Something's Not Right by bluetruffle

Summary: Post HSM Troy spends all of his remaining time in Albuquerque with Gabriella before leaving to carry his team to the championship on the other coast. However, when he returns nearly a year later, he finds Gabriella with a three-month-old baby…

Disclaimer: I own nothing related to the HSM universe, sadly.

A/N: Hi! Bluetruffle here. This is my first fanfiction, so I'm not really used to the ways and means, but I'd written this a while ago and I only discovered fanfiction recently. I hope you like it…feel free to give suggestions, but compliments are nice too. :) Read on and enjoy!

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Twenty-three year old Gabriella Montez clutched her stomach and moaned softly. Taylor leaned over from across the small table, a worried frown creasing her brow.

"Hey, you okay? Is it something you ate?"

Gabriella shook her head. "I--I don't think so."

"You've been having stomach pains for more than a week now." Taylor shuffled the last of her papers, lightly touched the sides of the stack so that it was neat, and slipped them in her briefcase. "Maybe you should see your doctor."

"He'll ask." Gabriella thought back. "He'll ask what I--oh, noo…"

"What?"

"I think I might be…oh, no, I can't, I really can't be…"

Taylor, a little frustrated, folded her arms across her chest. "Gee, I'm so glad you took the time to make sure you made sense, because or else I'd have no earthly idea what you're talking about."

Gabriella leaned forward a little, eyes brimming. "What'll I tell Troy?"

"Does this have something to do with him?"

"It has everything to do with him." Gabriella gulped as if speaking about her boyfriend of five years was difficult beyond all reason. "Taylor, I think I might…I think I might be pregnant."

Taylor's eyebrows shot upwards and her jaw dropped. "Pardon? Did you say what I thought you said?"

Gabriella nodded.

"Is it…Troy's…?"

Another nod.

"This is bad," Taylor said grimly. "Wait--you two--did you--?"

"A couple of weeks ago," Gabriella responded, feeling very uncomfortable. "I had no idea--"

"Okay." Taylor stood and offered a hand to Gabriella to help her up. "Come on. Let's go and make sure."

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"Gabriella Montez." The nurse's monotone offered no comfort to Gabriella. She rose and walked slowly towards the white-clad nurse as if she was heading to the gallows to be executed. The nurse flashed a tight-lipped smile and led her down the hall.

Gabriella had never been so happy to see Doctor Terry. He greeted her warmly, asked her what was wrong. Gabriella gulped and explained.

"And you've been having stomach pains for…?"

"A week."

"If I may…who do you think the father…if what you think is true…"

"I know who the father is--or would be." She felt ready to throw up again. "I think you know Troy Bolton."

Doctor Terry nodded. "Aah, the basketball star. If you'd like to lie down and answer a few questions for me…"

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After a series of tests Gabriella knew nothing about, it was confirmed she was, indeed, going to have a baby in around nine month's time. After thanking Doctor Terry, she rushed to the waiting room to convey the news to an eager Taylor.

"You're going to tell Troy right away, right?" Taylor asked as they left the hospital together. "You'll call him?"

Gabriella bit her lip. Troy was fighting for the championship with his team on the other coast, and would continue to do so until the team had either been beaten out of the championship or won the trophy. "I don't want him to come home and look after me. This could be his big break. I can't--not right away."

Taylor nodded. "Well, at least we can tell the others…and your parents…and Troy's."

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"Ryan? Sharpay?" Gabriella swallowed the lump in her throat. "I've got big news."

Back in her studio, Sharpay's ears perked up. She and Ryan both had contracts with the theater in Albuquerque, hoping to move up in the world of acting. She breathed, "Hold on," into the phone, held it against her shoulder and hurried into Ryan's adjoining room, beckoning him over. "Okay. Shoot."

Gabriella deliberated for a moment before whispering, "I'm pregnant."

Sharpay squealed and fanned herself frantically with her hand. "She's pregnant!" Sharpay repeated to a confused Ryan. "Oh my God, is it Troy's?"

"Uh-huh."

"It's Troy's!" Sharpay trilled to Ryan. "You're gonna tell him, aren't you?"

Gabriella tiredly explained her reasoning, and after talking for twenty-odd more minutes, she said her goodbyes and hung up, then dialing each of her other friends in turn and breaking the news.

Now came the hard part. Telling her mother.

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She pulled up at her mother's house forty-five minutes later, having made arrangements to meet her there for a homemade lunch. Her mother greeted her at the doorstep.

"Hi, honey," she said, pulling Gabriella into a hug.

"Hey, Mom."

Mrs. Montez scanned her daughter's face. "What's wrong, sweetheart? You sounded distressed on the phone."

Gabriella swallowed hard. "Okay, Mom, let's go sit down first."

Once they had both been seated in the Montez's sunny living room, Gabriella looked over at her mother sadly.

"Mom, you love me, no matter what, don't you?" she asked.

"Oh, of course I do! What made you think that I didn't?"

"Nothing," Gabriella replied, a little too quickly. "I just found out today…I needed to tell you…" Her eyes filled with tears. "Mom, I'm…going to have a baby." It was barely a whisper on the air.

Mrs. Montez seemed stunned. "Are you sure?"

The younger-generation girl bobbed her dark head. "Yes. I went to the hospital and got the test." She felt a sudden urge to burst into tears. "Mom, I'm sorry."

"Oh, honey, don't be." Mrs. Montez moved to sit next to Gabriella and put an arm around her. "Just…who's the father?"

Gabriella stared intently at a dark spot on the carpet. "Troy."

"Troy Bolton? Basketball captain? Singer?"

"Yes, that Troy. My boyfriend." Gabriella paused. "He's not just that…he's also--well, he's--"

"Do you love him?" her mother asked abruptly.

"Yes, I do. Mom, I love him so much, and I don't want to lose him."

"Well, you're going to call him from wherever he is, basketballing or whatever you call it, and you're going to tell him--unless you have already."

She sighed. "No, Mom, I'm not." It sounded like a rehearsed speech by this time, but she repeated her grounds anyway. "But all I care about right now is that you don't…hate me now. I know; I'm a failure. And I'm sorry."

"Nonsense. Gabi, sweetie, I love you no matter what. I know you'll be a great mother."

Gabriella smiled. "Really?"

"Really."

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A/N: A couple of things. First, I don't know if I'll ever have space to explain this, so I'll tell you now. Gabriella is on an internship program with a law firm--she got her Master's in law at university, but she's learning the ropes now before she can become a partner. Troy got a degree in sports psychology and he's playing basketball for a major league team. Taylor became a nuclear biologist; she and Gabriella attended the same university. If that's not clear to you, I'll explain more later.

An update's on the way--I know where this is going. Reviews are nice. Very nice. If you can find the time, please do review. Thanks!

bluetruffle