Prompt: Can you do a one shot where Maya is in a car accident after having an argument with Josh. Josh rushes to the hospital and proposes at the end.

Thanks to the Guest reviewer for this prompt! Hope you guys enjoy and remember to send in prompts!

Can't Handle Losing You

For the first time in their four-year long relationship which officially started the summer before Maya's Freshman year at NYU, Maya Hunter felt like she and her boyfriend were at a crossroads. He was always working, which wasn't his fault. She knew that, but she was starting to get extremely tired of his rigorous work schedule and wondering how long they could possibly go on.

As a first year Internal Medicine Resident at NYU-Langone Medical center, her boyfriend, Dr. Joshua Matthews, was practically sleeping in the hospital every night. He was working close to 80 hours a week with barely any days off. On the rare occasions when he had a day off, he was usually tired and needed to catch up on sleep. For Maya's sake however, he would do his best to spend some time with his girlfriend in whatever activity they were engaged in.

After graduating from NYU's Art program, Maya got a job as an Art teacher at John Quincy Adams Middle School, her alma mater. She and her colleague, Robert Aniston, another Art teacher, were in charge of teaching the Art classes and running the school Art club. She loved her job. It was such a joy for her to witness the talents that her young students possessed- many of whom would have never gotten the opportunity to discover and explore their creativity otherwise. She too had been in their shoes just ten years ago. Back then, she had been fortunate enough to meet Ms. Kossal, her passionate Art teacher, who believed in her talent and encouraged her. Now that she was the teacher, she wanted to impart to her students, the same passion, confidence and love for Art that Ms. Kossal had instilled in her.

She enjoyed working with Robert, who was a couple years older than her and had a lot more experience with teaching and marketing his own Art. He already had his personal art projects displayed in various art exhibits across the city. As a recent college graduate, Maya had very few connections in the highly competitive art world of New York City. She also had absolutely no idea how to get her art showcased in any exhibit. Since graduating, she had already spent a few months submitting her work to every exhibit she came across and, so far, none of them had accepted her work. When she finally confided in Robert about her struggles, he was generous enough to get her in contact with his various connections throughout the city. He also offered Maya some space in his gallery in Midtown Manhattan for her to work on her paintings and drawings whenever she wanted.

Maya didn't have enough money yet to rent her own space for her art, so the small one-bedroom apartment she started renting with Josh in Harlem right after her college and his medical school graduations had also become her unofficial art gallery. Needless to say, she was grateful to Robert for the opportunity to work in an actual gallery and have the space that she needed to unleash her creativity.

All in all, she knew she had very little to complain about. She had a great job, a great boyfriend who she considered the love of her life, and a great work colleague who was willing to help her become a successful artist. She also had her family nearby for emotional support whenever she needed it. Her parents, Shawn and Katy Hunter, were still living in Greenwich Village next to Cory and Topanga Matthews. In addition, during the weekends when she wasn't busy working on her art or trying to squeeze in some limited leisure time with her exhausted boyfriend, she was always happy to babysit her adorable 8 year old brother, Chet Alan Hunter, and her 4 year old sister, Cornelia "Cora" May Hunter.

The only thing she didn't have was her best friend, Riley Matthews, who had moved with her fiance, Lucas Friar, to Texas right after graduation so that Lucas could pursue his dream of becoming a veterinarian. Maya was distraught when Riley told her about the move, but she tried to be supportive when she saw how happy her best friend was.

In the four months that Riley had been gone, Maya missed her terribly, and the two friends kept in touch almost every day. Since Maya was the Maid of Honor for Riley's upcoming Wedding in November, a lot of their daily conversations were about Wedding planning. It was now mid-September and Maya had already booked her tickets to go visit Riley for a week in late October in order to help with final Wedding preparations. Unfortunately, Josh was unable to go with her, so she would be going alone.

Since Josh started working right after graduating from NYU Medical school in May, their new apartment had become very lonely for Maya. On his busiest days in the week, Josh would come home at midnight or sometimes 1am and be out of the door at 5am for the start of his morning shift. Meanwhile, Maya was working a normal 9am to 5pm job. If she ever wanted to see her boyfriend most days in the week before her bedtime, she had to stop by the hospital and see him. She quickly started doing that when they both realized that that was pretty much the only option available. Soon, they developed a routine. Josh would tell her when he would have an hour available in the evening and Maya would stop by with dinner (usually take-out since Maya still had a lot of work to do on her cooking skills). They would hang out in the hospital cafeteria (or if the weather was nice) a bench outside, eat together and chat about their day.

On their lucky days, they got a full hour to spend with each other. Most days, they were able to be together for about a half hour or 45 minutes before Josh's pager will start beeping, alerting him to a medical emergency. He would apologize to Maya every time his pager went off and give her a quick kiss before running off. Maya would be left feeling frustrated and staring at the food that he had barely eaten because he had been so busy filling her in on his day, making her laugh and also listening to her issues. Sometimes, she would try waiting up for him but that meant that she wouldn't get enough sleep (she needed the full eight hours to function), and then she would get to work the next morning feeling incredibly grumpy and tired while handling extremely active 5th and 6th graders. She had also tried waking up early to spend an hour with him before work but that was even more difficult considering how much Maya liked her sleep. On the days when Josh was really missing her intimately, he would try to wake her up early so that he could spend some time with her in the shower before leaving. But he wasn't always successful in waking her up. Sometimes, she was simply too tired. Needless to say, Josh's gruesome work schedule was gradually causing them to feel disconnected from each other physically, emotionally and spiritually. And there was simply nothing that could be done about it at least for the first year that Josh would be working as a Medical Resident.

Maya did her best never to complain to him because it simply wasn't his fault. It was the nature of the profession he had chosen. He wasn't the first doctor-in-training to be working such crazy hours and he certainly wouldn't be the last. So she did her best to be a supportive girlfriend and to simply find innovative ways to spend more time with him. But it had already been four months of constantly struggling to fit in her boyfriend's schedule and she was getting tired. Medical school had been difficult for them as well but he had had a lot more time then than he did now.

Every day, she felt herself getting more unhappy and frustrated with the situation, but she tried to pretend that everything was fine so that he wouldn't worry about her. Just suck it up, Maya, she would tell herself. Only one year of this and that's it! Then everything will be fine! But would it? His patients would always come first and somehow she would have to make peace with that if she still wanted to be with him. She loved his passion for helping others which was the main reason why he became a Doctor. She had always thought she would be fine with his busy schedule as a Physician. But now that she was actually living the life, it wasn't as easy as she had thought.


The fateful day that changed their entire lives started out quite happily. It was a cold, Wednesday mid-September morning. A few of Maya's art pieces had been accepted at an art fair in Midtown thanks to Robert's connections. Maya couldn't wait for her family and her few friends to see her work. But, most of all, she couldn't wait for her boyfriend to see it. Josh had arranged with a colleague of his to take over his nightly duties that Wednesday so that he could attend the art fair. He knew how hard Maya had worked to achieve that goal, and he wanted to be there to support her. She had also been hinting to him for a while that she had worked on a special project just for him which would be showcased at the exhibit. "So you better be there, Boing! Otherwise, I'm killing you!" She teased him.

That Wednesday morning, he didn't have to try and wake her up at 4:30am for their early morning intimate shower time. She did! That was how excited she was that day. Needless to say, Josh utterly enjoyed their morning "session" due to how energetic she was. After giving her a passionate goodbye kiss, he promised her that he would be the first one at her exhibit. "I wouldn't miss my Ferret's show for anything," He told her softly with his arms wrapped around her. "I'll be there, ok Gorgeous?" Maya grinned and nodded. "Ok, Baby," She answered him sweetly. "I can't wait to see you. I love you, Boing." "I love you too, Lil Ferret."

He never showed up. Maya was devastated. Her parents and siblings came. Cory, Topanga, Auggie and Ava were there. Robert was there with her the entire time. Even some of her Art students from school came with their parents to see her work. For the first half hour, she kept checking her phone numerous times after he didn't respond when she called and texted him. It was almost an hour into the show that he finally called her back.

"Josh, where are you?" She asked him.

"I'm so sorry, Maya," He stated solemnly.

