She wakes up curled into a ball, sunlight streaming onto her face. The world is flaming red behind her closed eyelids, and she groans. Her mother bought blackout drapes the day they moved in, neither of them were early risers. She must have forgotten to put them down. Without opening her eyes, she crawls out of bed, then promptly trips and falls straight onto her face.

"Shit!" She mutters, rubbing her forehead. She blinks against the brightness, and as her eyes adjust she realizes she isn't in her room at all.

"Wha's happening?!" Lucas shoots up in bed, rubbing his eyes and staring around the room. His gaze falls on Maya, sitting on the floor, and he raises an eyebrow. "What are you doing?" He asks.

"What does it look like? I'm sitting on the floor." She mumbles, still rubbing her head. Her eyes are actually watering a little from the impact. He takes that in with concern.

"Are you alright?"

She waves him off.

"I'm fine. I was trying to close the blinds."

He glances at the window, then back at her.

"I don't have blinds."

She rolls her eyes. The movement makes her head hurt more.

"Thanks, I did get that. I thought I was at home." She stands up, sighing. When she looks back at Lucas, she realizes he's bright red. He snaps his gaze toward the wall, waving his hand at her.

"You, uh…."

She looks down, and realizes that when she stood up, she left her pants on the ground. They're pooled around her ankles, leaving her in Lucas' t-shirt and her favorite New York Rangers underwear. She grabs the pants, yanking them back up, and shuffles back over to the couch.

"I told you these pants are freakishly big." She mutters. He still isn't looking at her. "Oh relax. It's not like it's anything you haven't seen before." She knows he's been with Riley, Maya heard about it for weeks the first time it happened.

"Yeah." He sounds weird, but turns back to face her. Her eyes land on the clock beside his bed. It's almost ten.

"So, should I sneak down the fire escape?" Maya wonders. She isn't sure how pleased Mrs. Friar would be to realize she spent the night in Lucas' room.

"Um, no?" He gives her a quizzical look.

"But your mom-"

"Probably isn't here. Besides, she likes you." He yawns, stretching his arms above his head, and Maya notices his bare chest for the first time. The hoodie last night was probably for her benefit. She looks away.

As the events of the night before come flooding back, she chews her bottom lip. She'll have to deal with Kermit at some point, it seems unlikely that he'll be gone when she gets back. Lucas watches her, the climbs out of bed.

"How about a shortstack, Shortstack?" He asks. She throws one of her boots at him. He just grins, disappearing down the hallway. She changes back into her jeans, deciding it's just safer, but leaves his t-shirt on. Cooking sounds are already filtering down the hallway, so she follows them to find Lucas in the kitchen. He's wearing the hoodie again, cracking a couple eggs into a glass mixing bowl. Maya sits down at the kitchen table, yawning.

"So." Lucas says. She turns her head to look at him, smiling when she sees the smear of flour on his cheek.

"So?" She prompts.

"Are we gonna talk about it?"

Maya frowns at him, thoughtful. There's a part of her that wants to, to tell him everything, to cry and scream and let him see it all. But she won't, can't.

"I think I need to talk to Riley about it first." Her words hang there, a reminder of the elephant in the room, the girl Maya chose, will always choose. He nods.

"Yeah, that makes sense."

They sit in relative silence for the next few minutes, Lucas scooping batter into the pan and Maya swinging her legs back and forth. After a little while she decides she wants coffee, and shuffles over to the cupboard where she knows they keep it. She pulls out the jar, throws a couple scoops in his machine, then sets it to brew. When she turns back to Lucas, he's staring at her.

"What?" She reaches up to touch her face, wondering if there's drool there. It happens sometimes, when she's exhausted.

"Nothing." He glances back at the pancakes. "You just know your war around pretty well."

If it were anyone else, Maya would take that as a bad thing. But she knows he doesn't mean it that way.

"I'll always find the coffee, Texas." She gives him a wide grin. His answering smile is blinding.

The pancakes are delicious, because of course they are, and after she helps him clean up she just throws her blazer over his t-shirt. The idea of putting on her old shirt seems a little gross, so she stuffs it in her bag.

"I'm gonna-" She gestures at the door.

"Go see Riley?" He finishes for her. She nods.

"So, thanks. For everything." Those are words that never come easy for her. But she hasn't had a lot of people to thank in her life, other than the Matthews. He reaches out, then drops his hand.

"You can call me anytime, Maya. For anything." His blue eyes darken, and it leaves her a little breathless, so she just slowly backs out the door.

"Um, yeah. Thanks." And then she runs.

Maya climbs through the bay window, it's tradition at this point. Riley's still in bed, but from the coughing fit Maya can hear through the window she knows Riley's awake.

"Hey." Maya murmurs, closing the window behind her. Riley rolls over to face her.

"Hi." She replies with a sniffle. Maya sits beside her on the bed, and Riley drops her head into Maya's lap.

"How ya feeling?" She asks, stroking Riley's hair. Her friend sighs.

"Like crap. You shouldn't be here, I don't want you get to sick."

Maya shrugs.

"I actually got my flu shot this year, babe. I'll be okay."

They sit like that for a few minutes, then Riley turns her head to look up at Maya.

"Are you wearing Lucas' shirt?" The brunette asks, eyes wide with surprise. Maya glances at the shirt.

"Oh. Yeah. I crashed at Ranger Rick's last night." It sounds strange when she says it out loud. Riley obviously thinks so too, sitting up and staring at her friend.

"What? Why?"

Maya bites her lip.

"There's some stuff I have to tell you." She admits, leaning back against the pillows.

"About you and Lucas?" Riley asks, stiffening. Maya shakes her head.

"No, Riles. Trust me, Lucas is not the important part of this story. Kermit's back."

The only follow up to that is shocked silence, Maya watches as Riley opens her mouth a few times, then closes it.

"Your dad?"

"Yeah."

"Wha-why?"

Throwing her hands in the air, Maya sighs.

"Apparently one of his kids is sick, and he wants to make amends, or something. I didn't really stay to talk to him."

Riley continues to stare.

"That's…woah." She finally mumbles. Maya nods her agreement.

"Yeah. He's staying at my place, apparently, so I-"

"Stayed with Lucas." Riley blinks in understanding. "Okay. But why didn't you just come here?"

"It was the middle of the night, besides Lucas had just dropped me off. I figured he'd be awake." She leaves out the part where his number is apparently the first one that she'll dial if you put a phone in front of her.

Riley sighs, pulling Maya in for a hug.

"I'm sorry, Peaches."

Maya leans into it, letting some of the tension melt away.

"What are you going to do?"

Sighing, Maya runs her hands through her hair. She really needs a shower.

"I guess I have to talk to him. Even if it's to tell him never to come back here."

Riley looks thoughtful.

"You could invite him over here to talk, if you want. My parents will be around in case you need them, and so will I." She offers. Maya thinks about that. It's actually not a bad idea.

"Yeah, maybe I will. I love you, ya know." Maya says, sinking into the bed beside her friend.

"I know." Riley takes her hand, and they stay like that for a while.

"I need to shower." Maya finally says, hopping out of bed. "You mind?" Riley shakes her head. Maya grabs a couple things out of the "Maya drawer" in Riley's dresser, clothes and other things she keeps there since she's essentially a part-time resident of the Matthews apartment. Plugging in her phone to charge, she heads for the bathroom.

She emerges twenty minutes later, clean and a bit more level headed. Riley is sleeping, so Maya grabs her phone and calls home. Katy picks up after one ring.

"Maya?" Her mother sounds worried. Maya has pulled a lot of stunts over the years, and Katy has learned to temper her expectation that her daughter be home every night.

"Hey, Mom."

"Where are you? I texted Topanga last night but she said she went to check on Riley and you weren't there. And your father said-"

"I was at Lucas'. Is Kermit still there?" Maya asks, cutting her off. On the other end, she hears Katy sigh.

"Yes, he is. I know you've been through a lot, hon, and it's your choice if you don't want to see him. But he really wants to talk to you." Her voice is soft. Maya snorts.

"He told me about his kid. Tell him that if he wants to talk to me, he can meet me at the Matthews'. I'll be here all day."

"Maya-"

"I don't really want to talk to you right now." Maya mutters. "You set me up for an ambush, what the hell were you thinking?"

"I just thought you might need the privacy, I-"

"What I needed was my mom to be there to back me up when I told him I wasn't interested in getting to know him!" Maya hisses. "I can't…I can't do this right now. Talk to Kermit. I'll see you later." She hits end, staring down at her phone. Katy has made a lot of bad decisions, but this one is really getting under Maya's skin. She shuffles out to the living room, spotting Topanga in the kitchen, cutting peppers.

"Hey." Maya says, sitting at the table. From Topanga's smile, Maya can tell she already knows.

"Hi. How are you? Your mom texted me last night."

