AN: You guys are just too smart for me. I was hoping you'd all be too stupid to notice, but I guess not. ;-) I'm sure you all know by now what's up with Gabriella. I was TRYING to play it down, by being like "yeah the whole chapter is pointless and only one interesting thing happens" but alas, it didn't work. Oh well. I still like to think of it as a big twist because no one thought it was gonna happen right after Troy and Gabriella slept together, so that's good too.
Oh and THANK YOU SO MUCH to all of my reviewers! This is my first story to reach 300 reviews and I'm so grateful. I LOVE YOU ALL!!!! And I know some of you are probably like "300? psh, been there, done that!" but for me it's like OMGOMG. K, I'm done. Here's the final chapter of With You, with the epilogue coming up soon! Perhaps tomorrow? ;-)
I was going to post this at the same time I posted my new one-shot, but that story is turning out to be really long so I wasn't able to finish it. I'll try and have it up tomorrow though (seroiusly, it's 9 pages in and I'm barely half way done, haha).
Title: With You
Rating: T
Author: MadiWillow
Summary: Troy is married with a small daughter. Gabriella is married and pregnant. They didn't keep in touch after school following a nasty break-up, but everyone knows that true love never dies.
Genre: Drama/Romance
Chapter: Chapter 12
Over the course of the next few days, Gabriella kept getting sick. She'd feel fine one moment, but would be hunched over and throwing up like there was no tomorrow the next. She felt horrible and couldn't keep anything down. Taylor tried to get her to see a doctor, but Gabriella protested.
"Don't worry, Taylor, I'm fine," Gabriella would say, but as each day went by and Gabriella didn't get better, Taylor started to worry.
Finally, a week had passed since Gabriella and Taylor's lunch date and Gabriella was still sick. On that morning Taylor had gone to the drugstore for some milk and had picked a couple things up for Gabriella as well.
Taylor entered her friend's room upon her return and slowly shook her awake. It took a few moments, as Taylor knew that Gabriella had probably been up all night throwing up, but her eyes finally fluttered open.
"Gabriella, I need to talk to you," said Taylor softly.
Instead of answering, Gabriella clapped a hand over her mouth and tore into the bathroom. Taylor ran after her and held her hair back as Gabriella was sick into the toilet.
After a couple of minutes, Gabriella spat the remains into the toilet and flushed, her face clammy, as she panted. She thanks Taylor wearily as she stood up shakily. She turned on the faucet and grabbed her toothbrush. "What'd you wanna talk about?" she asked as she started brushing.
"That," said Taylor, pointing to the toilet.
Gabriella raised her eyebrows and spat into the sink. "Do you want a new toilet?"
Taylor rolled her eyes. "No. About why you keep throwing up."
Gabriella sighed. "Nothing is wrong with me, Taylor. I probably just got food poisoning."
"Please," said Taylor, waving that away. "You know as well as I do that food poisoning doesn't last a week. Besides, people with food poisoning can't even move. You, on the other hand – well, after that first day – throw up and then get right back on your feet in a matter of seconds. And you're not suspicious about that?"
Gabriella just shrugged again, setting her toothbrush down. "Maybe I exhibit different symptoms."
"Maybe," said Taylor, unconvinced. "Or maybe not." She grabbed Gabriella by the wrist and dragged her out of her room and down the hall.
"Um, Taylor, what-?"
Taylor led her through the family room, into her bedroom, past the unmade bed, and into the master bathroom.
"Do you want me to throw up here instead?" asked Gabriella, confused.
Once again, Taylor didn't answer. She leaned down and opened a cabinet under her sink. Gabriella leaned closer curiously, only to find two pregnancy tests staring her in the face.
She nearly fell over in shock. "Taylor, are you pregnant!?"
Taylor's mouth fell open. "I'm not the one throwing up at every time of day!"
It took Gabriella a moment to comprehend her friends words. "Wait... so you're saying..." she began weakly, "that I'm p-"
Taylor nodded. Gabriella felt the color leave her face as she sat down on the floor, kneading her temple with her fingers.
"No... Taylor, I can't be..."
Taylor put a comforting hand on Gabriella's shoulder. "Did you sleep with Troy?" she whispered. "Is that why you left?"
Gabriella didn't have to say anything; the tears streaming down her cheeks were answer enough. "Taylor, I don't wanna be pregnant," she wailed.
Taylor scooted over to her and put her arm around her best friend's shoulders. "It's okay Gabriella. It's not the end of the world."
