It's A Wonderful, Wonderful Life

A/n: Watching iChristmas again made me write this story. The plot bunny wouldn't leave me. I hope you all like and I hope it isn't too long for a oneshot. Oh and a SPECIAL thank you to the lovely SquishyCool for putting up with my hot messes of stories and for the beta action. I owe you my first born, girl!

Disclaimer: I don't own anything. Title and summary come from "Wonderful Life" by Gwen Stefani.

"Here you go," Marissa Benson placed a plate of eggs sunny side up, wheat toast, and turkey bacon in front of on the table in front of Spencer.

"Great! This looks delicious. Thanks, honey!" he said as dug his spoon into the plate.

"Did Carly call you?" Marissa asked as she washed the dishes.

"Yeah, she's having a splendid time with my Granddad! Oh, and don't forget, we have that dinner with Mr. Newman and his wife tonight." He smiled brightly.

This was the life Spencer Shay lived. He was a big time, hotshot lawyer, engaged to a loving woman, and raising his little sister, Carly. Everyday he got up, got dressed, ate breakfast, read the newspaper, and then kissed Marissa goodbye as he went off to work. It was as easy as one-two-three. Nothing to worry about besides winning cases, planning his wedding, and making sure Carly was alright.

"Boy, am I stuffed," he stood up as Marissa went to him. "Well, I'm off to work. Bye, Honey!" he grabbed his suitcase and kissed his fiancée, then went on his way. Outside, he took a cab to work since parking was almost impossible to find. When he reached his destination, he paid the cab driver and headed to the office.

From there, Spencer was greeted with smiles and "Hello's" from every floor of the building till he got to his office. The office was like a second home to him. A comfy big black leather office chair, a wide oak desk, a state of the art high speed PearPro computer, and all the law books a budding lawyer could ever dream of having. Yep, it was Spencer's idea of heaven.

"Stephanie," He spoke into the intercom hours later. "Can you hold all my calls till after lunch? If it's Marissa, tell her to call the cell, mkay?"

"Got it," Stephanie replied pleasantly.

Spencer got up from his chair, put his blazer on, and headed for his favorite deli down the street. Everyday for lunch, he got the usual: a cucumber and salami sandwich, a side salad, and a glass of water. Even as he was at lunch his work never left him. He spent his lunchtime looking through possible wedding locations on his PearPhone. This was going to be a very big moment in his life. Sure, Marissa was a few years older than him and had baggage, but she knew what was best for him and kept his head on his shoulders. That's exactly what he needed, a woman who kept up with his demanding schedule and straight-laced life style.

As soon as his meal was done, he left the deli, ready for more work, and waited to cross the street.

"Help me! Help me, sir, I'm dying!" a girl with long blonde hair and pale skin approached him clutching at his blazer. "You have to get me to a hospital!" she cried.

Spencer panicked "Uh, um… what happened? What is your name?"

"My name is Mary Sue Kimble and I haven't taken my medicine in days, sir! I'm dying here!" she cried some more.

"Um… Maybe I could get someone to help you," he looked all around the streets but all he saw were pedestrians staring back at him, suggesting that he help her, looking about as confused as he was.

"Okay, I'm gonna call an ambula- " Spencer didn't get to finish his sentence before the poor girl had collapsed.

"Don't just stand there, man, take her to a hospital!" a bystander said.

"Al-alright…" Spencer hailed a cab and carried the girl when the cab approached. He put her inside the cab first and slid in beside her as he closed the door. "St. Schneider's, please. She's dying! Hurry!"

The cab driver was confused but didn't say anything else as he stepped on it. The cab ride was silent except for the news radio show the driver was listening to. Spencer looked at Mary Sue sitting as her lifeless body moved with bumpy car ride. The driver took a sharp turn and Spencer found Mary Sue's head resting on his shoulder.

"Sir," she weakly said.

Spencer looked down at her big brown eyes. "Yes?"

"If I don't make it out alive, I want you take all my paintings and sell them. Please let my legacy live on. I've always wanted to be a famous artist…"

It was such an odd request but Spencer nodded his head in agreement "I-I will."

