A/N: Guest- I hear ya. This is a messy triangle-ish fic, so you'd probably have to be cool with either couple to want to read. I will say, you get Riley's reasons for supporting Lucaya in this chapter. Keep in mind, Joshaya have been divorced for over 10 years. No one has any reason to think they'd get back together at this point.

*Riley*

After staying up late texting with Eden, I finally wake up around nine o'clock. It's the weekend, so I don't have work, but I'm so used to being up early that I feel like I've missed half the day already. I walk downstairs to find Farkle and our four-year-old daughter Mira on the floor playing Scrabble, which seems weird for Mira's age, but you'd have to understand that she's like the smartest preschooler in existence.

"Good morning," I smile as I lean down to kiss them both.

"Look who finally decided to grace us with her presence," Farkle teases. "We were about to bring you breakfast in bed after we finished this game."

"I helped daddy make blueberry muffins," Mira adds proudly.

"Well, I'm sure they're the best blueberry muffins ever," I say as I hug her tightly while looking back to my husband. "I'm glad my texting didn't keep you up last night. Eden just really needed my help."

Mira frowns at me, "Is Eden okay?"

"She is wonderful," I assure. Mira adores (and really misses) Eden, so I don't want her thinking anything's wrong. It's just that I've been having some second thoughts about helping Eden play matchmaker for her mom. I want Maya to be truly happy, and I think she could've been happy with Lucas at one time, but that was years ago. What if this plan blows up in our faces?

"I drew Eden a picture to put in her new room," Mira tells me, "I'm doing one for Aunt Maya too. Wanna see?"

"Sure, I'd love to," I answer, and I watch her take off for the staircase with her long brown hair flying behind her.

Farkle and I stand up, and he sighs, "It's been hard, hasn't it? Getting used to life without Maya and the kids around?"

"Yeah," I answer sadly. Before Maya moved away, it was only a ten minute drive between our house and hers. We saw each other all the time. It never occurred to me that she might one day live in a whole different state.

"I'm happy for her though," I decide. "How could I not be? She got an amazing job opportunity, and she's worked so hard for it. I just hate the idea of her being alone in a new place, while we're back in New York, not able to help her if she needs something."

Farkle nods, "That's why you want to help Eden set her up."

I shrug, "It's part of it, I guess. Lucas was always a good guy. I know he'd take care of her. It just seems kind of like fate, you know? That they both moved to the same part of the country, that they got matched on a dating site...and this would be their first chance to actually be together. I was in the way the first time."

"Riley, none of that was your fault," Farkle assures. "We were teenagers. We all dated the wrong people. I even proposed to the wrong person."

I can't deny that the reminder still stings a little. I knew I had feelings for Farkle by the time he proposed to Smackle, right after graduation, but I would've never said anything while they were still together. Luckily, Smackle turned down the proposal...

"Farkle proposed?" I asked quietly as Smackle sat down between Maya and me at the bay window in my room. She'd just blurted it out in typical Smackle fashion, and I was reeling with shock and sadness.

"I said no," Smackle admitted. "We actually aren't even together anymore."

"What, why?" Maya wondered.

She sighed, "I love Farkle. I always will. I just realized that we don't want the same things long-term. I want to travel, and focus on building a career. He wants marriage and a family. Neither of us are going to change what we want, so it's best to just accept that our relationship has run its course."

I just stared at my friend in disbelief. A part of me was selfishly happy about this, but the other part hurt deeply for the pain that Farkle must've been in. I just wanted to find him, and tell him that it would all be okay.

But I also hurt for Smackle, because I knew it couldn't have been easy to let go of the guy she'd been with for so long.

I squeezed her hand, "Are you sure this is what you want? Like, completely sure?"

She nodded, "I want Farkle to be happy. I want that for you too, Riley."

With those words, I knew she was already aware of my feelings, and that she was giving me her blessing.

Several months after that conversation with Smackle, I contacted her again at Harvard to make sure (totally sure) she was okay with me and Farkle going out. I wanted to ask him to be my date for Maya and Josh's wedding. He was finally over their break-up, but I had to be certain I wouldn't end up in any more love triangles. Smackle promised me that she was fine with it. She'd moved on too, and was completely focused on her academics and all kinds of extracurricular stuff she was involved in.

So, Farkle and I went to the wedding together, and it was the start of a relationship that I wouldn't trade for the world...

The ceremony was beautiful. They originally wanted an outdoor wedding, but it was January, so they had it in a church instead. Maya looked absolutely gorgeous in white, while I wore a green bridesmaid's dress. Unfortunately, baby Eden spit up all over me and my new dress while I held her during the wedding, but Farkle insisted at the reception that I still looked beautiful.

"It's really not bad. You can barely see it," he said after I tried to clean myself up.

"I still probably smell horrible," I frowned.

"You're fine," he promised. "Come on, why don't we have a dance?"

I smiled a bit, and let him lead me to the dance floor. We slow danced for a few minutes, when he said, "I never thought I'd be here, you know. Riley Matthews' wedding date. Junior high me wouldn't have believed it."

I giggled, "Junior high me probably wouldn't either. I'm not sure where things changed. I just know...I don't see you as an ordinary friend anymore."

