[BFF] Nothing but old news [Carter/Open]

[CASSIDY MERRYWEATHER]

Getting ready to go anywhere these days was a hassle for Cassidy. They might have had a nanny to help take care of Lily but when Cass was home she felt it was her motherly duties to take care of her own child herself! And she refused to let the nanny do her job when she was there. Her husband Carter, of course, she couldn't rely to even feed the baby unless Cassidy was standing there hovering over him and making him do it. He seemed to hate their daughter sometimes and she wondered how he would be with her when she was older, hoping that things would be better by that time. So Cassidy had single handedly gotten their daughter dressed, gotten herself dressed, packed the baby bag full of bottles, diapers, toys, an extra outfit, and a few other assorted baby items. Then she'd proceeded to get Lily into the car, managed to convince her husband to come and there they were, at the burning boat festival.

It was a little colder than Cassidy expected it to be. It seemed like they'd moved from New York to the land of no sun. It was always raining, and even though it was April there was still a chilly breeze moving through the air. Cass could adapt to any kind of weather but she was concerned for her daughter. Had she bundled her up enough? Should she have put the grey pants on her instead of the blue, since the grey ones were a little warmer? "I think we should have brought another jacket for Lilly."

She sighed and looked around a bit, pushing the stroller that held the baby in it. The baby meanwhile was happily cooing and flailing her arms around having the time of her life! Cassidy on the other hand, had been distraught for the last week and a half! One of her best employees had just up and left! And what was really odd was that she hadn't left a note, no phone call, no nothing. But the strangest part was that she'd left her purse at the store. Cass still had the feeling that someone had taken her. There was no way she would have just left her purse if she quit! Her cell phone was still in it! And not only that, but she hadn't bothered to call her own phone to try to claim it. Cassidy, being that she was a bit of a snoop, had gone through her purse and found the phone. And answered whenever it rang, hoping it would be her. But each time it wouldn't be and if they asked where Alyson was, Cassidy would try to see if she could get any information from them. But nobody knew anything.

Cass had gone to the police and told them that her friend had been kidnapped. Of course, she was told they would do the best they could to find her. But she had yet to see any results! She was starting to wonder if maybe she should investigate it herself. She could probably do a better job than those idiot cops anyway! They weren't anything like the police in New York. Sure, some of the cops in New York were lazy and total jerks, but her father had been a cop. And he was a damn good one and had taught his little girl a thing or two.

"The cops aren't doing anything. I mean they're all practically here! They can't expect to find Alyson if they're standing around eating donuts and watching stuff burn, can they? Maybe I should look for her." Cassidy ranted to Carter, who would probably just agree with her so that she'd just move on to the next subject. But this was important to Cassidy. She needed to know what happened to Alyson and refused to believe that the girl just left town without saying anything to anyone. It didn't seem likely.

"There was that weird application sitting on the counter when I went to the store that morning. Do you remember me telling you about it? It was only partially filled out but maybe it has something to do with what happened to her." Cassidy asked and then nudged her husband a bit to be sure she'd get a reaction out of him. She loved him with all her heart but sometimes he just didn't listen to her. She was sure she could find something the police couldn't. She was determined to!

"I don't think we brought anything to burn did we?" She asked and reached over to put her arm through her husband's arm, hoping she could hold onto him for both warmth and because she liked to be close to him. Sometimes, that is.

[CARTER MERRYWEATHER]

The festival wasn't exactly at the top of Carters To Do List, but he had to play the part of loving husband and father. He had been spending a lot of time in the office lately, partially to escape his duties at home. He loved Cassidy with all his heart. That had never faded over their time together, and he truly did care for his daughter, but he was weary with their life. It was boring. He worked, he came home. There was no drama, no excitement! The girl that worked for Cassidy was probably the most exciting thing that had happened but her going missing was growing weary itself. Sure, he was glad it was her that had been kidnapped and not Cassidy or Lilly. He had his fair share of his wife being kidnapped already, and knowing Lilly was in the hand of a stranger might send him over the brink, but this girl? He just couldn't find it in him to care.

"I think we should have brought another jacket for Lilly." He looked over at Cassidy, having been lost in his own thoughts before his gaze landed on the baby in the stroller. She'd gotten so big so quickly. It was hard to believe she was fourteen months old already. "She's fine." He told her. A little chill wouldn't kill the kid, and she was covered enough. Worst case scenario he would buy an "I ♥ SB" sweatshirt from a vendor and wrap it around the girl.

And then it all started again.

