Chapter 1

AN: WOW! That is all I can say in response to the number of people who reviewed and favourite and subscribed to this story. Seriously, I haven't had this great of a response for a story in a long time (the last time was Fate Works in Strange Ways). I guess there must be something about Troyella babies that bring more readers (I'm not going to lie, most of my favourite stories on Fanfiction revolve around babies as well, or have a baby somewhere in the plotline). Guess it's one of those Fanfiction loves.

Anyway, there have been all of those sightings of Zanessa recently, so nobody really knows what's happening with their relationship. And truthfully, I think that's how it should be. As much of a die-hard Zanessa fan I am, I know that their lives are their lives and so I will squeal whenever there are cute pictures of the two of them at a public event, where they know they will be photographed, and I will smile when I read a sighting, but I'm not going to sit by the computer all the time waiting for a picture of the two of them during their private moments. Because a true fan supports and respects them, and understands that they need their privacy, and that whatever is going on in their lives is theirs, not the entire worlds.

Anyway, enough of my rant and here's the next chapter! I created a trailer for it and the link is currently located on my profile page, so if you're interested please check it out! Please enjoy and comment and review!

"So, guess who is on the cover of Celebrity Weekly yet again this week?"

After that fateful night when Evelyn was conceived, Amanda and I began to gradually lose touch. To be completely honest I don't really know why it was that we lost touch. Was it because Troy was suddenly gone from my life? Or was it because I was too preoccupied with my pregnancy to really focus on my friends? The answer, I still do not know to this day, however what I do know is that the months after that night proved to be difficult. I found myself relying more and more on my then-manager Julia, who was helping as much as she could with the public side of my problems. Of course, Julia was a free-spirit, and after having only been in the business for a few years, decided she didn't like the pressures that came with working in the media. So, she retired early, began to live off of the wealth she had accumulated during those two years, as well as the money she inherited from her deceased grandmother. I got myself a new manager named Mark, and Julie became my full-time best-friend.

Therefore, it was not uncommon for her to show up at my house with the latest issue of any tabloid magazine talking about how I was, yet again, on the cover. It seemed that after Evelyn was born I was becoming even more popular with the magazines, as was she. I hated the idea of her being photographed and having those pictures strewn all over the media, unfortunately there's nothing really that I can do. The paparazzi are a mess, they are rude, they are inconsiderate, but they want to make a pretty penny off of every picture that they take of me. A pretty penny that doubles if that includes a shot of my darling daughter.

"Hmm, let me guess." I said, pretending to contemplate the idea. I was sitting on the white fuzzy carpet in the middle of my large living-room, Evelyn sitting in my lap, staring up at the widescreen TV that was currently playing some sort of colourful children's show. "Zac Efron?"

"You wish. Don't lie; I see the way you ogled over his last photo shoot." Julie said winking. "No it's you, naturally. Apparently there have been a couple of leaked photographs of that photo shoot you did for Style magazine and the world is going into a spasm. I admit, sweetie, you do look incredibly hot. How the hell did you lose all that baby-weight?"

Evelyn giggled her high-pitched giggle as she pointed to the screen, wriggling around in my lap. "Funny." She exclaimed, turning to look up at me. Her deep blue eyes showed excitement and energy.

"This little munchkin, that's the answer." I replied, kissing her delicately on her tiny nose, eliciting yet another round of giggles. "You would be surprised how much weight you lose running around all the time. Whether it's getting her a bottle, changing her diaper, and more recently, just chasing her around in general, it takes a lot out of you to keep up with this little bundle of joy."

"The incredibly adorable bundle of joy." Julie said, sitting on the carpet in front of me, grabbing Evelyn's hands and clapping them together. "Who is endlessly spoiled by her god-mother as well as her own mother! Isn't that right, little miss Lindy?"

"Yes." She responded, nodded her head once.

"Don't encourage her Julie." I groaned.

"Hey, you should be happy. Most children have learned the power of no and use it constantly. You seem to have an incredibly smart child who prefers the word yes. Isn't that right sunshine?" Julie replied, tickling Evelyn gently. "You'll be happy to know that, even though Evelyn was on set with you at that photo shoot, there are no new pictures of her in the magazine."

"Well there will be plenty next week." I sighed. "I'm taking this princess with me to the premiere tonight." Julie looked like she was about to protest, so I continued. "I have to, Jules. You see, my parents are too busy tonight to babysit, you're off to have a wild-night with, is it Evan this week? Seeing as the last babysitter I had enter this house hold decided it would be a great idea to take pictures of Evelyn and sell them to every tabloid magazine out there, I am currently babysitter less. Therefore, I have no other choice but to take princess here to the premiere with me. It's not like I can just not go to the premiere, seeing as it is my movie."

