'Till Death Do Us Part {Trilogy to TPL and LTF}

Chapter 61

Chapter 61

* Three Months Later *

~ Niall ~
I woke up to loud screaming and crying, sitting up in bed.
From my side, I saw Nina getting up as well.
"Hey, I've got her. Lye down." I said, grabbing onto Nina's arm.
She nodded and laid her head back on the pillow.
I kissed her forehead and then walked across the hall to Brooklyn's room.
When I heard rough coughing, I ran over to her crib, picking her up.
Her face was red with tears flowing down her cheeks, her tiny tongue peeking out as she coughed.
I shook my head, not understanding why she's coughing.
"What's going on, baby girl? Why are you coughing so much?" I questioned, bouncing her lightly.
Nina and I have both realized that she coughs a lot, and it's more of a dry cough.
She doesn't have a fever, and she doesn't show any other signs of sickness.
It's crossed my mind that it might be whooping cough, but the boys don't think it's that.
"Shh, princess. Daddy's here. You're okay." I whispered, pressing my lips to her forehead.
"They call her love, love, love, love, love. They call her love, love, love, love, love. She is love, and she is all I need." I sang softly.
Her crying ceased to exist, but she was still coughing lightly.
This doesn't make any sense.
"She's coughing again?" Nina's voice shocked me.
I turned to her and nodded, kissing Brooklyn's head.
"Should we take her to get checked out?"
It wouldn't be a bad idea, plus it'd be better to catch it early if it's something big.
"Yeah, we probably should."
Nina left the room and I grabbed a little jacket for Brooklyn.
"We're gonna go see what's wrong, baby. Alright, sweets?"
I carried her downstairs and got her settled in her carrier.
Nina met us down here, and we each put our shoes on.
I brought Brooklyn out to the car, placing her in the back.
I started driving to the hospital, being as it was too late for the doctors office to be open.
"Did you lock the house?" Nina asked me.
She always gets so paranoid about this.
"Yeah, I think I did." I said.
"I'll call Louis just to ask him to double check. It's not too late so he should still be awake."
I nodded and took a left turn.
"Hey, Lou. Um, can you do me a favor and swing by my house and make sure the door is locked? You know how I get paranoid about that."
She was silent for a moment, looking back to Brooklyn.
"No, we're headed to the hospital to get Brooke checked out. She was coughing again tonight so we just want to see what's going on."
I pulled into the parking lot, getting out and taking ahold of the handle of the carrier.
"Alright, thanks, Louis. I'll keep you updated."
We walked through the doors and Nina went off to go find someone who could help us.
Around twenty minutes later, we were in a room with a nurse, discussing things that could be done.
"Well, we'd like to do some tests, and while drawing blood is the most common way to do that-"
"Drawing blood? She's only a baby." Nina said, defensively.
I grabbed onto her hand, calming her down.
"I know, Mrs. Horan. However, we'd like to do a lung function test on her."
I was confused.
Why is that necessary?
"What are you testing her for?"
"Do either of you have a history of asthma?"
My blood ran cold and it hit me suddenly.
How could I not have seen it before?
The coughing, the wheezing.
It makes sense.
"I-I have asthma." I said, feeling almost ashamed.
"That's what I was afraid of. There's a very good chance that Brooklyn could be diagnosed with asthma."
Nina's put her head in her hands, not being able to take this.
"I'll be back in a moment."
Once we were left alone, Nina looked up to me with tears in her eyes.
"Where did we go wrong, Ni? The poor thing isn't even a year old and she has asthma." She said.
I shook my head, pulling her into my chest.
"Stop it, Nina. We don't know yet." I said sternly.
"Seriously, Niall! We do know! You certainly know!" She exploded.
She's right.
Absolutely, one hundred percent correct.
"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry I passed this onto her." I whispered.
"It's not your fault. We don't control what gets passed on to her."
Nina pulled away and looked at Brooklyn, taking her out of her carrier.
She's able to support her head now, so we are really excited about that.
"You're gonna be a little fighter, Brooklyn. I know you will be. You won't let this hold you down." Nina whispered, Brooklyn's head peeking behind to see me.
I smiled at her, causing her to do the same.
She's has no idea what's going on, but she's still a happy little baby.
After waiting an hour or so, it was officially confirmed that Brooklyn has asthma.
Nina let out a shaky breath, hating to hear it be true.
I can't believe I passed this onto my daughter.
I know that it wasn't in any way possible in my control, but I still feel horrible.
Soon, we were free to go so Nina strapped Brooke back into her carrier.
"Okay, baby girl. Ready? Let's go home." She said.
Brooklyn let out little squeals and Nina smiled.
We walked out and Nina stopped abruptly in the waiting room.
"Louis?"
I looked up an saw Louis sitting in a chair, messing around with his wedding band.
Yup, he and Jess got married about a month ago.
"Oh, hey. How is she?" He asked, standing up.
Nina hugged him and shook her head.
"She has asthma."
Louis' slight smile fell as he sighed.
"I'm sorry, boo."
She nodded and looked back at Brooklyn, seeing a smile on her face.
"But, hey, she's a trooper."
"Takes after her mommy." I said quickly.
Nina let out a small giggle and we all began to walk out.
"Why did you come out here? It's like one in the morning. You should be sleeping." She said to Louis.
I put Brooklyn in the car, kissing her forehead.
"I wanted to make sure she was okay. You know, just make sure she's healthy."
"Thank you, Louis. Best. Uncle. Ever." Nina said, hugging him again and kissing his cheek.
He came over to the car, leaning over to Brooke.
"I'm sorry you were diagnosed with this, sweetheart. But that just means you get a little more attention. Alright, babe? Love you very much." He said, kissing her nose.
She lifted her arm up to him, even if it was a little shaky.
Louis held onto her hand, causing her to smile.
"It's okay. I'll see you soon. Just have a good rest." He grinned, kissing her again.
He closed the car door, giving me a pat on the back.
"You've got a good one, that's for sure, mate." He said.
I looked in the car to see my two beautiful girls and nodded proudly.
"Well, thanks for coming out here. I know it meant a lot to Nina."
"Just checking in on the little girl."
He's great, honestly.
"I'll see ya later."
I gave him a quick hug and then we both got into our cars.
"I have the best brother in the world." Nina announced.
"What about my brother?" I pointed out.
She scoffed and shook her head.
"Fine, but he's the best uncle in the world."
"What about me?!" I exclaimed.
"Niall!"
She laughed, intertwining her fingers with mine.
"I love you." I said.
"I love you, too."