Hope you enjoy this installment, sorry it took a while I just wanted to make sure I did it right, I re-wrote it at least 3 times changed it around at least 20.
10th May 2023
"Carla, Carla darlin wake up" Peter questions gently shaking her as she gasps trying to regulate her breath, a bad dream, he thought it was because it was getting near the end, excitement mistaken for nerves which may be causing this considering it was the second one tonight
"Sorry, sorry" she mumbles grabbing onto his hand
"Want to talk about it?"
"It's the same one, just recurring over and over again" she replies wincing in pain as Peter sighs stroking her hair smiling gently
"It's alright, just go back to sleep, the twins are safe so you don't need to worry" he smiles as she gets up to sit on the birthing ball bouncing gently on it deciding that being awake was better than sleeping as she had more control over any situation that may occur
"Car come back to bed"
"I cant sleep anyway, my back kills" she mumbles tilting her head to the side still bouncing on the birthing ball
"Do you want a couple of paracetamol?" he questions as she nods, Peter going into the ensuite to get some paracetamol for her
"Ta" she smiles downing the tablets
"You aren't having contractions though?"
"It's hard to tell, I just have this constant back pain so if I was having contractions I can't feel them because the pain is just constant" she replies as Peter smiles rubbing her back hoping to relieve the pain she was in
"What's going on?" Simon appears at the door, obviously woken up from the pottering around Peter was doing
"My back kills, that's what" Carla groans as Simon laughs Peter biting his lip
"Sorry for waking you Si, she wanted pain killer" he grins as Simon shrugs sitting on the edge of the bed as Aidan starts to cry through the baby monitor
"Do you want me to?" Simon offers as Peter nods, Simon heading off to get Aidan
"Hey little man, what's with all the tears?" Simon questions as Aidan sniffles, Simon picking Aidan up in his arms
"Mumma" he mumbles wrapping his arms around Simon's neck resting his head on his shoulder
"She's not feeling very well, do you want to sleep with me?" Simon offers as Aidan shakes his head, Simon using his hand to wipe the tears which still remained
"Ok, do you want me to stay in your room?" Simon questions as Aidan shakes his head
"Mumma" he cries as Simon kisses Aidan's forehead taking him into Carla and Peter's room
"I tried…"
"It's ok son, what's the matter Aidy?" Peter questions taking Aidan off Simon as he cries into his father's chest, Peter rubbing his back, comforting him
"Nightmare" he states as Peter sighs stroking Aidan's hair turning to face Carla who was still bouncing on the ball
"Simon, could you do us a favour?" Peter questions as Simon nods, Peter bringing Simon into the hallway and closing the bedroom door
"Could you pack Aidan a bag for me I just have a feeling that things might happen, I need to ring maternity anyway to see what they suggest" Peter explains as Simon nods, taking Aidan off Peter and taking him into the bedroom
"Hey, love how you feeling?" Peter questions stroking her hair as she sighs trying her best to stretch her back on the birthing ball
"My back is so painful Peter"
"Why don't you have a bath, that might help?" Peter suggests as Carla nods, Peter helping her up and into the bathroom as Simon knocks on the door
"Here's the bag, he fell asleep again while I was getting it ready" Simon whispers as Peter smiles glancing back at Carla who was now sitting on the beanbag which was left in the bathroom from last night
"Cheers mate, I'm going to give Michelle a call to see if she can come and collect him, or stay here with him, could you just watch her and make sure she tries not to move" Peter smiles leaving the room temporarily to get his phone giving Michelle a quick call
"Peter" Carla calls from the bathroom as Peter enters
"You alright?"
"Can you help me?" she groans as Simon makes himself scarce to get a few extra hours sleep as well as this being a somewhat intimate moment between his dad and Carla
"Come here then" Peter smiles taking her hand and helping her sit down in the bath "Is that nice?"
"Mhm, it's helping a bit is Aidan going to 'Chelle's?"
"Yeah he is, or 'Chelle's coming here with Ava, I said she could use one of the cots for her" Peter explains as Carla nods slowly taking in the information as Peter's phone goes off
"That'll be 'Chelle, don't try and get out" Peter smiles kissing Carla's head to go and let Michelle in
"How is she?" Michelle questions rubbing Ava's back as she sleeps in the sling, as Peter takes her bag sighing leading her upstairs
"She's in pain, she can't tell if it's contractions because her back hurts constantly so there's no way to tell if they're consistent if it is contractions" Peter explains as Michelle grins excitedly clapping her hands
"Getting close though"
"I know, I'm pretty excited she's doing well so far if this is the start of labour"
"Do you want me to stay here with Aidan, or I could take him back to mine?" Michelle offers poking her head around Aidan's door seeing that he was fast asleep, turning to face Peter
"He's asleep I'll stay here, mind if I use one of the cots for her" Michelle gestures to Ava as Peter shakes his head, Michelle going into the spare bedroom to place Ava in one of the cots, setting up the baby monitor
"Right hopefully she won't wake up for the remainder of the night, do you need me to ring anyone for you?"
"I think we're alright, I better get her out to be honest, she's probably fallen asleep in the bath" Peter grins as Michelle laughs going into their bedroom
"Car, darling" Peter nudges her as she looks up at him, a small smile on her face
"Hey Car" Michelle pokes her head around the door as she couldn't resist grinning at her
"Oh great, 'Chelle's here" Carla retorts sarcastically as Peter bites his lip trying to suppress laughter
"Charming" Michelle scoffs as Ava starts to cry "I'll go and entertain my daughter"
"How's your back feeling?" Peter questions as Carla sighs, Peter helping her out of the bath
"Better from being in the bath, I actually feel kind of sick I don't know" she sighs closing her eyes and sighing dipping her head
"Oh darling, can I get you a glass of water?" Peter questions as she rests her head on his shoulder sighing
"Please, 'Chelle" she mumbles incoherently practically falling asleep on his shoulder as Peter walks her to the side of the bed
"I'll get her sweetheart, she's just settling Ava, you get back into bed and I'll get you some water and the bucket"
"Thank you" she smiles slightly going to get into bed as Michelle comes into the room holding Ava
"Hey you, your back still hurting?" Michelle questions lying Ava down on the bed watching her kick her legs
"Yeah, it's eased off a bit though, is she alright?" Carla gestures to Ava
"Yeah, she's been fed so she's a happy girl, yes you are" Michelle coos over Ava who babbles away Carla reaching over to tickle her body instantly wincing in pain
"Woah, was that a contraction?"
"I-I don't know" she sighs sitting up and sliding out of bed going to sit on the birthing ball bouncing on it in a steady rhythm as Peter enters the room
"Hey I got you some water and the bucket, I also rang maternity they said to make sure you're hydrated as that could be causing you some issues, so I want you to down those two pints of water" Peter grins placing the glasses on the window ledge as she groans at the thought closing her eyes
"Ok, that was a contraction I think, I kind of felt that" Carla sighs grabbing her phone to record it as Peter kneels down in front of her as cries blare out from Aidan's baby monitor
"I'll go" Michelle smiles going off to see Aidan, boxing Ava in with the cushions from Carla and Peter's bed spread, coming back a short while after, carrying him on her hip
"Hey Aidy" Carla smiles looking up from Peter's shoulder as Aidan waves at her
"Want to say hi to your cousin?" Michelle questions placing Aidan down on Carla and Peter's bed as he gently holds Ava's hand
"Ava"
"Yes that's Ava, who is Ava?" Michelle questions as Aidan grins at her
"Cousin"
"Yay, that's right, he's pretty smart" Michelle beams clapping proudly as Aidan points to Carla, shuffling off the bed to go and see her
"Hey baby, I'm sorry I couldn't put you back to bed sweetheart" Carla replies apologetically as she winces in pain again, Peter recording the contraction as it finishes
"Mummy hurt" Aidan pouts as Peter ruffles his hair, Michelle feeding Ava in the corner of the room in the rocking chair
"I'm alright sweetheart" Carla smiles gently as she rubs her bump Peter kissing her forehead
"No" Aidan shakes his head, tears forming in his eyes
"I'm fine sweetie, why don't you go and sit with Aunty 'Chelle?" Carla suggests as Aidan shakes his head, Carla groaning at his reluctance
"Come on Aidy, I'll get you some brekkie as it's almost morning time" Michelle smiles taking his hand and leading him downstairs
"Why don't you get up and walk around for a bit?" Peter questions as Carla sighs, nodding in agreement, Peter helping her get up, helping her down the stairs
"Right what do you two want for breakfast?" Michelle questions deciding she may as well cook everyone breakfast as she was cooking Aidan's
"Peter, it hurts" Carla cries instantly clutching her lower abdomen
"Alright, tell me what you want to do? Do you want to go to the hospital now?" Peter questions as Carla leans on the bannister clutching her bump still
"I feel so much pressure down there, Peter something's not right, I'm scared" she cries as Peter consoles her bringing her into his embrace rubbing the bottom of her back
"I know you're scared, I know you're scared of being in hospital, I know" Peter replies tilting her head up to face him as she cries out in pain
"Peter, I don't want to go to hospital" Carla cries
"I know you don't, I know you're scared but I really do think it's the best place for you" Peter states as Carla groans shaking her head retreating to the corner of the room
"Peter…" Michelle starts knowing that this could mean things could get worse, Carla's defences shooting up
"Make it stop, please stay in there your safe" Carla cries gesturing to the twins as she screams out in pain pulling at her hair
"I'm calling an ambulance this isn't right, tell them that she could be relapsing or something Michelle, somethings going on in her mind" Peter panics as Carla groans still pulling at her hair, knocking her head against the wall repetitively, her mind going into overdrive
"I want to push, I need to push Peter"
"Ok hold on wait for the ambulance, you might not need to-"
"Oh I think I do Peter" she states gesturing to her waters which have just broken glaring at him in agony pleading with him to help her
"They're on their way Peter, here they're on loudspeaker, they've transferred through to maternity, I'll deal with Aidan and ring Ali to see if he can help" Michelle replies taking Aidan by the hand leading him upstairs with the landline
"Is everything alright Peter, it's Doctor Matthews" he asks down the receiving end of the call
"She had the really bad back ache so she couldn't feel the contractions as the pain was constant, her friends just called her son who is a GP" Peter explains briefly his main attention on Carla
"Alright, does she want to push?"
"Yes, I do!" Carla groans loudly as Michelle returns with some towels and hot water
"Carla hold on for as long as possible ok, the ambulance is almost here, have your water's broken?" Doctor Matthews questions through the phone
"Yes they did, literally while Michelle was on the phone to you" Peter explains rolling his sleeves up as the doorbell goes
"Let me just answer that, it might be the paramedics" Peter states going to answer the door
"Michelle called" Ali states rushing in to see Carla trying to hold off pushing, her knuckles white from where she was gripping onto the carpet
"Carla were your water's clear?" Doctor Matthews asks as Carla screams out in pain
"They were" Ali answers for her
"I can't I need to push" Carla replies breathlessly giving in and beginning to push
"I can see the head" Ali states as Peter rolls his eyes at how typical this all was handing the towels to Ali along with hot water from the kettle
"Tell me what you see" Doctor Matthews asks
"The heads out" Ali replies, Peter poise with a pen to write the time of birth down on his hand as well as shuffling behind Carla
"Carla I need you to shuffle down ok" Ali states as Peter helps her move down as she groans another contraction kicking in
"Carla if that's a contraction push" Doctor Matthews says through the speaker as a loud wail erupts the room, Ali wrapping the baby up in a towel placing it on Carla's chest
"Baby's breathing and it's a girl, going a nice pink colour" Ali says helping clear the baby up, watching it pink up into a nice blush colour as it continues to cry
"Hey baby girl" Carla mumbles, exhausted from all the pushing
"Michelle!"
"What?" she hisses obviously trying to get Ava off to sleep, appearing from the stairs
"Can you pass me that rocker thing, I don't have 5 hands" Ali gestures to the rocker as Michelle pushes it over to him, placing a towel on it, watching Carla wince in pain, knowing that it will be a matter of time before the second baby was born, taking the baby which was on Carla's chest and placing in on the rocker
"Carla?" Doctor Matthews questions
"Yes" she groans slightly closing her eyes
"The ambulance is almost there ok, do you reckon you could hold off pushing-"
"I'll get it it'll be the paramedics" Ali says getting up to let them in as they rush over to Carla who was already pushing the second baby out without assistance
"Alright, what do we have?"
"Twin birth, one born, looking healthy and breathing" Ali states as the paramedics take his place helping Carla to deliver her second baby
"Carla give a push for me, you're so close now" the paramedic encourages her as she pushes delivering the second baby which was quite shocked at the birth
"It's a girl" the paramedic wipes the baby down as it begins to cry loudly as well as pinking up
"Carla look at them darlin' you did it" Peter smiles looking at the babies glancing down at Carla who had gone whiter than white, Peter stroking her hair
"Carla, Carla, something's not right!" Peter exclaims as Ali bites his lip holding one of the babies
"She's losing a lot of blood, we need to get her to hospital" the paramedic states as Ali helps with the babies wrapping them up in towels and giving them to Ali
"Peter you need to leave her" Ali states as Carla is put onto a stretcher and carried out the ambulance, as one of the paramedics return for the babies which were perfectly healthy
"Are you coming?"
"Yes" Peter says getting into the ambulance immediately grabbing onto Carla's hand as the paramedics check her vitals and blood pressure
"Her blood pressure's low, heart rates fine for now" one states as Peter prays that Carla will make it through
"Come on Car, you can't leave us now" Peter cries kissing her hand
"Sorry, I need you to step away" the paramedic says as Peter sighs glancing over to the babies who were nuzzled in an incubator
"She's stable for now but we need to hurry to stop this bleeding" one of the paramedics say as Peter sighs in relief
"Are they ok?" Peter questions to his daughters who were huddled up next to each other
"They seem really good, a healthy colour, I'm more concerned about your wife, has she got any history with complications during or after birth?"
"Um she had a late miscarriage the first time she fell pregnant, her second pregnancy she had a lot of problems with her mental health but the pregnancy was really good, went smoothly, her third pregnancy she gave birth around 24 weeks and didn't know she was pregnant but the baby, Eloise died a few hours after birth due to an infection, she has a kidney transplant and had had psychosis in the past, that was the mental health condition she had, with her second pregnancy"
"Ok, that's great the more we know the more we can help her-" the paramedic starts as the heart rate monitor starts to beep, Peter watching Carla's heart rate drop
"No!" Peter shouts tears filling his eyes
"Heart rates dropping we need to move fast" the paramedics call as the ambulance pulls up a couple of midwives to take the babies, Peter following Carla up to theatre
"I'm sorry Peter, you can't go any further" Monica sighs bringing him into a hug as he starts to cry
"Is she going to survive?" he questions walking with Monica to the relatives room
"There are certain procedures they can do to stop this type of bleeding, postpartum haemorrhage" Monica explains as Peter drops his head into his hands in exasperation
"She always has difficult pregnancies, Aidan's was the only normal one" Peter states as Monica smiles gently trying to be reasurring
"You have two beautiful daughters out of this one, the neonatal unit are just checking them over they seemed perfectly healthy when they came in" Monica smiles as Peter starts to cry, Ken, Johnny, Jenny and Kate barging in
"Peter, what's happened?" Johnny questions noticing Peter's saddened expression
"Carla she had this backache, then she gave birth, the babies are fine, she haemorrhaged now shes being operated on" Peter explains as Johnny sits down in shock
"She will survive though, surely?" Johnny questions
"There's high survival rates, worst case scenario she may need a hysterectomy if they couldn't stop the bleeding" Monica explains
"The babies?" Kate questions glancing to Peter then Monica
"Two girls"
"Really I have two granddaughters?" Johnny questions as Peter nods running a hand through his hair
"Peter Barlow?" a practitioner comes in
"That's me, you can tell then they're all family" Peter smiles biting his lip trying to remain positive about the situation
"Your wife has lost a lot of blood due to a haemorrhage after birth, postpartum haemorrhage to be precise, the next 48 hours are going to be critical for her, she's very weak but she's hanging on in there"
"Yes, anything that will help her, is she conscious?"
