"Lou?"
There was no respond, in which Liam reaches over and gently pats Louis' warm shoulder. The room is dark and it's night time and the covers were strewn off Louis' top half, a tangled mess around his legs. He's topless, dressed in nothing but a pair of black boxers and his back is facing Liam's when a small groan escapes his lips.
"Are you awake?"
"No." Louis replies back, with a hint of cheekiness.
Liam only scoffs, pulling his hand away from Louis' shoulder and he lays his head back on his pillows. That's when he feels the bed dip and Louis manoeuvring next and next thing he knows, he's tucked himself into his side, peering up at him with sleepy blue eyes.
"What's troubling that pretty little mind of yours?" Louis teases, poking playfully at Liam's temple.
"I'm worried about Niall." He admits, causing Louis to frown.
"How so?"
"Louis, come on," Liam sighs, getting a little impatient, "He's what, five months pregnant? He's so far along and Faye can't do anything; she can't see the foetus. He's married to a vampire and above all that his mind is probably messed up with this wolf thing."
"Maybe I should've given you New Moon to read instead." Louis says thoughtfully.
"Louis." Liam warns, causing Louis to turn to him again.
"Look," He begins, "If something was wrong with Niall I'd tell you. Besides, Niall is in the best place he could be right now." He assures him and Liam frowns.
"He is?"
"Yeah," Louis replies quietly, "He's got Harry by his side supporting him all the way. The Dalca are looking after him and Faye is doing everything she can. She knows what she's doing. And the wolf thing – the wolf thing is just a bump on the road, they're nothing to worry about. They're not going to hurt anyone."
Liam's face was still scrunched up with concern.
"Speaking of The Dalca...isn't it weird that your ex is always around a lot?" He mumbles, a deep red blush creeping up the side of his neck as he avoids eye contact with Louis, who's giving him a blank look in return.
"She's helping take care of Niall, Liam." He says bleakly.
"It's still weird though, innit?" Liam sighs, patting Louis' arm as he looks up.
"Well, it's not as if we have feelings for each other any more, Liam I mean, we're grown ass adults. I learned my lesson from her a long time ago, I know what she's like." Louis mumbles, starting to feel a little bit agitated.
Liam bites his lower lip, thinking hard.
"Well, to be fair, you have been avoiding her and I mean – purely avoiding her to the point that you're walking the other direction when you see her approach you." He teases, trying to lighten to mood.
But instead, he did the opposite. He made Louis even more angry. Instead of dropping it, Louis shuffled on the bed so that he was straddling Liam's hips, his hands on either side of Liam's head.
"You know, the exact same thing happened with Harry and Niall, right? Niall was jealous of Tess being here all the time and do you know what Harry done?" Louis asked.
"What?" Liam frowns.
"He knocked him up." Louis answers simply, causing Liam's face to blush; even in the dark Louis could see his cheeks turn a deep shade of red and he couldn't help but feel a little triumphant that he had made his boyfriend uncomfortable.
"Yeah, I don't think that's going to happen with us, Lou." Liam points out, bopping his nose playfully.
Louis opens his mouth to speak again but he stops suddenly when he hears the sound of clattering coming from downstairs in the kitchen. He pauses for a moment and hears it again and then he turns his attention back to Liam.
"Did you hear that?" He frowns.
"Don't ask me," Liam scoffs, "You're the one with the brilliant hearing."
Louis rolls his eyes.
"Stay here." He sighs, removing himself from the bed and padding bear foot down to the kitchen.
He's as silent as a mouse as he approaches the kitchen, his eyes dark and his fangs bared, ready to attack the intruder. The only light in the kitchen to be seen was from the inside of the fridge and when the floor boards creek accidentally, the fridge door is swung wide and Niall is standing before him, holding a jar of Nutella in his hands.
"Jesus Christ!" Niall exclaims, holding onto the door of the fridge.
Louis lets out a massive breath, exhaling deeply as he drops his hand and stares at Niall in disbelief, just as his spoon drops to the floor.
"What the fuck, Niall?" Louis asks exasperatingly, massaging his forehead.
"I'm sorry, Louis but I got hungry and wanted some food also it got pretty hot in the bed and I needed some air." Niall confesses, causing Louis to raise his eyebrows.
