I won't bore you with a long author's note, but I do feel terrible about the wait for this chapter. It is inexcusable. However, I have planned out the rest of the story and that should enable me to update more frequently. Please don't send virtual hate mail! Lol.

Thanks to Andizzle for her review! I had the first part of this chapter written but her review got my butt in gear to finish it!

Note – Coming Back To You has been taken off of fanfiction, but I have posted the story on my homepage, which you can access through my fanfic profile. I will still be updating it (there are three or so chapters left), so on the website it will eventually tell you how to sign up for alerts. :)

Also, in other cool news, my homepage has cool new High School Musical related and Twilight related icons for you to use if you are interested! Check it out and see if you like any!

Enjoy! It's one of the longest!


Story: The Road Not Taken

Chapter: Getting a Little Bit Closer

Rating: T (a few swear words)

Summary: Troy and Gabriella have been married for three years, when one day Gabriella ends up in a car crash. What happens when she wakes up and has no idea who Troy is?

Disclaimer: I do not own anything except the plot. I thought of this story idea, and if it is like yours, that is extremely coincidental. I have not read another story like this. Don't own the Sheryl Crow song either!


"Caleb, honey, please stop playing with your seat belt. Just sit still, okay? We'll be there in a couple of minutes." Gabriella lightly scolded her child. The young brunette was slighty on edge today – just a little nervous. Caleb looked back at his mom with an innocent expression, and then made a display of folding his hands delicately in his lap.

Gabriella couldn't hide her smile. Her son was adorable. She stole another glance to see his big brown eyes staring out the window in the backseat. God, he was a spitting image of his father.

Coming to a stop light, Gabriella began to think about how far she'd come from the day of the accident, more than two months ago. As much as she couldn't believe it, Gabriella was getting used to her life – the "mom" part of it anyway. She had grown extremely attached to Caleb; more than she ever thought possible.

The mother and son had fallen into a routine, which helped Gabriella cope with her "new" life. She loved routines because they made her feel secure, and, although she couldn't be completely positive, Gabriella believed that Troy understood her need of structure.

In the mornings, Caleb would crawl out of his bed and run into his mom's room, waking her up by cuddling close against her. Gabriella would lay with him for a few minutes, rubbing his sandy brown hair affectionately, and kissing his forehead. Even though she had forgotten about her child, she loved him more than anything right now.

After Caleb would get restless, Gabriella would pick him up and carry him downstairs to the kitchen – after she let him wake up his dad, of course. Although she didn't come into his room, she would always hear Troy greet his son and ask him a couple of questions about what he was going to do that day. Gabriella couldn't help but smile as she heard them interact.

In the kitchen, Gabriella made him breakfast (most days being cheerios), and sat with him while he watched his favorite TV show – The Wiggles. While Gabriella cleaned up the kitchen, Troy would emerge from his bedroom to give Caleb a bath. Then, after the two-year-old was squeaky clean, Troy would throw him over his shoulder and run him downstairs to the couch, carefully tickling him as he set him down.

Gabriella smiled at the thought as the light turned green. She gently pressed down on the accelerator once looking both ways – something she had promised she would do after a desperate Troy pleaded with her - and the car moved forward. Caleb would always screech and laugh loudly when Troy would tickle him, making his father wear a huge grin.

As it was October, Troy would then head off to preseason basketball practice at the Verizon Wireless Stadium, where the Redhawks played. He would give Caleb a big bear hug and a kiss on the forehead before turning to Gabriella. This was always an awkward moment for the "couple". Gabriella hated to see the slight flash of pain in his eyes, and the forced smile as he said,

"Bye Gabriella. I hope you have a nice day."

It was such a formal goodbye, and honestly, the young brunette had no idea what to think of it.

Although her relationship with Caleb had pretty much returned to normal, her feelings for Troy hadn't. Gabriella thought he was the sweetest man she had ever met, and incredibly good looking too, but she wasn't in love with him.

However, she had to fess up and admit that she liked him – really, really liked him. So much that she sometimes began to wonder what it would be like if they got back together.

The one thing that returned her to Earth when her head started to float away was the awkwardness between them. It was so…uncomfortable.

Carmen had returned to Arizona after three weeks of staying in Albuquerque, and Gabriella immediately felt more vulnerable than ever before. Troy had sensed this and became quieter, not forcing conversation with her as frequently – which didn't go unnoticed by Gabriella.

Pulling to the parking lot at Albuquerque General Hospital, Gabriella let out a sigh, knowing that in a short month, her entire routine would be broken. She tried not to think about it as she mentally prepared herself for her fifth – and hopefully final – check-up.

