A/N: So, here is the next chapter. Once again, I will be sticking very close to the original plot of the TV show. A lot of dialogue is taken from the episode "Girl Meets the Forgiveness Project", again with some changes to make it fit into my story. It's going to be a rather sad chapter and I'm really sorry about that. Writing it was very emotional for me as well. I do hope you still like it and I promise, the next chapter is going to be a lot happier. 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
And all of your words fall flat
"And all of your words fall flat
I made something of myself and now you wanna come back
But your love, it isn't free, it has to be earned
Back then I didn't have anything you needed so I was worthless"
"Okay, everybody!" Cory Matthews called as he wrote FORGIVENESS onto the blackboard. "Originally, I had planned on doing this lesson much later in the school year. But because some people keep interrupting my lessons because of their fighting, we will do this now!" His students stared at him in disbelief. "That's right! You guys made me change the curriculum! I hope you're happy!"
"What did we do?" Maya asked.
"Oh, you know what you did." Cory glared at Farkle, Lucas and Zay. "Anyway, all through history, countries go to war. That's what we normally study in here. But today, we're going to talk about peace and forgiveness and how we get there." He grinned at his students proudly. "Every once in a while, I come up with a good idea."
"What could it possibly be that I haven't already thought of?" Farkle inquired.
"Farkle, I forgive you," Cory said.
"What did I do?" Farkle asked.
Zay turned to Farkle as well. "I forgive you too," he chimed in.
"What did I do?!" Farkle exclaimed exasperatedly.
"Oh, you know what you do." Zay glared at the boy.
"I feel better now that I've forgiven you," Cory stated. "How do you feel?"
"I'm sorry for every time I've hurt you! What did I do?!" Farkle was beside himself and Cory had reached his goal.
"Ladies and gentlemen, today we're going to begin the forgiveness project. Our history isn't just about what we've done. How we grow comes from the repair of what we've done and how we forgive what was done to us," Cory explained.
"Hmm," Riley mused. "We're in. What do we do?"
"Everyone take out a piece of paper. So, this isn't your laptop or your cell phone: you've got unlimited characters here, as many words as you want." Cory walked through the class and handed everyone a red envelope. "The impact will last longer than six seconds. And I guarantee you, it's never going to disappear. So, pick up a pen. Express feelings. This is one of the most important things you're ever going to do. You're about to forgive someone."
"What's this got to do with history, Matthews?" Maya asked.
"It gives you a chance to change it," Cory said simply.
"Like when I forgave Auggie for biting the face off my Beary-the-Bear bear," Riley said. This started a discussion about whether or not Riley had actually forgiven her little brother – spoiler alert, she hadn't. Soon, everyone but Maya started writing their letter.
"Maya, no one in your life you want to forgive?" Cory inquired.
"No," Maya said firmly.
"Don't you think now would be a good time?" Lucas asked. Maya just shot the boy a glare.
"You and your mom are in a good place. You're strong, Maya. Don't you want to forgive him one day? Why not now?" Riley chimed in. Maya just laughed as she started to write. Riley chuckled along with her until Maya handed her a note. The brunette opened it and started to read it out loud: "'Riley, butt out. I am serious. Butt your butt out.'" She turned to Maya. "I forgive you."
A few days later, Riley and Maya were sitting inside Topanga's and enjoying a cup of hot chocolate along with a big slice of chocolate cake. They were currently watching both of their mothers as if those two were a tennis match.
"Really, Topanga. Please don't worry about this," Katy pleaded.
"No, I told you that I would come and help out when I can, and I can today," Topanga said firmly.
"Yeah. No." Katy shot their girls a helpless glance.
"This is gonna be good," Riley told Maya.
"I can't take my eyes off it. It's like a car crash. You don't want to see it, but you can't look away either," Maya said.
"You don't think I can do this, do you?" Topanga asked her friend.
"I think that you are Topanga Matthews, attorney at law, and that might perhaps color the way that you deal with customers, who I don't even think will believe that you're a waitress," Katy tried to explain her doubts.
"I could be a fine waitress," Topanga declared as she approached a customer. "And what will you have, sir?"
"Yeah, give me the cheesecake," Howie, one of the regulars, said.
"You want to try that a different way, chief?" Topanga asked with a fake smile on her face.
"No," Howie declared.
