Hey all, Thanks to all my reviewers, if you are a writer you will know just how much they mean, if you're just a reader, then enjoy but don't forget to review, it makes our day- (by our I mean anyone who writes and gets a review)… Anyway, I probably shouldn't beg for reviews, as this is not my best work- just a warning. I've tried to make it better three times and it still not great but it gets the point across. That's all from me. Let me know what you think but be nice? Love Tink. xxx

Good morning princess" Gabriella cooed, as she lifted Ana, now six weeks, from her cot. Her daughter beamed in response to her voice and an answering grin covered Gabriella's face. Ana was thriving and growing more and more each day, she had been off the Apnea monitor for nearly three weeks now and showed no signs of having any other problems from her premature arrival.

Carrying her daughter into the living room, she changed her diaper and placed her in her bouncy chair, talking to her all the time, contentedly watching her daughter's happy response. Each time Ana smiled, she was hit with a bittersweet reminder of Troy, she looked just like him.  She had his personality too, happy and bouncy one minute and then stubborn and grumpy the next. It was beyond her how he could continue to deny he was her father. There was not a lot of herself in Ana, Gabriella thought and catching a glimpse of herself in the mirror, she sighed.

She looked like she felt, exhausted. If truth be told, she thought she looked like shit. She loved being a Mom and was utterly devoted to Ana, but she was utterly exhausted too.

"Shall we take a walk princess? To the park huh?" she spoke softly, tidying around the apartment, stifling a yawn. Gabriella loved to be out and about with Ana, she felt so proud pushing her stroller, she loved to show off her beautiful daughter. Half an hour and two diaper bags later, they were loaded up and ready to go. Ana wore a pretty pink sundress with matching bonnet and Gabriella a pair of cropped jeans and white top, with a pair of delicate silver ballet pumps to finish the look.

Stepping out into the sunshine, both Ana and Gabriella blinked several times as their eyes adjusted to the bright light. She headed across the street to the park and passed by the local newsstand, stopping to buy a bottle of water. Her breath caught and held, as a sensationalized headline caught her eye  "Bolton Bags Benefit Babe", was stretched across the front page of a well-known tabloid. A picture is worth a thousand words, she thought, and all of them would be curse words. There on the front cover was a picture of Troy with yet another woman hanging off his arm. Blonde and Busty she was the total antithesis of Gabriella, from the look on her face to the skimpy mini dress she wore, she looked like a total airhead. A total airhead who had never had given birth and survived on four hours sleep a night, Gabriella thought bitterly.

"You wanna buy that lady?" the clerk asked, indicating to the magazine.

Gabriella tore her eyes away from it and nodded, knowing she was only going to end up feeling bad, but she had to know what he was up to. As much as she hated him, she loved and missed him too. It was as though she had gone back in time to her pregnancy; the situation was so similar it gave her a well-deserved sense of deja vu. She was still alone and missing Troy, nothing had changed.

Stashing the magazine in the diaper bag, she continued on her journey, pointing out the trees, the sky and even the birds. Ana cooed softly, enjoying the sound of her mother's voice and the bright colors around her. It was busy in the park, mothers, children and tourists all charging about, taking pictures, eating ice cream, playing ball.  That was one of the things that she loved about the park, there was always something to see, be it jugglers or mime artists, there was always something going on, something that would usually tire both herself and Ana out.

Later that evening as Ana slept, Gabriella retrieved the magazine from the diaper bag and poured over it, with a strong cup of coffee. Troy, it seemed, was having the time of his life and appeared to have forgotten all about Gabriella and their daughter. Each week he was with a new woman, usually they were draped all over him, as they fell out of some nightclub or other, trying to hold his attention. Gabriella knew they would never be able to do that, he wouldn't settle down, especially now. Did he even think about her and Ana? Did he miss them, the way they missed him? She guessed not and with a heavy heart she closed the magazine and prepared for bed.