When they got to the hospital, Spencer got out of the car and asked for help from a doctor who had just stepped out of the building. "Excuse me, sir, you have to help me! There is a girl in that cab right now and she's dying. I need you to come to her aid as soon as possible!"

The doctor grabbed a wheelchair from the side of the entrance and followed Spencer to the cab. Spencer carried her body out of the cab and placed her in the wheel chair.

"What's her name?" the doctor asked "Are you her boyfriend?"

"Her name is Mary Sue, and no, I ran into her on the street. She needed some help."

"Okay. We're gonna get her to the ER right away." The doctors whisked her away to the hospital as Spencer watched. He wanted to stay with her and make sure she was alright, but no, he had a job to get to. A minute later, he got back inside the cab and went to the office. Once there, he sat at his computer trying to get some work done but all he could think about was leaving a person to die in a hospital. He knew he should have stayed. Or maybe even gave out contact information…

At dinner with the Newman's, Spencer was surprisingly silent. Marissa chatted away with them about weddings and work and kids. She soon noticed Spencer sitting silently, playing with his soup.

"Honey, what's wrong? You haven't touched your soup or said a word to us…" Marissa asked, concerned.

"I'm fine," Spencer replied as he kissed her on the cheek. He then turned to Mr. Newman. "As you were saying?"

Later that night, as they were getting ready for bed, Spencer was lying in bed when Marissa came back from the bathroom and got under the covers with him. "Spencer, I want you to tell me what's wrong. You've stayed really silent tonight."

"Well… okay," he sighed. "Today at lunch, this girl came to me and told me she was dying. You should have seen her, Mars… she was really weak. I took her to the hospital and just left her. I left her! I shouldn't have. I really should have just stayed there and made sure she was alright."

"Honey, don't worry. I bet she has a family. The doctors probably informed her family. You did the right thing. I'm pretty sure you have some good karma headed your way," she said with a smile, kissing his cheek. "Now get to sleep, alright? You have a big day at the office tomorrow."

What Marissa had said was enough to help him sleep through the night. In the morning, he started all over again. Get up, get dressed, breakfast, paper, a goodbye kiss to Marissa, and then off he went. As soon as he stepped out of the cab he felt as if it was going to be a good day. He was on his way inside the building when someone caught the corner of his eye. He paused and turned around. It was no one. He shrugged it off and got inside the building. Half an hour later he was seated at his desk typing away at an important document He stopped and felt his eyes needed a break, so he turned his chair to the window and looked out. Today was going to be stressful. He had to meet up with an important client today and after work, he and Marissa were supposed to go through some wedding stuff.

After a few more hours of work, it was lunchtime. He decided to skip the deli today and grab something from the hot dog cart.

"Hi, can I have one foot long with relish and - " someone caught the corner of his eye again. He stopped abruptly and turned to see her. He thought he was going crazy… or maybe he was being haunted by Mary Sue, because a girl who looked just like her was sitting on the bench nearby. Maybe it wasn't her. Mary Sue had long straight blonde hair. This girl had black wavy hair that went down past her shoulders.

Nah, couldn't be her, he told himself, shrugging the thought out of his head. He turned back to the hot dog cart vendor. "Okay, so that's one foot long with relish and mustard, please."

"Hey, can I get a chili dog?" the girl from the bench appeared next to him. Spencer took one long look at her. The girl looked at him and flashed a quick smile, then suddenly realized who he was.

"Do I know you from somewhere?" Spencer asked, trying to be polite and not sound completely crazy.

"What're you talking about? Do I look like I get around?" the girl avoided eye contact with him. He was taken aback by her sudden rude reply, but he wasn't about to give up.

They received their meals at the same time. The girl was heading back to the bench as Spencer followed her.

"You better stop following me. I have pepper spray in my bag," she warned.

"Your name is Mary Sue. I took you to the hospital yesterday because you said you were dying…" he blurted out.

"What? You are one big bowl of crazy, dude," she insisted.

"Maybe you aren't her… I'm sorry. My mistake," Spencer sighed and went on his way. Why should he waste all his time and energy on this? He had cases to look over, clients to meet, a wedding to co-plan. It would be pointless to spend all his time on something meaningless like this.

