Simon stalked into Stephen's office, the light of battle in his eyes. Nobody, repeat, nobody, was going to hurt his boys. Louis had gone to his Uncle Simon for help and help was exactly what he was going to get. Stephen had ruled the roost long enough. Time for the mighty to fall. He slammed the door behind him and glared at the man who sat, staring back, a nervous expression on his face.. " I can tell you were not expecting me" Simon smirked as he sat facing the head of  Management "but that's ok. You have time to see me, plenty of time". Simon's grin grew larger. He was going to enjoy this.

Niall stared out of the window of his hospital room. Now he was free of the iVs and other monitors, he refused to stay in bed. He was itching to leave this place. Now he had confessed to Dr Miller about his suicide attempts, the Doctor had kept his word and promised Niall that he wouldn't be forced to stay in hospital against his will. But even with that promise, Niall knew he was still going to have to stay a bit longer, until they deemed his stomach healed enough. His thoughts were all consumed with the newspaper article that Dr Miller had shown him and Louis. He was still trying to take it all in. He wished Louis was here but Louis had received a call that had send him hurrying away with the promise that's he'd be in touch and that Niall mustn't feel deserted. Niall sighed quietly to himself. First Zayn had vanished, then Louis. He leant against the wall, eyes shut, body slumped, feeling more and more miserable. Louis had promised he'd always be there for him , but then, so had Zayn. A slow tear slid down his cheek and he brushed it away hurriedly. For f.cks sake, he was a grown man, not a baby. Another tear rolled down his face and Niall threw himself onto his bed and curled up in a tight ball, alone and miserable.

""Yeah mate, will do. No, don't worry, you have to be there. Good luck mate and keep in touch, ok?" Liam ended the call and shoved his phone into the back pocket of his jeans . " Hazz? You coming?" he called and was answered by hearing the thunder of feet on the stairs as Harry raced down to join him.

"Was that Lou on the phone?" he asked Liam

"Yeah, he's landed  at LAX. He's not sure how long he'll be tied up there but he's worried about Niall. He promised Ni he'd be around for him and he doesn't want Ni to feel deserted. Especially after Zayn has left again.He wanted to make sure we were keeping an eye on Nialler . You ready? Let's go see our little leprechaun". He picked up his keys and led the way out to the car.

"Hey Nia........................" Harry's cheery greeting ended abruptly as he took in the pathetic sight before him. He instantly rushed across the room and pulled his frail bandmate off the bed and into his arms, hugging him gently. "Hey, it's OK". Niall shook his head slowly then buried his face into Harry's shoulder , his body shaking. Harry immediately thought he must be cold but then the truth registered, Niall was sobbing quietly. Resting his chin on Niall's soft hair, Harry  whispered soothingly in Niall's ear as he waited patiently for Niall to calm down, Once Niall's breathing had evened out and his breath had ceased to hitch, Liam carefully gathered Niall up from Harry's embrace and  in his  own arms , before  gently tucking  him up in his bed, pulling the covers up over him. Harry reached out and grabbed Niall's hand as Liam perched on the side of the bed, rubbing Niall's leg up and down . Both men watched as Niall gradually relaxed.

"Ni? Wanna' talk?" Liam asked carefully

"It's just, I, well, I........" Niall took a steadying breath "I'm being childish, I know, I just miss Louis. I know he had to go, he was needed in LA but he promised...but Zayn did too...and......" Niall blushed and looked down with a look of extreme embarrassment.

"We understand, Ni, and it's not childish. You've been through a lot and you just need some extra love and support. No need to be embarrassed. Lou misses you too, he's already called to check on you. And Hazz and I are going to be around. You aren't on your own mate". Niall gave them both a watery smile then seemed to relax a little more.

"What the craic" Niall eventually wanted to know.

"Well, Louis has gone to LA for the 'event' as you know and Uncle Simon, lovely Uncle Simon, has been very busy. Look at these" Harry pulled out a thick bunch of newspaper cuttings and thrust them into Niall's hands. Niall studied each bold headline, the grin on his face getting bigger and bigger.

"That's f.cking brilliant, man. That's sic!" 

"It certainly is" Liam agreed. "Twitter is exploding with all the good things Louis does for others. Parents of children he's helped are bombarding the papers with their stories and even some of the media that have been tearing Lou down are 'forgetting' what  cr*p they've written about him in the past and now questioning if Louis is being the target of a smear campaign. Even Management has come under scrutiny as someone 'accidentally" let it leak that they haven't done anything to prevent Louis being attacked."

"So how is Si involved?" Niall wanted to know

"Well, he also has friends in high places . And guess where he is today?" Liam said a smug look on his face.

"No!" Niall began to smile.

"Yes! my little Irish friend, yes!  And I hope Management remembers that it's a long way down!'Harry laughed gleefully.