Shawn discovers who stole his key and an angry Jon confronts Katherine.


Notes:

I'm posting a day early because it's a long flashback.

Warning: Potential emotional ending if you've read the beginning of book II of Autumn in Philadelphia.

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)


School was not something Shawn ever really looked forward to, but since Audrey started spending the weekends exclusively with them, he was less than enthused about it. Mondays now meant the three of them had to go back to pretending that they barely knew Audrey and that they had to have a story made up in case someone asked about their weekend.

Monday also brought with it social studies. Social studies with Miss Tompkins was his most dreaded and hated class because she would look for the slightest little thing to call a conference with Jon over. One time it was because his pencil broke in the middle of a test, and he had to ask Cory to borrow one. One time it was because he kept sneezing. She claimed, in this case, that he was sneezing at her. Not only was this not true, he was hardly the only one sneezing- everyone was, including Miss Tompkins, because of Jeffery Olander's cheap cologne that he drenched himself in before coming to class that day.

He also hated her class because it was so boring. If you weren't a perfect student, forget it, you weren't getting anything out of it. Even the perfect students like Topanga found it to be on the dry side. Very safe and bland- a stark contrast to Jon's teaching. Even Mr. Feeny's class was more interesting largely because he was far more likable than Miss Tompkins was.

Sleeping in her class and not doing her homework were two things Jon had forbidden him to do anymore, and it had nothing to do with the pink slips and to having to deal with Feeny. It had everything to do with her. He threatened to take away every privilege Shawn had-and ones he didn't- if he didn't toe the line in her class. Jon said she was using the petty stuff as excuse together with him and those meetings ended up having nothing to with Shawn. He did not want the teen to give her a legitimate reason to call him in. Shawn had no issue with this even though staying awake was impossibly hard at times.

Monday afternoon he was woken abruptly by the ringing of the bell announcing the class change and Cory hitting his shoulder as hard as he could.

"We feel asleep!" Cory hissed in his ear.

"Huh? Who's class?"

"Hers."

Shawn sat up abruptly, bracing himself for the fallout from the nap. Miss Tompkins watched pleasantly from her desk as the students filtered out. She said nothing to them.

Cory and Shawn exchanged looks. There was no way she didn't see them asleep in the back of the room, but she acted as though they had been paying attention the entire period. Cautiously, they approached her desk. They had no choice but to pass by her; there was only one way out. Miss Tompkins saw them hedging towards the door, smiled brightly and said, "Have a good afternoon, boys."

Cory looked over his shoulder at with a befuddled look. Shawn was equally fazed but not enough to hang around and find out what was going on. He put his hands on the middle of Cory's back and pushed him out of the classroom.


School lunches were never Jon's favorite time of day but at least with Eli teaching at John Adams High it gave him a chance to catch up with his best friend. Audrey did not come with him. She had a paper to write regarding her student teaching experience thus far and was taking lunch in the classroom she said. Although he wanted to stay with her, doing so would cause a lot of talk. He had no choice but to head to the cafeteria.

Lunch had become even less enjoyable since the last time he broke it off with Katherine. Initially, she had spent the period in Mr. Feeny's office for several weeks before venturing back to the cafeteria. Then she would isolate herself at another table away from the rest of the faculty looking forlorn and sighing into her Jello until George would feel bad for her and convince her to sit with the rest of them. George always had her sit next to Jon. It was awkward, to say the least. Mr. Feeny only added to this as he was determined to play cupid and reunite the former couple. This made Eli uncomfortable, and he would often bail as soon as he'd finished eating leaving Jon alone with Katherine and the principal. None of the other teachers seemed to stick around either for whatever reason.

Today was no different. However, Eli stayed despite the awkwardness. Katherine was in a favorable mood, neither sullen or needy, just very cheerful and friendly. The conversation was natural and comfortable. Surprisingly, Katherine paid no more attention to Jon than she did anyone else at the table.

Just as Jon relaxed, he felt something nosing around the cuff of his pant leg. He adjusted his position and continued eating. The sensation didn't go away, it got more insistent. He moved again, but he couldn't get away from whatever it was without causing a scene.

Probably a mouse, he thought with a shiver. The new custodian crew who replaced Janitor Bud was nothing to brag about and it wouldn't surprise him a bit if rodents had taken up residence in John Adams High.

After a moment that mouse moved up his ankle and he realized with a jolt what was going on. He shoved his chair back from the table and looked up sharply at Katherine. The woman across from him smiled innocently at him and bit her lower lip.

"Stop it," he spat.

Everyone was staring at him as Katherine played innocent. "Stop what?"

"What's wrong, Jonathan?" Mr. Feeny queried, regarding the younger man curiously.

Jon debated whether he should say anything, knowing that it would sound ridiculous to the other men. Even Eli was likely to laugh at him.

"Nothin'," he said angrily.

The others at the table went back to their conversation while Jon sat as far back from the table as he could. Halfway through the lunch period, Andrea Nguyen joined their table. Jon liked the art teacher- she was a good friend of Audrey's. He moved his chair to let her in, but Katherine was watching him. She moved with him then invited Andrea to sit next to her. Jon bit back a growl and ignored the woman next to him. After a while he felt a hand on his leg and that hand did not stay put. Jon had had enough.

"Get your hands off of me," he snapped furiously, jumping up from his seat. Lunch was over for him; he had no appetite left.

The English Lit teacher knew he was making a scene and drawing a lot of looks from teachers and students alike, but he didn't care. He grabbed his tray and headed toward the cafeteria doors as fast as he could without running.

The hallway was mercifully quiet- he didn't care to deal with anyone at the moment. He was about to turn a corner when he heard a familiar authoritative voice call out,

"Jonathan."

He kept walking. It was his lunch break and he didn't have duty this week.

"Mr. Turner!"

Jon stopped abruptly and gritted his teeth. Slowly, he turned on his heel to face his principal.

Mr. Feeny walked up to him looking concerned.

"What is going on, Jonathan? Your behavior just now was quite out of the ordinary."

Jon didn't answer right away. What was he supposed to say? She's touching me? It sounded childish and ridiculous.

"I don't wanna sit next to Kat," he said which sounded even more childish and ridiculous.

George raised an eyebrow. "You don't think that your actions were a bit dramatic?"

"She had her hands and feet all over me. I didn't care for it, okay."

Unfortunately for Jon, his reputation with women preceded him and the man in front of him didn't seem to believe that attention from a woman actually bothered him. The principal considered this for a moment, then said, "Where are you going?"

