A Place In This World - Adopted By Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce

Chapter 13

Avery woke up the next morning to the smell of breakfast drifting up from the kitchen. She quickly unplugged her phone, checking her blood sugar as she made her way downstairs. She was a little low, but nothing too concerning since she was about to eat anyway.

Before she could reach the bottom of the stairs, Taylor and Travis were blocking her path armed with confetti poppers.

"Happy birthday to you! Happy birthday to you! Happy birthday, dear Avery! Happy birthday to you!" they sang, laughing as the confetti rained down on her.

"How's our favorite little ten year old?" Taylor asked, wrapping Avery in a hug.

"Hungry!" Avery declared, earning a laugh from Travis.

"Well I guess it's a good thing Taylor has a fresh batch of her famous cinnamon rolls waiting on the counter for you," he laughed.

The three of them made their way into the kitchen, sitting down at the table that Taylor had carefully decorated with balloons and a bright pink tablecloth. They had admittedly gone a bit overkill with both decorations and gifts, but considering everything Avery had gone through over the past few months, Taylor and Travis felt like she deserved to be treated like a princess. 

"Are these all for me?" Avery asked, her eyes widening as she took in the pile of presents.

"Well, you are the only birthday girl here, sweetie," Taylor pointed out.

"Thank you guys so much! Can I open them now or do I have to wait until the party?" Avery asked.

Before anyone could respond, her glucose monitor alerted to let them know her blood sugar was dropping even lower. 

"How about we start with some breakfast to get you back into range and then we'll talk about presents," Travis suggested, placing a large cinnamon bun on the plate in front of Avery. 

Once they had finished breakfast, Travis quickly started the dishwasher before joining his girls in the living room where they had brought Avery's presents. They had decided to let her open them all now, going against their initial plan to let her pick one to open now and save the rest for the party. Taylor had pointed out that she would have plenty of gifts from friends and family to open during the party, plus it would give her things to play with while they waited for guests to arrive that afternoon. 

Avery quickly unwrapped the various packages, stopping to admire each gift they had chosen for her. There were a few new outfits, and a new pair of Converse. Taylor had also picked out a new Polaroid camera for her to bring with them when the tour started back up next month. Travis had picked out a Nintendo Switch for her, as well as a few games, including Mario Kart so they could continue their weekly competition. 

"Thank you both so much! This is the best birthday ever!" Avery exclaimed, wrapping both Taylor and Travis in a hug. 

Taylor felt a pit form in her stomach, knowing that no matter how much they tried to make her day special, her whole world was going to come crumbling down tomorrow when they have to tell her about the hearing. It was killing her to keep this secret from her, but she knew it would be for the best, just to let her enjoy her birthday. 

------------------------------------------

Later that evening, Avery was playing happily with Wyatt in her bedroom, excited to have someone to play Barbies with. Kylie was busy getting Ellie and Bennett settled for bed, as they were both clearly exhausted from their busy day of traveling and birthday festivities. Taylor was tidying up in the kitchen, which gave Travis a chance to catch up with Jason for a bit. 

Taylor had gone looking for them once she had finished with the dishes, and paused when she heard them talking in Travis's office. 

"I just don't get it, man," Travis continued, "How could anyone in their right mind just give up years of time with that little girl? Hell, I haven't even known her a year and I couldn't sleep last night over the idea that we could lose her."

"Welcome to fatherhood, dude," Jason responded, "And for what it's worth, it sounds to me like you've been a hell of a lot more of a dad to Avery in the last six months than that guy was for her entire life. That girl adores you."

"She means the world to me," Travis admitted.

Once the little ones were asleep, Avery and Wyatt were curled up on the couch to watch a movie before their bedtime. About halfway through the movie, Avery's pod beeped to remind them that it was time for a site change.

"Hey Dad? I need a new pod," Avery called.

"I'll grab one and we'll do it before bed," Travis promised.

"Daddy?" Wyatt asked. 

"What's up, girlie?" Jason responded.

"Why do Avery calls Uncle Trav 'Dad'? She didn't growed in Auntie Tay's tummy," Wyatt asked.

"Well sweetie, there are lots of different ways that people can be a family. I'm your Mommy because you grew in my belly, but Auntie Tay and Uncle Trav and Avery are a family becuase they love and take care of each other," Kylie explained.

"Oh. Okay. So Auntie Tay no have a baby in her belly? Just Mommy?" Wyatt asked, clearly still confused by the whole dynamic.

"Surprise?" Kylie said sheepishly, noticing the surprised look on Taylor and Travis's faces, "We were planning to tell you guys later this week, but we have another little one coming in February!"