Synopsis of A Family Way
Written by Tamara Jaron
The episode begins in the Leery's restaurant. Mr. Leery, Dawson, and Pacey's sister are trying to convince a very green Mrs. Leery to go home before she makes the customers sick.
"I'm telling you, I'm fine," insists Mrs. Leery.
"For the sake of your business," responds Mr. Leery, "go home before your customers catch the stomach flu and we have to rename the restaurant 'Leery's Pending Lawsuit'."
Apparently she's been stuck with a flu bug for two weeks with the usual array of symptoms, queasiness, exhaustion, etc. They finally convince her to head home and as she is collecting her things, Pacey's sister suggests a brilliant diagnosis for her lingering ills:
"Guys, Gail's been throwing up a lot, right? And She's still hungry and putting on some weight? She's tired all the time, her back hurts, irritability, mood swings...sounds to me like she'll be feeling a lot better in about 9 months."
Dawson and Mr. Leery respond to this with incredulous looks and as Paula Cole begins to croon her opener, Mrs. Leery arrives ready to leave, responding to their shocked looks with her own look of wonder.
At the Leery home, Mrs. Leery is in the bathroom while a nervous Dawson and Mr. Leery pace outside, studying an empty pregnancy test package.
"It's pink" she declares as she steps out of the bathroom.
Dawson is less than thrilled and Mr. Leery embraces his wife. Mr. Leery notices Dawson is upset and asks "Aren't you going to say anything?" All Dawson can offer is a half-hearted "congratulations" as he leaves for his new job -- painting the house of Mr. Brooks, the man whose boat Dawson borrowed to save Pacey and Jen in Episode 2.
Meanwhile, Joey and Pacey are making out like the two lovebirds that they are on the porch of Pacey's new abode. In the midst of a passionate kiss, Pacey pulls away. Joey, still caught up in the moment, asks "Why did you stop?"
"Because," answers Pacey, "every afternoon we sit out here and we make out, and then inevitably at some point you stop us and we go inside and watch TV for the rest of the afternoon. So today, I'm issuing a preemptive strike."
"And I'm issuing a counteroffensive," responds Joey, once again locking lips with her new love.
Pacey pushes her away again saying "No, stop right there. Haven't you ever heard the term 'no means no'?"
"I don't think I've ever heard that from you," jokes Joey.
Pacey becomes characteristically uncomfortable, "well, you're hearing it now." He goes inside and Joey follows saying "Let me get this straight. Your girlfriend offers you her lips in the spirit of teenage lust, and you'd rather sit her and watch the E! True Hollywood Story of Danny Bonnaducci for the fourth time?"
Pacey remains tight lipped and Joey asks more seriously, "Are we having a fight?"
"Not to the best of my knowledge"
"Cause it feels like one of those times when you say you're kidding around, but really we're having a fight, Pace..."
"I assure you, everything is perfectly all right," answers Pacey as he begins flipping through television stations. If you ask me, this relationship is doomed.
The scene changes again as we join Jack and Andie on a soccer field. Andie has convinced Jack to be a pee wee soccer coach in lieu of his exalted football career. (See last week's dislocated shoulder). Jack is wary of the commitment, but Andie convinces him it'll be great on his college applications.
When they meet the kids, Andie is as overbearing as ever. "Hey kids," she says, "I'm Andie and this is my brother Jack. And together we are all about to embark upon a soccer experience that will enrich your lives for years to come..."
The kids all make sounds of disappointment and look at the ground. "Okay," tries Jack, "everybody who wants to have some fun, raise their hands." The all raise their hands, once again proving that Jack is definitely the brighter of the two siblings, regardless of test scores and grades. Jack starts talking to a girl on the team named Molly who doesn't want to talk because she hates soccer. We see that Jack is off to a good start and the kids all seem to like him.
Dawson is painting Mr. Brooks' house, but he is obviously distracted. Mr. Brooks offers some sarcastic statement about the reason for this distraction and then begins to thumb through Dawson's conveniently placed portfolio of photography.
"Could you leave my personal property alone, please," asks a perturbed Dawson.
"Surely the boy who stole and wrecked my boat is not giving me a lecture on the sanctity of personal property," quips Mr. Brooks. Dawson is defeated and returns to his painting. Mr. Brooks then proceeds to point out the defects in each of Dawson's photos saying, "As a photographer you're a mediocre housepainter. You know what your problem is? Those photos are cold, unemotional. There is no spark." (He has just summed up the problem with Dawson's character over the past two seasons.)
