sure if he knew something was up, but she did feel unusually uncomfortable around him since it happened.

"Jack, I do still love Dawson. But I’m really torn right now. I am married. I love my husband. And I have children, and they are my life. Dawson has kids too. And I know that he loved his wife, and still does. We have both changed so much, and the circumstances are just so...."

Jack cut her off. "Wait a second Joey. That’s the thing. Neither one of you has really changed, I think. Your lives have changed, but your feelings are still the same. You are still the same people that you were. And that’s why you are feeling so torn." Jack told her.

"Damn him" she thought again. He always did that. He called them exactly how he sees them, and was always right. "Jack, I really don’t want to think about this right now. I just want to go and see what’s happening with Andie." she said to him.

"Ok, I get the hint Joey. But if you need to talk, remember I’m here." He turned and walked towards the cafeteria. Joey walked a bit farther down the hall and went into the waiting room.

Dawson looked up from his magazine when she walked into the room. She decided to pretend that nothing had happened before. And so, she walked over to him, and sat down in the chair to his left.

"So how are they all doing?" She asked Dawson, smiling. He seemed a little surprised, but quickly recovered.

"Hey Joey. Everything is going ok, just slowly. Pacey keeps coming out and keeping us up to date. How are you?" He asked.

"I’m good. I didn’t know if I was going to make it in time. Katie and Molly were being difficult, and Andrew had a headache." She told him, putting her purse under her seat.

"So how long are you all staying in Capeside?" he questioned her.

"For at least another week. We don’t get to see Bessie and Bodie and the kids that often, so we’re going to stay as long as we can." She answered. "How about you?"

"The plan is to stay throughout this week. It might be longer, depending on how today goes." He said smiling. "I would still like to meet your girls. Do you want to get together before we all leave and have some kind of picnic?" He had alterior motives for this, but this was part of the reason he wanted to see her.

"Sure. I’d love to meet your kids too." She smiled, glad that he hadn’t brought up the night of the reunion. Maybe he didn’t remember. After all, they were both really drunk. Just then, Pacey came bursting through the doors of the waiting room.

"I COULD SEE THE HEAD!!!" He was practically screaming. "I have a head!!"

Everyone in the room laughed. Joey smiled and stood up. "Well Congratulations on your new head. But if you want to be present for the body, you may want to get back in there. Things tend to go pretty fast after the head, Pace." She laughed a little at the expression on his face.

"Oh man, I gotta get back in there!" He said, running out of the room. Everyone just looked at each other and laughed.

"I don’t think I’ve ever seen him this excited or frantic. It’s so funny!" Jen exclaimed.

"I agree. It’s hilarious." Michael added.

"I think I was worse when Max was born. Pacey thought he was going to have to sedate me. Andie actually smacked me in face to calm me down! Rachelle was afraid I was going to miss it, because I kept running out and telling everyone that I was about to be a dad." He laughed. "But after he was finally born, I didn’t want to leave the room for a second. I made the doctor go out and tell everyone that everyone was all right."

"Andrew was on the phone an hour after Molly was born." Joey said. "I think he called every person that we know! I remember him calling you, Jen."

"I remember too! How could I forget, it was at like 4 in the morning." Jen laughed hard. "He was so excited I could barely understand what he was saying. But I was so happy for you it was all right. I got pictures of her in the mail almost immediately. I think he overnighted them to me!" she remembered. "I’m going to have to get you guys back when I have kids." She smiled.

"Well, that’s the kind of news that one doesn’t mind getting in the middle of the night." Dawson smiled as he remarked.


A few hours later, Jen, Jack, Michael, Joey, and Dawson all stood in front of a large glass window. On the other side was a room filled with bassinets containing newborns. They all scanned them, trying to figure out which one belonged to their best friends. Pacey had told them nothing about their new arrival, other than Andie and the baby were doing splendidly, and were all smiles and tears of joy, and that Andie wanted to see them all tomorrow, when she wasn’t so tired.

They all anxiously awaited Pacey to come and point the baby out to them, for the tags containing names of the infants weren’t facing the glass to be read. There was a communal gasp of excitement when Pacey entered from the opposite side of the room, entering the room filled with babies. He saw his friends through the glass, and with a huge smile on his face, bounced from bassinet to bassinets, trying to confuse his friends in typical Pacey fashion. After seeing the looks of annoyance on their faces and seeing Joey make some smart-assed comment to Dawson, he decided it was time.

He walked to a bassinets in the corner, and carefully picked up a tiny blue bundle. Pacey walked to the glass partition and held the baby up for all too see. Everyone melted immediately.

