a sound she hadn't heard before

forty-four.

After Christmas, as the days pass, things really start to move forward with the move to London. Their departure date from the United States is set- January 3. Right after New Year's. They decided to go a little bit earlier than necessary so that everyone would have room to adjust- Ayla to a new country that she has never even set foot in, Taylor and Joe to living together full-time, and all of them with a new groove to get into. Taylor wants to make sure that Ayla has time to get comfortable around Joe's mom before she starts her schoolwork, too.

It's going to be a hard transition for everyone- they all know that. When it boils down to that, that's why they're heading to London much earlier than necessary.

That, however, means packing everything up. Taylor wants to start early to ensure that they don't forget anything. They have no idea how long they're going to be in London for. Taylor's planning on being there until August, but if the show flops, then it may close before that and they'll be able to come home for the summer. She's trying to pack everything for both her and Ayla, for the next seven months. That's hard.

In the midst of packing, Taylor's family is coming to see her and Ayla before they head across the pond. Not only are Andrea and Scott flying up, but Austin and Kristy, his wife, decided to come too. Those two haven't met Joe yet, but are eager to do so, as they've heard so much about him from an absolutely smitten Taylor. She really appreciates everyone making the trip, but it's an added layer of stress on top of everything else.

"Mommy, Mommy," Ayla asks, the day before everyone arrives, "can Jane come over for a play date today? I want to show her my new scooter!"

Ayla has already become a little pro on the scooter, and can't wait to take it to ride around London. Taylor is so relieved that she's excited about something, because she was very worried that Ayla wouldn't want to go to London. She thinks that there may still be a bit of hesitancy, but with each day, Ayla's excitement seems to be growing.

Taylor sighs. "Ayla..." She's about to say no, but then realizes that, unless Jane and her mom want to come to London, there's a good chance that the two best friends won't see each other until the end of summer. That's a long time, even for such young children. Their friendship is important to them. Taylor can't bring herself to say no, thinking about how devastated she would have been as a kid, if she had been kept from her childhood best friend for so long. "Sure. I'll text her mommy and see if they are free."

Ayla cheers; this news has clearly made her day. Taylor grabs her phone and instantly texts Jane's mom. Within a few minutes, it has been established that Ayla is going to go to Jane's house for a few hours in the afternoon. It was Jane's mom's idea, to have Ayla go over there so that Taylor can use the time to pack.

Normally, Taylor never leaves Ayla's side. However, she trusts Jane and her mom, and has been allowing Ayla to go there for play dates over the past few months. She loves that it gives her daughter a chance to be a normal little girl for once, when typically, no matter how hard Taylor tries, Ayla's life is anything but normal.

After dropping Ayla at Jane's house, Taylor can't help but feel a sense of relief. For once, she's all alone in her house. Joe's in New York, packing up his things for London as well. He's going to come and stay with Taylor while her family is here and for New Year's Eve, meaning that he wants to be pretty much packed up before that happens.

As much as Taylor adores having Joe and Ayla around, it's nice to have some time to herself for once. She can take some time and get a lot done in the few hours that Ayla is going to be away.

She relishes in the time, turning up some music and dancing around as she goes through her clothes, picking out what she wants to bring and leave behind. Her and Joe agreed that they're going to go buy furniture over there since it's too hard to transport, but she packs up some bedding as one less thing that she will need. She also starts to pack up some of her makeup, leaving out her absolute favorite products that she'll be using over the next bit of time. Just like Joe, she wants to be mostly packed up before her relatives come so that she can enjoy her time with them and not have to worry about putting her whole life into boxes.

After a bit, Taylor wanders into the kitchen to find herself a snack. As she is fixing a bagel, she gets a FaceTime call. Looking at the Caller ID, she smiles. It's Abi, one of her absolute best friends in the world. The two haven't talked in a long time, and haven't seen each other in even longer. It's time for a good catch up.

Propping her phone up against a poinsettia plant that's in the center of the table, Taylor answers the call. "Hey Ab," she smiles. "What's up?"

"I just wanted to call you and see how you were doing... is it a good time?"

"You couldn't have picked a more perfect time," Taylor smiles. "Ayla's at a play date for another hour."

"Oh, perfect. God, it's been so long. How have you been?"

"Good... I'm packing up to go to London in a few days."

"Oh, that's so exciting. Just for a little trip? Are you meeting Joe's family or something?" Abi asks.

Taylor's eyes widen. "God, it really has been too long," she laughs. "The musical that I wrote... it's transferring to the West End so I need to be there for rehearsals and the first bit of performances... that's protocol. If all goes well, we'll be there until the beginning of August."

"Oh my god," Abi laughs. "That's incredible news. Congrats... I'll have to come catch you over there. I've always wanted to go to London."

"Oh my god," Taylor gushes, "that's so sweet of you. Name your date and I'll send my plane for you. Seriously."

Abi smiles. "I'll check my calendar. Thank you so much, wow. You don't have to do that."

"Yes I do," Taylor nods. "It's the least I could do if you want to travel that far for me."

Abi smiles and thanks Taylor again, then pauses. "Hey, this just popped into my head... I've been meaning to ask you... I saw a headline the other day about Ayla's dad being arrested... do you know-"

"Yeah," Taylor sighs, cutting Abi off. "He was trying to wiggle his way back into my life, and I didn't want him anywhere near my daughter. He's taking me to court for partial custody of her, so I'm taking him to court for attempted murder. I've got a case that I've already taken to the police- the evidence is concrete enough that they brought him into custody. It's absolutely been one of the hardest things I've ever had to do," she admits.

"Wow," Abi says. "That's so brave of you, T. I'm really proud of you." Abi was there that day at the party, but she doesn't know the whole story. She doesn't know anything that happened after everyone went into the basement. The things that Adam threatened. All that she knows is that he showed up to the party with a gun.

"It's going to be a really publicized trial most likely. I haven't looked at the news recently, for fear of seeing headlines about it just like the one that you saw. I'm going to have to tell every detail of that story, so the whole world's gonna know it soon enough..."

Abi gives Taylor a sad smile. "It's for the best. For Ayla's safety, right?"

"Yeah. Even more than you know right now..."

Abi sighs. "You shouldn't have to be going through this. Especially not now, while you're focusing on the show."

"The timing isn't great, but it's all connected, I'd suspect. The reading of the musical put my name back into the headlines, and he found me at one of our workshop performances. That was the first time that he tried to get to Ayla. I don't know what his motives are- I just know that there's some sort of ulterior motive involved. I just need to keep him out of our lives, and if that means sending him to prison for the rest of his life, then so be it. That's what he deserves."

"I'm so proud of you, T. I can't wait to come see you and give you the biggest hug. It's what you deserve."

Taylor and Abi chat for a bit longer, with Abi telling Taylor all about her life as well as Taylor finishing catching Abi up, but eventually, Taylor has to go pick Ayla up from Jane's house. Taylor feels so refreshed after talking to one of her oldest friends, and now, she's all ready to spend the rest of the day helping Ayla to pick what she is going to pack for London. It's all starting to feel so real, and as nervous as Taylor is, she also can't wait to see what kind of beautiful production they are going to create.