Disclaimer: It's probably obvious, but I don't own any of the HSM characters or their related elements.

Written December 7, 2006

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Chapter 9 – The Phone Calls

Lying on the bed together, I cuddled into Troy's side as he picked the cordless phone up off the nightstand. I'd told him about the article in Poptech, and we'd decided to call as many close friends and relatives as we could… before they called us.

He dialed his parents' number in Albuquerque and raised his eyebrows at me playfully. I turned over and rested my head on his stomach, shooting a teasing look back.

"It's ringing," he whispered, grinning.

"Oooh," I said, rolling my eyes cheerfully. "I hope you're caller number nine."

He grimaced suddenly. "I hope I'm not the ninth person to call—oh, hi Mom."

I grinned as his face turned serious. He was always really polite when he talked to his parents—which was always really cute. Letting him talk, I saw the little bunny on the bedside table and picked it up, making it walk up his stomach and over his chest. He shook his head and smiled at me, putting a gentle hand over the stuffed animal while he kept up the conversation with his mother.

"Yeah, Mom, I'm doing well," he said. "No, nothing's wrong. Just got back from Seattle on business, but that was a couple days ago. No, I just called to say hi, see how you are. Is Dad there?" A mischievous look flashed across his face. "Oh that's great. Get him to pick up the extension, would you? Gabi's got something to tell you. Here."

I rolled back suddenly, but he had already pushed the phone into my hand. I covered the receiver and hissed at him. "Troy…."

He gave me a mock stern look, hugging me around the waist and resting his head on my stomach. "Gabriella, it's rude to keep people waiting."

"You should tell them…" But Joanne was talking through the phone already. Sighing, I put the receiver to my ear. "Hi, Joanne."

"Hello Gabriella!" Her voice was cheerful but direct. "Troy tells me you have something to tell us, dear. What is it?"

"Well…" I looked at Troy and he grinned back at me. Smiling, I ruffled my fingers through his hair. "Well… I went to the doctor today. And… I found out that I'm going to have a baby."

I heard two sharp intakes of breath on the other end of the phone. "You mean…"

"Yeah." I let out a laugh, and felt Troy kiss my stomach. "You're going to be grandparents, guys."

"Oh my God. Oh my God!" Joanne shouted, and I heard Jack laugh. "My God. That is absolutely wonderful, Gabriella," he said. "Congratulations. To the both of you."

"Thanks, Jack. We're really excited." I smiled at Troy. "I should probably let you speak to your son though. I think you've all got a lot to talk about."

I pushed the phone back into Troy's hand and he answered, still pressed firmly against my body. "Hi Mom, Dad." He laughed sheepishly. "Yeah, it is kind of a surprise. But it's good. I'm happy. We're both happy." He ran his fingers along my stomach absently, then kissed it again. "Yeah. I know. We haven't really decided about the wedding yet…. Oh okay. Hang on."

He put his hand over the receiver and shot me a look of confusion. "Gabi, your mom just showed up at the door. Do you…?"

Oh, dear sweet Lord. I let out a breath. "Yeah. Tell them to put her on."

He handed me the phone and I heard my mom's familiar voice. "Gabi? Is that you? What a coincidence!" Her voice dropped. "I didn't spot the magazine in the mailbox, so I rang the doorbell. I'm still looking around."

"It's okay, Mom," I said. "You can drop the covert ops now. We told them already."

"Oh, you did?"

"Yeah. I found out for sure today." Suddenly I couldn't stop smiling. "I'm pregnant, Mom. You're going to be a grandma."

There was a stunned silence. "I am?" she finally squeaked out.

"You are."

And then suddenly, she burst into tears.

"Gabi, I'm so happy. Baby, you are the light of my life and I know this baby is going to be the light of yours. Oh… and you and Troy are going to have the most beautiful baby, Gabi… I can't wait to meet him or her and spoil them like crazy…"

And then she started to bawl and I couldn't understand anything she was saying. I gave Troy a bewildered look, then suddenly heard Joanne come onto the line. "Gabi, hi. It's Joanne. I think… we're going to settle your mother down then call you right back. Okay?"

"Okay," I said. "Tell her I love her. I'll talk to you soon."

"Sure thing, sweetie. It'll be just a minute."

I put the phone down and Troy looked at me in shock. "What—"

"They're going to call us back. I just told Mom, and she started crying." I shrugged. "She started talking about how happy she was, and how our baby was going to be so beautiful, and then I couldn't understand her at all. Your mom said they'd 'settle her down.'"

"Oh." He laughed softly, his cheek on my stomach still. "Your mom. She's funny."

"Yeah." I rolled my eyes. "I know."

"She's right about one thing, though." He moved up so his face was next to mine, wrapping me up into a real hug. "Your baby is going to be beautiful."

I laughed, blushing suddenly. "It's your baby too."

"It's our baby," he said, kissing me gently on the mouth. "Ours."

Then he looked at me with those blue eyes for a moment, and I could see they were shining softly. And then suddenly, I felt him start to kiss down my neck, tracing a path to my collarbone in the deep V of my sweater. "I love you," he said quietly, resting his head against my heart. "I love you so much, Gabi. I don't even know how to show the half of it."

He hugged my waist tightly, and I swallowed the tears suddenly rising in the back of my throat. "I love you too, Troy," I said, touching his head again, curling my fingers into his hair. "I really do."

He kissed my heart, pressing close. "I'm lucky," he said softly. "I really mean it. I love that I get to have a baby with you. I love that my child is going to be your child too."

And then I couldn't stop the tears sliding down my face.

But he moved up beside me and wiped the tears away with his hand. And then he leaned in and kissed me, long and sweet. Smiling, I sniffled slightly as we broke apart. "I love you," I whispered to him. "I love you, I love you, I love you."

And he smiled and kissed me again, pulling me fiercely to him, his hands holding tight to the small of my back. And I closed my eyes, letting my hands wander under his shirt, feeling the firm warmth of his skin beneath my fingers. Troy.

And then suddenly he broke the kiss, breathing hard.

"Gabi… with the baby… can we still…"

"Yes," I said, and kissed him again. It had been so long since the last time, I could hardly stand to wait anymore.

I could feel him laugh against my mouth, and he broke the kiss off again. "It's okay?"

"Uh huh," I said, kissing his cheek. "There was a pamphlet I got... it said it was fine. It's even good for me if we do."

He nodded. "Okay," he said, kissing me again, his voice serious. "We should probably do it twice then. Just for your health."

His hands slid down my sides, setting sparks off wherever they touched.

"Okay," I said faintly, "Okay."

The phone rang again, but we didn't pick up.

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Author's Note: Fluff! Fluff is so much more fun to write. Well, let's see how many more chapters I can squeeze out of this…