In the End

Gently settling Toby down into the crib that had been set up for him, Ariella quirked a soft smile, watching as the little boy snuffled a little in his sleep. It had been a few hours, after she and Gerard had gotten married, they’d spent a while celebrating with their friends and family at the reception that they’d planned out, but with Toby having started to become tired, she had sloped off to the hotel room that her mother had booked for her and Stefan, wanting to get the boy settled down away from the party. He had had a long day, with his parents preoccupied, he had spent most of the day flitting between all of his grandparents and step grandparents, but Ariella was proud of him, even if he had grown to be a little grumpy as he’d grown more tired. He’d handled a long and strange day with little to no fuss.

Carefully settling him down against the mattress, she pressed a soft kiss against his forehead before she felt an arm around her waist, something which made her smile to herself before she turned around, staring up at Gerard who’d appeared behind her, the same immovable grin which had been plastered to his face all day, still lighting up his features. “What are you doing here?” she asked.

“I could ask you the same thing” Gerard countered “I ran into to Estella downstairs and she said that you’d turned down her offer to settle Toby down for the night. Is everything OK?” he asked, his voice growing slightly concerned.

Ariella smiled at his concern before she gestured over his shoulder, wordlessly telling him that they ought to step out of the bedroom so that they didn’t wake the sleeping baby. Gerard frowned, but followed her out of the room, gently pulling the door to behind him. “Ella...”

“Everything’s fine” Ariella interrupted with a soft laugh.

“It is?” Gerard pressed, offering her a slightly dubious look.

Ariella nodded. “It’s just been a long day and I’ve not seen that much of him” she mused “I walked passed my madre when she was on her way up here to settle him down and I offered to take him off of her hands so that I could settle him down to bed. I am his mama after all and I thought it would probably take me less time than it would her. Is that OK with you?” she added, offering him a playful smile as she moved to step into the bathroom, sparing her reflection a quick gander.

Gerard followed her, resting his weight against the bathroom door. “It makes sense” he mused “Did he settle quickly?” he asked.

Ariella, who’d moved to readjust a few clips in her hair, nodded. “He was a little grumpy” she mused “But he was practically asleep when we got up here. My papa, who watched him whilst I was getting ready, said he didn’t sleep for very long when he had his nap” she explained.

Gerard merely nodded, smiling a little as he watched her mess with her hair.

Ariella gently slipped the last clip back into place before she lifted her eyes, catching sight of his smile via the mirror. “Why are you smiling like that?” she quipped, trying, and failing, to hide the blush which was quick to spread across her cheeks.

Gerard laughed. “You don’t want me to smile at you?” he teased.

“I didn’t say that” Ariella replied “I just...you’ve been smiling a lot today, which is a good thing of course, I really like your smile but...you know what? I’m just going to stop talking” she babbled, shaking her head.

Gerard let out another soft laugh before he took a step closer to her, his hands gently resting against her shoulders as he dropped a soft kiss on the top of her head. “We’ve been together for two years” he mumbled into her hair “We’ve had a baby together, we’ve just gotten married, and you’re still babbling around me like you were when we went out on our very first date?” he teased, dropping another kiss on her head.

Ariella shook her head, leaning back against him slightly. “It’s not going to change” she noted “So you’re going to have to learn to love it. I still babble around my parents, my step parents...everyone, so if it bothers you...” she trailed off, a soft smile on her face.

Gerard leant around slightly, pressing a soft kiss against her cheek. “I love it” he quipped, smiling against her skin.

Ariella grinned, catching his eye via the mirror which stood ahead of them, before she shook her head, her hand gently moving to squeeze his which still rested happily on her shoulder. “Can I tell you something?” she mused, disturbing the comfortable silence which had settled between them.

Gerard nodded. “Of course” he mused “What’s up?” he asked.

Ariella took in a breath before she gently turned around, smiling up at him shakily. “I...uh...”

“You two know that you’re still having a party downstairs, right?”

Ariella startled, surprised by the sound of her mother’s voice, before she nodded her head, turning to look at the older woman who had just strode into the hotel suite. “Of course we do” she mused, trying to hide her disappointment at having been interrupted with a jovial laugh “Are people missing us yet?” she added.