Out in the hall, Joey smiled as she said "He looks so much like Pacey." She looked at Dawson, who was admiring his newly born Godson like it was his own baby. Pacey was beaming, and Jack was nearly in tears at the sight of his first nephew. The baby scrunched up his face as if to cry, and at this Pacey took the infant back to the bassinets and gently laid him back in it. Within a few minutes, Pacey was out in the hall to tell them all the news about his new son.

"Hey guys, what do you think? Is he as handsome as his old man?" Pacey asked, smiling proudly, buffing his nails on his shirt cockily.

"Actually, I think he looks a lot like Andie. Good thing." Joey smiled as she said this, but punched his arm playfully as soon as the words left her mouth. "I’m kidding Pace. He’s beautiful."

"Thanks Joey. Well, here’s the rundown on him. Caleb Nathan Witter weighs 7 pounds and 6 ounces, and is 19 inches long. He entered the world at 6:03 p.m. And he is my son." Pacey’s eyes began to well up. Dawson walked up to him, and pulled him into a manly hug.

"Congratulations buddy. You are going to be a great father, I know it. And you know you’ve got me for whatever you need." Dawson smiled.

"Thanks man. But you guys could probably go ahead and head home now. Andie is so tired, and wants to see you tomorrow, and Caleb is zonked out too. So go and get some sleep, and thanks so much for being here. I really do love you all." Pacey smiled. Fatherhood was agreeing with him already.


"Thanks for the ride home Dawson. I don’t know what the heck is wrong with my car." Joey said, sitting in the passenger seat of Dawson’s mini-van.

"No problem Joey. What a day huh?" he asked, trying to start some conversation.

"Sure was. A happy day though. It makes me want to go home and hold my babies." She smiled, thinking of the two little girls awaiting her at home.

"Joey, do you have a picture of them? I’ve been wondering if I could see them." Dawson asked her as he pulled up to a stoplight.

"Sure! You should have asked a long time ago. I’m all for showing them off." She laughed as she took out her billfold and opened it to the most recent picture to her two daughters. It was absolutely breathtaking. Andrew had taken it, and it was black and white, with a serious-faced Molly trying to explain something to a giggling Katie in a bouncy seat. Both children looked so much like Joey, it was remarkable.

"They are beautiful Jo. Want to see mine?" he asked.

"Of course! Whip ‘em out." she told him. He pulled out his wallet, and showed her a posed picture of two little blonde boys, with a toddler girl sitting on the lap of the older boy.

"My, my. Those are some handsome boys you have there Dawson. They are going to be lady-killers. And Maura is just gorgeous." She smiled, as she gently touched the picture. She couldn’t help but think of how much these kids had been through in the past few months. They had lost their mother, and Joey knew how badly that hurt. She found herself wanting to comfort them, and tell them that everything was going to be okay.

"Dawson, are they all right? I mean, how are they handling losing their mother?" She asked carefully, hoping it wouldn’t upset Dawson.

"They are doing ok, I suppose. I mean at first, Colin wouldn’t sleep through the night. He would wake up screaming every 45 minutes. And Max wouldn’t talk to anyone for days after it happened. He just sat in his room and looked at our family photo albums and their baby books. As for Maura, I don’t think she really understands what’s going on. I know she misses Rachelle, but I don’t think that she is old enough to really comprehend." He stopped for a moment, and then went on. "But they are adjusting really well I guess. I mean, you of all people know how hard it is to lose a mother. And they understand that it was an accident, and that their mom is an angel now. Colin still has the occasional nightmare, but that is to be expected I guess."

"And how are you doing Dawson?" she asked him. Her question surprised him. He didn’t think that she would be bold enough to ask him.

"I’m doing ok I guess. It’s tough sometimes, especially with Maura because I know she won’t remember her mother, and she just looks so much like her. I miss her." Dawson sighed, and pulled into Bessie and Bodie’s driveway. "I really do miss her."

"I know Dawson. If you ever need anything, or the kids need anything, please don’t hesitate to call me. Remember that we all love you very much." She told him, and turned her head, upon realizing what she had said.

"Do you really, Joey? We really need to talk about the other night." Dawson said.

"Dawson, let’s just chalk that up to drunken behavior. I think it was a mistake, and it was probably just the alcohol and all the memories flooding back. I will always love you, as my best friend, and I’m so glad that you are back in my life. I want you to promise me that we will keep in touch this time. But as for anything else, I really don’t think there’s anything left for us." she lied to him. She wanted so badly to tell him how she really felt, but there was just too much at stake.

"Ok Jo. I’ll buy that. So when do you want to get the kids together for that picnic?" He smiled, trying to change the subject, and hiding his disappointment.

"What about Wednesday? We could take them to the beach or something." She suggested.

"Sounds great. I’ll give you a call Wednesday morning, if that’s ok?" He asked.

