Niall, answer the door please

"Li, I'm Scared"

 Appearance wise, Niall was looking better every day. Liam stuck to the routine he had devised which meant regular meals, scheduled naps and fresh air when the weather was  good. But even though things were going quite well, Niall continued to be frustrated by  what he perceived as his slow recovery . He remained unable to walk for long, over balancing far too often and becoming tired very quickly. Even his hands refused to obey him at times.  In his view, things weren't improving fast enough and it fuelled his depression. Despite his physical therapist telling him he was doing well, Niall failed to agree and it was pulling him down.

'" It's no fcking use!" Niall screamed as he flung his guitar down for what must have been the tenth time that day. ". Liam raced into the room to try and calm down his friend before the screaming escalated. 

"Hey Ni, calm down, mate" Liam sat next to his distraught friend. " You know things are not going to get better straight away". Niall pushed Liam away and curled up into himself but Liam wasn't about to give up." Nialler,  remember what Dr Collins told you. You were really sick, mate. You died three times and had to be resuscitated. You were in a coma for  well over a month, for fck's sake. It's going to be OK, you'll just have to go easy on yourself. It will all come back, you just need to be patient." He reached out and pulled his now sobbing friend into his arms, hugging him closely. "Oh Niall" he murmured.

The room grew quiet and Liam found that Niall had cried himself to sleep. He carefully gathered Niall up and carried him upstairs to the bedroom , put him on the bed and tucked a blanket over him. Standing up straight again, Liam looked down at Niall with a distracted expression. Niall was still too light  and very emotional over everything. He was due to go to the hospital tomorrow for the first follow up appointment since his discharge but Liam decided he'd ring Dr Collins before hand. Decision made, Liam left Niall to sleep, closing the door softly as he left.

"Good afternoon, Liam. To what do I owe the pleasure of this call? Is all well with Niall?" 

"Dr. Collins, thanks for taking this call, I appreciate it.  Yes, this is about Niall. Basically he's ok but he's getting really upset because he's struggling physically. I can't get him to understand that it's going to take time. His coordination is cr*p and it's making him more and more fed up." Liam let it all out in a rush. " He's acting out more and more and I just don't know how to handle it"

"How's the sleeping and eating going?" the doctor queried

"He sleeps ok, has a few long naps during the day. He's usually crashed by 8pm every night. Appetite wise, it's weird. Niall used to eat everything in sight. Now he's eating at normal meal times, but not a great deal and doesn't snack. It's not like him."

"The sleeping pattern will be normal for this stage of  his recovery. He needs to be eating more but I'll discuss that with him tomorrow. The problems with his moods is fairly in keeping with what I would also expect at this stage but we don't want him slipping into depression as that will hinder recovery. Will you be accompany him tomorrow?" Liam  affirmed that he would be, " Then I'll see you then. Thank you for your update. We'll keep this between ourselves " Dr Collins said before saying good bye.  

Liam lost track of time as he sat in his chair, staring off into space. He jumped when he heard Niall stumbling into the room, still half asleep. Niall reached the  chair then crawled into Liam's lap, cuddling up , head buried into Liam's neck."Li, I'm scared. What if I never get totally better ?" Liam's heart cracked open as he listened to  the fear in Niall's voice. He rubbed his friend's  back gently up and down as Niall's  tears dripped onto him.

"You will, mate. It will be OK. Look, you see Dr Collins tomorrow. Why don't you tell him how you feel, right? And I'll come with you? Is that, OK?" Niall nodded against his shoulder. " How about we watch a movie. I'll make popcorn. Maybe see if Harry and Louis can join us?" Niall lifted his head at that and gave Liam a small smile, his pale cheeks tear stained. If Liam's heart could have hurt anymore than it already did, it would have. He stood up, placed Niall back in the chair and reached for his phone.

At expected Louis arrived in his usually noisy and sassy manner, soon followed by a quieter Harry. Niall was wrapped up in hugs from them both before ending up on the couch with Louis' arms around him and his feet in Harry's lap. Liam brought in a tray of drinks, popcorn and assorted snacks and they all settled down to watch Niall's favourites. Niall made it through one movie before his eyes shut and he was asleep. Louis arched a brow at Liam and mouthed "bed " at him. Liam nodded and Louis stood up , Niall in his arms, ready to hand over his sleeping bandmate to Liam. He stopped in stunned surprise then , ignoring Liam's outstretched arms, carried Niall upstairs himself. When he returned downstairs, his face  registered both shock and worry. "It was like lifting one of my little sisters, he's so light" Liam agreed sombrely.

"So, what's been happening" Harry wanted to know. Liam poured them all a beer and proceeded to fill them in on Niall's progress. He'd be able to tell them more tomorrow , after Niall's appointment.They sat there quietly discussing it and whether taking Niall off somewhere quiet on holiday would be of benefit to him. "Actually" said Harry " somewhere quiet and relaxing, preferably warm, might be good. A lads' holiday, like we planned. We can always have a second one when Niall is up and running again. What do you think? Maybe we could get Zayn to join us as well, if you think......" Harry's voice trailed away .  The other two men looked thoughtful then both agreed. "Will you ask Dr Collins, tomorrow then?" Harry requested and Liam was quick to say yes. The more he thought about it, the more he liked the idea. It would really contribute towards improving Niall's health. Perfect!