Disclaimer: I wish I may...I wish I might...

Wherever You Are Epilogue

One Year Later

Listening to the shrieks of laughter as she climbed the steps and opened the front door, Gabriella dreaded what Troy and Sophie were doing now. If she thought Troy had taken care of Sophie before, he'd thrown himself into his duties as a father with a gusto that made Gabriella nervous. The two of them painted – the windows to be precise – they decorated Sophie's walls by pasting on pictures and painting a seascape, they wrote a book and illustrated it, or they cooked, completely dirtying up her kitchen. They talked in strange voices and giggled at the most ridiculous things.

But Sophie loved Troy and Troy loved Sophie and they were both so happy, and Gabriella was just so happy that it didn't really matter. And Troy was pretty responsible…most of the time. She stepped gratefully in from the cold, putting the bags down long enough to close the door and shrug her jacket off. She hung it between Troy's brown one and Sophie's cute green coat with a hood. Gabriella couldn't wait to get out of her pantyhose, heels and suit and into something comfortable. It was Friday and they'd planned to take Sophie ice-skating over the weekend.

"I'm home," she called.

After nearly seven months, the place really was looking like their home. Troy had left today's tie strewn over the back of one of the stools, which he'd make himself. Their books were muddled together in the bookcase, Sophie's toys were strewn across their unmade bed, and the bills came in both their names.

Perhaps those weren't the real signs of living together. Maybe there were other signs: the three of them had done the message on the answering machine, and they'd had Christmas at their house, with Taylor and Chad and Sharpay and Ryan. Troy complained when she used his razor to shave her legs and consequently blunted the blades, she whined about him leaving the toilet seat up.

And just the other day, Troy had been putting a sleepy Sophie to bed, and she'd called them Mom and Dad. There had been an odd, swelling, aching, but joyous feeling that had spread through her stomach, and she knew Troy had felt it too; he'd tucked his arms around her waist, resting his chin on her head, and breathing in time with her, not saying a word. Not needing to.

It had occurred to Gabriella right there and then that although it was completely against her entire belief-system, she maybe just possibly be happy.

It was January. Troy had gone to collect Sophie from day-care straight after work whilst Gabriella had gone shopping at the supermarket.

"Hello!" She tried again. There was no reply; not even Sophie's shrieking laughter could be heard anymore. Troy must have come up with an amazingly engrossing game for the excitable six-year-old Sophie to be quiet for a whole five minutes.

"Where is everybody?" she muttered, heading towards the kitchen with the shopping. She put the bags on the bench, along with the car keys and went into the living room, where Troy and Sophie could usually be found making mischief.

"Surprise!" yelled two voices the second she walked through the door. Completely startled, she froze, her hands going to her chest.

"Don't DO that," she said, smiling and breathing again at the same time. "I nearly had a heart attack. And what surprise?"

Sophie, balanced on Troy's hip wore a secretive grin, and Gabriella knew that something was up. Troy's face didn't give as much away, but he too looked like he was bursting to tell her something.

"Well…" Troy grinned, "Maybe I should drag it out a little longer to create tension and anticipation."

"I could create a few bruises and some broken ribs too," Gabriella threatened, walking towards them, until she was standing close enough to feel Troy and Sophie breathing.

"Don't be mean to Da – Troy," Sophie told him.

"Okay, okay," Troy said in surrender. "Sophie, honey, if you'd like to do the honors."

From the pocket in Troy's jacket, Sophie pulled a box. With clumsy fingers, and twinkling eyes she opened it up. Sitting on the white velvet bed was a ring with an upraised diamond, surrounded by a cluster of smaller diamonds.

"I…" she was absolutely speechless. Of all the surprises she had imagined, this was definitely not one of them.

"Say yes!" Sophie cried. "Go on. Yes…you spell it Y-E-S."

"I know how to spell it, sweetheart," Gabriella said faintly. "Is that…I mean are you really asking…"

"No," he shook his head.

"Then…what…"

"We're asking you to marry us. Aren't we?" Troy looked at Sophie, who nodded. "Say yes. We love you," he added. He kissed Gabriella softly. "I love you. It's the next logical step."

"Logic…that's hardly romantic," she admonished.

"What would you like?" he asked. "A declaration of undying love? A long speech about fate and monogamy and the cosmological rightness of being with you because I forsake all others in your name, even though that makes absolutely no sense. Would you like me to get down on my knees? Or perhaps a singing telegram would be more to your liking?"

She smiled. "No. But I would like something."

"Of course you would," he granted. "So here goes: In all the uncertainty that is life, I would like to grow old with you and die before you so that I will never have to live another day of my life without you."

"I…romanticism suits you…" she finally managed.

"I want a singing telegram!" Sophie chimed in. "And did you say yes?'

"How remiss of me," Gabriella realized. "Yes. You had me at surprise."

"I'm offended!" Troy exclaimed. "I'm so much better looking then Tom Cruise."

She rolled her eyes. "Don't flatter yourself. Are you going to put the ring on my finger?"

"If you insist," he said with mock-annoyance. "Soph," he directed at the little girl, "Can you pull it out of the box?" Sophie did so, handing it carefully to Troy, who balanced the strawberry blonde with one arm and slipped the ring onto Gabriella's finger, kissing her hand.

"This is so unconventional," Gabriella commented, giving him a stirring kiss of her own and admiring the ring.

"But where's the fun in being conventional?"

"I don't know."

"Neither do I," he told her laughing. "Who gets to know first?"

"Grandma," Sophie suggested. "Or Aunt Taylor?"

"Who cares?" Gabriella asked. She kissed Sophie, then Troy. "I never did believe in the institution of marriage."

Troy's face dropped. "You don't think that I just asked you to marry me did you?" She nodded slowly. "Oh God. No! No, no, no. I just asked you to be a human sacrifice for Satan."

"Troy?"

"Yes darling?" he smirked.

"Bite me!"

"If you insist."

"Kiss her," Sophie instructed Troy, who kissed Gabriella until her knees were weak, until he toes curled up, until she nearly forgot her own name and how to breathe. "Now that," the little girl declared, "Is a kiss.'

"Thank you Sophie," Troy smiled.

"That's okay."

Then Troy circled an arm around Gabriella's waist and balancing Sophie, he danced them around in a circle, until Sophie's shrieks, Gabriella's mellow peals and Troy's joyous laughter echoed around the house and out into the cold January evening.

AN: Well this really is the end, to every person that read and enjoyed it- thank you. To those of you that reviewed I appreciate it more than you know and I hope you all want to read my next story... it's coming soon. And maybe one day, I'll want a sequel, but I kind of love Troy, Gabriella, and Sophie dancing in a circle and think it's a pretty great place for them to be.