Three Cheers

Gerard and I kept in the routine with the kids, while he spent a lot of time writing. He would stay up late reading and writing; he usually tended to Ronan during his late nights. During the day, he slept until noon, and then he'd get up, play with the kids, drown himself in coffee and then he would write more.

The fight with Frank had lasted well over a year; the guys all seemed to drift from one another. Ray was writing and recording his own music; Mikey was off in a whirlwind romance with some girl, traveling; and Frank, of course, was in New Jersey with Frances, making music with a new band he started. I didn't really talk with Fran as frequently as I used you; actually, the calls were so spread out as the year progressed, we stopped talking all together.

Yes, I missed them immensely, but I knew that Frank needed some time to get over it all. I had hoped that he and Gerard would make up in the future, because no one could stay mad forever. Gerard never talked about them, he seemed to be on autopilot when it came to reminiscing.

He wasn't moody, he was a lot happier, to be honest. He loved to be with the Ronan and the girls while I worked down at the store or when I would start to make more clothing. Things were pretty much the same throughout the red of the year.

Ronan had started to walk and was trying to talk. So far, he could say "hey" and, what he learned from Gerard, "yo". He was the cutest thing I had ever seen; he was adored by Busy and Thora; they loved to play with him and help him walk around.

Gerard was absolutely so proud of Ronan; he loved to talk and tell everyone about him. It was the fact that Ronan was his first son, and he was a miracle. Before much else, he was teaching him about Star Wars, comics, music and cartoons. Even though he was a year and a half old, they shared a really, really tight bond. Ronan preferred Gerard over me, for the the simple fact that Gerard was constantly taking care of him and doting on him. I loved to be with him, too, but I knew it was special for Ronan and Gerard to have their bond.

The girls never minded that Ronan was constantly with Gerard; it took all the talk about boy stuff off of them. I was with them, making sure they got as much attention as they all equally deserved. They accompanied me to the store or they would model the new clothes I would sew together. They loved every minute of it; I tried to keep them as entertained as I could. I would take them to the park, too, and Gerard and I took them to the fair one day and spent the entire afternoon playing games and winning more than enough stuff animals to start our own toy store.

At night, after the kids had gone off to sleep -when Gerard wasn't writing or reading- we would hold each other and just lie there in the dim light. We would sometimes talk and laugh and reminisce about times before the band, back when we were both messed up teenagers. We would sometimes laugh over our dumb antics and the way we thought we wouldn't make it.

A few times, one of us would cry about it. More than often, it was me crying about how Gerard was abused, or when my parents took me away from him. I had felt the heaviness of losing him.

"I never loved anyone as much as I love you." I told him.

"Me either," he replied softly, "I knew we'd spend the rest of our lives together."

"Me too. Even when you were fighting your addiction...I've always loved you, through thick and thin, G."

He kissed me, running his hand up and down my arm, "Life is fuckin' crazy."

"Hey, it has to be. We've been married for about 5 years...maybe we should celebrate for not killing each other.

Gerard laughed, "Maybe."

The next few weeks, when our wedding anniversary arrived, we had invited everyone to a party at the loft where Gerard had been using as art space that was beyond our house's control. We had even sent and invite to Frank and Frances; we weren't sure if they would show, and we were holding our breath.

Mikey, Ray, James, and among many of my and Gerard's friends arrived. My family too came, all running around with the kids. We had gotten cake and drinks galore; it wasn't fancy, but it was well put together.

After awhile, the loft was overwhelmed with friends and family, but not too crowded. Gerard and I were set to thank everyone as they grabbed food. We had wanted to cut the large cake before it got too late for the kids to get any.

As we stood in front of the crowd of friends and family, our arms interlocked, our eyes were met with familiar faces. There was Frank, Frances and little Anthony, who was on walking and had shaggy hair, and a cute little face that was a mirror image to Frank's.

Gerard had squeezed my hand in his; "I can't believe it." He murmured in my ear.

I felt tears sting my eyes; "Neither can I."

Gerard kissed my cheek, then turned to the crowd, clearing his throat, "Everyone, can we get your attention, please?"

Our friends and family hushed after a moment, eyes on the both of us. I rubbed away tears, swallowed emotion. Gerard smiled, "We want to thank you guys for coming and celebrating our 5th year anniversary. It may seem like it was long, but to us, it feels sort of like a week."

My dad chuckled, making everyone else laugh softly.

"October and I met when we were teenagers and we were sort of meant for each other. I fell in love with her the moment I saw her."

I felt choked up and let the tears build and fall.

He exhaled, "I want you guys to know how much I love her and I love out kids. So...please, just give a cheer to us for making it this far...we were separated and found each other; thanks in part to Fran Iero for working with My Chemical Romance in the beginning," he waved at her, "Thanks Fran."

She waved back and blushed.

"A cheer for us, for our friends and our family!" Gerard spoke happily, "Three Cheers for 5 years and many, many more."

My heart swelled as everyone cheered for us. Gerard smiled and kissed me, holding me lovingly against him. Yes, cheers to us.