Stay This Little

Part Three: I Walked Through the Door With You

(Taylor's POV)

Alison only seemed to get more excited as we drove along. Most of the ninety-minute drive was spent with her pointing out the different types of trees she remembered from science class, or telling me about some of her favorite drawings - usually of castles and dragons. After a while, she turned away from the window to look at me with that little head-tilt again.

"Taylor?"

"Yes?"

"What do you do when you're not on tour? Do you have to work a lot?"

She blinked at me, and I laughed quietly. Then, I sighed and tucked a strand of hair behind my ear.

"I do work a lot, most of the time," I admitted, and her face fell. "But you want to know something?"

I leaned over to be closer to her and held my hand out for her to hold.

"What?" She asked quietly.

"A lot of the time, I can finish early, and you can always come with because I'm the boss." I winked at her. "And I'll make sure that whenever you go to work with me, we'll have plenty of paper for you to draw on or books for you to read, so you won't get bored. Okay?"

"Okay!" Her eyes lit up. "Does that mean I get to go with you when you go places? Will I get to go on your tours with you?"

"Of course you will." I squeezed her hand. "Wherever I go, you'll go. It's you and me from now on."

She smiled brightly, and it just blew me away how much she looked like I had as a child. If I didn't know better, I would've thought she was my biological daughter.

It wasn't much longer before we were pulling onto Franklin Street. I lowered the divider screen.

"You have Jared and Ethan waiting to assist us when we pull up?" I asked Greg.

"Yes, they're currently in the lobby. As soon as they spot the car, they'll step out. How would you like to proceed when we pull up?"

I paused for a moment, and shot Alison a quick glance.

"Ali, honey, when the car stops in front of our building, the people I told you about will be waiting for us so they can take pictures. They'll probably be pretty loud this time, too. Would you be more comfortable if I carried you inside, since it's your first time? I don't want them to startle you too much," I explained.

She wrinkled her little eyebrows together, and frowned like she was thinking hard about her answer.

"Is it okay if you carry me?" She pouted. "It's okay if you don't want to."

I reached over and held her face in my hand with a smile.

"Of course I want to carry you. I just want you to be comfortable." I turned back towards Greg. "So, I'll carry Ali inside, if you'll come around and let us out. Would you mind bringing her boxes in from the back of the car after you put it in the garage?"

"Sure thing, Taylor." He nodded. "Alright, it looks like the crowd's grown a little, but we should still have an easy time of it."

I took a deep breath, as Greg parked the car at the curb. The fans were already getting excited, and the six paps waiting had their cameras at the ready. Well, here goes.

"Okay, Ali, you can go ahead and unbuckle yourself."

I undid my own seatbelt, and held my arms out for her when she was done. I held her close to me.

"When I knock on the window, Greg's going to open the door. You stay right here, and I'll get out first so that I can pick you up. While I'm bringing you inside, just keep your head tucked up against my neck, alright? And hold on tight, so I can make sure you're okay," I instructed her with a small smile on my face.