"No, but it is!" cried Gabriella. "Because if I'm pregnant with Troy's baby, then we have something linking us together and I don't want that!"
"But... why?"
Gabriella remained silent, and Taylor sighed dejectedly.
"Gabriella, you showed up here three weeks ago. Troy has no idea where you are, and you won't tell me, or Chad, or anyone else, why you left. Is this why? You don't love him?
Slowly, Gabriella shook her head, her eyes unfocused. "No, I do love him... that's the problem."
Taylor waited patiently for Gabriella to elaborate. When she didn't, she said, "Maybe I'm just slow, but that doesn't make sense."
Gabriella didn't answer right away. She was thinking of her answer; the best way she could explain her predicament to Taylor. "Devon divorced Troy," she started, and Taylor just nodded, having already been informed of this. "That night, Troy told me he loved me and we slept together. I had no idea what to do, or how I was feeling, so I left," she explained. "And well... it's just... I do love Troy. And I have since I was 15. Even though he was a jackass the night he dumped me, and I didn't see him for years, I still loved him, deep down inside. And now..." She paused, thinking carefully, before rewording her statement. "I'm scared."
Taylor let Gabriella have a few seconds to herself before asking, "You're scared? Of what?"
"Of getting hurt again," Gabriella whispered, tears leaking from her eyes again. She took in a deep, shaky breath. "I've only loved two people in my whole life. First Troy, and that originally ended horribly. Then Nathaniel, and that ended even worse. So when I thought that Troy and I were going to have something together, I just... ran. I don't want him to have another opportunity to hurt me again or to hurt me like Nathaniel did."
"Honey, Troy would never cheat on you!" Taylor assured her.
She shrugged. "He kissed me when he and Devon were still married. And sometimes he would hint at still liking me. He slept with me a half an hour after his wife of almost two years, a woman he has a child with, told him she's divorcing him. So how do I know that if Troy and I got together, he wouldn't do the same thing to someone else?"
"Because Troy loves you," Taylor reminded her.
"He also loved Devon," said Gabriella quietly.
Taylor sighed, frustrated. "Okay, Gabriella." Taylor took her crying friend's hands in her own. "Tell me. When did you start doubting Nathaniel was a good husband?"
Gabriella flushed. "Well, it was a gradual thing – I don't have a specific date-"
"Was it when you met up with Troy again?"
"No! I was doubting it before then-"
"Well, when did you consider divorce?"
Gabriella pursed her lips and didn't answer. Taylor nodded in satisfaction.
"Okay then. So how do you know that the same thing with happen with Troy came back into your life?"
"Because Devon left him!" cried Gabriella miserably. "I was living with them for three months. If Troy had wanted to, he could've divorced her at any time-"
"How do you know he wasn't going to leave her soon?"
Gabriella sighed. "Taylor, you obviously don't know what you're talking about."
"And you do?"
Gabriella glared at her. "Troy was distraught after she told him she was filing for divorce! He still loved her!"
Taylor raised an eyebrow. "Distraught enough to sleep with you?"
"Exactly!"said Gabriella triumphantly. "His wife of two years leaves him and the first thing he does is have sex. What does that say about him?"
"That he's been in love with you for forever and realized that Devon leaving him was the best thing that had ever happened to him?" suggested Taylor without missing a beat. She stood up and held out a hand for Gabriella, helping her up. "Come on. You know that I'm right. You and Troy are meant for each other; I've never met any other two people who could be more right for each other." Gabriella hiccuped. "Now let's take these pregnancy tests and then we'll discuss what you're going to do."
Gabriella took a breath and then nodded. She mutely grabbed a pregnancy test and entered the tiny room where the toilet sat, closing the door behind her. Taylor leaned against the counter and waited for Gabriella to come out. When she didn't, Taylor frowned. She thought that Gabriella would come out and wait the three minutes with her, but obviously the former had some other plans.
After three minutes, Gabriella stumbled out, holding up a positive pregnancy test. Taylor bit her lip. However, before she could say anything, Gabriella grabbed the second test and locked herself in the toilet again.
Taylor sank down to the ground and waited impatiently, tapping her foot loudly on the ground. However, Gabriella remained out of sight yet again, and when she appeared five minutes later, Taylor saw that the second test was positive too.
Gabriella threw out the tests and slowly sat down next to Taylor, before bursting into tears again. Taylor rubbed her back soothingly to calm Gabriella down. "Gabriella, it's okay. Worse things have happened."
