Piece by Piece

But piece by piece he collected me (II)

Piece by Piece

But piece by piece he collected me (II)

"But piece by piece, he collected me up

Off the ground, where you abandoned things"

Shawn Hunter was currently having the time of his life. After being gone on a long trip for work, he finally had his first completely free day in weeks and didn't think there was a anywhere he would rather be spending it than right here. Since Topanga had invited Katy to come along with her on a spa retreat – a gift from her husband – the boys had decided to grab the kids and take them out for a day of fun. And that was how he found himself at Coney Island on a beautiful late Saturday morning.

Their little group had the whole day planned and all of them were positively bubbling with excitement. Little Auggie was dying to ride the bumper cars while Riley was excited to go on the Thunderbolt. Maya had told Shawn that she really wanted to have a ride on the Wonder Wheel – the girl was looking forward to the view from the top, maybe it would inspire her next art piece. And Shawn was fine with all of it, as long as the kids were happy. Cory had put in the request that their last stop just had to be the Coney Island Cyclone. In the end, Shawn had made a list, ensuring that everyone would get their wish.

Their last-minute addition sadly couldn't have his preferences included on the list, but he didn't mind. Completely out of the blue, Josh Matthews had shown up at the Matthews' doorstep (New York location) that morning, wanting to spend some time with his big brother – and if you asked Shawn, to see a particular blonde. So without further ado, they had taken the boy along with them.

Their first stop were the bumper cars. Now, because Auggie wasn't old enough to drive one on his own, it was decided that they would split up into teams: Auggie would be riding with Josh, Maya would be riding with Riley and Shawn would be riding with Cory. However, some people had their objections to this particular plan.

"You sure you wouldn't rather share a car with your big sister, Auggie?" Maya asked sweetly – just looking out for the boy, of course. "It would be no problem at all if you wanted to trade partners.

"Trying to get rid of me there, Peaches?" Riley asked with raised eyebrows.

"Not at all, honey," Maya assured. "I'm just worried about poor little Auggie."

"Why would you be worried about Auggie?" Riley asked, oblivious to her best friend's true intentions.

"Yeah, it's not like he would be driving with you," Josh teased while crossing his arms and smirking at the blonde.

"Very funny, Uncle Boing." Maya rolled her eyes.

"Still not your uncle, Maya." Josh mirrored her expression.

"Anyway, as I was saying," Maya tried again. "Your uncle here just seems like a reckless driver. And I would willingly put myself in peril to spare the life of sweet, innocent, little August here. I couldn't let anything happen to him, I just love the little guy." Maya hugged her best friend's little brother tightly from behind.

"Maya! You're crushing me with your love!" Auggie protested while trying to wiggle free. Riley, gradually catching on to what her best friend was doing, just grinned.

"Hey, I'm not a reckless driver!" Josh exclaimed, clearly offended. "And you know that! You've driven with me once before, remember."

"Of course I do, honey," Maya said soothingly. "But you know ..."