Chapter 25
"You're sure you can handle this?" Nick asked dubiously.
"Of course I can, you're actin' like I never took care of Theo! Lou and I have been hanging out for years, this is no different," Niall said with a roll of his eyes. Louis nodded from where he was perched on Harry's hip in Niall's kitchen.
"We'll be back in about an hour. Have fun boys. Love you so much angel," Harry said with a kiss to Louis' lip.
"Love you daddy, love you papa," Louis exclaimed as he hugged the men.
"Love you too, little cub," Nick said with a smile. Niall called the men and told them he wanted to spend time with Louis, maybe cook him dinner. Nick and Harry agreed to it, if only to have a rapid speed date night. Niall, in true Niall fashion, forgot that he had an event that night. Not wanting to break Louis' heart, they decided he could head over for a quick dinner.
They now understood why some parents hadn't had a date night in ten years. Having a baby was a 24/7 job.
Having a dog wasn't, though. Kia was wonderful and smart. She had a door that she went in and out of the house through, and caused no fuss. And best of all, she adored Louis. Of course, Louis adored her too. He cried for hours the first night they got her, not understanding why the dog couldn't sleep in his crib with him.
Once the daddies had left, Niall took Louis into his heated sunroom. It was still cold out, but the sunroom held his grill and he was making steaks.
"How's it going, Lou? I heard you got a new dog?" Niall said as he put the seasoned steaks on a piping hot grill.
"Her name is Kia! She loves me and gives me kisses," Louis said with a smile. He loved her.
"She's super cute, I've gotta come meet her!" Niall said enthusiastically.
The steaks were soon cooked, Niall cutting Louis' up and making sure it was cool enough for the boy to pick up. That's how he ate, right? Sounded right to Niall.
Louis ate absentmindedly while he spoke to Niall, feeling weird about eating red meat after not having it for so long. He could only eat half of the steak before he was full, tummy not used to eating have such heavy food anymore.
He was shocked when the doorbell rang, wondering how his time with Niall had gone so quickly. Niall got up from the couch to let them in, pausing the episode of Bubble Guppies they had just started watching.
Louis ran behind Niall, excited to see his daddies even if he didn't want to leave his friend Niall.
"Daddy! Papa!" Louis exclaimed, pulling both men into a hug.
"Hi pumpkin! Did you get dinner?"
"Just finished! Love Niall," Louis said as he hugged him.
After thanking Niall, Harry and Nick shepherded Louis to the car, wanting him to start settling down for the night. It was about 7pm and he'd been going to bed at 8pm every night. The boy could never sleep enough it seemed, but an early bed time and two naps helped keep him healthy and not cranky.
Louis hummed happily to the Aladdin soundtrack as they drove home, ready to lay down with Kia. He was so happy he got to play with Niall. He missed seeing Niall every day, so he was relieved that Niall wanted to see him.
As they were pulling into the gated neighborhood Louis felt as though a rock was dropping into his stomach. Weird. It didn't feel like he had to go potty, but his tummy felt heavy and like it was pushed out. It really hurt.
Louis whimpered, pressing one hand to his 5 point harness covered tummy. Touching it didn't help. He just wanted his daddy and papa to kiss it and make it better.
"What's wrong, darling?" Nick asked, turning around from where he was sat in the passenger seat.
"Tummy hurts," Louis said in a strained voice.
They pulled up to their house soon after Nick promised him that they'd be home in a flash. When Louis felt this icky, it didn't feel that quick.
"Let's get my sweet boy inside, then daddy and papa will make him feel all better," Harry cooed quietly as he unbuckled Louis. He reached to pick Louis up, placing the boy against his hip when Louis jerked back, jumping out of his arms with a loud scream. The little boy was on the ground huddled into a tight ball, clutching his stomach, still screaming.
"Hurts, hurts, hurts," Louis moaned. It felt like all of Russia was shoved into his stomach, pushing against it trying to fit in it. He'd never felt such awful pain in his life.
Harry and Nick shared panicked glances, unsure of what to do.
