Two Pieces

The Epilogue & The End

"How pissed is Sofia at you right now?" Zayn asked from the passenger seat as Harry drove towards home.

Harry looked over at him confused.

"Did I do something to make her pissed?" Harry asked, wondering if Zayn got an irate text that Harry didn't.

"I mean for leaving to do this while she's 9 months pregnant," Zayn said, rolling his eyes, "I mean, Emily almost had my head, and the girls are sleeping through the night. But her alone with 3 kids? She wasn't happy. I can't imagine Sofia with 5 right now..."

"She's not alone," Harry said, "And neither is Emily. They have everyone else to help them out."

"I know, but still, that baby could come any day now..." Zayn said, "You're telling me she wasn't just a little upset?"

"No, she wasn't," Harry said, shaking his head, "She knew we had to step in on this job. Plus, She's got Nate and Birdie to help her out. And also, the baby isn't due for another 3 weeks. Hell, Sofia is still working. Even though I've told her repeatedly I want her to take some time off."

"Oh yeah," Zayn said, nodding, "She's still looking into opening that little pub, huh?"

"Yes," Harry said, his words stiff.

"You don't sound happy," Zayn observed.

"She's got two clubs she's running, plus the restaurant, and now she wants to open a small bar," Harry said, shaking his head, "It's too much. And she said she's going to get management, but we both know she won't. She's too much of a control freak when it comes to that shit."

"Well, she likes to work..." Zayn said, shrugging.

"Yeah, but she wants to go back to worth like right after the baby gets here," Harry growled, "It's ridiculous, she should just take some time off. Relax. Be a mom. Get used to having 6 kids. We're barely used to having 5."

"Nate seems to be doing good."

"He is," Harry said, with a proud smile, "He's playing football at school, and in the boxing club. He's grades are pretty good. And I've only had to ground him like ... 7 times..."

Zayn snorted at Harry's words. Harry was definitely bad cop. Harry and Sofia's kids couldn't get away with anything. Not that any of their kids could, but Harry really laid down the law, and Sofia who was the biggest wild child on the planet, wasn't far behind him.

"I can't believe you and Sofia are about to have kid number six," Zayn said quietly, "I mean, out of all of use, who woulda thought you two would have the most kids?"

"I kind of always knew once she wanted kids, she'd want a big family," Harry said quietly, staring at the road.

"Seriously?" Zayn asked, looking over.

"Yeah," Harry said, "I mean, did I think we'd have six? No. But I figured we'd have at least 3 or 4. Sofia hates silence. And she was always happiest when the house was full of people. I mean, we've never lived alone. She enjoys being around family."

"Who woulda thought that either?" Zayn said, shaking his head and thinking back to young Sofia, who they could barely get to come to a family dinner once upon a time.

"I can't believe our girls are only going to be like 7 months apart," Harry said, his eyes wide in disbelief, "We're so screwed."

"Oh, if they're anything like their mothers, we're going to have to put bars on the windows."

"I've always hated windows," Harry mumbled.


***


Harry Styles quietly opened the front door of his large home. It was a beautiful home. A large farmhouse. Sofia and him had added on to it a few years ago, just to have more rooms and space. It was open and it echoed when the kids yelled. The outside was even better. A large yard, with plenty of room to run around. Harry got stables put in when Hope started riding horses. Sofia insisted on a small pool being installed. It was always a little messy. And there was always something going on in it.

"Hey boys," Harry whispered to the two dogs that jumped up to greet him quietly.

Sofia insisted on getting Schroder when Nicholas was born. She wanted him to have a boy to play with.

And Birdie brought home Simba a few years ago when she found him wandering the street. They looked for the owner, but never found him. By the time they gave up, Birdie was too attached and Harry didn't have it in his heart give him to a shelter.

Harry walked quietly past the dogs and into the dark house. It was late. He grabbed a bottle of water from his fridge, and glanced in to see what the family had had for dinner.

