Thank you to everyone who read or reviewed the last chapter. It is a miracle. I wrote a chapter under 5000 words. The chapter just naturally broke there. Since the creative juices are still flowing I hope to update soon if I am motivated.

Chapter 34: Danforth Family Values

January 27, 2009

Chad sat in his therapist's office wondering exactly how Sharpay and his future father in law talked him into coming. It must have happened about the exact same time he posted bail early Sunday morning. After everything that happened in the last few days, Sunday morning seems like a million years ago. He really did not have time for this right now.

"What do you want to talk about?" The doctor asked with clipboard in hand.

"Nothing. I rather be with my girlfriend. The thought of actually sleeping seems like a good idea before things get worse. I have not had more than a few hours sleep since Friday. Unfortunately, if I don't talk to you I won't be doing the more vernacular type of sleeping with my girlfriend anytime soon."

"So you and Sharpay finally slept together?"

"I know you already know that because you had a session with Sharpay last week. Just so you know she did orgasm multiple times." He said with a half smile just to annoy her.

"I know, but I tried to pretend I don't. Since your sex life isn't the issue this time, we don't need to talk about it. We can start with your sleepless night Saturday or your sleepless night Sunday?"

"Technically the real stuff didn't happen until Sunday morning."

January 25, 2009 2:31 AM

He was expecting his girlfriend or maybe even his future stepfather to get him out of jail. Instead, it was his future father-in-law and one of his mom's lawyer friends that Mr. Evans just happened to have on permanent retainer that got him out. They didn't say a word to him until they got to the car.

"Seriously Chad we all know your father is an absolute dick. We've all wanted to punch him from time to time. Most of us know better." These words came from Rebecca Carter as soon as they got in the car. He has known Rebecca since he was six and she would come over to his house to go over test questions with his mom.

"It was an impulse reaction. Last time I did this I didn't get arrested and I did it in front of that entire side of the family." He said in his defense.

"You were not 18 at the time. In addition, your dad wasn't trying to get something from you. As soon as he pressed charges, your asshole father called up your mom and told her that he would drop all the charges if you would go back to playing basketball." Rebecca told him.

"That is all this is about. That's all he's ever cared about. He is only ever been happy if I'm in a basketball uniform. He has never cared about me. He only married mom because Grandpa Sanchez brought out a gun. I doubt he loved Tiffany either. He didn't even bother calling her after she left. He comes all the way here with his brand new barely older than me girlfriend just to try to get me to do something that I don't want to do. There are moments where I wish mom was Tiffany and left his ass before I was even born. Sometimes I think it would be better if I never knew that man was my father." He was beyond angry as he said this.

"There are other reasons why he's here. I don't want to get into it without Tiffany being present. She's waiting for us at Kim's house."

"How upset is my girlfriend?"

"Furious, but at your father not you." Mr. Evans said finally. "She is currently trying to decide who was more evil, your father or her mother."

"Darby still wins. He never hit me. I guess I should be thankful for that." For the rest of the car ride they stayed silent as they made it to the neighborhood just outside of campus.

The first thing he noticed when they reached Kim's house was Mrs. Kim's car was waiting in front. Mr. Kim and Mrs. Kim were both there with baby Alex in the living room. Then again so was Jack who was most likely talking on his cell phone with his mother. He really didn't have time to comprehend Kim bringing suitcases with her, because Sharpay was kissing him. The scene was broken by Sharpay slapping him moments later.

"What were you thinking? Did you have to hit your father? He is just like Darby. He is always looking for something that will hurt you. Are you okay? Did you have any problems in jail?"

"Jail was fine. The officer in charge knew mom from her time at the D A's Office. Also apparently, everybody in the city and possibly County know how evil my father is. There's a reason why your dad was able to post bail on a Sunday morning." He reassured her.

"Your bail was also dirt cheap. Your mom really does know almost every judge in Albuquerque."

"Judge Alena Suarez loves you and hates your father." Rebecca said with a smile.

"It was Alana. She loves me. She was mom's faculty adviser in law school. She used to keep candy in her office just for me and Troy."

"As much as I enjoy this trip down memory lane, I have to catch a plane in an hour. Can we please get to the important part?" Kim said putting her suitcases on the porch.

"Why are you leaving?"

"About the time you were punching out your father, Troy accidentally drunk a milkshake containing strawberries. Fortunately he only drank enough for just his throat to close up."

