A couple weeks later, Gabriella was curling her hair and getting ready. Today was her graduation from University of Albuquerque. Troy walked into the bathroom and placed a kiss on Gabriella's cheek.
"Are you excited?" Troy asked.
"Yeah, but also nervous" Gabriella said.
Troy smiled.
"You graduated baby. You didn't give up when things got hard. I'm so proud of you, Brie" Troy said.
Gabriella smiled.
"Is Grace ready?" Gabriella asked.
Troy nodded.
"She's ready to go" Troy said.
Gabriella nodded.
"I have major butterflies in my stomach" Gabriella said.
Troy smiled.
"That's the baby congratulating you" Troy said.
Gabriella giggled. She finished getting ready and walked downstairs and smiled when she saw Grace in her dress. Gabriella walked over to her daughter and kneeled down in front of her.
"You look so pretty, baby girl" Gabriella said.
"Thank you" Grace said sweetly.
Gabriella smiled and kissed her daughter's head. The little family drove to University of Albuquerque. Gabriella went with the graduates and Troy and Grace found their seats and met up with their families. The ceremony started. Everyone listened to the speeches that were given by the dean, the president of the university, and selected speakers. The president of the university started handing out the diplomas.
"Gabriella Maria Bolton" the president of the university announced.
Troy and their families cheered as they watched Gabriella walk across the stage and receive her diploma. After the ceremony ended, the families found Gabriella, who ran into Troy's arms. Gabriella wrapped her arms around Troy's neck and cried into his chest. The cries were filled with the emotional roller coaster that they had been on and the hard work that it took to get to this point. Troy held his wife in his arms and rubbed her back.
"I'm so proud of you, baby. So proud. You did it" Troy whispered into her ear.
Gabriella pulled away so that she was looking into Troy's eyes.
"It wasn't necessarily the path that you wanted, but you finished. You are a college graduate. It wasn't easy, but you managed to make it work. Whatever it took, you gave it your all. I have never been so proud of you and I know that Grace is proud of you. I love you sweetheart" Troy said.
Gabriella had silent tears running down her cheeks.
"I love you too. Thank you" Gabriella said kissing Troy's lips.
"Mommy" Grace said.
Gabriella and Troy looked down and smiled. Gabriella kneeled down and Grace ran into her arms.
"I love you baby" Gabriella said.
"I love you too, mommy" Grace said.
Gabriella kissed Grace's head. She stood up and took her daughter's hand. Troy, Gabriella, Grace, and their families drove back to the couple's house to celebrate. That night, Troy walked into the bedroom and smiled when he saw Gabriella looking at her growing bump. He walked up behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist, cupping her bump in his hands. Troy kissed Gabriella's shoulder softly.
"Are you happy?" Troy asked.
Gabriella nodded.
"So happy. I didn't think I had a chance at graduating, but I did. Thank you for believing in me" Gabriella said.
Troy shook his head.
"You believed in yourself. You made this happen, babe. You could have given up when you got your GED. But, you didn't. You kept going and pushing yourself to do better not only for you or me, but for Grace" Troy said.
Gabriella smiled.
"Now that that is done, you can focus on this baby" Troy said putting his hand on Gabriella's stomach.
Gabriella nodded.
"When do you start school?" Gabriella asked.
"Next week. You will be on mommy duty" Troy said.
Gabriella smiled.
"Couldn't think of anything better" Gabriella said.
Troy smiled. A week later, Troy was getting ready for his first day of school. He walked downstairs and saw Gabriella putting a bowl of cereal in front of Grace.
"I have to get going" Troy said.
"Alright. Grace, say goodbye to daddy" Gabriella said.
"No daddy. Don't go" Grace said as she started to cry.
Troy put his stuff down and lifted Grace into his arms. Grace wrapped her small arms around her father's neck. Troy felt his daughter's tears staining his shirt.
"Sweetheart, I will be gone for a little while okay? Mommy will be here" Troy said.
Troy looked at Gabriella, who wiped a tear from her eyes.
"Don't go" Grace said.
"I have to baby. I promise you that I will be home before you go night night" Troy said.
"Grace, daddy has to go or he's going to be late. Come on baby" Gabriella said.
