Louis is standing over Gracie's cot, staring down at her as she sleeps. She rarely sleeps, she's too busy crying. She's been crying constantly for the past four days. Somethings wrong, he can feel it, and he knows Harry can too, but he can't figure out what it could be. Babies don't just cry that much for no reason.

"Lou, come sleep," Harry mumbles from where he's laying on the bed. Louis sighs. He rarely sleeps on a good night, he's definitely not going to sleep tonight, his mind plagued with thoughts that there's something seriously wrong with his girl.

"I will in a minute, babe," Louis assures softly. "Go ahead and rest, I'll join you in a mo'."

"'M not going to be able to sleep without you," Harry says. Louis smiles a little at that, shaking his head and walking around the cot to climb onto the bed. He wraps an arm around Harry's waist, kissing the back of his neck. 

"We should take her to the doctor tomorrow," Louis mumbles.

"I know," Harry sighs quietly. He's quiet for a moment before whispering "Do you...think it's something bad?"

"No," Louis lies. "No, 's probably nothing. It'd just be good to get her checked out, y'know?"

"Yeah," Harry whispers, not sounding fully convinced. "Right, you're probably right."

♛

"He's little."

"That's my baby brother," Gracie says proudly, maybe a little smug. Ernest peeks over at Miles, who's cradled in Jay's arms. Louis smiles, shaking his head and glancing down at Harry. His eyes are closed, leaning into Louis' chest while Louis has an arm around him. Louis kisses his forehead.

"You awake?" He asks softly.

"Mhm."

"Do you want me to kick everyone out so you can sleep?"

Harry giggles quietly, eyes still shut as he shakes his head. "No, 'm okay."

"He's absolutely gorgeous, Lou," Jay gushes, but her eyes stay stuck on Miles. Louis tucks his chin over the top of Harry's head, letting him lean into him more.

"Yeah, I guess I'll keep him," Louis shrugs, grinning up at her. He looks over to the cot next to the bed where Willow is laying, and he pulls it a little closer so he can stick his hand in rest it on her tummy. "My poor girl over here is getting no love."

"Oi, I was just getting to her," Jay assures, resting Miles in his little cot on the other side of the bed. "He looks a lot like you did when you were a baby, Gracie."

"Really?" Gracie perks up.

"When're you gonna gestate a kid that doesn't look exactly like you?" Louis grumbles into Harry's hair.

"Give it a few more tries," Harry mumbles.

"That can be arranged," Louis replies.

Harry giggles before opening his eyes and looking up at him. "'M kidding. I see a little bit of you in Gracie, 'specially her nose. Willow looks just like you."

"You think so?" Louis smiles, looking back over to her. She's tiny, smaller than Miles, and looks like one of Gracie's baby dolls. "We do make some beautiful kids, huh?"

"They are beautiful," Harry agrees, smiling up at Louis, dimples popping out. Louis melts a little.

"Get it from you, clearly," Louis replies, leaning down and pecking his lips. Jay finally goes over to Willow's cot and picks her up gently. She looks especially little when she's being held.

"How'd they get the babies outta Harry?" Doris asks, eyebrows furrowed as she looks over to Gracie.

"The doctas cut them outta' his tummy!" Gracie explains as if she's talking about a horror film. Harry rolls his eyes while Doris looks over at him with wide eyes.

"W-Why?" She asks him. "Why'd they do that to you? Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm okay," Harry assures with a laugh, nodding.

"They do it all the time, D," Louis says, running his fingers through Harry's hair. "They gave him a shot that made him numb, so he wouldn't feel anything."

"Poor Harry," Doris shakes her head in disbelief.

"Agreed," Harry mumbles. Louis smiles, kissing the top of his head.

"Do you guys wanna hold one of them?" He offers.

"Me!" Gracie squeaks.

"You already got to, babe," Louis reminds, giving her a small smile. "Doris and Ernie haven't. You're gonna get to go home with them and hold them everyday."

"But they're my babies," Gracie pouts.

"Um, they're my babies," Harry corrects.

"Excuse me?" Louis makes a face at Harry. Harry just leans up and kisses him, because he knows it'll shut Louis up. It works.

"I wanna hold one!" Ernie raises his hand. Louis gets up off the bed and scoops Miles up, sitting on the edge of the bed next to Ernie. He does the same thing he did with Gracie when she had first held them a few hours ago, and cradles Miles in his arm while holding him in Ernie's lap.

