Just a short two parter story that just so happened to pop into my imagination! Rated M due to a sensitive subject.

Finding Out.

Deirdre headed straight over to the Bookies when she had found him that morning. Ken. Her Husband. Her Soul Mate. Had gone. Forever. Died. In the night. In his sleep. Luckily Tracy had been there to comfort Deirdre as she cried. She tearfully entered the Bookies which had a couple of Punters in watching a race whilst Peter stood behind the desk.

"Oh hiya Deirdre." He greeted his step-mother with a smile before realising that she had been crying. Peter frowned with concern for her. "Deirdre what's wrong?!" Peter asked-her sensitively. "Peter I urm...I need to talk to you in private..." Deirdre trailed-off tearfully. "Okay then yeah sure just wait until this race has finished and then we'll go up to the flat together." He suggested but she just shook her head in disagreement. "No Peter I need to do this now!" She him firmly as she cried, wiping the tears away whilst she did-so. "Okay. Calm down and come through to my Office alright?!" Peter told her calmly, completely unaware so far of the devastating news that was about to hit him.

"Peter urm it's your Dad...He's..." Deirdre couldn't finish the sentence without crying. "Deirdre sit down..." Peter urged her worriedly. "My Dad's what Deirdre?!" He asked her with a very concerned voice now. "He's Dead Peter. Your Dad is dead." It took a couple of seconds for Deirdre's words to sink in before they then had any effect on Peter. "W-what?!" Peter asked her tearfully in confusion. "He can't be. I mean...No. Not my Dad. Not him?!" Peter asked as the tears then began to fall from him eyes. "Oh Darlin' come here." Deirdre said as she then hugged Peter tightly. "Now listen I've gotta get back to Tracy. Do you wanna come?!" She asked both sensitively and tearfully as she then released her step-son from,the close hug that they were sharing. "No I...I just wanna be on my own..." Peter trailed-off, he was obviously still in shock. "Okay then. But just promise me that you won't drink?!" She asked-of him. "Oh no of-course I won't. I can't that say I'm not tempted too but I could never do that to Dad...I won't let him down...Never again..."

As soon as Deirdre had left, Peter then shut the Bookies and then almost instantly burst into floods of tears. "Dad!" He then cried to himself sadly. He sunk to the ground and curled up into a ball as he then cried his eyes out.

Once he had eventually managed to pull himself together, he rang Carla who was in the factory still at work...

"So are we good for this meeting this afternoon then yeah?!" Michelle asked Carla as her phone then began to ring.

"Yeah of course we are it's dead important ain't it?! Hang on a sec let me just get this it's Peter..."

"Hey Baby...Are you okay?!...What's wrong?! You sound like you're crying...Baby talk to me...What's happened?!...Oh darlin...Oh my gosh that's awful...Well I've got a meeting but...Yeah okay...At the flat yeah?!...Alright baby calm down...Heyyy don't cry don't cry...I love you too...Bye."

"What's up with him?!" Michelle asked. "Nothing 'Chelle, listen you're gonna have to deal with this new client by yourself I'm afraid..." Carla said and Michelle then just sighed in pure annoyance. "Carla! Peter needs to learn that you can't just go running to him at the drop of a hat every time he has a problem..." She told her best-friend angrily! "No honestly 'Chelle you didn't hear him he sounded devastated...And if only you knew what has happened...I'm sorry babes but I've gotta be with Peter on this occasion...He's crying his eyes out over there Michelle and he needs me!" Carla replied firmly before she then grabbed her hand bag and then headed back to the flat to be with Peter.

Carla arrived back at the flat as quickly as she possibly could after that horrible news that she had just received from Peter over the phone! She nervously but quietly walked-into the flat to find him sat on the sofa with his head in his hands, obviously crying his eyes out. "Oh Baby..." She whispered, more to herself than to Peter. After that Carla didn't say a word for a couple of minutes, she just ran over to Peter and then held him closely against her chest as he cried his eyes out, Carla wasn't far off the tears herself now.

Eventually, after sitting there in silence for around 10 Minutes, with just the sound-of Peter's crying for noise, Peter spoke up. "What am I gonna do without him Carla?!" He cried to her tearfully, but she could tell that he wasn't finished quite yet. "If it wasn't for my Dad then Simon would be some poor neglected kid right now...I'd be out getting drunk all the time if it wasn't for my Dad...He's still continued to support me when I really didn't deserve it!" He told Carla truthfully and she just sighed in sympathy for her poor boyfriend.

"Your Dad was an amazing man sweetheart...And I know you must feel a little bit lost at the moment...But you'll get through this...With me...And Deirdre, and even Tracy..." Carla tried to re-assure him. "Hey listen why don't we go over there ey?! Whatever Tracy did to isn't important anymore...Families need to pull together at sad times like this..." Carla told Peter truthfully, that little bit of advice had come from Carla's own experience of her own family NOT pulling together when they had really needed too...

"Will you come with me?!" Peter asked her tearfully.

"Oh Baby of-course I will...I won't even leave your side unless you want me to okay?! Now Come-on. Let's go..." Carla told him gently as she then carefully led him towards the front-door of their little-tiny-flat.

They had soon arrived at Deirdre's and Peter immediately fell into his step-mothers comforting arms as they cried together, so Carla approached Tracy as she entered the living room. "Get lost Carla! No-one wants you here!" She told her harshly whilst crying herself.

"Well Peter does, he asked me to come. But now is not the time for arguments Tracy now come-here!" She told Tracy firmly but sympathetically at the same time, she had just lost her Father. Carla pulled her Sister in law in for a hug as she finished the speaking part and Tracy soon then softened and thanked Carla for being there for them all at this difficult time.

Peter then approached them both as Deirdre sat herself down into the chair that Ken always used to sit in. "Peter!" Tracy cried as Carla then handed Tracy over to him.

"Trace! I can't believe it!" The step brother and sister cried into each others shoulders at they hugged each other tightly. Ken wasn't Tracy's biological Father, but he had adopted her as a child and Tracy had always called him 'Dad' anyway, so they were just as close as any other biological Father & Daughter relationship that they knew.
Eventually, everyone sat themselves down as they began to grieve and think about Ken. Tracy sat next to Deirdre at the table and Carla & Peter cuddled-up on the sofa together. Carla couldn't bare the awkward silence and tears of devastation any longer so she decided to try and be helpful.

"Right then guys, I know I only came into the Barlow family a couple of years ago now, but I knew Ken well enough to know that he was a man who believed in moving forwards and looking at the positives! So Deirdre, Tracy, I'm gonna get the both of you and myself a large glass of red wine, Peter, I'll get you an orange juice, and we're gonna toast Ken Barlow for the great man that he was." Carla told them all, and they were all in agreement with Carla as she headed through to the kitchen and busied herself with making the drinks.

She had soon re-appeared and went and re-positioned herself next to Peter on the sofa after she had handed the drinks out to everyone. "My goodness could I do with something stronger...But I wouldn't do that...I couldn't..." Peter trailed-off as he sipped at orange juice.

"To Ken Barlow!" Carla began, getting tearful herself now as he held-up the large glass of red wine out infront of her so that everyone could see it. "Loving Father." She said as she then looked at both Peter & Tracy. "Loving Husband." She continued as she then looked-at Deirdre. "Loving Grand-Parent, Father In Law, Son, and so much more I'm sure of that." Carla sighed as she finished her speaking. "To Ken!" She toasted to them all tearfully.

"To Ken."
"To Dad." They all replied sadly as they then all downed the remainders of their drinks.

Later that afternoon, Peter had gone outside into the back garden/patio, and after a few-minutes, a worried Carla went to join him.
"Hey..." She began sympathetically.

"Sorry I just needed some air..." He replied to her.

"No that's fine. I was just worried about ya that's all...Are you okay?!" Carla asked him in what was practically a whisper.

"I'm dreading telling Simon...I mean I know he's that bit older now...But he's already had so much death in his life...His Mum, His flippin' rabbit, and then it was Blanche, his great Grandma...And now it's his Grandad, all of that and he's just a 10 Year Old Kid..." Peter cried to Carla.

"He's a strong kid Baby...I don't think you need to worry about Si...I'm sure Leanne would understand if you wanted her to tell him..." Carla trailed-off sympathetically.

"No I've got to tell him. It's got to be me! I was the person who told him about all of the other deaths that he's experienced...So it's got to be me now!" Peter told Carla truthfully.

"Okay darlin', we can get Leanne to bring him around after football practice then can't we?!"

"Yeah okay...Ya know...My Dad...He always knew what to say and what to do in these kinds of situations...He always knew how to re-assure me and make me feel better..." Peter said as the tears returned once again. "I loved him Carla. He was my Dad and I loved him...I just wish that I'd have told him that more often!" Peter cried to Carla as she then hugged him tightly.

"Shhh baby. It's okay. Your Dad would have known that you loved him. So don't go regretting what you did or didn't say to him now. Because he'll know. He would have known." Carla told Peter re-assuringly. "And he loved you just as much as you loved him. He loved you just as much as I love you. And I want you to know Baby, that I will look after you. I'll keep you safe. And I'll hold ya when ya cry."

"And what about me?! What does a useless alcoholic like me do?!"

"You're a recovering alcoholic baby." Carla corrected him. "And what do you do darlin'?! Peter you live to make your Dad proud of you everyday.

Peter then kissed Carla meaningfully on the lips, but pulling away as the tears got the better of him.

"What was that for baby?!" Carla asked him both quietly and innocently.

"That was to show my Dad, wherever he is now, that you're the woman that I am finally with a woman who makes me feel happy and who makes me feel like I'm actually worth something. I love you Carla."

"I love you too Peter."

"Too my Dad." Peter said as he then kissed Carla on the lips.

"To your Dad." Carla replied as they then both cuddled-up to each other for a while, before they then both headed-back-inside together. Where both Deirdre and Tracy were waiting for them.

The final chapter is next and it will be the Funeral. - Please Review!