TNT Short Fics

Take me back

Taylor settles back in her seat, looking at him excitedly as he starts the car. Turning to her with a grin, Travis asks.

"Ready?"

She nods.

Moving through early morning New York traffic, she takes in the sights as they pass. The city is waking up before them. Every so often, she catches sight of the SUV behind them, security trailing. But she ignores it, focusing on the road before her as they leave the city for more open spaces.

It's always amused her that not too far from the city, you end up in beautiful mountain scenery. That after only a short time of navigating honking cars and the New Jersey freeway, you were hugging the curves of Bear Mountain.

She's driven this road in so many different seasons of her life. Heartbroken. Angry. Hopeful. Exhausted. Heading toward something she couldn't quite name yet.

She once made Drew stop the car at a scenic overlook on a trip home on this same drive so she could scream her frustrations into the wide vistas.

In the present, she and Travis stop for coffee near that same spot and haggle good-naturedly over which snacks to share. Back on the road, Travis's playlist lands on the familiar notes of a song she'd written with only happiness and freedom in mind. She watches as he taps the steering wheel to the beat, humming along as he navigates the turns back towards the freeway.

She takes a sip of her hot, sweet coffee and once again marvels at the twists and turns life has given her.

Another hour in and Poughkeepsie is in the rearview mirror. That's when she starts to get excited. Trav and Aaron have met a couple of times. Even bonded over being Ohio boys, but this is the first time he's getting to see Long Pond.

Aaron had offered to fly out to LA when she'd called last month and asked to record the song...well, rerecord the song (the hilarity of rerecording a rerecord is not lost on her), but she'd asked if they could come upstate instead. Aaron, of course, agreed. Even said they should stay the weekend.

"Thanks for humoring me on this," she'd told him sheepishly.

"What? Of course. You never seemed settled with the song when we recorded it that summer. Let's get it right."

"Mary's Song" had been the first song she and Aaron rerecorded for her self-titled album. She'd wanted Amos to be a part of that song, but he'd only had limited availability during that break from the tour. So even though they were putting the final touches on "Who's Afraid of Little Old Me" that same day, they fit it in, which turned out to be a mistake.

The itchy anger from the song before hadn't left her when she'd started singing. And listening back now, it showed. And even though she had only just met Travis, and there was something already growing between them, the hope and joy and solidness of "Mary's Song" still seemed out of her reach then. Compared to the videos she's seen from the night she sang it in Amsterdam, the difference was stark.

With the vinyl pressing deadline fast approaching, she decided she wanted a redo. A chance to lay down an answer to the hopes and dreams of that girl twenty years ago. And she wants the man who has made her feel all those feelings she put on paper so many years ago by her side when she does so.

With her masters battle behind her, the point of releasing this album as a Taylor's Version now means that it is to ensure it is exactly how it should be: no compromises, just her.

"It's beautiful out here," Travis says, interrupting her thoughts.

"I've always loved it. It's been a place to retreat sometimes. A haven. I dunno, even when I sang sad songs here, it's always felt safe."