Grateful

Gabriella sat at the kitchen table and watched as a storm raged on outside; she wasn't on her own, Sharpay was with her but that didn't make her any less scared, there was only one thing that would do that and right now she couldn't have it.

Two weeks ago Troy had been cleared to return to work and last week he'd started off his return with a week of day shifts and so she'd barely seen him, ten minutes each evening when he picked up the girls didn't really count and by the time the weekend had rolled round he'd been totally exhausted and had spent most of it sleeping, leaving her and the girls to entertain themselves outside with the horses. This week he was on nights and so neither she nor the girls had seen him since Monday when he'd dropped them off with her for the week before heading off to work.

Despite not sharing a bed with him every night he'd been at The Ranch she missed him; even just knowing he was there at night put her at ease. She'd be kidding herself if she said she liked having the house back to herself because she didn't; as independent as she'd been before, having Troy and the girls with her had just become second nature and she'd been pleased to know the girls would be staying for the week again, they made her world a happier place without even really trying.

She'd woken up at four o'clock with an uneasy feeling in her chest and had sat on the edge of the bed forcing herself to take calming breaths and then her phone rang and the calming breaths had stopped but the panicking had begun; there'd only be one reason why someone was calling in the middle of the night. She confirmed her suspicions by answering the phone to Tim, Troy's boss; Troy was hurt and on his way to hospital. Tim couldn't talk for long, he needed to get back to his team who were still dealing with the fire but he'd wanted to be the one to call Gabriella; the nurses at the hospital wouldn't understand that the feelings from this call were all too familiar.

The first thing she'd done was call Taylor and despite it being the middle of the night her friend had automatically gone into Nurse/Mum mode and had reassured Gabriella that everything was going to be okay. Taylor knew her friend wanted to go to the hospital and be with her boyfriend but after the way it had effected her last time she couldn't put herself through it again and so Taylor had said she would go; she knew Gabriella would feel that little bit better knowing Troy wasn't on his own.

She hadn't woken the girls; she wanted to wait until she knew more information to answer the questions she knew they would have so instead she'd headed out to the stables and started her morning routine early, the animals wouldn't mind. By the time the girls woke up for school she still didn't know much, other than that they were just running tests right now and Troy himself was in and out of consciousness. Summer and Amelia had taken the news in their stride, both were worried about their Uncle but both still wanted to go to school; Summer had a Math test she didn't want to miss and at the age of ten Amelia just liked going to school. Maddison had barely said a word other than that she too wanted to go to school; she knew that sitting about all day waiting for news wouldn't help her but had checked that Gabriella would be okay on her own.

But Gabriella wasn't going to be on her own because unbeknownst to her Taylor had phoned Sharpay and Zeke and thanks to them both owning their own businesses they were able to change their morning plans and be there for their friends. On her way to The Ranch Sharpay had dropped Zeke off at the fire house where he'd collected Troy's things and Zeus and driven them over to The Ranch in Troy's car; leaving Gabriella with one less thing to worry about.

It was now late morning and while Zeke had needed to headed off to work Sharpay had spoken to her salon manager and happy that things were under control there had told Gabriella she wasn't leaving, despite her friend telling her she was fine; deep down Sharpay knew that Gabriella was absolutely terrified, especially now that the rain outside had turned into a storm.

Her phone ringing pulled her from her storm watching and as she answered it she put it on loud speaker, allowing Sharpay to listen in on what Taylor had to say. "Hey Tay, how is he?"

"All things considered, he's doing pretty good."

"What actually happened? Has he been able to tell you?"

"Yeah, he doesn't remember much after the fall but everything up until the incident is pretty clear. They were at a fire at a derelict warehouse, they'd gone in because there were reports of people being inside. He says he and Gavin had nearly finished the sweep of their area when he stepped on an area of flooring and it just gave way beneath him; he remembers falling but after that things get a bit fuzzy for him."

"He fell through a floor? How badly is he hurt?"

"Surprisingly, not very; he managed to land on a load of old rubbish bags and so they broke his fall considerably." Sharpay reached over to hold her friend's hand and giving Gabriella a minute, asked the next question herself.

"What are his injuries Tay?"

