MAMA SAID

All Of The Worries (2)

A/N:
Not a chapter just something to post. This was supposed to be included in the last chapter but wasn't and I didn't want it sitting in my drafts, so here you go. Just a drabble and it will be stupid 🤣🤣 but still vote plz. Happy reading 🤗🤗🤗🤗

FOUR DAYS LATER (THURSDAY)

"We're going to New York Halle, you of all people should be getting the heaviest of coats," Bey sifted through the kids jackets in search of one in Blue's size.

The family of five had been coat shopping for a good thirty minutes at Icona Del Modulo.

"But I like this one," Halle whined as she held up the flimsy windbreaker.

Shawn eyed the jacket and pulled a bulky coat from the rack, "what about this one?"

Halle stale faced him and remained steadfast on her garment of choice, "I don't like that. I like this one."

"Well I'm getting this one," Chloe emerged from the back of the store with an all black greatcoat that had fur around the hoodie.

"Let me see how it fit," Bey kneeled as she pulled Blue's arm through yet another coat while the child complained.

Chloe pulled the oversized garment on and zipped it as far as it could go, "perfect." She put the hood on her head and did a happy jig just as Beyoncé stood to look at her.

"That's too big. It's twice your size," the blonde tugged at the sides of the coat, pulling the fabric to the back so she could see what it would look like if it was fitted.

"This is how I want it to fit," Chloe lamented.

"It's hot!" Blue complained as she toyed with the ends of her jacket.

Shawn went to unzip and help her out of it.

"Okay if you like it then I guess it's fine," Bey shrugged. She really didn't understand why Chloe insisted on buying everything so huge but lately she didn't want to fight her on it.

"How come she gets the coat she wants," Halle asked.

Shawn shook his head, "lil bit, we're in Los Angeles and you complain that it's cold, imagine you in New York. Now if I get this jacket and we get out there and you cry about the weather then Imma act like I don't hear it."

"I won't complain," she ensured with a smile.

"Aight then, it's yours," he settled.

Halle ran to the register gripping her jacket.

"I'm not buying one when we out there either," he called after her although he figured he would be doing just that.

"Go pick out some hats and gloves," she told all three girls. "These people getting ridiculous." Beyoncé folded her arms and gazed out of the store window. There was a whole slew of paparazzi snapping their shopping experience.

"Hopefully, it'll die down soon," Shawn eyed the people surrounding the store.

Since the day of the girl's adoption, they were being trailed more than usual. Magazines and blogs wrote long think-pieces on what they thought the circumstances were surrounding the adoption. Some claimed exposure from both sides and others went as far as to say Chloe and Halle were nothing but tax write offs. The couple did their best to hide the negativity from their children, but of course the Internet exists and it wasn't long before they had to sit the girls down to reassure them of their love.

"Yeah hopefully," the blonde pushed her purse up on her arm and walked over to where her kids were.

-

FRIDAY

Zipping his jacket, Shawn looked in the mirror. Sallow, but hiding his feelings as best as possible. Although he didn't act it, he was nervous. He hadn't seen his family in over a year, and the day they'll finally see each other was the day he and his wife were introducing their newly adopted children. Just then, Shawn noticed a shadow reflecting in the mirror. When he turned around, he was mesmerized. Beyoncé was wearing simple dark denim jeans with a gold and white short sleeved top that glistened in the sunlight, shining in through the window. Her hair was slightly curled.

"How long you been standing there?" Shawn asked.

Bey walked over to him, her long curls bouncing on her back. He loved the sight of her beautiful eyes staring at him. She stood on her tippy toes, wrapping her arms around his neck.

"Long enough to know you look good trying to make yourself look all perfect," Beyoncé said with a smirk.

Shawn leaned his head in closer, and pushed her chin up.

"Oh really?" He whispered.

Bey could feel his breath hit her lips, and smell his minty toothpaste. She leaned in as far as she could so the tips of their noses could meet, giving her husband a small butterfly kiss.

"I love you," Bey said, letting go of Shawn's neck, and shrinking to normal size.

"I love you too," he replied.

"Let's go make sure the kids ready to go," she suggested.

Shawn put his hand out, motioning for Bey to head out first. "After you, baby thug." He smirked.

-

Tina had just finished helping Blue pack her suitcase. She spent half the time removing copious amounts of toys and other unnecessary items from the child's bag. Blue didn't understand why she couldn't bring at least five of her stuffed animals and all of the Barbies she wanted. To her, clothes weren't a necessity for this trip. She was alright with the outfit she had on. The woman had to convince the child to pick four outfits since she put the clothes her mother hand picked out for her  back into her closet. Afterwards, Tina and Blue headed to Halle's room to assist.

"Nuh Uh, this don't go with that," Tina surveyed the clothes splayed out on her bed.

Halle wasn't paying any attention. She was far too excited for her trip to New York. She busied herself taking mirror selfies with her younger sister to start her documentation of the entire weekend.

"You hear me?" Tina called over her shoulder.

"Mama set that out. I didn't pick it," she made duck lips in the mirror while Blue copied her every movement.

The woman shook her head and made her way to Halle's closet to find something that wouldn't clash. Just then Bey entered the room with Shawn close behind.

"Halle, your clothes were set out last night for a reason. How come they not in your bag?" The blonde asked. 

"Cause you don't know how to pick out clothes," Tina's disembodied voice came from the closet.

Bey smacked her lips, "ma we gotta go. We don't have time to be playing fashion police."

The woman waltzed back into the room carrying three totally different combinations of clothes and placed them in Halle's suitcase. "Well my grand baby not about to be seen in whatever that was you picked out. Even Blue put her clothes back."

"We going to see family, they don't need to be dressed to the nines." Shawn pressed the intercom and called for Chloe to come to Halle's room with her bags.

Tina waved him off and went back to packing while Bey placed a couple of shoes inside the suitcase to speed up the process.

A short time later, Chloe entered the room rambling on the phone and dragging her luggage behind her. Shawn immediately grabbed the bag so he could be the one to take it downstairs.

"No Yas, I don't think your nose is too big," she rolled her eyes. "It's Beans of course he's gonna crack jokes, since when did you start taking him seriously?"

Shawn eavesdropped at the mention of the questionable Beans character. Chloe leaned against the wall and continued to talk. "We keep telling you Kenny is not gonna sue. He has no proof and he has no room to talk about anybody...What? I said he wasn't that bad, not...cute ugh why would I say that? Especially when he's not?"

"Far from it," Halle looked over her shoulder to her sister, catching the upturned eyebrows of her parents. "Well he's not," she said shamefaced.

Chloe read the room and rushed Yasmin off of the phone, "I gotta go I'll call you back later...Okay bye."

"Come take a picture with me Chlo. We have to document this whole weekend. Plus we need to post to our socials like Garcelle and Yvette said."

Chloe blew out a breath and meandered toward the mirror.

"Make it quick," Bey said looking at her watch.

Their first interview was scheduled for immediately after they would land in the huge city. If anything was off schedule, then they'd have to tell the production team Chloe and Halle wouldn't be able to make it since it was live.

The adults looked on as the kids took picture after picture, playing around with different filters.

"Alright," Shawn said after a while.

He insisted on carrying everyone's luggage out to the awaiting truck. Tina tagged along with them since she'd be acting as a stylist until they hired another one.

-

Garcelle was humbled when the Carters invited her to join them on their private jet. She had all intentions on purchasing her own ticket and meeting the family at their destination, but Beyoncé insisted that it was nonsense. The woman sat at the back watching exactly how the family interacted with one another. Beyoncé was busy responding to her emails on her laptop while Shawn entertained the girls with a game of uno. As the game progressed, Garcelle noted how Blue would mimic Chloe. Anytime she yelled Uno the five year old would do a dance to rub it in her opponents' faces. By this time, Halle had become so worked up over the simple family game that she threw her cards down, yelling that she quit and mumbled something about cheaters and cards up sleeves.

"Come sit down," Tina scolded the girl who had pulled out her Nintendo and began playing. "Over there being all loud what you yelling for?" The woman asked.

Bey glanced up from her laptop as Halle made herself comfortable in the seat beside Tina and leaned her head on her shoulder. "They keep cheating!"

"That don't mean you yell. If you can't play right, you don't need to be playing. You and Julez got that bad." Tina shook her head.

"Boom!" Chloe yelled. "Uno out!" She did a jig in her seat.

"You're really good!" Blue smiled.

Chloe dusted off her shoulders, "I meean what can I say!"

The blonde lifted her head once more. "Y'all better not be over there gambling again."

"We ain't bet nothing," Shawn shuffled the cards together as Chloe stood.

"You in for another game?" The man asked.

"Nah, winning gets tiring after a while," she plopped in the seat next to Bey.

The teen rubbernecked the laptop screen and then stared at Beyoncé in awe until she noticed.

"What?" She giggled.

Chloe smiled up at her. "Nothing, I just love you that's all."

Bey smiled softly as she stared down at Chloe who was now leaning her elbows on the armrest. "I love you more Sweetpea," she poked her side.

"Impossible," Chloe joked and sat up.

The blonde thought about how much progress her and Shawn were making with Chloe, and it warmed her heart to see the growth she manifested long ago come to fruition. Chloe placed two quick pecks to the blonde's cheek and snuggled closely, watching the woman work.

-

When the creak of the door opened against the howl of the New York air, Chloe glanced back and over her shoulder. With a reassuring smile, Bey nodded for her to continue on. There was a truck parked not too far away. The teen glanced down at her feet and counted the steps of the jet's ladder. Her stomach lurched. She had a bad feeling that the moment she stepped foot off of the jet, nothing but misfortune would follow. She felt stupid for how she was always worried about something. That was the trouble with her brain. It worshipped too much at the church of emotion; it forgot about the church of logic. Although emotion was a lesser and was considered preposterous or dramatic, it was what Chloe banked on time and time again. Her face must've been giving this away when Tina asked;

"What's wrong baby?"

Chloe shook her head. Bey placed a comforting hand on her back urging her to take the first step. One. Chloe counted in her head as she stepped down. Two. She mouthed as her leaded left foot followed her right. Three, four she jogged down the last two simply because the air was frigid and she wanted to get into the warm vehicle awaiting their arrival.

Shawn had hired extra security for the trip. A sky-scraping man promptly ushered her into the stretched truck. Beyoncé slid in just before Halle who was loudly complaining about the weather. Tina made herself comfortable and reached her hands out for Blue. Shawn motioned for Garcelle to have a seat, who had been standing to the side awkwardly, before he settled in.

"It's so beautiful," Chloe stared out of the window as the truck whisked them down the street.

"And dirty," Halle was still upset with how cold it was during the brief moments she was outside.

Shawn chuckled, "Yeah it's nothing like LA is it?"

Garcelle talked on the phone with the people from set ensuring the girls had everything they requested in their dressing rooms. Chloe didn't request much just some chips and water, but Halle had written down a long list of must haves starting and stopping with food.

"Well, ladies we're almost there," Garcelle said as she ended the call. "Got all your nerves out?"

Chloe gulped down her spit, "yes," she answered succinctly.

Halle didn't let anyone know, but she was more nervous than she'd ever been. They would be on national television in an hour or so. No amount of media training could prepare her for that.

Beyoncé and Tina saw right through Chloe's facade. "Everybody's gonna be right behind the scenes cheering both of you on," Tina said.

"It's okay to be nervous, I'm always nervous before interviews. It goes by faster than you'd think though," Beyoncé offered up.

Chloe and Halle exchanged glances. The oldest took in a deep breath, and her eyes were back on the concrete jungle.

Twenty minutes later, Garcelle was flashing her credentials. The family received lanyards to place around their necks that indicated that they were with the talent. Beyoncé and Shawn laughed quietly to themselves, so used to being the ones who didn't have to wear them. Bey placed the lanyard in her purse because it didn't go with her outfit and who were they kidding? Everyone knew who she was.

They were being shown around by a scrawny white man armed with a headset and clipboard.

"Wait," Halle said once they got to the door of their dressing room. She took out her phone and snapped a picture of the ChloxHalle sign. "Gotta sent this to the group chat."

Shawn shook his head and proceeded inside.

"So here's your dressing room. We made sure to get everything on your writer. Is there anything else I could get you before I go?" The man asked.

"No, thank you," Chloe smiled.

"Alrighty then I'll be back once they're ready for you two," He pressed the side of his headset. "Be there in two seconds!" He nodded towards the family and rushed out of the room.

Chloe slowly unzipped her coat as she looked around the room. It was bigger than she thought it'd be for her very first show appearance but then again she had seen how Garcelle demanded an adequate space considering there were two artists instead of one. Shawn took her coat along with everyone else's and piled them into a chair off in the corner.

"Come have a seat," Tina patted the chair in front of the wall to wall mirror. Quiet as a church mouse, Chloe sat and stared at her reflection. Look how far you've come, she thought. Tina got right to work considering they didn't have much time. She pinned her hair up and threw little accessories in. The entire time, Beyoncé yanked snack after snack from both Halle and Blue. She didn't need them hyped up on sugar. Especially Halle considering she would be in front of a camera with a mic on her.

"I know one thing," Tina said as she applied foundation to Chloe's face. "Y'all need to get their team together soon because I'm not about to be traveling everytime they got a show to do. Them days behind me."

Garcelle typed on her laptop, "I've already started looking at potential stylists and makeup artists."

"Good," Tina said.

"I'll be back in a few I have to do a walk through," The manager stood and left.

Shawn texted his mother about the time they'd be coming over. She sounded ecstatic that she'd be able to see him and his family. Guilt flooded his body. Since the move from New York to LA, he hadn't made much of an effort to see his family. None if he was truly honest with himself. He shifted in his seat and locked his screen.

"Halle," Tina waved her over once Chloe's face was done.

The thirteen year old sat at the mirror while Chloe stood in front of Bey. "Okaaayyy," The blonde gushed, seeing Chloe with a full beat for the first time.

Blue took the lollipop from her mouth for just a second. "You look pretty."

"Thank you." Chloe smiled while she ran her hand over her thighs; she watched Jay stand so she could have a seat. She sat there thinking about the interview and what kind of questions she'd be asked. She zoned out on the thought as she sat next to Blue who had gone for another handful of candy.

"Here you go," Bey handed her the garment bag with the clothes Tina had put together and tailored.

"Imma step out," Shawn said.

Tina let Halle's hair hang instead of styling it. She placed a hair pin near the front to ensure nothing would fall into her face. The woman grabbed her makeup bag and turned to face her grandchild. Halle's eyes followed her hands meticulously as she pulled out utensils to begin the girl's eyebrows. Tina held the brow pencil in her hand and leaned towards Halle's face.

"What are you doing," she pulled her head away and     chuckled nervously.

The woman placed her hand on her hip giving the teen a dead expression. "What does it look like? Now quit playing."

"I-I can wear that?" Halle asked.

Tina side eyed her daughter, "What, your mama said you can't or something?"

Beyoncé was busy tucking Chloe's shirt into her pants, but she still heard the conversation. "Baby you can wear it. You're going on tv and I never told you you couldn't wear it even when you're not."

