Shawn walked over to the door of the apartment and opened the door, eyes bleary, to find his best friend Cory standing there.

He noticed Cory looking him up and down and realised he was still in his bed clothes. "Uh, hey Cor." he said, not opening the door fully.

Cory frowned at him. "You do know it's nearly time for first bell right?"

Shawn didn't. He must have fallen back asleep after Jon left for his early morning meeting. "Uh. I'll go get dressed now." he told Cory, going to shut the door.

Cory gave him a confused look. "Can I not come in while you do so?" he asked.

Shawn faltered. "Uhhh..."

"Shawn, do you have milk?" a female voice said and Shawn grimaced.

As expected his best friends eyebrows shot up. "Do you have a girl here? Did she stay last night? Does Turner know? Are you guys...?"

Shawn wasn't sure which question Cory wanted an answer for. He sighed. "Cory, calm down, it's not what you think."

Cory didn't seem to be calming down. Instead he got more worked up. "Not what I think? I think my best friend had a girl sleep over last night and is now classified to the world as a man!"

Shawn struggled hard not to roll his eyes. Cory was his best friend, he always had been. But sometimes his overreacting got on Shawn's nerves.

"Cory, it's not like that." he said out loud.

"Well what is it then?" Cory demanded.

Shawn sighed. "I—I can't tell you."

The frown on Cory's face deepened and his eyes narrowed. "I'll see at school." he muttered, turning and walking away before Shawn could say anything more.

Shawn took a deep breath in as he shut the door behind his friend. Part of him felt a little bad for upsetting Cory, but that wasn't his priority right now.

He turned to see Claire had found the milk and had poured herself a glass.

"Jon will be asleep by 10pm, so if you're waiting outside I can let you in."

Shawn watched as Claire's shoulders dropped in relief. "You're a good friend Shawn."

Shawn managed to sneak Claire into the apartment three nights in a row, letting her sleep in his bed, with him taking the floor.

On the third night, Shawn was taking himself and Claire both a drink back to his room when he turned around and nearly ran into Jon.

Shawn let out a strangled noise at the sight of his guardian. "Uh, Jon... what are you doing up?"

Jon looked at him quizzically, wondering why the kid looked so nervous. "I was thirsty... but obviously not as thirsty as you" he said dryly, nodding at the two glasses in Shawn's hands.

Shawn flushed. "Uh, yeah. Didn't want to have to get up again, you know?" he tried weakly.

Jon just narrowed his eyes. "Shawn, if you have a girl in your room..." he trailed off, leaving the mildly threatening tone he was using speak for itself.

Shawn sighed. "Jon... it's not what you think, I swear."

Before Shawn could move, Jon stalked over to his bedroom and opened the door quietly, seeing Claire fast asleep on Shawn's bed.

"I think that my fifteen year old ward has snuck a girl into our apartment and is hiding her in his room."

Jon was trying very hard to not yell at the kid without getting the full story.

Shawn grimaced. "Okay, so it is what you think... but I swear, it's only because she needed a place to stay. I slept on the floor, I promise!"

Jon let out a breath, some of his anger depleting at Shawn's words. "Come and sit down, kid." he said.

Reluctantly, Shawn put the glasses of water down on the bench and went and sat next to Jon on the couch.

"Shawn, why does Claire Ferguson need to stay here?" he asked gently, hoping that the gentle tone would get the kid to open up to him more.

Shawn just stared down at his hands.

"Shawn?"

Jon's tone was a bit firmer now. He didn't want to jump to conclusions and he could tell that Shawn was telling the truth about sleeping on the floor. But the kid needed to tell him what was going on.

Shawn let out a breath and sat up a little. "I can't tell you." he said quietly.

Jon frowned. "You can't, or you won't?"

Shawn's face crumpled. "I can't Jon. I promised her that I wouldn't tell anyone, please... She just needs somewhere to stay for the next couple of days."

Jon sighed heavily. Damn kid pulling at his heart strings. He looked over at Shawn who was silently pleading with his eyes.

"She can stay tomorrow night. But I'll need to talk to her parents."

Shawn sat up then. "No, Jon you can't!"

Jon frowned. Okay, this was more serious than he first thought if Shawn was acting like this.

"Shawn, is there something I need to know?"

Jon watched as Shawn hesitated for a second before shaking his head vigorously.

Jon sighed again. There was obviously something going on, but Shawn wasn't going to tell him and he wasn't about to pressure the kid. They had a mutual trust going and he wanted to give him the benefit of the doubt. "Okay. She can stay tomorrow night, but if there's something going on that you can't handle on your own, you know I'm here right?"

Jon definitely didn't miss the falter this time.

"Thanks Jon." Shawn said quietly, getting up to go back to his room.

"Nope. You're sleeping on the couch tonight." Jon said firmly, leaving no room for argument. He believed Shawn when he said that there wasn't anything happening between the two of them, but he still wasn't going to let two fifteen year olds sleep in the same room in his apartment.

Shawn nodded in defeat and Jon clapped him on the shoulder before getting up.

Before he had left the room though, Shawn turned to him. "Am I—am I in trouble?"

Jon stopped and studied the kid for a minute and then sighed. "Not this time, because I can tell that your intentions are genuine. But next time you have someone stay over, no matter who it is, you ask first, okay?"

