AN: I wrote this sometime this week and I'm not sure if I should leave it as is or if I should go on to make it a full on fan fic.
It's set in the future, as you can tell. It would be 2015 or 2016, because it's around 5 years after One Direction is formed.
And I know it's not the best thing in the world, nor is it super original, but whatever.
Enjoy! :)

"Mail time!" Harry called from the entry hall, a large bag slung over his shoulder. He dropped it in the middle of the living room floor. Blinking widely, he rubbed his shoulder and winced. "It's still just as heavy." he muttered. "Oi! Get your lazy arses in here!"

The mail bags had grown smaller as the years went on, but it was still enough for them to spend an entire day going through it. The other three young men trudged in from the kitchen. It was a tradition now; they would all meet up at Liam's flat to read and reply to all of the fans' letters. Louis was absent at the moment, he was visiting family that week and was on his way in.

"My vote is to read Lou's stuff first." Niall laughed. They all dove for Louis's bag, reaching in for some fan's letter. Liam pulled away first, holding a thick package.

"Me first!" he yelled triumphantly. Looking over the package, he opened it easily. A dvd case fell out first. "Oooh, it's got a dvd too… Anyway, letter first." he scanned through the letter quickly. As he read, his smile died away.

"What is it?" Zayn asked, confusion obvious on his face.

Blinking, Liam looked up from the letter. He seemed speechless. "I-I think Louis has a kid."

Immediately, the other guys were disbelieving. "Oh, come on, Payne. Don't you think we'd know if any of us had a kid?" Niall shook his head, rolling his eyes. "We all know those types of fans are loons anyway." Liam, however, was insistent.

"Guys, I actually believe this one. You know I'm not gullible!" He shoved a small picture towards the trio. "Look at her, don't tell me that she doesn't look like Louis." The snapshot was of a little girl grinning enthusiastically, who did look a lot like Louis, her hands and knees were muddy as she proudly displayed a frog in her hands.

"Just because a kid looks like Lou doesn't mean that it's his kid." Harry tried to reason, but Liam wouldn't hear any of it. He shook his head angrily, his leg jiggling quickly. He stood up, shaking the dvd case at them. Slipping it in the dvd player, he crossed his arms across his chest.

"This will prove it, I know it." Liam sat down next to Zayn, crossing his fingers.

The screen went white and then flickered to a young woman, roughly their age.

"Hi, there. If you're watching this, then I'm going to assume you've read my letter. And by you, I mean Louis. Anyway, I'm Sophia Jackson. I'm 23 years old and live in Manchester. But, this video isn't about me. It's about her." the video faded away to reveal another picture of the same young girl, now in a sundress, giggling next to the woman in the video. "Her name is Ella Grace Jackson. She just turned 4 years old. Ella is smart, curious, vivacious… the best daughter anyone could ever ask for. And she's here thanks to you, Louis. She's your daughter. I know that this probably sounds outrageous and unbelievable; I understand that, I'd feel the same way if I was in your shoes. But, I can assure you that Ella is your daughter." There was a loud set of footsteps in the background.

"Momma! Momma! I gotted you a flower." squealed a young girl outside the frame, presumably the Ella mentioned before. Sophia bent down and picked her up. The girl looked at the camera, her face screwing up in confusion. "What are you doing, Momma?" she pointed towards the camera, a squished daisy in her fist.

"Talking to your daddy, honey. Anything you wanna say?" Sophia cradled Ella on her hip. The little girl eagerly nodded, looking back at the camera.

"Hi, Daddy." she giggled and waved. "I know I never met you, I love you. This much." she threw her arms wide to show how much she loved her father. "And when you sing me to sleep, it makes me happy." Ella paused for a moment, thinking. "I like carrots a lot. And Mommy said that you like carrots too. My papaw has some in the garden, and… I think he'd share with you." Ella looked back at Sophia and quietly asked. "Can I show Daddy the drawin' I made?" Sophia smiled softly and nodded, setting down her daughter. Ella scurried somewhere outside of the frame.

"She's quirky. But, most kids are." Sophia laughed. "Oh, I remember this one. You showed me this one." She cooed as the young woman picked up Ella once more. The drawing showed 3 girls, the smallest one obviously being Ella and one male.

"See? This one's Papaw, Mamaw, Momma and me." Ella pointed at each figure. Then, she moved to a black square. "And that's Daddy. He went away and lives in the radio." Most people would be disturbed and confused at that statement, but Ella seemed completely at ease with it. "That's all. I love you, Daddy." she blew a kiss at the camera and Sophia let Ella down again.

"I guess the reason I'm doing this for her. And to let you know what you have. A beautiful, intelligent, creative, outstanding daughter. I'm letting you choose whether you want to be in her life or not. Not forcing you, no child supposed, nothing like that. I've gotten by this far without your help, I don't need your money. Ella loves you, adores with all her soul. Maybe one day you'll see it first hand." The screen went black. All of the guys were speechless, sitting very still on the sofa. A soft set of footsteps made Liam look up. A very shocked Louis stood by the wall. He looked from the tv screen to his bandmates, jaw slack.

"Guys… what the hell was that?" He blurted, completely lost.

Liam stood, without a word, and handed him the letter.

Dear Louis,

God, I'm so sorry. I know this sounds ridiculous; believe me, I thought I was crazy for awhile. But, you have a daughter. You probably don't believe me. I wouldn't either, if I was you. However, I'm telling you the honest to God truth. I wouldn't lie about something like this. I'll even get a paternity test, if that would make you believe me.

Anyway, her name is Ella. Ella Grace Jackson. She's just turned 4 years old. And like most 4 year olds, they ask a lot of questions. And the subject lately has been her father. You. So, I took it as my cue to contact you. There's a dvd with my attempt to explain my situation.

We met at a gig 5 years ago when you just started One Direction with the other lads, you see. And after the gig, everyone was drinking, including myself. This led to that and you can imagine what happened. And nine months later, Ella appeared. I've raised Ella on my own pretty much, with help here and there from my friends and family. I never contacted you before because I thought it would be crazy to try and tell you this. I still do. But, I have to think about Ella too. And she wants to know more about her daddy. Who better to talk about him than the man himself?

I included a picture of Ella, in case you think I'm just taking the piss. And a phone number if you want to see her sometime. If you don't, that's fine too. I'm not going to make you.

It's your choice. Ella is going to grow up one way or another, whether or not you want to be her father.

~ Sophia

+14215551197

Louis simply stared at the letter, blinking a few times to make sure this was real. Unfortunately, it was very, very real. He looked up at the lads, trying to speak. But, the words simply wouldn't come. Harry stood, putting a comforting hand on Louis' shoulder. "This has to be fake, right?" he stammered, looking to Harry.

"It's beginning to look very real, Lou." Harry replied soberly.