April 27, 2026
Lying in bed, Taylor felt the room spin around her the moment she opened her eyes.
She closed them again quickly, hoping the moment would pass. Unfortunately for her, it only seemed to intensify, and her stomach continued to churn, the original reason she had woken at 3am in the first place.
'Travis?', she whispered into the darkness.
Her husband was fast asleep, lying on his back in the darkness, softly snoring.
She pushed him a little, desperately needing to get to the bathroom before disaster struck.
'Tay?', Travis croaked out when she finally succeeded, rubbing his hand over his face in an effort to wake himself up.
'Trav, I need you to carry me into the bathroom. I'm going to be sick', she whispers back, the effort making her head spin even more.
Travis jumps to attention quickly coming round to her side of the bed and helping her into the bathroom. He stayed at her side the whole time, holding her hair back, and helping her to her feet and back into bed afterwards.
She fell asleep quickly, thankfully feeling a little better. When she woke, Travis wasn't there, obviously tending to Mia given the time of the morning. Unfortunately for her, the sickness had returned.
She managed to make it to the bathroom in time, and when she got back to her bed, her mind began to race.
Was this what she thought it was?
She did the mental maths and it seemed to confirm her thoughts. She'd felt sick all week, which she had written off to a bug Mia had spread to both her and Travis. The only difference today was the added vertigo, a symptom she'd only ever experienced when she was pregnant with Mia.
But as she picked up her phone to look at her calendar, Taylor knew in her heart of hearts- she was pregnant.
Her heart began to beat faster, thinking through the implications of the timing of her second pregnancy. It was certainly way ahead of the hypothetical schedule she and Travis had discussed, Mia not even a year old yet and they were headed into a full album promotion cycle, as well as the return of football season.
But she knew in her heart of hearts, as well, that she immediately loved this baby as much as Mia, and started to daydream about two little curly haired babies playing together. She smiled to herself at the thought.
Taylor knew she shouldn't get ahead of herself- she hadn't even taken a test yet. She had a couple in the bathroom, and decided she'd confirm it before she told Travis, wanting to surprise him.
She locked herself in the bathroom, conscious Travis might come looking for her if he heard her walking around, and the test confirmed what she thought: pregnant.
She can't help the tears that fall, the confirmation making her emotions soar, the magnitude of parenthood for a second time setting in.
She's interrupted by a knock on the door. 'Taylor? Are you ok?'
Travis' soft tone makes her smile, and she knows he's standing on the other side of the door, eyebrows knotted together, a questioning look on his face.
'I'm good, be out in a sec!', Taylor replies, in what she hopes is a reassuring tone, not wanting to arose Travis' suspicions.
She makes her way downstairs shortly after putting some make up on, hiding the puffiness and tear stains on her face from questioning eyes.
She's greeted with a typical Sunday morning view: Mia in her high chair, half her fruit on the floor, the other half smeared over her face and her clothes, and Travis at the stove, flipping what looks to be pancakes. He can't cook much, but he's pretty good at them and knows she can't resist a stack of pancakes and bacon.