Shawn sunk into the couch, grateful he wasn't in trouble. "Okay." he relied with a yawn, snuggling into the couch.

He immediately drifted off and Jon covered him with the afghan on the back of the couch. He couldn't help look down at the kid with an affectionate look. Behind the tough and carefree front Shawn put on, he really did have a heart of gold. He would have a genuine reason to be keeping this from Jon, Jon just wished he would open up and tell him.

The next night Jon and Shawn had just finished eating dinner when there was a knock at the door. Jon opened it to find Claire standing there, her head down.

"Hi, Claire." he greeted. "We've just finished dinner, but there's some left I'm the oven if you would like some."

Claire looked up slowly and Jon gasped audibly. Claire's eye was puffy and purple.

Shawn appeared behind Jon then. "He did it again didn't he?" he asked Claire angrily.

Then he took in her expression and his anger depleted immediately. "I'm so sorry." he said, pulling her towards him and hugging her tight. "I won't let him do this again."

"Who is 'him'? Who did this to her?" Jon asked, worried.

Pulling away from Shawn, Claire looked down at the ground and Shawn bit his lip.

"Someone better tell me who did this." he said again, firmer now.

When Claire still didn't look up, Shawn sighed. "Claire's dad hits her when he's drunk."

Claire's head shot up and she glared at Shawn. "Shawn, you promised!"

Shawn looked down at his feet. "I'm sorry. he whispered.

Jon looked between the two kids, unsure what to do for a moment. Then, he turned to Claire. "Go make yourself a plate and then go up to Shawn's room and have a rest." he said firmly.

Claire nodded quickly and did what was asked of her. As soon as they were alone, Jon turned to Shawn. "This is the reason Claire needed a place to stay?"

Shawn nodded, not looking Jon in the eyes.

Jon sighed. "You should have told me about this, kid."

Shawn looked up then. "I couldn't, I promised her I wouldn't tell anyone. I promised I would keep her safe."

Jon closed his eyes briefly. Shawn had a big heart and his intentions were good, but it was times like this that Jon was reminded how young and how very naive he was.

"What you needed to do was go to the police as soon as she told you."

Shawn straightened up then and Jon could tell he was gearing up for a fight.

"I couldn't Jon! She asked me not to. But even if I did... her dad owns a bank, I'm a kid from the trailer park... who were they going to believe?"

Jon rubbed his head. Shawn made good points, but he still wished he'd been honest with him.

"Claire isn't safe at her home at the moment." Jon said.

Shawn nodded. "But she's safe here with me!" he said.

Jon smiled sadly. "I know you want to protect her buddy, but you're just a kid. You both are. The best way to protect her is to get an adult involved. Does her mom know?"

Shawn nodded solemnly. "But she looks the other way, she's scared too."

Jon took a deep breath. This was a very serious situation, if he didn't do this the right way it could be devastating for all involved.

But his main priority was Shawn.

"I will come down to the police station, we will tell them together."

Shawn looked up at him then, a slight look of hopefulness on his face.

But then they both turned to look at Claire as she cleared her throat. "I don't want you to."

She was crying, and Shawn rushed over and hugged her again.

Jon took a deep breath. "I know you don't, Claire, but unfortunately we don't have a choice here."

Claire cried against Shawn's shoulder. "I don't want him to go to jail." she sobbed.

Jon shook his head. "That's not the outcome they will want either. The priority will be to get him help."

Claire broke away then. "Really?"

Jon nodded. "They will be able to help you and your mom too, find a safe place to go."

Claire looked at Shawn then and he shrugged. "Jon knows about this sort of stuff." he said, and Claire finally nodded her acceptance.

Jon sighed heavily with relief and grabbed his coat. "Let's all go together." he said.

Three hours later Jon and Shawn re-entered the apartment, both exhausted.

Shawn sank into the couch and Jon sat down next to him. They sat in silence for a couple of minutes before Shawn turned to Jon. "Do you think Claire will be okay?" he asked.

Jon nodded slowly. "I think so, kid, thanks to you."

Shawn blushed and looked away, but Jon continued. "I'm really proud of you for telling me the truth about this, even when Claire didn't want to."

Shawn bit his bottom lip. He wasn't used to hearing those words, it made him feel awkward because he didn't know what to say back. His parents told him they loved him occasionally, but they never sat him down and explained to him that they were proud of him for a specific reason. Jon's words made Shawn's heart feel warm and again, he couldn't meet the man's eyes.

Jon understood without Shawn having to say anything that his words had made Shawn uncomfortable, but it wasn't going to stop him from saying them. In fact he made a mental note to say things like that more often so that Shawn got used to it a bit more.

It was late and he knew they were both tired, but he could tell that Shawn didn't want to be alone yet, he was giving off that vibe. So Jon picked up the remote and turned the TV on. There was a random movie playing and they both settled in and watched it in silence.

Shawn started on the opposite side of the couch to Jon, but as the movie progressed he inched closer, and closer until he was leaning against Jon's shoulder. The teen obviously needed a bit of comfort but didn't know how to ask for it. Without saying a word, Jon eased his arm out from his side and slung it around Shawn's shoulders so casually that it seemed like something he did every day. Shawn reacted immediately, resting his head against Jon.

Neither said anything, they just sat there in silence and by the end of the movie, they were both fast asleep.