parenthood | niam au [ON HOLD]

sick

a/n: hi, everyone! i hate to have to do this, so please only do so if you're comfortable, but i'm running low on ideas for this fic. i don't wanna end it anytime soon, so if you have any ideas or anything you'd really like to see, please, please say so in the comments! i'd really, really appreciate it! thanks xo! also, should i write the car sex scene?

"li. li, babe, wake up." niall sounds exhausted, and shoves at his husband's shoulder.

"sleeping," liam mutters, rolling over, pressing his face into the pillow.

"i know, babe, i'm so sorry...but zinnia is sick, and i can't do it all by myself."

liam sits up, glances at the clock. 3:57am. "she's sick?" he yawns. 

niall nods. "she's thrown up...her nose seems pretty stuffed up, too, and she definitely has a fever."

liam kicks the blankets down and gets out of the bed, stretches. "i'm so glad the boys are at your mom's," he yawns. "come on, let's go make her feel better."

liam and niall make their way to the crib and liam scoops zinnia up. she leans her head against liam's chest, whining, and he coos gently and rubs her back.

niall reaches around him to touch her forehead. "yeah, i think her fever is pretty bad, li...do you know where the thermometer is?" niall's voice shakes with worry.

"it's in the bathroom, i'll get it. can you change the blankets and stuff on her crib while i'm gone?" when niall nods, liam leaves the room, gently bouncing zinnia in his arms when she whines. "shhh, i know, baby. poor little girl, not feeling so good, huh?" he kisses the top of her head and finds the thermometer pacifier. "here you go, sweetheart." he pops the paci in her mouth and gently bounces her until it beeps.

"she definitely has a fever," liam calls to niall. he carries zinnia back out to the bedroom to find niall carrying the blankets from her crib down to the washer.

"if you give her a cold bath it might help her fever go down. i'll grab the stuffy nose meds from downstairs and a bottle."

liam nods. "sounds good, babe." niall leaves the room with the blankets and liam carries zinnia in the bathroom again. "i know you aren't gonna like this, zin, but it'll make you feel better, i promise." he sets her down on the bathroom floor beside her, and she just whines, wanting to be held. soon enough, the bathtub is full of cool water, and he pulls off her diaper and sets her in the water.

"no," she whines as soon as she's in, tears forming in her eyes, lip quivering.

"i know, pumpkin, i'm so sorry," he coos, giving her a few toys to play with.

"out," she whimpers.

"soon, baby."

she lets out a whine, but splashes around in the cool water a bit before liam scoops her out. he pops the pacifier back in her mouth and is relieved to see that her fever has gone down a little, but not enough.

"how is she?" niall asks, popping his head in as liam puts a new diaper on her. "hi, baby," he coos, smoothing her hair back.

"her fever's gone down just a little. i think we should give her her bottle and her meds and see if she can sleep it off," liam suggests. with a nod, niall takes her from him and cradles her, handing her a sippy cup. "i thought you were giving her a bottle."

"i was, but i found the medicine sippy cup so we don't have to guess how much medicine she's taken." it doesn't take long for her to drink it down, niall cooing gently and rubbing her little tummy. she lets out a little yawn, poking her tongue out, and niall lets out a little fond laugh.

"i love her so much," niall whispers to liam, tears in his eyes. he blows a raspberry on her chubby little tummy, and she lets out a little squeal of a laugh. 

"i know just how you feel," liam whispers, hugging niall close to him with one hand and rubbing her little tummy with the other. she lets out another yawn, tiny fist going up to rub her eye. "go to sleep, little one. you'll feel better when you wake up."

she lets out a sniffle, but soon enough is out like a light. 

"should we put her in a onesie?" liam whispers.

"i don't want her to get too hot," niall frowns. "let's just put a blanket over her...we can put her in a onesie later if she gets too cold." liam nods, and even after niall tucks her into the crib, they both stand there, watching to make sure she sleeps peacefully.

"we might as well go back to sleep," liam yawns. "if she wakes up, we'll hear her. but we won't be any good to her if we're dead from exhaustion."

niall knows she's right, and leans in to kiss her still slightly-too-warm forehead. "i love you, zinnia," he whispers. he lets liam tug him off the bed after, curling up against his chest. "you're an excellent father," he tells his husband.

"aw, baby." liam squeezes him tighter, kisses his face. "so are you, my love."

niall yawns. "this bed seems so much bigger without flynn and teddy in it."

liam lets out a tired laugh. "yeah, it does." he kisses the top of niall's head. "goodnight, love."

"goodnight, babe."

- - -

when niall gets up, zinnia is still sleeping. she seems way less congested, though, and when he feels her forehead, she feels several degrees cooler. when she wakes up, she seems to be feeling better, being much more smiley and snuggly than she was in the middle of the night.

liam pops the thermometer pacifier in her mouth, and is relieved to see that her temperature has gone down quite a bit, just a few degrees over normal. 

"she seems to be feeling a lot better," liam says from where he's standing in the doorway, watching her play with some blocks on the floor.

"yeah. i think we should give her one more dose of meds to be safe," niall suggests, and liam nods. and not much later, they all doze off on the couch, zinnia cradled between her two fathers' sleeping bodies.