Chapter 7

Disclaimer: And we's a rollin' on! Oh, and I own nothing but what you see here. Yay for GMW last night as well!


Tuesday, December 22nd, 2015 7:41 PM at the Hospital Waiting Room

Nearly two days had passed since the doctor had informed the group of Josh's condition and they had yet to release him despite the fact he was on the mend. For Riley Matthews, this had certainly been quite the scary experience for her and a part of her hoped that her own children, along with the children of her best friends wouldn't ever experience something like what Josh had. Especially being born prematurely as he had been. Seeing her best friend and sister in all but blood look as shaken as she had had bothered the Pretty Brunette quite a bit as usually she was such a strong and fierce girl. It helped Riley to see that maybe she really did have more then just a crush on her uncle and it made her wonder how Lucas would handle it considering the two seemed to have more of a thing then what she and him ever did have. Course that more selfish part of her hoped it might make him turn into her direction again.

Which she had acknowledged as not really being that much of a great thing since she would likely feel like a second best choice. Not that that selfish side of her seemed to care any but she did her best to ignore it. Now she couldn't help but have an issue with that Deanna girl with the wildly blue hair. Oh, she wasn't actually doing anything bad, that much she could admit too but it was the fact she seemed to be keeping Lucas' attention and making him blush at times. It had made her want to scratch the girl's eyes out for even daring to think of trying anything with him! But at least she was being friendly with Farkle, Auggie, and even Maya when the blonde was receptive to interacting and not so focused on her sketching or thoughts of Josh. The girl had even given her friends and little brother nicknames too!

Riley did have to admit however that she liked the 'Bambi' nickname Deanna had given her as it was just really cute and definitely her. Something both Farkle and Lucas even admitted to be pretty fitting for her. And as Riley and everybody else waited and occasionally left when there was a need for it, Shawn and Morgan had yet to show up which Riley had found fairly odd but thought it might have something to do with weather conditions. It had been a real treat though to see Janitor Harley and his sister Theresa when they showed up to offer support. She even had this adorable little nickname for her dad too! Theresa as they would all find out had entered the field of therapy and specialized in helping out teenagers with bad home situations.

The Pretty Brunette thought it was a great thing and even her dad had to agree with it as he felt that if anyone could help them it would be her. Something Theresa had taken as a compliment and hugged her dad over. And surprisingly enough, she seemed to quickly develop a great rapport with Lucas, Maya, and Deanna and even told the three, plus Riley, Farkle, and Auggie to consider her as the really cool aunt and to call anytime they needed to vent about anything that was bothering them. Something Auggie could definitely get behind as to him she definitely looked cool! The sight of two Keiner siblings and Mr. Feeny was pretty wonderful to see and while she hadn't heard what was said, it obviously had been enough to get the two to hug him, action that made him somewhat surprised at first before hugging them back.

And currently Riley was watching as Mr. Feeny stared at Maya in silent contemplation as she went about sketching with a furrowed brow as she intensely concentrated on her work while singing quietly to herself a variation of the Jingle Bells song involving Lucas and the others. A sight that Riley honestly loved as it was rare to see such a thing from her best friend. "Miss Hart?" Spoke up the man at last.

Maya looked up at him in surprise as she hadn't even realized no one was near by her. "Oh, hey Feeny! S'up?"

Mr. Feeny's eyebrows raised up a bit as Riley shook her head at her best friend's greeting of the man. "Mr. Hunter has clearly been an influence upon you Ms. Hart." His tone wasn't condescending but more of that of someone making an observation.

Maya laughed at that. "Oh no, I was like this long before he came into my life. You can even ask Riley about that." She replied with a smile on her lips.

The good Feeny turned towards Riley who only nodded confirmation at that and then he gave his attention back to Maya. "Well, that's alright then." Better to be something similar to Shawn Hunter in some ways then some thuggish brute who didn't care for much he supposed.

Plus it was perfect karma as far as he was concerned considering young Cory is a teacher and Ms. Hart is his student. "So if you don't mind my commenting on it, I couldn't help but notice you were intensely concentrated on what you were drawing. Would you by chance be willing to allow me to see your work? As I've heard quite a bit about it and I've been awfully curious to see it for myself in person."

