Hey! How is everybody doing?

Well, I'm so happy that you all agree with what happened in the last chapter! It made me so happy!!

Big shout out to Jasmyn or Zanessa.Troyellaluvr4eva91xoxo who read the prequel to this story (Investigating Love) and reviewed EVERY single chapter. Then she went on to read all the chapters so far in this story and has reviewed all those too! I would like to thank her for being such a great friend and also for being a loyal reviewer! Thanks Jasmyn, Love ya girl!

Also, big shout outs to Tash, Adnama (Amanda!), Hui Xian, Ine, Sadie, Jayne and Luc for being there also while I've been ill! Thanks so much!! Love you all:P

Now, on with the next chapter of Take A chance!

Disclaimer: I don't own hsm, and I never will…cries

Last Time:

"Gov', are you coming?" Staci asked Gabriella who was hovering over Karen.
"One second," Gabriella replied as she felt for a pulse.
"Is she alive?" Staci asked.
"No, she's dead," Gabriella replied triumphantly before turning and following Staci and Haylie up the stairs, her shoulder still bleeding terribly and blinding Gabriella with pain. But for now, she couldn't think about that. Haylie was okay, and so was she, that's all that mattered...

Chapter Twenty-Eight

Twenty minutes later, Gabriella was on her way to the hospital with Haylie, after leaving the clean up of Karen Jones' body to Staci and the coroner. The EMTs had looked at Gabriella's bleeding shoulder, where the bullet from Karen Jones' gun had grazed her. They had cleared up the bleeding and now a bandage was pressed firmly onto it. She would be fine, but it was Haylie that she was worried about, not her damned shoulder. Gabriella held onto Haylie's limp hand as they drove away from the house where she had been kept captive and towards the local hospital for a check up. Haylie was seriously malnourished and tired, but other than that, she seemed fine. The EMTs had informed Gabriella that once she had been checked over by the doctors at the Long Island hospital, she would be transferred to a hospital in Manhattan, closer to home.

Gabriella hadn't even thought about ringing Troy. She was in shock as to the events of the day and also how she had nearly been too late. That scared Gabriella. Gabriella had nearly been too late plenty of times and she had shot people before, but she had never killed. What scared Gabriella the most about taking the life of another human being, was what she felt after she pulled the trigger. Nothing. She couldn't comprehend how she could do something as evil as taking a life and not feel guilty. No matter whom she was. If it was so easy and guiltless to take the life of a human did that make her as bad as other murderers? Although, deep down Gabriella knew that it had been the right thing to do, she couldn't help but feel like a common criminal. She was a murderer and the worst thing was, she was happy about who she had killed. She was a cold-blooded killer…

Gabriella was pacing the corridors waiting for the Doctor to inform her of Haylie's condition. Sick and tired of waiting, she challenged the Nurse, "Is the Doctor done with Haylie Bolton yet?" She demanded.
"I'm sorry, are you family?" The nurse asked skeptically.
"Yes, I'm her sister in law, Gabriella Bolton," Gabriella glared at the woman and added, "and also a Police Officer," She flashed her badge at the Nurse."I'll just go check," The Nurse hurriedly left her station and disappeared into a room down the hall. Five minutes later, she returned, "Mrs. Bolton?""Yes," Gabriella nodded, waiting patiently for news."Haylie is going to be transferred to Sacred Heart in Manhattan in about half an hour. She's awake but groggy and has been put on a drip. Would you like to travel back in the Ambulance with her?"
"Yes, another thing. How's the baby?" Gabriella questioned.
"Fine, the baby will be just fine," The nurse smiled.
Gabriella nodded and turned away. She pulled out her radio, "Sierra Oscar from 241," She spoke into it, "This is DCI Bolton, I'll need someone to collect my car from the Jones estate in Long Island," She had completely forgotten about her car, which was abandoned outside of the house, "The keys should be in the car, over," Gabriella informed an officer back at the station.
"Sierra Oscar from 1, DI Staci Hawthorn is on her way back from the estate already, in your car, over" The officer on radio duty informed Gabriella.
"Thanks, over," Gabriella put her Radio away as a Doctor approached her, "Doctor?" She questioned.
"DCI Bolton?" The Doctor questioned.
"Yes," Gabriella nodded, flashing her badge once more.
"Miss Bolton is being loaded into the Ambulance right now. The EMTs are waiting out front for you,"
"Thank you Doctor," Gabriella shook his hand and headed for the door. She walked towards the nearest Ambulance and found Haylie being put into it, "Is she okay?" Gabriella questioned the EMT.
"She'll be fine," He nodded, before motioning for her to get In the Ambulance. Gabriella nodded and jumped in, and grasped Haylie's hand. Haylie was once again asleep, "Why is she asleep?"
"She's still exhausted, she needs sleep," The EMT replied, Gabriella nodded and with that, they were away and into the night.

