"Hey, look at me, right at me," Troy coaxes, grabbing Gabriella's hands in his and lifting her chin to meet his glare, "Whatever happens, we're in this together."
She looks away, rolling at the corny phrase they had been encouraging each other with ever since they met their junior year of high school. Little had they known back then, or even when they sought to get their marriage license, the struggles and setbacks that marriage compared to a "honeymoon" high school relationship could compare.
He had slid the ring over her ring finger and watched as she blushed, her brilliant brown eyes complementing her tan and ever glowing skin, popping gorgeously in her hauntingly beautiful wedding dress, flowing perfectly over her small frame. Mr. Bolton walked his future daughter-in-law down the aisle, stepping in for her non-existent father, a back story too painful to share but nonetheless would her husband understand and be there for her when he couldn't, talking whenever she would need to talk.
All these moments flashed back, flooding Gabriella's mind as she nervously felt her hands shake in her husband's, glaring at the counter out of the corner of her eye, waiting for the horizontal line or two that could change the past two painful years battling infertility for the better.
"Troy," He hears her voice waver, burying her head into his chest as the timer on their counter goes off, overwhelmed by the thought of another disappointment, but anxious to encounter a potential pregnancy they had been trying for just two years after being married.
Her heart dropped in her chest as she made her way over to the counter, catching a glare and only seeing one reflective line, but as she took a closer peek, she nearly fainted, wondering if her eyes had been just as wishful as her heart.
"Well?" Troy asks both inpatiently and anxiously, unable to bear the wait.
Thoughts of her various miscarriages came flooding back from the back of her mind, and tears stung the back of her eyes, causing her husband to survey her with questioning eyes, assuming the worst. To ease the tension in the room, Gabriella picks it up, flashing the two lines painted in the window towards Troy, and his face lights up, careful not to get too excited, the thought of another miscarriage slightly crushing his excitement.
"We've gotta live in the moment Troy." He remembers her telling him the last time they had received a positive, but little had they known that this pregnancy would lead to an ectopic pregnancy, resulting in the near need to remove her left fallopian tube, which only would have complicated their already difficult situation.
Adoption and IVF was briefly considered before both of them realized they couldn't afford even the pre-payments to IVF or to freeze eggs, turning to applying to be foster parents by the next year if they couldn't have their own. Troy's scholarship in theater (Which no one would have ever guessed he would have chosen) helped cover some of the expenses of college, and Gabriella's schooling for her special education major was covered with student loans, drowning the couple knee deep in stress from the monthly payments years later into their marriage.
"Pregnant Troy, this means i'm pregnant" She finally exclaims in relief, throwing herself into her husband's embrace, and feeling his chest rise and fall . His daunting blues swelled with tears as he sobbed, leaning down to kiss his wife on top of her curly, brown head of hair, overwhelmed by the bittersweet, yet terrifying moment he became a father.
-XXX-
Troy and Gabriella had snuggled beneath the covers of their king sized mattress, Gabriella's head resting against Troy's shoulder, his hand on her barely expanded stomach, searching lovingly over his child's home. They had only known of the joyous news for four days, and already they lay in bed, discussing baby names.
"Kelcye really is a major part of 'us'." Troy insisted.
"Maybe for a middle name, but I was thinking that I would really like to something less traditional and more 'us'."
"Harmony, Symphony, Melody…" Troy begins and Gabriella flips the page, shaking her head, the names even too corny for her taste.
Troy tosses the baby book on their nightstand and leans over to kiss her on head before turning off their lamp. Gabriella snuggles into her husband, rolling over on her side and resting her head in between his chest and armpit crease.
It was two in the morning when Gabriella began to stir, her hand instinctively searching her stomach as she felt her muscles contracting, a wave of nausea following as she proceeded to lunge over her bed. Morning sickness had definitely been taking a toll on her lately, but nothing to this extent, fear washing over her as she felt a slight trickle beneath her legs.
"Troy," She gasps in between inevitably uncontrollable sobs, unable to keep a reasonable mind, "I'm bleeding…" She finally whispers, throwing the comforter off of her legs and running for the bathroom.
Gabriella feels her stomach cramp, sitting on the toilet and feeling as if this excruciating pain wasn't just physical, but emotional too. As she reflected on the past few days of knowing of this baby, the one they had tried so hard for and the first pregnancy after a few years of marriage, she felt hot and salty tears flood her eyes and sting her red and burning cheeks.
Upon arriving to the hospital to check on Gabriella due to her heavy bleeding and previous blood transfusions, Gabriella pulled a gown over her small frame and laid in the bed of the room, her left hand in Troy's as he sat beside her in bed, resting their heads together, neither moving nor saying a word.
"I'm sorry for your loss" never felt good enough or even genuine the first time they had heard it from the doctor that night or even the three miscarriages following, no words muttered by the doctor ever able to change or cure the heartbreak, and as they lay, reading the verse 'God giveth and taketh', Gabriella felt her heart drop despite feeling comfort in knowing that God had bigger and better plans.