"Daddy's so sorry, baby. He didn't mean to hurt you. Let's get you inside. Can you stand up?" Harry asked, bending down to lend Louis a hand while he started to stand up.
Louis attempted to stand, but the moment his torso was straightened out the pain was as if a bomb had just exploded in his stomach. He'd stick to crawling, he thought with a pained whimper.
Nick tried not to freak out, knowing Harry was looking to him for how to treat this uncharted situation.
"Let's get a nice baba and finish watching Monster's Inc!" Nick suggested as he stood behind Louis, making sure the boy could crawl up the stairs without problem.
Louis was breathing heavily by the time he made it to the couch, laying with his head on his daddy's lap. Kia was sat on the floor, eyes alert as she watched Louis.
"Can daddy look at your tummy?" Harry asked, stroking soft fingers through Louis's hair. Louis nodded minutely, Harry taking it as a cautious yes.
The dom was extremely careful when he lifted up Louis' shirt, not quite sure what he'd uncover. He tried not to gasp when he saw Louis' tummy severely extended, like he was breathing out as hard as he could. Knowing not to touch it, he continued stroking the boy's hair while waiting for Nick to come back.
Nick raised his eyebrows to his hairline when he saw Louis' stomach, thinking about what their next action should be. Louis had messed his diaper that afternoon, so he knew it couldn't be constipation. But maybe it was? He didn't know. He wasn't a doctor.
"Hey love, does your tummy still hurt?" Nick questioned, even though he already knew the answer.
Louis nodded miserably in reply.
"Does it feel like you need to go poopoo or let out a toot?" Nick asked, trying to phrase the question in the least disgusting way possible.
Louis shook his head, too little and too pained to be embarrassed. It was just his daddy and papa.
"All right, angel. Let's just drink some water and go night night. You'll feel better in the morning," Nick promised, even though he wasn't sure. He could hope.
Louis fell into an uneasy sleep as he drank the cold water, Harry carrying him upstairs bridal style, not wanting to touch his stomach. Kia followed up right after, staking her place at the front of Louis' crib.
They'd only gotten through an episode of Game of Thrones (rewatching it before season 4 began) before a loud barking came from Louis' room. They'd never heard Kia bark, and that alone had them speeding upstairs.
They entered Louis' nursery to see the boy sicking up all over himself, letting out horrific wretching sounds.
"Louis, are you okay, love?" Harry asked frantically. When all the boy could do was throw up more, eyes rolling back in his head, he realized this was out of their hands.
"I'm calling 999," Harry said to Nick, hands shaking as he pulled his phone out.
"Already di- hi, my baby is really really sick and I need a medical team dispatched..." Nick frantically said. Harry stopped listening as he moved over to Louis' crib, trying not to cry. He didn't know how close he should get, the little boy so pained every time they tried to touch him.
Harry didn't know what he would do without his little boy. He needed to be okay.
"It's okay, angel. Daddy and papa are right here," Harry said, hesitantly placing a hand in Louis's sweat drenched hair. Louis let out a sad choke as soon as Harry's hand made contact with it.
Harry noticed that Louis was only throwing up water, something that struck him as odd. What did he and Niall have for dinner? Fuck. What DID they have for dinner?
Harry quickly called up Niall, hand shaking.
"Hey man wh-"
"What did you have for dinner" Harry asked, crazed at this point.
"I made us good steaks, they were am-" Niall was cut off again.
"You idiot. God Niall," Harry said, voice wet as he hung up. His poor baby was going through one of the worst pains imaginable.
When an infancy aged little's body regresses fully, they no longer have the ability to digest adult foods. Louis' body was currently trying to digest the red meat, something that could cause organ failure. He needed to get to the hospital.
"They'll be here in a minute," Nick said, pulling together a bag of diapers and a onesie for Louis to change into. They felt horrible leaving the boy in his messy sleeper, but disturbing him and hurting him would be even worse.
"It's steak. Niall fed him flipping steak," Harry choked out, wanting to cuss so badly.
"My poor baby," Nick said brokenly, seeming a bit affected for the first time. He couldn't help it; his baby's body was being put through pain that would hurt the strongest of people. So for his little boy to have to go through it... he couldn't imagine how he was feeling.
