Thanks to the reviewers so far...


No one spoke for a moment.

Not Peter, not Carla… no one.

Carla couldn't speak even if she had wanted to.

Her throat had gone completely dry, she felt as if she was paralysed, rooted to the dance floor and unable to do anything other than stare ahead.

To stare at the man she honestly thought she'd never see again.

It might have been niave for her to think that she would never see Peter again, to think that he was completely out of her life, now that they were divorced but that was the way she had been thinking… that was what she had been betting on, never seeing Peter Barlow ever again.

All that was heard, was the music that the DJ was obliviously playing and as more and more people started to realise why Carla had come to a stand still, when they realised just who had gate crashed the wedding, the quieter it got.

Peter swallowed hard as people began whispering and he knew that he had totally just destroyed Carla's special day.

Even if he made a dignified exit from the wedding, Peter knew it would still be famous for the fact that he had shown up uninvited instead of the reasons it should have been famous for.

It should have been known for Carla and Nick's undying love for each other, not for Peter's sudden and uninvited appearance.

Peter could see that everyone was feeling desperately sorry for him and that the looks of pity on their face were aimed at him.

He decided that he should try and hold onto that last smidgen of pride that he had left and stay as calm as possible.

He went to say something when the groom had stopped talking to his Mum and had suddenly realised what everyone was staring at.

It was Nick's turn to look utterly shell shocked this time.

His first and only thought was Carla. He immediately scanned the crowd to find her.

When he realised that she hadn't made it to the toilet and that she was stood in a trance like state, he dashed over to her and took her by the hand.

"Carla…" He said, but she didn't hear him, she was still in a daze, transfixed by Peter's presence at her wedding.

At first Nick wanted to know what the hell Peter Barlow was playing at, turning up and so obviously trying to ruin his wedding. He didn't stop to think how Peter was probably feeling. He didn't realise that Peter had truly meant no harm... all he knew was that Peter had to go.

How dare Peter taint his and Carla's special day?

He had no right to be there.

He wasn't welcome.

He wasn't even invited.

Nick was about to tell Peter all this when he heard…

"Dad!"

It had come from way across the room and sent everyone's heads spinning towards the direction that they had heard it from.

It came from Simon.

Simon had seen everyone look startled and he had seen Carla freeze on the spot. He wondered why she had looked so sad given how happy she had been before hand. He got up and followed her gaze over to his Dad and when he realised that his Dad truly was a few metres away from him, he flew towards him.

"Dad!"

They embraced in a long and loving hug. One that they hadn't shared in the longest time, one that made Peter feel that all of the pain and heartache he had put himself through today was totally worth it.

The Bride, The Groom and all of the wedding guests looked on and they knew that for now, this was a father and son moment.

It was a moment not to be interrupted by anyone so they looked away and pretended not to make it too obvious that they were still amazed at Peter's nerve.

The people who didn't know who Peter was eventually assumed that he must have been the bride's ex.

They assumed this because it was written all over Carla's face. They saw the look of anguish, the look of repressed memories and they saw just how astonished she was to see him.

Everyone else at the wedding of course, knew exactly who Peter was. They knew all about his history with Carla and with Nick for that matter and they just knew that if Peter hung around for too long, something big was bound to happen.

But for now, even Nick had to admit that he felt a lump in his throat as the estranged father and son embraced.

Simon still meant a hell of a lot to Nick and Carla, he was their Step Son and the sight of him almost crying in his father's arms meant that they didn't do anything that could spoil it.

They just stood and watched, just like everyone else in the room.

"Hi Son." Peter beamed, for the first time that day. In fact it was probably for the first time in months that Peter had truly felt a bit of happiness.

Unfortunately for him this happiness was short lived.

Simon sniffed, overcome with emotions and then he sniffed again.

He stared up at his Dad and then pulled away from him suddenly.

You see, a loved one can always tell when their alcoholic Mother, Father, girlfriend or boyfriend has had a drink.

It's something that they learn very early on.

It might be from a certain look in the eyes, it might be in the way that their loved one is breathing slower or faster than they normally do, or it might just be in the way that they are standing but they can always tell when their loved one has had a drink.

This time was no exception for Simon Barlow.

"Have you been drinking?" Simon asked although just by looking into his Dad's eyes he could tell that he had been. He then spotted the bottle of champagne that he had in one of his hands.

