"Um Harry? You there"? Ben asked into the phone after the ringing stopped.
"Yeah I'm here, what's up? We should be done with soundcheck in ten minutes by the way" Harry replied
"Okay well it may have to end earlier. Nova tripped and cut her leg. She's doing fine right-"
"Wait hold up, did you just say she cut herself"? Harry asked trying to clarify what he heard. Sternness was definitely prominent in his voice.
"Yes, we were running and she scratched herself, but for the most part Nova is okay, she just really needs at least two of you right now, she got pretty scared" Ben explained, making sure his anxiousness didn't show.
Harry sighed through the phone. Ben then started to hear some murmuring of different voices in the background.
"Poor baby, okay Zayn and I will be down there quickly but are you sure she is fine? Is there a lot of bleeding? Does she need stiches"? Harry asked, with nervousness.
"No no, definitely not stitches, it's just a cut that needs cleaning and a bandage wrapped around it, it's not that bad" Ben answered, looking over at Nova who had one of her fingers in her mouth.
"Okay that's reassuring, we'll be right there Ben, tell her that daddy is coming alright"? Harry said, wanting Nova to know that he was coming.
"Yeah of course I will, bye"
"Bye"
"Ow, no" Nova whimpered, trying to pull her leg out of Ben's grasp. She didn't want anybody touching the tender area.
"Hold still sweetheart, I have to clean it" Ben spoke, giving her a sympathetic smile. He continued to use the sterilized wipe against her cut.
The teenager sat on one of the dressing room counters with her legs dangling, Ben was in front helping her, while Marcus was holding Nova's fingers.
"No no, hurts" Nova whined, feeling tears well up in her eyes again as they just became dry.
"Nova it won't take long hun, just let Ben do it, remember your daddies are coming" Marcus said, trying to make her feel better.
"Yep, see now all I have to put on is some neosporin" Ben assured, taking the medicine out of the plastic, first aid kit.
Nova slowly nodded, fidgeting with her fuzzy jacket while a tear went down her cheek.
Nova didn't even remember the last time she scratched up her knee like this, probably since she was nine.
Zayn sighed with relief, jogging into the dressing room, surprising the two men and Nova. Harry was right behind him with a bodyguard, both of them had faces of concern.
"Oh princess, are you alright"? Harry hurried, rushing over to Nova and kissing her forehead.
"Y-Yeah" Nova whispered, feeling overwhelmed but relieved, knowing Zayn and Harry were finally here.
"You had a little slip huh? I knew those laces were a bit long. Let me see, baby" Harry said, crouching to look down on the wound.
Harry and Zayn definitely understood why Nova got so upset, except for the fact of her being in pain, there hasn't been many times of her getting hurt in her 'little state'
Although for that one period and other little things, she was always with them if she ever got hurt.
"It doesn't look so bad now baby, it'll probably just need to be covered so it doesn't get infected" Zayn explained, standing up.
When he noticed Nova was still in daze, staring down at the cut silently. Zayn knew there was more to it.
"Angel, look up at daddy please. We're here now okay? It's just a scratch, you're fine baby" Zayn cooed, holding her face in his warm hands.
Everyone in the small room looked at Zayn and Nova's interaction with curiosity. Even Ben who got done with the bandaging, wanted to know what's wrong.
"H-hurted" Nova mumbled, glancing up at Zayn.
Zayn almost wanted smile at Nova's chosen word but decided against it.
"I know but it looks better now, it'll just be a little sore" Zayn informed, pointing down to her knee.
Nova sniffled before reaching her arms out for him.
"Aw come here baby" Zayn cooed, gently picking up Nova from the counter. She quickly wrapped her arms around his neck, hiding her face.
She was able to smell his cologne, which gave a calming scent to her nerves.
Ben nervously stood up from his crouched position, feeling even more bad he got Nova this distressed.
Zayn went to sit on one of the leather couches, having Nova straddle his lap.
"Hey uh Ben, her diaper bag is right behind you, can you take out her blanket, and also her pacifier, that's in the front pocket" Zayn asked, caressing Nova's back.
"Yeah of course"
Ben answered, before shuffling through her bag to find the items asked for.
Ben then handed them over Zayn, watching him drape the pink swaddle over them. Zayn also slipped the pacifier past her lips as Nova had a face of sleepiness.
"We're just gonna have a little rest, since Nova is feeling a little overwhelmed, right baby"? Zayn clarified, before trying to look at her face.
The only answer Nova gave was closing her eyes, while her hands had a grip on his t-shirt.
Zayn chuckled, kissing her head.
Harry also went closer to the two, cooing at Nova's pouted cheeks, he then turned to Ben patting his shoulder.
"Don't feel bad, nothing was your fault. I think she's just slipping more deeper and that's what's making her more sensitive" Harry whispered to Ben.
"Just like if a five year fell off their bike and got cut, they would feel super vulnerable. It's really the same thing" Harry explained, glancing at both Ben and Marcus.
"Okay that's makes me feel a lot better, thanks Harry" Ben whispered, trying not to disturb Nova's nap.
"I'm going to go and tell the other guys that everything is fine, you can probably just relax since the show still doesn't start until three hours, see you guys later" Harry said,
"Text me Zayn if anything happens" Harry requested.
Zayn nodded at him before Harry walked out of the room.
