"We're All In This Together © 2011"
Disclaimer - I Own Nothing (: Except for the plot, of course.
A/N - YAY! Thanks for the reviews guys. I'm glad you're not giving up on me. Enjoy!
Oh I know that I am here
And you are there but we still have our love
We move just like the moon and sun
The sun comes up the moon rolls down
A world apart but they don't make a sound
They know their love spins us round
I've been to heaven I've been to hell
I've been to Vegas and god knows where
But nothing feels like home like you babe
I love you more than you will ever know
I Love You More Than You'll Ever Know - Never Shout Never
Chapter Five: A Horrible Case of Bad Husband
When Gabriella came home that evening, Aubree was asleep. Her fever had started up again. And so, Troy, December and Marcus sat on the couch, watching Spiderman, which was Marcus's favorite movie. December had also grown a liking to it, it seems. "How was it?" Troy asked as Gabriella walked into the house. Marcus squealed and dashed off of the couch. "Mommy!' Gabriella laughed as he hugged her legs and then she picked him up. "Hey, Marc." Gabriella smiled and took her coat off, hanging it on the rack after. "Um, it was great, actually. Sheldon has really improved. I have a feeling he'll pass the next test."
"That's great," Troy said.
"How come you didn't put him to sleep yet?" Gabriella asked, indicating it to Marcus.
"Today was Marcus's last day for Thanksgiving break, remember?" Troy said. "So I thought I'd bump his bedtime up to eight, instead." Gabriella nodded and let Marcus down when he pointed to the floor. He settled back between December and Troy. "Did you guys eat?" Gabriella asked.
"I ordered pizza. December must've had like six pieces. I had to order another box."
"When is Will coming to pick her up?"
"At nine, most likely. Maybe earlier."
"Alright. Aubree asleep?"
"You know what I just found out? You ask a lot of questions."
"Be quiet," Gabriella scowled. "Is she?"
"Yeah. She was out since six. And yes, Gabriella, she ate. But obviously you didn't, so get some pizza, snuggle up with us, and be happy." Gabriella stood there for a moment, jumping from different things she could say, but nothing came up. So, she rolled her eyes and walked into the kitchen to recieve some pizza then took her heels off and snuggled up next to Troy. "See, isn't this relaxing?" Troy asked, gently running his hand down the side of her face.
"It would be if I could get a kiss," Gabriella said, tilting her head so she could look at him. Troy grinned and pressed his lips to hers.
Gabriella hated a lot of things. She hated SpongeBob. She hated hypocrites. She hated dirty laundry. She hated songs with a bunch of inappropiate references and curse words. She hated when people were lazy. She hated chocolate ice cream and cake. She hated cats. But, the thing she hated the most was being jolted awake early in the morning and then running to the bathroom to puke her guts out. She knows how it felt, since she had gone through it in her last two pregnancies. But she didn't exactly miss the dirt feeling that crawled around in your mouth.
"I'm freaking sick of this," Gabriella groaned, pushing herself up from the floor and flushing the toliet. She wasn't surprised that Troy hadn't come. It was four o' clock in the morning. And Troy was a heavy sleeper. Gabriella combed her fingers through her hair and started to brush her teeth. She didn't want Troy to wake up smelling throw-up breath. "Mommy?"
Gabriella washed her toothbrush and put it back in its holder. She turned and her eyebrows rose when she saw Marcus there, sleepily wiping his eyes and yawning. "Hey, baby," Gabriella said softly, bending to pick him up. "You alright?" Marcus nodded sleepily and rested his head on her shoulder. Gabriella stroked his curly hair that she'd just cut and kissed his forhead. "Come on. You can rest with mommy and daddy tonight." Gabriella turned off the bathroom light and quietly walked back to her room. She laid Marcus down between her and Troy and Marcus snuggled into the big, white, fluffy pillow. Gabriella smiled and turned so she was on her back. "Night, Marc."
"Good niye," Marcus said, pronoucing night without the T and with a Y. That only made Gabriella smiled more.
