Call Me Baby: Chapter 5 part B
3This chapter is 4,729 words. I really, really hope it was worth the wait. Let me know what you think. :) xx
“Girls, slow down, I have to open the door!” Harry shouted as Lottie and Flick raced towards the door. He unbuckled Daisy, Phoebe, and Georgia, before locking the car and following the girls over to the door. They all bolted inside once he’d unlocked it, scattering to their respective areas.
Harry and Louis had agreed that Harry would stay at Louis’ house while Louis was on the mend, to take care of him and the girls. Harry had also suggested he invite his mum down for a little while-a week, tops-to look after Louis while Harry was at work. Louis had reluctantly agreed, after Harry had mentioned that he’d be all alone in the house during the day-he, Zayn, and Liam would all be working, and the girls would be at school-and that apart from that being unsafe, Louis would be freaking bored. Besides, Harry’s mum had been dying to meet him. Louis had helpfully pointed out, after agreeing, that if Harry’s mum was to be staying with them, then he and Harry would have to share a room for the time being. This did nothing to help Harry deny his ever growing feelings for the other man, but he had shrugged it off as nonchalantly as he could. And no, he hadn’t blushed, so stop looking at him like that.
It was now about eight o’clock in the evening, the little mismatched family having made excellent time home from the hospital. The girls had reacted surprisingly well to seeing their older brother in a hospital bed, understanding that Louis was okay now, and he’d get better relatively quickly. What had actually taken the most time out of them getting out of the hospital, was Harry’s reluctance to leave Louis. Caroline had gone home, because her family had needed her, so the girls had sat around Louis’ hospital room, bored expressions plastered on all but two of their faces, as Harry and Louis had chatted at each other for the better part of two hours.
Lottie had come over to them, saying “I hate to interrupt the lovefest, but we’re getting hungry, so… Can we go?”, to which Harry had looked at her with reluctance etched into his handsome face. She’d rolled her eyes, saying, “come on, dad, we’ll see him tomorrow!”. Louis had grinned cheekily at Harry’s red face, still not getting over her new habit of calling him “dad”. Harry had reluctantly agreed, the rest of the girls coming over to kiss Louis’ cheek and tell him goodbye. Lottie, did the same, hugging her brother tightly, and whispering an “I love you” into his ear. Harry had edged toward the bed nervously, not really sure how he should say goodbye to his friend. Louis had rolled his eyes at Harry’s shyness, grabbing his hand and yanking him down into a hug, which Harry had relaxed into immediately. Louis had leaned up and planted a smooch on his cheek, whispering “thank you” and “I love you” into Harry’s skin. Harry had shivered, his face suddenly too hot, and his stomach fluttering as his heart pounded relentlessly against his ribs. He had realized, belatedly, that Louis had not meant it in the way he had wanted him to, and echoed the statement into Louis’ ear, trying to keep the edge of disappointment out of his voice.
They had left, then, and Harry had somehow managed to pack the girls, and their car seats, into his car. He had driven to Louis’ house, idly listening to the girls chat in the back, and pointedly ignoring Lottie’s smirk.
He had made pasta for dinner, as that was easy and quick, and he really hadn’t had the energy to be cooking anything that would take longer. The girls had eaten it happily, chatting about what it would be like having Harry, Louis, and Harry’s mum there. They had then been sent to get ready for bed, Harry helping Daisy and Phoebe into their pajamas, and supervising as they brushed their teeth. He had tucked them in, reading them a bit of a story (“You have to do the voices, Daddy, like Louis does.”), and kissing their foreheads, before going to put Georgia down.
Harry had been exhausted after reassuring Flick that Louis wouldn’t die that night in his sleep, and that she’d see him tomorrow afternoon. He had shut her door with a sigh, leaning his forehead against it briefly as he collected himself, before going in to check on Lottie.
He had lain with her for close to a half hour, singing and whispering calming things to her to get her to sleep. She had been shaken up badly by the accident-more so by Louis’ injuries, than the crash itself-though she hadn’t shown it in the car on the way home. She had understood that her expressing herself, in that instance, would not have made anything any better. Now, though, with none of the little ones around to react dismally to her distress, she sought comfort-and Harry was the only one she wanted it from, apart from Louis.
He had later disentangled himself from her slack body, carefully shutting the door behind him, and trudging exhaustedly downstairs to the couch, where he’d called his mum, and then promptly fallen asleep.
*~*~*~*
The next morning, Harry was awake by six thirty. The couch was uncomfortable, and it was hurting his back-his early rise had nothing to do with Louis coming home, honestly.
His mum was coming around ten thirty, planning to stay with the girls while Harry went to get Louis from the hospital. This would keep them out of Harry’s way, and give Louis a chance to brace himself for the excitement that would inevitably burst once he limped through the door. He hadn’t been gone for that long, but the girls had spent four months in which not a single day had gone by that they didn’t see him-and, though they didn’t show it, seeing him in that hospital bed had shaken them all.
