A/N: Okay, I give up. I'll just stop making any detailed outlines for chapters. They don't seem to work out anyway. Once again, I planned this chapter with a clear intention of how I wanted it to go. And then I started writing and everything went in a completely different direction. A lot of the dialogue in this chapter has been taken from the episode "Girl Meets Home for the Holidays". I changed some of it to make it fit better into my story. Anyway, I hope you like it. Feel free to leave a review and let me know what you think :)

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the Girl Meets World characters.

Piece by Piece

But piece by piece, he collected me

"But piece by piece, he collected me up

Off the ground, where you abandoned things"

Maya Hart had never been one for traditions. Holidays and birthdays were nice and all, the girl had just never been especially fond of either. Her mother often had to work anyways, so Maya had no real preference about where she spent them either. That's how, in the past, she had found herself at the Matthews' home – either their apartment in New York or the house in Philadelphia – on some of these occasions more often than not. Labor Day, 4th of July, Easter or Thanksgiving – all of these days didn't mean much to the thirteen-year-old girl other than giving her the opportunity to spend even more time with her "adopted family". Christmas, however, was an entirely different story.

Christmas meant a lot to both Katy and Maya Hart. After Kermit's departure and with Katy's increasing work hours, the two girls had started to grow apart. Katy did her best to be as involved in her daughter's upbringing as she could but it was difficult and she was really glad that they had found kind and caring people in Topanga and Cory Matthews, who were willing to help them out in any way they could. After that one faithful day when Maya was five years old, the little girl spent more and more times with her best friend's family and slowly became a part of it. Even Katy herself, over time, opened up to the older Matthews – Topanga especially – and the two women became good friends. While at first it was just Maya who spent a lot of time at their home, the invitation gradually expanded to Katy as well and she often stayed for dinner when she came to pick Maya up after work. However, there was one day in the year that belonged strictly to the Hart girls.

Katy tried her best to avoid having to take the Christmas shift, so she could spend most of the day with her beloved daughter. They woke up early in the morning on Christmas Eve, put on ridiculously festive holiday sweaters and spent the morning in the kitchen baking cookies together with Christmas songs playing in the background – all the while making a mess of the room and covering each other with flour and cookie dough. After having some sandwiches for lunch, the girls would spend the afternoon decorating their tree – a collection of all kinds of different ornaments hanging from the branches at the end of the process. While Katy went out to pick up their pre-ordered Christmas dinner, Maya would decorate the rest of their apartment. Afterwards, they would eat dinner and talk about God knows what before retiring to the couch to watch a Christmas movie marathon while drinking delicious hot chocolate and wearing Christmas pajamas. At some point, Maya would always fall asleep on her mother's lap. Katy could never bring herself to wake up her baby girl, so eventually, she would dose off as well. The girls would wake up the next morning completely well-rested and content. They would gather around the tree and open presents – it was never much but they didn't care. It was both Katy and Maya's favorite day of the year.

This year however, those plans had changed. Katy hadn't been able to get out of working the Christmas shift, too many of her co-workers had called in sick with the flu. Both Hart girls were sad at first because it meant their traditional Christmas day wouldn't happen. The Matthews got wind of that and invited the girls to spend Christmas at their place: Maya could stay the whole day and Katy could join them as soon as she got off work. They had been invited the years before as well, but this was the first year they had accepted the invitation. It was not their usual quiet night in – since the whole Matthews clan would be coming from out of town – but maybe it would be equally as nice, just in a different way.

"Okay, baby girl," Katy started as she put the finishing touches on her waitress outfit. "Do you have everything? Your new super cute Rudolf sweater?"

"Check," Maya said gesturing to the sweater she was already wearing over a long-sleeved shirt.

"Our favorite home-made Christmas cookies?"

"Check." Maya carefully shook the box she was already holding.

"Presents for everybody – at least as many as you can carry." Katy looked at her daughter struggling with the heavy bag. "Don't worry, I'll bring the rest. And I'll definitely drop you off, Santa's little helper."

"Check," Maya repeated giggling. "And thank you."

Katy laughed out loud. "Okay. I'm really sorry, baby girl, but I have to get going now. I'll try to get off from work as soon as I possibly can and head right over to the Matthews. I've got my change of clothes and the rest of our presents right here."

"It's okay, Mom." Maya gave her a small smile. "I know it's not your fault you have to work today. But at least we'll spend the evening together."

