Chapter 12: We're Off to See the Bolton's

"When I first laid eyes on you
Well, the night just felt so odd
You looked at me and the stars lined up
So, I thought I heard from God
And I gave it my best shot
Loving you was like throwing a lass
Around a tornado, I tried to hold on to you
Took a ride on a tilt-a-whirl that sits on top of the world
Man, I thought I could show you
I've always been afraid of flying
But you can't blame a girl for trying"

Lasso by The Band Perry


May 11, 2013

Troy stood awkwardly, watching his mom and Misti setting up for Gabriella's second baby shower. It was being held at Misti's house and he'd just driven over to drop Gabriella off.

"Do guys usually come to these things?" Troy asked Rebekah as he ran his finger along one of the pastel green streamers. They hadn't told anyone besides their family the sex of the baby, so the colors for the shower were green and yellow- colors they saw as gender neutral.

"No, Tripp, but you need to. I can see how you and Gabriella are. Y'all need to spend as much time together as possible. We're openin' presents around four and you need to be here, son."

Troy looked at his mother and saw that it wasn't a request, but an order. He slipped out, leaving the women to themselves. Rebekah immediately dropped the banner she was about to hang up and walked into the kitchen, where Misti and Gabriella were. Misti stood at the island, arranging cupcakes onto the display tower. Zeke had made three dozen red velvet cupcakes, one of Gabriella's most craved item during her pregnancy.

"Spill it, darlin'." Rebekah stood with her hands on her hips, looking at Gabriella who was sitting opposite Misti. "You and my son used to be two halves of a whole, now y'all act like you don't even know each other."

Gabriella ran her hand through her curls and took a deep breath, trying to gather her thoughts. "He's just different and I can tell he doesn't mean to distance himself from me, but he is."

"Have you tried talking to him- getting him to say whatever's bothering him?" Misti piped up.

"Yeah, and he still shuts me out."

"Gabriella, I've known that boy all his life…" Rebekah prefaced, walking over and sitting next to Gabriella. "and I never saw him as happy as when he was with you. But I've also never seen him as odd as he is now. If I were you, I'd take a day or two away from him. Stay here with Mis or come stay with Robert and I. Just to let Tripp know that you won't just stick around because you feel obligated to."

Gabriella shrugged, she didn't know is she was comfortable leaving Troy even if it was just to prove a point.

"Just give it some thought." Rebekah said, just as the doorbell rang and the first guests began to pour in. She got up to answer the door, mumbling to herself along the way. "Lord knows it won't hurt anything, right now the boy's about as useless as a screen door on a submarine."


While the women were at the baby shower, Troy, his father, and Zeke were golfing. The men were having their own day away from the opposite gender. Troy hopped in the driver seat of the golf cart to carry the men and their clubs to the next hole. "Can I talk to you guys about something?"

"Yeah." Zeke and Robert both chimed in together.

He pulled up to the next hole, looking to check that there wasn't another group there first. They all got out of the car, grabbing their desired club and balls. "It's this whole baby thing. How am I supposed to know what to do? I honestly don't think I can't do it and I think Brie feels the same way." Troy said, teeing off.

Zeke and Robert exchanged knowing looks, the whole group had been talking about Troy's recent behavior since he'd first woken up. "Troy it's not about that and you know it." Zeke told him, they'd been friends since elementary school. Zeke could read Troy like a book and vice versa.

Troy sighed, chucking his punter off to the side. He ran his hand along the top of his short hair. "It was my fault." He crouched down, with his head in his hands. "All of those kids dying was my fault and I don't wanna fuck up my own kid's life."

"Did you tell Gabriella what you're telling us?" Robert questioned him.

"No, how the hell am I supposed to tell her that?"

"Troy it wasn't your fault. I know you don't see that but you have to talk to Gabriella about how you're feeling."

Troy just shook his head, he couldn't just tell her all this. He could barely live with himself- how would she be able to?

"Well you should see someone, talk to a counselor. It's so common in the military, they'll have people lined up waiting to talk to you." Zeke stated, looking over at Robert who was nodding in agreement.

"Brie wants me to talk to someone, too." He mumbled, checking his watch. He saw that it was almost time for him to get back to the baby shower. "I'll think about it, but I have to get back to open presents with Gabriella." He told them, before he made a quick exit.


They'd packed the last of the gifts that they received into Troy's truck and finished cleaning everything up inside, when Troy looked at his phone to see that it was nearly seven o'clock. Gabriella was out showing her sister and mom to the hotel that they'd be staying in for the weekend. He decided to give her a call to see if she wanted him to wait for her at Misti's or to pick her up from the hotel.