You've gotta be kidding me! Maya thought in anger as she took a deep breath and tried to calm herself down.

"The guy that was supposed to take over for me? He screwed me over," Josh told her in a frustrated tone. "He literally told me just five minutes ago that he can't do my shift anymore because he's got an emergency. And it sucks because all the asshole had to do was tell me earlier today so that I could figure another way out. But now I'm freakin' stuck here because he didn't give me any time to find an alternative solution. I leave right now, I'm gonna lose my job. I'm sooo sorry, Baby. I wish I could be there. I really do. You have no idea how much I was also looking forward to being there with you. I'll make it up to you, I promise."

Maya sobbed quietly the whole time he kept speaking. She didn't say much in return. She simply muttered, "Ok, no problem," before quickly ending the call. Josh texted her several sad emojis right after, along with another "I'm sorry" text but she was completely over it. She did her best to get through the rest of the exhibit with a wide smile and a forced, positive attitude. Every time she had to describe the large drawing she had made of her boyfriend and which she had simply titled "Boing," she felt her tears fighting to push through the mask she was wearing and pouring out like a waterfall for everyone to witness her pain. But she stayed strong.

After the exhibit, Robert offered to get her a cab and to accompany her home with her various art pieces. She initially declined his extremely kind gesture but he insisted so much that Maya gave in and allowed him to do it. When they got to the apartment, he helped her carry the pieces inside. Maya asked him if he wanted a drink. She had had a long day and needed at least one glass of wine to ease her anger, sadness, disappointment, loneliness and frustration. Before she knew it, one glass of wine had turned into several and she and Robert had drank the whole bottle while Maya- feeling intoxicated since she had had very little to eat- ended up pouring out her heart to Robert about everything she had been going through the past few months with Josh. Robert- slightly intoxicated himself as he'd never been much of a big drinker- sat quietly and listened to her pain.

"I love him. I really do, you know?" Maya was beginning to slur her words as her intoxication increased. "I love him soooo much but I just...I can't do it anymore!" She waved her hand angrily in the air for emphasis as she said this. "I just can't do it anymore. He's barely ever here. It's like, I might as well just not have a boyfriend! Because my life now, it's like freakin' being single. There's like no difference. You know what I mean?" She started sobbing quietly. "I miss my best friend, Riley, soooo much. She moved to Texas this year. Things would be so much better if she was here." More tears came out and she allowed them to flow before Robert gently wiped them away. Maya blushed at his sudden, close proximity to her.

"Thanks," She muttered.

"No problem," Robert responded softly as he gazed into her eyes. "A beautiful soul like you shouldn't be in so much pain. The least I can do is to wipe your tears away, Maya. I'm sorry that you're hurting so much. Life just fucking sucks sometimes," He told her softly. Maya felt some more tears bubbling forth when she heard him say that. As she gazed into his eyes, she saw him slowly lean in towards her lips. She gasped in surprise and froze, as her heart started pounding. She might have been drunk but she was sober enough to realize that what he was about to do could utterly change her life if she allowed it to happen. She literally had only a few seconds to make that decision before his lips touched hers. And what scared her the most- in that moment- was the hidden part of her that was urging her not to pull away and to allow it to happen. It was the part of her that was angry and frustrated and bitter at everything. She had buried and silenced it for so long that it was now rearing to take control and lash out at everything and everyone. Robert's lips were now almost about to touch hers. She closed her eyes for a moment and saw Josh's warm, piercing blue eyes gazing lovingly into hers as they had earlier that morning when she had excitedly woken him up. She gasped in shock and pulled away sharply.

"Robert, I think you should leave now. It's getting late," She muttered as she quickly stood up. Robert sighed in disappointment. He had been so close. Her boyfriend sounded like an idiot for not doing everything he could to make her happy, and she clearly wasn't happy with him otherwise she wouldn't have let him get so close. He would be patient and continue to be there for her. Hopefully, she would come to her senses sooner rather than later and break up with the idiot so that he could make her happy.

"I'm sorry, Maya, I didn't mean to overstep my boundaries," He quickly apologized. "You can blame all the wine we drank," He tried to laugh it off. Maya laughed along in order to diffuse the tension between them.

