Give Me Your Heart

Stirring a little, Riley blinked one of her blue eyes open, peeking towards Gerard who sat beside her, his hand gently nudging against her shoulder. It was a little late, with a ten month old around, Riley very rarely had the chance to lay in, and she was grateful that Gerard had offered the chance that morning. It was catching up with her, with her pregnancy progressing, she was starting to feel a little more tired, and she liked the take the opportunity to rest when she could, something Gerard was more than happy to help with.

“What time is it?” Riley mumbled, yawning slightly.

“It’s about 9:30” Gerard replied “But I need to head out soon. I’ve got to be on a flight in a couple of hours” he added.

Riley blinked her eyes a couple of times before she carefully moved to sit up, sparing another yawn into her hand. “You could have woken me earlier” she noted.

“I could have done” Gerard quipped “But you looked more than comfortable and I was up, so I left you to sleep for a little while. I know bump’s taking it out of you” he added, his hand gently brushing over the blankets which covered her stomach. It was still only small, the bump on Riley’s stomach wasn’t noticeable unless he was looking for it, but still he adored fussing it over, more than excited at the prospect of meeting the baby that it held.

Riley spared his hand a small glance before she quirked a small smile. “Have I ever mentioned that you’re particularly sweet when you’re fussing over bump?” she posed gently.

“Once or twice” Gerard teased “But I never tire of hearing it” he added, sneaking a quick kiss.

Riley held onto him for a moment, enjoying the kiss, before the sound of Alexander’s babbling echoed from the monitor, causing her to duck back. “I should go and check on him” she mumbled.

“You should” Gerard agreed “And I should think about heading out. I’ll call you before the game tonight, you and Alex will be watching, won’t you?” he teased as he pushed himself back to his feet. He knew that it wasn’t something she enjoyed particularly, since they’d originally started to date, Riley had made it clear that she wasn’t the biggest football fan, but he liked the idea that she at least had the games on around Alexander. He wanted the little boy to share his interest.

“It’ll be on” Riley quipped as she moved to wrap her dressing gown around herself.

Gerard offered her an amused grin before he stepped towards her, sneaking another soft kiss. “I don’t say this enough” he mumbled “But I love you, Ry” he added, his forehead resting against hers.

Riley’s cheeks warmed a little at his words before she pushed herself up on her toes, kissing him gently once more. “I love you too” she mumbled “And now you really need to go” she added before she stepped away from him, ducking out of the room.

Gerard stood, watching after her for a moment, before he moved to find his bag, a small smile playing on his face.

~#~
“You’re getting big now, aren’t you?” Riley fussed as she moved to settle Alexander on the couch, smoothing out the dark hair on the top of his head. It had been a quiet day, for the first time in a while, her time hadn’t been spent around fussing relatives or friends who were itching to start planning wedding planning, and she had enjoyed it, especially since she had spent the entire day with Alexander. “You’re going to be tall like your papa, aren’t you?” she added, pressing a kiss to his forehead.

Alexander looked up at her for a moment before he burst into a fit of giggles, something which made Riley shake her head before she turned towards the television, flicking on Barcelona’s match with Bilbao. “Your papa, he’s going to want you to love this sport when you get older” she enthused as moved to settle down beside Alexander.

The little boy offered her another impish grin before the sound of a roar on the television grasped her attention, causing her to turn back towards the screen. It hadn’t been long, the match was only 15 minutes old, but the sight on the screen caused her stomach to turn a little. Gerard was on the floor, his hands gripping at his left ankle, and Riley could tell that it was bad, even without having seen the challenge. Swallowing a little, she watched the screen for a few more seconds before she closed her eyes, wordlessly hoping that it wasn’t as bad as it looked.

Alexander, who’d been babbling happily to himself, looked up slightly. “Mama” he squeaked.

Riley, who had her eyes squeezed shut, startled a little at the sound of his voice, flicking her attention towards the little. “What?” she squeaked softly.

Alexander offered her another grin before he lifted his arms up, asking for her to pick him up. “Mama” he repeated cheerfully.

Riley stared at him a couple of seconds, more than a little surprised to hear a word coming out of his mouth, before she moved to wrap her arms around him, lifting him up. “You said mama” she breathed softly. it had been coming for a little while, for a couple of weeks, Riley and Gerard had been expecting Alexander to say his first word, but still it had caught her more than a little by surprise.

Smiling gently, she pressed a kiss to the top of Alexander’s head before she flicked her attention back towards the television screen, watching as the medics carefully helped Gerard off of the field. It looked bad, he could barely put any weight on his leg, let alone walk on it, but Riley hopped it wasn’t as bad as it looked. She knew Gerard, he adored what he did for a living, and she doubted he would cope well with the idea of being out for a while. “Let’s hope papa is alright” she noted gently.