Playing With Fire

lol, so i have no idea how to do a link thingy on here, but here's kelly and the koala: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=63temFqpSXw forward to about 36 seconds into the video.





+++++++++



Carrie smiled as her parents sang her happy birthday while she sat at the kitchen table, a chocolate cake with a number two and a number five candle on it. She closed her eyes, blowing out the candles.



"Chocolate on chocolate, just the way you like it," Carole smiled, cutting her a piece. "There you go."



"Thanks Mom," Carrie replied, grabbing a fork.



"So, what time is your flight today?"



"Seven tonight," she explained. "I think I have one lay over, then I'll get there tomorrow at around fiveish."



"And where's there?" Stephen asked, curiously.



"Manchester. Kell has like a three day break till her show there. So, we'll get a good chance to hang out. It'll be fun. I've always wanted to go to the UK."



"Yea, I heard it's really lovely," Carole nodded, politely.



"Mom..." Carrie laughed. "Come on, you know I'm just as upset about you not being with me on my birthday as you are."



"Your birthday? Oh, I'm over that," she waved her off with a smile. "I'm talking about Europe. When do I get to go?"



Carrie shook her head, laughing again, "Next time I go, I'll take you. I promise."



"I'll hold you to that," Carole warned her.



"So, have you thought of a name, yet?" Stephen asked, cutting his own slice of cake.



"No, Kelly and I are gonna talk about it when I get over there. She's really excited about the pony too. Thanks again, you guys. It is seriously an amazing gift."



"I'm glad you like," Stephen nodded, trying not to smile too broadly.



Carrie laughed softly as she accepted the glass of milk her mother poured her.



"So, did Shanna give you her gift when she came yesterday?"



"Yea," Carrie nodded. "She got me this book I've been looking for forever. I swear she's like a human library sometimes. Anytime I need a book, she just pops it out."



Carole smiled, "Well, I'm glad you're having a good birthday so far."



"Definitely one of the best," she agreed.



++++++++



"Ok, you have everything?" Carole asked as Carrie turned in her final piece of luggage to the airport worker.



"Yep," Carrie nodded, keeping a tight grip on Ace.



"So...the dog gets to go to Europe...and be with you on your birthday. Nice to know where I stand."



Carrie smiled at her mother's teasing, "Mom..."



"I'm just picking," Carole patted her arm.



"Are you sure you have everything?" Stephen asked, reaching out to scratch Ace's ears.



"Yep."



"Tickets?"



"Yea," Carrie pulled them out.



"Passport?"



"Yea."



"Kiss for your dad?"



"Yea," Carrie laughed, reaching up on her tip toes to kiss her dad's cheek as he pulled her and Ace into a hug.



"Happy Birthday."



"Thank you, Daddy."



"You have fun now, ok?" Carole hugged her. "Make sure to get Kelly to give you the tour. I know she's been to Europe several times before. You girls enjoy yourselves."



"We will," Carrie nodded, kissing her cheek as well. "Thanks for everything. I'll be back to visit soon, I promise."



"You better," Carole nodded.



"Take care of my birthday gift till I get back, Dad."



"Will do," Stephen smiled. "See you soon."



"Bye," Carrie gave a final wave before walking through the proper gate for her flight.



++++++++++



"How you doing?" Ashley asked, patting Kelly's hand about an hour after they had taken off.



"Good...worried."



"I'm sure she's doing great," Ashley assured.



"I don't know. I didn't really think this through," Kelly admitted. "Poor thing is flying over the freaking ocean...by herself. She's got to be scared to death right now."



"I'm sure she's fine. She's probably too distracted, thinking about getting to see you again that she doesn't have time to be scared."



"You think so?" Kelly asked with a faint smile.



"Definitely," she nodded. "Plus, isn't she bringing Ace?"



"Yea, that was actually Jason's idea. I think he's become quite fond of him. He likes having another man in the house."



"So what? That brings the total up to...one?"



Kelly laughed as Jason poked his head through their two seats from behind.



"I can hear you."



"Don't worry, she's just joking," Kelly assured. "Trust me, you're a great man. Definitely better than any other male Clarkson out there."



Jason smiled.



"Not much of a competition," Ashley pointed out.



Kelly frowned.



"Joking," she raised up her hands in surrender. "Go back to thinking of Carrie. That makes you smile."



Kelly nodded, "I just hope she's not too scared."



"She'll be fine," Jason patted her shoulder before sitting back in his seat.



