Thank you to everybody who read or reviewed the last chapter. I know it has been a while. I blame nasty writer's block and multiple cases of sore throat. I'm currently looking for a beta to proofread this story and yell at me to stop working on my Star Trek stories, so that I can finish this relatively soon.
I just realized I have been using a different spelling of Jimmy then used in cannon. I have decided I will just keep spelling the named the same way for the sake of consistency.
Chapter 35: Baby Steps
December 25, 2008 1:33 PM
Chad stood in front of the Jackson house poised to knock as he held his fiancée's hand firmly.
"I hope this goes better than Thanksgiving." Chad mumbled under his breath. He was going to have nightmares about that holiday for a very long time. Chad was just glad he got out of visiting Aunt Claudia this Christmas.
"Anything has to be better than Thanksgiving. All we have to do is go when give Tiffany and Kerri their Christmas presents and leave before the family drama begins." Sharpay said firmly just as Tiffany opened the front door. It was obvious that a family Christmas wasn't in session. There wasn't even music or a tree.
"Where is everybody?" Chad asked quickly.
"My aunt has a double shift at the hospital and my cousin is probably showing her boyfriend that girls give good BJs too." Tiffany said sarcastically as she ushered the two into the house.
"That such a mean thing to say about your cousin." Sharpay said stepping inside.
"You're right. There probably just making out, not that my aunt would care. Jimmy dragged my cousin to be his support for the 'guess what mom and dad I am bisexual' conversation. Jimmy's parents actually care about him. The whole thing at the beginning of the year was caused because my aunt was too busy with her job to see what was going on with her daughter. Now that I'm here she's spending even more time at work. So while my aunt is taking care of other people's children, I am the one putting condoms in my Cousins Christmas stocking because I don't want her to end up like me." Tiffany said as she took a seat in the living room.
"Trust me I get it. This is probably the first Christmas in forever that daddy was actually there." Sharpay said with a touch of anger. "Anyway we brought you your Christmas presents and more baby things." Sharpay said handing her a huge bag filled with packages and gift cards. Sharpay probably spent at least a thousand dollars on Tiffany's Christmas present alone.
"Chad your girlfriend is like a one woman baby shower. I think the twins have had enough from their pseudo big sister. Really, I don't have any more space for presence. After you dropped off your old cribs, I think we barely have room to move. I think I'm going to have to look into getting somewhere else to live."
"Shopping makes me happy." Sharpay said with a smile.
"Give me a minute." Tiffany said as she got up from the couch and walked into the other room. She came back and handed Chad and Sharpay a legal envelope along with two neatly wrapped presents.
"Gift cards usually come in smaller packages." Chad said as he fingered the envelope.
"It's not that kind of gift. Blame your mom and Kim stepmom for being beyond legally paranoid." Tiffany said as the pair opened their envelope. Being the son of a lawyer, he could recognize a contract or a legally binding agreement blindfolded.
"You got me custody papers for Christmas?" Chad asked slightly shocked.
"More like joint custody papers. I'm sure you probably could understand legalese by the time you were six but let me paraphrase everything for your girlfriend. You know I was going to let you have full access to the twins even after I go back to Cleveland to finish my last year. However, your mom suggested we put it in writing in case something happened to me. Chad and I and by extension Sharpay, would have joint legal custody but I would have primary physical custody."
"My mom is way too paranoid." He said with a sigh, but he could see the logic in it.
"I think your mom just wanted all the legal basis covered, which means you can't sign until next week if you want to. It was my idea for the second part of the arrangement. I don't trust my mom at all and if something were to happen to me I would not want her to get custody of the twins. I also don't want Charles to try to get them back for selfish reasons. I don't want that to happen. If something were to happen to me I want you and Sharpay to raise the babies." Chad's mouth was opened in shock. He didn't know what to say, but Sharpay already knew the perfect answer.
"Where do we sign?" Sharpay said grabbing a pen from the nearby table.
January 28, 2010 10:32 PM Pacific time
Kim was trying to sleep in her bed at her and Troy's California house for the first time this week after Troy, Gabriella, and Madison kicked her out of Troy's hospital room near hours after they actually got Jack on a plane. Troy argue that there was no point of her staying there anymore now that he was basically okay and most likely going home tomorrow or Friday at the latest. Then he reminded her that she had a week's worth of work to catch up on that Amanda so graciously agreed to e-mail her.
Too bad Chad had his own week from hell to contend with, because Kim could not read the handwriting of the person Amanda got the physic's notes from. She would have to play the 'my fiancée almost died because someone tried to kill him' card with her professor Monday to get his notes. The only good thing is because Jack was with her in California up until today, her absence will not go against her student teaching time.
Sometimes it pays to have your almost father-in-law be your teaching mentor. He was actually pretty good at it despite principled Dave throwing him in the deep end. She was currently trying to convince Jack to go back and get his doctorate in education. He was much more qualified to teach future teachers then half of her professors.
20 minutes ago, she gave up on actually studying after the pages started to look fuzzy and was unsure which class she was actually studying for any more.
She went down the hall to talk to Gabriella for a few minutes, but really didn't want to interrupt her. Gabriella missed a lot of classes this week as well keeping her company or watching Alex. It was hard to think of Gabriella as the enemy when she was so helpful.
It also helps that the two have come to an understanding. They are also both convinced that Lucy is crazy and have the mutual mission to prove it. The old adage 'the enemy of my enemy is my friend' has never been more true.
When Kim returned to her room, she tried sleeping. That wasn't going so well. It felt weird being in this bed without her lover.
