Not So Simple

Chapter Nineteen

The first couple of months are all about adjusting.

To say it's hard is an understatement. Most parents have to deal with one kid. Louis and Harry, however, have two, which means twice as much work. Plus Louis still feels whacked out from the childbirth. His hormones are all over the place and all he wants to do is cry and sleep; (Although sleeping is sort of impossible, what with two newborns.)

Harry and Louis work well together, though. If Louis is feeling particularly emotional or exhausted, Harry will check on the children. Louis doesn't even have to ask; the only thing Harry has to do is take one look at him and that's it. Louis thinks that if he didn't have a partner as amazing as Harry, he wouldn't be able to do this. He honestly felt so much sympathy for single parents (his mum included).

Still, Louis helps out, because he has to. He wants to. It wouldn't be fair to make Harry do all the work, even though he probably would, if Louis asked it of him. But Louis isn't like that. He tries to the best of his ability to stick to their whole 'switch up' plan, which means Louis wakes up with Natalie and Thomas one night and Harry wakes up with them the next. Sometimes, when Louis feels rested enough, he'll follow Harry into the nursery. He watches as he rocks their babies and his heart aches, every single time. Harry sings to them, too, sweet and soft like he occasionally does to Louis when he's feeling down. At that point Louis makes himself visible to Harry, walking up to him and placing the now sleeping Natalie and Thomas into their respective cribs. He'll then go back to Harry, wrapping his arms around his waist in a hug. "Love you," he'll whisper, and Harry makes sure to say the words back, his face filled with fondness. Harry will carry him to the bedroom after that, where they never do more than snog; albeit, it's hot and heavy snogging, but Louis isn't ready to go farther. He's insecure about the baby weight he's still carrying and just about sex in general. He's doesn't want it yet, and Harry understands that.

They make pretty good team.

***

Natalie gets sick only a couple weeks after Jay and Anne leave. Dr. Loren told Louis when he first left the hospital to keep a close eye on her. Her immune system had been weakened from being premature and if she got sick, it could be deadly. That's why Louis and Harry go out of their mind with worry when she develops a cough.

It starts off mild. She's a little sleepier than usual and she's less active. Louis and Harry both shrug it off; blame it on how busy they've been keeping her these past couple of days. They take her and Thomas to the park, where they meet up with Liam, Niall, and Zayn. Liam and Louis run laps (Louis claims he has to get back in shape, lose the baby weight), Zayn and Harry play with Thomas on the playground (which means they take turns carrying him in their laps as they go down various slides that are way too big for him to go on himself), and Niall brings his guitar so he can sing to Natalie. The little girl had Niall wrapped around her tiny finger as soon as they had met. From that day on, Niall would constantly stop by the house to see her and bring her presents. Harry and Louis insist that she does not need so many gifts, but both Natalie's and Niall's expressions brighten so much when they see each other. Niall likes to call her his little princess, and Natalie makes the closest thing to a giggle she can.

Once they all drive back to Louis's and Harry's house, Louis breast feeds the babies while Harry makes spaghetti with meat sauce and a salad. The lads rent a superhero movie while they wait for the food to be done.

As Harry drains the water out of the noodles, there's a tap on his shoulder. He looks back and it's Niall, biting his lip. He seems a bit nervous. "What is it?" Harry asks, turning his attention towards his homemade sauce.

Niall frowns. "It's just...I think something might be wrong with Natalie," he mutters in response.

Harry's eyes dart back to the Irish lad and he raises an eyebrow. He won't start worrying unless he knows for sure, Harry says in his mind. "What makes you think that?"