"Harry?"

         I raise my brows apologetically at Niall, as we stand at the doorway of his apartment; but the confused look doesn't leave his face.

         "Did you forget something?"

         My eyebrows fall into a blank face, "What, did you think I'd never visit you after I've moved out?"

          "Well, no, but I didn't think you'd visit us after two days," He says, stepping aside after I let myself in. "And yeah, sure, come in."

         "Thank you," I sigh as I walk to the dining room, with him behind me. I look around the room as I sit on one of the chairs at the dining table, feeling like I haven't seen the white walls and white counters in forever. "God, I already miss this place."

         "Really?" Niall says in a disbelieving voice, sitting across from me, and picking up his coffee mug that he'd apparently left there so he'd open the door for me. Another thing I miss is having morning coffee with him. "That's something I didn't think you'd say when you got your own place."

         "Well, it's my girlfriend's place," I point out, "And it's not even a place, it's like a... a box. A box you get when you get a kitten but instead of moving the kitten out of the box, we're two kittens living inside it."

         A few seconds of silence later, I look over at Niall – his face both entertained and concerned. "And how are you two kittens doing?"

         "We're suffocating."

         He snorts, getting up from his chair, "I assumed. We just had lunch, want some leftovers?"

         "Just coffee, please," I reply, looking away through the window on my left; I almost regret moving out, I mean, Niall and Freya's place isn't that bad. It's great, if only they didn't kick me out of what used to be the guest room so they could make a nursery for child number three, and moved me in with their two daughters. I love Mal and Amy, but I'm years past sleeping in a bunk bed.

         "Did you know Del doesn't have a coffee maker?" I grimace as he hands me a cup of extra sweet cappuccino, my usual in the morning. Even though it's the afternoon. "Or air conditioning. I'm scared I'll have to take my pillow and go sleep out on the balcony one of these days."

         "Do you wanna move back in?" Niall asks out of the blue, casually scrolling through his phone. "Is that why you came here? You know having you was never a problem, I hope you didn't move out because you felt like you had to."

         "N-no," I frown, gulping- that sentence alone could've made me move back in in a heartbeat. "There's actually something else."

         "Hey, Ni, I'm gonna put your suit to- oh, hey Harry, you're back after two days," Freya says as she walks out of their room, carrying some clothes and towels. "I owe Niall fifty bucks."

         I widen my eyes as she casually strolls to the bathroom, turning to Niall with my puzzled expression to ask for an explanation. "I said you wouldn't last a week, she said you would. We had a bet."

         Well, if there was a part of me that wanted to live with them, it sure is gone now. "You two are too comfortable with me."

         "We wouldn't be if your life wasn't a mess."

          That sentence proves my point. "Well, speaking of my life..." I begin when I'm done glaring at Niall, while he keeps looking at his phone. "Remember... it was a while ago, but remember how I told you Kirsten has a..."

         "Son?" Niall suggests, shaking his head, "We had a three hour flight to Florida and a wake, and I drank at both. You get my answer."

         "So... no?"

         "Vaguely. I do remember it's a son she has, but that's about it."

         I keep looking at him, clicking the tips of my fingers against the side of my cup; I've lost count of how many times the fact that he's my sister's husband and the father of her children has stopped me from murdering him. Now is one of those times.

         "Well..." I continue anyways, "Remember how I told you I think he's... mine?"

         "Oh yeah, I remember you said something ridiculous," He chuckles, raising his mug to his lips. "That must've been it."

         "Well he is," I say almost through gritted teeth, to which he hums against his mug. "Niall, she called me to tell me she's flying here and wants me to meet him."

         At my last few words, he stops sipping on his coffee, and looks over at me- finally the reaction I've been waiting for. Niall, stunned, confused, and possibly curious.

         "Okay," Is his reply, as he slowly places his mug on the table and just looks around, processing the information. His eyes are a little wide, fixated on one thing as he blinks continuously- that's the same expression I've had the past few nights, while I lied in bed, next to my girlfriend. It probably sounds worse than it is.

         "U-um..." Niall shakes his head, placing both of his hands on the table for some reason, "You... you told me something about her getting pregnant a little before you broke up, right?"

         "Right."

         "So there's a possibility, like, a real possibility that he might be yours?"

         "I-I guess, yeah. Yes. There is."

         "Jesus Christ." All of the professionalism in his voice disappears and he drops his head in his hands, his reaction once again similar to one that I had. "He's... you have a son?"

         I take a deep breath, one too shaky for my liking, and rub my sweaty hands together. "I- nothing's sure yet, I mean, I told her Kirsten I want to do a paternity test and all, but..."

         "You have a feeling?"

         "...I really do."

         Niall finally lifts his head, his brows raised as he looks ahead of himself- okay, I get that he's shocked, but I was expecting him to be somewhat helpful. "When are they flying here?"

         "They should land..." I look at my watch, gulping at the time. "Twenty minutes ago."

         "What?" Niall widens his eyes again, this time at me, "Today? You're meeting them today?"