"Hello?" She questioned, answering while she sat on the sofa in her family's suite.

"Everything's packed up, do you want me to swing by and pick you up from the hotel?" Troy said into the receiver, skipping over the formalities.

"My mom and Chiara actually got me a spa day as part of my gift, so I'm going to stay the night here and we'll get massages and facials tomorrow. Just to make it easier, you know?"

"Oh-" Was all that Troy could say in response. Conversations between the two of them had been so strained- so forced, lately. It felt like a chore, but neither one of them wanted it to feel like that. "Okay, I'll pick you up tommorow, I guess."

"Yeah, maybe. Uh- I'll see how tomorrow pans out and let you know tomorrow. okay?"

"Of course, yeah. That's fine." Troy said, a little thrown off. Had it reallu gotten to the point where Gabriella didn't even want to spend time with him? Had he pushed her that far away?

"Have a goodnight, Troy." He heard Gabriella say quietly, her voice cracking slightly. Was she crying?

All of a sudden, Troy wanted to see her- to fix what had metasticized between them. To stop it before it went the extra inch and became unfixable. He had to fix it, he was desperate. "Do you need clothes? I can bring you some clothes."

"Maybe tommorrow? I'm good for the night."

"Goodnight, Brie. I love you." And he hung up the phone and started on his way home, struggling with every mile not to turn and make sure Gabriella was okay. Back at the hotel, she sat staring at her phone, willing herself not to call and tell him to pick her up because of what he had said. It was one of the handful of times since he'd woken up that he'd called her Brie, and the very first time that he'd said he loved her. So maybe Rebekah was right and she'd just have to stick out a couple nights away from Troy to see if they'd be able to make it in the long run.


October 27, 2012

"Brie, we don't have to match. I don't even really want a costume." Troy mumbled, as she tugged on his hand once again. They were in a Halloween store, trying to find something to wear to his parent's annual party. This had always been one of Gabriella's favorite holidays, so there was no way he was getting out of it.

"We do have to match, it's cute." She said, stopping in front of a rack. Troy looked on behind her, pulling out a 'Sexy Nurse' outfit and holding it up in front of Gabriella, while he smirked mischievously. She shook her head. "Too cliche."

They moved on to the next section, where Gabriella looked vigorously through the clothes. From where Troy stood her could see her eyes light up as they met something in the racks. She pulled the pink poodle skirt and Pink Ladies jacket from the hanger and held it up for Troy. "Sandy and Danny?!" She asked, smiling from ear to ear.

"Hell no." Troy stated simply, there was no way he was going to dress up as John Travolta. It was not an option. Gabriella grumbled, dejectedly putting it back where she found it. "I'm gonna go sit on the bench by the dressing room." He told her, going in the opposite direction that she'd set off in.

"You're no fun, Troy Bolton." She called just as her eyes landed on the cutest baby costume. It was a Wizard of Oz munchkin, and just like that, she knew what she and Troy were going to be. She also knew exactly how she was going to tell Troy that she was pregnant, something she hadn't exactly gotten around to yet.

Gabriella set out to find a sales associate. "Excuse me, do you have a Dorothy costume?" She asked after tracking down a young girl with orange and black streaks in her blonde hair.

"Oh, yeah. Follow me." She told her, leading her to a section toward the back of the store. Gabriella picked up a size small and sent a quick prayer up that she would be able to fit it, not that her stomach had grown too much, she just didn't know how the costume was going to fit; as it was supposed to be sexy.

Walking back toward Troy, she knew he wasn't going to wear a full costume, so she just grabbed the hat that went with the Tin Man's costume and couple of cans of silver body paint. "Do you have silver basketball shorts?" She questioned, meeting up with him once again. He nodded, and just like that, their costumes were set. She just had to find a way to grab the munchkin costume without Troy seeing it.

She stood in front of the cash register, ready to check out when a loud crack of thunder sounded outside. Instantly, the sound of rain coming down on the ceiling could be heard. "I'm gonna go pull the truck up." Troy told her, with his hand on the small of her back. He threw the hood of his Air Force sweatshirt on his head and ran to retrieve the truck. Divine intervention, Gabriella thought to herself.

"Will this be all?" The cashier questioned, ringing up the things she'd already placed on the counter.

"Actually it won't. I just have to grab one more thing." Gabriella told her, speed walking back to where she saw the munchkin costume. Just laying out the costume while she and Troy were getting ready would be the perfect way to tell Troy about the baby. Every other time she'd tried to tell him something got in the way, but nothing would stop her this time.


