Part of a long line of military heroes, Taylor Thompson landed in Pine Valley in July 2008 as she awaited redeployment in Iraq. Though Taylor, who had entered college on a softball scholarship, never envisioned that she would join the men in her family and join the Army's 101st Airborne, the events of September 11, 2001 changed her course.

While serving as a communications officer during the Iraq War, Taylor met and fell in love with a fellow soldier, Brot Monroe. During an ambush by insurgents, Brot was killed in an explosion. Taylor was devastated by the loss, but hit just as hard when a foot injury forced her to be put on leave from active duty. Taylor was determined to nurse herself back to health so that she could go back to Iraq to avenge Brot's death -- even if it meant lying.

Taylor convinced her old battalion buddy, Frankie Hubbard, to give her medicine that would mask her pain so that she could pass an Army physical. Before Taylor could be redeployed, she was involved in an accident in which Zach Slater knocked her down a flight of steps. Taylor was left unable to move her legs and effectively useless to the Army. Through the dedicated hard work of Jake Martin, Taylor went through extensive physical rehabilitation and was able to walk once again.

In a stunning turn of events, it was revealed that Brot wasn't dead. He had suffered massive injuries in Iraq, including extensive burns to much of his body. Rather than have the woman he loved see him burned and scarred, Brot hid out at a veterans' hospital. He eventually made himself known to Taylor, who was overjoyed to see him again and expected to pick up where they'd left off. In fact, Taylor pushed aside her fledgling relationship with Jake to reunite with Brot. Brot wasn't so sure that he wanted to be back with Taylor and he made up numerous excuses to push her away, including saying that he had never loved her. Eventually, the truth came out and Taylor and Brot were happily reunited.

Taylor and Brot's romance, however, wasn't the fairytale ending that they'd both wanted. Taylor wanted to pick up where things left off before Brot was injured in Iraq, and Brot tried to do the right thing by proposing to her. Though the two cared for each other deeply, they soon realized that they were no longer in love.

Taylor eventually found herself embroiled in the Martin family crises. Taylor agreed to help Jake Martin and Amanda Dillon hide Trevor, Amanda's baby, from David Hayward. The pair had faked the baby's death to keep him away from David, the infant's biological father. While Taylor cared for little Trevor, she and Tad Martin started to develop feelings for one another. The pair flirted with a relationship, but the initial spark failed to grow into a flame.

During a party at ConFusion, Taylor was attacked by Annie Lavery and left lying unconscious on the floor of the women's bathroom. Though she pulled through, Taylor was never seen or heard from again.