A/N: Hi Guest! I unfortunately can't do a chapter from Lucas' POV in this story. I'm sorry!

*sigh* well… here's the first update of the term while I'm sitting in a lecture eating a sandwich and bored out of my mind. Good afternoon guys! Just wanted to let you know I'm halfway done responding to stuff and I plan to finish the rest of the stuff tonight! (A New Year's Resolution that's been going on for 18 days... Welp.)

So what happened to Maya Hart? ;3 You guys ready?

Thank you guys for being so sweet and patient with me while I got so lazy during the break (lol that was an all time low)! I appreciate the reviews and I thank you for all being so kind and supportive! I love you guys so much! Thank you for sticking with me despite how inconsistent I am with... well... lol life. :)

Disclaimer: I do not own Girl Meets World, but… eh I got nothing…

"Happy birthday, Smackle!"

Missy blew a noisemaker loudly in her face while Farkle kissed her cheek. Smackle grinned as Riley popped a party hat on her head, snapping the string in place and then clapping enthusiastically.

"To Smackle," Maya said, lifting up her shot. "For gifting us with yet another year of her anal retentiveness, sharp tongue, and complete disinterest in social activites."

"Here, here!" Missy and Farkle cheered, hitting their shot with Maya's and then knocking it back at the same time.

Riley giggled, sipping her water as patrons of the small sushi bar they were in glanced at them in annoyance.

"Happy Birthday, Izzy." Riley said warmly, sliding over an envelope to her. "Maya and I pitched in and got you this. It's a two hundred dollar all-purpose prepaid card so you can buy whatever you want with it."

"Thank you. I appreciate it." Smackle said.

Missy leaned over and whispered in Maya's ear. "A card? Let me guess. You two did last minute gift shopping."

"Cut us some slack." Maya muttered, sipping on her Long Island. "We had a meeting at the school all afternoon."

"You had a year. No excuses."

Maya rolled her eyes in amusement.

"I guess it's my turn now," Farkle said, pulling a small velvet box out of his jacket pocket.

Missy gasped, her eyes wide. "Oh my God… Is that—"

"An engagement ring?" Riley finished as they both stared at it in shock.

"Uh no." Farkle said quickly, scratching the back of his head as Smackle opened the box. "It's a key to my place. So you can come and go as you want… or if you… you know… want to move in with me or something. That's fine too."

Smackle stared at it for a few beats of silence as the rest of them waited patiently for her reaction. She looked up at him with a frown.

"Farkle Minkus. Are you asking me to cohabit in your living quarters?"

"I figured since we've been together for this long, it was about time. All your stuff is basically in my apartment."

"Well then. I accept." She wrapped her arms around his neck, giving him a tight squeeze. "I'm so glad it wasn't an engagement ring. I am nowhere near ready to even think about marriage."

"Good." Farkle looked relieved. "I'm glad."

"Awwww…"

Missy and Riley gushed obnoxiously, their voices high pitched and their squeals nearly busting out the ear drums of their friends. Smackle and Farkle nuzzled their noses together, and Missy's grin turned into a disgusted sneer.

"You guys are just so cute flaunting your perfect relationship in our faces when you're the only ones in one," Missy said sarcastically, "and the rest of us are suffering from a lack of decent men in this damn city."

"Maya will be in one soon too if she keeps flirting with Mr. Friar like she has." Riley piped up, innocently taking a sip of her water when Maya turned her head and scowled at her.

Maya knew Riley would make some sort of comment about it. She was hoping Riley's words might slide or be ignored or chalked up to Riley's current behaviour issues due to her pregnancy, but Maya had no such luck. Everyone's eyes were on her.

"…Mr. Friar? Is he not that super hot dad you told me about that one time, Riley?" Missy asked curiously. "The one with the eyes?"

Riley nodded. "Yeah. Mr. Tall Dark And Handsome. Maya was hardcore flirting with him earlier today at Belles. You should have seen them. They couldn't take their eyes off of each other."

"We were conversing. Obviously we were looking at each other," Maya said quickly. "Pay no attention to Riley's blathering mouth. She's on a drug called pregnancy."

"Flirting?" Farkle asked slowly in concern. "Isn't that a conflict of interest or something?"

