When Friday morning finally rolls around, Lucas cannot shake the feeling that Maya has been avoiding him. Last night when she got home from work she told him that they needed to talk about some stuff after he got home from the ranch. Lucas practically begged Maya to go to the ranch but she insisted that she was too exhausted. Arguing with her seemed ridiculous when they still hadn't addressed the kiss with Bridgette.

Then, almost as thinking her name called out to her, Bridgette appears in the seat in front of him. At first Lucas believes that it's a hallucination but shaking his head doesn't make her go away; "I know you wish it weren't true. I am actually here."

One hand rest in his pocket where he had the ring he'd purchased Wednesday night. It was not much because spending that kind of money without Maya noticing the drop in their savings account would have been impossible. It was meager at best but Maya wasn't about flash. In fact, she used to joke, "It's not about flash it's about class!" And then she'd wear the most ridiculous outfits to the rodeos.

"You owe me an apology." Lucas grumbles.

"That is very true. I thought I owed you an explanation, though." Bridgette puts a picture of her and her fiancé on the table. Then she makes a line of pictures until there are eleven pictures total. Lucas notices how in love they look in each picture, but somehow becoming more invested in one another the newer the pictures. Lucas wondered whether or not his own relationship progressed so nicely.

Of course, he sort of didn't want their romance if it meant kissing someone else and ruining a solid relationship.

"Carson and I have known each other our entire lives. We started dating in junior high, but we broke up a bunch of times between then and graduating high school. Somehow the time apart made us grow closer. I don't think I've been more in love with Carson in my life than I was when I cried into his lap about kissing a near stranger just to make sure I was ready to get married to him." Bridgette seems cheery enough. Lucas listens intently as she recounts how understanding her boyfriend way when she came to him about her mistake. Their open communication proves to be the essential reason that they keep going back to one another.

The story helps Lucas remember why it was he trusted Maya in high school. When nobody else would understand why he wasn't going to college, Maya welcomed him into her home to pretend the future was still far away. When Riley and Lucas broke up, it was Maya that let him eat her food and crash on her couch. Lucas never had to worry about being himself with Maya because she loved him no matter what.

…Which is why, you know, Lucas is going to propose to her in a few days…

"Thank you for sharing. I guess I should apologize for Maya attacking you. I doubt she regrets hitting you but I know she feels bad for hurting you as the result of that action." Lucas loses his confidence half way through the sentence, realizing that Maya probably couldn't care less. Hitting Bridgette was a pent up reaction that was drawn out by a meaningless kiss.

Bridgette laughs, "I am sure she feels bad about something but it most certainly is not about hitting me. I deserve this." As she stands she gestures to her entire face. Lucas gets a laugh out of it. Once she leaves without a glance back at him the air becomes lighter. In every rite, Lucas should be jealous of Bridgette and Carson. They haven't stressed over the kiss that paused his entire life on an unflattering frame.

Lucas isn't jealous, though, and he isn't really sure why.

Maya beats Lucas home. There are a couple of folders on the coffee table, along with a prescription bottle and cups of – tea? It didn't smell like coffee. Maybe it's a "tea" table now. Pretending that everything is normal just for a couple of minutes he swings his backpack onto the floor and dives into the couch after slamming the door shut.

"What's up beautiful?" Normally his girlfriend would have laughed, or at least smiled. Today she simply pats his back and shifts on her cushion. Her left hand gestures to the folders he saw already. Lucas picks up that Maya isn't in the mood for childish behaviors. Straightening himself he awaits further information.

Maya practically gasps for air before lifting her arm again to gesture to the table, "Each of these two folders have important papers in them pertaining to our future. Before you look in either folder I want us to get this kiss business behind us. Think we can do that?" At least she doesn't sound stressed when she asks him to discuss Bridgette. It needs to happen or it will haunt them. There is no effort required to agree to her request.

Maya asks him how he knows Bridgette, if they've been close. She asks whether he's spoken to Bridgette since then, and he promptly tells her of the conversation the two of them had shared. Each question was humbling in a way, as Maya continued to bring up various things.

Very finally, "I think that this kiss was just a tiny pre-test. I think our love is bigger than jealousy over a kiss. You haven't been dogging me about where I'm at every day and I don't worry about whether or not I'll come home to another lady locked to your lips."

Maya then grabs the folders and places them in his hands. She explains that one folder has good news and the other has bad news. It would depend on what order he reads them or his emotional opinion. Either way, she assures him, she will learn a lot about him and their relationship after he reads the contents of the folders. Lucas almost tosses the folders on the table.

Maya must have sensed as much, "Not reading them tells me just as much."

One folder is yellow and the other is blue. Lucas can guess which folder is the good news or the bad news. Yellow is a bright color intended to evoke happiness while blue was a cool color that helps calm the mind. Knowing Maya Hart, the secret mastermind that she is, the folders have been switched. The good news was placed in the blue folder and visa verse. Even if they weren't switched, Maya wouldn't take note of simply his first pick but how he reacted to it.

Feeling that there is no way to win or lose, Lucas opens both folders and glances at each one for only a moment. He catches sight of only a few key words.

Prenatal.

Unemployment.

First Trimester.

Insurance Options.

The prescription bottle is obviously pre-natal pills. The tea is tea because it's healthier than coffee. The kiss isn't a problem because in the grand scheme of things it was barely a blip. All of this stuff took precedence in their life now forcing littler details to stand out. Lucas leans back on the couch without bothering to read any of the paperwork very closely.

"I guess there's never been a better time to talk about our future together as a family. Do you want to be a mother? We've never discussed it in great length." Breathlessness overcomes him. The plan was to propose on Christmas Eve but Lucas questions whether or not that would be best now. What if Maya thought he was only proposing because she was having his baby? What if she doesn't want to be a mother, and aborts the pregnancy? Would she think he was only proposing because he felt bad for what happened? Lucas doesn't have much time to get lost in his thoughts because Maya stands up abruptly.