Halle's cheeks turned a shade of pink.

"You gone let me do it or not," Tina said coolly with a raised brow.

Halle nodded eagerly.

"Ma just do a real natural look. Nothing too out there," Bey said over her shoulder.

"Girl I know what I'm doing," Tina rolled her eyes.

Not before long, both girls were dressed and ready to go.

"Let me get a picture," Beyoncé's smile was wide as she unlocked her phone. Chloe threw her arm around Halle and they posed for a few quick flicks.

"Get in there," Bey nudged Blue forward.

Chloe hoisted the girl on her hip as Bey took a few more.

There was a knock on the door and Tina called for whoever to enter. Garcelle's head popped in, "it's time to get mic'd she said."

Unsuspecting, Beyoncé felt her heart rate pick up like she was the one going on air in a few. She knew how some of these interviews took words and purposely misconstrued them for views and headlines. Her girls were rookies in the game. Those four days of media training wasn't enough in her book to put her at ease. The blonde took in a deep breath and watched as Chloe and Halle walked towards their manager.

Halle stopped in her tracks, "mommy?"

"Coming," Bey said, "ma could you–

"I got her, gone head," Tina assured. "Do good grannie's girls." She said with a wave.

Shawn had been right outside the door and quickly got into stride along with everyone else. Chloe and Halle were more than two awkward teenagers; they were like two people walking around in the dark; scared to death of bumping into something.

"I looked over the host's cue cards. The talking points are on topic but a bit vague... we can work with vague. Just remember to smile, don't over share, and if the conversation starts to sway somewhere you're not comfortable with, bring it back to the e.p. Got it?"

"Got it," they said in unison.

Chloe didn't realize it at first, but they were mere feet away from the stage. From where she stood, she could see the sofa where she would be made to sit. She took in the huge stage lights, the quiet audience, and the multitude of cameras handled by men with their own headsets on. She thought about the fact that if she messed up, thousands of people would see.

"You'll do fine," Bey said to her oldest daughter as she held onto Halle's hand.

Chloe's head jolted up. Her mother was as pressed and perfect as always. She had changed into a form fitting, black pencil skirt and a classy yet cute white blouse. Every strand of straightened blonde hair had its place and there wasn't a molecule of blush out of place. Chloe ran her hand self-consciously down her thighs.

"They're gonna say your names, you're going to step out holding hands smiling and waving. Please don't sit down unless you're given a que from one of the stage handlers," Garcelle instructed.

"Okay," she said, a weak smile taking far too much effort.

Shawn could see her tapping away at her thigh. He was about to offer up some words of encouragement, but a woman made her way over towards them holding two mic packs. Garcelle was making her own study of the younger Carter girl. The way her hands fidgeted at her sides and the fact that her eyes couldn't seem to stay on one object for more than a couple of seconds.

The  raven haired staff member smiled, "who's up first?" She held the microphones up.

In true Halle fashion, she was the first to raise her hand to volunteer. The woman stepped forward and bent down to clip the microphone pack onto the back of Halle's skirt.

The girl whipped her head around, "what are you doing?" She asked for the second time today, but this time her eyes were frantic.

Garcelle peered up from her phone as the staff member jolted back. "She means her mother usually clips her microphone on. It's sort of like a mother daughter ritual before a show for good luck."

"Ohhh by all means," she handed Beyoncé the mic who smiled her gracious smile.

Shawn watched as his wife clipped the battery pack to Halle's skirt. She had to go under her shirt to make sure the chord was hidden discreetly. The stage handler ripped off some tape, handing the piece to Beyoncé so that she could secure the wire to avoid any audio quips. She clipped the actual mic to the collar of her shirt and smoothed down a slight wrinkle in her top.

Beyoncé decided to go ahead and put Chloe's mic on as well to avoid any more outbursts that might give the girls a bad reputation. Chloe's cheeks burned a bright red when she had to untuck her shirt and lift it so Bey could properly position the device. Much like Halle, the microphone was then clipped to the front of her shirt while the battery pack was clipped to her pants. "You look so beautiful," Bey reassured, and finally stopped running her hands over any little crease she could find; not an easy task.

"Alright a mic check and we're all set to go. Can you two speak into the mic?" The woman asked.

"HELLO hello hello hello," Halle said, getting quieter with each one.

"Perfect," the brunette said and turned to Chloe who for some reason had to stifle an eye roll.

"Testing testing," she finally said.

"Good to go." The woman said into her headset.

Music played. Chloe's heart dropped. Halle stopped her constant movements and the lights were shining brightly onto the stage. She could hear the claps from the audience and the host begin to introduce them.

"Our next guests are a couple of singing sisters who have taken the term viral quite literally over the last few months and you may even know their superstar parents. Please give a warm welcome to Chloe Carter and Halle Carter from the sister duo ChloexHalle everybody."

That's your cue Chloe told herself. She grabbed her sister's hand but didn't step forward. It wasn't until Shawn gave her shoulder a slight nudge that the oldest girl began to move. She plastered a bright smile on her face and took the first steps toward her mark. Her feet dragged a bit, and she had to force herself to lift them up. She tried to show some confidence by walking out with her head high, but inside her mind a battle was brewing. Halle couldn't be more ecstatic. So much so, Chloe almost thought the girl's cheeks would fall off from all the smiling as they waved first to the crowd then to the awaiting hostess.

"Hiii," both girls mused as they quickly embraced the woman.

"Good morning, thank you for coming," The woman had dirty blonde hair that was cut into a wavy bob. Like their mother, the hostess wore a pencil skirt but her top was a multicolored blouse.

Halle saw someone from her peripheral motion for them to have a seat. As if they were conjoined at the hip, Chloe and Halle sat on the sofa opposite the smiling woman. The claps from the audience slowly dwindled down until there were none.

"Wow," the lady started. "You two certainly don't travel light. There was so much security I thought the president might have been my next guest." She chuckled.

Both girls chuckled politely.

"Well we came here with both our parents today and the frenzies they cause alone calls for that amount of security," Halle said.

The interviewer shuffled her cards, "speaking of parents, we're all huge Beyoncé fans over here of course, so what is she like in person, in real life?"

Halle looked to her sister to answer first. Chloe cleared her throat, "I would like to say she's just as special as everyone thinks she is, and like she's so genuine and sweet and calm and loving and we love her a lot."

A collective 'aweee' could be heard from the audience.

"Is it weird having a family who's so well known?" The woman asked.

Halle thought for a second. "Ya know, at first it was overwhelming. It's pretty normal now while we're at home because to us they're just our parents but once we're in public it's like oh she's not just Beyoncé the mom or Jay-z the dad but they're these moguls that people including my sister and I look up to."

"Yeah we really don't pay attention to it," Chloe added.

"Do you miss being able to walk around freely like normal teens? Because every time I look up, you two are in a different magazine justa strolling around."

Chloe chuckled. "Um we still do depending on where we are."

The woman nodded and glanced towards her cards. "I understand you produced every song on your e.p? Was that something you always planned to do?"

The oldest shook her head. "Actually no. We were originally paired with a list of amazing producers, but once we were in the studio, we had a hard time finding the sound we were going for and that's when we decided that it'd be best if I produced it."

"Who would you say taught you how to produce music?"

"I'm self taught. I watched a bunch of YouTube videos to figure out the hard stuff though," Chloe ended with a nod of her head.

The woman crossed one stiletto-clad foot over the other. "Very talented duo, you produce, play piano and guitar and we all know that you can sing your faces off. Do you plan on adding anything else to your act?"

It was Halle's turn to speak, "we're still learning and we haven't mastered the crafts we have now, but who knows in the future maybe I can see myself going crazy on the drums."

The audience laughed.

"So tell me about this new single, drop?"

Chloe straightened her posture before speaking. "We were just hanging out at home finishing up another song and I just started playing these 808s and Halle came up with this really cool melody which eventually became the hook for drop. The song just wrote itself and we're just so happy with how it turned out."

"Yeah definitely," Halle cut in. "And originally what we were trying to say in drop, we were trying to talk about a song that gets stuck in your head really and in a way we kind of personified it as a love song but in actuality we're talking about this song. So it's like baby I get sick of you you're that same old tune I don't ever want to hear you again it's kind of like you're talking like you're in a relationship but you're really just talking about a song." She laughed quietly to herself.

"How old are you two?" The woman asked.

"I'm thirteen," Halle said proudly.

"And I'm fifteen," Chloe smiled.

"All my children insist on doing is playing video games all day." The woman looked to the audience.

Halle laughed, "we do that too." She zeroed in on one of the cameras. "Julez please have my money for me when I get home. I made it past level sixteen without any upgrades, thank you." She winked.

Chloe slightly shrunk in her seat as the audience laughed once again.

"Obviously the Internet has been such a radical tool for you guys' successes. You two initially took the Internet by storm with a cover of your mom's song 'Pretty Hurts' what made you decide to put that cover out?" The interviewer asked.

Chloe nodded her head as the woman spoke, "well like you said earlier, everyone's huge fans of Beyoncé and we're no different. I'm still in awe every time I hear her sing. Her voice is so beautiful. We loved the song and thought why not cover it."

"Yes, well, that's not the only time you girls went viral." The woman paused before starting again. "In recent months, an Instagram video of you two seemingly being, I don't know if this is the right word to use but attacked in a recording studio broke the internet. Do you mind expounding on that?"

Silence followed, Chloe's smile fell, but she quickly tried to regain it so as to not let the woman before her know how much it affected her. She couldn't see Halle because she was staring straight ahead, but she could feel her shift beside her. The oldest tried to think of a way to spin this or at least come up with something to say. She peered to her left off screen where Garcelle was motioning for her to speak.

"Um," she swallowed hard. "We try to focus on the good. Everything else gets expressed through our music. With that, we get to talk about any emotions we're feeling regarding a situation. That's why we hold  our e.p sugar symphony so close to us because the lyrics and melodies are sort of like our diaries."

Chloe didn't know how to answer the question, but surprisingly the words had slipped from her lips with ease, and she had not given it a second thought. That was, until now. Now, she was beginning to question whether she had made a mistake. If she took too long to answer. If her face had fallen a bit too low.

Taking her cue, the interviewer moved on. She reached to the small table on her left and lifted a physical copy of Sugar Symphony. "Beautiful cover art," she said.

"Thank you," both girls said in unison.

"When can we expect the project to drop?" She mused.

"Exactly two weeks from now Friday the fourteenth," Halle said.

"And there you have it guys, Sugar Symphony out Friday the fourteenth. ChloexHalle do you mind singing us into break?"

Chloe smiled, "not at all." She counted them in.

But time stops
When your beat drops
It's too strong-ong, long-ong
But time stops
When your beat drops
Turn if off, off, off, off

"All clear," a man called from behind a camera.

The same brunette woman from before ushered them backstage where Shawn, Bey, and Garcelle awaited. Bey clapped as they approached her.

"Good job! You handled everything perfectly."

Shawn pulled both girls into a hug, "welcome to show biz kiddos."

Garcelle high fived them. "One down, a million more to go."

-

The New York wind blew in more than cold, it also blew in anxiety, concern for what was to come, and a little excitement and with it came the snow to shovel, salt in the streets, and sadly slick roads. The family of five were on their way to Shawn's mother house. Tina and Garcelle had gone to their hotel rooms right after the show ended. Julius and the rest of the security were sent away after the Carters had gotten into their car safely. Shawn thumbed the steering wheel contemplating how this afternoon would go. Beyoncé could sense her husband's trepidation and held his hand as he carefully whizzed through the city.

"One, two, three, Go!" Chloe exclaimed from the back seat.

Her younger siblings insisted on racing to see who could eat their fruit roll up the fastest without biting into it. Both girls hurriedly inhaled the candy until it was in their cheeks.

"Who won?" Blue asked while chewing the red sticky sweet.

"Clearly me," Halle smacked obnoxiously.

"Blue won," Chloe announced. "And stop smacking oh my god."

"I-" Halle began but was cut off by Chloe giving her a pointed look.

"You right, Blue won," she sat back and folded her arms.

"Yesss," the five year old whispered.

"Mommy are we there yet," Halle asked for the millionth time since they sat their bottoms in a seat.

Beyoncé turned around in her seat. "Lil bit, how many times are you gonna ask me that? Does it look like we're anywhere near a house?" Her voice was calm and collected.

"No," Halle pouted and went to open yet another piece of candy.

Beyoncé held her hand out making Halle outwardly sigh as she handed it to the woman. The blonde stared at her daughter with her hand still out and arched a brow. Halle rolled her eyes, went into her coat pocket and forked over a pile of sweets. Bey sat it in the seat beside her turning around once more after hearing the crinkling of plastic. "This isn't even candy, it's gum!" Halle whined. "Shawn" she tried.

"Your mama said hand it over," he locked eyes with her through the rear view mirror.

Bey didn't need to open her mouth before the thirteen year old passively placed the gum in her palms and sat back in her seat.

"And watch them eyes lil mama," Bey called over her shoulder.

Chloe and Blue did little to hide their snickering and carrying on as Halle continued to pout.

"Mommy Halle's looking at me," Blue whined.

"How would you know if I was looking at you if you wasn't looking at me?" Halle asked.

Shawn and Bey exchanged annoyed glances as they both smirked.

-

The briskness of the wind was enough to make one's face feel like it was going to fall off. Gloves, hats, scarves, and the heaviest jackets were used to combat the chill; well all except the middle child. Beyoncé made her change into pants before they left the set of the show, but even the thick material of her jeans couldn't ward off the icy air. They had parked in front of an average sized house not two minutes ago and were now walking up a driveway. Shawn carried Blue and clutched Chloe's shoulder to steady her. She had been slipping on sheets of ice since she stepped foot on solid ground. Beyoncé zipped her coat as far as it could go. She hoped that the weather outside wouldn't be indicative of how this introduction was going to go as she walked slightly behind her husband holding Halle's hand. The woman had mixed emotions about this visit. Unlike her close and extended family, Shawn's family wasn't as inviting or careful with their words or actions. She pushed it off on being from two different parts of the country, but she prayed things would go off without a hitch.

Once Shawn stepped onto the porch, he immediately rang the doorbell wanting badly to get somewhere warm. Chloe blew on her gloved hands and saw her breath freeze before her eyes.

"They need to hurry up, it's freezing," Beyoncé complained.

Halle, still on her sugar high, stepped to the bell and rang it a thousand times over.

"Aight that's enough," Shawn told her.

Two seconds later, the door swung open and a disgruntled face of a teenage girl greeted them. Once she realized who it was, her face relaxed into a neutral expression and then a warm smile.

"Grandma, uncle Shawn here," she voiced loudly as she stepped aside.

"Hey Takiya," Shawn placed Blue down and allowed her to enter first.

The man took a step back causing Chloe to do the same. Beyoncé spoke to Shawn's niece as she pulled Halle along into the home. Chloe swallowed the ever present lump in her throat too afraid to take a step inside, but another cold wind slapped her in the face forcing her to shuffle forward. Shawn hugged the sixteen year old as he passed her. Takiya closed and locked the door as the family began removing their boots and outerwear. Beyoncé and Shawn looked down the hall, immediately finding who they were looking for.

"Hey mama," Shawn greeted as they stepped closer, the older woman smiling the second she saw the small family.

Gloria had always had a soft spot for the married couple. And that feeling had only grown since Blue was born, the woman absolutely loved their little girl.

"Well, if it isn't my prodigal son." She replied lightly, pulling him in for a long winded embrace before going to her daughter in law hugging her tightly. "Nice to see you Bey."

Blue jumped into her grandmother's arms. "Hi grandma!"

"Oh you getting heavy! Hi busy girl! Gramma missed you so much!" She kissed her cheeks.

"I missed you too!" She hugged her tight before the woman put her down. Gloria eyed the two Bailey-Carter sisters.

"Chloe and Halle," she confirmed, shooting them both a soft grin. Chloe's eyes darted around the room as she stood there, the girl felt exposed in the open space. She'd tried not to focus on it, but being around people she didn't know was causing her nerves to skyrocket. "I saw you two on tv this morning. You killed it."

Takiya stood on the side nodding, "y'all was thang."

Chloe chuckled, loosening the tight muscles in her neck, "thank you so much!"

"Thank you," Halle smiled. So you're Shawn's mom?"

"That would be me," she nodded.

Halle walked over to her and embraced her so long Bey had to pull her away.

"Sorry, she had too much sugar on the drive over," Bey tucked a piece of hair behind Halle's ear.

"It's alright," Gloria waved her off and stepped to Chloe pulling her in a side hug.

Shawn watched as Chloe relaxed more at the meaningful embrace.

"Takiya, go get your daddy and your aunties and tell'em your uncle here." The older woman said.

The sixteen year old nodded and headed down the hall. Chloe took in her long red French braids that went into a high ponytail. She was the same height as Beyoncé and had clear ember skin. She was dressed in blue adidas sweatpants that hung from her slim waist with a plain white fitted crop top. Gloria ushered them into the living room where there was already a man sitting.

"Wassup?" He greeted as he pushed himself up from the chair.

He was an older man in his late sixties but still very agile. Beyoncé flashed him a small smile before she glanced around the room to her oldest kids. "How you doing Percy?" She asked as he got closer, her genuine words being accompanied by a nod from the usually grumpy man.

"I'm breathing so I'm good," he answered. "You?"

"We Aight," Shawn responded, placing his hand on his wife's lower back, his other keeping a firm grip on Blue's hand.

He and his uncle never got along. Back in the day, the man used to be a dope dealer. He didn't care who he sold to. He'd sell to Gloria his own younger sister and Jay's older brother Eric. Luckily, Gloria's brief bout with crack cocaine ended after just one stint in a rehabilitation facility. Eric on the other hand was a lost cause. When Jay initially began his journey to steer away from the streets to the mic, Percy told him he'd never sell a million records. He'd never be nothing but a dope boy. The old man spent his current days mooching from his sister which was in turn mooching from Shawn because he paid all of his mother's bills and gave her a monthly spending budget.

"Good, that's good." He replied with a soft smile before glancing down to Blue. "Man, jits gettin so big." He added.

Bey's smile widened as she looked at her youngest girl. "Yeah, she's definitely growing a lot. She'll be taller than me pretty soon," she responded.

Percy nodded as he reached out to place a hand on the blonde's arm, giving it a comforting squeeze. The man didn't acknowledge the two teens in the slightest. He was just about to walk out of the room when Jay stopped him.

"You don't see nobody else standing here?"

"Baby," Bey lamented, rubbing her husband's arm.

She hated when him and Percy got into their little qualms. It was too toxic for her. This wasn't how her family operated.

"Don't start with me boy," Percy said.

"Percy!" Gloria reprimanded her older brother.

Halle wrapped her arms around Bey's waist and Chloe took interest in her socked feet. Blue shuffled towards her eldest sibling taking her hand. She didn't really understand why her uncle Percy and her dad didn't get along and it had been a year since she'd seen him, so she wasn't really used to it. Shawn was gearing up to spew obscenities his uncle's way when a woman rounded the corner.

"H to the izzo V to the izzay," a statuesque woman sang loudly as she raised her hands up like she was in a rap video.

Percy slipped out of the room unnoticed.

"Andreaaaa," Shawn went to his younger sister and hugged her. "You look handsome." He joked as he pulled away.

"Boy, quit playing," she swatted his shoulder and went to Beyoncé. "What do you see in him? Ugh!" She said jokingly, kissing Bey's cheek.

"Hey Andrea," she chuckled.

"Blue Blue you don't see your aunty over here? LA got you acting real sus." The woman smiled.

Blue pouted and maintained her grip on Chloe's hand.

"Oop," the lady laughed. "I'll let you warm up."

Halle's eyes followed her every move, "hey Chloe." She said like she's known the girl for years.

"Hey," the teen said awkwardly.

"Halle girl, why you hiding?" Andrea asked.

The woman had full lips like her brother. Her mocha eyes were upturned just above a button nose, and she was a shade lighter than Shawn with a slim build. Andrea was the only sibling who had never asked him for a dime. She was a hard working pediatrician who rarely got time from work. After her divorce, she of course became a single mother of four and had to somehow maneuver her way to maintaining a stable household for her children.

Halle could sense that the woman meant no harm, so she loosened her grip on her mother's waist to hug her.

"A hug? Oh see we gonna get along. These people here in the city don't know what that is. They so mean," She gushed.

A heavy set woman, and a very much fit man rounded the corner.

"Jay waddup, boy," the two did their signature handshake.

"Sup Trey," Shawn asked.

The entire time, the other woman looked at Bey and her children from the side of her eye.

"Shit, just waiting on mama to finish this food. You know how it is. Sup sis," Trey hugged Bey.

"Blue Blue," he waved. "So these your girls?"

Shawn smiled, "Yeah, this is Chloe and this is Halle." He pointed.

"Welcome to the family," he fist bumped each of them. "You got a lot on your hands. I only got two and trust me I'm going through it."

Gloria smacked her lips, "Takiya don't give you no problems. Now Tay? That's a different story. That boy has issues."

Everyone shared a laugh knowing how bothersome the ten year old boy could get.

"Ahem," the woman standing in the doorframe cleared her throat.

Beyoncé did her hardest not to roll her eyes. She never got along with Towanda. She was always nice-nasty as Tina would call it. Everything out of her mouth was negative.

"Sorry, Chloe and Halle this my sister Towanda," Jay said.

"Hi," they said in unison.

"Hey," the woman deadpanned.

Beyoncé cringed while ogling the poor wig upon the woman's head. Towanda wasn't the type that could pull off any hairstyle, so for her to go out of her way to purchase a twenty seven piece wig was beyond her. The two had a stare off until Andrea noticed.

"How about we all have a seat," the doctor suggested.

Gloria knew that when her children were all together, things could get heated. "Why don't you have the kids go upstairs to the tv room with the other kids so the adults could talk?" She suggested.

"Blue, you remember where it is?" Shawn asked, earning a nod from the five year old.

"Go show your sisters," he said.

"Hmph," Towanda let out followed by an eye roll.

Bey bit the inside of her cheek and shifted her weight.

"Come on Chloe," Blue began to drag the much bigger girl away.

Beyoncé looked down at Halle, "go with your sisters baby."

"I wanna stay with you," she whispered so only her mom would hear.

"Lil bit," she sighed.

"Nooo," she whined, catching the attention of everyone else.

"Mama's girl?" Andrea smiled down at her.

Bey gave a slight nod, glancing down towards Halle,   seeing her eyes focused on Towanda standing in front of them. The singer rubbed over her back, pursing her lips together as she glanced back towards her husband.

"Lil Bit go with the kids," he tried.

Halle's grip became even tighter, "why can't I stay with mommy? I don't wanna go upstairs."

"I'll take her," Bey offered knowing that was the only way her child would willingly leave her side.

Chloe couldn't blame her sister. She felt the same way. Why should she have to go upstairs and mingle with some kids she didn't even know? Shawn gave Halle a reassuring squeeze before they moved towards the stairs. Before they started climbing, Towanda mumbled something under her breath. Beyoncé ran her tongue  across the inside of her cheek trying to refrain from saying anything before she continued. Halle walked a few steps behind her clutching her hand.

"Here it is!" Blue exclaimed.

Chloe could hear the rambunctious noise coming from the room way before Blue opened it. The room was sizable, but when it was occupied by nine kids all ranging from maybe five to seventeen, it appeared much smaller.

"Bluuuee!!" A young girl around Blue's age ran to her. The two cousins hugged each other lovingly.

Takiya stood, sauntering over to Chloe and Halle. "I'll introduce you two to everybody."

Bey saw Shawn's two older nephews playing the game on the couch while the younger kids were either on tablets or playing with toys. Shanice, the oldest of the bunch, was on her phone talking animatedly.

"Hey y'all," Bey spoke.

"Hey BB," they all said in unison not really paying her any mind.

Chloe's social meter wasn't really where it needed to be. She was honestly spent from waking up early for the flight and mentally preparing for her interview. So all she wanted to do was lounge around somewhere and be with her thoughts. Still, she followed Takiya as she went around the room introducing her to everyone. Bey watched from the doorway. Chloe's first instinct when things became uncomfortable was to shut down. She's always been that way, Bey knew that from the second they met. She just didn't open up easily, and there was nothing wrong with that. Even though she'd gotten a lot better about it, Bey knew that was just a part of her.

The woman looked down at Halle who stood awkwardly at her side. "I'll be back," she said carefully.

Bey saw the immediate shift in her demeanor, Halle's eyebrows furrowed as she glanced back and forth between the plethora of kids and her mother. "Mommy," she was choked up, but didn't let a tear fall.

"I'll just be downstairs lil bit. These are your cousins just like Julez and Titan," she said in a hushed tone.

Halle peered over her shoulder at the rowdy bunch. Chloe was now sitting in the corner talking to Takiya and Blue had quickly been immersed in a squealing match as the younger ones ran around. Halle gave her mother a slow nod.

"You won't go anywhere else?" She asked quietly, lifting her eyes to look at her mother. The woman saw Halle's cautious gaze flash to the room before looking back at her.

"No," Bey briefly wondered what was going on in Halle's head. Did she think she would drop her off and leave her there?

"Okay," she hugged Bey one last time.

"You behave yourself," she spoke quietly after a few moments, her voice only loud enough for Halle to hear.

The girl nodded. Beyoncé turned on her heel and made her exit. Halle stared at the closed door for what seemed like forever. She pushed her decrepit thoughts to the back of her mind and walked over to where Chloe was sitting, taking a seat beside her sister's feet and pulled out her Nintendo.

"I was just telling your sister that I was a fan of your YouTube waaay before y'all took off. Like I dead used to play your covers like they was actual tracks." Takiya's New York accent was thick.

"Seriously?" Halle turned to the girl.

"Dead serious," Takiya nodded.

"Well thank you," Halle smiled as she powered on her game.

The girl flinched when someone plopped down beside her. Halle didn't have to guess who the boy was due to his uncanny resemblance to Shawn's brother Trey.

"Ooh watchu finna play," the ten year old looked over her shoulder down to her game.

"Dang Tay Tay fall back," Takiya scolded her brother.

"It's okay," Halle shrugged and looked at the boy, "Mario kart," she said.

The child ran over to the couch to retrieve his game. "Play me!" He said excitedly.

"Okay!"

Another boy around Halle's age sauntered over carrying his game. "Put me in too." His skin was dark brown and he was on the husky side.

Chloe watched the interactions as Halle began to pair all of the devices.

-

Making her way back down stairs, Bey felt a little relieved that she was able to get Halle in the room without a scene, but as she got closer to the living room, she could feel her nerves rising. Her steps slowed hearing slight hushed tones.Turning the last corner in the hallway with caution, she came to a halt as she saw everyone looking her way. Blowing out a soft breath, she forced a small smile as she took a seat beside her husband.

"So what did we need to discuss?" Beyoncé asked, already knowing the answer. The awkward tension was clear as nobody wanted to speak first. Clearing her throat uncomfortably, Andrea turned her attention to the blonde and opened her mouth to speak but she was cut off by Towanda's abrasive tone.

"I just wanna know why I had to find out my brother adopted two kids from the media and not him." She looked at Bey and sat back in her seat with her arms folded.

"Well you gonna have to ask him that," Bey bit out.

Shawn felt his wife tense and placed a comforting hand on her knee. Running his hand over his face, he reluctantly turned to his older sister, his voice dropping before he responded. "I ain't want nobody else's opinions to affect a lifelong decision I was making for me and my family."

Towanda scoffed.

"I understand," Gloria nodded trying to keep some semblance of peace.

Andrea eyed her sister, "Towanda that's your problem you think everybody is supposed to tell you everything that goes on in their life when it's happening. I keep telling you, people will tell you when they're ready to tell you something. Not when you want them to."

"Who was even talking to you," the woman retorted.

"Here we go," Trey shifted in his seat.

"This is a discussion is it not?" Andrea asked.

Beyoncé sat up, "what's the problem?"

"The problem is ever since my brother married you, he been moving different," Towanda said

The blonde chuckled dryly.

"You not about to disrespect my wife Towanda," Shawn said calmly.

Gloria stood, "Andrea, Bey come help me in the kitchen."

Both women stared at her.

"Come on, up up," she coaxed.

Andrea stood first and turned to walk, but Towanda's feet were in the way. She looked down and up to meet her sister's face. The woman rolled her eyes and moved so Andrea could pass. Beyoncé stomped off after the two, muttering a handful of insults under her breath.

"I'm sorry about Wanda," Gloria washed her hands at the sink. "Lord knows she act just like her daddy."

Andrea quickly washed and dried her hands. The kitchen was silent as Beyoncé went to do the same.

The younger woman opened the refrigerator and pulled out a large package of chicken breasts. "Can you hand me some seasonings," Andrea asked Bey.

"Where do you keep'em?"

Gloria pointed to one of the cabinets."Top shelf on the right, there."

Beyoncé opened the cabinet. "What do you need?"

Andrea shrugged her shoulders and looked to her mom.

Gloria stirred a sauce pot on the stove, "garlic, a little bit of honey, salt, pepper and some cumin and dried oregano. Oh and some olive oil too. Drea get me a lemon and some lemon juice."

Beyoncé pulled out the honey and spices Gloria had just mentioned. She then found a container of olive oil and walked back over to the kitchen island.

Andrea pulled the ingredients out of the refrigerator and set them on the counter and retrieved a bowl, a whisk and grater.

"What do you want me to do?" Bey asked. If she was home, she'd been kicked out of the kitchen a long time ago.

Gloria looked over her shoulder. "Can you put the–never mind Drea give her those potatoes to peel." The woman turned to Beyoncé again. "Shawn told me about your last cooking experience."

"What he say," Bey chuckled.

Andrea looked up, "that he almost had to call the fire department."

"That's accurate," the blonde took the bowl of potatoes from her sister in law.

