So much love on the intro and it wasn't even a proper chapter, thank you guys so much. I really do appreciate it.
From here on out, the story is in the third person unless I state otherwise. I will be using a mixture of gifs and pictures of the real Roger and Ben Hardy as Roger, same for the others.
1st March 1971
"Oy Fred, you gonna give us a hand or stand there talking to your girlfriend all night," Roger huffs walking past the backroom to the van, bass drum in hand.
They've just finished a pub gig and are packing up their equipment before going for a drink, well, Brian, John and Roger are. Freddie is busy talking to Mary, "Go on, give them a hand, I'll wait by the van," Mary giggles leaving the room.
Brian comes back past adding to Roger case, "If you give us a hand, we can actually get to the bar before it closes."
"Alright lovies, don't get your knickers in a twist, I'm coming," He follows Brian to the stage, grabbing what he can carry and heads out back to the van.
As they're packing the last of their stuff up, a female voice shouts behind them, "Roger Taylor?!"
Turning, the drummer comes face to face with a pretty blonde woman about his age maybe a year younger, skinny figure, brown eyes and in a dress that leaves little to the imagination.
Roger smirks eyeing her up and down, "That's me, darling, who wants to know?"
"Your daughter." The woman sneers, pulling a little girl from behind her and pushes her over to Roger, causing her to fall to the pavement, crying. She can't be more than a year or so old.
"Hey! There's no need for that," Brian stoops to the girl's aid, checking her hands and knees but she backs away scared.
"Did you just say, daughter?" Roger questions looking between the child and woman in front of him, panic rising in his chest.
"Yes, that is your daughter. You obviously don't remember me," She raises an eyebrow waiting for his answer.
Roger just shakes his head in complete shock, "Nope, sorry."
"June 1969, you performed at a gig and met me at the bar after. My name is Georgia but I doubt you'll remember that bit either." A hint of realisation flashes across Roger's eyes, "Yeah, know you remember. Anyway, as I said that is your daughter. Alice Taylor, born on the 1st of March 1970. Happy birthday, sweety, you are your dad's problem now." She chucks a backpack on the floor next to Alice.
"Her birth certificate is in the front pocket," She sneers at the little girl turning on her heels and walks away.
"Wait! Hold on a minute," Roger hurries after her, grabbing her arm, "What proof have you that she's is my daughter? And why are you passing her off to me now? You're her mother."
"Not by choice, I didn't choose to get pregnant." She snatches her arm from his hold, "You sleep around with so many women I'm surprised this hasn't happened to you sooner. I had a modelling career waiting for me and then I found out I was pregnant. They didn't want me after that but now I've been given an opportunity in America, it would cost me too much to take her with me and to be honest, I don't want her anyway, never did."
"I'm always skint because of her, having to pay for food, nappies and baby clothes. She never stops crying, always wanting something. Do a DNA test if you want proof, but she has to be yours because I haven't been with anyone till after she was born and you were my first so... yeah, she's yours. Besides, look at her, she basically your double, I would have passed her to you sooner but you're a hard person to track down. She's your problem now," Georgia smirks and turns the flag down a taxi.
"Mama," Alice cries, trying to go after her.
Georgia snaps, turning back around and shoves her into a puddle, "I DON'T WANT YOU!!! He is your dad, your not my problem anymore, I won't be back for you," She storms into the taxi and it drives away.
"What a lovely woman, you really know how to pick um, don't you Rog," Freddie tries the break the tension receiving only a glare from his other bandmates.
Roger stares at the little girl crying in the puddle, his heart aching for her. John brushes past him to try and help Alice but she sees him coming and whimpers curling up in the puddle in a frightened ball, more tears streaming down her cheeks.
John backs off not wanting to frighten her any more, "What do we do?" He looks to his bandmates.
Grabbing the backpack off the ground, Roger routes through it for anything they can use to calm the girl or make her feel safe but there isn't much in it. The birth certificate like Georgia said stating him as Alice's father, a few pairs of underwear, some socks, a top, a skirt, a pair of pyjamas and a ratty baby blanket.
None of it looks very clean but he takes out the blanket and slowly approaches her, the closer he gets the more she shakes, her eyes full of fear. He crouches to her level, "It's okay, I won't hurt you. I know it's all quite scary but if you come with me, I'll look after you and you'll be safe," He hands her the blanket as a peace offering.
Looking her over, Georgia is right, Alice is his double. Same blue eyes, same skin tone, blonde hair and cute button nose. Something in Georgia's words tells him that she was telling the truth, he does remember being with someone that night and he remembers her saying that it was her first time but he was sure he used protection, he always does.
He'll get a test to be sure, but in the back of his mind, he knows this girl is his daughter. He snaps out of his thought when Alice takes the blanket but stays where she is starting to shiver from sitting in the puddle too long.
