AN: Aw, it's over. :-( Ending stories is always bittersweet. But I had so much fun writing this story and getting all your wonderful reviews, so again, thank you so much. :-)
A couple things to mention: #1) A song is used later in this chapter, lyrics and all. The song is called At The Beginning, by Donna Lewis and Richard Marx. It is my all-time favorite song EVER, the one song that I can listen to over and over again. In my profile, I posted a link to the song on youtube – it's the song playing to a Troyella music video ;-). If you don't know the song, I suggest you listen to it while reading. The song describes Troy and Gabriella's relationship so well.
#2) I have some background information on this story that never made it into the story, so if you would like to read it, visit my freewebs (homepage link on my website). It's kind of interesting, if I do say so myself. Although it might not be up there right away.
#3) If anyone happens to be REALLY talented at making blends/banners, I would love it if you would contact me. :-) I would like to make posters for my stories, just because I think it'd be really fun, but I am TOTALLY bad at it so I'd need someone else to do it for me. :-)
#4) I'm thinking of writing a sort of sequel/spin-off that would center around Danielle and her husband (whose identity will be revealed in this chapter), although I'm not sure. Thoughts? And this is the only type of sequel I would write – in other words, I'm not going to write a sequel based on Troy and Gabriella.
And lastly, thank you all so much for reading and reviewing this story, and making it my highest reviewed-story so far. Again, I love you all and I hope you will continue to read my stories and give me amazing feedback! So long for now!
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: Epilogue
"Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you, happy birthday dear Chloe, happy birthday to you!" The room erupted into applause as the guests of the party finished their song. The birthday girl, one-year-old Chloe Bolton, sat in her mothers lap and stared at the chocolate cake in front of her, mesmerized by the single candle.
"Can you blow out the candles, sweetie?" asked her mother, Gabriella Bolton. Chloe just giggled and looked around and all of the people staring at her.
"Mommy, I will do it!" cried Lauren from next to Gabriella, bouncing on the balls of her feet.
Gabriella laughed. "Okay Lauren, go for it!"
The three-year-old sucked in a huge breath before blowing out the candle with all her might. It quickly went out and Chad joked, "I'm not sure if I want to eat that anymore. It looks like she got some spit in there."
The guests laughed and Taylor snapped, "Chad!" and hit his arm.
"Good job," said Gabriella to Lauren, kissing her on the head. Chloe squealed at the sight and clapped her hands together.
"Do you want me to cut the cake?" asked Troy Bolton of his wife of seventeen months. In his arms was their almost-two-year-old son, Jackson.
"If you wouldn't mind," said Gabriella, smiling at him. She stood up, balancing Chloe on her hip, and kissed him softly on the lips. Troy grinned back at her. He placed Jackson in his highchair and then sat down in Gabriella's vacated seat, announcing, "Okay, who wants cake!?"
"Oh, me!" cried Lauren, raising her hand high into the air. "Pleeeease?"
Troy laughed. "Oh, I guess so." He leaned down and picked her up, placing her on the chair next to him. She scrambled and sat up on her knees instead, so she could see over the table. Troy cut her a tiny piece of cake and handed it to her, along with a plastic fork. She picked up the fork and tried to spoon bits of cake into her mouth, very unsuccessfully.
"Cake!" said Jackson, holding out his hands.
Troy glanced at Gabriella, who was watching them. "It's gonna take a long time to clean up," he winked, and she smiled back. Troy cut Jackson a small piece of cake as well and put it on his highchair tray. Jackson grabbed a fistful of cake and stuffed it into his mouth, chocolate frosting coating his face.
"Can I play with Chloe?" asked Danielle Cross, her own seven month pregnant belly nearly popping out of her dress. Her husband, Jason, stood next to her, beaming. Jason had been released from prison a month before Troy and Gabriella's New Years Eve wedding in the Caribbean and had met Danielle there. Two months later they were engaged, and another six months later they were married. Now they're expecting their first child together and couldn't be happier.
"Of course," said Gabriella warmly, handing over Chloe to her godmother. Chloe squealed in happiness, "Da!", her nickname for Danielle.
Danielle and Jason ran a very successful day care center about ten minutes away. Jason managed its finances while Danielle worked in it and juggled school at the same time. Gabriella sometimes would drop Lauren, Jackson, and Chloe there when she and Troy would go out on a 'date night' together, something they didn't get to do very often.
"I'll be right back," said Gabriella to Danielle, and she left the three of them behind in the kitchen as she went to check on the children in the family room, who'd been having too much fun to come sing. "What are you guys doing in here?" she asked interestedly, taking a seat on the couch. The TV was on, playing Spongebob Squarepants, and there were toys covering the floor.
