Dedicated to the gorgeous girls in our GC, you know who you all are!

Carla nibbled on her finger nails, full of anxiety for what the next hour would bring. It brought back so many memories from 5 years ago. Though this time, she wasn't alone. This time, it was how it should have been. With Peter by her side.

He squeezed her hand reassuringly, sensing her nerves, sharing them.

She closed her eyes as they waited, reminiscing about that bittersweet day.

Flashback

'Is everything alright?'. She can't bring herself to look at the screen, at her baby, instead she stares at the ceiling, glancing at the sonographer every now and then to gage what was going on. Peter had failed to turn up, on the one day it truly mattered.

'I'm just getting in position, they can play hide and seek when they're this size' the sonographer smiled as he scrolled the probe over Carla's stomach, the cool jelly aiding her search.

Carla let out a soft sigh, 'Wouldn't bet on it, think it's in the genes' she said, still unable to look at the screen, in fear of the worst.

After what felt like the longest time, the sonographer grinned, 'There we are, can you see the heartbeat there?' she pointed to the screen, black and white streaks moving to the lub dub of her babies heartbeat.

'It's nice and regular' she said as Carla finally looked at the screen. In that moment, she found herself choked up with emotions she had yet to experience. Shed never deemed herself maternal, never considered motherhood, until the moment she'd found out she was pregnant. Even then, the idea was not one she wanted to court, until she'd had that pill, that life changing little pill in her hand, ready to swallow with a chug of water - only then, did she realise that despite everything she'd convinced herself of, she did indeed, love this baby, want this baby, and want to be it's mother.

The mere sight of her child, its features coming into focus, the soothing sound of its heart beat was enough to make her crack. She felt tears running down her cheeks, wiping them away.

'Sorry'.

'Don't be silly, it's natural, we've had people bawling their eyes out in here, dads included!' the lady said, continuing to measure the baby.

The reminder that Peter was nowhere to be scene broke Carla's heart, but somehow, in that moment, it didn't quite register, her baby had her whole attention. Nothing else mattered.

'Can you see the outline of the head there? There's a hand, up by the chin, I'll take a picture' she said as Carla nodded, drinking in the sight of the little life inside of her. Until now it had been hard to imagine, but seeing how human her baby looked, a little person inside of her, made it feel oh so real.

The sudden silence as the sonographer took her time to examine the imagine on screen was unnerving. 'So, is everything okay' Carla asked nervously.

'I just need to take a few measurements, work out how many weeks you are, but so far so good' she said, sensing Carla's anxiety, as any first time parent often experienced.

Carla released a sigh of relief, taking one last look at her baby, safe inside her.

'Carla' Peter said, nudging her as Carla looked up.

'Oh, sorry, I were miles away' she said with a nervous laugh, standing up and leading Peter into the room.

'Hi Carla, I'm Sarah, I'm going to be taking your scan today' the blonde sonographer said as Carla nodded, sitting herself on the bed.

'I see you've had a scan before, in 2014' she said as Carla looked down, Peter's eyes falling to the floor.

'Yeah, I lost my baby a few weeks after' she said as Peter swallowed, the guilt he felt as fresh as it had been back then.

'I'm really sorry to hear that Carla, I can imagine this must be a little daunting for you, but try to relax' she said as Carla lay herself down, pulling her top up, and pushing her leggings down a little, allowing Sarah to tuck a paper towel into their hem.

'Cold bit here' Sarah said with a friendly smile, squirting the jelly onto Carla's stomach.

Peter watched as within seconds a loud beating filled the room, tears forming in Carla's eyes just like they had the first time.

'Well, that wasn't hard' Sarah chuckled as Peter leaned over and kissed the back of Carla's hand, unable to take his eyes off the screen.

'There's your baby, we've got a foot there, and two arms' Sarah said, pointing the various features out to the parents to be.

Carla held her hand over her mouth, the sight so familiar, something she'd not expected to experience again.

'I'm going to take some measurements so we can determine how far along you are, and then I'll print you out some photos'.

'Can we find out the gender' Peter asked as the sonographer shook her head. 'Too early to tell I'm afraid, but looking at these measurements you are already 12 weeks along Carla'.

'Makes sense' Carla said, thinking back to Southampton, what felt like a lifetime ago.

'Relatively unusual to find out this late, must have been a shock' Sarah smiled as Peter laughed.

'Just a bit, but a good shock' he said, glancing at Carla who was starring at the screen, a sight wished he'd seen last time.

'Here' Sarah said handing Carla a reel of photos, precious keepsakes.

'Thank you so much' Peter said as he helped Carla off the bed.

'My pleasure, I'll see you in about 6 to 8 weeks for your anomaly scan'.

Carla and Peter stood still in the waiting room, Peters arms were wrapped around Carla from behind, the back of her head resting on his chests, as they both peered down at the scan photos.

'Our baby, half you, half me' Peter said as Carla choked up, the words that had once come out of her mouth, taking on a much happier meaning this time around.

Carla ran a finger over her baby's profile, smiling slightly.

'Better get my looks' she teased as Peter chuckled.

'I'll drink to that' Peter smiled as Carla nudged him in the ribs.

'Better not aye' she said as he laughed.

'Never again, it's us against the world now, baby'.