I was awake at five a.m. thanks to jet lag, and after a hour of scrolling through Twitter, Instagram and Facebook I pulled on a tshirt and a pair of pyjama bottoms and made my way down to the kitchen to make a cup of tea. I sat at the breakfast bar, my hands curled around my mug, staring out of the window at the slowly lightening sky. At around seven I heard movement from upstairs, and the sound of feet padding along the corridor. I jumped up and filled the kettle, and Anne appeared a few moments later in her dressing gown.

"Oh!" she said in surprise. "I didn't think anyone would be awake yet. Have you been up long?"

"A couple of hours," I said regretfully. "Jet lag's hit me."

"What are you doing today?" Anne asked, while I made her a cup of tea.

"I'm not really sure," I replied. "We didn't get as far as making any plans last night. I just sort of crashed." (I decided it would be inappropriate to tell the full truth, that included earth-moving sex in the shower.)

"I know Louis wants to see you, and show off baby Freddie," she smiled. "He's taken to fatherhood extremely well."

"I'm so pleased for him," I said happily. "I would love to meet Freddie, if Harry doesn't mind going."

"Harry loves babies," Anne said indulgently. "I'm sure he'll be keen to take you."

"What's this about babies?" Harry asked, entering the kitchen in nothing but a pair of black jogging bottoms, rubbing his eye with the heel of his hand sleepily. My stomach did a funny sort of somersault, either at the mention of babies, or at the sight of Harry's bare chest and his hair in a mun; I wasn't sure which.

"Your mum was just saying Louis wants us to call in this week," I supplied, getting up off my stool and walking over to fetch a mug for Harry, who planted a sloppy kiss on my cheek as I passed him. He took my seat at the breakfast bar and yawned, nodding.

"We can pop in today, if you want," he suggested. "I've booked a viewing of that property above the Sunset Strip for tomorrow, I mentioned to Kendall we might be free on Monday to hang out, and then Tuesday is my birthday."

"Your birthday?" I repeated, pretending to be confused. "Tuesday is your birthday?"

He stared at me, completely straight faced. "You're not funny."

"I am though," I argued, grinning, "aren't I? Admit it. You're dying to smirk."

He smirked. "I'm humouring you."

"Fibber," I challenged, setting a fresh cup of tea in front of him while Anne watched us with amusement. 

"So do you want me to ring Louis?" he asked, changing the subject smoothly.

"I'll ring him myself," I boasted cockily, to shut Harry up, and then immediately regretted it when he raised one eyebrow and smirked again.

"Really? Be my guest."

My stomach clenched at the thought of having to ring Louis in front of Harry like this, and hold a casual conversation with him about meeting up. It was one thing calling him in Brussels to ask him to come down to the hotel lobby and get me past a security guard (my stomach lurched painfully at this memory), or sending him sassy texts that could be composed at my leisure. But my inner fangirl was suddenly trembling, especially as I knew Harry would be watching intently, waiting for me to make an arse out of myself.

"My phone's upstairs," I said dismissively.

"Use mine," he grinned, sliding his phone across the breakfast bar to me.

I cleared my throat. "It's too early, he'll still be asleep," I gabbled. "Speaking of which, why are you up at this hour? I'm the one who's jet-lagged. I thought you'd be dead to the world."

He shrugged. "I woke up and you weren't next to me. I mean, you just never know what a crazy fan might do... steal my underwear, ruin my shirts... hey!"

He winced as I flicked his bicep, and laughed delightedly before hooking his arm around my shoulder, squeezing me tightly and tickling me while I wriggled and squealed for him to let me go.

"Why don't I make us some breakfast, then we'll get ourselves ready and see if Louis is up for visitors?" he suggested.

"Finally, a decent plan," I huffed, which earnt me another twenty seconds of tickling.

"You get in the shower first then, while I do breakfast," he said when he eventually released me and I scampered across the kitchen out of reach. "I know how long it takes you to get ready. We'll be here until lunchtime otherwise."

His mouth broke into a new smirk as he sideglanced me. I pointed my finger at him. "Thin ice, Styles."

I got myself ready in record time, just to prove a point to Harry, and he rang Louis and arranged for us to call in to meet Freddie.

"Can we stop somewhere on the way?" I asked as we climbed into Harry's car. "If I'd known we would be visiting Louis I would have brought a present with me for Freddie. I don't want to turn up empty handed, but I'd been hoping I'd get an opportunity to buy something while I was here and leave it with you to pass on."