Just as she was about to turn on the TV she heard her phone. From the ring tone, she could tell it was Chad. That was surprising. Kim expected him to either be sleeping or busy with baby things. She could not believe what happen Sunday night. Maybe she shouldn't be that surprise because that was almost exactly what happened to her except she didn't go into a coma nor was her babies daddy responsible for putting her in a vegetative state. It was her mother who tried to kill her. Vanessa had a minor panic attack when she found out what happened.
"Shouldn't you be following the first rule of parenting, getting sleep while you can?" She said as way of greeting.
"I would if they were actually sleeping." Chad said in a very tired voice. "Unfortunately, the twins are not sleepy. I'm feeding Olivia as Sharpay changes Isaac's diaper. Isaac is her favorite sense he's the oldest."
"Yes by a whopping 3 minutes." Isaac Miguel Jackson was born at 11:59 PM on January 25. Olivia Sharpay Jackson was born at 12:02 AM on January 26. Both were delivered by emergency C section after Charles Danforth either intentionally or accidentally pushed his pregnant ex girlfriend down a flight of stairs.
Chad was the only one who was there at the time and he wasn't providing any details on what he saw. Sharpay was fortunately in the bathroom with Chad's mother when everything went down Sunday afternoon. Kim knew better than to ask Chad what happened.
Sharpay did not even want to tell her about it. Gabriella actually told her what happen Monday after she woke up once Kim finally crashed on Troy's bed. Kim yelled at Sharpay for a good 20 minutes for not calling her Sunday night.
"Not that I'm not glad to hear from you, but why are you calling? You need more parenting tips." She said jokingly.
"I have great Aunt Claudia and my mom for that. Considering these are the children of the 'other woman', my mom really likes Olivia and Isaac. Also, I think I can now make baby formula blindfolded. I figured I would call you to see if you killed Gabriella yet." Kim had to laugh at that.
"Considering Gabriella is doing homework down the hall to make sure I don't sneak off to Troy's hospital room in the middle of the night on Troy's orders, I don't think that is going to happen. Gabriella has actually been pretty good about everything, even going so far as to bring edible food to the hospital and helping to take care of baby Alex."
She decided this would not be the best time to tell Chad that Gabriella and Madison were moving into the house to keep an eye on Troy after she leaves Sunday.
"You actually trust her with your child?" Chad asked skeptically.
"Yes, I Trust her with my child as long as she's on her medicine. You know she feels guilty about what happened. Didn't you guys use to be friends?" She had enough 'happy' Gabriella stories from Sharpay to know that that was the general impression back in high school. Kim has learned recently Gabriella was a very skilled actress when they came to the stage of life.
"We were never really friends. We got along for Troy's sake. Maybe we were just jealous of each other. It got worse after she posted the almost sex tape to that certain web site. I still have no idea what possessed her to post that on the Internet."
Kim couldn't help but laugh. At some point over the last week in between dealing with a sick fiancé and a psychotic mother in law, Gabriella confessed the real reason why that particular video was posted.
"Why are you laughing?" Chad asked her with a hint of outrage.
"The whole incident was Mercedes' fault not Gabriella's. The biggest bitch at Stanford managed to convince Gabriella that Troy had that particular video for 'private time'." It only took Chad a few moments to figure out what she meant by private time.
"Wait why would she think that? " Chad asked her quickly.
"Without the 'happy pills' Gabriella was starting to believe some of the more interesting rumors about you and Troy. Mercedes convinced her that Troy was cheating on her with you and Sharpay." Kim would have loved to have seen his shocked expression. Unfortunately, the moment was broken by Olivia screaming at the top of her lungs.
"Please be quiet baby. I'm feeding you. Don't scream baby." She heard Chad say to the little girl.
"She probably just needs to be burped. You seriously need to explain to me how you ended up with custody of Olivia and Isaac. I'm surprised no one else in Tiffany's family is taking care of the children."
"You know how Tiffany's aunt is. She can barely take care of Kerri. There's no one else."
"I'm Tiffany's friend and she mentioned nothing about this. Not even when I invited her to stay with me for a few months."
"Most people don't prepare for what would happen to their kids if their ex boyfriend pushes them down a flight of stairs." Chad said with a hint of anger and sarcasm.
"So he did push her?"
"I am not answering that question. I don't want to talk about it."
"You have to eventually."
"Not today. So my best friend really kicked you out of his hospital room?"
"Yes, I think he was mad because I was taking all his covers."
January 26, 2009 9:23 AM
Gabriella sat beside Troy's bed as she watched him together on the hospital bed with his 'wife'. Part of her thought that it was cute the other part of her was slightly nauseous. She wondered if her and Troy were that disgustingly cute in high school. She didn't think so because in retrospect she didn't love Troy. Not the real Troy anyway. Maybe she loved the idea of Troy. Maybe she loved the idea of not being alone. She was always a loner before. Due to her mom's job and being sick, Gabriella never had time to make friends until Albuquerque. In retrospect, she got friendship love and romantic love confused.
She blamed herself for Troy being in the hospital. He only went with her Saturday to be a good friend and he ended up in the emergency room. That is why she stayed with him all day yesterday when Troy's crazy mother was trying to keep Kim away.
"Not that I don't enjoy having the company of someone who can talk about something besides what Diego did yesterday, but shouldn't you be in class?" Kim asked her quietly as not to wake up Troy.
"I can miss a class or two. First year classes are not that hard. I don't feel like dealing with the guy who only went out with me so he could fuck me anyway today." Gabriella said that last part in anger.
"Good point."
"Besides, I owed Troy."
"You know this isn't your fault. You were not the one who put the strawberry ice cream in the milkshake knowing full well that it could kill him."
Because of Troy's extreme strawberry allergy the entire Berkeley basketball team was ban from bringing any products containing strawberries on away games or to practice. James knew about the allergy and the deadly consequences. James was the one who told his girlfriend that it would be funny to put strawberries in something Troy ordered when the stupid girlfriend was talking to him earlier in the night.