"That's the Christmas spirit, baby girl!" Katy grinned. "And I'm sure you'll have so much fun at the Matthews' you won't even notice I'm not there."

"Yeah," Maya said doubtfully. Who was she kidding? it was Christmas Eve. She was already missing her mother and she hadn't even left yet. But there was no use in making her mother feel even worse than she already did when there was nothing either of them could do to change it.

"Topanga said something about Cory's parents and Josh coming as well." Katy winked at her daughter.

"It's been a while since we saw them." Maya took a moment to think.

"Yeah, it's been quite a while. Not counting your impromptu visit, of course," Katy teased.

"Ugh," Maya groaned. "Yeah, not one of my finest hours." And it really hadn't been. After coming clean to Amy, they had immediately called Katy. And not a second too soon. Maya's mother had been beside herself with worry when she realized that Maya hadn't come home after school and all her friends were convinced that she was home sick with the flu. She had driven down to Philadelphia and – after making sure that Maya was indeed save and sound – she was positively fuming with anger. However, she did give her daughter the chance to explain her reason for leaving the state and – after listening patiently – her anger had disappeared. Oh, not to worry, Maya had received the grounding of her young life, but the punishment was a lot less severe than it could have been. Katy understood her daughter's reasoning and – after hearing how much of a disappointment her visit with her father had been – she was rather sad for her daughter than angry at her.

"No, it really wasn't." Katy chuckled. They had put that little episode behind them and were now even able to laugh about it. "Okay, baby girl, you have everything?" Maya nodded. "Then let's get going!"

Maya waved goodbye to her mother as she made her way up to the steps, careful not to drop anything. Balancing the bag with the presents and the cookie box, she struggled to ring the bell.

"Shawn?" Cory's excited voice came through the speaker.

"Maya!" the girl called back cheerily.

"Shawn?" Cory repeated.

"Oh, what's the matter? Your boyfriend's not here yet?" Maya teased.

"He's not my boyfriend!" Cory shouted back childishly before letting her inside.

"I don't even think he exists!" Maya called as she stumbled across the threshold. "Could somebody give me a hand, please?"

"I'm coming, Peaches!" Riley rushed over and took the bag from her. "God, what do you have in here? Bricks?"

"Yes, exactly. Mom and I got you guys bricks for Christmas." Maya laughed. "Who knows, maybe your Dad's imaginary boyfriend is in there somewhere. Let's take a look, shall we?"

"He's real, Maya! I've known the guy my whole life and he's real!" Cory said pointedly.

"You're fun to play with," Maya teased. "Of course, he's real. I even met him once, remember."

"Oh right," Cory said remembering the incident.

"What exactly is the deal on your mysterious Uncle Shawn?" Maya asked her best friend. "He didn't seem so mysterious."

"I don't see him a lot," Riley explained. "I don't think he likes me."

"Riley!" Cory exclaimed.

"How could not like you?" Maya asked confused. The one time she had met the man, he had seemed like a pretty decent guy. And judging by what she knew about his and Cory's relationship, there had to be really good reason for him to behave weirdly towards his best friend's daughter.

"Ask him and let me know." Riley shrugged and the girls went back to finish decorating the Christmas tree. Just then the speaker beeped.

"Shawn?" Cory asked excitedly.

"No, it's your parents," Alan's voice came through the speaker.

"Rats," Cory exclaimed. Maya and Riley shot each other amused grins.

"Let me explain how a speaker box works," Alan started but was quickly interrupted by Amy.

"These days are important to me Alan. How much of a fiasco do you think it's gonna be?" Topanga let out an outraged huff and Cory shot her an apologetic look.

"Let me explain to you how a speaker box works," Alan repeated.

"Hideous already!" Cory said to Topanga.

"How about I throw this pot at you?" Topanga asked with said pot in her raised hand. Maya looked between the two as if they were a tennis match. Apparently, something had happened before she had arrived. She would definitely ask Riley about that later.

Meanwhile, Cory turned to the 'Cory and Shawn 4-evah' ornament that hung on their tree every year. "They don't think your real, but I know you are." He got interrupted by Topanga actually throwing the pot at him. Maya and Riley quickly ducked but Cory caught it with ease. "She tried to hurt you, Shawn," he told the ornament. Riley and Maya just rolled their eyes at his antics.

The doorbell rang and Auggie quickly raced across the room to open it. "Grandpa! Grandma!" he greeted Alan and Amy happily.

"Here's ten bucks. Like me better," Alan greeted the little boy while handing him the money.

