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Going Home, Ch. 10

Sharpay's cell phone rang, "Just a second," she said, picking up her phone. "Hello…Oh hi dad," she said. "Is everything all right?" Her smile faded. "Okay, well did you try reading…okay; yes we'll be there as soon as we can." She hung up and looked at Troy.

Troy looked at her, "What's wrong? Did something happen to Lizzie," he asked, concerned.

She shook her head, "Well nothing actually happened to her, but my dad said she's having some sort of panic attack and won't…or can't calm down. So I said that we'd be there as soon as possible." She looked at everyone else at the table, "I'm really sorry…"

Taylor shook her head, "Don't be sorry; go take care of your daughter," she said as she gave a reassuring smile.

Gabi nodded her head in agreement, "Yeah, if you need to go, it's okay."

"Thanks," Sharpay said as she stood up. "Hopefully we'll be able to get together again soon."

"Sounds like a plan," Chad said as he hugged her. "Now go take care of your daughter before we push you out the door," he said with a wink.

Troy smiled, "Same old sarcastic Chad," he said to his best friend. "All right, I guess we're leaving now," he said when he saw Sharpay gather her things.

Once outside the restaurant, Sharpay took a few deep breaths, hoping that Lizzie was all right.

"She'll be okay," Troy said as he led her to the car and opened the door for her.

"I just want to get home as soon as possible," she said as Troy got into the car.

He nodded, "And we will," he said as he started the car and drove home.

Once there, Sharpay nearly jumped out of the car and searched her purse for her keys. "Where are they," she said to herself.

"I got it," Troy said, unlocking the door.

"Thanks," she said before hurrying up the stairs to Lizzie's room where she could hear her crying. She walked into the room with Troy close behind. She walked over to where her dad, who was still trying to calm Lizzie down, was, "Thank you for calling," she said, taking Lizzie, who seemed to be hyperventilating.

He stood up from the chair, "It was no problem; I just couldn't seem to calm her down," he said, looking at Troy.

"She probably had a nightmare about Mark," Sharpay said quietly. She looked up at her dad, "Did she wake up crying?"

He nodded, "Yes; I tried to get her to calm down, but she just kept crying harder."

"Okay," she said, rubbing Lizzie's back, "Thank you for coming over, dad." She hugged him and walked him downstairs and hugged him goodbye. After he left, she walked back upstairs, with Lizzie, who was still quite upset.

"Here, can I take her," Troy asked as he held out his arms.

She nodded, "Yeah." She handed Lizzie to Troy and just watched the two.

He held Lizzie close to him and rubbed her back, "It's all right, sweetie," he said softly. "You're okay; look, mommy's here and I'm here. You're safe," he said as he kissed her forehead.

Very slowly, Lizzie's breathing started to return to normal and her crying softened. She looked up at Troy and then at Sharpay, "Mommy," she said, reaching for Sharpay.

Sharpay took Lizzie in her arms, "See honey, you're okay, just like Tr…daddy said," she said, smiling at Troy. "I wonder if she is scared about starting preschool."

"Very probable," he said as he watched Lizzie slowly start to close her eyes.

Sharpay placed a now sleeping Lizzie back into her crib and just watched her sleep. "Do you think she's going to have these panic attacks all the time," she asked Troy in a worried tone.

He shook his head, "Probably not; I think that once school begins that part will subside and the fact that she knows that we're both here for her will also help," he said as he placed an arm around Sharpay.

3 Weeks Later…

Sharpay finished getting Lizzie dressed. Today was her first day of preschool and surprisingly, she (Lizzie) seemed to be excited about it. She had only had a couple of panic attacks since that one night, but had been able to calm down once Troy or Sharpay assured her that everything was fine; sure she didn't really understand what they were saying, but the fact that they were holding her was all she really needed to feel safe and secure.

"Look at you," Sharpay said with a smile as she finished putting Lizzie's shoe on. She had dressed Lizzie in an outfit that Troy's parents had given to her; a pink top with a sunflower on it and a pink skirt that had ruffles at the bottom which went down to her knees. "You are just too adorable," she said as she placed her on the floor.

Lizzie looked at her outfit and smiled, "I pwetty, mommy!"

"Yes, you are very pretty," she said as she walked her downstairs. "Look who's ready for her first day of school," Sharpay said to Troy as they walked into the kitchen where Troy had just finished making breakfast.

He smiled, "Well don't you look gorgeous," he said as he walked over to her and picked her up. "My parents have very good taste in clothing," he said as he admired what his parents had picked out for Lizzie.

"I agree," Sharpay said as she took Lizzie and placed her in the booster seat that they had at the table. She handed Lizzie her sippy cup full of apple juice.

After they finished eating, Troy picked Lizzie, "Are you ready for your first day of school?"

She nodded, "Yep!"

Sharpay smiled; she couldn't believe that her little girl was going to preschool already. She was still only 2, but this was still a rather big step in the little girl's life.

"Earth to Sharpay," Troy said, snapping her back to reality.

"Hmm? Oh, sorry," she said, not realizing that she had spaced out.

