Lose One Friend

A Boy Meets World/Girl Meets World Fanfic

By Auburn Red

Disclaimer: I do not own these characters. They belong to Michael Jacobs and Disney.

Author's Note: Well, well, well. Yet another idea set in the Girl/Boy Meets World Universe. This is a direct companion to "What It Takes" so it too is set in the Minkiad Universe but not technically part of the Minkiad. Though now this and "What It Takes" could be considered their own series. Because I just can't leave well enough alone. :D

Chapter One: Finding a Friend

Senator Eric Matthews joyfully tossed a Styrofoam cup into a recycling bin as he whistled through the hallways of Congress. He called jovially to the custodian, "Morning Al," he said with a high five.

"'Morning Eric, good weekend?" the custodian asked.

"Always," the senator said. "For you?"

"Couldn't be better," Al added. Eric smiled and walked inside his office. He greeted his aide, T.J. "Tommy" Murphy.

"Morning Tommy," Eric said to the bespectacled young man.

"Good morning, Eric," Tommy said as he took his friend/employer's coat and hung it in the closet. "You look like you had a good weekend."

"Enjoyed being out in the great outdoors around D.C.," Eric said sticking out his chest. "Spent the weekend with Mother Nature, climbed the Rockies!"

Tommy shook his head. "Wrong Washington…again," he reminded him.

"Well there are mountains aren't there?" Eric asked.

"The Blue Ridge," Tommy said. "They're right outside your backyard."

"Okay I climbed the Blue Ridge then," Eric said. "How was yours?"

Tommy blushed. "It was…good."

Eric snapped his fingers. "Oh that's right, you had a date with what was his name again?"

Tommy smiled. "Alex Patterson."

"Oh yeah, Alex, with the was it again-NBA?"

"NEA," Tommy said.

"And how did it go?" Eric teased him.

"Well we had dinner, went dancing, and we saw Hamilton," Tommy said sounding like a blushing high school girl.

Eric looked firm. "Now do I need to do a check on this guy? Been in prison, history of drug abuse, family had a history of mental illness?"

"No," Tommy said determined.

"And he knew how to behave himself," Eric said. "Didn't get all handsy did he? I would hate for my adopted little brother to end up in the family way."

"I think that is biologically impossible for two men or rather two men that were born men," Tommy reasoned. "But we were careful. He was a complete gentleman."

"Okay just want to be sure," Eric said. "Any calls?"

Tommy nodded. "The usual, congressmen with bill amendments, Jack Hunter called thanking you for your support."

"Well hope he follows through with what he said," Eric remarked. He knew that Jack had a fondness for status and wealth, but he at heart was a good man. If he promised to change his ways, Eric had no doubt that he would.

Tommy continued to give Eric his report culminating in "Donald Trump wants to know if you will endorse his Presidential campaign."

"Is he still a bigoted bully who spreads hatred and vitamins in his wake?" Eric asked.

"You mean vitriol?" Tommy corrected. "It's a day that ends in Y, so of course he still is."

"Then I'm not endorsing him," Eric said. Tommy gave him a thumbs up. Eric thought for a moment. "Hey, every day ends in Y!"

"That they do," Tommy remarked. "Oh and Pete White and Billy Quizboy have also called. They want to see if they can get some Congressional support on Conjectural Technologies' latest discovery."

Eric slapped his knee. "I love those guys! They're a real trip."

"It's called 'God Gas,' "Tommy said. "It sounds like you'd be in one. I would advise against it. Whenever you three are together something usually ends up exploding."

"Good times, man, good times," Eric said. He pulled Tommy closer. "So any developments on that Top Secret Project you are working on for certain friends of ours whose name rhyme with Think-us?"

Tommy nodded. He had offered his services to Stuart Minkus, a friend of Eric's younger brother, Cory because he was fighting for custody of his son, Farkle. Minkus' former wife, Jennifer Bassett-Minkus had been abusive towards her son and her father had a lot of influence, so they needed Tommy to locate any information that he could.

"Let's put it this way, I discovered quite a few holes in the 'God Fearing Good Catholic Family Values' Image that Edward Bassett tries to sell," he rolled his eyes. "I have nightmares about what I haven't found about him and his children."

