A/N: The new chapter of "We Three Hearts" is... not up yet, because I'm about to start writing it. I don't know if it will be up tonight or just tomorrow, but I will do my best. The reason for the delay is a good one though... I was finishing up the last chapters of THIS story, and I didn't want to jump between timelines :)

November 11th 2020

Chapter 316
Their Welcoming of a Year

It was difficult if not impossible not to wake up on December 31st and feel at least the tiniest bit contemplative of the year on its way out and the one ticking closer by the minute to come and replace it, starting from another blank slate. All that could be said about this was that, as of yet, there had been very few of those which left either Maya or Lucas to stop and think it had been a bad one, or at least just… not good. There had been the year when they'd had their accident, when her parents had not wanted the two of them to see one another because they held him responsible, and even then… much as it colored the tail end of that year, it could not be said to spoil all that had come before. And by the end of the following year, all was well once more.

As far as this year went, they looked upon 2028 as one of the good ones, the very good ones. True, it had started off with them playing hosts to the elder Friars after the fire, but then they were here, they were alive and healing, and spending that time together had actually been a good thing, for all those involved. From there, so much had happened, to them and between them, and their families, and their friends… Katy had gotten to fly to LA, to guest star on a TV show! When the night had come that her first of two episodes had aired, oh… It had been one of the most wonderfully surreal things any of them could have witnessed. When they had shown the scenes to the little Hunters, they'd all been beside themselves, seeing their mother on the screen. Sure, they'd known that she'd gone to do exactly that, but it didn't feel real, truly real, not until that exact moment.

There had been yet another Sleepster, and even if they had one every year, as was the plan, none of them would ever feel exactly as the last one had done, and that was what made them special. It was so rare that they all got to be together, and of course they hadn't all been together, but they had made the best of it. Next year… Next year they'd have to do what they could to get as many of them together as possible. This year though, it hadn't just been about the sleepover, had it? There was also the dress… And that was another thing that happened this year. Dylan's grand proposal, his and Riley's long-awaited wedding… They'd made it all happen in what could be considered a short time to a lot of people, but oh how it had been a success. Now, months later, there were whispers going around like they might have been close on the subject of kids, too, just as Maya and Lucas were. If they actually went and managed to get pregnant around the same time, oh… that would be some pretty amazing bit of chaos, and they sort of didn't hate the idea.

And Maya and Lucas, they'd celebrated their first wedding anniversary this year, yes, and it had a way of making it feel as though the memories of that day, near on a year and a half ago now, never had the chance to fade, not even a little. From there, they had not been far off from their self-imposed 'baby start line,' and even though they continued to wait for their big moment, the year had really been a busy one where it came to babies. They'd had Bertie Minkus, back in February, and Giulia Choi in August, and surprise of all surprises, Mia Babineaux in November. Though one was very far away and more often than not to be seen on a screen, the girls had been theirs to cradle and marvel at, both of them standing like arguments in the favor of patience and determination. They had not gotten to see Giulia on her first Christmas, as she and all four of her parents had gone out to Italy for a much-needed visit Chiara's family.

There had been little sort of isolated moments across the year, each of them memorable in their own ways, too. Trooper had come to live at the Sanderson farm and was thriving! They had planted pumpkins! Planted and grown and harvested them, and the whole thing had been such a simple yet rewarding experience that they already looked forward with great eagerness to the time when they'd get to plant their next batch. And then they'd had the trampoline, at the end of year party in the spring… Silly or not, it had been a long-standing dream, and it had come true. Of course, the trampoline had been theirs to keep, and while they didn't exactly use it all the time, it did not sit there gathering dust. Maya used it sometimes, she swore, as a sure-fire way of 'getting ideas moving' in her head.

And they'd gone to Hawaii! That had been… the unfortunate site of Sam and Cecilia's breakup, but at this point they doubted either one of them regretted any of that trip. They were doing well, both of them, together as friends and apart, one having gained a new friend and the other… well, things were going very well with the other and Dora, if anyone wanted to know, not that they'd claim there was anything actually going on… And it had been beautiful… truly beautiful… Maya had written so many wonderful songs out there…

And then there'd been everything with Ree… Technically, she and Maya had started on the album back last year, but the bulk of it had been recorded this year, in several sessions, each one as rewarding as the last, all of it culminating in an album which was now out in the world. It had been a little over a week now, but it was generating so much talk, positive talk, that it still felt like a dream. It was very real, and they would remember that moment in the car at Christmas, but… How could either of them have possibly envisioned any of it, back at the start of the year? How could they have imagined they'd now be looking forward to going on a world tour with Ree Forster over the coming summer? Of all the things that could ever have them seeking someone to pinch them…

Both of them had also seen much with regards to their respective careers, or at least… It was to expected that there would be so much more on Maya's side, as she was out there, a teacher, making things happen, but Lucas in no way felt short changed. He was moving forward, too, even if it took more time. He'd signed up for this after all. And every step which took him closer to the dream he had long ago cultivated with his grandmother, well… They were all important to him. And this year he had started to become more involved in the goings on at the ranch, especially with Trooper and his transfer to the Sanderson farm, but beyond that, too. It really made him appreciate why it was so necessary for him to go through each and every level on his way to being a veterinarian, to taking his place at Sullivan Stables.

