In Philadelphia, Audrey puts her nursing license to work taking care of Jon. Shawn and Topanga have a heart to heart while Cory reverts to his sixteen-year-old self. Maya fears she will never be able to fit into the tight-knit Matthews/Turner clan.
The RN assigned to Jon was in early to talk with Audrey and check on Jon. She was friendlier than the LPN from the night before and sympathetic to the situation Audrey was in. Audrey was able to ask the nurse questions and get answers without an attitude. While they were talking, the phlebotomist came by for another round of blood from Jon.
By the time the blood work was sent off to the lab, breakfast was brought in an hour too early. Audrey wasn't happy about it, but there was no point in sending it back. Jon, on the other hand, wasn't interested in food and didn't care about eating. He just wanted out of the hospital.
"Babe." Jon grabbed hold of her as she walked by and tugged at her hand.
Audrey looked at him worriedly. "What's wrong?"
"Can I get dressed?" he moaned. "I'm sick of bein' in this hospital gown thing."
"We should wait until the lab results come back, but," she glanced at the room door. "I don't see why not. You're leaving today, regardless."
Relief washed over his face. "Man, I am so glad you're really a nurse," he told her, kissing the back of her hand. "Have I told you that? 'Cause I really am."
She shook her head and smiled amusedly. It was hard not to laugh at his dramatics. "Do you want to shower first?"
Jon stared at her for a moment. An impish grin spread over his face. "I'm gonna need help with that. A lot of help."
She looked at him in surprise, then rolled her eyes when she saw the grin. "I think you'll be just fine on your own," she laughed and pulled her hand away from him.
And he was fine.
Once Jon was disconnected from the tubes and wiring, he was more himself. And he was doing remarkably better than the day before. While he was in the shower, Audrey pulled out her phone and opened the District email app.
The email from Katherine was still there.
Audrey rubbed her finger over her bottom lip, debating on whether she should tell Jon about it.
Later, she decided.
She wasn't about to let the offensive message sit there. Without thinking about it further, Audrey deleted the email and blocked Katherine's address. If she wanted to contact Jon about personal matters, she could do it through her school email and let it be logged in the system on both Jon's end and hers.
Tossing her phone into her purse, Audrey stood and stretched as much as she could. She walked over to the bathroom door and knocked on it.
"Jonny, you doing okay?"
He couldn't say no and that he desperately needed her help without laughing. Audrey ignored him and went to check on his breakfast. Although she wasn't in the mood to indulge his flirtatious joking, she was very happy to hear it.
It meant he really was feeling better, and that meant she was feeling better.
The eggs, pancake, and seasonal fruit medley that was brought in earlier was now hospital room cold. Audrey stepped into the hallway to speak to a dietary aide, who very sweetly offered to heat it up for her.
Jon was out of the shower and getting dressed when she came back into the room. This once simple task drained him, and he was back in bed with his eyes closed as soon as he had his jeans on.
"Can we leave yet?" he asked when he felt her sit next to him. He didn't bother to open his eyes.
"Not yet, my love," she told him, running her hands through his damp hair. She stood up and retrieved a towel from the bathroom.
"Breakfast will be back soon," she told him when she returned. "Carl went to heat it up for you." Audrey gently prodded him to get up and directed him to a chair by the bed so she could dry his hair. He was bordering on exhaustion; she could tell by the way he leaned back to rest his head against her, falling asleep before she could even begin to massage his scalp.
She placed the towel behind his head and lovingly ran it over his hair in soft, rhythmic swirls. As the moisture evaporated, his hair started to curl around his ears, forehead, and the nape of his neck.
She loved his curly hair and missed it so much.
It was a silly thing, perhaps, but it was one of his features that captured her attention when they first met. In a decade that favored straight, short hair parted down the middle, she adored the spiral of the locks that brushed the top of his shoulders.
Typically, he wore the front much shorter than the back and held it off his face with gel. After they were married, she discovered he only wore his hair this way when he went out. At home, he let it go, tousled and styling product-free. Unbridled the curls stood out in a thick halo around his head and fell across his brow, softening his features and making him look much younger. She adored his hair this way. It was so soft and shiny that she had trouble keeping her hands out of it.
It broke her heart the day he cut it.
It wasn't just the length that was lost. The curls went away too. He insisted on blow drying his hair, something he had never done before. With the heat and the brush, it simply stopped forming ringlets, and was forever caught between waves.
By the late 90s, his hair, too, was styled in the mid-part trend. Over the years, it became shorter and shorter with more and more product weighing it down.
Audrey stopped running her fingers through it.
Tossing the towel onto the bed, she swept her fingers through the still damp tresses. Jon smiled drowsily and sank further against her, tipping his chin up towards her as he did. She took a finger and gently wound a lock of hair around it. Carefully, she removed her finger and did the same thing all over his head to encourage the curls to come back and stay.
When she finished his hair, she shifted in discomfort: her lower back ached, as did her feet. She needed to sit down, but she didn't want to stop taking care of him just yet. She briefly left to retrieve a few items from the bathroom and an overnight bag she brought for him.
Pulling the bedside tray over to her, she set up a little grooming station for him with all of his shaving supplies. She had gained an unwanted level of expertise with her husband's daily shaving habits after his motorcycle accident, as it was one of the many things he couldn't do for himself for months afterwards. It was an expertise she maintained over the years. Jon had a penchant for her being his barber, and she would indulge him when she could.
Jon was picky about his beard, or lack of one. He preferred to be clean-shaven, and she preferred it as well. He grew a beard one year when Julia was a toddler to see what it was like. They both hated it and from then on, he rarely had more than a day's worth of stubble. He was also picky about what he shaved with, being one of the few men Audrey knew who preferred an electric razor over a manual one.
She set up the hefty Panasonic electric shaver she'd bought him for Christmas; it was the very best model of 2014 with a price tag to boast. She dipped a washcloth in the heated water, rang it out, and put it over his face. Lightly, she pressed it into his skin, then held it in place. Once it began to cool, she removed it, put it in the water, and back on his face again. After she was done with the rag, she took the razor, checked it over, and turned it on. Gently, she pulled his skin taut and began to stroke the razor against the direction of his beard growth.
Several times, she had to tap his cheek to remind him not to smile or to kiss her fingers.
He did anyway.
When she finished, she set the razor in its cleaning station. Dipping the washcloth in the cooled water, she affectionately wrapped it around his face again, then she left him briefly to get the towel she had near the heater. The heat of the towel made him drowsier, and he sighed happily.
Audrey removed the towel and as she went to exchange it for his aftershave, he caught her hand and pressed her wrist to his mouth. She smiled dreamily and slid her hand away from him, letting her fingertips graze his lips.
The aftershave was Hugo Boss like his cologne. She splashed a generous amount in her hands and intentionally let some drop onto her shirt so she would smell like him when she had to leave his side.
As she pressed her palms over his face and neck, her gaze swept over his face. Over the years, the lines, both smile and frown, had deepened just as her love for him had deepened. A surge of affection washed over her. She traced the lines of his face with her lips, laying feather light kisses all over. Cupping his face in her hands, she leaned over as much as their child would allow and kissed his mouth.
Her hair fell over her shoulders and surrounded them both. She could feel him smile until his teeth were against her lips.
"Spiderman kiss," he said in a deep growl, slipping a hand behind her head. "My favorite."
Audrey couldn't help but chuckle at this. "I really can't take you anywhere, can I? Not even a hospital."
He grinned lazily. His eyes closed involuntarily, and his breathing began to deepen as he struggled to stay awake.
"C'mon, you," she softly teased and helped him back to bed. His hair was fully dry now, she noticed, and the curls were holding their ground.
She let him sleep until breakfast returned some forty-five minutes later. Carl was kind enough to bring her and "the baby" something, too. As they ate, Jon regarded her seriously and asked, "Did Angelo stay at the house last night?"
"He did," she nodded, picking at her less-than-fresh fruit. "I couldn't stand the thought of Shawn and the girls being alone, given the circumstances."
Jon didn't say anything. He made a face at the tasteless pancakes and asked for more syrup.
Audrey handed the watery topping to him. "Angelo said he's been following the family."
A frown crossed his face. "He's the man in black and ashes, I take it."
Her eyes went wide in surprise. "You saw him. When?"
Jon paused his chewing. He had forgotten he hadn't told her about seeing Angelo or where he'd seen him.
"Yeah. I saw him." He fell silent, studying his food intently.
"Jon?"
He glanced up at her uneasily. "Saw him outside of a restaurant in Chinatown the night I met with Jorgenson and Devon."
Audrey frowned. "When were you in Chinatown without us?"
He sighed and pushed the table with the food tray on it away. With a deep breath, he told her about the strange restaurant and what happened there.
To say Audrey was unhappy over being in the dark about his clandestine meeting was an understatement. "You should have told me you were going there."
"Yeah, I know." He had no excuse why he didn't to offer her.
"Is there anything else you want to tell me?" Irritation glinted in her eyes. "Like what happened right before you collapsed?"
Jon pursed his lips. He didn't want to tell her, but he had little choice. She needed to know in case something else happened or someone else from his past showed up.
"Yancy knows," he said simply.
Audrey's mouth fell slightly open as worry danced over her face. "Yancy knows what?"
"Everythin'." He let his hands fall into his lap. "Somehow he knows everythin' that happened when I was a kid."
"You mean…?"
He nodded somberly.
"Oh," she breathed, putting her fingertips over her lips. "Oh. That's not good."
"No," he sighed. "It's not." Jon reached out for her. Dread filled his eyes. Gripping her hand tightly he said, "He's goin' public after spring break."
"What?!"
Jon let go of her and stared silently at the wall in front of him, defeated.
Audrey's mind raced as she tried to process what Jon told her. Simultaneously, her mind tried to come up with some solution to counteract what Yancy was planning to do to him.
"Why?" she demanded. She couldn't contain her frustration at the absurd situation any longer and slammed her fist onto the bedside table, making the leftover breakfast jump out of its Styrofoam container.
"Revenge, apparently."
"Revenge?" This baffled her. "For what?"
Jon shrugged weakly. "For outtin' him and Sorrell. Claims I destroyed his career. I dunno, Aud. The guy was always a little unhinged, but, man, has he gotten a lot worse."
"So he's going to expose something that happened when you were fifteen?" She stood up abruptly and began to pace. "That's ridiculous! You were only convicted because of the pressure being put on the police and courts to hold someone responsible. They let you take the blame because of your age, because it wouldn't follow you. Your records were expunged. What happened then shouldn't matter now!"
"You know it does, Aud. Especially here. Especially with my reputation." He pulled his knees up to his chest. "This gets out, I'm done. That's all there is to it."
Audrey stared at him, unsure of how to react. Despair and fear slammed into her, and she put her hand to her forehead as though she could calm her raging thoughts this way. Yancy's grudge against Jon made no sense to her. There had to be a way around what he was planning to do.
Some way to stop it.
Somehow.
Jon put his hands over his face and sat so still Audrey worried he wasn't breathing. She rushed to his side and sat as close to him as she could. She wrapped her fingers around his wrists and slid his hands away from his face.
"We'll figure something out, Jonny, I promise."
"Yeah," he replied lifelessly. "Sure."
She held his hands close to her heart. "Angelo knows something about what's going on."
Jon looked at her sharply. "Why do you say that?"
"He knew something was going on long before you found out. That's why he was following us. That's why he was at the office when you collapsed."
She frowned and added, "And he knows a lot more that he's telling me."
He grimaced and moved his hands away. "Was it a good idea to let him stay with the kids, then?"
She nodded. "He's repentant for something. This is his way of making it up to us."
Jon shook his head in exasperation. "I wonder what he's done this time?"
"I don't know," she sighed. "He is two weeks sober. I checked with Mountainside Treatment Center to make sure he was telling me the truth. They've confirmed that he is in the program and has been doing well."
"He told me he was still usin'."
Audrey stared at him and he realized he'd unintentionally left out Angelo and the missing file. She grilled him quite a bit to make sure he wasn't leaving anything else out.
"I don't know why Angelo told you he was using," she sighed, putting a hand to her head. "Maybe he thought you wouldn't believe him if he said he wasn't. But the treatment center said two weeks."
"Only two weeks?" Jon shook his head fervently, unhappy with this news. "Aud, it's a month clean, at the very least. You know that."
"I don't have two more weeks," she retorted. "And neither do you."
Jon ran his hand over his chin. "Yeah, I know. I just don't like him bein' around the kids."
"Shawn's our kid, but he's not a kid," she reminded him. "He knows about Angelo's history. He'll take care of the girls."
"I don't doubt that," Jon murmured.
Audrey took his hand and placed it on the area where was the baby was active. The television screen changing to a news report caught her eye as the time flashed across the screen.
"Speaking of Shawn," she said looking back at him. "He and the kids should be here soon."
"Thank God," Jon sighed. "I can't wait to get outta here."
"Jonny?"
"Hmm?"
"When we get to Philly," she moved his hand to follow the kicks, "You have to rest and to get healthy again. No matter what Yancy plans to do."
He opened one eye and looked at her with a slightly raised brow.
"If you don't," she held his hand against her as she leaned over and hover her lips close to his ear. "I'll have you admitted to Temple University Hospital, and I won't sign for your release until you are one hundred percent well. No matter how long it takes."
Tired as he was, he couldn't help but give her a smirk. "Try it, babe. I can sign myself out, you know."
Audrey pulled back from him, rested her arms on the baby, and arched a brow.
"Wanna bet?"
A scuffle broke out as soon as the Yukon's emergency brake was engaged. All the kids wanted to go with Shawn to see their father, and it took quite a bit of convincing to get them to stay put. Maya, who very much wanted to go with him, offered to remain with the younger children so Julia could go with him to retrieve their parents as quickly as possible.
Julia was quiet as they entered the hospital, but seemed to be in good spirits. However, the way she clutched so tightly to his hand told Shawn she was not as confident as she appeared. He squeezed her hand several times in quick succession and gave her a reassuring smile when she looked at him.
The ICU was quiet. There were few people on the floor, so Shawn and Julia were able to slip in unnoticed after the doors were opened for them. Julia left him to scurry into Jon's room as soon as he slid the door open enough for her to get in.
Jon was sitting on the bed ready to go, fully dressed. When Shawn saw him, he froze at the door for a moment, surprised by what he was wearing: light wash jeans that looked to be vintage 90s and a black sweater with a wide horizontal red stripe through its center paired with black cowboy boots.
This was a common outfit for Jon in 1995.
Seeing these clothes in 2015 caused quite a bit of cognitive dissonance for Shawn. Not only were the clothes out of place, but they were much too big now. The sweater was over-sized, as was the style, but it was still obvious that Jon spent a great deal of time at the gym back then. The jeans had once been fitted. Those clothes on such a thin figure sent a shiver of worry and fear down his spine.
"What's up?" he asked when Audrey came over to greet him. He pointed to Jon.
"The clothes?"
He nodded.
"They fit better than most of what he has," she said with a shrug.
Shawn arched an eyebrow, knowing there was more to it.
"I love that sweater," she admitted with a small smile, then sighed. "And this will probably be the last time I can ever get him to wear it."
He smiled and put an arm around her. "I feel better knowin' I'm not the only one who has trouble lettin' go of the past."
"There are some parts of the past I don't want to let go, Shawn," she admitted, resting her head against his shoulder. "There are some parts I wish I could go back to and never leave."
"I know that feelin'," Shawn replied looking down at her. She was tired and anxious. Audrey leaned against him gnawing at the very tip of her thumbnail, something he'd never seen her do before. He wrapped his other arm around her and kissed her forehead. "How much longer before we can leave?"
"We can leave now," Jon remarked grumpily from the bed. Julia was trying to stop him from getting up. "There's no reason to stay."
"You have to be officially discharged," Audrey sighed. She let go of Shawn to go over to her husband.
"You can't release me?" At the look of disbelief over the question, he added, "What's the point of that license, then?"
Audrey swatted at him and rolled her eyes. Glancing at the clock on the wall, she told Shawn on her way out, "You can deal with him while I talk to Regina."
Shawn nodded, turned to Jon, and asked, "Who's Regina?"
"The head nurse," Jon told him. "Your mom has made best friends with her."
"I guess that shouldn't be a surprise. Nurses seem to either love her or hate her," he said. "How are you feelin'?"
Jon wrinkled his nose and shrugged. "Tired and cranky. You?"
"I'm okay. Just ready to be on the road."
"Listen," Jon dropped his voice to a whisper and leaned forward as far as Julia would allow him, "if they try to detain me, I want you two to get the little kids and let them loose. That'll get us out of here faster than your mom."
Julia snorted with laughter and hugged her father's arm tightly. Shawn grinned and shook his head. Jon's sarcastic humor on full display was further reassurance that he was alright.
"So," he asked with a twinkle in his eye. "Did Mom behave herself last night?"
Jon leaned back slightly. "No one called the cops on her that I'm aware of."
Shawn laughed as he put his hands in his pockets. When he looked up, Jon was no longer smiling, but watching him with a serious expression.
"How'd things go with Angelo last night?"
"As far as I know, fine."
Before he could elaborate, Julia piped up with, "We slept in the family room and Shawn parked himself in front of the door. Maya and me tripped over him every time we had to go to the bathroom."
Jon gave him a quizzical look.
"I wasn't sure what I was dealin' with," he said. "I didn't know if I could trust him."
"You did the right thing, kid."
The look of approval on Jon's face made Shawn pleased that he followed his instinct.
"Okay," Audrey said walking back into the room. "Everything is ready to go. Transport will be here in a few minutes."
"Transport?"
"A nurse is bringing a wheelchair," she murmured as she looked over the paperwork she had been given.
"I don't need a wheelchair," Jon replied grumpily. "I can walk."
Audrey shot him a withering look. "You passed out not 24 hours ago. Wheelchair it is."
Jon scowled at her and muttered something about the nursing license. When transport came, he had given up on walking out on his own accord and let himself be wheeled out.
The Yukon was waiting at patient pickup. Tom jumped out to let Audrey take over the driver's seat while Shawn and Julia helped Jon into the front passenger side. Shawn shut the door and opened the back for his sister.
"Hey," he said, catching her elbow. "Mom's pretty tired."
"I know." Julia shot their parents a worried look.
"Any chance you got your learner's permit to take over drivin' if Mom needs you to?"
Julia's eyes clouded up as she shook her head. "Daddy taught driver's ed when I was little and was gonna teach me instead of me takin' it at school. We started over the summer, but nothin' since school started. There's still some classroom stuff I need to finish before I can get my permit."
"Oh," he said with a frown. He ran his hand over his beard and shot a worried glance in Audrey's direction. "Let's hope Mom can make it to Philly."
Audrey drove the family over to the area where the Harley was parked. There she got out and rearranged the little kids to minimize fighting and made sure everyone had something to keep them occupied. While she was doing this, Shawn caught Jon wistfully looking at the motorcycle.
"Whatcha thinkin' about, Dad?" he asked as he walked up alongside the passenger's door. Jon had the window rolled down, leaning partially out to getter a better look at his beloved vehicle.
"Not much," he said, not taking his eyes off the bike. "Just admirin' her,"
He heard Jon reference the bike in feminine pronouns, triggering a memory of the first time he'd heard them applied to the Harley. To him, Harley was big, older, and intimidating. But to Jon, Harley was the love of his life until Audrey came along.
"You miss it, huh?"
"You've no idea," Jon admitted with a small smile. "I had big plans for that bike."
"Oh?"
A sadness clouded his eyes. "When you were a kid, I had this crazy dream that when you were old enough, I'd get you your own bike. Maybe not a Heritage Softail but somethin' more like a Softail Slim. You know, somethin' a little easier to handle. Then Aud could take the back seat with me and the three of us could ride together."
Shawn smiled allowing himself to think back to his own plans for the Harley during that time. He had to chuckle at his younger self. "I'm embarrassed to admit how much time I spent tryin' to come up with a way for the three of us to ride that one together. Another bike never occurred to me."
"What did?"
"Some really dangerous ways for Mom and me to balance on the back."
Jon laughed. "I don't even wanna know." He looked back at the bike, then said, "Eli suggested a sidecar."
Shawn made a face. "For who?"
"I dunno," he grinned, "Cause I couldn't imagine either you or your mom gettin' in one and I couldn't stand the thought of something like that attached to my bike. Too dorky lookin'."
Shawn shook his head at the thought. He couldn't imagine a sidecar either.
After Tom and Annette transferred their things over to their car, they came over to Jon to say goodbye. Audrey got back in the driver's seat and adjusted the attachment on the seatbelt to protect her and the baby. Before they left, she texted Amy to let them know they were on their way.
While she did this, Shawn got on the Harley and fired it up. He took a moment to let Cory know that their two-hour trek back to Philadelphia had begun.
"You guys! Be careful!" Amy cried as she watched Cory and Josh attempt to maneuver two mattresses down the basement stairs at the same time. Josh, who wasn't paying attention to where he was guiding the heavy beds, let Cory ram an edge into the wall rather than steering it to the center of the landing.
"Don't put a hole in my wall again!"
"I don't think a couple of mattresses can do that, Mom." Josh rolled his eyes as Cory laughed. He squinted accusatorily at his brother. "Besides, we put the futon through the wall when I was thirteen because you threw it down the stairs."
"I did not," Cory protested. "You told me I was clear of the wall."
"And you listened. Why would you listen to a thirteen-year-old who never pays attention to anything?"
Amy, unable to trust her sons not to damage the walls, followed the now bickering brothers down to the basement. She stood on the last landing and surveyed the room. Audrey texted about half an hour before to let her know they were leaving the hospital. With less than two hours before the Turners arrived, the basement was nowhere near ready for guests.
"You guys!" Alan snapped as he was hit from behind with the mattresses. "Watch where you're going, would you?"
"Sorry, Dad," the brothers apologized in unison.
"Why are you standing in the middle of the room with those things? Put them down where they belong."
Josh dropped his end and walked off. Cory shot him a dirty look and dropped his end, too. Alan gave them both an annoyed looked before going back to the bunk bed frames he was putting together.
Amy stepped into the basement and prevented Josh from leaving. "I still need your help."
Josh pretended to be put out. "What'd ya need, Mom?"
"You and Cory take those mattresses to the far corner where the bed frame is and set them up, please. Where they belong."
Topanga and Morgan came down the stairs loaded down with bedding and pillows. With everyone working on their assigned tasks, the large basement began to look like a small living room/bedroom apartment in a short amount of time.
After Alan finished the bunk beds, he went upstairs to wait for Audrey's call that they'd made it to Northeastern Hospital. Amy eventually went with him to double check that everything was done that needed to be done.
Topanga watched Cory out of the corner of her eye as she and Morgan made the beds. He seemed much happier than she'd seen him in a long time. As much as it made her happy to see him laughing and joking with his siblings, it also concerned her. Since they'd come back to Philadelphia, Cory refused to acknowledge that anything was wrong back home and would shut down if the situation at his school was brought up.
It had been up to her to tell his parents what was going on. Cory was the one who should have told them, as he was the only one who could answer the questions they had. But instead he left her to it, preferring to believe he'd never left Philadelphia for New York and that they were not professionals with children.
Or even married.
She sincerely hoped that she wouldn't have to tell Jon what was going on with his son, too. Shawn may not revert to his teenager self the way her husband had, but his insistence on handling dangerous situations on his own was almost worse on her nerves.
"Hey, big sis."
Topanga smiled at the name and looked across the bed at Morgan.
"What's up, lil sis?"
"Do the closets need to be put up for Uncle Jon and Aunt Audrey?"
"Yeah, and the canvas dressers- which Josh should be doing."
"He's not. He got the little kids' dressers done and bailed. He and Cory also forgot to put the privacy curtain up."
Topanga rolled her eyes and sat on the bed. Or tried to. She was short but didn't usually have to climb onto beds.
"What did they do to this?" she asked in exasperation and slid off. "Look how high they have this jacked up! Audrey's never going to be able to get in and out of bed."
She took off upstairs to find the brothers. When she came back with them, she had a large u-shaped pillow with her.
"What's that?" Morgan asked while her brothers fussed at each other over who's fault the bed height was.
"My old pregnancy pillow," Topanga said as she ran her hand fondly over the material. "I brought it with me the first time we visited your parents after Auggie was born. I forgot to take it back."
Morgan looked amused. "Mom kept it for six years?"
"I think she's hoping it'll be used again," Topanga laughed. "I want it here in case Audrey forgot hers. She'll need it."
"The new cousin will be here soon," Morgan said. Her eyes lit up at the thought. She may not have had an interest in having children herself, but she did love all of her cousins and niece and nephew; being around them brought her a lot of joy.
"Yep. We'll see if this last one sticks to tradition and arrives late or breaks the mold and arrives on time."
Just as she finished saying this, a crash was heard very close by, causing the women to jump.
"Sorry!" Josh called. He stood on a ladder with a sheepish look. He was supposed to be helping Cory mount a pole that curtains would be hung on to give Jon and Audrey some privacy from the rest of the room. One end of the pole lay on the floor near Topanga's feet, while Cory was barely hanging onto the other end.
Topanga shook her head and picked the rod up. The men managed to get it up without further issue only to realize that they hadn't put the curtains on it.
"Never mind." Topanga shooed Josh away and helped Cory redo the rod with the curtains on it.
Josh watched them while tossing a stuffed bear his parents bought for Bella in the air. "So how are things gonna work when Uncle Jon and Aunt Audrey get here? Is Uncle Jon even coming tonight?"
"It depends," Topanga told him. "He's got to check into Northeastern first. If he's cleared, then he will be here tonight."
"Well," Josh sighed catching the bear and tucking it under his arm like a football, "there's a lesson to be learned in all this."
Cory and Topanga exchanged confused looks.
"There is?" Cory asked.
"Yeah. Don't become a superintendent," he said with a pointed look at his brother.
"Don't worry about that," Cory responded making a face. "I don't wanna be a teacher anymore. I think I'm gonna change majors."
Josh glanced at his sister-in-law. "I always thought you chose the wrong profession."
"You did?" Cory cocked his head to the side and regarded his brother with curiosity.
"Yeah, I thought you'd be a journalist or something like that."
"Me, too," he said with a small smile. "Life's funny like that."
"Life's funny?" Josh said with a smirk. He gave the bear another toss. "Or you're just wrong about everything?"
"Wrong?" Cory snorted. "What have I been wrong about?"
"Oh, I dunno. Like I'm gonna learn something every day from the world, which I can confidently say I have not; I go many days without learning anything," he replied proudly. "You also said I'm gonna make good friends and they're only so-so. You said Mr. Feeny'll teach me every grade, and he retired before I even made it to kindergarten. You said I'll meet a woman like Topanga. Hasn't happened."
Cory rolled his eyes. "Well, I was right about you making mistakes and family being there to help you out."
"You got two things right. Big deal."
"Oh, really? Just two?" He walked up to Josh until he was nose to nose with his grinning brother. "I still musta made a big impact 'cause you remember what I said."
"Don't kid yourself, brother. I wouldn't remember anything you said if Dad hadn't told me. I wouldn't even remember you guys leaving for the City."
Cory shook his head and gave him a knowing look. "You remember."
"I was a baby," Josh said, tossing the bear onto the lower bunk. "I don't."
"You were three."
"I shouldn't have been!"
Topanga laughed at the argument. She let them go on for a while longer before grabbing Cory by the arm. Morgan grabbed Josh and forced him upstairs. Cory put his arm around his wife and led her over to the bunk beds, where he abruptly sat down, pulling her with him.
At the look on his face, she reminded him, "These are for Grayson and Jamie, not you and Shawn."
Cory pushed his bottom lip out into a pout. "Where are we sleeping, then?"
"In your old bedroom."
"Where are the kids sleeping?"
"With us."
Cory looked at her with a frown. "Who's us?"
"You and me," Topanga looked at him like he was out of his mind.
"Where's Shawn sleeping?"
She struggled not to roll her eyes. "Down here."
"Why are the kids sleeping with us?"
"Because it's a larger room and with Eric coming next week, space is kind of tight." Since they'd been back, Cory was often in playful moods and Topanga was struggling to tell when he was playing and when he was being serious.
Cory looked alarmed. "We aren't going to have to share with him too, are we?"
"No. Morgan's going to move to the basement when he gets here. He'll take her room."
"Why can't I stay in the basement?"
"Why would you?"
"Well, it's more fun down there."
"Thanks a lot!" she exclaimed, smacking his arm.
He smiled and leaned his head against her shoulder. Topanga reminded herself that he was under immense stress and let his comments go, opting to rest her head against his.
"What's wrong?" she asked.
"Shawn wants to walk through everything that happened after Audrey was taken away."
"I know."
"Things were good back then, Topi," he said as he began to drift back to reality. His voice cracked with anxiety.
"Things are good now," she whispered, caressing his hand. "We've just hit a bump, that's all. We will get things in the District resolved, Cory."
He didn't hear her. "I didn't understand how good things were back then."
"None of us did, honey."
"I wanna go back, Topanga." Cory stared at the space in front of them. "And I wanna stay."
Topanga bit her lip and tightened her grip on his hand. "I wanna go back, too, Cory. To help our family. But I can't stay there, and neither can you or Shawn. None of us can. That's the point- we go back so we can go forward. All of us. Together."
Cory said nothing and fear consumed Topanga. "I need you, Cory. I can't do this without you. You're as important to me as Shawn is to you."
At this, Cory lifted his head and looked at her in confusion. "Topanga," he said seriously, reaching out to tuck a loose lock of hair behind her ear. "I know we joke a lot about Shawn and me, but you're every bit as important as he is."
Through tears, she smiled. "I know I am. I just need to hear it every once in a while."
Cory was at a loss for words. He pulled her into a hug and held her close, breathing in her hair and letting it tickle his nose. "I love you, Topanga. And I'll love you more every day we're together."
She pulled back from him slightly and nodded as she ran her hand down his cheek. Just as she was about to kiss him, Morgan's voice rang out from upstairs:
"Guys! Mom wants help with the food. Like now!"
In the background, they could hear Josh being scolded for getting into dinner early.
Cory let his head hang as he laughed. He stood up and offered Topanga his hand. She accepted with a teary smile and followed him upstairs.
Shawn arrived at the Matthews well ahead of the rest of his family. He entered through the back door as per usual and found the upstairs strangely deserted. A loud cacophony of voices shook the floor, although he couldn't quite tell what direction the noise was coming from. He took off Jon's gloves and put them in his pockets. Then he removed his jacket and tossed it over the back of a kitchen chair.
As he entered the living room, Cory and Topanga were coming up the stairs. Topanga gave him a welcoming smile, but he could see the remains of tears in her eyes.
"Shawnie!" Cory ran to embrace him like he hadn't seen him in years.
"Cor!" he cried, jumping on him with equal enthusiasm.
Behind them, Topanga rolled her eyes as she always did, but she was smiling.
"Where is everyone?"
"They were downstairs," Cory told him, not letting go of his arms, "but Mom has a bunch of stuff for dinner out in the garage refrigerators that needs to come in. Everyone is supposed to be helping her."
"Shouldn't we be helpin' too?" Shawn asked.
Cory waved the question off, too excited to think about eating. "Don't you wanna see where you guys are staying?"
"But your mom…?"
"I'll help her," Topanga told them giving Shawn a kiss on the cheek. "You two, go."
Shawn thanked her and followed Cory to the basement. He was surprised by the change. The basement was a space that was used solely for storage when they were growing up. After Riley was born, Alan and Amy had it cleared out so that there would be enough sleeping and living areas for extended visits with the grandkids and holidays when everyone came home. When there were no extra people in the house, part of it was a sports cave/movie theater, while the other half was Amy's office and hobby space.
There was no trace of sports or hobbies in the area now. Instead, it looked like a small apartment. Where Amy's office tables were, there sat a coffeemaker, microwave, and mini fridge. In the center of the room was a couch facing the TV entertainment center, with a coffee table between them. There were three areas sectioned off: two with room dividers and one with curtains.
"Your parents are gonna sleep there," Cory said enthusiastically pointing at the drapes. He nodded to the room dividers with parrots on them. "The girls will be over there. You'll be next to them. And your brothers get the bunks." He looked crestfallen. "Not us."
Shawn bowed his head a bit and gave his friend a smile and a side eye. "There's no room for Topanga to sleep with you if we did. You'd really sleep on the bunks without her?"
Cory pushed out his bottom lip, then said very seriously. "Mom isn't a fan of us sleeping together while we're here."
"What are you talkin' about?" he asked with a confused look.
"You know how parents are."
"I know how some parents are, but not yours. Not after all these years." Shawn ran a hand through his hair as he tried to understand what Cory was talking about. "Where's Topanga sleepin'?"
"In my old room."
"And you're sleepin'…?" he prodded. He couldn't imagine Cory's parents relegating them to different rooms.
"In my old room, too. But Mom and Dad aren't happy about it."
"Why?"
Cory gave him a funny look. "You know they're old-fashioned about things like me sharing a bed with my girlfriend."
"Wife," Shawn corrected him looking for signs that he was joking.
"Who is?" Cory was genuinely perplexed as he turned towards his best friend.
"Topanga." He put his hand on the other man's shoulder. "Cory, you're scarin' me."
"Oh," Cory responded as though he didn't understand Shawn's worry. He blinked. "Right."
"You do know you're married?"
"Sure."
Cory was as serious as Shawn had ever seen him. "Cor, you've been married since 1999. It's now 2015."
Cory stared at him.
"Like you and Topanga were married two years after my parents." Shawn stared back at him. He knew Cory so well that he couldn't hide anything from him.
Cory was not joking.
Not at all.
The warm, acidic churning of a nauseated stomach crept into his throat as he realized his best friend was far more broken than he understood.
"We're getting married, Shawn. Don't worry about that," Cory finally said, ardently clapping a hand on his shoulder. "And you'll be my best man, no matter what Eric says."
"Oh, let's not relive that," Shawn muttered under his breath. He straightened up and said, "Maybe we should go help your mom."
Cory brightened at this. "Yeah, then we can go hang out at Chubbie's."
"Sure," he said uncertainly. He wasn't sure what to make of Cory's personality shift.
He needed to talk to Topanga.
Shawn helped Amy wrangle the kids as they worked to get an early dinner ready by the time Jon and Audrey made it in. The kids he was dealing with were Riley, Auggie, Josh, and Morgan.
Josh and Morgan's dynamic was strange to Shawn and reminded him how little he knew them. The last time he was around them, Josh was just a baby and Morgan was only 13. He saw them at Christmas, but with everything that was going on and his general discomfort with being back in the City, he did not interact with them.
He did not know how much they bickered and "fought" like Riley and Auggie. Somehow the childish arguing hit much differently than that of siblings who were actually still children.
He was more than a little annoyed by the squabbling.
Topanga saw the face he was making as Josh and Morgan surrounded him, demanding that he take sides in whatever it was they were fighting about. She couldn't help but smile. Her brother-in-law and sister-in-law enjoyed arguing for the sake of arguing as much as she, Shawn, and Cory once did over a game of Uno.
"Need help, blink twice," she told him teasingly.
Immediately, Shawn blinked twice.
With a grin, Topanga rescued him from the siblings and led him into the living room. It was quiet for the time being as the younger kids, invigorated by the nippy spring air, were in the back playing in the old tree house.
"Let's talk, Shawnie," she said settling down on the sofa.
Shawn paused. It had been a very long time since they had talked face to face without Cory. Those conversations didn't usually end as well as they should have. He sat down beside her, turning slightly to see her better.
"How are you, Shawn?" she asked, resting her arm on the back of the sofa.
"Me?" He shrugged and leaned forward to rest his elbows on his knees. "Runnin' on adrenaline right now. I think I'm gonna crash big time tonight."
She nodded as she thoughtfully ran her finger over her bottom lip.
"What?" he asked, recognizing the look.
Topanga regarded him with wide, worried eyes. She shook her head slightly. "I don't know. It's hard to put into words what I'm thinking. I'm just worried about everything that's going on. Cory's not doing well and now this with Jon." She pressed her fingers to her lips and fell silent.
Shawn held his hands out then clapped them together, no surer of what to say that she was.
"How bad is this, Shawn?"
"You mean what happened to Dad?"
"Yeah."
"He is gonna be fine," he told her confidently. "Mom wouldn't let him come if he wasn't. She's too afraid of something happening to risk him. I'm not worried about his health as much as I was."
She nodded, but she wasn't reassured. Shawn watched her anxiously twist the engagement ring on her finger.
"It's Cory I'm concerned about," he admitted quietly.
Topanga looked at him sharply. "Why?"
"While we were downstairs, he called you his girlfriend and promised me I'd be his best man when you guys get married. He wants to hang out at Chubbie's."
Worried tears clouded her vision. Topanga put her hand over her eyes for a moment before saying, "It's like he can't cope with what's going on at school, so he's gone back to being sixteen. He's fine with the kids and they think he's playing a game because we're at the grandparents' house, but Shawn, I feel like I'm slowly losing him."
Shawn reached out and took her hand. Without warning, Topanga leaned into him and wrapped her arms around his waist. They sat together, hugging each other for several minutes before a memory from college drifted in front of his eyes.
"We better be careful," he said with a bemused smile. "Thirty-three-year-old Cory wouldn't freak out over finding us like this, but sixteen-year-old Cory? It'll be worse than the undapants."
Undapants!
This caused Topanga to burst out laughing through her tears. Cory's unreasonable jealousy over a college video that had her and Shawn share a kiss was suddenly endearing and made her miss him terribly.
"I want him back, Shawn," she told him, hugging him tighter. "I want my Cory back. I'm ready for him to quit this stupid job. It's not worth it. We could manage just fine without his paycheck. He could manage the bakery or something. I don't care what he does. I just want him out."
Shawn pressed his lips together, trying not to sigh. "You sound a lot like Mom," he said, gently smoothing her hair. "We'll fix this, Topanga, somehow."
He paused, then said, "Maya has video of what's been goin' on in Cory's class."
"She does?" Topanga looked both disturbed and hopeful.
"She and Farkle have been recording their classes."
"Riley didn't say anything about that."
"I don't know about Riley, but I have the videos that Maya and Farkle took. Julia and Dre have videos, too, from their school. I'm backing them up everywhere I can think of. And I'm makin' you copies, too."
Topanga lifted her head. "You have to tell Jon what's been going on."
"Yeah, I know." This was not an argument he wanted to get into at the moment. "But things are more complicated than before."
"How?"
"You know Yancy?"
"Cory's old principal? Yeah."
"He met with Dad before he collapsed," he told her. "I don't know what he said, but it was bad."
"Great," she mumbled under her breath. She stuck a fingernail in her mouth and chewed on it. "Yancy is a problem and always has been. He's such a weasel."
"I know we have to tell Dad," Shawn sighed. "But not right now, Topanga. He can't handle it."
Topanga pulled away from him and gave him a serious look. "You promised me you'd tell him."
"I will."
"Shawn. I know you. You're going to try to find a way to do this yourself and you can't. It's too dangerous."
"I know. But I'm tellin' you Dad can't handle it. After he and Mom get here and have a chance to rest," he took a deep breath, not sure if he wanted to commit himself to what he was about to say, "I'll tell Mom and let her decide when to tell him."
Topanga nodded and her shoulders slumped forward as she exhaled. "Okay. I'll take that."
"Thanks."
At the look on his face, she put her hand on his knee. "I know you want to do this on your own because you think you owe Jon. You want to prove yourself worthy to be called his son."
Shawn snorted at her accuracy. "What are you, a mind reader now too?"
She smiled sadly and rested her head against his shoulder. "Yes. But I can only read the minds of the people I love the most."
"Love you, too, Pangers," he teased her with Eric's old nickname for her.
She picked up a throw pillow and hit him on the shoulder with it. "Shut up!"
Shawn stood up, grabbed the pillow, and launched it back at her. She jumped up and caught it.
The smile that spread over his face reminded her so much of when they were kids, and life was less complicated. An image of Cory flashed in her mind, happy and carefree, loving life and his job. She dropped the pillow and put her hands over her mouth. With tears in her eyes, she stumbled forward towards Shawn.
He caught her just before she tripped over the pillow on the floor and hit the coffee table.
Northeastern Hospital ceased being a full-time hospital in 2009 and was converted to an outpatient facility. Jon was a bit peeved that Audrey had failed to tell him this, as he would have been more agreeable about going had he known. Audrey felt he should have been agreeable, regardless.
Alan arrived shortly after they entered the waiting room where Jon had to stay until the doctor determined whether he needed to check into the hospital.
"Hey, guys," he greeted them warmly. "Good to see you both."
Audrey started to stand to hug him, but he wouldn't let her. He guided her back to her chair and kissed her cheek. Taking Jon's hand in greeting he said, "Do you know she's pregnant?"
Jon gave him an amused look. "Yeah."
"Then do you know you're not supposed to do stuff like end up in a hospital when she's pregnant?"
Jon gave him a wry smile. "So I've been told," he glanced at his wife. "More than once."
"I'd ask you how you are, but I know you'll say you're fine no matter what." Alan took a seat on the other side of Jon. He looked around the superintendent to Audrey and asked, "So how is he, Aud?"
"Stable," Audrey said ignoring the look Jon was giving her. "He had hyponatremia."
Alan made a face. "You catch that from the kids?"
"His sodium levels were too low," she explained with a chuckle.
Alan gave Jon a curious look. "Low sodium? How is that even possible in this country?"
Audrey was quiet to give Jon a chance to answer.
Rubbing the back of his neck, he said, "Overdosin' on aspirin can cause it. I've had really bad migraines lately and haven't exactly been keepin' track of when I was takin' stuff. Apparently, my doses were a little too close together."
"They must have been," Alan muttered under his breath. He looked at Audrey with concern. "Is he going to be okay?"
She nodded. "He's been on an IV since he was admitted to the hospital. The blood work he had done this morning came back with levels at 131 milliequivalent per liter. It needs to be up to 135 at minimum, so he'll be on sodium tablets for the next ten days, then we'll do blood work again."
Jon pushed his lips out and gave Alan a sideways look. "I've earned a private nurse out of all of this."
"Oh?"
Jon pointed to Audrey.
Alan smirked. "Finally using that nursing degree, huh?"
Jon gave Audrey an incredulous look. 'Was I the only one who didn't know about this?"
Sensing that there was a story behind the comment and not a good one, Alan quickly added, "Shawn called yesterday. The kids told me."
"Oh," Jon looked somewhat relieved, but there was an underlying annoyance in his body language.
The nurse stepped into the room to take Jon to another one for consultation. He grimaced and slid down into his chair. "Is it necessary that I go back in?" he asked. "I'm tired. And my wife's the one who needs the information. She can tell me what I need to know."
The nurse gave him a sympathetic smile and motioned for Audrey to follow him.
Jon fell silent after Audrey left, staring at his clasped hands.
Alan watched him thoughtfully, then said, "I guess I oughta go get your kids and take them to mine."
Jon smiled slightly. "Is everybody at the house?"
"Everybody but Eric. He'll be in next week."
The superintendent nodded but said nothing else.
Alan frowned. It had been a long time since he'd seen his friend like this. "Jon, is everything all right?"
"At home, yes," he replied with a weary sigh. "At work, uh-uh."
"This is tied to what's going on at Cory's school?"
"And Julia's." A troubled frown creased his face. "I've got a mess on my hands that I don't know how to clean up. The Deputy Mayor for Health and Human Services is lookin' into things, but I can't get anywhere and I should be able to!"
Alan was quiet for a moment, then said, "Audrey says you're running your health into the ground over this job."
"Yeah, guess I am."
"Look, Jon," Alan turned to his friend and said strongly, "I'll tell you the same thing I told Cory- you've got to take care of yourself, mentally and physically, before you go back. Right now I've got my kid pretending that he's sixteen again, with no responsibilities except for his kids. It's one of the scariest things I've seen since the results of Eric and the six-hour roller coaster ride. You have got to get a handle on your health or you won't be of any use back in New York to your kid or mine."
Jon said nothing. He just slid down further in the seat until he could rest his head on the back of the chair. Alan ran a hand over his mouth trying to think of a way to get through to him. He knew what he was thinking in regards to solving the issue with the schools, and he knew what the result would be.
"I know you, Jon," he said quietly. "You won't quit until you've fixed things. But this affects more than just you. Unless you want that wife of yours to put you in a care home until she's satisfied you're well, you better take care of yourself."
Jon gave him a bemused look.
"She'll do it."
The smallest of smiles brushed the superintendent's lips before his brow pinched together in a tighter frown. "It's my fault Cory's in this situation," he said in a hushed apology.
The admission did not impress Alan, although he knew Jon absolutely believed what he said. "You're telling me you hired these people and told them to make my kid's life and your daughter's life miserable?"
Jon gave him an incredulous look. "Of course not."
"Then how is it your fault?"
"Because," he sighed. "I haven't been able to stop it."
Alan rolled his eyes. "Stop being a martyr, Jon. It does nothing." He wagged a finger at the door Audrey left through. "You've got a wife who's seven, almost eight months pregnant. If nothing else, you owe it to her to take care of yourself."
"I know."
"And you owe it to me to help me fix my kid."
Jon nodded guiltily.
"Not like you've got a choice, anyway," Alan told him. "Since you made the mistake of staying with us."
"Mistake?"
He nodded. "Everyone knows what happened to you and Cory. With the family being like it is, you and Cory will be forced to take care of yourselves and get better." He shot Jon an amused look. "If they have to kill you to get you to do it."
Jon laughed. Alan was right. The family, as well meaning as they were, could take things to the extreme when loved ones were in trouble.
"Right," he said. "I guess Cory and I have no choice."
"None whatsoever." Alan slapped Jon's knee as he stood up. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a set of keys. Handing them to Jon he said, "The Accord is out front."
Jon took the keys and grabbed Audrey's purse. After digging in the bag for a bit, he pulled out the keys to the Yukon.
"Thanks, Alan," he said as he gave him the keys.
"See you at the house." Alan tossed the keys in the air and caught them as he walked out of the medical building.
Jon sat alone in the waiting room lost in thought. He knew Alan was right about getting himself in better physical shape so that he could handle what was going on at work and home. But with Yancy's threat hanging over him, he didn't see how that could be possible, unless the next two weeks were so busy he wouldn't have time to think.
With everything Shawn wanted to accomplish, maybe they would be.
Minutes ticked by and Jon grew antsy. It seemed like several hours had passed before Audrey returned to him. She gave him a weary but happy smile as he stood to greet her.
"So?" he asked anxiously.
"So," she laid a hand on his cheek and kissed him. "I'm taking you to the family."
Jon smiled in relief that he was done with hospital stays.
Finally.
"Alan, Amy! They're here!" Lila Feeny excitedly called through the Matthews' open back door. She was in the yard with the younger children when the Accord pulled into the driveway.
Amy dropped the paper plates and Solo cups she was carrying onto the counter as she rushed out of the house, slamming the door in Alan's face on her way out. Alan rolled his eyes, laughed to himself, and opened the door.
The sheer number of people swarming around the small sedan would make a stranger walking their dog think a celebrity had just arrived at the Matthews' house. Neither Jon nor Audrey could get out of the car until Alan yelled for everyone to move back. Auggie was quick to open the door for his uncle and lead him into the house, barking at everyone to get back and give Jon room to breathe. Riley and Maya surrounded Audrey and fussed over her as they led her into the house.
Shawn and Cory stood by the fence that separated the Matthews' and Feeny's yards watching the chaotic scene. The noise that went along with the chaos made it hard for Shawn to hear Cory when he leaned over to say something to him.
"Huh?"
"I said," Cory raised his voice to a shout. "I hope the neighbors don't complain!"
"Why would we complain?" A familiar voice, weakened with age, responded with a hint of humor. "Lila and I very much enjoy the sounds of youth and vigor."
The men turned to look at their former teacher, who had guided them through nearly all of their academic lives.
Cory folded his arms over his chest and regarded the man through narrowed eyes. "When did this happen? You hated it when we were kids and made a lot of noise."
"Yes, well," Mr. Feeny said. The beginnings of a smirk tugged at the corners of his mouth. "I find that in my retirement, the sound of children's laughter is a source of comfort. And they don't live here full time," he added wryly. "You and your siblings did. And Mr. Hunter as well. Or so it seemed."
He gave his former students a wink.
Shawn smiled as he leaned against the white fence. "How are you, Mr. Feeny?"
"Arthritis in the knee is flaring up today, but otherwise I'm quite well. Thank you for asking." The teacher paused a moment, then looked up at Shawn with a soft affection in his eyes. "It is good to see you with the family, Shawn."
He smiled and looked at the house. "It's good to be with them."
"I hope your transition to family life and being the oldest child of so many has gone well."
"It has, Mr. Feeny. It really has."
"Good," the older man straightened up and nodded his approval. "I am very glad to hear that."
"You guys comin' over for lunch?"
"Yes, we are. Amy invited us as soon as she heard of your plans to return to Philadelphia."
"Awesome," he said. He gave his former teacher an uncertain glance. Taking a deep breath, he ventured, "Mr. Feeny?"
"Yes."
"I'd really like to sit down and talk to you while I'm here. If you have the time."
He smiled, quite pleased that Shawn wanted to talk. "I have time in spades now, Mr. Hunter. You can have as much of it as you like."
Shawn nodded. "Lookin' forward to it." He opened the gate for his former teacher while Cory called everyone to the kitchen.
"All right," Alan said when the Feenys arrived inside. "Amy has more food here than even the kids could possibly eat."
His wife rolled her eyes and put a hand on her hip. "I made sure to order from everyone's favorite places to eat. I know it's been a long time for some of you," she said looking fondly at Shawn.
"Great," Cory said, as he rubbed his hands together in anticipation. "What's what?"
Amy turned to the kitchen counter that had remained unchanged since Shawn had last visited their house. "We have cheesesteaks from Dalessandro's and tacos from Front Street Café. There's an assortment of food from Rembrandt's and the Belgian Café. Neapolitan pizza from Brigantessa. There's La Famiglia Ristorante…"
"La Famiglia," Audrey was sitting on Jon's lap and turned her head to the side to look at him. "That's the one place you always refused to take me when we lived here."
"That's because I never wanted to break up with you." He couldn't believe she'd forgotten that La Famiglia was the "break-up" restaurant where he took the women he dated to tell them he couldn't commit.
"So why don't you take me there while we're in town?"
"'Cause I still don't wanna break up with you," he retorted putting one arm over the back of the kitchen chair and tightening his hold on her with the other. "If you wanna know what the food's like, eat it here."
Audrey rolled her eyes. "Jon, what's the big deal about going there now?"
"You know why."
"You're impossible."
"Thank you."
Audrey shook her head in exasperation. She'd just have to go with Shawn.
Amy continued to rattle off a list of places she had ordered from. She got a big "oooo" of excitement when she announced that dessert was from Shane Confectionery. This brought a smile and a wave of nostalgia to Shawn. Shane Confectionery was where Jon had bought the candy for their gingerbread mansion they made during December of '95.
"How did your mom get everythin' here?" Shawn asked Morgan. The amount of food wasn't surprising- Audrey could easily turn out that much and more, but these eating places were all over the city, if he recalled correctly, not confined to one kitchen.
"She called the restaurants two days ago and Josh and I picked everything up early this morning."
"You guys musta gone all over for it."
"North to south, east to west," Morgan confirmed. "Do I need to tell you we got lost four times trying to find places because Josh wasn't paying attention?"
Shawn laughed. As people moved to get their meals, he hung back and watched. Amy, with Bella on her hip, helped the little girl sample food to find something she liked. Josh and Morgan continued their playful bickering as he repeatedly shoved in front of her to snatch something from the counter. Mr. Feeny, helped by his wife, navigated the kitchen talking to Julia and Grayson about school and sports. Audrey stayed close to Jon while Auggie and Riley darted around people, trying to be helpful.
Morgan snapped at Josh. Shawn's attention was drawn to the siblings, but not because of the fighting. He couldn't help but notice that Maya was following behind Josh with the unmistakable look of a teen infatuated.
He sucked in a sharp breath.
She couldn't have a crush on Josh.
Not now. He wasn't ready to deal with that. He couldn't.
But that look-he knew it all too well. It was the same look Cory had worn most of his life when looking at Topanga.
He hoped Josh would be wise and stay far away from his girl.
He'd hate to have to kill his best friend's little brother.
After dinner, everyone squeezed into the Matthews' living room. The younger ones were relegated to the floor or, in Grayson and Riley's case, sitting on the coffee table.
Thanks to the variety at dinner, the adults fell into conversation about favorite eating places that no longer existed.
"Wait," Shawn said distraughtly leaning forward. "When did Zanzibar Blue close?"
"2007," Alan said shaking his head sadly. "There was no better place in Philly for the blues or a duck platter with apples."
"Aw, man," he groaned. It was bad enough to find out that so many of the places Jon frequented as a teen were gone. He didn't expect the same to be true in Philadelphia.
It hasn't been that long, has it?
Shawn tapped his fist on the arm of the couch. "I always heard so much about that place and only got to go once to see Lou Rawls play. I wrote a piece on him for Hit the Road just about a year or so before he died."
"The Old Original Bookbinder's is another one," Mr. Feeny added. He looked as sentimental as Shawn felt. "They tried many times over the years to replicate Jose Garces' "Old Bar", but it simply isn't possible."
"Aud and I used to sneak off to Rusty Scupper on Front & Lombard after we got married and she'd come down to visit," Jon said. He ran his hand down her arm as she leaned back against him. "That place had a great view of the Delaware River. I really wanted us to go back for an anniversary a few years ago, but it's gone too. I think Will Smith tried to get a hotel put up there or somethin'."
"Isn't there one in Baltimore?" Alan asked.
Jon shook his head. "Not the same, man."
"Well, at least the Square Peg over on Walnut is still around." Cory remarked. This had been a favorite place of his and Eric when they were younger because Alan took them to special weekend lunches there.
His parents exchanged glances; then Alan shook his head.
"Oh, man," he said in shock. "When did that happen? How did I not know?"
Maya watched and listened as the adults carried on their conversation about closed restaurants and shops of years past. It was interesting to listen to, even if she didn't understand what they were talking about.
Conversation turned to where she and Shawn's family would be staying. Amy was apologetic about the stairs and wondered if she and Alan should give them their room.
"Then she'd have to walk up the stairs," Alan pointed out. As much as he loved the people on the couch, he really did not want to give up his bed for two weeks. Age had, unfortunately, made it a necessity for his mattress to be a certain way.
"Don't worry about it, Amy," Audrey assured her. "Really. The stairs to the basement are just a few, with two landings in between. It's so much better than home. By the time we get back, I won't be able to go up the stairs and I'll be sleeping in the downstairs bedroom."