It was the girl's turn to sigh. He did seem like he cared a lot. She threw her chili dog in the trash and caught up with him, the regret getting to her. "Okay, sir," she tapped on his shoulder as he paused and turned around. "Yes. Yes, that was me. And… and my name isn't Mary Sue. It's Maya. I was wearing a wig… And uh - and that whole dying thing? I was rehearsing for an audition…"

Spencer was disappointed and disgusted. He felt completely ridiculous. "You are an incredibly sick person," he spat, then pushed past her to get to the building.

"It was for a role of a lifetime!" Maya trailed behind Spencer. "I had to be realistic about it!"

"Well, people don't go around telling people they're dying in the middle of the street for some stupid audition. That's very sick, and I think you are mentally disturbed…"

"If it makes you feel any better, I didn't get the role. I'm sorry, alright?" she attempted.

It was too late because Spencer had already gone into the building. He might have heard her but as of now, his mind was preoccupied with way too much. He had no more time to express anymore anger on such a twisted stunt.

After work, he and Marissa sat in the living room going over wedding details. This wedding had to be perfect. It had to be the wedding they both dreamed about.

They spent an hour looking at locations, suits, dresses, and chefs. Then came a knock at the door.

"I'll get it," Spencer got up from the couch and went to get the door.

"Hey," a familiar, apologetic voice greeted when the door was opened. "I'm not trying to - " Maya tried to explain. Instead, Spencer shut the door in her face, hoping to God Marissa wasn't paying attention.

"Who was it, hun?" she asked, smiling up at him from her position on the couch.

"Oh, it was just a neighbor. I'll be right back," he lied, then stepped out of the loft and closed the door. "Are you completely insane? No, don't answer that… I already know that you are, in fact, very crazy! How did you get my address?"

"Easy," Maya answered instantly. "Your secretary gave it to me. I told her I was one of your clients."

"You what? Okay, what are you even doing here?" he asked, angered now.

"You didn't give me a chance to say sorry. And I really am," she told him sincerely.

"Fine, I accept. Could you just go now? I'm very busy," he told her, trying to get the point across that he was an important man with more important things to worry about.

"Hold up. Maybe you could drop the work for a minute and maybe come have a drink with me? It's the least I can do. Come on, you made me feel so bad about fake dying," she proposed, giving him a small smile.

"It's sweet of you but I have important things to do. My fiancée and I are planning our wedding," he stated.

"Ah, so you're getting married? That's cool! We can still get drinks as friends. Well, you better not let me anywhere near you when I'm smashed 'cause I can get a little bit too friendly, if ya know what I mean," she joked, trying to loosen him up. "So, come on, let's go! Now's as good a time as any," she begged, tugging on his arm.

"Spencer," Marissa opened the door to find him with Maya. "What's going on?"

"Mars, this is a client of mine. She's just really desperate for my help…" Spencer lied smoothly.

Maya looked Marissa up and down. "Oh yeah, ma'am. I'm about to lose my kid to my douchebag of a husband. May I please borrow your boyfriend for a minute? I need all the legal advice I can get…"

"Carry on," Marissa said, not wanting to get any more involved with this woman. She turned and went back into the loft, shutting the door.

"Oh my god, that's your fiancée? She's like a hundred, right? No offense, but I expected you to be with some young hot chick… but, I mean, if you love her, that's cool," Maya snickered under her breath

"Leave. Right now," Spencer ordered, angered by her bluntness. He escorted her down the stairs and towards the lobby, keeping a firm grip on her arm. "I don't want to see you again. And if I do, I'm calling the cops."

"Geez! Be like that, grumpy," Maya said as she watched Spencer leave.

For the next 3 days, Spencer kept a watchful eye on his surroundings, making sure Maya was nowhere to be found. One morning at the office, he called Carly, who was in Yakima for the summer.

"Are you doing your summer reading?" Spencer asked.

"Yeah… sure am," Carly replied as she played with her nose ring. The books Spencer asked her to read were now used as an ottoman.

"How's Yakima?" he asked.