"Okay," Katy intervened. "Hey, Howie." She handed the guy his cake. "Oh, there you go. You know what comes with our biggest piece of cheesecake? Our biggest smile."
"Ha!" Howie exclaimed. "Don't ever leave me again."
"Aw, thanks, Howie." Katy smiled.
"I was talking to the cheesecake," Howie corrected.
"Okay, one more." Topanga clapped her hands together excitedly.
"No more ever," Katy told her firmly, her arms crossed in front of her chest.
"No," Topanga argued. "I'm gonna try that guy, right over there." She pointed to a blond-haired gentleman with a scruffy beard who had just entered the café.
Katy stopped dead in her tracks at the sight of the man. "No, I got him."
"Okay," Topanga said, not noticing the change in her friend's demeanor. "I'll learn from you."
"You're going to want to watch what happens next very carefully," Maya told Riley. She had recognized the man the second he had walked in.
"Why?" Riley asked. "Your mother's great at this, Maya. What could happen?"
"Hello, Sir," Katy said with a polite smile on her face. "How are you today?"
"I'm …" the man started but Katy didn't let him finish.
"You a little hungry, are you? Is that why you've come here? Are you a little hungry? Is that …"
"What do you recommend?" he asked.
"I recommend the first thing that I can get my hands on." Katy turned to Topanga. "Give me something."
"Okay." Topanga took the cheesecake away from Howie. "You should have said please!" she reprimanded the man and handed the plate to Katy.
"That's what I recommend!" Katy exclaimed. She picked up the cheesecake and smeared it on the man's face.
Topanga gasped. "You can do that? I didn't know you could do that. I would love to do that."
"Oh, my gosh, is that him?" Riley asked her best friend. "Is he him? Did you do it? Did you do the assignment?"
"I wrote something, and I mailed it," Maya said simply. "Tell me it was a good move."
"It was a bad move!" Riley exclaimed.
"Why?" Maya wondered.
"Tried it. It doesn't work! They don't apologize. Forgiveness is for jerks," Riley declared, crossing her arms in front of her chest.
"Well, I'm glad you told me in time!" Maya exclaimed.
Meanwhile, Katy kept throwing food at the man. Topanga was very confused by her friend's odd behavior. "I don't understand. Is this guy our millionth customer?"
"No!" Katy exclaimed.
"Sir, why are you okay with this?" Topanga asked helplessly.
The man shrugged. "I kind of expected it."
"Katy, who is this guy?" Topanga asked. Maya took that as her cue to get up and approach the three adults. It was the man who first noticed her presence. He turned to look at her and Maya could see the exact moment he recognized her.
"Hi Maya," Kermit said.
"Hi Kermit," Maya replied, not willing to refer to the man as Dad anymore. By now, there was someone else in her life who deserved the title much more, even though the man in question didn't know that yet – at least not officially because Maya didn't remember the slip of her tongue. Topanga shot Katy a panicked look as Riley walked up to them and took her place next to her best friend.
"Hi. I'm Riley. I've heard a lot about you."
"Hi, Riley," Kermit said. "You a good friend of Maya's?" Katy and Topanga rolled their eyes and Riley even looked a bit insulted.
"I'm sorry, and please don't take this the wrong way, but what?" Riley inquired.
"Riley is my best friend," Maya explained. "But you wouldn't know much about her. Or me."
"Thank you for being Maya's best friend," Kermit told the brunette earnestly.
"It's easy because Maya's great. She's the best person I know." Riley gave her best friend a hug.
"Then I'm happy she found you," Kermit declared.
"I was picturing a monster," Riley addressed Maya without paying further attention to the man. "He doesn't seem like a monster. He seems like … Frosty the snow-guy." The girl was referring to Kermit's face that was still covered with cake.
"What are you doing here, Kermit?" Katy finally asked.
"I was invited," Kermit said to his defense. He pulled out the red envelope Maya had sent him.
"What?" Katy looked at her daughter for confirmation.
"This is all my dad's fault," Riley came to the rescue.
"Your father had an idea?" Topanga asked and Riley nodded. The older woman took a deep breath and turned to Kermit with a polite smile. "I apologize immediately. Your food is on the house."
"That's very nice of you, because I wouldn't have been able to afford all of this. May I please borrow a towel and your sink? And I'll take this to go." He pointed to the cheesecake on his face.
"Thank you, Katy," Kermit said as he came out of the bathroom, his face completely free of cake.
