6This is a challenge/hunt fic. Find the items listed below in the story as you're reading and enjoy.
eating disorder
Spanish meal
NBA featured
HSM character, other than Troy and Gabriella
Where Troy and Gabriella keep their keys
What did Gabriella do for Troy?
What is on the DVD?
What does Miller offer Troy?
What's is actually going on with Gabriella?
Troy walked into his apartment one night after work down at the shop, exhausted and completely worn out. He worked all day, every day, except for Sunday, and he was really starting to feel the affects of that. If he got any relief when he got home, maybe it would be worth it, but sometimes he would just prefer to stay down at the shop. He was glad that it was summer and he didn't have to worry about classes as well. He had been going to Berkeley to be closer to Gabriella after they had graduated high school and it wasn't long until Troy asked Gabriella to marry him. The distance, even though it was only about a half an hour drive, was far too much for them, and they knew that if they were going to move in together, it only made sense that they get married.
And things were perfect for the longest time. That was until just a few months ago. She had come home from school, crying and pissed off beyond belief. He had no clue what was wrong with her, and even now that he did, he still didn't know why things were as bad as they were. But things had just gone from bad to worse. They barely spoke to each other. They never touched. And if it weren't for still sleeping in the same bed, they'd never see each other. And that's why Troy took the long hours at the shop. If she wasn't going to talk to him and they weren't going to have a normal conversation without her yelling at him and leaving with tears streaming down from her eyes, then it was just best if he wasn't around at all.
It was the distance that was between them now that was hurting them. They had thought that one thousand and fifty-three miles was too far away from each other, and then the thirty-two point seven miles was still too much for them. But now, even after almost three and a half years of marriage, the emotional distance between them now was more than Troy was sure he could handle. So he spent his time away from home. He woke before Gabriella and came home after she went to bed. He missed his wife. He missed the girl who's eyes used to sparkle every time she looked at him. But that girl was gone. And he wasn't sure if he'd ever see her again.
He asked her once if she wanted a divorce, and once again, it had sent her out of the room in a fit of tears. Did that mean she still loved him? Did that mean she still wanted to be with him, despite the cold front she had put on? He didn't know, but he never brought it up again. He didn't want a divorce, that was for certain. He still loved her more than everything, maybe even more now, but they just had to get through this. The thing was, they weren't getting through it together. Troy had always been a firm believer in teamwork. "We're all in this together," he used to tell everyone, but they were anything but in this together. He wanted to be there for her, but she wasn't letting him in and he had to wonder if she ever could let him in again.
Dinner is on the counter. You can heat it up in the microwave. He read the note Gabriella had left for him on the board near the door above the bureau where they always left their keys in the bowl when they got home. He smiled. It was the only bit of communication they really had, and he was sure she still cared. If she didn't, she wouldn't be making him dinner or leaving a note about it. Walking into the kitchen, he flipped on the light and sure enough, there was his plate of corn, potatoes and chicken. She was always home during the day, and she always had a meal waiting for him when he got home. He knew she still loved him. She wouldn't do this if she didn't.
He warmed up his meal and sat down in front of the television, turning on ESPN. He could at least watch a little TV if he didn't have his wife to talk to while he ate. He didn't really get excited over sports like he used to. He didn't get excited over much like he used to, but he still tried to make it appear like he did. Finishing up his food, he turned off the television and headed back into the kitchen to rinse his dishes off and put them in the dishwasher. Reaching to turn off the light, he saw the pile of today's mail on the counter and reached out to look through it. He came across a letter from the LA Lakers and set down the rest of the mail.
Opening the letter, he started to read through it. Mr. Bolton, We were pleased to receive your highlight reel and would like to set up a time to meet with you. Our recruitment manager will be in Palo Alto this week and will be calling you to set up a time when the two of you can talk... He browsed through the rest of the letter, but went back up to the first line. We were pleased to receive your highlight reel... But he hadn't sent in a highlight reel. He read the letter two or three times, each time it read exactly the same way. He wasn't imagining this letter, but he still had never sent them a highlight reel. Putting the letter back down on the counter, he turned off the light and decided to head to bed.
Walking into bathroom through their bedroom, he closed the door most of the way so he wouldn't disturb Gabriella while she slept. He knew she needed all the sleep she could get. Taking off his shirt and tossing it in the dirty clothes hamper, he turned to the vanity and reached for his toothbrush and toothpaste. He started to brush his teeth, still thinking about the letter he had left on the kitchen counter. He couldn't meet with the recruitment manager if he hadn't submitted a highlight reel. There had to be some mistake. Not that he wouldn't want to meet with him, but it would be on false pretenses. He hadn't sent a reel in so there was nothing to discuss.
Spitting out the toothpaste, he rinsed out his mouth and the toothbrush before putting it back and undoing his pants, he pulled them off and turned out the light, heading back out of the bathroom. He forgot he had left his shoes by the door and nearly tripped over them. Cursing under his breath, he caught his balance and kicked his shoes closer to the closet before walking over to the bed and crawling in on the other side from Gabriella. He wanted so much to pull her into his arms, but he knew if he woke her, she'd leave the bed and wouldn't come back into the room until she was sure he was asleep. He leaned closer to her, kissing her shoulder peaking out from the top of the covers and dropping his head as she tensed up and pulled away from him.
"Just go to sleep, Troy," she said, no sign of sleep found in her voice. Sighing heavily, he nodded his head. "Ok..." He turned his back to her, something he hated doing, and relaxed against the pillow. "Did you get your mail?" he heard her ask and turned back to face her, looking at her tiny frame in the bed beside him in the dark. "Anything in particular I should have been looking for?" He had noticed bills and trash mail, but he wondered if he had missed something. "Did you get the letter from the Lakers?" His eyes widened. It was the only thing he really had paid attention to in the entire stack. "Yeah, I did, but there has to be a mistake. They said I sent them a highlight reel and I never did."
Gabriella sighed heavily and struggled slightly to turn to face him in the bed. "I sent them your DVD, Troy." He blinked at her, shaking his head. "Wha– Why?" Gabriella practically scoffed. "Why? Why? Because maybe one of us can actually live out our dreams." Troy's head fell softly. "Gabriella, I–" She shifted in the bed, turning her back away from him again. "Just go to sleep, Troy." He let out a heavy sigh, but laid his head back down on his pillow, this time, not turning away from her. He looked at the back of her head, resting softly on her pillow, her long dark curls laying on the bed against her back.
He laid there staring at her. He couldn't believe she had done this for him. He hated that she felt like she had to put her life on hold because of what had happened between them. He never wanted her to give up her life for them or for anything. He wanted her to live out her dreams, pursue them as much as she wanted him to live his. But he didn't know how to do that for her, the way that she had just done for him. He didn't know how to fix things for her so she could become the lawyer that she was meant to be. It wasn't like she couldn't go back to school, but if and when she did, there would be so many things for them to consider and so many adjustments that they'd have to make in their lives. And now that she's done this for him, he didn't know how they would make that work.
And deep down he knew that he couldn't turn this down. He couldn't tell them that he couldn't accept any offer they would extend to him. Gabriella had gone through so much just to do what she did for him, and if he turned it down in any way, then he would really hurt her, and he couldn't do that to her, not with all she was going through. Not when she'd put her schooling and career on hold the way she did. He had to think about her and do what she wanted him to do. She had done this for him, the least he could do is follow through.
The next day, the Laker's recruitment manager drove into town after having spent the day before in Albuquerque talking with Troy's parents. Recruiters really had to consider every aspect of a potential player's life, and that included knowing about their family life and work ethic. He had spent this morning in Berkeley speaking with a few of Troy's Cal teammates. Because it was the summer, he could only track down a few of them, but that was enough. His first stop in Palo Alto was the shop where Troy worked. He had an appointment to meet with Troy's boss, the manager/owner of the autobody shop, but he also had a chance to speak with the receptionist and a few of the other mechanics.
No one had anything bad to say about Troy, not that they would in front of an NBA recruiter. But he kept getting the same type of responses about Troy's wife Gabriella. "She used to be sweet," was one thing he heard from the secretary at the shop. Some of the teammates said she was really sweet too, that was until the end of the season came around this year. "What happened then?" the recruiter asked. But none of them could really answer. "She just changed. She didn't come to the games anymore. Bolton wouldn't talk about it." The recruiter didn't want to have to keep the position from him because he was having marital problems. Not that he would suggest Troy get a divorce or anything. He wasn't a marriage counselor. But the Lakers needed players who could keep their head in the game and not be stressed out about family life.
Later that afternoon, he stopped in to talk to his neighbors before meeting his wife and joining her and Troy for dinner tonight. The neighbors all had the same things to say about Troy's wife as everyone else had. "She had been such a sweet girl when they first moved in." One person even said he thought she was an alcoholic. A neighbor down the hall from them, a girl around their same age, was sure she was bulimic. "But she has been gaining weight lately, so maybe she's getting help." The recruiter couldn't put two and two together. Were Troy and his wife having marital problems? If so, would Troy be able to handle being on the team and juggling those problems. No team could thrive with a player who had to deal with marital problems. But the recruiter would have to wait until he met with Troy and his wife later that evening.
He had met briefly with Troy while he was at the shop and Troy said that he could come over for dinner at seven. That was two hours earlier than he usually got off work, but his boss said he could take the time. With as much as he worked, he could definitely have the time off. Troy called Gabriella after and told her that the recruiter would be there at seven for dinner and that he would be home just after six to help. Gabriella told him she would have dinner ready by seven and hung up. Troy knew that the recruiter had spoken with people there at the shop today, and but he didn't know that he'd met with everyone else that he'd met with. He didn't know what he had to look forward to when the recruiter showed up tonight at the apartment. Troy didn't know whether he should be nervous or not, but that didn't stop the anxiety.
Troy walked in the door, dropping his keys in the bowl on the bureau and headed toward the kitchen. "Mmm, smells good, baby." He still called her baby, despite the freeze out between them over the past several months. Placing his hand on her back, he felt her tense up, but that didn't stop him from continuing on with his question as he rubbed her lower back. "What are you cooking?" Gabriella inhaled mostly through her nose, trying to stay calm. She missed the way she and Troy used to be, but it was her fault that things were the way between them. It was how she had chosen to handle the situation they were in now that had put the wall up between them. Well, the wall was up mostly on her side. Troy would tear it down at any given moment, but Gabriella held it there firmly.
"Empanada's and dirty rice," Gabriella told him, taking a spoonful of the rice and blowing at it to cool it off before turning to face him, having to take a slight step back, holding it up to him so he could taste it. He smiled at her, leaning forward and taking the spoon in his mouth and eating the rice off of it. Nodding in approval, he waited until he had chewed it all and swallowed, before telling her, "Perfect! I love it." She smiled and Troy almost choked, even though he had swallowed the food moments ago. He'd not seen her smile, not a real smile like that since before they found out. "Great! Do you think the recruiter will like it?" she asked, turning back to the stove. Troy nodded, even now that her back was turned to him again. "I do. How could he not?"
Gabriella really wanted this for Troy. She wanted to do all she could do to make sure that the recruiter likes what he sees and offers Troy the position on the team. This was going to be the turning point for them, and she was going to make sure of it. She had been living far too long in the hell she made for herself, she knew it was time to come out of it. And now would be the best time to do it. She was going to show the recruiter that they were a happy family and that Troy deserved that position. Gabriella wanted what was best for Troy. She knew the choices she made were hers and hers alone, but they could still be happy even if she wasn't following her dream. She now had a new dream she had to think of, and that included Troy joining the Lakers and changing the way she had been thinking about what had happened.
"Could you set the table, baby?" Gabriella asked Troy, and he yet again was sure he was going to choke. There wasn't anything for him to choke on, unless it was his breath of air. Did she seriously just call him baby? His ears did not deceive him. She had just called him baby and she was once again smiling at him. He slowly nodded his head, returning her smile. "Yep," was all he could say. He was taken back by her sudden change in mood and behavior. What was it that had happened to bring on this change? Just last night she was the same, cold and distant person she'd been for the last six months. It had been a good half a year since he'd seen Gabriella anywhere near this happy or even friendly with him. He wasn't going to question in though. He was just going to enjoy it while he had it.
Troy set the table and then started to bring the food over to the table that Gabriella had prepared. Once all the food was on the table, Troy came over to Gabriella and wrapped his arms around her from behind, resting his hands softly on her stomach. "Thank you, Gabriella," he whispered, kissing the side of her head. "I love you." He did. It had been so long since he'd actually told her that, but he had never stopped loving her. And now that she wasn't pulling away from him, that she was actually letting him back into her, he knew he could tell her. She laid her head back against Troy's shoulder, smiling down at the table they had just set together. It was just a few minutes before seven o'clock, but she wanted to enjoy his arms around her while she could.
It had been forever since he'd held her like this, aside from those few nights here and there where she would wake up and he'd be holding her. Most of the time she would pull away from him when that happened, but there were those few times that she just allowed him to hold her. But that wasn't going to happen anymore. She was going to let him hold her whenever he wanted and she would hold him too. She had to make up for these last several months where she would barely let him touch her. She was going to do everything she could to make things better, and she had taken the first step a month ago when she sent Troy's DVD to the Lakers. And now that he knew what she did for him, she'd continue to do what she could to make things better between them. They were going to be happy again no matter what she had to do.
The doorbell rang and Gabriella let out a soft sigh, turning in his arms, smiling up at him, reaching up, even if she had to reach a little more than usual, she wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him softly, whispering against his lips, "I love you, Wildcat." Even though he'd been playing for Berkeley for years now, he would always be her Wildcat. If everything else she had done wasn't enough to show Troy that she did love him and maybe she was coming out of this half a year freeze out, that was it. Not only the Wildcat nickname, but this was the first time she had actually said those words since everything went to hell between them.
"I'll get the door," she said, coming back down flat on her feet again. "We can get the door," Troy said, wrapping his arm around her and walking toward the door with her. He reached out and opened it, smiling at the recruiter, Gabriella standing right beside him under his other arm. Tory reached his hand out to the recruiter, nodding his greeting. "Mr. Miller. Welcome to our home. This is my wife, Gabriella Bolton." Troy stopped shaking his hand as Gabriella offered hers up to him. "Gabriella, this is John Miller, the recruiting manager for the LA Lakers." Gabriella smiled brightly as she shook Mr. Miller's hand. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Miller."
Miller looked down at Gabriella as he was shaking her hand, her rounded stomach in clear view from the dress she was wearing. He now understood the change everyone had been talking about when it came to Mrs. Bolton. Smiling, he nodded down at her. "It is a pleasure," he said, stepping into the apartment as Troy shut the door. "Dinner is ready for us," Gabriella told him, her smile as radiant as ever. Miller nodded his head and walked with the two of them as they turned to lead him toward the dining room. Troy offered Miller a seat first before pulling out Gabriella's chair. "Thank you, honey," she said silently, but Miller still heard it, smiling to himself.
Miller could usually tell when a couples' actions were staged, but this wasn't. He could tell that they were really as happy as they appeared to be. Troy took the seat across the table from Miller, beside Gabriella, smiling over at her and reaching over to give her hand a gentle squeeze. The three of them talked about Troy's DVD and what the Lakers were looking for as they ate. By the time they were finished eating, Miller was confident that Troy would make an excellent addition to the Lakers' team and he was prepared to offer him the position he had come out with.
"I want to thank you for inviting me into your home, Troy. Gabriella. You two seem to be very happy, and that is very important for our players. That's why I'd like to offer you our open starting point guard position." Troy blinked, letting go of a breath, he hadn't even known he was holding in. Looking down at Gabriella, she smiled brightly back up at him and he turned back to Miller, nodding his head exuberantly. "Yes! Yes, thank you!" Miller nodded his head, telling Troy as he stepped closer to the door, "Coach Brown will be in touch with you within the next couple of weeks. You'll come down to LA. We'll get the ball rolling." Troy reached forward, opening the door for him. "Great! Awesome! Thank you, Mr. Miller!" Miller nodded, stepping out into the hall. "It was a pleasure to meet you two. I'll see you in LA soon." Troy nodded as well, wrapping his arm around Gabriella, pulling her closer to him. "See you soon!"
Miller turned and walked down the hall and Troy shut the door, turning to look down at Gabriella, his hand coming to rest down on her round stomach. "I can't believe that! Thank you so much!" He said, leaning down and taking this opportunity to press his lips to hers. She had kissed him no more than a few hours ago, but this time it was longer, more sensual and it showed her just how much he missed her and just how thankful he was to have her. "Troy," she whispered against his lips, lifting her arms slowly to wrap around his neck. He pulled back just enough to look down at her. He could see the tears in her eyes and he was afraid he had upset her yet again. "Gabriella, I–" she shook her head, pulling one hand back to place her fingertips at his lips.
"I'm sorry, Troy, for everything." He shook his head. He didn't want her to say sorry. She didn't have to say sorry, but she was determined. "I've handled everything so wrong. I should have been happier about this baby than I was. And I was happy. I just had a horrible way of showing it. Because I love him or her more than ever. Just like I love you," she said, barely whispering that last part. "We've lost out on so much precious time, and I don't want to miss out on any more, not when I know I love you more than anything in this world. I thought I had lost all chances of making my dreams come true when I got pregnant, but I didn't realize, that you and I had made a new dream, one we shared. We made this baby together and that's where our life is and has been since I moved to Albuquerque. Together. You always said 'We're all in this together,' and somewhere along the line I forgot that."
She shook her head, smiling up at him. "But I won't forget it ever again. We're in this together. You, me and the baby." She smiled, taking a deep breath. "I can't wait to start our new life down in Los Angeles. Or somewhere around there. We don't have to live right there, but I think it would be best if we lived closer to the city." Troy smiled, rubbing the side of her stomach softly. "I think that's a perfect idea, baby." Gabriella pulled him closer to her, pressing her lips to his again, murmuring against them, "I've missed you, Troy. So much." He leaned over, picking her up into his arms. "I missed you, baby," he told her softly, pressing his lips back to hers as he walked down the hall toward their bedroom. It had been a long time since they had made love and neither one of them wanted to ever go that long again.