AN: Long chapter. And after this you can kiss them good-bye, because the rest are all average sized.
Ah, you see how I update faster when I get more reviews? It's because I'm a pathetic person who feeds on them. There, I said it, now you can't accuse me.
And lastly, thank you so much for your reviews! Not only did I reach the 100 mark, but went 14 over it :-D Thank you allll! I hope I don't disappoint you.
PS. Not much happens in this chapter, but eh... might as well review, right? ;-)
Title: With You
Rating: T
Author: MadiWillow
Summary: Troy is married with a small daughter. Gabriella is married and pregnant. They didn't keep in touch after school following a nasty break-up, but everyone knows that true love never dies.
Genre: Drama/Romance
Chapter: Chapter 6
Gabriella was exhausted after Jackson's birth. Troy had gone home after about an hour and Danielle returned. They cooed over how adorable he was before Danielle left and they took Jackson to the nursery to feed him and test him for any diseases or disorders. Gabriella didn't even have any time to worry as they transported her into a different room and she fell into a deep sleep soon after.
However, she was awoken from her slumber of only five hours from her phone ringing. She picked up and said groggily, "Hello?"
"Hey Gabriella! Haven't heard from you in a while. Did I wake you?" came Taylor's perky voice from the other line.
Gabriella sighed deeply. "Yeah but that's okay." She sat up straighter. "What's been going on?"
"Oh, you know, the usual." Taylor mimicked Gabriella's sigh. "Jessie is a pain in the a – butt-" she quickly corrected herself, causing Gabriella to laugh. "And Kyle is wearing us down so much. It's harder to wake up in the middle of the night when you know you have a two-year-old in the next room who's going to be jumping off the walls in a few short hours."
It was then that Gabriella remembered. "Oh, Taylor, I had my son last night. Well, this morning."
There was a short silence before Taylor yelped, "WHAT!? Gabriella, did you, like, forget or something?"
"Kinda," said Gabriella apologetically. "I'm really tired. He was born at two a.m. and I didn't get to sleep until around three."
"Still!" she exclaimed, "This isn't something you forget!" She then calmed down and squealed, "So, it's a boy? What'd you name him?"
"Jackson,"
"...Jackson what?"
"Um... Jackson Troy."
Silence. "WHAT!?"
"Taylor, please stop screaming!"
"I cannot believe you named your son after Troy."
"Well, I don't know..."
"I mean, he dumped you before college started and years later you name your child after him? What is wrong with you!?" she cried.
It dawned on Gabriella that Taylor – and all her other school friends – still had no idea she'd met up with Troy again. She started to laugh and said, "Taylor, there's something you need to know about that..."
"What? Tell me!" she said impatiently.
"Well, it's a funny story, actually..." Gabriella launched into the story of her and Troy running into each other at the baby store and them catching up the past couple of weeks. However, she paused when she got to the part about dinner the night before.
"...is the story over?" asked Taylor skeptically.
Gabriella let out a breath. "No. Last night Troy, his wife Devon, and their daughter Lauren came over for dinner. Long story short, Nathaniel freaked out and yelled at me in front of them. They left and then... so did Nathaniel."
"WHAT!?" Taylor yelped for the third time. "That son-of-a-bitch! Wait'll I-"
"Taylor, don't worry about it," said Gabriella weakly. "It took me a while, but I realize now that Nathaniel and I aren't meant to be together. I'm going to file the divorce papers as soon as I can."
"Good for you, Gabriella," said Taylor earnestly. "Don't let that asshole talk to you like that. And if he tries to pull you back in with some stupid 'I really do love you' shit, don't buy it."
Gabriella giggled.
"Hey, did you... did you guys get a pre-nup?" asked Taylor cautiously.
"Yeah," said Gabriella with realization, suddenly downtrodden. "I loved him so much when we got married... I never thought it we'd get divorced so I got one when he asked me. I'm so stupid."
"No you're not," Taylor assured her firmly.
"Did you and Chad get a pre-nup?" she asked miserably.
"Well... no..."
"Figures," Gabriella sighed. "Taylor, I gotta go."
"But wait! You never told me why you named your son after Troy."
Gabriella thought this over. "I really don't know. I mean, he did dump me on my ass all those years ago, but he explained why and how much he regretted it. And he was also with me throughout the whole birth and he really helped me. He deserves it." Before Taylor could say anything else, Gabriella told her she was tired and hung up. She sighed again and let her head fall back on her pillow. Just as her eyes started to close, there was a knock on the door.
"Come in," she called sleepily and sat back up. Danielle and a nurse entered, wheeling in with them a glass incubator in which a small baby swaddled in a light blue blanket lay, with a matching blue hat on top of his dark hair. His eyes were closed and his breathing was slow and regular.
