A/N: Thanks for the reviews! You guys are awesome. Okay, here's chapter 28! Oh, and somebody asked where's the others like Chad and Taylor. Well, the last chapter was mostly focused on Troy and Gabriella spending some time with the babies. You know, to warm up to them. But you will see everybody in this chapter!
A week later:
Gabriella was resting in bed, holding Aiden in her arms, while Luke was lying next to them, sucking on his pacifier. They were so beautiful. She was so happy she could take them home, or she would have been so bored. Suddenly the phone rang. She didn't want to get up. Aiden looked so peaceful, and like if you were to move, he might start crying.
"Troy!"
"Okay, I'll get it!" He yelled up the stairs.
"You're daddy is so helpful," she said, kissing the baby's forehead. She looked at his brown eyes. "I love you so much."
He just stared at her. She laughed then looked at Luke. "I'm not forgetting about you," she said, tickling his stomach. He smiled.
"I wonder where your sister is," she said. She remembered waking up and Troy left her with the two boys and he took Abby downstairs. See, they were warming up to their new rooms, but they still cried, of course, so they slept in Troy and Gabriella's bed on some of the nights.
"Gabriella! Gabriella!" Troy rushed into the room. "Gabi," he said, sitting on the edge of their bed, panting but grinning really big.
"What?" She smiled at how cute he looked.
He picked up Luke next to her, "Dylan can come home!"
"Oh my god! Are you serious?" She set Aiden down and hugged Troy. "I don't believe this."
"That was the hospital that just called. They said they took the machine off of him and he's breathing on his own," he said, smiling.
"That's so wonderful," she sighed. "When can we pick him up?"
"Anytime."
"Now?"
"Sure."
"Okay. We have to call somebody to watch the others."
"Yes, definitely. How about... my parents?" He offered.
"Okay. Are you sure they can handle three?" She asked, hesitantly.
"Of course. Let me call them," he said, picking up a phone and dialing his parents number. It rang once than a cheerful voice rang the line.
"Hello?" His mom answered.
"Hey mom, it's Troy."
"Troy! How are you? How is Gabriella? How are the kids?"
"We're doing fine... and so is Dylan!" He said, with happiness in his voice.
"Oh my! He's all right? That's great. When are you picking him up?"
"Well, we were hoping right now, which is why we kind of wanted you and dad to watch the others here, while we're gone for a little."
"Oh yes. No problem. We'll be over as soon as possible," she said. "Bye."
"Bye," he hung up, and put it back on the bed. "They can do it."
"Yes!" She exclaimed and hugged Troy once more. "I have to get ready," she handed Aiden over to Troy and leaped from the bed, digging in the droors to find clothes.
"Your mama is crazy," he chuckled. She heard that and lightly hit him on the back with a shirt. "See what I mean?"
"Ugh, don't listen to him," she said to the baby as if he was understanding all this information being fed to him.
After getting Abby, Luke, and Aiden dressed they brought them downstairs and put them in the carriers. They sat on the couch, waiting impatiently.
"Where are your parents?" She asked, moving her knee up and down.
"They'll be here," he reassured her. "Sometimes... they just come a little late."
"Troy, I want to see my baby! I want to take him home. Every second counts."
"It's okay," he kissed her head. "It's probably better the longer he stays in the hospital."
"Where did you here that?" She asked, growing more and more impatient by the second. She could imagine where Dylan is right now. Probably confused, hungry, and wondering where the people that love and care for him are.
"I don't know," he said, just as they heard a knock at the door.
"I'll get it!" She bolted from the seat and opened the door, to find Mr. and Mrs. Bolton. "Hi," she smiled.
Mrs. Bolton hugged her, "Congratulations, honey."
"Thank you. We are very happy and excited," she smiled.
Troy came up behind her and put his hands on her hips, "Yeah, almost too excited."
"Shut up!" She laughed.
"Troy, you can understand how Gabriella feels," his mom said.
"Okay, Gabi, let's go. Not another lecture," he said, kissing him mom on the cheek, and then hugging his dad. "We'll be back soon... with another member!"
"Okay, see you later," his dad waved, as they got in the car. When they got to the hospital, they walked up to the counter, eagerly.
"Hi," he said to the secretary. "We're here to pick up our son, Dylan Bolton."
"Okay," she said, typing in some things. "Take a seat, and Dr. Pederson will be out shortly to assist you."
"Thank you so much," Gabriella said. The secretary just smiled. They were so excited to take him home.
"How small do you think he'll be?" She asked.
"Small."
"Like, how small?"
"I don't know. Like the others."
"Or smaller?"