"I've got an unopened packet of earplugs in the house," he replied, without missing a beat. "You can wrap those up and give them to Louis if you want."

I stared at him, and he grinned at the road ahead. 

"Kidding," he added. "We can make a detour if you like."

"Do you know any good baby shops?" I asked.

"To buy a baby?"

"Harry," I sighed, in exasperation, and he gave a high pitched, squeaky laugh and banged his hand against the steering wheel a few times.

"Yes, I know some good baby shops," he answered when his hysteria had finally subsided. "But I would advise against us going in together. If we're pictured... well, I don't need to elaborate. I can drop you on the corner, though."

I nodded. "Good thinking. I won't be long."

"You won't be long? In a shop...?" He let the question hang, and when I looked over at him his eyebrows were raised exaggeratedly and his lips were pressed together in a disbelieving expression.

"You've got a death wish today," I declared, as he cracked up laughing again. "There will be no birthday presents for you at this rate."

"Ooh, fighting talk," he teased, grinning gleefully as he drove us down Benedict Canyon Drive towards Beverly Hills.

He dropped me off on the corner of the block, and drove round while I darted into a baby boutique and spent five minutes browsing the plush teddies, tiny babygros and array of plastic toys. I settled on a blue bunny rabbit with long, soft ears and a little white tail, and the lady behind the counter gift wrapped it beautifully for me while I chose a card and wrote my congratulations inside. At the last minute I caught sight of a range of New Mum pamper products, and added a gentle bubble bath and moisturiser set for Briana to my purchase. I left the shop, and sauntered slowly down the street looking out for Harry's car. It appeared after a couple of minutes, and pulled over on the pavement to let me into the passenger seat.

We drove out to Calabasas, to the house that Louis had acquired for Briana and Freddie, chatting the whole way about the coming week and Harry's upcoming second audition with Christopher Nolan (he was nervous and excited about this). Harry rang Louis when we were a couple of minutes away, and as we approached the driveway of a huge mansion, the gates opened automatically to allow us entry. Harry drove through and up to the front of the house, and killed the engine. 

"Now," he said meaningfully, unbuckling his seatbelt before turning to me and pointing his finger at me seriously. "No fangirling."

I pushed his finger away in annoyance, and he chuckled softly at my expression.

"Who am I kidding?" he teased. "Of course there will be fangirling."

"I can't help it if Louis fangirls over me," I retorted, and threw him a triumphant smile over my shoulder as I opened the passenger door and jumped out of the car, Harry momentarily speechless.

The front door opened and Louis came out, dressed in dark blue jeans and a white Adidas tshirt, his hair sticking up all over the place and what appeared to be faint dark circles under his eyes.

"Well well," he smirked. "Look who's here."

"Hi," I beamed, and he held his arms out as I walked towards him, and enveloped me in a hug on the doorstep. "Congratulations," I said softly as he rubbed my back.

"Thanks, darlin'," he smiled, pulling away from me to give Harry a high five. "It's good to see you both. Come in. You want a brew?"

He ushered us through the front door and into a plush hallway that was light and airy and led to a sweeping staircase. We followed him down to the kitchen, where he made a pot of tea, and filled a separate glass of water from a dispenser in the fridge door.

"How's Freddie?" I asked. 

"Ah, he's great," Louis beamed. "He's just so small, y'know? He's got these tiny little hands and feet, and his fingernails... they're just miniature! He's got a good pair of lungs on him, though. Must take after me. There's no escaping that wail at three a.m. when he's hungry. He has no concept of the time of day whatsoever."

"Told you the earplugs would have been a good idea," Harry said, nudging me in the ribs.

"Mate, earplugs wouldn't mask the lad's crying," Louis said, seriously. "But Briana's doing a great job. She's knackered though. We're trying our best to do it ourselves, but it's hard when were not a couple. We're lucky we've got so much help with our families and stuff."

"Is your family over?" I asked, looking around the room and half expecting to see Lottie or Fiz emerging from one of the doorways.

"Yeah, they're staying at my house. Everyone's out shopping though," he replied. "I convinced them I'd be fine. Briana's in the lounge with Freddie. Shall we go through?"