"Ok," Auggie agreed.

"Here's cookies," Amy said and handed the boy a plate of cookies.

"Thanks." Auggie smiled politely and took the plate. "Here's ten bucks."

"Well, that's how you do that," Amy teased her husband and walked inside.

"Riley! Maya!" Alan called and hugged the two girls while Amy went over to Topanga to ask her about the dinner. Both Riley and Maya knew good enough to stay well out of the two Matthews women's way. Instead they opted to sit down at the table while Amy started to make herself at home in the kitchen with a nervous/pissed looking Topanga hot on her heels.

"Oh, wow, look at all these kids," Alan said as he hung his coat on the rack by the door. "See, it wasn't that long ago I had kids around the house."

"Yeah, just this morning, wasn't it, Dad?" A tall, brown-haired young man asked as he entered the apartment.

"Oh, yeah, yeah. You." Alan teased and the young man slowly made his way into the living room.

"Boing!" Maya said with a big grin, remembering the new nickname. The blonde was really happy to see her friend again. They hadn't seen each other since her impromptu trip to Philadelphia a few months ago and these feelings that had started to surface back then were beginning to resurface right then and there in the Matthews' kitchen.

"That's my uncle, Maya," Riley reminded her best friend with a nervous chuckle.

"Sweet, I would be your aunt," Maya joked and Riley shot her an alarmed look.

"Joshie!" Auggie suddenly exclaimed, realizing his favorite uncle was finally here. The five-year-old took off and rushed across the room.

"Auggie!" Josh called. He made his way towards his little nephew, quickly caught him and set him on his shoulders. "Come here."

"I love it up here," Auggie giggled as he made himself comfortable on his uncle's shoulders.

"My brother," Josh greeted Cory.

"My brother," Cory played along with their usual greeting. "How is it possible we're brothers," Cory joked as they bumped fists.

"Because …" Josh started while turning to his dad. "It's a surprise!"

"Stop doing that," Alan told him with a warm smile.

"Oh, Dad's so proud of himself," Josh explained as he put an arm around his dad's shoulders. "He gets in the movies for like a quarter." Josh put Auggie down on the couch and turned to the remaining members of the family he hadn't greeted yet.

"Uncle Josh!" Riley called and went to hug her uncle.

"Riley!" Josh hugged his niece tightly.

"Uncle Josh!" Maya repeated and threw her arms around the boy as well.

"Um, I'm not your uncle, Maya." Josh shot her a confused look and patted her back a bit awkwardly.

"Even better." Riley pulled Maya away from the boy and the blonde shot him a cheeky grin.

"I'd say it's been a while," Josh said echoing his words from their last meeting.

"Sure has," Maya played along.

"Well, still gorgeous." Josh quickly stepped away to greet his sister-in-law, all the while blushing and rubbing his neck nervously.

Maya stood there rooted in her spot. A pleased smile once again spreading across her face. "You are not going to be my aunt!" Riley told her with a stern look on her face.

"I can't here you," Maya started singing as she hopped back to her former place at the kitchen table.

A short while later, the women were in the kitchen taking care of dinner with the girls sitting at the table to keep them company. The men and boys had stolen themselves some of the appetizers and had made themselves comfortable on the couch. The door was still open and a tall man with a beard was quietly entering the apartment, making sure none of the other men realized he was there. The women and girls in the kitchen shot him an amused glance and he just put his finger over his lip, silently asking them to keep quiet. He walked around the couch and took a seat next to Auggie.

"Gee, Cor. I thought you'd be more excited to see me," he said simply.

Cory spun around to his best friend. "Yay!" he called and tackled Shawn in a hug, almost crushing Auggie who was still seated in between them. "I told you he was real!" he called to Maya who just chuckled in response.

The five-year-old finally scrambled free. "I'm lucky I'm alive!" he called and walked into the kitchen to his mother and grandmother who greeted him with matching smiles.

"So, that's us, huh?" Maya asked her best friend while still looking at Cory and Shawn.

"So I've been told," Riley said.

"Hey Shawn." Josh stood up to greet the older man. "Am I cooler than you yet?"

"Ugh, not yet," Shawn shrugged. "But I'm getting nervous." He enveloped the younger guy in a hug before turning to greet the lady of the house.

"Hey Mrs. Cory."

"Hey Mr. Cory." They embraced as well, and Cory stood up from his seat to put a hand on both their shoulders.

"You two," he started. "How great is this? My favorite person in the world … and my wife!"

