CHAPTER ONE

"Hey, Maya. I have a little surprise for you."

Shawn Hunter, Maya's adopted dad, was waiting for her at Topanga's, the local hangout, when Maya walked in with her friends. Katy was not there yet.

"Well, ya know I love being kept in suspense," Shawn knew that Maya was being sarcastic. "What's up?"

"Guess who's coming to New York for a visit."

Maya pretended to think for a moment, "Well, let's see.. Uncle Boing is already here, so I have no idea."

"Another uncle of yours," Shawn replied.

Maya thought for a moment, but then her eyes lit up.

"Uncle Ironside?"

"That's the one."

"Cool!"

"Uncle Ironside?!" asked Riley, "Who's that?"

"My uncle. You remember him, Riley."

Riley thought for a split second, "Oh yeah. Desert Storm veteran. He lost his legs to a landmine."

"Yep. Just below the knee."

"Why 'Uncle Ironside'?" Lucas asked.

"Because he spends most of his time in a wheelchair." Maya answered.

"Doesn't he wear prosthetics?" Farkle asked.

"Only when he has to," Maya replied, "He told me his old prosthetics got recalled, but he got tired of waiting for the company to send his new legs to Ohio, so he's coming here to get them."

"He's coming here to find his legs," said Riley contemplatingly, "Am I the only one who thinks that sounds weird?"

"I'll bet he has some stories to tell," said Lucas.

"Oh, he's a really good storyteller," said Maya. "That might be why he works on radio."

"He's on the radio?"

"Yeah, he works for a media group in Cleveland," said Maya. "They do all sorts of stuff on radio and television and digital media, but mainly he's a voiceover guy and a disc jockey on satellite radio."

"Maybe we can get some pointers from him," said Farkle.

"Pointers for what?" asked Riley.

"Our new radio show," Smackle answered. "We got some air time on the high school radio station to do our science show."

"What science show?" Lucas asked.

"The Smarkle Hour!" Farkle and Smackle proclaim together.

"Farkle," said Lucas, "As much money as your dad makes, you could have easily built your own radio station."

"I did."

"You did?"

"Yeah, at the high school."

Lucas couldn't believe his ears. "You built the high school radio station?!"

"Actually, the Minkus Family Foundation did," Maya said.

"I didn't know that," said Lucas.

"You were in Texas when it happened, Huckleberry." said Maya.

Lucas could only shake his head and smile.

"So, Dad," said Maya, "When is Uncle Ironside supposed to get into town?"

"He should be getting in…"

"…right about now!"

A baritone voice boomed from the doorway. Everyone turned around to see a large, smiling, gray-haired bespectacled man slowly coming through the doorway in a wheelchair.

"Ironside!" Maya squealed.

"Batgirl!"

Maya goes up to give her uncle a hug..

"Wait a minute!"

The uncle stops her for a moment, holding his downturned hand up to Maya's height, then following it with his eyes, lowered it down to her knees, then looked back up at Maya.

"Young lady, you've done some serious growing."

"Yeah, well, I haven't grown that much."

"But you've still grown." the uncle said. He then laughs and spreads out his arms to welcome Maya's embrace. Then he looks at his brother-in-law.

"You got here early," said Shawn, "How did you get down the stairs?"

"What? Didn't you hear the crashing?"

It took a moment for the joke to settle in, but once it did everyone chuckled including John, "No, a couple of people were on their way up, and they were nice enough to help bring me down. Of course now that I'm down, going back up may be a challenge- unless I can find someone who has an anti-gravity device."

"I can build one for you." The voice was Farkle's.

"He's not kidding, either." Smackle added.

"I'll have to get back to you on that," John said. "Farkle, isn't it?"

"The one and only." replied Farkle with a smile as he shook John's hand.

"That I believe," said John, "Maya's told me about you. And you," John looked at the bespectacled, raven-haired girl standing next to Farkle, "You must be Farkle's girlfriend. Maya told me about you, too."

"Isadora Smackle," she and John shake hands, "Pleasure to meet you, Mr. Ironside."

"Hey," said Maya, "Only I get to call him that."

John chuckles, "It's Beckett. John Beckett," he said to Smackle, "But you can call me John." Smackle smiles back at John, who then turned to look at the tall, strapping young man standing next to Riley, "I'm not sure I know you, though."

"Lucas Friar, sir," said Lucas, extending his hand for John to shake.

John stared at Lucas for a moment as he shook his hand. "Texas?" he finally said.

"Austin," Lucas replied.

