A/N: Okay this chapter is more of a filler than anything but I really wanted to write it. I hope you enjoy it anyway 😊
"DADDY!" Piper squealed as she threw her schoolbag to the ground and jumped into Harry's arms as soon as Aidan let her into the hospital room, "Daddy, you're here!"
"Hello, my Princess!" Harry scooped her up off the ground and kissed her cheek over and over, "I missed you so much!"
"We missed you too, daddy!" Piper tightly squeezed his neck before Harry put her down, "Daddy, did you meet her?! Did you meet my sister?!"
"I certainly did," Harry smiled down at her warmly, "she's so gorgeous – just like you and your mother."
"She is super cute!" Piper said happily, "I love my sister!"
After her initial excitement died down, her eyes widened a little as she suddenly realized what Harry was wearing.
"Daddy, why did you dress all fancy to go to the hospital?"
Harry laughed. "I didn't. This is the same outfit I was wearing while I was performing in Tokyo."
"Ohh..." Piper began to giggle, "silly daddy, you forgot to get changed before coming to the hospital!"
"I didn't have time. I was trying to get home as fast as I could. I was too excited to see you all," he knelt down and kissed the top of Piper's head, "I missed you all so much."
"We missed you too, daddy!" Piper beamed at him, "Did you and mummy give my sister a name yet? Mummy said she was going to wait for you before giving her a name."
"We certainly have," Harry looked at me and smiled before he gently ushered Piper towards where Aria was resting in my arms, "Piper, say hello to your sister – Aria."
"Aria?" Piper's face immediately lit up upon hearing the name, "I like that name! It's pretty!"
Piper came up and placed her hands on the edge of my bed before smiling down at the sleeping Aria.
"Hello Aria! It's me, Piper – your sister!" She giggled and gently tickled Aria's cheek with her finger, "Mummy, do you think Aria likes me?" She looked up at me.
"Oh, of course she does, snug-bug," I smiled down at her, "she loves you. You're her sister."
Piper looked delighted at my words. "When are we gonna take Aria home?"
Harry and I exchanged slightly forlorn looks before I turned back to Piper and took a moment to breathe.
"It's gonna be some time before we can take Aria home, Piper," I told her sadly, "the doctors have to keep her here in the hospital for a while."
"Why?" Piper's face immediately fell, "Is she okay?"
"Yes, she's fine for now Piper. But since she was born early, the doctors want to make sure nothing's wrong, and that it'll stay that way for a few days."
"Do you have to stay in the hospital, too?" She asked me dejectedly.
"Yes, Piper," I admitted, "I do."
Her bottom lip came out in a morose pout as she rested her head on my hospital bed.
"You've been at the hospital for too long," Piper's voice was low and forlorn, "I want you to come home, mummy..."
"I know, my darling," I let out a soft sigh and gently ran my fingers through her soft blonde hair with my free hand, "I want to come home, too. But it's only gonna be a few more days. Plus, I have good news for you," I began to smile at her.
Curious, Piper lifted her head from the bed and looked at me.
"Now that Harry's back, Aunty Ash and Uncle Aidan can go back home. And then Harry will look after you while Aria and I are in the hospital."
Piper gasped, and a smile immediately spread across her face as she looked back at Harry. "Really, daddy?!"
"Yep," Harry smiled back at her, "just you and me, sweetheart. And we'll visit mummy and Aria every day in the hospital until they can come home."
Piper burst into ecstatic giggles and ran up to him before throwing her arms around his waist and resting her head against his stomach. Harry chuckled fondly and crouched down to her level so that they could have a proper cuddle.
"I know you'll be just as good for Harry as you were for Uncle Aidan and Aunty Ash," I told Piper with a smile, "just make sure you go to bed on time, and always listen to your father."
My breath then hitched as I suddenly realized what I had just said. Even Harry looked at me with raised eyebrows but with a small smile playing at the corner of his lips.
Oh my God.
I think that was the first time I've ever called him Piper's father right in front of her...
"I will!" Piper didn't seem to notice what I'd said at all and excitedly wrapped her arms around Harry's neck, "Promise!"
Harry and I looked at each other again and exchanged loving smiles.
He's always been Piper's dad in my eyes, anyway.
***
~Harry~
"Are you guys heading straight back to Worthing, then?" I asked Aidan as I helped Leah ease Aria back into her little cot.
