"Grace, Baby? Say something." Celina pleaded
"What do you want me to say?! Oh okay goodnight?" Grace stated her voice sounding a little louder than average.
"No Grace we want you to understand." Grace's eyes were brimming with tears
"Understand what? That the people I've trusted and loved have been lying to me for thirteen years? My whole life!" Celina chose this moment to break down into tears.
"Gracie you have to understand, we couldn't have children and your parents didn't want you. We did, we took you in gave you food, clothes, home and all the love one little baby could ever ask for." Celina explained tears still streaming down her face. Troy didn't know what to do he tried to comfort Grace she's move away, he'd try to comfort Celina she'd move closer to Grace.
"Look Gracie we knew telling you was going to be hard, no matter when or how we told you. Just know that we love you okay?" Toy tried to make things easier but things just weren't working.
"I want to meet them." Grace stated calmly.
"Meet who?" Celina asked whilst she brushed the tars from her eyes.
"My real parents." Grace explained
"I don't think that's wise Gracie." Troy took this moment to move closer to Grace and wrap his arm around her but she was having none of it.
"And I don't think that's your choice. They're my family and I want to meet them. Have you met them?" Celina and Troy shook their heads. "Do you even know their names? What my last name would have been? What they christened me?"
"We know that she was a single parent who named you Grace." Celina explained slowly moving towards her daughter.
"Well I want to meet her." Grace said letting the tears spill over her eyes "Please" She whispered before she collapsed into her fathers chest sobbing.
"Shush Gracie it'll be alright. We'll track her down and you can meet her." Troy rubbed his big warm hand up and down Grace's back. "Go hop into bed, get some sleep. You don't have to go to school tomorrow you can come to the Doctors with us." Grace got up and ran upstairs slamming her bedroom door. She fell on to her bed face down into her pillows sobbing. Try as she might that night she couldn't sleep. Not at all. She kept thinking of the woman who was her mother, why had she given her up? Did she still care? All of these questions would have to go answered for the time being.
It was about 11 am when Troy made his way towards his daughter's room, expecting to find her asleep. He opened the door slowly to perform his morning task of Tickle alarm but instead of her toasty and warm under the blankets he found her at her lap top wide awake. He took a seat on her bed and just sat there watching.
"What are you doing Gracie? You're usually still sleeping." She shrugged her shoulders and exited youtube before shutting the laptop.
"Couldn't sleep." She spun on her wheelie chair to face her father.
"Look I know last night was huge news but we're going to make it work. You can meet your biological mother and we'll see what happens from there. Come on get dressed when your mother gets home we're heading out to the Doctors." Grace stood up and grabbed her clothes and made her way to the bathroom.
Troy made his way down stairs. Things were still awkward between the three of them, and Troy so desperately wanted to fix it. It was his idea to tell Grace but only because if they left it to long her reaction could've and would've been a lot worse. The front door opened and Celina slowly walked in.
"How'd it go with your dad?" Celina had gone to visit her parents for two reasons. One to ask her mum for advice on how to fix things with Grace and two, to ask her father for the IVF money.
"Good. he gave me the money." She said sadly and handed Troy an envelope. "What are we going to do Troy? She wants to meet them. I know we said we'd support her but what if she wants to live with them?" Celina was close to tears, as always when it came to this topic.
"Look lets not worry about that for now. Let's just go to the Doctors and sought this out." Celina regained composure and went to go touch up her make up. Grace descended the stairs, head hanging low, hair in her eyes.
"Let's get this over with then." She said with no emotion at all.
"Grace, please try and be a little happy. You're going to get a little brother or sister."
"What if I don't want one? What if I don't want to live here anymore? What if I want to go live with my actual family? What about what I want?!" Grace stormed out the front door slamming it behind her as she went. Troy grabbed his car keys and left Celina a note saying they'd meet her at the Doctors office.
Troy walked out side to see the figure of Grace running around the streets corner. Troy knew where she was going; he'd been taking her there since she was five. He took the longer roads to give her some space. When he pulled into a parking lot her could see her sitting in the old abandon tree house in the big oak tree over looking the lake. He took the key out of the ignition and stuck his hands in his pockets slowly making his way over to his sulking daughter. As he approached the old, rotting ladder he could hear her sniffing from the base of the tree. He hated to see his daughter upset, it pained him more than anything in the world. He climbed up the ladder and sat down next to her, scooping her up he placed her in his lap whispering words of comfort in her ear.
"Dad?" Grace asked slowly lifting her face revealing tear stained cheeks and swollen red eyes.
"Yes baby doll?" He brushed the hair that was plastered to her face out of her eyes.
"I'm sorry I've been acting this way. I know it must be hard on you and mum, and I do love you it's just to find out that I'm not yours and your not mine is well a shock." Troy held his daughter closer.
