As promised, Gabriella was dropped back off at the hospital by her mother and was told to call Ms. Montez as soon as she was ready to come home. 'Well I guess Mom is right. My back does feel a lot better today,' thought Gabriella with a small smile as she realized the tension in her back was less. After she got off the elevator, she walked down to Troy's room to see only Mr. Bolton there.

"Good morning," greeted Gabriella as she put down her bag. "Has he woken up again?"

"Morning Gabriella. No, no change since you left. I actually forced my wife to go home sometime after you left to get some rest too. You look much better for it," commented Mr. Bolton.

"Thank you, I think," replied Gabriella with a laugh. She went over to Troy's bed and touched his hand gently with her right hand. Troy stirred a little but remained asleep, so she kissed his forehead and sat back down to work on that essay again.

At some point as the morning passed, Mrs. Bolton came back and took her usual seat next to her husband after giving Gabriella a hug and kissing her son on the cheek. All three were anxiously looking at Troy for any sign of stirring, but all morning he seemed to be dead asleep. 'Can't say I blame him since the doctor said being in a coma isn't sleeping at all. He must be way tired. It happened on Tuesday and now today is Saturday, that's what, four days, three of which were in a coma,' calculated Gabriella as she smiled over at his parents before turning back to the actual writing of her essay. Taylor was going to come to type it up for her since she couldn't type later on in the evening.

It was just after lunchtime that Troy started to stir again. Quickly, his parents and Gabriella got up to go to his bed as he opened his eyes and blinked several times to get adjusted to the lights. "Mom, Dad?" croaked Troy. "Water, please."

Gabriella nodded at his parents and dashed out to the nurse's station. "Troy is up and is asking for water, where is it?" asked an anxious Gabriella.

The nurse smiled at the cheerful girl and said, "Follow me, I'll show you so you can get it easier next time."

Gabriella and the nurse went a little down the hall and into an alcove where the was an ice machine and a water tap. The nurse filled the cup with a little bit of ice and then water, putting a straw in it before she handed it to Gabriella. "Thank you!" exclaimed Gabriella before she headed back into Troy's hospital room. "Here, Troy. Drink slowly, okay?"

Troy looked in amazement at Gabriella for a few moments before he nodded his head and started slowly sipping from the straw. All the while, Gabriella was a little unnerved by the way he kept staring at her, like he couldn't believe she was there. 'Did he think I didn't love him anymore after this past weekend or something and that I wouldn't be here? What if he hates me for being the cause of the accident? Oh my God,' she thought, letting her smile drop as she thought these thoughts for the first time.

Gabriella placed the cup when he was done on the table and nervously turned her gaze back to Troy, scared of what would come out of his mouth. Her fears were for naught though as he smiled at her and reached out his right hand to hold hers. "Gabriella, you're alive, or is this heaven maybe?"

A confused look passed over Gabriella's face, along with his parent's, at these words. "What do you mean, Troy? I was never in any danger. In fact, you saved me," replied Gabriella.

This time, it was Troy's turn to look confused. "I thought you had died in the accident," returned Troy. He looked over at his parents, who also looked puzzled. "Mom, Dad, you were there to comfort me when I broke down when I found out she died. Don't you remember?"

"Son," started Jack. "You have been in a coma for two and a half days and then you slept almost a whole day after you woke. Don't you remember seeing your mom and Gabriella yesterday?"

Troy thought back and did remember that. "Yeah. Wait, so you never died?" questioned Troy as he turned his head back to Gabriella.

Gabriella shook her head. "No, a broken arm and a bad back, but that was the extent of my injuries plus some scrapes and bruises. You took the brunt of it for me, actually saved me. Don't you remember the accident?"

Troy thought back in his mind but could still remember only the memories of Gabriella dying and her funeral. He squeezed her hand that was still resting in his and then pulled to bring her closer to him. Troy reached up his hand and gently placed it on the side of her face just as Gabriella felt a tear escape from her eyes. "I love you, Gabriella."

"I love you too, Troy," returned Gabriella before she leaned in quickly and kissed him softly on the lips. "God, I am so glad you came back to us."

