Louis's POV
Liam is getting Niall changed and it's time to wake up Harry for school. He's already awake and coughing when I enter the room. He's had a stuffy nose for a couple days and now apparently he has a cough.
"Aw, baby... you got a cough?"
"My froat (throat) hurt, Papa," Harry whines and reaches for me to pick him up.
"Baby, you're all sweaty." I check his forehead and he's very warm.
"I cold, Papa." He gives a pathetic little cough and lays his head on my shoulder.
"I think you have a fever, baby. I don't think you're going to school today,"
"No school? But I have to. Darcy be all by herself," Harry whines. His voice already sounds a bit scratchy from the coughing.
"Darcy will manage, darling. She has other friends to play with, right?" I try.
"Yeah..." he mumbles. "But I her bestest friend."
"I'm sorry, baby. I can't send you to school. You might get the other kids sick. You don't wanna make Darcy sick, do you?" I set him on the bathroom counter so I can run him a cool bath.
"No... Not nice, Papa. Not nice to make people sick," Harry rationalizes.
"No it's not. You'll go back when you're all better. Now let's get these pajamas off. They're all sweaty." Liam pops in with Niall while I'm getting Harry undressed.
"What's going on here?" Liam asks. "I thought we were getting him ready for school."
"He's not going," I say. Harry coughs to justify the statement. "He's got a cough and I'm assuming a fever. He woke up all sweaty. Would you mind calling the school? Mine as well? I don't think I'm going to work."
"Are you sure?" Liam asks. "You can go. I'll be fine with the boys."
"With a 1 year old who's only been her for a week and a clingy, sick 3 year old? Liam you know how he gets. It's fine. Plus I need you to keep Niall away from Harry. I don't want him getting sick."
Liam nods and takes Niall out of the room.
"No Ni-ni?" Harry pouts.
"No. You don't want to get the baby sick, do you?" I ask.
"No... What if Papa get sick?" Harry asks with a scared expression.
"Don't worry about Papa," I say. "I'll be okay. Now lets get you in the bath."
I made sure to put bubbles, though I'm not sure how much Harry will want to play in the bath. The water is just slightly cooler than warm. I'm hoping it'll bring down his fever.
Harry starts crying as soon as his toes touch the water.
"What's wrong?!" I ask, pulling him back out. Harry clings to me and cries.
"Too cold, Papa! No like!! Too cold!!" he cries.
"It's not cold, baby. You're just really hot. It's supposed to be like that. It'll help your fever." I try to place him back in the bath but he starts kicking and refuses to let go of me.
"NO! NO! NO! NO! NO!" Harry screams.
"Harry, stop. You need to stop crying. You're gonna make yourself cough." And he does. Harry's grip slips a little bit while he's coughing and I somehow manage to sit him down in the bath.
Harry continues to sob. He curls into a little ball and holds his knees to his chest while he cries.
"Shh..." I soothe. "You're okay. Shhh.... No need to cry. It's just a bath." I pour a little bit of water over his head to cool it down. "Shhh... you're okay."
He keeps on coughing, causing him to cry even more. He's stopped screaming though, so that's a win. I offer him a sip of water, which he takes. It seems to soothe his coughing a bit, but the coughs come back.
"My poor baby. You don't feel good, do you?"
Harry shakes his head and continues to cry and cough. In hindsight, maybe it wasn't such a good idea to offer him water. See, toddlers have this thing where coughing or crying a lot can trigger their gag reflex. Harry throws up all the water he drank and last night's dinner into the tub.
"Shit," I say under my breath and immediately pull a crying Harry out of the bath.
Harry cries and rubs his face into my shirt, trying to find some comfort. (I really hope he didn't just get throw up on me.) "Papa..." Harry cries as he clings to me.
"I know, baby. I know... Today just isn't your day, is it?" I drain the water from the bath because I'm definitely not putting him back in there.
"Shh..." I soothe. "Baby, I need you to calm down. You're just gonna keep on coughing and make yourself sick again. Shh... you're okay." Harry cuddles into me and takes a deep breath, attempting to stop crying. "There we go. That's my good boy. How about one more." Harry takes another deep breath. He's still crying, but a least he's stopped coughing. "There we go. It's ok. Papa's got you." I walk around the bathroom rocking him a bit, trying to ignore the fact that my shirt is now soaking wet and he's still completely naked.
"Papa..." Harry whines.
"I know, baby. How about we try a shower instead? I need to clean you 'cause you got sick. I'll be quick, okay?" Harry holds on tighter. "Come on, baby. I'll be fast. Then we can go have cuddles."
Harry doesn't answer. I start the shower anyway. Slightly warmer than the bath was. I get his soaps and shampoo from the tub and set them by the shower.
"Okay, baby," I say "let's get you in."
"No, Papa. No, no, no..." Harry whines as I place him in the shower. "Want Papa.."
"Shh... You're okay. I'm right here." I kneel down to be closer to him "I'm not going anywhere. Papa just needs to get you clean. Would you feel better if I held your hand?"
Harry immediately latches onto my hand. "Papa..."
"I know. I'm right here. I'll be quick."
Showering a 3 year old 1 handed is not the easiest thing in the world. By the end, my shirt is even more soaking wet than before. At least Harry isn't crying anymore, and the coughing is very minimal. I pull off my soaking wet shirt, wrap Harry in a fluffy towel, and take him to his room to dry off.
"Papa! Papa! Papa!" Harry whines when I leave him on the bed to get him some clothes.
"I'm just getting you clothes, baby. I'm right here. We'll do cuddles after I get you dressed."
"Papa..." he continues to whine.
"I know, I know." I lay his clothes down on the bed and kiss his forehead. I dry him off and grab a nappy for him to step into. "Come on, then. Let's get dressed."
Harry looks at the nappy and makes a face at me. "No nappy," He protests, crossing his arms. "It daytime."
"I know it's daytime, but you don't feel good and you know you sometimes have accidents when you don't feel good."
Harry looks down and pouts. He doesn't like wearing nappies. He doesn't like having accidents, but sometimes he can't help it. He looks on the verge of tears again.
"Don't cry. You're okay. You're still mine and Daddy's big boy."
"Okay, Papa..." Harry mumbles and puts on the nappy.
I put him in some pajamas (Winnie the Pooh pajamas) because we're not leaving the house and there's no point in putting on actual clothes. Thankfully, Liam left some medicine and some water for Harry in his room. I give Harry the fever reducing medicine because the cool bath didn't exactly work out so well.
"Water..." Harry whines. Yeah... The fever medicine doesn't taste that great. He takes his sippy cup of water gratefully.
"Grab Bubble and your blankie and we'll do cuddles." Harry grabs his bear and blankie. I pick him up so we can cuddle in the comfy chair in his room.
"You comfy?" I ask after we get settled in the chair. Harry nods and snuggles into me. "I'm sorry you're not feeling well." Harry doesn't answer. He just continues to drink his water and snuggle. "I love you."
Harry takes his cup out of his mouth and mumbles "Love you too, Papa." He's starting to fall asleep. I run my fingers through his hair, which always helps to calm him.
Harry eventually falls asleep. I tuck him up in bed and then go take a shower.
"How are my boys?" I ask when I go downstairs to see Liam and Niall.
"Ah!" Niall shrieks.
"Yes, I missed you too," I say and take Niall from Liam and sit on the sofa.
"We're good," Liam says. "How's my baby? Is he okay?"
"Yeah. He's sleeping. He didn't like the bath because it was cold. It make him cry, which then made him cough, which then made him throw up, which made him cry even more. I had to pull him out and shower him instead. He's really clingy, too. That didn't help anything. We had cuddles for a little while after I dressed him. Thank you for leaving the medicine in his room. I appreciate that."
"You're welcome," Liam says. "I figured you didn't want to come downstairs to find it."
"Thank you. I probably have to go check on him in a bit. I put him in bed and went to take a shower. But you know how he is when he's sick. I don't want him to cry because he's alone. I just wanted to come see my little baby because I haven't seen him all day!" I tickle Niall's tummy and he giggles.
"apapapa..." Niall babbles.
"Yes, Papa's here now. Did you have fun with Daddy this morning? Did you eat?" I ask in a really high voice. Why is it that babies make adults talk in really high, embarrassing voices? "Did you eat... banana?"
"Nanana!" Niall babbles.
"I know! Bananas are very yummy. They're Harry's favorite. Can you say your brother's name? Harry?"
"Eee!" Niall squeals
"Harry," I enunciate.
"Ah-eee," Niall says.
"Close enough," I say. I kiss Niall's cheek and tickle his chubby little baby thighs, which makes him kick and scream with happiness.
