Playing With Fire

+++++++++



"Aw..." Kelly cooed at the site of the baby koala. "We get to pet him?"



Jill and Kate laughed as Kelly's eyes lit up like a little kid's.



"Yea, you can rub his back," the trainer that was holding the small animal nodded. "He likes his back rubbed."



Kelly reached out in awe, gently scratching the small koala's back, "He's so cute."



"They don't get hot over here with so much fur?" Kate asked, curiously.



"They don't carry that much fat," the trainer explained.



"Me either," Kelly replied making them laugh. "Oh, can I take a picture?"



"Sure, of course," she nodded. "No flash though."



Kelly grinned taking out her phone, "Care's going to love this. He's adorable."



+++++++++



Carrie smiled as she opened the picture on her phone. She scratched Ace's ears as they rode the limo from the New York airport to the hotel. "What do you say? You want a little brother."



Ace sneezed at the picture.



"Aw, don't be jealous," Carrie laughed. "He's cute."



Ace turned his head, ignoring her.



Carrie texted Kelly back, shaking her head with laughter.



+++++++++



Kelly giggled as she opened the text.



Sorry, Ace said you have to give him back. I think he's jealous.



She couldn't help but call her.



"Hey," she heard Carrie's voice laughing.



"You can tell Ace that as long as he keeps chewing on the coffee table in the living room, that his place in our house is not secure."



"Please, you wouldn't kick him out."



"Watch me," Kelly smiled.



"What if I didn't want you to?"



"Well, then, maybe he could stay, but only cause you're hot."



Carrie laughed, "Good thing I'm hot then."



"I'd say so."



"You do realize how outrageous our phone bills will be, right?"



"Just mine, I think," Kelly nodded. "I don't know if they have the network set up over here for the iphones yet. That sucked last time I was here. The bill was insane."



"So, how'd y'all get a koala?" Carrie asked, stretching as the limo pulled up to a stop.



"I don't know. He was backstage after rehearsals. Wasn't he adorable?"



"Completely."



"Deaner got video of it. I'll have him show you when you get here."



"Can't wait to see it. So, what do y'all have planned for tomorrow?"



"Going to the nekked beach."



Carrie giggled.



"Don't laugh."



"It's cute."



Kelly rolled her eyes as she walked away from the small group of people that had gathered backstage.



"So...should I be expected pictures tomorrow like today?" she asked hopefully.



"No," Kelly laughed. "I'm not gonna be nekked. It's not a mandatory nude beach."



"Damn."



"Hey, think of it this way: you're the only one that gets to see me nekked."



"Me, and your entire town when you were little...and I'm sure Ashley has at some point being you seem to have quite the habit of walking around the house naked still."



"Hey, I didn't hear you complaining."



"Definitely not complaining. So, just me...your family...your town...Ashley...Jackass...well, I guess that's better than the entire world," she teased.



"Well, if you want to get technical...Jackass was always in the dark."



"Seriously?"



"Seriously."



"Ok, I'm sorry...who in their right mind would choose to sleep with you with the lights off? If I had my choice, we'd have a huge spotlight in our room to make sure I could see every inch of you."



Kelly's face flushed.



"Now that I think about it...have we ever done it with the lights off?"



"You know...I don't think so..."



"Hm...in the dark...oh, even better...let me blindfold you."



Kelly could feel her cheeks burning crimson, "Care..."



"You're so in a room full of people right now, huh?"



"Yea."



"So I can't talk dirty?"



"It's not exactly fair."



"Fair?"



"You know...Can't exactly do anything about it."



Carrie gasped, "You said you never did that."



"Well, if you don't get here soon, I'm going to have to."



Carrie laughed loudly.



Kelly shook her head with a smile, "So...blindfolded, huh?"



"Yep."



"We'll add it to the list."



"That list is getting kinda long, you know."



"I know.'



"Don't you think we should get started on it?"



"I definitely think we should."



"Awesome."



"So, um...how are things over there?"



"Not too bad. Only had one little old lady shaking her fist at me when I went to the store yesterday, so that's an improvement. I never knew people that old knew what those words meant."



"I'm sorry, Care."



"Don't even worry about it. It's ok. The majority of people have taken the article for what it is...complete crap. Told you we'd be ok."



"I never doubted you," Kelly smiled.



"That's cause you're the smart one."



"True," she teased. "But, I've got to get going so I can eat and get ready for the show. I'll call you tonight afterwards, ok?"



"Ok, love you baby."



"Love you too."



+++++++++



Carrie smiled as she walked into the front door with Ace at her heels, immediately being enveloped into a hug.



"My baby girl," her mother held her tightly.



"Good to see you too," Carrie hugged her back.



"Come on, come in," Carole said, finally letting her go.