Carter tried to be patient as Cassidy went on another tired about the cops not doing their job and why wouldn't anyone find Alyson and blah, blah, blaah, blaaah, blaaaaaahhh. Her words began to string together and he could tone her out as he walked at her side, eyes forward, physically there but not mentally. He wondered what Jenny was doing these days, and if her idiot ex was still dating his idiot ex. Maybe he could call her and get the scoop, not that he really cared but any drama other than his wife's would be welcome.

When she nudged him his head turned to look at her and he blinked. He tried to recall any words she'd just said, thinking he had heard the word application. She'd told him about it at least a dozen times, but what did she say this time? "Let's focus on something other than Alyson tonight." He said flatly, reaching a hand up and running his hands through her hair which curled slightly towards the bottom. "I know you're worried, but you need to trust that the police are doing their jobs, and we need to be doing ours which is taking care of our child, and providing for ourselves. Stop worrying yourself so much, you're going to get wrinkles."

"I don't think we brought anything to burn did we?" He didn't even want to go to the festival. Of course he didn't bring anything to burn. Hell he wasn't even entirely sure how it all worked. All he knew was that they burned things and his assistant was going to burn all the "shit" those "idiot boys" left at her place. "We could burn the baby and try for a new one tonight." He teased with a sly little grin, leaning in and pecking his wife. Of course he was kidding. Even Carter loved his child enough to not want to burn her. Usually...

[CASSIDY MERRYWEATHER]

Cassidy looked at Carter with her I'm not amused face before she rolled her eyes and shook her head, managing to give a little laugh. "Or we could burn you and try for a new daddy." Cassidy said and stuck her tongue out at her husband playfully. She wouldn't want to burn him. Well, sometimes she thought about it when he was being his prissy, idiot self or when he was at work and she could hear his skanky secretary in the background.

"Fine, I'll give them one week!" Cass held up a finger and wiggled it in front of Carter before she poked him in the chest with it. "One week and if they don't find her by then I'm going to find her myself!" She said firmly, knowing that she probably wouldn't be able to do that though. Between the store and their daughter she didn't have enough time in the day! Granted her sketches were getting better by the day, the more worried she was the better her ideas seemed to be. She poured herself into her work when she was upset. Alyson's disappearance had left Cass in a state of sleepless nights and brilliant ideas. But she'd trade that for her friend back.

"But enough about that. Ooh you know what we should have brought? That stupid secretary of yours. I wouldn't mind watching her go up in flames." Cass made a look of disgust, clearly not amused and then turned the stroller so she could get a good look at their daughter.

Lilly had grown so much in the last year and two months! She was already babbling away and was a lean, mean crawling machine! Luckily she hadn't grown out of her stroller yet. She enjoyed sitting in there, bouncing and flailing her arms around while she happily cooed and yelled. "She's getting so big. I can't believe it. I remember when we found out we were going to have a baby. What a mess that was, huh?" Cass asked and looked over to Carter with a big smile on her face. If anything could brighten her day it was that bundle of joy that they had made. And their daughter was gorgeous!

[CARTER MERRYWEATHER]

"Or we could burn you and try for a new daddy." He snorted with an air of arrogance. "No one could please you like me." His tone was cocky and amused and there was a sultry glint in his eyes. This was how they were supposed to be, all full of banter and seductive taunts. How could he make his snide sexual comments when she was constantly blabbing about her dumb little shop girl?

Which she apparently couldn't drop. His features darkened with boredom once more until she mentioned her going to look for the girl. His eyes narrowed and his teeth clenched. There was no way in hell she was looking for a kidnapped girl. Not given the history they had with kidnappings.

She was changing the subject but now he wasn't interested in talk about burning Cheyenne and how big their child had gotten over the last year. "Yes, it was a mess." He conceded, but grabbed his wives upper arm and pulled her to a halt so she was close to him, his eyes flaming.

"Don't you think for a second about looking for her." He demanded seriously. Carter wasn't one to tell his wife what to do so firmly. Cassidy could do as she pleased, God knew she did whether he liked it or not, but this was different.

"Don't forget what happened in Virginia, and then Europe and even New York. We came to Scriptor Bay to escape the demons following us and we've been fortunate thus far. This isn't about us anymore, we have Lilly to look after now, too. You can't just take off and play detective, you know it's dangerous and useless." Carter gulped. His anger was clearly from his love for her.

"I won't lose you again." He said softer, embarrassed as he let go and turned back to the carriage that held their babbling baby. He pushed on, obviously annoyed, but he didn't want to discuss it anymore. He said his piece, and if she was smart, which she often wasn't when it came to this, she would drop it and listen to him. He was always right when it came to these things.