"Knew it," said John, "Friendliest people in the world. And by the way, you can call me John, too."

"Wait, you mean Maya never told you about me?" Lucas sounded a little disappointed.

"Well, from time to time she dropped a lot of nicknames, never used the same one twice. I figured there was more than one guy."

"You mean nicknames like 'Ranger Rick', 'Hee Haw' and 'Huckleberry'?"

John was a little surprised. "Yeah.. and some guy named Twigglebottom something-or-other," he added, and then it occurred to him, "Wait a minute, you mean those are all you?"

Lucas nodded, "Mortimer Twigglebottom-Smythe," he said in his phony British accent.

John laughed heartily at Lucas' humor. "Well, I guess I shouldn't be surprised," John responded in an exaggerated British accent of his own. "Rupert Maximillian-Paddington at your service, young man." They all share a large laugh as John again shakes Lucas' hand, then his eyes then suspiciously came to rest on the tall, slender brunette standing next to Maya.

"Gidget?!"

"You remember me!" Riley said happily.

"The little girl with the big ideas. How could I forget?" Riley laughed as she gave John a hug. "Boy, it's been a while," said John, "You've done some growing, too."

"Good to see you again, Uncle John."

"You too, Riley," said John, "Your dad still teaching?"

"Yep, and Mom's still lawyering,"

"And branching out into the bakery business," Maya added, "She runs this place now."

"Oh, she does, huh?" John looked around and nodded in approvement.

"Yeah, she does," another female voice replied from the doorway. It was Topanga walking through the door with Cory, Auggie and his girlfriend Ava right behind her. John turned his chair around and smiled at the adult couple.

"I should have figured by the name of the place."

Topanga looked at the handicapped man with a little confusion, but then her eyes widened in recognition, "John Beckett?" she said.

"In what's left of the flesh!"

"Hey, John," said Cory, extending his hand. "It's been a long time."

"Month of proverbial Sundays," said John.

"So what brings you to New York?" asked Topanga.

"Ohh," John pondered whimsically as he looked back grinning at Riley, "I'm just here to find my legs." Riley blushed as she smiled.

"You still haven't gotten your new prosthetics?" said Cory.

"No, I haven't," John replied, "And I'm getting kinda tired of taking all my turns on one and-a-half wheels." His eyes come to rest on the young boy and the girl standing next to him.

"I don't believe I've had the pleasure, young man." said John.

"I'm August Matthews, sir," said Auggie, shaking John's hand, "But all my friends call me Auggie."

"Well, I hope you can add my name to your friends list," said John.

"I already have."

John's eyebrows raise. "I think I just might have my work cut out for me here." he said to Cory and Topanga.

"Think you can handle it, John?" asked Topanga.

"Well, if he's still talking to me after two weeks, then I know I've done something right." John replied. He then turns his eyes to the girl standing next to Auggie.

"And you are?"

"Ava Morgenstern," said Ava. The girl and the man shake hands.

"Nice to meet you, Ms. Morgenstern," said John. He looks at the two standing together with a touch of suspicion.

"Let me guess: Boyfriend and girlfriend, right?" His pointed finger alternates between the two.

"They've been married for fifty-three years." said Cory.

"Huh?!" John did a double take at Cory's words.

"It's a long story," said Topanga.

"Hey, what happened to your legs, Mr. Beckett?" asked Ava.

Speaking of long stories, John thought.

"Ava.." Topanga began.

"No, no," said John, "It's all right, Topanga. This young lady here asks a valid question, and it deserves a valid answer." He then turns to Ava and explains, "I was in the military a few years back. While I was deployed overseas a jeep I was riding in accidentally drove over a landmine."

"So you lost your legs to the landmine?" Ava asked.

"No, it wasn't so much the landmine itself," John continued, "The explosion blew the jeep high into the air. I hit the ground first, and then the jeep came back down on my feet, right below my knees."

"Ouch.." Auggie said, "That must have been awful."

"Actually, I was very lucky," said John, "But I can't say the same for my friends."

"What do you mean?" asked Ava.

"There were five of us in the jeep," John explained, "I was the only one that survived."

The others all winced at hearing this. Everyone, that is, except for Katy, who had just walked in and made her way behind the counter to get ready for work. Shawn was the first one to notice her coming in.

"Hi, Honey."

"Hey, Shawn." Katy said quietly.

"Hey, you know, your brother is here." said Shawn,

"I- I know. I saw him."

"Is something wrong?" Shawn asked with concern, but Katy gently brushed the question off.

