Under & Over

25. The Miracle

Troy's POV

I tried not to hear my parents talking outside the door. Talking about how they couldn't wait forever and the hotel wasn't going to let them stay cheap for much longer. Everything that was bad was just getting worse and all I wanted to do was scream. I wanted to beat up Paul, yell at the doctors, do something that would allow me to release some anger.

"Gabriella…" I whispered, placing my head in my hands and shaking it desperately. "Please, just wake up already."

It was a little past midnight, and today had been so eventful that I couldn't really process all that went down. So much bad news in such little time. Life was a bitch.

"Troy, honey…" Maria stood up and leant over me, placing a hand on my shoulder. "Maybe tonight you should try and get some sleep at the hotel. You need it."

I immediately shook my head. "Nah, I'm good." If she was going to wake up, then I sure as hell am going to be here when she does.

"You haven't slept properly in weeks. It's not good for you." She sighed and sat down on the bed at Gabriella's feet. "She wouldn't want you risking your health just to stay with her twenty four-seven."

I ran a hand down my face tiredly. "I know, I know. But I wouldn't be able to sleep properly even if I did go back to the hotel. Not gonna happen."

She was quiet for a while before giving up, standing from her seated position and nodding. "Well, I'm going to go tell your parents that they can go get some rest. I'll be back."

I nodded and watched her walk towards the door. "Hey, Maria?"

She turned around and looked at me expectantly. "Yes?"

"Thank you, for ya know, understanding."

She smiled softly at me before nodding once again and leaving the room.

…

No one's POV

Lucille and Jack left to go back to the hotel, leaving the room the way that it usually was, Maria on the couch, Troy slumped over in a chair beside Gabriella, his head lying over the back of it lazily.

It was nearly 2 in the morning and Maria had fallen sleep only minutes before Troy had. The room was quiet, and dark.

Oblivious to them, something amazing and unexpected was about to happen, something that they had prayed and begged for.

Her dream became blurry. It quickly began to fade and she felt weird, somehow heavier. She tried to open her eyes and stopped as it was physically painful to. Her eyes had been closed for so long that now they were just used to it. When her lids slowly opened she couldn't really tell if they had or not, for all she saw was darkness. When she sorely moved her head to the side and saw a window, rain still covering it though it had stopped hours ago, obviously not to her knowledge, she knew that her eyes were indeed open.

Moving her arms was a different story all together. She winced as she carefully raised her right arm, rolling her wrist slowly and painfully, proceeding to do the same with her right.

Where am I? She thought to herself.

Water. She needed water. Her throat, it felt as if she wouldn't be able to talk, even if she tried. She slowly attempted to sit up, finding the act to be impossible. When she figured moving dramatically wasn't an option she carefully reached for the plastic cup on the table beside her, praying that it was water.

It was rather difficult to place the cup at her mouth and attempt to drink whatever was in it without lifting her head. As she slowly poured the cold liquid down her throat and felt it stream through her system, loosening up her brittle state, she closed her eyes in peace, not caring that some of the water had missed her mouth and poured down her neck and onto the sheets beneath her. When she opened her eyes and reached up to place the cup back on the table she nearly jumped out of her skin when she noticed someone sitting in a chair beside her. She pulled back reflexively in fear before furrowing her eyebrows.

She had always been a smart girl, always calm and strong when it came to unknown situations, finding the need to panic a last option type thing. After moving slightly closer to the edge of the bed she narrowed her eyes and tried to identify the stranger. He was definitely a he, for his posture made it clear, and his deep hoarse breathing gave off that knowledge as well. As soon as he shifted, she again reflexively reeled back, however, her eyes widened as his head rolled from backwards where she couldn't see it, to his side, resting on his shoulder where she had view of his face, the uncomfortable position evident in his pained expression. She knew that face. That nose, those lips, that hair. Because she knew that face she knew that she wasn't in any danger, that she hadn't been kidnapped or something, she didn't have that eerie feeling for some reason. But for another strange reason she couldn't figure out who he was. She knew him, yet she didn't. All she needed was a name, a name and she was sure she would remember.

Knowing the only way that she could figure out where she was, what had happened, how to get some sense of security back, and who this person was, she sorely tried speaking up. "Please…" She said, her voice even rougher than she expected. "Please…" She said again, not knowing what else to say. "Excuse me!" Her hand flew to her throat, the reaction a painful one as it caused her to swallow harshly. When the man didn't seem to react she attempted to reach over, but her arms length wasn't long enough. She winced and moved to the side more, pushing the pain and barely touching his arm, shaking it slightly. "Please!" She said again desperately.

At the call he jumped slightly, his eyes darting open and looking around the room frantically. "Huh? What?" He mumbled tiredly, calming down in his seat once more and rubbing his eyes with his fists. "Who said…" When he looked up he froze. She was staring at him curiously her eyes slightly wide as well.

She knew those eyes. Those eyes…it was him. She knew him. "Please…" She said desperately. "Where am I?"

