That night, Troy came home from work and walked into the living room and saw Gabriella watching television with Josh lying on her chest. He smiled.
"Hey guys" Troy said.
"Hi honey, how was the office?" Gabriella asked.
"Fine. Where's Soph?" Troy asked.
"Still taking her nap" Gabriella said.
"Oh" Troy said.
"Let her have a couple more minutes of sleep and then I will wake her up" Gabriella said.
"No, I'll get her" Troy said.
"Okay" Gabriella said.
A couple minutes later, Troy went to go wake up his daughter. He came back with Sophia in his arms and placed her on the couch next to Gabriella.
"Guys, we need to talk to you" Troy said.
"I didn't do it!" Josh said.
Gabriella giggled.
"You didn't do anything Josh. We have to tell you and your sister something" Gabriella said.
"What is it?" Sophia asked.
Gabriella looked at Troy, who looked at her back. Gabriella smiled and nodded, silently telling Troy to tell their kids what was going on.
"Mommy is going to have a baby" Troy said.
"Where is it?" Sophia asked.
"It's my tummy Soph" Gabriella said.
"Can you take it out?" Josh asked.
The couple laughed.
"In a few months. The baby needs to grow and get strong like you before it can come out" Troy said.
"Oh" Sophia and Josh said simultaneously.
"Are you excited about the new baby?" Gabriella asked.
Sophia and Josh nodded. Gabriella smiled. Later that night, Troy walked into the bedroom after putting the kids to bed.
"Did we do a bad thing? Was wanting a third baby too much?" Gabriella asked as she sat on the bed in her bra and underwear.
"Babe, Sophia is two and Josh is four. They don't understand what is going on and were in shock" Troy explained.
"The look on their faces" Gabriella said covering her face with her hands.
"Brie, just give them some time to process it. Maybe if we talk about it more they will get used to the idea" Troy said.
Gabriella sighed. Troy climbed onto the bed and took Gabriella's hands off of her face.
"We have to let them process what's going on" Troy said.
"Mommy" Sophia called.
Gabriella looked at Troy, who looked at her. She got out of bed and walked out of the room and into Sophia's.
"Mommy's here. What's wrong baby?" Gabriella asked lifting Sophia onto her lap.
"Are you going to forget about me when the baby comes?" Sophia asked.
"Soph, no. Daddy and I will never forget about you or Josh. We love you both so much" Gabriella explained.
Sophia nodded.
"How about you come and sleep in our bed tonight okay?" Gabriella said.
"Okay" Sophia said.
"Alright" Gabriella said getting off the bed and lifting Sophia into her arms and placing her on her hip.
Gabriella walked out of the bedroom and into the master bedroom. Troy smiled when he saw Sophia being carried by Gabriella.
"Hey sweetheart, why are you up so late?" Troy asked as Gabriella placed their daughter into his arms.
"She's worried about when the baby comes" Gabriella said.
"What are you worried about honey?" Troy asked.
"You are going to forget about me when the baby comes" Sophia said.
Troy smiled and kissed Sophia's head softly.
"Sophia, I will always love you and I will never ever forget about you when the baby comes okay? You are my little baby" Troy said.
Sophia nodded.
"I told her that she could sleep in here tonight" Gabriella said.
"Okay, just for tonight" Troy said helping Sophia get into the bed.
Sophia snuggled into Gabriella's chest.
"Night bug, I love you" Gabriella said.
"Love you" Sophia said as she fell asleep.
The next morning, Troy woke up to Sophia sleeping against his chest. He smiled. Gabriella stirred and opened her eyes. She looked over and smiled at her husband.
"Looks like she slept well" Gabriella said.
Troy nodded. Gabriella quickly got up and ran to the bathroom. Troy carefully got up, trying not to wake his daughter up and followed Gabriella. Gabriella sat in front of the toilet and released the remains of her stomach. Troy held his wife's hair and rubbed her back soothingly. Ten minutes later, Gabriella moved away from the toilet and stood up. She sighed and frowned when she saw a scared Sophia looking at her.
"Baby, I'm okay" Gabriella said as she brushed her teeth.
"Are you sick?" Sophia asked.
"Soph, you know how the baby is in mommy's tummy?" Troy asked.
"Yes" Sophia said.
"Well, the baby needs a place to grow and that causes mommy to get sick" Troy explained.
Troy saw that Sophia still had a scared look on her face. Gabriella finished brushing her teeth and wiped her mouth. She kneeled in front of Sophia and opened her arms. Sophia walked into them and Gabriella kissed her head.
"I'm okay honey. The baby is just trying to get used to being in my tummy" Gabriella said.
"Why is it being mean to you?" Sophia asked innocently.
Gabriella smiled.
"It's not being mean. Babies just need space to grow and that's what the baby is doing. Taking all the space there is" Gabriella said.
Sophia nodded.
"Do you understand baby?" Gabriella asked.
"I think" Sophia said.
"Okay. I don't want you to be scared" Gabriella said.
Sophia nodded.
"Go play Soph" Troy said.