"Well here's hoping that it works," Eric. "I like that Robot! Minkus shouldn't lose him."

"Hopefully he won't," Tommy interjected. "OH and Senator Stone wants to talk to you,"

Eric groaned at the mention of the older New York senator. "I hate that guy. He's a snobbish, condescending, boring, hypocritical-"Tommy pointed at Eric's direction behind him.

"-Good morning Senator Matthews," the gray haired man said

Eric broke into a fake smile. "-Wise, kind-hearted, terrific leader of men," Eric said. "That's why you shouldn't say such things, Thomas!"

Senator Stone glared at the younger congress member. Eric tried to give him a wide smile, but it dropped as Stone glared at him.

"Matthews I would like to speak to you alone," Senator James Stone said. "About that bill we discussed."

Eric nodded. "Sure, step into my office," he invited him inside.

Tommy listened to his phone messages. Most were the usual calls, but one stood out. He heard a hoarse distinct sounding voice through the phone. "Hi, I'm trying to reach Eric uh Senator Matthews. Eric, I don't know if you remember me, but I'm Jason Marsden, we were in school together…."

Eric listened as Stone rambled on and on about supporting a bill that required removal of homeless transients and closing down of shelters in certain areas of Manhattan.

"They're homeless Jim," Eric said. "Where do you want them to be moved to?"

"I just don't want them in Manhattan," the older senator showed the map.

"Here, here, and here. We can redevelop these areas by building larger industries in them."

"And kicking the homeless people out," Eric said.

"Eric, this will help our voters," Jim began.

"Many of the homeless are also voters," Eric reminded him.

"Yes but they are not contributing members of the society," Stone reminded him. "I don't think our people want to support a bunch of freeloaders and deadbeats!"

"Most of those people are not homeless by choice," Eric shot back. Eric called through the speaker phone. "Tommy what was that statistic about unemployed homeless?"

"75% have become homeless after being unemployed for a full year or are working only part-time," Tommy answered.

Eric nodded. "See? These are people who have tried to look for work and haven't found it yet."

"And many of them are drug addicts or prostitutes," Jim said. "Listen Eric, if you help support that bill I could make it worthwhile."

"How?" Eric asked.

Jim held his fingers together. "Well you have been kicking around that school bill for more funding to go into the school districts?" Eric nodded. "Suppose both our signatures were on that bill making it bipartisan?"

"You mean if I help you with this bill, you will help me with mine?" Eric asked. "Isn't that called double dealing?"

"It's called compromise," Stone said. "Something you should learn if you want to remain in politics. As I recall your main platform was for education and children's care. What better proof of that to show that you would aid the lives of our state's children instead of the lowest dregs of humanity?"

"Many of those homeless people have children of their own," Eric reminded him. "Some are even students at these schools."

"Any parent who is too irresponsible to give a roof over their child's head should not be a parent," Stone snorted. He held up one hand. "See on the one hand you have better schools, better textbooks, better learning, smarter kids who grow up to be better adults." He then held up his other hand. "On the other hand, you have shelters that breed crime, welfare recipients, broken families, and further degradation." Senator Stone then weighed the options as though they were on a scale. "It's not exactly a tough choice is it?"

Eric looked closely at the older senator when the phone broke into his thoughts. He answered it to hear Tommy's voice. "Eric I have a message for you from a Jason Marsden?"

Eric broke into a smile as he remembered his short high school buddy. "Yeah, send him through!" His face fell as he remembered the last time he saw Jason.

"It's a message," Tommy said. "You better listen to this in private."

Eric blanched as he listened to the message. When he spoke again, he almost didn't recognize his own voice. "Yeah, I'll take it." He looked at Senator Stone. "Look Jim, we're going to have to talk later. Something came up."

"Are you saying that there is someone more important than myself that you wish to talk to?" Stone said.

Eric nodded. "Yeah, actually I am."

