Riley, Maya and Lucas sat down on the couch in Riley's living room. Lucas looked to Maya, who looked to Riley, who looked back to Maya, who looked to-
"Alright this is getting us nowhere!" Lucas said.
"Everything'll be fine," Riley confirmed.
"Truth," Lucas demanded.
"We don't know, Lucas," Maya admitted, "No one knows."
Cory and Topanga walked through the doors, Calpurnia walking in behind them.
"Welcome to our home, ," Cory welcomed.
"Kids, this is ," Topanga said.
Calpurnia nodded, "Okay," she said, looking around the room, "Everything looks good so far."
"Looks good for what?" Riley asked.
" is here to inspect our house," Topanga explained.
"Dad?" Riley asked.
"You're mother did a thing," Cory shrugged.
"Momma did a thing?" Riley asked.
Calpurnia walked into another room of the house, followed by Cory.
Topanga sat down next to Riley, "Riley, how do you feel about giving someone else a little hope?"
Lucas's eyes lit up, " , you don't have to-"
"Yes I do," Topanga smiled, "And I want to, I have a feeling she's gonna help us all for the better."
"Mom?" Riley asked.
Topanga smiled, "Honey, we're gonna take in Melody for a little bit, is that okay with you?"
Riley started bouncing up and down from excitement.
Maya rolled her eyes, "Okay, let it out."
"Yay!" Riley yelled.
Topanga laughed, "I'll take that as a yes?"
Lucas smiled, "Thank you, ."
"You know, Lucas," Topanga smiled, "You're welcome over any time."
"Oh, I have a feeling he'll take you up on that," Riley smiled.
"He'd better," Maya smirked, "Melody may currently be on bed rest, but I have a feeling she'd kick his butt."
"Whaa?" Lucas denied, "Psh, never!"
"She kicked your butt didn't she?" Topanga asked.
"Yes," Lucas bowed his head in shame.
"It'll be fine Lucas," Riley assured, "I think your luck's looking up."
Topanga smiled, "I think luck is coming for all of us."
Melody sat in her hospital room, looking out the window. Rain poured down the glass panes as she heard the door open to her left.
"Il mio amore , non mi aspettavo di essere in grado di trovare me in fretta," Melody started, then turned to see who it was that opened the door.
"Expecting someone?" Maya asked, coming to sit on the edge of the bed.
Melody smiled fondly, "I'm hopeful. What brings you here?"
"I want to know if you're worth it," Maya responded.
"What?" Melody asked.
"Matthews and crew think you're worth taking in," Maya explained.
"They're good people," Melody nodded.
"They're trusting," Maya finished, "I'm not."
"So?" Melody inquired.
"So I need to know if you're worth getting close to," Maya reasoned.
Melody leaned back on the pillows, "Your mom or your dad?"
Maya sat a little straighter, "My dad. I was a little girl."
"I was a newborn," Melody spoke seriously, "My parents didn't want me, and with a hole in my heart, a hospital bed wasn't exactly a selling point for prospective parents."
"You got left?" Maya asked.
Melody nodded, "I got left. By my parents and the next family and the next family. I have more scars than I can count and I can tell you how I got each and every one of them."
"You're worth it," Maya evaluated aloud.
Melody shook her head, a sad smile on her face, "I'm not."
"You got left," Maya repeated.
"So let me disappear," Melody responded, "I'm perfectly fine leaving this place again to another home, simply to be swept under a rug."
"But why?" Maya asked, "Don't you want more for yourself?"
"There isn't more for people like me!" Melody exclaimed, "People like me get a hospital bed and a hole in their heart, we get swept under a rug and pushed away and we hope that one day someone will come along and love us. Then you lose hope and you realize that this room, right here, is all we'll ever have. Until the next one. And the next one."
"Melody," Maya breathed.
"Maya, one day I'll leave here in a body bag," Melody said, looking Maya straight on, "Don't let them get close to me, don't you dare let them get hurt like that."
Maya paused, thinking, "You know what? I'm gonna do you one better." Maya walked out of the room without another word, reentering with Riley and Lucas, the three of them standing by the bed.
"You two were listening?" Melody swallowed.
"We were," Riley nodded.
"Melody, you need to let them take you in," Lucas reasoned.
"Why?" Melody asked, "What could possibly be gained from-"
"Time," Lucas spoke, "Our birthday's are coming up."
"You two have the same birthday?" Riley asked.
Maya chuckled, "Same day, same year. We both turn sixteen on the fifteenth of October."