"I think some part of me never saw you as an ordinary friend," Farkle admitted. "I mean, I was happy with Isadora. We understood each other, and made each other feel safe. I did love her, but I think I confused it for being in love. The way I feel now, with you...it's different."

I smiled, "So, maybe we can do this date thing again sometime?"

He smiled back, then slowly leaned in to kiss me. That's when I knew in my heart that I'd really found the right person to spend my life with.

Farkle and I dated throughout college. Afterwards, he took over his father's company, and I started working as a kindergarten teacher. We got married, and moved to the suburbs. I miss the city sometimes, but I love having a big house with a backyard for Mira to run around in.

Mira was the last missing piece to make our family complete. I adored Maya's kids, and they made me long for a baby of my own. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to get pregnant, and was eventually diagnosed with something called ovarian insufficiency. Basically, my body ran out of eggs way before it was supposed to. It broke my heart to think that I might never be a mom.

We tried IVF with donor eggs, but it didn't take. Then, we had two adoptions fall through. I'd pretty much given up hope when we finally got the chance to adopt the most beautiful baby girl in the entire world, Miracle Cornelia Minkus. As soon as I held her for the first time, all my sadness and heartache was replaced by the most powerful love I've ever known. I knew she was meant to be my daughter.

Now, standing next to the fireplace with Farkle as he picks Mira up for her to show me her stick-figure drawings, I feel so lucky to have such a perfect little family.

We have my Uncle Josh over for dinner that night. He has a Manhattan apartment, but he's almost always away for work. The rare times I see him only cause me to worry about him. He looks so tired, and I can't help but wonder if his dream job is really just making him miserable these days.

"I'm just saying, you shouldn't put up with them ruining your vacations all the time," I tell him as we finish dinner. "They don't have the right to do that. When are you supposed to spend time with Hunter and Eden?"

"Never, if the bosses have their way," he sighs. "I'm so tired of letting the kids down. Maya's basically been raising them on her own, and I promised her that would never happen."

"Aunt Maya lives in Lose-Lowees-", Mira stops, and her green eyes squint in concentration while she tries to figure out how to pronounce Louisiana. She soon gives up, and says, "Aunt Maya lives in New Orleans. Eden and Hunter live there too. You can go live with them."

Sometimes, I wish the world were as simple as my daughter thinks it is. We haven't really taught her about divorce yet. She just assumes that moms and dads are supposed to live together, because hers do.

Josh just smiles at Mira, "That sounds like a plan, but I'm not sure your Aunt Maya would go for it."

"Actually, it's not a bad idea," Farkle comments. Josh and I both look at him in surprise, and he clarifies, "I mean, moving to New Orleans in general. With Josh's resume, he could get a job with any news station in the country. That would mean a pay cut, but money goes a lot further in Louisiana than New York. Then, he could see the kids whenever he wanted."

I turn to my uncle, "That makes a lot of sense. It's not like you need that ridiculous salary you have now. You've already got trust funds set up for the kids, their college is already paid for, you and Maya will easily be able to pay for any expenses that come up...why don't you just go focus on being a dad now?"

He's quiet, and I can tell that he's really considering what we're saying.

Farkle stands, and scoops Mira up, "Come on, sweetheart. You can help me with the dishes tonight." He lets her carry her own plate and glass, and takes the rest himself as they go off into the kitchen, leaving Josh and me alone.

He frowns, "You know, it seems like just yesterday that Eden was Mira's age. Then, I go off on a few assignments, and she's a teenager all of a sudden. I don't want to lose more time than I already have. I just don't know how Maya would feel about me moving to New Orleans."

"I don't see why she would have an issue with it," I reply. "You guys get along fine, don't you?"

"Yeah. I just don't want to upset things. I don't exactly have a good track record of decisions when it comes to Maya."

"You don't have a good track record with any woman," I point out. "But it's not because of who you are. It's that job. No woman wants to be left alone all the time. It doesn't matter how many gifts you shower her with, or how big your bank account is. I know with Maya, she just wanted you home."

He shakes his head, "I wish I'd realized that back then. I was just so concerned about making sure her and the kids could live comfortably, without ever worrying about money. I didn't realize I was putting everything else on her shoulders. Riley, I didn't even make it home in time for my son's birth."

"That wasn't your fault that your flight got delayed," I insist.

"No, but it's my fault for being stupid enough to leave town while my wife was nine months pregnant. You know that's the day she started talking about divorce? I didn't even take her seriously. I thought it was just the hormones."

I'm struck by the intense regret in my uncle's voice. All of this happened over a decade ago. I had no idea that he still blames himself for those mistakes. So, I can't help but wonder...

"Is there a part of you that's still hung up on Maya?" I ask quietly.

"Yeah, there is," he admits, "Be honest with me, Riles. If I quit this job, and move to New Orleans...do you think she'd give me another chance?"

I'm too shocked to answer, and I honestly don't know what to say anyway. I don't know what Maya would do.

I don't even know what I'm supposed to do with this information. My first instinct is to call Eden, and tell her to call off the whole matchmaking thing for now, but I can't explain the reason to her. I can't get her hopes up about her parents getting back together, only for them to be crushed in the end.

No, I have to take myself out of this situation. If Josh is actually serious about getting Maya back, he'll just have to go fight for her himself.

In the next chapter: Maya and Lucas meet again.