Author: McPheever63
Disclaimer: I unfortunately can't claim Katharine, Taylor or anyone else who appears in this story. This is purely fiction and should be read as such.
Rating: Mainly PG, tho occasionally R, and NC-17. Warnings will be posted before any NC-17 sections.
Summary: Katharine and Taylor have found love....in each other's arms. Their love grows stronger with each passing day, until a tragic event tears them apart. Will their love be strong enough to survive this, or will they forever remain apart?
This story takes place over a period of nearly 6 years. So please bear with me if this gets confusing at times.
I posted this story on IFF way back in 2006. I never completed it, but hopefully I will be able to finish it here.
Prologue:
2012: Birmingham, AL
Taylor Hicks looks around his private study at Arlington House, his antebellum estate on the outskirts of town, and silently weeps. By all appearances, he is a very successful man. Since winning American Idol in 2006, he has had a string of multi-platinum albums. His concerts are packed with his adoring fans, and he has collected numerous awards. For all of his fame and fortune tho, he is but a shell of his former self. Thru teary eyes, he looks at the reminders of a time when he was truly happy. One photo draws his attention, and he allows himself a small smile. It is a photo from the happiest time of his life; a time when he was in love with a wonderful woman and life couldn’t have been better. As he stares at her lovely face, his mind drifts back, recalling those happy times………
Chapter 1:
Sept 24, 2006:
It’s the last show of the Idols tour, and as he sits in his dressing room several hours before the concert; Taylor is nervous. He hasn’t seen Katharine since they arrived at the arena. Rumor has it that her boyfriend Nick has shown up and that he wasn’t happy. For weeks, stories had swirled around about a romance between himself and Kat. Every time Taylor had been approached about these stories, he laughed it off. “Katharine and me in love, you got to be kidding me” was his usual reply. The truth was; they were in love. In public, they were always at each others throats. So much in fact, the producers had sat both of them down and told them to chill out with the fighting. But when they were able to have quiet moments together, the passion they shared was breathtaking. Katharine is everything he could ask for in a woman, he thinks silently. She’s stunningly beautiful, fabulously talented, funny, goofy, easy to talk to, and most of all; a woman who isn’t afraid to speak her mind. He stills finds it hard to believe that she has come into his life.
A loud argument ensuing outside his door brings Taylor back to reality……
As he nears the door, he can hear Kat’s and Nick’s voices clearer. Taylor is shocked to hear speak in the tone she is using. She tells Nick “I don’t feel you love me, like the way you used to.” Nick, stunned by this accusation stammers to reply but is cut off as she fires another salvo. “Nick, since the start of the tour you have become distant in a way that I can’t explain; and it seems you have controlled my every move lately!” “THAT’S BS” thundered Nick, his blood slowly boiling. “IT IS NOT BS!” roared Kat, with fury blazing in her eyes. “And furthermore, I can’t eat, sleep, or go out with my friends without your spies filling you in on my every move!” “What are you talking about, spies?” Nick practically spat out; losing control of his violent temper with each passing second. “And what do you mean I’m controlling, I don’t control everything in your life!” “Oh yes, you do; Nick darling” Kat purred; her voice dripping with sarcasm. “Even though you’re not here Nick, I can feel your presence everywhere I go. I feel I’m being suffocated by your “love”, and I can’t stand it any longer” “And lastly, I feel you have used me to further your own career, especially since you recently have landed your own TV show!” For Nick, that was the last straw. “Why you ungrateful little bitch!” he screamed as he slowly stalked forward. Kat stood there, her mouth agape as he continued. “ After all I have done for you, who….who was there for you when you battled bulimia, huh?”
“And who was there to comfort you after your parents died?” “That’s right Katharine Hope McPhee, I was, and this is how I get repaid!” Kat was stunned by his words, but quickly recovered. She thought carefully before she responded, picking out just the right words to cut her soon to be ex-boyfriend to the core. “Yes, it’s true you were there for me in times of trouble and you were like a father to me; but then again you are old enough to be my father!” “Shall I tell the world about the mental and physical abuse I’ve suffered by you for the past 18 months?” “Well, shall I?” Nick was furious, the last remaining control of his temper shredded. He lashed out blindly, striking Kat in the left cheek. She crumbled to the floor with a loud thud.
Taylor, hearing the thud; opens the door and rushes to Kat’s side. But before he can get there, he is blind sided by a right hook by an enraged Nick. He was stunned by the blow, but quickly picked himself off the floor and charges at Nick, enraged by seeing his love lying there in obvious pain. He landed several punches, driving Nick back against the wall. Nick retaliates with a knee to Taylor’s groin. Taylor drops to the floor bellowing in pain. Just as Nick’s about to land the finishing kick to his head, he is tackled by Chris, Ace, and Bucky who were running down the hallway after hearing the commotion. While his three friends have Nick pinned to the floor, Taylor crawls he way over to her. “Kat, can you hear me?” he asks. There is no response. He gently shakes her, “Kat, Kat wake up!” he implores, again there is no response. “Somebody get the paramedics, and security!” Taylor yells to a couple of stagehands down the hall. He kneels besides Kat, noticing for the first time her bruised and cut cheek. As he touches his love’s face, tears begin streaming down his face. A single tear falls and lands on Kat’s cheek, as it does a soft moan escapes from her lips. “Kat can you hear me?” he asks again. She very slowly turns her head, wincing the whole time and looking upwards through glassy eyes she says:” Taylor honey, is that you?” By the shocked expressions on the four men’s faces, Taylor knew the jig was up. He gently cradled her in his arms and softly whispered “Yes, my love I’m here.” Before he could answer their questioning stares, the paramedics and security arrived. “What the hell happened here?” the officer demands. Taylor, sighing, responds “Apparently Katharine and her boyfriend here, Mr. Cokas were having a heated argument, and the “gentleman” here lost his temper; and struck her in the face.” The security officer turns around, faces Nick and asks “Is this true?” With a defiant look in his eye, Nick responds “So what if I did, the bitch had it coming to her!” Taylor then added “I went to Katharine’s defense and was assaulted by this man.” “Mr. Cokas, is this true?” the officer asked. Nick grumbled “yeah, it’s true.” As the officer went to cuff Nick, he asked if he could ask a question of Kat. The officer looked at Kat, who groggily nodded. Go ahead Mr. Cokas; the officer growled. “Kat”, Nick asked through gritted teeth; “What the hell did you mean by calling this man, Taylor;: “Honey?” Though she was still groggy, she understood the implications of her answer, but she didn’t care. She wouldn’t hide the truth any longer. Taylor stood up; ready to reply, but a gentle tug from Kat stopped him cold; “its ok hon, it’ll be better if he hears this from me.” She whispered in to his ear. For Taylor, this was the moment of truth. His heart was pounding as he waited for her to respond, a thousand different thoughts were swirling around in his head. Would she deny their relationship?, would she laugh it off as a fling?, would she finally tell the world about them? As she started to reply, she briefly looked Taylor in the eyes, the passion he saw behind her beautiful brown eyes gave him the answer that he had sought for. She was his, completely his. Katharine fought back a wave of dizziness as she struggled to sit up. Her head was pounding, the left side of her face felt like she had been hit with a sledgehammer, but she had to do this; for her and for Taylor. With an inner strength she didn’t know she had, Kat looked Nick square in the eye and declared “Nick….Taylor is the man I love, and god willing the man I will marry someday! With that, she slumps back down to the floor. Just before unconsciousness overtakes her, Kat swears he hears Nick say as he’s being taken away “I will get you both one of these days, you won’t know when or where, but your day is coming!”…………..
