Disclaimer:

Yeah, I wish I owned High School Musical. Seriously, the power to be able to get Troy&Gabriella do whatever I wanted in the second movie? How cool would that be!

Author's Note: My first multi chapter story! Actually, I had originally intended to just do multiple one-shots with the various scenes I intend to use throughout the story, but then it just made so much more sense to combine them into one bigger story, since after all, the stories were all somewhat based around one central idea.

But anyway, on with the story!

"…Sweetie, why are you doing this to yourself?" Taylor's voice asked, soft and filled with worry, as it filtered through the phone that was currently attached to Gabriella's ear.

Gabriella stopped fidgeting with the necklace that hung around her neck and let out a deep sigh, closing her eyes. And there was that question again. That question she hated. Slipping her high heels off her feet, she brought her legs to her chair and towards her chest, one of her hands instinctively going to her face to cover her eyes, as if by doing so she could make everything go away, whilst the other hand held onto the phone. Bringing her head towards her knees, she let her brown locks cascade over her face, making the once brightly lit room, fall dark around her.

"Gabi? Gabriella? Hello, are you still there?" Taylor's voice came through the phone once again.

"Yeah, I'm still here," Gabriella mumbled back in response, her voice now sounding tired. "Taylor, why do you always ask me that? You know I hate it when you ask, and you always ask."

"Because I worry about you. Because I don't think it's right. And because I still don't understand why you're still with him!" Taylor let out in exasperation, her voice rising with each point she made.

"Tay, please," she begged, her voice sounding weak. "Not today. Please," she continued, her hand now rubbing all over her face, trying in desperation to make it all go away.

"Gabi, no, we're going to do this today," Taylor commanded. "Now please explain to me why you're still with that asshole." Gabriella didn't even bother trying to reprimand her for that comment, not having the energy to deal with this today.

"It's been four months, Gabi, and things aren't getting any better between the two of you," Taylor continued. "Why don't you just stop it now before things get any worse?"

"Taylor we've been through this a million times already," Gabriella tried again, not wanting to discuss the current topic anymore than they already had.

"Well then one more time won't hurt," Taylor replied quickly, not missing a beat. "Come on, Gabi, why?" They'd had this conversation so many times before, and yet, Taylor still couldn't figure out for the life of her why in the world Gabriella would do this to herself.

An audible sigh could be heard over the phone.

"Look Tay, I know what he did was wrong okay? There's no denying that," she began, "But we all make mistakes, and I know that what he did was a pretty big mistake, but how do I know if this mistake was big enough to throw away my marriage, huh Tay?" She prompted. A moment passed before Gabriella said anything, sighing again she continued, "Don't I at least owe it to my marriage to forgive him? Or to at least try?"

She lifted her head from its current position against her knees, and looked up towards the wall, where a picture of the two of them hung. The picture showed an extremely happy Gabriella hugging her husband from behind, her smile reaching up to her eyes that seemed to be twinkling. He, looking equally as happy, as he looked at her from the corner of his eye, his arms wrapping around her legs around his waist, as he pulled her up onto his back. Looking at the picture, and at the two happy people that gazed back at her, she mentally asked herself, don't I at least owe it to them?, hoping that by questioning the picture directly, the people within the photo would give her an answer; the right answer.

This time it was Taylor's turn to sigh. "Gabi, I don't know. Isn't four months of trying, enough?"

"Tay, this is my marriage I'm talking about! You can't just put a time frame on that type of thing! And I'll be damned if I just stand there and watch as it falls apart right before my very eyes, knowing that I didn't do a thing to prevent it from happening!" Gabriella replied, with her voice sounding strong, and very self assured, when in fact she was everything but.

On the other end of the phone a slightly shocked Taylor sat, stunned at Gabriella's sudden outburst, she was quiet for a moment, before adding quietly, "Gabriella, he cheated on you." It was a simple as that. Her husband had cheated on her. And despite what her mother, and all her friends had told her to do, she still stood by him. She had meant what she said when she stood before her friends and family on her wedding day, and she was going to try her hardest to stick by them. Even if he hadn't. She was not going to become another divorce statistic. She just wasn't. It had happened to her parents, and she was fairly adamant that it was not going to happen to her. At least not without a hell of a fight.

As soon as Taylor said those words, what little confidence she had just moments ago seemed to drain away, leaving only her aching heart, and a head full of painful memories. "I know, Tay, I know," her voice quiet again, as she began to relive all the pain she had already experienced. "But I need to keep trying okay? I need to be sure that this will all be worth it in the end. And all I'm asking from you is your support; can you at least give me that? Please?"

Taylor sighed once again and gave a small nod, as if Gabriella could see her response, "Alright, but only because I love you girl."

Gabriella breathed in, "Thank you."

There was a pregnant pause, neither girl speaking before Taylor blurted out, "But what about Troy?" Gabriella groaned. Not this again.

"Taylor!" Gabriella yelled, clearly exasperated, "What did we just go over?"

"Yes, yes yes, whatever," Taylor replied dismissively, waving her hand about off-handedly. "But what about Troy?" she insisted again, "You cannot tell me that there's nothing going on between the two of you."

Gabriella rolled her eyes, "Tay, you've been going on about this ever since he started working here three months ago!" she replied, now removing her legs from the current position on her chair, to rest them on her footrest under the desk.

...

...

...

Gabriella was running late, really late. She hadn't gotten much sleep last night, or lately, as a result of Noah no longer sleeping beside her, but in the guest room instead. And because of all the cumulative lack of sleep, she'd slept through her alarm. Once again. With the amount of sleep she was losing, she was beginning to think the pain of sharing a bed with Noah again, might be all worth it, as long as she got a good night sleep.

Gabriella ran through the front doors of the hospital, her heels clicking loudly as she did so, and her half brushed hair blowing slightly due to her speed. As she moved through the lobby, she received a few strange glances from the families and doctors that were congregated in the area, ignoring them she continued to run. Turning the corner, she could see the doors just beginning to close, "Wait! Hold the elevator!" she yelled out, in hopes that someone actually would. Someone's hand immediately shot out of the elevator, grabbing hold of the door; temporarily stopping it. Gabriella let out a relieved breath, thank God she thought, slowing down her pace.

Coming to elevator door, Gabriella began to thank the person who held the door profusely, until she realized who exactly it was.

Standing in the middle of the elevator entrance, Gabriella stood rooted to the spot in shock as Troy Bolton stood about a meter away from her, looking just as amazing as he had all those years ago, with his arm extended out, still holding the door open.

Troy looked on in amusement at Gabriella's disheveled appearance and her look of utter shock that was written all over her face. "You can step into the elevator anytime now," he teased, effectively bringing her back down to reality.

"Oh! Right, yes," she replied quickly stepping in, and pushing the button to her floor. Shaking her head, she turned towards Troy, a grin appearing on her face. "Troy Bolton! I can't believe it's you!" she said in astonishment, as she quickly leaned forward and gave him a quick hug, not questioning whether that might have been awkward or not.

Their relationship had always been easy going, even after they'd mutually broken up during their freshman year at college. It wasn't a bad break up by any means, it just was. After going away to different colleges, their relationship seemed to struggle somewhat under the distance, and all the new activities and demands that college life had placed on them. And after a while, it just became evident that it wasn't going to work. They'd both agreed it would be best to break up now, before things got messy, and to remain friends. Which they had for a while, they'd talk to each other every few weeks, discussing everything from their classes to their latest date. But as time passed, they simply drifted away.

Troy hugged her back, now grinning as well. "Likewise," he chuckled, "After all these years, my first day at a new job, and I run into my old high school sweetheart. What are the odds?"

"My thoughts exactly," she responded, still reeling from actually seeing him again after so long she missed what he's just said. Gabriella did a double take, making sure she heard him correctly, "Wait; hold up, did you say first day on the job?"

"Yep. And I'm nervous as hell," he said, taking in a deep breath, and shoving his hands into his pants pockets in an attempt to hide his nervousness. "What happens if all the doctors think I'm too good looking to take me seriously?" he joked, shooting her one of his classic Troy Bolton grins.

Gabriella laughed at him, rolling her eyes in the process, "Are you sure that's what you should be worrying about? You're not at all worried that they'll think you're too cocky?" she teased back. "I know this doctor does," she added, sticking her tongue out at him.

"Ah, Gabriella Montez a doctor, why am I not surprised? What field?" he enquired, "And is it still even Montez? Late twenties; I'd have thought you would have landed yourself a man already."

"Pediatrics actually. And it is still Montez," she noticed his eyebrows rise questioningly, before continuing, "But, I'm married." Silently adding, if you could still consider it still marriage.

He looked down at her hand, "Married, and yet no wedding ring?" She pulled out the necklace that she hung around her neck, from the coat, revealing her wedding ring that hung from it. "Ah," he responded knowing, "I guess it makes sense, you never know what those little kids can be like."

She nodded back in response, "So anyway, what about you Mr. Bolton? What brings you to Mercy Hospital? Single? Married?"

"Actually, I'm a physical therapist now," this time it was Gabriella's turn to raise her eyebrows, "Yeah, I know," he laughed, "Not exactly what you were expecting huh?" Gabriella couldn't help but laugh with him. "At the end of sophomore year, I stuffed up my knee, putting an end to my basketball career. I was so angry at all the doctors not being able to help me, I decided that I'd become one and show them how it was done," he laughed again, "so here I am. And well as for relationships well I-"

A loud ding interrupted Troy, as the elevator came to a stop. "Oh! Sorry Troy, this is my stop," she glanced down at her watch, "Oh crap, I'm so late for this appointment. It was great to see you again Troy. Meet me today? We'll do lunch? Catch up?" she said hurriedly as Troy nodded back. "Great! I'm room 703, see you then!" she yelled as she ran out of the elevator and towards her office.

Troy watched in amusement as she left, thinking to himself, some things never change.

