Stolen Lullaby

We Can Only Imagine

Three years of hard... three years of waiting... three years of hoping

They never ending up dividing their time between Nashville and London like they had always planned because they wanted to be home... just in case

Every Christmas they still bought Louise gifts and had them wrapped under the tree just in case...

Louise's crib was replaced with big kid's bed because if she came home that very day she would no longer be a baby and they wanted to be ready... just in case

They slowly worked to build a new sense of normalcy. Joe started filming some new projects while Taylor still wasn't ready to take on an entire new recording project she toyed around with writing music here and there. Through lots of counselling and heart to heart discussions between the two of them they agreed it was better for their mental health to stay busy otherwise the quiet from missing Louise became too loud to ignore and it wasn't good for either of them.

When Joe was away on location Tree paid a visit for lunch and to catch up. Taylor's relationship with the media had always been rocky but under these circumstances it seemed useless to fight against the absurdity of what had and was constantly being churned out by tabloids and gossip columns. Tree's visits weren't so much PR business strategy as they had been in the past but more of an assessment on if there were any publications had gone too far over the line.

"It's so good to see you" Tree embraced Taylor at the front door.

"You too, come on in I decided we should eat outside since it's so nice out today." The two women went outside to the back porch where some salad and sandwiches were waiting. At first they kept the conversation light before Tree got the ball rolling.

"Taylor I'm going to run something by you, now don't feel at all pressured to say yes but would you be interested in doing a televised interview with Katie Couric for 20/20?"

The proposition was not an easy yes or no and Tree was prepared for a delayed response. Taylor hadn't made any public appearances let alone a nationally televised interview in over four years. The media scrutiny over Louise's disappearance was intense and brutal. Conspiracy theorists were still convinced that Taylor and Joe weren't being truthful and were hiding something. Having to deal with the circus was just too much and doing an official interview would only make it all the more overwhelming.

"Oh, I don't know Tree I'd really have to think about it. That' kind of a big interview and I'm not really sure I'm ready and I really need to talk to Joe about it first." Taylor nervously torn a bread roll apart into small pieces on her plate.

"For sure, and remember don't feel at all pressured to say yes. They just reached out to me this morning to see if you were interested. I also think it might be a good way to bring awareness to Missing Children and the work you're doing with them."

A major way that Taylor had been working through her trauma was by channeling her energy into working with The National Center for Missing and Exploited children. She had taken a special interest in working with their annual fundraising gala to make it a big celebration filled with fun events and music. By making the event open by donation to the public it had gone from a somber black tie even to large open fun event. A good number of her musician friends generously donated their time to perform while others donated personal items for a charity auction. It was a cathartic way for her to use her creative energies that were usually saved for the stage. While the idea of being able to share awareness of the organization with a TV interview sounded great Taylor still wasn't sure she was alright with the personal direction the interview was sure to turn to.