Until You Met Me

“How did I not know that you had this many cousins?”

Molly, who’d moved to pour herself another cup of tea, rolled her eyes amusedly before she padded back towards the kitchen counter, glancing down at the half finished seating chart that sat between her and Gerard. They had been working on it for a couple of hours. After their appointment with their caterers, Molly had gotten a couple of hours of sleep before Gerard had woken her up for dinner, and ever since, they’d been sat, staring at the seating chart in an attempt to figure it out. It was something that Molly loved. Despite the twinges of disappointment that she occasionally felt that Ava wasn’t around to help plan the wedding, the time she had spent with Gerard, pouring over details she had thought he would leave to her, had more than made up for it, and Molly was already sure that she would miss it when it was over. She loved seeing how excited he got over things she had thought would only bother her.

“You’ve not seen most of them for years” Molly replied “And honestly, I only invited them because my mother made me. I invited my aunts, and she insisted that the cousins had to come too” she added, slipping back into her seat.

Gerard lifted his head, smirking slightly. “You showed your mother the guest list?” he asked.

“I asked for an address” Molly corrected with a firm shake of her head “And then she asked if I had invited my cousins, and you know how terrible I am at lying to her” she added.

Gerard laughed, something which caused Molly to offer him a flat look before she turned back to the chart in front of them. Moving a couple of names around, she glanced at Gerard out of the corner of her eye before she shook her head, her cheeks flushing pink. “Why are you staring at me like that?” she muttered.

Gerard’s answering smile was caught somewhere between soft and teasing. “Are you only just noticing that I like you?” he quipped “Because if so, we might be getting a little ahead of ourselves with all this wedding planning” he added.

Molly offered him another flat look. “You’re really annoying, you know that?” she said.

“It’s not news” Gerard played along “But you know that you love me really” he added.

Molly tried not to smile at him, but failed, something that made Gerard laugh before he leant towards her, sneaking a quick kiss. Pulling back, he shuffled out of his seat and padded towards the fridge, returning seconds later with a plate of food that he settled down between the two of them. Molly glanced down at the plate before she felt her stomach turn, something which caused her nose to wrinkle. “Is that OK?” she asked.

“The food?” Gerard asked “It should be. It’s only from last night. Why?” he added.

“It smells off to me” Molly answered.

Gerard offered her a slightly confused look before he prodded the food with his fork, taking a bite. “It tastes fine to me” he said through the mouthful of food.

Molly squeaked out a slightly disgusted laugh, pushing his shoulder gently. “Can you at least get it away from me then?” she asked.

Gerard made a show of rolling his eyes before he picked up the plate, moving it away from her. “Are you happy now?” he asked.

“Yes, thank you” Molly answered with a roll of her eyes.

Gerard grinned around another forkful of food, something which caused Molly to stifle a giggle before she refocussed on the chart that was sat between them. “Are any of your teammates coming without dates?” she asked, arranging a group of names around a table.

“I don’t think so” Gerard answered “Why? Are you looking to trade me in?” he added teasingly.

Molly scoffed out a laugh. “Do you really think I would choose one of your teammates if I was?” she played along.

“I really thought you’d say something about how you’ve only got eyes for me” Gerard retorted with a slightly huffed laugh.

Molly shook her head, looking back up at him with a soft smile on her face. “I didn’t think it needed to be said” she mused “You know how I feel about you. I am not looking to trade you in any time soon” she added, her voice caught between soft and teasing.

Gerard let out another slightly sheepish laugh, something which caused Molly to lean towards him, pressing a soft kiss against his jaw before she returned her attention to the chart, fiddling with the names quietly for a while. Gerard leant over to help, moving a few of the names around, until Molly looked up at him, a curious look on her face. “What?” he asked.

“What’s today’s date?” Molly asked.

“The thirteenth” Gerard replied, frowning slightly at the question “Why?” he added.

Molly blinked a couple of times, but she didn’t answer the question. Instead, she put on a smile and shook her head. “It’s nothing” she said.

“Have we forgotten something?” Gerard prodded “Did I make another appointment that I forgot about?” he added, offering her a smile in an attempt to coax her into talking.

Molly was quick to shake her head. “It’s nothing like that” she replied.

“But it is something” Gerard said “It has to be for it to be ‘nothing like that’” he added.

Molly huffed out a laugh, but didn’t say anything for a moment, something which caused Gerard to reach out, gently twining his fingers through hers. “Molly?” he said.

Molly stared down at their hands for a second before she looked up at him, her expression shy. “Did I ever tell you how Pop found out that she was pregnant?” she asked, her other hand gently toying with the name tag that had Poppy’s name written across it “I mean, she and Felipe had talked about kids, but they weren’t trying or anything. We were at my mother’s, and she’d made this stew that Pop has loved since we were kids. She used to ask for it all the time when we were little. Every time she was sick, or we were celebrating her for something, she’d ask my mother to make this stew. You might have had it, actually” she added.

Gerard shrugged. “Maybe” he said “But what’s this got to do with anything?” he added.

Molly turned Poppy’s name tag over in her hand again before she shook her head. It hadn’t hit her suddenly. There had been little warning signs that she had ignored, but the feeling that had passed over her when she had smelled the food that Gerard had put between them had gotten her thinking, and the sight of Poppy’s name had set off the alarm bells in her head. “She smelled the stew, and then she threw up” she said quietly “I smelled Albert’s aftershave earlier, and I felt sick. I smelled that food, and my stomach turned. And today’s the thirteenth” she added.

The slightly baffled frown on Gerard’s face softened, starting to piece together what Molly was getting at. “Why is that important?” he asked.

Molly looked down at their hands. “Because it means that I am late” she admitted.

“Late” Gerard repeated carefully “As in…?” he trailed off, glancing pointedly at Molly’s stomach.

Molly quirked a reluctant smile before she nodded.

Gerard letting out a slightly shaky breath. “What are you saying, Molly?” he asked.

Molly drew in a deep breath before she let it out slowly. “I’m saying that there’s a chance I could be pregnant” she answered.