"Gabriella, I said, I don't know," he let out a soft laugh. "We'll see him really soon, okay?"
She nodded. "So, when are we going to have that welcome home party for them?"
"Uh... I don't know. When do you want to have it?" He asked.
"Well... today is Wednesday, so how about on Saturday? Nobody has work, and it'll be perfect. Not everyone has met them yet."
"I know. That sounds good," he put his arm around her and pulled her closer. "I'm sure Dylan's going to be very glad to come home."
"Me too," she smiled.
"Bolton," Mr. Pederson called. They got up and greeted him. Then they followed him into the room, talked a bit about his condition and then got to see him.
"Okay, so as you know, he's very small, but he is capable of breathing on his own," he said, bringing them over to the small baby.
"Oh my gosh," she exclaimed. "He's adorable."
"Yeah... he is," Troy agreed.
"So, he's okay now?" She asked.
"Yes, he's okay. His lungs are very fragile, so if anyone you know in your family that smokes, I would advise you to keep him away from the smoke. It's not healthy," he said, getting a nurse to help get him out. When then the nurse was finished getting him ready, she handed him to Gabriella. She held the small bundle in her arms.
"Oh," she said, softly. "He's so cute."
"Yeah, and I bet he's glad to be coming home," Troy said, touching his little hand.
"Congratulations. I will call you guys to schedule another appointment soon for all of them. Since they are premature they will need regular check-ups for a while."
"Okay, thank you," she said.
When they were in the car, Troy drove, while Gabriella sat in the passenger seat, holding Dylan.
"He has your eyes," she looked at the baby. "Those piercing blue ones."
He chuckled, "Yep, and so does Abigail, but Luke and Aiden have your eyes."
"That's perfect. I can't wait for everybody to see him."
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Saturday:
"He's adorable," Taylor had a big smile plastered to her face looking at Dylan as Gabriella held him. "He has Troy's eyes."
"I know. That's what I said. So does Abby," she said. It was the welcome home party that they were hosting. Troy's parents, Ms. Montez, Chad, Taylor, Ryan, Kelsi, Jason, Hayden, Rachael, Tom, Alicia, Sharpay, and Ariella were there. Everyone brought presents for them. They were outside in the backyard.
Rachael came up to her, "The house is amazing." She said, since some of them haven't seen the new house yet. "I'm so happy for you guys."
"Thank you," she set Dylan in his carrier, and took a bite of her food. Her mom was holding Abigail, Sharpay was holding Aiden, and Troy was holding Luke. After more 'awwing' and holding, it was time to open their presents.
"Okay," Troy said, setting Luke and Dylan in his lap, while Gabriella held Abby, and Aiden was still being held by Sharpay. They all got little outfits, blankets, books, and toys. Suddenly, there was a knock on the door.
"Who could that be?" Kelsi asked. "Isn't everybody here?"
"I'll get it," Troy said, getting up. Everyone began talking and holding the babies again. Moments later, Troy came back with Zeke. He was holding a cake that he obviously made himself, and a present. Gabriella looked over at Sharpay and saw her tense up. Everybody noticed.
Zeke broke the silence, "Hope I'm not too late."
Everyone stared then processed that he just said something, "No, no. You're not," Gabriella said, taking the present and putting it on the table.
"You made a cake?" She asked.
"Yep."
"That's wonderful. Thank you so much," she gave him a hug.
"Do you want to see Dylan?" Troy asked.
"Yeah sure," he answered.
"Daddy!" Ariella ran up to him and gave his legs a hug.
"Hi, sweetie," he picked her up and kissed her head. "How are you?"
"Good. Mommy brought me here," she smiled, licking food off her fingers.
"Oh. Did you meet the babies?" He asked, quickly.
"Yeah," she answered.
Gabriella saw everyone stay quiet, not knowing what to say. "So... who wants cake?" She said, really loud.
"Yeah," they answered. "Me."
Everyone walked up to Gabriella cutting it. She handed it piece by piece. She saw Sharpay go inside, and put down the knife and followed her. She found her sitting on the couch, with her head in her hands.
"Sharpay?" She asked, sitting down next to her. She put her arm around her. Sharpay looked up and she was slowly crying.
"Oh," she said, looking at her, "are you okay?"
She nodded, wiping her eyes. "It's just... so... hard... seeing him," she said, saying in between sniffles.
"I'm so sorry."
"No, don't be sorry. He's your guys' friend, too. You can't not invite him. That would be mean," she sighed and let out more tears. "But, the way he is with Ariella... I don't know. I just... miss him... so much."
She had no idea what to say. Should she say go back and talk to him? Give him another chance if you want him back that bad? Or should she say forget about him, he's not worth your time?
