Together

Big News

Hello hello hello!! I'm back with an update. I was in NYC for the past few days and I got to see two wonderful, beautiful shows (The Prom, Frozen) which was absolutely so much fun. I even got to meet Izzy McCalla from The Prom and I adore her so yayyy! I hope you all had a fun few days as well. Now that I'm home, it's time to get on with this story, hm? There's some tea in this one, so good luck haha. Enjoy/comment/vote xxxxx
-ab

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August 24, 2026

Patrick

While I'm on my lunch break, I go on Instagram, and I see something that I can barely believe.

@anastasiawestend: We will be playing our final performance on 28 November, 2026. Thank you to everyone who has supported us on our journey to the past.

I can't believe what I'm seeing. Instantly, I screenshot it and send my wife a text.

Patrick: Attachment: 1 image

Patrick: Did you know about this?

Harper: I've known for a bit now, yes. We were supposed to keep it a secret until it was officially announced. The theatre is needed for other productions.

Patrick: I'm sorry.

Harper: My contract was up on 28 November anyway.

Patrick: True. You've had a great run, love. Love you so much!

Harper: Love you too.

At that, I exit iMessage and go back to my social medias. It isn't too much longer before I see something even more horrifying than Anastasia closing.

It's a picture of Taylor, taken probably this morning, posted by an account that isn't Taylor or Joe. She's coming out of a doctor's office, which is just about the only place that she's going nowadays, being in her third trimester of her pregnancy. She's holding Joe's hand, and dressed in leggings and a maternity top, which is still a bit tight across her swollen tummy.

@taylorswift.fans: Taylor leaving a doctor's office in London this morning with what appears to be a baby bump. Thoughts?

I don't even know what to do when I see that. Nobody has found out about Taylor for so long, and here it is. All of that hard work which she put into concealing her pregnancy, gone to waste with a simple paparazzi picture. I instantly text Joe.

Patrick: So sorry to see that picture. I hope you and Taylor are okay.

Joe: What do you mean?

Oh god. He hasn't seen it yet. I instantly go to Instagram and screenshot the post.

Patrick: I guess you have to find out somehow...

Patrick: Attachment: 1 image

Joe: Bloody hell.

Joe: Thanks for telling me... I'll have to tell Taylor and figure out what we can do from there. Either come up with a crazy story for damage control or come out with the truth of it all. I don't know what sort of damage control we could possibly come up with.

Patrick: She's just eaten waaayyy too many sweets, haha. Good luck. If there's ANYTHING that Harper and I could do, just let us know.

Joe: Thank you. Perhaps you and Harper could come over for dinner? Give Taylor something to smile about, you know?

Patrick: Done. Harper has a show this evening so we could come over and eat a bit earlier,  then she could go straight to the Piccadilly from there.

Joe: Perfect. Come over whenever.

Patrick: Wonderful. Good luck.

I tuck my phone away after that, as I realize that it's time to go back to work.

Once I get back home, I find Harper resting on the couch, reading a book.

"Hey, love," I say. "What's up?"

"Not much."

"Have you seen the situation with Taylor yet?"

"No, what's up?"

"It's probably all over Instagram by now. Just look."

She opens up the app and finds, almost instantly, the picture that has been circulating.

"Oh god," she whispers to herself. "What are they going to do?"

"Joe isn't sure," I explain. "I'd guess that within the next few hours, they're going to be explaining it all on social media. They were so hoping that they'd be able to keep it a secret until the baby was actually born."

"Are they going to have to, like, present the baby like they're royalty, now that people know?"

"Probably," I giggle at her joke. "It's going to change the situation, though, for real."

Only a few seconds later, Harper's phone vibrates.

"Taylor just posted a photo," she remarks. Opening it up, she sees a sweet picture of Taylor and Joe, with Joe's hands placed on Taylor's belly as she holds a picture of an ultrasound.

@taylorswift: Baby Alwyn, coming soon...

That's all that she says, but it's also all that she really needs to say. I can't help but wonder if the fans will pick up on the fact that she didn't really want to make this announcement, but was forced to, due to the paparazzi pictures that were released a few hours ago. They probably will, but regardless, will be super excited for Taylor.

"Okay, go get your things for the show, then we should be heading over to Taylor and Joe's flat, I tell Harper. She jumps up and grabs her backpack, then shoves her shoes on.

Over at Taylor's, it's clear that she's not thrilled about the announcement that she has just made. In fact, her eyes are slightly red and puffy. I can tell that she's been crying, and Harper can tell too.

Harper throws her arms around her sister-in-law and gives Taylor a massive hug. I absolutely love that the two of them are just as close as real sisters.

"Well, the situation is under control," Joe shrugs. "We aren't thrilled with it, but it is what it is."

"We figured that it would have to happen at some point, anyway. It was probably foolish of us to hope that we wouldn't be required to share the news," Taylor admits.

"How have the responses been?" I ask.

"Mostly positive, actually," Joe says.

"I wouldn't know," Taylor rolls her eyes. "He made me promise that I wouldn't use social media for 24 hours after making the post."

"That's probably smart," Harper nods, knowing how harsh the internet can be. Even she gets hateful comments sometimes on her posts, and she's not even famous, really.

Taylor, Joe, Harper, and I enjoy a nice dinner together. We do whatever we can to take Taylor's mind off all of the buzz surrounding her name right now, and it seems to work. By the end of the meal, we are able to get her smiling and laughing.

"Well," Harper says eventually, "I've got to be on my way to the theatre."

We all bid her farewell. "I'm going to stay around here for a bit longer," I tell Harper. "I'll see you back at home, okay?"

"Okay," she smiles. We exchange a quick kiss before she walks out of the flat.