Chapter 25:

Sunday

"Yes I'm coming!" I shout, running down the stairs despite the fact I knew whoever was pounding on the door could not hear me. I pull the door open, seeing Sally on the doorstep, fist paused in the air. "Sally? It's eight thirty in the morning on a Sunday."

"Hi Mrs Tilsley, I was just wondering you had the keys to the factory?" She questions, brightly. I notice her judge my appearance briefly, which doesn't surprise me; I'm stood in a silk nightdress and no make-up, it would be a shock for anybody at this time in the morning.

"Of course I've got the keys." I snap. "Why wouldn't I have the keys?"

"Could I borrow them?" She asks and I narrow my eyes.

"You do remember that the factory is closed on a Sunday, right?" I sigh, leaning up against the doorframe.

"Well yes but I need to pop in." She explains, and I wait for further elaboration. "I've left Sophie's Bible in my locker and she needs it for church."

"Well can't she borrow one for today?" I persist. "Why did you have a Bible at work anyway?"

"Well it's a funny story actually-" She begins.

"Actually no, don't answer that." I groan, too tired for a long story which probably wouldn't even have a conclusion.. I sigh again before turning and grabbing the Underworld keys off the side table, passing them to her. "I want them straight back, post them through the letter box."

"Carla?" David appears behind Sally and I roll my eyes. "What time is Nick coming out?"

"This isn't a drop in centre." I retort, folding my arms over my tummy securely so no questions arose. "I'm picking him up at twelve, why?"

"Oh, I was wondering if he could take a look at our boiler." He drones and I glare at him as Sally takes the hint and scurries off towards the factory.

"Your boiler?" I repeat, annoyance in my tone. "He's just undergone days of intense tests, I don't think your boiler is the top of his priorities list."

"Yeah it's just because I'll have to pay for someone to come out otherwise." He mutters, before observing my expression. "...We'll be over at five, have a good day." He quickly diverts before heading off in the opposite direction to Sally. I slam the door shut, leaning against the wood and exhaling sharply. I needed Nick back and I needed him now.

Nick

"Ok, all seems fine with your bloods." The nurse informs me, scribbling on a clipboard. "Looks like you're all set to go."

"Thank God." I drone, packing everything into my hold-all having already dressed. I couldn't wait to get home, have a shower and go to bed; I'd never thought something so simple could seem so luxurious.

"Any plans for tonight?" She asks, cheerily as I cram the weird statue mum had sent me into the bag.

"Oh yeah probably go clubbing." I try to joke and she smiles. "My wife wants a duvet day. I'll be glad of the peace and quiet to be fair... As much fun as this has been."

"You don't have to bother with the pleasantries." She assures me. "I lose the will to live on a six hour shift, I couldn't spend three nights here."

"Any ideas on when the results will be?" I inquire.

"Hopefully by next week, maybe sooner." She tells me. "We'll give you a call when everything's sorted and arrange a time for you to come in. In the meantime, I suppose you've got a lot of preparation for Christmas?"

"You can say that again." I nod, knowing that as of tomorrow morning, that was our top priority.

"Ey, he survives!" I hear an excited tone from the doorway and look up to see Carla heading towards me. She practically jumps on me, pulling me into a hug and I wrap my arms around her tightly. "I've missed you."

"You saw me yesterday." I remind her, as she pulls away, staring into my eyes.

"Yeah but I haven't had a proper hug for too long." She smiles.

"Yeah well you can have one all afternoon now." I tempt her and she immediately looks guilty. "What? What have you bought and did you use my credit card?"

"I haven't bought anything!" She exclaims, slapping me on the arm playfully. I can tell she's shattered, but trying to put a front on it. It wouldn't surprise me if she hadn't slept a wink because I hadn't either. We would probably go home and just sleep for a full twenty four hours. "Your family are coming over this afternoon."

Ok, or not.

"You what?" I raise my eyebrows and she looks just as reluctant to give the news as I am to receive it.

"I didn't even invite them, Audrey invited herself and said they'd all be coming along." She explains. "She didn't even give me time to object, just told me what was happening and ran off to the pub."

"You are kidding me." I sigh, the remaining lack of energy left was slowly draining from my body at the thought.

"But we've got until five?" She tries to cheer me up and I smile back at her, softly grazing her cheek with my thumb.

"No we haven't." I decide and she frowns.

"Ey?" She replies, confused and I grab my bag, her hand and begin dragging her out of the ward.

"I still don't think you should be driving." She lectures me, although not really kicking up much of a fuss over it. I guess because she had lost all energy to battle it out, as had I.

