A/N: A million thanks to my favorite 21 year old for handling my awful grammar. You're the best, Abby!

I Missed You

Troy threw his keys on the table next to the door, holding the door open for Gabriella as she entered his apartment behind him. She shut the door as Troy walked in, tossing his things down onto the sofa before shrugging off his jacket.

Gabriella let her eyes sweep the small apartment. It wasn't significantly special. The walls were white and not decorated; it was a typical layout with a portion of the main area made into a living room with a black chair and couch framing a TV sitting in the corner. There was a square table with four chairs behind the couch and to the right of the table was a dividing wall with a large portion cut out, allowing Gabriella to see into the kitchen. On the opposite side of the table were three doors: two bedrooms, one bath.

"I don't have any food," Troy said interrupting her observing, "and it's messy, I rarely have people over."

Gabriella looked over at him, "Do you rarely eat?"

Troy smiled, "No, I just eat out a lot. I was…" he paused, "…never the cook."

That was true. Gabriella was the cook, Troy helped, but he always did what she told him to, and he could prepare very few things on his own. She always wondered how he managed two years without her while she was at law school, it must have been a lot of cold pizza. She lifted her eyebrows, "Well, if you'd have listened in foods class in high school like I told you to, you would've learned."

Troy brought his hand up scratching the back of his neck, "Yeah, well, I was eighteen, and I could never focus with you in my classes." Gabriella watched as he pulled his hair up and off of his head, the curly hair that had been sitting atop his head now hanging from the fingers of his left hand as his right hand messed up his actual hair that had been matted underneath. He turned and walked over to one of the three doors, opening the one farthest to the right and flipping on the light.

Gabriella walked forward and leaned against the doorway of the room, taking in this room which she had thought to be a bedroom and was most definitely not. The walls were covered with photographs, newspaper clippings, online printouts, and other various pieces of paper all relating to Anthony Salinas or the Salinas family in some way. There was a desk against the opposite wall with a computer and two monitors and next to it was a bookshelf full of unmarked DVD cases that she was certain were surveillance tapes. Troy was standing in front of a mirror, having deposited the wig into a box, currently taking out his contacts.

She walked in further her arms hanging in front of her, clasped together tightly to hide her nervousness. She moved over to the closed closet door, turned the knob out of curiosity and glanced inside, her eyes widening at the sight of the walls of the closet lined with racks full of various size guns. Guns had never really bothered her, Troy had had a few, and he almost always had one near, either on him or in the car. It came with the territory of being an FBI agent. But never this many.

She meekly closed the door and turned back around to see Troy closing the contact case and stuffing it into the drawer, "So do you want to order pizza or something?"

Gabriella shrugged as he turned to face her, "I don't really care, whatever you want I'm okay with."

Troy raised his eyebrows, "Is there anything you don't want?"

"Hotdogs." Gabriella answered, "Anything but hotdogs."

Troy smiled, "Deal, no hotdogs."

Troy walked out of the room and Gabriella rolled her eyes while releasing a sigh, it was funny how she could be twenty seven, married for almost four years, together for almost ten, have a child together, and still be nervous around each other. It was like high school all over again, except worse because their biggest danger now wasn't who the Wildcats would face in their next game. Her eyes turned over to the closet she had looked inside earlier.

Definitely not high school.

Gabriella walked out of the room and glanced into the living room to see Troy was standing in front of the refrigerator, holding his phone to his ear, already on the phone with whatever he was planning on ordering for dinner. Gabriella began absently walking around the edge of the apartment, glancing into his bathroom and taking in the plain décor, not that it surprised her, the only thing Troy took an interest in decorating was Alex's room and that was just due to the excitement of the baby.

She walked along and came to pause in front of what she assumed was Troy's bedroom. Just like the bathroom, it was plain, dark blue walls with beige carpet, a chest of drawers against one wall, the closet door on the opposite, the bed was the main fixture point, and she wasn't at all surprised to find the bed unmade and clothes strewn on the floor. It didn't look all that used, almost as though it was there for show rather then use. Despite his comment earlier about the trees, it wouldn't surprise her at all if he had slept in the trees a time or two outside of their house. She had always been the heavy sleeper and he was the light one, and she guessed he thought she would sleep through an attack if someone tried to break into the house.

She went to turn away when her eyes fell on a framed photo of her and Alex sitting on the bedside table. It was the same one he kept on his laptop, Gabriella feeding Alex. It was the only picture, hell, it was the only personal touch in the entire apartment. If she hadn't known it was Troy's, she'd have believed it was anyone's.

"They said about fifteen minutes," Gabriella turned around at Troy's voice and found him walking towards her, hitting keys on his phone, "it's this little Chinese place down the street, the food's great."

Gabriella nodded, "I love Chinese, I don't get to have it that often," she glanced down, "Alex, he tried it once…" she released a laugh.

"And he threw it on the floor." Troy finished for her, a smile toying at his lips, "Yeah, he's a pretty picky eater, isn't he?"

