#like sweetie why are you going to get groceries at 9pm you should be getting ready for bed

[leighsartworks216]

Sylus would lose his mind dealing with me cuz I am he most nonconfrontational, passive person to ever exist

"What would you rather do? This or this?"

"Oh I'm fine with either."

"Is there something you'd rather do instead?"

"I'm up for whatever."

But also I know in my heart of hearts he would do everything in his fucking power to (very patiently and so subtly I don't even realize it's happening) break me out of that. Like,,

"I know you enjoy ___, but would you rather do this or this related to it?"

Shit like that

[all-the-love-harold]

Chapter 11- A Family to Call Her Own

Ok, I know it’s been a long time since I posted chapter 10, but it’s better late than never right?! As always thanks to @lovesmelikebrandnewstarlight for being an angel and helping me out with this chapter and for being wonderful. 

Let me know what you think

Master List 

Chapter 10

It was the middle of summer in London, which admittedly, wasn’t that hot compared to what Poppy grew up with back home, but she’d lived here for four years now and by her  current standards, 25 degrees celsius, was hot, and being pregnant didn’t help. She was glad that she’d finally reached the end of the first trimester, her morning sickness had almost vanished and her energy had started to come back. The last two weeks had been hell, she was tired the second she woke up and she could barely eat anything without throwing it up. Making it through the work day had been rough, but she was grateful she had Ella and Grimmy to cover for her while she took a power nap in her lunch break. She was coming out of it now though and while she wasn’t out of the woods in terms of the high-risk pregnancy, she was glad that she was feeling better.

It was a Friday, and since Poppy had Friday’s off now, she’d spent the day running a few basic errands, stocking up on groceries and ducking into a few high street stores to buy some basic Maternity wear. She had the slightest bump now, still not enough for people to notice when she was wearing loose clothing, but her jeans were getting uncomfortable, and she could always find an excuse to go to TopShop. She still hadn’t told her family, and she was still nervous to admit it in case something happened, but 12 weeks was traditionally when people announced their pregnancies, so that’s why she was sitting on her bed at 9pm, laptop open, waiting for her mum to answer the skype call.

“Well hello there Miss Poppy, I wasn’t expecting a call from you this morning” her mum answered, pointing the camera up towards the ceiling so that Poppy couldn’t see her face, she could tell that it was a nice day from the lighting in the room and she suddenly found herself missing the cold June days spent at home by the fire, the smell of her mums soup filling the air.

“Hi Mum, I can’t see your face if you point the camera up like that” she said giggling, glad to be talking her

“Oh that’s ok, you don’t want to see my face anyway”

“I really do, I haven’t seen you since Christmas, I miss your face”

“Fine, but don’t complain about my chins” she aimed the camera back at her face “So, why have I been honoured with your call this fine Saturday morning?”

“Can’t I just call for a chat?” Poppy stalled, sudden butterflies filling her stomach.

“You can, but you don’t”

“You’re right, I have some news” she sighed “Is Dad there?”

“Yeah, he’s around here somewhere” she turned around looking for her dad “is it good news?”

Poppy smiled widely  “It’s great news Mum”

Her mum turned back around and looked straight at Poppy through the screen “Are you coming home?”

Poppy shook her head “No mum, I’m not coming home, London’s home now”

She let out a big sigh “This will always be your home Poppy”

“I know mum, but you know what I mean” she smiled “Now go find Dad, and Addie too if she’s around”

“She’s at that boys house again, you’ll have to call her later”

“Alright, I can do that, but get Dad now and I’ll tell you”

“Alright alright” she turned around again “John!” she called “Poppy’s on the computer thing, she’s got something to tell us” she turned back to the screen “He’s in his corner, he’s on his way though”

She heard her dad walk into the room where their computer sat “What’d you say love”

Her mum rolled her eyes “Poppy’s on the computer call, she’s got some news”

John’s torso appeared in the screen “Oh hello darling, how are you?”

“I’m great dad, how are you?”