"I just spoke to him before then." He said in shock, not comprehending what was going on.

"Apparently right after he hung up with you he drank the tainted milkshake. Gabby told me what happen before they even had him to the hospital."

"How did he accidentally drink a strawberry milkshake?" He asked in confusion.

"Here's the best part." Kim says sarcastically. "Apparently James's girlfriend who absolutely hates Troy worked at the snack bar at the bowling alley they just happen to be at. Apparently the whole team knew about Troy's really bad strawberry allergy because they wouldn't let anyone eat strawberries when he was around. James apparently told his girlfriend. She thought it would be a funny prank to put strawberry ice cream into Troy's chocolate milkshake. My boyfriend is in ICU thanks to her stupidity. The little girl has a broken nose and maybe facing attempted murder charges. I'm flying out now with Vanessa and Jack is coming with Alex as soon as the game is over."

"I would go now and let the assistant coach take over for tonight's game, but your mom asked me to stay here until she got here."

"Mom is coming? You won last night. That's good. Who broke the girls nose?"

"Gabriella." Everybody said at the same time.

"Fortunately, unlike your father snack bar girl had the good sense not to press charges." Sharpay said sitting down on the couch. Just then, Chad noticed the two unknown people sitting in the room.

"I guess we should get this thing started." Chad's lawyer said out loud. "This is detective Gerdin who was hired by Kim to investigate several things including your father. This is my colleague Ms. Wood who was working on Tiffany's custody case involving your two siblings."

"Why exactly are they here?"

"Chad did you ever wonder why your dad wanted to marry me so badly and raised two children together until I said no to the marriage? Did you ever wonder why he just wanted nothing to do with me afterwards?"

"I just figured it was because he was a dick." As soon as he said that he felt a slap at the back of his head.

"Not in front of the baby." Sharpay hissed as she pointed to Alex.

"That's true, but it's more than that."

Present

"So here's the twist to this entire situation. Tiffany's now very wealthy "mom" Victoria Williams did not want illegitimate grandchildren. Let's say she was one of those smart people who bought into Google early. She offered my dad $500,000 to married Tiffany before the babies were born. Of course, it was to be paid out over the course of a five-year marriage. When the five years were up he will divorced Tiffany and leave her susceptible to remarry the person her mom really wants her to marry. Tiffany's mom is almost in the same league as Sharpay's mom."

"How does this revelation make you feel about your father?"

"I'm not sure. I did not exactly have a very good opinion of him before everything that happened this weekend. It's worse now. He was never around growing up except to go to my basketball games. He cheated on mom and tried to excuse it by blaming her friendship with Jack."

"Jack is your mom's current boyfriend right?"

"I don't know if boyfriend is the right term. I'm thinking they are best friends who love each other and have sex. I try not to think about the last part because it is just too disturbing."

"Why is it disturbing?"

"Do you want to think about your parents having sex?"

"No,"

"Jack has always been my dad where it counted. He's the one who taught me how to ride a bike. He is the one I go to for advice. Even though it's been a little awkward lately, I have been there almost every day talking about having to quit the team and just adjusting. When I was little I wished he was my father. Can we talk about my Jack issues later? Let me finish the rest of the story."

"Continue,"

January 25, 2009 3:54 AM

After the explanation from the lawyers, the private detective, and Tiffany he went upstairs to the guest room to think for a few minutes. He felt completely overwhelmed.

His best friend was in the hospital. His father was out to get him just for the purposes of getting him to play basketball again. The fact that his father only wanted his new children if they came with a very large paycheck unnerved him. He wanted to throw something but did not feel like breaking his cell phone again.

He felt overwhelmed as he sat motionless on the bed. Then he felt Sharpay move beside him and wrapped her arms around him without saying a word. He felt peaceful for a moment.

"Did Kim get off okay?" He asked moments later.

"Mr. Kim is driving her and Vanessa to the Airport. They manage to get on a 5:05 AM flight to San Francisco. If everything goes well she hopes to be at his hospital room before 9:00 AM. She said she would call us as soon as she gets there."

"Thank you for not asking if I'm okay."

"I know you. You're not okay and neither am I. What are you thinking?"

That I of the most screwed up father in history."

"Most people think that. I thought that of my father too." He heard Jack say from the doorway.

"I'm sure your father never took a bribe to be a parent."

"My father didn't have Lucy to set a bad example. I'm sure he got the ideal from her. I would ask you if you were okay, but I know the answer to that question. Although if I don't ask your mom will get upset." He said taking the seat across from the bed.

"You know you don't have to stay here. If you want to go to San Francisco now, you can."

"Kim is on her way there and she actually has power of attorney. Besides I need to take care of my other child right now."

"I guess it probably would be better for Alex if he wasn't there right now."

"I mean you." He said with a smile.

"So how did it make you feel to know that jack sees you as another son?" His therapist asked him.

"It felt great in a way. At least I know that one man wants me to be his son even if my biological father only saw me as his personal piggy bank."

"You say that now, but that's only because you probably want to marry my mom someday. At least you are not asking for 0.5 million for the privilege. So what did my dad asked for to take care of me?" He asked as a joke but the serious expression on Jack's face told him the he was too close.

"What did he ask for? Grandpa Suarez was wealthy and well connected. A couple of grand to keep him from being the laughing stock of New Mexico was nothing for him. It would have been a small price to pay to keep everything quiet. Grandpa Suarez did not handled my existence anywhere near as well as you handled the existence of Alex." That was the understatement of the millennium.

"He did make the down payment on your parents' house later on, but he did that for all of your aunts and uncles. I think the literal shotgun and the threat of having him arrested on statutory rape charges was enough to get your father to comply. He was six years older then your mom. At least Kim is less than three years older than Troy." He knew there was more to it than that.

"Then why do you seem so upset?"

"If I knew at the time what your father was doing, I would have let you stay here." Jack said cryptically. "Your mom didn't tell me until we started dating."

"What are you talking about?"

"Maybe you should talk to your mom when she gets in around 11 our time. She's already on the flight here." Chad could tell when Jack was hedging. He was obviously hedging now fully aware that he said too much.

"Just tell me what happened?" He asked almost pleadingly.

"You know that the courts awarded your mom full custody after the divorce?"

"I know, but she didn't want to uproot me senior year so dad agreed to let me stay with him."

"You know that your mom would do anything if it was in your best interest. She loves you that much. However, after what your father did, she just couldn't stay in New Mexico any longer. She knew moving you to DC during your last year of high school would hurt you. She couldn't do that to you. Your father only agreed to let you stay with him if your mom gave him the house worth well over half a million and 4000 a month in child support." As soon as the man who was his real father in everything but blood said the words Chad saw red.

"That's like a third of her salary. I never saw any of that." Chad practically screamed. "That explains the tiny apartment. He did not even pay for that house, mom did. They told me that they split the money from the house. I guess that was another lie." He said getting up from the bed. He was so angry the urge to throw something returned.

"That explains all the arguing and yelling the first time I met your parents post divorce. Jack can you please give us a little time? Tell Tiffany that will talk to her in the morning.

"Sure, she probably needs to go to sleep anyway being almost nine months pregnant. I will talk to you in the morning."

As soon as he was gone Sharpay locked the door and pulled him into a tight embrace. He was shaking in her arms. "Chad you need to calm down." She said as she pulled him back to the bed and started to remove his T shirt.

"If I knew, I would have went to DC just to spite him." He said as he let Sharpay pull his tee shirt over his head. He felt so numb.

"I know baby." He heard Sharpay's say as he felt her lips caress his shoulder. "He doesn't deserve you."

"He never loved to me." He was crying at that moment. Being around her made it okay to let go.

"That's because he's incapable of loving anyone but himself. He never loved you, your mom, are even Tiffany because he never had a heart to begin with. Everything was always about him. It doesn't matter. Your mom loves you so much that she would do anything for you. Jack loves you probably just as much as he loves Troy. You really are Troy's brother and always have been even though I sometimes wonder if it's more than brotherly love." She said with a laugh trying to break the tension

"Just because I'm aware that another guy is aesthetically pleasing doesn't mean I want to sleep with him. It would be too awkward anyway because we really are like brothers and he is almost married to Kim who is becoming another good friend. I'm just worried. I didn't think the thing with James was that bad."

"Who knows? Maybe kim's mom was pulling strings. She tried to kill Kim once. Why not try with Troy? Everything's going to be okay though. It's not the first time someone accidentally gave Troy something with strawberries in it. Do you remember in eighth grade when that desperate little girl Samantha or something gave Troy a box of dry chocolate strawberries but said they were dried cranberries?"

"He looked like a balloon, once he started breathing again."

"He was fine then. He will be fine now." Sharpay said kissing him on the mouth, her tongue mingling with his.

"However, the person who loves you the most is me. I'll always love you and I'll always want you." As she said the words, he felt her hand slowly undo his pants.

"As much as I really want to do this it is after 4:00 AM." Before answering him verbally he felt her completely pull down his pants and boxer shorts.

"If we don't do this you are not going to fall asleep tonight. You're too tense baby. If you don't fall asleep, I am not going to fall asleep. Just relax." Before he could protest he felt a very hot mouth around his already half hard member.

The present

"We're just going to fade to black right there. You don't really need to know how my girlfriend got me into an orgasm induce sleep. Even though she was making at all about me, she did orgasm several times."

"I wasn't going to ask. I'm already well aware that you are a firm believer in reciprocation. It's just whenever you talk about Sharpay, you seems so happy."

"She makes me happy. Sometimes she is the only thing that makes sense. Sometimes she is the only thing that keeps me sane. I don't know if I would have made it these last few days without her."

"I can understand that these last few days have been very hard for you. How is Troy doing now?"

"Better now. I talk to him on the phone this morning. The first day was bad because he was unconscious because of all the drugs. It was made worse by Lucy.

January 25, 2009 8:58 AM

Sharpay woke up to the shocking sounds of Kim's ring tone. She looked at the time on the phone and frowned. She fell asleep less than 3 hours ago. Her mind and body still felt sore and disjointed. She was hoping that Chad would stay asleep, but he started to wake up as soon as she began to move.

"Hello Kim what's going on?"

"I would tell you, if I knew. Can you get my father in law?

"You wake me up for that?"

"It is emergency. I don't know how she found out but Lucy is here and has the doctors convinced I'm some crazy ex girlfriend. They won't even let me see him." She actually heard Kim crying. The sound was unnerving.

"You have power of attorney." She said in shock.

"Unfortunately, my boyfriend ended up at one of the more backwater hospitals in the area. Vanessa is contacting her friend who is a lawyer in the area but I need Jack. I called his home number but I didn't get an answer and his cell phone is probably dead because it's going to voicemail.

"If you called your home phone he probably would have picked up. He is in your room with Alex, because all the guest rooms are occupied." Sharpay said pulling herself out of Chad's embrace as she walked over to Kim's bedroom.

"I will give him the phone."

"Thank you"

After she gave her phone to Jack she stood there and watch the conversation. In seconds she saw her normally calm former gym teacher becoming incensed.

"I can't believe she would use Troy like this. She shouldn't even be there. It's a violation of her bail agreement." She heard him yell. At that moment she felt arms circle her.

"What's going on?" She heard Chad ask.

"Lucy is trying to win most evil person of the year. Somehow she got to Troy and is keeping Kim away."

Jack and Alex were on the first plane to San Francisco as soon as he knew what was happening. He crossed paths with my mom at the Airport."

January 25, 2009 10:57 AM

Caroline quickly wrapped her arms around her boyfriend not caring who in the Airport would see her. She placed a quick kiss to his mouth offering him whatever comfort she could. She then kissed her grandbaby on the forehead.

"Thank god you're plane arrived 10 minutes early otherwise I wouldn't get to see you." He said holding her as he kept Alex from running away.

"I wish I could come with you."

"I wish you were coming with me. However, Chad needs you here. Who knows what Charles could do."

"I wish our children were in the same city. This would be so much easier."

"They are our children aren't they?"

"Pretty much.

"Now all we need is the marriage license and adoption papers." He joked.

"Did you just propose to me?" He would do this right now.

"Maybe."

"Later. Go. Call me as soon as you get there. I love you." She said kissing him one last time.

"I love you too."

"By the time he got there the hospital administrators were just starting to believe the power of attorney documents. They really believed everything when the cops came to arrest Lucy for violating her bail by crossing state lines without court permission."

"Unfortunately this sort of thing happens a lot. It is best to be thankful that nothing of consequence happened.

"I think the fact that Troy had to go get a restraining order against his own mother is something of consequence."

"I can see your point there."

"Then again I had to do the same thing against Charles after what happened Sunday night. You have probably seen it in the papers. "Man Pushes Pregnant Ex-Girlfriend Down stairs at Best Restaurant in the City." "Battered trophy Girlfriends Still in coma after Delivering Babies by Emergency Caesarean."

"There's usually more to a story then sensational headlines. What happened at the restaurant?"

To Be Continued