"Back to the classroom."

"Is Miss Andrews there?"

Jon bit back a sarcastic response. "Yeah, she is. She's workin' on her paper for school."

The principal shook his head with a grave look on his face. "Return to the cafeteria, Mr. Turner."

Jon stared at him.

"Excuse me?"

"Jonathan, it is not a good idea to go back to your room if she's there. Return to the cafeteria."

Jon pursed his lips into a tight line as his anger built. He looked the man in the eyes. As much as he respected George Feeny, the man was overstepping his authority as far as he was concerned. A stubbornness rose within him.

"No."

It was the principal's turn to stare at him.

"What did you say?'

"No. I'm goin' to my classroom."

"Mr Turner..."

"What are you going to do, George?" he snapped. "Fire me for eatin' lunch in my own classroom during a week I'm not on duty? Fine. Fire Me. You want me to send Audrey down to the cafeteria for your peace of mind? Fine. Kat won't harass her."

With that the English lit teacher turned and stormed off down the hall.

The principal watched him go, carefully considering the situation. He didn't approve of Jonathan being alone with his student teacher, but there was something in what he said that was alarming- "Kat won't harass her." He was quite fond of Miss Tompkins. He thought she was an extremely sweet woman and a competent teacher. He felt that her romantic pairing with Jonathan was a particularly good one and that they should try to work on their relationship. But he had to acknowledge that he didn't know her very well outside of school. It was a possibility that she was not quite as sweet as she seemed. It was also a possibility that Jonathan was reacting the way he was because of guilty conscience. The principal returned to the cafeteria deeply concerned over the state of his faculty.


Monday came and went as did Tuesday and Wednesday. Because of school, the trio only saw each other during the school day. Jon and Audrey felt it was best if they only got together on the weekends.

The first time Audrey saw Jon since Thursday at the end of the school day was early Friday morning, about an hour before homeroom. The second time she saw him was about twenty minutes before first period outside of the teacher's lounge where he and Mr. Feeny stood talking. Audrey approached the men quietly not wanting to interrupt them. She was hoping Jon would see her and be able to slip away from the principal so she could spend a little time with him before the day started. She didn't get to speak to him the night before; he'd been unavailable before she went to work, and it was too late to call by the time she got home.

Walking up behind Mr. Feeny, she just caught Jon's attention when Katherine walked up to the men and slipped her arm around Jon. Audrey could see him visibly stiffen when she touched him.

Audrey paused and slipped behind the principal as she did not want the other woman to see her. She was about to leave for the classroom when she heard Katherine say, "Oh, Jon, you left these, and I thought I'd bring them to you."

Her words struck a strange chord with Audrey and a cold feeling settled in her gut. Jon left what, where, and when?

Jon was unprepared for what she brought out. Making sure that Mr. Feeny was watching, Katherine held out a paper bag to him. Mr. Feeny smirked slightly- he'd seen this song and dance from them before.

"What is it?" Jon regarded the bag warily as he accepted it.

"Open it."

Audrey watched Jon's expression change from curious suspicion to confusion to anger.

Katherine gave the principal a smile and shrug. "It's not that embarrassing," she said with a light laugh.

Jon could say nothing for fear of what might come out of his mouth. He clenched his jaw, shaking slightly as he tried to control his temper. Mr. Feeny gave the teachers a knowing, amused smile as Katherine pulled out a pair of Jon's jeans, boxers, and a black sweater with a red stripe in the center.

Audrey froze as tears pricked her eyes. She didn't understand what was going on. Katherine had Jon's clothes and as far as she knew there was only one way for her to get them, but she couldn't believe that Jon would betray her like that. When she thought about it, they had only seen each other at school lately and she couldn't get a hold of him last night when Shawn was with Cory. With Mr. Feeny and Katherine present, there was no way for her to get any answers from him. The only thing Audrey could do was to remove herself from the situation.

"I'm very happy to see that you two have worked things out," the principal chuckled his approval.

Jon stood in between the two, wavering being anger and numbness. All he could see was the look on Audrey's face as she rushed past them. He couldn't go after her to assure her that what Katherine was implying was a lie. Frustrated and humiliated, he stood staring at the floor, trying to make sense of what his ex-girlfriend was trying to do. The longer he stood there listening to them, it slowly began to sink in that these were the clothes that had gone missing over the weekend.

While Mr. Feeny congratulated Katherine and told him how pleased he was to see that he'd made the right choice, Jon's thoughts turned from Kat to Audrey. Did Audrey hear any of this? He prayed she hadn't. And he prayed that she be willing to listen to him. After the principal finally left and as the bell rang to start the day, Jon glared at the woman next him, snatched the bag from her and stormed off down the hall.


Shawn had gone to school with Jon that morning and was loitering in the hall while Jon was in the teacher's lounge. Topanga came up to him just as Jon and Mr. Feeny walked into the hallway.

"Hey," he greeted her as he adjusted the book bag on his shoulder. "How's Cory?"

"Pathetic," she said rolling her eyes.

Shawn grinned. They had a big history test coming up in Mr. Feeny's class and while he'd been forced to study, Cory had gleefully ignored the impending test. His best friend, in a panic, called Shawn to tell him he was going to do everything he could to get sick before he had to leave for school. "Is he coming to school today?"

"He'll be late, but he'll be here."

"What happened? I didn't get a chance to talk to him again before I left for here."

Topanga shook her head with a smile. "He injured himself trying to get out of the history test he didn't prepare for."

"What'd he do?"

"Stuck a thermometer in hot coffee then stuck it in his mouth."

"Again?"

"You'd think he'd have learned the first time, wouldn't you?"

"I know I did."

Topanga laughed. Then her smile faded as she looked down the hall. "What's going on there?" she asked pointing at the teachers in the hallway. Miss Tompkins had now joined them.

"I don't know." He squinted at the adults with a suspicious frown. Shawn took Topanga by the arm and moved them closer to the adults so that they could hear what was being said. The friends stood near the lockers and Shawn opened an empty one and let the door hang open so he and Topanga wouldn't be so noticeable.

When Katherine pulled Jon's clothes out of the bag, Shawn's face and body language mirrored Jon's. Rage swept over him as the realization of what Katherine was doing and how she'd acquired his mentor's clothing hit him.

"She stole those clothes!" he hissed angrily in the girl's ear.

