Harry's POV

I lock the car behind me as I walk towards the school gates, I'm hoping that Amelia has had a good first day and that she wants to return tomorrow. I know it can be daunting, the first day of school isn't exactly a walk in the park. The bigger kids can always come off as being scary or intimidating, I just hope my daughter doesn't sense the fear and stands her ground. Mind you, she's only small, she has no worries in the world. What I would do to be that age again. I'd love to be carefree and not worry about any of the bad things that happen in this world, children are blind to the ugly things.

"Daddy!" Amelia runs towards me as she waves something in the air. I crouch down as I open my eyes widely and scoop her up. I kiss her cheek as she leans back and waves the paper again.

"How was your first day?" I ask and she excitedly tells me what they did.

"I drew a picture too." She adds as she smiles proudly.

"Let's have a look." I smile as I carry her towards the car and scan the picture. I stop as I look at the three scribbles, one red, one pink and one orange. "What is it Lia?" I ask using her nickname.

"This one is you." She grins as she points at the red scribble. "This one is me." She says as she points at the orange one. "And this one is mummy." She says whilst pointing at the orange scribble. I stare at the scribbles as I think about Stephanie. "We are together." She says softly as I unlock the car and help her inside.

I try not to look into her drawing too much, but I just can't stop myself. Is Amelia trying to tell me that she wants us back as a family? Is this her way of telling me she wants her Mum? So many things spin around in my head as I analyse the harmless drawing.

"Do you not like it Daddy?" Amelia asks as she looks at me as I get in my seat. I turn back to her and smile.

"Of course I do." I say as I turn around and I start the car.

"I want Mummy to have it, she looked upset today so this will help make her better." Amelia says and I look away as I try not to let myself get caught up. I'm not sure how I am supposed to do this, how can I stop Amelia being so fascinated with Stephanie? I know she wants her at home and to be with us like we used to be together, but I can't explain properly to a four going on five year old the reason why. There's too many questions that I'm not sure how to answer.

"Perhaps you can give Mummy the drawing at the weekend." I say as I glance in my mirror and see her pouting. God, she looks just like Steph when she does that.

"But I want to see her today Daddy. She needs this to make her better." Amelia moans as she starts to kick her legs frantically. "Please." She asks as she looks at me. I bite my tongue as I want to explain that we can't just have things our way all the time. But explaining that to a child isn't that simple. "Please Daddy." She adds and I press my foot down on the accelerator.

"Fine, but we can't stay long okay?" I give in and she smiles excitedly and looks at her drawing. I'm not sure how well this is going to go.

---

Stephanie's POV

"Steph?" I hear a knock on the door stirring me from my sleep. I wasn't supposed to fall so deeply as now I feel exhausted. "Harry and Amelia are here." Zayn says as he slowly opens the door and pops his head through the gap. Amelia? I quickly sit up and ignore the dizzy spell that's whizzing around in my head.

"Are you sure?" I ask as I check that I'm not dreaming. Zayn smiles and nods as he opens the door even further. "Amelia." I say softly as I smile, I make my way past Zayn and head towards the living room. I spot Harry sat down as he is talking to Amelia. My heart starts to thump wildly at the sight of them again, I can't control how happy I am.

"Hey Pumpkin, how did your first day at school go?." I say happily as I make my way towards Amelia, I ignore Harry's eyes on mine as she jumps up and instantly shows me a piece of paper.

"It was fun, I drew this for you." Amelia says as she shoves the paper in my face. I crouch down and kiss her cheek as I take the paper from her and look down at the drawing. "It's me, you and Daddy." She explains as she points at the coloured squiggles. I glance at Harry as her words feel like a stab in my heart, he turns away and lets out a soft sigh.

"Thank you Amelia." I smile as I look back at her. "It's lovely, shall we put it on the fridge?" I ask and she nods. I stand up straight and take her hand as we make our way to the kitchen. I take a magnet and let her place the drawing on the fridge, I place the magnet down and I pick her up. "I think it looks great there." Amelia nods in agreement.

"Right, we better go. I have to do dinner." Harry says as he appears in the doorway. I turn to face him and hold tightly on to my daughter.

"So soon?" I ask and he nods. I look at Amelia as she starts to ask Harry if she can stay longer. I see the frustration in his eyes but he doesn't want to upset her, so I swallow my pride and try to reason with her. "Daddy needs to get you home, but you can come here anytime. Or I can visit you okay?" I say softly as I look at Amelia.

"No, I want dinner with you." Amelia says as she buries her head in my shoulder. I stroke her hair again and try my best not to let myself get emotional. "I don't want to go." She moans as she looks back at Harry.