“Cesc was looking for you” Estella noted “Apparently, you owe him a dance. And your brothers were looking for Gerard. Apparently, they’ve not had a chance to tease him about Barca all day” she teased.

Ariella forced the best smile she could muster onto her face before she shuffled out of Gerard’s grasp, padding away towards the door. “We should get back down there” she mused “Are you sure that you don’t mind staying up here with Toby?” she asked.

Estella shook her head. “Of course not” she mused “Especially not if it means you two can get back downstairs and enjoy the rest of your night. It’s not every day that you get married, baby, and you two should enjoy it” she gushed as she stepped towards her daughter, pressing a kiss against her cheek before she padded towards the couch, plopping down onto it.

Ariella walked towards the door, pulling it open before she stepped out into the hall, making her way towards the elevator which stood at the end of it.

Gerard watched her take a few steps, before he caught up with her, his hand gently grabbing the top of her arm as he pulled her to a stop. “Ariella” he mumbled “Nena, what’s going on?” he asked.

Ariella shook her head. “It’ll keep” she mused “My madre is right. We’ve got a party going on downstairs and we should get back to it. It’s not much of a wedding reception if neither the bride nor the groom is actually there” she added, trying to take a step away from him.

Gerard, however, didn’t let her go, pulling her back to the spot in front of him. “I want to know what’s on your mind” he noted.

“Geri...”

“It’s clearly something” Gerard interjected gently “I mean, you’ve tried to bring it up twice, so it’s clearly something and I want to know what it is, so why don’t you just tell me? I am sure the party can survive for another five minutes without us” he joked, offering her a soft smile.

Ariella studied the look on his face for a moment before she let out a soft sigh, mumbling something which Gerard didn’t catch beneath her breath.

“What was that?” Gerard pressed.

Ariella took in a breath before she reached out for his other hand, gently settling it against her stomach. “I...uh...I said that I’m pregnant” she murmured, her voice just a fraction louder.

Gerard’s expression slackened in surprise, something which made Ariella shift her feet, uncomfortable in the silence which hung around them. Shifting a little on the spot, she stared down at his hand which rested on her stomach before she gently shook her head. “We should...”

“You’re being serious?” Gerard’s voice was shaky as he spoke.

Ariella nodded, not even attempting to look up at him. “I felt sick” she mumbled “But, seeing how close we were to the wedding, I just put it down to nerves. It wasn’t until my madre made a joke this morning about it that it clicked with me. My period’s late, and with that and the nausea, it seemed possible, so I took a couple of tests. They both said the same thing” she explained, her fingers fiddling nervously with her wedding ring.

Gerard nodded quietly, trying to wrap his head around what she’d said.

“We should really get back downstairs” Ariella babbled “It’s our party after all and...”

“Will you stop talking about the party for a second?” Gerard interrupted, the tone of his voice hard to place.

Ariella fell quiet quickly, allowing a long few seconds of silence to pass between the two of them, before Gerard breathed out a laugh, something which caused Ariella to frown. “You’re laughing?” she spluttered.

“I’m surprised” Gerard replied “I mean...you’re really pregnant again?” he asked.

“I think so” Ariella replied “I mean, we’ll need to see a doctor...but it feels like it did before” she added.

Gerard nodded at her words before he shook his head, a dazed smile spreading across his features. “You’re pregnant” he breathed, his thumb gently skimming over her stomach “I’m going to be a papa again. Toby’s going to be a big brother” he added, his smile increasing with each word.

Ariella smiled too, more than a little relieved by the expression which lit up his face. “He’s going to be the best big brother” she fussed.

Gerard, who’d been focused on his thumb, lifted his head, catching her eye. “We’re having a baby” he fussed giddily.

Ariella nodded her head in confirmation, something which made his smile wide a fraction before he closed the gap between them, hugging her as best he could without shifting the hand which rested protectively over her stomach. Ariella smiled at the embrace before she moved her hand, gently slipping her fingers through his as she lifted her head, kissing him softly.