Chapter 1: The News

The news felt like bricks were dropped on his heart. All the air in the fancy restroom seem to be sucked out the door. He couldn't find any air to breathe, except feel the dry, rawness of his throat, and the lump that was forming, constricting him. The temperature dropped, and the long sleeved button up he was wearing, no longer seemed comfortable.

"Josh, did you hear me?" The hollow tone of his niece's voice was muffled on the other side. She was on the verge of tears, or already sobbing. He couldn't blame her. Tears were welling up in the ducts of his eyes.

Trying not to get choked up for her sake, he took a hard breath. "Yeah, Riley, I did." Being strong was harder than he thought. His mind was asking his heart why he was being so sensitive all of a sudden, but he didn't think too long when the next words came out his mouth. "Where are you?" He knew she would be where ever her best friend was, or not too far behind.

"Bellevue," she inhaled deeply, probably because she was sobbing quietly. "We—"

"I'm on my way," hanging up the phone, he took a minute to gain his composure. The words came out without a thought. Why was it so hard for him to think fist before speaking, usually he was good at that. It's what his parents taught him, and it's what kept him out of trouble.

Then again, anything with the name Maya Hart, was far from not being in trouble. The mess ups, the guilt, the unexplainable situations. All was because of that girl. He never thought before he acted with her. It was always go.

And why? His feelings for her were still indecisive. She was good and bad for him all at the same time. But that was his mind talking. His heart though? That's a completely different feeling. Something he wasn't sure he was comfortable with just yet.

Making his way out of the mens restroom, Josh made his way back to the table at a fast pace. The girl sitting there was very pretty. Her natural red hair was long, draped over one shoulder. Her eyes were piercing green like the spring grass, and her cute freckles dotted her face, even with the light makeup she put on. She had a bright personality, which was one reason why he was so intent on going out with her. She was sweet, simple, very polite, and old fashioned. Not to mention smart as hell. If it weren't for her, he would be failing at College Trig. He had no reason why she accepted a date with him, the guy she was tutoring, but she did. And here they were, first date, completely ruined.

"Somethings wrong," she stated, as he approached the back of the seat in front of her.

He fumbled with his phone, and inhaled deeply. "My niece called. One of my friends was in a car accident not too long ago. I have no idea what's going on, and I need to get to the hospital."

"Oh no. I'm so sorry. Um. . ." She fumbled, getting out of her seat, trying to think. She looked at him. "Go. Don't worry about me, I have a Metro Card to get me back to campus. Go." She smiled sweetly, but sadly too.

He gave her a side hug, and she immediately obliged. "Thank you, Em." He reached into his pocket and pulled out a 20. "Here. Dinner is on me. Take it please."

She looked at it for a few moments. "Because I know you'll just argue with me, I'll take it. Thank you." She leaned up to kiss him on the cheek. A sweet gesture, but he didn't feel anything. Even hugging her seemed too friendly.

He grabbed his jacket, and left the restaurant without another word. Once he was out the door the cold bite of the winter air hit his cheeks, and he sprinted for the hospital. He didn't register the fact that he wasn't going to know any information this soon. It had been what, ten minutes since Riley's call? She knew nothing about the situation, other than the fact that Maya was admitted to the emergency room because she was in a car accident.

He ran and didn't stop until he was standing outside the doors of Bellevue Hospital. He stared at the sign. He was scared to find out what was going on. His mind asked him why he had chose to come so quickly, but his heart had other ideas. His heart made the decision to come right away, his mind making up the excuse that he was only there for Riley's sake, and possibly Shawn's, but he knew deep down in his dungeon of sadness, piled away in the cell of Hart, he was there because he cared for the blonde. No matter if his heart knew more than his brain did.

He entered the building, and walked up to the lady at the front desk. "I'm looking for a patient, or her family for a matter of fact. Maya Hart."

The woman, typing in her name, looked up at the boy in front of her. "Miss Hart is still in surgery. Her family is waiting for her in the waiting room on the fifth floor."

He made his way to the elevator, and up five stories. Once entering the floor, he saw Riley sitting in one of the lounge couches, with her knees up, hugging them. She leaned her back against Farkle Minkus, or Doctor Turtleneck as they used to call him. His expression was hard, and his eyes were glassy. The side of his head met with the back of Riley's. All he could do was stare at his moving hands.

