Walking A Tightrope (Greatest Showman fanfiction)

Chapter Nine--This Is Me

Phylis held her sisters by the hands as they watched the afterparty begin to evolve. The girls looked eager when their father led them to Jenny. Still, Phylis had resentment. She was the only one out of the whole circus, including Phillip, allowed to attend. She shrugged it off trying not to worry her mother who had placed an arm on her shoulder and was rubbing it sweetly.

"Jenny. This is my wife Charity and my younger girls," Phineas introduced. Jenny smiled, shaking Charity's free hand. Charity shook it back hesitantly.

"Of course! You're Caroline and Helon, aren't you?" she asked, kneeling down.

"Yes, mam," Caroline said with a smile.

"Your father and sister have told me so much about you girls. Your father tells me you're a fan of ballet," she said motioning to her.

"Actually, I'm studying ballet," she corrected, causing Lind to chuckle.

"Oh, are you?" she asked, generally intrigued.

"Of course, I am," Caroline said like it was the most obvious thing in the world. That caused even more laughing.

"Of course, she is," Phineas repeated. Then, she looked down at Helon sweetly.

"What about you, Helon?" she asked. She looked starstruck as she stepped forward letting go of her sister.

"You look like a princess," Helon said, causing the most laughter of all.

"Well that's not something I hear every day," Jenny said, just as Phineas walked away to talk to Mr. Bennet. The whole group knew that whenever Bennet was involved, things were never good.

"Are you nervous about your performance tonight?" Charity asked, noticing her husband was too focused on Jenny to ask about her duet.

"If I'm being honest with you, I don't think I've ever been more nervous," she admitted, twiddling her fingers back and forth. Caroline tugged on her jacket sleeve to get her to bend down to her.

"You'll do great out there Philly," she said using her childhood nickname the girls had made up for her. It reminded her again why these girls were the most important things in the world to her. She grinned hugging her as Helon joined them jumping right in with her sisters. Charity and Jenny saw this and grinned. Phineas looked behind him too and did the same. He was so lucky that his daughters loved each other this much.

It was then that Phylis tuned out of the conversation. A vaguely familiar couple was heading straight for them. She thought for a second before remembering her grandparents. She waved them over as they waved at her back. She had grown so much since the last time they had seen her.........Charity looked to see who her daughter was waving at. She half-smiled seeing her parents. Her husband, however, was too concentrated on Bennet to even see them.

"Phineas?" Mr. Hallett asked, causing him to turn around in shock. It had been several years since he had seen the couple. "You've.......done well."

"Thank you, sir," he whispered in return, trying to be as polite as possible. "Allow me to introduce you." The two nodded in agreement following him toward Jenny who was polite to the pair.

"Hello, Mother," Charity whispered in shock not expecting them.

"Hello, dear," she answered in return turning to her granddaughters. "Phylis..........Look at you. You're looking more like your mother every day."

"Thank you, grandmother," Phylis told her hugging her.

"Are these--" she began motioning to Caroline and Helon.