AN: My sincere apologies for the chapter being so delayed. April was a busy month and I haven't had much time to sit down and write. I'm hoping as summer is almost here I'll be able to update a little more frequently. The following interlude piece dips its toes into the murky waters of school politics as Shawn gets introduced to the realities of the school system. I taught elementary reading intervention to kindergarten, 1st, 2nd, & 3rd over 11 years in the public schools. I left because I was on the verge of a mental and physical breakdown. The kids were not the reason for it- they were the only reason I stayed as long as I did. It was the adults. Oh, the stories I could tell! You'll hear some of them in the following chapters. I wish I could tell you things are exaggerated for the dramatic purposes but unfortunately they are not. Internal politics is one of the reason so many good teachers and support staff are leaving the public schools. Not all districts are like the one I was in thankfully. There are still good districts, administrators, and school boards out there; they just are fewer than they should be.

Thank you to everyone who is reading. Hope you enjoy!

"Sometimes telling what happened, in whatever way you can, is a means of lightening your burden. It summons others to help you bear the weight of your own story, so that you might finally get out from under it." ― Tracy K. Smith

It had been a very long time since the three childhood friends from Philadelphia had spent any significant amount of time together. After college, the years snuck up on them and before they knew it they were in their thirties following very different life paths. Two had joined together and forged their way into adulthood and parenthood doing what society expected of them at their ages. The third, the vagabond with no ties, no connections, no real responsibilities, had finally stumbled home and was struggling to do what the other two had done long ago and that was to grow up.

The Philadelphia natives gathered in the viewing area outside of the rink where Julia's competition at the Lake Placid Olympic Center was being held. Lake Placid was a famed winter sports mecca that had hosted the Winter Olympics in 1932 and in 1980 where the Miracle on Ice hockey game occurred. It's figure skating history was legendary and every competitive skater dreamed of training in the city with its renowned coaches, many of whom were former Olympians.

While Julia waited for her turn to compete, Topanga pulled her husband and their best friend off to the side of the viewing area to sit at a table partially hidden by the arena's support poles. Rather than sit next to her husband as she usually did, she had Shawn sit in her place. On her side of the table, she sat in the middle of the bench seat so that she could make eye contact with them both at the same time. Folding her hands in front of her, she said in even low voice that left no room for disagreement or protest,

"Start at the beginning and tell me everything."

Cory and Shawn exchanged worried glances, unsure of how to and who should begin. With a deep, shaky inhale Shawn took the lead. It was only fair that he should be the one to tell her. After all Cory would not be involved if not for him.

Topanga listened to the men, quietly and solemnly, trying very hard to keep her thoughts to herself until they were through. But as she listened to them, she started to grow angry at their foolishness and imprudence. How could they not see how childish and dangerous what they were doing was? And to involve the kids?

"Unbelievable," she murmured under her breath when Shawn finished his explanation.

Cory paled and began to shred the napkin he had taken from the dispenser when they first sat down. He knew that look on his wife's face all too well. Shawn, however, did not and unwisely responded, "Yeah, we know. It's like Miss Tompkins is stuck in high school or something."

Topanga met his gaze with a blank stare. Cory swallowed, his eyes darting between them. There was storm brewing between his wife and best friend, only Shawn couldn't see it coming and, knowing the man as well as he did, Cory knew he was going to steer directly into it.

"Are you insane?" Each word she spoke was crisp and precisely delivered.

Shawn blinked. He looked at Topanga in confusion and frowned. "I'm sorry?"

"Are. You. Insane?"

This was not the response Shawn expected. It wasn't so much that he thought Topanga would be all in on their scheme. She, as she'd always been, had to be the voice of reason even when reason sounded like a nag and a criticism. He did not even expect her to approve of what they were doing, but he thought she'd at least understand the why behind it. What he did not expect was for his sanity to be brought into question.

"C'mon, Topanga," Cory said with nervous energy, trying to drive them out of the storm's path. "I mean, this is serious stuff that's been going on."

Topanga turned that same blank look onto her husband. This look, Cory knew, was her way of controlling her emotions and remaining calm. In the courtroom, it was her poker face. She was scarily good at it. "That's not how you're treating it."

"Yes, it is," Shawn protested, beginning to feel very defensive. "It's very serious. Miss Tompkins isn't playin'."

She turned back to him. There was an unspoken challenge in her eyes. "But you are."

"Excuse me?" Shawn couldn't believe what he was hearing. Who's side was she on anyway?

Cory was alarmed by the looks his wife and best friend were exchanging. This was not good. He put a restraining hand on Shawn's shoulder.

"You," Topanga said, emotion began to bleed through her words, "are treating this situation like some kind of game. Do you have any idea the damage you could cause by doing this?"

"Damage?!" he repeated, his voice rising. Feelings of insecurity and resentment of being scolded rose within him and gripped him with their sharp claws. "I'm not the one who's tryin' to bust up a marriage!"

"You've got an illegal app on Jon's phone," Her hands slapped the tabletop in exasperation. "You're interfering with his job communications that could get him fired, and your dealings with Miss Tompkins could have serious legal consequences! You aren't fifteen, Shawn! This is real life with real people involved!"

Back when they were young, there were many times when Topanga spoke to him like this with her moral superiority and overconfidence that she was always right and he was some poor, dumb slob who'd never do anything right without being told what to do and how to do it. There were enough people in his life who did this to him on a regular basis, so it hurt most when one of his closest confidantes did it, too. It had been years since their last clash and perhaps that's why Shawn was having such a hard time with the way she was speaking to him now. "Don't talk to me like I'm stupid! Do you really think I haven't thought this through?"

"No!" she snapped back furiously. "I don't think you have. I think you're just thinking about yourself and what you want. You're trying to recapture some part of your childhood that never existed."