Grabbing her son's hand, she locked the car and made her way into the hospital, sitting down in the play section of Dr. Weber's waiting room so Caleb could explore the different toys. There was more than one reason Gabriella was nervous today. Yes, she wanted to hear that she was all healed and get an update on her memory progression, but she was also planning on asking if she could go back to work.

Gabriella hadn't discussed the matter with Troy, but she felt like she needed to start pulling some weight around the house. Sure, Troy made more than enough money to keep them financially stable, but because Gabriella didn't view herself as "married" to Troy, she wanted to get a job to earn her own spending money. It just didn't feel right using Troy's.

"Ms. Montez?" Gabriella looked up to see Dr. Weber smiling at her from across the room. Taking Caleb's hand once again, she followed him back to an examination room after taking a few x-rays.

Throughout the entire time span of the accident, Troy had been very supportive, always telling her that everything was fine.

But Gabriella wasn't stupid.

There was one thing she could tell bothered him more than anything, and that was when someone would refer to her as 'Ms. Montez'.

Gabriella remembered coming to her first check-up appointment, in which Troy had accompanied her. Dr. Weber had called her by the same name, and she couldn't help but notice the flash of pain in his eyes, before he looked away from her gaze and led her from the waiting room. It hurt Gabriella to see him like that, knowing that she was the cause of it.

"Alright, Gabriella. I hope that this will be the last time I see you for a long time." Dr. Weber started as he got the young brunette situated into her exam room. Caleb sat in a chair and politely stared at the two adults, swinging his legs beneath him, which could not yet touch the floor.

"So, I have your x-rays in, and…" the doctor paused, putting on a bright smile, "…everything looks great! Your ribs are completely healed and your wrist is as good as new. I am very impressed with your rate of healing."

Gabriella grinned at the news. "So, no more two-week check-ups?"

"Nope. However, and I know you probably already have guessed this, but your brain scan continues to show no change, and I don't see any improvement." Quickly, Dr. Weber glanced at Caleb to see that he was pre-occupied. The toddler still did not know that his mother had significant memory damage. "Still, though, I want to keep tabs on your brain, so I would like to see you again in three months. Sound good?" Dr. Weber asked.

Gabriella wasn't surprised by the news, but pushed her sorrow to the back of her mind as she addressed the doctor.

"That sounds great, Dr. Weber, but I do have a question for you." Gabriella looked down at her hands. She was mentally cursing her personality traits. Why did she have to be so shy?

"Okay." Dr. Weber took a seat in the round chair by his computer. "What's up?"

"Well," Gabriella began nervously, subtly glancing at Caleb, who was entertaining himself with a picture book, "It's been about two-and-a-half months since the accident, and I was wondering it I would be able to go back to work? I really don't want to lose my position." Gabriella paused seeing the surprised look on the doctor's face. "It sounds like a good one." She added, smiling slightly.

Dr. Weber grinned back at her. "Of course, Gabriella. I will fill out a work permit form for you company, and you can go back as early as tomorrow."

Gabriella sighed in relief. That was the easy part, now she just had to tell Troy…

"Thank you Dr. Weber. And thanks for all of your help through this." She responded, forever grateful that he saved her life two months ago.

"You are very welcome. I'm glad that you are getting adjusted to your lifestyle very quickly. If you ever need me, don't hesitate to call the office." Dr. Weber held open the door to the exam room for the mother and son.

"Oh," he added, stopping Gabriella. "and if you ever remember anything – anything at all- call my cell phone. I don't care what time of day it is – I want to know. You still have my number, right?"

"Of course," Gabriella smiled at the older man. "I will definitely let you know."

Leaving the hospital, Gabriella was slightly optimistic. If she could just convince Troy that working would be good for her, then she was all set to return. The truth was, Gabriella needed to get away for a while. She needed to be somewhere where she wasn't expected to have a relationship with someone. Of course, she would never tell Troy she felt that way.

Buckling Caleb back into his car seat, Gabriella made her way back to the driver's side. Briefly, she imagined the solemn expression on Troy's face that she would see tonight when she told him the news about her memory. She shouldn't care, but it killed her to see him like that.

Turning on the radio, Gabriella began to reverse the car.

"Alright, Caleb. Let's go home and get some lunch."


"That's good for today, guys! Hit the showers and I'll see you here tomorrow – same time, same place." Coach Cohen yelled from the baseline of the Albuquerque Redhawks basketball court. "Oh, and afterwards we'll be having some fun in the weight room!" the older man added with a smile.

Chad let out a loud groan, while Troy tried not to laugh too noticeably at his friend.

