Gabriella had been glad the movie was on a permanent hiatus because of Sharpay's drama. They were talking about recasting to get things up and running again, but all those talks were at a standstill right now, and she was grateful for that. She was trying to get used to the idea of being pregnant. She couldn't believe she had been pregnant for five months and not even known. They had an appointment with Dr. Maria to make sure that everything was alright with the baby and he or she was getting enough nutrition. After everything that had happened over the last few months, both Gabriella and Troy had been worried that the baby wasn't alright.

Dr. Maria convinced them that the baby was fine. She told them the baby was growing fine and that she was on track to deliver at the end of July. Gabriella couldn't believe that meant she had been pregnant since October and she hadn't known this whole time. All the things things that could have happened to the baby since then, and Dr. Maria did her best to assure them that everything was alright.

"See, you're an amazing mama, always have been," Troy assured her once again laying in bed one night, holding her in his arms. The season was coming to an end, and then there would be the play offs, but the Lakers had a few nights off before Troy was back on the road, and they were both grateful to have a little bit of time alone together.

Gabriella loved the time she spent with him, but with how he was acting lately, hovering over here and making sure she was alright with almost every move she made, she didn't mind completely when he was on the road. That didn't mean she didn't miss him like crazy when he was gone, but she didn't miss his hovering. She hadn't even been able to work on the song she had been writing for him since he'd been hovering over her. She wanted to sing it for him on their wedding day... Her eyes widened and she turned to look at Troy, panic washing over her face.

"Dios mio, T! With everything that's been going on lately–" Julian, Sharpay, being pregnant, she didn't have to list it all– "I haven't gotten back in touch with Bianca!"

Troy knew when she realized it, she'd be in a panic over it, but he had it covered. All he had to do now was calm her down.

"Shhh. Shhh. Shhh," he hushed, kissing her forehead and rubbing her arms softly. "Lily, baby..." He pulled back, smiling down at her. "You don't have to worry about a thing. I've been working with Bianca via telephone and Taylor has been meeting with her. We're still on schedule. Nothing to worry about."

Gabriella bit her lip softly, smiling gently at him. He amazed her. He always had. Even from the time they were both very young, he had always been there for her, kinda like Forrest and Jenny, though Troy wasn't anything like Forrest and Gabriella couldn't be more grateful that her father didn't do what Jenny's father had done, but Troy accepted her and forgave her just like Forrest did Jenny, maybe not as easily, the forgiveness, but he did. That was as far as the similarities went between her and Troy and Jenny and Forrest. Well, maybe aside from the fact that Troy was a far better person than Gabriella was, and she knew how Jenny felt.

Throwing her arms around his neck, she kissed him deeply. "You're so amazing!" she told him, hugging him tightly. "¡Te quiero!" Pulling back, she smiled brightly at him.

"I love you, Lily. ¡Por siempre!"

She smiled brightly again and returned her lips to his, kissing him again, just as deeply. Resting in his arms, she laid there quietly for a moment. He thought she was happy until she spoke again, her voice almost sullen.

"Do you mind if I wear a gunny sack instead of a wedding dress?"

If she didn't sound like she was about to cry, and especially not since they'd had that conversation about her being fat, he'd think she was joking. She was far from fat. But he knew it was bothering her, even if they hadn't talked about it since that day.

"Baby," he whispered, kissing the side of her head. "I wouldn't mind if you walked down the isle stark naked. I just want to marry you."

She had turned into his side more when he said that, even knowing it was true, and knowing he meant it, but with how she was feeling, she wished she was invisible. "Don't take this the wrong way," her words were muttered into the t-shirt he wore, "but I don't even want to have this wedding."

Troy hadn't expected that to come out of her mouth, anything but that. From his silence, she took that as a cue to look up at him, continuing.

"Meaning," she swallowed. "I just want to be married to you. I know we can't change the past, even though it would have fixed everything bad that has ever happened with us, but I wish we would have gotten married back when we lost Angel."

She never spoke the name out loud, even when they were talking about her, but it was what she had always called the child they had lost in high school, especially since they hadn't really known if it was a boy or a girl, even though they had both thought it had been a girl, the name just fit. It was what they had both thought of her as. They had never decided on a name because they hadn't gotten to have her that long. Almost as soon as they knew they were having her, they had lost her. It was still painful to talk about her, to think about her, but that was mostly in part to everything that happened after they lost her. Sure, loosing a child was hard, but losing your soul mate after that made everything that much harder. It would have only been worse if Gabriella had died as well, not just leaving the way she had.

"There used to be a time when there wasn't a day that went by that I didn't wish the very same thing," Troy told her silently, his words wafting into her hair. "But that was before you came back into my lie. Things happen for a reason, babe." It had taken a long time for him to realize that. In fact, it wasn't until just recently that he really started believing it. "We're together now. We are getting married, and we have Tori, and this little one on the way," he rubbed her stomach softly. "Life is perfect! I couldn't ask for anything more."