"It's fine," Carly rolled her eyes and looked at her watch, wishing the conversation would just end. "Hey, when can I come home?"

"Not until the wedding. You're one of Marissa's bridesmaids, remember?" he told her.

"How could I forget?" she said with fake enthusiasm. "Anyways, I gotta go. Another exciting day at the country club awaits me. I'll call you when I get home."

"Later, kiddo," Spencer put his phone down with a pleased smile and continued to get back to his work. Minutes later, his secretary Stephanie appeared at the door. "Mr. Shay? One of your clients is here to see you…"

"Hm," Spencer pondered. "That's odd. I don't remember scheduling to see anyone today… Well, go ahead and send them in."

"Bonjour!" Maya came waltzing into Spencer's office as if she did it every day. "So, when's your lunch break? Come on, I know the best place to get garbage plates!"

"Get out of here! I thought I got rid of you!" Spencer was furious. "Get out now!" he picked up the phone and prepared to dial the police.

Maya pressed the switch hook of the phone. "Alright, I understand this is getting a bit too creepy for you, and okay, I'll back off."

"Please?" Spencer put the phone down.

"But…"

"But? But what?"

"But you have to have lunch with me just once. I'm not asking for much. I'm not asking to be your girlfriend; I'm not asking to marry you. Just lunch. I'm not even asking for your friendship. After that I'm not even going to bother you. You can forget you ever even met me," she told him.

Spencer sighed. She drove a hard bargain. "Alright. You promise after this, you won't bother me ever again?"

"Oh, I am a woman of my word!" she assured him.

A few minutes later, Spencer and Maya were out for lunch. He observed the strange girl as she walked. Her bohemian-like appearance was something he wasn't used to. He was more used to Marissa and her polyester pants and cashmere sweaters. Also, Maya's fingernails were rather dirty. She could use a good manicure. Spencer then wondered if she was homeless. If she was, then that would be a logical explanation for her sloppy appearance.

Maya brought him to an urban diner not too far from where he worked. They got seated and got their orders taken.

"So," Maya began once the waiter had walked away. "Mr. Spencer Shay… do you like being a lawyer?"

Spencer raised an eyebrow, then began talking with pride, "I do. I like it very much. I love it… Wait a minute, I don't think I ever told you my name."

"Um, hello? Did you forget that I asked your secretary for your address? Don't you think I would have asked for your name, too? All I had to do was ask for the tall handsome lawyer with the freakish eyebrows…" she explained, casually taking a sip from her glass of water.

Spencer was not impressed. He was more intimidated and scared by the way she had searched for him with insistence. "Okay… um, enough about me. How about you? What do you do when you're not stalking me or pretending to die?"

"I'm an actress," she immediately replied.

"An actress?" he questioned, arching one eyebrow.

"Yup!" she said, grinning.

"Uh, what was that whole thing with you wanting me to save your paintings, then?" he asked.

"Oh, haha, that… I don't paint. I mean, I've tried, but as usual, I horribly failed… BUT my name, see… I was named after Pablo Picasso's daughter, Maya. And My dad believed that if I was named Maya that somehow I would be gifted with the talent of art. Boy, was he wrong. He got a struggling stage actress instead. Imagine Daddy's disappointment!" she explained.

Spencer nodded his head. "Have you done any shows? Have I seen you in anything? My fiancée and I sometimes watch plays…"

"Well, I'm a part of the Seattle Public Theater Group. We do small shows and stuff. I should really be moving to California but I'm still struggling to pay off my student loans. You know what I really want to do, though?" she leaned in closer to him as if she was revealing the cure to cancer. "I want to sing," she whispered mysteriously.

"You want to sing? I see. Well, are you any good?" he pondered.

Maya cleared her throat and then, without hesitation, belted out an out-of-tune rendition of "My Favorite Things" from The Sound of Music.

"RAINDROPS ON ROSES AND WHISKERS ON KITTENS! THESE ARE A FEW OF MY FAVORITE THINGS!" Maya closed her eyes and raised her arms in the air as she sang. It frightened Spencer. He was afraid of all the attention they were drawing. And her terrible singing wasn't helping at all.

