Chapter Text
“Wooaaaaah!!” Louis exclaimed as he skidded on the wet cement floor and barely caught himself.
“Alice! Someone got to work early today?” he asked the caretaker standing nearby good naturedly.
Alice waved and laughed back at him. “Yeah Lou! Inspection today! Gotta keep my job!”
“Uh! It’s always so hectic on such days; I wish I could avoid the authoritarian drama.” The boy said steadying himself and fixing his shirt.
Louis William Tomlinson, 21 was a brilliant and enthusiastic doctor in a reputed hospital in London, ‘Apollo Super speciality’ and currently on the verge of completing a year of his dream job.
Alice is a middle aged and motherly cleaner in Apollo whose hazel eyes were currently shining with affection for the boy. She had lost her son in an accident more than a year ago and Louis’ arrival made her miss her son a little lesser. She said that Louis had the same energy like her son had and her eyes crinkled in joy as she laughed lightly at Louis’ childish retorts. “I am sure my ass is better.” Louis said he twirled on the spot.
“Indeed love! You look fine today! Anything special?” Alice teased him.
Lou flipped his hair and grinned back at her adding a wink for a good measure. “Felt something special coming up!” He tucked his hands into his slightly shabby white lab coat and made his way over to his ward making a way to sashay his ample hips for the amusement of general polpulace.
For as long as he could remember he had wanted to be a doctor. It had all happened right after his dad had left him, his four sisters and his mother to fend for themselves. He was 8 when his father, Troy Austen, had left their house and hadn’t bothered to look back again. he had later found out that his father had married his mother only because she was pregnant with Louis at the time and when it was just an experiment for him. His father in reality was a gay and when he met the guy of his dreams eight years later, he finally confessed of it to Louis' mother. Louis father abandoned them to start his own life for once, left behind a confused and sad little blue eyed boy.
His mom had taken the separation to her heart and had slipped into progressive depression which had worsened as time had passes. Louis being so young at that time had not known what to do, he would only cry when her mother would become catatonic for certain stretches of time and on certain days she’d refuse to get up in the mornings and then one day her mom had cut her vein to commit suicide and Louis was told that it was just a miracle that had saved her. It’s least to say that the little boy was affected and traumatised and he took the happenings to his heart. He swore to hate his father and do anything in his power to never let his mum be hurt again. He still shuddered when he had flashbacks of this day.
He remembered being hungry that day as he came back from school; His best friend Liam’s mother had come to drop him at his place and then she’d have come back in the evening to pick him. Louis being famous for his restlessness had run in his hurry to reach his mom and to some delicious food he was sure his mom would have prepared, he had tripped and fallen on the porch. Liam’s mom had rushed to pick him up and had carried him into the home. He hissed in pain as he saw he had scraped his knee and it was bleeding.
What happened next was what had haunted Louis for many nights to come.
“JOHANNA! Lou’s hurt! Where are you?” Mrs. Payne had called out.
Receiving no reply she got worried as she saw that the front lock was open and obviously Johanna never left her home like that. Fearing a burglary or worse she took two steps of the stairs at a time as she bounded up and into his mother’s room.
“Answer me Jay! Where are you?”
Nobody replied apart from the reverberation of her own voice. Just as she was about to turn and leave and check in the backyard she saw light falling from the crack of the washroom door and gently pushed open to find Jay lying in the pool of her own blood caused by the rivulets flowing from her wrist. Louis’ mother had cut her wrist but judging by the amount of blood it hadn’t been too long.
“Christ Jay!! Come on come on! Look at me!”
Mrs. Payne was tearing up and she was frantically shaking Johanna. She wiped her nose with her sleeve and rummaged through the cabinet to look for cotton or bandage. Having found some she pressed it on her wrist and brushed back Jay’s hair plastered on her face. To say she was scared was understatement of the century.
Louis distinctly remembers staying rooted to the spot as Mrs. Payne had rushed up the stairs. Liam had come to stand by him and had hugged him with one arm. Louis was elder to Liam but it was always Liam who had comforted him when he had needed the most. They had been friends since forever and Louis looked at him as he brother he never had. His fearful blue eyes had looked at Liam’s kind brown eyes and Liam had smiled at him to give him courage.
He was craning his neck to know something about the situation when he heard Mrs Payne shriek out, calling Louis to the room along with her cell phone which she had kept on the table.