Niall is such an adorable child. I mean, he's my baby, so I have to say that, but he's genuinely a very happy and smiley baby. Everything he does is cute. Everything he and Harry do together is cute. He's only been here for a week but he fits right in. Liam and I worried that the routine we had set up for Harry would get a bit messed up with a new baby, but it hasn't. We just added Niall in and it just works. I wish all babies were like Niall. My siblings were never this easy. (I say that now, tomorrow he might learn the concept of 'no' and change all of my perceptions.) He barely fusses and he's just always happy. I had been apprehensive about adopting another baby at first, but I'm so glad we did. I love my babies.
"Bobo," Niall says, raising his stuffed giraffe to my face.
"Does Bobo want kisses too?" I ask and kiss his toy. Niall giggles and holds the giraffe to his chest.
"Are you hungry?" Liam asks me. "I can make you something."
"I think..."
There's loud crying coming from upstairs. Clearly, Harry has woken up.
"Shit..." I say under my breath. I quickly pass Niall to Liam and run up the stairs to Harry.
"Papa!!!" Harry screams when he sees me. I pull him out of bed and sit him in my lap in the chair.
"Shh... Hush, baby. Papa's here. Don't cry, baby."
"You... leaved... me..." Harry sobs. "Leaved... me... all... by... myself..."
"I'm sorry I left you alone. I had to go check on Daddy and Niall. I'm so sorry, baby," I apologize. "You need to calm down though. You're gonna make yourself cough and get sick again."
"I... sorry... Papa..." Harry sobs.
"Why are you sorry, bub?"
"I...wet..." Harry cries.
"Aww, that's not your fault, honey. You had lots of water before you went to sleep. It's okay. It's just an accident. That's why we put a nappy, remember? It's not a big deal. There's no need to be sorry. Let's get you changed."
I lay Harry down on the bed to change him. He's not really crying anymore, but he's still a bit sniffly and whiney.
"Shh... you're okay," I soothe. "Did you have a good sleep? I think your fever is all gone. That's good, right? The medicine worked. Are you hungry? Hmm?"
Harry doesn't answer, so I just finish changing him. He reaches up to be held, so I hold him. He rests his head on my shoulder as he holds onto his bear. I walk around the room a bit just rocking him. He's still sniffly, though I'm not sure how much of that is from crying or just being sick.
"Papa..." Harry mumbles. "Want dummy... Please?"
I sigh. "Baby, you know you don't need that. You're a big boy."
"I just... want it..." Harry has tears falling down his face again. "Please, Papa. Want dummy..."
I hate seeing him cry. He's had a bad morning and he doesn't feel good. God, Liam is gonna be so mad at me. I should've just thrown it away after he used it that one time, but I'm a sentimental sap and decided to keep it. I go to Harry's closet and find the little plastic container I had put it in.
"Here," I say popping the dummy into Harry's mouth. Harry immediately starts sucking on it. "No more tears, okay? And when you're all better it's going in the bin. You're a big boy and you don't need a dummy. You only get it now because you're feeling sick. Now what do we say?"
"Tank-oo (thank you) Papa," Harry says around his dummy.
"Let's go see Daddy."
We go downstairs and Liam is in the kitchen waiting for us.
"Where's Niall?" I ask because Niall isn't in here.
"Playpen," Liam answers. "The TV is on, he has toys, he's fine. It's almost time for his morning nap anyway. He'll probably fall asleep. I wanted to come see Harry." Harry picks his head up off of my shoulder and looks at his Daddy. "Why does he have that?" Liam asks, clearly referring to the dummy that Harry is suckling on. He's clearly not amused. He wanted me to get rid of it.
"If you would've seen his sad pitiful little face when he asked for it, you would've given it to him too. I already told him he only gets it because he's sick and it's going in the bin when he's all better." Liam has an annoyed look on his face. "Don't give me that look."
"I thought you got rid of it after the first time. I told you to."
"Yeah, well... I'm not that great at listening. And come on. How could you deny this beautiful little face when he's sad and sickly?" I swear Harry makes his eyes really big and pulls the cutest little pout as he looks at his Daddy. And Liam is such sap. He was never going to win this one.
"Fine..." Liam relents. He kisses Harry's head and ruffles his hair. "You can keep it for now, but it's going away when you're all better. Got it?" Harry nods. "Good. Are you hungry? I can made porridge. Or you can have a banana. Or both. What would you like?" Harry holds up 2 fingers. "Both?" Harry nods. "Do you want the banana in the porridge? With honey?" Harry nods. "Okay, I'll do that. Go sit with Papa."
We sit at the table, Harry in my lap because he refuses to leave me. Harry eats his food. He eats slowly, but at least he eats. Liam makes me a bagel with cream cheese, which I'm thankful for because I hadn't eaten yet. He sits with us for a little while before he goes to check on Niall.
"You okay?" I ask. "When you finish we can go watch a movie. You can go lay in bed and I'll put on a movie for you."
"Papa stay?" Harry asks.
"I'll stay. I promise. What would you like to watch?" I ask.
"Puppies. The pretty one," Harry suggests.
"Lady and the Tramp?" I ask. Harry nods. I guess Lady is quite pretty.
"I done, Papa," Harry says. I'm surprised he ate it all. He must've been really hungry.
"Good boy." His face is a little messy so I clean it face with a wet paper towel. Harry promptly places the dummy back in his mouth when I'm done cleaning him. "Liam," I call into the living room. He's on the sofa watching Niall sleep in his playpen. "I'm taking him upstairs. Call if you need me."
Harry and I go upstairs, hopefully to nap. I feel exhausted already. It's been quite an eventful morning. I put on the movie and sit with Harry in the big chair. Eventually we both fall asleep.
***********************
I wake up a couple hours later. Harry is still sleeping, though he is precariously placed right on top of my bladder, which is not great considering I haven't gone since this morning. I shift him over a little and the pressure subsides. I check my phone and Liam has left me a message.
I hope you enjoyed your nap. I went out to the shops with Ni. We'll be back later. Call if you need anything. Love you xx
Well that's just great. Maybe I can slip off to the bathroom while Harry is still sleeping. He definitely won't let me leave him if he's awake. I try to shift Harry around so I can get up, but that just wakes him up.
"Papa..." Harry whines around his dummy.
"Hello, precious. Did you have a good nap?" Damn it. I'll just have to hold it until Liam comes home.
"Mhmm..." Harry nods. "Potty, Papa."
"Okay, come on."
Harry does his business and we go downstairs.
*******************
It's been 3 hours and Liam still isn't home. Harry is fine. He's been playing a little bit and hasn't been coughing as much. I've tried leaving him a couple times so now he insists on sitting on my lap. I feel terrible. I'm practically bursting. Liam says he's not gonna be home for at least another hour. I can't hold it that long. I'm dying. I swear I'm dying.
Liam laughed at me and said just to take him in the bathroom with me. I can't do that! Have you ever had your 3 year old staring at you while you're having a wee? That's just weird! I know lots of parents do it, but I just find it really weird.
"Papa, potty," Harry says getting up off my lap. Of course. Of course he has to go. He's teasing me, I swear. This is like the 3rd time he's gone since he woke up from his nap.
"Okay," but then a plan hatches in my brain. "How about we go upstairs to potty. A change of atmosphere."
"Okay, Papa," he mumbles.
See, our downstairs level has a very open concept. The only separate room is the bathroom. But upstairs has all kinds of rooms. So after Harry does his business, I pretend to go to his room to play and actually close the door after I set him inside, run to the bathroom, and lock the door. I'm a terrible parent. I tried being nice, I really did. I asked him if he would mind staying in his room for a bit so I could use the bathroom and he adamantly refused. He whined and started to tear up. He said he needed Papa, which makes me feel even worse because I left him in his room anyway. Just set him in, closed the door and ran. He knows how to open doors, so it's not long before Harry is in the hallway screaming "PAPA!!! PAPA!!" and crying his little heart out. I feel so bad, but man I thought I was going to wet myself. I try to go as quickly as I can.
"I'm right here, baby," I call through the bathroom door. "Calm down. I'll be out in a minute."
Harry hears me and starts banging on the bathroom door and screaming for me. Sick clinginess at its finest. He's never letting go of me now.
I finish washing my hand and when I open the door Harry is there all red-faced, crying, and screaming. The dummy is nowhere in sight. It must've come out while he was screaming. I'll probably have to go find that later. I scoop him up and he wraps his arms around my neck. "Papa, Papa, Papa..." he whines.
"I know, baby. I'm right here. Papa's sorry. Shhh... Calm down. You're okay."
"Leaved me, Papa," Harry pouts.
"I'm sorry. I won't do it again. I'm right here. We're feeling very clingy today aren't we?" Harry nods and rests his head on my shoulder. "Okay, well let's go downstairs and we'll wait for Daddy to come home."
***************************
"Babe! We're home!" Liam calls from the front door about 45 minutes later.
"SHH!!! You'll wake Harry," I whisper as he comes in with Niall. Harry is currently sleeping with his head in my lap and holding my hand.
"Oh... I thought you had to... uh..." Liam starts.
"Already went," I answer.
"He let you?"
"No, of course not. I put him in his room and ran," I admit.
"You... you what?" he asks.
"Long story. He cried. We cuddled. Now he's asleep. He's fine."
"Poor baby. Papa making him cry," Liam teases me, kissing Harry's forehead.
"Don't make me feel bad. You weren't home. And what did you two get up to all day?" I ask. "You said you were going to the shops, but you don't have much to show for it."
"In the car. I need to bring stuff in. Will you hold Niall?" He sets Niall on my lap without waiting for me to answer and leaves to go bring stuff in.
"Hello, my baby. Papa's missed you. Did you know that?"
"Papa!" Niall babbles.
"That's right! Papa! You're so smart." I kiss Niall's adorable little face causing him to squeal. "Shh..." I say. "You'll wake up your brother. Can you say brother?"
"Buh!" he babbles.
"Bro-ther," I repeat.
"Buh-duh!"
"I'll take it. Wonderful job. My smart boy." I kiss his forehead. "Now, can you tell me about your day with Daddy?"
"Dada!"
"Yes, Dada. What did you two do today? Did you have fun? Did he buy you lots of things? I'm sure he did. Daddy loves to spoil you, doesn't he."
Niall babbles incoherently for a while. I have no clue what he's trying to say, but I encourage him anyway. It's good to encourage babies to talk. It helps them learn faster and be able to communicate better.
"I only spoiled him a little bit, I swear," Liam says and laughs. He comes in, kisses me, then sits on the sofa by Harry's feet. He rubs Harry's back a little bit. "How is he?"
"I think he's okay now. Extremely clingy all day, but that was to be expected. His cough is barely noticeable. His fever is gone so if it doesn't come back, I think it's okay to send him to school tomorrow. Give him some cold and cough medicine and send him off," I say.
"I don't know. Might need to keep him another day just to be safe. We'll see in the morning I guess," Liam replies. "Hey what happened to his dummy?"
"I don't know," I answer. "I put him in his room and he had it and when I came out of the bathroom it was gone. It's probably on the floor in his room."
"Probably need to wash that, considering he's been sick and all."
"I thought we were throwing it away?" I ask pointedly.
"Well... it is an effective method of calming him down... And it's not like he uses it all the time... and..."
"Liam Payne, are you suggesting we let him keep it? Something I was scolded for this morning? I am shocked!" I joke.
"That's Liam Payne-Tomlinson to you," Liam retorts. "And I see no problem in keeping it safely tucked away for emergency situations, should they ever arise."
"What an amazing twist of events."
"Oh shut up," Liam says but there's no bite to it. He just laughs. "Hey, what would you like for dinner?" he asks.
"I don't know. I've been too busy to think about food."
Harry starts to stir and rub his eyes.
"Hi, sweetheart. Did you have a good rest?" Liam asks Harry.
"Daddy!" Harry cheers and crawls into Liam's lap for a cuddle. "Missed you, Daddy."
"Aww. I missed you too, bub. I heard you had a little bit of a rough day. It's not fun being sick, huh," Liam sympathizes.
"No. Not fun. But Papa take care of me."
"You have a good Papa," I say, looking at Louis. "He loves you very much. Did you know that?"
"Mhmm. I know. Love Papa very much. Love Daddy, too," Harry says.
"I love you too, sweetheart. What do you think we should do for dinner? What do you feel like having?" Liam asks.
"Pizza?" Harry suggests.
Liam laughs. Pizza isn't exactly a food you feed someone who's been sick all day. "I guess so. You seem to be feeling better."
"Much better," Harry affirms.
********************
We order pizza and have dinner. Harry never leaves Liam's lap. He refuses to go to sleep at bedtime and insists on sleeping with me and Liam. He also insists on having his dummy, which he have to find and clean before bedtime. It's going away in the morning, I swear. Harry is currently fast asleep between me and Liam. Niall is in his room. We can hear his soft breaths through the baby monitor. Liam is running his hands through Harry's hair.
"He's a handful," Liam comments.
"You're telling me? I was the one who dealt with him all day while you were off gallivanting with Niall." Liam gives me a questioning look. "I'm kidding. I'd do it again, too. I love this little boy so much." I kiss Harry's curls and shuffle down in bed. "Goodnight, my love," I say to Liam.
"Goodnight, darling," he responds.
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*Author's Note*
Well that was a long one!! I really don't know what happened. It just kind of exploded. I contemplated splitting it into 2 parts and then just didn't do it. Sorry :)
This was requested by larrybeiberdreams. I hope you like it :)
I hope you all enjoyed this! Feel free to leave me comments :)