"Can I hold him?" asked Gabriella softly, gazing lovingly at her son.
"Of course," the nurse smiled widely and picked up the child and carefully set him in his mother's arms. "I'm not sure how familiar you are with newborn babies, Mrs. Richards, but one thing you must remember is to support their head and watch out for the soft spot."
Gabriella nodded and slowly jiggled her son in her arms. She watched his face, loving him more every second. She never knew she could love someone so much.
"Your son is one hundred percent healthy," the nurse continued. "We fed and burped him already, so he'll probably be out for a couple of hours. If he does wake up, it may be from gas or a dirty diaper. When you're ready, you can return home. You got lucky, being allowed to leave so early, especially with premature baby." The nurse winked. "Just remember to sign out."
Gabriella nodded again and the nurse left shortly thereafter. As soon as she walked out the door, Danielle turned to Gabriella and demanded, "So?"
"So what?" asked Gabriella, clearly baffled. "I had a child yesterday. Do you need to know the gory details?" Gabriella immediately regretted her words, as Danielle had miscarried twice with children she'd wanted very much.
"Not about that," said Danielle. If she was hurt by Gabriella's words, she didn't show it. "About you and Troy."
"Oh... well, he helped me through the birth," said Gabriella casually, trying to fight down the blush that was creeping up her cheeks.
"Mhm," smirked Danielle. "That was it, huh? And he was glowing so much when he got home because you were able to experience the miracle of life?"
Gabriella hide the small grin on her face. "He was glowing?" she inquired.
Danielle let out a loud "HA!" of laughter that Gabriella was surprised didn't wake Jackson. "No, but I knew something must've happened!" After a short pause, she added, "He did seem unusually happy for a man who'd been awake all night, though."
Gabriella blushed full-on this time. "Well, he gave me a little kiss after Jackson was born."
Her employee's jaw dropped. "Awww!" she squealed happily, bouncing up and down on the foot of Gabriella's bed.
"No, it's not a good thing," Gabriella said suddenly. "It's horrible. Troy's married."
"Psh, to that blonde barbie?" scoffed Danielle. "Yeah, well, I'm sure they won't be married much longer."
"And why do you say that?" asked Gabriella skeptically.
"Because of you," she said simply. Gabriella gaped at her.
After a moment, she sighed. "Danielle, life isn't really that simple. Guys don't just dump their perfect wives for an old high school flame."
Danielle clucked her tongue impatiently. "There were many mistakes in that statement, Gabriella. First of all, Devon is not perfect. And you're not an old high school flame. You said that Troy and Devon have been married for a year and a half? You were with him for two and a half years. That's so not just a 'high school flame'. Lastly, it seems like, not only are you not an old flame, but that Troy really likes you. Loves you, even."
Gabriella shook her head sadly. "I don't know, Danielle."
Danielle just shrugged. "Whatever you say."
As if on cue, there was a knock on the door and Troy Bolton himself stepped inside, wheeling with him Lauren's large stroller. He grinned at Gabriella – causing her to flush – and stepped all the way in her room, and the two women saw that he was holding a vase of yellow daisies.
"My favorite flowers," observed Gabriella without thinking. She blushed harder and looked down, pretending to be fascinated with Jackson's sleeping face.
"Yup," Troy said in response to her comment as he placed the plastic vase on her bedside table.
"I hope you got enough sleep last night," Gabriella said to him in a concerned voice. "Uh... I mean this morning?"
Troy laughed. "Don't worry about me, I'm used to getting little sleep." He shot a loving side-glance at his daughter, who was happily munching on, once again, Cheerio's.
Gabriella nodded and fell silent. Troy was watching her, a small smile on his face, and when Gabriella realized this, she bit her lip awkwardly and blushed yet again.
Danielle noticed the tension in the room and had to fight back a smile. She stood up from Gabriella's bed, placed her hands on her hips, and surveyed the room. "Well, this room is quite bland and depressing compared to yours at home, Gabriella." The two other occupants in the room jumped at her voice and glanced at her sheepishly, forgetting she was there. Danielle tried not to laugh. "Shall we get going? The nurse said you could leave."
Gabriella smiled happily and was about to get out of the bed before she stopped herself and sunk sadly back into her pillows. "I'm divorcing Nathaniel, remember? Once I file the papers, I don't live there anymore. We have a pre-nup." She sighed miserably. "I have no money because Nathaniel made me quit my job."
Danielle chewed the inside of her mouth. "You're right." She thought for a minute and then offered, "If you want, I can quit my job and we can use my savings to get an apartment-"
"No way!" cried Gabriella. "Besides, you're starting classes in the fall. I'm not gonna let you waste money on me when you have a well-paying job and free residence."
