Time had passed until Christmas arrived. Unfortunately, Troy was required to play basketball on that day despite the fact that it was a major holiday.

During the time that had passed, Troy had not seen Gabriella anywhere except on the news. The reporters had said which hotels she was staying in at which times, but Troy didn't bother going to follow her. He had a feeling she would just turn him away like she had done the last time he had gone after her.

As Troy was driving along the roads to the Lakers' stadium, the roads that had become so familiar to him over the past few months, he thought about Gabriella. He thought about all the things that could have happened if she had stayed with him. He worried about both her and the baby she was carrying.

When Troy approached the road near to a creek, he slammed on his breaks, horrified at the sound that had just met his ears. A scream. But not just any scream. Her scream. Quickly hitting the gas pedal, Troy pulled over to the side of the road, parked, then dashed out of his car. Sure enough, sinking down into a hole that had been made in the frozen creek water, was Gabriella.

"I'm coming!" Troy shouted, panting as he grabbed a sturdy stick and held it so that Gabriella, who was hanging onto a piece of ice to prevent her from going totally underneath the frigid liquid that was surrounding her, could try to pull herself up.

Gabriella gave Troy a look of shock.

"Grab the stick!" Troy commanded.

Gabriella listened to Troy. A moment later, she was lying on the frozen, snow-covered grass, shivering violently. Troy, noticing the ice skates that were on her feet, untied them, replacing them with a pair of snow boots he had seen by the ice. He then lifted Gabriella into his arms, the skates dangling from one of his hands.

"W-What a-are y-you d-doing?" Gabriella asked through chattering teeth.

"Taking you to my car," Troy replied, walking in the direction of his vehicle. Upon reaching it, he put Gabriella in the passenger seat, buckled her in, then climbed into the drivers' spot. Putting the heat on full blast, he took off his coat and wrapped it around Gabriella's numbed up body before starting the engine.

"W-Where a-are w-we g-going?"

"To my hotel," Troy answered.

Gabriella was too shaken up to protest. Besides, she figured it would be pointless to do so, anyway, since Troy wouldn't let her go on alone that easily.

The second the door to Troy's room was shut and locked, Troy began helping Gabriella peel her wet clothes off her body. "I'm so sorry, sweetheart," he apologized, "But I have to do this. I know you don't like me seeing you naked, but I don't think you're able to do this by yourself. You're too shaky. And I don't want you to catch a cold by staying in wet things."

Gabriella whimpered a little bit in protest as Troy took her shirt off.

"I'm sorry," Troy repeated softly.

Once every article of clothing had been removed from her still shivering body, Troy wrapped Gabriella in the comforter that was on his bed and, going into the bathroom, began running hot water in the bathtub.

"Gabby, honey, I'm getting a hot bath ready for you," Troy told Gabriella.

Gabriella nodded very slightly in acknowledgement.

"And I have some hot chocolate I can make, too," Troy continued. "My room-luckily-came with a microwave."

Gabriella didn't respond.

Troy picked Gabriella up off the bed and carried her into the bathroom, where he turned the running water off. "Are you okay?" he asked gently while struggling not to kiss Gabriella's cheek. He really didn't want to make her more upset than she already was.

Gabriella nodded.

Troy, however, could still feel furious shivers rippling through Gabriella's body and hear the sound of her teeth chattering. She obviously was not okay. "Sweetheart, you're gonna need to unwrap yourself from that blanket now so you can go in the tub."

Gabriella shook her head.

"Honey, listen to me. I want you to get warmed up. And right now, you're shocked because of what happened earlier, you're freezing cold, and you're numb. You can't really do things on your own now. Let me help you."

Gabriella shook her head again.

"Gabby, please."

Gabriella began to struggle to get down from his arms.

Troy placed Gabriella on the ground and then said, "Come on; let me at least help you get in the tub and then I'll leave. I don't want you to fall stepping over the edge."

Gabriella shook her head as tears began falling down her face.

"Sweetheart, you need help. You're shocked and you're numb. You might have frostbite. Now please." Troy felt horrible forcing Gabriella to do something she was uncomfortable with, but it had to be done in order for her to get better.

Gabriella shook her head yet again.

Troy took his fingers and wiped the tears that were still streaming down her face away before taking the edge of the blanket and slowly trying to pry it away from her.

Gabriella sat down on the bathroom floor, unable to stand any longer due to exhaustion and shock.

"This is why you need help. Please, Gabriella. I'm not gonna try to make love to you or anything."

After several more tears and a little more coaxing, Gabriella finally let Troy unwrap her and place her in the hot water.

When an hour and a half had gone by and Gabriella still hadn't come out of the bathroom, Troy knocked on the door. He received no response, so he slowly opened it. Gabriella was fast asleep.

Grabbing a towel, Troy picked up Gabriella very carefully so as not to wake her, dried her as best as he could, then wrapped her back up in the blanket she had been wrapped in before. When he had done all that, he carried her out of the bathroom and laid her on the bed.

"What's going on?" Gabriella mumbled as her eyes opened part way.

"You fell asleep," Troy replied softly, brushing a strand of Gabriella's hair off her face. "Now keep resting. You need it."

"I can't rest, Troy," Gabriella protested.

"Why not?"

"Because I need to go. This is your room. I don't belong here. Now give me my clothes so I can get dressed and leave this place."

"Honey, your clothes were soaking wet. I put them in one of the driers that's in the laundry room downstairs."

"Well, go see if they're done drying so I can get out of here."

"Are you that angry with me?"

"Yes. I can't believe you! I would've been perfectly fine if you would've just left me alone!"

"You mean at the creek?"

Gabriella nodded.

"If I wouldn't have helped you, you would've drowned."

"And maybe that would've been good. Then I wouldn't have to worry about you ever again. I still hate you."

"Why?"

"Okay, first of all, you get me pregnant. Secondly, you abandon me for some dimwitted cheerleader. Then, you keep bugging me to get back together with you. And just today, you were treating me like I was helpless. You acted like you had to assist me with every little thing."

"That's because you were still recovering from the shock of falling through the ice."

"Just go get my things out of the drier, so I can get dressed. And when I get dressed, I'm doing it in private. You are not looking at me anymore than you already did today, you idiot."

"I'm sorry," Troy apologized. "But I needed to help you. And besides, I've seen you before."

"Yeah, but we were together then, Troy! You can't just go randomly looking at me whenever you feel like it! Now go get me my clothes."

"Fine." Troy left the room, returning five minutes later with Gabriella's things in his hands. Handing them to her, he said, "Here you go."

Gabriella went into the bathroom, being sure to lock the door, got dressed, then walked back out and put on her boots and coat. "I need my skates."

"They're next to the bed."

After grabbing her ice skates, Gabriella headed for the door.

"Uh, Gabby?" Troy began.

"What?" Gabriella snapped.

"How are you gonna get your car? It's at the creek still."

Gabriella groaned. "I guess you'll have to drive me there. Let's go now."

"No."

"What do you mean 'no?' I've had enough with you. Now take me to get my car right this second."

"Not until after we talk."

Gabriella rolled her eyes. "Fine. We can talk." She went over to Troy's bed and sat on it.

Troy took a seat beside Gabriella. "Why are you so mad at me?"

"Oh, I don't know," Gabriella replied sarcastically. "Maybe because you cheated on me and then decided to 'help' me recover from the shock of slipping through the ice."

"First of all, I didn't cheat on you. And secondly, what do you mean by 'help?'"

"Troy, you didn't need to undress me. I could've done it myself. You're just a creepy idiot. You know I'm uncomfortable with how I look pregnant, and yet you don't care. All you wanted was sex."

"No, I didn't! I was really trying to help you!"

"You were being a jerk about it, though!"

"How?"

"You weren't being very considerate of my modesty!"

"But you needed help. Just be glad it was me and not a strange man who saw you."

"You are a stranger. I don't know you anymore."

"I'm the same guy I was before! Why don't you see that?"

"Because you're a cheater!"

"I didn't cheat on you!"

"You did so!" Gabriella took her hand and slapped Troy's cheek. "I hate you, I hate you, and I hate you! Now get me to my car."

"No."

"Stop refusing! I'll walk if you don't take me."

"Fine. Go walk and get mobbed by paparazzi."

"I can't do that," Gabriella sighed.

"Then stay here with me. Lie down. It's almost midnight. Get some rest."

"With you here? I don't think so."

"But you need to keep your strength up. Come on; take off your coat and shoes, get under the covers, and sleep. I'll sleep on that couch over there." Troy indicated the mentioned object with one of his hands.

Gabriella groaned.

"Come on."

Gabriella, after a moment of hesitation, removed her coat and boots and laid down in bed. "Off," she demanded when Troy didn't get up from his seat on the edge of the mattress.

Troy slid off the bed and went over to the sofa. "Good night," he said.

Gabriella didn't say anything in reply. She just gave Troy a look of hatred before turning out the lamp beside her and closing her eyes. She couldn't believe what had happened that night. Her ex-boyfriend had saved her for the second time. From the same creek he had saved her from before. Why was he always there at the times she needed to be rescued? Probably just to irritate me, she guessed.

"Gabriella?" Troy started hesitantly.

"What do you want now?"

"I just wanted to say that I love you."

"Whatever," Gabriella mumbled. "Now be quiet and let me sleep so that I can get out of here."