A/N: Oh. My. GOD. It has been forEVER since I've uploaded. I am so glad to be back writing fanfics again and this one in particular I've been itching to write for a long time. I've got plenty of other South Park fanfics and this story is the next in that timeline of stories; so, if you haven't read them yet, please do. They'll help you understand this one better and hopefully enjoy this one better. But, enough with the rambling! Let's get started!
The final bell for South Park Elementary finally rang. The children quickly filled the hallways and gathered in front of their lockers. One such student was Cierra Cartman. She packed away her books for the long weekend and threw on her light, pink coat. She reached for her Marine dress cap and caught a glimpse of herself in her small locker mirror as she adjusted it on her head. She tipped her hat at her reflection with a pleased expression but her smile slowly faded into a wistful frown as she remembered whose hat she was wearing...
"Cierra!" said an excited voice from behind her.
"Butters!" Cierra cried back.
"Thank heck we're finally outta class," said Butters with a tired sigh.
"I know," said Cierra, "you'd think Mr. Garrison would know we have lives outside of school."
"Yeah, well, if he believed that, we wouldn't have got that dumb ol' Veterans' Day packet."
"Yeah, it's like," Cierra cleared her throat and put on a flawless Mr. Garrison drawl, "Okay, students, I know y'all have better things to do on a long weekend than homework, so here's a long weekend's worth of homework that counts for 15% of your graaade."
Butters let out a hearty laugh. "That was a great Mr. Garrison!"
"You think so?" asked Cierra, "I feel like the drawl dropped off halfway through."
"It was amazing!" Butters said through chuckles. "So, you got any plans for the weekend?"
"Mmm, not really," Cierra said with a shrug. "Probably just gonna work on some more design sketches and hang out with my dad. You?"
"Season 3 marathon of MLP!" Butters cried, "Season 4 premieres in a few weeks and I wanna be caught up."
"Seen Equestria Girls yet?" asked Cierra as she closed her locker.
Butters shook his head. "Gotta finish season 3 first."
"I've got the DVD of it. And Equestria Girls," said Cierra. "Maybe we could binge watch together over the weekend?"
"Yeah?" asked Butters.
"Yeah," said Cierra. "We could power through these packets tonight and we maybe meet up at your place in the morning?"
"Sounds good!" said Butters.
"Great!" Cierra slung her backpack over her shoulders and began to walk towards the north entrance with Butters beside her.
In her pocket, her smart phone buzzed and chimed from a text message notification. She opened the message from her father:
"Out front. Where are you?"
"Who is it?" Asked Butters
"My dad," said Cierra as she texted a reply, "he's been taking me to and from school lately."
"Really?" Butters asked confused, "I thought he worked from morning to night."
"He does but..." Cierra's face fell slightly. "...he's been a little...ehh," Cierra grimaced, "about letting me take the bus lately."
"Oh..." Butters' said concerned, "really?"
"Yeah...since Halloween." Cierra looked towards the ground at her feet.
"Well, um..." Butters stammered, trying to dispel the tense air "I'll-I'll let my mom and dad know about our plans and-and text you tonight."
"Okay," said Cierra still slightly uneasy. She cracked a small smile. "You're gonna love 'Magic Duel'."
"What happens in it?" asked Butters.
"Ah-ah-ah!" Cierra waggled her finger. "No spoilers!"
"Aww..." Butters whined.
Cierra giggled at her friend's frustration and opened the exit door. "I'll see you on Saturday!" she waved to him.
"Bye, Cierra!" he waved back.
Cierra trotted down the outside stairs and towards a shiny, black car. She opened the back door, slipped her backpack off and placed it on the floor before hopping in and shutting the door behind her. As she straightened herself up and buckled her seatbelt, a dapper man in a doctor's coat adjusted his mirror to view his passenger.
"Where to ma'am?" he asked her.
"The Ichiban Hotel, good sir," Cierra said in a posh voice, "Post haste."
"Of course," he said with a chuckle. He pulled away from the curb and onto the open road.
After a short time on the road, the driver spoke to her again. "So, any ideas for the long weekend, princess?"
"Butters and I wanna marathon our favorite show tomorrow at his place," said Cierra.
"And how do his parents feel about that?" He asked.
"Heee... hasn't asked them yet," Cierra said nervously.
"Uh-huh..." He raised an eyebrow.
"Daaad!" Cierra whined.
Dr. Cartman chuckled and reached back and playfully ruffled his daughter's hat and hair. "Relax, honey. Just let me know when and I'll drive you."
"Okay..." Cierra stretched her neck up to get a better view in the rear-view mirror and straightened her cap again.
Dr. Cartman tilted it down to give his daughter better access. "That's one sharp lookin' lid, princess."
"Thanks," said Cierra proudly, "I got it from someone special."
"Oh, yeah?" said Dr. Cartman. "Who might that be?"
"Dad!" Cierra squealed.
"What?!" Dr. Cartman said in a mocking shocked tone, "do you have another father I don't know about?!"
"Dad...!" Cierra crossed her arms and pouted in frustration.
Dr. Cartman chuckled. "Just messin' with you, honey," he jiggled her leg affectionately and she playfully batted him away. "You've worn that cap every day since your mom gave it to you."
"Yup!" Cierra looked at herself in the mirror thoughtfully. She gently took the cap off of her head, looked down at it and ran her thumb across it's shiny, black brim.
"Hmm..."
Her expression saddened as she let out a soft sigh.
