I do not own the characters of High School Musical. All events, actions, and names are entirely fictional and any similarity is purely coincidental.
1
"Higher, daddy. Higher!"
A 28-year-old Troy Bolton chuckled as he pushed his 5-year-old higher on the swing set. "Any higher and you'll go towards the moon, Madison."
Yet, his daughter continued to persist in going higher.
His wife, Gabriella, smiled at her husband and daughter as she sat on their picnic blanket a few feet away. She was spending the wonderful summer day with her family in the park, liking for once that they both had the day off from their stressful jobs. She was a social worker in Los Angeles, working hard to help the little children that need strength from people who cared. Her husband was a police detective, recently being promoted by the LAPD nearly two years ago. He had worked hard to become a simple police officer and being promoted was a dream come true for him.
But for now, they were just glad that they had a day off for once. There was no trouble in the city, no children were lost, and the town was in high spirits. The sun was shining on the blissful Saturday, birds were chirping high in the sky, and families were taking advantage of this day.
Of course, they normally had sunny days in Los Angeles. But, this just seemed to be one of those perfect, sunny days. Why wouldn't families take advantage of it?
"Guys, come get your lunch!" shouted Gabriella, pulling out baggies of PB&J sandwiches. Her husband was the king of sandwiches, as he put it.
Spotting the sandwiches, Madison jumped off the swing and sprinted towards the blanket. "Yay! Daddy's famous sandwich!"
Troy followed her, making sure she didn't trip on her untied shoes. She did have a tendency to be clumsy. "Be careful, honey."
Madison sat in her mother's lap as she began chomping on her sandwich. She moaned with enjoyment. "Daddy, these are the best!"
"He's been making those sandwiches since high school," said Gabriella, tossing a sandwich to her husband as he sat down next to his wife and child.
"Really?" asked Madison, licking her fingers free of jelly.
Troy nodded, opening his baggy. "That's how your mom fell in love with me."
"Oh yeah. He would just brag about his sandwiches. Although, his pimento cheese was a little sour." Gabriella smirked, eying him.
Troy held up his finger in protest. "Hey, I didn't realize the cheese was old. That was a one time thing."
Gabriella giggled, wrapping her arms around her daughter's waist.
"Mommy, how long have you and daddy been together?" asked Madison. She always admired her parents relationship. Though she was too young to really understand it all, she always felt like her mom was Cinderella and her dad was Prince Charming.
"A long time, sweetie," answered Troy.
"Forever?"
He nodded. "Pretty much!"
They had been together for what seemed like forever. He had met her at East High School in Albuquerque when they were only sixteen. It was love at first sight. Though they had ups and downs with jealous and arguments, they managed to stick it through. They attended the University of California in Los Angeles together and liked the city so much, they decided to stay to pursue their future and careers together.
Troy proposed to her at their college graduation and nearly a year later, they married in a beautiful ceremony with their family and close friends. On their honeymoon to Turks and Caicos, Gabriella had found out she was pregnant with Madison. It had to have been the most amazing wedding present they could have gotten.
Since then, they have managed to raise Madison as a splendid child. She was full of spirit and loved everything around her. She was to start kindergarten in a few months and showed no signs of nervousness. She must have gotten that from her father, considering Gabriella was full of nerves once she started her first day of school.
Madison, though, looked exactly like Gabriella. She had wavy, dark hair that fell to her waist. Her skin held the same olive complexion and she had curvy cheeks surrounding her angel eyes, which had Troy's possession of blue.
She was the perfect child.
"Troy?"
Troy broke out of his reverie and smiled at his wife. "Yes?"
"You okay?" she asked.
"Of course. I was just thinking about everything that has led up to our beautiful life," he said.
Gabriella smiled and pecked his lips lightly.
"Eww! Gross!" squealed Madison. She hated when her parents showed affection in front of her.
Her parents laughed at her.
Troy began playfully mocking her before sending her to the ground, tickling her sides with glee. Gabriella covered her face with delight as her husband and daughter laughed while tickling each other to death.
They were the perfect family.
Troy picked up his daughter and cradled her in his arms. "You know we love you, right?"
"I love you too," said Madison, looking at both of her parents.
Gabriella kissed her daughter's cheek. "You're going to grow up to be a wonderful girl."
"And, you won't have a boyfriend until you are 40." Troy pretended to sternly point his finger, though he was half-serious.
"Got it!" said Madison, going along with her parents. She wasn't sure what a boyfriend was, but she always listened to her parents. She never wanted to go against them. They were her heroes. She understood that they saved lives by giving protection and that's why she considered them her heroes.
