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Two years later

Marriages, both good and bad, were defined by repetition. She wasn't, nor ever had been, under the illusion that marriage was a relationship characterized by endless bliss and romance. Michael had taught her the worst of love but thankfully over the last two years she learned about the best from Troy. Shifting from one side of the kitchen to the other Gabriella worked on packing a school lunch for Eliot and keeping an eye on her eight month old, Jackie, who was currently eating from a pile of Gerber Puffs.

She'd lost sight of the person she'd once meant to be, and she wasn't sure she'd ever have the opportunity to find that person again. What she did have was a new opportunity, to be a better mom to her children, a better wife to a new man that she loved, and a friend to a community who accepted her even after they had reason to turn her away.

There was point in her life were she accepted things because there was nothing else to compare them too. Now she was pulling from her experience, opening a safe house here in Highland Meadows for mothers who needed shelter and runaways who needed safety. She used the money from Nana's estate to fund it, and she used her father house to host it.

She'd called it Betty's home, shelter for women and children, in honor of Betty. She was working at the Dinner again and using it as a way to get runaways back on their feet while they were in town. Kelsi worked closely with her on the project using her connections in the school system to get ahold of social workers, tutors, and counselors that could offer their services.

"Good morning ladies," Troy came into the kitchen, his uniform pressed and clean. The scent of his soap filled the room as he made a beeline for his daughter. Her playful blue eyes widen in excitement as he lifted her from her highchair.

"Morning," Gabriella smiled as she watched Jackie offer him a Gerber Puff.

Troy took the offering with mock excitement as he bounced her in his arms, "What did I just eat?" he murmured to back to Gabriella as he began making his way to the fridge.

"Strawberry flavored Gerber puff," she replied as she finished off Eliot's sandwich. "Your mom said she could watch Jackie today."

"Right," Troy huffed, "because she was going to say no." Troy made a face as he grabbed a cartoon of juice and placed it on the table. "My parents love her."

"Well it's still polite to ask," Gabriella said with a raised brow. "Court is at 11:00, and remember you said you'd be there." She added as she placed her hands on the kitchen table and let out a deep breathe.

"I will, are you ready for this?" Troy asked putting Jackie back in her highchair and giving her his hat to play with.

"Ready to be divorced," she smiled turning around towards Troy, "Ready to be married to you. Ready to be Mrs. Bolton."

God, she was lucky.

Never in a million years did she think she would say that about herself. Not after her father conviction, her mother's death, or her marriage to Michael. She counted herself supremely unlucky to have suffered that terrible gap in her life of pain and uncertainty. But without all that bad she would have never left and come back to Highland Meadows. She would have never run into Troy again. She wouldn't have been ready for him and she certainly wouldn't have appreciated him. She wouldn't have rediscovered happiness and a passion for life.

Troy glanced up, a slow sexy smile curved his mouth as he walked towards her. "You're going to be a great sheriff's wife."

Yeah, she was lucky. The luckiest woman alive.

His arms came around her, pulling her against his chest. She inhaled his familiar smell and made a "more, please" sound when he started to lift his head. After a moment she pulled away.

"Marriage isn't what people think it is you know," she said quietly turning around to seal the Ziploc bag on Eliot's peanut butter and jelly sandwich.

Troy hooked an arm around Gabriella's waist from behind her as she packed the contents on the table into a Scooby Doo tin lunch box. "And what is it like?" he murmured softly pushing aside some of her hair so he could place a kiss behind her ear.

"It's never fifty-fifty in a marriage. It's always seventy-thirty, or sixty-forty. Someone falls in love first. Someone puts someone else up on a pedestal. Someone works very hard to keep things rolling smoothly; someone else sails along for the ride."

Troy murmured softly his agreement as he continued to place kisses along her neck.

"Someone isn't listening while the other talks," Gabriella added with a giggle as she brought a hand up to the back of his neck.

Troy laughed as he nuzzled against her wrapped his arms around her, "This time will be different," he said murmured quietly.

"And why is that?" she with a smile.

"Because it's been two years of divorce hearings, custody battles and case trails and I couldn't be more excited to finally have you all to myself." When the process had started he knew they were in for a rough road but rough hadn't been enough to describe it. It wasn't until about 6 months ago that she lost the tight look around her mouth, and the crease between her eyebrows had eased. The laugh lines in her face had taken over, and the inherent warmth and goodness in her was now evident in every smile, every glance, and every gesture.

"Ella, I want to wake up with you beside me in the mornings, and you be there not a million miles away worrying about a trial or court appearance." His voice was soft as he rocked her back and forth gently. "I want to spend my evenings looking at you across the dinner table and thinking about how lucky I am. I want to share every mundane detail of my day with you and hear every detail of yours. I want to laugh with you and fall asleep with you in my arms."

"That's why I loved being with you." She turned in his arms to face him, "We could do the simplest things, like make breakfast or and share a burger and talk and even then I know that this is real and that I'm blessed to have found you again. You've always accepted who you were, and, you accepted me for me. And nothing else mattered, not my family or your family or anyone else in the world. It's always just us."

"Us, plus two."

As if on Cue Eliot rounded the corner, "Mom have you seen my science book?" Eliot asked as he wondered into the kitchen.

"Dining room table," Gabriella smiled as pulled away from Troy, "I have to go get dressed. You need to get going."

"I'll take him to school," Troy said as he pulled her closer. "You just worry about getting Jackie to mom and dads and I'll see you at the court house."

"I love you," she said.

As always, the express in his eyes grew soft as he looked at her. "I love you, too, sweetheart."

It hadn't been easy for them to get to this place. Even with the overwhelming joy of her pregnancy with Jackie there had been times over the past two years when things had been tense and unhappy. She'd uprooted hers and Eliot's life in New York to come to Highland Meadows for good, and they weathered what had turned out to be a messy divorce, thanks to Michael federal court dates and other trials. But they made it. Michael finally signed the papers. They'd purged the last of their past when they sold the house she shared with Michael to pay for the legal fees and today she was scheduled to sign the divorce papers.

Finally this chapter of her life was over and new one just beginning.