A/N: Wow. Long chapter. I'm not thrilled with the ending but I've uploaded it, anyway. There won't be an update for any story for at least a week. Friday is my final deadline for my assignments so...maybe next Sunday. Chapter 8 of 'Love is forever' is already underway. The sad news is this story is almost over :(

Don't own HSM

Gabriella sat down on one of the bean bags in Troy's tree house and sighed. She leant against the wooden wall and crossed her arms. Today was the day. At roughly 2PM, she would be in her smart skirt and shirt and would be fighting for the ranch against Austin. She supposed she should've been nervous or re-visiting papers. But she wasn't. She was sitting alone in Troy's tree house, wearing a pair of black jeans and one of Troy's shirts and being hypnotised by the images tacked to the opposite wall. Kaden was sleeping and Troy was in the shower. She knew he'd figure out where she was which meant she also knew her time alone was limited. She wasn't exactly sure why she wanted to be alone, just that she did.

Something had been on her mind. Something that she knew shouldn't be botherin her but was. It wasn't serious and she knew it could wait. Some people who knew her story would think that the blonde woman staring back at her was a stranger. But the honest truth was that she wasn't. Gabriella knew that everything that Ellie had ever been was living on in both Troy and Kaden. And it was nice, she wasn't complaining. Kaden was very sweet and Troy was amazing. But...

That was the problem. Why was she thinking 'but'? That word simply complicated matters and, more often than not, ended relationships. She didn't want that. It was the last thing she wanted. She was finally happy and settling down and looking forward to the future. The thing that was making her think like this, the one doubt she had in the furthest corner of her mind was why Troy had called her Ellie a couple of days ago. She was the first to admit that neither of them were thinking straight and that both of them were stressed. But, she was still curious.

She loved Troy immensely, more than life itself. She cared for him and trusted him, too. She trusted that he loved her, too. But, she wasn't stupid or naive to the fact that he still loved Ellie. It wasn't only because he had admitted it. It was because when he talked about her, his face would change, his whole demeanour would transform into something he only showed when talking about Ellie. She just didn't know if he loved her more. Sure, he had known her for years and they were married but...There was that 'but' again.

She didn't want to doubt Troy, honestly she didn't. It was simply that what she had told him was true: she was scared to death of getting her heart broken again. Honestly, she didn't think he would break her heart. That seemed highly unlikely. Even so, she still didn't want to be with Troy, no matter how much she wanted to, simply to fill a gap in his life.

She felt guilty to be thinking this way. She felt sort of unfaithful, for another way to put it. It was like she didn't think he was true and she knew he was. She just wanted him to tell her that when he looked at her and when they made love, he was seeing her, not Ellie.

To someone else, her thoughts were probably laughable. They would say it was paranoia and that she was still suffering from Austin's harsh acts. But she wasn't. She was actually looking forward to the meetings to prove that she was over Austin and could still fight. She wasn't a helpless puppy anymore.

She groaned, closing her eyes. She didn't feel like Ellie was a threat. She just didn't want to be in competition with a ghost for Troy's affections. It probably sounded disrespectful to Ellie and to her relationship with Troy but she...She wanted to be sure it was real. She didn't want to be drawn in by a fantasy again. She was certain that even if Troy was, for some unknown reason, with her simply to fill a gap in his life, she wouldn't leave. She couldn't.

The persistent creaks to her left confirmed her assumption that Troy would figure out where she was. She opened her eyes and fiddled with her hands, waiting for Troy to get there. A moment later, Troy crawled in and sat on the other bean bag. He took one of her hands in his and squeezed it. "Now why are you up here all alone?" he murmured.

She sighed, staring at the opposite wall. "Just thinking, really."

"About the meeting? Gabi, baby, you'll do fine. The amount of evidence you've got and-" he began.

"Troy!" she exclaimed. "Stop it. I'm not thinking about the meeting, okay? I feel fine about it, honestly. I was..." She sighed and diverted her eyes away from his. "I mean, I was thinking about...her."

Troy frowned and glanced at the pictures and then turned back to the Latino woman beside him. "Okay. Why?"

She shook her head, staring at her lap. "It doesn't matter."

"Well, if it made you come up here, yes it does," he said sternly. He brushed some hair from her face and frowned when she wouldn't meet his eyes. "Gabriella?"

She sighed when he used her full name. She could honestly say that there was only one other occurrence when he called her by her full name. She lifted her eyes. "What do you want me to say?"

"Nothing," he whispered. "I want you to tell me what's wrong. You can tell me anything. You know that. Or you should, at least. I won't judge you."

She nodded and brought her knees closer to her chest. "I know. I just feel like I'm being stupid, like I'm making a mountain over a molehill." She looked him in the eyes and shrugged. "It's probably my imagination."

"All the more reason to tell me. Then, I can tell you that you're being silly, we can make out and get ready for the meeting," he said encouragingly with a smile.

Gabriella smiled and gasped as she hit his head. She collapsed into giggles and fell into his chest, inhaling his addictive scent. "You jerk," she exclaimed jokingly. "It does sound nice, though."

The smile slipped from his face and he stroked her back soothingly with his hands. "I know you," he murmured, causing her to reconnect their eyes. "You're smart. If you thought something was in your imagination, you'd know it was. So, what is it?"

Gabriella's smile faltered as Troy settled against the wall and she settled against his chest. His embrace helped somewhat. It made it easier to find words to describe her feelings to Troy without possibly damaging what they had together. She took a deep breath and linked her fingers with Troy's that were resting on her stomach. She leaned her head back onto his shoulder and shut her eyes to hide her tears. "You remember a couple of days ago, right?" she whispered.

He kissed her hair soothingly. "Which couple of days ago? The couple of days ago when I came home from work and we made the most incredible love or the couple of days ago where you were working like a robot and wouldn't listen to me."

Gabriella laughed and opened her eyes. "The latter. You...This is going to sound picky and possibly childish. But, it's nagging at me." She sighed. "That day when you brought me flowers. You had been at the park with the guys and you came back with flowers, trying to get me to stop working for a minute. On that day, you got mad at me and..."

"...called you Ellie," he finished quietly.

"How'd you know that was what I was going to say?" she whispered.

He shrugged. "I know you," he said simply.

There was a moment of silence between them. "I know you were angry, I understand that. I know I was, apparently, making you sexually frustrated. But...it still kind of hurt a little bit."

He nodded. "I'm sorry. I know that doesn't really account for it but I am. I..."

She smiled slightly, extremely unconvincing in the circumstances. "I know." She made to move but Troy simply tightened his hold on her. "Let me go," she whispered, not sounding at all like she wanted to be out of his embrace.

"We're not finished," Troy said sternly.

Gabriella sighed. "How many other times have you wanted to call me Ellie?" she muttered.

Troy kissed the shell of her ear. "Never. I'm truly sorry. I didn't mean to call you Ellie."

She sat up and turned in his arms to face him. "I hate thinking like this and I don't want you to think that I don't trust you because I do. I think I'm just being paranoid. You know, after Austin and everything, this feels surreal. I just need to know that you're with me for me."

Troy frowned. "I'm not sure I get you..."

She sighed as tears rolled over her cheeks. "Please don't be mad for me thinking like this. Like I said: it's probably paranoia. I just need to know that you're with me because you want me to be here, not for me to simply..."

"...replace Ellie?" he whispered as a question.

She shrugged in embarrassment. "I feel horrible for thinking it but I need to know."

He nodded and pulled her closer to his torso. He kissed her sweetly and pulled back after a moment. "Gabi, when I look at you, kiss you or make love to you, I don't see Ellie. I promise. I feel her here but that's because I honestly believe she's my guardian angel. But, when we're together, I only see Gabriella Anna Maria Elizabeth Costa-Brava Montez."

A smile slowly spread over her face. "You...You memorised my name. Nobody's ever done that before. Except my parents, obviously."

"I know it's got to be hard for you. Especially as I've openly admitted that I'll always love Ellie. But I want you to know that ever since you told me about what happened in New York, I've been terrified that you'd go back to him, even before we became official. And that fear became stronger when you told me he was here in Albuquerque." He shrugged. "I don't think it'll fully go away because I'm just shocked that you're mine."

She stroked his cheek with her fingers, feeling some stubble there. "I would never ever do that."

He rolled his eyes. "I know that in my head. But, in my heart there's that fear that I'm going to lose you."

She rested her forehead against his, sighing gently against his lips. "I promised you I'd stay."

He closed his eyes and nodded. "I know."

She pulled back slightly, narrowing her eyes. "You haven't shaved yet."

He shrugged. "I was going to but I was worried about you."

She flushed slightly. "That's sweet."

Troy's smile slipped slightly. "As we're kind of confessing here, I might as well bring it into the open."

She frowned. "What do you mean?"

