13+87=100

267: Dad Mode

Except she couldn't reach it.

She looked around the kitchen. No Travis. No family yet. Just silence.

And a chair.

"I'll just step up real quick," she muttered to herself.

She stood on it, reached up and that's when she heard the unmistakable voice of her husband bellow from the hallway.

"TAYLOR ALISON KELCE, GET DOWN."

She froze. Turned. Travis was standing in the kitchen doorway, barefoot, shirtless, bedhead wild, and absolutely fuming.

"I was just grabbing—" she began.

"I don't care if you were reaching for the cure to world hunger. Get. Down. Now."

Jason and Kylie entered just in time to see Taylor stepping off the chair sheepishly, eyes down.

Kylie was biting her lip to keep from laughing.

Jason leaned in and whispered, "Dude, did he just full-name her like a toddler who drew on the walls?"

"I'm surprised he didn't say 'young lady,'" Kylie whispered back.

Taylor sat on the barstool as Travis retrieved the watermelon and placed it in front of her like a peace offering. "You don't ever get on a chair again, do you understand me?"

She grinned. "You sound like my dad."

"Then your dad and I would get along just fine," he grumbled, kissing her forehead.

⸻

The next morning, the house was quiet. Everyone was still asleep.

Taylor was feeling good, for once. No nausea, no headaches. Just... heavy. But fine. She didn't want to wake Travis, so she thought she'd sneak downstairs and make herself a cup of tea.

She walked carefully like always but the edge of her fuzzy sock slipped on the polished wood.

One foot missed the step.

Time slowed.

She tumbled forward, landing awkwardly on her side with a heavy thump.

A second later, Travis came sprinting down the hallway.

"Taylor?! TAYLOR!"

She whimpered on the floor, holding her side.

"I—I think I fell on my hip."

His hands were shaking. He hovered over her like she was glass.

"Call 911," Jason said from behind, already grabbing his phone.

"No," Taylor said. "I'm okay. I don't think anything happened to the babies—"

"We're not taking that chance," Travis cut her off. "We're going to the ER. Now."

⸻

The emergency room was quiet when they arrived. Taylor was wheeled in while Travis walked beside her, one hand on her shoulder, the other clenched into a fist.

"She fell down a flight of stairs," he told the nurse. "She's five months pregnant with twins. And she landed on her left side."

The nurse nodded, calm. "We'll do an ultrasound, check vitals, and an x-ray for the hip."

An hour passed. Taylor was in a hospital gown, monitors strapped to her belly. Travis hadn't sat down once.

The doctor finally walked in.

"Well," she smiled, "the babies are just fine. Both heartbeats are strong. No signs of distress. However..."

Travis immediately tensed.