a sound she hadn't heard before

nineteen.

"And, that's a wrap on our final rehearsal," Levi says at the end of the day on Friday, following a long week. "Next week, we are going to add costumes, all of our tech elements and put our final touches on this show. I hope that you're all proud of the work that you've put in, because I'm incredibly proud of all of you. Now, get some rest this weekend, drink lots of water, stay healthy, and I'll see you all on Monday, ready to work. You're dismissed."

At that, the sounds of chatter fill the room as the cast begins to pack up their things and head out for the weekend. Joe walks over to Taylor. "Do you want to grab some dinner?" he asks.

"I was hoping you'd suggest that," she replies with a giggle. "I already spoke with my sitter and she's going to put Ayla to bed. She says to stay out as long as I'd like."

"When will I get to properly meet Ayla?" Joe asks. "I know I met her at auditions but I want to meet her for real. If you're comfortable with it, of course."

"Oh, absolutely," Taylor says, "but we haven't exactly had that conversation yet... about the whole 'boyfriend-girlfriend' thing."

Joe nods. "I understand. It must be scary."

"It's just... I haven't dated anybody since her father. You know that. She hasn't even met her father before. I don't know what the best way to go about the situation is, since it's going to be uncharted territory for both of us. I mean, I don't think she'll care, but I really don't want to freak her out."

"I get it," Joe says. "Whenever you're ready. We can do this at your speed, just like everything else about this relationship. I understand completely."

"I'll speak with her tomorrow. I promise. You can meet her next week." Taylor knows that meeting your girlfriend's kid is a big step, but one that Joe is eager to take, and one that Taylor also wants to occur. Ayla is the most important thing in her life and Joe has the right to know her, because if she wants to be his girlfriend, she has to open up every aspect of herself to him. Some of those will have to come with time. The deep, dark moments that she has locked away in cages in the pits of her stomach won't come back out for quite some time, but something as wonderful as the little blonde five-year-old who makes every single day brighter for Taylor is a pretty easy thing to introduce Joe to right away.

Ayla is going to come to their first performance, too. Taylor promised her that already, and she knows that that won't be a good time for the two to meet, for so many reasons, especially because the rest of the cast doesn't yet know about their relationship. The other creatives have even mentioned to Taylor how nice it is that she has formed a great friendship with Joe. Joe said that some of the other cast members said the same thing to him about her. They laugh about that in private, but don't know how the company will react to the news of their relationship when they inevitably find out someday.

"So," Taylor whispers to Joe as they walk out of the building, "where did you have in mind?"

"Do you want to head back to my flat?" he asks. "My buddies are out for the evening, so we have the place to ourselves... if you're okay with that, I mean."

"Back to your apartment?" Taylor asks, caught off-guard. She isn't sure what he is insinuating with that invitation, and isn't sure she's ready to take that step yet.

"Only if you want to," Joe says.

"Joe..." Taylor takes a deep breath, "I'm just not sure that-"

"Oh my god," Joe cuts her off, suddenly realizing what his invitation might sound like. "I didn't mean it like that. I'm so sorry if it came off as moving too fast. No, I just mean... we can sit on the floor of my living room and watch a movie and eat Chinese food. There's this great place for takeaway that's really close by."