Enchiladas. Sofia made the best enchiladas.

Harry pet Darcy, who had lept up on the counter to greet him. The cat always seemed to be in the kitchen. Right in the middle of the house. And in the middle of all the excitement.

Harry moved up his stairs slowly, stopping at Nathan's room to look in.

His oldest wasn't asleep, but instead attached to the phone Harry was regretting giving to him already.

"Dad, you're home," Nate said, surprised.

"And you're awake," Harry said, glancing at the clock that read 2 am.

"Oh, yeah," Nate said sheepishly, "Talking to Patrick about our English test tomorrow..."

"Get to bed," Harry said, "It's late, and I'm not fighting with you tomorrow morning about getting out of bed."

"Got it," Nathan mumbled, slinking down into his bed.

"Goodnight Nate," Harry said.

"Goodnight," Nate answered, "I'm glad your home."

Harry smiled before closing the door to his son's room.

Next he checked in on Nick and Charlie's room. The two boys were fast asleep in their bunk beds. Charlie was finally out of Harry and Sofia's bed full time, which was nice. But Harry couldn't help but missing having kids at the age that they would just crawl into bed with them. Charlie only did it once in awhile now.

Charlie with his mother's blonde hair, but he's uncle's gentle personality. Charlie definitely had the sweetest disposition out of all of his children. He had the biggest heart, and he always wanted you to be happy. He took everything to heart too. Of course, he was only four. So that could still change.

Nicholas was Harry's mini me. From his curly hair, to his green eyes. And he had Harry's personality too. He was a spitfire, but could become deadly serious. He wanted to know everything. And he was a control freak. He liked things the way he liked them, and that was the end of that. And for being 10, he was fiercely protective of his family. Before Harry left that weekend, Nick made sure to reassure Harry he would look after mom. And Harry believed him.

Harry kissed both his sons on the head quietly, before creeping out of their room. Schroeder was in between the boy's rooms, with his head on the floor. He always slept there at night.

"Good boy," Harry said quietly before walking across the hall to Hope's room.

Hope was in bed, and Darcy must've made her way back upstairs, because she in between Hope's leg's as Hope snored quietly into her pillow.

Hope was their little tomboy. She was the opposite of her sister. Harry cleaned up more cuts and bruises on Hope, then on any of his other kids combined. And she always wanted to try something new. She was an adrenaline junkie. Like Nick, she had Harry's hair, but her mother's eyes. She had her mother's smile too, and she definitely had her mother's fearlessness. Nothing scared Hope. And that scared the shit out of Harry.

Harry covered up his younger daughter, and kissed her gently causing her eyes to flutter open.

"Daddy," Hope mumbled, wrapping her arms around his neck.

"Go back to sleep, babe," Harry whispered, "I'll see you in the morning."

"I'm so glad you're home," Hope mumbled, although she was already falling back asleep, "I missed you."

"I missed you too," Harry said, giving her another kiss before leaving her room and listening for the sound of her light snore again.

Harry checked on Birdie last. His first child desperately needed to clean her room. But that didn't surprise him. Birdie may not biologically be Sofia's, but she was Sofia reincarnate.

She was a hurricane. You heard her before you saw her. She turned heads everywhere she went. And she had a rebellious spirit that you just couldn't tame. She drove Harry crazy. And he drove her crazy. But they still had a relationship most kids and parents would die for. Birdie never had a problem coming to Harry for anything, and unlike Sofia, she was the most open of his kids. Birdie was not one for subtly.

Birdie was asleep with her laptop in front of her. Harry rolled his eyes, before closing the laptop and putting it on her desk. He made a note to remind her that when she got in bed wasn't the time to do her homework. He switched off the light on her bedside table, and leaning down to kiss her cheek.

"Goodnight, Little Bird," he whispered, as Simba walked into the room and jumped up on her bed.

"Keep her safe, boy," Harry said quietly, patting the dog and exiting the room.

