"We're All In This Together© 2011"

Disclaimer - I Own Nothing (: Except for the plot, of course.

A/N- Oh, my goodness, thank you for everyone that reviewed! I got awesome feedback. I know I'm like majorly late in the updating business which isn't a good start for me at all. But I got grounded and had my TV, phone, and my computer taken away from me. ): For now on though I'll try to update as often as possible, but sometimes I can't because I have other stuff to do. But, mostly, I will try and update a week away, kind of like TV shows. Truthfully, I'm not enjoying how this chapter went, but enjoy! (:

A moment like this, some people wait a lifetime
For a moment like this, some people search forever
For that one special kiss
Oh, I can't believe it's happening to me
Some people wait a lifetime for a moment like this

A Moment Like This - Kelly Clarkson

Chapter Two: A Mess of Two Children

"Marcus, please sit still," Troy begged. Gabriella had to stay after school that day and so he was left to watch after the kids. Sure he had watched them by themselves and it was never a hassle, but Marcus wasn't as stubborn as before. He had already slipped out of the tub twice and right now he was standing and walking around in the bath. Every time Troy tried to grab him, Marcus would splash and then giggle. And Troy wasn't too fond at yelling. It was so much easier when he was crawling and was able to fit in the sink easily. "Daddy, I poop." Troy looked at Marcus. His eyes brows creased with confusion. "Huh, bud?"

Marcus patted his thigh and smiled. "I poop."

And that was when the vile smell shifted to his nose. Troy's eyes went wide and he looked behind Marcus. A big glob of poop floated in the water making it turn brown and murky. "Marc! You just used the potty." Marcus seemed to be amused by his dad's unhappiness. He erupted into giggles. Troy looked at him and sighed. "Your mom is going to kill me." Troy reached for Marcus and set him out of the tub. Right when he was about to clean Marcus up, there was a piercing scream. "Daddy!" Troy shot up and dashed out of the bathroom. He almost forgot about Aubree. He left her too eat dinner so he could wash up Marcus.

Troy quickly ran into the kitchen and took in an intake of breath. Aubree wasn't crying, she was wailing. A knife was slanted on the tiled floor with blood streaked on it. And to match it, Aubree had a gash about the size of a banana slanted on her arm. Troy quickly ran to her and scooped her up. "What happened, Bree? Why did you pick up a knife?" Troy carried her to the sink and ran her arm under cold water.

It only made her scream more. She yanked her arm back and threw it behind her. "I want mommy!" And just as she said that, the front door clicked open.

"Troy?" Troy closed his eyes as his wife walked into the kitchen. "My God, what—? Aubree!" Gabriella ran to them and looked at her daughters cut. She glared at Troy. "Why did you let her touch a knife?"

"I was washing Marcus up!" Troy said back. "I let her eat dinner while I washed Marcus up. I didn't know she'd get a knife."

"She's four and you left her alone!" Gabriella grabbed Aubree from him and sighed. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to yell. We have to take her to the hospital. She might need stitches."

"No needles, mommy," Aubree pleaded, turning her big, brown eyes on her mother. Gabriella looked at her sadly. "I'm sorry, baby. But it'll go by quick. And you won't feel it." Aubree looked hesitant, but she nodded and rested her thumb in her mouth. Troy grabbed some paper towels and gently pressed them to her gash. Aubree winced slightly, but nevertheless, let him clean her up. Gabriella looked around the kitchen and her eyebrows rose. She looked back at Troy with steady eyes. "Did you leave Marcus up stairs all by himself, too?"

Troy's eyes went wide. He thrusted the towel to Gabriella and quickly dashed out of the kitchen and up stairs. To his relief, Marcus was still in the bath, washing himself up with a sponge and soap. He looked up, startled a bit when Troy came into the bathroom. "I clean, daddy." Troy nodded and gently took the sponge from him. He wiped down Marcus's earlier accident that still lay smudged on his backside and in the tub. "Troy, I'm going to the hospital!" Gabriella announced from downstairs.

