Finding Family

Faye: Westonbirt

The early shows of the second leg of the tour arrived too soon. I felt as if I'd ditched Benjamin and Mick once again, although at least this time I'd get to see them a bit more between the shows. And this time I was seeing Evalynn, I knew it for sure this time. I'd found her, I'd actually found my little baby girl. And to me that was more important than anything else that might happen on this leg of the tour.

I was practically bouncing with excitement on the way down to Gloucestershire, and Claire noticed that within a few seconds of seeing me.
"Did you eat an entire packet of jelly babies for breakfast again?" She asked. I grimaced, remembering how sick that incident had made me feel. I was quite glad of how far I'd come since the early days of the band, and I think my stomach probably thanked me for it too.
"Nope. My bet is that she's drunk too much coffee." H joked.
"Guys lay off her." Lisa groaned. She'd come down with a headache yesterday evening and given how grouchy she sounded she hadn't got much sleep because of it.
"Tomorrow I get to see Evalynn again." I announced with a massive grin. I'd told Lisa during the day yesterday, and she'd been so excited by the news I was surprised that the others didn't already know.
Claire gasped and hugged me. "Awh Faye that's so cute!"
"That's very cool." Lee added looking up from his phone.
For once in his life H was the one to ask the sensible question. "But does she know yet? You know, that you're her mum?" He asked.
I shook my head. "She might have guessed already, but if not that's what tomorrow's meeting is for. For my daughter to finally meet her mamma properly."
"I was going to say that you can't keep it a secret forever." Lisa said with a smile. "In other news, my kids are coming to tonight's show. Just my luck given my head."
I stifled my laugh, but she knew I was giggling anyway. "Sorry." I mumbled, weary that something might get thrown at me if I carried on.

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Westonbirt Arboretum was, like most other Arboretums, a relatively boring place, that would be very easy to get lost in. Thinking in that chaotic almost teenager way I sometimes did it would be an amazing place for a game of hide and seek.
"So many different plants!" Claire exclaimed as we walked around together.
"It's an Arboretum, it's literally a collection of plants by definition. Look it up in a dictionary." I retorted, fed up. July had done it's usual joke of, despite being the sunny month, deciding it should be cloudy and windy, and I wanted to go back because the clouds looked like they were threatening rain. I could see people heading towards us and squinted to get a better look. Was it who I thought? Very soon my question was answered, and the peace was shattered.
"Mummy!" Called Lisa's son running to her. Lisa collected him up in her arms and lifted him in close to her chest.
"Jade my baby." She said softly to the little boy.
Claire mumbled something and headed off alone somewhere.
I smiled as Benjamin toddled over to me, holding Star's hand and his blue bunny in the other. He seemed to have developed my natural will to help people.

The two families had actually taken to each other really well, maybe because Mick and Johnny suspected they'd be seeing a lot of each other even if this didn't work out, and they had got particularly efficient at finding each other when they were meant to be meeting Lisa and I. As a result (and as I had often wished while Benjamin had been a baby) Star, Jaden and Benjamin had become quite close over the last few months, and I was hoping that it was perhaps because Benjamin saw the other two as friends.
I hugged Benjamin, lifting him up as I always did. He was starting to get a bit big for constantly being lifted up, but for now I could still just about cope with it. "Have you been being a nice boy for daddy?" I asked him.
He nodded, sucking on the ear of his bunny. He was clearly tired, but I didn't mind that because at least I got to spend time with him. Mick smiled at me, lent in and kissed my forehead, then told me that Benjamin had been being lovely as always. I didn't exactly miss how I'd been before Steps had got back together, because honestly I had been a bit pathetic for quite a lot of that time, but I missed getting to have quality time with my family. I knew that as much as Lisa enjoyed being in Steps she had the same problem. We were both mums now, not pop stars for the media to goggle over, and being a mother took priority over anything else.