...

...

...

Taylor scoffed, "Well how can I not go on about it? The guy is in love with you!"

Once again Gabriella rolled her eyes, "Taylor, you don't know that. And even if he did, it's not like the feelings are mutual, I'm trying to make things work with Noah. Now change of topic please."

Taylor pouted, "Fine, fine," she muttered in response. "So I called Maddie this morning. Why didn't you tell me she offered you a job?!" Taylor squealed in excitement.

Gabriella laughed at Taylor's sudden change in demeanor, "Well she only called me about it last night." There was a knock at her door, as Troy's face popped into the window, she waved him in. "I've hardly had time to think about it myself, let alone tell you."

Walking into Gabriella's office, Troy immediately made himself at home and went straight for the candy jar Gabriella had for the children, noting it was empty; he lifted the jar up for her to look at and shook it. Gabriella mouthed that she'd run out, causing Troy to roll his eyes at her and mutter "obviously" under his breath, which she still heard. She grinned back in response and held up her finger, indicating that she'd only be a minute, and went back to her conversation, as Troy plopped himself down on the couch in the corner and started throwing a stress ball up and down into the air.

"Well? Have you thought about it enough?" Taylor asked, half hoping that Gabriella would take the job and have to leave Noah in the process.

"I still have no idea. Maddie and I have been saying we'd open up our own practice together since college. After she decided to jet set around the world and put her medicine to better use, I figured she'd forgotten," Gabriella said with a shrug.

"Well she hasn't. Anyway, what's stopping you from still doing that? This is a great opportunity!"

"Well I'd have to move back to Albuquerque for one, and my whole life is here now, there's you and Troy." Upon hearing his name mentioned Troy looked towards her, causing him to miss the ball. Gabriella let out a little giggle as it landed on his head, and mouthed later, to him. "Plus, I haven't even spoken to Noah about it; he had that business trip and doesn't come back 'til today."

On the other end of the line Taylor rolled her eyes at the mention of his name, but took great delight that she had only mentioned him after Troy and herself. "At any rate," Gabriella went on, "I've got a week to decide and call Maddie back." At that moment Troy threw the stress ball at an unsuspecting Gabriella, making her emit a tiny squeal. She shot Troy a playful glare, as he whistled, trying to feign innocence.

"Okay what is going on over there? Is Troy there already?" Taylor asked, smirking knowingly, having heard the squeals.

Gabriella's answered, "Uh huh," distracted with trying to locate the ball under her desk, so she could throw it back at Troy. Finally finding it, Gabriella gave a triumphant, "Ah ha!" and threw the ball at Troy's face, giving him a satisfied grin in the process. "Anyway, we better get going to lunch before Troy decides to wage war on me."

"Yeah, I gotta go too anyway, I've got this new client that wants me to sue her plastic surgeon for a crappy boob job," Taylor rolled her eyes at the thought and sighed, "Remind me again why I became a lawyer in the first place?"

Gabriella laughed, "Because you wanted to get paid to argue with people all day," she replied simply.

"Ah, yes. I'll let you go, call you later on tonight."

"Okay, talk to you then. Bye Tay." Taylor also heard a distinct, "Bye Taylor" from Troy in the background as well. "Troy says bye as well," Gabriella added.

She gave a quick chuckle, "So I heard. Later girl."

"Finally!" Troy cried out dramatically, as Gabriella put the phone down; she simply rolled her eyes at him playfully.

"Did you really have to throw the ball at me?" she asked in mock anger as she made a move to grab her purse.

"Well if you had any candy in your jar to me preoccupied, then I wouldn't have had to," Troy countered.

"So this is my fault?" she said incredulously. "If you hadn't finished off most of it yesterday, then you would have had some left for today," she retorted, "Do you have any idea how hard it was for me to get these two twins to let me do their check ups this morning without that candy?," she said pouting.

Troy laughed at her, "Aw, poor little Gabriella can't handle a pair of twins?" he teased back playfully, petting her head condescendingly. Gabriella stuck her tongue out at him as she opened for office door and let Troy out. "I'll buy you some wonderful hospital food for lunch then in return."

"Oh goody! Just what I wanted!" She replied dryly, locking the door behind her. Troy simply laughed at her more.

Author's Note: So, how was that? Anyone confused? LOL. I'm trying out different writing styles, so thought, rather than me having to explain what's going on, I figured I'd get the characters to do it for me. Like it? Oh, and what about the use of a flashback? I'm thinking I might use some more of them to fill in bits of what has already gone on, yes? No?

I bet you all thought she was married to Troy until half way through the chapter. Hehe.

Anyway, I'm not intending for this to be some really long story, five or so chapters tops. And because of that, the story might seem like its moving fast, but I wanted it to be a little snapshot greater story, so to speak. Plus, I'm used to only writing one shots, so I'm still testing out the waters of the multi chapter ocean.

So leave me a review, and tell me what you think, I'd love to hear your thoughts. And as always constructive criticism is loved!