Apologies for the delay. New puppy in the house has really rearranged my schedule and time for writing! Still trying to figure out the balance.
In this chapter is shout out to Pod Meets World and that time machine they're working on. XD
Song lyrics- Human Touch by Bruce Springsteen
Audrey's friend that's mentioned is a fictional version of Mary Helen Bower, the creator of Ballet Beautiful and Ballet Baby.
Bella, who had been happily smashing block buildings, burst into tears the moment she saw her father and wailed as though he'd been gone for a few days rather than a few hours.
Jon picked her up from the couch and cradled her against him. Her hot breath and tears pressed against his neck triggered memories of holding Audrey after he found her in the bathroom all those years ago. Past emotions washed over him and tangled with the ones caused by his daughter's reaction to his absence. This caused him to unnecessarily reassure her that he'd always be there for her.
In response, she dug her chubby fingers into the hair at the back of his neck with a handful of curls in each fist now that it was long enough to clutch. Bella, like her mother, was obsessed with his hair and liked it long. The last time he got it cut, she was inconsolable for two days, going back and forth between demanding he put his hair "back" and crying while hiding from him.
Grayson and Jamie burst into the living room soon after, chirping loudly as they alternated between bickering with each other and talking to their parents. Jon knelt to their level while Bella shot her brothers dirty looks for butting in on her time with their father.
The medley of voices grew louder when Auggie charged through the door and joined the chatter. All the noise brought in Maya and Riley who ended up shouting their plans for the night at Julia to be heard over the younger children.
Amy leaned into the living room to see what the cause of the commotion was and saw Jon surrounded by kids, several of whom were crawling all over him. He struggled to stay upright with Bella pulling him down and Jamie and Auggie leaning on his back. She smiled at the familiar scene until she caught Audrey's expression.
She recognized that thin lipped, pinched look.
Audrey also had this quirk that came out under stress where she would take the nail of a finger and press it under the nail of her thumb to push back the quick. She was now doing this to the thumbs of both hands. Quickly, Amy put herself in the middle of the chaos and whistled the group into silence.
Jon, free of the weight on his back, stood up with Bella still gripping his hair. His head felt strange as he straightened up. He was extremely tired and very dizzy all of a sudden.
Amy saw the look on his face and knew Audrey had too. "Hand her over, Jon," she ordered beckoning with her fingers for Bella to come to her.
Bella refused then loudly protested the great indignation of being taken away from her father. She scowled at Jon in a way that broke his heart as Amy carried her off to the kitchen to make playdough. The boys, curious if she made playdough the way their mothers did, followed her.
Julia lingered for a moment then popped her earbuds in and headed outside where Shawn was. This left Maya and Riley with Jon and Audrey. Maya took the opportunity to wrap Jon in a hug and pull him over the couch as she talked a minute about her day.
Riley, on the other hand, hung back and watched her aunt with concern. She could tell Audrey was unhappy with Maya's attention on her husband, which could only mean that Uncle Jon was not completely well.
She slipped up to Audrey's side and took her hand. "Are you okay, Aunt Aud?"
Audrey didn't seem to hear her. Her attention was fixed on Jon.
Riley knew this look. She turned her attention to her uncle and saw how weary he appeared. This confirmed her suspicions that he wasn't doing well.
"Maya!" she called sharply.
Maya looked up in annoyance. She didn't appreciate being interrupted.
"We should go help Grandma," she told her firmly, pointing at the kitchen door.
Maya shrugged her off. "I don't really wanna play with the little kids. We've been with them all day. I wanna hang with Uncle Jon for a while."
Riley arched her brow and shook her head no.
A sharp command suddenly cut through the air. "Maya, go with Riley."
Audrey's harsh command caused Maya's mouth to fall open then flop close in surprise. She'd never heard a harsh word from the woman before.
Certainly not one directed at her.
"Okay," she stammered, hurt by the rebuke. She felt like the proverbial carpet had been pulled out from under her and she didn't know how to react.
Riley saw this and was at Maya's side in a moment. She gently took her by the arm and pulled her along to the kitchen.
"Why is Audrey mad at me?" she asked. She wasn't sure if it was okay to continue to refer to her as aunt.
Riley stopped at the door and gave her friend a reassuring smile. Pointing back at the adults, she said quietly. "She's not mad at you. She's worried about him."
Maya frowned. "But he's fine."
"You think so?" Riley turned her around by the shoulder. "Look closely."
Jon was sitting on the back of the couch, leaning heavily into Audrey who was standing in front of him. His brow was pinched, and his eyes closed. Seeing him like this made her flinch with guilt. She was so excited to see him, she forgot all about his health issues.
"You've got to learn to read Aunt Audrey, Maya," Riley said kindly and squeezed her hand. "If she's frowning and has her lips pressed together like this," she pressed her lips until they could barely be seen. "And looking at you, you stop what you're doing. If she's looking at Uncle Jon, you back off."
While Riley meant this to be reassuring it had the opposite effect as it highlighted to Maya how much of an outsider she still was. How many other looks and signs did Audrey have? What did they mean? Did the other members of Riley's family have these quirks?
Of course, they did. Riley herself had them, the only difference was that Maya knew them all.
She sighed, deeply discouraged. "I guess I have a long way to go before I'm really a part of the family, huh?"
Riley could tell by the look on her best friend's face and the way she played with the hem of her shirt she was upset. "You're family no matter what. And spring break is for getting to know everyone better. C'mon. Our cousins are waiting for us."
She hooked her arm through Maya's and led her into the kitchen that was now a playdough factory.
Audrey held onto her husband until he was able to get up and walk downstairs on his own.
"Are you still dizzy?" she asked as he sank down onto their bed.
He braced himself up with his arms locked straight at his sides. His shoulders were slumped forward, and his head bowed. He winced as the light behind her hit his eyes when he looked up. "That obvious, huh?"
"To me, it is."
Inhaling deeply, Jon closed his eyes and leaned forward, resting his elbows on his thighs. "I still feel lightheaded, but not dizzy."
"Don't move," she ordered him. She brushed her lips across his forehead before rushing to the bathroom with great determination.
A brief time later, Jon heard the water running in the tub and arched a quizzical eyebrow.
What in the world is she up to? he wondered amusedly.
She bustled back into the bedroom without so much as looking at him. Going straight to the closet and dresser drawers, she began to pull out clothing. With an armful of his clothes, she disappeared into the bathroom again.
And didn't return.
Jon shifted his position again, this time he leaned back and propped himself up on one arm. He looked at the bathroom door and wondered if she really was taking a bath right now.
It wasn't unusual for her to wear his shirts around the house, and at this point in her pregnancies she typically lived in them. It was unusual for her to take his pants. They never fit her waist as they were either too small when she was pregnant, too big when she wasn't, and they were always far too long.
And she had his boxers. For that reason, he knew the bath had to be for him, but he wondered how long it would take her to remember that it was.
Several minutes later a loud "oh!" came from the bathroom.
He tilted his head back and laughed as he could clearly imagine the look of surprise on her face when she realized she had collected everything she needed for the bath except for the person the bath was for.
The door flew open and Audrey, looking sheepish, stood there with her hand on her hip, leaning against the door frame.
"That for me?" he asked with a grin.
