The years are flying by and the band is coming full circle. We had some time off after Annie’s incident with her birth mother, and I had to be a father figure to Chad over the last three years, but we’re back in fine form and on another headline tour. This time Indi is coming with me. She’s quit nursing and has become a full-time mother of our daughter Aria who’s three and growing up faster than I ever could have imagined. Indi is an undeniably amazing mother and being a father is life changing but in the best possible way. My Aria is everything to me, and now I have someone else to live for every day. My girls are what ground me and keep me sane. Without them, I don’t know how I’d cope.

Indi is doing well and we have another one on the way and she is due to give birth in two months. It’s a boy and we’re going to call him Coda. We like the musical theme names, so we’re sticking with them. Staked are performing tonight at a packed out to capacity crowd at Wembley Stadium. And finally I’m going to perform to Indi with her watching just like I promised her all those years ago when we were just twelve.

The buzz in the air at the back of the stage is electric. I haven’t performed for so long, and knowing I’m going to for the first time in ages is sending a wave of excitement through me. I race over to Indi, who’s nursing Aria on her hip and lean in to kiss her quickly. Aria slaps at my face making me chuckle.

“Bad Daddy,” she says and I pull back and look at Aria and raise an eyebrow at her.

“Can’t I kiss, Mummy?” I ask and she shakes her head. “Why not?” I ask and she shrugs and leans in hugging Indi tightly around her neck.

“Becwas I wove Mummy more than you do, Daddy,” she says and kisses Indi on the cheek as Indi laughs and detaches Aria’s hands from around her neck.

“Well, that might be true, but do you love Daddy too?” Indi says and Aria crinkles up her cute little button nose and looks at me tilting her head.

“Maybe today I do,” she says and throws her arms forward reaching out for me causing Indi to almost drop her. I quickly reach out and grab Aria as she wraps herself around me for a tight hug.

“Are you gonna swing to me Daddy?” she asks and I laugh because she still can’t say the word sing correctly.

“Yeah baby, I’m gonna sing for you and Mummy. See that stage over there?” I say and she nods her head over exaggeratedly almost making me drop her while Indi laughs.

“Well, that’s where I’m gonna be tonight. Now, it’s going to be loud, but don’t be scared, okay? Mummy will be here and she has some ear muffs for you to put on. It’s just music and it’s going to be lots of fun.”

She jumps up and down against my hip and squeals in my ear.

I open my eyes wide with the noise and I think I’ll be deaf by the time I’m forty, not from my music but by the number of times my daughter squeals in my ears.

“I like fun,” she says and then throws her arms back out for Indi to take her. I hand her back over to Indi as she starts to play with Indi’s hair.

“Are you sure you’re okay to hold her? I mean she’s heavy now and you’re seven months pregnant?” I ask touching her belly and Indi rolls her eyes.

“Oh c’mon, I’ve handled much worse than a sore back and bratty three-year-old, Caleb.”

“Just checking,” I say putting my hands up in defeat.

“I think they’re ready for you, babe. Go kick some arse,” Indi says.

“Yeah Daddy, kick some arse,” Aria repeats and I look at Indi and open my eyes wide as Indi winces and we both chuckle.

“Looks like we have to watch what we say,” I lean in and whisper into Indi’s ear and then kiss her lips softly. She smiles at me as I hold onto Aria’s head running my fingers through her cute little blonde curls and kiss her forehead. She smacks at my face and I chuckle and wink at Indi.

“Go get ‘em, Rock God,” she says and I turn around. And as I go to walk off, she slaps my arse. I turn back to her and Aria is giggling.

“Silly Mummy,” she says.

I smile and walk over to Annie, who’s making out with Aston, seems like we all have the love bug right now.

“C’mon guys, you can snog like and an old married couple whenever you like. Just not when we’re about to head on stage again for the first time in years. Now come over and get your hands in,” I say slapping Annie on the back making her break her kiss with Aston. We all walk to join Ella and Chad, placing our hands in. I take a look around the circle and it’s so great to be back with my band and about to be back on stage performing again. I smile and give the nod and we all start our chant.

 

The music flows for all to hear,

You cannot help, but stop and cheer,

The walls will tremble, shudder and break,

‘Cause no one can handle the sound of Staked.

One, two, three…Staked!

 

We all throw our heads back and laugh, and it feels so cathartic to say it again after so long away. Performing is in all of our blood and being away from it has left us with a hole that we needed to fix. But being here now, together, after having another album come out and go platinum, just celebrating in the awesomeness that is Staked, well this is a high I never want to forget. We all separate. I look back to Indi, who’s singing something with Aria, they both look up and wave to me. I wave back blowing them a kiss. And like always they both pretend to catch it and press it to their hearts. I smile so broad and nod my head turning around feeling ready to rock out.

“Let’s go,” I say and Annie, Aston, and Ella strap on their guitars as Chad twirls his drumsticks through his fingers. I look at my bandmates, my friends, my family and I know we can do this.

“We got this,” I say and the others chuckle.

“Okay guys, they’re ready for you,” some guy with a clipboard yells out and I look at my band and nod as Annie walks up onto the stage. The crowd roars into life and a surge of adrenalin pumps through me, pushing me to a new height. I start to jump on the spot trying to push some of the nervous energy out as Aston walks on stage and they cheer even louder. Chad follows and the bass drum kicks in as Ella walks out and the music starts. I turn and look back at my girls and smile widely and they smile back and nod. That was all the encouragement I need. I jump once more and then run up onto the stage and the crowd is screaming so loud I can hardly think.

