Harry’s P.O.V

I couldn’t stop checking the time on that flight. I had left in such a rush that I hadn’t even had time to have anyone come with me for support except my bodyguard. Paul didn’t bother trying to speak to me. He knew I had way too much on my mind to try and form a conversation.

The reality that our daughter might actually be arriving sometime in the next few hours terrified me. The idea that I might miss that terrified me even more. Fuck, sometimes this job really does have it’s downfalls.

Paul gave me a look when the pilot informed us that it was only ten minutes until we landed in London. The haste of trying to get on a flight meant that there was no time to arrange upper class, and we were stuck in economy - meaning that nearly everybody on the flight had recognised me and approached me for pictures. I never turned down those requests.. not usually, but today I couldn’t hide my disdain when I turned them away.

“Buckle up, Harry. Come on. Get your head straight.” Paul nudged me, and I did as I was told. Fuck, I’m too young for this. Fuck, I better grow up.

I’m normally nervous when we come into land, but this flight, I didn’t even flinch when the wheels hit the tarmac. Before the plane had even stopped I was trying to get off of it. Paul rested a hand on my arm and I took a deep breath. The cabin crew made sure we were first off.

I should have known the media would have latched onto my whereabouts. The paparazzi storm was insane.

“Harry! Why are you back so soon?”
“Harry! Is Annie in labour?”
“Have you fallen out with the boys?"

I practically leaped for our car, with little concern as to where my baggage was - or if I had even brought any. We were on the outskirts of London and if the driver put his foot down we could make it into central London in forty minutes. I looked down at my phone, and dialled the only person I knew would be remotely calm.

Gemma.

“Hello?” She said, her voice strong.
“Gem, it’s me, I’m in a- I’m on my way, I’m in a car.” I frantically rambled. I heard her take a deep breath.
“Calm down, H. She’s doing fine.” She paused, and it worried me. “But she has to have the baby tonight."

I lost my voice for seconds.

“Harry, are you there?” She said.

I swallowed.

“Yeah, Gem. I’m here.”
I heard her mind tick. “Stop worrying, Harry. It’s going to be fine.”
“Is she okay, though?”
“She’s not well, Harry, but she just needs to get the baby out. She’s going to be fine.” I heard the comfort in her voice. “Just get here now. She will be fine.”
“I love you, sis.” I said, closing my eyes. It was like my whole world was about to change and this was the last time I could let Gemma know that.
I heard the corner of her mouth upturn, probably into a small smile. “I’ll see you soon. Get ready."

---

As soon as they did whatever they did to me down there, I seemed to feel the pain. Never one to have a high threshold for it, I seemed to notice every twang and every twitch my stomach gave, even through the painkillers. I started to breathe heavily and I saw my mother get more and more agitated watching me get deeper and deeper into the labour. I could see in both of the parents eyes that they knew how underprepared I was. I could see the worry and the sympathy on their faces.

“He’s landed. He’s in a car, on his way.” Gemma re-entered the room with her iPhone in hand, and sat calmly in her seat.
I breathed slowly. “How long?” I groaned.
“Forty minutes.” She said, and I saw Anne curse under her breath.
“Sorry, ladies, but I really do have to ask all but one of you to leave now.” My doctor was highly protective of my state, and as he said, I needed as little stress as possible. I nodded to my Mum, and gave apologetic looks to Anne and Gemma.

“We’ll be right outside, Annie.” Anne gave her most genuine smile and put her arm around her daughter, leading them both outside.
The nurse to my right hand-side checked my blood pressure constantly and read it back to the doctor. This was all going horribly wrong. I had woken up that morning expecting to FaceTime Harry and to have chicken for dinner. I had ended up in a hospital, fully underprepared, giving birth.

And Harry wasn’t here.

I cursed, feeling the pain intensify as the third hour since the induction had passed.

“Okay, Annie. Everything is going to be a lot quicker, from now.” The doctor spoke reassuringly, but it wasn’t enough. I could not relax until Harry was here. “Don’t worry. There’s plenty of time. Hours in fact. He’ll be here with a while to spare."

I closed my eyes, and waited. Waited for the next bout of pain, waited for the doctor to come around again. When I heard the door click open, I expected another check-up, but I was met with Harry practically running to my side. He looked frantically around at all the wires and his face paled. My mum placed her hand on his shoulder, reassuringly, since I had lost the ability to speak.

“Mum, it’s fine, you can leave us for a while now.” I smiled weakly, and quickly lifted my hand up to link with Harry’s.
“Love you, sweetheart.” She smiled at both of us. “I’ll go and get a coffee."

I waited until she left the room, before I looked up at Harry with tears in my eyes.

“Oh, Annie, baby.” He said, his voice sounding so full of worry. “What happened?”
“My blood pressure was too high.” I said, pathetically clinging onto him as he sat down in the chair my mum had left vacant. “So they have to have me go into labour now.”
“Now?” He practically gasped. “Well-When, I mean.. What time will she be here?!” He pulled his blue beanie off of his head and ruffled his curls.
“Not for hours, baby. Calm down.” I sighed deeply. “It’s fine now. It’s all going to be fine now you’re here. I’m induced, I’m responding well, we just have to wait."

Harry let out a sigh of relief and pressed his lips carefully onto mine.

