as part of joe's promotional work for his new album, joe was sent off to nashville for a few days. he was scheduled to meet with a few radio stations, but since he hadn't needed to travel too far he had a free day with nothing planned. after spending a bit of time before getting hold of taylor's address, he decided he'd stop over and see her. as of lately, they'd been getting closer again so he figured it would be a nice way to both keep himself occupied as well as surprise her so they could catch up. he got a taxi and quickly made his way over to taylor's. he was a bit nervous since they hadn't hung out a whole lot since they began talking again, and this would be the first time they would be alone in person since the break up. after paying for the taxi, joe headed inside and up to taylor's door, taking in a deep breath before knocking. he really hoped that taylor would be glad to see him, especially since it was a surprise visit.

THEIR RESPONSE

joe heard movement and a bit of murmur from inside the apartment as he waited, though he couldn't hear was being said. at least she was actually home. it would kind of suck if he had made his way all the way over and then found out she was out. when the door finally opened he gave a smile, then chuckled a bit at her reaction. "hey there, sorry this is so unexpected. i'm in town for work and well, i just thought i'd drop by and see if you were home and say hey. i figured if we're going to work at being friends again we should probably get used to seeing each other when there aren't a ton of other people around," he explained, giving his shoulders a shrug. he really hoped that him just coming over without asking first was okay with her, he didn't want to make things worse when they were starting to get good. "so yeah, if you wanna hang out or anything i'd love to," he smiled. he heard a noise from in the apartment, an eyebrow raising, "or i could come back later or something if you're busy and already have company..."

THEIR RESPONSE

seeing the look on her face, joe couldn't help but to be a bit nervous. then, when he saw a little girl come running over to taylor's side it made a little more sense. but mostly it just made things a ton more confusing. since when did taylor have a child? he waited until after the child ran back into the kitchen before raising an eyebrow at taylor. "i...uh...what.." he paused for a few moments, shaking his head. he knew taylor was probably going to explain so he just nodded his head, "yeah, that'd be nice. thanks mommy." he told her, giving her a look so that she would know he was curious about the whole situation.

THEIR RESPONSE

joe silently following her into the apartment, kicking off his shoes beside the door before heading into the kitchen. joe listened carefully, nodding his head to show he was listening as taylor said her name and confirmed that she was her daughter. "yeah, i uh kinda figured that since she was calling you mommy," he laughed a little. "so uh..how old is she? why does no one know about her?" he asked, trying to understand everything. this was all so confusing and a huge shock.

THEIR RESPONSE

joe slowly ripped open the package he was handed, pulling out the popsicle, sticking it in his mouth before tossing the wrapper in the garbage. he nodded his head as he listened carefully to her speak, trying to fully comprehend all of this. it was so hard to imagine taylor having a two year old child. "makes sense..." he murmured softly, turning to watch the girl as she happily cover her face with popsicle as she ate it. he was a little curious about who her father may be, it couldn't have been long after they broke up, but he wasn't really sure if he actually wanted to know or not. finally he decided to go ahead and ask, "so..who.." he looked back out at her for a second, then back to taylor. "who's her father?"

THEIR RESPONSE

joe nodded when taylor spoke, then watched as she headed over to clean the little girl up. he thought about her words more throughly, trying to figure everything out. he tried to think back to who taylor had been rumored to be dating and who she had been seen hanging out with soon after the breakup, but no one came to mind. he focused on the little girl more, trying to decide who she may look like that taylor knew. he racked his brain as hard as he could, but the only person coming to mind was himself. was that possible? it couldn't be, could it? he tried to convince himself that he was being ridiculous and that there must be someone he was overlooking, but now that the idea was in his head, he couldn't think of anything else. he waited until taylor finished cleaning off savannah. once she was back in the kitchen, joe look over at her. "so who is her father?" he asked, bring as casual as possible. he didn't want her to know he thought the child could possibly be his and then have her say it was someone else and have him look like a fool.

THEIR RESPONSE

when taylor avoided the question yet again, it only made his suspicion worse. he knew that taylor would know who the father was, she wasn't the type to just go sleep around with a bunch of guys. he shook his head at her reply, "she does have one. everyone does, even if you're the one raising her," he reminded her. what if it was true? was it possible that he could be a father? that this little girl might be his? he wasnt going to give up until Taylor answered his question. he couldn't just ignore this until he knew for sure.

THEIR RESPONSE

joe stood frozen when taylor spoke, confirming his suspecion about the child. was this a joke? that little girl was actually his daughter? how could this be? joe stayed silent, waiting until savannah had gone out to play. it took him a moment to be able to even move. his thoughts were still jumbled, but he followed taylor into the room. "are you serious? i don't even know what to say to you! how could you have kept this from me, taylor? it's not right. not for me, or for her. i can't even believe you right now," he expressed, doing his best to keep calm. he was surprised and upset but he didn't want to raise his voice either, especially when the child could come back in at any moment.

THEIR RESPONSE

joe let out a sarcastic laugh, shaking his head at her. "right? how is it right taylor??" he stepped closer to her, putting one hand on each of her shoulders and gently turned her to face the window where she could see savannah. "look at her taylor, imagine that was you. how would you feel if you had no idea who your father was and had to live through knowing that he was never around? she might not notice as much right now, but when she's older, she will," he let go of his shoulders, giving his head another shake. he couldn't understand how she believed this was fair in any way. "why should i be happy about it taylor? am i supposed to like the fact that i've had a daughter for two years and never knew about it? that i never got to see her growing up over that time? maybe some asshole would be happy about it, but not me." joe let out a sigh. "it wasn't right taylor. for anyone, except maybe yourself. i've seen how it affects people who have grown up never having contact with one of their parents and it's not fair. he turned, pacing around the room. he didn't know how he was supposed to feel or what he was supposed to think right now. but he knew he was definitely upset and fustrated.

THEIR RESPONSE

joe stared at her in disbelief as she spoke, then let out another sarcastic laugh. "and you thought that making her live never knowing who her father was or never getting to see him or spend time with him was the best way? it might not have been perfect, but i can assure you that seeing her father would have been much better for her." he shook his head, "you live the same life i do taylor. you found time for her and so would i have. i wouldn't have seen her once a month or every few months and just called that okay for her. i would have made sure she saw me often and was happy," he told her. he let his voice raise a little again, "yeah, because you didn't tell me when the moment was right, when you were pregnant with her!" he let out a huff, turning to walk into the next room. he was trying to not get overly upset, but it was hard to do.

THEIR RESPONSE

once taylor had made her way outside, joe let out a loud sigh. bringing a hand up, he ran his fingers back through his hair as he tried to take this all in. he couldn't believe that after all this time he had a daughter that he never even knew about. that was completely hidden from him. he felt so many emotions it was hard to know what exactly to feel. he felt extremely upset at taylor and betrayed for having hidden this from him, he was both upset and depressed that he had missed two years of her life, worry for not knowing where things were going to go from here, but some happiness for savannah's existence at least, even if he couldn't get over the fact that taylor had kept this from him. he sat down on the couch, trying to sort out his brain and figure out what was supposed to happen now.

THEIR RESPONSE

joe barely realized the two girls had come back inside, his concentration deep in his thoughts. but when the little girl walked up and stood directly infront of him, his concentration broke and he turned his attention to her. of course he wasn't in the best mood right now with all of these feelings overwhelming him and being so upset, but he wouldn't let those feelings show to the little girl. none of this was her fault, after all. he forced a smile, waving back at her. he glanced up at taylor for just a split second before turning back to savannah. nodding his head, he reached out to grab the tv remote and held it out for her to use as a makeshift microphone. "sing your heart out, sweetheart," he told her, then leaned back to make himself comfortable as he watched her.

THEIR RESPONSE

joe watched the little girl closely, sort of expecting her to sing a song taylor had written about him or something. but when she began to sing his own song. he chewed on his bottom lip as he watched, doing everything in his power to not tear up. and then taylor's comment that followed about savannah's reaction to the video made it even harder to contain himself, but managed. "you did a perfect performance," he encouraged her with a smile. slowly, he reached out for the little girl, grabbing her hand before tugging her closer. he lifted a hand up to block his face as he leaned in to whisper, "maybe someday I'll show you my secret powers if you promise not to tell anyone! can you handle that?" into her ear before giving her a large grin.