Together (Sequel to Slipping Away)

Chapter Twenty-Four

Louis and Harry arrived home an hour later with a very happy and bubbly Adaley leading the way. As soon as the door shut Harry scooped Adaley and started to spin around, making the little girl squeal with laughter. Louis laughed loudly and turned on some music, starting to dance around the living room with Harry and Adaley as the couple sang the lyrics. Adaley suddenly started to belt the lyrics at the top of her lungs and her parents looked at her in utter shock. They had no idea that their daughter had that amazing of a voice. Harry opened his mouth to say something but was cut off when Louis' phone rang loudly. Louis picked it up and put it on speaker after her shut the music off.

"Hello?" he answered and there was rummaging on the other end.

"Hey Lou. It's Zayn on Ali's phone. We wanted to know if you guys wanted to go out to dinner to celebrate the outcome of the trial. It'd be like a family celebration." Zayn asked and Louis shrugged, looking at Harry.

"That's fine with us. Who's all going?" Harry asked and he could hear yelling in the background.

"Niall! Stop chasing the girls with the water gun!" Zayn yelled in a muffled tone and everyone laughed. "Me, Ali, Breana, Josh, Liam, Emma, and Niall if the girls don't kill him first." He said with a laugh and the family nodded, agreeing to going.

"Wait, Uncle Zayn?" Adaley called softly and Harry looked down at her nervous expression.

"Yeah?"

"Could we invite the nice lawyers too? Miss Larson and Miss Peak?" Adaley asked shyly and looked up at Harry for approval.

"If your dads are okay with it then I don't see why not." Zayn said and Harry agreed that it was fine. They bid their goodbyes and hung up. Louis stood up and stretched.

"I'm gonna get a shower before dinner." He murmured and walked off. Harry stood up to follow his lead but Adaley grabbed his hand.

"Daddy wait." She whispered and Harry frowned, sitting back down.

"What?" he asked and Adaley took a shaky breath.

"I want Ryan and Miss Eleanor to come too." She said in a shaky voice and Harry frowned, looking at her with furrowed eyebrows.

"Why?" he asked and she nervously played with her fingers.

"Because he's my real dad and his testimony at the trial helped keep us together. I don't think of him as my dad but I don't want him to go away again." She said sadly and Harry nodded slowly. "I don't harbor any negative feelings towards him. He made mistakes but he's making up for them now. So, can we please invite him and Miss Eleanor to dinner?" she nearly begged and Harry let out a heavy sigh before he nodded. Adaley hugged him tightly. "Thank you Daddy. So much." She said and kissed his cheek before running off towards her room.

"Remember! It's fancy so wear a nice dress!" Harry called after her and shuffled into his and Louis' room, flopping down on his bed. Louis walked out of the bathroom in only boxers and spotted Harry, frowning slightly.

"Haz? What's wrong?" Louis asked as he started to look through his closet for some nice clothes. He froze when he heard what Harry said.

"She wants me to invite Ryan and Eleanor." Harry mumbled and Louis slowly turned around to stare at Harry.

"Are you going to?" Louis asked softly and Harry shrugged.

"I don't really want him around her. I know that he helped us keep her but I still don't trust him after the pain he put Katie through. You should've seen her when she was telling me about what he used to do to her. It was heartbreaking to see her cry like that." Harry said, his voice getting angrier with each word. Louis gently laid a hand on his shoulder.

"Remember that this isn't about you or your feelings towards him. This is a celebration of the fact that we get to keep our daughter and Ryan was a very large part of that. So please. Call Eleanor and ask or let me do it." Louis said and Harry nodded, gesturing for Louis to call which he did. As he talked on the phone Harry rushed through his shower. Harry was putting the final touches on his outfit when Adaley walked into their room.

"Did you call him, Daddy?" Adaley asked, smoothing out her baby blue dress that brought out her blue eyes. Harry glanced at Louis and sighed softly.

"Papa called Eleanor while I was in the shower. They said they would come." Harry mumbled and Adaley nodded with a smile. She walked over to Harry and hugged him tightly around the waist.

"Thank you Daddy." She mumbled against his side and he sighed heavily, hugging her back gently. She looked up at him with a half-smile. "Would you curl my hair?" she asked in a soft voice and Harry nodded, following her into her room. After twenty minutes of hair curling and another ten minutes of trying to convince Louis that he looked perfect, the family was finally on their way to the restaurant. When they pulled up in front of it they noticed that everyone else was already there and they were late. They rushed inside the restaurant and were greeted by a young hostess.

"Styles family?" The woman asked and they all nodded, following behind the waitress to a separate party room. When they walked in everyone turned around and started to clap, looking at the happy couple and their angel. Harry and Louis sat the head of the table with Adaley between them as everyone returned to their seats. Beside Louis sat Liam and beside Harry sat Niall. Everyone was engaged in soft conversation over their food until Ryan spoke up.

"I have something to say." He said nervously and Harry nodded gesturing for him to continue.

"Do you remember those texts and calls you got warning you about Belle and her intentions?" Ryan asked Harry and the green eyed boy nodded slowly. "Those were me. I didn't want Adaley to be taken away from her home and from her family." He said softly and Harry frowned.

"But how did you get my number?" Harry asked, nervously pulling Adaley closer to him.

"I gave it to him." Eleanor said from her spot beside Ryan. Louis gave her a look which she shrugged at.

"I couldn't let Adaley end up with that demon of a woman. I'd do anything to protect her and her happiness. It's the least I could do. I will spend the rest of my life protecting her and her new family." Ryan announced and Harry felt a tear roll down his cheek.

"Thank you, Ryan." Harry whispered and watched as Adaley climbed out of her seat and walked around the table towards Ryan. When she stopped in front of him she motioned for him to kneel down, which he did. As soon as he was on a knee Adaley hugged him tightly. She buried her face into his neck and sniffled softly.

"Thank you so much for protect me, Daddy, and Papa. I know that you'll be a great daddy to Miss Eleanor's baby." Adaley whispered and gently kissed his cheek before silently walking back to her seat. When Ryan stood up he had tears cascading down his cheeks. Harry looked at his daughter with a proud smile. The rest of the dinner went on in peace as everyone mingled in soft voices. As everyone finished up Harry stood up and cleared his throat, making everyone look at him.

"I'd like to thank everyone here for helping us keep Adaley at home with us. Thank you to Melody and Lexi for taking our case and fighting tooth and nail for us in the courtroom. Thank you to all the boys for supporting us and helping us get through the past week of hell. Thank you to the girls who made sure we were fed and ready. We couldn't have done it without you guys." Harry said and the girls all blushed slightly. Harry turned to Ryan and took a deep breath. "And thank you to Ryan for warning me in the time before the trial and for having the courage to stand up and tell the truth about Belle and what she's done. If it wasn't for your honesty I don't think we'd be sitting here now." He said and took a shaky breath. "I don't know what we could ever do to repay you for it." He said in a soft voice and Ryan shook his head with a small smile and tears in his eyes.

"Her happiness is payment enough."