She rolled her eyes and laughed. A blush kissed her cheeks that made her look ten years younger. "Yes. Are you okay to walk on your own?
The headache was getting worse, but he didn't say anything about it because he knew she could read his face.
"I can do that," he said glancing around to make sure she didn't have a walker stashed somewhere.
He was honestly surprised that there wasn't one.
In the bathroom the bathtub bubbled with milky-white water courtesy of a portable Bath Spa that turned the regular bath into a jet powered one.
He sat on edge of the tub and gave the water a skeptical look.
"It's just Epsom salts," she explained. "I could tell by the way you were sitting in the car that your back was bothering you."
He smiled slightly and shook his head. He couldn't get away with anything with her. It was uncanny the way she seemed to know everything that was going on with him, often before he did. "You sure you just aren't a mind reader?"
She tipped her head to the side and gave him a secretive look. Placing a finger against her cheek, she arched an eyebrow and said, "Get in."
Jon looked at her in amusement. "Now?"
"Yes."
"Right now?"
"Jon!" She put a hand on her hip and gave him an incredulous look.
"You want me to get in the way I am right now?"
She stared at him for a moment, unsure of what to make of his mood. His playfulness was confusing as she could see the headache still in his eyes.
"Yes."
"In my clothes?"
She rolled her eyes. "Why are you taking me so literally?"
"Because I can," he laughed.
She swatted at him with a towel. While he got undressed, she went to get more bath supplies.
Jon settled in the water, leaned back, and was startled by Audrey meeting him with an inflatable bath pillow behind his head.
He didn't plan to stay in the tub long enough to need a pillow, but before he could voice this, she put her hand on his forehead and pulled his head back so she could see his eyes. "I don't want you to drown while I get things ready."
A sarcastic quip was on the tip of his tongue, but he held onto it. "What're you gettin' ready?"
"I am going to get rid of that migraine." Her confident voice faded as she moved away from him into the bedroom.
He smiled at her sweet determination to rid him of all his woes and sank into the warm, soothing water. The jets provided a gentle massage and as he began to relax, he realized that his back hurt more than he thought. Out of the corner of his eye he saw a tub of crystals that was on the edge of the bath: Muscle Therapy Soak in Vitamins.
Just Epson salts, she said. His smile broadened and he closed his eyes.
She never did anything simply.
Audrey was back before the water cooled. A plush towel and robe waited for him when he got out. As soon as he was bundled up, she disappeared again and forgot to tell him where she was going and what she wanted him to do. After several minutes of leaning against the sink counter waiting for instruction, she finally called out to him impatiently as though she didn't understand why he didn't follow her.
"Not a mind reader, babe," he called back with a chuckle. "Even if you are."
She was not amused.
She met him at the bathroom door with arms crossed and resting on her belly. "It's worse," she stated matter-a-factly. "I can see it in your eyes. Lay down."
He made an outward protest and she shut him down quickly. He didn't push back too much. He loved being just sick enough to get this kind of undivided attention from her, even though he hated being sick in general. Sometimes, he would fake being sicker than he was.
He just wished he was faking this time.
Audrey instructed him to lay diagonally on the bed with his head at the bottom left corner. This made little sense to him until he saw her pull up a chair next to the bed; the angle he was at made it easy for her to reach his head. Sitting down, she ran her fingers through his hair. Thinking she was going to rub his head he closed his eyes and settled in, expecting to feel her nails against his scalp at any moment.
Nothing happened.
He waited for what seemed like an hour.
Finally, Jon opened his eyes and saw he was surrounded by medical equipment.
Where did she get all that? He wondered in bewilderment. Has she been hidin' that too?
That distinctive feeling that he must have done or said something to make her hide her nursing degree washed over him.
Immersed in her own world, Audrey once again forgot to inform him of what she was doing and why. She was often so overwhelmed and tired when pregnant that she was incredibly forgetful and had to funnel her focus on one task, shutting out all distractions.
He tried to raise up on his elbows to watch her but was immediately pushed back down, this time with a cervical traction pillow under his neck which limited his ability to watch her.
She was murmuring to herself and making verbal notes about what she needed to do as though he wasn't there to hear her.
"I need to get you to your chiropractor," was one of the notes he heard her make.
As much as he enjoyed having her fuss over him, sometimes she could be suffocating, and this was too much. He started to protest then caught the melancholy look on her face.
He knew that look too well.
Sighing, he reached up, wrapped his hand around her forearm, and lovingly stroking the soft flesh on the inside of her arm. He could tell she was lost in her own solitary world of sadness by the way she didn't respond to him.
She was like this at least once a year and had been for as long as they had been married.
The reason settled on his chest like a heavy weight.
Richie.
With the busyness of life, he'd forgotten that he was fast approaching the age Richie was when he died.
Fifty-six.
It struck hard and swift that he was only a few years away from that.
He repressed a sigh. In this light her obsession with his health made sense as did the importance of that nursing degree. She was afraid of losing him like her father lost her mother. Since she was Richie's daughter, if something happened to him, her destiny was almost assuredly sealed.
Jon shuddered at what that would mean for her and their children.
Audrey felt this tremble and her hands immediately flew to his head.
"Are you okay?" Her eyes brimmed with fearful worry.
"Yeah," he assured her as best he could. He took her arm back and kissed the inside of her wrist. "Just worryin' about you is all."
"I'm fine," she said softly.
It was obvious she wasn't.
He was distracted from his morbid thoughts by a cool, scratchy fabric being wrapped around his upper arm. He opened his eyes and looked down to see a professional aneroid sphygmomanometer blood pressure cuff and Audrey pulling out a stethoscope.
Jon was impressed and wondered if she had kept up her skills with classes since she wasn't using them on a daily basis.
It bothered him tremendously that he didn't know. His earlier worry about why she went to such lengths to hide this part of her education returned. There were as many gaps in his memory of the accident and recovery as there were in Shawn's memory surrounding the time after Audrey was taken from them. He knew his temper had been volatile at times back then and he worried that it was much worse than he remembered.
He wondered how much Shawn knew about the aftermath of the accident and if he would want to revisit that part of the past.
He wasn't sure that he did.
"Your blood pressure is high," she murmured worriedly. Audrey continued to talk to herself quietly as she put the blood pressure instrument away, took out an oxygen monitor, and slipped it on his finger.
The glucose meter was next.
Jon thought this was excessive but held his tongue as it wouldn't cost him anything to let her put her mind at ease.
Audrey left him briefly then returned with her phone in hand. She set the phone next to his side then busied herself with a different machine.
What now?
It was a TENS Unit.
Now this was excessive, but Jon refrained from rolling his eyes.
She had him sit up while she positioned the gel pads along his back where he was in the most pain. All without asking him where he was hurting.
Julia came into the room as he was lying back down. She had a gel pack in her hands which she handed to her mother. She asked him how he was and gave him a kiss before she jogged back upstairs.
Audrey slipped the gel pack into something that looked like a very wide black headband. When she sat back down by him, he saw that it was a migraine relief cap that she always made him use when he complained about his head hurting. She slipped it over his head, put it in place, and gently pressed her palms against his cheeks in a loving gesture.
He had to admit that the cold darkness was welcoming and pleasant.
Audrey was on the move again. He could hear rustling in the background but couldn't tell what she was doing.