"For what?" Katy asked.
"I know that in those nine years, you protected me with Maya," he told her. "You never once sold me out."
"Well, a girl should think well of her father." Katy shrugged and was suddenly very interested in her apron.
"I was really happy to get your letter, Maya." Kermit approached his daughter. "When you came to visit me a year ago, I wasn't ready. I was overwhelmed by seeing you after all these years and I didn't handle it very well. And I'm also glad that you've got a friend like Riley."
"This girl here is more of a father to me than you," Maya told the man.
"Yeah, I raised Maya since she was a pup." Riley gave her best friend a side-hug and the blonde shot the brunette a grateful smile.
"Looks like you did a bang-up job," Kermit praised.
"So, you left," Maya said eventually. "Why were Mom and I not good enough?" She finally wanted to get to the bottom of this. This half-knowledge she had assembled herself through the years just wasn't enough anymore. For years she had thought her mother had been at fault, but the girl had since learned that Katy was just as much a victim in this case as she was. Ever since then, the question of why had been bothering the girl and now she finally had a chance to get the answers she so badly desired.
"No, no, no. Maya. That was a long time ago. We're over it," Katy told her daughter. Until she turned to Kermit and slapped him repeatedly. "Why were we not good enough?"
"Ah! I think you know that wasn't it," Kermit said.
Riley tried to give the three of them some space. "Ha. You know, I should really go anywhere but here." She stood up but was stopped by Maya grabbing her arm.
"Nope, you're gonna stay with me. You're my family." She turned to Kermit. "How's your other family? How's Kaya?"
"Everyone is fine," Kermit said. "Kaya is great, she spends most of her time with her best friend Miley. She couldn't stop talking about how nice you were after you came by. You seem to have made quite an impression on my little girl." Seeing her father's eyes light up while he talked about her little half-sister made Maya's heart drop. What did the little girl have that she didn't? Why did her father love Kaya more than her? Why had he left her but apparently was a really good father to her mini me? At the last question, Maya immediately felt bad; she did not want Kaya to go through what she had gone through as a kid. But a little part of her couldn't help but feel jealous.
"Kaya and Miley?" Katy asked. "Well, what are the odds? You really named your other daughter Kaya? That is just …" Topanga put her hand on Katy's arm to soothe her. The blonde calmed down and gave her friend a grateful look.
"Riley, do you care to explain to me your father's idea here?" Topanga asked, obviously trying to deflate the tension in their little group.
"Our assignment was to forgive somebody," Riley said.
Topanga was confused. "What does that have to do …?"
"It changes our history," Riley explained.
"Oh. That's pretty good," Topanga admitted.
"So, Maya wrote to him and he showed up," Riley said.
"To forgive him?" Katy asked.
Maya nodded. "Yeah, that was the assignment. But I haven't decided if I'm going to pass or fail."
"Maya, whatever you decide, thank you for reaching out to me," Kermit said earnestly.
"You know, this would be so much easier for me if he was a monster." Riley shook her.
"Do you remember the night the thunder shook the apartment?" Maya suddenly asked her father. "I was five and I thought- the lightning was so bright. I thought the world was on fire."
"Why bring this up?" Kermit asked, knowing that this wouldn't end well.
Maya ignored his interruption and continued her story. "I'm all under my covers crying and you come flying into the room and peek under the covers and decide to make it a game. We were in Alaska looking for gold. And you said the lightning was the Northern Lights. The Aurora Borealis."
"Is this the reason the only thing you know is the Aurora Borealis?" Riley asked.
Maya ignored her best friend as well. "You made that entire night an adventure until the storm passed. And I woke up the next morning and it was a sunny day. Don't you remember that?"
"No, Maya, I don't," Kermit admitted.
"That's because it never happened. The storm happened but you didn't," Maya finished her story.
Riley was confused. "So how do you know the Aurora Borealis, Maya?"
"Mom," Maya said simply. The blonde went over to her mother and gave the woman a hug. "It was Mom that came in. She made it Alaska and I wasn't scared at all."
"Hmm," Katy mused, obviously thinking back to the night as well. "I was petrified. Greatest performance of my life."
Riley turned to Kermit. "Where were you?"
"I wasn't home," Kermit said.
"How could you not be home?" Riley asked accusingly.
