Disclaimer: I don't own Boy Meets World.


Chapter 7

Alan startled awake when he felt someone shaking him. He opened his eyes to find an exhausted Jonathan Turner crouched beside him. It took a moment for him to remember he was supposed to take over keeping watch when John's turn was done. "That time already?" he whispered. He propped himself up on his elbows to help shift himself into more of a sitting position. "Anything interesting happen?"

"Other than G.I. Jane over there trying to go out on a one-woman mission? No, not really." John plopped down on the ground beside him.

Alan glanced over to where Dani appeared to be sleeping. He couldn't really say he was surprised. "Think she'll try again?"

"She hasn't yet, but she seemed pretty determined."

Alan nodded. He missed just having his own kids and sometimes Shawn to deal with. It wasn't that he didn't care about her—they were all growing to, on some level—but though Cory and Shawn sometimes got into trouble, when it came to safety issues, they were playing in the minor leagues compared to this girl.

"She's blaming herself for all of this," John said.

Alan looked over at him. "All of this as in being chased or . . . ?"

"All of this as in the plane crash and getting stuck here. She thinks she should have done more to stop the Wilsons."

"She's a kid. What could she possibly have done?"

John shrugged. "Your guess is about as good as mine, but whatever she thinks she should have done, she's looking at this as her way of making it up to us that she didn't."

Great. Alan unconsciously rubbed the back of his neck. "I'll keep an eye on things. Why don't you try to get some sleep?"

John mumbled some form of agreement before trudging off to an open spot on the ground.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"Back again, Mr. Matthews?" Mr. Feeny asked.

Cory glanced around at the familiar red brick house, green outdoor couch, picket fence, and the neighboring house. He was dreaming again. "Yeah. Looks like it." He hesitated only a moment before walking over to the fence.

Mr. Feeny wasn't gardening this time. He was just standing by the fence with his hands in his pockets, gazing at the stars in the night sky. He wore that fishing hat of his along with a khaki vest over a red plaid shirt and khaki pants.

Cory looked up. The sky was much clearer tonight in this dreamscape than he ever remembered it being back in Philly. It only stood to reason some of what he was getting used to on the island was now creeping into his memories of home.

"What brings you here tonight?" Feeny asked.

Cory turned his gaze back to his principal-teacher-neighbor. "Since this is a dream, I'm assuming I fell asleep at some point." It had taken him a while. He had too much on his mind when he started trying to go to sleep that night after everything he learned about Dani along with everything that still went unstated.

What little conversation they had after settling down was forced. They were all still pretty shaken up over what happened and now also had the underlying fear of being caught. True, it was only Dani those people were after, but that didn't make it any easier for the rest of them. They wouldn't just stand by and let them take her. That put them all in danger as well.

The fact that the Wilsons were here only made it that much worse. It was easier dealing with being stuck here when they thought they were alone. The Wilsons ruined their lives. They were the reason they were stuck here. They were the reason they all almost died on the plane. Cory never wanted to face them again, except maybe in court.

And something still didn't add up for him about Dani where the Wilsons were concerned. It still didn't make sense that they would take in a foster kid, even if it was to help with their scams. It seemed more likely they kidnapped her, but even then there was the question of why her? He was almost positive Dani knew the answers to these questions just like she seemed to know why that psychopath hunted all those people down, but she wasn't sharing. After they left their old camp behind, Dani went back to avoiding everyone—well, as much as was possible under the circumstances anyways.

"I'm sure you didn't come here to just stare and think while I watch, so care to let me in on what's bothering you?" Feeny asked.

"You're not even real," Cory said. "None of this is real. I'm just going to wake up and everything will still be the way it has been for—how long have we been stuck there now?" Cory turned away from the fence and sat down on the couch. He stared down at his hands. How long had they been there? The days all blurred together. After that first week, he lost track. The fence door creaked. Cory didn't look up. He didn't even look up when Feeny sat down next to him. He had been coping with everything. He had been getting used to it all and coming to terms with it. Now, though, he was scared.

Life was so much simpler before they all met Dani. He felt guilty thinking that, but it was true. They met her and then everything just went to hell—and she wouldn't even tell them why.

"There's this girl stuck here with us," Cory said after a while. "We've tried getting to know her, but she's hiding a lot. I don't even know how much of what she told us is true, or even if any of it is. There's still so many other questions all of that brings up that she won't answer. We have a right to know what's going on and why it's going on, because it's affecting all of us."