He shifted her in his lap slightly. "Gabi, I love you so much. More than I thought possible. I mean, I didn't think I could love anyone like this ever again. But I can't help but notice that maybe..." He sighed. "Don't get mad, okay? I just feel that maybe you're acting maternally towards Kaden because..."

"...of you," she whispered. She nodded in understanding. "I'm sorry."

He shook his head. "Don't be. It's like you. You wanted to make sure I was true. It's simply my turn except I'm asking you to be true to Kaden. He's never had a mother after he was born." He stroked Gabriella's tears away. "I'm not criticising, I'm just..." He sighed, trying to find a way to express his thoughts. "You seem hesitant and you really need to put your all into it. I mean, you have a choice, I didn't."

"I never had a choice," she exclaimed.

He frowned. "What are you talking about?"

"When we first met I wanted you to be around. I was just relieved that someone kind of knew what I was going through. I wanted...no, needed you in my life and I knew Kaden was a package deal. I just...I'm scared. I don't want him to think I'm replacing Ellie or taking you away from him," she murmured in embarrassment.

Troy laughed. "You're taking me away from him? He shares me with about twelve other people including you. You're not taking me away from him. I don't think that and he doesn't think that. I promise. He loves you. I just want you to really take it on. You need to be confident. You're really great with him."

She sighed and wrapped her arms tightly around his neck, bringing their faces closer together. "I just don't want to be a bad mother," she said in embarrassment.

He shrugged. "You've got me, okay? So it doesn't matter. I was terrified of being a bad father but I just did it. I asked my dad to help and he said that even though my mom was there when I was born, he was still scared. It's a part of it. You'll be fine, I promise. Do you trust me?"

She nodded fervently. "Of course."

"Trust me when I say you're a great mother and when you're more confident, you'll be even better," he whispered. He grinned and manoeuvred them both so that he was straddling her hips. "I promise you that when I look at you, I see you, not Ellie. And I promise you that you're a great mother. Kaden doesn't really care, to be honest. He's just happy I don't feel alone anymore."

She smiled up at him, running her hands over his arms and shoulders. "Well, I promise you that I'll try much harder to be Kaden's mother."

Troy grinned and leaned down, connecting their lips in a passionate kiss.

* * *

Gabriella glanced around the room, smiling as she watched Troy attempt to entertain Kaden whilst she and Austin prepared themselves. Troy and Mike were just like their father: uncomfortable but they cleaned up shockingly well. Gabriella could hardly take her eyes off of Troy. As she turned back to the paperwork in front of her, she raised her hand consciously to her neck again. The love bite that Troy had made almost three days ago was still there. She didn't think it was possible and no matter how much cover up she used, you could still see it! She couldn't really remember what Troy had been doing with his mouth, she had been concentrating on the mind boggling pleasure that-

She had to stop. She was at work, looking smart in her usual grey skirt, white blouse, man eater heels and her dark curls had been tamed into a neat bun. She placed a neat pile of papers on the table and sat down, smiling politely at the other occupants of the room. "Are we ready?"

Austin nodded and stood up. "Do you have the necessary forms?"

"Absolutely," Gabriella replied, placing a sheaf of papers in between them.

Austin glanced through them and nodded. "So this is our last resort." He eyed Gabriella. "Would you like to go first?"

She rose from her seat. "Thank you." She wandered over to where Kaden sat and crouched in front of him. "Hey sweetie."

"Hi Gabi," he mumbled, clearly nervous.

She shook her head. "Don't look at them. Look at me, okay? You don't have to be scared. You're not in trouble. I just want you to tell me what you like about your grandpa's ranch."

Kaden looked thoughtful for a moment. "Daddy lived there with Mommy and there are lots of animals."

Gabriella smiled encouragingly. "And do you help your daddy and grandpa to look after the animals?"

Kaden nodded his head excitedly. "And there are horses and Daddy lets me ride them sometimes."

"Do you like your grandpa owning it?" she asked softly.

Kaden smiled toothily. "I love Grandpa. He says that I can be basketball captain like Daddy was."

Gabriella thought about her next question. "What do you think it would be like if your daddy and Uncle Mike owned the ranch? Grandpa would still be there."

The small boy scratched his cheek. "That would be awesome. Would you be there?"

Gabriella glanced at Troy and smiled softly, directing her attention back to the small boy. "I would. Now, you've done great. Do you want to go downstairs? Denise has a milkshake waiting for you." She smiled and kissed his forehead. She rose and waited until the door was shut before she faced Austin. "See? He loves that place. He needs to stay there."

