After reading a JAMA publication aloud until Kayla went to sleep, ready for a nap himself but knowing that wasn't an option for the foreseeable future, Tripp made his way out to the living room for some coffee. Right as Steve burst through the door holding a bouquet of yellow roses.
"How is she...where-"
"Dad-"
"Kayla!" he called. Setting the flowers on the desk, he looked toward the couch where he'd last seen her.
"Sweetness? Where-"
"Shhh, Dad! She's in the bedroom."
"Well, why aren't you in there with her?" Steve asked angrily.
"What?"
"You should've been keeping an eye on her when I wasn't...why do you think I freaking called you first, man?!" he scoffed, brushing past him towards the bedroom before Tripp grabbed him by the arm.
"Jesus, Dad. She's asleep! Kayla's asleep," he hissed.
"And I came out here two seconds before you walked in to get some coffee and make sure you got my text! That's all!"
After Tripp released him, backing up, Steve nodded and adjusted his patch, letting out a slow breath to try and come to grips before apologizing.
"I went out to stretch my legs but wound up over at the church garden."
"You walked all the way to St. Luke's?" he asked as Steve nodded.
"I saw your text, but Stephanie and Joe had me on Facetime with them. If I'd tried to respond when I was on the call they'd know that something was-"
"Yeah, makes sense," Tripp said, turning to the coffeemaker.
"They on their way over now?" he asked, pouring the last of the coffee into a mug for himself.
"Little Sweetness had something to finish up at the office and Joe had some errands. I told them though to be here no later than an hour from now and they agreed."
"Still can't believe you walked all the way to the church."
"Yeah, my feet just kinda led me," Steve shrugged. "And once I got there, seemed as good a place as any to grab these."
Picking up the roses, he put them in a vase with water.
"Don't think the big dude'll mind that much."
"You know there's a florist two doors down, right?"
"Two doors down wasn't where I married Kayla," Steve said gruffly, arranging the flowers. After getting the bouquet to his liking, he walked over to the coffeemaker and rolled his eye.
"You know if you're gonna finish it, could at least put on a fresh pot," he muttered.
"I'll put some more on when Steph and Joe get here. Til then, you go lie down," Tripp said, sitting at the kitchen table with his coffee and flipping open one of Kayla's notebooks.
Met with a light laugh, looking up, he looked Steve square in the eye.
"You serious right now?" he scoffed. "Telling me what to-"
"Yeah, I'm telling you to sleep so you don't crash and burn in front of my brother and sister."
"What are you talking about? Crash and burn. I took a walk, dude! I didn't go and run a freaking 5-K."
"You took a long walk on I'm guessing not enough sleep," Tripp said matter of factly. "What we're dealing with right now is rough enough without you getting laid up, too."
"Tripp, you and Stephanie and Joe don't need to waste any of your worry on me. Right now, Kayla's-"
"Literally worried sick about you," he cut in. "Same as Steph and Joe are gonna be once they see you in person and not over a screen. You can't-"
"You know, you keep saying you," Steve scoffed. "Don't you get it? I don't matter here."
"Dad, c'mon," Tripp said warily, trying to hide the knot in his stomach starting to form at the deadly serious look in Steve's eye.
"You can't just say something like-"
"Again, you telling me what to do. I'm saying it 'cause it's true, Tripp."
"But-"
"No, there's not gonna be a debate. We're not putting it up for a little family vote!" Steve snapped, turning around and putting on another pot of coffee.
Forced to wait on it to brew, gripping the round of the countertop with one hand, he drummed his fingers on it with the other as Tripp got to his feet, walking up to stand beside him at the counter.
"Dad-"
"The only thing that matters in this house right now is Kayla and making her better," he said roughly.
"Well, what makes you think Kayla will be okay seeing you like this when she wakes up?" Tripp argued as Steve laughed mirthlessly.
"She's seen me looking a hell of a lot worse than this, buddy."
"Doesn't mean she needs to see you looking like hell now," Tripp said firmly. "Look, what's it gonna hurt you to skip the coffee, grab a shower, then go in and lie down with her? When she wakes up and sees you looking after yourself, trying to get some rest, it'll make her feel better, too," he reasoned.
Frowning, Steve started grumbling about all that med school training at least amounting to something, when a text came in from Stephanie, then Joe in the family group chat.
"And if you can't do it for Kayla, what about for them?" Tripp asked, waving his phone at his father.
"You know, you're really living up to that full name of yours today, son."
Met with a confused look, Steve smirked. "Guilt-tripp Dalton Johnson, M.D."
"Wow. Yeah, even calling that a dad joke would be too generous," Tripp snorted. Replying to the text chain, when Steve's phone lit up with the messages, he couldn't help but notice the background image on his lock screen.
"When's that from?" he asked.
Grabbing his phone off the counter, Steve lightly laughed at the selfie of him and his wife that he'd opted not to delete.
"Couple of days ago," he said before he cleared his throat, wiping at his eye with the back of his free hand.
"Kayla wanted it gone. I told her though she beats this thing or I'm making this our Christmas card."
"Well, the whipped cream does make it pretty festive," Tripp grinned before his smile went softer. "Make it the card even when she does get better, alright?" he encouraged as Steve nodded, running his thumb over Kayla's playful, pouty face in the photo.
"Sweetness..."