Cory and Topanga walked into Auggie's room to find him lying underneath his blanket on his bed.

"Honey, can you come out, please?" Topanga asked him.

There was a shake of the covers as Auggie said no. Riley then walked in and stood next to her parents.

"Auggie, you need to come out, bud," Cory said, sitting on the bed.

There was no response.

"Alright, I'm comin' in," Cory said as he quickly took the blanket off of Auggie's head.

"No!" Auggie cried as he covered his head with his arms.

"Auggie, do you want some chocolate cake?" Topanga said enticingly.

At that, Auggie scrambled to sit up as quickly as he could and looked at Topanga.

She laughed. "I knew that would do the trick!" She went to sit next to Cory and took her husband's hand.

"We need to talk to you about this 'new baby' stuff," Cory said to Auggie. "Come here," he said, motioning onto his lap.

Auggie followed his father's hand motion and jumped onto his lap.

"Riley, you'd better come here too," Topanga said, looking up at Riley standing in the doorway.

"I think I'm a little old to sit on your lap," Riley said sourly.

"Hey, knock it off," Topanga scolded Riley. "I really don't think you're being the best role model for your brother."

"Sorry," Riley said, still holding onto a smidge of irritation.

Topanga ignored the still-present attitude in Riley's voice and turned to Auggie.

"Honey, remember when you told us you wanted a brother?"

"Yeah," Auggie said, still angry.

"Why did you want a brother?"

"I don't know," he began. "To play with and stuff."

"Well, you can play with the new baby once he or she gets older," Cory said.

"And you know, the new baby will really want to play with you. Because you know who's going to be the coolest person to play with?" Topanga asked him.

"Who?" Auggie asked, beginning to get excited.

"Let's see. Who's going to be the best big brother there ever was?" Topanga asked.

"Me!" Auggie exclaimed.

"That's right!" Cory said. Then he turned to Riley.

"And you know, if it's a girl, she's going to really look up to you. You'll be the cool older sister that can help with picking out clothes and doing hair. And if it's a boy, you'll be the one he goes to with his questions about girls," Cory said, laughing.

Riley caught herself smiling and then let out an exasperated sigh. "But why did you guys have a baby now?"

"It wasn't exactly something we planned, Riley," Topanga said. "And we'll get through it. Because we all love each other. And this new baby is only going to make us love each other more. Don't worry. Everything's going to be okay." She motioned for Riley to sit next to her, and she did.

Cory put his arms around his family and said, "No matter what happens, it could never take away from how much we love you two. The baby will need a lot of attention, but we'll still make sure we have Auggie and Riley time."

"A lot of things are going to change, but they're going to be good changes," continued Topanga. "And we'll get to have a lot more time together as a family. So don't worry about this, guys. We love you." She reached her arms around her family and pulled them into a hug.

xxxxxxXxxxxxx

Meanwhile, in Riley's room…

Katy shut the door after Maya walked in.

"What was that?" Katy asked.

"Mom, I didn't do anything. All I did was say that-"

"No, Maya. You said that you wish you were Riley. That's what you said."

"No! Mom, I didn't say that!" Maya yelled.

"Well, it sure sounded like it. Now, I know I'm not the best mother in the world, but-"

"Stop it!" Maya interrupted. "I don't care if you're the worst mother, which you're not. I wouldn't trade you for anything. I don't blame you for Dad leaving. I don't blame you for working a lot. Why do you act like I hate you?"

Katy stopped and looked at Maya with concern. "That's what you think?" Katy asked with tears in her eyes. "I don't-I do not think you hate me."

"Then why are we having this conversation?" Maya asked, still yelling.

"I don't know, Maya," Katy said quietly. She sat on Riley's bed and looked up at Maya.

"I guess sometimes I don't feel like I'm the best for you. I think that you would be better off with some other family with two parents. I love you, Maya. I love you so much. And I only want what's best for you."

Maya went to sit next to her mother. "Mom, there is nobody else I would rather have as my mother."

"Then why would you say that?" Katy asked, looking up at Maya again.

"I just wonder what it would be like if Dad didn't leave," Maya said solemnly. "Would I have a life like Riley? I don't know. So I guess I kind of blame him. He left us alone. He made it so that we can't have that. And I don't think that's fair."