Eric and Tommy listened to the message hearing Jason's voice. Eric could never remember a time where his friend didn't sound so defeated, so old, so tired. "Well, things are pretty bad now. Remember Desiree? Well we're divorced and I have two children. I'm unemployed and broke, and we're homeless! We're at the New Hope Homeless shelter in Skid Row, Downtown Los Angeles! I'm not asking for money or anything, I just need to talk." Eric barely understood the phone number as Jason mumbled it. "You know what, Eric? Never mind just forget it, forget I ever called." Jason said before he hung up.

"You got all that?" Tommy asked.

"Yeah," Eric said. He sighed thinking about his former friend. "God, Jason what happened to you?" He rhetorically asked. "What did you find out?"

Tommy looked up from the notes that he took during his research. "Well I found out quite a lot about Jason Christopher Marsden, the voice actor. Jason David Marsden, your friend took a bit of doing. But here's what I found. He was married to Desiree Emmeline Hollinger Beaumont Marsden Ratcliffe from 1995-2012, marriage ended in divorce. Desiree's second husband Charles Ratcliffe, is a stockholder in Coca-Cola, Delta Airlines, and several other companies which get tedious to name after the first fifty-"

"-She always did like the 'finer things in life'," Eric snorted mimicking his former girlfriend's Southern accent.

Tommy nodded. "Yeah and Ratcliffe is 57 years old, almost 20 years her senior. Something tells me they didn't marry for undying love and affection. Jason and Desiree moved to Los Angeles, California in 1998. They have two children, Justin Max age 8 and Annabelle Rose, age 6 both in their father's sole custody. Desiree also had two miscarriages in 2001 and 2002, and a stillbirth in 1996, a son, Rhett Otis-"

"-Yeah I remember," Eric said sadly.

Tommy nodded confused, but continued. "Desiree was an actress and model and had

some print ads and cosmetics commercials to her credit from 1998-2001. Jason was employed as a data processor for SoCal Insurance from 1998-2012 and was last employed as a dishwasher at Hit the Skids Diner from 2013 to this past November."

"Data entry to a dishwasher," Eric said.

"Not exactly a lateral move upward," Tommy said wryly. "His last known residence was an apartment in North Hollywood, where he lived until 2013."

Eric reasoned. "Two years? The guy has been homeless for two years and he didn't think to call me until now? God, Jason why did you have to be so stubborn?"

Tommy shrugged. "Maybe he didn't have any way of contacting you until now. Maybe he didn't know where you were. You said so yourself until you moved to St. Upid Town you were sort of hard to get in touch with."

"He knew where my parents were," Eric said. "They're still in the same house! My God our parents were each other's 'in case of emergency and your parents cannot be reached' people! His mom was a medical assistant at the clinic where my mom used to go for her, you know, her womanly parts exams. His dad put together the Ads sections in the paper and always gave my dad good space both at Market Giant and Matthews' Wilderness! They're still fairly good friends! Why didn't they ever say 'Oh your son's a senator, congratulations! Our son is homeless! Could you spot him a 20?'"

"I don't know," Tommy said. "Maybe they took a vow of silence, like maybe they promised Jason that they wouldn't say anything. Maybe they didn't know where he was. If Jason cut ties with you, chances are he may not have been speaking to his parents."

"We used to go to each other's houses, went on double dates, play hoops together! The guy was my best friend! What kind of a friend am I to let this happen to him?"

"You can't blame yourself, Eric," Tommy said. "That's the way things ended up for him."

"It should never have gotten this far and I won't let it go any further for him," Eric said determined.

"You want to call the shelter?" Tommy asked.

"No more than that," Eric said.

"You want me to cancel all your appointments and book a flight to L.A," Tommy guessed. "And two hotel rooms preferably in Beverly Hills or somewhere nice for them."

"You're good Tommy," Eric said.

"You also want me to book three more seats on your return flight," Tommy continued. "For your friend and his children."

"Very good," Eric said and continued tactfully. "Try to keep this on the QT, alright or the 7-11 or whatever convenience store that you always say. I don't know what Jason will be like, but I bet he certainly won't like a bunch of reporters shoving microphones in his face or photographers snapping pictures of him and the kids. I don't want to do this for myself or even give the appearance that I'm doing this myself."

"So you want me to put a wall the size of the Watch's Wall from Game of Thrones on the press," Tommy suggested. "Even tell a few half-truths if asked."