It was true. After Evelyn had turned a year old, I booked a role in a romantic comedy that was being filmed in Los Angeles. Therefore, not only would I only have to visit the set for a couple of hours a day (the filming crew were very understanding of my need to be with my daughter, and so extended filming by a couple of weeks to ensure fewer hours per day working) but I didn't have to ship my daughter half-way across the country, never mind the world, to film a movie, when I could very easily just stay in town. That movie was premiering in Los Angeles tonight (thankfully, all international promotion for the movie was being handled by my co-star, Daniel Jones, leaving me with all of the local promotion) and it was necessary for me to be there. Unfortunately, that meant that for one night, I would have to voluntarily throw my daughter to the paparazzi that would be covering the event.

"Did you at least pick out a super-cute outfit for her to be wearing?"

"Way to catch the important things Jules." I said laughing. "Yup, she'll be dressed in an adorable black and white number while I of course will be wearing that red gown that you and I picked out a month ago."

"That hot backless number?" she said wide eyes. "That's definitely a way to show people your hot post-baby body! I mean really, your breasts have gotten even bigger, and you have curves in all the right places. They didn't vote you 'Hottest Woman of the Year' for nothing Gabs."

"I think someone has a crush." I replied, lifting Evelyn up into my arms before standing up off the ground. Julie followed me as I headed to my large kitchen, settling Evelyn into her high chair. "Would you mind watching her as she eats? I have to go get ready for the premiere, at least get my hair and makeup done, before I get her dressed. And of course, we can't have our little princess complaining of hunger at the premiere." I smiled at my daughter adoringly, giving her a kiss on the forehead.

"Mama" she squealed, extending her arms towards me.

"I'll be right back sweetheart. I just have to go get dressed. Julie will stay with you okay?" I told her, and she just nodded, before turning her attention to the other person in the room. "Julie" she commented, extending her arms in her direction. "Good luck getting her to finish her meal Jules." I said laughing, before turning towards the exit and heading upstairs to get ready.

It was going to be a busy night.

Flashing lights were all that could be seen at the downtown theater. High-pitched screams were all that could be heard at the downtown theater. The premiere was in full swing, with all people running around frantically attempting to catch a glimpse of their favourite stars.

And of course, I found myself standing on the red carpet, daughter in arms, posing for the wild paparazzi.

"Gabriella! Look this way!"

"Over the shoulder Gabriella!"

"Give us a smile!"

Evelyn was being the perfect baby, calming sitting my arms. Occasionally, she would babble on about something, and I'm fairly certain that the media is going to have a lot of fun with the pictures they'll get of me whispering to my daughter gently. It was as if my daughter was born for all the attention, just sitting still and smiling her beautiful smile. After posing for what I felt was a long-enough period of time, I headed towards the first interviewer of the night.

"Why hello Gabriella!" the interviewer, I think her name was Candice, exclaimed cheerfully. "How are you feeling tonight?"

"Thrilled" I responded professionally, shifting Evelyn onto my right hip as I continued to speak. "It's always amazing when your hard work is finally finished and the world gets to see it. I went into the business for moments like this, when I get to show a movie I was in to the rest of the world. I am excited myself to see the finished product. I know Daniel's already seen it when he was at the premiere in London, but tonight will be my first time seeing it."

"And Evelyn's presumable as well." Candice said, turning her attention to my beautiful daughter. "And how are you doing, precious?" she asked, holding the microphone up to my daughter. Evelyn looked up at me, her blue eyes looking nervous. Immediately she dug her face into my shoulder, her originally excited nature being taken over by a shy, nervous one. I looked back up at Candice, shaking my head.

"She's shy tonight, understandable. All the noise and lights are really taking a toll on her." I built-up Evelyn's reaction, which wasn't as bad as I was making it out to be, hoping that Candice would stop focusing on my daughter and direct her questions towards me once more.

"No problem. So this is your first real public event since your daughter was born. You've been to interviews and spoken on the radio and done photo shoots, but you really haven't been on a red carpet. How does it feel, and what made you bring your daughter along?"

"It feels great to be back out again, especially for all my fans that support me. Granted, I've learned to appreciate the quieter moments alone with my daughter more since she's been born." I replied carefully. "I brought her tonight because who else would I want by my side supporting my newest movie." So it was a little white lie. Did I actually want to bring my daughter to the premiere, of course, but at the same time my motherly protectiveness was taking a front seat and trying to shield her from the public as much as possible. The media didn't need to know that though. So why not make it sound a little better than it really was?

"So does that mean there's no man in your life?" Candice pressed.

"The only important person in my life at the moment is Evelyn here." I responded confidently.

It was then that the questions I feared would come did in fact come.

"I can't help but notice that Evelyn has inherited almost all of her mother's traits. That is except for her eyes. Her eyes are a clear, clear blue. Her father's perhaps?"

"I would prefer to not talk about my personal life." I responded perhaps a bit rudely, but Evelyn's father was a bit of a touch subject. "Tonight is about the movie, and I'd prefer if we'd stick to that topic."

"Fair Enough" Candice responded. And so the interview continued on with the topic staying strictly to the new movie. Evelyn quickly fell asleep on my shoulder which made my interviews much easier, not having to worry about people harassing her and asking her questions.