Later that morning, Troy's eyes fluttered open and was a bit bemused. Marcus laid nestled close to Gabriella and a pillow. Had he came in late that night to crawl into the bed with them? Troy groggily sat up and rubbed at his face, trying to rid it of any form of tiredness. Today he had to go back to the Center to train the boys. His boss actually thinks he might be able to form a JV basketball team. The idea had him smiling. They wouldn't be good, but it was worth a shot.
"Troy?" Troy turned and was met by his wife's sleepy mocha eyes. Her eyes flickered to the clock and she groaned. "I don't want to go to work," she murmured, burying her head in her arms. Troy smiled and pushed back the black tresses of hair raining around her face. "Why not?"
"I rather stay with you," Gabriella admitted, raising her head to look Troy in the eyes. "And the kids."
"I have work, babe," Troy reminded her.
"Well, what about the kids?"
"I'll bring them with me."
"That's too much work, Troy. And everyone is working, so we can't ask for someone to watch them..." Gabriella sighed. "How about I bring them to work with me?"
"Bree, no. It's fine. I can bring them with me. Plus, I'm sure your boss wouldn't like that."
"I'm sure yours wouldn't, either," Gabriella said drily. "Besides, the school has a daycare. Don't worry, Troy. I have them."
"But—"
"Troy, shut up and get ready." Troy sighed and shrugged his buff shoulders. He stood to leave, but halted his steps and looked back at his wife imprudently. "Hey, when did East High get a daycare?"
"Mommy, where are we going?" Aubree asked after Gabriella strapped her tightly into her car seat. Gabriella smiled. "My job."
"In a high school?" Aubree asked, probably a little overwhelmed at the fact. Gabriella nodded and kissed her cheek. "Don't worry, Bree. I promise, the kids are nice and I'm sure they'll be very welcoming to you and Marc."
"I get to sit in the classroom with you?"
"No, not the classroom. It's this nice, big room in the school where other children your age will be. You'll like it." Aubree nodded, though reluctant and Gabriella shut the door closed and slipped into the drivers seat. Marcus clapped his hands loudly together as Gabriella road out of the driveway. "Shad!" he exclaimed.
Gabriella giggled and shook her head. Like she promise dot herself, her, Troy and the kids took weekly visits to see Taylor and Chad. Every time they're on the road, Marcus thinks they're going to see Chad and he gets excited because he absolutely adoresChad's hair. "No, baby, not this time," Gabriella said. "
We're going to mommy's job."
"Mommy's job?" Marcus echoed. Gabriella smiled and nodded. "Mommy's job," she confirmed. It took about forty-five minutes to get to work. Once Gabriella was there, she plucked her kids out of the car and started towards the school. Kids shot Aubree and Marcus curious and adored glances. Marcus looked around, a bit perplexed at the sight of big kids and the different environment. When a kid got too close, he made a beeline for Gabriella's pencil skirt, holding onto it as if it were his life. "Don't worry, Marc," Gabriella said. She picked him up and balanced him on her hip as she walked to the library. East High installed a daycare for children three months to twelve years old. She didn't really know why it was put there, but right now she was more than thankful for the attachment.
"Mrs. Bolton," Henry Gorse said enthusiastically. Henry was the librarian assistant and he's worked there for about twenty years. He really just helped with the daycare, though. He smiled at the kids, then Gabriella. "Hi, Henry," Gabriella said. Then she put in sweetly, "And I told you to call me Gabriella."
"Ah, well, Gabriella, what brings you here? Though I shouldn't ask, you've been coming here ever since you started East High. It was basically your second home. But I presume that you're here for another reason?" His eyes flickered to the kids again for a moment. Gabriella nodded. "Yeah. I don't have a babysitter and so, I need to drop my kids off for the day."
"They're adorable," Henry said.
"Thank you," Aubree said softly. Gabriella smiled. "They're really shy around new people. Especially Marcus. But eventually, they come around."
"Not Marcus," Aubree quipped. "He don't like anyone."
"We're going to have to change that, aren't we?" Henry asked. He turned to Marcus and grinned widely. "Right, Marcus?" Marcus stared at him for a moment, watching his wide smile before shaking his head and tucking it into his mother's neck. Gabriella sighed. "Marc, come on. Mommy has to go."