October 31, 2012

Gabriella sat at the vanity, plaiting her hair into two while Troy put on his 'costume'. He was really only wearing a pair of silver shorts with the hat and Gabriella was going to paint his legs and torso silver. The children were getting candy, but she wanted a little eye candy.

He popped his head in the bathroom, letting his eyes roam over Gabriella. The costume was tight and short and she'd put on red lipstick, which always drove Troy wild. Walking slowly until he was right behind her, Troy nuzzled his face into her neck and wrapped his arms around her waist. "You almost ready?" He questioned, they'd need to leave in about forty minutes and he still had to be painted and have time to dry.

Gabriella nodded, tying the ribbon to her second braid and standing up. She turned on her heels, about to grab the paint and munchkin costume but Troy stopped her, pulling her in for a kiss.

Troy's tongue darted out, coming into contact with Gabriella's lower lip. She giggled, an opening Troy willingly took as a chance to ballet Gabriella's tongue with his own. He reached behind Gabriella, pulling at the ribbon that was laced down the back of the dress. Having nearly gotten it loose, she pulled back.

"Troy, we'll never make it to your parents'' if you keep up with this." She told him with her hands flat against his bare chest. "Get in the shower and I'll spray you."

She went into their closet, where she had left the bags from the costume store. She grabbed the body paint in one hand and the costume in the other, holding it behind her back. The doorbell rang, indicating trick-or-treaters. "I got it." Troy called to her, while she went into the bathroom. She stashed the costume under the sink, waiting until they were both fully in costume to show him.

"Were they cute?" Gabriella questioned as Troy stepped back into the shower. He held his arms and legs apart to be painted.

"Yeah, a ninja turtle and a little pumpkin." Troy told her, bringing a smile to her face. "But I'm glad we won't have any trick-or-treaters of our own for a while. Costumes like that, " He said motioning to the short ensemble she had on. "are made for people who don't have to worry about being loud so they don't wake up their kids." He said, punctuating it with a wink.


So...will there be an announcement made tonight?" Misti questioned. She'd pulled Gabriella aside the second she and Troy stepped into the house.

"Not unless it's coming from you." Gabriella mumbled, looking around to make sure no one would hear her. "I was just about to tell him when he went of on this 'no kids to worry about' spiel."

Misti's eyes went wide. "Gabriella you have to tell him!"

"I will. It just never seems right. What was I supposed to do? Say: Yeah, it's great that we don't have kids but about six months from now, we will." Gabriella told her, trying to keep herself from raising her voice.

"Gabriella-"

Gabriella turned, cutting her off. "I'm going to get something to drink."

She met up with Troy in the kitchen, where he stood chatting with a group of people he'd grown up around. He immediately wrapped an arm around her waist, letting it hang. "Do you want a drink?" She asked him and he nodded his head, yes. Gabriella made her way over to the drink table, grabbing two cups. She filled one with the pumpkin spice beer, Troy's mom apparently ordered every year and the other with water.

Troy came up behind her and wrapped his arms around her, while resting his head on her shoulder. "You okay?" She nodded, turning and giving him his cup. "Are you not drinking, tonight?"

"Well, if you are I figured I'd be the DD." She told him, hoping he'd just leave it alone.

"Brie, it's my parents' party, not a college frat house. I'm not getting wasted, you can have a beer, too."

She shook her head, reassuring him that she was fine. Looking around, she tried to find an out of the conversation. Gabriella caught sight of Troy's mom and waved at her, holding up her pointer finger, telling her to wait a second. "I'm gonna go ask your mom about the recipe for those pot stickers and tell her how much I like the decorations. Have fun, go mingle." She told him, kissing his cheek and walking swiftly to Rebekah.

Slowly drifting over to Rebekah, Gabriella let out a deep sigh. Tonight was putting her to the test and she just wanted to sit and relax for a moment, without an interrogation. The look in Rebekah's eyes told her she should expect otherwise.

"The house looks so good, Rebekah." Gabriella told her, as the older woman pulled her into a hug. "Halloween is one of my favorite times of the year and your decorations are so cute."

Rebekah thanked her, eyeying her up and down. She had a look on her face that Gabriella couldn't quite decipher but it was making her nervous. "Is everything alright, sweetie?" She questioned the younger woman.

Gabriella nodded. "Yeah, why wouldn't it be?"

"No reason, darlin'. Just wonderin'...but y'know a mama always knows when there's something wrong with one of her cubs."

"Cubs?"

"Yeah! You, Tripp and Misti. A mama bear always knows. So, now, is there anything you wanna tell me?"

Gabriella bit the inside of her lip, weighing her options, while trying not to take too long. After deciding that it was best to tell Troy before she told anyone else, she shook her head. Her eyes focused on the plush off-white carpet, instead of Rebekah. She knew if she looked up at her, she'd spill the beans.

"Well, if you don't want to share, I can't force ya." Rebekah told her, leaning in close to her ear. "But I already. I can tell, so whenever you want to share the news, I'll be waiting." Backing away from Gabriella, Rebekah sent her a wink. Gabriella was left feeling confused, standing in the middle of the room.

All of a sudden, it was as if someone cranked the heat up in the room. Gabriella barely had anything to cover her up, but she felt as if she had a wool turtleneck on. She made her way to the back of the house, slipping outside through the glass french doors. Carefully maneuvering the manicured lawn, she made her way to the wooden swing that hung from the tree in the center of the yard. She sat on the swing, just letting the cool fall breeze whip around her.

Her eyes drifted up to the stars, one of her favorite things about living in Virginia, as opposed to New Jersey. The skies were so clear without the streetlights interfering and it helped her clear her mind. The fresh air, calmed her down- she thought back to the pamphlet the doctor had given her. She seemed to remember something in there about hot flashes in the earlier stages of pregnancy due to the change in hormones.

Brushing off the momentary hot flash, she made her way back toward the house. She stood by the back door, trying to scope out Troy. She felt his hand on her back, as he snuck up behind her. "Hey, I've been looking for you. Everything okay? You disappeared there for a minute." He mumbled close to her, as he looked into her eyes to see if her eyes gave her away.

"Yeah, I'm okay. Just a little tired, I guess."

"We can head out, let's just say bye to everybody." He said, latching his arm around her waist and pulling her through the house. Gabriella instinctively sucked in, not wanting him to notice if she'd filled out a little. She wasn't fat, by any means, but she was insecure and unsure. Her body always looked different to her than it did to others.

He pulled her across the room, moving toward where the bulk of the crowd was. "Ma, we're gonna head out." Troy told Rebekah, pulling her out of the group conversation that was going on.

"So soon?" She questioned, eyebrows raised as she looked back and forth between the two of them.

"Yeah, Brie's had a long day so I'm gonna get her home." He told her, motioning to where Gabriella stood saying goodbye to Robert and Misti. "We'll be back around for Sunday dinner, though."

Gabriella stood near the front door, trying to keep Robert close, so Misti wouldn't bring up the subject she so wanted to avoid. "Dad is mom calling for you?" Robert looked around, confused.

"I can't hear her, but I'll go check." Gabriella huffed, damn Misti. "Gabriella, you and Tripp have a good night." He half hugged her quickly, before setting off to find his wife.

The second he was out of earshot, Misti turned and looked at Gabriella with pleading eyes. "Okay, I know you don't want to hear this but, Gabriella you have got to tell him." She was about to go on, but Gabriella cut her off before she got the chance.

"Listen, you shouldn't even know that I'm pregnant, but since you do there's nothing I can do about it. The only reason you do know is because my own sister- my real sister is eight fucking hours away. When I tell Troy is none of your business. When I do and we share it with everyone else, just act happy but until then, pretend you don't know. Stay out of it. Unders-"

"Hey, you ready to go?" Troy came over, there was something off about Gabriella and his sister but he didn't know if he should ask. He placed his hand on the small of her back. "You sure you're alright?"

She nodded, just ready to get out of the house. "Mhmm, can we just go?"


Troy laid his head across Gabriella's lap, as she sat in their bed. She made sure her alarm was set for the morning before pulling her hair up into a bun. "Brie?" Troy called, pulling her out of her own thoughts.

"Mm?" She looked down at him, her face free of the costume makeup.

"You know I love you, right?"

She nodded smiling slightly. "Yeah, I know."

Troy rolled over onto his elbows, so he was looking directly into her eyes. "No matter what. I don't know what's going on with you, but I love you and it'll be ok."

She scooted down in the bed, snuggling into Troy and pressing her face into his chest. She let his scent fill her nose fully before she looked up at him. "I love you, too." It was like he could read her mind, like he knew exactly what it was that was bothering her. And even though he said it would be okay, she wasn't ready to tell his just yet. She needed to wait a little longer.


A/N: It's been a long time, hasn't it. Sorry about that. School and work have been taking over my life. Anyway, guys I hope you like it and I'm gonna try to get the next one out before a month has passed. Haha, thanks for sticking with me. This is probably filled with mistakes, no time to edit. I have to get to work in about a half hour.
love as always,
dev.(: