Hey. Thanks for all the reviews. You keep them coming, I keep writing.

READ THIS:

First, I've never told you guys, but Gavin is Hayden Christensen. Tommy is an olderishSterling Knight. Tanya is Nikki Reed (blond hair). Kara is Ashley Greene. Allie is Hayden Panitierre. Those are the main people.

I have a question. How many of you have seen Charmed? Three good witches, kicking ass, fighting evil. I was thinking, after I finish up DD I can do a Charmed story, only with HSM characters. Like, Sharpay, Taylor, and Gabriella are the power of three, Ryan or Chad is their whitelighter, and Troy is some evil demon trying to get to them, and to do that, he gets into a relationship with Gabriella.
It'll be like a Cole/Pheobe thing.
What do you guys think?

Line101: Don't worry, there is a bit of an underlying reason on why she wasn't ready to get pregnant. She just didn't tell him. She will soonish, then you'll get why a little better. She's scared.
anastasia: yes

Review please!

I hope this isn't moving too fast.

Chapter named after Whatever Gets You Through The Night, by John Lennon and Elton John.
Song inside is Beyonce, Single Ladies (Put a Ring on it)

"Troy Whatever The Hell Your Middle Name Is Bolton!" Taylor McKessie screamed, bursting through my apartment door. I was still at the elevator, trying to fun after her, and stop her from killing the love of my life. See, it's Wednesday, and since I don't work until August, Taylor has off tomorrow, Sharpay is baby free (he's with Zeke), Kara doesn't work either, Allie was free, and Tanya is here, we decided to have a girls night. The guys did the same.

"Oooooh, she is pissed at you," Sharpay laughed as we all speed walked down the hallway.

We entered my apartment only to find Troy very unaffected by Taylor's scream, playing Xbox, and ignoring her. "Alexander, Taylor. His middle name is Alexander," I spoke up, dropping my purse onto the bar as I walked over to her.

She turned and gave me the meaniest death glare in the world. "You have no right to defend him," she insisted, stomping her foot. That is defending him? "I've known you longer!" she exclaimed.

"Yeah, but she's sleeping with me," Troy commented from the couch, his eyes not moving from the screen. Kara went to talk with Ronny, Allie was on her phone, most likely talking with my brother, Tanya was near Tommy, probably bickering, and Sharpay was picking up Junior.

"That's the problem," Taylor replied, moving to stand in front of the t.v., making all the boys holler. "You're trying to get my best friend pregnant!" she reminded him, and he sighed, looking up at her.

"So?" he asked, putting down his controller after pausing it.

Taylor gave him the death stare, too, and stepped closer to the coffee table, which was the only thing separating them. "Why are you yelling at him?" Chad asked with his mouth full.

"He's trying to get her pregnant!" she repeated, still yelling.

"Tay, we've already established this," Troy informed her. "It's not like it's forced, we both decided to try for a baby," he told her.

I crossed my arms. "After a fight," I added, and Troy gave me a look. "What? Hey, I'm not the one getting yelled at here," I mumbled.

"You're going to ruin my wedding!" Taylor shouted at him. "She is my bride's maid, she's in the wedding, I can't have a pregnant bride's maid. Okay, I can, but it would make things difficult for me," she said to him.

"You don't even know when the wedding is," Troy mentioned, standing up. Taylor pushed on his chest, which made him stumble a little, but not fall onto the couch. She kept trying to push him down, but it didn't work. After a minute, Troy got annoyed. "Will you stop that?" he asked, nicely pushing her hands away. "You don't know when the wedding is, we don't know if she is pregnant or not, chill until we actually know details," he told her.

"Oh, if you can get her pregnant on the pill, you can get her pregnant off the pill," Taylor responded.

I walked up to them. "Hey!" I interjected, a little hurt.

"Sorry, but- ugh!" Taylor stomped off into the kitchen.

Chad groaned, and put down his bowl of chips. "I'll go calm her down," he volunteered, walking away.

Troy grabbed my hand, and tugged me over to him. "Hey," he greeted, kissing me on the lips.

"Hi," I replied, kissing him again. "Sorry I ruined guys night by spilling the beans," I apologized.

He wrapped his arms around my waist. "I didn't want you to leave in the first place," he mumbled, kissing me again, this time for longer. I pulled out of his grip, and sat down on the couch. I opened my legs, and patted the cushion in between them, and he smiled before plopping down. "What'd you guys do in the two hours you were gone?" he questioned, turning the t.v. onto an actual channel so we weren't staring at an Xbox game screen anymore.

I shrugged, wrapping an arm around his waist from behind, and let my hand settle on his leg. "Nothing much, walked around the mall, got hit on, had girl talk," I answered, moving my free hand underneath his sleeve, and felt his tattoo. "I missed you," I said against his ear.

His hands slid up the outside of my legs. "I missed you, too," he responded, and started to lean back, so I did. As soon as he was rested back against me like a recliner, he hooked my legs over his.

"Aw, look at you two. You're like a pretzel," Sharpay mentioned, making everyone look at us. My arms were wrapped around his shoulders, and I buried my head in them.

"How is the whole house hunt going on?" Kara asked from next to Ronny. Ronny's gay, and has made fast friends with Kara.

Troy shrugged slightly. "It's not. We only called her mom about it Monday," he answered. "She said she would do her thing, and have some houses for us to look at next week," he explained.

"We gave her our list," I told them, sitting up a little, putting Troy's head in my cleavage.

"Your list? List of what?" Tommy asked with Tanya in his lap.

I ran my fingers through Troy's hair. "What we want for the house," I replied. "We want five kids, so we need at least five bedrooms, two kids can share," I used as an example.

Troy nodded. "Yeah, and we want a balcony in the master bedroom," he added. "She wants a winding staircase," he informed them.

"I don't want it totally wrapped up, a slightly winding one would be fine," I corrected. "And, we want a big backyard," I said, remembering what else we had on the list. "At least two full bathrooms," I went on.

"A nice sized garage," Troy spoke up.

"You guys sure are picky," Zeke commented.

"We don't want to have to move," I told him. "We want to live in the same house forever, like my mom," I finished.

We heard a noise in the kitchen, followed by Chad pushing Taylor out. She stopped in the middle of the living room, and faced us. "I'm sorry I yelled at you, Troy," she apologized, and it looked like it pained her. "If you get her pregnant, it won't ruin my wedding," she went on.

"It's alright, Tay," he assured her.

"I love how she is blaming you for all of this, when it was my decision, too," I laughed lightly into his ear.

"Yeah! Why'd you-" I cut Troy off with my hand.

"Why don't you make Kelsi your bride's maid?" I covered up, removing my hand from his mouth after he bit me. I hit him in the chest after.

Taylor thought about it for a second. "Well, don't you want to be in it?" she questioned.

I nodded. "Yeah, Tay, of course, you're my best friend," I replied. "But, you got to be in mine, and Sharpay gets to be in yours. I might be pregnant or have a newborn when yours rolls around, so give the spot to Kelsi, I'm sure she'd love to do it, and not be pregnant," I told her.

"You wouldn't mind?" she asked.

I shook my head. "Nah, I've already been in my sister's, Shyanne's, and probably will be in Sharpay's. I'll still help with yours, though, if you want," I answered. "Oh, and if I could sit next to Troy during the reception still, that would be great," I added.

"I second that," Troy made himself known.

"Gabi, I would hug you, but Troy is on top of you. I need to call Kelsi," she stated, taking her phone out.

Chad came and sat down next to us. "Crisis averted, can you please pass the remote? The new Bachelorette is on," he kindly asked.

Troy and I both held back laughs, and gave him the remote.

We all hung out for about an hour more, watching the Bachelorette, and joked around. They left a little after that, and Troy and I just continued to lounge around. Troy was now sitting behind me, and our phones went off simultaneously. I got up to get mine out of my purse. It was my dad. "Hey, Papi," I greeted, walking back over to sit in between Troy's legs.

"Hey, sweetie, how is everything going?" he questioned. He sounds weird.

"Ah, fine," I answered. "Pretty great, actually. How about you?" I asked.

He cleared his throat. "Things are pretty great for me, too. You should know, I got transferred," he confessed.

I leaned back against Troy. "Cool. Do you live closer?" I wondered.

"Yeah," he answered. "I do. I got transferred to Phoenix," he admitted.

"Oh, Troy's mom lives there, you know," I informed him. He was quiet for as second. "Papi? You there?" I asked.

"Gabi, you should know something. I-"

"You're what?!" Troy practically shouted behind me. "Mom, are you serious?" he asked her.

I was confused. "Papi, what's going on?" I questioned him.

"Lucy and I, we're seeing each other," he told me. I didn't know what to say. "Gabi, it just happened. We started talking at your wedding, and we exchanged cell phone numbers. Then, I got transferred last week, and I- it just happened," he repeated.

I scratched my head. "That's weird, Papi," I stated the truth.

My dad laughed on his end. "Yeah, bebe, it is, but for the first time in a long time, I'm happy," he told me. I could tell. I could hear it in his voice. I also heard Troy fighting with his mom behind me. "I didn't think I could be this happy after your mother, mija, and you know it. She found Richard, and I'm happy she's happy, but I needed to find my own happiness. I tried, but it never worked. Then, I reconnected with Lucy," he informed me.

I nodded. "Well, Papi, it's weird, but if you're happy, I'm.. okay with it. Or, at least, I'll work on being okay with it," I replied.

I could see his smile. "Thank you, Gabriella. I love you," he told me.

"I love you, too, Papi. I'll call you later this week," I said, we hung up.

Troy got up, and started pacing in front of me. "Our parents are dating, Gabriella," he started to rant, running a hand through his hair.

"I know," I replied.

"What if they get married?" he questioned. "And, then they have a kid? What is it going to say? His brother and sister are married. Oh, God, we're incest," he said with a shudder. I started laughing. "Why are you laughing? Why are you not freaking out? That's how this marriage works. You freak out, I calm you down, I don't like this roles reversed thing," he commented.

