Where The Heart Is

Disclaimer: I do not own Boy Meets World or any character affiliated with ABC Family, merely this idea for a fic and my own imagination.

A/N: Welcome, readers, to my very first Boy Meets World multi-chapter fanfic! This fic is about Shawn Hunter and Jonathan Turner. In the story, Shawn and Turner are beginning to trust each other, and Shawn lets Jon know a secret he had kept his whole life. When it becomes known to Chet Hunter, things get messed up. The timeline at the beginning starts the night after the events of the episode "The Pink Flamingo Kid", (Season 3, episode 17) ended. Warnings include Shawn!whump, physical and emotional child abuse, angst, hurt/comfort, fluff, and lots of healing love from Jon, Feeny, and the Matthews. Shawn may be Out Of Character in this fic as a result of the abuse. This is expected to be quite a long fic, so please be patient! Please Read and Review! Constructive Criticism welcomed.

The loud shrieks that filled the apartment late at night were no longer out of the ordinary to Jonathan Turner, but they were no less terrifying than the first time Shawn Hunter had a nightmare at their home. Jon pulled his covers off and jumped out of bed, running through the apartment as fast as he could. He stopped outside Shawn's bedroom and called his name softly. "Shawn?"

The fifteen-year-old continued to scream loudly as Jon entered the room. "Kiddo, it's me, Jon." Shawn cried out in his sleep, apparently terrified of something that no one else could see. "It's okay, Shawn. Calm down, buddy." Jon sat down on the mattress next to him and reached out to wake him. Shawn jolted up out of bed at the touch, sobbing in shock and pain. His wide eyes looked right through his guardian's worried gaze. "Shawn, it's alright, kiddo."

At the sound of his voice, Shawn flinched and threw his arm up to cover his face, as if to protect himself from blows. Jon wrapped his arms around him and held him tightly. "It's okay, buddy. It's me, Jon; I won't hurt you. Everything's gonna be alright, kiddo. I won't let anyone hurt you." He whispered quietly. Shawn stopped struggling once he realized who was holding him, and gradually calmed down.

Jon relaxed his grip on Shawn, but kept rubbing soothing circles into his back. Shawn rested his head on Jon's shoulder as he worked on his breathing. Once his breathing was even, Jon asked quietly, "Is tonight the night you tell me about the nightmares?"

Shawn was silent for a minute or so, debating whether or not to tell. He mulled over the day's events in his mind.

Shawn looked at Mr. Feeny incredulously. "It can't be the same as being with real family."

George Feeny stood up. "Oh, Mr. Hunter, you don't have to be blood to be family."

So who was Shawn's family, and who was only blood? Why should he protect blood if they didn't earn a spot in his family? Cory and the Matthews and Topanga and even Feeny were family. Jon was family. They were there for him no matter what, and loved him even at his very worst. Chet Hunter was Shawn's father, but he wasn't family. At that realization, Shawn burst into sobs again.

Jon was alarmed, and it showed in his voice as he tightened his arms around Shawn again. "It's okay, kiddo. Whatever it is, we'll get through this together, alright?"

Shawn nodded and took a deep breath. His voice was shaky as he told the full story. "The nightmares are memories. Memories of stuff that my dad did when he got really drunk."

Jon froze. "Shawn, what exactly did your dad do when he got drunk?" He asked carefully.

Shawn swallowed hard. "He beat me. And my mom, and my half-brother Eddie and my half-sister Stacey. He, uhh… He punched us, and kicked us, and used a belt on us. He told me I was worthless, and he called Mom and Stacy whores. He was worse to Eddie and me. He burned our arms with cigarettes. He smashed a bottle over my head a couple times. But only because I was being bad!" He added quickly, not daring to look at Jon.

Jon stared at Shawn for a minute in complete shock. He couldn't believe what he was hearing. How could nobody have known about this? The poor kid was obviously hurting. He must have been terrified while this all was happening. Yet nobody had seen anything, not even the Matthews or Feeny. Not to mention all the classic signs Jon himself had never paid too much attention to. Like the long sleeves in the hot weather, and the bruises and cuts everyone had dismissed as accidents. The low self-esteem, the lack of concentration in school, sleeping through classes…all classic signs of abuse.

That sick bastard.

Almost as if reading Jon's mind, Shawn quickly added, "He's a good dad when he's not on booze. He loves me when he's sober. He just…he needs to get drunk. I drive him to it, anyway." He mumbled, ashamed of himself.

That snapped Jon out of his thoughts. "What do you mean, you drove him to it?" He demanded.

Shawn looked down again, nervous. Jon cursed himself silently and repeated himself. "Buddy, why do you think you drove your father to drink?" He asked softly.

"Because…I'm sort of hard to handle. You know how he feels, I stress you out all the time." Shawn told him.

"Shawn, have I ever hurt you before?" Jon asked seriously.

"No, of course not."

"Have I ever gotten drunk and hurt somebody?"

"No, you don't drink alcohol."

"Exactly. Look, kiddo, you are a challenge at times. But I would never hurt you. I care about you, Shawn. I love you. And not just when you behave perfectly, either. I love you when you fail a test, or run away, or yell at me. True love isn't conditional."

Shawn blinked away the tears and hugged Jon. Jon hugged him back tightly. "I'm so proud of you for telling me, Shawn. We'll talk more about this in the morning. Get some sleep, little buddy." Shawn lay down and Jon pulled the cover up over him.

Jon moved to leave, but Shawn grabbed his hand. "Jon, could you stay? Just until I fall asleep?"

"Yeah, sure, kiddo." Jon replied, sitting back down on the bed. Within minutes, Shawn had fallen into a deep, peaceful sleep. Jon stood up and went back to his room to try to sleep. It was more likely he was going to toss and turn the whole restless night. But in the morning, he'd go see the Matthews and Feeny to inform them of this latest development and ask for advice on what to do with this information.

A/N: okay, guys, how was that for my first chapter? Sorry it's so short, but it was really just an introduction to the story. Also, technically, I'm not sure if Turner drinks in BMW, but for my story it's important to me that he doesn't. Let me know how you like this chapter, and if there's anything you want this story to include! Constructive Criticism welcome!