Title: Something Beautiful Remains
Summary: Despite all the pain, anger and betrayal between them something beautiful remained - Carla/Peter (AU from 05/06/14)
Pairing: Carla/Peter.
Notes: I was really disappointed that the writers decided to have Carla lose the baby so I decided to re-write the episode with a different ending, after that it kind of took on a life of it's own and became a multi-chapter story.
Disclaimer: This characters of Coronation Street and the premise belong to ITV and not me.
1.
As Michelle and Rob helped Carla into an exam room she practically fell onto the trolley, her whole body collapsing in on itself as she silently begged her unborn child to hold on.
"No, no, no," she whimpered, her voice barely audible.
"The midwife said you need to change into a gown," Michelle reminded her.
Carla nodded, curling her body up as she wrapped her arms around her stomach, in a desperate bid to protect her baby from all of the stress that surrounded it. "Ok."
"I'll wait outside," Rob mumbled.
Slowly Michelle helped Carla into a generic blue and white hospital gown. "Do you want me to stay?"
"Please," Carla breathed, letting out a small cry as the pain intensified.
Entering the room the midwife started to unravel the BP cuff. "Have you had any spotting?"
"No," Carla whimpered.
"What about cramping? Dizziness? Fever? Vomiting?" the midwife asked.
Looking down at her closest friend Michelle could see that she was in too much pain to reply. "Er she was really pale and she hasn't had much of an appetite then all of a sudden she collapsed in agony."
"What sort of pain is it?" the midwife questioned, writing in Carla's notes.
"Sharp," Carla stammered, pressing her hand further into her right side.
The midwife flicked through Carla's notes. "It says here you were in before with abdominal pain?"
"Yeah," Carla confirmed. "I was in a few weeks ago but the pain was nothing like this."
Sitting up Carla closed her eyes as the whole room seemed to spin around her, opening them slowly she jerked forward her hand immediately going to her stomach as she was gripped by a sharp pain, retching violently she lost what little food she had managed to eat that day.
"I'm sorry," Carla half-whimpered, half-cried as Michelle and a midwife helped her into a new gown.
"You feel warm," Michelle frowned, running her hand through Carla's hair.
Carla shook her head, not really registering what Michelle was saying. "Am I losing my baby?"
"We don't know anything yet, not until the doctor has examined you and run some tests. I know it's easier said than done but the most important thing right now is that you stay calm," the midwife said, as she put a probe onto Carla's finger before wrapping the blood pressure cuff around her arm.
Michelle watched as Carla lay her head back against the hard, hospital trolley, her eyes fluttering shut as she took a series of deep breaths. "Is there anything I can get you?"
"No," Carla breathed as she felt the nurse put the thermometer into her ear.
Writing the observations down on a chart the nurse then turned her attention back to Carla. "How many weeks are you?"
"Almost 19," Carla replied as her head started to spin again.
"Are you ok?" Michelle asked as she watched Carla turn a horrible shade of grey.
Bolting forward Carla shook her head, her hand going to her mouth. "I'm gonna be sick again."
With the practiced reflexes of a midwife the brunette grabbed a cardboard bowl from the side and placed it in front of Carla as the factory boss heaved violently into the bowl, bringing up nothing but stomach acid as her eyes watered.
Reaching out Michelle placed a comforting hand on Carla's back as she felt the energy practically drain from her friend with each violent heave.
Exhausted, Carla once again slumped back against the trolley, her chest rising and falling rapidly as she tried to gain control of her senses.
"Hello. I'm Doctor Jenner," a middle aged woman said as she walked into the cubicle and took the chart from the nurse. "You must be Carla Barlow?"
Slowly as if her head was full of lead Carla nodded. "Yes."
"Vitals?" Doctor Jenner asked, turning her attention to the midwife as she washed her hands.
"Heart rate 119, blood pressure 100/49, oxygen levels are 99% and she's pyrexial at 39.7 degrees," the midwife said as she stepped back, allowing the doctor to take her place by the bed.
Michelle frowned as she heard the nurses words, lifting her hand up she placed the back of it against Carla's forehead. "I thought you felt warm. Why didn't you tell me you had a temperature?"
"I didn't know," Carla sheepishly admitted, worrying about what this meant for her baby. "I've felt flushed since earlier at the station but I just thought it was stress. I didn't … oh God … I should have realised … my baby …"
Putting the notes down the doctor spoke up. "Carla? Is it all right if I call you Carla?"
"Yes," Carla whispered, grateful the nurse had dropped the Barlow because the last thing she wanted was a reminder of him and what he had done to her, not when she needed to be concentrating all of her strength on the wellbeing of her unborn child.
"How long you've had the temperature isn't important, what we need to do now is find out what is causing it, which means I need to do a full examination and then we need to run a few tests; blood, urine, as well as an ultrasound scan, whilst we're waiting for the results I'm going to have the nurse put a cannula in and start you on some fluids because you're showing signs of becoming dehydrated," the doctor explained.