"I know that he only went with me and Madison to the bowling alley because he felt guilty about breaking up with me to be with you. It was my fault he was there."
"You had no idea that the girl behind the counter was too stupid to know that giving someone strawberries with a severe allergy was a dumb idea. You cannot be blamed for the stupidity of others."
"I owe him anyway. He saved my life once." She said so quietly that she hoped no one would hear it. Of course, Kim did.
"How did that happen?"
"He saved me last year right before graduation. I was not adjusting well to the honors program. The only reason why I apply was because my mom and Taylor made me. The second day on campus I stopped taking my medication because they were making me too sleepy and I felt like I couldn't keep up. I wasn't making friends and I felt completely alone. I was trying to keep up the happy facade for everyone. The best thing about drama class was I learned to fake happiness." She said sarcastically.
"I don't remember those lessons. Sharpay and I had that master well before high school began." Considering what she now knew about Sharpay, Gabriella was convinced that girl was very good at putting on a show. No one knew the true Sharpay Evans in high school.
"A few weeks later, I was supposed to come back for prom. I called Troy and told him that I couldn't come back. The truth was that was goodbye. The night of the prom I was planning on swallowing an entire bottle of pills." She never said that aloud to anyone before.
"Fuck."
"Troy showed up and pulled me back down to earth. That's why I'm here. He saved me and saved me again when I was self destructing in November. That is what friends do."
"Do you still love Troy?" She was caught off guard by the question for a moment.
"Yes, I still love him but not the way you think. It was never romantic even if kissing was involved. I just wanted to not be alone anymore. I think he was lonely too, even if he had Chad. It was like he was missing something or somebody. I guess that something was you."
"I didn't mean to hurt him. It was just too complicated." Kim said not explaining further.
"Lucy made it more complicated."
"Yeah she did. Maybe something good came out of it. She was the one who told Troy to chase after you."
"Sometimes I think she knew something was wrong. She knew I was sick. She was the one who gave my mom a list of the best doctors in the area to treat the bipolar disorder."
"Don't you think that's odd? That's not exactly something everyone would know."
"You have a point. I only know because I'm sick. You don't think…" Gabriella starred to say but cut herself off.
"It's possible. For some unknown reason she hates me even though I have given her no cause. She has always been paranoid. Caroline told me that Lucy always accused her and Jack of sleeping together."
"You mean Caroline, Troy's future stepmom. Even I thought they were sleeping together before. They were much more in sync with each other then Jack and Lucy ever were."
"The actual sex did not start until Thanksgiving, but they've been in love for a very long time." Just then she felt her phone vibrate and went out into the hallway to talk.
"Hello Gabriella's telephone." She said quickly into the device.
"I don't have time for pleasantries. I wouldn't be calling you, if it was not important. Jack said you were with Kim right now." Gabriella instantly recognized the icy voice as belonging to Sharpay. Sometimes she has a hard time believing that Sharpay is as nice as everyone says she is. Gabriella is still a little upset at the girl for stealing Taylor's boyfriend even if Taylor was not.
"Yes. She is cuddling with Troy on the hospital bed. It's adorable."
"Did you take your pills this morning?" Sharpay asked quickly.
"Why does everybody ask me that question? This is why I did not tell anybody in high school."
"Because the last time you went off the 'happy pills' you tried to screw my brother, knocked out Troy's mom, and turned me and my boyfriend into porn stars. I need to know that you are stable. I can ask these questions because I see a therapist twice a week." Of course, Sharpay would see that as justification.
"Considering I saw somebody try to kill one of my friends two days ago I'm okay. I'm sorry about posting that to the Internet. Someday I'll explain to you why, but I know you wouldn't be calling me voluntarily unless someone was dead. Is Chad okay? Kim told me about what his father did. I thought my mom was manipulative."
"Chad's okay. Well as okay, as you can be dealing with a father that is a complete monster that only cares about money and getting off. Actually, I don't even like referring to Charles as Chad's father. Not after last night." At that moment she realized how absolutely tired Sharpay sounded. Sharpay's voice was filled with worry. It was almost scary to hear such a thing.
"What's going on? What happened last night?" Gabriella finally asked.
"Last night after dealing with the lawyers we went to Sarah Lane's for dinner. Charles was there. I was in the bathroom with Caroline when I heard shouting from upstairs. Then it sounded like something was crashing outside the door. I walked outside to see Tiffany, the mother of Chad's new brother and sister, unconscious on the ground with blood seeping through her khaki maternity pants. Chad was on the balcony holding his father down." She knew who Tiffany was. Troy told her about the completely sordid situation months ago.
"Oh my god! Are the babies okay?" Gabriella asked in worry.
"They're fine. Their adorable. They look like Chad except darker with less hair. The little girl is Olivia Sharpay and Chad's brother is Isaac Miguel." Of course, Sharpay would make sure one of the children was named after her.
"That's good. I was worried by the fact you are actually talking to me. I'm still confused about that."
"So am I. Jack told me to. The babies are fine, but Tiffany is not. She's in a coma and the doctors don't know if she's going to wake up." Gabriella actually heard real tears in Sharpay's voice. That scared the hell out of Gabriella.
"I'm sorry. Why didn't you call Kim directly?"
"Tiffany and Kim are really good friends. They have been bonding over the mom thing. Kim was even going to let Tiffany move into her house after the babies were born. I need to tell Kim what happen."
"But you don't know if she can take it?" Gabriella asked finally realizing why Sharpay called her.
"She has been dealing with too much with her mom and Troy's mom. I know she was not handling what happened with Troy very well before Lucy's stunt yesterday. She was in tears yesterday when she called. I don't think she can take one more thing. Jack said you would be there and could judge her mental stability better than he could."