"Oh yeah, I forget huckleberry's a year older than us," Maya smiled.
"His nickname is Huckleberry?" Melody giggled.
"And Ranger Rick, and Bucky McBoingBoing, and-" Maya continued.
"My point is," Lucas interrupted, "That this will keep you safe and give you time."
"I'd need more than time, Lucas," Melody shook her head.
"You're right," Lucas said, walking over to the other side of the bed and sitting next to Melody, "Riley's mom's a lawyer and Maya's mom's been looking for another waitress at a cafe."
Melody's eyes lit up, and a smile crept upon her face, "Truth?"
Lucas smiled, "Truth." Melody smiled, laughed, then hugged Lucas.
"What do our moms have to do with this?" Riley asked blindly.
"They agreed to help us," Lucas explained, "I talked to both of them."
"You talked to my mom?" Maya asked.
"He did," Melody smiled.
Lucas smiled back, then turned to Maya, "She's turning 16 in two months."
Maya smiled in realization, "Emancipation?" Melody nodded.
Riley looked at Melody, "What's emancipation?"
"It's my ticket out of the system," Melody laughed, "It's my way out."
Two day's later, Melody and Topanga came home from the hospital.
"Do you mind if I-" Topanga started.
"Sleep?" Melody chuckled, "No, not at all. You took three months worth of classes in two days, you must be tired."
"Thank you," Topanga yawned, walking back to her room. Riley and Auggie walked into the living room.
"Are you Melody?" Auggie asked.
"I am," Melody smiled, "How did you know?"
"Riley told me about you," Auggie remarked.
Melody nodded knowingly, "I see. Are you Auggie?"
Auggie gasped over dramatically, "How did you know?"
"Your mom told me about you," Melody winked.
Riley looked at Auggie, "Can you give Melody and I some time alone, buddy?"
Melody shook her head and chuckled as Auggie left, "That's one adorable brother you've got there."
"Yeah," Riley smiled, "He is. Do you have your stuff?"
"Yep," Melody held up a small knapsack.
"That's it?" Riley asked.
"That's it," Melody nodded. She took a blanket from the top of the couch and spread it out as if the couch were a bed, "See you in the morning?"
Riley nodded, "Yeah, I hope so."
That morning, Maya climbed through Riley window, "Ready for school?"
"Ready for breakfast?" Riley asked.
"I sure am, something smells delicious," Maya spoke, leading Riley to the kitchen. As they entered the hallway, Cory and Topanga stepped into the hallway from their room.
"Morning girls," Topanga greeted, "Somethings smells delicious."
"Wait, who's cooking?" Riley asked. The group paused, the ran to the kitchen. The group peered out into the hallway, and saw an array of breakfast foods sitting on the table, clean dishes laid out and a few clean pans freshly washed in the drying rack. Sitting on the table was a note.
Topanga picked up the note, "Picked up an early shift at coffee house, will stop in after school. Regards, Melody."
Riley laughed, "I like her."
"I like her food," Maya said, sitting down with the group and digging in.
Lucas knocked on the door and came in, "Is she here?"
"She already left," Cory told him, "Would you like some breakfast?"
"Oh it's fine," Lucas said, "You don't have to-"
"It's Melody's cooking," Maya said with her mouthful. Lucas ran to the table and sat down on the bench, loading up a plate of food.
"Well that changed your mind," Topanga remarked.
"If Melody's cooked it, I can't refuse," Lucas explained, "She knows her way around a kitchen."
"Who taught her to cook?" Riley asked.
Lucas sat, a puzzled look on his face, "I'm not really sure, I've never asked her. Where is she again?"
"She's at the coffee house," Maya answered.
"She has a work ethic, I'll give her that," Cory remarked.
"She likes busying herself," Lucas explained, "It's one of her coping mechanisms. It's kept her safe, the more she's out of a home."
"Why would being away from home be safe?" Riley asked.
"Honey, you know how our house is a safe place?" Topanga reasoned, "Some houses aren't. Some people in the foster system are bad people, and they do bad things to their foster kids."
"Bad things?" Riley inquired.
"They hurt them, Riley," Maya explained, "They hurt their kids."
"Why would they do that?" Riley asked, "They're just kids!"
"It's a horrible thing, Riley," Cory explained, "Some people do horrible things."
"And on that happy note, it's time for school," Maya cracked. The group followed one another out into the hallway, leaving Topanga to sit at the table and watch as they left.