Irreconcilable Differences

Ok, so this is the final chapter of Irreconcilable Differences. Dun Dun Dun...lol. However, I will be continuing Playing With Fire, and I also already started a new one. The only thing is I need to figure out how to put text in itallics and bold on here before I can post it, so if anybody could help me with that, I'd be forever grateful. Also, I decided to leave the reviewers a couple shoutouts, cause y'all have no idea how much it means to me to hear y'all opinions. so:



greens-you were my first review, so major props to you, and thanks so much for the encouraging comments. it's nice to know if i'm on the right track with a fic.



goldentrio-another one of my first reviewers, thanks so much for hanging in there and keeping with the story.



willriley-you're reviews have been so helpful. i love it when y'all point out like specific things that you like or don't like cause it really helps me out a lot. and also, i'm sorry i never answered your question about the whole kissing thing. it's just, kelly doesn't really seem like the one for PDA, so if she would just start kissing someone in public because clive said so, her fans would really start to think something was up. so, i thought a kiss on the forehead was perfect, cause in my opinion it shows more affection than a kiss on the cheek, but it's not all in everybody's face like a kiss on the lips. so, that's just how i viewed it, lol.



ysatnaf and crunkified001-thanks so much for reading my fics. i hope y'all enjoy the other ones as well.



junkyxl-lol, i swear u can read my mind. i actually feel the exact same way about me always putting carrie at fault. i realized i was doing it kinda subliminally a few weeks ago. i just have a love-hate relationship with her. like someday's i'm a huge fan, but others i wish she would eat something and learn how to sing with emotion and stop trying to be so perfect, and i can tell that comes out in my writing, so sorry about that. but i am trying something a little different with the new fic i'm gonna post once i figure out the itallics and bold, and this time, i'm trying to be as non-biased as possible. we'll see how long that lasts, lol.



anyway, enough of me. here's the last chapter. i hope y'all enjoy it.







+++++++++



Carrie silently walked up the stairs in the house. She had waited patiently in the living room for Kelly to return, but the Texan was still collecting her thoughts. Carrie paused outside of Kelly's door, opening it slightly just to see if maybe she had slipped in through the back, but the room was empty. She backed out of the room, closing the door in the process and made her way over to the guest room. Carrie struggled to fall asleep as so many different thoughts filled her head, and so many different emotions filled her heart.



++++++++



Carrie yawned as she walked out of the bathroom, dressed for the morning. She wiped the remaining sleep out of her eyes that even the steaming shower couldn't rid. She took a deep breath before exiting the room, ready to encounter whatever it is she was in for.



She walked down the hall, pausing once more outside of Kelly's door. She slowly opened it, poking her head into the room. Carrie let out a sigh of relief at the site of Kelly curled up in a tiny ball under the covers of her bed. Well, at least, she knew where she was. That was an improvement.



+++++++++



Kelly walked down the stairs, following her nose into the kitchen. She found Carrie sitting at the snack bar, leaning over a steaming mug.



"I made tea," she said, giving Kelly a slight smile.



Kelly returned it with a nod as she fixed her a cup. She sat at the snack bar as well, staring straight ahead.



"Did you sleep well?" Carrie asked, the silence finally getting to be too much.



"Not really," Kelly admitted.



"Sorry."



"Don't be."



Carrie bit her lip as Kelly turned back to her tea, "Kell--"



"You weren't supposed to be here," Kelly said, not looking at her.



"Huh?"



"You weren't supposed to be here. This weekend was supposed to be for me to get over you, and you weren't supposed to be here," she explained, an edge in her voice.



"Y-you wanted to get over me?" Carrie asked softly.



"No," Kelly shook her head. "But I needed to."



"Well," Carrie stood. "I'm sorry , I messed up your plans."



"No, Care. Don't do that. Please, sit."



Carrie didn't say anything, but she did as was asked.



"I don't know what to do," Kelly admitted, allowing the vulnerability she was feeling to shine through.



Carrie just sat there patiently, her eyes focused on her clasped hands that were resting on the counter, praying that Kelly would keep on not looking at her, so she wouldn't see the tears that were forming.



"I like you," she said taking a deep breath. "So much so that at times it hurts. But I can't keep doing this if I have to constantly worry about you lying to me or keeping things from me."



"I swear I'll never lie to you again."



"You can't promise something like that, Care. You never know what's gonna happen."



"Well, then I guess you just have to trust me," she replied hoarsely.



"Can I?" Kelly asked, her voice cracking. "Cause so far, I haven't seen anything that says I can."



Carrie turned to her, "I-I don't know what to say to make this better. Cause you know if I did, I'd say it."



Kelly sniffed hard, closing her eyes to hold back the tears before she turned to face her, "It's not what you say."



"Then tell me what I have to do. Please, Kell, help me out with this," Carrie begged.



"You don't get it," Kelly shook her head, clenching her jaw as she fought back more tears.



"Then explain it to me," Carrie said, taking Kelly's hands into her own.



Kelly leaned forward, placing the softest whisper of a kiss on Carrie's lips.



"I...I don't know what that means," Carrie admitted.



"I wanna be with you," Kelly said softly.



"Ok," Carrie nodded. "Well, that's good right?"



"But I wanna do this right," she explained.



"How do we do that?"



"We start over?" she said, looking at her nervously.



"Friends?" Carrie's heart dropped.



"No. Ok, maybe not completely over. Just a few steps back. I just...I need to know you're in this for real. I need to learn to trust you again."



Carrie nodded, "I understand."



"Is that ok?"



"It's perfect," she smiled, giving Kelly's hand a slight squeeze. "I just don't want to lose you."



Kelly bit her lip, her brow furrowed.



"What's wrong?" Carrie asked.



"When I said I wanna do this right, I meant I wanna do this for real. I don't wanna hide it anymore. I don't wanna pretend anymore."



"Kell, are you sure?"



"Yea," she nodded. "I mean, it's not like the entire country didn't think we were dating already."



"But our families..."



"We owe it to them to be honest with them. Besides," she added, smiling up at her. "I don't want to feel like I need to hide you. I wanna show you off to everyone and show to the world just how much you mean to me. This...Us...It's right. I know it is, and by hiding it, it makes it seem like we're ashamed of it, and I'm not."



"Me either," Carrie smiled, feeling her eyes water.



"So...if I wanna scream on the top of the mountain that I'm dating the most amazing girl in the world..."



"Then I'd be right beside you, holding your hand," Carrie replied.



Kelly leaned forward, kissing her happily. She pulled back, smiling softly as she wiped away Carrie's tears.



"Thank you," the country singer smiled.



"For what?"



"Giving me a second chance."



"I would have been kicking myself the rest of my life if I hadn't," Kelly replied honestly.



"So," she laughed with a slight sniff, making Kelly giggle. "When you say take a few steps back, how far back are we talking? Cause, I mean. You. Me. Empty House."



Kelly shook her head, laughing, as she got up off the stool.



"Kell? You didn't answer my question."



Kelly just gave her a silent wave as she walked out of the kitchen.



Carrie raised an eyebrow before quickly jumping from her stool to follow her up the stairs, "Wait. Where are you going?"



"Take a nap," Kelly replied over her shoulder.



"But what about us? You didn't answer my question."



Kelly stopped and turned around as she reached her room, "It's been a long morning, and I didn't sleep well last night."



Carrie frowned, realizing she wasn't going to get an answer anytime soon. She turned to walk away.



"Aren't you coming?" Kelly asked, a playful spark in her eyes.



A smile grew across Carrie's face as she followed the Texan into her room excitedly, closing the door behind them.



"Just to let you know," Kelly said as Carrie crawled into bed next to her. "This is not what you think."



"I know," Carrie smiled, pulling Kelly closer and giving her a quick kiss. "But you have no idea how much I've missed waking up next to you."



"Me too," Kelly grinned as Carrie laid down, allowing Kelly to snuggle into her side. Carrie kissed the top of her head as she wrapped her arms around her, relishing the way that they seemed to fit perfectly together.



+++++++









Epilogue:



Kelly shifted in the bed as she slowly came to. She had the strange feeling that someone was watching her, and she woke up to find another pair of hazel eyes gazing down at her.



"Was I drooling or something?" she asked, groggily.



"No," Carrie laughed, moving Kelly's bangs out of her eyes. "You just look insanely beautiful when you sleep."



"Ok, so I know that to be a lie. So, I guess that means you want something?"



"Wrong again. It wasn't a lie. And you need to learn how to take a compliment for what it is and not expect it to come at a price."



"Sorry," she shrugged softly.



"I guess I can forgive you," Carrie smiled, wrapping her arms around the other girl.



Kelly smiled back before snuggling into the warm body before her, making Carrie giggle.



"This is good, isn't it?" Kelly asked, dreamily



"What is?" Carrie questioned.



"Us."



"Yea," Carrie replied, smiling at her affectionately. "I really think it is."



"Me too," Kelly nodded, snuggling even more into Carrie.



"Going back to sleep?" she laughed.



"No, I just wanna lie here with you for a while. If that's ok."



"That's perfect," Carrie assured her, kissing the top of her head.



"And if I happen to fall asleep in the process," Kelly grinned. "So be it."



+++++++++



"Ke-lly," Carrie sang softly, earning a quiet groan.



"Ke-lly," she repeated as Kelly mumbled against her neck.



"How bout you wake up?"



"No," Kelly replied, her voice raspy from sleep.



"Pretty please?"



"No."



"With me on top?"



Kelly looked up at her with a cocked eyebrow.



"Thought that would get your attention," Carrie laughed.



"Tease," Kelly smiled, jokingly. "Why'd you wake me?"



"I heard someone drive up," Carrie replied.



"Jason and Ash must be back," Kelly sighed, her smile fading.



"What's wrong?"



"I wasn't quite ready to return to the real world, just yet."



"You want to wait?" Carrie asked.



"No, I meant what I said earlier. I want to do this right. I just...promise me that we'll always have time for this."



"This?"



"Just me and you, wrapped up in each other, with no one to bother us."



"I promise," Carrie nodded.



Kelly placed a hand on Carrie's cheek as their lips met in a warm kiss.



"I missed your kisses," Kelly admitted as she pulled away.



"You'll never have to miss them again," Carrie assured her, kissing her once more.



Kelly giggled softly.



"What?" Carrie asked, a little self-conscious. "I thought you said you missed my kisses."



"No, it's not that. I did miss them, and I love them. It's just, well, this isn't the way I want Jay and Ashley to find out. I think it might go over better if we tell them rather than them finding us in bed in a lip lock."



"Oh," Carrie laughed. "Yea, I guess you're right."



"You're ready?"



"Yes ma'am," she nodded.



"Ok world," Kelly bit her lip nervously as Carrie took her hand into her own and led her off of the bed and towards the door. "Ready or not, here we come."