Playing With Fire

++++++++



Carrie woke up to the sound of her phone vibrating. She quickly reached behind her to answer it before it woke the sleeping girl in her arms.



"Hello?" she said groggily.



"Hey, it's Ashley."



"You have my number?" Carrie asked, not angry, just confused.



"Yea," Ashley replied quickly. "Kelly gave it to me in case of an emergency."



"Emergency?" Carrie's ears immediately perked up. "What's going on?"



"Where's Kelly? She's still asleep?"



"Yea," Carrie nodded, smiling as Kelly scrunched her nose cutely.



"For how long you think?"



"Um, not much longer...why?"



"Well," Ashley took a deep breath. "We're ahead of y'all right now, and we've reached a bit of a problem."



"What kind of problem?"



"Protestors."



"Protestors?"



"Yea," Ashley nodded, looking out the window of the vehicle she was riding in. "They're outside the theater."



"It's about us, isn't it?" Carrie asked, her heart sinking. "They're protesting us."



"Carrie, I'm sorry about this. I really am."



"Is there a way to get in without going by them?"



"I'm afraid not."



Carrie sighed, looking at the adorable girl in her arms worriedly.



"Um, Carrie?"



"Yea, I'm still here."



"It gets worse," Ashley admitted.



"How can it get worse?"



"Jeanne's out there with them."



Carrie felt her stomach lurch, "T-thanks for the warning. I'll let you know when we get there."



"Alright. See y'all soon."



"Yea," Carrie replied, hanging up the phone. She watched as Kelly's eyes slowly fluttered open.



"Mornin'," she drawled lazily.



Carrie smiled weakly.



"So sad," Kelly frowned groggily, bringing a hand up to Carrie's cheek. "Why?"



"No reason," Carrie shook her head, turning to kiss her palm. "Just tired. We've got another hour and a half until we get to the venue. How about we go back to sleep, ok?"



"I like that idea," Kelly nodded, snuggling back into her.



Carrie took a deep breath at the feeling of Kelly sleeping soundly once again. This wasn't going to be fun.



+++++++++++



Carrie kissed Kelly's forehead at the feeling of the Texan stretching in her arms.



"Hey," Kelly smiled sleepily.



"Hey," Carrie replied, swallowing the huge lump in her throat. "Traffic's kind of crazy right now, so we still have another half an hour or so before we get there. How about you go take a shower, and I'll fix you one of those shakes you love so much?" she suggested, tucking a curl behind Kelly's ear. "How's that sound?"



"Why don't you come take a shower with me?" Kelly grinned.



"Is it ok if I say I'm not in the mood?" Carrie asked honestly, the thought of what was awaiting them still had her stomach in knots.



"Yea, of course," Kelly nodded, touching her cheek softly. "How about just a shower?"



"Yea," Carrie agreed. "I could use a good hot shower."



"Good. Come on," Kelly smiled, taking her hand as they slid out of bed.



+++++++++++++



Carrie wrapped both her arms around Kelly as she curled up into a ball on her lap as she sat on the sofa in the front of the bus. She kissed her temple firmly. She loved that Kelly always seemed to have a glow about her afterwards that would last nearly all day.



Ok, so maybe it hadn't been just a shower, but it wasn't Kelly's doing. She was sweet about listening to Carrie's request. Carrie sighed, closing her eyes as she rested her chin on top of Kelly's head. She just couldn't help but think of what was about to happen, and she just wanted to make Kelly feel good.



"Kell...sweetie, I need to tell you something before we get there."



"What's wrong?" Kelly asked, sitting up to look at her.



"Ashley called when you were sleeping," Carrie frowned.



"But, I told her that's just for emergencies, in case she needs to reach me," Kelly looked at her confused. "I-is she ok?"



"Yea, she's fine," Carrie assured her. "She just called to say that they had made it to the venue already."



"Care, please just tell me what's got you so upset. You're worrying me."



"There are protestors at the theater," Carrie replied.



"Protestors? For what?" Kelly asked.



"Us," Carrie said carefully. "They're protesting us."



Kelly's eyes fell.



"I'm sorry," Carrie whispered, running her hands through the Texan's hair, tilting her head forward so she could kiss her forehead.



"It's not your fault," Kelly shook her head.



"I should've told you sooner...given you more warning."



"It's fine," Kelly smiled softly. "I'm glad you didn't, otherwise that's all I would've been thinking about all morning." She studied Carrie curiously, "Is that why you were all cold one minute, hot the next earlier?"



Carrie gave an apologetic smile, "Yea. I was upset about it, hence the cold part. Then I was worried how you'd handle it, and I didn't want to see you sad, hence the hot part."



Kelly nodded, "Maybe stuff like this should happen more often. I really enjoyed the hot part." She smiled sweetly before snuggling back into her.



Carrie rubbed her back soothingly, surprised at how well she was taking it, "Kell, there's one more thing."



"Hmm?" Kelly asked, closing her eyes as she buried her face in Carrie's neck.



"It's your mom," Carrie confessed. "She's out there with them."



++++++++++



Kelly swallowed hard. She could hear them outside as she looked around for her shoes in the bedroom in the back of the bus.



"Here's one," Carrie said, standing up with a shoe in hand. She looked around for Kelly, and spotted her bare feet poking out from under the bed that the Texan had just dove under. She smiled.



"Got it," Kelly announced, shimmying out from under the bed with another shoe in hand. She frowned. They each had a shoe from a different pair. "Ah, screw it," she shrugged, slipping on the mismatched chucks.



"Kelly," Carrie studied her carefully.



"I'm ok," she nodded.



"Kell," Carrie said seriously.



"I could use a kiss," she admitted.



Carrie smiled, walking to her. She placed a hand on the shorter girl's cheek, tilting her face upward as she kissed her softly. Kelly's heart melted at the tenderness of it.



"Yea, I'm good now," she smiled, slipping her hand into Carrie's.



"You ready to go out there?" Carrie asked.



"Are you?"



Carrie took a nervous breath, "The way I see it, the sooner we go, the sooner it's over with, and we won't have to deal with them again until after the concert when we walk back out if they're still there."



"We're just gonna stay in the theater all day?"



Carrie shrugged.



"Works for me," Kelly nodded. "One more?"



Carrie laughed, kissing her again, squeezing her hand.



They walked to the front of the bus to find her body guard, Brian, her tour manger, Tim, and her brother all waiting for them.



"Jason," Kelly let out a sigh of relief, dropping Carrie's hand to be able to wrap him in a hug. "You made it."



"Yea, I know I was supposed to meet up with y'all yesterday, but I got in a fight with the tractor, and couldn't get some stuff done, but I'm here now," he smiled, letting her hug him for as long as she needed. "The band wanted to come make sure y'all got in there ok too, but we figured it's probably best we didn't make too big of a scene."



"Yea," Kelly nodded, finally pulling away, wiping away a tear.



"KC," Jason smiled sadly. "Just ignore them, ok? They're trash."



"Jay, don't say that. They have a right to there opinion."



"Not when it upsets you, they don't," he replied firmly.



"Mom's out there."



"I know," he nodded. "Try not to think about it, ok?"



"Ok," she took a shaky breath, reaching her hand back.



Carrie took it, returning to her side.



"You ok?" Jason asked the country singer.



"Yea," she replied softly.



"I'm gonna tell you the same thing, ok? Just ignore them."



Carrie nodded as Jason squeezed her shoulder gently.



"So, y'all just follow Jason and Tim," Brian explained. "I'll be right behind you."



"Where's Chuck?" Kelly asked, referring to her other body guard.



Tim frowned, "He, um, he will no longer be working for you."



"Did he refuse because of Carrie and I?"



"Um, not exactly," Jason shook his head. "He just believed that y'all made your bed, you should lay in it so to speak, and get inside the theater on your own. So, we had to let him go. If your safety and well being isn't his top priority, then he has no business working for you."



"Wait...Chuck? The guy with the...?" Carrie asked, pointing to her hair.



"Yea," Tim nodded.



"The guy had a pony tail, how conservative could he have been?"



Jason and Tim laughed, shaking their heads.



"Bri--" Kelly began turning to her remaining body guard, but he caught her off with a smile--one of the ones that reminded her of a giant teddy bear, and she felt herself relax.



"You know I've always got your back KC."



"KC..." Carrie said trying it out. "Maybe I should start calling you that."



Kelly laughed, "It might take some getting used to. It sounds funny coming from you."



"Yea, I think I'll stick to Kell," Carrie nodded. "Or baby..." she added softly. "Sweetie...beautiful...I could go on really."



"No need," Kelly blushed.



"You two ready?" Jason asked, eyeing them curiously.



"Yea," Kelly nodded. "Let's get this show on the road."



+++++++++++



Kelly felt Carrie grip her hand tightly as the bus doors opened, revealing a rather large crowd of people gathered. She couldn't help but feel bad, knowing how shy the country singer could get around people she didn't know.



"Don't worry," Kelly told her. "I'm right here with you."



"You too," Carrie nodded, wincing as some of the things people were shouting reached their ears. Her little southern sailor had nothing on these people.



They stepped off the bus together, staying right behind Jason and Tim who were making sure the people were staying behind the barricades. Kelly looked to the left, stopping dead in her tracks as her eyes locked with her mother's. She felt herself shake slightly.



Carrie narrowed her eyes at the woman before leaning towards Kelly.



"I love you," she said in her ear, loud enough for the Texan to hear over the shouting.



Kelly nodded, starting to walk again as Carrie tugged gently on her hand. They were almost inside when she heard a light voice call her name.



"Kelly! Kelly!"



Kelly turned to find a girl of about fifteen pushing her way to the front of the crowd. Kelly raised an eyebrow, knowing she'd seen her before.



"Kelly! Carrie!" the girl tried to wave them over.



Kelly looked to Carrie who nodded. They walked over to the barricades to where the girl was standing, notebook and pen in hand. Brian, Tim, and Jason fought to keep the people surrounding the young girl away from Carrie and Kelly.



"Hey sweetie," Kelly smiled. "Wait...you were at the show last night, huh?"



"Yea," she nodded, beaming. "Second row. You and Reba were amazing."



"I'm glad you had fun," Kelly replied.



"Can you please sign this?" she asked, holding out the notebook. "The both of you?"



"Yea, of course," Kelly nodded, signing the paper happily before handing it to Carrie who did the same.



"Thank you guys so much," the girl smiled in awe, staring down at their autographs. "Seriously, y'all are like my favorite singers. And don't listen to these people. I'm glad y'all both found someone that can make you happy."



"Thank you," Kelly smiled, looking around at the restless crowd, hearing quite a few insults thrown their way. "Um, why don't you come inside through here? I don't think it's safe for you to try and pass back through the crowd."



Brian nodded in agreement, moving the barricade out the way for her to pass.



"Back entrance? This is so cool," the girl said as Jason held the door for them. "I've got to text my friend, she's never gonna believe this."



Carrie laughed.



"Well, it was nice meeting you," Kelly smiled at her sweetly. "Tim's gonna show you the way to the front exit, alright?"



"Wait, can I have a hug first?"



"Well, yea, of course," Kelly replied, giving her a hug before Carrie did the same. "Enjoy the show tonight."



"Thank y'all so much," she grinned, following Tim down the hall.



+++++++++++



"Hey," Ashley greeted them with a nervous smile as the two singers walked into Kelly's dressing room. "How'd it go?"



"There was this real sweet girl that asked for our autograph. She was crazy to do so with all those people around her though," Kelly said, sinking into the make-up chair.



"So, it wasn't too bad?" Ashley asked hopefully.



"I saw my mom," she admitted, trying to keep her voice steady.



"I'm sorry," Ashley frowned. "Jason and I both tried talking to her. She's just...well, we know where you get your stubbornness from," she grinned trying to lighten the situation.



"Is it time for sound check yet?" Kelly asked, not even bothering to fake a laugh.



"Um, yea, Reba said for you to just go ahead whenever you were ready."



"Alright," Kelly nodded, standing. She walked over to where Carrie was sitting on the sofa, kneeling before her. "You ok?"



"Yea, I'm fine," Carrie replied softly.



"I'm sorry about all of that," she frowned. "I know how you hate being swarmed."



"I don't think anybody likes being swarmed," she gave a slight laugh.



"True," Kelly replied with a smile. "Why don't you just stay in here and relax? After I'm done with sound check, I'll come lay down with you for a while, how does that sound?"



"Really good," Carrie confessed.



"Good," Kelly nodded, kissing her forehead as she stood.



+++++++++++



"Hey, you ok?" Reba asked, placing a hand on Kelly's shoulder as she took out her in-ear when they finished up the sound check.



"Yea," Kelly nodded. "It's just been a long day. I'll be fine for tonight."



"Where's Carrie? She's usually down here, front row for sound check. Is she ok?"



"Yea, just a bit overwhelmed I think," she explained.



"Kelly," Reba began carefully. "About your mom..."



"Not right now," Kelly shook her head. "I don't want to talk about any more of that before the show, otherwise I won't be fine for tonight."



Reba nodded in understanding, "Ok, just go unwind until then, ok?"



"Yea," Kelly nodded, walking down the stairs of the stage, following the arrows that led to her dressing room. She walked in, closing the door behind her to find Carrie stretched out on the sofa, staring up at the ceiling. "Hey."



"Hey," Carrie smiled softly as the shorter girl made her way over to her, climbing on top of her and laying down. Carrie sighed in content as she wrapped her arms tightly around the Texan that was snuggling into her.



+++++++++++



Ashley walked into the dressing room to find both singers, completely wrapped up in each other, sound asleep. She smiled sadly at the thought of having to wake them, but she looked down at her watch, knowing they were already running late.



She walked over to the sofa, reaching down to shake Kelly's shoulder gently, "Kelly."



"No," she heard her best friend fuss, burying her face in Carrie's neck.



Ashley watched as Carrie's arms immediately tightened around Kelly protectively at the sound of her being agitated. "Kelly, come on. You got to get up. It's time to get ready for the show."



Kelly opened her eyes, squinting up at her, grumbling something that Ashley couldn't quite make out.



"Come on princess, time for your favorite part," she teased, pointing to the make-up chair.



Kelly sighed, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes as she carefully untangled herself from the country singer who woke at her movement. "Go back to sleep," Kelly said softly, kissing her cheek as she stood up.



Carrie turned over on her side, curling up in a ball as she fell back asleep.



"You look rough," Ashley laughed, eyeing the shorter Texan.



Kelly looked in the mirror, "Shoot, if this is what I look like when I wake up, how the hell have I managed to hang on to her for so long?"



"Sympathy," Ashley shrugged.



++++++++++



Kelly jogged off the stage in relief. Luckily, none of the protestors had actually gone into the theater. Which also meant that the majority of the seats she had saved for her family had been empty, but she had told the ushers to allow some of the people at the top to come down and fill them up. Hopefully, that also meant that the protestors had called it a night and went home.



She smiled as she walked into Carrie's outstretched arms, hugging her tightly.



"You were great," Carrie said in her ear.



"Be honest."



"You were tense, but your vocals were dead on," she corrected.



Kelly nodded, wrapping an arm around her as they walked down the hall backstage.



"Kelly," Brian frowned as the two singers reached her dressing room.



Kelly looked around. It always amazed her at how fast a guy as big as him could move.



"Yea?"



"Just say the word," he frowned before opening the door.



Kelly eyed him curiously before walking into her dressing room, her stomach churning, "M-mom?"