"Alright!" Troy yelled back and continued washing down his son. "You like to make messes, don't you?" he said to Marcus. "You're supposed to be easy on me, bud. I am twenty-eight, I'm getting old." Marcus just giggled and Troy grinned. He disposed of the poop before rinsing Marcus off and lifting him out of the tub. He dried Marcus off before pulling on a shirt and a pull-up. Gabriella would kill him if he'd put on underwear. Marcus always went to the bathroom overnight and so they resolved the problem by throwing a pull-up on Marcus and letting him sleep in that rather than underwear. Just as Troy was about to take Marcus to brush his teeth, the phone rang. Sighing, Troy quickly jogged down stairs and answered it, pressing it to his ear. "Talk to me."

"Troy?"

Troy's eyebrows rose. "That's me. May I ask whose calling?"

There was a chuckle on the other end. "Chico, si no reconocen madre de su esposa, y mi h'ija, entonces creo que voy a tener que venir de allá, y te enseñaré una lección." There was another chuckle. "It's Adalita, Troy. In case you have forgotten, your esposa's madre."

Troy grinned. "Ah, Adalita, how are you? How is Costa Rica?"

"It is amazing. Muy bien. I've never seen anything like it, Troy. Next time you and Gabriella will have to come. I went zip-lining with the kids and hiking and we got to play with monkeys." Adalita, Gabriella's mom, went to Costa Rica to visit some family. She had brought along her adopted children, Aaliyah, Abram, and Aaron. After him and Gabriella got married, she adopted Aaliyah when she was only three, claiming that the house had been empty. Not long after, she adopted then twins, Abram and Aaron when they were ten. Aaliyah was now eight and Aaron and Abram were now fifteen.

Troy smiled. "That sounds great. We'll maybe come there when Marcus is about five or so. God, I don't think I can think about when that comes. I'll be thirty and old."

Adalita laughed heartedly. "And what do you think I feel now that I have two grandchildren and my only daughter is twenty-seven? I am almost fifty, Troy. Now that is old."

Troy laughed good-naturedly. "Yeah, but I'll have two decades until that."

"How are the kids?"

"Well, I got Marcus with me. He just went to the bathroom in the tub and I had to clean it up—I know, it's the adventure of a lifetime." Adalita laughed. "But Aubree had an accident. I was washing up Marcus and she grabbed a knife and cut herself. Gabriella took her to the hospital."

Adalita gasped. "Oh, Dios mío, mi pobre bebé. ¿Está bien? Is she alright?"

Troy nodded faintly. "It wasn't that big of a gash, but it must've stung. She might need stitches."

"Well, call me when she comes home. I want to soothe her with abuela's words."

Troy smiled. "I'll tie a string around my finger to remember. Have fun in Costa Rica, Adalita. And tell the kids I said 'hi'." Troy put the phone to Marcus's ear. "Say hi to abuela, Marc."

"Hi, ableya!" Marcus said ardently and pronouncing abuela wrong. Adalita chuckled. "Mi nieto, ¿cómo estás, h'ijo? Marcus, I've missed you. Do not give your father a hard time, you hear me?"

Marcus giggled and pressed the phone to his dad's ear. "I think he heard," Troy said. "I'll call you later on, okay? Aubree shouldn't be too long…"

"Okay, okay. And you better call me, Troy. I'll talk to you later. Bye."

"Bye, Adalita." Troy ended the call and pressed the phone back to its receiver. He looked at Marcus who was rubbing his eyes and yawning. "You ready to go to sleep, Marc?" Marcus shook his head. He rested his head on his father's shoulder. "No," he responded softly. Troy walked them over to the couch. He gently laid down on it, Marcus tightly held to him, and then turned on Spiderman, one of Marcus's favorites.

Gabriella and Aubree must've arrived home at one thirty. Aubree was asleep on Gabriella's shoulder and stitches were etched where her gash was. The knife had cut really deep into her skin and a simple bandage wasn't going to relieve it.

Gabriella smiled softly when she saw Troy and Marcus curled on the couch with Spiderman playing on the TV still. She bent down to kiss Marcus's forehead and then brushed the silky fringe away from his eyes. She did the same to Troy, but pressed a lingering kiss to his lips instead. After looking over them one more time, she descended upstairs and laid both her and Aubree in her and Troy's bed. Immediately she fell asleep, exhausted by the day.

