It was 8:00am when Layla Abigail Bolton looked out of the window on the 26th December to see that the snow had unfortunately melted away. Troy and Gabriella had chosen her name because Layla means 'Dark beauty' and with her dark hair and olive skin, the little girl for the name. And Abigail meant 'Fathers Joy' which matched perfectly seeing as Layla was Troy's little Princess. So Layla had names to go with each parent with her looks from Gabriella giving her Layla and Abigail for Troy.
Layla decided to go and wake her parents up so that they could play with her. She got out of bed, walking past a sleeping Maria and went into their room. She found her Daddy curled into her Mommy's back while they slept peacefully. She climbed up onto the bed behind Troy before poking his arm. Having no luck with Troy, Layla reached over and poked Gabriella's arm. Her actions succeeded and Gabriella woke up, rolling over to face a sleeping Troy and the bright blue eyes of her daughter. Gabriella smiled at her little girl. "Morning, Layla." She whispered, not wanting to wake up her husband while she untangled Troy's arms from around her and sat up, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes.
Layla got off the bed and went around to Gabriella's side, climbing in to cuddle up to her. Gabriella wrapped her arms around Layla, kissing the top of her head affectionately.
"Can I wake up Daddy?" Layla asked quietly, wrapping one of Gabriella's curls around her finger just like she did as a baby.
"Not yet, sweetie. Let him sleep. Why don't we go and get some breakfast and watch some cartoons?" Gabriella suggested.
Layla nodded and got out of bed with Gabriella following. For the next hour or so the pair had a breakfast of toast and jam with an already up and awake Maria before watching Layla's favourite cartoons in the living room. Around 8:30 Jack and Lucille had come downstairs and joined Gabriella, Maria and Layla in the living room once they had eaten breakfast.
"Good morning." Lucille greeted as she sat down on one of the arm chairs. Jack smiled and greeted them himself before seating himself on a couch.
"So how are things going between you and Troy, Gabi?" Lucille asked, taking a sip of her coffee.
Gabriella smiled warmly at the mention of her husband. She couldn't believe the drastic change their relationship had overcome in under a week. It was like they had travelled back six months back to where they were before the arguing started.
"Great, we have the odd rough patch every so often but things are getting better." Gabriella said with her smiled still glued to her face.
"Well, it's about time you two sorted things out. It's great to see you both happy again." Jack commented with a smile.
"Layla's happier now aren't you?" Maria asked.
Layla nodded and looked up at Gabriella. "I didn't like it when you and daddy fighted." She said quietly.
"I know and we're sorry. We won't ever fight again, Layls." Gabriella said, kissing the top of Layla's head.
"You promise?"
"I promise, and I know Daddy promises too."
"Daddy promises what?" came Troy's voice.
Everybody looked towards Troy who was stood in the doorway, holding two cups of coffee.
"We promise we won't fight any more, don't we babe?" Gabriella said as Troy sat down next to her and Layla, handing her one of the cups of coffee in his hands.
Gabriella thanked Troy for her drink as Troy nodded. "Yeah. We promise Layla." He said kissing each of his girls affectionately, Layla's on her forehead and Gabriella's on the lips.
"What time should we leave?" Troy asked his wife, wrapping his arm around Gabriella's waist and rolling his head to look at her.
"I'd say around ten-ish?"
Troy nodded. "So in around an hour?"
"Yeah, I should go and get ready then, you know how long it takes me." Gabriella smiled, passing Layla to Troy and standing up.
"Babe, it's an obstacle course in the trees. You don't need to dress up. Sweats and sneakers are what you need to wear."
"I know but it still takes me a while." Gabriella said, going up the stairs.
Around twenty minutes later, Gabriella had cleaned her teeth, washed her face,changed her underwear, pulled her curls into a messy bun and had applied light, natural make-up. She was now stood in only her underwear while debating on which sweats to wear as she felt a pair of arms wrap around her her upper arms, pulling her backwards into the body's chest.
"Hey gorgeous." Troy greeted, placing a kiss on Gabriella's cheek before nuzzling his nose against the same patch of skin.
"Hey handsome." Gabriella greeted back in the same playful tone, rubbing his arms up and down.
"I think you should wear that hoodie." Troy said pointing at a red and white one that was sat at the bottom of the closet.
Gabriella bent down and picked up the one he was pointing at, unfolding it to find that it was the white wildcat hoodie she wore in high school with a red coloured 'Bolton' and the number 14 on the back and the wildcat logo on the front.
"How did that get here?" Gabriella asked, she hadn't worn this since college.
"I knew how much you used to love wearing it and I was hoping you would wear it again." Troy said, scratching the back of his neck.
Gabriella turned around in his arms with the hoodie still in her grasp, wrapping her arms around his neck and looking up at his blushing yet handsome face. "Of course I'll wear it. It has my name on the back now too." She leaned up to kiss him hard on the lips before he deepened the kiss, his thumb stroking her lower back gently.
Gabriella pulled back a moment later, slipping the hoodie over her head and placing her arms through the sleeves and pulling it down her stomach until it covered her white tank top. She then slipped into a pair of black sweat pants before pulling on a pair of rainbow stripy socks and her red converses.
