They had already spent most of the lazy Sunday afternoon in his bed, the sun streaming through the slats of the blinds and the sound of the television muddling their voices to the rest of the house.

"Mmmmm... what time does the flight come in?" She ground herself closer to him, taking his hand and laying it on her breast. "You must have another hour... don't you?"

He turned his eyes to the digital clock on his desk. "Not really... Joey gets in at four and it's three... and I really should have a shower, you know?"

Maria pouted and he kissed her, licking at her lips with the tip of his tongue. "Fine, Pacey. Be that way."

"You're insatiable, DeLuca. You're gonna have to get over that eventually. A guy's only got so much to give." He laughed and tossed her bra at her from the pile on the floor.

"You're not even going to let me shower with you? Jeez, Pacey... it is the least you can do before kicking me out, you know."

"Nope, I'm going to send you out into the harsh light of day just as you are. You're fine, just the way you are..." He kissed her again, letting his tongue slip into her mouth and wanting to drag her into the bathroom with him. He couldn't really, he needed to get her out of his mind for a moment, to clear his head before he set off to the airport. "Now go, before I change my mind."

"Ahhhh... She does have the power over him, doesn't she."

"Yes, she does. Now get the hell out of here before I'm late to the airport." Pacey began backing into the bathroom as Maria bent for the rest of her clothes.

"How long is your friend coming to stay for?"

"Only a week, she's leaving next Sunday evening." He said finally behind the door and reaching to turn on the shower.

"She?" The door flew open and Maria stood in the doorway, hands on her hips.

Was that jealousy he saw creeping across her brow? "Ooo, I like you jealous, Maria."

"I'm not jealous, please. But you never told me that "your friend, Joey" was a girl. I guess I'm just a little surprised..." Her face softened and she stared at his bare midsection. "Oh, you do like to think I'm jealous though, don't you?" She let out a small giggle in reaction to his burgeoning erection.

"What can I say?" He grinned sheepishly.

"That you're going to be late to the airport..."

"I think I might be a little late..." He pulled her clothes off her and tugged her into the shower after him. At least, this way, he'd get his hair cleaned at the same time.

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He was late and Joey was going to be hella pissed off. It was bad enough that he took his time leaving the house, but getting lost on his way to the airport just set him back far too long. Looking down at the clock on his dash, he realized he should have been there an hour ago.

But, then, anyone could have missed this pathetic excuse for an airport.

But nobody could miss an angry Joey Potter standing outside the main terminal, suitcase beside her, her face twisted in an annoyed scowl.

"So this is how you treat visiting guests, Witter? I had to fly across the friggin' United States sandwiched between The Grimace and a wailing three-year-old, sit around for two hours in a Jose Cuervo tequila themed restaurant in Denver, just to get on the teeniest, scariest plane ever, and then, then, stand here and wait for you like a damned fool for over an hour!" She railed on him mercilessly, waving her hands like a mad woman.

Pacey inched close enough to pick up her bag, smiling regrettably at her and tossing her suitcase into the back of his Jeep. "I'm sorry, Jo... Forgive me?"

"Like I have a choice?" She slid into the passenger seat and shed a layer of clothes revealing a tight men's tank top. "Although, I guess in this weather I could always sleep in your backyard." She flashed him the patented crooked smile and he knew everything would be fine.

"I suppose you could, but then you'd miss out on my mother's finely decorated guest room. She's made it all up for you, I think she's more excited than I am for your arrival."

"You wound me, Pacey. Don't you have anything nice to say to one of your best friends ever?" She nudged him lightly in the ribs.

"I've really missed you, Potter. C'mere and gimme a hug." Ignoring the gear shift jutting into his hip, he leaned closer and rounded his arms around her shoulders.

She laid her head on his shoulder and squeezed back. "I've missed you too..." The moment got awkward and she wriggled from his grasp. "Now drive me back to your house, I've been travelling all day and I want to get out of these clothes and eat something."

"As you wish, your highness." He pulled the stick into gear and took off towards town.

