A/N: Well, we hope you like it. HSMandChelseaFCfan is going to start working on chapter 27 ASAP!!! Ummm...for UK people, Hannah Montana: the movie, the DVD comes out on 7th Sept. and Nicholas Sparks' book 'The Last Song' (the one turning into a movie with Miley Cyrus) is out 10th Sept.

Don't own HSM x

Troy looked over at his fiancée and sighed as he pulled the key out of the ignition. He sighed softly and reached over to touch her hair. She looked so adorable. She was curled up on the passenger seat, her back resting against the door so she was facing him. She was wearing a pair of denim Capri pants, one of his shirts and his jacket. So she wouldn't get too warm on the journey back to Albuquerque, he'd had the air conditioning on full. He'd been practically shivering but he didn't care. Her hair was pulled back in a messy ponytail and she looked so gorgeous, as always. She was sleeping.

They'd left Stanford early on the Saturday morning, hoping to get back to Albuquerque early evening and still spend some time with their friends and family. And, as predicted by the genius that was his fiancée, they had arrived at the Montez household just after six in the evening. He knew that everyone was there, he could see the crowd through the window and he could practically hear the chatter and excitement of everyone.

His handed continued to stroke her hair but she made no reaction but twisting to him so he was stroking her cheek instead. He knew everyone would be firing questions at Gabriella and knew that, Carl and Greg especially, her family would be over the moon to have her back. He hoped that their families would be accepting of the new engagement. He supposed that they'd have to be; everyone had seen the damage the split up had caused to both Troy and Gabriella and everyone else had suffered because of it.

He didn't know how long it would be until the wedding but knew that it wouldn't be for at least a year. He knew how much Gabriella's college career meant to her and he didn't want her to give that up for a wedding that would, inevitably, happen at some point. If he had it his way, they'd start planning immediately so they could be married as soon as possible. He wanted to be able to introduce her as 'My wife, Gabriella' not his fiancée.

He had no doubt that Gabriella was right: the engagement ring would certainly put off a few guys. However, she was still remarkably beautiful and knew that other guys thought the same. He didn't want her to find someone better. He knew it wouldn't be that difficult. He wasn't all that smart; he got way too jealous when other guys looked at her and he was selfish when it came to her. But, he had faith in her and knew she wouldn't ever be unfaithful and knew how much she loved him.

The rest of the week at Stanford University had been pretty much the same as the first weekend. Gabriella had gone through the rest of her classes with Troy's arm around her. They hadn't made love quite as much as the first few days because Troy knew that it was having an effect on Gabriella, making her truly tired. However, they had made love at least once everyday. As Gabriella was returning to Stanford in September, there wasn't any need to bring all of her belongings back to Albuquerque.

Troy looked over at the backseat, checking up on Blitzen and Daisy who had woken up at the halt of the truck. Troy and Gabriella's bags were crammed into the foot well of the backseat as the two dogs took up the whole of the seat. They had been so well behaved for the entire week, Troy wondered why he'd never thought of finding Blitzen a mate. Daisy kept him so occupied, he barely bothered Troy at all.

He sighed as he turned back to Gabriella, his hand still making soothing motions on her cheek. He unfastened his seatbelt. He needed to wake her up. He knew that everyone would be getting impatient. He dropped his hand from her cheek and chuckled when she whimpered to herself. He leaned over to her and began to wake her up in the gentlest way he could: he began placing gentle kisses along her exposed neck and collarbone. He nibbled gently on her skin as he rested one hand on her waist and the other on the door of the truck, caging her in.

She groaned and slowly wrapped her arms around him, pulling him closer to her. "Troy, no marks, please," she murmured tiredly.

Troy lifted his head from her neck and smiled down at her as her eyes fluttered open. "Hello Sleeping Beauty."

She giggled tiredly. "Sorry. I can't help it. I fall asleep on long journeys in cars. How did this thing make it back to Albuquerque?"

"Stop referring to her as a thing!" Troy protested. He shrugged. "I have no idea."

She smiled up at him. "You could've let me sleep."

He shook his head. "I know your father and he'll want to see his princess."

She nodded and pulled him down for a kiss. "I love you," she muttered into his mouth.

He smiled against her lips. "I love you, too," he muttered as the hand that was resting on her waist moved beneath his shirt she was wearing to gently cup her breast.