"Because kids bite teddy bears' faces off, friends ruin movies and fathers leave. You know, sometimes you can let it go, sometimes you can't. Your dad was wrong about that one, Riley." And with that, Maya abruptly left the diner.
On the next day at school, Cory was curious how his students were doing with their project. His main object had been to reunite his Three Musketeers (aka Farkle, Lucas and Zay) but now it seemed that maybe the person who really needed this project was someone else.
"How's the forgiveness project going?" Cory asked.
"You killed us, Matthews," Maya accused.
"I gotta say, Matthews, I don't know what you were thinking," Riley agreed.
"You think forgiveness leads to peace?" Lucas asked.
"It leads to war in a movie theater," Zay added.
"Lights go down, the movie starts, I made Farkle sit in the other corner of the theater so he can't ruin anything," Lucas started his story.
"Sounds like good strategy," Cory praised, wondering what could possibly have gone wrong.
"Yeah, we thought so, too." Lucas glared at Farkle. "Until a cowboy comes on the screen and Farkle yells …"
"Dead!" Farkle exclaimed.
"An old prospector comes on the screen …," Zay said.
"Alien looking for a time portal."
"Next comes a cheerleader," Lucas explained.
"How is there a cheerleader in this movie?" Cory inquired.
"No kidding!" Farkle agreed. "Thank you!"
"Well, I'm sure some of you had a better experience," Cory, being his usual positive self, said. The whole class shook their heads no, proving their teacher utterly wrong.
"Forgiveness doesn't work, Dad. I forgave Auggie and he didn't thank me," Riley said.
"Riley, did you really forgive Auggie?" Cory checked.
"No!" Riley exclaimed matter-of-factly.
"Maya, did you forgive your father?" Cory asked.
"No," the girl said simply, refusing to go into it more.
"And we didn't forgive Farkle," Farkle said and immediately got a paper ball thrown at him – courtesy of Zay. "Ow."
"Well, it sounds to me that forgiveness is harder than it looks," Cory said.
"I tried," Maya told him. "Made it real clear. Want to hear it?"
Cory nodded "If you're all right with it."
Maya pulled out the read envelop and began reading from her letter. "'In school, I'm learning about forgiveness. What you did makes me have a lot of angry feelings inside of me. I don't want to be angry anymore. Why did you leave? Did I do something? Make me understand what I did. Your daughter, Maya.'" The girl felt Lucas putting his hand on her shoulder in a comforting manner.
"Did he help you to understand what happened?" Cory asked.
Maya shook her head. "No."
"Why not?" Cory asked.
"I mean, I guess I never gave him the chance to explain," Maya admitted; deep in thought, trying to remember the events of the previous day.
"Riley, why did Auggie bite your bear's face off?" Cory inquired.
"I don't know," Riley said.
"Why not?"
"I never asked him," the girl admitted thoughtfully.
"Lucas? Zay?" Cory asked.
Lucas turned to Farkle. "Farkle, why do you tell us the end of the movies?"
"Well, because you're good at everything you do." Farkle turned to Zay. "You got that class-clown thing going. All I've got is my mind, so I try to impress you with it any way I can. 'Oh, Farkle, you don't need to impress us. We love you just the way you are.'"
"Farkle, we are never going to the movies with you again," Lucas said firmly.
"Ever!" Zay added.
"Guess you missed that one. Huh, Farkle?" Lucas teased.
"No, I didn't." Farkle waited patiently.
"Oh, Farkle, you don't need to impress us," Maya decided to appease him.
"We love you just the way you are," Riley added.
"Movie?" Farkle asked with a pleased smile on his face.
"Anytime," the girls chorused.
"We gotta get better minds, man," Zay said to Lucas.
"Yeah, we do," the other boy agreed.
"All of you do," Cory pointed out. "Better minds know that sometimes to really forgive someone, it helps to understand them first. It gives the other person the chance to be heard from too."
"Why can't you just admit that you're wrong about this?" Maya asked exasperatedly. She was currently feeling a lot of very different feelings and she didn't know if she liked where this was headed.
"Because forgiveness is one of our finest qualities as human beings, Maya," Cory explained. "You have to understand each other before you can even begin to know what comes next. Go understand each other. See what happens. Your assignment hasn't even begun until you do."
Later that day, the girls and Auggie were sitting at Topanga's. Cory, Topanga and Katy stood at the other end of the café and were watching the children with pleased expressions on their faces. Riley had had another talk with the boy and was thoroughly pleased with the result.
"Forgiveness does work, Maya," Riley said, her arms wrapped tightly around her little brother. "You just have to do it right. All you have to do is listen to the other person." Auggie tried to get away from his big sister but Riley wouldn't let him. Apparently, the boy had bitten of the poor bears head because Riley didn't want to spend time with him. So, the brunette was making up for lost time right at this moment.
"Auggie is there every day, Riley. My dad couldn't get out of here fast enough. I mean, he's halfway home by now. Forgiveness doesn't work for everybody," Maya said. Riley looked at her best friend with a sad expression and even Auggie stopped fighting, realizing something was wrong with his big sister's best friend. "Why are people always leaving?"
"I don't know," Riley admitted. "But not all people leave. Look!" Riley gestured towards the door where a different man was entering the café. Maya's eyes lit up at the sight of him.
"Shawn!" she cried and jumped up into the older man's arms. The other three adults watched the scene happily.
"Hey there, kiddo." Shawn grinned down at the blonde. "How are you doing?"
"I've been better," Maya admitted. "But right now, things are starting to look up. How did you know?"
"Your Mom called me," Shawn said and gave Katy a wave and a smile, making the older woman blush. Maya turned towards her mother with a grateful expression on her face. "She told me you were having a bad couple of days and that your other father figure didn't help things with his strange assignments."
"Hey!" Cory complained. "I was just trying to make the boys stop fighting. Things kind of went out of hand."
"It's fine, Mr. Matthews," Maya said. "I know you meant well. And after all, it brought Shawn here." She grinned at the older man and Shawn gave her a big smile, happy to hear those words come out of her mouth.
"Kiddo, I want to tell you one thing: winter, spring, summer or fall, all you have to do is call and I'll be there. I'm always here for you, you know that, right?" Shawn asked.
"I do." Maya grinned at his cheesy choice of words. "Thanks Shawn. You don't know how much it means to me to hear you say that."
"Did he just quote Carly Simon?" Topanga asked, her eyes wide.
"No, that was Carole King!" Cory said. He cleared his throat and started to sing "You've got a friend": "When you're down and troubled. And you need some love and care ..."
"I don't know if that makes it better." Katy laughed with tears in her eyes. Shawn's little speech had really warmed her heart. And it had confirmed to her once again that she had made the right decision in letting Shawn continue to be a part of her daughter's life. Now, she just had to sort out her own feelings for the man. Shawn was starting to make her feel all kinds of confusing feelings and the blonde didn't know how she felt about that just yet. Was she ready to let another man into her life? Was she ready to trust again? But that could wait a little while longer; she would take it all piece by piece, one step at a time.
"And I would like to know how you know that," Topanga said, referring back to Cory's earlier moment.
However, before Cory could say anything, they were interrupted by another man entering the café. Everyone's eyes went wide – except for Shawn's, but, after all, he hadn't seen the guy before. "I am not hungry, so please don't throw anything at me," Kermit said, his arms raised defensively.
Maya looked at the man while staying put in her spot next to Shawn. There was something about her new father figure that made the blonde calm down and feel comfortable instantly. And right now, that was exactly what she needed to muster up the courage to face her father again. "I thought you left."
"I did," Kermit admitted, eyeing the man standing next to his daughter curiously. "I did. I was in the car on the way back. And then I looked at this thing again …" he held up Maya's letter "… and it says you don't want to be angry anymore." He looked at Riley, Cory, Topanga and Katy. "I know what you all are to Maya. Thank you. I just need to borrow her for one second, if it's okay."
Maya looked at Katy who silently nods her permission and then joined Kermit outside. Shawn went over to stand by the girl's mother. "That was him, wasn't it? Her father?"
"Yes," Katy said simply.
"You sure about this?" Shawn asked.
"I don't know," Katy admitted. "But she wants to know the truth and I have to give her the chance to hear it. She is a very headstrong girl and as much as I want to, I can't protect her from everything. What I can do, however, is be here if he hurts her again. You know, to pick up the pieces."
