"I know this is hard but you can do it." Troy encouraged as she was sweating profusely. She winced taking another deep breath as she began trying to sit up.
"You have to use those core muscles!" Her doctor pushed as she let out all her breath taking another deep breath as she reached all the way forward as everyone clapped. She rolled her eyes out of breath as they brought the hospital bed up.
"I'm never going to be laying that flat for a long time." She said uncomfortably. "Never." She repeated as a few people laughed. Her doctor sighed scrubbing his hands in the sink as he walked up.
"Alright Gabriella. It's time to do an unveiling on your surgery incision." He said as she nodded looking at Troy who gave her an encouraging smile. She noticed he was getting better and turning his demeanor around, but she could tell he was still sulking. Troy immediately grabbed her hand as the doctor undressed her front. Gabriella had her eyes closed as Troy stared at the bandage where the incision was.
"Alright let's check your progress." He said as she nodded, opening her eyes and looking down as the white bandage was slowly rolled off. Her breathing became rapid as she was ready to be met with the image of four days ago. Her eyes zoned in on the surgical scar and bullet wound on her chest. Her tears instantly turned on staring at it as she squeezed Troy's hand.
"It's healing just the way I would expect it would." He said proudly as Troy looked at the doctor quickly.
"Is she going to have a scar?" He asked for her. The doctor bobbed his head.
"It's highly likely but if we treat it with oils and proper care it should look very faint." He replied as Troy nodded looking over to Gabriella still staring at it. She looked up to him blinking a tear, it rolling down her face.
"It's okay…it's a reminder that I won." She said softly giving him a smile, a tear rolling down the other side of her face. He clenched his jaw, looking away as he kissed the top of her head.
"I love you." He said as she nodded, looking down at them clean the area around her scar.
"I'd say by the looks of this and you sitting up already, we should have you walking by the end of the week." Her doctor mentioned and she smiled looking at Troy.
"I feel like I could do it today." She said as Troy mentally rolled his eyes knowing she was going to push this. Her doctor chuckled.
"Rome wasn't built in a day Miss Montez." He said patting her on the shoulder, nodding at Troy and then walking out.
Taylor sat outside her room debating when it would be a good time to come in. She woke up yesterday and when she got the phone call she rushed right over. She stopped at intensive care units doors and turned around. She wondered if Gabriella did want to see her, after all it was Taylor's fault. She looked at the doctor leaving, the noise inside quieting down.
"I have to go to a briefing but I'll be right back!" Troy said in the room. Taylor sucked in all her air and darted off to not be seen. Troy left the room and walked down the hall. She heard the voice of Chad in the distance alerting her to just give up and leave. She walked down a different hallway.
Gabriella was getting comfortable after the doctor left seeing Chad standing outside her window on the phone. She blinked again, happy to finally see him as he turned and saw her staring at him. He hung up quickly, knocking on the door as she smiled waving at him.
"I was wondering when I was going to see you?" She said as he chuckled, pulling the chair up and handing her flowers he was holding in his hand.
"I um…needed some time to process it all." He said as she nodded, swallowing a thick lump in her throat as she looked into his tired eyes. She figured he was having a hard time sleeping.
"How are you?" She asked concerned as he clenched his jaw.
"I fucked up Gabriella." He said honestly, tears building up in his eyes. She shook her head reaching for his hand.
"I went in alone. I put myself in this situation." She said as he nodded, looking at her look into his eyes concerned. The warmth from her holding his hand gave him enough courage.
"I understand that because you are stubborn." He said as she giggled softly, knowing he was going to say more. "But if I never over-stepped my boundaries with Taylor…that talk would have never happened and it could have been either one of us three in this position." She nodded understanding his guilt. "I also messed up with Troy big time." Gabriella nodded.
"He will be fine. You just need to talk to him." She offered and Chad shook his head.
"The last words he said to me were 'Sorry man, I having a dying fiancee' in the hospital that I have to hold bedside vigil next to'." Gabriella nodded still holding his hand.
"Chad, you saved my life. He can be mad at you all he wants, but I know that you kept me from dying out there. Things could have and should have went better but we know that as police officers. He loves you and you are still his boyfriend for all I know." They laughed together. "He just needs time to process all this. His world was flipped in a day too, Chad. A day that was supposed to be the best day of his life." She reasoned and Chad nodded, tears falling from his eyes.
Troy stood there, his back against the wall listening to Gabriella talk so gracefully to him. He forgot to grab his jacket and came back to find Chad there. He sighed, thinking about how he put all the blame on Chad, when she was thanking him. He threw his head back so annoyed in how he was handling his inner conflict and how she was so positive as she laid in a hospital bed, gunshot wound to the chest. He heard them finish up, him leaving so that Chad wouldn't see him.
Gabriella looked over and saw Maria sleeping gently next to her bed. She looked and saw Lucielle reading a magazine as she was on the opposite side. Gabriella sighed annoyed, getting used to sitting up all the time. She has been awake for five days now and doing much better than the doctors expected her to be. She just wanted to go home and start her life back again. She looked down to her left hand that was missing her beautiful engagement ring that she couldn't stop looking at the day she got shot. She grunted annoyed as Lucielle looked up at her.