She suddenly pulled back. "Troy!" she exclaimed in shock.

He smirked as he removed his hand. "What?" he murmured as he leaned forward to press his lips softly to the spot just behind her ear, knowing it drove her wild.

She gasped in pleasure. "Troy, please. I'm tired and I don't want to do stuff in the cab of your truck."

He pulled back and looked at her thoughtfully. "If my truck was parked in a deserted parking lot without Blitzen and Daisy and your parents' house about twenty yards away, would you reconsider?"

She smiled flirtatiously up at him. "Of course I would. When have we managed to be alone without something happening?"

He chuckled. "Well, I'll hold you to that. You okay?"

She nodded. "Yeah." She leaned up slightly to look over Troy's shoulder. "Daisy, you okay, Baby?"

Daisy sat up and barked quietly.

Gabriella smiled in satisfaction and turned to Troy. "I guess we should go in."

"I'm going to miss this, you know," he murmured as he brushed some hair from her forehead.

She frowned and crinkled her nose. "Miss what?"

"This. Being together. Just us. You know? Living together." He kept his eyes locked on hers as he moved his hand to her cheek. "Do you want to move in with me?"

"What?" Gabriella asked in surprise. "How? I mean, you live with your parents."

"I know. But, it's the closest thing we've got. I mean, we can ask. We'll set up rules, agree to their rules. It's simple. I mean, we're getting married. I'm sorry. I'll stop rambling now." He looked away from her.

She reached up to brush his bangs away from his eyes, gaining his attention. "Troy, stop it. I'd love to live with you. I truly would. You know I would. But, do you think my dad is going to let me live in the Bolton household after spending three weeks in California? I think not."

Troy sighed. "I guess that's understandable. I spent three weeks away from you and it was torture. And my parents would kill me if I didn't spend time with them. Oh well. I'll still see you everyday. If you think I'm going a day without you, you've got another thing coming, Missy." He poked her stomach.

She giggled. "Well, good. I don't want to go a day without you, either."

"Come on, let's go." He pressed a kiss to her lips.

"Allons-y," Gabriella murmured.

Troy climbed out of the truck and then jumped over the bed of the truck to open Gabriella's door. "What?"

"It's French," she explained. "The Doctor says it a lot." She allowed him to wrap his arms around her waist and help her to climb down.

"Doctor who?" he muttered.

"That's it!" she cried when she was on the ground, her hands gripping his shoulders.

He shut her door. "What's it?"

"Doctor Who. The tenth doctor played by David Tennant. He says allons-y. It's French for 'let's go'. I know, I know, I'm a nerd for liking an English sci-fi series but…" She looked at the ground in embarrassment.

He kissed her forehead, wrapping his arms tighter around her. "Yeah…" He chuckled when she looked up in shock. "As long as you're my nerd."

She grinned up at him and wrapped her arms tighter around his neck. "But, of course."

He tightened his arms around her and spun her around. He set her on the floor and winked at her. "Good." He let go of her and pulled the back door open to allow Blitzen and Daisy to jump down.

Daisy immediately jumped up at Gabriella and the young woman knelt down to fuss her. "I know, Baby. It was a long trip, wasn't it? I know. Hey, you want to see Carl? He's inside. Come on. Let's go." She glanced up at Troy. "Allons-y."

He rolled his eyes as he locked his truck. "We'll get our bags later. How many languages do you speak?"

"Well," Gabriella started as she stood up, "English, obviously, and Spanish and French. Now come on. I want to see everybody and Shar will be begging me for details."

"Details?" Troy asked quietly.

She flushed a pink and licked her lips. "Not that kind of details. That's between you and me. But, she did guess that I thought you were amazing."

"Do you mean amazing or…amazing?" he asked.

"Amazing," she murmured.

He grasped her hands and he kissed her knuckles. "The feeling's mutual. The last week has been…heavenly."

She blushed and tugged on his hand. "Come on." She whistled and Blitzen and Daisy followed them towards the door. She pushed the door open and ushered the dogs in before she pulled Troy into her house. She shut the door quietly and inhaled deeply. It smelt like home.

"Gabriella? Troy?" Maria called.

Gabriella released Troy's hand and ran through the hall towards the lounge. "Mama," she cried as she hugged Maria tightly.

