Frerard - Free Now (Null Trilogy Part 2)

Part 4

This part might be quite short, sorry ;-;

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Frank's P.O.V

Gerard drove me down to the charity building the following day. I fiddled with my fingers nervously as he drove along the twisting roads of Belleville. Gerard kept shooting me fleeting glances of sympathy, biting his lip on occasion.

Okay, no matter how nervous I was, Gerard's lip biting was still sexy. I smiled slightly at him, rubbing his leg as he drove.

Gerard purred a little contentedly and pulled up outside the building. I chewed on my own lip and Gerard turned my head to face him so he could kiss me reassuringly.

I smiled nervously and made my way in with Gerard, going up to the smiley receptionist.

"Hello, how can I help you?" she beamed, Gerard translating for me. I gulped.

"Can I talk with Miss Bowen concerning my appeal?" I inquired in signs. I loved the founder of the charity. She'd always been great to me and Gerard.

The receptionist nodded. "Have a seat in the waiting room," she signed. So she'd been able to all along.

I took Gerard's hand and led him over to the waiting room, sitting down. Gerard locked our fingers together and kissed my hand that was clasped on top of his. I buried my head in his chest as I waited. After a few minutes, Gerard pushed me away gently and let go of my hand.

"Don't be so nervous, sweetheart. There might be a very normal, valid reason behind this," he signed with a soft smile.

"I guess so," I signed, as harsh vibrations of a stiff door vibrated through me and made me jump.

Miss Bowen smiled at me and Gerard and signlessly welcomed us in. We sat down at her desk and shook her hand as usual. She gave us a kind smile and began to sign.

"So what brings you here?"

"We have a lot of questions regarding my appeal for Frank," Gerard began. "We've been saving for years. We know the prices have gone up due to the success of the operation, but we also know that we have enough, at least for an operation in one of his ears. Every time I ring in, there's a man on the end of the line who tells me that I need to raise more."

Miss Bowen hummed. "We have a new man working here who is an appeal and money operator. I've only acquainted myself with him once. He prioritises the appeals he thinks are more urgent, and advises us on the total money they would need to raise for operations. As you know, the price is different for everyone."

I nodded. "But we get told a different price every time like this man doesn't want me to get my hearing back. It's been going on for a long time, and we want to know what he has to say."

Miss Bowen nodded. "I'll see if he's in today. The reason I barely come across him is because he's never in the building. He tends to work at home. I think he's here today, though." she stopped signing and rang someone on her phone. Gerard kissed my cheek as I shook with fear. Something just wasn't right about this. Or was I overreacting?

Miss Bowen put the phone down after a few minutes and nodded. "He's on his way down."

I leant into Gerard and he stroked my hair. When the sticky door thundered behind me, I turned and gasped, truly speaking by pure shock.

"Dad?"