I stopped laughing slowly. "Baby, they just started dating, I think it's a little early for marriage talk. I really don't think they'll be interested in having more kids, Lord knows my dad has enough," I soothed him, pulling him down to sit next to me on the couch. "We're not incest, either, we're not related in blood in any way," I assured him.

"I know," he groaned, running a hand through his hair again.

"It's not fun being the one freaking out, is it?" I questioned.

He shook his head. "Uh uh," he answered.

I chuckled. "I'm not freaking out entirely, because, Troy, my dad sounds happy," I told him. "I haven't heard him happy in a long time, and they deserve to be happy, don't they?"

Troy nodded now. "Yeah, they do," he agreed. "But, it's just- Brie, our parents are dating," he repeated.

I kissed his shoulder. "And, I can't think of a better woman for my dad," I commented to him.

He linked his hand with mine. "Thanks," he responded, leaning into me. "She did sound happy," he said. "Carlos is a helluva lot better than my dad. Like, a hundred times better," he went on.

"Yeah, think positive," I told him.

He kissed my temple. "What are you going to tell your mom?" he asked me.

"I'm not telling her anything. My dad wants to date your mom, fine. It's weird, I'm still a little freaked myself, and it will take a long ass while to get used to, but he is going to tell her," I answered.

"You're freaked? Good, I thought I was alone here," he mentioned.

I shook my head. "Uh uh, we're in this together."

-

"All the single ladies (All the single ladies)
All the single ladies (All the single ladies)
All the single ladies (All the single ladies)
All the single ladies
Now put your hands up

Wuh uh oh uh uh oh oh uh oh uh uh oh
Wuh uh oh uh uh oh oh uh oh uh uh oh"

On Friday night, I was dancing around the living room, singing that song, and doing the dance from the video. I had my iPod on. Today, I cleaned the very messy apartment. Truthfully, I had nothing else to do. I went for a long run this morning, more like afternoon, and then just felt like it after my shower. Troy worked until six, but then went over to Gavin's house with some of the guys for a while.

Or so I thought. I turned around during the dance, and found my darling husband, leaning against the wall, his arms crossed, and a smirk on his face. "Troy!" I called out, scared as hell, and stopped to catch my breath. He broke out laughing. "What the hell are you doing? Don't laugh, I could die right now from a heart attack," I ordered him.

"I don't know why you had your hands up, Brie, I put a ring on it," he joked while laughing.

"How long have you been there?" I questioned him, turning off my iPod, and tossed it onto the coffee table.

He shrugged. "A verse or two, you looked way too hott to stop," he told me, walking over to me. "Sorry I scared you, I just like listening to you sing," he apologized, wrapping his arms around me. "You got bored today, didn't you?" he asked.

I nodded. "Yeah," I answered, looking around at the now clean apartment. "How was your day?" I asked, looping my arms around his neck.

Troy shrugged. "Boring, I'm getting kind of sick of this hardly any fires," he replied. "I mean, it's a good thing, no fires. It means no lost lives, still standing homes, yada, yada, yada, but I miss the rush," he sighed.

"Miss it all you want, I am happy as hell you are bored at work," I told him, kissing him. "It helps me sleep better at night," I mumbled against his lips.

"You should stop worrying about me, and sleep well every night," he responded, kissing me again. "I love you too damn much to ever leave you, you should know that," he mentioned.

I rested my forehead against his. "I love you, too, babe, but I don't feel like getting into a fight over this," I said. "Because, in the end, I will still worry, and you will still be a firefighter," I reminded him.

"But, I-"

"Uh uh, don't start," I interrupted him, moving away from his grip.

Troy ran a hand over his face. "Brie," he started.

"No work talk unless something happened you feel like you have to talk about," I stated. "And, since nothing happened, you don't need to talk," I told him, and passed him on the way to the kitchen.

"You made dinner," he commented, walking in behind me. "And, you didn't burn it," he finished, striding over to the stove.

I nodded with a proud smile. "Yep," I agreed. "But, before we eat," I said, slapping his hand away from the Alfredo. "You should change, and call your mom," I told him.

He grabbed a noodle from the bowl, and ate it anyways. "Call my mom?" he questioned after chewing.

"Yeah, she called while I was cleaning. I had my iPod on, though, and didn't hear the phone ringing. I listened to the message she left, and she told you to call her tonight. She said tonight like four times, so you really should tonight," I replied. "She also said it didn't have to do with my dad, it was something else."

Troy grabbed another noodle. "Alright. I'll change, and call her," he said with a kiss to my cheek, and left the kitchen.

Fifteen minutes later, I was still waiting for Troy to come out, and dinner was getting cold. I slipped off my stool with a sigh, and made my way to the bedroom. He was sitting on the edge of the bed, now wearing blue jeans, and a white t-shirt. The phone was pressed against his ear, and he was hunched over with his hand in his hair. I got on my knees on the bed behind him, and ran my hands up and down his back, not sure what was going on. As soon as he felt me, he sat up. My hands moved to his shoulders, and began to massage him.

