Small Bump [Liam Payne]

Part Six

He woke up in the morning much earlier than he had planned. He cracked his eyes open and saw Anna slipping out of the room, closing the door soundlessly behind her. He squinted at the clock, reading that it was 7, and groaned, rubbing his eyes. Why was she up so early? Taylor didn't even get up until almost 8 on most days.

Pulling on a pair of sweatpants, he walked downstairs, jumping when Anna spun around with her eyes wide.

"Oh," She breathed. "Okay, it's just you. I thought it was Taylor." She turned back around, going back to--wrapping a present.

Oh God.

It was Taylor's birthday, and Liam had completely forgotten.

"Shit..." Liam breathed, coming up to stand next to Anna, who snorted, "Don't tell me you forgot it's his birthday."

"Actually..." Liam scratched the back of his neck, and Anna laughed quietly, bumping him with her hip.

"Good thing we got him his present a week ago, right?" With that, she placed the last piece of tape, looking up over her shoulder at Liam. He smiled down at her, nodding. Seriously, what would he do without her? Anna blinked and looked away, and Liam cleared his throat, realizing he had been staring.

"Uh, we're doing pancakes this morning, right?" He asked, moving over to the fridge.

Anna nodded, placing the present in the hall closet, up where Taylor wouldn't see it until later. "Yupp! And everyone's gonna start getting here around four. Louis and Harry will be here first, cuz they're bringing the cake. Your mom and sisters will be running a little late, since they're carpooling and Nicola's gotta get off work. And..." Anna paused, brow furrowing as she watched Liam for a minute. "And I think that's it. Your mom and sisters said they were only gonna stay until cake and presents were done. I think Niall said he was planning on drinking so much he wouldn't be able to go home." Liam laughed, pulling out the skillet.

"Are Lou and Tom coming?"

"Yeah!" She smirked, "Did they not call you yesterday?" Liam shook his head, and she shrugged with a mocking smile, "I guess they like me better then!"

Liam pinched her hip as she walked by, smirking at her squeal of protest. "They always like the nanny better." Together, they got breakfast ready, and Taylor was down at 8 o clock, right on the dot. Liam wondered if he had some sort of internal clock that woke him up on time every morning. Anna put a candle in his stack of pancakes, letting him use whipped cream since it was his birthday. Liam almost melted at the sight of his face when he realized they were chocolate chip pancakes, and he gave Anna a look that clearly said, You're the best.

She merely stuck her tongue out at him.

Anna let Taylor stay in his pajamas until two, then went to give him a bath while Liam finished cleaning up downstairs. Once Taylor was clean, he went over to the table to color, and Liam sat at the bar and watched Anna get everything ready for dinner. Taylor had requested spaghetti, of course. He watched her move around the kitchen to the music she was playing, offering answers when she asked questions such as, "Does this taste alright?" or "Do you think everyone will like it?" He sang along loudly with her, even dancing a little with Taylor when he came over to see what all the fuss was about.

Just before four, Louis and Harry showed up, and Louis was obviously angry about something.

"You have no idea how aggressive the paparazzi can be around a bloody cake." He grumbled, following Anna over to the counter where he sat it down. Harry just laughed at him, going over to hug Taylor and see what he was coloring. People trickled in group by group after that, with Liam's family arriving last. Lux and Taylor pretty much remained in the living room, playing with the few action figures and trucks Liam had bought him when they went shopping the week before. The girls were in the kitchen with the wine Liam bought and the guys all stood and sat either on the balcony or at the dining room table. To Anna's relief, dinner was a success, as was the cake ("Spiderman! He's so cool! Thanks Uncle Louis!"), and when everyone gathered around to sing, Liam found himself sliding up just behind Anna, one hand loosely holding the beer and the other sliding around to rest on her hip. She looked up at him, then smiled, leaning her head back on his shoulder as everyone sang. Taylor loved the cake, and continually told everyone that his Uncle Louis had gotten it especially for him.