Both girls were very surprised to hear that and Maya wondered who exactly had been telling him about her passion for art. I bet it was Matthews. Had to be as he's one of her biggest supporters when it came to her making art and not giving it up.

She did have to admit though it was a little intense to be hearing that such a huge figure like Mr. Feeny wanted to see her art! "Yeah, umm… Okay!" She finally replied somewhat nervously and handed him her sketch pad.

Mr. Feeny took it gently from her and when he looked at her work he couldn't help but feel stunned by what he had in his hands. Word of mouth and pictures have clearly done little justice when it comes to this young lady's skill in the arts.

The sketch consisted of young Joshua wielding a sword with a determined look on his face as he stood face to face with a shadowy creature with a red eye. The armor on the young man looked to be damaged and what scenery there was looked to be in some form of disarray as well. "Ms. Hart, this is remarkable. Simply remarkable."

The honesty in his voice made Maya feel very touched and it even drew in Alan as Amy was sitting with Josh, Eric, Jack, Deanna, and Tommy. "That should totally be in a comic book." Eric said seriously.

"Eric!" Reprimanded Alan sternly.

"What!? I'm just sayin'! Art that good in a comic would have me buyin' it just for that alone!"

Deanna had to agree with the man on that. "Heck, I would too."

Mr. Feeny then showed the sketch to everyone else as Maya felt even more touched by the praise she was getting. While she wasn't as into comics like Farkle, Zay, and Lucas were, the idea of a bunch of comic book readers seeing her art in their comics and even liking it a lot was a little on the mind boggling side to her as she still had trouble sometimes coming to grips with the fact that people genuinely loved her art. "Oh baby girl, I am so proud of you." Gushed Katy with a huge smile on her face.

"I think I can safely say that we all are." Commented Cory with a proud look on his face.

She'll go far if she's willing to go for it. Thought the teacher.

Riley was truly happy for her best friend as she deserved all the praise she got. She started to feel a certain thing bubble up in her that wanted to come out but being in a hospital probably wasn't a good idea to let it out. She couldn't help the bouncing she started to do in her seat and everyone looked her way, causing her to blush in response. "Everything okay Ms. Matthews?" Asked Mr. Feeny in concern.

It wouldn't be her who answered but Maya instead with a little smile on her face. "Oh she's more then okay, aren't ya Honey?"

She could only get a nod from the girl as she tried to keep her mouth closed. A chuckle came from Maya over that while everybody else watched in curiousity or amusement due to knowing what was going on. "Come on, you know you wanna." Coaxed the Blonde Beauty.

That was enough for Riley to let loose as she could no longer contain it. "YYYYYYAAAAAAAAAYYY!" Came the happy shout of joy that had quite a few people looking their way in disapproval.

Maya broke out into full on laughter over that and Deanna, Lucas, and Farkle couldn't help but find Riley to be particularly cute in that moment. "Feel better sweetheart?" Asked an amused Topanga.

"Oh you have no idea!"

Gosh had it felt so good to do it! "Thats our Riley." Commented Farkle with what looked to be an adoring smile in the girl's direction.

And if the girl herself blushed a bit over it? No one was really going to comment on it aloud. If I didn't know better, I'd think my son's heart has already been captured. Mused Stuart to himself and wondered what his wife would think of it had she been there to see it instead of visiting her parents for a bit.

Mr. Feeny looked to Maya once again and handed her back her sketchpad. "Thank you Ms. Hart for allowing me to see such well done work. Something I hope to see more of in the future."

Her response surprised the man greatly as she jumped up and hugged him. "Thank you Mr. Feeny." She told him softly and not even caring that she properly addressed him.

"Quite welcome my dear, quite welcome." And if his returning the hug made her feel even more happiness? Then even better.

