Cut to an ice rink. Several people are skating in circles, every which way. There’s no pattern, but simply a group of people having a good time.
Haul out the holly;
Put up the tree
before my
spirit falls again.
We see Dawson and Joey skate by. After a moment, Dawson slips.
DAWSON: Ah!
He falls on his back, with Joey giggling at him.
Fill up the stocking,
I may be rushing things,
but deck the halls again now.
DAWSON: I’m glad my pain is so amusing to you.
Pacey and Andie skate past them, with Pacey going backwards.
PACEY: Not your thing?
Dawson sighs.
DAWSON: I suck at this.
Joey helps him to his feet.
For we need a little Christmas
Right this very minute,
Candles in the window,
Carols at the spinet.
JOEY: You just have to relax. It’s not like running. It’s more like dancing. Here…
She grabs his hand, and helps him along.
DAWSON: So what…I just shake my ass back and forward?
JOEY: No, move your left foot. Then your right. Think of a beat in your head. Left, right, left, right…
Dawson tries, as they move slowly.
Yes, we need a little Christmas
Right this very minute.
It hasn't snowed a single flurry,
But Santa, dear, we're in a hurry;
JOEY: There you go.
DAWSON: Where did you learn this?
Joey pauses.
JOEY: Eddie.
So climb down the chimney;
Put up the brightest string of
lights I've ever seen.
He sighs.
DAWSON: Of course.
She turns to him.
JOEY: You sound jealous.
Slice up the fruitcake;
It's time we hung some tinsel
on that evergreen bough.
DAWSON: I guess I am. He taught you how to skate. Something I couldn’t do, because I don’t know how to skate.
JOEY: But I’m teaching you, aren’t I? All we really are is the culminations of things we learn from others, right?
DAWSON: I guess.
For I've grown a little leaner,
Grown a little colder,
Grown a little sadder,
Grown a little older,
JOEY: Eddie taught me how to skate. Charley taught me how to win the crowd. Another taught me about starts, another sailing, another prose. Then there was the one who taught me not to give up on myself, no matter what other people say. I think that was my most important lesson.
DAWSON: Which one was that?
She smiles.
JOEY: You.
And I need a little angel
Sitting on my shoulder,
Need a little Christmas now.
He smiles back, understanding.
*****
Elsewhere on the rink…
ANDIE: Ok…change!
Andie and Pacey switch places, so that Andie’s now skating backwards.
Haul out the holly;
Well, once I taught you
all to live each living day.
PACEY: So, what’d you tell Jack?
ANDIE: I told him I couldn’t go.
Pacey smiles.
Fill up the stocking,
But Auntie
Man, it's one week
from Thanksgiving Day now.
PACEY: So, you’re sticking around Boston for some guy?
ANDIE: I’m through running away, Pacey. I want to make my life here, and that’s just what I’m going to do. Jack’s my brother, and I love him…but I don’t need him to protect me anymore.
But we need a little Christmas
Right this very minute,
Candles in the window,
Carols at the spinet.
PACEY: Good…because I’d miss you. And living in New York ain’t something I wanna do right now. You know I’d follow you.
Andie smiles.
ANDIE: Just my luck to have a stubborn boyfriend. Not that that’s a bad thing. It happens to be a very good thing.
Yes, we need a little Christmas
Right this very minute.
It hasn't snowed a single flurry,
But Santa, dear, we're in a hurry;
*****
And elsewhere…
JACK: (grumbles) Show off!
Jen laughs.
So climb down the chimney;
Put up the brightest string of
lights I've ever seen.
JEN: Come on…leave Pacey alone.
JACK: Sorry. I just…it’s not fair.
JEN: They’re in love. Of course she’s going to want to stay with him.
JACK: I know. It still sucks, though.
Slice up the fruitcake;
It's time we hung some tinsel
on that evergreen bough.
Just then, Dawson and Joey skate by. They kiss in mid-skate.
JACK: I will never get used to that.
JEN: It’s…weird. Seeing them actually ‘together’ together.
For we need a little music,
Need a little laughter,
Need a little singing
Ringing through the rafter,
JACK: Ok…I say again: first Pacey and Andie, now Dawson and Joey. I’m not going have to act straight again?
Jen laughs.
JEN: I wish.
JACK: I don’t think you’re mom’s completely convinced I’m not.
JEN: She’s paranoid.
They both laugh.
And we need a little snappy
"Happy ever after,"
Need a little Christmas now.
*****
Cut to later, at the Ruins. Dawson, Joey, Pacey, Jen, Jack, Andie, Audrey, and Chris are all lying on the snow.
DAWSON: Everybody done?
He’s greeted by a bunch of nods. One by one, the eight of them get up. Beneath them, snow angels appear.
PACEY: If there was ever any doubt I was the tallest…
They all wander over to the main area, and sit down.
JACK: How long has it been since we were all here together?
JOEY: Too long.
Pacey turns to Andie and smiles.
PACEY: Well, since it’s unlikely we’ll all still be here on New Year’s, I say we make our resolutions now.
CHRIS: New Year’s resolutions?
Audrey shrugs.
AUDREY: Why not?
JOEY: I kind of already made mine this year. I’m going to decide what I want to do with my life.
JEN: How about not dumping Dawson two months from now?
JOEY: Hey!
DAWSON: I second that.
Joey turns to him and smirks. They kiss.
PACEY: Ugh! Get a room.
CHRIS: How many ex’s of yours are actually here?
Jen, Jack, and Pacey raise their hand.
JOEY: So…Pacey by himself has just as many.
JEN: Nope! We didn’t technically date.
Andie looks at Jen, then at Pacey.
ANDIE: ‘Technically’?
Pacey bites his lip.
PACEY: Now is not the time to get into that.
DAWSON: What about your resolution, Pacey?
PACEY: Me? Well…I guess I want to try a not screw up. Now, that probably sounds like a broad term, but that’s what I’m going for. This year, I plan to be a success.
JACK: I’m not going to get dumped.
Audrey looks at him.
AUDREY: And what are the odds of you actually keeping that resolution?
JACK: Not very good, but at least I’m trying. You?
Audrey thinks.
AUDREY: I’m going be more confidant in myself. No more self-doubting.
CHRIS: I think you all know what I’m going to do this year.
The others look to him.
CHRIS: I’m going to prove myself to all of you that I have changed. That I promise.
Audrey grabs his hand, holding tightly.
DAWSON: How about you, Jen?
She smiles.
JEN: I’m going to hope.
Pacey raises an eyebrow.
PACEY: Hope? Hope for what?
JEN: Hope for hope. You all know that my luck isn’t always that great. But too often I give up without a fight. I guess what I’m saying is that, this year…I’m going to have faith.
She shares a secret look with Dawson. He smiles at her.
JEN: What about you, Dawson?
JOEY: Yeah…what about you?
He thinks.
DAWSON: This is a hard one. I mean, I’ve pretty much got everything now, don’t I? A girlfriend…
He looks to Joey.
DAWSON: A career…
Then to Pacey.
DAWSON: I don’t really have anything I want to make sure I do, other than keep trying. Wait…there is one thing.
He stands up.
DAWSON: I’m stubborn. I get from my dad. Most of the time, I try to do everything alone, and in my own way. But this year, something’s different. I’ve learned to depend on other people. I spent so long chasing after Joey, when all I had to do was wait for her to come to me. I become so obsessed with trying to make movies myself, when all it took was the touch of my best friend to make the whole thing work. What I’m trying to say is that I know better now. I’m not alone. I can depend on my friends.
The others smile.
Pacey gets up, turning to Andie.
PACEY: Well, I can’t all the credit, but…
Suddenly, a snowball hits him from behind. He turns, and sees Joey dusting her hands off.
He grins, picking up some snow himself.
PACEY: Oh, it’s ON now!
He tosses it at Joey, who squeals at the cold snow hitting her neck. Dawson, in turn, tosses a snowball at Pacey.
Soon enough, the others are all joining in, as a hail of snow flies across the Ruins, and the air fills with the sound of laughter.
*****
Cut to the Leery house, later that day. A fresh turkey is placed on the table, as people begin to sit down.
That I was missing out
Had to grow up and see the world
Through different shades of doubt
It’s Christmas dinner, finally.
JACK: Ok, that smells delicious Mrs. Leery.
Gale smiles.
GALE: Thank you, Jack.
Give me one more chance to dream again
One more chance to feel again
Through your young heart
If only for one day let me try
He reaches for it, but Grams hits his hand away.
GRAMS: Patience, Jack!
Jack rubs his hand.
I wanna see Christmas through your eyes
I want everything to be the way it used to be
Back to being a child again thinking the world was mine
I wanna see Christmas, Christmas through your eyes
Suddenly, Dawson stands up, raising his glass into the air.
DAWSON: Before we eat, I’d like to propose a toast.
They all raise their glasses in turn.
DAWSON: The future’s uncertain. I mean, who knows, this time next year our lives might be completely different from the way they are now.
I see the rain, you see the rainbow hiding in the clouds
Never afraid to let your love show
Won't you show me how
The camera pans to each person at the table.
Wanna learn how to believe again
Find the innocence in me again
Through your young heart
Help me find a way, help me try
DAWSON: I know I never expected to be here, among the people who mean the most to me. But yet here I am. There’s something about the holiday season that, I don’t know…reaches out to us. The one time of year where everyone puts aside their differences in harmony. Maybe I’m old-fashioned, but it means something to me. It’s the time of year when everyone sees the world the way see it. So here’s to friendship…may those bonds never be broken.
I wanna see Christmas through your eyes
I want everything to be the way it used to be
Back to being a child again thinking the world was kind
I wanna see Christmas, Christmas through your eyes
Pacey smirks.
PACEY: Or as Tiny Tim observed: ‘god bless us…every one’.
A few people laugh. Dawson just smiles.
DAWSON: Exactly.
I wanna see Christmas through your eyes
I want everything to be the way it used to be
Back to being a child again thinking the world was kind
I wanna see Christmas, Christmas through your eyes
He takes his place next to Joey, holding her hand, as Gale begins to carve the turkey. The camera pans towards the window, as the snow continues to fall outside.
Suddenly, a photo crosses the screen of the entire cast. On it reads:
Merry Christmas,
And a happy New Year
I wanna see Christmas
I wanna see Christmas, I wanna see Christmas through your eyes
I wanna see, I wanna see Christmas
I wanna see, I wanna see Christmas
I wanna see Christmas through your eyes
I wanna see Christmas
I want to see Christmas
I wanna see Christmas through your eyes
Fade to black
End credits