Troy couldn't sleep. Again.  It wasn't that he tossed and turned all night; it was just he didn't sleep. Instead he paced, did press ups, shot some hoops, read or just drank, till he passed out. He tried training harder than ever before, keeping at it, until his arms and legs burned, then felt like lead. He did anything he had to, so he wouldn't have to think about Gabriella or little Ana, the child that should have been his. Images of them chased around his head, his own thoughts tormenting him twenty-four- seven. He tried to forget them, tried to move on but he couldn't, they were always there, at the back of his mind. He spent his days working out and his evenings out partying, replacing Gabriella with every bleached blonde bombshell, he could get his hands on.

Shifting onto his side with a low curse, he stared at the clock, one am. He knew that across the country Gabriella would be probably taking a shower and preparing for bed since the time difference was a fairly small one. An image came to him of Gabriella soaping her wet body and he felt himself harden instantly as he thought about her- slick, hot and wet, touching herself.

 Great, so not only could he not sleep, he now had a boner too; he thought with a muted groan and punched the pillow, in an attempt to get comfortable. No matter how many women he dated, none of them had the same effect on him as Gabriella. None of them laughed like her, none of them smelled like her, none of them had eyes that radiated beauty or shone with happiness… none of them were her.

 He wondered briefly, how she was managing with Ana, if she was coping okay. He knew first hand how much hard work it was, looking after a baby and as he finally slipped into sleep, a smile formed on his lips, thinking about his would be daughter.

The constant buzz of his cell phone woke Troy and with a muffled moan, he reached out blindly, answering it.

"Lo" he croaked, his voice husky with sleep.

"Troy Alexander Bolton! Just when were you planning on tell us we're grandparents?" his mother cried down the line.

"Huh? Wh-" he asked groggily, shaking his hair from his eyes, barely awake

"Grandparents Troy! How could you not tell us?" she continued, sounding both disappointed and furious at the same time, something only his mother could do.

"Mom, I don't know what the hell you are talking about" he muttered, his eyes trying to close again as he rolled onto his back, his free hand resting lightly on his perfectly sculpted abs, scratching absentmindedly.

"I am talking about your daughter… our Granddaughter Ana"

Troy's eyes popped open and he sat bolt upright, almost dropping his cell.

"What the fuc-"

"It's all over the newspapers Troy!" she interrupted "How could you let us find out like this and Gabriella too, she ought to be ashamed of herself, just wait till I see that girl, I didn't even know you two were dating …she at least should have told us" she snapped, her anger reverberating down the line.

Troy's head was spinning; the story was in the papers? Had Gabriella done that? Had she tried to get revenge because he refused to believe that Ana was his?

 "Mom I don't know what you heard or what you read, but Ana is not my daughter, I'm infertile, remember? The mumps, " he prodded with a sigh.

He heard his mother cluck on the other end of the line "Well then you got a look-alike, because that little girl looks just like you when you were a baby"

Troy felt his heart thud in his chest "What are you saying Mom?"

" Get your lazy backside out of bed and go get a paper, you'll see what I mean…are you telling me Ana isn't yours?"

"It's complicated Mom but no she isn't mine, she can't be mine-"

"Well now, if you tell me that you didn't sleep with Gabriella, then that's good enough for me-"

"I didn't say we weren't together, I said she can't be mine" he said with another slightly embarrassed sigh, unable to believe he was having this conversation with his mother.

"Troy, sweetheart I don't know what's going on and I'm not sure I want to know… but if that little girl is yours, we have a right to know… I expected better from you Troy, we both did" there was that disappointment again.

"Mom, she's not mine…she can't be," he said, his voice sounding weak even to his own ears.

"Well honey, you need to get this sorted out, they can't go around printing these lies…but she does look an awful lot like you, you want me to call and talk with Gabriella, straighten this all out?"

"No!" he said vehemently "I'll handle this…I'll call you later mom and if anybody asks you know nothing about this okay?"

"Well I-"

"Mom! You know nothing about this okay?" Troy knew how persuasive reporters could be and he didn't want his parents saying something that cold come back and bite him in the ass later.

"Well, okay honey but don't wait too long, this needs to be sorted, it's a little girl we're talking about, not a puppy" she chastised.