"It's okay... just let your feelings out," she looked up at the ceiling, wishing there was some sign telling her what to do.
"Looking at how happy you and Troy are with your guys' kids, it made me think about the family I had. About my parents and me and Ryan. When I was younger, I always dreamed about having the perfect husband and perfect children," she paused to let out another sob. "And then it happened, but now it fell apart."
She just stared at her, remembering in high school how Sharpay used to hate Zeke and his jock-self, but then remembering how she gave him a chance and they dated. It's funny how things don't work out, especially when you thought this was the beginning of something special.
"I'm sorry, Sharpay. I know how much you loved Zeke. Sometimes, things work out for the best, you know?"
"Yeah, but I just don't see how this did."
"Remember how you wanted to be a Broadway star?" She said, trying to think of a reason she was bringing this up.
She slowly nodded, wiping away the tears.
"Well... now you can!"
"Gabi, no! I can't. I still have a daughter, which is the best thing in my life right now. I love her more than anything. Back then; you don't know how much I wanted to be an actress. But... I gave that dream up for my family, and when I was giving birth to Ariella with Zeke holding my hand, I knew I had made the right decision to start a family. I was so much happier. Now I can't help but wonder if I made the wrong choice."
"Sharpay, no, you didn't. You made great choices in your life, and having Ariella is definitely at the top of the list," she rubbed her back. "Ariella makes you so happy. Don't ever doubt that."
She smiled, "Thanks Gabriella. You're the best!"
"Your welcome," she sighed, feeling very accomplished at her work. "Now, what do you say we go back out there?"
"Okay," she said as they got up and made their way outside.
"Hey," Troy grabbed her by the waist. "I was beginning to think you ditched."
She laughed, "Sharpay and I had a little talk."
"Ah, I see. Did it have anything to do with Zeke?"
"It did, indeed," she kissed him. "How are the babies doing?"
"Good. I think they like all the attention today."
"I'm sure they do."
Then it came time for toasts and speeches. Gabriella and Troy stood up. He put his arm around her and spoke. "Well, Gabriella and I are so happy that you all could come, first of all. But the main reason we are so happy is because of these four," he motioned down to the babies in the carriers. "We never expected this to come, but we are incredibly glad it did. We love them with all our heart." Gabriella nodded then added, "We hope they grow up to be strong-willed and determined. We want them to do whatever they want, as long as they're happy."
"Yeah, because you know, they'll probably play basketball," Troy laughed.
She playfully hit him in the stomach, "Shut up. Maybe, but we'll be behind them no matter what, right Troy? Even if it's not basketball?"
"Yes," he said, chuckling. Next to come up were Troy's parents. Gabriella decided to get Aiden a new bottle, since his was kind of empty. She picked up the bottle, and excused herself for a moment. Before she entered the kitchen, she heard voices talking. She peered over the corner and saw Sharpay leaning against the counter and Zeke talking to her. She didn't even notice that they weren't outside. She didn't want to interrupt their conversation, because it's Sharpay and Zeke, but she needed to fill Aiden's bottle up. She decided to wait. Now, she wasn't known to eavesdrop... but this was too important to miss out.
She heard Zeke talk, "I guess I didn't have my head on strait. I mean, after losing my job, I didn't think about you or Ariella."
"Well you should have because we were your family," Sharpay snapped. Gabriella didn't like how things were going, so she snuck to the bathroom upstairs, and grabbed an extra bottle instead, since they keep extra ones in the bathroom for the night if anyone ever needs it. After five minutes of getting things a little organized, she slowly crept downstairs. She peered behind the wall again and saw them hug. 'Awww,' she thought. 'Sharpay needed to get things cleared up with Zeke.' Before she knew it they walked back outside. She then followed shortly after. She sat back down outside next to Troy, holding Abby.
"Where did you go again?" He sighed.
"To... get another bottle," she whispered, as Mr. Bolton finished speaking. She then fed it to Aiden. She looked at Sharpay and Zeke. They were stealing glances at each other through the rest of the toasts. She couldn't help but feel proud of herself, and know that everything would be all right.
A/N: That was a lot to type. LOL So... what do you think? Dylan's home! And what about Sharpay and Zeke? Well, please review! Oh, and I can't believe I'm saying this, but I've kind of run out of ideas. I mean I know I can do more, and I'll definitely think of stuff. Do you think I should stop soon and write a sequel set a few years later, or keep going? If you said to keep going, I need some ideas. I have a few, but I would so appreciate some more, because I really do want to continue this story, I just need some suggestions. Okay, now review! LOL
