Maya hadn't come out of her room in days. Hell, she hadn't even left her bed. Katy took the earliest shifts at Topanga's that she could manage so she could take care of Maya during the day. Shawn had come back from his last assignment a few nights ago, as Katy had promised. He was more than confused and upset when he arrived and had been told what was going on. So far, all he knew was that Maya and Riley had gotten into a fight and they were both too upset to talk about it.
"Shawn, I'm worried about her," Katy admitted as she poured a cup of coffee for her and her husband. Between worrying about her daughter and waking up early to go to work, she hadn't been sleeping very much. And she was exhausted.
"Has she told you what happened yet?" Shawn asked as he accepted the mug from her. He could see how drained she was.
"No," Katie sighed as she took a seat next to Shawn on their couch. He wrapped an arm around her shoulders and pulled her closer. She snuggled into his side. "She never says much when I go to talk to her."
"Maya is a strong young woman. She get's it from her mother," Shawn said as Katie smiled. He was glad that he could make her feel a little bit better. "I'm sure she will make it through this. Whatever this may be."
"Have you talked to Corey or Topanga yet?" Katy questioned before taking a sip from her coffee.
"Yeah." Shawn gently rubbed his wife's arm as he spoke. "Corey called me as soon as I got back."
Katy laughed, "I swear, it's like he thinks the two of you are married or something." Shawn joined her. Her laugh was like music to his ears.
"Yeah, well, that's Corey Matthews for you. He's been my best friend for as long as I can remember. I probably would be in prison right now for doing something stupid if it weren't for him and his parents."
"I'm glad that the Matthews are such a big part of Maya's life. They've raised her better than I probably ever could have."
"Katy don't sell yourself short. You've done a wonderful job raising Maya. Even though you were a working single mom. I don't think anyone could have done any better."
Katy scrunched up her nose as if she was going to cry. "You're too sweet. How did I get so lucky as to have married you, Shawn Hunter?"
"I could say the same about you, Katy Clutterbucket."
"Don't forget, it's Katy Hunter now."
Shawn placed a small kiss on her forehead as she cuddled closer into his side.
"How do we fix this, Shawn?" Katy asked while Shawn continued to rub her arm in a comforting way.
"I'm not sure, Katy. But, we need to know the cause before we can find a solution."
"How do we find the cause if neither of the girls will talk to anyone about this?"
"Patience. I'm sure everything will work itself out in the end. It always does."
"Hey, what's going on around here?" Josh questioned his brother as he sat down at the table for dinner. Riley was missing, yet again. And he hadn't seen Maya in days. Which was unusual because she was always with Riley.
"What do you mean?" Corey asked as he served himself some mashed potatoes.
"It's been quiet. Riley has hardly come out of her room and Maya is no where to be found. Something is definitely going on here. So, what is it?" Josh elaborated as Corey and Topanga shared a look.
"Riley and Maya are in a fight," Auggie explained before having a bite of his chicken.
"What about?"
"We don't know," Topanga admitted as she placed some broccoli on Auggie's plate. He grumbled as his mom gave him a 'you better eat those' look.
"Riley is too upset to tell us what's going on. And Shawn says that Maya will hardly talk to anyone about anything," Corey said sadly before taking a bite of his mashed potatoes. He hummed in approval. "These are really good Topanga."
"Thanks, Corey," Topanga thanked her husband for the compliment before turning back to her brother-in-law. "We don't know what to do. We're all out of ideas."
"Well, first, you should probably try to get them in the same room. Preferably in neutral territory. Or someplace where they can't just run away from each other so easily," Josh suggested before taking a sip of water.
"You know, that's not a bad idea. How about Shawn's cabin? It's in the middle of nowhere, and it's small, so they'd be forced to see each other. We could tell Riley that we're going to spend the week up there," Topanga added as Corey smiled.
"And I get to spend some time with Shawny!" He chirped with excitement as Topanga rolled her eyes.
"What am I? Chopped liver?" Topanga asked rhetorically as Corey continued to smile. "If I didn't know any better, I would think he was the one you married."
"Don't be jealous Topanga," Corey sang as Josh and Auggie tried to hide their laughs. "I'll go give him a call and explain our plans."
"So, Josh, what's going on with you? How's school been?" Topanga asked as she began to eat her own food.
"I've been alright. School is school, y'know."
"Yeah. How's your roommate this year?"
"Better then shnoopaloop. But it's not like we're friends or anything."
"What about Jackie? How's she doing?" Topanga never really liked Jackie, she was just trying to be polite. "Should we be expecting her for the holidays?"
"Uh… no. No you should not. She's with her family in South Carolina."
"Oh, I just figured, since she was here last year that she would be here this year too."
"Yeah, no. We, uh… we actually broke up a month ago."
"Oh. I'm sorry to hear that. What happened, if you don't mind me asking?"
"Things just weren't working out." That wasn't the full truth, but it was part of it. He just wasn't in the mood to get into all of that right now. It was the holidays after all. A time for happiness. A time for peace.