At around seven, Daisy and Phoebe came downstairs, their blonde hair mussed from sleep. When they saw that Harry was awake, they instantly started clamoring for pancakes. He agreed easily, desperate for something-anything-to keep his mind from straying to the dangerous and scary place where his feelings for Louis resided.
Daisy and Phoebe sat themselves at the breakfast bar, chatting excitedly while Harry bustled about the kitchen making their pancakes. They mostly ignored him, until the pancakes were finished and on plates in front of them.
“Daddy?” Phoebe asked, causing Harry to start-he hadn’t realized that the other girls, bar Lottie, of course, had started calling him that. He wasn’t sure if that was a good thing, or not.
“Yeah, Phoeb?”
“When your mum comes down, what’ll we call her?”
“That’s a good question, love,” he answered, frowning, “I don’t really know the answer to that. You’ll have to ask her.”
“Could we call her ‘grandma’?” It was Daisy who spoke this time, “because you’re ‘daddy’, and she’s your mum. That makes her ‘grandma’, doesn’t it?” Harry paused, a bite of his own pancake halfway to his mouth.
“Daisy, you do know I’m not actually your daddy, right?” She looked at him confusedly.
“Yeah, but you’re halfway there. You love Louis, who’s like our daddy, and Louis loves you. One day, you’ll get married, and then you’ll actually be our daddy. So we can still call you that, right?” Harry choked a bit, his cheeks burning brightly as his mind went there. Yeah, it went there. Wedding-family-kissing-honeymoon-oh god stop. You can’t do this while they’re in the room, and Daisy’s waiting for a response. Answer her, you twat.
Harry cleared his throat, “Erm, yeah. I suppose that’ll be alright.” The twins’ beams were brilliant, apparently contented now that everything had been sorted.
After they finished their breakfasts, Harry took them upstairs to get dressed, finding Georgia awake as well, and dressing her. He then sat the three of them in front of Spongebob, Georgia with a plate of pancakes settled in front of her on the coffee table, and wandered off to set up for his mum. There was a guest bedroom in the basement, so he put clean sheets on it and tidied up, careful not to throw anything out.
This took him a surprisingly long time, and by the time he finished, it was ten o’clock. He went back upstairs to see everyone but Lottie on the couch in front of the TV, completely engrossed in Spongebob. He plated two more sets of pancakes, and heated them up, setting one down in front of Flick, before going upstairs to wake up Lottie.
He poked his head around the door, snorting when he saw her completely spread-eagle on the bed, taking up as much space she possibly could. He eased the door open, tiptoeing over to her bed, and shaking her shoulder gently.
“Lottie,” he whispered, smirking at the answering groan, “Come on, love, you need to get up. I want everyone dressed by the time my mum gets here, so up you get.”
Lottie lifted her head from where it had been buried in her arms, a sleepy glare on her face.
“I’m sleeping,” she slurred, nestling her face back into the crook of her elbow. Harry chuckled at her.
“Yes, I can see that. What, are you not excited that Louis’ coming home?”
Her head shot up, and she scrambled onto all fours, before settling back on her heels.
“Louis’s coming home? Oh yeah! He’s coming home!” she grinned, the happiness burning brightly in her eyes. Harry beamed back at her.
“Yeah, and my mum’s coming to look after you so I can go get him, so get your arse up, woman!”
She laughed, hurrying out of bed and over to her closet. Harry left the room, going back downstairs. Lottie joined them a few minutes later, accepting pancakes from Harry.
As the minutes ticked by, Harry got more and more anxious. He was ready to go-he just wanted to get Louis. When his mum, Anne, finally arrived, he introduced her to the girls, hurriedly, as he was getting antsy. When he got to Daisy, she smiled brightly, her question swimming in her eyes.
“Can we call you ‘grandma’? Daddy said we had to ask you, ‘cause he didn’t know,” she queried innocently. Anne’s eyebrows shot up, glancing over at Harry and giving him a we’re talking about this later look. He just shrugged, far too impatient to get on the road to be able to feel properly embarrassed.
“Well,” she started, slowly, “I don’t see why not. It’s fine by me.” She finished with a smile, the twins cheering a little. Harry glanced anxiously at the clock again, his mother noticing him with an exasperated look on her face.
“Harry, just go get him. You’re making me antsy, just by standing there,” she huffed at him. The grin that expanded on his lips at her words was blinding. He leaned over to kiss her cheek, before kissing each of the girls goodbye, and waltzing out the door.
*~*~*~*
The red haired nurse from yesterday greeted him with a smile.
“He’s just getting dressed, they’ll have him down in a moment, if you’d like to wait here,” she told him mildly.
He beamed back at her, practically skipping over to a seat in the waiting room. I should not be this excited to see him, he thought, so why am I? He quickly squashed the thought, not wanting to get caught up in the all too confusing place his mind had been visiting recently. He glanced up as the double doors opened, a different nurse pushing a wheel chair in front of her. In this wheel chair, sat Louis, his arm in an orange cast, his head bandaged, and his face excited. His eyes immediately sought Harry’s, both boy’s faces breaking into brilliant, identical grins. Harry stood up, bouncing over to his friend, who ignored the protests of the nurse and leapt out of the chair, into Harry’s waiting arms. They both laughed delightedly, Harry’s happiness at seeing Louis leaving a place where he could have died melding flawlessly with Louis’ excitement at getting out of the stuffy, old hospital to create a joyous sound that rang in the ears of everyone around them. They clutched at each other, reassuring themselves that they were okay, and this was really happening.
