A/N: Alright, let's try this. I wanted to update early since I'm moving into college this weekend, so yay for an early update! Also, since I'm almost done writing this fic, updates will be twice a week starting next week as long as I continue to be 'in the zone', which is looking good!

Riley's mouth dropped as both she and Maya walked up to the restaurant her best friend had chosen. When Maya mentioned Freemason Abbey, Riley just thought of it as another nice restaurant name, not a restaurant built out of an old stone church! It was absolutely remarkable!

Once they stepped inside, a hostess greeted them with a cheery smile. Riley didn't really pay attention as Maya told the hostess that she had made reservations under 'Hart'. She was too busy admiring the craftsmanship that went into building this place. The beamed ceiling, the stained glass windows, and the rustic feel it carried throughout it. She loved it. The hostess skimmed through her book and nodded as she found the name. She picked up two menus and led them to a small booth in the far corner on the second floor. Riley plopped herself down on the seat with her back to the staircase, and Maya sat across from her.

The hostess set the menus in front of them and told them about the specials for that day. "Your waitress will be with you to take your drink orders in a few moments."

The two best friends thanked her and began to glance over the menu. It didn't take long for both of them to decide on what they wanted to drink, but their waitress didn't arrive for another couple of minutes which allowed them to look over the entrée choices. After their drink orders were placed, Riley a raspberry lemonade and Maya a sweet tea, both of them continued to look over the entrées.

"Maya," Riley dragged out. "How am I going to be able to pick from all of this? So many of them sound so good! The steak wrap, downtown burger, the chicken ranch sandwich… I think we're going to have to come here a couple more times before we leave."

Maya chuckled as she glanced over the top of her menu. She made eye contact with both Lucas and Farkle, who had just reached the top of the stairs and were making sure to approach the booth quietly. Lucas was carrying a tray that had Riley's drink sitting atop of it, like they had planned with the restaurant two days ago. Maya closed her menu and shrugged. "Yeah, those sound good. But I've already decided on mine."

Riley glared at her best friend. "Oh hush!"

A smile steadily grew over Maya's lips as the two men gradually came closer to the booth. "Yeah… well, what can I say?"

Riley opened her mouth to respond, but another voice interrupted. "You're drink, ma'am," it said.

When she heard the voice, she felt her back straighten. It wasn't their waitress' voice. In fact, it wasn't a woman's voice at all! It was a man's. As realization set in, it clicked in her mind that she knew that voice. Riley looked up as she saw Lucas set down her drink on the table in front of her. A huge smile was plastered across his face as the two made eye contact.

"Lucas!" she gasped as she jumped up from her spot and wrapped her arms around his neck. Part of her couldn't believe what she was seeing in that he was finally here with her, but the feeling of Lucas' arms wrapping around her waist was quite real. She had missed this feeling far too much; much more than she ever realized. Riley tightened her grip and placed a kiss on his cheek. "I missed you," she whispered.

"I missed you, too."

As the couple released from their embrace, Riley's eyebrow shot up. "Wait a minute. Didn't you say you were coming in tomorrow? How are you here now?"

He took ahold of her hand as they all sat back down. "I wanted to surprise you. That and I know how you don't like large crowds, and we would have been rushed if we had met at the base."

"Thank you."

Maya smirked at her best friend. "You're welcome."

Riley raised an eyebrow. "You were in on this? Of course you were… you had to be if everything was going to work out. Thank you all. This really means a lot to me."

Everyone smiled as the waitress approached their table with the rest of the drinks. "Would you like a few more minutes to look over the menu now that the rest of your party has arrived?"

Lucas took a quick glance at Riley's menu and shook his head. "I'm ready if you all are."

Both of the girls nodded.

"Farkle?"

"I'm getting my usual!" he declared.

The waitress smiled as she shook her head. "I'll take that as a yes, then."

OoOoO

The four friends made their way down the sidewalk towards the hotel as the stars began to brighten up in the night sky. Lucas had draped his arm around Riley's shoulders while both Maya and Farkle were bickering over something trivial as per usual.

"So, how long are you here for?" Riley tiredly asked. She already knew the answer, but for some reason she was hoping that the answer would be different this time around.

"Unfortunately, only for a few days. But I plan on spending as much time with you as I can. Do you and Maya have any plans tomorrow?"

Riley shrugged. "Well, considering that I thought you were docking tomorrow, I don't think so. But you'd have to double check with her."

"We're not doing anything! You two do whatever you want tomorrow," Maya yelled over her shoulder, clearly eavesdropping on the last part of their conversation.

Both Riley and Lucas chuckled as they headed into the hotel and up the stairs. "A movie and a dinner date sound good to you?" Lucas asked.

Riley nodded. "Of course it does. As long as I'm with you."

As they headed down the hallway towards the girls' hotel room, Lucas kissed the top of Riley's head. "I wish there was a way to take you with me. It's getting harder and harder to leave you."

"I know, same here," Riley agreed.

After another moment of silence between the two, Lucas spoke. "So, I'll pick you up tomorrow around ten?"

Riley nodded as Maya opened the door to their room. "Yeah. I'll see you then. Goodnight."

"Night."

Once the door was closed, Farkle looked at Lucas. "Well, that was an interesting day."

Lucas raised an eyebrow. "How so? Because you and Maya were arguing almost all day?"

Farkle released a happy sigh. "Yeah…" he trailed.

"You do realize she's never going to go out with you, right?"

"One can dream… and right now I'm hoping she might someday," he replied before he headed down the hallway. "I'll see you back on the base."

Lucas smiled as he walked away from Riley's hotel room. He really enjoyed spending time with her, and couldn't wait to see her more tomorrow. As he walked out of the hotel, Lucas reached into his pocket and pulled out his cell phone. He dialed in a long distance number that had been etched into his memory and brought it up to his ear. Once the phone touched his ear, Lucas felt his heart rate begin to increase, and he was afraid that it might burst out of his chest if it kept going. He didn't know why his heart was beating so loudly; it wasn't like this was the first time he was calling this number. Just the first (and hopefully the only) time he was calling them with this question. The phone rang a few times before someone on the other end picked up.

"Hello?"

"Mr. Matthews? It's Lucas," he greeted as he felt the adrenalin starting to pump into his body. It was funny. Lucas never felt this nervous catapulting off of a carrier deck, so why was he this nervous now?

"Hello Mr. Friar. How are you doing?"

"I'm doing well, sir. Is Mrs. Matthews there?"

There was a slight pause before Cory answered. "Yes, she's here. Do you need to speak with her?"

"Actually…I would like to talk with the both of you, if that's alright."

Another break came over the phone as he could hear Cory's muffled voiced asking Topanga to pick up the phone in the kitchen. It was another couple of moments before there was any sort of noise on the line.

"Alright. I'm here," Topanga said. "Is everything alright?"

"Yeah, everything is fine. The reason why I called you is because I have something that I need to ask the two of you."

A/N #2: Okay, you probably wanted more of a Rucas reunion, but I really couldn't think of anything else to add. But don't worry! Plenty of Rucas to come in the next chapter! And before you head out, could you please leave a review? I really want to know what you guys think of it – what you like and don't like. Until then lovelies!