"Mommy? Daddy? Can I go play in the sandbox? I want to build a princess castle," said Madison.
"Sure, honey."
Troy and Gabriella watched as their daughter ran over to the sandbox where other kids were playing. They smiled when she immediately began scrunching her face up, formulating a castle in her mind. Troy laughed lightly as he looked at his wife.
"She sure is smart," she said.
"She gets it from her beautiful mother," complimented Troy. He put his hand on her thigh, barely brushing up in her sundress with his fingers.
Gabriella smirked at him. "You're such a kiss up."
"No, but I do love to kiss you." He lightly kissed her lips, bringing his other hand up in her soft curls.
She smiled and pulled back after a minute, tugging lightly on his shirt. "You know what tomorrow is?"
Troy pretended to look clueless. "Sunday?"
Gabriella pinched his chest, which caused no reaction considering he was ripped.
He laughed. "I know what it is. 5 years since we have been married. And, I have quite the surprise for you."
"Oh! What is it?" she asked. Her eyes were immediately bright.
"Now, I will not ruin the surprise." He poked her nose lightly before kissing it.
Gabriella smiled and looked over, wanting to keep an eye on their daughter.
However, when her eyes rolled over towards the sandbox, she had trouble searching for Madison. She furrowed her eyebrows and stood up slowly, crossing her arms over her chest. She saw three little boys and two girls, both with blonde hair.
But, no Madison.
"Troy, did you see Madison leave the sandbox?" asked Gabriella. Her heart began to pound.
Troy stood up and looked at the sandbox. He began to sweat when he realized she wasn't there. Surely they would have seen her if she went somewhere else on the playground. Plus, she would have told them. She was notorious in always telling her parents where she would go next.
"I don't see her," he whispered.
Gabriella's breath began to pick up as she clutched at her throat, gasping for breath. "Oh my God."
Troy turned to his wife, placing his hands on her shoulders. "Honey, breathe. Look, she has to be somewhere around here. Let's just look all over the playground, okay?"
They began searching the slides, the swings, the jungle gym, and the benches around the playground and the park. They called out her name and asked people if they had seen her. The more they asked, the more strangers helped them in searching for their 5-year-old.
After searching for nearly 20 minutes, they knew that something was desperately wrong. Gabriella collapsed on her stomach, grasping the grass in agony as she sobbed over the loss of her child. Troy rushed over to his wife and pulled her into his arms, rocking her back and forth as she sobbed. He tried to keep his tears at bay as he looked around the park, hoping to still find her. His tears soon fell as he came to the inevitable truth.
His daughter had been kidnapped.
Troy slowly opened his eyes, catching his breath as he looked at the rays of sun that shone on the ceiling from the balcony window in the bedroom. He sighed and rubbed his face, feeling the familiar sweat that always appeared when he had the same memory as a nightmare.
It had been 10 years since the unfortunate kidnapping of his daughter. Throughout those few years, there had been a nationwide search filled with the California news, CNN, talk shows, magazines, and much more. There had never been one lead and if there was, it would have led them straight to nothing. When it had been only 15 months, the police and detectives in Los Angeles and around the nation closed the case, determining she was dead. It had devastated Gabriella, causing her to be out of work for 6 months while she lived with depression.
It had caused much strain in her marriage with Troy where there were arguments, less romance, and separate bedrooms. However, after they both agreed to counseling to move on, things began to slowly get better in their marriage. Though they had lost the most important aspect of their lives, they didn't want to lose each other.
Now, nearly 10 years later, they still had the distinct pain in their hearts. Everything in their house was still the same. Madison's room was still its five-year-old self. There were still pictures of her on the wall. Her favorite foods were still being purchased and her favorite shows were always on when they were scheduled for reruns or new episodes.
They didn't want anything to change that would cause her memory to be erased.
"Honey?"
Troy felt a nudge and looked to his side, seeing his beautiful wife look at him with concern. "Yes?"
She could easily feel his sweat. "What's wrong?"
He shrugged and sighed, sitting up in bed. "You know exactly what's wrong."
Gabriella pursed her lips and looked away from him, controlling her emotions. She couldn't cry, though. All her tears had ran dry through the years. She could feel the familiar depression creep up on her, but she willed herself to remain calm.
Troy looked down at her and sighed, laying back down with her. He hovered over her body, kissing her cheek. "I'm sorry if I sounded snappy."
"You weren't," she said. She looked up at him and touched his cheek. "We have to get ready for work."
"I know. I wish I could just stay here with you," he said.
Gabriella gave him a small smile. "Sadly, we can't afford that. We still have a mortgage to pay."
"I know," he whispered.