         "Yes, that's why I came here," I tell him, "I gave Kirsten this address because there was no way I could give her Delaney's, I... can't bring myself to tell her."

         "You didn't tell her?" From Niall's judgmental tone I expected him to say something worse as I shook my head, but he just pulls his lips between his teeth and starts nodding. "Okay. Why'd you tell her you're here?"

         "To look after Mallory and Amelia. Told her you're at work, and Freya's too pregnant to watch the girls by herself."

          "Listen," Niall clears his throat, patting me on the arm, "I can be with you, you know, when you meet him. If you need me to."

          "...Really?"

          "Yeah, I'll be the cool uncle," He says, shifting in his seat with a small smile- I can see he's already getting into character. "I'll make jokes if you ever run out of stuff to say, yeah, I'll be there for you."

         "That would mean a lot," I grin, smiling for the first time today as I grab his hand- there's a problem when I'm as comfortable holding Niall's hand as I am holding Delaney's.

         "Great, are they coming here?"

         "Yeah, Kirsten's gonna leave and-"

         "Excellent," Niall interrupts me- I should've remembered how much he hates Kirsten. At first he tried staying out of my situation with her, since I'd moved in with him and Freya soon after I got my college degree; but the more he watched me fall apart and give into drinking, the more he despised her for getting me to that point. "I don't want her in my home anyway."

         And, right, he doesn't hide the fact that he despises her at all. "It's been five years, you can chill out."

         "No," He shakes his head, leaping up from his chair and leaves the room for a minute. I stay in my seat, confused, until he returns with something in his hand- oh no, not that again.

         "See what this says? Four years sober. And I'm staying here to keep it that way," He nods at me confidently and leans on a kitchen counter, while I give him a skeptical look. "I remember everything from that period, it's a fucking miracle you're alive. I'm not letting you out of my sight anymore."

         "Ni?" While Niall and I are nodding at each other in agreement, Freya walks out of the bathroom, wrapped up in a towel, holding her stomach with a frown on her face. "Niall?"

         "Yeah, babe?"

         "My water broke."

         Her sentence breaks our eye contact and he looks at her, rather confused than freaked out or something more appropriate for that kind of announcement. "Wha- now?"

         "No, it was last week, but I didn't feel like telling you."

         I shake my head as I get up to help an already grumpy Freya sit down- that's a typical Niall reaction. The first five months of her carrying Amelia, their second, he thought she was doing a stunt. For five months.

         "Yes, now."

         He sighs, averting his eyes to me, "Well, something came up," He shrugs, indicating he won't be there when I meet Conrad- my hands are getting sweaty again.

         "U-uh, do you want me to call mum?" I look at Freya, who vigorously shakes her head at first, but then sighs when she thinks about it for a second.

         "Sure, what the hell," She shrugs, rubbing her stomach. "She'll need two hours to get to Chicago, anyway."

         "I'll call her, I'll do everything," Niall sighs too, walking up to Freya to feel her forehead, "Are you feeling alright? Have the contractions started?"

         "N-no," She says in a nervous tone, "I haven't had one yet."

         "Great, I'll get the kids and everything, you get dressed and Harry's gonna help you to the car," He gives me a look, and I nod back in reply. That's one really good thing about Niall, it's not that he's careless or something, he's just always 100% organized and convinced that everything will be fine. In the past few years that I've lived with them, I haven't seen him get too worried about, well, anything. I aspire to be like him someday.

         A few minutes later, wearing sweatpants and Niall's shirt, Freya slowly walks to the elevator with my assistance, and I can't help noticing she hasn't lost her frown for a second. That's a thing about her, giving birth has made her cranky all three times. Well, four times, if I count little Julie that she had to give up for adoption when she was twenty. So, four kids, first three girls- I get Niall's desire for a boy.

         "Are you still feeling fine? Not dizzy or anything?" I ask her as we walk out of the building and head to the parking lot, offering her what seems like too much help; it's fascinating how both of them seem to have everything under control, by themselves, all the time. They really found each other.

         "Yeah, I'm good," She sighs, sitting in the passenger's seat of their SUV and looking at the building behind me- "Thank God."

         I look over my shoulder, to see Niall walking toward us with a rather large bag they got ready just in case on his left shoulder, his toddler Amelia in his right arm and Mallory scurrying after him, clutching the hem of his shirt. "Okay- Mal, go in the back, get your sister's seat ready," He says, walking around the car to put the bag in the front seat, and by the time he brings Amelia to her baby car seat, it's already been unbuckled by Mallory, who buckles it back when Amy is safely placed in it. They got everything done in under ten minutes and I barely did anything.

         "I'll be in the car right now, I just need to tell Harry something, alright?"

         "Alright." After Freya answers him, Niall shuts the door on his side and walks over to me. I'm about to get a lecture from a person five months older than me.

         "Look, I'll tell Freya what's going on and why you can't make it to the hospital right now, but you... you watch out how you act in front of the kid, okay?"