"How about I lend you-"
Gabriella shook her head stubbornly. "I won't accept it."
Danielle sighed. "Gabriella, you're so-"
"You can stay with us,"
Gabriella and Danielle both turned their heads to look at Troy. "Pardon?" asked Gabriella.
Troy cleared his throat and spoke louder. "You can stay with Devon and me, if you like," he repeated.
Gabriella shook her head. "I don't think you'd want to have a newborn waking up your family in the middle of the night."
"No, it's fine," Troy assured her. "Really. We can even help you."
"Are you sure?" she asked skeptically.
"A hundred percent,"
Gabriella stole a glance at Danielle, who nodded encouragingly. "Well, okay then." Her face broke into a smile. "Let's get going."
She let Danielle and Troy dress Jackson while Gabriella took a quick shower and got changed. She was amazed at how skinny she'd become since the birth – although not back to her old weight – and that she could see her feet. She was too tired to put on any makeup or do anything to her hair, so she just let it down and wet, knowing that it would dry wavy. Upon exiting the bathroom, Danielle proudly presented her her son, who was dressed in a yellow outfit with matching hat. His arms and legs didn't quite fill out the whole outfit, as he was so small.
"Get in the wheelchair!" demanded Danielle, once Jackson was in her arms.
"What? No," protested Gabriella.
"Yes!" argued Danielle. "Come on, don't you want to classically be wheeled out of the hospital, child in arms, to your car waiting right outside the doors?"
"Not really,"
"Well, we won't take no for an answer," Troy announced, and the two of them forced her into the wheelchair. Gabriella sighed resignedly, but grinned nonetheless as Danielle wheeled her downstairs, Troy with Lauren by her side.
"Wait here!" Danielle ordered, once in the waiting room. "I'll go bring the car around."
"Danielle, we can just-"
"No, no, I want the car to be right there," Danielle said stubbornly and she left the hospital to retrieve Gabriella's car. A nurse took over Gabriella's wheelchair duties when her car arrived.
"Ta-da!" Danielle said with a flourish as she opened the car door, showing off the car seat Gabriella had bought a few weeks prior. Gabriella thanked the nurse as she, with Troy's expert help, fastened Jackson into his car seat.
"Okay, so you'll pack and then come on over?"
"Yeah. We'll have to pack up all of my clothes and stuff, and then all of Jackson's things, so it may take a few hours. Oh and we might stop by City Hall," she added, biting her lip.
"Okay. See you then," he said soothingly and gave her a warm smile that caused her heart to flutter before he turned on his wheel and wheeled Lauren through the parking lot to their own vehicle.
Gabriella climbed into the backseat next to Jackson as Danielle pulled out of the parking lot. Gabriella watched her son lovingly as he slept. "He's so adorable," she breathed. "He looks just like me, too." She pursed her lips. "But I can also see some of Nathaniel in him."
"Jackson will be nothing like Nathaniel," Danielle told her sternly. "Not with you as his mother."
Gabriella smiled at Danielle's back appreciatively.
The next couple of hours were spent with Gabriella packing all of her clothes and jewelry, along with other cherished items, while Danielle took apart the crib, changing table, and other furniture belonging to Jackson. She heaved them into the trunk of Gabriella's car, along with all their suitcases of clothes and, for Jackson, toys. Their only interruption was when Jackson needed a diaper change and Gabriella had freaked out about his umbilical cord.
"Ah!" she'd screeched, causing Danielle to run over.
"What is it?" Danielle had asked, panicked.
Pointing a shaking finger at Jackson's belly button, Gabriella asked, "W-what's that?"
Danielle had raised an eyebrow at her. "His umbilical cord."
"I thought they cut it off!" cried Gabriella. "Did something go wrong?"
Shaking her head, Danielle said, "You really don't know much about babies, do you?" Sighing, she explained, "The don't cut the whole thing off. The cut off most of it and that little stub that they don't cut off-" she motioned towards his belly button, "-falls off after a few weeks."
"That's really gross," Gabriella mused.
Danielle just shook her head again and continued packing.
Right before leaving, Gabriella grabbed a couple thousand dollars of cash that Nathaniel had "laying around". She knew he wouldn't notice and besides, she needed some money.
Shortly afterwards, on their way to City Hall, Gabriella groaned loudly. "Wait, Danielle, we can't go yet. I need to hire a divorce lawyer."
"Already taken care of!" she called from the driver's seat to Gabriella, who was again sitting next to Jackson.
"You did? When?"
