The Wolf In sheeps clothing

Declining

Every call Louis made, got the same type of response. It was either that "Mr Horan was as well as could be expected" or "I'm sorry, there has been no change in Mr Horan's condition." It had been a few  days and there had been no concrete news, certainly none that was even remotely encouraging. Louis had been keeping Harry and Liam as updated as possible but having nothing new to tell them was affecting him badly. 'Just like you' he thought bitterly. Yeah, he hoped the fans really understood that he was enduring all the same pain and heartache they were experiencing. The media had actually been very restrained, keeping a respectful distance from both the boys and the hospital. There were one or two papas who pushed the boundaries and it sickened Louis  that they were like ghouls, willing something bad to happen. Louis slammed his front door and got into his car. He needed to talk, so he headed towards Selena's home. At least she totally understood.

Any change?" Noah asked the doctor pulled the ends of his stethoscope out of his ears and stood back from the bed.  Caleb Jameson  shook his head then started writing on Niall's charts.The room was deathly quiet apart from the beeps and clicks of the machinery surrounding the bed, monitoring Niall's every bodily function.

"No, nothing. He doesn't show any sign of reacting to any stimulus. I'm sorry" . Caleb  laid a sympathetic hand on Noah's shoulder then turned to the nurse. "Call me if there are any changes, no matter how slight." He left the room. Noah stared down at the small figure on the bed, then he ,too, left.

"Louis, you look dreadful!" Selena studied Louis face carefully. He did , indeed, look awful. His face was grey, with black shadows under his eyes, which looked dull and lifeless. Selena rubbed Louis back gently as the lad. "He'll be fine, Louis" she spoke quietly. Louis abruptly moved away from her pacing the room in agitation, his fists clenching and unclenching. Selena watched him compassionately. "Louis?"

"What?" he responded more harshly than he intended. "Sorry" he muttered, flushing in embarrassment. He knew she was only trying to calm him down but his nerves were overriding his common sense. He felt a terrible sense of dread churning up his stomach. Suddenly he clamped his hand over his mouth and stared at Selena wildly. She stood swiftly and pushed him in the direction the the bathroom. Louis collapsed onto the floor in front of the toilet just in time for his stomach to release the small amount of food he had consumed that morning. After ten  minutes, he sat back on his heels and reached out to flush away the mess, before looking up at Selena apologetically.

"Awe, babe" Selena murmured sympathetically. "Feel better?" Louis nodded slowly then allowed Selena to help him to his feet. "Louis, come lay down for a bit. You're exhausted, you need to rest." She led him to one of her guest rooms, pulled down the comforter and gestured for him to get into bed. Louis pulled off his shoes and did as she wanted. "Have a nap" she encouraged. "I'll ring and see how Niall is doing." Louis nodded, his eyes drooping as tiredness won and he succumbed to sleep. Selena stood and watched him a few moments, then, once assured he was asleep, headed out to make the call.

"I'm sorry, Selena, but there has been now change. No change at all" . James, Niall's manager admitted, his voice laced with worry. "Every time Louis or I call, they just say the same thing. I don't know what to do anymore. His dad is flying over and should be here tonight. Maybe they will tell him more, as next of kin."

"OK, James. Thanks. Look, any possibility of Louis being allowed to see Niall?" Selena asked.

"No, none. No visitors, I'm told." James said ruefully. "I just, well, I got a bad feeling, Selena.  A very bad feeling.  How's Louis holding up?"

"He's not" Selena replied bluntly. " He looks like sh*t. He's sleeping now, he needs it."

"Yeah, look, I'll call if I hear anything." James said then ended the call. Selena bit her lip then headed back to the guest room. Louis was awake and staring at the ceiling.

"Couldn't sleep?" Selena asked quietly.

"I did, bad dream woke me. Did you call?" Louis pushed himself upright as he spoke.

"Yeah. James said there's no change. Bobby is flying over, due to arrive tonight."

"No change. No f.cking change. What the f.cking h8ll is that supposed to mean" Louis shouted angrily. Tears leaked from his eyes and he brushed them away irritably. He couldn't take much more of this, he thought.

James waved at Bobby and walked towards him swiftly. "Bobby, I'm glad you're here" He grabbed Bobby's case leaving the Irishman to follow, leaning heavily on a cane. Bobby was still recovering from having a hip replacement and the flight, confined to a seat for many hours, had been a painful experience. But nowhere nearly as painful as the worry he had for his youngest son. "Hotel or hospital?" James asked, as he helped Bobby into the car.

"Hospital, please" Bobby had replied, anxious to be with his son. Both men remained quiet during the short trip to the hospital, Bobby constantly fidgeting with his cane, twisting it this way and that, as he sat in the passenger seat, blind to the passing scenery. All he wanted was to be with Niall.

"His kidneys are failing"  Caleb Jameson  confirmed. The nurse had summonsed him urgently having completed her routine checks on her patient. Niall's physical state was definitely declining rapidly. "We'll start dialysis but it's just going to delay things. He'll need a transplant......and soon.". The was a tap on the door and Noah entered, his face white  and strained, to announce the arrival of Niall's father,  Caleb  acknowledged it with a nod of the head and followed Noah out to break the bad  news to Bobby Horan. G*d, he hated this part of his job. How did you tell a parent that their child was fighting for his life and that fight wasn't going well?