Topanga turned to look at the girls who had to bite their tongues so they wouldn't start laughing. "My whole life!" Shawn greeted the two elder Matthews next before turning to the girls.

"Hi Uncle Shawn," Riley greeted.

"Hi again." Maya gave the man a smile.

"Yeah, hey Riley." He smiled nervously at the brown-haired girl. "And hey again Miss apparently-still-not-Josh's-girlfriend-at-least-not-yet." Maya laughed out loud and Riley shot her a panicked look but before Maya could retaliate, Shawn had given them one more nervous nod and went back to Cory.

Maya turned to her best friend with a sceptic expression. "Yeah, hey Riley?"

"It's getting better," she assured her. "Last time, it was just …" Riley proceeded to do an awkward nod.

"That's weird," Maya agreed. "Maybe he's just not a big talker.

And at that moment Shawn just had to go and prove her wrong. "Cor, time to talk. We've got a lot to catch up on."

Riley got a very sad look on her face and Maya put her arm around her best friend's shoulder while leading her towards their bay window. "Don't worry. There has to be some story behind his behavior. We're going to figure it out and make everything better."

And that's exactly what they did. After spending time with Shawn, the girls realized that he didn't behave so weirdly because he didn't like Riley. The exact opposite was actually the case. He loved Riley very much – just as much as he loved her parents. The reason he was never around and behaved weirdly the few times he was, was because he loved them so much. He wanted Riley to have the undivided attention from both of her parents and he didn't know exactly how he could fit into the picture. Also, seeing their happy family reminded him of what he wasn't lucky enough to have yet. So, apparently not seeing them on a regular basis was just easier. But now there was hope. He and Cory had had a long talk and were able to clear the air. Maybe, things would actually change for the better.

Furthermore, over the course of this Christmas Eve Maya had realized that she and Shawn actually had quite a lot in common. They were both restless spirits who wanted to see the world. Both of them were awfully stubborn and insanely protective of their respective best friend. They had a similar sense of humor that enabled them to banter endlessly. Maya had to admit, she was beginning to really like the guy. She would have happily left it at that but her meddling best friend apparently had other ideas.

"Wait, what are you doing?" Maya asked as Riley dragged her inside to take a seat next to Shawn at the bay window.

"Ask him about his parents," Riley instructed. She talked with Cory in hushed tones for a moment.

"Cory, what's going on?" Shawn asked nervously.

"Riley, what are you trying to do here?" Maya chimed in.

"You got this buddy," was all Riley and Cory had to say before leaving the room.

"Okay fine," Maya relented. If there was one thing she knew about her best friend, it was that there was no way they would get out of here before at least attempting to do as she wished. "So, what about your parents?"

"Okay fine, um," Shawn started. "My Dad was in and out half the time."

"My Mom works a lot," Maya admitted.

"My Mom took off when I was a kid," Shawn said.

"My Dad has another family." Maya looked at her knees sadly.

"I would never let anyone grow up like that," Shawn said adamantly.

Maya raised her eyes and looked at Shawn with a curious look in her eyes. "You wouldn't?"

"No." He shook his head.

"Oh," Maya said and looked down again. "You wouldn't?"

"No!" Shawn repeated firmly and both of them were quite for a bit.

"You still like long stories?" Maya asked, referring to their first meeting a couple of months ago. She wasn't even sure if Shawn would remember.

"I do," Shawn smiled. Apparently, he did.

"That day we met, I went to Philadelphia – on my own – to see my father," Maya admitted.

"How did you know he was there?" Shawn asked.

"My friend Farkle found his address for me," Maya explained.

"Oh yeah, Minkus' son. I just had the pleasure of meeting him." Shawn smirked. "I guess he was looking for you and Riley."

"I know, I was right outside the window the entire time," Maya reminded him.

"Right. Well, continue."

"Oh yeah. Anyway, I got up all the courage I had and knocked on his front door. I was greeted by his daughter – her name's Kaya. She looks a lot like me, her best friend's name is Miley for God's sake. She's like a little mini me. When my father finally came to the door, I didn't know what to expect – but it wasn't what happened then. He wasn't happy but he wasn't angry either – he was just so cold and emotionless. Like me being there meant literally nothing to him. He said that I seemed to be doing fine without him and that he had his own family just like I had mine. He didn't want me." Silent tears fell from Maya's eyes as she told her story.

