Authors Note:

Hey guys. I know I've not written fanfiction for a year or two but I have been writing a lot on Tumblr Roleplays and for my Creative Writing class at Uni. I've never written a Coronation Street fanfiction before at all, so this shall be a new thing for me. I hope you like it and if you do or don't please always leave feedback. Apologies for messing this up, doesn't like indents.

Please note:

This will likely become a Carchelle story. The rating is not set in stone and the whole story is not fully planned. We'll just see where it for things to happen and so forth. Suggestions are always welcome.

Peter is cheating with Tina but he has not been sent to rehab. Carla is also pregnant.

That's generally all you need to know, now on with the story.

The sun beamed in through her bedroom window, waking Carla from her pretty solid sleep. The brunette frowned thanks to the light, her eyes not daring to open and take it in. Her alarm hadn't gone off yet, as far as she knew, so why would she have to get up? It never occurred to her that perhaps she had slept right on through it.

Her head buried back into her pillow, one hand grabbing a matching one from Peter's side of the bed to clasp it over her face. Somehow and she wasn't sure how exactly, Carla was more exhausted than when she had went to bed last night. As a rumbling came from her slender stomach, the woman began to realise something.

Why was her husband missing of all people?

That was when she finally pulled the pillow off of her face and let her eyes meet the sunlight. Pupils dilating automatically.

"Peter?" She asked, looking to the empty side of her bed. It seemed to be hardly touched, the sheets at least. Carla had stolen the blanket and of course used his pillow to shield her face this morning but she could tell he hadn't been there all night.

There was still an air of hopefulness playing over her as she climbed out of bed. Walking into the living room to hopefully find her husband asleep on the sofa or having breakfast.

When she got there Carla was not shocked to find it still empty. The only sign of life in this home was from her this morning. With only a shrug of her shoulders she headed to the fridge and pulled out the milk in order to make herself some tea. Peter was something she could worry about later.

She was standing at the kitchen counter as the kettle began to come to its boil. Her tired eyes watching the mug that sat ready with a tea bag and sugar. Decaf thanks to the little thing growing inside of her. Bright green numbers were displayed on the microwave to her right and Carla saw fit to look at it. Just to know how early her body had woken her up.

Her green eyes widened as she read the time.

"Shit." She said, rushed now. Carla left the kitchen in haste - off to get herself ready for work that she happened to already be an hour late for. Hopefully Peter had opened up without her. A girl could wish at least.

When she arrived at work it was quite the opposite of what she had hoped for. Outside the factory stood a few of the girls looking more than fed up with her. Only three of them, of course. The others had seen it fit to skip for the day thanks to her not turning up on time.

"I hope we're still getting paid for this lost hour, Mrs. Barlow!" Sean commented as Carla climbed out of her car.

"We'll talk about it once you get today's work done, Sean." The feisty woman commented back now. She headed up to the doors her keys jingling as she found the one for the factory.

"Blimey, Mrs. Barlow, you look like crap." Eva now piped up to comment earning herself a glare from the woman.

"Yes, Eva, thank you for your input."

With the muttering chatters of the few people in for work Carla opened the door and made a beeline straight for her office. There she still didn't find Peter, which was evident from the door still being locked. Still she had been hopeful. It was only a moment or two later that her raven-haired ex. sister in law walked into her office.

"There ya' are." Michelle spoke as she stood in the doorway, not even having the curtsey to knock.

"Not now, 'Chelle, I've got paperwork up to 'me eyebrows."

Michelle huffed at her best friend, perching herself on the edge of her desk with her arms crossed over her chest. "D'you want to explain to me why over 'alf of your machinists are over at The Rovers?"

She knew from the chatter of the girls at the pub why they were there but Michelle wanted to hear it from her friend first.

"They're lazy?" Carla nonchalantly answered, still working on some papers in front of her.

"Hmm." Michelle pushed herself to her feet, walking over to the window to glance out at the few that were working. "Funny that. Only I heard them sayin' that you weren't 'ere this mornin'."

Carla was still a little too busy to give her a response.

"Carla?" Her best friend huffed at her as she walked back to the woman's desk. A click of her heels on the hardened floor in her wake. "Are you even listenin' to me?"

She only gave her a reply when her work was covered by the manilla folder that once held it. "What?" Carla asked her, green eyes glaring.

"You weren't here? Is sommit' up?" Now she leant herself back on the desk hand still holding the folder in place.

Carla shook her head, brown locks shaking as she did so. Eva was right; she did look like crap. Thanks to being late she hadn't had the time to straighten up her hair and apply her make-up this morning.

"Nothin' is wrong, 'Chelle." Sighed Carla, looking from Michelle's hand that held the file on her work still. Now she had no choice but to pay attention to her. "I just overslept."

"The Carla I know doesn't over sleep." She quirked one of her eyebrows.

"Then I guess you don't know this Carla, d'you?" Scoffed the brunette, now pushing her chair from the desk. If she couldn't work she was going to make a brew instead.

"Car, I'm just worried about ya'." Michelle still sat on the desk, she now folded her arms across her chest watching the woman walk to a filing cabinet where a kettle and tray of tea bags and sugar sat. "Y'know you can't drink that." She informed her after a pause.

"It's decaf." Carla answered her, flicking the kettle on. She threw a tea bag into her mug and some sugar, looking to face Michelle as the kettle boiled. "Don't you 'ave a job to be doin'?" She huffed some hair out of her face, "Y'know, anythin' but hassling me."

"I'm not hassling. I'm worrying."

"Same difference." At that moment the kettle clicked and Carla turned to pour the water into her cup. "I was tired, alright? What else can I say."

"You were tired?" Squinted Michelle. "Is that not a sign you need to work less already?"

Carla looked to the window at Michelle's words, to make sure there wasn't a nosy son-of-a-bitch listening into their conversation. "It's not even showing yet, Michelle. As if I'm cutting down me' work hours already."

"Well maybe you need to consider it."

She carried the mug back over to her desk, thankfully taking a seat back in the desk chair. After a blow along the top of her tea she took a small sip. "I don't 'ave time for that."

"This is what you have a husband for." Commented Michelle, looking to his empty desk chair. "Where is 'e anyway?"

Carla simply shrugged. Seeing the chance she took the folder off of her work to get back to looking at it.

"Y'mean he didn't come home last night?" Michelle now asked.

"Pretty much."

There was a slight annoyance in Michelle's attitude then. As much as she didn't hate Peter, she wasn't his biggest fan either and it wasn't his job to go screwing around leaving Carla to deal with the factory and the fact she was pregnant all on her own. Not while she was still dealing with the after effects of George's death too.

Neither of them would ever have guessed he was over at Tina's flat, fast asleep in bed with her but that was definitely where Peter woke up just ten minutes later…