Troy sighed once again, said his goodbyes and ended the call. After taking a quick shower, he threw on some sweats and a t-shirt and headed out the door. He nodded to the doorman of his building and crossed the street to the newsstand. There on the front cover of The National Enquirer was the bold headline "Bolton's Baby Secret?" and underneath a color picture of Gabriella walking in the park, pushing Ana in her stroller.

"Fuck" he cursed under his breath and grabbed a copy, practically throwing the money at the guy.

He hurried back to his apartment and flung himself on the sofa, opening the paper, he began to read.

"Rumor has it that Lakers Superstar Troy 'Golden Balls' Bolton has a new gal in his life, but it's not what you might think folks, this little lady is believed to be Bolton's daughter, Ana. Born a little over six weeks ago, she had some minor health problems and sources at the hospital confirm that the devoted Daddy was by her side at all times.

She looks so much like her daddy and she already has the trademark Bolton smile and baby blues. Sources close to the player say he hasn't seen much of the child due to work commitments but The Enquirer hears there maybe another bigger reason why he doesn't see the baby…"

He studied the enlarged picture of Gabriella pushing Ana in the park, they both looked happy and healthy and Troy felt a pang of wistfulness. Gabriella looked as beautiful as ever and appeared to have regained her figure, her hair was loose and flowing down her back and she was smiling, not into the camera but at something nearby. Ana was wearing a cute pink frilly dress with a matching pink bonnet, she had really grown and Troy had to smile at how cute she was. The smile froze on his face as he looked, really looked, at the pictures on the page. The newspaper had enlarged the picture of Ana and placed it side by side with a picture of him and he blanched for a second when even he had to admit, he could see similarities. The smile, the eyes… still blue.

Troy threw the paper across the room, with a loud curse, it was just wishful thinking, after all you couldn't argue with medical science, right? He rose to his feet as his phone began to ring. Ignoring it he let it ring, so the machine could pick it up

"Troy, it's Steve! What the hell kind of mess have you got yourself into now? Call me back as soon as you get this message"

Punching the wall, he swore again. How had the press picked up on this? Could it be Gabriella out for revenge? He didn't think she would stoop so low. He was guessing it was someone from the hospital and when he found out who, he was gonna sue the asses off them for libel. He wondered briefly if Gabriella was aware yet of the sudden storm heading her way, she would be swamped with journalists before she knew it. For a brief second he debated about giving her a heads up but he guessed she wouldn't want to talk to him anyway. The first thing he was doing was calling his lawyer and then his agent, there was no way that rag was getting away with this, he thought as he reached for his cell.

Gabriella perched Ana over her shoulder, as she answered the buzzer, which controlled access to her apartment.

"Hello" she said into the unit, bending slightly to hear the reply.

"Gabriella Montez, have you anything to say about the fact you are the mother of Troy Bolton's baby? Can you give us a comment about your relationship? Is he a good father?" an insistent voice at the other end pressed.

Gabriella's mouth opened in shock "I don't know what you're talking about" she mumbled, barely managing to get the words out, her heart pounding, her body shaking.

"Can you confirm that Bolton is your baby's daddy?" another voice joined in the throng.

"What would you say to people who believe that she isn't his Gabriella?"

"Leave me alone" she snapped, her heart racing a mile a minute, as she backed away from the still ringing buzzer, holding Ana tightly against her.

Heading into the kitchen she picked up her cell and was about to dial Taylor's number, when she noticed she had eighteen missed calls. Eighteen? Some from Taylor, some from her mother and a hell of a lot from Sharpay.

"Gabi! Thank you Jesus, I've been trying to reach you all morning" came Taylor's relieved voice, as the call connected.

"Taylor, I've got journalists at my door, wanting to be in to the apartment, I don't know what the hell is going on but they are asking me all sorts of questions about Ana and Troy"

"Gab, haven't you seen the news? You're all over the papers…they know Gab…they know that Ana is Troy's"

"Oh shit," she sighed, a tight band forming about her chest, her stomach knotting.

"What you gonna do hon? Want me to send Chad for you?"