In the morning the sun peeked through the curtains. Troy groaned and his eyes fluttered open. He was met by Marcus's jumpy brown eyes, looking at Troy's nose. He reached forward with small hands and squeezed Troy's nose. He giggled and pulled his hand behind his back. "I got you nose, daddy."

Troy gasped. "You have my nose? Can I have it back?"

Marcus shook his head. "No." Troy sat up, pulling Marcus with him. He instantly started attacking his son's sides, causing Marcus to explode into giggles and thrash around under him. "Can I have my nose back?" Troy asked. Marcus shook his head and pushed at his dad's hands, trying to pry him away. Troy laughed and settled down. He sat upright and pulled Marcus onto his lap. "Can I have my nose now?"

Marcus smiled. "No." He then scrambled off of Troy and barreled up the stairs, holding onto the banister so he wouldn't fall. Troy followed him into his and Gabriella's room and smiled faintly when he saw Gabriella and Aubree curled up together. Aubree had stitches covering her gash and he frowned, leaning forward to inspect it. Her skin was still slightly red and a bit puffy. "Wake up," Marcus demanded, pushing on his mom and sister. "Wake up, mommy. Wake up, Aubee." Aubee opened her eyes. She pushed Marcus's hands away and glared at him. "Get off of me," she demanded. "My arm hurts.' She pushed at Marcus and Marcus fell backward, frowning. Troy looked at Aubree firmly. "Don't push your brother, Bree. Say sorry."

"No!" she said stubbornly. She crossed her arms and turned around to face the headboard. Beside her, Gabriella opened her eyes and sat up. Marcus crawled to her, sitting himself down in her lap. "Aubee push me, mommy," Marcus said.

Gabriella gave Aubree a firm look. "Bree, did you push Marcus?" Aubree nodded. "Why? What's wrong? Do your stitches hurt?" Gabriella sat up and reached for her daughters arm. Aubree turned around and held out her arm. It did still hurt. And it hurt really badly, too. "Come on and eat and then you'll take some pain medicine. The doctor said if you ever get irritated by it, to take some pain meds." Aubree nodded and slid off the bed. Gabriella looked at Troy. "Call my mother, please. She called me at the hospital and wanted to talk to you."

Gabriella threw him a grateful smile before scooping Marcus and Aubree up in her arms and exiting the room. Troy gripped up his cell and punched in Adalita's number. He winced when he heard his mother-in-law's fierce voice yelling in his ear. "Did I or did I not tell you to call me?" she demanded.

Troy's eyes went wide. "Adalita, Adalita, calm down. I fell asleep with Marcus before Gabriella and Aubree could come back home. But Aubree is fine. She's in a bit of pain and is about to take some medic, but I'm sure she wouldn't mind talking to you."

"Good, good," Adalita said. "Let me talk to her quick. We're about to head out and go to this famous restaurant. It's El Avion."

"Okay, hold on one second." Troy quickly jogged down the steps. Gabriella was in the kitchen, quickly whipping up some oatmeal and cutting banana slices for Marcus. Aubree had her head resting on her hand looking pale. "Aubree, you want to talk to abuela?" Troy asked, crouching down in front of her. Aubree's eyes lit up slightly and she nodded. Troy handed her the phone and her normal, animated self was into action again. Troy grinned, stood and waltzed over to Gabriella. "Are you still made at me?" he whispered huskily, bringing his lips to her ear.

Gabriella shivered and shook her head. "I wasn't mad, I was just scared and in panic for a second. We have to be careful with them, Troy. Next thing we know Child Services could be barging in here soon." Gabriella turned and sighed.

"Never," Troy said. He took a moment to consider his words. "Gabriella, we love our children with all our might and I'll bring someone down if I have to if they threaten to take Aubree or Marcus away. You're a good mom, never forget it. How you handle them is so passionate and gentle, it's amazing. So don't even think like that, okay?" Gabriella nodded meekly. She leaned her head back in invitation and Troy grinned. He pressed his lips to hers in a slow, sentimental kiss.

