Caroline did in fact have the fighting spirit of her mother—made glaringly obvious by the time she was three, when one of the first few words she had mastered was "the audacity!" complete with an eye roll. Her other words included the usual, ducky, mashed potatoes (often accompanied by raucous banging of a spoon against a pot), and one time, out of the blue an extremely loud "Fuck the pattyarchee" concluded by an uncontrollable bout of laughter.
It had Joe and Taylor wrapped around her little finger, and despite the discipline and talking to's, occasionally a wink or a giggle was exchanged between the two when the third wasn't looking.
She was sleeping through the night now, and had been for years. Taylor's initial anxieties about being a mother had faded fairly quickly, spurred on by her mother and best friends. Even with the media coverage and complete and utter lack of privacy, she'd managed to keep most of Caroline's life out of the public eye, even obscuring her face in all the paparazzi photos.
After her dual album release, Taylor still didn't go on tour, with the pandemic ultimately shutting down the world for at least a year. Nevertheless, Folklore and Evermore continued to break records and top the charts, virtually untouchable by anything or anyone else. And Joe, Joe was still a permanent fixture in her life, being the most reliable, wonderful father to Caroline that any mother could ask for. He took her everywhere, managed the household so that Taylor could sleep, made sure date nights were still on the table as reasonably as one could expect.
The sound of Caroline sobbing broke them out of their post-coital haze, Taylor snuggled up against Joe, hand tracing circles on his chest. There was an audible sigh.
"I'll be right back," she mumbled, giving him a kiss on the jawline before slinking her way out from under the sheets and grabbing her robe. She tied it around herself in a fluid motion, slipping into Caroline's nursery.
Caroline was visibly sweating, something that concerned Taylor because it was August, it was almost Caroline's fourth birthday. The days were cooling off and her outfits—including pajamas—had changed to reflect that.
"Oh, hey, hey now, you don't look so happy," Taylor said softly, pressing her hand against Caroline's forehead. "You are burning up, little miss. Of course you don't feel good."
Caroline's sobs had faded to hiccuping half groans of discomfort, and Taylor kept her hoisted on her hip, rummaging through the bathroom cabinets for the Tylenol. She found the purple bottle, nearly full on the third shelf from when Caroline had had a mild fever about seven months ago.
"Here," she whispered, administering the dosage to Caroline. "That should help some."
She had quieted down significantly, and Taylor took to a routine she had constructed when Caroline was just a newborn. She grabbed a thin blanket, wrapping it around her daughter's body, squeezing her against her body. It was instinct at this point, Caroline turning to tuck her face into the crook of Taylor's neck. She swayed softly, back and forth.
"I spy with my little tired eye,
tiny as a firefly,
a pebble that we picked up last July..."
It was a new one she hadn't quite worked out yet, and her daughter was a surprisingly willing audience.
"Down deep inside your pocket,
we almost forgot it,
does it ever miss Wicklow sometimes?"
She needed to write that down. She floundered for a moment, Caroline still resting against her as she fished a pen out of her dresser drawer and grabbed a blank sheet from the back of her planner. Chords. She needed to write chords. A lettered melody would have to do for now.
By morning, the dark circles under her eyes and Caroline's were giving each other a run for their money. The fever still hadn't broken despite Taylor's best efforts, including bathing and making sure she was taking medicine. But Caroline continued to shiver in her arms, sweat dripping down her forehead as if she wasn't freezing. Her skin was on fire to the touch and Joe had to film that day, despite his insistence that he could stay home and help with Caroline. Taylor shook her head. He had an immaculate attendance record for work and she wasn't going to let a situation she could handle herself take that away.