“Oh I’m alright” he sighed “Still haven’t retired, but I’m getting by”

“What did you want to tell us Poppy?” her mum chimed in, obviously eager to hear the news

“Oh, Uh,” Poppy bit her lip, butterflies forming in the pit of her stomach again, her parents were very traditional, and they’d always told her that she needed to be married before she had a baby, and Poppy always thought she would be, but things don’t always go to plan, and she knew that they’d be happy for her eventually, but at first, she wasn’t sure how they’d react.

“Everything ok?” her  Mum asked

“Yeah Mum, everything’s great, I’m” she swallowed the lump in her throat, trying to hold back the tears “I’m pregnant”

“Oh my goodness” her mum brought her hands to her face, covering her mouth and her Dad, stood there in silence “how far along?”

“12 weeks, today” Poppy smiled

Her Dad cleared his throat “Who’s the, uh, who’s the father?”

“Um” Poppy frowned “his name’s Danny, but he doesn’t want anything to do with it”

Both  parents frowned with her for a moment, her mum finally breaking the silence “Poppy, dear, I think you should think about moving back home, you can’t do this by yourself”

Poppy knew her mum would try and convince her to move home, she’d been doing it for the past four years, but she didn’t think she would straight out say she couldn’t do it on her own.

“I’m not really doing it on my own mum”

“What do you mean?” she asked, confused

“I’ve got Harry”

She laughed “And what happens when Harry goes away on tour? And finds a girl that doesn’t already have a baby?”

“Then I’ll still have Harry.” Poppy said bluntly, knowing that Harry was in this with her for the long hall, even if their relationship wasn’t romantic, she knew that he was going to be there for her and her son.

“Where is he now then?”

She didn’t want to admit that he wasn’t in London right now, but she didn’t really have a choice “He’s in L.A. promoting his movie, he’ll be back on Monday”

“So you’ve only got Harry when it’s convenient for Harry” her mum said bluntly, her mouth set in a hard line

“That’s not how it is Mum, there are times when he has to go away for work, but when he’s here, he’s here, he cancelled rehearsals when we thought I was having a miscarriage, he was there when I had to tell Danny, and he came with me to my first doctor’s appointment, he cooks me dinner every night he left meals in my freezer for while he’s away, he’s here mum and not just when it works for him”

She blinked at the screen “You thought you were having a miscarriage?”

“Yeah, two weeks ago, everything’s fine, he’s healthy in there”

“He?” her dad asked

“Yeah Dad, it’s a boy”

She could see the tears forming in her Mum’s eyes “I’m going to have a grandson?”

“Yeah, you are” she smiled, tears forming in her own eyes

“I’m sorry for saying that about Harry, I know he’s a good friend to you, but friendship only goes so far when there’s a baby in the mix”

“I know mum, and I worry about that all the time, but everything’s going to be ok, he’s not going to let me do this alone”

“Oh I know sweetie, you’re going to be a great mum, I just get worried about you being over there by yourself” the tears were rolling down her cheeks now “Oh I wish I could hug you right now”

Poppy giggled through her own tears “I’m not by myself Mum, I’ve got a lot of really great friends here”

“I know you do Poppy” her dad wiped the tears away from her mums face “When are you due?” she asked looking at her husband and thanking him.

“Technically, December 15th, but because of my uterus thing, I have two different C-section dates scheduled”

“Which are?” her dad asked

“November 10th, and December 1st”

“I guess we’re coming to London for Christmas then” her Mum smiled, rubbing her dad’s arm

“I guess you are” she laughed, pleased with how they reacted

“Alright sweetie, go and call your sister, and if you have any questions about anything, just ring me!”

“Thanks Mum, I’ll text you the photos I have from the scans”

“Oh that’ll be lovely” she smiled

“Bye darling” her dad called “we’re very happy for you, and we’re always here for you”

“Thanks dad, I’ll talk to you soon”

Poppy hung up the call and took a deep breath, relieved that they took the news well. Her mum was right in being sceptical about Harry’s role in all this, Poppy, herself were a little sceptical about how it was all going to work, but she knew that he was always going to be there, and that he would love this little prince just as much as she did, and that was enough for her. After giving herself a few minutes to allow her tears to dry, she went out to the kitchen to make herself a cup of tea and call her sister. she sat at her counter and dialled the number, waiting for her to answer

“Poppy! Haven’t heard from you for a while, how’s London?” Addie answered.

“Very British” Poppy laughed

“Never would have guessed” she said sarcastically

“So, Mum tells me you’re at a boy’s house” Poppy questioned.

“It’s just Matt, he’s my Harry, but like, less famous”

Poppy smiled at the thought of her having someone as supportive as Harry “That’s great Ad, how’s school going?”

“It’s school, I can’t wait to be done with it” she said cheerfully “hey, isn’t it Friday night there, shouldn’t you be out doing fun things with your cool friends and not calling your little sister”

Poppy giggled “My friends aren’t that cool, they’re all at home alone too, I called because I have some news”

“Are you coming home?!”

“No, and you’ve been spending too much time with Mum”

“Yeah, I know” she sighed into the mouthpiece “Anyway, what’s your news”

“I’m having a baby Addie”

“Oh my god!” she screamed into the phone and Poppy held it away from her ear “is it Harry’s?”

“Ummm No” she said confused, thinking about what she just said about Matt “You know how babies happen right?”

“You gotta do the sex usually” she said matter-of-factly

“Yeah, I’ve literally never done that with Harry”

“Oh” she sounded taken aback “So you two aren’t friends with benefits?”

“Nooooo” she said, lowering the tone of her voice “does that mean that you and Matt are friends with benefits?”

“Yep” she was starting to sound a little awkward

“Ok, well like, use protection, don’t make the same mistake I did”

“So who is the Dad?”

“Some dude named Danny, apparently his sperm has more stamina than he does”

“Ok gross, I don’t need the details”

“Yeah ok sorry, you really don’t” Poppy cleared her throat “anyway, you’re going to be an aunt in a few months”

“When is it due?”

“He’s due in December,” she emphasized the ‘he’ as an easy way to tell her the sex, “but he’ll probably be early”

“it’s a he?”

“It’s a boy” Poppy smiled even though she knew that Addie couldn’t see her

“Oh my god, is Kiwi about you?” Poppy was surprised by the sudden change of topic “Is that why he posted that photo on Instagram?”

“Um no, that song was written like more than a year ago, I’m a little offended that you think it’s about me to be honest”

“Sorry, I had to ask” she laughed “Congratulations Poppy, this is the most adult thing you’ve ever done”

“I know, it’s terrifying”

***

July 4th 2017 – 12 weeks

Poppy was sitting at her desk, staring out her window at the beautiful blue that was blessing the London sky, wishing she was outside enjoying the pleasant weather, instead of being cooped up inside trying desperately to find a heart rate monitor for some ridiculous game Nick wanted to play with Harry next week. So far, she’d contacted three hospitals, and all of them flat out refused to rent out a heart rate monitor to a radio station, which Poppy thought was reasonable, but it was still her job to find someone that would.

Ella was working away happily at her desk, answering calls and taking messages for different members of staff when Poppy heard her say Harry’s name.

“Harry Styles is here?” she said, curiously into the phone, turning around to look at her. He arrived back from L.A. late last night and went straight back to his house, so he wouldn’t wake Poppy up, but that meant that it had almost been a week since she’d seen him. Poppy shrugged her shoulders at Ella, not knowing why he was here either.

“He’s not scheduled to be in until next week, but let him anyway, I’m sure he won’t cause too much trouble” Poppy’s stomach dropped at the thought of seeing him after having that conversation with her mum the other day. Ella winked at her and put the phone down “Did you know he was coming?”

“I had no idea, I haven’t spoken to him since he got home from L.A”

“Trouble in paradise?” she asked, a tone of menace in her voice

Poppy picked up the pad of post-it-notes that were sitting next to her laptop and playfully threw them at her “Shut up El, there’s nothing going on between us”

The elevator doors opened on the other side of the room and Harry walked out, wearing a hoodie and his paperboy hat, carrying what looked like a gift bag and a tray of coffee’s.

