That night, Troy came home and smiled when he saw Maria cooking Gabriella's favorite meal for dinner, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. He put his things down and walked into the kitchen and sat on a stool at the kitchen island.
"How was work?" Maria asked.
"Alright. I was worried about leaving Gabs today. Especially since she just got out of the hospital" Troy said.
Maria smiled.
"I've been checking on her. She was doing homework and then the last I checked she was sleeping" Maria said.
Troy nodded. Maria handed Troy two plates with sandwiches on each.
"I probably am going to go to sleep after I eat. Night mom" Troy said.
"Good night Troy" Maria said.
Troy walked upstairs and opened the door and smiled when he saw Gabriella sleeping. He set the two plates on Gabriella's desk and walked over to the bed and lied down on it. Troy kissed Gabriella's cheek softly.
"Brie, dinner's ready baby girl. Time to wake up" Troy said.
Gabriella moaned in her sleep. She opened her eyes slowly and saw Troy lying next to her.
"Hey, how was your nap?" Troy asked.
"Good" Gabriella said softly.
"Mom made your favorite" Troy said.
Gabriella sat up in bed and Troy handed the plate with the sandwich. She took a bite.
"How was work?" Gabriella asked.
"It was fine. Chad came by today" Troy said.
"Oh. Did you tell him that I'm on bed rest?" Gabriella asked.
Troy nodded as he took a bite of his own sandwich.
"He is going to try to make Tay come and visit. I told him not to even bother but he thinks that you guys need to talk" Troy said.
"I don't want to talk to her" Gabriella said.
"I know you don't. I told him that you don't need anymore stress than you already have" Chad said.
Gabriella nodded. She put her hand on her bump and smiled.
"You like peanut butter like mommy and daddy" Gabriella said.
Troy smiled.
"She's kicking like crazy" Gabriella said.
Troy leaned down and kissed Gabriella's stomach gently. Gabriella finished her sandwich and placed the plate on the nightstand. Troy took off his shirt and got his clothes together. He then walked into the bathroom and took a shower. Ten minutes later, Troy came out of the bathroom and climbed into bed. Gabriella snuggled into her boyfriend's side.
"So besides sleeping, what did you do while I was at work? Mom said you did some homework" Troy said.
Gabriella nodded.
"I finished an assignment. But then I got tired and fell asleep. I woke up to you walking in the room" Gabriella said.
Troy nodded.
"She making you tired?" Troy asked.
Gabriella nodded.
"My body kind of aches and I wanted to sleep and see if it would go away" Gabriella said.
"Why didn't you tell me when I first came home baby?" Troy asked softly.
"You are tired from work and I didn't want to bombard you with that" Gabriella explained.
Troy took a deep breath.
"You don't need to worry about bombarding me with that, Gabs. If you don't feel well, I want to know so I can help you" Troy said softly.
Gabriella's eyes filled with tears. She wasn't upset. She was just overly emotional and couldn't help but cry.
"I don't feel well. My body aches and I don't know how to make it stop" Gabriella explained.
Troy nodded.
"Should I go and ask mom what we should do?" Troy asked.
Gabriella nodded.
"Okay. Don't worry sweetheart. We will figure this out" Troy said.
"Okay" Gabriella said softly.
Troy kissed Gabriella's lips softly. He walked downstairs and talked to Maria. Ten minutes later, Troy came back upstairs and looked at Gabriella.
"She said to lay on your side for a little bit and not on your back" Troy said.
Gabriella turned to her side and looked at Troy.
"Let's see how you feel in like ten minutes" Troy said.
Gabriella nodded. Troy leaned in and kissed Gabriella's lips softly.
"Don't worry Brie. Everything is going to be okay" Troy said.
Troy walked downstairs and looked at Maria.
"Is she feeling better?" Maria asked.
"She is laying on her side now. I'm going to go back and check on her in ten minutes and see how she feels" Troy said.
Maria nodded.
"She's just moving around and pressing against her body. That's all it is" Maria said.
"Gabriella's worried about it" Troy said.
"I had it when I was pregnant with Gabi. It's normal" Maria said.
Troy nodded and sighed.
"Are things better between you two?" Maria asked.
"They are better. I've been trying to tell her how I feel and she's been doing the same. We are just trying to keep it that way" Troy said.
Maria nodded. Ten minutes later, Troy walked upstairs and smiled sympathetically at Gabriella, who was still lying on her side.
"How are you feeling?" Troy asked.
"A little better" Gabriella said.
"That's good right?" Troy said.
Gabriella nodded.
"Can I get up and come downstairs?" Gabriella asked softly.
Troy licked his lips and took a deep breath.
"Sweetheart, you have to stay in bed. I know you want to be able to get up and do stuff around the house. But, we need to keep you and the baby safe" Troy said.
Gabriella looked down at her hands. Troy put his hand on top of Gabriella's hand.
"Hey" Troy said softly.
Gabriella looked at Troy.
"I am not trying to tell you what to do and be the bad guy in this, Brie. I just want you and the baby to be okay and if this is the only way that that is going to happen, then we need to do it" Troy said softly.
Gabriella nodded.
"I want you to come downstairs. Don't think that I don't because I do. But you need to stay in bed" Troy said.
Gabriella nodded. Troy leaned in and kissed Gabriella's cheek.
"I love you" Troy said.
"I love you too" Gabriella said.
"Take a nap and get some rest okay?" Troy said.
Gabriella nodded. Troy leaned in and kissed Gabriella's lips softly.
"Call me if you need me" Troy said softly.
"Okay" Gabriella said.
Troy walked out of the room and Gabriella fell asleep. A couple weeks later, Gabriella was seven and a half months pregnant. Troy and Maria had been working on trying to get the baby furniture into Gabriella's room. Gabriella had been telling her mother and Troy where to put all the furniture in her bedroom. One day, Troy came home from work and smiled when he saw Gabriella, who was now allowed to move to different parts of the house every couple of hours, sitting in the living room with her feet elevated and sitting on the coffee table.
"Hey sweetheart" Troy said.
"Hi" Gabriella said.
"How are you feeling?" Troy asked.
"I had a couple Braxton-Hicks contractions earlier" Gabriella said.
Troy sat down next to Gabriella.
"You did? Did you tell mom?" Troy asked.
"I did and we timed them and everything. I called Dr. Brand just to be sure and she confirmed that they were Braxton-Hicks" Gabriella said.
Troy nodded.
"Sounds like you have everything under control" Troy said.
"I still need you" Gabriella said.
Troy smiled.
"Good. How long have you been down here?" Troy asked placing a kiss on Gabriella's cheek.
"An hour. I just ate lunch" Gabriella said.
"So then it's nap time?" Troy asked.
"Troy, I don't want to" Gabriella whined.
"Gabs, just because you are somewhat mobile doesn't mean you can go back to doing whatever you were doing before. You still need to take it easy" Troy said.
"Fine" Gabriella said.
Troy smiled slightly. He stood up and held his hands out for Gabriella to take. Gabriella took Troy's hands in hers and was lifted up to a standing position.
"Come on" Troy said softly.
The couple walked upstairs and went into their bedroom. Gabriella climbed into bed and looked at Troy.
"Back to the dungeon" Gabriella said.
Troy smiled.
"At least your prince charming came and saved you from your boredom in the castle" Troy joked.
Gabriella looked at Troy and rolled her eyes.
"You aren't funny" Gabriella said.
"Grace thinks so, don't you baby?" Troy said with his hand on Gabriella's bump.
"Yeah, make her go onto your side. It's not like I've carried her for seven and a half months or anything" Gabriella said.
Troy smiled slightly and kissed Gabriella's forehead.
"A month and a half left sweetheart. That's all you have left to stay in bed" Troy said.
Gabriella took a deep breath and released it.
"Get some sleep please. I know you don't want to, but do it for Grace. Think of it that way" Troy said.
Gabriella nodded.
"When did we get so mature?" Gabriella asked.
"Having a baby will do that to you" Troy said.
Gabriella nodded. Troy leaned in and kissed Gabriella's lips softly.
"I love you and your hormonal outbursts" Troy said softly.
"It's not my fault" Gabriella said innocently.
"I know it's not baby girl" Troy said.
"I love you too" Gabriella said.
Troy smiled and leaned down and kissed Gabriella's expanding bump.
"When is your next appointment with Dr. Brand?" Troy asked.
"Next week I think" Gabriella said.
Troy nodded.
"Alright, get some rest. I'll be downstairs if you need me" Troy said.
Gabriella nodded and snuggled into the bed. A couple hours later, Troy was sitting downstairs doing his homework. Maria opened the front door and smiled.
"Hey" Maria said.
"Hi mom" Troy said.
"What are you doing?" Maria asked.
"Homework" Troy said.
"How's Gabi?" Maria asked.
"She's fine. She told me about the contractions" Troy said.
Maria nodded.
"They are normal at this stage Troy" Maria said.
"I know. It's just weird to me how they are happening a month and a half before she's supposed to have the baby" Troy said.
"That's when they usually happen. Right before you are supposed to go into labor is when all the false labor and Braxton-Hicks come" Maria said.
Troy nodded.
"I just don't want her to go into labor early" Troy said.
"And she won't. Dr. Brand will make sure of that" Maria said.
Troy nodded. That night, Gabriella woke up to pain in her stomach. She took a deep breath and released it. Gabriella shook Troy's shoulder and he turned over and opened his eyes.
"What's wrong?" Troy asked sleepily.
"Contractions" Gabriella said.
Troy nodded. He picked up his phone and started timing them. Tears ran down Gabriella's cheeks. Troy saw this and wiped them away.
"Baby, don't cry. Everything is okay" Troy said.
"I just get scared every time I have them because I never know if they are real or not" Gabriella cried.
Troy sat up and turned on the bedside lamp and Gabriella snuggled into Troy's chest. Gabriella breathed through the contraction that she was having and then relaxed.
"Did it feel like the ones you were having earlier?" Troy asked.
Gabriella nodded.
"I'm scared to go to sleep" Gabriella said softly.
Troy nodded. He got out of bed and went to Gabriella's side of the bed and held out his hand. Gabriella took Troy's hand and sat up in bed.
"Come on baby" Troy said.
Gabriella got out of bed and looked at Troy, who opened his arms. Gabriella walked into Troy's arms and wrapped her arms around him. Troy kissed Gabriella's head softly and slowly swayed from side to side. He smiled when he felt Grace kick his stomach.
"Why do you have to pick on me?" Troy asked looking down at Gabriella's bump.
Gabriella smiled slightly.
"She wanted to say hi daddy" Gabriella said.
Troy smiled and took Gabriella's hand in his and left the bedroom and walked downstairs to the kitchen. He lifted Gabriella onto the counter.
"So what will it be?" Troy asked.
"Peanut butter and jelly please" Gabriella said softly.
Troy smiled and kissed Gabriella's cheek.
"Coming right up" Troy said.
Troy made Gabriella and himself sandwiches. They didn't hear Maria come downstairs until they heard her start talking.
"Do you both know what time it is?" Maria asked.
"Gabs had a contraction and got scared. I thought this would be the best solution" Troy said.
Maria looked at Gabriella.
"How are you feeling now?" Maria asked.
"Haven't had anymore" Gabriella said.
Maria nodded. She kissed Gabriella's cheek softly.
"Just relax okay? She's not ready to come out and she won't come out because I said so. Do you hear that baby girl?" Maria asked.
Gabriella smiled slightly.
"If you have another one, time it. Take a warm bath and that should relax you" Maria said.
The couple nodded and went upstairs. Gabriella got a towel and walked into the bathroom. Troy followed her.
"Troy, you don't need to watch me take a bath. You have to be at the shop-" Gabriella started.
"Brie, let me take care of you. Yes, I have work tomorrow but I have to make sure that you are alright" Troy said.
Troy closed the door behind them. Gabriella turned on the warm water and waited for the tub to fill up. Once it had filled, she squeezed some of her favorite soap into the water. Gabriella took her clothes off and got into the bathtub and sighed.
"Feel better?" Troy asked.
Gabriella nodded with her eyes closed.
"Just relax sweetheart" Troy said smoothing Gabriella's hair back.
"I've never been so scared in all my life" Gabriella said softly.
"I know. But, mom and I are going to make sure that nothing happens to you and our baby girl" Troy said.
Gabriella whined.
"Another one?" Troy asked.
Gabriella nodded.
"Remember what Dr. Brand told you Brie. You have to breathe through it okay? Don't hold your breath" Troy said softly.
Gabriella breathed through the contraction. Troy smoothed back Gabriella's hair and kissed her forehead. Once the contraction ended, Gabriella relaxed and looked at Troy.
"You okay?" Troy asked.
Gabriella nodded.
"I want to go back to bed" Gabriella said.
"Alright baby" Troy said.
Troy drained the water and helped Gabriella get out of the tub. He handed Gabriella a towel and she dried herself off. Gabriella changed into a pair of pajamas and the couple left the bathroom and walked into the bedroom. Troy tucked Gabriella into bed and kissed her forehead. Gabriella smiled slightly.
"Feeling okay?" Troy asked.
Gabriella nodded sleepily.
"Go to sleep sweetheart. Wake me up if you need anything" Troy said.
Troy climbed into bed and Gabriella snuggled into his chest.
"Troy?" Gabriella said.
"Yeah Brie?" Troy asked.
"Thanks for everything" Gabriella said.
Troy smiled.
"You are most welcome. Get some sleep" Troy said.
Gabriella fell asleep to the sound of Troy's heartbeat. She didn't know how she would have been able to get through this pregnancy without him.