Harry's POV

"It's not about forgiveness Harry," Beth says, "it's about trust."

Trust?

What?

She doesn't trust me anymore?

But I...

Wow.

I can't pretend I'm not gutted hearing that.

Beth puts her breakfast down and stands up off the bed but suddenly turns around, confusion on her face as she looks down at the bed.

"I put you in there last night," I say as I can see her trying to think how she got there, "I came in to see if you wanted any dinner and you were sound asleep. So I moved you there and I slept here," I gesture to the chair.

"I can't believe you stayed," she says quietly.

Where on earth does she think I'd be?

"I would never leave you Beth," I reply, "no matter how badly I fucked up, I wasn't going to leave you."

I made that promise to you.

She reaches up to wipe a tear that falls down her cheek just as the door to Chloe's room opens up behind me.

"Ah, good morning Ms. Westlake, Mr. Styles," Dr. Wynter says as he enters the room, along with several other people, who all gather at the end of her bed, "colleagues and medical students," he gestures, "this is a teaching facility so I hope you don't mind."

"No, not at all," Beth replies.

I decide to stay right away, so I move backwards, as I'm not sure if she wants me around at all to hear what he has to say.

But when I look over at her, she gestures for me to come over to her.

What?

I quickly walk over to her in case she changes her mind and I stand close behind her, resisting the urge to take her hand in mine.

And I can smell the faint aroma of mangoes.

I wait nervously to hear what Dr. Wynter has to say.

"Oh!" one of the young female medical students gasps and looks straight at me, "you're Harry..."

Are you fucking kidding me?

No, no, no, no, no.

This is just going to piss Beth off even more now.

"Get out," Beth says in a dangerously low voice that I didn't know she was capable of.

"I'm...sorry?" she looks at Beth in confusion.

She points to Chloe.

"She is your focus, your patient is your focus, not the person behind me," she says angrily, "now since I don't believe your attention is one hundred percent on my daughter, I'd like you to leave," she folds her arms over her chest.

Well fuck me.

Beth looks ready to leap over Chloe and smack her one.

The young doctor looks from Beth to Dr. Wynter who nods his head in agreement.

Well, shit.

She turns on her heel and leaves the room without putting up any argument.

Frankly I don't really blame her.

"Looking at her chart, everything is as we expected," Dr. Wynter snaps me out of my thoughts, "her vitals are steady, no change there..."

"So when do you think you'll take the breathing tube out?" Beth asks.

"Well, we're going to take her for another MRI scan now to see if the swelling has reduced at all overnight and then we'll know after that," he says, "the scan will give us a clear indication of how her condition is looking."

"Okay," she says quietly, and I can see her biting her lip with worry.

"We'll take her down now and have her back as soon as possible, then I'll let you know what we plan to do," he says kindly.

Beth leans over to give Chloe a kiss on her forehead as the other doctors gather around her and start to move the equipment onto her bed in preparation.

Beth then steps back and we watch them wheel Chloe's bed out of the room.

She doesn't say anything but I hear her take a quick breath in before she gives her head a little shake.

Then I hear her take another breath.

And then another.

Is she going to have a panic attack?

Not if I can help it.

I don't care if it's not okay but I just can't stand here and not do something so I wrap my arms around her and that's when I hear a tiny sob come out.

But like I anticipate, she begins to pull forward, away from me but I refuse to let her go.

"Harry..." my heart breaks a little at the way my name comes out.

I pull her closer to me and lean my chin on her head to comfort her.

"I'm not letting you go Beth," I whisper, "I don't care how angry you are, I'm not letting you go and leaving you. I'm not leaving you alone love."

To my initial surprise and then relief, she stops fighting me and leans back into me, her hands reaching up to hold onto my arms as she begins to cry.

Beth is a lot smaller than me, but right now, my sweet girl seems even tinier and fragile as I hold her to me.

It's my job to protect her and make her feel safe.

"I've got you," I whisper quietly as I gently rock her from side to side, "I've always got you."