Topanga was as confused as she was horrified. "How could she steal Mr. Turner's clothes? Has she been over lately?"

"No, she hasn't," Shawn growled.

"Well, has he-?"

"No!" Shawn didn't want to hear her finish that sentence. "He definitely hasn't."

Topanga bit her bottom lip and watched worriedly as the social studies teacher preened under Mr. Feeny's congratulations. Neither of them saw Audrey leave because of the locker door.

Shawn glared daggers at the blonde with her arms around Jon. "Topanga," he said bleakly, "you said you thought my key was stolen."

"Yeah."

"I know who stole it."

Topanga whipped around to face him with her hair flying in his face as she did. "You don't really think Miss Tompkins would do that? Steal a house key from a student?"

"Yeah, I do." A thousand dark thoughts about Miss Tompkins flew through his mind.

"Oh, Shawn, I think you're wrong. I think-" Her voice trailed off as she stared at the adults.

"What?"

"I think you're right," she said in dismay. She sounded almost ill. "Look at her nail polish."

Shawn, who rarely noticed such things teen girls and never noticed them on adults, studied Miss Tompkins' nails carefully and it only took a second to see what Topanga saw. The color of the polish on the teacher's nails was an exact match for the streak on Shawn's key.

Topanga was incredibly upset that a teacher would do something like this. It caused so much cognitive dissonance for her that even Shawn noticed how upset she was and put a comforting hand on her shoulder.

"Topanga?"

"Yeah?"

"If I have the nail polish splotch on the key," he said slowly as an idea began to stitch itself together. " If I have three witnesses to the fact that the day after my key was returned Jon's clothes are missing and lights have been left at our place. If I have Miss Tompkins showing up with the missing stuff- would I have a case against her?"

"Not a strong one." Shawn's question was a welcome distraction for her. "You'd need more evidence. If you had your key back before those things were taken, how could she have used it to get in?" Topanga's brow furrowed and she shook her head. "I thought she and Mr. Turner were over with for good. Does she still have a key?"

"Nope," he confirmed. "Jon's got her key and his on his key ring."

The young girl put a hand to her head. "Then you have to prove that she did get into your plan and used a key."

"That's what I thought. I hope Cory makes it in today or it's gonna be just you and me."

"Why?"

Shawn narrowed his eyes as he zeroed his gaze onto the social studies teacher." Because I gotta see a guy about stolen keys. I gotta see an expert in makin' copies of stolen keys. I gotta see Uncle Mike."


Cory Matthews had had a miserable morning. He burnt his tongue trying to convince his parents he was sick. Then he got busted playing sick and was lectured angrily by both parents who made him go to school. He was late, so his first stop was Mr. Feeny's office where he got another earful from the principal. That lecture picked up again after history where he failed his test miserably. All this he went through with a painful welt on his tongue. Lunch was not kind to him either and all he was able to eat was Jell-O and chocolate milk. It was not the day he wanted to hear Shawn announce that they were going to see Uncle Mike after school.

Uncle Mike's place was an automotive/motorcycle/fake ID/whatever you needed with no questions asked business. It was as shady as they came, and Shawn had great respect for what his uncle had built from the ground up all on his own. But Uncle Mike's was located on the "other" side of town where the Hunter family's trailer park was located. This part of town made Cory very nervous. He would never say it to Shawn -he didn't want his best friend to feel bad about where he came from- but he absolutely hated going there, even when it was his own idea. Cory was okay with going to Uncle Mike's shop. The area it was in wasn't the best, but it was better than the trailer park. However, he hated going inside of Uncle Mike's shop- the man terrified Cory in a way he couldn't explain.

Cory glanced nervously at his girlfriend. If Topanga had any concerns about where they were she did not voice them, nor did they show on her face. Cory took comfort in this and held onto her tightly when Uncle Mike came out to greet them. Or rather he greeted Shawn and stared a hole into Cory's soul. At least that's what it felt like to the teenager.

The older man in grease-stained coveralls grinned when he saw Shawn. "Shawnie! What brings my favorite nephew to my humble shop? You got someone hasslin' you?" Uncle Mike gave Cory an angry, suspicious glare.

Shawn followed the man's gaze and shook his head. "This is Cory, Uncle Mike- remember? My best friend."

"Oh, yeah." Uncle Mike smiled a crooked grin. "You're the kid who made the tape of the family for Shawnie's dad."

"Yes, sir, I am, sir," Cory said with a little salute.

"No one's hasslin' me, Uncle Mike," Shawn assured his uncle. "But I do need help."

"What's goin' on, Shawnie?"

"I think someone stole my apartment key and-"

The man slammed his fist into the countertop making everything on it and Cory jump. "I'll kill 'em, Shawn! You just tell me who!"

For a split-second Shawn considered the offer. "No, no, Uncle Mike. I need info. I think someone took my key and made a copy. Would you be able to tell if they did? Or even where they got it done?"

The big man nodded and relaxed. "Sure, Shawnie. Let me see it."

Shawn handed over the key and Uncle Mike studied it for a long time. He wandered off and disappeared into the back room. Finally, he came back to the teenagers with his verdict.

"A copy has definitely been," he said solemnly.

"How can you be sure?" Topanga asked, stepping forward much to Cory's chagrin.

Uncle Mike gave the girl a cool, impassive gaze. "Who's this?"

"Topanga Lawrence," Shawn introduced her. "Legal counsel."

"Ah," Uncle Mike nodded in approval, then he smirked. "It's always good to have one of those in your pocket."

"I am not in anyone's pocket," Topanga protested indignantly. She tossed her hair over her shoulder. "I cannot be bought. I am honest and fair."

"Sure you are, honey." Uncle Mike grinned then grew serious. "To answer your question, come closer."

Shawn and Topanga crowded around the key while Cory decided it was safer to look over their shoulders.

"You see this tiny hole?" Uncle Mike put a magnifying glass over the key. The kids nodded. On one side of the key was the smallest of indentations in the metal. It was round and cut with precision." A mark like this is made by a machine at one of those fancy, schmancy places like the hardware store. A little arm holds the key in place while it's being cut. A mark like this is left behind."

"Sir," Cory ventured, "Would you happen to know who had this key copied?"

Uncle Mike gave a low growl. "Why you askin' me?"

"Well," he faltered, regretting that he opened his mouth. "I figure if someone stole a key and wanted a copy made, they'd bring it to you. Maybe?"

