Dance With Me?

Troy smiled as he watched Maddie and Summer make a fuss over Amelia on her birthday, it was her first one without her Mum but it was also a big one; she was turning ten and so her sisters had been determined to make it memorable.

After lunch Gabriella had excused herself back to work; leaving Troy and Maddie to their much needed heart to heart. His niece had told him everything about the fight as well as the teasing and torment she'd been through since her Mum had died but it was as she admitted exactly how much she missed her Mum that Troy realised just how much she'd been hiding from him. He'd taken her into his arms and told her that he would always be there to listen; even if he didn't always have the right answer to begin with, he would always be there for her and her sisters, always.

Maddie had also taken this time to apologise for the attitude she'd given him of late, especially when it came to them being at The Ranch. She'd admitted that she hadn't given the place or it's owner a chance and now that she and Gabriella had both spoken openly; Maddie was sure that this was the place for her and her sisters to be and that Gabriella definitely deserved a place in their lives.

"Uncle Troy! Look at my balloons!" Troy snapped out of his day dream to see that Maddie had taken Amelia's school bag from her in exchange for two helium balloons; a pink one with 'ten' on it and a multi-coloured holographic one which said 'Happy Birthday'.

"Look at those 'Lia, you're so lucky." The little girl beamed up at her Uncle as he gestured for them to go inside. "I'm pretty sure there's more birthday fun to be had inside birthday girl, are you ready?"

That morning Troy had told Summer and Amelia to come to The Ranch after school, he wasn't sure how long his lunch with Maddie would go on and so he'd brought Amelia's presents with him, knowing also that she wanted to share some of her special day with Gabriella. Twenty minutes later and Amelia was now the proud new owner of some new clothes and shoes, the next in a series of books she was reading, lot's of arts and crafts supplies and a couple of gift cards; she had certainly been spoilt.

"Thank you, I love it all." The little girl couldn't stop smiling as she hugged her Uncle and sisters in thanks.

"This one's from me, Barney and Luna." Gabriella said as she placed a neatly wrapped present onto the table in front of the birthday girl.

"Gabi, you didn't have to get her anything, helping Maddie with the cake was enough." Gabriella simply shrugged in response; she'd enjoyed helping Maddie make the chocolate birthday cake that morning but she couldn't not get Amelia a gift, it just wasn't right.

"It's her tenth birthday, I couldn't not get her anything." Gabriella gestured for Amelia to open the gift and immediately knew from the little girl's smile that she'd chosen well.

"A zebra onesie, thank you Gabi!" Troy chuckled as his niece held the item up for everyone to see.

"I wanted to get you a horse one but I couldn't find any so a zebra seemed to be the next best thing."

"I love it, thank you." Amelia wrapped Gabriella in a big hug and then turned to point out of the window. "What's that?"

"That is a deflated bouncy castle that Zeke came and set up today in preparation for tomorrow but he showed Maddie and I how to turn it on because he thought seeing as it's your birthday you might want to make use of it?"

TGTGTGTG

An hour later and the bouncy castle was still being made good use of, it had room to bounce on one side and a slide on the other and Troy suspected that if it weren't for the fact Maddie had promised Amelia she would do anything with her on her birthday; the teen would have called it quits a long time ago.

Troy himself had settled on the grass in front of the bouncy castle, he'd had one go on the slide but he was still sore from a long week at work and with his impending best man duties he figured it was best to avoid getting injured; so he sat surrounded by the dogs handing out drinks to the girls when they ventured over for a break.

"And that's the last of them, this place is officially wedding ready." Gabriella had just seen off the last of the professionals who'd been contracted by Sharpay and Zeke to get The Ranch ready for their ceremony the next day and as she flopped down onto the ground next to him Troy could tell she was more than happy to have her land somewhat back to herself; at least for now.

"This place looks amazing but you'll be pleased when it's all over won't you?" Gabriella smiled at Troy, she thought she'd been doing well at hiding her anxieties over having the extra people here but apparently he'd seen right through her.

"Don't get me wrong, I'm more than happy for Shar and Zeke to be getting married here but I think I under estimated exactly what would go into getting this place ready for it and the amount of people it would involve, so yeah I will be happy when it's over."