And we wait together as I hold Beth in my arms while she in turn holds onto me.

~~~~~~

I'm not sure how long we've been standing there like this when the door to Chloe's room opens and she's finally brought back in.

It still throws me to see her like that and the guilt that had temporarily left me returns with a vengeance.

"Well?" Beth asks as soon as the nurses settle Chloe back in.

"I'm pleased to say the swelling has started to go down, considerably quicker than we had anticipated," he explains.

"So what does that mean for her?" Beth asks and I feel her body relax against me.

"It means that tomorrow we'll take the tube out and begin to ease her out of her sedation and then wait for her to wake naturally," he smiles.

Thank fuck.

Thank fucking Christ for that.

I let out a sigh of relief that she's going to be okay.

I think I need to sit down but I'm definitely not moving from where I am right now.

Not when I feel like I've made some sort of breakthrough with Beth.

"Might I make a suggestion?" Dr. Wynter suddenly says.

"Of course," Beth replies.

"Well you've spent all your time here since she was admitted, even sleeping here last night," he says, "I'm anticipating that the earliest she will wake up is late tomorrow, then I'm quite sure you won't want to leave her side."

"No I won't want to leave her," Beth agrees.

I listen intently as Dr. Wynter outlines Chloe's expected stages of recovery and that Beth should perhaps go home and shower and eat before coming back later this afternoon.

Actually it's not perhaps.

He's being politely insistent.

I can see Beth looking at him like he's lost his marbles.

Now she just looks incredulous.

If not for the situation I'd almost laugh out loud that someone is daring to tell her what to do and that they seem unfazed by her expression.

But I can see his point.

I can also understand why Beth is reluctant but this would be so good for her.

To rest and recharge herself properly.

"It sounds like a good idea Beth," I agree, "change of clothes, a shower, it'll do you the world of good."

"Fine," she replies with a huff, "I'm not exactly thrilled about this but if you insist..."

"I do," he smiles.

Brave man.

"I suppose she will want Penny for when she wakes up," Beth says, "or I could..."

But then she stops.

"Could what?" I ask.

"It doesn't matter," she sighs, "I bought some things yesterday but I left them in Gemma's car."

Oh.

Now I remember.

Gemma put some bags into my car last night and I thought they were Beth's but obviously I didn't get a chance to mention it to her.

"She actually gave me some things before she left last night," I say.

We should probably get going but I need to clean up from breakfast first.

"Why don't you sit down with Chloe and I'll tidy up before we go?" I suggest.

I start to walk over to clean up and stop.

I'm just assuming that she'll come with me.

What if she doesn't want to be anywhere I am?

"What?" Beth asks as she sits down.

"I guess I'm assuming that you want to come with me," I say quietly.

She pauses for a moment and looks at Chloe, biting her lip in that way that she does before finally answering me.

"I do want to come with you," she says.

Yeah I thought-

Wait.

She does?

Yes she does, but let's not get too excited yet Harold.

But I can't help smiling to myself as I begin tidying up from breakfast and folding up the bed and the blankets.

"Harry?" Beth suddenly says.

"Yes love," I stop the cleaning and look up.

"What's that in your pocket?" she asks me.

"My pocket?" I reply.

Okay.

Just my phone and keys I would imagine as I put my hand in my coat pockets and instead pull out a lacy blue pair of knickers.

And I have a fleeting vision of Beth in them.

Shit.

Oh shit.

"Oh...I..." I start to stutter.

"Why is my underwear in your pocket Harry?" she furiously whispers to me.

Again.

Shit.

Good one Harold.

I blush furiously as I shove them back into my pocket.

"I...uh...saw it in your drawer and thought..." I begin.

God I thought...

I rub the back of my neck nervously.

"I thought you might wear them for me, like, last night..." I trail off, "just...you'd look pretty hot...in it..."

She shakes her head and I see a hint of a smile as she looks back at Chloe.

I finish folding the bed up and move it to the side.

"Ready?" I ask, my face still flaming in embarrassment.

She nods before leaning over and kissing Chloe on her cheek.

Before I even think about it, I do the same.

"See you later this afternoon Princess," I whisper.

Because she is.

I stand up and wait to be met with a glare from Beth but instead she's looking out the window at something, the glare I was expecting is directed at whatever she's looking at.

She pulls her phone out and I see her searching on her phone for something.

What the hell is she looking for?

"Beth?" I question her but she's intent on finding something.

"Fucking hell!" she suddenly swears.

Looks like she found it.

"What is it?" I ask, hoping she'll answer.

She turns her phone around and shows me what's on it.

It's a tweet.

