Zayn's POV
I woke up startled when I felt this sudden burst of a reminder I had actually fallen into a deep sleep and hadn't tended to my daughter in who knows how long. My arms were also empty and I knew that I had Niall in them when I fell asleep. I honestly don't know how that happened that I wanted to hold him, but I'm not going to try and figure it out.
My eyes looked over to the baby play pen to see if Laila was in there, but it was empty. That's what made me jump out of bed and run to the door. My heart was pounding in my chest and the only thought going through my head was somehow the lawyer from the hospital made a mistake with the papers I signed and now he took my daughter. He probably took Niall too just because he was taking cute things.
I ran into the kitchen where I had just heard a cabinet being shut. I was met with Niall working at the stove cooking something with Laila in her carrier right by his feet. She had a pacifier in her mouth and she was just looking up at Niall like he was the greatest thing she's ever seen. I let out the breath I didn't know I had been holding. That got Niall's attention on me, but his happy smile fell when he looked at me. He turned off the stove and came over to get my trembling hands in his.
"You look like you're going to be sick. Are you not feeling well?" He asked me. He reached up and rest his hand on my forehead and cheek, but looked puzzled when he didn't feel anything. I shook my head and leaned against the wall to take a few deep breaths.
"I didn't know where Laila was. I thought he came and took her from me. I also didn't know how long I slept and I thought she starved to death because I slept through her crying and didn't feed her." I told Niall. My throat closed up a little like I wanted to cry over this, but Niall's thumbs running across my knuckles softly comforted me. His blue eyes were looking at me with allot of concern and also allot of care.
"Who would take Laila from you?" He asked me seriously. I looked over at my daughter then back to the caring man in front of me. He pulled me over to sit down at the kitchen table and got Laila in his arms before sitting in the chair next to me.
"I just have this irrational fear that something is going to go wrong with legal things and child services will take her from me. I'm scared I'm not doing a good enough job with her and she'll be taken from me. Even now I gave every reason for her to be taken because I slept and left her alone with someone I really don't know." I said. Hearing it out loud made me kind of sound crazy, but it still felt like something to be afraid of. I love my daughter more than air, I can't imagine if someone took her from me just because I'm still slowly figuring out how to be a father.
"Do you see her, Zayn? She's well fed, clean, she has fresh clothes and she has blankets. There's no reason for child services to step in and take her. As for the legal side of things, everything is finalized and she's yours. I wasn't there when you signed the papers and I didn't know what they looked like, but know that even for a second if something went wrong and you had to fight for custody, I'd be there to vouch for the fact you're the best father in this world." Niall said in the strongest tone he's ever spoken in. In a way, I felt my uneasiness go away because of his words.
"Thank you, Niall." I whispered. He gave me a look like it wasn't a big deal, when really he just put my greatest fears to rest. He gave me Laila and went back to whatever he was cooking. He also reached over to the small television on his counter to turn on the morning news.
Soon both of us were sitting at the table eating omelets that Niall had prepared while watching the news report on the weather. The storm that hit was supposed to pass through one more time then it would be up to the sun to melt the snow. Occasionally under the table, Niall would playfully kick my foot and give me a smile that I couldn't help but return. Then I would kick him back and pretend like I didn't do anything. In other words, we were acting like children and Laila was just happily in her carrier watching us.
"I need to give her a bath. Do you mind having a naked chubby baby in your sink?" I asked Niall as we both stood up to put our empty plates in the kitchen sink. Niall's blue eyes lit up brighter than they should have talking about a stinky baby before he ran out of the kitchen. I laughed to myself and got my daughter in my arms to come with me to find the crazy Irish man.
I walked down the hall and found myself at the doorway to the bathroom. Niall was sitting on the floor and getting something from under the cabinet. He looked up at me a blushed then lifted up some baby shampoo and a rubber duck.
"I have some stuff from my nephew." He told me. I smiled and went over to turn on the hot water to let it warm in the sink. Niall got a hand towel and laid it on the bottom of the sink once I got the water filling up with warm water. He placed a very plush towel on the counter and left the bathroom. I laid Laila on the towel and begin taking of her one piece and dirty diaper. Niall came back into the bathroom with more towels and the book bag I was using as a diaper bag.