Harry paused before entering his own room. It was nights like tonight Harry just had to stop and think. If you had told him this is what his life would be like when he was younger, he would have laughed at you. Harry Styles couldn't love anyone long enough to have one kid with them, let alone six. He was a street kid, he'd never own his own home. He didn't have parents, so he'd probably ruin children's lives like his dad ruined his.

But this was his life, he lived in this beautiful house with his stunning pregnant wife, and their five kids. And there wasn't a day that went by where he took it for granted. Harry loved a lot of things in his life. He loved his gang. He loved being treated with respect and fear in town. He loved shooting a gun, and causing trouble. He loved his gym. He loved making deals.

But he didn't love anything like he loved being a father and husband.

Harry crept quietly into his room, and could see the silhouette of Sofia lying as comfortably as she could. She was asleep.

Bingly growled quietly, her head resting on Sofia's very large stomach.

"Hush Bing," Harry said to their very old, protective dog, "It's just me."

Bingly licked Harry's hand in greeting, before putting his head on Sofia's stomach again. Bingly did this with every pregnancy. He always slept on Sofia's stomach, and followed Sofia around everywhere she went. Bingly was like a protective shadow. Sometimes it drove Harry up the wall, but most of the time, he was grateful. Harry knew it made Sofia feel good.

"Hey," Sofia whispered, her eyes fluttering open, "You're home."

"I'm home," Harry said quietly, leaning down and giving her a kiss.

"How was the job?" Sofia asked.

"Easy," Harry responded, before sitting on the edge of their bed, and pulling off his pants, "How'd everything go here?"

"Oh you know," Sofia said, "Couple of the kids skipped school. We threw a rager. Smoked some weed, killed some bottles of vodka. Dad was away, so we partied hard."

"You're funny," Harry said, his voice flat, as he climbed into bed next to her.

"I know," Sofia said, with a grin.

"Everyone was good? You're good? How's the baby?" Harry asked.

"Everyone was great, Nathan and Birdie really stepped up to help me out," Sofia said.

"I'll have to remember that next time I want to ground them," Harry said, causing Sofia to laugh.

"I feel fine," Sofia said, "And the baby is good. I'm just ready to have her. I'm so uncomfortable."

"I know baby," Harry said, gently. He'd been through this enough times to know the 9 months was hell for Sofia. She usually had great, easy pregnancies, right up until that last month.

"Kids all asleep?" Sofia asked, looking up at him.

"How would I know?" Harry asked, innocently.

"Oh please," Sofia scoffed, "You think I didn't hear you go into each and every room and check on them, just like you do every night?"

"Yes, their asleep," Harry answered, scowling at her. She was always teasing him about how protective he was. But Harry wouldn't apologize for it. He admitted that sometimes he went a little overboard, but he had worked damn hard for this. They both had. And he was going to protect what they had built with everything he had.

"Sometimes, I can't believe this is my life," Harry said quietly. He didn't have to explain, Sofia knew. If anyone knew what he meant, it was her.

"Me neither," Sofia said, with a grin, "But God, it's a good one."

Harry smiled, before leaning down to kiss her.

"I love you," he said against her lips.

"I love you too," she answered, before she let him wrap himself around her and her stomach and fall asleep.


***


"I always knew one day I'd find you pregnant and in the club," Niall said, as he approached Sofia who was behind the bar. Louis and Zayn right behind him.

"Ha," Sofia said, her voice flat and un-amused, "Go fuck yourself. My husband send you to check up on me?"

"Of course not," Louis cried out, but when Sofia gave him a knowing look, he looked down at the ground.

"Yeah, he did," Zayn said, "But in his defense, you're 9 months pregnant and working way too hard."

"I'm fine," Sofia said, rolling her eyes.

"You should copy rite those words you've said them so much," Niall said, pouring himself a little whiskey.

