Fic: Fractured Hearts
Title/Chapter: Fractured Hearts (04/?)
Author: Amanda / writefiction
Pairing: Taylor Hanson / OFC (Libby Hanson)
Rating: PG
Notes: written for the Don’t Judge a Book… challenge
Other Notes: AU, no Natalie or kids had with her
Warning: none
Word Count: 764
Master Post
Summary: Libby and Taylor Hanson have only a year left with their two year old daughter, Lily, who was diagnosed with a fatal cancer. When she finally succumbs to her illness the couple is heartbroken and their marriage begins to fall apart at the seams. Will they be able to fix their fractured hearts, or will they be destined for divorce?
CHAPTER FOUR
A week later found Taylor and Libby Hanson seated in the office of a middle-aged therapist named Heidi. Taylor thought she seemed nice enough, but Libby was still having a hard time opening up forty-five minutes into their appointment. In the end, Taylor did all the talking and Libby just shook her head yes or no and shrugged her shoulders a lot. When their time was up, they scheduled a second appointment and left. Nothing was said on the ride home; the only sound was the radio playing softly.
Once inside their house, Taylor steered his wife to the couch in the living room. “Talk,” he demanded.
Libby looked at him with wide eyes. “About…?” she asked.
“I thought you were going to at least try,” Taylor said with obvious distaste.
“I did try!” Libby exclaimed. “I went and I sat and I talked. What else was I supposed to do?”
“You did not talk, Lib. You just sat there and nodded along. Heidi was nice, why couldn’t you open up?” Taylor asked. “Didn’t you like her?”
Libby crossed her arms over her chest and looked down. “Yeah, I liked her just fine.”
“Then what’s the issue?”
“It’s just… it’s hard, Taylor,” Libby said, lifting her gaze back to her husband’s. “I have an extremely hard time opening up to someone like her. But maybe if we keep going, maybe I’ll get better at it.” Taylor only rolled his eyes. “Tay, this is me trying. If you want to just forget the whole grief counseling thing, then so be it. But at least I’m trying. Isn’t that what you asked of me?”
Taylor nodded, biting at his lip. “Yes, I asked you to try. But it doesn’t seem like you are.”
Libby sighed and ran a hand through her dark hair. “It may not seem like it, but I swear to you that I’m trying. Do you know how difficult it was for me to even set foot in that office?”
Taylor searched his wife’s eyes. The worry lines etched in her face told him how stressful today had been for her. “It was really that bad for you?” he asked. Libby nodded. Taylor reached out and pulled her into a tight hug. “I’m sorry,” he murmured against her hair. “I didn’t realize. I guess… I guess I’m happy that you even sat in on the session.”
“You should be,” Libby told him quietly. “I was basically having a panic attack the whole time we were there.”
“Why didn’t you tell me or Heidi that?”
Libby shrugged. “I dunno,” she mumbled.
“That is the kind of thing you should tell us,” Taylor told her. “Heidi can help you work through it so maybe you’ll be able to actually say something in session, ya know?”
Libby nodded. “Yeah, I know.”
Taylor sighed. “We’ll keep going to see her as long as you want. But if you’re not going to talk, it’s not going to help.”
“I know that, Taylor,” Libby said a bit angrily as she pulled away and crossed her arms back over her chest.
“I know you know that,” Taylor replied. “But I need you to really get it through your head.”
“Taylor… don’t.”
“Don’t what?” Taylor asked, honestly not knowing what she was talking about.
“What you said… those were fighting words and I just… I need not to fight with you right now.”
“I don’t want to fight with you either,” Taylor said, gently taking a hold of Libby’s hand. “I’m sorry that you thought I was instigating something; I really wasn’t.” Libby nodded silently. “Lib, are you okay?”
“Yeah,” she sighed. “Yeah, I’m fine. I’m just drained from being so tense in that office. But really, I’m fine.”
“Okay,” Taylor murmured as he pressed a kiss to her forehead. “Do you want to go lay down? I could lay down with you.”
Libby bobbed her head a few times. “Yeah, that’d be nice.”
Taylor squeezed Libby’s hand and led her up to their bedroom where they laid spooning on the giant bed. Taylor sighed and pressed his face into the nape of Libby’s neck. “I love you,” he whispered.
Libby twined her fingers with Taylor’s and squeezed. “I love you too,” she murmured.
“I promise we’ll get through this,” Taylor replied. “If it takes till the day that I die, we will get through this.”
“I hope so.” After a few moments Libby’s breathing evened out and her body went lax. Taylor kissed her behind her ear and cuddled her closer before closing his own eyes and drifting to sleep.
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TBC: chapter five