Troy smiled as she pulled back. "I am too. I'm glad you're alive."

Slowly, Troy's eyelids seemed to get heavy as he drifted back into sleep.

Gabriella looked up from Troy to his parents and wiped away her own tears as Mrs. Bolton was doing the same. "I don't get it, how did he think I died?"

"We could ask the doctor that. He's coming right now, I see him in the hall," said Mr. Bolton.

"Good afternoon, everyone," greeted Dr. Jones. "How's our patient today?"

"Great, he just woke up but we're worried because he doesn't remember the accident and he thought for sure that Gabriella was dead," informed Mrs. Bolton.

Dr. Jones nodded his head. "Well, the memory of the accident may come with time. He did remember your names and other regular information like that though, right?"

"He seemed to, he knew us and he recognized Gabriella," stated Mr. Bolton. "Remembered their love even."

Dr. Jones smiled at the young girl. "I'm sure that was a relief for you, Gabriella, after everything that has happened. All right then, so what we need to do is the next time he is awake, inform one of the nurses. I would like to run a few tests on him when he is awake to make sure that his memory is in one piece. It will take some time, as I mentioned yesterday, for his brain and his physical capabilities to return to normal or as close as we can get him, after his time spent in the comatose state. It is definitely encouraging though that he remembered as much as he did already."

"We also had a question," said Gabriella. "Troy woke up with the impression that I had died. Do you know what that means?"

"Don't worry. That's somewhat common for a patient to think that if they were involved in an accident with someone else or sometimes when they slip into a coma and left a loved one behind. Basically what probably happened is that while Troy was in his coma, he was living normal life, but in his world, his worst fear came true and you, Gabriella, were the one in real trouble and seemed to have passed away in his reality. You must be very special to him," explained Dr. Jones with another smile for the young woman.

Gabriella smiled back and then down at Troy. "Thank you, Dr. Jones."

"My pleasure. All right, well if that's all, I'll send in a nurse to keep an eye on his progress more periodically and hopefully, we will be able to get Troy back on track for the remainder of his high school years," stated Dr. Jones before he left.

Troy's parents took their seats again while Gabriella remained where she was, just staring at Troy's sleeping form. 'I really do love you, Troy. I don't know what I would have done without you,' she thought as she wiped away a stray tear.

In the next couple of hours, most of the gang had dropped by. Chad, Jason, and Zeke came in first, and then when they left, they let Martha, Kelsi, and Taylor in. The three girls especially checked in with Gabriella too to make sure she was all right since they hadn't seen her since Tuesday night, after she had been released but decided to stay at the hospital. After sharing hugs and good wishes, the girls left, Taylor with Gabriella's now completed essay to type up, which left Ryan to come through on his own.

"Hey, Gabriella," greeted Ryan as he sat down next to her and instantly pulled her into a hug. "I know you aren't all right, but are you better than a few days ago?"

Gabriella nodded her head as she pulled away. "Yes, Troy's woken up a few times and remembers me, which is a good feeling."

"Still head over heels in love with him, huh?" teased Ryan with a small smile.

"Guess so," replied Gabriella with an equal smile. "How's Audrina?"

"She's good, had some family thing but she sends her love. I'll tell her you thought of her even through your pain," stated Ryan with a wink before he sobered up. "Listen, now may not be the time, but I want to tell you that when you are ready, I can start to fill in the holes for you about what happened on Sunday."

"What do you mean?" questioned Gabriella.

"Sharpay, well, my darling twin has felt genuine guilt since the accident. She's been moping around the house, typical of a drama queen, telling everyone that she almost killed the object of her affection and you at the same time because of this stunt she pulled. I cornered Sharpay on Wednesday night and got her to tell me the truth of what happened on Sunday," explained Ryan.

"And?" prompted Gabriella.

"Well, I think you know most of it already. Chad and I compared notes yesterday on the phone and we think we have the whole picture. You already know about the brown wig she used, obviously a sign she had prepared to deceive, right? Well besides wearing the wig and dressing in some supposedly sexy lingerie under a robe, Sharpay paid a front desk clerk five hundred dollars for a copy of Troy and Chad's room key the night before. As soon as she saw Chad leave without Troy, she prepped herself and then slipped into the room. Now here's where it gets interesting," said Ryan. "Sharpay originally didn't plan for you or Chad to walk in on her. Her original intentions was to lock the door so they wouldn't be interrupted."

"You mean so she could actually have sex with him," whispered back Gabriella.

Ryan looked at her and then over to Troy's parents, who didn't seem to be listening, yet. Ryan nodded. "Yes, that was all her goal was, but she forgot to lock the door and you came in a lot earlier than she anticipated anyone coming back. See, she got the idea I guess when she spied you and Troy in the hall late at night or early morning before. Sharpay saw how tired he was and figured he would sleep in past Chad, who returned earlier to the room. She took a gamble and she guessed right. Anyway, while she was in there, she stole the necklace Troy gave you and that you gave back to him in the summer and used it to continue her now evolved scheme."

Gabriella felt something cold in her right palm and looked down to see that Ryan had placed the mentioned T necklace in her hand. "This is the real one?"

"Yup. I took it from her room when she was downstairs being a tad bit melodramatic. This belongs to you, or at least Troy, not Sharpay. Anyway, as I said, originally Sharpay just wanted to have her moment with Troy in hopes that he would realize what he was supposedly missing, but then you walked in and her plan changed. She saw the window in which to break you up and played it up for everything it was worth. What she didn't bank on was that Chad found her forgotten wig and also spotted her in the hallway as she watched a miserable Troy cry out for you in the aftermath. Once she was caught by Chad, she just played it up I guess, I don't know the logic there but anyway, end of story is that her plan has failed, right?"

Gabriella looked longingly at Troy's sleeping form and then back to Ryan. "In terms of are Troy and I split? No, I don't think we are. We have some things to work out, but I'm not giving up hope on us yet."

Ryan smiled. "That's good to hear. I'd hate for that to happen because of my stupid twin. In some ways, I kind of feel bad for her. Sharpay has had a crush on Troy for so long and has never learned to give him up. I can tell that she really is feeling guilty about the accident, Gabriella. I'm not saying forgive her or anything, but I don't think she's going to try anything further after this, at least not really."

Gabriella let out a sigh. "Well if that's true, that will make things a lot more peaceful around East High. I guess time will tell, right?"

"Right," agreed Ryan. "All right, well I better get going. Give me a call if anything else happens or if you want to talk, okay? I'll spy in the Evans home anytime you want."

Gabriella giggled at the idea of Ryan dressed in all black and spying on his twin. "All right, I will. Thank you, Ryan, for everything."

Ryan returned Gabriella's hug and kissed her on her forehead. "Anything for you, remember, Gabriella? I'll see you soon."

About thirty minutes after Ryan left, Troy woke up again and started coughing. Gabriella ran to get the doctor on duty and then went to get Troy some more water. When she returned, Dr. Jones was just finishing examining Troy and wrote some notes down.

"Here," offered Gabriella as she brought the straw to Troy's lips as he drank the water greedily this time. "Hey, slow down. We don't need you choking now."

Troy let go of the straw and just smiled at her. "I can't believe you are alive," he got out.

Dr. Jones smiled at the young couple before he said, "Well, it looks like Troy is definitely on the road to recovery. He still needs to get his strength back up and go through the therapy we talked about, but his mind and memory seems intact. Troy, do you remember the accident now?"

Troy looked over at the doctor, then his parents, and then finally Gabriella. He struggled to remember what happened and got nothing until it all hit him like a speeding train.

"Do you love me?" he dared to ask, having to know. "I know I love you."

Gabriella took a moment and nodded slightly. "I still do love you, Troy, but that doesn't mean I am not hurt or that you're forgiven for this. Love just doesn't disappear that quickly."

"I know, but it means something, right? It's the start?" replied Troy.

