Jay had been home for already three weeks, spending all her time with Louis and Blake when Louis finally got his driver's license. For Louis it had been as if he had gotten it for the first time, letting his son look at it as long as he wanted. He drove Harry's car on the way back home when he didn't have one yet, but the older man had promised him to take him that weekend so he could pick the one he wanted. Louis had refused to let him buy him a car, but ended up giving up when Harry had insisted then was told the man himself would pick an ugly one for him.

When they made it back home, Louis parked the car right next to his father's when he had stayed home with his mother. Jay's car was in the garage when she had insisted on having it there in case of an emergency. He happily got out and ignored the next door neighbor that always glared at him ever since Harley had pooped on her front yard. Louis rolled his eyes at the young woman and grabbed Harry's hand to go inside through the garage. He didn't know what her problem was when he had picked it up and had even apologized.

"Let me see!" Jay said as soon as they had walked through the door. She was sitting on the couch while Mark was making lunch for all of them before he and Harry had to go back to work.

Louis ran to her and plopped down next to her, taking his driver's license out of his wallet to show his mother. Blake was soon next to her, trying to look at the ID again.

"Look at my handsome boy!" Jay gushed.

"I made them retake it because I closed my eyes." Louis told her, still sure that he had closed them even though the lady had told him it was good enough.

"You did." Blake giggled when he had been behind the woman taking them.

"See! I was right to ask her to take it again." Louis rolled his eyes. "Now I can take you both wherever you want."

Jay gave him a smile as she handed it back to him, then watched him put it in his wallet. Louis helped her to the kitchen island, where he helped her sit down on one of the stools so she could eat. Louis and Mark had been taking her to therapy while Harry was at work and Blake in school. She was able to move her arm a little bit, and Louis couldn't stop telling her she was doing amazing, as well as helping her do more exercises at home.

They had spent all of their time together. They would sit in the living room or at the kitchen island with a cup of tea and talk about anything. Louis loved whenever she talked about her adventures with Blake and what she did on her free time now that she didn't work anymore. He was completely amazed when he found out she was a volunteer at the hospital. She was what they would call a cuddler, someone who would spend time with premature babies who didn't have parents or they just couldn't be there all day.

Louis still didn't know what he was going to do with his life. He didn't know if he wanted to go back to school or stay at home and take care of Blake. His son was almost ten years old, and Louis was sure he wasn't going to get to take care of him for long when Blake was going to be able to take care of himself. He was sure Harry wanted to talk to him about it, but he just wasn't ready for that conversation. He hadn't been able to answer his mother, and he was sure he wouldn't be able to answer Harry.

"Lou, do you want green beans too?" Harry asked him, snapping Louis out of his thoughts.

"Uh...yeah. I do." Louis put his hand over his mouth when his throat itched and he had to cough.

"You okay, sweetheart?" Jay asked him, already reaching for him as best as she could, looking worried out of her mind.

"I am. My throat just itched." Louis smiled at her.

"I don't want green beans." Blake said, making Louis look at him.

"What did I say about vegetables?" Louis asked him, his hands sweating a little when he could feel the rest of the adults looking at him.

"Why do I have to eat them and you don't?"

And oh. Louis wasn't expecting that at all. And if he was honest, he didn't know what to do when Blake was looking at him as if daring him to say something else.

"I am eating them." Louis told him. "Now sit and eat them. You know you have to have some everyday."

They stared at each other for a few seconds until Blake sighed and accepted the plate his father was offering him. Louis stared at him for a few more seconds, then looked up to see his mother looking at him with a proud expression. One that said he was doing amazing.

They ate and talked about their plans for the day. Harry and Mark were going back to work while Louis was going to stay home with Jay and Blake. As soon as they were gone, Blake had gone out to the backyard to play with Harley while Louis stayed inside with Jay.

"You did great with Blake." Jay once again praised her son.

"I hope I did." Louis looked down at his lap. "I don't know why he's been acting like this. He won't listen sometimes." Louis sighed.

"You're acting more like a parent than a friend now." Jay started explaining. "Don't get mad but your father and I had this conversation. It was all fun and games before and now you're assimilating to your new life, you're getting used to being a father."

"I...I wanted him to like me." Louis confessed. "When we first met, all I wanted was for him to like me."

"He already loved you, sweetheart." Jay told him. "He grew up loving you."

"I realized that later." Louis smiled.

That smile quickly turned into a frown when he heard a cat, Harley growling and Blake's screams. He shot up from his spot and ran outside, just in time to see a stray cat running away, leaving Blake crying by the fence. When he got there, he had to pull Harley away from him, about to panic when he saw the bleeding scratches on his son's left arm, right by his hand.

