Reunion

Niall set the last of the hot breakfast he had prepared for Lisa on the tray before picking it up and starting to head towards the upstairs and their bedroom where she still lay quietly resting. Part of the reason for the surprise had been for him to treat her to a special morning. The last few weeks had been hard on her with the heatwave that had decided to hit London and she had been nauseous for almost a week straight. Even though she hadn't felt good, she still had continued to go to work at her job as a manager at a local shop where she was on her feet most of the day. Today was her day off and so she would be able to sleep in for the first time in a week.

The other part of the reason for him to give her the treat was that he had to tell her today about Liam's request and what it meant for her and their unborn baby. It had been three weeks since the funeral and since he had received the request from Liam. And since he had actually gotten Louis, Harry and Zayn to agree to the plan, he wasted no time in planning for the big reunion. The largest restriction had been making sure that it would happen in the timeframe of when Harry would be on his brief break from his tour. He would be back in a week and Niall needed to have everything arranged to make sure that he wouldn't back out.

And he had done it. He had found a house on a lake that was remote and isolated and the perfect spot that they could get together without the tabloids getting a hold of it. He highly doubted that the reunion wouldn't be discovered at some point but the need for initial privacy was pivotal. He had booked the house for two weeks and the rental was starting in three weeks. Three weeks until he would be gone for two weeks and he had yet to tell his seven month pregnant partner. Oops honey, forgot about that one. She was an understanding soul but not that understanding.

Niall took a deep breath and made his way up the wooden stairs and around the corner that led to their large room. T.V. hosting paid well and the house he and Lisa lived in was large and airy and their dream house to raise their future children. He pushed the door open with his elbow and walked to the edge of the bed, setting the tray down beside him on the table.

Lisa was tucked underneath the covers, her body turned on it's side since that was the only position she was comfortable sleeping now. Her curly red hair was spread across the pillow and Niall felt the strongest desire to join her under the covers and pull her and their unborn baby against him but he couldn't put this off any longer. He had to tell her and face the storm that he knew would come with it.

"Hey baby," he said as he gently shook her shoulder and kissed a small bare patch of skin. "I made you some breakfast."

Lisa stirred and slowly turned to face him. Her eyes were tired from sleep but she smiled as she saw him, her hands absently rubbing her swollen belly a few times.

"Good morning," she said as she forced herself to sit up and lean against the headboard behind her. "What was this for?"

Niall smiled and grabbed to tray to put it in front of her, spreading the legs open so that it sat up and away from her belly. "I know you haven't been feeling that great with the heat and work so I decided you needed a special meal and it had to be in bed. A fresh breakfast of fruit, pancakes, orange juice, toast and bacon. And eat it all because you have to feed Rufus too." Rufus was the nickname they had given to the baby since they were determined not to know the sex of the baby. All of their friends had asked them what would happen if they had a girl but Niall just shrugged and said that she had better like the name.

"It looks wonderful." Lisa took a sip of the orange juice before spearing a strawberry and popping it into her mouth. Her lips squeezed together in pleasure and she quickly took another one. "And it tastes even better. Rufus and I are very happy." She leaned as far forward as she could and Niall met her with a soft kiss. "Thank you."

"You are very welcome. And I am at your disposal for the rest of the day. Whatever you want to do we will do." Niall winked at her and stole a piece of pancake. "And if you force me to stay in bed with you all day, I might just have to agree to it."

Lisa took a bite of the pancake as well before wagging her finger at him. "Uh uh. You can't get out of shopping that easy. We have to go and pick up a wedding present for Molly and Adam. And we have to do it today because if we don't all the good things on the list will be gone."

Niall tried to remember when this had been planned. He knew that Lisa wasn't comfortable driving anymore and especially when she wasn't feeling well so she wouldn't go by herself. He also knew that she would never trust him to pick out the gift by himself because he would probably pick the most manliest thing he saw and wouldn't pay attention to the much struggled over list.

And then another thought hit him. The wedding he was going to be shopping for today was scheduled right in the middle of the reunion he had just been about to tell her about. He had been so focused on Liam's request that he had booked it at the same time. Now Lisa would be doubly pissed at him.

She seemed to sense his trepidation and looked at him with a questioning look. "Ni, what is going on? If you don't want to go shopping, I'm sure we can do it another day."

Niall shook his head and sighed. "No, no. It has nothing to do with today. I just, well, I may have really messed up."

"Is that was this breakfast is for? What happened?" Her voice was stressed now and Niall hated to hear it. Stress was never good for pregnant women and he was about to add to it.

He set his head in his hands and sighed. "I completely forgot about the whole wedding thing and I booked something at the same time. Something I really need to do."

He could see that Lisa was trying to figure out why this was upsetting him so much. It had happened a few times before and while she didn't like it, she knew his busy pace of life meant that it was possible. And the couple were her friends and not his. She set her hand on his arm and gently stroked it.

"It's okay," Lisa said quietly. "If you can't get out of it, I'll go with Jason and Brent. Just make sure that it doesn't happen when Rufus comes and we'll be good."

"It's not quite as simple as that." Niall stood up and ran his hands through his hair. "It's not just one day."

"You're not making any sense," Lisa said as she tried to stand up. Niall immediately returned to her side and forced her to stay in the bed. "It's not like you haven't had to go away for a few days before. Sure, it may not be the best timing but it happens and you should be back in plenty of time."

Niall looked at her and sucked in his breath. Time to get it out. "It's not just for a few days. It's for two weeks and it's out of town. And I have to leave in three weeks."

He could see her doing the math in her head and as she did, a line formed in her forehead. After another few seconds, she put the final pieces together and her understanding face turned to one of clear anger.

"That means you'll be gone during the last month of the pregnancy. And coming back only just over one week before I'm due. You're going to leave me when I'm over eight months pregnant for two weeks and come back just in time to see me go into labor. What happens if I go in early? What happens if I have complications? You are going to be off galavanting somewhere while I sit here worrying about getting in touch with you just in case."

Niall had braced himself for the anger she had every right to feel and let her get it out, the words still hitting him harder than he had thought. When she was quiet for a moment, he put his hand on her arms and leaned in as close as he could.

"I'm sorry Lisa but I have to do this. I promise that it's only a couple of hours away and there is definitely cell reception." He had checked on that when he had made the booking knowing he had to be reachable by her. "You will be able to get ahold of me at any time of the day and I will be back as soon as possible."

Lisa took a deep breath, her eyes closing for a moment as she tried to steady herself. "What is so important that you have to go away? I know that you already knew that the timing might be a little bad."

Niall tried to think how to explain the request from his dead friend. Lisa knew how close he had been to Liam and how much watching him waste away had drained him. She had always encouraged the relationship and had been at his side when Liam had finally passed. But she had never been around the boys as a group. She had come into his life after the group had already broke up and so only knew them threw the stories that had been tossed to her over the years. She had never seen them interact during the good days. She had only heard him complain about the bad days at the end. It would be hard for her to understand just why Niall was trying to get them in one room again. But he had to make her understand why this was so important.

"Just let me explain. Let me explain all of it." He watched as her eyebrows arched in a questioning arc but she did remain quiet. "After Liam died, Danielle called me and asked me to meet her. She said that Liam had left something for me." He watched as a note of pain flashed across her face. While not close with him, she had always liked him and had been hurt as well when he had finally passed and had already talked about how she worried about Danielle being alone with the two young kids.

"She gave me six letters. One was to open right away." Niall had to force himself to breathe again as he spoke of that letter. It was tucked in his wallet as a constant reminder of what had been asked of him and so that he didn't wimp out like he almost had so many times. He pulled it out and handed it to Lisa. She unfolded it and started to read it. "He wrote to me and asked me to get everyone together again. He wants us to try and become friends again, like we were when we first started. He asked me to rent a place for two weeks and have everybody hang out."

Lisa was quiet as she read the letter. He watched as she wiped a tear from the corner of her eye at the sentimental lines or smiled at the jokes. He waited for her to finish and when she did, she looked up at him with softer eyes than she had at the start of the conversation.

Niall pulled out the other letters from table beside the bed and showed them to Lisa. "These were the others. One for each of us and one addressed to all of us. He asked me to give them to the guys when we get together." The letters still felt heavy in his hands as if they weighed hundreds of pounds each instead of the few ounces they actually did.

He set the letters on the table and moved the tray from across her legs. She scooted over and he got in beside her, wrapping his arms around her and her bulging belly. She leaned into him and he could tell she was trying not to let him see how much the news he would be gone had upset her. He kissed her temple before placing a hand on her belly.

"Did they all agree to this?" Lisa knew of the history between the four boys and so the question was a valid one.

Niall shrugged. "I called them all and told them about Liam's request and it seemed to pull at the old memories just enough that it seems to be on track. I blew up at Zayn when he was his usual moody self but he called back and left a message saying he would be there."

"Really?" Lisa sounded as surprised as Niall had felt when it had all come together.

"Yeah." Niall took a deep breath. "I was surprised too. And I won't deny that I'm a bit nervous about it. The last time we were all in the same room together we were one curse word away from starting World War III. The whole idea is a little bit crazy but I have to try to do this for Liam."

His breath caught on the name as he spoke it and Lisa heard it. She turned so that she could look at him, her eyes full of support with only a hint of the trepidation dancing behind them.

"I may not have ever seen you guys all together when you actually had functioning relationships but I know how you talked about them with Liam. And I saw how you two were together. I think Liam was right in asking for this. You guys went through so much together and whatever happened that made you guys separate can't be bigger than all of that." She smiled at him and set herself back down on his chest. "Just promise me that you will be home in time for Rufus."

Niall chuckled as he pulled one of the blankets up and around them and shuffled down so that he was lying flat with Lisa by his side. "I don't care if they are in a brawl on the living room floor when you go into labor. I will be there to meet Rufus."