Should I Stay or Should I Go?, a high school musical fanfic

Should I Stay or Should I Go?

Summary: There was only one thing Gabriella had to decide, should she stay or should she go?

A/N: I got this idea months ago while watching the Australian soap 'Neighbours' and I wrote it over a few days but completely forgot about it and I'm only just getting around to uploading it. Plus I think I owe you guys an explanation for my long disappearance again so if you want to know, read at the end.

Btw, I'm using some real places in the story from my own experience of visiting them.

Disclaimer: I own nothing but the plot, Mr C and Lily-Ella.

Sighing as she lay the three year old little girl down in her small bed, the mother couldn't help but let her mind wonder. Her daughter was the spitting image of her father, especially when she was sleeping; the content look on her face tugging at her mother's heart. She missed her child's father more than she realised. The past two years she hadn't really noticed how much of an empty hole there was in her heart. But of late, it was becoming more and more prominent. Neither of them saw him in person very often as he moved to Europe for his job but he was always sending pictures, toys or small gifts and DVD's with him talking about what he'd been up too, showing them around and just generally how much he missed his two favourite girls.

Hearing the sigh her daughter let out in her sleep, the mother smiled and ran her hand gently over the young girl's delicate head. Lily-Ella Bolton was the idyllic child. Ever since the day she was born, she had been more than any mother could wish for in her gentle mannerism; she never cried unless she was in pain or hungry and would just lie quietly and contently in her mother's arms for hours or wherever she was as long as she knew where she was. As she'd grown and her depth of knowledge expanding, it was obvious she was a very curious child; something her father had been at the exact same age unlike her mother who was very reserved from a small age.

It had been a while since the two had heard from Lily-Ella's father. The father in question was Troy Bolton. No one had ever begrudged Troy taking up the offer of a lifetime in moving to Europe as everyone knew he was bigger than their small town of Albuquerque where Lily-Ella and her mother resided. The offer had come up within months of him graduating from Berkley but had taken him a while to actually make up his mind and for everything to have gone through. The main reason it having taken so long? Gabriella Montez. The two had been together for eight years when during their final year of University they called it quits on their relationship. It wasn't because they had had some huge row as some people thought but simply they had grown up and having finally been able to stand on their two feet, found that they perhaps weren't quite as besotted with each as they'd always believed. The two remained extremely close and Gabriella had been the first to find out about Troy's exceptional offer. The problem at the time was though that Troy wasn't quite as excited about the offer, having already turned it down, after deciding he wouldn't leave as it was more important for him to have stayed. And the reason for this? Gabriella had been eight months pregnant with his daughter and he had promised Gabriella that he was going to be around for his daughter and not one of these father's who disappeared after the baby was born just because he wasn't with the mother anymore. Gabriella had hit him as soon as she found out he refused to go because of her – that and he'd been poking fun at her suffering from her hormones. She told him she knew he had always dreamed of leaving Albuquerque for good and travelling around the world before finally settling down no matter where that was. But things didn't work out that way and Gabriella hated knowing she was the reason why and that is why when the offer re-occurred almost a year later she insisted to Troy he go. She promised him he wouldn't be letting her or Lily-Ella down but would be making them proud by following his dreams. And so he did. He went but only under the strict rules he and Gabriella made to speak every day at first and a minimum of once a week, they both sent pictures and videos of things they'd been up to and Gabriella promising the minute she needed him to come home, no matter the reason – whether it be she was just missing him or something was wrong with their daughter – he would be there. Their plan had worked and Troy never felt like he missed out on his daughter's life and Lily-Ella always knew her father. But the one person who seemed to be forgotten in this was the one person making sure it all happened; Gabriella.

The buzzing of her cell ringing was enough to bring Gabriella out of her trance of thoughts, her hands wiping away the tears she had obviously let fall while deep in thought.

"Hello?"

The breathing on the other end of the phone gave away the answer of who was calling before they'd even spoken. "Hey, Bella. Did I wake you?" Troy's voice floated into her ears as a small smile crossed her face. He had given her the nickname 'Bella' after a few months of living in Italy, telling her that no matter what he saw or who he was with, no one would ever be as beautiful as she was in his eyes. Her heart had filled with emotion when he'd told her.

"Hey, Troy. Nah, I just put Lily down but I'm still awake. How are things?" No matter how much she missed him, there was no way Gabriella would ever tell Troy just how much she was missing him because she didn't want to make him feel guilty.

"I'm good. Works a bit slow right now but other than that it's good. Weather's warming up which is definitely a good thing." Gabriella rolled her eyes. As she glanced at her watch she saw it was flashing nine pm meaning it must have been around six am for Troy, explaining why he sounded so awake already. "How's Lily doing?"

Gabriella smiled thinking at their daughter. "Growing up fast and taking after her daddy in so many ways." It had been almost eighteen months since Troy had last seen Lily-Ella as he went through a really hectic few months at work, forcing him to spend more time away for work than taking a break to spend time with his family and friends.

"I can't wait to see her. I'm going to try and come see you guys during the summer since you won't have classes then." Gabriella worked at the local high school, East High, where she and Troy first met after she transferred during her junior year. "Hey, Bella, I gotta go since my friend's here. I've sent you a new DVD which you should hopefully be receiving tomorrow. Call me when you get it and have watched it, no matter what time and give Lily a big kiss from me and tell her I'll talk to her soon."

"Will do. Have a good day, Troy."

"Goodnight, Bella. Ciao."

Gabriella hung up the phone before going to make herself a hot chocolate; her best friend sitting at the table drinking one of her own. She and Lily-Ella lived with Gabriella's best friend, Sharpay Evans, who had remained in Albuquerque and was now being trained up by Ms Darbus to take over from her in the Drama department. At twenty seven, some people may have found it strange that the two lived together but Gabriella was grateful of all the help she could get with Lily and Sharpay hated being on her own so it made sense for the two to get a place together. Apart from their parents, the two rarely saw any of their other friends from high school as they were all scattered about across the USA.

"How's Troy?"

Gabriella poured the hot water into the cup before answering. "He's good. Still loving it over there."

Sharpay smiled. "I'm sure he misses you and Lils loads though."

"Yeah but she misses him loads too. She told me the other day that even though her daddy isn't here, he's still the coolest daddy ever."

Sharpay awed at the words her god-daughter had spoken. "What about you? How do you feel?"

Giving the blonde a puzzled look, Gabriella spoke. "I miss him, sure, but I'm just glad he's happy."

"And are you happy?"

"Shar, why are you bringing this up now?" Gabriella questioned trying to dodge the question.

The blonde shrugged. "You seem to have been struggling of late and you just seem really lonely every time you hang up from him. It's like you need him."

"I don't need anyone, Shar. Trust me, between you and my daughter I could never feel lonely." Sharpay gave her a look to say tell the truth. "I'm being honest." Sharpay said nothing but just continued to look at her. "Stop it." Gabriella let out a frustrated sigh. "Fine, alright, I admit it. I miss Troy and I think my feelings have started to grow stronger for him again."

Sharpay smirked victoriously. "Finally, she admits it. Why don't you tell Troy how you feel?"

"Because I'm not ruining his life and you won't either because you are going to keep that big gob of yours shut." Gabriella threatened.

Sharpay held her hands up in surrender. "Hey, it's me. Since when would I ever say anything?" Gabriella gave her a look as if to say 'do you really want me to remind you'. Everyone knew that Sharpay was still as big a gossip today as she was in high school; a fact she is so very proud of. But what her best friend couldn't see was the crossed finger's she was holding behind her back while she waited for Gabriella to disappear to check on Lily-Ella before grabbing her cell and disappearing into her room.

Gabriella was stressed out and confused. Stressed not only because she had tons of papers to mark bit also because it had been two weeks since Troy had last called, emailed or had any communication with her. This confused her as the longest Troy had ever gone was a week without contacting them before and that was only because he was away on a conference trip with work. The last DVD Troy had sent had been ones showing him celebrating Easter with his friends and his parents who had flown out to see him for a while. They had taken huge piles of photos and DVD's full of Lily-Ella for Troy rather than Gabriella posting them.

"Shar, are you sure Troy hasn't called when I've been out?"

"Gabriella, for the last time, I'm certain. One of us always tends to be around and if he had of tried, he would have left us a message. Trust me; he's probably just got caught up in something that he has forgotten." Gabriella shook her head.