"She's so tiny she's going to be too small for the sink." He told me with a giggle and reached forward to tickle under her chin. I smiled when she squirmed then gently got her into the sink.
It definitely made it easier when I had Niall to help me. He made sure Laila's head was on a soft cloth and also helped to make sure we didn't get soap in her eyes. I know I can bathe my daughter on my own and it's not too hard, but the worry was off my shoulders of anything happening to her.
"Someone got allot of hair from their daddy, didn't they?" Niall giggled to me as we washed out the baby shampoo from her black hair. I nodded to answer him. Niall reached up and ran his bubble covered hand through my hair then focused back to Laila. I looked in the mirror and saw that was probably the last thing my messy hair needed.
"Now you both match." He said like it was no big deal. I got some bubbles and placed it in his dirty blonde hair and finished rinsing the soap off Laila. Niall laughed when he looked in the mirror. I got Laila out of the sink and held her to me and looked at all three of us in the mirror. We all had some amount of bubbles covering us, but in a way it made this normal routine thing for me seem fun.
"We all match." I laughed to him. He wiped the bubbles off us both then helped me with drying and dressing Laila. The way we worked was seamless. I know that it only really takes one person to do all of this, but Niall and I could do it together and it wasn't even a struggle.
Once we were all done in the bathroom, Niall took Laila somewhere in his flat while I cleaned up the bathroom. That only took me a few minutes then I went to the bedroom I was staying in to see Niall was talking to Laila as he was setting her in the baby play pen.
"You're the prettiest little girl in the whole entire world. I know that you'll be so strong and funny and charming and have only the best things in the world. You're tired now, aren't you, love? It's about time for a nap I say. Sleep tight, beautiful." He whispered to her. I just stood at the doorway watching him and feeling my heart clench at how much he seemed to care for my daughter. It was amazing to see how well he was with her, but it was incredible to see him already building her up the way I try to. That's a parents job, yet he's doing it like he was ment to and it made me feel happy.
I left the room before Niall could see me and made myself busy in the living room. Niall walked in and turned on the telly to some movie that was playing. I think he's either rich or he just knows what to do with his money because I know he has such nice things that I wish I could give my daughter. One thing is the space of his flat.
"I have a baby monitor to hear her if she needs us. She crashed once I put her in her bed though." Niall told me, lifting the white monitor in his hand. That was another thing I wanted to get, but couldn't afford it. Even though I don't leave Laila in her own room, I still wanted one if I were cleaning the kitchen and she was alone in the living room. Those were just too expensive for me to buy though. Both of us sat on the couch and got comfortable there. I looked over the baby monitor then set it on the coffee table.
"We make an alright team I guess." Niall laughed to me with his cheeks turning red. I didn't understand the blushing on his cheeks, but I did think that him thinking we worked well together was a very accurate statement.
"I should take you home with me to help me." I chucked. I leaned back on the couch and let my tired body relax. I know I got allot of sleep, but I still felt like I could sleep for another year only to feel the beginning of rested. My eyes slipped shut for what only felt like a second before I jumped at the feeling of a blanket being placed on me. Niall smiled at me and giggled in a way that caused a fuzzy feeling to run through me. I pulled him into my arms because he was just too cuddly for his own good.
"I hope you like the Titanic because that's the only thing that's on that is actually worth watching." He told me as I continued to move his body so it was in a comfortable holding position. Niall moved the blankets so he was covered by them too and pulled me to lay back on the couch with him.
"You said you were the human koala, but I will cuddle with anything that breathes. You're breathing and you're just as cuddly as me so this works out great." Niall said. I smiled at that then closed my eyes to rest a little. The last though I had was probably one from pure loneliness, but I wondered if this was what it would be like to have an actual family of my own.
A/N: sorry for not updating! This week is crazy! I've fixed allot of things for my other stories so I'm proud of the progress that's being made there! What is one thing you day dream about!?!!?!?!? Comment / Vote!
- Bri;)