Finally, after the interviews finished and the crowds settled into their seats in the theater, my evening began to calm down. Evelyn remained asleep throughout the movie, and as soon as the credits began to roll I headed out of the theater and into the awaiting limo, ready for a peaceful night at home with my daughter.

"I mean can you believe the nerve of that first interviewer?" I ranted angrily to Julie as I was washing the dishes. I had invited her over for a quiet dinner, with the original intention being hearing all about her dinner with Evan, her newest flame. Unfortunately, anger still coursed through my veins from the interview last night, and so while I was cleaning the dishes from our dinner, all I could think about was what had been said. "I mean how dare she bring up Evelyn's father. Clearly they don't know who he is, for obvious reasons, but that didn't give them the right to question me about it!"

"You know that's how the Media works though." Julie attempted to console. She had Evelyn in her hands, distracting her with a soft teddy bear as she continued to speak. "Lindy is adorable, and you're a big, famous, movie star. Everybody wants to know everything about your life. Is it fair, no of course not, it's completely unfair that they are prying jerks who just want to get information so they can have an interesting headline in their next newspaper. Unfortunately that's something you have to put up with when you are in this business." I sighed, knowing that Julie was right.

"I know." I replied, carefully drying a plate with a dishcloth. "It still doesn't mean they can bring him up." Immediately, her eyes perked up.

"Him? Oh Gabs this is definitely more than just them pestering you about her father. You miss him, don't you? You wish that you could tell everyone who her father was, and proudly show them both off to the world."

"I never said that." I stated angrily.

"You didn't have to. Sweetie, it's been two years since he was in your life. I mean, literally, since your birthday just passed, it's been two years. You still can't forget him?"

"Julie," I sighed, placing the plate down on the counter and turning towards my best friend. "Have you looked into my daughters eyes recently?" I reached for Evelyn, whom Julie gladly handed over to me, and tucked her protectively into my chest. "They are blue. She inherited everything from me, except for my eyes. Those she got from him. I adore my baby-girl to pieces, but every time she looks up at me with those eyes, I can't forget where they came from, and the reason why I only see one set of those baby blues every day."

"Gabs" Julie said, wrapping a comforting arm around me. "He left you. He wanted to pursue his career, and that was more important that having a relationship. You have to forget about him. I mean seriously, you can believe in love at first sight if you want, as I know you clearly do, but that love is never going to come into your sight again."

"It's just, when I imagined myself with children I imagined being married first, having gone through a long relationship and bonding with their father. I didn't imagine myself having a daughter and raising her on my own, without a father by my side. I mean, please don't get me wrong I love Evelyn with all of my heart, and never once would I not want her in my life." I said, squeezing my daughter tightly to my body. She, in response, kissed me sloppily on the chin.

"Love mommy" she said, before snuggling back into my chest. I gently began to stroke her hair.

"You just wish that Lindy's father was also around to help out." Julie said consolingly.

"Exactly. I just don't want my daughter growing up and going to school, and not having a proud father to show her perfect tests to, or having someone that can be her protector." I said. "Oh well, no point in dwelling on what could have been or what I want to have happen. Life is about having a good time and smiling."

"Speaking of having a good time," Julie said, heading over to the desk where the phone sat. "Mark called while you were in the shower. He says that there is a party in a couple of days in honour of the newest Laker's roster, and that he's already confirmed you as an attendee. Apparently some important people in the film industry will be going and it would be good if you were seen supporting your home state's team." I rolled my eyes.

"Mark says that about every event. However, this is the first time he's actually confirmed for me already. Guess it is important for me to go."

"Do you need a babysitter for the night?" Julie offered. "I mean, you wouldn't want another girl taking pictures of sweet Lindy here and selling them to everyone.

"Are you sure you can spare one night away from your wild partying?" I said, raising an eyebrow.

"Hey, I came here tonight, didn't I?" She countered laughing. "I would much rather spend some time with my beautiful goddaughter than out partying. Besides, she can tell me all the juicy details about what mommy does when she's all alone in this big house." She said winking. "Right princess?"

"Yes, because she can definitely speak so candidly." I laughed.

"I speak." Evelyn said, lifting her head off of my chest for a moment, looking between me and Julie, before resting her head back on my shoulder.

"Yes sweetie, you can most definitely speak." I gave her a sweet kiss on the forehead, continuing to stoke my fingers through her hair.

"Don't worry Gabs; your darling daughter will be safe with me that night. You go out and have a good time at that Lakers party. Who knows, it could just be exactly what you need. For all you know something incredibly life-changing could happen at the party!" she said, throwing her arms up into the air.

"Oh yes, I'm sure it's going to be a night to remember."

I didn't realize how dead on that statement would be.

AN: So, tell me what you think? Exciting enough for you? Is there at least a bit of an element of suspense?

Please, review and let me know!

Xoxo,

Lar