A/N: Thank you guys for the feedback! I love opening my emails and seeing it all there. Feedback is expected as a reader! It helps me know what you guys do and don't like within the chapters!
A huge thank you goes out to Tina101 . . . thanks for the suggestion!
Minor swearing! Sorry it couldn't be helped in this chapter!
Disclaimer: Same as always!
December 21, 2016 8:00 am
I walked tiredly into the ER just before my shift started. I saw Amy standing there with Pratt laughing about something. I walked up to the desk and looked at the two of them.
"You look like hell." Amy said stating the obvious. I gave her a little smile before looking over at Pratt.
"I feel it too. It's been a nightmare at my house." I told them walking around the corner and into the nurse's locker room.
I threw all my stuff in my locker and slammed it shut. I threw my stethoscope over my neck before going to grab at chart from their place.
"So why has your house been a nightmare?" Pratt asked me as I reread the chart.
"Well someone broke into the house on the yesterday morning at 2 in the morning, I was here in the ER at 4, and I'm still not caught up on my sleep. Thank God my in-laws live so close to Troy and I." I told them.
"Who broke into your house?" Amy asked me but before I could answer I heard someone calling my name.
"Nurse Bolton, I would like to see you in my office immediately." Bainbridge said unlocking her door.
"Her daughter." I told them simply while walking over to Bainbridge's door and knocking before entering.
"What can I do for you today, Dr. Bainbridge?" I asked in my normal cheerful voice.
"Well for starters, you can hand over that stethoscope and clean out your locker." Bainbridge told me as I looked at her in disbelief.
"What do you mean by cleaning out my locker? It's in perfect shape." I said to her.
"I mean as of this morning this is your last day at General." Bainbridge told me with a smirk on her face.
"I had no notice about this." I said getting royally pissed off more by the minute.
"This is your notice. You're fired, Nurse Bolton." Bainbridge said flipping open a file.
"On what reasons?" I yelled demanding a reason to why I was being fired.
"On the reasons of calling the police on my daughter." Bainbridge told me as I gave her a look.
"Did your daughter tell you that she broke into MY house?" I yelled at her.
"She went to get what was hers. She wanted her daughter back." Bainbridge told me.
"The daughter she signed all parental custody away. Belle is MY daughter now." I said giving her an evil look.
"The stethoscope now, nurse Bolton." Bainbridge told me holding out her hand.
"Fine and I'll be out of the hospital in twenty minutes." I told her throwing the stethoscope on her desk and slamming the door behind me.
I walked down to the locker room and grabbed everything out of my locker and walked back to the desk where Amy was.
"What was that all about?" Amy asked me in disbelief.
"I believe I was just fired." I told her looking at Bainbridge's office door.
"What? How the hell can she fire you just like that?" Amy asked as I shook my head.
"I have no idea. I'll call you later on tonight." I told her walking out the same doors I had just walked in not 10 minutes before.
I walked to my car in disbelief. I didn't want to find how Troy was going to react when I told him the news of me being fired. I was scared to death.
I pulled out of the hospital parking lot and drove towards home. I laid my head on the steering wheel before getting the courage to get out of the car and walk to the house. Before I even opened the front door, I saw Troy sitting in the living room staring out our big window.
"Hey. Wait what are you doing home? Aren't you suppose to work until 4?" Troy asked as he got up from his place and came over to my side.
"I was supposed to work until 4. But when I went into the ER today, I got immediately called into Bainbridge's office where she promptly told me that I was fired. I was to hand over my stethoscope and clean out my locker before I went." I said sitting down on the couch.
"Aren't you supposed to have some notice before being fired? And what grounds did she say you were fired on?" Troy asked while sitting down beside me and grabbing my hand.
"You're supposed to have at least two weeks before being fired. I was a rare exception. And the grounds she fired me on were calling the police on her daughter." I told him shaking my head.
"That was uncalled for. Her daughter broke into OUR house! We have ever right to call the police." Troy told me as I gave him a look.
"You and I both know that. Bainbridge got sucked into the whole pity pity me issue with her daughter." I told him as I laid my head on his shoulder.
"Are you ok with this?" Troy asked me as I gave him a look.
"I'm pissed as hell from being fired. So now what do we do?" I asked Troy while giving him a look.
"I don't know where we go from here. But I do have some good news if you're in the mood to hear it." Troy told me.
"Go for it. I need all the good news I can get." I told him grinning.
"I talked to our lawyer today and he said that Jenny's got no case. And since she broke into our house, the judge won't even take a look at the file. We're officially Belle's parents." Troy told me as I leaned over and kissed him.
"That's the best news ever. Speaking of the children, where are they?" I asked him.
"Mom decided to take them to the park for a little while. So we have the entire house to ourselves." Troy told me smirking.
