Hey fam!

I just wanted to thank all of the reviewers who took time out of their day to let me know what they think (and also genuinely made my day)!

I mentioned before that this story may be a continuation of the one-shot that I wrote (A Day in Six Weeks), however for the plot outline I've made, I've decided to keep them as separate storylines. I hope that everyone can understand why I chose to plan it this way, even if it's not necessarily clear at the moment.

And lastly, I'm planning on updating roughly once a week. I find that it's the best way for me to keep my writing at the quality that I want it to be.

Love you guys :)

-SleepingStarlight

I do not own any of the characters portrayed in this story, all credit goes to Girl Meets World.


Three days had passed since Maya and the Matthews had arrived in Philly, and they were three days that passed oddly smoothly all things considered. However, Maya couldn't help but attribute her comfort level to the lack of presence of a certain someone, who, she would readily admit, made her nervous despite her better nature. So when she woke up on her fourth morning at the Matthews' residence, she felt comfortable, and that was a feeling she didn't value lightly. To her left, once again, snored a sleeping Riley, who had managed to sleep even after her ridiculously long nap the day before. Unfortunately, there was not another seventy miles of open road ahead of them, so the world was calling for her to break her slumber. And this morning, the world just happened to take shape in the vivacious blond looming over her best friend- a menacing grin on her face as she raised a pillow over her head and brought it down soundly upon Riley's form. Riley shot up immediately and her eyes snapped open searching for the aggressor before realizing her best friend was just being a bitch, again.

"Mayaaa!" she groaned, "what time is it?"

"Relax honey, you had to wake up anyways. Your grandma's making waffles for everyone and you're the last one up. Not your best move," Maya quipped while pulling on a pair of socks. Riley scrambled quickly, her fatigue disappearing immediately as she rushed to go get her waffles. Waffle morning was special and she wasn't going to miss this.

"COME ON MAYA, THERE WON'T BE ANY LEFT TO SPARE. MY FAMILY ARE PIGS," she yelled.

"This feels oddly familiar," Maya drawled sarcastically before beginning to hum the Paco's Tacos song loudly enough for Riley to hear.

"Oh get over it Peaches, it's been four years. I think you should have moved on by now," Riley said while attempting to pull on a bra with her shirt still on with little success.

"Trust me," Maya muttered bitterly, "I think you could say that about a couple of things in my life right now," before heading to the kitchen, her mind suddenly clouded with thoughts. She just couldn't be in this house without thinking about him 24/7.

"Riley, Maya, could you set the table please!" Amy called from behind counter.

The Matthews truly were under a system, Maya reflected, realizing that their mornings had been relatively the same during their visit. It felt stable- not very much seemed to affect how the family sat and ate the meal together every morning.

"No problem Mrs. Matthews," Maya said as she reached unsuccessfully for the glasses on the top shelf of the cabinet. Anything high up was truly a struggle, so she finally surrendered and dragged over a chair. At home she would have just climbed the counters, but Mrs. Matthews would likely have a heart attack if she tried it here. "Riley, there's only one more waffle left!" Maya called, fully knowing that nobody else had even come downstairs yet. She heard a mad scrambling and a small yelp before a disheveled Riley ran into the kitchen.

"I'm HERE," she shouted while skidding to a stop on the tile floor.

"Riley, honey," Amy began her mouth curving into a smile, "No one is up yet, you're good," before rolling her eyes towards Maya, unsurprised by the blonde's antics. It had really been the same for the past three days.

"Maya," Riley groaned, slumping into a chair. "Why must you do this to me?"

"Honey, you'll have to get used to it, we're going to be living together within a month." Maya said while placing the plates on the table, having grown used to the routine from the past few days. "Now get up and help me, I'm not as young as I used to be," Maya whined jokingly.

"Fine," Riley said as she grabbed the plates from Maya. "You weren't doing it right anyways Peaches," she said while rearranging the place settings.

"What is happening?" A sleepy Auggie questioned from the top of the stairs. His sister's shriek had alarmed his otherwise beautiful sleep. There was just something about his Uncle Josh's bed that managed to sedate him for the night, a fact that Cory and Topanga had truly monopolized on.

Maya had realized immediately upon entering the Matthews home, the absence of a certain someone, and had felt equal parts relief and concern. She couldn't help but question if he were avoiding her, but was still slightly happy that it would be a stress free week for her. It wasn't his fault that he put her on edge, but she was so aware of him that it was not very relaxing. Upon asking, though she did so reluctantly (lest anyone think she was too curious), she was told that he had gone camping with a few friends for the week, and that he would return the day after they left. It shouldn't have been that big of a deal, it's not like she didn't see him on a semi-regular basis, (he did go to university about ten minutes away from where they lived), but she had been excited at the opportunity to spend the week with him sleeping literally a room away. It was a bit silly, but she was hoping to tell him in person that she would be going to NYU come fall and maybe hint at a someday, although that last bit likely would not have happened anyways. She was still a bit unsure, but it seemed that any of it would be a bit difficult considering he wasn't even there.