"Si…" Peter started, putting the champagne down on a nearby table and moving towards Simon.

"How could you?" Simon began, shoving his Dad hard in the chest, with tears in his almost fourteen-year-old eyes, "You're not meant to drink, it makes you ill… You could die!"

"Si… I'm sorry. It was just the one." Peter said, hating that he was now having such a public confrontation with his son, especially after not seeing him for so long.

Their reunion wasn't supposed to happen like this.

It wasn't supposed to be this way.

Once again Peter had ruined something that could have been so precious.

"It's never just the one with you Dad!" Simon cried, "What are you even doing ere?"

Peter didn't have time to answer Simon, who followed his gaze over to where Carla was stood.

"Of course!" Simon said shaking his head in disbelief but at himself rather than at his Dad. He felt foolish for believing that his Dad had actually come to see him. "I should ave known you weren't ere to see me."

"Simon it's not like that." Peter began but Simon refused to let his Dad continue.

"Don't bother!" He snapped, not caring that the entire wedding was fixated on his quarrel with his Dad. "You shouldn't ave come ere! Take a look around Dad She doesn't want you! She's happy! She's moved on… and so ave I, I hate you!" Simon then turned around and stormed right out of the room.

"Nice one Peter." Simon's mother Leanne said, shaking her head as she ran after her distraught son.

Simon's words echoed through Peter's brain as the DJ tried to encourage the guests to start dancing again. Some of them did but the rest all stayed still, they all waited with bated breath to see what was going to happen next.

Peter couldn't stand any of this, this pain, this embarrassment, this complete and utter horror story that was unfolding before his eyes. He loathed the fact that he had come to his wedding today and went to walk after Leanne and Simon when he heard Nick say,

"No… you really should go Peter."

Nick's tone of voice was soft, slow, almost patronising in fact and Peter absolutely hated it. Michelle was now by Carla's side, standing right next to her and holding tightly onto her hand.

"Look Nick..." Peter began but Nick was also someone who refused to let Peter continue speaking.

"No you look." Nick said, stepping towards Peter in a way, which made everyone slightly gasp. "You ave no place here. You've already caused quite the scene and I will not ave you ruin this night anymore than you ave already."

"Carla…" Peter said, her name coming out hoarsely because he hadn't said it in so long.

She finally moved. She responded by stepping backwards and taking in a deep breath.

It seemed that hearing Peter call out her name, had an alarming affect on her.

One that she hadn't been expecting.

One that Nick noticed when he looked at her and one that made them both very nervous about what was to come.

"Don't you dare." Nick said as if the mere sight of Peter had threatened everything he had with Carla. As if one simple conversation could ruin everything. "Leave her alone."

"I want to speak to her." Peter said, moving closer, deciding he might as well take as many risks as he can because what else did he have to lose?

"Well she doesn't want to speak to you." Nick replied.

"Oh and you know that do ya?" Peter answered back, hating Nick with every breath and step that he took.

"Yeah." Nick said, but everyone could see that Nick wasn't sure.

"Why not let the lady speak for herself?" Peter said, looking at Carla now and not Nick.

"Carla…" Michelle said, tilting her head and looking at her friend in the eye. "Do you want to speak to Peter?"

Carla didn't say or do anything at first. She was mentally running through every single memory with Peter, every special moment, every kiss, every hug and part of her really did want to speak to him, too see what he had to say and to respect the fact that they once shared a life together.

The thing is… Carla also had to respect her new husband. She had to honour him and show him that she truly loved him now and not Peter.

She knew what would happen if she agreed to talk to Peter, she knew what it would do to Nick and that was why she felt her head shaking.

That was why she said a very quiet and almost inaudible…

"No."

Nick looked unashamedly smug and Peter looked devastated.

He was totally gutted that Carla didn't want to speak to him, that she didn't want to given him a chance to explain but he knew that it was a long shot and even though he wasn't sure how much longer he could go on… he tried very hard to keep himself standing upright.

"There's your answer." Michelle said sympathetically, she was still holding onto Carla's hand and pulled it gently so that she could lead her away, to try and take her somewhere where everyone wasn't watching her every move.

Peter watched her as she left the room and as she left the room, with her eyes focused on him, it was like their devastating gaze was being torn away from each other.

"I think that's your cue to leave." Nick said before turning round to walk away from Peter.

"And if I don't?" Peter said, not caring about ruining anything now he had been seen and especially now that Carla and Simon had left the room.

"I'm warning you…." Nick turned around and gave Peter a dark look as his brother David came rushing over.

"Nick, don't… he's not worth it." David said, but Nick was angry, he was livid and he was not going to let Peter ruin anymore of his wedding night.

Peter, also wasn't about to let any of this lie, it was once again him VS Nick and then he realised that it was too late…

Nick had already won.

Peter went to speak but his arm was suddenly taken hold of,

"Peter what on earth?" His Dad began. Pulling him aside, into the corner that he had been hiding in for most of the reception.

The wedding slowly tried to get back on track as Peter and Ken began to talk.

"Hi Dad." Peter said pathetically, because he had no idea what else to say to him. Ken shook his head, sighed and then threw his arms around his son, just like Simon had done earlier.

"Peter… why would you do this?" He asked, not able to understand his son's behaviour tonight.

"I don't know… I honestly… I just don't know." Peter said, shaking his head at his own foolishness. "I should probably find Simon."

"No Peter." Ken said firmly, "You should go. Leanne's got Simon, he'll be fine."

"He needs me Dad." Peter said, his voice hoarse once more and his body starting to shake from the champagne that was successfully making its way into his blood stream.

"No he needs time." Ken said to Peter, who was about to start speaking again when Michelle re-appeared, she was making her way towards him and was ignoring Nick who was walking behind her and saying something,

"Look Nick I'm just doing what the bride has asked… that is my job as the maid of honour after all." Michelle sighed.

Eventually Nick took the hint and went back over to his brother with a defeated look on his face.

Michelle stopped in front of Peter and Ken and folded her arms.

"You like to pick your moments don't ya Peter?" She said, feeling terribly sorry for him, even after everything that he had done to her best friend.

"Where is she?" Peter asked, Michelle shook her head at him and bit her lip.

"Toilets… She sent me… she wants to know why you're ere." She said awkwardly.

"I don't know…" Peter began, still unable to come up with a concrete reason for being here today "but what I do know… is that I didn't mean to cause any trouble."

"Oh come on Peter… you turn up ere after years and you say that you didn't mean any trouble?" Michelle sighed, Ken nodded at him in agreement with Michelle and Peter knew that his time at this wedding really had to come to an end.

He also knew that he was really struggling not to pick that bottle of champagne again and down it.

Today had well and truly beaten him.

"How is she?" Peter asked.

"Well she's pretty shocked… we all are." Michelle said.

"I honestly didn't want any of this, I wanted to just walk out without being seen." Peter said, hating himself for what he had done to Carla today.

"I believe you." Michelle nodded, because she really did believe Peter.

He swallowed hard and then decided that now was probably the right time for him to leave.

There was no way he could stay now… no way that he could fade into the background this time.

"Michelle… tell Carla I'm sorry. I know that she won't believe me but Please… tell her that. Tell her I said congratulations and… I'm just… so sorry." Peter said.

"I'll tell her." Michelle nodded.

Michelle was a woman of her word and had gone to the ladies toilets to find Carla, who was biting her nails and pacing back and forth.

"What did he say?" she asked exasperatedly.

"Congratulations." Michelle said quietly.

She had said it so quietly that Carla had thought that she had misheard.

"What?"

"He said Congratulations and that he's… sorry." Michelle shrugged, walking over to Carla and standing in front of her.

"Sorry? He's sorry?" Carla said.

There was then a strange silence between the two best friends, one that went on for a few seconds before Carla shook her head and said,

"I ave to speak to him."

"What?" Michelle exclaimed, "You said that you didn't want to."

"I know I did but I... Chelle I ave to speak to him." Carla said, almost in a state of panic now as she flew out of the bathroom.

After everything... She couldn't leave things with Peter this way.

Michelle ran after Carla as she hurried back into the reception, Nick was ranting to his brother and mother and didn't notice his bride's hasty return.

"Where is he?" She asked scanning the room for Peter, Michelle looked around too and then shook her head, "Chelle where is he?" She cried.

"I don't know babe." Michelle said as Ken came over to them both.

"Carla I am so sorry, Peter won't be ruining much more of your night, he has just left." Ken said.

"No!" Carla said, shaking her head and running towards the exit.

She ran through the lobby, out of the building and into the street, in her Ivory wedding gown.

"Peter!" She called, her voice breaking because she knew she was too late.

Peter had gone.