We Band of Brothers (A Niall Horan Cancer Fic)

Chapter 9- Everything has changed

Harry

       It was on the last night of Niall's prolonged hospital stay, that he was finally unhooked from the last dose of chemotherapy he would he would be receiving  for this round of treatment. 

      " We're going to keep him for another night, just to be sure he remains stable enough to be released,  but if things continue on the way are, you should be able to bring Niall home in the morning. "  Doctor Bailey informed us, once she had finished reviewing Niall's chart.

      We were all relieved to hear the news, but worry still loomed over our heads at the thought of actually taking Niall home with us in the current condition he was in.

*~*

      It was midnight, and currently, I was lying awake in my bedroom, thinking over what tomorrow was going to bring. The chemo had really taken a toll on Niall in the last few days. The Irish lad was still unable to hold anything solid down, and when he wasn't being sick, he was asleep, because he really had no energy to do much of anything else. He was relying on the lads and I help him with everything at this point. Going to the bathroom,  showering, even standing up..these seemingly small tasks had become very difficult for Niall with this treatment. It shocked the lads and I. None of us had been anticipating this much of a reaction with only the first treatment.  The news Doctor Bailey had given earlier in the day, speaking about Niall's discharge and such, was indeed good news, but I was worried. I was worried, and the other lads were too,  because when it came down to it, none of us had any idea what it was going to be like taking Niall home as sick as he was.  I was trying to tell myself it would be just like caring for him in the hospital, but in reality, I knew it was going to be much different. In the hospital, there are nurses, such as Danielle, and Eleanor, there to help out. There are also an endless amount of doctors there to make sure that Niall's' condition remains stable,with endless once overs and checkups, they remain on top of all the changes and variations Niall presents with. 

      I was left unable to sleep with all of this running through my mind, so, after a couple more hours of tossing and turning, I decided to get out of bed and figure out something to do to keep myself occupied until I felt I was truly ready to get back into bed. 

      I made my way down to the living room, and I was startled when a familiar voice rang through the room.

      "What are you doing awake right now? " Louis asked, sitting up on the couch, and making room for me to sit beside him. 

       I sighed and ran a frustrated hand through my messy curls.

   "Can't sleep. you?"

    "Same." 

  I nodded, and got myself into a comfortable position, propping my feet up on the coffee table as I did so.  I smirked, knowing Liam would shriek if he were to see. I was in the clear though, because he was staying overnight with Niall.

       It was silent for a few minutes. Louis was staring fixedly at one point on the ceiling, and I was doing the same with a spot on my hand. The silence was interrupted however, when Zayn walked into the room, giving a wide yawn, about an hour after I'd come down. It seemed as though none of us would be sleeping tonight. 

      Zayn was the one to bring up what I knew was on everyone's mind. 

   "What do we do? I mean, the doctor said he's going to be sick like this for the next few days..what do we do when we bring him home tomorrow morning? Everything is going to be so different, when he's out.  I  mean, it's not going to be like the last time he got out of the hospital. He's going to be very sick this time around, and I don't know what we are going to do. Tell me what we're going to do.." Zayn breathed, and I moved over as he moved to sit on the couch with us.