"It's not fair," Katy said. "But you know what?" she said as she lifted her daughter's chin up. "He's missing out. Because you are the most thoughtful and wonderful and beautiful daughter I could ever have. So I don't want to you worry about that. And you know what else? You might not have your father there, but you have Mr. Matthews. You know he'll always be there for you. And Shawn," she began. At hearing his name, Maya quickly looked up.

"You've got him looking out for you too. You can always go to one of them if you need some fatherly advice. They would be more than happy to help you out," Katy said.

"I know," Maya said. "I do love you, Mom. I'm in the best place I could be. Besides, I don't want to be Riley. She doesn't get to have as much one on one with her family. And imagine how bad it would be to have a parent as a teacher," Maya said with laughter.

"Now, that's true," Katy said, chuckling. "I love you too, Maya." Katy hugged her daughter tightly.

xxxxxxXxxxxxx

In the kitchen…

After the rest of the party left, Angela and Shawn were the only ones in the kitchen.

"So," Shawn began.

"So," Angela replied.

"We've been ditched," Shawn said with a chuckle.

"Yep, they've moved on. Now what?" Angela asked.

"I don't know," he answered. "Maybe just catch up."

"Okay, well, how've you been?" she asked him.

"Good. You?"

"Good."

"So, uh, what have you been up to since you left with your dad?" Shawn asked.

"Well, we had a good time in Europe. It was really fun. We saw a lot of sights and ate at some pretty cool places. Then I came back to America and settled in Florida," Angela said, recalling her travels.

"Wow, Florida! That's cool. I bet it was nice weather down there by Orlando," he said, imagining the warmth.

"It was," Angela said, smiling to herself. "Beautiful."

"So what did you do after that?" Shawn asked.

"Oh, well I stayed in Florida for quite a few years. I got a writing job and really enjoyed my time there."

"So what made you leave?"

"Well, um, I just decided it was time to go," she said, looking away.

"Okay, I know you better than that. First, there's no way you would just leave a paradise. Second, that was an obvious cover-up," Shawn said, smiling at his still-present knowledge of her. "Why did you really leave?"

Angela studied Shawn's face for a few seconds and then sighed and put her head in her hands.

"What's wrong?" he asked her. He walked over to her and put his hand on her back to comfort her, but she jumped at the touch.

"Sorry!" she said. "I'm just not used to that."

"No, that's my fault. That was inappropriate."

"You're just trying to care for a friend," she said, looking up at him. Then she sighed again and said, "I left because I couldn't stand the memories that I'd made there."

"What are you talking about?" Shawn asked, confused.

"Shawn, I got married there," she said.

"What?" He backed away from her and ran into a chair. "What- I mean who-how did-"

"Shawn, it was a quick thing. I didn't expect it. But before I knew it, he asked me to marry him, and I said yes. Please don't overreact. It was quite a few years after I left, and I thought enough time had passed for me to find someone else. So when I met Mark, I thought it was okay."

"No, you're right," he said, trying to convince himself. "It's none of my business. It's your life."

"I didn't invite anyone except a few people I'd met there to the wedding. Not even Topanga knows about this. I wasn't really in communication with any of you guys then. I'm sorry you had to find out like this," she said, looking over at him as he ran his fingers through his hair.

"What happened? Why aren't you married now?" Shawn asked quietly.

"Well, he was in the army and he was taken to Afghanistan. He died in battle."

"Angela, I'm so sorry," Shawn said, slowly making his way back to her.

"It's okay, Shawn. I'm better now."

"But losing your dad and then him- you can't possibly be okay," he said, still walking to her.

Angela stood up and said, "I can be strong, you know."

"I know," he said. "But you can only take that so far before you need somebody to help you." He was right next to her now.

"I don't," she said.

"That's why you came here. You need us. And you know it. I know it," Shawn said quietly, standing close to her and looking into her deep brown eyes.

Angela only stared back for a moment and then slowly and gently nodded.

"That's good, though. Because we need you too," he said.

They stood close to each other, their hands nearly touching.

Loud walking in the hallway interrupted the former couple, and they quickly jumped away from each other to watch Cory and Topanga leading Auggie and Riley back into the room.