Hours later, Cory sat alone on the edge of the roof outside his bedroom, his long legs dangling freely into the brisk night air. He could see the faint light from a spare bedroom at Mr. Feeny's next door, the curtains drawn to only create an amber glow through the translucent fabric. A few streets over, he could hear a car alarm ringing blaring and a dog barking in response. Pulling one knee up to his chin, he closed his eyes and let the familiar sounds wash over him.

"Do you remember all the times I would climb out your window?" the most familiar voice in the world called up from below. "It seemed like I was always coming or going, trying to figure out where I belonged. Most of the time, I thought I could belong here."

"You did belong here, Shawn," Cory responded coldly. "We did everything we could to show you that we cared about and loved you. You were more than my best friend, you were my brother. My parents even offered to adopt you. I don't know what more we could do. We were your family."

"I see that now," he admitted, walking closer to the house. "I didn't want to believe in it because everything else I ever believed in ended up failing me. The people that I love all left me. If I ever gave in completely, I thought it was inevitable that you all would leave me, too. My parents both left, Jonathan, Angela…my track record isn't stellar."

Cory raked his fingers through the ends of his curly hair. "Why are you here, Shawn?"

"I didn't recognize my best friend tonight, and that made sadder than any single moment I have ever known short of losing my father," Shawn retorted. "And then, I found out you were leaving New York. A part of me thought, 'Great, I'll have her all to myself.' Then, I realized that having her meant losing you. It had never struck me like that. In that single moment, I realized everything I had done to you."

"I wish that I could tell you that everything is fine," Cory retorted sadly, "but I can't. I hate that there is this distance between us, Shawn, but you created it. I'm trying to figure out a way that this could all be okay. It's still just too fresh."

Shawn nodded knowingly, kicking a stone against the footing of the Matthews' home. He felt the familiar heaviness that had consumed his heart for much of his life. The easy thing for him to do would be to run; it was the one constant in his life. The hardest thing in the world for him would be to stay, but it would also be the thing that was most worth it. "I wish that there was something I could say. There isn't any way to justify what I've done. I guess the only thing I can really say is thank you. For all that you've done and all that you are, thank you. You were my best friend when I didn't even deserve it. You loved me even when I couldn't love myself. I don't think I'm going to like living my life without you."

"Cory, come back to bed," Angela's voice said distantly, causing Cory to turn back toward the dark bedroom. He smiled at her faint outline, watching her stir from beneath the covers. "Where are you?"

"I'm out here. I'll be right in," he promised, gathering himself before standing up. Looking back down, he watched as Shawn padded silently across the dewy grass. Just as his hand reached for the gate, Cory called out to him. "No matter what has happened between us, you're still my best friend. I am always going to be there when you really need me. I just can't be there right now for the times when you don't." And with that, Cory was gone. He crawled back through the window, slamming it shut behind him.

Shawn watched as Angela flipped on a light and Cory crawled under the quilt beside her. She said something, a coy smile playing across her lips. He laughed in response, cradling her chin in his palm affectionately. She turned and kissed his fingers, reaching with her free hand to turn off the lamp. He didn't stay any longer to watch what happened next; instead, he headed back to where he had parked his car across the street.

Topanga was asleep in the passenger seat, her honey blonde hair fanned over her eyes. He watched the soft rise and fall of her chest as he turned the ignition, bringing the engine to life. She peered over at him with hooded eyes before falling back asleep. Within minutes, he pulled the car into the hotel parking lot and carried her upstairs to their room. Laying her gently in the middle of the single bed, he gazed down at her. The glint of her diamond engagement ring caught his eyes, bringing him to his knees. Burying his face in his hands, he didn't know what to say.

"Shawn, what's wrong?"

"I talked to him. He promised me that he would always be there when I need him."

"Somewhere in your heart, I think you already knew that."

"I messed up," he mumbled. "I deserve for this to happen to me, but he doesn't. No one is worth what I did to Cory, not even you."

"Do you regret being with me?"

He stared at her blankly, searching for the right answer. His gut reaction was of course not, there was not an ounce of doubt in his body when it came to loving her. "No, I just regret that being with you means hurting him."

"Let's not talk about him," she implored tiredly. "I think we need to talk about what we are going to do. It's pretty clear that we are going to get a divorce. You asked me to think about what I want, and I have. I have to believe that this is all happening for a reason, and that I haven't made these decisions in vain. I want to be with you, Shawn, and not just because I can't be with Cory. I want to be with you because you're you."