The sound of the doorbell broke them apart. Troy rubbed Gabriella's shoulders reassuringly before retreating to get the door. Saying he was shocked was a total understatement. "Chad!" he said, beaming. Chad grinned and pulled Troy in a hug. When they pulled away, Troy was grinning. "Dude, I haven't seen you since the wedding. How's it going? How's Taylor?"

"Perfect and pregnant," Chad said, returning the wide grin. "She's at home now, though. She was too fatigued to come out."

Troy frowned. "You left her in Connecticut? Pregnant?"

Chad smirked. "Who do you think I am, Bolton? Of course not. We've moved back here, to Albuquerque." Troy took a moment to register the announcement before grinning again. He ushered Chad into the house and Gabriella walked out of the kitchen, baffled. "Honey, who was at the—" Gabriella gasped when she spotted Chad. The shocked expression on her face dissolved the next second and she broke out into a grin. She raced to him, engulfing him in a fierce hug. She pulled back after a second to look up at him. "Chad? What are you doing here? What…" She shook her head, mystified. "You're supposed to be in Connecticut. Where's Taylor?"

Chad smiled. "At home. And, no, before you ask, she's not in Connecticut, she's here, in Albuquerque at our new home."

Gabriella's eyes grew wide and she stepped back. "You guys moved here? When? And why weren't we informed?"

"It was supposed to be a surprise," Chad said. "Taylor's too fatigued to come out."

"She's pregnant," Troy interjected.

Gabriella gasped. "Seriously? How far along is she?"

"Just five weeks," Chad said. "We actually found out a week ago. She was stressed out about the move and stuff and so she collapsed. I took her to the hospital and they said she was pregnant."

Gabriella smiled. "That's great. Would you like something to eat? I was just making some oatmeal and cutting some bananas, but I'll make something else if you'd like."

Chad shook his head. "No, no, it's fine. I stopped by Dunkin' Donuts before arriving here. Now, where are the little munchkins?" The trio walked into the kitchen. Aubree was still on the phone talking to Adalita and Marcus was mesmerized by Team Umizoomi and his hand was lying absentmindedly in his oatmeal. But he pulled himself away from the show when he heard the three enter the room. "Daddy!" Marcus squealed, lifting his arms. Troy smiled and scooped him up in his arms. He carried him over to Chad. "Look, that's your dad's best friend, Chad," Troy said.

Marcus looked skeptically at Chad. He hid his face in Troy's shoulder and shook his head. Chad laughed. "Oh, come on, Marcus, I won't bite." Troy gently handed Marcus over to Chad and Marcus looked at Chad curiously. He reached up and fiddled with the curly, stringy hair falling awkwardly around Chad's face.

Aubree pressed the END button after saying bye to her grandma. She got up and walked to her mom, tugging on her pants. Gabriella smiled down at her before gathering in her arms. "And this is Aubree, of course. You remember Uncle Chad, Bree?" Aubree shook her head and put her thumb in her mouth. "You were two when he last saw you," Gabriella reminded her.

"Still don't remember," Aubree said. Chad chuckled. "Well, I remember you, Aubree. You used to be so small."

Aubree smiled. "I'm not small no more. I'm a big girl."

Chad smiled. "That you are. Well, guys, I just wanted to drop by. I can't stay too long because I have to accompany Taylor, but how about we all have dinner tonight at our place?"

"That would be wonderful," Troy quipped. "We'll be there at seven." Troy led Chad out and Gabriella placed the kids at the table. She gave them a small bowl of oatmeal and a few diced bananas before settling in her own seat and eating her owl bowl of oatmeal.

After dropping Aubree and Marcus off, Gabriella headed for East High. She was dreading it, too. She barely had time to sleep last night, only six hours and she felt oddly ill.

Sighing, Gabriella pulled up into the school parking lot. She quickly exited her car and entered the building. As usual, there was a heavy throng of students surrounding the brightly lit East High hallway. Gabriella remembered when she was at East High, talking and laughing animatedly with her friends. East High was where her confidence had bloomed from its hidden shell. Before she moved to Albuquerque, she was titled as the 'Freaky Math Girl'. But when she arrived at East High and met Troy Bolton for the second time and sung with him, she finally let her wings open and fly free.

