Her chocolate orbs fluttered open. It was daylight outside, but still pouring.

She looked around. She was still on Earth. Troy wasn't in the truck.

When she finally sat up, the driver's seat door opened and Troy jumped in the truck, breathing heavily.

"So cold... " He shivered and turned the key in the ignition. Nothing.

"Do you know what's wrong with the truck?" She pulled the blanket close to her neck and yawned.

He jumped and looked over. "You scared the hell out of me... " He chuckled a little and leaned over, pecking her on the cheek. "Good morning, and no, I don't know exactly what's going on yet."

He turned the key again, the motor sputtered, and shut off again. "Dammit." He cursed to himself. "Your clothes are dry, by the way."

She reached towards the floor of the car and felt her clothes. As she began to put them on, Troy handed her a comb and a hair band.

"That's all I could find. I keep it in my truck at home for Aubrey and it just happened to be in here."

She put her hair up in a ponytail and put the comb in the glovebox.

He got out of the car once again and went to the front of the truck, looking around in the motor. He noticed that the spark plugs were switched.

He switched them back and got back into the truck.

"Did you find out what's wrong?"

"I think so." He turned the key and the truck sputtered. He tried again, and the truck roared. "Spark plugs were switched. Sounds like dad to me." He looked over at her. "We need to home to my parents' house and get dry."

...

He pulled into the driveway and noticed that a light was still on inside.

"Shit... " He sighed. " I'll bring you some clothes outside, okay?"

She nodded.

Troy bolted out of the truck and into the house.

"WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN ALL NIGHT? YOUR DAUGHTER WOKE UP AT 5 IN THE MORNING SCREAMING FOR HER DADDY!" Kay stood up from the living room chair.

"Dad's truck broke down. I didn't have service and didn't bring any money for the pay phone." He ran up the stairs.

"TROY- " Kay cut herself off with a groan and went into the living room, where Aubrey was on the couch with Jack, sobbing.

Troy dug through Gabriella's old clothes in his old bedroom and pulled out a pair of jeans and a shirt, along with her underwear and bra. He also changed his clothes and looked over at Talon and Lyle, who were both lying in Troy's old bed with eachother. He gave each of them a quick kiss and closed the door behind him.

He ran back down the stairs, where his mom caught him the next time. "Go get your daughter and comfort her!"

Troy sighed. "Mom, I have something to do." He started towards the door.

"Where are you going?"

Troy grabbed Aubrey from Jack. "I'll be right back."

He ran out the front door with Aubrey in his arms, along with Gabriella's clothes.

He opened the driver's door and got in quickly before Gabriella had a chance to look over at him.

"Here's your old clothes." He handed them to her and sighed. "My mom is on my ass about leaving Aubrey alone last night. She's really sensitive and shy, and she is really attached to Talon and I."

Aubrey's tears stopped when she saw Troy, who gave her a big smile. "Hey baby, what happened? Did you have a bad dream last night?"

She nodded and touched his face. "Daddy... "

"Awh, sweetheart, I'm right here." He kissed her cheek.

Gabriella completely changed into new clothes and threw the blanket off.

"Aubrey, that's your mommy right there." He pointed. "Can you say hi to her?"

Aubrey looked over at Gabriella with tears running down her face.

"She's a beautiful little girl Troy, but she's not my daughter." Gabriella sighed.

"You are their mother whether you like it or not." He smiled. "Do you want to hold her?"

"I don't feel like I deserve to."

"Of course you do." Troy said. "Here... " He handed Aubrey to Gabriella. "She won't bite."

Gabriella stared at her tiny twin sitting in her lap. Aubrey looked up at Gabriella with big chocolate eyes, like Gabriella's and a little smile.

"She is just gorgeous, Troy... " Gabriella felt a few tears running down her face. "I remember when I was pregnant with Talon and we found out it was a girl. When he was born, I was upset because I wanted a little girl so badly... "

"She is your daughter, Gabi. You'll always be her mommy, no matter what DNA she has." Troy smiled. "I wish you could stay and we could raise the kids together... "

"I wish I could stay too." Gabriella sniffled. "I miss you and Talon so much... "

Troy kissed her cheek. "He talks about you all the time. He goes on about how proud he is to have a mommy as pretty as you."

She sobbed and wiped her tear away. "Can I see him? Or is he sleeping?"

"I'll go wake him up. Let me put Aubrey back in bed." Troy took Aubrey from Gabriella and went into the house.

Gabriella sat in the car by herself, wondering how much time she had left. She felt as if her body was real, like she was alive... She never felt that way the last time she came from Apex.

And, for that matter, she had stayed all night.

She hoped her presence on Earth was permanent, but she had a feeling that it wasn't.

Gabriella watched as Troy carried a little blonde boy out of the house. The boy was obviously tired, because his head was on Troy's shoulder.

Troy opened the truck door and set Talon between himself and Gabriella. He shut the door.

"Hey Talon, wake up."

Talon yawned and looked up at Troy.

"Look who came to see you." He nodded to Gabriella.

He turned his head. Talon squinted a little, then gasped. "Mommy?"

Gabriella couldn't help but cry. "Hi baby... "

Talon had a smile on his tired face. "Can I hug you?"

"You sure can, come here." She opened her arms and held him tightly as he climbed into them. She kissed the top of his head and ran her fingers through his soft hair.

"He's tiny for being four, isn't he?" Troy remarked.

She nodded slightly and looked at Troy with tears running down her cheeks. She sobbed loudly and buried her head into Talon's shoulder. "I had this little boy in my belly for such a long time, and I never got to see him until now, four years after you and I worried about heart failure. Four years after an asshole killed me... "

Talon pulled away from Gabriella. He kissed Gabriella's cheek.

"Nuh-uh, you're going to give me a kiss on the lips and like it." She pecked his lips and he started sobbing.

"What's wrong?" Troy rubbed Talon's back.

"I just love mommy so much... " He cried and buried his head between her breasts. She held him tightly and buried her own head into his soft blonde hair.

She rubbed his back. "He looks just like you Troy. He's got your blue eyes. I wanted him to have blue eyes so badly... "

Troy leaned over and kissed the side of Gabriella's head.

Talon lifted his head up and looked into Gabriella's eyes. "I love you... " He said through sobs.

"Sweetheart, don't cry, please... " Gabriella stroked his hair and sobbed. "I know you are sad that I haven't been with you for a long time, but I'm here right now."

Talon looked over at Troy with the saddest eyes. "Daddy, she is beautiful, just like you told me. She's the prettiest lady I've ever seen... "

Gabriella couldn't help but look over at Troy with a smile.

"See, did I lie?" Troy quickly wiped a tear away. "I told you she is the prettiest lady you'll ever see."

Talon opened an arm towards Troy, and Troy pulled Talon and Gabriella into his arms.

All three cried.

The family had been reunited, and both Troy and Gabriella knew that it wouldn't be long before they would be ripped apart again.