"Okay, okay," Spencer was trying to get her to be quiet, gesturing for her to lower her arms and quit. "That's enough! People are staring…"

During their lunch together, Maya found out new things about Spencer. He was too focused on his future and his career, he liked reading novels for fun, and her favorite fact of all? He liked pandas and pigs. After lunch, she walked Spencer back to his office.

"So," Spencer began. "Thank you for lunch. You are a very… er… interesting person…"

"You're not so bad yourself, Shay," Maya playfully punched him in the arm. "It's too bad we can't be friends after this."

"Well…maybe we can – "

"So we can be friends?" her eyes lit up.

"Well, I suppose – "

"Great!" Maya squeezed him into a hug, not letting him finish a sentence. "We should definitely do this again. Hey, why don't we make this a daily thing?!"

"Once in awhile is good enough. Well, I have to get to work. So I'll see you around, alright?" he tried calming her.

"Later, friend," she let go of him and went on her way, a huge smile on her face.

The week that came next was a huge, HUGE week for Spencer. He had his schedule packed with meeting various clients, going into court, and looking at various possible wedding venues with Marissa. Bottom line: there was no time for anything and certainly no time for anything last minute.

At lunch, Spencer bolted through the building exit in a hurry to get some food. He had only fifteen minutes to eat before he had to meet with a very important client shortly after.

"Hey, Spence!" Maya had been waiting for him near the benches. "So, are you up for more garbage plates?"

"Sorry, Maya, I'm in a hurry. Maybe next time. I have a very important client I have to meet in a few minutes and very little time to eat lunch," he rejected her, trying to continue past her.

"How about I sit with you then? I want to tell you about my day," she suggested hopefully.

"I have no time to sit and talk," Spencer insisted, successfully moving past her and crossing the street to the deli.

Throughout the whole week, Maya watched as Spencer began to get more and more stressed. He rushed in and out of the office, hailed cabs to the courthouse… she even watched through the cab window as he held his head in frustration.

On Friday, Spencer spent a quiet night alone in the apartment. Marissa had gone to visit her son, Freddie, at his all boys' boarding school. Spencer sat in the living room, reviewing important documents. The TV was showing a special on wedding preparation that he was supposed to be watching. A minute later, there was a knock at the door.

"Come in," Spencer yelled, still knee deep in his work.

"Is that what you're going to spend your Friday night doing?" Maya said as she let herself in, shutting the door behind her. "I've watched you this whole week, Spence. You look like you're just about ready to die."

"Maya, please. I need to get some work done." Spencer didn't even look at her, uncomfortable at the way she called him "Spence."

"You have, like, the whole weekend to get that stuff done! Come on, get dressed. We're going out," She ordered, taking a seat beside him on the couch.

Spencer turned to see her in a vintage leopard print dress. He couldn't help but eye her up and down, but quickly caught himself and stopped. "No, you're going out. I'm staying here."

"I really want to take you swing dancing tonight! And I promise I'm a better dancer than I am a singer…" she pouted.

"I'm sorry, Maya. I really have to get all of this done," he told her, raising his hand as if to shoo her away.

"Oh, alright… what are you doing tomorrow night, then?" she asked.

"I'm not sure. I might be meeting a client for dinner," he answered absent-mindedly.

"Come to the Seattle Bathhouse Theater! I'm doing a play tomorrow. Here, I saved you a ticket," she took the ticket out of her clutch purse and handed it to him with excitement. "So, if you get out early or if you're free, you can come and watch. It starts at ten." She got up from the couch and headed for the door, ready to leave him to do his boring work.

"Spence?" she turned one last time, though, before being on her way.

"Yes?" he sighed.

"I really do hope you show up. It would mean a lot to me," she softly added.

"I'll try," he told her, unable to hold back a smile. "Goodnight."

"I bid you adieu, good sir," she bowed goodbye and left the apartment with a grin.

On Saturday night, Spencer was in the shower when his phone rang. When he got out, there was a voicemail message. His client couldn't make it tonight and wanted to reschedule with him. There went his night. But at the last minute, he remembered that he had a ticket to Maya's show. So he figured, why not?