This was an appalling and untrue accusation. Shawn regretted her being with them deeply and resented her forcing her way into the middle of his thing with Cory once again. She could never, ever let him and Cory have one thing to themselves; she always had in be involved and in charge. This hostility came through as he leaned over the table and hissed, "I am not! I'm tryin' to take care of my parents, Topanga. Mine. I'm tryin' to take care of the people who loved me enough to keep me a part of their family all this time."

"Then why you are playing these childish, stupid games with their marriage!?"

The look in her eyes and the tone of her voice struck a hard blow to his heart and he was unable to respond for a moment. Cory was involved as much as he was and Cory had encouraged him, but it was not Cory that sharing in the blame; Topanga was putting it solely on him. Nothing had changed between them since they'd all moved to the City and that was the problem. Life moved much faster once in New York with school, jobs, people moving, people coming, children added. Somehow, although he and Cory's relationship had gone through a roller coaster of changes over the years, his relationship with Topanga had not. Their friendship was lying frozen somewhere in 2002. Their interactions over the years had been superficial. Who's fault was that? His lifestyle didn't aide in keeping friendships alive that was certain and when he was in town his attention was on Cory. But what about Topanga? She had always been there with him but he could not recall her ever talking to him unless it was to make sarcastic remarks about his relationship with her husband. Essentially, they hadn't really spoke in fifteen years. So he responded to her based on the way their friendship was when it had been put on ice and snapped back with fury, ""Because I don't want them to end up like your parents!"

The words that were on Topanga's lips died as quickly as they sprang up as she stared at him in stunned silence. She then blinked several times before quickly getting up and leaving the table. Cory jumped up from the table and called after her but she quickened her pace and disappeared into the bathroom. Cory stood in the middle of the viewing area, caught in between his wife and best friend where he'd been on too many occasions when they were growing up. He didn't know what to do; he couldn't follow Topanga so he stood awkwardly in his place wringing his hands in despair. Finally, he went back to the table and slumped down with his head in hands. He turned his head slightly towards his best friend,

"That was a low blow."

Shawn growled in frustration at his inability to control his tongue. As much as he really did love Topanga there were unresolved things between them that he had yet to conquer. Feeling like an idiotic buffoon in her perfectionist presence was one of them. He still didn't know how to deal with his own feelings of inadequacy and insecurity and so he avoided anything and anyone who brought these feelings out. For better or for worse, coming home and staying meant he could no longer run from these situations. Especially, where Topanga was involved.

"I know." Shawn did regret saying the words that he should never have spoken.

There was something about Topanga that he knew that no one other than Cory, the Matthews, and his parents knew: she was essentially parent-less growing up. Even Mr. Feeny didn't know this until years later. It wasn't that Topanga had no parents; it was just that their parenting philosophy was that once children reached a certain (eight in Topanga's case) they no longer needed parents. The "be your child's friend" school of thought was popular during the 80s and early 90s but Topanga's parents took this to an extreme especially when other kids' parents would gladly take her in. Trini's parents did this for her in the same way that the Matthews took him in. When her parents decided to move to Pittsburgh, she finally had a more stable home when her aunt intervened and gave her a home. However, her aunt was not a very maternal person and Topanga often bounced back and forth between Trini's and another friend's, Allora's, place when her aunt allowed.

Unfortunately, that wasn't the only issue with the Lawrences before their divorce. They were very eccentric people and tended to change beliefs and interests like others changed their clothes. The hippie phase lasted the longest, from the time Topanga was three until she was thirteen. Everything from their home furnishing to their dress and speech was steeped in the counter-culture of 60s and 70s. Shawn always assumed this was due to their inability to let go of their youth. Then one day Topanga's parents showed up at a school function looking like they'd just walked off the set of Silver Spoons. They had fully embraced the preppy look and attitude that dominated the 80s even though it was the mid-90s. Throughout high school their interests and cultural obsessions continued to change until finally the people he knew as the Lawrences had morphed into people who were completely unrecognizable. This, of course, had a significant impact on Topanga and her older sister as they tried to cope with their parents bizarre behavior. Nebula suffered the worse when their parents ditched the hippie lifestyle she'd been raise in as she and her sister were now expected to adapt to the preppy mindset. Shawn couldn't recall exactly how old they were when Nebula ran off with a guy she met at a gas station, but it was before they started sixth grade. After years of drug abuse and life on the street, Nebula, who had changed her name long ago to something he couldn't remember, was in rehab trying to regain custody of her three kids again. Topanga also did a 180 in personality and style, but in the direction opposite of her sister. Once a free-spirited child, Topanga changed into a high-achieving perfectionist. As such, she not only gained attention from her parents but it allowed her to go through life without many questions being asked about her home life. Because of Topanga, the outside world saw the Lawrences as competent and caring parents with eccentric habits who led very busy lives. In spite of everything that her parents put her through, Topanga loved them deeply and their divorce devastated her.

Shawn knew all of this and still he had to use what he knew to hurt her as he knew no other way to protect himself from her judgment. Guilt consumed him and he wanted to run. He gripped the bench seat to hold himself tightly to the space until that feeling passed.

"I'm sorry, Cor," he said sincerely. "I just wish she'd try to see things from my perspective just once before she lays into me, telling me how stupid I am. You don't know what a difference that would make."

"You know how she is, Shawn," Cory sighed with a worried glance at the women's bathroom door. "She has to have all the pros and cons laid out in front of her and then she has to weigh them out logically and rationally before deciding on a course of action. Impulse and crazy schemes aren't her thing. But you also know she'll come around eventually if we're doing the right thing."

"Yeah, I know, I know. It just be nice if she wouldn't always assume the worst of me first. Like she did when she found out I had Little Cory. I was doing the right thing for that little guy. I loved him and I took good care of him right from the start and to the very end."

