Give Me Your Heart

Skidding to a stop ahead of the reception desk, Gerard took a deep breath, trying to calm himself down. It had been a rush, after the news that Riley was in labour had fallen out of his coach’s mouth, he hadn’t wasted a second, but he was relieved to be there, even more so that it had taken less time than he had been expecting. Taking another breath, he tried to calm his breathing down a little before he flicked his attention to the receptionist who looked up at him, her eyes wide. “Are you OK?” she squeaked.

Gerard nodded. “Fine” he spluttered out “I…I need a room number” he added.

The receptionist offered him a slightly odd look before she nodded. “Have you got a name or a ward?” she posed.

“Riley Cortez” Gerard replied quickly “She’ll be in maternity” he added.

The receptionist offered him another stout nod before she typed something into the computer. “Are you family?” she posed.

“I’m her boyfriend” Gerard replied “And the father-to-be” he added.

“She’s in room 312” the receptionist noted as she peeked away from the computer screen “If you head to the elevator and go up 3 floors, the signs will direct you there” she added.

“Gracias” Gerard noted swiftly before he pushed himself away from the desk, quickly making his way towards the elevator. Pressing the correct level, he rested against the back of the elevator, tapping his foot irritably. He knew that it was unlikely, with Cassidy having only called half an hour previous, it was unlikely that Riley had already given birth, but still he worried. After 9 months of waiting, the last thing he wanted was to miss the moment that their son finally put in his first appearance. Tapping his foot, he watched the elevator climb before the door slid open, allowing him to speed out before he spotted a sign, quickly following it towards the room that the receptionist had directed him to.

Taking a breath, he eyed the door for a moment before he pushed it open, a small smile appearing on his face as he spotted Riley sat up on the bed, sipping at a glass of water. “Riley” he breathed softly.

Riley, who’d been watching Alison, startled a little at the sound of his voice before she turned, her blue eyes peeking up at him softly. “You’re here” she babbled softly.

Gerard nodded. “Of course I am” he mused, stepping a little closer to her “I’ve not missed anything, have I?” he added as he moved to take the seat that Cassidy had vacated for him beside the bed.

“You haven’t” Alison confirmed, jotting something down onto Riley’s chart “She’s about 4cm dilated right now, which isn’t quite half way, and the contractions are still a few minutes apart” she added.

Gerard nodded at her words before he moved to take Riley’s hand, squeezing it softly, a sight which made the midwife smile a little. “I’m going to come back and check on you in an hour, Riley” she noted gently “But if you need anything before that, then don’t hesitate to call” she added, gesturing towards the call button which sat beside the bed.

“Gracias, Alison” Gerard noted.

The midwife flashed him a gentle smile before she stepped out of the room.

“I am going to leave you to it too” Cassidy noted gently.

“You don’t have to” Riley noted.

“This is a moment just for the two of you” Cassidy mused “And now that Gerard is here, I can stand back. I’ll head out into the waiting room and call both of yours parents” she added.

Riley nodded. “OK” she agreed gently “Thank you for taking care of me, Cass” she added.

Cassidy shook her head. “It was nothing, Ry” she mused softly “Good luck” she added, moving to press a kiss to her friend’s cheek.

Riley smiled at her gently before she padded out of the room, leaving the brunette alone with Gerard who moved to lift her hand, pressing a soft kiss to the back of it. “Are you doing OK?” he mumbled gently.

“I’m doing fine” Riley mused gently “It’s not too bad right now, but it’s going to get worse the closer together the contractions get. You didn’t have any trouble getting away, did you?” she posed softly.

“Not at all” Gerard smiled “Besides, even if I had, I would have gotten here. I am not going to miss out on this, Ry” he insisted.

Riley spared him a gentle smile before she rested her head back against the pillow. She had little doubt that there were going to be there for a while.