+++++++++++



Kelly paced the airport floor nervously. The limo driver that doubled as a body guard sat in a nearby chair, trying not to chuckle too loudly.



"And now?" Kelly asked, turning to him.



"It should be landing any second now," he assured her with a smile.



"You sure? Maybe your watch is broken."



"It's a brand new watch, Miss."



Kelly frowned, taking the seat next to him, "Why am I so nervous?"



"Well, from what you've said, you've planned something really special. When I do something special for my wife, I get nervous too. You just want it to be perfect for them. That's how love goes."



Kelly nodded.



"Miss Clarkson--"



Kelly narrowed her eyes at him.



"Miss Kelly--"



She shook her head.



"Kelly..."



"There you go," she nodded with a smile.



"Well, I was just going to say that I think she's here, Miss."



Kelly turned her head, slowly standing up as she saw the line of people coming through the gate. She could see the blonde walking through, her eyes scanning the terminal quickly, looking for her. She felt herself grinning as she got Carrie's attention, the country singer smiling ear to ear as she rushed to her. Kelly caught her in her arms, hugging her tightly. "Happy birthday."



"I've missed you," Carrie held her close.



"I've missed you too," Kelly replied, pulling back enough to kiss her. "How was your flight? Everything went ok? You weren't too scared?"



"It was fine. I was too busy thinking about you to even realize I was flying across the ocean."



Kelly's smile grew as she kissed her again, "I love you."



"I love you too," Carrie beamed, reaching up to kiss her forehead.



"Um...Miss Underwood..."



The two girls turned to the driver to find Ace sitting on his lap.



"Does this belong to you?"



"Oh my God, I'm so sorry," Carrie rushed forward, picking Ace up. "I'll pay for a new suit, I promise."



"It's fine," he waved her off as he stood, dusting his pants off. "Just a little dog hair. It comes right out."



"Hey, Ace," Kelly reached out, going to scratch his ears.



He turned his head.



"He's still upset about the koala, I think," Carrie commented.



Kelly laughed, "I think he's just jealous because I'm the number one in your life now."



Carrie smiled as Kelly gave her a gentle kiss.



"So...you ready to go?"



"Time for my birthday surprise?" Carrie asked as the driver got her bags for her.



"Not quite. It's still a little early. I thought we could go back to the hotel and rest for a bit? I know you've got to be jet lagged."



"Rest?" Carrie cocked an eyebrow.



"Rest," Kelly nodded, laughing softly. "They'll be plenty of time for other stuff after. So, you need to rest now so you won't be tired later."



Carrie grinned, "I'm totally loving this birthday thing."



+++++++++



"So, how's your birthday so far?" Kelly asked as they snuggled into the hotel bed.



"It's pretty darn amazing. The pony...it's so adorable, Kell. Thank you so much for that," she leaned forward, kissing her sweetly.



"Hey, that's all your parents. I just promised to take good care of it...and you...but mostly the horse," she teased.



Carrie laughed softly.



"So, how are your parents doing? I haven't actually seen them since they came to the show."



"They're doing good," Carrie nodded. "My mom's a little upset about not spending my birthday with me, but I think she was really just joking."



"You always spend your birthdays with your mom?"



"Every one."



"I didn't know that. You should've told me. You could've come meet me later."



"But I wanted to spend my birthday with you," Carrie pointed out.



"I wish I could've flown back to Oklahoma. That'd been fun--to spend your birthday with you and your family. But there just wasn't enough time, and I'd have been so jet lagged..."



"It's ok," Carrie assured her, kissing her forehead. "This is easily the best birthday ever."



"Promise?" Kelly asked nervously.



"Promise," Carrie nodded. "Now, come on, this resting thing is sounding really good right about now."



++++++++



"Are we there yet?" Carrie asked as they slowly walked along the floor.



Kelly was standing behind her, one hand covering the country singer's eyes, the other resting lightly on her hip. Her lips rested right behind her ear as she sang softly, "Happy birthday to you. Happy birthday to you. You are so breathtakingly beautiful...will you promise to always love me too?"



Carrie smiled, "I promise."



"I promise too," Kelly whispered, kissing just behind her ear. "You ready for your surprise?"



Carrie nodded.



"Ok, one..." Kelly raised her voice a little louder. "Two...three!"



