This is just something that sprung into my head as I reread my 'Mother's Day' oneshot. This will most likely be just a short series of drabbles relating to little miss Emily Caroline Bolton that only serve the purpose of taking up spare time and keeping readers (which I hope I haven't lost in the nearly 5 months since I've published something) satisfied. I hope everyone who reads enjoys this (:
(Also, ignore the reference to Troy and Gabriella's second child at the end of MD. I'm going back in time a little bit!)
Disclaimer: I own nothing...still :( And if I'm unclear on some things, please forgive me.
A year ago, things in the Bolton household were completely different. The quiet Saturday mornings that Troy and Gabriella slept in on were now filled with the sounds of giggling, cooing, and at times crying of their 13-month old daughter. The spotless and visible carpet of their living room was now occupied by various dolls, blankets, blocks and plush toys. Kitchen cupboards, freezers and fridges that once contained various spices, TV dinners and Gatorade were replaced with formula, teething rings, and pureed baby food. Troy and Gabriella's lives had done a complete 180 since the birth of precious Emily Caroline Bolton, but all of the late night awakenings, crying and wailing were so worth it.
As it turns out, this Saturday was no different. Gabriella Bolton grumbled as the sun shone offensively through the master bedroom windows, forcing her to adjust to the light and ultimately get out of bed. Deciding to linger a bit longer before starting her day, she rolled over onto her side looking to cuddle into Troy, but was instead met with his plush pillow that had a trace of his scent on it. Inhaling deeply, she smiled as she took in the smell for a few more seconds and begrudgingly rising from her position on the bed. Yawning, she tangled her tresses into a bun; smiling once more as she heard the laughs and clapping coming from downstairs, knowing that it could only be coming from her daughter and husband. Walking out of the bedroom and down the stairs, she spotted the two playing on the living room carpet— Troy on his back lifting Emily into the air repeatedly, smiling with mirth every time he heard her giggles. Gabriella watched the two interact and her heart warmed at the sight. Sitting up, Emily and Troy caught Gabriella's eyes, surprised at her presence. Emily squealed and clapped at the sight of her mother and Troy's eyes danced with happiness as he walked over to his wife, giving her a kiss on the lips and muttering a 'good morning' to her.
"Good morning to you too," Gabriella finally spoke. Taking her daughter from Troy, she peppered Emily's face with quick kisses. "And good morning to you, gorgeous! Has Emmy eaten this morning?" She asked of Troy.
"Yes she has," Troy answered, guiding his wife and daughter toward the couch for them to snuggle on. "I've been down here training her too," Troy stated, smiling proudly.
Gabriella furrowed her eyebrows. "Training for what?"
"Her first word, baby, which will most definitely be 'dada,' isn't that right, Em?" He asked, tickling his daughter who just giggled and watched her parents' interaction.
Rolling her eyes, Gabriella retorted. "Troy, no matter how much you repeat it to her, she's not going to talk until she's ready! You can't rush these things. Plus, I wouldn't miss her first word—'mama'—just because you were trying to speed up the process."
"And what makes you think her first word is going to be 'mama?'"
"Because she obviously loves her Mama way, way more than stinky old Daddy, right Emmy?"
Troy huffed. "Well why don't you put your money where your mouth is, Bolton?"
"Are we seriously going to bet on what our daughter's first word is, Bolton?" Gabriella deadpanned.
"What's the problem, afraid you're going to lose?" Troy smirked.
Narrowing her eyes, Gabriella snapped playfully. "No! I just don't see the point in betting on it when it's apparent that I'll win. I was just looking out for you; wouldn't want your ego to be too damaged, you know." She winked.
"You're on then. The loser—which will be you, of course—has to…" Troy paused, "…clean the basement for two months straight and treat the other like a king—"
"Or queen—" Gabriella remarked.
"Or queen," Troy rolled his eyes, "for an entire day. Deal?"
"Deal." Gabriella grinned, holding her hand out for Troy to take.
He shook Gabriella's hand. "Game on."
"Oh, come on Emmy, I've said it probably ten thousand times already! Let's try this again. Repeat after me: Mama... mama... ma-MA!" Gabriella was trying once more to get her daughter to say her first word as she fed her lunch, to no avail. Emily just frowned and kicked in frustration. All she wanted was food! Why couldn't her mom understand that? Sighing, Gabriella fed her another spoonful of vanilla yogurt. "You win this time, kiddo, but I hope you know we're not done yet." Happy after finally being fed, Emily clapped and squealed. A few moments later, Troy walked into their home, slightly sweaty from playing a game of basketball with his friends. Ever since he injured himself by tearing his ACL during his stint in the NBA, he decided to stop playing in order to appease his parents' and Gabriella's concerns that he would hurt himself once more if he still played. Thankfully, he majored and got a degree in Business Administration and Management in college before deciding to play basketball. His injury brought the opportunity to work for his father as a human resource manager at an insurance company. It may not pay as much money as the NBA did, but Troy was able to spend much more time with his family and that meant more to him than the money he got from playing basketball. Walking into the kitchen, Troy laid his eyes on his wife and daughter and immediately greeted them with kisses. "Hey, babe." Gabriella spoke.
"Hello to you too. How are my two gorgeous girls doing?" Troy said, stroking the hair on his daughter's head.
