After Headlines

45: Mother Knows Best, Except When She Sucks

Cara, who was now seven months pregnant, was setting up in the pit when she got the phone call.

" Wait what?" Cara jumped up.

" I tried to stop her."  Anni stressed on the other side of the phone.

" You good, Cara?" Sky walked up to her.

" Is that Sky?" Anni asked excitedly.

" My mother is flying out to see the show tomorrow." Cara ignored her sister.

" Tell Sky I say hi!" Anni called.

" Anni says hi." Cara said.

" Hey, little sis!" Sky called. The two had grown close over the years of him and Cara dating, and even closer after they got back together.

" You still haven't told your mother you're pregnant, have you?" Sky sighed.

" I don't talk to my mother, period." Cara stated.

" She's gonna freak." Anni commented helpfully.

" Thanks Anni." Cara rolled her eyes.

" No problem." Anni replied cheekily.

" So, who in your family actually knows?" Sky sat next to her.

" Anni and Karl." Cara responded sheepishly.

" Dear God." Sky sighed.

oOOo

" Sky, I'm gonna pass out." Cara stressed.

" Cara, I love you, but if you keep freaking out, then I'm gonna freak out." Sky paced the floor of their room.

" Sorry." Cara laughed lightly as Sky walked in circles.

" She's gonna kill us." Sky muttered.

" Probably." Cara nodded.

" Like, really, really kill us." Sky flopped onto the bed next to her.

" Yep." Cara agreed.

" Maybe we can break it to her slowly?" Cara thought outloud.

" Aren't you the same woman who told your mother to kiss your ass?" Ben walked through the open doorway.

" Don't compare me to Natasha Romanoff when I feel like digging a hole and hiding." Cara threw a pillow at him.

" Cara, no offense, but your mom probably should've learned about this a long time ago." Bexley said lightly as she entered.

" But I haven't talked to her since I told her off." Cara stated.

" I love that you told off your mother." JoJo slid in.

" Anyone else coming in?" Sky called. Josh, Penny, Nick, and Natalie filed in silently.

" Anyone else?" Cara asked. Jeff, Iain, Chaz, Anthony, Nico, and Michael slid in too.

oOOo

" You'll be okay." JoJo assure Cara.

" I'm not sure I will be." Cara shook her head.

" Look, if your mother can't accept that you're having a child with the man she loves, then she doesn't need to be a toxic point of your life." Bexley said.

" You're too good for her." Natalie agreed.

Sky ran over to Cara as the girls made their way to their dressing rooms.

" I love you so, so much. I'm so sorry that I got you pregnant  before we got married. I promise I'll marry you soon. I love you-" Sky rambled, making Cara smile.

" I love you too." She cut off his ramble with a kiss.

" And like Natalie said, you're too good for her." Sky added.

" Uh-huh."

" Twisting lemons into lemonade-" They heard JoJo sing from down the hall.

" You'd be sleeping-" Bexley jumped in.

" You'd be drunk-" Josh sang

" If you had stayed-" Ben and JoJo sang in sync.

" And you might miss any good that could come after this-" Bexley and Josh sang together.

" First date-" JoJo and Bexley sang.

" Last night-" Ben and Josh returned.

" Why are they singing from their dressing rooms?" Cara listened as they sang together.

" Because they're our friends." Sky shrugged.

oOOo

Cara watched from the pit as the others did their bows. Sky smiled down at her as he jogged downstage for his bow.

The curtains closed and people began filtering out of the auditorium. Cara quickly collected her music and violin, running to the dressing rooms to find Sky.

" I can't talk to her." Cara exclaimed as soon as she found him, ignoring the others that were in the room.

" Cara, she's gonna find out sooner or later." Sky said calmly.

" You want backup?" Penny ran over to her.

" Bexley, I'm stealing your child." Cara called.

" No we aren't." Sky called over her.

" It'll be okay." Sky promised.

oOOo

" Cara Evony Bachmann!" Greta Bachmann basically shrieked. Some bystanders turned to them for a moment before continuing on.

" How could you-" Greta gaped. Cara stared at her mother, unsure of bow to respond.

" You're putting it up for adoption?" Greta asked calmly.

" No!" Cara and Sky snapped in sync.

" You don't have a say." Greta sent Sky a sharp glare.

" This child is as much his as it is mine." Cara replied.

" Cara, no man is gonna want to marry you if there's a child involved." Greta stated.

" Mother, this is the 21st century, for one. And two, I have a man who wants to marry me." Cara reached for Sky's hand.

" Isn't that what he said the first time?" Greta cocked an eyebrow.

" I won't make the same mistake twice." Sky stated.

" Cara, you cannot-"

" Mother, first you ruined my engagement, you're not ruining anything else. I want my kid to know their grandmother, but not if you're gonna behave like that." Cara pulled Sky away from Greta.

" You just love dramatic exits." Sky teased quietly.

So, Chris McCarrell is very underrated and he is honestly the only one who truly did Percy justice.