"WHAT WAS THAT DANFORTH?" Coach Cohen confronted the frightened basketball player. "You want to go to weight room today, too?"

"No sir. I wasn't groaning about that…I… uh…" Chad stammered, obviously trying to come up with some excuse.

"See you twenty minutes early tomorrow, Danforth. You just made yourself a date with fifty suicides." Coach Cohen called as he walked back into his office.

Chad stood there, stunned.

"Well…shit!" he complained as the two friends walked into the team locker room. "What the hell was his problem? Didn't get enough action in bed last night or something?" Chad chuckled in a quieter voice. He knew that suicides were nothing compared to what Coach Cohen would have for him if that comment was overheard.

A couple of the other basketball players laughed at Chad's comment, and one added in a muted voice,

"Yeah. Must not be gettin' any."

Chad continued to laugh, only to see his best friend look away from the group of guys.

"Oh, Troy, man. I'm so sorry. That was really thoughtless of me to make that comment." Chad apologized, patting his best friend on the shoulder. Troy turned around to look at his team, who was now silent.

"It doesn't matter, Chad. I don't care what you guys talk about, really. Don't change because of me, okay? It's my situation and I'll deal with it. I don't need you guys adding to the stress by constantly watching what you say around me."

Troy opened his locker as the room was still silent. Every member of the team had heard about what happened to Gabriella, and they all were witnessing just how hard it was on Troy each day he came to practice. Truth be told, he wasn't the same person anymore. He still gave his all, but wouldn't joke around as much with the guys or hang out after practices.

The locker room returned to normal after a chorus of apologies. Troy sat down on the bench and began to take off his court shoes.

He had never really thought about it before, but now that it was mentioned, he couldn't help but let his mind wander to the previous topic of discussion. He hadn't slept with Gabriella, obviously, for over two and a half months. Yes, they had slept in the same bed once. That hardly counted for anything, seeing as the next night Troy had fixed the air conditioner and Gabriella went back to sleeping in the master bedroom.

"Ugh!" Troy groaned, putting his shoes back in his locker and putting his face in his hands.

Chad sat down next to his friend and slapped him on the knee. "If you ever want to talk about it, just let me know. It can't be easy, man. Even after two months."

Troy had gone five weeks without discussing what had happened, and it was killing him. He and Gabriella had fallen into a routine, which he knew she appreciated, but it wasn't exactly the routine Troy wanted. He would love to go back to the way things used to be – waking up in the morning to find her cuddled up against him, giving her a long goodbye kiss when he went to practice, taking her out for romantic dinners, and buying her gifts that would make her eyes light up. Instead, Troy was woken up by Caleb – which, even though it wasn't Gabriella, his son was still one of the two most important things in his world – and every morning would walk out the door without a goodbye kiss.

Life sucked – but it was more than that, because it hurt. The best time of day was the five seconds he had just after waking up – the moments when he didn't think about his life as it was now. The moments when he just…lived.

"You know that she remembered something?" Troy asked quietly, glancing up at his friend.

"What?" Chad face betrayed the shock of Troy's words. "Seriously? What did she remember?"

Troy's hopes had risen through the roof after he got the phone call from Carmen, only to crash down when the harsh reality of what Gabriella remembered sunk in.

It's a start he reminded himself for the thousandth time.

"She remembered your wedding day. You and Taylor had it in your parent's backyard and she remembered the yellow tulips and everything." Troy mumbled.

"Wow! Our wedding day? That's really strange. You would think that she would remember yours." Chad commented in surprise.

"Yeah, I know. That's what I don't get. I just…I guess I wish she would have remembered ours." Troy admitted.

"That's too bad, man. I feel for you. Has she remembered anything else since then?" Chad asked as he packed his duffel back with dirty clothes.

"No." Troy sighed, doing the same. "She hasn't, and we haven't made any progress either. I don't want to force her, you know? She has always been so shy and it took me two years in high school to finally get past the wall she puts up. It really feels like we're starting over."

"Well," Chad slammed his locker shut, picking up his duffel bag and throwing it over his shoulder. The basketball player turned to his best friend and let out a sigh. "maybe some time away will do both you and Gabriella some good. We leave for our away game stretch next month."

"Yeah, maybe." Troy sighed, shutting his locker.


"Oh, no! You've got some syrup on your cheek, sweetheart." Gabriella sighed with a smile.

Caleb looked up at his mother with the same big brown eyes, grinning wickedly. He then stuck his tongue out of his mouth and tried to reach the syrup on his cheek, only to fail after multiple attempts.

Gabriella couldn't help but laugh, which made Caleb grin once again. He was the cutest thing, and she was so honored to be a part of his life.

