Twist of Fate

Finally

Niall

I went out for a minute to get us some water, and when I come back, my husband has his eyes closed, and is trying to relax himself.
"Hey baby. How are you?" I ask, kissing his hand. He shakes his head.
"Not good. Not at all. I appreciate you even more now than I did before. You are the strongest man I know." He says.
"Well you're even stronger than I am. You can do this, my love. I'm surprised you slept so long. They're 8 minutes apart by the timer, and they're pretty hard. You've been out for almost 3 hours." I tell him. He looks shocked.
"Thank you for letting me sleep. I'll need it. Where is everyone at?" Liam asks. I smile, and nod over to the waiting room. Harry sits there with Skye, his 'friend', Lou, and Lux. They're all asleep.
"Louis and June had to take the boys home. They're so young still, and they were crying up a storm. Zayn is flying in now. He'll be here in an hour. Zoe is staying home. She's having a rough time after losing the last baby. But the whole band will be here soon. Louis will be here when Zayn arrives, and Lou and Skye will stay with June." I tell him. He smiles when I mention the whole band being back together. I know he's missed Zayn. Suddenly, his eyes squeeze shut, and he moans quietly. I can see him tense, and as I check the monitor, I see the line spike fairly high, and look back to him. Now I know how it felt for him to see me. My heart is in two. I feel like crying. But I take a breath, and focus my attention back to my husband.
"Niall, what do I do?" he asks, clearly in large amounts of pain.
"First off, hold my hand. Next, you need to breathe. We can try walking around, but I might wait for that." I tell him, and he follows my advice.
"I can't breathe. It hurts worse. Everything makes it hurt worse." He cries. I move to the bed, and wipe his tears.
"Hey. It's all okay. It is. Look at me. It's all okay. Calm down." I say, my voice dangerously close to breaking. He nods, and smiles lightly, as the contraction dies down.
"I love you so much, Niall." he whispers. "It's okay to cry. I honestly cried the whole time you slept when Dylan was born. And I'm scared, too." he says. He's about to lose it, too. But I can't take it anymore. I just start crying. He holds me while I cry for a few minutes. When I'm finally done, I see he's been crying quietly. I wipe his tears and my own.
"I think you need to go wake Harry. We need a distraction." Liam suggests. I readily do so, and he's more than happy to accommodate our requests. Something's been up with him for a while. Ever since we got here. I don't know what, but he looks ill. He sits with us for about 2 minutes before Liam has another contraction.
"Stay calm. Don't cry, baby. It's all going to be okay. Just a little longer." I reassure him quietly, holding him. He rides it out, and looks over to a very alarmed-looking Harry. He really does look quite timid and small over there. Even towering over 6 feet.
"Hey. I'm fine. I really am. They're just strong. And since they're premature, it'll take me longer, and they're going to get stronger. Now, please, Harry. Make us laugh. Or at least smile. We do need it." Liam says, motioning Harry over. You really do forget Harry is the baby, and that he does scare pretty easily. He hates seeing anyone like this, especially us. I hug him, and he cracks a small smile, which makes Liam smile brighter than he has all week. Soon, we have him cheered up. Before the next contraction, I ask him to call and check on June, Louis, and the boys. I know that'll keep him until this one is over. No sooner does he walk out does Liam get hit by a very powerful contraction. I see it's the worst yet.
"Just think about all the good coming from today. Charlotte and Jamie. Zayn coming back for the week. All our friends helping us with the rest of the tour. Dylan getting to meet her brother and sister." I remind him. He seems to try to keep those in mind during his next few contractions. Suddenly, the contractions are getting farther apart instead of closer. And not just in our heads. Suddenly, it's more than 10 minutes in between. It's 13. Nurses have been in and out, and finally, they're talking to us.
"Mr. Payne, Mr. Horan, the babies are okay. It's just a stall. Nothing worse will come. We did start the pitocin a moment ago. It'll be a while. You're only a 5." Karrie, our nurse reports. We both let out a breath. Then, thank god, they all leave, and in walks Harry and Louis.
"Hey, guys! How's it going, Payno?" Louis asks.
"Be polite, Louis! A little more formal couldn't kill you!" We hear. June is on video call. Liam laughs.
"June, I'll bet you're just bitter you can't be here. Maybe soon, though." Liam chuckles.
"Yeah okay. Sorry, Lou." she says.
"It's okay, Bug. I love you. See you soon." Louis says, ending the call.
"To answer your question, it could be better. I'm stalled, and the contractions are getting farther apart. But it could be worse. It could be going really fast, and the babies could be in even more danger if that happens." Liam turns to Louis. A nurse looks in, and Harry starts to look a little pale. "But everything is going smoothly, Haz. It's all good." He says, giving the boy a reassuring look. He regains color as the nurse goes. I don't know what he is on about, because he's not like this. It might just be the break up. It took a lot from him. We all sit around and talk, and eventually, Harry has us laughing. It's nice to see everyone smiling. Louis has really stressed lately, Harry and the breakup, and Liam has taken these last few hours really badly. I've been stressed about all the hate we've been getting. The threats on our family mainly. I've reported 30 accounts this week. But thank god, we're all here, we're all smiling, we're all stronger than we started this. There are a few contractions here and there, and then there's a knock and a certain wife of a member pokes her head in.
"Lou and Lux dropped by and relieved me of Hunter and Logan. I did bring Freddie, though. He wouldn't sleep, and I thought it was easier to bring him by." June says, sneaking in and sitting herself on Louis' lap. I notice she looks a lot less put together now, and in an off the shoulder top and some jeggings, no makeup, and vans. Nothing like her blazer, button up, jeans, good makeup, and heels from earlier when she flew in.
"How are you, Li?" she asks, Freddie sleeping in her arms. I grin.
"I'm pretty good, honestly. Hellish contractions and all, but overall, I could be worse. How are you settling in to the hotel?" He asks. She rolls her eyes.
"Liam, it's fine. I could stay anywhere if you needed me." she reassures us. Suddenly, her phone buzzes. Her eyes light up, and she looks to me.
"Wanna hold him?" she asks Liam, excitement in her voice. I know what that means. He takes Freddie, and she takes another look at her phone and squeals, and opens the door. We all look at Liam, and he rolls his eyes fondly.