"Did it scratch you?!" Louis asked, wanting to be sure about what had happened. He grabbed his hand to look at the injuries.

"Y– Yes! It came after Harley!" Blake cried, hiding his face on Louis' chest.

Louis wrapped his arm around him, then cupped the back of his head while still holding his arm. He started walking back into the house, seeing his mother just making it there. Her eyes widened, moving aside to let them in and make sure Harley got inside too. She locked the door and turned around to see the bathroom light on, hearing Blake's sniffles and Louis murmuring comforting words.

When she got there, Louis had Blake standing in front of the sink as he washed his arm with soap and water. He had three deep scratches on the inside of his wrist, figuring out he must have gotten too close. She started looking through the cabinet, setting a first aid kit on the counter. She was feeling exhausted already, but she knew it was normal.

"I'm gonna take him to the hospital." Louis decided, glancing at his mother to see her nodding before she grabbed her phone.

"Should I call Harry?" She asked.

"Yes please. I need him to meet us there, I have no idea what to do or what doctor he takes him to." Louis' voice was shaky, still hearing Blake sniffling as he tried to be as gentle as he could.

When he was done cleaning it, he realized it was deeper than he thought. He put ointment over it, then wrapped a bandage around it. He put Harley in his crate since he was sure they weren't going to take long, then helped his mom into her car. Blake sat next to her, letting his grandmother hug him when he was still upset.

Louis was nervous the whole journey there, making sure he paid attention to the road. Harry was already waiting for them near the elevators of the parking lot and as soon as he saw them, he went to check on Blake. He took them to the fifth floor where Louis could see many doctor offices. They walked into a pediatric one, where they went straight to the front desk.

"What happened, Blake?" One of the nurses asked him. She was a pretty dark skinned woman, around Jay's age.

"A cat scratched me." Blake sniffled, feeling his arm burning.

"Come on in so I can take a look at it." She said. She walked up to a door and let them all in, smiling at Louis when they made eye contact.

"Thank you, Jenna." Harry gave her a smile as he helped Jay into the examination room. "I called Dr. Stromberg so he should be here soon." Harry told her, seeing her nodding.

"Hello, I'm Jenna." She greeted Louis, offering her hand to shake his.

"Louis." He shook hands with her, afraid of telling her he was Blake's father.

"Its nice to meet you, Blake talks about you all the time he comes for a checkup. Hello, Jay!" She said as she washed her hands on the sink, then dried them before grabbing gloves from a box.

"He does?" Louis smiled, looking at his son.

"Jenna has been Blake's nurse his whole life." Harry explained when he saw Louis realizing how comfortable Blake was with her.

"Gave him his very first vaccination and still have more to come. I'm surprised he still likes me." Jenna said as she gently removed the bandage.

"You're nice." Blake told her, making her smile.

"Oh sweetie, that cat got you good." She shook her head, moving a little to let Harry see.

"What were you doing, Blake?" Harry asked him, horrified at just how deep it was. It didn't need stitches, but it was still deep.

"I was playing outside with Harley and the cat came out of nowhere. Harley barked at it and the cat tried to hurt him but I stopped it." Blake explained, looking at Jenna with wide eyes when he saw a syringe in her hands.

"Is Harley okay?" Harry asked, looking at Louis when Blake looked at him.

"I checked him and he's completely fine, not a scratch." Jay spoke up.

A knock interrupted them, then the door opened and a man a few years older than Harry walked into the room. He introduced himself as Dr. Stromberg to Louis, shaking hands with him while Louis couldn't stop thinking about how handsome he was.

"I heard you got into a fight with a cat." Dr. Stromberg jokingly gave Blake a disappointed look, making the nine year old giggle.

"The cat started it." Blake shrugged, making the doctor laugh.

"Let me wash my hands so I can take a look at it." The pediatrician said.

He looked at it then after explaining what he was gonna do, he started giving it a deeper wash. Blake had only teared up once, trying not to move when he had been told to stay still.

"The wound is deeper than I thought. I'm going to prescribe him antibiotics to keep it from getting infected. I also recommend he gets vaccinated against rabies and tetanus. He was vaccinated for the tetanus when he was...four, so I highly recommend it." Dr. Stromberg explained, having to look at the copy of Blake's immunization records.

"Rabies..." Louis trailed off, a horrified look on his face.

"We haven't had that many cases of rabies, but since we don't know the status of the cat, it's better to vaccinate him to prevent it. Better safe than sorry." He kindly explained, watching Louis nodding. The worry in his blue eyes never went away.

