One Night Stand » L.S.

29

Louis wakes up in a cot in the hospital. Harry is still sound asleep in the hospital bed, eyes puffy and cheeks red from all the crying he had done. It makes Louis' chest ache. He slowly sits up, running his fingers through his unruly hair. He has this feeling in his heart, this longing to see Beverly.

Slowly he climbs off of the cot, giving Harry a weak smile. He's still fucking gorgeous, even when he's pretty much a wreck. Louis feels as though he probably looks the same.

Grabbing his phone, he stuffs it into his pocket before walking out of the hospital room, quietly shutting the door behind him. There aren't many people in the halls, it must be early. He needs a coffee, or a tea, or something.

Walking to the cafeteria, someone puts a hand on his shoulder. He turns to see Félicité standing there, a sheepish look on her face. "Hi," She says softly.

"H-Hey," Louis replies. "Hi, what're you doing here?"

"I-I just wanted to come visit," Fizzy answers quietly. "Mum said you were still here."

"Yeah, um, the baby, she's..." Louis sighs. "She's not doing too well. She's got a lung thing. I need some coffee before I can deal with this again, c'mon."

He starts to walk only to realise Fizzy isn't following him. She's staring at him, eyes wide. "C'mon," Louis urges. Fizzy is quick to follow him after that, trailing behind him as he practically clomps towards the cafeteria.

There are only a few people in the cafeteria. Louis walks right up to the coffee machine, which is free (thank God), and turns to Félicité. "Do you want some?" She just nods. Louis grabs two cups and fills them both, handing one of them to Fiz.

"So Beverly," Louis starts. He watches as Fizzy furrows her eyebrows. "Right. That's her name. Beverly Rue Tomlinson. I quite like it. Anyways, she's got this thing. I don't know how to explain it," He takes a sip of his coffee. "Makes it hard for blood to flow to her lungs. So. We don't know if she'll be okay or not. She was born a few days ago, and she's gotten a bit better. I don't want to get my hopes up though."

"Oh," Félicité says softly. "How...How's Harry doing then?"

"He's not great," Louis admits. "He's really upset. Heartbroken, honestly. I feel terrible."

Fizzy frowns, looking down into her coffee. "This needs sugar," She decides, reaching for a sugar packet. "I'm so sorry, Lou."

Louis twists his mouth. "We can go see her," He offers. "After we finish the coffee. No food and drinks in the NICU."

"Oh," Fizzy's eyes widen. She seems surprised Louis would even consider letting her go to the NICU with him. "Yeah, yeah alright."

♛

"She's not as small as I expected her to be."

"Yeah," Louis shrugs. "Most of the babies in here are preemie, so they're small. Bev's been eating really well, though, she's pretty healthy size-wise."

"Oh," Félicité nods. "She's really cute."

"Thanks," Louis grins. He gently strokes Beverly's cheek with his knuckles. She looks up at him with her huge blue eyes, and it practically melts his heart.

"It's proper mental," Fiz plays with the crinkly material of the hospital gown a nurse gave her. It's so the babies don't get sick from the germs people are bringing in, Louis assumes. "The fact that you're a dad, I mean."

"I know," Louis agrees softly. "Doesn't feel anything like I thought it would. It's so much better than what I thought it would be like."