Even in the situation with Little Cory, it wasn't that he thought Topanga was entirely wrong about Jon's apartment not being the best place for the pig to live, it was just that he needed to be the one to figure out what to do in his way. Not Topanga's. Two weeks before Audrey's student teaching was terminated, Shawn met a couple at a livestock show Jon and Audrey took him to who had a place just outside of the city. They had chickens, donkeys, goats, sheep, and a lonely little female pig just about Little Cory's age. The couple offered to let Little Cory stay with them any time Shawn needed a safe place for him. After a long talk with Jon, Shawn decided to take them up on their offer. But Little Cory was still his and he paid for his food and vet bills as best he could, often spending his free time over the years doing manual labor for the couple. While Little Cory was still small, he'd pick his pig up for weekend and holiday visits. No matter where Shawn's travels took him, he always came back to the pig and the people who had so generously helped him with the little guy. Little Cory ended up outgrowing and outweighing his namesake significantly and had many children and grandchildren. Shawn smiled as he thought of the only real pet he'd ever had. Just last year, his beloved pig passed away at the ripe old piggy age of 17 with his muddy snout burrowed into Shawn's thigh. One day, Shawn promised himself, he'd have his own place with enough land to raise a couple of Little Cory's descendants. Not a word of this had he ever shared with Topanga, in part because he was afraid he'd have to hear "I told you so" for the rest of his life.

"And," Cory stabbed the table with his index finger, "she came around to that and helped you keep him."

Shawn gave him a sideways look. "It was her fault I almost lost him. Jon was the reason he didn't get taken. If he hadn't played Farmer Brown I would never have seen Little Cory again."

"Point is," Cory said, annoyed that he was still stuck on that, "she did come around."

"Cory, this is more serious," Shawn's face twisted up in a grimace. "I can't risk her doing something that might cost my parents their marriage because she has to be in charge."

"I don't know how she could do that, Shawn. She loves Jon and Audrey as much as we do."

Shawn gave him a small smile. "I know you love them, Cor, but it's not the same."

Cory was about to say something, when he suddenly sat up straight. "Shawn," he smacked his best friend's arm several times. "Make peace, okay?"

At that, Shawn looked up and saw that Topanga was rejoining them. They stared at each other for moment.

"I'm sorry." They said simultaneously.

Topanga gave him a small smile. It was obvious that she'd been crying and Shawn felt awful about that. He started to apologize again but she held her hand up. "Let me go first."

With a curt nod, Shawn shut up.

"I'm sorry I doubted your motives for doing what you're doing," she said. Her eyes were wide and focused on something behind him. Clearly, she had a speech prepared and was trying to get through it without tears. "I don't agree with how you're going about this, but you and I tend to take very different routes to get to the same place. Jon and Audrey have been like parents to me, too, over the years," her voice became very quiet and fraught with emotion. "I haven't spoken to either of my parents in a very long time. They both have new lives with new families. They rarely return calls anymore and they don't come to see the kids. I don't want what happened to them to happen to Jon and Audrey, either. I want to be a part of this, Shawn. I want to help."

Shawn pursed his lips together, feeling even worse than before. For as much as he had wanted her to give him the benefit of the doubt first instead of last, he certainly didn't extend the same courtesy to her. There were times he truly forgot that they weren't still in their early twenties; that seventeen years had gone by and that some people, even Topanga, could change in that amount of time.

"Of course," he told her, trying to shake off the embarrassment. "I've been outta touch for so long that I guess I just forget that Mom and Dad have really been a bigger part of your life than mine."

Topanga saw the look that twisted his face and her heart hurt for him and everything that he had missed over the years. The impact of a stable, loving environment growing up and the desperation to hold onto that in adulthood was not lost on her and she knew she was very blessed to have the family and support around her that did; that she'd always had. "Shawn," she said quietly, reaching across the table and taking both of his hands in both of hers. "There is one thing I do know and that is that Jon would never cheat on Audrey. Never."

"I know, Topanga," he said with a grateful smile. "That's not really what I'm worried about."

It was so much harder to give voice to his thoughts in a way that made sense to others, especially others who tended to be very logical and good with words. With Cory he could he muddle his way through explanations without much effort, but Topanga required more and he felt he owed it to her to do the best he could to articulate what he was thinking.

"I don't believe Miss Tompkins is capable of getting Dad's attention no matter what's going on at home. I'm worried that she is capable of causing enough problems that it could damage their marriage for good. She's angry with me. She's angry I'm back and angry that I know what she's up to. I'm afraid that when she realizes that she can't get Dad, she might just do whatever she can to get back at me. You know, cause enough doubt and conflict that..." he voice trailed off and his mouth twisted into a distraught frown. He pulled his hands away from hers and ran them through his hair.

"I know what you're sayin'," Topanga said with a sigh and a frown.

Shawn leaned against the table. "She took Mom's name off the list of people who are supposed to receive the District and Dad's schedule updates."

Topanga arched an eyebrow. Based on what Shawn had told her initially she really thought he was exaggerating the situation with Miss Tompkins and that his perception was based more on the past rather than the present.

"She made reservations under Dad's name at a fancy French restaurant without his knowledge."

"Jon hates French food." Topanga said, voicing what they all knew. She tapped her fingertips against the tabletop. She stared at the table for a long moment then met Shawn's eyes with a serious look. "Sounds like she's testing the waters to see where Jon's boundaries are."

The man across from her nodded. "Guess who's been there so far to thwart her plans?"

"You're a problem, Shawn." She gave him a rueful smile.

"Always have been," he replied, with a casual shrug.

The three friends sat in silence for a few minutes, each lost in their own thoughts, although Cory's mind wasn't on his former English teacher and his wife but rather on Topanga and Shawn and the blow-out argument that had been barely avoided. The precarious state of Shawn and Topanga's friendship had always worried Cory since the once strong relationship had deteriorated to hinging on him and him alone for it's existence. All it would take would be one final misunderstanding, one last dispute, and he'd be forced to chose between the two. How could he chose? Could he walk out on his wife and break his vows to her? Of course not. Could he turn his back on his best friend, his brother? Of course not. A cold sweat broke out on Cory's forehead as he worried about this. He prayed that somehow by the end of this ordeal with Miss Tompkins Shawn and Topanga's friendship could be restored and be independent of him once again.