"We can go if you like, if you want some peace and quiet before Sharpay and Taylor arrive." Sharpay and Taylor would be arriving at The Ranch later that evening so that Sharpay could spend the night before the wedding away from Zeke and so that the three ladies could get ready 'on site' tomorrow before the ceremony.

"No don't be silly, you guys aren't the same as those guys and you know it; plus I spoke to Shar and she agreed that if it's okay with you maybe Maddie could stay here again tonight and join in with the girly stuff, she's not a little kid any more and after the week she's been through maybe she deserves the chance to pamper herself and relax with the adults."

"She'd really enjoy that, thank you Gabi, I do appreciate everything you've done for her this week." Gabriella shrugged as she played with Luna's ears who'd settled her head in her owners lap.

"I don't condone her getting into that fight but I'm also glad that she did because without it who knows how long she'd have gone on bottling things up; she would have exploded eventually." Troy nodded as he looked over at the girls being carefree and simply having fun.

"She told me that you told her about your parents; you didn't have to do that but I think she appreciates knowing she has someone else to turn to, someone who isn't me I guess."

"I wouldn't take it personally Troy, I think she's just very aware that you've lost your sister in all of this too and she doesn't want to bring that all back up again for you...that and maybe she wouldn't know what to do if you cried." Troy let out a small laugh, he hadn't thought about that. "Troy, can I ask you something?"

"Sure, what's up?"

"Do you remember my parent's accident? Were you working that day?" Troy nodded slowly as he turned to look at Gabriella.

"Yeah...Ever since you emailed me that first time I was trying to figure out why your last name was so familiar and then I happened to mention it at work and some of the guys remembered the crash; a lot of us attended the scene that day...I'm sorry Gabi, I didn't mean for you to feel like I was hiding something from you."

"Don't be silly, I know that wasn't your intention; it was just something Maddie had mentioned in passing and it got me curious, from what I was told you guys were amazing that day." Silence fell over the pair just as Maddie made her way over.

"Am I interrupting something? Should I leave again?" Troy shook his head at his niece and patted the ground next to him, indicating for her to sit.

"We were just talking about my parents Mads that's all, turns out your Uncle did work that day. You know, the more time I spend with you guys and the more stories we tell, I can't help but think our paths were bound to cross at some point."

"Well we were all always going to the wedding tomorrow, even Mum was supposed to come, so our paths would have crossed then. Mum would have liked you Gabi, she probably would have tried to set you two up to be honest." Gabriella ducked her head with a blush while Troy just laughed, Jennifer had always been trying to set him up.

"Here you," Troy said as he quickly scrolled through his phone and then handed it to Maddie. "Stop embarrassing Gabi and read this."

"What is it Mads?" Gabriella's blushing had subsided and she was curious as to what had seemingly put Maddison into shock.

"I'm still on the team. It's an email from Principal Davis that says he spoke to Coach and considering all the circumstances they're willing to let me off this time with just a warning and that when we meet with him on Monday he'll talk to us about how they plan to put a stop to the name calling."

"Sweetheart that's great, I'm so happy for you." Maddie crawled across Troy's legs to receive the hug Gabriella was offering.

"Me too Maddie, I think you've learnt from all of this and I believe you won't let it happen again, especially now that you know you have Gabi to talk to as well; so with that in mind I won't be punishing you this time either but we'll treat it like the team, consider this a warning but one more mistake of any kind and the punishment will be so much worse, sound fair?" Troy still wasn't sure about things when it came to punishing his nieces but on this occasion he knew this was the right decision, already he'd seen a difference in Maddie now that everything was out in the open and he wasn't about to disrupt her happiness for anything.

TGTGTGTG

Her make up looked perfect, her hair looked stunning in an intricate up do, her dress was hung up waiting to be put on; if Sharpay hadn't realised it already then all of this simply confirmed to her that today she was getting married and she couldn't wait.

She sat in her robe at the kitchen table watching as Taylor failed miserably to get her son to put his shirt on; she'd tried being nice Mummy, she'd tried being bad Mummy, she'd even tried bribery and yet some how Aiden still didn't have his shirt on, something which the bride-to-be was highly amused by.

"Tay just leave him for now, he doesn't need to be ready yet, come sit down for a minute." Taylor looked at Sharpay defeated but still followed her orders and took a seat with her at the table.

"You nervous yet?" Sharpay shrugged and smiled at her friend as Gabriella entered the room from upstairs.

"I'm not nervous, not yet at least but once the dress is on then yeah I think the nerves might kick in a little. Looking good Montez, never knew you had so much hair piled up in those messy buns of yours." Gabriella stuck her tongue out at Sharpay as she joined her friends at the table.

"Are you happy with us pair then? Do we look okay?" Simultaneously Gabriella and Taylor stood up to give Sharpay a spin of their finished maid of honour looks.

Their dresses were navy, floor length and had the smallest bit of sparkle on the sheer material that fed onto the straps and over the shoulders but most importantly they were comfortable, something Sharpay had been adamant about for her bridal party and something neither lady in her party had argued with. Their make up was smoky eyed and their hair was down and curled with two plaits meeting at the back of their heads, held together by a sparkly silver clip; simple but beautiful.

"You both look amazing, thank you for everything you've done to help me with today, I love you both." Sharpay blew kisses at her best friends who returned the gesture with gusto. "How the girls getting on Ella? They nearly ready up there?"

"Yeah, Troy text not long ago to say he was popping over to check on them and so they want to wait for him to arrive before they do the grand reveal." Maddie had indeed stayed another night with Gabriella and had enjoyed a night with the adults being pampered and getting into wedding mode. Early this morning Troy had arrived with her dress and accessories; he was getting ready down the road at Chad and Taylor's with the guys and so he'd also dropped off Summer and Amelia, allowing them to take advantage of Sharpay's hair and make up artists.

As if on cue, Troy appeared at the back door decked out in his suit with Zeus sat obediently at his side.

"Do not let that dog in here." Sharpay said pointing at Zeus who instantly ducked his head as if in trouble.

"Sorry Zeus, the mean lady doesn't mean it, there's just too many pretty dresses in here today that can't have dog fur on, come on I'll take you out to the others." Receiving a look of confirmation from Troy Zeus followed Gabriella out to a field where Barney and Luna were already playing; they'd been set up with shade, food and water and could still be fussed through the fence but most importantly they were being kept out of trouble.

"Alright girls, Uncle Troy is here, down you come." Gabriella settled herself back at the table just as the girls, one by one, slowly made their way down the stairs.

Amelia came first, her dress was of course pink and flowed down to her knees but the top part was all sequins and sparkled which ever way she turned; she had on the tiniest amount of make up and her hair was in a half up, half down braid.

Summer was next, her dress was a pale blue with white lace layered over the top and it stopped just above her knees; she hadn't been interested in much make up but had agreed to have her hair curled and the top part pulled back into a twist which rested on the back of her head, for a young girl who so often hid behind her hair it was a big change but she had admitted she didn't completely hate it.

Maddison came last but most definitely not least, her dress was black and floor length but covered in colourful embroidered flowers; it had a 'V' shaped neckline and the straps that sat on her shoulders helped it to fit her perfectly. She had on very natural make up and her hair had been straightened and pulled back into a simply half up, half down style.

Troy stood speechless as he took in the three young ladies in front of him, they were all growing up so fast and he worked hard to swallow the lump that was forming in his throat at the thought of exactly what his sister was missing out on now that she was gone.

"Don't say it!" Maddie warned him as she pointed her clutch at him. "Too many people are wearing make up that could be ruined if you say it, just know that we know." Troy held his hands up in surrender as he met his nieces in the middle of the kitchen.

"Okay, I won't say it but can we at least hug it out?" Sharpay, Taylor and Gabriella watched as Troy took all three girls into his arms and they hugged it out, they needed this moment to remember their Mum and sister, someone who should be here today.

