As usual, I'm bad at plot creation and full-length stories, so this is basically just rambling.
I got the idea based off of one of the reviews for Kidnapped. A guest commented that s/he couldn't finish reading it, because she felt bad for Laura. Maybe s/he would have felt less badly had they continued reading. Who knows? Regardless, I felt badly for Laura too – that's one of the reasons why I made her leave Troy. I didn't want her to settle for a one-sided relationship.
From that, I started thinking, what if Gabriella and Laura were to cross paths again?
Also, I feel like all my ramblings always paint Gabriella as a mother. I know that gets old, and I know that a woman's worth isn't tied to her womb, but we write as we know and understand happiness, love, loss, etc., and I know happiness in the warm snuggles of babies, so it's hard not to portray that for my favorite couple.
It's an original work that's purely for FF entertainment, but I got the idea from HSM characters– of which I do not own/have no claims.
This was Gabriella's favorite coffee shop. She didn't come often, because it was across town, but she was treating herself today. Troy was out of town for the day, and she was bored at home. She'd come to the coffee shop with the intention of working on lesson plans, but so far all she had done was listen to music as she basked in the warmth of the sun that streamed through the window she sat beside.
The window was in a quiet little nook of the shop. Light streamed onto the table she sat at, illuminating dust particles in the air and causing the little flowers in the vase to turn their faces toward the light.
She fingered the delicate petals before sipping her smoothie. Usually she wasn't a fan of mango, but today she was thoroughly enjoying it. As she took a break from her daydreams, she looked around the nearly empty coffee shop. A couple of mothers with small children, an elderly man typing furiously on his laptop, a teenage couple holding hands and smiling at one another. Finally, her eyes landed on another woman. She was standing by herself and staring at Gabriella.
Gabriella's brown eyes widened as the woman approached her. She looked just as pretty as Gabriella remembered. Her strawberry blonde hair was shorter and her light eyes looked more youthful. Considering the circumstances under which they had originally met, Gabriella wasn't surprised.
Gabriella wiped her palms nervously against the fabric of her floral sundress as the woman continued her path.
"I would recognize your curls anywhere," the woman began, an apprehensive smile on her lips.
"Hi," Gabriella moved clumsily, her belly knocking against the table as she stood in greeting. Once she stood before Laura, she wasn't sure what to do. Did she hug her? Should she shake her hand? Instead, she nervously rubbed her palms against her thighs, leaving her dress wrinkled.
"Please, sit with me," Gabriella smiled, and despite her nerves, she grabbed Laura's hand, "You look beautiful."
They had not seen one another in at least six years. Gabriella remembered that the last time she had seen Laura, Laura was loading boxes and bags into her car. Gabriella cried that day. She knew it was her fault Laura was leaving.
It all happened in a whirlwind. She remembered Troy's pleading words and Laura's sorry eyes, but for the most part, Gabriella had tried to stay out of the way. She didn't want to make it any worse.
"I haven't seen you in so long," Gabriella began conversationally.
Laura nodded before sipping her beverage – Gabriella wasn't sure what it was, "I moved to Austin when I left Albuquerque. I'm here for the week visiting my parents."
Gabriella nodded, afraid to ask Laura why she left. "How are they? How are you?"
"They're good. I'm good. I'm enjoying life right now. In fact, I'm really, really happy."
Gabriella beamed at the sincerity that in her words, her demeanor. Gabriella had disrupted her first happy life. Knowing that her new life was happy, maybe even better, was so nice to hear, "I am so glad." Despite herself, her eyes welled with tears of joy for Laura.
"How are you, Gabriella?" For some reason, Laura's question startled Gabriella. She didn't know how to answer it. Should she bring up Troy? Oh god. Had Laura seen her wedding ring?"
Discretely, Gabriella pulled her hands into her lap before answering, "I'm good. I'm a teacher. I was supposed to work on lesson plans today, but my heart hasn't been in it."
"You don't like it?"
"Oh no! That's not it at all. I adore it. I've just been more interested in people watching and basking in the sun." Gabriella smiled beautifully at the admission.
"You look lovely, Gabriella," Laura stared at Gabriella's face for long enough to make Gabriella blush.
"Th…thank you. So do you! I always thought so. When I first saw you." Her words were slippery with nervousness.
Silence settled around the women as they both drank from their respective cups.
Gabriella looked up shyly. Troy told her often how much he admired her, how brave and strong she was. She had never considered herself brave or strong, though. But this might be her only chance. She had to take it. She had to know, "Can I ask you something?"
Laura smiled in a way that made Gabriella think her answer would be no. "Not if you ask me why I left."
"Why didn't you like me?" She felt a little bit foolish asking. Her heart shouldn't still ache at being disliked by the woman in front of her, but she had never understood; and she had resolved herself to the fact that she would never know. However, now Laura was sitting right across from her, and she wanted to know. She wanted to know what she had done.