"But here's the thing Gracie, you'll always be mine because I've loved you like you were mine." She buried her face into her father's neck.
"Dad?" She mumbled
"Yes" he whispered
"Do you think that there is any chance of tracking down my mother?" Troy sighed
"I'm not sure, she didn't want us to know who she was so it may be tough but we'll figure it out. Come on lets go get ice cream!" They stood up slowly making their way back to Troy's car.
They sat in Cold Rock ice creamery both spooning cookies and cream ice cream into their mouths in a comfortable silence. This is one of the many things that amazed Troy even though Grace wasn't his biologically they were so alike in many ways. They both liked to sleep till noon, both loved cookies and cream ice cream and both were enthusiastic about Basketball.
"Dad? Why'd you pick me? Out of all the little babies there why me?" Troy chuckled
"Good question, but it comes with an even better answer."
Flash back
It was a cold winter's day and Troy and Celina were flipping through the last of the adoption profiles and photos. They had narrowed it down to four and were going to meet them today.
"Come on Lina, let's get going. We don't want all the good ones to be gone." Celina turned to face her husband of 6 months
"Shame on you Troy Bolton they are not things and each one is special." Troy rolled his eyes grabbing his jacket and heading for the door.
"Come on then let's go!" They got in the car and headed to the adoption house.
"Welcome Mr. and Mrs. Bolton. Come through this way." They followed a fairly large lady through to a room that had four individual cots. "Right, this adoption house freely takes children whose parent's whish to remain anonymous and give them homes." The lady, Ms. Maguire led them to the first cot in which lay a little baby sleeping soundly "This is Anna she has been with us for three days now. Next to her is Jacob he has been with us for a week. Kipper is here." She motioned to the other side of the room where the other two cots were sitting "He has only been here a day. Next to him is sweet little grace joined us just this morning, fresh out of the oven." Celina giggled
"May I pick her up?" Celina asked a little shy
"Of course." Celina bent down and slowly lifted Grace up supporting her head. "She's beautiful." She whispered tears welling. She then handed her to Troy. Grace chose this moment to open her eyes. Her eyes were locked on him, him on her it was like the ultimate battle of stare out. Troy handed her back over to Celina who placed her in the cot. Troy stayed watching the babies sleep as Celina followed Maguire out to the main office to fill out some papers and when she came back all that was left was to pick a child. Troy slowly made his way out of the holding room and over to the desk where the two women were situated and took a seat. The screaming of a child echoed the halls.
"Excuse me for one moment whilst I go settle the child." A few minutes later she returned with a still screaming Grace in her arms. "Oh please little one, hush now."
"Let me try" Celina offered. Grace was positioned in Celina's arms still screaming; noting would shut this child up.
"I know it's a long shot, but let me try." Celina handed Troy the little bundle and the screaming instantly stopped. Maguire looked over to see Troy slowly swaying a now calm and sleeping baby nestled in his chest.
"Have I gone deaf?" She joked.
"I think we've found our Angel." Celina followed Ms Maguire to the printing room to fill out some paper work and wait for the birth certificate to be printed.
Troy, Celina and grace all left the adoption house feeling at peace
End Flash back
"We didn't choose you Gracie. You chose us." Troy pulled his daughter from the opposite side of the booth closer to him. He then looked down at his watch. "Shoot! We've go to get to your mothers Doctor appointment!" They jumped up and hurried to the car clambering in they headed off to the doctors office.
They drove around looking fir a free parking space for what seemed like hours.
"Look! There's one!" Grace pointed out. Troy turned on the indicator and slammed on the breaks, stalling the car, he restarted the engine before having to turn it off once again as they pulled into the free space.
They raced to the entrance before slowing into a walk as the approached the nurses' station.
"We're looking for Celina Bolton I'm her husband." The nurse slowly looked up from her magazine, blowing a bubble with her gum she pointed towards the same exam room as they had yesterday.
"Thank you." Grace and Troy slowly entered the exam room.
"Troy, Grace thanks for showing up." Celina said, sarcasm lacing her voice.
"We're here now aren't we?" Grace shot back her tone full of attitude.
"Grace, don't" Troy told his daughter sternly "Sorry we're late but I'll explain that later. So what's our new doctor's name?" Troy asked turning towards the desk where she was placed behind.
"I'm sorry I'm Doctor…" She was cut of buy Troy
"Gabriella?"
"Montez" She whispered.
His new doctor was his ex-lover.
A/N- It's really late, i shoulsd be asleep, oh well! I should really put in a disclaimer shoudn't I? Well as if I'd own High School Musical or Zac Efron...One can only dream. Any way two chapters in one day plus I had to write my Captain Cook report and a speech for English! I am quite proud also considering I wrote this chapter twice! I;'m sorry i didn't notice that i left out the Ms. for Ms. Maguire.
Any way Review...Ya know if you want...
XxPeace OutxX
Lizz!