"Thank you for the cogent analysis," says Dawson. "I will keep that in mind next time." He goes back to painting.
Back at school, Jen sits down with Joey in the cafeteria and after seeing how depressed she looks says, "looks like we both got robbed on that history test. What'd you get?"
"I think I set the curve," replies a sheepish Joey.
"Well," says a sarcastic Jen, "I can see how that would be aggravating."
Joey is absentmindedly playing with her potatoes. Jen asks her what's wrong.
"The mashed potatoes are cold and so am I," answers Joey.
"Is this about sex?" asks an astute Jen. Joey snaps up, surprised by Jen's uncanny intuition.
"Is it that obvious?" After a moment she continues, "I think Pacey's starting to get impatient."
"Joey he loves you -- he'll wait."
"Pacey's not the problem, it's me. Let's face it, the waiting just goes on and on and at this point even I'm getting impatient. But for some reason, I just keep waiting."
Joey insists she wants to have sex, but doesn't know if she's ready. Jen's solution -- get thee to the free clinic. Her motto: Be prepared.
Mr. and Mrs. Leery are at the doctor's office. Mr. Leery is reassuring Mrs. Leery that Dawson is really not that upset and that everything is going to be fine. They'll manage with the new baby. Mrs. Leery says she's not ready to do it again. Mr. Leery doesn't catch her drift. "Just because I'm pregnant," she says, "doesn't mean that I have to stay that way." She reveals that she wants to have an abortion.
On the soccer field, coach Jack is improving nicely. Unfortunately for him, he meets Molly's older -- and quite forward -- sister. She propositions Jack, but he manages to extract himself from the situation without revealing his sexual orientation.
Outside the Leery restaurant, Dawson has a new model -- Pacey's older sister, to whom he has grown quite attached in the last couple of episodes. He is photographing her while romantic music plays over the scene (can you say foreshadow?).
"If you don't stop taking my picture," she says, "I'm going to smack you."
"Am I making you uncomfortable?"
"Yes."
"Good."
Cute. He is flirting with her and she is soaking it up. They sit down and begin to discuss his mom's situation. He confides that he was upset when he heard the news, but wants advice on how to be happy for his parents. She reminds him to think of how scary it is for his mom.
"I knew you were the right person to talk to," says Dawson. This comment strikes a nerve and Pacey's sister quickly excuses herself to go back to work.
Joey visits the women's clinic and promptly gets a made-for-TV lecture about the importance of being emotionally ready for sex.
"Miss Potter," begins the doctor after a few personal questions, "these aren't even the hard questions. I mean, what if you became pregnant, or contract an STD? These are the potential consequences of sex." Seeing that Joey is scared, she continues, "Okay, maybe you should know the other side of the coin, Joey. Sex can be a wonderful, fun, fulfilling part of life. There's nothing to be ashamed or afraid of. I just want you to approach it with a certain level of maturity and responsibility, that's all."
She departs with a bag of goodies -- condoms, spermacide, and literature about STDs.
Back on the soccer field, Jack and Andie are playing a little one-on-one. Jack feels good about being a coach but he is nervous about the flirtatious older sister.
"She was one step away from reaching her hands down my pants and checking out the merchandise," he says.
Andie is grossed out by this idea, and when he asks for her help, she advises him to tell the sister that he's gay. Jack is concerned about bigotry and discrimination and does not want to become a civil rights activist. Andie promises to help so that he can avoid spilling the beans.
At the Leery home, Dawson is in the midst of developing pictures of Pacey's sister in his darkroom. He hears his mom and dad come home and goes out to talk to them. He explains his initial reaction to the news and tells them that he is happy for them. His dad breaks the news about the abortion and Dawson is upset all over again. Dawson's mom admits that she thinks herself a terrible mother.
"It's no lie that I have messed up at every turn...that I'm the one who tore your family apart."
Dawson accuses her of using him as an excuse for having the abortion, but she insists that she just can't handle the mistakes. Mr. Leery supports her decision.
"This is my decision," she says, "and I have made it. And now this discussion is over." She runs out crying.
The next morning, Mr. Leery invites Dawson down for breakfast, offering his mother's apology. Dawson asks his father how he can go along with her decision.