"I don't know, I can't stay here but I don't want to leave the apartment, I'm scared for Ana…Oh God Tay, I don't know what to do, I don't know how to handle this" she said weakly, trying not to let her upset show so Ana would not get distressed.

"Gab, I know you probably won't want to hear this but maybe you should call Troy, he'll know what to do…he used to handling the press and well he does have connections"

"I'm not asking him for anything, he made his choice Tay"

"I know hon but you need to get out of there and I think he's the only one who can help" she placated.

Gabriella sighed, knowing she was right "What if he's mad with me? What if he thinks it was me"

"He knows you better than that Gab, he'll believe you"

Gabriella gave a bitter laugh "Are you so sure of that, he didn't believe me about Ana"

"Try him Gab, you've got nothing to loose"

"I'll call him Tay, but if he starts, I'm hanging up on his ass"

Taylor chuckled, relieved to hear Gabriella's fighting spirit "That's my gal…call me okay?"

"I will" she said and hung up the call.

After glancing out of the window and seeing the gathering throng of reporters she began pacing the floor.  Her mind made up, she settled Ana under her play gym and pressed the number to call Troy, hoping he would speak to her.

Troy felt his cell buzz, he was waiting for his lawyer to get back to him, he wanted a retraction of the story and a whole lot of compensation. Looking at the display he saw Gabriella's number.

"Christ Gab, what the fuck have you said?" he snarled, as he answered.

"Well as an opening line you could better" she sniped "I haven't said anything"

"Who have you talked to? Somebody must know what your story is…what, did you think you could get revenge on me and make a shit load of money? I never took you for a mercenary bitch or a liar…but then we both know how wrong I was about that, don't we"

Gabriella sighed, she knew this was a bad idea "Troy, I don't care anymore what you do or don't believe, but the fact is I need your help, not for me but for Ana…I'm stuck in this apartment, there are reporters all over the place and I can't get out…I'm scared for Ana, Troy… I thought you might be able to help handle the press"

Troy softened slightly at the mention of the little girls name, as mad as he was with Gabriella he couldn't let her little girl suffer, "Yeah, I can help but you gotta promise to do exactly as I say, I mean it Gab"

"I promise, can you get us out of here?"

"I'll have Steve arrange some cover to get you out and then your coming here Gab, both of you…under my protection and where I can keep an eye on you…Pack some stuff for Ana, you'll need to hide out for a week or two until this all dies down…and for Christ's sake no matter what anyone asks you or says to you, don't answer them, don't talk to them, don't even acknowledge them" he said his voice serious, gruff.

Gabriella was annoyed that he'd said to keep an eye on her, it wasn't her that started this problem, it was him, by denying his daughter.

"When can we leave?"

"It'll be a few hours, I'll book you a private jet so you can fly up here and I'll send  car to get you…I'm taking legal advice Gab and am gonna sue the ass of anybody that prints this bullshit"

Gabriella wanted to protest, it wasn't bullshit, he was Ana's father, but she knew it would fall on deaf ears.

"Thanks Troy, I mean it…I just didn't know who else to turn to"

"It's okay but promise me Gab, you won't speak to anyone and ask Zeke to put a gag on Shar, I've already had my mom on my case, I couldn't cope with Shar too"

Gabriella chuckled despite herself, Shar would give the reporters holy hell if allowed.

"I promise and I'm sorry about your Mom and Dad finding out this way…it's not what I wanted" she said softly, honestly, meaning the words from the bottom of her heart. She hadn't wanted Lucille or Jack to know about Ana, not until Troy admitted he was her father.

Troy tried to ignore the guilt he felt at her words and he pushed it aside.

"It's fine Gab, my mom knows it's the way it goes with the press, and they're always making up some bullshit or other"

Gabriella bristled, then sighed, wanting to insist that she wasn't making this up. In the end she settled for resigned. " I'll see you later on this evening…bye Troy"

"Bye Gab" he said and disconnected the call, feeling more mixed up than before. Gabriella was such a contrast, for a lying mercenary bitch, she could seem so innocent when she wanted to, and that was his dilemma.…was she really as innocent as she seemed?