Gabriella nodded and rolled her eyes, "Yeah, he must have gotten that from me because you have never been a picky eater." Her brow furrowed, "Weren't…a picky eater." She corrected, "I guess I really don't know anymore."

Gabriella looked down and Troy felt the smile slip off of his face, this was where they were going to go, this was where they needed to go, but it didn't make hearing the pain in her voice easier. "I still am everything I was," Troy told her softly, "I am still me, I am still your husband, and I still love you." He swallowed when Gabriella looked up, "Time hasn't changed anything about that, at least, not on my end."

Gabriella diverted her eyes and looked to the side, processing what he said and what she wanted to say, "I…" Gabriella stopped abruptly when a knock sounded at the door.

Troy groaned, rolling his eyes and letting his shoulders sink a bit, obviously not happy with the interruption, "Hold that train of thought." He told her firmly as he began backing up and he spun around, striding over to the door and pulling it open.

"Hey!" She heard a soft, enthusiastic, female voice greet, her eyes narrowing as Troy forced a smile onto his features.

"Heidi," he breathed out, his tone annoyed, "hi, what can I do for you?"

Gabriella walked over slightly to see who he was talking with and peered past his attempt to shield them with his body, finding a petite blonde standing in the doorway. A hot petite blonde. A very hot petite blonde who was currently smiling at Troy flirtatiously. They obviously knew each other, given by their first name basis, and Gabriella would bet she lived in the apartment complex with him given that she was only dressed in a pair of short black workout shorts and a white camisole, showing off her curvaceous figure, along with her white sports bra that was peeking out from beneath the shirt, unnecessarily increasing her cleavage for a simple workout. Her long blonde hair was pulled back into a ponytail and her tanned skin was flawless, as was her face, makeup professionally hiding any imperfections. Oh brother.

"I was just heading down to the workout room," the blonde said chipperly, "wanna come?"

Troy shook his head, "Can't, I have company."

The blonde's eyebrows rose and she immediately swept the apartment to see if he was lying, stopping on Gabriella, Gabriella feeling extremely insecure under her brown eyes, "Oh," she said excitedly, "is this your sister?" Gabriella's brows lifted as Heidi came barreling towards her. Sister? Really? She and Troy looked absolutely nothing alike, not even a little bit, "I'm Heidi, I live down the hall."

Gabriella looked down at Heidi's hand, "I'm not his sister, Troy and I…"

Heidi tilted her head, "Troy?"

"She means Roger." Gabriella looked over to see Troy arrive next to her and her eyes widened, right, not Troy.

"Of course," Gabriella said quickly, "Troy's his middle name…inside joke…" she added on lamely. "I…am…" Gabriella's eyes moved over to Troy, begging for help on what she should say.

"We work together," Troy finished for her, looking over at Heidi, "and actually we need to stay focused, big case."

Heidi nodded, turning to look at Troy and Gabriella sighed when her gaze was diverted, "Okay, did you wanna go later, because I can wait."

Troy shook his head, "No, but thanks for the offer, I'm pretty busy with work and stuff."

"I know," Heidi agreed, "I haven't seen you around here at all lately, we should have dinner, catch up."

Gabriella looked down, of course, a twenty seven year old attractive male with no visible wife, hot blonde living in his apartment complex with obvious interest. They were those kind of friends.

Troy shook his head, "I'm not entirely sure your boyfriend would be okay with that," he told her firmly, Heidi's face dropping a bit, "and plus I'm seeing someone."

Gabriella's eyes moved up at his last comment and she noticed Heidi glance over in her direction, "Seeing someone?"

Troy nodded, "Yes," he took a step over to the door and pulled it open, "it was great to see you, but we really do need to get back to work."

Heidi looked back over at Gabriella, nodding, "Work, right." She turned and walked back over to the door, she was barely out the door when Troy swung it shut and Gabriella wasn't entirely certain he didn't hit her with it.

Troy turned to face her, "I…" he was cut off by another sharp knock to the door and Gabriella watched his jaw clench, obviously not even a little happy about the interruption. He shook his head, "Heidi, I swear…" he mumbled under his breath as he yanked the door open, sighing in relief when he found the delivery guy standing there.

Gabriella saw him reach for his wallet and she immediately walked over to the table where she had dropped her purse, digging for her wallet, "Here, Tr-Roger…" she corrected herself, lifting out her wallet and preparing to dig for cash, but stopping when she saw Troy hand the guy the money without glancing at her and taking the food.

He turned away, balancing the containers in his hands, nodding his head towards the open door, "Would you shut that?"

Gabriella sighed and set her wallet back in her purse, well, at least there was one thing that would never change about Troy. Gabriella walked over and went to shut the door, glancing out of it to see Heidi standing in an open doorway, one Gabriella guessed was hers, her eyes narrowed suspiciously. Gabriella just looked away, shutting the door quietly before following Troy to the kitchen.

The silence was killing her.

