"Oh, Harry. I'm so sorry." Patricia was saying. She was crying so hard. More than anyone else who was currently in the waiting room.
"You don't have to apologize, Ms. Malik."
"Yes. I do. If I had known."
"But you didn't know. So you can't fault yourself."
But she didn't want to hear it. "Yes I can. No matter what, I should've trusted you when you told us the truth. I should never have had the suspicion you could ever hurt Zayn. It was me who lost faith in you."
"And me." Niall said.
"And me." Marie admitted.
"Me too." Hannah added.
"And we shouldn't have made it so tough on you." Liam said as he reached around Carla and rubbed her shoulder sweetly.
"Yeah. We should've followed your instructions when you said no visitors. We unknowingly could have put his life in grave danger."
"No. It's not just you. You six aren't the only people who should feel like you did wrong. Because only two people in this waiting room other than me knew the truth about where Zayn was and that's Louis and Amos. Everyone else here was told a lie by me. You had to go by what you had. And if you caught me in a lie, then it was only right to be suspicious.
"Have you been able to clarify why they kidnapped Zayn in the first place?"
"The same thing that drives most. Money. They also stole both of Zayn's wedding rings. Not sure if they've already pawned them or tried to sell them or not but the police are searching his place as we speak. One thing I do know is that there is so much evidence there. He should be going away for a long time."
There was a collective sigh in the room. But they were more like sighs of relief. Harry completely understood. It was the same way he sighed when he realized Zayn was back in his arms again.
Just a few moments later, Niall's pregnant wife Gwen appeared with Louis's three girls and Harry's two children.
"We're back from the vending machine. Turns out we have a lot of chocolate lovers already."
Niall grabbed her hand and helped her sit down.
"And now will you take my advice and have a seat before you mess around and make things hard for yourself?" He asked her in a low tone.
"I've got this. I'm only six months along. I promise a little walking won't induce labor."
"I want to be sure."
As Harry was smiling at them, the doctor walked in the waiting room."
"I'm looking for Mr. Harry Styles."
Harry stood up. "That's me."
"Oh. I'm doctor Connor."
They shook hands.
"Nice to meet you."
"Zayn just finished talking with the police. They overwhelmed him quite a bit. So he's asking to see familiar faces. Family is permitted to see him. But only family."
"Good." He faced everyone there. "We can see Zayn now."
When Doctor Connor saw almost everyone in the room get up. He put a hand out. "Whoa. All of you can't come."
"I thought you said family was allowed."
"I did. But..."
He smiled and started to point out everyone in the room to him. "Yes. Obviously Charlie and Nema are my chilren. But that's my sister Gemma and her husband Ruben. That's my brother Louis and his three Children. Rose, Lilly and Daisy. And that's Liam, my other brother and his wife Carla. Amos makes brother number three. So apparently that makes five of us born to my mother. Marie is my mother's sister and Hannah is Marie's daughter. So my cousin. That's Zayn's mother there and Niall and his wife Gwen. Niall is Zayn's adoptive brother. But that's Niall's real mother right there. Our family is a bit complicated because it keeps growing. But this is family nonetheless. And all of us love Zayn and want him to be alright."
When he finished talking, he could see that the doctor was extremely confused. He'd been trying to keep up but it was almost impossible. So rather than have him repeat all that, he decided to take his word for it.
"Okay, Mr. Styles. I understand. But here's the thing. Normal visiting hours are eleven a.m. to eight p.m. the only reason I am allowing this now is because he is asking to see someone after all that's happened. Therefore, only one or two may see him briefly before we have him rest. Everyone else is welcome to wait here until eleven o'clock or come back at that time since that is a good ten hours from now. Oh, and no children at this time please."
"That's fine. We can cooperate with that. What room?"
"Three twenty two. Knock twice before entering."
"Yes sir."
The doctor walked away after a simple head nod and Harry looked at everyone in the room. Clearly almost everyone wanted to see Zayn. Well, at least everyone except Louis who was the only one who didn't stand up when everyone else was racing to be the first out of the waiting room. But Harry knew he had to make a wise choice.
"I hate to choose but I do think it's only appropriate that I take Patricia in there with me, since we are his husband and mother."
"We understand." Niall said. "It is very appropriate. We'll just come back at eleven. But what about Charlie and Nema? They should be sleeping in a comfy bed."
"Yes. I know. Do you think you could..."
"Keep them for a couple more days?"
"Yes."
"Absolutely. Anything you need. Just ask. And that goes for even after we leave. My phone will be on."
"Thanks, Niall."
"Of course. We'll be back around lunchtime."
He and Gwen took Maura and Harry's kids and got ready to leave. So Gemma, Ruben, Marie and Hannah decided it was time to leave too.
They quietly left and all that was left besides Harry and Patricia was Carla, Liam, Louis and Louis' children. As Louis was ushering the girls to leave, Liam came over to Harry and spoke in a low tone."
"I actually don't mind staying. You'll probably need some support too."
"No. I'm fine. You obviously have some things to tend to."
"What? What do you mean?"
Harry didn't say anything. He simply gestured Carla's way.
Liam half smiled. "How did you know?"
"Come on, Liam. Remember I secretly dated Zayn before it was made public. I know when a touch or a look is different. Plus you've been very outwardly supportive of her. Don't think I did not pick up on the way you were offended for her that day after the conference room meeting."
Now he fully smiled. "No wonder you're so damn good at your job."
Harry patted his shoulder. "And we can brag about me later. For now, take her home and get some rest. I assure you Zayn will not know about you and Carla until Carla is ready to tell him."
"Thanks."
"You're welcome." Then he faced Patricia. "Are you ready to see him?"
"As ready as I'll ever be."
They headed to the room together and knocked twice before entering. Patricia hadn't been long finished crying. But the second she saw Zayn's bruised face, she bawled again.
"Oh, darling." She kissed his forehead. "I can't believe it."
"Mum."
"You are not supposed to look like this, Zayn. This is not supposed to happen to you. Are you in pain?"
"A little."
"Oh, no."
"But I'm safe now. Thanks to the man beside you."
"I know. He told us a little bit about the rescue while we were out there. But it doesn't change what they did to you. Gosh, I... I'm so heartbroken for you."
Harry comfortingly rubbed her shoulder. "Take a deep breath, Ms. Malik. Just like he said. He's safe now. Let's just try to enjoy his company while we have it.
But she was crying so much that she had to step away from him and go to the bathroom inside the room to blow her nose.
"I guess mum is always going to be mum." Zayn said.
"Do we really expect anything different though?"
"From her? No. But you? You seem quite calm for a man who just had to save his husband from his kidnappers. You didn't miss me?"
Harry reached out for his hand with a smile. "Please. I think I missed you more than anybody out there because I was the first to know you were gone and what happened to you."
Zayn hummed, finding it sweet the way Harry rushed to his own defense. "I know. I was only trying to lighten the mood. How are the kids?"
"They're fine. But they aren't allowed to see you right now. So they went home with Niall."
"Oh. I miss them so much."
"And they missed you too. They even asked about you. Especially Nema. I'm just glad I don't have to lie to them about where you are anymore."
"Until they ask why my face looks like a raspberry."
"Eh... you fell down the stairs?"
"Down the stairs where?"
"I don't know. Sometime during the business trip you went on. Remember, I wasn't with you. So how would I know?"
Zayn chuckled. "Another business trip lie? What are you going to do when they're old enough to know better than to belive you?"
"Well hopefully you won't be away from me abnormally long periods of time so I don't have to."
"Yeah. I'll trust that I won't."
Patricia finally came out of the bathroom with tissue clutched in her hand. She wasn't crying as hard anymore but they could tell she was still feeling a ton of emotions.
"I'm sorry, Zayn. I know I must be stressing you out. I'm just so angry, you know."
"I know."
"And to think they're treating that criminal in the same hospital as you tempts me to find him and give him a peace of my mind."
"You won't though."
She waved a hand at him. "Oh. I know. I won't."
"And you don't need to. There's enough evidence to convict him for sure. The police officer that's standing outside his door is waiting to arrest him as soon as he is released. He has nowhere to run or hide."
"Good. It's what he deserves for what he did to my son."
Zayn and Harry gave each other the same look just before Harry kissed his hand.
"The doctor only gave us a couple minutes to see you because you need to rest, Zayn."
"What? But I've just seen you."
"I know."
Zayn gripped Harry's hand. "But I'm scared. I don't want to be alone."
"You won't be alone. Patricia and I will be waiting right out there. I promise."
"Harry."