"Yes, probably," She agreed even though she knew it wasn't just the wine.

"I'll see you tomorrow. Thanks for everything Robert," She accompanied him to the door.

"Sure, no problem. See you tomorrow, Maya," Robert gave her a wide smile before leaving.

Damn it. What the hell was that?! She thought to herself after Robert left. Shake it off. Just get some sleep, Maya. She thought before jumping into the bed and immediately dozing off.

She didn't awake until she heard his alarm blaring at 4:30am as usual. Groaning, she covered her ears and buried her face in her pillow. The alarm kept ringing with a loud piercing sound.

"What the hell- Josh?! Are you going to shut that off?!" She screamed at him.

"Oh sorry!" Josh yelled out as he suddenly awoke. He quickly slammed the "snooze" button and sat up on the bed with a weary yawn.

"Sorry, Baby," He apologized. "I was deep in sleep having some weird dream," He muttered.

Maya didn't respond as she lay still and kept her face buried in the pillow. She soon felt his hand soothingly rubbing her back and his voice echoing in her ear. "I'm sorry, Lil Ferret. About yesterday. I know you're mad. I'll make it up to you this weekend, ok? I requested a couple days off- told them family emergency. So it's just gonna be you and me- Saturday and Sunday! No hospital, no patients...ok?"

Maya continued to lay still and didn't respond. Josh started kissing her ear softly. "My Lil Ferret, please forgive me?" He whispered seductively into her ear. Maya ignored him. Josh then exposed her neck and started kissing there. "I want you, Lil Ferret," He told her after each kiss. "Please forgive me?"

"Josh, stop!" Maya cried out angrily and shoved him away from her. Josh looked hurt as he sat, slightly shocked, gazing at her. She was still so angry and he couldn't understand why.

"Maya, you're acting like I missed your exhibit cos I was chilling in the bar with my buddies. I would have been there if it wasn't for that asshole who screwed me over. The whole thing was outside my control. I already told you that. Why are you still so angry?" He asked her.

Maya turned to look at him. "Why am I so angry? Well maybe it's because I almost wouldn't have cheated on my boyfriend last night if he had been around. If he's ever around. I can't do this anymore Josh! And I finally realized that last night. So yeah, maybe that's why I'm angry and just so freaking tired of it all!"

Josh was shocked as he sat still for a moment and tried to comprehend everything she had just told her. He couldn't believe what he had just heard.

"Wait what?!" He exclaimed. "Did I just hear you say that you almost cheated on me last night? What the hell are you talking about, Maya?"

Maya sighed as she felt warm tears quickly filling her eyes and the memories of the night before clouding her brain like ghostly shadows. "After the exhibit, I came home with Robert, my work colleague."

"Yeah, I know the guy," Josh cut her off. "You only mention him like a million times every day," He stated sarcastically in a bitter tone.

Maya ignored him and kept on speaking, "He helped me carry my artwork back and even paid for the cab. In order to return the favor, I invited him for a drink cos I just really needed one. And I needed the company. So we hung out and drank a bottle of wine. Then I just started telling him about everything I was going through cos you know, I was drunk and I talk a lot when I'm drunk. Anyway, I started crying at some point, and he leaned in and was going to kiss me, and...and...I pulled away the last minute...I dunno. There was like a part of me in that moment that wanted to kiss him...but I didn't do it. I told him to leave and then I just fell asleep. That's it." She concluded as she brushed her hand slowly through her hair.

"What the fuck, Maya?!" Josh screamed at her angrily. "I mean, can you hear yourself? Did you hear what you just said? Lemme get this straight. You were mad that I didn't show up last night, so you invited you male work colleague into the apartment you share with your boyfriend and drank an entire bottle of wine with the loser and then almost allowed him to kiss you because you felt like doing it? I mean, what the hell?! Hey, guess what?! I'm angry now too. I got an idea. Why don't I go and find one of my female colleagues or any of the nurses that are constantly hitting on me at work and bring them home tonight for a bottle of wine and an almost kiss. Ya know? Try to let off some steam that way. I'll tell you all about it the next morning and we'll see how you take the news! I mean, how could you do this, Maya?! I don't care how angry you were. That's just not an excuse to invite some dude into our apartment and almost let him kiss you, and you know that! My God, imagine if I did that! How would you feel?!"