"Didn't I already tell you? Hm, well, last night I was kinda bored at Troy's house so I cracked open the phone book and hired a lawyer. We have an appointment in ten minutes."
Gabriella gaped. "And you conveniently forgot to mention this?"
"I thought I did!" Danielle defended herself. "I don't get a 'thank you'?"
Despite herself, Gabriella grinned. "Thank you," she teased. She glanced back at the tiny baby next to her, his black hair resting softly on his head; his thick black eyelashes long and beautiful. "This parenting thing isn't so hard," Gabriella remarked. "From what I've heard, it's really difficult. But all he does is sleep."
"Mhm. Easy," said Danielle, her voice laughing. Gabriella narrowed her eyes at her employee's back, but didn't say anything more on the subject.
They reached City Hall with four minutes to spare, which was lucky, as it took them all that time to locate the lawyer's office. Finally they found the door labelled Brooke Kenzington, and Gabriella, pushing Jackson in his stroller, knocked cautiously.
The door instantly flew open and they were exposed to a women with mouse-brown hair pulled back into a tight bun. She was wearing an velvet navy-blue suit with black clogs, no makeup, and thick bifocals. "You must be Mrs. Richards," said Miss Kenzington, holding out her hand.
"Hopefully not for long," said Gabriella, smiling good-naturedly, as she shook the lawyers hand.
Brooke shook Danielle's hand as well before leading them into her stuffy office. Gabriella and Danielle sat down in two leather-brown seats that were facing the messy, pine-wood desk. Miss Kenzington sat down, brushed some papers away, and folded her hands pleasantly on top of the desk. "So. You're here to divorce your husband?"
Gabriella nodded.
"I see that he's not present – does he have any idea that you're here?" she asked tentatively.
Gabriella hesitated, then shook her head. "No. He's away on business."
"Mmm," mused the lawyer. "Did you two have a prenuptial agreement?"
"Yes, we did."
"What did it state?"
"That if we ever divorced, everything that he earned with his own money is his and everything I earned is mine." She faltered. "Um, I think. I don't really know all the legal terms."
"Well, it sounds simple enough," said Miss Kenzington, nodding slightly. She grabbed a piece of paper from her desk and a pen and handed it across the table to Gabriella. "I need you to fill out this divorce contract. As soon as you sign it and I file it away, it'll be done."
"That's it? I don't have to... go to court or anything?" clarified Gabriella.
Miss Kenzington shrugged. "That depends. If Mr. Richards has no problem with the proceedings it will settle out of court. It could even settle without you ever seeing him again."
Gabriella nodded. "What if... what if he had an affair? Hypothetically, of course." Danielle shot her a confused glance.
"Adultery is looked down upon in court, as everywhere else in the world," Miss Kenzington explained. "If your husband committed such an act, and it was proven, he could lose everything."
Gabriella nodded for a second time. She bent down and started to fill out the divorce papers, when Jackson let out a loud cry. She yelped out at the sound of his voice, causing the pen to fly out of her hand. "Danielle, what do I do?" she asked, panicked.
"Calm down, Gabriella, he's just crying!" Danielle assured her.
"What if he's hurt?" she asked urgently.
"Shh, Gabriella, babies cry all the time," Danielle reminded her. "Just fill out the form and we'll be able to leave."
Gabriella just nodded; she turned around to go pick up the pen but saw that her lawyer had already retrieved it for her. "Thanks," she muttered weakly as she accepted it again, and bent down to fill out the papers.
There were so many boxes to check: divorce, separation, annulment. She checked the box for 'dissolution of marriage'.
Dissolution of the marriage based on...
There were only two reasons to end a marriage, according to this paper. "Irreconcilable differences" and "Incurable insanity". She clucked her tongue, thinking briefly that there was so much more that could end a marriage, before checking the former.
Legal custody of children to...
"Definitely not Nathaniel," she whispered, quietly, and checked "Petitioner". She checked the same for "Physical custody of children to" and refused to grant visitation. She wanted to get out of this marriage as fast as she could, and in doing so she decided to not ask for spousal or child support. She quickly filled out the rest of the form and signed her name at the bottom. Gabriella Anne Richards. Soon it will be back to Montez.
As she handed the form back to her lawyer, she asked, "Once we're divorced, I can change my sons name back to my maiden name, can't I?"
"If you have legal custody of him, yes."
Gabriella turned to Danielle, who was desperately trying to calm down Jackson, as he was still crying. "Why won't he stop?" she asked, suddenly worried again.
"I don't know!" cried Danielle impatiently.
"Is that all?" asked Gabriella desperately of Miss Kenzington.
The other woman nodded. "We usually mail the divorce papers to the respondent's home, but you said your soon-to-be-ex-husband is on a business trip. Do you want us to fax it to his hotel or...?"
"No, just mail to our-his house," said Gabriella, reaching the end of her line due to Jackson's crying. "It'll be a nasty shock for him."
Miss Kenzington nodded. "Have a good day, Mrs. Richards," she said, waving them out.
A few minutes later they were back in the car, and Jackson's crying had turned into screams.
"Danielle, what do I do?" Gabriella cried. "I don't know what he wants!"
"Maybe he's hungry?" Danielle yelled over the little boy's screaming.
"Well, I can't very well feed him right now!"
Danielle swerved the car dangerously and pulled to the stop on the side of the road. "Try now."
Gabriella slowly unbuckled her son from the car, his little face red, and cradled him in her arms. She lifted up her shirt, unhooked her nursing bra, and tried to get him to eat, but he wasn't having any of it. "Shouldn't he be hungry by now?" asked Gabriella, feeling close to a breakdown. "It's been hours since he ate!"
"Maybe he needs another diaper change?
Gabriella checked his diaper, but it was clean. "No, not that!"
"Put him back in the seat; we'll get Troy to help us."
Gabriella strapped him back in his car seat and hooked her bra back in place while Danielle sped, in record time, to Troy's house. Immediately, without even admiring the nice street that Troy lived on, Gabriella grabbed her son and rushed to Troy's front door. She knocked urgently on his door and waited impatiently for him to answer.
The door opened and Troy's smiling face appeared. "There you-"
"Troy, I don't know what's wrong with him," said Gabriella, tears starting to appear in her eyes. "He won't stop crying and I-I don't know what to do-"
Troy placed his hand on the little boys soft head and patted him softly. "Is he hungry?" Gabriella shook her head wildly. "Diaper change?" She shook her head again.
"Oh, well, he must has gas then," said Troy matter-of-factly. "May I?" he gestured toward Jackson.
"Yes, of course." Gabriella slowly transferred Jackson to Troy. He looked so much smaller against Troy; his body was as thick as one of Troy's arms and his head could fit easily into Troy's hand. Troy, however big he was, was completely gentle with Jackson.
"Oh, you're a big boy," he cooed and lifted him up over his shoulder. He turned around so that Jackson's scrunched up face was reflected at Gabriella. Troy slowly started to jiggle him up and down, while slowly patting his back. Slowly but surely, Jackson's face relaxed and he stopped crying.
"Wow," said Gabriella softly, as Troy settled Jackson into his arms once again. "You're a pro."
Troy grinned at her. "It takes practice." He glanced down at Jackson, who had turned his head to Troy's shirt and was trying to suckle it. "Although I think he may be hungry now. How about I show you to your room, and then I'll help Danielle unpack your stuff?"
Gabriella turned around, remembering that Danielle had not followed her into the house. Said maid was removing bags from Gabriella's car. "Are you sure you don't want me to-?"
"No, no, go feed your son," said Troy, still grinning. He handed Jackson carefully back to her and then led her into the house.
The foyer they were standing in was huge and spacious. Gabriella hadn't noticed earlier, due to her panic, that Troy's house was very large; almost as big as hers was – had been, she corrected herself. He led her into a hallway and then up a very wide staircase into the upstairs. He showed her her room, which was at the very end of the hallway. Before they entered, however, he stopped and said, "Okay, so that's mine and Devon's room-" he pointed the closed door near the stairs, "-that's Lauren's room-" he indicated a door on the other end of the hallway, "-that's the smaller guest bedroom-" he motioned towards the door opposite Lauren's, "-that's Lauren's playroom-" he pointed to an open archway at the very end of the hallway, "and that's a bathroom," he finished, pointed towards the open door next to Lauren's. He winked at her. "Got all that?"
She giggled and nodded. He turned and opened her bedroom door for her, standing back so she could enter.
"Wow," Gabriella remarked in complete surprise upon entry. The room had flawless white carpet, a large queen-sized canopy bed, and a dark wooded dresser. The carpet was soft to the touch and the bed had somewhere around six to eight pillows and a light pink comforter. A door on the opposite wall was open to reveal an equally impressive bathroom.
"Devon's a perfectionist," Troy admitted sheepishly. "If she's not working, she's redecorating."
"Wow," repeated Gabriella. She turned back to Troy. "Thank you so, so much for this."
Troy shrugged modestly. "Hey, don't worry about it. What are friends for?"
Gabriella just nodded and smiled back. He left soon after, to assist Danielle. Once Gabriella was positioned comfortably on the soft bed, with Jackson happily sucking away, she muttered to herself, "Yeah... friends."