back. Unbeknownst to Dawson, Joey and Pacey have been growing closer and eventually embark on a secret romance. When Dawson discovers their relationship, he reacts with anger and cuts Pacey out of his life. He becomes more determined than ever to win Joey back. Joey and Dawson attend prom together, but when Dawson sees Joey sharing a dance with Pacey, he is enraged and demands Joey choose between the two of them. Later, he realizes he doesn’t want to hold Joey back from following her heart, and, sobbing, he gives her his blessing to join Pacey as he sails down the East coast for the summer. Dawson is dejected at losing Joey, but Jen, Jack, and Andie help lift him out of his low spirits. Season 4 Dawson has spent the summer building his friendships with Jen, Jack and Andie. Joey reveals she intends to rebuild their friendship, however Dawson admits he isn’t convinced he wants to be friends with her, or even try. After saving Pacey and Jen from a storm at sea, Dawson is forced to white wash a fence for old-time film director A.I. Brooks, as punishment for putting a hole in his boat which Dawson was forced to take to rescue Pacey and Jen. Eventually, Mr. Brooks warms to Dawson and lets him film a documentary on him when he tells Dawson that he is dying of cancer. In the meantime, he is confronted with the realities of Pacey and Joey being a couple. He reluctantly begins to let Joey back into his life. Dawson must make a life-or-death decision about Mr. Brooks when he's admitted to the hospital in a coma involving his terminal illness and has requested that Dawson be the one to take him off life support. Dawson chooses to let him go. After an impromptu hangout with Joey, she lies to him, telling Dawson that she hasn’t had sex with Pacey. During this season, Dawson strikes up a romance with Gretchen, Pacey's 21-year-old sister, who has arrived back to Capeside to take a break from college, or so everyone thinks, but she later reveals that she is there to recuperate from a miscarriage that took place during her previous semester. The baby's father was her ex-boyfriend, pig-headed Nick, whom Pacey admired at first. During the Leery Christmas Party, Dawson and Gretchen share a kiss, which ignites old feelings from his pre-teen years