It was an average Tuesday night when Carla found out that Peter had been in a fatal car crash.
Peter's son Simon had sought out to find Carla and tell her the news because he knew that she would have wanted to know. He knew that whilst she wasn't with his Dad anymore, she needed to now. He didn't even know if they were even talking but he knew it wouldn't matter because once she found out, nothing else would ever matter again.
She was sat with her feet up, catching up on The Apprentice when the sound of her buzzer bounced between the walls of her empty flat. She got up to answer it, assuming it was a friend or something but she was totally shocked when she heard who it actually was,
"Carla it's Simon… I ave to talk to you, let me in… it's me Dad."
Carla could tell by Simon's voice that something was immediately wrong so of course she let her Step Son come right up.
He ran up the stairs, two steps at a time until he had gotten to Carla's door. She opened it to find an out of breath Simon stood on her doorstep and he looked utterly distraught.
She knew there and then that what Simon was about to say was to do with his Dad.
A tearful Simon told Carla that a hospital down in Portsmouth had just phoned his Granddad and told him that Peter had been in a horrific car crash on a motorway somewhere down south.
Carla had to take a moment... she stepped back and felt physically sick, as an anxious Simon continued to speak. He told Carla everything she needed to know about the accident.
It wasn't Peter's fault and by some sort of miracle no one else was actually hurt but he was in a very very critical condition and Ken was told that him and his family should probably prepare themselves for the worst.
"The worst?" Carla exclaimed.
"The worst." Simon replied shaking.
Despite being apart from Peter for so long and despite the fact she thought she was over him, Carla rapidly got herself dressed and said that she was going to Portsmouth.
She told herself it that she was going to give moral support to Simon and Ken but deep down, Carla knew she was going with them because if she didn't and something happened to Peter… well she would never forgive herself.
There was still so much that she had to say to him, still so much that she felt Peter needed to know and the fact that he might never hear any of it, made Carla suddenly start to panic.
She panic'd so much that Simon had begun to get scared. He watched her short and sharp breaths and thought she was having some sort of panic attack and no matter how much he tired, he just couldn't seem to calm her down.
"Try breathing into a bag or something..." he suggested but only because that was something that he had seen in the movies. "Carla... please." He begged, unsure of what to do next.
In the end he picked up the phone and called his Granddad. He told him where he was and what Carla was doing and it wasn't long before Ken had arrived at Victoria Court.
Simon let him in and opened the front door to Carla's flat so that his Granddad could come straight in.
Ken bent down so he was at Carla's level as she sat on the sofa and even though he was a wreck after hearing about Peter he somehow managed to remain calm in the face of Carla's dismay.
He told her to count to five with him and even though it took a few attempts, she did.
He then told her to take in three deep breaths, so she did.
He then told her that she could come to Portsmouth with him, Simon and Tracy if she wanted. He told her that everything was probably going to be okay and that if they hurried they could see Peter in no time.
Ken's calming nature seemed to work on Carla and before she knew it they were walking out of her building and towards Number One Coronation Street, where Peter's sister, Tracy was parked and ready to go. She was in tears as Ken approached with Carla and Simon in tow and even though she was very surprised to see a distressed Carla clutching onto Simon, she didn't question it.
As Carla got into the back of Ken's car, she knew there was something she had to do. She had to let her boyfriend know where she was going.
She had to tell him that she was on her way to Portsmouth and that she truly didn't know how long she would be gone for.
Not that it mattered of course, she would be gone for as long as it took.
Tracy said that she would drive and as she started up the car to begin on the five hour journey to Portsmouth, Carla decided that now was the time to phone Nick and tell him what was going on.
He didn't answer his phone due to being on a shift at The Bistro so Carla had to leave him a message instead...
"Hi Nick... look there's been an... accident, I'm on the way to Portsmouth with Simon, Ken and Tracy... I hope you can understand why I'm doing this... I just ave to go... I ave to be there... I ave to see if he is okay... I'll... give you a call... in the morning maybe... Bye."
She wondered what Nick would make of her message and what he would make of her sudden rush to be by Peter's side, although she wasn't sure what she even made of any of this.
The journey to Portsmouth was as smooth as it could be given the fact that all the people in the car were all completely and utterly consumed by thoughts that they wouldn't make it on time.
Carla couldn't bare the idea of not seeing Peter again and not being able to speak to him.
Whilst being with Nick she had pushed him right to the very back of her mind but she had always thought that one day she would get the chance to see him again and maybe even get to be with him again.
She thought about how everything had gone wrong in their relationship and how easily she had given up on Peter.
She thought about how much things might have been different if she had of given him another chance like she had so secretly wanted to after he had gotten out of prison.
She only let him walk away from her because she didn't want folk to know how truly weak she was.
It still broke a part of her heart when she thought about how their relationship ended.
Their story wasn't over... it was interrupted.
As time went on, Carla was petrified that she wouldn't get to tell Peter how she felt about things and even though she knew that Tracy was already over the speed limit, Carla begged her to hurry up.
Simon watched as his Stepmother and Auntie began arguing over the driving, Tracy kept turning to almost look at Carla out of frustration and it was Ken who reminded them that Peter had just been in a car accident and that they really didn't need to cause another one.
Tracy nodded at her Dad, knowing he was right and that she needed to keep her eyes on the road and Carla apologised to her and said she was just desperate to see Peter before it was too late.
It was as if this sudden accident made her realise that she was not over Peter Barlow at all... nowhere near in fact.
It was about two in the morning when they arrived in Portsmouth. Tracy parked the car and they all rushed to the ward where they had been told Peter had been taken.
The nurse who was sat on the reception said she didn't know who they were asking about, which scared the life out of all of them.
She said that she would be back in a second and left Ken, Tracy, Simon and Carla on tenter hooks as she walked off.
It was probably the longest second of their lives.
They were all sure that she'd come back and say that they were too late.
It was a tense... an unbearable moment for The Barlow's and Carla as the nurse approached them again.
Not one of them knew what they would do if the news that she was bearing was bad.
Carla was shaking and was actually holding tightly onto Tracy's hand as the nurse began to speak.
She said she found Peter and that she had just started her shift, another nurse then took over and said he had been in a very stable condition for many hours now and that he was in the last room down the very back of the ward.
He was lying very still in a hospital bed. He had tubes running in and out of his body and he was also left with a very large and very deep cut on his forehead, which was rather horrific when you saw it up close. He looked as if he was in excruciating pain as his family and estranged wife all piled into the room.
They were all speechless as they stared ahead at Peter and as they processed the sight before them.
Upon properly looking at the people who had just entered his hospital room, Peter had to do a double take.
He almost thought that he was dreaming it... that he was maybe imagining who was so suddenly stood right in front of his almost death bed.
He knew his Dad would have come, Simon too if Leanne had of let him, which of course she had. Tracy's appearance was a slight shock but Carla's… well her being stood there was the biggest surprise of all.
The last he had heard she was in a whirlwind romance with Nick Tilsley of all people and she was extremely happy... so what on earth was she doing all the way in Portsmouth at this time of night?
He tried to clear his throat and speak but Carla walked over to his bed, shaking her head and letting the tears she had been holding back for hours finally fall as she said,
"Shhhhhhh." She gently took hold of one of his bruised hands as Simon went around the other side of his bed and gently put his arms around him, carefully, not too forcefully, so that he made sure he didn't hurt him anymore than he was already.
"I'm so glad that you're okay." Simon cried, tears also pouring down his cheeks at the sight of his heavily injured father.
Peter went to talk again but his Dad shook his head this time.
"Don't talk Peter... you look like you're in a lot of pain." he said, with a hefty sigh. Tracy just kept quiet and stared at her big brother in awe.
They all listened properly as the nurse started to explain the seriousness of Peter's injuries.
He was suffering from severe whiplash and concussion. He also had some internal bleeding which at first they had found hard to manage.
The nurse explained how much it was touch and go for a while, which is why they had prepared the family for the worst but seeing as Peter had been stable since about eleven pm and that they had managed to control the bleeding, it seemed like he would make a slow but sure recovery.
The nurse said a doctor would be along to discuss things with everyone properly in the morning but that Ken, Tracy, Simon and Carla were welcome to stay given the circumstances and because it was so late.
Ken took a deep sigh of relief and watched as Simon gave his Dad another hug. Tracy then went over and kissed Peter delicately on the cheek, she also gave him a loving look as she stood upright and was genuinely pleased to see that her brother looked as if he would be alright in the end.
Peter cleared his throat once more and quickly spoke before he could be stopped this time.
"Alright?" he asked as casually as he could. Trying to make a joke out of things even at the worst of times and even though the amount of pain that he was feeling was very clear in his voice.
"Alright he says…" Tracy sighed, shaking her head and rolling her eyes at how laid back her brother was being even when he had tubes coming out of his nose and had a huge wound on his forehead.
Ken smiled at Peter's relaxed manner and so did Simon but Carla… well she was unable to crack even half a smile because she was too overcome with her emotions.
This morning she had woken up in the arms of someone else and now she was questioning everything about the decisions she had been making over the past year.
As Ken sat down on the chair next to Peter's bed and Tracy and Simon stood near by, Carla sat down gingerly on the end of the bed and then the conversation began...
There was first a conversation about just how Peter had ended up in the crash, it took him a while to properly explain it but he got there in the end, although it was clear for all to see that he had struggled to get those short few sentences out.
Then the conversation that followed was about how glad they were that he was fine and that Ken would ring around everyone in the morning to let them know what was going on.
After an hour or so and after they had all made themselves as comfortable as they could have, Tracy looked at Carla who was sat looking down at her fingernails and then at Simon who had also been watching Carla... they knew what they had to do.
"Should we go n look for a Coffee machine or something?" Tracy asked,
"Yes." Ken nodded and they took Simon with them so that they could give Carla and Peter some time alone.
Carla bit her lip as she sat perched on the end of Peter's hospital bed. He looked incredibly, incredibly weak as he lay there before her and every time she looked at him she couldn't help but want to cry, which is why she kept gazing down at her hands instead.
"So..." Peter coughed, sounding as if he was in agony as he spoke.
"Don't..." Carla sniffed, getting up and moving closer to Peter. She was unable to control her self and tried not to cry pathetically as she now stood right next to Peter.
"Hey..." he said, sounding a little better this time although he coughed again, "You heard the nurse... I'm... I'm gonna be okay." He said in between breaths.
"I know... but you didn't half scare us." Carla said, taking a hand and tenderly stroking his cheek.
"Sorry." Peter swallowed, then he winced from the pain, the uncomfortable expression on his face made Carla wince too.
"Oh would ya just stop talking." She said, a tear running down her cheek as she watched the once love of her life, be in so much discomfort. She wished that she could make him feel better, she wished that more than anything in the world right now that she could make things right again.
"You... stop... crying." Peter said weakly but somehow firmly at the same time.
"I can't..." Carla sobbed, her green eyes now spilling with tears. "I really thought... I thought we'd lost you... I was scared... the whole time ere... I couldn't stop thinking about how much time we ave wasted." Peter listened carefully as she spoke and even though he was in the most pain he had ever been in his life, the presence of his family and Carla was starting to make him feel just that little bit better. "I am so sorry Peter..." She said with a sniff, "But I'm ere... I'm ere and I am never letting you go again."
"What... about Ni..." Peter began but he couldn't finish what he was saying because it literally hurt so much for him to speak. His chest felt tight and he had took take in a deep intake of breath just so he could breathe properly again.
He didn't have to finish what he was saying anyway, Carla knew what he was getting at, she knew he was asking about Nick.
"Shhhh..." She said, "Don't worry about any of that... just know that a day doesn't go by when I don't think about us... when I don't wonder if I should ave given you another chance... I've missed you every single day Peter."
"I... I've missed you too n... I... love you." Peter breathed, just in case he didn't get another chance to say it to Carla, just in case.
"I thought I told you to stop talking..." She sniffed with a shake of the head because she knew what he was doing, he was getting ready to say his goodbyes and she wasn't going to have any of it. Peter chuckled as best he could at Carla and opened his bruised fingers so that she could entwine hers with his. "I love you n all... just so you know."
"You... sure?" Peter asked faintly, "You're not... just saying it because... I'm in ere?" Carla gave him a sympathetic nod and bit her lip as he had to breathe in again.
"That's exactly why I'm saying it..." She began, "Peter I've been such a fool... seeing you like this has made me realise how much I've been fooling myself... I love you and I am never going to let you out of my sight again." She then leant forward and placed the softest kiss on Peter's cheek.
He was sure that she was just letting her emotions get the better of her, he was sure that tomorrow she'd probably regret all of this and change her mind but he was really in no place to argue with Carla right now, he had to work hard to recover from this car crash and there was no way he was going to be strong enough to do both.
It wasn't long before Tracy, Ken and Simon returned from the vending machines.
They had brought Carla a large cup off strong coffee, just like her they vowed that they were going to stay by Peter's side and one by one they prayed that he would take a safe road to recovery…