a sound she hadn't heard before

fifteen.

Days go by. Days turn into a week and a week turns into two. Taylor is thrilled that Ayla loves spending time with Dani after school, and Taylor is starting to realize just how perfectly safe her daughter is at home with the college student. Taylor is endlessly grateful to Dani for providing that sort of environment for Ayla.

Ayla loves school more and more every day. She loves to come home and tell her mom and babysitter about all of the amazing things that she is learning and all of the wonderful friends that she is making. It warms Taylor's heart to know that her daughter is so happy. She even got invited to her first birthday party a few days ago, and Taylor thinks that she is going to let Ayla go. It's just a small group of girls from her class, and she is so excited about it, that Taylor would have to be a complete stoic to say no.

On top of how well everything is going with Ayla, Taylor is also so proud of the art that she is creating every day, across the Hudson River. The show is coming along so well, and is almost at the point where they can start blocking scenes, chunking material, and having it look like a real show. Of course, it will still go through many changes before it reaches a final version that will, hopefully, make it to Broadway. That's the track it's on, at least.

She has even managed to stay out of the public eye by following the precautions that Tree helped her to put in place. Yes, it means being more than a little bit more cautious than she was on the night that she made the mistake of letting her guard down, but it's starting to look like things will recover from that.

Everything is looking up and she's even happier than she has been for the last few years, since disappearing from the spotlight. Part of that might also be the daily walks that she is taking with Joe, between the rehearsal studios and the parking garage. She has to admit that she looks forward to them every day. It's just so easy with him- conversation flows naturally and they're becoming the best of friends.

Yes, that's what it is. Friendship. It's totally platonic. She really doesn't have feelings for him.

At least, that's what she's telling herself.

She was burned so badly when everything ended with Ayla's father, a month into her pregnancy. He didn't want to be a father and wasn't happy with her; he kicked her out, giving her nearly no time at all to gather up her things and be out of their shared apartment. She hoped and hoped that he would come around; that he would accept Ayla into his life. She hoped and hoped for nearly two years, up until what happened on the day of her first birthday party. It was something so terrible, scary, and unforgivable that she realized he would never come around. Something that she can't even think about without completely falling apart. She had, from then on, absolutely no desire to let him back into her life, much less her daughter's, and it pretty much squashed any desire to ever have another romantic partner.

That was, if she is being completely honest with herself, until she met Joe. Deep down, in the pit of her stomach, at the bottom of her heart, she knows that she feels something. Some little spark that gives her butterflies and makes her flush when he says her name, or when their hands brush against each other as they are walking down the sidewalk. Those feelings, however, she pushes away. She squashes them as quickly as they come, because she can't risk being hurt again, the way that he hurt her. The way that he almost hurt Ayla.

Taylor can't bring herself to put her daughter at risk like that, so she can't let anybody in, in the way that she had let men in in the past.

But one night, she finds herself easing up on that policy. As much as it scares her, she finds herself letting Joe in. As the two are walking to the parking garage, he stops and puts his hands in his pockets. "Taylor, I had a question."

"Oh?" she asks, stopping beside him.

"I was wondering if... maybe sometime... not tonight but some other day... would you want to grab dinner after rehearsal?" He pauses and Taylor is about to answer, but before she can, he speaks again. "I'm sorry if that's coming off as too... like, bold or something. I'm just a silly actor in your show and I know that, but I just... I like you, Taylor. I said it. I do, I like you, and I think that if you search deep down inside of yourself, you'll find that you like me too." He pauses again, but this time, Taylor can tell that he's going to say something else by the way that he runs his hands through his hair and bites his lip, with his eyes darting around as he tries to formulate the next sentence of his speech. "I know that you've had some past experiences that have given you trauma. You've been hurt, but T, that doesn't make you damaged. It makes you a single mom who is trying to give her daughter the best possible life. And you're succeeding at that. I know that you think that the right timing to do anything like this again will never come, but please, just take a chance. I can't keep on pretending that I don't feel the way I do. I want to treat you like the most special woman in the world, even if it's just for one evening. Give me the opportunity to prove myself, please. I can show you that I won't ever hurt you in the way that whoever it was that caused you to put up the walls that you've built around your heart did. One night; that's all I ask. If you don't like it, if you don't feel ready, then we don't have to ever do it again. Just... will you take a chance on me?"

At that, he stops speaking and just looks at Taylor. Her blue eyes meet his and she feels herself melt. He likes her. She feels herself suddenly growing more willing to admit that she just might like him too. After a short moment, but what feels like forever to both of them, Taylor nods.

"I will." The words escape her lips and instantly, Joe bursts into a huge smile. "But... just so you know... going out with me is not... well, I'm not normal. It's not an easy thing to do."

"I don't care," Joe says, absolutely elated. He took a risk, and it paid off. "What do we need to do, to make sure that you're safe at a restaurant?"

"Reserve a private room," Taylor answers. "That's the only way."

"Done," he replies. "How about Friday, after rehearsal?"

"I think that sounds great," Taylor replies. "Just..." she pauses, hoping she can say what she wants to without offending sweet Joe, "don't tell people. Even the company. Let's just keep this between us for now... if that's okay with you. The fewer people who know, the fewer people who could be able to leak it to the press."

"I wouldn't have it any other way," Joe replies. "Keeping you safe and comfortable is my biggest priority."

Taylor smiles. She already feels safe with Joe, and it isn't even time for their date yet.

The two resume their walking as they keep heading towards the parking garage. Joe asks her about what kind of food she likes with hopes of figuring out where to take her on their date. He didn't think that part through because he didn't think she'd actually say yes.

"So, it's a date..." Taylor says tentatively, once they are at her car.

"Yeah, it's a date," Joe chuckles. He feels like he is back in high school again, flirting with the girl he has been crushing on. The same rush of adrenaline came to him to day as it did all those years ago.

"It's been a long time since I've been on a date, Joe," Taylor says with a laugh.

"Well, then it really is time to change that," Joe replies, winking at the woman standing in front of him. "And I'm glad that I can be the one to do it."

"Yeah, me too," Taylor smiles. "I'm just going to have to check with my babysitter and make sure that she can stay later on Friday, then I'll get back to you. I'll text you, alright?"

"Sounds great," Joe nods. "Have a safe drive home. I'll see you tomorrow."

"Yeah, I'll see you then." At that Taylor gives a little wave and climbs into her Toyota. She puts the key into the ignition and turns it to start the motor. In her rearview mirror, she can see Joe walking away, out of the parking garage and back onto the streets of New York. She knows that he'll be heading to the nearest subway stop so that he can get back to Greenwich Village. She drives through the Lincoln Tunnel so that she can get back to New Jeresy. He's going home to his friends who he shares a small apartment with. She's going home to her daughter and their big, beautiful house. He's going to spend the evening going over his lines, and she's going to spend the evening thinking through the lyrics that she penned today.

But this evening, both Taylor and Joe will be humming the same melody. One that she wrote herself, for him to sing, perhaps on a Broadway stage someday. A melody that connects them in a very special way; a way that only music can. That's the power of song, really. In one instance of a tale as old as time, music has brought them together. Where it goes from here, only fate will decide.