He put ointment on the wound and bandaged it again. He gave them a sample and more bandages to take home while Jenna got the shots ready. Louis held his hand when he got them, proud of his son when he didn't even flinch. He couldn't help but feel a lump in his throat when even something as small as Blake getting his vaccinations made him hurt. He wasn't there at all for Blake whenever he would get them. And being there now, holding his hand, was a special moment for him.

~*~

"I'll be home in a few more hours." Harry told Louis.

They were standing right by the driver's door of Jay's car. Jay and Blake were already waiting for Louis inside the car, having let Louis say goodbye to Harry. The older man wrapped an arm around Louis and kissed him, abruptly pulling back when someone cleared their throats. They found an older woman walking by as she gave them disapproving looks, muttering pervert under her breath. She was one of Harry's patients.

It was quiet. Way too quiet that it made the air around them heavy and awkward.

"I love you." Louis wrapped his arms around Harry, surprising the man who wrapped his own around Louis.

"I love you too." Harry whispered against Louis' ear, never taking his eyes off of the mirror.

When Louis got home later that day, he cooked something for them to eat, then let Blake take a nap when his son was exhausted. All day he wouldn't stop thinking about what that woman had said. And the more he thought about it, the angrier he was starting to get. Harry wasn't even that old and Louis was legally an adult. There was nothing wrong with their relationship, it shouldn't bother people that didn't know them. He realized then that the world was now way different than it used to be before. Not it was more vile than ever.

When Harry got home, Mark and Jay were already in their bedroom resting before dinner. Louis was in his bedroom and on the bed with Blake next to him who was reading him a book. It was one of Blake's assignments from school, but now that he and Jacob had become friends, Blake had been slacking off. Louis just wasn't gonna have it and had made him read him the book now that he knew Blake had to answer questions about it.

Harry gave them a smile and went straight to the bathroom to take a shower. He spent more time there than he usually did. When he finally came out, he was dressed in jeans and a light blue dress shirt. Louis furrowed his brow, wanting to ask if he was going out when he had already made dinner.

"Going somewhere?" Louis asked as soon as Blake had finished reading the second chapter of that day.

"No, I just invited mom to dinner and I wanted to look nice." Harry said.

"Oh, okay." Louis nodded as he got up to set the table.

When he got there, Mark had already set it, adding one more seat when Harry informed him about his mom coming over. Anne got there a few minutes later, giving hugs and kisses.

"How have you been doing?" She asked Jay.

"Better. These three weeks have been amazing and look," Jay lifted her arm up. "I can move my arm better." She smiled.

"That's wonderful, Jay." Anne held her hand. "We have to go out for lunch one of these days."

"Whenever you're free." Jay agreed.

They pulled away from each other when Louis and Harry set the food in the middle of the table so they could serve themselves. They made conversation, mostly Blake who told his nana what had happened with the cat and about school. When they were done, Anne ended up staying more time, wanting to spend more time with family. She was the first to notice Louis had fallen asleep right next to Harry, with his head on her son's shoulder.

She furrowed her brows when Harry placed his hand on Louis' forehead then on his cheeks. She looked at Jay, biting her tongue when she didn't want to worry her. She ended up leaving at nine at night, promising Harry she would text him as soon as she was home.

Harry was getting ready for bed when he got the text, he texted her back a "Goodnight", then placed the phone on his nightstand to charge. He checked on Louis who was already asleep, then made his way to the bathroom to brush his teeth. He had just finished brushing his teeth when he saw Louis stumbling into the bathroom. He had his eyes half closed and was drenched in sweat. For a moment, Harry panicked thinking the worst. But his worst fears became reality when Louis tried to say something, then fell down to the floor unconscious.

Harry was fast to react, running to him and making sure he still had a pulse and was breathing. That his heart was still beating. His face was wet with tears by the time he picked him up and brought him to their bed. He tried to wake him up, but when Louis didn't react at all, is when Harry picked him up again. He made it to his car without telling anyone where he was going. He would sometimes look at Louis and the tears would cloud his vision. As a doctor, he felt like a failure. As Louis' partner, he felt helpless.

"You'll be okay, you'll be okay." Harry repeated over and over as he carried Louis into Mark's clinic. Louis opened his eyes for a moment, then closed them again when he couldn't keep them open for long.

It was best for Louis to be treated there, where they knew his medical history. Where they would be able to help him in case something was very wrong.

When he walked into emergencies, one of the nurses showed him to a private room, where a doctor was helping him out right away.

"What happened?" The doctor asked Harry.

"He just passed out. I noticed he was feeling warmer than usual earlier today and then a few hours later he just collapsed." Harry explained, regretting not making sure Louis was okay when he first noticed.