"Yeah. Is it okay for teachers to date the parents of their students?" Smackle asked in confusion.

"There's nothing technically or legally wrong with dating a parent of your student," Maya explained. "It's more of a moral or ethical thing because of possible nepotism or favouritism, but that's not an issue because a) I'm not going to date nor am I interested in dating Lucas—"

"Lucas, huh? You guys are already on a first name basis?" Missy waggled her eyebrows suggestively.

Maya shot Missy an irritated look.

"—and b) I'm professional enough that I can keep personal feelings away from social interactions. We had one little conversation that was a tiny bit playful. I mean, yeah we're something like maybe friends I guess, but that's as far as it will go."

"Except that he saw you without your top on~" Riley sang nonchalantly, the perfect picture of innocence even though she had a mischievous gleam lingering in her eyes.

"What?!" Missy exclaimed at the same time that Farkle's chopsticks fell out of his hands and clattered onto the table noisily. The area around them momentarily grew quiet, patrons of the sushi bar turning to the group in irritation. "Did you two—"

"It wasn't like that!" Maya quickly corrected. She knew she shouldn't have told Riley about the little incident while they'd been shopping. "I got sprayed with water in my classroom and momentarily took off my shirt to put on my spare, and he happened to walk in at the wrong moment. There was nothing else. The incident didn't matter at all and it's been forgotten."

Smackle frowned. "Has it though?"

"Yes, we've forgotten about it," Maya said sharply.

"Well, maybe you have, but how do you know he did? If I saw an attractive woman I'm friends with in her bra, I wouldn't forget it that easily. Especially if I saw her often." Smackle cast him an annoyed raised brow and Farkle cleared his throat. "Not that I would even pay attention to her in the first place."

"Good save." Missy drawled, taking a sip of her beer.

"He's forgotten about it." Maya asserted.

"I don't buy that," Missy said. "That image of you is probably engrained in his mind, Maya. I mean look at you. Who wouldn't keep fantasizing about you? I bet he keeps imagining those charming baby blues of yours looking like a deer in headlights as he takes care of—"

"That's exactly what I thought too!" Riley exclaimed. "I think he's attracted to her. Missy, I wish you could have been there this afternoon when we were at Belles. And then he walked her home once. If that's not romance in the making, I don't know what is!"

"It wasn't romantic! We literally only had a conversation."

Maya's cellphone started ringing in her bag, and she rolled her eyes, reaching inside and digging around the mess of old receipts and tampons to find it. She pulled it out and then froze when she saw her mother was calling. Maya swallowed tightly, standing up slowly as her breathing harshened a bit.

"Guys, I have to take this call. I'll be right back."

She walked slowly towards the front doors, pretending like it was no big deal. As soon as she knew she was out of sight of her friends, she walked faster, straight out of the small restaurant, and headed over to one of the secluded outdoor tables in the front. She plopped down in one of the chairs, trying to control her breathing as she answered the call with a trembling finger.

"Mom."

"Maya, I got a call from the hospital that you were inquiring about your baby again," Katy said furiously. "I can't believe you. You're continuing on with this thing?! I thought this ended years ago!"

Maya's breath caught in her chest. She'd been hoping they wouldn't contact her mother about it.

"It never ended. I only told you it did that so you'd stop bugging me about it."

"Maya, this is nuts. What are you going to do, look for every single child who fits her description?"

"Yes."

Katy sighed on the phone, sounding exasperated.

"We talked about this, baby girl. She could be anywhere out there. Maya, I understand you want to look for her, but this?"

"But nothing. If I have to visit or call every orphanage until I find her, I will." Maya said emphatically.

"And if she's already adopted?"

"Then I'll track her down anywhere. Whatever it takes. One day, that little girl is going to know that she was adopted. And I don't want her to think I didn't love her. I don't want her to resent me. I want her to know I want her."

"What are you planning to do? Just take her away from her family just because you're her biological mom? That's crazy. And that's unfair to her new family and to her."

"I don't want to take her away from her family. I want to be involved in her life. I want her to know that I do still want her so she can have a choice on who she wants to stay with in the future. And maybe one day, she'll want to be with her biological mother. She should have that option since she is my child after all."