Gabriella successfully lifted Grace into her arms.
"Can I get a kiss?" Troy asked.
Grace kissed her father's lips sweetly.
"I love you" Troy said.
"I love you" Grace said.
Troy kissed Gabriella's lips softly.
"I'll be home before she goes down, but in case that I'm not, can you keep her up? I just want her to know that I did come home" Troy whispered in his wife's ear.
Gabriella nodded.
"Thanks" Troy said.
Troy left the house. That night, Troy unlocked the door and walked into the house and smiled when he saw a tear stained Grace snuggled next to Gabriella. Gabriella looked up and smiled.
"Grace, look who's home" Gabriella said.
Grace looked up and jumped off the couch and landed on her hands and feet. She got up quickly, ignoring the fall, and ran into Troy's arms. Troy caught his daughter in his arms.
"Hey cutie, did you have fun with mommy?" Troy asked.
Grace nodded. Troy lifted his daughter into his arms and wiped her tears away. He walked over to the couch and sat down with Grace in his arms.
"What did you do today?" Troy asked.
"Mama's house" Grace said simply.
"You went and saw mama and papa? That's fun" Troy said.
Grace nodded.
"What did you do at mama and papa's?" Troy asked.
"Played outside" Grace said.
"Did you have fun?" Troy asked.
"Yeah" Grace said.
Gabriella smiled. Grace's eyes started to look heavy.
"I'm going to bring you upstairs and put you in bed okay?" Troy said.
Grace just nodded incoherently. Troy stood up carefully and walked upstairs and went into Grace's bedroom. He placed his daughter in her bed and tucked her in. Troy kissed Grace's head softly.
"Good night baby. I love you" Troy said.
"Daddy?" Grace said.
"Yes sweetheart?" Troy asked.
"Will you be here when I wake up?" Grace asked.
That question pulled at Troy's heart. He was going to school and working which made him come home late. Troy didn't know how to explain that concept to a three-year-old.
"Yeah. I will be baby. Go to sleep now okay?" Troy said.
Grace closed her eyes and fell asleep. Troy walked quietly out of the room and went into the master bedroom. He looked at Gabriella, who was now in bed.
"How was school?" Gabriella asked.
"Exhausting. How was Grace duty?" Troy asked taking his shirt off.
"Fine. We had a tea party" Gabriella said.
"Tea party stealer. We used to do that all the time" Troy said.
Gabriella smiled.
"She cried for you a couple times" Gabriella said.
Troy sighed.
"Did you tell her that I was coming home soon?" Troy asked.
Gabriella nodded.
"She asked me if I was going to be here when she woke up in the morning? I feel like I'm abandoning her" Troy said.
Gabriella patted Troy's side of the bed. Troy got in bed and Gabriella snuggled into his chest.
"You aren't abandoning her, babe. She's just confused. One day mommy is gone. The next day daddy is gone. She will get used to it, eventually" Gabriella said.
"Now I understand how hard it was for you to leave" Troy said.
Gabriella nodded.
"It will get a little easier with time" Gabriella said.
Troy nodded.
"How are you feeling today?" Troy asked placing a hand on Gabriella's expanding stomach.
"A little tired and I have some cramps but, I'm alright" Gabriella said.
"Maybe watching Grace by yourself isn't a good idea, now that you are pregnant" Troy said.
"It's not a problem. I just have cramps today. I never have cramps" Gabriella said.
Troy nodded.
"Where are these cramps?" Troy asked.
"My back" Gabriella said.
Troy started rubbing Gabriella's back gently, trying to soothe his wife's aching body. Gabriella moaned.
"Does that hurt?" Troy asked.
Gabriella nodded. Troy continued to rub Gabriella's back. Five minutes later, Troy stopped rubbing Gabriella's back.
"How do you feel baby?" Troy asked.
"Still hurts, but much less" Gabriella said.
Troy nodded.
"That's good. Try and get some sleep okay?" Troy said.
Gabriella nodded. Troy leaned in and kissed Gabriella's lips softly.
"Wake me up if they get worse okay?" Troy said.
"I will" Gabriella said.
"Night, baby. I love you" Troy said.
"I love you too" Gabriella said.