The girl waited for Shawn to say something – for him to try to cheer her up by saying something optimistic and meaningless. But he didn't. He just put his arm around the blonde and hugged her tightly. Of course, he knew what to do. He had gone through almost the exact same thing.

"Does it ever get any easier?" Maya asked with a small voice.

"It takes a while," Shawn admitted. "But eventually it does. You realize that – even though you're missing one parent – you still have a lot of people in your life who care about you. I don't know about your Mom …"

"She's the best Mom I could ask for," Maya admitted. "She has to work a lot in order to support us, so she doesn't have that much time for me. I didn't understand it as a kid – I thought she was abandoning me, too – but I'm beginning to now. She always makes sure I'm taken care of and tries her best to give me a good life."

"See," Shawn pointed out. "You have your Mom, and the whole Matthews clan – having them is a real blessing, I know what I'm talking about – and, if you want, you have me."

"Really?" Maya asked. "You don't have to, you know. Just because I'm Riley's best friend doesn't mean …"

"I want to, Maya," Shawn assured her and Maya couldn't help it. The girl started crying once more. She remembered the words she had said to her father. That she wanted someone to want to be in her life. And now, it seemed like she was getting exactly that. It was too good to be true. "Did I say something wrong?" Shawn asked with a panicked voice.

"No, you said exactly the right thing." Maya smiled through her tears and Shawn smiled back.

After Maya had calmed down enough so Riley wouldn't freak out when she saw her, she and Shawn went back out to the rest of the family. They were all gathered in the living room, ready to start watching Christmas movies. Pillows, and blankets had been brought out, so everyone could get comfortable in front of the TV. The adults were sat on the couch and two armchairs while the kids had built themselves a pillow fort on the floor. The grandparents had taken over the armchairs, so Shawn joined Cory and Topanga on the couch. Maya took a free spot in front of Shawn with Riley and Auggie sitting on her left and Josh sitting on her right. Right then, the doorbell rang announcing the last guest for tonight.

"Don't get up," Maya said to Cory. "I'll get it."

A short while later, Katy Hart entered the apartment looking exhausted but still deliriously happy. She had changed her waitress outfit into something more comfortable – some leggings and her oversized Christmas sweater with a big snowman matching Maya's Rudolf one perfectly – and had the rest of their presents with her in a big bag. "Merry Christmas, everybody!" she called before enveloping her daughter in a hug. "Merry Christmas, baby girl," she whispered.

"Merry Christmas, Mom. I'm so glad you're finally here." Maya gave her mother the biggest smile.

"Me, too baby girl. Me, too," she murmured. "And I have great news. Brenda felt really bad for making me work today."

"You got a raise?" Maya asked with wide eyes."

"Maya, I said she felt bad, nothing about a personality change." Katy laughed. "She gave me New Year's off!"

"No way!" Maya exclaimed and hugged her mother once more.

"That's great, Katy!" Topanga chimed in. "We're having a little party. Are you interested in joining us?"

Katy looked at her daughter who just gave her a wide grin. "We'd love to, Topanga. Thank you."

"Well, now that that's all taken care of; Maya, Katy get your butts over here!" Cory called. "Let's start the movie?"

"What are we watching?" Katy asked as Maya dragged her over to the couch. While Maya quickly took back her old spot, Katy greeted everyone and took a seat on the couch – right behind her daughter with Cory and Topanga on her left and Shawn on her right.

"We're watching The Santa Clause," Auggie explained.

"And Dad really likes this movie," Riley chimed in.

"He doesn't just like this movie," Shawn corrected while looking at the newest addition to their group curiously. "He loves it. Every Christmas it's his personal highlight. Christmas is not complete without this movie."

"You're exaggerating, Shawnie!" Cory claimed.

"I really wish I was, Cor," Shawn laughed.

"But sadly, he is not," Topanga chimed in an gave her husband a little push.

"I don't think we've met before," Katy said as she looked at Shawn more closely.

"No, I don't think we have," he agreed with a charming smile. "Shawn Hunter."

"Katy Hart." The two of them shook hands and maybe – just maybe – held on a little longer than necessary. Maya gave Riley an alarmed look but her best friend just grinned.

"It's really nice to meet you," Shawn said. "And I have to say, you have a really great kid here." Shawn patted Maya's head affectionately.

Katy looked at her daughter with an adoring look. "I know," she said as she leant down to kiss the top of her daughter's head.

And Maya? Maya was sitting there with a big goofy grin on her face. Maybe, piece by piece, step by step, things really would get better.