"Well we only live once." I respond and she glances at me, as if an answer was going to be written into my expression.

"Nick, where are we going?" She asks again, looking out of the window at the surroundings.

"Here." I pull into a car park and she looks out of my side, staring at the hotel for a minute before registering what I meant.

"Are you being serious?" Her eyes widen, with both excitement and annoyance, which makes it difficult to understand whether I'll be getting a kiss or a slap.

"Yep." I reply, turning the engine off. "I'm not having my night ruined by anybody else. The only person I want to see right now is you."

"Nick, this is five stars." She points out, as if I didn't realise. "This place has a hot tub in the bathroom."

"Even better." I respond.

"It's like three hundred quid for a night." She recalls.

"Why, have you stayed here before?" I ask.

"No, but I've wanted to." She scoffs.

"Good well now you can." I open the door, climbing out of the car and she hesitantly does the same.

"Nick I've got no clothes or anything." She continues.

"You won't need them." I smirk slightly and she tries to keep the smile off her face, staring up at the building.

"No I mean, we've got nothing at all." She persists and I grab my hold all from the boot.

"Toiletries?" I hold it up.

"I've got no make-up." She reminds me.

"You look beautiful without it." I tell her and she rolls her eyes, clearly touched by the compliment. "...Are you seriously turning me down?"

"No." She heads towards me, wrapping her arms around my neck. "How could I ever do that?"

"Come on then." I take her hand, heading towards the hotel.

"They've probably got no rooms." She continues to be negative.

"Good job I phoned ahead then." I inform her and she looks impressed, stepping through the doors and admiring the reception.

"Wow." She gazes around and I laugh, before progressing towards the front desk.

"Hi Nick Tilsley, I phoned about twenty minutes ago." I greet the woman on reception.

"Mr Tilsley." She nods, politely before scanning her computer. "You're booked into room six five eight." She informs me, handing me two key cards. "Would you like a glass of complimentary champagne?"

"Yes." Carla replies, bluntly before sighing. "I wish."

"Unfortunately not." I reply and Carla elbows me harshly.

"Nick, what are you doing?" She hisses. "Take them both and drink them yourself."

"I'm not allowed to drink anyway, even if I wanted to." I tell her and she pulls a face, gutted that champagne was being wasted.

"Ok well enjoy your stay." The receptionist smiles and I take the key cards, pointing towards the lift and Carla immediately heads in that direction.

It's not long before we arrive at our room and I slip the card into the slot on the door, pushing it open and allowing Carla to walk past me..

"Oh my..." She gasps and I have to keep the amazement out of my expression. The room was huge, with a massive window at one end, overlooking a cityscape of Manchester. There was a king size bed in the middle of the room, with silver and purple pillows scattered over it. A big marble bar area lined the opposite end of the room, with a huge plasma television pinned to the wall and purple LED lights were scattered along the floor and bar. "This is incredible."

"Yeah." I nod, because it was the truth. I had done well and she knew it. I dump the bag, watching as she falls back on to the bed, closing her eyes momentarily. My eyes fall straight to her stomach, as her top flattens against her, and a smile creeps across my face. "You been stuffing your face while I've been away? Or is that my baby?" She immediately sits up, grabbing a cushion and covering her tummy with it, blushing suddenly. I'd never felt so in love; she dips her head slightly, hair falling over her face, looking slightly embarrassed at my comment. "You look beautiful."

"Really? I'm fat and ugly." She raises her eyebrows, pointing to the dark circles under her eyes. "You must have low standards."

"You..." I approach her, sitting down on the bed and taking her hand. "Are the most beautiful person I have ever seen. So never say that again, please."

"Charmer." She mutters, meeting my gaze, lovingly. "You must love me."

"I do." I reply, meaningfully and she leans in, placing a hand gently on the side of my face and softly kissing my lower lip. Damn I had missed this.

"This is crazy." She says as she pulls away, observing the room again. "I actually think this might be the nicest hotel I have ever stayed in."

"Get lost." I nudge her, playfully. "What? Even in LA?"

"I mean it!" She insists. "Nick you really didn't have to do this."

"I really did." I assure her. "Five star hotel with you or a crammed house filled with chaotic family. Hm, tough call."

"Can we just stay here all day?" She rests her head on my shoulder and I wrap an arm around her waist.

"For three hundred quid, yeah." I laugh. "Make the most of it. We'll order room service."

"I am so lucky." She whispers and I plant a kiss into her hair. "You're the best thing that's ever happened to me, I mean that."

Carla

"That shower is amazing." I announce, as I emerge from the bathroom, drying my hair with a towel. I tie one of the dressing gowns from the wardrobe around me, and see that Nick is lying on the bed, flicking through the television channels.