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"It's eleven o'clock! Where is she?" Troy demanded as he paced the floor and checked the clock on the wall for the umpteenth time.
"Dude, come on, calm down," Chad told him. He had arrived with Taylor, Sharpay, Savannah, Kelsi, Jason, Geneva, Lucas (A/N: Kelsi and Jason's kids), Ryan, Hannah (A/N: Ry's Wife), Natalie (A/N: Their daughter), and of course, the twins. The kids were all asleep on the sofa in Gabriella's office, next to Caitlyn.
"How can I? She's been gone for ages!" Troy whined.
"We're all worried, Troy," Calum piped up.
"I know, it's just," Troy paused, "I have a bad feeling," Troy poked at his stomach, "In my gut,"
"Maybe it's a stomach ache," Jason suggested.
"From what, exactly?" Troy asked bitterly.
"Nerves maybe?" Sharpay suggested."Yeah, right," Troy shook his head sadly and continued his pacing, "If she would just call, or something," He said to no-one in particular. Just as he opened his mouth to speak, the phone in Gabriella's Office began ringing.
"Dude, that's freaky stuff," Chad said as the phone continued to ring, "Make one of us win the lottery!" He said excitedly.
"Shut up, Chad!" Taylor berated him as Troy made his way to the telephone, "Answer it, Troy," She nodded at him.
Troy gulped and picked up the phone slowly, but surely, "Hello?" He asked.
"Troy?" Came Gabriella's voice on the other end of the phone, "Is that you?"
"Yeah, it's me. Are you okay?" He questioned quickly.
"I'm fine," She sighed.
"What's going on? Where are you? What's taking you so long?" Troy bolted out all the questions that had been going through his head for so long.
"Slow down, honey," Gabriella told him sternly.
"Please gabs," Troy begged.
"Troy, I'm at Sacred Heart," Gabriella paused, "Don't worry, I'm fine," She repeated quickly after hearing his gasp, "And Haylie is too,"
"W-w-hat?" Troy choked out, as tears fell down his face, "She's what?"
"She's okay, Troy. I found her," Gabriella replied, happily.
"I'm coming to the hospital," Troy said immediately before hanging up the phone.
"Troy, what is it?" Taylor asked sheepishly, regretting what could possibly have happened.
"She's okay," He breathed out, his face oddly shaped.
"What? Gabs is?" Chad asked.
"They both are," Troy sighed in relief and let out a breath he didn't know he had been holding in.
Calum rose to his feet and looked over at Troy. Their eyes met and the look in Troy's eyes made him want to know more, "And the baby?" He asked.
"I don't know, but we have to get to Sacred Heart," Troy said. Without thinking, he threw his jacket on and made his way over to the kids, "What about the kids?" He asked no-one in particular.
"We'll take them back to the mansion for you," Chad suggested, "We'll come and see Haylie in the morning," He said, speaking on behalf of everyone except Troy and Calum.
"Thank you," Calum and Troy said simultaneously.
"So go!" Sharpay practically yelled at them both. They obeyed and ran towards the door.