"As much as that sounds good, I can't think right now. We're out of a huge income, Troy. What are we going to do?" I asked him fearing the worst.
"Remember when we were talking about kids, all those years ago. What did you say you wanted to do?" Troy asked me as I looked at him.
"I can't say that I honestly remember." I said yawning and trying to catch myself from doing it again.
"You wished that you could be a stay-at-home mom and raise our children. Well now's the chance. The restaurant is doing amazing and we're pulling in all tons of money. I think you could make your wish come true and become a stay-at-home mom." Troy said searching my face for any type of reaction.
"Do you think I could do that?" I asked him fearing me missing work too much.
"I think you could. Are you scared about missing your work too much?" Troy asked me.
"I don't know. I would love to stay at home with the kids and raise them. We could make this work right?" I asked him grinning.
"I think we could make it work. And if you want to, when the kids are in school, you could go back working. You've been a nurse for 3 years and in those three years, you've missed out on the little things Mack, Aidan, and Belle have done. Now you can stay at home and watch them all day long." Troy told me as I grinned at him.
"I like that idea. If you don't mind me becoming a stay-at-home mom, I'll do it." I told him leaning over and kissing him.
"I think it's an excellent idea and I think you'll be amazing at it, just like everything else you've attempted." Troy said as I looked at him and kissing him again.
December 23, 2016 4:00 pm
"So she just threw you to the streets just like that? What a bitch!" Sharpay told me as I nodded my head.
"She just told me to pack my crap and hit the road. I don't like the way she did it but I was getting tired of the hospital; now I'm a stay-at-home mom raising my three kids." I told her as I watched Mack and Brandon play together.
"Well I'm proud of you, girl! You've handled this like a pro. Now what about Jenny? Heard anything from her in the past week?" Kelsi asked me as I shook my head.
"After she broke into the house and we called the police on her, we haven't heard anything from her. Bainbridge fired me on the grounds that I called the cops on her daughter." I told them with amusement in my eyes.
"Bainbridge didn't realize that Jenny broke into your house and almost kidnapped the daughter Jenny had signed over all parental rights to?" Taylor asked me.
"Bainbridge is a dumb blonde who is going to take up for her daughter even after this is all done and over with." I said as my eyes drifted over to where Troy and the guys were in a serious conversation.
"So have you heard what the lawyers are going to do about the court case that has to do with getting custody over Belle?" Sharpay asked me as I walked over to the porter crib where a fussy Belle was.
"Troy and I called our lawyer on the 20th and caught him up on what had happened in the last 24 hours. He went to the judge who told our lawyer that he wasn't even going to look at the case. Jenny lost all chances of getting Belle back when she broke and entered our house." I said trying to get Belle calmed down.
"Well that good news for Troy and you." Kelsi told me as I shook my head at her.
"We decided not to give each other Christmas presents this year. Belle is our Christmas present." I said as Troy came over and took Belle out of my arms.
"Are you ladies having a nice chat over here?" Troy asked lifting Belle above his head which she giggled at.
"We are until you decided to interrupt it. What are you guys talking about?" Taylor asked giving Troy a look.
"Probably the same thing you guys are. I'm getting them caught up on the last few weeks. What about you guys?" Troy asked me.
"I was telling them about how I'm a stay-at-home mom now and that Jenny lost all chances of getting Belle back." I told him as Aidan totted over to where I was standing.
"Are you hungry baby?" I asked Aidan as I picked him up and he laid his head on my shoulder.
"Yeah. Dada huna." Aidan told me and Troy as we both laughed.
"Ok buddy. I hear you." Troy told me shifting Belle to one arm before grabbing Aidan.
"Hey Aidan, Where's sissy?" I asked him as he gave me a look which the girls got a kick out of.
"Ove thea!" Aidan told me swinging his arm out and almost coming in contact with Belle.
"Be carefully buddy. How about you go get sissy and we'll eat?" Troy asked Aidan as he put him down on the ground.
"There's one thing for sure, you two make some cute kids." Sharpay told us shaking her head.
"Why thank you! We do, don't we?" I asked Troy while throwing my arm over his shoulder.
"I think we do." Troy told me leaning over and kissing my lips gently.
"Is all the food ready? You're going to have some hungry people in a couple of minutes." I told Troy looking behind him.
"The chefs should be bringing the food out in a minute. I'll go check on it." Troy told me as I walked over to the diaper bag and grabbing a bottle.
I undid the top and stuck the nipple in Belle's eager awaiting mouth. I swayed side to side as she suck down the bottle. She hit the plastic with her hands as she drank happily.
"Ok guys. The food's ready!" Troy announced as all the guys erupted with cheers.
The next few minutes were filled with the girls trying to get the kids' plates ready while the husbands got food of their own. I looked at Kelsi as we both broke out in laughter.
