A Place In This World - Adopted By Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce

Chapter 21

The first few days of Travis's recovery were rough. The damage to his collarbone had been more extensive than the doctors originally thought, and he ended up needing to have a second surgery the following day to place additional pins and try to provide some relief from the nerve pain that was making him quite miserable. Unfortunately, that meant he would be spending at least a few days in the hospital until his pain was under control, and would likely spend a week or two at an inpatient rehabilitation facility after that to learn how to care for himself while he recovered.

Taylor was immediately overwhelmed, trying to balance being at the hospital to meet with the different specialists who were caring for Travis while also spending time with Avery and trying to make her life as normal as possible. She was barely sleeping from the sheer amount of stress she was under, not to mention how strange it felt sleeping in an empty bed without Travis there to hold her.

Jason had flown in the day after the game, figuring Travis would want some company while Taylor was home with Avery. Within the first few days, he could tell that Taylor was on the verge of completely burning out. She clearly wasn't sleeping, and it was as if she was dragging herself to the hospital in a haze each morning to meet with the doctors before rushing home to help Avery with her schoolwork, then dragging herself back to the hospital in the evening to spend time with Travis before visiting hours were over.

There was no way she could keep going like this, so Jason knew he needed to do something. When Taylor got home from the hospital that evening, he made sure Avery was busy watching a movie and pulled Taylor aside to talk.

"Taylor, please don't be upset with me, but I called your mom. She'll be here in the morning, and she's going to take Avery out for the day. I'll go spend the day with Travis because you need a day to rest," Jason explained gently. "I'll call you if the doctors need to talk to you or if anything changes."

"No!" Taylor immediately responded, surprising herself with how forceful she sounded, "I mean... I'm fine. I appreciate the help, but I have everything totally under control."

"Taylor, look down at your feet," Jason replied, pointing to her shoes.

Taylor immediately turned red as she noticed her mismatched shoes. She couldn't believe she hadn't noticed early, but clearly the sleep deprivation and stress was catching up to her.

"Okay, maybe I don't have everything under control..." Taylor admitted quietly.

Andrea arrived early the next morning, just as Jason had promised. Avery was already up and ready when she got to the house, sitting at the kitchen table with a bowl of cereal. After a lot of convincing from Jason, Taylor was sipping a cup of coffee on the couch, still in her pajamas. Jason was already at the hospital, hoping to ease some of Taylor's worries by promising to call her when the doctors came in for rounds.

Taylor still hadn't slept much, her insomnia hitting full force without Travis there to help her relax. At some point in the middle of the night she had started researching different treatment options for nerve pain, making a note of a few ideas to bring up to the doctors the next time they met. But at least for now, the coffee was enough to keep her awake enough to function.

Once Andrea had arrived, it was quickly decided that she would take Avery to the Zoo for the day, giving Taylor some peace and quiet to hopefully take a nap and relax for a while. Avery was super excited to have a day with her grandmother, and Taylor was relieved that she would be getting a bit of normalcy amid all the chaos.

Despite her best efforts to ease the girl's nerves, the stress of having a parent in the hospital was clearly weighing heavy on Avery. She had decided very quickly that visiting Travis at the hospital wasn't good for her mental health, but she missed him a lot and feeling like she didn't know what was happening to him was starting to worry her too.

"Hey Mimi?" Avery asked quietly over lunch, "Do you think maybe we could go visit Dad on the way home today?"

"I don't see why not. I'll text Uncle Jason and make sure he's feeling up for visitors and we'll make a plan from there, okay?"

While Andrea was a bit concerned that it may not be the best idea, she was more than willing to bring Avery to see Travis. After getting the okay from Jason, they decided to head out early and head over to the hospital. Avery was both nervous and excited, looking forward to seeing her Dad but a little anxious about being at the hospital.

Her nerves eased as soon as they reached Travis's room and she saw his face light up. She carefully gave him a gentle hug, being sure to avoid touching his arm. Jason and Andrea stepped out to give them a little time together, which Travis greatly appreciated.

"Hey girlie," Travis greeted her, carefully making room for her to sit next to him, "How have you been?"

"I missed you Dad," Avery replied quietly, "I'm sorry I haven't come to visit you."

"You don't need to apologize, kiddo. I know how hard this is for you. But I'm gonna be okay. I promise," Travis explained, hugging Avery closer.

"How are you feeling? Are you gonna come home soon?" Avery asked.

"I'm still hurting a lot, but the doctors are taking really good care of me and trying to figure out what's wrong. But hopefully I'll be home really soon," Travis replied.