Thankfully, getting back home, he didn't make the same wrong turns. He pointed out various Roswell landmarks that he could remember the names of and some that he couldn't, keeping Joey entertained through the short drive. Nearing his house, he pulled into the driveway and cut the engine.

"And here you go. Mi casa."

It was a small house, nothing like the house that he grew up in back in Capeside. She looked it over approvingly, noticing the perfectly manicured lawn and waving American flag hanging off the side.

"I see your father's in charge of the grounds," she smiled.

"Damn right, Sheriff Witter keeps the place well taken care of. You should see him out there, Jo, it's like he's never had a lawn before." Pacey carried her bag to the front door and pushed open the door. "Mom? We're back from the airport..." He called out through the house.

Pacey's mother emerged from the kitchen smiling and holding out her arms. "Joey! Welcome to Roswell!" Her verve was a little overwhelming, but he understood. His mother just wasn't used to going out and making friends, she'd done little more than putter around the house for weeks.

"Thank you, Mrs. Witter. I would have been here earlier, but Pacey left me hanging at the airport."

"Dude! I thought we were past that, besides, I got lost... Anyway, I got you here, didn't I?" Joey winked at his mother and moved into give her a light hug.

"Joey, Pacey will bring your things to the guest room, I've made it up for you. There are clean towels if you want to shower and I made some fried chicken. You must be hungry after one of those horrible in-flight meals... Do you want to eat first?"

Joey smiled warmly and nodded. "I'm starving, actually. Thank you so much for having me, Mrs. Witter."

"Oh, darling, we're so pleased that you've come to visit... it's our pleasure." As much as every word was true, Pacey thought gravely that his mother really needed to get out more. She was becoming June Cleaver as the days went by. "Come into the kitchen, dear. Pacey, why don't you drop off Joey's bag and come as well."

"All right, Mom."

When he entered the kitchen Joey and his mother were deep in conversation about the new house and new town. He sat back in the chair beside Joey and served himself.

She went to sleep early, jet-lagged and tired and possibly wrapped in one of the huge towels that were stacked on a chair in her room. They would catch up in the morning. Pacey lay in the room next to hers and could swear he could hear her breathing. It was that good to have her around, just seeing her angry and annoyed at the curb was enough to bring back all sorts of feelings he never really realized that he'd had.

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Lying in his bed, the phone rang.

"Hello?"

"Hey..." Came a soft voice. "Just wanted to see if you made it to the airport okay and if your friend got in all right."

"You are jealous, I knew it!" He laughed, shifting into a more comfortable position.

"You flatter yourself, Pacey. I'm just checking my investments." Her voice was like a smooth purr on the other end of the line.

"Oh?" Yeah, well, two can play at that game, he thought.

"Yeah... So what did you and the little lady do tonight?"

"Nothing really. Because of you and your investments, I had to catch a heap of shit for being an hour late to the airport. We got back here, my mother fed her, we talked for about an hour, she took a shower and fell promptly to sleep on me."

"On you? Sounds dirty..." That hushed purr in her voice again. "You want to come over?"

As much as the idea appealed to him, he knew he should keep his dick in his pants for a day or two. Especially after the way he had been thinking about Joey just minutes before the phone rang. But then, he was kind of seeing Maria these days and Joey would understand that. She didn't come to Roswell with any expectations. They were friends and they always had been.

He shook his head slowly, as if she might be able to see that on the other end of a phone line.

"I shouldn't, Maria... Not tonight."

"Oh, bummer... And I had something I wanted to show you..."

"What's that?" He played along against his better judgement.

"Nothing that won't keep... I'll see you tomorrow in school?"

Shit. He'd forgotten that he had to be in school tomorrow. He mentally went over his classes. Nope, no tests or anything particularly pressing, he could cut a day. Spend it with Joey, catching up and showing her some of the sights. "I'm gonna take tomorrow off, but how about we meet at The Crashdown after school? I want to introduce you." He winced at his last words, wondering if this was a good move, considering.

"All right, Pacey... I'm working, anyway." He sensed the teeniest bit of irritation in her voice.

"Grrrowllll... you know how I love that uniform..." He said, reassuring them both.

For the moment.

