My Best Friend's Baby

Chapter 12

Gabriella sat in the doctor's examination room with her shirt pulled up just below her breasts as the doctor held the transducer probe on her stomach, moving it around slightly to get a good picture of the baby.

Gabriella turned to look at her mother that was sitting in a chair next to the bed. She was happy to see that her mother's face was excited as she scanned the screen.

Things had been great since she moved back home. Her mother and she were getting along better than ever. Mrs. Montez had taken an active role in wanting to be around for Gabriella while she was carrying the baby and had even rushed to meet Brad and Jessica, eager to give her opinion on the future parents of her first grandchild.

"So there it is," the doctor announced, catching Gabriella's attention and bringing it back to the screen. "Baby's getting much bigger now and so far looking healthy. You're doing a great job Gabriella."

Gabi smiled, glancing at her mother who was staring at the baby with amazement. She could have sworn she saw a glint of tears in the corner of her eyes at one point too.

They looked at the screen for a little while longer before the doctor offered pictures of the sonogram and a tape of the baby's heartbeat.

"I'll take the tape," Maria said excitedly from her seat making Gabriella smile and giggle.

"Okay, we can definitely do that for you Mrs. Montez. Anything else Gabriella?"

Gabriella sat up slowly, wiping her stomach with the tissue the doctor had given her before pulling her shirt down over it. "Um, can you tell what the baby is yet?"

Her doctor turned to smile at the young girl. "I thought you'd never ask. I was wondering if you wanted to know but I didn't want think to bring it up."

"So you know what I'm having?"

The doctor grinned at her. "You're having a little girl Gabriella. Congratulations."

The smile that was on Gabriella's face from being at the doctor's office had not faltered since her and her mother left the office.

Maria glanced at her daughter as they made their way home, a smile growing on her own face from the look on Gabi's. "Keep smiling like that and your cheeks will be sore for a week."

Gabriella giggled, wiping a curl away as she stared out the window. "I guess I'm just excited sorry."

Her mother shook her head. "No need to apologize. I was in your position once. Well, I wasn't all excited I was scared too, but that's because I was stupid and kept my pregnancy from my parents until I fainted."

Gabriella's head turned so fast she was surprised she didn't get whiplash. "You fainted when you were pregnant with me?"

Her mother sighed, keeping her eyes on the road. "It was my own stupid mistake. I was so busy trying to keep people from finding out that I wasn't focused on what was best for the 2 of us. I was stressed and panicked and I didn't eat right. One day I was walking to class in school and I just collapsed. I didn't really remember anything but apparently after I fainted when the paramedics tried to bring me to, they had to unzip the huge sweater I was wearing hiding my stomach and let's just say your grandparents weren't too happy with me even though I was in the hospital for a week."

Gabriella stared at her mother in shock. "Why were you there a week?"

"Well after I passed out, I'm guessing my body had some permanent damage. You….almost didn't make it. I was place on high-risk pregnancy and they made stay for a week along with putting me on bed rest for the rest of my pregnancy. Since then I haven't been able to conceive a child."

Gabriella's mouth widened in shock.

"Not that I've tried," her mother covered quickly. "But the doctor said it would be pretty hard and I took his word for it."

"Why didn't you ever tell me that?"

She shook her head. "I didn't want to scare or worry you and plus you were too young."

Gabriella stayed silent for the rest of the ride, her thoughts running wild in her head until they pulled into the driveway. Before her mother could get out the car, Gabriella opened her mouth to speak again.

"Mom…can you tell me some stuff about Dad?"

Gabi watched as her mother stared straight ahead and took a deep breath. "Gabriella…..your father….he's a sore subject."

The younger Montez bit her lip. "I'm sorry, I just wanted to…"

"But you deserve to know. He was your dad…he is your dad."

Gabriella nodded. "So, what happened?"

Maria thought back to her high school days. "I loved your Dad, Gabriella. And he treated me like a princess; it made me think he loved me just as much as I loved him. And me being the naïve 15 year old I was I gave in to those feelings. Your Dad and I became intimate and when I found out I was having you….our relationship failed."

Gabriella watched her mother's face silently, seeing the emotions clouding over her eyes as she remembered. "It was like a test. We were doing so well and then fate just pushed a boulder on us and we cracked. Your Dad was so scared. He kept telling me he was afraid to be a Dad and he was afraid of what people would think. He was afraid to tell his parents. Eventually, I realized that your Dad couldn't do it. He wasn't willing to give up high school and sacrifice his life for a baby. So we both decided that it was best if we weren't together.."

"How could you two apart be best? Did you think about me?" Gabriella interrupted, making her mother sigh.

"Of course we did. I thought about you constantly. I did it for you. Your Dad was a wreck sweetheart. Not only was he scared but I was scared. I was scared that with so much drama and pressure that he would do something drastic. I was afraid he would do something he would regret that would hurt him or us. So in the long run, I had to be the strong one and decide to let him go. I told him I didn't want or need him and that it would be best if he just left me alone. I never in a million years thought he'd listen to me. He didn't fight it, he didn't protest it, he just left. And he'd said that if I wanted to do it alone I could."

"So Dad just left you alone and pregnant?"

"I asked him to."

"That doesn't mean he had to listen. Didn't he ever think about what was best for you and me? What made him think leaving you would be better?"

Her mother shook her head furiously. "He wasn't stable Gabriella. He couldn't do it, and although I couldn't do it either, I had your grandmother. I had to face the music and I kept it a secret from everyone but your father for 7 months. He made it a point to not speak to me when he saw me and I told him that I didn't want child support and after you were born, he disappeared for good. The last time I saw him was the last day of school. I went into labor later that day and he didn't feel the need to come see you. I left messages on his phone for the next couple of months, telling him he could at least come visit you if he wanted, but he never called back, so I'd assumed he moved on. I left town because we moved when you were about 6 months and I never finished high school and I never contacted your father again."

Gabriella swallowed. "So you don't know if he's alive or dead, or what state he lives in?"

She shook her head again. "I never bothered. After what happened, I didn't want to hurt you by bringing him back and risking him walking away from you, so I just kept it you and me."

"And Grandma and Grandpa," Gabi added softly.

Maria smiled. "Yeah we were a family and I wasn't planning on ruining that by bringing someone who couldn't commit into your life. I only wanted to surround you with people that could love you 100 percent for the rest of your life."

Gabriella sat with a silent tear falling down her cheek. "Thank you Mom."

She turned to her, wiping away a few tears at the memories of her first love and first heartbreak. "For what honey?"

"For being my Mom, for risking everything and giving up everything. For letting Dad walk away, just give the best you could give. The list could go on and on, but I'm glad you're my Mom and I hope that I'll be as strong as you were to give up my little girl when the time comes."

"You don't have to thank me Gabriella Marie. I will always be your mother and I will always do my best to provide for you. You don't even have to ask."

The two Montez females looked at each other, sitting in the car, sharing a moment and a look of silence that said a lot more than the two could ever share in words. It turns out, all they needed was a little heart to heart to make things better and make them realize they related in many more ways than one. They weren't just mother and daughter, but they were so much more when it came to love, life and heartache.

A/N: kind of a filler sorry, but i'm working on building up to the big moment and dont worry. some readers have been reviewing about when Gabriella is going to tell Troy about the baby and all i can say is in good time. Patience is key, because i'm not just going to make her blurt it out, i have to work up to it, but i promise it will be soon

Troyellaishottndsexy