The Baby Whisperer (Larry Stylinson)

Epilogue

Harry waits under the tree on the edge of the playground, pushing the stroller back and forth to soothe Pippa as she sleeps. She's rugged up against the cold in a soft blue fleece blanket, a little white beanie on her head and mittens on her tiny hands. She's only been with them for a few weeks but it's hard to remember what it was like before she made her arrival into their lives. It's been so different this time around, having the loving support of his husband to help them through these difficult early stages; a far cry from what it had been like with Luna.

They'd decided to wait until Luna was in school before expanding their family, aside from the addition of their rescue dog, Jack, a senior golden retriever who had joined them two years ago. Louis wasn't a carrier, so Harry had the joy of experiencing a second pregnancy, this one far less stressful than his previous one with Luna when he was weighed down with the emotional challenges of the legal side of things with Theodore and moving to a new home. This time he was able to really enjoy the experience, and having Louis by his side through it all had eased the burdens and allowed him to revel in the growing baby inside him.

"Hi, Harry," Stella says with a wave as she wheels her own stroller up alongside.

"Hey, Stella. Hey, Leo," Harry replies in greeting.

"Baby!" The toddler shouts as he peers in to look at Pippa, his big, puffy jacket restricting his movement resulting in a frustrated whine.

"Shhhhh, Leo," Stella chastises. "Baby Pippa is sleeping."

"Baby sleeping? Shhhhh," Leo says, shaking his head.

"That's right, sweetheart," Harry says as he crouches down to Leo's eye level. "Pippa is only a tiny baby and she needs lots and lots of sleep."

"I'm a big boy. Only one sleep!" Leo says proudly, holding up his pointer finger.

"Is that right? You are a big boy," Harry says and looks up to Stella who is nodding.

"We've just dropped his morning nap," she confirms. "Just the afternoon one now."

Harry stands and rocks his stroller absentmindedly. "That's great, Stella. Less time to get things done but hopefully he sleeps better at nighttime now?"

"Yeah, it's made a huge difference. Oh! I wanted to tell you. We're coming round to the gallery on Thursday, actually. Graham organized a sitter so we're gonna head to the pub for dinner and stay at the B&B afterwards. Make a night of it."

"Oooohhhh..." Harry says, raising his eyebrows. "Proper date and everything? Graham's pulling out all the stops."

Stella grins, leaning in conspiratorially. "Yeah. I think he reckons he's gonna get lucky or something," she says with a giggle.

Harry smirks. "Lucky man."

"Lucky me," she says with a wink as the bell sounds off, indicating the end of the school day.

The children pour out of the main doors in a wave of bobbing heads and squeals of delight. A mop of curly brown hair peeks above the crowd as Luna comes barreling towards him. He bends down and scoops her up in his arms twirling her around in the air. "Daddy!"

Harry props her on his hip and gazes down. "Well, hello there, munchkin. How was your day?"

"Awesome! We did drawing and I drew Papa and his horses as then Jeremy brought his froggy in for show 'n tell and it got out!"

"Did it now? Gosh."

"Yup! And it hippity-hopped on Miss Brady's desk and she was soooo frightened," Luna says with a giggle.

"Sounds like a lot of fun." Harry sets her down and she leans into Pippa's stroller.

"Hi Pips," she whispers. Kissing her fingertips and pressing them gently onto Pippa's head.

"Alright. Let's go home. Papa should be there already."

They wander off toward the car and Harry buckles both of his precious children into their seats as Luna tells him more about her day. When they pull up outside their house, Louis' car is parked in its spot and Harry gets a flutter in his stomach. Even after five years he still can't wait to see him at the end of each day. He's more in love than he had ever hoped and the feeling just keeps getting stronger.

There are a few other cars in the courtyard on the side sectioned off for the gallery and Harry smiles to himself. He'd always dreamt of having his own space and curating shows; helping new artists to gain exposure and interest in their work. He and Louis had decided to convert Louis' home into the gallery space as it had better natural light and easier access from the street so they could maintain their own driveway on Harry's side. It's been a lot of work but so worth it. In the early days, Harry and Louis juggled it all themselves, but now they've been fortunate enough to work with an art college in the city where they have a rotation of students who come and volunteer as part of their extension program. It's a win-win and was an absolute blessing during Harry's pregnancy and now that Pippa's here.

Harry shuts off the engine and looks up as Louis comes striding out through the front door. Harry sighs as he takes his eyes over Louis' toned body. He's still the most gorgeous man he's ever laid eyes on and Harry says a daily prayer to the heavens that he was brought into his life.

Louis rounds the car and opens up Luna's door. "Hi, sweetheart. How was school?"

"Papa! There was a froggy!"

Luna regales Louis with the story of Jeremy's escaping frog as Harry slides out of his seat and goes to grab Pippa. They wander into the house, happy chatter and laughter filling the space.

"Hi, babe. Missed you," Louis says and presses a kiss to Harry's lips.

Harry smiles and pats Louis on the bum with his free hand, Pippa cradled in his other arm. "Missed you too. I'll just go and settle her down for a bit."

"Alright. Love you."

"Love you too," Harry whispers before Louis is being dragged off by Luna to play.

Harry pads down to Pippa's room and lays her on her back in the crib, listening as the voices of his precious family filter down the hallway. He takes off her beanie and she grumbles a bit, but Harry just soothes her with tummy rubs and she drifts off again, watching as she breathes in and out, her little chest rising and falling in a steady rhythm. She's a much calmer baby than Luna was, easily falling into a sleep and feeding routine that Harry is immensely grateful for.

He casts his mind back to those difficult first months with Luna, exhaustion and stress the norm until Louis came into their lives and made everything better. His husband, their Papa, the Baby Whisperer.