"He's always on the phone, even when he's busy. I get the feeling something is wrong. What if he is seriously ill or hurt and he is out there all alone. What if he's in trouble and he can't find any of us? What if-" Gabriella was cut off by Sharpay's hand covering her mouth.

"Gabs, seriously, stop stressing. You know if something was wrong Troy would have somehow found a way to get a message to you. He'll call you as soon as he can and I bet it's some stupid excuse and you'll curse yourself for worrying over him so much."

As the blonde's words flowed through her mind, Gabriella couldn't help but go into overdrive thinking as to why. What if he had found someone new? What if he was getting bored with her and Lily-Ella? What if something bad had happened and he couldn't remember who they were? What if – Gabriella frowned as the doorbell rang. "I'll get it."

Gabriella headed towards their front door, Lily-Ella already waiting there for her mother wanting to know who was here. "Momma, door."

Rolling her eyes, the twenty seven year old Mom picked up her daughter in her arms and opened the door. "Hey, Mr C." Mr C aka Mr Clarkson aka their postman who lived a few doors down; he'd been given the nickname when the gang had been at school, smiled at the two brunettes.

"Good morning. I have a special delivery here from what looks like young Mr Bolton. I just need a signature here please, Gabs." Gabriella took the clipboard and pen from Mr C as he took Lily-Ella from her. "And how's my favourite little girl doing?"

Lily-Ella giggled. "I went to Grandma's today."

"Really?" She nodded as her little brunette pigtales bounced up and down. "Were you good for her?"

"Yep. We made lots of fairy cakes. Momma, can I go get one for Mr C?" Gabriella nodded at her daughter as she disappeared back into the house.

"Thanks. So how's Troy doing? Has he met any Italian seductresses yet?" Mr C asked as he adjusted his blue hat on his grey hair.

Gabriella shrugged. "To be honest, I don't know. He's never really mentioned anything and I don't think Troy is the kind who would tell even if he had. You know he hates being talked about when he's not here to hear all the gossip about himself."

Mr C laughed knowing how true it was. Although Troy was probably one of the most perfect gentlemen, he was also very big ego'd and was never one to hold back in fishing for compliments for himself. "I bet he misses Lily though."

"Yeah he does. He still feels bad about leaving while she was such a young age in fear she would forget who he was but at the same time I think he loves it so much out there he couldn't come back." Gabriella explained sadly knowing how much Troy had fallen in love with the Italian lifestyle and the small village he lived in on the outskirts of the Bay of Naples in a place called Sorrento. Everything was so quaint and from pictures and videos she had been sent by Troy it was so easy to understand why. Sure he didn't get paid the best money possible but to Troy it wasn't so much about the money he made but the lifestyle and happiness he got.

"Well then you have to ask yourself the question, would you be willing to give up all this to move to be with him?" A confused Gabriella was just about to ask where that question came from when Lily-Ella appeared.

"Here you go, Mr C. I put two in for you and one for Mrs C." The young girl grinned at him as he took the plastic bag from her.

He nodded at her before speaking. "You know me too well, Miss Lily. Thank you for these. I'm sure we'll love them. Anyway, I best be off. Need to finish this round before Mrs C gets too comfy without me around."

Gabriella and Lily-Ella giggled as he waved to them and they closed the door, heading inside. "Momma, what Daddy sent?"

"I don't know, baby. Why don't you go find Aunt Sharpay while Momma opens it up?"

The mocha eyes on the young girl darted towards the kitchen before hurrying off to find Sharpay knowing the sooner she got her the sooner she could find out what her Daddy sent.

Sharpay, Gabriella and Lily-Ella all waited for the screen to come up so they could watch the latest video Troy had sent.

"Hey Bella, Shar and my favourite little girl." Lily-Ella giggled as she snuggled into her Mom with her Aunt Sharpay on the other side.

"I just want to say I'm so sorry that I haven't been in touch recently but I've been having to finalise some stuff and do some work to the house that time has been escaping me. Plus with the time difference, I've just been finding excuses. Yes excuses. You see I got a phone call around two weeks ago now and it got me thinking."

"That's got to be a first." Sharpay rolled her eyes at her friend.

"I know it's hard to process that thought, Bella, but it's true. I never realised till recently just how much I miss both you and Lily-Ella. You two are the only girls that can ever truly make me happy which is why I want you both here. With me. Forever. Bella, will you and Lily-Ella come and live with me? I mean take all the time you need and I'll understand if you say no but I can't go on wondering whether or not I was making the right or wrong choice in asking you."

Troy's voice stopped for a few seconds and Sharpay took the chance to look at Gabriella who was sat there in shock while Lily-Ella was just contented with watching her Daddy speak, not really fully understanding what he was saying. Before anyone could speak though, Troy started speaking again.

"I need to show you guys something else. I've re-decorated the house so if you decide to come then everything will be set up already for the both of you.

Before I go, Bella, I need to ask you one more thing. Well three technically. Before I start could you make sure Lily-Ella isn't in the room? It's just it's a bit private and I don't want her saying anything."

Gabriella turned to their daughter who was already moving. "I'm going to play with my dollies in my room." Gabriella kissed her forehead grateful she didn't have to ask.

"Ok here goes. In the package there should be an envelope. Don't open it until this DVD has finished because otherwise not everything in there will make sense. Secondly, when this is finished and you've opened the envelope could you please ring me, no matter what time it is because I need to speak to you.

Finally, there is something else I need to ask of you. Bella, eleven nearly twelve years ago, you came into my life and since that day I have never looked back. You made me who I am today and for that I'll be forever grateful. For eight of those we were not only best friends but lovers too. And then for the last three, parents together to the most precious thing in our lives, something we made together from our love, Lily-Ella. I know if Shar is there she will probably have a go at me for doing this but I have to. Bella, I'm still in love with you; completely and totally crazily in love with you. No one else will ever have my heart the way you do and I'm sorry it's taken me all this time to see this and to finally recognise the tone you have in your voice every time we speak, giving me all the answers I need to know that you feel the same towards me. And because I do know that, I was wondering if you would do me the honour of becoming my wife? Will you marry me, Gabriella Montez?"

Sharpay and Gabriella were in shock. Neither of them had seen that coming and didn't know how to absorb that information.

"I guess I'll just wait for your call now and hopefully you'll give me the answers I so desperately hope you will give.

Take care and remember I'll always love you no matter what happens.

Bye for now."

The TV screen went black as neither of the young women made any attempt to move or say anything. Suddenly remembering Troy said there should be an envelope, Gabriella stood up and retrieved the package from the table which sure enough contained the envelope. Heading back to the couch where Sharpay was sat in silence watched her every move, Gabriella carefully opened the envelope and let its contents fall out into her lap. The two gasped. Inside there were two plane tickets, a set of keys and a white gold diamond engagement ring.

"Gabs?"

Gabriella remained silent as she looked at the airplane tickets and noticed that the one was for her and the other for Lily-Ella but neither had a specific date, just an open end one. Both tickets were one-way from LAX to Ciampino airport in Rome; the plane journey from New Mexico to LA included in the tickets. Secondly, the keys had a piece of paper attached to them with a note from Troy reading, 'These might come in useful should you choose to accept my offer'. Finally, the engagement ring. It was stunning and more than Gabriella could have expected but yet she didn't know what her answer was going to be. Yes she loved Troy but it was a big risk going from being nothing to engaged, especially when he wanted her to move halfway round the world to be with him. This was all too much to take. Pushing the stuff from her lap she ran to her room, slamming the door behind her, making Sharpay wince.

"Auntie Shar, what's wrong with Momma?"Sharpay opened her arms and the one thing that kept both Troy and Gabriella going flew into her arms where she held her tight.

"Momma is just a bit tired. She'll be fine in a bit. Come on, how about we go to the park for a while?"

It had been a week since Gabriella had received the DVD and she was avoiding all Troy's calls, texts, emails, letters, everything. She couldn't face talking to him or to anyone about everything which was worrying Sharpay. Even Lily-Ella had noticed something was up with her mother as she barely ate and was always too tired to do anything.

"She still avoiding me?"

Sharpay sighed as she answered the phone hearing Troy's voice. "We're trying, Troy. Really but she won't budge. It's the one thing the two of you have in common and that is your stupid stubbornness."

"Aww Aunt Shar, you said a naughty word. Momma says stupid is a bad word." Troy laughed hearing his daughter in the background while Sharpay rolled her eyes.

