Three days we have been here and yet I still felt completely out of place. There's just so much responsibility and a never-ending list of things to get done. But, at the same time, we were in heaven.

The girls were in their last month of school and then they'd be free to do whatever they pleased around the zoo, as long as I knew where they were at all times; this idea would surely backfire if Daisy were devoured by a tiger or a lion.

My routine now has been wake up, make breakfast and prepare the lunches for the girls, and spend the rest of the day fulfilling tasks to get this zoo back up on it's feet.

I've met many of the staff and they're all incredibly dedicated to the cause; none of them have been paid for the last two years and while this seemed to be okay with them, I want to be able to pay them as soon as we re-opened the doors to this place.

This morning, as soon as I sent the girls off to catch the school bus, a knock sounded at the front door. I quickly rushed toward it and saw through the screen that it was Harry, the head zookeeper that made my head spin.

I opened the screen and said, "Good morning. And to what do I owe the pleasure?"

Harry smirked at me, looking me up and down. For a second I thought he was openly checking me out (not that I would mind) but then I realized that I was still wearing the apron that I had made breakfast with.

I whipped it off and threw it back into the hallway behind me.

"I rather thought you could pull that look off. 'Louis in the kitchen', that sounds like a pretty good editorial article and photo spread to me." Harry teased as I turned bright red with embarrassment.

"Good one…" I murmured, looking down at my toes, my cheeks red hot.

Harry lifted my chin with his rough palm (due to all his hard work at the zoo) and made me look up into his eyes. "No need to be embarrassed, mate, I think what you're doing for these kids is kind of, well, amazing."

I was disappointed when he took away his hand but kept looking in his beautiful green eyes. I swear he should be an eye model or something, if those existed…

"Erm, thanks. It's been a rough road so far but I think I'm finally getting a hold of everything. My life has been such chaos these last few months since my parents passed and I think finally I've made one right choice by moving into this place." I explained and he beamed at me the entire time I did.

There was something so comforting about the way that Harry actually cared and listened when I talked. I felt like there was someone aside from my sisters who were supporting me in this journey.

I had to leave all my good friends behind in university and enter an entirely foreign world where I was completely alone with four little girls to take care of. Unfortunately, there was no guidebook provided for my situation so I basically had to blindly face it.

"You're pretty brave, I mean, I don't know if I'd be able to do it; just drop everything and dedicate your life to something so fully?" Harry shared, biting his lip with realization.

I scoffed. "Isn't that exactly what you're doing? You're an eighteen year old who voluntarily runs an entire zoo; I think we're in the exact same boat. But you probably know more about what you're doing than I do."

"Well, to be honest when the owners left I was only an intern." Harry admitted and I was surprised. "Along with some of the other zookeepers who still work here, we were doing it as a volunteer job on the side of school. My mother is a veterinarian and I've always had a connection with animals so when the owners abandoned this place, I knew it was my responsibility to take charge."

"Couldn't you have just turned it over to the city?" I wondered.

"The animals would've been torn from their homes here and auctioned off to zoos all around the world. Here at Alexander's we pride ourselves in our rehabilitation efforts so we only accept injured, abused or animals that have been born in captivity but have the capacity to be rehabilitated into nature in the future. This place isn't just somewhere people come to ogle at animals behind bars, this is an educational facility where people can come and really understand the animals we have." Harry answered and I smiled at how passionately he sounded.

"That's amazing." I said and earned myself a Harry Styles signature smile. "Now, what exactly did you come see me for this morning, Zookeeper Styles?"

He smirked but then re-focused himself into 'professional Harry' mode. "I need to talk to you about Ringo. He's getting older and has a lot of health issues so we need to discuss some things about that. But, maybe you should come meet him first?"

"Sounds perfect." I responded, finally getting used to meeting all the animals and being introduced to them quite formally.

It was pretty spectacular how much the zookeepers respected the animals they were tending for. There was an odd sense of camaraderie shared between them that made for an excellent dynamic for the zoo to be built on.

I pulled on my work boots and followed Harry away from the house and back to the zoo limits. We silently made our way toward one of the larger enclosures for the cats and I soon realized whom Ringo was.

"This is Ringo." Harry presented the hulking male lion that was sunbathing in front of us.

He was intimidating but breathtaking at the same time. I slipped my fingers through the fence and Ringo looked up at me as if I were a complete stranger.

"Hi." I murmured to the beautiful cat and he yawned in reaction to me.

Harry laughed at the interaction and said, "Did you expect him to come running to play with you?"

"No, actually the opposite, I thought he might come over and claw my face off." I answered. "So, what are his health issues at the moment?"

"He's practically blind in both eyes and deaf in one ear, his previous owners were a Circus, so there is countless damage to his belly from whipping which has caused scar tissue buildup." Harry explained, wincing slightly as he did so.

"Scar tissue?" I wondered aloud having no idea what this could lead to.