Gabriella had followed Troy to the kitchen, and after grabbing the necessary utensils, plates, and condiments the two had headed into the living room. Gabriella had made a brief call home to tell Sarah and Jack she wouldn't be home until late and to talk to Alex before he went to bed. After listening to the two year old babble for fifteen minutes about any and everything, Gabriella hung up. After that she expected the questions to start, her mind filled with them, but she had instead started eating her dinner and silence had fallen between the two.

And the silence was killing her.

Somewhere along the way, the TV had been turned on, probably by Troy, and both of them were slightly thankful for the distraction, though neither was watching it. Troy was pretending too, but Gabriella knew him enough to know that his mind was spinning despite that his eyes were on the screen. She was picking at the remnants of her food, her nervousness replacing her appetite, leaving a good portion of the food in the carton.

Gabriella stuck her fork down into the center of the carton and slyly moved her eyes off of the screen and over to the person next to her. She was doing it as nonchalantly as she could, her eyes moving slowly, and by the time she reached Troy's face, she found his blue eyes staring back at her. They both diverted them immediately: Troy's going back to the TV and Gabriella looking down at her food.

Troy shut his eyes, shaking his head, "Did we really just do that?"

Gabriella bit her bottom lip, "Yeah." Troy rolled his eyes before reopening them, mentally cursing himself for not having the guts to start the conversation. "How…" Troy's head snapped over at Gabriella's voice and she paused at the beginning, wording her question in her head, "How does this whole second identity work?" she asked, not looking up from her food, "I mean, Roger has the wig and the eyes, but you weren't wearing them and that Heidi girl knew you as Roger."

Troy would tell her any and everything she wanted to know, he was just glad for the break in silence, "Most of the time I take the stuff off in the car, but occasionally I don't and really they just never asked. I think they just assume its part of my job."

Gabriella nodded, taking in his answer, and resumed picking at her food, "Oh."

"Yep." Troy responded, watching her carefully, "Do you have any more questions?" he asked, causing Gabriella's eyes to turn towards him, "I mean, you said you wanted to talk, I'm not holding anything back, I'm not planning on holding anything back, and yet we sit here in silence?"

Gabriella blinked, studying him for a moment, "What happens now?" Troy raised his eyebrows in question, "I mean," she continued, "you said you can't be alive yet, so what happens now, how much longer are you Roger? When can you just be Troy?"

Troy looked to the side; this seemed like the one question he didn't want her to ask, "I don't know," he said softly, "I wish I could put a timestamp on this…"

"On what?" Gabriella interrupted and Troy looked back up as Gabriella turned her body towards him, leaning in slightly, "If what you said to your parents is true, then I'm in this, so what is it?"

Troy blinked several times before shutting his eyes, looking almost in pain, "Gabriella, when I say you're in this, I don't mean you're in this." He reopened his eyes and looked at her, "I don't mind sharing information with you because they're already going to assume you know and it's safer for you to know what's going on around you," he explained, "but don't get these visions in your head that you're going to be out there fighting bad guys," he shook his head, "you're not, I will not allow it."

Gabriella sent him a look, "But you said there were lawyers in this thing you're in, why can't I be one of them?"

"Because you can't." Troy told her, "Because we have Alex to think about…because I don't want what happened to me to happen to you…I could easily think of dozens of reason why."

Gabriella shook her head, "But that's not fair, Troy…we have Alex to think of…we…not just me…"

"I'm not budging on this." Troy told her firmly, "I know we're still fragile with the state of us, but I'm not going to budge because I'd rather have you mad at me than dead."

Both of their voices were rising and the two had scooted forward onto the edge of the couch, caught up in the moment, "I can help," Gabriella argued, "I'm smart, Kevin likes me, we can use that…"

"NO!" Troy yelled causing Gabriella to recoil slightly, "Damnit Gabriella, I said no! You're not a police officer, you're not going to chase down bad guys, or use the fact that Kevin lusts after you, you're a lawyer, you're a mother, you're going to be those things first."

Gabriella stared at Troy for a moment before turning her head forward, sitting in silence as his words lingered in the air. Troy looked down for a moment, unhappy that he let his emotions get the best of him, "I know you just want to help…"

"You can't stop me." Gabriella said defiantly, turning her head to look at Troy, determination etched on her face, "I love you, I respect your opinion, but you can't stop me."

Gabriella stood up immediately and began walking towards the front door, grabbing her purse along the way. Troy was right behind her. "No, Gabriella, you cannot do this," his tone was almost pleading as Gabriella grabbed the doorknob and yanked open the door, Troy slamming his hand up against it to force it shut again, "you have to promise me, you have to swear on our child you won't do this."

"I can't and I won't," Gabriella said as she pulled on the door, feeling tears brimming her eyes, "let me out."

"No," Troy said in a determined voice, "you wanna play the strength game? You wanna see who's stronger of the two of us? Because I guarantee it's you." Gabriella shook her head, "I cannot lose you the way you lost me, if anything ever happened to you or Alex I could not live with myself, so please, please…"

Gabriella stopped pulling on the door and turned to face Troy, "I am more capable then everyone gives me credit for," she defended. "I lived for a year and a half without the love of my life, my husband, my son's father, that is ten times worse then any sort of torture or violence that could ever be inflicted upon me, and I will do everything to make sure I don't have to face it again."

