Riley was sitting in a small room at a table sipping on some coffee while reading the news on her tablet. From the front door nearby Maya entered the room and said, "I'm home honey!" Riley put her tablet down and smiled as she saw Maya walk over to her. A smiling Riley then said, "Peaches!" Maya leaned down and she and Riley both gave each other a quick kiss. Maya then sat in front of Riley as she said, "So I think we should go out tonight. We have a lot to celebrate." Riley then said, "Celebrate what? Our wedding anniversary was three days ago." Maya then said, "Not that. I just got a confirmation that our final payment for the money we borrowed to afford all of our furniture has been taken care of. We are now completely debt free!" A smiling Riley then said, "That's great. Now we can start setting aside money for some fun things." Maya then said, "Or some... important things." Riley raised an eyebrow as she said, "What do you mean?" Maya then said, "Riley, you said could we could discuss this topic once we were more financially stable and... well we're stable now. Riley... I want to have a kid." Riley's eyed widened as she said, "Oh... wow. Didn't wake up this morning thinking this was gonna come up." Maya then said, "Well you told me after we finished our summer camp job, you would be willing to talk about it again. We love each other and it would be a crime for the love we share to not also be shared with a kid we could raise together." Riley then said, "Maya, I... I don't know if I'm ready to be a parent." Maya then said, "But Riley you can handle responsibility. You're a lead interior designer and manage your own small construction crew. And you can handle loving someone unconditionally because you've done amazing with me." Maya then leaned over and kissed Riley on the cheek causing Riley to blush. With a small smile Riley said, "Maya, I... I want to have a kid but I'm not sure if this is the best..." Suddenly the two were interrupted by the sound of a cell phone ring. Maya answered it and said, "Hello? Yes this is Maya Hart. Although I legally changed my last name to... Wait. What? What!? Are you serious. I... Yes. Yes. Yeah, I can be reached at that e-mail. Um... Okay. Thank you. Bye." Maya turned off her phone with a look of shock on her face. A concerned looking Riley said, "What? What is it Maya?" Maya then said, "My dad... Kermit, my birth father... he just died."

Several days later Riley was driving a car down a long road while Maya sat next to her. The two were very silent. Eventually Riley spoke up and said, "It was nice that your entire family came out to be with you at the funeral. I mean considering how much bad blood your mother had with him and Shawn never even met your father and..." Maya then said, "Riley, Shawn is my father. Kermit Hart was... just some guy that helped create me." Riley sighed and said, "I know this is hard for you Maya. But remember that you're allowed to experience all of these feelings you're going through." Maya then said, "It's not just feelings I'm going through Riley. It's a sense of guilt. I never fully forgave my dad for what he did to me and my mom. I didn't even try to stay in touch with him after that whole forgiveness project thing back in middle school. I never got a chance to ever really connect with him, you know." Then Riley said, "Well that's why that guy back at the funeral gave you a key to his house. Maybe while going through his stuff and deciding what you want of his, you can have one last sort of chance to know what kind of guy he was." Maya leaned back in her seat as she said, "Yeah. I guess."

Riley and Maya opened up the door to an old apartment. As they walked in Maya said, "Here we go. My dad's place." Riley then walked over to a wall and said, "Maya. Look." Maya went over to a wall and saw a framed picture of herself when she was much younger. Riley then said, "It looks like he never stopped thinking about you." Maya then said, "Then why did he never come back? Why did he become the kind of parent he was? And more importantly... what kind of parent might I be like because of him?" Riley then said, "Maya. You're not going to turn out like your father. None of us are sure how we're going to turn out. Even me." A concerned looking Maya said, "Riley, what are you saying?" Riley then said, "Maya. I may have been raised my whole life by a great mom and dad, but I'm not them. I'm my own person that makes my own decisions. Which means it's possible I might make bad choices they didn't. It honestly scares me sometimes." Maya then said, "Riley. You get scared about how you're going to wind up in the future too?" Riley then said, "Of course. The reason Maya I've been hesitant about us having a kid is I don't know if I could be as good a parent as mine were. What if I screw up big time? What if I do something that scares my kid for life." Maya then said, "Riley, don't think that. You're going to be a great parent one day. I know that because you're a great friend." Riley then said, "I... yeah. I guess you're right. And you're going to be a best parent in the world one day too Maya. Because you're already the best friend in the world." Riley then put a hand on Maya's shoulder as the two looked into each other's eyes for a moment. Then Maya stepped away from Riley and said, "Well, maybe we should use the time we have and take anything useful we can out of this place before we head home." Riley then said, "Yeah. Sounds good."

Riley was driving a car in the evening as Maya sat next to her. The two sat next to each other completely silent. Eventually Riley parked the car in a parking lot and said, "Well. We're home." Maya sat still saying and doing nothing. Riley then reached to open the door but suddenly Maya broke the silence and said, "Riley... I know I'm not my father and I know I'm not going to be him. Because I have you. And I thank God every day because of that." Riley smiled as she said, "Maya, I..." Maya then said, "And you're the best person I can think of in the whole wide world. And I want us to have a kid one day. Not so that I can prove I'm better than my parent. But because if any little bundle of joy should be nurtured and raised in this world, it should be nurtured and raised by the best human being I know: you. And just like everything we do in life, I want us to take on the challenge of raising up an amazing little person together. It doesn't have to be now but whenever you're ready... well... I'm ready." Riley sat silent for a moment. But then Riley put a hand on Maya's shoulder and said, "Maya... lets do it. Lets have a baby." A shocked but smiling Maya said, "Seriously?" Riley smiled as she said, "Seriously." Riley and Maya then leaned in and kissed the other on the lips. After a moment, the two parted lips as Maya said, "Riley... is it possible to marry someone again? Because I think my love for you is just too big for one marriage to hold." Riley giggled a bit and said, "Don't worry. I think we're going to have an extra person in our lives soon enough to share that love with."

TO BE CONTINUED IN A NEW SERIES:

RILEY AND MAYA: COMPLICATED PARENTHOOD

Writer's Note: Yes, next week I'll be beginning a new series. It will be set in the continuity of this now ending series, but it will be a perfect jumping on point for new readers. All you will need to know going into the new one is that Riley and Maya are now married. Hope you enjoyed this current series, and hope you enjoy what is coming soon.