Stumbling through the dark

You Did.......Didn't You?

Niall slowly sat up looking confused and annoyed, his hand held against the cut in his head that was bleeding profusely. "Haz, why' d ya do that? I've cut my f.cking head open" Niall grumbled loudly.

"Bu...bu...but you were going to ....j....j...j..ump" Harry stuttered out, still white with shock.

"No, I wasn't. I was just standing up" Niall sounded even more confused.

"You..you...were falling. I thought you were going to.......and I...... " Harry was having trouble speaking . He was shaking with shock as he had been convinced Niall had been about to jump."You..weren't?"  he finally managed.

"No, I just wobbled when I stood up. You didn't really think I was going to..........you did, didn't you? Haz?" Niall took in Harry's white face and shaking body then struggled to his feet . He grew his arms around Harry and hugged him tightly " I wanted to at one point" he confessed " Maybe was even going to but then you came on the roof and I started remembering all the fun stuff we've had together and it somehow became wrong to end it like that. Niall released Harry and looked into his face. "You really do care about me, don't you" he whispered then buried his head in the crook of harry's neck.

Louis and Liam stood silently watching their two bandmates before walking forward to join them. "Yes, mate, we do care and if you ever scare us this way again, I will personally feed you to Naughty Boy as a snack" Louis sassed before he joined in the hug. "I think we'd better take you to the hospital though, Ni. That cut of yours is bleeding over you and Harry. It looks pretty bad. How does it feel?"

"Cracking headache." Niall admitted. 

"Can you walk OK?" Liam wanted to know. Niall took a few steps but it was obvious he was still shaky on his feet so Liam quickly scooped him up and carried him down stairs and out to the SUV  where their security was waiting for them. It was a short drive to the hospital and Niall was quickly whisked away to be accessed. The boys waited anxiously for an update although they were fairly sure it wouldn't be serious.

"Horan family?" a middle aged doctor had appeared in the doorway.

"That's us" Liam responded quickly.

"  Is one of you Mr Tomlinson?"

"Yes, that's me" Louis said.

" We have you as being Mr Horan's emergency contact so we are able to share information , but only with you I'm afraid."

"They can hear too. We're brothers" Louis replied.

"In that case, I can tell you Mr Horan  is fine. He's has had to have some stitches to close the cut  in his head as it was quite deep. He has just been sent to have  a scan to make sure that there is no underlying damage but that is merely a precaution. He does have mild concussion and we've given him pain medication for his  headache  We would like to keep  him in for a few days as it appears his MS is also in a flare up. I've spoke to his Neurologist and we have agreed to tweak his medication a little to increase it's effectiveness . It will be much easier to monitor if he is an  in-patient and it will benefit him more if we can get the most efficient dose for him. You may see him if you'd like?" All the boys eagerly agreed that they would like that so the doctor invited them to follow him. "This is his room. He'll be back from the scan shortly. You are welcome to stay until 9pm then I must ask that only one of you stay overnight". He smiled pleasantly then left them to wait for their little leprechaun.

The boys fidgeted with their phones while they waited for Niall to be brought to his room. They had decided that Harry would be the one to stay with Niall that night. Harry didn't know whether to feel embarrassed because  that he'd thought Niall would have jumped or because he had injured one of his best mates. "Mate, he'll understand. Don't get worked up about it. " Liam said reassuringly. "He'll know you were only looking out for him" Harry still looked miserable. They all stood up quickly when Niall appeared, being pushed in a wheelchair by a male nurse.Niall was looking very cheerful and sporting a very large bandage around his head. The nurse quickly got Niall into bed and, much to Niall's disgust, pulled up the bed rails. After making sure Niall was comfortable and advising him to use the call bell if needed, he left Niall alone with his friends.

"Ni, I'm really sorry" Harry was red with embarrassment. " I shouldn't of assumed. I'm sorry" he murmured , not meeting Niall's eyes.

"Bro, I'm the one that's sorry. I guess with my track record, well, I can see why you did it." Niall's tone was apologetic. "I  ...I think I'm ready to tell the fans". He looked from face to face. "I know I have to tell my parents and Greg first but I guess it's better than trying to cover it up anymore. If I lose fans then I guess I'll have to lose fans" he said resignedly.

"Nialler, I don't think you'll lose any fans. This isn't something you've done wrong, mate. And I think the fans will support you, not go against you" Louis said seriously. "Have you thought about how you want to do this?"

"No, not yet. Just that I want to do it. I'll tell my family first, maybe go see them. Li, would you come with me?" Niall asked nervously. "I don't think I can do it alone."

 "Sure will" Liam agreed smiling warmly. "And we'll all help tell the fans, that is if you'd like. You don't have to do any of this alone"

"Oh my god, Zayn!" Louis suddenly shouted. "I haven't told him we'd found Niall" he dashed out of the room to make the call . 

Niall Had  started to laugh at the expression on Louis' face but then clapped his hand over his mouth as he turned a pale green color.  He  hurriedly pressed the nurses' call bell and t he nurse who came in took in the situation in a glance and quickly held a bowl under Niall's chin as he was sick.Niall was mortified but the nurse soothingly said that it was to be expected following a head injury.  Once Niall was comfortable once more , she dimmed the lights and lowered the head of Niall's bed , advising him to sleep. Liam decided this was a good time for him to leave so he hugged Niall goodbye and left him with Harry.

"Haz?" Niall said as sleep began to blur his speech "Thanks"  .

"For?" Harry asked but Niall was already asleep. He stood and looked down at the young man thinking how young and innocent he looked in sleep. "I'm glad you stayed". He smiled softly then curled up in the chair next to the bed knowing that Niall really was going to be fine.