Stumbling through the dark

"Ni, You Don't Get It, Do You?"

Niall ripped the paper off the parcel he had just been handed and opened the box it had covered. Why had Caoimhe sent him a  package when she was due to see him next week when she joined the band in Japan?  He stared in a bemused fashion at the tiny pair of  white baby shoes in his hand. What on earth? Louis finally  burst into  uncontrollable laughter, hugging his sides, as he took in Niall's facial expression. He thought it was hilarious that Niall still hadn't grasped why he was holding baby shoes. Niall looked up at Louis with a rather lost look on his face.

"Ni, you don't get it, do you?" Louis chortled.

"Get what?" Niall sounded as bewildered as he looked.

"Mate, you're going to be a daddy" Louis finally managed to say once his amusement had become more controllable. 

"Da..da..daddy?" Niall sat down abruptly "Oh my G*d! I'm going to be a daddy!. That means Caoimhe is ...Oh my G*d. Daddy..I'm going to be a daddy!" Niall  leapt up, and started running around the room before  bursting into the corridor, shouting at the top of his voice " I'm going to be a daddy!" 

"Did you get it all?" Louis asked, grinning broadly at Caoimhe as she emerged from her hiding place, where she had been filming Niall's reaction to the baby news. Her own eyes sparkled with laughter as she absorbed just how happy her husband had been with the news of their forthcoming parenthood. She had worried that he might have felt it was too soon but, as she was a devout Catholic, Niall had understood completely that they would not do anything to stop babies coming. He was less religious but understood Caiomhe's thoughts on the matter.

The door crashed open, and Niall still bouncing with excitement, came back into the room , followed closely by Liam and Harry. Niall spotted Caoimhe immediately and , picking her up, swung her around in circles as she griggled. 

"Stop, stop" she finally managed to say. "I'll be sick if you don't" Niall immediately set her down as if she was the most fragile glass and gently pulled her into a hug. He rested his forehead against hers, murmuring loving things softly to her.

"Congrats guys" Liam said as he  then Harry, pushed Niall aside and hugged Caoimhe."When's Baby Horan due?"

"Ummmh, I'm three months along now" Caoimhe admitted. Niall stared at her in shock

"But,.... why didn't you say something earlier? You knew, all this time?" Niall sounded confused and slightly hurt.

"Ni, sweetheart, you were on tour and I just wanted to get over the most dangerous period before I told you. Just in case....and I didn't want you stressing out because we were not together. You are supposed to stay stress free remember.Paul Taylor's orders " She grinned at him as he sighed. "Don't be mad at me"

"M' not mad Caoimhs  (Queves), just wish you'd told me. I want to worry about you. Are you OK though? You've seen the doctor?" Niall immediately became concerned. Caoimhe pulled a scan picture from her purse and handed it to Niall. He stared at it, a look of total wonder and adoration on his face . " Our baby. Oh, Caoimhs" he whispered. There was a quiet 'click' as Harry snapped the expression on Niall's face. That would definitely get tweeted for the fans. Niall looked so adorable. Harry and Liam both got lost in their own thoughts wondering if and when they'd ever have the same expressions on their faces.

"Come on guys, let's celebrate" Louis broke the silence. They all  enthusiastically agreed and collected up their various belongings , following  Louis out to his SUV. "And no, Niall,"  he said as they all got settled in and fastened their seatbelts " No Nandos!. This calls for a proper and very special celebration." He put the car into gear and headed off. He'd already got things arranged  as soon as Caoimhe had contacted him to arrange Niall's surprise. Louis grinned to himself. Niall was going to be a great dad and Louis was happy for him. Fatherhood was a blessing he thought, he'd not trade it even though his had been far from planned.

The next four months of the tour switched from concerts that flashed by to ones that dragged, depending on whether Caoimhe was able to be with Niall. He loved being in One Direction and getting to live his dream. He lived to perform but he also lived for his Caoimhe and their baby. He couldn't wait until he held his baby in his arms. They had both decided that they wouldn't  ask what gender the baby was as they both wanted it to be a surprise. They had prepared the Nursery with this in mind with sunshine yellow walls and  white furniture. One wall had a rainbow painted on it with baby animals painted underneath. Pretty curtains dressed the windows. The room was adorable and both Caoimhe and Niall were excited for their baby to be sleeping in the pretty crib. 

"Chosen any names yet, bro?" Louis asked as he sat in the chair, eyes shut, as Lou fixed his hair and applied some concealer under his eyes to cover up the dark circles that were a result of his previous late night. The boys had all been clubbing  and hadn't called it a night until 4am that morning.

"Traditional Irish names" Niall said from the couch were he was currently curled up, head in Liam's lap. He was exhausted. Still, he thought, there'd be no clubbing once baby arrived. There would be another cause for sleepless nights then. He smiled at the thought. "Odhran Malachi ( say it O-Ran) for a boy and Aoife Maebh ( say it Eee-fa  May v ) for a girl. I wanted Caoimhe but  Caoimhs said no, too confusing"

"Cool names" Liam said. "I like that you've gone traditional." Harry nodded in agreement. "Trouble is though, nobody will know how to say them".

"They'll learn" Niall laughed as he sat up. "You know how efficient Directioners are. Knowing them  and their detective skills, they probably already know the baby's gender, the name, when and where baby will be born and what the weight is. I sure they are better than the FBI!" Niall scrambled to his feet and went to replace Louis in the chair , ready for Lou to work her magic on him.

"Five minutes lads" one of the stage crew popped his head around the door. The four lads hurried left the room and got into their pre show huddle to go through their ritual. Then it was time to go. Grabbing their mikes they got into position ready to burst onto the stage when the introduction video was finished. A wall of sound hit them as the fans went into a screaming frenzy.

The concert was  more than half way through and  Harry and Liam were reading out the signs the fans were holding up. "I can't read that one" Liam announced " this is a family show" Harry looked over in the same direction as Liam and burst out laughing.  Both men turned to look at Louis who, though red in the face, was rocking with laughter. The fans were sure sassy tonight! Niall put down his guitar and grabbed a bottle of water. As he chugged it down he glanced into the wings. staring with surprise. Bobby, his dad was there. Niall blinked and rubbed his eyes then looked again., this time seeing just one of the stage hands. He shook his head, he was seeing things. Bobby only came to the Irish and UK concerts. He'd never be in Holland. Niall picked up his guitar again and went to join the banter. 

Bobby moved back so he could see his son again. That was close.