Gabriella was throwing things into bags while Troy was moving some of the bigger stuff into his truck. She was almost completely packed; she had not had much since she left most of the furniture at the apartment she used to share with Aaron. What she had taken was in a storage unit and they would worry about that later. Troy appeared in the doorway.
"Just this left?" Troy asked.
Gabriella nodded, "Yeah. Not used to someone without twelve closets worth of clothes?"
Troy chuckled, "To be honest, no I am not. But it is nice."
Gabriella smiled, "Thanks for doing this. It means a lot. And it will be great to have you so close when the baby is here."
"I know. I'm happy to do it so I can be around the little guy or lady." Troy walked towards Gabriella, "Would you mind if I felt your belly?"
"Go ahead. That's half of you in there." Gabriella pulled her shirt up to expose her stomach. Troy placed his hands on top of her stomach. The baby began to kick like crazy and Gabriella laughed, "Woah, they know it's their daddy touching the belly!"
Troy smiled big, "Hey little person. I can't wait to meet you. Me and your mommy are so excited."
Gabriella placed her hands on top of Troy's, "We really cannot wait to meet you little one. Daddy and I are gonna love you so much."
Troy smiled and kissed Gabriella's forehead, "Thanks for giving me this."
"Thanks for giving me this."
Troy stepped back, "Okay! Let's get your stuff into my house and let you get to bed."
They spent a few hours moving Gabriella's stuff between the houses. She unpacked while he carried in boxes, insisting that she could not lift anything heavier than a sweater. When he finished, he started to help her unpack. They talked about what they wanted to do for the baby's room. They thought about if they wanted to find out the sex or not. They discussed their jobs and how much time they would be able to take off. Troy talked about how many years he would have left with the team, and said he would give up a few games to stay home with her and the baby.
It was almost midnight when Gabriella was finally ready to stop. She had made her bed and put away most of her stuff, all with Troy's help. She yawned.
"I am so ready to sleep. Thank god tomorrow is Sunday! I need a nice relaxing day."
Troy laughed, "I feel you. We had a week off. Which was great. But I'll let you get some rest. Sleep tight. See you in the morning Ella."
"Goodnight Troy. Sleep well. Thank you so much for this." She kissed his cheek.
He took off down the hall towards his own room. His house was more than big enough for the two of them. He built it with the idea that he wanted a house that he could have a big family in. Plus, room for his parents and in-laws, whoever they may be. With Sharpay it had always been empty. Having Gabriella down the hall made it feel like a home. He smiled. He knew that he and Gabriella could not be together. It would be too tough for either of them, and if anything happened and it did not work out, the baby would be the one to suffer. But Troy was happy to have her so close again. He wanted to see her everyday and spend time with her. He loved her, even if she did not love him anymore.
Gabriella washed her face and brushed her teeth. Her room was beautiful. It was huge. She had enough area to have a bed and a sitting area. Plus, she had a bathroom attached. It was great. She was happy to be in Troy's home. Even though they were not together, being close was a great feeling. Being close to him was comforting, and it made her feel good that the baby would have both their parents around. She knew they were better off not being together, but it would not stop her from loving him.
It was two weeks later and Gabriella had officially hit the thirty-week mark. Taylor was on maternity leave and they had been spending a lot of time together. She was a natural at mothering and JT was a perfect little angel. Gabriella was also very comfortable living with Troy. It was nice waking up to each other. They ate their meals together and enjoyed watching TV. But she and he both came and went as they pleased. They went to work and ran errands and went out whenever they wanted. It was nice.
Taylor was over and Gabriella was cleaning up a little bit.
"Gabs… why are you cleaning?"
"Lucille and Jack are coming over this weekend. I'm excited to see them again." Gabriella smiled.
Taylor smirked, "How is it going here Gab?"
Gabriella sighed, "Taylor. I told you. We are not together. Nor will we ever be. I have to be on my own. I can't forgive him."
Taylor laughed, "I know, I know. But I mean come on Gabriella. This is weird."
"It is not. I am having his baby." Gabriella said as she wiped down the countertop, "We have to do this together. This baby is half of him and half of me Tay."
"Yeah. I get that part. But it is just so weird that you two are doing it while living together." Taylor laughed.
Troy walked into the house at around three thirty that day, Chad in tow. They had had practice all day and although Chad wanted nothing more than to be home with Taylor and the baby, Taylor insisted he at least went to practice. Troy's parents were coming over for the weekend and they were having dinner at his house tonight. Chad and Taylor were invited seeing as they had not seen Lucille and Jack in quite a long time. Taylor and Gabriella had been at the house all day. Troy could tell that Gabriella had cleaned and he could smell dinner in the oven. It was amazing how the little science nerd could be such a housewife.
"Hello!" Troy said as they walked into the kitchen.
Taylor smiled, "Hi guys! Hey Daddy, little man wants you for a few hours."
Chad chuckled, "So motherly Taylor."
"When you have something sucking on you for hours upon hours you will gladly take a much deserved break Chad Danforth. Plus you are supposed to be overjoyed to see your child." She laughed.
"I am, I am. Come here JT!" Chad took the baby.
"What did you make for dinner El?" Troy asked.
