A/N: Hello people! How ya doing? I'm doing fine thanks for asking! Anyway, I was actually planning on updating earlier but I was hoping for more reviewers, but sadly, only two people reviewed. :( Oh, well. I guess that's life. Thanks for reviewing!
Vanessa Turner: Thanks! I knew you guys didn't see it coming. I love it when my readers say that.
moonshine101: Thanks! It's quite all right! At least you reviewed! Here's an update for ya!
Anyway, I'm going to cut this author's note short and stop right here. I hope you guys like this chapter!
This Is War
Chapter 12: Most Wonderful Time of the Year
Gabriella looked at Ryan in shock. She never expected this day to come. But it did. She swore to herself that she would know what to do in these kinds of situations, but no sound came out of her mouth. She wanted to accept so badly but something was holding her back.
The people around them were also speechless. They were waiting for Gabriella to say something but it looks like she's just going to stare at him forever. Zeke cleared his throat. Everybody spun their heads to look at him.
"What? Just had something in my throat." Zeke said as everybody gave their attention back to Ryan and Gabriella.
The officers looked at their wristwatches. Nobody took their eyes off of Gabriella's mouth. They wanted to know her answer.
It had only been two minutes since Ryan popped the question. But to him, it felt like forever. He wanted her to accept. He wanted her to be his forever. One word separated him from eternal happiness. One word could make it or break it. Gabriella only needed to say one word. And Ryan could only hope that it would be the right word.
"Gabriella?" Ryan said, breaking the awfully awkward silence in the room. Then Gabriella murmured something inaudible.
"What did she say?" Sharpay asked rather loudly. Everybody looked at her. "Sorry." She apologized.
Ryan turned to Gabriella. "Gabby, can you repeat what you said please?" He asked politely. Gabriella tilted her head down and looked Ryan straight in the eye. She tilted Ryan's chin up with her finger so she could see his whole face. Then she bent down and kissed him. When she let go, she whispered something in Ryan's ear.
"I said 'yes'." She whispered.
Ryan bolted up on his feet and tried to hug Gabriella but was unsuccessful because he was still handcuffed. He turned to the police officers.
"Do you mind?" Ryan asked. The second police officer got a key and took Ryan's handcuffs off. "Sorry about that." The officer apologized. Ryan turned back to Gabriella.
"Now, where were we?" Ryan said as he enveloped Gabriella in a hug and then kissed her.
"So what's the answer?" Troy asked stupidly. Everybody rolled their eyes. Ryan took the ring from the case and slid it on Gabriella's finger. Gabriella turned to Troy.
"Does that answer the question for you?" Gabriella said as she showed Troy the ring. Troy blushed furiously at his stupidity. Gabriella turned back to Ryan.
"But, now you have to be brought to jail. What do you have that's illegal?" Gabriella asked. The first officer spoke up.
"He had something illegal. Or at least it should be. A person just can't have a rock that big." The officer said, pointing to Gabriella's finger.
"I'm telling you, if I didn't know Ryan was rich, I would've suspected that he stole that." The second officer said.
"So Ryan's not gonna go to jail?" Gabriella asked. Then the two officers and Ryan started laughing. Ryan came between the two officers and put his arms on their shoulders.
"Gabriella… everyone… I'd like you to meet Officer Benjamin 'Benny' Peterson and Lieutenant Ivan Santiago of the NYPD. My partners in crime." Ryan said.
"NO WAY!" Sharpay, Zeke, and Troy exclaimed, causing everyone to look at them.
"Benny? Ivan? From UCLA?" Sharpay asked. Benny and Ivan nodded. Sharpay screamed her famous loud shriek while she ran to hug them. Zeke and Troy did the same except they didn't scream.
"I'm sorry, but how do you guys know them?" Lataysha asked.
"Oh, Benny, and Ivan were our old college friends and my two college dorm roommates." Ryan explained.
"But, Zeke, Troy, I thought you guys went to USCLA?" Kelsi asked.
"We did. But sometimes, during the weekends or holidays, we go out of campus and go to UCLA to visit these guys." Troy explained.
"They were the biggest troublemakers you can ever find." Zeke said.
"Ironic isn't it? You guys were troublemakers back then, but now you guys are working for the NYPD to stop people from causing trouble?" Sharpay said.
"Just goes to show you." Benny started.
"Life is very unpredictable." Ivan finished.
"Yes it is." Gabriella said as she looked at her finger with the engagement ring on it. Ryan came over to Gabriella and kissed her again.