"We need to wake him up and reduce that fever. I'll request a blood test to see what's going on." The doctor explained as a nurse started an IV on Louis and another one with the blood tests. "I'll give him something for the fever. Tests shouldn't take long."

When they were done, Harry was left alone with Louis. He had just taken a seat next to him when his phone went off. He answered right away when he saw it was Mark, who had already noticed their absence.

"Mark." Harry answered, his voice trembling with emotion when he couldn't take his eyes off of Louis.

"Harry, where are you? I noticed you driving away and I thought you had gone to get Louis something. Where are you?" He asked, hearing Harry taking a deep breath.

"The institution. Louis...he...I don't know what happened. He just collapsed out of nowhere." Harry explained, hearing Mark dropping something.

"His heart. Make sure they check his blood pressure, his heart. I'm on my way." Mark said before hanging up, not giving Harry time to talk.

Harry looked down at the phone, then pocketed it as he watched Louis. It seemed like hours had passed and Louis was yet to wake up, but his fever had gone down. Harry worried that something could be wrong when he wasn't waking up, but he knew it had to be exhaustion from the fever itself. He sat up when someone knocked on the door, not saying anything when Mark walked in.

"Have the doctors said anything?" Mark asked.

"Tests should be ready soon." Harry spoke up. His voice cracked and he was quick to clear his throat.

"I hope...I pray it has nothing to do with the cryopreservation." Mark's voice trembled.

"He had been doing so well. I don't understand." Harry said.

He quieted down when someone knocked on the door, then the doctor walked in. Both Harry and Mark furrowed their brows when a nurse walked in after him, rolling in a ultrasound machine.

"What's going on?" Harry asked.

"The tests revealed a high level of the hCG hormone as well as cryoprotectants in the blood. I need to do an ultrasound to see what's going on. This doesn't look good at all." He explained.

"We did tests for that, Dr. McDaniel." Mark said. "It showed his body was able to get rid of them soon after reanimation."

"He has a high count." Dr. McDaniel responded.

They watched the nurse lift Louis' shirt up and apply that cold gel on his stomach. Harry was sure there was a mistake, that's what he wanted to believe. He waited for what felt like forever, until Dr. McDaniel stopped what he was doing and looked at them.

"There it is. Around seven weeks. At this stage I should be able to detect a heartbeat, but...there isn't one." He said.

"An internal ultrasound." Mark said. "It should give you more chances of detecting a heartbeat."

"Dr. Tomlinson, there is no heartbeat. We can do an internal ultrasound, but we won't find one."

"I'll let myself out, Harry, you stay." Mark said before he walked out.

"Harry, are you sure you want me to do this?" He asked. "Internal ultrasounds are invasive, we'll have to wake him up. I can't do this if he doesn't fully consent to it when he's fully awake and understands what's going on."

"A– Are you sure there is no heartbeat?" Harry asked, trying to make the lump in his throat go away.

Dr. McDaniel shook his head then grabbed the ultrasound wand and started trying again. A few minutes passed where nothing was heard, only deafening silence that for Harry, was louder than everything else.

"Do you have any idea as to what could have happened?" He asked.

"I have a few. For his body, he only just had a baby a few months ago, four to be exact. But that shouldn't have caused the embryo to die. Many people get pregnant again right away after having a baby. He shows no signs of miscarriage, Harry. The embryo is just there, no heartbeat but still attached to him. As if it wasn't dead and the pregnancy is still going. Another one is the high count of cryoprotectants and the fact that his body, no matter how long it has been, is still trying to recuperate from being frozen for years. That could have been the cause. His body, and his uterus are just not ready to support another life, at least not for now." Dr. McDaniel explained. "At this point there's nothing left to do but to terminate the pregnancy. It's dangerous to leave it there, he could get an infection and lose the uterus. Or worse...it can kill him.

"He has to consent to it, to decide that. It's his body." Harry looked him in the eyes.

"Alright." The man nodded. "We'll wait until he wakes up and we'll go from there."

Harry was left alone with Louis when Louis started waking up. His eyes seemed distant and out of focus as he looked around until they settled on him. He didn't say anything, choosing to look away while Harry couldn't look away.

"How are you feeling?" Harry finally asked, clearing his throat after.

"Tired." Louis mumbled. "Why am I here?"

"You passed out of nowhere and you had a high fever. Have you been feeling sick all day, Lou?" Harry asked as he slowly got up and made his way to Louis, holding his hand as soon as he reached for him.

"No. But I do now." Louis said. "I feel tired and nauseous."

"I'll tell them to give you something but first we need to talk." Harry said, slowly getting ready to give Louis the heartbreaking news.

"I'm not dying again, am I?" Louis asked, a smile slowly forming on his face.

