"Sharpay? Are you ready?"

A woman in a pinstriped pant suit and a headset in her ear beckoned her with a small waving hand motion.

Sharpay nodded from her chair as the makeup artist put his finishing touches on her, dusting a powder brush along the apples of her cheeks, then stepping back to admire his handiwork.

"Yes," Sharpay stood up, balling her surprisingly clammy palms into fists as she let out an uncertain shaky breath, "I'm ready."

The woman smiled sympathetically as if sensing her nervousness and led her to the side of the stage to wait for her cue.

"Big interview today huh?"

"Huge," Sharpay answered, cursing the butterflies in her stomach and wishing she had thought to drown them with a stiff drink about twenty minutes earlier.

It was ridiculous to have stage fright of course given the number of live interviews she had completed, quite gracefully in fact, throughout the span of her career. But this was different. She wasn't promoting a movie or talking about fashion, rumored romances, or fitness secrets. She was baring her soul for all of America to see and given the amount of criticism she had already received, the thought of doing so on live television was not an extremely appealing, albeit necessary, decision.

She waited as the female host of the popular network talk show rattled out a short introduction about her, doing her best to walk out onto the set with confidence as the woman announced her name and the studio audience applauded routinely. She forced a mega watt smile on her face and shut out all notions of self doubt as she greeted the host with a brief polite hug and then took her seat on the white sofa where so many celebrities, including herself, had sat before to discuss their latest project.

She managed her way through the necessary small talk, jokes, and filler questions waiting for the real interview to begin.

"So," The host folded her hands together ready to delve into the story that was sure to bring her show the coveted high ratings for the day, "You've recently published a shockingly truthful autobiography, landing yourself on the New York Times' Bestseller list."

She paused while the cued applause of the audience sounded before continuing, "Reception of this book has ranged from acceptance and praise for being so honest and 'real' about your past mistakes, to extremely harsh backlash over the controversial subject matter you openly discuss."

Sharpay licked her lips, trying to swallow down her nerves as she nodded along, knowing her turn to speak was coming soon.

"I myself have read the entire thing," The woman continued, "And in it you admit to a lengthy past none of which has ever been opened to the public eye before. You talk about running out on your husband and daughter to pursue your career in Hollywood and talk in great detail about the issues this created in your home life, even admitting to and actually detailing a couple of incidents with your husband that resulted in behavior on your part that some are deeming abusive. This is of course a very different story than the one we heard when you first introduced your daughter to the world. Why did you choose to sort of step away from this 'America's sweetheart' persona in order to tell the real story and why now?"

Sharpay sighed softly trying still to appear assured and certain, though even now she was struggling with her decision to come clean to the world, despite knowing she had made the right one.

"I had been running from my past for years," She began, "And even after reconciling with my husband and family, it took me a long time to realize that I was still running. I couldn't just sweep everything under the rug forever. For a while I was only thinking about what was best for my image and keeping my career afloat. But I realized I was forcing my daughter to live a lie in the process and that isn't something I want her to have to experience for the rest of her life. There will come a time down the road when I suspect she will probably read this book for herself and discover more about me than she ever cared to, but I'm hoping she can learn from my mistakes and that ultimately she will choose to forgive me. I'm going to have a lot of questions to answer when she's old enough to ask them and I plan to answer them openly and honestly. I may be sharing a painful part of her past with the world as well but at least this way she will never have to hide her past and run away from it the way I did. I didn't want that to be a lesson I was teaching her."

She remembered her publicist's coaching and reminded herself to address her fan base, "I'm hoping my fans appreciate this honest portrayal of myself and accept that I'm far from perfect. I really appreciate their ongoing support throughout all of this."

The host nodded along, "So you recently gave birth to a second daughter a few months back- you look fantastic by the way- and I hear you're selling your house and that you recently moved away from LA. You said you wanted a more wholesome upbringing for your children, away from the public eye."

"Yes," Sharpay continued, "We tried living in Hollywood during my pregnancy. Troy gave up a lot for me to keep me happy but I knew he wanted to raise our daughters closer to family and so we got a house together in New Mexico a couple of months ago right before Mckenzie started kindergarten. It's hard being away from them while I'm out here promoting this book but they promised to Skype me before bed every night."

"I know your oldest daughter was photographed spending time hanging out on the film set of your upcoming movie, but in the future is she going to be banned from Hollywood altogether?"

Sharpay chuckled, "No, no, she's still going to travel out to see me when I'm working on projects. When she's not in school that is."

"Wonderful. Well Sharpay, thank you so much for being with us today."

Sharpay breathed a sigh of relief that her interview was over and smiled cordially back at her host.

The woman held up a copy of Sharpay's book, her airbrushed face donning the hardback cover, "Sharpay's new book, 'All That Glitters,' is on shelves now and everyone in the audience is getting a copy today."

Sharpay smiled ahead at the audience, waiting patiently as they cheered and the cameras panned away, cutting to commercial break, a sense of pride and accomplishment replacing her initial anxieties. Troy would be proud of her and someday, she hoped, Mckenzie would too.

"Mommy's back!" Mckenzie ran excitedly about the living room of their spacious new home, stopping to tug urgently at the leg of Troy's pants.

"Kenz are you sure?" Troy balanced his gurgling baby on his hip with one hand, reaching down to ruffle Mckenzie's hair with the other.

"I heard the car door slam!" She exclaimed insistently, dashing out of the room and into the foyer, pressing her face up against the glass next to the front door to watch expectantly.

"Mckenzie, don't do that. You're going to get the glass dirty," He instructed.

"Rosa will clean it," Mckenzie answered nonchalantly causing Troy to groan and roll his eyes.

He hadn't wanted Sharpay to hire a maid but she had insisted they needed one and had gotten one anyway furthering Troy's well justified fears that Mckenzie would grow up to be the spoiled nightmare Sharpay had been brought up to be.

"If you get it dirty, you can clean it," Troy threatened, doing his best to curb this behavior.

Mckenzie sighed dramatically but she took a small step back, bouncing on her feet with anticipation.

"Where is she?" She asked worriedly, flipping her long chestnut waves back as she turned her head to look up nervously at Troy.

"She'll be here Kenz," Troy assured, "You must have heard a neighbor's car. Maybe you should get to bed though, it's getting pretty late. Then she'll be here when you wake up in the morning."

"I don't want to go to sleep before she gets here!" Mckenzie stomped her foot on the ground and then looked up pleadingly at her father, her baby blue eyes the size of saucers, "Can't I stay up just a little longer till she gets here? Please Daddy?"

"Fine," Troy conceded, giving into his little girl as he usually did, "I'm going to go ahead and put Darby in the nursery though before she gets fussy."

Sharpay had, of course, named their second daughter after her mother. Troy hadn't been crazy about the name choice but given the sentiment behind it, it didn't feel right to voice any protests, especially considering he had been given the privilege of choosing Mckenzie's name the first time. Sharpay's hope had been that naming their baby Darby would be the final step in making amends with her own mother, who had been very pleased with the namesake.

"There she is!" Mckenzie shouted, stopping Troy in his tracks just as he had turned to walk away.

Turning back around, he could indeed see Sharpay slowly making her way up the long walkway to the front porch, struggling with four large pieces of luggage. He chuckled at the sight as Mckenzie flung the door open, dashing out into the night air.

"Mommy!" She shouted.

Sharpay dropped all of her bags to scoop her daughter up into a hug.

"Hi baby," She greeted Mckenzie, placing a large kiss on her five year old's cheek.

"Hey Mommy," Troy kissed his wife briefly on the lips, handing Darby over to her in a trade as he gathered up all of her suitcases and brought them inside.

"Hi darling!" Sharpay cooed to her baby, grabbing Mckenzie's hand and leading her back inside after her father.

"Mommy I missed you real bad!" Mckenzie cried, wrapping her arms tightly around Sharpay's thighs while her mother gently bounced her little sister.

"Oh baby I've missed you too!" Sharpay leaned her head into Troy's chest as he wrapped one strong arm around her shoulders, kissing her forehead, relieved to have his family all under one roof again.

"In fact, I thought we could spend the whole day out together tomorrow, just me and my girls," Sharpay announced grandly, feeling well over do for a day of shopping after a week of schedule and routine.

Mckenzie clapped her hands with glee, "Oh, yes!"

"Sharpay…" Troy's tone was a warning she knew but she ignored it and played dumb anyway.

"What?" She asked innocently, "Did you want to come along? I know how much you hate tagging along when we're shopping but if you promise to hold our bags and not complain-"

"Sharpay," He cut her off, rolling his eyes at her feigned ignorance, "Tomorrow is Thursday. You know Mckenzie has school."

"Oh she can miss a day here and there," Sharpay insisted, a matter she and Troy frequently disagreed on, "It's only kindergarten and she hasn't seen me in a week. We need some girl time."

"Well you two can spend the whole weekend together then," Troy didn't relent, "But tomorrow I want Mckenzie in school. She's already missed several days thanks to you."

"Well they get ten sick days," She argued, "She might as well use them."

"She needs to save some of those days for when she's actually sick!"

Troy himself had been a frequent winner of the perfect attendance award back in school, something his father had been diligent about, while Sharpay, whose parents had been far more lenient on such matters, was often missing during the school years while on family vacations in Taipei or the Swiss Alps. Each taking a page from their own respective backgrounds, they never seemed to see eye to eye when it came to the issue of how present their daughter should be in the classroom.

Mckenzie was darting her head back and forth, her mouth a gape, waiting to see which one of her parents would win out, obviously finding Sharpay's favored outcome more preferable.

"Please Daddy? Can't I spend the day with Mommy and Darby?" She begged with clasped hands.

"Yeah? Please Daddy?" Sharpay joined mimicking a child's voice, stepping towards Troy and pouting up at him with her large mocha colored eyes.

Troy rolled his eyes, annoyed at her whenever she spoke to him in that baby voice and irritated that she had chosen to begin this debate in front of their daughter.

"Sharpay, one of us has to be the parent. She's going to school tomorrow. I'm putting my foot down," He tried his best to sound firm in his resolve.

Mckenzie huffed loudly in disappointment and Sharpay narrowed her eyes dangerously towards Troy, her jaw locking in a familiar look of battle that made Troy know he had lost already.

"I'm the parent too," She growled menacingly, "Mckenzie is staying with me tomorrow. That's final."

Troy gulped, angry with her for contradicting him in front of Mckenzie but knowing that even if he continued to protest ultimately Sharpay would do what she wanted anyway the following day and knowing in times like these it was sometimes better to simply allow her to have her way.

"Fine," He grumbled, defeated.

"Yes!" Mckenzie hissed, relishing in her mother's beneficial victory.

"Alright then!" Sharpay easily transitioned back into her previously cheery demeanor, "Then it's settled."

She leaned in to give Troy a kiss along his jaw line while he stiffened against her begrudgingly.

Sharpay pretended not to notice his display of hostility towards her knowing it would pass quickly as it normally did and redirected her attention to the baby on her hip.

"But meanwhile, somebody needs to get to bed to rest up for her day tomorrow," Sharpay exclaimed to the infant in her arms, "Yes you do! Yes you do!"

With one final eye roll being his final signal of any displeasure, Troy cleared his throat and placed a hand on the small of his wife's back.

"Come on, I'll help you put her down," He instructed.

Sometime later after Mckenzie had also been put to bed, Troy and Sharpay retired to their shared bedroom. He licked his lips hungrily as he watched her changing out of her wrinkled airport attire, slipping a sheer white night gown over her head in its place.

"Don't even bother wearing that to bed, I'm just going to take it right back off again," Troy joked.

She laughed but ignored his advice, crawling into bed next to him. Troy had her cuddled in his tight embrace in an instant, the longing for her having built to more than he could stand while she was away. She relished in the feeling of being held in his chiseled form, nuzzling her nose affectionately into his neck. She always handled separation better than he did but that didn't mean she missed him any less.

"I missed you so much Sharpay," He murmured tracing along her cheek bone with his thumb, "But I'm so proud of you."

Sharpay blushed slightly, casting her gaze away from his, "It wasn't easy to do. There were times where I almost backed out altogether," She admitted.

"But you didn't," Troy countered, "That's what's important."

"Have you finished it yet?" She asked, smiling skeptically up at him.

"Not yet," He conceded, "But I'm close."

"I bet you haven't even started yet," She challenged him with a small chuckle.

"I have too!" He sat up, reaching over to his nightstand and waving the book in her face as evidence, "Two kids take up a lot of time but I've only got a few chapters left to go."

She took the book from his hands, gingerly flipping the pages towards his bookmarked section to see for herself just how far along he had made it.

"You're almost to the good part," She noted with a grin, "The next chapter's all about you. This is the part I wrote just for you."

"I still can't believe you wouldn't let me read any of this until after you published it," He said, remembering all the times he had begged her to let him preview the book and how she had repeatedly refused him, much to his chagrin.

"I wanted it to be a surprise, once it was finished," She flipped back to the front of the book to the dedication page.

Printed in a cursive font it read, "To Troy, my love, my everything."

"I'll have it finished in the morning," He vowed, lovingly placing a kiss on Sharpay's shoulder blade, "But first, I was serious about that nightgown coming off."

Sharpay giggled as he gently slid the garment up over her head, ready to consummate their reunion.

Troy gently slid Sharpay's naked body out of his arms, careful not to wake her as he did. He watched her for a moment as she dozed, occasionally moving her lips silently as if she were engaged in a private conversation between her and whomever she was dreaming of. He smiled at her, planting a kiss on top of her head where her blonde tresses were now sticking up in a tangled mess, mussed from the friction against her pillow earlier. There were days in which they fell deep into routine and it was hard to imagine a time in which they had not been together, raising their children, and yet there were many days like these still, when he marveled at the fact that the two of them had fallen back together and he remembered the lonely years he had spent just he and Mckenzie, pining for Sharpay and only dreaming that this life would one day be his reality.

He propped himself up against his pillows so that he could sit upright, stealing one last lingering glance at his wife as he reached for the book on his nightstand. He had every intention of curling up beside her, spooning her backside and holding her tight against him until morning time when he would be in charge of the ever challenging task of waking both Sharpay and Mckenzie. But before he allowed himself the overdue peaceful sleep he only seemed to achieve when she was safely snuggled in bed next to him, he intended to read the section of her book he had been eagerly anticipating since she had begun writing many months ago. He had been denied the opportunity to read it before publication and then had resisted the urge to skip ahead in the book, wanting to read everything Sharpay had to say, things she had never even voice aloud to him. His name had come up many times but the next section almost felt like a letter written solely for him as he began to read intently, stunned by her fervent honesty.

Troy is the blessing I never deserved. The greatest gifts of my life all came from Troy: unconditional love, my babies, my desire to change my life and the chance to do so, forgiveness, and an understanding that I had never received from anyone.

Baby blues hit me hard after the birth of my first daughter, worsened by anxieties over how ill equipped I was to be a mother in the first place and the shattering feeling that I would never get to realize my lifelong dreams. Troy of course had been met with the same challenges and sacrifice as I had. His childhood dreams of playing professional basketball –something I truly believe he could have achieved had life not had other plans- were over the instant I discovered I was pregnant. Troy was infinitely more talented than I was and his potential reached far beyond what mine had ever been. It was truly a shame that he never got to see where it could take him. But Troy is also a far more selfless, patient, and loving person than I could ever hope to be. He never breathed a word of his loss and immediately began preparing for our future daughter and the rest of our lives together.

He buckled down, married me, got a 9 to 5, found a house in the suburbs, and took care of me in ways every woman dreams a man will do. I felt too ashamed to voice my trepidations. How could I tell him that I was feeling robbed of my ambition when I'd unabashedly allowed him to make so many sacrifices of his own for me and our baby? I was embarrassed at my lack of motherly instincts and at my struggle to be what I imagined a proper wife to be. I could tell that Troy was disappointed, even when he tried to hide it, as he watched me floundering, unable to firmly grasp the reigns of motherhood. I was guilty and ashamed, feeling scrutinized by my husband. I watched how effortlessly he appeared to juggle all of his new responsibilities, how at ease he and Mckenzie were with each other from the start, and I resented him. I isolated myself in my misery, feeling unable to confide in Troy my many uncertainties and regrets.