Met @Harry_Styles at work today! Such a cutie! Not sure why he's here but his family and the woman he's been with is here too

I feel a little bit sick now.

I see some really bright red hair in the icon picture.

Now I'm no Einstein but...

"Bitch!" Beth is furious and before I can even respond she grabs her bag before walking out of Chloe's room.

I'm left standing there for a moment before I realise I better get out there after her.

I catch up with her as she walks into the main reception area and stops dead in her tracks, causing me to almost fall over her as she looks over to the desk and my heart sinks a little.

With dread.

Maybe it's fear.

Or both.

The redheaded receptionist is working today and Beth is positively seething as she walks over to her.

"Do you know why those girls are out there?" she asks her in a calm voice.

Calm.

Too calm.

"Uh..." she says and the smile disappears when Beth holds her phone up to her.

"Could it be because of this?" she asks, her voice rising.

Shit, shit, shit.

But the receptionist grabs her own phone and does something to it before holding it up to Beth.

"Deleted it," she says and smirks.

Oh please no.

Don't do this to me.

I have to drive this woman home.

But Beth calmly does something on her phone before looking up at the girl, a smile on her face.

Oh shit.

"Screenshotted it," she says and her smile drops and she looks downright scary as she leans forward, "I'll have your fucking job for this, it's a disclosure of privacy."

And the girl's mouth opens in shock as she looks to me.

I'm pretty sure I have the same look on my face too.

"Don't look at him to save you either," she says, "you crossed a line, and you crossed the wrong person," Beth suddenly turns on her heel and walks away, heading to the entrance.

It's in my nature to want to go and apologise for what Beth has said but in this instance I completely agree with her and her anger is certainly justified.

And it's a little bit hot too.

Focus Harold.

Now is not the time.

As I follow her towards the exit, we both stop again.

The path is blocked by a group of fans and there must be around 20-30 girls there.

Fuck.

"Where's your car?" Beth turns around and demands and I point to where it is before she holds out her hand, "give me your keys."

She can't be serious?

Is she gonna go off and leave me here?

"Harry I can't face them right now and I'm liable to punch one of them which I'm quite sure neither of us want. Let me go out first and then you can follow, please?" she says.

Okay.

I get it.

Part of me wants to walk out there with her and shield her from them, protect her cause she is my girl.

But I also understand why she needs it to be this way.

"Okay, I won't argue with you today," I say and give her my keys.

I see a look of relief pass over her face and I know I've done the right thing by giving in to her request.

"Thank you," she replies and grasps them, quickly putting her head down and walking outside.

I can see some of the girls quickly look around as the automatic doors open and the disappointment on their faces as they realise it's not me.

But then a couple of them actually do look like they recognise her and they watch her walk away from them quickly.

By then it's too late as she's safely inside my car.

The two girls who watched her leave talk animatedly together and then they nod in agreeance.

My heart sinks when I see them start to walk over towards my car.

No, no, no, no, no.

I immediately walk out the doors so that the girl's attention is focused back onto me and that they leave her alone.

Squeals erupt and they turn around and after they realise I'm standing there, they forget about Beth and walk back over to me.

I'm not overly thrilled but it's better than them hounding Beth.

"Harry!"

"Harry!"

"Harry!"

Phones are waved in my face and I smile and put my hands up to try and get them to quieten down.

"Listen everyone," I clear my throat and they all lower their giggling and shouting of my name, "as much as I'm happy to see you all, this really isn't the time or the place for this."

"But Harry..."

"Ohhhhhh..."

"Just one photo..."

"There are other people here to consider as well as the people I'm here for so I really hope you can all understand and appreciate that I won't be doing any photo's today," I smile politely at them even though many of their faces show disappointment but I ignore it and continue, "and may I also ask that you respect the privacy of those close to me who are here. Now if you'll all excuse me, I really do need to go."

I walk through the crowd and I'm about to step onto the curb when one of the girls touches my arm.

"I hope whoever you're here for gets better soon Harry," she says.

"We all do, thank you," I reply before I head over towards my car and hop in.

I feel terrible that a fan of mine alerted everyone else to where we were through a stupid tweet.

I feel terrible that my fans have invaded Beth and her family's privacy at the cost of trying to get to me.

I feel terrible that I've made Beth wait in my car because of my fans.

