Ok now that everyone has recovered enough from the shock of an actual update I would like to massively apologize for how long it has taken me to update. I'm not going to say I had lots of other things on like school and that I haven't had time to write because it's not true I've just been working really hard on the updates for my other stories and I kind of lost the flow of this one. But I managed to pull myself together and write a nice update for all of you loyal and wonderful readers who haven't lost hope and forgotten all about this story! So, here is the next chapter, I really hope you enjoy it.
Gabriella looked up from her desk to Mrs. Darbus, who was tirelessly mumbling about Shakespeare and how he was the best play-write of all time. On most days Gabriella would have sort of agreed, but today there were more important issues playing around in her head than the beauty of a midsummer night's dream.
"Miss Montez, would you care to explain to the class what this story represents?" although Gabriella had been looking like she was paying attention, the glazed appearance of her eyes had alerted Mrs. Darbus otherwise.
"Uh, um....no?" The class all turned their heads to the back of the room, staring at Gabriella with shock written all over their faces, had she just said no to Mrs Darbus?
"Your mind somewhere else Miss Montez? Would you like to share with the class just where that might be?" Gabriella looked to her left, casting her eyes to the seat where Troy usually sat.
"I don't think it's my place to say, may I please be excused to the nurse? I'm really not feeling well." Mrs. Darbus sighed, Gabriella was one of her best students and when she was acting this way she knew something really was wrong.
"Well I suppose it would be better for you to see the nurse than sit here and mope about whatever is on your mind, your dismissed but please go straight to the nurse's office." Gabriella smiled and rushed from the classroom, breathing in the cold corridor air as she quickly made her way to the office.
"Gabriella, what are you doing out of class?" She spun around at the voice of Jack Bolton sounding loudly behind her.
"Oh, hey Jack. I just wasn't feeling well, I was going to go to the nurse and ask for her to send me home," Jack walked over to Gabriella and put his hand on her shoulder, she had become like a daughter to him since her mother had gone away and he felt it his duty to comfort her.
"Sweetie, I know you're worried about Troy but Lucy will take good care of him and they need to be there to support Aunt Jane through this, I will give you permission to go home if you think that will make you more comfortable but please don't worry more than you have to." Gabriella nodded, she knew Jack was right but Troy had always supported her through the tough times, she wanted to be able to do the same.
Gabriella silently nodded her head, she knew that being home would make her feel closer to Troy and she knew she could be there if he called needing to talk.
"Very well, come on you." Jack guided Gabriella towards the main office, his hand still comfortingly placed against her shoulder.
"Good morning Mr. Bolton, what can I do for you today?" The chirpy blonde receptionist asked, typing some details into the computer quickly in front of her.
"Well, as you know my wife and myself are the guardians to Miss Montez until her mother returns and well she is not feel so well today so I will be taking her home. Please inform her teachers of her absence for the rest of the day and find some cover for my classes and basketball practice this evening. Thank you Jennifer." Gabriella was slightly shocked; she hadn't expected Jack to take the rest of the day off to look at her but she as quietly thankful that he had.
She had never really known what it was like to have a father, so spending time with Jack Bolton was an experience that she loved. She enjoyed feeling like she was looked after and protected and she knew that Jack loved to spoil her just like he would his own daughter.
"You really didn't need to do that; I could have easily walked home and taken care of myself." Jack opened the car door for Gabriella allowing her to get in before moving to the driver's side and settling himself down in the seat.
"I'm sure you could, but I don't think you could walk all the way to Tucson do you? We're going to go home, pack a few things and drive down to see Troy, Lucy, Aunt Jane and Anabel. I'm just as worried as you are and sitting around here for news isn't doing either of us any good now is it?" A huge smile spread across Gabriella's face knowing that in less than eight hours she could be with Troy.
"Thank you so much…dad." This time it was Jack Bolton whose face became split with a huge smile. He looked down at his son's girlfriend and semi-adoptive daughter who had accepted him into her life and enriched his with fatherly experiences he had never dreamed of having.
He had always wanted a daughter, now it seemed all his wishes were coming true.
"Not a problem, if we leave quickly we should be in Tucson by around six this evening. Pack some things for yourself and Troy, you know what he likes better than I do, chose things that you think will be a comfort to him. I'll see you down stairs in 20 minutes." Gabriella nodded as Jack opened the front door to the Bolton household.
---
Upstairs in the bedroom that she shared with Troy, Gabriella was quickly packing clothes for herself and Troy into a medium sized overnight bag and picking up small items along the way that she thought Troy would take comfort from.
She reached under the bed and found the foam basketball that Troy had grown quite attached to and threw it in the bag next to the stuffed bunny that she had received from her grandmother and never went anywhere without.
Picking up the bag, taking a quick look around the room for anything that she had forgotten, she made her way towards the bedroom door and ran down the stairs.
"I'm ready." She called to Jack, who was in the kitchen making sandwiches and snacks for the long journey ahead of them.
"Me too, I was just making some sandwiches and picking up some snacks for us to eat when we get hungry. We'll stop for some proper food late afternoon but I want to get as far as I can before we stop. Lucy said that they wouldn't be leaving the hospital until 8 this evening so we'll surprise them there." Gabriella nodded, she liked the thought of surprising Troy, she knew he would need her now more than ever.
Three weeks previously, the Bolton's had received a phone call from Lucille's sister Jane. She had been phoning from University Medical center's pediatric department explaining that Troy's young cousin Anabel had been admitted to hospital and was seriously unwell.
Lucille and Troy had made the journey to Tucson immediately after they had received the call to provide support to Jane who had cared for Anabel alone since she was born.
The three weeks had been painful for Gabriella, Lucille had explained her to it would be best for her to stay at home with Jack because her mother probably wouldn't want her to miss weeks of school, but being away from Troy was easier said than done.
The Bolton SUV was hurtling down the highway towards Truth and Consequences, where Gabriella and Jack had decided they would stop for some lunch.
"So, how is your mom? Has she got any idea when she might be coming back?" Jack asked, he knew that her mother was a touchy subject for Gabriella but he thought it best to ask to he was kept up to date with the goings on in her life.
"Well, she's surprised at how serious the problem is, she's been doing some research into why so many people have developed the same tumors and stuff. She said she might be there longer than she said she would be, she won't say it but I just know. I won't be in your hair though, if she is there for longer then I'll have her send some money and I'll find a place to stay." Jack turned to Gabriella, not surprised that Myra would be staying on longer than she had planned but was shocked to hear Gabriella talking about moving from the Bolton home.
"You will do no such thing. You will be staying with us until Myra returns and if she leaves again then you will come back and stay with us. You're like a daughter to Lucy and I now, the thought of you living in a tiny apartment all alone is just horrible and do you really think Troy would allow that to happen? I don't think so." Gabriella smiled at how determined Jack was to make sure she understood that no matter how long she stayed she would always be welcome.
"Thanks…that really means a lot to me." Jack smiled and nodded before moving his eyes back to the road and pulling the car into a small roadside restaurant.
---
Troy sat down exhaustedly on a chair in the waiting room of the pediatric department; Lucy and Jane were in with the doctors discussing Anabel's treatment.
After days and days filled with tests and investigations doctors had discovered that Anabel had advanced bacterial meningitis, she had slipped into a coma the previous day and had been hooked up to a ventilator to help her maintain a normal breathing pattern.
For Troy, it had all been too much t handle. He adored Anabel, right from the moment she had been born six years ago she had been an angel in his eyes and now she was hooked up to machines that were breathing for her and the doctors had told them to be prepared for the worst.
He looked up at the clock, it read 5:45, he couldn't believe it had gotten so late in the day. It felt like they'd only just arrived and received the terrible news about Anabel's future.
Troy definitely wasn't stupid, he was actively perusing his dreams of becoming a doctor, he knew that when the doctor said that Anabel had slipped into a coma that her future would never be as bright as it had been 6 months ago.
Slowly, his head made its way into his hands as he allowed a large sigh to escape from his throat. He pulled out his cell phone, hovering his finger over speed dial 1 but hesitating to press the key firmly down.
He had been calling Gabriella everyday at 5:30 in the evening, keeping her updated on the cousin he knew that she also adored just as much as he did, but today the news he had to tell her broke him almost too much to allow him to call.
"Thinking about calling me?" Troy immediately sat up at the sound of Gabriella's voice behind him. He didn't dare turn around, afraid that it was his imagination playing tricks on him, he would be so disappointed if he turned around and couldn't pull her tightly into his arms.
Finally he built up the courage to turn around, knowing that his mind wasn't yet tired enough to be playing such sick tricks on him.
"Ella…" Troy couldn't believe his eyes. She was here in Arizona…with him.
He couldn't hold himself back any longer, he stood up from the seat and ran towards her, throwing his arm around her and breathing in her sweet scent.
"God, thank god that you here. I've missed you so much. I don't know how much more of this I can take, she's going to die Gabriella, I just know it." Gabriella buried her face into Troy's neck, desperate to pull herself closer to him and provide even an ounce worthwhile comfort.
"You need to stay positive for her Troy; you have to think like she's going to be ok. She'll know you're thinking about her and hoping for her and she'll fight harder." Gabriella's words were muffled by Troy's delicate skin.
His hand pressed to the back of her head, keeping it firmly against the crook of his neck while his other arm was wrapped tightly around her waist, keeping her body as close to his as possible.
"How did you get here?" Troy asked, allowing Gabriella to move her face from his neck so that he could press his forehead against hers.
"Your dad drove down; neither of us could concentrate at school. We're here as long as you need us." Troy nodded and rubbed his nose against Gabriella's affectionately, still not believing that she was really there.
"I should have insisted you came right from the beginning, I've needed you this whole time. I haven't been sleeping right because you weren't there, I can hardly eat because I'm so worried. Thank god you're here." Gabriella pulled away from Troy slightly, why hadn't he told her things had become so bad for him? She would have come sooner.
"Well I'm here now and I'm not going anywhere until things are good, ok? I promise you." Troy pulled Gabriella closer to him again, terrified that if she moved away from his touch she would disappear just as quickly as she appeared.
"Will you take me back to the hotel now? I really can't be here anymore; I just want to be alone with you for a while." Troy looked back to the room where the remainder of his close family still remained; he had spotted his father entering the room but had been too caught up in Gabriella to speak.
"Do you not want to eat first? We can grab a McDonalds or go to a diner or something?" Troy shook his head, taking hold of Gabriella's hand and walking her towards the door of Anabel's room.
"I just want go to bed, I'm exhausted. Can we just get room service?" Gabriella examined Troy's drawn features, he looked a little thinner than he had three weeks ago and his skin had become much paler.
"If you promise me you'll start eating good again." Troy looked at Gabriella and nodded his head, knowing that now she was here he would have someone to help take care of him.
"I love you." He whispered, feeling overwhelming amounts of comfort as he held Gabriella tightly to his chest.
"I love you to handsome," Gabriella replied softly, opened the door to Anabel's room slowly.
The three adults looked in the direction of the door, smiling slightly when Troy and Gabriella entered.
"Hey there Gabriella, it was lovely of you to come." Jane spoke up as she looked back to her daughter lying motionless on the small hospital bed.
"It's really no problem; I love Anabel like a sister. It would feel wrong not to have visited." Gabriella had become close to Anabel when she and Aunt Jane had visited for Thanksgiving, Gabriella had taken care of Anabel like a sister, seeing her like this was just as hard for her as it was for Troy.
"She would have loved to see you; she couldn't stop talking about you after Thanksgiving." Jane's words became strained the more she spoke, sadness spilling from her eyes and running down her cheeks.
Gabriella quickly moved from Troy's grasp and embraced Jane in her arms, hoping to provide the same comfort to Jane and she knew she had provided to Troy just minutes earlier.
"She wouldn't want you to be sad, she's a fighter. I'm so sorry that this had to happen to her, I'm so sorry." Tears began to leak from Gabriella's eyes, for the first time that evening she allowed her emotions to be revealed instead of holding them in for the sake of comforting Troy.
"Thank you so much Gabriella, you're a fantastic person really you are. Take Troy home now, he's been really struggling today." Gabriella nodded, turning to Jack and Lucille and giving them one last warm smile.
"See you tomorrow, guys. Good night Anabel, sleep well." Troy bent down and placed a kiss against Anabel's pale forehead, he knew it wouldn't wake her but he still held out that one last hope that she would wake up in just a few minutes.
"Good night Princess," Gabriella whispered the name she had given to Anabel over Thanksgiving, a name that she Anabel had marveled in.
Gabriella knew she could hear, she had to hear the desperate pleas of the family at her bedside.
---
Once Troy and Gabriella had arrived back to Troy's hotel room they immediately snuggled up under the warm goose feather duvet that covered the large king sized bed.
"What would you like from room service baby?" Gabriella asked, picking up the large menu and handing it to Troy, who had remained snuggled into her side.
"Just some fries and a coke would be really good, I think it will be the most I've eaten in days." Gabriella nodded and lifted the receiver of the phone and placed the food order.
"I'm glad that I came, I couldn't have been away from you any longer. Knowing that you needed me and I wasn't her was terrible." Troy snuggled deeper into Gabriella's body, knowing that now she was here everything would be easier.
"What about school? Does your mom know that you're here?" It worried Troy that Gabriella might only be around for a few days before returning to Albuquerque, but when her soft hand touched his tear tracked cheeks his worries began to settle.
"I promised you that I would be here right through this. Everyone who needs to know knows and that's all that's important. I am here for you, so concentrate on making Anabel better and not worrying about me." Troy knew that Gabriella was right, she was here for him and nothing else mattered.
"Thank you, seriously Ella, you've saved me from the horrible place I've been in the last three weeks, it's been hell." Gabriella pressed a loving kiss into Troy's hair, wrapping her arms tightly around his upper body.
She was here now, that's all that mattered.
~Baby, I can see you halo. You know you're my saving grace~
Well there we have it, I'm still as shocked as you are to see an update but I'm just full on lovely yummy surprises hehe. Please, please, please review because I worked really hard to get this chapter out to you guys and I would love to know it was appreciated. Thank you all so much for not abandoning this story because of the lack of updates, it really means a lot to me. Look out for the next update soon!