The adults continued talking with conversation drifting from sleeping arrangements to life. While they talked, Josh hooked up the Wii so he and the other kids could take turns playing Mario Kart.
Although Maya loved the game, she chose to sit back and watch.
She knew everyone in the room to some degree. She knew the Matthews the best, of course. Then Shawn's family. She had met Riley's grandparents multiple times and the Feenys once before. But she had never seen them all in the same place at the same time.
There was such a keen sense of family ties and familiarity within the house that Maya felt very much on the outside looking in. As she looked around, she could see no place to slide into; every spot was taken.
What was worse, everyone is the room looked like they could be related, except her.
Shawn and Cory's brotherhood jumped out more than normal from where they sat on the Matthew's couch. Strangely enough, Maya could see enough similarities in their physical appearances that it occurred to her that someone who did not know the family would mistake them for actual brothers. The men were talking to Mr. Matthews and Uncle Jon. Much like Shawn and Cory, they, too, share just enough physical traits that a stranger would think Uncle Jon was the younger brother.
Startled by this, she looked to her right and saw Josh and Julia laughing over hitting each other with bananas on the track. With their dark hair and dimpled smiles, they could easily pass as cousins. She saw Riley snuggling Bella on her lap while waiting for her turn at the game. Auggie sat next to them, leaning over to talk to his sister. His curls blended in with Bella's making it look like a mass of curls on Riley's shoulder. Jamie sat on Morgan's lap playing with her hair. The way their eyes turned up and noses wrinkled between the eyes when they laughed was identical.
More cousins.
Maya's attention focused on the entertainment system where the Wii was being played. Grayson kept turning back to Mr. Feeny to explain the video game to him. After the race he was in was over, he handed the controller to him and sweetly instructed him on how to work the controller. The old teacher was delighted and gave the technology his best effort as any grandfather would. His wife talked with Mrs. Matthews in such a way that Maya forgot she wasn't actually Riley's great-grandmother.
Laughter rang out behind her and she turned to see Audrey and Topanga giggling like teens over something. With thick, long hair, full lips, and small stature they looked like sisters catching up with life.
A stranger would surely be confused as to how everyone in the room was related but would not doubt that they were.
Maya took several steps back towards the kitchen, feeling grossly out of place. Her heart sank to below the soles of her shoes as she realized that everyone here was a piece of the family puzzle. Only one piece was missing.
The puzzle will be complete with Eric, she realized with dismay.
This meant she was not a piece of Shawn's puzzle. She tried to fight back the tears that wanted to flow.
She was a piece without a puzzle.
It was 9 pm when Audrey announced that she and Jon were going to bed. Jon grumbled about being the only one with an early bedtime but managed not to get anything more than an eye roll from his wife. Bella went with them.
By 10, the other kids were falling asleep on the couch, so Amy shooed them all off to bed. Topanga led the kids downstairs to oversee them getting to sleep. When she finished, she returned to the kitchen.
Cory was sitting at the kitchen table happily drinking a cup of tea. Topanga remarked that he never drank tea, especially late at night. He just shrugged and went on drinking his beverage.
Shawn leaned against the kitchen sink putting his hands on the lip of the counter behind him.
"What are your plans for tomorrow?" Topanga asked.
Shawn thought for a moment, then said, "I'm not sure. We don't have a lot of time and I don't wanna waste a minute. I'm hopin' Mom and I can talk tomorrow- there's somewhere I'd like to take her. But that's gonna depend on Dad and if she'll leave him."
"You know what I'd like to do?" Cory asked, setting his empty cup in the center of the table.
"What?"
"I'd like to go back to John Adams High. I miss the place, you know. I always hated changing schools and the one I'm at now is terrible. I hate it. Maybe we could take a class or two at the old stomping grounds, huh?" He looked hopefully at his wife and best friend.
Shawn exchanged worried looks with Topanga. "It's spring break, Cor," he reminded him. "There aren't any classes."
"Oh, well." Disappointment cast a cloud over his enthusiasm. "We can still visit, can't we?"
Shawn had no idea if they could or not, but he didn't want to upset Cory further, so he said, "We can ask Mr. Feeny. I'm sure he still has a few connections and could get us in."
Cory's face lit up. "Yay! Topanga, we're going back to John Adams!"
"Yeah, that's great," she smiled tightly trying to hide her concern. "Maybe we should head to bed, Cory. Tomorrow will be busy."
Shawn bid his best friends goodnight but remained behind to rinse out Cory's mug and think. It was so strange being back in the house he essentially grew up in. He stared out of the window into the Feeny's yard, recalling all the times he spent annoying his teacher and the times he sought his advice.
It was good to be back, but something was off.
And it wasn't just Cory.
He sighed and headed out of the kitchen, turning the lights off as he went.
Just as he was about to head downstairs, the burner phone went off. Frowning, he took it out of his pocket and tapped the text notification icon.
Every text that had come in was from a different number. Spoofs as far as Shawn could tell. This one was no different.
Hiding in Philly, Jonny? Won't do you any good.
Keep an eye on that pretty little wife of yours.
I am.
Shawn felt as though he'd suddenly plunged into ice cold water. For whatever reason, he believed the texts would stop once they made it to Philadelphia. He thought this would stay in the City while they regrouped.
It never occurred to him that it would follow them to the one place that could heal them.
And now Audrey was being specifically mentioned.
Shawn closed his eyes as bile burned his throat and nose. He choked back the acid and steadied himself against the banister.
He couldn't wait any longer. He wanted to talk to Audrey about the past, but now he had to talk to her about the present.
It was after midnight and Maya found herself unable to sleep. The house was still and quiet. She wandered through the Matthews' house, silently taking everything in. Still troubled by her earlier realization that she didn't belong in this family, Maya considered calling her mom and asking if her grandmother could come and get her. She could tell her she was really sick and needed to come home. She could say that Uncle Jon just got out of the hospital, and it wouldn't be good for him to be around her.
That's what she would do.
Sadness and disappointment clouded her vision, making it difficult to see where she was going in the dark. Maya grabbed onto the staircase banister and held on as she sat down on the stairs abruptly.
A yelp from the step made her jump up quicker than she sat down.
"Maya!"
"Riley!?"
Maya stumbled back, heart racing, as she tried to get her eyes to adjust to the minimal lightning. Slowly, her best friend's face came into focus.
Something was wrong.
"Riley? Are you okay?"
"Uh-huh." Her voice quivered. "Why wouldn't I be?"
"You're sitting on the stairs at midnight."
"I just have a problem that I'm trying to work out."
"Problem? Why didn't you get me? We always solve problems together."
"Oh, I know, it's not a major problem. I'm just worried about making sure you and Uncle Shawn have the best spring break ever. I know how important these next two weeks are for you, Maya. If everything goes right, you'll be an official part of my family when we go home."
Maya flinched and said nothing.
"Are you okay?" Riley asked, sounding a little too perky and awake. "You were going to sit on the stairs after midnight, too."
She wasn't ready to tell Riley about her discovery when it came to Shawn and his family. Not only that, but there was something in Riley's voice that told her that her best friend was lying about being okay and was trying to distract her from asking questions.
"Riley," Maya said in a loving but firm tone. She took the other girl's hands and gave them an affectionate squeeze. "I know something is wrong."
"No."
"Yes."
"No."
"Riley."
Riley gripped Maya's hands tightly, then let herself slip to the bottom of the staircase as distressed sobs shook her until she couldn't breathe.
Next up: Interlude- While Shawn and his family try to relax in Philadelphia, in New York, Eli realizes there's something off in his relationship with Katherine.
And Eddie, who's been given the boot by Yancy, starts making plans of his own.
AN: Apologies for the delay in this chapter. The interlude should be up by the end of the month, if all goes well.
Many thanks for the reviews. They are much appreciated. Answers to questions will be coming soon. Thank you so much for reading. I appreciate it so much.