"Have you told Jon about what's been going on?" Topanga asked. She was addressing them both, but Cory was still lost in his worry and did not hear her.

"No, but what am I supposed to tell him?" Shawn leaned back, looking frustrated. "Hey, Dad, you know your secretary that I hate? I think she's trying to break you and Mom up. And what have I got to show him that I'm right?" He shrugged. "Nothin'. I got nothin'. I didn't get the conversation at the restaurant on tape. I didn't make any record of Mom not being on the list to receive his schedules. I can't prove that the articles she was looking up have anything to do with him. I've only got Katy as a witness to the reservation that was made in his name. "

Topanga nodded. "Have you talked to Audrey?"

"A month ago I asked if Miss Tompkins workin' for Dad bothered her. She said no. I haven't said anything to her since," Shawn sighed. "After yesterday, she knows something's up. I just don't wanna say anything unless we have to. She's got enough to worry about."

Topanga watched as a dark shadow descended over Shawn's face. "What is it, Shawn?"

He frowned. "I'm not sure."

"Don't keep it in," she admonished. He looked up, surprised by the affection that was hidden in the warning. "Tell us what you're thinkin'."

Shawn squirmed, uncomfortable with his thoughts as he didn't know if there was any basis for them. "Based on the way Mom and Dad reacted to Miss Tompkins showing up and her trying to force Dylan into going with us, I don't think Dad told her about the texts he's been getting from her. That worries me. A lot."

"What did the texts say again?"

Shawn took the burner phone out of his pocket, pulled up the texts, and handed the phone to her. Topanga's frown deepened significantly as she read over them. "This is not good," she murmured. After some time, she sighed and gave the phone back to Shawn. "You know that app is illegal."

Shawn shrugged. "Yeah, I just didn't know what else to do. I mean it's not like Dad is gonna press charges if he finds it. He'll be upset, but I don't think it'll ultimately be a big deal."

"It won't be if Jon's the one who finds it."

"What do you mean if?"

Topanga folded her hands in front of her and leaned forward. "Well, given what Miss Tompkins is doing so far and, as much as I don't like assumptions, let's assume anyway that this is only the beginning. I'm more worried about her getting a hold of Jon's phone at some point. If she finds that app, that could unleash a whole new set of problems."

He made a face. "I don't think she could find it. I mean, Dad's way more tech savvy than she is and if he finds it, it would be by accident."

"Okay, let's stopping assuming now. We know nothing about this woman. You know how good Audrey is at playing "little girl lost" with people and yet she's shrewder than any of us. Miss Tompkins could be the very same way. You think you're setting her up, but she may very well be setting you up. You don't know what she might have installed on her computer to catch you breaking into to it. She can't give you detention any more, Shawn, but she could absolutely have you arrested for harassment among other things. Like it or not, you're gonna have to tread lightly."

Cory, who's concern had finally shifted from his best friends to his former teacher, stood up suddenly and began to pace.

"Cory?" Topanga asked, worriedly. "What's wrong?"

"I'm really worried about Jon," he said, shoving his hands into his pockets. "He's been a lot better this past week with Shawn close by but I'm afraid everything is gonna get worse from now on. Especially with Miss Tompkins doin' whatever it is she's doin'." He stopped to look at his wife. "I'm really afraid he's gonna end up like Marcel."

"Who's Marcel?" Shawn had never heard this name before.

"The previous superintendent," Topanga told him. "He's a few years older than Jon with three grown kids. His wife was Riley's third grade teacher."

"We were hoping she'd be Auggie's teacher too, but..." Cory shook his head and resumed pacing.

"But what?"

"Marcel was a lot like Jon in what he tried to do with the District," Topanga continued. "He really tried to clean things up. He was a meticulous, by-the-books guy who did every according to Union and contractual bylaws. He had originally gone to law school, but never passed the bar because he decided to go into education. Shawn, he had every loophole covered. I mean, every single one. There was no way that the poor performing staff and special interest groups could continue to leech off the system. But that legality was also his downfall."

"What happened?"

"He had a stressed induced heart attack at 54," Cory said bleakly, taking his seat again. "He was the picture of health before taking the superintendent position. Marathon runner, perfect nutrition, excellent health according to his doctors, but they got to him and they brought him down."

"Who did?" Shawn, who had no frame of reference for the education system outside of his one week at the District office, was getting confused.

Something behind him caught Topanga's eye. She frowned as she peered into the crowd behind the men across from her. Ever since they had arrived at the arena and found their seats for the competition, she's had the disturbing feeling that they were being watched. The near altercation with Shawn had distracted her from this but now that feeling was back and much more intense than it had been. "Internal school politics in our district is a cesspool," she said finally, still watching the crowd. "Enough people pooled their power together and made his life miserable."

"Going after his wife is what did him in," Cory added. "He had enough clout to fight back, but not when they tried to destroy Doreen's career. She was one the best teachers we ever had. She was even Teacher of the Year once."

Topanga nodded. "They went after her over the pettiest stuff and then tried to ruin her career by saying she was helping her students cheat on state tests. They had no proof other than "testimonies" of other staff members who sided against her. That's it. The teacher who was leading this was allowed to interview students during the investigation and she asked the most obviously leading questions to these poor kids, basically forcing them to 'tell' on their favorite teacher. It was ridiculous what they were allowed to do. Marcel wanted to hire me to fight the accusations, but Doreen didn't have it her to go through with it. She was a mess by the time I got involved."

"It was awful," Cory rubbed his temples, trying to ward off the oncoming headache these memories were causing. "I'll never forget the day Marcel quit. Jon and I went to the monthly district meeting together like we always did. Those things are usually social hour for the first hour and a half- big waste of time. But this time everyone was really talking to kill time waiting for Marcel to show up. That was weird because this man was never late, always early, and overly prepared. It got to the point that Jon tried to get a hold of him both by calling and texting and nothing. He never ignored Jon; they were good friends." Cory shook his head. "Two hours after the meeting was supposed to start Marcel walked in looking ghost white and extremely thin. He could barely get out what he wanted to say. I was afraid he was going to drop dead right there. Then a phone call came in and he took it; he never takes phone calls. He never said a word to the person on the phone, just listened. Then he put the phone down, looked at us, and said his wife had just been admitted to the psychiatric ward at the hospital and walked out. That was the last time I saw him."

"Wow." This soap opera drama was a difficult thing for Shawn to reconcile with what he thought he knew about teachers and schools. In all honesty, he had always considered school faculty to be very boring people. In fact, when he was very young, he thought that's what the fate of all boring people was- to become teachers. It wasn't until the first day of high school when he and Cory met Jon for the first time and Cory mistook him for the school bully, Harley Kiner, that Shawn realized not every teacher was dull. But he maintained for the duration of his school career that Jon was the rare exception. Audrey, he did not count, because she wasn't an actual teacher at the time and she did not pursue teaching after she graduated. Teachers like Jon, he figured, were once a generation and Cory was their generations' Jon. Well, sort of. He wasn't as cool and was a lot more neurotic, but he was close. The thought made Shawn smile but that smile quickly faded as a dark figure behind Topanga made him do a double take.

The venue they were in was crowded. According to Audrey, these events always brought out many more people than just the families of the competitors as many former Olympians came to watch the young skaters and they brought with them their own fans. Not to mention the tourists who were always wandering through to experience a part of US history in the museum that was close by. Most of the crowd was dressed in typical cold weather sports clothes in array of colors, predominately red, white, and blue. So this person standing behind Topanga, dressed all in black with the hood of it's sweater over its head, stood out in stark contrast to everyone else. Without moving, Shawn blinked and the apparition was gone. His eyes darted around the viewing area looking for the figure.

"There was an emergency meeting the next day with building principals," Cory had not finished his story yet and Shawn struggled to refocus on what he was saying. "Jon asked me to go with him. This time the assistant superintendent started the meeting on time told us Marcel resigned and it was her last day, too. She just walked out after that meeting. Never saw her again. As soon as the meeting was over the Board members all approached Jon and asked him to take over immediately. They'd voted to approve him while Jasmine was quitting," Cory rolled his eyes at the audacity. "That should have been enough to tell Jon not to take the position."

Shawn frowned. This was something Jon had not told him. "I'm surprised Mom was onboard with that given the circumstances."

Cory held his hands out and shook his head. "I don't know. She doesn't usually tell him what to do when it comes to his career."

Topanga was quiet. She pressed her hands together as though she was praying, resting her fingertips against her lips. With a morose look on her face, her eyes followed the people in the background searching for the reason for her discomfort. Every nerve was on edge.

Cory heaved a heavy sigh then looked hopefully towards his wife. "All right, Topanga. Tell us."

She looked startled. "Tell you what?"

"That we're crazy and blowing something minor out of proportion."

She took too long to respond and Cory's stomach filled with dread.

"I can't tell you that, Cory. I'm sorry."

The men stared at her. That wasn't what she was supposed to say. She was supposed to tell them that every thing was fine and all they had to do was tell Jon and Audrey what they had imagined was going on then they'd all have a good laugh about it. But if Topanga was telling them otherwise, then things must be much worse than they imagined.

Topanga saw the look they were giving her and explained. "Audrey wasn't happy when he told her he was taking the position."

"Well, yeah, I know she wasn't happy about it," Cory shrugged. "But it's not like she told him not to take the job."

"Yeah, Cory, she did."

He looked up at her sharply. He didn't know that. Jon made it sound like Audrey was unhappy about the circumstances surrounding the job, not the job itself.

"This was the third time Jon was offered the superintendent position," she reminded him. "But he and Audrey had agreed after the first offer that he wouldn't do it. Ever. When the Board approved him, he said yes on the spot. He didn't discuss it with her. He just told her later that he accepted."

Shawn knew there were still a great many things about Jon and Audrey that he didn't know but he had been taking comfort in the fact that Cory knew and that was almost as good as knowing himself, but the look on Cory's face told him that his best friend clearly had no knowledge of this and it concerned him greatly. "What do you know, Topanga?"

Topanga looked at Shawn then back at her husband. "I know Jon said no to having more kids and Audrey said no to taking the superintendent position. Jon's in his second year as superintendent and Audrey's due at the end of May."

"I didn't know any of that," Cory said exchanged a worried look with Shawn.

"Neither did I. Topanga, how'd you find out?"

"A couple of years ago," she told Shawn, "Cory and I had been talking about the possibility of having another baby. And there is no one better to talk to about the reality of having more than two kids than Audrey, right? During the conversation, I asked if she and Jon were done having kids and she said she really wanted one more but Jon was dead set against it, so yes, they were done. Audrey said she was disappointed but she'd get over it. Cory and I decided not have more kids so I never talked about it again with her. Needless to say, I was pretty surprised by their pregnancy announcement."

"He can't say no to her," Cory joked trying to lighten the heavy mood. The implication in what his wife was saying concerned him.

Topanga's brow pinched together in distress. "It was Jon's idea."

"What?" This was one time Topanga had to be wrong. Back when they were discussing have a third child, Cory had talked to Jon about it. He had known for a long time that Jon was adamant about not having any more kids. It was something he never waivered on. Not once.

"Audrey said he brought it up at the end of the last school year and said he wanted another baby."

"What's with the look?" Shawn asked. He knew there was something he was missing in their exchange and he knew he was missing it because he'd been missing for so long. These were the things he should have known.

"Audrey was really angry with him for taking the position," she responded. "Like really angry. I worry that agreeing to another baby was his way of trying to make it up to her for taking the job after he said he wouldn't. And that's a terrible thing to do: you can quit a job you shouldn't have taken, you can't quit a baby."