"I'm sorry I..." I begin.

"I know, it's your job," she cuts me off.

"No I meant about her tweeting..." I say, knowing this is what started it all.

"Again, that's not your fault Harry," she replies and her tone indicates that she really doesn't think it's my fault.

I'm not fully convinced but I'm not going to call her out on it.

I reverse the car out and begin the drive to my house.

I debate whether to try and talk to her but I notice she's turned herself away from me slightly and is leaning her head on the window, a loud sigh emitting from her.

It's not the time Harold.

Eventually we reach home and she's out the car even before I turn the engine off.

That's not good.

It's like she doesn't want to be around me.

Begrudging I follow behind her until I reach my front door and unlock it, letting her walk in ahead of me.

"I think I'm gonna take a shower," she suddenly says.

Is she putting off the inevitable conversation between us?

Harold, let her freshen up and clear her head.

Quite right.

"Sounds like a good idea, I might do that too," I agree and her head snaps to attention as she looks at me, "I mean, in the other bathroom...not with you," I hastily add.

Surely she didn't think...?

But before I can clarify it any further, she walks off upstairs and I have no choice but to follow her into my bedroom and watch as she heads straight into the bathroom, closing the door behind her.

I grab a change of clothes and head to the guest bathroom, washing quickly so I can be ready for Beth when she finishes in the shower.

I make it back to my bedroom in record time, only to hear the water still running from behind the door.

Okay.

I sit on the bed and wait.

And wait.

The water's off but still no sign of her.

I hope she's okay.

I debate with myself whether or not I should knock on the door and see if she's alright when the door opens up and Beth walks back in but not before letting out a small shriek.

Well it is my bedroom love.

"Christ Harry," she says as she places a hand on her chest.

"Sorry," I offer a small smile, "you were taking ages and I got a bit worried."

She nods her head as she clutches her towel to her body.

Why the fuck didn't she take any clothes in with her?

Don't think about it Harold.

"Beth we need to talk," I say instead.

"Well I don't want to," she replies.

Why am I not surprised?

I stand up from the bed and walk over to her, determined to have this conversation.

"You can't keep pushing me away Beth," I say, "I'm not going to walk away just because you want me to, I'm just as much in this as you are."

Her eyes widen in surprise.

"Because I want you to?" she repeats, "are you serious?"

Deadly.

"Beth you push people away who want to help you and I can see you putting up the walls I've tried so hard to pull down," I say, hoping I can make her understand.

"I don't need help Harry," she replies, "what I needed was for you to look after my daughter!"

Well, fuck.

I know it's true but hearing her say it is like a kick in the guts.

"Look, I take full responsibility," I continue, "I admit I'm at fault though I told her no, she said you'd be okay with it."

I realise how lame that kind of sounds saying it out loud now.

"She's a child Harry!" Beth yells, "a god damn child and you," she steps closer, pointing her finger at me, "you are the adult!"

Now we're getting somewhere.

"So then why can't you just admit that you're angry with me and get it out in the open?" I raise my own voice in frustration, "stop keeping it locked up inside," I point my finger back at her.

She doesn't say anything.

Shit.

I rarely lose my temper and I choose to lose it with Beth?

She just stands there and angrily brushes away a tear falls down her cheek.

Can I possibly feel any fucking worse right now?

"You really want to know?" she asks me, her voice cracking, "of course I'm fucking angry, she could have died Harry and I'm angry at you for letting it happen because I trusted you to look after them. I'm angry at Chloe for knowing she wasn't allowed on the stupid fucking horse but she defied me anyway and did it," she pauses for a moment, "and I'm angry at myself because I'm her mother and I'm supposed to protect her and not let things like this happen to her and I let her down..."

And there it is.

She begins to cry.

Like, really cry.

I can't stand seeing her hurt like this so I step closer to hug her but she shakes her head and steps back away from me.

I can't pretend that doesn't hurt me.

"Please don't push me away Beth," I plead, "it hurts so much when you do."

"I trusted you and...and I trusted myself," she steps further away from me, "I...I need space...Harry," she starts to say.

Space?

Nope.

I refuse to give in to what I've come to expect from Beth and that is to let her be.

"No!" I respond, more loudly than I intend, causing her to jump in surprise, "I'm not going to do what your husband did and walk away just because you say so and leave you alone to wallow in your own misery, that's not me and I refuse to do it! I know you put your trust in me and I let you down, badly, but I'm here to try and make it up to you if you'll just let me. You have to give me that chance."