"I know." He replies, having already rinsed off the unpleasant feeling of hospitals that I didn't even want to think about right now. "We can go in together later."

"Mm, don't tempt me." I lie down next to him and he holds his arm out, allowing me to curl into his side. "Genuinely though, are you going to text your family and tell them we're here, or just let them turn up?"

"Genuinely, I don't care." He sasses me and I smile.

"You know David came over this morning, whilst I was still in my pyjamas?" I begin to explain and he already looks concerned at the thought. "Started asking what time you were coming home because he wanted you to fix the boiler."

"You're being serious?" He responds, lowering the television remote. "...I am so glad we're here."

"I don't even want to check my phone." I mumble.. "I've probably got tonnes of texts and missed calls of concerned friends and relatives."

"Don't you ever wish you could just shut the world out for a few hours?" He asks.

"All the time." I murmur and he hesitantly places a hand on my tummy. I put my hand on top of his, linking our fingers.

"So when did this happen?" He indicates and I smile, running my fingers through his hair with my spare hand.

"What, the baby making?" I wind him up and he sighs, gently rubbing his thumb against my tummy.

"The bump, idiot." He prompts, playfully.

"I noticed on Thursday night." I tell him. "Caught myself in the mirror."

"Bet you were distraught." He guesses and I shake my head.

"You'd think, but no." I reply. "I was with Lauren, trust me. Cried for days when I noticed. But I didn't start growing last time until about seventeen or eighteen weeks, that's why I was so surprised... Michelle noticed of course... Oh and I told Roy, I hope you don't mind."

"Not at all." He whispers, calmly and that relaxes me a bit. "However you've got to let me at least tell somebody before you spread it around the whole street."

"Yeah well you can tell your family." I tell him and he groans at the thought.

"Oh great, lucky me." He replies, sarcastically. "...Least we know it's actually happening. Like, we can see it."

"Amazing, isn't it?" I smile at the thought, knowing this was a lot newer to Nick than it was to me, and so I gave him the satisfaction of being excited. He had always wanted a child, I felt honoured to be the person fulfilling that for him. "Won't be able to keep it a secret much longer now."

"I'll add it to the to-do list." He sighs and I put a hand over his mouth.

"No stressing please." I warn him. "Happy Nick's only, in this room."

"Yeah well happy Nick is very tired." He sighs, and I tilt my head to look up at him.

"Go to sleep then." I suggest, despite knowing he wouldn't. "I'll wake you up when I'm hungry."

"I bet you will." He laughs, turning onto his side so we were face to face. "Thank you."

"For what?" I frown, walking my fingers down the soft cotton that covers his arm.

"For being strong the past few weeks." He replies and I pause, meeting his gaze.

"Oh no sweetheart, that's not strong, that's survival." I tell him and he gently pushes the hair out of my face, tucking it behind my ear. "You should have seen me when I left that hospital room, I was a mess."

"...You've been amazing." He whispers and I stare back at him for a moment, feeling so relaxed and safe. "Hopefully, with any luck, I won't be back there for a very long time."

"See, that's the positive attitude we need!" I exclaim, rolling into his chest.

"I get my results next week." He informs me, quietly. "And then we can enjoy Christmas."

"Oh... About that." I sit up, cross legged on the bed and he sits up to face me, suddenly aware he wasn't going to like the end of my sentence. "Robert, Michelle and Roy are all coming over on Christmas Day."

"Ugh..." Nick groans before seeing my expression. "There's more, isn't there?"

"Yeah and uh, your family are coming over in the morning and then going home and mine in the afternoon." I explain and he waits for me to finish, a pained look on his face. "And you and Robert are cooking Christmas dinner."

"No." He shakes his head, a hint of a smile on his face..

"Oh please." I whine, grabbing the collar of his polo neck and hanging off it childishly. "You know I'm not very good at cooking... You don't want me slaving away over a hot stove whilst I'm growing your child, do you?"

"How many times are you going to use that one?" He raises his eyebrows and it makes me giggle. "Can't we just go over to mum's again for Christmas dinner?"

"No!" I retort. "Because I want Christmas Day in our own house."

"How very domestic of you." He points out and I pull a face at the thought. "You do realise how many arguments me and Robert are going to have all morning? I mean, he's a professional chef."

"Yeah, so you can chop the vegetables for him or something." I suggest.

"And what are you Michelle going to be doing whilst we're slaving away in the kitchen?" He questions, trying his best to look displeased.

"Ah, see this is the twenty first century, Nicholas." I poke him in the arm. "The roles can be reversed."

