He's a player (Niall Horan AU)

-29-

Niall and Zach reach over and Niall places my brother's small hand down on my belly. Niall lays his hand over the top of his hand and they wait. 

Bump.. Bump..

Niall and Zach both gasp and take their hands off. My mother reaches over and lays her hand down.. I see the hesitation from Ben so I reach over and grab his hand, laying it on my stomach by my mom's...

Bump.. Bump Bump

They both show proud smiles and a couple tears suddenly slip down my cheeks.. Niall leans over, placing his hand on my cheek, and he wipes away a tear with his thumb. "hey, you okay, Liv?" I nod and lean my face on his hand. "Just.. stupid pregnancy emotions.." He nods then leans forwards and presses a soft kiss to my forehead. When he pulls away, My mom says "Niall.. Can I.. can I have a word with you? In the kitchen?" I hold a worried look but Niall sets Zach down on the couch and stands while confidently saying "Of course.."

They walk out of the room and Zach gets off the couch to stand right in front of me.  He stares at my belly then slowly reaches his hand out.. He places his hand on my bell again and he smiles. 

"Can she hear me?" He asks as he looks up at me. I nod and his smile only grows.. He leans down, keeping his face just barely away from me, and he says "Hey there, sissy's baby.. I'm Zach.. and even though you're still in her tummy, we are best friends.. okay?" I giggle a little and he continues as if he's having a real conversation..

"So, I play baseball.. Do you know what that is? I play third base." 

I look over and see Ben wiping tears from his cheeks. I hold my hand out, offering it to him, and he smiles at me and takes my hand in his..

"I'm sorry we never got a chance to be close, Ben.. I was already in college and.." He squeezes my hand and says "I understand.. I really do.. and I'm so grateful that you're letting me be here right now, to experience and to witness all of this.." I nod and say "Of course.. You're my little brother's dad.. and you're my mom's husband.. and you're my stepdad. We may not be the closest, but I respect you, and I'm thankful for everything you do for my family.."

Niall and my mom came back in and sat back down. I seen Niall wiping tears from his cheeks and I reached over and took his hand in mine, lacing our fingers. He scooted closer to me and I leaned into his side. Zach was still telling my belly all about baseball and his friends who were on the team with him.. I felt another kick and all I could think was 'he is gonna turn her into a little baseball fan'

A few hours later, it's around dinner time and I told my mom we could keep Zach with us tonight so they could go on a proper date.. She made sure that i was sure then they gave hugs and left.. Niall and Zach stayed in the living room while I went and cooked.. I had just made French toast since it was easy.. I plated it and called the boys in. They came in running, racing, actually. Zach won (Niall let him) and he cheered. I ruffled his hair and told him to eat up then Niall pecked my lips and whispered "Thanks for dinner, babe" before sitting down by me..

After we ate, I noticed Zach was yawning and his eyes were starting to droop.. it was only 7:30 pm but he did have a really big day.. I walked over to him and said "Hey, bubby.." He smiled and yawned again while saying "Hi sissy" "Wanna come to the couch?" He nods and I grab his hands and lift him up to his feet. He walks with one hand in mine until we reach the living room and he crawls up onto the couch. He curls up in a little ball and I take the little blanket from the back of the couch and drape it over him. He puckers his lips up at me and I lean down and give my little brother a peck goodnight like I have since he was a baby then I ran my fingers through his curls and turned on the lamp but shut off the actual light before going back to the bedroom.