He got to the Seattle Bathhouse Theater at nine forty-five. The show Maya was in was a stage rendition of The Graduate. She had told Spencer that she wanted the part of Mrs. Robinson and that she was pretty sure she would get it. She spent weeks rehearsing and learning new makeup techniques to make her look older. She was even willing to go topless if the show demanded it.

But, to her disappointment, they gave her the part of Elaine Robinson instead.

Spencer took his seat amongst the little audience that consisted of art students and elderly couples. The show started ten minutes late, but finally the curtains opened and the lights went down. As Spencer watched Maya with interest, something about her captivated him. She wasn't the best actress in the world, but she wasn't bad either. There was just something about her that seemed believable, and something that seemed irresistible…

After the show, he went to meet her at the stage stairs, where she was receiving praise from the staff.

"Great job," he said, clapping his hands so she could see.

"I don't care what you thought about the show. I'm just glad you showed up! I was worried you wouldn't," Maya replied with happiness. "So, you wanna go grab a drink? Have you eaten yet?"

"I don't know, it's really late and my fiancée will be back tomorrow," Spencer hesitated.

"Come on, we won't be out for too long. You'll be breaking my heart if you don't," she insisted, once again using her persuasion skills on him.

"Sure… but not too long, okay? I need my rest," he gave in.

After Maya changed, she and Spencer were out on the streets of Seattle. She took him to a place called the Bad Juju Room. The place was loud, lively, and festive. Spencer was not used to places like this. He was used to all the nice, quiet restaurants he and Marissa frequented. They took their seats and ordered their drinks. From the sounds of it, it seemed that there was a karaoke contest going on tonight.

Spencer and Maya drank, talked, and laughed together as the night went on. At first, Spencer tried not to have fun, not wanting to let Maya win at loosening him up too much. He tried to think about work and all the other important things he had going on in Spencer World. But Maya had succeeded in bringing him out of his shell.

After the seventh drink, Maya looked at Spencer, then looked back at the karaoke stage, then back at Spencer. "How about we go for it?"

"Singing? No way!" Spencer replied, taking another swig of his beer.

"Why? Are you afraid?" she dared.

"What? Afraid of all these people? Don't be silly…" he chuckled.

Maya gave him a mischievous smile before getting up from the table and going on stage. "Excuse me, can I have your attention, please? My friend here, Spencer Shay, would like to do a song for you all! Stand up, Spence!"

The spotlight went on Spencer as he shook his head in embarrassment, trying to cover his face from the curious crowd. He swore, he was going to kill Maya!

"Don't be shy! Get up here!" she insisted.

Finally, Spencer gave in and got up, joining Maya on the stage as the small crowd cheered. "Okay, so what am I singing here?"

"It's on the monitor there. I chose it just for you! Good luck!" she gave him a thumbs up before stepping off the stage and going back to their seat.

The song Spencer was going to sing was "Try a Little Tenderness". Spencer sang the first verse of the song. His voice shook with nervousness. But a few minutes later, he found himself getting into the song and dancing. He was suddenly the hit of the karaoke bar.

After that night, Spencer found himself accidentally spending a lot more time with Maya. He had lunch dates with her and went to her plays whenever Marissa was out of town or busy. He couldn't quite put his finger on it, but when he was with Maya, there was something different about him. He suddenly became a person who didn't care about important client meetings, typing documents, or settling disputes in court, let alone what color his tuxedo would be.

But as always, Spencer had to come back down to reality some time. He had to keep on working and he had to keep on planning that wedding with Marissa. But then something new happened. He found himself missing Maya when he wasn't with her. He even caught himself thinking about her smile before he went to sleep. Soon enough, working and being with Marissa were pushed to the side. It was like he wanted to be the person that he was with Maya…. forever!

One night, after he'd returned from work, a realization hit him hard. He and Marissa were sitting and watching a DVD on planning weddings when he got a sudden urge.

"How about we go out tonight?" Spencer suggested.

"Honey, its eleven o'clock. It's pretty late," Marissa replied with a smile and a look on her face that told him she thought it was a ridiculous idea.

Spencer just sighed. If he was with Maya, she'd be the one suggesting they go out, no matter what time it was.

