If It Gave Us Time

Rubbing his hand over his face, Gerard leant back slightly in his seat, pulling his eyes away from the computer screen that he’d been staring at. He had been doing it for a while, since he and Isla had gotten back from their appointment at the hospital, he had spent a lot of time cooped up in his office, but he hadn’t been able to focus, his thoughts still stuck on Sabrina and the mention of Isla’s ex-boyfriend.

He knew that it shouldn’t have bothered him, since he and Isla had started to spend time together, Isla had always been upfront about her previous relationships, and he knew that he had nothing to be worried about in terms of her changing her mind about them, but still it stuck in his throat slightly. The idea that Sabrina had thought that Sergio would be interested in hearing that she’d bumped into Isla was something which irked him more than he wanted to admit.

Squeezing his eyes closed, he took a couple of deep breaths before a knocking sound reached his ears, startling him slightly. Pulling his hand away from his face, he sat up a little in his chair before he looked at the door, catching sight of Isla who stood there, a mug of tea clutched in her hands. “Hi” she squeaked gently.

Gerard offered her a weak smile. “Hi” he replied “You need something?” he asked.

Isla shook her head. “No” she mused “I just...I thought I’d come and make sure that you were still here. I’ve not seen you since we got home. I thought maybe you’d snuck out without me noticing” she added, letting out a slightly nervous laugh.

“No” Gerard replied “I’ve just been busy” he added, vaguely gesturing towards the computer.

Isla nodded her head slowly, allowing a few seconds of silence to pass between them, before she let out a sigh, gently pushing her glasses back up her nose. “You know” she murmured “If you want to, we can change the midwife we make our appointments with” she suggested quietly.

Gerard, who’d been looking down at his desk, looked up at the sound of her voice. “Huh?” he asked.

Isla shrugged gently as she stepped across the room, resting against the edge of his desk next to where he sat. “We can have a different midwife” she rephrased “I mean, it’s all about us being comfortable, and if you’re not comfortable with having the sister-in-law of my ex-boyfriend in the room when I have our baby, then I am sure that it can be changed. Just say the word” she added, her fingers gently brushing over the front of her shirt.

Gerard watched the movement of her hand, quietly mulling over her question, before he looked up at her. “You’d not mind that?” he asked softly.

Isla shook her head. “It felt awkward to me too” she admitted quietly “And I don’t want baby’s appointments to feel awkward. They’re supposed to be special and exciting” she added, a small smile tweaking the corner of her lips as she glanced down towards the desk, catching sight of the sonogram picture that Gerard had already stuck there.

Gerard followed her gaze, smiling a little at the picture, before he reached out a hand, gently taking a hold of hers. “Thank you” he mumbled.

Isla shrugged. “You don’t have to thank me” she mused “I want you to be comfortable too, and that’s probably not going to happen with Sabrina. She always talked too much, and I don’t really think you’re going to enjoy listening to her go on, especially since she’s almost certainly going to want to talk about Sergio” she added, offering him a knowing look.

She knew what had irked him, from the moment that Sabrina had explained who she was, she’d known that it’d unsettled him slightly, and she wanted him to know that she knew it, wanting to encourage him to talk through what it was exactly that had gotten to him.

Gerard held her stare for a second before he shook his head, letting a bashful laugh falling out of his mouth. “How’d you know?” he asked.

“I know you” Isla replied as though it was the most obvious thing in the world.

Gerard scratched his neck, smiling a little, before he shook his head. “I know it’s stupid” he noted “I mean, you were with Sergio for what, a couple of years when you were 21?” he pressed.

Isla nodded.

“I know it’s been over forever” Gerard continued “And I know that things between us...well, I don’t really think that they could be going much better than they are right now, but Sabrina seemed to think that Sergio might care that she ran into you, and I guess...I guess I thought maybe you might care that she thought he might care” he added, grimacing a little as the words fell out of his mouth.

Isla smiled a little at the expression on his face before she shook her head, letting a soft sigh fall out of her mouth. “I might have cared once” she admitted “But right now? I care more that we’ve not really had the opportunity to really fuss over this” she quipped as she leant over the desk slightly, collecting the scan photo from its place.

Gerard shook his head. “Lala...”

“It didn’t feel right with him” Isla interrupted, her eyes not moving away from the scan photo “I mean, I’m sure you’ve heard my mother talk about him and his asking me to move in with him, and how I freaked out about it. That’s because it didn’t feel right in here” she quipped, gesturing to her stomach.

“Why?” Gerard prodded.

Isla shrugged. “I don’t know” she mused “I mean, I fell for him, and I fell for him hard, but it just didn’t feel right for me. This...us...it feels right, and that’s why you don’t need to worry about Sergio. I’m in love with you, Piqué. I live with you, I’m pregnant with your baby, and honestly? Aside from a few nerves here and there, I feel remarkably comfortable and happy with that. You don’t need to worry about my ex boyfriends, because, as dorky as it sounds, they’ve really got nothing on you” she added, offering him a timid half smile before she shook her head, glancing away towards her feet.

Gerard watched her for a couple of seconds, allowing his words to hang around them, before he reached a hand up, gently settling it against her neck before he pushed himself up, capturing her in a soft kiss.

Isla let out a quiet sound before she pulled away, chewing her lip gently in order to stifle her smile.

Gerard studied her face for a second before he stepped towards her, pressing a soft kiss against her forehead. “I love you too” he mumbled softly “Both of you” he added as he lifted a hand, grazing his fingertips over her stomach.

Isla grinned as she watched his hand before she looked up at his face. “Do you have any idea how much I like hearing that?” she asked.

“About as much as I like saying it?” Gerard prodded impishly.

Isla laughed gently before she leant back, picking up the scan picture again. “It feels real now, doesn’t it?” she asked “I mean, this is an actual picture of our baby, Geri” she gushed.

Gerard smiled and nodded before he stepped forwards, gently grazing his fingers over the picture. “Our baby” he mused.

Isla marveled at the sound of those words before she tugged him into a soft hug, something Gerard was more than happy to return, wanting to take a moment to enjoy the idea of her pregnancy, something which had been disrupted earlier.