Drifting Snowflakes

Flashback

Niall continued to whimper in pain as the ambulance headed towards the hospital. Liam, or Jamie as he was currently known, smoothed his hand through Niall's sweaty hair and murmered soothingly to the lad. Niall, though he couldn't concentrate on the words, felt himself relaxing a little as the sesnsation seemed so familiar , so comforting. Even the tone of Jamie's voice stirred deeply buried memories of safety and comfort. Within a short time, Niall was moved into the hospital emergency room and Liam had to step aside whilst Niall's injuries were assessed. He chewed his nails nervously as he paced up and down the small waiting area.

"Hey" . Liam turned at the soft voice of Zayn broke through his thoughts. "Any news?"

"They are working on him. Told me someone would talk to me soon. Where's Martin?" Liam asked, wondering if the man would be showing up soon.

"He's dealing with the media. Apparently the ambulance was noticed  leaving the venue so he's convincing them that a crew member had an accident. It's still under wraps it's Niall that was the one injured. He thought it was best if he stayed away from here and left it to us. He didn't want to draw any unwanted attention to the situation and he thought that if it was just you or I, people would be less likely to speculate. After all, I'm just a roadie and , with Alberto being head of Security, you'd garner less attention from being here than he would, himself.. We're clear." Zayn grinned fleetingly. "I just hope our baby is OK. I hate this." His voice sounded suddenly pained.

'Gallagher family?" . Both men turned towards a  middle aged doctor standing in the door way. They walked towards him, anxious faced. "If you'll follow me. I'll update you on Mr Gallagher's condition and then you can see him." He walked down a seemingly endless corridor, finally arriving at the elevators. "He's on the fourth floor. It's more private there."  The doctor was well aware who his patient was in reality, but he was more than willing to help avoid a media circus which would disrupt the smooth running of the hospital. He pressed the call button and the elevator arrived moments later. All three men hurried in and headed upwards.

The doctor looked down at the clip board he held in his hand and glanced at it, scanning the notes quickly. "The young man has a broken arm , generralised bruising over the torso related to his fall, mild concession and, unfortunately, quite severe damage to his knees. Our X-rays show that both the knee and the arm have been damaged before." He looked questioningly at the two men who were looking at him, faces now showing even greater anxiety and distress. "He'll be fine, once we've fixed him up." The doctor hurried to reassure them. " Ah, here we are." The elevator doors opened and  Zayn and Liam followed the doctor out, down another corridor which opened into a small square, rooms off each side. "Mr Gallagher is in here. He's been given strong pain medication so he won't feel too responsive right now. Though he will be aware of our presence." He led the way into the room.

"Oh my G*g' Liam breathed out. Even as a trained paramedic, he was still taken back at the sight of his 'baby', looking so small and frail, wires attached to his tiny body. He stood rooted to the spot but Zayn moved past him, to take one of Niall's small hands into his own as he looked down at his 'son.'

"It looks worse than it is, gentlemen." The doctor spoke soothingly. "He really will be fine. Now, I don't suppose either of you could provide us with any of his medical past as all information is very helpful."

"Ummh, yeah, ah...." Liam closed his eyes, took a deep breath to center inself then opened his eyes again. "He broke his arm , leg and also had his spleen removed following a bad fall."

"Fall? When did that happen? How did that happen?" The doctor wanted to know. "It must have been quite a fall to sustain those injuries."

"He..ah..fell out of a tree. Climbing. He's quite a daredevil." Liam said hurriedly. Well, it was true. Niall had fallen from a tree..He just hadn't been climbing it, he'd been trying to escape from Liam and Zayn.