"Let's get going," he said as he picked Lizzie up and headed for the garage with Sharpay close behind.

As they arrived at the school, Lizzie started to tense up again.

"Here we are," Sharpay said as she started to get Lizzie out of her car seat.

"No mommy!" She yelled as she tried to stop her mom from taking her out of the car.

"Elizabeth that is enough," Sharpay said as she took the kicking and screaming toddler out of her car seat.

Troy walked over to her, "You were so excited this morning, remember? You're going to love it here," he said as he took her from Sharpay.

They walked into the preschool and to Lizzie's classroom where they saw Sarah. "You remember Sarah, don't you," Sharpay said, trying to cheer Lizzie up.

Sarah walked over to them, "Good morning," she said cheerfully. She smiled at Lizzie, "Good morning, Elizabeth."

"Can you say hello," Troy said to Lizzie.

She looked at Sarah, "Hi," she said quietly.

After a few moments of showing Lizzie the room again, Troy set her down, "All right honey, mommy and daddy are going to go now." He kissed her forehead.

"Have a wonderful time," Sharpay said, hugging her and kissing the top of her head. "You're going to love it."

Lizzie knew what was going on: her mom and dad were leaving! "Mommy you stay," she said, her eyes starting to moisten.

Sarah picked her up, "You know what? You are going to have a great time, just like your mommy and daddy said you would."

"No," she said, reaching for Troy and Sharpay who were now standing at the doorway.

"We had better go now," he said aside to Sharpay.

She nodded, "Okay," she said, knowing that if she stayed it would only be harder for Lizzie…and Sharpay to let go. "Bye sweetheart," she said, blowing her a kiss.

As they walked down the hall, they could hear Lizzie start to cry. Sharpay started to turn around, but Troy stopped her, "She will be fine."

"Yeah, you're right," she said quietly as they walked out of the school.

Since they both worked at East High, Troy and Sharpay drove in the same car to school. "I'll see you later," Troy said as he kissed Sharpay before they parted ways.

She smiled, "All right, see you around lunchtime or something," she said as she walked towards the drama department.

Troy turned and walked towards the English department; not only was he the basketball coach, but he taught English as well. He had to do something other than just coach basketball, considering the fact that basketball was a seasonal sport. (A/N: At the high school I went to, nearly every person who coached a team also taught a class, so this is probably accurate.)

Sharpay walked into the classroom. The last time she was here was in late May, just after she started teaching there. She tried her best to keep her mind off of Lizzie, but she couldn't. What if Mark comes and kidnaps her, she thought to herself. She shook her head, knowing that was impossible, considering the fact that he was in jail for a rather long time and there was no chance of bail.

After School…

Troy dismissed his 9th period class, put a few things away, gathered his papers, and walked out of the room and into the room in which Sharpay taught drama. "How was your first day," he asked as he kissed her.

She smiled, "It went so much better than I thought. These kids are really into the class," she said as she went to get her purse and a few other things.

"Well you're a good teacher," he said as they walked out of the room.

She blushed, "Thank you. So are you ready to get Lizzie?"

He nodded, "Yes and I'm sure she had a great first day." They walked out to the car and drove to the preschool.

Once there, the two walked into the classroom and just stood in the doorway, "Look," Sharpay said with a smile. There was Lizzie, building a little block tower. She looked perfectly content.

"See, I told you," Troy said, smiling.

Lizzie put one more block on her little tower thus causing the whole thing to fall down. She was about to cry when she looked at the door, "Mommy!" She ran to Sharpay's arms and hugged her.

"There's my big girl," Sharpay said as she kissed her. "Did you have a good time?"

She nodded, "Towew fell down," she said with a frown. She then looked over at Troy and smiled again, "Daddy!" She reached for him.

Troy took her in his arms, "We are very proud of you sweetie," he said, thus receiving a smile from her.

Sarah walked over to the two, "She had a wonderful first day," she said. "But there is one thing that kind of concerned us," she said, now a serious look on her face.

"What's that," Troy asked as he set Lizzie down.

Sarah gestured for the two to step out of the room.

"We'll be right back," Sharpay said to Lizzie. She turned her attention back to Sarah, "So what happened?"

"Well at naptime, she started crying, saying that daddy hurt her and that he scared her…not in so many words of course, but it did concern us."

Sharpay nodded, "She was referring to Mark; her biological father, not Troy." She sighed, "She was afraid that he was going to come and hurt her?"

Sarah nodded, "Yes. We were just a little concerned that she meant Troy." She turned to him, "I'm sorry…"

He shook his head, "It's all right; we didn't exactly give you every single detail as to what happened."

"I had a feeling that's what it was about," she said, remembering what Troy and Sharpay did tell her.

Sharpay walked back into the room and picked Lizzie up, "Ready to go home, sweetie?"

She nodded, "Yes."

She walked out of the room, "Ready," she asked Troy.

"Yeah, let's go home."

I know there was practically no cliffhanger or anything to that chapter. Why, you may ask? Because I'm having trouble coming up with something! So please if you have a suggestion or idea, I would be more than happy to read them! Thanks!