Niall, answer the door please

Brothers of the Heart

Louis POV:

"Please don't leave us, Niall. I couldn't bare it if you left us" I whispered to him as I held his cold hand. I continued standing there, aimlessly rubbing my thumb over the back of his small hand. Staring at that blank white wall until my brain became numb and time lost all meaning. I was vaguely aware of voices but what they said held no meaning, they were like ghostly echoes in my mind. I was aware of movement and my hand being removed from Niall's but my brain refused to tell me why. Had Niall gone? Had he left me?  Part of my mind registered I was moving but I could not decipher how or why.My eyes continued to look into blank space.

Gradually I came  back into my body and realised I was on a bed , staring at another blank white space. I heard the sound of  a page being turned so moved my gaze towards the sound. Harry was sat slumped in a chair, feet propped on my bed, reading a book.

"Hazza?"

"Boo, how do you feel? You have us all worried" He put his book down as he swung his feet to the floor and came to my side.

"Niall,  NIALL!" I started to scream and I struggled to sit up and push Harry out of my way. Harry reached across me and pressed the nurse's call bell then wrapped his long arms around me to restrain me. "Get off me, let me go....NIALL!" I struggled to break free, kicking and hitting,  but Harry was so much stronger and I collapsed , exhausted, in his arms, tears pouring down my face.

A nurse came in holding a covered tray in her hands and I heard her ask Harry to get me down on the bed again. As soon as I saw the needle in her hand, I started struggling and screaming  again but it was useless. Lack of sleep and food had weakened me and I was no match against Harry's larger size and greater strength. He continued to hold me in his arms until I felt the world slip away from me.

Harry's POV:

The doctor had warned me that he thought Louis was on the point of collapse but it was still a shock seeing him act like that. It was hard, having to force him to be still so he could be sedated but it had to be done. When he had examined Louis, the Doctor had commented that he was very run down , probably from all the touring, personal stress in his life,  plus some questionable eating habit, ...Louis did love junk food.... and the emotional shock of Niall's illness had pushed him over the edge. He recommended we all made appointments with our own Doctors as soon as we could to make sure we were  all as fit and well as possible. Great idea but it wasn't going to happen until our break and that looked like it was some way away as we'd need to rearrange  the  concerts that had been cancelled due to Niall's illness. Signing, I picked up my discarded book, sat back in my chair and propped my feet back up on the bed. 

There was a light tap on the door and Liam came in with sandwiches and mugs of tea on a tray. A welcome sight and my stomach growled in response to the sight of food. "Brought you some food, mate" he whispered." How's Lou doing?'

"Not great. He's been sedated as he just totally lost it. The Doc said he's run down, stressed and all that stuff and worrying about Niall just finished him" I leant my head back and scrubbed my  tired face with my hands. I needed a shower but it can wait. I grabbed a sandwich and started to eat. " How's Niall?" I asked Liam

"No change. His temperature is sort of OK now. Not perfect but out of the danger zone. He's still on Life Support but the Doctor says they will try and remove it to see if he can breath on his own. The longer he remains as he is, the worse the prognosis. It doesn't seem fair. Niall, of all people, to be so sick" Liam choked up as he spoke "I should have checked on him sooner. If I had, this never would have happened.".

"We have to stay positive, bro. It's not your fault. Niall had flu and none of us realised how serious it could get .Don't pile blame on yourself." I told him though I was struggling myself. I couldn't afford to fall apart while my brothers needed me.

"Haz, Management are holding a press conference in half an hour and they want us there" . Liam didn't look too thrilled at the prospect, neither was I but it had to be done. The fans would want to know. I stood up and after looking at Louis, headed towards the door. "Let's get it over with"

Liam and I stood behind Tim  at the front entrance of the hospital. Tim was the most friendly and approachable from our management team and I was glad it was him that had come. There were blinding flashes as the paps clicked away taking photos while the journalist yelled out questions, shoving their microphones up into our faces. Tim held up his hand for silence.

"Niall Horan was admitted to this hospital two days ago after collapsing at his home. He was found by his bandmate, Liam, after failing to turn up for a scheduled sound check. Niall is being treated for very serious complications following a bout of flu. Unfortunately he is currently in the ICU, on Life Support and his condition remains extremely critical. His parents are at his bedside, as are his bandmates. No further statements will be issued for the time being but we will update on the One Direction website when we have more news. We thank you for your patience and ask that everyone will continue to respect the privacy of Niall, his family and his band members at this time." 

The paps went crazy, shouting out questions as they tried to crowd around us. Our security had been beefed up but some paps still managed to break through, swarming us.

"Harry, how are you feeling"

"Liam, how did you know Niall was ill"

"Where's Louis? Why isn't he here ?"

"Is Niall going to die?"

"Where's Zayn?"

"Have you heard from Zayn?'

"What about the band if Niall dies?"

"How are you coping?"

The questions all blurred together and just single words registered in my brain..Niall,...Die..Louis... Zayn......Tim had told us to remain silent and not answer questions but I couldn't ignore one .

"How are you feeling, Harry?"

"How do I feel?" i managed to croak out. "How do I feel?.  Niall is fighting for his life. He's our brother. He may not be our blood brother but he's a brother of our hearts. How would you feel if it was your brother , possibly dying, and you are helpless to do anything. How the F..ck do you think I feel"

I felt Liam's arm go around my shoulder  as he led me back into the hospital and away , leaving Tim to deal with the rest of the questions from the media circus. "Come on, lad, let's get you a cup of tea and then we'll go check on Niall and Louis".