"I am not saying you're not capable," Troy argued, "but I will never willingly subject you to what I subject myself to, this is my problem, my fault."

Gabriella wasn't breaking eye contact, "My name is Gabriella Bolton, I took your name with the understanding that we were partners, win or lose we are in this together, you are my husband, I am your wife, my problems are yours and vice versa."

Troy shook his head continuously, "No, no I can't," he placed his body in front of the door as Gabriella tried to open it again, "I just…I can't Gabriella…no."

Gabriella was at her breaking point.

She let out a yell of frustration as she turned and stormed away, her back to him, and Troy could practically feel the anger radiating off of her. She stopped suddenly and turned to face him, "You can't keep me here like some prisoner." Gabriella stormed back up to him, purposely placing herself in his face, "I have a job, we have a son, we can't just leave him with your parents."

"You're not a prisoner, Gabriella," Troy told her, "I'm stopping you from doing something you'll regret, it's for your own…" Troy was cut off as Gabriella's hand came into contact with his cheek, sending his head to the side. It didn't really shock him, he was just caught off guard by the timing of the slap, however, he was caught more off guard when he turned his head back and suddenly found his lips occupied with Gabriella's.

He was frozen in place, steeling himself for whatever was to come. He expected Gabriella to pull back and start slapping him across the face again, unleashing her anger, resentment, betrayal, and every other emotion he had forced her to feel. He expected her to seriously injure him, because she knew how to throw a punch, she knew how to hurt, and he would not stop her, he would not defend himself, he knew he deserved it, but he would not let her out to track down Kevin. But she didn't hit him. She didn't pull away. Instead she surprised him even further by deepening the kiss, his mouth opening in response, and Gabriella gripped the back of his head with her hand.

It was a trick. That was what his brain told him, it was a trick to lure him away from the door so she could sneak out and he'd be too stunned to stop her. That had to be it. She couldn't just be kissing him. Sure, the previous night they had exchanged some sweet kisses, but he had just forbade her from leaving his apartment and told her she was basically trapped here until further notice. That wasn't worthy of kissing. But his body was rebelling against his brain. His body had missed her, had missed holding her, kissing her, touching her, and his body was the one winning the internal battle at the moment.

Her kisses were hungry and he matched her pace, his head tilting to the side to allow her better access to his mouth. Her hands detached from the back of his head, where they had intertwined with his chestnut hair, and wandered down his back, feeling the muscles of his torso clench and unclench through his work shirt at the slightest touch of her hand. Eventually they made it around to the front, running up to his tie and beginning to loosen the knot. His brain was sending out warning bells, telling him that this was not like Gabriella, telling him that right now they should be talking or yelling, not making out, warning him that this might ruin things.

But Troy had never been one for listening to his brain.

His hands moved down over the edge of her pants, his fingertips just barely grazing the top of her backside, testing the waters to see if Gabriella would flip out, pull back, and state that this was a mistake. But she didn't, quite the opposite, actually. Gabriella tossed the undone tie to the floor and brought her hands up to his shoulders, gripping tightly as she jumped up and wrapped her legs around his waist, not once breaking the intense kiss she had Troy locked in. His hands scooted down quickly to capture her thighs and hold her in place. Gabriella wrapped her arms tightly around his head, her lips pressed up against his in an almost bruising manner, showing no signs of anger, resentment, or even the sadness that had been mixed in all of her emotions since Troy had 'died'. Her kisses were filled with pure lust and hunger, one solitary goal on her mind, and Troy was not about to fight it.

He wasn't sure if he made the conscious decision to start moving or if his legs did it of their own admission, but before he realized it he was heading towards his rarely used bedroom, Gabriella's legs still firmly wrapped around his waist, and the two still locked in a steamy kiss. Eventually air was needed, and the kiss was broken, but just long enough for Troy to suck in a little air and reattach to Gabriella's neck, her hands moving from around his neck to the buttons of his shirt.

"I thought you were mad at me?" Troy mumbled against her skin as his kisses trailed down the smooth skin of her neck. They reached the bed and Troy lowered her onto it, taking position above her and continuing his exploration of her skin.

"I am." Troy didn't really have a chance to contemplate her response before she gripped his arms and flipped him over onto his back. Troy's eyes widened instinctively, and he momentarily paused as Gabriella reconnected her lips with his in a searing kiss, her fingers still fumbling with his buttons, "I am very," kiss, "very," kiss, "pissed with you."

She managed to undo his shirt completely and she opened it to reveal his white wife beater underneath, Troy assisting her in removing it from his arms, "Funny way of showing it." He mumbled under his breath, but loud enough so Gabriella heard.

Once his shirt hit the floor Gabriella pressed her palm to the center of his chest and forced him back onto the mattress, staring down at him with determination written all over her face, "I am your wife, you do not own me," she said firmly, Troy watching her, unsure of how to react, "you cannot tell me what and what not to do, and the fact that you think you can pisses me off. A lot." Even in the darkness of the room he saw her face soften, "But I missed you."