Meaghan mumbled something to Austin before he replied. "Meaghan is simply requesting ownerships. She never said they can't live there."

Gabriella crossed her arms, thinking hard. She quickly discussed something with the three Bolton men and then took her seat. "Would she change anything? Anything at all?"

"Probably," Austin replied instantly.

Gabriella inwardly groaned. This was going to take a while.

* * *

Gabriella was honestly considering banging her head repeatedly against a brick wall. Having Troy there certainly hadn't helped. Although she knew he'd protect her, she still felt violated when Austin was blatantly checking her out. It was so obvious, it was unbelievable. She supposed from Meaghan's facial expression that she was on the verge of tearing his eyes out. Couldn't he simply keep his hormones in check and get the message that she found him an incompetent jerk? Obviously not. And not only that, they still hadn't figured out a solution.

She shook her head to herself as she stood up and began to reorganise her paperwork. Jack shook her hand, as did Mike before they left the room, heading down the stairs. Troy hugged her gently, giving her a kiss of praise before saying that he was going to see Jack, Kaden and Mike off and promising to be back in a couple of minutes.

Meanwhile, Meaghan was discussing something quietly with Austin and Gabriella tried to focus on what she was doing, knowing that she really shouldn't eavesdrop but she couldn't help mentally flashing a red alert when she heard the words 'Ranch,' and 'Money.' She shook the thoughts out of her head. Meaghan seemed nice, honestly. Although she had ill feelings towards Jack, she didn't seem the type of person to ruin her sons' and grandson's home. Gabriella would go so far as to say she was on the verge of backing out.

Meaghan gathered her belongings and left, bidding Gabriella a polite 'goodbye' to which she simply replied with a nod. It was only then did she realised she was alone with Austin. Alone with a guy who was adamant to get her back. She glanced at him through her glasses and it appeared it went unnoticed as he copied her task of sorting through paper work. She decided to give him the benefit of the doubt and concentrated solely on the paperwork in front of her. Unconsciously, she took her shoes off, thankful for the soothing feel that the cold hardwood flooring provided for her feet.

She glanced at the door, wondering what the hell was taking Troy so long. Or maybe she was being paranoid. It probably wasn't actually that long since he left and she was simply anxious to be in Austin's company. She slipped her needed paperwork into her briefcase and then locked it, glad that the divorce was over for another day. She wasn't a betting person but she was willing to bet her life savings that Mike and Troy would end up owning the place.

"You know, Gabi," Austin murmured in her ear.

She jumped and scurried back a few paces. She placed a hand over her heart, trying to regain her composure. "Austin, you scared me. And I'd prefer it if you called me Gabriella," she said sternly. She felt like a little mouse...and Austin was the cat. It was just a matter of time before he stopped playing with her and simply...had his way. "Now, if you'd excuse me," she said politely. Austin held his arm out, preventing her from going past him. He pushed her back until she was against the wall. She struggled, of course she did. But, she was no match for him. She was weak, helpless and on the verge of crying. "Please, Austin. Let me go," she ordered, trying to sound fearless but the slight stutter at the end betrayed her.

He held her arms above her head, smirking down on her. "You know, Gabi, I would've thought you'd be smart enough to use cover up," he murmured, leaning down to press his lips to her cheek.

She gasped and manoeuvred her head just enough so that he could be touching her face. "Get away," she growled. "And it's none of your business."

He pushed his pelvis into hers, making her groan with discomfort. "You've been a naughty girl. You never let me have sex with you the night before a meeting in New York."

"It wasn't last night," she hissed. "It's none of your business."

Austin held both wrists above her head with one hand and his other hand travelled down, groping at her breasts. "You think that now but just imagine what I can do to you right here, right now." He leaned down and kissed her ferociously, ignoring her muffled protests and her kicking feet which really weren't making a difference. When he realised she wasn't going to part her lips, he moved down to bite and suck harshly at her neck, especially the love bite that Troy had created.

She gasped in pain and tears finally dripped over her cheeks. This was it. She had convinced herself that this was it. Austin was finally going to get his way. He was going to violate her, maim her...rape her. "TROY!!!" she yelled with every last ounce of breath she had. The tears came harder as Austin's hand worked on the buttons of her blouse. She faintly heard thumps from the direction of the stairs but wondered if it was simply blood rushing through her tears.

Austin's body was taken away from hers and she slid down the wall, curling into herself. She opened her eyes and saw Troy and Austin throwing punches at each other. She was whimpering to herself and watching fearfully the aggressive fight in front of her. She wasn't an expert but she was pretty certain that Troy was stronger. She jumped as Troy lifted Austin off of the floor and threw him over the table, landing in a mess of papers and chairs. In a flash, Austin was back around to Troy, trying to punch him in the nose. Troy lifted Austin by his neck and thrust him against the wall.

Gabriella gasped and leapt to her feet. "Troy, let go," she pleaded.

"I intend to kill him," he growled as Austin tried desperately to push Troy away. However, the angered man simply held his ground.

Gabriella touched his arm, making Troy turn to her. "Please. He's not worth it."

Troy let Austin fall to the floor. "You bastard," he hissed angrily. "How fucking dare you? If you ever cared about her, why would you force yourself on her? You make me sick." He turned to Gabriella and embraced her tightly, refusing to admit that the embrace was hurting him. "Baby, I'm here. Don't let go," he murmured.

She shook her head, crying into his chest. "Never," she whimpered. She held onto him tighter, making him wince. She gasped as the realisation dawned on her and she pulled back, finally taking in Troy's scrapes, cuts and bruises that were already forming. "Oh my god!"

Troy shook his head. "It's fine. I'm fine." He bent down and picked a groaning Austin up by the scruff of his shirt. "Now you will run away from here or we'll call the police. You finish this divorce and you run back to New York as fast as you can and you never touch her again or I will cut you into pieces and take each individual piece to every corner of the Earth. Got it?" Troy barked.

Austin smiled weakly. "Is that a threat," he paused to cough, "or a promise?"

"Both," Troy spat.

* * *

"You're mad," Troy concluded as Gabriella knelt next to the sofa that he was lying on. He had thrown the scrap of material which used to be his shirt straight into the trash and Gabriella had ordered him to lie on the couch so that she could try to fix his wounds.

Gabriella frowned as she searched in the first aid kit she had found in the upstairs closet. "No," she whispered. Her hair was out of the bun and had been turned into a messy ponytail instead. She took out some gauze and antiseptic fluid, touching it gently to a cut on his forehead. He winced in pain and she sighed. "It has to hurt, baby, I'm sorry."

He sighed, looking into her eyes. "I'm sorry. You're mad and you have every right to be."

She shook her head, wiping the antiseptic across his forehead and cheeks. "I'm not mad. I never was. Imagine what he would've done if you hadn't come along. I was convinced he was going to rape me," she admitted quietly.

"Yeah, I know. But, I didn't have to go to the extremes that I did," he mumbled, looking away from her. "I almost killed him."

"Troy," she whispered, waiting until he was looking her in the eyes. "I'm not mad. What you did back there made me love you even more. I was simply worried. I didn't want you to get hurt."

"How'd that work out?" he joked weakly, offering her a bright smile.

She smiled slightly and moved on to put band aids on each of his cuts. "Still as funny as ever."

He sat up and brought her into his arms so they were sat on the couch together. He pulled her onto his lap as she burst out crying. "It's over, baby. No more," he promised. He rubbed her back, kissing her head.

She sniffed, looking up at him. "He made me feel unfaithful and dirty. It felt horrible," she cried.

"I know, I know," he whispered. "I feel like it's my fault."

Gabriella frowned. "How?"

He sighed. "If I hadn't have given you that mark then maybe...Hmmmmm..." he sighed against Gabriella's lips.

She pulled back and shook her head. "Don't blame yourself. Please, Troy. It's not your fault that he's a bastard. Although, I doubt he'll even look at me after what you did to him." She stroked his wounded cheek. He was scraped, his lip was swollen and his eye was badly bruised, but he was still the most handsome man she'd ever seen. "Promise me you'll concentrate on fixing that handsome face of yours and not worry about what happened, okay? If you hadn't have come through the door when you did..." She trailed off as tears leaked from her eyes and she began whimpering again.

Troy sighed and tightened his arms around her. "Gabi, baby," he murmured into her hair. "Come on," he said encouragingly. He manoeuvred them both so that he was lying on top of her.

"It felt awful," she whispered. "Not like when you touch me."

"I'm touching you now," he mumbled, sliding his hands beneath her blouse, holding her to his body.

"I know." Her eyes fluttered open as he looked down on her.

"Do you want to make love?" he mumbled, unsure about her confidence in that area.