Harry pulled back, beaming into Louis’ gorgeous face. Louis smiled radiantly back at him, pushing himself up onto his toes to plant a sloppy kiss on his friend’s cheek. Harry barked another laugh.
“Come on, loony Lou. Let’s get you out of here,” Harry teased. Louis whooped, staggering slightly as he jumped out of Harry’s arms and attempted to run over to the door. Harry’s smile softened, going over and supporting him. “Slow down, tiger. Don’t hurt yourself again, please,” he told him gently. He guided Louis out to the car, bidding the nurses goodbye as they went.
*~*~*~*
They passed the car ride singing along obnoxiously to the radio, occasionally stopping to talk a bit. As they pulled up in the driveway, however, Louis began to get nervous, fidgeting, and playing with his fingers. Harry looked over at him.
“You alright, there, Lou?” he asked gently. Louis looked at him, embarrassment evident in his features.
“I’m nervous about meeting your mum,” he admitted, “What if she doesn’t like me?”
“She’ll like you,” Harry promised him, “because I like you. Just… Try not to be nervous. That’s the one thing she doesn’t like, is when people are nervous around her. She’s a fairly approachable person, so she’s not very fond of people feeling like they can’t talk to her, and say what’s on their mind.”
Louis huffed a sigh, “Alright. Let’s get this over with, then.” Harry grinned, clapping him on the back.
“That’s the spirit, mate. C’mon, then.”
They clambered out of the car, Louis doing so slightly unsteadily, but managing not to need any help. Harry hovered near him, ready to help him if he needed it. He pushed the door open, going in before Louis. The girls came barreling down the corridor, wide smiles plastered on their faces, to which Harry hastily held up his hands.
“Girls, girls-slow down. Go easy on him, yeah? He just got out of the hospital-he’s not quite one hundred percent yet,” Harry told them sternly. The girls nodded, approaching their brother with much more caution, each giving him a hug. Harry’s mum stood in the doorway, watching the scene with interest.
A smile graced her features as Harry bent down to Phoebe’s level, asking her if she’d had fun. Phoebe grinned back at him, nodding vehemently, and reaching out for a hug. Harry pulled her in, wrapping his arms around her and lifting her onto his hip. She bent her head to his shoulder, a little sigh escaping her lips. Anne smiled down at Georgia as she came over and leaned up to wrap her arms around her waist. This was what she’d been wanting. A family. Grandkids. She just hoped Harry didn’t mess this up.
She observed them quietly throughout the day, noticing that Harry was quite close with the girls, as well as with Louis. They all called him “dad” or “daddy”, though as Harry explained, this was a recent development, brought on by the car crash. They spent the day lounging around the house, Harry taking Daisy, Phoebe, and Georgia to the park down the street for an hour, after they began bouncing off the walls, jostling Louis a bit too much for Harry’s liking.
Dinner was around six, the girls filling the room with excited chatter, wolfing down the food on their plates. Afterwards, Harry put on Shrek, and they all sat around the living room watching together. Georgia had curled herself into Anne’s side, laughing sleepily at the telly. Harry had lain down with his back against the armrest of the couch, Louis settling himself in between Harry’s legs, Harry’s arms wrapped around his back. Anne had watched them out of the corner of her eye the entire time, smiling as Louis buried his face into Harry’s neck, Harry’s hand automatically going up and caressing the other boy’s hair. Louis fell asleep three quarters of the way through the movie, going limp against Harry’s chest. Anne hid a smile behind her hand as her son eased himself up, shifting awkwardly until he had Louis in his arms, bridal style, and carried him out of the room-to bed, she presumed. Harry had come back a few minutes later, taking a look at the sleepy faces, and deciding to turn the movie off. There were protests all around, but everyone was exhausted from a long and exciting day. Harry carried Phoebe up the stairs, her twin attaching herself to his hand and letting him drag her lethargic body up the stairs.
Anne helped Harry put the girls down, mostly taking care of Georgia, who, after being tucked in by Anne, requested she let Harry (or “Daddy”) know that she was ready for her goodnight kiss. She smiled, going out to find Harry in the corridor, shutting the door to the twins’ room. He had gone in, giving Georgia a goodnight kiss, and whispering “sweet dreams, love” to her. Anne had gone a bit teary eyed, wondering how Harry couldn’t see how much this family loved and needed him-how much he loved and needed them. He had shut her door quietly, coming over to his mother and kissing her cheek, bidding her goodnight, before turning down the corridor into Flick’s room. Anne crept downstairs, not wanting to disturb the sleeping members of the house as she went to her room.
Continued here