After the twins had been put to bed, and all the guests had arrived, it was finally time for everyone to gather around the birthday cake Emma had baked earlier that day. Louis could hardly wait to blow out the candles and have the family around celebrating him.
Dressed in his best little party suit, Louis climbed atop the chair at the end of the dining table, where the cake was placed. He was determined to blow out the candles all by himself this time.
For Louis, entering childhood started with putting on the new sailor suit his grandparents had bought for him and showing it off. Soon he was running around the house, ready to fight pirates and hang out with mermaids. Although, he was soon called over to eat cake with the rest of the family, which, of course, he could not say not to.
After the ceremony, the party made their way into the old animal shed that had been made up for the wedding to seat all the guests for the reception. As a welcome, tea was served to the adults, accompanied by some freshly baked macarons for all tables.
Despite the sweet treats, the children's table was still overcome with boredom, especially due to the awkwardness of sitting together with the cousin-in-laws they had only just met. It was sort of understood that Louis was going to have an eye over them, due to his age, but he would rather have been anywhere else than look after the grumpy girls and toddler around his table.
While most adults were sat with their family, Judy had decided to stay with her nursing school friends, catching up with whatever drama was going on with any former classmates they were still keeping in touch with.
As teacups were starting to empty, Judy stood up from her chair to uncover the food that was waiting on a buffet table. Preferring a private conversation over one in the bigger group, Niall decided to follow his sister into the small side room, as soon as he noticed the movement in the corner of his eye. Good wishes for her marriage were in order, and this was as good a time is it got.
Niall awkwardly stood behind his sister, as she was uncovering the last of the plates, but she quickly turned to him, once he made his presence known. After all these years, the two were still very close, and Judy happily pulled her brother into a hug to thank him for his well-wishes.
Judy wanted to use the opportunity to catch up, too, and Niall made use of it, as he started rambling on about his life as a father of four and the subsequent worries. Of course, Judy did not mind listening to her brother's woes. She had really been doing it ever since they were children. And most of all, she was always there to give him advice as much as she could, or at least try to cheer him up.
In fact, with her help, a sincere smile of hope started growing on Niall's face. There was always room for improvement, and any step towards it would get him closer to it, too, as Judy made sure to remind him.
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[TRANSCRIPT]
Judy: "I've gotta go check on the entrées, girls. Don't dig up gossip without me!"
Niall: "Excuse me, I'll just go give Judy my proper congrats."
...
Niall: *clears throat* "I haven't had the chance, yet, but... Congratulations on your union!"
Judy: "Oh, don't worry about it. I saw your happy tears! Now come and give your sister a hug!"
Niall: *laughs* "Of course, Jude."
Judy: "Enough about me, starting to get tired of that. How are you doing?"
Niall: "Well, I guess things are going better. Bonding with the children comes a lot easier to me now. Though Emma's much closer with them than I am. I just don't see them as often as she does. And I'm not sure I can ever properly repair things with Louis. I wasn't the best father to him, though I try to be."
Judy: "Hey, it's gonna be alright, Ni. Trying is already a big step forward. And you've not taken a look at the champagne, yet, so there's that."
When it was time for Emma's and Niall's birthdays, they decided to host a double birthday party for their combined family and friends. It was a huge celebration, so much so that they had to add chairs to the table, and even then, there were not enough places to sit. Thankfully, during the party, every one was constantly on the move, viewing the house, helping with food, and entertaining Louis, so nobody missed out in the end.
The party was great fun to be had for all. It was so much fun, in fact, that Emma had barely noticed that one guest was missing from the group.
With how fast Louis was growing, he was soon able to stand by himself and started teething. Even with all that was going on, there was no way to miss this little one making his way around the house faster than ever, with Emma and Niall barely being able to catch up sometimes. Before long, it was time to invite the family to celebrate Louis's birthday.
Unlike the previous party, immediate family members were more than enough guests. Anything else would have been too exhausting for the child, and it was his party after all.
A song to celebrate and some spit on the birthday cake (thankfully, Emma had baked a replacement, just in case) later, Louis was officially another year older.
For the wedding, they had rented the estate in the chalet gardens for a beautiful evening ceremony on the rooftop. As soon as the sun started setting, the whole family was sat by the aisle and the ceremony could begin.
Emma had entrusted her young cousins, Sean and Darrel, to be the wedding's flower pal and ring bearer respectively. Niall had been led down the aisle by his mother, Linda, and soon after it was time for Edward to lead his daughter down the aisle to give away to the man she was about to marry.
And finally, Emma and Niall exchanged their vows and rings, becoming Mr. and Mrs. McGregor. As their shared their first kiss as spouses, despite their extended family's applause, they felt like they were the only people there on that roof, with the world around them slowly fading away.
Shortly after passing her final exams, it was time for Judy to graduate from nursing school. Her parents, Niall and Emma were all there to support her on that day, and Judy made sure they would take as many photos as the photographer would let them.
Although Niall had been to university, too, he had never actually finished his studies. He had been cast in a movie quite soon and found a good agent, not feeling the need to pursue his studies any further. Of course, Judy had to jokingly rub it in that she had been the first of the siblings to actually graduate.
Judy had barely arrived home, when she started writing her job application to her hospital of choice. She pretty much had a safe position now, with her time at nursing school behind her, but it was important to her to still send in an official letter. And once she had received her work uniform and looked at herself in the mirror, she truly felt proud of herself for accomplishing what she had been wanting for so long.
The McGregor-O'Reilly family, including Emma, had gathered at the family home for a small joint celebration of Judy's new job as a nurse and Niall and Emma's recent engagement. The afternoon was going well and Emma's outgoing nature helped her make conversation with her future in-laws. Of course she had known them since she was a girl, but it was even more important, now that she was engaged to their son.
Meanwhile, Niall had retreated from the conversation, keeping more to himself and watching from afar. He was not much of a conversationist in the first place, but there was more occupying his mind that made it impossible to focus on any topic at hand.
Judy, however, had noticed that something was worrying her brother, and she had to know what it was, even if just out of curiosity. But soon she worried, too, with how Niall had taken her aside, speaking of some secret he was keeping from Emma. As much as she loved her brother, she was not going to let him hurt her best friend.
Niall's nerves were all over the place. What was on his mind had to be let out, but he did not know how. If he was going to marry Emma, though, it was important that she knew everything about him, and letting Judy know first was a start, at least.
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[TRANSCRIPT]
*chatter and laughter*
Judy: "They're getting along, celebrating... what's got you all moody?"
Niall: "Oh, it's... I don't know. Can... can we talk, maybe? In private?"
Judy: "Sure."
Judy: "OF COURSE YOU CAN HELP ME OUT IN THE KITCHEN, NI!"
Niall: *sigh*
Judy: "So, why are we here?"
Niall: "Oh, I don't know how to start. This is all too difficult to say."
Judy: "You're not having second thoughts, are you?"
Niall: "No! Of course not! Well, not exactly."
Judy: "Oh, Ni, don't you break her heart."
Niall: "I won't! Or... I don't want to. But I can't keep secrets from her."
Judy: "Secrets? What did you do?"
Niall: "There is stuff about me she doesn't know. Not even you do. And I don't know how she would react."
Niall: "Fuck! I need a drink!"
Judy: "Woah, Niall! Language?"
Niall: "Please, coming from you of all people?"
Judy: "Well, yes. I know that you don't swear, not really."
Niall: "Where did Dad keep the liquor again?"
Judy: "So, this is serious then."
Niall: "Of course it is."
Judy: "How serious?"
Niall: "Hold on, I've found the booze."
Niall: "Just... promise you won't look at me any different. I'm still just Niall, yes?"
