A/N: Thank you all for the positive feedback, I'm really happy you like this story so far. Here comes Chapter 5. You'll probably recognize a lot of the dialogue from "Girl Meets Master Plan". I felt that this episode included a lot of pivotal moments both for Maya and Shawn as well as for Shawn and Katy, so I just had to include it. However, I did change it a little bit to make it fit into my story. In the next chapter, I'll once again leave the plot of the show. Anyway, here we go. 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

He never walks away

"He never walks away/He never asks for money

He takes care of me/He loves me"

Maya Hart woke up with a big smile on her face. Yes, she never had been one for tradition and – except for Christmas – holidays and celebrations didn't mean much to her. Usually, the blonde wouldn't have cared that today was her 14th birthday but this year, something had changed. Over the last few weeks, she had learned that maybe – just maybe – hope really wasn't for suckers. Her Mom Katy and she had gotten along better than ever – they both made sure they were able to spend time together even with Katy's crazy work schedule – and Maya had found a new friend in Shawn Hunter. She still spent a lot of time with Riley and her family as well as another member of the Matthews family that had been visiting the Big Apple a lot more than usual – one Joshua Gabriel Matthews. So yes, her 14th birthday was actually something the blonde was looking forward to.

The day got even better when, just the girl was getting dressed, her phone started ringing. Brush still in hand, Maya answered the call without looking at the screen.

"Yeah?" she asked a bit distracted while trying to get the tangles out of her blonde waves.

"Well, good morning to you, too, birthday girl," a familiar voice laughed and Maya almost dropped her phone out of shock. She took the phone away from her ear and, sure enough, she wasn't imagining things.

"Josh?" she asked tentatively.

"The one and only." She could hear the grin in his voice. "Happy 14th, Maya."

"Thank you." A big smile spread across the blonde's face. "How do you know today's my birthday?"

"Oh, it was all part of a highly illegal, top secret master plan I came up with. It involved months of planning and the conduct was indeed very risky," Josh explained with a serious tone. "You know, I'd tell you but then I'd have to kill you. And I'd rather not do that."

"Riley told you," Maya concluded, amused by his playful banter.

"Pretty much," Josh admitted. Both teenagers laughed out loud.

"Thanks again, Josh. It means a lot to me that you called." Maya's heart welled up.

"My pleasure," Josh said. "Anyway, I don't want to keep you from all the other well-wishers. Have an amazing day, Maya. See you soon."

"Thanks, Josh." Maya smiled happily. "See you soon." The blonde hung up and finished getting ready with a huge grin on her face. So far, it seemed like her 14th birthday really be an amazing day.

At least it did until she entered the kitchen a little while later in search for her mother. Katy, however, was nowhere to be found. Instead, all that was left was a small note on the counter: Hey baby girl. Had to leave early for work today. Have a nice day, I'll see you tonight. Love, Mom xo. Maya flipped the note over multiple times. She searched the counter and the rest of the kitchen but nothing else could be found. Well, that was just peachy. Finally, things were going great in the girl's life and now that: her own mother had forgotten her birthday.

A little while later, the blonde climbed through her best friend's window and was greeted with the sight of Riley holding a huge present. "Happy 14, Maya!" Riley exclaimed as Maya started to rip open the present. "How's 14? Tell me what it's like to be 14, but don't leave anything out."

"So far it is a lot of work," Maya groaned as she found a box inside the box inside the box.

"Because you know I'll be there soon, and I want to know what I have to look forward to," Riley babbled.

"Well, if you're like me, you can look forward to your mother forgetting your birthday," Maya dead panned. Instinctively, she grabbed Riley's sleeve, which turned out to be a good thing because the brunette was already half-way out the window. "Riley, it's fine. I don't want you to fix it." Riley started to open her mouth. "And I also don't want to talk about it. At least not right now. Can we just focus on opening this present and then head to school?"

Maya could see Riley summoning every ounce of self-control she had. "Okay, fine."

"Thank you," Maya said earnestly.

As it turned out, Riley had gotten Maya friendship rings. Maya teased her for a little while about what she should do with two rings on her own before relenting and giving her best friend the second ring and a hug.

