A/N: The title of this story was inspired by a Tony Bennett song. It was the first thing that popped in to my head and I thought it quite fitting, so.

I've been wanting to write a Carchelle story for ages but I wasn't sure how to go about it. I'm still not sure if this works but as someone requested I write this pairing I thought I'd post anyway. I hope you enjoy...

She Left Her Heart In San Francisco

It was late, and the factory had been deserted for hours now. All the workers had eagerly dispersed off to the pub or home to their families.

All, except Michelle.

She'd been feeling down ever since her run in with Peter Barlow this morning. It had been hard enough having to say goodbye to her best friend again anyway, without the revelation that she had since been abandoned at the airport; left alone to flee the country and all its horrible memories.

'She's on her own, again.'

Michelle had been fuming when she had found out, especially as she practically had to drag the truth out of Peter, who was already trying to worm his way back into Leanne's affections.

'How could he?' she thought. 'How could he just leave her there on her own, when he knew how much of a state she were in?'

Michelle had been on the phone all day trying to get hold of Carla. She just needed to hear her voice, to know that she was okay. Carla never answered. So Michelle tried emailing her instead, knowing that Carla never went a day without checking her emails, and it was the main way they had communicated the first time she had left the Street, well, that and the occasional drunken skype session. But even that failed.

Michelle had grown increasingly worried throughout the day; working herself up thinking about all the different possible scenarios in her head. Her mind couldn't help but recall on the time her and Ciaran had returned from the Cruise ships; the way her friend had appeared so broken down and defeated. And that look in her eye, that haunted look that Michelle knew would stay burned into her memory until the day she died. It killed her to see her closest friend like that. It hurt even more so that she wasn't around to protect her when she most needed it.

A feeling of dread overtook her as she remembered the way Carla had revealed all about her attempted suicide; 'would she really be as stupid as to try it again?' She thought despairingly.

Helplessly, she rose up from the office chair and made her way to the cabinet, pulling out the bottle of wine that had been stashed there for months.

Both Michelle and Rob knew it had been hidden away there by Carla but neither one of them had outwardly acknowledged it. They were both in denial as to how much Carla's drinking had become a problem and thought that, by simply ignoring the obvious, the problem would go away.

Still, Michelle couldn't blame her for becoming so dependent on alcohol. After all, it wasn't just Frank's actions that had left her traumatised, it had been pretty much every man before him too.

Paul; his cheating and betrayal. Tony; callously murdering the love of her life and then later trying to do the same to her. Even Liam to a certain extent; he always denied his feelings for her, probably out of guilt. He knew how much his older brother loved his wife, even if he didn't always know how to show it. Frank. And now Peter. He had been the only man Carla had trusted after what Frank had done to her, and even he had thrown it back in her face.

Peter Barlow had completely ruined Carla's chance of getting justice. He made the whole street viciously turn on her, promised her the world and then he, himself, had viciously turned on her too. Blaming her for pretty much everything that went wrong in his life.

'As if she doesn't already blame herself for everything. It wouldn't have been so bad if Carla hadn't of come to rely on him so heavily.' Michelle thought sadly. 'If only I had been 'ere, maybe she would 'ave depended on me instead.'

She had become so lost in thought, staring at her boots that were resting on the desk as her hands subconsciously played with the wine glass that was sat on her lap. She sighed as she threw her head back and took a sip of the poison. She closed her eyes as she suddenly felt the exhaustion setting in from the day's events.

'Maybe it's time to go home..'

As she sat up and scanned the darkened factory, she found herself feeling rather lonely all of a sudden. 'Maybe it's this place..' she thought. 'Maybe it's this place that drives everyone insane.. all those power-hungry men driven to loneliness and despair.'

She quickly threw the remaining contents of her drink down her throat before standing up, turning the desk lamp off and grabbing her bag ready to leave. She walked over to the kitchen area to put her glass in the sink before drowsily strolling across the factory floor to lock up for the night.

She hadn't registered the sound of the door opening. She hadn't registered the slight echo of someone's boots coming towards her, or the familiar scent of that beautiful perfume that she had come to associate with her best friend. She hadn't registered anything until she came across a shadow on the floor in front of her very feet.

She gasped as she jumped back and looked up to the intruder. Her eyes brimmed with tears as she found herself staring into those of her friend's once again.

"You came back?" her voice croaked.

Carla's lips were pursed together as she too became emotional.

"Of course I came back. I couldn't leave you now, could I?"

Michelle felt a slight flutter in her chest at hearing her words. She stood in a frozen trance for a few seconds before coming to; she stepped in to the woman before her and raised her hand to caress her cheek.

"Is it really you?" Michelle questioned in disbelief as tears started to stroll down her face. "I thought I'd never see you again."

Carla's face scrunched up as she smiled and tried to keep the tears in at the same time.

"It's really me, baby. And I know, that's why I came back. I can't be on my own. I can't not see you. I just-" she sighed as she tried to piece her words together. "I want you to come with me, babe."

Michelle's brow furrowed in confusion as she continued to stroke Carla's cheek. "'Ey? I don't understand. What d'ya mean, love?"

Carla stared into her eyes for what felt like a lifetime before replying, "What I mean, Michelle, is.. I want you to come live with me in LA. I've 'ad enough time on me own t'think an'... the thing is, I-" she struggled to finish as she choked on her tears. "I've been getting these, um, I don't know, feelings.." her eyes fell to the floor in embarrassment, she was desperate to tell Michelle how she really felt but she was terrified of what her reaction may be.

They stood in silence for a while as Michelle slowly started to piece everything together. Her gaze flickered between Carla's eyes and her lips and before she knew what she was doing, she leaned in to her friend and gently brushed her lips with her own.

As she pulled away, Carla could feel Michelle's breath on her lips and though a part of her was telling her to pull away, there was something else that told her not to.

She raised her hand up to cup Michelle's cheek, and scanned her beautiful face before going in for another kiss.

After a few seconds of kissing, Carla eagerly pushed her tongue past Michelle's lips and began exploring her mouth. The feel of Carla's tongue stroking her own made Michelle moan in desire.

As Carla pulled away she gently bit Michelle's bottom lip making her whimper with arousal.

"Well?" Carla spoke breathlessly. "Are ya coming or not?"