She doesn't say anything, and I'm not sure if that's a good thing or not.

"I love you," I say quietly, "I love you so much it scares me. But I feel I'm only getting part of you to love."

"That's ridiculous!" she cuts me off, "I've no idea..."

I'm not being ridiculous.

I'm frustrated.

And I...

"Why won't you let me love you?" I suddenly yell at her.

I'm realise I'm yelling at her again and she's just staring back at me confused.

"I don't want to just love 'you,' the woman standing in front of me," I say more quietly as I slowly walk closer, "I want to love you when you bite your lip when you worry, when you pull weird faces when you think about something. When you wake up in the morning, when you're annoyed with me, when you cuddle me from behind," I pause for breath, "when you're yelling at the kids to pick their stuff up, when you cut yourself shaving your legs, when you walk into a chair cause you're so clumsy. When you're watching the rain fall on the window and when you walk past and pinch me on my bum. I want to love you when you feel the fear and sadness from your past and love you for when you're scared and excited for the future...our future..."

I'm standing in front of her and she hasn't moved so I take this as some sort of positive sign and gently hold her by the arms.

"I want to love every tiny precious piece of you," I whisper, "and I want you to love me as much as I love you."

She still doesn't say anything and she's still crying but not as much as before.

One of her hands reaches up and rests gently on my chest before gripping my shirt in her fist.

"But...I'm temporary Harry," she whispers, "soon I'll be gone and you'll forget about me."

And finally we have our reason.

I would never forget about Beth.

I don't ever want to.

"Only if you want me to forget about you, because I don't want to and I won't. I want to be with you Beth," I lean my head down so my forehead rests against hers, "I love you Beth, it's indescribable just how much I do."

It's hard to put into words something that's never happened to you before yet you know it's so right.

It's so perfect.

"Really?" she asks, like she still needs some kind of reassurance from me.

"Really," I whisper.

She looks at me and opens her mouth as if to say something but then she closes it, choosing to bite down on that damn lip of hers.

Instead she surprises me by gently kissing me and it takes me a few seconds to realise how much emotion she's trying to put into her kiss before she pulls away.

"I love you," she whispers against my lips, "it scares me because I never thought I would again."

She loves me.

Not just loves me.

She loves me.

She love, love, loves me.

I don't think I could be any happier than I am right at this very moment.

"I love you my sweet girl," I reply and we pull away slightly, staring at each other.

And it's then that I see it.

Or rather, I don't.

There is not an ounce of hesitation in her eyes.

She kisses me again, harder this time as she pulls at the hem of my shirt, stopping the kiss so she can pull it over my head and throw it to the floor before kissing me again, her tongue in my mouth and her hand gripping my curls, causing me to moan involuntarily.

I feel her move backwards as her hands work their way down my jeans, undoing the button and pulling the zipper down.

Jesus Christ.

I was wrong.

I can feel happier.

"I want you," she murmurs against my mouth.

And I'm already hard.

I stop kissing her, looking into her eyes in case she's changed her mind.

"Are...are you sure? I mean, I don't want you to be but I want you to be," I say.

Well that made sense Harold.

"Yes," she smiles at me.

I kiss her again, my hand travelling up her bare thigh and stopping under her bottom.

I can't believe this is happening.

I've wanted her for so long and now that she's finally giving me the green light I'm beside myself.

"I love you," I repeat, wanting to reassure her again.

Or maybe it's myself.

"Then show me," she replies and before I realise it, my hand moves from her bottom and up to grip her towel, pulling it from her body and letting it fall onto the floor.

And now she's naked in front of me and what a beautiful sight it is.

I lean down and kiss her again, more gently this time as I feel her hands move to the waistband of my jeans and slowly push them down to my thighs, until they fall to my ankles and I use my feet to pull them off awkwardly so I don't break the kiss.

I wrap and arm around her waist and using my other hand to support myself, I gently lower her onto my bed.

My hand comes up to her face and I hold her cheek in the palm of my hand, my nose nuzzling hers.

"Still sure?" I ask one more time.

She simply smiles and wriggles under me, her legs moving apart and around my thighs so I'm now laying in between them, my dick pushing right up against her core.

"Yes Harry," she says and moves her hips against mine.

And I'm a goner.