"You all look stunning, thank you so much ladies for taking them dress shopping, I would've had no idea where to start." Troy had known his sister intended to make a day out of dress shopping with the girls over the summer and so when she'd passed and that hadn't happened he'd turned to Sharpay and Taylor for help. One day while he'd been at work, he'd transferred Taylor some money and she and Sharpay had taken the girls shopping, until now he hadn't actually seen the dresses and they were even more beautiful than he could have ever imagined.

"Okay enough with the soppy Uncle stuff, you need to get back to best man duties, I need to get into my dress and Taylor needs to get Aiden into his shirt." As everyone set about the tasks at hand Sharpay couldn't help but notice the way Troy looked at Gabriella as he left. She knew her friend hid behind her work outfits of shorts, t-shirts and messy buns and had no idea exactly how beautiful she was but from the look the blue eyed man had just sent her way, he did and Sharpay hoped Troy wouldn't let the day pass without letting Gabriella know just how beautifully stunning she really was.

TGTGTGTG

Zeke leant against the railing on the back porch as he watched people enjoy the party; he was married now, Sharpay was his wife, he was her husband and the whole day had been completely magical. He turned and smiled at Troy as he came out of the house, to most wedding guests the house was out of bounds but to her immediate friends Gabriella had told them if they needed the bathroom to feel free, she didn't want to use the portable ones that had been bought in for guests so why should they; they did make up the majority of the wedding party after all.

"How you doing man? Gotten used to the feeling of having a ring on your finger yet?" Zeke chuckled as he flexed his left hand and looked down at the silver ring that now took pride of place on his finger.

"Not yet but I will...the girls seem to be having a good time." Troy nodded as he surveyed the scene in front of him; Maddie and Summer were 'dancing' with Abigail and Aiden and Amelia was on the bouncy castle with Chad.

"Yeah, it's nice seeing them this happy and carefree, I haven't seen them like this much since Jen died. Hey Taylor?!" He then called, gaining him her and Sharpay's attention. "Why is your husband such a child?" The ladies both chuckled as they joined the men on the back porch.

"Because when he's at work every day he has to be on his best behaviour and act like an adult and now that your best man duties are over he doesn't have any responsibilities today either so his inner child is free to come out." Troy considered Taylor's answer to be fair and true just as she asked a question he'd been pondering himself.

"Where's Gabi? Aren't they her wedding shoes?" She pointed to where Gabriella's silver heels sat by the back door in the place she knew her friend usually kept her work boots.

"She's sorting the animals feed out and getting the horses in from the fields, I told her all of the official wedding things were done now and so I wouldn't kill her if anything happened to her dress."

"She's doing that in her dress?" Sharpay nodded at Taylor as they watched Chad very ungracefully come down the bouncy castle slide, leaving Amelia at the top laughing at him. "I can't see her putting the heels back on now though, I'm surprised they stayed on as long as they did."

"I don't care." Sharpay answered. "Like I said the official stuff is done now and the dress covers her feet anyway, it's all good." Moments later and Gabriella appeared out of the stables but it seemed things weren't 'all good' because she was clutching her left hand in her right and she was bleeding.

"Gabi, what happened?" Maddie was nearest to Gabriella and handed Abigail to Summer as she put a supportive arm around the injured lady to help her walk.

"I caught my hand in one of the stable doors, I'm fine." She told her friends as she passed them on the porch and went into the house followed quietly by Taylor, Maddie and Troy.

"It was Pippin's door wasn't it? You said you were going to fix that."

"I know Mads but I've had so much going on around here the last couple of days it just slipped me mind, I'm fine honestly."

"I'll be the judge of that." Taylor said as she came over to her friend who now had her hand under cold running water at the kitchen sink. "Let me have a look at you." Gabriella sighed in defeat as she let Taylor inspect the damage.

The was a small but deepish cut on the side of her hand just below the knuckle and her pinky and ring fingers were already bruised and swollen but it was the paleness of her friend's face that had Taylor most concerned.

"Maddie can you grab me Gabi's first aid kit and you Mr Bolton, if you're going to stand there and watch, bring one of those stools round here so Gabi can sit down before she falls down." Moments later and Gabriella was safely sat on a stool and Taylor had put on a pair of gloves to enable her to treat her friends injury properly.

"I think this cut just needs a dressing Gabs but I've got a feeling those two fingers are probably broken." Troy looked at the nurse with concern as Gabriella swayed in her seat and so he put a gentle hand on her back; ready to catch her if she did take a sudden tumble.

"I'm not going to the hospital Tay, please don't make me go." Sensing Gabriella's distress Maddie headed back outside to give her some privacy while Troy's thumb started moving back and forth to offer some support.

"Okay...how about I put a dressing on the cut and I'll make some kind of splint for your fingers but then you have to promise me you'll also sit with ice on them for the next half an hour and try and take it easy for the next couple of days."

"I will Tay, I promise I will."

"Okay, while I wash and dress this cut, Troy can you go and rummage through the arts and crafts stuff for a lollipop stick, I can make a splint out of that with tape." Troy nodded and set about his search coming back triumphant moments later. "Thanks," Taylor took it from him with a smile as she set about putting it between Gabriella's two injured fingers and securing them to each other with white tape from the first aid kit.

"Do you have ice packs or do we need to make one?" Troy asked figuring he might as well make himself useful.

"There's ice packs in the top draw of the freezer, I usually just wrap them in a tea towel when I need them for the children." Gabriella's voice was quiet but she was slowly returning to her normal colour.

"Okay you're all patched up but you are to sit on the back porch steps and ice your hand for the next while, did you get everything done in the stables before you did this?" Taylor knew the steps weren't the most comfortable of places to sit but she didn't want Gabriella to totally miss out on the fun and at least this way she could also keep an eye on her.

"Yeah, Pippin was the last one and I managed to properly shut his door even after trapping my hand so it's all good in there for today. I'm really impressed I didn't get any blood of my dress though." Taylor laughed as she helped Gabriella from the stool and made sure she was steady on her feet before going about tidying up the medical supplies that now littered the island.

"Come on then Montez, I'll keep you company on the steps for a while; make sure you ice those fingers properly." Taylor watched as Troy put a supportive hand on Gabriella's back and led her outside where he put a folded up blanket on the step before he helped her to sit down down. She had expected Gabriella to turn down Troy's offer of company but when she hadn't she realised that maybe her friend wasn't completely oblivious to Troy's blue eyed looks as she and Sharpay had first thought.

TGTGTGTG

Troy had been true to his word and kept Gabriella company as she iced her injured fingers on the steps, having only left her side once to get them both a drink and then again about five minutes ago when Amelia's latest go on the slide had resulted in her landing with somewhat of a thump and in need of a cuddle only her Uncle could give.

"She okay?" Gabriella asked as Troy settled back next to her on the steps, Amelia now back to enjoying herself on the bouncy castle.

"She's fine, in her words she'll probably have a 'bruised butt' tomorrow but as you saw, a quick cuddle and she's back to enjoying herself. How's the fingers?"

"Kinda numb now, thanks to the ice but I think they are less swollen, the ice pack is mush now anyway." She put the ice pack down beside her and flexed her hand a little to see how it felt; stiff but not overly painful.

"Amelia told me I should do something while I was giving her a cuddle and I agree with her, I just don't want to over step any boundaries." Gabriella looked at him questioningly and so after a deep breath he continued. "She told me I should ask you to dance with me." Gabriella smiled softly at him as she looked over to where a lot of the couples where now swaying gently to the music on a make shift dance floor.

"What made her say that?"

"She said that all the other adults here were in couples and so they already had dance partners, we are apparently the only adults without anyone to dance with therefore we should dance together. She told me I should ask you because she didn't think you would ask me because she said you had been nervous all day about falling over your dress." Gabriella laughed; she was nervous about tripping over her dress but she'd already brought attention to herself by trapping her hand in a stable door, tripping over her dress didn't seem like such a big deal now.

"Sounds like she's really thought this through but have you? You said you agreed with her."

"I do," Troy agreed with a nod. "But like I said I wasn't sure if asking you would be over stepping any boundaries, I didn't want to make things awkward between us, for the girls' sake."