"She's awake but very weak, we did stop the bleeding but we need to make sure we stopped it all and that she doesn't haemorrhage again and that there was no lasting damage, we're currently letting her have a breather to see if any more bleeding occurs, and if it doesn't we will start the blood transfusion as she has agreed to it"
"Can we see her?" Johnny questions
"You can but only two at a time, she's most likely going to be sleeping, she could be disorientated but she's stable"
"Peter, you go-" Johnny starts before being interrupted by Michelle
"Peter! What happened?" Michelle questions breathlessly obviously from running here as Peter brings her into a hug
"Carla's awake, she had a haemorrhage" Peter explains briefly as Michelle sighs, her eyes wide with shock
"Michelle you go with Peter to see Carla, give her our love" Johnny questions as Michelle nods, the doctor leading them up to the maternity ward where Carla was recovering
"Be warned she's very groggy from the anaesthetic and she might not make sense, she can barely lift her own arm up right now, she looks worse than she is" the doctor informs opening the door for them to go in
"Car…it's me, Peter" Peter smiles gently taking her hand as she squeezes it gently her eyes fluttering open gently, trying to adjust to the change in lighting
"Mm hi" she mumbles weakly turning her head to face him slightly, trying not to exhaust herself too soon
"Hey beautiful" Peter smiles stroking her hair gently a small smile playing on her lips
"Peter babies" Carla whispers as Peter lifts her hand to give it a gentle kiss
"From what I've hear they're really healthy, they're just being checked over, then I think Monica's going to bring them here" Peter smiles as Carla glances to Michelle
"Ava, Aidan" Carla replies looking at Michelle
"Aidan's with Adam and Ava's with Steve" Michelle informs her as she hums in response closing her eyes as someone, presumably Monica knocks at the door
"Can we come in?" Monica grins wheeling a twin size basinet into the room
"Yeah, how are they doing?" Peter questions as Monica beams
"Passed all tests I think, Doctor Matthews has the results" Monica smiles at Peter as Peter grins
"We've fed them up, so if they need another feed let us know and we'll prepare a couple of bottles until Carla's feeling strong enough to feed them herself, that is if she wants to of course"
"How much did they weigh and which one is which?" Peter grins knowing that it was hard to tell between them both
"So this one is baby A and baby A weighed 5lbs 10oz and is in the pink blanket and baby B is in the yellow and weighed 5lb 4oz" Monica smiles watching the twins stretch their arms out, confined in their basinet where they seemed to be enjoying each other's company
"Thank you, I can tell these two are going to be tricking us when they're older" Peter grins as Carla starts to stir again hearing the commotion from the room
"Peter" she says quietly, barely audible, but loud enough for Peter to pick up on it
"Yes, love"
"Show them" she replies with a smile wanting to see her daughters
"Alright, bear with me a minute" Peter smiles going to wash his hands with the hand sanitizer ready to hold one of the baby's picking baby A up supporting its head, placing it across Carla's chest so she could see one of her daughters
"Hey baby" Carla smiles slightly Michelle taking Carla's hand for her so she could touch her baby, tears forming in Carla's eyes
"This one's baby A and is a little girl, she weighed, what was it?" Peter smiles glancing to Monica
"5lbs 10oz"
"The big one" Carla smirks moving her head so that she could kiss her daughter on the head as well as taking in her scent
"Yeah, want me to get the other?" Peter questions as Carla nod's gently as Peter places the other baby on Carla's chest
"You're tiny" Carla gasps slightly, Michelle taking Carla's hand so that the baby could grasp onto her finger
"They're beautiful Car, they look like you" Michelle smiles as Carla smirks rolling her eyes
"Am I interrupting?" Doctor Matthews enters the room as Peter shakes his head, taking his daughter and placing her back in the crib with her sister
"Well good news Carla, your babies are doing really well, we want to give you your blood transfusion to up your red blood cell count so you will need to be in until your strong enough to go home and that your red blood cell count improves"
"How long will that be?" she whispers wanting to be at home with the twins, Aidan and Peter
"It depends on how well your body takes to the transfusion, as well as your iron levels" Doctor Matthews replies as Carla nods gently
"What does that mean exactly?" Peter questions
"It means I would probably need an iron transfusion if my iron levels were low after the blood transfusion, am I right?"