"I feel like such a horrible person!" wailed Gabriella. "I conceived a child with a married man."
"Well technically-" said Taylor, but Gabriella interrupted her.
"Technically, legally, they were still married," she said sharply. "They may be divorced now, but they weren't then."
Taylor sighed. There was no use arguing. "What are you going to do now?" asked Taylor quietly.
"About the baby? I'm keeping it," she said automatically.
"You are?" asked Taylor, surprised.
Gabriella looked at her. "This isn't the baby's fault. It's my fault. I'm the stupid one, and my child shouldn't have to pay for it." Suddenly Gabriella groaned. "I'm going to have two children under the age of one... oh, how am I going to do this?"
"Well, I think you should go back to Buffalo," said Taylor, standing up. Gabriella stared at her through her tears. "Troy deserves to know. And besides, you love him. You deserve to be with him."
Gabriella stood up shakily. "I deserve to be with a man that broke my heart once?" she asked weakly.
Taylor shook her head. "No, you deserve to be with a man who loves you more than he loves anything else in this world; a man that will actually treat you right."
Gabriella bit her lower lip but didn't say anything.
"What do you say?"
She took a deep breath and nodded. "Let's go."
Taylor grinned happily. "Great!"
Twenty minutes, with the help of Chad, Gabriella had all of her stuff packed. Taylor had given her some morning sickness medicine and about fifty packets of saltine crackers. The two women had a very tearful good-bye, with Taylor yelling after her as she and Chad drove to the airport, "Call me for the wedding!"
At the airport, Chad helped her unload and gave her a long good-bye hug, causing passers-by to comment on their lovely family. Gabriella giggled and Chad blushed. "Thanks for everything, Chad," said Gabriella earnestly. "You've really helped me."
"No problem," said Chad truthfully. "Anything for you." He punched her arm lightly and she beamed.
"Tell Taylor I'll call her tomorrow, okay?"
"Sure thing." They gave each other one last quick hug and Chad kissed the top of her head before he got back in her car and drove away.
Gabriella bought a ticket to Buffalo and got through security surprisingly fast, and was happy that she was late – her flight had just started boarding when she arrived and since she had a baby with her, they let her on first.
Luckily for her no one sat in the same row as her and Jackson, so she was able to spread out her things. Jackson was happily sucking away on his pacifier, playing with his feet as Gabriella read a gossip magazine.
"God, the money these people will spend on one dinner," she muttered to herself.
About an hour into the flight, Gabriella, the speed-reader that she is, had nothing left to do. She sighed and leaned her head against the seat, glancing over at Jackson. His pacifier had fallen from his mouth, and he was currently sucking on his toes.
"Hey," she cooed, putting her face right in front of his. He grinned at her and grabbed her nose. "Hey, that's mine!" she accused him and he giggled. She smiled back. "Hey, what do you say about getting a new brother or sister? Yeah! Would you like that?" Jackson laughed happily. "Yeah, I think I'd like it too," she said slowly. "And maybe Troy could be your daddy and Lauren your new sister!" she added and then gasped in surprise. Where did that come from?
She sat up, chewing the inside of her mouth thoughtfully. Maybe... we could be a family... she mused. Me, Troy, Lauren, Jackson, and this baby...
She sighed. The thought didn't sound so horrifying anymore. Swallowing, she still told herself not to think about it. First I need to know what Troy thinks, she convinced herself. Then I'll fantasize.
Gabriella didn't even know she'd fallen asleep until she heard a flight attendant saying gently to her, "Um, miss? Excuse me, ma'am?" Gabriella started and looked around, forgetting for a moment where they were. "I'm sorry for waking you," said the young, blonde flight attendant. "But we're about to land and you need to put your tray up and fasten your seat belt."
Gabriella nodded in understanding and did what the woman asked. She looked over at Jackson, who'd fallen asleep as well. She brushed some of his hair away from his face and held tightly onto his portable car seat as the plane descended. Almost as soon as they landed, Gabriella retrieved her luggage and almost ran off the plane. She waited ten minutes for her large suitcase and then hailed a taxi immediately upon exiting the airport. She noted that Buffalo was slightly warmer than normal in early September before sliding into the taxi and giving the driver Troy's address.
The ten minute drive seemed to take only about thirty seconds, and before she knew it, she'd arrived at Troy's face. Gabriella gulped at the sight and stared at the house for a good minute, before the driver cleared his throat. She quickly paid him and climbed out of the car, Jackson and all her bags with her. She slowly walked up the steps to the front.