On the other side of Doctor Turtleneck was Isadora Smackle. She tapped her fingers against the side of the couch, while staring out the window, and making glances at the boy beside her. Josh never could tell how Smackle was feeling because she had a problem expressing her emotions, but tonight, she was clearly worried, and it showed all over her face.

Cory and Topanga were facing away from Josh, so he couldn't see their faces. Shawn and Katy were no where to be found, even Auggie was absent. Josh was even surprised to not see the Cowboy anywhere, and his trusty sidekick.

Riley was the first to spot him. She immediately got up, and walked toward him. He met her halfway, and they collided with an embrace. He held her tightly, and rubbed her back, while he placed his cheek on the top of her head. He didn't know what to say. He couldn't say it was going to be okay, because what if it wasn't? Oh. His brain did not need to go there. A lump formed in his throat once again.

Focus Josh. Riley doesn't need her uncle to be sensitive. She's depending on you to strong. His thoughts were clouded, and he couldn't help but have his mind wander, thinking of the bad.

"Josh," Topanga interrupted his thoughts, "we thought you had a date tonight?" It wasn't really a question, more like a statement.

He sighed. "Are you kidding? Maya's here in surgery, and I'm just going to sit there and enjoy a nice dinner with a girl I hardly know from class? What a great first date Topanga, I'd be sitting there, with my mind on something other than our date."

Topanga sighed. "I'm sorry, I just can't seem to think straight, and I'm just stating the obvious of what I know, because I'm clueless to what is going on right now."

Riley backed away from her uncle, but still kept close. They had bonded over the last couple of years, and he looked at her more like a younger sister, than a niece, but that still didn't change his title. She still called him Uncle Josh from time to time.

"It's okay mom. We won't be able to think straight until we know exactly what's going on." Riley's voice was strained and tired.

"So we don't know anything yet?" Josh asked again, just to be sure. They all confirmed they knew nothing. "Where's Katy and Shawn?" He knew they would be here.

Cory shook his head. "They're stuck in a blizzard at the airport in Quebec. They can't even rent a car to drive, because nobody is aloud to leave the airport. The weather is that bad. They can't even get a strong enough signal to stay in communication with us. All they know is Maya is here and so are we."

"So do we even know if we can get information from the doctor? Maya is still underage. Only immediate family can know what's going on, unless they knew Katy was willing to tell you guys, but that has to be on paper right?" Josh asked, hoping that they wouldn't have to wait till Shawn and Katy return from Canada to know what was going on with Maya.

"Maya is almost 18," Riley said. "We can get information on whether she is or isn't okay. At school, my parents are her emergency contact, besides her mother, and now Shawn, obviously. So they can take that into consideration. We just can't give any consent to any other surgery, like transplants or transfusions. That has to be parental consent."

"How long has she been in surgery?"

Cory looked at his watch. "At least an hour, maybe a little more. We just have to be patient." He put an arm around his wife, and she leaned into him.

Josh can't imagine what this must be like for them. Maya was like another daughter. He can't even think what her parents are going through. Katy is probably in denial, a mess, and Shawn? He's probably worse, yelling at security, begging to let them go. Josh can't even decide exactly how he feels.

He took a seat at one of the single lounge chairs. The elevator dinged, and Lucas Friar, along with Isaiah Babineaux entered, carrying two drink holders, filled with coffee. The cowboy offered one each to Riley's parents first, then Riley, as she stood next to her parents. He put an arm around her, and walked over to Josh. Lucas offered the last one to him.

Josh was tempted to say no. He didn't want to take the last coffee away from him. "Riley mentioned you were on your way," Lucas said. "Figured you might want one. It's gonna be a long night."

"What about you?" Josh said, eyeing the coffee that smelled delicious.

"Zay's got mine," he said.

Josh took the coffee diligently. "You got cream, Friar?"

"Hey Zay, where'd you put the bag of cream and sugar?" He asked, while Zay tossed Josh a small brown bag filled with the small shots of cream.

"Thanks," Josh said, as he took two, and poured them into his cup of coffee.

Cory cleared his throat. "Brother you mind passing me the bag?" And so they all took turns passing the bag around, making time go by.

Riley sat between Lucas and Farkle, with her head leaning softly against the Cowboy's inner shoulder, his arm around her, rubbing the side of her arm. Farkle was still messing with his hand, and Smackle was beginning to get annoyed with him, because soon enough, her hand clasped his, and she intertwined their fingers, and began to rub circles on his thumb. He was clearly shocked at the action, but didn't say anything, his eyes just glanced at her face for a moment before going back into staring down, only this time, his expression softened.