Gabriella smiled softly, turning her head to face him. "I love you, T. More than anything. You always know exactly what to say to make things better." She rested her head back on his chest, the smile still resting softly on her lips. "I still wish that, but I wouldn't give what we have up for anything in the world."

Troy kissed the top of her head, holding her close. She closed her eyes and relaxed in his arms. She was still uneasy about things, but she loved how he always calmed her down, even if only slightly.


The score was 43 to 37 with only a few seconds left in the first half. The clock ran out just as the ball swished through the net. Lakers fans roared from the stands. As the teams cleared the field, Troy turned to see a ghost walking toward him. Well, he may as well have been a ghost. He had been presumed dead and no one had heard from him in months. But yet, here he was, walking toward him, an entourage of paparazzi following him, clicking picture after picture, trying to get him to talk to them. But De Aquila had one purpose and he wasn't leaving until he'd done it.

"Bolton, we need to talk."

"What is it, De Aquila?"

De Aquila took a deep breath, stopping directly in front of Troy. "Look, Bolton. I know things haven't been good with us this season, I know I've done things that have nothing to do with playing hoops, but I'd like to apologize. I was wrong."

Troy tried to hid his shock, though he clearly was. "I, uh..."

De Aquila lifted his hand and Troy did his best not to flinch. Last time they had been this close, the two of them had tumbled in the sand, throwing punches left and right. He'd taken Gabriella when she was most vulnerable and made her believe things that weren't true. This time, all De Aquila did was lay his hand on J's shoulder.

"No hard feelings, coach?"

Troy nodded, lifting his hand to pat De Aquila's shoulder. "No hard feelings."

There were so many things Troy could say right now, but he decided now was not the place. If De Aquila ever came after them again, then he'd do something about it. But as things were, he really seemed to be contrite about it. De Aquila nodded as well, turning to leave. Just as he did, a voice called his name from the stands. Both De Aquila and Troy knew the voice well. They both turned to face her as did the paparazzi following De Aquila.

Sharpay ran down from where she had been sitting, hair pulled up under her hat and managing not to draw attention to who she was, but once she saw De Aquila, she couldn't stay hidden any longer. She ran to him, jumping up into his arms and kissing him passionately. He didn't hesitate to wrap his arms around her and kiss her back just as deeply. Sharpay wrapped her legs around him, not ever wanting to let him go.

"I thought you were dead," she murmured against his lips.

"I was," he murmured back. "I'll explain all about it when we get home."

The paparazzi was a buzz. Troy's head was spinning. No one had any clue this would happen. Sharpay thought he was dead, and it took almost dying for De Aquila to realize he was in love with her.

"But first things first," he said, kissing her softly before whispering against her lips. "I love you, Sharpay. I really do."

Sharpay's heart felt like it was going to burst out of her chest. "I love you, Julian! I love you so much!"

Their reunion was now playing up on the giant screen above everyone's heads. Everyone heard their revelations, especially Troy who was standing right behind them.

"I uh," Julian nodded, "I think we have something else we need to tell Coach Bolton."

Sharpay bit her lip, nodding. Julian placed her down on her feet and she slowly walked over to Troy. She wrapped her arms around him, giving him a hug. Troy would have pushed her off if everyone hadn't been watching. Instead, he simply wrapped his arms around her as well.

"I'm sorry, Troy. I'm so, so sorry," she whispered in her ear. "Please just hold me while I tell you this. You can continue to hate me, but you need to know."

Troy nodded, looking over at De Aquila who nodded at him in return. Sharpay continued to speak silently beside his ear.

"The baby I lost... It wasn't yours. It was Julian's."

Troy's eyes widened, doing his best not to flip out. He was getting more and more pissed by the second, but he couldn't flip out here with everyone watching.

"When I found out I was pregnant, I knew it wasn't yours, but we decided I could try to get you back and he could try to get Gabriella back if you thought I was carrying your baby. It was wrong. I know that know. I've had a lot of time to think about it, and I'm sorry. I lost the baby when I found out Julian was missing. I'm sorry. I should have never done this to you. And I know you will probably never forgive me, but I am sorry, more than you will ever know."

Pulling back, she looked up at him, and if everything she had said so far had surprised him, the next thing she said was the sinker.

"I hope you and Gabriella will be happy. I really do."

Giving him a soft smile, she turned and walked back into De Aquila's arms. De Aquila looked back at his coach as he held Sharpay in his arms, camera flashes going off like crazy.

"I'll call you tomorrow. We can discuss," he looked around the arena, "this later."

Troy knew he meant his career. It wasn't as though it was in jeopardy. He had been presumed dead. Extenuating health circumstances. But Troy nodded and Sharpay and Julian left the game and Chad walked beside his best friend.

"I don't believe it." Chad shook his black beaded dreads.

Troy shrugged his shoulders. "Maybe being dead changes you."

Chad snorted. "Right! Or maybe he's just realized Pepper doesn't love him or want him and never did."

Troy looked at chad, shaking his head. It was the truth, though Troy would never admit it out loud. He knew where his Lily's heart was and always had been.