Family Ties (Larry Stylinson)

Chapter One

Harry’s P.O.V.

Today was the day. Eleven children would be learning that they would not be without their fathers for seven months. Caleb, Patricia, James, and Margaret would not be left to live with their grandparents yet again for months on end while Louis and I left to tour the world.

Seven empty lunch boxes sat on the counter in front of me as I worked to finish the specific sandwiches for the school-aged children. A crunchy peanut butter and strawberry jelly sandwich had to go into Caleb’s Captain America lunchbox. James always wanted honey ham and provolone cheese for his Iron Man box while his twin sister Patricia kindly preferred turkey and American cheese.

Liam and Danielle’s children had tastes that differed mostly in condiments. Eldest Elizabeth liked ham and turkey sandwiches with Swiss cheese and tomatoes for her floral purple lunchbox while Edward was easy with his taste of pure peanut butter sandwiches. Youngest Dalton always asked for ham with extra mustard, no cheese as usual for the young Hulk in training. Zayn and Perrie’s daughter, Chloe liked sandwiches with turkey and provolone cheese, no mustard, and Hello Kitty.

I tossed bagged vegetables, goldfish, cookies, and juice boxes to complete the packed lunches. Despite the ease of giving our kids money for lunch, Louis and I always felt better making lunches for our children, as did Liam, Danielle, Zayn and Perrie. Doing so brought us closer to our families, giving us the feeling that we were no different than any other family.

“Uncle Harry! Uncle Harry!” Ten-year-old Elizabeth comes running towards me, large brown eyes looking up. Her long, curly brown hair is pulled up and tamed with a hair elastic.

“Yes love?” I ask, zipping up the seven lunch boxes.

“Uncle Louis told me to come get you because Maggie won’t stop crying but he can’t help her because he’s trying to get everyone ready for the day.” Her attention was soon diverted by the sound of the front door opening.

“We brought breakfast!” Liam yelled into the large house, holding up two canvas bags presumably containing the breakfast Danielle prepared. Danielle followed her husband into the kitchen, helping to unload the food. Liam turned to pick Elizabeth up under her arms and spin her around before holding her on his hip. The ten-year-old threw her arms around his neck and hugged her father tightly.

“I’ll be right back, Margaret’s cries are calling.” I chuckle, walking towards the stairs and up to the nursery. Once in the pastel green room, I picked Maggie up from her crib and sat in the adjacent rocking chair.

As I cradled her against my chest, Stevie Wonder’s Isn’t She Lovely escaped my lips. Her cries quieted as the song continued. A terrible odor drifted up from her nappy, indicating the need for a change. I headed to the changing station to replace the nappy, never stopping the song. With the new diaper Margaret ceased her cries and instead diverted her attention towards making grab hands at me. Picking her back up, I grabbed the already prepared bottle on the dresser and sat back down.

Margaret sucked away on the bottle, eyes drooping closed. I felt a pressure against the top of my head, a kiss being placed. Louis’ eyes met mine as he pulled over a spare chair and sat down.

“I can never get over how beautiful she is,” Louis spoke with a hint of awe. He leaned over, pressing a gentle kiss against her forehead. Her dark brown hair curled softly against her head, creating a tenderness that was merely exemplified by her bright blue eyes. “They’re all so beautiful. We got so lucky.”

“Of course they are. They’re true Tomlinson-Styles children. I don’t think I’ll ever be able to thank Gemma and Charlotte enough for what they did. I’d love our children regardless of where we got the eggs from, but just knowing that they are truly related to us both…it is amazing.” A surge of love rushes over me so I lean over and press my lips to his.