"Have you tried telling her that?" Feeny asked.

Cory shook his head. "It wouldn't matter. I'm not sure anything could convince her to tell us."

"If, say, Mr. Hunter or Miss Lawrence were in this other girl's position, what would you do? Would you dismiss either of them as a lost cause and not even try to learn more?"

"No, I guess not." Cory leaned back in his seat. "I would do everything I could to figure it out and help them." He had a feeling that would be much easier said than done with Dani, but he had to try.

Cory leaned back in the seat and looked up at the stars. It was so peaceful. He was granted that peace for what seemed like hours before other dreams rose to the surface and—all too soon—morning came.

They didn't wait long before packing up everything and moving again. The group was still very subdued and tense. He stuck close to Topanga and held her hand most of the time. Shawn stayed pretty close to them as well. Eric and his mom were practically glued to Morgan. His dad and Mr. Turner stayed near Dani.

They alternated between walking and resting a good bit of the day. It wasn't until late afternoon that they managed to stumble across a cave big enough for all of them. His dad and Eric checked it out to make sure it was safe before they all made their way inside.

Cory didn't waste any time before slumping down against the wall near the entrance. Topanga joined him. He instinctively put his arm around her shoulders and she rested her head on his. Neither said a word.

He found his gaze straying over to Dani a lot. There was a lot about her that just didn't make sense, and not just everything surrounding the Wilsons. His mind swirled with the memories of how easily Dani was able to find Morgan when she was lost, how she instantly knew those guys they heard talking were bad, and how she knew more people were coming before there was any sign of it. The only thing that seemed to make sense and explain all of that was that she was psychic or had psychic like abilities. It would explain what the Wilsons—and others, for that matter—would have wanted with her, but it wasn't possible, was it?

Before he even realized he had decided to confront her about it, he found himself saying most of what he had been thinking out loud, minus the part about her being psychic and it sounding crazy—letting it out in one long breath. It seemed everyone was looking between him and Dani, but Cory kept his stare locked on her and held his ground.

Dani met his stare with that annoying blank look of hers. "What are you talking about?"

"Cut the crap, Dani. You know exactly what I'm talking about, and I think we have a right to know. I mean, the answer to those questions—that's why they're after you, right? The thing you and all the others with that necklace have in common . . . . Why that psychopath hunted all of you down . . . . It's all connected, somehow, isn't it? I'm guessing they figured it out and that's what they want with you. So how did you know all of that?"

"Lucky guesses and common sense," she said in a matter-of-fact tone. After everything that happened, Cory didn't buy it.

"And the connection between it all? I mean, it is all connected, isn't it? Otherwise you would have to have the worst luck of anyone I know."

It took her much longer to answer, this time. "Sort of, but not really."

"What kind of an answer is that?"

"Cory, maybe you should just let it drop," Shawn said quietly.

Cory whipped his head around to look at his friend. "Let it drop? Come on. You can't tell me you're not curious. Besides we're all in a world of trouble here because they're after her and we don't even know why."

"Why is it so important that you know? All that should matter is that we have a friend in trouble. Who cares about the reason why?"

"I do, because none of this makes sense to me. I need it to make sense. I need to understand why this is happening to us." Cory looked down and swallowed hard. His hands were shaking. "I guess I just need this to mean something so that it's . . . ." Cory didn't even know how to put words to what he was feeling, so he just shrugged and let his unfinished thought hang there. He felt Topanga grab hold of his hand and give it a reassuring squeeze.

Shawn seemed to bite his lip and looked down. Dani looked troubled, but still didn't say anything. No one said anything for a while until Shawn looked over at Dani.

"Yesterday, before we ran into Cory and Topanga and . . . everything happened," Shawn began, "you told me the reason you were so jumpy was because you had a feeling something bad was going to happen. Are you a . . . well, a—um . . . ."

"A psychic?" Cory said. He watched her carefully for any facial clues she might let slip. There were none.

"Everything was finally just catching up with me from the Wilsons and all, and I just didn't want to admit it—not even to myself. The bad feeling I had was probably just because I wasn't dealing with it. The fact that something bad did actually happen was just a coincidence," Dani said. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry you got caught up in the middle of all of this, and I'm sorry I can't give you some bigger, better reason for it, but I can't give you a reason that doesn't exist."

