Until You Met Me

One Hundred & Three

“Did you get more sleep last night?”

Molly, who was sipping on a glass of water, smiled around the rim of her glass, her stare settled on Gerard’s face that filled the screen of her laptop. She hadn’t been expecting his call. With him due to play a match later that night, he had only left earlier that morning, but it meant that Molly had only been half awake when he’d placed a kiss on her head, meaning that Gerard had been deprived of the chance to ask how she was before he’d left. He did it every morning. For the few weeks that had passed since they had discovered that Molly was expecting, Gerard had made a point of checking in with her every day, and increasingly, Molly found herself looking forwards to it. She had been tentative with her excitement at first. They both had, but as the weeks had passed, and they talked more and more about what was coming next, they’d both started to let their excitement show more and more.

“I did” Molly confirmed, settling her glass down onto the coffee table “Although, I could have done without you disturbing me before you left” she added.

Gerard scoffed playfully. “I’m sorry for waking you up to tell you that I love you” he quipped “Next time, I won’t even bother saying goodbye” he added.

Molly grinned back at him impishly. “If you’d not mind” she played along.

Gerard made a show of rolling his eyes, something which made Molly laugh until she felt a familiar twist in her stomach. Grimacing, she took in a couple of deep breaths, waiting for the sensation to subside before she glanced back at the camera, a slightly sheepish smile on her face. “To answer your next question, yes, I do feel nauseous, but like every other morning, I haven’t actually been sick” she mused “Oh, and I think I got my first craving. When I woke up, all I wanted in the world was peanut butter” she added.

The slightly concerned expression that had been etched onto Gerard’s face disappeared, replaced by a goofy smile. “Peanut butter?” he prodded.

Molly nodded. “It’s lucky we had some” she mused “I am seriously thinking about eating the entire jar or putting it on all of my meals” she added.

“Don’t do that” Gerard said “It’s gross” he added.

“To you, maybe” Molly teased.

Gerard let out a soft laugh before he shook his head. “Are you still going over to your parents’ for dinner?” he asked.

Molly nodded. “I am” she confirmed “Have you changed your mind about me telling them without you here?” she asked.

Gerard shook his head without hesitation. He knew how excited she was to tell people, how difficult she had found the weeks that they had had to keep it a secret, and with them having had their first scan, confirming that everything was progressing as it should have been, he had told her that she could share the news with her family without him. “It’s OK” he said “Just know that I will probably call my parents later and tell them, so don’t be surprised if they call” he added.

“Don’t be surprised if you get back to the changing room and find your phone full of messages from my parents and Pop” Molly replied.

Gerard chuckled. “Is it weird that I am kind of looking forwards to that?” he asked.

Molly shook her head. “I don’t think so” she mused

Gerard opened his mouth to reply, but was cut off by the sound of someone knocking at his hotel room door, something which caused him to sigh before he looked back at the camera. “I’ve got to go” he said “I’ll call you when I am on the way home?” he prodded.

“I’d like that” Molly said “You’re sure that you’re OK with me telling my parents?” she asked.

“I’m certain” Gerard replied “Speak to you later, Molly” he added before he blew a kiss at the camera and ended the call.

Molly stared at the blank screen for a moment before she gently brushed her fingers over her stomach, a soft smile filling her face. She couldn’t quite believe that there had ever been a moment where she had doubted that Gerard would be happy about the idea of the two of them having a baby.

~#~
“Have you and Gerard settled on a restaurant for the rehearsal dinner yet?”

Molly quirked a lopsided smile, glancing up at her mother who had moved to place a plate of dessert down in front of her. She knew that she had been waiting for the opportunity to bring the wedding up. Xavier had been quick to insist that talk of the wedding be put on hold whilst they had dinner, allowing room for him and Julia to catch up on all of the other things that were happening in Molly and Poppy’s life, and it meant that Julia had waited until Xavier had slipped out of the room to show Felipe something to ask all of the questions that she had.

“Papa’s been gone two seconds, mama” Poppy teased, gently bouncing Imogen on her knee.

Julia rolled her eyes. “You’d think he’d be excited” she quipped playfully “I mean, it’s his daughter’s wedding, too” she added.

“He is excited” Molly said “I just don’t think he finds floral arrangements and bridesmaids dresses as fascinating as you do” she added.

Julia feigned a huff, something which made Molly smile as she poked at the piece of cake that her mother had placed in front of her. “To answer your question, no we haven’t picked a restaurant yet, but it’s on the to-do list” she said.

“You remember that we’re going wine tasting with Darcy tomorrow?” Poppy quipped.

Molly’s hand stilled for a moment before she looked up, blinking owlishly.

“Molly?” Julia asked.

Molly didn’t move for a second before she climbed out of her chair and stepped towards the hallway. “Papa?” she called “Can you and Felipe come in here for a second?” she added.

“What’s going on, Mol?” Poppy pressed.

Molly offered her a faint smile as she stepped towards her bag.

“Did someone call for us?” Xavier asked as he and Felipe made their way into the room.

“I did” Molly said “I’ve got something I want to tell you. Gerard and I have some news” she added.

“News?” Julia asked, her forehead creased in worry.

Molly nodded her head before she thrust her hands out ahead of herself, showing off the ultrasound picture that was clutched in them.

Xavier inched forwards, slipping it out of her grasp, before he shook his head, smiling down at it tearfully. “You’re pregnant?” he murmured.

Molly nodded. “Twelve weeks” she confirmed.

The room was quiet for a few seconds before Julia let out a choked laugh, drawing Molly’s attention towards her. “Mama?” she asked.

Julia waved her hands, unable to speak, before she moved towards Molly, wrapping her in a tight hug. Molly returned it for a long moment before she turned towards Xavier, allowing him to hug her tightly and kiss the top of her head. “I’m so happy for you” he murmured into her hair.

Molly tugged out of her hug with a watery smile on her face. Wiping her cheeks, she quickly embraced her brother-in-law before she found herself face to face with her sister who smiled at her widely. “I’ll guess I will be tasting all of the wines” Poppy teased.

“Darcy can help” Molly replied “But, it does give me a little plausible deniability if it’s awful” she added.

Poppy laughed before she pulled Molly into a hug. “I’m so happy for you and Gerard” she murmured “You’re going to be so great at this” she added.

Molly pulled away. “You really think so?” she asked.

Poppy smiled. “I really do” she confirmed.