Soon soft familiar strains of his favorite song by his favorite artist drifted through the air. Jon couldn't remember the last he'd listened to Springsteen or any music for that matter.
"You and me, we were the pretenders. We let it all slip away. In the end what you don't surrender, well the world just strips away…"
He felt pressure on the thenar space between his thumb and index finger of his left hand as she massaged the area. The pain in his head slowly began to lift as he drifted in and out of consciousness. After several minutes, Audrey's hands were in his hair, then rubbing his shoulders, then at the base of his neck. Her hands constantly moved over him.
She was anxious. And when she was anxious, she couldn't stay still.
In everything that had been going on, he'd been neglecting her and their relationship. It just wasn't until this moment, in forced relaxation, that he realized how much. Yet here she was sitting by his side, pouring as much love and care into him as she had after the accident.
Whether he wanted to remember the details or not, he knew he had been awful to her at times during the recovery. There was a reason they had a marriage counselor. They did almost divorce after all.
And it was his fault.
Yet she was still with him almost twenty years on.
As sleep overtook him, he vowed to himself that not only would he make certain he didn't ever treat her poorly again, but that he would put all that care and love back into her as soon as the school year was over and the mess he was in was behind them. He would take over care of the home and the kids so she could really enjoy this last baby.
Her soft hands put gently pressure along his collar bone, and he was filled with a deep longing for her as though they didn't see each other every day.
He missed her.
As cliché as it was Jon did love her much more now than he did back then, and he was going to make sure she knew that.
…Baby in a world without pity do you think what I'm askin's too much? I just want to feel you in my arms and share a little of that human touch…
It was strange to be sleeping in Cory's childhood bedroom again.
Topanga sat on the bed next to Cory who was lying on the bed and staring up at the ceiling. She gently massaged the fingers he had slammed against the nightstand when a nightmare awoke him suddenly from a nap.
She looked around the room and smiled as nostalgia filled her. There was so much history of people she loved in the room: Cory, Eric, Shawn.
When Cory and Eric moved out for good, Josh and Morgan fought over the room: a three-year-old vs a fifteen-year-old. Josh emerged the victor but only because Morgan decided at the last moment to drop out of the competition; she was afraid her little brother would ruin her childhood room by changing the way it looked. But Josh didn't stay in the room either. He didn't like being alone in a room so big, so Alan converted the nursery into his bedroom.
Since the room was large with an ensuite bathroom, Cory's parents made big plans for the room, but somehow those plans never quite materialized, and Cory's and Eric's room was untouched, used only for guests.
Topanga had been in Cory's room several times growing up. She knew almost as well as her childhood bedroom. It only became strange to be in his room after they were married. It was awkward knowing that his parents and siblings were just down the hall. And after all these years Topanga wasn't fully comfortable with it.
Cory had always been fine with it.
Until now.
Now Cory wavered between having no problem and being afraid that his parents would catch them sleeping together.
As in sleeping next to each other in the same bed.
After being married for almost sixteen years.
On their way to the bedroom that afternoon, an incident happened that heightened Topanga's concern for her husband. Cory nearly had a heart attack when Josh saw her entering the room with bath towels in hand as he was walking down the hall. She did not appreciate being shoved back into the hallway and locked out of the bedroom with Cory threatening to tell their parents about Josh's late-night adventures if he told their parents about Topanga being in his room.
Josh, naturally, had no idea what he was talking about or why his sister-in-law being in Cory's room was an issue when it was their parents who had set up the sleeping arrangements for everyone.
She worried that this along with Cory's intense desire to return to the past was less to avoid an unpleasant present and more the sign of an on-coming full breakdown.
Topanga sighed and placed Cory's hand on her knee. Most of the time he was all right during the day, and he was her Cory even if he was a few decades younger. But it was the night that brought the nightmares he'd been having since the Penningtons took up residence at John Quincy Adams.
She leaned over and kissed the knuckles of the hand on her knee. Cory sighed happily and closed his eyes.
Leaning back on one hand, Topanga contemplated what she should do. Everyone but Josh and Morgan were in for the rest of the day and were free until it was time to help with dinner. Auggie and Jamie were in the treehouse outside the window. Their cheerful voices made both of the Matthews smile. At the goofy smile on his face, she seriously considered sending Cory out to play with them.
Before she could mention this to him, the notification on her phone went off. Absently she reached for it assuming it was from her law office. The name on the incoming message made her breath catch in her throat.
Katherine Tompkins.
Her eyes narrowed as she read the lengthy text:
Hi Tippy. I know we've been planning on getting together over break but one of my closest friends has been in the hospital and needs me to help him. I'll be in Philadelphia for the next week at least. But let's make a date for the following week. I'll drive up and meet you. No cancelling this time. Promise. XOXO.
Topanga made a face at the closing hugs and kisses. Her frown deepened as she reread the text.
I will be in Philadelphia for the next week…
Her eyes suddenly went wide as she realized what that meant.
Kat was coming here.
To their hometown.
A cold block of dread settled in her chest.
"Topanga?"
Cory saw the look of horror on her face when the text came in and the pale look that lingered worried him. He pulled himself into a sitting position and put a hand on her arm.
"Hey, what's wrong?"
Topanga pressed her lips together tightly unsure of what she should tell him.
He saw the look and turned so he could see her phone screen. He tapped the screen just before it went dark. An angry bitterness settled over his face as he read the text.
"No."
The bitterness in his voice startled her.
"Cory…"
"No! She is not coming here."
Topanga watched him with concern. "I don't want her here either, but we started this. I need to- "
"No! No, Topanga!" He slammed his hand down on the bed as he jumped into a kneeling position. Anger burned in his eyes. "She is not coming here! I refuse to allow her anywhere near my family!"
"Cory, calm down." She put her hands on his chest and pushed him into a sitting position. There was a look in his eyes that she hadn't seen since they were in college when he would fly into a panic over something that was bothering him.
As though to confirm her concern Cory jumped to his feet on the bed and took one bounce down to the floor. He whirled around on her, eyes wide and nostrils flared.
"Calm down? Calm down? Topanga, do you remember what that woman did to our family!?"
Topanga turned around to face him. "Unfortunately, I do," she replied in a tone as calm and neutral as she could manage.
"She's the reason why we're here now. Like this." With one hand on his chest, he threw the other arm out to the side. "She's the reason Jon and Shawn have to do all this making peace with the past. She's the reason they lost seventeen years!"
Cory stuck his fingers in his hair and paced in front of her.
"She ruined Shawn's life!" he went on. "I will not allow that woman to come in here and try to destroy his future!"
Topanga got in front of him. Putting her hands on his chest, she pushed back against him enough for him to register that she was there. Cory's breathing level out, but only a little.
"Cory, I know. Okay, I know." She gripped his shoulders and tried to make eye contact with him. "But first of all, she can't ruin Shawn's future. Shawn knows all about her and what she's trying to do now. Okay? His relationship with Jon is much stronger now than it was back then."
Cory stared back at her. "She's going for Jon's marriage. She destroys that, she destroys Shawn."
"And she will fail at that too." Her grip tightened on him. "Audrey knows about her and what she's doing, too. And so will Jon soon. We all know about her. She's the one at a disadvantage. She doesn't know we all know what's going on."
His expression hardened as he leaned into her hands. "I don't want you meeting with her."
