The final chapter of Family Meets World is here! I hope you enjoyed this story.

...

Maya and Jack walked to his apartment where she would be staying for the week. She was happy to have another family member around but nervous about if they would like each other.

"This is it," Jack announced as he opened the door to his home. It was big for only one person to live in and decorated with fancy knickknacks and throw pillows.

Maya set her backpack down on the couch. Her eyes were wide and gazing at the beautiful decòr and furniture. "It's really nice. "

"Thanks."

"And expensive," she added. The couch alone must have cost over two grand, and the drapes looked like pure silk. Jack most definitely was not struggling.

He smiled at her observation. "A little, yeah. I work for my step-dad's company, so I make a good amount of money."

There was an interesting difference between Jack and Shawn. Both had money, but they lived differently. Jack chose to live in luxury, and Shawn chose to live a humble life in a small cabin. Perhaps it had to do with how they were raised. Shawn was poor and Jack was rich.

Her eyes drifted to the many picture frames on his wall. It reminded her of the wall of pictures in Shawn's old cabin. "You have a step-dad?"

"Yeah. My mom married him after she left my dad for being a lousy husband," Jack explained. He looked at the blonde girl, wanting to ask her a question, but afraid that he'll bring up a sore subject. "What happened to your dad?"

She lost her smile and sadness filled her eyes. Jack mentally cursed himself for even asking the question. Who was he to ask her what happened to her father? "He left my mom and me when I was young."

Jack now understood why his brother was so close to Maya. They both had parents that weren't around. That and she seemed to have a similar personality to Shawn. It was as if the two were made for each other.

"Oh, I'm sorry." He tried to quickly come up with a new, lighter topic to talk about. She spoke again before he said something else.

"That's why I haven't slept at night for ten years," Maya said, recalling their earlier conversation at night. "When my dad left, I heard her crying in their - her bedroom. I - I never could sleep after that. How could I? The sound was burned in my mind forever. I didn't think something could sound worse than my parents' loud yelling."

Jack gave her a look of sympathy. It couldn't be easy having your father leave and hearing your mother break down in the other room. He himself had an absent dad, so he knew what if felt like to not have a dad, but he never experienced his mom crying over it.

"But she's happy now with your brother. She's alright," Maya believed with confidence that she hadn't had hours ago.

Jack leaned against his counter. She said her mom was fine, but nothing about herself even though Maya's dad and Katy's divorce affected Maya too. "And you?"

"I'm always alright." He was unsatisfied with the answer she gave. It sounded like something Shawn would have told him years back. A mere attempt to get people to stop worrying about you, which only made them worry more because nobody that had been left by one of their parents would be "always alright."

He decided that he would just talk about this another day and leave the rest of today for bonding with his niece. "What do want to pick up? Pizza?"

"Sounds good to me."

They spent the rest of the night watching old horror movies that Jack had on DVD and chatting about their daily lives. Maya and Jack were happy to talk about their respective love triangles with each other.

"Did you ever feel threatened by Eric?" asked Maya who was intently listening to her uncle's story.

"Sometimes. You wouldn't think, but a lot of women are attracted to him." Anyone that saw the three would know that Rachel like Jack and not Eric, but Eric did have his moments with her.

"Why would that be surprising? I had a crush on him when I was like ten." Maya chuckled before realizing what she had just revealed. "Oh, please don't tell him. That would be so embarrassing."

Jack nearly fell off the couch with amusement. The thought of Maya having a crush on Eric was hilarious to him. "So you had a crush on Eric and now Josh. I guess Cory is next."

Her eyes were wider than the Grand Canyon. Even the suggestion of her liking Mr. Matthews like that grossed her out. "No! Never. Ew," she shuddered.

"You say that now, but soon you'll be falling hard for him," Jack teased the blonde.

"I hate you," Maya stated with her best attempt to hide her smile. She lightly pushed him away with her hand.

"I hate you too," Jack responded, not bothering to hide his own glee. It will be nice getting to know the girl more, he decided.

Maya let out a light giggle at his reply. "Thank you for letting me stay here, by the way." She didn't think that he would even want to talk to her.

Jack pulled her in for a hug, her face resting on his shoulder. "Of course. We're family after all."

"Step-half-uncle and step-half-niece to be specific," she repeated what she had said before to him.

He rolled his eyes at her humor but found himself smiling anyways. "No need to be hurtful."

...

Shawn and Katy were on the airplane, heading to Fiji. It was an overnight flight, so they were eating dinner on the plane.

"I hope Maya likes staying with Jack," Shawn said while eating his salad. He wanted to continue building his relationship with his brother, and Maya liking Jack would sure be nice.

Katy nodded in agreement. "Me too. I've always wished she had more family around. She doesn't get to see my parents often since they're in Arkansas, and I'm an only child."

"Well, we're family. Very dysfunctional, but a family indeed." The newly-weds held hands, and Katy lied her head on his shoulder.

The marriage would be a big change for the Hart-Hunter family, but it would be a good change this time. It may take some time for them to adjust, but they will be happier in the long run.

"After Kermit left," started Katy, "I didn't think I'd ever marry again, but here I am married to you."

She grabbed his hand and squeezed it lightly. He gazed at her, observing every detail, from the glint in her eyes to her wide smile that showed her teeth. Shawn couldn't help but smile at the beauty of his wife.

"Yeah, same here. I never saw myself being with someone after Angela. I was already someone that had a hard time getting close to people, and my first serious girlfriend leaving made me feel like I would never find someone I love and feel close to again," Shawn admitted.

"We were both in the same sad boat, huh?" Katy took a short pause. "I knew that Kermit leaving wasn't my fault, but..."

"You still blamed yourself a little?" Shawn finished for her.

"Yes. It made me afraid to pursue another romantic relationship. I mean you saw how I was when I met you." She almost cringed, remembering how defensive she was.

Shawn nodded, also remembering her previous actions. "You said, and I quote, 'You need to stop being nice to me.' And I said, 'You need therapy.'"

"And I agreed to that," Katy finished with a grin.

This is it. A fresh start with a new family. Things can only go up from here.