A/N: The LP bug continues. :-) I really don't know what there is to say about this chapter. I'm still working to set some events in motion for future chapters (intense stuff is coming, though not here). This sort of feels like filler, but not really. Song tally at the end of this chapter: 26, though it's two songs sharing the same spot. I must warn you...there's parts of this chapter where I felt like brushing my teeth immediately after writing due to the fluff content. Hope you all enjoy! This story is clicking along pretty nicely (fingers crossed that it continues) so hopefully it won't be too long between updates. Going to try to get some work done on LN this week, so maybe I'll be able to update that soon. As always, thanks to the support, everyone! This really is such a wonderful community we have here. A special thank you to anyone who has put this story on alert or in their favorites. Hope you all enjoy this chapter. Reviews are always greatly appreciated. :-)
"The baby?" Ryan asked, confused.
"What!?" Kelsi shrieked at the same time.
"Yeah," Troy grinned at Ryan, ignoring Kelsi for the time being. Kelsi, for her part, slowly felt the blood drain from her face as she half walked, half stumbled closer to them. "I found out the secret. Guess what, Ryan?"
"No! No guessing, no secret," Kelsi cut in, sounding frantic. "You don't know...you can't..."
"Sure, I do," Troy beamed. "I found out last night and there doesn't seem to be any reason why it should remain a secret. I mean, it was bad enough with Ryan and I not knowing. Now that I know, I can hardly leave him in the dark."
"But...but it's not time for you both to know!" Kelsi cried. "You have to wait."
"Look, Kelsi, you've been such a great friend to Gabriella through this, wanting to keep the secret safe for her, but you don't have to do that anymore," Troy told her.
"Gabriella?" Kelsi's brow furrowed. "What are you..."
"Would one of you please tell me what's going on here?" Ryan piped up. "Is someone having a baby?"
"Yes," Troy nodded. "And you'll never guess who."
"Troy, please...I beg you," Kelsi pleaded.
"Kelsi, it's okay, really. I swear...you must be the most loyal friend in the world. It's so cute," Troy chuckled.
"Who is it?" Ryan wanted to know.
"Ryan, I'm so sorry..." Kelsi whispered, chewing her lip anxiously and knowing that she wouldn't be able to stop Troy from blurting out the truth.
"Gabriella," Troy told him.
"I wanted to tell you, but I..." Kelsi trailed off, turning her focus to Troy. "Gabriella?"
"Gabriella?" Ryan said at the same time, a smile on his face.
"Gabriella," Troy confirmed. "She's pregnant! We're going to have another baby. Can you believe it?"
"Gabriella's pregnant?" Kelsi asked, confused. "Are you sure?"
"What do you mean, am I sure?" Troy asked, giving her an odd look. "She told me."
"She told you that she was pregnant?" Kelsi spoke slowly, trying to make sense of what was going on.
"Yeah...she felt bad for keeping it a secret in the first place," Troy shrugged. "Guess she didn't want to anymore." He let out a disbelieving laugh. "I still can't believe it, but...but isn't it great?"
"Of course it is!" Ryan exclaimed. "Congratulations!"
"Gabriella's pregnant," Kelsi whispered. "She's having a baby." Her gaze flickered between Ryan and Troy, and she felt a lump form in her throat as the news worked its way through her. Gabriella must have been telling Troy the truth, she reasoned to herself, no way would she make something like that up. Kelsi pressed a hand to her mouth, fully anticipating the tears she knew were coming. Gabriella couldn't be that far along in her pregnancy...she still looked the same, after all. Knowing her friend like she did, Kelsi could only assume that Gabriella had decided to keep the news of her own pregnancy a secret to let Kelsi have her moment. A small sob escaped her as she realized that their babies would be probably be born within a month or so of each other.
"Oh," she whispered, looking back and forth between Ryan and Troy again. The former was the first, and only, man she had ever loved. She had felt an attraction to him the second she met him and it hadn't taken him long to win her heart entirely. The latter had been the star of the basketball team when they met, the type of person who would normally never associate with someone like her, and yet Troy had been kind enough to rush to her aid when she had tripped and sent all of her music flying. He had then tried to make her feel better by singing her song as written, singing Ryan's part, ironically enough...the way she had wanted Ryan to sing it in the first place. Troy had become the first of Kelsi's adopted band of brothers, the Wildcats, and so held a special place in her heart. Not to say that each of the remaining Wildcats didn't all have a small share of her heart, but Troy was just a little different – as they all were.
