Protecting Leah

Love is a challenge

Karlie's P.O.V

It's been two months since I first convinced Taylor to board her plane to New York for a few weeks with me. Two months is all it took for things to fall to the edge of the earth and build back up stronger than ever. I can still remember the first week after it came out that we were dating. The paparazzi honed in on us and we couldn't move or go anywhere. Taylor was constantly hammered in the media for turning to women after failing to secure a man. Things had gone from worse to worse and we began to fight. We fought about everything. Nothing was working we would come home and it would be a fight, we never did it in front of Leah. I could tell we were near breaking point but I wanted it to work. I was going to try.

This morning Taylor had gone to an early meeting and Leah had come in for her cuddles. "Mama..." I heard a little voice calling from the side of the bed. I opened one eye and Leah's face was right there. I rolled over in a hurry and she began to laugh. I pouted at her and Leah laughed. "Pouty face mama, that's a pouty face." I reached over and lifted her up onto the bed and she settled on top of me. Her arms clinging to me as I relaxed back into the pillows intending to stay in bed for as long as possible. Leah then moved under the blankets and her cold feet startled me. I had tickled her for a little bit until she said, "mama, why do you and mommy fight a lot?" her blue eyes stared into mine as I looked at her. "Sometimes mommies fight bug." I said back.

"But why mama?" I looked at her and she glanced back again.

"I don't know, the bad men with the camera's follow us everywhere and we know you don't like them and we don't either." She nodded her head and began to shuffle off the

bed. "Where are you going missy?" I asked her. She looked at me and said.

"To bed, I'm tired." I laughed at her as she went back to her room. I decided I wasn't tired and so I sat up and looked around the bedroom. Smiling at what I saw, which was a combination of two public women, one a musician the other a model and all the clothes that went along with it. Venturing out into the rest of the house wasn't much different. The lounge was taken over with Barbie dolls and Lego which made me laugh. Even Meredith was enjoying the lounge, I looked and found my phone on the kitchen island. I unlocked it and saw a text from my parents inviting us to go and see them this weekend and I text back saying I would have to check with Taylor. The next one was from Lily Aldridge who was asking how New York was treating us and I text her back saying it was an adjustment and she said that it made sense we were high powered women and stubborn as hell. The last new message was from Taylor saying she would be back soon, the meeting was cancelled. I was just about to reply when I heard the door shut, grinning I knew it was Taylor. Soon enough she walked into the kitchen a smile on her face that slightly faded when she saw me in there too. My heart sank and I began to wonder if it was just an experiment for her. She turned to leave and I found my voice. "Why are you always walking away?" She turned. Amazed that I spoke, but I just stood there. "I'm not Karlie, I just don't know what to do anymore. All we do is fight." She stated as she went to leave again and I felt myself move before I could do anything I wrapped my hand around her wrist and stopped her. She looked at me and I just held her firmly.

Taylor's P.O.V

The fighting wasn't good, it wasn't really us fighting we were fighting about the bloody paparazzi and media and how they had begun to slut shame me again. I couldn't take it. To fight almost seemed like second nature now but it wasn't healthy. I had told Karlie that I had a meeting this morning which I did and halfway there it was cancelled. I had groaned and then text Karlie that I was coming home. I didn't get a reply though, nor did I expect one because when I left she was still asleep and her phone was in the kitchen. But I did it anyway. I had just walked into the kitchen to see her checking her messages, I felt my smile fade and I knew that she had seen it. I began to walk away from the kitchen when her voice shocked me. We weren't fighting but she talked. "Why are you always walking away?" she asked me. I froze. Did I tell her the truth? Yes you do Swift. So I turned and said. "I'm not Karlie, I just don't know what to do anymore. All we do is fight." I then turned to leave again but a hand stopped me. Her hand, my love's hand. I turned to face her and she looked me dead in the eye and said. "If you run, I'll chase you down. You're not getting away from me. I'll fight for us by myself if I have to because I love you and I don't want anything more than to be how we were that first week. To be brave and adventurous even in the bedroom...I just us babe." My heart beat faster. She called me babe. I turned to her and before she could say more I threw my lips against her as hard as I could. She moaned a little against me as I pulled her towards me and when we detached I motioned towards the bedroom and she smiled at me. But I knew she was wearing less layers than I was. So someone was going to be disappointed.