Maya was sobbing now as she stared quietly down at her fingers.

"Answer me, Maya!" Josh yelled.

"I can't do this anymore," Maya simply stated as she slowly wiped away her tears. "I can't deal with your work schedule Josh. It's driving me insane. I know it's not your fault. I know it's what I signed up for when I agreed to date you but...I thought I could handle this...and I just...I can't. I don't think I can go on like this for two or three years, Josh," She gazed helplessly at him with tears streaming down her face.

Josh was fuming. "Ok," He stated in a low, measured tone. "I get that Maya. I totally understand. My schedule is frustrating- I get that. There's also not much I can do about it- I'm glad you get that. What I don't get is why the fuck you would almost kiss fucking Robert in our apartment. You still haven't quite explained that Maya."

"Josh, I just told you that I'm done with everything and I can't do this anymore! And all you care about is a kiss that never happened?!" Maya screamed at him.

"All I care about?!" Josh retorted angrily. "Maya, if you wanted to break up with me, all you had to do was just tell me that. What is not acceptable is you inviting the dude you clearly have a crush on into our apartment, getting drunk with him and then almost cheating with him. Why the hell can you not see how much this hurts me?! Why is this all about you, Maya? I have feelings too, you know?! Do you think I enjoy working these long hours and having to see the disappointed look in your eyes every time that pager goes off and I have to leave you? Do you have any idea how I felt last night when I was stuck being there for all those patients, some of whom I barely know, and yet not being able to be there for the person that I love the most more than anything else in this world?!" Tears were streaming down his face and he had to pause for a moment to wipe them away. "I was devastated too Maya, last night," He told her. "I was hurting because I knew how much it would hurt you that I wasn't there. But guess what, I didn't go and get drunk with a nurse and almost kiss her. Do you have any idea how easy it is for me to do that on any given day? And yet I control myself. Because I love you. Clearly, the feeling is no longer mutual between us, and if so, it would have been nice to get a heads up before you almost kissed your work crush in our home!"

"I have to go," Maya muttered before jumping off the bed and grabbing her slippers and jacket.

"What the hell, Maya? Where are you going? It's like 5am in the morning!" Josh cried out.

"Anywhere but here." Maya responded. "I can't do this anymore, Josh. I just...I can't…" She started heading out.

"So, what, that's it?" Josh asked her bitterly as he got up and followed her towards the door. "Lemme guess, you're heading to your lover, Rob's apartment? Maybe to finish the deed and get an actual kiss - perhaps even more than that - before you both go and teach Art later on? How wonderful! I wish you two all the best. Hey, maybe you can invite me someday - hey, remember that word?- to your fucking wedding," He stated angrily.

"Screw you, Josh!" Maya yelled angrily back at him before opening the door and slamming it in his face.

Josh reopened the door and yelled "Screw you too!" as he watched her running away down the hall until she finally disappeared. He thought about going after her for a second until he realized that he was already running late for work because of their fight.

Damn it! He thought as he closed the door and sat down helplessly on the floor with his back leaning against it. He knew things had been off between them for a while because of his work schedule. But she had never complained. So he thought everything was fine between them. After all, they did their best to be together whenever they could and to always treasure the few moments they had together. It certainly didn't make for the best life but it was a sacrifice Josh had hoped they would make for at least the first year of his Residency. What hurt him the most was that she had given him absolutely no warning about her true feelings concerning his work schedule. She had been pretending that everything was fine. And then, she turned around and almost cheated on him. How the hell did she expect him to react when she admitted that? Was he supposed to be calm about it and apologize for that too? Why was it that everything that went wrong was always his fault? Could she never take responsibility for any of her actions?

What if she's actually broken up with you and meant every word she said? The cold, scary thought lingered in his mind. What if she's fallen in love with Robert and IS going to the loser's apartment? What if she's no longer in love with you?

