Over Again

Chapter 5

POV: Liam Payne

I chuckled softly as I watched my little Emma sleep. Her head was lying on her left arm and the other was clutching Cuddles to her chest. Her hair was still fairly neat, so she hadn't been asleep for too long. I watched her sleep for a few seconds before turning to Audrey.

Her features were soft as she slept. The light from the TV illuminated her face, making her look softer and peaceful. She had an arm wrapped around Emma, keeping her in place on the couch. Her head was propped up on her hand as she was turned on her left side.

It was hard for me to convince myself to wake her up, but I knew she most likely had classes in the morning and I had to get her home. I felt bad for giving her such short notice and that the meeting took so long, but I'm glad she made it. Now I know that my Baby Girl is in good hands and will be well taken care of. There's nothing to be worried about.

I proceeded to wake Audrey up. I slowly walked over to the couch and called her name.

"Audrey," I watched for a second, looking for any signs of her waking. When she didn't respond, I gently laid a hand on her shoulder and shook it lightly. "Audrey, wake up,"

As soon as my hand touched her, her eyes opened and she tensed, already prepared to defend herself and Emma.

"Hey, it's just me. You fell asleep; I was just waking you up," I smiled softly.

"Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to-"

"No, no. Its alright. I didn't know the meeting would take so long. I'm sorry its so late."

"I understand. Don't worry. Its no problem. We just hung out and got to know each other a bit more. We had fun." She smiled.

"Okay. How was she? Did she behave?" I turned to my sleeping daughter.

"She was an absolute angel, Liam. I gave her a bath with no problems at all. I ordered some pizza for dinner and she ate her entire plate. Then we baked cookies and watched some TV before she fell asleep. She was amazing, don't worry."

"Good, I'm glad. She's pretty easy to entertain. And she's always happy if she's got Cuddles with her," I cracked a smile, "I was just worried. This was her first time with someone other than family, so I was a bit nervous about how she'd behave."

"I understand. But she was just fine. She's the sweetest little girl, no doubt. She's something else," She looked over at Emma, who was still clutching onto Cuddles, sleeping with no problem.

"Yes, she is."

It was silent for a moment before she asked, "What time is it?"

"Um," I looked at my watch, "Almost midnight."

"Dammit. The bus won't run again until one thirty," She sighed deeply.

"Here, let me give you a ride home then."

"No, Liam. You don't have to -"

"No. Its the least I could do for making you stay so late and so last minute. I don't want you to be late for your classes in the morning either. Just let me give you a ride home."

"Are you sure? I don't want to be any trouble..."

"Its not trouble, Audrey. Its the least I could do. Just let me get Emma situated and we'll head out. Sound good?"

"Yes, of course. Thank you, Liam. I really appreciate it."

"Its no problem. Honest." I gave her a reassuring smile before heading over to my sleeping Baby Girl.