Gabriella turned her attention back to the road in front of them. "I don't know, Troy. I'm just so freaking confused," returned Gabriella just before she saw the truck ahead had slammed on its breaks. "TROY, WATCH OUT!"

Troy whipped his head around to see that the flatbed truck had slammed on its brakes while both trucks were on another small incline as they got into the town and must have hit a signal. He slammed on the truck's brakes and felt his truck skid to a complete stop within four feet from the truck in front to his relief, before he saw the wood from the flatbed slide backwards towards them. 'Oh my God!' he thought as he moved over to the passenger side and forced Gabriella down, covering her body with his. He heard a crash as the front window smashed before he was jerked back by his seatbelt, hitting his head on something hard…

"That's all I remember," said Troy, blinking a few times at the harshness of this new memory. "What did I hit?"

"According to the police reports, that piece of wood you remember sliding back from the flatbed is the culprit," explained Dr. Jones. "If you hadn't moved as quickly as you did, Gabriella here would have probably been impaled in some shape or form from it as it lodged tightly against the headrest of where she was seated as well as the back of the cab of your truck."

Troy panicked and looked over at Gabriella, who gave him a small nod. "I told you that you saved my life, Troy."

"But I don't understand, I stopped a good distance away from the truck," stated Troy.

This time, Jack stepped in. "You did. There was no damage to the front of the truck and you were stopped a good distance away, but the trucker didn't secure the wood on the flatbed well enough. When he slammed on his brakes when he reached the red light on that incline you were both on, at that speed, the wood just flew off the truck. One that was laying on its own was the one that hit your truck on the passenger side, but luckily, not Gabriella and not you until you hit your head on it after it had gone through the car."

"I'm so sorry, Troy," said Gabriella as she got tears in her eyes. "You got hurt so badly because of me."

Troy took in the tears in her eyes and shook his head. "Come here," he whispered as he opened his arms and embraced the love of his life and held her as she cried. "Gabriella, this wasn't your fault. I'm fine now, or will be fine, and you are alive. That's all that matters to me. Honest, I just want to make sure you're fine."

"I am," whispered back Gabriella. "Broken arm, bad back, cuts and bruises, but I have you back and that's all that matters. I love you, Troy."

Troy felt himself smile at the words. "I love you too, Gabriella," he murmured back before he kissed the side of her face and then her lips softly. "God, you don't know how I felt when I thought you were dead and then at your funeral. It was so real."

Gabriella pulled back and wiped away her tears with her right hand. "I think I do. I thought I was going to lose you while you were living that reality of losing me. I don't ever want to go through that again, Troy."

"Neither do I," he replied with a smile that matched hers.

"Well, I can see that you all need to get reacquainted again. I'll be leaving for the night, but the doctor on call next will check in a little later. Have a good night, everyone," said Dr. Jones before he left the room.

Troy looked over at his parents, who were smiling at him. "We're just happy you came back to us, Troy, and that you survived the accident," stated his mom before she hugged Troy tightly.

"Umm, Mom, you're kind of suffocating me," got out Troy before his mom sheepishly pulled away.

"Sorry. I love you, Troy, just as much as Gabriella and your father do."

"Yup, I think there is so much love in this room for you, son, that you would be foolish to have gone the other way and not returned back here," added Jack.

"I couldn't have said it better myself, Dad," replied Troy before he returned his father's hug and then looked back at Gabriella. "I know I am staring, but I can't help myself, Gabriella. It's just so good to see you living and breathing after what I saw for two days."

Gabriella smiled and placed her right hand on his cheek. "Whatever it is that may come in the future, we'll get through it together, Troy. You can stare at me all you want until you finally are satisfied that I am real, but I want you to know I'll be doing the same for the next few days until I get the feeling that you are safe back again."

"Deal," agreed Troy with a smile. "Except, now I feel tired again. I want you to go home Gabriella, you too, Mom and Dad. I know you must have been here for most of the time I was in the coma and you all look worse for it."

The three laughed as they shook their heads. "All right, maybe we'll all go home, but you, Troy, should get your rest. We'll all be here when you wake up," stated Jack.

Troy smiled one last time before he closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep.

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