"Memories are dangerous things. You turn them over and over until you know every touch and corner, but still you'll find an edge to cut you." - Mark Lawrence, Prince of Thorns

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 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 a 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 actually 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 counter top 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 council."

"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 an 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 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. 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 place 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, just bluer."

"Your eyes don't look hazel 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 hazel 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 the 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 counter top 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 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. In spite of 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 burn 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 suppose 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 very 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 very, very 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 was facing 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 honestly 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 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 to not. 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 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 a 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 everyday 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's 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 awhile 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 a 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 misjudge 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 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 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 awaken 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 having 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 time 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.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o

We never made it to the end of May, he thought bitterly. Shawn resented that these memories came to him unbidden. He didn't want to remember that part of his life; he didn't want to remember the specifics as to why he held so much bitterness towards Katherine. He didn't want to relive what brought his dream life to a fiery end. He didn't want to remember the details of losing Audrey. He didn't want to remember losing Jon and returning to his father. He didn't want to remember the pain and despair of life with Chet. He didn't want to remember the details of turning his back on Jon and walking away for two decades. Shawn did not want to remember what he became during that time.

AN: It kind of sounds like Mr. Feeny is an accomplice of Miss Tompkins, doesn't it? 2015 Jon knows Mr. Feeny's side of the story and has for many years. Shawn does not. Eventually, Mr. Feeny will get to tell his side of the story to his former student.

Next up, Shawn begins unravel Katherine's plan with a little help from his friends and sister. A broken friendship is reconciled.

Also if you are enjoying this at all, would you mind letting me know. Constructive critism I'll take, too. I want to improve my writing and make sure it is enjoyable for my readers. Thank you.