Carrie grabbed her bags, walking into her parents' Oklahoma home.



"How was your flight?"



"It was good," Carrie nodded. "It's good to be home, too."



"How long are you staying?"



"Just a couple days. I fly out to meet Kelly in Europe on the tenth."



"You'll be flying on your birthday?"



"Yea," Carrie replied as they sat down in the living room. "Kelly has a show on the ninth in Australia, then they're flying out right after to Europe. I'm gonna meet them there."



"You're excited?" Carole asked with a smile. "Spending your birthday in Europe."



"I can't wait," Carrie agreed. "Apparently Kelly has this big surprise planned for that night, but she won't tell me what it is."



"Sounds romantic."



"Lord knows with that girl," she laughed. "You never know what's going on in her head."



"You know...this is your first birthday I won't be with you for."



"Mom..." Carrie rolled her eyes, putting an arm around her. "I took two extra days off to come spend with you guys."



"I know," Carole patted her knee. "I feel so privileged."



Carrie laughed, kissing her mom's cheek before standing, "I'm gonna go put my bags up in the spare bedroom. Where's Dad?"



"He's out back."



Carrie grinned, taking off for the back door.



"Wait!" her mother fussed, but Carrie ignored her.



"Dad!" Carrie called out as she walked into the barn. "Hey, I'm home!"



"Carrie?" Stephen's head shot up from one of the stables. "I told your mom to not let you come back here."



"Why?" Carrie asked, something catching her eye as she walked towards the stable. A long nose poked out from the bottom of the stall. It was soon followed by the rest of it's body as the small pony wobbled unsteadily out of the stall. "Oh my God...he's so cute," Carrie cooed, falling to her knees as the pony made it's way over to her, unsurely. She petted it's neck, and it nudged her face with it's nose.



Stephen's eyes lit up, "It was supposed to be a surprise."



"A surprise?" Carrie looked up at him curiously.



"I've been talking to that girlfriend of yours," he smiled. "Apparently she has a lot of property out there in Texas."



"Yea, it's ridiculous," Carrie agreed, laughing as the pony laid down clumsily right in front of her.



"She also knows a lot about horses."



"Yea, when she was younger she used to help out a stable for extra money. Plus her neighbor has a lot of horses she lets run around her land."



"And, we know how much you love horses, so we all thought that this would be the perfect gift."



"Gift?" Carrie's eyebrows flew up.



"Happy birthday."



Carrie's jaw dropped, "You're giving me a pony?"



Stephen nodded, "Yep. He's still a little young, but by the time she's finished with the tour, he should be ready to travel down there. And I talked to Kelly, she's already talked with a trainer down there."



"We get to keep him?" Carrie asked excitedly. "Like in Texas?"



"He is yours," Stephen nodded.



"This is the coolest gift ever," Carrie grinned, stroking the pony's mane.



"Your mother and I thought it would be a good gift that the two of you could enjoy together."



"Dad, thank you," Carrie felt herself tearing up as she stood to hug him.



He chuckled as he patted her back, "I'm glad you like it."



"I love it," she beamed, pulling back.



"Well, your mom told me Kelly has a birthday coming up soon, as well. You tell her that this is her gift too. Can't just give away a pony every time you kids have a birthday. Y'all are going to make me go broke."



Carrie laughed, "Thank you. This really...it means a lot Dad."



Stephen nodded as he wrapped an arm around her shoulders, kissing the top of her head. The pony stood up shakily, trying to nudge between them.



Carrie giggled as she reached down to pet him. "He's gonna be beautiful."



++++++++++



"Oh my God, Kell, he is the most adorable thing ever," Carrie grinned as she sat on the floor of the barn, the pony eating the horse feed straight out of her hand. Ace kept stretching up on his back legs, shoving his nose in her hand too, not willing to let the horse be the only one getting food. He had been around horses enough to not have a problem with them at all. "I can't believe you kept this a secret."



"Your dad was pretty proud of himself," Kelly laughed as she stretched out on the bus. She looked over at the clock. It was a little after four in the morning. She had about three hours of sleep before the country singer called, but she wasn't about to tell her that. "He was so excited when he thought of it, and then when I assured him that we would be more than capable of taking care of him in Texas, he was so pumped--it was awesome. You're dad really loves you, girl."



"Apparently he's kind of fond of you too."



Kelly smiled, "He's really come around."



"I know. I'm supposed to share my gift with you. He said it's your birthday gift too."



"Jealous?" Kelly teased.



"No, just really, really happy. The fact that he thought of you, and that he actually talked to you about it...that's huge."



"You were still a little nervous about how he was taking it?"



"He's just so hard to read sometimes," Carrie replied. "This really shows that he's not just going along with it...he's ok it."



