CHAPTER 13

((hey everyone…I know it took me longer than intended to get this out…but let me tell ya… im not the only one who does this…thanks for all the reviews…wow were gonna hit 100 pretty soon…exciting…I've been skipping through time because I wanna cover more after the nine months…it's been eight months in this chapter…I hope you have enjoyed everything so far…R&R…enjoy…XOXO, Christine))

Big Birthday Present

Gabriella sat on her bed with Troy. She had become so big and far along that her feet were starting to swell. She needed support from Troy when she stood up. The doctor had said that the swollen and achy muscles were part of her condition, and that they were normal. She said they were a side effect to the stress and to the medications. She had to take numerous meds that would keep her hydrated and healthy. If she were to get an infection, she risked endangering her baby's life as well as her own. As time went on, she grew more and more paranoid. She no longer would accept visitors except for Troy and her mother. The doctor explained that this was hormonal and normal. She'd be worried if Gabriella wasn't having these problems. Gabriella had given up on homework and reading. She was extremely careful about what she ate and drank. She didn't like to leave the house. She was obsessed about her baby's health. Troy had tried to get her to so stuff with the gang, but time after time she had refused. He had eventually stopped. He was now spending almost every night at her house and hardly ever graced the school with his presence despite his parents' wishes. They had claimed that after the baby was born, he would have to take some time off. They wanted him to miss as little as possible. Troy and his father agreed that basketball was out of the question for the first half of the season, but they would still consider the second half. Ryan and Sharpay, once again, were starring in the musical. Kelsi was the composer, as she had been for the two previous ones. According to the gang, Troy and Gabby weren't missing out on much.

"Nothing big has happened," Chad told them one day. "You two made all the big stuff happen." He was definitely right. Once the baby was born, everyone was going to begin to talk about them again, and give them weird stares. The people hadn't completely stopped with the bogus rumors, though. As much as the gang tried to hide the rumors from Troy and Gabriella, they were unsuccessful most of the time. The week before last, a rumor had gone around that Troy and Gabriella were going to quit school. That was completely untrue. They both had it worked out. They were going to be home-schooled until the beginning of February.

Gabriella's birthday was two weeks before her due date. The gang had organized a small surprise party for her. They planned on doing what they did when Gabriella hit six months. Quietly tip-toe up to her room, then burst through the door shouting, "Surprise!" Except this time they would bring her lots and lots of presents.

"Chad," hissed Kelsi, "why are your feet so loud? They're always loud."

"Sorry," Chad hissed back.

"Come on everyone," whispered Taylor, "let's get a move on."

They quietly snuck up the stairs to Gabriella's room. Just like her sixth month party, they could hear Gabriella and Troy through the door.

"Okay, everyone, when I say too," whispered Sharpay. "Zeke, how are you with carrying the cake?"

"Fine," said Zeke. "He was carrying a jumbo cake."

"Just don't drop it," Sharpay whispered.

"Let's go in!" he hissed. "The faster we get in there, the less chance I have of dropping this!"

"Okay, one, two, three."

They threw open the door. "Surprise!"

Gabriella screamed. "Geez, you guys scared me," she said. "You almost gave me a heart attack."

"Happy Birthday!" they all yelled.

"Thanks, guys," said Gabby, "but you know I can't have visitors. I could get sick."

"Your doctor never said you couldn't have visitors," Taylor pointed out. "She just said to be careful. It's good to be around people. If your secluded, it could throw down your defenses."

"I'm not secluded," replied Gabriella. "Troy is in here with me 24/7, and my mom comes in here multiple times daily."

"You need to be around more than just 2 others."

"I see my doctor and all the patients there."

"That doesn't count," said Chad.

"Let's just eat the cake," said Zeke. "It took forever to bake."

"Wow," said Gabriella. "That's huge!"

"Everyone can have as much as they want that way," said Zeke. "Here, Gabby." He handed her a gigantic slice.

"Wow! That's big!" exclaimed Gabriella. "I don't know if I can eat all of that." Troy grabbed a small corner of Gabriella's cake. "Hey," said Gabby.

"You said you couldn't eat all of that," laughed Troy.

"I changed my mind," said Gabriella. Everybody laughed.

Zeke handed Troy a large piece of cake. "Thanks, man," said Troy, taking a bite.

"Someone's hungry," said Gabriella to Troy.

"I wouldn't be talking," laughed Troy. Gabriella nudged him. "Oww. Oh, sorry." He kissed her cheek.

Chad laughed. "Is that how you apologize now, Troy? If you did something to me, would you apologize and kiss me on the cheek?"

"Ha ha, very funny," said Troy sarcastically. "Gabriella is the only one who gets special treatment." He kissed her on the cheek again. She turned and put her head on his chest.

"When you guys aren't here, Troy does a whole lot more than that, so get out," Gabriella was joking of course.

"OOoohh," all the other said.

"Maybe we can watch," joked Zeke.

"No," said Gabriella and Troy in unison. Everybody laughed. Everybody was in a light-hearted mood. Even Gabriella was smiling, which she usually wasn't doing unless she was kissing Troy. She sat back in bed, enjoying herself.

"Are you alright?" Troy asked her.

Gabriella smiled and nodded. As quickly as the smile came, it was gone. It was replaced by a panic stricken fearful look, and Gabriella squeaked, "Troy!"

"What?" he asked. "Gabby, what's wrong?"

"My water just broke," Gabby said quietly.

((Dun Dun Dun! Cliff Hanger! Sorry! The next chapter will be up really soon, in a matter of and hour and a half or so…I'm sorry, this is short but I couldn't ramble on and I wanted to end the chapter where I did…I hope everyone liked it…and I hope you guys don't want to kill me because of the cliff hanger…next chapter up soon I promise… thanks for all the reviews…there are a lot in my inbox right now…as soon as I post this on fanfic, I'll read them…keep reviewing…XOXO, Christine))