"I believe that was a very nice way of saying that because Kim and I are not really friends yet, she is not going to shield me from the truth." Gabriella said as she stuck her head back into Troy's private room. Kim was completely unconscious lying next to Troy. Honestly, Gabriella was shocked it didn't happen earlier.
"Exactly. Can I speak to her without her completely breaking down?"
"She's asleep. She must have been exhaustive because she was talking to me right before you called. I think she has not slept since she got here." Gabriella said to Sharpay.
"I wouldn't be surprised. She is too busy trying to save the world to save herself. Have her call me or Chad when you think she is ready." Sharpay was off the phone before Gabriella could reply.
Gabriella quickly walked back into the room and pulled one of the spare blankets out of the closet. She quickly spread it over the unconscious Kim.
"Someone needs to take care of you for once." Gabriella said out loud to no one in particular.
January 30, 2009
Sharpay sat in her therapist's office tired and smelling of baby puke. No matter how much perfume she applied or how many shower she took she still smelled like babies.
"Sharpay are you sure you're up for a session today? You look like you're about to fall over in your chair."
"Probably, but it's quiet here and I can sleep. I have no problem paying you $200 to take a 1-hour nap right now. It would be worth every penny." She said using humor to deflect her anxiety and exhaustion.
"Yes the joys of being a new parent. How are you adjusting?" The doctor said as she jotted something down in her yellow notepad.
"Chad's trying to think of it as extended babysitting. I guess if he thinks of it as anything else then we'll have to acknowledge that Tiffany may not wake up."
"Do you see this as babysitting?" Stupid therapist for asking tough questions.
"Not really any more. I haven't slept more than 3 hours consecutively for almost a week. I can now mix formula carrying a screaming baby. I really do see myself as their mom now, even if it's only until Tiffany is well."
"How do you feel about being a mom temporarily?"
"I am absolutely petrified. Before Chad, I was never planning to be a mom ever. Not even when I was having fantasies about becoming Mrs. Troy Bolton did I think about children. I didn't want to be Darby. Then I fell in love with Chad and I realize I wanted to have little babies with his goofy hair and my fashion sense. It probably helped that I could take care of Alex without burning down Kim's house."
"Are you still worried about becoming Darby?"
"I don't see myself hitting my children or becoming the ultimate stage monster. Becoming the person who drinks all their problems away, I could see that happening." Sharpay said practically under her breath but her doctor still heard her.
"What happened?"
"Saturday night when Charles had Chad arrested, the first thing I did when we got back to Kim's house was raid her liquor cabinet. Last night Charles showed up at the house. He managed to make bail quite easily and then decided to violate the restraining order by trying to see the new babies. I don't know who yelled more Jack, Caroline, or Chad. I downed a shot of bourbon before Charles was technically off the property."
"Anything after that?"
"No, I had the babies to take care of."
"There lays the difference between you and Darby. You didn't overindulge because you knew you still had responsibilities. Although, I prefer you use a different coping mechanism."
"My other coping mechanisms are not available. Chad is barely talking to me and I am too tired for sex."
"Why is Chad not talking to you? Did you two have a fight?"
"It's not that type of not talking to each other. We're getting along fine. We have to. We have two newborns to take care of. We're not talking about how we feel. Chad will not talk about what happen Sunday. He will not talk to me about Troy being in the hospital. By the way, he's doing better. He actually when home today."
"That's good news."
"Yes, except Chad does not seem to be any less stressed. Did he tell you what happened at the restaurant Sunday? I'm not even sure he told the police everything."
"Sharpay, you know I can't answer that question. Although, Chad did mention something about you bringing baby pictures." Before Sharpay realized it, she was passing her phone over to her therapist so she could see pictures of Olivia and Isaac.
January 27, 2009
"There's usually more to a story then sensational headlines. What happened at the restaurant?" Why did the doctor have to ask that question? Chad really didn't want to answer. He took a deep breath, but still couldn't say a word.
"I'm sure whatever you saw it was difficult for you." The doctor finely said breaking the silence that was becoming stifling.
"I wasn't the one who ended up in a coma." Chad shot back. Humor was always his favorite defense mechanism.
"You don't have to talk about how Tiffany ended up in a coma. I will not make you talk about anything you are not ready to talk about. Let us start with an easy question. Why were you at the restaurant?" The doctor asked using her normal soothing tone of voice.
"We were hungry and my girlfriend cannot even make easy Mac without catching the microwave on fire. After spending the day with the lawyers in an effort to figure out how to beat my dad, we didn't want to risk giving my mom food poisoning or forcing her to cook. Therefore, we went to a restaurant. Unfortunately, my father happened to be at the restaurant with Aunt Claudia. Said restaurant also had two floors."
"I heard the story involving that extra crunchy macaroni and cheese in the find water sauce. I personally can't believe you actually consumed it." Just then, he heard his cell phone signify a text message from Sharpay. It simply read, "They are letting the babies go home today, bring car seats. XO Pay."
Chad had never been more happy to receive a text message from his girlfriend in his entire life.
"That was Sharpay. I think we are going to have to cut this session short. I need to get to the hospital."
"I understand. It's difficult when a family member is sick."
"What's even more difficult is I now have two infants to take care of." He said with a sigh as he got up from the couch.
"What do you mean by that statement?"
"As long as Tiffany is unconscious, Sharpay and I are proud parents two very adorable newborns. I have to go. My brother and sister need me. I will have Sharpay bring pictures when she comes Friday for her session."
55 minutes later
"Please tell me you have both car seats?" Sharpay said as she kissed her boyfriend on the cheek just outside the nursery. She was surprise Olivia Sharpay was not crying as Caroline and grandmother Danforth stood inside the nursery area holding a baby each. Unfortunately, her brother Isaiah Miguel was screaming.
