A/N: Hey hey! So yeah, I said I'd try and get more deleted scenes done a while ago and it didn't happen, anxiety has been getting in the way so just getting this and We Three Hearts kept where I want them has been all I've managed to do. I will do my best to do some deleted scenes soon, that's all I can do for now :)

May 6th 2020

Chapter 127
Their Cheers of December

"So… when you said you almost had it narrowed down…" Lucas blinked as he and Maya stood just inside their room. Looking around, from the closet doors and on to the bed, and on the back of his desk chair, anywhere that might be adorned with one dress or another at its full length so to have it displayed, there were dresses… everywhere. Leaning to peer inside the closet, where those dresses usually hung, it was a giant void and nothing more.

"I narrowed it down… to a dress, instead of pants or a skirt," Maya casually pointed out, smiling proudly.

"Right," Lucas chuckled. Maya motioned toward the array and he moved forward to start and help her narrow it down. All teasing aside, he could see why she was as nervous as she was, and why she wanted to pick absolutely the right outfit. This would be the dress she wore when she'd go on stage with Ree Forster in a few days' time. She had been looking forward to this for weeks and weeks, and now it was almost the big day.

It was their first day on their own, after having accompanied Sam to the airport for his trip to Tucson to see the Hart-Lanes. He had finished his finals two days ago, while Lucas had had the last of his the previous afternoon. He had been reviewing on the ride to the airport, because as much as Sam would have understood his not coming along, Lucas felt it was important enough to go for multitasking instead. As thanks, Sam had helped his big brother's preparation by quizzing him while Maya drove in the front. It would have been five of them out there at the gate, if not that Cecilia and Dora were both still in school and just could not reasonably get out of it for this reason. So, they had said their goodbyes the night before Sam left, on the promise that they would see each other soon, when the two of them would be flying to join him the following week.

Neither Maya nor Lucas could hide the fact that they were relieved to see how much Sam's spirits had been lifted since the night of the sleepover. It made them realize just how much they loved having him there with them at the house, and how much they had missed his cheerier side. Of course now they would have to do without him for a little while, but that was more than fine, too. There was plenty for them to appreciate about their having the house all to themselves.

"What about this one?" Maya snatched up a flowery dress from the bed and held it up before herself. They had by now eliminated somewhere about ten percent of the displayed dresses, under a process of 'will this itch, will this be too warm, will this look horrible with the lighting…' Lucas stood back now, observing the new contender.

"I don't know, I think I need to see it on you to get a better idea," he finally declared. Maya gave him a look. "Oh, so it's okay when you make me try things on just so you can watch, but I don't get to do the same?" Maya made a show of considering this, and the smirk that followed told him she had not only come up with an answer, she had also found a way to make things even more interesting.

"I will make you a deal. Since it's just you and me, and there's no chance for my little brother or anyone else to come along, how about every time you decide you need to see me try on any of these dresses, you… lose a piece of clothing of your choosing," she stated with an innocent shrug. Lucas responded with a chuckle as he bowed his head and finally looked back at her.

"Alright, done," he told her.

"Great," she smirked.

"Let me just go and grab a vest… and shoes… Maybe a hat and scarf, it's getting kind of chilly around here," he moved to track down said items, while Maya laughed.

"If that's how you want to play it, I have tricks, too!" she called after him.

He soon discovered those tricks, which involved her making some excellent sales pitches for the various dresses she still needed to work through and eliminate or keep. He'd be all ready to pass a verdict, but then there she'd go, and before they knew it, she was swapping dresses, and he was losing another thing. When she finally got to evict his shirt, she had the most victorious little smile.

"I see now, by my count, you are running out of cards to play there, Santa," she gestured at him standing there. "Ho, ho, ho," she whispered, adjusting the latest dress.

"Okay, now, this is not me giving up before I end up standing here butt naked…" Lucas declared, which made her giggle. "But I do think that might be the one," he pointed to the dress she'd just put on. She turned to look at herself in the mirror. Somewhere along the way, she had almost forgotten why they were doing this in the first place, but now that she was thinking about it again… Yeah, that might have been a winner.

"I think so… yes," she finally nodded. "Good," she started to gather up the others and return them to the closet along with the ones they had previously eliminated and the maybe pile.

"Can I put my shirt back on now?" She turned to look back at him.