Kelsi sniffled, her eyes going back and forth between the two men again, looking from one pair of blue eyes to the other. Oh, how she loved them both...in drastically different ways, of course. Two of the most talented men she knew, both of which would become fathers, one for the first time and the other for the third, within a month or so of each other. One of which had no idea, the other of which just found out. "Oh...you guys," she blubbered, her vision blurry with her tears. She closed the gap between herself and Troy and proceeded to fling her arms around his shoulders, with no warning. "I love you, guys. Not in the same way, of course, that'd be silly." she rambled. "Oh, come here," she added, extracting one arm from Troy and then reaching out to grab Ryan's shirt to pull him closer. "I'm so happy for both of you."
"Both of us?" Troy asked, his brow lifting curiously.
"Oh, um yeah," Kelsi stammered, realizing her mistake. "You because Gabriella is pregnant and Ryan because...well...because I know how happy he gets when his friends are happy..." she said, lamely, feeling her face get hotter and hotter as she spoke. "So how far along is she?" she asked quickly, doing her best to ignore the odd looks she was getting.
"Um...well..." Troy winced. "I don't know," he answered honestly.
"What? What do you mean you don't know?" Ryan wanted to know.
"Well, when Gabriella told me, I kind of thought she was kidding," Troy said slowly.
"Uh-oh," Ryan muttered. "What did you do?"
"Earned myself a night on the couch," Troy told them. "I asked her how we were supposed to afford another baby..."
"Oh, Troy. " Ryan closed his eyes, shaking his head. "That's bad."
"Tell me about it...she's still not talking to me," Troy sighed. "That's actually the real reason I had for coming up here. I need help, and you two are the only ones who can help me."
"How can we help?" Ryan asked, curious.
"Well, I was thinking..."
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"Gabriella!" Kelsi hurried down the stairs to find Gabriella.
"Kelsi!" Gabriella exclaimed in greeting, grinning at the look of excitement on Kelsi's face.
"Why didn't you tell me?" Kelsi whispered, working to keep her voice down while everyone else busied themselves with getting the food on, and the kids settled at, the table.
"I didn't want to ruin your moment," Gabriella whispered back.
"Ruin it? Are you kidding?" Kelsi hissed, making Gabriella giggle. "This is great! I can't believe we're both having..." She trailed off, suddenly aware of Ryan and Troy close behind them. "I can't believe this is happening!" She glanced back towards their husbands, relieved when Gabriella looked back and then nodded.
"It's exciting!" Gabriella gushed, just as Troy and Ryan caught up to them.
"Hey honey," Troy spoke up cautiously.
"Bolton...Help Abby get settled, okay?" she responded, not looking at him, though she winked at Kelsi as she spoke.
"Okay," Troy agreed, letting out a sigh as he moved past Kelsi and Gabriella to locate his youngest daughter.
"Oh hey, Gabriella," Ryan piped up. "I hear that congratulations are in order!"
"Yes," Gabriella beamed at him, stopping to accept his hug. "It's crazy...we never planned on this, but...it just happened. I'm not sure how we're going to juggle having three kids but...it'll work out."
"I'm so happy for you guys," Ryan smiled. "It will all work out. You have to believe it...everything happens for a reason, right? You guys didn't plan for this baby, but obviously you were meant to have it. I'm positive that it'll work out." He slung one arm around Gabriella, and the other around Kelsi. "Just like how I know that one of these days, Kelsi and I will have a baby. Everything works out when it's supposed to..." He trailed off, suddenly looking wistful. "I just hope it's someday soon. You and Troy are so lucky...I can't wait until it's our turn," he added, looking at Kelsi, who froze. "Hey...you okay?" he frowned as he watched her, noting that she seemed to be turning an odd shade of green.
"Um...yeah, I'm fine," she whispered, suddenly feeling like she was about to throw up. "I just...want to get something real quick. Go ahead. I'll be in there in a second." She slipped under his arm and hurried towards the bathroom. Ryan's frown deepened as he watched her go.
"That was a little strange," he said, sounding confused. "I'm starting to get a little worried about Kelsi."
"Why?" Gabriella asked quickly, hoping to distract him.
"She...she had a rough morning and now..." he trailed off again.
"I doubt it's anything serious," Gabriella assured him. "Don't worry. If something's wrong, she'll tell you."
"Yeah...you're right," Ryan said slowly, though his expression didn't change. "At least I hope so."
Meanwhile...