Carrie's jaw dropped as Kelly removed her hands from her eyes, and a resounding "Surprise!" echoed throughout the room. Carrie could feel herself tearing up. They were in the hotel's ballroom. Her parents, and her sisters and their husbands along with Jason and Ashley and Jill and Kate and the rest of Kelly's band sat at a long table in the middle of the floor while a catering crew was set up on one side of the room, ready to serve them all dinner.



"Kell..." she breathed, wiping her eyes.



"You think I wouldn't know something as big as how important it is to you to spend your birthday with your family? I figured if I couldn't fly out there to be with y'all, I'd just fly them all over here so they could be with us. I just hope it's ok that I extended the invite to some of my family...you know how they are when they hear 'free food'."



Carrie laughed softly, turning in her arms.



Kelly smiled at the sight of happy tears in her eyes, "I did good?"



"You did amazingly," Carrie nodded, kissing her. "I love you," she whispered.



"I love you too," Kelly beamed, kissing her once more. "Now, let's eat. I'm starved."



Carrie giggled, taking her hand and guiding her to the table.



"Kelly..." Carole smiled, enveloping her in a hug. "Thank you so much for this."



"You're welcome," Kelly nodded.



"Are you sure you won't let us help you pay--"



"Don't even ask," Kelly warned with a smile as Stephen stood to hug her as well. "I mean it. Y'all just enjoy yourselves." She turned to find Carrie holding a baby boy in her arms. "And who is this handsome man?" she smiled as he took one of her fingers, holding it tightly.



"This is my nephew," Carrie smiled, proudly. "His name is Max."



"Well, hi, Max," she greeted, rubbing his small fingers with her thumb.



He held on to her finger, smiling.



"He totally likes me," Kelly laughed.



"You know...we should totally hook him up with Emma," Carrie's eyes lit up.



"My baby niece, Emma?"



"Yea...they'd be so cute together."



"No way," Kelly said firmly.



"Why not?"



"That baby girl is not gonna even know what a boy is until she's thirty."



Carrie laughed, "Protective much?"



"She's not getting her heart broken if I have anything to say about it."



"Aw...but look at him...Max would never break a girl's heart."



Kelly smiled as he started to chew on her finger, "Yea, a real sweetie."



"Carrie...are you pimping out your nephew?" Shanna asked with a smile.



"Come on, they'd be a total power couple," Carrie replied.



"He's yours?" Kelly asked, turning to Shanna.



"Oh, Lord no. I am way too old to have one that young. Mine are in school right now."



Kelly nodded.



"That's true, you didn't meet them. She has a son that's what? Twenty now? He actually goes to college in Tennesse...but naturally way too cool to visit his aunt. And then Breanna is fifteen?"



Shanna nodded, "Yep."



"Didn't they have the chicken pox for Christmas?" Kelly questioned. "Aren't they kind of old?"



"Long story," she rolled her eyes.



"Shanna's moving to Nashville," Carrie said excitedly.



"Really?" Kelly asked.



"Yep. It was part of my birthday present."



"No, it wasn't," Shanna laughed. "I got offered a great teaching job there."



"That's great," Kelly smiled. "It helps so much to have family around."



"Yea, but this little man, is Steph's," Carrie explained, handing him back to his mom. "Hey..."



"Hey," Stephanie nodded.



Kelly nudged Carrie with her elbow.



"Steph, I'm sorry. I was just tired and aggravated. I shouldn't have taken that out on you. I know you didn't mean anything by it. I really do love your gift."



"It's ok," Stephanie smiled, pulling her sister down into a hug. "I'm sorry too. Happy Birthday, sweetie."



"So...now can we eat?" Jason asked, earning a slap on the arm from Ashley.



"Wait..." Deaner protested. "Everybody else got birthday hugs and kisses...where's ours?"



"Watch it," Kelly warned, laughing. "I have your wife on speed dial."



Carrie shook her head, smiling as she greeted all the band members, each wishing her a happy birthday before making it back to the end of the table, sitting in between Kelly and her mom.



"Now?" Jason asked hopefully.



"Now we can eat," Kelly nodded, smiling as Carrie kissed her cheek in Thanks.



++++++++



Carrie was breathing heavily, her heart racing in her ears, her fingers finally letting go of the tight grip she had on the sheets beneath her as she felt Kelly slowly kissing her way back up her body. Kelly's lips soothingly made their way up the country singer's throat as she felt her breathing returning to normal. She kissed her lips, earning a soft moan as Carrie brought her arms that were still trembling slightly around the Texan, hugging her close. Kelly kissed her cheek, then just behind her jaw before whispering raspily in her ear, "Happy birthday, baby."