a sound she hadn't heard before

fifty-seven.

The days in London continue to pass and eventually, Taylor, Joe, and Ayla all end up in a routine. The start to really settle in with their days. Taylor starts Ayla back up on her schoolwork, and the little girl is so great about never complaining. She's such a clever little girl that she barely even needs help with the worksheets that her teacher is sending her from back in New Jersey. She's also got Ayla to a pediatric psychologist, who both of them love and feel extremely comfortable with.

In a few days, Taylor is all scheduled to face her fear and go for an appointment with a psychologist herself. It was part of her promise to herself. She can't let Ayla fight this alone- they're going to do it together.

In the meantime, preparations are full speed ahead for the first rehearsal of the show. There are so many details that still have to be worked out- the project is still untitled, there are still a few roles unfilled, and Taylor is working day and night on changing the music that she created for the version of the show that existed during the lab. She's being sent script changes on nearly a daily basis and has to continually adapt to that. It's been crazy, but they're getting really close to having a script that they feel ready to share with the group of actors who are coming in for the first day of rehearsal.

Ben and Levi have been promising Taylor that it isn't going to have to be perfect right away. That's what the rehearsal and preview periods are for. Actors are used to getting the daily script changes.

Still, Taylor can't help but feel bad. She wants to get it all right on the first try. She'd hate to make her actors learn new melodies, harmonies, lyrics, and even choreography on a daily basis. It would certainly be so much for any person to handle, and when Taylor thinks about all of the children that are going to be working on the production, she feels even worse. It would be a hard workload for an adult, much less a child.

That fear is the reason that Joe finds Taylor at the piano at much too late of an hour one night. They decided to turn the walk-in closet off of the guest bedroom into a small music space for Taylor. It isn't that big, but it's enough to hide in with her piano and a guitar or two. She put up some soundproofing foam on the walls, which also makes it a perfect place for her to go when she doesn't want Joe to know just how late she's staying up, working on her art.

However, tonight, Joe can't seem to sleep, so he notices as the clock strikes 2:00 in the morning that his girlfriend hasn't come to bed yet. He knows that he should go check on her- she needs her rest and he would like to make sure that that happens.

He pushes the wooden door open to reveal a soft piano melody accompanying Taylor's voice, singing in her upper register, her tone light and airy.

"T, love," Joe says, his voice deep and ringing in the room. It makes Taylor jump a bit, having not realized he was in here.

"Joe," she says turning around, "I've got this beautiful start on a song. It's this duet between Mr. Fadler and Izzy; I've been trying to write it for so long now. Ben and Levi asked for one, but I couldn't seem to get it to work out... but it suddenly clicked tonight." Taylor's voice is full of energy and excitement, which Joe loves to hear. However, it's the wee hours of the morning, and he wants her to come to bed and snuggle.

"T, that's amazing. You sounded beautiful, but please come to bed," he says. "Ayla's going to want to be up with you bright and early tomorrow morning, just like always. It's not healthy for you to be getting so little sleep."

"Just... can I borrow your voice for a minute?"

"Will you come to sleep after?"

"Fine, fine. I just need you to help me try something."

"Okay," Joe says. He sits down next to her on the piano bench and looks at the sheet music that she's looking at, lighting up the screen of her tablet perched on the music holder of the piano.

"You're the bottom line. I'll try to play the notes to help keep you on track, but can you try to sight read?"

"I'm quite good at sight reading, don't worry," Joe tells her. "Come on, let's do this so that we can get you to sleep."

The two sing through the lines of music that Taylor has just written, and Joe has to admit, it sounds wonderful. He can't help but smile at the end, once they end the chorus of the song on a beautiful harmony. She's just written a verse and chorus so far, but Joe can already tell that it's going to become a lovely piece. He thinks about singing it on the big stage and feels a chill spread through his body.

"That was so perfect. Exactly what I needed," Taylor smiles. "Thank you so much." She kisses his cheek.

"You're welcome hon. Now, remember, just like you promised... bedtime."

"Just like I'm Ayla's age," Taylor winks at her boyfriend as she flicks off the lights in her music room before walking back over to their bedroom. "I've got to admit, I'm quite sleepy."

She brushes her teeth, changes into her pajamas, and crawls under the covers, where Joe is waiting.

"Do you know that we only have a week until our first rehearsal?" Taylor asks, as they're snuggled up together in the dark. "I've got to make every moment that I have count to get this score perfected."

"It's going to be beautiful and amazing," Joe promises her. "It already is, and I know that we all can't wait to work with you on that beautiful project that you've been crafting up.

Taylor blushes a little bit. "Thanks, Joe. That means a lot to me."

"We're all so honored that you're trusting us with your work," he continues. "I know I can speak for the whole cast when I say that."

"That means more to me than you could ever know," Taylor assures her boyfriend, letting out a yawn.

"Get some rest now, hon. Goodnight."

Taylor feels Joe kiss the top of her head before she rolls onto her side and closes her eyes for the night. He was right earlier in saying that the morning is going to come quickly, since Ayla always like to be up and playing as soon as she can be, so Taylor knows that she needs to make every possible moment of rest count. "Goodnight."