"Yep. Our stuff's all been packed up. We got a long drive ahead of us, so may as well get to it," he replied, "thanks for letting us use your spare room, mate."
"Oh, thank you for house-sitting. And babysitting, for that matter," I looked down at Piper and smiled, "you and Ashley have been amazing, Aidan. I can't thank you both enough for what you've done for us."
"Don't mention it. We're all family here. Families help each other," Aidan smiled at me and patted my back, "we're just glad you made it back safely. It's all on you now, daddy-o. Best of luck to you."
I chuckled. "Thanks, mate."
He and Ashley both said their final goodbyes to Leah – while also giving little kisses and cuddles to baby Aria. Once they were gone, I took Piper's hand and looked down at Leah.
"So...it's getting kinda late..." I bit down on my bottom lip, "I guess we should get going, too..."
"Yeah, you guys should," Leah smiled at me softly, "go home and get some dinner into you. It's been a long day."
"It just feels so wrong to leave you and Aria here like this..." I lowered my eyes, "we should be going home together."
"I know, honey," Leah reached out and gently took my free hand, "but it's only a week. Even less if we're lucky," her smile grew, "we'll all be together soon."
"We'll visit you and Aria every day, mummy!" Piper beamed at her, "And I promise I'll be good!"
Leah chuckled. "You don't have to promise me, snug-bug. I know you will. Now, can I have a cuddle before you go?"
Piper immediately nodded and climbed onto Leah's bedside to wrap her arms around her and nuzzle her face into the crook of Leah's neck – causing me to smile instantly.
"We love you, mummy!" Piper lovingly kissed Leah's cheek, "We can't wait for you and Aria to come home with us!"
"I can't wait either, sweetpea," Leah murmured as she kissed the top of Piper's head.
"Daddy, don't forget to kiss mummy goodbye too!" Piper reminded me with a grin as she hopped down from Leah's bed.
"I would never," My smile grew as I sat down at Leah's bedside and kissed her forehead, "rest up, my love. We'll see you two tomorrow."
"I will," Leah smiled, "I think they're taking Aria to NICU tonight, though...so I'm a little nervous," she anxiously bit down on her bottom lip.
"It'll be okay. I promise," I kissed her one last time before rising to my feet, "Piper, don't forget to say bye-bye to your sister, too."
"I won't!" I turned around to see that Piper had already made her way over to Aria's cot to say goodbye, "bye, Aria! I'm going home with daddy now!"
I then watched as she began to lean in a little closer to Aria's cot.
"I'm gonna tell you a secret," She told Aria in a lower voice, "we have the best mummy and daddy ever."
She tried to be quiet, but I heard every word she said – and I couldn't fight the smile that was spreading across my face as she spoke. Once Piper was done, I went over to Aria's cot myself and carefully took my new daughter into my arms.
"Goodbye, sweet girl," I murmured to her with a smile as I touched my forehead to hers, "don't be afraid about going into the NICU. The doctors and nurses are going to take such good care of you. And then, once we know you're okay, we're gonna take you home," I kissed her cheek and brushed my nose against hers, "I love you so much, darling. I'll see you soon."
Aria began to quietly fuss as I gently lowered her back down into her cot, but after a little soothing from Leah, she was calm again.
Once Aria was safe in her bed, I took Piper's hand, picked up her school bag, and we slowly began to make our way towards the door.
"Bye mummy!" Piper blew kisses at Leah as I opened the door, "We'll see you tomorrow after school!"
"Bye-bye darling," Leah smiled and waved at her before blowing another kiss back, "I love you. Both of you."
"We love you too!" Piper and I said in unison – causing everybody in the room to exchange contented smiles.
I closed the door to Leah's room behind me, and just like that...me and Piper were on our way home.
***
On the way back, I went to the drive-thru at McDonald's for dinner since Piper was apparently desperate for chicken nuggets. Since we'd both had a long day, I decided it would be good to give Piper a little treat – plus I wasn't gonna complain about not cooking for the night.
When we finally got home, the house felt empty without Leah. I honestly think Piper felt it, too – since she looked a little bit upset when I opened the front door and we both came home to unsettling silence. But, once I opened up the McDonald's and turned the TV on for Piper, she seemed to cheer up pretty much straight away.