Later on that night, Spencer lay in bed, unable to sleep. Suddenly, it occurred to him… Oh my God… I love Maya! I am totally butt crazy in love with Maya!

But he quickly pushed that thought away because he couldn't. He just couldn't. Marissa was who he was meant to be with. And he wouldn't let himself be the person he was with Maya. He was who he was. Spencer Shay, hotshot, big time lawyer who had responsibilities. Responsibilities that couldn't be thrown away for some loony girl who had decided to come into his life. He was born normal. Born to have this life. It wasn't like he was born an artist or something crazy like that!

So, Spencer decided that he should just avoid Maya. Slowly, he let her out of his life. He made excuses and stopped having lunch dates with her, buried himself in work when Marissa was away, never answered his phone to Maya, and even took different routes to work. Spencer thought he had gotten rid of Maya for good because, after that, she obviously got the message and stopped trying to see him. He continued on to his regular routines.

But then, one day, out of the blue, Maya appeared at his office.

"Long time, no see, Spence," she said simply.

"I know. I've been busy…" Spencer solemnly said, not wanting to have this confrontation.

"You wanna grab some lunch later?" she asked, a hopeful look in her eyes.

"Actually, I want to talk to you about this whole thing," he started with a serious and firm tone. "See, I can't keep doing this with you. My work hasn't been the same, and I'm getting married in a week… I mean, why the hell was I going out and having fun with you in the first place? It doesn't make sense. I'm important and normal and I need to stick to the life I have. I can't be getting involved with… abnormal people like you."

"Whoa, well, that's your problem. I only wanted to be your friend, not your wife…" Maya told him awkwardly, blushing slightly.

"Maybe what I'm trying to say is that I have no room for new friends in my life…" he sighed.

Maya stared at him, trying her best not to cry. She bit her bottom lip and turned to leave. Spencer's heart was sunk as he watched her quickly leave.

Throughout the day, he occupied himself with work to forget about her. This was a crucial time in his life. He and Marissa spent the whole week making their wedding arrangements, looking at the venue, getting fitted for their clothes, and making sure everything was in place and perfect.

The night before the wedding, Spencer and Marissa were sound asleep in their bedroom. Suddenly, banging on the door broke the silence. Spencer raised one eye open, irritated by the loud sound. He then raised his other eye, slowly, until he was fully awake. He got up and went to the living room to answer the door.

When the door opened, it was Maya, who had a six-pack of beer in tow with her. She appeared quite out of balance.

"Hey, Spencerrr!" she slurred.

"Are you drunk?" Spencer asked, perplexed.

"No. Why would I be drunk? I came to the bachelor party! Where's it at? I brought the drinks!" she raised the pack of beer in a very uncoordinated fashion, her words slurring together.

"There is no bachelor party. And I think you should go home, Maya," he told her sternly.

"Well come on, let's throw you one!" she grabbed his arm and tried to drag him out of the building. She tried and tried but Spencer's feet remained planted to the ground. "Move, dammit!" she commanded. Maya pulled harder and harder till she fell to the ground.

"Are you alright?" Spencer bent down next to her.

"No, I'm not alright," she sobbed. "I love you, Spencer."

The statement left him speechless. All of a sudden all of the feelings he tried to push out came back with a vengeance, and it all hit him like a ton of bricks.

Maybe it was the alcohol talking but Maya couldn't stop. "I really do love you. I know I said I only wanted to be your friend but it's not true! I want to be more than your friend! I want you to marry me instead of that hag! Please tell me you love me, too… Please, Spence…"

Spencer watched her for a moment. "Let's get you home," he finally managed to say.

He escorted her down to the lobby, hailed a cab, and put her in. He had already made his decision. He was going to marry Marissa and that was final. He shut the door of the cab and watched as it drove off, taking Maya away from him. She was still sitting in the backseat, crying.

The next day, he was at the chapel getting ready. Granddad informed him that they were ready to start. He took his place with his dad and watched as Carly and the rest of the bridesmaids walked down the aisle. Finally, it was Marissa's turn to walk down the aisle. He thought that this was enough to finally convince him that he was meant to be with her, but no… Even on his wedding day, a huge part of him wished Maya would crash the wedding and come to save him.