"But you're right. She's grown so much." His tone was bitter now, not really interested in the conversation. "And leave Cheyenne out of this. I've told her to stop lounging about on my desk."

[CASSIDY MERRYWEATHER]

Cassidy actually laughed at his comment about nobody being able to please her the way he did. It was true. There was something - and she often wondered what it was - that she had fallen in love with about him. At first it was just the pure adrenaline and the danger that they had gotten into. "You know we never did make it to Flori--" But before she could even finish her sentence to suggest they go to Florida and spend their summer in the bright sunshine state, Carter was grabbing at her arm and it startled her a little more than she'd like to admit. She blamed it on their jumpy past.

Carter began to scold her and she listened to him and stared at him but slowly her brows began to arch down and give her that angry look that she gave him often. But when he brought up all the other incidents she knew he was right. They had a daughter they needed to look out for. She couldn't end up getting herself into trouble and risk leaving her daughter without a mother. Cassidy grew up motherless and she knew how hard it was. Especially having Carter as her father, Lilly would be in for a very hard childhood without Cass there.

When Carter let go of her she reached up and rubbed her arm gently. It hurt a bit how firm he had grabbed her. It just wasn't something he normally did.

"But you're right. She's grown so much."

She could hear his tone and she ignored what he said about Cheyenne. She felt bad suddenly. Felt bad for Alyson and felt bad for her own daughter. "Carter?" Cassidy called out since she hadn't started walking when he pushed the carriage away. But she started to follow now and came up behind him and wrapped her arms around him from behind. "It's okay. I love you." She said softly near his ear for only him to hear. He was the only one who needed to hear it and she felt like she didn't say it enough these days. Cassidy was never the lovey dovey sort but she had a feeling that maybe this could be one instance where she could be. At least a little bit.

"I promise I won't do anything stupid. You're right." She said and then a little smile crept over her lips. She figured she might know something that would distract him from being angry. "It's a bit chilly tonight. And I'm not wearing underwear." She practically cooed into his ear before she scooted her way in front of him and took the stroller away from him and began pushing it in front of him. Giving him a nice little chance to check her out as she glanced over her shoulder at him and kept pushing the stroller further into the crowd. Cassidy had been wearing a nice high waisted black skirt that hugged her hips and thighs just right while leaving her plenty leggy with a pretty cream colored cardigan that had black polka dots. Then of course she had on a pair of nice heels. She definitely had a cute, classic ensemble going for her. She just hoped that it would catch his attention enough. And truth be told she had forgotten to put on underwear when she was getting dressed after her shoulder. Between getting Lilly ready and making herself look presentable she'd just forgotten that teensy article of clothing. Good thing it wasn't her skirt she'd forgotten.

[CARTER MERRYWEATHER]

"Carter?" Carter braced himself, stopping the carriage. Lilly turned her head and looked up at him, almost as if to ask why he'd stopped once more, and his dark eyes met hers. He allowed his lips to curl up a little in a sort of smile at the child, who seemed content with his reply and turned away, playing with the toy that was across her lap.

Carter wasn't sure he wanted to hear whatever excuse she was about to give him. He didn't want Cass to look for the girl. He knew she would want to. Her father was a policeman, so it was in her blood, but having been motherless he would have thought she would take her role in Lilly's life more seriously when decided to put her own at risk. Carter was fortunate to have both parents, but neither of them had ever been loving or caring towards him. Not in the way he felt parents should be. Of course they doted on him constantly, but it was more a matter of buying his happiness, and keeping him and his sister of their hair as they did their own thing. This was probably the single most reason he had such a terrible time being a father himself. He had no role models to speak of. His father, though alive, had been absent through most of his youth. He didn't know how to treat babies. Of course he was much better with children. He had cared for his sister quite a bit in her youth, but he had never bothered with her as an infant. It wasn't until she was like a real person that he began to enjoy her company, something he looked forward to with Lilly. He wanted to be a good father, he just didn't know how, and didn't really care much to figure it out when she was a crying, smelly mess.

Her arms were sliding around him from behind, and he was thrown. Was this some sort of tactic to get him to relent to her wishes of playing Sherlock Holmes? "It's okay. I love you." He gulped and waited for the "But..." that didn't seem to come. He allowed himself to relax a little, a hand moving from the carriage to the arms wrapped around him, caressing them as he sighed. Why did she always feel the need to get him so worked up? It had been one of the few constants in their relationship since day one.

"I promise I won't do anything stupid. You're right." Carter gave a small jerk of his head as a nod. "Thank you." He told her in his typical gruff voice, though it was soft and raspy in the evening air "It's a bit chilly tonight. And I'm not wearing underwear." The man suddenly became still and his head turned slightly as she pulled away, making her way in front of him.

Carter felt a stirring in his pants that he hadn't felt in a while and his head tilted as he watched Cassidy pass him. It had been a long time since she teased him this way and he found himself wishing he could leave the baby right there and take Cassidy somewhere a little more private to investigate for himself if what she said was true or not. His eyes moved down to her rear and he couldn't make out any pantie lines, which meant either she was wearing something that was hardly there or nothing at all as she claimed.

His eyes narrowed and he moved again, coming up beside her, though he threw the occasional glimpse down to her tush. "That was cruel." He murmured to her, wanting to act on his desires, but holding back. "You don't get to just fix these sorts of situations by telling me you've gone commando. It's cheating." He hissed, though there was an air of playfulness in his tone now. "I can't even be properly angry at you anymore."

[CUPCAKE]

“But whhhy!" Jackson whined to his mother, tugging at her shirt as he began his tantrum. "Jack, I said no." His mother growled through clenched teeth. Why had she brought the boys to this festival, anyway?

"Boat!" Hayden shrieked from the stroller, pointing poignantly at the ship docked on the dock. He was rocking back and forth in his stroller, so excited to be there. He was too young to remember the boat burning last year!

"You promiiisseedd!!" Jackson continued, stopping his walking and folding his arms, pouting fiercely, his brows low over his crystal blue eyes. His brown bangs fell into place as he bowed his head exasperatedly. He stomped a food to make a point. His mother put a hand to her temple and rubbed, then grabbed her eldest sons forearm, yanking him to her. "Do you need a spanking?" She asked in a firm, intolerant voice. She had a right mind to load the boys in the car and just go home.

"BOAT!" Hayden said louder, wanting his mother to acknowledge him and to know it was where he wanted to go. He was obviously oblivious to the trouble his big brother was causing, and when he looked back and saw his mother wasn't paying attention, he decided to take maters into his own hands. He stood up and climbed out of his stroller, running off towards the boat. How very exciting!!

"No!" Jackson grumbled. "Then knock it off, because so help me, Jack, I will put you over my knee right here. Now lets go." The woman turned back towards the stroller and began to push, her angry son at her side, but something didn't feel right. One look in the stroller was all it took to realize what was wrong. "HAYDEN!" She screamed, panic overcoming her.

---

A young woman with auburn hair made her way to the podium, the speakers ringing to life. "Good evening and welcome everyone!" Came the girls kind voice over the PA system. The crowd looked over at her, their eyes averted from the boat for now. There were still people walking all around it depositing their goods. "Well, we all have things that we regret. We all have things in which we are remorseful. The burning boat festival is our city’s time honored tradition of letting go and giving yourself a second chance. I think we all need those from time to time, right?" No one seemed to notice the small boy running excitedly towards the boat.

"Boat!" Hayden said excitedly to himself as he moved to the back half. "Pirate.." Came his voice as he stood on his tip toes to look inside. He wanted to be a Pirate! Pirates were cool! He wiggled himself over the edge, tumbling into the boat as the last few people were rushing away since the boat was about to go up in flames!

"So I say we take all those failures and let downs and burdens and lets torch ‘em!" The crowd erupted and the young speaker stepped off the podium and grabbed a torch, making her way towards the boat.

In the back of the crowd a woman, frantically pushing an empty stroller, was screaming. "HAYDEN! HAYDEN, WHERE ARE YOU!"

[CASSIDY MERRYWEATHER]

"I can't even be properly angry at you anymore."

Cassidy grinned while raising her brow and shrugging her shoulder at him playfully. She knew that the only way to get him to stop from getting upset with her was to give him a little tease. It might have been cheating but Cassidy knew she had to fight dirty when it came to Carter. Keeping one hand on the stroller that held Lilly she leaned her body into Carter and planted a playful little kiss on his lips before pulling away.

"Let's just have a good time. This is the first boat burning festival for all of us. We don't want it to be a reminder of a fight, do we?" She hoped he'd just agree and drop it. And before she could wait for an answer she heard the festival starting. Lilly was starting to bounce around in the stroller from all the noise and Cassidy decided that maybe it was time to pick her up so she could see what was going on. She bent down to unfasten the little belt that held her in safely and hoisted her up with a grunt. She was getting heavy and so big!

"Are we getting excited? Huh? Oh yes we are!" Cassidy began talking to the baby in her usual baby voice, cooing and fawning over their daughter. There were no words to describe the love she felt for her. She looked over to Carter and smiled at him with one of her genuine I've-never-been-happier smiles and placed Lilly on her hip and kept her close. She definitely wasn't cold and she was grateful for that.