"Thanks for not forgetting." Maya gave Riley a sad smile. She could see her best friend struggling but the brunette stayed true to her word and didn't push her. Instead they left the apartment to go to school.

Their friends Lucas and Farkle both wished Maya a Happy Birthday before all four of them headed to Mr. Matthews' class. For once, the blonde was actually glad to be at school because it gave her a distraction from her disappointment. She didn't think she had ever paid as much attention to class before as she did that day.

School went by quickly and before she knew it, Maya was entering the Matthews' apartment behind her best friend. Inside an uncommon but not at all unwelcome surprise greeted both girls.

"Are you really here?" Riley asked excited.

"Yep, I'm here," Shawn Hunter answered as he stood up from the couch.

"Uncle Shawn!" she exclaimed and tackled the man in a tight hug.

"Hey there." Shawn smiled adoringly at his best friend's daughter before turning to Maya. "Hey."

"Hey," Maya greeted shyly as Shawn hugged her as well. "Okay." A pleased smile spread across the blonde's face.

"It's her birthday," Riley explained. "Squeeze her good."

"Oh, Happy Birthday, kiddo." Shawn hugged her a second time "You doing something special?"

"This is it," Maya said only half kidding as she held on to the older man tightly.

Cory and Topanga entered the apartment right at that moment, carrying a huge birthday cake. Their backs were turned towards the living room, so they didn't see the three people already standing there.

"Honey, hide the cake before Maya gets here," Topanga told her husband.

"I know, but you know what we should do? We should bring this cake to Maya's mother just in case she forgot to get her daughter one," Cory said. Maya winced because his words were not that far from the truth.

"Oh, you think that could actually happen?" Topanga asked hesitantly, finally noticing the three other people in the room.

"Honey, I grew up with Shawn Hunter. Remember his mother? She forgot where she lived. See, my biggest worry is that forgetting to give your kid a cake is the first step to forgetting where you live," Cory explained, still completely oblivious

"Oh, that's not your biggest worry anymore," Topanga pointed out with a forced smile.

"Maya's behind me, isn't she?" Topanga nodded. "Why is everybody always behind me? Okay, Maya, I'm not going to turn around because I'm all embarrassed, but you know how much I like your mother."

"I know you do. You always defend her," Maya told him. And she did know; they all loved her mother but it was no secret that Katy had so much work to do that, occasionally, she forgot about the most basic things – and that sometimes even included her own daughter. It had been better the last couple of weeks but apparently things hadn't changed completely.

"Because she's definitely not …" Cory tried to justify himself.

"No, everything's fine! Stop talking." Topanga desperately tried to safe her husband from further embarrassment.

"Shawn's mother!" he exclaimed and Shawn raised his eyebrows. "What a cuckoo. 'Ah, it's Tuesday! I better run away!'" Cory started laughing. "You have to laugh, huh, Topanga? Nice face."

"You want to turn around or you want me to turn you around?" Topanga asked.

Cory gave her an exasperated look. "How you doin', Shawn?" he asked.

"Well, it ain't Tuesday, so pretty good," Shawn deadpanned.

"Shawnie!" Cory exclaimed, tackling his best friend in a hug. "Ah! How you doin', buddy?"

"Just here doing a photo essay 'Weekends in New York for under $100.' It's impossible. Can I stay here?" Shawn looked at his friends with puppy dog eyes.

"We found him on the couch. Can we keep him?" Riley asked, a similar expression on her face.

"Wait a minute," Topanga started, suddenly realizing something. "Who let you in?"

"I have a key," Shawn explained matter-of-factly.

"You gave him a key?" Topanga looked at her husband with wide eyes.

"Fine," Cory relented. "I'll give you a key."

"You love me!" Topanga gushed.

"I do love you," Cory said sweetly. "You have the key to my heart." The girls just rolled their eyes.

Riley turned to Shawn expectantly. "So, who has the key to your heart?"

"Yeah, you ever been in love or what?" Maya chimed in, really curious about the answer as well.

"Angela time?" Shawn asked his two old friends.

"Seems unavoidable." Topanga nodded.