Eric pointed between Tommy and himself. "See this is what I like about you, Tommy. We are so in sync."

"Well you didn't hire me for my body," Tommy said. "You know inviting them to stay with you is only a temporary fix to the problem."

"Well we have to start somewhere," Eric said. "Aren't those apartments the ones where you live for only a few months available?"

"I could make a few calls," Tommy said. "But he won't be able to pay for if he's been unemployed."

"How's my salary doing?" Eric asked.

"Fine," Tommy said. "The average for a junior senator."

"You know that money that is taken out for the senator's personal needs, can we use that for anything?" Eric asked.

"I think so," Tommy said. "You want to pay for your friend to stay in a New York apartment?"

"Until he finds work," Eric said. "The man needs a roof over his head."

"Are you sure you want to do this, Eric? Go through this much trouble for him?"

Eric looked at his younger friend suspiciously. "Do I hear judgment in your voice, Thomas?"

Tommy shook his head. "Not quite, more of caution. I grew up in Southern California, in Brentwood. I know about Skid Row. My parents used to do volunteer work out there. My sister, Sarah, is a social worker and most of her cases take place there. It's a dangerous area. People learn quickly to fight for everything. It's pure Social Darwinism, Kill or Be Killed. Jason has been in that environment for a long time, so he will be on the defensive. He will have changed, so much that you won't recognize him. He may not accept, or even want your help."

Eric shook his head. "You may know that area. But I know Jason, he would not have called me if he didn't want my help. You know what I heard in that message? Someone who doesn't have any more hope, someone who's tired maybe even tired of living. "

Tommy looked uncertain, so Eric continued. "Do you remember how I always say, 'lose one friend-'"

"-Lose all friends, lose yourself," Tommy finished and nodded.

"I never told you why I say that," Eric said.

"Yes you did," Tommy answered. "It's because you had a dream or a vision of the future in which you and your friends lost touch with each other and were miserable."

"No," Eric said. "That just what would have happened if I lost all my friends. It's not the friends that I still have that stay with me. It's the one I lost. Jason's girlfriend, Desiree got pregnant and he dropped out of school to marry her. All of a sudden my best friend was getting married and going to be a father and to probably the worst girl ever, well except maybe Minkus' ex.

Desiree well I don't often say this, but she was a bitch! I should know, I dated her for a month. She was one of those spoiled types who liked guys to wait on her. I stood up to her and she moved on to Jason! Funny thing was Jason hated her at first. He always made fun of her and said that I was whipped. He ended up being more whipped than me, because I never had sex with her. It probably could have been me, but instead it was him. I just knew that for the rest of his life he was going to have to please this horrible girl and he would be miserable with her."

"Did you warn him?" Tommy asked.

Eric nodded. "When he asked me if I was going to come to his wedding, I told him I couldn't because I knew he was making a mistake. I didn't go to the wedding. I didn't know how to deal with it. Not just that he was marrying my ex-girlfriend, but the whole thing. I couldn't handle the fact that my friend was going to have a baby. I still practically was one. How do you talk to someone who could no longer hang out on Saturday nights with you because he had to put the baby to sleep? While you are going to your senior prom, he's working double shifts to pay rent. You're going on your third date in your dad's car hoping to get laid and he's staying home with the wife. You're planning on college and he's stressing about whether he can put his kids through it. I couldn't understand that."

"Eric you were 17, "Tommy reminded him. "Teenagers are like that. It would have been hard for you to talk to each other. I'm sure that Jason understood."

"Don't try to justify it, Tommy. It was selfish of me. I was too selfish because I couldn't handle what Jason was going through. My Mom showed me the obituary that said that his and Desiree's newborn son had been born and died and I never called him. I would see him working at places like Wal-Mart and I would duck to another register to avoid any awkward moments between us. Oh I didn't like his wife, but that was no excuse. I didn't know what to say to him. I could have said something, told him how sorry I was about his son dying, continued to write or call, and maybe even kept up with him after they moved to L.A. I might even known that they had moved to L.A. before now! Hell I talk to Rachel all the time and she lived in Africa! But instead I phased my best friend out of my life because I couldn't handle the fact that he grew up and I didn't."