She never lies to Maya. Maya respects that.

"I was actually wondering if Kermit could come here, later. He wants to talk and I just…I think I could use a little moral support." Maya says stealing a sliver of red pepper.

"Yeah, of course." Topanga looks touched. "And if you need anything-"

"That's all I need." Maya says, smiling. Topanga slides her a knife, and they chop in silence. While things with Katy have been better in the past few years, Topanga has always been one of Maya's favourite people. She's tiny but strong, and it means a lot that she treats Maya like one of the family. Almost an hour later, there's a knock on the door. Maya jumps up, staring at it. Topanga puts a hand on her shoulder, then crosses the room to answer it. But it's not the visitor they were expecting.

"Lucas, hi." Topanga blinks at him, then steps back to let him in. "I think Riley is still sleeping."

He shrugs.

"I'm actually here to see Maya." He peers around Topanga, and Maya waves him over.

"What are you doing here?" She asks. He shrugs.

"I just wanted to check on you. And I figured you'd still be here, considering." Considering she's avoiding her father, a man who just happens to have set up camp in her living room.

"I'm great." She spreads her arms. Things have gotten weird between them, sometime in the past few days they've crossed a line, their friendship is different. She's not sure she can go back to pretending she doesn't need him anymore. He gives her a look.

"Mhmm." He crosses his arms.

"Kermit's coming here, probably." She tells him. Lucas glances over at Topanga.

"Oh." He says. "That's…good?" He obviously isn't sure if that's actually good. But then again, neither is Maya. She sighs.

"I-"

But she's interrupted by another knock on the door. Her head snaps around to stare at it. Lucas clears his throat. Topanga is already making her way back toward the door. Maya reaches out, grabbing Lucas' arm.

"Hey, this could get messy. My family has…serious baggage. If you want to go, here's your chance." She tells him. He shakes his head.

"I can stick around. Unless you don't want me to?" The question is in his eyes as much as his voice. She hesitates.

"You can stay."

He just nods, and sits down next to her. The front door swings open, and there he is, Kermit, wearing jeans and an oxford shirt and looking extremely uncomfortable. He smiles nervously at Topanga.

"Hi, I'm Kermit." He holds out his hand. For a second Maya wonders if she'll take it. She does.

"Topanga." She says. His eyebrows go up, but he just nods.

"Nice to meet you, Topanga. From what Katy tells me, you've taken good care of my daughter."

Maya cringes. Topanga smiles, but there's fire in it.

"Well, Maya's family." Is all she says. It sounds a little territorial, but Maya doesn't mind at all.

She stands up making her way over to her father.

"Thanks, I've got it from here." Maya says, looking at Topanga. The older woman nods, then heads down the hallway. Kermit looks down at her blankly, as if he doesn't know what to do now.

"Your mother was worried about you last night." He tells her. She rolls her eyes.

"I stayed at a friend's. I've talked to her already. Now you wanted to talk, so talk."

He licks his lips.

"Um, alright. My daughter's name is Cassandra. She's ten, and she caught pneumonia during a camping trip. She ended up in a coma for six days." The sadness in his eyes is almost hard to look at. Maya clenches her fists at her sides. She's avoided saying it, because it's messy, but he's talking about her half-sister. The little girl in the coma. She's family, technically. And Maya suddenly isn't sure she's ready to hear this.

"Is she…" She can't say it. There's a pressure on her arm, and she glances over to see Lucas standing beside her, hand on her bicep. She leaves it there.

"She's okay now. She's going to be okay." Kermit looks at his hands. Internally, Maya breathes a sigh of relief.

"Why did you leave?" The words come out before she can stop them. Lucas' hand tightens on her arm, and Kermit's mouth drops open in surprise.

"I…I wasn't happy with your mother. We just weren't working anymore." He stammers, caught off guard.

"No, why did you leave me?" She pushes, feeling a little faint, leaning subconsciously into Lucas for support. She doesn't know why she's asking, it shouldn't matter anymore.

"Maya…" Her father's voice is pleading. "I thought you deserved better. I wasn't a good father back then...I couldn't get it together. I thought sticking around would make things harder."

"Harder?" Maya can't believe what she's hearing.

"I was wrong, obviously, it was a mistake and I'm sorry. I'm so, so-"

She puts her hand up to stop him, and notices it's shaking again. The rage is back, rising like bile in her throat.

