When Gracie Mae was six years old, her dad punched her bully's father outside of her primary school.

She wasn't supposed to know, wasn't supposed to see him being put in the back of a police car as her Nan scooped her up and carried her to her car, or Jack's dad's bloodied face as he was handcuffed as well. Wasn't supposed to hear how many times her dad had apologised to her papa profusely.

Hitting people is bad, her parents had always told her, and she knew that, but she also couldn't help but think how cool her dad was for standing up for his family. He was their hero.

When Gracie was eleven, and got her first period and was freaking the fuck out, because even though Taylor and Barbara had been recruited by her parents to give her that talk it was still scary, her Papa sat on the floor of the washroom with her and calmed her down.

He sent her dad to the drugstore, and he came back with four plastic bags of probably every feminine product they offered. He may have been more freaked out than she was, but he was still there.

When she was fifteen, her best friend died. He and her papa didn't leave her side for two weeks afterwards. He wrote songs and made calls to labels and tried out different tunes on his guitar, and he did it all from her bedroom so she didn't have to be alone. He held her when she needed to cry and talked to her when she needed a distraction.

When Gracie was sixteen, she went into her first relationship. She had grown up surrounded by men who always treated their partners like royalty; Joe, Niall, Dan, and especially her dad. She found out the hard way not all men are like that.

She couldn't sleep alone for ten days after what Max did to her. Her dad slept in her room with her every night until she was okay to sleep alone, and even then he would come and check on her multiple times every night. The bottom line is that her dad has always been there. Thinking back on her whole twenty-nine years of living, she can't think of a time he hasn't been.

This is what she thinks about during the three hour train ride from London, still hiccuping and sniffling from the large portion of it she had spent crying. A very nice older gentleman had offered her a tissue, and that had made her cry even harder. She's a mess.

Her mobile rings in the pocket of her slicker, and she fishes it out almost immediately, bringing it up to her ear quickly when she sees it's Miles. "How is he?"

"He's...he's alright, I think. He's awake. They don't know too much yet. Just calling to see how close you are."

"'M getting off at the next stop," Gracie says, dabbing at her eyes with the tissue still in her other hand. "Then 've got to take the trolley to the hospital. Is Papa with him? Has anyone checked on him?"

"Yeah, Will just brought him a cuppa and some food a bit ago. They're only allowing two visitors at a time in the room, so Auggie's with them now. Dad's been asking about you."

That alone brings tears to Gracie's eyes all over again. She swallows the lump in her throat, taking a deep breath. "'N how are you doing?"

"Um," Miles voice wavers a bit. "Alright, yeah. 'S just fucking scary."

"Noel there with you?" Gracie asks.

"He was, he ran back to the flat to grab my charger 'n stuff. Gonna ask Papa if they want me to have him get some stuff from the house too. When we're off the phone 've got to call work and tell them I'm not coming in tomorrow."

Gracie had completely forgotten about work until just now. As soon as she had gotten the call, she dumped a bunch of stuff into a tote bag and took an Uber to the train station. "I should probably do that too, shit."

"'M sure they have someone else to empty bedpans."

"I'm a midwife, not a nurse, tosser," Gracie says with a sniffle, but she grins fondly and shakes her head as Miles laughs. The robotic voice comes on overhead and announces the stop, and the train slows down. "'M getting off now, I've got to go. See you in a bit."

They say their goodbyes, and Gracie grabs her tote bag with a soft sigh. This has to be the scariest two days of her life. She was actually going to go home for the weekend in a few days, to tell her parents her news and spend a little time away from London. She wasn't expecting to come back so soon, under these circumstances.

The trolley ride is only about fifteen minutes, but it feels like hours. When she finally gets off, at a stop right in front of the hospital, she doesn't go in right away. She stands there, in the rain, staring up at it.

This is the same hospital she was born in, and her siblings. The same hospital they took Miles when he broke his wrist when he was twelve, and Willow when she needed her tonsils out. The same hospital Ishani died in. If her dad...

She shakes the thought out of her head, feeling increasingly nauseous as she walks in. There's a sign hanging from the ceiling of the lobby directing her to the cardiac care unit, and she follows the arrows to double doors that reveal a waiting room.

Miles is pacing back and forth, phone to his ear, while Willow sits on one of the couches, cuppa in her hand as she stares down at her lap. She looks up when Gracie approaches them, soaking wet from the rain and face splotchy and pink, and sets her tea down, standing up and attacking her in a hug.

She doesn't say anything, but she doesn't have to. Gracie holds her, tucking her head under her chin and rubbing her back. Miles gets off the phone, running a hand over his flushed face and plopping down onto the other side of the sofa.