"Oh, Topanga," Cory shook his head, adamantly disagreeing with her while Shawn sat quietly looking troubled. "I don't think Jon would do that. He just changed his mind. It happens."

"C'mon, Cory, you know he's been really different with this time around. He doesn't seem interested in the baby at all and he's not involved. Not like he was with the other kids."

"I'm sure it's just due to the stress he's under," Cory said trying to hold onto some optimism. But this didn't sit right with him. He knew Jon too well. He knew Audrey too well. And he knew all too well that Topanga was right.

Shawn didn't know what to make of any of this.

"This is a really bad situation," they heard Topanga murmur under her breath.

When she saw them staring at her, she sighed. "I just see a multitude of ways Katherine could get to Jon if she found out about what's really going on with him, especially where the baby is concerned. I mean, I can't predict what she would do, I just see what she could do."

"I can't handle a multitude, Topanga," her husband said, looking ill. "Give us one."

"The work spouse thing is real," she said quietly. "In Katherine's position, it would be very easy for her to become the work wife to Jon if he allows it. With all the stress he's under, if she starts actually doing her job, I could see that happening. Given the right circumstances, that line could get blurred very easily. Again, I don't believe Jon would do anything, but it could certainly cause a lot of hard to explain problems, especially if Katherine really is the person you two think she is."

"She is," Shawn said forcefully, a gloomy scowl clouded his face.

"Wait," Cory said suddenly as he processed what she was saying. "Do you have a work husband?"

Topanga chuckled and shook her head. "No, I've been very careful to avoid that because I've seen what can happen when that relationship goes sour even when things are strictly platonic. And I've seen what happens when that 'marriage' overtakes the real one. I have all the husband I can handle at home. Don't want one at work, too."

This was too much. Shawn put his head down on the table.

...Jon does everything for you. He's rearranged his entire life you and what good has it done? Nothing's changed. You're still the same awful person you've always been. For once in your life, stop being so selfish. Let Jon have his life back... Katherine Tompkins' voice from years past roared in his ears with words he'd tried to forget but could never rid himself of.

Is this my fault? He couldn't help but wonder if he just stayed away maybe this would have just faded with the arrival of the new baby and the end of the school year. Maybe Miss Tompkins had been right all along and he was the source of the problems in Jon's life.

"So what do we do?" Cory asked Topanga, whom he fully expected to plug the holes in their plan and get them running at full steam again.

Topanga pursed her lips into a tight line. "You two haven't done a very good job gathering information on her so it's hard to say."

Cory looked offended even though she was right. Shawn sat up and scowled, not so much at Topanga, but at the situation.

"It's hard," Shawn said, sounding defeated. "She hates me so I can't get anywhere. She hates Cory because of me so it's not like he can do anything. The only real in I've got into her world is, unfortunately, Julia. Miss Tompkins' kid is nuts about her. But we haven't made any progress there either."

"You're only going to get so much information out of the son and you'll have no idea if what he says is accurate. You need a direct line to Katherine."

"Yeah, but how are we gonna get that?"

It was Topanga's turn to look offended. "You've got me now, don't forget."

Shawn tilted his head to the side and rolled his eyes, happy to point out something she'd missed. "And the problem is the same: you're one of us."

"I'm not sure if I should be offended or not," she said with wry smile. "Explain."

"Topanga," Cory said knowing exactly what Shawn meant. "The moment you introduce yourself she's gonna recognize the name. Once she finds out your my wife she'll realize that you're Shawn's friend and that's the end of that."

Topanga considered this. "But that's only if I introduce myself as Topanga Lawrence-Matthews."

Her husband gave her a funny look. "How else would you introduce yourself?"

"I'm not sure how yet," she said as a sly smile spread across her lips. "But I'll find a reason to meet her using my professional name: Topanga Lawrence."

"I love that smile when it's got nothin' to do with me," Cory said appreciatively.

"Good luck with that," Shawn said unconvinced that a professional or non-professional name was going to make a bit of difference. "Unless she needs legal help or something I don't see how you're gonna be able to meet her outside of a school setting. Like Cory said, you can't introduce yourself as Mrs. Matthews and come down to the District Office. She'd recognize the last name."

"I dunno know," Cory said thoughtfully. "Maybe not. She's messed up eight months worth of lunches with Jon and didn't recognize my face when I came down to the office. She remembered my name with no problem because I slept through her class. She never had you as a student, Topanga. She doubt she'd connect you to me, regardless of the name you use."

"Can't take that chance," Shawn said, quickly killing the idea. "Besides, Dad knows who she is. How is she gonna get him to play along without telling him anything?"

"Yeah, that's true." Cory admitted. His eyes went wide suddenly as a thought occurred to him. He grimaced. "Oh, no."

"What?"

"Jon mentioned you by name when I took the kids down to the Office."

Topanga thought about this for a moment. "I'm not too worried about that. She's probably forgotten it by now."

"Not like it's memorable or anything." Shawn couldn't help but tease her a bit.

Topanga laughed out loud at this, then threw a wadded up napkin at him. Shawn was just about to launch the paper ball back at her when a sudden crash next to their table shattered the din of the chatter around them and caused them to jump. They looked at each other in confusion, then started to look for the source of the sound. Shawn found it when he looked under their table and accidentally kicked a silver metal napkin dispenser at Topanga.

"Where'd that come from?" Cory asked as Topanga sat the holder on the table.

"Must of fallen when I took the napkin out to throw at Shawn."

"The napkin you used was already on the table," Cory said. "You didn't touch the dispenser."

"That's sittin' right there." Shawn pointed at the napkin dispenser that was sitting on their table where had been since they took over the table.

"There's probably supposed to be two at the table," Topanga reasoned, trying to explain away the appearance of the metal apparatus. That feeling of being watch intensified again. She pushed the napkin holder down to the end of the table opposite of the other one and far from them, but not so far it could fall off again. "You know how kids like to rearrange stuff on the table and put things where they don't go."

