Chapter 105
Well Wishes

It was just as well that she'd been able to take something to help with the pain. For one, it ensured that she got some sleep that night, the better to prepare her for the next day. Oh, it wasn't bad, not at all. But, well…

First and foremost, she had the boys to think about. Elliott and Noah were both too small to grasp that their mother had to take things slow for a while. They were little sweethearts, and to some degree they understood that something was different, but they were toddlers, and they had energy to spend. Lucas brought them over to their room, lifted them on to the bed, and at once they wanted to go and be held by her. Maya did her best to fill that order without having them make things worse without knowing it. The worst offenders after her fall were her back, the leg she'd slipped on, and her shoulder where she'd landed. The fact that she hadn't broken, sprained, or dislocated anything was nothing more than luck, if they could call it that.

The parent train wasn't long delayed after that, and it didn't come the way they would have had it come. In all the activity of the previous night, they had completely forgotten that they were expecting the Hunter Harts for breakfast, all the better to introduce the little Hunters to Whiskey and Shadow. If that wasn't enough, as they were sometimes wont to do, Maya's parents ended up plotting to surprise them by suggesting to Lucas' parents that they come and join them, too. So, while Lucas was in the midst of preparing a breakfast tray to bring up the stairs, the doorbell rang and stalled him where he stood. The memory of the incoming visitors found its way out of the clutter and shot right back into his head. Oh, no… He hurried from the kitchen and toward the door, passing through a mess of curious cats and dogs and spotting two more adult heads through the window than he'd expected to find. Oh, no, no…

"Long night with the wild house?" Shawn teased him, seeing as they all would that he wasn't dressed yet, still in his pajama pants, hair as yet untamed.

There was not much to be done for it except to contain things as much as possible. So, he let them in, which at once detached Nellie, Gracie, and MJ from the group as they spotted the cats and moved to meet them properly. There was still little Alex, in his father's arms, but the boy appeared to be waking from a car ride nap. Meanwhile, Lucas was now looking to the four parents standing inside the door, and he had to make use of the time they had apart from the little kids.

"I'm so sorry, we completely forgot you were coming today," he spoke quietly. "Last night, when we were finishing up with the boys' bath, Noah got away from us, and Maya managed to catch him, but then she slipped and fell, and she guarded him from getting hurt, but she took the brunt of it. They're both fine, we went to the ER, and Noah's a hundred percent good. Maya's going to be sore a while and she's resting, but nothing's broken. She's upstairs now, with the boys."

It was only due to the fact that she heard the voices from below that Maya was able to prepare herself for the arrivals rather than to have them all burst into the room to catch her unawares. She heard them though, and like Lucas she had the moment of sudden reawakening, of remembering what today had been supposed to be before the whole bathroom incident the night before. So, that accounted with her knowing her parents and siblings were in the house and on their way up, but there were more steps than she felt there should be and that tipped her off to the additional presence… That would be Lucas' parents, too, and here she was, feeling like a ragdoll who'd been tossed down the stairs. She took a few deep breaths as she worked to pull herself into a seated position, all the while minding Elliott and Noah by her side, who might see this as an invitation to climb or jump on to her.

They supposed it would have been worse if she had been hurt more than she was. As it was, Shawn, Katy, Thomas, and Melinda could all see for themselves that she was in one piece, not a bandage in sight, just body sore and feeling awkward. So they helped her get through breakfast without alerting the little kids to any sort of trouble, and they eventually departed earlier than they might have done if everything had been fine.

As a bonus, the Friars took their grandsons out on some errands with them, the better to allow Lucas to get things done around the house while Maya rested on the couch. That wasn't half bad, truth be told. As she lay there, watching television, the cats came along. Shadow found her way on the armrest at the end where Maya's feet were, and upon meeting no resistance she climbed down and rested in the space between those feet and the back of the couch, curled up warm against Maya's ankles. And then Whiskey came and observed her new human friend in such a way that Maya reached down her good arm and helped pull her up until she could rest with her, too, right where the cat could receive grateful and gentle scratches. It was the first time Maya really came to appreciate the sound of purring.

Juliet Stapleton arrived in early afternoon, two days after the encounter at the hospital, which was more or less when Lucas had figured she'd come around. After two nights and nearly two days of resting and pacing herself, Maya was already feeling greatly improved compared to what she'd been after the fall. She would still need – optimistically – a good week to feel like the whole incident was well behind her, but the small bit of progress she'd already gained was exactly what she needed to illuminate that horizon where she would be better.