"Harry's worried," Louis said, "Can't you just cut the guy a break and take some time off before you have the baby?"

"I can't," Sofia said, "I have this deal I have to get done on the pub..."

"Do you really need the pub right now, Sof?" Zayn asked, sitting at the bar.

"Wow, he really sent you to do his dirty work," Sofia scoffed, giving Zayn a dirty look.

"Don't give me that look," Zayn barked, "You know you're pushing yourself too hard right now. You look fucking exhausted. It's not good for anyone..."

"I just like working," Sofia said, shrugging, "I always have."

"And you've always pushed yourself too damn hard," Louis said, "You're not Superwoman and you're driving your husband crazy."

"Why do I get the feeling this isn't a friendly suggestion?" Sofia asked, crossing her arms and placing them on top of her very large stomach.

"I told you she'd figure it out," Niall mumbled, shaking his head.

"It's not a suggestion," Zayn said, "Louis and I will be taking over the clubs and bar, for now..."

"Excuse me?" Sofia hissed.

"Harry's orders," Louis said, nervously.

"Harry doesn't give me orders," Sofia barked.

"Yes, he does," Harry said, strolling into the club and causing Sofia to narrow her eyes.

"Are you out of your mind?" Sofia snapped, "Are you really going to piss off a 9 month pregnant woman? Do you have a death wish?"

"My only wish is to take my beautiful wife out on a lunch date, and do some baby shopping," Harry said, leaning against the bar, "Now whether or not she does what she is told, is up to her."

"You're kidding me, right?" Sofia growled.

"Do I look like I'm kidding?" Harry asked, his face dead serious. A face that told her she was not winning this one. She was going to go home. And she was going to relax. Whether she wanted to or not.

Many things had changed for Harry and Sofia, his serious spanking face was not one of them.

She was pretty sure he wouldn't spank her when she was think pregnant.

Or in the middle of the club.

But she wasn't really willing to test that either.

And after all these years, that face still turned her on.




***



"I knew it was a bad idea to let them go," Harry said, as he paced the living room floor. Sofia was sitting on the couch watching him pace.

"Would you like another check in the Harry's right column?" Sofia asked quietly, glancing down at her phone.

"This isn't funny, they're late..." Harry said, "And they were at a party..."

"Harry, you're making me even more nervous," Sofia said, "Please stop pacing."

"I'm going to get them," Harry barked, picking up his keys.

"They're only 20 minutes late," Sofia said, "Just relax, please..."

"How can I relax?!" Harry barked, even louder.

"We have 3 kids upstairs sound asleep," Sofia reminded him, causing Harry to take a deep breath and his muscles to relax.

The front door creaked open, causing Sofia and Harry both to stand up. Nathan was trying to sneak in the house, while trying to hold Birdie up. Harry immediately crossed his arms and stared, as Nate looked up and cursed quietly to himself. Birdie looked up, and her eyes went wide with fear.

"What the hell is this?" Harry barked, staring at his oldest two children.

"Daddy," Birdie said, her words coming out slurred, "I can essplain..."

"Oh my God," Sofia hissed, her jaw dropping open.

Her 15-year-old daughter was drunk. She was wasted. And Harry looked ready to murder someone.

"I think she means, she can explain," Nate said quietly, still holding her sister up.

"Birdie, are you drunk?" Harry asked, taking a step towards his daughter.

"A little," Birdie said, with a smile on her face. Clearly, she was too drunk to realize how much trouble she was in.

"ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR MIND?!" Harry yelled, "WHAT THE HELL WERE YOU THINKING?!"

"Harry, please," Sofia said quietly, "Everyone is asleep."

"WHERE THE HELL WERE YOU?!" Harry shouted at Nathan.

"I'm not her babysitter," Nathan said, "And I did try and stop her when I found her, but she wouldn't leave. I practically had to drag her out."

"You're telling me you didn't know she was drinking?" Harry asked, waving his arms around.