Gloria had always been an awesome cook. But since she had nothing to do in the recent years, she'd really stepped it up a notch or two, and the entire family was reaping the benefits. They had Sunday dinner every week. The woman opened the oven to check on the cake she had been preparing. The sweet smell wafted into the air as the blonde took a seat at the table.

A comfortable silence fell over the three Carter women. Bey watched as Gloria poured the ingredients straight from their respective containers into the mixing bowl. "So how does it feel being a mom of three?" The older woman asked.

The blonde ran over the rutty brown vegetable with the peeler. "It's...different of course, definitely a lot louder at home than it used to be."

"Tell me about it," Andrea sighed. "Then I had the nerve to have a fourth one. How's Blue warming up to them?"

"Oh she loves those girls but y'all know Blue, she's a little feisty, so her and Halle go back and forth sometimes. Other than that they get along fine."

"That's good," Andrea nodded. "Wish I can say the same about mine. Everytime I come home from work I'm breaking up a fight."

Gloria chuckled, "That's because you have all boys." Once she was finished chopping the garlic, Gloria added it to the bowl. She then picked up the grater and began to zest the lemon for her marinade.

"That smells so good." Bey said, inhaling the strong citrus scent.

"I know. I love cooking with lemon zest. It gives food such a nice flavor without being too overpowering. What made you decide to adopt?"

Beyoncé picked up another potato and began peeling, "They were in foster care when I first met them. You know my cousin Angie?"

"The crazy one?" Andrea asked.

"Mmhm," Bey confirmed. "She sent me this video of them singing and I wanted to sign them so we set up a meeting. Long story short, we found out their foster home was horrible and I couldn't see myself leaving them in a group home after they was taken away, so I decided to foster at first. Months went by and I realized I couldn't see my life without them. I talked to Shawn, he agreed and here we are now."

Trey waltzed into the kitchen and opened the refrigerator, pulling out two beers. He flashed the women a smile before quickly exiting.

When Gloria finished with the lemon, she whisked all of the ingredients together and added the marinade to the chicken before covering the dish with plastic wrap. "God's gonna bless you. It ain't easy taking in kids that's not biologically yours. Ask any one of my kids. It was hell getting Trey adjusted when we first got him."

"He didn't even talk to any of us, just mama," Andrea said.

"Shawn told me," Bey nodded.

-

Trey entered the living room and handed his brother a beer before taking a seat in the chair beside him. Shawn lifted the bottle as his thanks and cracked it open easily, taking a short sip.

"At least the ladies in there calm," Trey lifted his beer to his lips.

"That's cause Wanda not in there," Shawn said earning, a chuckle.

Trey began flicking through the tv channels. "True, but you know she only act like that because she care."

Shawn rested his elbows on his knees, "she can't be out here disrespecting my wife though. You know I don't care who it is. I get real disrespectful when it's about her. I tried to stay calm because we blood, but shit getting real outta hand."

"I'm already knowing. Had to get at her about mine the other day." Trey shook his head.

"Where Kayla at anyway," Shawn asked.

"With her girls at some get away. Apparently she needed a break from the kids and me. She says hi though." Trey stared at the CNN anchors on the television.

Towanda walked past both her brothers and headed into the kitchen. They exchanged glances and shook their heads as they continued to drink.

-

"Finish him!" The chubby thirteen year old boy Halle had come to know as Nolan screamed. They had switched from Mario Kart to Super Smash Bros. Halle wasn't that familiar with it and she was battling Tay the ten year old who was apparently an expert.

"You weak as hellll son," Nolan shook his head. "You def dumb cause you could've whooped him if you listened to me."

Halle rolled her eyes, "watch your mouth when you're talking to me. And I ain't your son."

Nolan smacked his lips, "that's a saying, an expression."

"Well, express it to somebody else, not me." She frowned.

The chubby boy looked at her pointedly, "females be having mad attitudes. You in New York everybody say that...son."

Halle looked back at her sister who was busy conversing with Takiya and locked eyes with Nolan again, "well if I told you that fat ass was an expression where I'm from would you still be offended?"

The ten year old boy to her left threw his head back laughing. Nolan's top lip quivered as he stared her down.

"What?" Halle asked. "It's just an expression," she smiled sarcastically and shrugged.

Chloe had been talking to Takiya for a while now, with the ladder steering the conversation. Shanice had since ended her phone call and joined them on the little sofa.

"So where you cop this?" Shanice pointed to Chloe's shirt.

Shanice was Towanda's eldest daughter and behaved exactly like her mother. At just seventeen years of age, she had managed to garner closer to ten lifetime enemies and was on her teacher's phone call home list nearly everyday. She wore her natural hair in a big puff on top of her head. She resembled her brother Nolan with chocolate skin and a little extra cushion for the pushing.

Chloe looked down at her graphic t-shirt "Um it's MiuMiu."

"And your jeans?" The girl asked.

"BrokenLandCo," Chloe shifted uncomfortably.

Takiya looked up from her phone and eyed her cousin, "why you clocking her?"

"Cause I got a mouth and I can ask what I want. Anymore questions?" Shanice cocked her head to the side.

"You always trynna front around somebody you don't know. Chill with all that," Takiya gave her older cousin a knowing look.

Shanice held Takiya's stare. "Anyways so, you my uncle Shawn's daughter now huh?"

Chloe raised her brow and slightly nodded.

"Where he find you at?"

She felt the twitch in her hand make a dramatic comeback. Her eyes scrutinized Shanice, but she decided not to answer. Her throat went dry with all of the words unsaid.

"Boo!"

Chloe flinched at someone yelling in her ear from behind the couch. She turned to see Blue and Shanice's youngest sister giggling. The six year old girl known as Pumpkin for her round face and pudgy body reached her hand out to touch Chloe's locs.

"I like your hair," she says in a piercing squeaky voice.

"Thank you," Chloe beamed at the young girl.

Blue rounded the couch and stood in front of her older sister. "They're called locs right Chloe!"

"Right," Chloe nodded.

"People wanna be chief keefe and the migos so bad," Shanice said purposefully loud so Chloe could hear.

Takiya sighed loudly. "People wanna be Precious so bad."

The two never got along. Shanice figured since she was a year older and notably bigger she could do and say anything she wanted to people. Though Takiya was a timid soul, she had learned years ago that she had to stand up for herself or else Shanice would continue to treat her poorly.

"Can you show me where the bathroom is?" Chloe asked Takiya.

"Yeah," the girl stood.

When the two teens stepped into the hallway, Takiya halted her steps. "I ain't even gone lie. Shanice is a bitch like down to the core. She try to treat me the same way cause my daddy not related by blood but I don't pay too much attention to it. Just roast her ass fire that hoe up. Cause she be buggin."

Somewhere down the hallway, a door slammed.

Chloe and Takiya looked to the side and back at each other.

"Naw I'm not the type," she chuckled, shaking her head. "I don't roast people. I don't know how."

"Tough," Takiya shook her head and pointed Chloe in the direction of the bathroom.

Once inside, the fifteen year old locked the door and pulled out her phone, dialing the group chat. All of them ignored it, but Yara called her back two seconds later.

"Hey," the curly haired girl said. Chloe smiled when she saw them all together clearly at Lovie's house. Three out of four were under the influence.

"Girl," she started, using her lower register.

"Hold on this sounds like it's finna be good," Yasmin paused the music that played in the background.

"It does," Lovie put her face in the camera.

Chloe could see that Beans was out of it. He was slumped on the couch with his head on Yara's  shoulder.

"Well tell us," Yara's red eyes seemed to grow in size.

"I'm at Shawn's mama house right an—

"Wait, who is Shawn?" Beans' head popped up.

"Jay-z?!" All of the girls yelled.

"Oh, right, I'm still in the game," he leaned on Yara once more.

Chloe rolled her eyes, "like I was saying. We're visiting Shawn's family and I'm in daddy day care from hell. There's like fifty million grandkids here and they have us all in one room. I'm in a room with Tay Tays, Tee Tees, Day Days, I don't know. Most of'em are chill minding their business but this one girl Shanice–

"A ugly bitch," Yasmin interrupted.

Yara turned towards her, "You don't even know what she looks like Yas."

Lovie laughed. "Well Chlo said 'most of them were chill except, so you could just assume."

"Exactly, the only people who don't mind their own are the ugly ones...period," Yasmin shrugged.

Chloe paused for a second and reminded herself that they were under the influence. "Hell is hot, but yes she said I was trying to look like chief keefe or the migos because of my locs."

"Okay a bit anti black and defeminizing," Yara nodded.

"And you're not currently rocking that bitch head back becaaausse?" Yasmin moved her hands in a circular motion as she squinted.

"Because she's Shawn's niece! I can't go around hitting his family. What kind of first impression is that?" Chloe palmed her forehead.

"What's her name again?" Lovie asked.

"Sha- " Chloe got cut off by Yara motioning for her to be quiet.

"Shanice," Yasmine said.

"Do things always have to result in violence? For once guys, can't we think of something less...I don't know barbaric? We're human beings. I say ask her what's the problem," Yara suggested.

"Great speech Martin Luther King, but like we always tell you, we Malcom X over here," Beans said. "Only ending I see is for you to beat her. I mean," he comically scoffed and looked around at his friends. "what else could you do?"

Lovie was in serious thought, "maybe give her one more chance and if she fucks it up," she shrugged.

MEANWHILE

"Yes!" Halle held out her hand to Nolan. "Money, hand, now," she demanded.

During their continued bickering, she and Nolan had bet on their last match against each other. It wasn't much, just twenty dollars, but Halle earned her money so she should receive it.

"I ain't giving you nothing," he barked, saddened he lost against a girl out of all people.

"Cause you ain't got it...brokie," she sassed.

The older teens playing on their PlayStation heard Halle's snarky remark and was dying at the girl's antics. "Ain't no coming back from that one my guy," Andrea's eldest son, Kordell said.

"Her dumb ass can't speak on nobody, she a fucking non factor," Nolan yelled.

"The only non factor here, is the absence of concern for your overall health. Look at you! Only way we could get you to run is to tie a piece of chicken to a stick and ride in front of you with it hanging out of a car window! Now I don't know who you assumed I was? But let me tell you who I am not," Halle's voice was sugary sweet as she held her hand out for him to shake. "Hey, how you doing, I'm not the one to fuck with...fat ass broke boy," she threw in for good measure.

"Daaaamnn," the boys on the game fell back as they laughed too hard to catch their breath.

Blue's jaw was dropped after hearing Halle speak like that. She had it in her head to tell her mom at the same moment Nolan's hands came in contact with Halle's chest sending her crashing to the floor.

Like someone lit a flame under her, Halle hopped up and shoved the bigger boy with all her might. Nolan didn't anticipate it and couldn't catch his fall. Luckily he ended up crashing to the sofa cushion beside Shanice.

"You better whoop her ass," Shanice said through clenched lips.

Halle knew she was much smaller than the boy and the look in his eye he gave her once he stood up, told her that the only way out of this would be to attack first. It seemed as Nolan had the same thoughts because both teens ran towards each other with an angry glint in their eyes. Halle came into contact with Nolan's stomach. Her scrawny body bounced back and she was hurled to the floor. Nolan wasn't cruel, he wouldn't hit her, not for real. The two ended up tussling on the ground, rolling around like a couple of armadillos on the defense. Blue squealed and ran out of the room. The five year old took the stairs as quickly as she could until she reached the living room where her dad was.

"Daddy! Halle's fighting!" She exclaimed.

Jay just managed to keep his beer from spilling in his lap and all over the couch, he turned to Blue and placed it down on the coffee table, "what? Who!" He asked as he rushed towards the stairs.

"Nolan!"

Shawn's face crumbled at it being a boy's name. His nephews knew not to lay hands on a girl. Especially his daughters? What the hell?

Nolan had Halle laid on her stomach as he bent her arm back painfully.

"Say uncle," he snickered.

"I did!" Halle's face was being pushed into the fuzzy carpet.

"Say it again dummy!" He screamed, putting more pressure on her arm.

"Uncle!" Her yell was followed by sobs that got choked up in her throat every once in a while.

Shawn took the stairs two at a time and like a bat out of hell, burst through the door he knew they would be in. His blood boiled at the sight. He crossed the room in two seconds flat, yanking Nolan by his shirt and tossing him haphazardly across the room. He didn't care if the boy landed in a potentially dangerous way or not. He lifted a crying Halle from the floor and cradled her in his arms. Shanice looked on from the couch; abashed by the gentleness he showed the girl.

"And y'all just sat there and watched a boy put his hands on a girl?!" He asked the room as Halle continued to sniff.

Shawn whipped his head around at his eldest niece, the person who made the name 'uncle Shawn' a thing. He took a deep breath in an attempt to curtail his anger, but there was still some sharpness in his tone. "And I know you know better. Shanice you too damn old for that!" He yelled and exited the room.

Chloe opened the bathroom door and stuck her head out. She could've sworn she heard her sister's cries.

"Hold on," she said into her phone and walked into the hallway.

She saw the tail end of Shawn going downstairs holding a crying Halle. For some reason, instead of following the two, she went into the tv room. She was looking for Takiya, but she was nowhere in sight.

"Your sister got beat up," Tay said once he noticed her.

Time slowed into an eternity. It was like someone had knocked the wind out of her. "What?" She asked for clarification.

Shanice sighed, "her ass shouldn't have put her hands on my brother."

Chloe walked further into the room. "Your brother? What? You hit my sister?" She was too confused to function.

"Nooo Nolan did," Tay confirmed.

She could barely register her friends yelling obscenities into the phone. She looked over at Nolan who was fixing his tousled clothing. Shanice stood, noticing the crazed look in the girl's eyes.

"What, you finna try and fight too," Shanice began walking towards her with an angry scowl.

The twitching in Chloe's hand refused to cease. "Step to me and I'm swinging on a big bitch and all your brothers and sisters."

"Fuck you just say?" Shanice asked. However, she stayed where she was.

A small laugh escaped from Chloe's closed lips in response knowing if they came to blows it wouldn't take half of the energy she possessed to lay her out. Her eyes dilated, but she looked at Shanice with a smug smile, holding her gaze for a few seconds. "I said," she cleared her throat. "Step to me and I'm swinging on a big...bitch, i.e you and

Everyone looked up, wondering what was going to happen. An uneasy silence settled. Just then, Chloe turned at the sound of a pair of footsteps.

"Did I miss something?" Takiya asked from the doorway as she ended her call.

Chloe took a deep breath trying to channel her energy elsewhere. "No, not a thing."

From downstairs, Andrea called for the kids to come eat. The fifteen year old went back to her phone as the younger kids and older teens ran past her. Bebe's kids, she thought. Shanice stood idly staring at Chloe, and Takiya was still confused on what she had walked in on. Still, she minded her business and exited the room.

"Got some niggas out in Brooklyn that'll off ya top," Lovie's voice rang loudly as she recited the Nicki Minaj lyrics.

Chloe bucked her eyes at Shanice because she was still looking her way.

"Yo ass better be lucky I respect my uncle," she said.

"Gir-" Chloe laughed obnoxiously and waved her off as Shanice walked towards the hall.

The girl's attention was back on her phone. Her friends' faces were practically blocking the camera as they were trying to hear what was going on.