"Uh, babe?"

She looked up and saw what Cory was trying to draw her attention to; every table around them, regardless of size only had one dispenser.

The trio sat nervously back down at the table, unsure of how to proceed.

Finally, Topanga, needing a distraction, returned them to their previous conversation. "The problem I see right now is that all the evidence you have against Katherine is either hearsay or is inadmissible because it's circumstantial and illegally obtained."

Shawn rolled his eyes. Topanga the Lawyer was in the house now.

"Cory, what's the district internet usage policy?"

"I don't know what it says, I just know it doesn't matter."

"Why do you say that?"

"Because Mrs. Whitman in sixth grade Reading spends her most of her class time and plan time, planning her daughter's wedding. She's always showing everyone in the teacher's lounge at lunch what she's found that day. She even has her aide doing wedding stuff when she has to teach," he shrugged, looking irritated. "Everyone I know uses their school account for personal stuff: emails, shopping, signing up for bogus websites because they think they've won $100,000. The policy is a joke. Almost everybody abuses it, everyone knows it's abused, and no one does anything about it."

"I've got a copy of the policy at home," Shawn offered, thoughtfully. "I asked Russ, the IT guy, about it but he didn't seem to have any interest in it."

"Russ is so overwhelmed with the insane demands he gets everyday that emails are the least of his concerns," Cory explained. This particular topic was of great annoyance to him especially since there was nothing that could be done about it.

"I'd still like to see the policy, Shawn."

"Sure, it's on the desk in my room. If I forget, just grab it."

Topanga nodded. She tapped her fingernails against the worn sports table top. "What's your goal here, guys?"

The men exchanged confused looks.

"What do you mean?" Shawn asked.

"I mean, what are you hoping to accomplish in this situation with Katherine?"

"I want her away from Dad."

"So fired?"

"That works."

"Then you're gonna have to do it the legal way," she said, knowing full well that he did not want to hear that. "I'm gonna need an employee handbook with job descriptions, a copy of a typical contract, and Union rules."

"None of that matters, Topanga, and you know it," Cory said, flicking the napkin ball between his hands. "Jon didn't hire her. He didn't even know she was up for the position. For her to be hired without his knowledge means she knows someone in the district with more influence that him."

Topanga rolled her eyes. "I know, but I still have to have the legal side of things covered first. Then we can wade into the politics."

"Politics?" Shawn asked in bewilderment. "What are you talking about? I want Miss Tompkins gone. I don't care if she runs for office somewhere."

Topanga smiled slightly. "School politics, Shawn. Not governmental."

"We have one of those districts," Cory harrumphed. "You have to know someone to get hired. And if you and someone else are going for the same position your person better have more pull than theirs. It's a mess. You literally cannot get hired in this district without knowing someone. Education, experience, qualifications- none of that matters if you don't know the right person."

"That's crazy," Shawn muttered. Somehow that seemed like a terrible way to hire people who would teach kids. He thought of Mr. Feeny and wondered if he'd ever been through anything as wild as this. He certainly couldn't imagine his former teacher putting up with such nonsense. "So how'd you get in?"

"Jon," Cory said simply. "You know I originally majored in media arts and had my undergrad in that."

"Right," Shawn replied, slightly irritated because he did not need the reminder. There were some things post-college he knew about. "You changed to education after Topanga got accepted to law school."

Cory nodded. Media arts had been a childhood dream, but the dream did not match reality and he found out quickly that he didn't love the camera and the type of work it entailed despite being very good at it. He found it to be cold and unfulfilling. It was Mr. Feeny who suggested education, Jon who encouraged him, and Mr. Williams who told him to use his media arts degree in education. Although, teaching was not a natural occupation for him, he did love it. "We were living in Flushing during that time and after I graduated I thought I'd have no issue finding a position with all the teacher shortages there supposedly were."

"It was substitute teachers they had a shortage of we found out," Topanga said sounding annoyed.

Cory agreed. "I'd get hired as a permanent sub with the promise of a full time position as soon as one opened but every time one did I got passed over for someone less qualified with less education."

"Always some lame excuse as to why he wasn't hired, too," Topanga snapped. Clearly, this still bothered her. "Every time it turned out that those hired over him knew someone in the district."

"After Topanga graduated law school and passed the bar we were able to finally move to here to the Greenwich Village District."

"Why was that so important?" Shawn couldn't shake the feeling that these were all things that he should already know.

Topanga gave him a small smile. "We wanted Riley and Auggie to eventually have Jon for a teacher and we had to be in that district for them to get him."

"Gotcha."

Cory laced his fingers together and set his hands on the table. "I went through the same thing with this District that I went through in Flushing and probably still wouldn't have a full-time job if not for Jon. He knew I was constantly being passed over for less qualified people. As principal, he did the hiring for the junior high. There was no media arts position, so he offered me social studies when it became available."

"And that's when Cory's problems began," Topanga pasted a false grin on her face and rolled her eyes. "Cory wasn't exactly favored by faculty when others found out his connection."

"Why?"

"It's hard to explain, Shawn," Cory sighed, laying his palms flat on the table. "I try so hard to stay out of this stuff that I don't fully get it myself. But my understanding is that Jon shut down a lot of the familial hiring unless the person was actually qualified. People were frustrated because when they tried to go over him to get their person hired, he had enough esteem that those endeavors failed for the most part. In my case, Jon felt I had paid my dues and needed a chance. Others thought he hired me just because I was his former student and possible family member."

"Possible?" Shawn frowned, not understand what that had to do with anything.

Cory laughed. "You should come hang out in the teacher's lounge some day and listen to rumors that have been going around for years about how we're all related." He circled his finger around to point at each one of them. "For the record, I have never confirmed nor denied anything."

Shawn squirmed. It was bothering him more and more all the things he didn't know about his best friends and his family. "I always thought you wanted to teach high school."