"Goodnight, Pacey..."

"'Night, doll... See you tomorrow." He hung the phone up more confused than he had been before he picked it up.

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Like a shot, he sat up in bed, his skin drenched in sweat and his body shaking. He'd had the dream again.

It wasn't exactly the same. It had started out as one of those hyper-real dreams where it almost feels like a normal daily event. Pacey was sitting alone in a booth at the Crashdown Cafe watching Maria run about taking orders and delivering plates of food, Michael watched him from behind the counter muttering to himself about some bullshit. Joey entered the cafe and joined him at the table.

Then it changed.

Suddenly, Joey wasn't Joey anymore. And Maria wasn't Maria. Everyone was Isabel.

She approached the table wearing one of those ridiculous antennae headbands and holding an order pad. "What do you want?" She said viciously. He looked towards the Isabel in Joey's clothes and her eyes pierced back at him.

"Tell her what you want." Joey-Isabel told him soberly, nodding slowly.

"I don't know. This is crazy." In his dream, everything around him turned red and the air grew warmer. It was as if he was looking at everything through a colored gel.

"We'll find out eventually, you know."

He got a flash of Michael in the back of his dream head, leaning close. "Better keep your strength up."

And then he was awake, wondering why he was so scared. This dream shit was getting out of fucking hand. And it was 5am.

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Joey stirred in the house, Pacey could hear her footsteps in the guest room and through the hall to the bathroom. He had been lying in his bed for near an hour not able to fall back asleep. Sitting up in bed, he decided that since she was up, he might as well be. Throwing on a pair of sweatpants over his boxers, he walked out to the kitchen.

Down the hall, the shower turned on.

When he heard the water stop, he walked over to the end of the hall and held out a steaming cup of coffee, perfectly timed.

"Hey," he whispered. "I made coffee."

"I didn't wake you, did I?" Joey approached quietly. "I tried to be super-quiet."

"Nah, I had a strange dream earlier and was having problems getting back to sleep. When I heard you get up, I just figured I may as well get out of bed too. So you want this coffee, or what?" Pacey nodded at her to follow him to the kitchen as she took the mug from his hand.

She looked great, her hair dipping wet and slicked back off her face, skin scrubbed clean. She wore a grey and red Japanese-style robe cinched at the waist. Sitting down at the kitchen table, she shoved a foot underneath her body and leaned close to him.

"Pacey... I'm so glad that I came out here, Capeside just hasn't been the same without you."

"I'm glad you're out here too, Potter. I took the day off from school today so we could hang out and catch up."

She smiled and took another long gulp off her coffee, finishing the cup and standing to refill it from the carafe behind them. "Thanks, Pacey. And here I was trying to scheme up ways to borrow your car for the day while you were out." Her eyes gleamed in the bright, morning sun.

"It wouldn't have worked, you know how I am about my automobile." He winked at her, grinning widely. "Besides, there was no way I was going to leave you to your own devices in alien-town. And since we hardly got to spend any time together last night, I feel like you just got here. So tell me something good, tell me about home. There's got to be some good dirt going on..."

She refilled his cup as well, and returned to her seat, leaning back comfortably. There was a little bit more skin showing through her robe than she knew about and he gazed at her affectionately, appraising the space between her breasts down to almost her navel.

Noticing his leer, she looked down herself and then back to his eyes.

"Hey, perv-boy, up here." She snapped her fingers in front of her face, laughing quietly. The rest of the Witter family hadn't begun to stir yet.

"Then cover yourself up, slutcakes. You can't fault a guy for getting an eyeful if you're showing it off." He moved his eyes from hers, down her body and back up to meet them again, raising an eyebrow as she didn't move to close her robe.

"All right, enough of this... You wanna know what's been going on back home, or what?" Her robe remained open. Good to know that the sexual tension between them and their subsequent flirtatious behavior hadn't been lost in cross-country travel.

"Yeah, gimme the goods."

