I sat up after I heard the voice, Britt's hand in mine. We looked over at the beautiful little girl curled up at our feet. I found my way to Taylor in the darkness and kissed her forehead, tears falling down on her face. "I love you too Taylor. I am so happy I have you in my life."

Taylor kissed my cheek, smiling as she did it. "I'm happy mommy took me here." She then curled up, and fell into a quick sleep. I crawled back towards Britt and we cried together, holding each other, so happy that our little girl had opened up.

We woke up to a little voice, speaking close to our ears. "Mommy, 'Tana, I'm hungry. Can we have pancakes?" Tears leapt to my eyes again as I realized that it hadn't been a dream. I grabbed the little girl, earning a shriek of laughter out of her. I tickled her, and Britt rolled over and joined in. Laughter filled the air as Taylor kicked and fought her way away, giggling the whole time.

She ran out of the room, her laughter still ringing in my ears. I turned to look at Britt, and her eyes were filled with tears, a huge smile plastered on her face. "Morning beautiful." I leaned over and placed a kiss on her mouth, smiling as she deepened it. We lay like that for a minute, our arms wrapped around each other, lost in the feeling of each other's touch. We heard giggling from the doorway, and we broke apart, only to see Taylor's face peering around the doorframe, watching us. I stood up quickly and chased after her, which culminated in a mad dash around the apartment, ending with a giggling heap on the living room floor.

Britt watched us with a huge smile on her face as she began preparing for pancakes. Taylor sat with me on the couch, and we watched early morning cartoons until Britt called us to breakfast. We sat at the table as a family, and chatted, overwhelmed with happiness at the fact that our little girl was talking. After breakfast, I volunteered to do dishes, and Taylor stood on the stool next to me, drying the dishes.

Britt switched on the radio, and we started singing along with it. Our voices, like always, blended and danced together. Taylor watched with awe, her eyes huge like they always were when I sang. After the song was over, I felt a hand on my arm. I looked down at Taylor, and she looked shyly back up at me. " 'Tana, could you teach me how to sing? I know mommy can sing, and I love her singing, but I want you to teach me how to sing like you."

I smiled down at the little girl, my heart swelling with joy. "Of course I can Taylor. Your mom and I can both teach you, how does that sound?" She nodded emphatically, and we went back to drying the dishes, happiness making even the mundane task enjoyable.

After dishes were done, we sat in the living room together, watching another old disney movie. Taylor watched intensely, leaning against her mother, and hiding her eyes during the scary parts. Britt leaned against me, our hands entwined and our legs doing a familiar dance with each other. After the movie, silence fell, and suddenly, the small voice that I was coming to love so much spoke. "Mommy, I'm going to have to see him again aren't I? That's why we went to see the doctor." Britt and I looked at Taylor, and my heart broke as I saw tears running down her face. "I'm scared to see him again. What if he tries to hurt me? What if he does it again? I don't want that to happen again Mommy!" She was sobbing by this time, and Britt took her in her arms, rocking her, her face a mask of pain and sorrow.

"No baby, that won't happen. It's normal to be afraid. He's a bad man, and he hurt you, and that wasn't okay. But he won't be able to do that again ever. I will protect you baby, I promise. Mommy won't let that ever happen again." Now, both of my blondes were sobbing, and I moved towards them, wrapping my arms protectively around them.

"Taylor, I have done this a lot of times before. I know he seems so scary, and I know you're afraid, but I also know that there is no way for him to hurt you again. After you talk to the lawyer, you won't have to see him ever again. There are going to be police men, and lots of other people in the room, and they won't let him come near you." I stopped and leaned down to look the beautiful little girl in the eyes. "I promise you that me and your mom will protect you. I will never ever let him touch either of you again. No one messes with my girls."

Taylor sniffed, and wiped away some of her tears, her little body shuddering with hiccups as she tried to calm herself down. She looked down at her hands and then back up at me. "'Tana, what if he hurts you though?"

I jolted a bit in shock, realizing that the little girl was so scared for me and her mommy too. "Tay, I promise that he won't hurt me. I am pretty good in a fight if he ever did get near me, and I can protect you, your mom and myself without any difficulty." I smiled gently down at the little girl, poking her softly in the nose to get a smile out of her. "Plus, I know you and your mom have my back and will keep me safe too."

Taylor nodded, and snuggled into her mom, allowing both of us to hold her so she felt safe once again.