Author's Note: It came to my attention that the direction I am taking this story may be offensive to some. I know that faith is uncomfortable to talk about and that there are people who do not believe as I do, but I believe that God has laid it on my heart to write this in hopes that, because of this story people may be drawn to Him. If that makes you uncomfortable, I am sorry. You don't have to continue to read my story, but know that I will pray for you. Thank you to those who have shown appreciation for the way I am writing. I have loved reading that you appreciate that faith is being represented on this platform. I pray that you will be emboldened to share your faith in some way as well. We are called to share what God had done for us. I am only doing as my Lord commands.

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For the rest of the week Gabriella immersed herself in studying God's word. She did not neglect her work, but she found herself wanting to get reaquainted with her Lord and Savior. She knew the stories, but she felt a new appreciation for them and was finding that she was learning new lessons.

Being raised Catholic, Gabriella had been baptized as a baby, but in reading the scriptures and listening to Pastor Charlie in church, she had learned that Jesus had been baptized as a man and started his ministry afterward, so she prayed about it and by Saturday she had resolved to be baptized.

Just like every Saturday, she spent the day with Troy and Ethan. Today, they had gone to the zoo, where Ethan was fascinated by all of the wild animals, but mostly the iguanas in the reptitle house.

"Daddy, aren't they neat", he asked enthusiastically.

Troy put on a fake smile and said, "they are cool, Buddy." Gabriella giggled softly beside him, so Troy gently squeezed her letting her know he heard her. Her only response was to reach up to kiss his cheek.

"I love you", she whispered still giggling.

The rest of the day went on happily. They went back to Troy's house for dinner where he made simple Sloppy Joes. After dinner, he sent Ethan upstairs for his bath. Gabriella helped him clean up. They worked perfectly together and had the kitchen cleaned up in no time. He went up to help Ethan get ready for bed and read him a story. When he came back she was sitting on the couch watching a movie. He smiled as he walked around the couch and picked her up before he sat down and laid her in his lap. Without a word, Gabriella laid her head on his shoulder and Troy simply sat back and proceeded to play with her hair.

"Whatcha watchin", he asked after a few minutes.

"A marathon on the Hallmark Movies and Mysteries channel."

Troy had discovered that that was her favorite channel. "What series", he asked, having learned that Hallmark had different movie series.

"Hailey Dean", Gabriella answered. They sat in silence watching the movie until it cut to commercial and Gabriella muted the TV and sat up to look at Troy. He looked at her with a question in his eyes until she spoke. "I made a decision", she started.

"Ok", Troy said, starting to get worried.

"I want to get baptized", she said as a smile grew on her face. "I want to become a member of the church."

Troy's worry turned into joy as his own smile grew. He kissed her gently as his smile became laughter. "That's awesome", he said. "I'm so proud of you."

Gabriella smiled at that. She didn't come to this decision for anyone, but herself, but knowing that Troy was proud only confirmed to her that it was the right thing to do.

"Are you going to go forward tomorrow", he asked, excitement evident in his voice.

"Do I have to", she asked suddenly self conscious. "I was just going to talk to Pastor Charlie privately."

Troy squeezed her to his side and tried not to laugh. "You have to be presented in front of the church and the members vote to have you made a member." Gabriella looked worried at that. The congregation didn't really know her. She had only gone to church a few times. She only really knew the Wildcats. "It's just a formality", he explained seeing the look on her face.

"Can they vote to not let me be a member", she asked curious and wondering if there was a reason that they could block her membership.

"There would have to be a very good reason", Troy explained. "Like if you were the pastor's angry, illegitimate daughter. I don't think they would let you in."

That made Gabriella laugh. "I could not imagine that happening", she proclaimed around her laughter. "I'm pretty sure Chad would disown Charlie and Charlene would kill him."

That made Troy laugh, because it was true. Troy had known the Danforth's almost his entire life, and in all that time he had never known Charlene Danforth to sit idly by and let Charlie get away with anything. She would have left him years ago if he had a child outside of their marriage, and Chad would have disowned him.

"If you want me too, I can walk up front with you", he offered.