"And the fridge was the best way to go?" Louis teases, automatically.
Niall ignores him, rolling his eyes as he bends down to pick up the spoon he dropped but he struggles a little. He groans and strains, whimpering a little but Louis sighs and bends down for him, picking up the spoon and handing it to him. Niall quietly thanks him and walks over to the sink to wash it. Louis follows him and notices the half eaten packet of salt and vinegar crisps on the counter next to them.
"You know Harry is such a light sleeper, he's gonna notice you're not there." Louis mumbles thoughtfully, resting himself against the counter.
"Which is exactly why I'm taking a midnight snack up with me." Niall replies cheekily, popping a spoonful of Nutella in his mouth.
He's about to head up the stairs with his little snack when he catches Louis heading towards the sink, pouring a glass of water. He stands back for a moment, watching him curiously.
"Thirsty?" Niall wonders and Louis turns back to him.
"No, it's for Liam." Louis replies casually.
Niall blinks once, twice three times and his face lights up a little and he can't help but feel a little surprised whereas Louis is frowning in confusion.
"Something wrong?" He asks.
"No, I – I'm just really happy for you." He replies, delightfully and honestly before heading back up the stairs.
Louis pauses for a second, staring in bewilderment after his friend before he takes the glass upstairs to his room, where Liam was waiting patiently for his return and he thanked him for his glass of water.
"Everything okay?" He asks, just as Louis slides into bed next to him.
"Everything's fine, just Niall getting a midnight snack. Boy couldn't even pick up a spoon, he's getting that big." Louis grunts back, switching off the light.
Liam chuckles, shaking his head in disbelief.
"And now you see why I'm worried about him." Liam points proudly.
"Just go to sleep, pretty boy." Louis mumbles sleepily, pressing a kiss to Liam's cheek before turning his back to Liam and falling quickly to sleep.
The next morning when Louis woke up, Liam was still sleeping soundly next to him. So he puts on a pair of sweats and pads bear foot down the stairs, only to find Harry and Niall talking quietly between themselves in the living room.
They sat side by side, a few giggles erupting from Niall's mouth while the palm of Harry's hand was pressed firmly against his lower abdomen, Niall's belly bulging over the waistband of his sweats while he perched his bear feet up on the edge of the coffee table. Harry's eyes meet Louis' and Niall follows his gaze and when he does, his face lights up and he grins at his friend. Louis had never really figured out the way Harry and Niall as a couple. Sure, they argued like every other normal couple would but at the same time, the honeymoon phased never seemed to end for them – which was ironic, considering their real, actually honeymoon ended weeks ago. Still, Harry and Niall moved like magnets together, in some of kind of unknown sync and sometimes it was endearing to watch but at the same time, it felt like invasion of a private moment.
"Hey! Good morning." Niall beams as their friend approaches them.
"Good morning," Louis answers, although his tone didn't exactly match Niall's.
"What are you doing up so early?" Louis asks curiously.
"Well, Harry felt the baby start to kick so we just decided to – ow." Niall groans loudly, his hand pressed to his stomach as he grits his teeth together.
"Niall." Harry frowns, placing a hand on his husbands shoulder.
"Everything okay?" Louis asks, taking a few steps forward.
"Either that was a contraction or I've got another broken rib." He mumbles, pressing his lips into a thin line as he muffles another groan.
Harry's eyes widen in horror and he glances at Louis before grabbing his phone on the coffee table to make a call to Faye while Louis takes his place by Niall's side.
"A contraction? Can you tell?" Louis presses but Niall shakes his head.
"No, it's just really fucking uncomfortable and they're every couple of minutes." He answers, letting out quick, shuddering breaths of pain.
Harry ends the call just as he finishes explaining to Faye the problems and he heads back to Niall.
"Maybe we should take you upstairs." Harry suggests and Niall nods in agreement, letting Harry take him slowly up the steps.
About an hour or so later, Niall is lying in the hospital bed in their guest room with his t-shirt hiked while Faye performed an ultrasound. Harry was waiting patiently by his side, watching the screen turn a fuzzy grey and black but no clear image of a foetus had appeared, yet they could still hear a heart beat.