Carla bit her bottom lip, trying to keep herself from crying. "Ok."
Turning towards the midwife the doctor instructed her on what bloods to take and fluids to give before she turned her attention towards Carla and started to carefully examine her, making sure she explained what she was doing every step of the way.
Outside in the waiting area Rob paced back and forth in front of the vending machine, his guilt eating away at him as he realised that if Carla lost the baby it would be another death on his conscious.
"Where is she?" Peter demanded to know, staggering into the waiting room.
"As far away from you as possible," Rob hissed at his brother-in-law.
Peter shook his head. "She's my wife."
"A fact that didn't seem to cross your mind when you were playing away with the barmaid," Peter reminded the drunk.
"That's my baby, I have more right than you to be here," Peter tried, desperate to find out how Carla and the baby were.
Rob stepped towards him, his eyes burning with rage. "You gave up any rights when you dropped your trousers."
"I know I hurt her-"
"Hurt her?" Rob raged, cutting Peter off mid sentence. "You didn't just hurt her you broke her, if anything happens to that baby it's on you," he added, deflecting his own feelings of guilt.
Peter stepped back away from Rob. "I didn't come here to argue. I came here for Carla."
"You didn't come here for Carla," Rob snorted. "You came here to make yourself feel better, to try and absolve some of your guilt, in fact the last thing you were thinking about was Carla because if you were then you would have known that having you around was the last thing she needs right now."
"I-"
Rob dropped his hands to his side. "You know what? You're not worth it, I'm not going to waste my time on you … not when my sister needs me."
"Carla," Peter mumbled. "Carla and the baby that's all that matters right now."
Meanwhile inside the examination room Carla looked up from her hands as she heard raised voices outside. "Is that Peter?"
Opening the blinds a little Michelle nodded. "But it looks like Rob's dealing with it."
"Ok," Carla cried as she was gripped by yet another wave of agony, her whole body shaking as the midwife tried to get an IV into her and the monitors that they had managed to hook up began to bleep loudly letting them know just how much physical distress their patient was in.
"Her heart is racing," the midwife observed.
"She's burning up," Michelle panicked rested her hand on Carla's cheek.
The midwife removed the thermometer from Carla's ear. "Her fever is over 40 degrees."
As Carla's stomach finally stopped cramping she practically fell back against the trolley, exhausted and scared for what all of this meant for her baby. "I can't lose this baby," she cried, repeating her earlier plea.
"Carla I need to examine you now," Dr. Jenner told her as she lifted the gown and gently began examining her, her physicians instincts immediately kicking in as her whole body seemed to jump with agony as she gently laid her hands on the right side of her stomach, shocked to find just how rigid it was.
The monitor recording Carla's vital signs began to bleep loudly once again. "Her blood pressure is dropping," the midwife informed him.
"I need that scan in here now," the doctor said as the midwife ran out of the room, returning just minutes later with the portable ultrasound.
"Peter. I want Peter," Carla cried, despite all the pain, anger and hurt she was feeling towards her husband at the moment she wanted him by her side for the scan, because no matter what had happened between them the life inside her was still a constant reminder of what they both shared. A innocent life created out of nothing but love.
Michelle frowned. "Are you sure?"
Carla nodded, her eyes bright with tears. "Yes. Please 'Chelle, I need him."
"Ok," Michelle reluctantly agreed, walking out of the cubicle and heading over towards where Peter and Rob stood facing each other in a silent stand-off. "So Carla's about to have her scan," Michelle informed them.
"Is she ok?" Peter asked, his voice almost frantic with worry.
Michelle took a deep breath before speaking. "Why don't you go and find out for yourself."
Peter's eyes widened in shock. "Carla made it crystal clear she doesn't want me anywhere near her."
Looking towards Rob she silently warned him not to say a word before she turned her attention back towards Peter. "She's terrified and in pain but it's your baby too and Carla wants you in there with her."
Not needing to be told twice Peter nodded. "Ok," he said as he headed towards the examination room, the shock of the situation having a sudden sobering effect on him as he felt clear headed for the first time in days.
Stepping into the room he was shocked by the state he found his estranged wife in. She was as pale as the sheet she laid on and her whole body and hair were soaked with sweat as she gripped on tightly to the edge of the blanket, her whole body shaking with pain and fear.
"It's going to be alright," Peter tried to reassure her as he stood next to the bed.
"You don't know that," Carla cried as the doctor lifted her gown ready to start the scan.
Taking a seat Peter sat down by the bed, his hands gripped together in a prayer like stance as his eyes fixed firmly on the screen, praying that their lives were not about to be devastated once again.
"What is it? What's wrong?" Peter asked as the doctor got up and walked across the room.
