A/N: A short piece of fluff I wrote in 2013 and found on my USB. Set after Hayley was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer.
This is just to tide over the Carter fans until the next installment of 'A Casual Arrangement' is uploaded later tonight (Canada time)
Enjoy the fluff!
"Okay, here we are: one large, strong coffee, with milk, no sugar!" Peter smiled softly as he reached over Carla's shoulder and placed the takeaway coffee cup from the café down on her desk. He was just itching to tell her about his run-in with Rob outside the café and his dig about the ex con's one person fan club. He chuckled to himself in anticipation as he moved around her chair to stand in front of her; it was only then that he noticed his fiancee's slumped shoulders and the death grip she held on the pen she was using to scribble down notes on an order. "You alright love?" He questioned curiously
"Me? Oh, yeah, fine," she responded, glancing up at him briefly and flashing him a smile that didn't quite reach her eyes, before continuing with her paperwork.
He knew she was holding back from him but about what he wasn't sure. Perching himself on the edge of her desk, he patiently waited for her to acknowledge him.
The minutes seemed to pass as slow as molasses with Carla showing no signs of wanting to open the lines of communication again. 'Stubborn woman of mine...' The thought tugged his lips upwards as he gently plucked the pen from her unusually shaky fingers.
With a defeated sigh she peeked up at him from beneath her lashes. Her gaze locked on her lover's for a long moment before she lowered her eyes to the fascinating paper tray lodged on her desk. She had long accepted the fact that Peter's eyes had a way of seeing straight into her soul, but on this particular occasion, it made her feel rather uncomfortable; like she was laid out before him unwillingly, naked and exposed. The thought made her shiver; she never felt this way around Peter before. After all, he was the only person to ever see her continuously at her most vulnerable.
But there, lost in her thoughts in the office at Underworld with him, her eyes still fixated on the papers on the metal tray and her chair swiveling ever so softly, she began to the comprehend her sudden discomfort around the bookie.
For months she had struggled to put back up her walls, the 'queen bitch' façade that Frank had managed to rip off of her as easily as he had her clothing that brutal night 681 days ago.
Oh yes, she still counted the days. It was the only way she had been able to move forward since arriving back that second time from L.A…
'One day at a time, love' she remembered Peter whispering to her in bed; holding her naked body to his own as they watched the clock beside them switch from 11:59 pm to 12:00 midnight on Christmas Eve. 'We'll get you through this, one day at time. And what better day to start then Christmas eh? You know, I reckon if we look out that window right now, we'd see the Christmas star, burning brightly in the night sky. Reminding us what this day represents: the beginning of a new age, of a new life…' She remembered his gentle kiss on her temple, knowing her tears were falling upon his bare arm that pulled her ever closer to him, 'one day at a time, love…'
After the shock she received on Christmas morning and the knowledge that her lover could so easily cast her aside in a matter of days for his ex-wife, she promised herself she wouldn't allow her heart to be broken so ruthlessly by him. She began to build her walls up, trying to be close enough to him to not push him away, but distant enough that he also could not do the same to her.
But Peter was constantly one step ahead of her. He could read her so well; he knew when she started to lay her bricks and mortar, and was always there to break them down, whether quickly with a sledgehammer or agonizingly slowly, stone by stone with his fingers. He was the only person to see her as she truly was: no facade, no mask...and yet he still loved her. He loved her so damn much it terrified her. Surely this was the point she'd screw up their relationship somehow and have him running for the hills...
She always found herself alone after all...
Her eyes began to glisten under his watchful gaze and Peter felt his chest tighten as she continued to distance herself from him again. He knew what she was doing, and he hated that she continued to put herself through this inner turmoil over and over again. While he didn't care if she ever regained the ice queen front again, he did respect that it was important to her. But only if that mask was for the rest of the world; not for him. She wouldn't push him away, not now. Not when she clearly needed him to be strong for her as she had been for him in recent months.
With a furrowed brow and his lips pressing together, he softly brushed the backs of his fingers down her cheek, "hey," he whispered waiting until he had her full attention once more, "look I know I don't always come across as," he shrugged his shoulders as he muddled around for the right words, "sharp and intuitive but, if there's one thing I do know Carla, it's you. And I know that sommit has got you down love. So come on, please, just talk to me," he pleaded lovingly. When she still failed to respond, her eyes floating back down to the desk, he ventured a guess, "is it to do with this business with your brother and Tracy?"
"No," she shook her head and closed her eyes. She knew Peter wouldn't let it drop until she fessed up. Exhaling deeply, she raised her eyes to his once more, "I've just given Hayley some time off to go on holiday with Roy before her operation in a few weeks."
"And-?" He prodded, expecting something else to follow
"And," she stressed the word, her face straining as she tried to avoid saying how she really felt, "and I have to now appoint a new supervisor, and that means more paperwork and possibly hiring a new temp machinist and,"
"And even though you've been a rock and confidante to Hayley these past couple of weeks you still wish you could still do more for her," Peter finished knowingly
Carla sighed and leaned back in her chair, her gaze firmly fixed on her lover's gentle visage, " I just hate feeling useless Peter," she whispered.
"You've done more for her by giving her time off than anyone else could," he smiled as his fingers caressed her hair, tucking some behind her ear, "You're not useless, love."
She nodded her head but he knew it was just to placate him. He wanted to do something to cheer her up, to make her feel loved and, dare he say it, happy once more. But he accepted that he could do no more in this office at this moment in time.
An idea floated into his mind, and he smiled in spite of himself. Could he swing it? Of course he could. It was his day off after all. Rising from his seat he flashed her a comforting smile, "listen love, I'm going to go to Freshco's, buy us sommit for dinner tonight okay?"
"Okay," she smiled back at him, inwardly relieved that he was letting the conversation lie for the time being, "I won't be long after we close tonight."
He smiled, bending forward and pressing a kiss to her lips, "Make sure you aren't, I miss you when you're not there you know."
"I miss you too." She whispered back, her voice hoarse and thick. With a final caress of her hair Peter turned and left the office, grinning to himself and thoroughly proud as his plan visually unfolded in his mind.
When Carla walked into the flat tonight, she wouldn't know what hit her...
