Disclaimer- I do not own, although don't care to. Even if it made me rich.

The rest of the night passed by, and Gabriella was lying on Zac's floor, covered by Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle blankets that Zac had in his closet. All she could think about was her mom and Elton sleeping in her bed. At least, she hoped that all they were doing was sleeping. She felt her dinner rise to her throat, but swallowed it, not wanting to have to explain herself to her parents.

She stared up at the ceiling, thinking about all the boys she has ever dated. There was Scotty, (whose name was really Brian, but she called him Scotty) the shy-but-amusing Scottish sweetheart. Her mother hated him. She hated boys with accents. Then there was Vince, the rebel without a cause. Her mother hated him too. She hates troublemakers. (Every parent would, but she despised Vince more than she should) After that, there was Liam, the perfect-in-a-mother's-eyes boy. Her mother hated him. She claims that he was trying too hard. After Liam, was Ryan. She hated Ryan because he was too rich. (As if that's possible) And, Troy. She hated Troy. Why? Gabriella never got a real reason. All her mother said was that he had a bad job.

Zac's soft breathing let Gabriella fall to sleep. She woke up the next morning to the scent of waffles. She gradually opened her eyes to the bright sunshine coming in through the window. She sat up, but stopped midway when she felt a back pain. Cringing, she quietly mumbled, "Ugh." She unhurriedly got up, and limped her way to the kitchen. When she got there, she saw an unpleasant sight. Elton was pouring batter into the waffle maker, while whistling to himself. Her mother was standing next to him, holding Elton's hand, and swinging it back in forth as if she was a teenager.

Gabriella settled herself into a chair, and rested her head on the table. Maria turned her head to her daughter. She let go of Elton's hand, and walked over to Gabriella. She placed a hand on Gabriella's arm, and studied her face. "Are you feeling alright?"

"Yeah," Gabriella took her head off the table, and lifted herself out of the chair. She winced, but stood up anyway. "I'm okay."

"What's wrong with your back?"

"Nothing. I'm fine." Gabriella insisted. She went over to the counter and picked up a bagel. She grabbed cream cheese from the fridge, grabbed a knife, and started to spread the cream cheese onto the bagel.

"You know, Elton is making breakfast." Maria walked back over to Elton and placed a kiss on his cheek. He smiled, but kept whistling. The sound made Gabriella cringe, although she did not say anything.

"Yeah, I know." Gabriella finished spreading the cream cheese, and put it away. She bit into the bagel, and smiled to herself. She heard her mother sigh, and ignored it. Sure, she was only not eating the waffles because Elton made them, but no need to fuss over it.

"Listen, I was thinking that maybe we could do some Christmas shopping today. I want to get something that Zac is going to love."

"He will love whatever you get him." Gabriella answered to her mother. Sure, the sound of sending an entire day shopping with her mother sounded great, but she knew that sometime during the day, they would come across a wedding shop. She knew that they would have to stop in, and look at all the wedding stuff that Gabriella hated.

"You know as well as I do, that is not true." Maria proclaimed. "I want to give him something he will really love. Not just something he says he likes, but ends up throwing it away as soon as I leave." She walked over to Gabriella, and stood in front of her. Gabriella took another bite of her bagel.

She swallowed before saying, "Mom, I promise you, he will not throw away his present as soon as you leave." She flashed a smile, and dashed to her bedroom. She sat down on her bed, and placed her head in her hands. "Ugh!" She screamed. Gabriella knew that she was being silly, but she couldn't help it.

After she cooled down, she changed into some everyday clothes- a pair of jeans, a graphic t-shirt, and sneakers. She walked out of her bedroom and into Zac's room, to go wake him up.

"C'mon Zac. Get up." She walked over to him, and nudged him. Her made a gurgling noise, and rolled over. She ran her hands through his hair, looking at him lovingly. He rolled over again, and opened his eyes. She lazily smiled, and closed his eyes again.

"Zac, get up. Elton made you breakfast. And when you're done, we can decorate the tree." Zac's eyes shot open, and he rushed out of bed into the kitchen. He sat down at the table, and bounced up and down in his seat. Elton placed a waffle in front of him. He gorged the waffle in a matter of minutes, and smiled at Gabriella.

"Can I trim now? Please mommy?" He smiled his most innocent smile, and when he got the nod of approval, he headed into the living room where a giant pine tree stood, with ornaments sitting in boxes right next to it.

"Do you need some help?" Elton walked into the room, and picked up an ornament. Zac made a face, and looked at his mom with pleading eyes, telling her to do something before Zac does something bad.

"You know, Elton, this is something Zac likes to do on his own. Why don't you and mom go shopping around town. There are some great stores at the mall, and you could even stay out for lunch. Wouldn't that be nice?" Gabriella was enthusiastic about the idea of an afternoon without her mom and Elton. She would rather be with Zac and her dad.

"Alright, we will leave. Just let us change, and then we will get out of your hair." Elton placed the ornament back down into the box, and they walked to Gabriella's bedroom.

"Thank you, mommy." Zac smiled, sprinted to Gabriella, hugged her knees, then ran back over to the tree. She grinned at her unusual son.

A few minutes later, Maria and Elton appeared from their room, ready to go. "We'll be going now. Call if you need anything." They left the house, and Gabriella basked in the silence. She sipped her newly made cup of hot coffee, and smiled once more.

Her father stepped out of his room, and tiptoed to Gabriella. He whispered, "Hey."

"Good morning," She said in a normal tone.

"Is there any more coffee?" He was still whispering. Zac quietly giggled from where he was working, and shook his head.

"Yeah." He started to move, but Gabriella's voice stopped him. "Why are you whispering?"

"I don't Maria and Elton to hear me." He explained. Gabriella smirked, while Zac burst out into a fit of giggles.

"They left a few minutes ago." She explained, giving her father an incredulous look. He nodded with embarrassment, and walked into the kitchen to pour himself a pot of coffee. Gabriella shook her head, and looked back at Zac. He had placed all of the ornaments perfectly onto the tree, and was now admiring his handy work.

"Hey, mommy?" He started, while walking towards his mother.

"Yeah, sweetie?" She was afraid that he was going to ask a question that would be hard to answer, or make him a promise that she cant keep.

"Would it be alright of we invited Daddy to Christmas dinner?" He asked in his most innocent voice. Gabriella sighed.

"He might have other plans." Zac lowered his eyes to the ground, and crossed his arms. "But, we can ask him."

"Really?" Zac's face lit up like a Christmas tree. Gabriella sighed, and got off the couch. She picked up the phone, and dialed a number she thought she would never have to dial again.

"Hello?" A tired voice came from the other end. Ryan was sleeping in for the day, but the phone interrupted him.

"Hey. It's Gabriella."

"Oh." Ryan sat up, and rubbed his eyes.

"Did I wake you?" She asked, truly concerned. She remembered how Ryan was not at his best in the morning.

"No. Well, yeah, but it's okay."

"Alright. So, you know how Christmas is coming up soon, like tomorrow?" She asked.

"Yeah?"

"Well, Zac would really love it, if his father could come to Christmas dinner." She stated, looking over at Zac, who was now curled up into the fetal position, sleeping on the couch.

"Really?" He inquired, almost sure of where this conversation was going, but doubted himself.

"Yes. So I would appreciate it if you came."

"Okay."

"Okay?"

"Yeah, why not?"

"My parents are here could be a reason." She smirked a little bit. Ryan was afraid of her mother, and avoided anything to do with her as much as possible. There was silence for a few seconds, before Ryan responded.

"I'll be there."

"Really?"

"Yes. What time should I come?"

"Six, I guess. Are you sure?" She asked again, not understanding what was happening. Ryan was actually coming to see her parents, her mother, and on purpose.

"Yes, I'll be there. See you then." He hung up the phone, and stared at his hands for a few seconds. 'Did I really just agree to that?' he asked himself.

Gabriella also hung up the phone, and placed it on the coffee table. She slightly nudged Zac, and he awoke instantly. He sprinted into his room, and closed the door. "That boy is so weird sometimes." She shrugged it off, and walked into the kitchen where her father was reading the morning paper.

"Anything interesting?" He looked up from the sports section, and smiled.

"Oh, the usual. Marty the Magician was arrested. Larry the Library Trustee was murdered. Oh, and to top it all off, the world is going to hell."

A/N: Sorry it took so freaking long to post this. I have writers block issues. I apologize for the fluff, but fear not! The next chapter is drama bound! Yay! Now review please. It's appreciated very much.