"No, dad, I didn't!" Nathan said, "I wasn't drinking. She disappeared with her friends. I found her in a room, and she was already pretty tipsy. I tried to get her to leave about 40 minutes ago, and finally I just drug her out. It was embarrassing..."

"I'm not embarrassing!" Birdie said, offended, "You're embarrassing!"

"You be quiet! I cannot believe you could be so STUPID, Birdie!" Harry yelled, pointing at her.

Birdie cringed at her father's voice.

"I'm not stupid," she muttered to herself.

Nathan sighed deeply.

"You're killing me, Bird," Nathan said, shaking his head.

"Do you see your mother?!" Harry yelled, pointing at Sofia, "She's 9 months pregnant with a baby! You had us worried sick! And to come in like this, just makes us not trust you! With a new baby on the way, we have to be able to trust you! You must be out of your God damn minds!"

"Harry!" Sofia snapped at him, "Enough. You're too upset right now!"

"Get her upstairs, and into bed," Harry snapped at Nate, "I will deal with you both tomorrow."

Nathan knew better then to argue, so he helped his sister up the stairs while Harry pulled at his own hair.

"Let's just be thankful they got home safe," Sofia said quietly.

"Do you believe this shit?!" Harry barked, turning to Sofia.

"Do I believe that our two teenagers went to a party where there was drinking and one of them got drunk?" Sofia asked, looking at Harry with a look that said duh, "Yeah, I believe it."

"I'm ready to kill her!" Harry snapped, "She could barely stand up!"

"I saw," Sofia said.

"How are you so calm?!" Harry yelled, frustrated at his wife.

"I'm just happy their both safe," Sofia said.

"Of course you're calm about this," Harry snapped.

"What is that supposed to mean?" Sofia asked.

"I mean, you must be proud. She certainly is your daughter," Harry hissed.

"You're angry, so you're saying things you're going to regret," Sofia said, crossing her arms, "I'm not going to participate in this conversation because you're just being spiteful. And ridiculous. I'm just as upset about this, but right now I'm more grateful and relieved that they are home safe. Don't mistake that for being anywhere near being okay with this. But, they are home safe, Harry...."

"For now," Harry growled, before stomping through the kitchen.

"Where are you going?!" Sofia called behind him.

"To call Zayn," Harry said, "He'll be pissed with me."

And with that, Harry slammed the kitchen door.

"Yeah," Sofia said, her hand on her stomach, "Six kids was a good idea. A great idea..."


***


It was an unusually quiet morning for Sofia. Nate had boxing practice, and Sofia was pretty sure Zayn was giving him hell. Harry took the rest other kids out to the park. Of course, Birdie was still asleep and was going to be miserable when she woke up. Harry wanted to wake her up bright and early, but Sofia insisted on letting her sleep.

Harry's fears were getting the best of him when it came to Birdie.

Birdie made a mistake, but she wasn't Sofia. Sofia needed him to figure that out before he talked to Birdie about the night before.

Of course, that frustrated Harry more.

Sofia was on the couch, sipping tea when Birdie came creeping down the stairs.

"Good morning," Sofia said quietly, watching as tears immediately began to form in Birdies eyes.

"Mom," Birdie cried out, walking over to the couch, "I'm so sorry."

"Because you're sorry, or because your head hurts?" Sofia asked, her voice calm but frustration seeping through.

"Because I'm sorry," Birdie said, "Where's Dad?"

"He's out with everyone at the park," Sofia answered honestly.

"He hates me, doesn't he?" Birdie asked.

Sofia grabbed her daughters face.

"Babe, out of all my kids you remind me the most of me," Sofia said quietly, "Maybe that's biologically impossible. But it's the truth. And you remind your father of me. He was just scared last night. You scared him. And sometimes, when he's scared it comes out in anger. But he could never hate you. We will always love you. No matter what mistakes you make. And believe me, you're going to make a lot. But don't ever think we don't love you."

