May 2027
'Travis? Can you hand me Annie please?', Taylor called, trying to get her husband's attention from his position on the floor of her dressing room, colouring in princess books with Mia.
He was clearly too engrossed, however, as he worked on Rapunzel's pink dress - Mia scribbling over Cinderella on the next page - that he didn't hear her.
'Trav? Earth to Travis Kelce', she shouts, waving her hands in his direction as Jemma works on her hair, sniggering at the pair of them.
'Yeah babe?', he calls back absentmindedly, still not looking towards her.
'Give me Annie before I have to get changed, please'.
Jumping to attention, Travis lifts his youngest daughter off of her play mat, handing her over to Taylor in her make up chair so she can feed her before getting ready.
Tonight was the first night of The Tortured Poets Department Tour, one that had been years in the making. Travis could tell Taylor was nervous - it had been almost 3 years since the conclusion of Eras, and due to concentrating on motherhood, she'd barely performed since then.
It was only last week, though, that she'd finally confided in him just how nervous she was - for the tour to go well, for her fans to enjoy it, and for them to get through their first experience of it as a family.
They had spent most of the night talking it over, Taylor curled up in Travis' arms in their bed, his hold more reassurance than words could provide. Obviously, it was off season, so Travis was travelling with them, as well as her parents and their babysitter, Molly. In her heart of hearts, she knew her concern didn't come from Travis, or the girls - she was nervous for herself, to get back out there again. She knew that wouldn't stop until she was actually on the stage in front of everyone, back where she belonged.
Now, as she feeds her baby, Jemma attempting to fix her hair and Lorrie applying her make up, Taylor thinks back to the last time she performed on tour, the closing week of Eras in 2025. She was pregnant with Mia then, and while she had known life was about to change, she just hadn't realised the extent of it - and how much better it would be, surrounded by Travis and their girls.
She finishes feeding the baby, ready for the stage, and sits beside Mia on the couch, who is eating snacks and begging Travis for his phone to watch cartoons. Taylor pulls her onto her lap, quickly setting about to do her hair into pigtails.
Mia had inherited Travis' hair colour, but her curls - and it was as unruly as Taylor's was when she was 2, too. She fastens her hair with pink glittery clips that match her outfit and kisses her on the cheek, laughing when Mia swots her mother away to concentrate on the chips in her snack bowl.
'Be good for daddy, okay baby? Mommy will wave to you, princess', she whispers in her ear, knowing that Mia has no idea what she's talking about.
'She'll be fine, Tay. We'll have a dance party all of our own, right Mia?', Travis reassures her, lifting Mia off Taylor's lap and standing up, pulling his wife into a hug.
'Kill it out there, baby. We love you so much, and we're so proud of you', he emphasises with a kiss to her head.
'Love you, Trav. See you after', she responds, and with one last kiss for all three, she departs with her stage manager to go backstage and get ready for the performance.
'Right girls, time for us to go too', Travis announces to his uninterested audience - Mia dumping cheerios onto the floor, Annie fast asleep in her stroller. Not wanting to disturb the baby, Travis calls Molly in, asking her to stay backstage with Annie - at least while she's asleep.
