Until You Met Me

Feeling Gerard press a kiss against the top of her head, Molly looked up from her laptop tiredly, her stare tracking him across the kitchen towards the fridge. She had been awake for a while. After everything that had happened the night before, she had found sleep hard to come by, and after a few hours of tossing and turning, she had eventually climbed out of bed, not wanting to disturb Gerard who hadn’t shared in her inability to turn her mind off for a couple of hours. She couldn’t stop thinking about it. When she had turned the test over and seen the positive result, she had been hit by a wave of emotion, and she was still trying to puzzle her way through it. Every time she had closed her eyes, her mind had immediately flashed back to the test and she had started thinking about it all over again.

“How long have you been awake?”

Molly, who’d been staring off into space, jumped at the sound of Gerard’s voice before she turned to look at him, offering him a slightly embarrassed smile. “How do you know I didn’t just get up?” she asked.

Gerard smirked as he leant against the other side of the counter, tipping his head towards the two empty glasses that were set up alongside her laptop. “I always tell you to just wash the glass out and use it again, instead of using another one, but you never do” he quipped “So, how long?” he added.

“I got up a couple of hours ago” Molly admitted.

“Did you get any sleep?” Gerard asked.

Molly’s lips quirked upwards into a slightly rueful smile. “A couple of hours, maybe” she mused “But I did kind of get some big news last night, so I think it can be excused. We can’t all sleep through anything like you” she added defensively.

Gerard smirked again, but he didn’t say anything, something which caused Molly to sigh before she lifted a hand, rubbing at her forehead. “Sorry” she murmured “I didn’t mean to take a shot at you. I guess I am more tired than I thought” she added.

“You should go back to bed, then” Gerard quipped “You’ve got nowhere to be, and lesson plans can wait a little while. You said it yourself, you got some pretty huge news last night, and maybe you need to take a moment and process it, eh?” he prodded.

Molly gently pushed a hand back through her hair before she slowly nodded her head. “Maybe you’ve got a point” she said.

“It has been known to happen sometimes” Gerard quipped playfully.

Molly smiled back at him reluctantly.

“Go back upstairs” Gerard coaxed “I’ll come back up in a bit with breakfast and we can talk, OK?” he added.

Molly hesitated for a second before she nodded and slipped out of her seat. After taking a step towards the door, she stopped and turned around, moving to press a soft kiss against Gerard’s cheek. “Thank you” she murmured before she turned and padded out of the room.

~#~
“So, are you feeling any better?”

Molly, who was idly tracing patterns against Gerard’s stomach, nodded her head before she looked up at him, offering him a slightly apologetic smile. “A lot” she confirmed “I’m sorry for earlier” she added.

“You were tired” Gerard said “And you are trying to wrap your head around something pretty huge. I think I can forgive you for being a little out of sorts first thing in the morning” he added.

He hadn’t been completely surprised. The news that they were expecting a baby was huge, and whilst he had no doubts that Molly was thrilled about it, he knew that it was something that was going to take a little getting used to. He felt the same way. The news that Molly was pregnant was undoubtedly good, and he was thrilled about it, but he was also slightly overwhelmed. Things were going to change, probably in ways neither of them had thought of yet, and that was as scary as it was exciting.

Molly huffed out a laugh. “Aren’t I lucky?” she played along.

Gerard pressed a kiss to the top of her head, smiling into her hair. “I’m so glad you’ve noticed” he teased.

Molly laughed before she tugged out their embrace slightly, her expression growing more serious. “This is huge” she said “And I am so happy, and excited, but kind of also scared?” she asked more than stated.

“I know the feeling” Gerard mused.

“Really?” Molly squeaked.

Gerard nodded his head without hesitation. “Of course” he said.

Molly looked up at him, waiting for him to say something else.

Gerard gently smoothed out the little wrinkle between her eyebrows. “It’s huge” he said softly “We’re going to be parents, Molly. In a few months time, there’s going to be a new human and we’re going to be responsible for them, and that’s scary, but it’s also amazing, isn’t it? I am scared, too. There’s so much to think about, so many things to do and talk about, but we don’t have to figure all of those things today. It’s scary, but we can take it step by step, and do it together, right? Things are better when we do them together” he added, his face brightened with a smile was slightly cautious, but still warm and encouraging.

Molly’s eyes searched his face for a long moment before a slow smile lit up her face. “Is this what I sound like when I am giving you a pep talk?” she asked.

“You do it better” Gerard quipped, playing along.

Molly’s smile softened. “I love that we’re doing this” she said “I want you to know that” she added.

“I do know that” Gerard said “And I feel the same the way” he added.

Molly moved towards him, pressing her lips to his briefly, before her phone buzzed, causing her to glance over her shoulder at it. “My mama’s on her way over with Darcy” she said “We’re going over the wedding stuff, to see what’s left to do” she added.

Gerard nodded his head. “I have to get going soon, anyway” he said.

“Once they’ve gone, I will call the doctor” Molly mused “I’ll make an appointment, and we’ll go from there” she added.

Gerard stole another quick kiss before he pulled back to smile at her. “We’ll go from there” he agreed.