~#~
Sparing a yawn into his hand, Gerard padded back towards Riley’s room, a cup of coffee held in his hand. It had been a few hours, after he had arrived, Riley had been in labour for a further 8 hours, but Gerard didn’t mind, even if it had meant losing out on a night’s sleep, he was merely counting down the minutes until he got to hold his son for the first time. Pushing his spare hand back through his hair, he nudged the door to Riley’s room open before he padded towards the bed, pressing a gentle kiss to the top of her head. “How are you doing, nena?” he murmured.

“I’m alright” Riley shrugged “I’m tired and kind of want this over with, but I am coping better than I thought I would. Did your parents get a hold of you?” she posed. It had been agreed, until the baby had actually been born, the two sets of parents were under instruction to stay away, but Riley doubted that that would stop them calling for updates, even if Gerard had told them that he would call when the time came, she had little doubt that the two sets of parents were getting more and more excited at the time past.

“They did” Gerard confirmed “And your parents did too, and I told them the same thing. We’ll call when we’re ready” he noted.

Riley nodded her head slightly before she wrinkled her nose, something which made Gerard take her hand, allowing her to squeeze it as another contraction passed. They were getting closer, when Alison had last visited, Riley had been almost 8cm dilated, and Gerard was hopeful that that meant the baby was almost ready to be born. “I’ve been thinking” he noted softly.

Riley, who’d moved to get a little more comfortable, nodded. “About what?” she posed gently.

“A name” Gerard quipped, his expression slightly uncertain.

Riley tilted her head. “You’ve come up with something?” she posed softly.

“I have” Gerard confirmed “I liked the name Alexander” he noted gently.

Riley smiled a little. “That’s the first name on your list” she teased, referring to the piece of paper that had been stowed in his pocket for months.

“It is” Gerard mused “And it is one you liked too” he added.

Riley nodded her head. “I love it, Gerard” she insisted softly.

Gerard offered her a bright smile before he ducked down, pressing a soft kiss to her forehead, mumbling about how well she was doing.

~#~
“You’re doing so well, Riley” Alison called as she peeked up at the brunette. It had been a while, after a further two hours in labour, Riley had reached 10cm dilated, and at last it looked as though the baby was ready to make his appearance, something which was a relief to Gerard who had hated watching Riley in pain, even if she had handled it well, part of him was glad that the labour was almost over.

Riley, who had her eyes squeezed shut, shook her head. “Is it nearly over?” she squeaked.

“You’re almost there” Alison enthused “When the next contraction hits, you need to give it everything you have” she added.

Riley let out a small hiss in response, something which made Gerard lean down, pressing a kiss to her head. “You’re doing so well, Ry” he murmured gently “You’re being so strong, and I am so proud. You just need to keep going for a little longer” he encouraged gently.

Riley offered him a slightly tearful look before she let out another cry, pushing with everything she had.

“Come on, Riley” Alison encouraged “Just a few more seconds, keep going” she added.

Riley cried her way through the contraction before the room around her fell quiet, allowing the small crackly cries of the newborn to fill it.

Gerard stared at her for a moment before he turned his head, looking towards Alison who held the baby in her arms. “Is he…” he spluttered softly.

Alison eyed the infant for a second before she nodded, smiling up at him. “Congratulations” she noted gently “You’re now parents” she added as she carefully moved to hand the baby towards another nurse who wrapped him in gently in a towel.

Gerard merely blinked, something which made Alison smile. “He’s fine, Gerard” she mused gently “I’ll need to check on him in a bit, but for now, I think probably wants to see his mama” she added.

Riley, who was trying to catch her breath, sat up, allowing the nurse the place the little boy in her arms for the first time. Sniffling, she looked down at the baby softly before she shook her head, a snuffly laugh falling out of her mouth. “Hola” she squeaked gently “I can’t quite…I can’t believe you’re here” she babbled softly.

Gerard, who was stood beside her, sniffed a little before he sat down, gently brushing the towel away from the baby’s face. “Riley” he breathed softly “Nena, he’s…”

“He’s wonderful” Riley interjected, a tearful smile on her face.

Gerard admired the smile on her face before he carefully pressed a kiss to her head, mumbling about just how proud he was of her.