"I did. Still do. There a position a couple of years ago that opened at the high school, but Riley was starting junior high I told Jon I wanted to stay until she graduated then move on."

"With Jon as superintendent," Topanga smirked. "Cory can now move whenever and wherever he wants." She took great delight in this fact and that it irritated so many conniving, horrid people. And that Cory was a good teacher who deserved whatever promotion he got made it even better.

"Sort of," he countered modestly. "Seniority still exists and is one of the few things still honored in the system."

"Has the district always been like this?"

"Yep," Topanga answered. "You know how Jon got his original position here, right?"

Shawn grumbled under his breath that he did not. Here was yet another thing he should have known but did not. A heavy weight settled on his shoulders causing him to slump forward under the pressure of it.

"The teaching position," she went on, "that moved Jon and Audrey out of Philly came through Audrey's old student teaching supervisor, Alexander Kessington. He knew that they wanted to come back to the Village and he had deep connections in several districts here so he gave Jon his choice of schools to go to."

"Uncle Alex," Shawn remembered fondly. "I haven't seen him in forever."

"Uncle Alex was a big player in the district for a long time after Jon was hired," Cory chimed in. "Good guy, though, so he didn't really mess with much."

"Why didn't he hire you?"

"He had no idea who I was," Cory laughed. "I didn't meet him until after Jon hired me."

"Ah."

"Well," Topanga sighed in resignation. "This is where things are going to get very messy. We have to find out who hired Katherine. That should be fairly easy. I would think one of you two could find that out from Jon."

Shawn arched an eyebrow. "If he doesn't know?"

"Then we've got even more investigative work to do. Once we find out who it is then we've got to start peeling back the layers of who they know and find the weak link. Then of course we have to have..."

"Solid, indisputable, legally obtained evidence that she's breaking contract," Shawn finished.

"Right. This isn't going to be easy," Topanga told them solemnly. And, being Topanga, she had to honestly lay out the facts. "And it could take the rest of the school year to do it."

"So be it," Cory said, hoping it wouldn't actually take that long. "We've got to make sure she doesn't come back next year."

"More importantly," Shawn pointed out, "We've got to get Dad to Spring Break. I think if we can just get back to Philly and settle the past, then Miss Tompkins can do whatever she wants and it won't matter much. Dad's promised he'll go. I need to talk to Mom and make sure she's on board. Topanga, can you make it?"

She nodded. "First thing Monday I'm gonna sit down and rearrange my schedule to make sure I can get that time off."

"Good," Shawn said, breathing a sigh of relief.

"Shawn!" Grayson's shout caused the trio to look towards the rink. He and Auggie were running towards the group. "C'mon, guys. Jules is about to skate."

"We're on our way, G," Shawn said with a smile. Auggie jumped on his back as he stood up and nearly knocked the wind out of him. The boy grinned, oblivious to his uncle's discomfort.

As they began to walk away from the table, Topanga suddenly panicked and began to pat her pockets. "Guys, I don't have my phone!"

"You leave it in your bag?" Shawn asked.

"No, my bag is with Audrey. I had my phone with me."

"You had it at the table," Cory told her as the group returned to the table. "Did it fall out of your pocket?"

"I don't know."

Everyone searched the area around and under the table they had been sitting at with the boys managing to knock, not one, but both napkin holder's off of the table, startling the adults. Topanga's phone was nowhere to be found.

Shawn stood back from where they'd been sitting with his hands on his waist and his eyes scanning the area. "Is it possible you left it in the bathroom?"

"No," Cory said. "She had it in her hand when she came back."

"Okay, I'm getting a little weirded out," Topanga said nervously. "I've felt like we've been watched since we got here and I've been seeing this shadow hanging around. Now my phone is gone!"

"You saw it, too?" Cory and Shawn asked in unison.

They turned to each other with wide eyes. "You, too?" they said again at the same time.

"I'll call it," Shawn said quickly, shrugging his shoulder brusquely to try to rid himself of the disturbing feeling that was creeping over his shoulders.

After several seconds of delay, the muted ringing of Topanga's phone could be heard but the friends had trouble locating where the sound was coming from. Grayson, who had been silently observing his brother, uncle, aunt and cousin, stepped around the support pole next to the table, and knelt down.

"Aunt T," he said, standing up and looking the device over. "Here it is."

Grayson held up the silver speckled, black-cased phone and Topanga let out the breath she'd been holding.

"How on earth did it get there?" she wondered aloud, taking the phone from him. Quickly, she unlocked it and did a quick check over it before running a security scan. Nothing seemed amiss, except for a yellow smudge that was wedged in between the phone and its case. Grossed out, Topanga held the phone close to her nose and caught a whiff of the tangy aroma of mustard. She frowned and pursed her lips together. "G, have you been eating a hot dog or anything with mustard on it?"

Grayson made a face and looked offended. "Of course not, Aunt T. I hate mustard."

"Could you have touched anything with mustard?"

The younger Turner boy shook his head. "No, we've just had pretzels and popcorn. No sauces of any kind."

Topanga gave the men with her a worried look. "We weren't eating," she said slowly.

Cory briefly put a hand over his mouth. His brow was knit together with great concern. "Someone took your phone."

"But who?" Topanga asked.

"Why?" Shawn asked.

The adults stood close together, suspiciously inspecting their surroundings. Shawn pulled Grayson close to him and Cory took Auggie by the hand as they made their way back to the rink just in time to see Julia skate out to warm up for her performance. The group took their seats next Jon and Audrey who seemed unconcerned with their environment. Bella slept in Jon's arms with her nose buried under his jacket so that all could be seen of her was auburn curls and a fluffy knitted headband. Jamie stood on the bleacher behind Audrey playing with her hair while Riley sat below her, resting her head against her aunt's knee. But Cory, Shawn, and Topanga could not relax or focus on Julia's program. They were seeing shadows everywhere.