"He's real little, Achoo," Ernie observes.

"Yeah, he is," Louis chuckles. "But he's gonna grow and get big and strong like you."

"It'd be cool if he played footie like me," Ernest says. Louis' smile becomes bigger.

"That would be cool," Louis nods. "I think whatever he decides he likes to do will be cool. Maybe he'll do ballet like Doris."

"I can teach him!" Doris says. "We can both be ballerinas!"

"For sure. Look at you, mate," Louis coos to Miles, grinning when Ernest rests his little hand on the blue blanket Miles is wrapped in. "Only a few hours old and your aunt's already plotting your future."

Miles, apparently, isn't into that, because he blinks up at Ernest before starting to scream. Louis sighs, lifting him from Ernie's lap and cradling him to his chest. "Nice going, Ernie, you made him cry."

"I-I'm sorry, Achoo!" Ernest squeaks, frowning.

"No, buddy, I was kidding," Louis assures quickly, giving him a weak smile. "You didn't do anything," Louis turns to Harry. "He's probably hungry."

Harry sighs, visibly exhausted, and he takes Miles from Louis and cradles him in his arms. "C'mon, guys, let's see if we can go find some candy or summat," Jay says to the kids, setting Willow back down in her cot.

"I wanna stay with the babies," Gracie shakes her head, pouting.

"We'll come back, love," Jay assures, smiling at her. "Just taking a walk."

"I stay here," Gracie insists. "But bring me candy too, please."

"Gracie Mae, go with Nan, please," Louis sighs, putting his hand on Harry's back as Harry rushes to undo the snaps on his hospital gown. Gracie gives him a mean look, but she slides off the hospital bed and follows Jay as she leads the three of them out.

"L, he's not doing it," Harry huffs, bouncing Miles slightly as he cries.

"Just stuff it in," Louis shrugs. Harry gives him a dull look. "...Or I could call a nurse."

"No, it's okay," Harry sighs, though Louis can barely hear him over Miles' wailing. That kid has a serious set of lungs on him. Tomlinson lungs, as Harry would say.

"Maybe he's not hungry?" Louis suggests. "He did just eat a little while ago."

"I don't know why else would he be crying like that?" Harry lifts Miles up and holds him against his shoulder, and just as he does, Miles spits up all over him. Harry wrinkles his nose. "There it is."

"Miles," Louis scolds light-heartedly. He's not crying anymore, though, so that's something. "Papa's in labour with you for seven hours and this is how you repay him? Ungrateful."

"Yeah, set him straight, Lou," Harry nods, and Louis laughs. "Can you hand me a towel or summat?"

"On it," Louis picks one up off the bedside table and hands it to him. Harry moves Miles so he's cradling him against his chest again, cleaning off his shoulder. Louis sits on the edge of the bed.

"Can you put my hair up? 'S in my face," Harry sighs, holding up his wrist so Louis can pull the hair tie off of it. He does, and attempts to put Harry's hair up, but he fails miserably. Harry gives him a look, but he starts to laugh. "You put Gracie's hair up everyday."

"Gracie doesn't have the hair of fuckin' Tarzan," Louis takes the hair tie out and tries again, doing a little better this time. The bun still sags, but it stays in place, and he smiles triumphantly. "There. Maybe I'll ditch uni and go to cosmetology school."

"There's an idea," Harry giggles.

♛

"We think it's just colic."

Harry frowns, looking down at where Gracie is cradled in his arms. She's been crying non-stop for four days. He knows it's something more than that, he can feel it, but he swallows his protests.

Louis, however, stands up out of his chair. "She's been crying for four days straight," He argues. The doctor must think it's ridiculous, this twenty year old punk trying to challenge his diagnosis. "It can't just be colic. I have six siblings, I know what colic looks like."

"We couldn't find anything else," The doctor says. If Dr. Bajaj was on call, they'd believe Louis. They'd run every test twice. Harry looks back down at Gracie. Maybe his mum was right, maybe he's too young for this. They must be doing something wrong for her to cry so much.

"Look harder," Louis says sternly. "'M not taking my kid home until you give me a real diagnosis."

"I just gave you her diagnosis," The doctor argues.

Louis grits his teeth and looks back down at Harry. Harry looks up at him, telling him with a slight shake of his head that the doctor is wrong.