"Mi hija," Maria whispered as she returned her daughter's embrace. "Oh, Gabi, I've missed you."

"I missed you, too."

"Gabi," she said sternly as she pulled back, "you're thinner. Have you been eating?"

Gabriella shuffled her feet, looking like a naughty child. "Sorry, Mama. I just…It was only the first two weeks. I felt better when Troy came. He's been making sure I eat. I just didn't see the point. I'm sorry. I'm eating now."

"Do you want something to eat now? Are you hungry? I have some lasagne for you," she offered.

Gabriella's face lit up. "Really? I'd love some. Yes please." Maria excused herself and moved into the kitchen.

Gabriella was suddenly pulled into a bone crushing hug by Sharpay. "I'm so glad you're back," she squealed excitedly.

Gabriella patted the blonde's back. "I missed you, too, Shar," she muttered, "but, I think Troy would like me to breathe."

Sharpay released the smaller girl and grinned. "Zeke and Carl are driving me crazy. Anyway, how was Stanford?"

"That depends if you mean Stanford," she paused to draw Sharpay closer, "or Stanford." She giggled with Sharpay but was, once again, brought into another hug. She hugged each of her friend's, even Troy's, and then each of her brothers before she reached Carl who was sat on an armchair, stroking Daisy's fur.

He lifted his head and smiled up at her. "Hey, Bells. You okay?"

She shrugged. "Oh, you know, same ol', same ol'. Went to Stanford, get visited by my entire family's worst enemy, proclaiming his love for me then feel much better and even manage to correct some of Stanford's top professors in their lectures."

He grinned as he got to his feet and hugged her tightly. "That's my Bella." He pulled back. "Seriously, though, are you better?"

"I made sure of that," Troy said from his position in Lucille's arms.

"Good. Keep it that way, Bolton," he said sternly.

Gabriella spent a little while longer talking to Carl about everything and eventually found out that he was now going out with a cheerleader, Stacy Newman. As it was, she was an old friend of the Montez family and Gabriella had no doubt that they'd be happy together. Stacy was attending U of A so Gabriella knew Carl wouldn't miss her as much.

She finally turned around and frowned. "Where's Daddy?"

Maria came in with a plate of lasagne and a knife and fork. She handed them to her daughter. "He went outside. I think you should talk to him."

Gabriella nodded and took her lasagne and cutlery out to the back yard and saw Greg shooting hoops. Gabriella sat down cross-legged on a wooden bench swing and settled the plate on her lap. She chewed a mouthful of lasagne as she watched her father. "Not too upset that I'm back?" she called jokingly.

Greg let the basketball roll away as he turned to his daughter. He made his way over to her and sat next to her, staring out over the yard. "I wouldn't ever," he whispered. "Did you have fun?"

Gabriella thought about it. "It was better once Troy was there. I don't suppose that's what you want to hear but it's true. The classes were really great, though."

"I see you said yes," he muttered.

Gabriella nodded. "Yeah, I did. I'm sorry, Daddy."

Greg turned to her. "You're okay, sweetheart. It's fine. I know you love him."

"With all my heart," she whispered.

He smiled. "I know. So, anyway, was Stanford as good as you expected?"

She laughed and nodded. "Yes, it was brilliant. I loved it." She saw his smile falter and touched his arm. "I'll come back. I promise. What I said when you found out…I didn't mean that."

"Really?" Greg asked.

She nodded. "Of course I will. I promise. I'll just…You know, be with Troy. Besides, I'll come home for summer, Christmas, Thanksgiving…Whenever I can. As good as California was, this is my home."

Greg wrapped an arm around her and kissed her forehead. "Good."

Gabriella finished her lasagne and then stood up, her plate in her hand. "Come on. I want to tell everyone and it would mean a lot to me if you were there."

Greg stood up. "Fine. But, you know, if he hurts you, you can always tells me."

She rolled her eyes. "Like I'd tell you if a guy had hurt me. Come on."

Greg smiled as he followed her through to the lounge. "I hope you're happy together," he whispered.

She set the empty plate on the dining room table and turned to him. "Daddy, we are, okay? I guess I like to break traditions, huh?"

He chuckled and nodded. "Yeah." He kissed her forehead and glanced over her shoulder at Troy who was talking animatedly to Carl, Kelsi, Landon and Sharpay. "Go on. Tell them."