Troy felt her words tug at his heart, "Baby, I…"

Troy had begun to push up, but Gabriella forced him back down, the tender moment gone, "But trust me," she started, her face determined again, "I am still very mad at you."

Troy narrowed his eyes up at her. He could give in. Gabriella and Troy had a tendency to argue, never huge arguments and never resulting in bad feelings towards the other. For example, when they were designing Alex's nursery, Gabriella wanted a variety of colors, having heard that bright colors help newborns, Troy wanted the two B's: blue and basketball. They argued for weeks and weeks, both tried to show the other their side, and the only reason it had been resolved was because Troy came home to find Gabriella already three quarters done with painting the room. It was what they did. They fought over stupid things and one would deceive the other one in order to end the argument. That was who they were. Two hardheaded people unwilling to negotiate. And Troy would not be Troy if he gave in.

Troy lifted his hand and he grabbed her wrist, moving it off of his chest and pushing up, keeping his eyes locked on her, "You are the smartest woman I know; you're the smartest person I know," Gabriella's brows knitted together slightly, obviously confused, "I'd support you in any and everything you wanted to do in life because I know you and you have an uncanny ability of being right."

Gabriella nodded, "I know, I…"

"But you're wrong here." Troy interrupted her, "And if you thought about it logically, you'd realize that."

"I am thinking about it logically," Gabriella told him, "and I am right, and I won't give up."

Troy studied her, lifting his chin slightly, obviously unhappy with her response, "And I won't give up stopping you."

Gabriella quirked an eyebrow, "Game on, Agent Bolton."

Troy sent her a look, "That's a little formal for someone on top of me."

"Oh," Gabriella said, "do all the girls that straddle you get that privilege?"

Troy pursed his lips, obviously not happy with her insinuation, "I spent the past year and a half making sure no one harmed you or Alex, I didn't have the chance to do anything else but that."

Gabriella raised her eyebrows, "Not even the hot blonde that lives down the hall?"

Troy shrugged, "I prefer brunettes."

Gabriella nodded, "Good, then you're just as horny as I am."

Troy sucked in a quick breath just before Gabriella closed her lips over his, and he completely gave up on trying to listen to his brain, bringing his hands up, one snaking under her top and the other weaving through her hair. Gabriella was pushing up the wife beater as she attacked his lips, making it blatantly obvious that she wasn't interested in going slow. He pushed up her shirt and ran his rough fingers across her smooth skin, Gabriella sucking in instinctively as his hand swept across her stomach.

Gabriella was first to pull Troy's shirt over his head, but hers followed soon after, the two pieces of cloth making no noise as they fell to the carpet. Gabriella went to reconnect their lips but was taken off guard as Troy gripped her waist and pinned her back on her back, seizing her lips as he took his position above her. Neither seemed willing to take their time, Gabriella moving her hands down his chiseled torso, her fingertips tracing the defined muscles that had only gotten better with time, while he moved his hands down to her belt, undoing it effortlessly.

The temperature of the room already seemed to have risen multiple degrees in the minute they had occupied it, and oxygen was getting more and more difficult to come by, obvious by the labored breathing of the two. Troy detached his lips from hers and moved them to the side of her neck, Gabriella tilting her head to allow him better access as he ventured down along the strap of the white lacy bra she had picked out that morning. Normally, Gabriella grabbed whatever underwear was in the top of the drawer, not at all caring whether it matched or looked sexy, the prospect of anyone seeing it not a possibility. However, her choice of outfit required her bra and underwear to be either white or nude, and her plain nude ones had been dirty. Thank heavens for small miracles.

Troy managed to undo Gabriella's pants and she helped him push them down, her hands going to his belt once the white fabric hit the carpet. Troy buried his head back into the crook of her neck as Gabriella focused on unzipping his pants, trying to stay focused as Troy pushed the strap off of her shoulder and kissed the place where it had been. She pushed his pants down to his thighs, Troy picking up where she left off kicked the pants off the rest of the way as Gabriella seized either side of his face, connecting their lips in a searing kiss. Troy's erection was blatantly obvious through the thin cotton of the boxers he was wearing, and Gabriella was feeling the tug in her lower abdomen, that she hadn't felt for what seemed like decades since she and Troy had last been in this situation, rise in anticipation.

Gabriella moaned into his mouth when she felt his hand slip beneath the lace of her bra, her eyes squeezed shut as the pleasure his caresses stimulated, bolted through her body. His fingers worked like magic as they cupped her mound of flesh, his thumb teasing her pebbled nipple, and she threw back her head when she felt his mouth descend on her other breast. "Troy…" Gabriella moaned out as she brought her hands up, weaving them through Troy's chestnut locks. She whimpered when he removed his hand, moving it down to remove the bra that had been pushed down to her stomach, before switching sides, his hand caressing one while his mouth pleasured the other.

