SOMEONE'S DAUGHTER || t.s.

04. it's just a question

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For some reason, Travis was absolutely terrified to introduce his daughter to his girlfriend.

It wasn't asking Taylor that he was scared about. She knew the basics of what happened: Lily and Travis' past, Lily's passing, and the fact that Travis was then ordered by the courts to take custody of his daughter, since he was financially and mentally fit to hold custody of his child. It wasn't even much of a choice for him, but he knew that, even if it was, he would have wanted her to live with him. Despite the fact that he had no relationship whatsoever with her at that point, he still didn't like the idea of her going into the foster care system, where it was uncertain who would be caring for her and what kind of treatment she would be receiving. At least he knew that she would be safe with him.

Other than the few occasions when Travis had larger events to deal with that concerned her, he hadn't really talked about her much with Taylor. And Taylor had never pried or pushed him to say anything; she'd always assumed that if and when he wanted to let her know a little bit more, he would come to her first. The last thing Taylor wanted was for Travis to build some sort of resentment towards his daughter because of Taylor's seemingly endless questions.

It was Brighton Brielle herself that worried Travis about the interaction between her and Taylor. He'd listened intently during the conversation with Kylie from the party, and he knew that Kylie thought it would be a good thing, but Travis still couldn't help but be worried. What if she didn't say anything to Taylor? What if she didn't acknowledge her? Or what if she got worse? What if she lashed out at the couple and was so horribly behaved that she forced Taylor to want to keep her distance from the Kelce household? What if she ruined the bit of happiness that Taylor and Travis had developed together over the past two months?

Travis sighed. No matter how many new scenarios he could come up with to worry about, it wasn't fair to either of the women that he was concerned with. He needed to give them a chance to prove themselves, not only to him, not only to each other, but, in his daughter's case, also to herself. He needed to let things happen the way that they were meant to.

"Tay?" Travis asked, looking away from the TV screen of football reruns to where his girlfriend was curled up next to him, chewing on the eraser of a pencil as she pondered over new song lyrics. She'd made a track with Jack Antonoff earlier that week in the studio, and all that was left was to put words to the track; the only problem was that it had been three days and she still couldn't figure out what she wanted to say.

"Hmm?" Taylor put the pencil and paper down, shifting on the couch so her bright blue eyes were focused intently on Travis. Travis smiled to himself; one of his favorite things about Taylor had always been the way that she was so attentive. Maybe Kylie was right. Maybe she would be good to have around.

"I..." Travis started. "I really don't know how to say this... er, ask this. It's sort of a question... but it's a complicated question. I... I was wondering... I wondered if..."

"Travis," Taylor said, putting her hand on his shoulder. "You're rambling."

Travis smiled sheepishly as a tinge of red appeared across his face. After a moment, he shook his head slightly. He just had to spit the words out, whether he wanted her to hear them or not. "I was wondering if you'd be willing to meet my daughter."

It wasn't until the words came out of his mouth that Travis realized that to Taylor, this wouldn't just be an experience where the stakes were high for his daughter. Taylor had already met a number of members of the Kelce family, and each time she was about to introduce herself to more of the important people in Travis' life, she grew more nervous. It hadn't occurred to him before that she might think of his daughter in the same way, even if he knew that the difficulties would probably come from the other side of the interaction.