Sophia left the room. Gabriella got up from the floor and sighed.
"I didn't think she would come in" Gabriella said.
"I know. This is the first time that this has happened so she got a little freaked out. It's normal. I see it all the time" Troy said.
Gabriella nodded.
"When do you want to tell our families?" Gabriella asked.
"I kind of want to wait until you hit the three month mark just so we are out of the miscarriage point to tell them" Troy said.
"Even though everything is okay?" Gabriella asked.
"Even though everything is fine, I just want to take precautions" Troy said.
"Okay" Gabriella said.
Gabriella smiled when she saw Josh standing in the doorway with his thumb in his mouth and blanket in the other hand.
"Hey buddy, how did you sleep?" Gabriella asked.
"Good. Sophia said you are sick" Josh said.
Gabriella took a deep breath and released it. She looked at Troy.
"Josh, remember how I told you that there was a baby inside my tummy?" Gabriella asked as she picked him up and placed him on the bed.
"Yeah" Josh said.
"Well, the baby needs a place to grow and my tummy needs to make space for it. That's why I got sick" Gabriella explained as she sat on the bed next to him.
"Oh" Josh said.
"Do you understand buddy?" Gabriella asked.
"Yeah. Can you talk to the baby?" Josh asked.
"Yeah, you can talk to it. The baby can hear you" Gabriella said.
Josh climbed onto Gabriella's lap and leaned his head against Gabriella's stomach.
"Hi baby, I'm Josh and I am going to be your big brother. I'm four years old" Josh said.
Gabriella smiled and looked at Troy, who smiled back at her. Josh kissed Gabriella's stomach gently.
"That was nice, Josh" Gabriella said.
Josh smiled. A couple weeks later, Maria and Mark came over to visit.
"Sophia, you are getting so big" Maria said picking her granddaughter up and placing her on her lap.
"Grandma, mommy is going to have a baby" Sophia said.
Gabriella and Troy froze. Gabriella cursed under her breath.
"Gabriella, come here" Maria said.
Gabriella, who was in the kitchen, came into the living room where her mother and children were sitting.
"Is that true?" Maria asked.
"We wanted to wait to tell you until I was three months along" Gabriella said.
"So you told Sophia first?" Maria asked.
"Mom" Gabriella started.
"I understand Gabi" Maria said.
Gabriella closed her eyes. She felt like she was about to explode.
"I just went through a miscarriage. I didn't want to tell everyone before it was safe to do so" Gabriella said.
"But, you knew one of the kids were going to tell someone" Maria said.
"We told the kids because I knew that keeping the morning sickness hidden from them would be impossible" Gabriella said.
"Oh" Maria said.
"Your mom and I have to tell you something also" Mark said.
"What's up?" Gabriella asked.
"We are moving to Connecticut. Your mom got transferred" Mark explained.
Gabriella blinked.
"Gabi" Maria said.
"Don't" Gabriella said through her teeth.
Gabriella walked passed her mother and stepfather.
"Brie" Troy said.
Gabriella looked at Troy, with tears in her eyes. She walked passed him and went into the bedroom and slammed the door.
"Troy" Maria started.
"Maria, I think you should go" Troy said solemnly.
"I didn't have a choice Troy" Maria said.
"You didn't have a choice? What do you mean you didn't have a choice? You took the job without even thinking twice about it. How the job will affect your family and your grandchildren, who are just beginning to figure out who you are. I put my guard down because you showed Gabriella that you wanted to be in her life, Maria. It was my mistake" Troy said.
"Troy" Maria said.
"Please shut the door on your way out" Troy said.
Maria and Mark left the house. Troy looked at his confused children.
"What's wrong with mommy?" Sophia asked.
Troy kneeled down and Sophia walked into her father's arms.
"Nothing baby. Mommy is alright. Do you want to go and see her?" Troy asked.
Sophia nodded.
"Alright" Troy said standing up and taking his daughter's hand.
Troy walked to the bedroom and opened the door slowly. He poked his head in.
"Sweetheart" Troy said.
"Why did she do this to me?" Gabriella asked.
"I don't know honey. I wish I did. A very concerned three year old wants to make sure her mommy is okay" Troy said.
Gabriella nodded. Troy lifted Sophia into his arms and set her on his hip. He opened the door and stood in the doorway.
"Mommy" Sophia said.
Gabriella looked at her daughter and smiled.
"Soph, I'm fine" Gabriella said.
"Why are you crying then?" Sophia asked.
Gabriella put her hand on her face and realized she was, in fact, crying. She cursed under her breath.
"Honey, I'm just having a bad day" Gabriella said.
"Why are you having a bad day? Grandma Maria is here" Sophia said innocently.
Gabriella looked at Troy for help.
"Sophia, grandma is going to go on vacation and mommy is upset about it" Troy explained.
"How long will she be gone for?" Sophia asked.
"A while baby. That's why I'm sad" Gabriella said.
Sophia motioned that she didn't want to be held anymore. Troy placed his daughter on the floor and Sophia walked over to her mother and climbed onto the bed. Gabriella smiled and hugged Sophia and kissed her head.