"He was so mad last night," Birdie said.

"I know," Sofia answered, "But that's because you're growing up, and he can't protect you from everything. Including yourself. And that scares him."

"I didn't even want to drink," Birdie said, "I wanted to leave. But I didn't want Nate to have to leave, and I didn't want to call you guys because I knew you'd be upset that there was alcohol."

"But you did drink..."

"Because I'm popular," Birdie said, "I know that sounds stupid. But I'm one of the cool kids, and it would've made me look pathetic if I didn't."

"I have no room to lecture you on underage drinking," Sofia said, with a deep sigh, "But that is a dumb reason to drink. And it doesn't matter how popular you are, you're still a child. So be a child, don't try and act like an adult. All those nights I drank, and woke up the next day feeling awful, I wasn't being a kid. I was trying to be an adult. And you have no idea how much I wish I had just been a kid more..."

"Nate's mad at me too," Birdie said, "He kept trying to get me to leave, and I got more and more angry because he was telling me what to do and being so protective. I don't want everyone to be mad at me."

"I'm not mad," Sofia said, "I'm disappointed. And I'm frustrated. And I'm scared. But I'm not mad. As for your brother, he'll get over it. And so will your dad. They've made mistakes too. You just have to give it some time."

"What if this ruins my relationship with Dad?" Birdie asked.

"That's impossible," Sofia said, shaking her head, "He loves you and your siblings more then anything in this world, nothing can ruin that. Not even this."

"He doesn't love us more then he loves you," Birdie said.

"That depends on the day," Sofia said, "But I can tell you I've done a lot of stupid things over the years I've been with your father, and he has never let any of it ruin us."

"I'm sorry," Birdie said quietly.

"I know you are," Sofia said, holding her daughter close to her, as Birdie cried.

"It was so stupid, I was so stupid," Birdie mumbled, into her mother's shoulder.

"You're not stupid, Birdie," Sofia said, "My kids aren't stupid."



***


"Harry," Sofia said, her arms crossed over her chest as he walked into the bedroom, "You have to talk to Birdie."

"I'm going to do that right now," Harry said, as he took off his shoes, "I figure a month is a good amount of time. No friends. No going out. I'll let her keep her phone."

"I meant, you have to actually talk to her about last night... Not just punish her..."

"There's nothing to talk about. She broke our rules," Harry said, looking over at Sofia.

"You can't take your fear out on her," Sofia snapped.

"What does that mean?" Harry asked, a growl in his voice.

"It means she looks like me, and she has my spirit. But she's not me, Harry. She made a mistake, but that doesn't mean she's me," Sofia said, "Don't treat her like she is."

"It was like de ja vu, watching her come in last night," Harry said quietly, "And I just don't want her to do the things you did. Or, that we both did. I don't want any of our kids to do that."

"I don't either, but teenagers make their own decisions. Right or wrong. No matter what we do. We just have to stay consistent and be there. And make sure they know, we still love them."

"Of course she knows that," Harry scoffed.

"Harry, she thinks you hate her today. She thinks she's ruined your relationship..."

"What?"

"You were so mad last night, and out the door before you saw her this morning..."

"I didn't want to say something I'd regret..." Harry said quietly, although he looked slightly ashamed.

"Harry, you have to let her know you still love her. And I'm not making excuses for her, but she is under a lot of pressure to be pretty and to be cool. She's a teenage girl, and right now the opinions of her peers matter more then ours. So, you need to play this right. Because I don't want to push her into only caring about that."

"I got it," Harry said, nodding at his wife.

"Also, she wanted to come home. But she was scared to call us..."

"What? Why?" Harry asked, looking surprised.

"Because she knew you'd be angry," Sofia said.

Harry sighed deeply, closing his eyes in frustration.

This raising teenagers thing was hard.



***


"Little Bird," Harry barked, coming down the stairs and catching his oldest daughters attention. She looked up at him embarrassed and fearful. She knew he was about to lay down the law.