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Twenty minutes later, Troy and Calum burst through the doors of Accident and Emergency at Sacred Heart hospital. Gabriella looked up from her seat and had to shake her head from the feeling of Déjà vu. Last time however it had been Haylie and Troy. Gabriella was even sitting in the same seat in the waiting room. So, she decided that she should say the same thing. It was only fitting, "Troy! Over here!" She called out to him. Even Troy felt the familiar sense of Déjà vu as he heard Gabriella call his name. He turned his head and there she was, sitting on the edge of the same seat she had been sat five months or so ago, "Gabs, thank God you're okay," He engulfed her in a hug. Pulling back, he addressed her again, "How is she?"
"Tired, malnourished and extremely emotional, but she'll be fine," Gabriella answered with a yawn. She had forgotten how tired she actually was.
"And the baby?" Calum asked eagerly.
"The baby is fine Cal. They checked her over the minute she was brought in," Gabriella smiled weakly.
"Can we see her?" Troy asked, hopefully, "Please?"
"She's in a room down the hall. I was waiting for you before I went in," She replied. Grasping both Troy and Calum's hand, she led them to the door. The three of them walked in and were pleasantly surprised at what they found. Smiling up from her bed was a fully awake, Haylie Bolton, "You're awake," Gabriella breathed.
"Haylie," Calum gasped and ran to her side, tears springing from his eyes as he hugged her tightly, "I'm so sorry, baby," His voice was muffled as he spoke into her chest.
"It's okay, Cal," She said quietly before looking over Calum's shoulder to see Gabriella and Troy holding each other happily and watching. They too had tears in their eyes, "Troy, Gabs," She started but couldn't quite find the words she needed to say.
"We know," Troy spoke up, nodding at her. His own way of telling her that he loved her and was so happy that she was okay.
Haylie nodded as if to say,'Yeah, i love you too, lunk head,' She turned to Gabriella, "What happened in there Gabriella?" She asked bravely.
"You sure you want to know?" Haylie nodded, "What's the last thing you remember?"
"I completely blacked out when she held the gun to my face," Haylie replied sadly. Calum and Troy gasped.
"Lucky that I chose that second to turn up, huh?" Gabriella asked seriously. Haylie laughed softly and then nodded, "Well, just as she was about to pull the trigger, she asked you if you had any last words. I told her from behind to say hello to Daniel for me, "Gabriella paused and laughed hollowly, "At exactly the same time, we both shot our guns at each other. Mine hit her in the heart, she missed me. It barely grazed my shoulder, but was enough to make me lose a lot of blood and nearly pass out. Anyway, the next thing I know, DI Hawthorn is in the room and helping me up. I told her to look after you and she did. She heaved you to your feet and helped you up the stairs. She called down to ask me if I was coming, but I wasn't ready yet. I walked over to where Karen lay and she," Gabriella stopped there. Her eyes glazed over and her brown eyes somehow flashed red. Troy saw it and in an instance they were back to their normal shade of brown, "She was dead," Gabriella added bitterly before turning to Calum who was deathly white, "I killed her,"
Nobody spoke, for no words were needed, but all of them sat there contemplating what they had just heard. Gabriella had killed someone. Troy was impressed and horrified at the same time. Haylie was just plain thankful and didn't blame Gabriella in the slightest, not after what she had been through at the hands of the woman. Gabriella felt like laughing. She had killed someone and she liked it. And Calum, he was thinking about everything Karen Jones had done. She had rejected him as a child. She had kidnapped him as an adult and he had also done the same to the love of his life and their unborn child but she was still his Mom. For some reason, he felt grief. She gave him life, but he knew deep down that she would have killed Gabriella and Haylie, not to mention her unborn Grandchild without a second thought and that was what snapped Calum back to reality. Was he glad that she was dead? Certainly not! But he was glad that she was finally unable to ruin any more lives. She had finally been stopped.
"You-"Troy couldn't string a sentence together. He just looked at Gabriella. He didn't understand how she could be so calm after taking someone's life, no matter who it was, "What?"
"I killed her, and you know what?" Gabriella looked bitter and twisted as she spoke, "It felt easier than I ever thought it would. I've never killed anyone before, I always avoided it, but now? I could do it again if I had the chance!"
"Gabriella! Think of what you're saying!" Troy scolded her.
"I am thinking of what I'm saying, Troy. I'm not saying I could just go out and kill anyone if I please. No," Gabriella shook her head before standing and facing the three people in front of her, "I'm saying that if I was in the same situation again and my life or someone's life who I loved was in danger, I'd do it again. I'd pull the trigger as easy as I did today. Karen Jones deserved what she got! She was about to kill an innocent pregnant woman and if I hadn't shot her, she would have killed me too!" By now Gabriella was shouting, "I took someone's life and I don't feel guilty! I don't feel the slightest remorse! She wasn't a human, she was evil! I don't feel guilty, Troy and I'd do it again and again if I had to," With that, Gabriella left the room, leaving her family staring back at the space where she had just stood.
Troy couldn't have ever imagined someone as sweet and nice as Gabriella, saying things like that, and truth be told, he had no idea who the hell his wife was anymore. This ordeal was over, but the aftermath would live with him forever. His Wife was a murderer and he really didn't know how to deal with that! How could he look her in the eye now?
"She's gone mental," He spoke up.

Ooooo! Gabriella is being a bad girl!!! Never thought you'd see the day did you? So, how many of you agreed with Gabriella and how many don't? Let me know in a review!!

Love Stace xxx