She nodded fervently. "I can still feel him touching me and I want it to stop," she cried.

Troy gathered her into his arms and she wrapped her legs around his waist as he took her upstairs. They kissed slowly, both knowing that rough sex wasn't what Gabriella needed. He took her into their bedroom and laid her softly on the bed. "He's not touching you, I am. Just think about me, baby," he murmured as kissed her gently, pulling down the zipper of her skirt. Troy made love to her gently, softly caressing her face and breasts. She clung to him tightly as if she was convincing herself that it was Troy who was moving so softly above her and not Austin.

Gabriella fell asleep almost as soon as it was over and Troy didn't blame her. It had been a long day and he could see she wasn't only physically drained but emotionally drained, too. But, as he looked down at her sleeping form, he knew she was finally at peace. He hoped she had beautiful dreams that didn't include anything that had happened from today. He kissed her forehead and pulled the comforter around her. He grabbed a pen and a piece of paper from the bedside cabinet and scribbled a note for her, not wanting her to panic if she woke up before he returned.

Gabi,

Didn't want to wake you up. I'm downstairs if you need me. I won't be long though, I promise.

Love,

Your Cowboy

xxxxxx

He set it on his pillow as he stood up and pulled his boxers up to his hips. He opened the bedroom door and caught Lucky just as she was about to jump onto the bed and wake Gabriella up. "Not today," he whispered as he shut the door behind him and carried the cat downstairs. Lucky meowed in protest but soon began rubbing her face affectionately against his. "Gabi isn't feeling well. You've got to bear with her, okay?" He set Lucky on the wooden table and sat on a chair as he grabbed the cordless phone. Lucky sat in front of him as he scratched her behind her ears.

Troy called Jack, asking him to report what happened to Meaghan and to tell the rest of their friends. He knew their friends would want to kill him and they had every right to. But he also knew they wouldn't. Gabriella was too nice and didn't want Austin dead. She simply wanted him to be away. And Troy didn't blame her. But Troy would keep his promise. If he so much as looked at her, he'd shred him to pieces and scatter him to every part of the earth.

He sighed as he hung the phone up after the final call. He didn't know how Gabriella would react to phoning Greg and Maria but he did know that, despite what Gabriella had told him, he felt guilty about what happened and felt responsible to tell Greg and Maria exactly what happened. After all, Gabriella was all they had. He didn't want them to worry and promised that Gabriella would call them later.

Troy sighed again and rubbed his forehead tiredly. He'd promised to protect her and yet...look what had happened. He shook his head and stood up, pulling a tumbler out of the cupboard and turned the faucet on, filling the tumbler to near the top, knowing that Gabriella would need hydrating. He walked past the table, fussing Lucky one last time before climbing back up the stairs. He opened the bedroom door, shutting it quietly behind him. Setting the tumbler on the bedside cabinet, he took his boxers off before he climbed back into bed. Gabriella had rolled onto her side, giving him the opportunity to hold her from behind. As he draped an arm over her waist, he frowned. "You're awake," he mumbled, kissing her bare shoulder.

She giggled tiredly and rolled towards him. "What gave me away?"

He kissed her nose. "These sheets are way too neat for you to be asleep and my note isn't here."

She brought the note out from under the pillow and smiled at him. "What were you doing?"

His smile slipped slightly. "Um, I called my dad. I asked him to tell Meaghan. I don't expect her to do anything. In fact, I asked him to ask her not to do anything. You're going to win, I know you are and once you do he can get the hell out of here."

She frowned, knowing there was more to it. "And..."

He sighed. "I asked my dad to tell Sharpay. They all care about you so much and I thought you'd want them to know. And, um, I called your parents. I didn't know if you were planning on telling them but I kind of felt responsible."

"It wasn't your fault," Gabriella protested.

He nodded. "I know. But, I love you and care about you and you mean the world to me. And remember when we were visiting Greg and Maria in California?"

Gabriella smiled. "Of course."

"One of the things that Greg and I were talking about is how he worries about you and I promised I'd protect you." He sighed. "That's what I meant when I said I feel responsible."

She frowned and kissed him on the lips. "That's sweet. But, I really don't want you feeling bad. Because you shouldn't. Honestly." She stroked the band aids on his forehead, cheek and neck. "You're not sore anymore, right? I mean, after we just..."

He smiled and shook his head. "I feel fine. You don't think he did any permanent damage, right?"

She curled into his embrace. "Of course not."