Just as Dr. Leyland had speculated, Taylor's test results revealed no medical reason for her paralysis. But knowing that didn't help matters any. Taylor still could not get up out of the bed on her own. The doctor kept her in the hospital for a few more days, making sure Taylor was healed enough to travel. Her fractures and bruises were healing nicely, due in part to her inability to move around much and aggravate them.

Her state of mind, however, was not on the mend. Apathetic. Listless. These were the only words that could describe Taylor at this point. Taylor allowed the others to decide what should happen to her once she left the hospital. It wasn't because she wanted them to, but because it was easier that way. She didn't care, it was as simple as that, so she let them plan.

Nick shamelessly took full advantage of her attitude. He doted on Taylor every chance he could and while she wasn't outwardly hostile to him, she wasn't exactly a bright ray of sunshine either. It was hard, but Nick accepted responsibility with a curious combination of his normal childlike exuberance and a Kevin-ish serious mien. Kevin and Jamie were both amused and amazed by Nick, and he knew it. Although he enjoyed surprising his older "brother and sister," he wasn't doing this for them. He was doing it for Taylor and he had no intention of letting her suffer anymore than she already had.

And she was suffering, whether she consciously accepted it or not. Psychologically, Taylor was looking for something to hold on to. Kevin and the doctor had been right when they said that Taylor lost her "comfort zone." As bad as Mike had been, at least her life with him had some shred of certainty. Now, with Mike out of her life, she was feeling lost, and she had no one to turn to. Nick was there ready to help her, but apathetic or no, she wasn't really ready to turn to him either. She simply existed, and waited.

Reluctantly, Jamie and Kevin had to return to Cincinnati and Orlando, respectively, leaving Nick to care for Taylor alone. They had finally given in, agreeing that Nick had a point – since he was going to be taking care of her for a while anyway, why not start now?

Kevin had been summoned back to Orlando to deal with some technical problems the production staff was having. And Jamie was in the middle of tying up her life in Cincinnati to move to Florida, and she still had responsibilities of her own that needed to be dealt with. While both of them were sad to leave each other, and Taylor, they were curious to see how the situation between Nick and Taylor played out.

Jamie opened the door to Taylor's room, dropped her duffel bag just inside the door and crossed over to Taylor's side. Nick was sitting on the bed with Taylor, holding her hand and talking to her. When Jamie reached them, Nick smiled at her, leaned over to kiss Taylor, then got up and walked out of the room, shutting the door quietly behind him.

"Tails? I just came to say goodbye." Taylor, who had been staring blankly at the ceiling, shifted her gaze to Jamie. Her expression was dull, and she had trouble meeting Jamie's eyes.

Jamie reached for her hand. "Taylor? It won't be long, I promise. I will be in Orlando in a couple of weeks. And then, everything will all go the way we've planned. You'll be fine, we'll get a house and start our practice, and. . ." she trailed off as Taylor returned her gaze to the ceiling. Swallowing hard, Jamie tried again, "I would take you with me if I could, I'm not abandoning you. I'm just trying to do what's best for everyone, and I don't think moving you to Cincinnati only to go to Florida a few weeks later is what's best." Silence. "Taylor? Please say something." Jamie's eyes sank to the floor.

"It's okay," Taylor said softly as she lightly squeezed Jamie's hand. "It's okay."

Kevin had left earlier that day for Florida. Nick waited for Jamie in the waiting room so he could drive her to airport. In the car, Jamie quietly watched the cityscape pass by, wondering how long it would be until the real Taylor came back.

"Jamie?" Nick asked softly, not wanting to startle Jamie out of her thoughts.

"Hmmm?" She looked away from the window and towards Nick.

"Do you know much about Taylor's family?"

"Well, yeah, I guess so. Why?"

"She never talks about them to me," he said, disappointment in his voice. "I'm just wondering what they're like I guess."

"Well she had pretty much a normal family like everyone else. They weren't the Cleavers by any stretch but they were okay, I guess. They had problems just like you and me." Jamie paused for a second. "Her parents died a few years ago, her mom died first and then her dad about a year later. She has a sister who lives in Atlanta. And her sister has two kids, I think they're about your age."

"My age?" Nick was startled.

"Yeah, Taylor is the baby of the family; her parents were older when they had her. Mallory, her sister, is ten years older than Taylor. I think her niece Hayley is 20 and her nephew Carter is 19."

"She has a nephew named Carter?" Nick said, laughing.

Jamie giggled at this, "Yeah, I guess I never thought about that."

"Is she close to her sister and her kids?"

"I know she keeps in touch, but honestly, I don't know how close they've been the past couple years."

"Did Mike keep them apart?"

Jamie looked at Nick, surprised. "That's a good question. I guess I never really thought about that either. Maybe he did."

"Was she close to her parents?"

"Yeah she was pretty close. Her parents were very nice, a little odd at times, but pretty cool," Jamie said, remembering Taylor's parents fondly. "So what's with all the questions, Nicky? Haven't you and Taylor talked about your families?"

"No, she never did. I guess I just assumed she was an only child, because if we talked about family it was usually mine."

"No, Taylor has family. She loves them but there are times she acts like Aphrodite."

"Aphrodite?" Nick asked, clearly confused. "What the hell are you talking about, Jaim?"

"Oops sorry, you're blond, I forgot about that for a second," Jamie said, looking over at Nick who mock-pouted. "I'm just kidding, Nicky. I was referring to the Greek myth, where Aphrodite, the goddess of love, appears to the Greeks from the sea. All I mean is that she sometimes acts as if she just appeared on Earth with no ties to anyone else, no family at all. It's sometimes disconcerting when she suddenly does mention them. Why, did she say something about them to you lately?"

"No, but I was wondering if there was anyone else who should know about her," Nick said seriously. "Maybe we should call her sister and let her know what's going on. Maybe seeing her would help Taylor open up a little. What do you think?"

"I don't know Nicky, maybe. It might, it might not. I do know that something has to get through to her, I just don't know exactly what that is." Nick nodded and fell silent. Jamie stared thoughtfully at Nick for a moment longer, then turned to look out the window again.

Nick and Jamie shared a quiet good-bye once they reached the airport. Each tried to reassure the other that Taylor would be okay, and each tried desperately to believe it.

Nick and Taylor left for Tampa three days later, and things seemed to calm down for them. Although Taylor was still depressed and distant, she seemed to settle into a routine. Her passive demeanor continued, but the doctor had assured Nick that she would come around eventually, she just needed time.

Nick hired a full time nurse/physical therapist for Taylor. She was there during the day to take care of Taylor and left when Nick came home from the studio at night. Knowing Taylor loved the living room of his house as much as he did, Nick had all the necessary therapy equipment and a suitable bed set up in there. Although she really didn't take all that much from her and Mike's house, most of Taylor's things had been put in storage in Orlando until Jamie got there.

Knowing that Nick had his hands full at home, the others did their best to help out and kept the long hours to a minimum. They were all very supportive and each tried to make time to stop by and see Taylor, especially AJ. He stopped by almost every other day, bringing stories or little gifts to try and help lift her spirits. Everyone was worried about Taylor, except Taylor.

Nick sank wearily into his bed. It had been a week since he and Taylor returned to Florida but he was already exhausted, more mentally than physically. He was getting a little scared from constantly seeing the blank look in her eyes. On a good day, she said maybe ten words to him. On a bad day, she wouldn't talk at all and refused to look at anyone. Today had been one of the bad days. The nurse said that Taylor had refused her therapy and spent the day staring at the ceiling in the living room. He spent a futile evening trying to get her to eat something, to watch television with him, even just to look at him. Nothing, no response.

Nick looked at his watch, it was almost midnight. Not really too late to call, he thought. The machine picked up after a few rings, but Nick hung up. He didn't need to leave a message, he needed someone to talk to. As he put the phone back in its cradle, he heard a faint voice from downstairs.

"Nick. . ." He stopped and listened for it again, thinking he was imagining things. A minute later the small sound came again. "Nick?. . ." It was Taylor, and she was calling for him. He raced down the stairs and into the living room. Almost tripping over a bag on the floor, he stumbled into the room and saw Taylor struggling to sit up in bed.

"Hey, easy. What's wrong baby? Are you okay?" he asked breathlessly.

"I. . .can you do something for me?" she whispered.

"Anything. What is it?" He didn't come any closer to her, but remained standing in the doorway. He was almost afraid to get too close, afraid he would scare her and she would retreat into silence.

She spoke softly and calmly. "I want to listen to some music," she paused, trying to remember, "do you know if we brought the box with my CDs here or is it in storage?" Her voice had a ragged edge to it, brought on by days of silence.

"I think it's upstairs in the guestroom, I'll go get it for you." He left before she could answer him.

A minute later Nick returned again, breathing as if he'd just run a marathon. Taylor looked at him and he motioned to her with the box in his hands. She nodded as if to give him permission to come closer to her. He inched forward until he was by her bedside and laid the box gently in her lap.

Taylor squinted as she looked through the box, trying hard to read the titles in the dim light. She looked up at Nick and quietly asked if he could turn the lamp on for a moment. He did as she asked and after blinking for a moment, she found the CD she was searching for.

She held it out toward Nick and he carefully reached out to take it from her. "Number 10," he heard her say as he turned to put the disc in the player. After adjusting the volume to what he hoped was an appropriate level, he moved back and switched off the lamp.

The smooth opening strands of an orchestra floated into the room and Nick watched as Taylor closed her eyes and smiled softly for the first time in what seemed like an eternity. Winds and strings gleefully filled the room, dancing with one another and daring anyone listening not to play with them. Nick felt as though he were intruding on something private for Taylor and decided to leave her alone. As he reached the doorway he heard her voice above the music, asking him to stay.

He walked back to her bed, and Nick saw in her eyes a glimmer of the person he once knew, a speck of the person he'd fallen in love with. He moved the box of CDs carefully to the floor and climbed onto the foot of the bed. He sat cross legged while Taylor was propped up on pillows, her hands resting carelessly on her lap, fingers moving in time to the melody.

The music softened as the winds and brass faded into the background. A piano crescendoed to a peak and then stopped, paving the way for the lone clarinet to begin its journey through the piece.

"What is this?" Nick asked, boldly yet gently taking one of Taylor's hands into his own.

"Mozart's Clarinet Concerto." Nick smiled with her as she spoke about the music. As they listened to each movement, Taylor explained what the music was trying to convey, what Mozart had intended. It was obvious that this was a special piece for Taylor as she continued describing it to him.

She had been in her high school orchestra, and had performed this concerto, featured as the soloist. At the time, music was her escape, the place she went to get away from life. After high school, time and circumstance had prevented her from playing as much as she would have liked, but listening to that piece always brought her serenity and allowed her to escape again. This time was no exception, she was calmer now, content to just be there, content to just be with Nick.

The moon splashed shadows whimsically around the room and Nick was reminded of the first night they shared in this room, the night they became friends, the night they shared their secrets and fears without revealing the reality of them.

Slowly, Nick stretched out until he had carefully wrapped Taylor in his arms. She snuggled into his gentle embrace. As the music faded, they drifted off to sleep.