Liam
He was pretty much fucked.
Well, they were pretty much fucked. That was the considered opinion.
The journalist who'd found Chloe wasn't working for Liam's management team, having been hired by the venue to write a piece about the history of the venue, and it didn't take a genius to figure out what the subject of her next article would be.
She returned Chloe, letting the intern who'd lost her actually be the one to take her, but she was obviously intelligent and put two and two together the second she saw Liam, the look of relief plastered across his features as much of a giveaway as Chloe's delighted cry of 'Papa'. The two, combined with the obvious resemblance, didn't make it hard to get to four, and, whilst Liam's manager had gone into crisis mode, pulling the journalist off to the side for a 'chat', it was clear that there was bound to be repercussions.
To make matters worse, Chloe was understandably oblivious to who the woman who'd found her was and insisted on thanking her, hugging her and looking up at her with a look Chloe usually reserved for Jessica, shrugging a little as the woman said, "No, thank you, Chlo. It was lovely meeting you, and I hope you and your dad enjoy the rest of your holiday with your papa."
Waiting until the journalist had been escorted out to an office for what would be an ultimately futile attempt by Liam's team to persuade her to drop the story, Liam pulled Chloe into a hug, dropping down so he was her height, reassuring himself that she was actually okay, and not still lost, hid under a desk in a lounge she shouldn't have been able to get into. He didn't let her go until she began to protest vociferously, fidgeting and wriggling away.
Chloe did at least have the sense to apologise for the trouble she'd inadvertently caused, aware enough to know that the adults around her were all pretty frustrated with her, though it helped her case that she then burst into tears, rushing back to Liam's arms and clinging to him, stammering as she said, "I- I'm sorry, Papa. I didn't mean to get lost. We- We were playing and I hid and she didn't find me and I didn't know where I was. I- I don't want to get in trouble, I'm sorry."
That caused Liam to melt then, momentarily forgetting any emotion other than relief that he might've felt, pressing a kiss to Chloe's forehead and shushing her, ignoring the further eye rolls coming from some of the people who'd been roped into the search for the seven-year-old and picking Chloe up as she continued to cling to him. "You're not in trouble, poppet. You didn't mean to get lost, we know that. I think, Chlo, it's probably best if you I take you back to your dad, though."
Sniffling still, Chloe nodded, figuring that she was on thin enough ice as it was with the people who'd otherwise be tasked with watching her, easily complying as Liam began to make arrangements for the two of them to travel back to the hotel and steered her back towards the exit.
Liam made sure that he kept a hold of her hand even after he'd set her down, brushing off reminders that he was needed for soundcheck and therefore didn't have time to take Chloe back to the hotel with promises that he'd be quick, aware that he was further contributing to the disruption of what had once, many moons ago, been a smooth-sailing, tightly run ship, compensating for the disturbance by hurrying Chloe out of there and into a car, giving the driver a grateful smile as the car pulled out of the stadium's underground parking.
It was then, in the car, that Chloe asked, "Are you going to tell Daddy I caused trouble? 'Cause he might not be as- as nice about that as you. I didn't mean to, but he's told me not to, before."
"'Course not, Chlo. It's all forgotten about, anyway." Biting his lip, Liam thought for a moment, feeling not so proud of himself as he suggested something that he already knew he shouldn't. "Actually, Chlo, what if we don't tell Daddy anything? You're okay, no harm done, so what if we just keep this between the two of us? It might only upset him, if he knew you'd gotten lost, and I don't think he really needs to know about the...nice lady who found you."
Clearly considering what Liam had said, Chloe nodded. "If it means Daddy won't be upset, if it's better for him not to know, then I guess so. I don't like it when he's upset."
"Me neither, Chlo." Swallowing down the first of what he figured would be many waves of guilt, Liam rationalised his seriously bad idea with the optimistic idea that he'd be right, there had been no harm done. In theory, there was no way of knowing whether the journalist would do something with the information she'd gathered, for all he knew, she'd easily be persuaded to forget anything she might've learnt and telling Niall would be an unnecessary way of worrying him.
Really, there was no point in telling Niall until he was sure something would come of it.
Of course, Liam knew that was a load of shit and that there would eventually be a new storm of questions and interviews and truths heading his way, hence why he, why they, were fucked, but it was still nice to pretend.
Shooting a reassuring smile Chloe's way when he noticed her watching him, Liam reached over and ruffled her hair, grinning as she protested and squirmed away. She was still trying to fix what he'd done to her hair, Liam having pulled several strands free from the ponytail Harry had pulled it up into, when they go back to the hotel, and Chloe resorted to using the gilded button panel in the lift as a mirror, trying to tie her hair back up and only half-managing.
She stuck her tongue out at Liam when she noticed his smile, waiting for the lift to reach their floor before she disregarded Niall's rule about not running off out of lifts, whether they were at home or in hotels, shouting, "Race you back."
Forced to chase after her out of a sense of propriety and an attempt to actually be a parent rather than because he actually wanted to, Liam had barely caught up with her when they reached their suite, shaking his head at her when she smiled up at him, any attempt at seeming stern and authoritative ruined by the grin that crept across his own face. Hesitating before he let them into the room, Liam looked down at the seven-year-old, his expression rapidly becoming more serious as he asked, "Chlo, remember what we talked about?"
___________________________________
And I'm back.
Finally.
With a shorter update that actually contains plot. So yay.
And, sticking with the new thing I'm trying,
How stupid do you think Liam's been?
And, as always, I'd love to see what you guys thought of the chapter...