If there was any doubt about his want for her before, there was no denying it now. Gabriella felt a hard pressure rub against her thigh, still bound by its cotton cage, begging to be freed, something Gabriella intended on doing. His head had moved more south, laying slopping kisses along her stomach, his hands already teasing her core as they danced along the white cotton of her panties. Gabriella reached down and gripped his arm, his lips detaching from her as he looked up, dark blue meeting almost black before she pulled his head to hers, her arms wrapping tightly around his neck while their lips smashed up against one another's, Troy thrusting his tongue into her mouth as she tightened her legs around his torso.

There were no other sounds present besides the two of them. Even if other sounds existed in or outside of the apartment, neither member of the couple would have noticed, they were too wrapped up in one another to notice anything outside of the panting, groaning, and moaning produced by their partner. Troy was the first one to take the next step, his hand trailing down her stomach to the hem of her panties, pulling them down once she freed his torso, allowing the soaked material to be tossed to the side.

Gabriella inhaled sharply when she felt a finger slip inside of her, the strange feeling of a foreign object entering her body overcoming her instinctively, but faded just as quickly as it appeared when the finger pulled back slightly, a surge of desire shooting through her veins just before it pumped back into her. Troy's head was resting in the crook of her neck, and Gabriella arched her back in response to the pleasure, not at all helping the person on top of her, "Baby, if you don't…" Troy whispered out, his voice strained, "…fuck…I'm gonna…"

Gabriella seemed to come back to her senses long enough to realize that Troy was still clad in his boxers, the only clothing left between them, boxers that were most likely extremely painful for him to be dressed in at this point. Gabriella didn't hesitate in reaching down and pushing down the material, his erection practically popping out as he kicked them onto the ground. Troy slammed his lips back up against hers, fusing them together to the point where it was difficult to determine where Troy ended and Gabriella began. Gabriella parted her legs further in anticipation, and a moment barely passed before Troy pushed himself inside of her.

Gabriella gasped, her eyes opening when she felt him slid into place, the pure pleasure that exploded all over her body at the connection being almost more then she could handle. Troy didn't move, remaining frozen in his place long enough for Gabriella to be pulled out of her daze just in time to feel Troy rest his forehead up against hers, noticing, for the first time, the sweat that was peppering their skin. "You okay?"

Gabriella could've smiled. How Troy always managed to put her needs before his own was astonishing to her, even when he was inside her after a year and a half of no sex; if it was painful, if it was too much for her, she knew he'd stop. And that made her want to proceed even more. Gabriella nodded her head, "Amazing."

Troy smiled and released a small laugh before pressing his lips to hers, this time in a much softer kiss, as he began to move his hips against hers, Gabriella matching each of his thrusts effortlessly, just the way they used to. His forearms were resting against the mattress, his hands balled into fists, as they supported his weight from crushing Gabriella whilst giving him the perfect angle to help Gabriella reach her climax. Gabriella responded by lifting her hips off of the mattress, producing grunts and groans from either person.

Troy was approaching his peak quickly, his pace increasing rapidly, causing both of them to breathe raggedly. "I love you." His soft words came out in pants, and between the groans, grunts, and moans, Gabriella almost wasn't sure she heard it, but she did, confirmed by the second she met his eyes and saw the love shining through the lust.

"I love you too." It was soft, but loud enough for him to hear.

An explosion of neurons fired in her brain as she felt Troy drive into her hard and fast one last time, pausing as he orgasmed, a shaky groan escaping his lips, "Oh…fuck…" Gabriella was too out of it to process his words, the amazing explosion still radiating inside of her as she felt the pressure of Troy's release inside of her, sending her tumbling over the edge, his name spilling from her lips.

Neither one moved. Troy didn't lift himself off of her, and Gabriella didn't try and push him off. They remained joined together, Troy's soft member still inside of her, Troy's cheek flushed up against her own cheek, his arms still supporting him, but just barely, as the two of them fought to catch their breath. Troy released a breath and Gabriella let her eyes flutter open, blinking out of the daze she had just been in, "Whoa."

Troy released a laugh, a bright smile working its way onto his features as he pulled back, looking down at her, "Whoa is right." Gabriella felt Troy push up and out of her, rolling onto his back next to her, his breathing still labored slightly, looking over when he felt a tug on his hand, realizing his and Gabriella's were locked, nail marks staining his skin from where she had dug them in during her orgasm. He lifted up their hands and kissed the back of hers, "I missed you."

Gabriella turned her head, staring over at Troy. Despite that they were in bed naked together and that they had just had sex, he wasn't talking about the sex, although she was sure he had missed that, she had missed it too, it was the underlying tone of having just missed her, and she felt the exact same way. She pushed her body over and wrapped her arm around his torso, snuggling her head into his chest, shutting her eyes with contentment, "I missed you too."

It was quiet, it was dark. The city was still sleeping with only the occasional car zipping by the quiet street that lay in front of Troy's apartment complex. He had been waking up for a while, or trying to at least, the exhaustion from the previous year and a half seeming to catch up with him all at once, his mind finally allowing him to sleep because of the person lying encased in his protective arms.

