Fixing Mistakes (Baby Niall)

Anxiety

“I was only right across the aisle love” Liam assured the boy in his lap.

Niall shrugged, “Too far”

“I’ll never leave you baby. I promise” Liam said kissing Niall’s hair. Dr. Collins had suggested working on little separations, such as the one they just had, in order to get Niall more comfortable with being apart. Also it was good to praise and assure Niall every time, “You did really well though; sitting there by yourself”

Niall sighed; he didn’t like Dr. Collins or his ideas, “Stitch?”

“I’ve got him” Zayn smiled holding up said toy.

Niall smiled wide and reached out one hand for his friend while keeping the other one securely around his Mummy – he wouldn’t want to loose her now would he? His smile faded however when he realized that his Daddy wasn’t moving. “Stitch please”

“I think you have to go and get it love,” Liam said softly.

Niall frowned. Why would he have to go and get Stitch? His Mum and Dad always brought Stitch to him. His Daddy was all the way on the other end of the plane; he’d have to let Mummy go in order to get to his friend. Why were they doing this? Maybe Mummy was wrong; maybe Daddy just didn’t understand, “Bring Stitch please” he asked sweetly, flashing his best smile and puppy dog eyes.

Zayn’s heart just about melted at his baby’s cuteness but still, he had to be strong. Niall’s separation anxiety was really bad and even carried over onto the stage. That morning at the concert Niall had absolutely refused to move farther than arms length away from either Zayn or Liam. If one boy needed to go off to another part of the stage then the two would have to come together first so that they could ‘hand off’ their little boy. The choreography had been shot but they’d still managed to put on a great show.

“You can have Stitch; you just need to come and get him” Zayn informed his boy.

Niall about had tears in his eyes at that statement and he clung to his Mummy tighter, “No you come”

Liam’s heart just about broke; he hated doing this to his little boy but it was only for the best. “Ni, it’s alright. Your Daddy and I are right here on this plane with you, so are Uncle Harry and Uncle Liam and no one is going anywhere. Your Daddy’s just twenty feet away with Stitch.”

“But what if something happens?” Niall asked turning his teary eyes to his Mummy. In truth Niall’s greatest fear was that if he let them both go at the same time then they’ll realize how better things were without having him to care for and abandon him. The hardest thing to conquer was that it wasn’t an empty fear – both of his biological parents had done just that. Not that he’d ever tell this to his Mummy and Daddy though, no, that wouldn’t be safe.

“Nothing’s going to happen” Liam assured, “You’ll be able to see me the whole time. You’ll be watching your Daddy get closer with every step you take and then when you reach him you’ll have your Stitch”

Without giving Niall any further time to protest Liam stood the boy up and encouraged him on his way. Zayn started calling for Niall the second he was on his feet and Niall just stood there in fear.

Niall really, really wanted his friend and to be with his Daddy but at the same time it would mean going quite far away from his Mummy. Since his nightmare after the IQ test Niall had never been more than a foot away from at least one of his parents. He didn’t like this. He really didn’t like this. But he wanted his friend!

He turned back to look at his Mummy and received a kind gesture forward; turning to look at his Daddy he saw open arms, a warm smile and his friend. Decision made, albeit painfully, Niall took a step towards his Daddy.

It took thirty minutes, a lot of prompting and encouragement and a massive amount of tears but eventually Niall had reached his destination.

The second that Niall was within arms reach he grabbed onto his Daddy for dear life. Zayn happily scooped his baby boy up into his arms and praised him. All the boys surrounded Niall telling them how proud they were of him and how good he’d done; it really was a massive step forward though they still had a long way to go.

“Stitch?” Niall asked again once everyone had calmed down.

“Of course” Zayn said as he whipped out the toy and handed it off. Once Zayn had a free hand again he pulled out Niall’s dummy, knowing it would be asked for in mere moments anyway, and clipped it to the boy’s shirt before slipping it into Ni’s mouth.

Niall accepted the dummy readily having grown to enjoy the comfort that the item always seemed to bring. He happily sat on his Daddy’s lap with his Stitch while watching movies the rest of the plane ride. There was a small fit when it came time to land because once again the boys placed Niall in an aisle across from Liam but Niall came through it well enough.

Once they landed everyone looked around in amazement. Easter Island was incredible. The air strip they’d landed in was small, private (really everything was private when you’re on an island with a total population of 5,761) and allowed the boys room to breath. It was an hour and a half ride from the airport to their new vacation house which allowed the boys plenty of time to watch the scenery pass by.

Niall was extremely excited as he saw all of the trees and open fields. There was ocean everywhere, which excited him because he loved to be in the water.

The weather was amazing. It was always perfect, the temperature being between 18 degrees Celsius (64 Fahrenheit) and 28 degrees Celsius (82 Fahrenheit). The beach was always available and they were told that they had a private indoor pool as well.

There was a massive wall surrounding their property, which kept gawkers, fans, and paps out and allowed them complete privacy. The property was also 25 square miles, which meant that they had a lot of space that they could explore without having to be shadowed by bodyguards. It was a change for all the boys seeing as they were almost constantly being guarded by someone – they were looking forward to having actual privacy. The best part of it all was that Paul and Simon had informed them incorrectly; they did not have a two-week break between this leg and the next they had a two-month break. They had two months in paradise.