Girl Meets Names – Part 7

Author's note – Reviews are really appreciated and help me guide the story. Plus, I respond to almost every single one. If I don't respond, it means that I missed it somehow. So feel free to send another one or a direct message and yell at me (gently). PS – the review system seems to be messed up. I'll reply if it will let me. Feel free to DM me if you want to say hi.

Shawn had just about paced a hole in the roof when Maya finally came up the stairs.

"My mom said you wanted to talk to me? She seemed really nervous." she asked, sounding nervous herself.

"Yes I do. Umm, how are you?"

Maya twirled in a circle. "I don't think that's why you wanted to talk to me, but I'll answer anyway. I have a boyfriend. A proper boyfriend. And he even kissed me. All is right with my world."

"Really? That's amazing! Congratulations. Who's the lucky guy?"

"Heehaw, Ranger Rick, Ranger Roy, Bucky McBoingBoing, Hop-Along, Sundance, Huckleberry, Cowboy, Moral Compass, Golden Boy, Soaring Eagle, Lucas The Good! To now just be called Lucas, except on special occasions." Maya crowed.

"Wow. That's a lot of names. Hey, that's incredible. You and Riley are both dating boys named Lucas."

Maya glared at him. "No. Riley is dating no one. I am dating Lucas. Things change when you're not around. Please try to keep up."

"And Riley's OK with that?" Shawn asked, sounding concerned.

"Riley thinks so, Lucas thinks so, and I think so. But we're all teenagers so, really, who on earth knows? I'm just going to focus on being happy."

Shawn grinned. "Sounds like a good idea." Shawn took a deep breath for courage and then said. "I wanted to talk to you about your mom and me. Well, really, it's about all three of us."

"Lucas said he and Topanga talked to her and calmed her down some but that Mom was still dead set against the whole boyfriend thing. Did you propose properly?"

Shawn thought about it and decided that he was going to take some time in explaining this to Maya. He hoped it would help make sure that whatever answer she gave him was real. He didn't want to hurt her feelings, just to really be sure she was ready for such a big change in her life. "No, Maya, I didn't. She and I talked about it and, well, actually she forbid me to ever propose to her."

"So, you can't propose and you can't be her boyfriend. Unless she changed her mind on the boyfriend thing?" Maya sounded like she was already convinced he was going to say no. She wasn't disappointed.

"No way, no day. Boyfriend, as silly as that name is for someone my age, is definitely off the table." Shawn said.

Maya interrupted. She was desperate to find a way to help. "Flowers. I know it's a cliché but Mom's a nut for flowers. I think it's because they're an extravagance we normally can't afford. Or just just because she'd old. Doesn't matter. Or I suppose you can try candy but, really, you should just save time and give that directly to me. Mom never touches it. Oh, just try the flowers, OK? Maybe mom will forgive you or something."

Shawn chuckled to himself. "Flowers aren't going to fix this one. At least, not right now. But you think I should try bribing my way out of trouble when I get in a fight with your mom? You think that will work?"

"No, not really. Generally nothing works. She just stays mad until she gets over it. Maybe if you just stay around to prove to her that you really care, she might give you another chance." She paused and gathered her courage. "And even though you've messed stuff up with mom, well, you haven't with me, OK? I don't want to lose you. It helps me to not be so jealous of Riley."

This finally a hint of what Shawn really wanted to hear. "Maya? Regardless of what happens between your Mom and me, I'm not going anywhere. I need you to understand that."

"Do you promise? I mean, really promise?" Maya said. "And don't say yes unless you mean it."

"Yes, Maya, I absolutely promise. I definitely mean it. You aren't ever going to get rid of me."

"Thank you. That makes this all a little easier." Maya said quietly. They both sat in silence for a minute while they enjoyed the moment.

Shawn finally spoke. "So, you said you're jealous of Riley. How?"

"Did you take stupid pills this morning? First you mess up proposing and then the obvious eludes you. Mr. Matthews is amazing. You know that. He's your best friend. He's almost like a dad to me, but, well, he does have his own family so he can't ever be it completely. And trust me. Not having a Dad around sucks."

"Do you think that will ever change?" Shawn offered.

"What? My dad? Not a chance. I don't blame myself as much anymore and I try not to blame Mom either and I try to forgive him but… But it doesn't always work. I might get to know him better someday. And maybe even forgive him a little bit, if he ever takes responsibility for what happened instead of just whining 'woe is me'. Mr. Matthews says that it's possible – eventually. But even if I did forgive him, his chance to be my dad is gone." Maya brushed back a tear. She wasn't going to let herself cry about that man anymore. He didn't deserve it.