"Sure. Thanks again for the ride Dawson. Talk to you later." she said.

"Bye Joey." He told her as she got out of the van and shut the door. He thought of his feelings for her, and how much he wanted her. Well, he was no stranger to that feeling when it came to her. Being her friend would just have to do. He would rather have her in his life than not have her in his life, and if this was the only way, then so be it. "If only she could just love me back......" he thought as he pulled away from the house.


Joey walked in the door and looked around. She didn’t see anyone right away, and she leaned against the door. She closed her eyes and remember that night just two days ago, when all her bottled up feelings for Dawson had exploded in one kiss. She imagined his lips on hers, his tongue dancing along her mouth, his hands gliding over her legs, her gentlly sucking on his bottom lip......

"Mommy!" Joey was brought back to reality by Molly careening around the corner.

"Hey baby. Come here and give me a hug." She picked up the little girl and hugged her tightly to her body. She placed a gentle kiss on her forehead, and smoothed her curls with her hand. "Where are daddy and Katie?" she asked the toddler.

"Outside." Molly wiggled to be put down, and Joey set her on her feet, and Molly walked into the dining room and brought her mother a picture that she had colored. "See what I made for you?"

"Wow Molly, this is great! Is this me and daddy?" she asked, pointing to two stick figures standing by something that resembled a house.

"Yep." Molly beamed with pride that her mom had recognized them. Just then, Andrew walked into the room. There was a look on his face that Joey had never seen before. He was very serious, and almost angry. He looked directly at Joey, and she got chills. His face was stone cold.

"Molly honey, will you please go outside with Aunt Bessie please?" he asked the little girl without looking at her.

"Ok daddy." Molly got up from her seat, and took off around the corner.

"Hi Andrew. How was you day? Is everything ok?" Joey approached her husband.

"My day was fine. I assume yours was the same. How are your friends?" He asked her coldly.

Joey gave him a puzzled look. "They’re great. Pacey and Andie have a 7 pound 6 ounce baby boy. His name is Caleb Nathan, and he’s beautiful." She stopped, expecting to see a smile crack his face, when she told him the good news. He just returned her announcement with a stare. "What’s wrong Andrew?" she didn’t know what was going on. Then she thought. "Oh no. What if he found out about the other night?" Her heart stopped.

"I saw who brought you home Josephine." he told her. He only called her by her first name when he was angry.

"Yea, Dawson brought me home. The car was acting up and wouldn’t start." she told him, matter-of-factly. He couldn’t possibly know, because Jack had promised not to tell anyone. She trusted him, because he had never broken a promise before.

"I don’t like that. I don’t want you to see him anymore Josephine. Is that understood?" he stared her down with an intensity that she had never seen in him before. And that triggered her old feisty nature.

"Um, just who the hell do you think you are? Do not talk to me like a child Andrew. Dawson is my best friend, and you cannot tell me who and who not to associate with." She gave him the same look that she used to give Pacey all the time, when she argued with him. It said distinctly, Bite me.

"I am your husband. And I do not want you seeing other men, and that is the way it is going to be." He approached her, and she backed up. He was cornering her against the wall. Her anger welled up within her, and she could hardly contain it anymore.

"Yes. You are my husband, you are not my father. I will see who I please, when I please. Dawson and I are old friends, and you cannot stop our friendship." She was trying not to yell. Just then, Andrew exploded. He grabbed her arms and threw her hard against the wall. He was screaming at the top at of his lungs, just inches from her face, with a fury in his face and eyes that seemed to engulf his entire body.

"Listen here little girl, you will do as I say, and you will do it exactly how I say. Is that understood?" he screamed at her. By this time, Bessie and Bodie came inside, wondering what all the yelling and thumping was about.

"What’s going on in here?" Bessie asked them.

"Nothing Bessie. My wife and I are just having a little disagreement. Right Joey?" he gave Joey a threatening look away from the eyes of her sister and her husband.

"Yea, Bess. Everything is ok. Go back outside. I’ll be out to get the girls in a minute." She fought back the hot tears that were welling up in her eyes.

"Ok Jo. Take your time." Bessie and Bodie turned, and Joey knew that neither one of them bought that nothing was going on. Joey rubbed her arms where Andrew had held her. There were already bruises starting to form. Her back ached where it had hit the wall as well.

"Joey, go get the girls ready for bed. It’s getting late." He told her. He was staring out the window. She didn’t say anything to him, just quietly left to go outside to get her children.

She was so angry at Andrew, she didn’t know what to do. But she did know that she wasn’t going to let him come between her and the one person that had been missing all those years, even if it meant making him angry.


What do ya think? Getting good? Wanna know what happens next? Send feedback, and let me know what YOU think should happen! Part 6 is on the way..............

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