It had been a couple weeks since Gabriella had her first appointment with both Dr. Fields and Dr. Brooke. She was eight months pregnant and trying to get everything ready before their daughter came. Gabriella hadn't spoken to Lucille since their big argument about her telling Maria about the baby's heart problem. She didn't want to get stressed out during the last few weeks of her pregnancy. Troy had been trying to help Gabriella out in any way that he could. Sometimes he would come home and find her crying and worrying about their daughter's future. Gabriella had also become very attached to Troy and didn't want him to leave to go to work. Troy knew that it had to do with everything that was going on and did his best to be there when she needed him. Patrick could now walk by himself from room to room. He would need help walking down the stairs but other than that, he was completely mobile.
"Brie?" Troy called walking into the house.
"Bedroom" Gabriella called back.
Troy walked upstairs and into the bedroom where he saw Patrick sitting on their bed surrounded by pillows and a suitcase with clothes piled in it. He also saw baby name books scattered all over the floor with pieces of paper with Gabriella's neat handwriting on it.
"What are we doing?" Troy asked.
"Can you bring the suitcase downstairs? It's ready to go" Gabriella said.
"This is your hospital bag?" Troy confirmed.
Gabriella nodded.
"I have clothes in there for you as well" Gabriella said.
"Okay. What's the rest of this stuff?" Troy asked.
"We need to start figuring out her name. We are running out of time" Gabriella said.
Troy smiled. He walked over to Gabriella and placed both of his hands on her shoulders. Troy kissed Gabriella's forehead.
"Relax. We will get it done. Let me go bring the suitcase downstairs" Troy said.
Troy picked up Gabriella's suitcase and brought it downstairs. He then walked back upstairs and into the bedroom.
"What's next?" Troy asked.
"What do you think of these names?" Gabriella asked handing Troy the pieces of paper that he had seen earlier.
Troy sat down on their bed next to his son, who climbed into his lap. He looked at the piece of paper.
"I like Olivia" Troy said.
Gabriella smiled.
"Me too" Gabriella said.
Troy looked up at Gabriella.
"So do you want to name her that or something else?" Troy asked.
"I want to name her Olivia" Gabriella said.
Troy looked at Patrick.
"What about you? Do you want that to be your sister's name?" Troy asked his son.
"Daddy" Patrick said.
Troy smiled.
"It's a yes or no question, Pat. This is serious" Troy said jokingly.
Gabriella giggled.
"Yay" Patrick said.
"I'm taking that as a yes" Troy said.
Gabriella smiled and rolled her eyes playfully.
"Yes, make the eighteen-month-old decide what his sister's name should be" Gabriella joked.
Troy smiled. He tickled Patrick and watched him laugh. Later that night, Troy climbed into bed and Gabriella snuggled as close as she could to Troy.
"Is he asleep?" Gabriella asked.
Troy nodded.
"He was fighting it but then passed out" Troy said.
Gabriella smiled.
"He's grown up so much" Gabriella said.
"Yeah, but he's still a baby" Troy said.
Gabriella closed her eyes and took a deep breath.
"Brie?" Troy called.
"Wait a minute" Gabriella said.
A minute passed by in silence. Troy looked at Gabriella, who finally opened her eyes.
"Was that a contraction?" Troy asked.
"I think so" Gabriella said placing her hand on her bump.
"You okay?" Troy asked.
Gabriella nodded.
"Have you been having any of those before now?" Troy asked.
"No. That was the first time" Gabriella said.
"Okay" Troy said.
Troy wrapped his arm around Gabriella and sighed.
"You sure you are okay?" Troy asked.
Gabriella nodded against Troy's chest.
"She's got a few more weeks to stay in here" Gabriella said placing her hand on her bump.
Troy kissed Gabriella's cheek.
"Get some sleep okay? If you have another one-" Troy started.
"I'll wake you up" Gabriella finished.
Troy smiled slightly.
"Thanks" Troy said.
Troy leaned in and kissed Gabriella's lips. A couple of days later, Troy came home to Gabriella with her hand on her back looking at their daughter's room. He walked over to her and placed his hand on top of Gabriella's.
"Is your back hurting?" Troy asked.
"A little. But it's not too bad" Gabriella said.
"What do you need me to move in here?" Troy asked.
"I was thinking of moving the changing table over a little bit" Gabriella said.