She was awake, had been since he had first become acclimated with his surroundings. Not that he was surprised. It hadn't taken long for Gabriella to drift off to sleep the previous night, and Troy probably stayed up for close to two hours just watching her sleep. Watching as she dreamed, smiled, mumbled incoherent words, just like he used to, never really realizing how much he had truly missed it. He had been woken when the bed had shifted, his half-asleep mind fearing that Gabriella was leaving, but relief washedover him when he felt her get back into the bed and snuggle back into his arms. At first she tried to go back to sleep, then she relented in taking in the various aspects of the bedroom, before finally turning her attention to Troy and watching him like he had watched her.

It took her…maybe fifteen seconds before her felt her gentle fingers rest on his shoulder, and he knew without opening his eyes what she was caressing. The scarring was fading, and with the amount of sun he got living in LA, it was almost unnoticeable, the sun's rays having tanned it to the perfect shade along with the rest of his torso. But it was still there, and it would always be there, serving as a reminder to what tore him away from his wife and child.

Troy blinked open his eyes, letting them adjust to the darkness, scanning until they fell on the brunette resting right next to him. The sheet was pulled up to cover them, resting around Troy's waist and over Gabriella's chest, her hair had somehow been freed from the half ponytail it had been tied up in earlier, her curls flowing freely down to the mattress, revealing the silky skin of her shoulder while she propped herself up on her other elbow. Her chocolate eyes were focused on his shoulder where her finger was still caressing, and she had a determined look on her face.

"No matter how much you rub it," Troy said in a soft voice, Gabriella's eyes shooting to his, "it won't go away." Troy raised his eyebrows, "Trust me, I tried."

Gabriella blinked a few times before looking down, "Sorry, I didn't mean to wake you."

Troy shook his head, "No big deal."

Gabriella nodded her head, "Did it hurt?"

Troy nodded, "Initially, yes, but once I passed out I was pretty out of it for about a month." Troy lifted his arm and motioned to his shoulder, "But that one wasn't as bad as this one." Gabriella watched as he moved his hand down to the sheet and pushed it down a bit to reveal a similar scar to the one on his shoulder. Gabriella pushed up slightly and brought her hand down, running her tender fingers over the uneven skin, "It nicked my stomach, and they explained what they did to fix it, but it all went in one ear and out the other, I was just glad to be alive."

Gabriella nodded her head, not making eye contact, as she leaned back down on the bed and immediately snuggled into his side, wrapping her arms around his torso and hugging him as tightly as she could manage. "I always knew you'd get shot."

Troy wrapped his arms around her slender frame and pulled back to look at her, but she was focused on something else, "What?"

"With your job," Gabriella responded, "I always knew you'd get shot. I was waiting for the day when I would get that phone call from Chad saying 'he was shot, the doctors had to operate on him for seventeen hours to remove the bullet but he's stable and he got the bastard'," Troy had to smile at her imitation of Chad's voice, "I mean, I wanted to be positive and think nothing would ever happen to you, but I had to be realistic." Her face became pained as she continued, "I just…I never thought you'd…die. The thought honestly never entered my mind until Chad told me at the hospital."

"And I didn't," Troy brought his hand up, lifting her chin to meet his eyes before sweeping a strand of her hair behind her ear, "I know it seems like I did for a while, but I didn't, and I was there, watching, as soon as my body was healed enough to take it."

Gabriella nodded, "I know, and I do…I-I forgive you." She swallowed, "And I know I said that I did earlier, but this time I do mean it, under one circumstance."

Troy lifted his eyebrows; conditional forgiveness wasn't quite what he had in mind, "If this is your way to get me to let you go after Kevin…"

Gabriella shook her head, interrupting him, "No, although that is still something that needs to be discussed," she sent him a pointed look, "I…" Gabriella trailed off and Troy ran his hand up and down her bare back in encouragement, "I want you to promise me something."

"Anything." Troy said without a moment's hesitation.

"I want…" Gabriella sucked in a deep breath, "I need you to promise me that you'll let me die first." Troy quirked an eyebrow at her statement, "I mean in sixty or seventy years when the time comes for you to go towards that light, you'll let me know so that I can do it first." Troy released a small laugh at her statement but Gabriella's features remained serious, "I'm not joking, Troy, I lived through this once, and I don't think I could do it again, even if it was in sixty years."

Troy had a lazy smile on his face as he stared down at her looking up at him and waiting for an answer, "How about this?" he started, "When we're old…and Alex and any other kids we have are grown up with their own husbands, wives, and children…and the time comes for us to kick the bucket," the corners of Gabriella's mouth tugged up, "I'll make sure big guns upstairs knows we're to be taken together or not at all."

Gabriella smiled widely before hugging his torso tightly again, her head resting against his chest, "As long as I don't have to live without you again."