"So you feel guilty for phasing out of the friendship," Tommy reasoned.

"It's more than that," Eric said. "I can't leave him alone in that, Tommy, I just can't. I already left him once. If he turns me down, fine, at least I will know. But he's out there with those kids and he probably feels alone. He needs to know that there is someone that cares about him."

Tommy nodded understanding. "I'll make the calls."

When Eric arrived at the New Hope Homeless Shelter, he wasn't sure what he would find or what condition Jason and his children would be in when he showed up. Would they be sick? Would Jason greet him with a sobbing hug? Would he be furious and tell Eric to get out of his face? Eric hoped that for his children's' sake, Jason wouldn't do what Eric deserved.

Agent La Chance walked ahead of him and cleared his throat at a tall thin African-American woman. "Are you Flora Reynolds, Director of this homeless shelter?" LaChance said in his best Samuel L. Jackson voice.

"Yes," the woman said. As fragile as she looked, Eric would have thought that she would cower but she looked at the secret service agent defiantly.

LaChance continued. "And you have a Jason Marsden who's a resident at this facility ma'am?"

"If I do, what business is it of yours?" Mrs. Reynolds asked crossing her arms and staring the larger man down.

Eric stifled a grin thinking that he wouldn't be in Agent LaChance's shoes for the world. "That is completely classified ma'am," LaChance said.

"Well the information on my residents is completely classified." Mts. Reynolds glared at the agent. She stepped forward as LaChance stepped back. Eric let out a small laugh but it turned to a cough as the two glanced at him.

Eric stepped forward. "Ma'am, we don't want any trouble with Jason. I'm an old friend of his and I just want to talk to him. I think I can help him out."

Eric gave his best "puppy dog" pleading look and Mrs. Reynolds smiled. "Oh alright," she said. She motioned them forward leading them to a room that was surrounded with several cot-like beds. She pointed to the cot at the far end. "He arrived close to midnight two nights ago with his son and daughter. His children were ill and he was too exhausted to go any farther." He pointed at a man and two children at the far end. "There they are."

Eric glanced at Jason Marsden, not believing that this man was his former high school friend. Even sitting down, Eric recognized his buddy's short height but the similarity to the person that he knew ended there. He was extremely thin almost a skeleton and was dressed in a dirty gray t-shirt and jeans with holes on them. Jason's dark hair was a mess down to right above his shoulders and thinning at the forehead, filled with gray strands. He had grown a beard that was scuffed and tinged with gray. He's my age but he looks 10 years older, Eric thought feeling complete sorrow for his friend. Those were the surface changes. What upset Eric the most was the loss of fire, defiance that was missing in his friend. For all of the years Eric knew Jason, he was always argumentative challenging towards anybody. He couldn't fight someone with his fists, because of his size. But he could always fight them with his mouth, giving a sarcastic comment, letting anyone know exactly what he thought of them. It hurt Eric to see that fire gone.

Jason sat between two children. The boy had a book on his lap and was reading it out loud. The girl had her back turned to her father and brother while Jason had his fingers through her hair and twisted it into a braid. Eric wouldn't have needed someone to tell him that this girl was Desiree's daughter. He could tell that she was the spitting image of her. Eric remembered that when he dated Desiree, he saw photos that had been taken during his ex-girlfriend's Toddlers and Tiaras Junior Miss Beauty Pageant days. The girl sitting on the shelter bed was an exact replica of the girl in those pageant photos without her mother's fragility that came from a pampered childhood. The little girl had long black curly hair and her mother's pretty eyes. Even though the girl didn't have her mother's delicate skin, Eric could definitely see the paleness underneath.

As for the boy, Eric definitely could see traces of his old buddy in him. The short dark hair, the distinct leering mouth, and that cynical look that showed someone always thinking of something to say and ready to say it. No doubt he was Jason's son. Like their father, the children were dressed in dirty ragged clothing, the boy in a streaked Nike shirt and holey jeans, the girl in a black dress cut at the hem. The children's shoes showed their feet. Eric nodded remembered that he asked Tommy to order new clothing for the kids and their dad and for them to be delivered to the hotel. It's a good thing that he thought of it.