         "Okay, I've already gone through everything in my head, you don't have to worry-"

         "And another thing." He gets a bit too close to me for my liking, "If he really turns out to be yours... don't let Kirsten take advantage of that. And don't let her back in your life just because she's his mother."

         There's something I didn't expect. "Well... I mean, she is his mother-"

         "Exactly," He cuts me off, "You're gonna see them together, and you're gonna think about how she's his mother, and how she raised him, and how he's your son and you all belong together, and you're gonna think you're still in love with her and that you've always been in love with her and that your feelings never went away- that's all bullshit."

          He pauses to see my reaction- I'm just staring at him wide eyed, thinking how the hell could he have said that in one breath? "You have Delaney, the girl who's never fucked you over, let alone cheated on you and dumped you and then invited you to her wedding, at which she married the person she cheated on you with. Kirsten made a mockery of you."

         "You don't have to be so literal, you know that?"

         "Yes I do, because I know you. You're all heart and no brain. You're gonna want to leave everything and-and marry her as soon as you see her kissing his cheek or hugging him or something. You have to remember that beneath that beautiful hair, and beautiful smile, is the woman who almost ruined your life."

         I gulp, deciding to fight him on how he's underestimating me later. My sister is literally giving birth in the front seat of his car. "Okay," I nod my head, "Go now. Mum's gonna help as soon as she's there, don't worry."

         "We'll be fine," Niall nods confidently as he hurries to the driver's side, "We survived Freya's third year in college, we'll survive everything."

         I tilt my head to the side, suddenly saddened at the memory of Freya's third year in university- right at the beginning she found out she was pregnant with Mallory, and had to quit pot cold turkey. Nobody thought she was really addicted, but after weeks of insomnia, nightmares and waking up covered in cold sweat all in one night, they knew sending her to rehab was the safest option. He had his pregnant wife in rehabilitation, states away because she was attending college in Cleveland and he was in Chicago- he doesn't dye his hair because he likes it blond anymore, no, he dyes it to hide the grays he got when he was 23. And that could be the reason he's so carefree now – he spent all of the concern his organism could produce in those eight months.

         Sometimes I think it's a miracle that she didn't have to repeat her third year, but then I look at her now, a neurosurgery resident who got everything done in time despite having two children, almost three. I can barely make myself get up in the morning to eat sometimes.

         "Harry?" I gulp at the voice; how long have I been standing here?

         I slowly turn my head to the left, forcing a smile and a calm attitude when I spot Kirsten and her little one getting out of a car, a navy blue Mazda from what I can see, and walking toward me. I stupidly stretch my hand out to shake hers when they reach me, Niall's words still too fresh in my mind for me to hug her. She gives me a tight smile, clearly confused about the way I'm greeting her. I'd be confused too.

         "Hi, did you guys have a nice flight?" I ask, my voice as cheerful as my mind would let it, looking at Conrad. But of course Kirsten is the one with the reply.

         "We sure did, Conrad's a little sleepy, aren't you?" She picks him up and kisses his cheek- this is exactly what Niall talked about. Jesus Christ, he might as well had been a fortune teller instead of an architect.

         "Yeah, well, Niall's apartment has... beds, and... all that. We'll be fine."

         "You should put him to bed soon because he takes his naps at five, but don't let him sleep past seven," Kirsten says, for some reason refusing to make eye contact with me. "Give him a granola bar before he passes out, he loves those. And make sure you cover him with a blanket or something, he hates the cold."

         "Okay," I nod firmly, and this time she does look at me, somewhat worried. I actually have to avoid eye contact with her for my own sake. "Don't worry, Niall's daughters are six and two and I've looked after both of them, he'll be fine."

         Kirsten raises her brows at my sentence, visibly surprised, probably because she knows only about their first daughter. If only she knew Freya's giving birth to their third as we speak, ha. "Okay," She finally nods back, glancing at Conrad, before handing him to me. "I'll pick him up tonight."

         Resisting to ask her where she'll be and what she'll be doing for the rest of the day, I simply nod, and take the boy from her hands- God, if my hands are shaking now, I can't imagine how nervous I'll be when I'm alone with him. "Okay."

         "Okay. Bye honey," She leans over to kiss his cheek, making me hold my breath for those few seconds; before, quite reluctantly, starting to walk away, once again not looking at me at all. "Bye Harry."

         "Bye," I say quietly, trying not to look at the back of her body as she leaves but looking anyway, admiring how she looks in her high-waisted skinny jeans and oversized t-shirt tucked into them and having a small wave of nostalgia strike me. She gets in the car, making me blink as she starts the engine and eventually drives away.

         "Well," I sigh as I properly look at the boy in my arms, noticing how tired he actually is, and taking a minute to take in his face. His short, curly black hair and green eyes- I've barely exchanged a word with him, but I already know I'd be devastated if he didn't turn out to be mine. "Looks like it's just us boys. What do you like doing for fun?"

         "Moshi Monsters."

         I'm grinning at his response now, but yes, I'm definitely going to be devastated if he's not my son.

*

hiiii i promise it'll get more exciting, as i'm just getting the story started :) please vote and comment your opinions so far xx