AN – sorry it's been a while since I updated!  More soon!

"So, Shawn, did Jess say what she was doing here?" Jon asked the next morning over breakfast, hoping he sounded nonchalant. 

Shawn glanced at Jonathan over his bowl of Ricies and, after some consideration, replied "Yeah, she said she was looking for work."

"Really now?"

"Yeah.  Oh, hey, maybe you could ask Feeny…" Shawn said, inspiration lighting up his face, a grin spreading from ear to ear.

"Yah think?" Jon's sarcasm was hard to miss.  He never would understand how Shawn could be a genius one minute and an utter moron the next.  Perhaps it was teenage boy syndrome.

Shawn shot the man a 'yeah, ok, it was kinda obvious' look, and picked up his empty bowl and placed it in the sink.

"So, how was your father yesterday?" Jon asked, quite serious now.  With all the talk about Jessica last night, and with Eli visiting, they'd hardly touched upon the subject of Chet Hunter.

"He was really good," Shawn said, nodding his head enthusiastically.  "I really think he's changed, Jon.  Not once did he raise his voice, and we had a great time.  Only one thing really bugged me, there was no apology.  I mean, didn't expect him to get down on his knees and beg for my forgiveness, but maybe just a little sorry would've shown he did regret what he'd done…  I don't know, perhaps he just wants to move on…"

Jon felt relieved, and then guilty for doing so.  Shawn obviously wasn't about to go running back to his father's place anytime soon.

"I don't know, Shawn.  I honestly don't.  Perhaps the two of you need to sit down and talk about that some time?" Jon suggested, trying not to take sides.

"Perhaps…"

"Test tomorrow people!  Study!" Jonathan announced as his class poured out the door.  He was fairly sure his words had been lost to student selective deafness – don't hear anything they don't want to.  "Matthews!"

Eric Matthews stopped in his tracks, cringed, and headed back through the door to room 218 and, beaming his most innocent smile, stopped in front of Turner's desk.

"Yes, Mr Turner?" he asked as innocently as he could.

"Where's your essay?" Jonathan asked, with a sigh.  This was the fourth day in a row Eric hadn't had his essay.

"Would you believe our dog ate it?" Eric said, quite seriously.

"Matthews, you don't have a dog," Tuner replied, rolling his eyes.

"I mean the neighbours dog," Eric hastily replied.  "Good old rover, he almost feels like one of the family."

"Eric, Mr Feeny is your neighbour, and he doesn't have a dog either.  Tomorrow or detention, and don't make me do that because detention is more painful for me than for you…"

"Alright," Eric admitted defeat, and sulked out of the door.  Jonathan watched him go, shaking his head in disbelief, until he caught sight of George Feeny walking down the stairs opposite the classroom door.  Leaping up from his desk, Jonathan bounded out the door to meet George at the bottom of the stairs.

"Jonathan, that was a little overly enthusiastic for a Monday morning – what do you want?" Despite the fact that George Feeny was well over a foot shorter than himself, Jon always felt vaguely intimidated by the man.

"Nothing really, George.  I was just wondering…"

"Hm?" George asked, knowing that anything that began with nothing really would probably involve a lot of work for himself.  George Feeny, although he loved teaching, was beginning to feel old age creeping up on him, and was not about to organise it a welcoming committee.

"Well, a friend of mine has just moved here from England, and is looking for teaching work…and I was just sort of wondering if there was anything available here?"

George considered this for a moment.  "And what exactly does he teach?"

"Uh, she's a math teacher…"

"She?  She is just a friend, Jonathan, because you know how I feel about relationships at work…"

Don't I just, Jonathan thought to himself.  Feeny had made that quite clear after Jonathan and Katherine Thompkins had split up and he'd had to clean up that mess.  But instead of listening to Feeny, Jonathan had then rushed into a relationship with Devon Collins, the guidance counsellor, and Feeny had to repeat the whole clean up over again.

"Yes, George," Jonathan said, resisting the urge to say something smart.  He probably deserved George's comments anyway, he thought.

"Well, have you got her CV?"

"Well, no.  I was just wondering…"

"Tell her to come and see me tomorrow at 10 am," and with that, George turned on his heels and continued his patrol of the corridors.

"So, how was your dad?" Cory inquired as Shawn slipped into the seat beside his in media arts.

"Great, Cor!  He is a totally different person.  I really think he learnt his lesson."

"Really?  That's so great," Cory said, and he meant it.  He really wanted his best friend to be happy.  However, like everyone else, Cory had his doubts.  After finding Shawn bleeding to death on the floor of his fathers trailer…. Well, it wasn't something Cory was soon going to forget.  Shawn didn't know, but Cory still had nightmares about it even now, a year later.

"And his new girlfriend, Jess, is so cool!  And Turner and Williams know her.  Turns out they met her on a trip they did to Europe a few years ago.  How weird is that?"

"Definitely strange," Cory replied, not paying that much attention.  Something else was on his mind.  "So, your dad, he's not drinking anymore?"

"Nope.  Not a bottle in sight.  Really, Cory, I think he's changed for the best."  Shawn was almost jumping out of his seat with enthusiasm.  Cory tried to warm to the idea, but something still didn't seem quite right. Was it possible that a man as far gone as Chet Hunter had bee had managed to turn over a new leaf in just a year.

"I hope your right, Shawn. I really do."