"I promise. After nearly losing you, I'm not going anywhere. I'll be right out there while you rest. Okay?"
Zayn still wanted to keep him from leaving. But he also knew that Harry needed to honor the doctor's rules if he wanted to be allowed to visit him again. So he didn't.
"Okay. You can go."
"I'll be right out there."
"I love you."
"I love you too."
"I love you, Mum."
"And honey, I love you the most."
They both left cheek kisses with him before silently leaving the room. But Harry stopped her in the hallway before they reached the waiting room again.
"Ms. Malik."
"Yes, Harry?"
"I just wanted to say I am so sorry for what I put you through this past week and a half."
"No. Don't apologize."
"But I must. A mother's relationship with her son is special. I should have never given you even the slightest idea that your relationship with Zayn was anywhere less than that. So forgive me. Please."
"Oh, come here." She reached out to him and hugged him tightly so that he felt comfortable. She didn't rush the hug either. "You did exactly what you felt you had to do. And you know what? It brought Zayn back home. So of course I forgive you. I wouldn't ask you to go about it any other way."
She pulled apart but rested her hands on his cheeks.
"I also know that nobody else that was in that waiting room tonight would feel any different from me. You only wanted the best for him. And you went out and made sure you got that for him. My son is safe and soon he will be home. That's all that matters."
He squeezed his eyes shut and hugged her tightly again. "You're the best mother-in-law a man could ever ask for. Thank you for being so kind."
She patted his head. "You're always welcome."
Meanwhile outside the hospital and in the parking lot, Liam was quickly making his way over to Louis while Carla was waiting for him in the car.
"Louis! Don't leave!"
When he got there, Louis had just finished strapping his children in their car seats. It scared him to have Liam running at him. So he jumped backwards.
"Whoa."
"It's okay. I'm not here to hurt you or anything."
Louis clasped his keys in his hand. "You're not?"
"No. Why would I?"
Louis was confused. "Because... of what I said and did to you."
But Liam waved his hand. "Nah. That's okay. I'm over that now. And to be honest, I wasn't dwelling on that. I was just really glad to see you in there. I always wondered what happened to you. But now I see you've settled in some kind of way. You've got kids now."
"Yeah."
"Married?"
"No. Not married. But you and Carla have captured each other's hearts since I left."
Liam chuckled. "No we haven't. And we're not married. Harry just said that so we'd be able to see Zayn in the hospital."
"Oh. I'm sorry for assuming."
"No. You don't have to be sorry. You're not totally wrong. We're not married. But we are dating."
Louis was only mildly suprised. "Really? Wow. How long?"
"Literally only a week."
"And she's going home with you? You two already..."
"No. I respect her enough not to even think about expecting sex. Especially not so soon. But we had dinner together at my place tonight. She was still there when Harry called."
"Oh. Nice."
"Yeah. So it's good. And we'll see where it goes."
When he saw Louis looking uncomfortable, he decided he'd better let him leave.
"Listen... I know you weren't expecting me there and seeing me again after all these years is uncomfortable for you. So I won't hold you up. But I'd like to go to lunch with you and catch up someday."
"You would?"
"Absolutely. All of us can go together. And it's my treat. So leave your wallet at home."
"All of us? Liam, I've got three girls now."
"I know that. And that's okay. That's just more for us to talk about and catch up on. Because we surely need to."
He looked back at his children and then sighed down at the ground. "Well. I guess..."
"What's your number? Is it the same?"
"No. It's been changed since then. What about your number? Is yours the same?"
"Yep. It hasn't changed."
"Okay. Well.... I can't remember mine off the top of my head because they gave me the most difficult one they could possibly give me. So how about I text you from my number when I get home?"
That made Liam pause. He wanted to trust Louis. But he felt like he was only saying that so Liam would let him leave and then he'd never hear from him again.
"Are you sure?"
"Yes. I'm sure."
"You won't forget?"
"No. I won't forget. I promise." He opened his car door, then sat down in the driver side. "It's late and I should be in bed for work tomorrow. You should go home and finish enjoying your night."
Liam nodded. "And you be careful going home."
"Thanks."
The door closed and almost as soon as the engine was cut on, he was backing out of the parking space. Liam figured he was probably never going to see Louis or hear from him again. But if that was the case, it did feel really nice to have finally gotten to see him this time around.