Never Grow Up (A Sequel)

Happy Birthday Travis

The cries pierce through the silence of the middle of the night, waking Travis from his sleep, and as he turns over to tell his wife he'll get up, he notices her spot is empty and cold, and he sighs, pulling back the covers to walk down to Theodore's nursery.

He stops in the open doorway, watching as Taylor holds their son in her arms, rocking him and patting his bottom in an effort to get him back to sleep.

'Shhh shhh baby boy, it's okay, sweetie. I know you're sad buddy but it will be okay', she coos, pressing a kiss to Theodore's forehead as she continues walking him around the room, a soft smile emerging on her face as she turns and spots Travis in the doorway.

'Daddy came to see you buddy, huh?', Taylor whispers to Theo, still whimpering, but his eyes dart up to Travis as he walks forward, taking him into his arms just like Taylor had, rocking him back and forth.

He protests a little, always preferring the arms of his mother, but Taylor had already sat in the comfortable glider in the corner of the room, rubbing her hand over her bump and closing her eyes, sighing tiredly. Yesterday she was officially 38 weeks pregnant, full-term, and was definitely feeling it. She was ready to meet this baby, the sooner the better.

The issue, though, was that as her baby bump grew and Theodore did too (they'd celebrated his 2nd birthday a little over a month ago), he became more and more clingy to his mom, his middle-of-the-night calls for Taylor increasing in frequency. Granted, he had had the flu - as they all had - but he wanted Taylor's attention 24/7, and she was getting increasingly worried about the effect of the new baby on her only son.

Travis had told her it was time to cut the apron strings- he was a toddler and testing his limits, seeing how far he could push her, and she needed to establish some boundaries. That had caused an argument between them, one only resolved when Travis bought her her favourite ice cream at 4am, and Taylor had admitted that she indulged Theo a little, as her baby boy. But she knew she was making a rod for her own back, and Travis had resolved to help out more with their son.

So for the last few weeks, every time Theodore had woken during the night, he had gotten up; when he requested an extra bedtime story, he was the one who read it; and when he pulled at Taylor's shirt in the kitchen while she was with the girls Travis scooped him up, taking him outside to run around; distracting him. That's not to say Taylor was ignoring him completely: he is still most often found in Taylor's arms, snuggled into her neck, but they were creating some distance. Slowly but surely.

Tonight, though, Taylor hadn't been sleeping well, the baby wide awake in her tummy, her back sore, and when she'd heard Theo over the baby monitor she couldn't resist padding down the hallway and lifting him out of his crib, cradling in her arms like a newborn and whispering to him, watching his eyes grow heavy as he gained comfort from her presence.

'You okay, baby?', Travis says softly, as he runs his finger down the bridge of Theo's nose, smiling as the toddler's eyes finally close, sleep claiming him.

'Hmm. Couldn't sleep', Taylor replies, her eyes closing as she rests her head back on the soft seat, running her hand over her bump, smiling as she gets a kick in response.

'Go to bed now, sweetie. I'll sort him out', Travis replies, continuing to rock Theo in his arms, making sure he was really over.

'Comfy here', Taylor whispers back and Travis smiles, putting Theodore back into his crib, before walking over and crouching down in front of his wife, placing his hand on her knee and shaking slightly.