Gabriella smiled at that. In the few weeks that they had been together, Troy had begun to pick up on the little things about her personality. He knew that she was not a shy person, she stood in front of a judge and pleaded her clients cases for a living, but without the judge and and courtroom atmosphere, she lost her fire and passion, she became like a shy, timid fawn, cowering in a corner.

"Please", she asked quietly, afraid to admit that she was nervous.

"Okay", he agreed as he pulled her close kissing her head.

The movie came back on and Gabriella laid back against Troy as he relaxed into the couch. They finished the movie and then Gabriella forced herself to leave. Troy walked her to her car and stood in his driveway until she was gone.

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The next morning Gabriella was nervous. She woke up early and took her time getting dressed. When she'd found the perfect dress. She took her time doing her makeup wanting to look perfect. When she was done, she looked in the mirror and smiled. She saw the same woman she always saw, but this time she noticed a glow; a new happiness that wasn't there before.

She wanted to be able to say that it was because of Troy, but this was not because of a mortal man. No, this was the glow of a woman that knew for certain that, if her life ended today, she would go to Heaven with her Heavenly Father. She felt lighter, like a weight had been lifted from her shoulders, and all she wanted to do was laugh. She giggled at everything.

When she was finally ready, Gabriella grabbed her Bible, keys and purse on her way out the door. She took the elevator down to the ground floor of her building and smiled when she saw her man leaning against his truck out by the curb in front of the building. She pushed the door open and went straight to him.

"What are you doing here", she asked whe her arms rested around his neck.

His hands went to her waist. "I thought it would be silly for us to have two vehicles when we were going to be together all day."

Gabriella smiled at his thoughtfulness and then giggled when she had a thought. "Was it the foolishness of having two vehicles or the fact that you just wanted to be with me?"

Troy grinned as a slight blush grew on his face. "You caught me", was all he said as his face inched down to kiss her softly. "I hate being away from you. I missed you last night. I just wanted to be with you."

Gabriella loved that, but she had no words to respond with. She simply went up on her toes and kissed him deeply, letting him know that she felt the same way. She hated leaving him everytime. Last night was no exception, and she let him know the only way she knew how, until air became necessary. When she pulled away she was giggling. She wiped her lip gloss off of his lips as she said, "I missed you too, but we have to get going. We're gonna be late for church."

He took her purse and Bible as he walked her around the truck. He opened the door and helped her climb into her seat before handing her things over and closing the door.

"Hi, Gabi", she heard from the backseat. Gabriella jumped a little, but recovered quickly as she turned to see Ethan happily watching Bolt on a portable DVD player.

"Hi, Buddy", she greeted him with a smile. "Thanks for picking me up", she added reaching back to tweak his foot.

"Ethan chuckled as Troy stumbled. "You're welcome", the boy said as his father shook his head.

"Don't mind me", he said. "I'm just the driver."

Gabriella laughed at the dismayed look on his face before she leaned over the center console to kiss his cheek. "Thank you", she said softly.

Troy only grinned as he drove.

As Gabriella predicted, they got to church late. Troy dropped Ethan and Gabriella at the door asking Gabriella to take Ethan to children's church so that he could go straight in to the sanctuary to rehearse with the band.

"Okay", Gabriella agreed. "I'll see you when I get to the sanctuary."

Troy smiled just before he jumped out of the truck and ran around to help her out. When he went back around to help Ethan, he was already out of his car seat, so Troy simply lifted his boy out of the truck and set him on the ground.

"Show Gabi where to take you to children's church", he instructed little Ethan.

"Okay, Daddy! See you later", Ethan agreed.

Troy mused up Ethan's hair before the boy had a chance to run. When Ethan got away he took Gabriella's hand and the walked inside as Troy watched Gabriella walk confidently into the church.

Ethan must have said something funny, because Gabriella's face lit up as she laughed making Troy's heart skip a beat. Troy shook his head. He felt like he was becoming a stalker.

He loved watching her. He loved all the expressions her face made, but her smile was his favorite. It took his breath away to watch her go from heart stopping beautiful to breath takingly gorgeous. It was a transformation he never tired of watching, but the best part was that she wasn't even aware of it. She didn't know that she took his breath away everytime he saw her. She didn't know that just the sound of her voice stopped him in his tracks, and she didn't know that he didn't care.

