Extra Happy

"The bowling alley? I though you guys said we were going for some drinks."

"We are." Taylor answered mysteriously, frustrating Troy even more. Today is Troy's twenty ninth birthday and at five o'clock Chad and Taylor had turned up at his door telling him that they had a baby sitter for the night and so he had half an hour to get changed; they were taking him out for birthday drinks. "Maybe if you stopped asking questions and we actually went inside you'd find out why this is our chosen venue for the night." Troy sighed but still followed the couple inside becoming even more confused when they by passed the front desk and walked straight to one end of the alley.

"Surprise!" The people around him laughed as he stopped dead in his tracks, the surprise clearly having done it's job.

"You lied." He said accusingly at Chad and Taylor.

"Well not entirely." Chad answered. "There will be drinks but there's also food and bowling too." Troy looked over at his party of people to see Zeke and Sharpay had joined them for the first time since arriving back from honeymoon but most importantly, smiling brightly in the middle of it all were his nieces.

"You three..." He said as he finally made his way over to them. "This is why you didn't want me to pick you up until later, you knew this was happening, I'm assuming you're the ones behind it." Troy had been working nights all week and so the girls had been with Gabriella at The Ranch giving them the perfect opportunity to plan this for their Uncle.

"You look after us all the time, which let's be honest isn't easy, you deserve a party." Maddie told him as she greeted him with a Happy Birthday hug.

"Bowling is fun Uncle Troy and there's party food and we've got these two lanes rented out for the whole night and there might even be cake but only if you stop with the pouting."

"I'm not pouting." Troy told Summer as he accepted the hug she was offering and then turned to Amelia who was excitedly jumping about beside him.

"It was Gabi's idea Uncle Troy, she made this all happen." And it was then that he saw her; leant against the wall slightly away from the group, as if unsure whether she should actually be here at all. She had on dark skinny jeans with a simple purple long sleeved top and her hair was over her shoulder in a braid but she still looked utterly beautiful to him.

"I wouldn't go that far Amelia, you guys came up with the idea I just put it all into place." Troy managed to catch her eye as she spoke, earning him a smile in response.

"Well thank you, all of you, I really had no idea, this is a lovely way to spend my birthday after not seeing you guys since Monday."

"We already got your bowling shoes Uncle Troy, they said you have to wear them even though it's your birthday." Troy chuckled as he took the obligatory red and blue bowling shoes from Amelia. "That's okay 'Lia, we all have to wear them so we'll all look silly together. Why don't you decide which lanes people are going to play in and enter everyone's names for them but nicknames only, okay?" Amelia nodded with a mischievous smile and went about entering the names with the help of her sisters.

"Happy birthday." Troy looked up from his shoelace tying to find Gabriella had finally joined the group; although her nerves were still obvious with her sleeves pulled down over her hands.

"Thanks." He replied with a smile as he patted the spot next to him and smiled again as she cautiously took a seat. "I thought we talked about the fact we don't need to be nervous around each other or do I sense that these are a different kind of nerves?"

"I'm an introvert remember? I don't really leave The Ranch other than to go grocery shopping, I can't remember the last time I came to a bowling alley but the girls were pretty insistent that I should be here, they seem to think you'd want me here."

"I do, I know we've hardly talked since the wedding because I've been so tired when I've been picking the girls up and this week I haven't see you guys at all but don't think I've forgotten about my pledge Gabriella; you look lovely tonight, having your hair in a braid really suits you." Troy fingered the end of the braid as it rested on Gabriella's shoulder and then without a care about the people around them brought his hand down to cover hers that still sat covered by her sleeves ringing nervously in her lap.

"I figured a braid was a step between a bun and having my hair free flowing...the nerves will go after a while...it is nice to see you properly again." She smiled at him shyly as she let her hands escape the confines of her sleeves, allowing them to link their fingers together; her left hand with his right.

"I really am happy you're here, thank you for helping make this happen, I'm so glad they trust you enough to ask you to help them with things like this."

"They said since your parents passed away that Jennifer was the one to make sure your birthday wasn't forgotten and they felt that with everything you've done for them, they wanted to do this for you."

"Well I'm a very lucky guy to have people around me who care so much." He squeezed her hand to make sure she knew she was one of those people and then looked up at the names the girls had just finished putting in. In one lane was Tay, Coach, Shar and Z and in the other was Lia, Sum, Mads, Brie and Hoops. "Hey Amelia, why did you chose Brie?" He didn't think he'd heard anyone use that name for Gabriella and wondered why his niece had picked up on that.

