Ryan watched Jace nearly trip over his daughter when he stepped out of the shower. White hotel towel anchored securely at his waist, the lead singer opened the door from the bathroom to let out the steam and stopped short, stumbling on his way to find some clean clothes at the sight of his eighteen month old daughter waddling around the side of the hotel room bed on a mission of exploration.
"Savannah!" Jace gasped as he leaned down to scoop her up, one arm wrapping beneath her diaper clad bottom, the other pulling down the hem of the oversized Liverpool t-shirt Austin had bought her, already trying to turn her into a fan. "What are you doing in here by yourself?"
The sound of someone clearing their throat drew his attention and he looked up to see Ryan lying on the double bed on the other side of the room, his laptop on his legs and a pointedly annoyed expression on his face because he didn't think he was that unnoticeable. "I'm right here, bro."
"Sorry," Jace sighed, bouncing his daughter in his arms and finding himself unable to hold in a soft laugh as she reached up to grab his damp hair in her tiny fist. "I guess I'm just not used to her being able to walk yet."
The fact that Savannah could now go from place to place on her own was equal parts exhilarating and terrifying. It had been a heartwarming moment when, while they were sitting in their dressing room before a show, Savannah had taken her first steps, toddling away from where Jace had been holding her upright. Her uncles had cheered and her father had cried, thinking that it was amazing that she was growing every day, but at the same time wondering if years from now, he'd blink and realize his baby girl was no longer a baby.
Despite being thrust into fatherhood unexpectedly, Ryan thought Jace was turning out to be a pretty great parent. A little overbearing at times because he was always worrying that he was doing something wrong, but loving and caring nonetheless.
Ryan didn't really have any room to criticize, seeing as he had little to no experience with small children. Helping to raise his mate's child while touring with his band wasn't exactly how he pictured his life at nearly twenty three, so every day was an adventure, but he liked to think he was getting the hang of it. As much as it might have freaked Jace out to see his daughter walking around without one of her uncles following closely behind, Ryan figured he'd have to learn to let go eventually.
"You need to relax, man," Ryan laughed lightly, closing his laptop and setting it to the side before crossing his legs and sitting up straight.
Parenthood had made the lead vocalist more uptight than usual. Despite being the youngest, Jace had always been the most sensible one in the band, most likely because, for the longest time, he wasn't of legal age to do anything wild. Throw in the fact that his mother was on tour with him and he didn't have much range to be young and wild and free. He'd loosened up a bit once he turned eighteen and began to tour without a parental figure, but as soon as Savannah came into his life, that switch flipped once more, only this time to the tenth degree.
Ryan supposed he couldn't blame Jace as it wasn't as though Ryan had any idea what it was like to be someone's father. And if he'd learned anything from watching Jace stress out over the past year, it was that he didn't plan on becoming anyone's father for a long, long time.
It wasn't as if Savannah was in any way a troublesome child. In fact, all of them found it hard to be irritated with her, even when she woke them up with her screaming in the middle of the night because she was hungry, because as soon as she calmed down, she'd smile widely and look at them with those big blue eyes and all of them would melt.
But he and Jace were very different and although he could appreciate the way Jace had stepped up to take care of his daughter, Ryan had come to the conclusion that he himself was far too emotionally immature to be any kind of parent.
"I know," Jace sighed, pressing a kiss to Savannah's temple before walking over to where Ryan was sitting and lowering the toddler to the rough floral comforter.
As soon as her diaper clad bottom hit the bed, she twisted her torso and began to crawl towards her uncle, eyes wide with fascination at the current streaks of bright red in his black hair.
"Ry!' she called out proudly, having just recently learned to pronounce the shortened versions of all their names. Jace had watery eyes for about six hours after she said 'dada' the first time.
Never one to mind being petted, Ryan laughed and held her small hips between his palms when she climbed onto his lap, feet on his thighs as she tugged at his hair, pulling the strands through her tiny fingers.