Involuntarily, she bristled against this. " Cory…"
"No, Topanga." A deep scowl settled into his features. "In all the years we've been married I've never demanded that you do anything, but I am now. You will not see her again."
Being told what to do would usually spark righteous indignation in her but the look of fear in her husband's eyes snuffed that spark out before it could catch fire.
"Cory?"
Cory put his hands behind her head and pressed his forehead against hers. "Something's really wrong here, Topanga. With her. I feel like there is something much bigger going on."
"Like what?"
He shook his head and that hazy look drifted into his eyes again. Numbly he mumbled, "She was hired without Jon's consent."
"I know."
He stared at her with unblinking eyes. "Who hired her?"
Topanga's mouth fell open slightly. Although she was well aware of the questions surrounding Katherine's hiring, with all that was going on she had missed the connection Cory was now making.
"We don't know," she said slowly as apprehension blanketed her. "Just like we don't know who hired the Penningtons and Remingtons."
He nodded slowly still pressing his forehead against hers. "All these people were hired without Jon's consent by some mystery figure. Katherine is doing the same thing she did when we were kids. Why, Topanga? What could she possibly gain by doing this now?"
"Nothing. Unless…"
Topanga put her hands on either side of Cory's face and kissed him deeply. Then she ran to the window, opened it, and stuck her head out.
"Shawn!"
Shawn, who was standing at the foot of the treehouse, hauling sand up to Auggie, jumped back and looked up at her like she'd just caught them doing something illegal.
"I was gonna make them take the sand out before we came in," he called back sheepishly.
The look of guilt on his face was enough to make her laugh at the absurdity of the situation.
"Never mind," she shouted back. "Come up and take care of Cory for me."
"Okay," he replied, suspiciously.
While Shawn handed the bucket off to Grayson, Topanga turned back to her husband. Cory was on the bed again staring up at the ceiling. She sat by his side, stroking his cheek while they waited for their best friend to come up.
A few minutes later, the door slammed opened.
"Hey," Shawn greeted them out of breath as he'd run up the stairs to get to them. "Everythin' okay?"
Topanga kissed Cory and got up. She took Shawn's hands and kissed his cheek, leaving him befuddled.
"What do you want me to do?" He asked as she hurried out of the room.
"Talk to him," she called over her shoulder as she hurried to find Audrey.
Eli had managed to make it home just before he was expected.
While Kat inspected what he brought back from the grocery store, he wandered through his apartment curious as to what changes she had made. On the surface nothing appeared to be different, but there was something unsettling about the living room, the kitchen, and his bedroom.
The same feeling he had at Jon's he now felt in his own home.
Suddenly cold, Eli returned to the kitchen.
Kat was in an agreeable mood. She only mentioned that he picked up the wrong brand of aspirin and freezer bags.
Otherwise, she left him alone.
That bothered him for some reason.
"Once I finish packing your bags for our trip we can head to my place," she told him cheerfully as she put away the groceries.
Now that he thought about it, it was strange that she wanted any groceries considering that they would be gone for entire week.
Eli leaned against the door frame. "When exactly are we leaving?"
"As soon as possible."
"When, Kat?"
"As soon as possible."
He puckered his lips then pulled them to the side and scratched his chin. "That's not a real answer."
Sighing heavily as though he was being unreasonable, she stopped what she was doing and slowly turned to face him. "You're on vacation. Why does it matter?"
Eli struggled to keep his expression neutral. "I have fish that need to be fed and I need to plan for that. I'd prefer they not die while I'm gone."
She rolled her eyes. "It takes at least two weeks for fish to starve."
He arched a brow.
She caught his look and shrugged. "At least that's how long it took Jon's to die."
This remark struck a peculiar chord for Eli. The only fish of Jon's she could be referring to were the ones he had when he started teaching at John Adams High. Those fish had died not long after Shawn moved in with Jon and Kat was gone by then. He never had fish again.
How does she know that? He wondered suspiciously.
"Excuse me?"
"We'll only be gone for a week. If Jonny needs me longer you can bring Dylan to his father and feed your fish."
Eli slowly pushed out his lips as she went about fixing lunch. He struggled not to attach more meaning to her words than was there. But the cold detached way she had commented on the fish bothered him greatly.
But she can't be responsible for the demise of those fish. He tried to shake the thought from his head. Not the fish Shawn was convinced he'd killed and tried to replace only to find out they were expensive ones Jon had won in a poker game several years before he started teaching.
At the time, Jon had been upset about the loss of the fish. However, he wasn't upset because he thought Shawn's carelessness killed them but because he never thought he had anything to do with it. He just didn't have an explanation for what happened, and the teen was absolutely convinced it was his fault. They ended up splitting the blame since they were Jon's fish not Shawn's.
Kat couldn't have possibly meant she was responsible.
Nah…
Then the key incident sprang to mind.
A cold shiver shook him.
Eli pushed away from the doorframe and walked out of the kitchen.
"Where are you going?" she called after him.
"Out."
"I need help."
That plaintive whine in her voice frayed his nerves.
"And do what?" he snapped irritably. "Watch you pack my stuff? No, thanks."
"Eli!"
Whatever else she said was lost as soon as the front door slammed shut behind him and he headed to the elevator. He nodded a greeting to the doorman rather than his usual friendly fist bump. Shoving his hands into his jean's pockets, he headed south and lost himself in the sounds and sights of the City. He intended to walk until he was tired and take the subway back, however he didn't make it a full block before realizing his pockets were empty except for his car key which was useless without a vehicle. With a grunt of frustration, Eli made a sharp turn and headed home.
Once back at his place, he started up the front stairs then stopped and stared at the door.
Although it was too soon to go back to his place, wandering the streets with no money or ID wasn't the best idea either, so he went inside and walked the hallways on every floor but his.
Eventually his strange wanderings took him to the garbage collection room. Each floor of the apartment building had a receptacle for trash, but this room was for larger items and for when the floor bins inevitably overflowed.
Standing with his hands still in his pockets Eli stared at the trash wondering how he had got to the point in his life where he'd rather be surrounded by garbage than go back to his own home.
He sighed heavily.
Tipping his head back he closed his eyes and stood there for several seconds. When he reopened them, he was facing a large trash bin that had an awfully familiar box sitting on top.
Eli frowned as he approached it. It was a battered blue and violet floral photograph box, popular in the 90s and 2000s. Trina had given him a box just like that filled with photos of their children after their divorce was settled.
That feeling of foreboding jumped on him again.
It couldn't be that box sitting in the trash.
He approached it as though it was a trapped animal. Cautiously, he opened it.
Inside were not photos of his or anyone's children but photos of him and his ex-wife.
Eli's mouth fell open.
Sifting through the pictures were flashbacks of his former life and love. Once, when he went to pick up the kids, Trina had left an album out for him to look through and take pictures he wanted; she had had all of them scanned into online albums and knew he preferred physical copies. By that point, he was well aware of what a mistake he'd made and, in a rush of regret and longing for what once was, he took a bunch of photos of them as a couple, from dating to marriage, and hoped she wouldn't notice.
If she did, she didn't say anything to him about it.
Those pictures were now waiting to be discarded without his permission or knowledge.
A panic hit him.
What else is in here?
