"Did you hear that?" Niall questioned, after forcefully pushing his car door shut. You followed his actions before tugging your fitted dress down. It had a tendency to ride up, which Niall didn't mind, but you were conscious of it. He shifted his water bottle from his left hand to his right and used the remote on his key chain to close the garage door.
"Probably just the neighbors," You reasoned, in response to the loud thud you'd heard. Your heels clicked as you stepped up to the door that would lead you from the garage into the kitchen. You searched your matching clutch for your keys, cheering when you found them. Niall chuckled and double-checked that his car was all locked up before walking up behind you.
You felt his hands land on your waist and he nipped at your earlobe from behind, whispering, "You looked really good tonight, baby." That was your goal. You and Niall rarely got to go out anymore, now that you were busy parents, dealing with a growing teenage daughter. But Liam and his wife invited you to join them at a local night club, so you agreed.
You turned so that you were facing him and his hands automatically rested themselves at your hips as you wrapped your arms around his neck. Your heels gave you some extra height, but you still had to lean on your toes to peck Niall's lips. You let out a satisfied sigh as his hands roamed your body. But then you heard it again - a loud bang, as if something had fallen, followed by the unmistakable sound of your daughter's piercing scream. You and Niall immediately parted and you looked up at him with fearful eyes. Panicking, you whimpered, "Niall..."
He pulled his hands from your hips and stepped around you, quietly pushing himself through the door. The kitchen was empty and dark. Niall nodded at you, beckoning for you to follow him because it was safe... in the kitchen, at least. You carefully shut the door behind you, searching for your phone. "I'm calling the police," You whispered to Niall, but he shook his head.
"Not yet," He whispered back, grabbing an umbrella from the stand by the door. You inhaled a slow breath and leaned against one of the kitchen chairs, watching Niall as he ventured further into your house, flicking lights on as he went. He held the umbrella threateningly, ready to beat the hell out of somebody with it. He made it to the staircase, still without finding anything suspicious. Your eyes trailed around, looking for any signs of a struggle. All you could find, which stuck out to you, was your daughter's phone - abandoned on the kitchen counter. That was unusual. Your daughter was rarely found without her phone somewhere near.
With her back pinned to the wall, your daughter swallowed hard as her boyfriend's strong hands gripped the collar of her shirt. "Stop," She begged in a whimper, "Please. My parents are home, I heard them. My dad will kill you. Please. Let me go and I won't tell him a thing. I promise." Her tears heightened as her boyfriend only chuckled darkly and hitched her dangling figure further up the wall.
"How come you heard them, but I didn't?" He asked, questioning her honesty. "You're lying to me, aren't you? You actually think I'm going to believe you? You just want me to let go of you and then you're going to run away and call the cops on me or something. I'm not stupid." He forced her chin up, so that her eyes met with his. He slapped her, laughing as she whimpered and turned her head away from his disgusting stare. "You know what?" He started, "There's something else you can do for me before I go..."
His hands dropped from her collar, stopping at the waistband of her pants. She was crying and his hands were fumbling with the button on her jeans when Niall busted into the room, dropping the umbrella at the sight in front of him. Your daughter's eyes flew open and she gasped in relief, "Daddy!" Within seconds, Niall had crossed the room and tackled the kid to the ground. He struggled beneath Niall, and even managed to land a couple punches to Niall's jaw.
Your daughter cried out, terrified that her now ex-boyfriend and her dad were exchanging punches right there on her bedroom floor. Her ex was strong; she knew because he'd used his strength on her multiple times. She was familiar with the pain he was capable of causing. Niall hissed every time the kid fought back, and your daughter knew Niall was taking it for her. You hurried in and grabbed her by her shoulders, hugging her only briefly before you pulled her out of the room. That wasn't really something she needed to see. She sobbed as she stumbled out into the hallway. You couldn't understand her strangled words, but you tried your best to comfort her.
You called the police as you rubbed your daughter's back, sitting beside her in the living room. She could still hear the struggle from upstairs, flinching every time a noise was made. She could feel the house vibrating as bodies were aggressively thrown to the floor, she could hear the shattering as items fell from her dresser and crashed to the floor. You hugged her close, covering her ears until the police arrived. In all that time, neither Niall nor the ex-boyfriend had made an appearance. You tried your best to stay positive, for your daughter's sake, but you were scared out of your mind. You could hear everything she was hearing, and you had no idea which person was in control and which wasn't. All you could do was silently pray that your husband was okay.
A long time passed before an officer reappeared, dragging the kid in handcuffs. He growled at your daughter as he passed by, but you glared at him until he looked away. He was taken outside and shoved into the back of a police car. The next sound was like a breath of relief. You brought yourself to your feet, hearing Niall's voice while he followed another officer down the stairs. You gasped and your daughter jumped to her feet beside you. "I'll be fine, trust me," Niall said to the officer, "Just a few bruises and stuff. Nothing serious."
"You're sure you don't want me to call for an ambulance? Just to check you out and make sure you're alright?" The officer asked, stopping at the base of the stairs with his hands on his hips.
"Nah, I'm good," Niall insisted.
The officer patted Niall's back and said, "Take care." He smiled at you and your daughter before leaving the house. You heard the door as he shut it behind him.
You didn't hesitate to run for Niall, engulfing him in a tight hug. Your daughter joined you, and together the three of you shared a group hug until you pulled apart, wiping at the tears in your eyes. "Go sit down," You instructed him, trying to control your tears, "I'll go grab an ice pack for your head." He did as he was told, his daughter following after him.
She shamefully dropped her eyes, blaming herself for Niall being hurt. "Hey," Niall said, nudging her arm with his elbow, "Don't worry about it. I handled that kid the entire time."
"Then why is your face all bruised? And why is your lip bleeding?" She snapped, fighting back another sob. She knew Niall was hurt, and she felt so horrible about it.
"He hit back a few times," Niall admitted, "But that was nothin' compared to what he got. Didn't you see him? Hell, that kid won't be walkin' for at least a month." She chuckled a little at his words, sniffling as she wiped at her eyes. Niall reached out and soothingly rubbed her shoulder, saying, "You remember, right? You remember what I promised you - that I'd never let anyone hurt you? When I said that, I meant it. Ain't nobody gonna hurt either one of my princesses." Your daughter chuckled once more and Niall smiled, letting his eyes travel to you as you entered with the ice pack. "You're still wearin' that dress, huh?" Niall smirked, and you rolled your eyes. "Kept it on just for me, didn't ya?"
"Sure, Niall," You said, playing along. He laughed as you gently titled his chin and rested the ice pack on his face, just above his eye. "Hold it there," You told him, guiding his hand along.
You exhaled a shaky breath and turned around to grab something for his bleeding lip, but he reached out and caught your wrist before you could leave. Spinning you around, he asked, "Hey, you okay?"
"Y-yeah," You nodded, "Yeah, I'm just... I'm glad you're safe."
**Protective daddy Niall? Yes please.**