The two young boys had at once rushed up the stairs and Louis had meekly handed over the phone. Louis took shaky steps towards the washroom and peeked inside to see his mom pale in the face sitting in a crimson pool… but of what? He next noticed her wrist which was covered by a soaking bandage and understood instantly. He had gasped and hugged Mrs. Payne. She had clutched him tight with an arm while she frantically dialled the emergency. Within minutes the ambulance had rushed in and carried his mom away along with the distraught and scared trio.
The evening and night had passed in a daze of hugs, tears and words of comfort but he just remembered Liam’s steady hand in his and his mother’s face as she lay listless. Another thing that he remembered from the day that was a man that came over to him in a long lab coat and who had beautiful kind eyes and Louis had immediately felt like he could trust him. He knelt down in front of him and asked him about the condition of the boy’s knee. Louis looked down in shock having forgotten his own pain amidst the havoc but he nodded weekly to tell him he was fine. The doctor had carried him to a room and had redressed him up nice and comfortable. He had chit-chatted with Louis as he had tended to his wound.
“What’s your name young man?” The doctor had asked.
“It’s Louis Austen, sir.”
“You have been crying haven’t you?” He stated as he observed the redness around the boy’s eyes.
“My mommy is sick, sir. She was bleeding and I am scared!” His voice had cracked and he has seen the doctor lose his smile and sadness tugged in his eyes.
“There, you are a brave boy aren’t you Louis?” The doctor asked as he was done with the bandage.
“Big boys don’t cry no? Mom would hurt more if you cry Louis. You don’t want mom hurt yeah?”
Louis had felt scared that he was infact hurting his mom and he had shaken his head violently.
“No. sir! I don’t want to hurt mommy!”
The doctor had ruffled his hair and hugged Louis lightly before carrying him to his friends and family. Louis smiled as he held the big lollipop in his hands; he really liked this man in the lab coat.
As he sat down heavily on the bench Liam took no time in enveloping Louis in a hug.
“Don’t worry now Lou, Mom told me it’s gonna be fine…” Liam said his brown eyes full for concern for the elder boy.
“Yes, honey… Mom will be just fine!”
Louis looked up at Mrs. Payne and relaxed a little. After his own mom, Liam’s mom was the one person he loved as much because she had always called Louis her second son just like her mom treated Liam.
After a while his other friends and their moms had come over to check at Louis’ mom and all the boys ran up to Louis to hug him tightly.
“Lou, you are with us and our moms… it’ll be all good.” They said.
Lou had felt his eyes tear up yet again but not because of fear or pain this time but because his friends were with him and the best support one can have.
Next day Johanna had gained consciousness and Louis was finally allowed to see her. She was put on a ventilator and an IV was attached to her from a bag containing blood. He was scared of all these foreign machines and he felt terrified to see all the needles inserted in his precious mom but he recalled what the nice doctor had said to him. He had to be brave for his mom and so he did.
Eventually his mom had gotten better and married another man who loved her and Louis dearly and Louis had decided to take his surname instead. With time he had gotten along in his life and the incident had taken form of a backbench trauma.
But even as he became a part of this happy family he always remembered admired the doctor who had helped him that day. He had learned later on that he was a neuro-specialist there and had tidied Louis as the physician was on leave and because of his experience he had been able to sort Louis out. His actual job was to study brain related ailments like depression, trauma, tumours and help people in need and he had indeed found a place in Louis’ young heart.
That was when he had decided what he wanted to be. He knew a doctor is just what he will be and today as a beginner neuro-specialist himself he felt proud of himself.
All this pondering was put to an end as he almost collided with the huge potted plant that decorated the lobby.
“Jeez Lou, it’s inspection today and you decide to star cast in ‘Zombieland’” Louis muttered to himself.
He picked up his schedule from the reception and smiled at the receptionist.
He had to look at the case of a new patient today and that is why most of the statistics were unknown. He headed to the allotted room and opened the door gently and was surprised at what he saw.
A tall boy was sitting at the edge of a patient’s bed; his long legs could be those of a supermodel, the sunlight streaming in from the window fell on his chocolate curls. His sleeves were rolled up to the elbows and his many tattoos were visible. Just when he was to form some sane words, the boy turned to look at him and Louis was sure his world stopped for a moment. The world for a very long second halted in its tracks and gave Louis the opportunity to live it better. So that he could keep looking at this angel.