"Pretty kick ass birthday, huh?"



"Definitely. I can't wait for you to see him, Kell. He's seriously gorgeous."



"I know. Your mom sent me pictures."



"Not fair," Carrie protested.



"Don't worry. I saved them all on my computer. You can see them when you get up here."



"I can't wait to see you."



"Me either, but right now you need to hang up the phone and get out of the barn," Kelly laughed knowingly. "You don't get to spend that much time with your family. Go enjoy it. I'm not going anywhere. The pony's not going anywhere. Go eat. Your mother said she was going to cook your favorite for lunch."



"You know...I'm not too sure I like you talking to my parents like this," Carrie teased as she stood, walking the pony back to his stall with his mom. "Y'all could totally be conspiring against me."



"Only good conspiring, I promise."



"Well, if it results in gifts like this, then I'm totally ok with it."



"What do you want to name him?"



"I have no idea. Talk about it when I get over there?"



"Sure."



"Ok, well, I'm gonna go inside. I'll talk to you tomorrow, ok?"



"Ok, love you."



"Love you too."



++++++++++



"Lunch is ready," Carole smiled as Carrie walked into the house.



"Finally able to get you off the phone?" Stephen teased. "I'd be afraid to look at that phone bill."



"Me too," Carrie laughed.



"Um...Carrie, sweetie," Carole looked at the clock, thinking for a moment. "You do realize that it's about four-thirty in the morning over there right now, right?"



"Seriously?" Carrie asked.



Carole nodded, setting a plate down in front of her.



"She should've said something. I didn't mean to wake her like that."



"You were right," Carole laughed softly. "That girl is way too sweet for her own good."



++++++++



"Hey, hunny," Stephanie smiled as she pulled Carrie into a hug. "I'm sorry I can't stay long, but I brought you your gift."



"Dad got me a pony," she grinned.



"Gee, thanks Dad," Stephanie looked over her sister's shoulder to Stephen who was sitting on the couch. "How do I compete with that?"



"It's ok. I'm sure your gift is cool too," Carrie replied, sitting on the chair with the tiny gift bag.



Stephanie laughed as she sat on the chair's armrest.



Carrie reached in the bag, pulling out a key chain with two tiny boxing gloves on it. She looked up at her sister who was smirking, "You think this is funny?"



"Aw, come on Carrie, it's a joke," Stephanie urged. "That article was hilarious."



"This is not funny," Carrie stood up, angrily.



"When did you lose your sense of humor?"



"I would never hurt her," she said firmly, tossing the key chain at her before walking to her room and slamming the door.



"Steph..." Carole fussed.



"I didn't think she was taking it so hard," Stephanie argued. "It was just a joke."



"I know, but don't you think they're going through enough right now? It's not the time for jokes."



++++++++++



"Care..." Kelly soothed at the sound of her girlfriend tearing up. "It's ok, baby. She didn't mean anything by it."



"That's not the point," Carrie wiped her eyes as she laid back on her bed.



"She just doesn't understand what we've been through. You know, people, they see me and you all happy and stuff when we're out together...they don't know about all the hard times."



Carrie sniffed, "I miss you."



"I miss you too, Care," she smiled.



"I wish you were here."



"You're gonna see me in two days."



"That's not soon enough."



"Care..." Kelly tried not to laugh.



"I need a nap."



"Yea," Kelly agreed. "You've been sleeping ok?"



"Yea, I'm just tired of all this mess. The reporters got my parents' house number. They've been calling nonstop."



"They're asking about the article?"



"Yea, not so much the part of me hurting you, but everything else. If I hear one more question about our sex life, I swear I'm gonna scream. They have no right to know that stuff."



"I know, but there's not much you can do about it now. Just don't answer any more calls, ok? And why don't you lay down for a bit? You being cranky isn't going to help anyone."



"I'm not cranky."



"Care..."



"But I want to lay down with you."



"Care..." Kelly laughed softly.



"Fine," she sighed. "But you have to sing to me till I fall asleep."



"Alright. What do you want to hear?"



"Wasted."



"Your song?"



"Yea, remember when you sang it? That day--"



"At the clothing store," Kelly nodded with a smile. "You were so beautiful when you walked out of the dressing room in that dress."



"That was a good day," Carrie nodded, smiling as well as she got comfortable under the covers.



"You made me so nervous. I completely dorked out."



"You totally forgot to give me your number," Carrie remembered with a soft laugh.



"Hey now, nobody's perfect. And like I said...you were really beautiful."



"I miss you," she admitted softly.



"I know, sweetie. I miss you too."



"Sing to me?"



"Ok...you're in bed? You're comfortable?"



