Give Me Your Heart

Shuffling forwards a little, Gerard awkwardly readjusted the kit bag which sat on his shoulder before he pulled his key out of his pocket, pushing it into the lock.

It had been a long day, after he had been substituted, he had spent a lot of time having his ankle checked and wrapped before they’d flown home, and whilst he knew that he still needed another scan, he was glad to be home, wanting nothing more than to curl up with Riley and forget what had happened.

It wasn’t the worst injury, the first scan had quickly ruled out a break or any ligament damage, but still the idea of missing part of the season unsettled him, even if it was only a couple of weeks.

Jiggling the key in the lock, he pushed the door open quietly before he carefully hobbled inside, trying to be as quiet as he could. It was late, a little after 11 at night, and Gerard knew that both Alexander and Riley would be asleep, even if Riley had tried to stay awake, he was more than confident that her fatigue would have caught up with her.

Placing his bag down, he carefully set aside the crutches that he had been given before he moved to pad up the stairs.

“You’re back late”

Gerard, who had been focused on not tripping, jumped at the sound of Riley’s voice before he looked up. “I thought you’d be sleeping” he noted.

“I wanted to see you” Riley shrugged gently, her expression soft.

“I’d have been here when you woke up” Gerard noted, carefully stepping up another couple of stairs “You didn’t have to stay up. I know how much bump is taking out of you” he added.

“It’s fine” Riley noted as she offered him her hand “I had a nap earlier once I had put Alex down for the night and I feel fine. If I didn’t, I would have been asleep by now” she insisted.

Gerard offered her a slightly dubious look before he placed his hand in hers, allowing her to help him up the last few steps. “Have they told you just how bad it is yet?” she posed as she wrapped his arm around her shoulders, allowing him to rest a little of his weight on her. She had been worried, when she had seen the tackle, she had been concerned that the injury was a bad one, but she was glad to see him up and about, even if he was moving slightly tentatively, she was glad to see it wasn’t as serious as it had looked.

“They’ve ruled out a break” Gerard noted gently “And they’re pretty confident that I’ve not torn anything either. I’ve got to head to the hospital for another scan in the morning, but right now, I want to think about anything other than my ankle” he added, moving to sit on the end of the bed.

Riley, who’d moved to settle on her side of the bed, nodded. “I am sure we can manage that” she noted softly.

Gerard offered her a small appreciative smile before he leant down, unlacing his shoe. “How was your day here?” he noted softly.

“It was good” Riley mused “It was nice to have a day where there were no parents cooing over my pregnancy and no Cassidy asking for wedding plans” she added, a small smile on her face. She knew that they meant well, since they’d informed their parents of her second pregnancy, both sets of parents had set about making a fuss of her, and whilst Riley liked that they were so excited, she was glad that she had had a little time to herself.

Gerard shook his head, a small smile on his face. “They do like to fuss” he noted gently “You’re not due for another few months and already, they’re acting like you’re due tomorrow” he added.

“They’re excited about how things are going for us” Riley countered gently “It wasn’t too long ago that I was pretending that I didn’t still have feeling for you and you were dating someone else. It’s nice to see them so excited, especially my parents” she enthused gently, a small smile on her face.

“It does make a change” Gerard mused with a nod “Only a few months ago, your padre probably would have hit me for proposing or getting you pregnant again” he teased as he moved to lean back against the mattress.

Riley spared a small laugh before she ducked forwards, pressing a kiss to his forehead. “I like it better this way” she noted gently “I know that they made you jump through a lot of hoops, and I did too at the beginning, but I like this. I like us” she enthused gently.

Gerard smiled gently at her words before he reached his hand up, gently guiding her into a soft kiss. “You did make it hard work” he teased between light kisses “But I am glad that we somehow made it to this point, even if it did take us a while. This is a good thing, Ry. Me, you, Alex and bump, it’s amazing” he insisted gently. It had taken them a while, more than once, Riley’s nervousness had caused them a problem, but he was pleased that they had stuck with it, even if it had taken more work than he would have liked. He was pleased with how things were between them.

Riley pressed another kiss against his lips before the sound of Alexander snuffling in his sleep emanated away from the monitor which sat on the end table, something which made her shake her head. “I need to tell you something” she mumbled.

Gerard tilted his head, encouraging her to go on.

“Alex said ‘mama’” Riley noted softly, her eyes peeking at him shyly.

Gerard was quiet for a moment before he quirked a grin. “He did?” he pressed excitedly.

Riley nodded. “He did” she confirmed softly “We were watching your game and he just sort of babbled it out. It was remarkably cute” she added gently.

Gerard smiled a little at her words before he pressed a kiss to her cheek, mumbling about how odd it seemed that their son had said his first word. It had taken a lot of work, between Riley’s nerves and her parents, there had been moments where Gerard had considered simply letting go of them, but he was pleased that he hadn’t. He was pleased that he and Riley had stuck it out.