•TWELVE•

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The Tuesday after the incident had to be the slowest day in Louis existence.

Alex had been released the previous day, insisting he didn't want to start falling back on his school work. That led to Louis being over protective - more than usual - and texting every few hours in case he needed help or if Travis was ok.

That Monday evening, he couldn't sleep. He was excited. He was thrilled. He was scared. He didn't know whether he was the best candidate but he would never back down. Not now at least.

Eleanor lay there in the same bed but there was a distance between the two of them: physically and emotionally. Louis could tell she was suspicious but she dared not voice them out. He couldn't care less.

Now Louis was sitting in the court house lobby, his leg bouncing anxiously as he waited. Couldn't this day go any faster?

"Mr. Tomlinson?"

He looked up.

"Judge Hemmings is ready to see you."

He smiled tightly and stood up, smoothing out his blazer and grabbing his briefcase, following the secretary down to the judges office. She opened the door and gave him space to walk in, shutting the door behind him.

"Tomlinson, have a seat."

Louis sat in one of the chairs, setting his case on the ground. The elder man turned to Louis, setting files between them. He locked his gaze with Louis.

"Are you sure about this?"

"100% your honor."

The man nodded and opened the file to one of the pages where Louis had to sign. He handed him a pen and passed them to Louis.

"You're doing the right thing. Adopting that little girl. The reports I get about her are very positive."

Louis paused his hand movements and slowly looked up to them man.

"So you do read the reports?"

"Of course I do. I will confess that in the past I didn't used to, but now I find them very intriguing. Knowledge-wise and all."

Louis nodded and turned back to the adoption papers. One question kept nagging his tongue to just get it already: How long ago was the past?

He signed the last page and handed the papers back to the man. He stamped the last page and stapled the papers together. Then he stood up, causing Louis to stand as well.

"Mr. Tomlinson, you now have custody of Ava May Harper, now Tomlinson. Congratulations."

Louis smiled so wide, shaking the judges hand and thanking him immensely. The judge walked him out to the lobby, wishing him all the best and anticipating his next case.

Louis walked out, clasping the files to his chest, letting them feel his heart beat extremely fast. As he got into his car, he couldn't help but turn back to the building and feel lied to. He usually knows when someone is bluffing and his instincts were almost never wrong.

He shook it off and started the car, driving straight to the asylum where his daughter would be receiving probably the best news of her life.

Today's traffic was, to say the least, a madhouse.

What more surprises did this Tuesday have for him in store?

He arrived at the parking lot almost half an hour longer than it usually did to get from that side of town. He sighed and took out his phone to check his messages. He smiled seeing one from Alex.

Alex:

Today has never been so boring. The substitute was so unenthusiastic

LouisTommo:

I'm sorry to hear that 😂 it's only till Thursday

Alex:

So we have to go through the boring old fart again tomorrow?!? This is a joke 😩 But how's your end? All set?

LouisTommo:

Yup. Just got to the hospital. You and Travis should come see her tomorrow. Welcome her home

Alex:

Ditto. Good luck x

He climbed out of the car, grabbing the signed sheets and his pass, wallet and keys. He walked passed the guards and through the halls to the reception. The nurse on duty was a tall male with brown hair and grey eyes, seemingly from being trapped behind these lifeless walls for too long.

He told him he was here to sign Ava out and showed him the adoption papers. Protocol. He'd already spoken to the kids' nurse, Jennifer. So she'd be getting her stuff ready without telling Ava what was happening.

"Mr. Louis?"

Louis turned around to find Maria approaching him. He bent down and she hugged him, arms snaking around his neck.

"Hey Maria. How are you?"

"I'm tired. And I'm sneezing a lot."

Louis furrowed his eyebrows. He pulled back and saw her skin was red and splotchy.

"Have you eaten nuts in the past three days?"

"I don't know maybe? They gave us ice cream yesterday but I don't know what flavor it was."

Louis sighed in annoyance. They really didn't check to make sure it didn't have nuts or given Maria a different flavor. She's allergic to nuts and they know this. It's in her records! He stood, gently grabbing her hand and then led her out of the asylum to his car. He grabbed his backpack that was always in the car and took out some anti allergies to give to the girl. He was always prepared when it came to this asylum.

He gave them to her plus some water to wash the pills down. After that he led her back inside to find Jennifer standing at the reception with Ava's belongings.

"Jennifer."

"Mr. Tomlinson. She's all packed up. This bag has her artwork so it's quite heavy. She's just using the bathroom."

Louis nodded with a tight smile. He took the backpack and the bag with the girl's art and placed them near his feet, then he leaned on the reception desk. Maria seemed to understand and then remember something and took of, seemingly in the direction of the art room.

Ava skipped down the other end of the hall and her eyes widened with shock and love when seeing Louis.

"Papa!"

She ran into his arms, wrapping his small feet around his torso. Louis chuckled as he held her tight.

"I've got a surprise for you."

"Is it a new crayon set? I need a new black crayon."

"I'll buy you a new one this afternoon but no."

He stood up with her in his arms and watched the confusion stretch over her features.

"I went to the big man today, and I signed some stuff and now I have a baby girl."

Ava tried to process it as best as her little mind could. Her blue eyes turned back to Louis and Louis smiled knowing she hadn't gotten it yet.

"Congratulations? Is she here?"

"Yeah. She's in my arms."

Ava almost started searching Louis' arms until her mouth formed an 'o' and the next sound was a gasp and choked sob and her eyes watered. Her hands flew over Louis' neck and she cried into his neck. Louis laughed slightly, embracing her until she calmed down from the news.

"Thank you. Thank you so much."

She said pulling away, small hands delicately wiping her tears.

"I told you I would get you out of here. You're going home."

"I don't know what to call you now. I'll call you daddy instead of papa."

Louis smiled and placed a lingering kiss on her forehead. The sound of feet padding across the floor sounded and the two turned in the direction of the hallway. Jennifer was no where in sight.

Maria came into vision, almost panting, with a small canvas in hand.

"Ava! Before you go. I wanna give you this."

Louis set Ava down and watched fondly as Maria gave Ava a painting of a rainbow that she had drawn and signed with her name at the bottom. A parting gift. Louis smiled watching them hug. He took the two bags and started walking out of the asylum, already hearing Ava shout how she'll be back to visit.

He put them in the backseat, making sure the new canvas was safely positioned. As Ava started climbing into the car, Louis looked on in amusement. She turned to him exasperated because the door kept moving and not giving her enough stability to get in.

"Daddy! Help me!"

Louis' heart fluttered. He won't get used to this new life in his heart.

"Are you going to stay in the car when I go talk to Harry?"

"You're going to see-why didn't you tell me! Ugh!"

She grunted, jumping down and closing the door shut.

"I said my goodbyes in a rush and you could've told me!"

"I thought it was obvious."

Louis said with a smirk and started walking back to the asylum. He chuckled hearing Ava protest but run after him. They found Maria in the art room and Louis entrusted them to stay there till he was done. Making his way down the familiar paths to the lower cells where at this point, only Harry was being held.

The point of the lower cells was to put the older patients as well as those who were requested to stay away from the younger kids by the court. All of the other patients down there were admitted into Alliance Mental Asylum, the adult hospital.

Harry wasn't too far from following their fate.

Louis hasn't been to the adult hospital yet because they're even more strict on visitors. He didn't want Harry to be moved there, yet they were only less than 3 months from the boy's 18th birthday.

The guards sized him up and down before letting him into the room, shutting the door behind him.

Today, the boy was sitting like he usually was, legs dangling over the edge, blank stare ahead. Their gazes locked and Louis saw a small smile play on the boy's chapped lips. It was Harry.

He grabbed the chair and sat down in front of the boy, watching him slowly retract his feet into a cross and watch Louis.

"Hey Harry. Are you good today?"

The boy nodded. Louis didn't want to say Harry was mute, but it pointed to signs of that. He'd only ever heard him speak during that one encounter with Liam.

"You wanna hear some good news?"

He nodded again, sitting a little bit upright, attentive.

"I don't know if you know Ava. Little girl with brown hair, blue eyes, smile of the sun. I adopted her today."

Harry's smile broke out onto his face, dimples slowly making their way into his cheeks. Louis smiled back, more so when Harry leaned forward and placed a hand on his knee. A silent congratulations.

"Thank you Haz."

The smile did not falter on the younger's face. In fact, it widened. Louis was the cause of that. He watched the specks of color in his eyes, like he was debating between happiness and silence.

If Louis thought Harry could not shock him more when he met Liam, he was wrong.

Harry moved his hand and placed it against Louis' cheek. Louis watched him with a soft intensity so as not to scare him. Harry seemed to gain more confidence as the seconds drew on. He leaned onto his knees and let his left hand caress Louis' cheek. The touch was soft and Louis melted, but watched on to try and understand what was happening.

And then, he spoke.

"Je suis très content pour toi."

Louis blinked.

Harry spoke. Not Liam. Harry. This was real. Harry was watching him, and there was an outline of a smirk. His hand was still on Louis' cheek.

To say Louis had blanked out would be a pure understatement. Harry giggled and that was Louis' breaking point.

He was comfortable around Louis.

He racked his brain for his high school and college French, hoping it would come in handy for once. Harry removed his hand from the man's cheek and tilted his head to the side. The smirk was on full display and curse Louis's brain for thinking that was hot.

"Tu ne comprends pas ce que je dis."

"Ne jugez pas un livre par sa petite couverture."

Harry's eyebrow raised, smirk not leaving his face. He let out a laugh, nodding his head. Louis bit his lip to stop himself from fonding over the boy. The change in his body language was magnificent. He had literally transformed into someone who didn't have his entire childhood stolen from him. His eyes shone with the green of youthfulness and his lips were upturned from their usual blank line.

He never wanted to leave this Harry alone.

"Vous êtes intéressant Mr. Tomlinson."

"Pourquoi merci Harry."

"Dis-moi monsieur pourquoi tu m'aides?"

Louis sat back in his seat thinking over an appropriate answer. Why was he helping the 17 year old? It started off as him doing his duty to help all the kids of the hospital to find homes. Proper homes. But he's never spent as much time thinking about any of the kids as he did Ava, Travis and Harry.

As though they were connected in his subconscious.

"Vous ne méritez pas d'être ici."

Harry nodded in understanding. He leaned back on the balls of his feet looking down at his pillow. Then he looked back up at the man, that glint of childishness still present.

It's like he was finally alive in his own body.

"Pensez-vous que vous allez réussir à me sortir?"

Before he could answer, he heard talking outside the door. He quickly stood up and dragged the chair up to the door, quietly laying it against the handle. It wouldn't hold but it would give him just enough time to switch to his investigative state. Who knew the next time he'd meet this side of Harry.

The real Harry.

He shuffled back to Harry, squatting in front of the bed. Harry lowered himself onto his stomach, as if they were telling each other secrets.

"Je vais faire tout ce que peux aimer. Je dois demander si."

Harry nodded. His gaze quickly shifted to the door where the handle was being turned. Louis' time was up.

"Pourquoi parlez-vous en français?"

"Hey! Open this door!"

Harry gazed into Louis' eyes, looking for something. Something Louis hoped that he had. Honesty in his motives maybe?

"Afin qu'ils n'étendent pas mes conversations quand je suis moi."

The chair screeched against the floor as it was almost knocked down. Louis nodded and pulled the boy into a hug. Harry hugged back just as tight. Louis placed a kiss on the boy's forehead. Just before he pulled away from the embrace, Harry placed a kiss on the man's cheek, blushing afterwards. Louis smiled and went to remove the chair and the guards burst into the room with the rude warden nurse, Janet, in tow.

"Mr. Tomlinson, are you ok? Did he lock you in here against your will?"

"No no! I put the chair there. I was simply explaining the contrast between the chair and the door. It was not my intention to cause a scare."

He said sweetly. Her gaze shifted to the boy on the bed and he was back in his reserved position, legs hanging over the edge and his body frame small and scared.

What made Louis want to smile was the boy's eyes. His gaze may have been low but Louis could see he was trying his best not to show that he wasn't the same as when Louis walked in. Janet may not have noticed the flickers in the boy's eyes, but Louis did.

Janet nodded and walked out, the guards following her, expecting Louis to follow. Louis turned his head once more to the boy and smiled in response to Harry blowing a kiss and a shy wave. He nodded once towards Janet with as neutral an expression as he could muster and the door was shut behind him.

He made his way back up and to the art room and he couldn't contain his smile. He almost felt bad, feeling as though he left that room with the boy's happiness, but then he remembered Harry fed off of his own hope and persistence.

They both shared that happiness.

"Time to go baby."

"Ok!"

Ava shouted back. She hugged Maria once more and looked down at what she'd drawn. She pushed it towards the girl.

"It's yours and it's not finished."

"I want you to finish it. Color it how you want."

Then she signed her name at the bottom with a sharpie and smiled. She took off, leaving a smiling Maria to run her fingers over the artwork.

"Bye Maria. I'll see you soon."

She turned back with a smile and waved to the man. Ava begun skipping excitedly ahead of Louis until Louis' name was called. Ava groaned, more than ready to get out of here. She probably remembered Louis was going to buy her new crayons.

"Mr. Tomlinson."

"Yes. And you are?"

The man was dressed in a lab coat, his navy blue suit of low quality. Rugged. His brown hair looked unkempt and very greasy. Very professional.

"I'm Simon Cowell. I'm the-"

"The asshole who's feeding my kids placebos instead of actual medicine. I'd say it's a pleasure to meet you, but I don't have the momentum to make it sound believable."

The man blinked and stumbled back slightly, as if he'd taken a blow.

"How may i help you Mr. Cowell?"

"I just wanted to update you on Ms. Harper's conditions. I've been informed that you've adopted her."

"This is true. I'd like to know though, why didn't you come and talk to me when I checked Travis Miller out?"

The man shifted on his feet, a deer caught in headlights.

"Whatever. Update me on both of them."

The man nodded and opened his clipboard that was in his arms.

"Ava has been diagnosed with insomnia, meaning she's been having very sleepless nights, anxiety and she's gotten some really bad attacks, and lastly... anorexia. She's gone days without eating a single thing."

Louis frowned. He turned back and saw Ava talking animatedly to Jennifer, who was actually a very tolerable nurse. He had noticed every time he carried how her how she felt lighter and skinnier and there were days where she was lightheaded, but apparently telling Jennifer to sneak in some fries into her meals wasn't helping.

It's fine. She's coming home with him. He'll help her whether it takes his entire lifetime.

"Ok. What about Travis?"

"Sir-"

"Travis Miller."

He said crossing his arms. Simon sighed and shuffled through his papers, finding the one with the report.

"Travis was diagnosed with clinical depression and post traumatic stress disorder."

"Do you know the cause of the PTSD?"

"No. He wouldn't open up about what happened."

Louis nodded. With a half hearted 'thanks' he turned away from the man and headed towards the door. He would've asked about Harry but he's not ready to raise eyebrows in that direction. He will find out about Harry himself.

They got to the house almost 2 hours later because Louis took Ava to a small park after buying the crayons and color pencils - let the spoiling begin - and he wanted to see what she would do with a new found sense of freedom. She played on the slide and the swing and then took out her new notepad and begun drawing a flower that she'd found near the jungle gym.

Her eye for art was spectacular. He'd have to help nurture that, now that she was his.

They bounded into the house and the first thing to greet them was the barks of their puppy, Sonny, a white Bichon Bolognese breed that they'd bought on Sunday after the incident.

They unpacked her stuff in her room and Louis made a mental note to buy wall pins and picture frames for her art. He had her pick the ones that she wanted in her room, some for his room, some for the living room and one for the staircase wall. He also gave her leeway to choose those that she didn't want to see ever again because he knew some of the drawings were therapeutic and forced, not what she wanted.

After they both showered and changed and took to lounging on the couch, Ava curled up against his chest and Sonny in her lap, and they were watching Finding Nemo. It was in this state of absolute calm that Louis couldn't help but remember Harry's

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