Gabriella halted her thoughts as she scurried into her room. The room was almost full. Students were chatting lightly and going over notes while she silently took the graded test papers out of her brief case. A week ago, the kids had taken a test on neuroscience. And everyone did excellent. Well, almost everyone. Gabriella eyed Sheldon as he walked into the room, smirking and laughing with his friends.

The class filled up slowly and soon class begun. Gabriella handed out the graded papers and watched as kids checked their scores. She saw the satisfied smiles on their faces and grinned. This is why she loved teaching. She loved helping people out, helping people reach their goals.

When she stopped by Sheldon she looked down at him patiently. "Sheldon, can I see you after class, please?" Sheldon took his paper and sneered at the F. He had only gotten fifteen out of the forty correct. Not even half. "I'd like to talk to you about your grade," she said, elaborating. Sheldon just shrugged.

Gabriella handed out the rest of the papers before waltzing back to the front. She launched into a lesson about the eye. Towards the end of class, she told them her news. "In about a week," she started. "we're going to dissect cow eyes." There were a bunch of protesting groans from the class and Gabriella grinned. "Oh, come on. It's fun, I promise. I'll split everyone up into twos and you'll have to dissect the cow eye and lay out all of its parts. The ciliary muscles, the tapedum, the iris, the vitreous humor, the lens—everything. I'll walk around and you'd have to tell me the parts and what they do, differences between them, stuff like that." The bell rung and students stood up, getting ready to leave. Gabriella quickly finished. "Before you leave, make sure you pick up a paper about the dissection. I need your parent or guardian's confinement on if you're able to do it. Bring it back signed before the dissection or you'll be excluded from it with a failing grade. Thank you and have a good day." Some of the students said goodbye and when they were all out of the room, excluding Sheldon, Gabriella closed the door. Sheldon smirked. "What, you're gonna be naughty and have your way with me, Mrs. B?"

Gabriella closed her eyes and took a deep breath. When she opened them, Sheldon had a haughty smirk on his face. "Sheldon, I am serious. I'm tired of your rude remarks and I won't tolerate that kind of behavior in my classroom and in this school. But, your rudimentary behavior isn't what I wanted to talk about. Your grade was really bad, Sheldon. It's either you have been dosing off in my class or you're being too lazy to pick up a pencil and write down the correct answer."

Sheldon sighed. "Is this going anywhere, Mrs. Teacher?"

"Mrs. Bolton, Sheldon. Not Mrs. B. or Mrs. Teacher, I'm sure my last name is easy to pronounce," Gabriella said. Sheldon motioned with his hand for her to keep going. "I'm going to tutor you. Four days a week after school."

"Four days a—what?" Sheldon shook his head vigorously.

"Unless you want to get kicked off the football team and basketball team, I advise you to take my offer," Gabriella said firmly. "Now, I don't want to do this either. I have a husband and two kids that forthrightly, I don't trust alone for even an hour. But if you want to stay on basketball and football, you have to get your grades up."

Sheldon sighed. "Fine," he grumbled.

Gabriella nodded. "Good. It'll be at the tutor center. I expect you to be there Monday through Thursday, Sheldon. No exceptions."

"Fine, I get it. Can I go now?" Gabriella nodded and opened the door. Sheldon snatched his stuff up before marching out of the room. Sighing, Gabriella plopped down onto her seat and buried her face in her hands.

Meanwhile, for Troy, it was a different situation. A much easier one. Timmy Brode, an autistic eight-year-old was struggling to throw the basketball into the hoop. Troy strode up to the irritated boy and crouched behind him. He held Timmy's bony arms in his hands and angled them. "Shoot like that," he said. "Bend your knees a bit and then make your shot." Timmy nodded and Troy backed up. Timmy banded a bit and then jumped, letting the ball go and fly forward in the air. It landed with a swish into the basket and the other boys and Troy whooped. Timmy grinned, proud of himself. Troy lifted his hand and Timmy smacked it before going to his stuff. He sat down on his legs and watched silently as the other kids perfectly made the shot on the first try. He slumped against his bag and sighed softly.

"Okay, water break!" Troy called out. The kids hustled to their bags and pulled out their water bottles. Troy walked to Timmy and sat beside him. "You did really well today, Tim. You're getting better and better every day."

Timmy smiled at Troy. He then turned around and pulled out a bunch of bottle caps. Troy watched intently as he began stacking and lining the bottle caps. He formed a pyramid five minutes later and it looked perfect. "You do that a lot?" Troy asked. Timmy nodded and slouched back against his book bag again and started drawing imaginary circles on the ground. As he did so, he began rocking back and forth, acting as if it were only him and his imaginary circles.

"Do you want to get out there again?" Troy asked and Timmy shook his head. Troy stood. "Okay. Just come when you want to, okay?" Timmy nodded, hardly acknowledging him. Troy walked away and the kids started a game.

Troy watched as they worked astoundingly. Gabriella had said she loved seeing how kids made connections and loved knowing that she was the reason they made those connections because she taught them. Troy couldn't help but feel the same way as

He taught them how to fake right and turn left and he taught them how to shoot three-pointers.

Timmy joined after a while. Troy grinned at him. "Good job, Tim! I knew you couldn't resist." Timmy silently eased himself into the game. When he got the ball he got ready to shoot, bending and then jumping and letting go. The ball flew, but hit the backboard and he missed the shot. Timmy's brows creased in anger and he snatched the ball up again. He bent, jumped then let go and then he missed again. Troy could see the irritation etched on his face. "It's okay, Tim," he called out. "Take it easy. Try to angle the ball differently."

Timmy did as he was told, angling his position. He shot and missed. Enraged, Timmy turned and stomped back to his things. The other kids laughed at his dramatic leaving and Troy scolded them. "Guys, continue playing. I'll be quick." Troy followed after Timmy. "Tim, come on. It's okay."

"No!" he screeched. He bent into a tight up-side fetal position as his head lolled around and he started rocking back and forth. Troy could hear his rapid breathing and he quickly went to his assistance. "Tim, calm down, okay? It's fine; it's just a few misses. Look, you have to look forward at the goal and sometimes you'll fail and miss, but you have to keep on going. Okay?" Timmy nodded tightly and Troy let out a breath. "Okay. So, you're just going to rest here? Or are you going to get your head in the game." Timmy grinned up at Troy. He wobbled up onto his feet and ran with Troy to continue the game.

"Marcus, baby, please hold still," Gabriella begged. She was very tired after tutoring Sheldon. He was as stubborn as a mule and was seriously hopeless. But she couldn't give up. Not after just one tutor session. That's what he wanted. But right now, Gabriella was trying to pull some clothes on Marcus, but he was kicking and screaming beneath her. "Marcus, I mean it, hold still." Marcus must've been affected by the venom in her voice because he instantly stopped wailing and kicking. Gabriella let out a satisfied breath and pulled his plaid shirt over his head.

She was so excited to see Taylor again. She hadn't seen her in two years because her and Troy never got the time to go out and visit them. But now that they lived here, Gabriella decided she was going to visit them quite more often.

"I want mommy to do my hair!" Aubree said, swatting her dad's hand away from her hair. Troy raised his hands in defeat. "Okay, Bree. Okay, okay, I won't touch your hair."

"You will mess it up," Aubree said accusingly. Troy just chuckled. "I am feeling the love, Bree. Do you like your dress?"

Aubree nodded frantically. "I can't wait for Aunty Shar to see it!" Aubree's dress was a layered ruffled dress with brown, lime, hot pink and pink dots dancing around its white fabric. The back was completely off and she had a little sash as well. When Gabriella was done dressing Marcus she went to Aubree's hair. She simply pulled it lightly back into a ponytail and let rivulets of hair fall about and frame her face and she placed a flowery headband on her head.

"Where we goin?" Marcus asked Troy just as they were about to leave.

"To a friend's house," Troy answered. "Don't worry, Marc. You'll love them."

Crappy ending, I know. But review please? Thanks!