"Angela," Riley tried out the name for herself. "Spill it!"

"Yeah, was she all tortured poet-wanderer-female-you type?" Maya asked.

"You guys want to know how they fell in love?" Cory asked, perking up and sitting at the edge of his seat.

"He went through her purse," Topanga said as if it was the most romantic thing in the world.

"What?" Riley was outraged.

"I can explain that," Shawn started.

"Girls, trust us, it was very romantic in high school," Topanga explained.

"So, basically he fell in love with a concept?" Riley asked.

"It was doomed from the start," Maya concluded.

"Never let me do that," Riley begged.

"I would kill it immediately," Maya assured her. "That's what best friends are supposed to do."

Riley hugged her best friend tightly before turning back to Shawn. "So, where's Angela now?"

"I don't know," Shawn admitted. "I tried to make it work."

"But you couldn't commit?" Maya concluded.

"No," Shawn explained exasperatedly. "You know, people have it all wrong about me. I was all in. She's the one who left. I got left."

"Oh," Maya said. She remembered the trip she took to Philadelphia a few months ago. How she had finally learned the truth … that her father had left them and didn't regret it; that he was never coming back to them; that he didn't want her. "Yeah, I ... we got a lot of that too. Who's on your list?"

"Mother, father, girlfriend." Shawn counted the names on his fingers.

"Wow. What is it with us?" Maya asked with a laugh.

"What is it with us?" Shawn joined in.

"Window! Window right now!" Riley suddenly shouted. Maya jumped up immediately but was quickly interrupted by her best friend "Not you."

"But it's my birthday," Maya pouted.

"Yeah, I know," Riley said with an unreadable expression.

"You." Riley pointed to her mother.

"Really?" Topanga asked.

"And you!" And to her father.

"Oh, boy!" Cory exclaimed.

Maya and Shawn sat down on the couch to catch up and talk for a bit. Even though she was a bit concerned about what her best friend and her parents were plotting in the bay window, Maya was really glad to be able to spend some time with Shawn. She had missed the guy.

"So, any idea what those three are up to?" Shawn asked.

"Not a clue." Maya laughed. "And I don't really think I wanna know."

"Wise choice." Shawn grinned. "So, how are you, Maya?"

"I'm fine," Maya said. "What about you?"

"Really good actually, I'm glad to be back in town. I missed all of you." Shawn smiled.

"We missed you, too," Maya admitted.

"That's nice to hear." Shawn paused for a second. "And how's your Mom?"

Maya didn't say anything for a minute. "I don't know. I haven't seen her today."

"What?" Shawn asked, his eyes wide. "You haven't seen your Mom today? But it's your birthday."

"She was gone before I woke up this morning," Maya explained. "She left a short note, saying she had to leave early. No Happy Birthday whatsoever."

For once, even Shawn – who had gone through a lot in his life – didn't know what to say. So, instead of saying something stupid, he leaned over and hugged the girl.

"You know," Maya said suddenly. "I never knew what happened between my Mom and Dad. He didn't elaborate on his reasons for leaving when I went to see him; he just told me he didn't regret it. And she just tells me not to be upset with him and never wants to go into details."

"Why not?" Shawn asked curiously.

"Because she did something to make him leave," Maya explained the conclusion she had come to by herself. She didn't quite believe it, but it was the only thing that made sense. Why else wouldn't her mother tell her? "You and I are the ones that get left, not like her. That's why we understand each other, right?" Shawn gave the blonde a sad smile but before he could say anything, he was interrupted by five people entering the room and Maya yelling at them. "Where have you been? It's my birthday. And when did you guys show up? You've all been in there talking for the past hour?"

"Actually, we said what we needed to say in 10 minutes," Riley reminded her as she approached the blonde with Lucas and Farkle right behind her. "Looks like you two have been talking for the past hour, though."

"Yeah, well, you wouldn't let us in your room, so it's like you trapped us out here," Maya said. The girls continued their bickering with Farkle chiming in occasionally while Lucas just stood by with an amused smile.

Meanwhile, Shawn approached his two best friends. Something was bothering him. "Hey, Cor. Do you know Maya's mother missed her birthday?"

