I know what you're saying... it's about time! I finally got my act together and wrote this the other day. I hope to have a second short out to you guys before Valentine's Day and since I've been stuck in my house because of snow and ice, it might be sooner than later haha So I hope you guys like the story and I can't wait to read your reviews!
Setup: Takes place roughly 6 weeks after the end Against the Odds
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Christmas Time
Taylor Danforth smiled as she scooped her six week old daughter Amelia out of her cradle. Her good tempered baby smiled up at her as Taylor carried her into the nursery to change her diaper. A clean diaper later, Taylor settled into the easy glide rocker and began to nurse Mia.
After feeding Mia, Taylor took her precious baby down to the kitchen where she placed her in the baby swing. Mia fused a little but once Taylor turned the swing on, she settled right down.
"What should we make for dinner, baby girl?" Taylor asked as she opened the freezer. She hadn't felt like cooking since Mia was born, but now that she and her husband Chad had houseguests for a few days, she felt the need to feed them something other than her mom's frozen casserole. Since the guests were Troy Bolton, Chad's best friend and practically his brother, and Troy's girlfriend Sydney Bradley, Taylor knew they didn't expect her to make anything special for them, but she wanted to.
Hearing the front door open, Taylor knew Chad and Troy were home. They both worked for the Boys and Girls Club and had been carpooling to and from school and work while Troy and Sydney were staying with them.
"How are my favorite girls?" Chad smiled as he walked into the kitchen with Troy on his heels. He greeted Taylor while Troy headed over to the excited Mia.
"We're good," Taylor replied.
"Good to hear," Chad smiled then kissed her gently on the lips. Then he headed over to greet Mia who squealed in delight at the sight of her daddy.
"You know, you don't have to cook anything special for us." Taylor's gaze moved from father and daughter to Troy who was standing next to her with a glass of water in hand.
"I'm not making anything special," she smiled.
"Really? Cause it smells delicious," Troy stated.
"Well thank you," she smiled.
"Alright, Troy, let's go play some ball," Chad said, but paused halfway to the backdoor. "We have time for a quick game, right?"
Taylor nodded. "Dinner is still an hour away," she said.
"Sweet!" With that, the two men left the house headed for the basketball court setup out back.
"Daddy and Uncle Troy are silly, aren't they Mia?" Taylor smiled as she picked Mia up. She carried the newborn over to the window so she could watch Chad and Troy play basketball.
After a few minutes, Taylor carried Mia into the living room and laid her on her back under her baby gym. Then Taylor turned on the CD player and the classical music she loved filled the air.
Gathering the mail Chad had brought in, Taylor sat down on the floor near Mia and opened it. It was mostly junk mail, but near the bottom there was an envelope that looked like it held a fancy invitation. She opened it carefully and read the invitation.
You're invited to Christmas at Lava Springs
December 20th at 6pm
Join us in the dining room for cocktails, dinner and dancing.
Formal black tie.
Shaking her head, Taylor slid the invitation back in the envelope and put it in the junk pile. December 20th was in five days, there was no way she would be ready to go to a formal by then. She was still trying to lose her pregnancy weight and she didn't have a dress.
"Your Aunt Sharpay is a crazy lady, Mia," she smiled at her daughter as she tickled the baby's feet.
Needing to check on dinner, Taylor picked Mia up and carried her back into the kitchen. She put Mia in her swing then tossed the junk mail into the recycle bin before checking on the chicken in the oven. No sooner had she closed the oven, the phone rang.
"Hello?" She answered.
"Did you get it?" One of her best friends Sharpay Evans squealed into the phone.
"If by it you mean the invitation to the Christmas party, then yes, I got it," Taylor replied. "But Chad and I won't be able to come."
"What? Why not?" Sharpay demanded.
"I just had a baby six weeks ago, Sharpay," Taylor stated. "I'm not ready to be seen in public and especially not in a formal dress. It would be like inviting everybody to check out my flabby body."
"Taylor, you just had a baby, nobody expects you to be back to your pre-pregnancy body," Sharpay told her. "You shouldn't hide from the world because you're not comfortable with your new body, you should embrace it, Tay."
"Easy for you to say, you've never been fat a day in your life," Taylor muttered.
"Neither have you, Tay, you've always been a healthy weight," Sharpay stated. "So you have a little bit of extra padding right now, you brought a baby into the world."
Hearing the front door open and Sydney call out a hello, Taylor said, "Look, Shar, Sydney just got home. So I'll talk to you later."
"Wait, Taylor," Sharpay said. "Tomorrow is Saturday, let me take you shopping for a dress."
