A.N. I am soo sorry about the late update. A lot of things have been going on and I have to give a special thanks to my beta-ElectrifyingChemistry- She gave me most of this Chapter's inspiration. I hope you like it.

Recap of last chapter:

"Do you know what I just realized, after watching this so many times? I realized that I would love if someone wrote a song for me, just like Roger did for Mimi. Now that's what I call true love."

Troy's POV

I looked around the pale white room Gabriella was currently living in. It was not as if she'd be stable enough to go home anytime soon, so people had tried to make it more comfortable. Little baskets or flowers with balloons saying "Get Well Soon" were scattered around the room: All of our friends had stopped by sometime within the week that Gabriella had stayed at the hospital and all have them had wished her to get better, but still none of them really knew what had happened… all they knew was that Gabriella had been kidnapped and that she was hurting right now. My eyes drifted from the little presents to the window. Outside it was so peaceful, you could see the sunset. It was such a contrast to the hospital room. There was nothing that was happy in this room. Finally my eyes landed on Gabriella.

Her sight still made my stomach clench in anger and my heart hurt in sadness. How someone could have done that to her was beyond my knowledge. Her hair was scattered and her face was still bruised, but in my eyes she was the most beautiful girl I had ever laid my eyes on. The blanket was up to her neck and I could see every soft detail of her body. Every now and then she would move, but she would always fall back into a peaceful sleep. I prayed desperately that she would be okay… The doctors were still concerned about her, she hadn't been eating as much as she should have – which was not astounding, taking into account her history with food - and they said that she was on the edge of falling into a coma… Sighing, I brought my head to my hands.

Maria Montez's POV (Gabriella's Mom)

I was about to walk into Gabriella's room when I saw Troy sitting in a chair next to the bed. His head was in his hands and he looked troubled. It was no wonder, really, considering all the facts the boy had to face. Gabriella nearly being rapped and currently in hospital, the offender still running around without a chance of getting him into jail without Gabriella's testimony – I knew exactly how he was feeling. Both of us loved Gabriella with all our hearts and both of us couldn't stand to see her suffer. In a way it was weird, but I was kind of glad that there was someone else worried about Gabriella. My schedule didn't leave me much room for constant visits in the hospital and I couldn't get time off from work, no matter how hard I tried. The fact that Troy was here on a daily basis took much of my guilty conscience away from me.

Shaking my thoughts out of my head – at least I was here right now -, I decided to make my presence known. I was about to knock when I heard someone call my name. Turning around, I came to see Gabriella's assigned doctor. His facial expression made my heart clench. He was too serious for my liking and suddenly I was dreading more bad information. His next words confirmed my suspicions. "Mrs. Montez, I need to speak to you for a minute. Your daughter is still fighting a coma. I have been monitoring her very carefully. I gave her some morphine yesterday, because she said that there was immense pain on the back of her head. That is where she might have been hit or slammed against a wall." He must have seen my pained expression, for he quickly went over with the last sentences. "She is slowly getting better so that is a good sign.", he informed me, giving me hope that it all would be okay. Well, as alright as it could get anyway. Suddenly his pager beeped and he excused himself: "That is all for now, I must go. But I can assure you that your daughter is in good hands." Before I even got to say another word, he left. God, I desperately hoped that he was right, that Gabriella would get better soon and that she could fight that damn coma threatening to overtake her. Turning back to the room, I softly knocked.

Troy's POV

I heard three soft knocks and lifted my head that was protesting against the sudden movement. I didn't know how long I had sat like that, but it had definitely been way too long. Starring at the door that only gradually opened, I saw that it was Mrs. Montez. Immediately I stood up and walked outside the room closing the door softly behind me. She hadn't seen her daughter in so long, but I felt like I needed to talk to her before she spoke to Gabriella. Her face told me that she had news from the doctors and I needed to know them, but she couldn't tell me in front of Gabriella. She needed rest and worrying her about her condition was the last thing I wanted to do to her. She was already dealing with so much and she was being so strong, but how much more could she take? She had been subjected to tried rape for God's sake; nobody could get through that without help of outsiders.