"Well," Jace snorted, "It looks like you've got things under control, so I'm gonna go finish getting dressed and then we can eat and head out."
Today was fairly light for them; only a couple radio interviews at the venue and then soundcheck before their show that night.
Nodding, Ryan kept his hands securely at Savannah's hips as Jace shuffled around the room to find his clothes, every so often lifting the toddler into the air to make her giggle and finding himself laughing as well because it was extremely difficult to be unhappy around Savannah.
Once Jace was dressed, they fed Savannah, who snacked on her morning Cheerios and sipped apple juice from a purple plastic cup, sitting on the bed with her stuffed animals, buffered by pillows to keep her from rolling off as the boys packed their things, ensuring they weren't leaving anything behind. They were flying to LA for some writing sessions, which meant they'd be heading to the airport as soon as the show was over.
"Alright, babe," Jace sighed, heaving his daughter against his chest once she was finished with her breakfast and the room was cleared of all personal items. "Let's rock and roll."
Because Jace was still at the stage where he was trying to keep the general public unaware of Savannah's existence, she was passed off to a member of the security team, who carried her out to one of the shiny black SUVs that had arrived at the back door of the hotel to take them to the venue. Jace always felt really about the fact that sneaking out the back meant they didn't get to interact with the fans who were waiting outside and ended up apologizing an annoying number of times, but Ryan figured Jace was doing everything he could to protect his daughter and if their situations had been reversed, he probably would have done the same thing.
They arrived at the back entrance of the venue to see loads of fans gathered around the barriers. Fans who were too distracted at the sight of the boys to see the eighteen month old that was being carried inside. The three separate radio interviews were done in the hallway, while Savannah was tucked away in the dressing room, content with her stuffed animals and the posse of stylists around to watch over her, and that was where she stayed for soundcheck, noise cancelling headphones covering her ears as she acted out scenes between her stuffed bunny and stuffed teddy bear.
The time between soundcheck and the start of the show was always strange because the boys never knew what to do with themselves. The crew were scattered about, either resting and relaxing or making adjustments to the instruments and the stage, and the stylists knew they wouldn't really be needed until about an hour before the show, so they'd generally go out and try to get some food before they had to come back and work, which pretty much left the boys to their own devices.
"I'm bored," Austin whined, sitting with his beanie covered head leaning back against the couch and his ass hanging almost halfway off. "We should do something."
"Like what?" Jace asked, sitting cross legged on the floor and leaning back against his palms, hawk like eyes watching Savannah, who sat across from him, eyes wide as her small hands pushed over the glossy pages of a magazine, not comprehending what was inside, but fascinated by the colors and shapes nonetheless.
"We could go say hi to the fans?" Liam suggested, knowing there were plenty outside as the lines to get into the general admission show had started forming early that morning.
Despite the fact that all the boys murmured in agreement, Ryan noticed a slight drop in Jace's level of outward happiness and it took him a good thirty seconds of watching Jace watch his daughter to realize why. Ever the doting parent, Jace didn't like being away from Savannah when it wasn't necessary and seeing as no one else was currently around, he wouldn't be able to leave her to go outside and see the fans, something that made him feel extremely guilty because he felt as though he was neglecting the people that had made his dreams come true.
So Ryan decided to be a good friend. Lowering his legs from the coffee table and sitting up on the couch in his place beside Austin, he looked pointedly at Jace. "I'll stay with Savannah. You should go outside."
"Really?" Jace's eyebrows shot up in surprise. "Are you sure?"
It was a fair question because Ryan didn't feel nearly as confident as he sounded. The truth was that he'd never really been alone with Savannah. Sure, sometimes he'd look after her if he was sharing a room with Jace and the lead singer was taking a ridiculously long time in the shower, but Jace was always just a scream away if Savannah started crying and he would come running and scoop her against his chest, as she was always comforted by being in her father's arms. But meeting fans meant the boys would want to take pictures with and talk to as many people as possible, which had the possibility of taking a lengthy amount of time, which meant that Ryan would truly be the only one babysitting Savannah.
Nevertheless, he was determined to do something good, so he nodded and stretched his lips into his most convincing smile as he responded. "It'll be fine. I can teach her the art of being cool cause we all know your kid would be the most likely to turn out weird."
Jace rolled his eyes, but laughed anyway, shooting the guitarist a grateful smile. "Thanks, man. I appreciate it."
Nodding, Ryan watched as the other boys pushed themselves to their feet, Jace pecking his daughter on the top of her head as he did so, whispering that he'd be back soon and exited the dressing room, leaving Ryan alone with the toddler.
"So, Savi," Ryan said, letting out a deep exhale as she lifted her chin to look at him. "It's just you and me...what do you want to do?"
He didn't know if she actually understood him or if she was just bored as well, but she slapped her hand down flat on the magazine and smiled widely, her curly pigtails looking like little balled horns on top of her head. "Play!"
"Play?" he nodded, relieved that he actually recognized the word. Pretty much everything she said excited her father, but to Ryan, half the time, it sounded like complete gibberish. "Play what?"
His first thought was an instrument, but all the guitars were currently sitting on a rack near the side of the stage and he knew better than to mess with their tuning so close to the start of a show. Eyes scanning the room, he spotted the duffel bag full of her toys that Jace carried around pushed himself to his feet as he made his way over to it, hoping something inside would pique the toddler's interest.
Intrigued by his movement, she pulled herself forward until she was standing and waddled behind him to the bag, standing to his side as he squatted down and unzipped it, peering at the treasures inside. He rifled past the stuffed animals, looking for something she wasn't already playing with and smiled triumphantly when he spotted a toy keyboard at the bottom of the bag. Pulling out the plastic toy, complete with multicolored keys and flashing lights, he turned to offer it to Savannah, but his smile quickly faded when his eyes were met with empty space.
"Savannah?" he called out, turning his head quickly from side to side, eyes searching every corner of the room for signs of a head full of blonde curls. "Savannah? Where are you?"
His heart raced as he stood slowly, leaving the toy keyboard on the floor and wondering how it had been less than ten minutes and he'd already lost Jace's daughter. As far as he could tell, she wasn't anywhere in the dressing room, so he hurried through the open doorway, thinking that they really needed to start keeping it closed and came to a skidding stop in the middle of the hallway as he turned his head in each direction, knowing it wasn't possible for her short legs to have taken her very far.
Seeing a member of the janitorial staff just down the hallway, Ryan sprinted over to the elderly man, panting slightly as he came to a stop beside him and his very large trash can.
"Excuse me, sir," Ryan gasped for air. "You haven't happened to see a little girl running around, have you?"
Logically, he knew it didn't make sense because if she had found her way into the hall, she wouldn't have made it out of his sight.
The man pulled his eyebrows together, looking like two furry white caterpillars as he shook his head. "No, I haven't seen anyone. Little girl, you say?"
"Yeah," Ryan nodded, weaving his fingers into his already messy hair. "She's like a year and a half old, so not very tall. And she just learned to walk, so she probably wasn't moving too fast."
"Sorry," the man shrugged. "I haven't seen her."
Sighing, Ryan nodded his thanks as he turned back towards the dressing room, calling out behind him, "Thanks anyway. You should probably stay close because your help might be needed in cleaning up some blood stains in the dressing room later."
The man probably thought he was joking, but Ryan was certain that if he didn't locate Savannah before the boys returned, Jace would probably think of a million different ways to decapitate him. At least it would make good publicity, he thought as he reentered the dressing room because he hadn't really been thorough the first time. The news of the band's lead singer mauling the guitarist would definitely get people talking.
It felt like someone was squeezing his heart in their fist and he felt sick to his stomach as he worried. He'd lost plenty of things in his lifetime; his keys, his credit card, his wallet, his phone, but he didn't think he would ever be capable of losing an entire human being.