"Why, Sharpay, I'm not going to the party," Taylor said as Sydney came into the kitchen.
"Please, Taylor, let me buy you a dress for Christmas and then come to my party for a few minutes," Sharpay begged. "That's all I want for Christmas."
"I'll think about it," Taylor stated.
"Fine, I'll pick you up tomorrow at 9," Sharpay said.
"9? But that's when Mia wakes up and I have to feed her and change her and-"
"Alright, I'll go to the mall and pick out some dresses for you to try on and then you can meet me at the food court at 11 and try dresses on," Sharpay said.
"Fine," Taylor agreed. "But nothing slutty."
"I know," Sharpay smiled. "Give Mia a kiss for me. Toodles."
Hanging up, Taylor hung up the phone and looked at Sydney who was holding Mia.
"What did Sharpay talk you into doing?" Sydney asked.
"Apparently she's taking me shopping tomorrow morning," Taylor sighed. "I got the invitation for that party at Lava Springs today and it's like she has a tracking thing on them because she called right after I tossed it."
"It wouldn't surprise me," Sydney smiled. "Wait, did you say you got the invitation today?" Taylor nodded. "Troy and I got our invitation a week ago."
"That sneaky bitch," Taylor muttered as Sydney put Mia back into her swing. "She planned this, waiting to send the invitation at the last minute."
"Sounds like a Sharpay thing to do," Sydney smiled as she washed her hands. "Tell me what I can do to help get dinner ready."
"You could throw a salad together," Taylor suggested. "And you could come shopping with me and Sharpay tomorrow to keep me from killing her."
"Okay," Sydney smiled as the backdoor opened.
"Freeze," Taylor said with her back to the backdoor. "Do not touch the baby. Both of you go get cleaned up, right now."
"I see the eyes in the back of her head have come in," Troy teased as he and Chad headed for the stairs.
The next morning, Taylor, Sydney and Mia got to the mall and met Sharpay in the food court as planned.
"Sorry about bringing Mia, Shar, I couldn't find anyone to watch her," Taylor said as she pushed Mia's stroller.
"Don't worry about it," Sharpay replied. "She's a good baby and I found a bunch of dresses for you to try on."
Taylor sighed and glanced at Sydney who gave her a supportive smile.
Sharpay led them into a fancy boutique and straight to the dressing rooms. She spoke to the attendant before taking a stack of dresses the attendant handed her. "This way," she smiled.
Taylor tried on dress after dress and finally narrowed it down to four dresses: a cranberry colored silk halter dress that was tight at the bust then flared out; a polyester hollyberry colored dress that had three quarter length sleeves and hugged her curves; a emerald green sateen dress that was a combination of the two other dresses in that it hugged her curves but flowed away from her body; and finally a silk purple dress with a slight v-neck cut that had a chiffon layer over the lower part of the dress detailed with metallic floral pattern.
"I really wanted to find you something in green or red," Sharpay said as she, Sydney and Taylor looked at the four dresses. "But I saw the purple one and knew it would look great on you."
"It really did look good on you, Tay," Sydney agreed. "And purple is your favorite color."
"Then I guess I'll go with the purple one," Taylor smiled. "I think Chad will like it."
"Chad, will love it," Sharpay stated. "Especially once we get you something to wear under it."
"Sharpay, I don't need new underwear," Taylor said as Mia started to get fussy. "Besides, I should get Mia home and -"
"You know how I told you my present for you was the dress?" Taylor nodded. "My present for Chad is what's worn underneath it."
"Isn't that a little bit personal?" Taylor stated. "And I really need to get Mia home."
"Sydney, help her find something sexy for her husband," Sharpay instructed. "I'm going to go take Mia for a little stroll around the mall." She pushed Mia around the mall for awhile before coming to a stop in front of Claire's. "That's what you need, Mia." She pushed the stroller into shop. "Excuse me, who do I see about getting my daughter's ears pierced?"
The teenaged sales girl looked from Sharpay to Mia and said, "She's your baby?"
"Yes, she is my baby," Sharpay snapped. "Why would I pierce somebody else's baby's ears?" Her mouth dropped open. "Wait, is this because I'm white and she's not? Let me talk to your manager right now before I sue you for all you're worth."
"What seems to be the trouble here?" A sales woman asked.
"Are you the manager?" Sharpay asked.
"Yes, I am," the woman replied.
"Your sales girl here doesn't think my daughter is my daughter because she's black, now what are you going to do about that?" Sharpay asked, crossing her arms over her chest.