"'S Rowan coming?" Gracie asks gently, pulling back from Willow and brushing hair out of her face. She's never seen her sister look so scared. Willow nods, bottom lip tucked under her teeth.

"They have work 'till ten," She says quietly, looking up at Gracie like she's going to fix everything. She tries, usually, but this is something she doesn't see herself fixing. "So, she's gonna come after, and them and I are gonna sleep at Papa and Dad's."

"Good," Gracie nods, putting her hands on Willow's shoulders and giving them a squeeze. She looks from her to Miles. They're twenty-three, full-grown adults with jobs and lives, but Gracie can't help but still see them as little doe-eyed, baby-faced children. "Have you guys eaten?"

"'S that really what you're worried about right now?" Miles asks, arms crossed over his chest. He gets irritated when he's overstimulated, Gracie knows that, so she doesn't take his attitude to heart.

"Yes," Gracie says, digging through her bag for her wallet. "I'll go grab some snacks. Being hungry will just make you feel worse."

"G," Willow says softly, grabbing Gracie's arm. "You should go see Dad."

The thought of seeing him in a hospital bed right now is making her want to be sick, which, she already was three times that morning. Her heart is dripping with guilt for not running to his room to see him, but she can't bring herself to. "I will. Auggie's seeing him right now. 'M just gonna grab some food, I'll be right back."

Before Willow can try to reason with her again, Gracie turns around and walks down the corridor, finding a vending machine near the washrooms after a few minutes of searching. She loads up on snacks (they're not entirely healthy, but. Food is food) before making her way back to the waiting room.

August is there when she gets back, on his laptop with his glasses perched on his nose. She dumps the snacks on the coffee table, and he looks over his computer and raises his eyebrows. "That's...a lot of snacks."

"Just making sure you guys don't go hungry," Gracie says, tucking a loose curl that fell from her ponytail behind her ear. "What're you doing, homework?"

"Yeah, my professor wants this by midnight," August sighs. "Then 've got to call Lauren, update her on everything."

Lauren is August's girlfriend from uni. Gracie looks around at all of her siblings. Miles has Noel, Willow has Rowan, and August has Lauren. They all have someone to turn to right now, to be there with them (even if it isn't physically), except for her.

The nauseous feeling returns to her stomach. How is she ever going to figure this out on her own? She was counting on having her dad, at least. He'd be there for her like he always is. That's kind of up in the air right now.

"Your dad just had a heart attack, you can't get an extension on your homework?" Miles furrows his eyebrows. Hearing him vocalise it hits Gracie in the gut, her nausea seeming to prove itself as she runs to the nearest rubbish bin and vomits.

"Woah," Miles is quick to stand up, grabbing Willow's water off the side table and walking over to her. He puts his hand on her back, handing her the water. "Shit, are you okay?"

No, clearly not. Gracie takes the water, managing a few slow sips before nodding. "Um, yeah. Yeah, 'm okay. Must've eaten something bad."

Miles doesn't look convinced. He keeps his hand on her back, frowning down at her. "Um, here, you wanna grab some tea or something? Get the taste out of your mouth?"

August and Willow are staring at her, but Gracie ignores it. She just nods, and Miles guides her out of the waiting room, walking with her down the corridor. "Y'know, Auggie ran into the doctor when he left Dad's room," He mentions. "They said they think he's gonna be fine."

They think. That's not enough for Gracie, or her racing mind. "That's good," She says quietly. She looks up at her little brother, almost two heads taller than her, and sees how tired he looks. "How'd he...look? When you saw him?"

Miles keeps his eyes trained in front of him, hands in his hoodie pockets as he swallows thickly. "Sick," He says, so soft and raspy Gracie almost doesn't hear him. "'N weak. Not like himself at all."

If Gracie ponders those words for too long, she's positive she'll be sick again. "This fucking sucks," Miles continues. That's a bit of an understatement. He looks down at Gracie, eyes shining, and Gracie's heart sinks. "You can't tell anyone I told you this, but...I was gonna propose. On Saturday."

Gracie stops dead in her tracks. "You're shitting me," She says. A few nurses walking by glance over at them. Miles smiles weakly at her reaction. "Holy shit, Miles."

"I know, I know," He says. "Got Niall 'n Barb's blessing 'n everything, made them swear they wouldn't say anything to Papa 'n Dad so we could surprise them afterward, but-" Miles takes a deep, shuddering breath. "I can't ask him to marry me if there's even a possibility Dad won't be here for it."

Gracie is quiet. Miles wipes his arm over his eyes, and when Gracie looks up she can see they're wet. "I don't know what's going on with you, but y've got to go in there and see him," Miles says, and it's then Gracie realises they've passed the cafeteria and are standing outside of a room. "You're never gonna forgive yourself if something happens."

