Chapter 27
Louis had been in in one haunted house before. He couldn’t exactly say no to the trip, as the whole cast of Xfactor went. But it was terrifying. And terrible. And something he never wanted to do again. He remembered the endless amounts of thick fog, and how he felt like he’d never have a clear mind or eyes again. That was how he felt right now. He couldn’t make sense of it in his mind, let alone put it into words. He was so sleepy. His tummy hurt for a bit, but not anymore. But yeah, he was so so sleepy.
He couldn’t remember the last time his eyes were open. He knew that it’d been a while; he remembered being awake and in pain, but that was it. He had no recollection of what happened, just that his tummy hurt.
But now? His thoughts were coherent, but he couldn’t wake up quite yet. Yet again, he felt himself succumbing to the ubiquitous sleepiness that’d been plaguing him.
Louis scrunched his eyes together tightly before weakly and slowly opening them. He couldn’t tell you why he finally felt good enough to wake up, but he did.
“Shut the blinds and turn the lights off,” a faint voice hissed.
He had to blink a few times before he could actually see; it was like a film over his eyes was receding with every blink. The first thing he saw was a white wall. Where was he?
Nick and Harry were praying that he’d be happier than the last time he’d woken up over a day ago. The steak was finally out of his little tummy, and they could only hope he was feeling better. And if he wasn’t, they hoped someone had finally come up with a way for them to take his pain away. Both of them would suffer hell’s wrath in an instant for their little boy.
The moment Harry noticed Louis’ eyes start to dart around in confusion at the unfamiliar setting, he began to soothe him.
“Sweetheart, it’s okay. Papa and I are right here, you’re okay,” Harry cooed quietly, moving to sit on Louis’ hospital bed.
Louis turned his head at the sound of his daddy’s voice, surprised at how jelly-like his neck felt. He couldn’t quite turn it back to where it was, neck stuck looking at his daddy.
Luckily the man figured out his predicament and gently turned his neck back to a comfortable decision. He loved his daddy, but he didn’t love feeling like this. So he started to cry.
It took a while for him to stop crying even with his daddy and papa cuddling both sides of him.
He didn’t know why his body felt like jelly, but he didn’t like it. And then he saw a needle stuck in his wrist and that started a whole new wave of tears.
“Our brave baby,” Papa murmured, gently rubbing his tummy just how he liked it.
A man Louis didn’t recognize walked into the room, causing him to weakly whimper. His daddy shushed him, letting him know that there was no reason to worry.
“Hi, doctor,” His daddy said quietly.
“Hello gentleman. How are we feeling, Louis?” The doctor asked as he walked into the room.
Louis simply stared at the man, unsure of what kind of response he was looking for.
The stranger let out a slight chuckle, “I’m Doctor Alminas. I’m not sure if you remember, but you’ve been a sick little boy. Your daddies have been helping me take great care of you.”
Thinking back, the last thing Louis could remember was playing with Niall at his house. He didn’t know what happened, but with the way he felt and how fuzzy his mind was… he couldn’t quite find it in himself to care.
Louis simply curled closer to his papa as the new man talked. He didn't know who he was, and he had pointedly spent the last seven years dodging doctor's offices and hospitals... and that's exactly what this place looked like.
The little closed his eyes, content to lay there and soak in the attention he was receiving from his papa and daddy. As the weeks passed with his daddies, he started to rely more on voice tone and facial expressions than actual words. It didn't make much sense to him, but he knew he was happy when his daddies were. And that was most of the time. He loved them. So much.
Naturally, that big, emotional thought that was rumbling around his head made him cry. He cried more at the pain that crying caused him; his throat felt like it was on fire, his usually high voice sounding like a lifelong smoker's.
The second he blindly reached out for one of his daddies he was taken into a pair of arms, his daddy's, he knew as curls tickled his cheek.
"This is so scary, hm? It's okay, angel. Your daddies are going to take good care of you," Harry softly whispered to his crying little boy. For the millionth time, he prayed for a way that he could transfer his baby's pain to himself.
After Louis' cries died down Doctor Alminas began to speak again, "Once he nurses again we'll send you on your way. I'll send a nurse in to make sure everything is okay. I could tell you that he will be quite infantile in his mindset and abilities for a while, but it's case by case. He'll be very weak from the RFI medication, but its residual effects are known to be quite severe for the first few weeks on both mind and body. Our medical staff is only a call or short drive away. Please feel free to call with any and all questions. I’ll be back once he’s nursed."
