Troy put his head in his hands. This couldn't be happening. It was bad enough that Gabriella was in the hospital, and now this! Troy ran his fingers through his hair, and looked up at Dr. Jeffries.
"Does, does Gabriella know?" he asked. Dr. Jeffries shook his head.
"No, she's sleeping now. I figured that you'd want to tell her. we could have one of our counselors tell her if you don't want to."
"No, no, I want to be the one that tells her. I need to be that one that tells her," Troy said firmly.
"Of course. You may go see your wife at any time now." Troy shook Dr. Jeffries' hand, and went to go see Gabriella.
Gabriella was lying on the hospital bed looking pale and breathing in shallow breaths. Her right hand rested lightly on her stomach. Not being able to see his wife thinking that their child was still alive, Troy held her abnormally warm, limp hand in his hand. Tears threatened to spill down his cheeks. All this felt like one horrible nightmare.
With a sharp intake of air, Gabriella's eyes fluttered open. She rolled over, and took several labored breaths.
"You okay, Gabi?" Troy asked. Gabriella nodded, and leaned back against the pillow behind her. Troy brushed a strand of hair out of her face.
"I'm fine," she replied in a hoarse voice. Troy poured her a cup of water. With shaking hands, Gabriella drained the cup. "What time is it?" Troy looked at the watch Gabriella had gotten him for Christmas the year before.
"Just before eight AM." Gabriella closed her eyes.
"Have you been up the entire time?" Her voice was weak and hoarse. It didn't hold the same liveliness it usually did.
"I dozed off for a little while in the waiting room, but I was too worried about you to get some sleep."
"I'm fine, really." Gabriella tried to sit up, but she was too weak. "When can I go home?"
"You have pneumonia, I'm afraid that you're here for a while," Dr. Jeffries said from the doorway.
"Pneumonia?" Gabriella repeated. "No, no, it's morning sickness. That's all, morning sickness." She shook her head back and forth as she tried to sit up.
"Gabi, lay down," Troy said in a firm tone he never used. "Come on, you're burning up."
"I'm fine Troy!" Gabriella snapped.
"I'm afraid not, Mrs. Bolton," Dr. Jeffries said. "You have a very high fever. If you try and leave, which isn't happening right now, you'll only get worse." That caused Gabriella to lie back down. She didn't know about the miscarriage, and only cared about the baby. After Dr. Jeffries checked over Gabriella, he left the couple alone. Gabriella rolled on her side, and stared at Troy with half-lidded eyes.
"Call my Mom, Troy. She should be on her lunch break now," she said sleepily. Tory could tell that she was delirious. He gently stroked her dark hair, and kissed her hot cheek softly.
"Of course," he replied. I'll be right back." He got up, and went to go call all their friends to tell them about Gabriella.
Troy spent nearly an hour on the phone calling people. He kept insisting that everyone coming down would only wipe Gabriella out even more. After he went back to the room and found Gabriella asleep, he went down to the cafeteria for yet another cup of coffee.
As he was walking down the hall towards Gabriella's room, he heard a woman say, "Troy!" Troy spun around, and found Sharpay coming up behind him. He enveloped her in a warm, much needed hug. "How are you holding up?"
"Okay. Here, let's keep walking." Troy lead Sharpay to Gabriella's room, and leaned against the wall just outside the door.
"You're lying to me, Troy. What's wrong?" Troy sighed, and looked at the ground. Sharpay was starting to get scared. "Gabi's going to be fine…right?"
"As soon as he fever breaks, yes, she'll be fine."
"But…"
"But the baby's gone." Sharpay's hand flew to her mouth, and she gasped before giving Troy a comforting hug. "If I had brought Gabi to the hospital sooner, if I had listened to you, then this wouldn't have happened." Sharpay realized that Troy was crying. She had never seen Troy come even close to crying. She was glad that she had come down to the hospital despite his protests; he needed support.
"This isn't your fault. It's a tragedy, but it's no one's fault." Troy pulled away from Sharpay, and wiped his eyes. "Does Gabi know?' He shook his head.
"No, I want to wait until her fever breaks." Sharpay nodded. "You know, Shar, you didn't have to come down here."
"I know, but I figured that you could use some company." The two heard Gabriella begin to cough violently.
"Troy?" she moaned. "Troy?" Troy glanced at the open door.
"Go see your wife. Give her our best, and I'll see you later." Sharpay gave Troy one final hug, and disappeared down the crowded corridor.
As Troy entered Gabriella's room, he wiped away any stray tears. He found Gabriella lying on her back with her eyes closed. Troy sat down next to her, and put his hand over hers. Gabriella opened her eyes, and rolled over.
"Where were you?" she asked sleepily.
"I got some coffee, and Sharpay stopped by to see how you're doing. She sends her best." Gabriella nodded. "How are you feeling?"
"I still feel sick, but I want to go home." Troy ran his fingers through her hair gently. She leaned into her touch, and closed her eyes.
"Maybe in a few days, I don't know babe. You should get some rest in the mean time." Gabriella held Troy's hand closed her, and dozed off.
That night, Gabriella insisted that Troy go home to get some real sleep. When he got home, he closed the door to the nursery. He still had the horrible task of telling Gabriella about the baby. Troy didn't get much sleep that night. All he could think about was Gabriella believing in a lie.