"Is this suitable?" Gabriella asked, turning around to face Troy who was pulling on a pair of grey sweatpants and a black t-shirt which snugly fit his biceps.
Troy looked up and smiled at her appearance. "Perfect, you look so cute in that hoodie." He said, moving forward and pulling her into his arms.
Gabriella blushed, looking down. Troy lifted her chin up using his finger before speaking. "You know, you was wearing that when I realised that I love you."
Gabriella's eyes softened and her heart warmed at his statement.
"It was the last game of senior year, the wildcats were losing and I was doing totally crap and then I saw you in the crowd, cheering me on, wearing that hoodie and that was when I realised that you meant the world to me and that what I had been feeling for you was love." He continued.
A smile spread across Gabriella's face reaching her eyes causing them to glisten, touched by his words. "You've never told me that before."
"I know, now just felt like the right moment." Troy said softly, pulling her in closer and kissing the top of her head as she buried her nose in his shoulder and wrapped her arms around his neck. He glanced at the clock on the bedside table and realised that he should probably get ready to go. "I should go and clean my teeth now if we want to leave at ten." Troy said, making Gabriella look up at him.
"About time, your breath is really stinky." She joked.
"Hey! Just for that, I'm going to make you have to deal with my stinky breath for a little longer." Troy teased, slamming his lips down on hers. Gabriella giggled against his lips causing the corners to turn up into a smile. Gabriella's hands slid to the sides of his face, holding his head in between her palms as the kiss heated up and their tongues played a game of tag.
Around five minutes later the pair pulled away, out of breath. Their eyes remained closed as they tried to catch their breaths. As soon as Troy could breath properly he opened his eyes to see his wife's beautiful orbs gazing back at him. He matched her smile with his own before unwrapping his arms from around her waist and removing hers from around his neck, taking her hands in his.
"Was that supposed to be my punishment?" Gabriella asked teasingly.
"Yup, I know how much you hate kissing me." Troy joked.
"Oh yeah, I despise it." She giggled, letting him know that she was kidding. "Now go and get ready, mister."
"Yes dear."
After saying goodbye to Layla, Jack, Lucille and Maria, Troy and Gabriella set off for 'Go Ape'.
"What are we doing for New Year?" Gabriella asked, twisting her body in her seat to look at Troy.
"I was thinking we could have everyone round our house for a party, if you wanted?" Troy suggested, flicking on the indicator to turn left.
"Yeah, that would be nice, we haven't had a get together in like forever. I suppose it's because we always ended up arguing, so no one bothered having any." Gabriella said.
"Well that's all in the past now, Ella. Things are only gonna keep on getting better between us, I promise." Troy said, reaching over and linking their hands.
"I promise too." Gabriella smiled before they sat in a comfortable silence for the next five minutes.
"Hey Troy?" Gabriella said, breaking the silence.
"Yeah?"
"I love you."
Troy looked over at her with a smile on his face as they stopped at a traffic light. "I love you too, Ella."
At around 10:45am Troy and Gabriella were stood in a small group of people wearing helmets and harnesses as they listened to the instructor tell them the safety procedures of the course. After a five minute talk and practice of clipping their harnesses on correctly, the group made their way towards where the course started.
The first half of the course went by like a breeze of wind as Troy and Gabi had fun walking along the beams, crossing bridges crawling through tunnels and other more complicated obstacles. Gabriella had a blast laughing at Troy as he attempted to cross the pole which spun around every time he stepped on it. He was amazed by how Gabriella had managed to cross it without the pole spinning once and now when he tried he couldn't seem to stay balanced.
"Gabi, stop laughing at me!" Troy whined playfully, taking tiny steps along the pole.
Gabriella continued to laugh from her spot at the other end of the pole. "Seriously Troy, I got over it easy, no wobbles at all!"
"That's 'cos you weigh less than me!" Troy reasoned, getting nearer to Gabriella.
"That's not the reason, I'm just better than you are." Gabriella teased, poking her tongue out at him.
Troy chuckled, taking a few more wobbly steps before successfully reaching the podium which Gabriella was stood on.
"Well done, Troysie!" Gabriella said in a baby voice, pinching his cheeks.
"Shush, you." Troy said, wrapping his arms around her once he saw that there was a queue for the next obstacle and placed a kiss on her forehead.
Gabriella wrapped her arms around his waist, leaning her head against his chest so that she could hear his heartbeat. The person in front of them looked at them and smiled.
"Newly-weds huh?" she asked.
The married pair looked at each other and shared a smile. Gabriella shook her head. "We've actually been married for six years."
"Oh, sorry, it's just that you seem like you just got married. It's sweet." the girl commented before taking her turn on the obstacle.
Troy and Gabriella thought about what the girl had just said. They supposed they were back in the Newly wed stage, being all cuddly.
Around an hour later they came up to the obstacle that Gabriella was dreading the most. The zip wire. The wire was over 198 metres long, and travelled at the side of a large lake. Troy could tell that his wife was afraid by her eyes and posture.
"Do you want me to go first or after you?" He asked, rubbing her lower back.
"I don't know, if you go first you'll be there when I land but not when I set off. And if I go first you won't be there when I land but will be when I set off." Gabriella said, finding it hard to make a decision on which she would prefer.
"Which would you prefer?" Troy asked.
"Well I'd rather not do it at all." She said, noting how she couldn't see the end of the wire.
"Come on, you've come this far now, don't give up, Ella." Troy reasoned.
"But i'm scared of heights, Troy." She whimpered.
"I know you are, and I'm not gonna force you but I think you should face your fears. Once you've done it, you will feel so good and I will be even more proud of you." Troy said softly, looking into her eyes.
Gabriella remained silent for a moment as she debated in her mind. She then looked back at the wire before looking at Troy and making her decision. "You go first and be there when I get down." She said quickly.
Troy grinned at her and kissed her quickly. "I'll be at the bottom, okay? You have nothing to be scared of." Troy said as he clipped his harness on to the wire. "Will you make sure she's okay, for me?" Troy asked the instructor.
The instructor nodded and smiled. "Of course I will."
"Okay, here I go." Troy said before he jumped off the edge and began descending down the wire. He waved at Gabriella before giving her a thumbs up as she disappeared out of sight.
Gabriella waited for her cue at the top of the wire, her hands shaking with fear. She had just watched Troy set off and his smile had given her a tiny hint of reassurance about her safety. But she was still deadly scared of heights and felt dizzy every time she came face to face with them. The instructors walkie talkie sounded out, signalling that Troy had landed at the bottom which calmed Gabriella's nerves further, knowing that Troy was safe.
"Okay, your go. Your husband's landed safely and is waiting for you." The instructor informed her.
Gabriella nodded and clipped her harness onto the wire, gripping her hands around the piece of rope which hung in front of her face. She looked out at the vast countryside around her and thought that it looked beautiful but terrifying at the same time. But Gabriella was determined to show Troy how brave she could be so she leaned forward and jumped, causing her to zoom down the zip wire at lightening speed. The cold air around her swished past her and the adrenaline started to kick in, pumping throughout her veins. As she looked around her she noticed the crystal blue waters of the lake over to her left and to her right, Gabriella could see a forest of leave less trees. She smiled, starting to enjoy the experience like Troy told her she would.
And before she knew it, her smiling husband came into sight as she neared the landing pit. Gabriella let go of the rope, and threw her hand up in the air, cheering at herself and to Troy. When she reached the pit of wood bark, Gabriella didn't land gracefully, on her butt in fact. She ignored the slight pain this caused and giggled before a man with blue eyes came into sight. She smiled up at him as she held out his hand to help her up before he pulled her into a bone crushing hug, kissing the top of her head as he moved them out of the landing pit.
"I'm so proud of you, baby." He cooed, rocking her from side to side.
Gabriella smiled against his neck, wrapping her arms around him. "Thanks." she mumbled. "I really enjoyed it."
"See, I told you you would." He said, pulling away from her slightly to place a soft kiss on her lips.
"Thanks for bringing me here today, Troy. It's been so much fun." Gabriella said softly, her eyes sparkling.
"I've had a lot of fun too. We should do it again some time."
Gabriella nodded and leaned her head back against his chest, feeling safe in his arms. Safe, just like Troy had promised her she would be.
---
3 days later
It was now the 29th of December and the family were waiting at Manchester Airport at gate 2B. They were due to board the plane in around fifteen minutes. Everybody was saddened to be leaving England. Maria, Lucille and Jack had enjoyed spending time with their son, daughter and Granddaughter. Back home visits were only around once a week and only lasted a couple of hours each. Layla had enjoyed being in a new country,witnessing her first snow fall and seeing her parents get along again. And finally, Troy and Gabriella had enjoyed the trip the most. If it wasn't for this week long holiday they might not have talked and sorted things out. They might have been still at each others throats every day. They felt as though the trip had brought them even closer than before their problems which surprised the pair who had thought they were as close as close could be. But they were proven wrong, now they hardly ever separated from one another.
Gabriella was consuming the time waiting by helping Layla to read her newly purchased little girl magazine while Troy was talking to his parents and Maria. And just on time, the intercom sounded out.
"Flight TC162 to Albuquerque, New Mexico is now boarding. Flight TC162 to Albuquerque, New Mexico is now boarding, thank you."
The six of them stood up, retrieving their boarding cards and passports from their bags. Troy gave Layla hers, telling her to hold on to them tightly. They all handed the items to the staff who checked them before they were allowed to walk down the passage way towards the plane. Layla skipped along the path by her granddad's side, telling him about the snowman she had made on Christmas Eve. Maria and Lucille were gossiping over something while Troy and Gabriella walked hand in hand with each other before entering the plane that would take them home, back to where they belong.
Please review :)
Thanks for all the previous reviews, favourite-ing, and adding me to your alerts. It means so much. I hope you enjoyed this chapter as much as I liked writing it. Next chapter- Back to Albuquerque. But don't worry, that doesn't mean the end of this story.