"I don't even need to see her face. I know that hoe built like a refrigerator just from her voice." Yasmin said.

Chloe laughed along with her friends as she made her way down the stairs. "I'mma keep y'all updated." She said just before hanging up.

-

Beyoncé sat at the kitchen table completely livid. Her foot wouldn't stop tapping as she looked at Halle's sullen face. The woman wasn't completely thrown when Shawn brought the crying girl to her. Halle was naturally a crier, so it was nothing to be too alarmed about. But when the girl explained to her what happened as she sniffed and whined in her arms, Bey's body became hot with rage. She had pulled her husband aside and warned him that she was on her last nerve with this visit. She was only staying because Shawn rarely had time to spend with his family. He was constantly surrounded by her side of the family and that had to be hard. She had saved Chloe a seat right next to Halle and watched as the girl made her way through the dining room to claim it. Chloe noticed Bey's clenched jaw and tapping foot immediately. She sat cautiously keeping her eyes on the woman.

Percy was the last to join the table. Blue and the other  younger kids were at a separate kids table.

"Who wants to say grace?" Gloria asked as she placed the basket of bread on the table.

When not a soul volunteered, the woman decided to do it herself. Beyoncé and Towanda continued to exchange glances as Gloria gave thanks to the most high. The blonde was so hot that it was one of Towanda's kids that Halle got into it with. Since she couldn't hit a child, she wanted to hit the mom. From her periphery, she saw Gloria take a seat. Everyone dug into their food. Chloe watched as Andrea's boys bickered back and forth about who's piece of chicken was bigger and a small smile formed on her face.

"So Chloe, Halle, how are you enjoying New York?" Andrea attempted to start a conversation.

"Haven't seen much of it, but the city's beautiful," Chloe replied.

Halle ignored the question because she didn't feel like talking. Instead she pushed her salad around her plate and didn't meet anyone's eye.

"We plan on taking them sightseeing tomorrow if it's not too cold," Shawn cut into his chicken.

Percy cleared his throat.

Jay placed his fork down and stared at his uncle. "Something wrong?"

All eyes landed on the older man as he used a napkin to wipe his mouth, "your mama ain't seen you in a year and you ain't spend but a second with her."

"My mama know I came out here because my kids got business. It ain't none of your concern how I spend my time." Shawn retorted.

"His kids," Towanda laughed.

Beyoncé dragged her tongue against her teeth and could no longer balance her fork in her hand. She let it fall with a loud clang. Takiya and Chloe exchanged quick glances.

"I'm so tired of you being so judgmental and bitter about everything! You're never happy for anyone. It's so hard to be around you sometimes. So damn ornery," Andrea shouted.

Little pumpkin turned around from the kids table worried that her aunt was yelling at her mother.

"Well at least I can keep a man. Bitter and all...Drea."

"Oh really?" Andrea looked around the room. "Well where he at? Probably somewhere screwing that mistress he got pregnant like he always is!" She yelled back in the heat of the moment.

Towanda stood with her mouth open in shock. Her blood started to boil.

Bey pushed her chair away from the table. "Chloe, Halle, Blue, let's go." She threw her napkin on her plate. What she didn't have to do was spend her time listening to her in-laws go back and forth.

"Yeah leave, nobody want they ass here anyway! One sitting there dumb as a box of rocks and the other one is damn near a fucking mute!" Towanda spat.

At first, there was silence. Then, utter outrage.

Unable to fight it any longer, Bey lunged at Towanda, but knowing that his wife was quick on her feet, Shawn pushed his chair back with a loud screech and barely caught Beyoncé by the waist. She was inches away from sending a blow to Towanda's face when the woman flinched so hard that she caused herself to topple to the floor.

It took the three men at the table to restrain the blonde, and Shanice helped her mother up, making sure she was okay.

"And who gets to check her?!" Towanda asked angrily.

"Nobody bitch!" Bey spat over her shoulder, fighting her husband's grips as she was being carted off to the front of the house.

Once Shawn placed Bey on her own two feet by the front door, she began to fix her clothes, breathing heavily still visibly angry. "Go get my kids, Shawn." Her voice was low.

He placed both of his hands on her shoulders looking at her with wide eyes, "are you okay?"

"Go get my kids!" She exclaimed.

"Okay okay," the man turned on his heel and headed back to the dining room.

All three Carter girls were still sitting in their seats in complete shock. He went over to Blue picking her up and looked at the other two motioning with his head for them to get up. "We heading out." He announced.

"See she always gotta ruin something," Andrea stood. "Ruined my appetite," she added as she walked over to her brother and pulled him in for a side hug. "Don't make it a year we don't see you again...even with all of this mess." She said so only he could hear and patted his shoulder.

"I'll see," he couldn't make any promises.

Andrea said her goodbyes to Blue then Chloe and Halle and insisted it was nice meeting them.

"Jay," Towanda started.

Shawn grimaced hearing his name come from her mouth. "I ain't trynna hear nothing from you. To be honest this is all I could do to be calm right now. Who are you to disrespect my kids at all but especially in front of everybody? Like they ain't human? Like they ain't got feelings? Tell you what? This one smarter than all yours. And Chloe, she ain't no damn mute she just chooses who she wanna talk to and clearly it ain't you. I should've let they mama at you but this is my mother's house. You real foul Towanda." He shook his head and ushered Chloe and Halle out of the room, but stopped, realizing he hadn't told his mother goodbye.

"Bye ma," he leaned and kissed her cheek.

Gloria looked at him with saddened eyes, "Bye, I love you."

He fist bumped Trey and finally exited. Andrea was right behind him. "My crew, let's go!" She didn't bother telling anyone goodbye, she would see them on Sunday anyway.

Bey helped Blue into her coat silently. Chloe kept stealing glances as she struggled to slip her foot into her snow boots and Halle was being waited on hand and foot, literally as Shawn dressed her in her outerwear. He placed her gloves on her hands, her hat on her head and secured her scarf around her face.

Their car ride was no different, not even the radio played. It was a series of stolen looks, heavy sighs, and quiet murmuring as Bey texted her sisters about what had taken place. Blue had fallen asleep twenty minutes ago.

"I'm not stupid," Halle somehow broke through the stiffness.

Shawn and Bey looked at each other head on for the first time since they sat inside the car. The blonde turned around in her seat and placed a hand on Halle's knee.

"Of course not baby," Bey stressed.

"Halle, you're brilliant you and your sister," Shawn said.

Tears welled in the girl's eyes, "then why does everybody say that about me?" She croaked.

The blonde sighed, trying to come up with something. "Don't worry about what people say about you. People used to call me stupid and dumb all the time. They still do to this day and do you think I'm worried about it?"

Halle shook her head.

"Exactly, you know you're not stupid. Everyone you love and care about knows it too. People will hate on you your entire life. Don't take heed to it." She looked at Chloe. "That goes for you too sweetpea."

Halle gazed out the window at the snow covered ground as they whisked through the city. It wasn't long before they pulled up to their hotel. Nobody knew they were coming, so the space was void of any paps. Bey slammed the door of the car giving her husband a preview of her still sour mood. She allowed Shawn to get a sleeping Blue and made her way over to the hotel's entrance with Chloe and Halle on either side of her as the bellhop got their bags.

The guest in the lobby were minimal and mostly aged upper echelon white men. The skittish concierge noticed them before the family could approach. She rounded the counter immediately handing Shawn their keycards, pointing them in the right direction, and sending her well wishes. After they got settled in their penthouse, Shawn ordered room service considering nobody really got the chance to eat. Both Bey and Shawn ensured their kids were fully fed and washed for bed. Halle insisted that all of them sleep in one bed. Chloe and Blue didn't protest and soon they succumbed to their overwhelming feelings of fatigue.

The blonde should not have felt anger, after all, she knew this would happen; Towanda was more predictable than she gave herself credit for. But she couldn't help the rage that overtook her. She tossed the white sheets aside, and began taking off articles of her clothing, putting them on the chair angrily one by one.

She had only her pants and bra on when she felt something hit her arm, leaving a stinging sensation. "Ow!" The blonde rubbed the spot realizing she had yanked her belt off a little too hard.

Why?! Why was she so furious? She could tell herself that it was because once again somebody felt the need to come for her kids and her pride had been bruised. She could tell herself that maybe she had lied to herself thinking that things would go fine in order to actually go. She could tell herself that the anger was simply over the whole situation of letting a twenty seven piece wearing nobody with no concept of respect get her out of character in front of her children. But those would all be lies. She was simply tired. Tired of defending. Tired of having to constantly reassure her girls of things they should already know. Tired of fending off the opinions and actions of others. Sad because this time it came from family and sad because she knew this wouldn't be the last.

Shawn knew that tonight wasn't the night to discuss what happened. Not when his wife huffed in annoyance and ran her angry hand through her hair before she laid in bed facing away from him.

He didn't say a word. He turned around and walked out of the room.

He briskly walked through the streets of New York City taking a deep breath of the crisp night air. Stuffing his hands into his coat pockets, he picked up his pace, dodging other civilians walking around.

As he continued on, the crowd of people surrounding him got less and less until it was only the occasional person or two. The bright lights of Times Square were far behind him by now as he turned a corner, the only light coming from a buzzing street lamp. He finally stopped for a moment to catch his breath leaning against a brick wall. The smell of cold concrete and car exhaust filled his nose as he closed his eyes. He just needed a breather. A moment to himself. Family always brought up ill thoughts and feelings which shouldn't be the case, he knew that, but with a family like his, it was inevitable. The air was getting too harsh even for the native New Yorker, so he began to make his way back to the hotel, going over what his wife might say to him when she was ready.

When he got back to the hotel, he showered and  slipped into bed next to the sleeping blonde and called it a night.

-

Shawn rubbed his eyes stifling a yawn as he sat up in bed. He put his face in his hands and sighed. He had gotten almost no sleep last night, his thoughts plagued by his fuck up of a family. He inhaled and swung his legs to the side of his bed, his knees cracking in the process. He walked to his bathroom and brushed his teeth before changing into a pair of jeans and a t-shirt.

He walked the stairs of their penthouse suite and saw Tina getting the girls ready for a long day of press. Bey came around the corner chomping on a piece of bacon as she talked quietly on the phone. When she let out a genuine laugh, he knew he could approach her. He wrapped his arms around her waist and kissed her neck.

"Morning baby," she said as she turned around pecking his lips.

Shawn could taste the saltiness of the bacon and wiped his mouth, "I thought you said you wasn't eating pork."

"That was last week." She said. "Moderation moderatioonn," she swiftly moved passed him to place a plate onto the table for Blue.

He was happy her mood took a turn for the best overnight. The man went around the room greeting everyone before having a seat. "So how long are y'all gonna be working?" He asked the teens.

Chloe admired her lashes in the mirror, "from eleven to seven. You don't think these are too much?" She asked Beyoncé as she fluttered the faux lashes.

"No," Bey said.

She was the wrong one to ask. She'd say no even if the lashes reached her forehead. People didn't call her diva on a mishap. She embodied her name.

After Tina put the finishing touches on Halle's faces and "teased" her hair for the millionth time, they were out of the door meeting Garcelle in a company car. All except Shawn. He had business himself he had to take care of while he was here, so they'd meet up with him later on.

-

It was hours into their work day and Chloe and Halle were slumped in their chairs. They were at a huge media event sort of like a speed dating set up, but instead they were answering questions about their music and of course home life. Garcelle tried to pump the girls up in between breaks, but for some reason the energy wasn't there. With permission from their mother, she loaded Halle with candy so she could possibly have her usual amount of energy. Chloe settled for a cup of coffee.

"Okay last one and you're done. This one shouldn't run that long." Garcelle promised.

She had been cutting radio hosts and magazine reporters off all day when they ran out of their allotted time. Being under eighteen meant that both girls could only work so long due to child labor laws, and she was not about to be sued.

Chloe and Halle were standing on their mark ready for the camera man to cue them in.

"Hi, it's Chloe," the fifteen year old said for the thousandth time today.

Halle waved to the camera, "and Halle."

"And we're going to take a sister quiz." Chloe acted as their spokesperson.

The interviewer was a black man in his mid thirties. He seemed extremely chill and laid back. His counterpart was a black woman around the same age with an enthusiastic personality.

"Okay first things first, love the outfits. You two are always so stylish. Who takes longer to get dressed in the morning?" The woman with the bright smile asked.

The girls went to their white boards that the people provided them with and quickly scribbled their answers down.

"I already know she's gonna say me," Chloe laughed.

The interviewer chuckled, "let's see the answers."

Both girls turned their boards around and cackled. Undoubtedly, Chloe's name was written on Halle's board while Chloe's read 'me'.

"What takes you so long to get dressed," the lady asked.

"Well for starters I have to sit there for fifteen minutes when I wake up."

"I gotta do that too," the man chimed in.

Chloe nodded as she chuckled, "then it's like what am I wearing? And I'm always so indecisive about that."

"We heard that you're vegan?" The man asked.

The girls nodded their heads.

"What's your sister's favorite vegan snack?"

Again they went to their white boards quickly jogging down their answers.

"I said bread and fruit," Halle beamed.

"What'd you write down Chloe?" The man asked.

Chloe slowly turned her board around, "I said everything."

The interviewers laughed.

"Halle enjoys food very much." Chloe chuckled.

The thirteen year old bounced on her toes, "it's true."

"Who's most likely to ditch the gym and get ice cream instead," the woman asked.

"Me!" Halle exclaimed, forgetting the whiteboard all together.

"Yeah that's Halle," Chloe confirmed.

The man shifted in his seat, "alright, who's more likely to sleep in late and have eight alarms on their phone?"

They wrote their answers down and waited for the cue to turn them around. "That's definitely Chloe!" Halle turned her board around.

"Yup ," Chloe revealed her answer. "I'm a night owl, so I wake up every morning around four in the morning and I'll stay up till around seven and then I'll go back to sleep for one more hour then I'm up."

"Yeah," Halle confirmed.

"So you're like nocturnal?" The man asked.

Chloe nodded, "yup."

"Last question," the woman said. "Who does mom and dad spoil more?"

Chloe cackled and immediately began writing. "Don't be listening to the writing." Chloe snickered.

"I'm not listening to the writing," Halle scribbled her answer down as she laughed.

"Alright, let's see'em," the lady coaxed.

The girls revealed their answers at the same time and snorted.

"So Halle's the spoiled one?" The guy asked.

"Umm to be honest we're both a little spoiled, but Halle has reached new levels," Chloe smiled.

The two correspondents wrapped their session up giving each girl thanks and just like that, their work day had come to an end.

-

Shawn met his family in the downtown area of his hometown and showed them around accompanied by Julez and a slew of other security details. They couldn't stay out for long because of the biting cold, but the little time they did spend out with him watching the excited faces of the three young girls he was lucky enough to call daughters, the little inkling of frostbite was worth it.

Sunday was identical to Saturday, except Shawn didn't have to meet anybody for business. They visited restaurants and various tourist sites before they hopped on their jet back to the city of angels.