"And what else?" Troy asked knowing there was more.
"There are some of Pat's newborn blankets in the cabinet. I want to put those in here too" Gabriella said.
"That's all?" Troy asked.
Gabriella nodded. Troy moved the changing table to where Gabriella wanted it. He then found Patrick's blankets that Gabriella was talking about and brought them into their daughter's room.
"Done" Troy said.
Gabriella smiled slightly.
"Thank you baby" Gabriella said with her hand on her back.
"How's your back?" Troy asked.
"Hurts. But I'm fine" Gabriella said.
"Maybe you need to rest for a while" Troy said.
"Troy" Gabriella said.
"Brie, I'm trying to help" Troy said.
"Okay" Gabriella said.
Troy smiled sympathetically.
"Go take a nap. I'll finish in here, okay?" Troy said.
Gabriella nodded. She walked over to Troy and kissed his lips.
"Let me know if the pain gets worse" Troy said.
"I know" Gabriella said.
Troy watched Gabriella walk away. He looked at his daughter's room and smiled.
"A couple more weeks" Troy said to himself.
That night, the doorbell rang. Troy walked to the front door and opened it, revealing his mother.
"Hi Troy" Lucille said.
"Hi mom" Troy said.
"Are you still mad at me?" Lucille asked.
"No" Troy said.
"Is Gabi home?" Lucille asked.
"She's taking a bath right now. Her back hurts" Troy said.
"I'd like to talk to her if you'll let me" Lucille said.
Troy opened the door a little wider and let Lucille walk into the house. They went into the living room and sat down.
"Patrick is asleep" Lucille said.
Troy nodded.
"He just went down. Let me go see if Brie is almost done" Troy said.
"Okay" Troy said.
Troy walked upstairs and into the bedroom. He knocked on the bathroom door.
"Sweetheart, are you almost done?" Troy asked.
"Yeah. You can come in" Gabriella said.
Troy poked his head in and smiled when he saw Gabriella trying to wrap herself in a towel.
"Need some help?" Troy asked.
Gabriella shook her head.
"My mom is downstairs. I think she wants to talk to you" Troy said.
Gabriella nodded.
"I'll be down in a couple minutes" Gabriella said.
"Okay" Troy said.
A couple minutes later, the couple walked downstairs together.
"Hi mom" Gabriella said.
Lucille smiled.
"Hi Gabi" Lucille said.
Lucille hugged Gabriella.
"How are you feeling?" Lucille asked.
"Tired and achy all the time" Gabriella said.
Lucille smiled sympathetically.
"What's up?" Gabriella asked.
"I came over because I felt like I needed to talk to you face-to-face about what happened with your mom" Lucille said.
Gabriella looked at Troy, who looked at her. She looked at Lucille and nodded.
"I feel that we have to also. Troy, would you mind?" Gabriella asked.
"No. I'm going to check on Pat" Troy said.
Gabriella smiled slightly. Troy kissed Gabriella's cheek and walked upstairs. The two women sat down.
"Gabi, I never meant to hurt you the way that I did. I was trying to help" Lucille said.
"I know. It's just everyone doesn't understand what's going on between my mom, Troy, and I. When I was pregnant with Pat, it was a disaster. I was getting stressed out because of all the stuff that was going on. I didn't want to tell her because I wanted to avoid all of that. Now that this baby has a heart problem, there is already stress. Then if my mom is added to that mix, it's a huge problem. That's why I got so upset that you told her, mom" Gabriella explained.
"I guess I didn't know the whole story. I didn't think she would react the way she did, Gabi. I'm sorry that I added flames to the fire" Lucille said.
"Now, I don't talk to her when she calls. Troy does because he knows that it's better that way. He's not afraid to say no to her" Gabriella said.
Lucille nodded.
"Is there anything I can do?" Lucille asked.
"No. I just don't want anyone talking to her about the baby's heart problem. I get stressed out talking it about it. I want things to be calm for the last couple weeks of my pregnancy" Gabriella said.
"I get it. Again, I'm sorry about doing that. I hope you can forgive me" Lucille said.
Gabriella smiled slightly and nodded. Lucille hugged Gabriella, who hugged her back.
"I love you, Gabi" Lucille said.
"I love you too mom" Lucille said.
"Mommy" Patrick said.
Gabriella smiled and pulled away from Lucille.
"Is it safe to come down here now?" Troy asked looking down at Patrick, who was holding onto his hand.
Gabriella nodded. Troy and Patrick walked down the remaining steps. Troy let go of Patrick's hand and watched him walk over to his mother. Gabriella picked Patrick up and set him on her lap.
"Did you say hi to mama?" Gabriella asked her son.
Patrick wrapped his arm around Gabriella and buried his face into her neck.
"He's a little shy today" Gabriella said.
Troy and Lucille smiled. The couple and Lucille talked for a little while longer. An hour later, Gabriella walked upstairs and went into the bedroom to lie down. Troy knocked on the bedroom door just when Gabriella was about to fall asleep.
"I'm going to go to Chad's. I'm taking Pat with me, okay?" Troy said.
Gabriella nodded sleepily. Troy walked over to the bed and leaned down and kissed Gabriella's lips softly.
"Call me if you need me" Troy said.
"Okay. Love you" Gabriella said tiredly.
"Love you" Troy said.
Troy and Patrick left the house. Gabriella took a two-hour nap. After her much needed nap, Gabriella went downstairs to make a snack for herself.
"What do we want to eat, baby girl?" Gabriella asked looking into the refrigerator.
Gabriella smiled when she felt a kick.
"Fruit it is. You are just like your daddy. Always healthy" Gabriella said pulling out a bag of grapes.
Gabriella took her snack upstairs and picked up her computer. She started researching Olivia's heart condition again. Gabriella wanted to be prepared for everything. She was so busy researching and taking notes that she lost track of time and didn't hear Troy and Patrick come into the house.
"Brie, are you in pain?" Troy asked.
Gabriella was pulled out of her thoughts and gasped.
"Sorry. I didn't mean to scare you. Are you in pain? You are crying" Troy said.
Gabriella shook her head.
"I was doing some research and I guess I was so focused on it that I started crying. I didn't even realize it" Gabriella said wiping her eyes.
"You're not in pain?" Troy asked.
"No" Gabriella said.
"What are you looking at?" Troy asked sitting next to Gabriella on the bed.
"I just wanted to make sure that I didn't miss anything. The treatment, surgery, complications, and risks. That sort of thing" Gabriella said.
"Why did you decide to do this when you were home alone? I would be more than happy to do some of this with you, Brie" Troy said.
"I didn't want to cry about it in front of you anymore. It's like an everyday occurrence. I'm a burden-" Gabriella started.
"Gabriella Bolton, you are not a burden. Our daughter has a heart condition. It's scary. Brie, if you want to talk about it or you want to ask questions, you can always talk to me. You are eight months pregnant. I think if you weren't emotional, then something must be wrong" Troy said.
Gabriella sniffled.
"Come here" Troy said.
Gabriella put her laptop to the side and snuggled into Troy's chest.
"I don't want you researching things by yourself, okay? Especially when I'm not home. Instead, I want you to talk to me" Troy said.
Gabriella nodded.
"Sorry" Gabriella said.
Troy smiled sympathetically.
"I know that you feel like you are alone because I am a cardiologist and see this type of stuff all the time. But, I've only seen the doctor side of it. I've never seen the patient side. I'm going through it blind. Knowing what I do, it actually scares me more because I know how the procedures go and what can happen" Troy said truthfully.
Gabriella's eyes filled with tears. She had never seen Troy get so emotional about something in her whole life.
"That's why I want to be here when you do that, babe" Troy said.
Gabriella nodded.
"I think you have had enough researching for today" Troy said.
Troy closed Gabriella's laptop.
"I'm going to put Pat down" Gabriella said.
"Okay" Troy said.
Gabriella got up and picked Patrick up and set him on her hip.
"Go say night night to daddy" Gabriella said walking over to Troy.
Troy smiled. He stood up and kissed Patrick's head.
"Night night" Patrick said.
"Night night, buddy. I love you" Troy said.
Gabriella smiled.
"Come on, let's go" Gabriella said.
Gabriella walked out of the room. Ten minutes later, Gabriella walked back into the bedroom. She climbed into bed.
"Ooh" Gabriella groaned as she put her hand on her bump.
Troy looked at Gabriella.
"You okay?" Troy asked.
"I think she just kicked too hard" Gabriella said.
Troy nodded. Fifteen minutes later, Gabriella was in the bathroom.
"Troy?" Gabriella called from inside the bathroom.
Troy walked to the bathroom.
"What's wrong, Brie?" Troy asked.
"I think I'm having contractions" Gabriella said shakily.
"Baby, can I come in?" Troy asked gently.
Gabriella opened the door. Troy looked at Gabriella, who was standing with her hand on the sink.
"Come on sweetie" Troy said.
Troy helped Gabriella get back into bed.
"Did they stop?" Troy asked.
"Yeah" Gabriella said.
"Do you think that hard kick earlier was one too?" Troy asked.
"Possibly" Gabriella said.
"I'm going to call Fields okay? Just as a precaution" Troy said.
Gabriella nodded. Troy kissed Gabriella's forehead softly.
"Try and go back to sleep" Troy said.
Troy got off the bed. He grabbed his phone and walked downstairs. Troy called Dr. Fields and explained the situation. Ten minutes later, Troy walked upstairs and back into the bedroom.
"How are you feeling?" Troy asked.
"Nauseous" Gabriella said.
"Don't panic, Brie. Just relax. She said that it could be Braxton-Hicks" Troy said.
"I just am scared with her having-" Gabriella started.
"I know. Just relax for right now" Troy said.
The couple decided to try and get some sleep and figure everything out in the morning. Troy woke up in the middle of the night to Gabriella moaning in her sleep. He turned over and shook Gabriella to wake her up. Gabriella opened her eyes.
"We need to call mom and dad" Gabriella said.
"Alright baby" Troy said.
Troy got out of bed and called his parents and let them know what was going on. Twenty minutes later, Jack arrived at the house.
"Keep us updated on what's going on" Jack said.
Troy nodded. Jack and Troy helped Gabriella get into the car. Troy drove to the hospital. An hour and a half later, Gabriella was in a hospital room. Troy was trying to find out where Dr. Fields was. Nicole was passing by but stopped and backtracked.
"Gabriella?" Nicole called.
Gabriella put on a brave face.
"Where's Troy?" Nicole asked.
"He's trying to find out where Dr. Fields is" Gabriella said.
"Are you in labor?" Nicole asked.
Gabriella shook her head.
"Just having a lot of contractions. I thought it was a good idea to come in and get checked out" Gabriella explained.
"I see. I'm going to go and try to get Troy to stop looking for Dr. Fields. That's my job" Nicole said.
Gabriella smiled slightly.
"Thank you" Gabriella said.
Five minutes later, Troy came into the room.
"Sorry for leaving" Troy said.
"You're worried. It's okay, Troy" Gabriella said.
"How are you feeling?" Troy asked.
"I want to be back in our bed" Gabriella said.
"You will be soon" Troy said.
Dr. Fields and Dr. Brooks knocked on the door.
"Hi guys. What's going on?" Dr. Fields asked.
"A lot of contractions. I didn't know if something was wrong with her or not" Gabriella said.
Dr. Fields and Dr. Brooks nodded.
"Well, let's take a look" Dr. Fields said.
Dr. Fields did an ultrasound and an exam. Dr. Brooks conducted her tests. After talking with each other, the two doctors came back into the room.
"So, I think I'm going to move your due date up a little bit. Her heart rate is kind of going up fast and then regulating. We need to keep a close eye on it" Dr. Fields said.
"How far up?" Troy asked.
Dr. Fields smiled.
"A week or two. She will be fine" Dr. Fields said.
"And then what happens now?" Gabriella asked.
"We monitor and make sure nothing out of the ordinary happens. We will then come back next week or the week after and induce you" Dr. Fields said.
Gabriella looked at Troy.
"She will be okay" Troy said.
"It's safe?" Gabriella asked.
"Yeah. If it was a couple months ago, no" Troy said.
"Then after she's here, what will happen?" Gabriella asked.
"We will assess the situation. I'll run some tests and going off those results, we will figure out what's next" Dr. Brooks said.
Gabriella nodded.
"Alright, let's do it" Gabriella said.
Troy smiled. Gabriella was discharged from the hospital. The couple drove home. Once they arrived home, Jack looked at the couple with his grandson in his arms.
"What happened?" Jack asked.
"The doctor moved Gabriella's due date up. She's going to be induced in a week or two" Troy said.
