GIRL MEETS MOTHERHOOD

"Maya, please just talk to me about this!" Riley said as she and the blonde walked through the front door of the Matthews residence.

"I can't yet Riley, okay? I can't, just leave it alone," Maya said, walking to the fridge and grabbing a water bottle.

"Why not? We're best friends, we're better than that, we're practically sisters and sorta-kinda cousins – please talk to me."

"I can't talk about it yet. I need to talk to an adult before I go around shouting it to the world, okay? I need to be positive that what I think is happening, is actually happening or not before I tell anybody, even you."

"How bad could it be, Maya? Is it drugs? Oh, please tell me it's not drugs, please."

"It's not drugs," Maya said, sitting at the table. "It's something bigger than that. I need to talk to your mom first."

"How come you're not talking to your mom?"

"My mom's with Shawn, they went to Philly."

"Ooh, Philly – he's taking her to his hometown, how romantic," Riley said with a big smile.

"Yeah, romantic – I'll be right back, I'm just gonna go throw up for a minute. Or thirty," Maya said, making her way out of the living room.

"Auggie, I'm not done talking to you about this," Ava said as Auggie entered the house.

"Well, I'm tired of fighting about it, Ava, it's a dumb thing to fight over," Auggie said.

"No, it's not, it's important."

"Oh, kiddie drama, how fun," Riley said. "So, what's going on?"

"This bonehead doesn't think it's important to like each others' interests," Ava said.

"That mind controlling woman thinks it's the most important thing in the world," Auggie said.

"So, who's right, Riley? Me or him? I say me."

"Well, you're both right in a way," Riley said. "Ava, it's not the most important thing, but Auggie – it is important. You have to meet middle grounds if you want a healthy, stable relationship. You have to find things you're both interested in. Try some of the things Ava likes, and Ava you try some of the things Auggie likes. It's a two way street."

"I like one way streets – the Ava Morgenstern street."

"Yeah, I've done all I can do. Have a nice life, kids, don't reproduce," she said, standing up and walking upstairs. When she got to her room, she expected to find Maya at the bay window – but she wasn't there. "Maya? Did you go home?" she asked. She stayed quiet for a minute until she heard a noise down the hall and followed it all the way to the bathroom, which the door was slightly ajar. She opened it a little just to peek inside and was immediately worried at the image of her best friend hovered over the toilet, losing everything she ate that day down the toilet. "Oh my gosh – Maya," she said, walking to her friend and holding her hair back. "Are you okay? Mom!" she called out. She'd never seen Maya sick before – Maya never got the flu, just a cold, and very rarely did that ever happen. "Mom!" she yelled.

"What? What's going on?" Topanga asked as she walked down the hall.

"It's Maya, come quick!"

The woman ran the rest of the way until she reached the bathroom. "What's going on?"

"She's throwing up."

"Riley, that's a natural reaction to a virus, she probably has the flu," she said as she made her way to the tub and sat on the edge of it, running her hand over Maya's back.

"We were talking about Uncle Shawn and Katy and she said she was gonna go throw up, I didn't know she was serious."

"It was probably just a badly timed joke. Why don't you go get some Sprite and crackers and bring them to your room and we'll get her settled and taken care of."

As Riley left the room, Maya's heaving stopped and she breathed heavily at the loss of oxygen.

"You okay, honey?" Topanga asked.

"I don't know," Maya's voice cracked. "I don't know, I'm… I'm scared, I don't know what to do, I…"

"Maya, what's going on?"

"I made the worst mistake of my life, what the hell was I thinking?"

"Maya, talk to me. What is it?"

Maya sniffled and she let out a sob, staying quiet for a few seconds before finally gaining her composure. "I think I'm pregnant."

Maya didn't know what to say, what to feel, or how to tell her best friend that she'd messed up her life. She didn't even know what to tell herself. She knew she just ruined everything for her future. She didn't know how she was going to tell her mother and Shawn. All she knew was that her life was over.

"…Are you gonna make Riley stop being my friend?" Maya asked, looking at Topanga.

Topanga looked up from her paperwork and placed her gaze on Maya. "Why would I do that?"

"Well… I've never really been a good influence. And now that this whole pregnancy scare isn't a scare, it's reality… I just thought you wouldn't want her being friends with someone like me."

"Someone like what? Like someone that got a little too carried away a little too early in life? Honey, you're like a second daughter to me and Cory, we would never stop you two from being friends. We want what's best for you."

"Is this baby best for me?"

"Maybe not right now. But, God has a funny way of teaching life lessons."

"I'm fifteen; I shouldn't even be having sex let alone taking care of a baby."

"Trust me, Maya; you're going to grow up a lot in the coming months until that baby arrives. And it's going to be hard. You'll want to pull your hair out. You'll beg to give up. But, we'll always be here to help you, no matter what. We love you, Maya. We'll love that baby the very same. It won't be easy, but it won't be impossible."

Maya stared down at the table, tears collecting in her eyes. "My mom's gonna kill me… Shawn's gonna kill me. I promised them I'd never mess up. I promised that I'd be the best I can be, and I… I just… screwed up so hard…"

Topanga got up from her seat and sat next to Maya, pulling her into a hug. "They'll be disappointed, yes. But they're not going to give up on you, they're not going to leave you the way Kermit did, and they're not going to turn you away. Everything is going to be fine in the long run. It might take a while, but it will happen, honey. I promise you that."