Eli spent the next two hours digging through the trash. By the time he was done, he had not just the pictures, but artwork and schoolwork from his children. Ties, an old wallet, letters all from Trina were buried deep in the receptacle.
And by no small miracle he found the wedding band he once always wore and now carried around in his current wallet.
That ring had been in his back pocket all day.
She waited until I was gone and left my wallet to go through it.
A rage like he'd never felt before consumed him.
Eli packed everything he'd recovered into the photo box and headed to the building's parking garage. Once at his car, he unlocked the trunk and put the box inside of his gym bag, zipped it up, and locked it. Slamming the trunk shut, he headed back out to the street and started to walk again, texting Audrey as he went.
Topanga felt strange about standing outside of Jon and Audrey's room with no door to knock on.
And it felt strange to feel that way.
Over the years she'd spent so much time at their place that she never thought twice about knocking on their bedroom door or shouting down the hall if she needed one of them.
Somehow without a door and real walls, yelling seemed wrong too.
Awkwardly she stood outside wondering what to do. She knew they were in the room because Julia told her they were. She thought her father was asleep but was certain her mother wasn't.
Still if they were both asleep, she didn't want to interrupt what little alone time they had. So she opted to sit on the couch and text Audrey. A few minutes later the curtains separating the bedroom from the rest of the space pulled back slightly and Audrey slipped out.
"Hey," she said softly with a weary smile as she joined Topanga on the couch. "You okay?"
"Yeah," she replied turning towards Audrey. "Why?"
"It's a little strange for you to text me from the same room."
A small laugh escaped her lips. "I didn't want to disturb you guys. Is Jon okay?"
Audrey sighed and rubbed her eyes. "He is. I think." She stared at the coffee table in front of them for a moment then said, "He has a migraine, but it lifted enough that he could fall asleep. I'm hoping it'll be totally gone when he gets up."
"Was it too much today?"
She nodded. "Yeah. It was at the end. Jon told Shawn and Julia my story and made it as far as what Katherine did before she got me sent back for good."
Topanga's eyes widened. "You mean about telling Mr. Feeny you were pregnant?"
"Yep."
"I really didn't think you'd get to that today. No wonder Jon ended up with a migraine." She shot Audrey a quizzical look. "This was the first time Shawn heard the story, wasn't it? Cory and I never told him."
"It was. Julia too."
Topanga shook her head and leaned forward chewing on her thumbnail. Cory's reaction to the text played on repeat in her mind.
"I can't stand that woman," she said after a while.
Audrey gave her a curious expression. "Why is that?"
"Shawn told you everything."
"As far as I know."
"Did he tell you about me meeting with her?"
Audrey nodded.
Topanga sighed and sank back into the couch. She slid down until her knees were touching the coffee table. Her hair splayed over the back of the couch like a doily. "Did he tell you anything about those meetings?"
"No."
She sighed again, sat up, and turned towards Audrey as she pulled her feet under her. Putting her arm on the back of the couch, she leaned her cheek on her fist and told her what Katherine had said about her and the kind of information she was wanting.
"Medical information?" Audrey's eyes went wide for a second then narrowed in suspicion. "Probably wants to know if I've had any relapses in the past twenty years. What she thinks she can do with it to hurt me I don't know. It's not like she can get Jon fired for anything related to that."
Topanga ran her free hand over the knee of her jeans. "Are you sure?"
Audrey nodded confidently. "Yes, everyone in the District knows my history. I've even given talks at the middle and high schools on disordered eating."
"She must have a reason for wanting it though."
Audrey shrugged, unconcerned. "She can do what she wants with whatever she can find out. I'll even hand her the information myself."
Topanga gave her a worried glance. "She must have something in mind or what's the point in trying to get it?"
"I don't know. There really isn't anything she can do. Even if she went to the press, so what? I've been interviewed by local news stations about my story when they were doing reports on the after-school dance programs."
She shifted her position, but she couldn't find a comfortable one, so she stood up and began to pace. "This whole thing isn't about me, not really. It's about Jon."
"You took him away," Topanga pointed out. "Are you sure it's not about you?"
"Oh, I'm sure she'd happily get rid of me if she could. But I don't think that's her goal. Publicly humiliate Jon, drive a wedge between us. She'd be happy with a divorce."
Topanga gave a snort of disgust. "You know she's coming down here."
Audrey nodded and rolled her eyes.
Topanga leaned forward and put her fingertips into the hair above her forehead. She pulled her fingers out, absently fluffing her tresses. "Audrey, she wants to meet with Tippy next week. But if she comes down here, she'll find out who I am. I'm not sure what will happen if she finds out that Tippy's on your side."
Audrey was quiet for a moment as she sat down again. Deep in thought, she traced an infinity sign on the cushion of the couch. When she looked up at Topanga there was a devious look in her eyes.
Initially, she was taken aback by the look, but Topanga immediately warmed to it and began to grin. "What?"
She smiled slyly. "Well, who's to say that I didn't get to 'Tippy' and manipulate her to my side? Isn't that what a 'horrible' woman like me would do?"
Topanga grinned. "You sure that's a good idea?"
She shrugged. "We can wait until she gets here and see what the best way to play it is."
She had seen that look on Audrey's face a few times before. Very curious, she leaned in closer to her. "What do you know?"
Audrey smirked. "I know her boyfriend is on my side."
Her mouth dropped slightly in response. "Eli knows?"
He knows something is wrong with Katherine and wants to talk as soon as they get here before he leaves her for good."
"Oh good! I was worried that he might marry her!" Topanga sighed in relief. She put her hands over her face for a moment, then said, "Aud, can I ask you something?"
"Sure."
"Who hired her?"
Audrey frowned and twisted a lock of hair around her finger. "I don't know. If Jon isn't available to confirm hirings the assistant superintendent should do it."
The lack of an assistant superintendent had always been odd to Topanga. "And there isn't one because…?"
"The DOE claims that they couldn't find anyone willing to do the job," she said in a scathing tone.
"You don't believe that?"
"No," she said sharply. "The District in desperate need of someone in that position- Jon certainly is. It's quite a salary the assistant superintendent makes and in all our years here I've never seen anyone not try to hold the position for at least a year for that reason. " She gave Topanga a wary look. "What are they doing with that salary? Do you think that money is just sitting in a bank somewhere?"
"No, of course not," Topanga shook her head. She'd seen many cases like the one Audrey was suggesting come across her desk over the years- administrators committing fraud were too common an occurrence. "It's been allocated elsewhere. In the case of a school district, it's probably been moved thanks to some barely legal loophole."
"Exactly."
Topanga tilted her head back leaning it against the cushion behind her. "I guess there's nothing we can do about that until Jon hears back from the Mayor's office."
"As far as I know we have to sit and wait." Audrey debated telling Topanga about Yancy but at that moment she didn't have the energy to go into it again and with Jon so close she didn't want him to overhear.
"How's Cory?"
Topanga shrugged. "About the same. I get flickers of him every once in a while, but…" her voice trailed off into a worried sigh.
"But?"
Audrey reached and ran her fingers through the younger woman's hair like she did with her own children and husband. Topanga wasn't sure who's comfort she was doing it for, but she appreciated the familial gesture, nonetheless. "He's totally freaked out about us sharing a bed."
"Why?" she asked amusedly.
"Because he's afraid his parents will find out."
"But Alan and Amy were the ones to…" Audrey's eyes went wide. "Oh, I get it. That is bad."
"Tell me about it," she harrumphed.
The women fell silent lost in their own thoughts. Audrey broke the silence first.
"Topanga, if this situation isn't resolved by the time we go back to the City, have you and Cory considered having him take family leave for mental health?"
" I've considered it," she said, throwing up her hands in frustration. "Cory won't talk about it except to say he doesn't want to go back at all. He wants to stay here and be sixteen again."
"Can you use his wanting to stay here to get him to agree to take the leave?"
"The one time I had him back long enough to get an answer, he refused. He says he can't do that to the kids."
"The kids aren't the ones being targeted," Audrey murmured.
Topanga agreed. "As much as I want to make this decision for him, I can't," she said leaning her head against Audrey's shoulder.
Audrey pinched her bottom lip in thought. "If he won't take the time off Jon could put him on paid administrative leave for some reason or another."
Topanga looked at her quizzically. "Really?"
"Mmhmm. He's already mentioned he might have to do it."
"I'd hate to put that on Jon, but I have a feeling I'm going to need him to do it."
Audrey gave her a sympathetic squeeze. "Do you need anything?"
"I need everything to be back to normal." Topanga sat up and shook out her hair. "I think I'm just going to do for Cory what you're doing for Jon. If I can use this wanting to be a teen again to my advantage and get him rest, I'm gonna do it."
"Good," Audrey said proudly. "And we'll help each other out if our husbands try to worm their way out that break."
Topanga felt a bit of the weight on her shoulders lift. She appreciated Audrey's help when she had so much on her hands. Where Shawn was vocal about Audrey being his mother, Topanga was not as much as she did not want Shawn to think she was trying to take her from him, but Audrey had been the stand-in for her own mother who hadn't had much to do with her for a long time.
Shawn's changed a lot since he'd been home maybe he won't mind sharing now, she thought.
"Absolutely." Reaching over and wrapping her arms around her, Topanga said, "I love you, Aud. I'm really glad Shawn wanted us all to come here."
"Me, too," she replied returning the embrace. "Love you."
After Topanga left, Audrey stayed on the couch for a while longer ruminating over the day's events and what awaited them back home. As she was about to get up and check on Jon, her phone's notification for text messages buzzed.
Rather than a text, it was a picture from Eli of a battered purple and blue box.
Audrey frowned. She had no idea what she was looking at.
While she was in the middle of asking about it, another picture came in. This image was of the same box minus the lid with its contents clearly visible: pictures of Eli and Trina.
Now she was really confused.
What is this?
My photo box. Found it in the trash when I got home from a walk.
Audrey rolled her eyes and gave a grunt of disgust.
Kat hasn't changed at all, has she?
No. This isn't all either.
What else?
Too much to go into now. Talk in Philly.
Okay.
No phone.
Audey pursed her lips together. She wasn't surprised but she was unsettled.
When will you be here?
My clothes are being packed as we text.
Get out ! she replied knowing he would understand what she meant.
Will slam that door as soon I as find out what's really going on.
Keep me updated.
Will do.
Audrey remained on the couch tapping the corner of the phone against her bottom lip. Her mind went over everything she knew about Kat, her motivations, and her unchanged tactics.
Whatever was going on, Audrey wasn't overly concerned about Katherine somehow winning whatever game she was playing. Unlike twenty years ago, their playing field was now level. She was Jon's wife and an established member of the New York Public School system. While Katherine saw her as the same person she was two decades ago, she was not.
Katherine absolutely had no idea who she was really taking on.
Cory was lying on his bed staring at the ceiling exactly as Topanga had left him. Shawn sat in the computer chair at the desk they once did homework at and tossed a small basketball back and forth between his hands. He had tried to get his best friend to talk to him but all he could get out of him was unhinged mumbling rants against Katherine.
Cory was beginning to sound too much like his internal monologue.
It was unnerving.
"Cor?"
"Who hired her anyway?" he snapped suddenly, slamming his fist into the mattress and sitting up as his hand bounced up.
Shawn caught the ball he had thrown into the air and held it. He wasn't sure if it was sixteen-year-old Cory asking the question or not. Regarding his best friend with veiled concern, he said, "Pretty sure Mr. Feeny did."
Cory leaned forward and squinted at him before shaking his head with an amused smile. "Mr. Feeny has been retired for years, Shawnie. I mean, I know the guy's got a lot of power, but I don't think he's that powerful."
Shawn grinned as he thought back over their childhood and how Mr. Feeny seemed to appear everywhere they went until they moved to New York. "I thought you were talkin' about high school."
"I wish. Then the adults could deal with her, and we could focus on important things."
Shawn was about to tease him about Topanga being the "important things" when he saw Cory sink back onto the bed and resume staring at the ceiling and muttering.
The muttering grew louder and culminated with "Why does she hate us so much? What did we do to her?"
Shawn instinctively shrugged as he felt the creepy tingling of bitterness attempt to claw its way up his back. "We know why she hated me. But you? You were my friend Gulity by association."
The negative feelings towards Katherine intensified the more he thought about the new information he had about what she did to Jon back then. He gripped the basketball so tightly his fingernails sank into the hard foam leaving permanent dents behind.
The men stewed silently in their anger for several minutes until Shawn said, "I've been thinkin' about the key incident a lot lately. I'm almost positive she found out about Topanga's 'forensic' investigation that tied her nail polish to the key."
This got Cory's attention. He pushed himself into a partially sitting up position, resting on his elbow. "How? That lady at the hardware store who acted like you'd run away from home or something?"
The corner of Shawn's mouth pulled to the side in a half-grimace. "I hadn't thought about her, but yeah, if Kat had gone back there for some reason, I could see her saying somethin' about me. But I was thinkin' more along the lines of a kid reportin' back to her."
A confused look clouded Cory's face. "Who?"
"That's the problem. I don't know."
Cory sat up fully and began to go over potential informers with him. Unfortunately, they struggled to come up with anyone. Kids like Frankie and Joey hated almost every teacher and would never do anything for them without sufficient pay and the ability to blackmail those they did business with. No teacher they knew of would do business with them, except possibly for their science teacher, but they knew for a fact that Harley's gang would not do business with him.
They hated Sorrell.
Other kids like Minkus, who they frequently butted heads with, weren't so petty as to become snitches. If someone did act as a spy for Katherine it wasn't someone who was on their radar in high school.
"I think we'd be able to figure this out if we went back."
"Back?" Shawn swiveled in his seat as he mulled the idea over. "As much as I'd like to, I don't have a time machine. Do you?"
Deep in thought, Cory shook his head then said absently, "Eric's working on one."
Shawn stopped for a moment, considered this, then continued to swivel.
"I know Audrey cut your day short but did going back to the apartment help you and Jon any?"
Shawn put his foot on the frame of the bed to stop his movement. After thinking about the morning for a moment he replied, "We didn't get very far but I think it will eventually."
"Did you accomplish anything?"
"Yeah," he snorted. "I hate Kat more than before."
Cory gave him a sympathetic look. "Jon told you about her going to Feeny and telling him Audrey was pregnant, didn't he?"
It still stung that Cory knew what he was just finding out, but the sting was not as deep nor as painful as he expected. "Yeah, he did."