Most people would think Harry is crazy for thinking he knows better than a literal paediatrician. That's why Harry is so in love with Louis, because as soon as he gets it, he turns back to the doctor and says, "Give me a different one."

"Mr. Tomlinson-"

"Find out what's wrong with my baby," Louis raises his voice a bit. The doctor sighs, but he goes back to the corridor to retrieve some more equipment to run more tests.

♛

Louis wakes up in the middle of the night on a fold-out bed next to Harry's hospital bed. It took a bit of effort to convince Harry they couldn't share the tiny hospital bed because he of his stitches.

Willow is in her cot, and Louis can hear her whimpering. He slowly stands up and walks over to her, seeing her blink up at him with big blue eyes.

"Hey, what's the matter?" He asks softly, scooping her up and holding her. Willow stops immediately, and Louis grins. "Just wanted some attention, huh?"

Willow just blinks up at him. Louis sits down in one of the chairs against the wall, seeing Willow's eyes shift under the dim light of the room, looking for something to focus on. He lifts her up and kisses her forehead before glancing at the clock on the wall.

"Hey," He says quietly. "You're officially nine hours old, bub. Pretty exciting. What do you think? You like it out here?" Willow hiccups. "Yeah, me neither."

Willow just looks up at him. She's quiet. She cries, yeah, but not nearly as much as her brother. Louis can already tell she's a lot like Harry. There's something about her where whenever she's with him, he feels this overwhelming need to protect her.

He gets the same thing with Miles and Gracie, but it's different. Maybe it's because she's so tiny, and quiet, but he holds her close to his chest as though someone's going to take her from him.

"You've got some pretty cool parents, though," Louis offers, glancing up at Harry, who's fast asleep. "A decent dad, and the sweetest Papa. And you scored an awesome big sister. Pretty lucky, if you ask me."

Willow makes a small, soft sniffling sound, and Louis grins. He kisses her forehead again before continuing.

"And, you know, I think both Papa and I got the short end of the stick in the dad department," He says quietly. "So 'm trying really hard for you, to be better for all of you. I just got a new therapist, and 'm going to uni in a few months, and I'm working hard to make sure we have enough so you get everything you need."

Willow yawns, eyelids drooping, and Louis' smile widens. "'S gonna be worth it, though," He tells her, voice soft. "Because you're gonna get everything I didn't, okay? You're never going to have to worry about if you're going to be able to eat, or having to wear shoes that are a size too small, or not being able to go to university. 'M gonna make sure you never have to stress out over that stuff."

Willow's chin drops slightly, almost as though she gave Louis a nod. Louis laughs a little himself quietly, giving her his index finger to grip in her tiny hand. "You and I are gonna be best friends," He whispers, lifting her hand up and kissing it. "I can already tell. We're gonna cause lots of trouble, Papa's gonna hate it."

♛

"So, after a few more tests, we did find something unusual," The doctor tells them, Gracie now sleeping where she's cradled in Harry's arms. Louis looks smug until he remembers something is wrong with her, and he rests his hand on Harry's thigh. "We found a bacterium called Group B Streptococcus."

"What is it?" Louis asks.

"It's a bacteria that basically causes illness, mostly in newborns," The doctor explains. He looks over to Harry. "Did you get tested for it while you were pregnant?"

"N-No," Harry admits, furrowing his eyebrows. "They never mentioned that."

"Newborns usually get it during birth, from their mothers," The doctor explains. Harry's heart sinks. "You should have gotten tested so they could give you antibiotics while you were giving birth. One in twenty newborns who contract it die-" Harry's grip on Gracie tightens. "-And even if they live, they can develop hearing or vision loss, or learning disabilities. You're lucky she didn't get sepsis-"

"Okay, hey," Louis stands up out of his chair and points his finger at the doctor. "He clearly doesn't need you scolding him. He didn't know, it's not his fault. Just tell us how to help her."

The doctor sighs, but he nods. "We'll have to give her antibiotics through her vein," He says.

"Fine. Go on, then," Louis nods. The doctor doesn't seem very pleased with him, but he turns around and walks back out to the corridor. Louis let's out a deep breath, turning around and seeing the tears running down Harry's cheeks. He frowns. "Hey, hey, it's not your fault, Hazza, she'll be okay."

"I could've killed her," Harry chokes out, looking up at Louis. "And it would've been my fault."