"Go play Soph" Troy said.
Sophia walked out of the room. Troy looked at Gabriella.
"Am I allowed to be mad?" Gabriella asked.
"You can react in whatever way you choose to" Troy said.
"Was I not enough?" Gabriella asked.
"Brie, take a breath" Troy said.
Gabriella took a deep breath and released it.
"Troy" Gabriella said as she started to cry.
Troy wrapped his arms around Gabriella.
"I'm here. Everything is going to be fine" Troy said.
Gabriella cried into Troy's chest. Troy rubbed his wife's back soothingly.
"We've been through this and we can do it again" Troy said.
"It's not fair" Gabriella said.
"I know it's not baby. But, remember mom is the one that is going to miss out on everything. Not you" Troy said.
Gabriella nodded. Josh poked his head into the room with a piece of paper.
"Mommy" Josh said.
Gabriella sniffled and looked at her son.
"Hi baby" Gabriella said.
"I made you something" Josh said.
"Let me see" Gabriella said lifting him onto her lap.
Josh gave Gabriella the piece of paper that he was holding. Gabriella smiled when she looked at her son's work of art.
"That's daddy, Sophia, you, my little brother, grandma Lucy, grandpa Jack, and grandma Maria" Josh said.
Gabriella smiled and kissed her son's head softly.
"I love it sweetheart" Gabriella said.
"I don't want you to be sad mommy" Josh said.
Troy smiled.
"Now that, is my child! High five Josh" Troy said holding his hand out.
Josh gave Troy a high five. Gabriella shook her head.
"You guys are crazy" Gabriella said.
"Wait, so Josh do you think the baby is a boy?" Troy asked.
"Yeah. I want a brother" Josh said.
Gabriella smiled.
"I vote for a boy too" Troy said.
"What if it's a girl Josh what are you doing to do then?" Gabriella asked.
Josh stopped what he was doing and stared into space, thinking of a plan.
"I don't know mommy. I'm just a kid" Josh said nonchalantly.
Troy laughed.
"He really is your child" Gabriella said.
Troy smiled.
"Mommy, is your tummy going to get big again?" Josh asked.
Gabriella smiled and nodded.
"Yeah, your baby brother or sister has to fit in somewhere" Gabriella said.
"Do you have to live at the doctor again?" Josh asked.
"Not if I don't need to" Gabriella said.
Gabriella was happy that Josh was so interested in her pregnancy. A couple weeks later, the doorbell rang. Gabriella walked to the front door and opened it, revealing her mother's face.
"What do you want?" Gabriella asked.
"Gabi, can we talk about this please? You've been avoiding my calls and messages" Maria started.
Gabriella took a deep breath and released it.
"Hold on. Do not come in. I need to get the kids out of here" Gabriella said.
"Okay" Maria said.
Gabriella walked into the kitchen.
"My mother is here and she wants to discuss the move. Can you keep the kids occupied please? I don't want them to see her" Gabriella said.
"Sure sweetheart. Let me know if you need me" Troy said.
Gabriella leaned in and kissed Troy's lips. Troy smiled into the kiss. Gabriella walked back to the front door and opened it again.
"Come in" Gabriella said.
Maria came into the house and the two women went into the living room and sat down.
"So what did you want to talk about?" Gabriella asked solemnly.
"Gabi" Maria started.
"My children know you mom. They have a relationship with you now. Do you really want to take that away from them? They are already asking what's going on. What am I supposed to tell them?" Gabriella asked.
"I understand why you are upset. But you know that-" Maria started.
"That staying in one place is never guaranteed. Yes mother...I know the line because I was the one that had to live by it! I don't want my children to have to live by that either!" Gabriella said raising her voice.
Troy came into the room.
"What's going on in here?" Troy asked.
Maria swallowed hard. Gabriella looked down at the floor.
"You know what...If you want to move to Conneticut, by all means do it. But do not expect any kind of relationship with me or my children. I'm done" Gabriella said softly.
Gabriella stood up and started walking out of the room.
"Gabriella" Maria started.
Gabriella ignored her mother and walked into the bedroom and shut the door.
"Troy" Maria started.
Troy shook his head. Maria stood up and left the house. Troy took a deep breath and released it. He leaned his head back and groaned. Troy walked over to the bedroom door and knocked.
"Brie, can I come in?" Troy asked.
"I just want to be alone. I'm sorry Troy" Gabriella said.
"Baby, don't apologize. You didn't do anything wrong. This is just your way of coping and that's okay" Troy said.
"I feel fine, if that's what you are worried about" Gabriella said.
Troy smiled.
"That wasn't what I was worried about but it's always good to know. I'll give you some time to yourself. Call me if you need anything okay?" Troy said through the door.
"Thank you" Gabriella said.
"Your welcome sweetheart" Troy said.
"I love you" Gabriella said.
"I love you too" Troy said.
Troy left the hallway and sighed. He didn't know when this nightmare was going to end.