Baby Horan

Harry arrives shortly after, knocking softly on my door.
“Come in, mate.” I say, closing the door quickly after he enters.
“Where is she?” he asks.
“She’s in the living room. She’s probably asleep by now, though.” I answer, leading the way.
“She’s precious, Ni.” Harry smiles. The baby is awake, making gurgling sounds and smiling.
“Can I pick her up?” he questions, looking at me.
“Of course, be my guest.” I reply.
He scoops her up in his arms, cradling her gently. Harry really is good at taking care of babies.
“Have you fed her yet?” Harry looks up from Carly after a few minutes. I nod in response, and he goes back to rocking her.
“She probably needs a change.” He holds her up under the arms. “I’ll do it, don’t worry.” Harry says when he sees me make a move to get up.
“How do you know so much about babies?” I ask. I know Harry only has an older sister, and no cousins.
“Used to babysit kids on my block all the time.”
He’s already done changing her diaper within a minute. I have to say, I’m impressed. When I tried to change it yesterday, I failed miserably. Tracy had to do it.
Tracy. That name will forever remind me of her. I can’t believe she would just leave, make Carly live life without a mother. How could she be so cruel?
I know she needs a mother figure, of course. My mum would probably be more than happy to fill in, but I don’t want to be a burden on her.
Maybe Lou could help me out a little bit? I know she was a good mother to Lux. She would probably be happy to help me learn the basics of it all, feeding, changing, burping.
“She’s tired already.” Harry smiles. “I’d forgotten how much babies slept.”
He places her in the crib, careful to support her head. I’m so grateful for Harry helping me through all of this.
“We need to talk, you know.” Harry quirks an eyebrow in my direction.
“I know. Would you like a cuppa?” I offer.
“Sure. I’m going for a wee, be back in a minute, yeah?” he heads towards the hallway bathroom, and I get to work making the tea.
By the time he’s back, I’ve already set two steaming cups on the table.
“Thanks mate.” He grins at me. His smile is contagious.
I nod and sit down, blowing on my tea to cool it off. This has probably been the most stressful day of my life so far, and it’s only 9 in the morning.
“So.” He begins, dropping the smile. “Are you going to be bringing Carly on the tour?”
“Of course!” I exclaim. “Where else would I leave her?”
“Your mum’s.” he says matter of factly.
“I don’t want to miss out on eight months of her life, Haz. I’d rather bring her with.” I reply.
“Alright. Who’s going to take care of her while you’re on stage?” he asks.
“I’m sure some of our crew could handle it. Either that or I could just hire someone.” I answer, taking a sip of my tea.
He nods, not saying anything for a minute. “The papers are already talking about you.”
“I know.” I sigh, massaging the bridge of my nose. “When are they not talking about at least one of us?”
He smiles. “True. D’you think Luxy and Carly will be friends?”
“Of course. I’m sure they’ll get along.”
He downs the rest of his tea and puts the cup in the sink. I do the same.
“I’ll check on Carly if you can put the cups in the dishwasher.” I offer, already walking into the living room. I hear Harry opening the dishwasher, and soon after that, the clank of pottery hitting metal.
He joins me in the living room afterwards. Carly’s fast asleep, thumb in her mouth. She looks so peaceful, eyes fluttering slightly under the lids.
We spend a lot of time just watching her, the even breaths she takes creating a calming pattern.
Harry snaps a picture to send to Louis, Niall, and Zayn.
“What’s her middle name?” Harry asks quietly, careful not to wake her.
“Hope.” I answer, equally as quiet.
“Carly Hope Horan.” Harry says, testing it out. “I like it.”

Notes

Sorry this is short. And way late. I have no excuse. Just laziness.
Vote, comment, and sub if you like it!
Much love,
-Brit xx