"Are you okay?" She wondered as Gabriella nodded.
"Just annoyed…I want to get out of here." She said as Lucielle just cracked her a smile looking back down to the magazine. Gabriella frowned. "Lucielle…" She called as she popped her head-up. "How is he?" She asked honestly.
"He won't talk much about it." She sighed as Gabriella nodded.
"He needs to talk to someone…" She said as Lucielle nodded.
"His dad tried. We contacted someone in the department and he refuses. He says he's okay but we all know that he's just bottling it in." Gabriella nodded sighing.
"It's just…that fire, the passion in his eyes. It's gone, so gone." She said as Lucielle sighed nodding. "Is he still not talking to Chad?" She wondered as Lucielle shrugged.
"I wish I had an idea." She said shutting her magazine shut noticing Gabriella's concerened face. "Right now, we have to focus on you getting out of here. I know you love Troy and he's a big part of this process but I want you to focus all your energy into healing and leaving here." She said cupping her face. Gabriella nodded giving her a small smile.
Troy paced outside his best friend's apartment for five minutes debating on what he needed to do. He finally groaned, walked up to the door and rang the buzzer of Chad's apartment hearing a sweet soft voice.
"Hello?" Emmy questioned as Troy dropped his head sighing, already regretting coming over.
"Hey Em, it's Troy." He said as there was silence from the speaker. The buzzer immediately went off and he opened the door, walking up the stairs and turning to the left to see Chad's door. He knocked and almost immediately Emmy opened it hugging Troy.
"I'm so glad to see you!" She said excited as Troy smirked, her letting go.
"Likewise." He said looking to the kitchen seeing Chad stand there so confused. "Hey." Troy breathed and Chad nodded, looking at him.
"Hey man." He replied as Emmy looked at them.
"I'm going to take a little walk." She said smiling, running up and kissing Chad's cheek before she left. Chad put his hands in his pocket.
"Do you want something to drink?" He wondered, walking to the fridge and grabbing a beer. He nodded, walking over with him and sitting down.
"So uh…I just wanted to say how sorry I am." Troy admitted fumbling with the bottle. "I just…I took frustrations out on you that wasn't your fault." He said as Chad nodded. "I know her and I know the chances she takes so it's completely incorrect to blame you for something she did on her own. In fact, I need to be thanking you." He said looking at Chad warm up. "I talked to Sharpay and the doctor and they said if she wasn't compressed the way she was, she would have died in that warehouse…" He said trailing off feeling choked up. "What kind of dick am I going to be to hate someone that saved the love of my life?" He asked as Chad nodded.
"You're not a dick, just hurting." He said as Troy laughed.
"God, Chad I suck." He said wiping a tear as Chad laughed with him.
"I suck too, don't worry buddy." Chad replied as he sighed. "But Jack called me and wanted to see if we talked…he wanted to know how you were doing." Troy dropped his head sighing.
"I just feel disoriented. Like I proposed to her, got my promotion and was supposed to start my life right then and there…and now it's like it stopped. My life stopped." He said rubbing his temples. "I keep reliving the moment I heard…it's like I went from the highest of highs and now I'm living the lowest of lows." Chad agreed.
"I think you need to get out of this mindset that she's going to die. She's fully awake and okay." Chad said for starters. "She has an army of people supporting her, she knows how much you support her." Troy nodded. "But you need to get into that precinct and start working." He said as Chad took a sip. "That precinct is going to heal you like no other." He said as Troy nodded giving him a smile. "I think I just saw a spark of fire in your eyes." He said as Troy stood up hugging him.
"I should have talked to you sooner." He said and Chad laughed.
"Yeah, you should have." He said smiling as Troy nodded.
"I have to go and turn this around." He said pulling the ring out of his pocket. "We have to go to how things we're before." He said grinning a huge grin. Chad smiled nodding.
"Go get hitched bro." He said joking as Troy laughed, running out of the apartment.
"So you won't be running yet, but this is a fantastic start." The nurse said to Gabriella as they held her hands, her walking down the hallway. She wasn't going to lie, she was sweating her ass off, but she was walking again. Her doctor walked past and stopped.
"Wow, Gabriella. You are doing an unreal job." He said shocked as Gabriella just smirked as her Mom walked ahead of her holding her camera.
"I feel great." She said as they kept walking, at a reduced pace, but not so slow. She looked down at her feet hearing someone run. She looked up, seeing Troy run and stop smiling.
"Babe." He said proud. "Look at you go." He said walking up and Gabriella smiled seeing him look significantly better. He walked up to her and stopped her from walking. "I know this is probably the worst place to do this but-" He said getting on one knee as the nursing staff gasped. "I know I didn't get on a knee the first time, but now it just feels right. I love you and am so proud of how hard you've worked. Something so terrible would keep most people down but you are rising above it. It's time for us to take the next step together so we can move past it and start our lives." He said as she nodded crying. "Gabriella Marie Montez, will you marry me?" He said as she nodded, him standing up kissing her and holding her. Everyone in the hallway cheered as he pulled back putting the ring on.
"Oh thank god, I missed this ring." She said giggling looking at it as he smiled kissing her again. Everyone clapped again and when she looked into his eyes, she saw the burning fiery passion again.