Maya's years had never really stopped feeling as though they didn't simply start on January 1st and end on December 31st. No, more than that, her years started in September and ended in June, with something of a bridge in between. On one side of that bridge, she'd seen her first graduates through to the end, and as much as it had affected her emotionally she didn't regret it one bit. She would also remember their field trips, her and Lucas and all those kids. She would remember helping August Matthews open up and deal with the secrets that had weighed him down, even as she had to do some of this for Milena Janacek as well. She would remember dance lessons with Phoebe Munroe, and seeing her shy bird Stella Buckley go from lunches in the art room to lunches in the cafeteria, which might not have seemed such a big deal to most people, but to her, to them…

And now, on this side of the bridge, as she'd kicked off her second year of teaching, oh… New kids for her to get to know, that… that was bound to be a highlight every year from now on. Just as the ones she'd gotten to know over her first year, she had taken them all into that part of her heart that looked like her classroom. This year was the year of Helena, of Roman, and Khalil, and Rochelle, all her freshmen… And it was the year that Born Curious had clawed its way into the world from the ashes of the Basket Cases, and in such a short time that little group had gone and taken hold, the beginning of a legacy… She could see it already, and she would fight for it, for what it represented and what it could do. Part of her thought they might have benefited from having more than one team, but for now she could not see herself dividing her attention away from Helena, Ariel, Stella, or Rochelle.

Now they were about to start a brand-new year, all of them… And to come off of a year so loaded with memories as they'd had, oh… Would it be crazy to aim even higher?

"Is it just me, or is that snow?" Lucas spoke quietly, in the event that Maya had dozed off again, as they'd basked in a lazy start to the day, just the two of them while Sam was again back in Tucson with the Hart-Lanes.

"What?" Maya lifted her head, answering his question and startling him all at once. She looked out the window, and with a noise of surprise she dropped back to the mattress before turning about to face him. "Was this on the forecast?"

"They said it'd be cold," Lucas shrugged.

"Yeah, they weren't wrong about that," Maya shivered, burrowing herself closer to him, soon enveloped in arms glad to warm her. He heard and – by virtue of her face being just about at his chest – felt her laugh.

"What's up?" he asked, attempting to move hair off her face so he could see her.

"Just that a week ago we were hoping for some of this, and now here it is. Weird skies, always."

"Well, I know a bunch of kids who are going to be very happy about this today," Lucas smiled, which led to Maya looking up at him.

"What time is it?" she asked, and he peered past her to the alarm clock.

"Almost nine," he reported, and she hummed. "You wanted to be there when they saw it?" he guessed, to which she nodded. "Is there any chance that they haven't seen it yet?"

"Are you kidding? What do you think the odds are that not one of those kids had looked outside any one window in the… hour or more that they've been awake?" Maya asked, laughing.

"Alright, now that you mention it…" Lucas chuckled in return. "Yeah, they have to know by now. But hey… it doesn't mean that we can't do anything about it now, right?"

"Oh, no, now is definitely the part where we do something about it… It may involve shovels…" Maya nodded, and there was that spark in her eye he loved so much.

"I'm listening."

It wasn't as though they had been granted some great blizzard, but there was sufficient of a snow fall so that, by the time they left the house after breakfast and a quick walk with the dog, the snow was staying on the ground and accumulating enough that they needed boots rather than shoes.

Maya: Can you keep the kids away from the windows looking on to the backyard until I say so?

Katy: Okay.

Katy: Why?

Maya: You'll see.

Maya: Can you keep them away from the east side windows, too?

It was a longer process than anticipated, and by the end of it they were very glad for having thought to bring gloves. By the end of it, they had used the snow, both in the yard and a bit from the path leading to the yard on one side, to create outlines and numbers, ten squares, each with a number, counting down, until after the 1 there was a display looking like bursting fireworks around the number 2029. The finishing touch, which would only really be observable later on, in the evening, involved glow in the dark paint…

When the little Hunters had discovered Maya and Lucas had arrived, their excitement was only a kickoff to even more of it once they got a look at the yard. It was tempting for them to come up and touch the snow, but they were instructed to leave it be for the time being, and so they did. The snowfall was still going, but not nearly as much as before, and soon it had stopped altogether, which could have been said to be ideal, at least as far as preserving everything for that night.

At one point, after dinner, the kids had been sent off to bed, but only so that later on, with minutes to midnight, they could be awakened again, the better to participate in the countdown, as they always wanted to do. As they were led out into the yard again, the place looked very different from what it had been in the morning. Suddenly the colors in the snow were bright against the darkness of night.

"Alright, it's coming, are you ready?" Lucas asked the kids, who did not take long at all to understand what this was all for.

They came and stood together in front of the first square, and as they counted down from twenty, they waited, and waited, until they called 'ten!' and they rushed to hop on the first square. Then it was on to nine, and eight, and seven, and on and on, until the one, and then with a mighty leap they breached into the new year, their cheers joined by that of their parents, their older siblings, and the crack of real fireworks in the distance.

"What do you think? Are we going to top that old year?" Lucas quietly asked, leaning to his wife's ear. Maya smiled back at him.

"I don't see how we have a choice?" she declared, and he agreed with a nod and then a kiss. This would be a year they'd never forget, they could already feel it.

TO BE CONTINUED

See you tomorrow! - mooners