"Yeah, no," she shook her head. Lucas nodded to himself like he'd expected exactly that answer. "By the way, I know that you guys work in a bookstore already and all that, but my mom wanted me to pass some stuff on to Maeve, she figures it might be helpful, from her perspective," Maya revealed, pointing to a bag sitting on the dresser. Lucas went to have a look.

Much as she had been intent on keeping her impending motherhood a secret at the start, when it was all new and she had no clue this way or that regarding the next several months and then some, by now the shock had worn off for Maeve. It had all started to take a turn one she'd had a second meeting with her baby's father. After the first time, when she had told him, and then after that, when he had accompanied her on a first doctor's appointment, he had shown up at the bookstore looking for her one day. Maeve had looked just a bit unnerved at having him there for anyone to see and wonder what was going on, but finally they had set up to meet over lunch. When she returned, she told Lucas what they had discussed. He remained someone with whom she felt at ease discussing her situation, and he took the role with care.

After having thought it through, and going along to the doctor's, after really considering the whole picture, the baby's father, Carter, had told Maeve that he would raise their child. If she felt at ease with this, and if she was absolutely certain of her choice, he would take full custody of their son or daughter. He also wanted to leave the option open so that Maeve would be able to have some part or another in the baby's life, whether or not her identity as mother was acknowledged or not.

"Do you know… what are you going to do?" Lucas had asked her.

"I don't know," Maeve had told him, and her whole stance said as much. "It's my turn to think it over now." There was plenty for her to consider. Top of the list, Lucas knew, was the fact that her parents still had no idea of the choice she was in the process of making. "I'm not going to change my mind," Maeve told Lucas, her voice shaping the 'but' she did not speak. "If I'm just… a close friend of Carter's, or… if we just say that he really wanted a baby, and I helped… I don't know… If I'm involved, then maybe my parents still get to be involved, too, even if it's not all out there…"

She'd sighed, and hearing her mutter to herself how she wished she'd never had to tell them in the first place, he'd put his arm around her and she'd welcomed the gesture. Before long, their co-workers were finally let in on the secret, though undercut with the lie that she was being a surrogate for a friend. Lucas had gone along with it, never blinking.

In the weeks since that day, the plans had started taking better shape. Maeve was now entirely on board with giving Carter their baby to raise, and Carter was stepping up in every way as he prepared for single fatherhood. After a lot of discussion, they had made a choice, in that they would perpetuate the surrogate story, to his friends as much as hers, and also to both their families. This had been trickier where Maeve's family was involved, seeing as they'd gone weeks believing one thing, only to be told another. It had been with both Lucas and Maya that Maeve had figured out a way to say that, when she'd told her parents about the baby, she had meant to explain the whole truth, but that after seeing how happy they both were, she hadn't had the heart to go on. It had been rough, but there had been no way around that, so this was really the best option they had.

"She still doesn't know if she wants to be involved, when the kid grows up," Lucas declared as he inspected the books, spilling with notes in Katy's hand.

"She'll figure it out," Maya replied with confidence. Lucas turned back to find she had changed out of the last dress and into her holiday PJs, complete with jingling elf shoe slippers. These had been a gift from her little sisters and when she promised she would wear them all through December, she wasn't joking. It was like a Maya warning system all through the house. It unnerved the dogs just a bit, to the point where Maya would never leave the slippers unattended, for fear that they might fall prey to a dog's bite or another, or that the bells would end up lodged in an unsuspecting pup's throat.

"Okay, now can I put on a shirt?" Lucas 'pleaded,' and Maya walked over to him, jingling along. Locking her arms around his waist, she looked up at him, putting on another thinking face.

"No… no…" she finally declared in her ever so casual voice.

"This is my fault, isn't it?" he sighed.

"You had to go and stand there like you were dressed for a blizzard, and I worked really hard for this, just let me have my moment with Sexy Santa over here," Maya shrugged. He was so close to losing control of his smile, descending into laughter. "Come on, ask me if I've been a good girl this year," she tapped his chest with a nod.

"I am never going to be able to keep a straight face after I put on the suit and get out there with the kids," Lucas scratched at his beard with a small laugh.

"All the better to make you jolly," Maya ran with this.

"Alright, fine, whatever you want. But we have that show you wanted to watch, and I'm going to be cold."

"Good thing you've got me there to warm you up," she led him out toward the stairs. Her jingling feet beckoned the dogs, who crowded around them on their way to the living room.

TO BE CONTINUED

See you tomorrow! - mooners