Give Me Your Heart

Sparing a soft yawn into his hand, Gerard carefully closed the door behind him, trying his hardest to be quiet. It had been a little while, after the baby had arrived, Riley and Gerard had spent a couple of hours simply admiring her, but with his parents and Riley’s both desperate for an update, he’d opted to take advantage of both Riley and the baby falling asleep, wanting to make a couple of phone calls before he ducked back into the room.

Pushing a hand through his hair, he ducked into the waiting room before he pulled his phone out of his pocket, quickly dialing his mother’s number before he pressed the phone against his ear.

“Gerard?” Montserrat posed “Is everything Ok? How is Riley?” she added, her tone slightly urgent.

Gerard chuckled a little before he tilted his head back, resting it against the chair he sat in. “Everything is fine, mama” he noted softly “In fact, I am sorry for not calling a little sooner. The baby arrived a couple of hours ago and since then, I’ve been a little preoccupied” he added gently.

“I imagine you have been” Montserrat replied softly “How is she?” she posed curiously.

“The baby is perfect, mama” he noted softly “She’s so small, smaller than I remember Alex being, but she’s stunning, mama, and that’s all on Riley” he added, his tone slightly awed. It still felt a little strange, the idea that he and Riley had welcomed a second baby into the world, but he was sure that it would settle in eventually, even if it was strange for a couple of days. He was sure he could get used to their family having gotten a little bigger.

“And Riley?” Montserrat posed softly “How’s she?” she added.

“Tired” Gerard replied “And she’s sore, but Alison is pretty happy. Both Riley and the baby are in good health, so much so, we should be out of here tomorrow morning” he added.

“I can’t wait to meet her, Gerard” she noted softly “And I am sure that Alexander can’t wait to meet his new baby sister” she added softly.

Gerard quirked a small smile at her words before he spotted someone stood ahead of him, something which caused him to lift his head, his blue eyes peeking towards Alison. “I have to go, madre” he noted softly “But I’ll call later to check on Alex” he added gently before he said a swift goodbye, moving to hang up the phone before he offered Alison a slightly curious look.

“I didn’t mean to interrupt” the midwife noted softly “I just thought you ought to know that your daughter is stirring and Riley’s still asleep” she added gently.

Gerard offered her a soft look before he nodded his head. “Gracias for letting me know” he mused warmly.

Alison flashed him a small smile before she skittered away, affording him the opportunity to pad back up the corridor and ducked into Riley’s room. Ensuring that he didn’t make too much noise, he carefully pulled the door closed behind him before he padded towards the bed, his blue eyes settling on the little girl who laid in the bassinette beside it, stirring quietly.

Quirking a small smile, he watched her small movements for a couple of seconds before he ducked down, carefully lifting her up into his arms. Offering her another gentle smile, he carefully moved to sit down before he settled her in his arms, his fingertips gently brushing her back in an attempt to soothe her.

“We don’t want to disturb your madre, do we?” he whispered softly “She was awake for a long time to bring you into the world and I think that it is only fair that we let her sleep. She deserves, doesn’t she?” he added, adjusting the small hat that had been settle on top of the dark tufts of hair that were on her head. The baby shifted a little, her blue eyes opening briefly, before she settled down, something which made Gerard smile a little before he ducked down, pressing a soft kiss against her head.

“I thought you were going to call our parents?”

Gerard, who’d been mumbling softly to the baby, startled a little at the sound of Riley’s voice before he lifted his head, offering her a small smile. “I was going to” he noted softly “But Alison came to get me whilst I was in the waiting room. Our baby was stirring and we didn’t want her to disturb you” he added softly.

Riley offered him a soft look before she shook her head. “You should have just woken me” she mused softly.

“It’s OK” Gerard noted softly “I’ve got her and she’s fine. If you want, you can go back to sleep” he offered gently.

Riley mulled his words over for a couple of seconds before she shook her head. “I’ll sleep later” she mused softly.

Gerard offered her a slightly dubious look, wordlessly asking if she was sure, before the baby let out a small snuffle, pulling the attention of her parents down towards her. “I still can’t quite believe how beautiful she is” Riley mumbled, breaking the soft silence which had settled around them.

“She is pretty stunning” Gerard agreed softly “But she gets that from her very beautiful mama” he added, flashing a teasing smile towards Riley.

Riley’s cheeks warmed a little at the compliment before she shook her head, something which made Gerard chuckle softly. “We’re going to need a name” Riley noted softly.

“We are” Gerard agreed “Have you got any ideas?” he posed gently.

“I’ve got a couple” Riley noted softly “But, if you don’t like any of them, we can take some time to think of something else” she babbled softly.

Gerard offered her a small look before he tilted his head. “Can I hear them?” he posed softly.

Riley offered him a slightly shy look before she nodded. “I like Eleanor” she mused softly “Or Isla, or Arabella, but, if you’d rather choose something else…”

“Arabella” Gerard interjected softly.

Riley blinked a couple of times, slightly caught off guard by his interruption before she tilted her head. “What?” she posed softly.

“The name, Arabella” Gerard mused softly “I like it. I like the idea of her name starting with the same letter as Alex’s, and we could shorten it to Bella if we wanted to. I like it, Ry” he enthused, a small smile on his lips.

Riley spared him a slightly dubious look, something which made Gerard chuckle a little before he shifted his hand, moving to take a hold of hers. “I like the name, Ry, but if you don’t, we don’t have to go with it” he mused softly.

Riley admired the warm expression on his face before she quirked a small smile. “I love it” she enthused softly “Our little girl, Arabella” she added warmly, her blue eyes peeking down towards the baby who snoozed happily in her father’s arms.

Gerard followed the line of her stare before he ducked forwards, pressing a soft kiss against the top of Riley’s head, something which made the brunette’s smile widen a little.