"Why don't I cook Amelia some dinner, I can drop her home later?" Zayn says as he appears behind Harry. I smile as I appreciate Zayn trying to help, but Harry looks at him unsure.

"You don't have a seat for Lia." Lia? Since when were we nicknaming our daughter? I turn to Amelia again as she looks at Harry hopeful. Harry keeps his eyes fixed on Zayn. I can see Zayn trying to think of another way, his eyes glance to me.

"How about you cook for Amelia. Harry and I can chill out for a bit?" Zayn offers and Harry runs a hand through his hair. I know he gets on with Zayn quite well, but the problem is him having to be around me. I never thought it would come to this and for it too feel so awful.

"Okay." Harry says and Amelia smiles happily. I do too as I look at him and thank him with my eyes. He knows me well enough to know when I appreciate something, I just hope he still sees the goodness inside of me. As Harry and Zayn leave the kitchen, I pull out a chair and sit Amelia on the seat as I begin to rummage through the freezer.

"Fish fingers and chips?" I ask as we don't have many meals for children. I look over to Amelia as she nods, her legs swing as they dangle from the height of the chair.

"And Spaghetti hoops?" She asks and I bite my bottom lip before answering. I stand up and look through the cupboard and I grab a can of just spaghetti in tomato sauce. I hold it up to her and she scrunches her nose up.

"But it's the same thing, just not in hoops?" I ask and she continues to shake her head. "Okay." I say as I put the can back and I start to sort her dinner out. It feels so good to be cooking for her, okay it's something so easy, but it's still the feeling of actually doing it. I've wanted to look after her and Mother her for so long, I've truly missed it.

"I'm sorry but Chloe's car has broke down, she's not far away but I'm going to pick her up. I won't be long." Zayn says as he walks towards me and grabs his car keys from the side. "I'll be as quick as I can." He adds as he quickly leaves without letting me say anything. How could he just leave me with Harry? Chloe can get back here easily if she's not that far away, does he realise how awkward this now is?

"Do you need help?" Harry's voice makes me jump, I turn around as he hands Amelia a few toys and looks at me. The look in his eyes is horrible, I hate how sad he is and how awkward he must feel. It almost feels as if we never knew each other and everything we had in the past was just some dream. "Steph?" As he says my name, I get a few tingles over my body.

"No, I'm okay. Thanks." I stammer as I turn away from him and continue to make myself busy. But he makes my body stiffen as he pulls out a chair next to Amelia and sits down. I don't know what to say to him, I hate feeling like he's a stranger.

"About earlier." Harry starts and I turn and look at him. "Maybe Amelia could stay on a Friday night?" He adds and Amelia looks at him and starts jumping up and down. Her excitement matches mine as I can't quite believe the words have escaped his lips.

"Really?" I ask and he nods. "I'd love that." I add and he looks at Amelia as she claps her hands. "Thank you." I smile as I haven't felt this lucky in a long time.

"But I'll pick her up in the afternoon on Saturday. We can see how it goes." Harry says and I nod. I would prefer to have Amelia all day on the saturday but if I can have her over night and for the morning, I don't want to push my chances.

"And then Mummy can stay at our house?" Amelia asks as she looks at us both, she uses her puppy dog eyes that work so well. But I don't think they'll work this time around.

"I don't think we can do that pumpkin." I answer and her smiles immediately drops. "But you're going to stay with Mummy, how exciting is that?" I smile as I try to lift her mood. She nods and looks happily enough with my answer. Harry looks at me and I can tell he appreciates my words.


The room falls silent as Harry lifts Amelia down so she can watch a little bit of tv. Harry sits with her and doesn't say anything as she watches cartoons. I poke my head around the corner and watch Amelia as she's completely tuned in. Harry looks as if he's looking through the tv, he's in another world.

"Oh my god, that was such a nightmare." Chloe groans as she alarms me she is home. "Hey Amelia!" She cheers as I hear Amelia talking to her. Zayn pops in the kitchen and I look at him and smile.

"Everything okay?" He asks as he raises his eyebrows.

"Apart from abandoning me....yes." I say as I fold my arms. He smiles and apologises but I know he's genuinely sorry, even though he doesn't have to be. Harry and I are adults, we should be able to be in the same room as one another.

"Zayn, can you show me your drawings?" Amelia asks as she skips into the kitchen.

"Of course, but I think you're dinner is ready. So how about I show you after?" Zayn answers and Amelia nods. I watch as he scoops her up and sits her on a chair, he grabs the chair next to her and sits down. I turn around and start to plate her dinner up, it doesn't look like much but hopefully it will be okay.

"Hi." Chloe says as she walks in and touches my shoulder, I glance over to her and smile. "You okay?" She asks and I nod.

"Yeah, I'm fine." I smile as I put the plate down infront of Amelia and start to cut it into small pieces. I sit down on the other seat next to her and watch her as she slowly starts to eat. Zayn looks at me and smiles as he stays put, Chloe watches and smiles. Hopefully she's not thinking how good Zayn is with Amelia and is starting to get broody. I smile at the thought.

"Stephanie?" I look up as Harry walks in and looks at me. "Can we have a quick talk?" He asks and I nod as I slowly get up and follow him out of the room. We both take a seat on the sofa, I haven't sat this close to him in a long time. I feel the sweat build on the palm of my hands, but I try to discreetly rub it on to my legs as I keep my eyes on him. "We should sort out Amelia's things and what she likes, if she's going to stay with you." He starts. I nod as I know this is important, but my heart sinks as I wasn't quite sure what to expect.

"Of course.." I answer as I look away. I know there was no chance of him saying about us trying to get along better, even though that's what I would truly love to happen. He's moved on and although I never imagine it to happen, I have lost him.

"Is there much to learn?" I ask lightly as I hate not knowing as much as he does. I wish I knew every small thing about my daugher, but I am determind over time to learn as much as I can.

"Not really. More of what she likes and doesn't like. Things to help you out." He answers as he leans forward and clasps his hands together. "But if you need me, just call me. I'll be there for her as soon as I can." I try to imagine the first part to be the only words he had said. Just to feel his security and protectiveness again would be so good.

The conversation falls completely quiet. The words linger on the end of the tongue as I am desperate to try and explain about the past. I need him to know why I left and what was going on at the time, but I don't think he would accept anything I say now. I think it may be too late, I've waited far too long by thinking I was doing the right thing. If only he could step back and see everything through my eyes.

---

-
Harry's POV

Getting Amelia to leave Stephanie was much harder than I thought it would be. Even I found it hard to say goodbye, the way Stephanie looked at me was much like how she did before. I sometimes wish for her to be the girl that I fell in love with, to have that humour and personality that I couldn't get enough off. I know she's there somewhere inside of her, but she's shadowed over the Stephanie who has had such a rough time. I know she's not just to blame for everything that happened, but I can't help but make her responsible for the pain I have felt. She doesn't realise the battering my heart has had, I gave everything I possibly could to keep her happy and safe. But in the end, I couldn't save her from herself.

The hardest thing is loving someone who you know you shouldn't love. My feelings are always going to be strong but I shall not give in to them. I can't let myself be weak when I have Amelia to think about. She's everything I focus on. I knew being a Father wouldn't be easy, but I've managed to come out on top and I'm proud of the relationship Amelia and I have.

As I pull up outside our house, I spot Louis' car parked outside. Amelia instantly becomes excited as she loves Louis, those two are a nightmare when they're together. I swear she's his little side kick. As I get Amelia out of the car, she runs towards the door as Louis opens it, maybe giving him a spare key wasn't such a good idea.

"Where have you been?" He asks as I walk in and close the door behind me. He picks Amelia up and she looks more than happy to be in his arms.

"I was at Stephanie's." I answer and his eyes widen. I walk towards the kitchen as I head for the fridge, I take out a bottle of water and turn to face him.

"I'll come and see you in a minute." Louis says as he lets Amelia down and she heads to the living room. "Why were you with Steph?" Louis asks as he folds his arms, a smirk appears on his face and I can tell what he's already thinking.

"She's going to have Amelia on Friday nights. I came to an agreement." I answer as I screw the lid back on the bottle.

"Really?" Louis asks. "I thought you were strict on letting her have her?" He asks and I shrug and explain that it's time she can have her. I don't want to go into it as it's hard enough talking about it with Stephanie. "Did she look hot?" He asks as he shakes his head.

"Lou!" I snap and he gives me a innocent look. "It was hard okay, I know I'm not over her but I'm trying to bloody hard. It's been two years." I sigh as I turn away from him and walk towards our living room to see Amelia playing with her baby Annabelle.

"Surely if there's still something there you should fight for it." Louis says as he walks in behind me and sits down. I shake my head as I sit next to him, if only he could take a look inside my brain.

"It's not that easy when you've fought so much before." I explain and Louis doesn't look convinced.

"You're Harry and she's Stephanie. You two are meant to be, you know you can make it work if you tried." His words are the last to be spoken as I try not to say anything infront of Amelia. Plus I have no words to add, I don't think I can ever get Stephanie back, we've got too many wounds and too many cracks.

Notes

I just couldn't stop myself from updating again :)
i'm really getting into this and I hope you are too!

thank you!!
x