"Shawn, can we... not... talk about this right now?"

Shawn looked at his wife for a long moment; her words and the tone of her words confirming that something was indeed wrong, but he decided to go along with her request, at least for the moment.

"Okay." he said quietly.

From the other side of the room, John caught a glimpse at the look on his younger sister's face. Even from this distance he could feel the temperature in the room quickly drop ten degrees and the awkwardness level start to rise, though John did his best to hide his emotional discomfort.

"Well, listen, folks, I'm, uh... I'm gonna need to go back to the hotel room and freshen up a little," he said somewhat curtly, "Maybe we can, uh... meet up again for dinner somewhere?"

"You said you were in town for a couple of weeks?" said Cory.

"Yeah."

"How about our place Sunday night?" Topanga offered.

John nods in approval. "Sounds good to me."

"Okay, we'll see you then." said Cory.

"Done deal." said John as he wheels himself back out the door, but stops as he remembers the stairway leading up to the street. He turns back to the others.

"Uhm, could I get a little help here?"

"I'm on it," said Lucas, who begins to walk toward the door with Farkle and Smackle right behind. "We have to be taking off, too. See you guys later." he called to the others.

After they help John back up the stairs, Shawn turns back to Katy.

"All right, Katy," Shawn softly said, "What's going on?"

Katy is somewhat indignant at Shawn's quick change in attitude.

"I thought we agreed we weren't going to talk about it."

"Yeah, well, that was then," Shawn replied, "This is now."

"Shawn..."

"Katy, that's your brother, and you didn't even say hi to him."

Katy looked down at the floor.

"Katy," Shawn repeated softly, "What's wrong?"

Katy heaved a heavy sigh. "I guess you're going to find out sooner or later."

"Find out what?" Shawn asked.

"It's... it's not easy for me to talk about this, Shawn." she slowly said.

"Talk about what, Mom?" Maya joined the private conversation.

Maya looks expectantly at her mother, who looks back at her with concern in her eyes. It was difficult enough that Katy was being coerced to tell her husband something about John that few people knew, but now she was faced with having to tell her daughter at the same time. In Katy's mind, what was not easy a moment ago just took a more complicated turn.

Katy heaved a heavy sigh. "You know, I never mentioned this before, Shawn, but... I kind of envy you."

Shawn had to hold in a chuckle. "You envy me? Why?"

"Because you actually knew your father," Katy replied.

"I barely knew him." Shawn added.

"But you still knew him," Katy reiterated, "Have you ever heard me talk about my dad?"

"Well... now that I think about it, no." Shawn answered.

"There's a reason for that."

"And the reason is?"

"Because I have no memory of him," Katy said softly, "He... died right before I was born."

Shawn looks at Maya shrugging her shoulders.

"I'm sorry for that," Shawn quietly said, "but how does John fit into all of this?"

Katy swallowed a lump in her throat. These next words were not going to come out easily.

"Because… because John is the reason our dad is dead."

Shawn looked hard at Katy.

"What?"

Katy did a quarter-turn away from Shawn and Maya shaking her head.

"You mean John killed your father?"

Still facing away from them, Katy nodded hesitatingly. "I was nine when I found out."

"How did it happen? And why?" Shawn asked.

"I don't know." Katy whispered.

"John never told you why?"

Katy turned back to Shawn and Maya fighting back a tear. "No," she finally said, "And neither did Mom."

Shawn and Maya exchange glances.

"I've got to get to work." Katy said curtly, and walked over to the register to wait on a customer. It took Shawn several moments to process this new information, and then he looked at Maya again.

"Did you know about this, Maya?"

"She said that Grandpa was dead and she never knew him," Maya replied, "but she never said anything about Uncle John killing him."

"So this is news to you as much as it is to me."

Maya nodded, "Yeah, it is."

"I think I should go and talk to John." Shawn said.

"I'm going with you." Maya asserted.

"You sure?"

"Dad, if there is more to this story, and we both believe there is," Maya said, "then the truth deserves to come out for all of us."

Shawn nods to his adopted daughter, and the two head for the doorway. Cory, Topanga, Riley, Auggie and Ava are sitting in the sofas near the door as they head out.

"Where you goin', Shawnie?" Cory asked.

"Maya and I have some errands to run." Shawn replied.

"We'll see you guys later." Maya said.

A show of waving hands and a chorus of byes as father and daughter walk out; Katy casts a glance at them as they leave, but then does a double take and watches them closer as they walk up the stairs...

END OF CHAPTER ONE