But she didn't.

Life after the wedding was quite the same as life before it. He got up, got dressed, ate breakfast, and kissed Marissa goodbye, then went on his way to the office. Another case to review, clients to meet, court sessions to attend… it was the life he chose. But not a day went by where he didn't think about Maya. He secretly hoped she would still make an effort to try and stalk him again. He sometimes felt she was waiting for him at the benches, but she never was.

For lunch, he went to the urban diner she liked to go to sometimes. He had asked the owner if he had seen her around. He had told him that she moved to California and that was the last he had heard of her.

Spencer had made a huge mistake. He longed for Maya so much that it made his heart ache. But the choice was made, she was gone, he was married, and there was no going back…

"Look, he's crying!"

"Who cries in their sleep?!"

"Lonely people, that's who…"

Spencer's eyes fluttered open to see Freddie, Sam, and a camera in front of his face.

"AGGHH!" he screamed, covering his face with his hands.

"AGGHH!" Freddie and Sam screamed as well, then bolted out of his room, giggling excitedly on the way out. Spencer sat up, more confused than ever. He felt tears on his face and breathed hard. It was all a dream. He wasn't Spencer Shay: big time, hotshot lawyer; he wasn't about to marry Mrs. Benson; and, sadly, he didn't meet a girl named Maya.

In the morning, he walked out to the living room to find that it was back to normal. No fancy furniture or anything. It was just a dream…

"Hey Spencer! Come get breakfast!" Carly called from the kitchen. She was the same old Carly and didn't have a nose ring or a rotten attitude. It was just a dream…

"Morning, kiddo," he said as he approached the kitchen and sat down. Carly fixed him a plate and sat down across from him, smiling.

"You look like you had a rough night. Did you finish that sculpture you were working on the other night?" she asked.

"No. I kinda got too tired and fell asleep. I have plenty of time to work on it, though," he assured her.

There was a silence while they ate their breakfast. Spencer couldn't help but think about the dream he had last night. It had seemed so real. "Hey, I gotta ask you something…"

"Go for it."

"Have you ever had a dream that felt so real you figured that there must be some sort of logical reason for it?" he asked.

"Oh no, did you have that dream about the Gummy Bears getting revenge on you for eating them again?" she asked, her eyes widening.

"No!" he put his hands up, then brought them back down and hung his head in defeat. "Nah, forget it. Forget I said anything."

That afternoon, Spencer went to visit the museum in need of inspiration for his latest sculpture. He moved from room to room observing and absorbing every piece of art there. As he kept his focus on one painting, he saw someone going to stand beside him from the corner of his eye. Her arms were folded as she observed the painting with a thoughtful face.

It couldn't be Maya… could it?

Spencer slowly tried to steal a glance, but as he did so, she was doing the same thing.

"Do I know you?" the two spoke in unison and turned to face each other. They both paused and laughed a little… a nervous, awkward laugh.

"I'm Spencer," he held his hand out to shake hers.

"Maya," she replied with a smile, taking his hand and shaking it. "I was gonna – I swear, you look like someone I know… like, I feel like I've met you before…"

"Crazy, I was going to say the same thing," he admitted with a smirk. "Um, are you an actress by any chance?"

"No. I'm um… I'm actually an artist. I paint," she explained. "It's kinda crazy because I was named after – "

"Picasso's daughter" Spencer chimed in before she could finish.

"Yeah!" she beamed. "And you? Are you like a lawyer or something?"

"Ha, that's actually the last career I would consider," he told her with a laugh. "I'm a sculptor."

"That's awesome," she nodded, her eyes lighting up more and more at each word he said. "Are you um, busy? Do you maybe wanna have lunch? I know this great place with the best garbage plates!"

"I would love to," he gladly accepted, somehow already knowing she was going to suggest that. He gestured his arm towards her.

Maya looped her arm around his as they left the museum. They felt oddly comfortable with each other already, even though they had just met. But it was like they already knew each other.

This world was definitely much better than the one he dreamed about.

FIN