Zay sat in the other single lounge chair, scrolling through his phone, a sad expression placed upon his face. Josh knew that Zay was handling the situation hard, because though in tough times, Mr. Babineaux always seemed to add some comedic relief to the situation.

Josh sipped on his coffee, listening to the deafening silence. He found himself staring at a poster promoting the NYU Nursing Program. He sighed as he remembered the memory of about a month ago.

It had been weeks since he'd seen the blonde. Though she always seemed to be attached at Riley's hip, his niece was nowhere to be found in the vicinity around them. She stood at one of the booths at the college fair, a smile etched upon her face, as she talked to one of the girls handing her a brochure about New Hampshire School of the Arts. Josh smirked to himself, knowingly that she would look at art schools.

He had hoped that she would consider NYU for her major. They had a fantastic art program, and she would also be a little closer to him. But he would never mention that plus allowed.

Their relationship was complicated. After coming to an understanding almost three years ago, "someday" seemed to be approaching sooner, and Josh might have been getting a bit antsy. His deal to play the "Long Game" was an in the moment thought, not wanting to turn Maya down completely, because though he did like her, he still was uncomfortable with the age difference, and took into consideration of what his family might think if he jumped in a relationship with her that soon.

So friends seemed to be the best thing for them. He didn't know that after other small conversations, and run-in's at Topanga's, he would start to become not just "I Know You're Out There Friends" to "Best friends with Maya Hart," but that's how it felt. He knew he was second when it came to Riley, but when she needed a guys opinion, or a second opinion for whatever was going on, Josh was the next person on her speed dial. She would always be the first on his.

The flirty comments seemed more like a playful game that they considered "their thing." She and Riley had their "Ring-Power," she had Lucas, whom she might have called "her-brother-like-friend" for Riley's sake, and she had Farkle to help her when she needed "loyal and smart." Josh was there when she needed a getaway. Not that she didn't want to be with her friends, she sometimes needed time to get out of the city, and she'd rather not do that alone.

Josh didn't mind. Sometimes it was the train, and they would go upstate and crash at Shawn's place, because he lived full-time in the city with Katy and Maya, they used the cabin for vacations. Maya always kept her extra key with her just in case she decided to take a train up. They would bring their homework, and snacks to eat, and they would enjoy the peace and quiet away from the city that never slept.

They would always wake up, Maya crashed in Shawn's very comfortable bed, and Josh passed out on the small couch, normally with a textbook lying on top of him. They would clean up, and ride the train back into the city, and part ways, Josh heading back to the dorms at NYU, and Maya sneaking in to her window, just before her mom and step-dad wake up on that particular weekend morning.

"Hey Boing," she teased, poking him in the stomach. "Geez, have you gained some weight? I think I felt a bit of flab."

He rolled his eyes, and shook his head. "Ha. Ha. Very funny Hart."

She straightened up and smiled at him. Her rosy cheek bones were defined, and her deep blue eyes were bright and full of life. "So, you gonna give me some info on your college or what?" Her eyelashes batted, and she bit her lower lip playfully.

Josh sighed happily, and proceeded to tell her about the college, mostly talking up their art program, and giving her information on different internships an art student can get at different art museums here in the city.

"You've seemed to look thoroughly into this Joshua," her teasing tone made him stop talking. He knew that if she started making fun of him in front of some of his friends sitting next to them, it would not look good.

He shrugged, and eyed her carefully. "It helps to know the person applying, or considering to apply."

They're eyes locked for a split second before, hers moved to the table between them. Josh felt like he desperately wanted to move the table out of the way. The tension was intense.

"Well, I'm gonna take this," she motioned to grab the brochure, "and I'll see you around Boing."

As she walked away, Josh's bit his lip. "Maya." She stopped, and looked back at him curiously. He stepped out around the table. "You look good." He winked.

The blush creeped up to her cheeks as she looked down at the long sleeved, dark maroon, school girl dress she sported, the black fishnet leggings underneath and her knee high brown lace boots that gave her an extra inch of height. Her long plaid jacket was draped over her arm. She was caught off guard by what he had said, but she was Maya Hart, she recovers quickly.

"Thanks Josh," her voice softer than normal. She didn't normally call him Josh, unless they were in a serious conversation, or she didn't feel like teasing. It was mostly "Boing," or "Matthews," or "Joshua" when she felt like it.

"I'll see you Gorgeous." And she walked off, smiling. That was the last time he saw her in person.