Dare To Love

15 - Tearful Calls

"Hold on, buddy," Louis grunted. "Let me just get my feet right."

Ernest giggled as Louis finally got his feet positioned gently against his belly. Ernest squealed and squeezed Louis' hands as tightly as he could when Louis easily lifted his body into the air. He held his arms out and kept Ernest up with his feet so that he looked like he was flying just a few feet above him.

"M' an airplane!" Ernest screamed at the top of his lungs.

"You are!" Louis laughed, separating his feet so that Ernest fell from his position in the air and Louis caught him in a fast embrace, tickling him as he squealed and wriggled around, rolling off Louis' chest to the floor.

Ernest laughed so hard that little sound escaped, but then his eyes went wide and he clapped a hand over his mouth.

"You okay, buddy?" Louis asked, his smile fading. "Are you gonna be sick?"

Maybe it was a little too soon after breakfast and the clown pancakes to be swinging his brother around on his feet. He didn't want to end up covered in vomit, he'd had enough of that from Niall's encounter with Guinness.

Cheeks flushing a bright red, Ernest popped up on his feet and cupped his hands around Louis' ears. "I peed."

Louis had to bite his tongue to keep from laughing, because it was obvious that he was very embarrassed about his accident, but his pink cheeks and quiet admission were incredibly cute.

"That's okay, everybody has accidents."

"Even you?" Ernest whispered.

"Even me," Louis lied. He was pretty sure he hadn't peed himself since he was in diapers, but his brother didn't need to know that. "It was my fault, yeah?"

"Okay," Ernest nodded, voice barely above a whisper as he held his hands over the wet spot on the front of his pants.

"Oh no," a voice exclaimed and both Ernest and Louis' heads turned to see their mother, leaning against the archway of the living room. "Did you have an accident?"

"Uh-huh," Ernest nodded, gaze rimmed to the floor.

"Okay, let's get you cleaned up then," Johannah announced, Ernest threw his arms out for his mother to pick him up, she propped him on her right hip. "It's bath time before going out. We'll be right back."

Louis nodded and watched as his mum make her way up the stairs. She didn't get very far, though. "Mummy wait!" Ernest shouted.

Johannah stopped and patted his thigh. "What is it, love?"

"Achoo!"

"Yes," she nodded, and Louis waved from the livingroom. "Louis' waiting downstairs for you."

"No," Ernest told her, shaking his head. He started waving his arm wildly, motioning for Louis to join them. "I want to show him my toys!"

She sighed and freed her left arm to mimic her youngest son's beckoning motion. Louis stood, making his way up the stairs where his mum and little brother waited.

"Apparently, your presence is required for bath time," Johannah chuckled as Ernest dove toward Louis. Louis caught him mid-dive and transferred the small boy from his mum's hip to his own. "I'll get Doris."

"It's all good," he said, shrugging his shoulders and bouncing Ernest atop his hip.

"I want to show you my toys!" Ernest announced.

Johannah disappeared into the toddlers' room and emerged with Doris, walking hand-in-hand down the hallway and toward the small bathroom across from his childhood bedroom. Once Johannah got the water to a decent temperature and the tub filled about halfway, she shut the water off and turned to the toddlers.