Rachelle and Roxanne woke up from their sleep excited to see what Santa brought them for Christmas. They hurriedly made their beds and brushed their teeth to get downstairs faster. They decided to wake their dad first before opening any presents.
"Daddy! Wake up!" The girls shouted as they jumped on their dad's bed. But an inaudible mumble was the only reply that they got.
"Daddy!"
"Wake…"
"UP!" The girls shouted simultaneously as they pushed their dad off of the bed. Ryan screamed like a girl when he fell to the floor. He got up, sat on his bed and rubbed his eyes as the girls laughed.
"Daddy, you screamed like a girl!" Roxanne teased her father.
"All right, that's it I'm not giving you girls your presents." Ryan said. The girls immediately stopped laughing and looked at their dad with pouts on their faces.
"I'm just kidding!" Ryan said as she pushed them out of his room. "You girls wait for a few minutes while I go get ready."
A few minutes later, Ryan came out of his room and started looking for the girls.
"Girls?" Ryan said. Nobody answered. He checked their rooms, the bathrooms, and the closets. But no such luck.
"Girls?" Ryan shouted a little louder.
"Down here dad!" He heard the girls shout. Ryan ran to the staircase and practically skipped the steps and jumped down. He finally found them by the Christmas tree, eyeballing their presents.
"There you girls are. Don't you ever scare me like that do you hear me?" Ryan scolded his girls.
The girls sighed. "Yes dad." They answered. "Now can we open our presents now?" Rachelle asked.
"Pretty please?" Roxanne added.
"Sure." Ryan answered.
"YES!" The girls screamed as they reached for their presents.
"Ah, ah, ah!" Ryan said. "After you eat your breakfast." He finished
"Aw! Daddy!" The girls whined.
"Come on! You two are growing girls. You need the energy."
A few minutes later, the girls and Ryan finished their breakfasts and the girls rushed to the living room.
"Now can we open our presents?" Roxanne asked impatiently.
"Yes, now you can open your presents." Ryan said. Then, the three of them started grabbing presents and ripping the paper apart.
"Cool! Look what Santa got me!" Roxanne shouted.
"What?" Ryan and Rachelle asked at the same time.
"My very own laptop!" Roxanne shouted as she took the laptop out and showed it to them.
"Cool!" Rachelle shouted. Then she rushed to Roxanne's side to look at her new laptop. Then, a few minutes later, Rachelle resumed opening her presents.
"Cool! Just what I wanted! A new cell phone!" Rachelle shouted. Roxanne immediately abandoned her gifts to see Rachelle's new phone.
After a few more minutes of gift opening and admiring, they noticed that they didn't have a gift from their dad.
"Hey dad, how come we didn't get a present from you?" Roxanne asks.
"Because I haven't given it to you yet." Ryan answers plainly.
"Can you give it to us now?" Rachelle asks.
"Not until you open your other presents." Ryan said. "It's a surprise."
Rachelle and Roxanne resume opening the rest of their presents. But they were in no hurry. Every year, it was a routine. Every year their dad says that it would be a surprise and they would guess what it was and they would always get it right. But this year is going to be different. Ryan thought. This year, they don't know what's coming.
"What did you get?" Roxanne asked her sister.
"I got a cell phone from Santa, a new purse from Aunt Sharpay and Uncle Zeke, a couple of CDs from Mr. and Mrs. Cross, two pairs of earrings from Ms. Lataysha and her boyfriend, a couple of new tops from Mr. and Mrs. Danforth, a homemade card from Devon, a pair of shoes from Ms. M, and a new fedora hat from Leslie and Troy." Rachelle replied. "What did you get?"
"I got a laptop from Santa, a belt with matching shoes from Aunt Sharpay and Uncle Zeke, a few DVDs from Mr. and Mrs. Cross, a new music book that I always wanted from Mr. and Mrs. Danforth, a new pair of shoes from Ms. Lataysha and her boyfriend, a homemade card from Devon, a new pair of pants and a skirt from Ms. M, and a matching fedora hat from Leslie and Troy." Roxanne replied.
"We got a lot more this year than last!" Rachelle exclaimed.
"That's because we had more guests, smart one!" Roxanne said.
"I knew that! I was just stating the obvious!" Rachelle answered back.
"Why?"
"I don't know. It's just a habit."
"So are you girls ready for your Christmas present from me?" Ryan asked.
"Yes."
"You have to guess what it is first."
"Tickets to a concert?" Roxanne guessed.
"Nope."
"Tickets to Disney World?" Rachelle guessed.
"Nope."
"What?" The girls asked impatiently.
"Come here." Ryan said as he walked through the kitchen and came to the garage door. The girls followed him. Ryan put his hand on the knob.
"I'd like you to meet…" Ryan said as he opened the garage door. "Your new playmates." Ryan said as he opened the door, revealing six puppies.
"AW!" Both girls said as they chased after the puppies in the huge garage.
"They're all purebred. I got some offers that I couldn't resist, and here they are!" Ryan exclaimed. Roxanne was chasing after a Shiba-Inu, a Pomeranian, and a Chihuahua, while Rachelle is chasing after a Dalmatian, a German Shepherd, and a Dachshund.
"They won't come near us!" Rachelle shouted as she stopped to take a breather.
"Well, you gotta let them warm-up to you. Here, like this." Ryan said as he approached the fairly big German Shepherd puppy slowly and stretched his hand out for the puppy to sniff.
"Come on boy, I'm not gonna hurt you." Ryan whispered. Slowly but surely, the puppy inched closer and closer to Ryan and finally got to his hand and sniffed it. When it sensed no danger, he approached Ryan more and Ryan petted him and scratched behind his ear. Soon, the little German Shepherd came to Ryan and started licking his face.
"Daddy, he likes you!" Roxanne said.
"I told you." Ryan said as he picked up the puppy and held it near the girls for them to pet.
"Let them sniff your hand first before you pet them. It's like you're asking for their permission to pet them." Ryan said. The girls did exactly as they were told and they were able to pet the puppy.
"Thanks dad!" Rachelle shouted.
"Yeah! So, can we let them in?" Roxanne asked.
"Sure! Yeah! They're all trained so you don't have to worry about them ruining the carpets." Ryan said as Rachelle and Roxanne started chasing the puppies into the house. Ryan and the girls went inside and sat in the living room.
"This really is the most wonderful time of the year." Rachelle stated.
You have no idea. Ryan thought. "And that's only the first part of your present girls." Ryan said.
"What do you mean?" Rachelle asked.
"You're getting more presents from me." Ryan said.
"Where is it?" Roxanne asked curiously.
"I'll show you later. But right now, enjoy your other presents." Ryan started to get up but sat back down. "And I bet you won't be able to guess this present." Ryan said, winking at the girls, while he got up and went upstairs.
"What do you think part two is?" Roxanne asked.
"I have no idea. But knowing dad, I think it'll be something we like." Rachelle answered.
"Hopefully." Roxanne added.
Leslie is looking at her Master Plan folder. She rarely looks at it because she knows the plan by heart. She has a problem though. She doesn't know how to get to the girls. How do I get to the girls? Leslie thought. She put her hands on her face and thought for a while. Ryan would never let them touch me, Sharpay is overprotective of them and Gabriella is just being Gabriella! How am I supposed to do this? Leslie thought before she put her head down on her desk.
Suddenly, she bolted up, opened one of her desk drawers and started rummaging through it. Finally, she found what she was looking for. "Perfect." Leslie said as an evil thought swirled in her head.
But I can't do it tonight though. Too many people are going to be there. Leslie thought. I'll do it on New Year's Eve.
"Dad, can we talk?" Roxanne asked as he peeked in her dad's bedroom and saw he was watching television.
"Sure princess. Come here." Ryan said as he patted the spot next to him on the bed. Roxanne had a hard time climbing on the bed so Ryan picked her up and put her on his lap.
"What's going on in that little head of yours?" Ryan asked.
"Well, me and Rachelle were thinking-"
"Rachelle and I." Ryan corrected.
"Okay, Rachelle and I were thinking, can we invite Leslie again?" Roxanne asked politely, putting on her best puppy dog pout.
Well, she did behave when she was here last night. She didn't cause any trouble. So, I guess it's not so bad to invite her again. "Sure honey." Ryan said.
"Really?" Roxanne said, disbelieving that her father didn't even argue.
"Yeah. You can invite her. She didn't cause any trouble last night so I guess it would be okay." Ryan answered.
"Yay! Thanks dad! You're the best!" Roxanne said as she hugged Ryan and got down from his lap.
"Can I ask you something?" Ryan asked. "Why do you want her to be here so much?"
"Maybe because she's our real mom and we want to make up all the lost time. Even if we're still mad that she left us in the first place." Roxanne explained. Ryan smiled. "I totally understand."
So what do you guys think? I thought it was short and some of it were just fillers. I don't know if the next chapter is going to be a filler or actually part of the real story. And I may not be able to update during this next week because I have to prepare for a choir concert that we're gonna have that's coming up and I really wanna do good on this, I'm an alto BTW. Anyway, please review!!!