Day 6: Shawn realizes the bond between Josh and Maya.

Context: Maya gets sick in Riley's absence while Riley and Topanga are visiting her grandparents in Philadelphia over the summer. Cory immediately takes her in at the Matthews' house, and Shawn and Josh are also staying the night.

It was 2 a.m. The moon glimmered in the night sky outside, creating a peaceful and tranquil sight; but inside a certain Matthews' apartment in New York, one boy by the name of Joshua Gabriel Matthews was as restless as ever, his eyes peering at the white ceiling above him, distraught with the distressed thoughts of a certain blonde, a gorgeous one at that.

He'd had enough. He couldn't take it anymore; the anxiety was killing him inside. He got up out of his bed in the guest room, convincing himself that he needed to go check up on Maya. Seeing her sick state before being practically forced by Cory to go to sleep wasn't going down well with his heart. His mind said he wanted to sleep, but his heart begged to differ.

His anxiety proved true. When he walked into Riley's room, he saw her on her best friend's bed, shaking slightly, shivering. It was a reason to panic, as it was summer, and there was no reason that one should shiver in this season unless you had the flu or a fever. Either state would bring about symptoms where your internal body temperature would be high, and at the same time, you would feel like your body was standing in the North Pole. What was more was that the covers were sprawled over, the multi-patterned quilt not doing a good job at all of covering her form.

Josh rushed over in a heartbeat, but still quiet enough to not wake anyone else in the house up. Pulling the covers over her, he put his right hand on her forehead, feeling it burning up. Knowing what to do, and with past experience of what his own mother would do when he was sick, he walked out the door towards the kitchen.

Shawn Hunter stirred in his sleep while he lay on the couch in his living room. In his subconscious mind, his ears could pick up faint noises of clanks and soft clutter nearby. Sure enough, he slowly came to into full conscience, and got up from the couch with a groan. Darkness was around him, as it should have been. Huh. Must've been a hallucination. Seeing as his slumber had been interrupted, he went to check up on his surrogate daughter. She had entered his life by storm, and his life had never been the same since.

As he made his way towards Riley's room, his jaw dropped slightly, and he rubbed his eyes vigorously with his hands, completely shocked at what he was seeing. Joshua Matthews was sitting on the edge of Riley's bed, by Maya, wringing out a small hand towel after taking it out of a cold bowl of water on the desk by her bed. Concern and care was in his eyes; he watched as he gently and delicately placed the towel on her forehead, and the wrinkles and strained lines on her forehead instantly withered away, her body relaxing.

Sure, he'd expected the sight, but he definitely didn't picture Josh as part of it. If it was Riley, it'd be completely believable. They were two peas in a pod, always co-existent. Riley was always there for Maya in an instant. But Josh? He didn't understand. He had never shown an extra ounce of concern for her apart from the normal, chivalrous, gentleman-like guy he was. And the way he was taking care of her, panic and concern written all over his face. It looked as though he was the one hurting from the physical pain and discomfort Maya was feeling, as if they were connected in some way.

The realization then dawned on him. He cared. He was concerned. He was here because, perhaps, no there wasn't another doubt about it – he harboured the same feelings for his surrogate daughter that Maya had, if not more.

He had the same look in his eyes that Shawn Hunter had once seen years ago in Cory's eyes for Topanga.

At first, it was shock. Then disbelief. He couldn't believe it – his mind went through several flashbacks of the past year since he first returned to New York on that memorable Christmas evening. And indeed – he started to see the signs. The hints from Josh were extremely subtle, but still existent nonetheless. The way he was extra delicate and gentle around her, the way his voice went soft and gentile whenever she talked to him; actually, now that he'd thought about it – it was clear that what Josh felt for Maya was completely pure, deep, and unconditional.

After all, he was a Matthews. And when a Matthews boy gets whipped, they get it bad.

That didn't overpower the fact that he still had his inhibitions and second thoughts of the implications and complications of the bond between them. He took a step forward, wanting to end it before whatever this was that he could see developing began. It was too dangerous, and too complicated, at this current time. And as much as he wanted to trust the boy, there was no denying that he was, after all, a boy. He had the potential to make mistakes, and there was no way he would let Maya receive the short end of the stick. And so, with a more definitive step, he started to approach inside the room, when he felt a firm hand clamp onto his shoulder.