“I was so fucking worried.” He smiled nervously. “Is the bag here? The clothes?”
“Everything is here, Harry.” I tightened my grip on his hand. He was silent for a little while as he calmed himself down. He rested his head on the side of the bed next to me, and I traced my fingers through his hat hair. We were silent for an hour or so afterwards.

I knew that we were both thinking about all the thousands of ways our lives would change. Harry had only walked out of the door a month ago and had expected to walk back in and go on to enjoy Christmas and then have our little girl after that. He had not expected that the next time he walked through his front door, it would be holding the baby. Fuck, was I terrified. Everything aside, all of the grown-up experiences, all of the maturity taken away, I was a twenty year old girl. I had never had a real job or attended University. I had spent the previous year touring with a band, sleeping in a different city every night. Then I found out I was pregnant, only months after meeting somebody new. I didn’t even know everything about Harry yet, not all of the tiny little things completely. I still learned those every day.. some I liked, some I couldn’t stand. Did I know if we’d be together for ever? I hoped so, but at the end of the day.. this is a year long relationship that had already spawned a baby that I thought I’d be having well into my late twenties.

We just had to be ready, I guess. I looked down at him, chewing on his lip, probably having the same deep thoughts as me. I knew he’d be good at being a Dad, no matter how young he was. He was so adaptable, he could live anywhere and with anybody. I just hoped that he would never leave our little family.

“I thought of a name.” He whispered, quietly after a while. He lifted his head up groggily, his crucifix necklace resting on my hand.
I pushed the hair out of his face. “You did? Is it a definite?”
“If you’ll have it,” He smiled awkwardly, looking down at my ringed fingers and playing with them. “I thought of Ivy.”
I cocked my head to one side. “Ivy?” I didn’t dislike it, I just didn’t expect it. “Ivy Styles?”
“When we were in L.A, it just came to me. Ivy. It’s such a cool name.” He half smiled. “Do you like it?”
“I do, actually. It’s unusual.”
“From the second I thought of it, it just sounded like it would suit her.” He said, stretching from his position. “Ivy.”

We sat mostly in silence after that. Every now and then Harry would speak and I would reply, and then we’d just go back to waiting. Waiting for me to dramatically feel a sudden pain and for it all to be over. The pain was only intensifying and when it had gotten to four in the morning, nine hours after we had first arrived there, it was time for it all to happen.

I hardly remember anything of those moments. I surprised myself because I hardly made any noise and I hardly remember the pain. I just remember stealing glances at Harry, biting down on his lip or raising a finger to his lips with constant anxiety. He held my hand occasionally, but honestly it was all over so quickly that I didn’t really have time to interact with him.

The feeling of having Ivy catapulted straight onto my chest, those first infiltrating cries coming from her newborn lungs, it was like nothing in the world. It was a moment between us that not even Harry could enjoy. A permanent bond. No matter how young I was, I was mature enough to understand that it didn’t get much more loving than this. You didn’t feel much more adoration for anything than I did for her.

Just like that, our moment was over. They cleaned her up, her tiny hands and tiny feet flailing around as she cried, probably wondering what was going on. She was so much smaller than I expected, even though I knew she was early. I felt the sweat beads glistening on my forehead. I watched as Harry stood behind the nurse, just staring down at her, speechless. His hands were fallen by his sides and he too looked overcome with emotion.

When they brought her back, and placed her tiny, tiny, frame into Harry’s arms, it was a scene that would bring tears to anyones eyes. I was his hairdresser a year and a half ago. I didn’t even like him, I thought he was a pompous, arrogant asshole. I had no idea when I was washing or cutting or blow drying his hair that he would be sitting here, months later, with half of mine and half of his DNA in his arms.

Harry and I just enjoyed those first moments together in complete silence. I was exhausted. My body felt like it had been through a war. Ivy would let out small, crinkly breaths every now and then, a low gargle from her throat, and Harry would look expectantly at me like he should do something. Every time, I just smiled at him, reassuring him that being held in her Daddy’s arms was more than enough for her.

“How- I..” Harry shook his head. “How did something this perfect come from us?”
I laughed tiredly. “I have no idea."

The nurses could barely contain our families outside. In the time we had been here, Harry’s stepfather and father had driven down, as well as Frankie and my Dad. When Anne walked in she gave a look at Harry and just burst into tears. “Don’t cry, mum, here, hold her.” He smiled awkwardly, and placed her like she was made of porcelain into his mothers arms.

It was an insane feeling, everybody in that room. Not one of them were interested in me, just poured over our daughter. It was surreal. Everyone was there, looking down at Harry and I’s flesh and blood. I know we had been in love for months and saw a future together but this cemented it. We weren’t just boyfriend and girlfriend anymore, something for the tabloids to look at. We were a family, a unit joined to protect another human being for the rest of her life.

Harry saw my exhaustion and at six in the morning, he cleared everybody out for me to sleep.

“You should get something to eat,” I scorned, rolling onto my side to position myself for a slumber.
Harry ignored me, instead looking down at Ivy, rubbing her cheek with his finger, pulling the blanket closer around her. The nurses had said that he could place her in her crib and give his arm some rest, but he just ignored them, too. He hadn’t put her down from the moment she got here. I took in one last perfect glance of them both before my eyelids gave up on me.

Notes

:’) I think I’m going to say - this may well be the last formal chapter! I’m going to do an epilogue and then hopefully get working on the sequel for this and another story! Thanks everyone for the support the whole way through!!
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