2018

Gabriella was happy to be back home in Albuquerque for the holidays. She was loving the New York City lifestyle that she and Troy were developing – even though they lived in Queens, they were both working in Manhattan, and life was busy but great. However the hustle and bustle was sometimes overwhelming; so it was nice to be somewhere with a calmer pace.

She was in the kitchen of her mother's new home, baking cookies on Christmas Eve. Early in 2018, Maria Montez had met a lovely man named Carlos. Gabriella had been shocked at first – Maria had dated casually over the years but never become serious with a man. Six months after meeting they moved in together. Maria had pointed out that they weren't getting any younger and she wanted to enjoy her more 'senior' years – to which Gabriella would roll her eyes, as her mother had barely a handful of grey hairs.

Gabriella and Troy were spending Christmas Eve with Maria, Carlos, Maria's sister Gloria and the family, as well as Carlos's daughter Ivanna, her husband and their kids. It was a full household, but it was always nice around the holidays. Gabriella, Maria and Ivanna were all doing some baking in the kitchen, in a very typical male/female divide, with the men taking charge of the kids.

"Mija, are you okay? You don't look well?" Maria was concerned about Gabriella, who had been rubbing her temples.

"I'm fine," Gabriella said dismissively. "Just cramps. Time of the month, you know. And I have a bit of a headache, but I suspect it's just the altitude."

"You don't normally get symptoms like these though, do you?" Maria asked with a furrowed eyebrow.

Gabriella shrugged. "No, but I'm also not eighteen any more! Things change as you get older, I suppose."

"That's very true," Ivanna agreed, who was just six years older than Gabriella. "When I was just a couple of years older than you, mine got a whole lot heavier."

"Oh I... mine isn't heavy. It's barely here at all!" Gabriella shrugged. "One of life's mysteries. It's okay, I'm sure the Motrin will kick in soon."

The evening went smoothly, without major catastrophe. Troy was enjoying being around the extended family, who had a blend of traditions with Hispanic they liked to observe for the holidays, including a pinata for the children. They were going to Midnight Mass, which was something Troy had done only a couple of times with Gabriella's family. Although neither Gabriella or Maria were very religious, Gabriella's father, Diego, had been raised strictly Catholic, and Carlos's side of the new blended family also observed the religious side of the holiday.

By the end of the night, Gabriella felt completely exhausted, and Troy had to practically carry her into the room that had been dubbed as theirs in Maria and Carlos's new home.

…

Gabriella awoke to squeals outside the room, and groaned.

"What's up with the noisy kids?" she muttered.

"Santa came," Troy responded sleepily from beside her.

She sat up, and grimaced, feeling a bit of a churn in her stomach. They'd eaten very late, finishing only an hour before leaving for Mass, and she felt that eating that late really didn't agree with her.

"I'm going to go shower quickly," she said, and then gave him a look before he could interject. "Alone. Co-ed bathing not appropriate in parents house!"

"On the contrary. There are nine people who all need to shower and bathe this morning, I think we should be conserving water," Troy shot back, however his suggestion was knocked down through Gabriella's picking up her pillow and shoving it in his face.

Christmas morning was all centred around the kids, who ranged between the ages of two and seven – all old enough to understand Santa and make a hell of a lot of mess with torn up wrapping paper scattered all around the living room. Gabriella was watching the look of delight on her mom's face, watching the kids who were kind of like her step-grandchildren run around.

"How much longer until we get another one of these kids to run around the room?" Carlos asked, his question clearly not directed at Ivanna – who had made it clear that she and Sebastian were stopping at three kids.

Troy laughed. "Running around? Gotta be Christmas 2020 at the earliest," he pointed out with a wink.

After they'd all finished opening the presents, a breakfast feast was cooked up – most of the preparation done earlier. Gabriella picked through breakfast, not feeling her appetite, but smiled watching Troy shovel down pancakes with loads of toppings. Some things would never change over the years, and his healthy appetite and yet amazing metabolism was one of them. Gabriella quietly excused herself, so much noise occurring in the room that hardly anyone noticed.

Except one.

Gabriella was kneeling by the toilet bowl, feeling a churn and a wave of nausea and waiting for the sickness to follow, willing it to happen instead of just hanging around. Finally it hit, just as a knock came at the door.

"Mija?" Maria called.

It took a few moments for Gabriella to be able to respond.

"Just a minute," she managed, before once again leaning over the bowl.

She took a few deep breaths before flushing the toilet and opening the door. Maria entered, and closed the door behind her.