Turning around, the young brunette reached for the paper towels sitting on the counter, only to discover that the roll was empty.

"One second, sweetie. Mommy's got to go down in the basement to get a new roll of paper towels." Gabriella cupped one of Caleb's chubby cheeks in her hand and leaned forward to kiss him on the forehead before pulling back. "No funny business, okay?"

"Kay Mommy!" Caleb agreed and continued to eat his pancakes.

"Here…" Gabriella wiped the syrup off her son's cheek after she returned with the paper towels. "Guess what Mommy found out?" she asked. "The basement is extremely dirty, hazardous even. I think we should clean it today, don't you? You still have a lot of toys down there that you rarely use."

"But Mommy, they're like…days old!" Caleb groaned, complaining in his high-pitched voice. Gabriella's heart melted. Even though this child was introduced to her two months ago, she was so in love with him that she wondered how she had ever rejected motherhood as a teenager. She would be forever grateful to Troy for giving her the opportunity to raise a child.

"Well, I'm sure Daddy spent a lot of money on them, and he wouldn't be very happy if he heard that." Gabriella explained as she lifted her toddler onto her hip after washing his dishes. Making her way into the basement, Gabriella surrendered to the urge to ruffle Caleb's hair – the sandy brown hair that was just like his father's.

Referring to herself as "Mommy" and to Troy as "Daddy" was getting easier for Gabriella every day. Even though they weren't together as a couple, she couldn't deny the fact that Troy was the boy's father, and that she was the mother. Gabriella knew she needed to keep the charade up for Caleb. She wanted to make sure he still realized that both his mom and dad loved him – even if they didn't feel the same way about each other.

Setting the young child down, Gabriella hid a grin as she watched him run over to his play corner and begin to assemble a toy train that had fallen off its tracks. She turned around and began her cleaning spree.

No more than fifteen minutes later did she hear the opening and closing of a door on the upper floor.

"Gabriella? Caleb?" she heard Troy's voice call out, and for a moment, her heart slightly ached. It seemed to be doing that a lot lately when her husband was around – as if it was telling her to go to him.

"In the basement, Troy!" Gabriella responded, continuing to vacuum the carpet as she had been doing before.

"Hey, Mommy?" she heard a tiny voice ask.

Gabriella shut off the vacuum and wiped her forehead before turning around to see her son holding his hands behind his back.

"Caleb, honey? What is it? What have you got there?" Gabriella questioned, suddenly wary.

Caleb's serious face stretched into a huge grin as he screeched, "Look what I found Mommy! Isn't it cute?"

The toddler pulled out his hands from behind his back, and Gabriella blinked.

Was that…a RAT?

Gabriella's ear piercing scream could be heard from all levels of the house. Troy, who glancing over the mail in the kitchen, immediately dropped his duffel bag on the floor and ran down the stairs of the basement, where he saw Gabriella backing away from their son.

"Troy!" Gabriella exclaimed, throwing herself into his arms.

Without hesitating, Troy pulled her closer to him, tightening his hold on her. He looked down as she buried her head in his chest.

"What's wrong, hone- Gabriella? Are you okay?" Troy was suddenly worried. Sure, his wife was in his arms – for only the second time in two months – clinging to him, but she seemed terrified.

"Oh…I'm sorry, Troy. I didn't mean to overreact. It's just…Caleb found a rat in the basement." She said in a small voice, and Troy's heart melted. She had always been scared of rats – and snakes, geckos, spiders. As much as he feigned annoyance, he loved protecting her from that.

Looking over at his son, Troy noticed the tearful eyes and the bottom lip begin to stick out. Oh, no he thought.

Much to Troy's displeasure, Gabriella had unlocked her arms from him and now had tears streaming down her face.

"Oh, honey! I'm so sorry. You didn't do anything wrong – I didn't mean to scare you." Gabriella was down on her knees with her arms open as Caleb put the rat in a plastic bin that Troy was holding and raced towards her.

He clung tightly to his mother as the tears started pouring down his cheeks.

"I didn't mean to, Mommy. I'm sorry." He whimpered, still holding on to his mom.

"I know, honey. I shouldn't have overreacted, baby." She said softly, stroking his head. Troy knelt down next to his family and started to run his son's back.

"Hey, buddy. I see you were playing with some of the toys I got you. What do you say we set up the train track town?" Troy asked, trying to distract his son. Gabriella smiled at her husband, and he gave her a sympathetic grin back.

"Okay…" Caleb said in a little voice. He then threw his arms around his father's neck as the man lifted him up.