"I'm so scared…" Maya sobbed. "I don't even remember to pack lunch for myself, how am I gonna remember to feed a baby, or change its diaper?"

"Easy. It'll cry when it wants to eat and it'll stink when it needs a new diaper. You've got so any people that are going to help you with this, sweetheart. We won't let you be alone in this. Ever."

"What about Mr. Matthews?"

"Him too. All of us. Even Auggie."

"Even Auggie?"

"Even Auggie," Auggie said from the doorway. He walked over to Maya and hugged her. "I know I'm a kid, but I know that this can't be easy for you. I forget to change my underwear sometimes, or forget to use soap when I take baths. But, I never forget the really important stuff."

"Wearing clean underwear and using soap isn't important?" Topanga asked. "I'm gonna ask you to go take three showers right in a row right now."

"But I just took one the other day."

"And now it's time for another one, you can have some Auggie and Maya time after you're clean."

"I love you Maya. No matter what mistakes you make."

Maya smiled and kissed his head. "I love you too, kid."

"She's what?" Cory asked in disbelief.

"Pregnant, Cory," Topanga said. "She is with child, she's having a baby, she's growing a little life inside of her, right this instant as we speak."

"Yeah, I can… practically feel it moving in for hibernation season," Maya said.

"You're what?" Riley asked.

"I'm pregnant, Riley. I messed up. Like I always do. I screwed up, and I'm taking responsibility for it, and I'd really love it if two of the most important people of my life would be supportive and not shocked, because let's face it – you expected this of me."

"No we didn't."

"You did. You all did. You all knew that out of the two of us, if one of us was to get pregnant before adulthood that it would be me."

"I voted Smackle," Cory said.

"Cory," Topanga said. "Honey, no one thought that of you."

"What are people going to say at school?" Riley asked. "Everyone will stop and stare and talk about you when you… get big."

"That's unavoidable, Riles," Maya said. "Everyone's going to be shocked – but they won't be surprised. Everyone expected this of me. Even my friends."

"I never did."

"Out of the two of us, who would kiss someone on the first hour of the first date?"

"…You."

"Out of the two of us, who would go to a boy's house just because his parents aren't home?"

"You…"

"Out of the two of us, who would make the initiative move on said boy?"

"You…"

"Out of the two of us, who would have sex at all, let alone at this age?"

"…You…"

"And out of the two of us, who would end up pregnant their sophomore year of high school?"

"…You," Riley said quietly.

"Exactly."

"Maya, no one thinks that of you," Cory said. "We love you honey, we just… I'm shocked. I never expected to hear that one of my girls was having a baby, not so soon. Not ever."

"Expect the unexpected, Matthews. That's what you taught me."

"You have to expect the unexpected with you, you're unpredictable."

"I know. And I'm sorry I let you down."

"Maya… who's the father?"

"Not important, don't worry about it."

"It is important," Riley said. "Who is it? Who got you pregnant?"

"It doesn't matter, okay, I don't want anybody in any trouble, just drop it."

"Maya," Topanga said. "They need to know, honey."

Maya stayed quiet for a few seconds. "…Josh."

"I'm gonna kill him," Cory said.

"No you're not. You're going to bring him over here and we're gonna talk to him about this. Maya said this was a decision they both made, you can't put all the blame on him. She helped make this baby," Topanga said.

"He knows better, Topanga."

"So does she."

"But he knows even better. He's eighteen, why is he sleeping with a little girl? My little girl, why would he ever think that would be okay in a million years?"

"Honey, we all make mistakes. We all have a lapse in judgment. We have to accept that. We have to let them make their own mistakes."

"Well, this is a big one."

"It is a big one, but we can't be too judgmental. Remember when Shawn made you think I was pregnant because I couldn't get my pants on? You were terrified. And we were adults. Maya and Josh are kids. We need to handle this gently."

"He should have handled her gently – I thought she was over him."

"She'll never be over him; he's been her crush since she met him. They have to be the ones to deal with this."

"I'd like to deal with this."

"So would I, but they made a conscious decision to sleep together and now they have to make a conscious decision to be good parents."

"You really think a fifteen year old can do that?"

"I think this fifteen year old can do that. Maya's strong. She'll break at some point, but she'll come back together even stronger. That's how she works and you know that."

"But my little girl."

"I know, honey… I know."

Riley bit her lip, looking at Maya. Since she found out, she hadn't been able to take her eyes off of her. She was terrified for her best friend. There was no way Maya could do this and still finish school, and all Riley wanted was to see her friend cross the stage with their graduating class.

"Stop staring at me," Maya said.

"Sorry…" Riley said quietly. "…Maya, how…"

"I had sex, Riles. That's all there is to it. I had sex, now I'm pregnant, next… I die," she shrugged.

"That's not true, that's just something they tell us to scare us… Maya, you don't get to be a kid anymore. You're stuck now. You're stuck wiping mouths and wiping butts instead of going to parties and scaling the town at midnight."

"And I'll miss that. But, I'll get used to it. I'll figure it out. I always do."

"But what if this time you don't?"

"I will. I have to. This baby is real, my decisions have to be real."

"Maya… I think I'm more scared that you are."

"You always are."