"Yeah, Mom, I know," he mumbled into the phone. "I don't know," he told her. He cleared his throat. "I will. Mom, Gabriella just walked in," he informed her. "Yeah, yeah, I will. Love you, too. Bye," he said, and hung up the phone.

"A twenty minute phone call, and you looked stressed out, somethings up," I put two and two together.

Troy let out a long breath. "Yeah," he sighed.

"Well, it doesn't sound good," I muttered, still kneading his shoulders. "What's wrong?" I asked.

"My dad," he breathed out, standing up.

I scooted to the edge of the bed. "What's happened to him. He's not, like, dead, is he?" I questioned.

Troy scoffed. "No," he answered, going into the bathroom.

"Can you give me something to work with here, please?" I called out to him, pulling a knee up to my chest.

He came out of the bathroom, and leaned against the wall. "He got married, and decided not to tell his own son," he spit out. "Or, his ex-wife," he added.

"Ouch," I commented.

"Oh, no, there's more. His wife, my new step mom, she's twenty four," he went on. "I'm almost twenty four, Gabriella," he reminded me. Yeah, I know. I'm almost twenty four. "And, just for icing on the cake, Tiffany, my step mom, she's pregnant," he informed me. I just blinked. "Seven months pregnant. It's a boy," he added. "And, they're going to name him Jack Junior," he finished.

"How did Lucy find this out?" I asked him, watching as he put on his black converse.

He finished tying one shoelace. "She ran into Tiffany at the grocery store," he answered. "Tiffany recognized her as Jack's ex-wife, apparently he showed her a picture or something. She thought my dad already told her the good news, of course, the lying ass didn't," he told me, tying the other shoe. Once he finished tying his shoes, he grabbed a black leather jacket.

"Where are you going?" I questioned, standing up.

He shrugged. "I don't know, I just need to get out of here, clear my head," he told me.

I followed him out of the bedroom. "Do you want me to come with you?" I asked, and he stopped at the door.

"No," he replied, turning to face me slightly. "I just want to get fucked up, and not care about anything right now, Gabriella," he admitted. "I love you, and don't worry about me. I'll bring Chad. Don't wait up," he told me before walking out the door.

I sighed, and leaned against the bar. "Love you, too," I mumbled to myself. I ate by myself, watched some t.v. by myself, and accidentally fell asleep on the couch by myself. I only woke up to a loud bang. I saw Chad and Tommy helping Troy through the door. Troy wasn't passed out, he was just really drunk. I saw the time, and found that is was a little passed three.

"Sorry, Ella," Chad apologized, letting Troy go. He stumbled into the bar, hardly able to walk straight.

"Hey!" Troy croaked, leaning against the bar so he wouldn't fall. "You.. you said we were going to your apartment," he commented with a slight slur. I got up, and rubbed my eyes. "You lied to me," he said to Chad, pointing at him. "I no like liars," he stated, trying to stride up to him.

Tommy interfered. "Dude, there is beer in the fridge," he informed him. "That's why we brought you here," he said.

"Why din't you jus' say so?" Troy asked, stumbling past me to go to the kitchen.

"He is a fucking hand full when he gets hammered," Tommy mentioned, letting out a breath.

I nodded, watching him try to find some way to open his beer bottle. "Thanks for getting him home, guys," I told him, running a hand through my hair.

"Any time, Ella," Chad replied. "You want some help getting him to bed?" he questioned. I shook my head. "You sure? He is a hand full right now, his dad did a number on him," he said.

"Yeah, I know, I can handle it," I assured him. "He told you about Jack?" I asked, glancing at him only to see him chugging the beer in his own little world.

Tommy nodded. "More like bitched about it all night," he corrected.

"Yep," Chad agreed. "He got into a fight at the bar, he's not really hurt. He's even good in a fight when he's drunk. We talked to Mickey, he won't do anything about it, he just said he doesn't want to see Troy like that again. I gotta get home, though, Taylor's waiting up," he told me with a hug.

Tommy hugged me, too. "Night, Gab," he said. I said thank you one more time, and they both left.

I sighed, and went into the kitchen. Troy was sitting on a stool now, swirling the half empty beer in his hand. He looked up at me for a second, then looked back down. I thought about the best way to get him to bed. I walked up to him, and ran my fingers through his hair. He flinched away. Troy's been drunk, and pissed before, he isn't the most personable guy when he is. "Troy, it's late, we should get to bed," I said in a soft voice, reaching for the beer bottle.

"Nooo," he defied like a little kid. "I'm not tired, I don' want to go to bed," he stated.

"It's almost three thirty in the morning," I reminded him, trying not to get too demanding, then he gets more pissed.

Troy took a swig of his beer. "So?" he questioned, getting up, and brushed past me.

"So, it's time for bed," I told him.

He turned to face me. "I don' want to go to fuckin' bed," he responded, gripping his beer bottle. "I'm sorry I'm not purrfect!" he exclaimed, swaying a little on his feet.

Perfect? Where did that come from? "Troy-"

"What the hell does he want from me?" he asked, his voice raising. "God dammit!" he shouted, throwing his half full beer across the room, and it broke all over the wall. He fell during his swing, and tumbled onto his ass, leaning against the cabinet.

"Troy!" I exclaimed, crouching down next to him. He was holding his head almost between his knees. I rested my hand on his, he didn't flinch away, which is a good sign.

He was quiet for a moment, and I know he didn't want me to say anything. I could just sense it. "I'm never going to be good enough for him," he finally spoke up, his voice low. His words seemed more clear, more understandable. "And, I just, I keep hanging on," he went on. "Maybe now he will get the son he always wanted."

My heart broke a little. No matter how much Troy tries to let Jack go, he never can. No matter how mean Jack can be to Troy unknowingly, Troy still wants his approval. "Hey," I whispered to get his attention, and he lifted his head. His eyes were a little bloodshot, and he looked.. small. He's never looked small to me. "Let's get you to bed," I suggested, taking one of his hands in mine. I can talk to him all I want tonight, he won't remember it tomorrow. I helped him up, brought him into the bedroom, and got him ready for bed. Just as he was about to drift off to sleep, and I was gently running my hands through his hair to lull him there, he jumped out of bed, and threw up in the toilet.

I cleaned him up, and brought him back to bed. I dressed myself in one of his shirts to sleep in. "Gabriella," he mumbled before falling asleep.

"Hm?" I replied softly.

"I'm sorry," he apologized quietly. Quickly after, his breathing evened out, and he started snoring lightly.

I continued to run my hands through his hair. "Me, too," I murmured, and kissed him on the cheek before falling asleep. It came aware to me before I fell asleep that he threw a bottle at the all, splattering beer and glass all around, but I decided to clean it up in the morning.

I woke up in the morning, around eleven, to Troy's snoring. His snoring, which doesn't happen every night, doesn't bother me. I actually like it, it's kind of soothing in a weird way. I was on my side, cuddled into Troy, and his arm was around me. I didn't want to move, knowing when I did, it would wake him up. I just stared at his face. He looked peaceful when he was sleeping, he always did. Suddenly, his snores stopped, and he pulled at his arm. I lifted my body off it, and he curled it under his pillow, getting up on his side. His free arm then fell over my hip, loosely holding me.

I brushed his hair out of his face, and kissed his forehead. He groaned a little, and pulled me tighter. "Why'd you wake me up?" he asked in an extremely low voice.

I scrunched up my face. "Sorry, I didn't think that'd wake you up," I replied, running my fingers down his cheek.

"Sh, Brie, use your inside voice," he mumbled, opening his eyes, only to shut them immediately after. I got up on my elbow to block the sunlight from him. He opened his eyes again after. "Mm, you have this halo thing goin' on right now, you know?" he questioned, stretching.

I smiled. "Thanks," I responded as he collapsed against the pillows. "How much do you remember about last night?" I wondered, rubbing his arm lightly.

"Ugh," he started to think. "I remember that my dad is a jackass, going to Mickey's, and asking for a bottle of whiskey," he breathed, rubbing his eyes.

"So, that means you don't remember getting pissy drunk, getting into a fight or two, I'm not exactly sure, Tommy and Chad bringing you home, throwing a bottle of beer at the wall, and falling onto your ass," I told him.

He sat up a little, squinting at the sun. "I threw a beer at the wall?" he asked, leaning closer to me. I nodded. "I didn't, like," he stopped, sitting up all the way. "I didn't hurt you or anything, right?" he questioned. I opened my mouth to answer. "Don't lie and say I didn't if I did," he demanded.

"You barely touched me," I assured him. "You got a little mad, threw a fit, along with the beer bottle, fell, then I brought you to bed," I explained.

"Promise?" he asked.

I sat up, too. "Troy, do you really think you would hurt me?" I questioned him. "'Cause I don't think you would," I answered myself.

"Of course I don't think I would, but I was drunk. Like, bad drunk last night," he replied.

I kissed his cheek. "I swear, you didn't hurt me last night," I told him. "There is Advil in the bathroom, you should shower, throw up, whatever, and come out for some hang over food," I instructed him.

He nodded. "Good idea," he agreed, getting out of bed with a sigh.

I put on a pair of comfy sweatpants before leaving the bedroom. I started the coffee while staring at the beer stain on the wall on the other side of the apartment. I didn't want to talk to Troy about his dad yet. I figured he at least deserved to throw up, and shower, basically feel better before I forced him to open up. I drank a cup and a half of coffee, and fed Minnie before starting to clean up Troy's mess. I washed the stain wall for about ten minutes, getting it mostly clean, then ran the vacuum to pick up the glass. I was happy Minnie was in the bedroom all night so she didn't get hurt on the glass or anything.

"Ah, loud," I heard Troy say from the kitchen. I turned off the vacuum. "I did that?" he asked, nodding to the slight indent on the wall. He could see it from there.

"Yep," I answered. "Mrs. F does love us, so maybe she won't be really pissed when she finds it," I hoped.

He poured a cup of coffee for himself. "I don't even remember a couple hours after I left you last night," he commented. "It all goes black," he said, walking over to me, and sat down on the arm of the recliner.

"Drinking does that," I confirmed with a nod, concluding all the glass was gone, and rolled up the cord to the bathroom.

"Sorry about that, by the way," Troy apologized, grabbing my hand, and pulled me in between his legs. "I probably shouldn't have left. I just had a lotta shit going through my head, and just wanted to not really think about it anymore," he tried to explain it to me. "I could have stayed here and talked about it with you, but truthfully, I wanted to get drunk and not care about anything. And, if you came, I wouldn't want to get embarrassingly drunk," he went on. "Make sense?" he asked.

I shrugged, looping my arms around his neck. "Whatever gets you through the night," I responded, and he rested his forehead on mine. "I'm gonna shower, then I'll make you some pancakes or something?" I suggested, playing with the hair at the base of his neck.

"No, you put up with me last night, and cleaned everything up. I'll make breakfast, you shower," he told me, kissing me gently.

"If you want, I'd just burn it anyways," I replied, and he smiled.

I took a nice, hot shower, and changed into a pair of ripped light jeans, and a dark gray, slightly see-through top (I put on a dark gray bra, so you couldn't see any of that), and a pair of dark gray knee-high boots. I didn't put the boots on yet, I just had them. I put on a few dark beaded bracelets, and left my hair curly, but brushed my bangs forward a little. I realized that it was almost one when I came out into the kitchen. Troy and I ate breakfast, and watched a little t.v. I didn't know why I was putting off talking to him. Talking between us is easy, and is isn't one of those guys who don't talk to their wife about serious things. He's sensitive, he's open, but I was still stalling. Maybe it is because this is such a sore subject for him.

"Troy?" I finally spoke up, looking up at him.

He tore his eyes away from Fast & Furious. "What?" he replied, squeezing my thigh gently. We're on the couch, with his feet on the coffee table, making them bent. I hooked one of my legs over his, and was leaning against his shoulder.

"We need to talk," I informed him, sitting up a little. He held my leg over his, not letting me move it.

"If we were dating, I'd be worried," he commented, turning down the volume.

I smiled softly with a shake of my head. "It's nothing like the 'we need to talk' talk. I just, need to talk to you about some stuff you said last night," I told him.

"Brie, I was drunk," he reminded me. "If I was a dick, I'm sorry," he quickly apologized.

I shook my head again. "It's nothing like that, will you stop thinking you were a psychopathic asshole last night, please?" I wondered.

"That depends on what you are about to say," he responded, sitting up a little.

"You just said some stuff. Stuff that I know wasn't just drunk talk, it was really you. It was really what you are feeling about this Jack thing," I responded.

"I don't want to talk about that," Troy instantly told me.

I rested my hand on his. "You may not want to, but we have to talk about it, Troy. It's bothering you, hell, it's bothering me. It's not right what he did, and-"

"I don't want to talk about this, Gabriella," he cut me off, letting his feet fall to the floor, making my leg leave his lap.

"But, you have to, Troy," I repeated. "It's okay that Jack still gets under your skin, it doesn't mean that you are any less or a person or anything like that," I assured him.

He stood up. "Will you just stop?" he asked, but it sounded more like a command.

"No," I answered easily enough, standing up. "Do you even know what you said last night?" I questioned, but he didn't answer. "You don't remember. You were talking about not being good enough for him, and about how now he can get the son he always wanted," I informed him.

"Gabriella, I was drunk," he stated, taking our plates over to the bar.

"I know there was truth in it, Troy, it's how you feel," I replied. "You're better than him, don't you see that?" I asked as he stepped into his shoes. No, he's not leaving, not again. "You're not going anywhere."

Troy nodded. "Yeah, I am, because I don't want to talk about this," he responded, opening the front door.

I followed after him. "I thought running away was my thing!" I called after him.

"Well, you rubbed off on me," he shouted back, stepping into the elevator.

I let out a loud noise of annoyance, and went back into the apartment, slamming the door behind me. In a rash decision, I grabbed my purse, and pulled on my boots. "I'm not going to wait here for you to come back," I mumbled to myself, picking up my car keys.

I drove to my mom's, knowing at least one of my sister's were there. I slammed that door when I walked in, too. I was happy that none of my nieces or nephews ran up to greet me. As sad as it sounds, I wasn't in the mood. I found Belle, Ben, AJ, and Alex in the living room. I didn't bother to say hello, and practically sat on AJ in a signal for him to move.

"Yeah, Gab, I can move over, thanks for asking," he muttered grumpily.

I turned to him, about to start yelling. He's not Troy, but he'll do. A hand covered my mouth before I could start. "AJ, I wouldn't speak right now. I would know the face on her anywhere. Husband trouble," Belle commented.

"Oh," Ben said with a shudder. "Newlywed husband trouble, that's a bitch," he mentioned.

"Come here, little sister," Belle urged, standing up, and pulled me with her. "We need to have a little talk," she said, dragging me to the kitchen.

She sat me down. "Where are the kids? You have, like, a million of them," I reminded her.

"Mami took them out for the day. Something about bonding," she replied, sitting down in front of me. "Now, tell your older sissy what happened," she insisted.

I groaned, a frown forming on my face. "I can't tell you specifics, because it's a personal thing for him, but it has to do with his dad," I started.

"He has dad issues, right?" she asked.

I nodded. "Big time. And, his mom called yesterday, and told him something about his dad. Something he didn't know, or was expecting, and something he really doesn't like. It hurts him, what Jack did, and so last night, he went and got drunk. It pissed me off a little, but I understood why he wanted to drink, and think it over, kinda," I went on, and she nodded. "But, when Chad and Tommy brought him home last night, he said something. I knew he was being honest when he said it. And, when I brought it up this afternoon, he got mad. He said he didn't want to talk about it. After a little spat, he just left," I finished.

"If it pisses him off this much, you two have to talk about it," Belle stated the obvious. "He might just not be ready to face it, because if you two talk about it, and go through it all, it will make it more of a reality," she told me.

I shrugged. "Last night, he was talking about not being good enough, and-" I stopped. I can't really tell her more than that.

"If that's how he feels, he probably doesn't want to admit that to you. He didn't realize he said that last night, and when he did, he didn't like that he did. He doesn't want you to see him like that, even though it's how he sees himself," she informed me.

"I don't see him like that," I assured her.

"I know you don't, and he most likely knows that, but he still needs to hear it," she told me. You gotta love sisters, ya know.

I stayed at my mom's a little more, not wanting to get home before Troy. I went home around three thirty, and Minnie came running as soon as she knew it was me. "Troy! You home?" I asked the empty apartment. I picked up Minnie, and didn't hear an answer. "Guess that's a no," I mumbled, putting Minnie down when she squirmed in my arms. I took off my boots, and grabbed my own beer from the fridge before going into the bedroom. I went out to the balcony, and layed down on one of the chairs. It wasn't too sunny today. It was cloudy, but nice, and the clouds were blocking the sun. I drank the beer over an hour period, and didn't really feel like getting another. I was slightly buzzed, and just sat there, thinking.

I thought about Troy, and Jack, and how Troy's life is different than Jack wanted it to be. Jack wanted him to be a pro basketball player, but instead he became a firefighter, something I knew Jack's dad wanted for his own son. Jack became a high school basketball coach, and got married right out of high school, though. I mulling this over in my head, and didn't hear footsteps in the apartment.

"Taking a page out of my book?" I heard, and turned a little to see Troy leaning against the door frame. He gestured to the beer bottle.

I shrugged. "I only had one, and didn't feel like getting up for another. Plus, if I were to get drunk, I would be whiny, mopey drunk, which isn't fun for me, or anyone around me," I responded, analyzing it in my head. "Where'd you go?" I asked him, sitting up a little.

He pushed off the door frame, and closed the door behind him before coming to sit in front of me. "No where, really," he answered, playing with his keys. "I drove for a while, ran out of gas, got gas, went to the park to shoot around, and ended up at our spot," he told me, glancing at me. "Sorry I left, I know I hate it when you do it. Or, at least, did it," he apologized.

"It's okay," I replied, turning to sit next to him, and looped an arm through his.

"No, it's not," he corrected, looking over at me. "I shouldn't have tried to shut you out, and go through this myself. I know how you feel, it sucks. You're my wife now, and even if you weren't, I still should have included you. You are my wife now, though, so this is your family shit, too," he told me.

"He still gets to you," I stated the obvious.

Troy nodded, peering out over the balcony. "Yeah, he does," he agreed, letting out a breath. "And, I hate it. I keep trying to let him go, and after everything he's done to me, it should be easy, I should want to, and part of me does, but I can't," he informed me. "You know, I hoped he would show up at our wedding," he confessed, looking into my eyes. "Even after what he said, part of me still hoped he would show up. He would stand in the back to see his only son get married, I guess I'm not his only son anymore, huh?"

"It's okay that you still want his approval, Troy," I told him, and he shrugged.

"Is it?" he questioned. "After everything he's done, pushed me, pressured me, hurt me, he doesn't like what I do, what I've done, he didn't even like that I married you, which is the best thing I've ever done," he listed off.

"It's not right that he treats you the way he does," I replied, running a hand up his back. "But I've been thinking, and maybe the reason why does the things he does, is because he's jealous of you," I guessed.

Troy scoffed. "Jealous of me? Why would he be jealous of me?" he asked.

"Think about it, you're a firefighter, something all Bolton men have been besides your dad, right?" I wondered, and Troy nodded. "Maybe your dad was too scared to become one or something. And, he probably always wanted to go pro, but knew he wasn't good enough, which is one of the reasons he became a basketball coach. He also knows that you're better at basketball than he would ever be, and I believe if you had wanted to, you could have gone pro. But, you didn't, and he resents you for that. He probably would have resented you if you had gone pro. You went to Duke, a great school, a school he wanted to go to, but couldn't-"

"Because he married my mom, and got pregnant," he cut me off.

"You don't know that," I told him. He gave me a look. "Okay, yes, he married your mom and got her pregnant, but he probably didn't even get in to Duke. You waited to get married, and you're happily married. I believe him and your mom were happy for a while, but you've told me yourself it all went to hell after her miscarriage," I reminded him. "Even though you didn't go pro, maybe you have the life he was supposed to have," I finished.

He was quiet for a minute. "Maybe," he muttered, linking my free hand together with his. "Even if he does believe that, would it kill him to try with me?" he asked. "I get he has a wife now, kid on the way, whatever, but shouldn't he want a relationship with me?" he questioned. "Or, maybe I'm just not good enough for him because I didn't go pro-"

"Those were his dreams for you, Troy, not yours," I interrupted. "Don't ever think you're not good enough for him, because he's not good enough for you," I told him. "You grew up, you made your own choices based on what you wanted. You wanted to become a firefighter, correct?" I asked.

Troy nodded. "Yeah, I did. I love what I do," he confirmed.

"Do you regret not becoming a pro basketball player?" I questioned.

"No," he told me. "That lifestyle just wasn't for me. I could barely handle college ball with all the pressures," he explained.

"And, you're happy with your life, right?" I wondered.

He raised an eyebrow at me. "That better have been a rhetorical question," he responded.

I smiled. "I'll take that as a yes. The life you want, and the life he wanted for you are two different things, remember that," I told him. "Now, about your little brother-"

"I have no fucking clue on how to handle that one," Troy stated. "God, my dad married someone practically the same age as me, and they are having a baby together," he said with a slight shudder. "Do you realize that at the time I was being born, so was my step mom?" he questioned. "At least Richard is only about two years younger than your mom. My dad is eighteen years older than her. He's forty one, which isn't exactly too old these days to be having a baby, but with a twenty four year old?"

"I just hope he doesn't do the same thing to him that he did to you," I spoke up.

Troy nodded. "Me, too. I hope he lets him make his own dreams instead of forcing his on him, like he did me," he commented.

"Do you want to be in his life? Your little brother's?" I questioned him.

He shrugged. "I don't really know. Do I even have a right to? He's gonna be my half brother," he reminded me.

"He's still your brother," I told him. "If you want to be in his life, or at least want him know who you are, you can, or at least, you can try to," I responded.

"It's just that all this shit is happening right when we're trying to get a house, and have a baby, and I just found out my mom is dating your dad," he listed off. "It's a lot to wrap my mind around right now," he mumbled.

I kissed his temple. "Do you want to wait?" I wondered. "Maybe not on getting a house, because I do want to get out of this apartment, no matter how good it has been to us, but on the having a baby thing," I added.

"No, I don't want to wait," he answered. "My dad is apparently carrying on with his life, our parents may be dating, but at least they are happy, we shouldn't hold back on what we want to do because of them," he went on. "Do you want to wait or something?" he asked.

I hesitated for a second before shaking my head. "No, I still want to have a baby with you. I want to have five with you," I assured him.

Troy leaned forward and kissed me. "I don't know what I'd do without you," he said against my lips.

"Same here," I replied, kissing him again.

I should have told him right then I was having second thoughts about having a baby right now. We are always honest with each other, and I shouldn't try to get through something by myself because I know he hates it. I hate when I do it, too. But, old habits die hard. Plus, it wasn't even about having second thoughts, it was about my being able to conceive. We've been back together for more than a year, and we have forgotten to use a condom more than half the times we've made love. I've never missed a period, I've never even been a couple days late with a pregnancy scare. I do get that I am on good birth control, and it could just be doing it's job, but I'm on the same pill I was using in high school, and I got pregnant then. I did get a fertility test after my miscarriage, and my doctor said I should have no problem, but what if somethings changed since then? What if I can't give him the five babies we both want so much? What if I can't even give him one? What would that do to us?

I had made up my mind when I went off the pill to not bring it up until I get my period next month, if I get my period next month.

I actually really like this chapter. I was going to leave this a cliff hanger, and I guess, in a way, I am, but there will be a BIG cliff hanger coming up in a few chapters, and I don't want to be mean yet.

I know this is out fast, which some of you are probably happy about, but I wanted to wait to post it. I couldn't though, and wanted you all to read it. I just got the writing bug and couldn't stop. If you think they took their mom/papi relationship a little too easily, I like it this way. They are still a little freaked, but realized that they are happy together. There will be more with that later.

I do have this off the ground, and going, so DD will be up soon. My beta finally sent a part back to me, so I can go on. It will be out in about a week.

Up next: House things, and some ground work for a storyline I want to do.

REVIEW PLEASE!!!

-- Kayleigh