"That fancy car outside, that's yours?" She asks. He looks confused, but nods. "Right, okay. So you couldn't get it together for me, or for Mom, because we weren't worth it. But your new family, they get the best of you. You get a nice car, and a nice suit, and you think that leaving made things easier for us?"

"No, Maya-"

"We struggled. We are still struggling. And I don't want your money, or your family, because where were you when we got evicted? When we couldn't pay our rent, when Mom cried herself to sleep because she hadn't eaten in three days so I wouldn't be hungry? We lived on the street, Kermit. For almost a week. And then Mom sent me to live with the Matthews, and she stayed in a shelter, and all of that, all of that, was hard. So you didn't save us, okay? You left us to fail alone. You left me."

All of her is shaking now, because the bad memories are coming up like electric shocks, the cold nights and the hungry ones, the weeks where she didn't see her mother at all because she was doing back to back double shifts and just slept at the diner. She doesn't want pity, hates it when other people joke about her life. But there have been some hard nights, and her father is sitting in front of her, wearing Armani denim, and she suddenly thinks she might lunge at him and hit him until she doesn't hate him so much. Sensing her anger, Lucas closes his hand on her other arm, holding her back on both sides.

"Hey, you okay?" He whispers in her ear. She snarls in response.

"I can't afford to go to college without a scholarship and financial aid and I'm going to be up to my eyeballs in debt at the end of it anyways. But you have that hundred thousand dollar car, and you want to come here and ask me to put it all behind us, and you think I should?"

"Sweetheart-"

Her eyes are burning, and she knows it's just a matter of time until she breaks.

"Get out. I don't want to see you again. And leave my mother alone." Her voice breaks, but she's trying, trying, to hold it together.

"Look, I know you're angry-" Kermit steps toward her, and Maya flinches.

"I think you should go." Lucas' voice echoes over her head. Kermit frowns at him.

"No offense, kid, but this isn't really any of your business."

The fingers on Maya's arms tighten, almost painfully, and then relax. It occurs to her that Texas Lucas might be about to make an appearance. And as much as she likes that sometimes, she doesn't think she can take the extra drama today.

"Luke-" She mumbles, laying her hand over his.

"Kermit." Another voice breaks through the tense silence, and Maya looks up to see Cory standing in the hallway, frowning. "Maya asked you to leave." Topanga is right behind him. They look fierce like that, together. Kermit sighs.

"Alright." He glances back at Maya. "Your mother has my number. If you change your mind-"

"I won't." She assures him. He nods. Without looking at the others, he walks back to the door, closing it behind him. When he's gone, Maya all but collapses onto Lucas.

"Hey, hey." He holds her up, walking her over to the couch.

"I don't wanna…" She chokes. "…talk about it." He sighs.

"Okay, that's fine. Do you want me to get Riley?"

Maya just shakes her head. He moves to get up, but her hand is fisted in his shirt. She used to go to bed every night wishing she would wake up and find her father there, back like nothing had happened. But she'd let that dream go, because it was foolish and selfish, and Maya didn't get the things she wanted. And then the resentment had set in, a dark bitterness that had landed her here, sitting on this couch, shaking with anger and sorrow and relief. Because it's over now. It's done. She doesn't want Kermit, doesn't need him.

But the sob bubbles up to the surface anyways, those old feelings of doubt and loss and never being good enough, and Lucas pulls her into a hug. Vaguely, she hears Topanga and Cory leave. There was a time when she would have hated this, Lucas seeing her vulnerable. But now he's her lifeline, the only thing she's holding onto as she purges herself of years' worth of hurt. It ebbs away slowly, dripping away with the tears, and eventually she lets go of his shirt, leaning back.

"Sorry." She mutters, swiping at her eyes. He gives her a smile, one of those girls-fall-at-my-feet grins, and rubs his hand along her arm.

"Don't be. I think you held up pretty well, all things considered."

Her skin tingles where he touches it, a ridiculous cliché, and it's getting so much harder to pretend she's oblivious to whatever hangs between them. But it's for Riley, and she would do anything for Riley.

"Thanks for sticking around." She says, letting out a long breath.

"Thanks for letting me."

They stare at each other for a moment, and they're on the edge, she can feel it. She stands up, breaking the moment.

"I think I just need some, uh, girl time." She says, backing away from the couch. That's not entirely true, she does want to talk to Riley, but she's also putting some distance between her and Lucas. From the look on his face, she guesses he knows exactly what she's doing. He gets to his feet, clapping a hand on her shoulder.

"Call me if you need me, Shortstack."

She nods, and then he's gone.