Gracie can't move. Just as it seems like Miles is going to say something else to her, the door opens, and their papa appears. "Gracie," He breathes.

"Hi," Gracie says meekly. Harry practically attacks her in a hug like Willow had before, holding her tight, and she can feel her eyes well up all over again. When they separate, she sees how wet his eyes are, and how tired and scared he looks too. His husband of almost thirty years is in the hospital, of course he's terrified.

"Your dad's been asking about you," Harry sniffles, giving her a small smile. She blinks tears out of her eyes, and he wipes them away. "He's awake, if you're up for saying hi."

Taking a deep breath, Gracie nods. "Okay," She says. Harry wraps her up in another hug, kissing the top of her head before stepping aside so she can go in.

The room is small, with a big window on the wall across from the door. It's pitch black outside, like it has been since she's got there, and she can hear that it's still raining. Her dad lays in the hospital bed in the middle of the room, propped up with pillows and connected to some monitors and and IV. There are tubes going up his nose.

When he looks up and sees Gracie standing in the doorway, his eyes light up. "Thought I heard your voice out there," He says with a grin. Miles was right, he looks sick. It shakes Gracie to her core. He must see how nervous she is, because he pats the bed and says "Come sit with me."

Sheepishly, Gracie closes the door behind her, walking over and sitting on the edge of the bed. "You scared the shit out of me," She chokes out, but she gives him a shaky smile so he knows she's joking. He laughs weakly, and she grabs one of his hands and holds it in both of hers. "'M so glad you're okay."

"Can't believe a heart attack is what it took to get all my kids in one place," Louis shakes his head, and Gracie laughs, letting go with one of her hands to wipe her eyes. "Hope I didn't steal you away from any babies wantin' to be born tonight."

"They can wait," Gracie jokes, but her smile falters, and she wipes her eyes again, cheeks wet with tears. Louis frowns.

"Hey," He says softly, and she looks at him. "You know 'm not going anywhere, Gracie girl."

"Please don't," Gracie whimpers, and Louis squeezes her hand.

"'N miss out on all the action?" Louis scoffs, but his eyes are wet now too. "No way. Papa 'n I have a running bet on who's gonna give us grandkids first. I want my ten pounds."

Gracie giggles, sniffling and shaking her head. Well, she figures this might be as good a time as any. "I...I have to tell you something."

"Yeah? What's up?" Louis asks, voice gentle as he struggles to sit up a bit more. Gracie hesitates, hiccuping, and Louis' eyebrows furrow with concern. "Oh, Jesus. 'Ve already had a heart attack, G, don't give me another one."

"That's not funny," Gracie sniffles, but she smiles weakly, and Louis grins teasingly. No turning back now. She takes a deep breath before letting it out.

"'M pregnant." She says quietly.

The smile falls from Louis' face, eyes becoming wide. He stares at her for a second, speechless, and Gracie can feel the tears start flowing all over again.

"I found out two days ago," She continues, tears dripping down her cheeks. "I went to the doctor yesterday, and they confirmed it. I'm gonna keep it." Her dad is quiet, and she realises her worst fear may have been true; she disappointed him. That is, until he lets out an excited laugh.

"Gracie Mae, holy shit!" He beams, pulling her closer and throwing his arms around her. One of his machines that's been beeping starts to beep a bit more rapidly, and Gracie leans back from him.

"Dad, your heart," She reminds, laughing a little.

"Oh, fuck that, 's apparently already shit," Louis beams, hands on her upper arms as he squeezes them. "Fuck, I owe Papa ten pounds. I should've known, he's always right."

Gracie laughs again. She's never seen her dad look so happy, her chest feels warm. "I don't know whose it is," She admits, a bit shamefully, but her words don't erase the huge smile on Louis' face. "'M a bit scared to do it alone."

"Hey," Louis says softly. "You're not doin' anything alone as long as I'm around. You know that."

His words lift a weight off of Gracie's shoulders, and she attacks him in a hug, burying her face in the crook of his neck. "I was so scared you'd be disappointed," She admits, voice trembling with tears.

"Disappointed?" Louis asks, as if that was ridiculous for her to even think. "Why would I be disappointed?"

"'Cos 'm not doing it right," Gracie sniffles.

"As long as you're doing it with love, you're doing it right," Louis assures, kissing the top of her head. "You're gonna be a wonderful mum, G. I'm so fucking proud of you. 'N you don't have to worry about me, 'cos I'm gonna be there. For everything."

And, he is. He's even the first one after Gracie to hold Evelyn Louis Tomlinson when she's born seven months later, and he's there when Miles and Noel get married a year after that, and he's there for everything else in their little state of grace.

fin.