Infinity || Dan Smith

Fifty-Six.

   The very second Dan steps through the hospital doorway he knows that something is wrong. Well not 'wrong' so to speak...but he can feel a darker mood. Maybe it's just because Charlie didn't welcome him with loving arms?

   Dan knows something is up.

"I'm bloody knackered!" He laughs, trying lightening up the tense atmosphere, however Charlie, however, keeps a straight face while she continues to fold Lacey's small but dainty clothes on the bed.

"Why's that then?" She says with her voice sounding stern and deep, nothing like how she usually sounds.

"Oh...it's nothing..." Dan doesn't want to tell her that the hotel's bed is so much more comfortable than the hospital one that they share.

"It must be something, though. For you to bring up that your tired? Wasn't the hotel up to your standards?"

Up to my what?! Dan thinks to himself.

"What's wrong with you?" Dan doesn't mean to sound so rude, his just confused as to why Charlie isn't happy to see him.

Normally she'd get an adrenaline rush from the sight of him...but Charlie is honestly sick of Dan.

"Well, if you would've accepted my FaceTime calls then you would've known." Charlie left just under fifty WhatsApp texts, an app Dan uses more than iMessages, and fifteen FaceTime calls. Dan didn't answer a single one of them because he called Ralph to the hotel and they both got hammered.

"Oh shit!" Dan says, thinking that the missed messages and calls is the problem.

If only he knew.

"I'm so sorry. Honestly, my phone ran out of battery. Look, I even brought a new charger!" Dan digs into his baggy tracksuit pockets and fishes out a unofficial iPhone charging lead. Of course it'll break in a few months, but Dan doesn't care.

"And I was also pissed..." Dan then smiles to himself thinking about how last night, for the first time ever, being a 'celebrity' felt good.

Charlie then decides that now is the perfect time to burst his bubble. She doesn' want to confront him, but after what her mother said last night...she deserves the right to know the truth. Even if it'll break her heart.

"Have you ever slept with a underage girl?" Dan's eyes widen in disbelief of Charlie's very forward, and completely random, question.

"Babe..." his voice lightly trails off while Charlie looks up from the bed and shakes her head. She knows Dan will do anything and everything to not answer.

   "Was Ellie underage?" If Dan answers this question just like how her mother said...then she's know the truth about the baby.

    "Charlie, why are you going over the past? Did my mum or sister tell you?" Charlie's eyes widen in disbelief. Dan basically answered the question with the 'did my mum or sister tell you' part.

   "It doesn't matter who told me. What matters is that you never told me the truth."

   "You know how the story goes! I thought she was my age!" Dan screams over the top of her. Charlie knows the story and believe him, as it is the truth. She's just angry that Dan said nothing about his baby.

   "Was it a girl or boy?" Charlie whispers under her breath.

   "Babe..." Dan whispers not denying the truth.

   "I need to know." Charlie whispers back while she feels herself tear up, although this was long before Dan even knew Charlie.

   "Why do you need to know? The baby...died." Dan hasn't been able to bring himself to say that word, but now he has. He feels worse instead of better.

   "How?" Charlie whispers while Dan sits besides her on the bed.

   "He died the moment she hit the floor."

    "Oh god..." Charlie doubles over, folding both of her pale arms tight against her flat empty stomach. She's a new mother who had never thought about harming herself while she was pregnant.

   Dan seeing that Charlie visibly distressed, puts his arm around her supportively. "How many months was she?" Charlie whispers while her arms get tighter, fearing that she was late into her pregnancy.

   Dan shakes his head. His big blue eyes stare into the distance. He knows that he can't tell Charlie, she looks like she's about to have an anxiety attack. "He's gone now, okay? None of that...matters. She was a bad mother anyway, and I was a lousy dad." Dan did let Holly/Ellie smoke and drink when he knew he it was bad for her and the baby.

   "How many months pregnant was Holly when she killed him?" Charlie doesn't care about the girl's suicide, she still thinks Holly deserved it. Charlie however is more disgusted, and disturbed, about the baby.

   "No." Dan firmly shakes his head.

   "Tell me! I want to know! I deserve to know!" Charlie then shouts with tears smeared all over her pretty face.

"Nine months!" Dan then shouts...before regretting shouting.

Charlie covers her mouth with her hands. She's completely mortified while Dan nods his head. "And nobody knew? Nobody questioned her?" Dan looks away.

"The guys knew. Everyone on the tour bus knew. We kept it a secret from my friends and family...only because they hated her. We was going to tell them about him..." Dan's voice trails off before Charlie hugs him.

Charlie knows that Dan is a victim. She's now more pissed off at herself for confronting Dan about his deceased unborn son. "I'm so sorry..." Charlie cries hugging into Dan.

However, Dan doesn't cry. Instead he holds Charlie tightly. "I didn't tell you...because I knew you can't deal with stuff about death and kids. You worry too much." Dan smiles at the last part, thinking how caring Charlie is.

"Dan..." Charlie whispers, still holding onto Dan for dear life.

"Yeah?" He whispers back.

"I want Lacey." Dan smiles while he closes his eyes and nods his head.

"I'll pick her up in a minute, okay?" He opens his eyes and backs away, seeing Charlie nod her head.