Niall Imagines

Meeting Maura

Imagine....

"I'm not ready for this. Look. My hands are already shaking", I said as I held my hands up in Niall's face. He took both of my hands in his, "It's going to be okay. You just need to relax." "I can't. What if she doesn't like me? What if I say something stupid and she hates me and she convinces you to leave me and-" Niall placed his hands on both sides of my head, signaling me to shut my mouth. "Y/N, listen to me. I need you to breathe. She's my mother. Not a monster. Relax. She'll love you almost as much as I do." He rested his forehead against mine as I took deep breaths through my nose. "Okay. I'm fine," I whispered. "Good. Now lets go," he replied before giving me a kiss and holding my hand, leading me through the airport.

Niall was finally done with the Take Me Home tour so that meant we were staying in Mullingar for awhile. That also meant it was time for me to meet the woman responsible for bringing the man of my dreams into this world. None other than the wonderful, Maura Gallagher. Niall and I had been dating for about 8 months and I had never met his mother before. I met Niall in London a month or two before TMH started and we began dating soon after. He wanted to introduce us before but with me busy with school and work and him busy with the tour, it was impossible. Since the tour was over and I was finished with school, Niall thought it would be a great time to introduce me to his family. We were staying with Maura first and then Bobby later on. Don't get me wrong, I really wanted to meet them. It was just that I was scared out of my mind. Niall is the baby of the family and I'm positive Maura is super protective over her blonde haired baby. I was just scared of not meeting her standards for her son. I just wanted to make a good first impression.

Niall hailed a cab and put our luggage in the trunk. He opened the door for me and we both climbed in. He told the driver the address and we made our way to this mother's house. The more I thought about meeting her, the more nervous I became. I began to bounce my knee up and down. Niall noticed and placed his hand on my knee, tracing small circles around it. "It's going to be okay. You're going to meet her and then think how silly it was that you were scared in the first place," he said trying to calm me down. I looked down at my dress, trying to smooth it out. "Do you think this is okay? Maybe I should've ironed it. I should've wore a different dress." "You look fine. If anything, you're overdressed." I began to panic just a little, "What?! Do you think I should've wore jeans? Should I change? I'll change in here, I don't care." "No, babe. Your dress is perfect. Your hair is perfect. You are perfect. You look breathtaking as always. Can you just relax for me?" I looked at him and took a deep breath. I nodded my head and kissed him on the cheek. Niall began to tell me stories of his childhood to get my mind off things. That was one of Niall's specialties. No matter what I was going through, no matter how stressed out I was, he always found a way to calm me down and help me forget about everything.

"So then we had to cover his entire head with butter and pull him until his head popped out of between the railings," Niall laughed as he told me the story. "Who's idea was it to put Greg's head in the railing to begin with?" "Well it was mine but he didn't have to agree." We laughed as the cab pulled into a driveway. I looked at the beautiful brick house that was in front and I could see a woman looking through the window. "I think I saw your mom," I said as he helped me out of the cab. "You did. She's really excited to meet you." Niall and I walked to the trunk and got our luggage out. He payed the driver and we walked up to the house. Maura opened the door and met us on the porch. "I can't believe you're finally home! I've missed you so much!" She exclaimed as she wrapped her arms around Niall's neck. "I've missed you too, mom" I stood back as I watched this sweet Hallmark moment. He gave Maura a kiss on the cheek and looked back at me. "So mom, this is Y/N," he said reaching for my hand. I grabbed it and he pulled me into his side, resting his hand on my lower back. "Hello. It's a pleasure to finally meet you," I said extending my hand. She smiled and pulled me into a hug. I was relieved that she was so nice and sweet. "It's so lovely to finally meet you, dear. I've heard so much about you," she said pulling away. She looked at me and smiled, turning to Niall, "She is more beautiful than you described, Niall." We laughed and she helped us bring our luggage into the house. "Lets sit and chat. We have a lot to talk about," she said leading us into the living room. I looked around and admired her house,"Your house is beautiful, Mrs. Gallagher." "Please, call me Maura. Mrs. Gallagher is my mother-in-law. But thank you so much." We sat on the couch and chatted. "So what do you do, Y/N?" She asked me. "Well I just graduated from school and I'm currently looking for a job so I can practice in my field." "And what field is that?" "Pediatrics." "Really? That's amazing." "She also graduated at the top of her class and she received numerous awards," Niall added. "That is incredible," Maura said in astonishment. "She also volunteers at the retirement homes in London and she was helping out in homeless shelters," Niall said looking at me and holding my hand. "Okay. Can we talk about something else?" I said feeling uncomfortable. "You are an amazing person, Y/N. I am very impressed," Maura said. "I just want to help people. That's all I've wanted to do." "You are incredible." I blushed and looked at Niall. He gave me a wink and he kissed my hand.

We continued to talk about everything really. I told Maura about my hometown, my family, my hobbies, and she really seemed to take an interest in it. It was getting close to dinner time and Niall was getting hungry. "Alright Niall. You take the bags up to your room and Y/N, would you help me in the kitchen?" She asked. "Of course," I replied. I followed Maura into the kitchen while Niall dragged our luggage up the stairs. Maura gathered all the ingredients for whatever she planned to cook. I was in charge of cutting the vegetables. I was sitting at the table when Maura came up and sat next to me. "Y/N, can I be honest with you for a second?" She asked, watching me slice the bell peppers. I sat the knife down and looked at her, "Of course." "Niall is my baby boy so you can see why I would be worried about him." "Yes of course." "Now I do worry about him and girls. There are girls who just want Niall from One Direction, the guy who would shower them in gifts and money so they wouldn't have to work for the rest of their life. I don't want that for my son." I nodded my head. I knew exactly what I wanted to tell her. "I completely understand where you're coming from. I met Niall while I was still in school and whenever I would talk about giving up, he told me that he knew I could do it. He encouraged me to continue. But there were times that he said that if the stress was unbearable, that he'd take care of me financially. He said I wouldn't have to work and that he would take care of it all. That's when I told him that I didn't want to be that kind of person. I want to work for the things I have. And I have worked. Very hard. I pay my own rent. I bought my own car. I love your son, Maura. I love him so much. I'd love him if he was dirt poor. I fell in love with Niall Horan from Mullingar, Ireland. Not Niall from One Direction. And I swear to you that I would never use him." She soaked in everything I told her. She reached over and held my hand. "I am so glad he found you, Y/N. He needs someone like you to keep him grounded. You're an incredible woman and you're perfect for him. I can see how much he loves you by the way he looks at you. The way he talks about you, it's like you're the only person in the world to him. He's always talked about finding the perfect woman and I think he finally has. Welcome to the family." We both teared up a little. Maura stood and helped me up. I hugged her and whispered, "Thank you." Just then, Niall walked in and saw us hugging. "What happened? What's with the hugging?" He asked walking up to us. We pulled away and wiped our eyes. "I was just telling Y/N how I'm glad you finally brought her around. I finally have another female to talk to," Maura laughed. I smiled and looked at Niall. He walked over and I gave him a hug. He kissed my forehead and rubbed my back. Maura smiled at the sight of us together. "So is the food done? I'm starving," Niall moaned. Leave it to Niall to ruin a nice family moment.

The end