Shawn looked into her eyes, wishing that he could believe her but knowing that he couldn't. Her heart wasn't completely there, but she was trying to get there. Reaching out, he brushed a free strand of hair from her face. "We'll get there," he promised her with a whisper.

"I'm trying," she whispered, reaching up to pull him down toward her. "I'm trying to let go, I promise. I'm trying."

"I know you are," he assured her soothingly, wrapping his arms around her quivering body. Her heart was wide open and his for the taking. "Do you want to come back to Philadelphia? Do you want to try to make it work with him?"

"It's not going to work. It's over," she professed confidently. "But moving back to New York now could be a good idea for you. If you want to make your friendship work with Cory, you are going to have to be closer to him than New York allows. Maybe you are the one who needs to be back in Philly."

"I think it might be time to come home. Philadelphia is home."

Nodding, she looked thoughtful for a moment, her chin tucked behind her open palm. "Then, we'll come home. I can put in for a transfer or find a different job. You're a writer; you can do that anywhere. We'll find a way to make this work if that's what you want."

"What do you want?"

"I want to be with you. You're my family now."

Kissing the top of her head absently, he smiled against her hair. "I was always your family. It just used to include a lot more people."

"I think it still does. I have to trust that if I needed them, Cory and the Matthews would still be there for us," she told him. "The only thing left to do is tell Jack."

"I hadn't even thought about Jack. I suppose he won't really care. He has Rachel now, and they're happy together. Besides, if tonight is any indication, he has clearly chosen a side."

"You know that's not true. He just wanted to spend time with his friends, and that includes Cory and Angela. Eric is his best friend, so it's inevitable that this would happen eventually. I'm guessing that Eric will end up spending some time with you at some point."

Shawn shook his head strongly. "No way," he countered. "Eric is as loyal as they come when it comes to Cor these days. There is no way he would ever hang out with either of us right now. He's just as hurt as Cory is. The entire family is."

"Well, we're just going to have to win them back, one Matthews at a time."

Angela sat next to Cory, both of them silent since Shawn's departure. She had heard them talking outside the window, their voices thick with years of friendship lost. A part of her felt responsible, as if she was the one keeping them apart. However, she knew that blame fell squarely on the shoulders of a former Ms. Lawrence. Topanga had been the one who had brought the situation upon the group, but she was the one who had to deal with the fallout. "I think we should have dinner with them," she said aloud, her voice soft but sure. "It's time that we really look at how we're going to move forward. I don't feel like you can do that without really sitting down with them."

"I'm not going to leave you, Ang," he promised, knowing that this conversation wasn't about anything but them. "You are apart of my future. In fact, from where I stand, you're the biggest part of my future. This has all moved so fast, but I know what's right for me. You're what's right for me."

"You just expect me to move back here from New York?"

"What's left for you there?"

"My apartment, my job, my life," she listed. "I can't just leave it all behind for a relationship that might or might not work. You're still married. Leaving New York for you would mean putting everything on the line. Can you promise me that it would be worth it?"

"I can't promise you anything," he answered, "you know that. I can only tell you what I want, and what I want is to try things with us. Even now, listening to myself, I know how selfish it seems. I know that it's beyond my usual demeanor; I know that I don't even make sense. I'm just trying to figure this out."

She hated the pain in his eyes as he looked distantly out the window. She knew that his words were heartfelt, and there was nothing in the world she wanted more to make it go away. She was afraid to trust in him after what had happened with Shawn. In the same breath, she knew that he was nothing like his best friend. "Do I have to decide right now?"

"Of course not," he told her. "You can take all the time in the world that you need. There isn't anything that has to be decided right now. I can crawl back on the floor, we can sleep and in the morning, we can act like nothing has changed. We can keep doing that until you know what you want. I've made it clear what I want. I think it's only fair that I give you the same chance to figure it out for yourself."

He started to climb off the bed, but she reached out and grabbed his wrist. "We don't have to be apart for me to figure out that I want us to be together," she remarked, sending chills down his spine. "I've made my first decision, and that is that I want you to sleep next to me and hold me in your arms. We'll figure out the rest in the morning."

"As long as we have tonight, I don't really care what comes next."