"Well Gabi said we can call her any variation of Gabriella and Brie is part of that; Ga-BRIE-lla, see?" Amelia answered as she pronounced the name clearly for her Uncle to understand.

"I do see, in that case if all the names are in place, I believe it's you and Taylor who play first, let's get this party started shall we?"

TGTGTGTG

Turns out that when all of your friends pitch in some money, renting out two lanes of a bowling alley with some party food included; isn't all that expensive. So far they'd played two games of bowling and now they were taking a break to enjoy the food spread that the bowling alley had brought over for them to enjoy.

"Having a good time then birthday boy?" Sharpay asked as she and Taylor took a seat on either side of Troy where he was sat towards the back of their roped off area.

"I am, very much so, thank you both for being here and making this happen."

"Well apart from putting some money towards it so that Ella could get the best package they offer, it was all her and the girls; we just all wanted to be here to help you enjoy your first one without Jen."

"Well I appreciate it ladies, thank you." Troy squeezed both of their hands as they sat watching the others enjoy the food. "Gabi seems less nervous now, doesn't she? I was worried she wasn't going to have a good time but the girls seem to be making sure she's enjoying herself."

"They've spent all week with her planning this, they were so insistent that she came, Maddie even text Shar and I individually to ask us both to check in on Gabi and reassure her that it would definitely be okay for her to be here. She told us both about your pledge; that's a really special thing to do for her Troy."

"I know you guys probably tell her how amazing and beautiful she is all the time but it's different coming from me; like it is when you guys hear it from Chad and Zeke, you believe it when they tell you and she needs to not only hear it but believe it too." Sharpay and Taylor shared a look and Troy sensed that the conversation was about to get serious.

"She actually asked us both to speak to you on her behalf, she wants us, well mainly Tay, to tell you a few bits about what happened that Christmas when her parents died and she arrived here in Albuquerque. She knows that you've got a rough idea; from the talk you guys had at the wedding but she wants Tay to fill you in on some things to help you understand why she's still so nervous around the idea of the two of you."

"Okay, if she's asked you to talk to me then I'm all ears." Troy knew that for Gabriella to have approached her friends with this idea in the first place was a huge deal for her, if there were things she wanted him to know then he was more than ready to listen.

"So you know that I took care of her that Christmas Eve whilst she said goodbye to her parents and you also know that before she left the hospital that day I gave her my number, right?"

"Yeah, you never really expected her to call did you?"

"No, I just couldn't bare the idea of her being on her own having just lost the only family she had left and then going back to their home, which would obviously be exactly how they'd left it the day before."

"But she did call, Maddie said she called you on Christmas day in tears."

"Yeah...you were working but the four of us spent Christmas day together, I'd kinda mentioned to the others that I'd given her my number and so when my phone rang with an unidentified number that afternoon, I knew in my gut that it would be her. Shar could tell as soon as I answered that I would be leaving to go to Gabi and so she offered to come with me, we knew the boys coming was likely a bad idea but I figured the two of us going would show her she wasn't alone, that she had people here who she could talk to and rely on."

"She wasn't in a good way when you found her, was she?"

"I don't know what Taylor was expecting when we got there but I myself wasn't prepared for what we did find."

"She was sat out on the front porch when we pulled up and I instantly knew that this was more than just someone who needed people to talk to; this was someone who was reaching out for any kind of help they could get."

"We persuaded her to go back inside and I let Tay take the lead on talking to her, I figured her nursing training made her better equipped for that than my beauty training did but I poured as all a glass of water and then we sat on either side of her on the couch as she worked up the courage to tell us what was on her mind."

"Eventually she showed us a message on her phone, one she had sent to someone called Nick; it apologised to him for her disappearing so suddenly but explained that her parents had been in a tragic car accident and had since passed away. It went on so say that this happening had made her realise the kind of person he was and that she wouldn't be going back to California, it finished with her asking him to not contact her any more, they were over."

"That's good isn't it? That she was able to realise that and end things?"

"You'd think so but unfortunately it wasn't that simple." Sharpay told him regretfully.

"She had twenty three missed calls from Nick, each one had a voicemail to go with it and I couldn't even keep count of how many texts he'd sent her, they were still coming through when we sat there with her and that was coming on for twelve hours after she'd sent him the initial message in the middle of the night."

"Do I want to know what the messages said?" Troy asked knowing he kind of had to if he was going to properly understand the situation.

"They started off nice with him offering to come and be with her and asking where she was so he could book a flight and be there for her and then when she didn't reply or answer any of his calls they took a bit of a turn...his voice was raised on the voicemails, the texts were in capitals telling her she couldn't hide from him, he would find her, she didn't have the right to end things...and then the one that raised the red flags for me was the one that asked her if she wanted more bruises. So I looked her in the eye and asked her what bruises he was talking about...when she lifted her top and showed us her ribs Troy I really have no idea how she was breathing so well, she was black and blue all over; she must have been in so much pain. It was then that I realised how skinny she was too, her rib cage was clearly visible and it was then obvious how dehydrated and malnourished she was too."

"You took her to the hospital right? Wait, this is why she begged you not to go to the hospital when she broke her fingers at the wedding; she hasn't been there since that night."

"You're right, that is why she reacted the way she did at the wedding, she hasn't been anywhere near the place since that night, probably never will unless she really doesn't have a choice."

"What happened when you got to the hospital?"

"I sat with her in the corner of the thankfully quite quiet waiting room while Taylor went and spoke to the doctor in charge to try and get us into a treatment room that was quiet and away from other people."

"The consultant in charge was one I work with really well, she's amazing at her job and once I explained to her what was happening she found me a treatment room as far away from other people as she could and told me to get Gabriella settled and then she would come in and get started with treatments."

"I'd taken Ella's phone from her at this point, the calls had stopped but the texts were still coming through thick and fast with him calling her every name under the sun, telling her that she was pathetic and nothing without him and that she'd regret ever leaving once he was able to get his hands on her again." Sharpay shuddered at the thought of exactly what it was Nick had wanted to do to her friend.

"Once we got her onto the bed and changed into a gown we hooked her up to fluids and painkillers, putting a cannula into each of her hands so things could start taking effect quicker. The consultant, Marie, quickly took some bloods, attached Gabs to oxygen to ease her breathing and ordered X-rays so we could see the damage under the bruises. It was obvious by now that we were dealing with domestic abuse and whenever we do we ask the patient whether they want the police involved, more often than not they don't but Gabi did, she knew she was safe now because Nick had no idea where she was and so Marie said she would phone them. Troy part of that process of phoning the police is letting them know what kind of abuse case they're going to be dealing with...when Marie asked Gabi if the abuse had ever been sexual she simple just nodded her head and then covered her face with her hands, embarrassed at the fact she was admitting to being hurt in that way." Troy rubbed his hand down his face, angry at the fact that Gabriella had been hurt in one of the worst ways possible.

"One of the things Ella wanted us to tell you was that Nick was the only relationship she's ever had, she met him at the beginning of her Junior year of college and he charmed his way into her life, playing it all gentlemanly for the first month or so before starting to take control of her. Troy she wants you to know that she never willingly had sex with Nick and that although the sexual abuse didn't start until later on, she wants you to know that if you guys were ever to become an item she needs you to know that for her that side of things could take a long time to happen and if by knowing that you were to walk away now she'd understand." Troy was glad that Sharpay had chosen the moment Gabriella and the girls had left their area to use the bathroom to tell him this; he was struggling to keep his emotions in check.

"She hasn't had a relationship since moving here has she?" Both Taylor and Sharpay shook their heads. "And she thinks that because of the abuse some absolute ass has put her through that I would walk away from a relationship with her before it's even started?"

"You're the first guy she's even thought about having a relationship with, the rest of her time here she's spent looking after The Ranch and making it the place it is today." Troy took a minute to think through all of the things he'd just been told, his heart aching at the idea that Gabriella had been through such hurt when she was clearly such a caring and loving person herself.

"At the hospital, what did the tests show?"

"The blood tests were all normal apart from showing how malnourished she was but we quickly set about getting her some food and we already had her hooked up to fluids so that was an easy fix. The X-rays showed she had four broken ribs but more alarming was the fact they showed up old breaks too, despite the fact Gabi said she'd never been to the hospital before, she'd always taken care of her injuries herself at home. She was fully compliant when the police came, answering all of their questions, allowing them to take photos and any physical evidence from her they needed and even handing over her phone, she'd been smart enough to never delete any contact between the two of them and so there was a lot of evidence they could use on that too."

"You two stayed with her right? When she was talking to them?"

"Yeah, we sat on either side of her and held her hands, it was horrible to watch her relieve it all but there was no way we were letting her do it on her own."

"She came and stayed with you." Troy said to Taylor, suddenly recalling his friends having someone staying with them a few Christmases ago. "I worked a lot that year but I remember Chad mentioning something about you bringing work home with you."

"Yeah, she came and stayed with us so that I could help her get her strength back up and so that she wasn't on her own mulling things over. Chad and Zeke would go to The Ranch everyday and do the basics to take care of the animals, her parents didn't have anywhere near as many to take care of as she does now, so it wasn't a big deal for them to do that and when they did Shar would come over and the three of us would just sit together and pamper Gabi, sometimes she talked when we did, sometimes she didn't but as the days went on she would get stronger and that was all that mattered really. The rest isn't our story to tell you Troy, she did have other injuries that day too, ones that she still bares scares from today but with time and us being there for her whenever she needed us, she's become the independent Gabi who single handedly runs The Ranch today."

"Thank you both for being there for her, I never realised that you both went through all of that with her but I guess it does explain the bond the three of you share. It does again make me question how we never met before."

"Well it took her a long time to trust guys, obviously Chad and Zeke were different, she learnt to trust them because we both loved and lived with them but for the longest time when we hung out it was just the five of us, she'd just started to become completely comfortable with the four of us, we didn't want to set her back by adding you to the mix, despite how lovely you are. And then there's the problem that back then you were constantly working and couldn't make it even when we did invite you but none of that matters now because you've met, we knew it was bound to happen eventually."

"Just tell me one thing, this Nick, the police got him, right? He's never going to be able to do this to anyone again?"

"Yeah, they got him, he won't have the chance to ever hurt anyone ever again."

TGTGTGTG

He'd had the best evening celebrating his birthday with his friends and most importantly getting to watch the girls really let loose and have fun but after his chat with Taylor and Sharpay earlier there was one more thing he needed to do before the night was over. The girls were being occupied by Chad and Zeke on the arcade games at the bowling alley and so he walked over to were the ladies sat chatting at a table nearby; close enough to be able to see the others but far enough away that they couldn't hear Chad whine every time he lost at something.

"Come and get some air with me?" He stopped in front of Gabriella with his hand held out towards her and smiled when she instantly linked her fingers with his and let him lead her outside away from the noise.

"Seems like the girls have really enjoyed themselves tonight." He nodded at her as he led them away from the doorway and turned them to face each other as they stood underneath the canopy of the building.

"Yeah they have, thank you again for helping them make this happen, I think they needed tonight as much as I did." He took a deep breath as he took her other hand into his, his thumbs running back and forth across her knuckles as their hands hung linked between them. "I wanted to talk to you after my chat with Taylor and Sharpay earlier, I didn't want you dwelling on things knowing they'd spoken to me."

"I guess I kinda took the easy way out, getting them to talk to you but that stuff still hurts to talk about and it was important to me that you knew it before even thinking about anything more between us."

"I know there's still a heck tonne of stuff that I don't know about your past and I know that just talking to Sharpay and Taylor about this will have opened some old wounds for you but I need you to know where I stand now that I know what I do. I can't change what he did to you, as much as I wish I could but what I can do is tell you that it doesn't change how I feel about you...I still think you're insanely beautiful 'Brie and I still stand by my pledge; I'm going to keep coming at you with these compliments until you believe me." Gabriella felt the blush rise on her cheeks but managed not to duck her head, keeping her eyes locked onto Troy's. "There's something I've been wanting to do since my chat with those two earlier; please can I wrap you up in my arms and hold you?" Gabriella smiled as she unlinked their hands and slid hers around Troy's waist.

"You don't have to ask to do that...there's nothing I'd like more." Troy wrapped one arm around Gabriella's waist and the other around her shoulders, enjoying the warm fuzzy feeling he felt as she snuggled herself against his chest.

"You've adopted that nickname as yours then have you?" They'd been embracing for a few minutes now and Troy couldn't help but chuckle as he realised what Gabriella was talking about.

"Maybe...no one else calls you that do they?" Gabriella shook her head as she pulled back from the hug slightly so she could see Troy's face. "Then if it's okay with you I think I will adopt it as mine, how did Amelia come up with it anyway?"

"She saw my name written down on something the other day and sat there sounding it out, trying to get as many names out of it as she could, she said 'Brie was pretty but that she preferred Gabi; I don't think she'll mind if you use it, I certainly don't." Troy smiled as he tightened his grip around Gabriella but kept them so they could still look into the others eyes.

"I've been thinking about how the girl's and I won't see you for a week now because I've got some time off but I was wondering if Zeus and I could come and see you one day while the girls are at school? He could run about with Barney and Luna and you and I could spend some time together? Nothing too serious," he added quickly seeing the worried look on her face. "I just wanna get to know you better without other people there to spy on us."

"I'd like that," Gabriella said as she smiled up at him. "Let me know what day you're thinking and I'll make sure I've got something nice in for us to have for lunch." Troy pulled Gabriella back into his arms and enjoyed the feeling of having her there, a feeling that was soon interrupted as the bowling alley doors opened and his nieces' laughter could be heard as they joined them outside.

"What's so funny girls?" Troy expected Gabriella to move away from him as their friends all joined them outside but instead felt that warm fuzzy feeling return when she simply turned her back to his front and reached behind her to link both sets of their hands; breaking the cuddle but still keeping them connected.

"Maddie just beat Chad twice on the basketball game and now he's sulking." Summer answered him as she managed to get her laughter under control.

"I am not sulking." Chad replied as he stood with his arms folded across his chest.

"You're just annoyed because you're a basketball Coach of a High School team and you just got beaten by a cheerleader." Maddie's laughter returned as Chad carried on with his not sulking. "It's your fault anyway for leaving the gym when you have open practise, that's when the boys give us pointers and also do I need to remind you that my Uncle is still number one points scorer at East High, I've been taught by the best my whole life." Troy shook his head at the banter that was taking place in front of him.

"Sounds like you're just a sore loser to me Danforth, maybe I do need to come back to East and give the boys some tips, goodness knows how they'll ever win anything with you as their Coach." Gabriella laughed as Chad's sulking turned next level and he stomped off towards the car. Sharpay and Taylor had been right, her past was never going to scare Troy away and as much as she knew there was still a whole lot he didn't know, the idea of getting to spend time with him, just them, awoke feelings inside of her that she hadn't felt for a very long time.

TGTGTGTG

The following afternoon and Troy and the girls sat in the living room, finishing off any weekend homework they had and hiding from the storm that had just started raging outside.

"Uncle Troy, did you know that when you hug Gabi you smile different?"

"I did not know that 'Lia, is it a good different or a bad different?"

"It's a good different like she makes you extra happy, does she make you extra happy?"

"She does 'Lia, does it bother you that Gabi and I hug?"

"Nope, I like Gabi." Amelia was only ten, so long as she was happy with Troy hugging Gabriella then that would do for now.

"Summer how about you? Are you bothered that Gabi and I hug?"

"No, I think you make her extra happy too, sometimes like when delivery men come to The Ranch she can be quite nervous but around you she never seems nervous." Summer was the quietest out of the three girls but she was definitely the most observant of the things that went on around her.

"Mads? Any thoughts on Gabi and I that I should know about before I get to know her better?" Maddison shook her head as she sat at the computer finishing off her assignment.

"I agree with the girls, you're both happier around each other and well you deserve to be happy; Mum was always trying to set you up with people and she'd be so happy for you knowing you'd found someone, especially knowing that it's someone we all approve of and get on with. I told Gabi back before the wedding that Mum would have liked her and she would Uncle Troy, she'd one hundred percent approve of Gabi, so don't let being our guardian stop you from having something with her; you can look after us and fall in love; we'll let you." Troy chuckled as he shook his head at Maddie's inability to keep things serious for too long.

"Well no one said anything about falling in love but it's nice to know you girls are happy with me and Gabi at least getting to know each other better." The rain getting harder was the only noise that filled the room for a while after that and the girls all laughed when Troy's phone ringing made him jump.

"Hello." He answered having not looked at the called ID.

"Troy?"

"'Brie, is that you? I can't hear you very well." The laughter that filled the room moments ago stopped as the girls fell silent to listen to Troy's end of the call.

"Yeah, it's me. Can you come? I need help."

"Yeah I can come, where are you? What happened?" Troy still couldn't hear Gabriella very well and so he got up and walked through to the kitchen in hopes of getting better signal.

"I was getting the horses in, the storm started getting bad, I needed something off a shelf but when I climbed the ladder there was a massive boom of thunder and I fell, the shelves fell too, I'm trapped." He still couldn't hear her properly but he had managed to catch that she was trapped, he needed to get to her and fast.

"I'm on my way 'Brie, are you hurt?" But Troy got no reply because the line had gone dead. "Girls I need to go and check on Gabi, I think she's hurt, Maddie you're in charge, do not leave the house, I'll call you as soon as I know she's safe." He grabbed his coat and keys and was gone quicker than the girls could register what had happened. Gabriella was in trouble and she'd called him for help, he just hoped that what he found wasn't too serious and most of all that Gabriella wasn't badly hurt.

TGTGTGTG

As I expected people are barley reviewing but the story is getting viewed more than I expected so I can only hope that it's being enjoyed.

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