written by Lehanna

...

"I finally found the perfect recipe for the Christmas ham," Katy told Shawn, "so everything is all prepared for tomorrow."

"That's good. What did you want to do today?" asked Shawn. He wanted to do something special for the holiday. He didn't have many Christmas traditions with his father, but he wanted to start some with his wife and daughter.

Katy frowned. "I don't know. Maya?"

Maya, who was sitting on the couch, looked up from the TV. She pondered on the question. After some thought, she responded, "We never really did anything special on Christmas Eve before. Well, besides throwing snowballs at skaters in Rockefeller Center." She chuckled joyously at the memories.

"Oh, yeah. You mentioned that before, right?" He suddenly had a great idea for a fun activity that all three of them could do. "I used to go ice skating all the time. What if we did that?"

Maya tensed up at the proposal. Katy noticed and said, "Maya's never been ice skating before. She's scared."

"Am not! I just don't see the point and think it's dumb," she insisted. It was important to Maya that she had a reputation of being fearless. That would go down the drain if people, mainly Shawn, knew she was afraid of something as simple as ice skating.

Shawn didn't believe her lie for a second, mostly because she looked like she wanted to throw up at the very suggestion of going ice skating. "Then you'd have no problem going ice skating with us, correct?"

Not wanting to seem like a scaredy-cat, Maya agreed. "I guess."

The nauseous feeling only grew stronger for Maya once they arrived at the ice skating rink. One thing was for sure, she was not stepping foot on that devilish icy ground. Her parents couldn't drag her there even if they wanted to, which they did.

"One pair of size seven women's skates, one pair of size six women's skates, and one pair of size ten men's skates," Katy requested to the worker.

While the man was getting the ice skates, Maya was thinking of a plan on how not to skate. Could she fake being ill? Could she say she sprained her ankle? Maya's thoughts were interrupted by Katy handing her the skating shoes. "You guys go first. I'll just stand here listening to the Christmas music," she offered.

"We should all go at the same time," Shawn said.

Maya cringed as she put on her skates, knowing there was no way out without looking like a coward. She tried to remind herself that she's Maya Hunter; she doesn't get scared.

Shawn sensed her distress and held out his arm. "Here, you can hold onto me."

She took his arm, probably appearing like a scared little kid, and stepped on the ice. Shawn attempted to show her how to skate while Maya held onto him for dear life. "Now you try," he instructed.

She did as she was told, only almost falling twice, which was a win if asked her. "Ok, this isn't as bad...I mean dumb as I thought."

"Good. Now, let go of my hand."

Maya stared at him. "What?"

Shawn stifled a laugh at the girl. "Come on, you'll do fine. I'll catch you if you fall," he coaxed her.

For a second, Maya inched away from him, but she instantly moved back closer to him. "You know what? I think I need more practice."

"Ok, fine," Shawn broke. He would probably be fifty by the time he convinced her to skate on her own. At least he got her on the ice.

"You know, this whole thing shows just how much I trust you," she told him. "I would never trust Mom to keep me up."

"Oh? Well, I'm honored then."

They skated together with Katy close by. She watched the scene with a bright smile on her face. Eventually, she decided to join them. The three held hands as they skated, with Maya in the middle to "prevent an injury even more."

After a few hours (or what felt like a day), the family got off the ice. Maya would have to admit that it was actually kind of a fun experience, minus the parts where she thought she was going to die and be trampled on by some snotty seven-year-old.

Shawn and Katy chatted about how much fun they had while Maya tried to get those death skates off her feet as soon as possible. She glanced up to see Shawn staring at her. "Maybe you'll skate by yourself next time."

"There's a next time?!" Maya said a little too loudly. It drew the attention of a few people, which Maya ignored.

"I was hoping," Shawn laughed. "How could I make this terrible experience up to you?"

"Tacos for dinner?" she requested hopefully.

"Tacos it is," he agreed with a smile. "I should've known you would say that."

...

Yes, this is the seventh time I've written a Shawn and Maya story. Yes, I am aware that is excessive. Yes, I will continue to write about them.