"Well, this gorgeous girl is getting closer and closer to saying 'mama' as the days go by," Gabriella lied. Rolling his eyes, Troy lifted Emily, who was reaching for him, from her highchair.
"Don't be so sure, Gab. With the way we've been practicing, she'll be saying 'dada' in no time." Troy smiled proudly.
"Don't be so sure of that," Gabriella repeated, "her first word is going to be 'mama,' all the way."
"Whatever you say, Bolton. I'm going to go shower," he said, kissing his wife once more. Turning his head towards his daughter, he spoke again. "And once I get out, we can practice more so we can put Mama out of her delusion that you'll say her name first, how's that?" Emily just stared at her father with her bold blue eyes giggling, without a clue of what her dad was talking about.
Scoffing, Gabriella turned on her heels and placed Emily on the living room floor so that she would watch a bit of television while Gabriella cleaned up the kitchen. "Keep dreaming, Troy," she called out to her retreating husband.
Numerous days had passed with no progress from Troy or Gabriella. Little Emily Bolton would not budge when it came to her first word. The two tried everything from flash cards to pictures to instructional DVDs of 'Your Baby Can Read,' but nothing was working. One evening, Gabriella returned from a lunch and shopping session with Sharpay and Taylor to find Troy and Emily situated on the floor once again, listening to Troy repeat his mantra:
"Daddy. Dada. Da-da. Papa. Father. Padre, something, please!" Emily simply giggled and fell backwards, continuing to play with her toes. "Awesome. I even try different languages and I still get nothing." Troy threw his hands up in the air in defeat.
"Having a little trouble?" Gabriella spoke, quirking one of her eyebrows as she walked into the living room. Squatting, she kissed them both and tickled Emily's stomach. The two parents watched on as she giggled, cooed, and wiggled about. Emmy had already grown up so much and it had only been little over a year. If time was going by this fast, she'd been a teenager in no time. As if Troy and Gabriella were thinking the same thing, they both shook their head rapidly trying to rid themselves of the thought of teenage Emily. "It's like she won't say anything!" Troy sighed.
"Don't worry babe, she'll say her first word when she'll well and ready to," Gabriella soothed, running her hands through Troy's hair. "Which will undoubtedly be 'mama." Gabriella smirked. Picking Emily up, she began to make her way towards the stairs. "You ready to go see Nana and Pop-pop?" asked Gabriella, referring to Troy's parents, Lucille and Jack Bolton. Emily smiled as she put her thumb in her mouth and rested her head on her mother's shoulder. Finally going upstairs, Gabriella prepared to go get Emily ready. "We'll back back down in a minute!" She sauntered away but not before starting to constantly repeat 'mama' to her obviously worn out daughter.
A few hours later after the entire family had gotten ready, they made their way to Troy's childhood home. Of course, on the car ride there, both parents had tried unsuccessfully to get the child to say their respective names. Gabriella's excitement peaked about ten minutes into the ride when Emily suddenly went 'mmmm' to which Gabriella turned around in her seat only to see that Emily playing with one of her plush animals. Arriving at the home that housed the first Mr. and Mrs. Bolton, the family got out and walked inside, being welcome with many kisses and wide open arms.
"Emmy! Nana's baby," Lucille cooed to a happy, gurgling Emily. "You're getting so big! I can't believe you're almost a year and a half old." She placed kisses all over the baby girl's face, who only giggled in response. Passing Emily over to Jack, the entire Bolton family sat down.
"It is hard to believe," Gabriella agreed. "Pretty soon, we're going to have to enroll her into preschool, then kindergarten, then—"
"Whoa, let's not get ahead of ourselves here," Jack laughed. "I want to enjoy my precious granddaughter while I still can."
"She still hasn't said her first word, though," Troy spoke. "Gabriella and I have this bet going on whether her first word will be my name or hers and we're still waiting."
"Well you can't rush her," Jack remarked, passing Emily back to her grandmother. "You won't know what her first word will be until she says it. It might end up not being either one of your names."
"I surely doubt that," Troy stated proudly. "she's a daddy's girl and I see no reason as to why her first word shouldn't be 'dada,' right Em?" he finished, reaching over to play with his smiling daughter, who was more enamored with the ruffles on Lucille's shirt.
"You two are incorrigible!" Lucille laughed. "Trying to push your names on this baby. Your first word wasn't 'mom' or 'dad' either, Troy. You both just need to be patient. Don't you think so too, Emmy? Your silly mommy and daddy need to listen to what Nana's saying, hmm?"
Emily clapped and laughed in agreement. "Nana! Nana!"
Gabriella's jaw dropped and she looked at Troy who had a blank expression on his face as he looked between his mother, father, and daughter; all three of them were laughing clapping with each other, amused at the expression of the two parents across from them.
Troy was at a loss for words. "She just... but I... 'nana,' seriously?" Troy threw his head back in defeat as the rest of his family laughed uproariously.
"Wow," said Gabriella. "I can't believe it. 'Nana' was her first word. Not 'mommy' or 'daddy,' but 'nana!"
"Nana! Nana!" Emily continued clapping.
"Guess neither of you won the bet." Jack retorted through his laughter.
Troy and Gabriella stared at each other, then Emily, and smiled. "I guess you're right," they said together.
Hope you enjoyed (: