You were standing in Maura's living room getting ready to say goodbye to Niall. He was going on a PR Tour with the boys and would be gone for the next six weeks. You told him that you would be fine by yourself, but he insisted that you go to Mullingar to stay with his mum until he got back.
"Thank you again for letting her stay here with you, mum." Niall said as he turned to Maura.
"No problem sweetheart, she's welcome here anytime. Don't worry about her, she'll be just fine here." Maura said as she wrapped an arm around you. You smiled as you looked at your mother-in-law.
The three of you stood there talking until Niall looked up at the clock and sighed. You knew what that meant. It was time for him to go.
"I'll give you two a minute. Love you sweetie, have fun. I'll see you when you get back." Maura said as she gave Niall a hug.
She then headed into the kitchen so that you and Niall could say goodbye in private.
You put your hands on your bump and tried to fight back the tears that were threatening to fall. Niall reached out and put his hands over yours.
"I'm going to miss you so much." He said. "All three of you."
You nodded, knowing that your voice would crack if you tried to speak.
"I'll call as much as I can, okay? And we can Skype at night before bed. And it's only for six weeks. I'll be back before you know it." He said.
You smiled down at your bump as you felt the babies start moving at the sound of Niall's voice. You were going to miss feeling them get excited whenever they heard Niall talk.
"What is it?" Niall asked.
"The babies are kicking like they usually do when they hear you talk. They're saying goodbye." You said as you smiled up at him.
"Can I feel?" He asked.
"You know you don't have to ask." You said as you moved your hands so that his could take their place.
"Hey guys it's daddy. I want you to be good for mummy while I'm gone, okay? Let her get lots of sleep, and daddy will be home to sing to you before you know it." He said.
You studied his face and watched as his eyes lit up and his lips curved into a smile when he felt the babies move.
He then looked up at you and his smile slightly fell as he really studied you.
"Are you sure you're going to be okay while I'm gone?" He asked.
Again you nodded, not trusting your voice.
"Hey, look at me." He said as he reached up and tilted your chin up gently so that you were looking at him.
"I love you. It's going to be okay." He said.
"I love you too." You said quietly.
Niall wrapped his arms around you and pulled you to his chest. He held you tighter than he had in quite some time.
"I'm going to miss you so much, baby." He said as he buried his face into the crook of your shoulder.
"I'm going to miss you too. Come home soon, okay?" You said.
"I will. I'll be back as soon as I can." He said.
He sighed and let go of you when you heard a car horn outside.
He leaned down and placed a kiss on each side of your belly and then came back up to your face and gave you one final, gentle but loving kiss.
"Bye princess. I love you." He said.
"I love you too." You said as you smiled up at him.
He reached down and picked up his bag from the floor and then turned and headed towards the door. He turned back one last time and gave you a small smiled before turning the knob and leaving for the PR tour.
You had managed to keep the tears from falling for Niall's sake, knowing that it would make leaving that much harder for him. But now that he was gone there was nothing holding them back.
You took a seat on the couch and tried to calm yourself down. You didn't want Maura to hear you crying and get worried about you.
"It's okay, love. He'll be home before you know it." Maura said as she came back into the room and took a seat on the couch next to you. So much for your plan of not making her worry.
"I know, it's just harder seeing him go than it normally is." You said.
"I hope you know he fought really hard to not have to go. He told me on the phone the other night that he did everything he could to not have to go on this promotional tour. If it was up to him, he would be here with you." She said.
"I don't want to hold him back. I feel like him being married and having twins soon might hold him back from his career."
"Sweetie, he would trade his career for you and those babies. He loves being a husband and a father even more than he loves being in One Direction. I don't want you to ever think you are holding him back. He would do anything for you, and wouldn't second guess it for a minute.
You smiled as you looked over at her. Maura always knew just what to say. You were so happy that she was going to be around you for the next six weeks, because having her was kind of like having Niall there with you because he got so much of his kind heart from her.