It's All Part of the Story

I woke up just in time, now I wake up by your side

"There was something that I wanted to talk to you and Kurt about. Well something I wanted to ask you both." Taylor adds as she shifts her legs out from under her to bend them and plant her feet on the couch, wrapping her arms around her legs and dropping her chin to her knees. "I wanted to ask if it would be ok if I asked Karlie to marry me?"

"Oh Taylor, don't be silly."

Taylor turns her head sharply at that, eyes panicked as she meets Tracey's eyes. "Oh honey, I don't mean it like that. You don't need our permission."

Taylor turns away from Tracey, puts her chin back on her knees and when she speaks again, her whispered voice cracks, "I don't?"

"Come here, sweetheart," Tracey urges, patting her lap when she sees Taylor trying to hold back tears. The blonde shakes her head urgently and Tracey pats her legs again. "Taylor."

Taylor finally gives in and slides down, dropping her head onto Tracey's lap and turning her face into the woman's legs. Tracey reaches out and threads her fingers soothingly through blonde locks as Taylor softly cries.

"It's okay to be overwhelmed by everything that's going on right now," she says when Taylor's sobs start quieting down wanting to put it out there so that Taylor doesn't feel like any of her emotions are irrational and it seems to work because Taylor nods softly to acknowledge the words.

Taylor shifts onto her back, stretching out her legs over the arm of the couch to look up at Tracey and the girl looks almost guilty as she whispers, "You don't wish that Karlie was dating someone else? Someone more normal?"

Tracey smiles wryly as she tenderly pushes hair away from Taylor's forehead. "Sweetheart, you make Karlie happier then I have ever seen her."

Taylor smiles through a breathless sob as she reaches up to wipe at her wet cheeks. "She makes me happy too. Like ridiculously so."

"That's all you can want as a parent," Tracey says as she continues to run her fingers through Taylor's hair. "And I want you to know that we all consider you a part of the family, we love having you here."

"Really?"

Tracey nods but doesn't expand on her words.

"I know I've never said it to you and I didn't think I needed to," Tracey starts, and Taylor frowns, a little lost as she looks up at the woman, finds Karlie's mother staring down at her with a serious but meaningful expression. "But based on the past few days I'm re-evaluating that decision."

A smile flickers across Tracey's face as she sees Taylor's confusion written plainly across her face so she keeps threading her fingers through Taylor's hair to keep her at ease. "You're in love with my daughter and you're always helping my girls and in the past few years you've become part of the family. You're part of our family now, Taylor, and I love you like a daughter."

Tracey smiles softly but Taylor's frozen even as her eyes rapidly fill with tears, so Tracey leans down and softly kisses Taylor's forehead and Taylor has seen her do it countless times with Karlie and the girls, and she'd been on the receiving end a few times but it had always been quick and she'd never considered exactly what it meant until right now and she lets her tears fall, sobbing again, harder than she had before.

"I mean it," Tracey whispers and Taylor curls into her, hides her face in the soft fabric of Tracey's sweater as she cries. Tracey soothingly runs her hand over Taylor's head, as she coos, "It's okay, honey."

"That means the world to me," Taylor finally manages, her voice cracking and her eyes still filled with tears. Tracey reaches out and uses the sleeve of her sweater to wipe Taylor's cheeks dry as she smiles tenderly down at the blonde.

"Oh honey, if I'd known that you were worrying about this on top of everything else, I would have told you that a lot sooner," Tracey says lightly and Taylor laughs shakily as she starts calming down, breaths slowing back to normal.

Taylor takes a deep breath, closes her eyes for a while to completely wind down.

"Feeling a little better?" Tracey asks and Taylor nods, slowly blinking her eyes open.

"Thank you," Taylor whispers.

"Anytime, sweetheart," Tracey says, leaning down to press a lingering kiss to Taylor's forehead again.

They both watch the rest of Jeopardy in silence, Tracey running her fingers through Taylor's hair and Taylor fighting to keep her eyes open as the last couple of weeks of not sleeping start to catch up with her.

Tracey gently shakes Taylor awake once it's over, all too aware that the couch is not the most comfortable place to sleep and sends her off to bed with a goodnight kiss.

Taylor shuffles back upstairs and pauses at the door taking in the sight of her girlfriend sleeping peacefully, bathed in the dim light of the hallway, her arm still curled around Taylor's pillow.

She closes the door as quietly as she can behind her and sits down on her side of the bed, gently easing her pillow out of Karlie's grasp and sighing to herself in relief when Karlie doesn't stir.

Taylor settles comfortably beside Karlie and she can't help but smile when she feels Karlie shift behind her to wrap an arm around her waist, that even in her sleep she can't be close enough.

Taylor takes the hand that's resting on her stomach and brings it to her lips to press a kiss to Karlie's fingers and lets the steady sound of Karlie's breathing lull her to sleep, ideas for a proposal swirling around her head.

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I know there's not much of the girls actually together in this one, but I couldn't get the idea out of my head. Let me know what you think.... comments make me happy.