"Yes, Sharpay, don't encourage my daughter to say bad words."

Sharpay let out a small growl as Troy smirked on the other line. "Talk to your daughter for a bit while I try going to talk to her mother."

The phone was passed to Lily-Ella who was sat in the kitchen colouring. "Daddy! Guess what?"

"What?"

Lily-Ella sighed dramatically. "Daddy, you have to guess! Duh."

Troy couldn't help but laugh at the tone in her voice. "Hmm does it relate to Momma?"

"Nope. It's what Auntie Shar promised me."

Troy frowned wondering what Sharpay had said this time because the last time she promised something it was to buy Lily-Ella a pink castle when she was older so she could live like a princess. "I don't know. It's too hard for Daddy."

Giggling, she finally decided to give in. "A big pink pony!"

"A pony?"

"Yep. She said you would buy it for me when I was older."

Troy scoffed. "I think we might have to talk about that, princess. So what are you doing? You being a good girl?"

"I'm colouring a big picture in for Momma because she's been sad. Auntie Shar said if I was good then Momma would feel better so I'm being extra, extra good, Daddy."

Even over the phone, Troy knew his daughter was proud of her actions. "I'm glad you're being a very good girl."

Things went quiet before Lily-Ella spoke. "Daddy, do you love me?"

"Of course I do. I love you lots and lots and lots. Why?" Troy knew the tone in her voice was serious.

"Because somebody said to me that because you don't live with us no more you must not like me or love me."

Troy felt his heart melt at the thought of his daughter doubting his love for her. "You shouldn't listen to them then. Daddy loves you more than anything in the world and even more so because he can't see you or talk to you as much as he would like."

"Do you love Momma?"

Hesitating before he spoke, the father thought of his daughter's mother. "I've never stopped and I never will."

"Huh?"

Troy laughed. "Yes, princess, I love Momma lots too."

"Well you should have just said that silly." She told him as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. "Daddy, I got to come off the phone because Auntie Shar wants to talk to you again. I love you, Daddy."

"I love you too, baby. Be a good girl and I'll talk to you soon."

"Ok, Daddy. Bye-bye." Handing the phone back to Sharpay the young girl went back to concentrating on finishing her picture.

"I'm sorry, Troy, but I tried."

Troy sighed in defeat. "I was hoping it wouldn't come to this."

"Come to what?"

"Well..."

A few days had passed since Troy had phoned. Gabriella was in the middle of grading some papers after putting Lily-Ella to bed while Sharpay was watching some of her favourite shows in the living room while texting her ex-boyfriend, Zeke Baylor, whom she had recently gotten back in touch with through his parents. The phone sounded throughout the small house and Gabriella knew it was probably Zeke as he had been ringing every night around this time.

"Hey, Gabs?" Gabriella turned to see Sharpay approaching her. "It's your Mom."

Gabriella took the phone confused as to why her mom would be ringing so late. "Hello?"

"Bella, don't hang up."

Gabriella frowned hearing his voice before glaring at Sharpay who smirked before heading back to watch TV. "What do you want, Troy?"

"I want to know why you are avoiding me and why you haven't responded to anything?" It was obvious she had hurt him from his voice. He sounded so miserable compared to his normally chirpy self.

"I need some time."

"Gabriella, I think you've had time. Please just tell me if I'm wrong but I'm guessing I made a mistake in assuming you felt the same way for me as I do you."

Gabriella closed her eyes, the pen in her hand falling. "I can't."

"Well then what's stopping you?"

"I have my life here, Troy. Lily-Ella is settled here and I'm scared if we try and get back together, if things go wrong then I don't want our daughter getting stuck in the middle of everything."

Troy knew her reasons were unselfish but it still didn't stop it from hurting. "Bella, who said we won't work? We didn't work last time but yet we were still best friends and that could still happen if things didn't turn out the way we hoped. Please just give us a try." Troy begged.

"I'm sorry, Troy." With that she hung up the phone before she broke down in front of him. Sharpay who had been listening knew it was time to give up. Gabriella was just getting more and more hurt and it wasn't doing her any good. Maybe they would just have to be two soul mates destined to be together but never would be.

Gabriella couldn't help but smile as she watched her daughter plant some new flowers for Mr C. Sharpay had gone away for two weeks with Zeke now the summer holidays had finally arrived. It had been three months since she and Troy last spoke but he still spoke near enough everyday to their daughter or would send her stuff still. He still tried to talk to Gabriella but she knew she had to break all her ties with him as best as possible in order to help her move on.

"You really shouldn't listen to that head of yours. It's getting you in more and more trouble." Gabriella turned to face Mr C confused. "You should be following that heart of yours not your head. I know it might not always feel like it but your heart tends to get things right if you go with it."

"I don't understand."

"Troy. You love him. He loves you. You have a daughter together. He wants you and he put his heart out there for it to get torn into pieces because the person it was waiting for rejected it. Gabriella, you always said you wanted the best for your future so why are you denying yourself the happiness you deserve? It's not often people find their soul mate but if you one of the lucky few who do, you should leap on it and grab everything possible second you have together. Trust me I learnt that so recently but I know I can go on knowing we lived our life together to the fullest. If there was one thing I promised myself was I was going to tell the woman I loved that I loved her each and every single day we were together. And I did. And she knew it. Don't lose the one chance you might have of doing that because when it's gone, it's gone. There's no going back."

Gabriella could feel her eyes welling up as everything Mr C said pierced her heart. It was true. Everything was true. And yet here she was living but living to the fullest. "How do you cope knowing Mrs C is never coming back?" Around six weeks ago, Mr C had turned up on their doorstep asking if he could see Lily-Ella. When she had appeared, he picked her up in his arms and just held her close as the tears fell from his eyes. Gabriella and Sharpay had been worried at the sight and were devastated for Mr C when he revealed Mrs C had passed away in her sleep the previous night. The both knew the couple had never had any children and the gang in high school had become like their children and even more so with Gabriella and Sharpay who had stayed around. They'd treated Lily-Ella like their own grandchild which is why Gabriella knew it was important they rallied around him to keep his spirits up.

"Because I know she's still here. She's everywhere I look because this place was her home and I know it's the one place her spirit will remain."

Gabriella rested her head on his shoulder. "I feel bad if I go though. I don't want to leave you because I know we're all you have."

He shook his head. "Gabriella, by going you will make me so happy because if you are happy then I'm happy. It's all I need to know. Besides, I'll still have the Bolton's and your mother and then there is always Sharpay."

Gabriella laughed. "You sure I should do this?"

"I'll drag you to the airport myself if you don't."

Gabriella pulled him into a hug before Lily-Ella ran over to join in as the two adults laughed.

"Lily, go get your things together. We're going away for a while." Getting one last reassuring nod from the man who had been there for her through so much, Gabriella smiled and headed home knowing she needed to get busy.

Sharpay had cut her vacation short when she'd gotten the crucial phone call from her best friend saying she was leaving. To say she was shocked would be an understatement. She thought the whole thing had been forgotten and yet now, here she was, standing waiting to say goodbye to her best friend.

"You seriously better call me all the time because I'm going to be so lost without you." Gabriella rolled her eyes as she pulled the blonde into a tight embrace, Lily-Ella standing back holding onto Mr C and Zeke who too had come to see them off. "And don't forget, if you meet some rich Italian who is young and gorgeous, you have my permission to dump lover boy for him." Everyone shook their heads at the dramatic blonde.

"Lily, you got everything?" The young girl nodded at her mother before taking her hand. "We'll miss you guys so much and you have to promise you'll come visit us soon."

"Try stopping me." Sharpay and Gabriella exchanged one final hug before the two headed off knowing in just a few hours, well after a two flights lasting around sixteen hours and then a three hour drive, they would soon be reuniting with the one person who would least be expecting them. And neither of them could wait.

Gabriella was grateful that Troy had brought first class tickets that could be used anytime because after sitting for so long, the last thing she would have needed was being cramped in some tight space with an active three year old. Before she'd left she'd organised for a driver to collect them at the airport the other end as she had no idea where she was going.

She had called Sharpay once they'd landed who had informed her that Troy had called hoping to speak to Lily-Ella but she had told him the two of them had gone away for a few days with her mom. Gabriella was grateful she had a best friend like Sharpay.

"Momma, are we nearly there?" A tired but anxious Lily-Ella asked.

