"Who the hell? It's two o'clock in the morning." Shawn could hear Jon say to himself from behind the door as he heard footsteps approach. "Who's there?" he yelled. "It's me. It's Shawn." he replied. "Hunter? I'm coming!" he heard as Jon unlocked and unbolted the door. It swung open a moment later. Jon gazed upon the disheveled kid. He was soaking wet, covered in dirt and mud and was clutching his arm. "Hunter! What happened to you? Come inside." he demanded. He closed the door behind them and waited for a response. "I don't really want to talk about it. Sorry I woke you up. I just need a place to sleep okay?"

Jon sighed. "What's wrong with your arm?" He asked as he inspected it.

"I think I broke it."

"How?" asked Mr. Turner.

"Look, I never wanted to come to you like this, but I need your help." Shawn said.

"Whoa, whoa, Hunter. I don't know what's going on with you but let's start with the truth. I can't help you if you're continually lying to me. I need the whole story...on the way to the hospital." he said.

"I don't think so, Jon. Look, I'll tell you the truth but I don't do hospitals." he replied.

"Hunter. You don't have any other choice, do you?" Jon said sternly. Shawn sighed. "Fine but can I at least shower and sleep first? I've had a really rough night."

Jon stood there with his hands on his hips. He thought about it for a moment. He knew he wouldn't get the truth out of Shawn by forcing him to do things he didn't want to. "Yeah, fine okay, we'll go first thing in the morning. Go shower. There's fresh towels in the closet and then come back out here and I'll clean that cut on your hand."

Shawn looked down. He hadn't even realized the palm of his other hand was still dripping blood from where the glass had cut him. "It's not very deep, but okay." Shawn said. He realized at that moment how shocked Jon would be once he saw the rest of the marks on his body. He knew he would be exposed the next morning and then Jon would know everything, but what other option did he have? He could keep lying but that had only gotten him into the situation he was in now. Jon was right. If he wanted his help he would have to start trusting him with the truth. He headed into the bathroom, showered, got changed into one of Jon's white t-shirts and a pair of plaid flannel pajama pants he had left at the apartment accidentally. He still had a toothbrush there and was surprised to see that Jon hadn't thrown it away yet. Maybe I'm not the only one who was having a hard time adjusting after all, he thought. He always saw himself as a burden, but maybe Jon really didn't. Maybe he was wrong about that the whole time. He came back out to the couch and Jon dressed his cut with some Neosporin and a large band-aid. He gave him some Tylenol and a bag of ice for his arm and sent him to bed.

"I'll wake you up in a few hours so we can head to the hospital. I'll let Feeny know we won't be in tomorrow. Try to keep your arm still and try to get some sleep, buddy." Turner said as he flicked the light off in Shawn's old bedroom. Shawn was exhausted, but relieved to be back in his old room with it's familiar smell and his same old blanket and comfy pillow. You catch me if i'm falling, you catch me if i'm falling, will you catch me because i'm falling down on you, the lyrics finally finished playing in his head as he dozed off into a deep sleep.

It didn't feel like 10 minutes before he was being stirred awake by a voice telling him it was time to get up. Shawn sat straight up in a panic at the sound of the voice. "Shawn, it's just me." Jon said. "Did I scare you?" Shawn looked around the room while the pain settled into his arm and he clutched it again. Jon sat on the side of the bed. "You want to tell me what's going on now?" Jon asked. Shawn sighed and rubbed the sleep out of his eyes. "I guess I have to. You're going to find out anyway. My dad's been beating on me since he took me back. Last night it got too intense, so I bailed," Shawn summarized. "Your dad did this to your arm? The mark over your eye yesterday and the cigarette burn, that was your dad too, wasn't it?" Jon asked. Shawn jumped out of bed. "Um, yeah. So there's the truth. Can we go now?" he asked. "Mother fu..." Jon stopped himself and took a breath before he continued. "I'm proud of you for coming here Shawn."

Shawn filled him in on the rest of the details in the car. Jon noticed how emotionally detached Shawn was while sharing it all. It was like he was sharing details with him about someone else's life...someone he had never met. He was very matter of fact with the details. He shared everything, the drinking, the beatings with the belt, the beer bottle hitting him, the insults, everything. No tears though. Not a single tear. One thing at a time, Jon thought to himself. At least I'm getting the truth out of him now and he's getting medical attention. We can deal with the rest later.

Telling Jon the truth was one thing, showing him was another thing entirely. He had never had to be so vulnerably exposed because he had never put himself in that position before. So, when the doctor asked Shawn to take his t-shirt off so that he could examine his injuries, Shawn hesitated. "It's okay, Shawn" Jon encouraged. "Do you want me to wait outside?" he asked him. "No, it's fine," Shawn played it off coolly. Inside he was terrified but he gently removed his injured arm from one sleeve and then whipped the shirt off over his head. Shawn could hear Jon gasp from behind him as the doctor examined the gashes on his back. His gasp cut through Shawn like another whip of the belt. He hated being pitied. It made him feel weak. "I shouldn't have let him take you," Turner said under his breath. Shawn gritted his teeth and set his jaw so he wouldn't cry. Don't you dare cry, he reprimanded himself internally as the doctor dressed his wounds.

While Jon was waiting for him to come back from his x-ray, a nurse came in and told him the cops had arrived for questioning. He told her to send them in. Jon filled the police officer in on most of the details Shawn had shared with him. The officer thanked him and told him they were issuing a warrant for Chet's arrest and they hoped to have him in custody before the day's end. "I still have to talk to the boy," the officer informed him. Jon wasn't sure how Shawn would react but he knew it was unavoidable. Shawn returned a few minutes later and stopped short of the doorway when he saw the cop.

Jon hurried into the hallway to meet him. "It's alright, Hunter. He just needs to ask you a few questions about your dad." Jon said. "Jon I can't." he responded. "Why? There's nothing to be afraid of, he's just a cop...just one guy. He's here to help you." Jon said. "They're just gonna make things worse... He'll kill me, Jon." Shawn said finally, looking up at his only protector. "Shawn, they're going to make sure that he can't do this ever again. As long as he's out there, you're in danger. If you give them the information they need, you won't have to go through that anymore." Jon stood behind Shawn and put his hands on his shoulders, nudging him into the room. Shawn finally answered a few questions about what had happened and his dad's whereabouts and the policeman left after thanking them.

After what seemed like an unnecessarily long wait, the doctor came back in and informed them that Shawn's arm was in fact broken. The swelling had gone down since Shawn had put ice on it all night, so the doctor set it in a cast; a blue one at Shawn's request. They left the hospital and headed back to the apartment. "That police officer said they would call once they have your dad in custody," Jon said as they walked into the apartment.

The remainder of the day was spent catching up on school work that was missed that day. As Jon started preparing dinner he joked with Shawn, who was sitting on the couch. "Hey, chicken-a-la-Tang, your favorite!" Shawn gave a smirk that lingered on his face for a minute. "There it is!" responded Jon. "You should do more of that," Turner offered while he pointed. "What, homework?" asked Shawn. "No, smiling." answered Jon. "Although more homework wouldn't kill you either." he said with a smile. It felt good to be back in the apartment that had provided him a safe haven for so long. There was another part of him that still couldn't relax though. He knew his dad was still out there and that it wouldn't take long for him to figure out where he was. He glanced at the locked and bolted door and wondered if it would keep an angry Chet Hunter out if he decided he was coming for Shawn. He bounced back and forth from feeling like he would be happy once his dad was in custody to thinking that he would feel an extreme amount of guilt...like a failure of a son. After all, even with everything that had happened, Chet was still his dad and the thought that maybe Shawn deserved the treatment he received had crossed his mind once or twice.

After dinner, Eli came over and Shawn half watched an episode of Roseanne while Jon and Eli talked quietly in the kitchen about everything that was going on. "I know you're talking about me." Shawn said a few minutes into their conversation. "Don't flatter yourself," said Eli jokingly, "We're talking about our hot dates for prom," he continued. Jon chuckled.

"I know your not big on bed times, but it's been a long day and we've got school tomorrow." Jon said as soon as the Roseanne episode finished. After Shawn had brushed his teeth and got into bed, Jon went to turn the light off. "Goodnight, bud." he said. "Should we lock the window?" was Shawn's reply. It broke Jon's heart. He couldn't imagine being a young kid and living in so much fear that his last thought before falling asleep was whether or not his father would climb through his window and hurt him. "There's nothing to worry about, Hunter. I'll lock it, but we're 5 stories up and the police are out looking for your dad. They'll find him. Now get some sleep." said Jon as he locked the window, flicked the light off and went to bed.

Morning broke and the two had some breakfast and headed to school. Everyone was asking Shawn about his arm and he made up some ridiculous stories. His favorite was the one he told to Minkus about fighting off a german shepherd/werewolf hybrid in the dark during a walk home from Chubbie's. He knew he didn't believe him, but the story served its purpose. He filled Cory in about being back at Mr. Turner's but didn't go into the details. He wasn't sure how to talk about it, really.

Jon had a hard time wrangling his classes all day because a lot of his students were excited for a big party at Veronica Watson's house later that evening. Shawn and Cory informed him after English class that they had every intention of being there and Jon actually thought it would be good for him to have some normal kid time with his peers. He said it would be fine if he went as long as he was with Cory, wasn't drinking and rode with the Matthew's to and from the party.