"UGH! Damn it!" He screamed out angrily as he felt more tears fighting to come out. He had no idea what he would do if she was to tell him she didn't love him anymore. At least she hadn't told him that. Which meant there was still hope for them? Right? He wiped away his tears and heaved a long sigh. "Calm down, Matthews…" He muttered to himself in an attempt to ease his fears and calm his racing heart. "She still loves you. There is no way in hell she loves Robert. She's gonna come back- I mean all her stuff are still here. Tonight, try to come home as early as you can- tell them you're feeling sick or some other crap- make it up to her. She's just angry that's all. She will calm down...she always does…" He sighed as he brushed his hand through his hair in frustration. Shit, I was going to propose to her...He thought as more tears streamed down. For the past week, he had been carrying around his Grandmother's ring, which he had gotten from his Dad sometime back when he and Maya had visited Philly for the weekend. He had thought about proposing to her during her first Art exhibit yesterday which is why he was devastated when he had been unable to make it. He took the upcoming weekend off so that he could take her to a romantic spot and propose to her then. But now...everything had changed…Now, he wasn't even sure if he had a girlfriend anymore…

"Shit, Maya," He muttered frustratedly. "Why would you do this to us?" He shook his head sadly and wiped away more tears. Reluctantly, he got up and started heading to the bedroom to change for work. That's when he saw one of her large art pieces leaning against the wall. Curious, he decided to take a look and was shocked when he uncovered it. It was a perfect portrait of him staring right back at him.

"I've been working on a special project just for you, Boing," Her words echoed in his mind. So this is what she had been talking about, he thought as he gazed at the drawing. He had never had anyone draw him before- and he was overcome with emotion as he stood silently, gazing at himself, and experiencing the love that she had poured into the piece. She had titled it Boing with a heart drawn next to it, and he couldn't help but sob silently. Now, he also finally understood why she had been so hurt by his absence. She had wanted to show him this… but he never came.


Josh arrived in the hospital a half hour late. He immediately apologized to his Residency Instructor, Dr. Holzier, a very difficult Attending Physician who didn't tolerate lateness or incompetence from any of his residents.

"You're late one more time on my watch, Dr. Matthews, you're going to have to start your Residency right from the beginning with the newbies that will be arriving next year. You understand me?"

"Yes, Sir," Josh responded with a firm nod. "Won't happen again, Sir."

"Good. Now, since you decided to grace us with your presence thirty minutes later than the rest of your colleagues, why don't you tell me all the causes, symptoms and prognosis for a 60 year old patient presenting with an aortic dissection."

It was a grueling morning training session for Josh. He ended up having to answer most of Dr. Holzier's difficult questions because of his tardiness. He breathed a huge sigh of relief when it was finally over and he could go and start taking care of his patients. His phone started vibrating on his way to see his first patient and he quickly checked to see if it was Maya. He had called and texted her several times that morning to apologize for his harsh words but she never responded. It wasn't Maya calling him, but he answered it anyway hoping to hear her voice.

"Hello?"

"Hi, this is Inspector Davis from the NYPD. I'm calling in reference to a lady named Maya Hunter? Are you familiar with her? We noticed your missed calls on her phone this morning when we checked and uh, there's a heart next to your name on her phone so we figured you might be a good person to call."

Josh felt his heart stop as he listened to the Inspector speak. "Um yeah, she's my girlfriend. Is there something wrong Inspector?"

"Yes, unfortunately, there is. Sorry, what's your name? Is it, um, 'Boing'?"

"No," Josh responded. "My real name is Josh...Matthews."

"Oh ok," Inspector Davis replied. "Mr. Matthews, your girlfriend was involved in a car accident this morning at around 5:00am when she was crossing the street in-front of what I assume is her apartment at 233 West 133rd street. Am I correct?"

Josh felt his entire world collapsing. "Um, yeah," He said in a shaky voice as tears started clouding his vision. "Is...is she ok?"

"She's currently in critical condition at NYU Langone hospital. I can't really give any details on her medical condition- you will have to go there and speak to the surgeons about it. I'm sorry."

"Oh my God," Josh muttered as he glanced around at the patients, nurses and doctors surrounding him. "That's where I work! I'm a Medical Resident at NYU Langone. So you're saying that Maya is here?"