"It's like she's doing what she did before." Cory rubbed his hands over his face, then he looked up at Shawn with a glimmer of mischievous humor in his eyes. "Wouldn't it be funny if she went to the Mayor and told him that Jon got Audrey pregnant?"
The remark caught Shawn so off guard that he laughed out loud. "She'd look like an idiot for a few reasons."
Cory grinned then said, "I dunno when Audrey will let Jon go but maybe going back to school will help us."
"Help us do what?" He knew Cory had to have a reason for wanting to go back to John Adams High other than just reliving their teen years.
"To figure things out." Cory stared into the distance. "You ever get the feeling there's a period of about two years that you can't really remember?"
"All the time."
"I've talked to Jon about it." He leaned back on his hand. "He's not sure when it happened or if the years are back-to-back, but he feels like there's stuff he can't remember that happened before the accident."
"Yeah," Shawn sighed. "Maybe goin' back will help."
"Mr. Feeny said he'd go."
"Really?"
Cory nodded. "I asked him. I wouldn't feel right about going back without him."
"That's good," Shawn sighed and shot the ball at the basket on the back of the bathroom door. There was still a conversation he needed to have with his former teacher.
"Jon doesn't know who hired Katherine."
"I know."
Cory frowned. "I have a feeling it goes back to high school."
Shawn regarded him curiously. "Why?"
He shook his head in uncertainty. "I'm not sure. I just can't shake the feeling that everything that's been going on has something to do with what happened back then."
Picking at the skin around his thumbnails, Shawn ran through two decades in his head before meeting Cory's gaze. "Did you know Yancy was a teacher at John Adams High?"
"Only because Jon told me. I didn't remember him at all."
"Yeah. And apparently he really hates not being remembered."
The grim look on his best friend's face sent a shock of anxiety through him. "Shawn? What are you thinking?"
Shawn slid down in his chair and let out a heavy breath. "I'm thinkin' we're forgettin' something important about Yancy."
The rest of the day was uneventful, and the adults were grateful for that. The kids, most of whom didn't know what had been going on, sensed the atmosphere relaxed and were happier and less argumentative with each other.
Cory and Shawn were responsible for the night's dinner which led to takeout from Temple Star Chinese Restaurant once Amy saw what they were doing to her kitchen. Shawn could cook very well, thanks to Audrey, and Cory could follow directions very well. What they could not do was both of these things together.
In most areas of life Cory and Shawn partnered well, but when it came to cooking, they distracted each other too much. Somehow, they managed to burn a pan to an unusable crisp and set off the smoke alarm.
Twice.
Neither Audrey nor Amy were impressed.
After dinner, there was a family game night of Mario Kart and Monopoly. After that there was a movie. During "The Land Before Time" some of the older kids migrated to other parts of the home.
The whole house hummed with life, and it was this quiet buzz of a full house that Shawn had come to love more than the noise of constant travel.
Sometime after nine Cory and Topanga disappeared without so much as saying goodnight. A brief time later, Shawn saw Jon drifting off and offered to put Bella to bed and come back for the boys. Audrey took the opportunity, told everyone goodnight, and practically pulled Jon downstairs with her.
"Can I at least watch SportsCenter?" Jon asked in faux annoyance. Although he was tired, he was in a better mood than he had been since they came back from the apartment.
Audrey gave him an exaggerated eye roll. "I suppose," she huffed as though she was irritated by the request.
Jon grinned.
Being sick had its perks.
While he settled onto the couch with remote in hand, Audrey left to get ready for bed. She intended to take as long as she could so he could catch up on the Stanley Cup playoffs. Intentionally taking her time was completely unnecessary as she had somehow forgotten how long it took to get ready for bed at this stage in her pregnancy.
Without thinking she changed in the bathroom. Ordinarily she avoided doing this because there were times she still struggled with what she saw in the mirror.
Especially now.
Multiple pregnancies were not easy on her body but with each one Audrey became more grateful for her ballet background which helped keep her strong and fit between and during each one. Although she had been slacking recently on following a friend and former ballet dancer's prenatal workout DVDs she'd been sent to stay active when she couldn't make it to the studio for workouts.
Audrey started to do a few warmup pliés in front of the bathroom mirror, saw how tired she looked, and stopped.
I've been faithful with this until last week and now I'm on vacation, she decided resolutely. She silenced the screaming voices in her head about her physical appearance by reminding herself of what her body had accomplished many times over.
This can wait.
The Minnesota Wild vs. Chicago Blackhawks postgame show was wrapping up when she finally emerged from the bathroom and let Jon know it was his turn. He was in quite a mood, still feigning annoyance with being "sick". He grumbled against her throat with a smile as he wrapped his arms around her and patted out a rhythm on her rear.
She felt herself melt against him, but resisted after reminding herself that he wasn't well.
"Go get ready," she laughed and kissed him.
Jon deepened that kiss then let her go with a self-satisfied grin and sauntered off to the bathroom.
Audrey was still navigating herself into bed when he returned. He stood on his side of the bed with his hands on his waist grinning at her.
"Shut up," she said, rolling herself into a more comfortable position.
"I didn't say anything."
"I can read your mind, remember?"
Jon gave her a smirk and arched an eyebrow. "Read this, babe."
Audrey's face reddened as she laughed and threw a pillow at him.
He caught it and walked over to her side. Once she was under the covers, he put the pillow behind her and his forehead against hers with one of the wickedest grins she'd ever seen.
"Shut up!" she laughed, swatting at his chest.
Jon was now curious. "What do you think I'm thinkin'?"
"You know what you were thinking!" she choked out between embarrassed laughs.
The blush that blazed across her cheeks delighted him. But what made the entire thing so funny was that he really hadn't been trying to convey anything; he was only making facial expressions. Once he started laughing, he couldn't stop. Her bouts of genuine happiness mingled with his and reminded them both of better days.
He slid into bed next to her as she was tucking Topanga's pregnancy pillow around her.
"Is that workin' out for you?" he nodded at the pillow.
"It's okay," she shrugged. She gave him a wistful look. "You're better."
This made Jon pause as guilt tugged at his conscience. "Yeah, you used to always use me as your pregnancy pillow." He shot a quick look at her then started to unnecessarily play with the bedcovers. "Why'd you stop?"
Audrey looked away from him and braided a lock of hair. "With all the stress you've been under you didn't seem comfortable with it anymore."
He pressed his lips together into a hard line. Regret seemed to be his forever companion. Regret over Shawn had been with him for as they'd been married. Regret over the way their relationship and marriage began had been around for just as long. Now regret over his treatment of her and their last child.
Glancing at his wife's melancholy countenance, Jon softened. Then he reached out to her and slid his hand under her top, searching for any kicking their child might be doing.
"Here," Audrey said quietly moving his hand to her left side. "She just started kicking when you started talking."
Jon rested his lips against her belly, watching her skin ripple as their child moved. The little foot impression reminded him of Julia. Her pregnancy with Julia scared him and thrilled him at the same time.
Jon sighed as that foot hit his thumb.
Why didn't he want this baby again?
The reason was now murky and elusive.
After a while he leaned back onto his side of the bed. Audrey followed. Placing her head on his chest, she angled herself on the bed so that she could put half of Topanga's pillow under her belly and between her knees. Jon arched a brow as he didn't see how she could be comfortable that way but said nothing.