The end of the day finally approached and Shawn and Cory met up at their lockers. They grabbed the books they needed and headed out of the building. As he and Cory walked down the front steps of the school they discussed Shawn's plan to hook up with Veronica as they scanned the parking lot for the Matthew's mini-van. Shawn looked for a minute and didn't see any sign of the Mr. Matthew's but suddenly locked eyes with a familiar face. A terrifying face. The face of his father. He was standing about 10 yards away and approaching up the stairs quickly. Shawn's heart was racing and his legs stopped working. He suddenly understood the saying "deer in the headlights" as that's what he became. He couldn't move. He couldn't formulate any words. All he could do was stand there in fear. "Shawn, your dad!" Cory exclaimed. Chet approached and began "Shawn, come on, we're leaving. You're coming back to the trailer with me." He commanded. Shawn shook at the sound of his deep authoritarian voice. "I've been worried sick about you and you need to come home with me where you belong." Shawn didn't answer. He could feel his heart beating in his throat and his stomach was doing flip flops. Chet grabbed Shawn by his bad arm and tried to pull him along.

Just before they reached the bottom of the stairs, Mr. Turner's voice rang out strong from a distance behind him, "Shawn!" Mr. Turner darted down the stairs and reached him quickly. He grabbed Shawn by the shoulders and spun him around to face him. "Get inside and wait for me to come get you." Jon commanded. Shawn obeyed and bolted inside. Cory ran after him.

Jon turned towards Chet with a ferocious look in his eye. "So that's how you treat your son, huh? You beat on a 15 year old because it makes you feel powerful? Get the hell off of this property before the cops get here." Jon spat. "Now teach, I'm not here to cause any trouble, I'm just here for my boy," Chet replied. "I'm not playing with you," Jon continued, "The cops have already been called. They're on their way, and I happen to know for a fact that there's a big fat warrant out for your arrest." Chet postured towards Jon for a moment and Jon wondered if he was going to try to take a swing at him. Just then, in the distance, the sirens started to ring through the air. Chet's face dropped as he threatened, "This isn't over Turner." and then turned to run off. Jon considered chasing after him and holding him until the cops arrived, but he was more concerned about where Shawn was at and how he was doing with all of this. Besides, he thought to himself, the cops should have no trouble finding him if he's in the vicinity.

With that, Jon darted back up the stairs and into the school. He found Cory at the door and asked him between labored breaths, "Where's Shawn?" "I don't know," Cory replied, "He bolted down the hall and I couldn't find him." "Okay, I'll find him, just wait here." Jon ordered. He ran down the halls in search of a terrified Shawn. Peeking quickly into classrooms as he passed. He figured Shawn might have gone to his classroom but when he got there, he was nowhere in sight. After what felt like hours, but had only been a few minutes, Jon found him...behind the door to the boys bathroom. He was sitting on the floor and hugging his knees to his chest. He wasn't crying, once again, not a single tear, but he was hyperventilating.

Jon crouched down to his level to try and get some eye contact. "He's gone, Shawn. He's gone, ok? Try to calm down, bud. Take a deep breath for me." Shawn shuttered a bit as he labored to try and breathe. A couple seventh graders entered the bathroom loudly fooling around before they stopped to see what was going on. "Let's get you off the floor," said Jon, as he helped Shawn to his feet. "Come with me, we'll go someplace quieter." He lead Shawn to Miss Collins' guidance office, which was still unlocked but empty. Shawn pressed the palms of his hands over his eyes and leaned his forehead against the wall while he tried to catch his breath. "That's it. You're gonna be okay, Shawn. We're gonna be okay. You're not going anywhere. He's not taking you. Just breathe, kiddo." Jon rubbed Shawn's back for a few minutes coached him back to normal breathing. Once everything was back to normal Shawn sat on the couch and Jon sat on the top of Ms. Collins' desk. "You scared me." Jon said. "What do you wanna do, want to head home?" Turner asked.

Shawn started walking out of the office. "Hey, where are you going?" Jon called after him. "Veronica's party...I told you." he answered. Jon was stunned at the kid's ability to compartmentalize his life. He knew it was a coping mechanism and he was pretty sure it was an unhealthy one. "Shawn, I don't think it's a good idea. Your dad is out there, they may not have caught up to him yet. It's been a long day. I think it's better if you just come home." he said. "Jon, I'm GOING to the party. I'll be fine, I'm with Cory. Everyone's going. I'm not going to play the victim here." Shawn said seriously before running off to find Cory. "Shawn!" Jon called, before he watched him disappear from view. Jon sighed. He didn't want to put the kid in his own personal prison but he was worried. He was still pretty new at the whole parenting thing. This is dumb, Jon, he thought to himself, Go get him. He stopped himself, He'll be so embarrassed. I'll just call Veronica's parents and make sure he gets there okay. Ugh. No, that is so uncool, he wrestled with himself. Just go home, Jon. Relax. Let him be normal for a few hours. Matthews is with him and Alan is driving them. They're fine.