A/N: Sorry about the wait! Just a quick reminder that this story is based on the current soccer season, and I have caught up with the backlog of chapters, so I will most probably be updating once a week as per the frequency of the matches. I'd like to give a huge shout out to the reviewers of the last chapter, because it was such a hard one to write. So thanks so much to fanficfan1122, Bluebell140, Tammy, wildcats2016, pumpkinking5, chica13, waltersani52 and the guest reviewer.

Disclaimer: I don't own HSM or any of its characters...


Troy's shoulders drooped as he dragged himself up the stairs of his apartment building. He had just finished his third day on the Burns Unit. It was really interesting, and he had been thrilled to assist in one of the surgeries, but his heart was not completely in it. He couldn't help but wish he was back in that apartment in London. It had been a difficult goodbye once they returned to Manchester, and despite seeing her again for dinner on Sunday, and talking to her on the phone for the last two days, it just wasn't the same as waking up and going to bed beside her every morning.

Troy thought to himself despondently, if I can't handle this, how will it be when I'm back in America without her? They had been avoiding the topic, and promising each other with regular phone calls and Skype, that had been before they had lived together. Maybe they should give each other some space to get used to the idea.

He finally got to his floor, and neared his apartment. A small heap in front of his front door wiped all these thoughts from his mind. He rushed towards it.

"Gabriella?" he asked incredulously.

The heap moved, and transformed itself into his beautiful girlfriend. She stood up, and shrugged off her heavy overcoat.

"Troy," she beamed up at him.

"How long have you been waiting?" He quickly opened his door, and let her in.

Gabriella blushed, "Not that long. Sorry I just dropped by, but I had to see you."

Troy grinned, and pulled her in for a deep kiss.

"Let's just say that you weren't the only one that was a bit lonely this week."

Gabriella's eyes twinkled as they separated, "That's good to know."

They kissed again, and Troy guided Gabriella to the couch. He pulled her onto his lap and gathered her tightly into his arms. This was what he had been missing for the last four days. How he wished he never had to let her go.

"Have you eaten?" he asked quietly breaking apart for a second.

She nodded absently and continued kissing him. She suddenly pulled back and looked at him apologetically.

"You must be starving. Weren't you in surgery all day today?"

Troy shrugged, but his growling stomach gave him away. He looked at her sheepishly.

"Maybe I'll just make myself a quick snack. Can I fix you something?"

He stood up and went into the kitchen. He opened the fridge and pursed his lips as he scanned the shelves.

"Just something to drink is fine," Gabriella called out. "Maybe some juice?"

Troy nodded, "I bought a new bottle of apple juice."

"You're an angel!" she beamed from her position on the couch.

Troy put a plastic box of pasta in the microwave, and then grabbed a pair of glasses from his cupboard. He poured apple juice into both and took one glass to Gabriella.

"An angel, huh?" He pouted at her, "I was hoping for something more manly. Like Adonis or Hercules."

Gabriella giggled, "Okay Adonis. Thanks for the apple juice."

Troy grinned and flexed his arms teasingly. Gabriella rolled her eyes at his antics but he grinned harder when he noticed the faint blush on her cheeks and the second and third glances she gave his biceps. The microwave beeped, summoning him back to his dinner.

"See something you like?" he called over his shoulder with a cocky wink. Gabriella remained silent and when he had grabbed his pasta and a fork he turned around to notice her cheeks were even redder.

He decided to ease up on her and smiled, "Your Adonis can do so much more than juice."

She raised her eyebrow in question, and he simply smiled secretively. He reached into the fridge once more and pulled out a box and brought it with him back to the couch. He set the mystery box on the coffee table and began eating the pasta calmly. Gabriella looked up at him expectantly.

"Oh would you like some pasta?" he asked her innocently, holding up a fork to her lips.

"Troy!" she whined impatiently. She reached for the box but he was too fast.

"Nope, you have to wait," he wagged a finger in her face. He took an agonisingly slow forkful of pasta, chewing deliberately before swallowing. He laughed again at her put out expression. He sped up and gobbled the rest of his pasta.

"I didn't mean to rush you," Gabriella sighed. "But you know how I hate being kept in the dark!"

Troy brushed a lock of hair out of her eyes, "Sorry, I just like pushing your buttons. But it's worth the wait, I promise."

He picked up the box and opened it in front of her. Her eyes lit up and she licked her lips in anticipation.

"You're too good to me," she grinned. She reached inside the box, but again he pulled it out of her reach. Instead he pulled out a chocolate covered strawberry and fed it to her. She moaned in delight, and Troy shut his eyes feeling his own desire increase, although his was not for the delicious dessert in his hands. Gabriella took the opportunity to pick out a strawberry and fed it to him. They took it in turns to sensually feed each other, sharing kisses in between, until eventually there was only one left.

"You have it Troy, I'm full anyway." Gabriella held it up to his lips.

"You can never be too full for chocolate covered strawberries," Troy teased.

"Hmm…" Gabriella looked at it longingly but then shook her head.