Her baby namesake was born by emergency caesarean on Monday morning at 12:02 AM. Isaiah or Isaac for shore was born exactly three minutes earlier on the 25. Just like her and Ryan, the Jackson twins have the rare privilege of having their own birthday.
Sharpay could tell Chad was worn out, but then again so was she. It wasn't like they were getting much sleep sleeping on the couches in the waiting room and neither one of them could bear to be away from the babies for long. Unlike Chad, at least she was not a live witness to whatever caused Tiffany to be in a coma. That's why she made Chad go to therapy this afternoon.
"I left them in the car. I didn't think they would let us take the babies home so soon. I thought they would keep them longer." So did she. She was hoping that the babies would stay here until Tiffany woke up. According to the Tiffany's doctor, due to the severity of the below to her head Tiffany may be out for a while if she woke up. There was a 47% probability that Tiffany may never wake up from the comma and that terrified her and her fiancé.
"Taylor's mom says as long as the babies are okay they usually let them go home in a day or two. Despite being a few weeks early and being delivered by emergency caesarean, Olivia and Isaac are perfectly healthy. Alexis thinks the babies will thrive better at our house or rather Kim's house with us until we can think of better living arrangements. Alexis did get special permission for us to bring the babies by to see Tiffany every once in awhile." She tried to utilize all her acting skills to appear happy but nothing about the situation made her happy except when she held the two little innocent babies in her arms. The babies were so adorable even if they threw up on her occasionally.
"Was there any change in her condition?" Chad asked gravely. She knew he was talking about Tiffany.
"No." She said quietly before they were interrupted.
"Mr. Danforth and Ms. Evans, I'm glad I found the two of you together. You did bring the car seats?" Yelled the overactive nurse that has been taking care of the babies. Her perkiness was starting to annoy Sharpay. She reminded her too much of shiny happy Gabriella from high school. Even Gabriella isn't that hyper anymore.
They actually manage to get through a 5-minute conversation yesterday when she called Gabriella to see if Kim was mentally stable enough to deal with the news about Tiffany's condition. Gabriella actually sounded genuinely concerned.
"I left the seats in the car. I'm not completely incompetent. I also brought the outfits to bring the babies home in. Yes I did bring the outfits you picked out." Chad said looking right at her before she could ask.
"These are the forms you two need to sign to take your children home." The nurse said as she passed the forms to her and Chad. She felt uncomfortable with anybody referring to the babies as hers even if she has been the one in there with them since the moment they were born. She really did not want to think of the two babies as her and Chad's because that meant they were giving up on Tiffany ever waking up. In a weird way, she still felt like a mom and that scared her.
"Thanks but the twins are Chad's brother and sister not our son and daughter." Sharpay said calmly after giving herself a moment.
"The hospital has you down as their legal parents." The nurse said in a harsh voice.
"If you read the form correctly you'd realize that they were the Jackson babies legal Guardians not parents." Chad's mom said walking behind the two as she handed off a now crying Olivia to Chad. On the bright side, at least Isaac wasn't screaming anymore.
"Same thing." The nurse shrugged.
"Not really." Chad said but the statement lost its effect when Chad was rocking Olivia.
January 30, 2009 3:46 PM
Jack walked into his daughter-in-law's house to the site of his girlfriend rocking her ex husband daughter as her son sat across from her most likely asleep holding the other baby. He quickly walked over and kissed Caroline gently on the lips. It was the perfect ending to his horrible first day back at East High. He wanted to stay in San Francisco, but Troy sent him back once things were more stable.
"Can you grab Isaac from Chad? I think he's going to drop the baby at any moment." She said in a whisper as she stood up from the couch without jostling the baby. He followed her as she went to put the little girl down in the bassinet. His girlfriend quickly grabbed Isaac from him and placed the sleeping boy in the other bassinet.
"Let's go in the kitchen before the babies wake up." She said motioning to the kitchen. "I would go back to your house, but I can't leave my baby all alone with newborns."
"Is it weird taking care of your ex husband's children?"
"Taking care of any child after your only child starts college is awkward. I tried to tell myself that the babies are my grandchildren. Although at my age, that concept is just as disturbing. There is a woman in my office that is three years older than I am and she just had her first child. I don't want grandchildren until I'm 40. Alex doesn't count, because he's adorable." She said with a smile.
"I didn't want grandchildren this early either but they're not so bad. The best part is they go home to mommy and daddy at the end of the day. Of course, in my case mommy lives next door and daddy is in another state."
"Unfortunately, in my case mommy is in a coma and daddy is not legally allowed within 1000 feet of Isaac and Olivia. As you can tell Chad is exhausted and you know Charles showing up yesterday made things worse. Being a college student is hard enough without having newborns." She says with a sigh.
"Where is Sharpay?"
"Therapy. She left when I came back from my meeting with the lawyers and her dad. Do you feel like pizza or Chinese tonight? I'm too tired to cook or go grocery shopping. I don't think there's anything edible left in the refrigerator. Your house is probably worse." She said grabbing a bottled water from the refrigerator.
"Probably, but at least I know how to make macaroni and cheese. I say order whatever is easier to eat when feeding a newborn. How did things go with the lawyers?" Jack asked her.
"Can we talk about that later? I rather hear about your day." She said giving him a gentle kiss.
"I really don't want to talk about it either. Lucy called me six times today. Somehow, she was able to make bail, although I don't know how."
He really didn't want to talk about it or anything involving his miserable day. Lucy was just the beginning of his misery. More and more he was starting to wonder if Gabriella and Kim's theory about Lucy having some sort of mental illness was possibly true. In each call, she seem more and more unbalance. He does not want to see what would happen if Caroline and Lucy met in the grocery store.
