Regeneration

"Oh Fck!"

Niall felt very warm and comfortable as he floated in the moments between sleep and wakfulness. He wriggled in pleasure then stopped abruptly as he  became aware of  some discomfort in his belly, noting his back also seemed to ache. He went to rub his belly, eyes still shut, but found his arms were pinned to his side and he couldn't move much beyond small wriggles. His eyes flew open abruptly and he stared in horror at his unfamiliar surroundings. This wasn't his bedroom! He moved his head from side to side as he looked around his surroundings. There was a baby mobile above his head and he appeared to be in what resembled a baby crib, the sides of which seemed to tower above him. He had been told his parents were coming to take him home but this wasn't his home, this was h*ll. As his mind cleared from its post sleep haze, Niall realized what had happened. He wasn't home, he was "adopted" ! Fear made him scream out.

"Oh Baby, don't cry. Daddy's here, Daddy's here" Niall's head whipped around at the sound of an unfamiliar voice and saw a tall, muscular man standing by the crib, lowering the sides. Niall tried to wiggle away as the man reached down and picked him up but he was swaddled so tightly, he was unable to move. "There, there" the man cooed. "Daddy will soon have you comfortable. You slept well baby. Yes, you did. Daddy and Baba didn't hear a peep out of you all night. Now lets get you changed and get a nice warm bottle for you to drink. Daddy knows your hungry." He carried Niall over to an adult sized changing table and began to unwrap the blanket Niall was tightly constrained in making Niall almost sigh in relief. He wanted to scream and shout at the man and, as his arms were released, hit out at him but he found he was incapable of doing neither. He opened his mouth but all that came out was a garbled cry. Frustrated, tears leaked from his eyes as the man towering over him began to strip of the clothing Niall was wearing.

"Daddy is just going to give you a little wash down here" the man continued. "You can't have a bath just yet  until the nice doctor takes your stitches out." Niall frowned at this. 'Stitches, what stitches ?" he thought. The man saw his confused look and decided to explain. "You've had a little operation, sweetie. The nice doctor has made  it so you don't need to worry about using your diaper. Your body will automatically make you use it so you won't need to worry your sweet little head about doing your pee pees and poo poos. Now, let's get you ready for the day and Daddy will take you down stairs and Baba and I will explain everything." Niall wanted to scream in fury but still only garbled noise came out of his mouth.

In the house next door, things were even less calm. Louis had woken up from a sedative induced sleep and was now  making his feelings known. He hadn't been swaddled like Niall had  been so he was now rattling the sides of his crib and screaming curses. Well, his mind was screaming them, but only loud noises came out of his mouth. The door suddenly flew open and a man with long hair and a shirt opened to show  then many tattoos  on his chest came into the room.

"Ah, you're awake. Let's get you up and changed then we can have proper introductions and explanations" the man said, his voice soft and gentle. "I know you are scared little one, but you're safe here. Come on." He approached the crib and, lowering the side, lifted Louis out easily. Louis pushed at the man, hitting his with his tiny fists but to no avail. The man seemed totally unaffected and had no trouble keeping Louis in his arms. Louis was carried over to a changing table that seemed enormous to his eyes, swiftly strapped down and divested of his clothing. "Oh, your stitches look a little sore, baby. I think we'll need the doctor to check them.' He carefully covered them up and then proceeded to use wipes to clean Louis little body before putting a diaper on him. Louis tried desperately to stop him but to no avail, he was strapped down too tightly. Eventually the man had him clothed and carried him downstairs to where another tall and good looking man waited, a baby's bottle in his hand.

"I've got his bottle ready, Haz. Do you want to feed him or shall I?" 

"You do it, babe" Harry replied. "You deserve a little cuddle with our little man. Be careful though, he's a little feisty this morning." He handled Louis over to Nick who instantly held him gently but firmly so Louis found his ability to move curtailed. "I'll just ring Liam and Zayn and ask if they want to come here or we go to them. We decided it would be better if we explained to the babies what is happening. Their files show they've been friends all their lives so we don't want to separate them....." Harry paused, then continued looking sternly at Louis "Unless we have to do it." He walked out of the room to make his call as Nick settled himself on the couch and held the bottle to Louis lips. Louis turned his head away. Nick then put the bottle down so he could use his hand to grasp Louis chin and move his head so Louis had to look up at him.'' Drink your milk, sweetie" was all he said but Louis felt the chill in the voice. Nick picked up the bottle and again held it to Louis mouth. Knowing he had better choose his battles wisely, Louis opened his mouth and sucked on the rubber teat. To his amazement, the milk was pleasantly vanilla flavored and filled his empty stomach that had started to growl for food. He hadn't eaten since he had been given a drink and cookie at school yesterday. Yesterday, he thought, when he had assumed that being told his parents were coming to collect him would be his real parents.He had to get out of this situation. He had to get Niall out of it as well. But how? They were trapped.

"I'll get it" Zayn said as the doorbell rang " That will be Nick and Harry with their little one" He hurried out to let their callers in, leaving Liam to finish making coffee. Niall was tightly swaddled again and laying in a bassinet cringing in annoyance as Liam sang silly baby songs to him. Niall actually felt unwell and just wished Liam would be silent so he could sleep. He'd taken the baby bottle without fuss, too upset and unwell to protest. Now he just wanted the explanations he had been promised and to see Louis. There had to be a way to get them both out of this mess. He startled as he suddenly felt Liam lift him up and carry him into the den where he was passed over to Zayn who now sat there with their visitors. Niall exchanged nervous looks with Louis.He dreaded what was about to happen but he felt so unwell at this point that he felt his focus drifting away. He closed his eyes and a soft whimper of pain left his lips.

"Baby, what's wrong? Have you got a wet diaper, mmh?" Zayn asked as he looked down at the small boy cuddled in his arms. He unwrapped the swaddling and slid a finger in the side of Niall's diaper making Niall wriggle with embarrassment. "Oh, baby, let Baba take you upstairs and get you comfy again. You are one wet little boy." Zayn stood up and carried Niall out of the room to the nursery where he had woken up this morning. Niall struggled in the man's arms but was too weak to put up much effort, he was feeling sicker by the minute but didn't seem able to voice his problem to the man carrying him. Just garbled nonsense came out of his mouth. It was a relief when the movement stopped and Zayn laid him down on the adult sized changing table and started to strip off his clothing and diaper. "Oh fck!" Zayn whisper yelled as he looked down at Niall's small belly." Niall then started to vomit. "Li, Li...come quickly" Zayn yelled.

Liam thundered up the stairs, his heart pounding in fear at the tone of voice Zayn was using. He burst breathlessly into the room and slid to a stop in front of the other two people. He looked down immediately as Zayn gestured towards Niall's little vomit covered body. He willed himself into calmness and began to direct his husband. 

"Go run a bath, not too hot, not too cold. We'll clean him up and then take him to the clinic..Go!" he gave Zayn a push and turned his attention to the small boy."Daddy will look after you, he cooed gently. Niall only responded by beginning to vomit once more, then his pretty blue eyes rolled back in his head and he started to convulse. Liam instantly picked him up and cradled him gently as he ran down the stairs holding his precious bundle.

"Zayn, hospital...now!" he yelled.