Nick and Harry shook the doctor's hand from where they were curled around Louis, not wanting to disturb the boy. After he left, it was just a waiting game. Harry was briefed on how to nurse Louis once he was home and knew that he'd need milk around four times a day at first while his stomach was growing stronger. His stomach had been severely shrunk with the RFI meds, and if he overate then he'd get severely sick. They did not want that to happen again, so they'd be taking it slow. The nurse said it was as if he was a true infant, starting with his parent's milk and slowly moving to baby food and cereal before being able to eat solids again. Harry and Nick were dumbfounded, not having realized the severe consequences that eating heavy adult food would cause for Louis. They were once again hit hard with the knowledge that they didn't know everything there was to being a parent.
They sat quietly for almost an hour, Harry's anxiety growing as the minutes passed. How would Louis react to nursing from him? Would he know what to do? When would he be hungry?
Harry and Nick both stilled as Louis let out a soft whine, panicked gazes averted to the nurse who left out a soft chuckle. She stood up and took a seat on the side of Louis' hospital bed.
"Everything will be fine, gentleman," she said in the soothing tone of someone who'd been here once or twice before, "Hi, Louis, is your tummy hungry?" she asked in a sweet tone while touching her own stomach.
Louis looked up at the mention of the name, which Harry considered a great development. His eyes were still blinking slowly, as if he'd fall asleep again any moment.
Nick gently rubbed Louis' shoulder while repeating her question. "Are you hungry, baby?"
For whatever reason, that got through to Louis. He nodded with a pitiful whimper, smacking his lips together as he often did at night when waiting for his bottle.
Despite the nurse's reassurances, Harry felt his mind go blank, unable to think rationally when the possibility of Louis rejecting him existed.
Harry was in a catatonic state, ears buzzing and brain full of cotton. His eyes were open, but he wasn't seeing, too nervous for the rejection he was sure would come. Louis was everything to him and he’d come so far… what if this would push him too far? He hoped to every power above that it wouldn’t.
He wasn't sure how long he sat there, unmoving even as a breeze tickled his upper chest. It was like the world started moving again when he felt lips on his nipple, sight and sound registering with him after a scary moment of nothingness.
Louis was curled up against him, drinking milk after having a confused conversation with Nick that Harry missed in his petrified state. Nick wasn't sure how much the little understood, but he'd uttered a question of "daddy baba?" after Nick fumbled an explanation without any help from his lovely fiancé. Nick's affirmation was enough to get him to start drinking, and that'd have to be enough for now.
Harry looked down to Louis's curious eyes, open wider than they had been since he'd been admitted to the hospital.
"There's my sweet boy, getting his tummy all full,” Harry cooed down, heart flooding with warmth at the way Louis’ eyes lit up at the sound of his voice.
Louis was half asleep by the time he pulled off of Harry’s chest, the nurse standing up at the change of position.
“Let me just grab the doctor, and we’ll send you on your way,” she said with a smile as she exited the room.
Nick hummed quietly as he stroked Louis’ hair. “Almost time to go home and see your friend Kia and sleep in your comfy crib.”
“Hello gentleman,” the doctor said as he breezed into the room before Louis or Harry could even reply.
“Hi doctor, almost ready to go?” Harry asked hopefully. They’d spent enough time in the hospital; he was hoping they wouldn’t have to come back for a long while.
Doctor Alminas chuckled, “The papers are filled, and you’re ready to go. If you need any other instruction, just call us up. Louis, I’m glad you’re feeling better. Good luck, gentleman!”
Harry stood up to go and talk to the swath of security guards that were outside of the room in anticipation of Louis being discharged.
"Ready to go?" Alberto asked when he saw Harry, starting to stand up alongside Dale, Paddy, Phil, and Basil.
"Yeah, Nick is getting Lou dressed and then we can hit the road. Is it still a madhouse outside?"
"Safe to say the paps aren't leaving until the car is on the road. We'll have a car in front of you and behind you to make sure no one tries to follow you into the neighborhood before the gate closes," Phil explained.
Harry sighed. He'd had the delusion that paps would respect their privacy, but they obviously hadn't. A picture was a picture, and a picture was money. That's all that that mattered to them.
"Paddy and I are heading out to make sure the path is cleared, we'll meet you at the front doors," Leo said with a nod.
Nick exited the room with a bundled up Louis in his arms, the little boy wrapped in blankets from head to toe. It was snowing out and his immune system was shot. Getting pneumonia was not in the cards for him if Nick and Harry could help it.
Phil headed into grab their bags before Nick could even ask them to. Harry thought for the millionth time about how grateful he was to have such caring bodyguards in their lives. Here they were on New Year's Eve, helping get the little family out of the hospital. It meant a lot, more than Harry could put into words without becoming a blubbering mess. He knew they understood the words behind his gracious smile.
"You got him?" Alberto asked gruffly as he looked at the cocooned little boy in Nick's arms.
"Yeah, should be good. Just stick close by in case anything should change," Nick said quietly as he bounced Louis. The little boy was grumpy- rightfully so- and Nick just wanted this walk to be over as quick as possible. He was dreaming of his bed and the chance to relax after a couple of terribly stressful days.
Alberto nodded in reply, tearing his eyes off of Louis' covered form after a long moment.
The walk to the car couldn't have been more than ten seconds, but the screaming and flashing lights somehow transformed it into an infinite traipse.
Thankfully the car was warmed up, and Dale was ready to pull away the second that Louis was taken out of the blankets and strapped into his car seat.
Nick looked over to see Louis sucking heavily on a pacifier that Harry had placed into his mouth, his eyes bloodshot and watery. He looked tired and gaunt. Nick knew he and Harry wouldn't sleep well until Louis regained the weight that they worked so hard to help him gain.
Louis pointed his hands towards the floor where his diaper bag sat, quickly opening and closing his fists while letting out a soft whine.
"Do you want your friend, love?" Nick asked, grabbing Lacy out of the bag and handing her over. He was glad his mum thought to grab her while getting bags together to bring to the hospital.
The way that Louis hugged her was answer enough.
------------------------------------------
Louis had been sleeping on and off for the past two days, giving Harry and Nick the chance to have a relaxing and romantic New Year's Eve. Definitely not how they expected the night to go, but they weren’t complaining.
If the company that manufactured Niall’s gift to Louis needed a model… they had more than enough photos of Louis to suffice. Louis absolutely loved his swing. They set it up in the corner of the living room where he could be watched from the kitchen. It had an automatic rocker, and Louis fell asleep in record time when he was placed in it. It was like he was a real infant, sleeping all day and only waking up to nurse. The doctor said that he’d be like a puppy for a week or so, sleeping almost 24 hours a day.
Harry took a peek at Louis from where he was cooking dinner; smiling slightly at the sight of a sleeping Louis, swing rocking calmly.
He felt a vibrating on the counter, knowing that his blood would soon be boiling when he saw Niall’s name on his caller ID. Again. For the millionth time. The daddies decided not to speak with Niall just yet. Not until Louis was better. Sure, he’d get better, but… the pain was raw. Harry didn’t think he could look at Niall without losing his mind. His baby could’ve died due to his stupidity and thoughtlessness. He wouldn’t be getting anywhere near him for a while.
Harry jumped at the feeling of lips on his neck, so entranced in his thoughts that he didn’t even notice Nick come downstairs. He shivered at the feeling of water dropping onto his collarbone; Nick’s hair still wet post-shower.
“What’s on your mind,” Nick murmured.
“Guess who called again?” he asked annoyedly.
“Hm… tough one. I’m surprised he hasn’t gotten the message yet.”
And he hadn’t gotten the message. How’d they know? Well, he showed up to their house at nine that night and rang the doorbell. It would’ve pissed them off regardless, but the fact that he woke Louis up made Harry breathe fire. Nick was carrying him around the room, trying to soothe him. Harry? Harry was going to let Niall have it.
“Are you bloody serious?” Harry asked as soon as he opened the door, Niall’s hopeful eyes slowly dulling.
“Ya aren’t picking up-“ Niall started, Harry cutting him off almost immediately.
“Have you ever entertained the thought that maybe we don’t want to talk to you? You almost killed my baby with your thoughtlessness, Niall. I trusted you. Nick trusted you. This won’t just disappear from my mind in the blink of an eye.” The words were spilling out of Harry like lava, hot and disastrous. What surprised him most was the lack of sympathy he felt when he saw Niall’s eyes fill with tears. He’d spent the past five days watching his son cry and scream in agony. His tears were caused because of Niall.
Niall exhaled before nodding. “I get it, I do. I feel terrible, I feel so fuckin’ bad. Haven’t slept. It’s all I’ve thought about.”
It was a moment of clarity- Harry could tell Niall he had no idea what it was like to think about this, not to sleep, ask him how bad he REALLY feels. But he didn’t. He was a father, and he’d take the mature approach.
“Thank you for coming over, Niall. But I just need you to give us time. Have a good night,” Harry said with a tightlipped smile before closing the door. And there was the life lesson of the day: blood is unbelievably thicker than water.