The cheers startled Lilly but at the same time it seemed to excite her and she bounced up and down on Cassidy's hip while her arms flailed around happily. Cassidy almost didn't hear the cries from just a little further up the pier of a woman who was screaming a name.

"HAYDEN! HAYDEN, WHERE ARE YOU!"

Cassidy felt her heart skip a beat and she held the baby closer to her body, turning her head to look at Carter. That woman had lost a child! That was a fear of Cassidy's every time they took her out. Especially since she was getting better at becoming mobile, Cass always worried that Lilly would end up wandering off. "Oh no. There weren't any children running around was there?" She asked her husband and began scanning the area herself. It wasn't her job to do it but as a mother she felt she should at least look around to see if she saw any unattended children. But there wasn't any that she saw.

[CARTER MERRYWEATHER]

It was unfair of her to use her sex against him. She was so good at it. She had always been good at it and his eyes stayed narrowed, though really he wasn't upset. It wasn't until her lips met his that he eased his glare.

"Let's just have a good time." He listened to her patiently and then nodded with a sigh. That had been the plan until she had decided she was going to be a rogue detective and find Alyson. The very thought made him bristle once more, but he shoved it away. She wouldn't be so stupid as to risk herself, not if it meant potentially getting hurt and leaving Lilly alone with him. His eyes moved to the stroller and he saw the baby inside. His lips curled upwards a little, feeling warmer towards his daughter with each passing day. Her hair was in curly pigtails. He wondered if that's how Cassidy had looked as a baby.

"No, we don't need to be fighting." He said softly, a hand sliding to her waist as he walked with her, then creeping down to her ass. He smirked as he walked, looking down at her with lust and amusement. His touch was lost thought when the MC began to talk and Cassidy moved away to pull Lilly from her confines. He watched his wife and child, still sometimes having a hard time believing this was his life and then sighed. The smile on Cassidy's lips let him know she was genuinely happy. Carter wasn't sure if he was or not. Sure, he loved his life, but it was not the path he would have chosen so soon. Still, it was a life to envy. Beautiful wife, beautiful child, beautiful home and two successful careers. Why wouldn't he love his life. He smiled back, but really he was bored. He tried not to show it, but he was. There was no spontaneity in his life anymore. He looked at the master of ceremonies, a young girl, and listened to her speech, the sound of a woman screaming in the background somewhere.

"Oh no. There weren't any children running around was there?" It became evident that she had lost her little urchin and Carter looked at Cassidy and both shrugged and shook his head at the same time. He hadn't noticed anyone. "Not that I saw." He told her honestly, sliding an arm around her shoulder and drawing her closer, Lilly between them. He looked at Lilly and wondered for the first time how he would feel if she'd run off. He was shocked at how upset the thought made him. He might not know how to handle her, but she was still his, and extension of him. She looked like him, even. There was a small gap between her two top teeth just like his. "I'm sure he'll turn up." He told her, leaning in and pressing his lips to her temple, his other hand coming up to gently touch Lilly.

[CUPCAKE]

"So I say we take all those failures and let downs and burdens and lets torch ‘em!" The crowd erupted and the young speaker stepped off the podium and grabbed a torch, making her way towards the boat.

In the back of the crowd a woman, frantically pushing an empty stroller, was screaming. "HAYDEN! HAYDEN, WHERE ARE YOU!" Her eyes looked everywhere as she attempted to locate her missing toddler. Did he run off? Had someone taken him? Her heart was beating fiercely in her chest. She felt dizzy with fear. "HAYDEN!" She screamed again in a panic.

Several people stopped to stare, but the young master of ceremonies had taken the torch and was heading towards the boat. Many people in the crowd cheered, excited to see the boat burn.

Meanwhile Hayden was crawling around the bottom of the boat. "Oooohh..." He cooed at the things that were lying around. He found an old teddy bear that looked like it had been ripped apart by a dog, and snuggled him close. "Bear!" He chirped and then swung it around. "Beeeaar ona booooat" He sang to himself, bopping the bear around now.

The woman with the torch never saw the boy as she tipped the stick on fire to the boat which had been sprayed with chemicals to help it ignite. In a flash the front of the boat lit up, causing Hayden to look up, first in awe, then in surprise. He was on the boat and there was FIRE!

Fear finally gripped him and he began to panic. "Momma!" He yelled, his screams laced with fear as he let out a screech, scooting further towards the center of the boat as the perimeters all caught fire. Tears streaked his face and he began coughing. "MOOMMMAAAAA!!!"