"Sit," she instructed, pointing at the toilet. Gabriella pulled down the lid before sitting gingerly, Maria grabbing a wash cloth from beneath the sink to run under the water, handing it to Gabriella, who gratefully accepted the cool towel.

"I thought that fish tasted funny yesterday for lunch," Gabriella remarked.

Maria shook her head. "Gabriella... sweetheart... have you considered the idea that maybe the sickness you're experiencing has nothing to do with your period and nothing to do with the fish?"

Gabriella looked up, genuinely confused. "Huh?"

"Well. I'm wondering... whether perhaps you... may be pregnant?" Maria suggested.

Gabriella sighed. "Mom, I know you want this, and I know you keep saying that we're not getting younger, but..."

"This is nothing to do with that," Maria insisted. "I'm just objectively thinking about your symptoms."

"I take The Pill, religiously. Never miss it," Gabriella insisted.

"It's not 100% effective."

Gabriella sat stoic, staring at an empty spot on the wall, considering this. The longer she thought, the more that the symptoms were adding up. She thought back, frantically thinking about her pill packet – she knew she hadn't missed a day. And as she thought back, suddenly, a flash of realisation hit her.

"Oh, God..." Gabriella breathed, as she realised something. "I was taking antibiotics..."

Maria winced. "And while you were taking them, you and Troy..."

"Yes."

"And he didn't use a..."

"No."

"That would decrease that effectiveness statistic further."

"Oh, God..." Gabriella breathed again, echoing her reaction.

"Would it be terrible? I mean, you and Troy do want a family, don't you?"

"It's not... it wouldn't be terrible. It's a little sooner than we'd planned. But yes, we do, we've talked about it."

"Sometimes the powers that be know better than you do about when the timing is right," Maria pointed out.

"You could be wrong, you know."

"I could be. I could also be right."

"I need to know. Right now." Gabriella looked up, somewhat frantically.

Maria thought a moment. "We do need more milk, we went through much more than planned. Why don't you come with me to Walgreens? If you're feeling okay?"

Gabriella nodded. "Yes. I'll just brush my teeth. And then I'll ask Troy to go ahead to his parents house and you can drop me there?"

Forty minutes later, Maria was driving to Lucille's house, while Gabriella sat in the car, clutching onto her paper bag filled with five different pregnancy tests.

"Do I tell Troy before I take it, or after?" she whispered.

"That depends on whether you want him with you if you turn it over and it's positive."

Gabriella closed her eyes, trying to imagine the scenario in her mind, picturing it playing out in different ways. The answer was clear to her.

...

Despite the chilly December weather, when she arrived at the Bolton's, it didn't surprise Gabriella to find Troy in the backyard with his father, a lazy game of one on one taking place. Troy was still cocky when he managed to out play his father, who despite having aged rather well, was a little slower than he had been ten years earlier. Troy, on the other hand, had piled on muscle and whereas he was out of practice, he wasn't out of shape.

"Yessss, the crowd goes wild!" Troy whooped.

Gabriella applauded politely, and both men looked up. Troy grinned, and Gabriella returned his smile. She loved how when he saw her, he still lit up with a smile.

"You okay?" he asked, taking a few steps toward her.

She nodded. "Can I borrow you, please?"

"Sure." He glanced back at Jack and tossed the basketball his way. "To be continued."

She trailed into the house, and Troy followed her as she went into his bedroom – or rather now, their bedroom, when they were in Albuquerque and staying at the Bolton's. She sat down on the bed, the brown paper bag lying there, which she'd dropped off on her way through the house.

"What's this? Another present?" Troy joked.

She shook her head. "I have to tell you something, and I'm not quite sure how, so I'm just going to say it."

"Okay..." Troy said slowly.

"Remember about... a month and a half ago... when I had that infection?"

"Yeah?"

"I was taking antibiotics."

"Yeah, I remember." Troy furrowed his brow. "Are you okay? Are you sick? Did the infection not go away? Do you want to go to the hospital?"

She shook her head and took a breath. "The last few days I've been feeling a bit off. Sore back, headache, sore breasts, and I started to spot a little – I thought I was just getting my period. But then, this morning, I woke up feeling a bit nauseated... I know, I didn't say anything, but I didn't want to make a big deal. And then, it got a bit worse during breakfast, and I excused myself to go to the bathroom... and I was sick."

"I'm confused. You just said you're fine."

Gabriella reached into the brown paper bag, and pulled out a plastic wrapped pregnancy test. "I think I'm pregnant. But... I don't know for sure yet."

She waited for Troy's reaction. It was very similar to her own – a facial expression a bit blank as he processed, then of shock.

"What?" he repeated.

Suddenly, she had a sinking feeling. "Would it be a bad thing if I was?" Gabriella whispered.

"No!" Troy exclaimed. "Oh my God, babe, no! That would be amazing!"

"I just... I know we want a family but it's a little earlier than we'd talked about. And I feel bad because this is my fault, I should've known better."

"What do you mean, you should've known better?"

"The antibiotics, Troy. We made love right at the end, when I felt fine, but was finishing the course of antibiotics. They reduce the effectiveness of The Pill."

Troy shook his head. "Back when we were eighteen and had this really scary serious conversation about what we'd do if this happened, I told you we're in it together. We're in it together, that's never changed. We decided together when to stop using two forms of contraception. Just because you're the one physically taking it, doesn't mean you're the only one responsible for it."

Gabriella felt herself becoming a little teary. "If I'm pregnant, this baby is the luckiest baby in the world to have you as a daddy."

"Likewise for you."

She took a deep breath. "I need to take the test."

He picked up the test again, examining it. "How accurate are these things?"

Gabriella held up the brown paper bag. "I got a few others."

Troy blinked, opening the bag and staring at the different brands in fascination. "I normally walk past this section of the pharmacy quickly. This is crazy!" He randomly picked up a different brand and thrust it out to her. "Do two."

She nodded, in agreement. He did a quick check outside of his bedroom door, making sure there were no immediately lurking parents. Maria had come in to say Merry Christmas to Jack and Lucille – at least, that's what she'd said she was doing, but Gabriella knew she was going to stall and wait to find out – and they shuffled down to the bathroom together.

"Pee, then let me in," he said urgently.

The two minutes waiting for her felt like ten minutes. The door creaked open, and Troy slipped inside. There were the two tests lying face down on the bench. For a full thirty seconds, they stood, staring at them.

"If it's negative..." Troy said slowly. "Do you... do you think maybe... maybe we are ready?"

Gabriella looked sharply at him. "Huh?"

"Babe... I think I want it to be positive," he said slowly. "I mean... it's not just that I'd be okay. I think I want it. Do you want it?"

She bit her lower lip, then nodded, slowly. "This morning, with Ivanna's kids... it was really quite lovely. I just... we keep talking about waiting for the right time. When is that gonna be? I'm always going to want a career. Whether we wait another year or two or not, it's still going to be an issue. And money... well, money is whatever. We're doing okay. We can make it work."

"We can. We really can."

Their foreheads leaned together, lips meeting for a soft kiss, which was interrupted by Gabriella's cell phone beeping with the timer she'd put up. She clutched his hand. "Ready?"

He nodded. "Yes. I'm ready."

He was ready in every way – ready to see the result, and ready to deal with the result.

She flipped the first test over. "Two lines..." she whispered.

"That's a positive..."

She flipped over the second stick. "A cross..."

"Also positive."

"Wow," she breathed.

Troy blinked, staring at the two sticks lying on the bathroom counter. "Oh my God," he breathed, at first quietly, but then it hit him. They were having a baby. "Oh my God!" he exclaimed. "Oh my God!"

They turned to each other, collapsing into an embrace.

"I've never been so terrified and happy at the same time in my life," she murmured by his ear.

"Um... is everything okay in there?" Jack's dubious tone came through the door.

Gabriella stifled a giggle, occurring to her that Troy's joyous exclamations could have been misinterpreted.

"Uh, yeah, just a minute," Troy called back, somewhat feebly. He then turned to Gabriella. "Do we tell them? Aren't you meant to like, wait until a few months or something?"

"Until the end of the first trimester. But that's to tell, like, everyone. My mom is the one who suspected and took me to Walgreens! She's been out there stalling so she could find out! I have to tell her!"

"Let's just do it then. Merry Christmas for all, you know? We can't hide in the bathroom all day," he pointed out.

They emerged from the bathroom hand in hand, and rounded the corner into the living room, finding Jack and Lucille Bolton looking a little perplexed, and Maria Montez, looking anxiously.

"Um... sorry this is kind of abrupt, but we have news," Troy announced.

Maria knew straight away, tears filling in her eyes, but she held her breath, not wanting to spoil the moment of discovery for Lucille and Jack.

Troy glanced down at Gabriella and nodded, indicating she should tell them. She cleared her throat. "Um... well... we wanted to let you know that in 2019, we'll have another Bolton here with us for Christmas."

Lucille gasped. "You mean..."

"Gabriella is pregnant. We're having a baby."

The room fell silent for a moment, and Gabriella added, "Merry Christmas!"