“How are we, London?” I call out and the crowd all stomp and cheer. “Get ready to wet yourselves with excitement. We’re back, and you’re about to be Staked!” I say and start singing the beginning of ‘Don’t Mess With The Best.’

Once the song is finished, I interact with the crowd a little more.

“Are you ready to get loud?”

They all cheer.

“Are you ready to get crazy?”

They cheer again, as I look over to Annie and she’s laughing at me.

“Are you ready to get rocked?” I yell and put the microphone out as they scream so loudly it hurts my ears.

“Well then, let’s get this party started Wembley!”

The music is flowing through my veins and I’m on such a high. I can see Indi standing in the wings with Aria, and they’re both looking like they love the show.

This is the moment I’ve been waiting for since I wrote this song.

“Okay guys, thanks for being here tonight, we’ve had a blast. This is our final song for you this evening and it’s the one that holds a special place in my heart. I made a promise when I was twelve to serenade my wife on stage when I was famous at Wembley Stadium, and now I can actually honour that promise. So this one is for you Indi McCormack-Slade,” I say turning to the side to face her. I can see she’s crying as Lia wraps her arm around Indi’s shoulders for comfort. I smile and Annie starts the chords to lead me into sing ‘Saving Grace.’

 

Indi

 

I sit on the lounge in the spacious lounge room of our stunning six bedroomed home. Both dogs are on the lounge beside me as I spin the dial.

“Right hand green,” I say after the spinner stops and Caleb groans as Aria and Coda both chuckle. He tries to move his hand over to the green circle. He slowly creeps it over and I think he’s going to fall, but he doesn’t.

“Ha! Made it, suck that kids!” he says and Aria and Coda laugh.

“Okay Mummy, my turn,” a six-year-old Aria calls out.

“Okay, honey,” I say and spin the dial. “Left foot red,” I say and she giggles and twists around her brother and puts her foot right in front of her father’s face.

“Smell my feet, Daddy,” Aria says.

I laugh as Caleb screws up his face.

“Peeew Aria, have you had a shower in like…ever?” he asks.

She laughs and shakes her head. “Silly Daddy,” she says and Coda laughs so much his body is shaking.

I love how amazing Caleb is with the kids. He’s a better father than I thought possible, and I’m so lucky he spends as much time with them as he does. I couldn’t ask for anything more from him. He really has turned out to be the most perfect husband and father I could have ever hoped for.

“Coda, right foot blue,” I say. He twists in between Caleb and Aria and I have no idea how the kid does it, but he manages to turn his body sideways and put his foot firmly on the blue dot.

“How is that even possible?” Caleb asks and I shake my head.

“I think Coda is an alien,” Aria says.

“I think he is too. Okay, Caleb, left foot red,” I say. He groans again and goes to move his foot, but he wobbles and tries to right himself but he collapses taking the two kids with him and they all fall to the floor in a big heap. Luckily Caleb is on the bottom. I tense waiting to hear crying, but laughter echoes throughout the room instead.

Thank God!

“I’m too old for this shit,” Caleb says as he sits up and the kids climb all over him.

“Again Daddy?” a three-year-old Coda begs and Caleb shakes his head and pulls both kids off him and stands.

“You two play, Mummy needs some attention,” he says and walks over to me.

I smile as he shakes his head. Aria races up to me grabbing the spinner and running back down to the mat before Caleb’s even had time to reach me. He gets to the lounge suite and looks at the two Labradoodles that he bought for me. Their names are Razzle and Dazzle. Aria helped me name them.

“Razzle, Dazzle, down,” Caleb says and they both look at him lazily and stay where they are. He looks at them trying to show who is boss, but it’s not working. I laugh and look at them.

“Down,” I say and they both hop down quickly curling into little balls at the bottom of the lounge suite.

“You know I hate that you can do that, right?”

I smile and nod as he sits down on the lounge next to me. I lean into his side and throw my legs over his and cuddle into him even though it’s getting increasingly harder to do that with my belly getting larger.

“You won’t be able to do that soon,” he says and wraps his arm around me and kisses my head.

“I know little Treble will be here before you know it. She’s certainly a trouble maker, so far,” I say and Caleb chuckles and nods.

“I know all this morning sickness you’ve had, and everything else, means she’s going to really live up to her name, treble-trouble it’s so similar,” he says.

I nod leaning in to kiss him as the kids squeal and make too much noise. And even though this house is full of noise and mischief and mayhem, it’s just perfect for us. As I sit here cuddled into my rock star, I couldn’t imagine my life turning out any other way.

I sometimes wonder what would’ve happened if Caleb didn’t come into the coffee shop that day. Would I have stayed with Mick? What would my life be like now without my rock star and my babies?

Well, I can answer those questions – it would be torture. Because any time I’m away from my family is like a thousand knives stabbing my lungs stealing the oxygen I breathe. Without my family I can’t be whole, they complete me and I complete them. Caleb and I were meant to be on the same path. We travel this road together, and even though our road has been rocky, in the end, it leads to one thing.

True and utter contented happiness.