"Ultimately, it's her body, her decision, I respect that." (Convenient pro-choice plug, a week before elections).
"What if it's the wrong decision?" asks Dawson. Mr. Leery explains that they tried to have Dawson for three years. And after Dawson they tried for another five years to have more children. He then dives into a sappy soliloquy about how none of that matters because he has love in his life in the form of Gail (Mrs. Leery) and Dawson. He kisses Dawson and walks out.
Joey's sister discovers Joey's bag of sexual paraphernalia while putting away Joey's laundry. Joey walks in as she's making her discovery, and her sister quickly leaves.
At the next soccer practice, Jack is confronted by the pushy sister and after a failed attempt by Andie to ward her off, he is forced to reveal that he is gay. She is embarrassed and insists that she knew it all along.
Dawson meets Pacey's sister on a deserted dock and tells her that his mom is planning on having an abortion. He believes that she went through the same thing and asks her to talk about it so that he can make sense of his mom's decision. She is not surprised that he figured it out and she explains that in college she got pregnant "in the backseat of her boyfriend's Geo Prism." After deciding to have an abortion, she had a miscarriage and felt guilty for getting off easy and for being so irresponsible in the first place.
Dawson thanks her for trusting him with her secret. "I won't tell anyone," he says.
"I know."
Joey's sister, Bessie, confronts Joey about the condoms in front of the B&B's paying guests.
"Either you were at Pacey's having sex all night, or you've started your own mail-order birth control business out of your bedroom."
"Bessie," she responds, "for your information, I'm not having sex. But at some point I probably will, and there is nothing you can do to stop me."
Bessie reminds her of the consequences and Joey says, "I am the oldest 17 year old in Capeside, Bessie. My whole life is consequences and responsibility." As she storms off to her room she says, "So, if you'll excuse me, I think I'll go to my birth control warehouse."
At Jack's first soccer game, the word has been spread about his sexuality. Children are pulled from the team because they've been told he's "dangerous," but the little girl, Molly, tells him "Don't worry coach Jack. They're all just jerks. I know you're not dangerous." Jack is despondent, but he continues to coach.
Back at the B&B, Bessie's husband reminds Joey that her sister just wants the best for her. Joey admits that she is not sure whether she's ready for sex.
"If you're not ready to be prepared for sex," he says, "then you're probably not ready for sex."
In a last ditch effort to save his unborn sibling, Dawson tells his mother that she is a good mom and that she should have all the facts straight before giving up the baby.
"You are the best mother that I know," he says. "You're not afraid to make mistakes." He goes on to say that while his childhood wasn't perfect, it was real and it has shaped him as a person. Any child would be lucky to have her for a mother. Mrs. Leery cries and hugs Dawson.
Joey and Pacey are making out again and again Pacey pulls away. This time, Joey immediately says OK and jumps off of him.
"Perhaps," she says, "you were hoping that if you turned the table on me I might get paranoid 'cause I'm always the one stopping things, now you're stopping things, so maybe I need to go further. Maybe even pay a visit to the free clinic, stock up on goodies, and come back here and then we'd have sex."
Pacey doesn't flinch. "Did you actually go to the free clinic to stock up on goodies?" he asks.
"I can neither confirm not deny such reports."
Pacey explains that he was not trying to pressure her and he apologizes for his behavior.
"Just because we're not having sex yet," says Joey, "well there are certain things that we can do..."
"What kinds of things," asks a suddenly interested Pacey.
"I could kiss you," she says seductively.
"Or perhaps I could just come over there..." Pacey jumps on her and starts playfully toying with her pants.
Back at Mr. Brooks' house, Dawson is still painting. Mr. Brooks looks through his new photographs and comes across one that he actually likes.
"It's the first picture that makes a connection with the subject," he says, "as if you're not only shooting her melancholy, but you're own. It's the first one I've seen with a bit of you in it." He puts down the photos and leaves.
Dawson, curious to find out which photo inspired such a compliment, picks up the book and opens it to a picture of Pacey's sister. The same romantic music plays in the background.
The music continues through a montage of scenes. Joey makes up with her sister. Dawson is in his darkroom looking at more pictures of Pacey's sister. Jack stands on an empty soccer field, contemplating the future. Mr. and Mrs. Leery look through old family photo albums. Perhaps they have decided to keep the baby.
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