"So Maya, I know that you don't really like Secret Santa, but you still have to play along and get something for Lucas! Ouch!" Riley whined as Maya pinched her for using the words 'Secret Santa'.

"I know Riles, I'm working on something for him right now, and besides, it's not like he's even back from Texas yet." Maya responded.

"But still, Peaches, you have to give him a gift, those are the rules of… well those are the rules." Riley stated with a shudder, avoiding the pinch that was sure to come.

"When is he coming back, anyway?" Maya asked as the pair walked up to the counter of Topanga's to get their smoothies.

"I'm not even sure. Zay said that he'll be back after New Year's, so I'm assuming in the next couple of days before we go back to school?" Riley answered, walking back to her spot on the couch.

"Well then I guess I need to hurry up and finish getting his gift together, and before you ask, because I know you will, I am not telling you what I got him for Christmas. That would make the whole thing secret thing invalid." Maya replied, sitting back down with her drink in hand.

"Ugh fine, take all the fun out of Secret Santa." Riley looked up to see Maya bringing her fingers close enough to pinch Riley. "NO DON'T! I'LL DO IT! OUCH!" Riley squealed as she pinched herself again.


A few hours later, Maya was sitting on her bed drawing in her sketch pad when she heard a knock on her window. Setting her work aside, she quietly moved towards the window and peeked through the curtain. "Lucas." Maya gasped with surprise. "What are you doing here?" She asked as she opened up the window and let him climb through. "When did you get back from Texas?"

"Hey Maya. I just got back a couple of hours ago. I just wanted to come by and give you your Christmas present." Lucas said, standing there near the desk in Maya's room.

"Have you been to Riley's yet? And you got me a Christmas present? I thought that the whole point of Secret Santa was so we didn't have to get gifts for everyone else."

"Riley doesn't know that I'm back yet, she thinks I'm coming back tomorrow. And I know that's the point of Secret Santa, but I saw this and thought of you." Lucas replied, holding a festively wrapped package in his hand.

"Well I'm sure you know it by now, but I picked your name from the hat, so I got you something also." Maya said, crossing her room and heading to the closet to grab a package wrapped in simple brown paper.

"So umm, do you wanna open them at the same time?" Lucas asked.

"How about I open yours first, and then you can open mine." Maya answered.

Lucas handed the package wrapped in Christmas paper to Maya, who tore into it with excitement. "Guitar picks?"

"Yeah, while I was in Texas I was helping Pappy Joe clean up the attic and we found some of these. They belonged to my great grandfather, Merlin, so they're vintage."

"Wow Lucas, I don't know what to say. Thank you." Maya stammered out. "Well… umm… here's your gift, Merry Christmas." Maya gingerly held out the gift to Lucas who took it and carefully pulled back the paper to reveal 2 pictures in a frame.

"Thanks Maya, although I'm not really sure what this means." Looking at the two pictures, he noticed that one of them was a picture of Maya and Lucas standing together after the school board meeting where they saved the arts, Maya wearing a red dress while Lucas wore all black. The other picture, clearly faded with age showed a man dressed in black and a woman in a long red dress.

"Do you remember a couple of years ago when we had to do the project on the 1960s and Farkle discovered that somehow all of our great grandparents met each other on the same night, and that my great grandmother May left before she could really become friends with Riley's great grandmother Rosie?" Maya asked.

"Well yeah, and that my great grandfather didn't like to stay in one place for a long time and left after performing on stage, but how does this relate to anything?"

"So apparently when May left the café because she'd decided to give up her music, she ran into your great grandfather outside, and he convinced her not to give up on singing. Even though she didn't stay and become friends with Rosie, she did become friends with your grandfather, where they both traveled around and sang together. And according to my grandmother, they made their way to Texas where your great grandfather stayed and my great grandmother met my great grandfather and moved to Arkansas. Which brings me to the next part, this picture is your great grandfather Merlin and my great grandmother May!" Maya explained.

Lucas had a look of amazed disbelief on his face. "That's amazing! Where did you even find this picture?"

"Well after the project, I wanted to know more about my family history, so I did some digging, visiting the library and talking to Gammy Hart while looking at her old pictures. I found this one at the back of an old family album, and it was labeled 'Merlin and May, just friends' and I thought that it kinda looked like the picture of us, so I put them together and… yeah." Maya finished with a shrug of her shoulders.

Lucas set the picture down on the desk and reached out towards Maya to hug her. "Thank you Maya, this is an awesome gift, and I definitely appreciate all the work and effort that you put into it."

Maya returned the hug and stepped back, looking up at Lucas's face. She thought for a split second and then responded. "You're welcome Huckleberry."

Lucas's eyes widened for a brief second. "One question though, you said that May moved to Arkansas when she married your great grandfather, so does this mean that you're southern by association?" he asked with a smirk on his face.

Maya sent him a mock glare. "My mom is from Arkansas, but I was born here in New York. I'll tell you this, but if you tell anyone I will jack you up son, you understand?"

Lucas quickly nodded his head in agreement.

Maya took a deep breath before responding, "Okay, well until the time that Gammy Hart moved in with us, I'd visit her in Arkansas every summer for a month."

"OH THIS IS THE GREATEST DAY OF MY LIFE." Lucas responded with a chuckle. "Don't worry Shortstack, your secret is safe with me."