"Let's go for a ride," Harry said, motioning at Birdie to follow him out of the house.

"Tell me about last night," Harry said, looking over at his daughter, who looked very uncomfortable.

"We got to the party. And not everyone was drinking. But my friends were. And I didn't want to, I swear. But, I would've look like a child if I asked Nate to bring me home. And I didn't want to call you guys either, because we told you there wasn't going to be drinking. And you would've been so angry. So, I stayed. And I just wanted to fit in, and be cool. So I drank. And it stupid. And I'm sorry."

"You know, I'd be hypocrite if I told you that I didn't do stupid things to be cool at your age," Harry said quietly, "But, fitting in and being cool doesn't mean much if you break the trust of the people who have faith in you. I raised you better then that."

"I know," Birdie said quietly, looking down at her hands, "I know you're so mad at me, and I get it..."

"I was mad," Harry said, "But I was more scared. You're my kid. And I hated seeing you that drunk. It's not safe. And you're underage. And so many things could have gone wrong."

"I know," Birdie said, crying again.

"I let my fear get the best of me last night," Harry said, "I shouldn't have reacted like that. But, you scared the hell out of me."

"I'm so sorry, dad," Birdie said, looking up at him. Harry wiped her tears with his hand.

"I know you are," Harry said quietly, "And that means the world to me. I love you, Birdie. I love you no matter. I don't ever want you to think that there is anything you could do that would make me stop loving you..."

"Really?" Birdie asked.

"Really," Harry said, "And next time, call. I don't want you to ever do something you don't really want to do. You can call mother or me at anytime, anywhere and we will come and get you. And we won't be angry. We just need you to be safe. So next time, call. Okay?"

"Okay," Birdie said, we a relieved sigh.

"Two weeks," Harry said, "Grounded. No friends. No going out. You'll help your mom and I out, and earn our trust back..."

"Okay," Birdie agreed quietly.

"Alright, let's get ice cream," Harry said, turning back to the road.

"Really?" Birdie asked, perking up a bit. She hadn't gotten ice cream with just Harry in a while.

"Really," Harry said, "I love you, Little Bird."


***



Sofia had been in labor for almost 48 hours. Harry had seen her do many things that took strength and courage. But this, this blew his mind. While he paced and snapped at the doctors. Sofia remained calm, and even though she was in pain, she handled the labor with grace. She amazed him. 13 years together, and she still found ways to amaze him.

"Baby," Harry mumbled against her head. Sofia was sweating and moaning from the pain, "It's okay, you're doing so good..."

"I don't understand," Sofia gasped, "My labor's are usually so easy. Why won't this baby come out?"

"She'll be here soon, love," Harry said, grasping Sofia's hand, "It's going to be okay."

"AHHHH!" Sofia screamed, as a contraction hit her hard. The nurse suddenly looked concerned and asked for the doctor to be paged.

"What is going on?" Harry snapped at the nurse.

The doctor came in as Sofia was yelling. The nurse gave him a look that Sofia recognized immediately. Something was wrong.

"Sofia, the baby is a breach position," the doctor said, "We're too far into labor to turn her. And you are in a position where you could easily hermorage and we could
lose both of you..."

"What?" Harry barked, straightening up immediately.

"We have to do an emergency C-section," the doctor said, "We need to get you into surgery now."

"I've never had a C-section, I've delivered all of my kids," Sofia said, looking at the doctor, "Are you sure I can't do this?"

"Sofia, listen to the doctor," Harry said, his voice panicked.

"We don't have time," the doctor said, "This baby has to come out."




***


Harry stood by Sofia's hospital bed hoping her eyes would open. And they did. Her eyes fluttered open. Sofia did hemmorage during the C-section. The doctors got it under control, but Sofia was just waking up from the ordeal.

"Daisy?" Sofia asked, her voice barely there.

