Rough

Chapter 9

Louis couldn't sleep. His mind was wondering all night. He rolled over and looked at the bedside clock which read 3:00am. He put his hand on his stomach and came to a conclusion. Pulling off the heavy blanket, he sat up and hung his feet over the bed. He pulled on a pair of trousers that had been lying on the floor and pulled Harry's Jack Willis sweatshirt over his head. He walked over and kissed Harry on the forehead. He stumbled to the window where Darcy was sleeping in her crib and kissed her. Grabbing one of the two room keys off the TV stand, he quietly opened the door and walked into the hallway. Louis pulled his hood over his head, not wanting to be noticed, and walked down the quiet hallway to the font door. A gust of wind blew in his face as he pushed the door open. His teeth chattered while he walked to the 24-hour corner store. He put his hands in his pockets and watched his breath become visible. The coldness was soon over when he pushed his shoulder against the store door and walked inside. In fear of nocturnal paparazzi, he kept his hood on as he scoped the aisles and shelves. After searching for a few minutes, he found himself at the small shelf in the back of the store; the health shelf. On it, there were bandages, ice packs, gloves, glow sticks, wrist and knee braces, heat packs, condoms, bug spray, deodorant and lots of other "first aide" supplies. Louis looked at the last row of hanging items and pulled off two light-pink, rectangular boxes. Gaining his courage, he walked to the front of the store and placed the boxes on the counter. The lady behind the counter looked at Louis with confidence.

"Nervous?" she asked, sliding one of the boxes across the scanner.

"A little." Louis mumbled, trying to stay incognito.

"First time?" she asked, sliding the other box across the scanner.

"Actually second." Louis mumbled again.

"Second time?" She smiled, "Well you must be one happy mum and dad."

Louis held back his sass just this one time. She didn't know the whole story, so no reason to get upset. He composed himself and pulled out his wallet.

"Yeah," he sighed, playing along, "we are. We weren't really planning this one, though."

"Is that why you have two tests?" she asked again, putting the boxes into a bag.

Louis handed her the total. "We just want to be extra sure." he said, taking the bag of the counter.

"Two tests is a good way to do that." she chuckled, counting out change, "To bad you men can't feel what it's like to actually carry a baby. It's such a powerful feeling. I wish there was some way you could experience it, except the actual birth part. That part sucks."

"Oh I experienced it plenty." Louis spoke, a little louder this time.

"I mean carrying the baby." she giggled, handing Louis the change.

Louis was about to sass, but quickly remembered how unique he was. "Right." he sighed, "Thanks."

"You're welcome." the cashier waved watching Louis head for the doorway.

"Oh wait." she called after him, "Good luck."

Louis nodded and pushed the door open, a burst of cold hit his nose. He headed back to the hotel. Thoughts flying into his mind like a flock of crows. If both these test came back positive, he was going to need a lot more than luck.

~*~

Louis slid his room key in and out of the door lock and went inside. He shut the door softly and put the card back on the TV stand. He looked over and realized he must not have been gone long because his babies hadn't moved. He took off Harry's sweatshirt, revealing his shirtless chest, and threw it over a chair. He reached into the sweatshirt's pockets, pulled out the light-pink boxes and walked into the bathroom. He left the door open, just a crack, and set the boxes on the counter.  He was thankful he really had to pee so this didn't take any longer than it needed to. He realized that being a male, made performing this task hard. These tests were meant to be taken while sitting down, which boys don't do. He tried his best to actually hit the stick, without making a mess. When he was finished, he placed the sticks on the counter and washed his hands. His legs shook nervously as he sat on the edge of the tub for three minutes-which was the suggested minimum waiting time. 

A few seconds later, he jumped at the sound of the door opening. Harry peaked his head inside, squinting at the light. 

"Babe?" he asked, entering the bathroom, "What's wrong? Did you throw up again?" 

Louis shook his head. "No." he whispered. 

"Then why are you-" Harry froze as he looked at the counter, "What are those?" he asked. 

"I wanted to find out." Louis sighed, trying not to cry.

"Pregnancy tests?" Harry smirked, sitting beside Louis, "Do you think they will work on you?" 

Louis couldn't hold back anymore and began to cry. "I don't know." he blurted, leaning on Harry. 

Harry didn't speak, he just held Louis tightly. Rubbing Louis' back, Harry tried to stop the crying. Moments later, Louis' phone beeped. 

"It's been three minutes." he sniffled, turning off the alarm. 

"Do you want to look..." Harry asked, softly, "...or me?" 

"I will." Louis sighed, wiping a tear from his face, "Just hold my hand, please?" 

Harry grabbed Louis' shaking hand. "I'm here." he comforted. 

Louis and stood up, still holding Harry's hand, and looked nervously at the tests. Harry, using his free hand, pulled the boxes out of the trash-where Louis had thrown them. 

Harry read the first box. "This kind says that two stripes is positive, one stripe is negative." he threw it back in the trash and read the other box, "This one is digital. It will just come out and say it." He threw away the box and looked up at Louis. "What do they say?" he asked, rubbing his thumb on Louis' hand, trying to stop it from shaking. 

Louis' heart dropped as he read the tests. "Two stripes..." he spoke through a lump in his throat,"...and pregnant." 

"So that means..." 

"I'm pregnant..." Louis swallowed slowly, "...again." 

He fell into Harry's arms and cried. Harry rubbed Louis' back. He didn't know what he should be feeling. 

Was this a good thing...

...or should he cry too?

~*~