"Yes, essentially you are, did you have an iron transfusion during your kidney disease?"
"Yeah I think so, I can't really remember but I know they were going on about iron a lot" she laughs slightly as Peter smiles at her realising how much she went through back then
"It's the same concept, your pregnancy used up your iron, then you lost a lot of blood and along with that blood you lost more iron so that's why we need to monitor your iron levels to see if they need to be increased"
"Ok, so realistically how long do you think it will take to recover from this?" Peter questions wanting answers as Carla tries to take his hand
"We want to start the transfusion now that you are awake and more stable, I would say we're looking at a week average, could be longer could be shorter depending on how well your body reacts to everything" Doctor Matthews explains as Carla sighs just wanting to be at home with her babies
"I have your bag in the car, I can nip and get it, I'll also let everyone else know what's happening" Michelle smiles leaving the room
"I'll leave you to it" Doctor Matthews excuses himself
"You alright?" Peter questions glancing to the crib briefly before returning his gaze back onto Carla
"I'll be fine, I'm not out of the woods but, I'm feeling better" she smiles slightly following Peter's gaze grinning in awe at her babies
"We need to think of names, two girls names, any ideas?" he chuckles slightly as one of the babies start to cry, Peter going over to the crib and lifting the crying baby out and holding it against his chest as the cries soften
"What was that name you suggested, you know when we were thinking of names for Hayley?" Carla questions, the memory coming to the forefront of her mind as Peter frowns trying to remember what it was
"Francesca?" he questions as Carla nods
"Bit old isn't it?" Peter laughs as Carla smiles
"No, I like it, it's unique, Francesca Barlow?" Carla questions as Peter smiles glancing down to the baby
"Hmm, let me think about it, any other suggestions?" Peter questions rocking the baby gently against his chest as she whimpers clasping onto Peter's shirt
"I like names like Ivy, Isla…" she lists as Peter smiles, a soppy grin on his face
"How about Isla and Ivy?"
"Hmm, show me the other one" Carla asks as Peter puts the baby back down, swapping it for the other one holding it up to show Carla
"No" Carla turns her nose up at the suggestions "Florence?"
"Florence and Francesca, that works?" Peter suggests as Carla grins at the suggestions
"I know…" Carla exclaims having a brainwave convinced Peter would love her idea
"Isobel and Francesca?"
"Hmm Isobel and Francesca…I like Isobel not sure about Francesca still" Peter states as Carla groans knowing how hard it was trying to find names for two babies
"Ok, Isobel and Florence?" Carla questions as Peter shakes his head scrunching his nose up
"I know! Isobel and Ivy" Peter suggests as Carla bites her lip glancing to the other baby tilting her head
"Ok, we have a deal, Isobel Barlow and Florence Barlow" Carla grins as Peter places the baby he was holding in the plastic crib popping himself on the edge of Carla's bed
"So which one's which?" Peter questions as Carla sighs
"Let's make it easy, the bigger one Isobel and the smaller one Florence" Carla grins trying to make it easy for themselves as Peter laughs
"Ok, that makes it easier I guess-"
"Sorry, we need to start the transfusion…" Doctor Matthews states as Peter nods going to sit in the armchair as the Doctors hook Carla up to machines starting the procedure
"Peter…"
"Yeah darling?"
"I'm gonna sleep for a bit"
"Hey, that's alright, I understand I wouldn't like to see blood being pumped into my body" he laughs slightly as Carla grins glancing over to the crib
"Look after them won't you?"
"Of course?" he questions perplexed as if it was obvious that he would be looking after them, Carla slipping into a relaxed sleep, Peter left to contemplate the effects this may have on Carla, Florence and Isobel
I'm pretty sure the names took the majority of the time, I kept doubting my choices and it made me angry so... I hope you liked them