"Hello Mrs. Montez" The dark-haired Spanish resembled Gabriella so much I had to swallow. There was the normal accordance in looks you could often find with mother and daughter, but at the moment Mrs. Montez looked so much healthier than the girl lying in the bed in the room behind me. And the woman obviously knew what I was thinking, because she smiled at me in sympathy. "Troy, it's Maria to you. How is she?" Her voice was hopeful, as if I could tell her more than the doctors had said. The trouble was that she probably knew even more than me. "I don't know much, I'm afraid. The doctors won't tell me anything, because I'm not family. And she herself can't tell me, because she fell asleep a few hours ago." The desperate tone in my voice was hard to miss and Mrs. Montez took pity on me. "I guess you already know that she's still fighting a coma. But her assigned doctor said she's slowly getting better. So there is hope, Troy. She's strong. She's a fighter. She'll make it through this."

I was feeling awful. There she was, comforting me while her daughter was in a hospital room, suffering because I hadn't looked after her the way I should have. "How long are you gonna stay here?" I had to ask, because I wanted to know if she would be here when Gabriella woke up. "I have to go soon. My boss needs me for a project presentation, but I'll be here tonight…" She trailed off, looking at me with concerned eyes. "Troy, you should go home and get rest. You have been here all week and people are getting worried about you." I sighed inwardly. That was actually true, as several messages my parents had left on my mailbox of my phone could prove. But that didn't matter right now.

"I know Mrs.… I mean Maria. But I won't leave her side. Never again. I promised her something a long time ago and I refuse to break that promise again." Again, because I already had done it once. I had left her alone when she had needed me the most. I had allowed myself to get sidetracked by another girl, I had failed her. And I wasn't going to let her down again. My determination must have shown in my eyes, because Maria nodded defeated. With a look at her watch, she said goodbye. "Well, I have to go now, Troy. I have things to do… Tell Gabriella that I love her." And with that she was gone, her desire to stay clearly shining through her behaviour.

I sighed and walked inside with my head down. When I looked up and saw the most beautiful girl rubbing her eyes, I walked over to her and kissed her forehead, but she flinched away from me. I moved back immediately and sat down, feelings of sadness and rejection washing over me. I knew it was stupid, I shouldn't be feeling like this, but I couldn't help it. I wasn't a guy that would hurt her and she knew that… But the doctors had already warned me that this was going to happen sooner or later. Hell, it was common knowledge that girls exposed to rape experiences of any kind would develop a fear of the male gender for some time, but it still didn't save me from feeling hurt. Looking up at her with carefully guarded eyes – she didn't really need a guilty conscience added to the weight she was buried under -, I met her gaze.

The fear I had read only seconds before vanished completely and a sense of confusion appeared in her eyes. "Oh God, Troy, I'm so sorry!" Obviously she had noticed the flash of hurt crossing my face. I did my best to reassure her. "No, it's me that should be sorry, Gabriella. I didn't mean to… And I know you didn't mean to, either. It's just a reaction to me when I'm around you, I know that. It's completely natural." She had tears swimming in her eyes, shaking her head. "It's not your fault! God, I don't want to do this, but whenever a guy touches me, I seem to flinch away…" Starting crying, she trailed off and began shaking on her bed. My first instinct was to go over to her and comfort her, but I had to hold myself back. It wouldn't help if she got another anxious attack while already being emotionally disturbed, so instead I tried it with words. "Gabs, it's only natural. This isn't unusual for people who've been…" I didn't even dare to talk to her about it, because there was no way of telling what she would do.

I had got the feeling that denying it was her way of trying to get over it long ago, but I wasn't sure if it was going to work. In fact, I was sure that it wasn't going to. She needed to rely on someone else but herself to work it out. She was strong, yes, but everyone needed help once in a while. We both sat there in silence for a while and it wasn't a comfortable one. Desperately searching for a topic safe enough to talk about, I finally told her about her mother's visit. "Gabi, your mom was here earlier… She said that she loved you and would be back later tonight." I was hoping so badly for an answer that my heart sank considerately when she just nodded her head and continued to look down.

Not knowing when she would break out of that lapse of hers, I stood up and started walking to the door until I hear a soft "Don't go… Please don't go… I need you." The voice was so small, so easily overheard and yet so pleadingly full of force. Immediately, I turned around and looked at her. What I saw was not the Gabriella I knew, not the strong, confident girl who wasn't afraid of anything. The one I saw now was week, afraid, and in serious need of comfort. She had little tears forming in the corner of her eyes and all I wanted to do was to rush over to her that moment and kiss away the tears, but I couldn't. She would have a heart attack for sure, considering her situation and her bothering lack of knowledge for my feelings for her.

Knowing I wouldn't be able to restrain myself from showering her with the love and affection she deserved, I turned back to the door. Casting one last half-worried, half-longing look at her, I softly assured her that I wasn't going to leave her. "Don't worry, Brie. I just needed to go get some coffee. This daze I'm in at the moment is killing me. Some coffee should be off service. Do you want anything?" The joke I had attempted to make didn't reach her. No laughter, no silent amusement in her eyes, she looked down again and shook her head. Sighing inwardly, I asked myself how I would live through the next weeks and then proceeded towalk out the door without saying anything else.

Gabriella's POV:

I watched Troy walk out of the room and I felt as if my heart was being ripped out with him. I knew that all of this was hard on him, but I just couldn't concentrate enough to keep him out of seeing me this broken. For that I had had to little sleep these past days. Sighing, I closed my eyes, but the immediate image of Chuck coming towards me prevented me from falling asleep again. Quickly opening them again, I sat up and looked around the room. The same things I had see everyday for the past week… God, I couldn't help but think about what would happen when I got out of the hospital. It would be nice to have some changes, but on the other hand – I didn't know what would wait for me outside of this hospital. Would Chuck… My thoughts were interrupted by a knock on the door. Confused, I screwed my nose, knowing it wasn't Troy, because he would just come in.

Straightening out my blanket, I tried to make myself look less bad than I did right now. "Who is it?" I asked, preparing to hear the voice of another doctor wanting to perform some tests on me. I never got to hear it. "Gabriella, it's me." Immediately I recognized the voice ringing through the door. My mom. Sighing, I made myself comfortable again, wondering why she was here already. Hadn't Troy said she'd come this evening? "Come in, mom." I called out weakly, watching the door being opened she came in, she wasn't alone and she had a pleading look on her face. Confused, I regarded the man standing next to her, the obvious reason why she hadn't waited until tonight to come back.

"Honey, this is Officer Brian O'Conner. He came to ask you a few questions." My heart stopped beating for a few seconds. They wanted testimony. My testimony. God, I should have been prepared for this. After all, everybody had to do it after being exposed to a crime, didn't they? But I didn't want to do this. I didn't want to talk about it. If I did, it all would become more – real. My entire insides burned at the thought of admitting out loud what had been done to me and the old feelings of guilt consumed me once again. With force, I looked the police officer square in the eye. "Go away. I don't want to be asked any questions of any kind." I swallowed and in the corner of my eyes I could see my mom's eyes grow wide. "But, sweetie!" Her tone was pleading, but I wasn't going to budge on this. Wanting to went on with her speech, she was interrupted by the door opening. Glad to be save for now, I looked up and saw Troy's head peek in and look around. "Am I interrupting something?" he asked, I shook my head and motioned him in.

I didn't know what happened but all of a sudden I felt almost relieved. He walked over to me and sat on my bed. Reaching out to grab his hand in mine, I gave it a tight squeeze to tell him that I was nervous. Ever since first grade, we could tell how the other was feeling without words and at moments like this, it was very important to the both of us. He gave a squeeze back to show me that he understood and suddenly, Troy spoke up. "What going on, Brie?" I just shook my head at him silently, signalling him that I would tell him later. He just nodded his head and looked around at my mom and the officer, not saying a word. Taking the uniform in, I could slowly see the understanding dawning on his face, but still he didn't say anything. I didn't know what to say either, so I just sat there in silence.

My protest and Troy's arrival at the scene obviously had cut my mom off successfully and finally Officer Brian O'Conner stood up and excused himself. "I hope everyone has a good day. I should be leaving now, because I know that I won't get a statement today, but, Gabriella, I will be here soon. I need that statement to put Chuck in jail… or at least to court." At Chuck's name being mentioned, I flinched and Troy seemed to scoot closer to me. So they already knew who was responsible for this. Who had told them? Troy. Of course it must have been Troy, no one else would know. Because except for the three of us, nobody had been in on this. The door opened and closed as O'Connor took his leave and I stared at my mom for what seemed like an eternity. I could tell by her expression that she was upset that I wasn't going to talk about it, but I hoped that she at least had a bit of understanding for me.

And she did, for she stood up and said goodbye only minutes later, guessing that Troy and I needed to talk by the looks that were going on between the two of us. "It's getting late. I should be going now. Troy, thank you so much, I don't know how I would ever repay you." I looked at Troy's direction when I heard the door being softly shut. I knew that Troy would be having a long talk with me by the intense gaze he captured me with. The only question was: What would it be about?

A.N. I hope you leave some comments and some inspiration. right now... I have nothing for the next chapter. so please leave some comments.