Niall, answer the door please

We Love And Miss You, Bro, So Much.

Alberto saw Paddy running towards the Villa, the unconscious boy in his arms, so he grabbed the car keys and got into the SUV. As soon as Paddy was in, cradling Niall, in his arms, he took off. Liam, Harry and Louis followed in a second car. Louis had his eyes squeezed shut and seemed to be praying, his lips moving silently.  Harry and Liam just looked stunned. What had just happened? Niall was fine, he was doing so well, what could have gone wrong? 

Harry must have broken every speed limit there was in the race to the hospital. When they arrived, he parked the vehicle so askew, it looked like it had been abandoned and the three of them tore into the building. Alberto and Paddy were sat in the waiting room, both sombre faced.

"How is he? What's wrong? Is he OK?" Three voices shouted simultaneously. Paddy held up his hand for silence.

"I don't know. They took him away and told me to wait here. I wish I had answers." Paddy spoke quietly. The boys were distraught and he knew he had to stay strong for them. They had already been through so much with Niall and for it to end this way would tear them apart. He was barely holding it together himself. 

"Tick, tick, tick......they all stared at the clock on the wall. The hands seemed to move in slow motion until they would all swear it was going backwards. Still nobody appeared to tell them how Niall was. Harry then Liam started to pace up and down while Louis seemed trapped in his own personal hell. Had he done something wrong? Did he push Niall to the limit racing him like that? But Niall looked like he was fine so what caused his collapse.

"Horan family?" A doctor had appeared. They all looked at him. " Can you tell me what was happening before your friend collapsed?" . Liam explained about being on the beach then him insisting Niall had a rest. "He just won't wake up when we tried to rouse him" Liam finished. The doctor frowned in thought ."Did anything else happen?"

"What do you  mean?" Harry was puzzled.

"His lungs are partly filled with fluid" the doctor continued. "He is essentially drowning"

"But that's mad" Louis said "He's not in water!"

"It's called 'dry drowning' " The doctor explained. "Do you know if he had possibly had problems while swimming and got into difficulties?" Louis shook his head and then stopped in horror.

"I pushed him under water while we were playing about.  He was coughing for a few minutes but then he was fine" Louis sank down onto a chair. Had he killed one of his best friends. He stared at the floor, horror struck. What had he done?

"Will he be OK?" Paddy was the first to ask. The doctor's response was that they would do all they could for Niall but there were no guarantees. He then went back through the swing doors and left them to wait.

The sky grew darker and darker and the lights in the waiting room were harsh and bright. Harry rubbed his temples trying to dull down the pounding in his head. Louis hadn't moved from his seat, nor had he spoken since the doctor had told them the cause of Niall's situation. Liam tried to engage him in conversation but gave up after getting no response or acknowledgement that Louis even heard. Alberto had gone to telephone Niall's family, Simon and Management, leaving Paddy to watch over the three young men, all so quiet and numb.

Tick, tick, tick......the hands on the clock inches slowly forward.

"Horan family?" A different doctor appeared, her face void of expression. They all stood and looked at her.

How....how is he? How's N-n-niall?" Liam stuttered out.

Lou finished doing Liam's hair then moved onto Louis. Harry just sat in the corner, lost in his own thoughts. He didn't feel like doing this Awards ceremony tonight but it had to be done.They had to acknowledge their fans and all the support they had been given. Simon came into the room and asked if they were all ready . They nodded and followed him out, Liam clutching the notes he had made for his speech. He'd been elected to be spokesperson and he was just praying he could hold himself together. His emotions were so close to the surface.

"And winners of the Ultimate Band are.......................................One Direction!"

The audience went wild as  Harry, Liam and Louis made their way up onto the stage , accompanied by Simon Cowell. After accepting the award, Liam stepped forward to  express their thanks.

"It's been a very rough year for us all. First we  had to say good bye to Zayn when he decided to leave the band , we have all had personal relationships break down and then our brother, Niall....." Liam's voice broke. He took a deep, steadying breath before continuing. "Through out all this, our fans have stood by us and supported us and we just want to thank you all. We are all devastated that Niall isn't with us to share in receiving this award today. If he was here , I know he'd be saying 'Best fans on the planet'. We all want to thank you for this award and Niall, this is for you. We just wish you were with us, mate. We love and miss you, bro......so much". 

Niall's family had gathered around the television, watching the band's emotional tribute to their beloved Niall. They all had glasses of champagne in their hands which they raised as Bobby said " To Niall"

"Thanks, Da" Niall said, giving him a hug.