"I do. I do know," Cory admitted. "That's why I bought Maya a cake."

Shawn was confused. "What, that's it? That's all you did?"

"Well, you know me, Shawn. I don't like to meddle," Cory said innocently.

"What?!" Shawn exclaimed. "What's become of you?"

"I'm retired. I'm out." Cory threw his arms up in exasperation.

"What?" Shawn cried. "You two, window!"

"Us?" Topanga asked innocently.

"Whatever for?" Cory placed his hand on his chest.

"Window now!" Shawn repeated. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the kids heading back to Riley's room. Good, he didn't want Maya to witness what he wanted to discuss with Cory and Topanga. "The Cory Matthews I knew would have immediately taken this little girl under his wing and become kind of a father figure to her," Shawn accused.

"I'm old," Cory shrugged.

"He's tired," Topanga added.

"You're pathetic!" Shawn exclaimed.

"I'm tired," Cory repeated.

"He's old!" Topanga chimed in.

"Come on, man!" Shawn tried. "We were kings! This could be the return of Cory and Shawn. Let's you and me fix things between Maya and her mother."

"Hmm," Cory mused. "You don't think we're too old for such high jinks and shenanigans?"

"Is Maya not worth it to you?" Shawn asked.

Topanga took this as her cue. "Is she worth it to you?"

"Yeah," Shawn said without having to think about it one bit. "I like her very much. Doesn't she remind you of someone?" He smiled. "Yeah, what can I say? I like people that remind me of me."

"Do I remind you of you?" Cory asked hopefully.

"No," Shawn deadpanned.

"You know," Cory started after a moment of thinking. "If this were the old days, I probably might consider visiting Katy in the diner where she works."

"The Nighthawk Diner over on 17th street," Topanga clarified.

"But again, I'm too old," Cory said sadly.

"He needs his sleep." Topanga nodded as her husband rested his head on her shoulder.

"Well, I don't," Shawn said firmly. "And I'm disgusted with you."

"He just needs a little nappy before bed," Topanga explained as Shawn got up and rushed out the door. A grin spread across Topanga's face as she turned towards her husband. Their plan was in motion. "Good job." But Cory was already fast asleep. "Seriously?"

"Yip yip yip yip yip yip," was the only response she got. Amused, Topanga just shook hear head and leaned back against the window.

Shawn reached the Nighthawk Diner in record time. He walks in and immediately recognizes Katy in her waitress uniform. She is currently wiping tables and hasn't noticed the newest customer.

"Katy?" Shawn asked.

"That's what it says right here." The blonde turned to get a look at the owner of the familiar sounding voice. "Well, hello Shawn. To what do I owe the pleasure?" She smiled at him. "What'll it be?"

"Oh, me?" Shawn asked. "I'll have some birthday cake."

Katy stopped dead in her tracks. "What?"

"What kind of mom are you, Katy?" Shawn asked, not in the mood to beat around the bush.

"Excuse me?" Katy asked, looking at him with wide eyes.

"You know what I'm talking about," Shawn said.

"Okay, I get that you like Maya and I appreciate that. But this is none of your business." Katy looked Shawn straight in the eye. "And if you ever question my motherhood again, I will smash a plate over your head."

Shawn winced at her harsh words. He really didn't want her to be mad at him, he liked the woman very much. He was pretty sure he might even … okay, not the time to get into that. Right now, Maya was his priority. "You know what, Katy? You probably already don't like me right now, so I'm just going to keep talking, okay? Today is Maya's birthday. What are you doing here since first thing this morning?"

"You're right," Katy said and Shawn perked up. Could it really have been that easy. "At this very moment, I don't like you one bit." Nope, apparently it wasn't.

"Do you think I would walk in here and talk to you like this if I wasn't so fond of your daughter?" Shawn asked exasperatedly.

"I know you're fond of my daughter. But why don't you tell me about your vast experience raising a child before questioning my parenting choices?" Katy glared at him. She had been working double shifts all week and was completely exhausted, so the last thing she needed was some kind of pseudo-knight-in-shing-armor coming in here, telling her how to raise her daughter. God, she was doing the best she possibly could. She herself knew, it wasn't perfect, but damn it, she was trying.

"I don't have any," Shawn admitted. "But I know you don't work an extra shift at a diner and miss your daughter's birthday."

"Mm-hmm," Katy mused, still glaring at the man standing opposite her. "And you know this because you know so much about relationships?"

"I'm terrible at relationships." Shawn looked down.

"I'm worse." Katy was suddenly very interested in her apron.

"I don't want to be," Shawn said in a small voice.

"Neither do I," Katy agreed.

"Well, then we've got something in common," Shawn tried to lighten the mood.

"Look, my daughter likes having you around and I know that you like her, too," Katy started in a much calmer tone. "But how can you stick around when every weekend she told me you go somewhere else?"

"I write about places. That's my job," Shawn explained. "You know that."

"I can't let Maya get close to somebody else who just leaves," Katy blurted out. They looked at each other complete silence for a minute as the blonde took a deep breath. She felt relieved that she had finally gotten the real reason she was worried about Shawn's relationship with her daughter out into the open.

"Okay, hold on," Shawn started. "First of all, I'm not a leaver. All right? I'm a stayer. I'm the one who gets left."

Katy was stunned to hear this; this was not something she would have expected. "Well, we got that in common too."

"What do you mean?" Shawn was confused. "Maya thinks that you chased away …"

"I know what she thinks," Katy interrupted. The blonde took a deep breath. "It's her father. A girl should think well of her father. At least as much as is still possible."

Shawn was stunned. Here he thought he was going to have to deal with another woman like Angela; someone who wasn't able to commit; someone who left when things got too serious or too complicated – or in this case, made her husband leave. But no, he was dealing with a woman who wanted to spare her daughter additional pain by letting her belief that her mother was the reason her father had left them. Probably, so Maya wouldn't start blaming herself. God, he was an idiot.

Shawn was so lost in is thoughts that he noticed another woman entering the diner only when she stood right next to him and started to speak. "Hi, Katy," she greeted. "So, I finished it and it's just like you wanted it." She handed the blonde a beautiful golden locket.

"It's beautiful, Camille," Katy gushed. "She'll love it. But I'm still $50 short and it'll take an extra shift to pay for it." Okay, now Shawn was officially feeling like the biggest jerk on the planet. He came here to reprimand a woman, who was working her butt of trying to get her daughter a gift for her birthday. He took a closer look at Katy and could see the dark rings beneath her eyes; she had obviously tried to cover them up this morning but, after a full day of work, the make-up was slowly disappearing. She must have worked like a maniac for the past days or even weeks in order to afford the piece of jewelry. And all that, just so Maya could have a nice gift for her birthday.

"It's a nice locket," Shawn said. "Family photo going in there?"

"Yeah. Her and me," Katy explained.

Shawn nodded and got out his wallet. "Here you go." He handed Camille the rest of the money.

"Really?" Katy asked, truly stunned.

"Today is her birthday," Shawn said matter-of-factly. "But you knew that."

Camille looked him up and down. "He's cute." She winked at Katy before waving goodbye and leaving the diner.

"I'll pay you back," Katy told him firmly.

Shawn knew it was no use arguing with the woman, even though he would have gladly given her the money just like that. "You will." He nodded. "You'll let me take the photo." Katy looked up at him, smiled and nodded.

Back at the Matthews' apartment, Maya was just being filled in on the big master plan, her "adopted" family and friends had come up with. Apparently, they had had this great idea of how they would get her Mom and Shawn together, so both Maya and Shawn could finally have a family. They had made sure that Shawn would go to the diner to confront her mother – Riley and Cory had even followed him there and watched the encounter from afar – but sadly, things seemed to have gone in the exact opposite direction. Rather than becoming closer, Riley and Cory had witnessed a screaming match between Katy and Shawn and had thought it best to leave in the middle of it before getting caught. Well, it seemed like Maya would have to wait a little while longer before she got a new father.

"We just wanted to give you a birthday you'd never forget, Maya," Topanga said sincerely. "We didn't think things would get so heated between them."