The woman looked and the teenager and motioned for her to help somebody else. "I'm sorry, ma'am," she said. "Whatever you came in here for today will be on the house."
"I came to get my daughter's ears pierced," Sharpay stated.
The woman looked at Mia then said, "She seems a little young miss, are you sure you don't want to do it later."
"I want it done today," Sharpay said.
"Alright, fine, why don't you get her out of her stroller and hold her in your lap," the woman said. "I'll bring the paperwork and everything to you."
After filling out the paperwork and selecting pink jeweled earrings, Sharpay turned Mia towards her and talked to her niece while two licensed piercers used piercing guns to put the earrings in Mia's ears. The newborn winced but didn't cry.
"Wow, you're lucky she's so good natured," the manager smiled. "My daughter screamed and cried when I pierced her ears and she was 6."
"I'm a lucky woman," Sharpay smiled as she put Mia back into her stroller. She got everything she needed to keep Mia's earrings clean and left the store with a smile on her face, hoping that Taylor wouldn't murder her.
She ran into Taylor and Sydney leaving the store with Taylor's purchases and smiled. "Get something Chad's going to like?" She asked.
"Yes," Taylor replied. "But we need to head home. I need to feed Mia."
"Alright, meet me at the country club at 2pm on the 20th," Sharpay instructed.
"But the party doesn't start until 6," Taylor replied.
"We have to get ready," Sharpay stated. "Oh and find a baby sitter for all night. I took the liberty of booking you and Chad a room at daddy's hotel. Because I have a feeling when your husband sees you in that dress he won't want to go to the party, but you guys have to. You have to stay for at least an hour."
"Yes, Sharpay," Taylor rolled her eyes. She gave her friend a hug then headed to her car with Sydney and Mia. It wasn't until she was putting Mia into her car seat that she saw the earrings. "Oh no she didn't!"
"What, what's wrong?" Sydney asked.
"Check the diaper bag," Taylor ordered.
Sydney grabbed the diaper bag and pulled out a Claire's bag full of post-ear piercing supplies. She pulled out a piece of paper with directions on how to take care of freshly pierced ears and saw Sharpay's signature on the bottom.
"You're going to kill her aren't you?" She asked.
Taylor nodded.
"Why don't you let me drive," Sydney suggested.
Instead of driving Taylor to Sharpay's house, Sydney drove her home.
"Why are we here?" Taylor demanded.
"Because you need to calm down," Sydney said. "Let's go inside, you can feed Mia and think this through rationally."
Taylor nodded and they went inside. She took Mia upstairs and fed her before putting her down for a nap. She grabbed the baby monitor and went down stairs. She found Sydney sitting at the dining room table with Troy and Chad.
"Did Sharpay really pierce Mia's ears?" Chad asked. Taylor nodded. "I'm going to kill her!"
"Before you do, can I ask you guys something?" Sydney asked. Chad and Taylor nodded. "Were you going to get Mia's ears pierced?"
"Yeah, eventually," Taylor nodded. "Just not right now and not by a chain store."
"That's what I thought," Sydney nodded. "I went with my cousin to get her daughter's ears pierced when she was a baby and I ended up having to hold the little girl because her mom couldn't watch them piercing her ears. So maybe, just maybe, Sharpay did you a favor."
"I'm willing to admit that Sharpay may have done us a favor," Taylor said after a minute. "But it does not excuse the fact that she lied about Mia being her daughter and had her ears pierced without talking to me."
"I agree," Sydney stated as the doorbell rang. "Which is why I called Troy and he called Zeke."
Troy answered the door and tried to hide his smile as Zeke drug Sharpay into the house.
"Apologize," Zeke ordered Sharpay.
"I'm sorry," Sharpay said, looking at the ground.
"Look at them, Shar, tell them why you're sorry," Zeke instructed.
"I'm sorry for going behind your back and getting Mia's ears pierced," Sharpay said, looking at Taylor. "It was wrong of me."
"I'll forgive you, this once," Taylor said. "But I swear to god, Sharpay, if my baby, I don't care how old she is, comes home from being with you and has tattoos or any other piercings, I will murder you and they will never find your body."
The room was silent for a few seconds before Taylor laughed and pulled Sharpay into a hug. The others followed her lead and laughed but only Sharpay heard Taylor say, "I'm not joking."
Four days later, Taylor found herself taking Mia to the house her mom shared with Chad's mom. It would be the first time she didn't have Mia with her at night. She knew she had no reason to be nervous when it came to Mia being with her grandmothers, but she was. She pulled into the driveway of her childhood home and before she had even shut off the engine, her mom and Chad's mom were on their way over to her.
She greeted them both with a hug and kiss before instructing them to get Mia's things out of the trunk while she carried Mia, who was sleeping in her car seat, into the house. Since she would be going back to school in a couple weeks, she had been trying to get Mia used to formula, but there were still times when Mia would only drink breast milk. So Taylor had packed both types of milk and would leave her cell phone on should they need more.
She opened her mouth to tell her mother and mother-in-law, but found herself shushed and escorted to the door after saying goodbye to Mia.
"Have fun tonight," her mother smiled as she kissed her cheek. "And don't even think of calling us. We will call you if we need you and we won't need you."
Taylor nodded and took a deep breath before heading towards her car. Her heart broke after each step, she wanted to be with her baby.
"Go, Taylor," she heard her mother-in-law say. "You and Chad deserve a break tonight."
With tears in her eyes, Taylor climbed into her car and drove to Lava Springs. She parked her car and was escorted into the very locker room where she had gotten dressed for her wedding.
"Still wanna kill me?" Sharpay asked peeking her head around the corner. She saw the tears in Taylor's eyes. "Tay, what's wrong?"
"I want my baby," Taylor cried. Sharpay wrapped her arms around her friend as she cried. "I'm a bad mom, Sharpay, I left her and -"
"Now wait just a minute," Sharpay said, taking a step back. "You're not a bad mom for taking a night for yourself, Taylor. You've barely left your house the last six weeks because you were taking care of Mia. You deserve this night for yourself. That's why I did all this."
"Did all of what?" Taylor asked.
"This," Sharpay made a large sweeping motion. "Christmas at Lava Springs is usually closed to members only and Zeke suggested that we should invite other people from the community, but I wasn't sure then Chad came to talk to me."
"Chad talked to you? About what?" Taylor asked.
"About you," Sharpay replied. "He's worried about you, Tay. We all are."
"Why are you worried about me, I'm fine," Taylor stated.
"Are you?" Sharpay asked. "Chad doesn't think you are and to be honest with you, I agree with him. You haven't been yourself lately, Tay, and the most recent example is with your appearance. As long as I've known you, you've never cared about how you looked on the outside. You've always been happy with who you are.
"And I know you just had a baby, but don't you want Mia to see the real you and not the depressed you? I know you want your daughter to grow up with the same strong, self-awareness that you've always possessed."
"What does all that have to do with tonight and Chad?" Taylor asked her.
"Tonight you're the belle at the ball," Sharpay smiled as the beautician Marta that Taylor recognized from her wedding day came into the locker room following by Sydney and Taylor's other best friends Gabriella Montez and Kelsi Nielsen. "We're gonna get you beautified and then you're going to knock your husband off his feet and get your self confidence back."
After work, Chad stopped by his mom and mother-in-law's house to see Mia before he headed home to get ready to go to the party. He put on a black suit and was putting on his shoes when the doorbell rang. He grabbed the overnight back he had packed for himself and Taylor before hurrying down the stairs. He greeted Troy then walked with his best friend to the limo that waited on the street. He greeted Sharpay's brother Ryan, Sharpay's fiancé Zeke Baylor and his other best friend Jason Cross, or as he was soon to be known to the music world Jase Ross, then settled back as the driver drove them to Lava Springs.
When they got there, they headed into the main dining room where cocktail hour had already begun. Then one by one the girls started coming in. Kelsi entered the room first, in a tight, bustier style dress in peacock blue. Her hair was pulled back in a bun and the shoes on her feet matched the dress's color perfectly.
Gabriella entered the room next in a crinkled sateen dress with ruffled straps that fell just above her knees in a beautiful burgundy color that looked great against her tan skin. She smiled when she saw the guys standing to the side and hurried over to them in her gold, strappy heels as Sydney came into the room.
Standing next to Troy, Chad heard his best friend take in a deep breath as Sydney made her way towards them in a emerald green halter dress with a deep v-neck. A large band just below her bust ended the v-neck and below it the skirt of the dress flowed away from her body to just past her knees. On her feet were a funky pair of faux leather shoes with a mix-matched set of animal prints in different colors.
While the others stepped away to get drinks, Chad found himself standing next to Zeke as they waited for their significant others to come into the room. Chad saw Sharpay first, it wasn't hard to pick her out of the crowd in a form fitting, strapless pink dress and matching pink shoes. But she was forgotten when he saw Taylor enter the room behind her.
His wife looked beautiful in her purple dress. He couldn't help but notice how it showed off her post-pregnancy cleavage tastefully while shielding the areas of her body that she had targeted as her "trouble" areas. She smiled when she saw him and came to a stop in front of him. She gave a small twirl before stepping into his embrace.
"You look beautiful, Tay," he whispered. "God, you look beautiful."
"Thank you," Taylor smiled as her face heated up. "You look mighty fine yourself, sexy man."
"In this ol' thing?" He teased.
"Hate to break up this love fest, but somebody owes me a thank you," Sharpay stated.
"Thank you," Taylor smiled at her friend.
"Not you," Sharpay said. "I'm talking to 'sexy man' here." She pulled out a keycard to the hotel room she booked for them and handed it to him. "Now what do you have to say, Chad?"
"Thanks, Sharpay," he grinned and kissed her cheek.
"Good boy," she laughed. "Enjoy your evening and Chad, try not to drool over your present, it might ruin the lace."
"Present, what present?" Chad asked, looking from Sharpay to Taylor.
"You'll have to wait until you get to the hotel," Sharpay grinned. "But don't forget our deal, Tay, you have to stay for an hour."
Chad watched Sharpay walk away with Zeke on her arm before turning his attention back to Taylor. "What present?" He asked.
"Let's go find our friends," Taylor smiled.
They found their friends sitting at a table eating food from the buffet then got food for themselves. A couple hours passed one by one the couples decided it was time to leave.
"We need to say goodbye to Sharpay first," Taylor told Chad.
"Has anybody seen Sharpay and Zeke?" Sydney asked.
"I don't know, but I'm going to visit the little boys' room while you look," Chad said, excusing himself from the table. He made his way to the bathroom and froze just inside the door when he heard moaning. "Why does this keep happening to me?" He muttered.
"I think Chad found them," Troy stated when he saw his best friend headed their direction. "Those two getting it on in the bathroom again?"
Chad nodded.
"Did you find my sister?" Ryan asked as he came over with Gabriella at his side.
"She and Zeke are in the mens room having sex," Jason stated, only to get slugged by Troy and Chad. "Ow!"
"When they get out, tell them we had a great time," Taylor told Ryan as she gave him a hug then hugged Gabriella.
A few minutes later, Taylor and Chad were in her car headed for the Lava Springs Hotel a mile away. They barely made it into the hotel before Chad started asking about his present.
"Will I like it?" He asked as they walked to their room.
"Yes, Chad, I assure you, you'll love it," Taylor shook her head. "Sydney helped me pick it out."
"But I thought it was from Sharpay." Chad took the keycard out of his pocket and unlocked the door.
"It is, just be patient," Taylor said as she took off her jacket and hung it up. "Okay, now close your eyes."
"Alright."
While he sat on the edge of the bed with his eyes closed, Taylor unzipped her dress and slid it from her body. "Keep your eyes closed," she instructed as she went to the closet to hang the dress up. She dimmed the lights then moved over to stand in front of him. "Okay, you can open them now."
Chad opened his eyes and grinned when he saw Taylor standing before him in a red lace bra and matching red lace panties. "That's my Christmas present?" He asked and Taylor nodded. "Lucky me."
He reached for her but she stepped back. "One thing, I want to leave on the bra," she told him.
"Fine with me," Chad smiled as he wrapped his arms around her waist. He pulled her towards him and just rested his head on her abdomen. It felt good having her in his arms again, he missed being intimate with her, but after witnessing what she had gone through to bring their daughter into the world, he couldn't blame her for being standoffish about having sex.
Smiling, Chad stood up and pulled her face to his, kissing her deeply. He wanted tonight to be great for them both. Stepping away from her, he undressed then guided her over to the bed. He leaned above her, kissing her as his hands ran up and down his sides. Then he kissed down her body, give each tender breast a kiss before moving down to her belly button. He was reaching for her panties when she grabbed his hair and shook her head.
"I'm not ready for that yet, Chad," she said. "Sex is fine, but I'm not ready for your mouth down there yet."
He nodded and brought his lips back to hers, kissing her passionately. He massaged her breasts through the fabric of her bra and then, once they were both ready, he slid on a condom and guided his manhood into her sex.
Their pace was slow and their legs were tangled together, but it was the way they wanted it. They were in no rush to get the sex done and over with, they had all night to make love the way it was intended.
A few days later, Taylor carried Mia downstairs as Chad video taped his daughter's first Christmas. She obviously wouldn't remember anything about that day, how the little family of three had worn matching pajamas or that Santa had brought her Baby Einstein DVDs. But his daughter would know her parents loved her and loved each other.