Lucas had been taking the boys out on 'nature walks,' which were really just more extensive trails on the land around their house, and the lake, and the lane, and the Sanderson Farm further on, all so to give more opportunities to Maya for her to rest. This was a mutually beneficial exercise, as it granted him many hours with their sons, watching them interact with the world around them. Whenever he could, he would allow Elliott to walk and run around, and he would give Noah chances to put his new walking skills to trial, all the while keeping hold of one or both of his hands. He would manage to make a game of it, as his father would have both of his hands and he would let himself drop, all the better to swing about and laugh as Lucas would try and get him to stand again. Noah would just keep bending his legs so that his feet wouldn't get there.

They were back out in front of the house that afternoon, and while Lucas sat on the grass with Noah in his lap, Elliott ran circles around them, laughing madly as Trix and Lou would try – and succeed repeatedly – to catch him. Lucas spotted the truck coming up the lane, and once it passed the Oswalds' house, he began trying to see if he knew the driver, if they were coming here.

"Hey, Elliott, come here," Lucas called to his older son, reaching for him. He came dashing along at once, and the dogs followed. They all stayed with him as the truck turned toward the house and slowed to a stop next to Lucas' car. As Lucas got up, one boy in either arm, Juliet stepped out of the truck and approached them with a glowing smile. He set Elliott back on his feet, and he took a few steps toward the stranger.

"Look how big you are now, goodness," Juliet crouched in front of him. She had that look most people got who had known either Maya or Lucas when they were little when they met either one of their sons. They both had so much of both their parents in them that there was plenty for them people to pick out and recognize. For someone like Juliet Stapleton, it would go further. She would see a lot of Lucas in them, but she'd pick out a lot of Melinda, too, who she'd known since they were both teenagers, and more than likely she'd see some echo of Marianne Sullivan in them, too. And to someone who'd held the woman in so much esteem… That trace of familiarity was more valuable than they could ever expect.

When they went inside, Maya was just recently awakened from a nap. On the whole, this wasn't exactly how she would have preferred to meet the woman who ran Sullivan Stables, but Juliet drew no attention whatsoever to the situation except to ask how she was doing. Soon, they were just sitting around the living room, Maya and Lucas on the couch, Elliott with his father, Noah with his mother. In the armchair, Juliet found herself a furry little friend as Shadow came and climbed into her lap and was welcomed to remain.

In no time, Juliet was being given a more detailed account of the couple's history than she'd known up to now, from their meeting in school, becoming friends and then starting to date out there, then moving to Houston for college, only to return to Austin just ahead of surprise baby Elliott's birth. The tale took a detour by way of the Kermit story, his leaving Katy and Maya, his return in their lives, the illness, the loss, even as they were about to welcome another surprise baby so close to the first. Lucas confirmed how he had been studying to become a veterinarian, had done so until they'd found themselves pregnant the second time and they'd been forced to consider what the future would look like for the both of them, the way they'd been headed.

Juliet looked lost in thought after they told her about that decision, that change of course which took Lucas from working toward one degree, one career, and instead taking on a brand new one, business oriented, the better to join his father's career and to work alongside him. Seeing that look in her eyes, Lucas almost felt like he was looking at his grandmother, like he had broken his word to her, and he was seeing her response. It was the first and only time when he felt sort of bad for the choice he'd made, and as soon as Juliet saw that, she shook her head at him so he might be reassured. She wasn't disappointed in him, not in the slightest. She understood why he'd done it, and she genuinely respected the way he'd comprehended and devoted himself to those priorities he should have kept to. His family came first, his wife and their little sons. Whatever she might have been keeping to herself, it couldn't have been near as important as that.

"I do hope you'll come by the ranch sometime," she told Lucas and Maya, turning a smile to Elliott and Noah. "You, too," she spoke sweetly.

"We will," Lucas promised her. Just to imagine his curious boys with all those horses… If introducing them and Maya to this place that his grandmother had built up would finally bring him back to it, oh… The more he thought about it, the more he knew he didn't just want it; he needed it in his life.

It wouldn't happen right away of course, especially while Maya continued to rest up from her fall. As much as the incident seemed to have brought their lives to a grinding halt, the days were still moving forward, and the start of the fall semester was getting closer and closer. Maya may not have been going around like nothing had happened yet, and she wouldn't go out and about unless she really needed to, the better to put more chances on her side for the first day of the semester, but once she got to the point where she felt she could go back to work, she went back.

"Do you want to come with me to the bookstore tomorrow?" Lucas asked as he drove them both to the mall. She looked at him. "I don't mean my bookstore, the university one, for our textbooks?"

"Oh… Right," she laughed. "I don't see why not. I do have this very nice husband who will carry those for me, don't I?"

"You do, you do," he confirmed with a smile.

"Exactly, so that's settled."

Lucas walked her all the way to her store, as she'd imagined he would. He would come back and meet her for their lunch break. Inside the store, Maya was met with her co-workers, all of them taking the time in their own way to ask after her wellbeing. She'd been forced to take up some sick days she would have rather not, so now that she was back it was hard not to come in like she had something to gain back.

When she went in the back to put away her bag and pull on her apron, she found an envelope in her locker with a sticky note on the front. She recognized Beverly the cashier's handwriting before she read it. Someone was looking for you while you were out. When she found out about your injury, she left this for you. She understood that pretty well before she ever opened the envelope, too. It didn't diminish the effect of finding the drawing from Stella, signed in the bottom corner along with 'get well soon.' The girl had gone and drawn herself and Maya both, smiling as they might have done if someone had taken a picture of them. She'd captured Maya's smile very well, and as to her own… Stella Buckley, for what Maya knew of her, wasn't one for big, toothy smiles. Hers were smaller, more guarded, but when she'd flash one of those, there was no mistaking whether or not it was as genuine as could be. It pulled at Maya's heart to see it, and she wished she could thank the girl right there and then.

She would spend the day keeping an eye out in case Stella showed up, but the day ended and there'd been no sight of her. Just in case she might come on a day where she wasn't working, Maya went ahead and told Beverly to let Stella know when she'd be working again and tell her that if she was able to come to the store at one of those times, she'd want to thank her in person. She'd considered offering for Beverly to give her number, but it might have been weird for her to do that, minding that Stella was as young as she was.

The message became unnecessary, as the next day Maya worked started with her finding the girl bent over her sketchbook, sitting outside the store until it opened, as she'd done so many times. Maya stopped next to her, and Stella finally noticed the presence before looking up. The way her face lit up to find her there…

"You're back!" she moved to stand up, and for a moment she looked like she wanted to hug Maya and thought against it. Maya thought this might have been for not feeling like she should, but then she was looking her over like she was looking for something and Maya guessed she was looking for where she was hurt. So, she gave her a brief rundown of what had happened, sparing her the details and sticking to the main points.

"Anyway, I'm mostly all good now. Still aches a bit, but nothing I can't handle," she promised, and Stella looked glad. "I wanted to say thank you for that drawing you gave me. It was really beautiful."

"Yeah?" Stella asked.

"Wouldn't say it if I didn't believe it," Maya nodded. The girl received this with such a shy but happy smile. "So, you must be starting school soon, too, huh? Do you like school? You'll be in, what, seventh grade?"

"I don't go to school," Stella shook her head. "I mean, I do, but not in a school, just at home. I have a tutor, she's nice."

"Oh…" Maya nodded. That one small bit of information felt as though it filled in a big part of her growing image of Stella Buckley as it had been coming together since she met her. To look at her, she could guess that she was very comfortable with her home schooling, very set in her ways. It was a stability which stretched into more of her life than just the time she spent in 'class.' It extended out to something like this, too, possibly, to coming out to the mall and waiting patiently outside the art store until it opened. "Is that where you learned how to draw?" she asked, pointing to the closed sketchbook as Stella pushed it back in her bag.

"No, I mostly learned by myself," Stella shrugged. "We just do normal subjects."

"No art class?" Maya couldn't help but ask. Stella shook her head. "Huh…" Maya considered this. "You know, that's what I'm studying to do? Teach art class? Actually, teach middle school art class," she added with a tip of the head to Stella, who smiled. She thought some more. "I could teach you… sort of," she spoke her thoughts again. "Unofficially, but… I don't know, it could be good, couldn't it?"

"You would?" Stella asked, and oh how her eyes got round, like not having an art class was the one thing she was missing in her current curriculum, in her life as a whole.

"I should probably run it by your parents before either of us commits to anything, yeah?" Maya reflected, and Stella nodded. "But if they say yes, I mean… It could be kind of great."

TO BE CONTINUED

See you next week! - mooners