"Ow, ow, ow!"
Rebecca rolls her eyes from where she's stood behind Roger, running her hands through his hair in an attempt to tame the wild strands, "I'm barely touching you!"
He winces when her hand catches a particularly nasty knot and Brian laughs when he catches his expression in the mirror.
It's their first show and they're in Sweden and surprisingly, Rebecca gets back into the swing of the routine quite easily.
It's just like it was before except there's no Mary or Alice but there is Hannah and Charlotte.
Roger grins as an exhausted Hannah enters the dressing room carrying the crying baby and Rebecca can't help but smile at what Hannah's got her dressed in.
It's a black onesie with the artwork for A Day at the Races album on the front, one that they've had specially made just for her and Rebecca swears she's never looked cuter.
"Rog," Hannah pleads, coming to stand beside them, "Can you take her? Just for five minutes? She won't stop crying an-"
He wordlessly holds his arms out for Charlotte and she gives him a grateful smile while handing her over.
It's almost comical how fast she stops crying and as Roger stands her up on his legs, she immediately digs her hands into his hair.
"You're the baby whisperer," Hannah says in awe as she wanders off, probably to find John.
"Are you giving mummy a hard time?" Roger asks the baby, "Are you being a little bugger?"
"Roger!" Rebecca scolds, "You can't call her that?"
"Sure I can," he shrugs, "We have an understanding, don't we Lottie?"
Charlotte babbles away to herself while the two watch on and Rebecca can't help but feel a little twinge of sadness.
She wasn't pregnant. She's taken a test last week when she thought that she could have been but she wasn't. It came back negative and while she and Roger were understandably disappointed, she wasn't all that surprised.
She knew that these things could take time. With how long she's been on birth control, she was kind of expecting it but that didn't mean that it wasn't that little bit upsetting.
John comes into the room, followed by a stagehand who tells them they've got five minutes to get to the stage and John raises an eyebrow when he sees that his daughter is with them and not his wife.
"Where's Hannah?" he asks as Charlotte reaches out for him, "She said she was coming here."
"We thought she went to find you," Rebecca frowns as Freddie comes in from the next room to answer their question.
"She's passed out on the couch next door. This one," he boops Charlotte on the nose, "Must be tiring her out. The poor darling looks positively exhausted. Shall I wake her?"
"No," Rebecca's hand stops him, "Let her sleep. I'll keep an eye on her."
"Are you sure?" John asks and she nods eagerly.
"Yes! Charlotte and I never get to spend any time together, do we? Besides, I think Hannah needs this."
He leans in and kisses her cheek as one by one, they head towards the door, "You're a lifesaver. I'm sure she'll tell you that herself when she wakes up."
"Stop," she waved a hand, "You'll give me a big head. Now go!"
Roger picks up his drumsticks and heads over to them, leaning down to give Rebecca a kiss, only to feel a little hand smack against his cheek when he's barely even touched her.
His wife giggles as he looks down at the baby with a shocked expression, "Oh, I see how it is, Lottie. You want me all to yourselves, hm? Don't worry, I get it."
"Now you're the one with the big head."
He looks at her, look of mock hurt on his face as he leans in closer to press a quick kiss to her lips before the baby can intervene.
"Good luck," she whispers against his lips before Brian's calling his name and he darts off towards the stage.
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She and Charlotte spend most of the time the band are on stage in the dressing room. The music is still too loud for her ears but Rebecca doesn't mind. She actually enjoys laying on the floor beside Charlotte as she lays on her mat for what Hannah and John call tummy time and when she rolls herself onto her back, Rebecca puts the mobile up over her and watches her bat at the toys to her heart's content.
Hannah sleeps all through the show and while the band are doing their encore, Charlotte's eyes also start to droop and if given the chance, Rebecca's sure she'd pass out there and then.
"Okay, little one," she whispers, gently picking her up, "We'll get you in your cot."
Like there always is, there's a travel cot set up in the corner of the dressing room and after Rebecca lays her down, she tucks her in with her blankets and once she's settled, all she can do is watch her.
Hannah finally emerges from the other room a few minutes later, stretching her arms over her head while she yawns, coming to a halt when she sees Rebecca sitting beside the cot and she immediately feels guilty.
"Oh gosh," she whispers, "I am so sorry. Becca, you should have woke me!"
Rebecca waves a hand dismissively, "Don't be stupid, Hannah. You need to sleep and I, being Charlotte's favourite auntie, am happy to lend a hand."
Hannah falls down onto the couch beside her, "I don't know what we'd do without you and Roger, to be honest. I love her. God, Becca, I do but she's exhausting. I don't know the last time I got a full night's sleep."
Rebecca frowns, "Hannah, if you and John ever need a break, you know that Rog and I would be happy to take Charlotte for a day. Or if the two of you just want a decent night's sleep, we'll take her for the night. Any time, Hannah. I mean it."
Laughing, Hannah grins at her, "You're going to wish you hadn't said that, Becca."
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short, a filler but i thought it was cute