The greenery passed by quickly.
Then came the streets with their bright and homey buildings.
The streets of his hometown.
Niall couldn't help but miss his childhood and growing up in this nice and amazing place.
In less than 10 minutes, he'd be home. Where he had all his childhood memories, stored away in those walls of his family home.
As the car went on, Niall wondered how his life would have turned out if he hadn't chosen to study in Scotland.
The place where he met Harry.
The place where he fell in love.
The place where he was used and had his heart broken.
It is not a pleasant place for Niall's box of memories but then again, it was a place where he was gifted with his little girl.
Niall loved his baby more than anything in the world and he knew that he wanted to take care of her, love her and protect her from all sorts of harm that this world had to offer.
Protect her even from heartbreak, if he could.
It was his love for his little girl that pushed him to finally see his family after almost a year and introduce them to his baby.
Granted, Niall and his family talked and facetimed frequently but they had no idea that the reason he didn't want them to attend his graduation was because he was heartbroken.
Was because the person who broke his heart had impregnated him and he was gonna give birth in less than three months.
They didn't know that but he was ready. More than ready.
Niall placed a hand on his bump when he felt a kick and smiled.
He wondered how Harry would react to feeling the baby's kicks but before he could wander further into the world of Harry Styles, the driver spoke up.
"We are here, sir." The man said in a thick Irish accent and Niall smiled a bit because he was gonna be meeting his family soon.
He struggled a bit to get out but he was soon outside, stood on his feet.
He took a deep breath, breathing in the smell of wet soil, left behind by the rain that had fallen not so long ago.
With the help of the driver, who insisted that Niall shouldn't lift heavy stuff, he had his bags retrieved from the car and sat on the porch steps.
He payed the cab driver with a huge tip and then waved as the man drove off.
Now came the nerves. He was here.
But he couldn't bring himself to knock and face everyone. He knew that they were all there because the next day would be his mother's birthday and so his brother, wife and their son were there along with his parents.
Niall took a deep breath, he hadn't told them that he would come and so they weren't expecting him.
He wondered if they would be okay with him being pregnant but he pushed that thought aside, Brendan and Nick had already talked his worry away, he didn't need to worry about that.
Niall finally, raised his hand and knocked on the door.
Within a few seconds, the door clicked and soon opened to reveal Niall's beloved mother.
He had missed her.
But he didn't know how much until he saw her in person, standing infront of him and looking shocked.
But soon, her face broke into a huge smile and Niall couldn't help but smile back.
"My baby. You are here." Maura said and pulled Niall in a tight hug.
He had on a huge jumper so his bump was not visible to her, but as soon as she hugged him, she gasped and pulled away.
"Ni-" She was was cut off by a voice from inside the house.
"Maura, who is it?" It was his father, his old man. God he'd kissed these people.
"Son!" Bobby yelled, appearing next to Niall with a huge smile on his face.
The older Horan pulled Niall into a hug while his mother had a weary look on her face.
It would have been because of happiness or something he couldn't just tell, but Bobby didn't react on Niall's obvious baby bump.
"Come on in inside." Bobby ushered Niall inside while his parents brought his bags inside.
When they were inside and sat down in the living room, Bobby spoke up, too excited about seeing his youngest to keep quiet.
"I still can't believe you are here. I thought this year would be the first time you would miss your mother's birthday." Bobby said and Niall smiled.
"I'd never miss it for anything in the world." He said and shot his mother a nervous glance.
He knew that she knew and because of how quiet she'd become, he was worried.
"Has Greg's family arrived yet?" Niall asked, looking around.
"Yes actually, but they went grocery shopping while Theo is in your room napping." Bobby said and Niall's eyes lit up.
"Theo is in my room?" Niall asked excitedly and his mother nodded, finally spotting a small smile.
Niall was excited to see his nephew and he tried to get up from the sofa, key word being 'try'.
"Bobby why don't you put Niall's bags in his room, we're gonna let him rest for a bit till Greg and Denise get here." Maura smiled at her husband, who didn't notice that Niall was struggling to get up.
Niall shot his mother a nervous grateful smile when his father left.
She then held out her hand and helped him up.
None of them said anything as they walked up the stairs until they were inside Niall's room.
"How far along?" His mother asked when Niall sat down carefully next to his nephew who was fast asleep.
He looked down at his lap and messed with his hands.
"Twenty six weeks. Mum I'm sorry I didn't tell you or anyone. It's just I was scared and I didn't want to see you disappointed but I can't keep this to myself any longe-" Niall started rambling but he was cut off by his mother.
She launched herself at Niall and squeezed the life out of him.
It took Niall a few seconds to realise that he was infact being hugged by his mother, so with a relieved sigh and smile on his face, he wrapped his arms around her as they embraced.
"I'm gonna have another grandchild, oh my god I'm gonna have another baby." Maura gushed when they broke apart and Niall smiled at his mother.
"Wait, ma, you are not mad?" Niall asked timidly and the older woman shook her head.
"No, well I am a little and that you kept it from us, from me. But other than that, no. I'm gonna have another baby added to our family and I couldn't he more happy." She said with a huge smile still in her face.
"But, I... I got pregnant before I got married and you always told us that-" Niall's mother didn't let him finish that sentence as she spoke up.
"Baby, a child is a blessing no matter how or why it's conceived. Don't worry about what we used to tell you. It was a way of wanting you to stay grounded. I'm happy about this baby, Niall and I already love it as much as I love this little man." She pointed to Theo.
Niall's eyes watered and he blamed it partly on the hormones so he wrapped his mother again in a hug and cried in her shoulder.
"Rest up bub, I'll wake you up when the others get here." Maura said and patted Niall's back.
"Thanks, my back is killing me and my ankles are all swelled up." He whined and his mother smiled.
"I remember that, it sucks." Both of them smiled. "How 'bout when you wake up, I'll give you a back massage and a foot rub?"
Niall nodded eagerly.
"Thanks, ma. For everything." He said seriously and his mother leaned close and kissed his forehead.
"Rest up baby." Niall nodded and got comfortable next to his nephew. "Wait, Ni. Are you okay with me telling your dad?"
Niall looked at her as if he'd forgotten that his father had no idea.
"Um, can you like not tell him yet? I will tell them when Greg and Denise come back. You know at the same time?" He said it more of a question and his mother nodded.
"Good idea." With that she was out of the room and Niall sighed in happiness.
He lay down and kissed Theo's hair then he gently pulled the boy close to him and smiled when he snuggled into his chest.
Niall closed his eyes as the exhaustion caught up with him.
*
Niall was woken up by voices, more like whispers, around him.
"Out you two. I swear if you wake them up.."
It was his mother's voice.
"I still can't believe he's here. I missed my little brother so much." Niall heard Greg say.
"They look so cute together." Denise added.
"Hi guys." Niall smiled up at them lazily.
Greg and Denise both yelled in happiness when they saw that he was awake.
That ended up waking Theo up and he looked around him with confusion.
"Mama." Theo raised up his arms so that his mother could lift him.
"Hi bud." Niall greeted softly, the three year old hadn't noticed him yet.
"Uncle NiNi!" Theo yelled with wide eyes and launched himself at his uncle.
Niall grunted but hugged him with a huge smile.
"Alright dinner's ready!" Bobby said sticking his head in the room.
He had offered to cook since it was gonna be Maura's birthday the next day and his son and daughter-in-law had gone shopping so he decided to cook.
"Dinner, what time is it?" Niall asked and glanced at the clock seeing that it was half past six and he had been asleep for almost four hours.
"Come on, we don't want the food to get cold." Bobby said and was about to leave the room when Niall spoke up.
"Dad wait, I wanna tell you guys something." He glanced at his mother and she smiled at him.
"What is it, Ni?" Greg looked at him and Niall took a deep breath.
"I'm pregnant." He said quietly and looked at his nephew who was playing with his necklace.
*
After dinner, Niall sat in the living room talking and laughing and just having a good time.
He was happy.
His family were a happy for him although he had withheld the truth of his baby daddy when his brother asked.
All he told them was that, they went to uni together and work together. He even told then that they weren't together. But that was all.
For some reason, he couldn't bring himself to tell his family, the circumstances surrounding his and Harry's lives.
"All done, feel better?" Niall nodded with his a smile at his mother who was sat on the other end of the sofa, giving him a foot rub.
"Yeah, so much better. Thank you, ma."
"Oh honey, no need to thank me." Maura said and glanced at Bobby who was dozing with Theo in his arms.
"I better go put him to bed." Denise stood up and walked over to Bobby, grabbing the sleeping boy.
"I sleep with uncle NiNi." Theo said sleepily and rubbed his eyes.
Denise sighed and looked at her husband for help but Niall quickly spoke up before Greg could.
"It's okay. I'll sleep with him. We need some catching up to do after all." Niall smiled and stood up with a bit of struggle.
"No Niall, he's gonna bother you. Sometimes he wakes up in the night an-" Niall cut Greg off.
"It's fine, really. I think I can handle it, plus I need the practice, remember?" Niall said and looked down at his bump.
Theo's parents smiled and nodded.
"Goodnight my babies. I'm gonna help Bobby to bed." Maura kissed all of their cheeks then she went to gently wake up her husband.
Denise carried Theo to Niall's room and Greg said goodnight to his brother then they departed.
"Goodnight, Ni." Denise said softly so as not to wake Theo who was drifting off.
"Night." Niall waved at her.
When she was gone, Niall walked to his ensuit to brush his teeth then he went back and got in bed next to Theo.
He wrapped his arm around the boy's body and Theo snuggled close to him, bringing a big smile to his uncle's face.
Niall had his eyes closed and was about to fall asleep but he groaned when he felt his phone buzz on the night stand.
He blindly took and unlocked it.
It was a text, a text from Harry.
From Harry: Hi Ni, how are you? Was just checking to see how both of you are doing. Goodnight. Xx
Niall smiled at the small gesture and quickly replied.
To Harry: We are fine, thanks for asking, Good night.
He set the phone back on the night stand and with a smile on his face, he fell asleep.