After the first two uncomfortable phone calls from his soon to be ex wife, he dealt with his angry boss who essentially blamed him for East High losing to East Santa Fe during the final round of the state championship. Apparently, he was a bad basketball coach for putting the well-being of his child above that of the team.
According to the other team members, they probably would have won that game if the assistant coach didn't keep Jimmy on the bench the entire time. On the other hand, Jimmy has been offered a scholarship to two of the best private schools in the city. Not that Jimmy really cares what happened during the game Sunday because he has been too busy consoling his girlfriend.
His day was completed by writing up half of his drama class for pelting Penelope with water balloons Monday and today. According to Jason, the substitute teacher actually cheered at some point.
He was starting to get tired of the 'be perfect at any cost' mentality of East High. He has seen the damage firsthand. He has personally shocked at how well adjusted Troy was despite becoming a father at 15.
Jack was starting to look at other options. He can probably get a teaching or coaching position at any private school in the city if he tried. If he wanted to, he could go back to school and get his doctorate. Kim offered to pay for it as a 'thank you for taking my side' present if he ever wanted to go back.
Then there was Caroline. He hated being in a different city than her. He knew she didn't want to come back to Albuquerque. There were many schools in Virginia that he could teach at. They were also several universities with good doctorate programs.
"She probably got out the same way Charles did." His girlfriend said bringing his mind back to the matter at hand. "Lucy most likely manipulated some poor unsuspecting family member that only wanted to help. Charle's sister not only put up her house as collateral, but she's currently suing Chad and Sharpay for custody of the children." That was new. He didn't think anybody would be that stupid.
"Charles gave up all parental rights to those children. Neither he nor his sister has a legal leg to stand on. I am not a lawyer and even I know that. He is the reason why Tiffany is in a coma. If anybody was going to challenge Chad and Sharpay's guardianship of the children, I thought it would be Tiffany's mom."
"Tiffany's mom never cared about her daughter. It's all about appearances. She is more worried about her reputation and her investments going south because of the recession. It really does not matter because Vince's lawyers will eat whoever it is alive."
"I wouldn't be surprised. Vince has become more protective of Sharpay after he discovered what really happened with Darby."
"He would move back here if Sharpay was not keeping him at arm's length even if half of the company is based in New York now. He offered me a job today." Caroline said out of nowhere.
"What?"
"Two weeks ago when the kids were up in DC for inauguration, the Evans corporation head of Diversity Programs and EEO made some very nasty remarks about certain minority groups in front of a cell phone camera. Said nasty remarks were posted on everyone's favorite voyeuristic website. Vince was actually in town to deal with the fallout. During the basketball game when he was pretending to threaten my son for deflowering his little girl, Chad practically gave him my resume. With my background in civil rights law along with management experience at my job in DC, I am the perfect candidate to become the new chief of Diversity Programs and EEO at the Evans corporation. Starting salary is 600,000 a year."
"That some job offer."
"The downside is that I would have to split time between here in New York."
"That's still better than splitting time between here and DC. I'm sure there's other positives."
"The salary is nice. If I started working in February, I could have the money for chad's entire college career by June as long as he does not transfer to an ivy league school. I would be back here and I know Chad and Sharpay need my help right now." She said pointing to the sleeping teenager on the couch. Actually, unconscious maybe a more accurate description.
"You're right about that, especially if Tiffany doesn't…"
"Don't even say it out loud. It's too hard to think about." Everyone has been avoiding that particular possibility.
"Sorry. What are the other advantages?"
"An extremely flexible schedule and very generous time off. I actually had to pull out various legal references to get my current boss to OK my extended leave. I have to be back by Valentine's Day unless I accept the new job."
"I had to do the same thing with Dave this morning. Anything else worth coming back to Albuquerque for?"
"I do miss the food." She said laughing.
"I miss you. I think you propose to me Sunday. Did you mean it?" Instead of answering her, he kissed her. Unfortunately, the doorbell started to ring causing one of the children to start screaming. Isaac and Olivia sounded so much alike he was still having difficulty telling the two apart but Chad already knew which child was which.
"Go back to making out. I will take care of Olivia and the door. If Sharpay forgot her keys again I'm going to hurt her." Chad said getting up from the chair to grab his screaming little sister.
"I guess I'll take that as a yes. Now all we have to do was wait for your divorce to be finalized."
"Great." He said sarcastically wondering where if Kim would be willing to buy his ex wife off as his fiancée started kissing him again.
January 28, 2009 8:59 AM
Amanda honestly wasn't expecting to see Chad in class, not after everything that's happened since Saturday. He looked as tired as she felt. In addition to all the Chad related drama, she had her own share of fun this weekend.
After dodging several desperate phone calls from Zeke Sunday, she received a frantic call from Nikki who was in tears for the entire conversation. The last time Amanda heard Nikki cry like that was when her mom died. Once Nikki stopped crying, she explaining why her best friend since the second grade wasn't coming back to college this semester.
Over the weekend, Nikki found out her father was dealing with advance lung cancer. They tried to hide it from Nikki over Christmas and thanksgiving break but failed to do so this weekend due to a very hard round of chemotherapy. Her father and step-mom knew if Nikki found out she wouldn't stay in school and they were right. Marc and Amanda spent the last three days packing her things. They were going to try to drive to her house this weekend.
Added to the stress of the Nikki drama was picking up homework assignments for Kim and Sharpay. At least all the drama helped keep her mind off the Zeke situation.
That was becoming more complicated by the moment. She didn't know what to think. Part of her believed he was an asshole and the other part of her liked him. She enjoyed spending time with him but she didn't want to. She didn't want to hurt her two friends by dating their ex boyfriend. She honestly didn't know what was going on but with Nikki leaving, she just didn't have the time to analyze what it all meant.