"Come on. This might very well be the best strawberry in the whole world, and you wouldn't know because you're not gonna eat it."

Gabriella rolled her eyes at his theatrics, "Then you'll miss out on the best strawberry in the world."

Troy held her hand and brought it closer to his own mouth, "I might have the solution."

He took a large bite of the strawberry and savoured the taste before kissing her. As he deepened the kiss, he pushed the strawberry into her open mouth with his tongue. He felt her smile against his lips. When they broke apart, Gabriella swallowed with a smile.

"You were right. That was the best strawberry I've ever had."

Troy smirked, "Too bad that was the last one."

Gabriella looked at her watch, and her eyebrows shot up, "Actually it's a good thing. It's past midnight and I have to be up in five hours."

"Me too," Troy sighed. "I'm really not a huge fan of surgical rotations."

They got up and walked over to the door.

"And here we are again. Another three days without seeing each other," Troy frowned.

Gabriella brushed his bangs out of his eyes, saying softly, "We'll get through it."

Troy nodded kissing her again. He watched her leave, and shut the door once she had walked down the stairs. He leaned against the back of the door and let out a breath. Somehow they needed to make this work, and with just over two months to go it was time they started to talk about it seriously.


"This is such an annoying match," Gabriella complained. "There are too many subplots. The fact that it's Norwich, a team we've lost to this season, and it's a home match makes it a must win game. But then the fact that we're so many points clear, and we have this Real Madrid game so close, it's so tempting to take it easy and rest players."

"Not the United way," Gary shook his head, waving his phone at them. "It's a strong line up today. Only Rafael is being rested. Even Van Persie is starting."

Troy grimaced, "Even though he had that injury last week? It's definitely risky."

"It better pay off," Gabriella said darkly.

They watched the first half anxiously, wincing at every tackle, praying that none of their players would get injured. As the minutes ticked by without a goal, it really looked like the gamble of playing a strong team was not paying off. Then, just before the referee ended the half, a period of sustained pressure led to a goal for Manchester United.

"Finally," Gary grinned. His face morphed into a hard expression. "We've got the goal, now take Rooney and Van Persie off before somebody gets hurt."

"Too late," Gabriella cried, pointing onto the pitch.

"Oh no," Troy groaned. "This was stupid. What a stupid risk to take. I hope he's not seriously hurt."

Gary shook his head in irritation, "They've been so flat as well. They can't hope to beat Real Madrid like this anyway. The same Real Madrid that are in the process of beating Barcelona right now."

Troy rubbed his eyes in frustration. "So much for hoping they tire out before they face us on Tuesday."

The feeling that nothing was going as planned continued into the second half as Van Persie continued to play despite his injury and more wild tackles flew in threatening further injuries. The goals, however, were not as forthcoming. With only one goal, there was no margin for error, and the crowd bayed for a second goal. It took them till the last ten minutes of the match, but finally Man United sprung into life and scored a quick three goals to add gloss to an otherwise unspectacular performance.

"That was close," Gabriella gave a half smile in relief when the match ended. She and Troy walked down to her car.

"I think we just have to forget about it, and look forward to the Madrid game."

Gabriella nodded as they got into the car, "Yeah you're right. Anyway, time to change sports, huh?"

Troy grinned, leaning back in his seat, "Absolutely ready. I'm just sorry it took this long to catch up with your cousins."

She gave him a grateful smile before returning her eyes to the road.

"You didn't have to do this you know. I could have told them how busy you've been."

"Hey, I want to! I promised them."

Gabriella pulled into a parking spot at the park. She turned to face him.

"You really are amazing. I love you."

She slung her arms around his neck and brushed her lips against his. Just as they were about to deepen it, they were interrupted by a knocking at the window.

"Are we here to play or watch you guys make out all day?" Jake groaned.

Troy chuckled as Gabriella's face darkened.

"I can just drive away," she ground out.

Troy laughed again, kissed her on the cheek and opened his door.

"Hey guys. Ready to play some ball?" He shook hands with Tom and Jake and knelt down to catch Rachel as she ran towards him and hugged his neck tightly.

"Troy!" she squealed.

"Hi Rach! Are you going to be on Gabi's team? Girls versus boys?" Troy gave her a cheerful smile.

"Can't I be on your team?" she asked him, using her best puppy dog eyes.

"Okay sure why not?" Troy grinned, looking up at the other three. "And who else do you want to be on our team?"

"Gabi!" She rushed over and hugged her older cousin tightly around the waist.

"Okay, Gabi, Rachel and I against you two. Think you guys can handle it?" he challenged.

Jake shot Troy a cocky smirk and replied, "We are going to wipe the floor with you guys. It really is unfair on you to have both of them, but hey oh well."

"Hey!" Gabriella and Rachel protested together.

"Don't worry girls," Troy reassured them, shrugging off his jacket and grabbing his ball from the trunk. "We'll show them. Pride comes before a fall boys."

It wasn't a fair match up. Two competitive young basketballers against Troy, Gabriella, who could barely manage dribbling, and ten year old Rachel was never going to be a fair fight.

