Wild One

Disclaimer: I own nothing but what you see here. This was inspired by LittlemissyProdz' Maya Hart | Wild One music video on Youtube. This plays with the idea that after Shawn encountered Maya as a young girl at the hospital cause of something going on with the Matthews family (such as Auggie being born for example) and then finds out from Katy that he's Maya's father. But she still grows into the wild teenager we know and love since his writing job keeps him gone for weeks or months at a time. This will take place after the events of the pilot episode.

A little while after getting home from the subway, Cory had been sitting at the dinner table grading papers, though Maya's confession had been heavily on his mind. So much so that a few hours ago he had made a call to Shawn and told him he needed to get over here as it was really important. His best friend and brother in all but blood had wanted to know what was so important but all Cory would really tell him is that all would be explained once he finally got here. Shawn had begrudgingly accepted that and told him he'd start heading that way, even though it would take awhile to get there thanks to his job. The father of two hadn't mentioned it to Topanga yet since the girls had been in the front room for a good long while before finally going to Riley's room since Maya was going to stay over for the night.

It was then that Topanga made her way into the kitchen with a hug and a kiss to his cheek before heading towards the fridge. "How ya doin'?"

Cory sighed and looked her way. "Somethin' Maya said got to me and its just been running through my head ever since."

Looking curiously at him as she sat down with a plate of leftovers and seeing the look on her face, he continued on by telling his wife what Maya had told him after the sprinkler incident and a frown appeared on Topanga's face. "I knew her mother tended to work quite a bit but I had no idea it was anywhere like that."

For as long as Topanga had known Katy Hart, the woman had been an employee of the Nighthawk Diner who'd met Shawn one night when he'd been dealing with the after effects of things falling a part between him and Angela after she walked out on him when he proposed to her. Thankfully he hadn't gotten drunk as that wouldn't have led to anything good at all whatsoever but his own issues and Katy's issues with Kermit had led to the two meeting for the first time and one thing naturally leading to another. The result being Maya but him never being aware of that until a chance meeting with Maya while she was in the waiting room when he and the rest of the family were in there while Topanga was giving birth to Auggie. Katy had been seeing a doctor at the time due to a fracture in her arm due to accidental slipping and Kermit had just pretty much vanished and leaving the little girl on her own.

Something that had left a very unhappy Katy when she learned of it but was thankful to Shawn and the rest of the Matthews clan for being so willing to watch out for the little girl. For Shawn Hunter, being around the little girl and even watching her with Josh had been a huge treat to see as he felt a draw towards the little girl and then talking with Katy had wound up bringing back memories of their night together when she realized who he was. Kermit's actions at the hospital and the revelation about his not being Maya's father had made things rather messy but in the end the man was gone from their lives and Maya had an actual father in her life.

Though it had been slightly difficult since Shawn was gone a lot thanks to his job but learning he was a father had made him stop being foolish about having excuses to stay away from Cory and his growing family. Something that had made the other man intensely happy, Topanga slightly exasperated as she knew what this meant but was happy none the less, and for Riley, she was just happy that she had him in her life and thought he was the cool uncle while uncle Eric was the outright funny one. His writing job didn't exactly pay a whole lot of money but he did send what he could but Katy still needed to work quite a bit in order to support Maya and keep their home. Something even Shawn himself hadn't fully realized the truth about due to his being gone so much and after Cory heard Maya's confession, he thought it was time he meddled.

"Yeah, so I called up Shawnie and told him to get over here." Topanga looked at him in surprise as she hadn't been expecting that, though in retrospective, considering just who Cory Matthews is, she should have.

The arrival of a harried Shawn Hunter kept Topanga from saying anything however. "Alright Cor, I'm here! What's so important that I had to drive all the way from Maryland to get here!?" He hoped like crazy that nothing horrible was happening!

Cory and Topanga looked at one another before the teacher stood up and walked over to his friend who'd been standing in front of the couch looking concerned. The somber look on Cory's face alarmed Shawn quite a bit. "Did you get some bad news?" He asked while touching his best friend's shoulders in concern.