"I'm watching TV," said Halyn, Sharpay and Zeke's five-year-old daughter. The little girl, with dark brown hair that reached her shoulders and milk chocolate-skin, stood up and walked over to Gabriella. "Well, I'm trying to watch. All the little kids are just so noisy!"
"Ah," said Gabriella, nodded in understanding. "Well, do you want some cake?"
Halyn's face lit up. "Cake!? Yes!" She tore into the kitchen, saying, "Daddy! Can I have some cake?"
"Where'd Halyn go?" asked a small voice. Gabriella turned to face Arthur, Halyn's twin brother. Arthur looked nearly identical to Halyn, except his hair was shorter and he was, in fact, a boy. Their personalities were completely opposite, however. Halyn was outgoing and very much a performer like her mother, while Arthur was quiet and shy. He tended to stick next to his sister's side at all times.
"She's in the kitchen," Gabriella pointed and Arthur followed the same path his sister had taken only seconds before. Gabriella grinned slightly. Halyn and Arthur were well-known 'celebrity babies', as Sharpay was a famous A-list actress. She could easily tell why Arthur was so shy, what with photographers constantly after a picture of him. She remembered when Sharpay had arrived to the party a couple hours earlier; she was wearing large sunglasses and a scarf around her neck, with Chastity, her ten-month old daughter, bundled up against her chest. It had caused Gabriella to burst out laughing.
"Jessie! What do you think you're doing!?" came Taylor's shrill voice from inside the kitchen. Curiously, Gabriella stood up and poked her head into the kitchen and started to laugh. Said four-year-old had thrown a handful of cake into his two-year-old brother's face. Kyle was bawling his head off as Taylor, her shirt pulled tightly across her pregnant stomach, yelled "Chad, do something!"
"Uh," stammered Chad. He picked up Jessie and said, "Nice throw. Maybe you could be a football player." Jessie giggled happily.
"Chad!" cried Taylor. She picked up the crying Kyle and brought him over to the sink to wash of his face. "Nice way to discipline your son."
Gabriella rolled her eyes.
"Mommy, look, I have cake!" cried Chelsea and Colin, three-year-old twins of Kelsi and Ryan, in unison. The two of them spooned cake into the their mouths at the same time, chewing together. Kelsi laughed and Ryan walked over behind them.
"Hey, can I have some?"
Chelsea and Colin both put more cake on their forks and each stuffed some into Ryan's mouth at the same time. Caught by surprise, he choked and coughed a couple times before swallowing. Chelsea and Colin giggled together. Colin had Ryan's exact same pale blonde hair and hazel eyes, while Chelsea had Kelsi's brown hair and brown eyes. The two did everything together and had near-identical personalities.
"Mommy." Gabriella looked down at Lauren, who was still sitting at the kitchen table. Her white-blonde hair reached her shoulders and curled at the bottom. Her skin was pale except for her cheeks, which were rosy with excitement, and her blue eyes held love for Gabriella. "Mommy, when are they leaving?"
Gabriella laughed and bent down. "Why? You're not having fun with your friends?"
She shrugged and yawned. "I'm tired."
"Aw." Gabriella kissed her forehead. "They'll leave soon. Do you wanna sleep on the couch?"
Lauren shook her head, her eyes drooping slightly.
"Oh, Gabriella!" yelled Danielle from across the kitchen. "I think someone's hungry!"
The gazes of all the adults in the room turned to Danielle. Chloe was cradled in Danielle's arms and was trying to nurse from her. "Sorry little girl. These babies won't have anything in them for another two months."
The room erupted in laughed and Gabriella strode forward, taking her younger daughter from Danielle. She sat down at the kitchen table and started to feed Chloe, whilst shielding the scene from the guests with a large blanket.
An hour later, most of the guests had left, save for Jason and Danielle. Sharpay and Zeke had to be back in the city that night for an event, so they had to leave by private jet as soon as they could. Kelsi and Ryan were hitching a ride with them, seeing as they had to attend the opening night of one of Kelsi's play's on Broadway. Taylor and Chad also had to leave; they were flying back to Florida on a red-eye.
"Okay Gabriella, so I'll see you tomorrow, okay?" asked Danielle as she and Jason were leaving.
"Sure. But I have to bring the kids because Troy has to work."
"Oh that's okay! I love the kiddies." Danielle winked. She hugged Gabriella good-bye while the men shook hands. A moment later they were gone.
Troy and Gabriella strode back into the living room, hands intertwined. "Do I have to go to work tomorrow?" Troy pouted.
Gabriella laughed. "Well, if you want to send our kids to college, yes."
Troy groaned. "I hate being the vice president of an insurance company."
His wife laughed. "Aw, it's okay. You're good at it."
"How can you be good at something like that?" inquired Troy.
Gabriella shrugged. "I don't know, but you managed to get a seven-figure paycheck after only two years."
"But that's only because I worked there before I married," Troy pointed out.
"Yeah but they took you back. So they must've liked you."
Troy puffed out his chest importantly. "Well, can't argue with you there."
Gabriella giggled. They stood behind the couch in the living room, watching their children. Lauren had changed into her Cinderella nightgown (as she was obsessed with princesses) and was trying to help Jackson build a block castle. However, Lauren wanted to make it "nice and pretty" but Jackson was only interested in knocking it down. Every time the blocks collapsed, he would squeal with joy and laugh, crying, "Fall down! Fall down!" and Lauren would get angrier.
"No, Jackson, not fall down!" she would try to tell him, but he would just do it again. Finally she got fed up and stomped over to her parents. "Mommy, daddy, Jackson keeps knocking down the blocks."
Gabriella and Troy exchanged glances, smiling slightly. "Well, I think it's time for bed anyway. It's already eight o' clock."
"No! Mommy, I'm not tired!" cried Lauren.
"Lauren, you told me you were tired an hour ago!"
"But I'm not tired now!" Lauren protested.
Troy laughed. "Well, it's still time for bed, little missy." He picked her up and heaved her over his shoulder, causing her to laugh with glee.
"Daddy, put me down!" she laughed.
"Put you down? Oh, I'll put you down!" he roared in a loud, playful voice. He carried her over to the couch and lifted her high above his head. She squealed with laughter and squirmed, trying to get away. Troy held on tight to her and dropped her onto the couch, causing her to bounce a couple of times. She brushed her hair our of her eyes and said, "Daddy, do it again!"
Gabriella laughed. "Good job winding her down, Troy." She shook her head, smiling slightly. She bent over and picked Chloe up off the floor, where she was chewing on a toy book, and Jackson, who was examining a red block. Juggling the two in her arms, she said, "I'll put these two to bed and then I'll tuck you in, okay Lauren?"
"Okay Mommy." Gabriella was leaving the room when Lauren yelled after her, "Wait, Mommy! Can I kiss them good-night?"
Smiling, Gabriella walked back to the couch, bending over slightly so Lauren could kiss her younger siblings on the head. "Love you!"
"Love you!" Jackson replied, having been taught that saying by Lauren. Chloe just clapped.
Troy kissed the two of them also, repeating Lauren's words and receiving the same reactions back. Then he kissed Gabriella lightly on the mouth. She smirked and then headed upstairs.
First she put Jackson to bed. Entering the room that Lauren had used to occupy, she set Chloe on the ground with her book while she changed Jackson's diaper and put on his pajamas. She gave him a big kiss on the cheek and he yelled, "Love you! Love you!" as she lay him down in his crib.
"Good-night, sweetie," cooed Gabriella, running her hand over Jackson's thin black hair. Her ex-husband's hazel eyes stared back at her, twinkling in the light. Gabriella's smile faltered a little. She had not seen hide nor hair of Nathaniel since that day she'd threatened to ruin him if she sued for custody. She felt horrible for Jackson, knowing that one day she'd have to tell him that his biological father had only wanted custody of him to get back at her. She ran a finger down his soft cheek subconsciously. The only good thing that had come out of her first marriage had been this little boy right in front of her. She smiled slightly. She shouldn't worry about what Jackson would think of Nathaniel when he got older. He had a perfectly good father downstairs, who adopted him when they married and loved him as much as he loved Lauren and Chloe.
She slowly picked up Chloe and tip-toed out of the room after switching on Jackson's night-light. She closed the door and walked down the hall. One door was open, to reveal the kid's playroom. Toys were littering the floor, and Gabriella knew that it would take a while to clean up, but she smiled nonetheless. She loved having a house full of children, even though they were all so young. It made life that much more interesting.
Gabriella entered Chloe's room, which had previously been used as the second guest room. She changed her into pink footie pajamas and kissed her on the nose. "Mama," she cooed and Gabriella smiled. Nothing made her happier than when her child calls her 'mom' or when they say they loved her. They may not know what it means, but it's adorable all the same.
She lay Chloe down in her crib and watched the little girl kick her legs as she sucked her fingers. Her light brown hair curled at her ears and her tan skin looked darker in the dimly-lit room. Gabriella's own dark brown eyes were looking at her and Gabriella flushed with pride. Gabriella may have not wanted her at first, she may have cried when finding out about her, but she was one of the best things that had ever happened to her. Lauren, Troy, Jackson, and Chloe were the four best things in her life. "Happy birthday, honey."
Gabriella turned on Chloe's Snow White night-light (Lauren was trying to get her into princesses early) before leaving the room. She walked down the hall, into the room where Gabriella had lived for three months when Jackson was first born; the room where Troy and Gabriella had made Chloe.
Troy was in there, tucking Lauren into her Little Mermaid big-girl bed. Upon sight of Gabriella, Lauren jumped up and said, "Oh, Daddy, I have to say good-night to Mommy first."
Gabriella smiled and hugged her daughter, kissing the top of her head. "I love you," said Gabriella to Lauren.
"I love you more!" grinned Lauren, her small teeth reflecting the light.
"Alright, let's go, you," said Troy gruffly, grabbing Lauren around the waist and tossing her back onto her pillow. Lauren giggled uncontrollably as Troy re-tucked her in. He kissed her forehead and said, "Good-night, honey."
Troy and Gabriella turned to leave but were called back by Lauren's sleepy voice.
"Mommy, Daddy, can you sing the song?"
"What song?" asked Gabriella. Their children always wanted them to sing.
"The Anastasia song," said Lauren, her eyes drooping, as she named her all-time favorite princess movie.
Troy and Gabriella exchanged smiles. "Okay, just this one song," said Troy. They walked back over to the bed and stood over her, arms around each other.
Gabriella started the song.
We were strangers,
Starting out on a journey.
Never dreaming,
What we'd have to go through.
Now here we are,
And I'm suddenly standing,
At the beginning with you.
Troy stared at his wife lovingly as she sang, almost missing his cue to start. She gave him a look and he opened his mouth to start.
No one told me,
I was going to find you.
Unexpected,
What you did to my heart.
Gabriella beamed at him as they sang together.
When I lost hope,
You were there to remind me,
This is the staa-aart.
And life is a road and I wanna keep going.
Love is a river I wanna keep flowing.
Life is a road, now and forever,
Wonderful journey.
I'll be there when the world stops turning,
I'll be there when the storm is through.
In the end I wanna be standing,
At the beginning,
With you.
Troy and Gabriella paused for a moment, lost in each other's eyes, but we're interrupted when Lauren murmured, "Keep going." Gabriella grinned at her daughter and tightened her hold around Troy's waist as she sang her solo.
We were strangers,
On a crazy adventure.
And Troy broke in with his solo:
Never dreaming,
How our dreams would come true.
Beaming at each other, the two started to sing together, feeling as if the song had been written especially for them.
Now here we stand,
Unafraid of the future,
At the beginning,
With you.
And life is a road and I wanna keep going,
Love is a river I wanna keep flowing.
Life is a road, now and forever,
Wonderful journey.
I'll be there when the world stops turning,
I'll be there when the storm is through.
In the end I wanna be standing,
At the beginning,
With you.
I knew there was somebody, somewhere,
Like me alone,
In the dark.
Now I know my dream will live on,
I've been waiting so long.
Nothing's gonna tear us apaa-aaart.
Gabriella took a deep breath, getting ready to sing the high, long notes, all whilst staring into Troy's eyes, love written all over her face.
(And liiiiiife) And life is a road and I wanna keep going going
(And looo-ooove) Love is river I wanna keep flowing
Life is a road, now and forever,
Wonderful journey.
I'll be there when the world stops turning.
I'll be there when the storm is through.
In the end I wanna be standing,
At the beginning,
With you.
And life is a road and I wanna keep going,
Love is a river I wanna keep going oooooon.
Gabriella sang the last solo line of the song:
Starting out on a journey.
And the couple finished out together.
And life is a road and I wanna keep going,
Love is a river I wanna keep flowing.
In the end I wanna be standing,
At the beginning...
With youu-uuu.
Hmm-mmm, Gabriella sang the end, smiling widely at Troy. He bent down and kissed her on the mouth and she kissed him back. After a moment they realized that they were still in their daughter's room. They glanced over and saw that Lauren was fast asleep, her white-blonde hair fanned out across her Ariel pillow. Troy grabbed Gabriella's hand and led her out, closing the door behind them.
"What is it about that room?" he asked his wife, grinning.
She giggled. "I'm not sure. But I love that song," she whispered, hugging Troy around the middle.
Troy hugged her back, kissing the top of her head. "It's just describes us so well, doesn't it?" he joked.
Gabriella stood in front of him, standing on her tip-toes to kiss him on the mouth. "It does," she said softly. "I wanna be standing at the beginning with you."
Troy kissed her back. "You already are."