Gabriella, holding Jackson in his car seat and her luggage gathered around her, slowly sucked in a breath and knocked three times on the front door. Jackson coughed a couple times and Gabriella kissed his forehead softly.
The door opened and Troy's silhouette appeared in the doorway. Tightening her grip on the handle of Jackson's car seat, Gabriella said, "Um... hi, Troy."
"Gabriella?" Troy leaned forward and his head became visible. "W-what are you doing here?"
She smiled sheepishly. "Well, I need a place to stay."
Troy grinned. "Come on in." He stepped outside and took a hold of her suitcases, as Gabriella stepped tentatively into the house. She walked into the family room and saw Lauren sitting on the ground, playing with Princess blocks. "Hi, Lauren," said Gabriella quietly.
Lauren turned her face around and giggled joyously. "Gab!" she cried, holding out her arms. Gabriella giggled. She placed Jackson's seat on the couch and walked over to Lauren, hugging her.
"She's not the only one who missed you," came Troy's voice. Gabriella let go of Lauren and turned, meeting Troy's gaze from right behind Jackson. "She asked for you a lot," Troy informed her. "Well, if you could call it that. Every morning she would yell for 'Gab'."
Gabriella smiled slightly. "And you?"
Troy's face was unreadable; his eyes bore into hers. Stepping from behind the couch, he grabbed her hand and sat her down on the couch with him. "I missed you more than you could ever imagine," he told her gruffly. He leaned in to kiss her, and as much as Gabriella wanted to accept it, she couldn't. She put her hand on Troy's lips and he opened his eyes, staring at her. "What is it?"
She sat up straighter and heaved a huge sigh, feeling old and weary. "I need to know something from you first." She looked up and met his eyes, trying to convey all her thoughts into them. "And I need you to be perfectly honest."
"I would never lie to you," said Troy immediately.
Gabriella gave him a small smile. "But you have before." Before Troy could say anything, she continued. "I have only been in love twice and both times, they were met with disastrous endings. The both times I allowed myself to love, to be vulnerable, to give my heart away, I always got it back, ripped and torn. Excuse the cliché," she grinned slightly. "In high school, you told me you would never hurt me. You promised me. You told me that I would never have to worry about our relationship – that we would be together forever." A single tear formed in her eye but she tried to wipe it away without Troy noticing. "But we weren't. You dumped me, with no prior notice, the last day we were to see each other until Thanksgiving. And I know you say you regret it," she added quickly, in response to Troy's open mouth, "But I didn't know that. I didn't know that it was the worst mistake of your life. All I knew was that you didn't want to me. And, you know, I didn't think what you're supposed to think after a break up; you know, that I'm better off without him, that he's an ass for breaking up with me, that he doesn't deserve me. No, I kept thinking about what I did wrong; what I could've done to make him dump me so cruelly. I was so depressed that I almost flunked out of my first semester in college." She sighed. "But some new friends, also with Taylor, Chad, Kelsi, and everyone else, were able to get me to move on."
She blinked, not daring to look at Troy. Instead she focused on Lauren, who was trying to build a tall tower of blocks, but kept knocking them down because she wasn't so good on her feet yet. "I started dating around, meeting guys. But no one serious came along until Nathaniel." She shook her head slightly, ashamed. "I did love him. Maybe not as much as you, but there was still something there. Thinking back, I'm not sure what it was..." She was silent; subconsciously she was thinking of memories from when she and Nathaniel dated. She quickly realized what she was doing and blushed, but continued as if nothing had happened. "I may have had my doubts about Nathaniel, but I never once thought of leaving him until you came back. You made me realize that I only had one true love, and that it was you. I didn't even care if you stayed with Devon or not; I just knew that I couldn't be with Nathaniel – of course, there were other reasons for that too –" She pursed her lips. "but as long as I still had memories of you, I couldn't be with anyone else." She sighed. "Just because I divorced Nathaniel doesn't mean that it wasn't hard on me. It was awful. Once again, I kept asking myself what I had done wrong, to make him so angry with me all the time; to make him cheat." She cleared her throat. "But this time, I had someone else to help me."
Gabriella finally chanced a look at Troy, who was pale and seemed as if he was bursting to say something. "That's why I left. I was afraid because... I love you. Troy, I really do love you and I don't want to get hurt again. So I want to know from you... if we were to be together, would you hurt me again?" Troy opened his mouth to respond right away but Gabriella cut him off. "You have to think hard about it, Troy. Because you told me once before that you would never hurt me and you did. If you have any doubts at all that we won't work out, you have to tell me."
Troy leaned forward and placed his hands on Gabriella's shoulders, squeezing them lightly. "You know that I can't guarantee whether or not our relationship will work out. But I can tell you that if it's up to me, we will. I don't have to think hard about it, because I already know that I will never, ever hurt you again. I will never take love advice from anyone. I'll just follow my heart, and my heart has always told me to be with you." He paused and added, "I'm sorry how much I hurt you before. I really am."
"It's okay," said Gabriella quietly. "And...you promise?" she asked weakly.
"I swear." Troy grinned.
Gabriella smiled back at him, her eyes twinkling. "Good. Because I love you."
"I love you too." Troy leaned forward and pressed his lips against hers, enveloping them in a passionate kiss. He snaked his arms around her waist and she wrapped her own arms around his neck, pressing them closer together. After a moment, Gabriella broke away. "I have to tell you something," she told him excitedly. She scooted herself back a little and took Troy's hands in hers.
"What is it?"
She beamed. "You're going to be a father."
Troy blinked at her. "I already am a father."
"Well, yeah, I know, but you're gonna be a father again," she said, smiling ecstatically.
"Oh!" said Troy. "So, you want me to adopt Jackson? That's great! And you can adopt Lauren so we'll be a family." He smiled at her and she pursed her lips.
"Yes, that's a great idea," she said slowly. "But Troy," she placed his hands on her small stomach. "I'm pregnant."
Troy stared her her for a long time before moving his gaze to her stomach. "P-pregnant?" he stammered.
Gabriella felt her face fall. "Yeah. You're not happy?"
"Happy?" Troy stood up and picked Gabriella up in her arms, spinning around. "Are you kidding? Of course I'm happy!"
Gabriella giggled loudly, hitting Troy on the shoulder, demanding him to put her down. He obliged and cupped her face in his hands. "I love you so, so much," he said earnestly.
"And I love you."
He kissed her deeply again and Gabriella could feel his happiness pouring into her, causing her to smile against his lips. He broke away and kneeled down, putting his face up against Gabriella's stomach. "Hey in there," he said quietly. "You're the luckiest kid in the world. You have a beautiful mother and the best older sister and brother."
"And the most loving father you could ever ask for," added Gabriella.
Troy grinned up at her. Then, he jumped up and said, "I'll be right back!" before dashing out of the room and up the stairs.
Gabriella looked confusedly after him before turning to Lauren, who was now attempting to build a short, but long, house of blocks. "What is daddy doing?" she cooed at Lauren, who just squealed in delight. Gabriella poked her head into Jackson's seat, where the four-month old was sitting patiently, letting his eyes roam the scene. "Aw, come here, you big boy." Gabriella unstrapped him and removed him from the seat, giving him the chance to spread his legs. She spread out a blanket on the ground and set Jackson upon it, on his back, and gave him a small toy to occupy himself. "Watch Jackson, okay Lauren?" Lauren responded by clapping her hands.
"Gabriella," came Troy's nervous voice. Gabriella turned and saw Troy standing right behind her.
"Yes?" she said, smiling. Her smile was replaced with a look of shock when Troy slowly bent down on one knee. "Troy, what are you-"
"Gabriella, I love you. You and your son are two of the people I love most in this world and now you're carrying my child. I love you more than life itself, so there's only one thing that I can possibly do about that." He removed a dark blue velvet box from his pocket and opened it, to reveal a gorgeous diamond ring. "Will you marry me?"
Gabriella's mouth fell opened. She slowly reached down and took the box from him, staring at the ring. "When did you get this?" she breathed.
"Remember that day you... left?" he asked, standing up. She nodded, her eyes focused in on the ring. "Well, you left when Lauren and I were out and this is where we were getting."
Gabriella's jaw dropped even more as she moved her gaze from the ring to him. "You were?" she asked, suddenly feeling ashamed.
"Yeah. I know it was really quick after Devon, well, dumped me, but I knew that I'd loved you all along and the only thing I wanted was for us to be together. So... what do you say?" he asked nervously.
She grinned at him. "Yes, of course I'll marry you!" she screamed blissfully, throwing her arms around Troy's neck and hugging him tightly. He hugged her too, arching his back so that her feet lifted off the ground. He set her down a moment later and removed the ring from its box, slowly slipping her onto her ring finger.
He leaned in closely and whispered, "I love you."
She pressed her lips against his and breathed, "I love you too."