Troy shut his eyes and inhaled deeply before placing a soft kiss on top of her head, "That had to be the best I'd slept in over a year." Gabriella nodded her head in agreement, but remained silent, "I used to have nightmares about terrible things happening to you and Alex when I wasn't at the house, so there were many nights when I'd just sit in our room and stare at you. Listening for the faintest creak or footstep or any sign that everything was blown and you two were in danger." His eyes were looking out the window on the wall behind Gabriella, but they weren't really focused, as if he was reliving a bad memory, "Some nights I paced, others I just watched. There were multiple nights where I'd lay on what used to be my side of the bed and watch you…but just watch you…that night you lost your wedding ring was the first time I had touched you since I left."

Gabriella felt Troy suck in a deep breath and pull back, looking up at him as his eyes went to the white bandage still covering the side of her neck, Gabriella having had forgotten about it. His hand detached from its position on her back and up to the sore spot, "How are you?" he asked, caressing her neck, "And I mean really, don't give me this bullshit you gave Lexi just so you could return to work, how are you?"

"Fine." Gabriella told him, "I really am, I mean, it was bad, and I'd never want to go through that again, but at that point I was beginning to think I was crazy."

Troy cupped her cheek, pushing some hair off of her face, "I'm sorry I did it like that, it wasn't the way I wanted to do it, I expected years to pass before you would start digging into my case, because I know if the positions were reversed, it'd take me a long time before I could investigate yours." He looked to the side and shrugged, "But I suppose I should have known, you were always stronger then I was."

Gabriella shook her head, "No I wasn't." Her hand was resting on Troy's chest and Troy brought his hand up to intertwine their fingers, "After…everything happened…I couldn't look at Alex for days. Your mom, my mom, your dad, Taylor, all of them had to take care of him because it was just so hard for me to look at him." She swallowed, "And then every day he aged, he looked more and more like you, and I kept thinking to myself 'how are you going to take this when he grows up to look just like Troy?', and it just…I wasn't sure if I could've…"

"You could've," Troy inserted, "you're an amazing mother, Alex adores you."

Gabriella felt the corners of her mouth tug upwards, "That's because I'm the keeper of all his toys."

Troy smiled and nodded, "Perhaps, but it's also because you're his mother and he loves you."

Gabriella tilted her head, "He loves you too, you know."

Troy shook his head, "He doesn't know who I am…"

"But he will," Gabriella told him, "and when he does, his daddy will be his favorite person in the whole wide world."

Troy's brow furrowed slightly, "You don't think he'll resent me, do you? Like somewhere along the line when he's sixteen or eighteen and I tell him not to do something he'll throw back in my face, 'yeah, well, you abandoned me and mom…blah blah blah'…"

Gabriella giggled slightly, "Troy, he's twenty two months old, come next year I don't even think he's going to remember this."

Troy turned his head and looked up at the ceiling, sighing, "I hope not, I don't think I could take it if he hated me."

"He'll hate you," Gabriella told him, "me too, it's called being a teenager." Gabriella pulled out of his embrace and sat up, clutching the sheet to her chest as she gazed over the side of the bed, "And so will any other children we have, it's just the nature of growing up."

Troy watched as she retrieved his shirt from the floor and pulled it on, "I never hated my parents, I mean, me and my dad had our fights, but I never hated him, and especially not my mom." Troy watched as she began gathering her discarded clothing from the night before, "There's some clean clothes in the top drawer." Gabriella stopped and turned to look at Troy, sending him a curious look, "Don't ask."

Gabriella smiled as she set the clothes on the bed and opened the top drawer, "Yeah, well, did you ever think that maybe you weren't a typical teenager?" Gabriella pulled out some underwear and pulled them on quickly before pulling on a pair of Troy's navy blue workout shorts, "Not many teenagers are the most athletic, popular, good-looking, smartest, and nicest at school, most aren't even two of those things, so considering you had all of them definitely makes you abnormal." Gabriella dropped Troy's shirt onto the ground with her back facing him and pulled on a bra she had pulled from the drawer, "Or at least not typical."

Troy pushed up in bed, leaning back on his arms, "I think there was a compliment in there somewhere."

Gabriella pulled one of Troy's t-shirts over her head before turning to face him, "There was." Gabriella knelt back down on the mattress, bringing her face inches from his, "I have to go, Alex will be waking up soon and I have to get ready for work."

Gabriella pecked him on the lips briefly and Troy smiled, "Is it okay if I come by after work?"

"Of course, Troy," Gabriella told him, "it's your house too, your son, your parents, all of which are anxious to spend time with you."

Troy sent her a confused look, "My house is anxious to spend time with me?"

Gabriella sent him a playful glare as she pulled back, "And maybe," Gabriella started as she picked up her clothes and held them in her arms, "you could stay at the house tonight…if you wanted too?"

Troy smiled, "Deal." He told her, and Gabriella bit her lip, restraining the smile on her face that formed on her face, "And I actually meant you had clothes in the drawers." He said eyeing his clothes she was wearing.

Gabriella nodded, "I know." She waved over her shoulder, "Bye." She strode out of the bedroom, picking up her purse before she pulled his door open and stepped outside, a wide smile on her features, matching the smile on Troy's.