Katy was silent for a long time, and Maya picked at her fingernails, already anticipating what she was about to say.

"Maya… Do you even hear yourself right now?" Katy scolded her sharply. "When you gave her up for adoption, you gave up your rights to be her mother. She's not your child anymore. We were right to tell the hospital not to reveal any information to you about where she was sent. Give it up already. It's been seven years. It's time for you to move on from it."

"I'm not giving up! And you suggesting that I stop looking for her isn't right. I had to give up my damn baby, Mom, because of all of you guys pressuring me. I suffered because of it." Maya's voice broke, her lower lip trembling. "For three years I held on to that grief feeling guilty and disgusted for giving her away and I was so empty. So, so empty and devoid of meaning in my life."

"I thought the therapy you had after Gammy passed away helped you. Why are you like this again?"

"It did help. It helped me to realize I needed to find her." Maya chuckled mirthlessly. "Finding her is the only way I can truly heal."

"We need to call Dr. Marks again and set up an appointment because you're still doing and talking about this insane stuff."

"Mom, you don't understand! I'm okay! I don't need therapy!" Maya shouted, tears trickling down her cheeks. "I've been searching for so long. It's been four years without finding her. I just want to see her again. I just want to fix the mistake I made. I just want your help. I just need you to support me for once so I can find my damn child! Can't you do that for me? I've barely asked for anything from you because you were never available to help me. The least you can do is consider what I want right now after making me grow up on my own!"

Maya sniffled shakily, angrily swiping at her tears with her sleeves, angry that the old wounds from her past were being dredged up with this conversation.

"…Fine. I'll help a little bit, okay? I can go to the hospital and try to see if I can get some information about her possible whereabouts, but you need to know that what you're doing is crazy, Maya. It's unhealthy. You can't just go through every single orphanage and seek out all the blonde haired, blue eyed girls until you find the right one. You need to move on with your life and finally start living. You're twenty-six, and you're still stuck on something that happened when you were eighteen."

"It doesn't matter," Maya said through grit teeth, closing her eyes momentarily. "My life doesn't matter. Not until I find her."

"Does Riley know you've still been doing this?"

"No. And she can't know. She'll try to make me stop again."

"Look. I hope you find this girl so you can finally grow out of whatever this thing is that's been going on in your head," Katy said sternly. "Because punishing yourself for something in the past by choosing not to let yourself be happy and spending your life feeling guilty about the baby you gave up is the exact reason why you had that mental breakdown in college in the first place."

"She'll be turning eight on June seventh." Maya stated, ignoring her mother's words. "She should be in the second grade this year."

Katy sighed dejectedly.

"Maya, you know she could be anywhere, right? She might not even be in New York."

"As you've mentioned thousands of times. But I will find her. Even if it takes me my whole life to do so, I will."

"Maya…"

"I made a mistake, Mom. Made the worst choice of my life and now it's time for me to make amends. I just want to find my baby."

"Alright Maya. Just… remember that life moves on okay? If you get so stuck and caught on the things that happened when you were young, you'll miss what's happening in life right now."

Maya didn't say anything.

"…And I'm sorry, okay? If your behaviour right now is because of me and neglecting you for most of your young life, I'm so sorry that I did this to you," Katy said, her voice wavering as she spoke. "You never used to be this bad. It's like Gammy's death made you lose your sanity or something. I just don't know how to fix you. And I can't help but feel like it's too late to do anything now."

"I'm not broken, Mom. There's nothing to fix, and I wish you would stop speaking as if I'm mental," Maya growled. "I just need to find my baby. That's all. So either get on board and shut up, or we're done here. So are you going to help me or not?"

"Fine. I'll see what I can do." Katy sniffled. "But I don't agree with any of this, and I don't like seeing you like this. You need to talk to a professional therapist who can help you get through this because no matter how much it hurt giving her up for adoption, your life continued and you should have moved on. Bye Maya."

"Bye Mom."

She hung up, inhaling unsteadily as she stared out at the street, trying to control her jerky breathing from her impending sobs. She swallowed thickly, fighting her urge to cry.

Her mom was wrong.

Life had stopped moving for her the minute she gave away her baby. The minute she signed those papers and turned away from the cries she heard in that hospital room. The minute she broke down, sobbing wretchedly as the doctors took away the source of happiness she'd carried for nine months. As the doctor took away the baby she'd made and cared for in her womb for so long.

And life wouldn't start up again until she found her.

She'd made that promise to herself, deciding that she couldn't move on until she found her baby. Maya regretted letting her go with every fiber of her being. And now she was missing her chances to hold her and rock her to sleep. To teach her how to read and write. To clean up her scraped elbows. To be there for her first elementary crush. To have her call her 'mommy'. To read her bedtime stories. To do her hair. To teach her how to play catch. To cherish her and love her until the day she died.

And she wanted that. She desperately wanted that.

Maya opened up her wallet, looking in between the dollar bills she had on hand and pulled out the small photo she always kept with her as a reminder to never forget the wrong she had done.

Blue eyes and a blonde head of hair framing an adorable chubby cheeked heart shaped face with a button nose and a toothless smile stared back up at her. Maya smiled as she stared at the photo, her heart aching and eyes welling with tears as she traced the perfect face of her little girl.

Maya had left her address when she signed the papers giving away her child for adoption, but hadn't tried to find out where her baby had gone or who she had gone to and had asked for a closed adoption so her child wouldn't know about her. One year later, she'd received a tiny wallet sized photo in the mail. It had been of her daughter with a little note scribbled on the back saying 'We can't thank you enough for giving us a chance at happiness. Thank you so much.' But there had been no return address, so there was no way she could figure out who had sent it or from where.

Maya had given her child up, all for the sake of a damn scholarship to college. Everyone dissuaded her from keeping her baby because they believed it wouldn't be worth it. They believed she would lose all her opportunities because no one had enough faith in her that she could get any more chances to get an education. Maya had already believed that she couldn't beat the negative expectations of her life, having little self-worth and having gone through high school without much care to academics. Accidentally getting pregnant in her last year of high school had been the nail in the coffin of anyone believing she could be successful and had shattered the last of Maya's self-esteem that she was good for anything.

The disdain on everyone's faces always showed when they talked to her. She was Maya Hart. A screw up and destined for only bad things in life. They'd pushed her to lose the baby and go to college on her softball scholarship so she could have an education and make something of herself instead of becoming a single mother with only a high school education and no shot at a future. The only one who had supported Maya no matter what was her Gammy, but it hadn't been enough. Maya had let the rest of the adults get into her head, and she'd given up, thinking that keeping the baby would be the worst mistake of her life.

But it was clearly the other way around. Maya should have gone with her gut.

It didn't matter though. Even if she'd been looking for four years. Even if each time she failed it was harder to get back up and start searching again. Even if she'd already searched countless places and people until she had bags under her eyes and could barely lift her head. Even if she'd hit so many dead ends and had to start her search over hundreds of times.

She was determined to find her baby one day.

Sniffling and wiping her eyes once again, Maya pulled out her compact and stared at herself, observing her face in it to make sure that she didn't look like she was red eyed or she'd been crying. The last thing she needed was her friends badgering her and thinking something was wrong. She'd worked hard to convince everyone she was no longer trying to find her baby, and she didn't want to get thwarted now because she was careless.

Satisfied, Maya snapped close her compact and wallet, stuffing them in her purse before she stood up and headed back into the restaurant.

"I'm happy Maya right now. Satisfied with life. Enjoying myself."

As Maya headed back to her celebrating friends, she pulled her lips up into a smile, perfectly concealing the turmoil currently running through her mind. She settled into her chair, picking up her drink and taking a sip.

"Who called you?" Riley asked curiously, rubbing her abdomen.

"It was just my mom," Maya said nonchalantly, waving off the inquiry. "The usual. Concerned about my adult life and what not. Anyway. Missy. We never saw your gift to Smackle."

"Right!" Missy said. "Open my gift, Smackle. It's just perfect. Unlike those two lazy bums, I got your gift months ago considering I know how much you love…"

Maya tuned out Missy's excited chattering, picking up her drink and taking a long pull of it. She crunched on an ice cube that made its way inside her mouth, staring as Smackle opened her gift, though not really registering what was going on around her. The only thing on her mind was her conversation with her mother. Maya had meant what she said.

No matter what it took and no matter how long it took, she would find her baby.