Eric approached the small family slowly. He let out an involuntary, "Oh my God, Jason."

Jason looked up and Eric could tell his friend was suspicious. "Eric what are you doing here?"

"You called me remember?" Eric asked.

Jason stood up and said "Yeah but I didn't think you would come."

He lowered his head and Eric could see sadness in his friend, as though he didn't believe that anyone would have come for him. "See how little you know me." Eric said using the same words Jason once said when he bailed on him after he got in trouble with his parents. Eric could contain himself no longer. He wrapped his former best friend up in a bear hug. I'm here now, he wanted to say, you are not alone anymore.

Eric led Jason and the children to the Beverly Wilshire. The kids, Justin and Annie, instantly hit it off with their goofy adopted uncle and were floored by the fancy hotel and new clothes. Jason seemed at first reluctant to renew his friendship with Eric and he kept asking Eric why he was there. Eric answered, "Jason you called me. You're my friend. What other reason did I need than that?"

Eric hoped that Jason would accept his offer to move to the short term apartment in New York until he found a job. Now as for the job, Eric had an idea for that. Before he left for California, Eric had Googled job searches that featured database entry, office work, anything that contained Jason's experiences. He hoped that his friend would find a better job than the diner that he had worked. Eric scanned through the various job sites bookmarking posts of interest.

One instantly stuck out in his mind. Sitting in his hotel room, Eric read through the ad on his laptop smiling as he read the header: "Administrative Assistant Wanted Hunter-Connor Inc." Eric skimmed through the description mentioning that Hunter-Connor was looking for an organized individual to gather files, fill database entry, and greet clients at the reception desk. Requirements included either a preferred Bachelor's in Business Administration or work experience equivalent of education and that chances of advancement in the position were likely. Hopeful, Eric glanced at his watch. It was 8:00 pm in L.A., 11:00 in New York. Eric dialed Jack Hunter's cell.

"Hunter here," Eric heard the voice of his friend.

"Hey Jack, its Eric," Eric answered.

"Eric, I have Caller I.D," Jack reminded him as though he were speaking to a small child. "I know it's you. I just don't know why you're calling."

"Jack, I have a favor to ask you," Eric began.

"It doesn't involve giving any money to a monkey does it?" Jack asked his friend.

"No," Eric said.

"It doesn't involve you predicting lottery numbers by sneezing which I'm still mad at you about by the way, "Jack inquired.

"No," Eric insisted. "I still think it changed you."

"It doesn't involve you and me dressing like girls to get away from some thugs?" Jack asked.

"No," Eric said. "But I still have the Genevieve outfit if you want to."

"Thanks I'm set," Jack said wryly. "So what does it involve, Eric?"

"Well that administrative assistant position you have, how far are you in the process?" Eric asked.

Jack snorted. "Don't ask. We have literally hundreds of applicants for it. Donna and HR have been weeding through them, but so far we haven't found anyone yet. We're not even going to start interviewing for a while."

"Well what if I said that I know someone who was qualified and would be a good worker for you?" Eric suggested.

Jack snorted and Eric could just imagine his friend rolling his eyes. "Well I'd say that someone has as much chance as anyone, but I'm not optimistic. Tell them to send it. I'll probably end up doing the interviews with Donna. She's leaving soon and I want to make sure that I can assess their personality, since they will be working directly under me. So we're both doing the interviews."

"Sure, no problem," Eric said.

"So what's this applicant like?" Jack asked.

"Well," Eric was about to tell one best friend about another when he heard a knock on his hotel door. "Hold on, I'll talk to you later." Eric hung up and looked through the peephole to see Jason standing outside.

While Eric didn't expect Jason to actually leap up at his offer to move to New York, he didn't expect his friend to be so hostile towards it. "Why are you doing this?"

"You called me," He said slowly. "Haven't we talked about this already?"

"Look, Eric so help me, if you have some political angle or are using us in some way for a goddamned photo op-!"