Jack took a deep breath and released it.
"How are you feeling about that?" Jack asked his daughter-in-law.
"I want to do what's best for her. I'm terrified. But, I want to keep her safe" Gabriella said.
Jack nodded.
"Let your mom and I know the day you guys go in, we will bring Patrick over to the house" Jack said.
The couple nodded.
"Are you going to tell Maria-" Jack started.
"No" Gabriella said quickly.
Troy smiled sympathetically.
"We don't want her to cause any drama" Troy said.
Jack nodded. He put his hand on Gabriella's shoulder.
"Everything's going to be fine. She's a Bolton. We're strong" Jack said.
Gabriella smiled.
"Worse case scenario, Troy has to step in" Jack said.
"Actually, I can't do that" Troy said.
"He's family. It's against the ethical code for her to become his patient" Gabriella said.
"So then, who is going to be in charge?" Jack asked trying to figure out what was going to happen.
"One of my colleagues and the doctor that trained me will be on her case. She's one of the best. I trust her judgement and her work" Troy said.
"Well, we will see how everything plays out. I'm going to let you get some rest" Jack said kissing Gabriella's cheek.
Gabriella smiled.
"Thanks dad" Gabriella said.
"No problem. Call if you need anything" Jack said shaking Troy's hand.
"We will" Troy said.
Jack left the house. Troy looked at Gabriella.
"Why don't you go up and take a shower?" Troy said.
Gabriella nodded. A couple days later, Dr. Fields had sent a doctor's note ordering Gabriella to go on maternity leave early. Troy came home from work and smiled when he saw Gabriella and Patrick snuggled together under a blanket watching television.
"Hey baby. How are you feeling?" Troy asked kissing Gabriella's lips.
Gabriella looked at Troy, annoyed.
"I know you are upset, Brie. But she felt that this was best" Troy said.
"I had two contractions while you were gone" Gabriella said.
"Have you had any more?" Troy asked.
Gabriella shook her head.
"I don't want you to be mad at me. I want what's best for you and Olivia" Troy said.
Gabriella didn't make eye contact with Troy. Troy put his stuff down and went over to the couch and sat next to Gabriella.
"Come on Brie. Don't be mad at me" Troy said.
"You could have agreed with your wife and told Dr. Fields and Dr. Brooks no" Gabriella said.
"Gabriella, Dr. Fields showed me your chart. I may not be your cardiologist, but that doesn't mean I'm going to let things slide. I would have been lying to you and you wouldn't have liked that very much if something happened down the line. I am just as upset and frustrated as you are. But it's the safest option right now. I'm not sorry that I did what was right. I am sorry for making you mad, but you are just going to have to deal with it for the next week or so. After that, this won't even matter because she will be here" Troy explained.
Gabriella still refused to make eye contact with Troy. Troy sighed. He got up and walked upstairs. Troy knew that Gabriella needed some time to process what was going on. He changed into his gym clothes and walked downstairs.
"I'm going to Chad's" Troy said.
"Troy?" Gabriella called.
Troy walked into the living room and looked at his wife.
"I'm just scared, okay? It's not the easiest position to be in. When you have Dr. Fields, Dr. Brooks, and you telling me what to do, I feel like no one understands me and how I feel about it. You all understand what could happen medically. I don't" Gabriella said.
Troy looked down at the ground.
"I felt like it was three against one" Gabriella continued.
"I never meant for it be like that, Brie. I was just trying to show you that this was the best option" Troy said.
Gabriella took a deep breath and released it.
"I thought that if you heard it from me, you would feel better about it. I didn't think that you would make it a three to one type of thing. I'm sorry that it turned out that way, baby. Dr. Fields, Dr. Brooks, and I have seen stuff like this. You are right, we do understand what's going on. When you have something wrong with your baby as a doctor, it's sometimes hard to separate the patient and doctor categories" Troy said.
"Can you just be on my side of the equation?" Gabriella asked.
Troy's face softened.
"Gabriella, I am on your side of the equation. But I am trying to explain to you what's going on. I'm her dad, but I also think like a doctor. Sometimes, it's hard to separate the two" Troy said.
Gabriella snuggled into Troy's arms.
"I love you" Troy said.
"I love you too" Gabriella said.
That night, the couple relaxed and watched a movie. The day had worn them out.