Color Outside The Lines || l.t.

Chapter 13 - Newborn

**TWO HOURS LATER**

While I was sleeping in a monster-less state, with Maria just a room away, Naomi and Louis stayed with my grandparents and Danielle’s parents in a waiting room at St. Teresa’s Hospital. As Danielle's mother flipped through the pages of a magazine nervously, her husband closed his eyes as he leaned his head against the wall. The other set of parents huddled around the coffee maker, glancing anxiously at the door every now and then. Naomi rested her head on Louis' shoulders as he looked down at the clasped hands he had in his lap. 

The only sounds that broke the silence were the pages rapidly being flipped in Danielle's mother's hands and the constant, monotonic ticking of the clock on the wall. This changed when Harry and Sofie burst through the waiting room doors, hand-in-hand. Everyone looked up immediately in hopes that someone was bringing them news on the baby, and they were somewhat disappointed to see this was not the case.

“We came as fast as we could.” Harry said, panting slightly. “Any word yet?”

Karen, Liam's mother, shook her head. “Not yet.” she said. “She just went into the delivery room about half an hour ago.”

Harry and Sofie nodded and sat in a couple of lounge chairs. After taking his seat, Harry looked over at Louis and his girlfriend and took notice of their attire. “Did you two end up going to the YMCA for Valentine’s Day?” he asked jokingly.

Naomi and Louis shared a smug grin as Louis looked over at Harry. “One,” he said. “It’s none of your business. Two, it doesn’t matter what we ended up doing. And three… it’s a long story. I’ll tell you later.” Harry smiled at Louis' response and sat back in his chair as he held Sofie’s hand securely in his own. “And may I ask what made you two lovebirds tardy?”

A hint of pink colored both Harry and Sofie’s cheeks. “The beach house,” Harry answered. “Isn’t exactly nearby…”

“Oh right, I forgot you had those special plans for today.” Louis said as he glanced up at clock. “… Make that yesterday; I didn’t realize how late it was.”

Niall nodded as a loud yawn escaped his lips. This seemed to be the tone of the whole room, even Danielle's parents, who had more than enough caffeine in their system, had heavy eyelids. But this all changed once Liam stepped into the room in blue scrubs. Everyone suddenly sprang to life and became alert as they rose from their seats, advancing closer to him. Liam glanced at all of them before staring down at the floor.

“Well?” Karen asked, somewhat impatient as to the hold up.

“Well…” Liam said before looking up at them again. “… I’m a daddy!”

He jumped up and down in victory as everyone crowded in closer to him, smiles on their faces. Without much prompting, he whisked them away from the waiting room and into the patient room where Danielle lay waiting. Her parents immediately went to her side, hugging her and kissing her cheeks. She looked exhausted, and strands of hair stuck to her forehead because of all the sweat, but other than that… she had this new, maternal glow about her. There was a round of ‘Congratulations,’ to the new parents and more hugs went around.

“So when can we see the baby?” Zayn asked.

“They said they were going to clean her up and run some tests and they’ll bring her to us.” Liam informed them. 

He went over to his wife and threw an arm around her shoulders. Danielle looked up at him and he kissed the side of her head. This action prompted Louis to bring Naomi closer to him, and he gave her a light peck on the forehead. He wrapped his arms around her as she nestled her head against his chest. Before long, a young nurse came in, carrying with her a small bundle wrapped in light pink fabric.