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Frank had his arm locked around Carla's shoulder, sitting at the head of the bed with his legs outstretched in front of him. Carla was sitting next to him and her muscles were aching from tensing at being so close but she couldn't relax. Michael had left after telling Frank the news and he had been there ever since. Carla just wanted to be left alone to try and deal with the result she hadn't wanted to happen but was how her reality. However, as Frank had made himself comfortable she doubted that would happen anytime soon. He had been talking for a while now but Carla had managed to cut herself off from what he was saying and got lost in her own thoughts. However, when he squeezed her closer to him she was sharply pulled from them.

"I knew it wouldn't be long before you were carrying our baby again . . ."

Well with the amount of times you've forced yourself on me, are you really that surprised? Carla thought bitterly, though she thought better of saying that to Frank. The thought that if she had known Michael a little earlier, then this might not have happened made her feel very ill. She would have done anything to stop what had happened, and was having a mental argument with herself while trying to deal with what Frank was saying. The baby was innocent, it hadn't asked to be conceived, but neither had she and she wasn't sure she could love it given the situation that it would be born into and who it's father was. When Frank used the term "our" when referring to the baby that she was now carrying, Carla's blood boiled. He did the same thing with Dempsey and while she knew that he was Dempsey's father by blood that was all in her opinion. He had done nothing that meant anything for her and had only ever been interested when he was using her to get at Carla. She swallowed hard and shifted uncomfortably before speaking up for the first time in over 20 minutes. "I want you to take me to Dempsey, to make sure that she's all right . . ."

Frank raised his eyebrow, his tone patronizing, "feeling brave now are we? Making demands . . ."

"She is my daughter, and I'm not demanding, I'm just asking . . ."

"I told you, keep doing what you're told and it'll think about it."

"I've been doing what you want for weeks . . ." Carla mumbled, the words almost choking her as she said them.

"Don't start getting difficult Carla, I am not in the mood and you will just blow any chance you have of going anywhere outside of these four walls."

Carla swallowed hard, what she was about to say made even made her sick but she was so desperate to visit or even speak to her daughter she found the words leaving her lips anyway. "Surely she should know about our baby, it's her brother or her sister . . ."

"If you keep going the way of are you won't be there if she gets told."

Carla decided against saying anything else in no doubt what so ever that he would carry out what he had threatened without a second thought.

Before either of them said anything else, Michael walked into the room with the phone in one hand. "Frank, it's Rik . . ."

"Tell him to call me back."

"He says it's important."

Frank grumbled something under his breath before getting up from the bed and walking over to the doorway of the bedroom where Michael was standing. He took the phone and walked up into the study had had, closing the door loudly before accepting the call. Carla found herself pleased that Rik had called and got him away from her, even if it was only for a number of moments. She was struggling to cope more and more by the day and the news she'd received not even an hour ago had sent her emotions and her thoughts into a complete whirlwind.

Once Frank was gone, Michael stepped a little closer to the bed where Carla was sitting and she turned so that she was laying on her side with her back to him. "Carla . . ."

"Go away Michael."

"I want to speak to you."

"Well I don't want to speak to you so get out." though her tone was quiet, how much she meant what she was saying wasn't missed by him.

Michael sighed and picked up the empty glass that had been on the side before leaving the room, of course he understood why she didn't want to speak to him, but what she didn't know was the other part of his plan and why he had done what he had.

On getting downstairs, Michael put some more ice into the glass after washing it out and filled it with orange juice. He was making his way back upstairs when he found that Frank hadn't closed the door to his study properly and when he spoke Michael frowned in confusion, silently wondering what was going on. He stepped a little closer to the door and tried to make out Frank's side of the conversation.

"I know you don't have her and I don't care what you need to do, just get me some more of those photographs. Carla doesn't need to know otherwise if you do your job, so unless you want a kid to take care of I suggest you get them, or we'll probably have to resort back to plan A."

Michael smirked and silently walked away from the room Frank was in and into the bedroom where Carla was. He placed the drink on the side before sitting on the edge of the bed, leaning over a little, which caused Carla to jump. "It's just me . . ."

"I don't want to speak to you Michael, I've told you."

"You will want to know this."

Carla frowned in confusion and turned just a fraction as Michael spoke and shook her head a little. "What is it?"

"Frank doesn't have Dempsey . . ."

"Don't talk rubbish, Michael . . ."

"Carla, I'm telling you. I walked past his room and he was on the phone to Rik, he doesn't have her . . ."

"You think I'm going to take your word for it after your little stunt earlier?"

"There was a reason for that too, I said I wanted to help you Carla and I meant it."

"Well you've done nothing but make things worse for me so far, so before you do anything else just please leave it."

"You're not pregnant . . ."

Carla frowned, shaking her head a little and biting down on her trembling lip to try and stop her tears. "Why are you doing this Michael, things are hard enough without you messing around with me and making things worse."

Michael sighed, "hey, I really didn't mean to make things worse for you and I know I've probably gone about this in completely the wrong way but I fully intend trying to help all right? Now, I told him you were pregnant for a reason . . ."

Carla turned around a little more, "what reason?"

"I know what he does to you and despite what you might think of me right now it makes me sick that someone could do that and not feel anything about how wrong it is . . ."

