Finally, Ava's birthday arrived. Troy had arranged a little party for her. Ava was dressed in a pretty, sparkly, purple dress that Gabriella. Troy had blown up a couple of balloons.

Zeke was the first one to arrive with Sharpay and Ryan. He had baked a cake for Ava in the shape of the number one. Sharpay and Ryan had brought a huge pink teddy bear for Ava.

Taylor and Chad came next. They had brought a small basketball for Ava. Obviously, it was Chad's idea.

Kelsi and Jason were the last ones to arrive. They had bought a small, toy piano for Ava.

Ava was scared to see so many people at once and was in the place the she thought was the safest – wrapped in Troy's strong arms. She stared at everyone with her big brown eyes.

"So, shall we cut the cake, now?" Gabriella asked.

"Yeah," Troy agreed, setting Ava on the floor. "I'll go and get the camera."

Gabriella knelt down next to Ava and gave her a kiss, as Troy started to walk away.

"Da-da," Ava said. Everyone froze as Troy slowly turned around. It was the first time Ava had tried to say anything like that since Troy had been in the hospital. Everyone stared at Ava and then at Gabriella and their stares ended at Troy.

"Da," Ava said, again, and then she paused before she said. "Dy." She raised her arms at Troy.

Troy knelt down beside Ava and Gabriella. His eyes were shining with tears of happiness. Ava took a deep breath.

"Daddy," she said.

That was about all Troy could take. A tear rolled down his cheek as he wrapped his arms around Ava in a hug. Everyone stared at Troy and Ava in surprise. They were staring at Ava because she had just said 'daddy' to Troy. They were staring at Troy because it was the first time any of them had seen him cry. Chad grabbed the camera and started snapping pictures.

"Thank you," Troy whispered to Gabriella.

"I did not do anything," Gabriella said, holding up her hands. "It was all her."

"Oh, well is there any chance that I can adopt her someday?" Troy asked Gabriella.

"Well, James will always be her birthfather, but, that doesn't mean that Ava can't choose the person who she wants to be her father. And, she chose you, Troy," Gabriella said. "Of course, you can adopt her."

"Thank you," Troy smiled. "I love you, Gabriella."

"I love you, too, Troy," Gabriella smiled, as Ava pulled herself away from Troy.

"And, this is for you, Gabi," Troy said. He took off his class ring and slipped it onto Gabriella's finger.

"Your class ring?" Gabriella breathed.

"Dude, you gave her your class ring?" Chad said, surprised.

"Yeah, I did, Chad," Troy smiled. "And, you know exactly what that means."

"Yeah," Chad said, softly.

"Uh…guys, exactly what does that mean?" Jason asked.

"Troy told me that the girl who gets his class ring will be the girl that he intends to spend the rest of his life with," Chad explained, to everyone.

"What?" Gabriella looked at Troy in surprise. "I want to spend the rest of my life with you."

"Thank you," Gabriella smiled.

Troy shrugged and leaned in and kissed Gabriella as all the other girls sighed.

"Looks like Troy has finally found his true love," Chad told everyone else.

All of a sudden, neither Gabriella nor Troy could wait until everyone left. Unfortunately for them, their friends did not leave quickly. They waited to help Troy and Gabriella clean up. Ava had gone to sleep a while before they left – which was about midnight. Jack and Karen had also gone to bed.

"Hey, Gabi," Troy said. "Does Ava wake up at night?"

"No," Gabriella replied. "And, I love her for that."

Troy chuckled. "So, it wouldn't matter if you did not sleep in the same room as her?"

"No, I guess not," Gabriella shrugged.

"Then, how would you like to spend the night in my room?" Troy asked.

"I don't know, Troy," Gabriella said, slowly. She was having second thoughts.

"It's alright if you don't," Troy said, realizing that he might have made Gabriella uncomfortable.

Gabriella did not answer. Instead, she just walked into her room. Troy sighed. How stupid could he have been? Now, things would be awkward between him and Gabriella. Troy slowly walked into his room. He turned on the light and sat by his desk, staring at Gabriella's framed picture.

"Troy," a soft voice called. Troy turned around and saw Gabriella standing in the doorway. She was smiling at him. "I love you."

"I love you, too, Gabi," Troy said as he jumped up and walked over to her.

"I'm sorry for the way I acted earlier," Gabriella said, softly.

"It's okay," Troy said. "I shouldn't be pushing you into doing things that you don't want to do."

"That's just it, Troy," Gabriella sighed. "I want to do this with you, but, I just can't."

"Why?" Troy asked. Then he instantly regretted asking the question. He knew the reason. The last time Gabriella had slept with someone, she had gotten hurt, and obviously she did not want to get hurt again.

Gabriella looked up at Troy. There was a hint of angriness and hurt in her eyes. "I can't believe you just asked me that," she whispered before she turned to run out of the room.

"No, Gabi, wait," Troy called after her.

Troy ran out into the hallway and grabbed Gabriella's arms right before she opened the door to her room. Gabriella stopped and turned around slowly. She did not trust herself to look at Troy because she might start crying, when she looked into the blue eyes.

"I'm sorry, Gabi," Troy whispered. "I was stupid to ask you that when I knew the answer. It won't happen again. Trust me."

Gabriella nodded. "I'll always trust you, Troy," she whispered before she leant against Troy's strong chest.

"Just remember, Gabi," Troy said. "I would never hurt you. And I won't let anyone else hurt you either."

"Thank you," Gabriella said, softly.

"You don't have to do this, okay?" Troy said. "I mean if you are not sure about it."

"I'm sure, Troy," Gabriella whispered.

"You are?" Troy asked in surprise.

"Yeah, I am," Gabriella giggled. "You seem surprised."

"I am," Troy grinned.

"Well, then, don't be surprised," Gabriella smiled. "You're in for a very rough night. No time to be surprised."

Troy laughed as Gabriella pulled him into his room. Troy switched on his CD player. "Kiss the girl" from The Little Mermaid was playing.

"It's our song," Troy smiled at Gabriella. "It was playing when we first kissed each other, remember?"

"How could I forget?" Gabriella asked. "That was one of the best nights of my life."

"Mine, too," Troy said.

He stepped closer to Gabriella and started kissing her neck. Gabriella wrapped her hands around Troy's neck as his lips found hers. A second later, their tongues were at war with each other. Gabriella's fingers were running through Troy's hair while his hands were running down her back.

Gabriella reached up and started to undo the buttons on Troy's shirt. She seemed in a hurry. Troy smiled to see Gabriella's eagerness and started doing the same to her blouse. Their lips did not part for a minute. They only stepped away from each other long enough for their shirts to slip off them. Then, they started kissing each other, again. Their bodies fit perfectly together. Gabriella giggled as Troy fell back onto his bed pulling her on top of him. That night, they made love to each other.