Zayn's POV
After my morning run was finished and I got back to my house, I saw certain people uploading their site cases and questioned if I even wanted to go in. I stood off to the side for a minute just watching Niall's dad getting his bags from the taxi he and Maura must have taken to get here. I knew they would be here, but I didn't really know when. Niall just told me they were coming and I went with that because he's been on edge about everything lately.
Hormones have really gotten to him and how uncomfortable he was. He's been more horny than he was with the boys, but at this point I can't do anything to help him other than just walk out of the room and ignore his plea for me to do many things to him. He's also scared, like always. He's scared if he's really ready to have this baby and of course he's scared of what he has to go through to get it. I'm scared for him, but I know I need to be the strong one here. Plus, I know he's going to do just wonderful. He's an amazing human and I know he can do this. He's also not going to be alone. I'm not going anywhere no matter what.
"Zayn, are you hiding over there?" Maura called other to me as she looked over and saw me. I shook my head and slowly made my way over to the small Irish woman. Rocky decided he was excited so he pulled me over until I let go of his leash so he could run to find Bobby to say hi. I was smothered with hugs and kisses from Niall's mum before I got the rest of her bags out of the car to take inside. It was only seven thirty in the morning, but the boys were up and very excited to see their grandparents.
I found Niall in the kitchen slowly shuffling around the kitchen. I went behind him and pressed my hands into the sides of his belly. He sighed and turned around to show me his tired eyes. I kissed his forehead and grabbed his face gently and looked him in the eyes.
"The baby was kicking me all night. I didn't get any sleep." He told me, looking close to tears. I kissed his lips a few times and looked down at his belly.
"Let your daddy get some sleep, sweetheart." I said. Niall giggled and pressed his hands over mine.
"I'll help your parents get settled in and I'll make breakfast. Your mum will probably take over, but I'll try. Just go get a few hours of sleep. You need to get be rested." I told him. Niall didn't even put up a fight and left to go upstairs slowly. I made sure he got up the stairs okay, Bobby ended up helping him.
I found myself making sure the boys were eating their cereal and feeding the dog too. Maura said they had already eaten before they got here, so she just sat talking to the boys about school. Ezra would blush anytime Ethan mentioned Alex. Over the past months, Alex has been spending more time than usual here which ment Ethan felt the need to automatically be right between his older brother and Alex. Ethan thinks that Alex is his new best friend, while Ezra thinks his brother is in the way of spending time with his crush. It's funny to watch, but Niall doesn't want to get involved with this because it's helping the two older boys to keep their lips and hands to themselves.
"Baba, Peter, Nathan and Alex wanted to go to the skate park today. Can I go?" Ezra asked me. I nodded, but the look in his eyes was to make sure he was only going and not Ethan too. I knew I should have said no and they both should spend time with their grandparents, but I knew that soon all our focus would be on the baby and they might feel a little neglected. I looked at Maura and she jumped right in when I needed her.
"Ethan, how would you like to help me make some of those cupcakes you always like? I want to give a few to your uncles too." She offered. Ethan nodded excitedly and finished eating his breakfast. Ezra got Ethan's bowl and put both their dishes in the sink. They left to go get ready for their day while I slid down in my chair and let out a long breath.
"Are you doing okay, love?" Maura asked me. I nodded and leaned forward to play with my hands on the table. She reached over and pat my forearm.
"You know, it's normal for both parents to be stressed towards the end of the pregnancy. I know with Ezra you were stressed for different reasons, but for Ethan you both had nothing to worry about. I think you both will be ready to take this on." Maura told me. I nodded and got her hand in mine.
"Do you want to go see the nursery? I finished it yesterday." I asked her. She agreed immediately. We made our way up to the bedroom that had been empty for years now other than just a guest bed. I moved that out into a different room so there's now two beds in that room. We still have two more empty guest rooms. Niall just said we had two more times to try for a girl and after that no other kids would fit. Of course, he ignored me when I said we could easily buy a bigger house.
I opened the door that had a chalkboard name plaque on it that had a soft yellow ribbon on it. We would right the baby's name on it once we figured it out. Inside the room I had set up the crib and the changing table. Everything was a soft yellow color because we didn't know if it was a boy or a girl. With the boys, we just added some green and blue stuff to the room after to make it look more boy like. I know that secretly I'm ready to go buy a bunch of soft pink and purple things for this room if it's a girl.