"You could say that Shawnie."

That vague answer bothered the writer/photographer as it barely explained anything for him. "Well don't leave me hangin' buddy!"

Cory looked at him for a moment before responding. "I called you here cause I needed to talk to you about Maya."

Maya!? What did his little spitfire have to do with anything? If she was hurt then may someone else have mercy on whoever caused it to happen cause he certainly wouldn't have mercy! "Oh no, is she hurt!?"

"Considering you and her mother are too busy working all the time I'd say that yeah, she is hurting and could go down a bad road that even Riley may not be able to get her off of." Informed Cory as he decided not to sugar coat anything.

That pretty much alarmed Shawn but he still had to wonder if maybe his best friend was exaggerating a little. "Cor, don't you think you're I don't know… Exaggerating a little?"

A firm shake of the head dashed that line of thinking. "Katy works a lot and you're gone quite a bit as well, which leaves her on her own a lot too unless she's with us. Do ya realize how bad that is?"

Shawn looked down, unable to face Cory as he realized how bad that was. And while he knew Cory and Topanga loved having Maya with them, his kid needed more than that and frankly it was making him realize he was pretty much pulling a Chet Hunter and the parallel made him uncomfortable. Cory watched as his best friend began to think and he didn't think he needed to point out the parallel involving his father. Shawn then sat down on the couch heavily with a sigh as Topanga came up behind him and put a hand on his shoulder in support. He loved his job but he also loved his little girl even more and doing like his father did had been the last thing he had wanted to do but seemed to have done anyway. Letting out another sigh, he then looked up at Cory with a sad look on his face. "I gotta start doin' better by her."

The teacher nodded at him in full approval of the idea. "Well the first step to that would be to move back to New York. And the apartment above us is empty right now."

"A different line of work too unless the magazine you work for is willing to keep you local." Added in Topanga and the man nodded at what had just been said to him.

It was time to stop living out of the old mobile trailer and be the father Maya needed rather then being around when able. He wasn't sure how the editors of Hit The Road would take things but as Topanga mentioned, he could always find another line of work that wouldn't keep him away. "I need to talk to her." He decided then and there as he did not want his kid going down a bad road that Riley couldn't get her off of.

Topanga smiled down at him and informed the father that she was spending the night and went to get her. Cory took the opportunity to sit down next to his long time friend and regaled him with the sparkler incident that Shawn couldn't help but find hilarious until the teacher got to the part about her mom and no one being around at home to help with homework. Which had hit him hard in the gut but he promised to change that soon. "Dad!?" Called out Maya as she came into the front room with Topanga and Riley trailing behind.

Shawn was up in a flash and hugging his kid tightly, something she was returning in equal force as she was happy as can be to see her father. With his being around more, things began to improve for the Hart/Hunter family and it helped Maya when it came to hope. Though it would gradually be some time before Katy and Shawn became more than just two people who were the parents of a teenage artist who only really talked when it had anything to do with Maya. Riley's bit of meddling would help the two out and Maya's father would even gain some closure when Angela came for a visit.

The father had to wonder though about his kid and Friar since he could tell there was something between the two that wasn't quite there between his niece and the Texan. As in a way, Maya and Lucas seemed to understand one another more in certain ways that Riley didn't. But he promised to keep himself out of that unless his little girl needed to talk to him about it. Of course he couldn't help but enjoy how flustered his kid got when she was around Josh, which kind of made a part of him hope that they would wind up together despite Josh's stance between himself and Maya and they'd all just be even more of one big family then what they already were.

Author's Notes: Gotta love inspiration and I hope those of you that read this will have enjoyed reading it! I don't necessarily think of myself as being on Team Lucaya but I have noticed I seem to gravitate towards it in the limited times I've written anything about GMW, well aside from 'Rileytown Confrontation' anyway. Anywho… R and R!