"Stare too long you'll bore a hole in it, princess," Dr. Cartman said softly.
Cierra chuckled but her frown remained.
"Hmm...Oh! "Dr. Cartman's eyebrows raised in realization. "That reminds me," he said, "I got an e-mail from her today."
Cierra perked up immediately. "Really?!"
"Mm-hmm," he said, "check my satchel."
Cierra dug into the side of her father's bag and pulled out a printed e-mail. Cierra read it to herself excitedly.
"Well, come on, read it out!" said Dr. Cartman, "The suspense is killing me!"
"Okay, okay!" She cleared her throat and read:
"'My dearest Dutch Boy-'" Cierra snorted a laugh, "'how is everything? Hope you and Cierra are doing well...'"
"Mm-hmm..."
"'...Things are pretty chaotic out here; we're still far from a breakthrough in our research...'"
"Right..."
"'The brigade wanted to say hello and Happy Birthday to Cierra-' Happy Birthday?!" Cierra squealed, "that was months ago!"
"Ha-ha, it's the thought that counts honey," said Dr. Cartman.
Cierra began scanning the e-mail and murmured to herself a few snippets, "uhh...'the project is still making progress...our funding is getting increased...' Where's the part about her coming home?"
"I don't know, princess," said Dr. Cartman. "This is my first time hearing the message too."
Cierra kept scanning until she found the word "Thanksgiving". "Here it is! 'As for my holiday leave, I'm afraid I...'"
Cierra's voice tempered off. She slowly put the paper down and she threw herself back into her seat with a sigh.
Dr. Cartman winced at his daughter's actions. "What is it, honey?"
Cierra didn't answer and stared out the window forlornly.
"Princess?"
Cierra still said nothing. She reclaimed the dress cap and stared down at it.
"Oh..." Dr. Cartman sighed.
Cierra sniffled and placed the cap back on her head but the brim was angled low, covering her eyes.
They soon came to the hotel and made their way up to their suite without a word passing between them. Cierra threw her jacket onto their coat rack and made a beeline for her room.
"I'll be back with dinner at 6, okay?" said Dr. Cartman.
"Mm-hmm," Cierra murmured.
Dr. Cartman looked after his daughter. "Cierra..."
Cierra held her hand on her room door but didn't look back at her father. She hung her head low, frozen. Dr. Cartman said nothing and Cierra continued into her room.
Dr. Cartman stuck his hands in his pockets and let out a long sigh before seeing himself out.
In her room, Cierra was sat on the floor with her back slumped against the door. She heard the sounds of her father opening and closing the suite door and his retreating footsteps got softer and softer until she couldn't hear them anymore. As she heard the faint sound of the elevator, Cierra pulled herself up dragged her feet towards her bed. She kicked off her shoes and crawled under her duvet, the result of which was her looking like a large, comforter rock. She remained in her rock until her father returned home.
"Hope Panera's good," said Dr. Cartman that evening.
He and Cierra were sat at the dinner table together. He picked up half a Fuji Apple Salad with Chicken and half a Turkey sandwich for Cierra and half a Bacon Turkey Bravo sandwich and half a Modern Greek with Quinoa salad for himself
"Mm-hmm," Cierra murmured mindlessly poking her salad.
"Hey..."
Cierra suddenly felt her father's hand on her shoulder and looked towards him.
"I miss her, too."
Cierra's eyes widened with shock and she quickly turned away. Dr. Cartman gently turned her back to him and tucked her hair behind her ears. He tilted her chin up to him.
"I know you're disappointed," he said warmly, "but you will see her again."
"No, I won't," Cierra muttered. Her eyes began to well up with tears but she quickly dried them.
"Oh, princess..." Dr. Cartman scooped up his daughter in a big hug and she buried her face in his arm.
"Why won't they let her come home, Dad?" asked Cierra slightly muffled by her father's arm.
"Well," he said with a sigh, "because they need her, honey."
"We need her, too," said Cierra.
"Cierra..." Dr. Cartman pulled her away from his arm, "...you know there's nowhere in the world she'd rather be than with us. She just..." Dr. Cartman thought for a moment, closed his eyes and inhaled deeply. "...can't be with us right now," he said on his exhale.
Cierra nuzzled herself into her father's chest and tried hard as she could not to cry.
Later that evening, Dr. Cartman read an e-book as he waited for Cierra to finish in the shower. As he read, the text suddenly vanished. His cell phone rang and vibrated and his expression turned sour when he saw the caller's name flash on-screen. Cierra left the bathroom donned in a pink bathrobe and headed to her bedroom. Unseen by Cierra, her father reluctantly answered his phone.
"Hello, Liane," he said flatly.
Cierra threw on a purple nightgown and a pair of stripy, compression socks when she suddenly heard a buzzing noise within her room. It was faint and Cierra kept still to figure out where it was coming from. She knelt before backpack in the corner and dug into its smaller pockets for her smart phone. As she woke up her front screen, a wave of dread washed over her as she read her waiting text:
"Don't make any plans for this weekend"
Cierra inhaled and exhaled sharply before texting back.
"Y?"
She sent it and a few seconds later she got a reply.
"'Cause we're spending it together," it said.
"We r?"
"Yup! Real quality time"
"…." was all Cierra texted back.
"It's gonna b soo dope, u'll c"
A/N: Next chapter will be up soon! Let me know what you thought of this one and any of my other stories! I'm always happy to read reviews; they help me improve! See you soon with Chapter Two: Quality Time