In the End

Pulling his jacket around his shoulders, Gerard stepped into the kitchen, his eyes quickly landing on Ariella who sat beside the table, fussing happily over Toby who sat in her arms, cooing softly. It had been a few days, after he and Ariella had attended her mother’s anniversary party, a little over a week had passed, but still he couldn’t shake the idea of proposing from his head, something which had caused him to arrange a meeting with Estella for that afternoon.

He knew that they weren’t in a hurry, with Toby only being a few months old, he knew that the chances were that any engagement between him and Ariella was likely to be a long one, but still he was excited by the prospect of asking, confident that their relationship was in a strong enough position to handle it. They were good together, since Toby had arrived a few months previous, things felt as though they’d fallen even more into place, and he was sure that the timing was right, even if he was keen to take his time when it came to planning a proposal. He had little doubt that the answer Ariella would give would be the one that he was itching to hear.

“Gerard?”

Gerard, who’d drifted off slightly, blinked a couple of times at the sound of Ariella’s voice before he lifted his head. “Huh?” he spluttered.

Ariella quirked a smirk. “Are you just going to stand there?” she quipped, her voice warm and amused.

Gerard shook his head, a slightly sheepish smile on his lips. “Sorry” he mumbled as he stepped a little further into the room “I just drifted off. I just thought I’d come in here and say goodbye before I left” he added as he stopped beside the chair she sat in, his stare settling on Toby who looked up at him, his blue eyes wide. Quirking a small smile, he gently brushed his fingers back through the baby’s dark hair before he leant down, pressing a soft kiss against his forehead.

Ariella watched the two of them for a second, a doting smile on her lips, before she gently nudged Gerard’s shoulder, causing him to lift his head, offering her a gentle smile. “Aren’t you supposed to be going?” she posed “I mean, don’t get me wrong, we love having you here but...” she trailed off, a small giggle falling out of her mouth.

Gerard lifted an eyebrow, offering her a mildly unimpressed glance, before he leant forwards slightly, pressing a quick kiss against her lips. “I’m going” he mumbled between quick kisses “I’ll see the two of you later” he added.

“Are you going to be around this afternoon?” Ariella asked “I mean, I didn’t have a lot in mind, but I thought we could go and grab some lunch and then take Toby out for a walk around the park. You know how much he loves it there” she suggested as she spared a look down towards the baby, a familiar smile on her lips.

Gerard marveled at the expression on her face for a moment before he let out a soft sigh. “I’d really love that” he mumbled “But I...uh...I already have plans. I’ve got a meeting scheduled for lunch time and I can’t cancel it. You don’t mind me taking a raincheck, do you?” he asked.

Ariella blinked, a little surprised by his reply, before she shook her head. “It’s fine” she mused “Though, I didn’t think you had anything planned for today. Is it important?” she asked, her fingertips gently straightening out the pajamas that Toby wore.

Gerard shrugged, not wanting to give too much away, before he dipped down, pressing a kiss against Toby’s head before he kissed her gently. “I’ll see you later, OK?” he asked as he pulled back.

Ariella offered him a slightly uncertain glance before she nodded her head, something which made Gerard smile at her reassuringly before he padded out of the room.

~#~
“So” Estella mused as she pushed the last of her meal around her plate “Have you got any ideas so far, Gerard?” she posed, an amused smile playing at the corner of her mouth as she watched the defender nervously push his meal around his plate. She wasn’t surprised, without Ariella or Toby around to spark a conversation between the two of them, the defender had looked out of his comfort zone since he had sat down, and it made the older woman grin, a little amused to see the usually confident Gerard slightly uncertain and nervous.

Gerard, who’d been staring down at his plate, blinked a couple of times at the sound of Estella’s voice before he tilted his head slightly, offering her a slightly embarrassed shrug. “Other than just asking her, not a lot” he replied “I mean, I want it to be something special, something more memorable than me just taking her out to dinner and asking her, but I am not quite sure what I want it to be” he explained carefully.

Estella nodded thoughtfully, mulling his words over for a few seconds, before she quirked a softer smile. “It will be special, Gerard” she noted “I mean, you’re going to ask her to marry you. That’s a pretty big deal” she insisted.

“I know it is” Gerard replied with a knowing nod “But I still want to do something a little more than just ask. Do you know how she told me that she was pregnant with Toby?” he asked.

Estella nodded. “It was adorable” she enthused.

“It was” Gerard agreed “And I want to give her a moment like that, one that she will remember for a long time” he added, his voice caught between determined and excited.

Estella rested back in her seat slightly, mulling over his words for a few seconds, before she quirked a small smile, nodding her head gently. “I think we can come up with something” she mused “I mean, I’ve been told I’m pretty great at event planning, and we both know my daughter pretty well. I am sure that if we put our heads together, we can come up with something that will knock her for six” she enthused softly.

She was a little caught off guard by his request, from what she knew of him, she had been expecting that he would want to keep things as simple as possible, but she had to admit that she liked seeing him so excited and confident in what he wanted to do. It reassured her to see him so serious about taking the next step in the relationship with her daughter.

Gerard spared her a slightly uncertain look, something which made Estella smile before she leant across the table, patting his hand reassuringly. “We’ll come up with something wonderful, Gerard” she mused “You have my word on that” she added warmly.

Gerard nodded his head in agreement before he flashed her a small smile, something Estella was quick to return, a little in awe of how far Gerard and Ariella had come. She had wanted it to work out for them, from the moment she had been introduced to the defender, she had wanted things between him and Ariella to pan out, and she was thrilled to see that they were, even if they had had their bumps. She had little doubt that they were good for one another and would be for a while to come.