A man could die if his heart stopped or he stopped breathing, but Troy Bolton was man in love. His home could crash down around him, but, as long as he and Ethan were safe, he wouldn't care, because one lool at Gabriella Montez and everything was right in his world.

Troy let his mind wonder while he parked the truck, but when he stepped inside the church all thought left his mind as he focused on the songs the band would play and his Lord. He felt love surround him as soon as he stepped inside and saw all the smiling faces of his church family.

"Hi, Troy. How are you doing", Regina Duncan, one of the older ladies of the church asked.

He heard the sympathy in her voice. He hated it, but he put a smile on his face for one of his grand mother's good friends. "I'm great, Miss Regina", how are you", he asked politely.

"I'm wonderful, Dear", she replied as she practically bursting, as if she wanted to share something that she knew. "Your grand mother called me last night", she said.

Troy smiled. That was not new to him. He knew that his grand mother kept up with her friends in Albuquerque after she and his grand father moved to Key West. "What gossip were you ladies sharing", he asked on a soft chuckle.

She beckoned him close, as if she was about to share top secret information. "She said that you and the new girl have been see each other", Regina whispered loudly.

Luckily no one was paying them much attention. There were conversations going on everywhere. Not that it mattered. Troy was proud to be Gabriella's man, and the smile on his face conveyed that.

"Yes, I am", he admitted unashamed. "She helped me keep my boy, and in the process I fell jead over heels in love with her."

Miss Regina smiled at that, but then her smile got bigger causing Troy some confusion until he felt a hand formiliar on his back. He looked down to see her looking lovingly up at him. If it was possible, his smile got bigger when he looked back at Miss Regina. "This is my girlfriend", he introduced her proudly with a huge smile. "Gabriella, this is Miss Regina, my grand mother's best friend", he finished.

"How do you do, Dear", Regina offered her hand regally.

Gabriella took the hand happily, excited to meet someone else important to Troy. "Hello", she greeted the older woman. "I'm wonderful", she continued as she leaned back. When she felt Troy behind her, his hands going to her shoulders she looked up and smiled into his eyes. They stared into each other's faces, temporarily forgetting that anyone was around. They wanted to kiss, but then they became aware of the audience around them.

They came out of their haze when Regina cleared her throat. "I'll talk to you kids some other time", she said smiling. The smile stayed on her face after she walked away and she couldn't help but think how wonderful it was to see Troy smiling again.

Regina remembered when Melinda Bolton called her, heart broken over what Shelby had done to her poor Troy. She had almost had her husband, Jackson, drive her across the country, but Regina promised that she would keep an eye on things for her. She had taken Jack and Lucille to lunch and offered her ear to listen as they cried over Troy's heart broken-ness over his broken marriage and confused little boy. Ethan's confusion and saddness had been the hardest part of the situation in the beginning. When confusion and saddness, they all rallied around Troy and tried their best to help Ethan.

It was Regina who gave Lucille the idea to call a child advocate attorney, but all of that was water under bridge now. Troy seemed happy and that was all that mattered. However, Regina made a mental note to call Melinda when she got home today.

Troy gave Gabriella a quick kiss before he walked her down to their pew. She sat through the band's short rehearsal as she waited for Troy and his parents to join her. She didn't have long to wait. Mid way through the second song, as Gabriella watched Troy, someone touched her shoulder.

She smiled when she looked up and saw Lucille and Jack moving passed her to sit down. She looked at them and smiled at the pride in their faces. In the last few weeks, Gabriella had grown closer to Jack and Lucille. Lucille had told her on more than one occasion that Troy was not the same man he was a year ago, or even 10 years ago.

Shelby had turned him into a man his family didn't recognize, but slowly he was showing signs of his old self, and, even though she didn't say it to Gabriella, Lucille knew her son's current perpetual good mood was because of his new love.

Before she realized it, Troy had taken his place beside Gabriella and Pastor Charlie stood on the platform going through the announcements. After a short time of greeting one another, Troy stepped up in front of the microphone and spoke as the other Wildcats took their places.

"Have you ever gone through a really hard time in life and asked God why", he began. "Why is this happening? What did I do? These are all queations any sane person would have, but as Christians we have the privilege of knowing that God has a plan for us. We don't know what the plan is, and often we question it, but all God wants is for us to trust him, and know that the Broken Road leads to something better that he has for us."

With that he looked back at Jason and they took off in a beautiful rendition of Rascal Flatts beautiful song Blessed the Broken Road. As he sang, Gabriella knew Troy was singing to her and her heart swelled as tears fell. Listening to the words, they were so symbolic of their relationship.

Both Gabriella and Troy had pasts, but neither blamed the other, because they were coming to realize that God brought them through those pasts to bring them together, and they were so grateful.

The band did five songs before Pastor Charlie stepped up to the pulpit. He spoke about Saul, who became Paul in Acts chapter 9 where Saul was on his way to Damascus to persecute Christians there. While on the road Saul met Jesus, who put scales over his eyes, blinding Saul.

Jesus sent Ananias to Damascus to baptize Saul and through the course of his ministry he became Paul, because people were afraid of him.

The story resonated with Gabriella as she thought about how she believed in God, but she had never allowed Jesus into her life. She felt him knocking on the door of her heart now though, and it brought tears to her eyes. When Pastor Charlie was winding down he gave the alter call.

"If you've never allowed Jesus into your, He's knocking right now. Come down to the alter, or stay right where you are, but pray. Pray to allow Jesus to take a hold of your life. He's waiting. He wants to take care of you. He wants to prove to you how much He loves you."

Charlie looked out into the crowd. He saw lots of smiling faces of those who knew what Charlie was talking about, some unsure faces, like they weren't sure he was telling the truth. Then he saw scared faces, like they knew that if they didn't take that step down to the alter that they would be doomed.

That last one is what Gabriella was feeling, and Troy could feel it. Ms. Charlene stepped up on to the plateform and went to the piano. She began to play Softly and TenderlyTenderly as Charlie stepped down in front of the congregation. "Jesus is waiting", he said loudly over the music.

Troy could feel the change in Gabriella. He knew that she wanted to go forward this morning, but, now that she was faced with it, she was scared. "I told you I would go with you if you wanted me to", he whispered.

Gabriella took a deep breath and she nodded before stepping out of their pew. She looked at Troy with that scared look so he took her hand and they walked down the aisle together.

Charlie smiled at the sight and reached out his hands to them. His smile eased Gabriella's anxiety and she took his hand and a deep breath. "I'm ready", she said with resolve.

Charlie smiled, but his eyes bore into her like he was looking into her soul. "Are really", he asked. "Are you ready to let Jesus be the lord of your life?"

"Yes", she confirmed with conviction. "I'm tired of living alone. I need His help."

Charlie looked at Troy and they shared a smile. "Ok, then pray this prayer", he instructed. "Jesus I believe that You are God's only begotten Son and that You died to save me from eternal death. I invite You into my heart. I need You to take control of my life, to guide me through. I ask that You forgive me of my sins and be the Lord of my life. Amen."

Troy stood by and listened as Gabriella gave her life to Jesus. His heart was doing crazy things in his chest, like it was going to the Olmpics, but he was scared.

The last girl that prayed this prayer with him by her side cheated on him with their neighbor and tried to take his money and his company, but Gabriella was different. Every cell in his body knew that she was genuine. He had begged Shelby to go with him to church, and when she finally went she acted as if he was pointing a gun at her, but that was not the case witwith Gabriella.

She had been scared the first time he took her to his bible study group, but then she started asking questions and soaking up everything being thrown at her. He saw in her eyes that she was obsorbing what she was reading and it was registering with her. The tears in her eyes as she prayed told him all he needed to know, and he knew what needed to be done.

Troy had been falling for Gabriella Montez for weeks and he asked her to be his girlfriend only a month ago. His heart wanted to let her know that he could see a future, but his head told him it was too soon. He needed advice. Troy resolved to talk to his dad this week.

Jack Bolton always gave the best advice, and he and Lucille had been married for almost 30 years. There was no one Troy trust more to tell him what to do.

Author's Note 2: This is the longest chapter yet. It was hard to right. I knew where I wanted to go, but it took a long time to get them there. Troy and Gabriella's relationship is developing nicely. Next step: a promise ring. Tell me what you think. Is it too soon? Do I need to accelerate the story? Tell what u think in the reviews.