-

MONDAY

Chloe woke up before her alarm could ring. She was feeling a pinched pain in her lower stomach. Maybe something that didn't pass the day before. She tried to roll on her side to turn off the alarm so she wouldn't be bothered by the annoying sound later on, but just moving was torture. She closed her eyes, trying to focus on her breathing. She laid in bed trembling under the sheets. In the middle of the night, she woke up feeling worse for wear. Her throat was irritated and she was sneezing and coughing throughout the rest of the night and thus didn't get to sleep much. Tired due to lack of sleep, she got up out of bed but started to feel dizzy and as a consequence, she ambled towards the bathroom and started to empty the contents of her stomach. Lazily wiping the sides of her mouth, she gathered all the strength she had to push herself from the floor and walk over to the speaker.

"Bey!" She shouted.

The word took all her strength. She felt her face becoming wet, especially her forehead. She closed her eyes again, waiting for Beyoncé to come into the bedroom. Chloe clenched her fists and began to hold her breath. Seconds passed and the pain intensified. It was now unbearable. Her alarm began to ring, indicating 7am. But the problem was she didn't have strength anymore to turn it off. So she let the alarm ring, hoping that Bey or Shawn would come as soon as possible to see why she yelled over the speaker so early. Luckily, the blonde entered the room before she fell to the floor and helped her lay down again.

"What's the matter," she asked, alarmed, sitting on the bed next to her.

"I'm cold and my stomach hurts," she whispered weakly.

"Is it your cycle," Bey asked as she stopped the incessant ringing of the alarm.

Chloe had her eyes shut as she shook her head. "Let me check you." She took off the blankets and saw that the girl was trembling and covered with sweat. Bey touched her forehead with the back of her hand to check for a fever. When it grew hot, she smacked her lips and stood.

"I'll be right back," she announced before exiting.

She made sure to keep quiet so she wouldn't wake her husband when she entered their quarters. The woman rummaged through her bathroom cabinet in search of a thermometer. Once she laid eyes on the device, she wet a towel and squeezed all of the water from it before starting the long trek back to the teen's room.

"Sit up for me baby," Bey cooed and placed the wet towel to her head.

Chloe nodded and tried to move but every single move made her muscles ache in pain. Looking like she was having trouble, Bey helped her into a sitting position.

"Open your mouth."

Chloe did what she was ordered and Bey put the small thermometer in her mouth under her tongue. "101," she said, taking out the thermometer.

"I'm gonna throw up," Chloe choked out.

Without losing a second, Beyoncé rushed to grab her trash bin, handing it to her just before she threw up. The blonde rubbed her back in small circles.

"You feel better?" She asked when the wrenching stopped.

A shake of the head was Chloe's answer.

She was so pale and her eyes were glossed over. "Poor baby," Bey lamented as she leaned over placing a kiss on her forehead.

Beyoncé stood and found Chloe's phone, quickly entering her passcode which was her birthday and dialed her mom's number.

"Naw it's me, ma Chloe is sick," she turned around to eye the girl who had once again put her head to her pillow. Her eyes were closed and she was trembling.

"Her temperature is 101 and she threw up...mhm. No, I don't think so. Hold on let me check," she pulled Chloe's covers away from her and felt around the front of her shirt. "She's sweating through them...okay talk to you later, love you...bye."

"You need to take a cold shower," Bey announced.

"No," she begged. "I don't want to take a shower." She couldn't imagine moving from the spot she was in.

"Come on, sweetpea your fever is too high." Bey grabbed one arm and then the other, helping her to get up as she complained.

Slowly, the two of them walked to the bathroom. Bey sat her on the toilet and started to run the water. Parenting teens was still relatively new for Beyoncé and she knew that the next thing that left her mouth would be distressing for them both.

"Um...Chlo, you have to take off your sweatpants."

In that moment, Chloe wasn't sure of what was happening around her, she knew that it had to be something serious because Bey was kneeling before her with a worried expression. The woman saw that her daughter was completely out of it, so she grabbed the hem of her pants and began to pull them off.

"No, please," she repeated, grabbing her hands. "I don't want to take a shower." Chloe didn't mind that Bey would see her in the shorts she had on underneath, it wasn't the first time; she just didn't want to shower because she was too tired and all she wanted to do was sleep.

Beyoncé stood Chloe up and wrapped her left arm around the girl as she removed her pants. Chloe was unsteady on her feet when she stepped out of them. The girl didn't protest when Bey removed her shirt. All she wanted was to feel better and sleep a couple of hours.

"Okay Chlo, time to get in," Bey said after checking the water temperature.

Clad in her sports bra and shorts, Chloe threw her hand over her mouth. Bey helped her stand again so she could get to the toilet. The woman cringed as the girl emptied her stomach yet again. After she was done, Bey finally helped her into the shower. Chloe  looked like a small child and she moaned in protest as soon as the first drop of water touched her warm skin. She tried to get out but Beyoncé held her, placing her hands on Chloe's back. She wouldn't be able to see the girl through the shower glass, so she left that open not caring that the water splashed onto the floor. Bey made sure to hold onto Chloe's arm as well just in case she slipped. "It's only going to be a few minutes, I promise," she ensured her.

"I wanna get out," she said crying.

Bey had her stay under the water for a little more. "Okay, let's get you outta here." She helped her out. Immediately the woman grabbed a towel and started to dry her off the best she could with the girl's soaked garments clinging to her body.

"Stay here," she sat her on the closed toilet once more before she headed into Chloe's room.

Chloe's teeth clattered together as she gripped the towel around her body, blinking a mile a minute. Bey returned with warm clothes in her hand.

"Mama?" Chloe asked looking at Bey after she took the towel from her. "When did you get here?"

Bey's heart dropped, she paused and stared at the girl with a raised brow, but decided not to make a big deal out of it. "I been here," she stepped closer to her figuring she was delusional from the fever.

"What happened? Why am I all wet," the girl asked, more confused as she ogled her attire confirming the woman's thoughts.

Beyoncé placed her hand to Chloe's forehead. The shower only reduced her fever a little bit. "Come on, you have to put on some dry clothes and get back to bed."

Bey turned around to give Chloe a little privacy as she moved about slowly and steadily taking off her wet clothes quickly replacing them with dry ones. The girl's energy was depleted by now and Bey practically dragged her back to her bed. Chloe was laying with the sheets covering the lower part of her body. Bey could see her chest rising and falling. She was asleep. The blonde looked at her and caressed her cheek. Had she really called her mama?  She decided to go to the kitchen to get her some fluids. As she padded through the hallway, she stopped at Halle's room.

Beyoncé opened the door slowly and saw that the curtains were still closed. She turned her head and locked her gaze on the bed. The sheets were a mess, but there was a form inside them. Bey realised that Halle's alarm was still ringing just like Chloe's, and she hadn't woken which was unlike her. She always rose with the sun. Beyoncé stopped the alarm before approaching the bed and pulling the sheets back. A pool of sweat invaded Halle's forehead along with her entire face. The woman passed her left hand over the girl's forehead, then her cheeks. She had a fever. Bey saw that she was frowning slightly and was breathing weird. She began to shake Halle gently.

"Baby, wake up."

She didn't move. She was still, seeming deeply asleep, so Bey shook her harder.

"Halle..."

She shook her, harder and harder, but she didn't respond at all. Panicking, Bey scooped the girl in her arms and rushed out of the room to a nearby bathroom. Once she sat her inside the tub, Bey turned on the shower making sure it was the coldest temperature possible. She heard a weak and almost inaudible groan from her daughter as the water splashed all over her face and body. She saw Halle's mouth open but no sound, no words came out.

"Halle!"

She screamed as loud as possible. Halle gathered all the strength still inside of her to utter one word. Just one.

"What!!"

Bey paused before she kneeled beside the girl whose eyes were still shut and patted her warm cheeks.

"Open your eyes," she said softly.

But Halle had used all her strength to pronounce the word. She needed more time, much more time.

"Halle!"

Bey heard her groaning again. She still had her hands on her cheeks, ready to slap them carefully to make her open her eyes. She realized that the groan was a scream of pain. A sort of mayday.

"My head hurts!" She finally got out between choked sobs.

Bey stood and went back to Halle's room to call her husband over the intercom. She returned to the bathroom and took a deep breath looking on as Halle seemed content being under the frigid shower water. Seconds later, Shawn appeared in the bathroom doorway worried and confused.

"What's wrong with her?!" He asked.

Bey looked over her shoulder, "I think she has the flu. Chloe sick too. Her temperature was 101 last time I checked and a cold shower wouldn't even break it. I just had to put Halle in here to get her to wake up."

Shawn sighed, "I'll be back." He turned on his heel and exited.

Bey ran her hands over Halle's face until her husband returned with a first aid kit and got out a thermometer to take her temperature. He put it in the girl's ear and waited. It showed 102.2.

"She at 102."

He placed the thermometer on the sink and lifted Halle from the tub, not caring that the water from her body would soak his clothes.

"Open your eyes lil bit," he said calmly.

Slowly and painfully, she opened them. Her eyes were burning, her vision was blurred and she couldn't concentrate on anything. This time, she didn't have the strength to talk or move, so she closed her eyes almost immediately. She tried though, even if it hurt.

"S-st..."

"Stomach? It's your stomach?" Bey asked.

Halle frowned slightly, trying to find a way to tell her it was indeed her stomach. She lurched forward and Shawn made quick work of placing her over the toilet to empty out her guts. As Shawn steadied her, Bey held her hair back. Shawn took a towel from the towel bar wetting it and handing it to Halle. She looked at him gratefully as she took it from him wiping her face and mouth. Shawn helped her get up shakily from the floor and rinsed her mouth. Bey rubbed Halle's back a bit as she stood at the sink. 

"Mommy?" A small voice came from the doorway.

Bey turned her head to meet the frightened eyes of her youngest child. Her skin was clammy and her eyes were red from previously shed tears. Beyoncé hurried over to her and lifted the girl into her arms. "I threw up." She said sadly. Shawn and Bey exchanged looks and let out equally audible sighs. "It's okay baby," Bey kissed her cheek.

"Shawn hand me that thermometer please," she reached her hand out.

After the device beeped signaling it was done, she removed it from her daughter's ear. 100 degrees it read. Luckily, no one had to visit an emergency room just yet. She wet a towel and placed it over the five year old's head. "You'll be okay, you're just a little sick," she cooed. Blue pouted and leaned into her mother's shoulder. Bey rubbed her back in comfort, swaying side to side.

"Umm," she blew out a frustrated breath and ran her hand through her thick mane. "I think we should take them all downstairs, so they're all in one room and we won't have to keep running around trynna check on'em."

Shawn nodded and hoisted Halle into his arms once more as she groaned in pain. "I'll take Blue and Chloe while you help Halle change."

They exchanged kids and Shawn made his first trip to the elevator. The entire time, Blue whined loudly holding her hand to her stomach as Shawn did his best to soothe her. He sat her on the couch and went to the kitchen to get her a juice box. Meanwhile Bey was struggling with what to do with her thirteen year old. Halle was curled into a ball on her bed not saying anything but making pain-filled noises. The woman searched her closet for a simple sweatsuit for her to throw on and ransacked her drawers for thick socks. She sat all of the clothes beside Halle and wiped at her own forehead unsure how to navigate switching her clothes. First she pulled Halle's shirt above her head without her putting up a fight and sat her up so she could pull her dry shirt over her head. After pulling the girl's arms through the sleeves, Bey layed her back down. She paused and bit the inside of her cheek before pulling Halle's pants down.

The girl caught her soaked pants mid thigh and stirred slightly.

"It's mommy," Bey said.

Too out of it to fully protest, Halle's hand fell lazily to her side and allowed the woman to remove her clothing and redress her. Bey tossed her soaked clothes into a laundry basket and lifted Halle into her arms grabbing a blanket with her. They passed Shawn in the hallway as he headed to Chloe's room.

When he finally got to her room, he approached the bed and saw that Chloe was still asleep; he took a blanket and hoisted her into his arms. Then grabbed another one for Blue. Chloe opened her eyes after feeling the soft touch of the blanket on her body. "Hey." Shawn smiled down at her as he walked the halls. "How you feeling?"

"I'm cold," she croaked.

Shawn nodded and pressed the button to the elevator. "I think you have the stomach flu. Both your sisters sick too." He stepped onto the lift. He could feel her body trembling. Once they were on the main floor, he sat the teen next to Halle who was once again curled into herself. Blue sat in her mother's lap as she tried her hardest to go back to sleep.

"Can you turn on the tv," Chloe asked.

"You not gone try and get some sleep?" He could see that she looked really tired like she hadn't slept that much last night.

"No, I don't wanna sleep."

Shawn flicked on the tv. "What you wanna watch?"

Chloe stirred and wiped the sweat from her forehead, "paternity court, can I get some water?"

Shawn chuckled, "you always watching that."

Chloe smiled weakly, "that's where I get my teasha."

Shawn shook his head and headed to the kitchen grabbing three water bottles and poured up three glasses of orange juice. He placed them on a serving tray and brought it back to the family room.

"Okay...mhm see you later," Bey hung up her phone.

"Who was that," Shawn asked, handing Chloe her water.

"My mama, she on her way over here," Bey brushed Blue's hair from her face.

"Halle," Shawn sat the girl up attempting to put the water bottle to her mouth but she kept her mouth shut, shook her head and refused.

"Come on lil bit you need to drink something," he tried.

"I know," Bey said sympathetically, "you don't wanna drink because you don't wanna throw up."

Halle nodded stubbornly.

Shawn held the cup of orange juice closer. "That's because you too dehydrated to throw up right now, lil bit."

She merely shrugged.

"Halle, if you don't drink something you just gonna get sicker."

That didn't seem to faze her.

Chloe watched her sister reject both the water and the orange juice while Bey held Blue's cup to her mouth as she drank eagerly without coming up for air.

A half hour later, Tina entered the home with store bags in hand. "How they doing?" She asked. Shawn shook his head and helped her with the bags. He had called the house staff letting them know that they could stay home. He didn't want to be responsible for getting anyone else sick.

"We been giving them fluids, but Halle won't drink nothing and Chloe and Blue can't keep nothing down. You got the fever reducers?"

"Yeah," the woman sighed, "can't believe y'all got a house full of kids and no medicine around here. Kids get sick all the time."

"I know Ma T but Blue rarely get sick and we ain't think to buy any. We'll keep some around the house now though," Shawn said as he went to the family room and sat the bags on the table.

"Awe hell," Tina sighed as she took in the pale faces of her grandkids.

Blue was asleep in her mother's arms, Halle was leaned against the woman's shoulders and Chloe was splayed on the couch clutching the remote letting her arm hang languidly over the edge. The woman removed a humidifier from one of the bags and sat it on the coffee table. "Shawn could you bring me a bottle of water so I can fill this up?"

The man nodded before walking off.

"He is not about to be the daddy...watch," the oldest of the bunch shook her head as she pursed her lips.

Tina raised a brow and peered over her shoulder towards the tv, "chile I done told you your brain gone rot if you keep watching this stuff." She searched the bags for the medicine she picked up, opening it and pouring two tablets into the cap of it for the girl. Sweat dotted her brow and she was still breathing a little heavily. She took the pills gratefully.

"Thank you," Chloe quickly popped them into her mouth and chased it with some juice. She set the glass back down on the table and laid back down.

The older woman turned to find Halle writhing in pain at her mother's side. "I brought something to help your stomach, but these for your fever."

Halle looked at the medicine and shook her head. Tina gave her daughter a knowing look before turning back to the thirteen year old. "Halle if you want the pain to stop you have to take the medicine."

Again she shook her head trying to scoot closer to her mom. "Gramma I can't swallow pills...I don't know how." She said, shivering a little.

Chloe moved to a sitting position leaning her head on the arm of the couch. "She can't."

Halle groaned in pain again, curling into Bey.

After filling the humidifier and plugging it up, Shawn removed the spoon from the teacup on the coffee table, crushed the pills up and scooped the dust into a Gatorade bottle. He tried to hand the bottle to Halle, but she shook her head in protest.

Tina smacked her lips and took the bottle from her son in law. "Y'all don't let a kid tell y'all what she ain't gone do...she a kid." The woman recapped the Gatorade, gave it a shake and uncapped it. She reached for Halle's arm carefully helping her stand before claiming her spot and pulling the sweaty girl in her lap close to her chest. "Here," she tipped the bottle to the girl's mouth.

"Mama," Bey called out.

"She good," Tina raised a brow when Halle began to squirm causing her to go stiff. Her brows cinched together but didn't dare challenge the woman further as she drank the electrolyte and medicine mixture.

Two sighs of relief could be heard from the parents as Tina stood once again allowing Halle to lean against her mom. She went into another bag removing some children's Motrin handing Bey the correct dosage to give to the five year old.

"Wake up Baba," Bey rubbed her baby's chest.

Blue stirred awake seconds later whining and complaining. "Hey gramma," she whispered once she noticed the woman standing above her.

"Hey granny baby, how you feeling?" Tina cooed.

"I threw up. I think I have cooties," Blue said sadly. She slightly shook under her blanket.

Bey chuckled, "Baba you don't have cooties. I keep telling you that."

Tina felt around the child's cheeks and forehead. "Granny gone make you some soup to help you feel better okay? You gotta drink this," she pointed to the cup in Beyoncé's hand.

Blue scrunched her face up.

"It tastes like strawberries," Bey smiled.

"Nuh uh!"

Shawn stopped cleaning up the excess water bottles and plastic from the medicine and looked at his youngest. He lifted the bottle of Motrin and pretended to drink from it. "Mm Mama T where you get this from it's hitting, taste like candy." He said smacking his lips obnoxiously.

Bey laughed at her husband's antics.

"Let me get some of yours Lefty," he reached for the cup in his wife's hand.

"No!" Blue sneered his way and leaned her head up slightly so her mother could pour the liquid into her mouth. The blonde quickly tipped the cup before she could change her mind. When it seemed that Blue would regurgitate the fluid, Bey lightly pinched her nose so she had no choice but to swallow it.

Tina made her way to the kitchen to prepare homemade soup for all of the girls.

Chloe felt another bout of nausea coming on. She peeled herself from the couch and crawled over to Bey with lidded eyes. The blonde already had Blue cradled in her lap and Halle to the left of her, but the fifteen year old managed to rest her head on Beyoncé's knees.

"Poor babies," Bey looked at all of her girls stewing in their misery.

She didn't care that she was putting herself at risk with all of their germs being on her. These were her kids and she'd wipe as many snotty noses as she had to, even the older ones.

Chloe groaned and sat up pressing a hand to her forehead like she was in agony.

"What happened?" Shawn asked her as he returned to the room with bandannas in his hand.

Chloe just let out another moan, then she made a choking sound in her throat, and jumped off the couch running for one of the downstair bathrooms. The noises that followed suggested that she'd just barely made it. After tying Halle's hair back then Blue's, Shawn went to the bathroom to check on Chloe, and found her on the floor with her head in the toilet. He knelt down beside her and patted her back.

A strained noise escaped from her throat that sounded like something was trying to turn her inside out. Shawn wished Tina would hurry up with the soup so they'd finally be able to take the medicine to settle their stomachs. "Calm down, breathe, take it easy."

After a couple minutes Chloe finally seemed to calm down, she hit the lever, slowly pulled herself up, moved towards the sink, rinsed her mouth out, then blew her nose, and held onto the granite counter to support herself.

"Stomach feel any different?" He asked, hoping for the best.

Chloe shook her head slowly and got out a quiet groan. If Shawn had to guess, he'd say it was getting worse.

"Come on, let's get you back to the couch," he lightly tugged her towards the door.

Chloe shook her head again and maintained a death grip on the counter.

"Come on, Chlo, you can't stay in here all day," he told her.

Just then, Halle made a mad dash for the bathroom and threw up again. Shawn had had plenty of mornings of bad hangovers, but he'd never been as sick as they were, Halle's whole body wracked and shook with every bout of nausea and she sounded like something was ripping her apart. With one child on the floor, and another at the counter, Shawn tied Chloe's hair back with a bandanna the best way he knew how. He filled a small Dixie cup up with mouthwash and water and handed it to her. They had been doing that all morning. He waited for her to finish rinsing for the second time before assisting her back to the family room. Bey suggested they get bins and sit them by the couch, but Shawn wondered who was gonna be responsible for the disposal of them once they were finished with them. Certainly not him and he knew his wife would turn her nose up to it. After settling Chloe near Beyoncé at her request, Shawn made a second trip to the bathroom to retrieve Halle. All three girls snuggled closer to the blonde leaving her with no room to properly breathe.

Shawn scrunched up his face as he entered the kitchen, "What's that smell?"

Tina stood by the stove spooning a ladle full of hot soup into a bowl. "I told you I was making soup."

He suspiciously eyed the large pressure cooker on the front burner. "Yeah, that usually mean opening a can."

"Naw not this stuff," Tina told him, "my mama used to cook this up on the bayou when all of her kids got sick. After they eat this, they should feel better in no time... don't worry I tweaked it a little so ain't no animal products in it. You got some bougie kids, always talking about some I can't eat this. I can't eat that."

Shawn chuckled and reached for another bowl handing it to Tina, "they just care about the animals that's all."

The woman spooned the hot liquid into the last bowl, "You know Blue called herself talking about she vegan like a week ago. Changed her mind real quick when she found out that meant no more real chocolate."

"I bet she did," Shawn grabbed yet another tray and placed all of the bowls of soup on top. He walked slow and steady to the family room ensuring he didn't spill a drop of broth anywhere.

He sat the tray on the coffee table and handed Chloe hers first. She took the bowl from him and wearily eyed the concoction. Her stomach might have settled down but given she hadn't eaten anything yet she couldn't say for certain, she wasn't too sure about this.

"Just try it, it tastes better than it looks," Tina insisted.

Chloe picked up the spoon, blew on it and swallowed. The hot broth burned her throat, temporarily overriding the soreness, and there were a lot of seasonings in it.

She was surprised. "It's pretty good."

"Glad you like it, because there's plenty of it," the woman pointed to the kitchen, "Shawn, JuJu, the soup is in the pressure cooker on the stove. Make sure y'all give them that medicine after they eat and keep track of their fevers. Keep me updated," Tina grabbed her purse and threw it on her shoulder.

"Where you going?" Bey asked with doe eyes.

"To see a man about a dog," Tina chuckled when Bey gave her a look. "I'm supposed to be speaking at this benefit for the American heart association and I have to go over my speech with a speechwriter."

Bey gave her mom a genuine smile. "Why you didn't tell nobody? That's amazing!"

"I was. I just wanted my speech to be done before I did."

Bey nodded, looked down at Blue and back to her mother. "Well who's gonna stay here with the kids? I have practice today and I can't miss it. I already missed two days from the New York trip."

Tina put her pointer finger to her chin, "how about they daddy?" She looked confused. "He's right here."

Chloe and Bey made identical displeased faces.

"No, mama needs to stay here with us," Halle croaked.

"Yeah, she does," the oldest girl nodded agreeing.

Blue lifted her head from her mother's chest, "I don't want you to go." She said in a small voice.

The blonde rubbed soothing circles on the child's back and sighed. Shawn couldn't believe his ears. Why were they acting like he was incapable of caring for his own children? It wouldn't be that hard. All he had to do was feed them more soup, give them medicine, and hope they'd sleep the rest of the day away.

"I got this," He finally said.

Bey shifted in her seat, "Shawn." She started.

He handed Halle her bowl of soup before leaning down to lift Blue into his arms. "Baby I got this. Go to your rehearsals."

Tina sighed, "I can call one of your sisters and see if they could come over."

Bey stood, stretching her tight muscles. "They got their own kids plus Kelly in the studio this week and Solange just left my house. She ain't gone wanna come back to tend to them. You know how she is about germs."

"Babe go to your rehearsals I'm telling you I got it. You can call and check in on them," he swiped a Kleenex from the table and wiped Blue's nose.

The blonde looked between both teens sipping on their soup and back to her husband and youngest child. "Okay, but don't get mad when I'm calling every thirty minutes."

"You can call every five minutes and I'd still answer with a smile," Shawn said.

Tina adjusted her bag on her shoulder, "then there it is." She walked over to a squirming Blue, kissed her hand and touched Blue's forehead. "Feel better baby." After going to Chloe and Halle doing the same, Tina stood in the threshold of the room. "There's ginger ale in the refrigerator, crackers for the soup in case they need something solid, about a dozen boxes of Kleenex, Powerade, and orange juice. Umm the syrups, lozenges, gummy supplements, and pills are all made from elderberries. Shawn please don't give them kids all of that at once."

"What's elderberries," Shawn asked.

"Hell if I know, but the pharmacist swore by it so they will be taking it. Bey, check on your kids," she eyed Shawn playfully before making her exit.

"Alright, Imma go and get dressed," the blonde announced.

"Nooo!" Halle whined, sitting her bowl on the table.

"Bey," Chloe uttered huskily.

The woman raised a brow hearing her name coming out of Chloe's mouth instead of 'mama' like earlier. She wouldn't be truthful if she said it didn't hurt just a little (a lot). She briefly thought that maybe she set her hopes up a little too high. Maybe she hoped Chloe's delirium lasted just a bit longer so she could hear that one word again.

"Girls I have to work. Shawn will take good care of you. Hasn't he done a good job so far?"

"No!" Blue yelled, earning an offending look from her father.

Chloe and Halle looked Shawn up and down. "But we want you here." Halle sniffed, preparing to start her onslaught of tears.

The whole point of having a mother was to have someone there to tend to and coddle whenever they were sick. Now Bey had to work when she had three ill children at home?

"Girls, your mama is going to work for just a few hours. She'll be back in no time."

"It's not fair!" Halle laid on her side and sobbed loudly.

Blue joined Halle in her tears. As the two girls continued their wails, Chloe pouted and set her bowl on the table.

"Girls–

"Baby just go get dressed they aight," Shawn soothed Blue in his arms.

Bey took one lasting look at her children, let out a hearty sigh, and padded towards the elevator. Thirty minutes passed by and Shawn had successfully spoon fed Blue her soup and given all of the girls medicine to quell the aches in their stomachs. They were all immersed in yet another episode of paternity court when Beyoncé rounded the corner in leggings and a cropped t-shirt. Her hair was pulled into a bun at the top of her head. "My car's outside." She said. Blue gave her mother the side eye when she kissed her cheek. Halle stared straight ahead pretending she was too interested in the drama being played out on the tv to bid her mother adieu, but Bey kissed her cheek anyway. She went over to Chloe and pulled her into a tight hug, pecking both sides of her face.

"I love you sweetpea." She whispered.

The girl gave her mom a weak smile, "I love you too."

Bey could never get tired of hearing that. She didn't care if Chloe said it after every other word. As long as she heard it, her day was made. She pecked the girl's cheek again and went to her husband. "You better take care of my kids."

"Oh they your kids now?" Shawn teased as he stood to see his wife out.

"Yup, been mine," she giggled when he wrapped his arms around her waist.

He brought his forehead down to hers. "These Carter kids...or did you forget their last names?"

"Could y'all," Halle motioned for them to leave with a disgusted expression.

Shawn ignored Halle and quickly kissed his wife.

"Seriously...we're already sick," Chloe covered her mouth and pretended her nausea was back with a vengeance.

"Y'all are too much...see y'all later," Bey waved as she and Shawn made their way to the door. "I'll call Garcelle and let her know the girls won't be working until further notice. Can you email the school?"

"I gotchu," Shawn nodded.

Bey took the stairs quickly. Julius was there typing away on his phone until his boss reached the door of the truck. "Oh sorry," he apologized before pulling the door open and waving to Jay. "I'll be calling," the woman called just as the bodyguard shut the door.

Shawn shook his head and walked back to the family room. He was greeted with the sullen faces of his children. "Anybody want more soup?" He asked.

Blue rolled her eyes while Chloe and Halle ignored him.

"It's gonna be a long day," Shawn muttered to himself.

-

Shawn sat on the couch opposite the girls and closed his eyes preparing to take a nap. He had been moving around like a hummingbird all day cleaning up the house, he'd stripped all of the girl's covers off their beds, hauled them down the hall to wash them, cleaned the bathrooms, disinfected everything, and it was easy to say he was exhausted.

A few hours passed without anymore incidents, and at first he was relieved and thought they were finally making progress, but the next thing he was aware of was the sound of Blue moaning in pain. He opened his eyes and turned seeing her trying to move on the cushions but didn't seem to have much luck.

"Lefty what's wrong?"

"My back hurts," she whined.

"No wonder, you've been laying down for hours," Shawn said as he moved over towards her. "Your stomach feel better?"

Blue pulled her blanket from beneath Halle causing the girl to groan, "a little." She answered with a pout.

Shawn reached on the table and grabbed a can of ginger ale from earlier. It was beyond flat and warm but it was still something to drink.

"You need to drink something."

"Not that."

"Just a little," Shawn set the can down, grabbed Blue's wrists and pulled her slowly into a sitting position, She moaned in protest the entire time. Once she was actually up, the girl swallowed a mouthful of ginger ale and put the can down. They waited, and nothing happened. There were wastebaskets by the couch now because the man was tired of running back and forth to the bathroom with them.

"See, it's getting better. Just give it some time. You wanna walk around for a bit? Stretch your muscles out some?" He asked.

Blue groaned in answer. She fell back against the cushions and tried turning on her side. "When's mommy coming home?"

-

"Take ten!" Bey told her dance team.

She had been at practice for over hours and called Shawn's phone probably every fifteen minutes. But she needed to stay updated or else she would end up going home. She pulled out her phone to FaceTime her husband.

"How they doing?" She asked once it connected.

Shawn looked off camera. "Blue successfully drunk something without it coming back up. Chloe is knocked out right now and Halle is drinking her fluids by herself."

All day, Shawn had to more or less force Halle to drink a bottle of Gatorade, which he quickly found out gave her stomach cramps every time she drank it, so he diluted it so it was half water. It helped some, but she still got cramps, and Shawn continued to stress how important it was she got rehydrated and got her electrolytes restored, leaving Halle little choice but to endure it.

