[ FAMILY ] t i e s. - a tayvis story.

[ TWENTY-TWO ]

"You know the rules," Chris said to the older kids as they laid in Their respective spots. "Ster is in charge of the remote. You can stay up or go to sleep; it's up to you, but I better not hear noise coming out of this room. Do you understand?"

"Yes, sir," Sterling, Bronze, Koa, and Wyatt all said in unison.

"Bronze, you understand? Don't start no shit in here," Chris said, looking directly at Bronze. Bronze was the only boy and had slowly morphed into a troublemaker. He didn't listen to either of his parents, and his behavior started to become an issue. Chris and Travis slowly took over the role of disciplining Bronze.

"Yes, Uncle Chris," Bronze replied.

"Alright, Ster, come get me if anything goes wrong."

"Okay," Sterling said, clicking the buttons on the remote to find something for the four of them to watch.  Chris turned off the light in the room and pulled the divider closed.

"He hasn't come out yet?" Chris asked, plopping into the seat next to Selena and wrapping his arm around her. She took it as an opportunity to make herself comfortable against him, tucking her feet up on the seat.

"Nope," Taylor replied. "Khi might be being a little clingy. It's been taking a little while to get her to settle down since having Kali." Khi hadn't been taking it, not being the youngest in the house, the best. She had reverted back to a few old habits that Taylor and Travis both thought were gone for good.

"She's still having a hard time?" Brittany asked, raising an eyebrow. 

"Yeah, she's even reverted back to sucking her fingers during the day," Taylor said. "Dinner has been hard too, things that she normally would have eaten, she doesn't want anymore. And she wants a sippy cup again, which she hasn't had in years."

"She'll adjust soon. Give her some time. She's just missing you and Trav giving her all the attention." Selena commented, remember some information from that one child development class she took ages ago.

"Picking a movie with those four is a task," Travis said as he came out of the bedroom area, pulling the door but not closing it completely. 

"Khi wasn't being clingy?" Taylor asked as he walked over to her and sat down. 

"Not more than normal," He said, shrugging his shoulders. He took Kali out of her hands and placed the baby on his lap. "Hey, cutie pie," Travis said in a high-pitched voice, making his little girl smile. "Look at that pretty smile. You smile just like your Mommy." Taylor could do nothing but look at her husband and their daughter. There was nothing like watching him with their girls. His love for them was unmatched and her was unmatched, and never in a million years did she think she would have this family that she did. A man who loved her unconditionally and three little girls who he loved just as much.  Travis "stood" the little one of her feet, making her "dance." The smile on Kali's face grew bigger. 

"Say, 'Daddy, I just finished eating; you're going to make me throw up'," Taylor said with a little laugh, her voice higher than normal as she talked to her daughter.  Travis let out a laugh himself, bringing his daughter's little face closer to his own, kissing her on her cheeks. Kali let out a sound that sounded like a laugh and a deep sigh. 

"Was that a laugh?" Travis sat the infant on his legs again. "Are you laughing at me? You think I'm funny?" He asked her, her little face lighting up with another smile. 

"Sounds like a laugh to me," Patrick said, with a little bit of a smile. Seeing Travis with his baby girl made him wish he had little ones again, but he and Brittany had already decided that after the death of Golden, they were done. They didn't want another heartbreak. They didn't want their family to deal with that hurt another time if it were to happen.