In the End

50: When

“So, I’ve got your measurements and I’ve got some preliminary sketches. I’m going to hand them over to the dressmaker and we’ll have a sample made up in the next couple of weeks. Does that sound alright?” Ariella posed with a pleasant smile, her eyes settled on the client who sat opposite her, thumbing through the sketches that she had worked up. it had been a long morning, with a few meetings scheduled for that day, Ariella hadn’t had much of a chance to relax since she had arrived at work that morning, and she was looking forwards to the meeting finishing, more than slightly excited by the prospect of having a couple of hours away from work before her next meeting.

It had been a while, after she and Gerard had shared the news of her pregnancy with her friends, a few weeks had passed, and with her twenty week scan scheduled for that afternoon, she had been counting down the hours since she’d woken up that morning, more than a little excited to have another chance to see their little boy or girl.

The client, who’d been quietly admiring Ariella’s sketches, nodded. “That sounds good” she mused.

“I’ll make you an appointment” Ariella replied “And I will see you in a couple of weeks” she added.

The client offered her a pleasant smile before she pushed herself up to her feet, padding out of the room.

Ariella watched her out of the room briefly before she turned back towards the table, gathering her sketches before she slipped them into a folder. Placing the folder on the pile which sat on her colleague’s desk, she let out a soft sigh in relief before the sound of a tap against the office door reached her ears, causing her to step towards it, pulling it open to Gerard who stood outside, a shy smile on his face. “I’m not interrupting, am I?” he asked cautiously.

Ariella smiled a little, amused by the shy tone of his voice, before she shook her head. “You’re alright” she mused “My last client just left. Have you been waiting long?” she asked, allowing him to step past her and into the office.

“Ten minutes or so” Gerard replied “I mean, I know how much you prefer me being early” he added, smirking a little at their inside joke.

Ariella merely rolled her eyes before the sound of someone calling her name reached her ears, causing her to let out soft sigh. “I should probably go and see what she wants” she noted “You’re Ok to wait here for a couple of minutes?” she asked.

“I’m sure I can handle it” Gerard replied “I mean, I doubt I can do too much damage” he added teasingly.

Ariella offered him a playful glare, something which caused Gerard to chuckle before he shook his head. “Go” he quipped.

Ariella hesitated for a fraction of a second before she nodded, quickly making her way out of the room. Gerard watched her go before he shook his head, moving to a take a seat behind her desk. Settling into the chair, he allowed his eyes to scan the room for a few seconds before they settled on a sketch which laid on the desk, a sight which caused a soft smile to pull at the corner of his mouth before he gingerly reached his hands out, lifting it up.

“What are you doing?”

Gerard, who’d been studying the piece of paper which sat in his hands, smirked before he looked up, his gaze settling on Ariella who stood in the doorway, an amused grin of her own spread across her features. “You’re pretty good at this” he quipped, moving to settle the sketch back down onto the desk “I mean, I can’t pretend to be an expert on wedding dresses, but I think this is nice” he added, his voice shifting from teasing to soft.

Ariella shrugged nonchalantly, trying to distract from the fact that her cheeks had flushed a light shade of pink.

Gerard marveled at her for a few seconds, admiring the soft hint of pink on her cheeks, before he gently pushed himself up, taking a couple of steps towards her. “Have you...uh...have you thought about sketching something for yourself?” he murmured, his voice caught between curious and uncertain.

He knew that it was a big question, even if he had tried to veil it slightly, he knew that Ariella would sense what he was getting at, and whilst he knew that it was risk to ask it, part of him couldn’t resist, curious to see if it was something which had crossed her mind. They hadn’t talked about it, with neither one of them wanting to push their relationship too far too soon, both he and Ariella had skirted around the topic, but he wanted to broach it, even if Ariella’s answer did just tell him what he already knew, that it was too soon for them to be thinking about it. He wanted to know where she stood.

Ariella turned to stare up at him, her blue eyes wide. “Are you asking?” she quipped, her voice caught between awed and teasing.

Gerard breathed out a nervous laugh. “No” he replied “When I do, you’ll know it” he added.

Ariella quirked an eyebrow. “When?” she quipped.

Gerard merely smirked at her for a few seconds, something which made Ariella’s blush darken a little before she spared a glance down at her watch, not quite able to stifle the soft smile which itched to spread across her features. “We should get moving” she noted, clearing her throat slightly “I’d rather we weren’t late for our appointment with Jessica” she added.

Gerard nodded his head in agreement before he took a hold of her hand, not quite able to shake the smile from his face. He knew that it wasn’t much, the conversation had been brief and Ariella’s answers had been vague, but he knew the smile that she wore, something which made him confident that they were on the same page.

~#~
“Your pregnancy is progressing very well, Ariella” Jessica enthused as she shuffled towards the bed, gently folding Ariella’s shirt away from her stomach.

“Everything is OK?” Ariella pressed, her voice a little relieved.

Jessica, who’d moved to smear a little gel over Ariella’s bump, lifted her head, offering the brunette a reassuring smile. “It looks that way” she mused “But I am sure that you’ll see for yourself in a few seconds. Do you want to find out the sex today or are you waiting until the birth?” she asked, flicking her attention back towards the ultrasound.

Ariella, who’d been watching the midwife, lifted her head slightly, sharing a brief look with Gerard before she smiled. “We want to know” she confirmed.

Jessica grinned at the interaction between the two of them before she returned her attention towards Ariella’s bump, running the scanner over it for a few seconds before a familiar comforting thump filled the air.

“That’s a strong heartbeat” Gerard breathed out in relief, his hand squeezing Ariella’s comfortingly.

Ariella beamed up at him, relieved by the sound of the strong heartbeat. Watching the screen for a few moments, she marveled at the sight of their baby before Jessica cleared her throat, pulling both Ariella and Gerard’s attention towards her. “It’s a boy” she breathed gently, a wide grin spreading across her features.

Gerard blinked a few times in surprise before he diverted his stare downwards, his blue eyes mirroring Ariella’s which stared up at him, a few tears shining in them. “A boy” he breathed “You sure?” he asked Jessica without looking at her.

Jessica nodded. “I’m certain” she mused.

Gerard nodded slowly, trying to wrap his head around the words, before he breathed out a small laugh, stuck for anything else to say or do.

Ariella smiled at the soft awed sound before she gently lifted hand, cupping it around his cheek as she gently drew him into her, pressing kisses against his forehead and cheeks before she met his lips, quietly cooing about the idea that they were going to have a little boy.
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Thanks to FootieJo and Jayme112234 for the comments :)