Cory looked away from her. That was complete bull. If he hadn't met her until that moment, he probably would have believed her, but she hid so much, avoided too many questions, and now apparently downright lied.

Wait a minute, he thought. Something was nagging him about this conversation, other than the annoyance that was Dani, but he couldn't quite place it. His thoughts raced as he cycled back through it

"I can't give you a reason that doesn't exist," she had said. That's what kept bothering him, but what . . . .

"It's all connected isn't it?" Cory asked.

"Sort of, but not really."

Cory smiled. "So, there's no big reason for all of this, huh? Then why did you more or less admit everything was 'sort of' connected before?"

Dani looked confused for a moment before her eyes widened and she swore.

"How is it connected?"

"It's complicated," she said.

"That's not an answer. How is it connected?"

Dani looked away from everyone. "I get that you want answers. I would, too if I were you—but there are a lot of things I can't talk about. What little I can tell you would just raise more questions I can't answer. As it is, I already told you more than I should have yesterday." She ran a hand through her hair. "Just take my advice and let it go. When all of this is over and we go our separate ways, you can go back to your nice, normal, happy lives. That won't be so easy if you keep digging."

"Are you threatening us?" Eric asked.

A look of pure exhaustion crossed Dani's face as she looked around at all of them. "No. It's just friendly advice coming from someone who can never have any of that." She walked out of the cave before anyone could stop her.

His parents started to follow after her, but came back in the cave after briefly glancing out.

Cory stared out of the cave for a long while, not really seeing anything. So slowly he was barely aware of it happening, his head started to droop farther and farther to the side until it was resting on top of Topanga's, which was still resting on his own shoulder.

Next thing he knew, he was back in front of the picket fence. Mr. Feeny looked up from the flowers he was watering. The man gave him a sad smile before returning his attention to his garden.

"What brings you back here so soon, Mr. Matthews?"

Cory rested his hands on the fence posts. "I took your advice. I tried talking to her. I explained my end of things, and you know what it got me? A whole lotta nothing. That's what." He backed away from the fence and paced in front of it. "She's so stubborn. She wouldn't admit anything. How are we supposed to understand or really get to know her, even, if she won't let us?" He stopped his pacing and turned back towards his teacher. "Don't say I should try harder to help her understand my side of things, because it doesn't seem like she cares."

Mr. Feeny just set his watering can down and stared back at him. "Maybe the issue here isn't that she understand your concerns, but that you understand hers."

"I think you're going senile, old man. I just said she won't let us."

Mr. Feeny glared at the 'old man' comment. "I only meant that she may have her reasons for keeping her secrets and the way to get her to trust you—and hopefully one day tell you—is to respect that. Stop trying so hard to uncover a mystery, and just let a friend know you're there for her if she ever needs to talk."

Cory nodded after a moment of considering that advice. That would be much easier said than done, but maybe he could try it for a while, at least. "Thanks, Mr. Feeny," he said.

"Don't thank me. This is all in your head. I only voiced what you already realized on a subconscious level."

The familiar surroundings disappeared as he quickly woke up. He lifted his head up and rubbed the rest of the sleep from his eyes.

"Have a good nap?" Topanga asked from beside him.

"Yeah." He frowned after a moment though, remembering his chat with dream-Feeny. He was essentially giving advice to and taking it from himself. He knew they were dreams, but to him they seemed so real. He thought of them almost as if they actually took place, like he actually was talking to his teacher, even though he knew he wasn't really. Was this place really getting to him that much? Was he starting to lose it?

"What's the matter?" Topanga asked.

Cory glanced over at Topanga's concern-filled face. "If someone has dreams that are kind of blurred in their mind with reality and they actually start taking things that are said in them seriously even though they are just dreams . . . does that make me crazy?"

"What are you dreaming about?"

"Talking with Mr. Feeny in my backyard," Cory said. "It's just like old times. I go over to his fence while he's gardening or doing whatever it is he does when not gardening and we talk. He gives advice, you know, in his normal Feeny teacher-y way. I think about it a bit and then wake up." Cory shrugged.

"I miss him, too," Topanga said.

"Wait a minute," Eric said, sitting across from him and Topanga. "You talk to Feeny in your sleep?"

"It's not actually Feeny, just a dream version of him," Cory said.

"That's not fair. I want to talk to dream-Feeny, too."

"Well, I'll make sure to mention something next time I see him and maybe we can have one big crazy-dream party."

"That's all I ask."

Cory sighed and shook his head at his brother.

"You're not crazy," Topanga said.

"I'm not?"

"No, I don't think so. I mean dreams are our way of dealing with stuff, right? So maybe that's your way of dealing with all of this. You're dreaming that you're talking to Mr. Feeny about your problems and he gives advice on how to deal with it, just like it would happen if we were back home. It's like your brain brought a little bit of home with you." Topanga snuggled back against him again. He wrapped his arm around her shoulders. "I'm a little jealous."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah."

"I'll make sure to include you in the crazy-dream party."

"That's all I ask," Topanga said. Cory could hear the amusement in her voice. He bit back a little chuckle at the glare Eric sent over at his girlfriend for mocking him.

His gaze turned back towards the cave's entrance. His latest talk with dream-Feeny kept replaying in his mind. Without even really thinking about it, he let go of Topanga and stood up.

"Where are you going?" she asked.

"I'm following dream-Feeny's advice." He walked purposefully out of the cave, unsurprised to find Dani by herself just outside of the entrance. If she had tried to go farther than that, his parents would have followed and stopped her rather than let her be.

"This seat taken?" he asked.

Dani just kept staring at some spot away from Cory and the cave. "You here to interrogate me some more?"

Cory winced. "I guess I deserve that." He decided not to wait for an invitation that was unlikely to come and sat next to her. "I'm sorry about before. I was out of line and I pushed too hard."

Dani gave a small nod Cory took to mean she accepted his apology.

"I'll back off. Your secrets are your secrets and . . . I respect that."

Dani snorted.

"Okay, I promise to at least try." There was no response. Hopefully a good sign. "Friends?"

Dani continued staring off into the trees for a while before finally looking at him. She gave a weak smile. "Friends."

"Good."

From the corner of his eye, he could see his dad standing outside the cave entrance. His dad jerked his head towards the cave. He could take a hint. He excused himself and went back to Topanga.

##

Alan waited for his son to leave before approaching the girl, still at a bit of a loss for what to do or say. She always seemed so guarded. It worried him that she seemed to feel responsible for this situation and like she had to protect them from whatever it was she was hiding.

He sat down next to her in the spot his son had just vacated and stared off into the trees like she kept doing. Prompting her to talk didn't seem to work out that well, so he would wait for her to decide she needed to talk.

"I wish I could give you guys the answers you want," Dani said after a while. "Believe me, I do. It would make my life a whole hell of a lot easier if I didn't have to hide so much all of the time, but there are reasons why I can't."

"Because it's complicated," Alan said quietly.

Dani looked over at him and gave an amused smirk, though it didn't reach her eyes. "You're learning."

Alan smiled back. "If you ever decide you can talk about it or that you need to talk about it, I'm always here—same with everyone else—even if you have to be vague about the details. You shouldn't be dealing with all of this alone. All you should worry about is being a kid. Let me and the other adults worry about the bigger problems, okay?"

"Age is just a number. I haven't been a kid in years." Dani's eyes took on a vaguely haunted look again.

From what he did know about her, he didn't doubt that at all. "Well, you can be now. All I ask as that you try." All he got in response was a small nod. And while he was having a pseudo-parental chat with her . . . . "Watch your language from now on, too." He got a genuine smile from her for that.

"Sure," she said.

"Are you ready to head back in?"

She gave a sigh. "Yeah, I guess."

He put a reassuring hand on her shoulder. "Come on."

The two got up, and he led her back into the cave. Everyone glanced up at them briefly before looking away again.

Alan went back over to his wife and watched Dani make her way farther into the cave. It looked like she was trying to isolate herself again, but Morgan went over to her, and the two seemed to strike up a quiet conversation. Cory, Shawn, Topanga, and Eric seemed to be playing a game of some kind. John appeared to be sleeping. He looked back over at Amy and smiled. They would all be alright. Maybe it was just wishful thinking—and it wouldn't be easy—but he just knew they would make it through this somehow.

Several hours passed before everyone seemed to get restless. The cave may have provided a good shelter and hiding place from those people looking for Dani, but it was still just a temporary solution. Sooner or later, they would have to leave it, if for no other reason than to get food and water. Any time they spent away from the cave, they ran the risk of running into those people again. That was no way to live. They had to do something. The question now was what?