The Dancer's Daughter (1D)

Chapter Twenty-Six

Every night, I found myself in the bathroom or the tour bus (or sometimes a hotel room), and every night, Niall met me in there and held my hair back for me. During the day, he gave me sympathetic glances and helped me with simple things. He wouldn't let me lift anything anymore, and he was careful to actually cook for me. He also went out and got me some kind of unknown vitamins, and started having things I was craving before I could mention it. It was like he was trying to help me get better so I wouldn't have to share that I was sick with the others.

After the first week of this, Skylar caught us in the bathroom. She had a very long, apparently secret conversation with Niall, and then she was doing the same as he was. About a week after that, Liam and Louis were staring at me every chance they got. I think they suspected something was wrong with me again, but they never said anything... so I don't really know.

Zayn and Harry stayed oblivious through the whole ordeal. After a few weeks, the illness got less frequent. I spent less time in the bathroom at night, until I was down to just a couple nights a week. And then it was gone. But even after it passed, Niall and Skylar (and sometimes Liam and Louis) made sure I was doing very little. I was pretty much restricted to choreographing.

I was craving Nutella again (no pickles this time, thankfully), so I sent Louis to the store to get some for me. Zayn was busy talking with Paul about something, and the others were too lazy. Lou actually volunteered to go get them for me. Well, actually, when I announced I was going to get them, he sprang up and made me stay while he went.

I actually was blaming them for my sudden weight-gain. I wasn't allowed to do anything, so I wasn't working off the fat that I was consuming, and I'd gained a bit of weight. I'd made Louis and Niall take me clothes shopping last week because some of my clothing was getting uncomfortable. We had a month left in the U.S., and I was not going to be uncomfortable. I would enjoy it, even if it killed me.

While Lou was gone, I had Preston drive me out to the venue to choreograph. I just kind of left without telling anyone where I was going, which I knew wasn't smart... oh well. I wasn't far, and Preston was with me. If Paul or one of the boys wanted me, they could either call me or him and I'd be right back there.

It was a new song that I'd gotten them to record for me, and it was absolutely amazing. They'd never sang it for an audience before, and they were excited to sing it for this concert. It was two days away, so my plan was to make the dance tonight and teach it tomorrow during rehearsal. The song was called Alive, and it was a bit different from what they usually did. It wasn't going to be a slow dance, it would be fast and perfect. Much more difficult than other things I'd choreographed. It would take a bit longer to teach... but it would be so worth it. They would introduce this song with a bang!

The recorded voices sang and I just lost myself in it. I forgot that I was supposed to choreograph for them, and I made the dance for me. And when it was done, Preston had to remind me that they couldn't do most of those steps. I sighed and started again, scrapping the awesome solo to work on a group routine that was simple. And it took a bit longer than normal, but I got one that was perfect. And just as I was finishing, the door banged open and Niall came running in.

"What are you doing? Please tell me you haven't been dancing!" he exclaimed, jumping up onto the stage and hurrying over to me.

"What are you talking about? Of course I was! I still have my job, and I have to teach you guys this dance tomorrow. Preston was with me; I was safe. And I have the perfect routine for you guys, for your new song!" I told him, excited. He frowned.

"I don't think that it's good for you to be dancing like that..." he said softly. I rolled my eyes.

"And why is that? Have I done something to anger the dancing gods?" I asked sarcastically. The door opened again and Skylar came running in too. She took one look at us up on the stage and walked right back out the door. I could hear her shouting, but I couldn't make out the words. The other boys came running in after me too, all but Louis.

"What's going on? Why haven't you guys come out yet? We have to get going!" Liam shouted, motioning us to follow him.

"Why are we leaving?" I asked, confused. Niall groaned in frustration and grabbed my hand, pulling me along behind him quickly.

"Louis is in the hospital. There was a car accident, and he's injured. He's not going to be dancing anytime soon," he informed me as we went. And then I must have blanked out or something, because the next thing I could remember was sitting down in a hard chair in the waiting room. We weren't allowed to see him.

"Has anyone... has anyone called Eleanor? Let her know that Louis is in the hospital?" I asked. Niall just nodded.

"She's catching the next flight. She'll be here with us tonight, and I'm hoping she'll be as calm as you're being about this," Liam informed me. I wanted to ignore him, but I just... I couldn't be mad at anyone when one of my best friends was in the hospital.

Eleanor's POV

The plane landed at eight. Paul was waiting for me, and I just followed him wordlessly to the black van. The paps were there, and I just... I couldn't actually hear a word they were saying. I was locked in my own mind, thinking about how Louis didn't deserve to be in the hospital. It was bad enough when Haley was... now my boo was in there!

The drive was silent, and I was grateful for that. The only thing Paul said to me was the room number, and then telling me where the other boys and Haley were. I went straight to them, knowing Lou wouldn't be allowed to see me yet anyways. Otherwise, Paul would have told me.

"Haley, love, are you okay? I know you were just in the hospital too, are you better now, babe?" I asked, sitting next to her. I wrapped my arms around her, just hugging her. She hugged back immediately.

"I'm fine. I'm terrified for Louis though. Nobody will tell me what his injuries are, and I have no idea how bad it is!" she said softly, tears obvious in her voice. I looked up at the other boys and met Niall's eyes. He motioned with his head, letting me know he wanted to talk to me. I nodded.

"Babe, I'm going to grab some coffee and talk to a doctor. I'll find out what is going on, and report back to you as soon as possible. Ni, will you come with me? We can bring coffee back for everyone," I said, standing again. He nodded and Haley just closed her eyes and leaned her head on Zayn's shoulder. He wrapped an arm around her waist and held her close. I smiled in approval.

Niall led me down to the cafeteria before turning to talk to me. "When Haley was in the hospital, they told me exactly what's been wrong with her. Turns out, it wasn't anything to do with cancer. It took them a long time to find it, because they weren't looking for it specifically, and when they did find it, Haley wasn't awake yet. I was the only one here, so they told me, and left it to me to tell her and everyone else," he told me.

"So what was wrong with her then?" I asked impatiently.

"She's been getting dizzy often, throwing up at night- although that's almost passed. She's gaining weight, but she's not eating any more than normal," he told me, hinting. I gasped and covered my mouth.

"Oh my god... she's pregnant!" I exclaimed. I didn't know how to feel for her. She wouldn't want this yet.. she's going to freak out when she found out. More importantly... "Have you told her? Or anyone else?" I asked.

"Skylar guessed it and I told her she was right. Liam and Louis know, but they haven't talked to me about it, so they don't know that they're right. Harry and Zayn are just oblivious. And I told Paul, because he needs to know everything about us to take care of us. Other than that, I've only talked to you," he replied carefully. "She's under a lot of stress already, and I know that's not good for the baby. Finding out about the baby might send her over the edge and cause a miscarriage."

"Not knowing and discovering it by accident could be worse for her," I replied, thinking. He nodded, but he wasn't happy.

"I'm leaving it up to you, El. Whatever you think is best, I'll go with," he told me.

Well, shit. That wasn't what I meant to have happen...