"No, love," Louis sits back down, taking Harry's face in his hands. "It's not your fault, H. You didn't know. You had no way of knowing. She's okay."

Harry lifts Gracie closer to his face so he can kiss her forehead. "'M so sorry," He mumbles to her, sniffling as Louis reaches over and wipes his eyes.

♛

"This is the worst part of having kids."

Harry rolls his eyes as Louis changes Miles' first nappy, wrinkling his nose. "You're such a baby," He says, shaking his head.

"I don't see you being much help!" Louis points out, making a face at him.

"I just had surgery less than twenty-four hours ago," Harry scowls. His expression is nasty, but his touch is gentle as he brushes back Willow's tiny blonde wisps of hair.

"Excusesss," Louis sings, putting a new nappy on Miles. "Huh, Miles? What's that? Yeah, I think Papa should step up and contribute, too."

"You're so annoying," Harry rolls his eyes, resting his hand on Willow's tummy. Louis laughs at his own joke. There's a knock on the door, and Harry calls out and says, "come in!"

The door opens, and Anne, Harry's mother, appears. Louis watches Harry's face shift. He looks genuinely surprised she came, but Louis can also tell he's pleased. "Mum," He says, raising his eyebrows. "Hi."

"Is this a bad time?" Anne asks sheepishly, clutching her purse in her hand. Louis is sure he could probably pay for a whole year at uni with that purse. "I should've called, I'm sorry."

"No, no, now's a perfect time," Harry assures, giving his mother a smile. "Come in."

Anne walks in cautiously, closing the door behind her. She looks over to where Louis is getting Miles back into his little baby grow. "Hi, Louis. Nice to see you."

"Nice to see you too," Louis nods, giving Anne his most polite smile.

"Here, you wanna hold her?" Harry offers. He definitely lost a little bit of his posh accent over the years, picking up on Louis' instead. Louis can't say he minds it. He wonders if Anne notices.

"I'd love to," Anne smiles, setting her purse on the table beside the bed before sitting on the edge of the bed. Harry gently passes Willow over to her, and she cradles her in her arms. "She's beautiful, Harry."

"Thank you," Harry's smile widens. "I think she looks a lot like Louis."

"Oh, definitely," Anne agrees, nodding. That makes Louis smile a little. "What's her name, have you decided yet?"

"Yeah, this one didn't take us as long as Gracie's," Harry giggles. "Her name's Willow. Willow Fae."

"That's pretty," Anne coos. She's so, so nice, and is always friendly towards Louis, but he knows she doesn't like him. She doesn't like that he took her little boy away from her when he was only eighteen. But, whatever. Harry seems really happy that she's here, and that's all that matters to Louis. "And the other one? 'S it another girl?"

"No, 's a boy," Harry says. "His name is Miles."

"You lucked out, Louis," Anne says. As if Louis would care if they had three girls. "Finally have someone to throw a ball around with."

Louis wants to tell her Gracie is perfectly capable of throwing a ball around with him, but he can see what Harry's thinking when he gives him a solid look. Be nice. So instead, he laughs politely. Harry looks relieved.

"So," Harry starts, his smile faltering a little. "Dad couldn't make it?"

Anne frowns. "You know how he is," She tries to sound light-hearted, but Louis can tell it's forced. "Very busy at work. He sends his best."

"Ah," Harry nods slowly, visibly hurt. "Well. That's okay."

Willow saves the awkward moment by yawning, and it makes Anne smile. "Oh, she's precious," Anne coos, and Harry immediately smiles again. "Have you sent any pictures to Gems? I'm sure she'll love her too."

"Yeah, she's going to come see them when she's back from the states," Harry nods.

"Haz, love, should I put him back down?" Louis asks, scooping Miles up off the changing table. "Or do you wanna hold him?"

"I'll take him," Harry says, holding his arms out. Louis sets Miles in his arms before grabbing an extra pillow and setting it under his arms. Harry rolls his eyes, but he's smiling. "I don't need the pillow, L."

"Just bein' safe," Louis says, leaning down and kissing the top of Harry's head. "Don't wanna irritate your stitches or anything."

Harry shakes his head, still grinning, and looks back to his mum. Anne looks at him for a moment before saying, quietly, "You look really happy, love."

Usually his mother is kind of phoney, and ingenuine, but she looks so sincere right now. Harry's face softens. He glances back up at Louis before giving her a small smile. "Yeah," He says. "I am."

what do u think :P