As they all sat panting on the court after the match, Troy grinned widely, "Good game guys."

Jake scowled, "I cannot believe what just happened."

"We won!" Rachel said in a matter of fact tone.

Gabriella giggled, "You guys came close. You know, 21 to 3. It wasn't that bad."

Tom shook his head, and turned to Troy with respect, "You are amazing. I don't know how you did that but it was great. They've barely even seen a basketball before and you still got them involved and absolutely smashed us."

"I've got young cousins. We're always playing ball. I guess I've become good at including them and playing around them," Troy shrugged. "Everyone has strengths. Even the little kids can play if you use them well. Rachel here was spectacular, right?"

Rachel looked up excitedly at him, "Really?"

He nodded earnestly, "Of course. We couldn't have done it without you. What do you say Gabi?"

"Absolutely. I think you were way better than Jake," Gabriella smirked at Jake.

"Yeah right," Jake rolled his eyes.

"But I won Jake, and you lost," Rachel said innocently. Troy laughed, but then decided to let Jake off easily.

"Hey Jake, how about a rematch. Just one on one this time?"

Jake relaxed into a smile of his own, "Sure."

Tom, Gabriella and Rachel watched from the sidelines as Jake and Troy went all out in trying to beat each other. Without the others to slow them down, both reached higher levels than in the previous match. Troy hadn't played basketball properly with anyone else since before his break up with Melissa and he was more than rusty. Jake on the other hand was in peak physical condition, but wasn't as skilled at basketball as Troy had been in his prime. It made for an intense competitive battle between the two. Eventually Troy prevailed once more, but along the way he gave Jake some pointers on how to improve the technical aspects of his game.

"Thanks Troy, that was really awesome," Jake wheezed out as he leaned against the post.

Troy himself was struggling to catch his breath, "Let me know when you want to play again. I'm up for it any time."

Jake nodded appreciatively, "I'll definitely take you up on that."

"Cool. Now who's interested in some dinner?" Troy asked looking at Rachel. She sat up straight from her position on Gabriella's lap, and waved her hand in the air.

"Me! Me!" she cried out, making the older kids laugh.

Troy held his hand out to her, and helped her up. They all began walking back to the cars and discussing where to eat. They decided on a fast food restaurant nearby where they had a quick dinner before Jake took Rachel back home in time for their curfew. Tom stayed out a bit longer, chatting about the latest football news, before he too left leaving Troy and Gabriella.

"Thanks again for today, Troy," Gabriella said leaning against him in their booth.

"No problem Gabi. I really like your cousins. It was a fun day," Troy replied, kissing her hair.

"It's why I can't leave," she said softly.

"What?" Troy asked in confusion.

"I know it seems I have no ties, since my father's dead, but my cousins are like my brothers and sister. I can't just pack up and move to Boston."

Troy looked at her in surprise. He lifted her chin and looked directly into her chocolate eyes.

"I would never ask that of you," he said seriously. "I know how important your family is to you, and even your job. I know how hard it is to leave family, even for a short period of time, and I would never ask you to do something that I wasn't willing to do myself."

Gabriella bit her lip, "But Troy, I think this last week has proven that we won't be able to take the long distance. It's been hard enough to not see each other every day. How are we going to deal with this? I love you. I don't know if I can let you go."

He tightened his hold around her waist, "I can't let you go either. I don't know what to do either. It seems impossible right now but we have to believe that there is a way. Something will present itself."

"How can you be so optimistic?" A small tear gathered on Gabriella's eyelashes.

"Oh Gabi, don't cry." He wiped the tear away and pecked her on the lips. "I love you. We have to believe that's enough."

She jerked away from him, looking at him accusingly, "You loved Melissa didn't you? And I do believe she loved you too. After ten years that still wasn't enough."

Troy reeled as if he had been slapped.

Gabriella clapped a hand over her mouth, "Oh my God, Troy, I didn't mean to bring that up. It just slipped out. I'm just worried about us."

Troy shook his head stiffly, "I understand. But I think it's better if we stop talking about this right now. Maybe it's better if we talk about this when we're both in a cooler frame of mind."

Gabriella opened her mouth to protest, but then slumped in defeat. "Okay."

Troy paid for dinner, and led her back to the car. Once she got into the driver's seat, he turned to walk away.

"Wait Troy. Where are you going?" she called from the open window.

"I'll catch the bus home."

"Troy, come on, let me drive you," Gabriella pleaded.

"Look Gabriella, I just need some time to think, alone."

"Please Troy, don't be like that. Don't walk away from this."

He heard her voice tremble and his heart ached. He turned back to her and leaned down through the car window and gave her a desperate kiss.

When he pulled away, he cupped her cheek and whispered, "I'm not giving up on us. I just need some time. I'll call you later. I'm sorry."

With that he turned and walked away, doing his best to ignore the sniffling he heard behind him.


A shortish chapter I know, but we're on the way to some big decisions for Troy and Gabriella. Let me know what you guys think! The next chapter will be up within the next week :)