Playing With Fire

+++++++++



"You sure?" Carrie asked. "I'll gladly stay and watch you, you know that."



"Care, go with your mom and your sister," Kelly smiled. "I went shopping with y'all yesterday, I think it'll be nice for y'all to have some time together by yourselves."



"But I like watching you rehearse," Carrie pointed out, wrapping her arms around the shorter girl's waist.



"Today's more just setting everything up. We'll rehearse before the show tomorrow, you can watch that. Go spend time with your family. They flew all the way over here, and they haven't had you to themselves yet."



Carrie nodded, kissing her softly, "I swear you are too good of a girlfriend, if that's possible."



Kelly laughed softly, "And it's still less than you deserve."



Carrie smiled, kissing her again, "Love you."



"Love you too. I'll see you tonight."



Carrie nodded, sneaking one more kiss.



++++++++++



Kelly tried not to smile as Carrie pulled out her phone to check the time. She heard her mumble something about thirty minutes, and she giggled, causing Max who she cradled in her arms to smile. Kelly stuck her tongue out, earning a bigger smile. She knew what Carrie was fussing about. They only had half an hour until Ashley had to start doing her make-up, which meant they only had half an hour to do their pre-show ritual, and they were currently sitting in her dressing room, surrounded by Carrie's family.



"So," Shanna said curiously. "Is Manchester a good crowd?"



"They're great," Kelly nodded. "Really loud. I had to do two dates here. The fans are just amazing."



"Carrie, you should tour Europe. This has been so much fun," Carole noted.



"Europe isn't the most friendly place for country artists," Carrie replied.



Kelly grinned as Max grabbed one of her fingers, wrapping both of his small hands around it tightly. He looked at her excitedly as if to say 'Look what I can do'. She laughed, tickling his belly softly, earning a giggle. She looked up at Stephanie, "He's old enough to giggle, right? It's not gas, is it?"



"He's old enough to giggle," Stephanie nodded, laughing.



"Awesome," Kelly smiled, tickling him again, earning another soft laugh.



Carrie chuckled, turning to kiss her temple gently.



They all looked up as Ashley entered the dressing room. Carrie had never been so happy to see the make-up artist.



"Hi, sorry, y'all," Ashley apologized. "I'm afraid I'm going to have to kick y'all out so Kelly can start getting ready."



"That's ok," Carole smiled as they stood. "We should probably go find our seats. Have a good show, sweetie."



Kelly smiled as the older woman bent down to kiss the top of her head as she remained seated, "Thank you. I hope y'all enjoy it."



"We will," she assured, following the rest of her family out of the room.



Ashley laughed, shaking her head, "Y'all have twenty minutes."



Carrie grinned as she walked out the room, locking the door for them. She turned to Kelly and laughed.



"We have a problem," Kelly giggled. "They forgot someone."



"Hey my man," Carrie reached out, stroking Max's soft cheek with her finger. "They're so silly, forgetting someone as handsome as you."



Max stuck his tongue out at her.



Kelly beamed, "I taught him that."



Carrie laughed, kissing her cheek, as she wrapped an arm around her, allowing her to lean into her, "He seems to really like you."



"He's definitely a sweetheart."



"Do you ever think about it?" Carrie asked.



"Think about what?" Kelly asked, laughing as Max stuck his tongue out again.



Carrie felt her heart flutter, there was just something about that moment--Kelly in her arms, the small baby lying content in hers. "Having kids."



"Sometimes," Kelly replied softly.



"Sorry," Carrie quickly apologized. "I'm totally not suggesting anything. I was just curious. I remember at one time you talking about having ten kids, and not too long ago you saying you didn't want any, and then the other week, you told your mom..."



"No, it's fine," Kelly assured her. "He's just...he fell asleep."



Carrie looked down at Max who was sound asleep, curled up against Kelly's chest. She kissed the Texan's shoulder, "You're going to be a great mom, someday."



"I do want kids...with you," Kelly nodded. "I want to do it right though."



"Marriage?"



"Yea, when we're both ready. Then if we can manage to get our careers to a place where we have time to take care of someone other than ourselves...I'd love to have kids with you."



Carrie smiled, taking her chin in her hand and turning her face so that she could kiss her. Kelly mirrored her smile as she turned slightly, getting more comfortable. There was a knock on the door, and both girls looked up. Kelly stood up carefully, walking to open it.