His best friend of over 20 years. Cory Matthews. A knowing look was on his partner's face, telling him that he knew. With a simple gesture towards the living room, it was clear that Cory wanted to talk to him and avoid the confrontation that Shawn deemed important with his baby brother.

After Josh was convinced that Maya was completely safe and peacefully sleeping, he got up from the bed, turning on his heel to leave the room.

He felt his feet stopping himself from moving another step forward, a hand on his wrist. He looked at it, then slowly trailed his gaze, turning around to look at the girl who had took hold of his arm so desperately. A slight frown was on her lips, as if she subconscious knew of his departure.

He gazed at her unconscious form of slumber, while slowly kneeling down to the ground, his knees on the carpet. Josh took her tiny, fragile and weak hand in between his own, generating warmth. Raising her hand up slightly, he pressed his lips to the soft snow-pigmented surface of her hand, muttering words of comfort and solace while doing so. "Hey, it's okay. I'm not going anywhere, promise."

A smile found its way on his own lips as he pulled away, admiring the way she inhaled and exhaled in slumber in a tranquil manner. "Sweet dreams, gorgeous."

Soon enough, sleep caught up with him as well, and before he knew it his head lowered down onto the soft covers of the bed, dropping near the hand that was wrapped around hers.

That was the most peaceful sleep he had in his entire life. In fact, for both of them.

"How long?"

Cory stayed silent.

Shawn looked at him firmly, demanding answers.

He let out a rue-filled sigh. "I'd like to say since he first saw her while wearing that star wars t-shirt when he was ten, but really he started to really acknowledge his feelings after Maya crashed a college dorm party to see him."

Ah yes. Him and Maya had talked of the incident briefly. He knew of her affection towards the chestnut-haired, blue-eyed boy, but the fact that those feelings were reciprocated? That took him by storm.

"Shawn, you know me, you know our family. You know that Josh would never do anything to hurt her in any way – "

"I know. It's just that these new emotions in me just can't stand the thought of any boy for that matter coming close to her, I don't know I feel so protective, like I want to protect her from anything that could potentially cause her harm."

"I get it. I'm a father too, any boy in our daughters' lives would be a villain to us."

His best friend was right, like always. Joshua Matthews was a one-of-a-kind, a gem of a person. He was a Matthews after all. Indeed, he had nothing to worry about, except…

"But Cory, you know the issue – "
"Yeah. The age difference. I've talked to him about this. He's aware of his limits, and he knows his boundaries." At first, he was dead set against the notion, but his younger brother had convinced him that he wouldn't do anything in his right mind that would disappoint his older brother. Josh simply didn't want to run anymore; all he wanted was to be by her side, whether it was as a friend, or more. Cory was convinced with the promise from Josh that nothing intimate or any other frowned-upon notion would happen until the time was right.

"Wow." That was all that escaped Shawn's lips. He was stunned at the degree of nobility and maturity that Josh had instilled in him, and had now realized he couldn't have asked for a better guy deserving for his surrogate daughter.

He let out a small chuckle at the thought. "Cory, you do realize that Maya could be your sister-in-law in the near future one day?"

"Don't remind me." He replied, with a similar voice of slight disdain, reflective of his own brown-haired daughter, who was as equally as initially repulsed at the mere thought of her best friend being her Aunt.

Josh squinted his eyes, feeling a bright light suddenly blotching up his vision. Slowly, he came to, and peered around his surroundings. It was now morning – the sun had risen, and its rays shone, penetrating through the glass of the window behind him. After glancing around, he smiled at the sight of his hand still wrapped around Maya's, who was fast asleep, dreaming dreams. He always enjoyed seeing her asleep – the same innocence on her face as when she was little.

It was her turn to squint her own eyes now. Josh noticed the same, as well as the discomfort caused by the rays of the sun shining down on her. Not a second had passed as he moved forward, slightly getting up from his knees on the ground and extending his legs to move his arm that wasn't involved in holding her hand, hovering it over her eyes. His tactic seemed to work, as her features relaxed again, slipping into deep slumber once again.

There was no doubt about it. Joshua Matthews knew that one day, if the universe and the omnipotent force willed, Maya Hart was the only girl and the first face he wished to see when he would wake up every morning.

His older brother was indeed right all those years ago – he had indeed met a woman as wonderful as Topanga.