Through The Dark

See You Around

The smell of warm maple syrup travels up the stairs. I open my eyes and Sam is not next to me and the bassinet is empty. How did I manage to sleep in? I can hear little chatters from Mason and Meredith from downstairs. Mason seems to be telling Sam all about the big building in Seattle. The Space Needle. I sigh and stand up, pulling a pair of sweats up my legs. I slowly make my way down the stairs. Sam greets me with a big smile as she comes around the counter, with a plate of breakfast in her hands. "You shouldn't have done this." I shake my head and take it from her. "Good morning Olive." I smile down at her in the sling against Sam's body.

"I didn't do all of it. Zayn helped." She says and he smiles. I can tell he's still exhausted. I didn't even hear him come in last night, if he did at all. I look over at the deck. His cigarette box and almost empty bottle of rum sat on the railing.

He didn't come in last night.

Meredith comes up to Zayn's leg and he smiles. A real smile. He picks her up, and kisses her cheek.

"Unc Ni, do you got opple juice?" Mason comes up behind me.

"I don't think so, let's just check?" I pick him up and open the door. Cottage cheese, milk, sausage, orange juice, vodka. No apple juice.

"There!" He reaches for a bottle of hard apple cider with a bright green apple on the front.

"No no, that's not for little ones. Orange juice?" I take the bottle out.

"No, I can't." He says and shakes his head, squirming away. I furrow my eyebrows and look at Zayn.

"He's allergic to citrus." He looks up from his food. "And tree nuts. Amongst a few other things." I can see Mason being that slim kid with the glasses that's allergic to about everything. Instead of dwelling on it, he gets super artistic.

"Can we have milk?" I ask and pull out the carton.

"Go for it." Zayn says and places his plate in the sink, quickly rinsing it off. I pour some milk into Mason's cup and hand it to him. He thanks me and walks off. Meredith babbles on and on to Zayn and he responds with multiple 'yeah' and 'mmhmms'. She just continues with her inaudible story, even when Zayn picks her up out of the highchair. "We need to go get our bags together Merie." He sets her on the floor, surrounded by Olivia's toys that I got out. "Mason, finish your milk and go get your little bag. Remember? The black Batman bag. It's on the bed you slept on. Can you go get it for daddy?" He sits down at the counter and starts getting all this chargers together. "Niall and Sam, this is for you." He sets a 100 pound note on the counter. "For letting us stay and I never got you a shower gift."

"Take that back, we don't need anything." Sam says and tries to hand it back. "Please." He shakes his head and puts his wallet back in his coat pocket. Mason comes back down the steps with his little suitcase.

"Thank you so much Mason." He gives him a high five. "Can you thank Aunt Sam and Uncle Niall? Give hugs." Mason runs up and hugs my legs, then moves to Sam. "Be careful with the baby Mason." Zayn warns as he walks out to the car with his bags.

"Tank you for givin' us your beds." He smiles and walks to the garage door. "Daddy, can I see mumma?" I look over at Sam, and she has the same apathetic look on her face. They come back in and Zayn places Mason on his lap, letting him scroll through his phone. "She so pretty."

"I know..." He sighs. Mason flips through all the pictures and looks up at Zayn. He just smiles and puts the phone back in his pocket. "Can you go get buckled up in the car please?" He asks and sighs. Mason runs off to the rental car and we silently watch him get in from the kitchen. "I'm going to go stop and say goodbye to the boys, then go to my mom's place. Say goodbye. She wants to see the kids." He picks up Meredith and stands her on the counter to zip up her coat. "Say bye Merie." He commands and she waves with a smile. "Kisses." He picks her up and places her on his hips. She places a big sloppy kiss on his face, causing Zayn to smile. "Not me silly. Aunt Sam and Uncle Niall." I come next to her and tickle her sides, kissing her cheeks.

"See you soon, cutie." I say and she smiles, hiding her face in Zayn's neck. Sam kisses her cheek and steps back into my grip. "See ya Zayn." I smile and he walks out the door. "Thank you for breakfast Sammie." I kiss her. The last week has been exhausting and the next few days aren't about to get any better. My mom is coming in for a week or two to help us relax a bit. We're announcing the birth of our daughter on national television. Apparently, it's that big of deal.

There's a knock at the door and Sam walks past me to the foyer. "Niall, Zayn wants to see you." Sam comes back around the corner, with a worried look on her face.

"Hey mate." I say when I walk up to him. The cold morning breeze causes me to shiver and I cross my hands to my side. "What's up? Forget something?"

"No no, I just wanted to thank you again. Just thanks for everything; I really appreciate it." He says with his hands in his pocket.

"It wasn't that big of deal Z." I say and shake my head. "You can stay here anytime you come to visit."

"No no, I mean everything. From X Factor to last night. I just really appreciate it. I love you Niall. Always will." He tightly hugs me. "Goodbye Niall." He pulls away and turns around.

"See you around, Malik." I lean against the doorway. He turns around and looks back up at me. Without missing a beat, he smiles and gives me a slow nod. He spins back around on his heals and heads back to his car. When he opens the driver side door, he looks back up at me one last time, giving me a smile wave. I hesitantly step back into the house as I watch him leave. I didn't want him to go. He's been here for less then twenty-four hours. The last time he left I didn't see him for six months. Who knows when the next time I'll see him will be.