Carla swallowed hard, she struggled to even think about what Frank was doing to her, let alone speak about it. "Michael don't . . . I can't . . ."

"I'm not asking you to talk about it, I'm just saying, I know he does that . . . But, he wants a baby, so if you have to rest while being pregnant, there is no way he'll be doing it then, will he?"

"But what about when he finds out I'm not pregnant?"

"You should be out of here by then, some women don't show until they're four or five months pregnant so that gives us a while . . ."|

Carla nodded and there was a flicker of a smile tugging a the corners of her lips, she was trying not to get her hopes up about what Michael was talking about but it seemed she couldn't help it. "What about Dempsey, what did you say about Dempsey?"

"He doesn't have her."

"How do you know, you might have misunderstood what he said . . ." Though Carla didn't want to think that Frank had Dempsey she knew if what Michael was saying was true, it meant that she had been doing what Frank wanted for weeks for no reason.

"He said to Rik that he needed more pictures and if he didn't get them he would have a kid to take care of . . . Why else would he say that?"

There was a pause of silence before Carla burst into sobs, she guessed they were partly out of relief that her daughter should still be with Liam but also out of utter disgust that she had let Frank touch her and had not put up a fight after he'd forced himself on her due to the threats he'd made which she now knew were empty ones.

"Hey, Carla . . ." Michael reached out and let his fingers gently brush her's, though she moved her hand instinctively. "All you have to do is to act like things haven't changed even though you know this. Now, I know it's going to be hard but just keep it up for a little bit longer. I know I said we might have a while to think this through but I want to try and get you out of here as soon as possible." Carla nodded her agreement and ran hr backs of her hands over her cheeks, sniffing quietly as Michael spoke once again. "Do you think you can do that, try and keep things as they were?"

"I think so . . ." Carla whispered.

Michael gave a small smile and nodded before leaving the room, and Carla sat back and tried to process everything that she's just been told.

Liam had lain with Dempsey until she was settled and once she was he'd turned the DVD off before switching the small nightlight on he had bought for by her bed. He closed the door to, on stepping out of the room, but made sure there was a gap and on getting onto the landing he let out a frustrated sigh. He couldn't put his emotions into words and that was only adding to the frustration that he felt. He was so desperate to get Carla back and though he had been advised by Marc not to do anything himself until he had found more out about the situation, he knew that he was struggling to do as he'd asked.

Liam was on his way into the room he used as his office when Jack walked out of the bedroom he was using, and on walking across the landing to reach Liam, he spoke. "You still up son . . ."

Liam nodded, "I can't seem to settle."

"It's hardly surprising is it?'

Liam sighed and shook his head before Jack spoke once more, "how abut a coffee?"

"Make it a Whiskey and you're on."

Jack gave a small smile and nodded before the two of them headed downstairs. He knew that the things were getting on top of Liam more and more by the day and though he wanted to help, he was no private investigator. He sat down at the kitchen table after getting them a drink and hesitated for a moment before speaking. "You know, just due to having to do a little bit of waiting doesn't mean that you've stopped caring about her."

"Doesn't it? That little girl up there hasn't got the first idea what's going on and being told I have to sit here and do nothing isn't helping anyone is it?"

"It might not seem like it in the short term but Marc has already told you that if you go in there all guns blazing and Frank finds out before you get to Carla then he will make sure that you don't ever find her again. At least this way he can't be sure what help you have, if you have any help, what you're doing about trying to find her or where you're at in trying to find her. Just try and sit tight, yeah . . ."

"That's easier said than done . . ."

Jack gave a sympathetic nod, "I know it is son, I know . . ."

"I just love her so much granddad . . ." Liam whispered tearfully, "I don't know what I'm supposed to do . . ."

Jack got up and walked around the table, putting his hand on his grandson's shoulder. "You go to bed, try and get as much rest as you can and in the morning you call Marc and arrange to meet him to find out where he's at with finding her. I will drop Liam off at Maria's for the night and Tom can have Dempsey for the morning. We are here to help you Liam, I know things aren't easy here what with your mum and the divorce but you will get through this you know."

"I hope so . . ."

"I'll make sure of it."

Carla was laid in the dark and was becoming increasingly annoyed at the song that Frank was playing. It was their wedding song, again. He'd never stopped playing it since she'd been there and everytime it was played it just made her feel sick. She knew that he would know it would have that effect on her and she knew that was why he was doing it. In the beginning she had hoped that if she didn't mention it he would stop or that if he played it enough the feelings would go away, though neither had happened, if anything she thought the feeling's had only gotten worse.

"I could stay lost in this moment forever, where every moment spent with you is a moment I treasure . . ."

Carla was startled by the sound of a rustling noise coming from the doorway of the room and it caused her to frown. She sat up a little and when no other noise came she carefully leaned over the bed to find a white envelope on the floor that had been slipped under the door. Carla moved her legs around the side of the bed and got up, and on making her way over to the doorway she bent down to pick up the piece of paper. Carla climbed back into bed before opening the envelope, pulling out the note she knew was from Michael.

Frank is going out tomorrow night, he won't be back until around 11, so, I will leave the door unlocked for you to leave at 10 and I will meet you at the back of the grounds of the house at ten past. That should give us some time to get you away before he even knows that you've gone. Rip this up once you know what the plan is and give me a nod tomorrow if you want to do it . . .