Shawn nodded. He didn't like that Maya was in danger of breaking all over again, but he knew they would have to let her make her mind up about her father on her own. And who knows, maybe the guy would surprise them. Shawn instinctively grabbed Katy's hand and held it tightly, both needing and wanting to give support. "I'll be right here. And, if worse comes to worst, I'll be right there to pick up the pieces with you." The blonde smiled up at him gratefully and, before he could think too much about it, he leaned down and gave her a kiss on the cheek. Both of them blushed before looking away with shy smiles on their faces. Cory, Topanga and Riley meanwhile had to bite their cheeks to keep themselves from grinning like fools. Instead, all five of them turned their faces towards the door and waited for Maya to come back.
Outside, Maya and Kermit had sat down at a table. They were currently just looking at each other. Maya was waiting for her father to start talking and Kermit was trying to figure out how to start.
Finally, the man took a deep breath and said what he came here to say. "This wasn't you, Maya. This was all me. I couldn't provide comfort for you in a lightning storm. And I was no good for you on a sunny day, either. I blew every paycheck instead of providing food for the refrigerator. And when you know you're not good for people, you start not showing up and then you don't show up enough times, and it begins to feel like leaving until you do."
"You're there for your new family, aren't you?" Maya asked, remembering how happy little Kaya had looked the one time she had seen her. "What did they do that I didn't do?"
"You never did anything, Maya," Kermit assured her. "You were just a little girl. I was who I was. And there was nothing you did or could have done. I already told you this before but … I just … I wasn't ready for you or anyone. But I think I've changed. These people believe that I am capable of something. They don't know who I was. They believe in who I am now."
"Who are you now?" Maya asked. "I don't know anything about you."
"I found a job," Kermit blurted out. "And I've managed to keep it. I came back to tell you that I am grateful for what you wrote. And I am sorry for what I did. I wasn't ready for you when you last came to see me; and because of that I said some things I didn't mean."
"You found a job?" Maya asked, her voice shaking.
Kermit nodded. "I did."
"Your job was to stay," Maya said, tears forming in her eyes. "Thank you for telling me your side. My teacher thinks if I forgive you, it'll bring me peace. And he's usually right about these things, but I don't see how he's right about this one. And I can't. Your job was to stay. You don't think I had it in me to allow my father to grow?" The tears were starting to fall down the blonde's cheeks but she had to get this out. "I'm happy I wrote to you and heard what you had to say. This was definitely better than the last time we talked. And it makes me feel better knowing that I had nothing to do with what you did. I always thought that this was my fault somehow, but it's not. I didn't do anything." Maya got up from her chair and tried to leave.
"I'm sorry I wasn't there," Kermit said, desperately trying to think of something that would make his daughter stay. "You … you turned out great." He had tears in his eyes as well now.
"Wow," Maya said.
"What?" Kermit asked.
"I've been angry for so long," the girl started. "I'm not angry anymore. Thank you for coming. And I hope you get home okay. Say Hi to Kaya for me." And without looking back, Maya rushed inside the café and into her mother's arms. She was starting to cry but, before completely succumbing to the tears, she turned to Cory. "I'm sorry. I failed. I know you wanted me to forgive him, but I didn't. I couldn't do it. You were wrong about this one, Mr. Matthews."
"I never expected that, Maya," Cory told her in a strangled voice. Seeing his daughter's best friend this upset, knowing that he was partly at fault for causing this hurt was killing him. "That kind of forgiveness, it doesn't come so easy. But life is a long time. And I hope you get there someday. But that's never what I was looking for right now."
"What did you want from me?" Maya wanted to know.
"Maya, did you forgive yourself?" Cory asked.
Maya thought for a moment before breaking down in tears and falling into Cory's arms. Topanga hugged Riley, who was feeling so bad for her best friend. Shawn hugged Katy from behind and the girl's mother started to tear up as well.
Maya eventually let go of her teacher. She gave him a grateful smile before turning to her mother. Seeing her mother in Shawn's arms made Maya sad and happy all at once. Katy gently freed herself from the man's embrace and walked over to hug her daughter. Shawn was right behind her and enveloped both Hart girls in his arms. Cory, with his arms around Topanga and Riley, was standing by them at a little distance – wanting to give the three of them some space while still letting them know that they weren't on their own. Maya finally let her guard down completely and started sobbing, Katy couldn't help but cry along with her and even Shawn had tears in his eyes as he stood there, doing his best to support the heartbroken girl and woman in his arms. And as devastated as Maya was currently feeling, she couldn't help but feel safe in secure in Katy and Shawn's embrace – who, at least to her, were her real parents.