“Mr Styles” Ella said, very professionally

Harry furrowed his brow at her formal introduction, which was out of character for her, “Yeah hey Ella” he handed her a coffee from the tray “Mocha, right?”

“Oooh thank you” she said taking the cup off him “you should visit more often”

“I’ll think about it” he said as he made his way over to Poppy’s desk, placing the gift bag and another cup of coffee in front of her “Hey baby Mumma”

“Hiya” she said, looking at the cup in front of her, feeling the butterflies rise in her stomach as he smiled at her

“It’s tea” he said reassuringly

“Great” she took a sip “how was your flight home?”

“It was alright” he nodded, pushing the gift bag closer to her “Got you a little something in L.A” Poppy frowned at him, pulling the bag closer to her “Don’t give me that face love, it’s not really for you, it’s for the little man”

The frown disappeared from her face as she looked inside the bag to see a flat white box with a ‘Gucci’ logo embossed in the middle “Harry!” she exclaimed, pulling it out of the bag as he smirked, pulling a chair over from the reception area

“What?!” he asked innocently

“It’s Gucci” she untied the ribbon that held the box shut and pulled the lid off, revealing a navy blue baby grow, covered in yellow teddy bears

“D’you like it?”

“I love it H” she said, touching the fabric “It’s so soft”

“It’s 100% wool, and I figured since he’s a winter baby, that it will come in handy”

“It’s great, thank you H” she stood from her chair and opened her arms to hug him “Kid’s not even born yet and he already owns more designer clothes than I do”

“And who’s fault is that?”

Herr mouth twitched into a smirk “Mine”

“Hmm, exactly” he smiled “12 weeks, how does it feel?”

“I haven’t puked in 3 days, it’s wonderful” she laughed, pulling her shirt tight over her belly “Look, I’ve even got a bump”

His eyes widened, and he reached his arm out, stopping just before he touched her “may I?” Poppy nodded, grabbing his hand and placing it over the bump, enjoying the intimacy of the act.  

“That’s your God Son”

His smiled widened and his eyes sparkled with excitement “He’s really in there”

“Oh would you two get a room” Ella called from her desk, watching as Harry removed his hand from her belly and sat back down in the chair he’d taken over to her desk.

“Shut up Ella” Poppy laughed “Get some work done”

“I could say the same to you” she tutted

“Ooh, actually on that note” she pulled a calendar out from her desk draw, “H, when can you come in for your live lounge?”

“Uhhh” he pulled his phone out from his pocket and checked his calendar “Any time in the first three weeks of August”

“How about the 19th?” she said looking at the schedule

“I’m sure that’s fine, but leave it with me and I’ll let you know for sure in a few days”

“Great” she said taking a pencil out from her tin and wrote his name on the 19th with a question mark next to it “See Ella, we’re working” she rolled her eyes and turned back to her desk, opening her own laptop to get some work done.

Poppy noticed the last cup of coffee in the tray that Harry had brought in with him “who’s that for H?”

“Grimmer’s if he’s still in”

“He is” Poppy stood from her chair “let’s go find him, I need to talk to him anyway”

Harry followed her down the hallway to Grimmy’s studio, where he was busy doing some production work. She knocked on the door and opened it as nick took his head phones off and placed them on the desk

“Hiya” he said, a wide smile on his face “Ready for lunch, are we?”

“I could go for some lunch” Harry said, walking in behind her

“Styles!” Nick exclaimed, not expecting to see Harry today, “What are ya doing here?”

“He wants more radio play” she winked and Harry handed grimmy the cup of coffee “so you know that thing you wanted me to get for your interview with this guy next week?” Poppy pointed at Harry

“Yeah”

“I don’t know if it’s going to happen, but I haven’t given up yet”

“Don’t be going to any extra trouble for me, and don’t get yourself stressed”

“Yes H” she rolled her eyes, secretly enjoying how much he cared for her, “Now, Mumma’s hungry, let’s get some food”

Grimmy stood up from his chair, “Alright, let’s go then, before you kill us both”

“Let’s just get something delivered, I’ve got work to do”F