"No go," Marcus whined, his arms tightening around Gabriella's neck. Gabriella had enough. She pried Marcus's hands away and passed his over to Henry. Marcus opened his mouth to wail, but stopped immediately and looked at Henry. Henry was whistling a four note whistle softly. The sound was indescribable. Henry grinned at Marcus and did it again. "Ah, see," Henry said. "I might have to do that all day, but look, the little guy is already snuggling into me." It was true. Marcus had locked his arms around Henry's neck and pushed his face between his shoulder and neck. "Oh, thank goodness," Gabriella breathed. "Well, then I'm going to go now. Bree, watch for you brother, alright?" Aubree nodded and Gabriella gave her a kiss on the cheek, and then Marcus. "Love you."
"Wove you," Marcus said. Aubree did, too, but pronounced it the right way. Gabriella whisked out of the room then, and headed to the teachers lounge for something and then to her classroom. She made it just in time for the bell.
"Okay, everyone, as you all know, today is the last day until after Thanksgiving," Gabriella announced. The students cheered and Gabriella smiled. "So, we're going to do one little experiment and then I'll give you free time. Just no electronics." Despite the no electronic part, the students were happy that they'd have at least thirty minutes to do whatever.
"It's a simple experiment for neurotransmitters," Gabriella continued. "The Bucket of Pain." Gabriella lifted up what she got from the teacher's lounge before she got here. It was a big orange bucket of icy water. "For eighty seconds, a minute and twenty seconds, I'm going to pick a few kids to put their hands in here. It's really cold."
A girl named Carmen raised her hand. "What does this have to do with neurotransmitters, though?"
"It's based on how sensitive your hands are to the cold and you'll only know it's cold if the signal is sent to your brain through sense neurons." Carmen nodded. "Let's go in alphabetical order," Gabriella decided. "Alyssa, do you want to go?" Alyssa grinned and nodded. She slipped out of her seat and made her way up to the Bucket of Pain. As soon as her hands were in, her face reddened and her eyes went wide. "Holy crap," she muttered. Gabriella started the timer.
While the older kids had school, Troy stayed with the toddlers and kids four to five. It was really cute, teaching them how to jump really high on trampolines and perform the drill. It was really hard, watching over a room full of kids younger than six, but it was really interesting, too. They knew more about basketball than the older kids.
"I did it!" Jimmy Reynolds exclaimed. He was five, the oldest in the class. Troy held his hand up and Jimmy jumped to slap his smaller one against Troy's bigger one. "Alright, buddy," Troy said. "You're going to be a little Michael Jordan one day."
Jimmy's little face brightened. "I know! My dad took me to one of his games and he signed my jersey and gave me one of his jerseys!"
"That's awesome," Troy said. "Keep up the good work, man. You'll be shooting over people's heads by the time you're six." Jimmy looked truly amazed at that. He turned and started to dribble down court again, a drill that Troy had assigned before you can shoot. Of course, it was different for the toddlers. They just got the feel of the ball and used very little courts, but they were excelling, too. Everyone was a boy. It's not that he didn't open this for girls, he did, but no girls showed up. So that left him with boys.
It was amazing watching them. He though about Marcus and how Gabriella was pregnant. Will she have another boy? It's not that he didn't want a girl; he just loved the fact of teaching his sons how to play. Aubree had already shaken her head at basketball. She thought it was alright, but she was more into her tap dance and ballet lessons and soccer. And it was funny. Gabriella started all of that when she was Aubree's age, too.
"Alright, boys, bring it in!" Troy called. Everyone ran over to him, heated and out of breath. Troy glanced at his watch—2:09. The older boys will be arriving soon and so will the parents. Troy let the boys hand out while he cleaned.
"Troy!" Troy turned to see Jimmy pulling a young girl towards him. "This is my sister, Carolynn!" Carolynn couldn't have been any older than twenty-one. Her hair was a soft auburn color and her eyes were a hazel-blue. Though they looked different, she reminded him so much like Gabriella. The same innocent look, the same olive-tan, the same figure. Carolynn's eyes widened when she saw Troy. "Really? I thought he was lying! I'm a serious Celtics fan," Carolynn shared. "You play really good."
"Thanks," I respond. "You're picking him up?"