Stephanie smiled guiltily, "I think you have something that belongs to me."



Kelly laughed softly as she handed Max to her, "It's ok. He was no trouble at all."



"Yea, he's a good baby," Stephanie nodded.



Kelly gave a small wave before closing the door and relocking it. She walked back to the sofa where Carrie had stretched out. She smiled, lying down with her.



Carrie wrapped her arms around her, holding her close. She kissed her gently, "I love you."



"I love you too," she replied, her head tilting back as Carrie's lips found her neck.



++++++++



Carrie stood on the side of stage with her arms crossed. She knew something was wrong; she could see it in Kelly's eyes from the moment the show had started, and she felt herself growing angry that nobody seemed to have fixed it yet. She watched as Kelly turned to the sound guy, pointing to her microphone. The shorter singer finally just tossed her in-ear monitors out, motioning to the monitors in front of her, aiming to get the sound guy to use those instead. Carrie shifted from foot to foot, trying to figure out why they weren't correcting it. Did they not realize just how valuable the girl's voice was, and how much damage they could be doing?



She relaxed slightly, grabbing a stool to sit on after a couple more songs when the curtain fell, signaling the beginning of the acoustic section. At least Kelly wouldn't have to strain during those songs. Carrie couldn't help but smile at the sound of the crowd singing the song along with her, the chorus of voices echoing throughout the theater. She knew how much that meant to Kelly, and was proud to be able to see that.



Carrie stood back up at the end of the acoustic section as Kelly rushed to her side of the stage. She could see the aggravation in her eyes. "What's going on?"



"I can't hear a damn thing," her hands moved quickly, always a sure sign that she was upset. "The band's way too loud, and with the crowd--I love them--but I can't hear, and I'm having to shout over them, and I can already feel my voice going. Jason's supposed to be talking to the guy working the sound board right now. I hope they can get it fixed. I don't think I can keep this up, especially not with another show tomorrow night."



Carrie frowned. "Just don't strain too hard, alright? You can't afford to get sick in the middle of a tour."



"I know, but..." she motioned to the stage. "I don't really have a choice."



Carrie rubbed her arms soothingly. She could sense that the Texan was mere moments from tears, "It's ok. The show's going wonderfully. The crowd loves it, and I'm sure Jason's gotten it all taken care of. He knows his stuff...I'm sure he's gotten it under control. Just relax."



Kelly nodded, taking a deep breath.



"There you go," Carrie smiled. "Better?"



"Yea, I just...I want to make this a great show because of your family, so now is the worse time to be having sound problems."



Carrie's smile grew, "Sweetie, don't even worry about them. I've seen them; they're having a great time, alright? Jay and Ashley are taking good care of them. Just take care of yourself out there, alright?"



"Alright."



"How much time?"



"Thirty seconds."



Carrie grinned, leaning forward and kissing her firmly. She heard Kelly take in a quick breath, surprised before smiling into the kiss. Carrie laughed softly, pulling back, "Now go on, Rock star."



Kelly smiled, sneaking a quick kiss before hurrying to the stairs that she started the second half of the show from.



+++++++++



Carrie's fingers trailed down Kelly's jaw line as she tilted her head back against the pillow, her lips kissing along her neck as soothingly as possible, willing to be naive enough to think that it would make her feel better. She felt Kelly place a soft hand on her cheek, and she pushed herself up to look down at her, "You ok?"



"Yea," Kelly nodded, her voice scratchy.



Carrie frowned, "I could seriously kick the sound guy's ass right now."



"It's ok," Kelly stroked her cheek lightly. "I'll be fine tomorrow. Just need some sleep."



Carrie nodded, rolling onto her back, pulling the shorter girl on top of her.



Kelly smiled, their feet brushing together as she rested in the crook of the country singer's neck, "You take good care of me."



"Well somebody's got to," she rubbed her back.



"I'm glad it's you, though."



Carrie smiled, kissing the top of her head.



++++++++



Carrie frowned as she lay flat on her back, listening to the sound of Kelly growing upset as she talked to Tim on speaker phone. Kelly lay on her side, her back to Carrie, trying her best not to wake her.



"We're doing the show," she said firmly.



