Luke
If you had asked eighteen year old Luke Hemmings what his favorite thing in the world was, it wouldn’t take but a second for him to respond, “Touring!” But fast forward to now, and if you asked Luke Hemmings what his favorite thing in the world was, he wouldn’t even blink before answering “My family!” So when you took these two things and put them together, Luke Hemmings was the happiest man alive.
Here they were, somewhere in the United States on tour, and all the families came out to visit. So that meant that backstage, the moms were corralling five year old Jake, three year old twins Hannah and Isaac, and two year old Kayla while also caring for newborn Nebraska. That being said, it was a very difficult job, simply because four of the five children were mobile and had tons of energy. So as hard as the four women tried, there was probably no way for them to prevent what happened that night.
Hide and seek had seemed like an innocent enough game, especially considering the fact that there were so many places to hide backstage. The moms were smart enough to restrict the playing field though so they didn’t have four children spread out all over the backstage area. As they counted and let the kids run off to hide, Jake pulled Kayla along with him, the five year old in charge of watching the youngest toddler. “Where do you wanna hide, Kayla?” he asked, holding her hand.
“Boxes!” she replied, pointing to the giant stack of boxes in which the boys stored all their musical equipment. Jake nodded and led her over, squeezing between two of the large boxes and crouching down with Kayla behind him.
“Now we have to be quiet, okay?” he asked, turning to see her, then gasped as he realized she had disappeared. “Kayla?” Now, keep in mind that Kayla was a devious child, taking after all her uncles and her father. So after Jake had stepped into the boxes she had taken off running in the direction of all the music and screaming, intent on just watching her daddy and uncles play their show. She soon found herself at the edge of the stage and stood in awe as she watched them play “Long Way Home”. Calum was closest to her, jumping around as he plucked the strings of the bass, Ashton was rocking out on the drums, and she saw her Dad in front stage, holding the mic stand in his hands as he sang, his guitar hanging loosely off his body.
Kayla grinned and watched happily, but turned when she heard her name being called. She could see Jake coming, and she panicked, not wanting to get in trouble. So she ran to the one person she knew wouldn’t be mad to see her – her daddy. She jetted out onto the stage, running right behind Calum. The dark haired man didn’t notice, and before Ashton could say anything, Kayla had hugged tight to her dad’s leg, causing his voice to jump and him lose his place as he looked down at his daughter, who was burying her face in his knees. Calum took over the song as Luke removed his in-ears and crouched down, trying to figure out just what was going on. Trying to hear his daughter was no use though, so he just picked her up and settled her on his hip as he returned to the microphone to finish out the song.
When it was finally over and the noise had died down a little bit, Michael leaned into the mic. “And here we have a special appearance by the beautiful Kayla Bug,” he grinned. Kayla looked over at him and smiled shyly before hiding in her dad’s shoulder again – something she had done from the moment she realized just how many people were out in the crowd. The banter continued for just a little longer before Luke strode off the stage and handed Kayla back to you, who sighed and apologized.
“It’s cool,” he grinned, kissing you both. “All part of the fun.”
Ashton
Being the first dad in the band was sometimes quite stressful. Because he was the one to learn how to deal with being away on tour, missing the baby, and handling the baby when said baby was at their show. Shortly after Jake’s second birthday, you had been asked away for a business trip, so Ashton agreed to stay home with Jake. However, the night before you left, Ashton got a call from their agent, saying that 5 Seconds of Summer had been booked for a local gig and needed to perform. Ashton convinced you that it was okay, he could find a babysitter, and for you to still go on the trip.
But here’s what Ashton didn’t tell you: three hours before the show, he still had no babysitter. So as a last resort he asked one of the assistants if they’d watch Jake, and the young woman happily agreed, saying that she loved kids. With that being settled, Ashton went into overdrive trying to prepare. He packed a duffel bag with toys for the toddler as well as a change of clothes and multiple PullUps, seeing as the war with potty training was still currently in affect.