Once I'd finished my serving of the food, I let Piper watch TV for a little while so that I could freshen up and finally get out of my stupid fucking suit.
Walking into me and Leah's room that evening felt so...strange and unfamiliar. I came in half-expecting to see her reading a book in bed even though I knew she wasn't even here. With a sigh, I lowered my eyes and went into the bathroom to have a shower and change my clothes. Once I was much more comfortable in an old T-shirt and a pair of sweatpants, I went down to the main bathroom and began to run a bath for Piper.
Leah and I washed Piper's hair every other day, and to be honest I had no idea if she got her hair washed yesterday or not. But my guess was probably not since yesterday was such a chaotic day with Leah going into labour.
Once the bath was about halfway filled, I went back to the living room where Piper had finished her dinner and was fixed on the TV. I broke out a smile and gently knocked on the wall – causing Piper to turn around.
"Bath time, Piper," I told her.
"Okay!" Piper smiled at me and hopped off the couch before making her way towards me.
"Did you get your hair washed yesterday, love?" I asked her as she followed me to the bathroom.
"No," Piper shook her head, "yesterday was too busy with mummy having the baby."
"I figured as much," I said with a nod, "we'll wash it tonight, then. And then after your bath, it's time for bed."
"Okay daddy," Piper nodded back as I let her into the bathroom.
The bath had filled up to a good level, so I switched off the tap and checked the temperature of the water to make sure it wasn't too hot.
"Alright Piper, it's all ready for you," I told her, "hop in, and I'll clean up and come back to wash your hair."
"I will!" Piper smiled at me and began to take her clothes off, so I left the bathroom and kept the door open halfway while I quickly rushed back to the living room.
I cleaned up all of the McDonald's rubbish and chucked it in the bin, and then I switched off the TV and fixed the messed-up couch cushions.
Leah wouldn't have left it like this, so neither will I.
Once I had done that, I went back to the bathroom to see that Piper had indeed hopped in and even started scrubbing her arms.
"Good job, Piper," I smiled at her, "keep scrubbing yourself, and I'll do your hair."
"Okay," I heard her hum a little tune to herself as I grabbed her shampoo and sat down on the edge of the bathtub.
We kept a little plastic jug under the sink in the bathroom for Piper's baths – to make it easier to pour water over her head when washing her hair. After grabbing it, I used it to scoop some bath water into it and fill it to the brim.
"Close your eyes, love," I told Piper, "so I don't get water in your eyes."
"They're closed!" Piper announced.
After a quick glance to double-check, I saw that her eyes were indeed squeezed shut – and I chuckled at the way it was making her scrunch up her whole face. Given the all-clear, I gently poured the water over her head. She giggled as she felt the warm water cascading over her face. I then did it a couple more times before finally squeezing out a blob of shampoo and rubbing it into her hair.
"Daddy?" Piper's voice came up again.
"Yes, sweetheart?"
"Is mummy going to be okay at the hospital?" She asked me as she gently swirled the bath water around with her fingers, "And Aria?"
"Of course. Don't you worry," I assured her with a smile, "they'll be fine. The doctors have been saying that Aria's very healthy. But it's better to be safe than sorry – that's why they're keeping her at the hospital just to make sure she'll stay healthy. And mum's just...keeping her company."
"Do you think they'll come home earlier than a week?"
I bit my lip. "I don't know yet, Piper. It's a bit too early to tell. But I'm sure they won't be there more than a week."
"When they do come home, can I play with Aria?"
I smiled again. "Of course you can. As long as you're gentle – which I know you will be."
"Can I hold her and give her cuddles?"
"Absolutely. Mummy and I will teach you how to hold her properly, then you can cuddle with her on the couch sometimes if you want."
"Oh, yes!" Piper's tone immediately perked up, "That would be fun! Then I can show her all of my favourite cartoons!"
I chuckled. "I'm sure she'd love that."
Once I'd finished putting shampoo in Piper's hair, I scooped up some more water and rinsed it all off until her hair was squeaky clean. After that was done, I let her have a bit more time in the water before pulling the plug and draining out the bath.
I was just about to grab Piper's towel off the rack when I suddenly heard the bathroom door fly open and rapid footsteps running down the hall. It startled me and quickly made me turn around – and my eyes widened when I realized that Piper had booked it to God-knows-where – completely stark naked, as usual. I immediately let out a groan and rolled my eyes before rushing out of the bathroom.
Bloody typical.
"Piper!" I called out to her with a long sigh, "Come on love, where have you gone?"
I could hear some muffled giggling and snickering coming from the utility cupboard just a little further down the hall. I smiled and stopped myself from chuckling as I quietly crept over to the cupboard and took hold of the doorknob as carefully as I could.
"Gotcha!"
I threw open the door to the cupboard – making Piper squeal and laugh as she tried to run away again. But I was only letting her get away with it once – and I grabbed her just in time and pulled her back towards me which made her burst into loud cackles of laughter.
"Get back here, you silly sausage! Get this towel around you," I pulled the hooded unicorn towel over her head as quickly as I could before she could get away again, "it's far too cold for you to be running around in the nudie!"
Piper giggled again and stuck her arms through the arm holes of her towel before grinning at me.
"I hope you haven't been doing that to your mummy after she bathes you," I raised an eyebrow at her, "it would have been very hard for her to catch you while Aria was in her tummy."
A cheeky snicker escaped from Piper. "Only sometimes. But mummy was always fast – even with Aria in her tummy!"
I rolled my eyes at her words. "No more doing that to your mummy. She's going to find it very difficult to catch you now that Aria's been born."
"Okay," Piper snickered again, "sorry, daddy."
"It's alright. You're just lucky that we love you so much," I poked her tummy which made her laugh, "let's get you dried off. And then you can pick the PJs you want to wear to bed, okay?"
"Okay," Piper smiled and held her arms out to me, "carry me?"
"Carry you?" I rose my eyebrows again, "What for?"
"Pleeeeease," she whined, "just one time!!"
I groaned and shook my head while smiling fondly. "Alright, alright. Just this once, though."
She let out a delighted giggle and wrapped her arms around my neck as I scooped her in my arms. And I found myself astonished at how heavy she seemed to have gotten since the last time I picked her up.
Damn it, Piper.
Stop growing up...
"Daddy, I love you," Piper grinned at me as she smacked a wet kiss on my cheek – which made me affectionately chuckle.
"I love you too, Piper," I smiled back at her and touched my forehead to hers, "come on. Let's get you ready for bed."
Piper giggled again and tucked her head against my neck – squeezing me tightly as I carried her up to her room.
***
After I got Piper settled and into bed that night, I started to work on trying to get to sleep myself. It had been a long and dragging trip back home, and a long day at the hospital with Leah and Aria. Piper seemed shattered when I put her to bed, and I honestly should have been too...but I was far from it.
I was wide awake. No matter how hard I tried to stay still, I couldn't stop tossing and turning under the sheets.
The bed just felt so empty without Leah.
Sleeping in an empty bed in different hotel suites...that I could handle. But sleeping in an empty bed in me and Leah's own room? It just felt so wrong.
It felt cold, it felt lonely, and I hated it.
I hated the fact that Leah and Aria were all alone in the hospital...not even being able to stay together since Aria was taken to the NICU. Even though I knew they were in good hands, I still hated the thought of it. They should be at home, with me and Piper. We should have all been together as a family by now.
I know they're doing it for Aria's well-being, but I can't help how I feel. It's so hard being away from them and not knowing how they are. I was already longing for the two of them to be here, and it hadn't even been one night since Piper and I were separated from them.
Fuck.
This is gonna be a very long week...
"Daddy?" I was suddenly snapped out of my thoughts by the sound of Piper's small voice outside the bedroom door, "Daddy, are you sleeping?"
"Piper?" I sat up in bed and switched my bedside lamp on, "Come in, love."
The doorknob turned, the door opened and Piper slowly meandered into the room – her old bunny tucked into the crook of her left arm. She had a doleful look on her face which immediately got me worried.
"Sweetheart, what's wrong?" I asked her, "Why are you so sad?"
"I can't sleep," she rubbed her eyes and whimpered a little, "I'm thinking about mummy and Aria too much...but I'm so tired..."
"Oh, Piper...I know. I feel the same way," I replied, "it's hard to get to sleep when you keep wondering what's happening to them."
"Can I sleep in your bed tonight, daddy?" She asked me quietly, "Please?"