"Yeah. I'm his sister…Wait, he already said that." Carolynn laughed and blushed. "He really likes your class, Troy, or, um, Mr. Bolton—I'm mean, yeah, whatever." Her eyes widened as if she had just said something odious. "No! No, I didn't mean that! Not whatever, because of course you're name isn't whatever. I mean, you're Troy Bolton. The Troy Bolton. The one who shot a total of forty-three baskets last season by himself. So, you know, of course your name isn't whatever. I just don't know what to call you and I don't want to make you sound old if I call you Mr. Bolton because you're not old, you're really young and beautiful and, um…" Carolynn looked down, her face becoming redder than a tomato. Troy couldn't help but laugh a bit. "She has like ten posters of you on her wall," Jimmy announced. "She even has a card-board cut-out of you." Jimmy snickered when Carolynn reached out to pinch him. "She talks to her friend at how you guys are married and she's Mrs. Carolynn Bolton." Jimmy yelped as Carolynn smacked the back of his head. "But, of course she can't be married to you because you have a wife."
"You do?" Carolynn asked. Troy would've thought she'd known since she knew so much already. He nodded. "Yup. She's pregnant with our third child." Carolynn's face loosed a handful of brightness and her shoulders slouched, but she tried to keep the dread hidden. "Oh. Yeah, I knew that. It was nice meeting you. Bye." She literally dragged Jimmy out of there.
"Sheldon, please stop singing," Gabriella demanded for the fourth time. Apparently, his behavior hasn't changed, only his grades. Right now he was singing Dance A$$, a song Gabriella despised for the rudeness directed towards women all around. "Aw, how come, Mrs. B?"
"Because I said so," Gabriella said firmly. Sheldon rolled his eyes and stopped singing. Gabriella smiled. Good. So they were still on the same page with respecting her. "Thank you." Gabriella looked down at the homework on her desk and her eyes scanned over the answers. But her attention span as lowering dangerously. A dull ache started in the back of her head and irritation cramped deep in her stomach. Gabriella gripped at her flat abdomen and looked down at it curiously. She remembered the doctor saying mild cramps will occur as your uterus stretches, but wasn't that for getting pregnant the first time? She tired to pick through her mind for the answer, but found none. It was also a sign of a miscarriage. That made Gabriella panic until she was sweating. Wasn't it too early? No, she wouldn't be having a miscarriage. Never. "Hang in there, baby," Gabriella whispered softly, rubbing tenderly at her stomach. It eased the pain slightly and Gabriella redirected her attention back to the homework, but it was hard. Her mind was going in a small cycle. Cramps to stretching to miscarriage. Round and round and round. And it was really irritating.
"Are you alright, Mrs. Bolton?" a girl asked from the front row. Gabriella nodded, meekly, though. "Yes. Thank you. I'm just...having problems with my pregnancy." The girl's eyebrows rose and her friends around her stared at Gabriella in disbelief. Gabriella then realized she had forgotten to tell the students she was pregnant. "Oh, yeah, I forgot to tell you guys."
"You're pregnant?" Some other student's heads turned. "How long?"
"Is it a boy or girl?"
"What do you want?"
"I've known for several days," Gabriella told them. "Actually, I just found out yesterday." Gabriella could see Sheldon bit his lip, keeping back an uncouth comment. A girl, the same girl who asked if she were okay, asked, "What problems are you having?"
"Nothing. Just cramps." The bell rung out into the air and the students shrugged on their backpacks. "Have a good Thanksgiving, guys," Gabriella called out and a few students were kind enough to say it back.
During Gabriella's lunch break, she decided to bring the kids back to her classroom. She knocked on the little classroom door and peaked her head in. There were only a few kids. Maybe eight. "Hi, Henry," Gabriella said, stepping all the way into the room. Henry looked up from whistling that amazing four-note tune to Marcus who was smiling. "Gabriella! Good to see you. I wonder if I might get a disease from all of this whistling."
Gabriella smiled. "I'm sorry, Henry." But Henry waved his hands dismissively and smiled back.
"Henwe whitle, mommy," Marcus exclaimed, flying up and wrapping his arms around Gabriella's legs.
"I could record the sound for you," Henry quipped.
"That would be amazing."
"So, are you checking them out for the rest of the day, or just your lunch period?"
"Just lunch," Gabriella answered. "Is that alright?"
"Yes, of course. Aubree, your mommy's here." Aubree looked up from her building blocks. Her blue eyes glittered when she saw Gabriella and she sprung up, flinging herself at her mom. "Mom! Look what I built." Aubree pointed to the colorful castle she built. Aubree always built amazing structures, but this was big and wide. Henry nodded. "I know. It's amazing, isn't it? You've got yourself an architect, Gabriella. She's worked on it for about two hours."
"Wow, Bree, it's amazing," Gabriella said. "Can I take a picture of it?"
"Of course," Aubree exclaimed. Gabriella pulled out her iPhone and snapped two quick pictures, one wide and one long, before stuffing her phone back in her pocket. "Mommy, I hungy," Marcus complained. Gabriella bent to pick him up. "Alright, baby. Come one, Aubree. Well be right back, okay, Henry?" Henry nodded and waved. Just one last time he whistled for Marcus who smiled brightly.
Gabriella carried the kids back to her classroom. She gave them their peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. "Yuck!" Marcus exclaimed, picking at the sandwich. "That distuting, mommy."
Gabriella smiled. "Everything is distuting to you, Marc. Do you want to go get some pizza? They're serving it at lunch, I think."
"Yeah! Pisa!" Gabriella grabbed the kids again and she walked to the cafeteria. It was buzzing with students, chatting and laughing. She made sure to keep Marcus and Aubree close so they wouldn't get trampled on. Again, Marcus and Aubree received a lot of compliments and looks of adoration. Marcus toyed with his curly hair and grinned when he saw pizza. "Pisa, mommy!"
"Hold on, I know, baby," Gabriella said. She walked to the lunch counter and ordered two plates of pizza. Aubree looked around. Her mouth opened wide in shock when she saw the big ballerina across a wall above the doors. "Mommy," she gasped. The woman was beautiful. She wanted to be like her one day, spinning on her toes. Aubree looked down at her Sketchers and frowned. She needed a tutu and some ballet slippers. She tugged on her mother's shirt sleeve and Gabriella looked down. "Look! Look at her!" Gabriella lifted her eyes to the banner and smiled. Aubree always loved to dance. For Christmas, her dance program had a recital where they would dance to Christmas songs and then sing at the end. Aubree was more than excited to do it.
Gabriella juggled the pizzas in one hand while holding Marcus's hand who was holding Aubree's hand as she walked to her classroom. Marcus and Aubree happily sat down in the "big kid's desk", Aubree's words, and began eating while Gabriella graded some tests.
When Gabriella arrived home, Marcus was knocked out and Aubree was hyped up because she wanted to show Troy the picture of her castle. After lunch, she went to finish it and it looked absolutely amazing. Troy was outside shooting hoops with chad while Taylor rested on a chair, watching them. Gabriella laid Marcuse down in his race car bed before her and Aubree went outside. "Daddy!" Aubree exclaimed, holding up the picture Henry had taken of her castle. Troy stopped playing when he saw her. "Hey, Bree. What''s that?" Aubree walked up to him and lifted the picture. "Wow," Troy said. "You didn't make that, did you?"
"Of course I did," Aubree giggled. Troy smiled and picked her up. "Well, it's beautiful. Just like you are you mom."
"Come on. Bree," Gabriella said. "Let's sit while daddy plays basketball." Aubree nodded and Troy let her down. She ran over to her mom and Taylor and they sat down to wtch the boys. "Chad and I fought yesterday," Taylor sulked.
Gabriella gasped. "What happened?"
"He took the laste bit of cake. I mean, he kne wthat I wanted it! I told him a few hours before not to eat my cake and what does he do? He eats my cake."
Gabriella smiled and giggled. "I think you have a bad case of hormones, Tay."
"No, I just have a bad case of a horrible husband."
Gabriella laughed. "You'll get over it."
I hate this chapter so much that it makes me wnat to cry. But Ii am late on updating, so I put it up there. Next chapter will be Thanksgiving, but I'll probably put a Christmas one-shot up there on Christmas Eve if I'm not cooking. Review, please!