Contingency (Sequel to Contentions)

~10~

Hehe ^.^

****

“Liam, she’s getting paint in her hair,” I groaned as he helped Lennox paint sloppily on the wall. She was perched atop his knee as he knelt on the tarp covered floors, one of his hands steadying her and the other covering her tiny fingers that barely wrapped around the paint roller.

“I’ll give her a bath myself,” he chuckled, pecking her paint smeared cheek softly. “Look at her; she’s having a blast. Aren’t you, baby?”

“Pink,” she merely giggled, continuing her sloppy strokes. “Mummy, my woom pink! PINK!”

“It IS pink, sweetheart,” I laughed, playing with a strand of her messy hair. She was beaming, absolutely beaming. Her eyes were glowing with happiness, tiny lips pulled up in a gigantic smile as she happily sat on Liam’s thigh. She let out a shrill scream of happiness and I winced slightly, my temples throbbing with a growing headache.

“Would you mind if I go take a nap?” I asked quietly. “I-I can take her with me if she’s too much of a handful-“

“No, no, sweet ‘art. Go ahead,” Liam said quickly, setting the paintbrush down and standing up, settling my daughter on his hip. “Are you alright?”

“Just a little headache,” I reassured, laughing slightly as he frowned and felt my forehead. “Liam, I’m fine.”

“You’re not warm…it’s probably just the paint,” he sighed, leaning forward to kiss my forehead. “My room is the 1st door on the right. I’ll tell my maid to bring you some painkillers and water, yeah?”

“Maid?” my eyes widened, Liam’s jaw clenching slightly.

“Yeah, maid…” he mumbled. “I’ll explain everything later, but for now, you need to rest. Lennox, give mummy a fishy.” My daughter leaned forward and I grinned, puckering my lips and giggling when she made a huge ‘mwah’ as she gave me a peck. I mouthed a small ‘thank you’ to Liam before striding out of the room, making my way down the hallway and finding the first door on the right. I hesitantly opened the door, peeking in and gasping at what I saw. The room was massive. As much as I wanted to take the time to appreciate it, the king size bed in the middle of the room was calling my name. I strode over, fatigue washing over me as I simply plopped on the mattress, my eyes closing and consciousness fading as my head hit the pillow.

***

Liam’s POV

 

“Lennox, darling, you’re taking a bath,” I groaned as she hid behind the box containing her new bed frame. “Don’t fight me on this.” She simply crawled farther behind it, a small huff leaving her tiny lips.

“No like baths,” she snapped. “No bath, daddy.” My heart swelled as she called me daddy yet again, a smile crawling onto my lips as I carefully slid the large cardboard box out of the way so I could see her tiny frame hiding in the corner.

“C’mon, cutie,” I laughed, scooping her up tossing her slightly in the air. She giggled but quickly saw where I was taking her, her eyes widening and her chubby legs quickly beginning to kick wildly.

“NO!” she screeched loudly causing me to wince at the shrill volume. “NO BATH, DADDY! NO BATH!”

“You need one though,” I tried to reason. “You’re covered in paint, baby.”

“I WIKE PINK!” she sobbed as I filled the bath. “NO. BAAAAAATH!!!”

“Lennox, no more tears,” I said evenly, taking in a steadying breath to contain my frustration. “You’re going to wake your mummy and make daddy very upset, okay? Time to quiet down.” She sniffled, simply burying her face into my neck and sobbing quietly. I sighed and rubbed her back, bouncing her slightly before setting her down on the tile and easing her out of her torn white tshirt and dirty green leggings. It killed me inside to see the state of her clothes, but I forced myself to push those horrid thoughts away. We went shopping and she was okay now; she had what she deserved.

“That’s a girl,” I smiled as she rubbed her eyes tiredly, her cries now nonexistent. “We’ll get you cleaned up and I’ll make you a warm bottle of milk, yeah? Does that sound yummy?” She nodded sluggishly, sucking on her thumb quietly as I eased her in the tub and continued on to gently scrub the paint from her body and curls, her eyes drooping as I finally removed her from the bath.

“Almost finished, sweet’ art,” I grinned, drying her off and carrying her out to her room. I had to dig a bit through the bags of clothes for a onesie, but as soon as I found it, my face lit up in a smile…she was gonna look precious.

“Miwk,” she whimpered. “Want miwk, daddy.”

“Just let me put a nappy on you, Nix,” I coaxed, wincing when she let out a loud whine. “None of that, now. You’ll get your milk, darling.” I quickly fitted her tiny body in a clean diaper and slid the baby pink onesie on her, smiling widely at the adorable piece.

“Come to daddy, hunny,” I beamed as she held her arms out to me, tiny eyes almost completely shut as I carried her to the kitchen and warmed her a bottle of milk. She quickly snatched it from me and dropped her head back to my shoulder, sucking contentedly on her warm beverage. My heart was literally thrumming with happiness as I carried her up the stairs and to my room, cracking open the door in an attempt to not wake Brinlee, only to find the sheets ruffled and my bathroom door cracked.

“Go to sleep, Lennox,” I murmured quietly, tucking her tiny body under the sheets before striding to the crack of light coming from the large tiled room. I was just about to push open the door, when a horrible retching sound echoed throughout the room followed by panicked sobbing making my eyes widen.

“Brinlee, baby…” I trailed off, slipping inside and closing the door, my chest tightening when I saw her curled into a tight ball on the floor, clutching her stomach as she cried.

“G-Get Louis,” she begged, eyes teary as they met mine. “P-Please.” I didn’t question her, quickly calling Louis and muttering for him to come over before returning to her side and crouching down.

“What can I do, kid?” I said quietly, brushing her hair away from her face and settling on a messy bun on top of her head, the mop of hair being secured by a hair tie I kept on my wrist for the girls…or Harry.

“Water?” she rasped, eyes suddenly widening as she scrambled up to the toilet again and threw up, knuckles white as her hands clenched into fists. I sighed and shuffled over to the vanity, wetting a washcloth and moving back to her crumpled form so I could gently wipe the bottom half of her face.

“Louis should be here-“ I began when the door swung open and Louis butted in.

“Now. I’m here, love,” he said quickly, dropping to his knees beside her and shoving me out of the way. “Liam, out…I need to speak with her alone.”

“But-“

“OUT.”

“Whatever…” I huffed and strode out of the room, clicking the door shut behind me and sighing. I had to wonder what was wrong with the poor girl.

***

Brinlee’s POV

“Babe, I’m your friend, yeah?” Louis started quietly, his hand going to rub your back. “But, I’m also a doctor. So I’m gonna have to ask you a couple things that will probably make you feel a little uncomfortable.” I nodded slowly, a lump growing in my throat as he let out a slow breath.

“No panicking, but are you late, darling?” he said gently, making my brow furrow.

“Late?”

“Your period, Brinlee,” he clarified making my cheeks flush with color before I quickly paled. This couldn’t be happening, not again.

“By 9 days,” I squeaked, tears filling my eyes as I looked up at him. “Oh my-I-I can’t…Louis!”

“Calm down, okay? We can figure this out,” he reassured softly. “I’m gonna have you take a pregnancy test and we’ll go from there. If it comes back positive, I’ll book you an appointment with a friend of mind to get an ultrasound to see how far along you are.” I shook my head quickly, my chest tightening with panic as a sob left my lips.

“Oh, hun,” Louis mumbled quietly, tugging me into his arms and hugging me tight. “Everything will be okay. You’re…You’re not alone anymore. You’re not alone, Brinlee.”