"Ugh...this has gotta stop," Kelsi groaned, pressing a hand to her stomach. She had thrown up twice, and then rinsed her mouth out with water, but still felt gross. "I don't know how much longer I can deal with this."
"Kelsi?" She jumped, startled, and spun around to find Troy, who was holding Abby.
"Kelsi!" Abby exclaimed happily, offering her a small wave.
"Hi Abby," Kelsi said in response, smiling at her.
"Were you just talking to yourself?" Troy asked, amused.
"Maybe," she flushed. "But I'm not crazy, really," she added, making him laugh. She gave him a mock stern look. "You shouldn't sneak up on people like that."
"Not my fault you scare easily," he teased, though his expression became thoughtful. "You know, maybe it's my imagination, but you still don't seem all that comfortable around me...which is how you've been since this whole secret thing started. But...the secret is out, so I don't get it."
"What makes you think there was only one secret?" she asked, not stopping to think about it, though her eyes widened when she finally realized what she had said.
"What do you mean?" he wanted to know.
"We should head to the dining room," she said in response, avoiding his question. "I'm starving." She couldn't help wincing a little bit at the lie. She had been starving, but that had changed once her nausea had returned. Now, after being sick again, the last thing she wanted to do was eat.
"What did you mean?" Troy pressed, ignoring her comment. "Is there more than one secret?" His eyes narrowed. "Don't tell me that there's more than one secret."
"Actually, Troy, there is more than one secret," she smiled, feeling oddly bold. She shook her head to herself, amazed at how quickly her moods seemed to shift today. "Troy, you may know Gabriella's secret, but you don't know mine." She bit back a giggle at the look on his face.
"What? You have a secret too?" Troy asked, stunned.
"Maybe..." she grinned. "Or maybe I'm just with messing you. That's something you're just going to have to wonder about. Now come on...let's go back to the others. The sooner we eat, the sooner we can get on with your plan to get back on Gabriella's good side." With that, she turned and headed towards the dining room, leaving Troy standing there with his jaw dropped open.
"Silly Daddy," Abby giggled, bringing her hand to Troy's chin and pushing it upwards to try to make him close his mouth. "Better," she decided, making him chuckle.
"You know what, Abby?" he asked, smiling at her. "I think something fishy is going on around here, and I'm going to find out what."
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"Ryan, what is this all about?" Gabriella asked, confused. Lunch had ended, and Ryan was practically dragging Gabriella towards one of the back rooms of the house. Most of their group had ventured outside, all of them full from the delicious lunch they had eaten. At least it had looked good. Gabriella's nose wrinkled at the thought...her stomach had been acting up and she hadn't been able to eat much. Neither had Kelsi, Gabriella remembered, instantly feeling sympathy for her friend. Gabriella glanced at Ryan and couldn't help frowning. Kelsi had done her best to make it look like she was eating, but Gabriella was pretty certain that she hadn't fooled anyone. She had noticed, after all, and she knew Ryan had too. Gabriella had almost been able to feel Ryan's concern for his wife increase as lunch went on and couldn't wait until he knew the truth, so he could stop worrying.
Fact chance of that, she thought a half second later. Ryan would still worry about Kelsi; it'd just be for a different reason. "Just come on," he said, breaking her train of thought.
"Ryan, what-" The question died in her throat as he pushed open a door and was greeted by Kelsi, who was sitting at a piano that Gabriella hadn't even know was in the house, and Troy.
"Gabriella," Troy began. "I know I messed up when you told me about your pregnancy and I can't blame you for making me sleep on the couch last night. I deserved it. I should have reacted with joy...and instead, I managed to put both of my feet in my mouth at the same time."
"No arguments here," she said gently, though she couldn't help smiling.
"Gabriella...I've loved you since high school. You and our girls...our beautiful, wonderful little girls are what keeps me going. You three are like my own personal miracles...and now you're carrying what will be my fourth miracle and I should have been over the moon about it." He smiled, stepping closer to Gabriella as he spoke. "I'm sorry that I wasn't...but I am now. And now that I've finally gotten my act together, I wanted to try to make up for how I acted last night."
"Oh Troy," Gabriella sighed. "You don't have to..."
"I do," Troy interrupted, nodding to Kelsi, who surprised Gabriella by playing the opening of You Are the Music In Me. "Kelsi wrote this song a few years ago, as you remember. She wrote it for us...well, actually..." Troy flashed a smile at Kelsi before he continued, focusing his attention on Ryan for the moment. "She may have written it for me and Gabriella to sing, but it was about you. Not only was it about you, but it was inspired by you. This...performance, if you will, is as much for you as it is for Gabriella." Troy turned his attention back to his wife. "For Gabriella, it's my apology...for Ryan; this is your next song in Kelsi's project."
"Na-na-na-na, na-na-na-na, yeah. You are the music in me," Kelsi began singing, her voice soft at first, but slowly grew in volume as she continued. "You know the words 'Once upon a time' make you listen, there's a reason. When you dream there's a chance you'll find a little laughter or happy ever after." Kelsi looked up at Ryan, smiling at him as she sang the part that had originally belonged to Gabriella.
"You're harmony to the melody that's echoing inside my head," Troy joined in, his voice blending with Kelsi's. He locked his eyes on Gabriella's as he and Kelsi continued the song, both getting more into it as they went along.
"It's like I knew you before we met. Can't explain it, there's no name for it." Kelsi began the next verse, her eyes softening as she watched her husband.
"I'm saying words I've never said," they sang together, Troy continuing on his own. "And it was easy."
"So easy," Kelsi echoed, smiling when Troy pulled Gabriella into an impromptu dance. Her smile widened as Ryan crossed the room and sat beside her on the bench. "'Cause you see the real me," she continued, surprised when both Ryan and Troy joined her.
"As I am, you understand and that's more than I've ever known," Gabriella chimed in so that the four of them were singing together. "To hear your voice above the noise and know I'm not alone." Kelsi nudged Ryan with her shoulder as they sang that line, making him grin in response. "Oh, you're singing to me. When I hear my favorite song, I know that we belong, yeah, oh. You are the music in me."
Troy held up a hand, grinning at the confused look on Gabriella's face as he and Kelsi stopped singing, even as Kelsi continued to play. "I know, I know, we're changing it up a little. I guess you could call this the remix version." The music from the song they had been singing slowly began turning into something else as she improvised, giving Troy a chance to speak. Troy glanced at Ryan. "And not the way your sister did it either," he added, making Ryan chuckle. "Let's see if this works," he nodded to Kelsi and continued singing, this time on his own and at a slower pace. "When I hear my favorite song, I know that we belong. You are the music in me. It's living in all of us, it's brought us here because..."
"Because all I wanna do," Kelsi began softly singing the chorus of Just Wanna Be With You as Troy continued, making the pace match Troy's. "Is be with you, be with you."
"Because you are the music in me," Troy sang at the same time.
"There's nothing we can't do, just wanna be with you," Kelsi continued, Troy joining her partway through. "Only you. No matter where life takes us, nothing can break us apart. You know it's true. I just wanna be with you." Kelsi brought the music to a close while both she and Troy looked at their respective spouses and sang the last line without accompaniment. "I just wanna be with you."
"I love you, Wildcat," Gabriella beamed at Troy, brushing her lips against his.
"I really am happy we're going to have another baby," he told her, his voice sincere. "I love you too." Kelsi smiled as Troy and Gabriella moved to another part of the room, probably to give her and Ryan some privacy, and rested her head on Ryan's shoulder.
"They both were about you," Kelsi said softly. "You...you give me inspiration to make music, even if I don't really feel like it, because you are my music. You always have been and you always will be." She let out a contented sigh as he kissed the top of her head. "And I always did want to be with you...from the first time I saw you. It was...it was like I had been waiting for you, almost, that first time. Waiting and not knowing I was." Kelsi let her eyes close as she spoke. "It only got worse, you know. Wanting you, that is. Wanting to be with you, to be your girlfriend. That song was true when I wrote it and it's true now. I just wanna be with you...from now until forever."
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"Hey, are you feeling okay?" Troy asked Gabriella. Ryan and Kelsi were still sitting by the piano, which Ryan was playing while Kelsi kept her head on his shoulder.
"Not exactly," Gabriella admitted. "My stomach's been bothering me, but I'm used to it. It's just like how it was with the other two."
"Three months?" Troy asked, confirmed what she had told him moments before.
"Just about," she smiled.
"When did you find out?" he wanted to know.
"Just before we left to come here," she told him. "I was going to announce it sooner, but then..." She trailed off, her brow furrowing slightly. "But then we all got caught up in the whole secret thing."
"Yeah...the secret," Troy said, his voice turning contemplative. He thought back first to the conversation he'd had with Kelsi and Ryan earlier, and then to the brief one he'd had with Kelsi before lunch. His gaze shifted over to their composing friend and he found himself going still as he watched her. He looked from Kelsi to Gabriella and back again, feeling something begin to click in place like pieces of a puzzle slowly coming together. He remembered Gabriella's outburst from the night before, giving him another piece. He looked between the women once more and it occurred to them that they both seemed to have a glow about them, a very similar glow, at that. "Oh my God," he said quietly, the final piece of the puzzle locking into place.
"What?" Gabriella asked.
"Kelsi's pregnant." He whispered the words, feeling the truth in them the second he spoke them.
"Troy." Gabriella's voice was cautious as she tried to figure out how to proceed.
"I'm right, aren't I?" he asked. He locked his gaze on Kelsi, who surprised him by looking up at the same time. He watched the expression on her face change as she looked at him, and he had to work to keep from smirking. He watched a dozen emotions flicker across her face before it settled into one of panic. "I'm right."
"Yes," Gabriella confirmed, her voice just below a whisper. "Troy, please..." Troy kept his eyes on Kelsi, watching as she bit her lip. Her eyes were pleading with him, just like he was positive that Gabriella's were, though he didn't check. The smirk he had been fighting turned into a smile...a smile that softened as he studied Kelsi, surprised to find himself getting slightly emotional. Looking at her, he could see the shy girl she had been in high school, the one who had tripped and sent her music flying that day in the auditorium so many years ago. The girl who had become the basketball team's little sister by the end of their junior year. The girl who had blossomed into the beautiful woman she was today, thanks largely to the man sitting beside her, the man whose last name she had taken as her own.
Troy shifted his attention over to Ryan for a moment, taking in the picture the two of them made together. Ryan was everything that the other Wildcats would have chosen for Kelsi, if they'd had the choice. He loved her with everything that he was and it showed. There could be no man better for their petite friend and vice versa. Troy's smile turned into a grin as he wrapped his mind around the knowledge that Ryan and Kelsi would be parents in a matter of months. No question in his mind that the child would be loved. He brought his gaze back to Kelsi's and nodded. He would not reveal her secret, instead, he would let Ryan believe that Gabriella's pregnancy had been the real secret. He found himself chuckling as he realized that, as much as it had annoyed him, his friends were right to have kept it a secret in the first place. He nodded at her once more, watching as her face lit up with gratitude.
'Thank you' Kelsi mouthed to him, smiling as he winked in response.
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"So...are you feeling okay? Ryan asked softly, causing Kelsi to look at him.
"I feel fine," she said carefully. "Why do you ask?"
"Because earlier you said you were starving, but..." He trailed off, studying her. "You barely ate any lunch." She winced; she'd thought she'd done a good job pretending to eat, but apparently hadn't.
"Oh...well, I guess I wasn't as hungry as I thought," she said lamely.
"Hmm...how's your stomach been?" he asked, watching as a wave of panic momentarily overtook her face. "You're still getting sick, aren't you? Earlier...when you said you had to get something...you had to throw up, didn't you?"
"Ryan," she began, working to keep her voice soft. "I'm fine. I promise...yes, I had to throw up and yes, that's why I could barely eat, but...I really am okay."
"Are you sure?" Kelsi reached up to smooth his brow, her touch light. "This has been going on for so long..."
"I'm fine," she assured him, locking her eyes on his. It had never been harder to keep her pregnancy a secret, she realized, hating the concern she saw in his eyes. "Really." He searched her face for a long moment, finally letting out a sigh.
"Okay," he nodded, looking unsure. "You'd...you'd tell me if you weren't, right?"
"Of course I would," she said quickly, though she barely resisted the urge to wince again. Earlier she had vowed to keep her hormones in check, but as she watched him, she wondered if the hormones were any match for the guilt she was feeling. "Please don't worry so much, baby. It makes my heart hurt...I'm okay...I'd tell you if I wasn't, I promise. Don't worry."
"Easy for you to say," he said, though he gave her a small smile. "I can't help it...I'm very protective of you."
"I know," she smiled. "And I love that." She leaned in to kiss him. "It's one of the reasons why I love you so much." She nudged his shoulder lightly with hers. "You might even be getting a song about it. Not that that was a hint or anything." She kissed him again, mindful of the fact that Troy and Gabriella were still in the room.
"I love you, Mrs. Evans," he said quietly. "You know that..." She smiled as his hands returned to the piano, playing the chorus of one of the songs they had sung earlier. "All I wanna do is be with you, be with you. There's nothing we can't do, just wanna be with you, only you."
"No matter where life takes us, nothing can break us apart," she joined in. "You know it's true. I just wanna be with you."