"Good. Now let's get this rat out of here first, and then we can come back down and play with the train." Troy said, taking the plastic container in his other hand as he walked up the stairs, only to stop suddenly on the fourth step. "Gabriella, were you…cleaning?" Troy asked in an astonished voice, his face a mixture of sadness and disbelief.

"Um…" the young brunette mumbled. "Yes? Am I not supposed to?" she asked gently, staring into Troy's intense blue eyes.

"You don't have to do that. We have a maid service that comes every two weeks. You're still recovering…I wouldn't want you to – wait, you had your doctor's appointment today. How did that go?" Troy's interested eyes were completely focused on her, and he turned his body to start coming back down the stairs.

Gabriella was surprised at how fast he switched subjects. "Why don't you take the rat outside and then we can talk about it while you build a train with Caleb?" she suggested, a slight smile on her lips.


"So, everything is healed. No more doctor's visits or two-week checkups or any of that?" Troy asked as he handed Caleb another piece of the train track.

Gabriella was sitting next to the train set as she watched the interaction between the father and son. Caleb had insisted that she stay, and the young brunette couldn't have been more delighted.

"Yep. No more two-week checkups." She answered.

Troy was quiet for a moment.

"And…what did he say about…your memory?" Troy asked slowly, mentally bracing himself for the response he knew was coming.

"No change." Gabriella answered softly, briefly glancing at Troy. The sadness and pain in his eyes was overwhelming. So much that she had to look away.

"He does want to see me every three months, though. Just to continue to monitor my…uh…progress." Gabriella winced at the word. What if she never made any progress? What if her life was stuck like this forever?

"Okay." Troy let out a big sigh. There was nothing else to say to that.

Caleb inserted that last of the track pieces, and clapped his hands in delight. Gabriella watched as Troy smiled fondly at his son, and then reached over and started to tickle him. Caleb shrieked as he wriggled under the touch.

"Mommy! Mommy! Help me!" he screamed, still laughing.

"What's Mommy going to do about it?" Troy asked, playfully eyeing Gabriella.

Troy's sexy smirk made her heart stop for a minute. She studied the way that his lashes cast a shadow on his face and how his eyes were glistening as he stared at her, all the while continuing to tickle their son.

"Mommy's going to save you." Gabriella answered her son. Acting on impulse, Gabriella reached forward and started to squeeze Troy's sides in an attempt to tickle him.

It happened so fast that she had no idea how it occurred, but one minute she was tickling Troy, trying to help out her son, and the next she was laying on the floor with Troy hovering on top of her.

"Not ticklish." He teased, whispering in her ear, and immediately started attacking her with his fingers.

Gabriella was easily the most ticklish person Troy had ever met. Over the years, he had discovered the very spots where she squirmed the most, and used that information to his advantage.

Gabriella couldn't breathe as Troy's hands moved about her. He knew all of her weaknesses, which didn't frighten Gabriella as it would have a month ago. Even though she didn't think he knew, Troy was well informed about everything to do with her.

She continued to laugh out loud as she cried out for mercy. "Okay, Troy! Okay! Please…" Gabriella laughed, "Please stop!"

"Fine. But only because you said the magic word." Troy answered, abruptly stopping the tickling.

The young man lifted up his wife from the floor and gently rubbed her back – a natural impulse, but something he knew was probably too forward.

"Sorry. I couldn't resist." He said, giving Gabriella a sympathetic smile.

"Whatever." She scoffed playfully, giving Troy a smile.

"Alright, why don't we go back upstairs and leave all of this for another day?" Troy suggested to both Gabriella and Caleb.

The toddler ran over to his father and clutched his leg. "Will you carry me up the stairs, Daddy?" he asked with excited eyes.

Troy grinned, laughing softly as his eyes met Gabriella's. "Sure thing, buddy. Come here."

Gabriella smiled at the two, suddenly remembering the song she had been listening to in the car earlier that morning. It was by Sheryl Crow – one of her favorite artists.

Everyday is a winding road…I get a little bit closer.

And, for a moment, Gabriella couldn't help but think that everyday she spent with Troy and Caleb, she was getting a little bit closer to feeling fine…


Once again – SO sorry for the…like…five month wait for this chapter. (Geesh is sounds really bad when you say it like that.) Next update will be within the next week and a half!! The first part of the next chapter is already written! :D

Hope you liked the chapter! Please review and tell me what you think!

BTW – 4 more days until Breaking Dawn comes out! I'm so excited I could have a seizure! Any of you read the Twilight series? If you don't, you're seriously missing out!

Wounded Sparrow


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Gabriella confronts Troy about going back to work. What is he going to say?