"Auggie," Riley exclaimed, handing him the plates. "Time to put yourself to use," she smiled.

"Yeah, okay," he shrugged while his sister slumped, once again, into one of the kitchen chairs.

"Riley, why don't you go wake up those two sleepy heads you call parents if you're just going to sit there," Amy said, placing a plate of waffles on the centre of the table.

"Ugh, last time I did that, they were in a very compromising position, so I'll hold out if you don't mind," Riley squinted, trying to erase that memory from her mind.

"Yeah, nobody blames you honey," Maya said sympathetically, having walked in on the two a few times herself. It made her classes with Cory very entertaining- what with all the new blackmail material she had gathered.

"Well, then go wake up your gramps," Amy said with a smile, "I think you should be pretty safe on that front."

"Yeah okay, come'on Auggie," Riley said grabbing the kid's arm before stalking out of the kitchen.

"You've really taken on a handful," Amy said laughingly. It had been quite interesting to observe how the duo had grown over the years. She didn't have to reach very far to remember the two as children, and while she had obviously seen her granddaughter more often than her counterpart, she still remembered falling in love with the vivacious, blonde five year old when she had accompanied the Matthews on their annual Christmas trip for the first time. She had known for quite some time of Maya's family troubles and was proud of her son and daughter-in-law for taking her under their wing. And even though things were looking up for Maya with Katy and Shawn's recent marriage, she was still (and always would be) a part of the family.

"So has she," Maya replied with a smile as she heard the stomp of the rest of the family heading downstairs for breakfast.

The day passed quickly after breakfast with Cory unearthing a family album and scrolling through every picture, periodically shouting as he relived his childhood memories. Coming home was special in that way, he could almost imagine that nothing had changed. He was still surrounded by his family (granted, it had grown a bit), he still had Topanga by his side (a constant that he could never take for granted), and his parents (whom he had likely taken for granted many, many times).

"SHAWNIE!" he screamed for what felt like the millionth time. However, this time it seemed to be for a good reason. Topanga glanced towards Maya, laughing at the expression that she knew would be on her face. Maya gaped at the picture of Shawn before her… which happened to be a picture of a girl. Written below was: The Birth of Veronica.

"Is that Shawn?!" Maya near-shouted, knowing without need of a response, while reaching for her phone. This was news for her and she never passed up the opportunity for new blackmail material, Cory could testify for that.

"It was for an article," Topanga tried to justify while fighting the smile threatening to appear on her face.

"Who cares?!" Maya laughed gleefully while taking a picture and sending it to Shawn.

"Okay, moving on!" Cory exclaimed, not wanting to defend his best friend at the moment. It was a bit hard when the picture looked so compromising.

"Is that Uncle Eric?" Riley asked while studying the picture in front of her, where Jack, Eric, and Rachel stood in their new apartment.

"Yup! That was before any of you guys," Alan said, gesturing to the three kids around him. Having his grandchildren around him was special, and sharing everything that happened before them was even more exciting. It was as if he were telling a story. It was a bit difficult at times for him, the home had begun to feel like an empty nest for the aging couple, but moments like these made it worth it.

"You know Jack, Riles. He came to your school dance remember?" Topanga prompted.

"Yeah, and that's Rachel right?" Riley asked, remembering her Uncle Eric's odd cry for her on occasion.

"Yup," Cory answered, before flipping the page and sighing at the picture in front of him. Maya suddenly felt as though she could cut through the tension that had just flooded the room with a knife. She saw Topanga's face soften as she looked towards the picture and reached for Cory's hand which had begun to shake precariously.

"Oh, man," Alan rubbed his face wearily as memories from that night revisited him.

"Who's that?" Auggie asked, looking at the picture of a small baby in an incubator and sensing the sudden change in atmosphere.

"It's your Uncle Josh," Amy replied, rubbing a stray tear from her face and reaching for her husband. "He was premature when he was born and we almost lost him."

Maya looked, shocked, towards Riley who did not seem surprised whatsoever. She felt the words echo in her head as every other thought flew out to encapsulate the one that reverberated through her brain, and sat down next to Topanga as the elder woman wrapped an arm around her shoulders comfortingly. We almost lost him. They almost lost him. She shook her head, trying to clear her thoughts. She was by no means alone in this world, and not seeing him very often was painful enough, but never seeing him- a world without Joshua Matthews just seemed scarily empty. Perhaps even unreasonably so. She couldn't explain the sudden onset of cold she felt in her body. A life without Josh Matthews would have been very different, and that was an understatement.

"Joshua Gabriel Matthews", Topanga spoke quietly, "He whom God protects. He seems to have done a good job too," she said giving Maya's shoulder a reassuring squeeze, sensing the onslaught of emotions that had just overcome the young girl.

Yeah, he sure did, Maya thought as Cory flipped the page again.