"Um yeah, I believe so. She's in the Emergency Department getting surgery right now. I believe you can find her there and get an update on her condition. Once you do, please feel free to call me back at this number and also come and grab her phone and other personal items. I'll give you the address of our precinct. What I can tell you now is that from the eye-witness accounts, it was an accident. There was no foul-play. She decided to cross on a green light thinking she could make it and then a cab driver came out of nowhere and mauled her over. Luckily, he stopped and rushed her to the hospital. We have spoken to the driver and released him. Good luck, Mr. Matthews. I really hope she makes it."

"Thank you, Inspector Davis. I appreciate the information."

Josh hung up and immediately ran to the emergency department without a single thought as to seeing his patient. His only concern in that moment was finding out Maya's condition. He barged into the emergency room like an insane person and addressed the first nurse he saw.

"Hi, um, I'm...I'm…" He took a moment to catch his breath. "My name is Dr. Joshua Matthews. I got a call that my girlfriend is here...in surgery?"

"Uh…" The nurse looked at him with a mixture of amusement and pity. "What's the name of your girlfriend, Dr. Matthews?"

"Maya...Hunter...She was in a car accident?"

"Oh, right. She's in surgery now. I'll direct you to the waiting area, Dr, and try to find one of the surgeons to speak with you."

"Great. Thank you so much!" Josh smiled at her.

"Sure, no problem." She quickly directed Josh to a large waiting area and asked him to sit while she went to find someone for him.

The five minutes that Josh had to wait in order to find out about Maya's medical condition felt like an eternity. He kept replaying their fight that morning in his head. The harsh words he had spoken to her...the fact that he hadn't chased her when she left...He couldn't bear to think about what would happen if the surgery wasn't successful...He heard his beeper going off but he ignored it. Standing up, he started pacing as tears filled his eyes and he felt himself panicking.

"Dr. Matthews?" He heard his name being called. It was the surgeon.

"Hi, my name is Dr. Cho. You wanted to know about Maya Hunter?"

"Yes, please," Josh nodded eagerly.

"She experienced acute blunt trauma to her abdominal organs right after the collision. She was bleeding out profusely when she arrived and had already lost consciousness. We did our best to get her some blood and to save as many of her organs as we could."

"Dr. Cho, please, just tell me," Josh pleaded with him as tears started streaming down his face. "Is she alive?"

There was a slight pause before Dr. Cho spoke. "Yes, she is. That's the good news."

"Oh, thank God," Josh muttered as he felt a huge weight being lifted off his shoulders.

"The bad news is that she's going to need multiple surgeries to fix a lot of the trauma that she suffered from the accident. And as you know, as a doctor, no surgery is risk-free. Her life as she knows it will be radically different for the next couple months and it is something she will have to prepare for."

Josh nodded solemnly as he brushed his hand through his hair. "Understood," He simply stated. "Is the surgery over? Can I see her? Is she awake?"

"The surgery's over. She's not awake yet. The anesthesia is still in effect. You can come back in an hour, and she should be awake by then."

"Ok," Josh nodded. "Thank you, Dr."

"Sure, no problem. All the best to you Dr. Matthews."

Josh immediately called Shawn and Katy and informed them of what happened. They assured him that they were on their way to see her. He also gathered the courage to inform his Residency Instructor that he would need the day off to take care of Maya. He handed him Dr. Cho's number so that he could verify his claim. After Dr. Holzier verified the truth of Josh's claims, he gave him the rest of the week off which absolutely shocked Josh.

"I know being a first year Resident can be brutal, Matthews," He told Josh. "Especially on relationships. I lost my girlfriend and college sweetheart during my Residency because I was simply just never around. It's something I've always regretted. Let me know how much time you need to be there for her. I can't give you the rest of the year off unfortunately, but I can pull some strings and give you enough time so you can be present in this difficult moment. I really hope she pulls through ok. Hang in there, Matthews."

Josh nodded and thanked him for his understanding.


When Maya opened her eyes a little more than an hour later, he was dutifully sitting by her side and holding her hand. She smiled weakly as soon as she saw him.

"Boing," She whispered. Josh wiped away his tears and beamed at her. "Ferret," He responded with a fond smile. "I'm so sorry," He apologized right away, his voice cracking as more tears filled his eyes. He knelt down next to her on the bed and placed his head on her heart. "I thought I lost you," He muttered.

Maya slowly brushed her hand through his hair and told him to look at her. "I'm sorry too, Josh," She apologized to him. "I've been very selfish. I should have been honest about how I've been feeling this whole time instead of keeping everything bottled up. I shouldn't have almost kissed Robert. I still love you Josh, and you're the only one I want to spend my life with. And if that means I have to deal with your crazy doctor schedule then so be it. I guess I'll find a way to manage, you know?"

"No," Josh responded. "It was too much of a sacrifice for me to ask you to make Maya. And I'm sorry, because I took it for granted that you would make it because of your love for me. I shouldn't have assumed that you will be ok with my crazy hours. And I'm really sorry about that. There's not much I can change about my hours right now. But I am going to request some time off so I can be there for you in the next few months as you make your recovery. And I'm going to use every free, waking moment that I have to be by your side. I promise you- if you'll stay with me- things will change for the better. Luckily, I just realized that I have a Residency Instructor who understands my situation so thank God for that. I'm also going to gain more control over my schedule next year. I'll make sure to plan for more time for us and to always make you a priority to the extent that I'm able to. I've also been thinking...if you want to move to Texas, we can...I know how much you've missed Riles. I can try and find a Residency over there...I might have to start from the beginning but that's ok. I just want you to be happy, Maya…"

Maya sobbed as she listened to the love and sincerity in his voice. She could tell he had spent a lot of time thinking about all the options they had available. It was a difficult situation but he was determined to keep her by his side, and that warmed her heart immensely.

"We don't have to move to Texas, Josh. As much as I would love to see your niece every day, I'm not sure I want to be a cowgirl," She stated matter-of-factly. Josh burst out laughing.

"New York City is home and I'm happy living here. We can always visit Riles or they can visit us so I'm good with that. As long as I get to see you a little bit more than I do now, that will be enough for me," She told him.

Josh nodded and grasped her hand tightly. "You will," He told her. "I'll make sure of it."

She smiled widely at that and opened her arms wide so he could fall in for an embrace. He did just that and the two stayed in each other's arms for a minute before Josh disengaged from her and pulled a small ring box from his pocket.

"Oh my God, Josh, what are you doing?" Maya asked him in shock.

Josh got down on one knee by her bed and took out the ring with a wide grin.

"My Lil Ferret, I've wanted to do this for a few weeks now and I kept carrying this ring around- my grandmother's ring- waiting for the perfect moment to propose to the love of my life. I was hoping to do this yesterday, but we both know what happened with that...In any case, what I've learned from all the craziness we've been through the past 24 hours is that I can handle losing everything Maya- my job, my stuff, my stupid ego...and even, my life. But what I cannot handle losing is you. I love you so much, Maya, and it took me almost losing you today to realize how little, hopeless, and utterly helpless I am without you. I need you, Maya. I simply can't live without you. So, I know it's a sucky time now in our relationship, but if you will marry me, I'm going to do everything in my power to make things better and to make you happy. So, long story short- my dearest Lil Ferret, Maya Penelope Hunter, will you marry me?"

Maya's face was covered in her tears as she gazed adoringly at the boy who had captured her heart from the first moment she saw him as a six year old in Philly. She couldn't believe that this day was finally here and that she was going to officially be his fiance. Yes, things were difficult for them but she couldn't handle losing him either. They would both work hard to make things better between them because there was simply no other person for her apart from her Boing.

"Yes, Josh," She answered softly with a wide grin. "I will marry you. I can't wait to be Mrs. Boing Matthews!"

Josh laughed and slowly placed the ring on her finger. She gazed at it with a wide smile and grinned at him again.

"I love you, Lil Ferret," Josh told her softly.

"I love you, Boing," She responded happily. Josh leaned in and gave her a passionate kiss- one filled with renewed hope and promise for their new long game together.