Together (Sequel to Slipping Away)

Chapter Ten

After a very eventful morning of rushing parents and a lollygagging Adaley they were finally on the plane, getting ready to take off. Adaley was sitting in between Harry and Louis in their economy seats. Adaley was bouncing in her seat and Harry chuckled softly as he buckled the little girl in.

"Calm down princess." Harry said gently and clicked his own seatbelt, leaning back and closing his eyes. Adaley rolled her eyes at him before looking at Louis.

"Papa, how long is this flight going to take?" Adaley asked, pulling her legs up to sit criss-cross applesauce. Louis thought for a moment.

"About 13 and a half hours but it's not a direct flight. We have about an hour and ten minute stop in Atlanta. The flight there will take about four and a half hours. We then have an eight hour flight to Manchester. We should be there by about seven tomorrow morning." Louis explained and Adaley nodded, looking over at Harry when she heard him groan.

"What's wrong Daddy?" she asked, frowning at him. He cracked one eye open sleepily.

"The jetlag is going to be killer." Harry grumbled and Louis hummed in agreement. Adaley shrugged and leaned over Louis to look outside, squealing when the plane started to move.

"I'm so excited to get there." Adaley whispered and Louis smiled down at the little girl. His plan was working perfectly and he couldn't be happier.

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When the plane finally landed Harry and Louis were exhausted but Adaley was bouncing on her toes. She looked up at Louis who was groaning as he dragged their luggage behind them.

"Where's our car, Papa?" she asked as she readjusted the backpack her teacher Ali had given her as an early birthday present. Louis smiled tiredly.

"We aren't driving. We're being picked up." Louis said quite loudly to be heard over the noise of the airport. Adaley and Harry both gave him a funny look before. Louis smirked and Harry shook his head slightly, turning back to look forward. Soon a face appeared in front of his and Harry screamed quite loudly, heart thudding wildly in his chest. He heard the familiar laughter of his sister and he groaned as clutched his chest. Adaley squealed and ran forward, hugging Gemma around the waist tightly.

"Aunt Gems!" She yelled happily and Gemma hugged her tightly, kissing the top of her head.

"Hi!" Gemma said with a grin and looked up at her glaring brother. "It's good to see you too, Harry." She said with a smirk and Harry stuck his tongue out at her. Gemma's eyes flickered over to Louis and gave him a small smile which Louis hesitantly returned. He knew that Gemma had grown to hate him over the time that he'd hurt Harry and he was unsure of his standing in her mind. She stepped forward, aware of Harry's eyes burning into her back intensely, and wrapped her arms around Louis' shoulders, hugging him tightly. "Thank you." She whispered in his ear and Louis' breath caught in his throat as he hugged her tightly, tears brimming in his eyes. When she pulled away she gave him a warm smile and he returned it happily, leaning into Harry when the taller man wrapped his arm around his shoulders. Gemma nodded happily and took Adaley's hand into her own, nodding toward the door. "I'm parked in the garage across the street." She explained as she took one of the bags off of Louis' shoulder.

"Where's Mum?" Harry asked as they walked towards the garage. Gemma smiled and quickly unlocked the car, helping everyone load the luggage into the SUV.

"She and Robin are out at breakfast with Jay and Dan." Gemma explained as she stuck the key into the ignition and waited for everyone to pile in and get buckled. As they drove off everyone was silent. Gemma pulled onto the highway and opened her mouth to say something but was cut off by a soft snore coming from Harry who was sitting beside her. She laughed softly and looked in the mirror to see that Louis and Adaley were both asleep as well. She shook her head fondly and looked back at the road, turning on the radio to a local talk show and making sure the volume was low enough to not disturb her peaceful passengers. She listened absentmindedly as she made the relatively short drive home. When she pulled up in front of the beautiful quaint house she reached over and gently shook Harry's arm. He groaned softly and waved her off. Gemma rolled her eyes before starting to tickle his sides. Harry's eyes shot open and jerked away from his sister, cowering into the door. Gemma grinned.

"Good! You're up." She said happily and Harry glared at her, flipping her off as he yawned quite loudly. He ran a hand through his long hair.

"What do you want?" he asked sleepily and rubbed his eyes. Gemma nodded at the house.

"We're home." She said softly to avoid waking the two in the back. "If you want you guys can go to bed until one of us comes and gets you. Mum and I are going to be busy when she gets home anyway." She whispered and Harry nodded, getting out and lifting Louis up bridal style. Gemma gently got Adaley out of her car seat and they made their way into the house. Harry laid Louis on his bed while Gemma put Adaley in her room. Harry walked out and started for the stairs but Gemma stopped him. He looked at her and frowned.

"What?" he asked, holding back a large yawn. Gemma shook her head and gently pushed him towards his room.

"Go get some sleep. You can worry about your bags later." Gemma said softly and Harry opened his mouth to respond but was cut off by another yawn. He finally gave in and nodded, disappearing into his room. Gemma watched the door shut before making her way down to the kitchen, pulling the ingredients out for the dinner Jay and Anne were surprising the boys and Adaley with. Gemma turned on the radio and laughed softly when she heard 'Perfect' come on the radio. She hummed softly as she started to cook, soon singing the lyrics. She jumped when she heard a voice from the doorway.

"You know, that was always one of my favourite songs that they wrote. You could tell the emotion and love that Harry and Louis poured into it." Anne said from the entrance to the kitchen and Gemma nodded, smiling at her mother.

"Any song that Louis and Harry wrote together were the most emotional ones on their CDs. I know that Louis really hurt Harry in the past and I hated him for it but I think Harry needed it." Gemma said softly and Anne gave her a funny look.

"Why do you say that?" Anne asked as she and Jay moved into the kitchen to sit at the table. Gemma brought over two cups of tea for them and sat across from them. She took a deep breath before speaking.

"When Harry was with Louis before what happened he was solely dependent on Louis. If Louis didn't approve of something, Harry wouldn't do it. If Louis said jump, Harry would jump with everything in him. Louis breaking Harry's heart was a good thing. The time away from Louis let Harry get his head on straight. The time apart was healthy in a way. I know that Harry was completely shattered but it helped. Now Harry can find happiness in not only Louis but in other things as well. He finds happiness in his music, in Adaley, and in his family again. Before Louis broke his heart we barely heard from Harry. He was more focused on making Louis happy and making sure what he was doing was okay with Louis. Now, I'm not saying Louis and Harry being together is a bad thing. Honestly I love them together and I can't wait to call Louis my brother-in-law but I'm glad that Harry had time to breathe and live his own life. Now they can not only depend on one another but now they've realized that they can depend on us. Their families." Gemma explained and looked up from her hands. "I'm so happy that they are back together. They're perfect for each other, all puns intended." She finished just as the song ended in the background. Anne and Jay looked at her intensely before they both realized that she was right.

"I admit that I did hear more from Lou after he left Harry. I was shocked at first but it was amazing to get my Boo Bear back." Jay said in agreement and smiled sadly. "It's just a shame that it took something so heartbreaking to bring them back to their families but it feels so great to have them back. Am I right, Anne?" she asked softly and turned to look at the woman she'd grown to love. Anne smiled slightly and nodded. She took a deep breath before standing up and clapping her hands together.

"Well we have loads of cooking to do. Shall we?" Anne asked with a grin and Jay and Gemma both looked at her with wide smiles before nodding in agreement and following her to the stove.