Eric told his friend about the press wall that Tommy put around Eric's trip to L.A. Jason apologized. "I just-I don't know how to deal with all of this. One minute we're on the streets, the next we're in one of the richest hotels in the state. I'm just overwhelmed and I am grateful except- I uh should be doing this by myself and I'm not doing any good for them. All that you are doing just shows more and more how I'm failing as a father."

Eric shook his head. How could his friend ever feel that he failed his children as a father considering that he stayed with them throughout this struggle? Was he jealous that Eric was able to give his children material things that their father could not? Did Jason really doubt his importance in his children's lives? "You're the one doing all the hard work. I'm just the cool uncle giving you a break. You're a great dad."

Jason compared himself to Desiree saying that he was no better than Desiree because he left them in homelessness while Desiree abandoned and neglected them.

Eric reminded Jason of the courage and sacrifice that it took to raise them and Jason just answered with, "What kind of courage and sacrifice does it take to murder your own children?"

Eric gave a slight gasp not wanting to believe what his friend told him. Jason then explained that as his children slept in the shelter, Jason contemplated smothering them with a pillow and committing suicide rather than returning them to a life of homelessness.

"Go ahead," Jason dared him. "Call your old buddy an attempted murderer! Call him a selfish bastard or a lousy father! Because they don't even half cover the things I've already called myself!"

It seemed so alien to Eric. What would it be like to be that devoid of hope, never

Seeing any way out, where even death would have been a better option than the life that was dealt? When Eric went into a self-imposed exile after he, Cory, Topanga, and Shawn moved to New York, he remembered what it was like to have very little but the food you found and the clothes you wore. While Eric's exile was by choice and Jason's was forced, Eric remembered times where he might have died if not for the kindness of people around him.

That's why he clicked so well with the people of St. Upid Town. The people instantly welcomed him with open arms, let him stay in the local inn as long as he needed, hired him to work at the St. Upid Sign, the local newspaper. Despite the unfortunate name which many made fun of, Eric saw genuine kindness and warmth from the people that shone more than any intellect ever could. When the landslide happened and the people wanted him to step in as mayor, what else could Eric do but pay these kind people back? If not for the people of St. Upid Town and of course the support of his friends like Topanga and Shawn and his family like his parents and siblings, he may have been like Jason now, lost and in despair.

Eric held his friend trying to give him the only hope that he could provide that Jason's children weren't dead and that Jason didn't act on his dark thoughts. "Oh, Jason. I can't even begin to tell you what you should feel about that except that you didn't. The point is not that you thought about killing them, but that you didn't. I can't imagine what it would be like to be in that situation to feel like you have no other choice. But you let them live another day. You gave them that strength and they gave you yours."

Jason told his friend that he didn't know why he called Eric. But Eric knew. "Jason, you called me because you're tired."

Jason sighed and Eric could feel the weight that his friend had been carrying all of those years. "Yeah, you're right about that. My feet and back are killing me. It's an effort just to walk across a room. I don't sleep very much, because I have gotten into the habit of watching over my kids at night. I always feed them before myself and since they've been practically starving, you can guess how often I eat. Even breathing has gotten to be a chore these days."

Eric shook his head knowing that he meant more than physical exhaustion. "You're tired of going it alone. You've always had to be the strong one. Even with Desiree you didn't have anyone to help you out. The kids depend on you, but you don't have anyone to take on the stress with you. I don't think you really wanted to hurt them back there. I think you were just tired of your kids' suffering and wanted it to be over and that's why you called me. You knew I would come. You wanted me to come. You called me because you want to hand the burden over to someone else and say, 'Okay, I've had enough. You take it for a while.' You need someone to tell you that everything is going to be okay. Jason, you're a single dad, but that doesn't mean you have to be alone."

Jason sobbed and Eric held onto his friend, pulling him into a hug, "It's going to be okay, Jason, everything is going to be okay."

Jason sat up and wiped his tears. "Thank you, Eric. All the times that I told the kids that everything was going to be okay. I don't think they believed me. I didn't believe it myself, but maybe now it is."

"That's why I'm here," Eric said.

"You're a good friend, Eric," Jason said. "You're still my best friend, thanks."

Eric felt like stone. He lowered his head. He didn't feel like a good friend. He felt like a fraud.