I loved Troy and Mckenzie both dearly but I was struggling with my internal battles and I had built up a wall that was impenetrable by my husband, one I felt he had helped me to make in his unwillingness to acknowledge that our lives weren't as happy and perfect as he had intended them to be. He deserved the family life he coveted, after he had given up so much to achieve it, and so much of what he had sacrificed had been for me. But I was slowly cracking under the pressure to become what I owed it to him to be. One day I snapped and I ran away.

Despite my desire for freedom and to escape the life I felt I'd been imprisoned in, I had a vain hope that Troy would come after me and talk me into my senses. It was only years later that I discovered the heartbreaking truth that he actually had and he just didn't have any idea how to track me down in a city like LA. He did the right thing like always and went home to our child. I don't know what would have happened if he had been successful in finding me. Often I think it's best for me especially not to dwell on what might have been.

My story took a bizarre and unlikely twist as everyone knows in that I actually achieved my dreams of stardom and I quickly got lost in a world from which there was no escape. I'm deeply ashamed of the years I spent living only for myself in a life of luxury far away from my husband and daughter. I missed them every day of my life and I thought of them constantly. But over the course of four years I only made it back home for a few despicably short visits with my child. I wanted every time to stay for longer, to make my amends and come home for good but Troy would hardly speak to me, as if I was dead to him from the moment I walked out, and my relationship with my daughter felt painfully awkward and strained. I acted like a coward and ran away back to my life of shallow comforts each time.

When I finally knew I couldn't keep running and returned back to them Troy was rightfully furious with me for all the wrong I had done. But he gave me a second chance at motherhood and ultimately he gave me a second chance at being his wife. It was a chance that many may argue that I never deserved and maybe they're right but Troy allowed it to me anyway. However it is that he's found it within himself to forgive me and what's more to love me in spite of it all, I am forever grateful.

Even after all he's given to me I asked a lot of Troy as I was reentering his life and he continued to selflessly give even between our many ugly fights. I wanted to reconcile with him and I was ready to be the mother I had neglected to be for so long but I was insistent on doing so entirely on my own terms, terrified that if I didn't I would find myself in the same situation I had run from, trapped in the same emotional jail as before. It wasn't until Troy, for the first time ever, truly acknowledged these feelings I had bottled inside for years and apologized to me for failing to do so sooner that something inside of me broke and the wall finally came down. I saw all that he was willing to do for me and realized an eye opening revelation, that Troy always has been and ever shall be my only way to true happiness.

As Troy gave to me more and more each day my love for him grew along with my desire to do the same for him. I never envisioned myself living out my adult years back in Albuquerque. But it's what Troy wanted for our daughters. Here they can be close to our families and live out as normal life as possible for two children of a Hollywood starlet. I loved the excitement of LA, but I've finally come to the place in my life where I don't mind stepping away from it to do what's best for our family, as long as Troy allots me the time when I need it to focus on my career. We've finally begun to grasp the art of compromise, though I'll admit we still fight on a nearly daily basis. I've never confessed it to him, but the truth is I actually enjoy arguing with him, as long as we make up afterwards. I've always thrived off of a little drama and the sex afterwards is fabulous.

Troy is my savior. He saved me from myself. I used to wake up alone in a king sized bed inside a home as empty as my life used to be. Now I wake up every morning to a loving husband and two beautiful girls and I owe it all to Troy. I can never pay him back for all he has given me but I'll spend the rest of my life trying to do so anyway. My feelings for him stretch far beyond what I could ever possibly express with words so I'll just say this: I love Troy Bolton. And I thank him for everything.

Troy was deeply touched and he replaced his bookmark, having read all he needed to for the night. Setting the book back on his nightstand and turning off the lamp, he scooped Sharpay into his arms, kissing her forehead, the tip of her nose, and then her sleeping lips. As his eyes adjusted to darkness he admired her slumbering form, as moved by her beauty as ever. He gave her body one gentle squeeze as his final gesture of love before he shut his eyes, holding her flush against him as he gradually drifted off, comforted knowing hers was the first face he would see when he awoke in the morning.

A/N: Had to finally give this the finale I had envisioned for it from the start. I reread the whole thing first so I hope this didn't feel disconnected from the rest of the fic given the time lapse.

I know this fandom is a ghost town but hopefully this manages to make it to a couple of my original readers.

Lots of love to you guys.