"Yea," Carrie nodded, closing her eyes at the sound of Kelly's voice singing softly in her ear.



+++++++++++



Carrie woke up to the feeling of someone running a hand through her hair. "Mom..." she fussed.



"No, sorry, it's me," Shanna apologized as she sat next to her.



Carrie smiled tiredly, snuggling into her side, "That's ok. I like you too."



Shanna laughed softly, "Tired?"



"Just been traveling a lot."



"Mom said you got in a fight with Steph."



Carrie sighed, "Yea."



"She didn't mean anything by it, you know? It was just a joke. Her real gift is this photo album she put together of her family and ours and all the kids...you know, so you can see all the stuff they've been doing."



"That's nice," she mumbled.



"Carrie..."



"I know. I'm just so tired of all this mess."



Shanna rubbed her back comfortingly, "How's Kelly holding up?"



"I don't know. She's so good at keeping things in, and then like now when I can't even see her...it's impossible to tell. I mean, how would you feel if Mom just completely abandoned you and hated everything that made you happy. Then, as if that wasn't enough, completely betrayed you. How do you handle that?"



"Well, according to the article, she handles it by having some very hot sex."



Carrie groaned, her face turning bright red as she buried it further into her sister's side.



Shanna laughed softly, "So what exactly in there is true?"



"The sex part."



"She heard y'all?" Shanna's eyes grew wide as she laughed harder. "Man that sucks."



"Not nearly as much as when she walked in on us."



"Which time?"



"Well, the first time wasn't nothing. Kelly just didn't have a shirt on because I had given her a massage the night before. The other time...that was not good."



"You were really naked, under the covers?"



Carrie nodded.



"Well, at least now the entire world knows how lucky Kelly has it," she teased.



"Please...she gives back so much more."



"You really bit her tongue?"



Carrie laughed, turning onto her back as she relaxed, glad to finally have someone she could talk to about it all. She loved Ashley and all them, but they just didn't know her like her sisters did. "I did...really hard."



"Poor girl," Shanna shook her head.



"I made up for it."



"That's what her mom heard?"



Carrie nodded, smiling widely.



"You are something else, kid."



"What do you think Mom and Dad think of all that?" Carrie asked her, curiously. "I mean, I know they're fine with me and Kelly being together, but..."



"But both are pretty conservative and totally preach the no sex before marriage thing," Shanna nodded.



"I don't think they knew I was having sex before Kelly. And I mean, it's not like I slept with every guy in sight."



"Two, right?"



"Yea."



"A lot with those two?"



"Average I guess."



"And Kelly?"



"One. And enough times to count on one hand."



"Aw, so she was probably pretty shy, huh?"



"Yea," Carrie nodded. "We were together for a few months before we slept together."



"And now?"



Carrie grinned, "Every chance we get."



"You know what? Good for you. It's really hard to find someone that you connect with on such a high level emotionally as well as physically."



"And we definitely connect."



Shanna laughed, "Slow down there, tiger."



Carrie giggled.



"What about the other stuff?"



"Like?"



"She's really a vegan?" Shanna asked, curiously.



"Vegetarian," Carrie shook her head. "And it wasn't my idea like the article said. I didn't make her do it. I never even suggested it. It was her Christmas present to me."



Shanna smiled softly, "That's sweet."



"Yea, but naturally Jeanne twisted it around to make it seem like one more way I'm controlling her."



"Don't worry about it, Care," Shanna squeezed her arm gently. "I mean, I barely know the girl, and it's obvious that she doesn't let anyone tell her what to do. I'm sure people realize that."



"Yea, she's a tough one," Carrie smiled, fondly.



"Handful?"



"It's so great," her smile grew. "Everything she does, every emotion she feels, it's a hundred percent all the time. It's just so...I love it. She's so amazing."



Shanna smiled, "And you really told Jeanne off?"



"I don't think I ever really told her off. We definitely traded a few heated words a couple times. She actually slapped me once...I don't remember seeing that in the article, though."



"She did what?"



"Oh, yea. She totally slapped me."



"That bitch. What did Kelly do?"



"That was when she kicked her out of the house for the first time."



"When Jeanne 'accidentally' fed you a real hamburger," she nodded.



"That would be it, yep."



"Dang, I feel sorry for Kelly. This has to be so hard on her. How do you choose between the two most important people in your life?"



"Jeanne asked her to. Was that in the article?"



"No, I don't think it was."



"Of course not. Because that would mean that Kelly had an option."



"So, what did Kelly say?"



Carrie bit her bottom lip to try and keep from grinning from ear to ear, "That if she made her choose, Jeanne wouldn't be happy with her choice."



"She would chose you," Shanna nodded with a smile. "You know, I really, really like this girl."



"Me too."



Shanna laughed softly.