The group was quiet as they observed the tenderly touching moment with smiles on their faces. Though their attention was soon grabbed when a deep sounding 'Hoo!' chant could be heard coming in their direction. And leading the chanters was none other then Shawn Hunter himself as he and the others moved up and down as they slapped their knees and clapped their hands. The line of chanters came to a stop in front of everybody as they stared in confusion, interest, and mild amusement at them. A big fellow that Cory and the other adults knew as Frankie 'The Enforcer' Stecchino came out of the line and faced them. "We're that Joshua, Joshua, Joshua Matthews Squad!" His voice proved a comment of Joey's that was once said to be very right about him sounding like an angel.

The line of people let out another 'Hoo!' chant followed by Morgan Matthews-Baker stepping out of the line and faced the group of family and friends. "And there ain't none other like the Joshua Matthews Squad!"

Joey 'The Rat' Epstein came out of the line next after another 'Hoo!' chant. "That's right! We're that Joshua, Joshua, Joshua Matthews Squad!"

Jesse Abelman stepped up next. "That Joshua Matthews fella's a really cool guy all the ladies love! Cause he's that Joshua, Joshua, Joshua Matthews!"

A Native American girl then stepped up next after another round of the chant. "We got that Preemie Squad status for life and like my boy Jesse said, that Joshua, Joshua, Joshua Matthews is a real cool dude!" And she would know considering their past history together as more than just friends for a time.

Shawn finally stepped up next with a huge smile on his face. "He's that Joshua, Joshua, Joshua Matthews and he really is getting to be as cool as me! If not cooler! I told him once to never go out of town and hopefully he'll follow that advice here and now! Cause he's that Joshua, Joshua, Joshua Matthews!" Cory and Topanga were able to remember only one other time Shawn had sung and it had been great and this was proving to be equally great!

Then, the remaining teenagers lined up with the rest and sang together as a whole group. "We're that Joshua, Joshua, Joshua Matthews Squad and there ain't none other like it! Hoo! Hoo! Hoo!"

Those watching erupted into cheers and a lot of hugging occurred after that. You also might be wondering why that had been allowed to go on without being stopped and it was all due in part to a phone call or two Shawn had made to the hospital to ensure things would go off without a hitch. The hug Alan was giving to Shawn was a rather emotional one too as the older man had tears in his eyes over the gesture Shawn and the others had done. "Thank you son." Said the man in a heartfelt tone of voice.

"Anytime, anywhere Mr. Matthews. You guys are family."

A few seconds later would see Alan looking at the bunch Shawn had brought with him as he wrapped an arm around Morgan and kissed her on the forehead while keeping his other arm around Shawn. "What you've all done here today truly means more then I can say. Thank you from the bottom of my heart."

Frankie walked up to Alan with a smile and his hands clasped together in front of him. "It was a true honor to do sir. Joshua has proven to be a truly good person and I couldn't say no to Shawn when he made the request to me and Joey."

Morgan, Jesse, Native American girl, and the other teens all nodded in agreement about being unable to say no. "Yeah, my little brother still owes me five bucks." Added Morgan with a teasing smile.

A few years after graduation, Frankie and Joey had an idea involving the city's youth, an idea that Vader wouldn't like at all. Much as he didn't when it came to Frankie's decision to pursue other things like poetry instead of wrestling. Gaining assistance from Mr. Feeny and a few city officials, the two boys were able to start up a youth center aimed at helping to keep the youths of Philadelphia from being on the streets so much and also potentially preventing them from going down bad paths in life. The youth center turned out to be a hit with many of the youth in the city and parents as well. Theresa Keiner often visited and helped out with the kids there when Frankie or Joey couldn't exactly provide the right words they needed to hear. Unfortunately, they also had more then one run in with Mr. Mack and his Center.

The cause Mr. Feeny had started in trying to shut the man down had been taken up by Theresa, Frankie, and Joey and they always fought as hard as they could to prevent the man from taking any teenagers and twisting their minds with his words. The three, along with Mr. Feeny were seeking legal means to finally end the Center and had even gotten Cory and Topanga involved as well. It was taking time but they all felt confident they would succeed soon. Although Joey had a slight beef with Cory over Harley working as a janitor. As he felt his old boss should be doing something more then that kind of thing despite Harley himself telling his old underling he felt like he deserved what he got in life.

Morgan herself was still something of a sarcastic woman and her sarcasm had been used more than once to get under the skin of those she didn't particularly care for in her place of employment in the business world. Outside of her job, she was as sweet as can be, a fact her husband certainly loved as he had been exposed to her sarcastic side on more than one occasion before they got serious. The Native American girl known as Halona, which meant 'Of Happy Fortune' was like Josh and Jesse in that she too had been born premature and she'd been given her name after managing to survive what life had thrown her way when born. She, Josh, and Jesse formed a pretty solid group with several others that they liked to call 'The Preemie Squad' and were always willing to welcome newcomers to the group who had gone through similar experiences.

They were also always hanging out at the youth center Frankie and Joey ran and sometimes helped out with the problems of teenagers there or when an event was going on that needed extra hands. "So where's mom at dad?" Asked Morgan curiously as she hadn't seen her just yet.

"Oh she's in the room with your brother right now."

"So Shawn and I could go in then?" The fact she included him said a lot about what she thought of him and he honestly felt touched by it.

Alan nodded with a smile and the two went on as everybody else continued to mingle. Morgan was the first inside, causing Amy to look up and gasp in surprised happiness. Both soon found themselves in a hug by the woman that they were only to happy to return as Josh watched from his bed with a smile of his own. Grateful that he was awake for this and not knocked out from the medications he's having to take for his illness. "I am so happy to see the two of you!"

"Sorry for being so late Mrs. Matthews."

Amy looked at him as if he was crazy for even thinking of that. "Who says you were late Shawn? As far as I'm concerned, the both of you are right on time."

Her heartfelt response made Shawn quite happy and if Morgan were in a sarcastic mood she might have said something along the lines of him being all sappy. "That's my mom, always saying the right things."

"Comes with being a mother. Something I'm sure you will find out about when the time comes." Morgan rolled her eyes at her mom's subtle hint about grandchildren as Shawn and Josh watched on amused.

"Come on ma, the world's not ready for that kind of thing yet." Josh said cheekily and chuckling a little when Morgan poked her tongue out at him.

Shawn looked over at him before speaking. "You're being you and they still won't let you out of the hospital?"

"I know! I think its a conspiracy or somethin'." But man was he glad he wasn't having much trouble breathing anymore as the way he was sounding prior to getting put in here had sucked!

"Cory would probably know more then I would about that sort of thing." What, with him being a History teacher and all.

Josh considered that for a moment and had to agree that yeah, he probably would know! He then got a double helping of hugs from his uncle Shawn and big sister Morgan. "Had me worried about ya little brother." She told him softly.

"Same here kid, same here."

"Trust me, that definitely wasn't my intention. Everybody I love is here and I don't wanna go out of town cause of that." The thought of that happening scared him more then he wanted to admit.

A chuckle escaped Shawn as he pulled out of the hug and looked at his nephew. "Not only are you getting to be as cool as me, but you're also getting to be as wise as me." The writer/photographer was happy Josh had taken those particular words to heart as well as he had after a little talk they had a few years ago.

"What can I say? I've had some good teachers in my life."

"You're absolutely right about that!" Replied Morgan as with a bunch like them how can you not learn something?

The two, along with Amy and various others would talk with Josh for a little while longer until visiting hours were over and it was time for him to get some rest via the meds that were helping him get better. Pretty much everybody would get to hug him before leaving and the soon to be college bound Matthews was feeling grateful as could be by the end of it all. He was a little surprised though when Maya pecked him on the cheek during her hug and gave him a little wink before walking off. That girl really was something else in his view and whoever got to be with her would be lucky as can be.


Author's Notes: I hope you guys loved this chapter. It certainly took me time to finish it but it was worth it 100 percent! The song bit (which clearly shows I'm a bit horrible at lyrics writing) had been something I was really looking forward to writing after I thought about it and I'm glad I finally got too. Up next: Christmas Eve arrives and Josh gets to go home. R and R!