He stood still in the middle of the dressing room, eyes slowly scanning over every surface, not being able to see a single place where anybody, let alone a child could fit as he repeatedly called out the toddler's name. He was about five seconds away from pulling out his phone to call Jace and accepting that he would most likely be losing a limb in the very near future when he heard a noise that caused him to freeze.
A soft giggle coming from the right side of the room drew his attention and he walked slowly towards the couch he'd been sitting on earlier, eyebrows furrowed in confusion as he wondered if she'd somehow buried herself beneath the cushions. Just to be certain, he ripped each of the leather cushions from the couch and tossed them to the floor, stopping only when he heard the giggling again.
The corners of his lips turned downwards into a frown, he curled his fingers over the top edge of the couch and peered downwards, letting out an audible sigh of relief at the sight of Savannah wedged between the back of the couch and the wall, small hands clamped over her mouth and eyes shining with excitement.
"Savannah!" he gasped, taking a step backwards and pulling the couch with him before placing his knee where the cushions used to be and reaching down to lift her into his arms. "You scared the hell out of me! Do you have any idea what your dad would have done to me? Don't do that again!"
"Mo!" she called out happily, pressing her flattened palms against his cheeks to squish them in. "Mo Ry!"
"No more," he shook his head, hating having to say no, but also knowing that his stress levels couldn't take it.
Apparently she thought she'd just won a game of hide and seek, but Ryan had just experienced the most frightening ten minutes of his life and he wasn't about to let go of her until her father returned, so held her snugly at his hip as he replaced the couch cushions before plopping down on the floor where her stuffed bunny had been left and keeping her corralled between his outstretched legs.
He used the stuffed animal to act out scenes from Love Actually until the boys returned thirty minutes later. While Austin and Liam collapsed on the couch, Jace scooped his daughter into his arms almost immediately, getting separation anxiety from being away from her, even if it was for less than an hour.
"Did you and Uncle Ryan have fun?" Jace asked her, rubbing his nose against hers affectionately as he set her back on her feet and squatted down to her level.
"So much fun," Ryan smiled sweetly and innocently, knowing that Savannah probably actually did have the time of her life.
"Good," Jace grinned and Ryan could tell he was letting out a sigh of relief that it hadn't been a complete disaster. If only he knew.
"Oh, good, you found her."
A new voice entered the mix and Ryan looked up, his eyes widening in horror when he saw the janitor from earlier standing in the dressing room doorway, having noticed the small child Ryan had been looking for.
Jace's brow furrowed in confusion, his gaze shifting between the janitor and the guitarist and then to Savannah as he pulled his daughter into his arms and stood up straight. "Found?"
Ryan didn't have time to make up an excuse because it took Jace all of three seconds to figure out what that meant and before Ryan's lips had even parted to speak, Jace had whipped around and was glaring at him.
"Found?" Jace seethed, his eyes flashing as he held Savannah tightly to his side. "Did you lose my daughter?"
Ryan knew better than to lie, mostly because he was absolutely horrible at it, so he winced and shot Jace a sheepish smile as he replied. "There's a possibility that there was a small period of time where I wasn't exactly sure where she was..."
"Ryan!" Jace scolded as Austin and Liam did a terrible job of trying not to laugh from where they were sitting on the couch.
"I know, I know," Ryan sighed, leaning back on his flattened palms, thankful that he didn't have kids of his own because apparently he still had a lot to learn about childcare. "But she's fine now. Aren't you, Savannah? Everything's all good."
Jace parted his lips as though he was going to launch into a lecture, but before he could, Savannah clapped her hands together and yelled out, 'goo' and beamed proudly at everyone in the room as though she'd just won a Nobel Prize. Jace's willpower crumbled and any anger he had faded at the sight of his daughter's smile, so he laughed and pressed a kiss to her cheek and shook his head as he shot Ryan one last glare.
Ryan smiled widely, knowing that despite the fact that he was nowhere near ready to be a parent, it wouldn't be the first time he would be glad Savannah was a part of his life.