Give Me Your Heart

“You’re going to be able to make it to our appointment this afternoon, aren’t you?” Riley posed as she leant against the frame of the bedroom door, her blue eyes fixed on Gerard who was packing his bag ahead before heading off to training.

It had been a while, after Riley had headed out to lunch with Antonella and Cassidy, a few weeks had passed, and with her having reached the twelve week mark in her pregnancy, they were due to visit Alison that afternoon, something she knew that Gerard had been looking forwards to since they had last been to visit the midwife.

Gerard, who’d been neatly folding his shirt, quirked a small smile before he nodded. “Of course I will, Ry” he enthused softly “I’ll even leave training a little early to make sure that I am on time, but what about you? Aren’t you spending the morning with your parents?” he teased amusedly. Things had gotten better, since Riley and Gerard had shared the news of their engagement, both Luis and Audrey had made more of an effort to get along with the defender, and Gerard was pleased, even if there were still a few awkward moments, he was pleased that they were all getting along better.

Riley offered him a small look before she shook her head. “They made some excuse about wanting to come over and spend some time with Alex, but I think we both know that it is merely an excuse for my madre to grill me about our non-existent wedding plans” she mused.

It wasn’t the first time, since they had announced that they were planning to get married, more than one person had asked about how their plans were progressing, and whilst Riley appreciated that they were curious, she was slowly growing a little tired of explaining that they wanted to take their time.

Gerard, who’d moved to zip up his bag, quirked an amused grin before he pushed himself to his feet, padding towards her slightly. “You could always make a start” he noted softly “Your mother would be more than happy to help and it might shut her up for a little while if you start discussing the idea of a date or a guest list. It might tide her over until we tell them about you know what” he added, his hand gently moving to rest on her stomach.

“You’d be alright with that?” Riley quipped, peeking up at him shyly.

“You know I would be” Gerard countered “Ry, you know that I would marry you any time, any place” he added, offering her a small smile.

Riley admired the soft look on his face for a moment before she pushed herself up onto her toes, sneaking a quick kiss “You’re pretty great, you know that?” she quipped as she ducked back a little.

Gerard spared an amused laugh before he ducked in, stealing another quick kiss before the sound of the doorbell echoed, causing him to pull back. “That’ll be your parents” he mumbled softly “And I have to get going. I’ll see you at the hospital?” he posed.

Riley nodded. “I’ll see you later” she agreed.

Gerard flashed her a soft smile before he ducked out of the room, something which made Riley smile a little, slightly impressed by how well things were going between them.

~#~
“You made it then” Riley teased as Gerard plopped into the seat beside her, greeting her with a soft kiss on the cheek. It had been a long morning, with her parents around, Riley had spent a lot of time her avoiding questions about wedding planning, but she was relieved to have made it through it, even if she had had to ask her mother’s opinion on a couple of things to stop her from asking questions, she was a little glad that, after the trouble they had had with her parents, both her mother and father seemed excited at the prospect of her getting married.

“I said I would be here” Gerard quipped “And I am early” he added, checking the time on his watch.

“You are” Riley agreed softly “Did you have any trouble getting away?” she posed gently.

“Not overly” Gerard noted “Enrique wasn’t thrilled about me ducking out early, but he understood when I mentioned that you had an appointment” he added.

Riley nodded her head slightly, allowing a small silence to fall over them a few seconds.

“How was your mother?” Gerard posed.

“As curious as always” Riley mused “She tried to be subtle but it’s not exactly her strong suit. In the end, we started to look through my family to see who we would invite when we eventually get around to it” she explained, a small frown playing at the corner of her mouth.

Gerard noted the frown and reached his hand out, gently squeezing hers which fiddled shyly with the bottom of her shirt. “They’ll back off soon, Ry” he noted softly “Once we know that things are going well with bump, we can start to think about sharing the news and that should buy us some time” he added, offering her hand another soft squeeze.

Riley nodded. “It should” she agreed softly “But I wish they’d not make so much fuss” she added.

“It’s a pretty big deal” Gerard grinned.

Riley playfully rolled her eyes before Alison appeared ahead of them, a welcoming grin on her face. “Do you two want to come through?” she posed softly before she padded towards her cubicle, the couple in tow.

“I’ve had a chance to look over your tests, Riley” she enthused softly “And for a pregnancy which is in its 12th week, things are looking as they should do” she added, offering the couple a reassuring smile.

Riley, who had sat down on the edge of the examination bed, quirked a small relieved smile, something which made Gerard squeeze her hand gently before he helped her to lay down, allowing Alison to start the ultrasound. Watching the screen, Riley shifted a little at the feel of the scanner running over stomach before the sound of the baby’s heartbeat filled the air, causing her expression to soften. “That’s…?” she babbled.

“It is” Alison confirmed “He or she has a strong heartbeat, Riley, and they look to be a good size too. I’d say things are going very well” she enthused before she pushed herself to her feet, musing about arranging their next appointment.

Gerard watched the midwife out of the room before he ducked a little closer to Riley, pressing a kiss against her temple. “You OK?” he posed softly.

Riley nodded. “We’re going to have another one” she murmured softly.

Gerard chuckled a little at the awe in her voice before he pressed another kiss to the side of her head. He knew that it was going to take some work, with Riley having reached the 12 week mark in her pregnancy, it was only a matter of time before people discovered that she was expecting again, but he was determined to keep things as calm as he could, even if it did mean tell people to back off for a while, he wanted to ensure that Riley was as comfortable as she could be.