A/N: So, this is my multi-chapter sequel to That Girl Has Love. This starts off nearly right where that one shot ended, so it's going to continue to tag along with their "present" time line for the current season. While the one shot kind of fit into the cracks of canon, this will go on to touch Girl Meets Yearbook and Semi-Formal, and turn AU from those episodes. I have quite a few more chapters of this already written, and they'll be typed and posted at various intervals around other content. I just wanted to get this first chapter out before Girl Meets Texas, because this is going nowhere near wherever that may go. I'd love to hear what you think about it. Enjoy! R&R! Thanks! ~Mac

Disclaimer: I don't own GMW.

Someday You Will Be Loved

One

Maya was curled up, half asleep, on the couch when her mom came home from her date with Shawn. After dropping Lucas off on his doorstep, Maya had decided to wait up for her mom. Even though she had seen first hand that the date was headed for success, she wanted to hear her mom say it was as wonderful as it looked. By morning, Katy would have talked herself down from whatever high she was on and reassessed and adjusted her reaction to manage her daughter's expectations. Maya had to catch her while she was still feeling the after-effects of the experience, before she had the chance to edit her version of the night. So, she took her usual seat on the couch, clicked on the TV, and tucked a throw blanket around her legs to get comfortable and settle in for the evening. Only she had been staring at the muted TV set for so long that her eyelids had begun to droop.

Her head snapped up when she heard the front door close, revealing a crick in her neck that had already set in due to her awkward position on the couch. She rolled her head back to lean over the back of the couch. The new position stretched the muscles in her neck and shoulders, and also gave her an upside down view of Katy in the entryway, juggling keys and a crinkling to go bag as she kicked off her heels next to the door.

"Hi, Mom," Maya said, her voice betraying her grogginess.

Katy looked up to locate her daughter. She shook her head slightly, "I thought you might still be up."

"Only just," Maya answered honestly.

"I brought you leftovers," Maya kissed the top of Maya's head as she passed by on her way to the kitchen.

Maya closed her eyes and leaned into the brush of her mom's lips. "How was it?"

"Hmm," Katy hummed a response as she took the to go bag into the kitchen. "Delicious. You'll love it. Are you hungry now? I can warm it for you."

Maya rolled her eyes and twisted around to get an angle where she could see her mother in the kitchen. "I wasn't asking about the food. How was the date?"

"Well," Katy stalled, nervously fiddling with the handles on the to go bag.

For a second, Maya's stomach dropped as she assumed her mom was trying to find a way to sugarcoat the news that it hadn't gone as well as it appeared. Then she blinked her eyes clear and took a closer look at her mom. Katy's cheeks were flushed a rosy pink and she couldn't contain the urge to smile. Nothing had gone wrong. She was just shy about revealing how great it had gone.

"Oh, Maya, it was..." Katy trailed off, unable to place the appropriate word.

"Amazing? Fantastic? Out of this world spectacular?" Maya suggested possibilities as she hopped up from the couch and joined her mom in the kitchen.

"All of the above?" Katy gushed and took both of Maya's hands in her own. She was smiling uninhibited now. "I don't know, Maya, Shawn was..." She pressed her cheek into a lifted shoulder. "And the restaurant was just so..." She sighed softly. "The whole night was..."

"Look at you all speechless and flustered," Maya was grinning ear to ear as she swung their joined hands from side to side. "You kiddos are growing up way to fast."

Katy laughed. "You're too much."

"Well, my flair for the dramatic came from you if anywhere," Maya said. "Now, I want you to tell me everything about it, but first," She extracted one of her hands to point at the to go bag, "I need some of that, because it smells delish from here already and I'm starving."

Katy fixed Maya a plate of leftovers and then joined her daughter on the couch, bringing herself some ice cream from their freezer and a spoon to eat straight from the carton. They sat facing each other, with their backs propped against opposite arms of the couch. They draped the throw blanket over both of their legs. Maya dug into her plate while she listened to her mom's story, which was punctuated by healthy spoonfuls of chocolate ice cream.

"He picked me up at Topanga's," Katy began. She waved her spoon around as she spoke. "He brought me the most beautiful bouquet of flowers. It was all my favorites, fresh and vibrant. And he was so nervous, he tried to be smooth, but a girl just knows. He played it off well though, and it was nice, you know, to know it meant a lot to him too. Even when you're our age, when you care, when something is important to you, when you take chances, you can't help but get those flutters in your stomach that no amount of experience can teach you what to do with."

Maya smiled and took another melt in her mouth bite of her dinner.

"And the restaurant, Maya, you would have loved it. It was this gorgeous, intimate little place. Dimly lit, full of modern art and ritzy décor, you know the sort, with its wine list and cloth napkins."

"Oh no, cloth napkins, you say?" Maya replied.

Katy smiled around her spoon and then slid the clean spoon from her lips. "It was wonderful. Shawn got us a table with a perfect view through the window, where we could watch the people and cars go by. I loved it. I don't know how he could have known that I like that, but he exceeded all my expectations. I wish you could have seen the place. It was perfect."

Maya didn't think her mom needed to know that she may have let those seating preferences slip to Shawn one afternoon, or that she dropped casual hints about which flowers would garner a positive reaction to give him all the help he could get. She certainly wasn't going to share that she had gotten to see the restaurant and all its glorious perfection, because she and her cowboy friend had spied on the whole beginning of the date. It was better if she kept those things to herself. Besides, she wasn't going to take any credit for it, all that belonged to Shawn.

"We talked and talked," Katy said. "About everything. Our pasts, our hobbies, our professions or lack there of, our likes and dislikes, our hopes, our...you."

Maya set aside her now picked clean plate. She pulled her knees to her chest, rested her arms on them and then propped her chin on her arms.

"I felt comfortable and safe and understood," Katy drew in a deep breath and let it go slow. "I haven't felt this good about someone in a...very long time. Shawn is..."

"Shawn is," Maya agreed.

"Anyway," Katy bounced her shoulders. "We took a short stroll after dinner, digesting...processing. And..."

"And?" Maya prompted.

"And he walked me to my door like a gentleman," Katy said.

"And?" Maya's eyebrows lifted and she grinned as she stared her mom down.

"And...and," Katy weaved her head back and forth, laughing lightly, blushing quite a bit, and changed the subject. "You know, one day, maybe soon, you're gonna meet a special boy and then we'll be doing this again, only, instead, you'll be telling me about the magical night you had and the boy, who makes you smile for no reason and fills you with joy and light. Someday, Maya, you'll understand."

Maya gave her a twisted, lopsided smile.

"It's late. We should get ready for bed," Katy said in a rush and stood up.

Maya helped collect the dirty dishes and followed her to the kitchen. "He kissed you. He kissed ya good, didn't he?"

Katy didn't say no.

…

Maya didn't get to see or talk to Lucas until Monday morning at school, but she had to admit that he had been on her mind. She had asked him on her spy mission because it was convenient, but after it all, she couldn't imagine anyone else by her side. It made her a little guilty, but the thought did cross her mind that she was glad Riley had been stuck babysitting. Maya loved her best friend, but it had been an important night for her and her mom and she had been filled with doubts and fears and an anxious energy that made her tingle all the way to her fingertips. It had felt like, as hyperbolic as it was, her entire future hinged on the failure or success of that date. If Maya had posed her question to Riley, if she had asked about her chances of finding love, Riley would have comforted her with sunshiny fantasies about Maya's potential Prince Charming, the epic romance that followed, and their double wedding complete with horse drawn carriages, millions of rose petals, and matching wedding dresses. Riley's belief in storybook endings was great in certain situations, but that enthusiastic optimism wasn't what Maya was looking for the other night. Somehow, Lucas had known exactly what she needed to hear and said all the right things. He had given her something real, something grounded, something she could hold on to that would carry her through. It had meant the world to her, and she needed to know that it wasn't just words to him. So, the first thing she did that morning was find him.

"Howdy Do," Maya said when she approached him at his locker.

"Is that a new nickname, or was that your attempt at a Texan greeting?" Lucas raised an eyebrow.

"Does anything count as Texan if it's not punctuated by a yee-haw?" Maya countered.

"Do you want to know how we really greet people in Texas?" Lucas asked, leaning in as if he was sharing a secret.

Maya shifted closer as well, her eyes locked on his. "Tell me."

"We say, Good morning, Maya," Lucas said. There was that smile on his face again, so at least she knew that part had been real.

Maya rocked back on her heels as she laughed. "Good morning, Lucas."

Lucas laughed with her as he closed his locker. He leaned against it and turned toward her, focusing all his attention. "How was the rest of your weekend?"

"Good, great even," Maya said. "I thought about calling you yesterday to tell you everything my mom told me about her night, but Shawn brought over brunch. He said it was to see me before he had to leave the city for a work thing, but I think we all knew it was just an excuse to see my mom again."

"That's a good sign," Lucas said and Maya nodded.

"I really, honestly, just wanted to thank you again for the other night," Maya said. She spotted Riley making her way toward them midway through, but she kept going, "but I didn't know if you had gotten in trouble or not."

Riley clearly overheard, because as soon as she hopped into place in front of Lucas and Maya, she released a slew of overexcited questions that were nearly impossible to wade through.

"What happened the other night? What other night? Did you two…? Why wasn't I there? Why would he be in trouble? What did you do?"

"Calm down, sweets," Maya patted Riley on her shoulder.

"I can't be calm. I want to know things. Tell me the things I want to know. Tell me now." Riley looked back and forth between Maya and Lucas with wide eyes.

"My mom and Shawn had their first date on Saturday, remember? When you couldn't go with me to spy on them, I asked Lucas to join me, that's all," Maya met Lucas's eyes. Something in them and something about the feeling building in her chest said that was not all. But Riley didn't need to know that. Maya looked away, landing her gaze back on Riley. "I figured he could keep me out of trouble at least half as well as you could."

Lucas snickered, drawing the pairs of eyes back to him. He smirked slightly at Maya. "Trouble follows you like a shadow. I don't think it matters whose company you're in."

"Now see here, Huckleberry," Maya started, but was cut off by the warning bell.

"Hold that thought. I'd love to hear it later," Lucas said, blowing Maya over with that smile again. It shifted away as he glanced at Riley. "Shall I escort you ladies to class?"

Riley nodded vigorously.

Maya hesitated. "I, uh, actually need to run to my locker. I'll—I'll meet you there."

"Okay," Lucas said. "See you in a few."

Maya nodded once and headed for her locker while Lucas and Riley turned the other direction toward their first class. She needed a moment to clear her head and to try to make herself feel normal again. She had felt like everything was spinning faster since Saturday and it didn't seem to be slowing down anytime soon. All the sweet things Lucas had said that night were dancing around her head with her mom's wishful thinking about Maya's future romances. It all swirled around and around as she rested her forehead against her locker.

Because the one thing her mom hadn't told her was what to do if she had already met that boy.