"You're not, darling." Harry kissed his hands.

"Then what's wrong?" Louis asked, starting to worry when he saw just how nervous Harry was. "Harry? Whatever you have to say, just say it, love."

Harry took a deep breath and laid down with Louis, wrapping his arms around the boy. It was against hospital rules, but he could care less when he was about to break Louis' heart. Harry held his hand, linking their fingers together. He didn't know how to tell him, he felt so lost and helpless.

"Harry?" Louis called his name.

"I swear that if I could change it then I would. I'll do anything." Harry said, his hands shaking.

"Harry, you're scaring me." Louis told him. "I'm trying to stay calm but you're not helping. Whatever you have to say, just say it. I'm not a child, I can take it."

"You are– you were carrying our baby, but it didn't make it." Harry slowly said, wanting to cry when Louis' expression completely changed to one of heartbreak.

"Oh." Louis looked down at his hands, trying to make the lump that was slowly forming in his throat go away.

"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry." Harry hugged him, surprised that Louis wasn't crying yet.

"What happened?" He asked, even though he already had an idea about what had happened. "Wh– but I didn't miscarry, I...it's still there. Is it still there?" Louis sat up and turned around to look at Harry with a horrified expression on his face. "What's going on?"

Harry took a deep breath and sat up so he could explain.

"Your body is not ready to carry a child, at least not for now. There's a high count of cryoprotectants in your body, we injected them around ten years ago to protect your body from any damage from the cold temperatures, but we don't know if they had something to do with it." Harry explained.

"So what do we do now?" Louis asked, surprising Harry at how calm he was even though his eyes were filled with tears.

"We have to terminate the pregnancy immediately before it causes damage." Harry explained.

Louis didn't ask how they were going to do it, nor did he want to know. He just laid down next to Harry and closed his eyes. He lost count of the hours, trusting that Harry would take care of everything and all he had to do was sign a consent form. He was then given medication, making everything more real. But Louis couldn't feel a thing, he felt numb.

"I don't want to be awake for it." Louis told Harry, when he was sure the time was getting closer.

"You don't have to be." Harry held him closer. "We won't force you to stay awake.

"I want you to be there." Louis said. "I don't want to be alone."

"I won't leave your side, I promise you." Harry kissed the top of his head.

Louis went to sleep that night, never waking up until the next morning. Harry was sleeping on a couch close to him and Louis could tell he had been crying. He shouldn't have asked him to stay with him, but he had been so afraid to be alone. He tried not to think about it, he really did, but knowing what he had just gone through, he couldn't help but let a few tears escape.

He took deep breaths and willed himself to stop crying. He didn't want to cry, there was no use and it didn't solve anything. He stared at Harry until the man woke up and was fast to get on his feet and go to him. The feeling of guilt and that it was all his fault was tearing him apart. He was older, he should have known unprotected sex had its consequences.

"How are you feeling?" He asked. Sighing when Louis didn't say anything. "Louis?"

"Tired." Louis answered.

"As soon as the doctor makes sure you're okay, we can go home." Harry told him.

He didn't say anything when Louis didn't either, understanding that he needed time. When they went home, Harry carried Louis upstairs and into their room. It was still too early for Jay and Blake to be awake and Louis was thankful when he didn't want to see anyone. He was thankful his father had left them alone when he had been waiting for them. The house smelled like coffee, the sky was still dark. It was Louis' favorite things, but now he couldn't find enjoyment in them.

When they made it to their bedroom, he laid down on the bed, letting Harry lay down next to him. He closed his eyes to sleep again, but opened them when Harry cleared his throat and started talking.

"How are you feeling?" He asked, not knowing what else to say.

"I'm fine." Louis mumbled. He didn't want to talk.

"Lou..." Harry paused and licked his lips, trying to find the right things to say. "You can tell me everything, we can talk about it."

When Louis didn't say anything, Harry continued talking.

"I should have been more careful, I should ha–" He didn't get to finish when Louis placed his hand over his mouth to make him stop.

"I can't feel." Louis told him. "I don't feel anything. Maybe I will later today or tomorrow, or weeks from now, but right now I can't feel anything. And it's not your fault, it's not."

"But I knew." Harry insisted, a few tears escaping his eyes that Louis was quick to wipe away.

"I knew too and I didn't stop it. The worst thing you could ever do to yourself and I, is to blame yourself. It happened and it's horrible but we can move on from this and who knows, maybe a few years from now we can try for another one. Right now, I only want to go back to how things were before this. As if it never happened." Louis said, making sure he was the one to hold Harry and let him cry it out.

That's all he could do for now.

Thoughts?