"Well, everything is exactly the same, for the most part. I'm still working at the Yacht Club, Dawson's still with Nikki and I think they're going to get married or something -- it's kind of gross how "together" they are." She gestured in quotation marks. "Ummmm, Jack has a new, and exceptionally cute, boyfriend who goes to CCC, Andie's freaking out about colleges, and Jen has been seeing Chris Wolfe off and on, again. That about sums it all up." She took a deep breath after her ramble.

"You could have given me that over the phone... Now, what's really up?"

"Whaddaya mean?"

"Well, you left one person suspiciously out of your round-up, one Miss Josephine Potter? What's been going on with her that would make her fly across the country to visit me?" He leaned over and closed the open space of her robe, he was getting far too preoccupied with that stripe of skin.

"Nothing too exciting, actually. And definitely nothing special. Which is precisely why she decided to fly across the country to visit you."

"Oh, come on, Jo. There must be something going on? It's not like Roswell is the tourist spot of the West, unless you're suddenly into UFO sightings, that is." He was determined to get something out of her.

"I've really missed you, Pace. Not because of what happened between us before you left... although that was very nice, but... I mean, it's everything. Without you around, I feel like I have no one that close to me anymore. Dawson's too wrapped up in Nikki, which is great and all, but... And you're not there. So, I'm all alone. And I guess I've just been really lonely."

He knew what she meant. All too well, honestly.

Rounding the table, he sat in the chair beside her and threw his arms around her shoulders hugging her tightly. "Damn, Jo. I know how you feel." He didn't let go and felt her head drop to his shoulder and her warm breath on his neck.

He wanted to turn his head and kiss her, to slide his tongue between her lips and open her mouth to his. But, he didn't. It wasn't right to presume that she meant anything sexual by any of this and it would be taking advantage of the closeness they shared to assume otherwise.

And besides, damnit, he was seeing someone. For whatever that was worth. At some point he was going to have to mention Maria to Joey.

Still, neither of them broke the contact between them and there was nothing awkward about the moment. He felt comfortable holding onto her; his hand on the back of her head tangled in her wet hair, her lips so close to his throat. Finally, he dropped his hand down her back and pulled away gently.

"You want me to make breakfast?"

"Sure, I am kinda hungry. Whatcha got?"

Pacey stood at the refrigerator and rattled off its contents, pulling a few key things out as she agreed and disagreed with his menu. They finally decided on a quick load of scrambled eggs and sausage and she rose to dress while he got it all together.

Minutes later, his mother found him singing to himself in front of the stove.

"Oh, Pacey, I would have made breakfast. What are you even doing up this early?" She immediately started cleaning up behind him, wiping down the counter around his mess.

"It's okay, Mom. I heard Jo get up a while ago and made some coffee, we've been up for a bit. She's still on East Coast time. Should I make breakfast for you and Pop, too?" He started to pull out the egg carton from the fridge again.

"No thank you, darling. You know how particular your father is about his breakfast. You just finish up for yourself and I'll sneak in after you. Your father is just getting in the shower anyway. But I will have a cup of your coffee..." She smiled and he poured her a cup.

Joey skipped into the room, hair dry and pulled away from her face in clips. "Good morning, Mrs. Witter."

"Good morning, dear. Did you sleep all right?"

"Oh, very well, thank you. The bed was very comfortable. Thank you so much for letting me come and stay with you." Pacey dropped their breakfast onto two plates and served her, pouring them each another cup of coffee. Mrs. Witter was already washing the frying pan by the time he sat down.

The woman was getting anal in her old age, he thought.

"So, Witter, what do you have planned for us today?" Joey said, smiling.

"I don't know, I figured we could wing it. There's a lot of stuff here that I haven't seen myself yet, so I thought we might go complete sight-seeing, like tourists. Sound good? But I gotta still get dressed..." It was her turn to look at him appraisingly, eyes travelling over his bare shoulders.

"Yes, I guess you do. But I like the plan, sounds great."

"Good."

They ate the rest of their meal chatting amiably about nothing in particular. Then, she followed him into his bedroom and sat on the edge of the bed as he dressed quickly and threw some wax in his hair. As they exited the house, she took his hand into hers.

"This is nice, Pacey... Us, in another part of the world, hanging out."