Bloopers and Extras!

Extras: Family Travel 7

Carli's POV

I hear Christen's door slam and it takes every fiber in my being not to yell at her. I go into the kitchen and lean against the counter. I prop my head up in my hands and rub my temples. The back door slides open making me look up. My youngest is standing there paler than a ghost with huge tears silently rolling down her cheeks holding a switch gingerly between her fingers. "Mama I-I didn't mean to be b-b-bad!" she sniffles terrified. "Please don't let Mommy spank me!"

"Baby come here." I say standing up. She runs into my arms and starts to really cry. "Shh princess." I coo rubbing her back. I reach down with my other hand and take the small branch from her smaller hand. I set it on the counter. I grab the back of her thighs and lift her up until I can get her comfortably settled on my hip. "Mommy's not going to spank you. She shouldn't have told you that. She's really mad at sissy right now." I explain in a soft voice. She sniffles and looks up at me with her big sad eyes. I brush her chlorine scented hair off her face and tuck it behind her ear. "Go downstairs and get cleaned up." I kiss her forehead and put her back on the floor and she goes to obey. Hope trudges in through the front door carrying some towels and other things we took with us. She stayed in the car to cool off. "I sent Julie downstairs." I tell her after she sits down at the bar.

"I shouldn't have lost my temper with her." sighs Hope putting her head in her hands. "I'm just frustrated with this whole Christen thing." She takes a deep breath and looks up from behind her fingers to peer into my eyes. "We're not bad parents are we?" I stare at her blankly not sure what to say. She groans and runs her hands through her still damp hair. "If we did a good job why is she struggling so much with Mal? Also why is she acting out so much this week? Christen is normally well behaved. I don't get it."

"It's just one of those weeks I guess." I confide leaning back against the island. "What are we going to do? I hate to be the bad guys but someone has to tell Chris and Tobs that their kid is a brat. They've spoiled her rotten Hope!" A door creaking closed upstairs makes us hold our conversation. Tobin emerges from around the corner and freezes when she sees us.

"I, um, I'm going to check on Morgan." she says nervously. "Mal's asleep in my room." I nod at her so she runs down the stairs to the basement.

Tobin's POV

I jog down the steps and turn the sharp corner into the cold room. "Oh hey Toby." smiles Moe looking away from the tv screen. She's sitting on the bottom bunk in an old pair of training shorts and a stained t-shirt. Her hair, soaked from a shower, is dripping onto the sheets below her. "Do you want to play?" she asks holding up the extra Xbox controler. I shake my head no and gently touch the the sensor light with my toe effectively shutting it off.

"We've got to talk MoMo." She sits up and puts the controller down beside her. I flop down on the bed and lean myself up against the wall. "Chens called me today..." I trail off running my fingers over the bars holding up the top bunk. "Her and Jrue know about last night. They want us to Skype them."

"Am I in trouble?" fearfully wonders my niece. "Dad'll kill me when I get home for acting up while on a trip! Tobs he's gonna beat me!" Moe unexpectedly throws herself into my arms.

"Hey hey hey." I say petting her hair. "You're not going to be in trouble. I'm in charge and I told you it was okay. Calm down Morgz. You're getting all worked up over nothing." I resituate her so she's sitting sideways on my lap. "Oh MoMo don't cry." I coo noticing the tears on her cheeks. "Baby you're not going to be in trouble." The bathroom door opens and Julie comes out wrapped in a towel. She looks at Moe questionably and then up at me. I shake my head no to tell her not to ask. She nods and gathers her clothes from her bag before stepping back in the bathroom to change. "Let's call, okay?" She sniffles and sits up on my lap. She wipes her nose on her sleeve while nodding her head. I reach over her and grab her lap top. I type in her password and press enter. Surprisingly I'm met with an "incorrect" message. I raise my eyebrow and look at her making her giggle. "You changed it and you didn't tell me?" She nods her head still grinning. "Mhm what is it Miss Thing?"