Zayn and Calum managed to drag Liam back inside and pushed him down into a chair, making sure to keep a watchful eye over him in case he tried to hurt himself again. Niall curled up on the floor in front of Liam's legs, his head resting on the older boy's knees as he snacked on a bag of Maltesers. Liam didn't move for a long time, several hours at least but no one was counting, and while he was staring blankly at the wall, Michael arrived with his backpack, along with a few things that Niall had requested he pick up from Liam and Harry's apartment. He gave all of the boys a hug, spending an extra long time as he squeezed Niall tight, and then sat down on the floor next to the blonde to continue the waiting game.
At around four o'clock, the doctor came back into the waiting room once more, this time with the ghost of a smile on her face. Liam seemed to wake up from his state of shock and walked over to the woman, his hands deep in his pockets as he looked at her with his sad, puppy-dog eyes. "Good news." She said, addressing the whole group. "Your brother is out of surgery and he is now recovering in a room in the ICU. He's still unconscious, and will probably be for a while, but you may visit him one at a time now." Liam gasped and before he even thought about it, he was pulling the doctor into a tight bear-hug. "Thank you so much, doctor, thank you." He pulled away and wiped at the tears on his cheeks, his heart soaring at the news. "Don't thank me yet. He still has a long way to go before he's okay. Come on, let me show you to his room." Liam let the doctor place a hand on his back and she led him down a sterile hallway. They stopped in front of a door that read 'Head Injury Patient: Keep volume down' and the doctor pushed it open, revealing a bright white room filled with beeping machines and tacky furniture.
"I'll be right outside if you need anything," The doctor said to Liam softly before leaving the room, shutting the door quietly behind her. Liam nodded and turned, looking at the large bed in the middle of the room for the first time. He came a little closer, expecting to find his Harry laying there, but it wasn't his Harry. The person lying in the bed was small and frail-looking. His skin was grey and practically translucent, his lips were blue, and he had a large bandage wrapped around his head. Though the boy's head was covered by the bandage, Liam could tell that his beautiful locks had been shaved off. A sob erupted from the older boy's mouth and he collapsed in a chair next to the bed, his hand reaching unsurely for the younger boy's. Another whimper escaped from his lips when he saw his mum's engagement ring sitting on the boy's finger, almost falling off with how loose it was.
"Oh, Haz. Please, I need you to stay alive. Just hang on, please. I need you. Louis needs you. All of us need you. Please, Harry, you're the glue that holds us all together. I can't go on without you. Please," Liam whispered, holding Harry's seemingly breakable hand up to his lips to kiss it. He held his hand there, pressed against his lips as he tried to give life back to the boy on the bed. The warmth of his lips countered with the coolness of Harry's hand and Liam wanted to cry when he felt Harry's weak pulse against his wrist. "Harry," He whimpered as he began to sob for the hundredth time that day. How he had any tears left, no one knew, but his body was slowly becoming weak with the exhaustion of it. He felt his eyelids drooping as he watched sleepily over the boy, his tears sliding down onto his face and landing on Harry's hand, which was still pressed to his mouth.
Liam sat with the boy for almost three hours straight, drifting in and out of consciousness but never fully falling asleep. He couldn't, not when anything could happen with Harry at any moment. He needed to stay awake, alert in case something new arose. His attention was taken from the boy when a knock was heard at the door. "Come in," He managed to croak out, his throat dry and voice cracking from tiredness. The door opened and Niall came in, not even glancing at the boy on the bed as he came over to Liam. He couldn't handle looking at the boy, not now. "Come on, Li, let's go home and get some clothes for tonight." Liam shook his head and refused to take Niall's outstretched hand. "No, I need to stay with him. What if he wakes up while I'm gone and he freaks out because I'm not there? What if he d-dies?" Niall wrapped an arm around Liam and managed to tug the boy to his feet but the movement stopped there.
"Li, baby, come on. The doctor said he won't be awake for another couple of hours, so this is our time to go home, get some clothes and food, and maybe bring back a blanket or two to sleep here. I promise we won't be gone that long, hour and a half tops." Liam finally let himself be pulled out of the room and Zayn took his place, sitting in the chair next to the bed. Liam and Niall left the building, telling the other boys that they would be back later, and then got in Liam's car, Niall taking the wheel. They drove to Liam and Harry's apartment, silently holding hands the whole way, and when they reached the door, Niall opened it using the spare key under the mat. The place felt strange without Harry's cheery air. It was like all of the light had been removed, leaving only a small flicker. The two boys heard a small mew from Harry's room and Dusty skittered out, sliding across the floor and bumping into the toe of Niall's shoe. "Hi, baby," Niall cooed, picking up the small cat and tucking her under his arm.
