CHAPTER 30

((Yes I am back…my parents arent that mad…they think what I did was hilarious…well I do have some bad news…ive been talking a lot about my game that was yesterday…saying how lots of chapters would come if we won…well, im probably gonna do one chapter for each story today because well we lost…it was a close and hard played game…but I guess not every story has a high school musical ending…so chapter 30 is coming up…2nd to last chapter…this chapter takes place in their senior year of college at Duke…yes I know…Duke is in Promises…but it is kinda the forgotten school in that…UCONN is the big school in promises…Troy and Gabriella have an apartment together...I know Haven hasn't really been in the last few chapters…but I haven't forgotten about her...she'll be in this one…here it comes…R&R…XOXO, Christine))

Anywhere

Troy's alarm clock went off at 6:30 am. He had morning practice for basketball. He moaned, hit the alarm clock until it turned off, and turned over to go back to sleep. Haven had both him and Gabriella up all night. She had a small fever and had just gotten to sleep an hour ago.

"That alarm better not have waken Haven," Gabriella moaned in her sleep next to Troy.

"It didn't," he whispered back, sleepily. He fell back asleep.

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"Come on, guys!" yelled the coach. "Move it! Let's go!" The guys were running laps around the track. Coach hadn't noticed that Troy wasn't there yet. "All right! All right! You can stop now! Everyone in the middle!" The exhausted players slowly trudged towards the middle. "Quickly!" They picked up the pace, slightly. "Everybody here?" He looked around and sighed angrily. "Where's Bolton?" Nobody knew. "Alright, everyone! More speed drills until Bolton comes!" Everyone groaned. Troy was in for a lot of grief from his teammates. Coach grabbed his cell phone and dialed Troy's number.

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Troy's cell phone rang. Both he and Gabby woke up with a start, praying that Haven was still asleep. Even though she was five, she was acting as if she was two. She had pneumonia again, and she hated it more than anything.

"Hello?" Troy asked sleepily.

"Bolton!" screamed the coach into the phone. "Where are you! Taking the day off, are ya!"

"Haven has pneumonia," Troy moaned. "She has been up all night. I haven't gotten any sleep."

"I don't care!" Coach was not at all sympathetic. "Get your butt down here, now!"

Troy sat up. "You can't be serious," he moaned. "I have to be here for my daughter."

"You have to be here for your teammates!" yelled coach. "They are like your family, too. Don't forget your team!"

"You sound like my dad," replied Troy. "There's a reason you don't ever see him around."

"I don't care, Bolton! Now, get to practice!"

"I can't, coach," he hung up the phone.

"It's okay, Troy, you can go," said Gabriella.

"No, Gabby," said Troy. "I care about my family way more than I care about basketball. I'm gonna stay and help you take care of our daughter. I'm not gonna leave you."

Gabriella kissed him. "You are such a great daddy."

"You are an even better mommy," replied Troy. He rolled on top of her and kissed her passionately which she returned even more passionately. They continued kissing until Haven walked in.

"Mommy, daddy," she said. "I don't feel good."

"I'm sorry," said Troy getting off Gabriella. He got off the bed and picked Haven up. "Come on. Come up here with mommy and daddy." He carried Haven up onto the bed. He felt her forehead. "She still has a pretty high fever." Haven had already fallen asleep in his arms. "She's burning."

"I think we should call the doctor, again," replied Gabriella. "He did say too call him if she doesn't get better. It's been a week. She's not better." Haven started coughing in her sleep. Troy rubbed her back. "You are such an amazing father."

Troy carried her back into her room. He tucked her in and went back into his and Gabriella's bedroom. He got back into bed and tried to sleep.

"Troy," said Gabriella after a while. "I can't sleep."

"Me neither," replied Troy. He held Gabriella close to him, and gave her a kiss which she returned. They cuddled close to each other, both eventually drifting off to sleep.

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Gabriella was running through a hospital, crying. All the people around her were passing her like a blur. She was going so slow that she couldn't see everybody else. She ran on down the hall. It seemed as if she was never going to get where she needed to go. She could hear people talking around her as she ran. They were talking fast so it was hard to make out what they were saying. Gabriella kept running. She couldn't stop even if she wanted too. Her feet were moving without her brain telling them too. She ran into the ICU hearing people say the dreaded words such as time of death and flat-line, and terminal illness, or not gonna make it. She finally after what felt like forever got where she was trying to go.

"Time of death, 7:30 am," a doctor was saying.

Gabriella looked at the lifeless corpse on the bed. It was Troy.

"Troy!" she screamed. "Troy!" Everything started spinning. The next thing she knew she was lying in bed.

"It's okay," Troy was saying. "Gabby, it was only a dream." She was still thrashing around in the bed. "Gabby, honey, wake up." She finally woke up. "It's okay, it was only a dream."

"Oh, Troy," she moaned. "I dreamt that I lost you. I was running through a hospital, but for some reason I wasn't fast enough. Everyone else was moving like in a blur. Oh, God, Troy."

"It's okay," whispered Troy hugging her. "It's okay. I'm not going anywhere."

((There you go…one more chapter to go…review time…XOXO, Christine))