"You always do an amazing job with these nurseries. It's lovely, Zayn." Maura told me softly, making her way into the room to look at rhetoric white baby crib and other white furniture. She looked at the small paintings I did all over the walls and smiled at me.
"You're full of surprises, aren't you? I feel like you're the type of man that can do anything if he tried." She said, commenting on how good the art turned out. Her comment actually made my heart ache for other reasons that I hadn't really faced.
"My grandmother was always telling me that when I was growing up. Of course she said it in Arabic, but she always told me that no matter what I tried I'd find a way of making it enjoyable for myself." I said, then looked down at my hands that still had some white paint on them from painting the clouds and bunnies on the walls.
"She raised you, didn't she?" Maura asked, just trying to confirm what she believed she knew. I nodded and leaned against the baby crib. Her blue eyes were looking at me like she didn't want to press any further into this than she was already. Honestly, I wanted to talk about it. Since she was murdered I've been pushing feelings down about her. She was a big influence on my life no matter how young I was when I lost her. My grandfather was too, but he kept to himself because he felt guilty anytime he looked at me because he didn't raise his son right. He didn't see me as a second chance like my grandmother did.
"She would have been too old to meet the boys and Niall, but I still wish she could have died from old age." I said quietly. Maura came over to me and placed her hand on my forearm. I started feeling my walls falling and my eyes burning, so I cleared my throat at mentally told myself to toughen up.
"Bobby and Mark have really taken over the father figure in your life and teach you different things that I find stereotypical. I know that you haven't really had a mother figure in your life, but I want you to know that you have me. You may think I don't understand you or even care to just because I keep to myself more than my husband does, but I really care about you. I'm always proud to see how great of a father and husband you are. Not only that, but you're an amazing boxer. I'm just overall so proud that you're part of our family. If you ever need to talk to someone that will let you be gentle or someone that you just need to know is there, just call me. Hell, I'll even fly out here if that's what you need. I know only small things about your past because you don't link talking about it, but I know you deserve a break from all that. Even now that you have more than you could ever need, that doesn't mean that everything is easy and great. I love you, Zayn, and I'll always be there for you too. Don't forget that." Maura told me. I pulled her small body into my arms and hugged her tightly. She pat my back and placed a soft kiss on my cheek.
"I'm so nervous for the baby. I know we've done it twice before, but I just feel so nervous." I whispered to her. She pulled back at gave me a small laugh.
"You could do it a hundred times and still be nervous. You're bringing a new human into this world. If that's not scary I don't know what is." We both chuckled at that before just looking around the nursery. A tiny part of why I was so nervous was because this baby would bearly even be a month old before I was throwing myself in a ring with someone who had nearly killed my best friend. After this fight, I know everything will change for me forever. Win or lose, I'll never step foot in another ring again. I'll be different than who Ezra and Ethan have grown up with. I'm just scared that this baby won't like me as much because I won't be doing anything to show it I'm strong or brave. I'll just be a retired boxer. I can only hope that's good enough for it to still love me.
Maura and I left the nursery so she could start making cupcakes with Ethan and I could make sure Ezra had all his protective gear before going to the skate park. I waited with him until Alex's parents drove up to pick up Ezra to take him. All the boys friend's parents knew that they couldn't just tell them to walk to the skate park because of paparazzi. It was nice that they understood they needed to kind of protect my kids from the spot light, but it took away the independence I wanted these kids to have.
The rest of the day was spent with me at the gym working out even harder than yesterday. Mark trains me harder everyday. I get more weight added on my strength machines and lifting. I go thirty minutes longer when doing punching bags. No matter what is added, it makes it harder everyday so I can get stronger. But really strengthens me is the thought of wanting to show my kids on last good fight for then to be proud of me. I also wanted Niall to know it wasn't a mistake letting me get back in the ring with Liam Payne.
A/N: I'm so excited! Thing are going to start ending and I'm just so!!! Haha what did you eat for dinner?!?!?!? Comment/Vote!
-Bri ;)