Liam wandered into his room and grabbed a backpack, filling it with clean clothes and everything else he thought he would need. He also packed his computer and cord so he could have something to do other than mess around on his phone. Niall grabbed a few blankets from the living room, knowing that Liam was going to want to stay there all night and he would be right by his side, then decided that he should grab a few things for Harry when he woke up. If he woke up. Niall shook the bad thoughts out of his head and grabbed some of Harry's romance books off his shelf, then picked his phone charger up off his desk, shoving everything into a pink, flowery backpack he had found in the boy's closet. He also picked out a few other things for Harry, some underwear and socks, because he knew his feet ran cold, and then he zipped the bag shut. Liam met him in the doorway of Harry's bedroom. His eyes droopy and tired as Niall took his bag from him. "Come on, baby. You can sleep in the car."
They arrived back at the hospital almost an hour later, having gotten stuck in horrible traffic, and Liam was even more on edge than he was before. The boy had managed to get about twenty minutes of rest on the ride back but then the nightmares came and he couldn't stay asleep. He sat stock-still the rest of the ride, gripping Niall's hand painfully tight, but the younger boy didn't care. Niall held on tight to Liam as they walked through the sliding glass doors, finding Calum and Zayn sitting on a bench in the waiting room, Michael's laptop balanced on their knees. "Hey, lads. Any news while we were gone?" Niall asked as he set Liam's bag down on the chair next to them. "No, nothing. Michael's in there right now, but he can leave if you want him to." Liam shook his head and sat down on one of the other benches, pulling Niall down with him. Niall curled up in his lap, pulling one of the blankets over them so they could be more comfortable.
"Oh, Louis texted and said that he was boarding his second flight, so he should be here by one or two in the morning." Liam nodded sleepily and his head flopped to the side, small snores coming from between his lips. Niall brushed his fingers through Liam's buzzed hair. He smiled as he watched the boy sleep peacefully, glad that he was finally able to get some well-deserved rest after his long day. "Niall?" The blonde looked up and hummed, his focus on his raven-haired friend. "How are you? Really?" Niall sighed and shrugged. "Not good. I mean, he's my best friend. I've known him pretty much since birth and seeing him laying in that bed was one of the hardest things I've ever had to look at. I mean, after his accident, I would visit him in the hospital every day and bring him chocolates and books and all good things to cheer him up. I was the only one that did that. No one else would come to see him. It just hurts, seeing him lying there, all fragile and broken and just like he looked a couple of months ago." Zayn nodded sympathetically and rubbed his knuckles over Niall's hand.
"Tell him you love him, when you go to sit with him in his room. Tell him how much you care about him. He may not be able to hear you, but it'll feel good to let it out." Niall nodded, standing up from his seat and helping Liam lay his head down on the bench. He walked down the white hallway and knocked on the door to Harry's room, opening it when he heard Michael say to come in. "Hey, Mikey," Niall sighed as he watched the pink-haired boy run his hand up and down Harry's arm. "Hey, mate. Do you want to have some time with him?" The blonde nodded and Michael stood up, giving Niall his seat before leaving the room to give him some privacy. Niall took a deep breath as his eyes scanned over the unconscious boy lying in front of him, one of the machines he was hooked up to letting out monotonous beeps with the rhythm of Harry's chest rising up and down.
"Hey, babe. I know you're unconscious and can't hear me right now, but I just need to get this out of me. I love you. So so so much, Haz. You have been by my side since day one and I am so grateful for that. I remember when we hung out after your first day of school and you were riding that scooter and you fell and scraped your knee, and I helped you inside and bandaged you up with about four hundred Barbie plasters. I remember when I walked you home from that date at the movie theater with that guy who smelled like tuna fish, how we laughed about it the whole way home. I remember being your date to your freshman homecoming and sitting on the bathroom floor with you while you cried about Jason Bradley dancing with Jessica Strickler instead of you. I remember all of that. All of the most memorable moments of my life have been with you, and I need you to stay with me so we can make even more, Haz. Please, just hold on so we can make more memories together. Please."
Tears slid down Niall's cheeks and he leaned forward, laying his head on Harry's chest. He sobbed into Harry's hospital gown, letting it all go as his body shook with the force of his cries. "Please, Harry, please. I love you so fucking much." He grabbed onto Harry's hand and squeezed it tight, looking up at the boy's nearly lifeless form. His breathing was still shallow, but it kept up an even rhythm, his chest slowly rising and falling as small puffs of air came from his lips. Niall soon fell asleep, the rocking of Harry's chest making him sleepy until he eventually nodded off. A nurse came in and checked Harr's vitals as he slept, looking at the pitiful boy with a heavy heart. She had seen that kind of grief too many times before in her career. She left the room to give them privacy, shutting the door softly behind her so as not to wake the sleeping Irish boy. Niall stayed fast asleep, his hand keeping a tight grip on Harry's as he laid across his chest.