Also keeping her mind off the Zeke situation was the fact she kept throwing up all the time. She personally blamed the more horrible than usual cafeteria food. Thankfully, she wasn't working there this semester. Instead, she was a paid intern at Sharpay's dad's company. Being friends with the owner's daughter and the vice president's daughter meant she had a schedule that worked around cheerleading until the season was over with. Her assignment this week as making sure Sharpay still passes despite missing most of her classes.
The downside of throwing up while packing up was mark kept making pregnancy test jokes. She had the sudden urge to punch him. The only person she has slept within months was the one person she was not ready to deal with in any capacity. She was just happy that Kim made her take Plan B, even if the conversation that morning with Troy's mother caused everything to unravel.
No matter how bad things were right now she didn't have Chad's problems. She should be thankful for that. Amanda was pretty sure he's gotten used to the sympathetic looks of his classmates every time something about his family ends up in the paper or on the web.
It was public knowledge that Chad's father pushed Tiffany down a flight of stairs sending her into a coma and that resulted in the twins being born late Sunday night slashed early Monday morning. A violent crime like that was going to make the Albuquerque News.
What was not public knowledge was Chad being arrested Saturday night or his father pressing charges in an effort to manipulate his son. Most people didn't know that Charles was essentially blackmailing Chad into playing basketball again. She managed to get all the gory details from Sharpay yesterday when she dropped off the class assignments.
Instead of thinking about what was going on, she slowly consumed today's sugary treat from Zeke courtesy of his brand new job at a flower shop/bakery just off campus. She hoped Zeke having a new job meant she would see him less often.
She finished the last byte of her 'sinfully bad for you' brownie as Chad walked in to the room looking beyond tired with his hair in a ponytail wearing jeans and a T shirt that said "I love my country, but it's the government I'm afraid of." Amanda honestly wondered how much sleep he's had in the last four days.
"I'm surprise you are here." Penelope said as soon as Chad took the seat next to her. Penelope was always one for bluntness. During the last cheerleading practice, she spent 20 minutes asking her questions about her relationship with Zeke. Much to her disappointment, she learned that both Sharpay and Penelope knew about what happened at the party a few weeks back. Sharpay was just too Busy with everything else to say anything.
"So am I. It's completely futile to resist my mom, Sharpay, Aunt Claudia, and Mr. Evans when they all team up against me. Due to the participation component of this class, I can only miss one more class without doing serious damage to my GPA. I'm going back home after this to be with the twins and maybe get some sleep when they are not crying If they ever stop crying. Olivia will only be quiet when Sharpay, my mom, or I are holding her."
"Their home? Is Tiffany still in a coma? I can't get anything good from Jimmy because he's too busy dodging the idiots on campus who were pissed about East High losing. It was not his fault that for some unknown reason the substitute coach benched him for the entire game." Penelope asked with a bit of irritation. Amanda already knew because she got to see the babies yesterday.
"They came home yesterday. We are staying at Kim's right now because the house is baby proof. My mom and Aunt Claudia are watching the babies while we are in class." Chad said placing his head on the desk.
"I know that Tiffany's mom is a little high strung, but shouldn't someone on her site of family be helping out." Amanda asked Chad gently.
"Tiffany's mom isn't allowed within 1000 feet of the twins, but I doubt she would care anyway. Her lawyers are still meeting with my lawyers to try the work out some sort of visitation agreement. I personally think she's just doing it for show, my aunt Ruth is going to be the real problem. Tiffany didn't want anyone else to take care of her children and I will not violate her wishes. Jackie's mom is too busy with work to even go see her niece who's still comatose. Were interviewing nannies tomorrow sometime after classes I think." Chad's head stayed on his desk until class began. He pretty much ignored Zeke except to give him Kim's phone number so he could check up on Troy.
"What did Tiffany's doctor say?" Amanda asked as soon as they broke up into pairs for the class assignment.
"It doesn't look like there's any major brain damage, but they don't expect her to wake up until the swelling goes down. She still not breathing on her own. It maybe a few weeks, if she does wake up." He looked so bleak when he said that.
"What do you mean if she wakes up? Sharpay did not mention that yesterday."
"It's a possibility. I'm not the premed student that you are, but you know that some people don't wake up from comas."
"This week has been horrible. First everything with your dad, then Troy ending up in the hospital after attempted murder by strawberries, then Nikki is leaving because her dad is sick, and finally Tiffany is in a coma. It's like our lives are a soap opera."
"Wait, back up. What about Nikki? "
"She's leaving school. Her dad is sick. Stage three lung cancer." She said in a whisper.
"Is he going to be okay? Why is she leaving?"
"I don't know. I just think Nikki just rather be there right now in case."
"In case he dies. I get it. I may be in the same situation if Tiffany doesn't wake up."
"What happens to the babies if Tiffany does not wake up?" From his expression, Amanda was sure she asked the one question Chad did not want to answer.
"Legally Sharpay and I become their permanent guardians." Chad said softly not saying anything else as he studied his lines for the exercise that they probably will be performing any moment now.
January 30, 2009
Zeke rang the doorbell of Troy's Wife's house with a bit of trepidation. He could tell just by looking at Chad Wednesday that he was beyond exhausted. He also may have been listening to their entire conversation because his mind automatically fixates on anything involving Amanda. Zeke was sure they could use some help even if it was just a couple of casseroles and a couple of batches of chocolate chip cookies. He also made Sharpay's favorite dessert.
Of course, his motives were not completely pure. Yesterday when he was hanging out with his friend Jason and his new boyfriend, Marc mentioned that Amanda would be coming over that evening to help Chad and Sharpay with the babies.
Amanda was avoiding him again. She was driving him crazy. This week Amanda was being as cold as Siberia in winter. Maybe she was still upset about her friend leaving.
"If you just woke up the babies I'm going to hurt you." Zeke heard Sharpay say as she walked up behind him and placed her key in the door. As soon as the door open, Zeke could hear two screaming babies inside. Sharpay glared at him as she went straight for the screaming baby dressed in pink. He assumed that was Chad's little sister Olivia.
Without saying a word, he followed Sharpay to the kitchen where he saw his former basketball coach making out with Chad's mother. The visual was slightly disturbing.
"Chad why are your parents making out in the kitchen?" Sharpay asked stopping in her tracks.
"I think they just got engaged, but I don't think rings were involved. I'm not sure. I was sleeping peacefully until somebody woke up the babies." Chad said screaming over the children as he glared at Zeke.
"You can't exchange rings until you're last marriage is actually over." Sharpay said sarcastically as she rocked the screaming child to quietness.
"I'm sorry. I didn't know that the doorbell was so loud. I brought food. I figured with everything going on you guys would be too tired to cook or do anything." He said holding out the two bags.
"I forgive you if you brought crème brûlée?" Sharpay said motioning for him to follow her into the kitchen.
"Of course. I also brought the chocolate chip cookies and brownies."
"You can put this stuff on the table as soon as they break apart. Kim is going to be pissed if they have sex on her kitchen table. Can't you do that in your own house? There are small children present." Sharpay said with a scream as the two adults pulled apart.
"You do remember what I saw at Pentagon Gardens?" Sharpay blushed at that. Zeke did not think such a thing was possible. Then again, he knew what happened at Pentagon Gardens.
"I caught Kim sending Troy dirty text messages when she was supposed to be teaching high school students last week. I think we would be even." Zeke's former teacher mumbled under his breath. It was slightly creepy to think of his former basketball coach having a girlfriend especially when said girlfriend used to make Zeke chocolate chip cookies with marshmallows when he was little.
"Thank you Zeke for being so thoughtful. Everything smells so good." Caroline said taking the bags from him.
"It's nothing much. I made some casseroles Mrs… Actually I don't know what your last name is anymore?
"Anything but Danforth. It is currently Sanchez. At least we will not have to do take out tonight. We were just figuring out what we were going to order.'
"Were you doing that before or after you were going to unzip his pants." Sharpay said heating up a baby bottle.
"This is coming from the girl who made a sex tape with my baby. I am an adult. I can do whatever I want. You on the other hand just graduated from high school. Do you really want to talk about certain incidents?
"Not really." Sharpay said grabbing the now warm bottle and testing it on her wrist. He followed her out to the porch without really thinking.
"So what's the real reason you're here? I seriously doubt you did it out of the goodness of your heart." She said skeptically.
"I really did want to help. It's part of my 'trying not to be a dick' efforts this semester."
"So you didn't do it just to score points with Amanda." Sharpay was good sometimes.
"Of course not. Amanda is not even here yet."
"You just gave yourself away. So how did you find out Amanda was supposed to come over later. "
"Marc told me in between make out sessions with my friend. You may want to disinfect every surface of your dorm room if Chad plans on sleeping there again anytime soon." Zeke said as he had a flashback to his Chicago roommate from hell.
"Okay that just sucks. Chad and I cannot even hold hands and Jason Cross gets to go down on Chad's roommate without any questions being asked. I knew that bitch was out to get us."
"If you do decide to go back to the dorms Marc now has pictures of her doing inappropriate things with her boyfriend. That is why she is now keeping her mouth shut."
"We haven't decided. Even if Tiffany wakes up, it may just be better for Chad and me to live off campus. For us to take an active role in the twins lives, it would make sense for us to have more space. Hey, you can always become Marc's new roommate because you will be closer to Amanda. It is obvious you're willing to do just about anything to get closer to her including make dinner for her friend who happens to be your ex girlfriend. The sex must be fantastic."
"I really don't remember. I was extremely wasted at the time. I just like being around her. She is different than anybody else I have ever met before. Sometimes she is an absolute bitch but other time she is the greatest person in the world. I love talking to her because she actually gets me. She listens to what I'm saying instead that judging me right on the spot."
"Why did't you tell me this last time?"
"I believe you were threatening to kill me at the time."
"Did you ever feel that way about me?"
"Honestly no. I think I loved you the way you loved Troy. I loved the idea of you, but I don't think I loved the real you. We were not in love with real people, just illusions. Maybe that is why I never ended things with Penelope. Because I was so stupid back then she's running away from me now."
"Zeke, do you blame her? I would be running away too."
"So convincing Marc to let me go in his place tomorrow when they deliver all of Nikki's these things would be a mistake?" Just then the little girl in Sharpay's hands started screaming again.
"Very big mistake and Isaac agrees with me."
"I thought that was Olivia. He is wearing pink."
"Your point is? Ryan wore pink all the time."
"Ryan dated Jason in high school."
"That's not a valid argument. If you're looking for something to do I can use a babysitter or possibly a distraction for Chad. He won't turn down a basketball game or your brownies." He wouldn't say no to being a distraction for Chad. The only friend Zeke still had in Albuquerque was Jason and he was in the new boyfriend zone. Although Marc will be on his way to Arizona tomorrow so he could probably bring Jason along.
"I thought Chad was over basketball?"
"He's over the pretentiousness of college basketball and the competition. Somebody needs to break in Kim's new basketball court.
"I'll think about it. But I have this strange feeling that I would probably end up severely injured in a basketball game with Chad."
"Probably. He has daddy issues and he can't punch Charles again."
"Fine I will come by tomorrow with more comfort food and a basketball." As soon as he said the words, he was wondering if going to Arizona with a slightly deranged Amanda would be the preferred alternative.
Bonus question: At least one new person is now pregnant in this story. Guess who?