"She's here baby, and she's beautiful," Harry said, "I'm so glad you're okay..."

Harry leaned down to kiss the top of her head.

"Are you okay?" Sofia asked, looking up at him.

"Of course I am," Harry said.

"Harry, I know you liked the idea of us having another baby," Sofia said, with a smile, "And now we can't. This was our last."

"I'm a little sad, knowing this is our last time doing this," Harry said, "It feels like the end of something. But, it's also the beginning."

The nurse came in with a tiny bundle of a baby. Her green eyes and blonde hair immediately sent Sofia into tears as the nurse laid her in Sofia's arms. Harry immediately sat next to Sofia, wrapping his arms around her. This was the last child he'd have with her. This was the last time he'd sit with her like this.

"It is the beginning," Sofia said gently, "Look at what we've created together. Look at this world we made. We did it. Together. And it's beautiful. This might be our last time, but it feels right."

"She's the last piece of our puzzle," Harry said, "We feel complete now..."

"I'm okay," Sofia said, "I'm okay with it ending like this. We've been through so much, and we've built something wonderful. Who could ask for anything more?"

"Not me," Harry said quietly, "What we did, what we have, it's beyond anything I could have asked or hoped for. We literally created a dream come true."



***


"She's beautiful," Liam said, holding his tiny niece,
"I'm glad she's okay. You did good."

"YOU did good," Sofia said to her brother from the hospital bed. Liam looked up at her.

"All my kids were in here, passing Daisy around and cooing and awing, and all I could think about is, none of this would have happened if it weren't for you..."

"Sofa, that's not true. You always would've made a good mom..."

"It's true, Liam," Sofia said, "I look at my kids. And I just want to protect them. And I love them. No matter what. I'd never give up on any of them. And I never understood you, and how you could never give up. And how you loved me through it all. Anything I learned about being a good parent, I learned from you."

"The drugs are getting to you, Sofa," Liam said, with a chuckle.

"Maybe," Sofia said, shrugging, "But look how far we've come. Look how much we've changed. We weren't ever supposed to be these people. And we are. And it's because you fought for us to be. I'll never be able to thank you enough for what you did. You changed my life, Liam. I would never have what I have if it weren't for you."

"Everything I taught you, everything I did for you," Liam said quietly, "You did the same. You taught me more about life and living then anyone. You amaze me, Sof. You amazed me then, and you amaze me now. You have always been this person, I just saw it before you did."

"I hope that my kids have relationships with each other like we do," Sofia said, "I hope our kids have relationships with each other like we do. I just want them to feel what it's like to know that someone always has your back."

"Our kids are gonna be even closer then us," Liam said, standing up and handing Sofia her baby back, "Because there's no one trying to get in the way of that."

"We did good, huh?" Sofia said, "All the damage and the heart ache, and the baggage. We fought through it. We survived it."

"We did more then survive, Sof," Liam said, "We lived. We are living. This is life. And it's beautiful."

"Not a bad life," Sofia said quietly, with a smile, remembering back to that Birthday that seemed to change it all.

"Not a bad life," Liam repeated, before kissing his sisters head.



***


Sofia watched as Harry rocked Daisy in the hospital room. His eyes glued on her, like he'd never seen anything so beautiful. He looked at all his kids like that.

"Thank you," Sofia said, quietly.

"For what?" Harry asked, looking up at her.

"For never giving up on us," Sofia said, "Even when I wanted to. You ever did. You always knew we'd end up here."

"I hoped," Harry admitted, shrugging.

"You have given me the perfect happy ending, Harry Styles," Sofia said quietly.

"It ain't over yet, babe," Harry said, with a smirk, standing up and walking over to her bed.

"Thank you for loving a broken girl so much and so deep, she had no choice but to heal..."

"Thank you for being color inside a very dark world," Harry answered.

"I love you," Sofia said quietly.

"I love you too baby," Harry said, "Then. Now. Always."


Then. Now. Always.