Little Baby Steps (Zayn Malik)

Chapter 15 {Daddy's Little Princess}

His arms were wrapped warmly around her waist, his small yet strong palms resting, as contented smile tugged at his sleeping features, on her stomach. Four months, that was the amount of time that Zayn had to withstand until he able to hold his son or daughter in his arms, four months was all that remained. Claire’s stomach was swollen considerably, meaning that no matter what she wore; Zayn was able to see the growing bump, something that made him grin without fail. Sure it had come as a shock to the system, what sane nineteen year old wants a baby? But as the days and weeks had passed, he had grown to love the idea. He couldn’t wait to meet his child. He couldn’t wait to see if they would have his eyes or his nose, he couldn’t wait to see if they would inherit his smile. He quite simply couldn’t wait to be a dad.

The light of the early morning trickled through the slatted blinds that hung over their bedroom window, casting bright strands of orange light across the room and onto their sleeping faces, stirring them slowly from their contented slumber. Zayn was the first to stir. His arms were numb from the mere weight of his girlfriend’s baby bump, the bump that had been resting in his grip all night. Slipping the tattooed extremities from beneath her warm body, Zayn flexed his muscles and sat up slowly, casting the gaze of his chestnut orbs across her body towards her sleeping face. Unintentionally, his lips formed a grin as he stared at her dozing face. He was sure he had said it before, but she looked so beautiful when she was asleep, even more so than when she was awake. Smiling gently, he leant across her body and shimmied the material of the light shirt she wore to bed up her body, exposing her swollen body. Leaning down, he pressed a soft kiss to the space. Claire giggled slightly at the contact and rolled onto her back, gazing with a look of complete and utter adoration into the lightish eyes of her boyfriend.

“Morning” he mumbled tiredly as he pulled his way back up the bed to toss his head back to his pillow once more. Claire giggled at his antics and stood from the bed slowly, her hand resting on her swollen stomach. She was five months gone and it certainly showed. Her bump was large and protruded obviously away from the material of the flimsy shirt. His sleepy face lit with a grin as it landed in his vision, he knew he still had to wait five months to meet his baby, but the mere sight of the bump made it feel like no time at all. “Come on sleepyhead” she giggled as she ruffled her hair slightly, Zayn let out a throaty growl, he’d always found the way she ruffled her hair and bit her lip sexy, it was just one of those things. Claire giggled and gifted him a lingering kiss before making her way towards the bathroom…

…“So are you finding out the gender today?” Harry enquired curiously as the two young men sat down on the couch outside the studio. Zayn lifted his soft gaze from the toe of his shoe to his friend and smiled a small lopsided smile. “I don’t know” he replied, it was clear that he was hoping they would, but that he had left the decision up to Claire. “I thought I’d let her decide” he noted kindly. “Which you would prefer?” Louis enquired, inviting himself into the conversation. Zayn flicked his chestnut orbs towards the older man and looked at him with a look of thought. “I don’t know which I would prefer” he noted simply “But we are having a girl” he noted firmly. Both Harry and Louis eyed the young man with a look of curiosity; they hadn’t been to the five month scan yet, how could he have been so firm that he was to be gifted a daughter? “How can you be so sure?” Louis asked and Zayn shrugged his shoulders “I just am” he said “I’ve felt it since the beginning. Claire and I are going to have a daughter, I just know it” he grinned widely. Louis and Harry stared at the young man with a look of awe, amazed by the confidence that he showed…

….Claire groaned as her hands flew to the base of her back, rubbing it through the material of her shirt as she perched on the edge of her stool. As thrilled as she was by the prospect of having Zayn’s child, the drawbacks of pregnancy were starting to get to her. Her clothes didn’t fit. She was constantly wandering around in shirts of Zayn's that were too small for him and jeans that he had grown out of too. Her ankles were swollen. The usually thin pale bases to her legs no longer fitted into her favored converse, meaning that she had to use shoes that she had bought in case, a pair of white trainers that looked like something a toddler would wear. Her back ached; it was agonizing for her to perch on the edge of her stool whilst she tried to work, she could hardly stand it. And then there was the tiredness. Even if she had only been awake for two hours, all she wanted to do was crawl back into her bed and fall asleep.

Groaning tiredly, she stood from her seat and tossed her palette to the ground. “You off?” Matt, her friend and colleague asked as she marched towards the door. Claire nodded her head slightly and smiled weakly at her friend. “Tell me if everything is alright” he smiled. She grinned and embraced him quickly before strolling out of the studio and into the awaiting arms of her boyfriend. Zayn grinned at the sight of her and kissed her slowly. “Hey” he breathed softly as he pulled back “You ready?” he asked. Still slightly dazed from his kiss, she nodded her head and laced her fingers through his as they made their way towards his car.

The drive to the hospital was comfortably quiet. One of Zayn’s hands sat on the wheel whilst the other cupped Claire's for reassurance. He knew she was nervous, no matter how much she tried to hide it, he knew that she was terrified by the prospect of there being an issue with the baby and wanted to make sure that he could comfort her if there was. Pulling up at the hospital, he smiled at her reassuringly “Everything will be fine” he smiled softly as he brushed a strand of her dark hair away from her blue eyes “Everything will be perfect and you have no need to worry” he smiled. Claire bit her lip softly and nodded her head, trying with all her might to believe the words that her boyfriend spoke. “What if there is something wrong?” she muttered nervously, her blue eyes flickering with fear. He cupped her cheek and caressed it softly with his thumb “If there is something, we will deal with it. you have nothing to worry about” he smiled kindly.

“Hey there, we have an appointment with Dr Bella” Zayn dictated to the receptionist as he and Claire strolled across the waiting area. The young man lifted his grey eyes and smiled at the welcomed sight of the singer and his significant other “Of course Mr. Malik, Dr Bella should be right with you” he smiled politely “If you’d like to take a seat” Zayn smiled kindly and took Claire’s hand, leading her across the waiting room to a pair of seat that were well hidden. As much as he adored seeing his fans, today was about him and Claire he didn’t want to run the risk of being mobbed.

Before long the pair had been admitted to the doctor’s office. “It’s good to see you again you two” the petit blonde doctor smiled as she adjusted her ponytail “Everything been alright?” she enquired. Zayn nodded his head and smiled softly at Claire as she laid her body down on the bed. “Alrighty then, we’ll just give you a quick ultrasound, have you decided whether you want to know the gender or not?” he turned his eyes to face Claire as she nodded her head “We’d like to find out” she noted as she slipped the material of her shirt up her body. He smiled brightly and took her hand in his once more, rubbing his calloused thumb against her soft skin.

“Great” the doctor grinned giddily as she applied the cold slime to Claire's stomach. As the doctor took the wand from its stand, Claire peered up at Zayn nervously. The young man merely kissed her hand in comfort and turned his eyes to stare at the screen. Soon enough the small grainy image of their child appeared, it’s heart beat echoing as the doctor checked up on it. “She’s doing great” she whispered, causing Zayn's breath to hitch. He peered at the doctor

“She?” he asked softly, causing the doctor to giggle as she nodded her head “Yes, I’m glad to inform you both that you are having a little girl”. His face lit up as wide grin spread across it “We’re having a little girl” he muttered to himself, clearly awestruck. Claire giggled at her boyfriend’s reaction lowly.

“My little princess” he gushed…