Bey nodded. "What's their temperatures," she opened her notes app where she had been keeping track of the numbers.

"Hold on," Shawn said.

She watched him go to each girl with a thermometer, making sure to disinfect it in between each use.

"Blue is at 98.8, Halle's 99.2, and Chloe is a solid 99.0, better than before," he smiled. "Blue is wondering when you're coming home though."

Bey thought for a second, "I'll be home in an hour, just gotta run through this routine a little more."

"Aight, kill it," he smiled.

"You doing a good job baby," Bey said.

"Just call me Dr Carter from now on and we even."

The woman made a suggestive face and Shawn laughed, "I wasn't even thinking like that." He shook his head. "Hurry home woman we miss you."

"See you in a few bye," she blew a kiss before hanging up.

-

SOME TIME LATER

Blue watched cartoons and squinted one eye in response to the loud noise on her right from Halle blowing her nose. All the while Halle made as much noise as a fog horn, Shawn just stared at her. If he didn't know any better he'd think she was actually trying to blow her brains out. It was definitely a hell of a wake up call for Chloe because she stirred moments later and sat up.

"You okay?" he asked Halle.

Halle sniffed and responded sarcastically, "Yeah, I'm fine." She grabbed another tissue from the box on the table, and Blue got ready for the next round of noise by plugging her ears with her index fingers.

This time it was short lived, choked, and followed immediately with Halle grunting in distress.

"What?" Shawn turned, and for a second froze when he saw the red staining the Kleenex.

"Ewwwwww!" Blue scampered closer to Chloe.

Halle groaned as she grabbed another Kleenex and switched them and tried to pinch off the nosebleed.

"I told you you were blowing too hard." Chloe said huskily.

"Shut up," Halle got out in a simultaneously muffled and nasal response.

Chloe leaned over Blue, "who are you talking to?!"

Halle didn't say a word as she leaned over grabbing another Kleenex. Five minutes passed, the standard amount of time to pinch off a nose bleed, and it hadn't stopped. Frustrated, Halle tossed the Kleenex in the trash and just let the blood freely spill into the bin in her lap, which in just a few seconds strongly resembled a crime scene.

"You supposed to tilt your head back," Shawn told her as he walked over with a handful of new Kleenex.

He placed one hand on the back of Halle's head and the other he used to actually pinch off the bleed as her head was tilted up because whatever she was doing wasn't working.

"Ahh!" She started, sounding like a cartoon character. "You're pinching too hard!"

"My bad," he loosened his grip.

"Is Halle gonna die," Blue asked Chloe.

"Yes, if she tells me to shut up again," she sent daggers her sister's way and reached for the pack of saltine crackers.

'Front Door' the automatic system sounded.

"Mommy's home!!!" Blue squealed.

The comforting and familiar sound of Bey placing her keys in the bowl and taking off her shoes in the foyer sounded. Shawn sighed because of course she would come home when one of them got a nose bleed. The blonde came around the corner seconds later.

"Mommyy!" Blue stood on the couch and turned around reaching her hands up.

Bey happily took her daughter into her arms, "You look so much better Baba. Your daddy took such good care of you!"

"He did!" Blue nodded excitedly.

Bey placed the girl on her hip and walked around the couch. "Sweetpea, you still delirious?" She chuckled.

"Must be cause I thought I heard my little sister tell me to shut up some minutes ago," Chloe was still very much bothered.

"Who?" Bey looked at Blue, but Chloe pointed to Halle.

The blonde's eyes went to the far end of the couch watching as her husband held a pile of bloodied tissues to Halle's nose. "Are you alright?!" She padded over.

Halle's response was to nod her head. Beyoncé's eyes traveled to the trash bin. For a split second, she saw the amount of tissues covered in blood and lost the ability to even think.

She recovered from her shock and asked, "What happened?"

Shawn cast one more morbidly curious glance at the tissue before tossing it into the trash and responded, "Blowing her nose too hard," he looked at Halle, the bottom half of her face was streaked and spotted in blood, but it seemed to have finally stopped.

"And all of this came from that?" Bey asked.

"Yup," he took another Kleenex and wiped her face this time.

"Maybe we need more than one humidifier in here and some Vaseline," Bey suggested.

"I think I need some aspirin," Halle replied with a groan. She absently touched her nose, "and some more soup." She added.

Shawn was ecstatic to hear that because that meant her appetite was coming back. "Coming up! Anybody else want some?"

Chloe and Blue nodded.

Bey sat Blue on the couch and stood back looking at all of them. She had rubbed Vaseline on their chests and under their noses. Though their fevers were breaking, they were still a bit hot, so she placed a cold rag on their foreheads. Shawn was back with their soup and three cans of ginger ale on a tray. As he served them, the blonde counted her blessings, grateful to have a husband that was so willing to help and get involved in anything regarding his family.

Shawn laughed, "when did you say that?"

"When you walked Bey to the door this morning." Halle nodded.

Beyoncé couldn't help but to laugh.

-

LATER THAT NIGHT

Beyoncé laid down next to Blue as she read her a bedtime story. The girl had her eyes closed as she sleepily asked a handful of questions about the book, some of them made absolutely no sense and she had to laugh at her daughter's silliness. Even after Blue had fallen asleep, Beyoncé watched her. It was nearing midnight when she finally pulled herself up. She kissed her daughter and told her she loved her just before she closed the door with a soft click.

Standing in the hall, she could see that Halle's light was still on, which was odd because it was past her bedtime. She knocked on the doorframe as she stuck her head in. Halle was on her back with one arm over her head trying to read a fat paperback book, and based on the pained squinting and blinking of her eyes, not getting very far.

"Aren't you supposed to be sleep?" Bey asked as she stepped over to the bed.

She glanced at the cover of the book and noticed it was written by Stephen King, and based on where Halle was holding it, she was halfway through it.

"Lil Bit we talked about reading that scary stuff before bed," Bey sighed.

Though to some it might sound ridiculous, Halle was still being sleep trained. Bey had talked to her mom about the whole sleeping ordeal and Tina told her that she needed sleep training which consisted of staying in the bed until she fell asleep and no matter how many times she came knocking at her parent's door at night they'd take her back to her own bed. Eventually Halle would get so tired that she'd end up falling asleep in her room.

"I know, but it's getting to the good part," Halle blinked and scrunched her face up in discomfort. "My eyes hurt."

Bey hovered over her and tried to get a good look at them. The whites were slightly pink like she was completely exhausted.

"What's wrong with them?"

"I don't know, they just hurt, I can't focus."

Bey thought for a minute and asked her, "Want me to read to you?"

Halle looked at her through the corners of her eyes and replied, "I am not Blue."

Bey laughed. "Gimme the book."

"Okay," Halle tiredly grumbled and handed it over. Beyoncé sat at the foot of the bed and started reading from where she presumed she left off, and noticed Halle closing her eyes to rest them, she wasn't sure if she'd fallen asleep like that, but the blonde steadily read through twenty pages and stopped.

"What's wrong?" Halle asked, her eyes still shut.

Bey looked up from the page and said in a disgusted tone, "I can't read this."

Halle yawned and responded, "Sound it out."

The blonde did a double take, then smacked Halle with the book lightly on her leg, earning a laugh. "I'm saying it's too creepy." And with that she tossed the book and it landed on the bed.

Halle got out a small laugh and replied, "Thanks anyway."

"You want me to stay with you tonight?" Bey asked.

She yawned again. "No thanks."

"Okay," Beyoncé stood up, but stopped and kissed her forehead before she headed for the door, "See you in the morning."

"See you," Halle tiredly hummed.

She went to turn on the side lamp and noticed popsicle sticks on the night stand. She picked them up. 1-2-3-4-5-6 of them, all of them still half dyed from the coloring. The blonde shook her head and tossed the sticks into the trash.

Bey was huffing and puffing when she reached the end of the hall to check on Chloe. She entered her room and quietly stepped over to her bed and watched her chest rise and fall slowly with every even breath. She also noticed the glisten of vapor rub streaked under Chloe's nose so she could actually breathe while she slept. Camilla had brought over two extra humidifiers so each girl could have their own. Bey felt some relief knowing that she felt well enough to sleep peacefully. The wastebasket from downstairs was now at her bedside just in case her stomach gave her problems even though she hadn't vomited since earlier. She turned her lamp on and exited the room, huffing and puffing again as she ambled down the hall. She made her way over to the bed, collapsing on it and spent a minute waiting for her breathing to get under control. The girls had worn Shawn out, so he had already been asleep. The blonde said her nightly prayers and was soon out like a light.

-

Shawn wasn't sure what time it was, but he knew what it was that woke him up.

Over on Bey's side of the bed, the singer was moaning in her sleep as she curled into a tight ball and shivered. He reached over and pulled Bey towards him and felt her forehead. It was warm, but it wasn't as bad as the kids.

"Fuck," he whispered to himself.

He wrapped his arms around his wife and held her against him, hoping his body heat could assist in warming her up since the covers alone didn't seem to be helping.

"It's okay, baby , it's alright, you okay," he quietly murmured into her ear, hoping the words would be of some comfort to her. "Just calm down, I've got you, you're fine."

He didn't know how long it took, but Bey finally stopped trembling and quieted down and actually leaned into him.

"The kids got me sick," she whispered.

-

A/N: This is just a random scene that should've been in the last chapter 🥴

TUESDAY

She had just finished her mile run, though much later than she usually finished. She went home, showered off the sweat and toxicity of the dispiriting thoughts that ran right along with her. She ordered a veggie grinder and a banana tart from her neighborhood deli. She was slouching on her couch staring at her laptop on the coffee table. Normally she'd be finishing her assignments, but she had already tended to them in advance after flooding her body with pounds of coffee and it definitely wasn't decaf. She found herself almost hypnotized by the slow moving screensaver.

She was bored.

All of her friends were busy. Yasmin had to study, Chloe and Halle were sick and surprisingly Beans claimed to be hanging with guys at a basketball court. It wasn't news that he had people that he seldomly hung with, though peculiar, Beans was a pretty popular kid, but a basketball court was a stretch.

The doorbell sang its song and Lovie hopped up from the couch. It had to be the delivery guy. She grabbed her wallet and answered the door.

Lovie's voice got lost on its way out. She stood there with her hand on the doorknob shaking uncontrollably.

Chikwé slowly raised her head until her posture was perfect and looked at her daughter with a bland expression.

"What are you doing here?" Lovie finally found her voice.

"Are you gonna invite me in?" The woman had her sleeping son in her arms.

"Y-yeah come in," she stepped to the side.

When Chikwé stepped into the house she was too familiar with, walking past Lovie, the girl got a whiff of coconuts and vanilla. Before the divorce, this acted as their summer home while they resided in New York. Anthony used to beg her to relocate the family permanently considering this was his birth city, but Chikwé refused to have her children growing up void of New York life.

Lovie let a deep sigh escape as she sauntered down the hall following her mother. She eyed the suitcase she dragged with her left hand. Chikwé laid Cassius down on the couch and like a queen, rid herself of her jacket, handing it to her daughter. Lovie hung her mother's jacket on a hanger, placing it neatly in the closet. She could feel the tug twisting inside her, the same one that tugged and then eventually moved her to chase after her mother at her father's home going.

She turned around to find her mother running her hands along the picture frames above the fireplace. She landed on one of her and Reiyo. Lovie remembered her mother had taken that picture on their tenth birthday. Reiyo wore a blue feathered boa over her shoulder and posed with her cheeks sucked in mimicking a model while Lovie opted on crossing her eyes and sticking out her tongue.

"You've always been so silly, Reiyo took herself really seriously," the woman said, turning to meet her daughter's curious gaze.

The mass of curls haloed around Chikwé like a crown placed on a golden statue. Her skin was doing that glowing thing that hypnotized the people who were fortunate to lay eyes on her. Her shirt was in a wrapped pattern skimming and hugging her tiny torso.

"Mom, why are you here?" Lovie put her hands behind her back to hide their continued movements.

Chikwé pursed her lips and then blew her cheeks up with air letting the air escape. "I had no choice, the reading of your dad's will is soon and I was requested. You're not an adult you know," she said calmly. "No matter how grown up you are." A trivial smile appeared on her face.

Lovie was entranced by her mother's sweet voice. She hung on every single word almost as if she blinked, the woman would disappear all together. Chikwé seemed to glide across the floor as she stepped to her child.

"Your hair has gotten so big," she took a single tendril between her fingers. "You've taken such good care of it."

Lovie found herself closing her eyes and leaning into her mother's touch. She flinched at the sound of the doorbell crooning once again.

Chikwé and Lovie looked towards the door and back at each other. "Expecting someone?"

"Take out," Lovie shook her wallet, taking a tentative step back.

"Something healthy I hope," her eyes followed her daughter as she went to answer the door.

"Veggie grinder," Lovie called over her shoulder.

"Still a lot of bread and cheese," Chikwé moved sloth-like as she took a seat in an accent chair. She crossed one leg over the other and waited for Lovie to return.

Lovie had the small bag of food in her hand when she returned to the front room. She sat the food on the coffee table and sat on the loveseat across the room from her mother.

"You're going to eat that in here," Chikwé asked.

Lovie nodded and removed the food while her mother cringed. Nothing was said as the teen took the first bite of her sandwich. Chikwé stood and sat beside her daughter.

"Can I have a piece?" She asked.

Lovie cocked her head to the side and looked at her sandwich before handing her mother the other half. For the first time in her life, Lovie ate on the couch instead of the table while Chikwé was present. The woman purposely did this to keep things casual. She knew her daughter was intimidated by her. Her shaking hands were the biggest tell.

She had snuck too many looks from her daughter and unbeknownst to her, Lovie had been doing the same thing.

"You staying here?" The teen asked.

"Are you staying here," Chikwé corrected, "and yes, I am."

Lovie gulped down the remaining food in her mouth. "How long are you staying?"

Chikwé grabbed a napkin and dabbed at the sides of her mouth. "Until the will is read, so that'll be in two weeks. I have a gallery to curate downtown this week, so things just lined up."

Lovie's anxiety monster began to attack. She couldn't think of anything to say. In this moment was the stark realization that after years of lack of communication and displacement these two had never really been acquainted. They avoided all physical contact. Not a hug; nor a handshake. The cramped silence filled and began overflowing until Lovie broke it by saying,

"I should probably clean this up."

Chikwé stared into her daughter's eyes, a carbon copy of her father's. Just like her ex husband, the woman could see the visceral force burning that told a million stories at a single glance. They both wore their heart  on their sleeves and that's what made them so much alike.

She cleared her throat and sat back on the sofa so Lovie could pass by.

"I'll take Cassius upstairs. When you get a chance, can you bring that bag?" She asked.

Lovie nodded, she took her trash to the garbage and stood there unable to take her eyes away from the bin. She was too busy reeling off of the fact that she just ate a sandwich with her mother whom she hadn't dined with in eons.

Life comes l at you fast .

A/N:

Any suggestions for the next chapter? I'm stuck. Halp!