For a second she doesn't seem to remember why she's stood up, but seconds later she darts off towards the bathroom. Prolonged gurgles of muffled vomiting emerge from the hallway. Lucas takes a moment before following his girlfriend. He stops only to grab a washcloth. Once in the bathroom he wets it with cool water and holds it on the back of Maya's neck.

Nothing seems to be coming up. Maya struggled with bulimia in the past. It has been so long that he hadn't once suspected her of falling into those old habits. Even now he doesn't believe that she would repeat those mistakes, but he worries about her state of mind. She hasn't eaten enough to throw up normally. If anything does come up it's basically water mixed with stomach acid: "You need to eat. If not because you're pregnant, at least because you're super stressed out right now."

Maya starts crying. It wasn't as though she'd never cried in front of him. When Riley missed her birthday party, cancelled weekend plans, and forgot to call Maya back about attending her graduation – Maya cried very hard. Sometimes she even cried over her favorite television shows and artwork that she'd find stored in boxes. None of those cries were quite like this one, though, and Lucas is nothing short of surprised.

Normally he knows what to do or say but all he can do now is hold her. Her sobs grow almost violent in nature. Arms stay wrapped around her tight while she blows her nose into his shirt. Until she's ready to tell him what's going on for her, all he can do is cry with her. Lucas is in no place to assure his girlfriend – no place to tell her it's okay that she's lost her job – no place to tell her how to proceed with the pregnancy. In this relationship they are equals.

Only then does Lucas pinpoint why he isn't jealous of Bridgette and Carson. Maybe it was true that Carson was wholly vested in his fiancée. In fact, he would have made bets on Carson's genuine love for her. As far as Bridgette, well, he wasn't sure that she knew she was ready to marry her long-time boyfriend. Perhaps they had a different kind of relationship but Lucas didn't care to know.

"For what it's worth, Maya Hart, I want to be with you for the rest of my life. I want to make mistakes by your side. I want to enjoy the fruits of our labor together. We don't have to have a plan right now, or even tomorrow. The only plan I want to have is that I am with you forever." Lucas' declaration surprisingly evokes a laugh from the love of his life. Blotchy cheeks and bloodshot eyes peer up at him. It is distracting and he nearly doesn't pay attention to Maya but he manages to stay focused.

There wasn't much for her to say in reply. All she manages to do it confirm that they are still on the same page. Even if their lives feel like excerpts and references insert into different books, the two of them are intricately tied to one another. Each story exists because of the other. Maya pokes her nose up with partially puckered lips for a tiny kiss.

Since there was no in depth conversation about the pregnancy, Lucas wanted to make sure that he got up before Maya and thoroughly reviewed the paperwork. It's not like he had no idea whatsoever about babies. He knew enough about pregnancy to help make changes to Maya's diet – though not many were needed – and how to best move forward with her work schedule…

Except that, obviously, she has no work schedule to speak of at this point. Having just lost her job is pretty much the worst thing that could happen right now. They had just purchased gifts that could barely afford in the first place. Maya was the primary income for their household, too. Lucas got money from school and from working at the ranch, kind of at least, but there's no way he could sustain them.

That is why Lucas decides the best plan of action is to move back in with his dad until Maya has the baby. Honestly, it's the best-case scenario. Maya doesn't have to worry too much about finding a job immediately, or having to go on maternity leave so soon after being hired. As for Lucas, he can finish school up knowing that no matter what Maya is being taken care of by Les and Conner.

Speaking, or rather thinking, about Conner – Lucas hasn't reached out to him since the kiss. They'd been consumed with their own lives that they hadn't reached out to him yet. Perhaps Maya was responding to his text messages but Lucas certainly hadn't made time. He wants to invite him over for lunch but after breakfast Lucas has to rush off for his last test before his break begins. It's just a dissection that he already knows he's capable of doing flawlessly.

Just as he reaches for his phone Maya stumbles out with one hand glued to her face and the other clawing the wall to stay upright. He nearly catapults himself out of the couch but she waves at him, "Please don't treat me like a delicate flower. I am just super hungry and very tired."

Thankful that he already planned on a simple breakfast, he goes to refrigerator and pulls out some fresh fruit and yogurt. He was planning on eating at the couch but she throws herself into bar stool. Accepting this he puts together her parfait and slides it across the counter, "Do you want to talk at all before I take off?"

May shrugs her shoulders. Her indifference is a little painful. Silence fills the empty space in the room while neither of them talk. To supplement the fruit parfaits, Lucas starts panfrying some sausage patties. It doesn't take long, partially because it's frozen sausage from the grocery store instead fresh ground sausage from his dad's best friend, Daryl – from whom they usually purchase meat. That's part of their "on the go" lifestyle, though, and he learned to accept it long ago.

"I think I can be a mom. I can't do it alone but I'm hoping that I don't have to do that…" Maya manages between starved shovels of food into her mouth. Hearing her speak so naturally about it must mean that she already considered his question from last night. Lucas lets a smile tear his mouth apart as he plates the sausage.

Of course Maya wouldn't have to do it alone, "We can do this just fine. For all we know, this was supposed to happen." Nodding heads and soft chuckles confirm that they don't know that this is a true statement but neither can refute the possibility. Lucas likes to think that everything happens the way it is supposed to happen, even if he doesn't like it.

A/N: I know that it can sometimes feel repetitive when you each character has secrets and you hear both sides - but we're going to be able to move away from that in the coming chapters. We have two big plot twists that are coming soon, too, and we're going to see how it affects the relationship between Lucas and Maya - and the importance of friendship!