"Aaahh," Laura breathed out slowly, "basically the same question. If not the same question, then mostly the same answer." The innocence of Gabriella's inquiry surprised Laura, and for a tiny second, she wondered how things would have played out had she stayed.
"Please tell me," Gabriella almost begged, "I've…" she took a second to compose herself, licking her lips and lacing her trembling fingers, "When I was growing up, I lived in so many different foster homes. None of them lasted, and I never knew why. I never knew why they would decide that they didn't like me. My own mother wanted drugs more than she wanted me. I tried so, so hard to be good and do everything right. I hoped that one day some family would finally want me. It never happened, and to this day, I don't know what I did, why my foster siblings got to stay – sometimes forever – and I didn't." Gabriella looked up at Laura then, her brown eyes full of so much longing, "Please, I need to know why. I need to know why you didn't like me. I need to fix it."
Laura knew that Gabriella was implying that she needed to fix herself. How old was Gabriella now? Barely into her life, she was only twenty-four. Laura felt sad for Gabriella's scarred heart, and she wondered how old Gabriella would be before eighteen years of her life wouldn't weigh so heavily on her. Maybe it would change when Gabriella held her own baby. Laura hoped that Troy was doing well at being a sweet balm to her internal aches. If she knew him at all, he was the perfect person to offer the tenderness of love to the young woman.
"You don't need to fix anything, Gabriella. You're perfect."
"Laura," Gabriella swallowed the lump in her throat, but before she could say more, Laura was speaking again.
"Troy asked me the same thing before I left. He asked why I didn't like you," Laura mused. "How is he? Your ring is lovely."
Gabriella blushed, but wasn't deterred. She didn't answer Laura's question. She just stared at her expectantly.
"When Troy asked me why I disliked you, I told him that I didn't. I told him that you were too sweet to dislike." Laura registered the surprised expression on Gabriella's face. "It was true. It's still true. You're sweet, Gabriella. You are beautiful, kind, considerate, funny. All of those things are likable qualities."
"I don't understand, but you did dislike me." Her brown eyes were pleading once more, wanting desperately for Laura to just tell her.
"Your stomach should tell you why I disliked you."
Immediately, Gabriella's hands flew to her stomach, cradling it protectively in her hands, suppressing her urge to coo to the little life growing in there. In two short months, she would be cooing to a little girl in her arms instead of her stomach.
"Gabriella, I know you're a smart person. Think about it."
"But –"
"He was falling in love with you right in front of me."
Gabriella gasped. She was still holding her stomach. "I didn't…I didn't know that."
"I know. He didn't either, but it happened nonetheless, didn't it? And you fell in love with him too?"
"Yes," Gabriella breathed out heavily, an answer to both questions. "How did you know?"
"The way he looked at you, the way he held you."
"I'm sorry," stray tears fell from Gabriella's eyes.
"Don't be. You love him. You make each other happy. You're starting a family. You shouldn't apologize for that."
"Are you happy?" Gabriella reached across the table and clung to Laura's hands.
"I am," she smiled. You aren't the only one who's starting a family."
Both women's eyes sparkled, and Laura pulled out her cell phone to give Gabriella a glimpse into her life, "This is a picture we took at Christmas. His name is own. The furry bundle in his arms is Charlie."
Gabriella stared at the photo on Laura's phone. She was standing beside a tall man with a shaved head and skin that was creamy milk chocolate. He was wearing glasses and a huge grin. His arm was wrapped around Laura. They were both in tacky Christmas sweaters and their dog Charlie was looking up at them eagerly from Owen's arms. They had a glittering tree in the background. Lastly, Gabriella focused on Laura in the photograph, wanting to make certain that the woman was really and truly happy. Her green eyes were hooded with love for the man beside her. Her hand was against his chest, and Gabriella noticed the ring on her finger.
She immediately looked down, turning Laura's hand over with her own. She smiled up at her without saying a word.
"I should go," Laura finally spoke. "Owen and I are actually meeting my parents for dinner. I want to change before."
"Okay," Gabriella responded simply.
"Tell Troy that I said hello." Laura paused then, standing beside the table. "Tell him I'm glad that he called me that night, asking if you could come stay with us. Tell him that he was right – as usual – you're the strongest person I know too."
Gabriella's breath hitched, "I will." She stood up and hugged Laura.
Laura held her the way Gabriella imagined her own mother would have. She held her the way Troy's mother held her sometimes. She spoke to Gabriella the way she imagined her own mother – in another life – would have spoken to hear, "You may not have gotten the family you wanted when you were a little girl, but I have a feeling that your little one will have that family, an even better family than you imagined. Love radiates from you, Gabriella. There's something special about you."
Gabriella smiled in Laura's face, "I could say the same thing about you. There's something special about you, too."