"Would it kill the guys to fix the kids' plates for once in their life times?" I asked Kelsi as she shook her head.
"I guess it's more important for them to get fed first before their own children." Kelsi told me giggling.
"Chad's going to get up with Josh tonight. I'm not dealing with this anymore." Taylor told us as we all sat down.
I finished feeding Belle before I got my own plate. I quickly laid her down in the stroller that sat next to me and gave Belle her blanket and favorite stuff animal. After she was content, I walked over to where Mack and Aidan were sitting with Brandon. I grinned at the three of them.
"Is it good you guys?" I asked bending down to their level.
"Good momma!" Mack told me holding up a forkful of food.
"Good baby. Why don't you finish that and tell daddy when you're done?" I asked her as she shook her head.
I walked up to the food and filled a plate before walking back to where the girls were. I sat down and rolled my eyes at Troy.
"What was that rolling of the eyes for?" Taylor asked me as I nodded my head over to the guys' table.
"Troy just gave me a look. If Belle or Aidan get up tonight, he's the one who's going to take care of them. I don't care." I told them giggling.
"Isn't Troy pretty good about getting up with the kids?" Sharpay asked me grinning.
"He usually is. He's such a light sleeper since we've brought Mack home over 2 1/2 years ago that if one of them moves, he's all over it." I told them laughing.
"I wish Chad was like that. I have to literally hit him, if Josh is crying. Then he'll get up and rock him back to sleep." Taylor told us.
"Jason use to be like Troy. Whenever Brandon would make a sound or move, he would be all over it. Now that Brandon is 2 1/2 he stopped doing that. So now when Brandon wakes up in the middle of the night, I'm the one that hears him and has to wake Jason up to go get him." Kelsi told us.
"I just hope when Zeke and I start having kids, he's just willing to get up and take care of them in the middle of the night." Sharpay told us.
I grinned and looked over at Brooke. She had been pretty quiet the entire night.
"What's wrong Brooke? Is there something going on?" I asked her as I watched her eyes drift over to Ryan.
"There is something going on and I think you guys deserve to hear it." Brooke told me as we told her to continue.
"What's wrong Brooke? You can tell us." Kelsi told her as I reached over and grabbed her hand.
"I'm pregnant." Brooke told us as tears came to her eyes.
"Oh hun. That's not something you need to cry over. That's something you should be celebrating." I told her as I went over and gave her a hug.
"But I'm so worried about how you guys would react." Brooke told me as I smiled.
"We're your friends. We would never press judgment on you. I'm going to be an aunt." Sharpay told us as I giggled.
"You mean you guys are actually happy about this?" Brooke asked us as I laughed.
"Any time someone is pregnant in this group, it's a happy time. Congratulations!" I told her going to give her another hug.
"When are you due?" Kelsi asked her as she gave her a hug.
"June 15, 2017. I'm about 14 weeks along now." Brooke told us with a smile on her face.
"I'm just making sure but you are happy about this, correct?" Taylor asked grinning.
"I'm ecstatic about this. Ryan and I were worried about how you would react to the news." Brooke told me as I went over and slapped Ryan's head.
"What was that for Gabriella Bolton?" Ryan asked standing over and coming over to us.
"That was for being afraid to tell us your news." I told him as I walked over to him.
"Did she tell you?" Ryan asked looking at the girls' faces which all had grins on them.
"Yeah she told us. And all I have to say is congratulations." I told him giving him a hug.
"What news are us guys missing out on?" Troy asked coming over to stand by us girls.
"Um . . . Ryan's going to have to tell you that one." Brooke told the guys grinning.
"Come on man, spit it out!" Chad said grinning.
"All right. Since the girls all ready know, I guess it's only fair you guys know too. Brooke and I are expecting in June." Ryan said as the guys all gave him 'man' hugs.
"See we're not mad about this." I told Brooke going over to stand by her.
"I have a question for you." Brooke told me as I gave her a look to continue.
"I've never really been around babies. Do you mind if I come over and hang out with your three for a while in the upcoming months?" Brooke asked me grinning.
"I think that would be ok. You could come hang out with me while the kids are around. We'll make it our own little party." I told her grinning.
"Thank you for everything you've done, Gabi." Brooke told me.
"It's not a problem. Ryan and I have known each other since high school and there's nothing I wouldn't do for the two of you." I told her giving her another hug.
We stayed at the restaurant until 9 before packing up the kids and taking them home and putting them to bed. Troy and I geared up for the next morning where we would have Christmas with his parents and my mom and Brian.
So what did you guys think of the chapter? I had a hard time writing this so I don't know if it turned out the way I wanted it. What do you guys think? FEEDBACK AND REVIEWS are always wanted, welcomed, and appreciated!