"Well," Faye sighs, after sticking the knob back with the machine, "Would you like the good news or the bad news?"
Harry and Niall exchange glances.
"Good news." Niall finally decides.
"Well, the good news is that the foetus is now strong enough that I can reduce the daily dosage of your oestrogen levels. The strength of the foetus is what caused the braxon hicks," she confirms, in which Harry and Niall beam with delight.
"Great, a less crankier Niall I have to suffer with." Harry grins teasingly and Niall shoved his shoulder playfully.
"The bad news," Faye continues, "Is that I'm going to have you on bed rest for the next week, just as a safety precaution. There's still a lot of things that can go wrong now you're entering your third semester and I don't want you overdoing yourself."
Niall opens his mouth to protest but then closes it again, realizing that Faye may have a point.
"That's good news for Niall, he's good at lying in bed doing nothing all day." Harry jokes again, earning another punch to his shoulder for the second time.
"Is it okay for me to pee? This baby thinks I'm a punch bag." Niall groans, pushing his t-shirt over his belly.
Faye giggles and nods and Niall leaves the room, leaving her and Harry alone. Harry thanks Faye and he's about to leave the room too when Faye stops him, placing a hand on his arm.
"Actually, I was kind of hoping I could talk to you alone." Faye confesses hesitantly.
"What is it?" Harry frowns, sitting back on the chair.
"With Niall so far along at this stage in the pregnancy, there's a few things we need to take into account," She starts and she pauses, gazing at Harry who nods encouragingly at her. She wets her lips and sighs before continuing, "Harry, I know this isn't easy thing to discuss. But so much things are risk here and maybe even thinking about changing Niall into a vampire would be a way out."
Feeling slightly agitated, Harry stands up and he's about to walk out the door but Faye stops him, grasping his arm again so that he sits back down.
"Harry, please," she begs, "Of course I know the deal with you two. I know that the reason you're in the state you are is because Niall wouldn't accept being a vampire in the first place and he had his memory erased because of that. But things are different now. There's much more at stake. We both know that the foetus isn't compatible with Niall's body. There's only a fifty percent chance of Niall making it through. Are you wanting to risk those odds because of what Niall said?"
Harry looks thoughtfully at Faye for a moment and then answers calmly, "It's not just what Niall's wants, it's what I want for Niall too. I hate being a vampire. Trust me, if I had the chance to go back to being human then I'd take it. Sure, there's a few perks of being a vampire but I've suffered the worst. Most of the time, I can't handle the thirst of blood, for one thing and the fact that everything else, all your senses are heightened is another. I don't want Niall to go through what I did, I'm afraid it'll be too much for him."
Harry had never actually said this to anyone before. He had kept it bottled up, locked at the back of his mind. The question of Niall being a vampire had been thrown about in the past but whenever it was brought up by Niall or someone else, they brushed it off like it was nothing. It was a touchy subject. But there was something so approachable and calming about talking to Faye and opening up, Harry couldn't help himself.
"Have you ever thought that maybe it's not what Niall wants but more what he needs?" She tries.
Harry's hopeful eyes had turned sad and grim as he realises he wasn't getting anywhere with Faye, it was a lost cause. He stands up and wets his lips, smoothing his shirt a little.
"I'll think about it." He mumbles quietly, offering Faye a weak smile before heading out the room and closing the door behind him.
When he's out, Louis is walking down the corridor and approaching him. He's about to open his mouth to protest when they both hear vomiting coming from Harry and Niall's bathroom and their heads snap up to the sound. Immediately, they're running down the corridor and into the bedroom and Harry's about to open the bathroom door but it's locked, leaving him frustrated.
"Niall, are you okay?" He calls.
"I'm fine, it's just morning sickness." Niall replies dismissively, followed by the sound of more vomiting.
"Yeah, that's not for me." Louis smiles apologetically, holding his hands up and disappearing out the room.
Harry ignores him and turns his attention back to Niall.
"Niall, open the door." He says impatiently, banging his hand against the door.
There's the sound of the flushing of a toilet and footsteps padding along the bathroom tiles and Niall's opened the door; looking pale and drawn and just down right tired. Harry stands hesitantly in the doorway while Niall saunters over to the sink to rinse his mouth.
Eventually, when he's done, he puts down the toilet seat to sit on it and Harry walks over to him. He bends down so that he's on his knees and he's eye level with his husband. He takes Niall's hands in his and kisses them softly and Niall smiles weakly at him.
"Morning sickness," Niall grunts again, "Faye says it's normal to come back. Although, to be honest, it feels like it's never actually left." He grunts, earning a feeble smile from Harry.
"You're gonna be okay." Harry says, although he's really convincing himself more than he is with Niall.
"I know." Niall grins, completely oblivious to Harry's concerns. He's probably to happy notice, giving the news he'd received from Faye.
Harry pushes himself up and fits himself in between Niall's legs and, still kneeling, he wraps his arms around Niall's shoulders to pull him close. Niall sniffles a little at the intimate gesture but hugs him back all the same and they stay like that for a while, in each other's comfort.
- - -
A few days later, Luca had called for a meeting. As promised, this was going to regular updates on the wolf situation to keep Niall in the loop. Even though Faye had ordered Niall to bed rest, she had made an exception for them. This kind of put Niall's mind to ease and it was also a distraction for Harry after the talk he had with Faye. Everyone in The Dalca were attending – Luca, Carmen, Demetria, Thomas and Darius.
Darius was the only vampire that Niall wasn't sure about; as he was the only one who hadn't been around humans that long. But, as they sat in the study room, all of them sitting around a large table, Niall couldn't help but feel a little at relaxed. He couldn't exactly say the same for Harry though as he had somehow managed to sit next to him and surprisingly, he could feel Harry's hand entwine through his in a comforting manner.
"Okay," Luca starts, clearing his throat, "I'm gonna talk to you about the wolves. It is confirmed that there's five of them. Twin brother and sister; Kai and Katy. The youngest is Hannah, she just turned eighteen. Nathan and Tori are the other two. Darius and Demi have been following them." He explains.
"Still outnumbered if they ever wanna fight." Darius grunts.
"There's not gonna be a fight." Luca snaps, glaring at Darius who shrugs his shoulders in reply. It looked like it wasn't the first time they had discussed the topic.
"Kai was the one that attacked me and Katy was the one that almost attacked Niall and I." Harry frowns, looking expectantly at Luca.
"We know. Kai and Katy are the ones following you but they're not going to be a problem now. We made sure of that." Luca nods.
"So Harry can hunt in the woods when ever he wants?" Niall tries.
Luca and Carmen exchange glances.
"Sure, but one of us will probably be there just in case." He replies.
"Where are the rest of them?" Harry asks curiously.
"Probably still in Arizona. Darius and Demi chased them all the way, they're probably not gonna come back." Carmen confirmed.
There's a comforting silence following the discussion in which Niall and Harry exchange glances.
"Any other questions?" Luca presses.
Niall and Harry both shake their heads.
"Meeting adjourned." He sighs and the chairs scrape against the floorboards as they've been pushed back and they all pile out of the study room.
Niall is walking along the corridor with Harry, hand in hand when he hears Darius calling him.
"Niall!" Their heads snap around and they see him making his way towards them, "Look, I just want to say, I know that you and I haven't exactly seen eye to eye. It's just – the whole blood thing and thought of human blood -"
"It's fine, Darius, it's okay." Niall says hurriedly, smiling fondly at him.
Darius blinks at him.
"Really?" he asks uncertainly.
"Yeah, it's fine. We're good." Niall reasons and they both shake hands and Darius walks off, leaving Niall and Harry staring after him.
"That's the most he's spoken to me, like, ever." Niall breathes, earning a quiet chuckle from Harry.
"I know," he agrees, feeling slightly amused at Niall's bewilderment and they continue to walk on, hand in hand, down the stairs.
__________
So, I'm not entirely sure of this chapter. It's quite anti climatic and more of a filler than anything so I do apologize for that. But I wanted you all to get more of an insight of The Dalca, how Harry is feeling and a little bit more of LILO. Hope I covered that :) Please let me know what you think! Feedback would be much appreciated, thank you.
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