But then they were at the venue, and Ashton gave Jake a kiss goodbye and the toddler became someone else’s problem and Ashton went into band mode. Everything was going just fine. Sound check flew by, as did the pre-show meet and greet. And then it was time for the show, and Ashton fell into the groove he did with every show. He wasn’t sure how much time passed or what was going on off the stage, and it was kind of great. After “Good Girls”, Ashton bent down to reach underneath his seat and grab a bottle of water, leaning his head back to take a drink. He could hear the boys bantering in his ear-piece and the girls screaming, all that was normal, but then the screaming escalated and the boys just started to laugh.
Ashton looked around in confusion, leaning forward. “Why are we laughing? What happened?” he asked before he felt something collide with his leg. He had a double-take as he looked down and saw Jake hugging his leg tightly. It was too loud to hear what he was saying, but Ashton was pretty sure Jake’s lips were mouthing the words ‘Up! Up!”
Ashton quickly picked the boy up and settled him in his lap, taking his microphone out of the holder. “What are you doing, buddy?” he asked before turning the microphone to pick up his son’s voice.
“Missed you, Daddy. Wanted a hug,” Jake replied, not talking into the microphone, but rather up at his dad’s face. Ashton smiled at that, the fans all squealed and screamed, and the other boys had a couple of comments for the crowd while Ashton took a few minutes to cuddle his son and place some kisses on his cheeks. After about two minutes though, he stood with his son and headed over to the assistant, who was standing right off the stage, her eyes wide as saucers.
“I’m so sorry!” she gasped. “He got away so fast and I didn’t grab him in time.”
“It’s fine,” Ashton promised, smiling. “Don’t worry about it.” Then he looked to Jake, brushing his hair away from his face. “Okay, Jake. You stay here, yeah? I’ll be done soon,” he promised. Jake nodded and let himself get transferred from his father to the girl.
“Love you, Daddy,” he called, and Ashton echoed the statement before jogging back onto the stage to finish the show.
Michael
The band was playing in Sydney, Australia the night of Michael’s birthday, not that the man minded. Playing shows was fun; it made the dad of two years feel like a teenager again. You and the twins headed out to watch the show with the band, figuring you guys could get dinner beforehand and celebrate the special occasion. And you guys did have a nice dinner together before Michael had to disappear for sound check. You took the two year old twins back to the greenroom to hang out, and they were busy playing Legos when Luke came in.
“Hey, so we’re planning on taking a minute or two to say Happy Birthday to Michael during the set, and I just wanted to know if you wanted to come out on stage too,” the tall man offered. You shrugged.
“I really don’t, but I’m sure the kids would love it. You could even have one run in from each side of the stage and surprise him,” you giggled. Luke grinned.
“I love that idea. If you want to watch one from one side I can slip off and get the other. It’ll be awesome. I’ll come back and get you guys when it’s time,” Luke told you before disappearing once more. You settled back onto the floor with the kids to play and wait for Luke’s return.
About an hour into the show, straight after “Voodoo Doll”, the band took a moment to talk to the audience. But instead of their normal chatting, Luke raised up his hands in surrender. “I have to pee so bad. So I’m running off stage for a minute or so. Let these guys entertain you for awhile,” Luke waved off the laughs and boos he was getting and trotted off stage, leaving Michael, Calum, and Ashton to make fun of him while he ran to the greenroom, picking up Isaac. You took Hannah and each headed to opposite sides of the stage before Luke instructed Isaac to stay there while he ran back to the stage. Luke dramatically stepped in front of Michael, cutting off the blonde’s statement. “Okay, guys. So as a lot of you know, today’s Michael’s birthday.” Luke paused to wait for the cheering to die down. “So…” he didn’t have to say anymore, instead stepping back and letting the kids run out onto the stage, each of them coming from different sides and hugging their dad.
Michael immediately began to laugh and reached down to lay his guitar down before lifting one baby in each arm, planting kisses on their foreheads. “Happy birthday, Daddy!” they screamed in unison, the sound being picked up by the nearby microphone. Then Ashton broke into “Happy Birthday”, and Michael just laughed and cuddled his babies while the band and fans sang to him. After the song, Michael leaned in to his microphone.
“Thanks you guys,” Michael grinned. “This band, my family here,” he bounced the babies in his arms, “And my family out there,” he jutted his chin out to gesture to the audience, “Is seriously the best present I could ask for. So sincerely, from the bottom of my heart, thank you all. I love you!” Then he turned and began to love on the twins again, Luke carefully lifting Isaac from Michael’s arms so Michael could fully hug his daughter, then Calum took Hannah while Luke handed Isaac back. After that, the two were led off stage back to you, who was standing at the edge, crying proud and happy tears for your husband, who was seriously the best man in the world.
Calum
Nebraska had grown up at 5 Seconds of Summer concerts. She grew up touring with her dad and uncles, seeing as her dad was a single father trying to do it all. Two years flew by for Calum, and now the baby he cared for so much was walking, talking, and growing into a beautiful little girl.
Concerts were Calum’s least favorite part of all this though, because he had to devote three hours to music and fans without worrying about his little girl who was in the hands of the assistant Ashley, who loved Nebraska and enjoyed spending time with her. But they managed, because really he had no choice.
There was one day that was particularly rough for Calum, because Nebraska was recovering from an ear infection and had been quite clingy in the past few days, as had Calum. He had been right by her side in the past three days, and this was the first gig since she’d been sick. Calum was fretting over leaving her, repeatedly showing Ashley all the medicines Nebraska could possibly need, as well as telling Ashley all the things she already knew about Nebraska.
Ashley listened patiently, knowing full well that Calum was just nervous. He got like that sometimes, and the boys and Ashley had all decided the best way to deal with it was let him get it out of his system. So she nodded and agreed in all the right places while Nebraska laid against her shoulder quietly. Eventually Calum was on the verge of running late, so he kissed Nebraska’s forehead before leaving quietly. Ashley settled on the couch with the two year old and pulled out a book for the two of them to read.
Calum got all wired up for the show before stepping out with the rest of the band, taking longer than usual to get into the swing of things, but when he finally did, it was great. He began to joke around with the boys as he normally did, talking with the crowd and getting into the songs and their lyrics.
About three quarters of the way through the show, Ashley and Nebraska were still in the greenroom, now quietly playing with the dolls while they watched the concert on the television screen in the corner. “I wanna go see Daddy play,” she asked, looking up at Ashley.
“Yeah? Want to go stand at the side of the stage and watch?” Ashley suggested, and Nebraska nodded quickly. Ashley nodded and then grabbed the headphones from Nebraska’s bag, placing them on Nebraska as they headed to the side of the stage. Nebraska giggled happily as Ashley danced around with her, and the toddler looked out at the stage enviously. Ashley turned when she felt someone tap her shoulder with a question, so Ashley carefully set Nebraska down and turned to the person who had asked her a question.
Nebraska took that opportunity to run out onto the stage, giggling madly. She barely missed getting hit in the head by the neck of Calum’s bass, but she missed the hard wood and instead held tight to her dad’s leg, hugging him tightly. Calum glanced down and laughed when he saw the girl, leaning into the microphone. “Hey, look at that! Who let this pretty girl onto the stage?” he asked, the music stopping as the other band members realized what was going on. “What are you doing, sweetie?” he asked, picking her up carefully. He settled her against him, kissing her cheek.
“I wanted to come see you play,” she whispered shyly as she began to realize all the fans were watching. “And then I wanted to give you a hug.”
Calum tried to reprimand her, but then she finished her statement and Calum could do nothing but say “Awww,” like the rest of the crowd was. “Well, here’s a nice big hug, sweetie. Now, can you go stay with Ashley until I’m done here?” he asked nicely, and Nebraska nodded. So Calum carried her offstage and handed her to Ashley, Nebraska reaching out her palms and letting Calum kiss each one before he hurried back out onto the stage.
Credit - whenallelsefailsniallislove.tumblr.com
These are so cute aw
- Taylor xx