Gabriella nodded towards the oven "Well I know how much your dad loves seafood so I made oysters with bacon mignonette. Then for dinner we have beef tenderloin with cognac butter and a mashed carrot recipe with a cream fraiche and garlic roasted mashed potatoes. Then for dessert, I made a triple chocolate cheesecake."
"Woah. Fancy!" Troy laughed.
"Only the best for Lucille and Jack. I haven't seen them in so long. I'm very excited." Gabriella laughed.
Troy chuckled, "When is Ms. Karen Montez going to be gracing us with her presence?"
"After the baby comes. She wants to take a week off of work and come visit. If that is okay with you?"
"Of course. I love some Karen time." Troy smiled. Although honestly, after what he had done, he was sure Karen Montez did not exactly love him.
Chad and Taylor ran home to get ready and said they would be back in about an hour. Troy showered and through on a pair of jeans and a button down shirt. He was sitting on the couch waiting for his parents and waiting for Gabriella to come back from her own shower. She came into the room and Troy felt his breath hitch in his throat. She was so stunningly gorgeous without even trying. Her makeup had been washed off and her hair was in its naturally curly state. It was still a little damp and it made her look so sexy. She was wearing a little cotton maternity dress. It was simple, with a white top and gray skirt. It hugged her belly perfectly.
"Do I need to do my hair and makeup? Your parents know what I look like. I don't need to impress. They like me better than you… Hello! Earth to Troy."
Troy snapped out of his daze, "Oh uh… yeah no you look great! And yeah, they do like you better."
Gabriella giggled and then they heard a familiar voice, "Hello? Troy? Gabriella?"
Lucille Bolton appeared in the doorway and Gabriella squealed like a sixteen-year-old girl, "Lucy!"
Lucille and Gabriella hugged, and Lucille squeezed her tightly, "Oh my gosh! Look at you! I cannot believe this. This is fantastic."
"Ugh! I cannot believe how long it has been since I have seen you. I missed you and… where's coach?"
"Dealing with the bags. Gabby! Tell me how you are. How are you feeling?"
"I'm feeling great. Thirty weeks and I feel really good. I've still been able to work without any issues and my new job is great. It is so nice finally being out of school and just working full time. I love it. I also am so grateful that Troy let me move in. This has been the perfect arrangement for the two of us."
Lucille smiled, "I am so glad to hear that. So happy that you two are back in each other's lives."
Gabriella smiled back and truthfully said, "Me too!"
About twenty minutes later dinner was on the table and they were eating and enjoying each other's company. Lucille and Jack gushed over little Jordan and asked how everything was going with Chad and Taylor. They discussed life back in Albuquerque and how perfect everything was. They talked about the other parents and how they were. And Lucille and Jack said they all still tried to get together once a month, which the kids thought was lovely. When they were finished Lucille helped Gabriella clean up and Taylor and Chad decided they were going to call it a night. By nine o'clock, the four of them were sitting on the couch, a basketball game on the television.
"Gabriella… have you thought about which room will be the baby's?" Lucille asked.
Gabriella nodded, "Yes! Oh wait, do you want to see my room and hear my plans for the baby's room?"
"I would love too!" Lucille smiled.
"Come on, let's go look!" Gabriella stood up and walked with Lucille to the room. Jack waited for his wife and Gabriella to leave before he spoke up.
"Son." Jack began and Troy looked over to him.
"Yeah?"
"What's going on here? With you and Gabriella I mean."
Troy sighed, "Nothing dad. She needed a place and I had one. Plus, she is having my baby and I need to be there for them. I cannot screw up again like last time."
"Well, why aren't you two together?"
"Dad… she doesn't trust me. I was a terrible boyfriend. I left her at the time she needed me most. She is scared I will do that again and I don't blame her. She doesn't want to be with me."
"Troy… I see the way you two look at each other. It is still the exact same way you two looked at each other when you were sixteen. You cannot just expect those feelings to go away. Do you still love her?"
"I've always loved her dad. That's why I had to leave when all that shit happened. I could not stand to watch the thing I loved the most in that much pain. I never realized how much more painful it would be to be away from her. Now that she is back in my life, I never want to let her go again."
"Remember that Troy. Just remember that." Jack said, "You don't get too many second chances in life. This may be one of them."
"And so that's the plans for the baby's room." Gabriella smiled at Lucille.
"I love it Gabby! But I have one question… what's going on? Why are you living with my son?"
Gabriella felt her face get flush, "Lucille… I love Troy. I am happy he is my father's baby. But you know what he did. It hurt me. I was so damaged and so torn apart by that. I am afraid he'll do it again if things get hard. I don't want to be hurt like that again."
Lucille nodded, "My boy was an idiot Gabriella. But let me tell you something… you two still look at each other the same way you did when you were in high school. Something like that does not come around very often. I know that Troy hurt you Gabriella. But just remember that when you look at him, you still see the lovable singing and dancing basketball boy Gabriella."
Gabriella smiled, "You are right. That is exactly what I see Lucille."
Gabriella rejoined the boys on the couch after that. Troy was sitting in a chair and Gabriella on the loveseat. In the middle of one of the commercial breaks, their eyes found one another. It was just for a second. But they both smiled and Gabriella felt her face blush. Troy ran his hands through his hair and he turned back to the TV. Gabriella went to bed after that, she was tired and needed some sleep. Plus, her thoughts were too crazy to continue to sit in that living room. She would deal with life tomorrow.