Uncle Mike looked insulted. He drew himself to his full, terrifying height. Cory had forgotten just how big a man he was. "You implyin' I don't know how to do my job, punk?"

Cory shank back afraid. Shawn jumped in front of Uncle Mike and held up his hands. "Uncle Mike, it was just a question. I need to know so I can prove who took my key."

"Ain't no cop ever been able to prove I ever copied nothin'," the big man said haughtily. "My cuts- they don't exist."

Shawn rubbed his chin. "So it was done at a hardware store, probably?"

"Definitely, Shawnie."

"Any chance you know the best place to start asking about this?"

"I don't got names. I don't associate with those places," he sniffed. The thought of being connected to a legitimate business by legitimate means made his skin crawl. "But I'd start at the place closest to your school."

"Why?" squeaked out Cory.

"Because," Topanga answered confidently. "It was taken from school and returned at school. If a copy was made, then odds are it was done nearby."

"I like the way you think, little lady," Uncle Mike nodded appreciatively. "You wanna work for me when you grow up, I gotta place for you."

"No thanks, Uncle Mike," Topanga tossed her long hair over her other shoulder. "I told you, I am honest and fair."

"Sure you are," the man grinned. "Sure you are.


Shawn had a deadline to make. Jon expected him back at the apartment by five and he did not want to disappoint either him or Audrey. So after the second hardware store turned up nothing, Shawn knew they had one last place they could go before they had to call it quits for the day. He and his friends huddled near a pay phone trying to figure out the best place to visit.

"We're wastin' a lot of time," Cory pointed out. "If we don't decide soon, we're just gonna have to go home."

"I don't wanna spend the next three days going to every single hardware store in the city," Shawn told him. "We gotta make a good choice. I mean, who knew there were so many of these places within five miles of our school!"

Topanga, who was still deeply disturbed by what she saw earlier and Shawn's accusations against Miss Tompkins, was deep in thought. So deep the boys thought they'd lost her to another reality. Finally, she spoke up, "Shawn, what are you really tryin' to prove here?"

"That Miss Tompkins stole my key."

Topanga nodded seriously and they lost her to her thoughts again. Several minutes later, she poked Shawn in the shoulder. "Where does Miss Tompkins live?"

The teen shrugged. "I dunno. And I don't wanna know. Ask me where Audrey lives. I can give you step by step directions to her place."

Topanga wrinkled her nose. "Get me the phone book."

Cory retrieved the book from the pay phone booth and handed it to her. The boys exchanged skeptical looks as she rifled through the pages unsure of where she was going with this.

"Ah-ha!" she cried, triumphantly pointing to a line in the book.

Shawn looked and shuddered. They were way too close to where she lived for his liking.

Cory blinked. "What's the point, Topanga?"

"I figure if she took the key and had a copy made, she'd most likely go to the place closest to school and her house."

Shawn pursed his lips together and furrowed his brow. "We'll be forever tryin' to find an address if we use the yellow pages. Let's go back to Harry's and ask where the closet hardware store is to there."

Three minutes later the friends were back on the street and jogging towards their new destination.

Hank's Hardware was a good-sized store that was fairly busy. The cashier at the front of the store directed the kids to the back where the keys were. In the back, surrounded by blank keys, was a friendly looking older woman with frizzy red hair wearing bright blue eye shadow.

"How can I help you, darlings?" she smiled warmly.

Shawn pulled the key out of his pocket and handed it to her. "Any chance you could make me a copy of this key?"

"Whatcha need a copy for, sweetheart?" The woman watched him with such a hawkish grin that Shawn felt like squirming.

"I'm really bad at keepin' track of them," he said honestly. "My dad gets real upset when I lose one."

The woman rolled her eyes. "Yeah, I got my own kids who are always losing their keys."

Something about the key caught the woman's eye. She gave Shawn an inquisitive look and said," I take it you've already lost the key your mom got you last week."

While Cory and Topanga looked surprised, Shawn maintained his cool and held the woman's gaze. His eyes narrowed slightly and he shook his head. "My mom didn't get me a key last week."

"Well, honey, someone's mom was in here last week getting her son a new key. This was the key she brought in."

Shawn's guard was up and he regarded the woman with veiled suspicion. "How do you know it was my mom with my key?"

The woman pulled out a magnifying glass and showed him the same hole that Uncle Mike had shown him. "Only the newest machines make that mark," she said. "And Hank's is the only one in fifteen miles radius of here to have one. Besides that, I remember this key because of the nail polish on it. Chanel in vamp."

The woman straightened up. Her eyes narrowed slightly as she tipped her head to the side. "So mom got you a new key. You've lost it and want another one so she and your dad won't find out, huh?"

"I haven't lost the key yet," he said. "This is just in case. Dad'll have a fit if I lose it again."

"You'll get in a lot of trouble, huh?"

She meant to sound sympathetic, but Shawn had heard this tone before in the DCFS caseworkers that had visited with him many times over the years. He was getting irritated with the woman's questions. "He'll yell maybe. Maybe ground me. I don't wanna get grounded."

She tapped his key on the counter as she studied him closely. "You don't look like your mom. I take it you look like your daddy."

"Yeah," Shawn lied. "But I have my mom's eyes and they aren't blue."

"Your eyes look blue to me, sweetheart." The woman laughed at how kids could be so oblivious to everything including their own eye color.

Neither Audrey nor Virna had blue eyes and of course neither of them had been in this hardware store last week. Shawn was wary of the woman's questioning. She reminded him of those social workers who would talk to kids and try to get them to tell all the secrets of their lives and rat out their parents without telling them who they really were. They never asked direct questions; they just offered inaccurate statements for kids to correct so they could get their information that way. Shawn was very capable of playing that game too.

"My mom has gray eyes. And red hair."

The woman looked suspicious now. She raised her drawn-on, rounded eyebrows in skepticism. "Gray eyes?"

"Her eyes are like 'the middle of a fogbound sea where water is a color for which there is no name'," he said with a small smirk as he recited lines from a book he once read at Jon's. "But otherwise, they are blue and green and gray', depending on the weather or how she's feeling. Mostly gray."

Topanga jabbed Cory hard in the ribs and whispered sharply in his ear. "What in the world is going on at Mr. Turner's that has Shawn not only reading Sarah, Plain and Tall, but is quoting it too?"

Cory could only shake his head and shrug. He had no idea Sarah, Plain and Tall was a book; he thought it was just a boring movie.

"Oh, I see," the woman said. "It must have been your stepmother who came in. The blonde. She's a teacher I think she said."