Gabriella nodded. "I think so. I recognise some of these from Daddy's pictures and videos." As Gabriella finished speaking the car only continued for a few more minutes before coming to a complete stop.

"We're here." The driver said through his thick Italian accent. He helped unload their luggage while Gabriella got Lily-Ella out.

"Thank you." Gabriella paid the driver with the euro's Sharpay had sorted out for her before she grabbed her luggage and Lily-Ella rolled her one small suitcase behind her as they headed towards Troy's front door. Knocking on the front door, Gabriella held her camera up after receiving strict instructions from Sharpay and Mr C about them wanting to see Troy's reaction when he first saw them. As the door opened, Gabriella felt the butterflies growing in her stomach and couldn't help but be glad she was holding the camera because the look on Troy's face was priceless. Before anyone said anything, he passed out in front of them. Lily-Ella looked at her Mom worried.

"Momma?"

"Why don't you go have a look around Daddy's house carefully while Momma sorts Daddy out?" Watching as Lily-Ella disappeared, Gabriella bent down to Troy's level and smacked him round the race bringing him back around.

"Huh?"

"Is that really the way to greet the two people who love you and have just travelled halfway across the world to see you?"

Troy blinked a few times before realising it wasn't a dream and Gabriella's word's hitting him. Before she got chance to say anything else, he had already pulled her down on top of him and pushed his lips up against hers. Both adults couldn't believe they had gone so long away from each other because as they lay there, on the floor kissing, everything was perfect.

"Eww, Momma, Daddy."

After Gabriella and Lily-Ella had gotten settled in, Gabriella explained to Troy everything that had happened and the reasons as to why she had suddenly changed her mind. Troy had just been thrilled when he saw Gabriella wearing the ring he had sent her and swore he was never letting either of his girls go again because they were his life.

And so now a year later, the couple found themselves falling more and more in love again each day as they found themselves happier than ever just being a family, the three Bolton's.

Ok, so you may be confused so let's go back a bit. Six months after moving to be with Troy in Italy, the two had decided not to wait any longer and get married immediately. Everyone back home nearly had a heart attack when they told them their news but the couple had promised to hold off for a few weeks so that their friends and family could all be there to witness nuptials. It had been the day so many had longed to see but always believed would never come after the couple first split.

And so now they found themselves married, with one very hyperactive four year old and their second one on the way. Nothing in their life could have been anymore bliss.

"Sorry to interrupt you but I was just wondering if it was ok to take Miss Lily out to the park?" The two parents turned to the only person who called their daughter Miss Lily.

"Of course, Mr C. She should be in the kitchen getting her drink if you want her." Mr C smiled and headed inside. A few months after Gabriella had arrived in Italy, Sharpay, Zeke and Mr C had all come to visit, only it resulted in only two of the three returning home after Gabriella asked Mr C to stay with them to help look after Lily-Ella and now even more so with Gabriella limited in what she could do due to her pregnancy.

Plus Gabriella knew if it had never been for Mr C knocking some sense into her, she wouldn't be here, happy, content and married and she would never have taken the risk to move to be with Troy, ignoring her heart and being miserable for the rest of her life. Troy knew it too and the two knew it made Mr C feel like he was still needed because like he said you never what you've got until it's gone and these two had no intention of losing each other ever again.

A/N: This is one of my longer oneshots, 13 pages single spaced in Microsoft word. Please review because I'm in need of cheering up after depressing History coursework due in Friday that is nowhere near completed. Thanks.

Now, as for an explanation as to why I've disappeared again for so long. Firstly, school is seriously kicking my butt. I have two science reports in for Friday, four experiment write ups which need tweaking and History coursework again all for Friday. Secondly, over Easter I wasn't around to catch up as I was in New York for my 18th and had no computer access. Finally, uni forms are taking longer than expected to fill in, especially when you have to fill in loads of additional ones when you have any kind of disability/special needs. And to complicate that even more, several that are really complicated and not just a straightforward to explain. So as you can probably guess my writing time and social life is virtually non-existent. Sorry for the ramble but I'm really stressed out but I just thought I should let people know I am still alive (questionable sometimes with school work) and I promise as soon as I have more time, I'll try and update either my co-write 'Troy and Gabriella' or one of my own stories.

Luc xx