We took our mugs, and Louis brought the glass of water, and took us into a spacious lounge that was beautifully decorated, with luxurious drapes at the window and a large cream marble fireplace that was adorned with New Baby cards. Sitting in an armchair by the hearth was a young blonde girl whom I recognised to be Briana. She looked up and smiled nervously as we came in, and was holding a tiny baby in her arms who appeared to be fast asleep.

"Hi," she said softly.

"Hi Briana," I smiled back, and she looked up at Louis as he approached her with the glass of water, holding Freddie out to him. "He's due a feed soon," she said. "He won't be asleep much longer."

"I'm Jess," I said to her, walking over to her and awkwardly holding out the gift bag containing the New Mum toiletries. "I got you this. It's just a little something... I thought you might appreciate a bit of time to yourself..."

"Oh..," she said, looking taken aback and accepting the bag from me. She opened it as Louis walked away with Freddie and sat down on the sofa, and then looked up at me and smiled. "Oh, wow, that is so thoughtful," she said, getting to her feet to give me a hug. "Thank you so much."

"You're welcome," I said. "How are you?"

"Oh, you know," she said casually. "Exhausted. Surviving on no sleep. Emotional. But apart from that, absolutely great." She looked fondly over at Freddie and I followed her gaze to see Louis staring down at the tiny baby on his chest, his eyes alight with love and pride as Harry reached over and tickled Freddie's cheek with his little finger. 

"Do you want to hold him?" she asked, and I beamed at her. "I would love to, if that's OK."

"Of course," she smiled. "Louis, don't hog him. Let Jess have a turn."

I walked over to Louis, who carefully manoeuvred Freddie, supporting his head as I sat down between Louis and Harry, and handed him to me.

"I'm going to take a bath," Briana said. "There's a bottle in the fridge if he wakes up, it just needs warming through. Make sure you test it on your arm first, to check it's not too hot," she said to Louis.

"I know," he nodded. "Take your time."

"Nice meeting you, Jess," she said, as she reached the door of the lounge, the gift bag in her hand. "Thank you so much for the presents."

"Bye," I smiled, and she left the room, closing the door gently behind her. The three of us looked down at the sleeping baby in my arms and for a moment no one spoke.

"I can't believe I'm holding Louis Tomlinson's baby," I said eventually, and Louis and Harry both chuckled.

"He's pretty amazing, isn't he," Louis said softly, reaching over to Freddie's hand and tucking his index finger into Freddie's palm. "See what I mean about his fingernails? Look at them. Did you ever see anything so small and cute, and perfect?" 

"Proud dad," I remarked softly, and he smiled sheepishly. 

"Sorry. Am I gushing too much?"

"Not at all," I said, as Harry shook his head firmly. "It's nice to see you so happy and relaxed. I'm so pleased for you, Louis. He's absolutely gorgeous."

"Definitely takes after me," Louis declared, puffing his chest out, and I chuckled.

"There's a little present for Freddie in the other bag," I said, nudging it with my foot. "And a card for you, too."

Harry reached down and picked the bag up, and handed it to Louis, who pulled the rabbit out and looked at it affectionately. "Ah, that's awesome. Thanks, love."

"No problem," I said, gazing down at the tiny baby in my arms, whose mouth was slightly open as he took soft breaths, his head resting gently to the side. He was the spitting image of Louis, and underneath his little blue hat I could see the softest blond down covering his head. His eyelashes brushed his cheek delicately, and he suddenly gave a deep sigh as his little pink tongue poked out of his mouth momentarily before retreating again.

"I could literally stare at him for hours," Louis sighed, and I giggled at the three of us sitting in almost silence, watching the sleeping baby in awe. Louis looked down again at the gift bag, and then up at me. "So, where's mine?" he asked.

"Where's your what?"

"My present. Briana got one. Freddie got one. Where's mine?"

I laughed at his straight face. "You got a hug from me. What more do you want?"

Louis cackled mischievously. "That's the sixty-four thousand dollar question."

"Oi," Harry said warningly. "Over the line. Pack it in."

"Just teasing, Harold," Louis replied, sweetly. "Keep your knickers on."

"Keep yours on," Harry grumbled, and Louis flashed his eyebrows at me gleefully. 

"Chill. I'm with Danielle. I'm just messing."

"Oh yeah, how is Danielle?" I asked, as Harry pulled his phone out and snapped a picture of me holding Freddie.

"She's great, thanks," Louis answered, smiling widely. "Things are going really well."

"You don't seem to have made any attempt to keep it under wraps," I remarked.

He shrugged. "We did at first, but in my experience the paps back off when you admit to being in a relationship, because they're not desperate to be the first to break the exclusive. And Danielle's used to media attention anyway. She's in the industry."

Harry nodded. "We've come to the same conclusion."

Louis looked up sharply. "You two are finally going public with your relationship?"

"Yeah," I said softly, smiling at Harry, who smiled back and wrinkled his nose at me affectionately.

"Well about bloody time," Louis announced. "Congrats, both of you. I'm really pleased for you."

"Thanks," Harry said, proudly. 

"How long are you going to be in LA, Jess?" Louis asked. "You got any other plans?"

"I fly back on the sixth," I replied. "We've got a few plans I think but mainly just chilling."

"The sixth?" Louis repeated. "That's when I fly back. Are you flying into Heathrow?"

I nodded, as Freddie wriggled softly in my arms.

"Do you want to come back on the jet with me and my family?" he offered. "There's plenty of room. You might as well, rather than flying alone. You're more than welcome."

"Really?" I squeaked excitedly, looking over at Harry, who smiled.

"Of course," Louis insisted, with a twinkle in his eye. "It'll be fun."

"Thanks," I said, not caring if my excitement showed. "That would be awesome!"

Freddie let out a small snuffle, opened his eyes and looked up at me.

"Awww, hi, Freddie," I said softly. 

He surveyed me for a moment, before opening his mouth and letting out a loud wail.

"Someone's hungry," Louis remarked. "I'll go and heat up his bottle."

He hauled himself off the sofa and disappeared out of the room while I picked Freddie up so he was upright and facing me, and jiggled him gently, cooing at him until he stared at me curiously and eventually stopped wailing. Harry peeped over my shoulder at him, but his eyes remained fixed on me as I did my best to keep his attention and distract him from his hunger until his bottle arrived. I managed to keep the wailing at bay for over a minute, but eventually he began to whimper again, so I stood up and walked around the lounge with him, rubbing his back as he cried, until Louis reappeared.

"You're a natural," he remarked, setting the bottle down next to the sofa and taking the now screaming baby from me.

"Are you being sarcastic?" I demanded.

"No!" he laughed, sitting down and laying Freddie back in his arms. "He's yelling because he's hungry, not because of anything you've done." He retrieved the bottle, and as soon as the teat touched Freddie's lips he opened his mouth and latched on. Silence descended.

"It's like a mute button," Harry joked.

"A dummy has the same effect," Louis supplied. "But Briana doesn't like him having one. She doesn't want him to be dependent on it."

"Do you agree on stuff like this?" I asked.

Louis shrugged. "On some stuff. So far it's been fine, but I can't imagine it being plain sailing forever. We're bound to disagree on stuff. I've already said I want to take him to my house overnight, once he's a little bit older, but she's not keen on the idea."

"She probably can't imagine being away from him for that long," I mused. "But I'm sure she'll agree, once you've got him in a routine."

"Yeah," Louis said softly. "I hope so. She doesn't seem happy about me being with Danielle, either. I think she hoped we might make a go of things for Freddie's sake."

"Her hormones are bound to be all over the place," I reasoned. "Give her time to adjust to this, and yourself as well. It's a life-changing event for both of you. I'm sure you'll work out arrangements that suit you all, in time."

Louis smiled softly at me. "Thanks. You're right, of course."

"Of course," I acknowledged, with a grin.

"You've got a good'un here," Louis said to Harry, inclining his head towards me. 

"I know," he said, catching my eye and giving me a special smile that made my stomach flutter and my insides turn to mush. "I don't plan on letting her go again."

"See that you don't," Louis nodded, and we all stared down at the tiny, content baby in his arms, sucking quietly on his bottle and staring up at Louis as though he were the most amazing person in the world.

---***--- 

MERRY CHRISTMAS!! I wanted to get an update to you before the big day, so here it is, and consider it my gift to you for being such amazing readers. Because who doesn't want a bit of Freddie Tommo at Christmas time?!

As always I'll try and get another update finished before next weekend (and in this case the end of the year!) but I can't promise as the Prosecco and Baileys will be flowing (hopefully)! Enjoy the holidays, and if you enjoyed this chapter please please just