A couple weeks later was Grace's fourth birthday. Gabriella was getting the house ready for their families to come over and celebrate. She walked upstairs and poked her head into Grace's bedroom and saw her starting to wake up.
"Happy Birthday baby" Gabriella said.
"Mommy" Grace said sleepily.
"You are four years old today, Grace" Gabriella said.
Grace got out of her bed and held her arms out. Gabriella took Grace into her arms and hugged her as close as she could and kissed her head.
"Come on, let's go see daddy" Gabriella said standing up carefully with Grace still in her arms.
Gabriella walked into the master bedroom and smiled when she saw Troy sitting up.
"Happy Birthday sweetheart" Troy said.
Gabriella placed Grace on Troy's lap. Troy kissed Grace's head as she leaned against his chest.
"You are four years old today" Troy said obviously.
Grace held up four fingers. Troy smiled.
"Yeah, four fingers" Troy said.
"Everyone is coming over at one" Gabriella said.
"Okay" Troy said.
Gabriella got Grace ready for the day. A couple hours later, their families arrived and were talking with each other. Gabriella walked over to Troy and put her hand on his shoulder. He looked at her and smiled.
"My back is killing me. Can you hold down the fort for a little bit?" Gabriella asked as she put her hand on her back.
Troy motioned to the stairs. The couple walked upstairs and went into their bedroom.
"You've been standing for a long time" Troy said.
Gabriella nodded.
"It's just my back that hurts. Nothing else" Gabriella said.
"You sure?" Troy asked.
"Yes. I'll be down in a little while. I just need a break" Gabriella said.
"Alright sweetheart. Call me if you need anything" Troy said.
"Don't tell Grace I'm up here if she asks where I am" Gabriella said.
"What do you want me to tell her?" Troy asked.
"Just tell her that I'm in the bathroom" Gabriella said.
"Okay" Troy said.
Troy closed the bedroom door behind him and walked downstairs. An hour later, Gabriella came downstairs with her hand on her back. Troy furrowed his eyebrows and tried to figure out what was going on. Gabriella walked over to her husband and looked at him. Troy smiled and put his hand on the small of her back.
"You okay?" Troy whispered into his wife's ear.
"I'm bleeding" Gabriella said.
Troy looked at Gabriella. His eyes widened. He looked at their families and then back at Gabriella.
"Alright, go to the car. I'll tell mom what's going on" Troy said.
Gabriella walked out of the house and went to the car and got in and waited for Troy. A couple minutes later, Troy walked out of the house and got into the car.
"Are you alright?" Troy asked.
"I had to pee and when I pulled down my pants there was blood on them" Gabriella explained.
Troy nodded.
"Okay. But, are you feeling okay?" Troy asked.
"I'm just worried" Gabriella said.
"We will figure this out, sweetheart. Don't worry" Troy said.
Troy arrived at the hospital and Gabriella was escorted to a room. An hour later, Gabriella was settled in a hospital bed. Troy walked into the hospital room and smiled sympathetically.
"How are you doing Brie?" Troy asked sitting on a chair that was next to the bed.
"I'm really worried. What if I had a miscarriage?" Gabriella asked.
Troy shook his head.
"You passed that point, baby. There is no way" Troy said.
There was a knock on the door and Dr. Brand came into the room.
"Hi guys, what's going on?" Dr. Brand asked.
"I was going to go to the bathroom and I pulled down pants and underwear and I saw blood" Gabriella said shakily.
"Okay, okay. Gabriella, take a deep breath for me" Dr. Brand said.
Gabriella took a deep breath and tears ran down her cheeks. She released the breath she was holding.
"Again. Breathe in and out" Dr. Brand said.
Troy helped Gabriella by taking deep breaths with her. Gabriella took a deep breath and released it. Dr. Brand tried to help Gabriella not hyperventilate because the baby could go into distress from the lack of oxygen.
"Alright, first thing's first. Did you have sex before this happened?" Dr. Brand said.
"No" Gabriella said shaking her head.
"Okay. Let me take a look" Dr. Brand said.
Gabriella nodded and spread her legs apart. Troy took Gabriella's hand in hers. More tears ran down Gabriella's face.
"Take a deep breath for me, Gabi" Dr. Brand said.