"There's only one way to find that out; if you'd be overstepping any boundaries that is." Gabriella told him as she got up to take her ice pack inside to the freezer. She came back moments later, smiling at Troy as he got up to look her in the eye. She watched as he rubbed the back of his neck nervously and then shoved both hands in his pockets to stop himself looking like a complete nervous wreck.

"Would you like to?" He asked, scuffing his shoe along the step. "Would you like to dance with me?"

"I'd love to," she answered with a gentle smile as she slipped her hand into his offered elbow and let him lead her over to the dance floor.

TGTGTGTG

They fitted together so naturally that anyone who didn't know them would easily mistake them for a couple; his left hand gently cupped her right hand in his while his other hand sat respectfully on the small of her back, leaving her injured hand to rest comfortably on his upper arm.

"Are they all watching?" Her question was a reminder to him just how unsure of herself she was and so he slowly turned them in a circle, allowing him to see what the people around them were up to.

"Well the girls are still over by the bouncy castle and the others are all still coupled up and dancing but I can't deny they've all looked over this way at least once, we can stop if you feel uncomfortable, I've had my dance now, I can go to bed happy." Gabriella looked up at Troy and finally let her chocolate eyes look into his electric blue ones.

"You asked me to dance Bolton and so I want a proper dance...I'm happy right here so long as you are." Troy couldn't hide the smile that crossed his face and he spun them again allowing Gabriella to briefly connect eyes with Sharpay and Taylor, both of whom quickly pretend they weren't paying so much attention to the newest couple on the dance floor.

"I know what they're thinking," she told him quietly, gesturing her head towards her peers. "They think I'm totally oblivious to the fact that you've been checking me out all day and judging by how nervous you were to ask me to dance, you think the same." Troy blushed slightly as he moved their joined outstretched hands into a more comfortable position again his chest.

"I didn't think you were totally oblivious; I was trying to be subtle about it and so I didn't necessarily expect you to acknowledge it but at the same time I was starting to think that maybe I was being a little bit too subtle."

"No, I'd noticed I just...honestly, I had no idea how to respond, it's been a long time since I've had interaction with a guy like this and I didn't want to act on anything wrongly and make an idiot out of myself, especially knowing I'd have to see you again." They swayed silently for a minute as Troy thought about what he wanted to say next.

"Well I think we both know now that our worries were uncalled for and so with that in mind I'm going to be brutally honest with you; Gabriella you look beautiful today, in fact you look beautiful every day and as much as I understand why your hair is always piled high on your head, I wish you'd have it down more often, it adds to your beauty more than I think you realise." As with every compliment that came her way Gabriella began to duck her head but this time Troy was ready and momentarily let go of her hand to hook a finger under her chin, causing their eyes to meet in a soft but meaningful gaze. "I've got a feeling that something or someone in your past is the reason why you aren't very good with compliments but right here and now I pledge to change that because not only does someone as stunning as you deserve to hear it everyday but they deserve to believe it too." The tears that gathered in her eyes told him that his suspicions about her past were right and that the compliments he'd just given her weren't things she'd ever expected to hear, especially from a guy.

"I'm sorry," she said shakily. "My parents and my past have been on my mind a lot recently, my heads a bit all over the place."

"Don't be sorry, just know that as much as you've become someone else who Maddie can talk to, I'd like to be someone you can talk to as well. I know there's a lot of stuff you probably don't want me to know and that's fair enough but you should know that I do give out really good hugs and they don't all have to be disguised in a dance." She let out a small laugh as they rejoined their hands and taking a deep breath she moved her injured hand to hook onto his shoulder, allowing Troy to subtly pull her closer and with a quick glance around them he pressed a soft kiss into her hair.

"I'm not a very good talker." She admitted from her new spot now resting against his chest.

"You don't have to be, just know that the option is there. You're a beautiful amazing woman Gabriella Montez and I'm so grateful that you've become part of our lives. You've brought so much happiness to the girls and I in just a few weeks, I just hope that you'll let us stay about long enough to do the same for you."

TGTGTGTG

I hope you liked it, the dance scene is one of my favourites from the whole story.

Please review!

Thank you!