Harry looked back at me with a very serious look in his green eyes. "It basically disturbs his digestive tract making it painful for him to eat food. He's a smart animal so he has figured that out and basically refuses to eat anything which causes another slew of health issues."

"Oh… poor guy." I sympathasized, looking at the giant animal who laid in front of us being tortured because of his previous abusive owners.

"He's been through a lot before he arrived here. But now we have to decide what to do with him because the medicine required to bring back his appetite is pretty expensive and I just don't know if we have the donated funds to cover it anymore…" Harry shared, worry in his eyes about Ringo's fate.

"I'll pay for it." I blurted, without really thinking before I said it.

Harry looked at me with shock in his eyes. "Really? I mean, Lou, that would be spectacular but we really don't expect you to have to do that… that would be selfish, and- and… I don't know…"

I quickly lifted one finger to Harry's lips to put an end to his blabbering. "I'll pay for it. End of."

Harry smiled into my touch, which reminded me that we were still in contact. Knowing that I was the reason that he was smiling meant the world to me in that moment, simple pleasures, right?

"We need to drink to this." Harry decreed, grabbing my hand and leading me across the zoo site.

"What? Where? It's only 11:30 in the morning, Harry!" I objected as he continued to drag me along.

He looked back at me and winked. "That's perfect, it's practically time for tea!"

"That still doesn't explain where you're taking me, you loon!" I said just as we stepped in front of a path that seemed to lead into a mess of trees.

"To the Critter Café we go!" He cried, taking the path that lead to a clearing.

In the enclosed area, a small shack stood that indeed was called 'The Critter Café'; there was music blasting from inside and just as we were about to walk in, Harry finally released me from his grasp.

The inside of the café was more like a pub than anything café like. There were three other blokes there that I recognized to be the core group of zookeepers and also Harry's close group of friends.

"It's the infamous new owner!" One of them cried, raising a pint of something in my direction.

"Oi! Mates, this is Louis Tomlinson and he just volunteered to pay for Ringo's medicine!" Harry announced and I couldn't help but blush as they whooped and hollered in approval.

A peppy looking blond bounded toward me and shot his hand out. "I'm Niall Horan and I specialize in the birds at the Emporium. Anywhere from the parrots cage to the ostrich enclosure, I'll be there."

I took Niall's hand, noticing his Irish accent and positive attitude. I then saw that he had a little parakeet perched on his shoulder, which amused the hell out of me.

"Nice to meet you, Niall, and your little friend." I greeted, shaking his hand and nodding my head at the little bird that chirped in response.

"Hey, I'm Liam, I design and maintain the enclosures. It's basically my job to keep up with regulations and with our last inspection going as poorly as it did, we have a lot of renovations to do, you ready for that?" Liam said from across the room, a serious look in his eyes.

"Whatever it takes, I'm here to do the work and I'll put in as much money as necessary. I want this place re-opened as much as you guys do." I assured them all as the last bloke came up to me and passed me a drink.

"Zayn. The creepy crawlies are my forte: snakes, bugs, and lizards, you name it that scares you and I deal with it. Bats as well, I dig bats." Zayn explained as I took the drink.

He seemed a lot more intense than the rest of them but there was a great dynamic between the blokes that I realized was probably established when they had grown up together. I hoped I wasn't intruding too much on their already functional set up.

"And I do everything that these lugs can't handle or the rest of the staff can't manage." Harry interjected. "But… let's not make this about us anymore, you're the man of the hour. I propose a toast: To Louis!"

"No, no, no! That puts too much pressure on me." I protested, my eyes wide at Harry's suggestion. "Let's just make it to how much potential this place has. To Alexander's emporium and all the adventure that comes with it!"

The four zookeepers and I raised our glasses and harmoniously celebrated a new chapter in all of our lives.

We drank off the rest of the afternoon and when I saw that it was time for my sister's to arrive back home, I apologized about my departure and ran back to the house just as my four sisters waved up the driveway.

I ran down toward them and picked both Phoebe and Daisy up in my arms. I flung them around and was delighted by their giggles.

"Are you… drunk?" Lottie accused as she and Fizz neared me, furrowing her brow at me.

"If he is, he's a funny drunk not a scary drunk." Fizz said supportively. She was always my savior.

"Fizz, that's not the point! He's drunk and he's supposed to be taking care of us!" Lottie argued with her sister before storming into the house.

I slowly let Phoebe and Daisy down, realizing that my choice had been, in fact, irresponsible. The twins were oblivious and continued on with their giggle fit until they had re-entered the house.

And then it was just Fizz and I.

"I'm sorry." I apologized, guilt making me feel sick to my stomach.

"Don't be. You're happy which makes us happy." She protested before reaching up for a hug.

I accepted it graciously and was comforted by my little sister's support.

She was right, I was happy. I had found a place where we could be a family again, we were on our way to re-opening the zoo and today, I even made Harry Styles smile….