"Well somehow he hasn't broken anything and he's avoided concussion thanks to his helmet, although he will probably still feel a bit fuzzy for the next couple of days. They're doing extra tests on his knee right now, he had it strapped up like the physios told him to but it is slightly swollen so they're just checking to make sure that it's nothing more than inflammation from it already being weak and then taking a hit to it. He's been in and out of consciousness but that's mainly because he went into a slight shock and that's just his body's way of helping him cope; whenever he has been conscious though, all he's asked about is you and the girls Gabs." Gabriella's heart skipped a beat knowing that even while he was hurt, Troy's main priority was her and his nieces.

"So if his knee turns out to be okay and he doesn't have any other injuries other than soreness, does that mean they won't keep him in this time?"

"So long as his knee is all good, I think he'll be out today; they'll monitor him for a few more hours but I think he'll be in his own bed tonight, although I don't think you'll be letting him go to his bed, will you?"

"No, Shar's gonna take me over to his in a little while and we're gonna pack him a bag as well as picking up a few more bits for the girls; I don't know how long he'll be off work for but I'm guessing it will be at least a week. Tay, have you spoken to Chad yet?" Gabriella nodded at Sharpay as she got up with her phone in hand, signally as she went that she was going to call Zeke and fill him in.

"No not yet, I'm going to call him after we finishing chatting, why?"

"Can you ask him to check on Maddie? She barely said anything when I told them this morning and if she's anything like she was last time Troy got hurt, she'll be keeping it in and won't have told the others."

"Of course, I'll see if he can find Luke and get him to check on her, I'm sure if she stops being stubborn for a second and lets him in, she'd very much appreciate a hug. I'm gonna go now Gabs so that I can phone Chad and then get back in to Troy, I'll phone you again later."

"Okay, thanks Tay, speak to you later." As Gabriella hung up the phone and prepared herself for what the rest of the day would bring she was thanking her lucky stars that she and Troy had such amazing friends; they'd dropped everything to be there for them and she couldn't be more grateful.

TGTGTGTG

Chad made his way down one of East High's long corridors, pleased to find that Luke was in the first place he'd gone looking for him; his locker. "Hey Coach, everything okay?"

"Erm no not completely, Luke have you seen Maddie today?"

"No not since first thing, we've been on totally different schedules today, why? Has something happened?"

"Troy got hurt at work again last night, Taylor's at the hospital with him now but she's just spoken to Gabi who's concerned that Maddie is trying to deal with it on her own like last time. She hasn't told you, has she?"

"No, why does she have to be so stubborn and try and handle these things on her own, she knows she can tell me anything. She was quiet this morning but she just said she was tired and I haven't seen her since then; I need to go and find her, can you tell the others I won't be there for workout next period?" Despite the basketball season being over the boys on the team often got together in free periods to workout and keep themselves in shape for next season; it wasn't an official practise so Chad largely left them to it but from time to time he would take time out from his paper work and join in.

"Absolutely, when you find her try and persuade her to phone Gabi, they didn't know much about Troy's condition before the girls left for school and knowing Maddie she's running through all of the worse case scenarios but Gabi knows a lot more now so hopefully she can help ease Maddie's fears."

"Okay, thanks for coming to find me Coach, I think I know exactly where to find her."

TGTGTGTG

Maddison sat leaning against the wall on the only under cover section on East High's roof and let herself cry; she didn't care that there was a storm going on around her, she'd just needed to get away. She was letting all sorts of crazy scenarios run through her head when in reality she knew that if she phoned Gabi, she would probably be able to ease a lot of her fears.

She flipped her phone round in her hand, she wanted to tell Luke but when she'd seen him this morning she was being her stubborn self and had decided it was best to keep it all in and now she didn't know how to bring it up. She pulled her legs to her chest and wrapped her arms around them before leaning her head down to rest on her knees; she didn't know how to deal with what was going on, so for now she was going to hide from it.

It can't have been long before she heard footsteps and moments later she felt hands on her shoulders. "You really gonna hide from me?" Taking a deep breath, she lifted her head and looked into the concerned blue eyes of her boyfriend. "Coach told me about your Uncle, Mads why didn't you tell me?"

"Because I'm a stubborn idiot."

"Well now that we've got that covered, do you want a cuddle? It'll help you feel less like a stubborn idiot and more like a girl getting comfort from her guy." Maddie nodded and so Luke moved to sit next to her, pulling her to sit sideways on his lap and allowing her to properly cuddle herself into him.

"What did Coach actually tell you?"

"That Troy got hurt at work last night and that when Taylor had spoken to Gabi she'd been concerned that you might be dealing with things in the same way as last time, seems she was right. He also said I should try and persuade you to phone Gabi because she knows more about Troy's condition now and then you might stop with all the crazy scenarios you've got running through your head." Maddie didn't say anything for a while after this and so Luke simply held her close as she tried to calm her racing mind.

"I'm angry at him, that's why I haven't phoned Gabi yet, I didn't want to accidentally get angry with her; it's not her fault."

"Why are you angry at him? It wasn't his fault he got hurt again."

"I know but he goes to work everyday knowing he could get hurt and after last time it made me realise that if something really bad happened to him that me and the girls would be on our own. Obviously he was hurt bad last time but he was never unconscious nor was he near the fire when it happened, I don't know how near he was to the fire this time but he was unconscious...if he dies then what happens to me and the girls? He's the only family we have left."

"Oh Mads, why didn't you talk to him about it before he went back to work?"

"He was so happy when he got cleared to go back, he'd worked so hard at physio and there never seemed to be a question in his mind about going back; it's the one thing I always remember about him, he's always been a firefighter. I figured if he wasn't worried then I didn't need to be either, I don't think anybody expected him to get injured again so quickly." Maddie used her sleeve to wipe her face and so Luke reached into his pocket and handed her a mini packet of tissues.

"Don't tell the guys, I don't care that they think I'm whipped but I need a little bit of my credibility left." Maddie let out a laugh; she and Luke hadn't been dating for long but he always knew how to cheer her up and make her feel better. "You should phone Gabi, she might be feeling exactly the same way you are."

"I will phone her but I can't tell her I feel angry; she's probably crazy worried about Uncle Troy as it is, I don't want to give her something else to deal with. I've spoken to you about it now so hopefully I won't go crazy when I see him; I'll give him a couple of days to recover and then I promise I will talk to him about it."

"That sounds like a plan but can we execute that plan standing up? This floor is very hard and I cannot feel my legs or butt any more." Maddie laughed as she stood up; watching Luke as he stood and wiggled his long legs in attempt to make them feel normal again. "Oh and Mads, one more thing? No more thinking you need to deal with things on your own, I'm your boyfriend and part of that means you can tell me anything; good or bad." Maddie smiled as she stepped closer to Luke and wrapped her arms around him.

"Thank you; you're an amazing boyfriend and I don't tell you that anywhere near enough."

TGTGTGTG

In the six months she'd known the Thompson sisters Gabriella had come to learn their personalities pretty well and in the next few minutes, when Troy walked in the front door, her knowledge was about to be put to the test. She knew that Amelia would wrap her Uncle in a hug, although she hoped it wasn't too tight and then once she'd seen he was okay, she'd head back into the lounge; she didn't need to know the ins and outs of what had happened to him, he was here and he was okay, that's all that mattered to her.

She knew that Summer would be quiet, she too would hug her Uncle but then she would take a step back and watch; she'd observe the adults around her to figure out exactly how serious the situation was and then over the next couple of days, when she knew things had calmed down, she would ask questions.

She didn't know however how Maddison would react, when she'd spoken to her earlier she could tell she was holding something back and so when Maddie had arrived back after school asking if Luke could come over, Gabriella had instantly said yes; she knew that if the need arose Luke could help keep Maddie calm.

Just over twelve hours since she'd received the call from Tim, the front door opened and Taylor led a very worn out Troy into the house. He was wearing a pair of hospital scrubs, his uniform probably having been cut away to help carry out the tests and although he had no physical marks on him, Gabriella could tell that he was hurt just by the way he stood and the expression on his face.

"Uncle Troy, I'm so glad you're okay; you really should stop getting hurt at work." Even Troy smiled at Amelia's comment as she wrapped him in a gentle hug and then skipped back through into the lounge.

"I love you Uncle Troy." Summer stepped forward and wrapped Troy in a hug before returning to stand in between Sharpay and Zeke.

"I love you too Sum...Mads?" It was then that Gabriella realised she could never have predicted how Maddison would react because in that moment she watched in shock as the teen stepped forward and unleashed an angry tirade on her Uncle.

"How could you do that to us?! You could have been killed and then what would we do? You're all we have left, didn't you think about that? Mum made you our guardian because she knew you'd look after us and yet you nearly left us today, how could you do that?!" Maddie's shouting was accompanied by slaps to Troy's chest and despite the obvious pain he was in, Troy stood still and took them as his niece's sobs filled the house.

Just as Taylor was about to step in and block Maddie's attack, Luke beat her to it. He wrapped his arms around her from behind, effectively trapping her against him, thankful that she didn't put up a fight and instead just sagged against him, embarrassed at having made a scene. "Let's get you some air babe, come on." He bent and scooped her into his arms and carried her out the back door, hoping that fresh air and time apart would give everyone the chance to think and Maddie the chance to calm down.

"Summer go and sit with Amelia please."

"Gabi I'm not a little kid, just because Maddie is acting like one, doesn't mean I should be treated like one." Gabriella's so far blank face softened as she walked over to Summer and placed her hands on her shoulders.

"I know you're not sweetheart and as soon as everyone has gone home and I've helped your Uncle get settled, I promise I will come and talk to you both and you can ask as many questions as you want but for now please just go and look after Amelia; make sure she's okay after all the shouting, please? For me?" Summer gave a slight nod and then moved past the adults and into the living, shutting the door behind her as she went.

"We don't have to go Ella, we can stay a while longer."

"No, you guys get off, we'll be okay." She locked eyes with Troy for the first time since he'd walked in and received a nod from him in return. "Thank you all so much for being there for us today, we appreciate it more than you know." She hugged Sharpay and Zeke goodbye and hung on to Taylor a little longer when it was her turn, whispering thanks into her ear that she'd spent her day off sitting in the hospital with Troy rather than at home with her children.

And then as she shut and locked the door she turned to the broken man beside her and wrapped him into the hug she'd been wanting to give him since she knew he'd been hurt. She wasn't surprised when she felt him start to cry, she'd seen the unshed tears in his eyes at seeing Maddie in such a state and so she pulled back and cupped his face in her hands; using her thumbs to wipe away his tears.

"I know there's so much to talk about and I know you're worried about Maddie but Troy you look like you're about to fall asleep standing up, go and take a shower and then climb into bed; I'll come and check on you after I've spoken to Maddie and Luke."

"I don't think I can stand up long enough to shower but I need one so badly."

"I put the garden chair back in there; go sit under the warm water and wash the day away. There's fresh covers on the bed, although they are flowery this time and I packed you a bag of things which is on the bed too, so there's fresh clothes for you to change into."

"I don't deserve you 'Brie, you've taken care of everything today and with that storm going on; you must have been so scared." Gabriella shrugged as she took Troy's hand and led him through to her bedroom.

"I was fine, now you mister are going to shower and then get into bed, leave everything else to me."

TGTGTGTG

Maddie's eyes were closed as she curled further into Luke's side and groaned internally when she heard the back door open and footsteps coming towards them on the deck where they sat on the swing seat; she was worn out and embarrassed at not being able to keep her emotions in check and she wasn't sure she could handle whichever adult it was that was heading their way.

"Maddie sweetheart please open your eyes, you aren't in any trouble, I just want to talk to you." She instantly opened her eyes at hearing Gabriella's voice and found her sat in front on them on a chair; her face full of nothing but concern. "I knew you were keeping something from me when we spoke at earlier but I couldn't quite figure out what it was, Mads why didn't you tell me how you were feeling?"

"I knew how worried you were about Uncle Troy, I didn't want to give you something else to deal with." Gabriella smiled softly as she reached to take one of Maddie's hands into both of hers.

"And now how do you feel?"

"Embarrassed; I thought I'd be able to keep myself together but when I saw how bad he looked something in me flipped, is he mad?"

"No of course not, he's worried about you, just like he has been all day; every chance he got today he was asking Taylor how the four of us were Mads, you don't think all those things you shouted at him about haven't been through his mind a million times today? You have no idea how much pressure he puts himself under to try and bring you girls up the way your Mum would have; he doesn't want to let her down."

"He isn't letting her down; she would be so proud of him. Is he still awake? Can I go and apologise to him?"

"He's in the shower right now but I'm sure once he's in bed you can pop in and see him, not for long though; we do all need to sit down and talk properly but he's far too tired for that tonight, as I think are you." Maddie nodded and sat up allowing Luke to flex the side of his body she'd been leant against.

"I know I acted stupidly today by keeping it from you at school," she said turning to Luke. "And for not telling you truly how I felt Gabi but I promise to get things straight in my head before I talk to Uncle Troy tomorrow, I'm not going to let my emotions get out of control again."

"Good, now Luke you're more than welcome to stay for dinner, although I have no idea what we're having."

"Thanks Gabi but I actually need to get going, my sister and her family are coming round for dinner tonight; my Mum only let me come over because I told her what happened to Troy."

"You didn't tell me that, you missed out on time with your family to watch me make an idiot of myself."

"I told you earlier Mads, I'm your boyfriend, I'm supposed to be here for you in times like these." Gabriella smiled at the young couple in front of her; they were such a good match for each other, they balanced each other out just right.

"One more thing Mads, before I let you two say your goodbyes; if you for one second think that I wouldn't fight for you girls, if anything ever happened to Troy, then you don't know me as well as I thought you did."

TGTGTGTG

The time was something just after two in the morning and as much as Troy tried; he couldn't get back to sleep. The storm had started up again outside and every time he started to drift off he'd be stopped by one of the many thoughts that were running through his head. He knew tomorrow would be a tough day, there were many difficult conversations that needed to be had and while he knew he'd still be feeling fuzzy headed for a couple of days; they were conversations that couldn't wait.

Sighing he moved himself to the edge of the bed and pushed himself to his feet, the longer he lay there awake the more he needed to pee and so he shuffled through to the bathroom, smiling when he realised Gabriella had been in after his shower yesterday and tidied up after him. He'd planned on doing it himself when he felt more with it but she'd been in and done it while he was talking to Maddie and he once again realised exactly how lucky he was to have her.

As he came out of the bathroom he didn't head for bed but for the kitchen instead, a glass of milk was in order if he had any chance of falling back to sleep. The storm seemed to be getting worse and he thought about heading upstairs to check on Gabriella; she'd insisted on staying upstairs last night and he hated the idea that she was potentially up there scared. Just as he was about to head up the stairs, movement was heard from that direction and he turned to see her stood at the bottom of them; clearly confused as to why the kitchen light was on in the middle of the night.

"Troy, I didn't expect you to be up, are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm okay just needed a glass of milk to help me get back to sleep. How about you? Are you okay?" She nodded her head but as he closed the gap between them he could see her trembling and immediately he gathered her into his arms.

"Alright maybe that was a bit of a lie, I'm scared of the storm but I was already awake before it started getting bad anyway, there's so much running through my head Troy."

"I know 'Brie, me too and I want to talk about it all, I really do but I'm so tired right now, I haven't slept that much either to be honest." She pulled back to look him in the eye but in that moment a loud boom of thunder could be heard and the lights flickered; causing a small scream to escape her mouth as she buried her face tightly against his chest. "It's okay baby, I've got you, you're safe." He pulled back enough to be able to cup her face in his hands, his thumbs moving back and forth to catch the tears that were falling. "Come back to bed with me, if we fall back to sleep then that's great but if not at least you're there with me and I can look after you and help you feel safe."

"Okay." That one word was all he needed to lead her back through the kitchen, where he grabbed his glass of milk and turned off the lights before then continuing through to the bedroom. "How are you feeling? Are you sore?"

"A little bit yeah, I might not be able to cuddle like we normally do." Gabriella shrugged as they both climbed under the covers and got settled; her on her side and him on his back, their hands automatically linking on his stomach like they usually would when they cuddled.

"It's okay, just being next to you makes me feel safer." Troy smiled and closed his eyes, he could already feel sleep over coming him just by having her there beside him.

"Thank you for cleaning up the bathroom for me, I was going to do it, I swear."

"Don't worry about it, when you're done being injured you can clean the whole house if you like." Troy chuckled and peeked his eyes open to look at her through the darkness.

"After everything I put you and the girls through today, I'll do any amount of cleaning that you want me to. We're so lucky to have such amazing friends 'Brie, they all dropped everything to be there for us today, I know Chad couldn't get out of work but he helped by getting Luke to talk to Maddie. I'm so grateful to have them in our lives but I'm even more grateful to have you in my life, you have no idea how much less I worried knowing the girls had you to look after them and worry about them the way you do."

"They're your world and well you're a big part of my world so that default makes them a big part of my world too." Troy pulled Gabriella's hand to his mouth and placed a few soft kisses on her knuckles; too taken aback by her words to actually speak. "Go to sleep now Troy, tomorrows going to be a tough day but we'll get through it together, I promise."

TGTGTGTG

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