"Let me try," Mary whispers kneeling beside Roger, "It's Alice isn't it? Would you like to go somewhere safe and warm? If you come with us, we'll look after you, we can get you dry, something to eat and a place to sleep." She looks to Roger to see if he agrees, talking to him, "Then in the morning, you can make a plan with a clearer head."
Mary holds out her hands to pick the girl up and slowly Alice uncurls from her ball, letting Mary carry her to the van.
The journey home was silent, Alice curled back up in her ball and fell asleep against Mary. They drop John off at his then, the rest head back to Roger and Brian's flat.
With her fast asleep, Roger takes the opportunity to pick her up, carrying her upstairs he found that he likes her weight in his arms, her face tucked into his neck but the poor girl is shivering. He wraps the ratty blanket tighter around her, her clothes wet through because of her horrible mother.
Inside the flat, the warmth causes Alice to stir and she immediately tenses, realising who's holding her, "Hey, it's okay. Your safe here, lets get you out of those wet clothes."
None of the items in Alice's bag are clean, and lord only knows how long she'd been wearing the clothes she has on. Roger pulls out the only clean pair of underwear in there and finds a small soft t-shirt from his drawer.
She tensed up when he tried to undress her so he called Mary through to do it. He takes the dirty washing and throws it in the machine so she has something to wear in the morning.
"So what are you going to do?" Brian asks looking through the cupboards for anything a one-year-old can have to eat.
"I don't know Brian!" Roger snaps a headache forming behind his eyes. "Sorry," He apologises, sighing, "I don't know what to do. 95 percent of me believes Georgia because I was with someone that night and it was her first time but I used protection, I'm sure of it."
"Protection can fail and if she wasn't on any form of contraception, then she's just as responsible. But seeing how Georgia treats the poor girl, I wouldn't let you give her back even if you wanted to. I dread to think of the real reason behind why she's scared of men and it looks like she doesn't get much food either," Brian puts some bread in the toaster, yawning.
"Personally, lovie, I think you need to get a DNA test sorted asap and call either the police or social services in the morning and go from there. If she is yours, the question is do you want to keep her?"
Roger doesn't get to answers Freddie's question because Mary came through with Alice trailing behind, his t-shirt like a dress on her.
Buttering the toast Brian cuts it up into small pieces and puts the plate in front of Alice when Mary sits at the table with her on her lap. Alice watches the tall man until he backs up and then she reaches for a bit of toast, sniffing it before putting it in her mouth.
The actions set off alarm bells in Roger's brain, he sits at the table with her, "Alice, when was the last time you ate anything?"
He's not sure if he'll get an answer with her being so young but, it's worth a try. She takes another piece of toast then holds up three fingers, "Three days ago?" He clarifies and she nods, "Does your mum give you much to eat?"
"O's, ilk, nana," She yawns in a soft voice.
"Milk, banana but what are O's?" Roger looks to the others for an idea but they shrug. Alice doesn't answer him just continues to eat the toast, he waits till it's all gone then he takes her from Mary and carries her to the bathroom.
He finds a spare toothbrush under the sink and puts a small amount of toothpaste on it, he needs to go shopping if Alice is staying. She eyes the toothbrush unsure what to do with it so he shows her with his own brush first, then she opens her mouth to let him brush the two little teeth she has at the front.
"This is my bed but you can sleep here until we sort out a room for you," He tells her routing through his wardrobe till he finds the spare duvet and a pillow, he'll sleep on the couch tonight.
Turning back to the bed she's stood next to it, it's only now looking at her drowned in her t-shirt that he realises just how young Alice is. She still a baby really she should probably be in a cot, the poor girl probably hasn't a clue what's going on, the underwear she's wearing should probably be a nappy too.
Pulling back the covers, he lifts her onto the bed and when she lies down, he tucks the duvet in around her, "Do you want to sleep on your own or do you want me to stay?"
There's a pause in the air, then after a few minutes, she whispers, "Stay."
Smiling, he sees that as a small victory, "Okay. I'll back but I need to talk to the others first. You need me, I'm down the hall or just shout, okay?" She nods, eyes half shut. He leaves the room grabbing his cigarettes as he goes.
"The answer to your question Fred is yes. If she's mine, then I want to keep her. I will call social services in the morning but I'll make it clear that she stays with me if she's my daughter."
"Then you have my support, darling," Freddie takes Mary's hand, leading her to the door, "We'll come back tomorrow to help you sort a plan."
Once they're gone, Brian raises an eyebrow, "You sure about this? Raising a child isn't going to be easy especially given your lifestyle."
"I don't know what it is about her but I'm attached already. I know it's not going to be easy, but she seems to trust me and I think that will help us get somewhere."
"Then I'll stay no more, like Freddie said you have our support. Now, I'm going to bed," The guitarist locks the front door and goes to his room, shutting the door.
Roger goes out on the fire escape for a smoke before going back to his room, where Alice is already asleep. He gets changed and climbs into his bed, watching her until he falls asleep.
So there it is, the first chapter, what do you think?
My updating schedule for this story will be on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays.