Keeping Up With One Direction 2

> 36 <

"What sue mean?"

Louis sits on his parent's bed that evening, he'd tagged along from the trip to the laundry room where he was allowed to push the buttons on the washer; and just trailed his daddy to the bedroom with a fresh basket of laundry he would roll around in, while still warm.

Coddled up in an array of towels, he asks the innocent question with his eyes drifting from the news Harry had playing in the background mindlessly.

He flinches at the soft words, emerald eyes flickering to his oldest son, tears pool in the forest orbs as he swallows past the burning lump in his throat setting down the towel he was holding in his hands, "Are they still warm?" he asks softly, Louis nods shaking himself from the cloths letting them fall onto the bed, "S-sue?" he repeats, he'd heard the word drifting around the house for the past week, usually it was followed by "suit" but he knew what that meant, he was forced into wearing suits all the time.

"S-sue is where people can make others pay them money," Harry explains taking a seat on the bed next to Louis, he turns the TV to mute hating that he'd been so flippant in letting his kids be tainted by such a source of media, "W-we 'bein sue?"

Peering into the oceanic eyes of his eldest baby, Harry can't help but smile past his tears, "No baby, we're just fine,"

Louis nods placing his hand over his daddy's cheek, "W-why's 'cryin?"

"Daddies just cry sometimes," Harry remarks placing his lips to Louis' forehead pulling the hybrid closer to him, "It's okay to cry," the father reminds, Louis nods, "I know," Pushing from the cuddle he puckers his lips for a kiss, "B-but's y-you's no need 'ta cry, w-we's not 'bein sue, 'member?"

Choking out a laugh, Harry sniffles nodding, "I remember," ruffling Louis' hair he sighs returning him to his chest as he watches the TV behind the boy, the headline that flickers at the bottom of the screen, "Sony's Multi-million dollar lawsuit proceeds"

Niall sways in the kitchen with Liam in his arms, he'd already rocked the youngest to sleep, but the middle boy just needed some extra snuggles to make up for Zayn's absence from the house.

Humming to him, Niall glances out the window grimacing at the black SUV that pulls in, while he is thankful they have help, he hated when they arrived without notice.

"Can I lay you in Papa's chair?"

"No,"

"Can I lay you in our bed?"

"'ave to?" Liam whimpers tears trickling down his cheeks, Niall sighs shaking his head, "No, baba doesn't have to," Rubbing the hybrid's back soothingly, he chews his bottom lip crossing over to the front door opening it just enough to reveal his face.

Keeping Liam turned from hearing, he whispers, "Our kids aren't down just yet, come around back,"

Closing the door, Niall begins upstairs knowing that's where Harry was, "Hey honey? They're here," He calls pushing open the bedroom door and seeing Louis knocked out snuggled into his Daddy that sits staring hopelessly at the TV, "Hazza we promised Zayn we wouldn't watch-"

Harry sniffles rising from the bed, he turns the TV off meeting the icy eyes across the room, "Is-is Lee asleep?"

"No," the small response brings a much-needed laugh to the room, Harry shakes his head amused as he takes the boy from Niall kissing his temple, "can you lay here with bubba?"

Liam sits up glancing at his older brother that did look awfully lonely in such a big bed, his eyes drift to the pillow Louis was using seeing it was Zayn's, he nods hurriedly scampering to Zayn's side of the bed crawling in next to Louis also using Zayn's pillow.

He'd have to wait for his parents to leave the room to completely push his brother's head off it.

Retreating downstairs hand in hand, Harry greets the lawyers that take camp at the dining room table, "Where is Zayn?"

"Still in mediation," Niall responds, in reality, Zayn was at therapy, as he was taking the news of the pending lawsuit harder than everyone when the first threat became that he'd never make music again with his name. It was hard to admit that he signed everything away, and was never guaranteed freedom from it.

Harry frowns hearing the lie knowing it isn't believable but agrees nonetheless taking a seat at the table, "What's our defense, is-is there any?"

A woman, Veronica Keels, clears her throat as she stands, she also knows that Zayn is not at mediation, but for the sake of the very clearly distressed family goes along with it - "if they're mediating with Sony, that works in our favor; it tells us what they want him to pay before we take this to trial, and we then can use coercion."

Niall furrows his eyebrows, "You're going to coercion, my husband?"

Veronica laughs shaking her head, "Oh gosh no, sorry, Zayn was only 17 when he signed the contract, if we can prove he felt coerced into signing it, that voids the contract in full, and thus he can't be sued,"

Harry shifts uncomfortably in the chair, "My contract was voided, I went down that route, but, we're not worried about the payout of a lawsuit, it's capped, Zayn needs assurance he can use his name to record his own music. We all need assurance we're not blacklisted and other management can pick us up,"

Veronica sighs taking a seat once more, she nods grabbing her briefcase and removing stacks of papers from it before letting it fall onto the table, "Every single sheet of paper here is an email I've gotten asking to join our team in helping represent you, firms, agents, management companies, every single one of these," she offers a smile to the men in the room, "Everyone, and I mean everyone, wants to represent you all."

Niall returns the smile grabbing Harry's hand, "Least once this is over we're done with the show," his eyes flicker to the camera's in the room documenting everything that's happening, "This will make for a very interesting last season," Harry mutters.

>What an interesting last season it will indeed be. All the love, Emma :)