"I appreciate it." Maya gave her best friend's mother a hug. "I do. Some things are just impossible."

"I used to not believe that," Cory said sadly. "I still don't."

Right then the apartment door burst open and in walked none other than Shawn Hunter with an exasperated looking Katy Hart hot on his heels. Boy, this did not look good. "Happy Birthday," Shawn called. "Everything you think is wrong."

"I asked you not to tell her," Katy reminded him pleadingly. "Why would you do this?"

"Because she deserves to love the parent who stayed," Shawn said firmly.

"What?" Maya asked.

"Your mother had nothing to do with your father leaving, Maya," Shawn blurted out. "All right? All this time she's just been protecting him for you."

"Mom?" She asked, looking for confirmation. "Is it true? He just … up and left? Out of nowhere?"

"I'm sorry," Katy said.

"She's one of us," Shawn said. "Come here." The man enveloped both Hart girls in a tight hug.

Katy was the first to let go and take a step back. "I couldn't afford to get you what you wanted without working a couple extra shifts, but I got it, honey. Shawn helped me." She grinned at her little girl.

"A locket?" Maya asked disbelievingly.

"Yeah." Katy smiled as her daughter tackled her with a hug.

"Where is it?" Maya asked excitedly.

"It's in my purse," Katy explained.

"I'll get it," Shawn offered.

"You can't go through my purse." Katy gave him a confused look. Shawn just looked back innocently.

Riley and Maya shared a conspiratorial look. "Let him!"

Shawn found the locket and handed it to Katy. Maya approached her mother and let her put it around her neck. Meanwhile, Shawn got out his camera and took a beautiful picture of the pair in front of him. Maya had the biggest smile on her face while holding her locket tightly clasped in her fingers and Katy stood behind her with a smile that matched her daughter's perfectly.

A little while later, the girls were still gushing over Maya's birthday present. Meanwhile, Shawn turned to his best friend with a pleased expression on his face.

"Did you see what I did there, Cor?" he asked smugly. "I got Maya and her mother together."

"Yeah," Cory agreed. He really was proud of his best friend. "You did great, Shawn."

"Well, I'd be happy to include you in my next scheme," Shawn offered.

"Sorry, buddy," Cory said. "I got me a new partner now." He put his arm around Riley who was smiling brightly at her father's praise. While their plan hadn't really worked out as planned, things did seem to finally be heading in the right direction for Shawn, Katy and Maya.

"So, it's you and her now, huh?" Shawn asked.

"Me and her," Cory agreed. "You're on your own."

"Come on!" Shawn exclaimed. He turned around and suddenly got an idea in his mind. "What fun is pulling off schemes by yourself?" He slowly approached Maya.

"Oh, it's you and me now?" the blonde asked.

"Well, hey, I'm in the market for a new partner in crime," Shawn shrugged and put his arm around the girl.

"Yeah, all right," she relented. "I'll try you out and see how you do." They both grinned at each other.

"Cake time!" Topanga called and Katy followed her, carrying a pink cake with fourteen candles on top of it. Shawn stood up and found his place right next to Katy.

"Happy Birthday, baby girl." Katy smiled at her daughter.

"Make a wish," Riley said, standing next to her parents.

Now, one might think that there are a lot of things a fourteen-year-old girl could wish for: shoes, clothes, a new computer, a new cell-phone, better grades or even for the boy she was crushing on to finally notice her. But seeing Shawn and Katy standing right in front of her and looking at her with big proud smiles, there was no doubt in Maya's mind what her biggest wish was. She wasn't really one to believe in magic, fairy tales and wishes made upon a star. But hey, can't blame a girl for trying, right? She knew, there was no forcing love and, while she really wanted her Mom to be happy, what she and Shawn decided to be would have to be between them and them alone. But there was one thing, the blonde was very sure of, she wanted Shawn to always be a part of their lives. She would be happy to have him as an actual father but she would settle for a kind of father-figure as well, if that was all that was possible. So, as she closed her eyes and blew out the candles on top of the cake, the wish she wanted to make was clearly formed in her mind: I wish for Shawn to be my Dad – in whatever way possible.