The Wolf In sheeps clothing

The Wolf Needs To Be Subdued.....And Soon!

Doctor Ward studied the results of Niall's blood tests and sighed heavily, this was one of the times he hated being right. Well, he couldn't put it off, Niall needed to know what was wrong and soon, so treatment could be started to help Niall be as healthy as possible.. He reached for the phone, this was one call he didn't want to leave to either his secretary or his nurse. He took a deep breath and punched in the numbers.

"Niall, you will look after yourself properly, won't you?" Maura stroked her son's cheek. "You promise?" She couldn't keep the worry from her voice and Niall mentally rolled his eyes. He knew his Ma meant well and loved him dearly, but she had been constantly fussing over him for the last two weeks and it was getting irritating.

"Ma, I'm fine, absolutely fine, and yes I will" He replied "Now stop worrying about me. You and Chris have a good flight home. Give my love to Greg,Denise and little Theo, yeah?"

"I will, darling. And come home soon...to Mullingar" Maura's eyes began to fill with tears as the time to part from her son arrived.

"Will do, now go or you'll miss your flight" Niall gave his Ma and stepfather a final hug and watched as they disappeared through security. Once they were completely out of sight, he headed back out of the airport , to his car. He was feeling really exhausted and achy and just wanted to get himself home so he could collapse and take a nap. His skin prickled in the bright sun and he let out a breath of relief when his car door closed on him and he felt the blessed coolness of the air conditioning sooth his skin. Turning on some music he pulled away and headed towards the peace of his home.

Niall saw the  message light on his answering machine was blinking as he entered his kitchen but he was too tired to bother to check his calls. Throwing his car keys down on the kitchen counter, he pulled a chilled bottle of water from the fridge and headed to his bedroom. He quickly stripped off his clothing ready to have a cooling shower , hoping it would make his skin feel less irritated. He caught a glance of his reflection in the mirror over the wash basin then turned to take a proper look. A red rash was spread across his face and he gulped anxiously. He'd avoided the sun recently and there was no way he'd got sunburn in the brief minutes he'd been exposed to the suns rays. He knew he burnt easily with his fair skin but surely not that quickly? Maybe he'd been out in the sun longer than he thought. He shrugged then stepped under the cool water.

After his shower, Niall had dropped onto his bed with only the towel wrapped around his slim hips. He felt like he had run a marathon. Even the long years of constant touring and recording albums had never made him feel this exhausted. The nights of  too little sleep and worn him down. He'd been religiously taking the iron supplements the doctor had prescribed for his anaemia but they hadn't seemed to have made any difference to him. He hoped they started working soon because he hated feeling this rubbish almost as much as he hated doctors. Doctor Ward was a great guy, but Niall hated anything to do with things medical with a passion and doctors and needles were top of his list of dislikes.

It was dark when Niall woke up and he stood up stiffly, discarding the towel to pull on some loose lounge pants and a baggy T-shirt. His stomach was growling so he headed downstairs to his kitchen to throw something together for his dinner. Whilst the water was heating ready for the pasta he planned to prepare, he checked his answer machine for messages. He pressed the  replay button.

"Hey Nialler, I'm free tomorrow and would love to meet up if you're available. We've got some catching up to do" Niall smiled as he listened to Harry's slow voice. He'd missed Harry and FaceTime just wasn't the same. He was still smiling when the second message played.

"What's the craic, lad?" Louis's Doncaster accent filled the room " Give me a call so we can go clubbing, yeah?" Niall shook his head wondering where Louis got his apparently boundless energy from.

"Niall, bro. Not sure what time it is with you but give me a call when you can. I've got a great idea for  a song and want to run it by you...oh, and thanks for the birthday wishes mate. So you miss my smell, huh?" Liam voice was laced with happiness , which made Niall grin too.

"Niall? This is Doctor Ward. I'd like you to give me a call as soon as possible, please. There are a few things that I would like to discuss with you, if I may. Just ring my secretary to arrange an appointment. Hope to hear from you very soon.". Niall frowned as he listened to his doctor's voice. The man's voice gave nothing away so Niall concluded that it probably wasn't anything important. He looked at his watch. It was late evening and the Doctor's office would definitely be closed by now. He'd ring  within the next few days . There didn't seem to be any urgency to make the appointment and Niall decided he'd leave it, get some rest and spend some time with Harry and Louis. Part of his mind wondered if he was likely to bump into Zayn . He, Harry and Louis were all in LA, as was Zayn, just different districts, but you never know. Niall put the thought to the back of his mind as he finished preparing his dinner.

After eating, Niall rinsed off the cooking utensils and his plate before putting them in the dishwasher. Despite his afternoon nap, he was still tired so he headed up to bed. Sleep was what he needed, not some doctor sticking needles in him. He shut his eyes and drifted off to sleep. In another part of the city, Doctor Ward read and reread Niall's notes, compering the blood test results with other charts. Niall hadn't rung back and made an appointment. He realised Niall may have been out and not got the message in time but he also knew Niall. That young man would put things off, not wanting to admit he was sick. And this was something he could not be allowed to ignore. The doctor sighed. He'd give Niall until noon tomorrow then he'd go to his home if Niall hadn't rung. That decided, he pulled off his reading glasses , and closed his eyes to rest them. The wolf had to be subdued......and soon!