Together (Sequel to Slipping Away)

Chapter Twenty-Two

The ride from the hotel to the airport was silent and so was their flight. Even though the young couple had a great time the night before at the festival they were on edge and so was Ali and Zayn. All four of them were filled with fear that the little girl they had all grown to love could be taken away from them in a flash. When the plane touched down Harry and Louis pretty much ran out of it and into the terminal. They spotted Niall and Emma but there was no sign of Adaley. Harry looked intensely at Niall and his entire body was filled with fear when he saw how tired the two of them looked. He ran up to them and grabbed Niall's shoulders, shaking him vigorously.

"Where is she!?" he shouted. "Where's my baby?" He asked, desperation in his voice. Louis walked up and gently pulled Harry off of Niall, soothing his nearly hysterical fiancé. He looked calmly at Niall.

"Niall, where's Adaley?" Louis asked in a calm voice and Niall ran a hand through his hair.

"She's currently with Terrance. They went out to lunch while Liam, Emma, and I all had a meeting." Niall explained softly and everyone let out a sigh of relief. "Actually, Liam wants to meet with all of us." He whispered and the entire band nodded, following Niall out to the awaiting black van. As Harry climbed in, he frowned when he saw Paul behind the wheel.

"Why's Paul here?" He asked, leaning forward to shake Paul's hand. Paul gave him a sad smile.

"Belle is causing a lot of media stir with her accusations." Paul muttered and started off down the street. Harry frowned and looked at Niall who wouldn't meet his eyes.

"What accusations?" Harry asked through gritted teeth and Niall flinched from his tone. Emma sat forward and looked at Harry.

"She's been lying and saying that you and Louis abused Adaley while you guys were on tour." Emma whispered and Harry recoiled like someone had slapped him. He looked up when they pulled up in front of a tall office building. The lot of them climbed out and followed Niall into the elevator. When it opened they were greeted by a young woman in a short sundress with sandals. Harry eyed her closely with a frown.

"You're probably wondering who I am." She said with a smile and the group nodded. "My name is Melody Larson. Liam, your fellow band member, got ahold of me recently and told me about the case and accusations against you. Why don't you follow me to the conference room? We can talk better there." She suggested and the group nodded, following her into the large room. Liam was already in there with a short black haired girl. Everyone took seats at the table with Melody at the head. The black haired girl sat to her right.

"My name is Lexi and I'm assisting Ms. Larson with this case." The girl, Lexi, explained. The group nodded and looked up at Melody when she cleared her throat.

"Now, Liam told me the basic information of the case but I'd like to know specifics. First I'll need to know who each of you are. I'll need your names, ages, and relation to Harry, Louis, and Adaley." Melody explained and everyone nodded. Melody pointed firstly at Niall. "You first."

"My name is Niall Horan and I'm twenty-two. I was in One Direction with Louis and Harry and Adaley refers to me as her 'uncle Ni'." Niall explained and Melody nodded, writing down the information. Everyone else went, giving names, ages, and relation to the couple and their daughter. Melody turned to Louis and gave him a small smile.

"Now I need to know how you got involved with Adaley and Harry." Melody said almost apologetically. Louis took a deep breath and slowly explained their story. Melody's heart broke at his words but her face remained a blank slate. When Louis was done she turned to Harry and had him explain how he and Katie had met. After she had all the information they all sat in silence as she thought.

"What happens now?" Harry asked hesitantly and Melody looked at him sadly.

"The judge is going to want a testimony from Adaley so unfortunately they're going to take her away and put her with a foster family of sorts. The courts don't want to take the chance of you 'corrupting' her words so for a week before the trial they're going to keep her away from her. I know it'll be hard but just push through it. Doing this will help your case. All of you, besides Harry and Louis, will possibly be called up to be witnesses. Prepare yourself for brutal questioning. I know Philip, the Canes' lawyer, and he's ruthless. He will hound you until you break." She warned and the group nodded nervously. She sighed heavily and stood up. Harry stopped her.

"How much is your rate?" He asked and nervously licked his lips. "Nothing is too much to make sure our baby stays with us." He said with tears in his eyes but Melody waved him off.

"Don't bother asking about money. I'm not taking this case for money. I'm taking this case because I connect strongly to it." Melody said and with that she disappeared through the door. Everyone looked at Lexi and she smiled nervously.

"Mely had a friend who went through the same thing your family is going through and whenever a case like this comes up she doesn't accept payment." Lexi explained and everyone nodded, watching as she walked out of the room. The group looked around at each other and they nervously smiled.

"Well, who's ready for hell to open and for Belle to come out?" Louis asked and Liam frowned.

"Don't you mean Satan?" Liam asked in confusion and Louis shrugged.

"Same thing."