"Hey uh Ben, could we talk out there really quick" Marcus asked, motioning to the hallway.
"Um sure" Ben replied, he glanced back one more time looking at Nova and Zayn before leaving the room.
"I just wanted to say I'm sorry for getting on you like that back there with Nova. I think when I saw her hurt my automatic thought was that it was your fault, which wasn't mature of me"
Marc admitted with genuine, stuffing his hands in his pockets.
Ben nodded, crossing his arms over his chest.
"It's okay, I get how you could of got confused but I never would do anything on purpose to hurt her. Thanks for the apology though, I appreciate it" Ben said.
"No problem, just felt the need to say it, I'll Uh see you later-"
"Wait, can I ask you something quickly"? Ben asked, watching Marcus turn back around.
"Yeah, anything" Marcus shrugged.
"Well, I've kind of noticed you picking on me with anything I do with Nova lately. I was just wondering what's that all about"? Ben questioned, narrowing his eyes.
Marcus sighed, glancing down at his shoes before looking up again at Ben.
"I don't know, I guess sometimes I try to act like I'm involved in Nova's helping, just because the boys haven't given me an option to do so. I didn't mean to be rude, I just wanted Nova to be comfortable around as well" Marc confessed.
Ben could already sense a level of insecurity in Marcus.
"You don't have to be down about it, it just takes time to build with Nova. Especially since you have to have a level of trust with all five of them before they even let you with her alone. That's why it took so long for myself to be in this position" Ben explained.
Marcus nodded, understanding.
"But my job is to be with her 24/7 if the boys can't, so I can't have you interrupting my work. Maybe sometimes you can hang with Nova and I before shows if you want" Ben suggested.
"Yeah, I would like that Ben, thanks" Marcus smiled.
"No problem"
The two men shook hands before going on to different things.
A few hours later
"Okay guys 15 minutes, we should be making our way to the stage now" Andrew announced.
Four of the five were able to stand up from their seats and check their ear pieces but Zayn was still stuck with Nova sleeping on him.
"Uh guys" Zayn nervously chuckled, knowing Nova was definitely going to throw a fit if she couldn't be with him.
The men knew she was more little right now, which didn't help with the situation.
"Just a, wake up her up gently, that may help" Liam suggested.
Zayn nodded, before peeling the blanket off of them.
"Princess it's time to wake up now" Zayn cooed, brushing her hair out of her face.
Nova slowly opened her eyes before closing them again.
"No baby, no more sleep. It's time to wake up so daddies can go on stage" Zayn whispered, taking her pacifier out of her mouth.
Suddenly shocking everyone in the room, Nova started to cry causing Zayn's eyes to widen. This never happened before.
And it wasn't just a normal cry but a cry of wanting to be with the men.
"Nova what's wrong baby, why are you crying"? Louis asked with anxiousness, sitting next to them.
Nova choked on her sobs, shaking her head before responding, "n-no leave me"
Nova kept whimpering after that, gripping Zayn's shirt tighter.
"Princess, you know we're not really leaving, just performing a little further from you in this building, you'll still be able to see us" Zayn added, making Nova sit up more in his lap.
"Yeah and Ben can take you to watch us out there so you can see us sing, honey" Liam said, pointing to Ben in the corner of the room.
"No, no s-sing, Daddy" Nova mumbled, causing Zayn's heart to feel warm.
"I wish we could stay with you darling, but we got to go now" Zayn cooed, standing up and trying to set her down on the couch alone.
Nova cried harder as Zayn set her down. She began holding on to his wrist.
"Nova you're going to have let go of me hun, we've been doing this for awhile now, you know you're going to see us in a few hours okay"? Zayn said, before kissing her nose.
Zayn tried to pry her fingers off his wrist but Nova didn't want to let go.
Definitely separation anxiety.
"Do you think I could be a little late to the stage? Just to be with her for a few minutes" Zayn turned to look at Andrew with begging eyes.
"I don't know Zayn, are you sure? It would be weird if you randomly jumped on stage after Temporary Fix" Andrew asked, with hesitation.
"Okay you're right, Ben can you grab Nova"? Zayn ordered, standing up from his spot.
Nova whined, as she lost contact with Zayn.
Ben quickly walked over, carefully picking her up, trying not to cause another meltdown from her.
Nova whimpered, as she was in the arms of someone else.
"Shh, you're alright hun" Ben whispered, trying to make her more calm.
Nova nodded, wiping her wet eyes causing them to be a little irritated.
"Bye honey, we have to go now, we'll see you after the show. And maybe tonight we can watch princess movies and have pop corn. Would you like that"? Niall bribed, coming over and pecking her cheek.
"Y-Yeah, Ariel" Nova mumbled, playing with Ben's identity lanyard.
"Yes of course, we can watch Ariel, Nova" Niall chuckled.
"Okay" Nova whispered, having a small grin appear on her face.
Soon after the five men left with Andrew and more of the crew, it was just Nova and Ben left in the room.
"You ready to watch your daddies from behind the stage, Novie" Ben asked, before setting her on the couch, and sliding her shoes back on.
Nova nodded, before looking at her backpack across the room.
"Thirsty" Nova spoke with a soft voice, looking down at Ben tying her laces.
"Right, I bet you are. We'll get your sippy cup" Ben chuckled, grinning up at her.