The fabric of his t-shirt rubbed against her nose and caused her to sneeze.
"You okay?"
She looked up at him and squinted. "Why do you wear shirts to bed? I hate them so much."
Jon snorted in disbelief at her complaint. "I'm gettin' too old to go without a shirt, babe."
"Jon," Audrey said with a hint of exasperation in her voice. "You're in your fifties with a six pack. You should never wear a shirt."
This got an abrupt, harsh laugh out of him. He tangled his fingers in her hair and put his lips against the top of her head. It had been so long since he'd been consistently to the gym and with his health in decline lately, his physique was suffering, and he knew it.
He wondered if she'd somehow not noticed this.
But of course, she had. This was Audrey. She noticed everything when it came to him.
"How old am I?" he asked.
He could feel her stiffening.
"52," she responded quickly but he could hear the uncertainty in her voice.
"You sure?" He asked wryly.
"Yes?"
He laughed. "Yeah, I'm not sure either. I coulda sworn of I was older than that by two years but…"
"Every document we have says you're 52."
"What about my birth certificate?"
Audrey said nothing.
Jon grinned.
"Have you even seen it?"
"It's in the family safe with everyone else's," she said indignantly.
"I didn't ask where it was but if you'd seen it."
"What does that have to do with you wearing shirts to bed?" Audrey harrumphed.
It didn't have anything related to the shirts, he just wanted confirmation that she wasn't just trying to soothe his ego.
"You really want me to take the shirt off?"
"Yes."
"You're gonna have to get up."
"Oh." Clearly this had not occurred to her.
Jon grinned, let her struggle a bit, then helped her up. Once his shirt was off, she settled back against him with a happy sigh. This caused a surge of confidence to flow through him. Her insistence on getting rid of the shirt was a boost he didn't know he needed.
Feeling more confident that his wife's interest in him was still strong, Jon lazily rubbed circles into her lower back as his thoughts drifted over the events of the day that seemed so long ago.
"It's wild how accurately Shawn replicated the apartment," he commented offhandedly.
"Like father like son," she murmured drowsily.
"I suppose," he said. Reaching down with his free hand he pulled her leg over his and massaged the muscles around her knee.
Like father, like son…
Jon was still uncertain whether he could really claim that title when it came to Shawn. Even though he'd had been calling him Dad for quite a while now, he felt it was more out of nostalgic fondness than anything else.
He'd made so many mistakes with Shawn that he couldn't begin to make it up to him.
Abruptly Jon became aware of being watched. Tipping his chin down he saw those eyes he loved so much regarding him worriedly.
"You're thinking about it again," she said softly.
"You are a mind reader," he teased.
She wasn't in a teasing mood. "It's written all over your face."
"Okay, face reader then."
She groaned.
"It hard not to think about, Aud," he admitted.
"I know."
Once those dark thoughts began, he had a hard time stopping them. "What if bein' back and goin' over things doesn't fix things between Shawn and me?"
"You don't think him being back has helped to do that?"
"How could it? I wasn't there for him then and I'm still not here for him." Jon stared at the ceiling. "I'm not here for any of my kids right now."
"Stop it," she said firmly and tightening her grip on him. "Don't do that to yourself."
He repressed a sigh. "Shawn blames Kat for all of this."
Audrey squeezed her eyes tightly shut and pinched her lips tightly together.
"I'd almost forgotten that she told George I got you pregnant," he went on.
This was the last thing that either of them needed before bed.
With great annoyance Audrey pulled herself into a sitting position. Jon followed her, pulling his knees up to his chest and putting his arms around his legs.
She watched him closely, extremely uncomfortable that he didn't know everything that was going on. As much as she wanted to tell him, now was not the time.
"I want her gone," he said quietly, staring at his hands.
Audrey took his right hand and began to massage the thenar space and his palm.
"I screwed up with Shawn," he went on severely. "But she intentionally ruined our lives."
She tried to quiet this line of thought, but he interrupted. "I thought I'd forgiven her, but I haven't. I want her gone."
"You don't have to renew her contract," she pointed out. "You can put her on a no- hire list."
"No." He shook his head in quiet anger. "I want her gone now."
Audrey nodded more than a little relieved to hear this, but she stayed quiet. She went on massaging his hand as she did not trust herself not to spill everything she knew.
Jon was quiet for a long time before reaching out to touch her belly. "You were pregnant with Julia the last time we were in that apartment."
"Mmhmm." Audrey was grateful for the change of subject.
"I was so afraid of what would happen after she was born."
"I remember."
"Shawn always wanted a sister," he said with a small smile. His voice was still low, and it was hard to hear him. "You delivered."
Her hand brushed his temple. "You had a part in it."
The corner of his mouth tugged upwards. He leaned down and did something he hadn't done for her entire pregnancy: he kissed her belly and rested his head against their child.
Audrey ran her fingers through his hair. It didn't take long before the position she was folded into began to cause her pain, but she dealt with it for as long as he would stay close to them both.
Jon closed his eyes feeling suddenly drained. Thoughts of Shawn, the other kids, Kat, Yancy, Cory, school, New York, and Philly all raced through his mind colliding with each other and causing a terrible screech in his head.
He grimaced.
In the chaos, one thought shoved its way to the forefront of his mind: he didn't hire Kat and he didn't know who did.
Jon sat up so fast his head swam making him feel slightly nauseated.
"Jon?" Audrey asked worriedly.
"I didn't hire her."
She resisted forcing him to lie down. Against her better judgement, she asked, "Do you have any idea who might have?"
He slowly shook his head. "No, I don't. Just like I don't have a clue who hired the Penningtons or Remingtons."
"Okay," she said getting closer to him. She kissed his cheek and he involuntarily turned towards her. "There's nothing we can do about this now."
He said nothing, staring at the curtain wall.
"Jon?"
He sighed. "I know. I know. I gotta get better so I can deal with this mess when we go back."
"Yes." She kissed down his jawline to his chin until he relaxed enough so she could gently push him back down on the bed.
She watched him with concern for a moment then ran her hand over his head. With a sigh she moved the pillows out of the way and laid down with her body supported by Topanga's pillow instead of her husband. She was just too far along to sleep the way she could not long before.
The time for that was lost.
Since she couldn't wrap herself around him, he wrapped himself around her. He pressed his mouth into her shoulder and after several minutes of Audrey stroking his arm, he fell asleep.
She was just about to drift off herself when she saw her phone light up.
She'd forgotten to put it on do not disturb.
She unlocked the phone as discreetly as she could so that the light wouldn't wake him.
It was a text message from Kat.
Jonny, I'm on my way. I'm so sorry it's taking so long for me to get to you, but we're leaving tomorrow afternoon. If you need anything text me.
Audrey frowned. It didn't make sense that Kat would text her number and she knew she wasn't absentminded enough to mix up her number with Jon's.
Then she remembered that Eli couldn't find Jon's phone.
Is this an accident or did she intentionally send me a message meant for Jon? Why?
Audrey lay awake for a long time trying to piece together what exactly Kat was up to.
Next: Yancy and his new associate are being watched.
Eddie prepares to visit Jon's parents by stopping at a certain Village brownstone first.