Author Note: Sorry I had to preempt yesterday and this is so late today.


-44-

"She's not going to hate us, right, she can't still be spitting mad can she?" Riley glanced at Lucas as she turned onto the street with the beach house.

"I'm sure she's calmed down by now. At least I hope she has." Lucas sighed, "I tried talking to her on the way down, I don't know if any of what I said helped or not."

"Well I guess we're just going to have to wait and find out." Riley looked at the house, "Is this it?"

"Yeah, it is." He looked to his wife as she parked the car and stayed in the driver's seat for a moment, "You okay, are you ready for this? I mean seeing your Mom?"

"No" Riley confessed feeling the tears burn her eyes, "I um, I think I was focusing on everything but her so I didn't have to think about it. Just like Auggie."

"He'll come around, I'm sure he will."

Riley gave her husband a soft smile, "He will, in a couple of days, by 2 pm or I spill a secret."

"No more secrets please" Lucas pushed the hair from her face.

"He's taking the BAR exam, he doesn't want anyone to know. He's doing it for himself, not for Mom. I think if people find out, they'll think he's doing it to make Mom happy."

Lucas put his hand on her knee, "Well I'm glad he's doing it for himself, I had a feeling he would."

"You did?"

"Yeah at the very least take it so he didn't waste the signup fee these tests are expensive."

Riley looked to him, "Speaking of which Dr. Friar, are you accredited to practice veterinary medicine in the state of New York?"

"I am I have been for many years." He picked her hand up bringing it to his lips, "If I had failed as a ball player, I figured I could come back here and work in a clinic."

Riley closed her eyes, "Fate, destiny, whatever it is really wanted us apart for a very long time."

"But we're together now, and I would fight like hell if someone tried to take me away from my girls now."

Riley smiled, "Well let's hope that doesn't happen." She opened the car door and got out, opening the trunk while Lucas joined her.

"Want to bet our daughter is either at the beach or off on the boardwalk about now?"

"Probably, best way to avoid our arrival." Riley sighed as she grabbed one of the bags as Lucas grabbed the others.

"Well glad you guys made it, still not Auggie huh?" Josh came down the front walkway and hugged his niece.

"He'll be down on the fourth, he had to work." Riley insisted, "So you bring Lillian with you?"

"Yes, I did." He grabbed some of the bags and looked at Lucas, "Seriously, you tripped over your shoelace in the locker room?"

"Don't remind me how lame this injury is." Lucas looked down at his ankle secured in an Aircast.

Josh chuckled, "Oh come on you two, I think Cory has you sharing a room with Alex."

"Really?" Riley raised an eyebrow as she followed her Uncle into the house.

"A lot of the rooms have multiple beds." Josh looked back to the couple, "Why were you planning on some amorous activities."

Riley dropped her jaw, "Uncle Josh, it's not like Lucas and I are married or anything."

"I don't see a wedding ring." He picked up Riley's left hand, "Just an engagement one, though I did see that news story. By the way Riles, way to let that creep have it."

"Thanks, I'm just glad that Neil fielded the calls from the network the next day. He reminded them that Dennis created this story, pulled me into the media and that if they even tried to sue he would slap them with a countersuit that would have them basically shut down. He learned from the best." Riley looked at her mother as they entered the house, dropping her bag to the ground and wrapping her arms around her.

"Hey sweetie, come on, I'll show you up to the room. Alex has made herself quiet comfortable, but um I think she'll actually be really happy to see both of you." Topanga released Riley from the hug and gave Lucas a short smile.

"Where is Alex right now?" Lucas followed behind, still feeling a slight chill from Topanga.

"She and Nate went down to the boardwalk, I told them to be back soon though."

The three were silent the rest of the way upstairs. Once at the room Topanga opened the door, "You'll share a bathroom with Alex of course, as well as Nate and Auggie if he comes."

"He's coming Mom, I promise." Riley took her mother's hand and gave it a gentle squeeze, "He just has to work, but I know he's coming, but he's probably bringing Sonya with him."

"Oh, I didn't know they were that serious." Topanga felt a pang in her heart at that moment.

Riley wished she knew what to say at this moment.

"He's lost Mrs. Matthews, he's confused and scared. But he's coming around, I see it every day." Lucas told her, not sure how his words would be taken.

"Thank you for that Lucas." Topanga went over to the large window, "This is actually a door to a private little deck dinner is at six, um so get unpacked. The king bed is for the two of you obviously."

"Thanks Mom." Riley watched as Topanga stopped at the door.

She turned to them, "An Elvis impersonator, really?"

"It was Elvis or Michael Jackson, Riley picked Elvis." Lucas looked over to his wife, "She really wanted to walk down the aisle to Love Me Tender."

Topanga nodded, "You wouldn't have possibly brought a copy of the full wedding video with you, did you?"

"Oh Mom, I'm sorry, I didn't." Riley apologized.

"Here you go." Lucas handed Topanga the DVD, "This is a copy I had made for you and Cory. I'm sorry you weren't there and I know this isn't the same."

Topanga looked at the DVD in her hand, "Thank you Lucas."

"You're welcome."

She closed the door leaving them alone, Riley looked to her husband, "How did you even think of that?"

"I just asked myself, how badly are my parents going to react when they get back to the states and find out, and what's the one thing my mom is going to want to see."

Riley unzipped her bag, "You haven't really talked about them since you've been back, since we've been back. Why is that?"

"They know about Alex, they've been mad at me for not claiming her." He focused on his suitcase, "I've actually been trying to avoid their calls. Dad's also still a bit upset that Pappy Joe left me the ranch instead of him. They're in Luxembourg, he got transferred their a couple of years ago, but he is hoping to get back to New York."

"Are they going to be happy or mad we're married?"

"Both," He gave her a smile, "They'll be happy we're together, all of us, but they'll be mad at me for keeping it a secret, for not telling them."

"Then tell them." Riley picked his cell phone up from the bed, "Call them."

Lucas stared at the phone, "Not yet, besides the time difference."

"Lucas Friar call them now."

He closed his eyes and took the phone, "Tomorrow, I need to psych myself up for this."

Riley took the phone from his hand, "No, we're not waiting."

"Riley, what are you doing?" He watched as she unlocked his phone and scrolled through the contacts hitting one and letting it dial.

She could feel her body shaking as it rang, "Mrs. Friar it's Riley I know it's late there." She looked to her husband, "Oh you're back in New York, no Lucas is fine. It's a mild sprain I promise."

Lucas found feel his stomach knot hearing his parents were back in the states. It had been so much easier doing all of this without them around.

"Oh you saw that, I'm sorry; trust me it's a very long story. We're not in the city right now, but I do hope that we'll be able to get together, I know that Alexis would love to meet her other Grandparents." Riley closed her eyes as she listened to Lucas mother, "Oh don't worry Lucas will call you tomorrow. Have a good night Mrs. Friar."

"They're back?" Was all he could ask.

Riley nodded as she tossed his phone on the bed, "Back, and they saw the interview. We're going to have brunch with them next weekend."

"Great, just great" Lucas realized in that moment he had hoped to postpone this eventual family bonding moment as long as possible.


"You know Topanga wants us back soon." Nate reminded Alex as they walked along the boardwalk.

"I know." Alex dragged him into an arcade, looking for a distraction.

"I mean I get that you're still mad at your parents, but why exactly?"

Alex looked to him, "My whole life has been secrets, and wouldn't you be sick of them by now?"

"Yeah, but how many other secrets can there be now?"

Alex stopped at the skee-ball area and found an empty lane dropping her change into the slot, "Well thankfully no secret siblings, they're already married, I don't even know. I just want us to be a family, I'm sick of all the drama."

"I get that," Nate tried to empathize with her; "I mean I'm trying to."

Alex started playing, watching as her score went up and up, "I guess it's just weird, like I've been on a roller coaster for weeks now and I just want to sit in the sand and watch the waves for a while."

"Al, what are you going to do with all of those tickets?" He asked at the collection he'd seen her gather every time they came in the arcade that day.

She looked over at the prize booth, seeing exactly what she was going to get.


"Charlie wonderful," Kimberly smiled to her son when he opened the loft door, "Where is that little trollop you plan on marrying?"

"Mother, go to hell, what are you even doing here?"

Kimberly pushed her way inside, "You might want to take a look at these my private investigator took them this morning in the park."

Charlie knew his mother wouldn't leave unless he looked so he undid the clasp and slid the prints out, he saw Maya sitting on a bench with Farkle. "Okay it's Maya with her best friend, so what?"

"This one" Kimberly pulled a picture from the bottom of the pile, "That is more than friends."

Charlie could feel a slight knot in his stomach, "Yes well, Farkle just discovered that his ex-girlfriend cheated on him during their relationship with one of his closest friends."

"Oh Charlie, she's just using you until she can get Farkle, he's more wealthy than you'll ever be."

"Mom, if Maya wanted to be with Farkle, she'd be with him. She doesn't want him she doesn't love him that way. She loves me, and I love her."

"Please at this point she's with you because of the baby." Kimberly rolled her eyes.

Charlie shook his head, "No mother, she's not. Biologically Farkle is the father, she's with me because she loves me."

Kimberly shrugged, "Look at the pictures again Charles, I'll have a room for you at the house if you need one."

"It'll stay empty, I know Maya I trust Maya. You I don't trust, so please leave." Charlie pushed her out the door, slamming it in her face as his eyes glanced down at the photo once more.


Alex took a deep breath before she opened the bedroom door, "I hope you're decent and not trying to give me a sibling at the moment." She had a hand over her eyes just in case.

"We're on the deck" Lucas called out as he looked back to see her slowly walking towards them with her hands behind her back.

"Hi" Alex looked at her parents as they stood on the small deck looking out towards the ocean in the distance.

Riley came towards her, "I missed you"

Alex accepted the hug, "I missed you to."

"Are you still mad?" Riley held her daughter close to her.

"Not really," She confessed, "Just please no more crazy secrets."

"We'll do our best." Lucas told her, "So what's behind your back?"

"So, apparently I'm like really good at skee-ball, like Grandpa won't play with me anymore and Nate just watches, so I accumulated a lot of tickets and I turned some in today to get this." She pulled out a teddy bear dressed in an Elvis costume, "Cheesy I know, but I think it's perfect for the two of you?"

"Why's that?" Lucas knew there had to be something else about the bear besides it being dressed as Elvis.

"This" Alex pressed the bears paw and Love Me Tender started to play.

"You know Elvis is the King after all." Riley kissed the top of Alex's head, "Thank you sweetie."

"So, who is Smackle?"

"That's a story to ask Zay when you see him." Lucas told her, "Come on we need to get ready for dinner."