Gabriella took a deep breath and looked at her husband. Troy smoothed back Gabriella's hair with his free hand and placed a kiss on her forehead. A couple moments later, Dr. Brand looked up.
"You didn't have a miscarriage, Gabi. The bleeding is just spotting. It's completely normal" Dr. Brand said.
"I never had spotting with Grace" Gabriella said.
Dr. Brand nodded.
"It's normal. Let me take a look at the baby and just see for sure" Dr. Brand said.
Gabriella nodded. Dr. Brand turned on the ultrasound and waited for it to heat up. A couple minutes later, Dr. Brand pulled up Gabriella's gown and squeezed some gel onto her expanding bump. She then took a wand and moved the gel around Gabriella's stomach. Dr. Brand looked at the monitor and moved the wand and smiled.
"There's your baby. He or she looks perfect. No miscarriage or anything like that" Dr. Brand said.
The couple nodded.
"I'll sign the discharge papers and get you out of here as soon as possible" Dr. Brand said.
Dr. Brand left the room. Gabriella leaned her head back against the pillows. She didn't say a word. Troy looked at his wife and saw her shoulder's shake. He knew that she was crying. Troy sat on the edge of the hospital bed and took Gabriella's hand in his own.
"Sweetheart, it was a legitimate thought. This isn't your fault" Troy said.
"I have never been so scared in my life" Gabriella said.
"I know. But, you didn't miscarry and there isn't anything wrong with the baby" Troy said.
"I want to go home" Gabriella said.
"I know you do sweetheart. We just have to wait until the papers are signed and then we can go home okay?" Troy said.
Gabriella nodded. Troy kissed Gabriella's cheek.
"I love you" Troy said.
"I love you too" Gabriella said.
An hour later, Gabriella was discharged from the hospital. The couple drove home and walked into the house and their parents stood up and looked at them. Gabriella walked upstairs, ignoring their parents. Troy made sure Gabriella was in their bedroom before he said anything.
"What happened Troy?" Maria asked.
"She was bleeding. She thought it was a miscarriage, but it wasn't. It was just spotting. She's freaked out and wants to be alone right now" Troy said.
"Should we get out of your hair?" Lucille asked.
"I think it would be best. Where's Grace?" Troy asked.
"We put her down already" Maria said.
Troy looked at the clock and hadn't realized that it was past Grace's bedtime.
"Thank you so much" Troy said.
"No problem" their parents said.
The two sets of parents left the house. Troy saw that their families had cleaned up the living room and kitchen. He smiled. Troy walked upstairs and went into Grace's room. He leaned down and kissed her head softly. Grace opened her eyes.
"Daddy?" Grace asked.
"Yeah, it's me honey" Troy said smoothing her hair back.
"Where's mommy?" Grace asked.
"She's in our room. Do you want to go see her?" Troy asked.
Grace nodded. Troy picked Grace up and set her on his hip. He walked out of the room and went into the master bedroom. Gabriella was sitting up in bed. She looked up and smiled.
"I'm sorry if I scared you, Grace" Gabriella said.
"Go give mommy a kiss" Troy said setting his daughter on the bed.
Grace crawled over to her mother and sat next to her. Gabriella kissed Grace's cheek.
"Mama said you went to the doctor" Grace said.
Gabriella nodded.
"I did. But, you don't need to worry about me okay?" Gabriella said putting her hand on Grace's cheek.
"Is the baby okay?" Grace asked sweetly.
Gabriella smiled and kissed her daughter's cheek. Grace reminded Gabriella of herself in so many ways.
"The baby is fine. It's way past your bedtime. Daddy is going to bring you back to bed okay?" Gabriella said.
Grace nodded.
"Give me a kiss" Gabriella said.
Grace kissed Gabriella's lips.
"I love you" Gabriella said.
"I love you" Grace said.
Grace got off the bed and Troy held out his hand. Grace took it and the father daughter duo left the room. Five minutes later, Troy came back into the room.
"You okay?" Troy asked.
Gabriella nodded. Troy took his shirt off and changed into a pair of basketball shorts. He climbed into bed and Gabriella snuggled into his chest. Troy put his hand on Gabriella's stomach. The couple fell asleep and knew that everything was going to be fine.