"I just need to get one of my colleagues for a second opinion," she told them as she exited the room, leaving Peter and Carla alone for the first time in days.
Carla lifted her hand and placed it on her stomach. "This is bad. I can feel it."
Within minutes of the doctor leaving the room she entered again, this time accompanied by a tall, greying gentleman.
"Please just tell us what's going on," Peter pleaded.
Looking at the screen the older doctor gently ran the wand over Carla's stomach, pausing in the centre as a loud, steady heartbeat filled the room.
"Is that?" Carla asked, almost too scared to hope.
The doctor nodded. "The ultrasound shows a strong steady heartbeat and a baby that is growing right on track."
"So my baby is ok?" Carla asked, finally allowing herself to hope.
"For now everything looks perfect, however that isn't what the doctor was worried about," the older man explained, turning the screen so that they could both see it he pointed to a dark area in the bottom right hand corner. "This is what she was concerned about."
Peter frowned, having absolutely no idea what he was looking at. "What is it?"
"It's what has been causing all of the problems, Carla it looks like your appendix has ruptured which has then caused infection to collect around it causing the pain, fever and vomiting, it's probably been grumbling away for weeks, it's likely it was also the cause of your visit here a few weeks ago," the doctor explained.
"Why wasn't it picked up then," Peter asked, trying to deflect his guilt because he couldn't help but fear that if he hadn't been so wrapped up in Tina he would have noticed something was wrong earlier.
The female doctor stepped forward. "Appendicitis is quite often misdiagnosed in pregnant women in the early stages, unfortunately a lot of the symptoms are the same as common pregnancy ones. The important thing is that we now know what's been causing all of your symptoms."
"So you can fix it?" Peter asked.
"We need to get you into surgery straight away," the doctor explained, addressing his answer towards Carla. "Then after the surgery you'll have to stay in hospital until we're sure the infection is completely cleared."
Wincing in pain Carla curled up on her side. "But my baby will be ok?"
"It's impossible to know anything for certain, at the moment everything indicates that your pregnancy is progressing as it should, but a ruptured appendix and peritonitis is a very big complication, Mrs Barlow your body is under a lot of stress right now and there is no guarantees and with the added stress of surgery you could still suffer a miscarriage," he told them, not wanting to scare them but knowing that they needed all the facts.
Lifting her head up off of the bed Carla faced the doctor. "Then I don't want that surgery."
"I'm afraid there isn't a choice in the matter, without the surgery the infection will spread and you'll die, having the surgery is the only option for you and the baby," Dr. Jenner honestly explained.
Peter moved down from the head of the bed so that he was eyelevel with Carla. "She's right, you need the surgery. Besides if this baby is half as strong as you we have nothing to worry about."
Realising they were right Carla nodded, her eyes closing as she allowed herself to give in to the pain and exhaustion that was raging through her body.
"Someone will be in shortly to get you, I need to go and scrub in," the older doctor said as he got up to leave.
"Thank-you," Peter smiled tightly unable to believe how much things had gone wrong.
Pulling the cover up over herself Carla tried to get warm. "You need to leave now."
"What I need is to be here with my wife and our child," Peter countered.
"There's nothing you can do here," Carla pointed out. "Please, Peter, please. I wanted you here before because I was scared, I thought I was losing our baby and that you had a right to be here. But now I know that the baby is ok … having you here it just makes it hurt all over again, I can't have you here Peter, seeing you it just … it's stress and reminders that I don't need," she explained, her voice thick with exhaustion.
Peter could see that Carla was working herself up into a state and he knew that right now that was the last thing she needed, not when her body was already under so much stress. "Ok," he agreed. "But I'll be here when you wake up. I promise."
Standing up Peter reluctantly walked away his heart breaking as he heard Carla whisper gentle words of reassurance to their unborn child as he closed the door behind him finding himself face-to-face with Rob and Michelle.
"How is she?" Michelle asked.
"Not good," Peter replied, his voice cracking.
Michelle stepped closer to the distraught man. "Is it the baby? Oh God please tell me it's not the baby, I don't think she could survive another loss right now."
"No, er the baby is fine but Carla she … her appendix has ruptured and the doctor says that it's caused an infection and that they need to operate … he says that the stress of the operation and everything means she could still lose the baby," Peter explained, his words thick with unshed tears.
Knowing that Carla needed them to stay positive for her Rob was the next to speak. "Carla's strong, just look at how much she's already overcome. And if my niece or nephew has just a small percentage of her strength then they are not going to let a little thing like appendicitis stop them from entering this world."
Peter nodded, needing to believe that Rob was right and that Carla and the baby would be ok because as horrible as things were between them right now he loved her, with every fibre of his being and the thought of not having her in his life destroyed him, but not as much as the thought of having a world without her in it at all.