Shawn's key was laying on the countertop where the woman set it down. He snatched it before she could cover it with her hand and placed it securely inside his leather jacket.

"Nope. I've got no stepmom. It's just Mom, Dad, and me. You must have me and my key confused with someone else."

Now the woman was very suspicious, and she made her way around the counter. She advanced on them in such a way to get between them and the exit. She was clearly looking for someone to help her. Shawn motioned for Cory and Topanga to start moving as he walked backwards in order to maintain eye contact with her.

"I thought you wanted a key made," she reminded him. Her friendly demeanor evaporated.

"You know, my dad's a good guy," Shawn remarked. "I've decided not to lie to him about losing this key."

The woman made dash for the door as did the three friends. They beat the woman to door, high-tailed it out of the store, and back to Jon's apartment.


With Jon and their parents' permission, Cory and Topanga came over after dinner. Topanga had never been over while Audrey was present, and Shawn made her sign a contract that she would not say anything to anyone about Audrey. Although offended that her word wasn't enough, she obliged and signed on the dotted line.

The three friends were oddly silent as Jon and Audrey finished cleaning up the kitchen before settling down for a movie as they were both under the impression that was why Cory and Topanga had come over. Instead, Shawn stood up in front of the television as soon as his teacher sat down on the couch. Cory and Topanga took their places; one on either side of him.

"Guys?" Jon looked concerned. "What's going on?"

"I have somethin' I need to tell you," Shawn began. "It has to do with my key and your missing clothes."

Jon glanced at Audrey. "I'm all ears."

Shawn took a deep breath and told him everything: where he found the key, Topanga's suspicions, the clues on the key, what Uncle Mike said, and what the woman at the hardware store told them. Topanga even had exhibit A prepared. She borrowed Trini's bottle of Chanel in Vamp and painted one of her thumbnails in the deep burgundy color. She gave Jon the bottle and showed him how her nail and that the mark on the key matched along with her observation about Miss Tompkins' current nail color.

Jon listened somberly as his students told their story and their story confirmed the suspicions he'd held since Kat turned up at school with his clothes. He reached over and took Audrey by the hand.

"I need you to take Cory and Topanga home."

Audrey agreed but asked, "What're you going to do?"

"I'm gonna call Kat over here and end this once and for all."

Audrey wasn't happy about Jon and Shawn being alone with Katherine, but she did what he asked her to do. He gave her the keys to his truck and told her he'd get them from her the next day. She kissed him and Shawn goodbye then left with Cory and Topanga.

Jon knew that asking Katherine to come over would be misinterpreted and it was. She thought he was ready to resume their relationship. She came dressed for the occasion in a sultry one-piece jumpsuit as she clearly thought Shawn would be anywhere but the apartment. She held her tongue for the time being and did not comment on the presence of Jon's favorite student. She turned her full attention to Jon and her hopes for the night. Much to her disappointment Jon didn't seem to notice what she was wearing but instead zeroed in on her nail polish.

"Nice color." He sounded jovial, but there was a edge to his voice. "What's it called?"

"Vamp." She tried to snuggle against him, but he did not bend to embrace her.

"What brand?"

"Chanel." Frustration flooded around the word. "Jonny, why are you so interested in my nail polish?"

"Because," he said in a low even voice. "It looks exactly like this strange streak on my kid's key."

Katherine froze with her fingers wrapped in the fabric of his sweater. Jon's hands were on his waist. His face was dark and cold. After a moment's hesitation, she lifted her chin towards his face and looked up at him through half-closed eyes. "I don't know what you're talking about, Jonny."

"How'd the polish get on Shawn's key, Kat?"

The social studies teacher picked up what remained of her dignity by letting go of him and straightening up. Folding her arms across her waist, she gave Shawn a dirty, sideways glance. "I don't know what you're talking about," she said again.

Jon's patience was thin. So thin he could feel it stretching thinner, ready to snap at any moment. He held his hand out to Shawn who quickly handed over the key. He held the other hand out to Katherine who cautiously reached out to him. He pulled her hand close to him and held the painted side of the key up to her nails. Just as Topanga had said, the color was a perfect match.

Jon's hard stare demanded a response. Katherine shot Shawn another glare and pulled her hand away. "How can you let him get away with this?" Tears welled up in her eyes and threatened to spill over.

For the first time, Jon was not only unmoved by her tears, but they set him against her even more. "What are you talkin' about?"

"Him!" She flung an accusatory finger at the teenager. "Don't you see what he's trying to do to us?"

Jon sniffed." I must be the stupidest man alive, Kat, because I don't see anything but the person who took my kid's key."

Shawn's eyes bounced back and forth between the two as his pulse began to pound. It shouldn't have surprised him that she would try to blame this on him, but it did. Despite the evidence, she was going to twist this so it was his fault and, because Shawn Hunter was a known liar and troublemaker by the adults, she would be believed no matter what fantastical story she told. By the end of the night, Shawn feared he would lose the title "my kid" and be dubbed "get out, Hunter". Fear and anger churned within him. He wished he'd gone with Audrey. He didn't want to see Katherine win.

"He set me up!" she cried, her voice breaking in anger. Hot red rage burned her cheeks. "This color is very popular. Everyone has it. He got his little girlfriend to paint that key to frame me. He's lying to you, Jon! That's all he does is lie! Every teacher knows that Shawn Hunter lies."

Instantly, Shawn was at Jon's side. He stepped forward as if to lunge at the woman. An angry fire burned in his eyes. Jon grabbed him roughly by the shoulder and pushed the teen behind him.

"What girlfriend?" Jon's voice was low and dangerous.

"You know that one girl, the smart one." She was shaking at this point, so rattled that she couldn't recall her student's name. "To..Top...Topanga!"

The expression on Jon's face softened and he looked like he might laugh. He folded his arms over his chest and took a step towards her. He stared at her for a moment then shook his head. "You really don't know your students at all, do you, Kat?"

Katherine was fully panicked now. "Of course, I do!"

"Topanga isn't Shawn's girlfriend. She's Cory's. Cory Matthews."

She gave him a blank look. He shook his head again. "The kid whose locker you stuck the key in. That was Cory's locker, not Shawn's. If you're gonna pull stunts like this you really oughta get your kids straight."

Katherine was trapped and losing ground, but she couldn't let go of her pride. "Do you hear yourself, Jon?" She tried to let go of the bitterness as it was making him resistant to her. "Do you see what having him here has done to you? You see conspiracies everywhere now. You were never like this before him. You're not the same man I fell in love with!"

"Yeah, you're right about that," Jon said sharply, taking the remark as a compliment. "Imma much better person now."

Katherine looked appalled. The tears fell but they only hardened Jon against her more. She had lost, but Jon wasn't done. "You've got an explanation for the key, so what about my clothes? Hmm, how do you explain that, Kat?"

Katherine stared at the floor. "I just thought," she tried a softer approach, hoping that he might have some sympathy for her. "I just thought that if I reminded you about the way things used to be, you would remember how you used to love me."

Shawn snorted loudly in derision at this. And Miss Tompkins claimed he was the one who lies! He would have said this aloud, however at the look Jon gave him, he flopped onto the couch and kept quiet.

"You insulted my kid in the library. You stole his key and had a copy made. You used that key to steal my stuff and then humiliate me in front of our boss. Now that you're busted you just keep lyin' about it. And I'm supposed to love you?"

The social studies teacher began to sob. Jon was still unmoved. He stepped around her and got her coat which he draped over her shoulders. Then he went back to his original spot.

"Give me the key," he demanded, holding his hand out.

"But I don't-"

"Give me the key!"

Humiliated and defeated, Katherine Tompkins fumbled in her purse for a minute then produced the copied apartment key. Jon took the key. Shawn jumped ready for a parting shot, but Jon immediately pointed back at the couch. The teen obediently sat back down. He'd never seen this kind of anger from his teacher, and he did not want to cross him.

"Get out," he told Katherine. His voice was incredibly quiet, but also very cold. "Get out. Lose my number. Don't sit by me at lunch and don't talk to me. You need to have a conference about Shawn you go through Mr. Feeny. I don't wanna see you again."

The crying woman stumbled out of the apartment, embarrassed and terribly angry.

Jon didn't say anything after she left. He just stood in that one spot staring at the key. Gingerly, Shawn approached him. When Jon saw him, he gave him a small smile. "Guess we gotta an extra key in case you lose that one again."

Shawn put his hands in his pockets. "Thank you."

"For what?"

"For not doubting me."

"I would be the stupidest man alive if I did."

"I know I've lied about stuff before so..."

"Aw, c'mon, Shawn," Jon shrugged and collapsed on the couch. "Yeah, you've lied about stuff. Some of it really dumb stuff but I know you often felt like you had to. And I know you grew up lying- usually to protect your dad, huh?"

Shawn nodded and took a seat next to his teacher. He turned so he faced Jon. "Yeah, I mean I guess I was so used to lying that I started lying about the dumb stuff after I moved in. It's what my family does."

"Yeah, given what I know about your family I can understand that."

"It is what I've always done. A lot of times I forget I don't have to do that with you. I'm not used to havin' an adult's trust, ya know?"

Shawn stared at his hands. Jon put his hand on the boy's arm. "So old habits die hard. But you gotta start breakin' 'em sometime, right? I extend you trust, you repay me by tellin me the truth no matter what. You do your best not to lie and I'll kick you in the butt when you do. We'll break that habit together. You've been doin a good job at being honest lately. I owe it to you to trust you."

Tears pricked Shawn's eyes, surprising him. "Nobody's given me that chance before. My dad always told me to lie like it was a matter of pride being able to lie so well people would believe anything you said. And if they don't, you just kept tellin' stories anyway. Then people like Miss Tompkins, they're always believed over me no matter what they say or how obvious the lie is."

"Not anymore, Shawn."

Shawn tried to smile at him. He wasn't unhappy. Quite the opposite, he just didn't know what to make of feeling happy and relieved while tears fell.

"You called me your kid."

"Yeah, I guess I did. That bother you?"

Shawn shook his head. "I just didn't know how you thought of me without, you know, Audrey here."

"I think about you the same way I do when she's here."

This brought a small smile out of the teen. "You know what, Jon?"

Jon looked at him quizzically.

"You aren't half bad when you gotta do the parent-thing solo."

Jon laughed. "Thanks. It's not quite as scary as I thought it would be."

Shawn settled back into the couch, sitting very close to his teacher. Jon grabbed the remote from the coffee table and turned the TV onto a baseball game. Shawn watched the game through half-closed eyes feeling strangely comfortable and content, even without Audrey there.


The weekend had been an unusual one. Cory and Topanga arrived together on Saturday morning to hang out with Shawn and to find out what happened with Miss Tompkins, but the teen had trouble decompressing. Jon had been pacing since he got up that morning and it made Shawn anxious. Once Audrey came over, his teacher relaxed some but grew agitated again recounting the previous night's events to her. Jon felt that this issue with Katherine was not over, and he was deeply concerned about what she might try to do next. So they spent the weekend brainstorming how to protect their little family with Cory and Topanga taken into confidence.

This proved to be a wise move since Jon was greeted by a call from Mr. Feeny at 6 am on Monday morning requiring him to be at a meeting in his office at 7. Shawn felt a sense of foreboding ride his shoulders as he went to school with Jon. He could have waited at the apartment to walk with Cory, but he chose not to. He couldn't shake the feeling that some bad was waiting around a corner somewhere ready to jump them and he didn't want Jon to be alone when it did.

The English Lit teacher arrived at Mr. Feeny's office expecting to see other teachers there as he was under the impression that this was a faculty meeting of sorts. When he realized that he was the only one attending he immediately became defensive. Mr. Feeny's stern, disapproving look that greeted him when he walked in only deepened this feeling.

"Have a seat, Jonathan."

Reluctantly, he took the seat across from the principal and sat on its edge as though he did not intend to stay long.

Mr. Feeny folded his hands in front of him. "It has come to my attention that there is a significant issue between you and Miss Tompkins."

"Oh?" Jon raised an eyebrow and settled back against the chair. He refrained from rolling his eyes. He could imagine what she told their boss. "She tell you she stole Shawn's key, made a copy of it, used it to get into my apartment and steal my clothes? She also tell you she used my clothes in that stunt she pulled in front of you try to convince me to get back together with her?"

Mr. Feeny looked startled, clearly not expecting this detour. His expression darkened. "That's a serious accusation, Jonathan."

"It's a serious matter, George. And I'm only statin' facts."

"Yes, well," the principal picked up some papers that lay across his desk and straightened them as he regrouped. "Miss Tompkins came to my house last night extremely upset about an altercation at your place on Friday."