"Kelly, we're not doing the show tonight, and that's final," came the reply.



"Yes, we are, and that's final. You forget I have final say here," her voice was still strained from the night before.



Carrie turned onto her side, molding her body to fit right behind the shorter girl's as she placed an arm around her stomach.



"Kelly..." Tim said gently. "Listen to me. We are not cancelling the show. We're just going to push it back."



Kelly chewed on her bottom lip, "I just don't want to cancel a show."



"I know," he replied. "I promise we are not cancelling it. You just need time to rest--I can hear it in your voice. You don't want to go on tonight and just make it worse, right? Then the rest of the tour won't be up to standard. You don't want that, right?"



Kelly sighed, and Carrie kissed her shoulder gently.



"We're just doing this to make sure you don't get sick again. We don't want a repeat of the Hazel Eyes tour. Nobody wants that. It's just one show. We'll come back to it. Look, I'll make sure we come back to it before the tour's even over, how's that?"



"Ok," she mumbled.



"Yea?"



"Yea," she replied, sniffing.



Carrie held her tighter.



"Good. You're doing the right thing, KC. The fans will understand. I'll call you a little later to check on you, alright?"



"Yea, thanks, Tim."



"Anytime. Get some sleep, girl."



Kelly hung up the phone, placing her arm over Carrie's, keeping her there.



Carrie reached forward, kissing a tear that was falling down her cheek, "It's ok."



"I just hate cancelling shows."



"I know, sweetie, and your fans know that. They know it has to be serious in order for you to not do a show, and they trust you enough to know that you're going to reschedule it, don't worry."



Kelly nodded, wiping the tears away.



"Now do I have permission to kick the sound guy's ass?"



"Yes," she sniffed.



Carrie laughed softly, kissing her neck, "You wanna go back to sleep for a bit?"



"Yea," she linked her hand with Carrie's, bringing it up under her cheek, practically wrapping Carrie around her.



Carrie nuzzled her cheek softly, whispering an "I love you" as she heard the Texan's breathing evening out.



"Love you too," came the sleepy reply.



++++++++++



"Hey, you want to come to the airport with me to send my family off?" Carrie asked, slipping on a pair of shoes.



"I don't know..." Kelly replied as she sat up in bed, still pouting slightly about having to postpone the show.



"Please?" Carrie looked at her hopefully. She climbed onto the bed, settling on her lap. "I know how much they want to thank you for all of this, and it'll mean a lot to me..."



"It would?"



Carrie nodded.



"Alright," Kelly smiled softly, giving her a quick kiss. "Just let me change real quick."



++++++++



"Kelly," Carole smiled, pulling her into a hug. "Thank you so much for this. I hope you feel better soon, sweetie. The show last night was amazing."



"Thank you," Kelly nodded as she pulled back. She smiled as Carrie wrapped an arm around her.



"Y'all have everything?" Carrie asked.



"Yes," Stephen nodded, kissing the top of her head. "You two have fun, now. Kelly, take care of yourself."



"Yes sir," she nodded.



"Bye," Shanna nodded, pulling both singers into a hug as her husband did the same. "See you two soon. I expect help from both of you when we move to Nashville."



"Alright," Kelly laughed softly.



Stephanie hugged them both as well, and Kelly smiled as Max took a hold of her finger once more.



"Bye little man," she rubbed the top of his head gently.



"Ok," Carrie nodded at the sound of the airline worker announcing last call for their flight. "Y'all better get going. Call us when y'all get back to Oklahoma, ok?"



"Will do," Stephen assured. "Bye girls."



"Bye," they both waved.



Carrie smiled, turning to Kelly as her parents walked through the gate.



Kelly returned the smile, allowing herself to be pulled into a hug.



"Thank you," Carrie whispered kissing her cheek.



"I'm glad you had a good birthday," Kelly replied as they started to make their way out of the airport.



"Do you think it's still my birthday somewhere?" Carrie asked innocently, her hand strategically placed on the lowest point possible on the Texan's back without groping her.



"You know...I think it just might be," Kelly nodded.



Carrie's eyes lit up, kissing her cheek with a loud smack.



Kelly giggled, "Come on. There's a backseat of a limo out there with our name on it."



"I love my birthday," Carrie beamed.