Disclaimer: I don't own Boy Meets World or West Side Story.

Epilogue

Shawn focused on just keeping his breathing steady. The scene before him wasn't real. It was just part of the show. Some of the Jets and the Sharks were fighting one another in a surreal dancelike movement to the swelling of the orchestral music. They were taking swings at one another until two of them pulled out knives. Shawn looked away when Bernardo stabbed Riff. He caught John's gaze and instantly snapped back to reality. It wasn't real. It was just Eric's show—West Side Story. He gave a weak smile and a nod at John's questioning gaze before looking back towards the stage.

Eric was amazing. Shawn had known him for almost as long as he knew Cory. He never knew he could act. He wasn't sure what was more shocking—that Eric could act or that he played the responsible adult so well. Who would have thought? They always did say it was easier to play a character that was the opposite of how the actor usually behaved in real life. There must be some truth to that.

Despite the blurring of fiction and reality in his mind from time to time, he was glad he came. Everyone told him he didn't have to—even Eric. They all knew about what had happened to him two months ago. They were all aware that watching a show about two warring gangs could potentially be difficult for him—even if the show were a musical and the situation were different from his own. He told them all he would be fine. He wouldn't miss this for anything.

He remembered back when he first saw Cory after everything happened. It was at school the following Monday. His friend took one look at him, then walked past him and straight over to John.

"Mr. Turner, there's something I should have told you before, but I didn't because I promised Shawn." Cory looked back at him. "I'm sorry, Shawn, but I have to do this. I never should have agreed to keep it secret in the first place." He turned back to John. "Mr. Turner, it's about his dad. He—"

"Cory. He knows. I told him."

Shawn watched as Cory glanced back and forth between the two before finally settling his gaze back on him.

"Did you really?"

"Yeah. He did," John answered for him.

"Huh," Cory said. "Okay then. I guess my work here is finished. And I'm not apologizing for breaking my promise."

"You don't need to apologize. You're just being a good friend," Shawn said. He swallowed and looked away for a moment. This was the first they had spoken since everything happened. "Thank you."

Intermission came and went. Shawn just talked and joked with Cory and Topanga about meaningless subject after meaningless subject. It felt good be able to do that again.

John had been great through everything. He kept his word and stood right by him as he recovered physically and emotionally. That man was going to get the best Fathers' Day gift ever this year—well, technically it would be his first, but it was the thought that counts. Shawn didn't even know how many nights he woke up from nightmares to find John already in his room, ready to talk to him about it or just be there until he could calm down and fall back to sleep. He didn't have many anymore. They were few and far between and not as bad.

Though he fought it at first, he did eventually agree to go see a counselor. John kept reassuring him that it didn't mean there was anything wrong with him. There was no shame in seeking out help, and as much as he would be there for him, he knew it might be beneficial to speak with a professional. John told him he also knew there were some things Shawn needed to talk to someone about that he might find easier to tell a counselor rather than his friends and family. Shawn agreed. He was going once a week. It seemed to help. He wouldn't have to keep going indefinitely. In fact, his counselor told him that if everything went well, they might be able to cut their sessions back to once every two weeks soon.

The sessions were for more than just the trauma from the gang incident. They talked about his dad, too. He had already been off to a good start with dealing with everything. Between John and his therapist, he was making even more progress. It would still take time, but he was getting there.

Shawn stood up, whistling and clapping loudly, when Eric came forward to take his bow. The rest of his friends and family were up there with him, John on his right and Cory on his left.

The group left the auditorium and waited for Eric out in the lobby.

Chet was forced to attend AA meetings regularly. Shawn was allowed to see him once a week, but all visits had to be supervised. Chet only attended two meetings before taking off again. Shawn hadn't seen or heard from him since. He wasn't sure how he felt about that. Maybe it was for the best.

"You okay?" John asked.

Shawn looked over at his guardian. He stopped himself from answering automatically. That's one thing both John and his counselor talked to him about. He had to answer honestly when people asked how he was doing so they could help him. He looked around the room. He saw Eric come through the doors to meet them. He was grinning a smile even bigger than that cheesy weatherman smile he had trademarked. He saw Mr. and Mrs. Matthews hugging and congratulating their son. He saw Mr. Feeny patting him on the back. He saw Cory and Topanga holding hands like they were an extension of one another rather than the two individual people they were. He saw John—his mentor, his friend . . . his dad. "Yeah," he finally answered. "I think I am."

John stared at Shawn, really studying him. The kid looked more relaxed than he had seen him in a long time. He had a small, almost euphoric smile, gracing his face. He met his gaze head on.

John smiled. "Good." He ruffled the kid's hair and led him over to the rest of the group. For the first time since everything started, John believed Shawn truly was fine.

A/N: Thank you everyone who followed this story. The support has been amazing.

I've added a bonus chapter onto this, for anyone who's interested. It's a preview of the next story I'll be posting. There's more information about it in that chapter posting.

Since this is the end of the story, I wanted to give a shout-out to everyone who reviewed:

Jessica, ImAGiver, Tiffanie, Fiona12690, Nike316, Ghostwriter, Whatnoww, Marie, Sarah, Sue, Zippy, MalikaiDragonSlayer, Lazuli the Fallen Angel, Anna, Nikkimbt02, TwinklyMarshmellowSnowPuffle, Amanda, Droupy48, MayRaah, Supernatural16, KaNugget, Guest, Alyssa, Gracefulfalling, firewordsparkler, Nicole, MilyMB, Shanachie, Alex, Ceri, Michalka, Avery, Raye, Lightsider, erotikpolitician, Kristin

Thanks again everyone!

Until next time . . . .

musical geek