Troy shook out of his daze and stuttered uncontrollably. "G-Gabri…Gabriella?"

She tilted her head slightly as it lay on the pillow. Gabriella. That was her name, yes she knew that.

"Yes." She said hoarsely. "Please, tell me where I am."

Troy still continued to stare at her, not knowing what else to do. He didn't know if this was all just his imagination, playing tricks on him. "Am I dreaming?" He whispered, though more to himself.

She furrowed her eyebrows and swallowed the dryness again. "No."

Suddenly something clicked in him. His head twitched and his eyes widened immensely. "Gab…Gabriella! Gabriella!"

She leaned back in shock and looked around for some answers. "Yes, I'm Gabriella."

He leapt from his chair and kneeled on the floor, his long body being tall enough for his chest and up to go above the bed. "Baby, it's me…" He said quietly, his eyes glimmering with joy. "It's Troy."

Troy. Troy, Troy, Troy. Troy…She knew a Troy. She remembered now…all together memories started flooding into her mind, from the very first time in his bedroom where they talked for hours, to Christmas, to their fights and the letters under the door. Their first kiss. "The Princess and the Frog…" She whispered to herself. School, Taylor, Sharpay, his arms as they slept together on the couch. Oh my god, she knew this person. It was her Troy.

She jumped slightly at the recognition and placed the back of her right hand on his face, caressing it gently. "Troy…" She said almost silently.

She remembered, thank god she remembered. He instantly leaned over and placed his face on her stomach, hugging her as relieved tears escaped his eyes.

She giggled weakly and brushed her fingers through his hair as he gripped onto her body. He pulled his head up and kissed her on the forehead twice, moving down to place a kiss on each of her cheeks and then her dry mouth. "Thank god…" He choked out. "Thank god."

"Troy, where am I?" She asked desperately, the situation hitting her once more. She looked around frantically.

"Shh, shh." He soothed, his hand stroking her hair. "You're in the hospital, you were in an accident. Paul was driving."

It all came back to her. The ball, the prank, the curve, her yelling for him to slow down. She placed a hand on her forehead and closed her eyes in pain, too much information to take in at once.

"You're mom is right there on the couch, hold on let me get her."

Gabriella lifted her head slightly and her eyes widened as she saw her mother asleep on the couch. She watched as Troy shook Maria gently, telling her to wake up. When she finally opened her eyes Troy quietly told her with a smile that Gabriella had woken up. As soon as she processed the words Maria slowly got up, looking over at her daughter, a hand coming to her mouth in shock. "My baby…" She choked out, running to Gabriella's side and placing both her hands on either side of her face, kissing her daughter on the head and hugging her close. "Oh my gosh, thank you god…"

"Mama…" Gabriella smiled, placing her hands over her mothers.

"Oh honey…you're finally awake, I knew you wouldn't leave me." She kissed her daughter on the forehead one more time before turning to Troy. "Go get the doctor."

…

After the doctor came in with a surprised smile and a cheerful greeting he examined her for mental injuries, sighing in relief as memory loss didn't seem to affect her. He asked the simple questions that every coma victim got: What's your full name? Gabriella Anne Montez. When were you born? December 14. He told Gabriella what she had damaged and how severe the pain would be for the next couple weeks.

"We have some medication that you can take though, so you won't feel it most of the time."

She nodded and looked between Troy and Maria. "How long do I have to stay here?"

The doctor sighed. "For a couple days at the least. It depends on how fast you recover, but you're still pretty weak…you were unconscious for a long time Ms. Montez."

She nodded understandingly and placing her hands on her stomach, fiddling with them as Maria asked the doctor more questions.

"Everything's going to be okay." She looked up as Troy kneeled down next to her once again and grabbed her hand, kissing her knuckles sweetly. "I won't leave you."

Gabriella smiled softly at him and placed her hand on the side of his face, playing with the hair around his ear. "I knew you were with me, I could somehow feel you. I even thought I heard your voice sometimes."

He smiled softly and leaned into her touch. "I was always with you." He suddenly looked down somberly. "I'm so sorry I let this happen to you."

She furrowed her eyebrows and placed her hand beneath his chin, lifting his head so his eyes could meet hers. "This wasn't your fault. It was mine. I should've listened to my instincts."

Troy shook his head and a distraught expression covered his exhausted face. "No, don't even say that. This wasn't your fault at all. I shouldn't have left you, I should've stayed with you. Stupid Paul…"

Gabriella's eyes widened at the remembrance of Paul. "Paul? Oh my gosh, is he alright?"

Troy scoffed and nodded his head. "Yeah, he's fine. A little battered up but he damn well deserves it. He should've been more careful, especially with you in the car."

She shook her head forgivingly. "Troy, he didn't mean for this to happen. It's not worth losing your friendship over me. I'm fine, and in the end that's what matters so I think you should just forgive and forget."

He stubbornly shook his head. "No way in hell am I forgiving him Gabs, not after putting you in the hospital."

She sighed, knowing that right now wasn't the time to deal with this. "Troy…" She said with a sweet smile as he lifted his head to look at her. "I love you for being here when I woke up, for not leaving me."

He smiled sheepishly at her and placed his chin on the bed, looking up at her cutely. "I love you too much to leave. The doctors actually got pretty annoyed with me being here all the time. Pricks."

She giggled hoarsely and shook her head. "Oh man, I hope they don't all hate you…cause you better still be here all the time until I get to leave."

He smiled. "Where else would I be?"

They stared at each other with goofy smiles on their faces for a while, finally coming out of their trance as the doctor came to speak to Gabriella. "Alright Ms. Montez…you shouldn't be talking, you should be resting."

She nodded obediently and bit her lip to sustain her laughter as Troy rolled his eyes.

"I'll come check on you later and get you some pain medication." The doctor looked at Troy with a pointed look. "And Mr. Bolton, please feel free to leave so she can get some rest."

As soon as the doctor left Troy stood up and mimicked him immaturely. "Mr. Bolton, please feel free to leave, blah-bid-eee-blahhhhh…"

Maria shook her head and came to stand beside him as Gabriella laughed weakly.

"He's such a douche." Troy mumbled bitterly. He sighed and looked down at Gabriella. "But he's right, you need to rest and talking isn't the best way to do that."

She instantly reached out and gripped his hand. "No, don't leave." She didn't know what came over her, but suddenly she was scared.

He furrowed his eyebrows and shook his head. "I won't leave baby. I'll be right here." He exchanged a worried glance with Maria before leaning down and kissing Gabriella's forehead. "Just rest and we'll be here when you wake up."

She nodded slowly and hesitantly, clutching his hand for dear life.

Both Troy and Maria watched her with worry, not knowing where her intense fear was coming from. They knew car crash victims had it rough, for they were usually traumatized, but out of nowhere Gabriella looked like she was about to cry.

A couple minutes later the door swung open and Jack and Lucille rushed into the room, Gabriella gasping and jumping unnaturally at the sudden noise, which again didn't go unnoticed by Troy and Maria. Lucille cried happy tears as she saw her awake and alert.

At first Gabriella had to take a moment to process who they were but then, just like Troy and Maria she quickly remembered and welcomed their hugs and relief with open arms.

After the reunions, Jack and Lucille stood beside their son and Maria and allowed Gabriella to rest. This day was definitely one that they would all remember.

…

Maria sat next to Troy and watched her daughter sleep. She didn't know why but she was concerned that maybe her only child was more damaged than she thought. "Hey, Troy?"

"Yeah?"

Maria hesitated before turning towards him with a skeptical expression. "Have you heard of separation anxiety?"

He furrowed his eyebrows at the question and looked between his girlfriend and her mother. "Yeah…"

"Do you…do you maybe think Gabi has it?"

He shook his head. "I don't think so…separation anxiety would have to mean she's struggling with leaving someone, but that's not…wait…"

She nodded solemnly. "She seems to have trouble with you not being in sight. If you move from beside her she starts to freak out."

Troy looked down with a creased brow, analyzing the situation. "But why would she be like that? What is she so afraid of if I leave?"

The wiser woman thought for a second before it dawned on her. "Troy…nothing has ever happened to her when she was with you before the accident right?"

He shook his head. "Nothing. I would never let anything hurt her when she's with me."

Maria smiled softly. "And that's the answer."

He looked at her quizzically, needing further explanation.

"Honey, when Gabriella was with you she obviously felt and was safe. You two were always together, hence she was never harmed…and coincidently the moment she's actually not with you she's in a car accident that puts her in the hospital."

Troy widened his eyes in realization.

"See, Gabi's inner mind is telling her that if she isn't with you again that somehow she'll get hurt and that terrifies her."

"Oh god…" He looked over at Gabriella with concern and sympathy, feeling uneasy that she was so afraid. He smiled at her sadly. "I won't leave her then."

"Yeah, well for a couple of days it's going to be impossible for you to even go to the bathroom."

Troy looked at Maria with an amused expression before they both started laughing, immediately placing hands over their mouths, not wanting to wake Gabriella.

"Well…" The mother of one smiled half-heartedly. "Her being attached to you isn't exactly healthy but what's new?"

He shook his head and smiled bashfully.

"This separation anxiety is the least of our problems though, so all we can do is try and make her more comfortable."

Troy nodded in agreement and they both shared a knowing look. All there was left, was the move forward.

I know this was kind of short! I'm sorry, but I didn't know what else to put in this chapter hahahah. I know, I know…you all are so relieved and happy I finally let her wake up! I would never kill of Gabriella! Alkdjglakjd that would just be stupid! HOWEVER, another reason I wanted to end this chapter at a short note was because I'm so excited to start writing the NEXT chapter, because I have a bunch of great ideas and fluff for it! EEEEEP, I'm excited. So please, reviewwwwwwwwww, tell me whatcha think…should I have made the scene of her finally waking up a bit more dramatic? Was it perfect to you? PLEASE I NEED FEEDBACK. (: