Emma was already thriving through motherhood. Although little Louis was a bit of a light sleeper, she did not mind spending more time with him in the morning, while her husband was still fast asleep.
This morning time was especially meaningful to her, since she had been called back to work quite soon after the birth. After all, the studio had been in the middle of set production, and her paintings were necessary for it to be able to hit the deadline. Unlike Niall, who was at a point in his career where he could take breaks as much as he wished, she could not afford the risk of losing the job she only just got. Thankfully, Niall had happily offered to look after their son by himself, when she was gone.
To Niall, on the other hand, the new living situation was much more troublesome. Of course, he deeply loved their child and he was happy to spend the day with him, but the stress started to take a toll on him.
He had been looking forward to being a family with Emma and Louis so much, so why did it all seem so wrong now? The baby's screams were constantly ringing in his head, his mind felt like it was never really there, and nothing he did was right. He could not help but feel like the bond with his son was just not there, and any attempt to fix it failed. Maybe he simply was not fit to be a parent.
Looking back, there was one thing he had always leaned on when his feelings were getting too much for him to deal with. It was easier to make it fade away than to bother others with it.
When Emma returned from work, Niall withdrew to the bedroom to get some peace and quiet. But even then, doubts were filling his brain to the point of giving him the worst headache. Frustrated with himself, he grabbed the bottle of whisky he had stayed away from for too long now. Just a few drinks to quiet the noise, then he would head to bed anyway.
As he felt the liquid run down his throat, he leaned back on the big chair and blinked away the tears forming in his eyes all of a sudden. Soon, he lost count of the refills as he felt himself drifting away and eventually falling asleep.
[TRANSCRIPT]
Emma: "Good morning, my beautiful angel!"
...
Niall: "Em-! ...shit, she's at work, isn't she?"
Louis: "AAAAAAAAAAAA"
Niall: "How did you even break this thing?"
Louis: *babbles*
Niall: "I- I don't know what-"
Louis: *screaming continues*
Niall: "No, no, please! What did I do? What do you want me to do?"
...
Niall: "Finally... quiet..."
Niall: "I'll just have once glass to take the edge off... That's not too bad. Just... one... Maybe two..."
Niall: *pained groan*
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