Nick flew down the stairs when he heard a knock, letting in the six men medical team. He filled them in on what he knew, the men unable to not mutter how idiotic Niall was for feeding Louis steak. Did he not once crack open a biology book?
"It's okay, my sweet angel." Harry cooed as softly as he could, Louis now dry heaving every few moments.
"Hi bud, we're going to make you feel all better," one of the medical team said as Harry moved out of the way. The man had to quiet Kia, the dog starting to growl a bit when she saw new people trying to get near her baby. She silenced at Harry's scratching, understanding that they weren't harming her boy.
Louis screamed and cried when he was placed on a stretched, stomach feeling like it was going to burst open. He just wanted to curl into a ball.
"I know, bud. We've got to keep you all straightened out to help your tummy feel better," one of the men tried to explain.
Louis must've woken up the whole neighborhood with his anguished cries. Harry couldn't help but cry as they got into the ambulance, his little boy's pain impacting him in the worst of ways.
This was his fault. He should've asked Niall what he was cooking.
"Snap out of it man. We'll get your little boy all fixed up," one of the EMTs said. He'd seen that look on a parent's face was too often.
"Thank you," Harry said quietly, leaning over to grab Nick's hand.
They arrived to the hospital soon after, running after their sick little boy who was half asleep and half crying on a stretcher. It was the worst sight in the world.
"Get the RFI IV ready, we've got a severe case. Aged 0-18 months, approximately 7 ounces of ribeye steak," the EMT pushing Louis said to the doctors and nurses who were waiting right inside the main hospital entrance
One of the nurses ran off to get the IV ready in the boy's room, not wanting to waste time.
Louis was pushed down the hall even further, the team of medical personnel conversing about his condition as Nick and Harry were held back.
"Unfortunately, you can't be in the room while your son gets his treatment administered. I can show you to a private waiting room near where he's located," a nurse stationed at the front desk said quietly, aware of the stares of other visitors.
Nick nodded, gripping Harry's hand tightly. Once sitting in the private waiting room, they figured out a plan of action.
"I'm going to call Lucy and have her go over to fix up Louis' room," Harry said, speaking of the woman who cleans their house when they are out of town or in need.
"I'll call Alberto and have him and some of your security detail get over here. I saw at least one person taking a photo. Louis doesn't need to deal with paps on his way out," Nick said. It was baffling that they couldn't even go to the hospital in peace. People had no respect.
Once Louis' bed was getting remade and they were sure the dog was taken care of, they called their mums. Sure, they were daddies, but... they needed their mums.
Both women pledged to make their ways to the hospital immediately, shaking their husbands out of their TV watching stupors to get up. Their grandson needed them.
"It's not our fault," Harry said to Nick quietly. It wasn't.
"I know baby, it's not. But I still feel shit," Nick laughed unamusedly.
"So do I, God, he's hurting so much. I just want to see him," Harry said tiredly.
They sat in silence for a few moments, Harry leaning his head on Nick's shoulder.
A doctor walked into the waiting room, shutting the door behind himself. Harry and Nick couldn't sit up quick enough.
"Is he okay?" They both asked at the same time.
"I'm Doctor Alminas, I'm an adpediatric doctor here at the hospital," the man said shaking each of the men's hand as they introduced themselves.
"Louis is suffering from a severe case of regressive food indigestion. I take it you both know what that is?"
Nick and Harry nodded solemnly, similarly unable to get words out of their mouth.
"He's currently on an RFI IV, the fluid entering his body and working to break up the food. The medicine helps to do what his body can't when it comes to breaking up the food he's ingested. The poor boy is asleep right now, but he should be right as rain in about 24 hours or so."
"Is he going to be in more pain?" Harry asked.
"Well, as much as I'd like to say no... He will. The food will be digestable, yes, but when it exits his body it'll cause him a lot of pain. Our nurses and doctors will continue to keep him clean and comfortable, so don't worry about that. As soon as we see how he's doing, we can come up with a game plan for once he's home."
Nick and Harry could do nothing but nod. They'd failed their little boy and hoped he could forgive them.