"But you want a dad again someday? You're sure?" Shawn pressed.

"I don't know about 'again' because I don't think I've ever really had one. But yes, I want a dad. I want one I don't have to share. I want one who I don't have to experience through Riley. And I want one who makes my mom happy." There was a new certainty to Maya's voice now that she was admitting this out loud.

"Do you think I could be that dad? You know, someday? Could I help fill that hole in your life?" Shawn asked gently. They were finally getting down to what he needed to know.

"Well, that was pretty much the plan until you hosed up that proposal this afternoon. It wasn't exactly The Parent Trap but, yeah, that's what I'd been hoping for. In a way, you already do help. But no one is ever really going to really be 'Dad' until they love my mom and me."

Shawn took another deep breath. "I do love your mom. Very much actually"

Maya looked up from her unshed tears. "And?" she said, more vulnerable then she'd ever been in her life.

Shawn continued. "And I love you too kid." He automatically opened his arms and caught her as she flew toward him. Then he let her cry for a few minutes.

Finally Maya managed to talk. "I love you Shawn. And I think Mom does too." Then her voice got accusatory. "Why did you mess this up? You can't propose! You can't be her boyfriend. Which means you can't marry her and be my dad."

Shawn couldn't let it go on any further. "Hey, hey, hey. Calm down. Everything happens for a reason. Sometimes it's a really good reason."

"So, what's the good reason then?" She asked. "Because I can't think of a single good one?"

"It forced your mom and me to figure out how we really felt. And that needed to happen. Sometimes people aren't ready to change who they are until they get pushed. And it gave me the opportunity to ask you this very important question. Maya, do I have your permission to marry your mom? Do I have permission to join your family?

Maya laughed in disbelief. "Sure. For whatever good it'll do you, sure. You have my permission to marry my mom." She sounded a little sarcastic but it was still clear she was telling the truth. "Is that the plan? Do you want me to propose for you or something?"

Shawn gave her a little squeeze. "No, that's not the plan. It won't be necessary. The most amazing thing happened this afternoon.

"You find a time travel machine and you can go back to before you put your foot in your mouth?" Maya asked.

"Nope. Your mother proposed to me." Shawn replied, watching her expression carefully.

Maya stopped dead and looked up at him. She tried to speak. She failed. She tried again. She failed again. The questions and confusion in her head wouldn't stop long enough to turn into words. Her mom stepped out from the doorway onto the roof where, as she and Shawn had planned, she'd been watching most of the conversation. Maya broke out of Shawn's arms and walked over to her mom. She still couldn't speak but she looked at her mom for some sort of answer.

Katy looked past Maya toward Shawn. "If I had any doubts about proposing to you or you really being part of Maya's life, that performance squashed them. You made her figure out how she felt and tell you how she felt. And you tortured the heck out of her while you did it. You're going to be a great dad."

Shawn smiled back over at her. "It was a team effort. You told me which buttons to push."

Maya finally managed to speak. "Hold on. You put me through this on purpose? Both of you?" she asked. The question was directed at both Shawn and Katy.

Shawn held his hands in front of himself protectively. "We did. I figured that if we just asked you straight out, we'd get a 'yes' or a 'no' without you really thinking about it. And this was too important for that. I was afraid that if you didn't think it through, you'd never completely accept it."

Katy wrapped her arm around her daughter and looked over expectantly. "So, does that mean I'm going to get my answer? Are you going to marry me? Are you going to be part of our family?" She gave Maya a sideways look. "Will you be my fiancé? Because I might not like boyfriend but fiancé is just fine with me. Well, at least until it gets replaced by husband." Another teasing look at Maya. "Are you going kiss me and make everything right with my world?" She was joking and paraphrasing Maya's description of dating Lucas, but you could still tell that she wasn't completely certain he was going to say yes.

Shawn walked over and wrapped the two of them in a hug. "I am." He said simply.

They stood there enjoying the moment. Finally, Maya broke away from them. "Kiss my mom, stupid." She said.

"Don't call your dad to be stupid." Katy said absently. "Wow. Never thought I'd say those words." And then Shawn kissed her gently.

"OK. Let's go downstairs and tell everyone else. Because I think Cory's going to explode if I don't hurry up and tell him he gets to be my best man."