"The roles are always reversed for you." He nudges me, kissing me on the nose.

"Oh ok well I'll remember that next time we're trying for a baby then, shall I?" I tease him, without thinking and I immediately lower my head into my hands.

"Sorry, what?" He prompts me and I look up to see he is smiling.

"I didn't mean it like that!" I object and he nods, in that same way he does when he knows I'm trying to dig myself out of a hole. "I'll be too past it anyway to have another one."

"Yeah, we'll see." He narrows his eyes and I try to pull away from him before he grabs my arms, pulling me into his lap and kissing me passionately.

I never wanted this to end, it was perfect.

Nick

"Eight quid?" I wince at the menu in front of me. "For a packet of nuts? Makes the Rovers seem like the pound shop."

"Well I'll pay for them if you're that tight." Carla pipes up from the bed and I throw them behind me, watching as she catches them and tears them open.

"Tight?" I raise my eyebrows, pointing around the room and she laughs. "No, no. You're worth my broken wallet."

"I know." She crunches the nuts loudly, which would usually get on my nerves but right now I didn't care.

"Is that all you're going to eat?" I take a glass bottle of orange juice out of the fridge, trying not to look at the price and placing it on the bar ready for her.

"No." She scoffs. "This is my starter, chuck me the menu."

"You are gonna be the death of me, Carla Tilsley." I sigh, standing up and passing her the menu. She was lying back against the pillows, checking her phone.

"Good." She smiles slightly, still staring at her the screen.

"Who's that?" I peer over her shoulder, putting my arm around her.

"We really should have told your family." She passes me the phone and I scroll through the messages.

"And that's just your phone, I daren't look at mine." I grimace, passing it back to her as she types something out. "What are you doing?"

"Nick, they'll be worried." She reminds me and as soon as I heard it's sent, I snatch it off her. "Hey!"

"No phones." I tell her.

"You're usually the one glued to yours." She objects as I chuck it on to the pile of clothes by the base of the bed. She picks the menu up and starts to read it. "I want pizza."

"Pizza?" I repeat, in disbelief.

"Yeah well it'll be posh pizza here, won't it?" She justifies herself. "Besides I've hardly eaten anything for days, apart from a pie at Roy's."

"What has happened to you?" I laugh at the thought and she grabs a cushion, hitting me with it lightly.

"Shut up." She grins, biting her lip before jumping out of bed and pulling the curtain back. She wraps her dressing gown around her tighter, clicking the light off so the room is just filled with a dim purple glow. She glances out of the window, across the landscape in front of us. "You see over that way?" She points and I get out of bed to join her, standing by her side and looking over to where she was pointing. "That's where my estate was, growing up."

"Bet you never thought you'd be here back then." I murmur, wrapping my arm around her waist.

"Not in a million years." She shakes her head. "...And you see those trees in the distance, near to it? That's the quarry where we used to play out."

"The place where you went with Tracy?" I remember and she pauses at the thought. I hated to think about it; her standing so lost and alone on the cliff edge, staring down, willing herself to jump.

"I remember standing on the edge when I was younger, sometimes I'd go alone when it was dark and mam was drunk, George was out doing God knows what." She reminisces. "I'd take a bottle of vodka and just look out at the lights, the traffic in the distance. I'd be freezing cold, wearing one of Rob's tatty hoodies, but I wouldn't care. In fact I was glad of it because it made me feel alive..." She pauses. I shiver, just thinking about it, wishing I could have protected her back then or at least shown her that it would get better. "All my hope was put into praying one day I'd be out there in one of those buildings, driving one of those cars, living. But deep down, I honestly thought it hit eighteen and that would be it. I had nothing going for me, I was terrified although I'd never admit it. Absolutely terrified."

"...And now?" I try to bring her back to reality, not wanting her to get too down about the past.

"Now?" She brightens her tone slightly, not tearing her eyes from the scene in front of her. "Now, it's the complete opposite. I had nothing back then and now I've got everything..."

"You mean that?" I whisper and she finally turns to look at me, studying my caring expression.

"You, me, our baby. Decent business, a family, friends, a home." She recites, checking everything off her list. "I've got everything I ever wanted, everything that once upon a time was just a pipe dream... Still terrified though."

"You've got nothing to be scared of." I promise her and her eyes stare back at me; so beautiful and meaningful and perfect.

"Really?" She whispers, allowing herself to be weak for the first time in weeks.

"Really." I conclude, gently brushing her hair back and kissing her. The lights and the traffic and the world just behind us, just me and her, in this moment.

I was never, ever going to give that up.

Thank you again for all your lovely reviews!