"Does Mom know?" Gabriella asked.

Greg shook his head. "No. No one does. Just me. I didn't think it was my place to say. Now go on."

She smiled and kissed his cheek. "Thanks," she whispered before weaving her way through the crowd and sat down on Troy's lap. She kissed his cheek and smiled at him.

"You okay?" Troy asked.

She nodded. "Yeah. Are you ready?"

Troy nodded and they both stood up. "Guys?" he called. "Guys! Quiet!" He nodded to himself and wrapped an arm tightly around Gabriella's waist.

"We have some news," Gabriella started. She rolled her eyes when Carl went to speak. "Shut up, Carl."

Carl cowered back. "Sorry."

Troy shook his head. "Whatever. Anyway, um," he looked at all of their friends and family surrounding them, "we're getting married."

They were immediately pulled apart, being ambushed by their friends and family. The girls were surrounding Gabriella, gushing over her ring, and all of the boys were congratulating Troy and warning him that he'd better not hurt her. Troy glanced over at his fiancée and smiled when their eyes connected. He winked at her and chuckled when she blushed and turned back to the girls. He turned back to the guys and grinned brightly at his friends. "Okay, guys, stop it. I'm bruised enough!" Troy exclaimed.

Chad chuckled. "Okay, okay. We'll stop. Anyway, I've got to say, despite her being a Knight and all, she's quite a catch."

Carl hit Chad's head. "Hey!"

Troy chuckled. "Ignore him."

Gabriella looked over the heads of her friends and frowned. She excused herself and went back out to the yard to see Greg shooting baskets. "He shoots and he scores," she called in a commentator's voice.

Greg caught the ball and turned to her. "You should be celebrating."

She shrugged as she walked over to him and took the basketball from him. "It can wait." She spun the ball around on her finger and glanced at him. "Are you okay with it?" She shot the basketball towards the hoop and watched as it soared through the net.

Greg nodded as he went to retrieve the ball. "Of course. You're happy. That's all that matters. I promise. And I'll walk you down the aisle." He smiled to himself as he shot a basket. "I can't believe my one little girl is going to become a Bolton."

"It's not that bad," she exclaimed jokingly. "It could be worse. I could, you know, marry one of The Backstreet Boys. Guys that wear make-up."

Greg went to get the ball and chest-passed it to her. "I guess you're right. At least Bolton likes to play ball and he doesn't wear make-up."

Gabriella giggled. "I told you it could be worse." She began dribbling the ball with a practiced ease and jumped, shooting another basket.

Greg furrowed his brow as he watched her. At the same time, he remembered when she was four years old and she had managed to bounce a basketball for the first time without the help of Greg. He'd lifted her up in celebration and allowed her to drop the ball through the net for the first time. He'd hugged her to his body, so tiny and innocent. And still his. He hadn't noticed. He watched as she giggled to herself and continued to shoot basket, her long, black, curly hair flying around her like waves. She was obviously taller but he doubted that she'd grow any more. She wasn't the four year old girl who needed his help to shoot a basket anymore. She was a beautiful young woman with her whole life ahead of her. It just so happened that he wasn't the centre of that life.

Gabriella suddenly appeared in front of him, barely breathless and smiling brightly at him. "You're deep in thought."

He nodded slowly. "Yeah. I was thinking about you. I think one of the reasons that I was so reluctant to approve your relationship is because you're my only daughter. I keep thinking of you when you were four. You shot your first basket that day, with my help, of course. It's hard to believe. You don't need my help anymore."

"Of course I do, Daddy. Just because I'm getting married doesn't change anything. I'm still your little girl and I'll always want you to help me win when I'm in the middle of an argument with one of my brothers. You know that," she said softly.

He laughed quietly. "You don't remember. Later that night, I was telling you and Carl a story. Remember when you shared a room? I don't even know what the story was about. That doesn't matter. You said you wanted to marry me because of how happy I'd made your mom." He paused and frowned. "Then Carl got in a strop about how you didn't want to marry him and…yeah. But, when I saw you with Troy, I realised that you're not that girl anymore. You haven't been for years. I just couldn't bear to think about you marrying someone."

Gabriella smiled slightly. "Sounds like me. You know I can't marry you, right?" she joked. "In all seriousness, no one can replace you. You're still my daddy and I'll always be your princess. I promise."

Greg nodded. "Okay. Love you."

"I love you, too," she whispered.

They were interrupted by the clearing of a throat. They turned to see Jack standing at the edge of the basketball court. "Is it okay if I talk to Gabriella?"

Greg nodded and kissed his daughter's forehead. "I'll see you inside. I want to talk to Troy, anyway."

"Daddy!" Gabriella protested.

"I'm not going to hurt him. We're just going to talk," he exclaimed before walking inside.

Gabriella looked up at Jack and smiled slightly. "So, what's up?"

He gestured to the basketball. "You any good?"

Gabriella laughed. "Good? You think just because I'm a girl, I can't dribble circles around you. You're forgetting my last name."

Jack rolled the sleeves of his white shirt up and loosened his tie. "Okay, before we get serious, I want to know how much of a chance my grandkids have of being talented in basketball."

"You're on," Gabriella exclaimed.

They played for roughly five minutes and it ended with a tie. They sat down on the wooden bench swing, laughing. "Well, you've got game. I'll give you that."

Gabriella rested the ball in her lap and sighed. "Like I said: I'm a Montez. Just because I don't want basketball to run my life doesn't mean I'm not good at it or I don't enjoy it."

"So, you're going to be my daughter-in-law. I wasn't expecting that. I didn't even know Troy was planning it! But, he's happy. That's the main thing. And Lucille threatened to divorce me if I didn't act like I accepted it," he muttered.

Gabriella giggled. "I didn't plan to fall in love with him. I just did."

Jack chuckled. "Yeah, he said the same. At least I know you're not using him. He's always been unsure simply because of who he is, forgetting his popularity at school."

Gabriella nodded with understanding. "I know what it's like. It happened to me, too. I mean, I wasn't meant to be popular. I'm a science geek. I always have been, always will be. But, because of my name and my brothers, guys wanted to go out with me. I knew Troy didn't want me because of my brothers. I mean, that's kind of stupid on his part."

Jack chuckled. "Yeah. I guess. But, he's happy. You know, when we said we wanted him to run after you, he leapt off of the sofa to go and have a shower. It was quite funny. I just want you to know that I'd be proud to call you my daughter-in-law."

Gabriella smiled at him and sighed. "I never thought about my father-in-law. I mean, I dreamt about who I'd marry all the time. But, never about my in-laws. I never even considered you."

Jack laughed. "You didn't need to. All I can say is welcome to the family."

Gabriella smiled. "That means a lot coming from you."

Greg and Troy suddenly emerged from the house, laughing wildly with each other. "She didn't do that!" Troy exclaimed.

Gabriella giggled. "What are you two talking about?"

"Did you honestly refuse to put anything under your bed because you believed your imaginary friend, Aladdin, lived there?" Troy laughed.

"Daddy!" Gabriella cried.

Greg shrugged sheepishly. "Sorry, mi hija."

"Aladdin was great friend," Gabriella defended. She got to her feet and threw the basketball at Troy who caught it easily. "You may laugh but he's still looking out for me like he did when I was four."

Troy chuckled and wrapped an arm around her waist, pulling her closer to him. "I'm sure."

She rolled her eyes. "Then, stop laughing."

Troy threw the basketball to Jack and kissed her forehead. "Okay. Can I talk to you for a second?"

Gabriella nodded and smiled up at him. "Of course."

Troy began leading her away, to the far end of the garden. They stood at the waist-high wooden fence, looking over the field of crops behind the Montez house. His arm was still wrapped tightly around her waist and she snuggled into him more, resting a hand on his chest. "You happy to be home?"

She nodded. "Yeah. I am. I mean, it was fantastic and I loved it. But, I missed everybody. I missed this place. I missed the simplicity of life here. In California everyone was rushing, going somewhere all of the time. Yes, I am happy to be home."

He smiled down at her. "Good." He rubbed the back of his neck with his free hand. "Because we can live together."

Gabriella looked up at him in shock. "What?"

"That's what your father and I were discussing. Your parents and my parents, well my dad doesn't know yet, agreed that we could share rooms. Work it evenly. One week here, one week at mine. Yes, it means going across town every weekend but, Brie, we get to be together," he explained.

Her eyes were wide and she beamed up at him, flinging her arms around his neck. Troy picked her up from the ground and they both laughed happily. She moved her head to look into his eyes. "Are you serious?"

"I asked. I figured the worst they could say was no but after everything we've been through, how could they keep us apart? They also knew that if they didn't allow us to live together, one of us would just sneak out anyway. But, no sex while they're in the house. That's all they want which is understandable," he commented.

She nodded with understanding. "If we really can't cope, we still have Shar's cabin."

Troy grinned and kissed her nose. "Exactly. They knew they couldn't totally forbid they just don't want it happening with people in the house."

She leaned down and kissed him passionately, feeling his arms tighten around her. He was still holding her up from the floor so, for once, he wasn't hurting his neck by kissing her. Their tongues danced slowly together, knowing fully well that their fathers were at the other end of the yard but doubted they were paying attention to their children. "I love you," she whispered breathlessly when they pulled back. Tears rolled down her cheeks and she smiled down at him. "I wouldn't change one second of our time together."

"Me neither," he murmured. He set her on the ground and kissed her forehead. "I wouldn't change anything at all. At the beginning, I wondered why you had to be a Montez. But, I don't want you to be anyone else because Gabriella Montez is the girl I fell in love with."

She stroked his cheek and nodded. "And I fell in love with Troy Bolton."

He pulled her closer to his body and rested one hand on the back of her head and the other on her back. "I love you so much, Brie."

She pulled back and leaned up to kiss him softly. "I love you, too. You've got to meet all of my family. They'll want to meet you."

"You mean the nieces and nephews that peed and pooped on you?" he asked wearily.

She nodded. "Yeah. You need to."

He shrugged. "Okay. There's not all that much to my family. Mom, Dad, Uncle Mike, Auntie Lynn and their kids, Grandpa and Grandma Harkness, and Grandpa and Grandma Bolton. That's it, really. But, they'd love to meet you, of course they would."

"Hey, kids, you want to play two on two?" Jack called.

Troy and Gabriella laughed and ran over to join their fathers. Gabriella inhaled deeply and the scent of Troy filled her up. She grabbed the ball from Jack and spun it on her finger. "What's it going to be? Old versus young…or Bolton versus Montez?" Gabriella challenged.

They all glanced at each other before answering simultaneously. "Bolton versus Montez."

Troy nudged Gabriella. "Game on."

"Oh, it's on like cheese on Mama's lasagne," Gabriella shot back.

"I wouldn't challenge her too much, son," Jack warned.

Troy smirked down at the smaller girl. "I think I can cope."

"Game on, Wildcat," Gabriella murmured.

They played a strong, competitive lesson until Jack and Greg walked away, realising that their children were more determined than they were. Troy had been shocked at Gabriella's talent. He'd known she'd be good but not that good. The only thing holding Gabriella back was her height and, even then, she used her brain to calculate the correct angle and force, so she made a basket pretty much every time. Troy rested the ball on his hip and sighed. "Okay, don't you think we should go in?"

She rolled her eyes. "You want this to end just because you're scared of losing to me."

"I'm winning!" he exclaimed.

"By one point," Gabriella shot back.

Troy found it kind of comical. It was the first time he'd ever seen Gabriella without her usual shyness and innocence and figured it was because of the court they were standing on. "But, I'm still winning."

Gabriella glared and snatched the ball from under his arm. She began giggling and moving backwards, towards the opposite basket.

Troy laughed. "No, that's travelling. That's really bad travelling!" He grinned as he dashed towards her. He smiled to himself when she squealed and ran towards her. Although she tried to run away, he caught her easily around the waist from behind and spun her around.

She laughed out loud and squirmed in his arms until he set her on the floor. She dropped the basketball and turned to him. She wrapped her arms tightly around his neck. "You underestimated me, didn't you?"

He slid his hands into the back pockets of her pants and pulled her flush against his body. "Would I ever?"

"You so did," she protested. "At the beginning, you just- Hmmmm…" She sighed gently against his lips as he kissed her softly.

He pulled back and smiled down at her. "Okay, okay, I didn't expect you to be that good. You keep surprising me, Miss Montez."

She shrugged. "I'm full of surprises."

He kissed her nose. "I like surprises."

She giggled. "I bet you do. Wildcat, I'm liking the future now I know you're there."

He rested his forehead on hers. "The feelings are mutual."