I smiled at her. "Tell you what – why don't you go grab a book from your bookshelf, bring it back here, and then we'll read it together. Reading a book should help us both get to sleep."
"Okay," she smiled back at me, "that's a good idea. What book should I get?"
"Whatever book you want, love," I told her, "go on, then. Hurry back with it."
Piper's smile grew and she nodded before rushing out of the room.
"I'll be right back!" She called out to me as she ran off.
***
"'On went the mouse through the deep dark wood,'" I read aloud, "a snake saw the mouse, and the mouse looked good.'"
Piper had chosen The Gruffalo as the book she wanted to read for tonight. It was one of her favourites, so I wasn't surprised at all. Now, we were both sitting up in me and Leah's bed – and as I held the book, I had my arm around Piper – who was leaning back into my shoulder and looking at the book with droopy eyes. She was definitely starting to get sleepy.
"Do the snake voice, daddy," Piper was listening well, but her voice was quiet and tired.
"'Where are you going to, little brown moussse?'" I spoke in a nasally voice and hissed at every 's', "'Come for a feasssst in my log pile housssse.'"
Piper giggled softly and cuddled her bunny a little tighter before moving her head closer to the crook of my neck.
"'Oh, it's wonderfully good of you snake, but no,'" I continued reading with a smile, "'I'm having a feast with a Gruffalo.'"
"'A Gruffalo? What's a Gruffalo? A Gruffalo! Why, didn't you know? His eyes are orange, his tongue is black, and he has purple prickles all over his back.'"
"Eugh," Piper stuck out her tongue and made a face, "the black tongue looks yucky."
I chuckled. "It kinda does, doesn't it?"
"Keep going," Piper nudged me as if she didn't just interrupt me from reading all on her own – which made me roll my eyes but smile all the same.
"'Where are you meeting him?'" I continued, "'Here, by this lake. And his favourite food is...scrambled snake.'"
Piper craned her neck to look up at me in eager anticipation of my 'snake voice'.
"'SSSScrambled ssssnake?!'" I tried to sound as dramatic as possible which made Piper laugh, "'It'sss time I hid! Goodbye little moussse! And away Snake slid.' And what does the Mouse say, Piper?"
"'Silly old Snake'," Piper mumbled with a sleepy smile.
"Very good. 'Silly old Snake! Doesn't he know? There's no such thing as a Gruffalo!'"
I was about to turn to the next page when I suddenly felt Piper's head droop against my chest. I quickly glanced down at her and saw that her eyes were closed.
To make sure she had actually fallen asleep, I stopped reading for a couple of minutes. And after receiving no nudging or prodding from Piper to get me to keep going, it became clear to me that she definitely had – and I broke out an affectionate smile.
It was my initial intention to carry Piper back to bed as soon as she had drifted back to sleep. But as I watched her there, sleeping in my arms...I didn't have the heart.
Leah talked about the times she shared a bed with Piper. She always found it so warm and comforting to sleep with her. A lot of the time, Leah felt so alone and discarded before we met – even with Ashley and Aidan around. At times she felt like she was without a friend in the world. But sometimes when Piper had a bad dream, she would come to Leah's room in the middle of the night and cuddle with her – and any negative feelings Leah might have been having during the night would instantly wash away as soon as Piper laid in her arms.
I set Piper's book down on my bedside table as quietly as I could so that I wouldn't wake her. I then switched off my table lamp and slowly sank down lower into the bed so that I was lying down instead of sitting up. As I laid down, Piper's free arm wrapped around my chest, and she tucked her head in against my neck.
Just like Leah said, any loneliness and sadness I felt from Leah and Aria not being here immediately went away. All I could feel now was how much love I had in my heart for this little girl.
In that moment, while she breathed softly and steadily as she slept on me, I felt like a father. Like her father. As if she was mine all along...and I loved that feeling.
Completely unable to shake off the warm smile that was still on my face, I turned and kissed her forehead before lying back onto my pillow. As I looked up at the ceiling, I felt my eyes slowly starting to close.
Thank you, Piper. Thank you for letting me be a father to you.
Sleep well, my darling. I love you.
A/N: So yeah I guess this was kinda pointless and probably didn't need to be added in but I really wanted to write a father-daughter bonding chapter okay!! I've been wanting this for ages now lmao
Also disclaimer just to be safe: I don't own The Gruffalo. 😛