"Altercation?" Jon had to admit that he was impressed by the bold spin she put on what happened that night. "I had her come over to confront her about Shawn's missing key."

Mr. Feeny frowned. "She said she had a date with you that didn't happen because of lies Shawn told you regarding this key."

"Lies?" Jon spat. He was no longer impressed; he was angry, and that anger bubbled up in his speech. "That Shawn told? George, I have proof she stole his key and made a copy of it to get into my apartment. Shawn didn't lie. He told the truth."

The principal paused as he considered this information. "What proof do you have?"

With a deep sigh of frustration, Jon recounted what Shawn had told him and what Katherine had to confessed to. Mr. Feeny was silent through his speech. He tapped his fingers on his desk. "Well, it certainly sounds as if she was at fault in this matter."

"Sounds as if?" Jon was struggling to control his temper. Somehow Katherine had gotten George Feeny- honorable, just, and stoic George Feeny in her back pocket. "She admitted to it, George. You didn't call me in here to tell me to date her again, did you? Because it ain't gonna happen."

"That's not why I called you in here, Jonathan." Mr. Feeny could see that the younger man was getting agitated. "Miss Tompkins has also brought to my attention that she believes you are seeing someone on staff here."

Jon stared at him. After the man's words sunk in, Jon swore under his breath. This was about Audrey. It had to be. No one else would bring him into the principal's office so early. Through gritted teeth, he hissed, "She's lying."

"Is she?" Mr. Feeny raised his eyebrows at the vitriol in the teacher's voice. There were a lot of accusations of lying going on and he did not care for it.

"Yes."

"Jonathan..."

Jon lurched forward in his chair suddenly, almost jumping out of it. "I know what you're gonna say and I don't wanna hear it, George. I am not datin' anyone from here."

This was the absolute truth; he and Audrey were not dating and, if Katherine and Feeny got their way, they never would be.

The English Lit teacher was not the only one growing increasingly irritable. He was suspicious of Jon's intense reaction and his inability to discuss this with him without getting angry. "What I was going to say is that I am very concerned about your relationship with Miss Andrews."

Jon glared at him. "Why?"

"I believe it's bordering on inappropriate."

"Why? What proof do you have? Something that Kat made up?"

At the look on the older man's face, Jon knew without a doubt he was bluffing. He had nothing but the lies he'd been told. "Miss Tompkins said-"

"Miss Tompkins said," he snapped sarcastically. He knew he was getting very close to George's limit of what he'd tolerate but he didn't care anymore. "You believe her, don't you?"

"I am inclined to..."

"Why George? You haven't even heard my side of this so why do you automatically believe her over me?"

"I am not taking sides, Jonathan. I am merely trying to get to the bottom of this situation before it becomes something serious and affects school more than it already has."

"Yes, you are. " Jon sat back against the chair and put one foot on his knee. "You've already decided that Kat's tellin' you the truth, that Shawn and I are lying, and that I'm up to something nefarious with Audrey." For a moment, the teacher stopped talking as he tried to gather his thoughts. "It blows my mind that you can be so fair and understanding with your students, but when it comes to teachers...no, wait, when it comes to me, you are just the opposite. What have you got against me?"

Mr. Feeny looked incredibly displeased with the man's disrespectful attitude. "Are you quite finished, Mr. Turner?"

Jon sunk down in his chair and stared at the desk in front of him.

"Do you now see the issue with dating a colleague? Do you now see the problem we have here?" The older man threw up his hands. "This is why I do not want you toying with Miss Andrews and her feelings. Or I'll have her in here crying every day because you broke her heart. I have enough of that to deal with among the students. I cannot and will not do the same with teachers who are supposed to be those students' role models!"

"You encouraged me to date Kat," he said with quiet restraint. "You encouraged me to get back together with her repeatedly. It's only Audrey you have a problem with so let's stop pretending this is a faculty-wide issue. I'm gonna ask you again- what have you got against me?"

Mr. Feeny's gaze was dark and severe. "Jonathan, you have become so blinded to what's going on around you since you became involved with the Hunter boy. As a teacher, that is dangerous. We cannot play favorites. You are doing the same with Audrey. You have neither the experience nor the maturity to be involved with either one of them."

Jon stared at the other man in disbelief. He set his jaw at an angle and shook his head. "Unbelievable. Who made you supreme ruler of all teachers? You don't know Katherine and you don't really know me. You think you do but you don't. I just can't get over how little you think of me!"

"Jonathan," the principal softened a bit. "I am not against you as you think I am, but I can see things that you cannot. You are in over your head with Shawn, and you cannot see the situation with Audrey clearly."

"What do you think is going on with Audrey?" Jon knew if he were to come clean and tell him what he and Audrey and Shawn had been doing the principal would never believe anything he said again.

"I am trying to stop anything from going on."

Jon was quiet for a while as he wondered how much of his hand he should reveal. Finally, he said, "I got legal advice on this."

The principal certainly was not expecting to hear this and he was floored that a teacher, who was presumably innocent, would do such a thing.

This statement of Jon's was only half-true. He could have sought the lawyer with the teacher's union, but to do that he would have had to first contact the JAH union liaison. While a lawyer would keep attorney/client privilege, the liaison was a known gossip. Feeny would have learned about his inquiry before he could get an answer. So Jon went to Topanga instead. His student had a keen interest in law and acquainted herself with school law quickly and fully before examining his contract.

According to Topanga, she found nothing that excluded faculty or interns from carrying on interpersonal relationships with one another on any level. She found that it was not Mr. Feeny who set the details of the contract either. The terms of Jon's contract had been voted upon during contract negotiations with the local chapter of the teachers' union. If Feeny had wanted a no dating clause added he could have asked for it and it would have been voted on. Since there was no clause Topanga could only assume that it had not been brought up or it had been struck down. She could find no violation of the personal code of conduct per the contract. In short, Jon could not be fired for spending time with or dating Audrey. The Board could determine that a relationship was becoming detrimental to one or both parties if it affected their job and could issue a reprimand that would count as a strike against that employee. Three strikes and termination could occur. But both instances were extremely rare.

Topanga said if there was a dating ban it would have to come from Audrey's school; NYCU was the only entity that could enforce that upon Audrey as she was under their jurisdiction not Mr. Feeny's. If they were found in violation of the University's policy, they could both be reprimanded. So Jon called up "Uncle Alex" who said there was no such policy in place. While it was most certainly not encouraged, the university saw their students as adults and so long as there was nothing illegal going on (exchanging services for higher evaluations and job promises) they did not care who their students spent their time with. Dr. Kessington told Jon that if he should run into any issues with the principal, not to handle it on his own, but to call him and let him deal with it.

"I am not datin' Audrey," he said sullenly. "But even if I was, you can't do anything about it. Only her school could discipline her, but they won't. Don't believe me? Call her advisor."

"And this is your attitude, Mr. Turner?" Mr. Feeny replied quietly. "Defiance?"

"If that's the way you want to interpret it, so be it."

"I'm very disappointed that you are making no effort to see my side of things."

Jon shrugged. "I can say the very same thing of you."

"Yes, well, I suppose we are at an impasse."

"Looks like it."

Mr. Feeny picked up a pen and tapped it against his palm. "I believe reassigning Miss Andrews to be the best resolution then."

Jon was dumbstruck. He never considered that to be a possibility. He blinked several times trying to process what George was threatening to do. "You'd really do that to Shawn?"

"What does Mr. Hunter have to do with this?"

Jon shook his head and didn't try to mask his disappointment. "You know what he has to do with this. He's done really well since Audrey came along- in my class, in your class. Every teacher but Kat has said so. Think about that, George. Only one teacher has complained about him. And it's not because he's not turning work in or failing tests; it's stupid stuff. That improvement is because of Audrey; she's been a better parent to him than I have. You know his dad wasn't the only one who dumped him. His mom took off to. He lost both parents. He needs her. You reassign her, fine. But you get to tell Shawn about it and why."

The principal frowned as he mulled this over. "Alright, Jonathan. It would seem this is far more complicated than it initially appeared to be. I will look into the matter further and will investigate your claims against Miss Tompkins. My position on Shawn and Audrey has not changed."

"Neither has mine."

Mr. Feeny nodded. "That is all then, Jonathan. If I have misjudged you, I do apologize."

"Thank you." The teacher was quick to jump and exit the office. Just as he reached the door he heard:

"Oh, and Jonathan?"

"Yeah?"

"Miss Andrews will remain with you." The principal gave him a serious look. "For now."


Jon didn't tell Shawn what Mr. Feeny said right away, but he did sit down with him after school and discuss the meeting with him. His teacher assured him that everything was alright, and that Shawn didn't need to worry about anything. Unfortunately, worry is all he could do. Shawn lived with an intense fear that he, Jon, and Audrey would not make it to the end of May; that someone or something would come and take away all the good that had happened to him and all his hope for the future. This fear was so overwhelming that not only did Shawn start acting out per his typical ways, but he also started to have intense nightmares that lasted throughout the rest of March.

The worst of these dreams centered around his mother leaving him and his father. But rather than just leave as she actually did; dream Virna screamed her hatred of him in his face before telling dream Chet that if he wanted her back, he'd have to leave him behind. In some of these dreams, dream Chet left him immediately; other times he did not. When he did not dream Chet would mope around the house, drinking and taking his rage out on Shawn, reminding him all the while how worthless and unlovable he was. Eventually, this version of dream Chet would leave him too.

Then one night the dream didn't end with the dream Chet leaving. Instead, it morphed into something worse. This dream found Jon taking him in and Audrey coming to stay with them. Time quickly passed in this nightmare world and suddenly it was a year later. Now Audrey was leaving. This Audrey told Jon she couldn't stay with him anymore. When she was asked why, she looked at Shawn with a soulless glare and told him he was the most horrible, worthless kid she'd ever met and wanted nothing to do with him. She told Jon goodbye and left. Then, without so much as a look at him, this Jon ran after her promising to get rid of good-for-nothing the kid if she came back.

On the night Shawn had this dream, Audrey was awakened at one in the morning by a phone call that caller ID showed to be Jon's number. She was greeted by a hysterical cry.

"Shawn?"

"Mom, come home. Please come home." His cries were so sharp, so pained that she could barely understand him.

"Shawn, what's wrong?" Fear gripped her heart. She had no idea if something horrible had happened to him or Jon or both of them.

"I'm sorry, Mommy," he wailed incoherently. The voice was so frayed and fractured that it didn't sound like it could possibly be coming from Shawn. "I'm so sorry. I'll be good, Mommy. Please! Just come home! Please! I love you!"

Audrey was out of bed and dressing as fast as she could while still on the phone with him. Through the hysteria she could tell by his tone that he was not fully awake; perhaps he wasn't awake at all. "Shawn, I'm coming. I'm coming home as soon as I can."

Jon was awakened suddenly by the sound of sobbing and, for a moment, thought that Kat had gotten back into his place and was determined to haunt him even though she was still alive. It came as quite a shock to find that it was Shawn sobbing into the phone. Initially, he was terribly confused over who Shawn was talking to and thought that Virna had gotten a hold of his number and called the teen. It wasn't until he heard Audrey's voice on the other end of the line that he realized Shawn must have been dreaming and called Audrey in his sleep.

"Shawn," Audrey told him, the sound of her keys jingled in the background. "I'm coming home, but I have to hang up now, okay?"

Shawn sobbed harder. Jon took the phone from him and told Audrey that he was with the boy. After he hung up the phone, Jon put his arms around Shawn. Shawn melted into him but seemed disconnected at the same time. Shawn called him dad several times and apologized for something over and over. Jon tried to console him, to break through that haze that had engulfed him, but Shawn was lost. The fifteen-year-old was completely gone and Jon was left with the pieces of a broken child.

There was nothing anyone could do for Shawn at that moment, not even Audrey could make the pain go away when she joined them. All Jon could do was reiterate his promise that they would become a permanent family as soon he could get a hold of Chet to move forward with guardianship while they waited for Audrey's tenure at John Adams High to end.


Notes:

This has been a weird week. I've been struggling with the latest chapter of Autumn in Philadelphia because now I so desperately want to skip ahead to Book 3 and let Shawn and Jon explain why their estrangement lasted so long essentially because it caused someone a lot of heartache that Jon didn't adopt Shawn and I feel terrible about that. I know it's a story, but it still bothers me.

But I can't skip ahead. If I do, the story cohesion and suspense will be ruined. And I don't want to do that. There are only 5-6 chapters until Book 2 concludes.

I guess I'm just a bit lost right now. I do wonder how people react to these stories and AiP.

There is no comment too small. I'd love to hear from you.

Next update may be Thursday. Then back to the regular schedule. Thank you for reading. :-)